Walter Hardy

**Walter Hardy**, adopting the alias **Detective Mackey**, is a side character in *The City That Never Sleeps* downloadable content for *Marvel's Spider-Man*. A former cat burglar and the **original Black Cat**, he is the father of Felicia Hardy, who adopted the costumed identity of the Black Cat after deciding to follow in his footsteps. Walter Hardy had several stolen paintings hidden around New York City.

## History

### Early history

Not much is known about Walter Hardy's early life, beyond having a daughter named Felicia. He at some point began operating as a cat burglar, and his skills as a thief eventually caught the interest of the powerful Maggia crime syndicate. Walter refused to work for them, earning the Maggia's ire, who promptly ordered a hit on him.

To protect himself and his daughter, Hardy allowed himself to get arrested and imprisoned in Ryker's Island. He swam to shore in an escape. Fearing the Maggia would keep looking for him if he had only disappeared and not died, he faked his death to appear as though he had drowned there, around 1998. In reality, Hardy spent the next twenty years in obscurity. He kept his survival from Felicia a secret, claiming later it was for her sake.

### *Marvel's Spider-Man*

In "Long Lost Loot", finding Spider-Man's contact information, Walter Hardy masqueraded as "Detective Mackey" of the Greenwich precinct. In a bid to cover his tracks, Hardy told Spider-Man he was retiring soon as a detective and wanted to tie up this case as a final loose end, claiming the police force did not want to waste resources on old cases.

Spider-Man obliged and retrieved the stolen art pieces hidden around the city. As he did, Walter Hardy revealed more about his own backstory, and how Felicia was modeling herself after him. He at times asked Spider-Man if he knew Felicia and inquired as to what she was like, while claiming his daughter was not the new Black Cat. In "Like a Fiddle", after Spider-Man retrieved all the art pieces, Hardy ominously asked Spider-Man to protect the new Black Cat, and found that there no Detective Mackey had existed, after which point he called Walter Hardy. Walter simply asked Spider-Man to look after Felicia, and hung up.

## Characteristics

Walter Hardy is a relatively elderly man with a thick grey moustache. As Detective Mackey, he wears police uniform.

Walter Hardy shows skillful manipulation, as well as deep love and care for his daughter. This extended to him faking his death for her sake, and inquiring about her when working with Spider-Man. Walter has no qualms manipulating Spider-Man through lies into doing his bidding, a technique that Felicia would later learn from him. He also notes that Felicia modeled herself after him; his success in faking his own death and the fact that his stolen art was not found even twenty years later show his skills.

## Original appearance

For more background of Walter Hardy throughout comic book history, see **all appearances of Walter Hardy** and the **original appearance of Walter Hardy** on the **Marvel Database**
Walter Hardy's character first appeared in *Amazing Spider-Man* #194 (July 1979). He was the master thief in whose footsteps Felicia followed after his arrest.

## Notes

### Annotations

1. ↑ Walter Hardy faked his death 20 years before *Marvel's Spider-Man*, which took place in 2018.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Detective Mackey claiming that the search for Felicia Hardy as the new Black Cat "comes up clean" could imply that he in some ways when disguised as an officer tampered with evidence, helping cover his daughter's tracks. This would be consistent with his care for his daughter, and with his skillset as he was also able to fool Spider-Man.

### Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Long Lost Loot"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Hardy's Stolen Art"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Marvel's Spider-Man* script § "Like a Fiddle"
4. ↑ Wolfman 1979

## References

* Wolfman, Marv (1979). *Amazing Spider-Man* (Volume 1, #194) . Marvel Comics.
* Insomniac Games (2018). *Marvel's Spider-Man: The City That Never Sleeps* [Game]. Sony Interactive Entertainment. PlayStation 4.