Typhoid Mary (Marvel)
Typhoid Mary is a female comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Mary Walker
It was noted that her parents constantly argued with one another even before Mary was even born. As a fetus in the womb, the future Typhoid Mary heard the harsh words of her screaming parents, crashing against her mother's belly, causing her to curl tighter. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #128) After being born, every night, the shadow of violence and cruelty was passed over her body, causing her to cringe in her crib. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #129) At some point, a man tied a gun into Mary's mouth as punishment for something, telling her that she might trip the trigger by even breathing. (Typhoid v1 #4) Following her birth, her father began to molest her in the crib and one night when he was doing so the young Mary began to retreat deeply into her mind. This resulted in the formation of a new alter personality that emerged then to attack her father after which he never touched her again. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #128) The trauma and need to protect herself caused her to manifest telepathic, telekinetic, and pyrokinetic powers. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #151)
The infant who would become Typhoid Mary was discovered to possess a dissociative identity. One persona, which became known as Mary, was sweet and cooperative, but fragile, sickly, and prone to seizures and other disorders; the other, which became known as Typhoid, was bereft of Mary's sicknesses and proved to be utterly unapproachable, uncontrollable, and murderous, even as a little girl. Institutionalized since childhood, the young girl underwent every known test but continued to baffle the entire scientific community. Mary remained unaware of her other persona. Little was known of Typhoid, as she could only be recorded when sedated. She spent every waking moment relentlessly battling all help, relentlessly and furiously. The only time she cooperated with testing was during training of her nascent telekinetic training, as it was something she wanted to develop. (Daredevil v1 #254)
Due to her exceptional condition an vulnerability, Mary Walker fell to the clutches of a group of researchers who performed damaging psychic brainwashing to weaponize sleeper agents. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #113) These turned out to be operatives for the Weapon Plus program where Typhoid became subject to experiments as part of Project Psyche that was designated as Weapon IX. (Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus v1 #1) At some point, when institutionalized at the Creed Psychiatrist Hospital, Mary met the lethal Elektra, who broke her free from the facility. (Elektra: Black, White & Blood v1 #3)
Typhoid Mary
In Chicago, Typhoid built herself a reputation in robbery and blackmailing. Her activities led her to New York City, where she became a deadly vigilante and a criminal murder. This got her involved in the underworld affairs of the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin was impressed by Typhoid's history and abilities and put word on the street for her to contact him. He hired her to seduce and emotionally destroy his archnemesis Daredevil. Typhoid accepted the offer and introduced herself to Daredevil in his blind civilian identity, Matt Murdock, in a hospital for blind patients where she claimed she volunteered at. Having fabricated a story about her father being a blind man she used to nurse, Typhoid soon gained Murdock's trust as Mary. To become closer to him, Mary helped the kid Tyrone Janson recover from an accident that had blinded him. (Daredevil v1 #254) Mary brought Tyrone by Matt Murdock's place, and she used her telepathic abilities to make Tyrone think he was gaining awareness of his surroundings. She then seduced Matt, earning a romantic kiss. Later, Typhoid ambushed Daredevil, taunting him with the name "Merry Christian." Though angered by her violent means, he nonetheless found himself strangely attracted to her, though even his perceptions could not identify her as the same person as Mary; even his radar sense blurred around her form. After getting him hot in more ways than one, she slipped away, delighting in this assignment, as making Mary fall in love with him would hurt Mary, too. (Daredevil v1 #255)
Mary met again with Matt, telling him how she was continuing to improve Tyrone's navigating skills. Matt tried to apologize for kissing her, but was distracted by a man having a heart attack. After he saved the man, Mary kissed him again. Back at her apartment, Mary was enjoying being in love when Typhoid began to take over again; Mary briefly realized what was happening before being overwhelmed completely. Typhoid later met up with one of the jurors in the case of Janson vs. Kelco, convincing her to accept payment to vote against the needed unanimous verdict for the plaintiff. When Typhoid and Rip later met with the Kingpin, she influenced the Kingpin and taunted him with her affections for Murdock and Rip, causing him to become jealous. When Daredevil tried to communicate with the juror, Typhoid assaulted him again, leading him into a sewer and continuing to fog his radar to minimize his effectiveness against her. When she gained the advantage over him and began strangling him underwater, Mary's persona surfaced and forced Typhoid to run away. Daredevil subsequently convinced the juror to reject the Kingpin's money, while Mary went home and took a shower to try to wash away how dirty she felt. The jury voted against Kelco. (Daredevil v1 #256) Kingpin summoned Typhoid to a meeting, but Mary showed up instead. After she spurned his advances and noted her affection for Murdock, the Kingpin told her to get out. Back at her apartment, Mary worked on a drawing while daydreaming about Matt, but Typhoid taunted Mary for being a slut and made her ruin the drawing. Typhoid then took over again and redecorated the whole apartment with random paint. She then visited the Kingpin. While the two engaged in some archery, Kingpin questioned Mary's showing up for her appointment, but Typhoid assured him she was in charge. As she detailed her plans to make Murdock leave Karen before revealing who he was really in love with, the Kingpin told her to drop her weapons and kissed her passionately. All the while, she thought how she had Fisk's heart in the palm of her hand and she was going to make a fist. Later still, Mary met with Matt, who told him he was thinking about telling Karen what had been going on between them. Mary kissed him again after igniting a series of nearby candles. (Daredevil v1 #257)
