| Shanna the She-Devil | |
|---|---|
_(cover_art).jpg) Promotional art forShanna the She-Devil vol. 2 #1 (April 2005). Art byFrank Cho. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Shanna the She-Devil #1 (December 1972) |
| Created by | Carole Seuling (writer) George Tuska (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Shanna O'Hara, Lady Plunder |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Partnerships | Ka-Zar Zabu |
| Notable aliases | Lady Plunder Jungle Princess Queen of the Savage Land |
| Abilities |
|
Shanna the She-Devil (Shanna O'Hara, Lady Plunder) is ajungle adventurer superhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerCarole Seuling andpencillerGeorge Tuska, the characterfirst appeared inShanna the She-Devil #1 (December 1972).[1][2]
Shanna is depicted as anIrish woman, though she was raised inZaire by anexpatriate father. Following the death of her mother, Shanna migrated to the United States to live with relatives. As an adult, she worked as aveterinarian and azoologist. She eventually settled in theSavage Land and married the jungle lordKa-Zar.
Shanna the She-Devil was introduced in one of a trio of Marvel Comics aimed at a female audience, alongsideNight Nurse andClaws of the Cat.[3] Marvel writer-editorRoy Thomas recalled in 2007 that editor-in-chiefStan 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 friendCarole Seuling, who had done a bit of writing for her ex-husband Phil in conjunction withhis comic cons. I approached her to do theShanna book because I knew she liked jungle comics and adventure comics. ... I putRoss Andru on as theShanna artist [beginning with issue #2], withVinnie Colletta inking to make Ross' Shanna look attractive.[4]
Seuling in 2010 recalled: "My instructions were to make [Shanna] someone who would fit in with the times and also was prone to a little more violence thanSheena or the otherjungle queens of the past".[5] With veteranpencilerGeorge Tuska, she created the lead character and her two leopard companions, as well asgame warden and potential romantic interest Patrick McShane, loosely based on after actorPatrick McGoohan's game-warden character in the filmNor the Moon by Night.[6]
The writerSteve Gerber, in his first assignment for Marvel Comics,[7] supplied additional dialogue for that first issue, as well as the next. Seuling explained:
Steve Gerber did not collaborate with me on the scripts or the origin story, but he added some additional dialogue since Stan [Lee] and Roy [Thomas] thought the stories were a bit light on the talking.[6]
However, ... Steve Gerber was not one of the creators. He provided additional dialogue for the first two [issues] and then took over when I left [after four issues]. ... Gerber himself, before he died a few years ago, denied that he had any part in Shanna's origin.[8]
This initial series ran five issues (Dec. 1972 – Aug. 1973), withJim Steranko drawing the covers of #1–2,John Buscema andJoe Sinnott of issue #3, andJohn Romita Sr. of the final two issues.[9]
The character went on to a series of guest appearances, first in the jungle lord comicKa-Zar #1 (Jan. 1974); then in a storyline running through thesuperhero comicsDaredevil #109–111 (May–July 1974) andMarvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974), which supplied additional details about Shanna's past and family, and notes McShane's murder by thesupervillainessNekra in the interim; inDaredevil #117 (Jan. 1975); and in a Ka-Zar story in the black-and-white, mature-audience comics magazineSavage Tales #8 (Jan. 1975).[10]
