The Cat/The Black Cat
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"The Cat/The Black Cat" |
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"The Cat" is the second episode from the fourth season of the animated series Spider-Man. It also marks the show's forty-fourth episode, originally airing on February 8, 1997. The episode began a plotline that would continue on the following episode, "The Black Cat", which aired later on February 15, marking the forty-fifth episode. Together they introduce the Black Cat to the series.[1][2]
Plot
The Cat
Doctor Octopus attempts to blackmail Anastasia Hardy into paying him ransom money in order to fund his dangerous experiments, by threatening to reveal that Felicia's father was the crook known as "The Cat". Spider-Man, having eluded Doc Ock from the Hardy's, gathers information which tells him Felicia's father is actually John Hardesky, and that he was incarcerated in S.H.I.E.L.D. for memorizing a secret formula. The Kingpin manages to break the Cat out of prison by using the Chameleon, Hardesky's cell-mate, in an effort to retrieve the formula which has the ability to enhance human abilities. Herbert Landon is able to recreate the formula after the crime lord uses Felicia to provoke Hardesky to reveal the formula.
The Black Cat
The Kingpin blackmails John Hardesky into revealing a secret super-soldier formula by making threats against Felicia. After Hardesky reveals his secrets, Landon is able to recreate and improve the formula for the crime lord. Kingpin uses the serum to transform Felicia into a "black cat", and forces her to carry out his crimes until he can create more serum. Spider-Man, unaware of her identity, teams with the Black Cat to rescue her father. Hardesky, whilst held captive by the Kingpin, breaks into Landon's lab and deletes the formula. After the two superhero's are able to rescue Felicia's father, he decides to allow himself to be re-incarcerated in S.H.I.E.L.D., as of his knowledge of the formula.
Reception
Character appearances
In at least one viewers eye, it has been believed that the Kingpin's role in the episodes is much more necessary than his previous appearances. This is partly because many of the crime lord's ideas in previous episodes are considered poor, notably his ambition to create an army of mutants. However, Doctor Octopus's appearance has been said to have been wasted. Viewers were pleased to see the Black Cat finally introduced, having only seen the character as Felicia Hardy in previous episodes. Her introduction as a superhero has been described as being done well, thus making the episode one of the character's best appearances. Her first scene with Spider-Man was very popular among fans, as was her use of the spider-tracer the wall-crawler gave her mother. The character has been described as being slightly arrogant. The fact that neither hero knew who the other was seemed questionable, partly because Felicia and Peter once dated, and partly because Felicia hadn't always treated Peter with much respect.[1][2]
Production
The episodes were considered to be rare occasions that events fell into place, with details of the plotline being resolved by the end of the second part. The animation has notably been highly praised in comparison to that of the first season.[1][2] John Semper mentioned in an interview with The Marvel Animation Age that he is somewhat proud of the fact that he linked the Black Cat to the origin of Captain America, alike to that of the viewers points of view, who considered the plotline to have handled Black Cat's introduction well. John Semper invented this plot rather than using the character's development in the comics in which he considered ridiculous. John also revealed that he is very fond of John Phillip Law, who plays the voice role of John Hardesky in the episode.[1][3]
Cast
Voice actor | Role |
---|---|
Christopher Daniel Barnes | Spider-Man/Peter Parker |
Jack Angel | Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. |
Roscoe Lee Browne | Kingpin/Wilson Fisk |
Jennifer Hale | Black Cat/Felicia Hardy |
David Hayter | Brace Huntington Captain America/Steve Rogers |
John Phillip Law | The Cat/John Hardesky |
Lois Nettleton | Nora |
Nita Talbot | Anastasia Hardy |
David Warner | Herbert Landon Red Skull |
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. | Doctor Octopus |
Rachel Davies | Agent X of S.H.I.E.L.D. |
Neil Ross | Additional Voice |
References
- ^ a b c d Amazing Spidey. "Review of The Cat". Marvel Animation Age. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c Amazing Spidey. "Review of The Black Cat". Marvel Animation Age. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
- ^ "Interview with John Semper". Marvel Animation Age. Retrieved October 25, 2009.