Mary Jane & Black Cat (Insomniac)

Name: Mary Jane Watson

Alias: MJ

Age: 25

Home country: United States

Residence: New York City

Occupation

• Podcaster

• Daily Bugle associate editor (formerly)

• Reporter (formerly)

Family: Philip Watson (father)

Host of: Scream (former symbiote, deceased)

Marital Status: Single

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 120 lbs

Gender: Female

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Red

Origin: Human formerly bonded to a symbiote

Living Status: Alive

Reality: Earth-1048

Place of Birth: Montoursville, Pennsylvania

Identity: No Dual

Citizenship: American

Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York City, New York

Mary Jane Watson, often known simply as MJ, is a major character in the Marvel's Spider-Man series. She is a playable character in Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

An investigative journalist for the Daily Bugle. Mary Jane is the girlfriend of Peter Parker, aware of his dual life as Spider-Man. She became best friends with Peter and Harry Osborn in Middle School. Before the events of Marvel's Spider-Man, Mary Jane and Peter dated, but their relationship ended due to the latter's overprotectiveness.

As a journalist, she delves deep into New York City's mysteries, often risking her own safety to uncover significant stories. Despite Mary Jane's daring journalistic pursuits occasionally clashing with Peter's concerns, they ultimately collaborated as partners, and eventually, romantically reconciled. Mary Jane is playable at various key points in Marvel's Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man 2, with her segments involving the use of stealth to get to certain positions and objectives.

History

Early history: Mary Jane was born in Montoursville, Pennsylvania around 1995. Her early life remains largely unexplored, but it's known she had a strained relationship with her father, a harbor worker laid off when Wilson Fisk bought the harbor for his illicit activities. During middle school, she became close friends with Peter Parker and Harry Osborn, a bond that endured into their adult years. At one point, Harry, MJ, and Peter took a trip to Staten Island to find the best pizza in the city, only to spend ten hours and find burned toast with cold American cheese.

Though the specifics of when she discovered Peter's Spider-Man identity are unclear, the two began dating in their senior year of college and were together for nearly two years. On one occasion, Peter had recounted a story to MJ where he had thrown a satellite dish at a thug, as if it were a frisbee, only to miss, to which MJ expressed disbelief and skepticism, to which Peter then took her to the very same building where this fight took place and attempted to prove to her that throwing a satellite dish like a frisbee was possible, only for it to immediately fall into the East River, to which MJ laughed uproariously at Peter for failing.

MJ also took a small role in Peter’s attempts to sharpen his skills as Spider-Man; sometimes—though it was usually either raining or snowing—he would “hang hoops” across the Fulton Street El, while MJ would keep track of his time using a flimsy stopwatch.

After a particularly intense encounter with Wilson Fisk, an injured Peter ended up in MJ's yard, prompting her to rush him to the hospital using her father's car. Six months prior to events of Marvel's Spider-Man, their relationship ended because of Peter's overprotectiveness.

At some point, Mary Jane became an investigative journalist for the New York newspaper the Daily Bugle. MJ wrote articles such as "Ten Surprising Ways Millennials Are Changing Manhattan", helping her grow a following, though she disliked writing such pieces as she felt she was wasting her talents.

Marvel's Spider-Man: After Fisk's arrest, Mary Jane probed an auction housing his art in "Don't Touch the Art." Posing as a journalist for Heritage Arts, she questioned Rose Rosemann about Fisk's money laundering through art. Upon being expelled, MJ sneaked back in, discovering a file on Devil's Breath. However, the Inner Demons gang attacked the auction house, seeking the same file. Peter Parker intervened, fending off the gang, but the Demons escaped with the file. Later, at Mick's, MJ and Peter reconnected, maintaining a professional rapport.

While tracking the Demons alongside Peter, Mary Jane gained Jefferson Davis' trust to interview him about his encounter with the gang in "Wheels within Wheels", resulting in a viral story. She witnessed Davis's death in a Demons-led bombing at City Hall in "And the Award Goes to...". Discovering Martin Li was the Demons' leader, MJ probed his New York properties. After Peter shared an address, MJ found Tombstone there. Discussing this during "Dinner Date", Peter provided her with lures for future endeavors, and the two agreed to be partners.

Following up on Oscorp's executives to learn about Devil's Breath, in "Uninvited", MJ infiltrated a Sable International compound to find Charles Standish, Oscorp's CFO. Reaching him, Standish mentioned the Demons were plotting something in Grand Central, but before he revealed more, Peter, mistaking Standish for a Sable agent, knocked Standish out and retrieved MJ, infuriating her as she reminded him it was why they broke up. As such, she did not tell him about Li's plans regarding Grand Central, and in "The One That Got Away", went there alone. Held hostage at first, she called Peter Parker and the two worked together to free the hostages, as she was able to stop Li's Devil's Breath bomb. Over text, MJ told Peter she was not ready to talk to him and needed space.

