Tigra
Encyclopedia
Tigra is a fictional
American
comic book
superheroine in the Marvel Comics
universe
. Introduced
as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 (Nov. 1972), she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas
, writer Linda Fite
, and penciller
Marie Severin
. She mutated into the super powered tiger-woman Tigra in Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974), by writer Tony Isabella
and penciller Don Perlin
.
and Shanna the She-Devil
. Marvel writer-editor Roy Thomas
recalled in 2007 that editor-in-chief Stan Lee
...
The series lasted four issues, each with a different art team. Severin was teamed with acclaimed 1950s EC Comics
artist Wally Wood
as inker
for the premiere, followed by Severin and inker Jim Mooney
in issue #2; newcomer Paty Greer co-penciling with 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books
legend Bill Everett
, who also inked, in issue #3; and Jim Starlin
and Alan Weiss
co-penciling the finale, with Frank McLaughlin inking. A fifth issue of the series was drawn by Ramona Fradon
but the title was canceled due to lack of sales on previous issues.
The Cat next appeared alongside Spider-Man
in Marvel Team-Up
#8 (April 1973), but was soon revamped as the super powered, part-animal Tigra in a two-part story in Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974; "Giant-Size" refers to the comic's page-count, not giant creatures) and Werewolf by Night
#20 (Aug. 1974). Tigra made her solo-feature debut with a 15-page story in the black-and-white horror
-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed #10 (Feb. 1975), followed by a brief run in the umbrella series Marvel Chillers #3-7 (Feb.-Oct. 1976), and one more solo story in Marvel Premiere
#42 (June 1978).
Tigra went on to guest star throughout the Marvel line, often appearing in issues of the superhero-team comic The Avengers
and later in the cast of the spin-off West Coast Avengers
. She starred in the four-issue miniseries
Tigra (May-Aug. 2002) by writer Christina Z. and artist Mike Deodato
, and has since guest starred in She-Hulk
, Civil War, various Avengers comics, and elsewhere.
Tigra became a lead character in the monthly "Avengers Academy
" series in 2010.
Greer Grant was a native of Chicago
, Illinois
. She was a sophomore at the University of Chicago
when she met her future husband, policeman Bill Nelson. She left college to marry him. The marriage was a strong one, flawed only by Bill's overprotective nature. Bill was killed in an off-duty shooting, and Greer had to find a job of her own. After weeks of searching, she ran into her old physics professor, Dr. Joanne Tumulo.
Dr. Tumulo was working on the human potential experiments that turned Shirlee Bryant into the super powered villainess called the Cat. Not trusting the test subject chosen by her financial backer, Malcolm Donalbain, Greer persuaded Dr. Tumulo to let her undergo the experimental treatments as well. She emerged with superhuman physical and mental capabilities. When Donalbain had Dr. Tumulo's lab destroyed with dynamite, Greer donned one of dozens of the Cat costumes that she had created and the doctor had appropriated and set out to put an end to his scheme. With her new abilities, she adapted quickly to the strange garb and wrecked Donalbain's headquarters. Rather than let himself be touched by the Cat's raking claws, Donalbain committed suicide. A fire set off by the ruined equipment destroyed Donalbain's headquarters. Greer embarked on a brief career as the Cat, mostly battling old Daredevil
foes.
Another of Donalbain's Cat costumes surfaced years later, when Patsy Walker discovered it while accompanying the Avengers. She donned it and dubbed herself Hellcat.
, a humanoid race created by sorcery during the Dark Ages. Concerned about the Cat People's uncontrollable population growth and savagery, a community of sorcerers eventually banished the entire original Cat People population to a demonic netherworldly realm.
The two very first Cat People, who were themselves very capable scientists and sorcerers, were able to evade banishment through their magic. They continued to live amongst humanity in secret and worked to refine the Cat People's biology to make a peaceful integration into the human population possible. However, they were constantly persecuted and required a protector. Discovering that the original spell for transforming cats into Cat People like themselves had been rendered inoperative, they created a process combining science, sorcery, and focused mental power that could transform a human female into a "Tigra," a being with abilities that far surpassed those of either race.
This unnamed first Tigra defended the Cat People with great effectiveness, and allowed a new community to establish themselves on Earth, separate from the group that had been banished. This new population continued to live amongst humanity in secrecy through the present-day, relying on enchantments that cast the illusion of a human appearance.
Nothing is known about the other Tigras who may have existed, or even if there have been more than two. At the time when Greer was transformed into a Tigra, "The Tigra" was only remembered by the Cat People as a distant but powerful legend. It has been strongly implied that only one Tigra can exist at any given time.
Dr. Tumulo was revealed to be one of these modern Cat People. When members of HYDRA
tracked Tumolo down to obtain "The Final Secret" (the Black Death plague, which was another creation of the first two Cat People), Greer once again donned the Cat costume and drove them off. However, she was mortally injured by a blast from one of their alpha radiation pistols.
Greer regained consciousness in a Baja California
cave, surrounded by a gathering of Cat People summoned by Tumolo. Rapidly dying from the radiation's effects, Greer was offered one last hope of survival: a combination of ancient science, sorcery, and mental power that would transform her into Tigra, the Cat People's legendary half-human, half-cat warrior. She readily consented, began wearing only her black bikini
from this time on, and arose from the ceremony as a superhuman-powered human-animal hybrid. Striped fur covered her entire body, her hands and feet bore razor-sharp claw
s, her teeth became long and pointed, and her eyes were now cat-eyes. In addition to superhuman strength and senses, she also gained many of the drives and instincts of a cat. Soon after, she encountered the Werewolf
.
Though initially unable to change back to her human self, the Cat People ultimately gave her a mystical cat-headed amulet that allowed her to change at will. She seldom made use of it, however, preferring her feline, super powered form and mostly abandoning her life as Greer Grant-Nelson.
Greer resumed her superhero career, with most of the world unaware that the woman who briefly fought crime as The Cat was now the feline Tigra. She fought alongside most of Marvel's heavy-hitters in wide-ranging adventures. She first battled Kraven the Hunter
, and then teamed with Spider-Man
against Kraven. She also became a friend and associate of the Fantastic Four
.
When the Avengers
found themselves shorthanded, Moondragon
used her mental powers to compel a dozen unaffiliated heroes (apparently selected at random) to travel to Avengers Mansion and audition for the vacant position. Though he disapproved of Moondragon's methods, Captain America offered Tigra a spot on the team.
Although Tigra's first tenure with the Avengers was brief, she served well. She also aided the X-Men
against Deathbird
. Her time with the Avengers was highlighted by her single-handedly saving the world from destruction by the Molecule Man
, who intended to consume the planet's energy a la Galactus
. Alone among the Avengers, she was able to get close enough to him to talk him out of his plan. She convinced him to seek help from a therapist and the Molecule Man has ceased to be a threat to this day.
The Avengers fought the Ghost Rider
, who blasted the team with his terror-inducing hellfire. The nature of Tigra's powers caused her to be affected by the exposure on a far deeper level than her teammates. She was left with great self-doubts about her qualifications as a member of Earth's premier superhero team, particularly alongside such heavy-hitters as Thor
and Iron Man
. Ultimately she resigned her membership, leaving the team on good terms.
She resumed her solo career, eventually settling in San Francisco where she had a series of adventures with Jessica Drew
(the then-depowered Spider-Woman
), who had gone into the detective business. They enjoyed such a pleasant friendship and made such an effective team that they were making plans to make their arrangement permanent when The Vision
recruited Tigra to become a founding member of the Avengers' new west coast-based team. Alongside the new West Coast Avengers
, she fought Graviton
, and became a close friend of Wonder Man
. She also began a flirtation with Henry Pym
. She was defeated by Kraven and rescued by teammate Mockingbird
.
