Thomas Blake (New Earth)

Thomas Blake was a former wealthy socialite from Gotham City who trained himself to become a professional big cat hunter. His dedication to this hobby caused him to squander his fortune and without any resources, he decided to turn to crime. At first, he considered becoming a vigilante, but since Batman was already working in Gotham, Blake decided to adopt the identity of the costumed criminal named Catman. Blake was partially inspired by the animals that he had devoted his life to capture and the notorious former criminal, Catwoman, who had retired from crime at the time. As Catman, Blake started a criminal spree and often stole cat-themed items, like valuable cat statues. Batman and Robin eventually discovered Blake's secret identity thanks to Batwoman, who had confronted Catman moments later. Catman tried to fight the Dynamic Duo using a giant cat robot, but the super-heroes destroyed the machine and just as Catman tried to escape, he was carried away by a nearby river, after which he was presumed dead.^[1]

Catman soon returned to Gotham with a new criminal plan. During this time, he managed to recruit Batwoman and he provided her with a Cat-Woman costume, which resembled his own Catman suit. However, this was a mistake on his part, as Batwoman led Batman and Robin to his hideout and he was forced to retreat on a boat, which crashed in the sea, apparently killing him.^[2]

It was later revealed that the reason why Catman managed to survive all of those deadly accidents was because part of his cat-suit was made of a magical cloth that granted the wearer nine lives just like a cat. When Catman learned this, he used it to his advantage, escaping from Batman and Robin by exposing his life to danger. However, it was Batwoman who deduced Catman's plan and she used her own Cat-Woman costume in order to stop Catman. Catman was finally arrested and sent to prison.^[3]

Several years later, Catman returned to Gotham and initially, Catwoman was blamed for his crimes. The truth was eventually discovered by Batman and Catwoman, who tracked down Catman to his lair.^[4] Catman used a deadly trap to kill them while he travelled to Greece to sell the stolen goods in return for his own private island, which he planned to turn into a criminal haven / retreat. His plans were foiled by Batman and Catwoman, who tracked him down and caused his apparent death in the ensuing confrontation, although, because of the magical properties of his cat-suit, Catman survived.^[5] Seeking revenge against Batman and Catwoman, Catman returned to Gotham and tried to retrieve a missing piece of his cat-suit in order to heal his scarred face. Although he managed to capture Catwoman and retrieve the piece of his cat-suit, he was defeated by Batman and Catman learned that his cat-suit did not work anymore.^[6]

New Earth

Thomas Blake's origin and history remained mostly unchanged after the Crisis on Infinite Earths altered both reality and continuity. In his childhood, Thomas and his mother were abandoned by Thomas' father. Being left in poverty led his mother to abuse him both physically and verbally. Eventually, the abuse made him internalize that he was evil and also made him develop a hatred for women.^[7] Although Catman began his criminal career as just a cat-themed version of Batman, his gimmicks were mostly considered laughable by the general criminal community and he was never taken seriously. Blake attempted to steal a 4,000 year old statue of Bast from a museum, running into the Manhunter, who used the thief's vanity plates against him. Shaw called the police to get Catman's car booted, resulting in his capture.^[8]

Later on, after a long absence, Catman resurfaced when his pet tiger escaped and started killing people in Gotham. Although Catman tried to get the tiger back, he took the chance to confront Batman, forcing him to fight the animal. Batman managed to capture the tiger and Catman was attacked by Catwoman, who sought to clear her name after she was blamed for Catman's crimes. Despite his utter defeat, Catman was not captured.^[9]

He would usually spend time in Blackgate Penitentiary.^{[citation needed]} Eventually, Blake left the super-villain game and became a couch potato. After several particularly humiliating run-ins with the Green Arrow, however; he decided to shape up again. Recently, he has decided to return to his old community after many years of training in Africa. He is also no longer exclusively a super-villain, working with both heroes and villains as an on-again/off-again member of the Secret Six.

Outcast

Later, Catman was a member of the short-lived super-villain team named "the Misfits", led by Killer Moth. The Misfits were a group of third-rate super-villains trying to prove themselves by working as a team, but were naturally defeated by Batman and Robin.^[10] Catman would later come into contact with Catwoman again when it was revealed that the cloth that his suit was made from actually belonged to a South Seas cat cult. Catwoman was hired by the cult to return the cloth, but ended up giving them a phony one.^{[citation needed]}

Catman resurfaced as a minor enemy of the Green Arrow. It was shown that Catman had become a pathetic, overweight loser, looked down upon by other super-villains and defeated by the Green Arrow without any real effort. His hair had been dyed black, which he thought "made [him] look tougher," and not only was he still hitting on his girlfriends, but he apparently wore his old costume under his regular clothes. At one point, over an old grudge, Monsieur Mallah sent the Warp to abduct Catman, the implication being that he had met a rather grisly death as Mallah's dinner.^[11]