In "Uninvited", MJ sneaked into a Sable International site to speak with Oscorp's CFO, Charles Standish, about Devil's Breath. As Standish hinted at the Demons' plans for Grand Central, a misunderstanding led Peter to intervene, infuriating MJ as who reminded him of the reasons they broke up. Consequently, she withheld information on Li's Grand Central scheme and, during "The One That Got Away", went alone. Though the Demons took her and other civilians, with Peter's assistance, MJ disarmed Li's Devil's Breath bomb, as Peter defeated Li. Afterwards, she texted Peter, expressing her need for space.

After Doctor Octopus unleashed Devil's Breath and freed the prisoners from Ryker's Island and the Raft, Mary Jane reported for the Daily Bugle, pointing out Norman Osborn's claims against Spider-Man were baseless and highlighting Osborn's involvement in Devil's Breath's creation. In "...Into the Fire", when convicts set fire to the F.E.A.S.T. shelter, Mary Jane urged Peter to help save May Parker and Miles Morales, who were trapped there but in turn, needed to be saved himself by Miles and Mary Jane. Afterward, Mary Jane, Miles, and Peter decided to take on the new problems of the city together, MJ tasked to look for any antiserum to Devil's Breath.

In "Step Into My Parlor...", MJ infiltrated in Osborn's penthouse, and learned that Devil's Breath was created to cure Harry, who was gravely ill with a genetic condition. In Osborn's secret lab, she picked up one of his genetically modified spiders and successfully found the Devil's Breath lab location. She also learned Devil's Breath's experiment transformed Martin Li into Mister Negative and drove a wedge between Osborn and Otto Octavius. On the way out, she was pursued by Silver Sable until Spider-Man saved her from a fall. When Spider-Man went to the lab but lost the antiserum cure to Doctor Octopus, MJ gave Peter the idea to use his scientific knowledge to defeat him. Furthermore, the spider she had picked up later found Miles Morales and bit him.

After Peter bested Doctor Octopus and obtained the antiserum, he and MJ could not save May Parker, and MJ supported Peter at the funeral. Three months later, she became an associate editor at the Daily Bugle. Over dinner, telling Peter the news, she offered him a temporary home with her and the two rekindled their relationship with a passionate kiss.

The City That Never Sleeps: Mary Jane investigated rumors of the Maggia syndicate's resurgence after Fisk's downfall. She sent Peter to explore a robbery at the Manhattan MOCA, where Peter learned that Maggia, led by Hammerhead and the Black Cat, was responsible. Black Cat's real objective was to retrieve flash drives hidden in art pieces. Upon learning that Black Cat might be collaborating with Hammerhead due to a supposed son being held captive, Peter and MJ faced tension when he revealed the child might be his. However, they reconciled after acknowledging their dating histories and the fact that they were not together at the time.

MJ later investigated a Maggia base, seeking Black Cat's so-called son, but she only found the location of Hammerhead's vault. There, Black Cat stole her real target, Hammerhead's flash drive, as her "son" was a deception. MJ shared her hunch with Peter that Black Cat had survived and ended on a comforting note, suggesting Peter would be an excellent father someday.

While Yuriko Watanabe clashed with Hammerhead, Mary Jane collaborated with Peter to uncover businesses masking Hammerhead's operations. Although she initially intended to expose them in a Daily Bugle piece, she learned about Yuriko's family feud with the Maggia on the way and how it had led her to stop following protocol, realizing it was a more compelling story. Peter concurred. Later, as Peter teamed up with ex-Sable agent David Obademi for Symkarian humanitarian aid, MJ secured Obademi a teaching position with an H1-B visa, enabling him to remain in the U.S. MJ's insights into Hammerhead's conflicts and the turmoil in Symkaria drove her to venture to Symkaria to report on its war.

