Sunday, January 24, 2021

Catwoman Vs. The Blonde Phantom

 


If you think fighting crime in a long dress and high heels is a challenge, you should see how hard it is to train cats to attack your opponents on command.  This is the world of comics though, it doesn't matter how outlandish the concept may be as long as the depiction of it looks cool on the printed page!  At least that was the attitude back in the golden age, which is one reason those stories can be so fun.

20 comments:

Davejonz said...

Great retro chic cover - and love the title.

det_Tobor said...

Training of course is easy in sweats. What did the Blonde Phantom have besides self defense courses? You might have thought during the 40s and 50s more women were out to prove themselves. These type of confrontations would have become almost daily if not weekly. What were the weapons of choice by most women at that time?

det_Tobor said...

This might even be a good opportunity to create BP's junior sidekick, The Phantom Canary. 'Giving the bird to the crooks in more ways than one.'

Anonymous said...

Actually, this type of "catfight" would be quite plausible in a real-world version of this issue! Think about it; in the Rossverse, Selina Kyle was trained by Ted "Wildcat" Grant. Pugilistic uncle of Greer "Tigra" Grant. And what was Louise Mason's maiden name?

Grant!

In short; the Golden Age Blonde Phantom is/was Wildcat's sister.

Carycomic said...

@Anonymous: if your supposition proves true, then I say...Good old Ross! Always keeping it in the family. :-)

Carycomic said...

P.S.---seriously, though, what about expanding the family? Having Catwoman marry Nighthawk and thereby becoming the parents of...Catbird!*

*Nee Selina Kyle-Richmond. ;-D

Hyram H Horsefeathers said...

Had to research this chick. @ Anony was right - there is another Grant in the house.
How many Grants can we get in here?Can we get a grant to find out? For those who don't know her, this is what her-story had to say:

Louise Grant is a secretary at the Mark Mason Detective Agency, and secretly in love with her boss. When he's on a case, Louise takes off her glasses and lets her hair down, becoming the glamorous masked hero, rescuing him from danger in a floor-length evening gown. In a gender reverse to the famous Superman/Lois Lane dynamic, Mark is in love with the Blondie Phantom, and has no interest in the mousy secretary back at the office. Sounds like a human version of Wonder Woman. She did carry a gun at least.

H.H.H. and a half said...

@Carycomic Would Catbird's future partner be Birddog?Sorry Huntress but there's fresh game in town. ;9

Bob Greenwade said...

I recall an early issue of DNAgents where Rainbow lamented her choice of wearing high heels. Trousers and flats would probably have been the best choice for action in those days, but it just wouldn't do in comics to show women wearing that; even Wonder Woman started out with an ankle-length skirt. (I don't even want to thing about the drag factor* of running 60mph in that!)

HHH's comment sort of answered Tobor's question: women in those days favored guns for this sort of activity, generally snub-nosed pistols; for murder, knives and poison were the thing.

And I like Anon@9:36's Grant family tree connection. It's something that would be fun to explore in future issues, starting with pairing the Grant sibs. (Ted could even pick up a new catch-phrase: "Geez, Louise!")

@Cary: I'm not sure we'll ever see a cross-company parental relationship here (barring any that have already shown up that I don't know about). I've been wanting for years to see Captain America and Wonder Woman discover that their daughter is American Maid (though that was finally done by Across Crossovers).

*Pun not intended.

Anonymous said...

@Bob Greenwade: Maybe Conan the Barbarian could be revealed as a distant ancestor of Xena, Warrior Princess; they were both depicted in ancient by (Western standards) clothing, and had long (in Conan's case, for his gender) raven-black hair; maybe a fan fiction or something could feature Xena mothering a Conan-like male called Xenus.

Brother Kellymatthew said...

Would Blonde Phantom be a good sidekick for The Blue Bulleteer (AC Comics)? She was a decent 1 for Shulkie back in the day.

Brother Kellymatthew said...

Would She-Cat (AC Comics) kill Golden age Catwoman fast or slow? Shi would gut her like a fish, but you knew that already.

Anonymous said...

Or, failing that, how about Shi and Vampirella vs. Jade (of Chaos! Comics fame)?

Carycomic said...

@Anon & Brother Kelly: Personally, I think that would be so...hey! Watch where you're swinging that naginata.

Comment Deleted Could not Have said...

To be To be. Please let it be. . She -Hulk vs Vampirella.
Get a load of This pain in the neck!!

Bob Greenwade said...

(I can't believe I'm actually suggesting this, and in public no less.)

Put together Vampirella, Stripperella, and Cutey Honey for a team: Naked Justice!

time travel inc said...

Wouldn't that be The Broad side of Justice?

Carycomic said...

Split the difference. Have them wear translucent clothing and call themselves "Sheer Justice."

Remember, Don't Give an Inch said...

I like their title; 'Don't Give an Inch!' Used every time they show up to fight crime.

Carycomic said...

That's an even more brilliant motto!

"Shedding stitches in time to fight crime."

RD, you're a genius. :-)

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