The Secret Six

See also: Villains United

Catman survived, though, and later resurfaced. It was revealed that he had gone back to his roots in an attempt to remake himself as a man. After a failed attempt at suicide, he returned to Africa and began living with a pride of lions. He lost weight and regained his sense of self-worth and his fighting skills, becoming even more than the warrior that he had previously been. This "perfect existence" however, would be shattered by the arrival of recruiters from the Secret Society of Super-Villains, who were attempting to unite all of Earth's super-villains under their control. Catman was one of the very few villains who refused and, as it was embarrassing to have a "nobody" like Catman refuse them, they slaughtered his entire pride of lions. It was later revealed that although Catman had thought that Deathstroke the Terminator had done the job (under orders from the phony Lex Luthor), it had actually been Deadshot acting under orders from the "Mockingbird" to coerce Catman into joining his team.

Catman vowed revenge against the Society and was subsequently recruited into the Secret Six. Together, the Secret Six waged war against the Society, which at that time was under the direction of the Mockingbird (who would later be revealed to be the real Lex Luthor). When he found out that it had been Deadshot who had performed the hit on his pride of lions, he was naturally furious. But Deadshot would later apologize and Catman graciously forgave him. Although the two were reluctant allies at first, they soon bonded and became what would loosely be called friends.

He would also undergo a carnal relationship with fellow Secret Six member Cheshire. She would later betray him and the rest of the Six to the Society, though, and it was revealed that she had tricked Catman into helping her conceive a child; the Mockingbird was holding her hostage and she believed Catman to be a nearly perfect specimen of a man.^[12] During the Battle of Metropolis, after leaving the Mockingbird's control, the Secret Six decided to strike out on their own as neither super-villains nor super-heroes, but rather as mercenaries.

Expand

This section of the article does not provide a complete profile of the subject. You can help out by providing additional information, expanding on the subject matter in order to bring this article to a higher standard of quality.

This template will categorize articles that include it into Category:Incomplete Articles.

Eventually, the Secret Six ran into the Birds of Prey. Catman and the Huntress - with both of them out of costume - danced together while incognito with hints of an attraction. The two teams battled, six on six, and Catman battled against the Huntress, who hinted that she might have been interested in a relationship if he drew the line between super-villain and super-hero a little bit more carefully. The battle ended with the resurrection of former JLI member Ice. The Secret Six broke up at the end of this adventure.^[13]

Catman was next seen as one of the villains deported to the Hell Planet^[14] along with his fellow Secret Six members Deadshot, the Rag Doll and Scandal Savage.

After returning to Earth, Catman rejoined the re-formed Secret Six. Catman joined Bane and the Rag Doll on a mission to stop criminals in Gotham City after Batman's death. Catman and Bane had a discussion about their suitable positions to take place as Gotham's vigilantes. Their hopes, however, were crushed when Nightwing banished them from Gotham and they decided to move on as the Secret Six.^[15]

Powers and Abilities

Abilities

Genius Level Intellect
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)
Hunting
- Tracking
- Survival
Weaponry
Athletics

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Catsuit: Thomas Blake's cat-suit was made from a cloth belonging to a South Seas cat cult. It has some magical properties. ^{[citation needed]}
- Enhanced Senses: The wearer of the suit can sense danger before it even occurs.^[16]
- Resurrection: The wearer of the cat-suit can come back to life nine times after being killed.^[3]

Transportation

Catmobile: (Formerly)

Weapons

Catarang: On Earth-One, Thomas Blake used the equivalent of a Batarang. Painted red, it had several sharp spikes on it that resembled a cat's claws.^[17]

Notes

Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.

Suicide Squad member
This character is or was a member of the Suicide Squad, a team of imprisoned super-villains who perform high-risk missions for the U.S. Government in exchange for commuted sentences, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Suicide Squad members" category.

[1] Detective Comics #311

[2] Detective Comics #318

[DC325-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Detective Comics #325

[4] Batman #323

[5] Batman #324

[6] Detective Comics #509

[7] Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #47

[8] Manhunter #13

[9] Detective Comics #612

[10] Batman: Shadow of the Bat #7-9

[11] Green Arrow (Volume 3) #20

[12] Villains United #1-6

[13] Birds of Prey #104-108

[14] Salvation Run #3

[15] Secret Six (Volume 3) #9

[16] Batman: Shadow of the Bat #9

[17] Batman #371

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

Thomas Blake (New Earth)

Contents

History

Earth-One