Spider-Geddon: At some point after returning to New York, Mary Jane was visited by both Peter and the Superior Spider-Man of Earth-616 when he was recruited to the Superior Spider-Army. Before departing, Peter says farewell to MJ. This leads Superior Spider-Man to remark that Peter and MJ's relationship appears to be a multiversal constant. Peter would later speak to Spinneret (Mary Jane Watson-Parker), asking her if she was who he thought she was. She would confirm that she was indeed an alternate version of his Mary Jane, with her husband Spider-Man (Peter Parker) telling him that if the MJ from his home world was anything like his wife, then don't let her go.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales: MJ left New York for Symkaria, bringing Peter along as her photographer for a working vacation.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (comic): Mary Jane was interviewed by J. Jonah Jameson about her book, Perilous: A Journey Into War-Torn Symkaria, on his Just the Facts podcast. Their heated exchange was interrupted when the Spider-Men and Tarantula crashed the scene. Later, MJ, Peter, and Miles gathered at May Parker's old residence, where Peter now lived. Miles presented modified lures that Peter had previously given MJ, suggesting they could be weaponized. This led to a visit to an electronics store. Together, the trio confronted and interrogated "The Hood" at the same store following a break-in. At the end, MJ and Peter mutually apologized for their recent tensions, with her book and Peter's insecurities being focal points of their conversation.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2: By 2020, MJ struggles with keeping her job at the Daily Bugle once J. Jonah Jameson becomes her boss and institutes a "radical meritocracy", demanding that reporters have front page news by the beginning of each week. When Sandman attacks downtown, MJ contacts Peter and Miles on the situation, stating a bystander saw him running down Broadway and yelling nonsense before he transformed. After the Spider-Men stop Marko's rampage, Miles finds a shattered crystal protected by sandmen, and MJ informs him and Peter that the Raft doctors noted that Flint's mind is broken. With the shards holding his memories, MJ asks the Spider-Men to retrieve them so they can learn why he attacked the city.

Following Sandman's attack, MJ meets with Peter at Aunt May's home and learns that he was fired by Principal Evans for abandoning the students. After discussing about the mortgage situation, the two are reunited with Harry, having fully recovered and no longer suffering from his disease. While MJ returns to the Daily Bugle, Peter accepts Harry's proposition to work with him at the Emily-May Foundation and meets with them at Coney Island the next day. While there, Kraven's Hunters arrive and capture Tombstone despite Peter's attempts to stop them. Following the attack, Peter informs MJ that Harry's treatment (in reality, a symbiote) is similar to an exoskeleton-like suit and helped him rescue civilians trapped on a roller coaster.

Following Curt Connors' disappearance, MJ investigates his home and discovers that Kraven and his hunters have captured the doctor. While hiding in the back of the hunters' van, she is forced to remain hidden and travel to their location - an abandoned zoo in New Jersey where they are holding Connors for Kraven's hunt. Utilizing stealth and her Sable stingray, MJ sneaks across the zoo and finds the equipment of Vulture, Electro, and Shocker, conforming their deaths. She reaches Connors to save him, but Kraven arrives and injects the doctor with a serum to turn him into the Lizard. Upon the injection, Peter and Harry arrive and battle the hunters until Kraven fatally impales Peter with his dagger. Harry's exo-suit then transfers itself onto Parker to save him, and the vigilante tells MJ and Harry to leave the zoo while he deals with the remaining hunters.

With Harry's life on the line, MJ investigates Kraven and learns of his real identity as Sergei Kravinoff from his broken blade. After curing Connors, Mary Jane learns from Peter that the suit is actually an alien dubbed the symbiote. At May's home, MJ is alarmed at seeing Peter still wearing the symbiote, having kept it after refusing to remove it despite Connors' warnings. and sees the alien act on its own while Peter is unconscious due to the arrival of Kraven's Hunters. She works with Miles to confront Peter in an abandoned tunnel as he rampages across Queens, but is forced to escape when the symbiote makes Peter attempts to kill her for interfering, while Miles is captured by Kraven and his Hunters.

The next day, MJ writes a report on Spider-Man's change in behavior, making Peter's already-declining reputation in New York worse. As Peter continues to wear the symbiote, becoming abrasive and hostile towards his friends, MJ's article is put on the front page for the Daily Bugle. She is later confronted by Peter over the article at the Osborns' penthouse. Sometime after the confrontation, MJ is later contacted by Peter, who apologizes for his past behavior and informs her that he had removed the symbiote and intended to destroy it. However, things go awry when Harry obtains the symbiote and kills Kraven in Times Square during a bloody battle that followed after rampaging across Oscorp. The following day, MJ, unaware of Harry's turn, is confronted by him, now calling himself Venom, at May's home, resulting in her being possessed by a symbiote named Scream.

