B.A.D. Girls, Inc.
Marvel has told some amazing stories over the years, and the MCU has done an amazing job of bringing many of those characters to the big and small screen. Granted, some films and shows have been better than others. But I think it's safe to say that most fans have been satisfied with where things have gone so far. Still, in many ways this level of fan service is a bit bittersweet as some characters' stories have come to an end while other look as though they will never crossover to the live action realm in any significant way. Being a fan of the seldom used "D-List" comic book characters, I thought I would do a little "fan-pitching" for some characters that I think should make the jump to the MCU. First up, B.A.D. Girls, Inc.
Be warned, this is a detailed write-up (i.e. a long read).
Tanya Segala (Black Mamba)
Actor Roselyn Sanchez
Personality - Direct and honest. Strong willed. Very persuasive. Fearless. Morally flexible and quickly adapts to rapidly changing events. Cunning. A brilliant strategic thinker.
Enhanced Abilities - Posesses the ability to project coils of an unknown form of energy from various parts of her body. The energy coils - which are snake-like in appearance and are made up of an embering green energy wrapped in thick black smoke - can be used to constrict people and/or objects, deliver significant amounts of impact force to targets, enhance Segala's natural physical strength, or provide her with a limited degree of protection from physical attacks. Once a person is coiled in her "mambas", Tanya can also create "smoke screens" of this energy around the eyes of her victims which appears to flood the person's mind with overwhelming hallucinations. Using her abilities, however, takes a significant toll on Tanya's body and may eventually prove fatal to Segala if she were to ever overuse it. It is unknown at this time exactly how Segala came to possess her enhanced abilities.
Background - Tanya Segala was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico but was mostly raised in Chicago , IL. She spent much of her adult life working as a "specialist" for a crisis management firm called The Levins Group - a quasi-law firm and consulting group that specialized in acting as "fixers" for a wide range of clients. Tanya was recruted by the company's notorious leader Colin Levins himself when he crossed paths with a young Segala while she was working as a professional escort. Recognizing Tanya's potential, Levins took the young call girl under his wing and taught her the ins-and-outs of his profession and took on a father figure like role in her life. During a particularly disasterous case, Levins was killed protecting his protege from a client-turned-attacker named Toussaint Murrow - a well connected drug dealer who was also found brutally murdered at the scene of the crime. While it was clear to investigators that Levin's died from a gunshot wound to the chest, Murrow's death was harder to explain, as his body suffered massive physical trauma and impact injuries consistent with someone who had been in a motor vehicle accident. Afterwards, Tanya found herself being arrested by the police and questioned about the murders, but refused to cooperate with the investigation in any real way. Once she was finally able to secure her release from police custody, Segala stealthly abandoned her life in Chicago and remained "off the grid" for more than a decade before resurfacing in New York as the head of her own crisis management firm called Segala Partners. The firm employs smart, ruthless ,and uniquely qualified individuals that provide a wide range of legal and illegal services to their clients.
How She Fits In The MCU - CEO of Segala Partners and leader of a group of enhanced "specialists" hired by Wilson Fisk to help him take control of some of the very valuable (and often dangerous) personnel left scattered and leaderless when The Hand was taken down by The Defenders. Mainly deals with the white-collar side of Fisk's takeover.
Serves as:
■ A direct antagonist to Danny Rand in his role as CEO of Rand Industries as he attempts to remove all of the hold-over Hand operatives from his company.
■ A direct antagonist to Colleen Wing as she tries to upset Colleen's romantic relationship with Danny.
■ A direct antagonist to Jeryn "Jeri" Hogarth as she tries to upset Jeri's professional relationship with Danny
■ A cautious partner to Wilson Fisk as she helps him reestablish himself in New York's criminal, political, and business spheres.
■ A direct antagonist to Iron Fist, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Misty Knight as she forces former Hand operatives to continue their criminal actions throughout New York.
■ A direct antagonist to the The Bride of Nine Spiders, Scythe, Zhou Cheng and other former members of The Hand as she attempts to force them to work for Wilson Fisk.
