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I already know everything about the famous 'Wildcat' and I can say with absolute confidence that we've got nothing in common. I'm never gonna' put on a fur costume and punch people in the face. Hell, I haven't been in a fight since the eighth grade!
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— Himself
Thomas "Tommy" Bronson is the illegitimate son of the former heavyweight boxing champion Ted Grant, known to some as the hero Wildcat. Unlike his father, Tommy has an active metagene, due to a magical curse that was cast on his father, that allows him to shapeshift into what could be best described as an anthropomorphic black panther. For the most part, Tommy's a casual fellow who's not so interested in following in his father's footsteps...or pawprints.
Background
Thomas "Tommy" Bronson is the result of a short romance between the JSA hero Wildcat and Marilyn Bronson, a bank teller saved by Ted Grant during a robbery, who "thanked" him for his heroics. Tom was born with an active metagene, giving him the powers to shift into what is best described as a werepanther. He discovered this ability while he was still in Kindergarten, when he was frightened by a neighbor's dog. Not wanting to worry his Mom, Thomas chose to keep his powers a secret from her. Worried that his powers could accidentally surface in public, Tom also tried to avoid conflict and fights whenever they sprang up around him.
Tom managed to make it all the way through school without revealing his metahuman powers to anyone. This was thanks due in part to a combination of learning greater control over his powers and his mostly-pacifist nature. Soon after getting out of High School, Tom learned that his Mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was also then when Tommy learned the identity of his father, Ted Grant... who was also the hero Wildcat. Unfortunately, after a long battle with her sickness, Marilyn Bronson passed away. Tommy inherited the family Brownstone in Gotham City, as well as a sizeable amount of money from his Mother's savings and life insurance.
With no real ambition or direction in life, Tom took an interest in finding out more about his dad. He read up about Ted Grant, as well as his secret alter ego, Wildcat. Tom even took up an interest in boxing. While he holds no bitterness towards his dad for not being in his life, Tom's chosen to avoid complicating either of their lives by pursuing a relationship, especially when Tom feels he'd be a huge disappointment to someone like Ted. For the moment, Tom's life is pretty casual and unmotivated. He's living on the sizable inheritance from his mother. It's not a rich or rewarding life, though it is a comfy one. But who knows what the future holds!
SKILLS
Fighting - Competent Level
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While Tommy has no formal combat training and doesn't like to fight, he's not completely useless when there's no other option. His werecat form helps balance the scales quite a bit, thanks to the enhanced physical abilities and natural weapons. However against highly training opponents he's going to be facing an uphill battle that's weighted against him.
Since his Dad's one of the greatest Boxers alive, Tommy's taken a bit of an interest in the sweet science. He's learned a great deal about the various styles and moves from watching it on the TV. Of course, he's never matched his likely lesser skills against another boxer in an actual ring.
While Tommy's a career slacker with a severe lack of motivation, he does have something of a profession he could fall back on. He's a gifted guitar player, something that has come in handy to pay for drinks at the bar and so forth. He's capable of playing a variety of styles, though he leans more towards rock-and-roll.
ABILITIES
Power: Enhanced Senses - Enhanced Level
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Tommy's werecat form offers enhanced senses akin to many of the world's great cats. His vision is similar to that of a predatory feline, better than 20/20 and able to maintain detail over great distances. He also possesses remarkable night vision. His hearing is astounding, capable of picking up extremely hushed tones as well as ultrasonic frequencies beyond the scope of humans. His sense of smell and taste are also impressive, allowing him to detect scents most couldn't, and he can even track people or things by their unique smells.
Power: Healing - Enhanced Level
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Thanks to his metahuman powers, Tommy heals much faster than normal. In his werecat form, he heals at around 3 to 4 times faster than the average human being, and about half that rate in his regular human form. This won't replace lost limbs or completely destroyed body tissue, but it does give him a boost in stamina and recovery. In addition, his feline form also boosts his metabolism, increasing his resistance to various poisons and drugs.
Power: Natural Weapons - Enhanced Level
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Tommy's werecat form comes equipped with dangerous claws and fangs. His fingers and toes are each tipped with razor-sharp retractable claws. In addition to granting a slight boon for climbing purposes, they're also handy weapons. His claws are more than sharp enough to rip through most materials short of extremely-dense metal with ease. His sleek feline muzzle also sports fanged teeth and incredibly powerful jaw muscles, making it equally dangerous.
Power: Werecat - Enhanced Level
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Tommy's powers are due to his metagene being activated, thanks to a magical curse that was cast onto his father. It gives him the ability to shift into a form which resembles an anthropomorphic black panther.
In this form, Tom has enhanced physical abilities much like those of a great cat. He's also much more durable in this form, though far from being bulletproof. His werecat form also grants him fur and a tail: the fur serving as a rather stylish protection from the elements, and the expressive tail assisting with balance. It also offers a great deal of insight on Tommy's mood, though it may telegraph his moves.
ADVANTAGES
Tommy owns a rather nice 2-bedroom brownstone in Gotham City, which he inherited from his mother. It's fully furnished and quite spacious, though Tommy rarely spends much time there.
Tommy received a rather sizeable inheritance as well as collecting on his mother's life insurance. It's not a vast fortune, but it's enough for Tom to live rather comfortably for quite a while.
Tom Bronson's werecat powers were inherited from his father, Ted Grant aka Wildcat. These powers derive from a magical curse that was cast on Ted, which was supposedly intended to turn him into an actual cat. The spell succeeded instead only in granting Ted his "nine lives" and giving his son werecat powers.
Raised by a single mother in Gotham, Tommy grew up into a fairly independent young man. Perhaps due to his werecat side, Tommy's lifestyle was always like a stray. He knows his way around a city, and he knows how to keep out of trouble. He's also got an uncanny ability to find the best bars.
Ted Grant, Tommy's father, could one day prove to be a valuable part of Tommy's life, not only from what he can teach him, but also for that much needed motivational kick in the ass that Tommy so desperately needs.
WEAKNESSES
Tommy suffers from a serious lack of ambition and drive. He doesn't really want to be a hero like Daddy. He's happiest just enjoying life! It should be noted that he's not really lazy, he just needs motivation...sometimes in the form of the proverbial kick in the pants.
Regardless of his current form, Tommy almost always has a cigarette dangling from his lips. It's a nasty filthy habit in many people's eyes, and there is no doubt that some won't approve of it. Especially Tommy's old man.
Unlike his iconic hero father, Tommy's strived most of his life to avoid fights. He won't back down from a fight if needed, and he's not really a pacifist, but he's much more likely to try to defuse the situation than he is to throw a punch. He will fight if there's no other option.
The one area where Tommy could be considered a "Chip Off The Old Block" is in his tendency to flirt. But unlike his Dad, Tom's track is as more of a dud than a stud. He also has an admitted weakness for the kind of people you don't take home to Mom.
Tommy's inexperience as a fighter really shows through in werecat form. He has a bad habit of telegraphing his every move with his tail before he makes it. Experienced and perceptive fighters could easily take advantage of this tendency.
One of the duties of superheroes is training the next generation of heroes. Ted Grant, also known as Wildcat, trained a number of heroes over the years and developed quite a reputation, which Tommy feels he doesn't live up to. This can, at times, bring him down and make him judge himself harshly, even if most other heroes would never be so unkind.
