Thomas Blake (New Earth)

Thomas Blake, "Catman" began his criminal career mostly as just a cat-themed version of Batman. His gimmicks were mostly considered laughable by the general metahuman community, and he was never taken seriously; he frequently spent time in Blackgate Penitentiary. Eventually Blake mostly left the villain game, and became sort of a couch potato and a loser. After several particularly humiliating run-ins with Green Arrow, however, he decided to shape up again. Recently, he has become much more capable and determined. He is also no longer exclusively a villain, working with both heroes and villains as an on-and-off member of the Secret Six.

Beginnings

"Thomas Blake" was a world-famous trapper of jungle cats, who turned to crime because he had grown bored with hunting and had squandered most of his fortune. He became a burglar who committed his crimes in a catsuit made out of an ancient African cloth believed to give its wielder a cat's nine lives. His costume was modeled after Catwoman's. Catwoman was none too pleased to have her modus operandi copied, and initially helped Batman apprehend him. The two costumed criminals would have a competitive, love/hate relationship for many years afterward, which included Selina Kyle (Catwoman) being wrongly implicated for Catman's crimes at least once. As with many Batman villains of tge era, Catman originally operated largely around gimmicks, and stole items along a "cat" theme, such as cat statues, "cat's eyes" emeralds, etc. His weapon of choice was (of course) a cat-o-nine-tails.
At one point, Catman saved the life of Batwoman, licked her ear, and convinced her to become his partner, a new Catwoman. Soon though, she gave up the Catwoman role and returned to the Batman Family. Later on after an absence, in the late 1980's Catman would resurface, this time working alongside Catwoman to battle against Batman. This alliance wouldn't last long, however, as Catwoman became tired of Catman's abusive attitude towards women, and turned on him.

Outcast

In 1993, Catman as a member of the short-lived team "The Misfits", led by Killer Moth. The Misfits were a group of third-rate villains trying to prove themselves by working as a collective, but were naturally defeated by Batman and Robin.^[1] Catman would later come into contact with Catwoman again, when it was revealed the cloth his suit was made from actually belonged to a South Sea cat cult. Catwoman was hired by the cult to return the cloth, but ended up giving them a fake.
Catman remained in limbo until around 2003, when he resurfaced as a minor foe of Green Arrow (Oliver Queen). It was shown that Catman had become a pathetic, overweight loser, looked down upon by other villains and defeated by 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 his girlfriends, but he apparently wore his old costume under his regular clothes. At one point, over an old grudge, Monsieur Mallah sent Warp to abduct Blake, the implication being that he had met a rather grisly end as Mallah's dinner.^[2] Blake alluded to this during the events of Villains United: "You know you've hit rock bottom when a monkey and a frenchman don't consider you worth killing." Later, when he met Monsieur Mallah again, he commented that he had no desire to see the gorilla's stomach again.

The Secret Six

See also: Villains United

During the events of "Villains United," Catman resurfaced it was revealed that actually Catman 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 fighting skills, becoming even more than the warrior 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 very few villains who refused, and as it was embarassing to have a "nobody" like Catman refuse them, they slaughtered his entire family of lions. It was later revealed that although Catman had thought Deathstroke the Terminator had done the job (under orders from the faux Lex Luthor), it had actually been Deadshot under orders from 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 under the direction of "Mockingbird" (who would later be revealed to be the actual Alexander Luthor). When he found out it had been Deadshot who had performed the hit on his pride, he was furious. But Deadshot would later apologize, and Catman forgave him. Although the two were reluctant allies at first, they soon bonded and became what one could loosely call friends. He would also undergo a sort of romance with fellow Secret Six member Cheshire. She would later betray him and the rest of the Six to the Secret Society though, and it was revealed she had tricked Blake into helping her conceive a child; Mockingbird was holding hers hostage, and she believed Blake to be a nearly perfect specimen of man. During the Battle of Metropolis, after leaving Mockingbird's control, the Secret Six decided to strike out on their own as neither villains nor heroes, but rather mercenaries.
During the events of "Birds of Prey: Dead of Winter," the Secret Six ran into the Birds of Prey. Blake and the Huntress - out of costume, danced together while incognito, with hints of an attraction. The two teams battled, six on six, and Catman paired against Huntress (amidst sexual innuendo), who hinted that she might've been interested in a relationship if he drew the line between villain and hero a little bit more carefully. The fray ended with the resurrection of former JLI member Ice. The Secret Six broke up at the end of this adventure.^[3]
Catman was next seen on the Hell Planet with the rest of the villains deported during the events of "Salvation Run,"^[4] along with fellow Secret Six members Deadshot, Rag Doll and Scandal. It has been hinted that the future may contain further adventures for the Secret Six.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

None known.

Abilities

Superb Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Skilled with Blades, has significantly above-average Intelligence.

Weaknesses

Retains some animalistic tendencies

Paraphernalia

Equipment: None known.
Transportation: None known.
Weapons: None known.

Notes

No special notes.

Trivia

Adam West appears in a few episodes of The Fairly OddParents as himself, an actor who in turn plays a superhero named Catman. In this version he had the colors of the original Catman and was a lot like the Batman of the 1960s television series (in which West played Batman).

Links and References

Footnotes

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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Thomas Blake (New Earth)

From DC Database

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