While today it's well known that Felicia Hardy aka the Black Cat is bisexual in the Main Marvel Universe as revealed in Kevin Smith's Spider-Man and Black Cat mini series 'The Evil That Men Do', it's far less commonly known that the idea originates from her MC2 counterpart. First appearing in Spider-Girl #36, we learn that the MC2's Felicia Hardy married Eugene 'Flash' Thompson and had two children, Gene and Felicity. Later, the two would divorce and Felicia began a relationship with a contract operative from her detective agency; Diana.
Diana first appears in Spider-Girl #47, where we learn about her and Felicia's relationship. The two had been together for six years when Felicia decided to leave Paris and return to New York so her daughter Felicity could re-establish a relationship with her father Flash Thompson.
Unfortunately, the relationship is not without issues. Felicity, apparently angry toward her mother about the divorce, often lashes out at Felicia. Felicia mentions on more than one occasion that her and Felicity do not get along. Felicia confides to Mary Jane that she believes Felicity does not approve of her relationship.
The best part about Felicia and Diana's relationship is the way it's as a normal, loving relationship, complete with it's problems. Notably, the idea of Felicia being anything but heterosexual is introduced in a regular panel on a regular page without any big dramatic reveal. Mary Jane already knows, it's a long-term thing and nobody makes a big deal about it. Except for Felicity....
Though, as mentioned above Felicity has a lot of mixed up emotions including her depression, unresolved anger and resentment about her parents divorce, with Felicity believing her mother considers her a burden.
Keeping in mind the storyline played out between 2001 and 2002, it's worth mentioning the real-world reaction to the subplot. Spider-Girl #47, which depicted nothing more salacious than Felicia and Diana holding hands, prompted one reader to send a letter into the series' letter page, published in Spider-Girl #54:
There were no letters pages for a few issues, until Spider-Girl #57 saw two letters published in response to the original letter:
Meanwhile, on the Alvaro Spider-Girl Message Board, fan reactions were mostly positive:
Mostly likely as a result of two near-cancellations with issues #38 and #50 followed by an impending cancellation with #61, many of Spider-Girl's subplots were streamlined, promptly resolved or fell by the wayside. Unfortunately, the plotline revolving around Felicia, Diana and Felicity wasn't resolved and, following the series un-cancellation, it would be over 20 issues before Felicity would be seen again, with Felicia and Diana seemingly being lost in the lurch entirely.
Mainly because of some fan circles online it would be remiss of me not to mention the widely believed that the character is struggling with her own sexual identity. I think perhaps this topic deserves it's own post, so I might touch on it in-depth at a later date. Needless to say, Felicia certainly mentions wanting to be Mayday's 'partner' an awful lot.
While the depiction of a regular same-sex couple might seem fairly commonplace nowadays, keep in mind this was nearly 20 years ago. I commend the creative team Tom Defalco, Pat Olliffe and everyone involved because this type of representation was sorely lacking at the time. It certainly meant a lot to a confused late-bloomer growing up. I hope everyone had a wonderful Pride Month and continues to hold their heads high until next year!
Until the flags stop flying, I remain
frogoat