History
Dora Milaje
Nakia was descended of a gentle tribal fisherman of Q'Noma Valley in the African nation of Wakanda. From an early age, she was groomed, as many girls are, to be one of the throne's "Adored Ones," an order of women known as the Dora Milaje, who serve as concomitants, or wives-in-training, for the king of Wakanda. The Dora Milaje were established to promote harmony between Wakanda's many rival tribes. They also performed the role of the king's deadliest bodyguards and most faithful, most trusted servants.[3]
After having been honorably accepted into the order, Nakia spent the early teenage years of her life growing up in the Royal Palace of Wakanda, enjoying a childhood most native tribalists could only dream of. During this time, she became increasingly obsessed with her king, T'Challa, the hero Black Panther. Unlike her partner Okoye, who was aware that T'Challa kept the Dora Milaje's obligations to a ceremonial role only, Nakia openly fantasized about the possibility of marrying him. At one point, due to being jealous of the king's girlfriend Monica Lynne, Nakia even threw herself many feet into a shallow pool to get her king's attention. The Panther administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive a facetious Nakia, much to her delight.[4]
Years later, when coming of age, Nakia became the king's personal aide for his operations. When he was exiled in America due to the machinations of his political opponent Achebe, Nakia and Okoye accompanied him to investigate a crisis concerning a corrupt Tomorrow Fund.[5] Achebe had made a pact with the demonic Mephisto to achieve his plan, leading Mephisto to become involved in the case. When trying to corrupt T'Challa, Mephisto influenced him to kiss Nakia as part of an illusory dream of Monica Lynne.[6] Believing to have been chosen by T'Challa as his lover, Nakia became irrationally infatuated with him.[3]
Much to Nakia's discontentment, Monica Lynne returned to T'Challa's life, prompting him to assign the Dora Milaje to protect her. Out of love for her partner, Okoye ineffectively attempted to dissuade Nakia from deluding herself. In Wakanda, while Black Panther warred against Achebe, Nakia ejected Lynne from a plane after being mocked about her childish feelings. Nakia claimed Lynne had been killed by Achebe's forces, but T'Challa could immediately see through her lies.[4] After the throne was saved from Achebe's influence,[7] Nakia was dismissed by the king from her duties in disgrace. Forever shamed, she would be shunned by her tribe and by all of Wakanda. Denied of Black Panther's love and willing to evade her fate, Nakia desperately fled the palace during a rainstorm. Her flying vehicle crashed into an old monastery where she was captured by Achebe, who brutally brutally tortured her and left her to die.[8]
Malice
Another of the Panther's adversaries, the deadly Killmonger, happened upon a critically injured Nakia.[8] Killmonger used arcane methods and the mystical Altar of Resurrection to restore Nakia's health. The process granted her increased strength and flawless accuracy similarly to those of his former protégé Malice. Released by Killmonger, Nakia rejected her own name and rebaptized herself as Malice. Believing her sole reason to be was now T'Challa, she schemed for revenge against him and his loved ones.[9]
Malice made herself known in the Tranquility Temple by furtively slicing the throat of one of T'Challa's allies, Brother Voodoo, and leaving a note with her new name with him.[10] A debilitated T'Challa assumed the killer to be the her late predecessor and ordered the Minister of Communications Taku to look for her unaware that Malice was, in fact, Nakia.[11] This gave Malice advantage, as she was able to stay unnoticed inside T'Challa's Techno-Jungle refuge. After murdering some Hatut Zeraze,[2] Nakia stroke at T'Challa. He was able to evade her and trap her inside the Techno-Jungle labyrinthic complex. However, Malice was able to escape and directed her rage against Lynne once again. Accidentally, Nikki Adams was murdered by Malice instead.[9] Queen Divine Justice, the Dora Milaje who had replaced Nakia, intervened and overpowered Malice, who vanished one more time.[12]
