'Spider-Man' PS4 DLC Update: Who Is Black Cat in "The Heist" in "The Heist"?
by Corey PlanteIf your knowledge of Spider-Man only comes from the various live-action movies, the latest update to Spidey’s PS4-exclusive video game) may come as a surprise. The new DLC introduces Black Cat, a fan favorite who never made it into any of the films.
So who is Felicia Hardy, AKA the Black Cat? Here’s what you need to know. Here’s what you need to know.
Created by Marv Wolfman in 1979, Black Cat was originally intended as a dark foil to Spider-Woman, but when Wolfman began working on the Spider-Man comic instead, he brought the character with him. Black Cat first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 and has seen some changes over the years.
As a feline-themed cat burglar, Black Cat is ostensibly Marvel’s answer to Catwoman. MAs a feline-themed cat burglar, Black Cat is ostensibly Marvel’s answer to Catwoman. Much like her DC Comics counterpart, Felicia Hardy has served as a villain, anti-hero, sidekick, and lover to the principal male hero. Other than his relationships with Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy, the man behind the mask’s other important romance is with Hardy. But it’s complicated by the fact that she’s more interested in Spider-Man than she is the man behind the mask.
Black Cat has a much more practical costume in 'Spider-Man' for PS4.
In most iterations, Hardy doesn’t start out with any superpowers. Instead, and uses high-tech gadgets and athletic skills to steal artifacts and jewels.
Over the years, Hardy’s also acquired luck-altering powers similar to that of Domino and even cat powers such as heightened agility and the ability to see in the dark. Her first appearance came with the title “Never Let the Black Cat Cross Your Path!” because she was able to influence Spider-Man by giving him bad luck that caused him to trip.
In other cases, like Spider-Man: The Animated Series from the 1990s, an experiment conducted by Kingpin on Felicia Hardy with the Captain America super-soldier serum gives her similar powers to Cap’s. But she’s also able to transform in and out of a superpowered form that changes her hair color for some reason.
So far, it seems like the the Spider-Man video game video game’s Black Cat is a more realistic non-powered version of the character. Whether or not that’s the case, the new DLC will likely delve into her personal history with Spider-Man. The base game offered plenty of hints that Spider-Man and Black Cat have been romantically involved in the past. It’s also implied that they were crimefighting partners before she went back to her thieving ways and left New York City, but not before Spider-Man confronted her and confiscated her costume and gear.
Black Cat often flirts with Spider-Man, but she's less interested in Peter Parker.
Spider-Man for PS4 includes a lengthy side quest that teases Black Cat’s return, but we don’t actually meet the feline antagonist until early in The Heist DLC when when Felicia Hardy executes a string of robberies across the city and hideses small black cat dolls in the various locations for Spidey to find. The quest culminates in the player receiving a special Spider-Man suit designed by Black Cat, but it also ends with Felicia retrieving her Black Cat costume and gear.
As a whole, Spider-Man for PS4 exploress a unique, new continuity only loosely inspired by other Spider-Man stories. So it doesn’t follow any sort of pre-existing comics canon. Therefore, it’s tough to predict what might happen with the character moving forward.
But in an interview with Game Informer, the game’s Creative Director Bryan Intihar hinted at a number of surprises in the first major expansion.
“I think it’s a very self-contained story that does a really great job with Black Cat,” said Inithar. “Black Cat’s performance is great, and we do some twists and turns I don’t think people will expect with the character. There’s a lot of great humor in there — some really fun missions that build upon what we already did and even some missions that I think I was like ‘oh I wish we thought of this for [the main game].’”
Considering the flirtatious dynamic between Black Cat and Spider-Man, introducing Hardy before Peter and MJ got back together might’ve made for a much more dramatic and fun story to tell. Maybe that’s what Inithar means when he talks about wishing they’d thought of something for the main game? We can only hope
Spider-Man: The Heist will be released for PS4 on Tuesday, October 23,, with Turf Wars due out in November and Silver Lining in December.