While with the West Coast Avengers, she seemed to have shed the remainders of her hellfire-induced self-doubt. However, the cat-like aspects of her personality (such as a penchant for savagery and a need for affection) had begun to dominate her human intellect, causing her increasing distress. She sought help from her Avengers teammates in overcoming the "cat" side of her personality, which had caused her to try to become the lover of both Wonder Man and Henry Pym. She also encountered and fought the Werewolf. She was transported with the West Coast Avengers by Balkatar to the realm of the Cat People. Ultimately, she came into contact with the banished colony of Cat People, whose king agreed to resolve her crisis in exchange for carrying out her historical function by murdering the Cat People's longtime foe, Master Pandemonium
. Though she initially accepted their terms, when the critical moment came at an arena in the Cat People's realm, Tigra refused to violate the Avengers' code against killing, and failed to kill Master Pandemonium. The Cat People stripped her of her "Tigra soul" (the peculiar articulation of her Tigra powers in this demonic realm). She was reduced to her normal, pre-transformation human state.
Hellcat, who had accompanied Greer and the West Coast Avengers, lent Greer the super-suit that she used to wear as The Cat, and a battle ensued. As the tide began to turn against the Cat People, their leader released the "Tigra soul" as a means of confusing Greer. The tactic backfired. The cat-suit had been designed by a Cat Person (Tumolo) specifically to amplify Greer's human capabilities. So instead of Greer being dominated by the "Tigra soul" as before, the suit caused her human and feline personalities to successfully integrate together.
This time, Greer's transformation into the legendary cat-warrior was much more complete than before. Her strength and abilities were far greater than they were originally. Her appearance became more feline, however, and she grew a tail like the rest of the Cat People. She also lost the ability to shift back to a human form, though as before she showed no sense of loss for her human identity.
Her transformation was so complete and the Tigra legend was so strong amongst the Cat People that they immediately ceased hostilities. Tigra continues to hold a position of significant reverence among the Cat People.
The transformation also resolved the conflicts between the human and feline aspects of her personality. Tigra could now exploit the full range and ferocity of her abilities without fear of going so far that she would lose control of her actions, and she could also indulge her natural feline inclinations (such as hunting and chasing prey for enjoyment) without feeling guilty or self-conscious. This integration was confirmed in concrete ways immediately upon the team's return to Earth. Tigra performed a sport dive off the highest span of the Golden Gate Bridge, exhibiting no signs of any injury or fear of the water. She also terminated her ongoing relationship with Hank Pym, explaining that although she no longer felt a cat-like need to seek affection at every opportunity, she had no conventional human desire to be tied down to one mate, either.
She was captured by Graviton at one point, but freed the Avengers from him. Around this time, the Arthurian Lady of the Lake summoned the West Coast Avengers to England
to aid the superhero team Excalibur
. With the others, Tigra ventured into the realm of limbo to help stop Doctor Doom
's mad plans to gain power at the cost of killing everyone in Britain.
Tigra briefly left the West Coast Avengers in a dispute over the Avengers' policy against killing. Tigra stated that she believed by her very nature that killing prey was sometimes necessary. She joined Mockingbird
and Moon Knight
in forming an independent group.
After returning to the team, Tigra inexplicably underwent another "inversion" and transformed into a more beast-like feline shape, losing her human intellect completely and becoming a danger to her fellow Avengers. This was possibly due to the reality-warping machinations of Immortus
, who at the time sought to distract the team so as to have unimpeded access to the Scarlet Witch
. Tigra was forcibly shrunken down to sub-housecat size by Hank Pym and kept in a cage in his lab while the team tended to other urgent matters. She escaped and traveled into suburbia where she lived as a wild animal. She was ultimately rescued and restored to her former appearance and stability by noted witch Agatha Harkness
, who was an associate of the West Coast Avengers at that time.
Tigra resumed her membership in the West Coast Avengers. On an intelligence-gathering mission in Japan, she and Iron Man battled a team of Asian supervillains known as the Pacific Overlords
. During the fight, Iron Man was incapacitated and Tigra suffered a deep, critical stab wound to the abdomen before dispatching her attackers and making her escape. She flew away in the Avengers' Quinjet, intending to report back to headquarters on the Overlords' plans, but severe loss of blood caused her to lose consciousness and crash land in Arnhem Land
, an Aboriginal
territory in northern Australia. Rescued by Aborigines, she decided to stay put while she recovered from her wounds, naming Spider-Woman Julia Carpenter as her replacement. She briefly made Arnhem Land her home, enjoying the company of the Aborigines and the pleasures of living wild.
After the West Coast Avengers disbanded, Tigra resumed her wide-ranging adventures. Though no longer an active Avenger, she continued to participate in Avengers operations when needed, as a member of the team's extended family.
With the aid of a new transformation device to disguise her true identity from her fellow officers, Tigra spent some time on the New York City police force. She focused much of her time on a personal case and in combating a force of vigilante police officers.
Later, mystical forces which attacked all Avengers brought her to the Avengers Mansion
. There, she and all the other Avengers were entrapped by Morgan LeFay
, to live out in an alternate universe where LeFay ruled, fighting alongside the others as one of the "queen"'s guards under the name "Grimalkin". After the defeat of Morgan, Tigra went off into space with Starfox, to enjoy the pleasures found there. She appeared off and on, having a series of adventures as part of the ad-hoc space-faring Avengers Infinity
team in which she helps in preventing an extra-universal race from destroying all life in our universe.
Tigra returned to Earth with the Avengers Infinity team during the Maximum Security storyline, during which she helped to save the Earth from becoming a penal colony for alien criminals.
and the other heroes who opposed the Act and turned fugitive. Nonetheless, in Civil War Files, Tigra was listed not merely as having registered to comply with the law, but also as having become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
to actively aid in its enforcement.
Pretending to switch allegiances, she infiltrated Captain America's Secret Avengers team as a mole. She passed information to Iron Man undetected until the very end of the conflict, when she was discovered and "outed" by Hulkling
, Captain America's own spy among the pro-registration forces. Captain America kept quiet, exploiting her presence to feed disinformation
to Iron Man about his team's plan to rescue imprisoned heroes later that day.
. She served as a founding instructor at Camp Hammond, the training compound for The Initiative, and resumed her romantic relationship with fellow superhero Yellowjacket
., unaware that he had been kidnapped and replaced by a Skrull duplicate.
Tigra was captured by Chilean soldiers controlled by the Puppet Master
, who sculpted a figure in her likeness and thus put her under his mental control. He uses her and the other superhuman women he's enslaved (including as Stature
, Dusk
, Araña
, and Silverclaw
) as elite guards at his South American base of operations. Tigra and the rest of the heroes were restored to their normal free will when Ms. Marvel
and her S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team liberated the compound and killed the Puppet Master.
Later she was shot and severely beaten by the Hood
in her home in retaliation for having beaten Jigsaw
, a member of his fledgling super-criminal organization. While Tigra was incapacitated, the Hood threatened the life of her mother, and Jigsaw stole the mystic talisman she occasionally uses to transform to her human identity.
The Hood and his entire crew later appeared at her apartment, demanding to know the location of the New Avengers' secret headquarters. Tigra intentionally gave him information that led them into an ambush. She joined in the battle and personally beat down the Hood, saving the life of Iron Fist in the process. By the time of the Hood's second appearance in her apartment, she had completely recovered from her injuries and had either reacquired her talisman or replaced it with a close facsimile.
Tigra continued to serve in the Initiative as a senior staff member of the central organization, and was the leader of the Arkansas Initiative team "The Battalion,", until the Initiative was taken over by Norman Osborn and she learned of the Hood's role as his right-hand man. She has also appeared as a member of She-Hulk's "Lady Liberators" team.
After the Skrull invasion
, Tigra reveals to Hellcat and Trauma
that she believes herself to be pregnant by Yellowjacket, though she is unsure if the baby is the real Hank's or the Skrull imposter's. She tells Trauma that she has decided to terminate the pregnancy regardless of the father's identity. She later decides to leave the camp for Arkansas, planning to train Razorback
, who had been replaced by a Skrull and recently returned, and was eager to take the imposter's place in The Battalion. When she was nearly injured by Ragnarok
's hammer she seemed to show concern for the baby.
