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Black Cat has been a part ofMarvelcomics for over four decades. While this isn’t as long as other heroes, it’s still a lengthy amount of time to continue to be a part of the universe. Over the last 30 years, the stealthy cat burglar has also made appearances in video games related to otherMarvelcharacters and titles.
Most notable of her appearances are oftenSpider-Mangames. The recentMarvel’s Spider-Manre-introduced the character and gave her a role in both side missions and DLC, so she’ll hopefully have an even biggerrole in theMarvel’s Spider-Mansequel. In other titles she has served as both ally and anti-hero, often doing the right thing as long as it benefits her.
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The 1990s
The 90s started Black Cat’s video game career withSpider-Man: The Video Gamein arcades andSpider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnageon the SNES and Sega Genesis. Released in 1991 and 1994 respectively, they make up Black Cat’s role in video games for the decade.
While it isn’t much, Black Cat’s appearances here speaks to how video games have grown and evolved. Her character continues to be prominent in games over 30 years later, and she is a consistent inclusion inSpider-Mangames. She’s tied to the character so much that the next two decades see her show up again and again alongside the crimson-clad wall-crawler.
The 2000s
The 2000s was the decade that started to set Marvel apart from some of its competition. While DC saw great success with its animated shows and theDark Knighttrilogy, theMCUwas beginning and fan-favorite Marvel games began to release. This is the decade where classic titles likeSpider-Manreleased on PS1 and Game Boy Color, while later onSpider-Man: Web of Shadowscomes to almost every major console. Along with these appearances,Black Catalso shows up in a couple of other Spidey titles before the next decade.
The 2010s
The 2010s more than doubled the number of games that Black Cat appears in. This is partly due to the ever-increasing popularity of Spider-Man, who had two different movie franchises during this decade - with theMCU’s Spidey series finally releasing a trailer forSpider-Man: No Way Homethis week. TheAmazing Spider-Manmovies received their own tie-in games, with both installments featuring Black Cat.
On top of this, there have been a greater number of Marvel ensemble games of varying genres, each of them bringing large casts of characters to play as.Disney Infinity, alongside games likeMarvel: Future FightandLego Marvel Super Heroes, have been great ways to experience a lot of characters in one space. While they don’t always provide dedicated storylines, the enjoyment from being able to engage with fan-favorite characters is still there.
While Black Cat hasn’t made any appearances in the current decade yet, there is plenty of time for her to show up.Marvel’s Spider-Manwas the start of a narrative that will likely span across several games in the future. Hopefully, this will lead toa video game MCUthat pulls it,Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and the likely sequel together to serve as the start of a larger story.
Such an approach could benefit smaller characters like Black Cat by offering them their own respective titles. There are severalMarvel heroes that should get solo gamesalongside Black Cat as well. In the meantime, her side missions are still worth a playthrough for any fans that haven’t yet completed them inMarvel’s Spider-Man. Through these missions,Marvelfans can see hercryptically taunting Spider-Man while hoarding as much loot as she can.
