The first episode for "The City that Never Sleeps", a Spider-Man PS4 DLC came and went. Obviously it features the unforgettable Black Cat... a feline based thief that seems to resemble a certain DC character quite a bit. Regardless, this is another one of those 'personal feelings' post rather than a review of the "The Heist". My take on the duo of Spider and Cat and a small insight of the time I have spent with these characters. So, here we go!
It should come to no surprise that Felicia Hardy has been part of the Spider-Man lore for quite some time now. Appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (1979), Black Cat officially started out as a villainess for Spider-Man (a lot of similarities between her and Catwoman, yes we all know). Naturally we all find out that Felicia isn't just the normal crook that Spidey fought during the younger years of the Marvel Universe... she had a good heart and a heart for gold, so it's kind of a mess for Spidey. He got tangled up with her and they became an on and off thing and for me personally, I found their relationship pretty interesting. Something about Felicia that brought a side of Peter that I found more appealing and fun compared to his relationship with Maryjane. I guess he felt more 'free' and definitely more fun-spirited. I guess to quote a song: "Young, wild, and free".
As far as Felicia, I like how Parker's way, how straight arrow he is, truly confused her. It caused her to stray from her usual antics. She has the blood of a thief and is naturally piqued by anything shiny, by the idea of riches and power, but with Spider-Man by her side, the Black Cat has done things more heroic than she has done bad.
And over the years of her fascination for him, Black Cat has gotten herself into some pretty deep trouble with Spider-Man's villains. In fact, the storyline that I was introduced to the whole Black Cat and Spider-Man relationship was during the days when Spidey was wearing the Black Costume (not the symbiote version) and Felicia got herself involved with the Kingpin unintentionally just for the sake of gaining super powers herself. From how I took it, she wanted to be 'good enough' to be with Spider-Man. Isn't that something?
That story arc and those times with Black Cat lasted for quite a bit. I may not have read every single one, but I do remember that Peter and Felicia spent a lot of time adventuring together and that's also what made their relationship go deeper and beyond partners. They shared some pretty intimate times together and it's nothing to forget when it comes to Spider-Man's history. Sure Spidey was in love with Gwen and definitely is written to soul mates with Maryjane, but the time Peter and Felicia cannot be forgotten. At least, I don't disregard it because I honestly felt that the two shared some happy times and their feelings carried on to future interaction between the two--even through Peter's marriage, through multiverse shenanigans, and all the other earth shattering events that happened. I'd like to think that someday the writers of today can even remotely remember those days. Sure, a lot of it was out of this modern time with the themes and all the shenanigan, but hey, at least they can reference or at least take note that the two went through a lot together. Let them at least take part in the idea that Felicia can at least listen when Peter tells her that the guy who punched her wasn't the Peter that she used to know.
It's obvious that Felicia gave Peter more than enough grief. Quite recently she became the Kingpin of crime (however that story works anyways) and you know, did what a kingpin of crime does. And as I mentioned, I won't go in depth with the DLC, but Black Cat has done plenty to give Spider-Man a run for his money, shake the stability of his emotions, and other things that really has me thinking that there's more to it than face value. Perhaps there is a real misdirection?
Oh, she also sold his blood at one point..... wow Felicia.
Now I know I glanced over a lot of years, a lot of history, and a lot of shenanigans between the two. I basically mentioned the things that I remembered, the things I am familiar with, and some of the moments that really stuck out to me. I'm not trying to convince anyone that Black Cat is the best thing that happened to Spider-Man both the comic as a whole and the character within the fictional world. I just want to really remember and mention just how fun these two really are. While Black Cat as the main attraction in the recent DLC only got a few moments of glory, I do hope that they explore this more. I hope that Felicia is is still in the next segment because let me just say, we are left with a damn cliffhanger. In the event that Black Cat still gets featured in the next two chapters and her 'misdirection' is explored, I'm well aware that they are not going to pair the two together like that. But hey, I at least want a bit more exploration on Black Cat's side and how she feels about Spider-Man and not just, you know, how she treated him in that DLC.
Before I conclude this post, I just want to say that I love the Scarlet Spider II costume. Has always been my favorite look to a Spider-Man second to the Black Spider-Man. As soon as I got it, I used it like crazy and obviously, with every cut scenes, it was all I wore. I wonder what will be the next Spidey suit I'll wear?
Okay, so I wore the "Dark Spider-Man" a lot! Oh and one more thing, did I mention I love the voice acting in this game? Of course I didn't! I never did that review on the game!
Until Next Time!
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