Catman (comics)

Catman
Catman featured in the artwork for the cover of the third printing of Villains United #1. Art by Dale Eaglesham
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #311 (Jan. 1963)
Created by	Bill Finger Jim Mooney
In-story information
Alter ego	Thomas Reese Blake
Team affiliations	Secret Six The Misfits
Abilities	Olympic-level athlete Skilled hand-to-hand combatant Proficiency with bladed weapons Superb hunter, and tracker with an extraordinary sense of smell Uses cat-themed weapons and equipment

Catman is a modern version of a fictional character in comic books published by DC Comics who was initially a supervillain and arch-rival of Batman (although in recent years has developed into a more capable and antiheroic figure).

In 2013, ComicsAlliance ranked Catman as #9 on their list of the "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics".

Catman first appeared in Detective Comics #311 (Jan. 1963) and was created by Bill Finger and Jim Mooney.

A different Cat-Man once opposed the Blackhawks in Blackhawk #141, but he has no connection with the more prominent Batman villain.

Catman was originally Thomas Blake, a world-famous trapper of jungle cats who turned to crime because he had grown bored with hunting and had squandered most of his fortune as a millionaire. He became a burglar who committed his crimes in a catsuit made out of an ancient African cloth. His costume was modeled after Catwoman's disguise. Catwoman was none too pleased to have her modus operandi copied, which included Selina Kyle (Catwoman) being wrongly implicated for Catman's crimes at least once and initially helped Batman. As with many Batman villains in their first appearances, Catman was originally a gimmicked villain who stole items along a "cat" theme, such as cat statues, "cat's eyes" emeralds, etc. His weapon of choice was a pair of steel claw-tipped gloves and the razor edged "catarang".

Catman would reappear once more, this time revealing that the orange African cloth in his uniform gave him nine lives. The character first shows his capability for good causes when he rescues Batwoman from nearly dying. He gives her some of his costume fabric, believing she too will have nine lives. He resumes his criminalistic ways, but Batwoman (temporarily infiltrating his trust to be his new partner, with a new costume as "Cat-Woman") reasons the entire cloth has only nine lives, not individual pieces, and manipulates events until Catman only has one remaining, causing him to turn himself in.