When Norman Osborn
told her that he was going to take her baby for genetic testing and that moreover he'd made the Hood the chief operating officer of the Initiative, Tigra went on the run with Gauntlet despite having been offered her choice of prestige assignments as a registered hero. She co-founded the Avengers Resistance
., choosing its name as a means of restoring honor to the legendary team's traditions. Now wanted as an outlaw, she began exacting personal vengeance from members of The Hood's gang, starting by savagely attacking and beating a member of The Brothers Grimm
inside his home. She currently serves as the team's de-facto leader.
Tigra is later approached by Ultra Girl asking why she and the Avengers Resistance are going after the villains in the Initiative. In response, she shows her a video of the Hood savagely beating her. Now, she wants to get back at them, by showing them that they are vulnerable...by making them scared and broken. Tigra later ambushes Mandrill.
She claimed her final retribution against The Hood not on the battlefield, but after he was rendered powerless and taken into custody. After telling him that she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of taking his life, the sight of his baby in the hallway outside convinced her that dooming him to either a life in prison or on the run would be far worse punishment, as he'd never get to hold his child ever again; and to kill him would jeopardize her future with her own baby. Tigra gave birth to what is apparently a normal Cat Person kitten during the transition between Tony Stark's administration of The Initiative and Norman Osborn's; the gestation period was a mere two months, due to her feline physiology. She hid the infant from Osborn, entrusting its care to the Cat People until the end of hostilities. She named the child William, after her late husband.
Following the arrest and incarceration of Norman Osborn, the dismantling of his criminal superhero teams, and the repeal of the Superhuman Registration Act, the President names Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) as America's new head of national security. Rogers seeks to assemble a collection of heroes to inspire the nation and the world as a new organization of Avengers. Tigra is among the 25 heroes he personally invites to join him in creating a new Heroic Age.
Alongside Hank Pym, Quicksilver, Jocasta, Speedball and Justice, Tigra serves as part of the founding faculty of Avengers Academy
, training a new generation of heroes in the traditions of the world's elite superhero team.
During this time, Tigra learns that the Skrull posing as Pym was indeed William's father, but as he had disguised himself as Pym at the genetic level, it means that William is half-human, rather than half-Skrull, with Pym technically being the genetic father. After learning this, Tigra asks Henry to take care of William in the event of anything happening to her.
When a former associate of The Hood plans to release the video of Tigra's beating commercially, Tigra arranges to have the footage air in its entirety during a live interview, so that her own experience may serve as an example to other trauma survivors and inspire them to seek help. During this same interview, she announces her formation of a series of "Always An Avenger" centers to provide veterans, children, spouses, and any other trauma victims with needed counseling and resources.
Members of the existing Avengers Academy class react to the initial news of the video by tracking the unpowered Hood down, attacking him, and releasing video of the attack on the Internet, rather than taking the escaped Hood into custody and returning him to jail. Tigra becomes furious at their counter-heroic actions and by their refusal to appreciate the seriousness of their transgression. She summarily expels all those involved. Later, after talking with the rest of the faculty staff, they decide to put all those involved on probation instead.
She has slowly grown closer to Henry Pym and the two have resumed their romantic relationship.
. Her physical appearance is distinctly cat-like. A thick, sleek coat of orange fur with black stripes covers her entire body. She has pointed ears, sharper-than-normal teeth with pronounced upper and lower canines, eyes with enlarged irises and vertically-slitted pupils, and retractable claws on her feet and hands instead of nails. Her claws and teeth are sufficiently strong to puncture sheet steel, such as that found in a car body. Tigra also has a long semi-prehensile tail, and can willfully contact (but not grasp and lift) objects with it. Tigra's feline physiology grants her various superhuman attributes including superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and resistance to physical injury. If she is injured, her physiology enables her to heal much faster and more extensively than an ordinary human is capable of.
Tigra's senses of sight, smell, and hearing extend far into the superhuman range and are also superior to those of ordinary cats. Tigra can see farther, and with much greater clarity, than an ordinary human. She has this same level of clarity at night, and her vision also extends slightly into the infrared spectrum, allowing her to see in complete darkness.
Her hearing is similarly enhanced, allowing her to hear a wider range of frequencies than a normal human as well as clearly hear sounds that would be far too faint for a human to detect. Exposure to intense, high-frequency sound is far more painful for Tigra than a normal human, however.
Tigra's sense of smell is developed to the point that she can recognize a person by scent alone, and track an individual across great distances and through complex environments. She can also sense changes in a person's mood through changes in scent.
The unusual feline-human hybrid configuration of her brain makes her somewhat resistant to telepathic assaults. Though Tigra is not immune to such tactics, attackers have been forced to focus their powers carefully in order to use them effectively against her.
Like all cats, the interconnective tissues of Tigra's skeleton are unusually resilient. On at least one occasion this allowed her to shift her bones to slip out of mechanical restraints that would have effectively held a normal human, though doing so was quite painful. This resiliency also contributes to many of her other super-powered abilities, such as her body's resistance to injury.
Tigra possesses a mystical talisman that allows her to change her appearance from feline to human at will. She rarely uses it and only appears in her human form when circumstances require it. She regards her feline body as her natural form.
She formerly possessed what was referred to as a "cat-soul" in addition to her "human soul." Though vaguely-defined, her "two souls" were consistently depicted merely as a means to describe her conflicting human and her feline instincts, and not as separate personalities or personas. Regardless of the definition of her "two souls," they were fully merged during Greer's second, more complete transformation into the legendary figure.
Greer received a form of empathic ability when she became The Cat. She retains this ability as Tigra. With careful concentration, she can sense the emotions of others within her immediate proximity. She appears to prefer to achieve this same effect through her enhanced feline senses.
Tigra is an experienced and formidable hand to hand combatant, with a unique fighting style that exploits her feline speed, agility, senses, and instincts. She is a superhumanly adept athlete and gymnast. Like all Avengers of her generation, she has sparred and trained extensively with Steve Rogers, the original Captain America.
She is also a capable leader and pilot, qualified to operate Avengers aircraft as well as interstellar spacecraft.
While working undercover in human guise, Tigra attended the New York Police Academy to investigate the decade-old murder of her husband. After bringing the murderers to justice, she completed her training under her Greer Nelson identity. While she does not serve as an active-duty police officer, she retains legal authority under both her civilian and superpowered identities and unofficial ties to the police community.
Tigra possesses mystical abilities that have largely gone unexplored. In addition to using her mystic talisman to change her appearance from feline to human and back, she has been shown magically summoning the Balkatar, the cat-people's designated emissary to the Earthly plane. When Dr. Strange abdicated his position as Sorcerer Supreme, the Eye of Agamotto created a vision showing the many mystic beings who were potentially worthy and/or capable of assuming the title. An image of Tigra was included in this vision.
Tigra's physiology is more feline than human. When she became pregnant via the Skrull pretending to be Hank Pym, she carried the baby to term in two months, producing a single Cat Person son named William. William does not have any traces of Skrull DNA as the Skrull pretending to be Hank Pym imitated him down to a cellular level, thus genetically William is Hank Pym's son. William ages more quickly than a human baby would.
, a reality in which Magneto
rules the world and mutants are the dominant species, Tigra exploits her feline appearance to "pass" as a mutant. She operates unnoticed in mainstream mutant society on behalf of pro-human groups, first as a member of the Sapien Liberation Army and then as a founding member of Luke Cage
's underground "Avengers" team as well as becoming his lover. During an FBI ambush set up by Misty Knight, Tigra spots the Taskmaster taking aim at Cage from a distant rooftop and leaps into the line of fire. She takes the bullet, saving Cage's life, and dies at the scene.
