Fan Casting Cat-Man in Joe Carnahan's Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

Townshend Horgan was a career criminal facing a lengthy prison sentence for various violent crimes when he was given an opportunity to get a reduced sentence by participating in a scientific experiment. These experiments, performed by scientists in the employ of the Kingpin, involved the injections of various animal DNA into their test subjects using genetic retroviruses. Horgan's injections contained DNA from several of the big cats, including leopards and at least one species of tiger. Calling himself Cat-Man, Horgan joined with four other test subjects in escaping the lab, discovering themselves in the sewers underneath Hell's Kitchen. Cat-Man and his companions – Ape-Man, Bird-Man, Dragonfly, and Frog-Man – named their group the Ani-Men and decided to try and take over one of the gangs in the Kitchen. They were foiled by the costumed vigilante Daredevil in this endeavor and were sent to prison. Some months later, the Ani-Men had either escaped or were freed from prison, and were hired by the criminal businessman Leland Owlsey, alias the Owl. Under the Owl's direction, Cat-Man and the other Ani-Men engaged in attacks on the Kingpin's businesses (the Ani-Men are unaware that the scientists who originally mutated them were in the Kingpin's employ), but were again foiled by Daredevil as well as the Kingpin's newest enforcer, Elektra. The Ani-Men managed to avoid capture by the authorities, and are still at large.