Mariah Dillard
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Black Mariah (Mariah Dillard) is a
supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...
appearing in
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. 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 superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
. She was created by
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...
,
George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the 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 li ...
, 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. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Scree ...
portrayed Mariah Dillard in the series ''
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'', set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
.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 superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
: Hero for Hire'' #5 (January 1973) and was created by
George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the 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 li ...
.


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 of about 75 to 90 cm (30 to 36 inches) associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific swor ...
. 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 ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist. Publication history ''Hero ...
''. Here, she teams up with former Heroes for Hire secretary Jennifer "White Jennie" Royce into taking down
Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...
'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'', whic ...
's incarnation of the
Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...
. Black Mariah is among the crime lords that compete with
Mister Negative Mister Negative is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, the Punisher, Shang-Chi, and Cloak and Dagger. The character was created by Dan Slott and ...
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 ...
. Black Mariah is among the crime lords that attend the wedding of
Randy Robertson Randolph "Randy" Robertson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a supporting character in Marvel's Spider-Man series and is depicted as the son of Robbie Robertson, and the husband of Janic ...
and
Janice Lincoln Janice Lincoln is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Jackson Guice, the character first appeared in ''Captain America'' #607 (August 2010). Janice Lincoln is the da ...
. The wedding is crashed by
Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
who shoots Tombstone. As
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
goes after Shotgun, the crime lords blame each other for calling the hit. During the " Gang War" storyline, Black Mariah attends a crime lord meeting where she states that Harlem is up for grabs and that nobody has told Janice Lincoln about it. Black Mariah's group attacks a warehouse where
White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dea ...
and her henchman Kareem are. In the nick of time,
Janice Lincoln Janice Lincoln is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Jackson Guice, the character first appeared in ''Captain America'' #607 (August 2010). Janice Lincoln is the da ...
in her Beetle attire arrives with
Syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndic ...
members
Lady Octopus Lady Octopus (Carolyn Trainer), also known as Doctor Octopus II, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an enemy to the superheroes Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider. The character is the protégà ...
, Scorpia, and Trapstr. Beetle flies Black Mariah up to the sky and drops her. White Rabbit later confirmed to Lady Octopus that Black Mariah survived the fall.


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 superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
'', portrayed by
Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard ( ; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Scree ...
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 Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...
, who funds her political campaigns, and estranged mother of
Tilda Johnson Tilda Johnson, introduced as the Queen of the Werewolves and also known as Dr. Nightshade, Deadly Nightshade, or simply Nightshade, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as a supervillai ...
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 superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Archie Goodwin, George Tuska, Roy Thomas, and John Romita Sr. in 1972, he was the first Af ...
ruins her political campaign, Diamondback sends Shades to assist Mariah and Cottonmouth. Mariah later kills Cottonmouth 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, who seeks revenge for Mama Mabel killing his parents by murdering Mariah's 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 in to 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 by the authorities and fatally 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 dying.


References


External links


Black Mariah
at Comicvine
Black Mariah
at Marvel Wikia * * {{Luke Cage Marvel Comics supervillains Marvel Comics female supervillains African-American characters in television Marvel Comics television characters Fictional crime bosses Comics characters introduced in 1973 Fictional American politicians Fictional characters from New York City Characters created by Steve Englehart Characters created by George Tuska Luke Cage African-American characters in comics