Bella Donna
Encyclopedia
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Bella Donna or Belladonna (from the Italian expression "bella donna", beautiful woman) is a name or alias used by two fictional characters in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...

.

Possibly the most well-known character to use the name is Bella Donna Boudreaux, commonly associated with the X-Man
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...

 Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...

.

Belladonna (Narda Ravanna)

Belladonna (Narda Ravanna) is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe.

Publication history

She first appeared in The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man is the name of several comic books and one magazine series starring Marvel Comics' Spider-Man.The character's main series, The Amazing Spider-Man, was extremely successful, and Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to...

 #43 (June, 1980). She was created by Roger Stern
Roger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...

 and Mike Zeck
Mike Zeck
Mike Zeck is an American comic book illustrator.-Biography:Zeck was born in Greenville, Pennsylvania to Michael and Kathryn Jean Zeck...

. The character also appeared in Spectacular Spider-Man #47 and 48 (October-November 1980).

Belladonna received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...

 #2.

Fictional character biography

Narda Ravanna was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a chemist and former co-owner of Vaughn-Pope Cosmetics.

When Roderick Kingsley
Hobgoblin (comics)
The Hobgoblin is the alias of several fictional characters that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #238, and was created by Roger Stern and John Romita, Sr...

 conspired to ruin her career, she took the identity of Belladonna to gain vengeance. Her assault was interrupted by Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...

. There is also the involvement of Prowler
Prowler (comics)
The Prowler is the name of three fictional characters owned by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The original Prowler character was a criminal-turned-superhero named Hobie Brown. He debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man #78...

.

Bella Donna Boudreaux

Bella Donna Boudreaux is a fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe who first appeared in X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...

 vol. 2 #8. She was created by Jim Lee
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a Korean-American comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher. He first broke into the industry in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics, illustrating titles such as Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal, before gaining a great deal of popularity on The Uncanny X-Men...

 and Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell
Scott Lobdell is an American comic book writer.-Early Career:Scott didn't begin to read comics until he was 17 years old, while lying in bed after lung surgery....

.

Fictional character biography

Young street-thief Remy LeBeau met Bella Donna Boudreaux when they were only children, and the pair soon became friends. Unbeknownst to them both, they came from rival Guilds (those of Thieves and Assassins, respectively). As they grew up and the rivalry between the Guilds increased, their fathers arranged for a marriage between the two in the hopes that it would unite the Guilds. Immediately after the wedding, Bella Donna's brother, Julien, lashed out in jealousy and challenged Remy in a fight to the death. Remy won, killing Julien, and as punishment, he was exiled from New Orleans. Choosing to make his own choices in life from that point on, he abandoned Bella Donna.

A few years later, Bella Donna sought out Gambit to help fend off the Brood
Brood (comics)
The Brood are a race of insectoid, parasitic, extraterrestrial beings that appear in the comic books published by Marvel Comics, especially Uncanny X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, they first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #155 .The Brood possess wings, fanged teeth and...

, who were attacking the Guilds. Having persuaded Gambit and the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...

 to come back to New Orleans, they battled the new enemy with the aid of Dan Ketch, the second Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...

. Using her new psychic powers, Bella Donna followed Psylocke
Psylocke
Psylocke is a fictional character depicted in comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably those comics featuring the superhero team the X-Men. The character has also appeared in licensed adaptations. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in the UK...

 into the astral plane and expended her energy, before collapsing in Gambit's arms. Believing her dead, he told the Thieves Guild to take care of her, and went off for revenge against the Brood.

As it happened, Bella Donna wasn't actually dead, but merely in a coma. Gambit risked his life to bring her Candra
Candra (comics)
Candra, sometimes called Kandra is a fictional character, a Mutant supervillainess appearing in Marvel Comics universe.She is a member of the Externals and has exhibited immensely powerful telekinetic abilities in addition to being immortal.-Origin:...

's Elixir of Life, although while she was catatonic she was accidentally touched by Rogue
Rogue (comics)
Rogue was first slated to appear in Ms. Marvel #25 , but the book's abrupt cancellation left her original introduction story unpublished for over a decade, before seeing print in Marvel Super Heroes #11 in 1992. Rogue's first published appearance was in Avengers Annual #10...

. She woke up without any recollection of who she was, or who Remy was, and he left her again.

Bella Donna's memory slowly returned, and she felt as if her soul had been violated. Enraged, she had Rogue's comatose old boyfriend Cody kidnapped and murdered, once again pitting herself against Gambit. For the third time, he left her behind.

He returned again to New Orleans, ignorant to the multiple hits put up against him in the meantime. Bella Donna herself had taken one of the contracts, though she had no intention of killing him. Instead, she arranged it so that she could meet with him and sort out the conflicting emotions she had about him. After he was elected Viceroy of the Unified Guilds of New Orleans he passed power on to her, and returned to the X-Men. She now rules in his absence, still in love with him.

She briefly entered a relationship with Bandit
Bandit (comics)
Night Thrasher also known as Bandit is a fictional character from Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Night Thrasher #3 , and was created by Fabian Nicieza and Ken Lashley...

, a former New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...

member, eerily reminiscent of Gambit, but Gambit subsequently revealed he was manipulating her.

It has yet to be revealed whether Bella Donna has retained her mutant powers after the events of M-Day.

Bella Donna reappeared, still leading the Assassin's Guild. She dispatches a group of super-villain assassins after Domino.

Television

Bella Donna makes her first appearance in the X-Men animated series, as an image in Gambit's past, when Professor Xavier scans Gambit's mind looking through his memories in X-Men Season 1, Episode 13 (time 7:44). Bella Donna makes her second appearance as a major character in the episode "X-Ternally Yours," where she blackmails Gambit to come to her.

External links

  • http://www.mutanthigh.com/belladonna.html
  • http://www.marvel.com/universe/Boudreaux,_Bella_Donna
  • http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/belladsp.htm (Narda Ravanna)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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