Black Cat #1 Review

 

Writer: G Willow Wilson

Artist: Gleb Melnikov

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Adam Hughes; Peach Momoko; Simone Di Meo; J Scott Campbell; Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson; Derrick Chew; Jeehyung

Designer: Stacie Zucker

Editors: Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 20, 2025

 

A master thief’s life is filled with peril. Usually, they prove more injurious emotionally than physically. So why is Black Cat sitting in the night nurse’s waiting room? And how might her battle with Hellgate change her? Let’s put on our catsuits, leap into Black Cat #1, and see!

 

Story

Curt Connors gained superpowers by becoming the Lizard. Since then, the two have gone their separate ways. The Lizard identifies with those society discards, such as Miles Morales’ clone brother Shift, the Vermin, and the unhoused who inhabit New York’s underground. But when the Lizard meets Black Cat in G Willow Wilson’s story, he’s on a mission to understand himself better. Unfortunately, neither he nor Black Cat enjoys others getting in their way.

 

But that’s the problem in Black Cat #1. Suddenly, Felicia Hardy isn’t having things her own way. She pushed away Peter Parker to pursue a relationship with Amelia Morrow. Felicia enjoyed a sometime partnership with Mary Jane. Now, Mary Jane has become a member of another family. Recently, Felicia began to wonder what she had left behind when she broke off things with Peter. But as his life begins to settle down following his battles with Cyttorak’s scions, Hellgate takes Peter away from her again.

 

 

In G Willow Wilson’s story, a fraught chase and fight leave Felicia exhausted. As she looks back on her life, she wonders if being the Black Cat is worth it. Has all her hard work yielded the lasting satisfaction we all seek? While her tangle with the lizard prompts a visit to the nurse’s room, it helps her put things in perspective. With Tombstone making a bid to rule the streets, and Spider-Man keeping his distance and taking a tougher stance on crime, New York is becoming a more dangerous place.

 

Felicia Hardy misses Peter Parker. Their different views on life prevented them from bonding as a couple. But she’s not happy being on her own. So, in Black Cat #1, Felicia wonders: what if I tried to be like him? Or at least, the way Peter used to be?

 

 

 

Art

Gleb Melnikov populates the night nurse’s waiting room with costumed characters in need of her services. Some you may recognize. Others, perhaps not. Whether battling Felicia or sitting in the waiting room, the Lizard exudes power in Black Cat #1. Amid his primal fury, he clutches two cages with due care and concern. After their fight, all the barriers fall. As she sinks into a tub of foamy water, Felicia trades glamor in Gleb Melnikov’s 90s Image superhero art for supermodel vulnerability. 

 

 

 

Brian Reber lavishes a loaded palette on Felicia’s flight from the authorities. The setting sun fills the air with gentle pink and orange. As she runs, the brick buildings glow, while the windows of a corner shop burn like a cluster of tiny suns. Hints of streetlights appear in the dark windows of an office where two associates await her call. By the time Black Cat glimpses Spider-Man, the vibrant colors have fled. So, she watches him thwip out of her life beneath a blue and purple sky. 

 

 

 

As Joe Caramagna fills white dialogue balloons with black uppercase text, he shares Felicia’s thoughts with white uppercase letters in black narrative boxes. White letters in green boxes translate the Lizard’s hisses, while red letters flit through a panel, reminding Felicia of those pursuing her. Joe Caramagna stokes the engine powering Black Cat #1 with an ample supply of crash, bang, and big bada boom. Yet whether adorning a symbol of her profession, accompanying an homage, or enhancing the night nurse’s invitation, Joe Caramagna fills Felicia’s moment of truth with all the sounds of reality. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Luck can be an elusive target. Some people work all their lives to achieve it. Others seem blessed with an abundance. Felicia Hardy has always radiated luck. But look beneath the surface, and you’ll see all the hard work she does to make her luck in Black Cat #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.