Darna () is a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

created by writer

Mars Ravelo Marcial "Mars" Ravelo (October 9, 1916 – September 12, 1988) was a Filipino comic book cartoonist and graphic novelist who created ''Darna, Dyesebel, Captain Barbell, Lastikman'', ''Bondying'', '' Varga'', ''Wanted: Perfect Mother'', ''Hiwag ...

and artist

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Varga, whose stories he wrote and illustrated himself. This character first appeared in ''

Bulaklak Magazine ''Bulaklak Magazine'' (literally “Flower Magazine”), subtitled ''Hiyas ng Tahanan'' (“Gem of the Home"), was a Tagalog-language magazine that was first published in the Philippines on April 14, 1947. Published by the Social and Commercial P ...

'', Volume 4, #17 on July 23, 1947. Ravelo left the Bulaklak Magazine publications due to differences with the publication's editors. One of the most popular Filipino superheroes, Darna has appeared in many films and several television series through the decades which have far overshadowed her actual comics tenure. The 2003 Mango Comics miniseries revealed that Darna is a deceased extraterrestrial warrior magically manifesting herself through a woman from Earth named Narda who summons her by shouting her name. As Darna, she stands up for those who cannot fend for themselves. She fights against common criminals as well as greater forces of evil, most famously the snake-haired

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

Valentina. She is often accompanied by her younger brother, Ding. Several alternate versions of Darna have been characterized over the years. Darna's appearance is distinctive and iconic: she usually wears a red bikini or shorts with a gold star in each brassiere cap; red helmet with ruby encrusted gold winged medallion; gold bracelets; a golden medallion belt with a loincloth in the middle; and red boots. Darna is widely considered as a Filipino cultural icon and the most celebrated superhero character in the Philippines. The character has been adapted extensively and portrayed in other forms of media as well, including films and television series. Several actresses have portrayed Darna in motion pictures and TV series including

Rosa del Rosario Rose del Rosario Stagner, better known by her screen name Rosa del Rosario (December 15, 1917 – February 4, 2006), was a Filipino film actress of Filipino-American descent. Early life and education She was born to an American father (Frank ...

, Liza Moreno, Eva Montes,

Gina Pareño Gina Pareño (; born Geraldine Acthley; October 20, 1947) is a Filipina actress. Early life Pareño was born to a German American father and a Filipina mother. Career She started her career in the 1960s as an extra in several films and then lat ...

Vilma Santos Rosa Vilma Tuazon Santos-Recto (, born November 3, 1953) is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, TV host, producer, and politician. She served as a House Deputy Speaker since 2019 to 2022 and as the Representative of Batangas' 6th district since ...

Lorna Tolentino Victoria Lorna Perez Aluquin-Fernandez (born December 23, 1961), better known by her stage name Lorna Tolentino, sometimes known as ''L.T.'', an abbreviation of her screen name, is a Filipino people, Filipino actress, Television presenter, host ...

Rio Locsin Maria Theresa Rosario Garcia Nayve, known by her screen name Rio Locsin (born October 3, 1961), is a Filipina actress and model. Regarded as the "Queen of Adult Drama", Locsin has starred in nearly 60 films including '' Bira! Darna! Bira!'' (197 ...

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan ( , ; born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, television host, and socialite. Regarded as one of the most successful and highest-earning individuals in the Philippine entertainment industry, she has ...

Nanette Medved Nanette Gwen Medved (born January 21, 1971) is a philanthropist, businesswoman, and former actress and model in the Philippines. She is the founder and chairwoman of Hope. She was honoured with a resolution passed by the Philippine House of Repre ...

Anjanette Abayari Anjanette Palencia Abayari (born July 20, 1970), known professionally as Anjanette Abayari is a Filipino actress and former beauty queen, known for portraying as the titular role in the 1994 film '' Mars Ravelo's Darna! Ang Pagbabalik''. Abayari ...

Regine Velasquez Regina Encarnacion Ansong Velasquez ( ; born April 22, 1970) is a Filipina singer, actress, and record producer. She is considered one of the most influential figures in Philippine popular culture and is known for her vocal range and beltin ...

Angel Locsin Angelica Locsin Colmenares (born April 23, 1985) is a Filipino actress and humanitarian. She is known for her dramatic roles and portrayals of heroines and mythological characters in film and television. She is a recipient of various accolades ...

Marian Rivera Marian Rivera Gracia-Dantes (; born 12 August 1984) is a Filipino recording artist, actress, and commercial model. She gained prominence as a widely-acclaimed actress for her roles in '' MariMar'', ''Dyesebel'', '' Amaya'', ''Darna'' and '' Te ...

Iza Calzado Maria Izadora Ussher Calzado-Wintle (born August 12, 1982), known professionally as Iza Calzado (), is a Filipino actress, television host, dancer and model. She is dubbed as the "''Goddess of Horror Films''" by local media for her acting prowes ...

and Jane De Leon.

Character history

Early years

created the first images of Darna before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, as the character's predecessor Varga. Ravelo's inspiration for Darna's heroic qualities came from a fascination with

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, in ...

and

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

. The winged medallion on Darna's helmet was inspired by the emblem of the Philippine airforce as Ravelo also dreamed of the opportunity to fly. The magic white stone concept is cultural iconography as Philippine folklore has many stories of brave young mortals whose courage and heart enable them to be worthy of magic amulets - the only thing in these stories that could even the odds against evil, supernatural forces. After the war, Ravelo realized that the Filipinos were in need of a superhero so he again shopped his superheroine concept to publishers until one of them, Bulaklak Komiks agreed to publish Ravelo's heroine that he now called " Varga" in 1947 (inspired by the Varga girls series of illustrations) and the strip took off. Varga made her debut in ''

'', Vol. 4, #17 on July 23, 1947, which Ravelo wrote and drew. In an interview, Ravelo revealed that he offered his creation first to '' Liwayway Magazine'' and other publications but was rejected. Had Liwayway Magazine not rejected the offer, Varga would have been the Philippines' first komiks superhero. Contrary to popular belief, Darna was not named after the magical ''

Ibong Adarna Ibong Adarna is a 16th-century Philippines, Filipino Epic poetry, epic poem. It is about an eponymous magical bird. The longer form of the story's title during the History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish era was "''Korido at Buhay na ...