Shanna then starred in two solo stories inSavage Tales #9–10 (March & May 1975) by writer Carla Conway (assisted by then-husbandGerry Conway on the former), with pencil art by, respectively,Tony DeZuniga and Ross Andru.[11] In the first of these two stories, Shanna's leopards Ina and Biri are killed. Gerry Conway recalled in 2010 that this "was part of the strategy to make her a stronger, fiercer character in theSavage Tales mode. It also raised the stakes for her personally, and by eliminating these 'rivals' for her affections opened her up to a relationship with Ka-Zar",[10] whom she would eventually marry, inKa-Zar the Savage #29 (Dec. 1983).[12]
In the meantime, Shanna starred in a backup story inThe Rampaging Hulk #9 (June 1978), by writer Gerber and artist DeZuniga.[11] She then starred in several eight-page solo stories in the omnibus titleMarvel Comics Presents, beginning with a tale by writer-artistBruce Jones in issue #13 (Late Feb. 1989), followed by the 10-part "The Bush of Ghosts", by writerGerard Jones and pencilerPaul Gulacy in issues #68–77 (Jan.-Late May 1991).[11]
Dovetailing with the end of that run came four full-length stories begun in 1978, completing plot threads from Shanna's solo story inThe Rampaging Hulk #9. Written bySteve Gerber and penciled byCarmine Infantino,Bret Blevins (two stories, the first credited as "A. Novice") and DeZuniga, these non-chronological, essentially flashback stories ran inMarvel Fanfare #56–59 (April–Oct. 1991).[11] The title's editor,Al Milgrom, unearthed the unpublished stories because
I would scour the office looking for gems [that] I could publish inFanfare and I found the first part of Steve's Shanna story completely penciled by Carmine Infantino. There were also complete scripts for the second and third installments. So I called Steve up and said, ... 'I want to know going in that I can get you to finish the storyline'. Steve replied that he'd be happy to do so. ... [Regarding the art], Carmine's a great designer but he doesn't draw the most sensuous women. ... I had been doing some work with Bret Blevins, who did great-looking girls, so I asked him if he'd be interested in inking an Infantino story. ... I think I told Bret that if he inked the first issue, he could pencil the following chapters. Bret was keen to ink his own pencils, [which] slowed him down. ... Steve turned in the fourth chapter — 13 years after he'd started the story. Bret couldn't handle the deadline for the final chapter, so I asked Tony DeZuniga".[13]
Marvel has also published alternate universe versions of Shanna, unrelated except for the name.
Shanna was featured in theMarvel NOW! book titledSavage Wolverine. The new series, written and drawn byFrank Cho, debuted in January 2013. The title is a team-up story with Shanna andWolverine as they try to survive theSavage Land together.[14]
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Shanna O'Hara, Lady Plunder is the daughter of Gerald O'Hara, a wealthy Irish diamond miner and mine owner. Born inAfrica, she spent the majority of her childhood growing up in thejungles ofZaire. At the age of six, her father went to kill a rogueleopard that had belonged to her mother, Patricia O'Hara - only to then accidentally kill his wife when she tried to calm the animal. This traumatic incident led to Shanna's lifelong crusade against the use offirearms. With her father incapacitated by grief, Shanna moved to the United States to live with relatives. She grows up to become an accomplished Olympic athlete, specializing incompetitive swimming andtrack and field, and also becomes a licensedveterinarian.
After completing college, Shanna took a job with theCentral Park Municipal Zoo inNew York City as azoologist. Her position allowed Shanna to raise manyanimals, including a female leopard named Julani. During this period, another shock to her system came when Julani escaped and was shot dead by an overzealous zoo guard. The following day, the zoo director asks Shanna take Julani's cubs,Ina andBiri —Yoruba names meaning "bright" and "black", respectively[5] — to theDahomey Reserve in Africa to live out the rest of their lives.
