Overview
Black Mamba (Tanya Sealy) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #64 (June 1980) created by writers Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. The character is most closely associated as a founding member of both the Serpent Society and BAD Girls, Inc. but has also been a member of the Masters of Evil, the Femizons and the Women Warriors.
Publication history
Black Mamba first appeared in Marvel Two-in-One #64-65 (June–July 1980), and was created by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio. Black Mamba received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #2, and The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #2.
Fictional character biography
Tanya Sealy was born in Chicago. A former call girl, she was chosen under unknown circumstances by Roxxon Oil Company to partake in a covert operation to retrieve the mystical Serpent Crown. The executives at Roxxon had a device surgically implanted in Sealy's brain which granted her superhuman abilities. Working together with three other snake-themed villains, Sidewinder, Anaconda, and Death Adder, she became a founding member of the Serpent Squad. During her first mission, Black Mamba nearly overcame the Fantastic Four's Thing, but was defeated. She also encountered Iron Man while searching for a powerful weapon known as the microscanner.
Invited by Sidewinder to join his criminal organization, the Serpent Society, Black Mamba accepted. Before working with Roxxon, she was a call-girl, and while the money was satisfying, it was not a steady income, so she jumped at the opportunity to earn vast amounts of money with Sidewinder. While in the Serpent Society, Black Mamba gained great friendships in Diamondback and Asp, and also became romantically involved with Sidewinder. During Viper's infiltration of the group, Black Mamba stood loyally with Sidewinder, which Viper was ready to kill her for. When Diamondback turned over a new leaf, it sparked something in Black Mamba. She joined her friends Diamondback and Asp in forming BAD Girls, Inc. and worked several mercenary-for-hire missions. She also briefly served in Superia's all-female group, the Femizons, but betrayed the group to aid Captain America and Paladin.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).