This is "How Can I Explain?", which is a feature spotlighting inexplicable comic book plots.

Today, based on a suggestion from reader Darci, we see how the history of Hellcat's costume really doesn't make any sense.

Okay, everything began in The Cat #1 (by Linda Fite, Marie Severin and Wallace Wood), where we met Greer Nelson, who, in turn, meets Dr. Tumolo, who is working on an interesting experiment.

Later, Tumolo discovers Donalbain has replicated her experiment and is outfitting another woman who went through the experiment with a suit...

Note that Tumolo clearly had never seen these suits before. Also, note that Tumolo just grabbed one of the suits and ran.

Later, she goes to Greer for help and they are attacked and Tumolo is nearly killed...

So Greer, who has powers from the experiment, dons the suit and she takes Donalbain down...

She keeps the suit and uses it to become the superhero known as The Cat...

Then, in Giant Size Creatures #1 (by Tony Isabella, Don Perlin and Vince Colletta), we see that Greer was shot and almost killed and her life was saved by the scientist behind her powers (and who worked for the guy behind the Cat suit project), who turned out to be a member of the Cat People!...

We later learn that the Brand Corporation got a hold of some of Donalbain's other cat suits and one of them gets picked up and used by Patsy Walker to become Hellcat in Avengers #144 (by Steve Englehart, George Perez and Mike Esposito)...

While Steve Englehart intended the suit that Patsy began to wear to be the exact suit that Greer wore, that doesn't really work, since Englehart notes in Avengers #147 that Patsy's suit gives her enhanced abilities and Greer's suit did not. Plus, it looks different than Greer's.

Anyhow, Patsy wore the suit for years (and eventually, later writers just decided to ignore the enhanced powers of the suit).

That brings us to West Coast Avengers #15 (by Englehart, Al Milgrom and Joe Sinnott), where Englehart tries to tie up the whole Patsy/Greer/Cat/Hellcat/Tigra stuff up, but it really doesn't work.

First off, Greer notes that the costume enhances Patsy, which we saw it DOESN'T do...

But more specifically, she argues that it was DESIGNED for her, which we know not to be the truth, since Dr. Tumolo gave Greer her powers in secret and Tumolo knew nothing about the suit.

They are captured by the Cat People, who are a bit nefarious and Patsy decides to give the costume to Greer (who has become human instead of Tigra)...

Greer then explains that the suit was designed to extend women's strength (it wasn't) and that it was ESPECIALLY made for Greer (it wasn't)....

she also explains that it was designed by Dr. Tumolo, a Cat Person, to fight the evil Cat People (it wasn't designed by Tumolo)...

Finally, Greer is transformed into Tigra against her will, but the suit's ability to enhance women also served to ENHANCE Greer's humanity, allowing her to take control of the Tigra transformation...

It is a clever idea by Englehart but, again, none of this is based on anything in the suit's actual comic book history.

It's certainly not a big deal, and I liked the story overall, but it's funny how Englehart tried to tie everything together without it really being ABLE to be tied together.

Thanks again to Darci for the suggestion!

If anyone else can think of a good inexplicable comic book plot, write me at brianc@cbr.com!