■ An supporter and friend of Vanessa Fisk after she finds herself ostracized by many of her longtime friends since marrying Wilson.
Why I chose Roselyn Sanchez for this role - Ideally, Tanya Segala would be portrayed as a "mastermind" sort of leader, who is always three moves ahead of her competition. In my mind, she would be a mix of Olivia Pope from "Scandal" and Stringer Bell from "The Wire". The actress taking on the role should convey a dangerous, femme fatale charm, a razor-sharp mind, and formidable street smarts. In my opinion, Roselyn Sanchez has shown that she can convincingly convey all of those traits in a role - with her work as Special Agent Elena Delgado on the CBS police procedural "Without A Trace" and as Carmen Luna on the comedy-drama "Devious Maids" being two great examples.
Cleopatra "Cleo" Nazari (Asp)
Actor Nazanin Boniadi
Personality - Serious. Intelligent. Methodical. Enigmatic and hard to read. Quiet and relatively reserved. Thorough. Logical. Fiercely protective and loyal.
Enhanced Abilities - Posesses the ability to generate blasts of bioelectrical energy that can damage eletrical devices and cause intense pain, paralysis, and/or death to living organisms depending on the intesity of the blast. Interestingly, Nazari loses the ability to control this power whenever her body enters REM sleep and her body periodically becomes charged with a visible electrical field. As a result, she must take special precautions prior to going to sleep in order to prevent herself from inadvertenly hurting herself or others around her. It is unknown at this time exactly how Nazari came to possess her enhanced abilities.
Background - Little is known about Cleo Nazari's past. She has stated in the past that she was born in Tanta, Egypt but fled her home country when civil unrest led to a political revolution that ousted a great majority of the country's government leaders. She appears to have had some training as a dancer in her past as she can often be found in the firm's gym practicing very complicated dance routines. It is also a poorly kept secret that she has a deep mistrust and resentment towards law enforcement, but she has never let her personal feelings affect her duties at Segala Partners. She is also fiercely loyal to her mentor and friend Tanya Segala, whom she credits for helping her get through one of the darkest moments in her life. And though it is unclear exactly how Cleo came to possess her enhanced ability, she has hinted that other women in her bloodline have possessed similar superhuman "gifts".
How She Fits In The MCU - A managing partner, Director of Operations, and second-in-command at Segala Partners. Deals with both the white-collar side and the street-level side of Fisk's takeover.
Serves as:
■ A direct antagonist to Danny Rand in his role as CEO of Rand Industries as he attempts to remove all of the hold-over Hand operatives from his company.
■ A direct antagonist to Ward Meachum when he attempts to help Danny remove any and all hold-over Hand operatives from Rand Industries.
■ A direct antagonist to Jessica Jones when she attempts to dig into the past of Tanya Segala
■ A direct antagonist to Iron Fist, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Misty Knight as she forces former Hand operatives to continue their criminal actions throughout New York.
■ A direct antagonist to the The Bride of Nine Spiders, Scythe, Zhou Cheng and other former members of The Hand as she attempts to force them to work for Wilson Fisk.
■ A cautious partner to Wilson Fisk as she helps him reestablish himself in New York's criminal, political, and business spheres.
■ A direct antagonist to Melvin Potter as she attempts to force him to once again work for Wilson Fisk.
■ A temporary antagonist to Lee Owlsley when he attempts to avenge his father's murder by attacking Vanessa Fisk.
Why I chose Nazanin Boniadi for this role - Ideally, Cleo Nazari would be portrayed as a "good chancellor" sort of character that serves as Tanya's right-hand "man" - following her friend and mentor's orders to the letter, but not afraid to tell Tanya the things that she needs to hear even when it's something that she doesn't want to hear. In my mind, she would be a mix of Kalinda Sharma from the "The Good Wife" and Melinda May from "Agents of SHIELD". The actress taking on the role should be mysterious, intimidating but intriguing, and something of an undeniable force of nature. In my opinion, Nazanin Boniadi has shown that she can convincingly convey all of those traits in a role - with her work as Fara Sherazi on the Showtime spy thriller "Homeland" and her role as Clare Fancher on the Starz series "Counterpart" being two great examples.