" alternate reality as Dr. Strange's assistant/familiar, bound by a magical curse that keeps her in were-tiger form until she completes a thousand good deeds. She survives the first and second volumes of the Marvel Mangaverse series, but is murdered within the first few pages of the third and final volume; New Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate.
continuity, Tigra as a zombie is seen in Ultimate Fantastic Four #23. She is part of a huge group of superpowered zombies who have learned of the existence of a trio of humans. The humans are successfully rescued by this universe's Magneto and the Ultimate Fantastic Four
.
She is working as an independent private investigator when a masked man, purporting to be a famous author researching a book about the Avengers, hires Tigra to secretly trail and collect information about its members. After two weeks of following individual Avengers and attempting to avoid detection, she observes the team fighting a losing battle against The Griffin. She leaps in to join the fray. The Griffin is subdued with her help and the team reveals to Tigra that her mysterious client was actually Spider-Man; the assignment was merely a ruse designed to evaluate her potential as an Avenger. She is offered a spot on the team and eagerly accepts.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superheroine in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. Introduced
First appearance
In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first occurrence to feature a fictional character.-Monetary value of first appearance issues:...
as the non-superpowered crime fighter The Cat in Claws of the Cat #1 (Nov. 1972), she was co-created by writer-editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, writer Linda Fite
Linda Fite
Linda Fite is an American writer and editor who created the Marvel Comics series The Cat, and who while serving as an assistant to Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, helped bring fledgling artist Barry Windsor-Smith to the company by responding with an encouraging note to some art he had sent to the...
, and penciller
Penciller
A penciller is an artist who works in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms.The penciller is the first step in rendering the story in visual form and may require several steps of feedback with the writer. These artists are concerned with layout to showcase...
Marie Severin
Marie Severin
Marie Severin is an American comic book artist and colorist best known for her work for Marvel Comics and the 1950s' EC Comics....
. She mutated into the super powered tiger-woman Tigra in Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974), by writer Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella
Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath, DC Comics' first major African American superhero, Black Lightning, and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Marvel Comics:Before he joined...
and penciller Don Perlin
Don Perlin
Don Perlin is an American comic book artist and occasional writer best known for Marvel Comics' Werewolf by Night, The Defenders, and Ghost Rider...
.
Publication history
The Cat was introduced in one of a trio of Marvel Comics aimed at a female audience, alongside Night NurseNight Nurse (comics)
Night Nurse is the name of a Marvel Comics comic-book series published in the early 1970s, as well the nom de guerre of a fictional character, Linda Carter, known for her willingness to help injured superheroes...
and Shanna the She-Devil
Shanna the She-Devil
Shanna the She-Devil is a fictional jungle adventuress in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Carole Seuling and penciler George Tuska, she made her first appearance in Shanna the She-Devil #1 Shanna the She-Devil is a fictional jungle adventuress in comic books published by...
. Marvel writer-editor Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
recalled in 2007 that editor-in-chief Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
...
The series lasted four issues, each with a different art team. Severin was teamed with acclaimed 1950s EC Comics
EC Comics
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series...
artist Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
as inker
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
for the premiere, followed by Severin and inker Jim Mooney
Jim Mooney
James Noel "Jim" Mooney was an American comic book artist best known as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, and as the signature artist of DC Comics' Supergirl, both during what comics historians and fans call the Silver Age of comic books...
in issue #2; newcomer Paty Greer co-penciling with 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books
Golden Age of Comic Books
The Golden Age of Comic Books was a period in the history of American comic books, generally thought of as lasting from the late 1930s until the late 1940s or early 1950s...
legend Bill Everett
Bill Everett
William Blake "Bill" Everett, also known as William Blake and Everett Blake was a comic book writer-artist best known for creating Namor the Sub-Mariner and co-creating Daredevil for Marvel Comics...
, who also inked, in issue #3; and Jim Starlin
Jim Starlin
James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters...
and Alan Weiss
Alan Weiss (comics)
Alan Weiss is an American comic book artist and writer known for his work on Warlock, Avengers, Captain America, Daredevil, Sub-Mariner and Spider-Man...
co-penciling the finale, with Frank McLaughlin inking. A fifth issue of the series was drawn by Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon
Ramona Fradon is an American comic book and comic strip artist, known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950, when it was even more unusual for women to illustrate superhero comics.-Career:Fradon entered cartooning...
but the title was canceled due to lack of sales on previous issues.
The Cat next appeared alongside Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
in Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up is the name of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story...
#8 (April 1973), but was soon revamped as the super powered, part-animal Tigra in a two-part story in Giant-Size Creatures #1 (July 1974; "Giant-Size" refers to the comic's page-count, not giant creatures) and Werewolf by Night
Werewolf by Night
Werewolf by Night is a fictional character, an antiheroic werewolf in the Marvel Comics universe. The Werewolf by Night first appeared in Marvel Spotlight vol...
#20 (Aug. 1974). Tigra made her solo-feature debut with a 15-page story in the black-and-white horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed #10 (Feb. 1975), followed by a brief run in the umbrella series Marvel Chillers #3-7 (Feb.-Oct. 1976), and one more solo story in Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981....
#42 (June 1978).
Tigra went on to guest star throughout the Marvel line, often appearing in issues of the superhero-team comic The Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
and later in the cast of the spin-off West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
. She starred in the four-issue miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Tigra (May-Aug. 2002) by writer Christina Z. and artist Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato , sometimes credited as Mike Deodato Jr., is the professional pseudonym of Brazilian comic book artist Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho.-Biography:...
, and has since guest starred in She-Hulk
She-Hulk
She-Hulk is a Marvel Comics superheroine. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1 ....
, Civil War, various Avengers comics, and elsewhere.
Tigra became a lead character in the monthly "Avengers Academy
Avengers Academy
Avengers Academy is a Marvel Comics comic book series that debuted in June 2010 as part of the "Heroic Age". The series is written by Christos Gage, with artwork by Mike McKone and tells the story of a group of young super-powered persons who were selected to join a training academy for the...
" series in 2010.
The Cat
Greer Grant was a native of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. She was a sophomore at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
when she met her future husband, policeman Bill Nelson. She left college to marry him. The marriage was a strong one, flawed only by Bill's overprotective nature. Bill was killed in an off-duty shooting, and Greer had to find a job of her own. After weeks of searching, she ran into her old physics professor, Dr. Joanne Tumulo.
Dr. Tumulo was working on the human potential experiments that turned Shirlee Bryant into the super powered villainess called the Cat. Not trusting the test subject chosen by her financial backer, Malcolm Donalbain, Greer persuaded Dr. Tumulo to let her undergo the experimental treatments as well. She emerged with superhuman physical and mental capabilities. When Donalbain had Dr. Tumulo's lab destroyed with dynamite, Greer donned one of dozens of the Cat costumes that she had created and the doctor had appropriated and set out to put an end to his scheme. With her new abilities, she adapted quickly to the strange garb and wrecked Donalbain's headquarters. Rather than let himself be touched by the Cat's raking claws, Donalbain committed suicide. A fire set off by the ruined equipment destroyed Donalbain's headquarters. Greer embarked on a brief career as the Cat, mostly battling old Daredevil
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
foes.
Another of Donalbain's Cat costumes surfaced years later, when Patsy Walker discovered it while accompanying the Avengers. She donned it and dubbed herself Hellcat.
Tigra
"The Tigra" is the historical defender/champion of the Cat PeopleCat People (comics)
The Cat People are a fictional species of humanoids in Marvel Comics' universe.-Publication history:Dr. Joanne Tumulo, later revealed to be a member of the Cat People race, first appeared in Claws of the Cat #1-4 , and was created by Linda Fite and Roy Thomas , and Marie Severin .The Cat People...
, a humanoid race created by sorcery during the Dark Ages. Concerned about the Cat People's uncontrollable population growth and savagery, a community of sorcerers eventually banished the entire original Cat People population to a demonic netherworldly realm.
