Zaladane

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Zaladane


Zaladane
Arthur Adams, Art

Publisher Marvel Comics
First appearance Astonishing Tales #3 (Dec 1970)
Created by Gerry Conway and Barry Windsor-Smith
Characteristics
Alter ego Zala Dane
Affiliations Savage Land Mutates, Sun People, Garokk
Notable aliases High Priestess of the Sun god
Abilities ability to wield and manipulate magic, magnetism.

Zaladane (Zala Dane) is a fictional character, a sorceress from Marvel Comics and the high priestess of the sun god Garokk, the Petrified Man. The character first appeared in Astonishing Tales #3. She is the alleged daughter of Magneto and sister to Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Polaris.

[edit] Character biography

Zaladane was an enemy of the X-Men and the alleged (still uncorfirmed) sister of X-Men member, Lorna Dane (Polaris). She was the leader of the Sun People, who live in the Savage Land, and attempted in the past to take over the Savage Land, but was defeated by Ka-Zar and the X-Men each time.

Years later, Zaladane became the assistant of the High Evolutionary in his project to restore the Savage Land after its near destruction by the alien Terminus. Zaladane was allied with the Savage Land Mutates (Savage Land natives who had been given superhuman powers through artificially induced mutation by Magneto).

In her quest for power, she once used machinery supplied by Brainchild to steal first Polaris's magnetic powers, then later Magneto's powers in a similar manner. When Lorna arrived at Muir Island after losing her magnetic powers, she was examined by Moira MacTaggert due to the sudden appearance of a new power mutation. Moira confirmed during testing that the only way Zaladane could have taken Lorna's powers away was if she were a biological sibling. During the period in which Zaladane managed to steal Magneto's powers as well, a team including Rogue, Ka-Zar and Nick Fury joined forces in the Savage Land. After a series of attacks using the various tribes in that region they managed to distract Zaladane, allowing Magneto to use the machine to regain his power. Shortly afterwards, Magneto executed Zaladane. If her sisterly ties to Polaris remain true, Zaladane was killed by the hands of her own unknowing father.

Some time after her death, and the Shadow King Incident, Polaris' powers were returned to her.

[edit] Powers and abilities

Zaladane is a sorceress with the ability to wield and manipulate magic. She primarily has used these powers for mind control and limited energy projection. For a time she wielded the ability to control magnetism similar to Magneto, but of a more limited nature.

She claimed to be a mutate (a mutagenically altered human rather than a born mutant). However, the nature of her mutant powers was never revealed. She was able to steal the powers of Polaris for a time and it is possible that this ability to steal superhuman powers was part of her mutation (although she needed the assistance of a machine). Rogue has a similar ability.

[edit] Trivia

  • If Zaladane is correct in being the sister to Polaris, then her ties to Magneto and his extended family falls into the line of possibility as Zaladane's initial powers of magic resemble those of the Scarlet Witch, Lorna Dane's sister.