Nightcat!...or, Hey, Remember That Time Marvel Tried to Cross Promote Another Musical Act?

The One Shot Comic (1991)

  Marvel Comics has an odd history of attempting to establish cross-promotion deals with the recording industry...for more info on this, just Google search "KISS Marvel Comics" or "Dazzler Marvel" and you'll drop into a rabbit hole of oddball music industry knowledge....

...and, then...there's Nightcat.

 

"Nightcat" was Marvel Comics' 1991 attempt at creating a comic book character property and merging it with a live musical act, promoting it with not only a comic book, but a record release and a few appearances on what passed for popular late night TV that supposedly spoke to the then-contemporary teenage/young adult demographic...Nightcat, along with Marvel Comics icon, Stan Lee, who supposedly wrote the one shot comic....but we all know how the Marvel Method works...made appearances on THE PARTY MACHINE with Nia Peeples (a sort of late night American Bandstand type dance program) and INTO THE NIGHT with Rick Dees (a Tonight Show rip-off hosted by the disc jockey that recorded "Disco Duck").

....I was 17 in 1991, and I vaguely remember these shows existing, mainly because THE PARTY MACHINE usually aired at sometime after Arsenio Hall's timeslot in the local markets, and I was too busy watching Letterman.  So, I don't know how successful their research into the target demographic actually was.

Blurb from MARVEL YEAR IN REVIEW (1991)

MARVEL AGE Magazine write-up

Nightcat was in actuality Jacqueline Tavarez, and depending on which story you read into, her background was primarily in modeling....

The manufactured, in-canon, Marvel Comics origin story, credited to Stan Lee, Jim Salicrup, and  Barry Dutter,  (from Marvel Fanbase)

"

History

Early Life

Jacqueline Tavarez was a young woman who wanted to become a singer, but after her musician mother drank herself to death following a failed audition, her police officer father forbade her from following in her mother's footsteps. As a highschool student, Jacqueline disobeyed her father's wishes, and rehearsed with her friends in a band. When her father found out, he grounded her. Not able to make the recording session, she was replaced in the band by her rival Melissa.

Becoming Nightcat

Now in college, Jacqueline saw that Melissa had become a huge music star. Taking inspiration from the comic books she read, Jacqueline decided to dress up to sing so her father wouldn't realize it was her, and thus, Nightcat was born.

Winning a record contract with LMR records, she became a star, and bought herself a home. One night while at the recording studio, she recognized a man in the hallway who had been linked to a drug bust in the news. Seeing a briefcase he set down, she opened it, revealing the case to be filled with a large amount of cocaine.

Another man, Krak, saw this and knocked Nightcat out, bringing her with him to Amanda Gideon, who with Dr. Ecstasy, was testing designer drugs that would imbue a human with animal characteristics. After injecting Nightcat with a drug made from cat's blood, Dr. Ecstasy was shot dead by Lou Tavarez, who had gone undercover within Gideon's organization.

Lou was shot dead by Gideon's thugs, and in a moment of rage, the designer drug interacted with Jacqueline, causing her to sprout elongated, razor-sharp claws. With her newfound agility, Nightcat was able to take out a number of Gideon's goons, and even made a superhuman leap upwards, almost reaching Gideon's escape helicopter in mid-air. 

With no proof except her word that Gideon was behind Dr. Ecstasy's program, Jacqueline attended her father's funeral, and soon after, pledged to get revenge on the wealthy socialite.

Jacqueline, attempted to live a normal life and continued her singing career, and was eventually contacted by Stan Lee to star in a Marvel comic book. She however, used her new found wealth to buy sophisticated computers and weaponry.

When Jacqueline heard a news report about a garbage scow that was going from port to port, she did some research, and discovered that it was owned by Gideon, and must be part of her drug smuggling operation. Nightcat was able to bust the drug ring which infuriated Gideon.

The furious Gideon, set a trap, inviting Nightcat to perform at her casino. Before the performance, a group of ninjas hired by Gideon kidnapped and replaced Nightcat's back-up singers, and the attacked her onstage. Nightcat was able to defeat them, but soon found herself face to face with Krak. She managed to electrocute him by forcing the drill appendage on his hand into a power outlet.

Nightcat located Gideon on the roof of the casino and the two fought before Nightcat flipped her foe over the edge of the building. Gideon tried to grab Nightcat's hair, but ultimately fell to her death. With the drug ring busted, and Gideon dead, Nightcat vowed to use her new powers to fight other crimes."

Above:  I own copies of not only the one shot comic, but the CD and cassette release of Nightcat's debut (and only) album.  Why?  Because I'm a weird comic book fanboy who also has a soft spot for really bad pop music...like, in a really well-produced knock-off of Paula Abul-sorta way.  The music's not bad...it's just kinda...repetitive and telegraphed.  It sounds as if it were equally fueled by cocaine, Ecstacy, and greed.  Y'know....like every other dance club hit from 1991.

