NYLA SKIN

Real Name: Unrevealed (possibly Nyla Skin)

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Thief, graffiti artist

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Black Panther (T'Challa), Conan of Cimmeria, Jack Murdock (Matt Murdock, aka. Daredevil), Greg, Max, Namor the Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie), Shuri

Enemies: Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Bullseye, Imus Champion, Kingpin (Wilson Fisk), Dr. Boris Korpse, Mephisto, Scarlet Spider

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Last seen in Las Vegas, Nevada;
    at least formerly Manhattan, New York

First Appearance: Daredevil I#285 (October, 1990)

Powers/Abilities: Nyla Skin is a street-smart woman accustomed to hustling and living in New York City. A talented thief, she is also a graffiti artist.

Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 115 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

History:
(Daredevil I#285 (fb) - BTS) - Nyla Skin considered herself an empath artist, tapping into the neurosis of the city. She spray-painted shadows on walls, trying to capture the feeling of the city in art. She chose to squat in an abandoned tenement, living where no one else would dare. Refusing to go on welfare or get a minimum wage job, she chose to steal from the rich to survive.

(Daredevil I#285) - Nyla was spraying a wall when a man stepped into her light. She asked him to stay still and then she painted his shadow, adding horns as she saw them. The man confessed he was partially blind. He said his name was Jack, and she invited him to crash at her place that night.

(Daredevil I#286 (fb) - BTS) - Nyla heard about a rich man who was out of town who had no security system at his home.

(Daredevil I#286) - Nyla found Jack having a nightmare and she awakened him. He said he was beginning to remember who he was, and he may have been a thief of some kind. Nyla challenged Jack to come with her to commit the robbery, and when there, he impressed her by knowing how to scale a wall, apply leverage to a skylight and open it up, and by hearing the heartbeat of a security guard inside that he knocked unconscious. Nyla was then shocked to see Jack easily open the combination safe swiftly, and she rejoiced that they were about to be rich. Jack then closed the safe and said they couldn't commit this robbery, that no matter how Nyla justified it, it didn't make it okay. He then invited her to call the police to check on the security guard. Nyla was furious at how Jack justified crime without realizing the privilege and classism that exists in the system.

(Daredevil I#287 (fb) - BTS) - Nyla spent more time with Jack and their connection grew romantic. He spent a lot of time fighting at Fogwell's Gym.

(Daredevil I#287) - Nyla watched Jack fight and a crowd gathered, including Charlie, as his popularity increased. Jack kissed her, but she was frustrated when he just wanted to go home and sleep, afraid she was going to lose him if he remembered who he was. At the next fight, Nyla told Jack stories of a rogue Daredevil in the streets. When she said she'd be waving a red scarf at him during the fight, he reminded her that he had vision problems. As the fight began, she started crying, realizing that Jack didn't know she was black.

(Daredevil I#288) - Nyla watched Jack sleep for hours and listened to his screams. She found herself jealous of him somehow. Jack woke up 14 hours later, and Nyla confessed that she was jealous of his dreams as he muttered about dreaming about a woman he'd loved once. Jack slept again and woke up in positive spirits. He told Nyla he didn't care what color she was, and that he planned to win his next fight for her.

(Daredevil I#289) - Nyla tried visiting Jack's boxing match, but it was too crowded, so she slipped a note (one that said she loved him) for Jack to the security guard, Greg. Once she was alone, "Daredevil" (Bullseye) attacked her, taking her captive.

(Daredevil I#289 - BTS) - "Daredevil" delivered Nyla to the Kingpin, where she cowered against the wall in fear.

(Daredevil I#289) - Jack battled his way through Kingpin's men, including Max, before he broke into the Kingpin's office. His full memories restored, Murdock saved Nyla and vowed revenge on the Kingpin, who only stood there smiling. Outside, Murdock told a sad Nyla that he had to go away for a while so he could take Kingpin down.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3 (fb) - BTS) - Nyla admired the ring (the "Ring of the Sect of the Red Serpent") of her friend, Max, a fellow thief (and presumably not the Kingpin agent Max), who joked that she could have it if he ever died. 

