Publication History
In 1979, creator Marv Wolfman was looking for a female foil for Spider-Woman. He decided to base a character on a Tex Avery cartoon "Bad Luck Blackie", in which a black cat brought misfortune to anyone in close proximity. The Black Cat's costume and appearance were designed by Dave Cockrum.
When Wolfman changed writing assignments within Marvel Comics to The Amazing Spider-Man, he brought his character with him. On the bottom of the letters page of The Amazing Spider-Man #194, a thumbnail of the intended cover for Spider-Woman #9 appear along with a rejected cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #194.
The Black Cat is sometimes mistakenly considered an homage to DC's Catwoman, yet Felicia Hardy's signature low-cut black costume, cat burglar profession, and steady relationship to Spider-Man predate Selina Kyle's similar depiction in comics by almost a decade. Catwoman originally appeared in comics as "the Cat", a maskless pickpocket in a green dress and unrequited love interest for Batman, but later became a supervillain who used big cats for elaborate crimes. Although she was eventually given a black catsuit and was a romantic interest in the 1966-1968 live-action Batman television series, her modern incarnation combining these elements did not occur in comic books until 1987 with Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. Wolfman said in an interview, "I didn't plan Black Cat to be in Spidey. I created her for Spider-Woman (look at the letter column of the first B.C. story and you’ll see). I then decided to leave Spider-Woman and moved her over. So, I never even thought of Catwoman when I did her. I got the idea for her from a Tex Avery cartoon, Bad Luck Blackie."
Writer/director Kevin Smith began writing the Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do miniseries in 2002. After the third issue the series went on a hiatus until 2005, when Smith revealed he had finally finished writing the scripts. Smith has stated, "While I have zero defense for my lateness (particularly when folks like Bendis turn out great stories in multiple books on a monthly basis), I will say this: it's a much better story now than it would've been had I completed it back in '02."
In the mid-2000s, she starred alongside Wolverine in a limited comic book miniseries titled Claws. A sequel to this miniseries, entitled Claws II, began publication in July 2011. Black Cat was a lead character in the 2006-2007 Heroes for Hire series.
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