'' (Adarna bird), which appears in a Philippine epic of the same name. In ''Bulaklak Magazine'', Narda was already established as Varga's mortal identity. "Darna" was simply an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

of "Narda". The concept and image of the character was based on the illustrations of Superman appearing on comic books brought by soldiers from the United States to the Philippines.Varga
internationalhero.co.uk It was the story of a mortal girl named Narda (named after one of Ravelo's childhood playmates), her brother Ding and their grandmother, Lola Asay, who lived in the town of Masambong when a falling star revealed itself to be a magic amulet that turns Narda into the superheroine Varga. The name Varga was under ownership of Bulaklak Komiks. Darna's first adventure was first serialized in the pages of ''Pilipino Komiks'' (Ace Publications, Inc.) #77 on May 13, 1950, where she was pitted against the sultry snake goddess, Valentina. Here, Narda, a young girl, swallows a stone, which has the word "Darna" on it, and transforms into Darna by shouting out the latter's name. Likewise, Darna turns back into Narda by shouting Narda's name. The stone, which was from the planet Marte, stays in her body. Her secret is known to her grandmother and her brother, Ding, who becomes her sidekick. Darna quickly gained popularity among Filipino comic book readers. The original Darna comics series, written by Ravelo and illustrated by Redondo, ran for 28 issues.

Later years

On May 31, 1951, Darna made a crossover from comics to cinema even before the comic book serial was finished. Royal Publications under Fernando Poe Sr. produced the first Darna film starring Rosa Del Rosario as Narda/Darna. It was the last film directed by

Fernando Poe Sr Allan Fernando Reyes Poe (November 27, 1916 – October 23, 1951) was a Filipino actor and film director during the cinema of the Philippines, early era of cinema in the Philippines. Poe was the father of Fernando Poe Jr., who later became a ...

. Since then, a number of actresses and actors have portrayed the superheroine on both cinema and television. Some made from 1973 onwards starred the future multi-awarded dramatic actress and politician

. In this incarnation, Darna's origin was changed. Narda herself became Darna, unlike the original in which she just "channeled" her. The stone came out of Narda's mouth every time she changes back and she had to swallow it every time she wanted to transform (a revision that became the standard for the following incarnations). Darna is not specified as coming from Marte and is mentioned simply as a "Warrior of Light". In this version, Narda was aged up from a child to her early teens, and only Ding was aware of her secret. This version of Darna became most people's idea of the character for about 3 decades. A catchphrase popularized by the films and said by Narda runs, "''Ding, ang bato!''" ("Ding, ive methe stone!") In 1977, the first Darna TV series was produced by Kitchie Benedicto and aired on RPN (KBS-9). ''Darna! The TV Series'' starred

as Darna/Narda. Darna also had her own cartoon series in 1986 aired on

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

The Mango Comics miniseries

In 2003, a

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

-winning Darna limited miniseries was published by Mango Comics, with major input from Ravelo's family. ''DARNA'' is a three-part 50th Anniversary Issue (36 pages per issue, full-color, in English). The first part of the series was released on February 28, 2003, the second part on May 7, 2003, and the last part on December 13, 2003. With an all-new storyline of Bobby Yonzon and each issue drawn by a different, world-class artist, every one of this series is guaranteed to satisfy. ''DARNA'' Issue #1: Darna finds herself faced with a familiar serpent-coiffed adversary who's sexier and deadlier than ever. Written by Boboy Yonzon, pencils by Ryan Orosco and inks by Gilbert Monsanto. ''DARNA'' Issue #2: ''DARNA'' Issue #3: Written by Boboy Yonzon, pencils and inks by Gilbert Monsanto.

Fictional character biography

The story of Darna begins with a village girl named Narda who lives in the provincial town Barrio Masambong with her brother Ding. The siblings were orphaned and consequently adopted by their grandmother Lola Asay. Narda loves to sing while her younger brother, Ding, plays the harmonica very well. Sometimes, Narda and Ding go from house to house and sing for the money to help their grandmother to support their daily needs. While playing a game of "Hide and Seek" one night, Narda saw a shooting star in the night sky. The celestial object crashed into woods. Impressed by its beauty, she picked it up and decided to keep it. When her playmates started looking for her, she immediately hid the white stone in her mouth to prevent her playmates from taking it from her. The white stone came alive and went down her throat into her stomach. She began to experience psychic flashes that flooded her mind with alien images of worlds far away which caused her to fall unconscious. She was found by Lola Asay, who took her home and put her to bed. When Narda woke up, she was back at home with her grandmother and her brother, Ding. They asked her what happened and she related her bizarre experience. When her grandmother asked her what the inscription was on the white stone she swallowed, Narda yelled ... "DARNA!" Her grandmother and brother were both startled by a flash of light and smoke that filled the room. Where Narda once stood, there now was a tall, beautiful warrior woman. She explained to them that she was "Darna of the Planet Marte" and that she was sent to Earth to face the forces of darkness and hatred that afflicted the world. Narda was channeling the alien woman. After she assured them that she meant no harm, Darna changed back to Narda by saying the latter's name.

Alter egos

Narda

Regardless of its many incarnations, the story of Darna begins with a village girl named Narda who finds a small white stone, a tiny meteorite from outer space. Narda swallows the stone and shouts "Darna," she becomes a mighty warrior ready to defend Earth from evil forces. In the 2009 TV series, Darna's alter ego was named Narda Arcanghel—her surname being a possible nod to

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

, God's messenger; Father Mateo (played by

Eddie Garcia Eduardo Verchez Garcia (; May 2, 1929 – June 20, 2019), known colloquially as Manoy, was a Filipino actor, television personality, film director and producer. With almost 600 film and television roles and a career spanning seven decades, he ...