Disillusioned with the human world and its cruelties, Shanna abandons her career and takes up life as a wild woman, gradually teaching herself to survive by hunting and gathering. She begins to wear Julani's furpelt as a sight-and-sense cue to help with the raising of the cubs. When poachers breach the preserve to hunt for rare animals, Shanna uses her athletic training to fight them off, an act that forges her into Shanna the She-Devil.[15]
During her stay in Africa, her father is kidnapped by theMandrill. Shanna searches for him until the wizard Malgato forcibly transport her to theSavage Land, aprehistoric jungle withinAntarctica. She escapes with the help of Lord Kevin Plunder, a.k.a. the jungle lordKa-Zar. Shanna returns to Africa to look for her father and learns he was killed by the Mandrill. Seeking revenge, she goes to North America to aidDaredevil andBlack Widow in stopping the Mandrill andNekra's plan to overthrow theAmerican government.[16]
After this, Shanna travels between her new heroic allies inSan Francisco and the Savage Land, finally returning to Africa only to find Ina and Biri have been killed by a cult leader named Raga-Shah. After a short grieving period in North America, Shanna tracks and kills Raga-Shah by feeding him to her python Ananta. Around this time, she begins therapy withpsychologist Dr. Dorothy Betz.[17]
Shanna returns to the Savage Land and becomes Ka-Zar's lover. They discovered their lost world was only part of a larger realm, Pangea, filled with wondrous races. The couple's relationship was tempestuous: Shanna married Mele of the Botor who died in a hunting accident while with Ka-Zar. Shanna was also targeted by the demonicBelasco (who felt she resembled his lost love Beatrice). When Ka-Zar was seemingly killed while they were in New York, a distraught Shanna rampaged, was institutionalized, and nearly romancedPeter Parker. Shanna was rescued by a revived Ka-Zar, aided by Spider-Man, and the two returned to Antarctica, where they were married despite interference from Belasco and others. Shanna became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she and Ka-Zar named Matthew, and they employed the native warrior woman Zhira as nanny and protector of their son.
They survived the temporary destruction of the Savage Land by Terminus and its later re-creation by theHigh Evolutionary andGarokk.
Shanna briefly attained a mystical bond to the spirit of Africa, foiling Sir Guy Cross-Wallace who slaughtered and consumed wildlife, seeking the bond himself to rule the continent. Shanna was also briefly given power over the natural world by the High Evolutionary. Together, Ka-Zar and Shanna fight to preserve the Savage Land from external threats and from pollution by technology.
Shanna and Ka-Zar findSkrulls mining the rare metalvibranium in the Savage Land. Soon afterward as part of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, a Skrull ship crashes in the Savage Land, releasing earlier versions of modern superheroes (who claim to be the originals replaced by Skrulls for some time and who have escaped). Shanna and Ka-Zar soon learn, however, that these are simply more Skrulls in disguise. Spider-Man soon encounters Ka-Zar, Shanna, Zabu, and some of the natives accusing them of being Skrulls beforeCaptain America attacked, thinking the same for Spider-Man. Ka-Zar, Shanna, and Zabu help Spider-Man fight until Captain America is hit by a dart that causes the individual to regress to the Skrull Pitt'o Nili who Shanna then kills.[18] Shanna stays behind with Zabu to fight off any Skrulls left in the Savage Land, while Ka-Zar heads with the New Avengers and the Mighty Avengers to New York to fight the Skrulls.[19]
Ka-Zar and Shanna later encounter the return of the Ethereals and end up fighting them when it comes to the Ethereals wanting the tribes of the Savage Land to be united with them.[20]
As part of the 2012Marvel NOW! branding in the pages ofSavage Wolverine, Shanna agrees to guide a group ofS.H.I.E.L.D. agents to a mysterious island within the Savage Land. A dampening field generator causes the transport to crash, and all the agents are killed by the native Neanderthals. At the same time, Wolverine crashes on the island,[21] and joins with Shanna the She-Devil to destroy the dampening field generator. When Shanna the She-Devil is accidentally killed by the Neanderthals after running intoAmadeus Cho, Amadeus and the local Neanderthals perform a ritual that involves aMan-Thing different from Ted Sallis that was rooted in the Savage Land for a long time. A blood sample was taken from it and Shanna was reborn. They then encountered the Hulk where a fight between him, Wolverine, and the giant gorillas accidentally damaged the dampening fields, which freed the alien Morrigon who returns to his master Visher-Rakk.[22]
