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GIALETTA NEFARIA

Real Name: Dr. Gialetta Nefaria

Identity/Class: Alternate Reality (Earth-90214 / "Earth-Noir") normal human

Occupation: Nazi agent;
   formerly personal assistant

Group Membership: Possibly Nazi Party;
   formerly Stark Industries

Affiliations: Baron Strucker, Dr. Heinrich Zemo, various Nazi German soldiers (all Earth-90214)

Enemies: Jarvis, Virgil Munsey, Captain Namor and his crew, Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, Tony Stark (all Earth-90214)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None (see comments)

Base of Operations: Mobile internationally (Earth-90214)

First Appearance: Iron Man Noir#1 (March, 2010)

Powers/Abilities: Dr. Gialetta Nefaria is a ruthless, cunning and intelligent woman, keen for a leadership role at all costs, and she has cultivated a small network of high-level Nazi contacts in advanced and unusual technologies. 

    She revels in torture and ably handles a whip. 

    Nefaria is very skilled in subterfuge and good administration skills. She relied on her beauty to seduce men; after receiving severe burns over much of her body, she has taken to wearing a plundered Mayan jade mask.

Height: 5'9"
Weight: 139 lbs.
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Black (possibly wig - see comments)

History:
(Iron Man Noir#2 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Gialetta Nefaria began as a personal assistant to industrialist and inventor Tony Stark. Initially a little jealous of the close friendship between Stark and James Rhodes, Nefaria made connections with Nazi technologists Baron Strucker and Dr. Heinrich Zemo, and her ambitions saw her quickly became a Nazi agent. A womanizer, Stark easily succumbed to her seductions and they became lovers. The Nazis were keen to acquire the mysterious metal Orichalcum, which was lost to the far depths of the oceans. Nefaria kept a simply locked drawer in Stark's office and left clues there for Stark to find.

(Iron Man Noir#1) - Secretly searching for different power sources for his failing mechanical heart, Stark undertook various international adventures for exotic items, pretending they were just adventures chronicled by his aide Virgil Munsey.

(Iron Man Noir#1 (fb) - BTS) - Stark led his crew of Nefaria, Rhodes and Munsey to British Honduras in search of a hidden Mayan jade mask with alleged mystical healing properties. They found the temple and Stark led them underground and underwater to a cavern where the Temple of Rebirth stood, covered in bioluminescent (but flammable) fungi. Stark found the mask, but Nefaria took it from him at gunpoint and put it on (with no effect) as her Nazi allies, Commander Baron Strucker and Dr. Heinrich Zemo (plus several Nazi German soldiers) appeared. Munsey was killed by Strucker. Seeing the extent of the betrayal, Stark ignited the temple's fungi, burning Nefaria's body. Stark and Rhodes escaped, flooding the cavern with seawater.

(Iron Man Noir#2) - Having also escaped the flooded cavern, Nefaria and the Nazis stealthily tailed Stark as he recovered the Poseidon trident head made of Orichalcum, a powerful conductor, from the ruins of Atlantis. The villains hijacked the boat of Captain Namor before Stark returned to the vessel with the successful recovery. Stark was shocked to see the state of Nefaria, who was now permanently wearing the jade mask to cover her scars. Nefaria and the Nazis took the trident head with Stark's new chronicler Pepper Potts as hostage and Namor's boat disabled.

(Iron Man Noir#3) - Nefaria and the Nazis arrived at Strucker's castle base. Nefaria tortured and whipped the chained Potts while Strucker gloated. But Stark and Rhodes blasted their way into the castle in large armored suits, smashing open the room where Potts was chained.

(Iron Man Noir#4) - Nefaria watched as Zemo's giant robot weapon Arsenal downed Stark, but he recovered and freed Potts. Nefaria sunk an ax into Stark's armor; but Potts jumped in and knocked her out with one punch.

Comments: Adapted by Scott Snyder, Manuel Garcia, Lorenzo Ruggiero.

    Immediately after Nefaria was knocked out, the Nazis chased Stark, who then destroyed the Nazi zeppelin fleet; it's unrevealed if Nefaria had recovered and was onboard one or not.

    The Mayan temple confrontation took place on April 30, 1939, while the rest takes place in May, 1939.

    Slight differences in hair color (dark brown to black) suggest she may be wearing a wig after receiving burns.

    Gialetta Nefaria of Earth-90214 is the counterpart of Earth-616's Madame Masque (from where stats are taken), who first appeared in Iron Man I#17 (September, 1969) by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska & Johnny Craig.

    This profile was completed 8/1/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Gialetta Nefaria has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Iron Man Noir#3, p13, pan2 (main image)
Iron Man Noir#1, p1, pan4 (headshot, no mask)
Iron Man Noir#2, p22, pan2 (side headshot, masked)

Appearances:
Iron Man Noir#1 (March, 2010) - Scott Snyder (writer), Manuel Garcia (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Iron Man Noir#2 (May, 2010) - Scott Snyder (writer), Manuel Garcia (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Iron Man Noir#3 (June, 2010) - Scott Snyder (writer), Manuel Garcia (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Iron Man Noir#4 (July, 2010) - Scott Snyder (writer), Manuel Garcia (pencils), Lorenzo Ruggiero (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)

First posted: 09/06/2021
Last updated: 09/04/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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