6 Most Iconic Cats Across All Superhero Media

Published Sep 27, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT

Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. 

A few cats have left a mark on the superhero genre, some of them matching the power of their human owners. Superheroes and supervillains alike often keep loyal animal companions by their side, ranging from ordinary domesticated pets to magical or genetically altered alien beasts. In battle, animals like the Super-Family's Krypto the Super-Dog and the Inhumans' Lockjaw offer immense strength and instantaneous teleportation, respectively. Besides their combat support, faithful sidekicks like these provide genuine bonds that humanize even the most powerful superheroes.

Cats hold a particularly prominent role in superhero stories, as their natural attributes are the basis for countless iconic heroes and villains. Characters like Catwoman, Black Cat, and Catman base their agility and stealth on common cats in their career as master thieves. Martial artists like Wildcat, Bronze Tiger, Hellcat, and Black Panther adopt the feline motif to symbolize their combat prowess. Meanwhile, characters like Cheetah and Tigra draw upon mystical or genetic enhancements to gain literal feline attributes.

Feline-themed heroes and villains are abundant in the superhero genre, but there are also a few literal cats and cat-shaped creatures who steal the show from their anthropomorphic partners.

6 Lying Cat

Image Comics; Saga #1 (2012)

Writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples debuted Lying Cat in Image Comics' 2012 epic Saga #1 as an imposing blue Snix. This creature possesses the unique physiological gift of serving as a natural lie detector. Whenever anyone tells a lie in her vicinity, Lying Cat growls a single word: "Lying." Partnered with the mercenary bounty hunter known as The Will, Lying Cat is an invaluable asset for her friends, and her protective attitude toward children make her much more than a simple companion for hire.

Lying Cat delivers pivotal plot revelations and saves allies like Gwendolyn and the rescued slave girl Sophie throughout Saga's celebrated run. Lying Cat's protective actions toward Sophie in particular reveal depict her as one of the most pure-hearted characters in Saga. Although Saga is an independent creator-owned comic book series, Lying Cat's unforgettable ability and distinct design have made her a standout character who has received her own collectible figures, plush toys, and T-shirts.

5 Teekl

DC Comics; The Demon #7 (1973)

Created by Jack Kirby in The Demon #7, Teekl is the pet companion of the magical boy Klarion who manifests as an unassuming domestic cat, but possesses powerful shape-shifting abilities that allow her to transform into a saber-toothed tiger armed with immense physical strength and sharp claws. Teekl's transformation is tied directly to Klarion's chaotic sorcery, as the two share an intimate symbiotic bond. In multiple DC continuities, their connection is dangerous, since Klarion’s immense magical power depends on Teekl to maintain his presence in the physical world.

Teekl’s integral role in Klarion’s mythos has made the magical cat a standout presence across DC Comics and television adaptations. In the comics, Teekl has appeared in key storylines from Kirby's era to Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers: Klarion, where the cat has aided Klarion in battles against Etrigan the Demon, Zatanna, and the Justice League. More notably, Teekl reached mass audiences in the animated Young Justice series, where her monstrous, red-eyed transformation overwhelmed several heroes, and her status as a Lord of Chaos's mortal counterpart became a major plot line during Klarion's apocalyptic clash with Child and Flaw.

4 Spider-Cat

Marvel Comics; Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales provided an unexpected but welcome addition to the Spider-Man mythos. Spider-Cat is originally a regular pet belonging to a bodega owner, but he quickly becomes Miles' quirky sidekick after Miles rescues him and returns him home. From then on, Spider-Cat accompanies Miles in missions, tucked into his backpack with a tiny Spider-Man half-mask, occasionally leaping out to deliver finishing moves. Although Spider-Cat made his debut very recently, his few appearances have made him a pop culture favorite.

Spider-Cat’s finishing animations are unique moves only Miles Morales' pet can pull off. Thanks to his Insomniac video game popularity and his brief appearance in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Cat merchandising like posters, pins, T-shirts, and his very own Funko Pops figure have expanded his reach beyond the game itself. Spider-Cat may lack the prominence of major Marvel animals like Jeff the Land Shark, Cosmo the Spacedog, and Spider-Ham, but his simple origin and instantly recognizable design has made him a popular side character.

