Ever since she debuted in the late 1970s, the Black Cat, aka Felicia Hardy, has been an interesting member of Spider-Man‘s supporting cast. As a sometimes villainous love interest for the webslinger, Felicia’s feisty feline alter ego is one of the greatest thieves in the Marvel Universe. The purring purloiner may soon be hitting the big screen, where she will most likely be compared to Batman’s cat-themed love interest, the Catwoman.
Despite their similarities, Black Cat and Catwoman are far different characters. Bringing a unique edge to Spider-Man’s usually rock solid love life, Felicia tempts the web-head in a way that Catwoman has never done to Batman. Here’s a closer look at Marvel’s Black Cat and why she stands out among the nine-lived crowd.
How Spider-Man’s Black Cat Is Different From Batman’s Catwoman
Debuting in Amazing Spider-Man #194, Black Cat was something of a perfectionist thief. Made to be great at whatever she did by her criminal father, Felicia Hardy followed in his footsteps. Her attempts to break him out of jail resulted in her crossing paths with Spider-Man, and she instantly developed an unusual attraction to the costumed superhuman. Although she despised most men, the wall-crawler was an exception that she couldn’t get enough of. This made her go back and forth between being a thief and an anti-hero, although she always remained fiercely loyal to the webslinger.
While this status as a femme fatale is one of her many similarities to Batman’s resident temptress Catwoman, Black Cat originally wasn’t meant to face Spider-Man. Instead, she was designed to be a foe for the only tangentially related Spider-Woman, with the plan changing once the book featuring the female arachnid was canceled. Black Cat also briefly had superpowers, something that Selina Kyle can’t boast. These “bad luck” powers affected the probability field of those around her, eventually causing her to get rid of them.
Another big difference is that many versions of Batman have eventually settled down and married a redeemed Catwoman, who in some continuities is the mother of their daughter Helena Wayne, a.k.a. the Huntress. Black Cat wants no such domestic bliss with Spider-Man, as she actually became less attracted to him upon discovering that he was just a normal looking guy underneath the costume. This proves how ultimately vapid Felicia can be, while Selina Kyle is usually shown as a deeper and more conflicted character.
What Sony’s Black Cat Needs to Succeed
Sydney Sweeney has recently been revealed to be involved with the upcoming Madame Web movie from Sony, and many believe that she will be playing the role of the Black Cat. This makes sense, considering that the character is known to exist in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Even though the film The Batman recently introduced its version of Catwoman, there are still a number of ways that the cinematic version of the Black Cat can be different from her DC counterpart.
While the recent onscreen version of Catwoman was primarily motivated by a need for revenge, Sony’s Black Cat should emphasize how flighty and materialistic Felicia can be. This is the heart of the character in the comics, as no matter how close she and Spider-Man get, it’s ultimately all about the thrills for Black Cat. She also has to be a perfectionist, with her standards requiring everything to go exactly according to plan. The need to be a step above it all is what drove her to seek superpowers in the first place. This could definitely make for some interesting heist and acrobatics sequences, which should go a long way in making Black Cat the cat’s meow whenever she finally shows up on the big screen.
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