Joss Whedon’s Justice League was a box office bomb that disappointed critics and fans alike, so Black Cat is rewriting it – embracing Superman.
Warning: SPOILERS for Mary Jane & Black Cat #1marvel’s Black cat outdoes herself yet again, but this time her greatest adventure is in the DC Universe as she changes Justice League for the best. Felicia Hardy is usually seen chasing criminals with Spider-Man, or just chasing Spider-Man; the character is featured more often in 2022 since Zeb Wells’ run broke up Peter Parker and Mary Jane. But Mary Jane and black cat #1 depicts Felicia leaving the Marvel Universe altogether and replacing Spider-Man with none other than Superman as his primary love interest.
2017 Justice League, intended to act as a grand culmination of the entire DCEU up to that point, served instead as a cautionary tale; Poor planning, executive interference, and the visions of multiple directors led to the disappointing debut of DC’s most famous superhero team. Much of the criticism has been directed at director Joss Whedon, hired by Warner Bros. to replace Zack Snyder after a personal tragedy. Whedon’s changes were quite drastic, adding an irreverent humor that clashed with the dark cinematic tone Snyder had already established. Comic book writers – both at DC and at Marvel – took notice immediately.
In Mary Jane and black cat #1, written by Jed MacKay with art by Vincenzo Carratu, the backstory features a tall tale by Felicia Hardy in which she steals Doctor Doom’s mask. Escaping to Doom’s time machine, Black Cat travels through other time periods, universes, and dimensions – but surprisingly ends up in the DCEU. In the final panel, Black Cat is seen kissing what is clearly meant to be Superman (albeit with a lawyer-friendly logo on his chest)… and around their feet are the defeated terrorists of the Justice League movie.
Black Cat Embraces Superman (and Rewrites DCEU History)
They’re the terrorists Wonder Woman defeated, but Black Cat obviously took her place in the narrative (and brought in Superman, just for good measure). This whole situation isn’t real – Felicia makes it up while telling a story to her friends at a card table – but the sentiments of the Marvel writing team are certainly real. Black Cat may not have the powers of most Justice League members like Aquaman or Flash, but that won’t stop him from bravely fighting against super-powered foes.
The Marvel and DC Universes haven’t crossed paths in nearly twenty years, and Black Cat hasn’t appeared in any crossover (it doesn’t help that Catwoman is a surprisingly similar character). But Felicia is the perfect candidate to transition into an alternate reality: she’s drawn to new situations instead of fearful of them, and she has the skills to, at the very least, survive and potentially thrive in a place like Gotham City. . As for Supermanthe Black cat is nothing if not adventurous in both crime-fighting and romantic interests.