BLACK MAMBA

 

BLACK MAMBA

Real Name: Tanya Sealy

First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One (Vol. 1) #64, June 1980

Powers: Originally a baseline human with no superhuman powers, Tanya Sealy was a call girl hired by the Roxxon Oil Company for experiments to transform her into a superhuman operative. Sent to their Brand Corporation division, a component was surgically implanted inside of her brain which allowed her to tap into the Darkforce Dimension and wield its substance offensively. Dubbed the "Black Mamba", Sealy joined the snake-themed subversive Serpent Squad.

 

She taps into the the Darkforce Dimension's ebony energies and manifests it as an inky, semi-tangible black mist. She then targets a victim and summons an image from their subconscious of the person they desire the most, overlapping that image over the mist. Thus, her victim perceives the Darkforce as someone they are in love (or lust) with, naked and beckoning them provocatively. The Black Mamba's power stimulates the libido and causes a release of euphoria in her victim, slowly their mental clarity and keeping them from questioning the sudden appearance and odd behavior of their loved one. This effect can be used simply as a distraction or to pacify an opponent. However, Mamba can also use the effect offensively. By having the Darkforce wraith embrace her victim, the target begins to kiss and hold tightly onto their "lover", when in fact they are asphyxiating themselves, inhaling Darkforce mass into their nose and mouth to cut off their air supply. Victims can pass out or even die if they stay in the wraith's clutches for too long. The Black Mamba has also employed her power in other, slightly different ways in the past. For instance, at times she has not used the Darkforce, but instead projected the lover's image over her own body as a "second skin", temporarily fooling a person into believing she was their lover. 

 

She has also cast a blanket of Darkforce mist over one or several people, causing them to experience entire pleasurable scenarios instead of merely the presence of one lover. Mamba has also summoned a wraith based on the person her target most fears. Diamondback perceived the wraith as Snapdragon, a woman who had almost drowned her weeks ago. Given Diamond's panicked and frightened reaction to the wraith, it is possible that Mamba's fear-wraith power stimulates anxiety and fear in the person's brain, just like it stimulates euphoria for the lover-wraiths. However, Diamondback was in an extremely fragile state of mind then, and her reaction may have been completely her own. Mamba can also project her own image over a Darkforce wraith, discarding the hypnotic effect and simply creating a formless cloud of dark matter to restrain or grapple with her opponents. Other times, she has created even more varied projections, such as disguising Captain America as Superia by casting a illusionary Darkforce cloud over him. Black Mamba is psychically linked to her wraiths, and if they are somehow struck or damaged, the mental feedback will affect her as well.

The Black Mamba also developed a second, hypnotic power as a result of the implantation. The origins of this second power remain unclear, but it has formed a symbiotic relation to her Darkforce power, causing them to work in conjunction. She can also breathe underwater and is a capable aircraft pilot.