| Catman | |
|---|---|
 Catman featured in the artwork for the cover of the third printing ofVillains United #1, art byDale Eaglesham. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #311 (January 1963) |
| Created by | Bill Finger (writer) Jim Mooney (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Thomas Reese Blake |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Secret Six The Misfits |
| Abilities | Olympic-level athlete Skilled hand-to-hand combatant Proficiency with bladed weapons Superb hunter, observant and tracker with an extraordinary sense of smell Mastery of various weapons and equipment |
Catman (Thomas Reese Blake) is a character appearing incomic books published byDC Comics. He is part ofBatman’sgrowing roster of enemies, debuting in the mid-1960s.[1]
For decades, the character rarely appeared in comic books, as Batman stories returned to darker themes. A modern revival of the character in the pages ofGreen Arrow many years later depicted a Catman down on his luck, clinging to past glories, overweight, and pathetic.
In 2006, however, the character was rehabilitated by writerGail Simone, depicting Blake as having picked himself up from the gutter, restoring his physical fitness and gaining a new sense of purpose and dignity while living with lions in Africa. Stories since then have depicted him as anantihero and the leader of the mercenary teamSecret Six.
Catman first appeared inDetective Comics #311 (January 1963) and was created byBill Finger andJim Mooney.[2]
A different Cat-Man once opposed theBlackhawks inBlackhawk #141, but he has no connection with the more prominent Batman villain.
Catman wasThomas Reese Blake, a world-famous hunter who turned to crime because he had grown bored with the job and squandered most of his money.[3] He became a burglar who committed his crimes in a catsuit made of ancient African cloth and modeled afterCatwoman's disguise.[2] Catwoman was none too pleased to have her modus operandi copied, which resulted in Catwoman being wrongly implicated for Catman's crimes at least once, and so she initially helped Batman against him.
As with many Batman villains in their first appearances, Catman was originally agimmicked villain who stole cat-themed items. His weapons of choice were steel claw-tipped gloves and the razor edged "catarang".
Catman would reappear once more, this time revealing that the orange African cloth in his uniform gave him nine lives. The character first shows his capability for good causes when he rescuesBatwoman from nearly dying.[4] He gives her some of his costume fabric, believing she too will have nine lives. He resumes his criminalistic ways, but Batwoman (temporarily infiltrating his trust to be his new partner, with a new costume as "Cat-Woman") reasons the entire cloth has only nine lives, not individual pieces, and manipulates events until Catman only has one remaining. Batwoman attempts to convince him to turn himself in, but Catman attempts to kill her so he can escape, before being defeated by Batman and Robin.[5]
In 1992, Catman appeared inBatman: Shadow of the Bat as a member of a team called "the Misfits", led byKiller Moth.[6] The Misfits were portrayed as third-rate villains trying to prove themselves, foreshadowingBrad Meltzer's treatment of the character inGreen Arrow.
Catman reappeared in a 1995crossover betweenShadow of the Bat andCatwoman. In this story, the cloth that Catman's costume was made from wasretconned as belonging to aSouth Sea cat cult. Catwoman was hired by the cult to return the cloth, but gave them a fake.[7]
Catman remained in limbo until 2003, when he resurfaced as a foe ofGreen Arrow. Written by Brad Meltzer, Catman was portrayed as a pathetic, overweight loser who was looked down upon by other villains and who is easily defeated by Green Arrow. His hair had been dyed black, which he thought "made [him] look tougher".[8]
Monsieur Mallah sendsWarp to abduct Blake, the implication being that Catman had met a rather grisly end as Mallah's dinner; this situation is alluded to by Blake, when he joins the Secret Six: "You know you've hit rock bottom when a monkey and a Frenchman don't consider you worth killing".[9] When he later meets Mallah, he comments that he has no desire to see the gorilla's stomach again.[9]
In the 2005 mini-seriesVillains United, Catman resurfaced in Africa, where he attempted to resalvage his life and began living with a pride oflions.[10] He used this time to lose weight and regain his sense of self-worth and fighting skills. This 'perfect existence' would be shattered by the arrival of theSecret Society of Super Villains, however. Seeking to unite all of Earth's super-villains under his control,Lex Luthor (secretlyAlexander Luthor Jr. of the originalEarth-Three in disguise) sought to recruit Catman into the fold as a minion, only to be rejected. It was initially believed that an angry Lex Luthor hadDeathstroke kill the lions Catman was living with in retaliation for being rejected by a "nobody" but this was later revealed to have been a misdirection.
