Catbat

Catbat is a teal-furred cat-bat hybrid, set to make their playable debut in Crash Team Rumble. They have a rock-and-roll-inspired aesthetic style and large wings that they use to take to the skies and swoop down on their foes.

Games
Catbat first appeared as a cameo in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. They can be spotted in Coco Bandicoot's epilogue illustration during the 100% ending, in the stands next to Neo Cortex.

Catbat is set to make their true debut with the release of Crash Team Rumble, where they are a playable character in the game's base roster.

Other media
Catbat's origin story was explained in Catbat, the first issue of a comic series meant to provide external story context to characters and events in Crash Team Rumble. In the comic, Catbat is revealed to have been created by Neo Cortex and N. Brio as the result of a fusion between a cat and a bat. However, they were able to break free of their straps and escape the castle. Lost, hungry, and alone, they were given food by a former Lab Assistant and rock-and-roll performer. Catbat soon developed a love of both rock-and-roll and hamburgers, as well as self-confidence and the desire to pay forward the kindness shown to them. They teamed up with a group of bats in Mosquito Marsh to steal and destroy Cortex's technology. Later, during the games depicted in Crash Team Rumble, they confronted Cortex directly and vowed to make sure he'd remember their name.

Physical appearance
Catbat is a slim cat-bat hybrid mutant with light teal fur. They have yellow eyes with catlike slit pupils and heavy eyebrow ridges, surrounded by dull pink markings and a scar over their right eye. They have a small pink nose, large fangs and long pointed ears with three silver piercings in the left ear. They also have a long thin tail and large spiked bat wings with pink webbing. They wear a black leather jacket with a tall, studded collar, dull blue jeans with a tear over the right knee, a black leather belt with a skull-shaped buckle, and a silver spiked ring around their tail. They don't wear anything under their jacket, showing purple stripes on their chest. They have bare feet with large brown claws.

Creation and early development
Catbat was created as a playable character for Crash Team Rumble. Their abilities were designed to take advantage of the game's freely roamable arenas, and to give players a sense of mobility and verticality through flight. Toys for Bob, the developers of Rumble, were at first hesitant to introduce a character with free flight. To incentivize players to return to the ground, Catbat was given a downward slam attack that grows more powerful the higher up in the air they are. The fact that most of the combat and map features were at ground level also helped to balance out their abilities.

Catbat's appearance was inspired by musician, and more generally by the character archetype of a rock star. The intent was to embody "a confidence and flair that is just magnetic". Since they would be a playable hero character, designer Nicolas Kole wanted them to look appealing and not monster-like. He also conceived of them as being. Once their appearance had been finalized, Toys for Bob kept this aspect in the game. They felt it was natural for them to refer to the character with gender-neutral pronouns, and that their "personality and swagger" were more important than their gender or other aspects.

As Crash Team Rumble lacked a story mode, a digital comic series was created to provide story context to characters and events within the game. The first issue of this series was included in an article published by Kotaku, along with the thought process behind Catbat's personality and history in it. They were conceived as a character whose past was similar to Crash Bandicoot's, but angstier. Their resentment of their origins with Neo Cortex was to be their driving motivation throughout the series. They would also come into their own after being treated with kindness by the rock community.

Trivia

 * Nicholas Kole, Catbat's designer, has responded to a Tweet asking if Catbat played in a band, saying they would play in a goth or glam rock band.
 * Catbat is the first character in the Crash Bandicoot series to be explicitly stated as being non-binary.