Rachel Leighton (Diamond)
Actor Sarah Carter
Personality - Independent. Outgoing. Courageous. Slightly impulsive. Easily bored. Smart. A quick and creative thinker. Confident. Witty.
Enhanced Abilities - Possesses the ability to encase her hands and forearms in a very durable, quartz-like mineral. Rachel appears to have some level of control over the growth and shape of the substance - allowing her to create crude offensive and defensive weapons such as razor-sharp claws, spiked fists, and large gauntlets. With concentration, she can fire bursts of crystal shards from her formations in either wide-spread scattershots or in tightly-focused groupings. Typically, the shards disintegrate into a fine powder 1 to 2 hours after breaking away from Leighton's body.
Background - Rachel Leighton was born and raised in Austin, Texas. After high school Leighton dove into a military career, like her father and older brothers, and eventually became a research engineer with the Army Corps of Engineers. When an unexplained geological phenomenon occurred in rural Missouri, Rachel's team was among the first sent in to investigate the unidentified matter left in the wake of the disaster. While working late on the project one night, she inadvertently discovered two masked individuals trying to steal some of her team's research and samples. Although she was able to sound the lab's alarm, she was brutally attacked and left for dead by one of the assailants. Armed soldiers arrived before the thieves could escape, and a firefight soon erupted. Rachel tried to crawl to safety during the shootout - not realizing that her hands and arms were being deeply lacerated by broken pieces of glass which were contaminated by a solution created from the unidentified matter. After crawling only a few feet, Rachel passed out from shock and blood loss. After an extended hospital stay, Leighton tried to return to her life before the attack but found herself unable to do so due to a growing substance abuse problem brought on by chronic pain. After leaving the military, Rachel worked with a couple of different mercenary teams before she crossed paths with Tayna Segala and joined Segala Partners.
How She Fits In The MCU - A managing partner and Head of Special Activities at Segala Partners. Mainly deals with the street-level side of Fisk's takeover
Serves as:
■ A direct antagonist to Jessica Jones when she attempts to dig into the past of Tanya Segala.
■ A direct antagonist to Iron Fist, Daredevil, Luke Cage and Misty Knight as she forces former Hand operatives to continue their criminal actions throughout New York.
■ A direct antagonist to the The Bride of Nine Spiders, Scythe, Zhou Cheng and other former members of The Hand as she attempts to force them to work for Wilson Fisk.
■ A cautious partner to Wilson Fisk as she helps him reestablish himself in New York's criminal, political, and business spheres.
■ A temporary antagonist to Turk Barrett as she attempts to force him to once again work for Wilson Fisk.
■ A temporary antagonist to Lee Owlsley when he attempts to avenge his father's murder by attacking Vanessa Fisk.
■ A direct antagonist of Trish Walker when the former radio personality turned vigilante attempts to shut down weapons deal being run by Turk Barrett and protected by Wilson Fisk.
Why I Chose Sarah Carter - Ideally, Rachel Leighton would be portrayed as a “likeable rebel” sort of character that serves as a counterbalance to both Tanya’s and Cleo’s more serious-minded personalities. In my mind, she would be a mix of John "Doc" Holiday from "Tombstone" and the character of Elle Driver from the "Kill Bill" movies. The actress taking on the role should be capable of handling a complex character as Rachel would be someone who comes from a regimented military background but has a notable independent streak; is exceptionally bright and witty but isn’t afraid to use her looks to get what she wants; and is outwardly confident but occasionally rushes into situations like someone with something to prove. In my opinion, Sarah Carter has shown that she can convincingly convey those traits in a role - with her work as Maggie on the TNT sci-fi drama “Falling Skies” being a great example.