Catherine "Cat" Jane Grant is a fictional character who appears in stories published by DC Comics. Cat first appeared in Adventures of Superman #424 (January 1987) as a gossip columnist for the Daily Planet. Introduced as a potential love interest for Clark Kent, her character added a new dimension to the Clark/Lois Lane/Superman dynamic.
Biography
Cat Grant arrives in Metropolis taking a position at The Daily Planet. She is well known for her syndicated gossip column, which until this point was written in her native Los Angeles. Recently divorced from Joe Morgan, a husband who had driven her to drink, Cat was now a single mother with a young son named Adam Morgan, trying to get a fresh start and stay sober.
Cat is instantly attracted to Clark Kent. They become fast friends, and even become romantically involved for a time, but eventually this ends, as Clark really loves Lois Lane, and seems more interested in helping Cat fix up her life than dating her. Jimmy Olsen in turn is attracted to Cat, but she seems to either not notice or not care. Her behavior around the office upsets both Lois and Perry White at different times.
Feeling that she needs to prove to Perry, Clark, and Lois that she can be a "real reporter", Cat goes undercover at Galaxy Broadcasting to help Clark expose Morgan Edge's links to Intergang. Following this she needs a bodyguard and Jose Delgado (aka the costumed vigilante Gangbuster) takes the job. The two become romantically linked, but Jose is resented by Cat's son Adam, who still hero-worships her ex-husband, Joe Morgan.
Cat joins TV station WGBS for real, and becomes an on-air reporter, who eventually gets her own talk show, "The Cat Grant Show". Superman gives Cat an interview on her show, which is cut short by the rampage of Doomsday. Later, Cat is on the scene covering the events of Superman's battle with Doomsday live on television.
Cat continues to contribute work to the Daily Planet while she works at WGBS. By this time, Cat has earned the respect and friendship of Lois Lane. Cat also gets Jimmy Olsen hired by WGBS and works closely with him there.
Cat later becomes WGBS station manager. There are rumors that she got the position thanks to a relationship with Morgan's father Vinnie Edge, her new boss who sexually harasses her constantly. Cat ends the rumors at WGBS when she has Edge charged with sexual harassment. Vinnie Edge is removed from the board of WGBS, and Cat is given his position.
Cat's son, Adam, is one of several children abducted by the Toyman, and Adam is murdered when he tries to escape. Cat deals with the loss by focusing on her work.
When the Justice League of America unveils a new roster, various members of the press are invited to the JLA Watchtower in order to cover the story. Cat receives an invitation, but is apparently incapacited offscreen by Catwoman, who steals her clothing and identity and goes in her place, hoping to steal from the Watchtower (although her presence subsequently proves important in helping the League defeat new villain Prometheus).
During Lex Luthor's tenure as President of the United States of America, Cat serves as White House Press Secretary. Following President Luthor's impeachment she returns to her hometown of Los Angeles, where she works for a paper called the Los Angeles Tattler.
Return
Cat returns to Metropolis following new developments about Toyman's involvement in the death of her son. Toyman tells Jimmy Olsen that it was a robot he created to replace him in the event that he was ever incarcerated, who killed Adam. Toyman claims he would never intentionally harm any child, that a glitch in the robot's programming gave it a personality. This was confirmed in Superman Secret Files & Origins 2009.
Cat returns to work at the Daily Planet, as the editor of the Entertainment and Arts section of the paper. Her personality seems to have changed during her absence. Cat dresses more provocatively and acts more flirtatious than she ever has. During a conversation with Clark, she openly flirts with him and implies that she has had breast implants. Lois Lane says that she thinks "Cat's lost it" and jokingly refers to her as a cougar. Clark tells Lois that he believes Cat is dressing and acting the way she is to cover up the painful memories of her son.
New Supergirl writer Sterling Gates tells Newsarama "We're integrating Supergirl's book more into the Superman universe, and that includes having a supporting cast that overlaps with that world. I'm very interested in tying her back in to Metropolis and making sure that her world is a part of the Superman universe. So in my first issue, in the first three pages, I set up a foil for her in Cat Grant. And Cat Grant will be a regular supporting cast member, as will Lana Lang."
Cat Grant holds a grudge against Supergirl because of her lack of respect and careless handling of a metahuman fight that left her slightly wounded. Cat starts a slandering campaign against the Girl of Steel in the pages of the Daily Planet, turning a large number of the Metropolis population against Supergirl. In retaliation Kara, after sending her a self-made greeting card satirizing her enmity, comes to visit her at the Planet with her new secret identity of Linda Lang, teenage niece of Lana Lang.
