MADAM SLAY
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human, jungle motif
Occupation: Criminal, dissident
Group Membership: Killomnger's Legions
Affiliations: Batroc the Leaper (Georges Batroc), Shocker (Herman Schultz), Ohyaku;
Erik Killmonger (former master and lover);
Mute, Preyy, other leopards, a tiger (servants);
Mandarin (benefactor)
Enemies: Black Panther (T'Challa), Dora Milaje (Natima, Okoye), Essam, Iron Man (Tony Stark), Jim Rhodes, W'Kabi
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: Madame Slay
Base of Operations: N'Jadaka village, Wakanda
First Appearance: Jungle Action II#18 (November, 1975)
Powers/Abilities: None seen. Many of Killmonger's
allies were granted powers from the Resurrection Altar, but Madam
Slay only demonstrated the talent of controlling
leopards (and at least one tiger)...perhaps this was more than just using trained
big cats. She also used knives that could be extended from her
gauntlets.
She also controlled Mute.
History: Madam Slay past is mostly unrevealed. She hooked up with Erik Killmonger, eventually becoming his lover. She was absent during his direct attacks on the Wakandan royalty.
(Iron Man Annual I#5(fb)) - After Killmonger's death, Madam Slay located the broken body of her former lover and brought it to a temple, where she preserved it with secret herbs.
(Jungle Action II#18) - Months after Killmonger's death, she led Mute and her leopards in the slaughter of several Wakandan leopard hunters. When the Black Panther and W'Kabi came to investigate, she directed Mute to capture them as well. She had T'Challa at her mercy, but rather than kill him outright, she tied him to two of her leopards, who drug him across the harsh terrain. T'Challa eventually took advantage of the situation, mounted the leopards and rode them back to her. She stabbed T'Challa in the back as he was struggling with Mute, but W'Kabi shot out her footing and she fell, knocking herself out on a rock.
(Iron Man Annual I#5(fb)) - Madam Slay continued to keep watch over Killmonger, until one night, as she slept, the Mandarin entered the cavern she was using, and took Killmonger's body. Apparently, the power of the Mandarin's rings was able to amplify the magic of the Resurrection Altar, restoring Killmonger to life. Three days after his disappearance, Killmonger returned to her and revealed his plot to return Wakanda to its ancient ways.
(Iron Man Annual I#5) - Madam Slay assisted
Killmonger in a plot to assassinate T'Challa, take over the role
of leader of Wakanda, and lead the country to war against other
nations. While Tony Stark visited Wakanda, she used her feminine
wiles to put Jim Rhodes off guard, embracing him and then
stabbing him with a heavy dose of sedative drug--Rhodes then
became their prisoner. The murder of the Panther apparently
succeeded and Killmonger framed the "foreign devils,"
convincing his countrymen that he could lead them to vengeance.
They hooked a cyclotron device to the sacred mound of Vibranium,
hoping to convert it into its other isotope, more commonly known
as anti-metal. The enormous mass of anti-metal would set off a
chain reaction that would convert all of the metal of the world
into a virtually useless liquid form. However, T'Challa revealed
he had faked his own death with a Life Model Decoy, and he
defeated Killmonger while Iron Man deactivated the cyclotron and
prevented the mass conversion. With Killmonger's defeat, the
Mandarin recalled his ring, and Killmonger reverted to an
inanimate skeleton.
Short of calling in Killmonger's troops when the heroes arrived,
Madam Slay did little to nothing to assist in the final battle.
With Killmonger's second death, she was emotionally crushed and
gave up once again.
SECRET WARS III HAPPENED
(Wakanda#5/1 (fb) - BTS) - Ohyaku paid Madam Slay to join a team of operatives to rob the Vibranium mines in Wakanda.
(Wakanda#5/1 - BTS) - Madam Slay, Batroc and Shocker went through with their plan despite the disappearance of their teammate King Cadaver. They were captured as soon as they crossed the border to Wakanda, but remained unaware of the fact because King Cadaver was forced to use his psychic powers against them.
(Wakanda#5/1) - Madam Slay, Batroc and Shocker believed that they were invading the Vibranium mines until Okoye revealed to them that they had actually been held at gunpoint the whole time and only saw what King Cadaver made them believe while strapped to a high-tech chair. Okoye threatened Slay and her teammates with King Cadaver's ability to cause excruciating pain if they didn't tell her where their employer Ohyaku was.
Comments: Created by Don McGregor and Billy Graham.
-Alternate future versions of
many of Killmonger's former allies, including Madam(e) Slay, were
seen in the "Once and Future King" timeline (Earth-11236), @ Black
Panther III#36 and 37.
Twenty-five years in the future, Killmonger and his allies joined
forces with Achebe and T'Charra, the renegade son of T'Challa.
Even after T'Charra slew Killmonger, his former allies continued
with the plan, now working for T'Charra. Madame Slay, along with
several others, were thrown out of a window and knocked out
during a short struggle with Luke Cage (Power Man) and the Falcon
(Sam Wilson).
As detailed by Bob
Almond, the inker for the current
series: "BTW, the original script had King Kadaver but
not Madam Slay. I reminded everyone that Kadaver was last
seen squashed by a dinosaur and since Priest didn't use Slay we'd
just substitute."
Cleaned up main image by Ron Fredricks.
Profile by Snood. Update Markus Raymond (2023).
CLARIFICATIONS:
Madam Slay had no known connections to:
Mute (see also above image)
obeyed Madam Slay's commands implicitly, but he apparently knew
what they were doing was wrong, as he stopped fighting as soon as
she was defeated. He carried her off to treat her wounds.
Mute was very large and immensely, if not superhumanly, strong.
He carried a large sword and was a savage fighter. He was
aphonic, meaning that he couldn't produce noise via his vocal
cords--he was mute.
--Jungle Action II#18
images:
Jungle Action II#18, p6, pan5 (main, with Mute and leopards)
Jungle Action II#18, p11, pan4 (head shot)
Jungle Action II#18, p10-11, pan4 (with leopards)
Jungle Action II#18, p17, pan5 (Mute, head shot)
Appearances:
Jungle Action II#18 (November, 1975) - Don McGregor (writer), Billy Graham (pencils), Bob McLeod (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Iron Man Annual I#5 (November, 1982) - Peter Gillis & Ralph Macchio (writers), Jerry Bingham (pencils), Dan Green (inks)
Black Panther III#36-37 (December, 2001 - January, 2002) - Christopher Priest (writer), Sal Velluto (pencils), Bob Almond (inks), Mike Marts (editor)
Wakanda#5 (April, 2023) - Brandon Thomas (writer), José Luis (pencils), Keith Champagne (inks), Wil Moss (editor)
First Posted: 05/31/2002
Last updated: 10/30/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
All characters mentioned or pictured are
™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real
thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!