History
Valentina is the arch-nemesis of Darna. As Darna has appeared across all forms of media, so has Valentina. Unlike Darna, her incarnations have little variation across versions.
The snake queen Valentina appears as early as the the 40’s and has been Darna’s nemesis in every incarnation. Valentina seems based on both the Greek gorgon, Medusa, and the Asian myths of Naga. Valentina’s origin was originally that of a deformed woman who had green snakes for hair (often covered with a brown wig). Her eye color varies usually colored gold or green as well as her skin color which is usually green or flesh.
When her parents were killed by a crowd of superstitious villagers, she escaped and was adopted by a mysterious entity known as Kobra who guided her into becoming “The Serpent Queen.”
Darna is one of the most prolific superheroes of all time in movies and first appeared in the movies in the early 50s. Valentina also appears in the movie versions, often disguised as a model or religious leader (of course the cult of victims don’t realize what they’re serving). She can shape shift into a snake and usually has demonic henchmen (who also can transform into snakes).
In the Mango comic version, Valentina can entrance her victims to become her willing slaves. She also uses snakes and their venom to increase her slaves’ physical prowess, particularly strength. Similar to previous versions, she has a pair of accomplices in the comic who in this case are also Snake Queens from Tiamat. The background origins of Darna’s race of “Adarna Warriors” (named for the Adarna bird of Filipino legend) and Valentina’s race of “Serpent Queens” (still resembling Medusa and/or Naga) is revealed in this version. The two races shared the planet of Tiamat and became embroiled in a fierce war which ravaged the planet. The Adarna Warriors then sought a new planet, Nibiru (also known as Marte possibly to consolidate earlier retcons).
Read more about this topic: Valentina (Darna)
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