Earth-Two history Ted Grant first donned the Wildcat costume in
Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942), the same issue in which
Mister Terrific premiered. Wildcat's origin is chronicled in
Sensation Comics #1 as well as
Secret Origins #3 (1973) and
All-Star Squadron Annual #1 (1982). Henry Grant vowed on his baby son's crib that the child would not grow up afraid of life, so he encouraged his son to participate in sports. Orphaned during the
Great Depression, Ted becomes a heavyweight boxing champion. He also became tangled unknowingly in his manager's sinister plans. His mentor "Socker" Smith was killed by Grant's managers Flint and Skinner who used a syringe, loaded with poison, in a boxing glove. The dose was only intended to slow down Smith, but the duo misjudged the potency. When Grant was arrested for the crime, Flint and Skinner, afraid that he might know what had really happened, arranged for the young fighter to be killed. Grant escaped the attempt and survived, but the policemen with him were killed. As a result, he became a fugitive. Later, he came upon a child who had been robbed of his
Green Lantern comic. The boy, describing the mystery-man Green Lantern, inspired Grant to create a cat-themed costume. He took the name Wildcat and vowed to clear his name. He brought Flint and Skinner to justice; the criminals were forced to confess, clearing Grant's name, and obtaining justice for Smith. Using the identity of Wildcat, Grant continued to fight crime. By issue #4, Wildcat had a custom motorbike, the "Cat-o-Cycle", and a comedy sidekick named
Stretch Skinner. In the pages of
All Star Comics, Wildcat had a few adventures as a member of the
Justice Society of America (JSA). In the 1980s, when the
All-Star Squadron was published, it created a retroactive continuity in which the majority of WWII mystery-men interacted with each other. Wildcat had a place as a member of that conglomeration of heroes as well. The 1970s run of
All Star Comics (1976–1979) had Wildcat play a central role as a JSA member, where he defeats
Psycho-Pirate. In
Crisis on Infinite Earths,
Red Tornado shatters Wildcat's legs, and he is told that he will not regain mobility. His goddaughter Yolanda Montez succeeds him as Wildcat.
Post-Crisis '' (vol. 2) #185 (Nov. 2002). Art by
Phil Jimenez. After the Crisis and its several changes to continuity, the injuries that Ted Grant sustained were downgraded from
paraplegia to less severe injuries from which he recovered quickly. He was also still a former heavyweight champion of the world. In addition, Ted is credited with being an expert at combat, though he prefers to trade punches as part of his brawling style. Even in his advanced years, on several occasions Ted has knocked out experienced fighters with a single punch. He remains at the peak of human condition due to his extensive workouts. He retains his status a world-class
boxer who trained
Batman,
Black Canary, and
Superman. Grant was, in turn, trained by ex-boxer Joe Morgan, who also tutored
Atom and
Guardian. Wildcat and the JSA willingly exile themselves to
Limbo to prevent
Ragnarök. They remain there for several years until they are freed in
Armageddon: Inferno. During the
Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! storyline, Wildcat and the JSA are subjected to
Extant's time-manipulating powers, which nullifies their slowed aging and restores them to their proper ages. In the wake of
Zero Hour, Ted Grant retires from active crimefighting and again became a full-time trainer in his role as a professional boxer. In private, he continued to train younger superheroes in the martial arts. In addition, new details were revealed about Wildcat's past, one being the existence of two sons. His eldest son Jake was kidnapped by the Yellow Wasp and later murdered by Killer Wasp. His youngest son Tom was raised exclusively by his mother without Ted's knowledge. In the present, Ted has affairs with
Selina Kyle and
Hippolyta. It was later revealed that Ted possesses "nine lives", the result of the magician
Zatara altering a curse placed upon him by a sorcerer named King Inferno after Ted refused to throw a boxing match for the wizard. The curse was intended to transform him into a cat, but instead gave him nigh-immortality, meaning that he can only die if he is killed nine times in rapid succession. Wildcat is not present in
The New 52 continuity reboot. In
Doomsday Clock, this is revealed to be the result of
Doctor Manhattan altering the timeline and erasing the Justice Society from existence. After Manhattan undoes his actions, Wildcat and the Society return. In
JSA #6 (2025), Wildcat is killed by
Lady Eve. Shortly afterward, he and several other deceased JSA members return as ghosts and recruit
Kid Eternity to protect the rest of the JSA. ==Powers and abilities==