In order to carry on with her plans of ruining T'Challa's life, Malice developed an arsenal of weapons and had access to the toxic herb called Jufeiro, which made men obsessive about her. One of her victims was the husband of T'Challa's cousin M'Koni. Nakia had also manipulated M'Koni's family doctor, influencing him to prescribe her lethal pills. Simultaneously, T'Challa deciphered a cryptic message sent to the Wakandan Consulate about Nakia's plans of harming those he loved. He contacted private eye Dakota North to protect Lynne, since North had been already aware of Nakia's influence on M'Koni's husband. Another potential victim was Maria Henckel, a former pupil of T'Challa. After finding M'Koni's husband's lifeless body, Black Panther looked for Nakia at the Wakandan Consulate, where she publicly subdued him by ordering a brainwashed police officer to shoot him.[13]
The captured T'Challa pretended to be under the influence of Jufeiro. However, he had been previously able to neutralize the effects of the herb and tricked Malice in coalition with Okoye. Meanwhile, in Wakanda, the malevolent Man-Ape was released by Malice and ambushed Queen Divine Justice and T'Challa's step-mother Ramonda during their flight to the United States. Malice also kept sending brainwashed men against North and Lynne, including the Panther's loyal security chief Omoro. This led North to ultimately suspect the Black Panther had also fallen under Malice's control. By coming to him, she ended up ruining his well-laid plan to capture Malice. Ultimately, however, the Black Panther revealed that he had all the angles covered all along, stringing Malice along in order to save her dying victims. In the final showdown, the Black Panther threatened to destroy Nakia's village back in Wakanda if she would not give him the antidote to save her victims. She relented, knocking Panther off a speeding truck just before she vanished without a trace, abandoning his life for good after they professed their love for each other.[14]
Years later, Nakia resurfaced after a Wakandan diplomat was killed in Brooklyn, and a climate control device he was ferrying went up in flames. Both she and Hunter, the White Wolf, suspected the tech data for the ruined device schematic could be still at large and trusted to King T'Challa's former friend and liaison to the U.S. government Everett Ross. Nakia attempted to kidnap Ross to extract some information, but was beaten to it by Hunter and his Hatut Zeraze contingent. She seduced some of the Hatut Zeraze with Jufeiro to overpower Hunter and capture Ross. Ross took the opportunity to blame her for having killed Nikki Adams, his former boss and girlfriend. After realizing Ross had never even had the device data to begin with, Nakia let him go and disappeared to parts unknown.[15]
Wakanda Forever
When next seen, the ex-adored one was looking worse for wear. Due to her overuse of the Jufeiro Herb cause a form of cellular deterioration to occur which resulted in premature aging, hence her haggard and horribly aged appearance. Feeling she was on the cusp of dying Malice sought out a secret weapon stolen from the Dora Milaje by A.I.M..[16] A potential WMD created from Living Vibranium, guided and corralled via Wakanden designed drum set called the Mimic 27, she encountered Hydro-Man on her incursion of the abandoned A.I.M base and hit him with her Jufeiro herb. Making him act as a kind of watchdog in case anyone were to follow her trail. Malice sought to use the Mimic to cause as much havoc as possible while in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to grab the Panther's attention with it. Instead she caught the eye of Spider-Man, one of the local heroes of the city as well as the attention of Ayo, Aneka, and their leader Okoye when the Mimic pinged on their radar.[16]
Attributes
Powers
Due to being nursed back to health by Killmonger in a magical ritual, Nakia possesses increased levels of strength, speed, agility, and accuracy similar to those of the original Malice.[13] She was shown to be able to put up a fight at the Black Panther's level.[17]
Abilities
As a former Dora Milaje, Nakia was conditioned to intensive physical training to serve as the King of Wakanda's aide. She is well versed in hand-to-hand and armed combat.[18]
Paraphernalia
Weapons
Serrated Blade: Nakia usually wields a barbed blade she uses for fighting.[2]
Projectile Blade Launcher: Nakia owns a pistol which fires several metal knives at great speed. These blades are shown to be extremely lethal for its targets.[19] Nakia sometimes poisoned the blades of the pistol by bathing them with Jufeiro.[15]
Jufeiro: The toxic herb called Jufeiro is a potent aphrodisiac Nakia uses to force males to fall in love with her and submit to her will. The victims become obsessive and mindlessly fall under her absolute control. A heart-shaped ornament that resembles a letter M is usually placed around the necks of her victims for the herb to take effect.[13] Nakia can poison victims with Jufeiro through blades as well.[15]