Bella Donna Boudreaux is the name of a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. The character is commonly associated with the

X-Man Nathaniel Grey (X-Man) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Steve Skroce, the character first appeared in ''X-Man'' ...

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

. She first appeared in ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' (vol. 2) #8, and was created by

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

and

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous ''X-Men'' series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely ''Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans ...

Publication history

Belladonna plays a major role in the first ''Rogue'' mini-series.

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 may refer to: Nature * Brood, a collective term for offspring * Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents * Bee brood, the young of a beehive * Individual broods of North American Periodical Cicadas: ** Brood X, the largest b ...

, who were attacking the Guilds. Having persuaded Gambit and the

to come back to New Orleans, they battled the new enemy with the aid of Dan Ketch, the second

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

. Using her new psychic powers, Bella Donna followed

Psylocke Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddock, was initially a suppo ...

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 was not actually dead, but merely in a coma. Gambit risked his life to bring her

Candra The Chandra kingdom was a Buddhist kingdom, originating from the Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata region of Bengal, as well as northern Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Chandra kingdom were ...

's Elixir of Life. In the meantime, although she was catatonic, she accidentally touched Rogue and lost her memories. She woke up without any recollection of who she was, or who Remy was, and was taken away by her father. Bella Donna's memory slowly returned, and she felt as if her soul had been violated. Enraged and manipulated by Candra, she had Rogue's comatose old boyfriend Cody kidnapped. This led to Rogue trying to rescue Cody in Louisiana. Eventually, Cody loses his life in the fight between Rogue and Candra. Gambit returned again to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, 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 Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...

, a former

New Warriors The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...

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. Much later, she clashes with Kaine who takes on the Scarlet Spider identity. After hearing of Remy and Anna-Marie's wedding, Bella paid her ex-fiance a quick visit at the newlywed's humble abode right when the Thieves Guild comes crashing into it. Gambit's old flame came to warn him that none in the guilds are all too happy with whom he married and now his subordinates are gunning for both his crown and his head. She would opt to keep the sharks in her den off of his back as long as she could, but could make no guarantees due to their rival sects history before bidding farewell. Ms. Bordeaux would next turn up in the service of Candra once more as she proposed to unite the Thieves & Assassins Guilds in wake of

Nate Grey Nathaniel Grey (X-Man) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Steve Skroce, the character first appeared in ''X-Man'' ...

's devastation of the X-Men and the mutant population. But found herself on the receiving end of her reborn patron's treachery once again when the External offered a choice between her and Rogue as a sacrifice in exchange for power or exile. Gambit would choose neither however and instead opted to free his new wife while working out a new deal between his clan and their mortal enemies while putting his adopted father; Jean-Luc LeBeau in as a regent whom oversees and reports back to him while returning leadership of the assassins back to Bella Donna. Who escorts the scheming patron of her clansmen away while joking of sending the now infantile manipulator to school if she does not behave.

In other media

*Bella Donna appears in the ''

'' animated series, first as an image from Gambit's past in season 1, and fully in the episode "X-Ternally Yours", where she blackmails Gambit to come to her. *Bella Donna was slated to appear in the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

film ''

'', as the love interest of the eponymous protagonist. While initial reports suggested

Lizzy Caplan Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...

was meant to play the character, it was revealed in May 2022 that Lea Seydoux was ultimately to be cast in the role. The film was eventually cancelled alongside other Fox-Marvel productions following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080504062530/http://www.mutanthigh.com/belladonna.html
Bella Donna Doudreaux
at

Marvel.com Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company is a wholly own ...

{{Jim Lee Fictional assassins in comics Fictional female assassins Fictional Cajuns Fictional characters from Boston Fictional characters from New Orleans Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional murderers Marvel Comics mutants Marvel Comics female supervillains Characters created by Scott Lobdell Characters created by Jim Lee Characters created by Roger Stern Comics characters introduced in 1992