Chances are you’ve heard of Black Cat, whether you’re a comic book fan or not. Maybe you don’t know much about the masked woman other than her relation to Spiderman and the Marvel Universe. For those who are fans of Black Cat, you know she’s much more than a feline antihero. Felicia Hardy, the name given to her at birth, grew up as your typical daddy’s girl who followed in her father’s footsteps. Of course, that wasn’t until after she found out that her father didn’t die in a plane crash and was actually arrested for his crimes as a cat burglar.
That was one of the factors that turned her into Black Cat as she’s more commonly known, but there’s no doubt that a traumatic event as a freshmen in high school — Hardy’s boyfriend took advantage of her without her consent, that pushed her desire over the edge. Grief turned to rage and rage turned into wanting to channel all of her feelings into seeking out revenge.
Black Cat honed her skills in safe cracking, lock picking, and other various techniques that thieves found find handy. Soon her addiction to stealing flourished, as she sought to replace what was stolen from her with stolen materialistic items. It was during an attempt to free her father from jail that she came face to face with Spiderman and that immediately sparked their flirtations which led to romance — and the rest is history.
With such a substantial backstory and a sassy personality, it’s hard not to what to become such a great character. It’s not an easy feat, seeing as there are things about Black Cat that make her who she is, but some cosplayers make cosplaying look like a breeze. Karen Gallegos is one of the cosplayers whose talent is astounding and her take on Black Cat is truly beautiful.
Photography by Angeli diCreta
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