Ted Grant briefly appeared in an episode of Smallville played by Roger Hasket. Grant’s Wildcat was also a recurring character on the third season of Arrow played by J.R. Ramirez . He was a retired vigilante who was training Laurel Lance to become one. Wildcat will also appear on the DC Universe streaming service show Stargirl played by Brian Stapf.

Other characters have taken Grant's name and identity, including his goddaughter Yolanda Montez , who served as a temporary replacement for him, and his son Thomas " Tom " Bronson, a metahuman werecat who is tutored by him as a second Wildcat and a JSA member in late-2000s stories.

Modern depictions of Wildcat show him to be a rowdy, tough guy with a streak of male chauvinism, leading to frequent clashes with the relatively progressive Power Girl , as well as exploring some of the character's insecurities. Meanwhile, a magical "nine lives" spell has explained his vitality at an old age. Like many older JSA members, he has been a mentor to younger heroes, particularly the second Black Canary .

Wildcat is the name of several fictional characters , all DC Comics superheroes , the first and most famous being Theodore " Ted " Grant, a long-time member of the Justice Society of America (JSA). A world-class heavyweight boxer , Grant became entangled inadvertently in the criminal underworld and developed a costumed identity to clear his name.

Tomahawk's Rangers Edit

Wildcat was a member of Tomahawk's Rangers, who fought for independence during the American Revolution in the 18th century. His first appearance was in Tomahawk #92 (May/June 1964). He was created by France Herron, Fred Ray, Murray Boltinoff, and Dan Spiegle. His choice of pseudonym has no connection to Ted Grant or the ensuing superhero legacy. Subsequently, Ted Grant is usually referred to as the first Wildcat.

Theodore "Ted" Grant Edit

Theodore "Ted" Grant is a normal human who was magically given nine lives. He remains at the peak of human condition due to his extensive workouts. He is a world-class boxer who trained Batman, Black Canary, and even Superman in the art. He was trained to fighting condition by ex-boxer Joe Morgan; the same man who trained Grant's fellow mystery men, the Atom, and the Guardian.

Ted Grant first donned the Wildcat costume in Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942), the same issue in which Mister Terrific premiered.

Wildcat in the 1940s; art by Irwin Hasen

Wildcat's origin is chronicled in Sensation Comics #1 as well as Secret Origins #3 (1973) and All-Star Squadron Annual #1 (1982). Henry Grant vowed on his baby son's crib that the child would not grow up afraid of life, so he encouraged his son to participate in sports. Orphaned during the Great Depression, Ted Grant found himself unemployed in the big city. One night, he saved "Socker" Smith, the heavyweight boxing champion, from a mugging. "Socker" took Ted under his wing, and soon Ted became a heavyweight boxing champion in his own right. He also became tangled unknowingly in his manager's sinister plans. His mentor, "Socker" Smith, was killed by Grant's managers Flint and Skinner who used a syringe, loaded with poison, in a boxing glove. The dose was only intended to slow down Smith, but the duo misjudged the potency. When Grant was arrested for the crime, Flint and Skinner, afraid that he might know what had really happened, arranged for the young fighter to be killed. Grant escaped the attempt and survived, but the policemen with him were killed. As a result, he became a fugitive. Later, he came upon a child who had been robbed of his Green Lantern comic. The boy, describing the mystery-man Green Lantern, inspired Grant to create the costume of a large black cat. He took the name Wildcat and vowed to clear his name. He brought Flint and Skinner to justice; the criminals were forced to confess, clearing Grant's name, and obtaining justice for Smith. Using the identity of Wildcat, Grant continued to fight crime.

In the pages of All Star Comics, Wildcat had a few adventures as a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA). In the 1980s, when the All-Star Squadron was published, it created a retroactive continuity in which the majority of WWII mystery-men interacted with each other. Wildcat had a place as a member of that conglomeration of heroes as well. The 1970s run of All Star Comics (1976–1979) had Wildcat play a central role as a JSA member. In the story arc, which saw Green Lantern go berserk, and Commissioner Bruce Wayne issue arrest warrants for the JSA, it was Wildcat's ability to look fear in the face that allowed him to defeat the real mastermind of the disaster: the second Psycho-Pirate. But in 1985, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Ted's legs were shattered by an out-of-control Red Tornado and he was told he would never walk again. He soon discovered that his goddaughter had recently become the second Wildcat.

An Earth-One version of Ted Grant existed pre-Crisis and teamed up with Batman, himself a retired world heavyweight champion like his Earth-Two counterpart, on several occasions. This Grant had a relatively minor career, and his early years, such as his origin, were not chronicled. This version of Ted Grant ceased to exist following the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths with the Earth-Two version becoming the dominant version on the new unified universe.

After the Crisis, the injuries that Ted had sustained were downgraded from paraplegia to less severe injuries from which he recovered quickly. He was also still a former heavyweight champion of the world. In addition, Ted is credited with being an expert at combat, though he prefers to trade punches as part of his brawling style. Even in his advanced years, on several occasions Ted has knocked out experienced fighters with a single punch.

