Poison is the name of two fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

al comic book

Comic book

A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 characters, owned by Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. The first was created by writer Steve Gerber

Steve Gerber

Stephen Ross "Steve" Gerber was an American comic book writer best known as co-creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck....

 and artist Cynthia Martin

Cynthia Martin

Cynthia Martin is a comic book artist best known for her work on the Marvel Comics Star Wars title during its waning years in the mid-1980s. She was one of the few women working in mainstream American comics during that time....

 and exists in the Marvel Universe

Marvel Universe

The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...

 while the second lives in an alternate world featured in the one-shot comic What If?

What If (comics)

What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...

: Spider-Man: The Other

Spider-Man: The Other

"The Other" is a comic book crossover story arc published by Marvel Comics from October 2005 to January 2006. It was the first Spider-Man crossover since 2001, and was published in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4, Marvel Knights Spider-Man #19-22, The Amazing Spider-Man #525-528.-Publication...

. This article is about the former. Information on the latter can be found at Alternative versions of Spider-Man.

Fictional character biography

Cecilia Cardinale was a first year student at the University of Havana. She was imprisoned in a Cuban prison under charges of being a prostitute by Vassily, a member of the military staff at the Soviet embassy. When she became mysteriously ill, she was transported to America, where she lived in a Florida refugee camp and gave birth to her son, Carlos. A mysterious other-dimensional entity named Ylandris appeared to Cecilia as she lay dying from her illness; Ylandris claimed to be dying as well, and proposed merging her essence with Cecilia to keep both beings alive. She took the name Poison, and became a vigilante, striking out primarily against those who had wronged her before.

Poison encountered Spider-Man

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

, and the two traveled to the Nexus of All Realities in the Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 Everglades

Everglades

The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...

, where the Man-Thing

Man-Thing

The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...

 lives. Ylandris was able to split herself off from Cecilia and use the Nexus to return to her home dimension. Poison retained her superhuman powers even after the departure of Ylandris.

Poison returned in an eight-part serial in Marvel Comics Presents

Marvel Comics Presents

Marvel Comics Presents was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995; it returned for a second volume in 2007-2008.-Volume 1:The first volume was released on a biweekly basis and lasted for 175 issues...

#60-67, also by Gerber and Martin. In this story, she aided Joe Trinity, who communicates with his mop, which he calls Myrna. In reality, it is a supernatural force called Mrinhä that is seeking to possess him, taking advantage of his breakup with his ex-wife, whose new husband is working for the mobster called the Slug

Slug (comics)

Slug is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.-Fictional character biography:Ulysses Lugman was born in Miami, Florida. He is a Miami-based drug kingpin and criminal organizer, and also president and owner of several legal businesses...

, to interface with him, eventually joining with him and destroying the mop. Poison destroys Mrinhä by taking it up herself and having her Ylandris powers destroy it.

The Cardinales moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 and encountered Ben Reilly

Ben Reilly

Benjamin "Ben" Reilly is a fictional character in the . He is a clone of Peter Parker , and is prominent in the "Clone Saga" story arc...

, not realizing that he was not the same Spider-Man that she had met. The two teamed up to take on the Great Game.

Much later, Poison was one of numerous minor heroes and villains killed and resurrected in the service of the Hand

Hand (comics)

The Hand is a fictional supervillainous organization in the Marvel Comics universe.The Hand is an order of evil mystical ninja who are heavily involved in organized crime and mercenary activities such as assassination plots. The Hand covets power above all other objectives. They are primarily based...

. She took place in a combined assault by the forces of the Hand and HYDRA

HYDRA

HYDRA is a fictional terrorist organization in the Marvel Universe.Despite the name's capitalization per Marvel's official spelling, the name is not an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra...

 on the S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....

 helicarrier

Helicarrier

The Helicarrier is a fictional flying aircraft carrier specifically designed to be capable of independent powered flight in addition to the conventional functions of aircraft carriers...

. While many of those involved in the assault were killed, Poison's fate remains unknown.

Powers and abilities

The full range of the mutagenic changes wrought on Cecilia Cardinale's body by the presence of the alien being Ylandris is still unknown. Thus far, Poison has demonstrated superhuman strength and exceptional athletic abilitiy including enhanced endurance and reflexes, as well as the power to levitate, fly at slow speeds, and teleport herself and others. She can also psionically alter the flesh of others to make them sick, injured or diseased, even killing them, disfiguring them as they die. She does not need to touch a person to exercise this power, but can do it simply by looking at them.