) also referred to Darna as ''"Anghel na Sugo ng Langit"'' ( en, Messenger of Heaven).

Daria

Mars Ravelo created a second alter-ego named Daria in "Si Darna at Planetman" serialized in Holiday Komiks in 1969. For the first time, Darna transformed into Daria in the third issue of ''Si Darna at ang Planetman''. Daria is a grown up version of Narda. In the 1969 film ''Darna at ang Planetman'', Gina Pareño played Darna and Daria; she was the only actress to portray Darna's alter-ego Daria.

Nemeses

Darna faces a variety of foes ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains, often having tragic origin stories that lead them to a life of crime and evil. Valentina is the most iconic Filipino super-villain created by Mars Ravelo. If you have Darna, Valentina will eventually strike. Darna's other long-time recurring foes include Babaeng Lawin, Babaeng Impakta, Babaeng Tuod, and Babaeng Linta, among others. Many of Darna's adversaries are often women.

Golden Age

=Valentina

= Valentina (goddess of the snakes/serpents) is the most popular enemy of Darna in the comics, films and television. She envies Narda and never appreciates what is her own; she torments her and becomes the cause of most of her misfortunes. She can control all kinds of snakes being from the same race as the Serpent Queens of Tiamat. In most incarnations, she has snakes on her head which she hides under a wig like the Gorgon

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

. Cristina Aragon was the first to play Valentina on the big screen opposite the first Darna, Rosa del Rosario in ''

Darna Darna () is a Filipina superheroine created by writer Mars Ravelo and artist Nestor Redondo. The character's first appearance was in ''Pilipino Komiks'' (Ace Publications, Inc.) #77 on May 13, 1950. Darna is a retooling of Ravelo's earlier cha ...

'' (1951).

Celia Rodriguez Cecilia Rodriguez (born June 21, 1938) is a multi-awarded Filipina actress. She appeared in more than 130 movies and television shows. She won four FAMAS Awards in the films ''Kulay Dugo ang Gabi'', ''The Passionate Strangers'', ''Lilet'' and ' ...

played Babaing Ahas in ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973).

Pilar Pilapil Pilar, Portuguese and Spanish for pillar, may refer to: People * Pilar (given name), a common abbreviation of ''María del Pilar'', including a list of people so named * Pilar (surname), a list of people surnamed Pilar or del Pilar Places Argen ...

played the role in ''

'' (1991).

Pilita Corrales Pilar Garrido Corrales (born August 22, 1937) is a Filipino pop singer, songwriter, actress, comedian and television presenter. She is dubbed as "Asia's Queen of Songs" and is widely known for her rendition of "Kapantay ay Langit" which eventu ...

played Valentina in ''Darna! Ang Pagbabalik'' (Darna: The Return) (1994). As Darna flew to the small screen so did Valentina. In Darna (2005), Alessandra De Rossi played the first TV Valentina followed by

Iwa Moto Aileen Quimado Iwamoto (born August 29, 1988), known by her stage name , is a Japanese–Filipino actress, model and reality television personality. She is the first runner up in the third season of '' StarStruck'', a reality-based talent se ...

in Darna (2009). In

Darna (2022 TV series) ''Mars Ravelo's Darna'' (or simply ''Darna'') is a Philippine superhero series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel. The series is based on Mars Ravelo's Philippine fictional character of the same name. Directed by Chito S. Roño, Avel Sunpongco ...

, she is portrayed by

Janella Salvador Janella Maxine Desiderio Salvador (; born March 30, 1998) is a Filipino actress and singer. Debuting in the hit morning drama ''Be Careful with My Heart'' (2012–2014), she followed with leading roles in ''Oh My G!'' (2015), Jun Lana's ''Haunte ...

=Babaeng Lawin

= Babaeng Lawin appeared in ''Pilipino Komiks' Darna at ang Babaing Lawin'' (1951). She was born with superhuman strength and agility in the comics. Elvira Reyes played the first Babaing Lawin/Armida on the big screen in ''Darna at ang Babaing Lawin'' (1952). Liza Lorena played the role in ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973) then Veronica Jones in ''Darna at Ding'' (1980). But in the 2009 TV series, Babaeng Lawin (Armida the Robotic Hawk Woman), played by Ehra Madrigal, has enhanced strength, endurance, durability, speed and healing after being experimented on.

=Babaeng Impakta

= Babaeng Impakta is another classic Darna villainess that was updated in the 2009 TV series. She appeared in '' Kenkoy Komiks' Darna at ang Impakta'' (1962). Babaeng Impakta is actually a pair of conjoined twins—Roma and her impish twin. Roma was first played by Gina Alonzo and Paquito Salcedo played the demonic conjoined twin on the big screen in ''Si Darna at ang Impakta'' (1963).

Gloria Romero Gloria Romero may refer to: *Gloria Romero (actress) Gloria Anne Borrego Galla (born December 16, 1933), known professionally as Gloria Romero (), is a multi-awarded Filipino actress, regarded as the “Queen of Philippine Movies”, her care ...

played Babaeng Impakta in ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973). Impakta was played by

Bing Loyzaga Carla Cuerva Loyzaga-Gibbs popularly known as Miss Bing Loyzaga-Gibbs or simply Miss Bing Loyzaga (born April 9, 1970) is a Filipina actress and singer. She is being known for her Antagonistic Roles like ''Babaeng Hampaslupa'' as Katarina, '' S ...

in ''Darna'' (1991).