Catman vowed revenge against Luthor, and was subsequently recruited into a criminal syndicate known as theSecret Six. Together, the Secret Six waged war against the Secret Society of Super Villains under the direction of an individual known only as Mockingbird. During that time he found out that it was in fact fellow Secret Six memberDeadshot who had killed his lions, so that he would join the organization. Deadshot would later apologize, and Catman forgave him. Although the two were reluctant allies at first, the two soon bonded and became what one could loosely call friends.
UnderVillains United writerGail Simone, Catman has achieved a new level of fame. Portrayed as a cunning warrior with a sense of honor, the character is now a potentantihero. He is depicted with physical abilities that allow him to fight Monsieur Mallah to a standstill and blindCaptain Nazi.
He is different from most other Batman villains in the sense that he has noble and heroic qualities. WhileCheshire notes that Blake behaves more like a hero than a villain, he sees heroes such as theJustice League as being arrogant and abusive of their power, as seen when he confrontsGreen Arrow about theDoctor Light incident. It has been revealed that during his time with the Six he impregnated Cheshire and that the two now have a son, Thomas Jr.
In Gail Simone'sBirds of Prey #104, the Secret Six run intoBarbara 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 ofIce. Commenting upon Catman's reasonings, Knockout claimed that he had "gone soft".
In 2008'sSalvation Run #3, Catman and former Secret Six teammatesScandal andRag Doll are depicted amongst DC's larger villain population, exiled on a faraway planet.
Catman reappeared in the newSecret Six ongoing series, which takes place after the events of Salvation Run. Blake spent some time back in Africa, where he brutally attacked a gang of poachers and may have left them for dead. His actions have led Catman to wonder if he has the temperament to be on the side of the angels.
It was in his role as leader of the Secret Six that Catman faced Batman again after many years. Batman tried to warn Catman and his team to not accept their mission to break someone out of Alcatraz. The non-personal warning did not work, so Batman went to confront Catman. Catman said in response: "The old me? Probably would've whooped his milk and cookies". He made no hesitation to throw the first punch at the Dark Knight. During the fight, Batman even offered to pay the Secret Six off, but to no avail. Catman's main goal was just to keep Batman distracted as the Secret Six brokeTarantula out of prison.
After the cancellation of the series in August 2011, Gail Simone revealed that Catman will be written as bisexual, and that she had planned to reveal this in a story arc that was cut short by the September 2011 DCrelaunch.[11] Simone has also said that she plans to make this canon the next time she writes Catman in a book.[11]
InThe New 52 continuity reboot, Catman made his debut, with an updated outfit, in the December 2014reboot ofSecret Six. In the first issue of the series, he is captured by a mysterious group and is put in a strange holding cell with the new team. As Simone had promised in her earlier tweet, his bisexuality was confirmed in the issue when he is seen flirting with both a man and a woman.[12]
Catman is an Olympic-level athlete and skilled hand-to-hand combatant, able to hold his own against some of the most proficient beings and fighters in the DC universe, includingBronze Tiger, Batman, and an actual lion. He is also one of the world's foremost hunters and trackers, possessing an extraordinary sense of smell and sight. He is also a skillful observant with the accurate ability to notice and perceive things.
He wears razor-tipped gauntlets and uses a sharp-edged Catarang, modeled after Batman's Batarang, and a utility belt similar to Batman's. The belt frequently has a smiley face button, a trophy he claimed from a misleading pilot on a mission with the Secret Six. Catman has claimed several times, both in his early appearances and modern ones, that his cape is mystical and able to restore mortal wounds.
He was once the owner of a pet Siberian tiger namedRasputin, which was trained and helped him commit crimes. Rasputin has not been utilized in his modern appearances to date.
In 2013,ComicsAlliance ranked Catman as #9 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".[21]
