For a list of the other versions, see Zarana.
- Zarana is a Dreadnok character from the A Real American Hero and G.I. Joe vs. Cobra series.
Zarana is a master of deception, utilizing masks, makeup, disguise, and carefully weaved narratives to accomplish her goals and missions. As a method actor, she deliberately assumes herself in the role of her disguise. She goes to the length of thinking, feeling and reacting as the object of her disguise does. In fact, she was so good at it that she could have been a successful stage actress. Her weaknesses, though, far outweigh her skills. As good as she can act, it doesn't take long before her natural tendencies start to rise out. She is smart and ambitious but short-tempered, cruel, and greedy.
Zarana has two brothers; her twin, Zandar, and their older brother, Zartan. In the IDW version, while Zartan has no family ties to them since he is a lab clone, Zandar is her younger twin brother with whom she shares a secret twin language and acts as the de facto leader of the twins. In the other versions, the twin tie is not mentioned and Zartan is their older brother. Zarana mostly serves as Zartan's second in command of the Dreadnoks since she has more presence than her brother Zandar. In the Devil's Due comics, she is the head of the Chicago chapter while her niece Zanya is Zartan's second in command.
Fiction[]
Comics[]
A Real American Hero continuity[]
Marvel Comics continuity[]
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 in 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). She was partly responsible for recruiting Scarlett (although Scarlett turned out to be a double agent). After Dr. Mindbender was revived by Cobra Commander, he "cut Zarana loose" and she returns to the Dreadnoks.
Devil's Due Comics continuity[]
Write up
G.I. Joe vs. Transformers[]
Write up
Action Force (British) Comics continuity[]
Write up
Blackthorne Comics continuity[]
Write up
Hasbro Comics continuity[]
Write up
IDW Comics continuity[]
Write up
Energon Universe[]
- Zarana and the Dreadnoks appear in the pages of Cobra Commander comics from Skybound.
Animated continuity[]
Sunbow animated series[]
- Voiced by: Lisa Raggio
Zarana from the A Real American Hero animated continuity.
Zarana first appears in the G.I. Joe five parts episode "Arise, Serpentor, Arise!". She and Zandar join their brother Zartan when he is auditioning new members of the Dreadnoks. In the episode "Computer Complications", Zarana goes undercover at a Joe base as "Carol Weidler". During that time, she and Mainframe develop romantic feelings for each other. At the end of the episode, Zartan, sitting with the Dreadnoks at a campfire, jokes with her as she stands off from the group, gazing at the moon: "Hey, Zarana, I've been thinking! Maybe you ought to quit the Dreadnoks, go marry that wimp, get a house in the suburbs, have kids." to which she responds by shooting in the direction of the Dreadnoks' campfire, causing them to scatter. The episode ends showing both Mainframe and Zarana, miles away from each other looking at the moon, perhaps pondering the same question. She was briefly reunited with Mainframe in "Grey Hairs And Growing Pains", where she—without her brother's knowledge—supplied him with the antidote that would restore him (and the other Joes) to their proper ages.
G.I. Joe: The Movie[]
In G.I. Joe: The Movie, Zarana impersonates a blonde woman named Heather, who gets Lt. Falcon to give her a "tour" of the place where Serpentor is being held. She uses mini-cameras in her earrings to take pictures of the prison. Her identity was confirmed to the viewers, when the Dreadnoks arrive at the lake Zarana as Heather stops at. The devices Zarana plants in G.I. Joe's base helps Cobra and Cobra-la break Serpentor out. When Falcon and others sneak into Cobra-La, Zarana is knocked out by Jinx.
DiC animated series[]
Zarana is still working for Cobra, but Zartan and the old Dreadnoks' status is unconfirmed (they might have died in the Cobra-La movie since it is a continuity but there is no mentions of them). Only the new Dreadnok Gnawgahyde and later Road Pig will be there. During "the Operation: Dragonfire miniseries", Zarana is dating Destro, but is dumped (via trap door) by him when Baroness and Cobra Commander regain control of Cobra.
In the episode The Nozone Conspiracy she appears alongside Cobra Commander, Metal-Head and Gnawgahyde promoting a Cobra sun-cream.
In the episode Injustice and the Cobra Way she and Cobra Commander (disguised as a superhero) capture the president in a plot to take over the White House.
In the episode General Confusion she disguises herself as "Dr. Deborah Carday" a member of the US senate in a plot to review G.I. Joe team's massive expenses. She also tricks Big Ben into falling in love with her.
In the episode The Mind Mangler, Zarana disguises herself as the daughter of a Cobra operative named Mind Mangler (in reality a robot). Zarana tries to interrogate Duke, but the Sky Patrol comes to his rescue. Zarana accompanies them, but she is discovered and has to retreat.
