Patsy Walker began her comics career over 80 years ago as a lovable girl next door and romantic rival, debuting in Miss America Magazine #2 (November 1944) before getting her own title in Patsy Walker. After decades of being a star in teen comics, she made the transition to superhero 50 years ago in The Avengers #144 (February 1976).

She was originally created by Stuart Little and Ruth Atkinson, then Steve Englehart and George Pérez developed her identity as the hero, Hellcat. Her superhero story began when she was working as an assistant to mutant scientist Hank McCoy and joined him on a mission with the Avengers. Wanting to be a hero, she adopted a costume that had once belonged to Greer Grant Nelson, the former vigilante known as the Cat, and Patsy chose the name, Hellcat.

Patsy quickly proved herself when she helped rescue the Avengers, and was soon offered membership to the team. But Moondragon contacted her and convinced Hellcat to go with her to Saturn’s moon Titan to train in martial arts and psychic abilities. She returned to Earth to help Doctor Strange and joined the Defenders rather than return to work with Moondragon.

Her story took a dark turn when she learned that her mother had promised Patsy’s soul to Satan and tried to convince her that he was her father. She was able to reunite with her real father and married Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, and the two retired from the superhero life. Their happiness was short-lived when Hellstrom’s demonic side possessed him and drove her insane.

Patsy was institutionalized and the Deathurge drove her to commit suicide, then her spirit was trapped in Hell. She was forced into gladiator style combat, honing her fighting skills, and she also spent the time improving her psychic powers. Hellstrom convinced Hawkeye to help bring her spirit back to Earth, only now Hellcat retained the powers she developed in Hell and could manifest her costume. She rejoined the Defenders and became a specialist on their cases that involved the occult like Nicholas Scratch and Dormammu.

Hellcat registered under the Superhero Registration Act during the Civil War storyline. She became an instructor for young superheroes at Camp Hammon, and when the Avengers 50 State Initiative was created, she was named the official superhero of Alaska. Once she returned to New York City, Hellcat became an investigator for She-Hulk and helped her protect Kristoff Vernard (Doctor Doom’s son) when he tried to defect to the US.

In the All-New, All-Different Marvel line She-Hulk could no longer afford to pay Hellcat, so she decided to open her own agency for superpowered people. Her life took a meta turn when she learned that her former teen rival Hedy Wolfe had obtained the rights to the Patsy Walker comics from Patsy’s mother and planned to republish them. She-Hulk and Jessica Jones helped Patsy to get the rights back to the comics because her mother was mentally incompetent when Hedy acquired the contract.

A string of strange stories followed, starting with Hedy manipulating Hellstrom (who was at this point Patsy’s ex-husband) into sending her to another dimension. She had an illness that caused her to unintentionally alter reality when she sneezed, and during a trip to the mall, Hellcat was confronted by teenage girls pretending to be villains so that they could meet her.