Peter arrives and is able to help Mary Jane free herself of the symbiote. Following the fight, MJ finally stands up to Jonah, deciding to follow her own path and not be something she's not. MJ continues to help the Spider-Men in learning of Venom's intentions, discovering that the symbiote wants to terraform Earth by using the meteorite it came from. Wanting to save their friend and stop the symbiote, MJ works with the Spider-Men by retrieving the meteorite while Peter distracts Venom at Midtown High. Once at the Emily-May Foundation, the heroes are able to destroy the meteorite with a particle accelerator and Miles revives Harry before he falls into a coma. Following the events, MJ starts her own podcast and moves into May's home with Peter. She also sees Peter giving Miles the responsibility of protecting New York while he works on getting his personal life together.

Characteristics

Appearance: Mary Jane is a homely looking girl, 5'8", with a slim build, weighing 120 lbs. She has blue eyes and copper-red hair, the latter of which she keeps in a ponytail, with her bangs almost covering her right eye. When out in public, she typically wears a brown leather jacket coupled with an orange scarf, a green collared shirt underneath, as well as a white shirt underneath that, blue jeans, and a pair of brown ankle boots. In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, her hair was shoulder length. She wore a different leather jacket with a purple v-neck shirt underneath, black jeans, and ankle sneakers.

Personality: Mary Jane Watson is a determined, diligent, and resourceful investigative journalist. Her acute observational skills enable her to read and understand people effectively. This knack allows her to earn trust through either genuine honesty or strategic deception, and also allows her to discern underlying motives and intentions in others. Beyond her professional life, Mary Jane has a spirited personality, cherishing humor and the company of her loved ones.

At her core, Mary Jane is driven by an unwavering commitment to truth, firmly believing in journalism's role in informing and protecting the public. This both drives her tenacity and often leads her into perilous situations, which in turn has caused tension in her relationship with Peter due to his overprotectiveness — a factor that contributed to their six-month separation. Her determination has paved the way for pivotal revelations, such as unearthing the Devil's Breath lab's location and uncovering the secrets of Hammerhead's vault. Touched by the hardships of Symkaria during its civil war and the lack of media attention it received, MJ's altruistic spirit compelled her to travel there to cover the conflict.

Mary Jane's admiration and love for Peter stem from his passion and selfless drive to help others. This is likely what inspires her own, but has also caused tensions due to her lack of superpowers making her more vulnerable than him. The two resolved their differences when she encouraged Peter to accept help, and to stop blaming himself too heavily, at which point they became equal partners. Outside of this, MJ has expressed longing for the simpler times when she, him, and Harry could waste ten hours in Staten Island.

Abilities: Mary Jane Watson has ascended the ranks of journalism, progressing from an intern to a staff reporter, and ultimately to an associate editor. Through her work, she cultivated a robust network of sources and has a skill for earning people's trust, either through genuine honesty or strategic deception. Her keen intuition allows her to discern underlying motives, setting her apart from the more gullible Peter.

Fearless in her pursuit of the truth, MJ often chases stories wherever they lead, occasionally against her editor's wishes. Without the benefit of superpowers, she has infiltrated high-risk locations such as Tombstone's lair, a Sable International base, and Mayor Norman Osborn's fortified penthouse, consistently extracting pivotal evidence. In these endeavors, she has employed Peter's spider lures and a handy stun gun.

In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, she has trained further with Sable so that she can take on simple opponents. She also rides a motorcycle.

Gameplay: Mary Jane Watson is playable at a few points in Marvel's Spider-Man series. For most games, her gameplay relies on linear stealth sections in which players must pursue an objective (pointed out by a waypoint) without being seen by guards. Mary Jane can only make use of the environment to create distractions

In Marvels's Spider-Man and "The Heist" from The City That Never Sleeps DLC, she gains access to spider lures for "Uninvited" and a stun gun in "Step Into My Parlor...".

In Marvel's Spider-Man 2, she gains a Sable stingray after training with Silver Sable. The stun gun takedowns only works on enemies who are not Symbiotes. She later outfits her gun with one of Peter's web shooters as of "Wake Up". When detected, Mary Jane must shoot her enemies and dodge their attacks. In "Together", the web shooter on Mary Jane's gun is replaced with a sonic device to weaken the symbiotes.

Original appearance: Mary Jane Watson's first appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965); however, her full reveal was in Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966). She was the enigmatic niece of Anna Watson, a good friend and neighbor of May Parker. The pair tired to set up Mary Jane with May's nephew, Peter Parker, numerous times, but he constantly either found a way out or found himself too busy with Spider-Man responsibilities. They were eventually able to finally meet when MJ came to the Parker Residence for dinner, introducing herself to Peter with her famous catchphrase: "Face it, Tiger... you just hit the jackpot!" Despite hitting it off, they initially remained friends and she joined his group, with included Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy, and Flash Thompson. Mary Jane would begin to curb her party girl lifestyle and become closer to Peter after Norman Osborn murdered Gwen. She and Peter slowly fell in love and be wed. Their marriage survived many trials and tribulations, Aunt May was shot by a hitman hired by Kingpin. Exhausting all other options, Mary Jane and Peter agreed to sell their marriage to Mephisto in order to save May. Despite this, Mary Jane didn't leave Peter's life and the two engaged in an on-again, off-again relationship.

