Shanna the She-Devil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shanna the She-Devil | |
 Promotional art for Shanna, the She-Devil #1 (April 2005), by Frank Cho |
|
| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Shanna the She-Devil #1 (Dec. 1972) |
| Created by | Carole Seuling Steve Gerber George Tuska |
| In story information | |
| Full name | Shanna O'Hara Plunder |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Partnerships | Ka-Zar |
| Notable aliases | Lady Plunder |
Shanna the She-Devil is a fictional jungle adventuress in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writers Carole Seuling and Steve Gerber and penciler George Tuska, she made her first appearance in Shanna the She-Devil #1 (Dec. 1972).
Contents |
[edit] Publication history
Shanna the She-Devil was introduced in one of a trio of Marvel Comics aimed at a female audience, alongside Night Nurse and Claws of the Cat. Marvel writer-editor Roy Thomas recalled in 2007 that editor-in-chief Stan Lee
| “ | had the idea, and I think the names, for all three. He wanted to do some books that would have special appeal to girls. We were always looking for ways to expand our franchise. My idea ... was to try to get women to write them. ... I thought of my friend Carole Seuling, who had done a bit of writing for her ex-husband Phil in conjunction with his comic cons. I approached her to do the Shanna book because I knew she liked jungle comics and adventure comics. ... I put Ross Andru on as the Shanna artist [beginning with issue #2], with Vinnie Colletta inking to make Ross' Shanna look attractive.[1] | ” |
This initial series ran five issues (Dec. 1972 - Aug. 1973, with industry legend Jim Steranko drawing the covers of #1-2
She then starred in a solo feature in the black-and-white adventure-comics magazine Savage Tales #9-10 (March & May 1975), in stories by writers Gerry Conway and Carla Conway, with art by the collective pseudonym The Tribe for the first story, and by the former series' team of Andru & Colletta for the second. She also appeared in a backup story in The Rampaging Hulk by Steve Gerber that introduced her psychologist. It was the lead-in to a story that went unpublished and partially uncompleted until the penultimate four issues of Marvel Fanfare in the early 1990s.
Marvel has also published alternate-universe versions of Shanna, unrelated except for the name. See Other versions, below.
[edit] Fictional character biography
Shanna O'Hara Plunder is the daughter of a diamond miner named Gerald O'Hara. Born in Africa, she spent the majority of her childhood growing up in the jungles of Zaire. At the age of six, her father went to kill a rogue leopard that belonged to her mother, Patricia O'Hara. While hunting for the leopard, Shanna's father accidentally killed her mother. This traumatic incident led to Shanna's lifelong crusade against the use of firearms. After the incident, Shanna moved back to the United States to live with relatives. Shanna grows up to become an accomplished Olympic athlete, specializing in competitive swimming and track and field. She then became a licensed veterinarian.
After completing college, Shanna began to work for the Central Park Municipal Zoo in New York City as a zoologist. While working at the zoo, Shanna raised many animals, including a female leopard named Julani. During this period another shock to her system came when Julani was shot and killed by a zoo guard. This terrible incident led Shanna to quit the zoo and to take Julani's cubs, Ina and Biri, to the Dahomey Reserve in Africa.
While in Africa, Shanna becomes more attuned to nature, patrolling the jungle and living freely in the wild lands. She begins to wear nothing else but Julani's fur pelt, as a bikini, to help with the raising of the cubs. In the jungle, Shanna becomes more and more at home with herself and her new native element, all the while protecting the reserve from poachers as Shanna the She-Devil.
During her stay in Africa, her father is kidnapped by the Mandrill. Shanna searches for him until the wizard Malgato kidnaps her to Antarctica's Savage Land, a prehistoric jungle. She escapes with the help of Lord Kevin Plunder, a.k.a. the jungle lord Ka-Zar. Shanna returns to Africa to look for her father, and learns he was killed by the Mandrill. Seeking revenge, she goes to America to aid Daredevil and Black Widow in stopping the Mandrill and Nekra's plan to overthrow the American government.