During the "Empyre" storyline, Shanna the She-Devil falls under the control of theCotati that were operating in the Savage Land.[23] This was because of Shanna's connection with the Savage Land's life force and the Cotati took advantage of that. Shanna tries to get Ka-Zar to join them as Matthew states to theBlack Knight that they have to do something.Doctor Voodoo used a trick to do a mental trick. TheScarlet Witch does the same as she tries to free Shanna from the Cotati's control. To assist her, the Scarlet Witch brings Ka-Zar into Shanna's mind, where he learns that some creatures in the Savage Land are dying and trees are falling. As Matthew and the Black Knight fight the Cotati, a Doctor Voodoo-controlled Man-Thing fights the Cotati's control and defeats Ventri. When Ka-Zar frees Shanna from the Cotati's control, he is stabbed by a Cotati using the Black Knight's Ebony Blade.[24] As the Scarlet Witch and Doctor Voodoo work to extract Ka-Zar's soul, Shanna the She-Devil uses the same waters that resurrected her in order to revive her lost love. The newly returned Ka-Zar helps turns the tide on the Cotati invaders by working with his wife in summoning dinosaurs to help repel boarders.[25]
Shanna is gifted with Olympic-classathleticism along with extraordinary agility. She is a well-trainedveterinarian, with the capability of being close to wild animals. Shanna is adept athunting and gathering, healing andtracking. She is an experienced fighter, familiar withknives,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.
After herresurrection, Shanna is tied into the life force of the Savage Land, instinctively knowing the languages and history of the Savage Land and its people. Shanna now possesses the strength of 10 men and is able to run 52 mph (84 km/h) over uneven terrain. The She-Devil has a connection with the floral and faunal elements of the natural environment, and is able to discharge energy blasts, bend plant matter to her will and directly communicate with the creatures of the land around her to enlist their aid.
Deirdre Kaye ofScary Mommy called Shanna the She-Devil a "role model" and "truly heroic."[26] John Wilson ofCBR.com ranked Shanna the She-Devil 5th in their "10 Best Jungle Heroes in Comics" list,[27] while Michael Austin ranked her 9th in their "Marvel: 10 Best Star Athletes Who Became Superheroes" list.[28]Brent Frankenhoff ofComics Buyer's Guide ranked Shanna the She-Devil 53rd in their "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[29]
According toDiamond Comic Distributors,Shanna, the She-Devil #1 was the 30th best selling comic book in February 2005.[30][31][32]
According toDiamond Comic Distributors,Shanna, the She-Devil: Survival of the Fittest #1 was the 103rd best selling comic book in August 2007.[33][34][35]
A blonde, alternate-universe version of the character starred in the seven-issueminiseriesShanna, the She-Devil (vol. 2) (April–Oct. 2005), written and drawn byFrank Cho. This Shanna is the result of genetic experimentation that endows her with superhuman strength and agility. One member of a scientific expedition that encounters her names her Shanna "after the comic book character". The series was published 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 writersJustin Gray andJames Palmiotti and penciller Khari Evans, features this same alternate version of Shanna.
Shanna and Ka-Zar first appear in theUltimate Marvelimprint on the final page ofUltimates 3 #3. Flashbacks reveal that she, Ka-Zar, and Zabu have been friends since childhood.[36] Afterthe Ultimatum wave, they join theNew Ultimates where they helped to fight Loki.[37]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades Omnibus | Shanna the She-Devil (vol. 1) #1–5 andNight Nurse #1–4;Cat #1–4;Firestar #1–4;Sensational She-Hulk: Ceremony #1–2 and more | January 2011 | 978-0785143260 |
| Shanna, the She-Devil | Shanna the She-Devil (vol. 2) #1–7 | November 2006 | 978-0785110385 |
| Shanna the She Devil: Survival of the Fittest | Shanna the She-Devil: Survival of the Fittest #1–4 | March 2008 | 978-0785124122 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)| International | |
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