3 Streaky

DC Comics; Action Comics #261 (1959)

Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel and long-time DC artist Jim Mooney introduced Streaky the Super-Cat in 1960’s Action Comics #261 as an ordinary domestic feline under the care of Kara Zor-El. However, Streaky’s life changed when Supergirl attempted to synthesize a chemical remedy for Green Kryptonite. The experiment resulted in X-Kryptonite, an altered radioactive compound that granted human-level intellect and Kryptonian superpowers to normal terrestrial animals. Exposure to this mineral endowed Streaky with Kryptonian superpowers, which led him to join forces with Krypto the Super-Dog, Beppo the Super-Monkey, and Comet the Super-Horse to form the Legion of Super-Pets.

Streaky has made memorable appearances in Superman: The Animated Series and gained a central role in the 2005 animated show Krypto the Super-Dog, where a cape-clad Streaky fought crime alongside his Kryptonian canine peer. Adaptations such as DC Super Hero Girls and feature projects like DC League of Super-Pets further elevated Streaky’s visibility across new generations of fans. Sadly, Streaky has yet to make it to live-action. Milly Alcock's DCU Kara Zor-El isn't accompanied by any of her animal friends in Craig Gillespie's Supergirl movie, and Melissa Benoist's Kara Danvers adopts a cat with no superpowers in The CW's Arrowverse.

2 Dex-Starr

DC Comics; Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1 (2008)

Geoff Johns and Shane Davis created Dex-Starr in 2008 as a deceptively lethal addition to the Red Lantern Corps. Before his turn into cosmic violence, Dex-Starr lives on Earth as Dexter, an ordinary blue house cat loved by a kind Brooklyn owner. Tragedy strikes when a burglar murders his owner, and the helpless pet is evicted onto the streets. Cruel street thugs later stuff Dexter into a sack to throw him off the Brooklyn Bridge, which leads a Red Lantern ring to detect his anger across space, save his life, and transform him into Dex-Starr, one of the most violent warriors in Atrocitus's Red Lantern armada.

The contrast between Dex-Starr's cute appearance and his tragic backstory turned him into one of the most memorable members of the Red Lantern Corps, only surpassed by Atrocitus. Besides appearing in major Green Lantern events like Blackest Night and Justice League Odyssey, Dex-Starr has appeared in the video game Injustice 2, where he enters the battlefield alongside Atrocitus to provide combat assistance. Animated shows like Justice League Action and DC Super Hero Girls have also presented Dex-Starr to younger audiences.

1 Goose

Marvel Comics; Giant-Size Ms. Marvel #1 (2006)

Writer Brian K. Reed and artist Roberto De La Torre introduced Carol Danvers' feline companion as Chewie in 2006's Giant-Size Ms. Marvel #1. Although the creature looks like an ordinary ginger tabby, Rocket Raccoon later revealed her true species: a Flerken, one of the most dangerous alien organisms in the galaxy. Flerkens possess pocket dimensions housed within their bodies, which allows them to conceal massive mouth-tendrils and swallow large objects. The MCU's Captain Marvel turned Carol Danvers' Flerken into one of the most famous pet cats in the superhero genre and renamed him "Goose" in honor of Nick "Goose" Bradshaw from Top Gun.

Goose's jump to the big screen turned a niche comic book character into an MCU phenomenon, especially after Captain Marvel revealed that it was Goose who injured Nick Fury badly enough to give him his iconic eyepatch. Of course, Marvel Studios capitalized on Goose's viral success with movie posters, plush toys, apparel, and collectible figures. Four years later, Goose returned in 2023's The Marvels, where an entire nest of newborn Flerken kittens helped evacuate a space station through swallowed crew members. Outside the MCU, Goose also appeared in video games like Marvel Strike Force and Marvel Snap, as well as various animated shorts.