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NuPerspective: Madam Slay
In the current continuity of the character, Madam Slay was a lover and ally of Erik Killmonger, BP’s most popular villain. Nu-Perspective picked up right where her last defeat ended, and came out the gate banging with TWO revamps for the price of one. Check out her original look and story, and let us know if you like where we took her.



Real Name: Unknown
Current Alias: Madam Slay
Identity: Secret Identity
Occupation:
Place of Birth: Wakanda
Base Of Operations: N'Jadaka village, Wakanda
Affiliations: Erik Killmonger
Citizenship: Wakandan
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black
Comic book Origin: Marvel Universe Earth-616
Original Creators: Don McGregor, Billy Graham
First Appearance: Jungle Action Vol2 #18, November 1975
History: Madam Slay was a lover and ally of Erik Killmonger, staying loyal to him even after his first death. Madam Slay preserved his body with secret herbs, and months later after some machinations by the Iron Man villain Mandarin, Killmonger was resurrected. Killmonger and Madam Slay plotted to kill the Black Panther and return Wakanda to its ancient ways, but the Black Panther defeated Killmonger again, and Killmonger reverted to an inanimate skeleton. Madam Slay was devastated by this second death, and her defeat at the hands of Black Panther and his allies. With nothing more to live for, she appealed to the mad goddess Sekhmet for revenge. Now a mystically endowed were-leopard, Madam Slay is the rivalrous avatar against Bastet and her champion, the Black Panther, and has become a fearsome, cannibalistic hunter driven by wanton bloodlust for Wakanda loyalists.
Powers: Previous to her transformation Madam Slay already possessed control over leopards through unknown means. Now, due to divine empowerment, Madam Slay has psychic control over all feral felines, and has been granted enhanced physical strength, speed and agility. In her were-leopard form she has all of these attributes to a greater degree plus enhanced senses, razor-sharp claws and teeth, a healing factor and a pheromone ability allowing her to manipulate all men. Madam Slay is an exceptional hunter/tracker, an expert hand-to-hand combatant and proficient with bladed weapons.
Paraphernalia/Weapons: Twin curved blades; Arm gauntlet blades

Other characters that were closely considered for the Nu-Perspective treatment last February were Lord Karnaj, Jakarra, Solomon Prey, and Death Tiger.
I excluded characters that might be used in the movie, and characters that weren’t originally tied to, or exclusive to the Black Panther.
In these times with the ever shifting definition of words, the word “slay” has taken on the meaning of being great in some aspect, usually fashion and specifically towards women..e.g “She is slaying it.” So for this revamp the muse strongly brought me the vision of a woman who was powerful and very fashion-forward. She would be wearing something that would be sexy, yet commanding and deadly. Something you could see a woman walking down Saks Avenue in, then a board meeting, then later a nightclub, then finally standing over Black Panther's corpse.
The challenge was I also needed the outfit to be functional, as I saw her as a warrior, and it had to reflect African elements. On top of that, it had to be able to transform with her when she adopted her were-leopard form. No easy task. I copped out by having the clothes mystically change to save me the extra 4 days needed to design such a miracle of fashion. lol
Looking back I don't think there's anything I would change ion the design.
Fine print: All characters are copyrights and trademarks of the respective publishers and creators. This column is used solely for artistic enjoyment. We aim to showcase Nubian characters in fresh, contemporary and exciting ways both visually and story-wise.
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