I am late to the party as always but since she has made it
to the big leagues with her first movie appearance in the Disney+ original
film Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, I wanted to throw some attention
toward everyone’s favourite were-tiger, Greer Grant Nelson aka Tigra in the
MC2.
Greer Nelson first appeared in 1972’s The Cat #1
as the titular character, before she later gained her feline form and identity as
Tigra in 1974’s Giant-Sized Creatures #1 where she appeared
alongside the Werewolf By Night. Finally,
Tigra gains a power boost and a tail
in the pages of West Coast Avengers #15 giving us her iconic look as it’s
known today.
Anyone who frequents this blog regularly (all two of you) will know I usually try and identify when a character’s last Main Marvel Universe published appearance occurs prior to the point of divergence into the MC2. For Greer this turned out to be extremely easy, as Tigra appeared in 1995’s Avengers #382 or more accurately the flipbook version titled Marvel Double Feature: Avengers/Giant-Man #382. This features the last of a 4-part back-up tale (written by the late great George Perez, no less) following Hank Pym where Tigra makes a brief appearance. Tigra does not appear again until Avengers (vol. 3) #1-#4 which as I’ve mentioned previously seems to be the point at which events for the MC2 Avengers really diverge, at least assuming Wonder Man stayed dead.
As I’ve discussed
previously, we know the original Avengers team’s last
mission was nearly 12 years prior to the events of A-Next #1, as
mentioned by Jarvis when he recounts the details to the
new Avengers. Tigra is seen amongst the assembled Avengers during
the flashback where it is decided the team must venture through the portal to
the alternate world to halt Doom’s multiversal threat. While
it is difficult to discern specific details from this cameo, Greer
appears in her now-iconic hirsute feline design. It should be noted we do not
know if Tigra was on the Avengers then-current roster at the time
or simply returning for this major emergency summons (A-Next #7).
Tigra was among those who agreed to embark on the grave mission which saw only seven members return through the portal. While we do not get a 100% confirmation, it is assumed Greer Nelson died along with almost all the Avengers who went on this final mission. Despite the sobering tragedy of such a massive loss, the Avengers team did collectively succeed in saving their Earth from the threat of Doom (A-Next #7).
We get one other MC2 appearance of sorts for Greer
Nelson with the cover for Spider-Girl #60. While not appearing in
the issue itself, we do see Greer Nelson amongst an assortment
of other superheroines on the cover, again sporting her original The Cat costume.
You might have to take a close look as she is only partially visible at the
very top left of the image. Confirmation this is not her sort-of successor Patsy
Walker in the suit as Hellcat comes when we look to the original
pencils of the cover by Ron Frenz.
Sadly, that is all I have to offer regarding Tigra in the
MC2. The Avengers roster was certainly culled significantly on their
final mission, leaving the world quite sparce on heroes for over a decade. I’d
enjoy a flashback tale or something featuring Tigra or maybe her next generation
counterpart, even if I know it’s fairly unlikely.
Until I gain feline abilities through a mix of science and
magic and later grow a tail, I remain
frogoat