Mary Jane becoming a symbiote host first occur in fourth season of the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, where she became current prime host of Carnage symbiote, first infected as Carnage Queen in "The Symbiote Saga: Part 3" (July 17, 2016), before reforming under a super heroine moniker Spider-Woman "The Spider Slayers: Part 1" (October 8, 2016).

Behind the scenes

Development: In developing Marvel's Spider-Man, Insomniac Games aimed for Mary Jane Watson to be a playable character beyond just a sidekick. They wanted to depict Peter Parker's realization that despite his powers, he needs help, positioning Mary Jane as central to this theme. To better achieve this, diverging from her comic portrayal as an actress, they reimagined her as an investigative journalist. Insomniac's intent was to elevate her from just a love interest or damsel in distress, making her integral to the story and a key ally to Spider-Man, while also offering players insight into the lives touched by a superhero.

Mary Jane is portrayed by Laura Bailey, while Stephanie Tyler Jones is the character's face model.

Reception: Mary Jane's portrayal mostly received positive reception. Ernesto Camacho IV from Screen Rant lauded her as a "well-rounded lead" due to her newfound independence as a person with her own goals, emphasizing proof that adaptations have room to evolve characters. Charles Pulling-Moore of Kotaku echoed this sentiment, noting her depth in comparison to earlier comic portrayals in which her attractiveness was her defining trait. However, De'Angelo Epps from Comic Book Resources critiqued her decision-making, noting her running into danger and becoming angry at Peter displayed "no common sense", deeming her one of the weaker versions of the character.

While her character writing was mostly well received, critics were less favorable toward her gameplay. Kyle Gratton from Screen Rant noted that, while compelling narratively, her gameplay was "exceptionally boring" compared to Spider-Man's, hoping it would be changed or removed for the sequel. Erik Kain from Forbes called them "awful" and said he could not "imagine another living soul" describing them as fun. Conversely, Leon Hurley of GamesRadar and Edmond Tran of GameSpot felt the sections did not overstay their welcome, and were worthwhile due to the payoff and creating an attachment to the characters.

Notes

Annotations

1. Because Mary Jane's intrinsic bravery mirrors Peter's, but without his superpowers, Peter became overly protective, leading to their breakup. The exact details around this prior to Marvel's Spider-Man are unclear, but Peter describes a "fight to end all fights" and MJ felt treated her "like a baby". However, residual feelings remained, and after addressing their issues and collaborating professionally, MJ happily rekindled their relationship.

2. Mary Jane employs varied tactics to gain trust. She secured Rose Rosemann's interview through deceit and outsmarted the Inner Demons to ensure her safety, but also appealed honestly to Jefferson Davis to obtain his interview.

3. Mary Jane was quick to recognize Felicia Hardy's intentions towards Peter long before he could.

4. Mary Jane lit up when Peter passionately talked about his work with Otto Octavius, impressed by how Peter foregoes better pay in favor of something he believes in firmly. She is very supportive of him both as Peter Parker and as a superhero, and affectionately calls him "tiger" before his battles.

Name: Felicia Hardy

Current Alias: Black Cat

Aliases

• Agent #060

• Cat

Age: Late 20s

Home country: United States

Residence

• New York City, USA

• Paris, France

Occupation: Cat burglar

Family: Walter Hardy (father)

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 150 lbs

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: White

Gender: Female

Marital Status: Single

Origin: Human

Living Status: Alive

Reality: Earth-1048

Place of Birth: Flushing, New York

Abilities: Cat burglar, agility, martial artist, retractable claws and grappling hook

Group Affiliation

Formerly:

•Maggia

• partner of Spider-Man

Identity: Known to Authorities

Citizenship: American

Base of Operations: Paris, France

Formerly: Freedom Tunnels hideout, Manhattan, New York City, New York

Felicia Hardy, also known by her alias Black Cat, is a recurring character in the Marvel's Spider-Man series. She is a background character in Marvel's Spider-Man, a supporting character in its DLC campaign The City That Never Sleeps, and a minor character in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

She is a skilled thief utilizing a combination of athleticism, martial arts skills, and high-tech gadgets in her arsenal, and often toes the line between good and bad. She is the daughter of renowned thief Walter Hardy, from whom she assumed the Black Cat mantle. She has a complicated relationship with Spider-Man, at numerous points serving as an ally, enemy, and love interest.

