| Shanna the She-Devil | |
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Promotional art for Shanna the She-Devil #1 (April 2005), by Frank Cho |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Shanna the She-Devil #1 (Dec. 1972) |
| Created by | Carole Seuling 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 comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Carole Seuling and penciler George Tuska, she made her first appearance in Shanna the She-Devil #1 (Dec. 1972).
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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]
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 than Sheena or the other jungle queens of the past."[2] With veteran penciler George Tuska, she created the lead character and her two leopard companions, as well as game warden and potential romantic interest Patrick McShane, loosely based on after actor Patrick McGoohan's game-warden character in the film Nor the Moon by Night.[3]
The writer Steve Gerber, in his first assignment for Marvel Comics,[4] 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.[3] ... 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.[5]
This initial series ran five issues (Dec. 1972 - Aug. 1973), with Jim Steranko drawing the covers of #1-2, John Buscema and Joe Sinnott of issue #3, and John Romita Sr. of the final two issues.[6]
The character went on to a series of guest appearances, first in the jungle lord comic Ka-Zar #1 (Jan. 1974); then in a storyline running through the superhero comics Daredevil #109-111 (May–July 1974) and Marvel Two-in-One #3 (May 1974), which supplied additional details about Shanna's past and family, and notes McShane's murder by the supervillainess Nekra in the interim; in Daredevil #117 (Jan. 1975); and in a Ka-Zar story in the black-and-white, mature-audience comics magazine Savage Tales #8 (Jan. 1975).[7]
Shanna then starred in two solo stories in Savage Tales #9-10 (March & May 1975) by writer Carla Conway (assisted by then-husband Gerry Conway on the former), with pencil art by, respectively, Tony DeZuniga and Ross Andru.[8] 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 the Savage 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",[7] whom she would eventually marry, in Ka-Zar the Savage #29 (Dec. 1983).[9]
In the meantime, Shanna starred in a backup story in The Rampaging Hulk #9 (June 1978), by writer Gerber and artist DeZuniga.[8] She then starred in several eight-page solo stories in the omnibus title Marvel Fanfare, beginning with a tale by writer-artist Bruce Jones in issue #13 (Late Feb. 1989), followed by the 10-part "The Bush of Ghosts", by writer Gerard Jones and penciler Paul Gulacy in issues #68-77 (Jan.-Late May 1991).[8]
Dovetailing with the end of that run came four full-length stories begun in 1978, completing plot threads from Shanna's solo story in in The Rampaging Hulk #9. Written by Gerber and penciled by Carmine Infantino, Bret Blevins (two stories, the first credited as "A. Novice") and DeZuniga, these non-chronological, essentially flashback stories ran in Marvel Fanfare #56-59 (April-Oct. 1991).[8] The title's editor, Al Milgrom, unearthed the unpublished stories because
I would scour the office looking for gems [that] I could publish in Fanfare 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."[10]
Marvel has also published alternate-universe versions of Shanna, unrelated except for the name.
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. The following day, the zoo director proposes Shanna take Julani's cubs, Ina and Biri — Yoruba names meaning "bright" and "black", respectively[2] — 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 Julani's fur pelt as a sight-and-sense cue 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, Matthew. Shanna and her husband fight to protect the quality of life of all natural habitats from the encroachments of the modern world.
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.
A blond, alternate-universe version of the character starred in the seven-issue miniseries Shanna, the She-Devil vol. 2 (April-Oct. 2005), written and drawn by 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, 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. In Secret Invasion, Earth-616 Shanna was rendered by Leinil Francis Yu very similar to Marvel MAX counterpart.
Shanna and Ka-Zar first appear in the alternate-universe Ultimate Marvel imprint on the final page of Ultimates 3 #3. Flashbacks reveal she, Ka-Zar, and Zabu have been friends since childhood.