Stan the Man's editorial thoughts on Nightcat

From what I've been able to gather about the real Ms. Tavarez, she was a young model hired by Marvel Comics to fill a role.  When Nightcat didn't prove to be a hit, she dove back into modeling for a short time, then attempted acting, appearing in one film, Troma Studio's TROMEO & JULIET (which was the directing debut of DC Studios showrunner James Gunn, the brains behinds Marvel Studios immensely successful GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY franchise,  which fueled rumors of a possible Nightcat Easter egg in one of those films that no one has actually proven exists), and now has settled into a happy life as an airline attendant.

Ms. Tavarez today

Seriously.....Politics and Religion

 A lot of talk these days about opposing political views...as a practice I don't talk about my own personal political or religious views.  This is because I'm of the opinion that they're exactly that: personal, and at the end of the day, the only person who benefits and/or loses anything because of them is you. I find the terms "views", "ideas", and "opinions" a better way to describe what I have as opposed to "beliefs".  You approach views, ideas and opinions in a more open minded fashion....because they can be changed, they can evolve.  Got a better idea than me?  Fine, I'll take it into consideration.  You believe something that I don't?  That's trickier.  By definition, beliefs are supposed to be based in the concrete and tangible.  This is why the stop sign at the end of my street is easier for me to believe in than, say....ghosts. Or the Loch Ness Monster.  I can see the sign....Casper and Cecil are nowhere in sight.

"A friendly ghost?  You probably believe we landed on the Moon, too..."

I'm comin', Beany Boyyyyyy!

Now, this does NOT mean that I dismiss the existence of God.  But, I have FAITH and HOPE that he is out there, somewhere...something doesn't have to be visible or tangible for you to have an opinion or idea about it.

To whom it may concern-  I was christened Catholic as an infant and followed that faith until I was around 12 or 13, when I began to have different ideas and questions, like: "Why does Heaven need a managerial chain, a corporate ladder,... here on Earth and Heaven? I like to think my relationship with God is personal.  That He's my friend, and if He is my friend, why can't I approach Him in the same way I do my own friends here on Earth, with an equal amount of informality and respect?  I find that if I approach God like He's one of the gang, it makes Him more identifiable...approachable, even.  I'm more comfortable doing that."

This was followed by short experimental stints in Southern Baptist, Nazarene, Pentecostal churches...hell, one night I checked out some snake handlers out of curiosity....but nothing clicked the way my "personal approach" did.

 That's my religious views, in a nutshell...

Politics?  Let me give you a little history lesson:   I wasn't a "straight ticket" Democrat from the ages 18 to 42 (1992-2016), but I did subscribe to a lot of their philosophy and views...when it came to voting, I wasn't party driven....I made up my own mind and voted for whoever I felt could do the best job, regardless of political affiliation.  The 2016 campaign and election disgusted me with both parties, and now I find my views lean more towards a Libertarian path.  We need a change, and sadly that change ain't coming from the two dominant parties.  So, I don't really give a fuck about either the Republican Party or the Democrats.  If they want to dismantle democracy infighting amongst themselves, mudslinging each other back to the Stone Age, then so be it.  Good riddance.  As far as if you're butthurt over how the elections have went...my opinion is voters get the candidate they deserve.  And, trust me, America deserves everything it's got...because we're a capitalist society, so we've earned it, right?

As far as political views and opinions, sadly I'll admit that I learned everything I know from reading CAPTAIN AMERICA comics books when I was a kid, so I don't know whether to blame Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, or Stan Lee for any flaws in my logic.  Before you dismiss this as a childish or naive notion, let's review what I learned and took to heart:

1.) Never dismiss the voices of those who society might view as weak or small, because sometimes those voices possess the most conviction, resolve and courage.  Remember...Steve Rogers was a 98 lb. weakling before he got scienced into Captain America.

2.) Never tolerate bullies or tyrants...this is why Cap is pictured punching Adolf Hitler in the jaw on the cover of his first issue.  Stand up for yourself, when needed.  Stand up for others, always.  Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER summed it up brilliantly..."I can do this all day."

3.) Be vigilant and unafraid to speak out and rebel if necessary if you feel your elected officials are unjust, immoral or just plain wrong.  This country was forged in the fires of a Revolution that was started because of a difference in political opinions with European overlords.  Cap didn't go off the grid as Nomad or the "Captain" in the comics for his health, nor did he wage a CIVIL WAR in the movies because he was just gonna roll over and give up.

And those are three political opinions that I can believe in....