History

Early history: Felicia was born in Flushing, New York, no later than 1994. She is the only daughter of former cat-burglar Walter Hardy, the original Black Cat, who faked his death in 1998 to prevent the Maggia crime families from coming after her after he refused to work for them.

When Felicia grew up, against her father's wishes, she decided to follow in her father's footsteps, adopting the Black Cat name and applying her own upgrades to his gear. As Black Cat, she chose to only steal from well-off individuals, or those who, in her eyes, deserved it.

At an unknown point, she met Spider-Man, and the two became romantically involved. During this time, Black Cat gave up her criminal ways and Spider-Man attempted to train her as a “good guy”, but despite showing promise at first, the partnership ended when he learned she was stealing from some of the criminals they took down, which he confirmed after seeing the stolen loot at her home. By the events of Marvel's Spider-Man, the police had Black Cat's suit and equipment in evidence lockup.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Black Cat struck a deal with Maggia boss Hammerhead where she agreed to steal flash drives with financial data on the other Maggia families which he wanted to use for a power play on the other dons, though she planned to steal their wealth for herself and give him fake drives instead. Needing to rob the police evidence lockup to retrieve her equipment for the task, Black Cat stole $50,000,000 worth of loot and set up several cat dolls near sites where she had robbed wealthy individuals, including lawyers and Wall Street associates.

In "Stakeout", Black Cat called Spider-Man from an unknown number, imploring him to try finding her, claiming she was trying to steal $50,000,000 but promised to give it all back and go straight if Spider-Man found her first. Black Cat's real plan was to distract Spider-Man by leading him to her Freedom Tunnel base while also having him deliver the dolls to police captain Yuri Watanabe so that, once all in the evidence lockup, they would link up and boost their signal, deactivating the alarms. In "Cat's Cradle", Spider-Man fell for this trap and Black Cat was able to steal her things undetected. She left behind a costume and a recording for Spider-Man, who deduced that if she stole $50,000,000 just for her equipment, she had bigger plans.

The City That Never Sleeps: During "The Maria", Black Cat broke into the Museum of Contemporary Art with intent to steal a painting called The Maria. She encountered Spider-Man, who’d received intel about Maggia activity at the museum. When questioned by Spider-Man about the painting, she broke the painting in half to retrieve one of the drives, leaving him behind to deal with Maggia goons. In "Like Old Times", Spider-Man caught her while she was stealing Maggia don Cicero's drive, where she claimed ignorance of the contents of the drive and lied to Spider-Man that Hammerhead was holding her son hostage, and would kill him if she did not find the drives for him.

When delivering the drives, Black Cat told Hammerhead's goons she would deliver them to him personally, though she was actually giving him fake drives. At the Costa family safe in "Pursuing the Truth", Spider-Man caught up with Black Cat and tried to talk to her, to which she responded by using an EMP grenade to disable his Web Shooters and running away. Spider-Man eventually caught her after chasing her around the city, telling her that he knew about the nature of the drives and offered to help find her son so that she wouldn’t have to steal them. Black Cat agreed, but was coy when Spider-Man asked if he could be her son's father.

In "Cover for the Cat", Black Cat contacted Spider-Man after discovering the existence of a room-sized impenetrable vault, which she hinted was the most likely location her son was held. She asked for his help in stealing from an office above one of Hammerhead's bars, hoping to find the location of the vault there, needing his help distracting them. After teaming up with him to finish the goons when she had robbed the office, she flirted with him some more, telling him that she had made an honest attempt to go straight and had found an honest job in the process, while continuing to dodge the question of if Spider-Man could be the father.

Spider-Man contacted Black Cat after he located the vault in a storage harbor. In "Follow the Money", the two worked together to defeat Hammerhead's goons in the area, but she suddenly disappeared when more arrived, absconding with her actual objective: Hammerhead's drive from inside the vault. When Spider-Man entered the vault, Black Cat locked him inside, revealing her that her "son" was just a distraction to get him to cooperate.

When Hammerhead learned of her deception, he ordered his men to kill her, no longer caring about the drives, and priming explosives in Black Cat's penthouse to destroy it. Spider-Man called urgently to try and save her, though she expressed confusion as to why he was trying to help her after she had betrayed him so badly. She nonetheless was coy about the impending explosion, simply saying she had "all nine lives left" before seemingly being killed. A few days later, in "Trust Issues", she saved Spider-Man during a battle against a cybernetically enhanced Hammerhead and provided a drive revealing Hammerhead's weakness along with the locations of the stolen Project Olympus weaponry, to repay him for her previous betrayal.

