Zarana

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The Zarana is a female character who features in G.I. Joe.

Contents

Biography

Origin

Zoe was a female human born in the modern age as the sister of Zartan and the fraternal twin of Zandar. She and Zandar were said to been born in London, England, into dire poverty and were given up for adoption as toddlers. From an early age, the twins displayed anti-social behavior and refused to speak to anyone but each other in their own twin idioglossia. As a result, they were moved from foster home to foster home, until they landed in an abusive orphanage. As teenagers, Zarana and Zandar were faced with the threat of separation, so they took to the streets to remain together, and from there, procured plane tickets to Australia, where they joined the Dreadnoks biker gang.

Marvel Comics

Storm Shadow first meets Zarana after reaching Zartan's hideout, where she reveals to be Zartan's sister in issue #50. After she leads a successful rescue of Zartan by impersonating Scarlett, she tells her brother that he owes her for a number of expenses related to the rescue operation including that of the red wig she used in her disguise. Pursued by a large team of G.I. Joes, she and the Dreadnoks escape. They are technically tracked down by Sgt. Slaughter but her disguise skills help fool the man into believing he had found a simple gas station (issue #51).

In order to escape the war-torn country of Sierra Gordo, Zarana and fellow Dreadnoks Monkeywrench and Thrasher hijack a G.I. Joe transport plane. This is accomplished by Zarana threatening to kill some of the civilians who are pleading with the Joes for a ride out. The Joes, Crazylegs, Wild Bill and Maverick are forced to launch out with her, her allies and the refugee/hostages in issue #69. The plane ends up shot down, though all survive(issue #70). In an effort to escape the country, Zarana actually works with the Joe team, the Dreadnoks, and the refugees. In one instance, she punches Thrasher's broken arm in order to get him to be even more violent against a large group of adversaries (issue #71).

Zarana and the Dreadnoks would work with the Joes again, like much of Cobra, in the aftermath of the Cobra Civil War. The stress gets to her, leading to a memorable, vicious fist-fight with Lady Jaye, that ends in a draw. (issue #77)

Zarana took on a lot of responsibilities for Cobra after Destro, Zartan and the Baroness left, effectively becoming Cobra Commander's second in command in issue #77. She was captured by Firefly, but was rescued by Slice and Dice who found her by accident. She is reunited with Cobra. As revealed in her complaints, she had spent months in a dungeon on Cobra Island, abandoned there with Road Pig and Cesspool(issue #135).

Devil's Due

Zarana leads a Dreadnoks/Cobra squad against an out of control Battle Android Trooper. She loses several Alley Vipers. A grenade thrown by a G.I. Joe squad injures her, though she is still mobile. Zartan orders Zanya to leave with her; they try to escape in a Cobra Coil motorcycle, but circumstances change and they are arrested with most of the other Dreadnoks.

Later on, Cobra Commander disguised himself as White House staff member Garret Freedlowe where he tricked General Rey into leading a new elite unit called Phoenix Guard. Zarana became one of the Cobra operatives who posed as a Guard member, and was given the new codename Friday, real name Jennifer K. Larson, born in Hialeah, Florida. Friday's specialties were infantry, heavy weapons, tracking, unit supply specialist and mechanical technician. She received basic training at Fort Jackson, and advanced infantry training at Fort Lee. She also completed the Unit Armorer School at Fort Hood, the Marksman Instructor course and Airborne School at Fort Benning, and the Counter-Sniper course at Camp Robinson, Arkansas. She was the team's weapons specialist, and second-in-command to General Rey.

IDW

Zarana and Zandar were born in London, England, into dire poverty and were placed for adoption as toddlers. From an early age, the twins displayed anti-social behavior and refused to speak to anyone but each other in their own twin idioglossia. As a result, they were moved from foster home to foster home, until they landed in an abusive orphanage. As teenagers, Zarana and Zandar were faced with the threat of separation, so they took to the streets to remain together, and from there, procured plane tickets to Australia, where they joined the Dreadnoks biker gang.

Zarana and Zandar supply weapons to the warring Heathens motorcycle gang. A G.I. Joe strike team interrupts the transaction, telling the two to surrender. Zandar and Zarana flee, but not before realizing neither of them claimed their fee beforehand. Realizing "The One" considers them expendable, the twins make eliminating "The One" their next major priority. Shipwreck pursues them, telling the twins that they are outgunned and not to fire back. Zandar and Zarana respond that they must go out of sight, and use holography to conceal their motorbike as they make their escape.

Skybound Entertainment

Overview

Personality and attributes

She had short naturally auburn hair which had been dyed pink. Typically, she was shown to having worn tattered hot pink T-shirt and blue pants. One incarnation of her was a member of the Phoenix Guard where she operated under the fake identity of Jennifer K. Larson and went by the code name Friday.

She was noted for being rude, tight-fisted and generally mean.

Her sheer talent could have led to her having a brilliant career on the professional stage. However, it was said that her evil nature led to her embarking on the career of becoming a criminal. In fact, this somewhat affected her disguises as she could not maintain her cover for long without revealing her truly nasty nature.

As the firstborn of the twins, she was often the unequivocal leader of the two. She and Zandar spoke between themselves in shared, poetical language, echoing each other's words and idea. Zarana was shown to be quite protective of her brother Zandar.

Powers and abilities

Similar to her brother, she could also change the colour of her skin. Her talents for skill acting along with her masterful use of make-up and disguise allowed her to assassinate her targets. Unlike her brother, Zarana tended to use method-acting in order to completely become her target. This allowed her to impersonate the way they think, feel and react to another person. Thus, she was notable for being an astounding mimic and a quick study who only needed moments of observation before she was able to assume a person's body language along with voice characterisation down to the smallest detail.

As a professional assassin, she was also knowledgeable in small arms, explosives and edged weapons.

Notes

  • Zarana was created by Hasbro and featured in the setting of the G.I. Joe universe.
  • The comic series Dreadnoks Declassified revealed that Zarana's given name was Zoe.

In other media

Television

  • In G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Zarana appeared in the Sunbow 1985 animated television series where she was voiced by actress Lisa Raggio.
  • In G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Zarana appeared in the DiC 1989 animated television series where she was voiced by actress Lisa Corps.

Films

  • In G.I. Joe: The Movie, Zarana appeared in the setting of the 1987 Sunbow animated film where she was voiced once again by actress Lisa Raggio.

Toys

Appearances

  • G.I. Joe:

External Links

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