COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Amazing Spider-Man 194 Modern
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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3718113002
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Owner:
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Professor Pecora
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Amazing Spider-Man #194 features the 1st appearance of the Black Cat (Felicia Hardy)!
Overstreet 2023 NM- 9.2 value = $525.
According to the CGC Census Report as of Tuesday, August 22, 2023, out of a total of 10,109 Universal copies graded, only 526 copies were graded in 9.8 with ONLY 4 copies graded higher in 9.9!
With these statistics in mind, this represents an impressive rarity factor of ONLY 5.20% of the total population!
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The Bronze Age (1970-1979) of Comics is known for ushering in more realistic, dark and controversial characters and storylines. From the introduction to popular antiheroes such as Ghost Rider (1972), the Punisher and Wolverine (1974), to killing off major characters like Gwen Stacy and the Green Goblin (1973), the Black Cat’s debut in July of 1979 carries this tradition with a multilayered character that is driven by her father’s criminal influence and her emotionally painful past.
Felicia Hardy was born and raised in Queens, New York. Felicia’s father, Walter Hardy, posed as a traveling salesman, but made a lifelong career as a professional cat burglar. Since she was exposed to her father’s hidden identity and criminal activity from an early age, the idea of using deception to acquire a desired possession seemed normal and was embedded into her psyche.
Her father would often emphasize that she should never settle for second best. For example, in Amazing Spider-Man #195, which features the Black Cat’s origin story, Walter expresses his philosophy by telling her: “If you love basketball, you should work to become a basketball player and not just a cheerleader.” In other words, Felicia’s father didn’t want her to feel limited to her full potential because of her gender, and also implies that if she can do the job just as good or better than a man, that she should go for it! This was groundbreaking material for the time period, as women were still viewed as inferior to men and often did not work in certain professions, although they may have been equally or overqualified. The irony in Walter’s independence statement is that women were not able to play basketball professionally back then, so in other words, he spoke a parable to “fight against the system or the law.”
In addition to growing up with a criminal mindset, Felicia’s fundamental character traits were also birthed through deep personal pain. For example, in Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do, Felicia confesses that while she was attending Empire State University as a freshman, that she was raped by her boyfriend Ryan! Taking heed to the ideals that were instilled by her father, Felicia refused to live with a victim mentality and decided to take control of the situation, by training in various combat disciplines and acrobatics with the intent to kill him! Unfortunately, after several months of meticulous planning and preparation, Ryan was killed in a DUI car accident.
With a strong distaste for men and her desire to feel totally independent and not restrained by the powers that be, coupled with her intrinsic ability to remain elusive, Felicia decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and became a successful international cat burglar. After quickly amassing a fortune in stolen items, she started wearing her iconic suit (which is later state-of-the-art enhanced by the Tinkerer) and adopted her new identity and persona as the Black Cat!
The Black Cat’s first mission was to break her father out of prison, but in an attempt to do so, encounters Spider-Man for the very first time! This historic scene is depicted on the beautiful front cover by artist Al Milgrom! We see Spider-Man captured in the spotlight by the prison guard tower with his Spidey Senses fully engaged, while the Black Cat makes her elusive descent attack with her claws ready to rip into Spider-Man’s suit! The black cover works perfectly to represent the nighttime hour while symbolizing “A Startling NEW Villainess” introduced as the “Black” Cat! In addition, the bright yellow spotlight and Amazing Spider-Man title provide the perfect color contrast, and with the text caption in white font stating, “Never Let The BLACK CAT Cross Your Path!” – Makes up a stunning front cover masterpiece of one of the landmark issues in The Amazing Spider-Man title!
The Black Cat was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Dave Cockrum, and although the Black Cat was not interested in dating anybody, because Spider-Man is a “Superhero” and also keeps a mystique and secret identity, the pair developed a friendship that evolved into a romantic relationship. This especially occurred after her father died and faking her own death; she maintained her secret identity as the Black Cat and developed a trust with Spider-Man, which gave her the hope that she can still fall in love with someone. Spider-Man also saw the good in Felicia beyond her criminal history, and gave forth his best effort to have her criminal record expunged.
After Spider-Man saved the Black Cat’s life after being shot multiple times by Dr. Octopus, it was in the hospital in which Spider-Man had an epiphany of how much he cared for Felicia. However, their lover days eventually went sour after Spider-Man revealed his true identity as Peter Parker; he wanted to connect with Felicia Hardy on a “human” level with hopes of having a future together. Unfortunately, the Black Cat was not interested in having a “normal” civilian relationship with Peter, and was only interested in his alter ego as Spider-Man.
As a result, they both gradually grew apart from each other. Their rollercoaster relationship became highly complicated as they went back-and-forth from being allies and enemies to everything in between! The Black Cat also went through a chemical procedure (the same one used to create the Scorpion and the Human Fly), which was initiated by the Kingpin that gave her enhanced powers and abilities. The procedure served as a repayment by the Kingpin after she successfully committed a crime for him, and the Black Cat did not disclose this information with Spider-Man. She thought by acquiring superhuman abilities, that she could connect with Spider-Man as his equal and he wouldn’t have to worry about her getting hurt as easily. However, Spider-Man felt an accumulation of secrets being kept from him, and decided to breakup with Felicia.
The Black Cat thought that maybe they could rekindle their romantic interest, but several factors did not prevent this from happening. In turn, she began her antihero quest of robbing the rich and elite and giving it to the poor!
Spider-Man and the Black Cat would continue their ebb and flow relationship patterns throughout the years. Moreover, the Black Cat is one of the most heavily used and important supportive characters within the entire ASM run! With that said, IGN (Imagine Games Network) ranked her as Spider-Man’s 24th greatest enemy!
In terms of the significance of Amazing Spider-Man #194, it is the most valuable issue after #135 (2nd full appearance of the Punisher) until issue #300 (Origin and 1st full appearance of Venom)! Furthermore, it remains the most in demand Amazing Spider-Man issue of the late Bronze Age!
This stunning copy is WORLD CLASS in every way! Due to the majority of the cover being black, which exposes the slightest of defects, high-grade copies like this gem will be difficult to acquire. Moreover, it’s also very RARE to find a PERFECTLY WRAPPED & CENTERED copy, as this beautiful specimen exhibits! In addition, the corners are razor sharp and the colors are super bright with internal MILK WHITE PAGES!
I won this pristine copy in Comic Link’s Focused Auction in October of 2020! I was ecstatic when I was notified as the winning bidder and I’m proud to showcase this immaculate copy in Arachnophobia!
Happy Collecting & Enjoy the Hunt!
-Professor Pecora
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