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Typhoid Mary Comics Reading Guide, a Marvel List

Not long after Frank Miller concluded his iconic run on Daredevil, Ann Nocenti came along to put Matt Murdock through hell—literally. While still exploring the darkest corners of our hero’s soul, Nocenti didn’t rely on the same elements as Miller, who introduced Elektra and pitted Daredevil against ninjas. Instead, her more political approach led, among other things, to the creation of Typhoid Mary, one of Daredevil’s most emblematic archenemies today.

Though she has appeared in fewer than 200 issues to this day, Mary Walker cannot be ignored. From her striking beauty (and beautiful hair!) to her psychological instability—she suffers from dissociative identity disorder—Mary leaves an impression wherever she goes. She is undoubtedly a dangerous woman—highly trained as an athlete and martial artist, with the added abilities of pyrokinesis and telekinesis.

Created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr., Typhoid Mary made her first appearance in Daredevil #254 (May 1988). Born Mary Alice Walker, she is a mutant with many aliases—Innocent Mary, Virgin Mary, Bloody Mary—representing her different personalities. Her name is a reference to the historical Typhoid Mary, also known as Mary Mallon, an Irish-born American cook who unknowingly infected many people with typhoid. As an asymptomatic carrier, she was unaware that she was infecting others. She was forcibly quarantined twice, with the second confinement lasting over 20 years until her death.

As Nocenti explained in a 1998 interview with the Man Without Fear Website, “As for where Typhoid came from, you’ll have to ask the shrink I’ve as yet never gone to. I think I wanted to shatter the female stereotypes–virgin, whore, bitch, ditz, feminist, girl scout, all-suffering mother, et al.–into tiny fragments and yet keep all the pieces in the same little female bundle.”

Despite being a mutant, Typhoid Mary has remained closely associated with the world of Daredevil, first by working as an assassin for the Kingpin and tormenting Matt Murdock, and later working with Daredevil when he ruled the hand. She has also been part of the Fifty-State Initiative, worked for Lady Deathstrike as a member of the Sisterhood of Mutants, and joined Black Cat’s gang for a time. More recently, she worked as a bodyguard for Wilson Fisk, and the two characters have since wed. Though the couple has faced some perilous situations, they are happily married!

The character has been portrayed by Natassia Malthe in the 2005 film Elektra, and by Alice Eve in the second season of Iron Fist.

While we are still waiting for her to face Daredevil on screen, you can read more about Typhoid Mary with our Comics Reading Order Guide!

Typhoid Mary Comics Reading Order

As previously stated, Mary made her debut in Daredevil #254, where her actions caught the attention of the Kingpin, leading him to hire her to take down Matt Murdock/Daredevil during Ann Nocenti’s run (available in Omnibus). Emotional chaos follows. During that period, she also guest starred in Power Pack and Captain America.

Typhoid Mary headlined her miniseries in 1995 by Ann Nocenti, finds herself entangled with Wolverine, draws the attention of Ghost Rider, creates some chaotic situation in Peter Parker’s life, team-up with Deadpool, and more! 

  • Daredevil: Typhoid’s Kiss
    Collects Typhoid #1-4, Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #150-151, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #213-214; material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #109-116, #123-130; material from Girl Comics (2010) #3
  • Deadpool Epic Collection Vol. 2: Mission Improbable
    Collects Wolverine (1988) #88; X-Force (1991) #47, 56; Deadpool (1997) #1-9, -1; Daredevil/Deadpool Annual ’97; material from Wolverine Annual ’95. Mary appears in Deadpool (1997) #6-8 and the DD/Deadpool Annual.
  • Deadpool Epic Collection Vol. 3: Drowning Man
    Collects Deadpool #10-20; Deadpool/Death Annual ’98; Baby;’s First Deadpool Book #1; Heroes for Hire #10-11; Amazing Spider-Man #47. Mary appears in Deadpool #10 and #12-14.
  • Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection: Out
    Collects Daredevil (1998) #32-50. Mary is present in the story “Hardcore”, issues #46-48.

Mary escaped prison on New Avengers #1-2 before reappearing as a member of the Fifty State Initiative in the aftermath of the first Civil War in the title Avengers: The Initiative, from Dan Slott and Christos Cage. It has to be specified that her identity is first kept a secret.

Daredevil has taken over the Hand and Mary answers his call to become part of the organization while the superhero community regroups to face one of their own! Typhoid is a recurring character during the Shadowland events and the aftermath, explored in Black Panther and Deadpool.

Superior Spider-Man takes down Shadowland in Superior Spider-Man #14, an issue in which Mary doesn’t appear. She later became an employee of the drug lord Ana Cortés and a member of Lady Deathstrike’s Sisterhood of Mutants. After this particular Sisterhood disbanded, Typhoid Mary briefly joined Black Cat’s gang.

Typhoid Mary was arrested and found herself sharing a prison cell with Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones Vol. 2 #9) before escaping and rejoining for some forgettable appearances (in Generation X Vol. 2 #6-7, Despicable Deadpool# 297 and Infinity Wars #1-2). Bloody Mary finally finds herself in the spotlight with a series of one-shots!

  • Typhoid Fever
     Collects Typhoid Fever: Spider-Man, Typhoid Fever: X-Men And Typhoid Fever: Iron Fist.

For a while, Mary lives peacefully as Sister Elizabeth, even guiding Matt Murdock in her duty. However, an attack on the church leads to the release of Typhoid Mary. She eventually ends up working for Fisk, who hires her as his bodyguard, and the two grow closer, eventually becoming husband and wife. All of this happens during the first part of Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil (up until Devil’s Reign). For better context and comprehension, all the trades are listed, even if Mary only appears in a few issues.

Elektra was having a moment, from her role in Zdarsky’s run to being at the center of a Black, White and Blood anthology and reaching the 100th issue bearing her name. Two stories written by Ann Nocenti also explored her relationship with Typhoid Mary:

As a mutant, Typhoid Mary found asylum with her husband on Krakoa. However, their time there was cut short as the Fall of Krakoa began. The third Hellfire Gala ended in disaster, and the couple was separated for a time. They were recently reunited just in time for Gang War.

The Story continues…

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