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Mars Ravelo's Darna is Copyright (c)Mars Ravelo Komiks Characters, Inc. Angel Locsin as Darna poster by
GMA Network, Inc. and Mango Comics.
Darna’s History (Modern Age, 2005 TV Version Produced by GMA-7 )
Note: Many elements of the GMA-7 TV series were based on the expanded continuity established by Mango Comics' "DARNA" 2002 Comicbook 3 part Mini-series)
By Raffy Arcega
There once was a faraway planet called “Marte” inhabited by two races with a vast understanding of advanced sciences and magic, The Adranikans were the enlightened people of peace and justice led by Queen Adran and the Anomalkans were the underground dwelling, serpent-like beings ruled by Queen Braguda.
Braguda & Adran were friends when they were young and both were fond of the Planet Earth light years away. Through the combined powers of the Magic White and Black Stones which Braguda possessed , both she and Adran were able to observe it from afar. Adran was fascinated by the Eagles of the Earth and made these noble creatures the symbol of her peoples’ coat of arms. Braguda of the Anomalkans patterened their symbol on the Serpents of the Earth for their grace and cunning.
After Braguda showed the planet to Adran, she vowed to one day possess it. Adran tried to convince Braguda that everything they need was on the Planet Marte and there was no reason to conquer other Planets. But Braguda was defiant so Adran used her powers and telekinetically stole the white stone from Braguda. This is what began the war between the Adranikans and the Anomalkans.
Queen Adran knew that the magic white and black stones would be needed by Braguda for this endeavor. So she took away the magic white stone and kept it away from Braguda who wanted it.
Years pass and Braguda’s insatiable hunger for interstellar domination makes her desparate and much more dangerous. A prophecy comes to the people of the Planet Marte that states that Braguda’s reign of power would end when she meets her death at the hands of a fellow Anomalkan.
Determined to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass, Braguda orders all unborn infants be killed to prevent any of them from killing her one day. As her savagery is inflicted on her own people, one Anomalkan escapes the Planet Marte and heads for the earth.
Since no one from the Planet Marte can survive for long in Earth’s environment, the Anomalkan refugee only had a short time to live. The Alien comes across an Earth woman named Prospera who was pregnant at the time. Noticing this, the Anomalkan transfers the seed it is carrying onto the already pregnant womb of Prospera making it a parasitic twin. Eventually Prospera gives birth to both. One human, the other-a Monster.
Horrified at her half- alien offspring, Prospera takes the hideous child back to the spacecraft in the hopes of killing it there. But before she could, the monstrous child morphs into a normal human baby girl. This causes her to abandon her plan and take the child home. As she arrives, she discovers that her normal, human daughter has disappeared (who unknown to her was taken by her half brother- Mulong to replace his own daughter who had been born dead.) Because of this, she decides to name her half-Anomalkan baby “VALENTINA” which was originally meant for her missing human offspring- The baby daughter she had with Rafael.
Unlike full blooded Anomalkans, VALENTINA was a hybrid. This mutation in her genes, the melding of Anomalkan and human DNA makes her more resilient to Earth’s environment since she is also part human. Both the Adranikans and the Anomalkans of the Planet Marte cannot long survive in Earth’s atmosphere for long since their life energies get depleted causing them to age prematurely and perish.
Meanwhile, back on the Planet Marte, Braguda is convinced that she has escaped the prophecy by destroying all the unborn Anomalkan infants. She then embarks on her war against the Adranikans.
The day finally came when Planet Marte’s core could no longer withstand the stress brought upon by the war. The Planetary core becomes unstable. Queen Adran then instructed her faithful ally- AIO to carry the magic white stone and take it far away from Marte and out of Braguda’s hands. AIO reluctantly agrees to leave with the stone. But not before she is spotted by Braguda who chases AIO’s starcraft away from the doomed planet. Just as Aio & Braguda escape the gravitational pull of their home planet, it explodes leaving them among the few survivors.
AIO flies through a “wormhole” in space which sends her to the Earth’s solar system with Braguda in pursuit. As AIO’s ship is disabled by Braguda, AIO sends her own ship on a collision course towards Braguda’s.
The 2 of them manage to survive the crash while the white stone of power is flung free and streaks toward the Earth to the Philippine province of Laguna where it is discovered by a young 10 year old girl named Narda. Narda is the daughter of Prospera’s half brother- Mulong, making her Valentina’s cousin. Narda meets AIO disguised as an Earth woman who explains to her that the stone is part of a greater destiny. A destiny that would be revealed in time.
8 years pass and Narda is a young woman of 18. On a high rise rooftop in the city of Manila one day, a telepathic voice is heard by Narda emanating from the white stone that explains to her that it was time and she must now unlock the stone’s power by swallowing it and then speaking the name inscribed on it. Narda reads the word, swallows the glowing amulet and utters…
”D A R N A !!!”
A burst of brilliant star light is unleashed and a thunderclap is heard and Narda is transformed into an otherworldly being- A metahuman warrior of the Planet Marte- “DARNA.” The Adranikan sage- AIO explains what it means to be DARNA and what she was created for. Her mission is to halt the impending assimilation of the Earth by the Galactic Tyrant- BRAGUDA of the Anomalkans.
