Toxyn

Toxyn
Toxyn as depicted in Strikeforce: Morituri #8 (July 1987). Art by Brent Anderson.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(cameo) Strikeforce: Morituri #5 (April 1987) (first full appearance) Strikeforce: Morituri #6 (May 1987)
Created by	Peter B. Gillis Brent Anderson
In-story information
Alter ego	Ruth Mastorakis
Team affiliations	Strikeforce: Morituri
Abilities	Poison synthesis Biochemistry analysis through physical touch Enhanced strength

Toxyn (Ruth Mastorakis) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a member of the Strikeforce: Morituri. The character was created by Peter B. Gillis and Brent Anderson.

Toxyn was created by writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson. She made her first cameo appearance, standing in the shadows, in the finale of Strikeforce: Morituri #5 (April 1987). She made her first full appearance in issue #6 and joined the Strikeforce: Morituri in issue #8, as part of the second-generation Morituri. She was a regular cast member until her death in issue #21.

In 2073, Ruth Mastorakis was an ordinary young woman, about to marry her boyfriend Nikos. However, Nikos refuses to marry her and publicly beats her.¹ Devastated after her breakup, Ruth decides to enlist in the Morituri program, which granted superhuman powers to its recipients in exchange for battling the alien Horde. However, the process is fatal and inevitably kills its recipients after one year. Ruth proves to be genetically compatible for the process and gains the ability to analyze the biochemistry of others and synthesize poisons and their antidotes.²

Ruth as Toxyn, along with Scaredycat and Scatterbrain, joins the second-generation Morituri team. Having watched her achievements through the media, Nikos congratulates Toxyn, shocking her. Around the same time, the Morituri are accused by the ruling Paedia Council of breaking regulations and going against the Horde without authorization on a particular occasion. While speaking with a Paedia official, Toxyn poisons her teammates, wanting to demonstrate to her superiors the desperation the Morituri feel for every moment they are being unfairly kept away from active duty, given the short time they have left on Earth. Toxyn manages to convince the Council to change their viewpoint and administers an antidote for the poison.¹

While raiding a Horde ship in orbit, the Morituri team rescues a Paedia soldier, Jason Edwards, who had been kept slave by the Horde. Jason and Toxyn flirted and when they returned to Earth, they kissed and agreed to arrange a date. However, Toxyn dies from the Morituri effect before she can go through with her plans.³

Toxyn had the ability to analyze a person's biochemistry, through physical touch, and synthesize and secrete the whole spectrum of poisons, including their antidotes. She could produce both beneficial and harmful biochemical agents that affected both living and inanimate matter, although she needed skin-to-skin contact to produce a species specific toxin. Toxyn often kissed her opponents in battle, thus ensuring the effectiveness of her poisons, often paralyzing or instantly killing her adversaries. As a by-product of her exposure to the Morituri program, she also had enhanced strength and resilience. Like all other team members, she also wore special boots which enabled her to fly.