DC and Marvel fans have long debated over two of the most notorious cat burglars in comics. Catwoman may have graced the pages of funny books nearly 40 years before Black Cat sprang into The Amazing Spider-Man, but Marvel’s answer to DC’s nimble and flirtatious bandit is a worthy adversary.

They both have a lot in common: incredible stealth, cunning minds, and fiercely independent personalities— not to mention their on-again-off-again romances with a couple of the most famous superheroes in comics. But there are a few things that set them apart.

We here at CBR thought we’d dig into the nitty gritty details of the characters and award points based on specific traits in an effort to settle the age-old argument once and for all. Which feline fury will claw her way to the number one spot? Read on to find out who has better luck in Catwoman vs. Black Cat: Who’s the Top Cat?

10 10. Combat: Catwoman

To be a great anti-hero who can go toe-to-toe with the toughest of bad (or good) guys, excellent combat skills are a must. Catwoman is undoubtedly a tough fighter. Having survived on the rough streets in the East End of Gotham as a child, she’s both mentally and physically strong. She has mastered a number of mixed martial arts—including capoeira, karate, jujitsu, dragon style kung fu, and hapkido—and has trained under world-champion boxer Wildcat and Gotham’s martial arts legend, Armless Master. Black Cat can give the best of them the runaround, but Catwoman’s vast knowledge and experience wins.

9 9. Costume: Black Cat

Every cat burglar worth their salt needs a great outfit to complement their criminal activities. Catwoman has had some iconic looks over the years, brought to life in film and television, but this point has to go to Black Cat.

Black Cat’s outfit was crafted by the Tinkerer to boost her natural abilities. When wearing it, her speed and strength significantly increase. Her gloves hide retractable steel claws in each fingertip, triggered by a magnetic surge, making them more responsive than Catwoman’s pressure-switch claws.

Black Cat also knows how to accessorize: she wears earrings which give her the agility and balance of the world’s finest athletes; she can see in infrared and ultraviolet thanks to electromagnetic contact lenses; and, to top it off, her trusty grappling hooks are hidden in the fur lining in her gloves.

8 8. Cat Connection: Catwoman

The inspiration for an alter-ego must come from somewhere, and it’s no secret that Catwoman loves cats. It’s fully reflected in every iteration of her costume, but is even clearer in her caring nature towards the strays of Gotham. She tenderly befriends and trains them, turning them into reliable allies.

Naturally drawn towards her, cats can intuitively sense when she needs help. Her feline friends have come to her rescue in the past, and her ability to bond with them has been especially useful around big cats. For fully embracing the cat connection, Catwoman easily takes this point.

7 7. Stealth: Black Cat

Cats are sneaky by nature, able to move quickly and quietly. It’s only right that an anti-hero inspired by their feline friends should be able to do the same: getting in and out of a tight spot with ease, catching enemies off guard. Both women are experts in this field, but Black Cat narrowly edges ahead.

Her grappling hooks allow her to swiftly and silently swing around town with Spider-Man, or can even be used as a tight rope, which makes her entrances more surprising than Catwoman’s arrival on her trusty motorcycle. Black Cat has also successfully snuck up on our favorite web-head and taken him out countless times before his Spidey sense alerts him, showing her expert stealth and agility.

6 6. Burglary: Catwoman

Morals don’t often come into debate when discussing anti-heroes as the area is usually deliberately grey, but the competition is so close between these two characters, it’s worth examining their main profession: cat burglary.

Both women are esteemed robbers, but Catwoman’s thievery is often noble rather than selfish. In true Robin Hood style, she regularly steals from the rich of Gotham City to give to the poor, standing up for the oppressed. Her breaking and entering skills have helped crack many a case, stealing important documents and devices from crooks. Black Cat, however, steals whatever she pleases and tends to horde it all for herself.

5 5. Crime Boss: Black Cat

Being an anti-hero doesn’t mean you have to be good all the time, and for a while, Black Cat decided to rub shoulders with the worst of the worst in New York City’s seedy underworld. Having been caught by Otto Octavius during his time as Spider-Man, Black Cat decided to turn to crime out of spite. She grew her gang of criminals and established considerable weight as a Don, even buying and running local villain hang-out, the Bar with No Name. Becoming a successful crime boss in a city full of gangs and mobsters isn’t easy, but Felicia held her own.

4 4. Master Of Disguise: Catwoman

To pull off a successful heist, sometimes you need to play the long game. Rather than slink into an office or apartment in the dead of night to take treasures, a con job requires more careful planning. Selina Kyle is a master of disguise.

Having lived under various aliases over the years, she can easily adopt new identities to lure rich mobsters into traps, whether playing a wealthy socialite or an old woman. Selina is just as cunning and confident outside of her Catwoman costume, and her ability to hide in plain sight makes her the master in this category.

3 3. Powers: Black Cat

One key difference between Catwoman and Black Cat is that Felicia is more than mortal, benefitting from probability powers. Following an experiment to heighten her abilities through an animal mutation process, she found she could cause harm—or ‘bad luck’—to others.

This bad luck could befall anyone, which makes sense considering the experiment was later proven to be one of Kingpin’s tricks. With some tinkering from Doctor Strange, her powers no longer impact those she loves. But her cat-like strengths all benefitted from this upgrade, and whilst her powers have come and gone over the years, Felicia has always reaped the benefits of superhuman powers.

2 2. Team-Ups: Catwoman

Although fiercely independent, Catwoman has occasionally worked alongside some of the biggest criminal and crime-fighting gangs in Gotham. She's rubbed shoulders with the Justice League and Birds of Prey, and often fights crime with Batman. But being no stranger to walking on the wild side, she has also teamed up with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy in Gotham City Sirens. Black Cat, however, has been rejected by both the Avengers and Fantastic Four, with just a brief stint in Heroes for Hire. Catwoman is valued and trusted by both sides, which makes her a formidable partner in crime(busting), winning her this point.

1 1. Winner: Black Cat

It’s a very close call, but Black Cat’s powers and enhanced costume gives her the edge, narrowly making her our top cat. That being said, we’d gladly adventure or plunder alongside either of these incredible cat burglars as heroes or thieves. Both are skilled fighters who will gladly get their paws dirty by working alongside the best and worst of New York and Gotham, and are more than capable of holding their own.

NEXT: Who Would Win? Captain Marvel Vs. Wonder Woman

But what do you think? Have we summed this up purr-fectly, or are there any other categories we should have considered? We’d love to hear your meow-sings in the comments section below!