.

And to finish outlining the history of The Cat and Tigra, the third and final character intertwined with those two is...


(3) HELLCAT

When Steve Englehart was scripting the series in AMAZING ADVENTURES 11-17 (1972-1973) where the Beast first transformed from the human character in X-MEN 1-66 to the more beastly blue furry guy we all know and love now.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Amazing-Adventures-1970/Issue-11?id=87998

Across these issues, Englehart introduced a liason military officer working for the Brand Corporation, and the officer's wife was Patsy Walker. A female character who along with MILLIE THE MODEL, previously had her own PATSY WALKER tittle from 1945-1965 and a few scattered issues beyond. Her and Millie's titles provided Marvel's competition with the Archie Comics titles, and other romance/dating titles.

Englehart revived the Patsy Walker character as a military officer's wife in a struggling marriage in the AMAZING ADVENTURES Beast series.
And really, it was just a few panels of sub-plot in each issue during this brief run.



Then, after that series was cancelled in AMAZING ADVENTURES (replaced by Killraven), Englehart began using Patsy Walker again as a character in the AVENGERS issues he was scripting, 141-150, in 1975-1976.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/The-Avengers-1963/Issue-141?id=10755

In particular in AVENGERS 144.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/The-Avengers-1963/Issue-144?id=10758

[Linked Image from milehighcomics.com]
Gil Kane/Frank Giacoia cover


In 144, the Avengers are investigating the Brand Corporation and are (with Patsy Walker along) exploring one of the Brand Corporation's vast warehouses of technology that Brand either developed themselves, or that they bought out or otherwise acquired from other companies. With her bad marriage and criminally inclined ex husband, Patsy Walker expresses a desire for a better life, and expresses her interest in becoming a superhero and sharing a life like the Avengers she is in the company of.

And then... right there in the warehouse is a super-powered cat costume like the one the Cat wore in THE CAT 1-4, before Greer Grant was transformed into Tigra and no longer had a need for it.
And (incredibly) the Avengers encourage Patsy Walker to put the costume on and fight alongside them.
No, REALLY !!

No martial arts training, no military combat training, no weightlifting, gymnastics or other physical preparation, just puts on the costume and starts fighting as one of the Avengers. Her military officer Ex-husband and the Brand corporation are controlled by some other-worldly "invasion of the body snatchers"-like thing called the Serpent Crown, and the Avengers defeat them, and also defeat the Squadron Supreme (Marvel's thinly veiled re-creation of the Justice League, in what was the first unofficial clash between Marvel and DC heroes, under other names).

This all occurred in AVENGERS 141-150, by Englehart, with art by a brand-new to the series George Perez.
And in issue 144, Patsy Walker begins calling herself Hellcat.

Then she moves on from fighting alongside the Avengers, and eventually joins THE DEFENDERS in a long run, in issues 44-125 (Feb 1977-Nov 1983).
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/The-Defenders-1972/Issue-44?id=54336

After that she appeared in a Son of Satan revival in 1993, titled HELLSTORM, issues 1-5, with nice art by Michael Bair.
https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Hellstorm-Prince-of-Lies/Issue-1?id=62778

Then a few scattered appearances in THUNDERBOLTS ANNUAL 2000, in AVENGERS ANNUAL 2000, and a HELLCAT miniseries 1-3 (2001).

And I'm sure quite a few more series appearances beyond that.