Direct-to-video series[]
Write up
Sigma 6 animated series[]
Zarana does not appear in Sigma 6
Toys[]
| Generation 1 | |
|---|---|
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A Real American Hero (1986)
Zarana was first introduced in the 1986 series of A Real American Hero toys. Although the character is associated with the Dreadnoks, her card package identifies as her as "Zarana: The Enemy". Appearance: red hair; pink halter-top shirt with red holster; red and black gloves; blue ripped jeans with pink underneath; red belt and holster; black boots with red kneepads Accessories: red backpack (with sculpted flashlight); black saw rifle with petal-shaped blades. Variations: Early releases of Zarana had earrings, a rounder face, and lighter red trim; this variation is considered quite rare. There is also a variation with lighter red trim but no earrings. |
| Spy Troops | |
|---|---|
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A Real American Hero Spy troops (2003)
Zarana was sold in a two-pack with Gung-Ho and was part of the Spy troops from A Real American Hero toys. Appearance: pink hair; white shirt under a black sleeveless vest; black gloves; black pants; silver belt; brown boots with brown kneepads; silver sunglasses over her head and black lipstick. Accessories: black saw rifle with petal-shaped blades; submachine gun and ghillies suit. She was also released with instructions as how to put on the ghillies suit. [Zarana (v2) G.I. Joe Action Figure - YoJoe Archive]/Spy Troops file card |
| Dreadnoks Rampage | |
|---|---|
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A Real American Hero Dreadnoks Rampage (2004)
A repaint of the original Zarana action figure is included in the Dreadnoks Rampage pack, an exclusive for the 2004 G.I. Joe Convention. The filecard identifies her as Dreadnok leader when Zartan is absent. Appearance: red hair; same halter-top shirt but purple-blue with black holster and silver shoulder pads; silver and black gloves; grey camo pants; black belt and holster; black boots with black kneepads. Accessories: black backpack (with sculpted flashlight); grey saw rifle with petal-shaped blades. [Zarana (v3) G.I. Joe Action Figure - YoJoe Archive]/Dreadnoks Rampage file card |
| Comic Pack | |
|---|---|
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A Real American Hero Comic Pack (2005)
A Zarana action figure is among the number of Comic Packs for 2005. In this three-pack, she is included along with Zartan, Cobra Commander and a copy of the comic book G.I. Joe #74. Appearance: red hair but short; slightly different pink tone halter-top shirt from original with red holster; red and blue gloves; blue (still different tone from original) ripped jeans with pink underneath; red belt and holster; blue boots with red kneepads. This Zarana has no shoulder pads. Accessories: black backpack (with sculpted flashlight); black saw rifle with petal-shaped blades. [Zarana (v4) G.I. Joe Action Figure - YoJoe Archive]/[1] |
| 25th Anniversary | |
|---|---|
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San Diego Comic Con (2011)
Zarana was the G.I.Joe SDCC exclusive of 2011. This figure marks the first time that Zarana was made available in a 25th Anniversary style sculpt.
Accessories: black rifle; black saw rifle with petal-shaped blades; golden knife; black stand.
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| 25th Anniversary Cold Slither version | |
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San Diego Comic Con (2011)
Zarana was the G.I.Joe SDCC exclusive of 2011. This figure is the same 25th Anniversary style sculpt as the previous one but the rarer Cold Slither version. Appearance: black hair; black halter-top shirt with the Cold Slither logo on front and tour dates at the back; black shoulder pads; black gloves; black ripped jeans with black fishnet underneath; black belt and holster; black boots with black kneepads; pink lipstick, blue eyeshadow, three black stars on the side of her right eye; grey earrings. Accessories: black rifle; black saw rifle with petal-shaped blades; black knife with silver blade; black stand. [Zarana (v5B) G.I. Joe Action Figure - YoJoe Archive]/[3] |
| Classified series | |
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Classified no.48 (2022)
This is the 6 inch tall version of Zarana. Zarana box art is done by the comics and graphic design artist, Marcus Williams. Appearance: Choice of two hairstyles, either short red and yellow or red punk French twist; pink halter-top shirt with zipper; pink shoulder pads; long black gloves; black ripped jeans on both sides with pink underneath; brown belt and holster; black boots with brown kneepads; red lipstick. Accessories: black saw rifle with round blades; black knife with silver blade; brown backpack; pistol knife; two wigs. |
| Kre-O | |
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G.I.Joe Collection 5 (2013)
Zarana was sold in the Kre-O version of G.I.Joe. Appearance: red hair; pink halter-top shirt with brown holster; pink shoulder pads; black and brown gloves; blue jeans; brown belt and holster; black boots with brown kneepads. Accessories: black saw rifle with petal-shaped blades; black grenade; black block stand. |
Trivia[]
- Zarana was designed in 1984 by Ron Rudat. At that point, she was only identified as "The 1986 Cobra Female Dreadnok" and she had a dragon tattoo on her arm and another tattoo over her eye.
- The writers' guide for the Sunbow series suggested that Main-Frame [sic] and Zarana would "deliberately avoid harming one another" and "even provide the other an opportunity to escape" whenever they encountered each other after their romantic interlude. However, "such compassion and generosity on their part does bit [sic] extend to other Joes, Dreadnoks, or Cobra troopers."[1]
See Also[]
- Appearances of Zarana (RAH)
- Image Gallery: Zarana (RAH)
External links[]
Footnotes[]
- ↑ Steve Gerber, G.I. Joe Writers' Guide (Sunbow Productions, Inc., 1985), 14-15. Available as a PDF at http://joeguide.com/pm/writersguide/
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