Review by Frank Plowright

2005 was a period when long-running Spider-Man villain Mac Gargan was replaced by an upgraded and different Scorpion, Carmilla Black, and Poison Tomorrow is her introduction. For reasons unknown at the start she exudes toxicity from her left arm, and her discovery of this seen in flashback was in particularly upsetting circumstances. One might even call them melodramatic. She’s always known she was adopted, but her parents always denied knowing who her birth parents were. That proves untrue.

Onward from an opening scene of Carmilla returning to her home town on hearing her parents have been murdered, Fred Van Lente ensures she’s a sympathetic character caught up in inexplicable events, and that she adapts quickly. That’s just as well as Carmilla’s not in her home town for long, as she’s co-opted by S.H.I.E.L.D. for what turns out to be a global tour. Van Lente sets out the parameters for this well, while the super-spy aspect means readers are constantly questioning whether or not the truth is being told. Along the way he drops more and more information about who Carmilla is and what she can do.

Everything looks smooth as well, since Leonard Kirk draws most of it, and has a long track record of clear storytelling and well choreographed action. Dave Ross steps in for one chapter, and his people are a little stiffer, but he maintains the look.

Van Lente constantly inflates Carmilla’s experiences, and throws in creative use of both what she can do and some scary ways chemicals can be used. Once the bigger plan squirms out into the open it’s big enough to earn the memorable final chapter provided of Carmilla running a gauntlet. There are so many balls in the air, yet Ven Lente doesn’t drop a single one.

Carmilla’s never again made it to headline status, but she’s been a regular part of the Marvel universe ever since this first appearance and always interesting.