Miles Morales: Black Cat was mentioned in a Simon Krieger recording as having gone "straight...ish", and listed as inactive and with unknown whereabouts.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2: Felicia was one of Kraven the Hunter's targets in New York City. In "Make Your Own Choices", Peter sent Miles Morales to warn her, Mary Jane Watson cautioning him not to trust her. Miles found the hunters already caught up to her, though she had stolen a mystical artifact called the Wand of Watoomb from the Sanctum Santorum. Felicia told Miles she was using it to find her girlfriend in Paris, and expressed disappointment that Peter had not come himself. Miles chased her as she created portals around the city, and eventually helped her fend off the hunters attacking her, as she successfully understood the device and, with Miles’ help, created a portal to Paris. Later, Felicia contacted Peter and Miles to give a warning about Tombstone's location in Williamsburg and thanked both for their help, even if Peter could not be bothered to show up. Before Peter could explain himself, Felicia cut him off and expressed that they had both moved on.

Characteristics

Appearance: Felicia Hardy is a young woman with white hair and blue eyes (or green, depending). Standing at 5'10" and weighing 150 lbs, she possesses a voluptuous build, with some athletic characteristics. Her Black Cat outfit consists of a black leather tight suit with white accents and black goggles. The gloves of her costume form retractable claws at the fingertips.

Personality Felicia Hardy is cunning, fascinating, seductive, whimsical, and manipulative. Her playful, flirtatious banter, and her coy secrecy, shroud her in mystery and mask an intelligent and relentless burglar with complex motivations and moral ambiguity. Felicia is resilient and determined, able to bounce back from hardship. She does so operating alone, valuing her independence due to her past and her mistrust of others' methods. This also means she has no qualm using and betraying people as needed.

Felicia's complexity and moral ambiguity stems from her conflict between a desire to do good and her criminal instincts. Her moral compass leads her to steal only from those who she believed deserved it or could afford it. It also manifested in her plotting against Hammerhead to betray him and the Maggia, and to ultimately help Spider-Man take him down. However, it has also meant that despite making apparently earnest attempts to operate within the law, it did not last long before she reverted to her old ways, something she has expressed regret for (though it is unclear how serious she was about it). Despite having the motivations of a Robin Hood in stealing from those who have hurt others, rather than give her gains to the poor, she keeps them for herself.

Felicia has a complicated relationship with Spider-Man. The two have worked together professionally and been intimate together, their relationship has soured both when he has caught her stealing, and when she has manipulated and betrayed him for her own ends. Their difficult relationship stems from Felicia's conflicted nature. While her moral compass and affection for Spider-Man have led them to work with him, her disapproval of his methods (believing that working within the law is inadequate) and her steadfast independence have led her to betray him, a conscious choice to push him away so as not to become reliant on him. Felicia also does not wish to learn Spider-Man's real identity, preferring to avoid the mundanities of civilian life and enjoy their costumed adventures together.

Abilities and equipment: Black Cat possesses superhuman agility, strength, speed, and advanced martial arts skills. She is able to crawl, climb, and leap at extremely high speeds, as demonstrated by her swiftly traversing New York's rooftops, even outpacing Spider-Man. Her ability to steal $50,000,000 worth of loot without equipment underscores her cat burglar prowess, influenced by her father, the original Black Cat.

While proficient without her gear, her suit enhances her abilities. It features sharp claws for cutting through museum glass and includes her signature grappling hook, enabling easy traversal of the city's skyline. Black Cat also employs electromagnetic pulse (EMP) grenades, temporarily disabling electronics.

Outside of combat and burglary, her primary strength lies in cunning and manipulation. She outwitted Spider-Man and the entire police force to retrieve her gear, and orchestrated elaborate schemes to steal the wealth of Hammerhead and the Maggia while making Hammerhead believe she was on his side.

Original appearance: Black Cat was created by Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, and Dave Cockrum, and introduced in Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979). Daughter of master thief Walter Hardy, Felicia followed in her father's footsteps after his arrest, further honing her self-taught skills under the guidance of his mentor, the Black Fox. She first crossed paths with Spider-Man while attempting to free her dying father from prison. Through subsequent encounters, a complicated romance blossomed, leading to a brief partnership as crime-fighters. However, Felicia's initial rejection of the web-slinger's alter-ego of Peter Parker, and an underhanded plot to obtain super-powers via genetic augmentation strained their connection. Despite initial scorn when Peter chose Mary Jane Watson, Felicia eventually became one of Spider-Man's most trusted allies.