After this, Shanna travels between San Francisco and the Savage Land, finally returning to Africa. Only to find Ina and Biri have been killed by a religious cult leader, Raga-Shah. After a short grieving period in America, Shanna tracks and kills Raga-Shah. Around this time, she begins therapy with psychologist Dr. Dorothy Betz.
Later she moves to the Savage Land, where she and Ka-Zar fall in love, marry, and have a son whom they name Matthew. Along with her husband, Shanna fights to protect the quality of life of all natural habitats from the encroachments of the modern world.
In Secret Invasion, she and Ka-Zar find Skrulls mining Vibranium in the Savage Land. Some time later a Skrull ship crashes in the Savage Land releasing superheroes who claim to be running from the Skrulls. Spider-Man finds his way to Ka-Zar and Shanna who recounts their story to them, but are interrupted when the Captain America from the ship attacks them.[2]
[edit] Powers and abilities
Shanna is gifted with Olympic-class athleticism along with extraordinary agility. She is a well-trained veterinarian, with the capability of being close to wild animals. Shanna is adept at hunting and gathering, healing and tracking. She is an experienced fighter, familiar with knives, spears, bows and arrows and other primitive forms of weapons. She has Olympic athlete-level strength: naturally excelling at swimming, diving, climbing, leaping, and running with great speed and determination.
[edit] Other versions
A blond, alternate-universe version of the character starred in the seven-issue miniseries Shanna, the She-Devil vol. 2 (April-Oct. 2005), writer-artist Frank Cho. This Shanna is the result of a genetic experiment and she also has superhuman strength and agility. One member of a scientific expedition that encountered her named her Shanna after the "comic book character".
The series was originally scheduled for release under Marvel's "mature readers" MAX imprint,[citation needed] but was reworked, with Cho eliminating the nudity before publication. It ran with a "PSR+" rating through issue #4, and a "Parental Advisory" rating afterward.
A four-issue sequel miniseries, Shanna The She-Devil: Survival of the Fittest (Oct. 2007 - Jan. 2008) by writers Justin Gray and James Palmiotti and penciler Khari Evans, featured this same alternate version of Shanna.
[edit] Ultimate Shanna
Shanna appears in Ultimate Marvel form in issue #3 with Ultimate Ka-Zar on the last page of Ultimates 3.
[edit] Bibliography
- Shanna The She-Devil #1-5
- Daredevil Vol. 1 #109-113 & 117
- Savage Tales #8-10
- The Rampaging Hulk #9
- Marvel Fanfare #56-59 (story printed after years of shelving)
- Ka-Zar Vol. 2 #1-2
- Ka-Zar Vol. 3 #1-34
- Ka-Zar Vol. 4 #1-20
- Uncanny X-Men #250, 274-275
- Uncanny X-Men Annual #7 & 12
- Marvel Comics Presents #68-77
- Namor #16-19, 21
- Tales of the Marvel Universe
- Sensational Spider-Man #13-15
- Captain America Vol. 3 #31
- X-Men Unlimited vol. 1, #1
Alternate Universe:
- Shanna, the She-Devil (miniseries) #1-7 (April-Oct. 2005)
- Shanna, the She-Devil: Survival of the Fittest (miniseries) #1-4 (2007)
[edit] Other Media
[edit] Television
- Shanna the She-Devil appeared in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends episode "7 Little Superheroes", voiced by Janet Waldo. She was summoned to Wolf Island by Chameleon alongside other heroes Spider-Man, Iceman, Firestar, Captain America, Namor, and Doctor Strange.
- Shanna the She-Devil appears in the X-Men TV series. She is seen as Ka-Zar's wife and was first seen being chased by and later hypnotized by Sauron, and later on as one of the prisoners of Mister Sinister.
[edit] Video Games
Shanna the She-Devil appeared in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse voiced by Masasa Moyo.
[edit] See also
- Jann of the Jungle, an earlier jungle girl appearing in the 1950s published by Atlas Comics, the predecessor to Marvel Comics
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Shanna the She-Devil at Marvel.com
- Shanna the She-Devil: Keep Her Away From the Zoo! - Photon Torpedoes.
|
|||||||||||||||||
