Black Cat (Marvel Comics)

Black Cat
Cover art from The Amazing Spider-Man #25 (March 2017). Art by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979)
Created by	Marv Wolfman (writer) Keith Pollard (artist) Dave Cockrum (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Felicia Sara Hardy[1]
Species	Human mutate
Place of origin	Flushing, New York, U.S.
Team affiliations	Black Cat's Gang[2] Heroes for Hire Defenders[3] Avengers A-Force
Partnerships	Spider-Man Puma
Notable aliases	Felicity Harmon Felicia Harmon Party Hardy Black Cat
Abilities	Superhuman strength, agility, balance, and vision Psionic ability to alter probability fields to cause bad luck toward others Skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant Highly skilled gymnast and acrobat Expert burglar Utilizing grapnels, sharp retractable claws, climbing pitons, and contact lenses granting the ability to see in various ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum

Black Cat (Felicia Hardy) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, and Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979).^[4] Felicia Hardy is the daughter of Walter Hardy, a world-renowned cat burglar. She trained herself in various fighting styles and acrobatics and, after deciding to follow in her father's footsteps, adopted the costumed identity of Black Cat. She has the subconscious ability to affect probability fields, producing "bad luck" for her enemies. Throughout her history, Black Cat has sometimes been an enemy, love interest, and an ally of the superhero Spider-Man.^[5][6]

The character was depicted as a supervillain and adversary of Spider-Man, but over time the two fell in love, which motivated her into becoming both an antiheroine, and his partner. However, their relationship grew complicated after it became apparent that Black Cat was only attracted to the alter ego of Spider-Man and had little to no interest in the hero's civilian life as Peter Parker. After their break-up, Black Cat maintained her role as one of Spider-Man's most trusted allies and for years the pair shared an on-again, off-again romance.^[7]

Since her original introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including video games, animated television series, and merchandise.