Universe
Marvel Universe

Real Name
Tilda Johnson

Aliases
Queen of the Werewolves, Deadly Nightshade, Dr. N, Dr. Nightshade

Identity
Known to the authorities

Citizenship
U.S.A. with a criminal record

Place of Birth
Harlem, New York City

First Appearance
Captain America #164 (1973)

Origin
Power Man and Iron Fist #53 (1978)

Growing up in Harlem, Tilda Johnson was determine to escape her humble beginnings. Though a genius, she was emotionally immature; fear of ridicule saw her playing dumb, yet she hated that others underestimated her. Deciding her only escape routes were crime and knowledge, she determined to master both, secretly and avidly studying. By age 16, she had taught herself the equivalent of multiple doctorates in genetics, cybernetics and physics, using this knowledge to launch a criminal career. By 18 she had drawn the Yellow Claw (Plan Chu)'s interest; hoping to develop a deadly, obedient army from America’s convict population, he funded her research into artificial lycanthropy, setting her up in a remote Grimrock Prison, with its inmates as her experimental subjects. Learning Captain America (Steve Rogers) and the Falcon (Sam Wilson) were in the vicinity, Tilda, now calling herself Nightshade, lured the pair to Grimrock, wanting to test her werewolves in battle against them. Capturing the Falcon, she injected him with her werewolf serum and forced Captain America to fight him, but when Captain America prevailed, the Claw labeled her experiment a failure and abandoned her. Knowing the rays of the imminently rising sun would turn her werewolves human again, and witnessing Nick Fury and SHIELD arriving to hunt the Claw, Nightshade fled followed by her werewolves, feigning suicide by leaping off a parapet. Nightshade dived through a hidden entrance into an underground river, while her followers crashed fatally onto the rocks.