Overview
- Thomas Blake a.k.a. the Catman is a notorious super-criminal and core member of the Secret Six. An expert game hunter and mercenary by profession, Blake is an antagonist to Batman, using identical methods with cats as his theme. Along with being a skilled athlete, his abilities as an exceptional tracker are unparalleled due to time spent among lions in the African wilderness.
- Fearless, confident, and a self-proclaimed warrior, he seems to have reformed from his criminal ways to an extent, and is comfortable to straddle the line between hero and villain.
Related article links (1)
BatmanBackground
- Thomas Blake was a former wealthy socialite from Gotham City who trained himself to become a professional jungle cats hunter. His dedication to this hobby caused him to squander his fortune and without any resources, he decided to turn to crime. At first, he considered becoming a vigilante, but since Batman was already working in Gotham, Blake decided to adopt the identity of the costumed criminal, Cat-Man. Blake was partially inspired by the animals he had devoted his life to capture and the notorious former criminal, Catwoman, who had retired from crime. As Cat-Man, Blake started a criminal spree and often stole cat-themed items, like valuable cat statues. Batman and Robin eventually deduced Blake's secret identity thanks to Batwoman, who had confronted Cat-Man moments later. Cat-Man tried to fight the Dynamic Duo using a giant cat robot, but the heroes destroyed the machine and just as Cat-Man tried to escape, he was carried away by a nearby river, after which he was presumed dead.
- Cat-Man soon returned to Gotham with a new criminal plan. During this time, he managed to recruit Batwoman and Blake provided her with a Cat-Woman costume, which resembled his own Cat-Man outfit. However, this was a mistake on Blake's part, as Batwoman led Batman and Robin to his hideout and he was forced to retreat on a boat, which crashed on the sea, apparently killing him.
- 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.
- 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. 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. 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. Although he managed to capture Catwoman and retrieved his costume, he was defeated by Batman and Blake learned that his magical costume didn't work anymore.
New Earth
- Thomas Blake's origin remained mostly unchanged after the Crisis on Infinite Earths altered reality and continuity. In his childhood, Thomas and his mother were abandoned by Thomas' father. Being left in poverty led his mother to abuse him verbally and physically. Eventually, the abuse made him internalize that he was evil and made him develop a hatred for women. Although Catman began his criminal career as just a cat-themed version of Batman, his gimmicks were mostly considered laughable by the general community and he was never taken seriously.
Involvement
- Catman currently does not appear in the game
Trivia
- Catman first appeared in Detective Comics #311 (January 1963)
- Catman was initially one of the more colorful and camp supervillains to join Batman’s growing roster of enemies in the mid-1960s. For decades, the character rarely appeared in comic books, as Batman stories returned to darker themes.
- Despite still upholding poor regard for the law, Cat-Man has become an anti-hero for his intermittent code of honor.
- Even without metahuman senses, Catman is able to follow and identify scents.
- Catman is a very talented fighter with skills good enough to combat Batman and Bronze Tiger, some of the greatest fighters in the DCU. He has a preference for using bladed weapons like knives or these specialty blades he holds like claws. Other weapons in Catman's arsenal include is his diamond-tipped Catarangs, sharpened to penetrate many things. These were copied from Batman's very own Batarangs.
- Catman has never been taken seriously as a super-villain, and has become a forgotten member of Batman's Rouges Gallery.
- Catman’s future self died fighting Batman Beyond, but awoke in Mephisto’s realm and joined the Mephisto Corps in Superverse . But like all the others, the future self of Cat Man died in the destruction of Mephisto’s realm.
Gallery
External Links
- Wikipedia: Catman (DC Comics)
- DC Database: Catman (disambiguation)