LORNA THE JUNGLE QUEEN
Created By: Don Rico & Werner Roth
First Appearance: Lorna, The Jungle Queen #1 (July 1953)
Role: Jungle Girl, Sheena Rip-Off, Forgotten Character
Group Affiliations: N/A
PL 7 (120)
STRENGTH 2
STAMINA 3
AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10
DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1
AWARENESS 3
PRESENCE 3
Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+9)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Deception 1 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 8 (+11)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 7 (+10)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 5 (+8)
Stealth 5 (+10)
Treatment 2 (+3)
Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Jungle Arsenal), Fast Grab, Favoured Environment (Jungles), Great Endurance, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed, Spears), Minion 4 (Mikki the Monkey), Move-By Action, Prone Fighting, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Tracking
Powers:
"Rapport With Animals" Comprehend (Animals) 2 (Flaws: Limited to Simple Concepts) [2]
Equipment:
"Spear" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (3)
"Knife" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Knife +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Spear +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +5
Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6
Complications:
Relationship (M'Tuba, Greg Knight)- The African chief and the jungle explorer are among Lorna's allies.
Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 12 (120)
MIKKI
Role: Fluffy Monkey
PL 3 (61)- Minion Rank 4, Sidekick Rank 12
STRENGTH -3
STAMINA -2
AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 2
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -3
AWARENESS 1
PRESENCE -2
Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+11)
Athletics 13 (+9)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 7 (+8)
Insight 3 (+4)
Perception 5 (+6)
Ranged Attack (Poop) 6 (+6)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+4)
Advantages:
Evasion, Fast Grab, Improved Initiative
Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision) [3]
Speed 2 (2 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
"Prehensile Tail" Extra Limb 1 [1]
"Small Size" Shrinking 8 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [17]
(-2 Strength & Speed, +4 Defenses, +8 Stealth, -4 Intimidation)
Offense:
Unarmed +5 (-3 Damage, DC 12)
Initiative +8
Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness -2, Fortitude +1, Will +4
Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Monkeys cannot speak to humans.
Enemy (Rival Males)- Rival males constantly seek to up-end a male leader's territory, and they must always be on the watch, lest rivals take their females.
Total: Abilities: -2 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 12 (61)
-Lorna the Jungle Queen was of course a "Jungle Girl" comic produced by Atlas Comics (the precursor to Marvel) in 1953. It was retitled
Lorna the Jungle Girl four issues later and ran for twenty-six in total, from 1953-1957. Actually a very good run for Atlas in those days. A wide variety of cover artists were chosen for the book. Two characters were spun off for the backup features- Greg Knight, a jungle explorer (and Lorna's boyfriend), and M'Tuba, the African guardian of Lorna. This makes M'Tuba the first black character Marvel ever gave a solo starring role (though it only lasted for one issue).
-
Lorna stars a young girl brought to central Africa by her father after the death of her mother in childbirth. Her father is mauled to death by the lion named Numa, leaving a teenage Lorna to be trained by her father's friend, Chief M'Tuba. She learns the skills of the tribe, becoming an expert with the spear and knife, and develops a mystical rapport with native animals, particularly the chimpanzee Mikki. She reaches adulthood and becomes a jungle protector- her allies include M'Tuba, Knight, African natives and government authorities. Lorna has never reappeared since her 1957 cancellation- only reprints have existed since then.
-Marvel's "Jungle Girl" heroines are all essentially Shanna Lite, as Shanna lived on past them all and became a recurring character while the rest were left in the pre-Silver Age era. Lorna has a pet monkey sidekick named Mikki to differentiate her.