After the events, Cat overhears Lana's secret about Supergirl's identity. Cat tries to tell Perry about Linda's identity but Perry is too busy. The issue runs frontline of Superman. Cat gets a package of fan letters. Later, in Lana's office, she confronts Lana after she learns everything about her "niece's" secret. Afterward, Cat and Supergirl eventually visit Arkham Asylum where they find Toyman in the cell where Adam was murdered. She interrogates him about the children who have been kidnapped with dolls left behind in their stead. Toyman claims he is innocent and the robotic doll attacks him. Supergirl saves him from the robotic doll. While two have an argument with each other, Cat tells her that she could not find help, Supergirl is frustrated and begins to leave. When Cat return home, she is confronted by a villain named Dollmaker (implying that he is somehow related to Toyman). Dollmaker eventually reveals himself to be the abandoned son of Winslow, who has been kidnapping children and using macabre experiments in order to turn them into slaves. He tells Cat that he wants her to become his new mother, and that he wishes to serve as a replacement for her murdered son. Cat violently rejects him. With her gag temporarily removed, Cat is able to call Supergirl for help, and the two are able to defeat Dollmaker and free the children he had enslaved. The story ends with Cat finally writing a positive story about Supergirl, which she sees as the best holiday gift imaginable.
The 2009-2010 miniseries Superman: Secret Origin established that Grant, in post-Infinite Crisis continuity, was already on the staff of the Daily Planet when Clark Kent began working at the newspaper.
Alternative versions
- Cat Grant has a counterpart in the antimatter universe, home of the Crime Syndicate. She is shown in Grant Morrison's graphic novel, JLA: Earth 2. She is shown to work at the Daily Planet, is bitter and mean spirited, has undergone several plastic surgery operations, and is extremely thin.
- Cat Grant appears as a minor supporting character in Grant Morrison's limited series All-Star Superman. This incarnation retains her spot as a gossip columnist at the Daily Planet.
- Cat Grant appears in issue #44 of The Batman Strikes!, the spin-off comic book from the series The Batman. She makes a cameo when Bruce Wayne visits the Daily Planet.
Other media
Television
- In Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Cat Grant was featured in her early role as the Daily Planet gossip columnist with an interest in Clark Kent. She was played by Tracy Scoggins. Cat was portrayed as a shameless man-chaser, who tried to seduce Clark Kent very often - to the point that she once tried to convince him that they were involved when he was suffering from amnesia- and usually dressed in provocative attire. Scoggins was a regular cast member during season one, but the character was dropped for the remainder of the series, without explanation.
- The character of Cat Grant was considered by the producers of Superman: The Animated Series, but was dropped in favor of the character Angela Chen (voiced by Lauren Tom) that would add more diversity to the Superman cast of characters. Chen's role mirrored Grant's from the comics, with the exception that she was a TV news-magazine host and that she was Half Black-Half Asian, and that she viewed Superman in a proper manner as opposed to a potential love interest.
- Two incarnations of the character appeared in Smallville. In the season nine episode "Crossfire", Clark Kent applies for a hosting job for a TV morning show; he tries to impress the producers with a piece on online dating, and goes on a blind date with Cat Grant (Emilie Ullerup). Cat's character is the opposite of her usual portrayal: she is studying for two advanced degrees and served in the Peace Corps. At the end of the episode, she is hired instead of Clark to host the morning show. On July 25, 2010, it was revealed at Comic Con that actress Keri Lynn Pratt would play a new version of the character in the final season. This version of Cat works at the Daily Planet and is partnered with Clark during Lois Lane's absence. The character mentions the previous Cat Grant, and explains the identical name as a coincidence. It is later revealed that her real name is Mary Louise Shroger, and that she changed her name to protect her son. The character was recurring throughout the final season. She takes a stand against vigilantes on the grounds that they steal the spotlight from "real heroes". Her life is threatened several times by Deadshot and later Isis, but she is saved each time by Clark. Her opposition to vigilantes prompts her to expose Lois, Tess Mercer and Emil Hamilton to the authorities.
- Cat Grant appears in the Young Justice animated TV series in a recurring role voiced by Masasa Moyo. First appearing in the episode "Targets", she is seen reporting on a peace conference that is being officiated by Lex Luthor. In the episode "Terrors", Cat is seen broadcasting news reports from New Orleans and Chicago where the Terror Twins are doing a three-state rampage. In subsequent episodes, she continues to appear (usually briefly) reporting the news on WGBS-TV while the main characters watch.
- Cat Grant will appear in the series Supergirl as the founder of media conglomerate CatCo, portrayed by Calista Flockhart.
Film
- Cat Grant appears in the DC Universe Animated Original Movie, All-Star Superman voiced by Cathy Cavadini (albeit uncredited).
- Cat Grant appears in the DC Universe Animated Original Movie Superman: Unbound in a non-speaking role.
References
External links
- DC Database Project: Cat Grant
- DCU Guide: Cat Grant
- DCU Guide Chronology: Cat Grant
- Superman Homepage: Cat Grant
- Cosmic Teams: Cat Grant