Cecilia Cardinale (Earth-616)

Poison
Name	Cecilia Cardinale
Current Alias	Poison
Affiliation and Relationships
Affiliation	Hydra
Relatives	Carlos (son)
Physical Characteristics
Gender	Female
Height	5′6″ (1.68 m)
Weight	115 lbs (52.16 kg)
Eyes	Irises: Brown
Hair	Brown
Origin and Living Status
Origin	Altered by possession
Living Status	Alive
Reality	Earth-616
Place of Birth	Havana, Cuba
Personal Information
Identity	Secret
Citizenship	Cuban
Occupation	Vigilante; former housekeeper
Base of Operations	Miami
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Steve Gerber, Ron Lim
First	Web of Spider-Man Annual #4 (June, 1988)
First	Web of Spider-Man Annual #4 (June, 1988)

History

Cardinale was a young woman in Cuba when she fell in love with a handsome Russian diplomat named Vassily. They had a passionate relationship for several months before Cardinale became pregnant with his child. When the Cuban authorities asked Cardinale who the father of the baby was, she told them. To protect himself, Vassily claimed that Cardinale had seduced him and asked money for favors. This resulted in Vassily being sent home to Leningrad, while Cardinale, still pregnant, was locked away in prison.

In prison, Cardinale contracted a fatal sickness. She would have died, except for an alien warrior named Ylandris, who, having fallen from its native dimension, sought a way to survive on Earth in a corporeal form. Cardinale agreed to allow Ylandris to bond with her, which would save herself and her unborn child. Later, still pregnant, Cardinale was shipped to America as an "undesirable."

Eventually, Cardinale made it out of the refugee camps and got a job as a housekeeper at a Miami hotel to support herself and her newborn son. Ylandris, still a warrior, craved for battle. Cardinale agreed and allowed Ylandris to use her body to fight evil, using the name "Poison," a translation of Ylandris's own name.

Her alien nature attracted the attention of the villainous High Evolutionary. He sent his agents, the Purifiers, to destroy her, but Cardinale defeated them in battle.

Soon after, Cardinale allowed Ylandris to use the dimensional portal known as the Nexus of All Realities to return to its homeworld. Ylandris left some of its power behind; Cardinale is still super-powered, and stalks the streets of Miami as Poison.

Some years later, Cardinale was forced to participate in the Great Game when her son was placed in danger. A rogue player named El Toro Negro kidnapped Carlos (her son), but Spider-Man helped Poison keep him safe.

Poison was later kidnapped, killed, and resurrected by The Hand and Hydra as one of their brainwashed agents against S.H.I.E.L.D.

Attributes

Power Grid

Powers

Cardinale has superhuman strength, endurance, and reflexes, but her primary power is the ability to kill people by a glance, disfiguring them as they die. She can also mentally levitate herself and fly at slow speeds or teleport people over short distances.

See Also

• 12 appearance(s) of Cecilia Cardinale (Earth-616)
• 5 appearance(s) in handbook(s) of Cecilia Cardinale (Earth-616)
• 1 mention(s) in handbook(s) of Cecilia Cardinale (Earth-616)
• 10 image(s) of Cecilia Cardinale (Earth-616)

Links and References

• Unofficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe