Poison (comics)

Poison (616)
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Web of Spider-Man Annual #4 (1988)
Created by	Steve Gerber and Cynthia Martin
In-story information
Alter ego	Cecilia Cardinale
Species	Human
Abilities	flight; superhuman strength

Poison is the name of two fictional comic book characters, owned by Marvel Comics. The first was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Cynthia Martin and exists in the Marvel Universe while the second lives in an alternate world featured in the one-shot comic What If?: Spider-Man: The Other. This article is about the former. Information on the latter can be found at Alternative versions of Spider-Man.

Fictional character biography

Cecilia Cardinale was a first year student at the University of Havana. She was imprisoned in a Cuban prison under charges of being a prostitute by Vassily, a member of the military staff at the Soviet embassy. When she became mysteriously ill, she was transported to America, where she lived in a Florida refugee camp and gave birth to her son, Carlos. A mysterious other-dimensional entity named Ylandris appeared to Cecilia as she lay dying from her illness; Ylandris claimed to be dying as well, and proposed merging her essence with Cecilia to keep both beings alive. She took the name Poison, and became a vigilante, striking out primarily against those who had wronged her before.

Poison encountered Spider-Man, and the two traveled to the Nexus of All Realities in the Florida Everglades, where the Man-Thing lives. Ylandris was able to split herself off from Cecilia and use the Nexus to return to her home dimension. Poison retained her superhuman powers even after the departure of Ylandris.

Poison returned in an eight-part serial in Marvel Comics Presents #60-67, also by Gerber and Martin. In this story, she aided Joe Trinity, who communicates with his mop, which he calls Myrna. In reality, it is a supernatural force called Mrinhä that is seeking to possess him, taking advantage of his breakup with his ex-wife, whose new husband is working for the mobster called the Slug, to interface with him, eventually joining with him and destroying the mop. Poison destroys Mrinhä by taking it up herself and having her Ylandris powers destroy it.

The Cardinales moved to New York City and encountered Ben Reilly, not realizing that he was not the same Spider-Man that she had met. The two teamed up to battle El Toro Negro after Poison's son Carlos was kidnapped by El Toro Negro. Because of his defeat, El Toro Negro was not a part of the Great Game which appeared in the January issue of "The Return of Spider-Man", issue #64.

Much later, Poison was one of numerous minor heroes and villains killed and resurrected in the service of the Hand. She took place in a combined assault by the forces of the Hand and HYDRA on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. While many of those involved in the assault were killed, Poison's fate remains unknown.

Powers and abilities

The full range of the mutagenic changes wrought on Cecilia Cardinale's body by the presence of the alien being Ylandris is still unknown. Thus far, Poison has demonstrated superhuman strength and exceptional athletic abilitiy including enhanced endurance and reflexes, as well as the power to levitate, fly at slow speeds, and teleport herself and others. She can also psionically alter the flesh of others to make them sick, injured or diseased, even killing them, disfiguring them as they die. She does not need to touch a person to exercise this power, but can do it simply by looking at them.