HEADHUNTER
Real Name: Moreland McShane
Class: Human
Occupation: Police officer, serial killer, formerly marine
Group Affiliation: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Gotham City
First Appearance: Catwoman II #41 (January, 1997)
Powers: Headhunter suffered from psychosis, but went through cooling off periods where he was skilled at law enforcement. He was a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and armed with a knife and firearms.
History: (Catwoman II #52 (fb, BTS)) - Police officer Moreland McShane lived a double life as the serial killer Headhunter, a misogynist who killed and beheaded women because he felt rejected by them. When he was assigned to investigate and capture Catwoman he became intrigued with her, and had a cooling off period from his killings.
(Catwoman II #46) -Moreland was getting closer to understanding Catwoman with his psych profile, and Selina was none too pleased. Moreland knew Catwoman was not evil per se even though she was a thief. She needed to distract him, and they kissed, and he admitted he'd fallen for her. She said she didn't want to rush things, and had to leave him because she had a previous engagement. She couldn't get Mooreland out of her head, and when she took the first edition Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde back from copycat cat-burglar Alley-Cat she left it on Mooreland's doorstep, further convincing him that Catwoman was not all bad.
(Catwoman II #49) - Moreland red a news report about Catwoman busting up the terrorist organization S.P.I.D.E.R. , and wished Selina was around to discuss it. Selina was still in the Riviera, trying to process her newfound attraction to Moreland.
Moreland (Catwoman II #50) - Catwoman had an identity crisis, no longer sure of why she was still a thief. She knew her awful upbringing didn't really entitle to take whatever she wanted, and some of the thrill of the chase was gone. She reflected that she might need love, and not items to fill the void she felt. She had dinner with Moreland, even though she was sick of hearing him talk about Catwoman, and they started to get intimate, but Selina once again backed off and left him to sleep in her own apartment. She was starting to suspect that Morehead was falling for Catwoman even though he said he was attracted to Selina.
(Catwoman II #52, 53) - When the serial killer Headhunter returned to Gotham Gordon pulled Moreland McShane off his investigation of Catwoman, having seen no concrete results. Gordon never suspected that Moreland was the Headhunter. Selina continued to struggle with her feelings for Moreland, and he broke into her apartment. He'd been listening to the voice-recording of his initial encounter with Catwoman, and noticed the similarity to Selina's voice. That combined with the diary he realized belonged to Selina made up his mind that he had his woman. Selina pleaded ignorance, and told him she had genuine feelings for him, but he wasn't buying it. His duffel bag spilled, and revealed rotting severed heads of women he'd killed. He revealed himself as the Headhunter, and blamed Selina's "rejection" of him for making him kill again, and he intended to take her head. Moreland chased her with his blade, alternating between blaming her for "forcing" him to kill, and begging her to return his affection. She fled to the rooftop, and Moreland up and left. She changed into Catwoman, not being able to risk him going off to kill another innocent woman. She went to his apartment, and it was cleaned out except for some skulls and a message to meet him at Babylon Towers, where they first met. He was in the caved in city of the dead, and had a gun to his head. He was going to kill himself in front of her, but then decided to kill her first and started shooting. He had her cornered when he decided to impale himself on a sharp board. Catwoman was aghast, but kept her composure long enough to call the police, and gather all the evidence Moreland had on Catwoman's identity. She was shaken by the horror of the night, and couldn't see herself enjoying the romance of thievery and sneaking in the dark again anytime soon.
Comments: Created by Doug Moench & Jim Balent.
Headhunter II had a cameo in Catwoman II #58.
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