Two Spider-Man comics. One One Black Cat. Did either of them get Felicia right? Amazing Spider-Man #87 comes courtesy of writer Jed MacKay, artist Carlos Gómez, colorist Bryan Valenza, and letterer Joe Caramagna. Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1 is (also) written by Jed MacKay, drawn by C.F. Villa, colored by Erick Arciniega, and lettered by Travis Lanham.
We all have that ex in our lives — the person that wasn’t right for you, maybe that brought out the worst in you, but you had a hell of a lot of fun while it lasted. For Peter Parker, that ex is Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. Unfortunately for Felicia, that has meant for thirty years, writers haven’t known what to do with her. In the era of Spider-Man Beyond, it sure looks like something has clicked.
The Black Cat is one of Marvel’s best antiheroes. Unfortunately, since Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson got married, no one’s really known what to do with her. Marvel staffers have seemed to think that she needs Peter to exist in the Marvel Universe. That’s meant she’s had some tough times over the years.
Her history between breaking up with Peter and today has wildly swung through every cliche you could think of. It has ranged from harassing Peter and MJ to physically threatening her. She’s dated one of Peter’s best friends just to make him jealous (and naturally because that plot couldn’t be more cliched, she realized she truly loved Flash Thompson but had to break up with him).
She dated another cat-themed anti-hero, the Puma, for a while (at least it wasn’t another Spider, though Ollie Osnick could have used the self-esteem boost). She joined a B-list team during Civil War (like almost every D-list and above hero). She lost and regained her powers (when writers even remembered she had them). She even went full supervillain for a while in an attempt to become a new Kingpin. That even leaves out a massive amount of time in which she was in character limbo, with one of the only times she got pulled out of limbo being that point when editorial decided she needs a tragic and unnecessarily violent backstory to be interesting (I’m looking at you Kevin Smith).
To say that Felicia has been mistreated is an understatement. No one could figure out what to do with her, even with the golden concept of “thief with a heart of gold” sitting RIGHT THERE. And it’s all seemingly because of writers and editors who don’t know what to do with a former love interest, as if they couldn’t look to their own lives and their own exes.
After all that, she was brought back into the limelight and pulled away from her Kingpin phase by Nick Spencer (the only retcon I’ll ever thank Nick Spencer for). Immediately afterwards, Jed MacKay finally hit the formula for Black Cat with his long run on her solo series. She doesn’t need to be a victim. She doesn’t need to be a crime boss. Heists are fun, she’s a thief, let her be a damn thief. It’s a formula that works so well, and honestly better than a lot of heroes — she always has a drive forward. It’s a motivation that I hope either MacKay or someone else picks up in the near future.
But what about the role she originated in? Her home, if you will, as a part of Peter Parker’s supporting cast? Spider-Man Beyond has hinted at that role, and it gets laid out perfectly in Amazing Spider-Man #87 and Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond #1. In Peter’s life, Felicia Hardy is not the one who got away, or the girl still carrying a torch. She’s the best friend that shares a deep platonic love that’s closer to family than romance. It’s a fascinating bond that we see on display in these two issues.
In Mary Jane & Black Cat, the duo are recruited (read: coerced) into re-stealing the Hood’s demonically enhanced hood. It’s a job that Felicia takes on knowing that if she doesn’t, Peter will try to save the day, and that could go poorly for him in his still weakened state. It’s a delightful team-up between two of the most important women in Peter’s life, but it’s also an examination of the differences between the two of them. The issue shows necessary growth: MJ realizes she shouldn’t be threatened by Felicia, while Felicia makes it clear that she knows she’s not Peter’s true love any more. Though it’s not the focus of the issue it’s an important bit of character building.
Amazing Spider-Man takes that same idea and applies it directly to Peter and Felicia’s interactions. It’s obvious that Felicia cares deeply about Peter, which is why she wants him back to 100%. After her team-up with Ben Reilly in the Death of Doctor Strange: Spider-Man one-shot, she seems to know a confrontation between the two Spider-Men is inevitable. She also wants Peter to be ready for that, on top of getting him back up to speed. Even better, she has a hell of a lot of fun doing it alongside Steve Rogers.
In just two issues, MacKay and his collaborators have done what thirty years of creators have struggled to do. Though I hope to see a return to her solo adventures sooner rather than later, he’s now given her a mission statement as a supporting cast member of Spider-Man’s. She’s closer than a friend, and has a foot in both sides of Peter’s world. She can understand the super side of his life better than MJ, but doesn’t want to replace her. Plus, she can always take Peter down a peg, which he needs sometimes.
It’s a lot in two issues, but it does work that’s needed to be done with the character for actual decades. Let’s just hope future Spider-writers remember how to do it.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. He’s also very humble.