Nadine Samonte Nadine Burgos Eidloth-Chua (born March 2, 1988), known by her stage name Nadine Samonte, is a Filipino-German actress and model. She participated as an Avenger of the first season of '' StarStruck''. Career Samonte first ventured into show bus ...

was Roma and Mura was her twin Impy in the 2009 TV series. Roma who was born to a prominent family appears like a normal human with an angelic face and a sweet demeanor but her back is grotesquely humped.

=Isputnik

= Nida Blanca played Darna's rival superheroine, Isputnik, in ''Isputnik vs. Darna'' (1963).

=Babaeng Tuod

= Babaeng Tuod appeared in ''Liwayway Magazine's Darna at ang Babaing Tuod'' (1964). Babaeng Tuod/Lucy was first played on the big screen by Gina Alonzo in ''Darna at ang Babaing Tuod'' (1965). Alonzo previously played Roma ang Babaeng Impakta in ''Si Darna at ang Impakta'' (1963).

Francine Prieto Anna Marie Falcon (born September 17, 1982 in Las Piñas, Philippines), known by her stage name Francine Prieto is a Filipino actress, fashion model, radio DJ, and singer. She is Chinese Filipino of half Norwegian descent. Education Prieto s ...

, who played the young Narda in ''Darna'' (1991) but was uncredited, played Babaeng Tuod/Lucifera in the 2009 TV series. Babaeng Tuod (Lucifera the Wood Witch; Lucifera, the Tree Monster) is the embodiment of nature as she is a living tree.

=Planetman

= Planetman appeared in ''Holiday Komiks-Magasin's Darna at ang Planetman'' (1968). Vic Vargas played the Planetman in ''Si Darna at ang Planetman'' (1969).

=Babaeng Linta

= Babaeng Linta first appeared in ''Darna Komiks-Magasin's Darna at ang Babaing Linta #1'' (February 3, 1968). Babaeng Linta (Leech Woman) has two alter egos: Octavia Moran, a 1940s actress and Lutgarda Morales, an actress and model in 2009. Babaeng Linta got her powers from a lake infested with leeches. Octavia used her newfound abilities to wreak vengeance upon the men that molested her, one of which was Adolfo Sandejas, Pancho's (played by Dennis Trillo) grandfather. Binibining Pilipinas World 2007

Maggie Wilson Margaret Nales Wilson, known as Maggie Wilson (born March 15, 1989), is a Filipino-British beauty queen, TV personality, actress, model and entrepreneur. Early life Wilson was born in Bacolod City and raised in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. One of t ...

played the role in the 2009 TV series.

=Giants

= In ''Darna and the Giants'' (1973), the giants were played by Divina Valencia, Ike Lozada, Pepito Rodriguez, Cesar Ramirez, Zandro Zamora and

Max Alvarado Max Alvarado (February 19, 1929 – April 6, 1997) was a FAMAS award-winning Filipino film actor known mainly by his portrayals of villains in a career which spanned six decades. Early life Max Alvarado was born as Gavino Maximo Teodosio i ...

. In ''Darna at Ding'' (1980), Max Alvarado also played the Giant.

=X-3-X

Helen Gamboa Helen Gamboa Sotto (born Helen Albent Gamboa; May 7, 1945) is a Filipina actress, singer, dancer and former beauty queen. Personal life Gamboa was born Helen Albent Gamboa at 6:35 PM on May 7, 1945 at Maternity and Children's Hospital (now ...

played the alien warrior queen X-3-X in ''Darna and the Giants'' (1973).

=Elektra

= Rosanna Ortiz played Elektra in ''Darna vs. the Planet Women'' (1975).

, who previously had a cameo as Darna in the 2003 film ''

Captain Barbell Captain Barbell is a Filipino people, Filipino superhero created by writer, Mars Ravelo and artist Jim Fernandez. His characteristics are similar to United States, American fictional superheroes Superman, DC Comics' Captain Marvel (DC Comics), C ...

'', played Elektra (Reyna ng mga Amasona) in the 2009 TV series.

=The Planet Women

= In ''Darna and the Giants'' (1973), the Planet Women were played by Lorelei, Elizabeth Vaughn, Karina Zawalski, Anita Lincoln, Cristy Soriano and Lorna Locsin. There were also Planet Men in the film who were played by Ricky Valencia, Karlo Vero, Dave Esguerra, Robert Miller, and Greg Lozano (uncredited). In ''Darna vs the Planet Women'' (1975), Lita Vasquez played Kara, the Planet woman, while the other Planet women were played by Diana Villa and Lieza Zobel.

=Lei Ming

= Celia Rodriguez, who previously played Babaeng Ahas in ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973), played an evil witch named Lei Ming in ''Darna at Ding'' (1980).

=Dr. Vontesberg

Marissa Delgado Maria Epifania Garcia Boyle, better known by her stage name Marissa Delgado, is a Filipino actress of American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "Unit ...

played Dr. Vontesberg in ''Darna at Ding'' (1980).

=Satanina Dayabolika

= Satanina Dayabolika appeared in ''Kampeon Komiks' Darna Versus Santanina Dayabolika'' (1977).

=Black Widow

= Black Widow appeared in ''Ravelo Magazine's Darna at ang Black Widow'' (February 14, 1980).

=Black Orchid

=Dyangga

= Dyangga appeared in ''Darna Komiks' Darna vs. Dyangga'' (January 21, 1985).

Alice Dixson Alice Dixson (born Jessie Alice Dixson; ; July 28, 1969) or often misspelled Alice Dixon, is a Filipino American actress, commercial model, and former beauty queen. Biography Born to an American father and a Filipino mother, she was the Philipp ...

had a cameo as Dyangga in the 2005 TV series. Dixson played another Ravelo creation,

Dyesebel ''Dyesebel'' () is a Filipino comic book character, conceived by Mars Ravelo and drawn by Elpidio Torres. Dyesebel is a mermaid, who eventually gains full human form through a deal with a sea-witch. Aside appearing in Pilipino Komiks, Dyesebe ...

in the 1990 film of the same name. But in the series, it was

Ara Mina Ara Mina (born Hazel Pascual Reyes-Almarinez; May 9, 1979) is a Filipino people, Filipino actress, singer, endorser, and entrepreneur. Career Mina became part of the Philippine entertainment industry at 14 years of age via the youth-oriented ...

who portrayed Dyesebel for a cameo.

