Walter Hardy

The Cat
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979)
Created by	Marv Wolfman (writer) Keith Pollard (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Walter Hardy
Notable aliases	John Hardesky

The Cat (Walter Hardy) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 (July 1979). He is a world-renowned cat burglar and the father of Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat.

Walter Hardy is the only one who knows the formula of making a so-called Super-Soldier. When he was a child, a group of Nazis (including the sinister Red Skull) used him to sneak inside a building where an experiment was taking place turning Steve Rogers into Captain America. Walter, who has a photographic memory, memorized the formula that made Captain America and brought it back to the Nazis. However, he refused to give them the formula after realizing that the Axis Powers would probably win World War II if they had it.

After Hardy's arrest, his daughter Felicia adapted his devices and methods as the Black Cat.

The Cat has a miniature grappling hook device, which enables him to swing from buildings in a manner similar to Spider-Man, though not quite as fast. He can also use the cable from this device as a tightrope, wall scaling device, swing line, and/or as a weapon in combat. He has photographic memory as well.

The Ultimate Marvel version of the character is identified as Jack Hardy and is seen on a list of known cat burglars in the Daily Bugle database.

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Wikipedia