The Cat (styled as Beware! The Claws of... The Cat on covers) is a 1972 comic book series from Marvel Comics. The series is written by Linda Fite (with editor Roy Thomas credited as co-plotter on the first issue's origin story), with the art team changing for every issue.
Set in the shared Marvel Universe, the series introduces Greer Nelson, a young widow who becomes the titular superhero The Cat.
After her husband's murder, Greer starts to rediscover her independence and build a new life for herself. Initially taking a lab assistant job with her old teacher Dr. Tumolo, she soon becomes a secret test subject for the doctor's current project, an enhancement process that will allow women to access their full mental and physical potential. Combining her new abilities with the claws and night vision granted by the Cat costume, Greer becomes Chicago's newest superhero.
The series was abruptly cancelled after the fourth issue.
Greer's adventures continued elsewhere, initially in a Giant-Size Creatures team-up with Werewolf by Night, which saw her abandon the costumed Cat identity and become Tigra, a more literal cat woman.
The Cat outfit later returned as well, with an issue of The Avengers reintroducing long-running romance heroine Patsy Walker as a Legacy Character successor to Greer, under the name Hellcat.
The Cat contains examples of the following tropes:
- Almost Dead Guy: After Donalbain's men realise that Dr. Tumolo has seen too much, they try to kill her by blowing up her building. Despite an initial shot of a hand poking from the rubble, she survives just long enough to tell Greer what happened, then dies. Or so it seems, anyway — the second issue reveals she's actually survived.
- Amazon Brigade: Mal Donalbain, the first issue's villain, plans to use the Cat suits, Dr. Tumolo's enhancement process and his own Will-Nullifier collars to create an army of physically powerful, mentally enslaved women. He directly describes them as an "army of amazons".
- Animal-Themed Superbeing: The Cat's mask has feline eyes and ears, plus a facial pattern reminiscent of whiskers. The outfit also grants night vision and has claws in its gloves and boots. Greer's boosted agility and improved senses fit with the theme. However, the suit's the creation of villain Mal Donalbain and Dr. Tumolo was unaware of the feline theme when enhancing Greer's abilities - her aim was purely to allow women to access their full physical and mental potential.
- Bad Boss: Mal Donalbain is pretty unpleasant to his associates. When the Cat throws one of Donalbain's goons into him, Donalbain reminds the man that he hates being touched, then has Giant Mook Zabo deliver a punishment beating.
- Brain Uploading: In issue #2, the Owl and his ally Broussard are uploading the minds of their victims to computer tapes, so that their skills and knowledge can be exploited later. The process seems to irreparably damage the victim's brain.
- Create Your Own Hero: Mal Donalbain creates Cat outfits for his brainwashed Amazon Brigade and funds Dr. Tumolo's research into unlocking women's full physical and mental potential as part of the same plan. When he alters the deal and insists that Shirlee must be Tumolo's test subject, the doctor decides to secretly put Greer through the same enhancement process as well. Later, after witnessing Shirlee's death, Tumolo steals a Cat outfit from Donalbain - who then tries to kill her. When Greer faces Donalbain at the end of the first issue, her costume, her intrinsic powers, and her quest for vengeance are all due to the villain's own actions.
- Cut Short: The series was abruptly cancelled after issue #4, despite a 'next issue' teaser. This also meant that Dr. Tumolo's fate was left unclear, as she was last seen comatose after the Owl tried to upload her brain, in #2.
- Dead-Hand Shot:
- When Shirlee falls to her death in the first issue, only her gloved hand is shown. The wires from her Cat suit's claw-hook, which failed to stop her fall, are still connected to the glove's fingertips.
- Subverted with Dr. Tumolo, as a hand is seen poking from the rubble after Donalbain's men blow up the building to kill her, but she's barely alive and lives just long enough to tell Greer what happened. And then the following issue reveals that she actually survived, although she's still unconscious and very badly injured.
- At the end of the first issue, Mal Donalbain chooses to shoot himself rather than let the Cat claw him. Only a dead hand, holding a smoking gun, is shown.
- Disney Villain Death: Shirlee Bryant, Mal Donalbain's chosen test subject for Dr. Tumolo's treatment, is a Flawed Prototype who wasn't properly screened for the process, isn't focused on the training regime, and is stated to be far less capable than Greer. After her skills are further reduced by Donalbain's Will-Nullifier collar, Shirlee tries to swing between two high platforms while Donalbain's testing her abilities, misses a throw with her claw-hook and then falls to her death.
