Catman (DC)
Catman is a male comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Thomas Reese Blake
Blake then went into the business of capturing big cats that he sold to circuses and zoos with this being both dangerous as well as exciting. He was known to had gone to India where he went about trapping tigers to sell to the circus. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
At the club, he was met by Bruce Wayne who was surprised at seeing the famous 'cat-master' with Blake stating that he had retired from the business. According to him, this was because he knew all the habits of the big cats to the point that hunting them was dull routine and boring. To alleviate his boredom, he decided to become a costumed criminal in order to place his wits against Batman and took on the guise of the Catman. His first crime involved striking at the Gotham Museum's new Egyptian wing to steal the statue of the goddess Bast whilst Batman and Robin were present at the scene. An encounter with Batwoman resulted in Cat-Man falling hard for the beautiful heroine and inviting her to join him as "the king and queen of crime." She sneered at the proposal and Blake never had a chance to make a second offer. Batman and Robin discovered their adversary's true identity and trailed him to an underground catacomb, where the Cat-Man seemed to perish when he plunged into a raging underground river. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
Despite his seeming death, Catman had miraculously survived unscathed by his plunge into the cataract, and he launched a new series of crimes in Gotham City revolving around fictional cats. Robin could not help but wonder why Blake hadn't simply relocated to a city without costumed crimefighters but Batman observed that "he's in love with Batwoman, remember? I think he hopes to win her by proving he's a better man than I am." After his first crime, Catman saved Batwoman's life and tells her he would like to have her as her partner before leaving the crime scene. During Catman's second crime, Batwoman made the mistake that foiled Batman and Robin's pursuit of the costumed villain. Batman seemingly thought that Batwoman did this on purpose to repay the criminal for saving her life and Batwoman decided to leave Batman and seemingly join Catman instead. Indeed, Cat-Man even orchestrated a chase between him and his beloved so that he could save her life. Even as she acknowledged his evil, Batwoman admitted that she could not help having mixed feelings about him. For a time, Blake seemed to have won the woman of his dreams when Batwoman broke her ties with the Dark Knight and agreed to be the Cat-Man's partner. If she'd questioned his feelings for her before, Batwoman had all doubts erased by the huge portrait of her that hung in Cat-Man's subway tunnel lair and the Cat-Woman costume that Blake had created for his queen. Having ingratiated herself into Blake's confidence, Batwoman summoned Batman and Robin for another inconclusive duel. Cat-Man was seemingly killed when his speedboat hit a buoy and exploded. (Detective Comics v1 #318)
It was later revealed that the reason why Cat-Man managed to survive those deadly accidents was because part of his Cat-suit was made of a magical cloth that granted the wearer nine lives, just like a cat. When Cat-Man learned of this, he used it to his advantage, escaping from Batman and Robin by exposing his life. However, it was Batwoman who deduced Cat-Man's plan and she used her own Cat-Woman costume in order to stop the Cat-Man. Blake was finally arrested and taken to prison. (Detective Comics v1 #325)
Several years later, Catman returned to Gotham and initially, Catwoman was blamed for his crimes. The truth was eventually discovered by Catwoman and Batman, who tracked down Catman to his lair. (Batman v1 #323) Catman used a deadly trap to eliminate them while he travelled to Greece to sell the stolen goods in return for his own private island, which he planned to turn into a criminal haven/retreat. His plans were foiled by Batman and Catwoman, who tracked him down and caused his apparent demise in the ensuing confrontation. Although, because of the magical properties of his suit, Catman survived. (Batman v1 #324)
Cat-Man survived the eruption and cheated death once more but he had been left with scar on his left temple. He returned to Gotham in the fall of 1981 with revenge against Catwoman on his mind. Seeking revenge against Batman and Catwoman, Catman returned to Gotham and tried to retrieve the missing part of his costume to restore his scarred face. This saw him kidnapping Selina, leaving Batman for dead and retrieving the piece of his cape that Catwoman had donated to the Wayne Foundation for research. Cat-Man had convinced himself that uniting both pieces of the cape would heal his scars but he was sadly mistaken. He prepared to take out his frustrations on the securely-bound Selina, vowing that "if they ever find your body -- they'll have to bury it in a closed coffin!" Instead, Batman burst in and briefly dodged Cat-Man's blows before knocking him off of his yacht into Gotham Bay. Unable to swim, Tom Blake was forced to beg for his life. It was fitting, the Dark Knight thought, "for as everyone knows, cats HATE water". (Detective Comics v1 #509)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. According to one account, Thomas Blake was the son of a woman whose husband abandoned her leaving mother and child in poverty. This resulted in Thomas's mother abusing him both verbally and physically that led to him thinking he was evil and develop a hatred of women. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #47)
Later on after a long absence, Catman resurfaced when his pet tiger escaped and started killing people in Gotham. Although Catman tried to take the tiger back, he took the chance to confront Batman, forcing him to fight the animal. Batman managed to capture the tiger and Catman was attacked by Catwoman, who sought to clear her name after she was blamed for Catman's crimes. Despite his utter defeat, Catman was not captured. (Detective Comics v1 #612)
Catman resurfaced as a minor foe of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen). It was shown that Catman had become a pathetic, overweight loser, looked down upon by other villains and defeated by Green Arrow without any real effort. His hair had been dyed black, which he thought "made [him] look tougher," and not only was he still hitting his girlfriends, but he apparently wore his old costume under his regular clothes. At one point, over an old grudge, Monsieur Mallah sent Warp to abduct Blake, the implication being that he had met a rather grisly end as Mallah's dinner. (Green Arrow v3 #20)