The two very first Cat People, who were themselves very capable scientists and sorcerers, were able to evade banishment through their magic. They continued to live amongst humanity in secret and worked to refine the Cat People's biology to make a peaceful integration into the human population possible. However, they were constantly persecuted and required a protector. Discovering that the original spell for transforming cats into Cat People like themselves had been rendered inoperative, they created a process combining science, sorcery, and focused mental power that could transform a human female into a "Tigra," a being with abilities that far surpassed those of either race.
This unnamed first Tigra defended the Cat People with great effectiveness, and allowed a new community to establish themselves on Earth, separate from the group that had been banished. This new population continued to live amongst humanity in secrecy through the present-day, relying on enchantments that cast the illusion of a human appearance.
Nothing is known about the other Tigras who may have existed, or even if there have been more than two. At the time when Greer was transformed into a Tigra, "The Tigra" was only remembered by the Cat People as a distant but powerful legend. It has been strongly implied that only one Tigra can exist at any given time.
Dr. Tumulo was revealed to be one of these modern Cat People. When members of HYDRA
HYDRA
HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...
tracked Tumolo down to obtain "The Final Secret" (the Black Death plague, which was another creation of the first two Cat People), Greer once again donned the Cat costume and drove them off. However, she was mortally injured by a blast from one of their alpha radiation pistols.
Greer regained consciousness in a Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
cave, surrounded by a gathering of Cat People summoned by Tumolo. Rapidly dying from the radiation's effects, Greer was offered one last hope of survival: a combination of ancient science, sorcery, and mental power that would transform her into Tigra, the Cat People's legendary half-human, half-cat warrior. She readily consented, began wearing only her black bikini
Bikini
The bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
from this time on, and arose from the ceremony as a superhuman-powered human-animal hybrid. Striped fur covered her entire body, her hands and feet bore razor-sharp claw
Claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
s, her teeth became long and pointed, and her eyes were now cat-eyes. In addition to superhuman strength and senses, she also gained many of the drives and instincts of a cat. Soon after, she encountered the Werewolf
Werewolf by Night
Werewolf by Night is a fictional character, an antiheroic werewolf in the Marvel Comics universe. The Werewolf by Night first appeared in Marvel Spotlight vol...
.
Though initially unable to change back to her human self, the Cat People ultimately gave her a mystical cat-headed amulet that allowed her to change at will. She seldom made use of it, however, preferring her feline, super powered form and mostly abandoning her life as Greer Grant-Nelson.
Greer resumed her superhero career, with most of the world unaware that the woman who briefly fought crime as The Cat was now the feline Tigra. She fought alongside most of Marvel's heavy-hitters in wide-ranging adventures. She first battled Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is a fictional character, a supervillain and enemy of Spider-Man appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Kraven's name is Sergei Kravinoff. He also appears as Xraven, with white-grey skin and red eyes, possessing the powers of X-Men. He is the half-brother of Dmitri...
, and then teamed with Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
against Kraven. She also became a friend and associate of the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
.
When the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
found themselves shorthanded, Moondragon
Moondragon
Moondragon is a fictional character in Marvel Comics Universe. A vastly powerful telepath, master martial artist, minor telekinetic, and highly skilled geneticist, Moondragon's most notable characteristics are her shaved head, superiority complex, and gruelling elite excellence in virtually every...
used her mental powers to compel a dozen unaffiliated heroes (apparently selected at random) to travel to Avengers Mansion and audition for the vacant position. Though he disapproved of Moondragon's methods, Captain America offered Tigra a spot on the team.
Although Tigra's first tenure with the Avengers was brief, she served well. She also aided the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
against Deathbird
Deathbird
Deathbird is a fictional character. She is a Marvel Comics supervillainess, an adversary of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, she first appeared in Ms. Marvel #9....
. Her time with the Avengers was highlighted by her single-handedly saving the world from destruction by the Molecule Man
Molecule Man
Molecule Man is a fictional character, a supervillain or reluctant hero in the Marvel Comics universe, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 1, #20.-1960s:...
, who intended to consume the planet's energy a la Galactus
Galactus
Galactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
. Alone among the Avengers, she was able to get close enough to him to talk him out of his plan. She convinced him to seek help from a therapist and the Molecule Man has ceased to be a threat to this day.
The Avengers fought the Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze)
Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
, who blasted the team with his terror-inducing hellfire. The nature of Tigra's powers caused her to be affected by the exposure on a far deeper level than her teammates. She was left with great self-doubts about her qualifications as a member of Earth's premier superhero team, particularly alongside such heavy-hitters as Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
and Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
. Ultimately she resigned her membership, leaving the team on good terms.
She resumed her solo career, eventually settling in San Francisco where she had a series of adventures with Jessica Drew
Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)
Spider-Woman is a fictional character, a superheroine in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #32 , and 50 issues of an ongoing series titled Spider-Woman followed...
(the then-depowered Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:Marvel Comics' then-publisher Stan Lee, said in 1978, shortly after Spider-Woman's debut in Marvel Spotlight #32 Spider-Woman is the codename of several fictional characters...
), who had gone into the detective business. They enjoyed such a pleasant friendship and made such an effective team that they were making plans to make their arrangement permanent when The Vision
Vision (Marvel Comics)
The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The first Vision was created by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in Marvel Mystery Comics #13 The Vision is the name of three fictional characters that...
recruited Tigra to become a founding member of the Avengers' new west coast-based team. Alongside the new West Coast Avengers
West Coast Avengers
The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. The team first appear in The West Coast Avengers #1 and was created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall.- Publication history :...
, she fought Graviton
Graviton (comics)
Graviton is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #158 and was created by Jim Shooter and Sal Buscema....
, and became a close friend of Wonder Man
Wonder Man
Wonder Man is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Avengers #9 .-Publication history:Wonder Man debuted in the superhero-team title The Avengers #9 Wonder...
. She also began a flirtation with Henry Pym
Henry Pym
Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27...
. She was defeated by Kraven and rescued by teammate Mockingbird
Mockingbird (Marvel Comics)
Mockingbird is a fictional character, a superhero in the who first appears in the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #6 written by Gerry Conway and pencilled by Barry Smith...
.
While with the West Coast Avengers, she seemed to have shed the remainders of her hellfire-induced self-doubt. However, the cat-like aspects of her personality (such as a penchant for savagery and a need for affection) had begun to dominate her human intellect, causing her increasing distress. She sought help from her Avengers teammates in overcoming the "cat" side of her personality, which had caused her to try to become the lover of both Wonder Man and Henry Pym. She also encountered and fought the Werewolf. She was transported with the West Coast Avengers by Balkatar to the realm of the Cat People. Ultimately, she came into contact with the banished colony of Cat People, whose king agreed to resolve her crisis in exchange for carrying out her historical function by murdering the Cat People's longtime foe, Master Pandemonium
Master Pandemonium
Master Pandemonium is a supervillain in the Marvel Universe.-Fictional character biography:Martin Preston was born in Rutland, Vermont. He was originally an actor who lost an arm in a car crash, and made a pact with Mephisto to regain his limb. Mephisto instead took the man's other three limbs,...
. Though she initially accepted their terms, when the critical moment came at an arena in the Cat People's realm, Tigra refused to violate the Avengers' code against killing, and failed to kill Master Pandemonium. The Cat People stripped her of her "Tigra soul" (the peculiar articulation of her Tigra powers in this demonic realm). She was reduced to her normal, pre-transformation human state.
Hellcat, who had accompanied Greer and the West Coast Avengers, lent Greer the super-suit that she used to wear as The Cat, and a battle ensued. As the tide began to turn against the Cat People, their leader released the "Tigra soul" as a means of confusing Greer. The tactic backfired. The cat-suit had been designed by a Cat Person (Tumolo) specifically to amplify Greer's human capabilities. So instead of Greer being dominated by the "Tigra soul" as before, the suit caused her human and feline personalities to successfully integrate together.
This time, Greer's transformation into the legendary cat-warrior was much more complete than before. Her strength and abilities were far greater than they were originally. Her appearance became more feline, however, and she grew a tail like the rest of the Cat People. She also lost the ability to shift back to a human form, though as before she showed no sense of loss for her human identity.