=Taong Diablo

= Taong Diablo appeared in ''Darna at ang Taong Diablo'' (November 11, 1985).

Modern Age (1986-present)

=Taong Ibon

= Taong Ibon appeared in ''Darna Komiks Magasin's Darna at ang Taong Ibon'' (October 12, 1987).

=The Warlock

= The Warlock appeared in ''Darna Komiks' Darna vs. the Warlock'' (June 25, 1990).

=Valentine

= Valentine Adan is Valentina's daughter.

Cherie Gil Evangeline Rose Gil Eigenmann (; June 21, 1963 – August 5, 2022), known professionally as Cherie Gil, was a Filipino actress. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, she was dubbed the "''La Primera Contravida''" ("The Prime Villain") for he ...

played Valentine in ''Darna! Ang Pagbabalik (Darna: The Return)'' (1994). She is often confused as Valentina who was played by Pilita Corrales. Like Valentina and Medusa, she has snakes on her head.

=Dominico Lipolico

Edu Manzano Eduardo "Edu" Manzano (; born September 14, 1955) is a Filipino American, Filipino-American actor, fashion model, TV commercial model, comedian, politician, United States Air Force veteran and television game host. He was previously the host of ...

played Dominico Lipolico in ''Darna'' 1991 and ''Darna! Ang Pagbabalik'' (1994).

=Magnum

= Bong Alvarez played Magnum in ''Darna! Ang Pagbabalik'' (1994)

=Zumarna

= Zumarna appeared in ''Darna Komiks' Darna vs. Zumarna'' (1992).

=Black Mercury

= Black Mercury appeared in ''Darna Komiks' Darna vs. the Black Mercury'' (1994).

=Araknido

= Araknido appeared in ''Darna Komiks Magazine's Darna vs. Araknido'' (August 12, 1996).

=Toxic Monster

= Toxic Monster appeared in ''Super Action Komiks' Darna at ang Toxic Monster'' (1999).

=Devil Dinosaur

=Mirca

= Mirca first appeared in ''Super Action Vol. 2 #12 Paano Kung May Tatlong Darna?'' (1999), a retelling of Darna's origin; it turns out that the magic stone Narda saw fall from the sky was only one of three. Carmi is an orphan who founds the second stone landing somewhere in Europe and with the stone's power, she becomes the heroine Mirca who sells her services to the highest bidder.

=Ion

= Ion is a strange reptile-like alien creature who first appeared in ''Super Action Vol. 2 #12 Paano Kung May Tatlong Darna?'' (1999). He holds the third stone and assumes a human disguise as Oni Basilisk, the head of the weapons manufacturing firm Kran Industries.

=Ebony

=China

= She rarely assumes her full serpentine form compared to Ebony and prefers to utilize her humanoid reptilian form complete with legs.

=Mambabarang

= Mambabarang (Lord of Insects and Pests) wreaks havoc in society with his insects and pests.

played Mambabarang in the 2005 TV series.

=Dr. Zombie

= Dr. Zombie (Mad Scientist/Re-Animator of corpses) invented a concoction to cure his wife (played by Rio Locsin) from end-stage cancer but was too late to cure her. His life took a twisted turn after the death of his beloved wife. His concoction had the power to reanimate the dead-into zombies. He also wields an assortment of weaponry unique only to himself.

Christopher de Leon Christopher Strauss de León (born October 31, 1956) is a Philippine film actor and politician. He is recognized as the “''King of Philippine Drama''” has appeared in over 120 films since the early 1970s. Regarded as an "acting genius" and ...

played Dr. Zombie/Ted in the 2005 TV series.

=Braguda

= Braguda, the Queen of Darkness and ruler of the Anomalkas (Planet Marte's evil underground dwelling race), is the main villain of the 2005 TV series. She is the powerful queen of the Anomalkan race of the Planet Marte who dreams of the whole galaxy bowing down to her but for that to happen, she must obtain Darna's white stone and merge it with her black stone so that she may transform the Planet Earth into a new version of the Planet Marte.

, who previously played two different Darna villains: Babaing Ahas in ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973) and Lei Ming in ''Darna at Ding'' (1980), played Braguda in the 2005 TV series; she went on to play Ms. Perfecta in the 2009 TV series.

=Sulfura

= Sulfura (Human Volcano) has the power to fly, and spew fire, rocks and acid to melt her enemies.

Carmina Villarroel María Carmina Muñiz Villarroel-Legaspi (; August 17, 1975) is a Filipinos, Filipino actress, television presenter, and product endorser. Personal life Villarroel was previously married to Rustom Padilla in 1994; the two had no children, and ...

played Sulfura.

=Nosferamus

= Nosferamus, a super being like the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

, is the right-hand man of Braguda. He is the transformed form of Narda's father who she thought is dead. His powers include being able to dissolve into a black mist, summon blasts of dark-red energy, and conjure a lump of molten metal which he flung at Darna's eyes, blinding the superheroine. He died when he sacrificed his life for his daughter.

Tonton Gutierrez Eduardo Antonio Winsett Gutierrez, Jr. (born March 20, 1968), professionally known as Tonton Gutierrez, is a Filipino film and television actor best known for his role as Governor Eduardo Buenavista in the original hit teleserye ''Pangako Sa ...

played Nosferamus/Mulong in the 2005 TV series.

=Babaeng Lobo

= Babaeng Lobo was played by

Karen delos Reyes Karen delos Reyes (born Glomirose Anarna delos Reyes on September 29, 1984) is a Filipina actress and comedian of GMA Network. Karen became famous because of the McDonald's ad. She started her acting career when she joined the cast of '' Click'' ...

who also played as Alice, Babaeng Tuod and Babaeng Impakta in the 2005 TV series.