Braguda creates Neo-Anomalkans through the power of the black stone so that these new minions can be used to search the Earth for the white stone and to destroy the Adranikan champion- Darna. The black stone is what helps sustain Braguda and her Anomalkans while in earth’s environment. Without the black stone, they themselves cannot survive on Earth. The Neo-Anomalkans are Earthlings who are transformed by sorcery into evil beings of tremendous power.
VALENTINA, the Snake Woman, NOSFERAMUS-the Shadow of Death, MAMBABARANG-the Warlock King of Insects, SULFURA-The Acid Woman, MOLECULA the metamorph. DIVINA DEMONICA the succubus, MANANANGGAL, BABAING TUOD and BABAING IMPAKTA.
These are the menaces that would challenge Darna time and time again. But not all of these threats that besieged the Earth were of Anomalkan origin. Other menaces included the demented Dr. Ted or DR. ZOMBIE and his legion of ghouls, a mystical imp called The TOYMASTER, and Darna’s own dark side made flesh- THE BLACK DARNA !!
Origin of the Magic Stones & the Adranika vs. Anomalka War.
Centuries ago, there were 2 Planets beyond our star system that contained 2 of the most powerful forces in creation. The opposing forces drew the 2 planets together and destroyed both. In its wake, 2 very powerful stones of energy were formed. On the Planet Marte, the first Queen of the Anomalkan race discovered the 2 stones of power floating in space and retrieved them to be passed on from one generation to another. When the stone was finally passed on to the current Anomalkan Queen- BRAGUDA, Planet Marte’s destiny changed forever. Unlike the former rulers of the Anomalkan race, Braguda longed for conquest of other planets beginning with the Planet Earth.
During this period, there was peace and harmony between the Anomalkans and its surface dwelling counterparts- the race called “Adranika”. Braguda was still good friends with Queen Adran of the Adranikans. One day, Braguda called Queen Adran to show her a beautiful blue planet she had discovered. She took out the magic Black Stone and Magic White stone and combined their powers to show Adran the planet Earth. Adran was impressed and admired this discovery for its beauty and exotic wildlife. Adran saw the Eagle and used the image of this noble creature to be the symbol of the Adranikans while Braguda saw s Serpent and used this to be the symbol of the Anomalkans.
When Braguda vowed to one day use the power of the 2 stones to seize the Earth, Adran tried to convince her that everything they needed was already on the Planet Marte and that there was no need to invade other worlds. Braguda was insistent on her dreams of conquest so Adran used her telekinetic abilities to yank the white stone out of Braguda’s hand and ran off with it. She knew that with only one of the stones, Braguda’s power would be insufficient.
Because of this, war broke out between the 2 races which lasted a long time leading to the eventual destruction of the Planet Marte. But Queen Adran who kept the white stone all this time hoped to find a champion who could one day harness the power of the stone for good and be the Earth’s protector and prevent Braguda’s evil from taking root. She asked her trusted aide- AIO to journey away from Marte and onto the Earth to get the stone as far away from Braguda as possible and prevent her from acquiring it.
But Braguda, in her starcraft, was able to follow Aio all the way to where the Earth was. The 2 ships collided and the magic white stone was thrown free and fell towards the Earth like a falling star. As if in answer to Queen Adran’s last wish, the white stone landed in close proximity to a girl who was out in the woods one evening. A young girl who was pure of heart named…NARDA. She would one day unlock the power of the stone as the champion she was destined to be …DARNA !!
CAST OF CHARACTERS
DARNA (Played by Angel Locsin)
NARDA AND EFREN (Played by Angel Locsin and Dennis Trillo)
BRAGUDA, The Queen of Darkness (Played by Celia Rodriguez)
Ruler of the Anomalkan race on the Planet Marte, she seeks to obtain the
magic white stone of Darna and combine it with her magic black stone so
that she may terraform the Planet Earth into a new version of the Planet Marte.
VALENTINA, The Snake Woman (Played by Alessandra De Rossi)
Half-Sister of Narda, Valentina is a Half-human, half Anomalkan hybrid
who also seeks to obtain the magic white stone of Darna and dethrone
her mentor, Queen Braguda.
REYNA ADRAN (Played by Lorna Tolentino)
Benevolent Queen of the surface dwelling Adranikan race on the Planet Marte.
Queen Adran sent her trusted aide, Aio to escape to Earth with the
magic white stone so that they may find a worthy possessor of its power
that would use it to protect the Universe from Braguda and the Anomalkans.
AIO (Played by Maureen Larazabal)
The right hand of Queen Adran is the 'stonekeeper' entrusted with
delivering it to a worthy human who is pure of heart.
NOSFERAMUS (Played by Tonton Gutierrez)
Referred to as The Shadow of Death, he is really Mulong, Foster father
of Narda transformed by Braguda to be her aide.
MAMBABARANG (Played by Eddie Garcia)
King of the Insects, he is a human mutated by Braguda into a superhuman creature
who would obey her bidding and fight humanity's champion, Darna.
DR.ZOMBIE (Played by Christopher De Leon)
A disfigured scientist intent on discovering a way to bring the
dead back to life.
MOLECULA (Played by Christine Reyes)
A human woman altered by extra-terrestrial worms from the Planet Marte
into a superhuman that can control the molecular structure of
anything.
SULFURA (Played by Carmina Villaruel)
A fashion model who is also Valentina's rival recruited by the Anomalkans
into being their weapon against Darna.
BLACK DARNA (Played by Katrina Halili)
is actually Carol, a friend of Narda who is possessed by Darna's 'shadow-self'.