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1 (fb) - BTS / Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3 (fb) - BTS) - To facilitate Conan's discovery of the Serpent Scepter, Mephisto had Champion (presumably use his agents to) kill Max and steal his ring.
    Mephisto presumably knew that Nyla would want revenge and wish to claim the ring, and he also presumably arranged for Skin to enlist Conan's aid in these matters.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#2 (fb) - BTS) - Preparing for her heist, Nyla obtained a flashing light to use in case Scarlet Spider tried to stop her.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1) - Nyla used a machine to knock out electronics in an area as she prepared to rob an armored truck, also knocking out the stun weapon that the guards had used to subdue Conan; swiftly recovering, Conan thanked Nyla and punched out the guard. 

    After cracking the safe, Nyla agreed to split the money with Conan, whom she realized was not from around there. Introducing herself as a thief, artist, and dancer, Nyla invited Conan back to her place, and (as she gave him beer) she told him of Imus Champion's murder of her friend and theft of something that she needed to get back, as well as her plan to rob Imus Champion at the Hotel Inferno. Conan initially refused due to the lack of profit in the endeavor -- even when she challenged his manhood for not repaying his debt to her for freeing him -- until she told him about Champions' cache of emeralds.
    At the hotel, Nyla was in the middle of explaining her plan when Conan just stormed the room, and so she rushed behind him. They fought security guards, and Conan kept them alive at Nyla's request, but then they discovered Black Cat was there and had already robbed the safe.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#2) - At the Hotel Inferno, Nyla and Conan saw Black Cat escaping on a helicopter, so Nyla hit the copter with a tracker, after which she and Conan fought back Imus Champion's men and stole a car to pursue it. They were both shocked when the Scarlet Spider attacked, but Nyla blinded him with her light while Conan tossed him into a sign to knock him out. Nyla retrieved her car and then drove Conan to the Collission Center to follow the tracker, learning more about Conan's origins along the way. Black Cat had her aid Boris Korpse hit Nyla with a stun blast, but the same blasts only slowed down Conan. Black Cat and Boris departed by helicopter, and Conan leapt and caught it, but Black Cat stomped on his hands, causing him to fall to the ground. However, the chest containing the ring apparently levitated into the air and followed Conan to the ground. As Nyla approached, Conan opened the chest, hoping to have attained some treasure for his efforts, and he found the ring. Although Nyla shouted that it was hers, Conan grabbed it, and it teleported him and Nyla to Wakanda abruptly.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#3) - Conan and Nyla Skin hid from the Hatut Zeraze. Soon, Conan's mind was taken over by the ring briefly, as it guided him forward. They entered a cave, where they found an altar to Set before Black Panther and the Hatut Zeraze attacked. Imus Champion teleported in and stole a scepter with Set's sigil on it, then teleported away.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4) - Shuri and Black Panther delivered Nyla and Conan to the ocean above Atlantis and gave them a potion that turned their skin blue and allowed them to breathe underwater for a time. When Conan was reluctant to drink it, Nyla called him a coward and he joined her. They found Imus Champion, in a diving suit, standing over dead Atlanteans, and Conan started battling him with Namor soon intervening. Nyla swam into the cavern and realized that Imus already had the Serpent Crown. He briefly forced Namor and Conan to fight before Nyla knocked the Crown off his head, and he struck her back. Imus drew the Serpent Scepter then donned the Crown again, using it to send Namor to the desert then take Nyla and Conan captive.

(Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#5) - Nyla and Conan woke up in chains in Las Vegas on the Hotel Inferno, and Nyla felt overwhelmed and out of her league. Imus Champion, with the Crown and Scepter, forced them to kneel but soon couldn't control the power, and Nyla grabbed her cane and fought off the security men, grabbing a gun. Mephisto appeared before them, but ultimately Champion was overcome by the power and disappeared in an explosion along with the weapons. Nyla invited Conan to stay with her and adventure more, but he only agreed to one feast with her.

Comments: Created by Ann Nocenti, Lee Weeks & Al Williamson.

