Cat and Mouse

Patsy Walker became Hellcat almost incidentally in Avengers #144 (Feb. 1976), when she found a costume of the heroine formerly known as Cat (now Tigra). The alias Cat, however, did not go to waste.

Just one month later, Master of Kung Fu #38 (March 1976) introduced Shen Kuei, a Chinese martial artist who also answered to the name Cat. In contrast to Hellcat, who did not use a superhero insignia, Shen Kuei had a cat silhouette tattooed on his chest.

A well-matched adversary to Shang-Chi (a.k.a. Master of Kung Fu), Shen Kuei boasted that he began training in the martial arts at age four. Shang-Chi countered how he began training at age three. Under a complicated set of circumstances, Shen Kuei believed that Shang-Chi was sent to kill him. The two men stopped fighting when Shen Keui realized that this was not the case (#39).

Shen Kuei appears prominently on the cover of Master of Kung Fu #39 (April 1976).

What If ... Defenders?

In a series of intertwined tales, What if? Age of Ultron (2014) explored how repeated attempts to travel back in time might cause the multiverse to come apart at the seams.

As one timeline unraveled, Wasp died inexplicably during a conversation with Henry Pym (then Giant-Man) about his initial plans to create Ultron. After that treacherous machine turned on him and the Avengers, Pym (now Yellowjacket) joined a team of Defenders consisting of Black Widow, Nick Fury, Falcon, Silver Sable, and Shang-Chi (Master of Kung Fu). But Ultron defeated them as well.

Another tear in the fabric of reality brought about the unanticipated death of Thor. The Defenders from before now included technologist Lieberman (a.k.a. Microchip) instead of Pym. While the team faced an army of Frost Giants and the Norse doomsday serpent Jormungand, Black Widow recovered the hammer Mjölnir that had belonged to Thor and earned the title of Thunder God.

The featured panels come from What If? Age of Ultron #1 (top) and #3 (bottom).