Lucretia Borgia (1480-1519) has the reputation of being a seductress, a poisoner, a femme fatale. The Borgias had a very unsavory reputation, hence her name conjures up images of "deadlier than the male".
I read Buffalo Bill's autobiography years ago, he refers to his "needle gun"
which I always found confusing, as to me the "needle gun" is the Prussian Dreyse.