    Kudos to Saladin Ahmed for revisiting a cool character not seen in nearly 30 years. This and many other stories and character usages have cemented Saladin in my list of favorites. I know Conan is again taboo for Marvel, but if/when Marvel ever regains usage, I would love to see a story where Nyla Skin travels back to the Hyborian era and works with Conan again...and then maybe we can at least get some flashback images of her friend Max...
--Snood

Profile by Chadman.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Nyla Skin has no known connections to:

• Skin (Angelo Espinosa) - of Generation X--Uncanny X-Men I#317
• Skin - of Earth-957--What If? II#75
• Skin - of Earth-1035--X-Men Millenial Visions 2011
• Skin (Donna Bliss) - Bones' sister--Spider-Woman III#3
• S.K.I.N. (Synthetic Kinetic Interfacing Nanofluid)--Iron Man III#42
• Skin and Bones - torture club--Ghost Rider III#55
• Skin-Bender - body-stealing demon--Ghost Rider VI#35
• Skin-Deep (Charles Weiderman) - Spider-Man ally--Amazing Spider-Man I#515
• Skinhead (Eddie Cross) - Spider-Man foe--Web of Spider-Man I#56
• Skinhunter - Amalgam character--Generation Hex#1
• Matt Skinner - of Costa mob family - Punisher foe--Marvel Super-Action I#1
• Skinner - Lilin - served Lilith--Ghost Rider/Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance#3
• Skinner - Betsy Ross ally--Captain America: Patriot#1
• Skinny - member of Demon's cult--Marvel Comics Presents I#2/2
• Skinny Paulie (Paulie Tartaglia) - crimelord - Punisher victim--Marvel Comics Presents I#101/4
• Skinwalker (John Nighthunter) of Shadowline--St. George#6
• Skin-Walker - Khan technology--X-Treme X-Men I#12
• or any other character with a similar name

Charlie (Daredevil I#287), At Fogwell's Gym, Charlie was in the crowd to watch the exciting new fighter, "Jack Murdock" (an amnesiac Daredevil) fight. --Daredevil I#287

Greg (Daredevil I#289), A security guard working at a boxing match, Greg was excited to see the Blind Boxer, Jack Murdock (secretly an amnesiac Daredevil) in his big fight. Nyla Skin gave Greg a letter to deliver to Jack in the ring. --Daredevil I#289

Max (Daredevil I#289), An agent of the Kingpin, Max and others were sent to watch boxer Jack Murdock (secretly an amnesiac Daredevil) throw a fight in the ring. When Murdock instead won the fight and then fought back, Max ran to report in to the Kingpin, not realizing that Murdock was on the top of his car. When warned, he hit the brakes, knocking Murdock into the water. Max and the others opened fire on Murdock, but he knocked many of them into the water, then Murdock stole a car, but they blew it up with gunfire. --Daredevil I#289

images: (without ads)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown I#1, p8, pan1 (main) Daredevil I#286, p10, pan1 (face)
Daredevil I#286, p4, pan1 (body shot)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4, p19, pan2 (blue skin)
Daredevil I#287, p7, pan1 (Charlie)
Daredevil I#289, p2, pan1 (Greg)
Daredevil I#289, p16, pan1 (Max)

Appearances:
Daredevil I#285 (October, 1990), Ann Nocenti (writer), Lee Weeks (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#286 (November, 1990), Ann Nocenti (writer), Greg Capullo (penciler), Doug Hazlewood (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#287-288 (December, 1990-January, 1991), Ann Nocenti (writer), Lee Weeks (penciler), Al Williamson (inker), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Daredevil I#289 (February, 1991), Ann Nocenti (writer), Kieron Dwyer (penciler), Al Williamson, Fred Fredericks (inkers), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#1-3 (April-June, 2020) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)
Conan: Battle for the Serpent Crown#4-5 (November, 2020) - Saladin Ahmed (writer), Luke Ross (artist), Martin Biro (assistant editor), Mark Basso (editor), Ralph Macchio (consulting editor)

First Posted: 05/27/2019
Last updated: 12/29/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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