=Black Darna

Black Darna Black Darna is one of Darna's archenemies in the Darna (2005 TV Series). Katrina Halili played the role. Her costume was similar to Darna's trademark red and gold but in all black and gold. Halili played another Darna villain, Serpina ( Valentina ...

/Carol first appeared in Darna (2005) and was played by

Katrina Halili Maria Katrina Iren Pe Halili (born January 4, 1986) is a Filipino actress and commercial model of Chinese descent. She made her screen debut through the reality talent search '' StarStruck'' in 2003, and became more popular playing several role ...

. She was the result of Darna's cooped up emotions; Darna's essence turned into a supervillain of equal strength and ability. Black Darna is one of the most formidable adversaries of Darna as she's also noticeably faster than her. Like Darna, her only weakness is that she draws her powers from the white stone.

=Molecula

= Molecula (Toxic Woman) is a shapeshifter who can break herself apart to a molecular level, splitting herself to countless, minute molecular parts to gain more mobility and versatility; she could also fling these particles at targets and trigger a dissolving effect, similar to corrosive acid, or coagulate them instantly.

Cristine Reyes Ara Cristine Pascual Klenk (born February 5, 1989), known professionally as Cristine Reyes, is a Filipino actress, model, dancer and endorser. She is often called as the "Ultimate Star" by the local media for her acting prowess and popularity. ...

played Molecula in the 2005 TV series.

=Divas Impaktitas

= The Divas Impaktitas are the three right hand she-vampires of Valentina. They were created by the black stone, granting them immunity to the sun as well as crosses and crucifixes, though they could still be slain if something sharp like a stake is driven through their hearts. Ryza Cenon played Louella/Divas Impaktita in the 2005 TV series.

=Divina Demonica

= Divina Demonica has the power to scream supersonic screams that could give severe trauma to those within her vicinity. She also demonstrates the ability to manipulate bats.

K Brosas Maria Carmela Brosas (born 15 July 1975), better known by her screen name K Brosas, is a Filipina actress, comedian, singer and television host. She was born in the Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother and was a band member ...

played Divina Demonica in the 2005 TV series.

=Toy Master

= Toy Master is a clown who has the power to control toys as well as other abilities that border on the realm of magic, allowing him to defy the fabric of reality by summoning corporeal objects out of nothing or generating an irritating sound by beating his drum, powerful enough to disorient even Darna. He stole his magical powers from a gnome.

Bearwin Meily Bearwin Meily (born April 4, 1976) is a Filipino comedian actor, TV host and a recent vlogger. Early career He started his career as an extra ''Palibhasa Lalake'' in ABS-CBN and eventually became regular. Current career But later on he moved ...

played Toy Master in the 2005 TV series.

=Manananggal

=Trolka

= Trolka is an Anomalkan warrior in the 2005 TV series.

=Kobra

= Paolo Contis played Kobra/Xandro ang ''"Hari ng Lipi ng mga Ahas"'' () in the 2009 TV series. In the original comics version (1950), Kobra was a female. This form seems to give him the benefit of his snake form while giving him the ability to hold things with his clawed hands. He can also squish his opponents with his deadly coils. He was secretly Valentina's real father. He impregnated Roma ang Babaeng Impakta to bear him more of his serpentine race after seeing her in his cave and for the purpose of having an heir that will be more faithful to him than his other daughter, Valentina. He may be invulnerable to bullets but not from sharp objects.

=Serpina

= Serpina (Babaeng Anakonda), the princess of the snakes and Valentina's half-sister, was played by Katrina Halili in the 2009 TV series. Halili previously played Black Darna in 2005. Serpina is Kobra's daughter with Roma (Babaeng Impakta). She also uses a powerful staff as her weapon. She even has a psychic rapport with Valentina that allows them to communicate telepathically.

=Vibora

= Vibora is Valentina's loyal serpent.

=Bazooka Gang

= Shiro, played by

Polo Ravales Paul Patrick Rodil Gruenberg (born June 27, 1982), simply known as Polo Ravales, is a Filipino actor and model. Engaged to Paulyn Quiza, a fitness coach and Managing Director of their International Manpower family business. Career Ravales' fi ...

, is a local crime lord and the leader of the Bazooka Gang. Shiro abducted Armida/Babaeng Lawin and brought her to Dr. Danilo Morgan (Dr. Montgomery's grandson) to reattach her wings. Liberty, played by

Krista Kleiner Krista Eileen Arrieta Kleiner (born June 12 1989), is a Filipino-American entertainer, creator and beauty queen. She joined Binibining Pilipinas 2010 (Miss Philippines) and won Binibining Pilipinas-International 2010 (Miss Philippines Internat ...

, is Shiro's lieutenant and possible girlfriend.

=Babaeng Gagamba

= Babaeng Gagamba (Secretary Rizza Miranda at the Hospicio residence)

=Babaeng Demonyita

Jackie Rice Jacqueline Sobreo Rice (born April 27, 1990) is a Filipino-American actress, singer, and model. Career and personal life Born to an American father and a Filipino mother, she grew up in Olongapo City, Zambales. She was a student at St. Anne ...

played Helga Demonyita, a powerful witch who preys on innocent children, in the 2009 TV series. She was possessed by the devil and like it she is closed red, has horns on her forehead and a long tail which she uses as a whip. She has a hatred over humanity. She uses voodoo dolls and can also control fire. She is invulnerable to bullets. She can also vanish into fire.

=Vladimir

= Vladimir is a vampire who was played by Akihiro Sato in the 2009 TV series. He appears to be a tall, dark and handsome man as described by Francesca. Like any vampire, he cannot stand the sun.

