DOCTOR NIGHTSHADE

 

DR. NIGHTSHADE

Real Name: Tilda Johnson

First Appearance: Captain America (Vol. 1) #164, August 1973

Powers: Tilda Johnson is an extraordinary genius extensively self-taught in many scientific fields on Ph.D. levels, including genetics, biochemistry, cybernetics, robotics, and physics. Though perhaps better in specific fields by certain scientists, her specialist skill level in such a wide range of sciences is only matched by a handful of scientists. Initially a poor fighter, she appears to have undergone extensive training in martial arts and acrobatics during her time in Femizonia. Dr. Nightshade excels at manipulating others, using her youth and perceived innocence to play on the preconceptions.

Dr. Nightshade claims her first specialty was controlling men, which she does using a mesmerizing chemical which can be inhaled in dust form, absorbed through the skin, or applied more subtly as a pheromone perfume; certain strong willed males, such as Captain America and the Falcon, have proven resistant to this hypnosis. Another frequently used tool she employs is her Lycanthro-Catalyst (“werewolf formula”), which turns men into lycanthropes under her control; originally administered through injection, it can now be applied via transdermal patches. Initially, both of these chemicals wire off in direct sunlight, but Nightshade has developed stronger, more permanent versions.

When Lycanthro-Catalyst is applied to individuals who have another form imprinted on their DNA, such as the Puma’s feline one, it triggers a transformation into that form rather than the lupine one, and they may retain their free will. She uses a gun which fires various cartridges, including fast-setting expanding silk strong enough to support several hundred pounds, flesh-eating enzymes, and acidified dimethoxypropane. She has also used a reflective silicon coating in baby oil rubbed on her skin to break down the force fields which give the Black Panther's energy daggers their structural integrity, a paralytic enzyme in an acid base on her gloves which can eat through the Panther's Vibranium-wweave costume to attack his central nervous system, and various other poisons. Dr. Nightshade is also a robotics anbd electronics expert, designing super-strong Cybernauts capable of passing for human, as well as larger models designed specifically to fight superhumans.