Her transformation was so complete and the Tigra legend was so strong amongst the Cat People that they immediately ceased hostilities. Tigra continues to hold a position of significant reverence among the Cat People.
The transformation also resolved the conflicts between the human and feline aspects of her personality. Tigra could now exploit the full range and ferocity of her abilities without fear of going so far that she would lose control of her actions, and she could also indulge her natural feline inclinations (such as hunting and chasing prey for enjoyment) without feeling guilty or self-conscious. This integration was confirmed in concrete ways immediately upon the team's return to Earth. Tigra performed a sport dive off the highest span of the Golden Gate Bridge, exhibiting no signs of any injury or fear of the water. She also terminated her ongoing relationship with Hank Pym, explaining that although she no longer felt a cat-like need to seek affection at every opportunity, she had no conventional human desire to be tied down to one mate, either.
She was captured by Graviton at one point, but freed the Avengers from him. Around this time, the Arthurian Lady of the Lake summoned the West Coast Avengers to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to aid the superhero team Excalibur
Excalibur (comics)
Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
. With the others, Tigra ventured into the realm of limbo to help stop Doctor Doom
Doctor Doom
Victor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
's mad plans to gain power at the cost of killing everyone in Britain.
Tigra briefly left the West Coast Avengers in a dispute over the Avengers' policy against killing. Tigra stated that she believed by her very nature that killing prey was sometimes necessary. She joined Mockingbird
Mockingbird (Marvel Comics)
Mockingbird is a fictional character, a superhero in the who first appears in the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #6 written by Gerry Conway and pencilled by Barry Smith...
and Moon Knight
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character, a mercenary-turned-superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character exists in the Marvel Universe and was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin...
in forming an independent group.
After returning to the team, Tigra inexplicably underwent another "inversion" and transformed into a more beast-like feline shape, losing her human intellect completely and becoming a danger to her fellow Avengers. This was possibly due to the reality-warping machinations of Immortus
Immortus
Immortus is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. He is the future self of Kang the Conqueror, and first appeared in Avengers #10, and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
, who at the time sought to distract the team so as to have unimpeded access to the Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch
The Scarlet Witch is a fictional comic book character that appears in books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in X-Men #4 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...
. Tigra was forcibly shrunken down to sub-housecat size by Hank Pym and kept in a cage in his lab while the team tended to other urgent matters. She escaped and traveled into suburbia where she lived as a wild animal. She was ultimately rescued and restored to her former appearance and stability by noted witch Agatha Harkness
Agatha Harkness
Agatha Harkness is a fictional character, a powerful witch in the Marvel Comics universe. Supposedly, she was one of the original witches from the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. She somehow survived and later became a significant figure in Marvel continuity, protecting Franklin...
, who was an associate of the West Coast Avengers at that time.
Tigra resumed her membership in the West Coast Avengers. On an intelligence-gathering mission in Japan, she and Iron Man battled a team of Asian supervillains known as the Pacific Overlords
Pacific Overlords
The Pacific Overlords are a supervillain team seen in the Marvel Comics universe. The team consisted largely of humans mutated by Doctor Demonicus.-Members:...
. During the fight, Iron Man was incapacitated and Tigra suffered a deep, critical stab wound to the abdomen before dispatching her attackers and making her escape. She flew away in the Avengers' Quinjet, intending to report back to headquarters on the Overlords' plans, but severe loss of blood caused her to lose consciousness and crash land in Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
, an Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
territory in northern Australia. Rescued by Aborigines, she decided to stay put while she recovered from her wounds, naming Spider-Woman Julia Carpenter as her replacement. She briefly made Arnhem Land her home, enjoying the company of the Aborigines and the pleasures of living wild.
After the West Coast Avengers disbanded, Tigra resumed her wide-ranging adventures. Though no longer an active Avenger, she continued to participate in Avengers operations when needed, as a member of the team's extended family.
With the aid of a new transformation device to disguise her true identity from her fellow officers, Tigra spent some time on the New York City police force. She focused much of her time on a personal case and in combating a force of vigilante police officers.
Later, mystical forces which attacked all Avengers brought her to the Avengers Mansion
Avengers Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, Avengers Mansion has traditionally been the base of the Avengers. The enormous, city block-sized building is located at 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City.-Creative origin:...
. There, she and all the other Avengers were entrapped by Morgan LeFay
Morgan le Fay (Marvel Comics)
Morgan le Fay is a fictional character in the , based loosely on the Morgan le Fay of Arthurian legend. In this version of the character, she is the half-faerie half-sister of the mythic Arthur. Her elven heritage granted her immortality, and she used this time to master the mystic arts. She...
, to live out in an alternate universe where LeFay ruled, fighting alongside the others as one of the "queen"'s guards under the name "Grimalkin". After the defeat of Morgan, Tigra went off into space with Starfox, to enjoy the pleasures found there. She appeared off and on, having a series of adventures as part of the ad-hoc space-faring Avengers Infinity
Avengers Infinity
Avengers: Infinity is a four-issue American comic book limited series published from September to December 2000 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Roger Stern and drawn by Sean Chen, Scott Hanna, Steve Oliff and Troy Peteri.-Publication history:...
team in which she helps in preventing an extra-universal race from destroying all life in our universe.
Tigra returned to Earth with the Avengers Infinity team during the Maximum Security storyline, during which she helped to save the Earth from becoming a penal colony for alien criminals.
Civil War
Tigra fought along Iron Man's side during the Civil War. She supported the registration act, although she expressed sincere concern about the fate of Captain AmericaCaptain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
and the other heroes who opposed the Act and turned fugitive. Nonetheless, in Civil War Files, Tigra was listed not merely as having registered to comply with the law, but also as having become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....
to actively aid in its enforcement.
Pretending to switch allegiances, she infiltrated Captain America's Secret Avengers team as a mole. She passed information to Iron Man undetected until the very end of the conflict, when she was discovered and "outed" by Hulkling
Hulkling
Hulkling is a fictional comic book superhero and a member of the Young Avengers, a team of superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. Hulkling's character is patterned on the Hulk...
, Captain America's own spy among the pro-registration forces. Captain America kept quiet, exploiting her presence to feed disinformation
Disinformation
Disinformation is intentionally false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately. For this reason, it is synonymous with and sometimes called black propaganda. It is an act of deception and false statements to convince someone of untruth...
to Iron Man about his team's plan to rescue imprisoned heroes later that day.
The Initiative
Greer has been identified as one of the 142 registered superheroes who are part of the Fifty State InitiativeFifty State Initiative
The Fifty State Initiative, often referred to as simply The Initiative, is a fictional governmental plan that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those related to The Avengers...
. She served as a founding instructor at Camp Hammond, the training compound for The Initiative, and resumed her romantic relationship with fellow superhero Yellowjacket
Henry Pym
Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym is a fictional character that appears in publications by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber and penciler Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27...
., unaware that he had been kidnapped and replaced by a Skrull duplicate.
Tigra was captured by Chilean soldiers controlled by the Puppet Master
Puppet Master (comics)
The Puppet Master, real name Phillip Masters, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Fantastic Four comics. His first appearance was in Fantastic Four volume 1 #8...
, who sculpted a figure in her likeness and thus put her under his mental control. He uses her and the other superhuman women he's enslaved (including as Stature
Cassandra Lang
Stature is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. She is the daughter of the late Scott Lang . Cassie Lang is a member of the Young Avengers and The Initiative...
, Dusk
Dusk (comics)
Dusk was an identity used by several fictional superheroes in the Marvel Universe. It was eventually adopted by college student Cassie St. Commons, who appeared in the Marvel Comics' series, Slingers.-Negative Zone:...
, Araña
Anya Corazon
Anya Sofia Corazon is a fictional half Mexican and half Puerto Rican superheroine in the . She formerly went by the codename Araña, but is currently known as Spider-Girl.-Publication history:...
