Ted Grant (New Earth)

Overview

Ted Grant was a boxer framed for the death of his opponent. To fight back, he became Wildcat, and has been fighting ever since.

History

Fists are nature's problem solvers.

-- Wildcat ^src 

Early Life

Ted Grant grew up in the Great Depression with his father Henry. As a child, he participated in many sports at his father's behest, and excelled at boxing. As an adult, Ted attempted to study medicine, but became a professional heavyweight boxer instead.

Becoming Wildcat

Early in his career, Ted became entangled in criminal plot crafted by his managers Flint and Skinner, who attempted to fix one of Ted's matches by drugging Ted's opponent "Socker" Smith. However, Flint and Skinner miscalculated the dosage, and "Socker" Smith died as a result. Not wanting to get caught, Flint and Skinner framed Ted for their crime.

After Ted was arrested, Flint and Skinner then arranged a hit on him to prevent the truth from coming out. Although Ted survived the assassination, the police officers who held him in custody were killed. Ted then fled the scene and was wrongly accused of murdering the officers. While on the run, he came across a boy who had been robbed of his Green Lantern comic. The boy described Green Lantern which inspired Ted to become a vigilante. He create a costume of a large black cat, called himself Wildcat, and vowed to clear his name. He forced Flint and Skinner to confess, and cleared himself of all charges. Ted then continued to fight against crime as Wildcat.

Joining the Justice Society of America

During World War II, Ted became a member of the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron, and had a romantic relationship with a time-displaced Queen Hippolyta.^[2] In 1945, King Inferno and Zatara cursed Ted with nine lives, which allowed him to recover from fatal injuries.^[3] In the 1950s, Ted impregnated his then girlfriend Irina, who gave birth to Ted's eldest son Jake Grant. However, Jake was kidnapped by the Yellow Wasp, one of Ted's sworn enemies. Although Ted searched for Jake and the Yellow Wasp for years, he was unable to locate either of them. As a result, his relationship with Irina disintegrated.^[4] However, Ted would have a one-night stand with Marilyn Bronson, who became the mother of his youngest son Thomas Bronson. Later, Ted was critically injured by an out-of-control Red Tornado, but his goddaughter Yolanda Montez became Wildcat in his place.

Recent Activities

Eventually, Ted recovered and became Wildcat again after Yolanda was killed in action. He then joined the reformed Justice Society of America where he and his teammates regained prominence as the forefathers of the heroic community. He was one of the many combat instructors sought out by Bruce Wayne on his path towards becoming Batman, and he also taught Dinah Lance and Selina Kyle, becoming a father figure to the former and a lover to the latter.^[5] 

Powers and Abilities

Powers

When originally Ted Grant was only a common mystery-man, later retcons established he had some powers.

• (Resurrected): Ted possesses the ability to return from the dead, which he gained in 1945 during a mystical combat between King Inferno and Zatara. However, he cannot come back to life if he is killed nine consecutive times.^[6]
  • Decelerated Aging: The process that enables Ted to return from the dead has also delayed his aging process, enabling him to keep himself in peak physical condition.
• Enhanced Vision: Ted has preternatural eyesight that allows him to see in the dark. He once claimed to have witnessed Doctor Mid-Nite perform open heart surgery in total darkness.^[7]

Abilities

• Martial Arts: Ted is a master combatant trained in Template:Capoeira, Hapkido, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai. Wildcat is such a competent martial artist, that he was useful in fight against Rabbit and the rest of the Silk Brothers, alongside Black Canary, Huntress, Richard Dragon, Connor Hawke, Creote and Savant.^[8]
  • Boxing: Ted's favorite, foremost and first learned combat skill was and always will be Boxing. No matter how big the opponent or how seemingly impossible the odds might be in or out of combat Wildcat will always solve the issue with boxing.^[9]
  • Kickboxing^[10]
  • Tae Kwon Do^[11]
• Pedagogy: He has used his skills to train other heroes including, Batman, Catwoman, Black Canary, and Superman.^[9]
• Driving
• Multilingualism: he speaks an African tribal dialect.^[12]
• Aviation^[12]

Paraphernalia

Transportation

• Wildcat's Catocycle: Wildcat rides a modified Indian stunt motorcycle, which he uses during many of his crime-fighting adventures.^[13] Ted's cycle is distinguished by the over-sized cat's-head ornament fairing above the front fender.
  

Notes

• A version of Ted Grant existed on Earth-One before the Multiverse was merged into a single universe.
  

Trivia

• His "nine lives power", besides being a reference to common myth that cats have nine lives, was seemingly an explanation for the times where Wildcat had recovered from serious injures without explanation.
• Since 1947, Ted has been an owner of a silver mine.^[13]
  

Recommended Reading

• Batman and Wildcat (Volume 1)
• Catwoman/Wildcat (Volume 1)
• Sensation Comics (Volume 1)
• JSA (Volume 1)

Links and References

• 599 Appearances of Ted Grant (New Earth)
• Minor Appearances of Ted Grant (New Earth)
• Media Ted Grant (New Earth) was Mentioned in
• Images featuring Ted Grant (New Earth)
• 3 Quotations by or about Ted Grant (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Ted Grant (New Earth) 

1. REDIRECT wikipedia:Template:DC Animated Universe

Footnotes

Justice Society of America member This character is or was a primary member of the Justice Society of America in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice Society of America members" category.

All-Star Squadron member This character is or was a member of the All-Star Squadron in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "All-Star Squadron members" category.

Justice League member This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.