Throughout her appearances, Black Cat is playful and flirty, prioritizing a luxurious life of crime. Loss and trauma shaped her into a jaded, cynical and self-centered woman, who first used her thieving skills to lash out against the world. Spider-Man's positive influence helped her transform into a more heroic figure, allowing her to trust again and assist others, and pushing her to do the right thing when push came to shove. While their romance didn't last, Felicia and Peter remained close friends, with occasional romantic sparks rekindling.

Black Cat has been featured consistently throughout Spider-Man adaptations; most notably in the 1994 animated series, where Felicia was a long-standing flame of Peter before gaining powers from a super-soldier serum, and The Spectacular Spider-Man, as a mysterious thief who helped Spider-Man with ulterior motives. Felicia is regularly portrayed as a galvanic paramour who appeals to Peter's costumed alter-ego, often contrasting his other, more grounded love interests.

Behind the scenes

Concept and design: The teams at Insomniac Games and Marvel Games approached the redesign of Black Cat for Marvel's Spider-Man with the goal to create a look that was authentic and instantly recognizable while still distinct. For Black Cat, they chose to design her cat thief suit as one that was alluring but functional, reflecting the fact she owns and intentionally uses her attractiveness, while being a believable outfit she could wear while traversing the city. For the white fur elements of her comic book suit, designers shifted into a more practical material; rather than fur on gloves and boots, she instead has functioning shin guards and gauntlets.

Animation was able to convey a lot of Black Cat's personality: rather than walking, she flips, rappels, leaps, and kicks with athleticism and grace. Her ponytail animation proved particularly difficult, as her ponytail was so long that the physics system of the game was unsure how it should behave, meaning animators had to hand animate it in many cinematics.

Character development: Insomniac wished to showcase everything that Marvel fans loved about Felicia Hardy, and thus did not stray far from her comic book persona. Their intention was to place their own spin on the character to give fans a new perspective on her, and a way to appreciate her role in Peter Parker's life.

Felicia Hardy is voiced and mo-capped by veteran voice actress Erica Lindbeck. Insomniac Games described her as perfect for the part, as she facilitated Insomniac's intention to modernize the classic characters from Marvel Comics while also retaining their distinctive look and essence. Amy Johnston provided additional motion-capture and Jayme Lynn Evans provided her facial likeness for the character.

Reception: Black Cat's introduction in "The Heist" DLC of The City That Never Sleeps received praise from critics. Andrew Reiner from Game Informer commended her introductory sequence for establishing her as a "wonderfully mysterious character". Jonathon Dornbush of IGN lauded Insomniac's depiction of her, citing it as evidence of their ability to "capture the essence of Spider-Man while adding their unique touch". Ethan Gach at Kotaku praised the love triangle involving her and Mary Jane Watson, describing Spider-Man's navigation of these relationships as "immensely satisfying".

Notes

Annotations

1. Felicia's exact age is unknown. Her father faked his death during her childhood 20 years before Marvel's Spider-Man, placing her date of birth in either the late 80's or early 90s.

2. Felicia's exact age is unknown. Dialogue between Aunt May and Peter indicates that Felicia is older (but "not that much older") than Peter, who was born in roughly 1995. Her father faked his death during her childhood 20 years before Marvel's Spider-Man, placing her date of birth in either the late 80's or early 90s.

3. Walter Hardy faked his death 20 years before Marvel's Spider-Man, which took place in 2018.

4.  It is not clear if Felicia Hardy knew Spider-Man's true identity as Peter Parker while they were dating, as she never references him by his real name.

5. In Marvel's Spider-Man, Spider-Man found financial data on the Maggia crime families in Black Cat's base in Freedom Tunnel, suggesting she was planning the heists during the events of the game and before The City That Never Sleeps.

6. Felicia often makes flirtatious remarks to Spider-Man, complimenting him and reminiscing about their time together. Her commentary appears to come both from genuine attraction to and affection for him, and from her desire to use him, as she did to retrieve her equipment and to get help stealing the Hammerhead drive.

7. Felicia's resilience and fierce independence shine through in her unwavering ability to bounce back when operating solo. After her equipment was confiscated by the police, Felicia devised an intricate plan to reclaim it, deftly manipulating both Spider-Man and the police to achieve her goal. When her penthouse was destroyed by Hammerhead, she not only survived but resurfaced briefly to expose Spider-Man's vulnerabilities while wisely avoiding unnecessary risks. Felicia openly expressed her preference for a solitary path, emphasizing that she has navigated every aspect of her life independently.