Flashback Friday: Catman, Batman’s Campier Feline Foe
Jul 09, 2021
The original Catman was one of Batman’s campy villains that was introduced in the 1960s. He was created by Bill Finger and Jim Mooney in Detective Comics #311 (January 1963) as a man who turned to crime because he was dissatisfied with his life.
Catman was Thomas Reese Blake, a man who was famous for trapping jungle cats. In addition to being a hunter and tracker, he is athletic, a skilled fighter, and talented with bladed weapons. Blake became a criminal because he was bored with hunting and had spent most of his money on that venture. Catman started out as a cat burglar, even wearing a catsuit made from ancient African cloth and modeled after Catwoman’s suit.
Keeping with the silliness of 1960s Batman villains, Catman stole items related to cats, such as cat’s eye emeralds and statues of cats. He even used a pair of gloves with steel claws and razor sharp catarangs. Unfortunately for Catwoman, she was accused of crimes he had committed because of the similar suits and crimes.
In another story, Catman revealed that the African cloth of his costume gave him nine lives. He ended up saving Batwoman from almost dying and gave her some of the fabric, believing that it would gift her with nine lives too. When he returned to being a criminal, Batwoman pretended to become his partner as Cat-Woman, to stop him. Once he was down to only one life left, he turned himself in to the authorities.
Keep an eye on PREVIEWSworld.com's Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram for more character profiles! And if you're interested in more Catman, keep an eye out for the following titles at your local comic shop.
Art by J. CALAFIORE, R.B. SILVA and ALEXANDRE PALAMARO
Cover by DANIEL LUVISI
In these stories from issues #19-24 of the new series, Thomas Blake - a.k.a. Catman - heads to Africa to find the three men who kidnapped his long lost son, while Catman leaves a trail of destruction in his wake that threatens to destroy the Secret Six once and for all.
On sale JANUARY 19 144 pg, FC
Art by NICOLA SCOTT, CARLOS RODRIGUEZ & OTHERS
Cover by DANIEL LUVISI
With Batman's cowl up for grabs, two of The Secret Six think they should be the new Dark Knight. And a mission on Devil's Island draws the attention of Wonder Woman in this new collection of issues #8-14!
From DC Comics. From the pages of DC's smash hit Villains United comes the six-issue tale of a mysterious team of misfits that walks the line between good and evil, taking on the dirtiest, craziest tasks in the DCU! Their first mission - to rescue one of their own from a North Korean prison before he's executed - leads them to the realization that someone is trying to have them all killed. But who has it in for them? Scheduled to ship 03/28/10. (702)
This article originally appeared in Gemstone Publishing’s e-newsletter Scoop.
