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| Arella | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | New Teen Titans #3 (February 1981) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman George Pérez |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Angela Roth |
| Species | Human |
| Place of origin | Gotham City, Earth |
| Team affiliations | Monks and Nuns of the mystical world of Azarath |
| Notable aliases | Arella |
Angela Roth, commonly calledArella, is a fictional character fromDC Comics. She is the pacifist mother of thesuperheroineRaven in theTeen Titans comics and animated series. She is the former bride of the all-powerful interdimensional demonTrigon, who had cunningly seduced her, in human form, to have someone to bear a half-human, half-demon daughter who becomes Raven.
Born inGotham City, Angela Roth was a depressed, aimless teenager who fell in with cultists after running away from home. The members of the cult promised to keep her fed and well-rested in exchange for taking part in a secret ritual to appeal toTrigon, who was to manifest on Earth. Although she knew Trigon was a demon, she thought his handsome human form was authentic when he first appeared to her. Upon discovering his true form, Angela became horrified, but was unable to escape Trigon, who continued to assault her.[1] After impregnating Angela, Trigon returned her to Earth to keep her away from his enemies. After failing to receive any help from state agencies, Angela attempted to kill herself withsleeping pills in an abandoned alleyway. Instead of dying, Angela was taken to the interdimensional temple of Azarath and changed her name to Arella, meaning "Messenger Angel".[2]
Soon after giving birth to Raven, Arella gave up her maternal care to the priestess Azar. She rarely saw Raven for quite some time, but took over guardianship of Raven upon Azar's death when Raven was about ten years old.
When Raven turned 18, she fled Azarath to seek help from Earth's superheroes to stop Trigon's invasion. This resulted in the New Teen Titans. Raven briefly returned to Azarath, asking her mother for help. Arella refused and sent her back to Earth. When Raven was being held as a prisoner by Trigon, Arella decided to leave Azarath to help her teammates rescue her.[3] Soon after, Trigon was sealed in another dimension. Arella agreed to go along with him in an attempt to block him from returning through the portal.
Some time later, Raven finally gave in to her father's control. Arella was transported to Azarath, which was promptly destroyed by Trigon's minions. She was among the few survivors. Arella followed the Teen Titans to Earth to help them in their fight against Trigon and release her daughter. She watched as Raven was used to destroy her father and then vanish.
Arella traveled the world, trying to find her daughter. When she finally found her, they were both taken prisoner by cultists under the control ofBrother Blood. After spending some time with her daughter in Blood's fortress, they were freed by the Teen Titans.
After this event, Arella establishes a ranch that would serve as a sanctuary to troubled women. However, theWildebeest Society kills all of the women and the workers, leaving only Arella alive. She is rescued byDeathstroke. Arella, Deathstroke, andSteve Dayton work to free the kidnapped Titans fromJericho's Wildebeest Society. When Deathstroke kills Jericho, the corrupted souls of Azarath leave him and possess Raven, turning her evil once more. Arella andDanny Chase sacrifice themselves to stop Raven, merging with the souls of Azarath into Phantasm.[4][5][6]
In a final act of heroism, Danny Chase was redeemed when he and Raven's mother Arella sacrificed themselves to cure Raven. The souls of Arella, Danny and the denizens of Azarath all merged into a singular being, which was now known as Phantasm and permanently possessed the Phantasm costume.
Obviously with Raven/Rachel being sent on the run to begin the series, things aren't going to go particularly well for her mother, Angela. Still, it's nice to see that Titans, got as prolific an actress as Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks) for the part. In the comics Angela was actually Raven's biological mother who tried to protect her from the forces coming to dictate her fate, but the TV show seems to put a twist on that telling.
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