, and Silverclaw
Silverclaw
Silverclaw , is a fictional character, a superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. The character is a reserve member of the Avengers and regards Edwin Jarvis as an uncle figure.-Publication history:...
) as elite guards at his South American base of operations. Tigra and the rest of the heroes were restored to their normal free will when Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the United States Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 and as Ms. Marvel—a...
and her S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team liberated the compound and killed the Puppet Master.
Later she was shot and severely beaten by the Hood
Hood (comics)
The Hood is a fictional character, a supervillain, and a crime boss in the . Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell, the character first appeared in The Hood #1 .-Publication history:...
in her home in retaliation for having beaten Jigsaw
Jigsaw (Marvel Comics)
Jigsaw is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Throughout his many appearances, he has served as one of the Punisher's few recurring villains...
, a member of his fledgling super-criminal organization. While Tigra was incapacitated, the Hood threatened the life of her mother, and Jigsaw stole the mystic talisman she occasionally uses to transform to her human identity.
The Hood and his entire crew later appeared at her apartment, demanding to know the location of the New Avengers' secret headquarters. Tigra intentionally gave him information that led them into an ambush. She joined in the battle and personally beat down the Hood, saving the life of Iron Fist in the process. By the time of the Hood's second appearance in her apartment, she had completely recovered from her injuries and had either reacquired her talisman or replaced it with a close facsimile.
Tigra continued to serve in the Initiative as a senior staff member of the central organization, and was the leader of the Arkansas Initiative team "The Battalion,", until the Initiative was taken over by Norman Osborn and she learned of the Hood's role as his right-hand man. She has also appeared as a member of She-Hulk's "Lady Liberators" team.
After the Skrull invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
, Tigra reveals to Hellcat and Trauma
Trauma (comics)
Trauma is a fictional comic book character. He is a teenage superhero in Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe...
that she believes herself to be pregnant by Yellowjacket, though she is unsure if the baby is the real Hank's or the Skrull imposter's. She tells Trauma that she has decided to terminate the pregnancy regardless of the father's identity. She later decides to leave the camp for Arkansas, planning to train Razorback
Razorback (comics)
Razorback is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character first appeared in shadow in Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1 #12. His first full appearance is in Spectacular Spider-Man vol...
, who had been replaced by a Skrull and recently returned, and was eager to take the imposter's place in The Battalion. When she was nearly injured by Ragnarok
Ragnarok (comics)
Ragnarok is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Civil War #3 , and was created by Mark Millar and Steve Mcniven.-Fictional character biography:...
's hammer she seemed to show concern for the baby.
When Norman Osborn
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
told her that he was going to take her baby for genetic testing and that moreover he'd made the Hood the chief operating officer of the Initiative, Tigra went on the run with Gauntlet despite having been offered her choice of prestige assignments as a registered hero. She co-founded the Avengers Resistance
Counter Force (Marvel Comics)
This second team of New Warriors is a superhero team in the Marvel Comics continuity composed mostly of former members of the original team of New Warriors.-Fictional history:...
., choosing its name as a means of restoring honor to the legendary team's traditions. Now wanted as an outlaw, she began exacting personal vengeance from members of The Hood's gang, starting by savagely attacking and beating a member of The Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm (comics)
The Brothers Grimm are two sets of fictional twin comic book supervillains, owned by Marvel Comics and existing in that company's Marvel Universe.-First Pair:The first appearance of the first Brothers Grimm came in Spider-Woman #3...
inside his home. She currently serves as the team's de-facto leader.
Tigra is later approached by Ultra Girl asking why she and the Avengers Resistance are going after the villains in the Initiative. In response, she shows her a video of the Hood savagely beating her. Now, she wants to get back at them, by showing them that they are vulnerable...by making them scared and broken. Tigra later ambushes Mandrill.
She claimed her final retribution against The Hood not on the battlefield, but after he was rendered powerless and taken into custody. After telling him that she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of taking his life, the sight of his baby in the hallway outside convinced her that dooming him to either a life in prison or on the run would be far worse punishment, as he'd never get to hold his child ever again; and to kill him would jeopardize her future with her own baby. Tigra gave birth to what is apparently a normal Cat Person kitten during the transition between Tony Stark's administration of The Initiative and Norman Osborn's; the gestation period was a mere two months, due to her feline physiology. She hid the infant from Osborn, entrusting its care to the Cat People until the end of hostilities. She named the child William, after her late husband.
Heroic Age
At the conclusion of The Siege, Tigra stated a new motivation not only to restore the good name of the Avengers, but also to ensure that her child will grow up in a safer world.Following the arrest and incarceration of Norman Osborn, the dismantling of his criminal superhero teams, and the repeal of the Superhuman Registration Act, the President names Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) as America's new head of national security. Rogers seeks to assemble a collection of heroes to inspire the nation and the world as a new organization of Avengers. Tigra is among the 25 heroes he personally invites to join him in creating a new Heroic Age.
Alongside Hank Pym, Quicksilver, Jocasta, Speedball and Justice, Tigra serves as part of the founding faculty of Avengers Academy
Avengers Academy
Avengers Academy is a Marvel Comics comic book series that debuted in June 2010 as part of the "Heroic Age". The series is written by Christos Gage, with artwork by Mike McKone and tells the story of a group of young super-powered persons who were selected to join a training academy for the...
, training a new generation of heroes in the traditions of the world's elite superhero team.
During this time, Tigra learns that the Skrull posing as Pym was indeed William's father, but as he had disguised himself as Pym at the genetic level, it means that William is half-human, rather than half-Skrull, with Pym technically being the genetic father. After learning this, Tigra asks Henry to take care of William in the event of anything happening to her.
When a former associate of The Hood plans to release the video of Tigra's beating commercially, Tigra arranges to have the footage air in its entirety during a live interview, so that her own experience may serve as an example to other trauma survivors and inspire them to seek help. During this same interview, she announces her formation of a series of "Always An Avenger" centers to provide veterans, children, spouses, and any other trauma victims with needed counseling and resources.
Members of the existing Avengers Academy class react to the initial news of the video by tracking the unpowered Hood down, attacking him, and releasing video of the attack on the Internet, rather than taking the escaped Hood into custody and returning him to jail. Tigra becomes furious at their counter-heroic actions and by their refusal to appreciate the seriousness of their transgression. She summarily expels all those involved. Later, after talking with the rest of the faculty staff, they decide to put all those involved on probation instead.
She has slowly grown closer to Henry Pym and the two have resumed their romantic relationship.
Powers and abilities
Tigra's powers are the result of a combination of science, magic, and mental energy utilized by Dr. Joeanne Marie Tumulo and other Cat PeopleCat People (comics)
The Cat People are a fictional species of humanoids in Marvel Comics' universe.-Publication history:Dr. Joanne Tumulo, later revealed to be a member of the Cat People race, first appeared in Claws of the Cat #1-4 , and was created by Linda Fite and Roy Thomas , and Marie Severin .The Cat People...
. Her physical appearance is distinctly cat-like. A thick, sleek coat of orange fur with black stripes covers her entire body. She has pointed ears, sharper-than-normal teeth with pronounced upper and lower canines, eyes with enlarged irises and vertically-slitted pupils, and retractable claws on her feet and hands instead of nails. Her claws and teeth are sufficiently strong to puncture sheet steel, such as that found in a car body. Tigra also has a long semi-prehensile tail, and can willfully contact (but not grasp and lift) objects with it. Tigra's feline physiology grants her various superhuman attributes including superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, reflexes, and resistance to physical injury. If she is injured, her physiology enables her to heal much faster and more extensively than an ordinary human is capable of.
Tigra's senses of sight, smell, and hearing extend far into the superhuman range and are also superior to those of ordinary cats. Tigra can see farther, and with much greater clarity, than an ordinary human. She has this same level of clarity at night, and her vision also extends slightly into the infrared spectrum, allowing her to see in complete darkness.
