{"id":3637,"date":"2023-05-17T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/?p=3637"},"modified":"2026-09-27T18:05:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T21:05:49","slug":"minor-super-villain-279-the-cats-paw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/?p=3637","title":{"rendered":"MINOR SUPER-VILLAIN 279: THE CAT&#8217;S PAW"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(Marvel Mystery Comics v1 018-020, 1941)<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhixwqewrXI8erC5olowRCthZFZ82FyVOMkNHLbPD9sJ3nEAWb625Szd5MnquUZ42mOG9KyrjOjXrtA_Uh81NmYFkqNS3jI31-JJLkBjaOIh_hfYquPpEVmyNjQmhupXeWDH_SG3evlEz_lc5WsuDjPUg6Wq63uz9d6p8PD71-f9Lid5MqEtoJ8ulBBmw\/w640-h374\/27x%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2018%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"836\" data-original-width=\"1434\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhixwqewrXI8erC5olowRCthZFZ82FyVOMkNHLbPD9sJ3nEAWb625Szd5MnquUZ42mOG9KyrjOjXrtA_Uh81NmYFkqNS3jI31-JJLkBjaOIh_hfYquPpEVmyNjQmhupXeWDH_SG3evlEz_lc5WsuDjPUg6Wq63uz9d6p8PD71-f9Lid5MqEtoJ8ulBBmw\/w640-h374\/27x%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2018%201941.JPG\" title=\"cat&apos;s paw\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The Cat&#8217;s Paw gets a pretty classic intro: Dr Lin, the Angel&#8217;s old mentor and friend who was introduced in the previous issue, is ruthlessly murdered via high-speed application of poisoned dart. The Angel give chase, but fails to make the bust.<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEiYt-CcQ69tDUbRQu6jYQ87-Lku7L-qKrpGQyPJ3fDeTWM_Y2lHf2Uetmche6P5juL1pFgQOQ-c7tZauMXFHhe0fYAjwYGTy9btBbFT4tgUZSLie_J77C27JFCMxTkGfXmgyTslIkjwiE5n1nc241RkOMZoYEyIrkmZMUmlq5S9xYMJfdwGocfqFXViCg\/w640-h454\/27xa%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2019%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"590\" data-original-width=\"832\" height=\"454\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEiYt-CcQ69tDUbRQu6jYQ87-Lku7L-qKrpGQyPJ3fDeTWM_Y2lHf2Uetmche6P5juL1pFgQOQ-c7tZauMXFHhe0fYAjwYGTy9btBbFT4tgUZSLie_J77C27JFCMxTkGfXmgyTslIkjwiE5n1nc241RkOMZoYEyIrkmZMUmlq5S9xYMJfdwGocfqFXViCg\/w640-h454\/27xa%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2019%201941.JPG\" title=\"cat&apos;s paw\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The next day we see some of the Cat&#8217;s Paw&#8217;s scheme begin to emerge. She&#8217;s killing industrialists for some reason. But why?<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhTu1AhuzTegPbuDY4fRg6dCaFi8A1jW-KoBnRC4aC2qHz4kkQNw5HL6G72LkQFV-ERGH9BMbXVjuqK6B6suZdla2SrbrxuaoVBiBm1JNmvY2Mfp_U3X3I0rTLe70x2cZWx8DuKpafh5B953g6sCxTP-7VCgL_CI9cFB-vYxiNMWZ2UHZaQPM0ZYnwBlw\/w274-h640\/angel%20marv%20myst%20019%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"953\" data-original-width=\"409\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEhTu1AhuzTegPbuDY4fRg6dCaFi8A1jW-KoBnRC4aC2qHz4kkQNw5HL6G72LkQFV-ERGH9BMbXVjuqK6B6suZdla2SrbrxuaoVBiBm1JNmvY2Mfp_U3X3I0rTLe70x2cZWx8DuKpafh5B953g6sCxTP-7VCgL_CI9cFB-vYxiNMWZ2UHZaQPM0ZYnwBlw\/w274-h640\/angel%20marv%20myst%20019%201941.JPG\" title=\"costume party angel\" width=\"274\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Here&#8217;s our first look at the villain in question, because I chose some odd images to clip. A couple of things about her stand out:<\/p>\n<p>-she&#8217;s our first example (if not necessarily <i>Marvel&#8217;s <\/i>first example &#8211; they&#8217;ve got a half-dozen other titles at this point) of a few things in a Marvel comic: a female super-villain, a proper costumed crook, themed weaponry in the form of a cat-claw launcher, and, kind of, a recurring villain.<\/p>\n<p>-on that last point: not really. Though the Cat&#8217;s Paw does appear in three issues worth of&nbsp; Angel comics, it&#8217;s all one story, just decompressed a bit.<\/p>\n<p>-it is of course notable that she looks a bit like 90s Catwoman<\/p>\n<p>-most importantly: in the above image both the Cat&#8217;s Paw <i>and<\/i>&nbsp;the Angel are attending a costume party as themselves! A twofer!