supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are of ...
appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
. She was created by
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early lif ...
, and first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' Vol. 1, #5 (January 1973).
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...
portrayed Mariah Dillard in the series ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
'', set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...
.UPDATE: Is a Netflix LUKE CAGE Character In CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR? , Newsarama.com Retrieved April 7, 2016
Publication history
Black Mariah first appeared in ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
: Hero for Hire'' #5 (January 1973) and was created by
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early lif ...
.
Fictional character biography
Mariah Dillard was the leader of a gang of New York criminals called the Rat Pack. Their primary source of criminal activity was using a stolen ambulance to pick up the bodies of the recently deceased, and then stealing whatever valuables they had on their person. During one of these thefts, a widow of one of the victims hired Power Man (who was at the scene of the murder) to find her husband's body. Power Man finds the hideout of Black Mariah. This led to a clash between Mariah and her men against Power Man. Power Man defeated Mariah and her cohorts and turned them over to the police.
After some time in prison, Black Mariah started a drug-dealing enterprise. She is the primary distributor of a drug called Acid Z, a potent drug that would eventually make its users become crazy and often suicidal. When some of the drug got into the hands of Luke Cage's friend D.W. Griffith, Power Man went looking for his old friend while his partner Iron Fist tracked down the primary distributor and shut them down. Iron Fist found Black Mariah's hideout; however, he also found out that she had hired a special enforcer as protection: Iron Fist's old foe
Scimitar
A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...
. Power Man joined Iron Fist in battle after learning of his old foe's involvement in the drug distribution. The Heroes for Hire made short work of Mariah and Scimitar, crushing their drug operation and turning both crooks over to the police.
Black Mariah is featured in the 2016 relaunch of '' Power Man and Iron Fist''. Here, she teams up with former Heroes for Hire secretary Jennifer "White Jennie" Royce into taking down Tombstone's empire.
Black Mariah later appears as a member of
Alex Wilder
Alex Wilder is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is introduced in the series '' Runaways''.
Alex Wilder was portrayed by Rhenzy Feliz in the Hulu television series '' Runaways'' whi ...
's incarnation of the
Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...
.
Black Mariah is among the crime lords that compete with Mister Negative in obtaining the Tablet of Life and Destiny so that she can win the favor of Mayor
Wilson Fisk
The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...
.
Powers and abilities
While Black Mariah has no powers, her weight, estimated to be 400 lbs., enables her to strike with great force. Outside of her fighting experience, she has been known to catch her enemies off-guard.
In other media
Mariah Dillard (née Stokes) appears in ''
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
'', portrayed by
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...
as an adult and Megan Miller as a teenager. This version is a New York City councilwoman, the granddaughter of Harlem crime lord Maybelline "Mama Mabel" Stokes, cousin of gunrunner
Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...
, who funds her political campaigns, and estranged mother of Tilda Johnson who was raped by her uncle "Pistol Pete" Stokes at a young age. Throughout the first season, Mariah attempts to avoid getting involved in Cottonmouth's affairs. While his obsession with
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
Shades
Sunglasses or sun glasses (informally called shades or sunnies; more names Sunglasses#Other names, below) are a form of Eye protection, protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damagin ...
to assist Mariah and Cottonmouth. Mariah later beats Cottonmouth to death with a microphone stand for suggesting she seduced Pete and frames Cage for it with Shades' help. Following Diamondback and Cage's arrests, Mariah takes over Harlem's criminal underworld, establishes a base for herself at the Harlem's Paradise night club, and enters a relationship with Shades. In the second season, Mariah prepares to go legitimate and retire from her family's criminal activities with help from her childhood friend Raymond "Piranha" Jones while attempting to reconnect with Tilda. However, Mariah faces several violent attacks from Bushmaster, one of Mama Mabel's sons who seeks revenge for his parents' murder by murdering her associates, stealing the Stokes' arsenal, and depleting her bank accounts. After Cage rescues Mariah from one of Bushmaster's attacks, she retaliates by killing Bushmaster's uncle and a plant sent to spy on her, along with several innocents. A disgusted Shades turns himself into the police and works with them to apprehend her while Tilda learns the truth of her mother's criminal activities and joins Bushmaster. Mariah is eventually arrested and poisoned by Tilda, though she bequeaths Cottonmouth's keyboard to Tilda and Harlem's Paradise to Cage to broker peace between Harlem's gangs before she dies.