Publisher: Marvel Comics
Created by: Steve Englehart and Alan Weiss
1st appearance: Captain America #164, 1973
Real Name: Tilda Johnson
Nationality: American
Team Affiliations: Yellow Claw
Legal Status: Wanted criminal in multiple parts of the world
Weight: 115 lbs Height: 5’4
Eyes: Brown Hair: Black
Relatives: Unknown
Skills and abilities: Skilled Martial artist and gymnast thanks to training on Femizonia. She has a wide range of knowledge in fields such as genetics, biochemistry, robotics and Physics.
She often carries with her a mesmerizing chemical which works on men. This chemical works if absorbed through the skin or worn as perfume. Strong willed males have been known to resist this however.
She also often uses her lycanthropic formula which turns those injected with it into werewolves under her control. Other notable skills include a substance which causes the Black Panther’s daggers to stop working, a paralytic enzyme in an acid base which eats through Vibranium and attack the central nervous system and various poisons. Her skills in robotics have allowed her to design the cybernauts which have such strength they can battle superhumans and pass for humans.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X92MalkVjEY&feature=related]
Biography
Harlem born Tilda was a gifted child, a veritable prodigy whose brilliance left her ostracized by those around her early on. Realizing it best to be “dumb down” her skills to pass as Normal she did this for years. By age 16 she had self taught her self to the doctorate level genetics, Cybernetics and Physics. By 18 she launched a successful criminal career thanks to the “Yellow claw” a criminal group interested in her experiments. It was here that she clashed with Captain America and the falcon with her science made werewolves. When the Yellow claw abandoned her she faked her death and escaped. She would surface months later to try and take over Sheild though she was defeated and jailed.
After her escape she created “cybernauts” machines which looked human to help her take over the local crime of Harlem. In this bid she even caused the Maggia to flee though Iron Fist, Misty Knight and Luke Cage stopped her plans. She next duped the hulk into doing her bidding by when Misty and co. revealed to hulk what had happened he handed her over to the police. On parole she clashed again with Cage and co. and would up defeated. Next she became second in command to Superia who trained herself and other female villains on her island Femizonia in a bid to create a world in which women ruled with men as their slaves. Captain America and friends defeated the group and she fled.
Manipulated by Druid she made all of Massachusetts into werewolves as he attempted to gain great power. Captain America freed her and she cured all the inhabitants as thanks. As she fled back to Superia however her leader was killed by the red skull.
Eric Killmonger then hired her to kill the Black Panther. She and her allies were defeated however. Vowing revenge she resurrected the Black Dragon Ciantang to kill the Panther but she was captured by the creature instead. Freed by the Panther she became his personal prisoner aboard his ship. It was here she discovered an older alternate world Black Panther with whom she bonded. She was granted amnesty and for the first time found a home. She accompanied this panther on a few adventures but when he was killed by Man-Ape she was distraught. In the chaos that followed she left Wakanda she has since returned to a life of Villainy.
She shows up in Shadowland trying to recruit the new Powerman to her cause aided by Cornel Cottonmouth. In this story she reveals that allot of the tech used by old Luke Cage villains were created by her. When she failed to recruit him she fled.
I love Deadly Nightshade!