&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEgP1lZFZXGC5e9LylWyUMce4LEAxaZ78B_lT5R4YTK9INTAaEh9o7XPVgEDZzmV8A-KROv-JVIQDZjsEK6tO0lVBW4tpyNcwADMifUELetjR4guLO7hzwKfBOYmbiZtLasHfr2K4sl12e7UWytm_9a0gn0U25rcakDHNNWdo0KQ9Pk24pFNdzQfxo2khw\/w640-h374\/27xb%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"723\" data-original-width=\"1238\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEgP1lZFZXGC5e9LylWyUMce4LEAxaZ78B_lT5R4YTK9INTAaEh9o7XPVgEDZzmV8A-KROv-JVIQDZjsEK6tO0lVBW4tpyNcwADMifUELetjR4guLO7hzwKfBOYmbiZtLasHfr2K4sl12e7UWytm_9a0gn0U25rcakDHNNWdo0KQ9Pk24pFNdzQfxo2khw\/w640-h374\/27xb%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" title=\"the Cat&apos;s paw\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Eventually, the Angel tracks the Cat&#8217;s Paw down to her HQ in one of the dozens of deserted castles that litter the mountains a short drive from NYC in any given comic book universe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEg_Fyz5wsDnMdEdMi2PfC8QYhDdC3oQsGKzIJxy_pAL_TekCFL4TXQ3VrTJxltWjR1w5dWvPVlG-TOEPCDIZFlQbr9uFYYjwXn8RvRV1Tru7CxAR92Z5yo8U0C43RDZMmLN_RYCLhdKsJXCMneHwzhSGH7ffItoaKv7MUhcf_1Cbf81rFfA2sS-dG9P7Q\/w640-h454\/27xc%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"880\" data-original-width=\"1240\" height=\"454\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEg_Fyz5wsDnMdEdMi2PfC8QYhDdC3oQsGKzIJxy_pAL_TekCFL4TXQ3VrTJxltWjR1w5dWvPVlG-TOEPCDIZFlQbr9uFYYjwXn8RvRV1Tru7CxAR92Z5yo8U0C43RDZMmLN_RYCLhdKsJXCMneHwzhSGH7ffItoaKv7MUhcf_1Cbf81rFfA2sS-dG9P7Q\/w640-h454\/27xc%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" title=\"the cat&apos;s paw\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p style=\"clear: both;text-align: left\">Now for the disappointing news: the reason that the Cat&#8217;s Paw was killing all of those industrialists is that she was acting as a&#8230; catspaw for the Nazis in their bid to weaken US support for Britain (and here once more I must note that Marvel was really leading the pack on making Nazi villains for-real Nazis well before Pearl Harbor). She <i>does <\/i>rediscover her patriotism once her Nazi handler tries to bump her off, which is better than nothing, I suppose.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEh-0bUMIaTgwJGG8Tqs0wSGvseazfDHAMOi7D4KglcuWGKiOOeE3VRpwfnzUhvwTQbSOzgBclD0fW6Uhy_SpAOF4C7LjxcyA-6eiENoP5NVlKzXOAuBiDMyh3pADX3Yt3iLv-4oNeFhebi4LdqOG5Ed6JD0pn-8PHtpj18frXHo8eAODrenXEyuxy4m4A\/w640-h514\/27xd%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"703\" data-original-width=\"875\" height=\"514\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEh-0bUMIaTgwJGG8Tqs0wSGvseazfDHAMOi7D4KglcuWGKiOOeE3VRpwfnzUhvwTQbSOzgBclD0fW6Uhy_SpAOF4C7LjxcyA-6eiENoP5NVlKzXOAuBiDMyh3pADX3Yt3iLv-4oNeFhebi4LdqOG5Ed6JD0pn-8PHtpj18frXHo8eAODrenXEyuxy4m4A\/w640-h514\/27xd%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" title=\"the cat&apos;s paw\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEgCPtIz6CssRlU7RBM0QHMxm09GekrYXCmFWb8Eyy-2dMWBp81IeNMUg_CTN3cvf5F5okJwGrFvyAqkIQTuAmssg3ZnE658KA4VU5bucasYyRh2WUd3syGVAUtETRlPR36CfHoix2T58F9QO9gPKdJgL-f2N9tF_gXrLpx4XfNlSvUEfOfh4y2tFxV7gA\/w640-h460\/27xe%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em;margin-right: 1em\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"600\" data-original-width=\"834\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/b\/R29vZ2xl\/AVvXsEgCPtIz6CssRlU7RBM0QHMxm09GekrYXCmFWb8Eyy-2dMWBp81IeNMUg_CTN3cvf5F5okJwGrFvyAqkIQTuAmssg3ZnE658KA4VU5bucasYyRh2WUd3syGVAUtETRlPR36CfHoix2T58F9QO9gPKdJgL-f2N9tF_gXrLpx4XfNlSvUEfOfh4y2tFxV7gA\/w640-h460\/27xe%20the%20cats%20paw%20marv%20mys%2020%201941.JPG\" title=\"the cat&apos;s paw\" width=\"640\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s where I&#8217;d normally be decrying the comic for killing her off at the end, pointing out how ambiguous the &#8220;guess we&#8217;ll never find the corpse, oh well&#8221; nature of her death <i>is,<\/i>&nbsp;and call for her to be brung back as a legacy villain, but the Nazi collaboration is really sticking in my craw. Honestly if she hadn&#8217;t walked it back at the end I&#8217;d be all for the Cat&#8217;s Paw showing up as an Axis agent in period pieces going forward but as-is I reckon she can lie fallow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Marvel Mystery Comics v1 018-020, 1941) The Cat&#8217;s Paw gets a pretty classic intro: Dr Lin, the Angel&#8217;s old mentor and friend who was introduced in the previous issue, is ruthlessly murdered via high-speed application of poisoned dart. The Angel give chase, but fails to make the bust. The next day we see some of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,288,1999,353,44,47,24,40,23,28,20,140,7,933],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-14","category-angel","category-cats-paw","category-costume-party-heroes","category-dead","category-gang-boss","category-marvel-comics","category-marvel-mystery-comics","category-minor-super-villain","category-multiple-appearances","category-murderer","category-nazi-collaborator","category-the","category-themed-weaponry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3637"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3644,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3637\/revisions\/3644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theskeletoncurse.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}