Powers, abilities, and equipment

Through the course of the franchise and comic releases, Darna's original powers include the following: * Olympic-level combat skills - Narda, without having any experiences or knowledge in combat, once transformed into Darna would have access to a wide array of fighting capabilities in order to combat her enemies. * Flight - Darna has the ability to fly at great heights and above average speed. * Enhanced Speed and Senses - Darna can enhance her movements and senses to be able to detect presence of other beings or objects. This also helps her be more effective in battle. Her enhanced speed could also be used in conjunction with her flying, to move at a faster speed. Her senses can be heightened, depending on her need. * Superhuman Strength - Darna has access to enormous strength that could help her lift, throw, extremely heavy objects that is usually impossible for an average human can do. She can use this to break walls, or use heavy debris to throw at her enemy or to deal fatal damage on her enemies during combat. * Nigh-invulnerability and Stamina - Darna's body is strengthen by unknown properties, to which enables her to withstand strong physical attack and causes her not to faint or lose consciousness right away after being thrown with incredible force. Though at times, this ability has limitations. In ''Darna'' (1991 film) starring Nanette Medved, her powers include, flight, enhanced speed, reflexes, and strength, and a bit of telepathy. In '' Darna: Ang Pagbabalik (1994 film)'', her powers include enhanced strength, reflexes, speed, heat vision and flight. In the 2003

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

comic release, this was explained as due to her

psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and 1960s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as telepathy and psychok ...

background. A form of

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

enhances her speed and strength and allows her flight. Her skin has a high level of invulnerability because of her species. Her psionic abilities also allow her to exercise limited psionic influence or

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

. For weapons, the

ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

on her helmet augments her psionic abilities, allowing her to emit a powerful concussion blast and the medallions that make up her belt can be used like throwing stars (

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were ...

). In the 2005 TV series, aside from strength, flight and enhanced senses, she also has heat vision lent by the ruby in hear headgear. In the 2009 TV series, Darna's bracers can produce flames when Darna focuses her energy enough and cause friction by brushing both braces against each other. In the 2022 TV Series, Darna's powers and abilities are superhuman speed, strength, and flight. Her combat skills were actually taught to her, giving the notion that the Stone doesn't give access to immediate expertise in hand-tohand-combat. On many Darna series and movies, her bracers are one of the most used equipment in her arsenal, usually used as a shield or deflector against bullets, and even energy blasts.

The White Stone

The White Stone / The Stone (in Tagalog, "''Ang Puting Bato''", or simply "''Ang Bato''") is a pebble-sized meteorite containing unknown and powerful properties that grants numerous abilities to whoever wears or swallows it. Narda transforms into Darna, and vice versa, by shouting out their respective names ("Darna" to become Darna, "Narda" to become Narda). First, however, Narda has to swallow the stone, which conveniently comes out of her mouth every time Darna changes back to Narda. It started in the 1973 film ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' ("Fly, Darna, Fly"). However, it was not so in the comic book versions. The stone's appearance usually takes form of a small soft white pebble/mineral that occasionally glows, usually when it is trying to convey something to its bearer. This can be theorized that the stone is also a sentient material capable of feeling and judgement. In ''Darna! Ang Pagbabalik'' (1994), the stone was forcibly taken from Narda, and due to the altercation, she temporarily lost her sanity. Once she regained the stone, it projects memories of her as Darna though flashes of light, an effort of the White Stone to restore her mind into its rightful state. Although the original comic book lore written by Mars Ravelo himself does not go into detail about the origins of the magic white stone (other than the Darna entity contained within came from the planet Marte), other iterations of Darna had their own explanation of how the magic white stone came to be. In the 1991 film, there is no origin for the stone, but it was shown that it could restore any serpentine-humanoid to its youth. The 1994 film version showed it came from heaven and it was given by an angel to Narda, because she will be the one who can stop the emissary of the Devil who will soon come to their world. In the 2022 TV series, the stone came from the planet Marte, as a gift to the most qualified individual, this was given to Zora (the first Darna) then was passed on to her half-human daughter, Narda. The White Stone is one of the most coveted objects of the franchise, in movies and series, the White Stone was fought upon for its possession, mostly by the enemies, to use its power for world domination. In the 1991 movie, the Devil wants the stone instead of Darna presumably to use its power to increase its own. In the 1994 movie, the stone was stolen from Narda to use its power to restore Valentina to her youth. In the 2005 TV series, the White Stone in conjunction with the Black Stone are needed to access much devastating power. In the 2009 TV version, the enemies of the first Darna sought the stone to absorbed its powers, which they were successfully able to do temporarily, the abilities and powers were able to be regained by the new Darna after defeating them in their respective battles. To add, a new theme in both 2009 and 2022 TV series were added, particularly the story where a new chosen individual will inherit the White Stone from the original Darna, basically becoming a tradition that when the world will need Darna, a new one will be chosen by the Stone to assume the mantle. In the 2009 version, Narda (Marian Rivera) was chosen by the stone to replace an unnamed mortal (goes by the name Gabay (in English: Guide)) who was the first Darna that appeared in the 1940s. In the 2022 version, the enemies of planet Marte sought the stone for its power, Zora/Darna fought the enemies, she escaped Marte and accidentally landed on Earth. The Stone eventually chooses her daughter to become the next Darna so Zora, known on Earth as Leonor, had no choice but to train her daughter in the art of combat so that she will be ready.