Her hearing is similarly enhanced, allowing her to hear a wider range of frequencies than a normal human as well as clearly hear sounds that would be far too faint for a human to detect. Exposure to intense, high-frequency sound is far more painful for Tigra than a normal human, however.
Tigra's sense of smell is developed to the point that she can recognize a person by scent alone, and track an individual across great distances and through complex environments. She can also sense changes in a person's mood through changes in scent.
The unusual feline-human hybrid configuration of her brain makes her somewhat resistant to telepathic assaults. Though Tigra is not immune to such tactics, attackers have been forced to focus their powers carefully in order to use them effectively against her.
Like all cats, the interconnective tissues of Tigra's skeleton are unusually resilient. On at least one occasion this allowed her to shift her bones to slip out of mechanical restraints that would have effectively held a normal human, though doing so was quite painful. This resiliency also contributes to many of her other super-powered abilities, such as her body's resistance to injury.
Tigra possesses a mystical talisman that allows her to change her appearance from feline to human at will. She rarely uses it and only appears in her human form when circumstances require it. She regards her feline body as her natural form.
She formerly possessed what was referred to as a "cat-soul" in addition to her "human soul." Though vaguely-defined, her "two souls" were consistently depicted merely as a means to describe her conflicting human and her feline instincts, and not as separate personalities or personas. Regardless of the definition of her "two souls," they were fully merged during Greer's second, more complete transformation into the legendary figure.
Greer received a form of empathic ability when she became The Cat. She retains this ability as Tigra. With careful concentration, she can sense the emotions of others within her immediate proximity. She appears to prefer to achieve this same effect through her enhanced feline senses.
Tigra is an experienced and formidable hand to hand combatant, with a unique fighting style that exploits her feline speed, agility, senses, and instincts. She is a superhumanly adept athlete and gymnast. Like all Avengers of her generation, she has sparred and trained extensively with Steve Rogers, the original Captain America.
She is also a capable leader and pilot, qualified to operate Avengers aircraft as well as interstellar spacecraft.
While working undercover in human guise, Tigra attended the New York Police Academy to investigate the decade-old murder of her husband. After bringing the murderers to justice, she completed her training under her Greer Nelson identity. While she does not serve as an active-duty police officer, she retains legal authority under both her civilian and superpowered identities and unofficial ties to the police community.
Tigra possesses mystical abilities that have largely gone unexplored. In addition to using her mystic talisman to change her appearance from feline to human and back, she has been shown magically summoning the Balkatar, the cat-people's designated emissary to the Earthly plane. When Dr. Strange abdicated his position as Sorcerer Supreme, the Eye of Agamotto created a vision showing the many mystic beings who were potentially worthy and/or capable of assuming the title. An image of Tigra was included in this vision.
Tigra's physiology is more feline than human. When she became pregnant via the Skrull pretending to be Hank Pym, she carried the baby to term in two months, producing a single Cat Person son named William. William does not have any traces of Skrull DNA as the Skrull pretending to be Hank Pym imitated him down to a cellular level, thus genetically William is Hank Pym's son. William ages more quickly than a human baby would.
House Of M
In the House of MHouse of M
House of M is an eight-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics in 2005. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel, its first issue debuted in June 2005 as a follow-up to the events of the Planet X and Avengers Disassembled...
, a reality in which Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
rules the world and mutants are the dominant species, Tigra exploits her feline appearance to "pass" as a mutant. She operates unnoticed in mainstream mutant society on behalf of pro-human groups, first as a member of the Sapien Liberation Army and then as a founding member of Luke Cage
Luke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
's underground "Avengers" team as well as becoming his lover. During an FBI ambush set up by Misty Knight, Tigra spots the Taskmaster taking aim at Cage from a distant rooftop and leaps into the line of fire. She takes the bullet, saving Cage's life, and dies at the scene.
Marvel Mangaverse
She also appears in the "Marvel MangaverseMarvel Mangaverse
The Marvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel "New Mangaverse" released in late 2005 and early 2006....
" alternate reality as Dr. Strange's assistant/familiar, bound by a magical curse that keeps her in were-tiger form until she completes a thousand good deeds. She survives the first and second volumes of the Marvel Mangaverse series, but is murdered within the first few pages of the third and final volume; New Mangaverse: The Rings of Fate.
Marvel Zombies
In the Marvel ZombiesMarvel Zombies
Marvel Zombies is a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam. It was the first series in the Marvel Zombies series of related stories...
continuity, Tigra as a zombie is seen in Ultimate Fantastic Four #23. She is part of a huge group of superpowered zombies who have learned of the existence of a trio of humans. The humans are successfully rescued by this universe's Magneto and the Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Fantastic Four comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
.
Marvel Adventures
Tigra also exists in the alternative "all-ages" version of the Marvel Universe. Though identical in appearance to the main-universe Tigra, she wears a more modest suit which covers more of her torso than her familiar bikini. She also appears to be younger and less experienced than her mainstream Marvel counterpart.She is working as an independent private investigator when a masked man, purporting to be a famous author researching a book about the Avengers, hires Tigra to secretly trail and collect information about its members. After two weeks of following individual Avengers and attempting to avoid detection, she observes the team fighting a losing battle against The Griffin. She leaps in to join the fray. The Griffin is subdued with her help and the team reveals to Tigra that her mysterious client was actually Spider-Man; the assignment was merely a ruse designed to evaluate her potential as an Avenger. She is offered a spot on the team and eagerly accepts.
Animation
- Tigra was a member of the Avengers in the animated series and tie-in comic The Avengers: United They StandThe Avengers: United They StandThe Avengers: United They Stand is an animated series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team The Avengers. It consists of 13 episodes, which originally premiered on October 30, 1999, and was produced by Avi Arad and distributed by 20th Century Fox Television...
. Tigra was voiced by Lenore ZannLenore ZannLenore Zann is a politician as well as a screen, television, stage, and voice actress who has appeared in numerous television shows and films...
, who also supplied the voice for RogueRogue (comics)Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...
in the X-Men cartoonX-Men (TV series)X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup...
. In this incarnation, Greer is an athlete who underwent genetic treatments to give her a competitive edge. These treatments went awry, leaving her with the form and abilities of a cat. This series supported both a toy line and a brief tie-in comic.
- Tigra will appear in The Super Hero Squad ShowThe Super Hero Squad ShowThe Super Hero Squad Show is an American cartoon series by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the characters of the Marvel Universe in a cartoonish super-deformed-style...
, voiced by Tara StrongTara StrongTara Lyn Strong is a Canadian actress, voice-over artist, singer, who is best known for her voice work in cartoons.-Early life and career:...
.
Video games
- Tigra appears in Hawkeye's ending in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It is an updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. After the events of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disrupted the development schedule for downloadable content for the original game, the additional content was made into a...
as a member of his West Coast Avengers.
Toys and collectibles
- In 2006, Bowen DesignsBowen DesignsFirst established in 1978 . Bowen Designs is a company dealing in the creation and sale of entertainment-based collectible statues...
released a Tigra mini-bust. It was sculpted by Jim Maddox, based largely on a 2001 sketch by Sean ChenSean ChenSean Chen is an Asian American comic book artist.-Career:Chen is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where he received a bachelor's degree in industrial design. He started his career after being discovered by Barry Windsor-Smith...
. - An action figure based on Tigra's animated design was released as part of a line of Toy Biz "Avengers United" tie-in toys in 2000.
- A Tigra action figure appeared as part of Toy BizMarvel ToysMarvel Toys is the toy division of Marvel Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company....
's Marvel Hall Of Fame: She Force line in 1997. It was a repaint of an existing Toy Biz Black CatBlack Cat (comics)The Black Cat is a fictional character, a superheroine in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 ....
action figure and as such featured many details that are incorrect, giving Tigra boots and a studded collar, as well as large rings of bushy fur around her calves and forearms where the thick fur trim on the tops of the Black Cat's boots and gloves would be. - In 2009, Hasbro released a Tigra action figure as part of their Marvel Legends line, reflecting her appearance in current mainstream Marvel continuity.