Walter Hardy
| The Cat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979) |
| Created by |
Marv Wolfman Keith Pollard |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Walter Hardy |
| Notable aliases | John Hardesky |
The Cat (Walter Hardy) is a fictional anti-hero from the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979).[1]
The Cat is a world-renowned cat burglar who was arrested due to his various acts of burglary.
Fictional character biography
Father of Felicia Hardy and the husband of Lydia Hardy, this sneaky man was the only one who knew the formula of making a so-called Super-Soldier. The reason for that was because of when he was a just a boy, a group of Nazis (including the sinister Red Skull) used Walter to sneak inside a building where an experiment was taking place turning Steve Rogers into the amazing hero Captain America. Walter used his astonishing picture-memory to memorize the formula that made Captain America and brought it back to the Nazis but refused to give it to them after finding out that if he told them the Axis Powers would probably win World War II.
After The Cat's arrest, his daughter Felicia later adapted his devices and methods as the Black Cat.
Powers and Abilities
The Cat has a miniature grappling hook device, which enables him to swing from buildings in a manner similar to Spider-Man, though not quite as fast. He can also use the cable from this device as a tightrope, wall scaling device, swing line, and/or as a weapon in combat.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
The Ultimate Marvel version of the character is identified as Jack Hardy and is seen on a list of known cat burglars in the Daily Bugle database. [2]
In other media
Television
- The Cat appeared in the Spider-Man episodes "The Cat" and "The Black Cat", voiced by John Phillip Law. The character's name is changed to John Hardesky but is still similar to his comic counterpart. As a boy, he was tricked by the Nazis into spying on the Captain America experiment and had a picture-memory of it. When he found out who the real Nazis were, he evaded them and managed to give them the slip. Years later, he is shown in protective S.H.I.E.L.D. custody until the Kingpin had the Chameleon replace him so that Kingpin can get the formula from Walter Hardy to make his own super-soldiers. Upon learning it, Kingpin decided to arrange a "family reunion" by having Doctor Octopus kidnap Felicia Hardy. After a reacquaintance with her father, Felicia becomes a test subject to the super-soldier formula and becomes the Black Cat. After some encounters with Black Cat, Spider-Man followed her to Kingpin's hideout and freed her and Walter. Walter managed to dispose of the super-soldier serum before Herbert Landon could duplicate it. With Kingpin's plan thwarted, Walter was willingly returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
- Walter Hardy's character amalgamated with the Burglar appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by James Remar. In a flashback accessed by the symbiote, he is shown robbing Sullivan Edwards and escapes in the elevator like in the 2002 movie. After Peter Parker was told by Aunt May that Uncle Ben has been shot, Spider-Man finds out that the one who did this was chased to an abandoned warehouse. Though the burglar falls out of the window like he did in the movie, Spider-Man saves him and leaves him for the police. In the episode "Opening Night", the burglar's identity as the Black Cat's father was revealed to Spider-Man. Black Cat came to bust him out of the Vault at the time when Spider-Man was testing it out. Even though Black Cat wanted him to escape with her, Walter decides to remain in the Vault to atone for Ben's murder.
References
- ↑ Comic Vine, Walter Hardy first appearance.
- ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man #53