- Driven to Suicide: Mal Donalbain has a terror of being touched. When facing the Cat in a darkened room, with just one bullet left in his gun, he opts to shoot himself rather than let her reach him.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: Greer's husband Will is a Posthumous Character, a police officer shot in a robbery before the series starts. Their romance and marriage is shown in a short montage in the first issue - which also highlights his view that Greer should quit college, be a housewife, and leave the work, driving and DIY to her husband.
- Flawed Prototype: Shirlee Bryant is Mal Donalbain's chosen candidate for Dr. Tumolo's enhancement process and the Cat costume. Shirlee hasn't been through the doctor's testing process and has a very different attitude to Greer, though. Tumolo comments that Greer's progress significantly exceeds Shirlee's - and Shirlee later falls to her death during testing, after Donalbain's Will-Nullifier further reduces her abilities.
- Gender-Restricted Ability: Dr. Tumolo's enhancement process is specifically intended to let women "totally fulfill" their physical and mental potential. There is no direct statement that it wouldn't work on a man, but every conversation about it implies that it's only for women. Dr. Tumolo even comments on the irony of a man funding the research.
- Giant Mook: Zabo is Mal Donalbain's muscle, a huge strongman who never speaks. It's never directly stated, but he seems to be wearing one of his master's Will-Nullifier collars, so may be forced to obey Donalbain.
- He Knows Too Much: The Owl has his own defeated henchmen shot dead before they can be arrested, in case they talk to the police.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Man-Bull starts a stampede during his battle with the Cat, mentally communicating with the cattle penned nearby. When the Cat hits him over the head with an improvised club, he starts to lose consciousness, reverts to his human form, and is promptly trampled by the cattle which he can no longer command.
- How We Got Here: The first issue starts with Greer at night in Chicago, wearing the Cat costume and climbing a tall building in a thunderstorm. Most of the issue is an origin story flashback, showing exactly how she got there.
- Hypno Trinket: Donalbain's Will-Nullifier collars allow him to mentally control anyone who wears one. He plans to use them, along with Dr. Tumolo's research, to create an Amazon Brigade of physically enhanced but mind-controlled women in Cat suits. His Giant Mook Zabo is seemingly controlled in the same way.
- Kill the Lights: The Cat outfit allows Greer to see in the dark, which she exploits by tearing out the fusebox in Donalbain's building. His goons have guns, but they're much easier targets in the dark - as is Donalbain himself.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Dr. Tumolo, who provides Greer with her enhancements, is seemingly killed in the first issue, when Donalbain's men blow up her laboratory. The second issue reveals that she's still alive, but unconscious and may never recover.
- Moving the Goalposts: Mal Donalbain funds Dr. Tumolo's process to physically and mentally enhance women, so that they can "totally fulfill" their potential. Despite the agreement that all test subjects must be pretested and mutually acceptable, he then insists that his associate Shirlee Bryant must be the first woman who's enhanced.
- 90% of Your Brain: Dr. Tumolo's treatment is intended to let any woman "totally fulfill" her physical and mental potential. The result includes enhanced senses, physical speed and strength boosts, and improved memory and comprehension.
- Note from Ed.: The first issue is a How We Got Here tale that starts in the middle of the action. When Greer talks about her training with Dr. Tumolo a footnote immediately reassures readers that they haven't missed anything and it'll all be explained later.
- Posthumous Character: Greer's husband, policeman Bill Nelson, is killed before the start of the first issue, but their relationship is shown via flashbacks and a Falling-in-Love Montage (which also highlights his Stay in the Kitchen views and how they impacted Greer's independence).
- Shout-Out:
- When the Cat confronts Donalbain's thugs at the start of the first issue, she comments that violence begets violence and suggests that they've learned nothing from John and Yoko.
- One scene in the first issue's Training Montage shows Greer leaping between the branches of a large tree. She comments that with a little more practice she'll be able to take on Johnny Weissmuller.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Greer's husband Will is a Posthumous Character, shot before the series starts. The Falling-in-Love Montage of their relationship makes it clear that he pressured her to abandon her studies and become a housewife, leaving things like work, DIY and driving to him.Greer: Don't you think I could drive the new car daddy gave me, Bill?Bill: I'd feel like a fool, baby! Besides — I know more about these things!
- Training Montage: The first issue spends a couple of pages showing scenes from Greer's training regime as Dr. Tumolo helps her adapt to her new abilities. She can read and fully absorb a textbook in under an hour, sense an animal's pain, feel the movement of individual parts in a mechanism and easily leap between the high branches of a huge tree.
- Wolverine Claws: The Cat outfits have a "claw-hook" built into each glove, with five curved metal claws connected together. This can be fired as a projectile, remaining attached to the glove by wires. The claw-hook also allows the wearer to climb walls and swing between buildings.
