Cat Girls: Black Cat and Catwoman
Felicia Hardy's father was a cat burglar, and after he died, she decided to follow in his footsteps. She donned a slinky outfit (the better to slip in and out of narrow areas), took the name Black Cat, and began stealing from the rich and famous of New York City. She never seemed to fail: it wasn't until later that she learned she had the mutant ability to alter probability--she was literally giving herself good luck to pull off her heists, and her enemies bad luck.
This attracted the attention of costumed superheroes--namely Spider-Man, that Felicia would most often duel with. They were attracted to each other, and almost pursued a relationship--but Black Cat wouldn't give up her life of crime easily, as she enjoyed the adrenaline rush of burglary, and she didn't love Peter Parker--she loved Spider-Man. Nevertheless, the two have gone in and out of love ever since, much to the chagrin of both.
Selina Kyle's backstory isn't as straightforward, and has changed many times--her original origin by Bob Kane was that she was a former flight attendant who was either brainwashed into a life of crime, or took it on to make money. A more modern origin is that Kyle is a former prostitute who got tired of being beaten by her pimp, so she learned the martial arts and became a thief--again, to make more money.
Either way, Selina Kyle became Catwoman, Gotham City's finest and most notorious thief. Naturally, she attracted the attention of Gotham's defender, Batman. Though they fought many times, Catwoman was never motivated to kill people like the Joker, or commit high-profile crimes like the Riddler. Possibly because of that--and the fact that Selina is very attractive--she and Batman also ended up in an off-again, on-again relationship. At least at one point in their long history together, Batman and Catwoman are aware of the other's true identity, and they've flirted with marriage more than once.
Despite similar backstories and similar relationships with their main rival, Black Cat is not Marvel's version of Catwoman--at least according to her creator, Marv Wolfman. Wolfman claimed that she's actually based on the idea of "black cats bring bad luck," and she was originally supposed to be Spider-Woman's biggest rival. She first appeared in 1979.
Catwoman, on the other hand, first appeared in 1940. Batman creator Bob Kane fully intended for Catwoman to be a femme fatale for Batman, but not a shrinking violet--while Catwoman's sex appeal was for the male readers, her ability to go toe-to-toe with Batman would appeal to female ones. Catwoman was so provocative that she actually disappeared as a result of the Comics Code for nearly a decade; the popularity of Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and others playing the part on the 1960s Batman TV show was to bring her back.
It wasn't just pure coincidence that I ran into both Selina and Felicia at ACen 2014--they were traveling together! That's a bit of a frightening thought...
Cat Girls: Black Cat and Catwoman
Felicia Hardy's father was a cat burglar, and after he died, she decided to follow in his footsteps. She donned a slinky outfit (the better to slip in and out of narrow areas), took the name Black Cat, and began stealing from the rich and famous of New York City. She never seemed to fail: it wasn't until later that she learned she had the mutant ability to alter probability--she was literally giving herself good luck to pull off her heists, and her enemies bad luck.
This attracted the attention of costumed superheroes--namely Spider-Man, that Felicia would most often duel with. They were attracted to each other, and almost pursued a relationship--but Black Cat wouldn't give up her life of crime easily, as she enjoyed the adrenaline rush of burglary, and she didn't love Peter Parker--she loved Spider-Man. Nevertheless, the two have gone in and out of love ever since, much to the chagrin of both.
Selina Kyle's backstory isn't as straightforward, and has changed many times--her original origin by Bob Kane was that she was a former flight attendant who was either brainwashed into a life of crime, or took it on to make money. A more modern origin is that Kyle is a former prostitute who got tired of being beaten by her pimp, so she learned the martial arts and became a thief--again, to make more money.
Either way, Selina Kyle became Catwoman, Gotham City's finest and most notorious thief. Naturally, she attracted the attention of Gotham's defender, Batman. Though they fought many times, Catwoman was never motivated to kill people like the Joker, or commit high-profile crimes like the Riddler. Possibly because of that--and the fact that Selina is very attractive--she and Batman also ended up in an off-again, on-again relationship. At least at one point in their long history together, Batman and Catwoman are aware of the other's true identity, and they've flirted with marriage more than once.
Despite similar backstories and similar relationships with their main rival, Black Cat is not Marvel's version of Catwoman--at least according to her creator, Marv Wolfman. Wolfman claimed that she's actually based on the idea of "black cats bring bad luck," and she was originally supposed to be Spider-Woman's biggest rival. She first appeared in 1979.
Catwoman, on the other hand, first appeared in 1940. Batman creator Bob Kane fully intended for Catwoman to be a femme fatale for Batman, but not a shrinking violet--while Catwoman's sex appeal was for the male readers, her ability to go toe-to-toe with Batman would appeal to female ones. Catwoman was so provocative that she actually disappeared as a result of the Comics Code for nearly a decade; the popularity of Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and others playing the part on the 1960s Batman TV show was to bring her back.
It wasn't just pure coincidence that I ran into both Selina and Felicia at ACen 2014--they were traveling together! That's a bit of a frightening thought...