Black Cat (Marvel Comics)

Black Cat is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and Dave Cockrum, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 in July 1979 as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man, although she later becomes his on-off love interest and ally.

In the Marvel Universe, Black Cat is the alter ego of Felicia Sara Hardy, the daughter of renowned cat burglar Walter Hardy. Trained in martial arts and acrobatics, she follows in her father's footsteps and initially comes into conflict with Spider-Man until the two fall in love, leading to a brief partnership in crime-fighting. Their relationship is complicated when it becomes apparent that Black Cat has no interest in Spider-Man's civilian identity as Peter Parker. Despite their break-up, Spider-Man's positive influence motivates Black Cat to remain an antiheroine willing to do the right thing when push comes to shove, and routinely returns to the hero's life as one of his most trusted allies. Black Cat has gained and lost superhuman powers several times throughout her comic book history, most notably possessing a "bad luck" aura capable of inflicting people in her vicinity with misfortune.

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.