Jessica Jones and Felicia Hardy are known for their involvement in street crime and it's no surprise, given their troubled beginnings. Both women carry tales of abuse and trauma, and each of them viewed their superpowered abilities as a way to survive. But while Jessica chose the path of crime-fighting, Felicia took on the name, Black Cat and became a thief.

Jessica first appeared in Alias (by Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Gaydos, Matt Hollingsworth and Richard Starkings) as a private investigator. Before that, she was a superhero who called herself Jewel. As a child, Jessica lost her family in a car crash with a military vehicle carrying radioactive chemicals. She survived, but due to being exposed to the chemicals, she gained super strength, invulnerability, and the ability to fly. However, her tenure as a superhero was short-lived.

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As Jewel, Jessica was abducted by a villain named Zebediah Killgrave, also known as the Purple Man. He used his psychic powers to control Jessica's mind for a period of eight long months. During that time, the Purple Man horribly abused her in many different ways. Traumatized by the incident, Jessica quit her superhero career and became a private detective instead. In contrast, Felicia grew up as the daughter of a cat burglar trained by the Black Fox. After she was assaulted in college, she refused to play the victim. Felicia decided to follow her father's footsteps and began training under the Black Fox.

While Jessica pushed away her past, Felicia was fueled by it. She actively sought revenge on the people who wronger her. Her early life experiences taught her to put herself before others and never settle for second-best. Jessica, on the other hand, tried to distract herself from painful memories of her past through heavy drinking and self-destructive behavior. Despite their differences, both women are connected by having shared connections in New York City, particularly in the form of Spider-Man/Peter Parker.

Felicia always had a precarious relationship with the web-slinging Avenger. She first met Spider-Man in Amazing Spider-Man #194 while attempting to break her father out of jail. Since then, they have been allies, enemies and even romantic partners. Their relationship was short-lived due to the fact that Black Cat preferred Spider-Man to Peter Parker, and did not quite understand why he still wanted to live a normal, civilian life.

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But for Jessica, it was quite the opposite. Jessica had a crush on Peter when they both attended Midtown High School. Years later, Jessica was surprised to learn Peter was Spider-Man when he revealed his identity to the New Avengers. By this time, Jessica was married to Luke Cage and had a young daughter, Dani. Peter tried talking Jessica into using her superhuman abilities again. In the end, Jessica ended up meeting other versions of herself from across the Multiverse in The Variants (by Gail Simone and Phil Noto). The other Jessicas, including one who wears the shield of Captain America, show her what could have been if she had made different choices in her life.

Although Felicia did spend some time as antihero, she ultimately chose a path fueled by vengeance and greed while hiding under the Black Cat mask. Jessica became disinterested in superhero costumes. Instead, she utilized not only her superhuman abilities, but also her street smarts and investigative skills as a member of the Defenders, protecting the streets of NYC at the street level.