Black Cat’s 7 Best Costumes, Ranked

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Debating superhero costumes is a beloved tradition among comic book fans. Black Cat may be overlooked when it comes to the larger Spider-Man stories, but Felicia Hardy does have a dedicated fanbase backing her. And let’s not forget that Black Cat does have an all-new ongoing series to headline. In honor of that title’s launch, let’s take a look back at Black Cat’s best costumes.

7) Black Cat’s Villain Era

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One of the many things Dan Slott did during his years-long run on Amazing Spider-Man is make Black Cat a villain. She had always walked the line of an anti-hero, sometimes teaming up with Spider-Man in between pulling off thefts and heists. But this time, Black Cat went full mob boss, running a gang and being a thorn in Spider-Man’s side. Of course, with this change in attitude came a new costume.

This costume featured a black full-body suit that went up to Black Cat’s neck, with the shoulders accentuated with gold shoulder blades. The white fur that could be found on the ankles, wrists, and neck area is now replaced with black fur as well. You can tell that Marvel really wanted to drive the point home that Black Cat is now a villain with the disappearance of any white in her costume, save for her flowing white hair.

6) Black Cat as the Night-Spider

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One of the good things about the Spider-Verse is that it allows fans to meet new variants of their favorite heroes. And sometimes, two or more heroes are mashed up together to make something new. Edge of Spider-Verse did this with Night-Spider, a variant of Black Cat that also has Spider-Man powers.

In the Spider-Verse, there is a version of Felicia Hardy that is bitten by a Spider Idol, somewhat mirroring Peter Parker’s origin story as Spider-Man. While the original Black Cat could never participate in battles to save the Spider-Verse, the Night-Spider has a special interest in seeing the Web of Life and Destiny maintained. Being that she’s now a Spider, Black Cat includes Spider-Man webbing in her costume on the chest and fingertips.

5) Original Ultimate Universe Black Cat

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Speaking of alternate Earths, we now head to Earth-1610, home of Marvel’s original Ultimate Universe. Spider-Man was one of the big headliners of the Ultimate Universe, and one of the antagonists he crossed paths with was Black Cat. The costume is very similar to her standard suit with a low-cut chest opening and a black leather bodysuit.

There is one significant change, and it appears in Black Cat’s face mask. Along with cat ears poking out of her white hair, Black Cat also has gold goggles covering her eyes, perhaps allowing her to see better at night. The upgrade makes a lot of sense.

4) Black Cat Becomes the White Widow

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The world of Spider-Man Noir featured Felicia Hardy not as the Black Cat, but as the White Widow. “Black Cat” served as the name of the nightclub Felicia owned. She got involved in the criminal underworld due to her relationships with reporter Benjamin Urich and the criminal Crime Master. So say bye-bye to the black leather and hello to an all-white costume.

Felicia Hardy’s face was disfigured by Crime Master when he learned about Spider-Man and Felicia’s affair. This led to Felicia covering her face with a white mask while also donning the white bodysuit, taking on the look of Yelena Belova’s White Widow.

3) The New Ultimate Universe Black Cat

image credit: marvel comics

Marvel recently relaunched its Ultimate Universe imprint, which was accompanied by a new volume of Ultimate Spider-Man. This Ultimate Universe features a Peter Parker who becomes Spider-Man as a married man with two kids. Early on in his career, Spider-Man crosses paths with Walter Hardy, the Black Cat, who is injured during their confrontation. Enter his daughter, Felicia Hardy, to take up the Black Cat mantle.

This Black Cat actually meets Spider-Man’s teenage son, Richard Parker, while he’s wearing Spider-Man’s black picotech suit. But as for Black Cat’s costume, we’re still keeping things simplistic with the black bodysuit and eye mask, except we trade the white hair for black curls.

2) Black Cat 2099

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One of Marvel’s variant programs in 2019 included 2099 Variants, giving heroes and villains a 2099 makeover. Since 2099 takes place in one of Marvel’s many future timelines, it gave a way to update characters who already didn’t have a 2099 counterpart. One of those characters is Black Cat, who has one of her better outfits yet.

Keeping with the 2099 vibes, Black Cat 2099 has a sort of TRON motorcycle helmet to cover her head and a silver neck collar that shimmers in the night light. Her costume also includes wrist guards and knee pads that make it stand out from some of the other costumes we’ve highlighted.

1) Iron Cat

image credit: marvel comics

Last, but certainly not least, is the Iron Cat armor. This is the biggest departure from any other Black Cat costume. During a fan-favorite Black Cat run by Jed MacKay, he helped introduce a suit of armor just for Felicia Hardy during her run-in with Iron Man. After piloting the Iron Cat, she eventually relinquished it to Tony Stark, only for it to return later in a new Iron Cat series.

We trade in the black leather for black armor. And since we needed to let fans know that it’s a female underneath, pink is also added to its color scheme. Black Cat still has her claws and a spiffy Black Cat symbol on the chest plate. The popularity of the Iron Cat is what led Marvel to greenlight an Iron Cat limited series, which is what propels it to the #1 spot on our list.

Let us know your thoughts on which costume you think is the best in the comments below!