Back in Black ... Cat? Joe Kelly on Her 'Amazing' Return http://newsarama.com/comics/090620-back-in-black-cat.html
By Vaneta Rogers
posted: 20 June 2009 11:07 am ET 
Newsarama readers already
got the scoopon the return in August of Spider-Man's ex, Mary Jane Watson. But now
comes word that Peter Parker's girl troubles won't stop with the return
of just one of his old flames.
In
Amazing Spider-Man #605-606 in September,
Black Cat returns to Spider-Man's life in a story by writer Joe Kelly
and artist Mike McKone tentatively titled "Back in Black Cat."
First appearing as a sexy cat burglar named Felicia Hardy who wins
Spider-Man's attention, the character has developed an ongoing
relationship with the web-slinger that has traditionally been driven by
the thrill of not knowing who the masked hero is. That all changed when
Spider-Man unmasked during the events of
Civil War, and Black Cat was disappointed to lose the mystique of Spidey's unknown identity.
But along with the rest of the Marvel Universe, Felicia doesn't
remember now who is under the Spider-Man mask. And with this storyline,
she not only pops into his life for a visit for the first time since
that status quo change, but it looks like she's going to be sticking
around for awhile.
We talked to writer Joe Kelly about the return of Black Cat and why
this storyline was a nice change from his work on this summer's
dramatic "American Son" storyline in
Amazing Spider-Man.
Newsarama: Okay Joe, so first we have MJ coming back in August, and then Black Cat is coming back right after that?
Joe Kelly: Yep. He's got a lot of girl trouble at the
moment. [laughs] It's definitely how I like it. Even at his lowest
point, Peter's got one or two girlfriends giving him trouble. It just
seems like, with Mary Jane back, there's a lot of women orbiting Peter
right now. And we just thought it would really shake things up to have
someone go gunning for Spider-Man. Black Cat's thing is that she likes
the excitement of Spider-Man. She was the first one to say, "Let's
leave the mask on." So if we're going to rock Peter's world by having
Mary Jane back, then it's just the law of equal and opposite chaos to
have somebody to rock Spidey's world as well. So Black Cat is so far
the best one to do that.
NRAMA: What's the premise of the storyline in which Black Cat returns?
JK: After American Son and then the events of #600 and
Red-Headed Stranger, there's a lot of heavy stuff dumped in Spidey's
lap. For me, the Black Cat story was a chance to have a little fun.
Obviously, it's in the context of stuff that's meaningful for Spidey.
It's the first issue that I'm writing that really feels like the new
status quo, with Jonah as mayor and the ramifications of that, Mary
Jane back in town, and his social circle out of whack.
And there are other ladies in his life right now who are kind of
messing with his head. Nora's a character who keeps coming up, and
she's this very bizarre thorn in his side. There's another character
that's evolved, and I don't want to say who it is yet because there are
some other surprises with her. So Pete just doesn't have his head
screwed on straight, so what better time to re-introduce Black Cat?
But we'll also see hints of stories that are coming down the road.
You'll start to see rumblings pretty soon about this Gauntlet that
Spidey's going to be running through. We're going to see some hints
about that not only in #600, but also in my issue.
NRAMA: There are so many older characters coming back
into Peter's life over the next few months. Did you guys pitch which
one of those you wanted to write? Or was it a matter of a list that you
got to choose from?
JK: Black Cat, I was definitely wondering how long
until we can bring her back. She's so much fun and she messes with
Spidey in so many ways. But the Gauntlet stuff and the stories that are
attached to that came out of the fact that we didn't really see them
during the year-and-a-half since Brand New Day started. A lot of the
classic guys were off the table, which is always great for a soft
reboot of a character like Brand New Day. And to go back to those
characters all the time diminishes them. So we took those characters
off the table, and now we have a chance to tweak them and to pump them
up and maybe see them in a new way. And Black Cat is included in that
because she's such an interesting force of chaos in his life. It should
be a big deal that she comes back.
So all those Gauntlet guys, we talked about them in a room, and
everybody had their favorites, so we were picking and choosing who
wanted to do what. But there was a lot of pitching in the room for what
would be a cool story for how these characters would come back. But as
these guys re-appear and come back into Spidey's life, including Black
Cat, you'll see that each one of them is really, really interesting and
has changed in a cool way. And it's all leading to something pretty
heavy duty.
NRAMA: Will Black Cat have a new status quo? Is she the Black Cat we've always known and loved?
JK: Well, I know they've played around with her powers
and tried to make her more real. But I like the Black Cat that is just
this irresistible force that Pete just can't take his eyes off of. And
when she's around, it's just trouble, you know? With all the bad luck
powers. She really is the one he should stay away from. So no matter
what he does, things are going to go bad. I love that about her. And
she's a really good character with good motivations.
She is going to have status quo changes that integrate her into
Spider-Man's world, so it won't be where she's just a random character
who sort of bounces in and out all the time. The point is to keep her
around as another romantic interest.
NRAMA: Mike McKone's doing the art, and since this is coming out in September, I assume you've seen it?
JK: Oh yeah. Mike McKone is great with the ladies. I
have no concerns. We've actually wanted to work together for a long
time, so it's great to have the opportunity.
NRAMA: Is there anything else you want to tell people about the story?
JK: Just that it's going to be a lot of fun. After
writing something as heavy as American Son, it's fun to write something
that's just about Spidey and his raging libido and a lady in black
spandex.
for the Spider-Girl
Awesome...
