Peter Parker has been an inspiration to many. However, his long awaited battle with new villain Hellgate will have an unexpected side-effect. The aftermath will inspire one famous Spider-Man villain to make an honest effort at being a superhero. This story will play out in a new solo series this August, spinning out of the current Amazing Spider-Man title.
Super-thief Felicia Hardy, who operates under the alias Black Cat, will become New York City’s latest superhero. Her solo series will be written by G. Willow Wilson, best known for her co-creation of Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel. The series will be illustrated by Gleb Melkinov, who recently worked on both Amazing Spider-Man and New Champions.
Four variant covers for Black Cat #1 may be viewed below.
Adam HughesSimone Di MeoPeach MomokoJeehyung Lee
Wilson reports that she was approached about the series after writing a Black Cat story for the 2024 Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood anthology. “Readers began to ask me ‘When are you going to write more Felicia?’ Well, the answer is: right now,” Wilson shared. “Black Cat is so much fun to work with. She’s a supporting character with main character energy. And she has such a rich history that there are tons of tantalizing story threads to pull on.”
That history is complex, with Black Cat having been a love interest of Spider-Man as well as being one of his enemies. Although Felicia was an unrepentant thief, she had enough of a code of ethics that Peter Parker hoped to change her wicked ways. She did also join in on the side of the angels when it counted.
(Image Source: Marvel / Mark Bagley)
Unfortunately, while she found Spider-Man exciting, Felicia found Peter Parker rather boring. Throw in her recent efforts at becoming a crime boss and robbing targets ranging from The Avengers to Doctor Strange, and Black Cat has an uphill battle in being taken seriously as a hero. That’s ignoring the challenges posed by her opening adventures, which will pit her against the Lizard as well as the Kingpin.
Black Cat #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere on August 20, 2025.