Now, I know what you are thinking...what about the Invaders reviews?

Rest assured, I will complete that. But sometimes, you need a break and I have a lot of reading to do. One of the things in my long box of reading is The Cat #1-4. Perhaps this has been done, but I feel like I should review it with my own perspective. Once again, I know very little about this character. I do know that The Cat (along with Night Nurse and Shanna The She-Devil) were three creations that Stan and Roy came up with after they felt the need for books with a female solo lead. And correct me if I am wrong, but in terms of the Silver/Bronze Age, the Cat would be the very first "female superhero" book that Marvel produced?

So join me (and please contribute with any thoughts and ideas of your own) as we dive into this short-lived series.

The Cat #1

The Cover

Everything about this cover is perfect for me. You have the eye catching yellow title and captions. You have the central character, front and center. You also have some murky background images cast in an eerie red colouring. It is wonderful. Marie Severin gets the credit with Wally Wood contributing as well (the interiors are tackled by this same duo). To me, this is one of her best covers and I do not know how often she teamed up with Wood but it seems something that should have happened lots.

The Story

It kicks of with the Cat in action right off the hop. She is making her way through the rooftops of Chicago to a penthouse en route for some revenge. She alludes to some training with a Dr. Tumolo but that is all we get for now. She breaks into the penthouse and battles some henchmen. One of them radios to that boss that she is there, and the room fills with knockout gas that puts the Cat down for the count. As she drifts off to sleep, we are treated to part one of her origin.

We are treated to this flashback which shows our heroine, alias Greer Nelson, on her way to class when she bumps into police officer Bill Nelson. Well the two end up eventually becoming a couple and Greer is just a good stay at home wife. One night while they are out, they come across a robbery in progress. Bill tries to intervene and ends up shot and killed. Greer is thrown into a world of sorrow. She eventually tries to get back on her feet but no matter where she applies for a job, she is turned away (apparently a woman with some education has a hard time back in the day). She is about to give up when she bumps into her old college professor, Dr. Tumolo. She is offered a job as a lab assistant, goes back to school and starts to get her life back on track.

At this point, Cat wakes up. She has been captured by a man name Mal Donalbain, a creepy cat (not literally) who despises being touched by anyone (one of his henchmen is pushed into him by Cat and he freaks out).  He has some cooky plan using some science machines to replicate Cat's abilities and create superior beings like her. These beings will then work at health clubs and train people, I guess? These superior beings will wear some headgear that allows Donalbain to control them, putting him in control of all these super-powered beings. Crazyness.

Anyways, Cat escapes her bindings. Donalbain sends one of his mutant humans, Zabo, after her, but she escapes to the roof. Secretly, she sneaks back into the building and waits for things to calm down before planning her next move. During this rest, she reflects on the rest of her origin. Turns out Donalbain was funding Dr. Tumolo on some crazy project that would amplify a woman's abilities to she could overcome the constraints society placed upon her by being stronger, smarter and faster. Of course, he just wanted to create a super-army he could control, but he disguised his plan in this way and even provided a subject for them to experiment on named Shirlee Bryant. Well, she was not a very good subject so Dr. Tumolo and Greer conducted the experiments on Greer as well. They work on her and she becomes stronger and faster.

Eventually, Dr. Tumolo decides to tell Donalbain that his subject, Shirlee, just isn't taking to the treatments. Tumolo goes to his place, discovers his lab and sees Shirlee in some Cat costume. Turns out, she was picking up on something and that was the machinery and methods that Dr. Tumolo was using, which she shared with Donalbain so he could recreate these machines. Donalbain puts one of the control collars on Shirlee and starts commanding her to do things. She is told to climb to the ceiling but because she did not take to the experiments, she falls to her death. Donalbain knows that Dr. Tumolo witnessed this and he has his henchmen go and murder her. At this point, the only proof Greer has of all this is the costume (Dr. Tumolo stole it as evidence) and so she sets off to confront Donalbain.

Finally...all caught up on backstory. The Cat is rested now, and she attacks again and takes out Zabo by throwing him into the super-human-making equipment. He is killed, the equipment destroyed and now it is just Cat and Donalbain. The explosion triggers a blackout and in the dark, Cat threatens to touch Donalbain. He freaks out thanks to his fear and ends up killing himself. The story end with Greer contemplating the recent events and whether these powers she has have made her a better person or not.

Opinions

Wow...a lot happens in a short period of time. First off, the artwork is excellent. I like Cat and the origin story, while obviously similar to many (loses someone loved at the hands of a criminal, gains powers, seeks revenge against criminals), this one felt different. Donalbain and his scheme was definitely silly and a little confusing at times. The story was by Linda Fite...I have no idea if this is her first foray into superhero comics or not but it definitely was interesting and has me wanting to see more. I think there is something that can be used and taken a lot further here.

Quote of the Issue

"The incompetent fool! Apparently this cat didn't have nine lives!" - Donalbain's exclamation when Shirlee falls to her death...brutal joke for a brutal death but, sadly, I liked it.