Zarana

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Zarana is the sister of Zartan and Zandar in the G. I. Joe universe, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. She has red hair and is usually depicted with a tattered hot pink T-shirt and blue pants. Zarana is a master of diguise who can fool even the best military specialists. Unlike Zartan, who has a mysterious ability to appear as someone different, Zarana relies on masks, wigs, makeup and costumes. Zarana is a caucasian female from Australia. Her file card bio states that she has the same ability to change skin color as her brothers but this was never seen or portrayed in both comic and cartoon incarnations.

Zarana was featured in the Marvel G.I.Joe comics, including issues #69 to #71. In order to escape the fictional war-torn country of Sierra Gordo, she and fellow Dreadnoks Monkeywrench and Thrasher hijack a G.I.Joe transport plane. This is accomplished by Zarana threatening to kill some of the civillians who are pleading with the Joes for a ride out. The Joes, Crazylegs, Wild-Bill and Maverick are forced to launch out with her, her allies and the refugee/hostages. The plane ends up shot down though all survive. In an effort to escape the country, Zarana actually works with the Joe team, the Dreadnoks and the refugees. In one instance, she punches Thrasher's broken arm in order to get him to be even more violent against a large group of adversaries.

Zarana is a fearless fighter and risk taker. She took on a lot of responsibilities for COBRA after Destro, Zartan and the Baroness left, effectively becoming Cobra Commander's second in command. She was briefly captured by Firefly, but was soon rescued by Slice and Dice and reunited with Cobra. She was partly responsible for recruiting Scarlett (although Scarlett turned out to be a double agent). After Dr. Mindbender was revived by Cobra Commander, he "cut Zarana loose" and she returned to the Dreadnoks.

Until recently, Zarana was in charge of the Chicago based chapter of the Dreadnoks. She was in line to succeed Zartan but they had a falling-out after the appearance of Zartan's daughter Zanya.

In G.I. Joe: America's Elite it has been revealed that Phoenix Guard member Friday is actually Zarana. It is not yet known how she came to be a part of that group. She was taken into custody following the Guard's attack on the Rock.

Along with her twin brother Zandar, Zarana was issued in a second wave of Dreadnok action figures from Hasbro in 1986. She carried a weapon that looked like a rifle with a circular saw blade attached at the end. This weapon was never seen in the cartoon or comic book. Like Zartan and Zandar, Zarana was made of a UV-reactive plastic that turned from caucasian color to dark blue in direct sunlight. This was never shown in the comic book. In the cartoon, she was primarily a background character; but she was featured in one episode which paired her with Mainframe as a couple suffering a forlorn, star-crossed romantic attraction. She had several features in the comic, primarily in issues that introduced Dreadnok vehicles produced by Hasbro.

Zarana is also a name for girls from India, pronounced Jhurna. Though the name can be found written alternatively as Jharna, Zarana is the most common spelling. The word itself means mountain stream in Hindi.