Cat-Man
Cat-Man

Name: Cat-Man
Universe: Earth-1
Alter Ego: Tom Blake
Occupation: Ex-Big Game Trapper, now Professional Criminal
Marital Status: Single
Group Affiliation: None
Base of Operations: Gotham City
Known Relatives: None
Height: 6 ft.
Weight: 179 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green
First Appearance: Detective Comics #311

History:
Once a world-famous trapper of wild cats, Tom Blake retired from the game when he found it held no more challenge for him. Equally bored in retirement, Blake was in conversation with Bruce Wayne one afternoon when a fellow member of their club jokingly suggested that both should emulate the Caped Crusader and become crimefighters.

A compulsive gambler who had already wagered away most of his savings, Blake was intrigued by the possibilities. But realizing he could never compete with the Batman, Blake decided instead to challenge the Darknight Detective by becoming his adversary, thereby reviving the thrill of the hunt, as well as giving Blake a chance to recoup his lost fortune.

Since the big cats of the jungle were his field of expertise, Blake took his inspiration from the then-retired Catwoman to become the King of the Cats... the Cat-Man!

From the ancient cloth that was once wrapped around a carved cat fetish he had acquired in Africa, Blake sewed together a colorful costume, since legend claimed the cloth possessed mystic powers that would protect its wearer from harm, granting him the nine lives of a cat. Then, having designed an arsenal of cat-inspired weaponry, the Cat-Man embarked upon a life of crime.

Again and again over the years, the Cat-Man has matched wits with the Batman, each encounter ending with the Cat-Man's defeat and, frequently, his apparent death. Yet, like his feline namesake, the Cat-Man seems to have many lives, and always lands on his feet.

Powers:
At various times during his career, the Cat-Man has carried a kit bag filled with various items of cat-inspired weaponry, including a razor-sharp Catarang and a clawed Catline used for swinging from building to building. The Cat-Man drives a specially designed Cat-car, and once escaped tha Batman in his personal Catamaran. His boots contain compressed coils which can be used to catapult him over great distances.

An Olympic-level athlete and skilled hand-to-hand combatant, the Cat-Man's greatest asset appears to be his costume itself. Blake claims it is directly responsible for saving him from certain death time and again, yet whether this is due to any actual inherent mystic properties of the ancient cloth or merely Blake's unshakable belief in that power has yet to be determined.


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