Black Mamba (comics)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Black Mamba | |
 -->Black Mamba, art by Mark Gruenwald. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Two-in-One #64 (June 1980) |
| Created by | Mark Gruenwald Ralph Macchio |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Tanya Sealy |
| Species | Mutated Human |
| Team affiliations | Secret Avengers BAD Girls, Inc. Serpent Society Masters of Evil Femizons Serpent Squad |
| Notable aliases | Tanya Sweet |
| Abilities | Darkforce control, Illusion generation, Telepathy |
Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy) is a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe, most notably a member of the Serpent Society and B.A.D. Girls, Inc. and who first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #64 (June 1980).
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[edit] Fictional character biography
Tanya Sealy was born in Chicago. She was an ex-call girl, chosen by Roxxon Oil Company to partake in a covert operation to retrieve the mystical Serpent Crown, working together with other snake-themed villains Sidewinder, Anaconda, and Death Adder. The executives at Roxxon decided to surgically implant a special component in her brain which enables her slight telepathic abilities. She also projects a cloud of energy known as darkforce. Using her combined powers to pluck the image of her opponent's loved one out of their mind and then suffocating them with the disguised darkforce, defeating Black Mamba was a definite struggle for the Fantastic Four's Thing during their first mission.[1] She also battled Iron Man while searching for a powerful weapon known as the microscanner.[2]
Invited by Sidewinder to join his criminal organization, the Serpent Society, Black Mamba accepted.[3] Before working with Roxxon, she was a call-girl, and while the money was satisfying, it was not a steady income, so she jumped at the opportunity to earn vast amounts of money with Sidewinder. While in the Serpent Society, Black Mamba gained great friendships in Diamondback and the Asp, and also became romantically involved with Sidewinder. During Viper's infiltration of the group, Black Mamba stood loyally with Sidewinder, which Viper was ready to kill her for. When Diamondback turned over a new leaf, it sparked something in Black Mamba. She joined her friends Diamondback and Asp in forming B.A.D. Girls, Inc.[4] and worked several mercenary-for-hire missions. She also briefly served in Superia's all-female group, the Femizons, but betrayed the group to aid Captain America and Paladin. Regardless, she was a villainess and was not above committing evil acts, such as when she led a drugged Hercules to be ambushed by the Masters of Evil.
For some time, Black Mamba served in Crimson Cowl's Masters of Evil in hopes of a large profit, battling the Thunderbolts. She eventually went back to the Serpent Society for a very short time, and then left to be with Diamondback and Asp and continue to do missions as the B.A.D. Girls. During one mission, to find the "Dominus Objective," Black Mamba severely embarrassed Deadpool when she revealed his darkest fantasy -- to be given a back massage by his partner in crime, Cable (although her power similarly affected everyone she used it on in this appearance). She also fought Luke Cage and Iron Fist, and was shocked to realize her group had been hired by Cable himself.
[edit] Civil War
Black Mamba appears along with her friends Diamondback and Asp[5] as a member of Captain America's anti-registration group. She took part in the final battle of the "war", but did not accept the offer of amnesty that came with Captain America's surrender.
Later Black Mamba and the other BAD Girls were captured by the Mighty Avengers in a New York City street mall. She escaped captivity and was later seen with several other villains in "The Bar With No Name".
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Ultimate Black Mamba
Black Mamba appears in the Ultimate Universe as a member of the Serpent Squad, a group of female mercenaries. After having the Serpent Crown stolen from them, they battle the Fantastic Four. Black Mamba was knocked out of the fight by the Thing early on, and was taken into custody. After the Thing called the Serpent Squad "freaks" in passing, Black Mamba retaliated in anger by saying he would die alone because he is so sickening. Black Mamba's Ultimate design closely resembles her Earth-616 design, but it is unknown if she commands the darkforce in this alternate universe. Oddly enough, her real name seems to have been changed to "Janis."
[edit] Related Studies
- R. Alberich, J. Miro-Julia, and F. Rossello, 2002. “Marvel Universe Looks Almost Like a Real Social Network,” arXiv.org, volume 1 (February): Open Access Copy
