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Batman was taught by the best but now one of his most heroic teachers is training some of his most notorious villains.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Catwoman: Lonely City #2, on sale now from DC Comics.
Batman has learned from the very best, both good and bad. Some of his mentors may have been villains (most of whom eventually tried to kill him) but others were heroes through and through. A few were members of the Justice Society of America, like the magician Zatanna’s father, Zatarra. One of the best teachers Batman ever had was the champion boxer, Ted Grant. Grant was a brilliant boxer, but he was also the hero known as Wildcat. He’s trained many of the heroes of the DC Universe, such as Black Canary, and his students have become brilliant fighters. However, it seems that heroes aren’t the only ones he’s training in one bleak DC future – he’s training villains now too.
Catwoman recruited Killer Croc to her cause in the last issue and the two were training to get into fighting shape in Catwoman: Lonely City #2 by Cliff Chiang. As it turned out, they weren’t in any ordinary gym either. The owner briefly appeared to help them out and it turned out to be none other than Wildcat himself, Ted Grant.
So why is Ted Grant helping Catwoman, a notorious Gotham criminal, to get back into shape? And why is he helping Killer Croc too? Arguably, Croc’s crimes are far worse, and often more vicious, than Selina’s. Meanwhile, Grant was been a hero in the past, but that doesn’t mean he always has to be one.
Ted Grant was created by Bill Finger and Irwin Hasen having first appeared in 1942’s Sensation Comics #1. He was a brilliant boxer before he even considered a life of crimefighting. He was inspired by the Green Lantern, then Alan Scott, to don a costume and become a hero. After he lost the use of his legs in Crisis on Infinite Earths, he decided to train his goddaughter, Yolanda Montez, as she could become the second Wildcat.
Since then, training others has been a big part of Ted Grant’s life. Often when he retires the costume, he trains others, regardless of their background. In some cases, he doesn’t know who he’s really training. This was the case for Batman, as Tim Drake revealed in Robin #31 by Chuck Dixon, Mike Wieringo, and Stan Woch. This was also the case for Selina Kyle too.
Catwoman: Lonely City isn’t the first time he’s trained the infamous thief. In their very own self-titled miniseries, Catwoman/Wildcat by Chuck Dixon, Beau Smith, Sergio Cariello, and Tom Palmer, it was revealed that Selina had sought out Grant to train her years earlier. Like Bruce Wayne, she had done so under a pseudonym, so the JSA hero wouldn’t know that his one-time student went on to become a notorious thief.
That might be one of the reasons he’s helping her here. That and perhaps the fact they teamed up during that mini-series. Another reason could be Catwoman’s more heroic history in this dark future. She seemed to be a major part of the Bat-Family by the time of Fool’s Night, Joker’s last major attack on Gotham and was with Batman when he died. Ted Grant may know Catwoman as more of a hero now and support her current mission, which isn’t a selfish one at heart.
There’s also one other reason why Ted Grant might be helping some of Gotham’s villains – to help them. As a hero, he’s all about fighting crime, but as a trainer, he’s all about helping others, no matter who they are. He once even trained Selina’s protege and the second Catwoman, Holly Robinson. So, Ted Grant is all about helping people become their best selves, whether they be heroes or villains, and that isn’t a bad thing.
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