Catra (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

"It's never been a game to me. I'm after something bigger... and no one is going to stop me."

— Catra speaking to Adora.

Catra is the main antagonist in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. She is the second-in-command, formerly a Captain, in The Horde and was Adora's best friend before her defection to join the Rebellion. Though she initially desired to bring Adora back into The Horde, Catra realized that Adora's absence created the opportunity for her to step out of Adora's shadow and prove her strength and cunning. Ultimately, she casts aside her former friendship in favor of her newfound strength and achievements, basking in the glory she has attained without Adora's aid.

APPEARANCE :

Catra is a slender, tan skinned female of unknown feline origins. She has angular features, such as a pointed chin, straight nose and slanted almond-shaped, heterochromatic eyes in the shades turquoise (Right) and pale yellow (Left). She features freckles on her cheeks, soft curving eyebrows, and a thin fiendish smile. Due to her feline ancestry, she is depicted as a woman with sharp claws on her hands and toes, small fangs, large, black, catlike ears, and horizontal markings on her arms akin to a Tabby's stripes. She also sports wild, slicked back, spiked, gray-brown hair held back behind a cat-inspired reddish-brown headpiece. She wears a two-toned orange leotard tanktop over reddish violet torn leggings that wrap around the foot, exposing her toes and heels. Additionally, she's seen in two belts, the thicker of the pair sporting the Horde symbol, and, as the show progresses, we see her sport the Captain pin on her shirt over her heart.

PERSONALITY :

Catra has been shown to have many positive and many negative traits. Throughout the first bit of Season One she is seen to be slightly rebellious, sometimes stealing vehicles for her own use and talking about Shadow Weaver. She certainly isn't punctual, which is highlighted in the first episode when she doesn't show up to her training on time and the other characters act as if this was expected. As she continues to grow throughout the season, she never gives up this rebellious trait, even going as far as to talk down to Shadow Weaver even after she was granted the position of captain.

Several other traits of hers are revealed, primarily through the second half of the season. She is portrayed to be very charismatic, winning Entrapta over at the Princess Ball (although this can be countered by acknowledging the fact that Entrapta has been shown to be slightly naive) and making Scorpia believe they were best friends even though they never really had talked before they were paired together.

She is also depicted to be very creative and intelligent in her way of thinking, making it easier to manipulate others to do her deeds. She got into Scorpia's head by telling her her treatment by the other princesses wasn't fair after she had been told of Scorpia's backstory. This is most likely false empathy since Catra has a great disdain for the princesses, which she never attempts to deny. Often she shows herself to be a good liar and actor, acting quite casual throughout the whole Princess Ball, talking with Entrapta and dancing with Adora, while she very well knows that her "friends" are setting heat bombs throughout Frosta's castle.

Although at first she had saved Adora on some occasions (such as when she nearly fell off a cliff), throughout the series she seems to get colder and colder to her ex-best friend to the point where she nearly lets her die, saying that she wondered where she'd be and how she'd be succeeding if Adora had never been in the picture. She continues on with the monologue even after Adora apologizes for ever making her feel lesser. Through this, it can be gleaned that Catra attempts to build up the image that she doesn't feel remorse for her actions, and will do anything she has to - harm anyone she has to, please anyone she has to - in order to rise to the top of The Horde.

However, Catra's true motives are much more three-dimensional, and it is portrayed several times throughout the first two seasons that her true wish is to essentially gain what she lost--Adora, who was once her best friend, and the love that she never received from Shadow Weaver, the only "mother figure" she has ever known, as she grew up.

Overall, she is smug and sassy.

POWERS AND ABILITIES :

POWERS :

• Cat-person physiology: Due to her physiology, Catra possesses many cat-like traits such as sharp claws, superior strength, and enhanced agility.
• Enhanced strength: Catra appears to be stronger than the average Etherian.
• Enhanced agility: Catra is able to jump, run and climb much better than a typical Etherian, like Adora. Her speed is her main advantage.
• Claws: Catra's fingernails are retractable claws.

EQUIPMENT :

• Stun gun: Catra wields a stun gun when going up against Adora.

PLOT :

PAST -

Catra was raised by Shadow Weaver, alongside Adora, since she was a child. The two friends made a pact to always watch each other's backs, that way nothing bad could really happen to them. Despite their close friendship and occasional rivalry, Catra harbored deep jealousy and resentment towards Adora over the favoritism clearly shown for her by Shadow Weaver and the perceived notion that she was nothing more than Adora's "sidekick". Catra kept her true feelings hidden from Adora and instead portrayed an uncaring attitude towards achievements like making Captain in order to hide her own insecurities.

THEORIES :

Like many Fright Zone soldiers, Catra appears to be an orphan taken in by Shadow Weaver and trained from an early age. This makes it somewhat likely that Lord Hordak could be responsible for her being separated from her parents, who could even be from a previous world visited by the Horde.

Where is Catra when she becomes naked and how does it happen?