Afterwards, he came to settle in the wilds of Africa where he stayed with a pride of lions which he found to be a perfect existence for him. Around this time, he was approached by Doctor Psycho and Talia al Ghul on behalf of the Secret Society of Super Villains who were looking to unite all the world's villain population together under Lex Luthor's control. They came to recruit Catman as a footsoldier in their ranks but he came to refuse their offer and instead wanted to remain in his new peaceful life. Later on, he came to find that his lions had all been killed seemingly at the hands of Luthor with Catman vowing revenge as a result. During this time, he came to be one of a number of people brought together by the mysterious Mockingbird who brought a team together known as the Secret Six. Among them also included Deadshot, Cheshire, Scandal Savage, Rag Doll Peter Merkel Jr. and a rogue Parademon where they were brought together to oppose the the Society. (Villains United v1 #1)
The Secret Six run into Barbara Gordon's team. Huntress and Catman – out of disguise – dance together, with hints of an attraction. The two teams battle, six members for six, Catman paired against Huntress amidst sexual innuendo, but the fray ends with the resurrection of Ice. Commenting upon Catman's reasonings, Knockout claimed that he had 'gone soft'. (Birds of Prey v1 #104)
Catman along with Scandal and Rag Doll were both among the supervillain population that came to be exiled to the uninhabited world of Salvation. (Salvation Run v1 #3)
After returning to Earth, Catman re-joined the ranks of the Secret Six. Catman joined Bane and Ragdoll on a mission to stop criminals in Gotham City after Batman's death. Catman and Bane had a discussion about their suitable positions to take place as Gotham's vigilantes. Their hopes, however, were crushed when Nightwing banished them from Gotham and they decided to move on as the Secret Six. (Secret Six v3 #9)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Thomas Blake
Blake came to be recruited into the Secret Six after being abducted with five other super-villains where they received instructions from the mysterious 'Mockingbird'. (Secret Six v4 #1)
Years later, Catman fought Plastic Man with his Secret Six teammates Jeanette and Rag Doll. (Plastic Man v5 #4) Later on, he was seen partying with several other super-villains on Zandia. (The Flash v5 #61)
He joined a group of supervillains including Icicle, Multiplex and Rampage as they decided to take their criminal activities outside the country. This saw them travelling to the Mathali Island in the Arabian Sea where they toppled the government and decided to take over a hotel as a place to relax. The villains were then pursued by the Special Crimes Task Force who had assistance from the Justice League to apprehend the group. After seeing his teammates being captured, Catman attempted to flee only to be caught by Batman. Whilst in a prison vehicle, they lamented that they had no place to escape from superheroes though Rampage had heard of a place called Kahndaq where they faced the possibility of being freed by one of Multiplex's clones. (Justice League: Endless Winter v1 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Upon becoming a criminal, he decided to take the name of the Catman. (Detective Comics v1 #311) At one point, he was considered a serial killer who the media referred to as the Cat-Killer. (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #47)
Such was his reputation that he was a famous 'cat-master'. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
Seeking a new challenge, he decided to become a masked vigilante though at first he thought this would simply make him a rival crime-fighter to Batman. Thus, he decided to become the Batman's adversary and pit his wits in a thrilling exciting adventure. He decided that like the Joker he would become a unique criminal and based his crimes on a theme leading to his adoption of the Catman identity. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
He believed that there was no feeling in the world like the thrill of the hunt. (Detective Comics v1 #612)
One incarnation of him was shown as being bisexual where he flirted with both men and women. (Secret Six v4 #1)
Powers and abilities
He knew a great deal of knowledge and lore regarding cats. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
Blake had a kit-bag that allowed him to store a range of equipment and items. Part of his costume included gimmicked claws that allowed him to slash out against foes. He also utilised a cat-line that was a hoist rope that h could throw to latch onto a location through a claw that served as a grappling hook. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
He kept a number of tame big cats such as the black panther Felina. (Detective Comics v1 #311) Catman was also the owner of a pet Siberian tiger named Rasputin, which was trained and helped him commit crimes. (Detective Comics v1 #612)
Catman once used a special cat-themed car that he called his cat car that was modified with special springs that allowed it to make cat-like leaps. (Detective Comics v1 #311)
Notes
- Catman was created by Bill Finger and Jim Mooney where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #311 (January, 1963).
- In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Catman as #9 on their list of the '50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics'.
- On Tumblr, writer Gail Simone wrote that, "Catman is bisexual, and when we bring him back, that will be explicitly in canon."
Alternate Versions
- In Flashpoint: Grodd of War v1 #1 (2011), an alternate version of Catman appeared in the altered reality of the Flashpoint. He as shown as being the leader of the South African resistance against Gorilla Grodd. Catman came t be brutally murdered by Grodd allowing the villain to gain total control over Africa.
In other media
Television
- In The New Batman Adventures, Catman appeared in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe in the episode "Cult of the Cat" where he was voiced by actor Scott Cleverdon.
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Catman appeared in the animated television series in the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite" where he was voiced by actor Thomas F. Wilson.
Films
- In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Catman made a cameo appearance in the animated film where he had a non-voiced role.
- In Injustice, Catman made a cameo appearance in the setting of the animated film adaptation where he was shown in one scene at the "The World's End" bar.
Video games
- In Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame, Catman appeared in the setting of the video game tie-in to the animated series where he was voiced again by actor Thomas F. Wilson.
- In Batman: Arkham Origins, Catman was referenced in the setting of the video game.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1963)
- Batman v1:
- Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1:
- Villains United v1:
- Secret Six v2:
- Secret Six v3:
- Salvation Run v1:
- Secret Six v4:
- Justice League: Endless Winter v1:
External Links
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