Later, Ted was present when the JSA willfully exiled themselves into Limbo in order to prevent the Norse Mythology event known as Ragnarok as part of a time loop. He remained there for several years until he was freed with the rest of the JSA in Armageddon: Inferno. He was present during the Justice Society's disastrous fight with Extant during Zero Hour and fell victim to Extant's time manipulation powers, which restored Wildcat to his proper age, that of an elderly, sickly man. However, following the universe being reset at the end of Zero Hour, Wildcat, along with the Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott, and the Golden Age Hourman Rex Tyler were de-aged and restored to health.

In the wake of Zero Hour, Wildcat retired from active crime fighting and again became a full-time trainer in his role as a professional boxer. In private, he continued to train younger superheroes in the martial arts. In addition, new details were revealed about Wildcat's past, one being the existence of two sons. His eldest son Jake was kidnapped by the Yellow Wasp and later murdered by the Killer Wasp. His youngest son Tom was raised exclusively by the boy's mother without Ted's knowledge.

Ted also had torrid affairs with Selina Kyle[1] as well as an affair with a time-displaced Queen Hippolyta.[2]

Twice during his post-Zero Hour retirement, Ted was severely injured defending innocent lives. He received the first injury defending patrons of the bar Warriors, run by the ex-Green Lantern Guy Gardner.[3] Later, he was injured in rescue operation during a planet-wide snowfall.[4] On both occasions, he was treated on site at Warriors and miraculously recovered from his injuries.

It was later revealed that Ted possesses "nine lives", the result of the magician Zatara altering a curse placed upon him by a sorcerer named King Inferno after Ted refused to throw a boxing match for the wizard. Ted was given nine lives as opposed to being turned into a cat as King Inferno wanted. Since then, Ted has lost his nine lives as a result of a variety of deaths, many of which occurred off-panel. In JSA #34, Mordru told Ted that he had nine lives for every "cycle", although Mordru did not define a cycle's duration. This meant that Ted had somehow regained his spent lives. In JSA #36, this was confirmed. Ted gained nine lives at any given time, meaning that he had to be killed nine times in rapid succession to be killed permanently.

The New 52 Edit

In the continuity of Earth 2 and featuring in the story Earth 2: Worlds' End, Ted Grant appears as a boxer living in the same World Army refugee camp as Dick and Barbara Grayson during Darkseid's invasion of Earth. After Barbara's death, Ted trains Dick in offensive and defensive fighting techniques and joins him on a mission to recover his lost son.

Yolanda Montez Edit

Yolanda Montez.

Born with metahuman powers due to the machinations of the villainous Doctor Benjamin Love, Yolanda Montez was the goddaughter of Ted Grant, who was a good friend of her father "Mauler" Montez. As a result of the prenatal treatments given to her mother, Yolanda was born with retractable claws on her fingers and toes and cat-like agility. Initially, she concealed her abilities and lived a normal life. She later became a journalist working for "Rock Stars Magazine". When Ted was injured in the Crisis, Yolanda used her powers to become the new Wildcat.[5] She then joined Infinity Inc. afterwards. She and her team mates were later killed by Eclipso,[6] who would later possesses her cousin Alex.[7]

Hector Ramirez Edit

Hector Ramirez first appeared in Batman/Wildcat # 1 (April 1997) and was created by Chuck Dixon, Beau Smith, and Sergio Cariello. He was a boxing protégé of Ted Grant. After learning that Ted used to be Wildcat, Hector aspired to be his successor, something Ted refused. Hector then took one of Ted's old costumes and went out as Wildcat in Gotham City. In an attempt to break up a secret fight club where caged villains fought to the death, Ramirez was himself caught, and later killed by Killer Croc in the ring. The operators, Lock-Up and Ernie Chubb, were eventually apprehended by Ted and Batman.

Tom Bronson Edit

Thomas "Tom" Bronson is Ted Grant's youngest son.[8] Tom's mother Marilyn had a one-night stand with Ted, and never told him of Tom's existence. Despite the fact that his father was not involved in his life, Tom is not bitter towards Ted. However, he did tell Ted that he had no intentions of becoming the next Wildcat as he was not a fighter himself.

It was revealed that Tom is a Metahuman that can change into a were-panther at will, similar to the Wildcat featured in Kingdom Come.[9] When Ted was attacked by Vandal Savage, Tom changed into his were-panther form and managed to fight against Savage until help arrived.

In Justice Society of America 80 Page Giant Sized (2010), it was revealed that Tom's mother had the same powers as her son, but would change involuntarily every month. After a minor battle involving Ted, Marilyn, and the first Huntress Paula Brooks, Ted took Marilyn to see Dr. Mid-Nite who cured her of the involuntary aspect of her power, allowing her to change at will instead. While she is unconscious, Ted told Dr. Mid-Nite to "fix her and send her on her way" to protect her from his dangerous walk of life. However, Dr. Mid-Nite discovered that she was pregnant and revealed this to his now conscious patient. She ultimately decided to withhold this information from Ted, but her motivations were unclear. She then raised Tom herself.

Over time, Tom slowly forms a bond with Ted and eventually, after some initial reluctance, agrees to share the Wildcat title with his father. At this point he is introduced and inducted into the Justice Society.[10] In a team-up with the Justice League, he talks to Vixen and indicates the presence of enhanced senses.

Later, Tom, now calling himself Tomcat, parted ways with Ted and joined the All-Stars, an offshoot team created by the younger members of the JSA.