BLACK MARIAH

Real Name: Unrevealed, first name possibly Mariah

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Professional criminal, drug dealer

Group Membership: Leader of own criminal gang (including Little Carl)

Affiliations: Flea, Scimitar

Enemies: Iron Fist, Frank and Mrs. Jenks, Power Man (Cage)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Currently unknown;
    formerly Chinatown, the very low east side  of Manhattan, New York;
    formerly the lower west side of Manhattan, New York

First Appearance: Luke Cage, Hero for Hire#5 (January, 1973)

Powers/Abilities: She has no superhuman powers, but her great weight (estimated around 400 lbs.), enables her to strike with much force. She has some fighting experience, and is able to catch most foes by surprise as they do not expect an attack from her. She also uses a pair of large, drugged sewing needles, able to stun a victim within seconds, slowing their reflexes and reaction time. Her agents drive ambulances and often carry guns.

History:
(Luke Cage, Hero for Hire#5 (fb) - BTS) - Taking her name from the paddy wagon nicknamed "Black Mariah," she came to head a gang of criminals, using fake ambulances and paddy wagons to pick up people without being questioned. They would cart off the bodies of rich people who died in public places, as well as collecting criminals at robberies, jailbreaks, etc. After taking the valuables from their victim's possession, they would take the victim's home and office keys and rob them before they could be closed up.

(Luke Cage, Hero for Hire#5) - After Black Mariah's agents did their work on the recently murdered Frank Jenks, Mariah physically punished one of her men who had complained about her eating up their profits. The Hero for Hire, Luke Cage, sought to find Jenks' body for his widow, and his informant Flea directed him to the property next to Mariah's where he was spotted and ambushed by her men. Cage feigned defeat and then overpowered the men, eventually confronting Mariah herself. He was initially reluctant to strike a woman, resulting in him taking a lot of punishment as she slammed him into the walls and floors, but she fled after he braced himself to resist her attacks. She tried to escape in her motor boat, but he capsized the boat and left her floating in the bay.

 


(Power Man and Iron Fist#88 (fb) - BTS) - Black Mariah moved to Chinatown and got involved in the dope business, employing the Halwani warrior Scimitar.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#88 (fb) - BTS) - Black Mariah got a bad shipment of drugs, known as Acid Z, which drove those who took it into a frenzy before killing them within hours.

(Power Man and Iron Fist#88) - As Iron Fist followed a lead to Mariah's base, she sent some of her Chinese agents to cut his heart out. Iron Fist overpowered these men and made his way into Mariah's room, defeating even Scimitar after some struggle. He failed to see Mariah as a threat, and was surprised when she suddenly stabbed him with her sewing needles. Weakened by the drugs on the needles, Iron Fist struggled to maintain consciousness, but was then knocked out by Mariah. She took him up to the roof and threw him off, but he fell into the arms of his partner Luke Cage, who had followed a different trail to Mariah. She and Scimitar attempted to flee in her van, but he stopped the van by hurling a lamp post through it. Cage easily dropped Scimitar, then punched out Mariah when she attacked him; she did take two punches to go down.

 

 

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, George Tuska, and Billy Graham.

She refers to herself as Mariah, but that may just be the name she's chosen for herself.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
She takes her name from:

 

Scimitar is one of a line of warriors by that name, and the eventual successor of the version seen in Marvel: The Lost Generation#9

images:
Luke Cage, Hero for Hire#5 (cover)
Power Man and Iron Fist#88, p13, panel 2
 

Power Man and Iron Fist#88 (December, 1982)

Last updated: 12/03/04

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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