Initiative
At some point after the superhuman Civil War's events, she is found and recruited into Henry Peter Gyrich's Initiative program as Mutant Zero, although her true identity was kept secret from her teammates. It's unknown whether she suffered some sort of psychotic episode which left her too unstable to be left to her own devices or whether she sought out treatment and joined of her own free will. Gyrich reveals that Mutant Zero is a mutant that not only remained empowered following M-Day, but one that is not included in the official record of the remaining mutants. Technically not existing in any official capacity, her true identity is made classified and she is given the Mutant Zero codename. According to Dr. Leonard Samson, Mutant Zero is still mentally unstable and that referencing any of her other identities could lead to a period of instability. Mutant Zero came to be inducted into the Shadow Initiative but she can only be 'activated' once per mission due to her mental instability. (Avengers: The Initiative v1 #5)
When Taskmaster is appointed as the Shadow Initiative's field leader, Taskmaster senses something familiar about Mutant Zero's body language, and initiates an impromptu sparring match with her to satisfy this curiosity. After witnessing her fighting style and provoking her into using her pyrokinesis, Taskmaster shatters her helmet's faceplate and reveals her true identity. (Avengers: The Initiative v1 #20)
Shadowlands
She was among a group of supervillains hired by Turk Barrett after he gained the Mind Stone and served as his bodyguard as he met the Infinity Watch in Central Park. (Infinity Wars #1)
Devil's Reign
Typhoid Mary was among the villains that accompany Turk Barrett to a meeting with the Infinity Watch at Central Park. (Infinity Wars v1 #1)
Fisk came to find Mary where she was unwell and had doctors help her where with his money he had her placed in a church at Hell's Kitchen. Once there, she was taken in by Father McMillan and served as a sister in the church. (Daredevil v6 #22)
When the Stromwyns laid siege to the city, a team of supervillains were hired to bring mayhem to the area with the Rhino attacking a church in Hell's Kitchen. It was then that Typhoid Mary's other persona manifested with her looking to protect the site as Daredevil came to make sure she was not harmed in the fighting. Daredevil convinced her to help in luring Rhino away from the area where she drew him elsewhere into the city so that the Man Without Fear could deal with all the supervillains. (Daredevil v6 #20)
She later broke her way into Mayor Fisk's home and knocked out his guard in order to have a private meeting with him. Mary suggested that they form an alliance where she would serve as his bodyguard after proving his existing one failed in their task. Thus, together they could take over the city with Fisk seemingly agreeing to the terms. This saw her appearing alongside him at court in order to witness the outcome of the Daredevil trial where the Devil of Hell's Kitchen made a guilty plea and wanted to go to prison for his vigilante life. (Daredevil v6 #24)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Whilst at a church in Hell's Kitchen, she came to disassociate with her other personalities and went by the name of a nun named Sister Elizabeth. (Daredevil v6 20)
She had said that she had liked control. (Daredevil v6 #22)
Mary had said that she knew too well the effects of trauma on the mind of a child. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #151)
The Mary alter was a timid, quiet, pacifist while her "Typhoid Mary" persona is adventurous, lustful, and violent. (Daredevil v1 #254) In later years she would manifest other identities -- her Bloody Mary alter was sadistic, brutal, and misandrist, and her Walker alter was focused, detached, and stable. (Marvel Comics Presents v1 #151) Finally, she demonstrated a fifth alter as Mutant Zero, a no-nonsense, efficient, military-type. (Avengers: The Initiative v1 #17)
Per Mary's account, her father was said to had been blind which led her to work with blind children in her adult years. (Daredevil v1 #254)
Powers and abilities
She was very skilled in martial arts and in the use of edged weapons. (Daredevil v1 #254)
She became a subject in the Weapon Plus program where experiments were conducted on her as part of Project Psyche that was part of Weapon IX. (Wolverine & Captain America: Weapon Plus v1 #1)
Notes
- Typhoid Mary was created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr. where she made her first appearance in Daredevil v1 #254 (May, 1988).
- She briefly appeared as Mutant Zero in Avengers: The Initiative v1 #4 (September, 2007).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In the Avengers Assemble, Typhoid Mary appeared in the animated television series where she was voiced by actress Tara Strong.
- In Iron Fist, Typhoid Mary appeared in the setting of the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe series where she was portrayed by actress Alice Eve.
Films
- In Elektra, an adaptation of Typhoid Mary appeared in the 2005 live-action film where she was portrayed by actress Natassia Malthe.
Video games
- In The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin, Typhoid Mary appeared in the setting of the video game.
Appearances
- Daredevil v1: (1988)
- Marvel Comics Presents v1:
- Typhoid v1:
- Daredevil v2:
- New Avengers v1:
- Avengers: The Initiative v1: (2007)
- Shadowland v1:
- Daredevil v6: (2020)
External Links
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