Just before getting a lawsuit from Catwoman.
Uncanny Origins #10
Marvel (June, 1997)
The Black Cat: “The Black Cat’s Path”
WRITER: Lysa Marie Hawkins
ARTIST: Marc Campos
COLORIST: Bob Sharen
LETTERER: Jack Morelli
EDITOR: Joe Andreani
Felicia Hardy’s mom tried to spare her daughter the truth, believing his being dead was less painful than him being in prison for being a notorious cat burglar. She did learn the truth, however, because the press exists, and she tried to make something of her self, but her mother was never satisfied. Events turned Felicia into a thief herself, believing she was following in her father’s footsteps. When it was revealed he had cancer, Felicia became The Black Cat to bust him out so he could die at home, leading to the first of many run-ins with Spider-Man. Later she learned that he didn’t want her to become a thief like him, that he hated what he had become, and so she switched sides from criminal to crimefighter.
What they got right: You know me, I love a good redemption story. Seeing a villain become a hero always makes me happy.
What they got wrong: The problem is this story felt a bit rushed. You’d think that would be a problem with other issues of Uncanny Origins given how little space they have to tell a long-standing character’s backstory, but most of them found a way to make it work. This one jumps right into Felicia running from her house. We have no connection to her that allows us to feel sorry about her father’s passing and right on the next panel she sees the truth in a discarded newspaper. It doesn’t slow down much until the middle, where Felicia, as the Black Cat, is gathering her group to free her father, but even that moves rather fast.
Recommendation: Overall though it’s a good story, just one that went by faster than I would have liked. Plus Marvel has ruined all that by making her a villain again, this time a crime boss. So way to fail again, modern Marvel! It’s still worth a read.
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