Written by Raffy Arcega
DARNA
ALTER EGO: NARDA ARCANGHEL
KNOWN AFFILIATES: CARDING (Sidekick), GUARDIAN (Former owner of the magic white stone also known as The Original DARNA, now a Spirit Guide and mentor to the new Darna)
DARNA'S POWERS: Superhuman Strength, Speed, Senses, Invulnerability, and the Power of Flight
BASE OF OPERATIONS: HOSPICIO DE SAN MARTIN, an orphanage located in the quiet, pastoral town of San Martin (filmed in Plaridel, Bulacan, Philippines in Real Life)
ADVERSARIES:
VALENTINA- A Gorgon with superhuman strength, stamina, reflexes and a psychic bond to all manner of serpents. She also has the ability to heal humans who are sick and suck out poisons and all manner of toxins from any human and cure them in the process. She possesses a healing factor that allows her to survive, recover and heal from any injury. But if her heart was ever injured in any way, it would be the one thing that she cannot heal herself from. Valentina also possesses telepathic/empathic rapport with all serpents as well as her half-sister, Serpina.
She also possesses super-human strength that allows her to uproot trees as well as rival Darna's strength. Although she is a monster, her mother was a human named Consuelo who was attacked and impregnated by a Half Human-Half Serpent being who dwelled in a mysterious cave in the forest of San Martin. Aside from being Consuelo's daughter she is also the daughter of...
KOBRA- A Half-Human, Half-Serpent whose agenda is to use his daughter Valentina to facilitate his plans of making humanoid serpents the dominant lifeform of Planet Earth. But because Valentina would rather pursue her heart's desire- the love of a mortal man named Eduardo, Kobra has procreated another offspring by abducting and impregnating Roma, Ang Babaeng Impakta. Kobra's new daughter is Serpina, a hybrid creature who looks human but can transform into a snake. Kobra has also explained to Serpina that he and the rest of the Serpent-People race have one weakness- their hearts. Many of their special healing powers and abilities come from their hearts and although they possess a special healing factor that can help them recover from anything, an injured heart is the one thing they cannot survive from.
BABAENG LINTA- A Leech-Woman with the power command leeches and to absorb the life force of humans and superhumans alike. She can also absorb the powers and physical likeness of any superhuman whose energies she absorbs.
ROMA, BABAENG IMPAKTA - An Unfortunate young woman born with a conjoined parasitic Demon twin who kills mortals and consumes their hearts to increase its power and Roma's youth. Although Roma herself is good, she is powerless against the influence of her IMPAKTA sister and is a slave to the creature's commands. Born disfigured with a hump on her back to a prominent family decades ago, Roma grew up rejected by society who ridiculed her for her features. Little did they know that the hump on her back was actually a parasitic demon twin- An Impakta who controlled Roma into killing people by snatching the hearts of mortals and consuming it. Roma eventually came into contact with Darna and became one of the superheroine's fiercest adversaries. Years later, when Roma managed to escape her demonic twin "Impy", she was kidnapped by Kobra who impregnated her for the purpose of having an heir that would be more faithful to him than the rebellious Valentina. Kobra and Roma's daughter is called Serpina. Although not a gorgon, Serpina has the ability to transform into a snake. She also possesses a psychic rapport with her half-sister Valentina that allows telepathic communication between them.
BABAENG TUOD - A Supernaturally powered elemental woman with the power to use trees and plants to cause death as well as change its size and strength to destroy anyone she wishes. Born to a wealthy couple who first had problems conceiving, she was thrown by her parents into the forest when they discovered she had abnormalities such as two bony growths on her head that looked like horns and a body with no bones.
The baby's cries echoed through the forest and was heard by Dark Tree Spirits who hated humanity. The Trees adopted the baby and transformed the child to be one of their own by replacing its blood with tree sap and turning the child into a human-tree hybrid. Thus was born Lucifera, warrior champion of the spirits whose goal was to eradicate humanity and make plants the Earth's most dominant lifeforms.
Recently, she captured and transformed two wandering humans into human-plant hybrids to serve her as her minions in her mission. One of her servants is called Flora Carnivora and the other is Flora Venoma. Both of whom posess plant manipulation powers similar to Lucifera.
BABAENG LAWIN- The Hawk-Woman whose cybernetic wings allow her the power of flight and attain great speeds unmatched by almost anyone. Her ultrasonic voice can cause death and destruction. She also has the power to command all manner of birds. Once a Circus performer in a high wire act, Armida was an abused woman who was treated cruelly by her brother Mateo who sought to control her life. After telling Mateo that she wanted to leave the life of a circus performer so that she can marry her sweetheart, Mateo purposely dropped her during their circus act. Paralyzed from her fall, she was abandoned by her fiance because she became an invalid. But a scientific genius named Dr. Montgomery experimented on Armida by grafting his new cybernetic technology unto her. By being turned into a cyborg with metallic cybernetic wings that allowed her to fly, Armida lashed out at all men who tried to control her and killed Dr. Montgomery as well as her former fiance. But when she tried to kill Mateo, the superheroine known as Darna foiled her attempt and thus became her bitter enemy as well.Armida's bionic wings were recently enhanced by a scientist named Dr. Morgan who weaponized Armida's wings by giving her the ability to throw her sharp metallic feathers to cut and kill her enemies.
HISTORY: Back in the 1940's a young girl playing hide and seek with her friends sees a comet that crashes close to her. She discovers a sparkling white stone with an inscription on it. Concerned that her playmates might take her prize away, she hides it in her mouth and is rendered unconcious. When she awakened, she relates her story to her grandmother and younger brother, Ding and tried to remember the name inscribed on the stone. Uttering the name "DARNA", she is transformed into the superhuman being from the Planet Marte called "DARNA" who has been sent to Earth to be its champion against the forces of darkness. Then the day came when the Original DARNA engaged her 4 Great Adversaries: Babaeng Linta, Babaeng Impakta, Babaeng Lawin and Babaeng Tuod in a final battle that resulted in them being imprisoned and rendered frozen in suspended animation. But after decades of relative peace free of these monsters, Darna's mortal form passes on and now the time has come for a new woman to take on the mantle of this era's DARNA.
The Spirit of the Original DARNA, now called GUARDIAN of the white stone has passed on the stone to a girl who is destined to be the vessel of its power. Her name is NARDA (after the name inscribed on the white stone when it was passed on to her by her late mother by Guardian years ago).
But the day finally came when the 4 Adversaries escaped their icy prison and are now wreaking havoc anew and it is up to the new DARNA to face them. But she is also faced with new challenges as she now faces the menace of the Gorgon VALENTINA and her father, KOBRA in addition to the first four. But she is definitely up for the challenge because she is....DARNA !!
Credits & Disclaimer:
Text by: Raffy
Darna 2009 TV Series Copyright GMA Network, Inc.
Cast Photos are courtesy of GMA Network, Inc.
and The Official Mars Ravelo's DARNA Website
Mars Ravelo's Darna, Valentina Babaing Ahas, Roma Babaing Impakta, Armida Babaing Lawin, Lucifera Babaing Tuod, Kobra, Lutgarda Babaing Linta, Deborah Manananggal and other related elements are Copyright Mars Ravelo Marvelous Characters, Inc.
Watch DARNA Weekdays on GMA Channel 7 in the Philippines
and Globally through http://www.gmapinoytv.com on COMCAST or DIRECT TV
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