Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

Today we look at that master thief : The Cat

Appearances in Heroclix: Deadpool

First Appearance: Master of Kung-Fu #38

Team Affiliations: Agency X

Shen Kuei is a Hong Kong based espionage agent that uses the alias “Cat,” because of his cunning, stealth and mysteriousness. Shen Kuei became infamous in super-hero circles when he went up against Shang-Chi over some British intelligence documents the Cat had stolen.

Shang-Chi’s informer was unaware that Kuei had left the employ of the People’s Republic of China and fallen in love with a MI-6 agent. When confronted by Shang-Chi, Juliette (the MI-6 agent) told him where to find the documents so that she could stay in Hong Kong and live with Cat. Kuei discovered this, however, but believed it to be a betrayal not an act of love. Combined with his belief that Shang-Chi was sent to kill him, Cat set out to kill them both first. Though Shang-Chi abandoned his mission, Cat still battled him. The two were evenly matched until Juliette stabbed Shang-Chi in the shoulder. This act made Cat realize that he was wrong about Juliette and he stopped fighting Shang-Chi to beg her forgiveness. He also threw a knife to Shang-Chi and offered his opponent his life. Shang-Chi, however, chose to spare Cat (who he believed was innocent of stealing documents from MI-6) and returned to London.

Shen Kuei worked with master criminal Kogar for a time until he returned to working for the communist Chinese. Juliette believed that Kuei’s love for her had diminished and hated that he was working for the Chinese and so left him. Both of them took other lovers and all seemed fine until Juliette decided to help Kogar hijack bomb plans from Cat’s men. However, Kogar fooled her into leaving booby-trapped barrels that kill Shen Kuei’s brother.

In search of vengeance, Shen Kuei sought out Kogar’s secret base. Unknown to Cat, Shang-Chi had infiltrated Kogar’s organization and was also there. Cat demanded trial by combat and Kogar chose Shang-Chi as his champion. When Cat learned that he was fighting Shang-Chi, who had nothing to do with his brother’s death, he broke off the duel. Shang-Chi destroyed the plans for the neutron bomb and the two fighters joined together to destroy Kogar’s base.

After this, Cat decided he would no longer work for any governments. Learning of an incredibly powerful weapon at the bottom of the ocean near Hong Kong, Kuei decided to recover it and destroy it before any government could obtain it. This mission again brought him into conflict with Shang-Chi. Once Shang-Chi learned of Cat’s goals, they were able to put their differences aside and complete the mission before parting as allies.

Shen Kuei later came into conflict with Deadpool when the two were attempting to steal the same artifact from a monastery. The Cat managed to best the merc with a mouth before returning to a Roxxon facility in Tokyo. Unfortunately for him, Deadpool was able to track him there and sought revenge, as well as the artifact. After taking a hostage, Deadpool was able to convince Shen Kuei to show him the artifact. The Cat revealed that Roxxon had the other half of the artifact, which they believed would be able to stop Cable (whose powers had recently increased exponentially, leading to him trying to “save the world”). After the Cat asked Deadpool to join them, Deadpool steals both artifacts and teleports back to his New York apartment.

The Cat and Deadpool continued to come into conflict as they both pursue further artifacts, which are in fact pieces of technology from Cable’s time traveling ship Graymalkin. Both men pursuing these items so that their employers can stop Cable if he becomes a problem. Though the Cat got the better of Deadpool at a Long Island facility, he was soon dispatched by an optic blast from Cyclops of the X-Men.

The Cat shows up again on Cable’s floating island sanctuary Providence, after the X-Men and Deadpool attempt to lay siege to it. Cyclops and Deadpool attempt to put together the device to use on Cable only to find that one part is missing. Cyclops seems ready to take Deadpool out but is quickly incapacitated by Shen Kuei who then reveals that he had hidden one piece from Deadpool. He gives the device to Deadpool who then teleports himself and an injured Cable to one of Cable’s safehouses. It is there that Deadpool uses the completed device to temporarily remove Cable’s telepathic and telekinetic powers.

Several months later, the Cat again runs into Cable and Deadpool (as well as the BAD Girls) while stealing the Dominus Objective. The Dominus Objective is a secondary hard drive that acts like a virus, which acts like a server. The Cat had been hired by the Black Box to steal the device so that the Black Box could manage all the information he was constantly receiving. After delivering the device, Shen Kuei returned home only to be attacked by the BAD Girls (who had also been hired to steal the Dominus Objective). After a brief skirmish, the Cat explains that he knows who hired himself, the BAD Girls and Deadpool because the same man hired all of them: Cable.

The Black Box was actually Gareb Bashur, the mutant formerly known as Commcast, with the ability to receive electronic signals in his mind. Cable and Deadpool were confront Bashur when the Cat and the BAD Girls arrived, at the Cat’s insistence. Together, they were able to stop the cloning vats that were creating endless duplicates of Rive and Makeshift. The Cat used this knowledge, that their deaths would mean the end of them completely, to stop the fighting just as Gareb and Cable ended their mind meld.