Cat-Man (Marvel Comics)

Cat-Man is the name of two fictional characters in the Marvel Universe.

Towshend Horgan

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caption=
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Cat-Man I
real_name=Towshend Horgan
species=
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Daredevil" #10 (Oct 1965)
creators=Wally Wood and Bob Powell
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Ani-Men Unholy Three
aliases=
powers=(briefly) natural razor-sharp claws|

Publication history

The first Cat-Man first appeared in "Daredevil" #10-11 (October, December 1965), and was created by Stan Lee, Bob Powell, and Wally Wood.

The character subsequently appears in "Daredevil" #39-41 (April-June 1968), "Daredevil Annual" #2 (1971), "Marvel Team-Up" #25 (September 1974), "X-Men" #94-95 (August-October 1975), and "Iron Man" #115-116 (October-November 1978), in which he dies. The character appears posthumously in "Iron Man" #139 (October 1980) and "Classic X-Men" #3 (November 1986).

Cat-Man appeared as part of the "Ani-Men" entry in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition" #16, and in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition" #27.

Fictional character biography

Along with Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Frog-Man, Towshend Horgan by a man named the Organizer to form the Ani-Men. Horgan had what was described as "feline agility". The Organizer was secretly Abner Jonas, a candidate for mayor of New York City, who sent the Ani-Men on missions to undermine the current administration. Daredevil defeated them and the Ani-Men and Organizer all went to prison. ["Iron Man" #10-11] Later, Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Cat-Man formed a team called the "Unholy Three" with the Exterminator, and fought Daredevil again. ["Daredevil" #39-41] The Unholy Three, as a team of independent thieves, fought Daredevil and Spider-Man and were defeated. ["Marvel Team-Up" #25]

Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Cat-Man later rejoined the Ani-Men, and the Ani-Men went to work for Count Nefaria. Nefaria's scientists submitted the unwitting Ani-Men to processes that gave them superhuman powers and animal-like forms. The Ani-Men invaded the Cheyenne Mountain missile base for Count Nefaria, and fought the X-Men. ["X-Men" #94-95]

The Ani-Men lost their superhuman powers and reverted back to normal. Nefaria sent the four original Ani-Men to kill Tony Stark, however the Spymaster detonated a bomb with which he had intended to kill Stark, and the resulting explosion killed the Ani-Men instead. ["Iron Man" #115-116]

Powers and abilities

Originally, Horgan had no superhuman powers. He was an athletic man with considerable agility and reflexes, and extraordinary acrobatic skills.

While employed by the Exterminator, Horgan wielded a "time-displacement ray" ("T-ray") gun that fired a ray which projected its victim into a limbo-like inter-dimensional void. The gun could thus "displace" a victim for a limited period of time, such as 30 minutes. A ray blast of sufficient intensity could exile a victim to the inter-dimensional void permanently.

Horgan was later subjected to an unknown mutagenic process administered by Count Nefaria's scientists which temporarily gave him razor-sharp claws that were actually part of his body, and gave him superhuman agility.

ebastian Patane

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caption=
comic_color=background:#ff8080
character_name=Cat-Man II
real_name=Sebastian Patane
species=
publisher=Marvel Comics
debut="Daredevil" #157 (Mar 1979)
creators=Roger McKenzie, Mary Jo Duffy, and Gene Colan
alliance_color=background:#c0c0ff
alliances=Ani-Men
aliases=
powers=|

Publication history

The second Cat-Man appeared in "Daredevil" #157-158 (March, May 1979), and was created by Roger McKenzie, Mary Jo Duffy, and Gene Colan.

Cat-Man appeared as part of the "Ani-Men" entry in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition" #16, and in the "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition" #27.

Fictional character biography

After the deaths of the original Ani-Men, the Death-Stalker recruited a new team of Ani-Men, with a new Ape-Man, Bird-Man, and Cat-Man. He sent the new Ani-Men to capture Matt Murdock. The Death-Stalker murdered Ape-Man and Cat-Man by electrocution upon the completion of their mission. [Daredevil #157-158]

Powers and abilities

Patane possessed the same abilities as the first Cat-Man, including cat-like claws on his costume, and extraordinary acrobatic skills.

References