2009 TV (GMA) version

Little is known about Darna's origin, but the stone came from heaven like a meteorite until it is immediately found by a little girl named Narda, this storyline is actually similar to the 1991 version of the stone's origin, minus the vision of the Angel. In the 2009 version, whoever inherits the stone and don the mantle of Darna will inherit the following abilities: *Superhuman strength - The ability to enhance the physical strength of its bearer to unimaginable scales. This ability can be used to jump in unusual high distances and can be used to lift extremely heavy objects etc. This is the original ability Darna that was retained after the four original antagonist tried to absorbed the power of the stone. *Superhuman senses - The ability to enhance one's own senses. With this, Darna can hear voices, even whispers from many feet away, her sense of smell, sight and feeling can also be heighten so she can detect most movements than an average human cannot. *Shield / Superhuman invulnerability - The White stone grants its bearer a strong defense barrier that can able to withstand strong attacks and blows. When Narda was a child(not taking Darna's form), the stone summoned a barrier that protected her from a bullet. Then another one is when Babaeng Tuod absorbed this ability, her external skin became near-invulnerable, strong similar to that of an iron steel. This ability were later regain by Darna. Overall, this ability is what helps Darna absorb and withstand heavy blows even explosions. *Ability absorption - The White Stone grants the ability to its bearer to copy the most recent ability used by an enemy. This ability was used by the Babaeng Linta to fight Darna. *Flight - The White stone grants the bearer the power to fly. This was later stolen by Babaeng Impakta but were later regain by Darna *Superhuman speed - The White stone grants the power of augment speed and agility to unimaginable scales. This was later absorbed by Babaeng Lawin but were later regain by Darna *Magic glamouring - Whoever swallows the stone and transformed into Darna, the human will retain her original body features such as facial and body built, but a magic aura will conceal the true form of the bearer, making it seemed like Darna is not sharing the same face as its bearer. Therefore, nobody can recognize Darna and the bearer as the same person.

Appearances

Costume

Darna's costume has varied over time, although almost all of her costume incarnations have retained some form of red bikini with a gold star on each brassiere cup, red headdress/helmet with a ruby set on a gold-winged ornament, gold bracelets, gold medallion belt with a loincloth, and near knee-high red boots. Darna is a character that fused together the concept of a superhero with the traditions of

Philippine folklore Philippine mythology is the body of stories and epics originating from, and part of, the indigenous Philippine folk religions, which include various ethnic faiths distinct from one another. Philippine mythology is incorporated from various ...

. The yellow/gold stars come from the

Philippine flag The national flag of the Philippines ( tgl, Pambansang watawat ng Pilipinas; ilo, Nailian a bandera ti Filipinas; ceb, Nasudnong bandila ng Pilipinas; es, Bandera Nacional de Filipinas) is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicol ...

, the loincloth ('' bahag'') is a visual inspiration from native clothing, and the ''

agimat ''Agimat'', also known as ''Anting'' or folklorized as ''Anting-anting'', is a Filipino word for "amulet" or "charm"."Tagalog-English Dictionary by Leo James English, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Manila, distributed by National Book ...

'' come from Filipino folklore and superstition. Filipino folklore has a tradition of presenting humble, pure hearted mortals that are awarded amulets that allow them to (in a way) transform their virtues into superpowers that allow them to battle supernatural evil.

Variations in other media

=1970s

= *Sine Pilipino got Vilma Santos to essay the role of Darna in ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad!'' (1973). But the problem was, Santos was hesitant to wear the two-piece costume. So, during their photo shoot for the publicity photos for the film, she wore the Darna costume on top of her body stocking. Directors told her if she did not take it off, they will give the role to someone else. Santos was finally convinced by producers Douglas Quijano and William Leary to lose the body stocking and wear just the costume on the day of the press conference. *In ''Darna and the Giants'' (1974), Santos wore an all gold bikini top with red stars, boyshorts, helmet, belt with red loincloth, knee-high

go-go boots Go-go boots are a low-heeled style of women's fashion boot first introduced in the mid-1960s. The original go-go boots, as defined by André Courrèges in 1964, were white, low-heeled, and mid-calf in height, a specific style which is sometimes ...

, cuff bracelets and choker. She also wore a red cape to a dance. *In ''Darna vs. the Planetwomen'' (1975), Santos wore a dark blue bikini top with red stars, dark blue boyshorts, gold belt, and red loincloth, boots, bracelets and choker almost similar to Darna's costume in Pilipino Komiks Darna #99 (March 17, 1951), Pilipino Komiks Darna at ang Babaing Lawin #120 (January 5, 1952), Darna Komiks Darna at ang Taong Ibon #964 (October 12, 1967) and Darna Komiks Darna vs. Zumarna #1275 (September 27, 1993) except for the gold headpiece which is similar to her headpiece in Pilipino Komiks Darna #87 (September 30, 1950). In 1977, Kitchie Benedicto of KBS-9 produced the first Darna TV series with then young actress Lorna Tolentino as Darna/Narda. Tolentino was the first to wear a one-piece costume with gold stars instead of the classic two-piece bikini. Another detail that changed in this version were Darna's accessories, instead of ruby, her red helmet had a large star in the middle of the gold winged medallion, and the gold belt had an even larger star in the middle. Her golden cuff bracelets also had a red lining. While her red thigh-high wedged boots had large gold star details. In 1979, two Darna films were made. In the

parody film A parody film or spoof film is a subgenre of comedy film that parodies other film genres or films as pastiches, works created by imitation of the style of many different films reassembled together. Although the subgenre is often overlooked by cri ...

''Darna, Kuno?'' starring

Dolphy Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr. (; July 25, 1928 – July 10, 2012), better known by his stage names Dolphy, Pidol, and Golay, was a Filipino comedian and actor. He is widely regarded as the country's "King of Comedy" for his comedic talent embodied ...

, he wore an inflating red bikini top with gold dots surrounding the gold stars, all gold helmet, belt, cuff bracelets, and knee-high boots. Brenda Del Rio, a pregnant Darna, wore the two-piece costume as well. She had a red bikini top with gold star details on each brassiere caps, blue bottoms, and all gold headpiece with a winged medallion at the center, cuff bracelets, thigh-high boots, and belt minus the loincloth. After giving birth, Darna came back with her baby also dressed up as Darna.

Lotis Key Lotis Melisande Key is a former Filipino-American professional film and theater actress who starred in 85 major films in Asia. She was born and lives in the United States, although she spent her childhood traveling the world with her family. She wa ...

also put on the same costume as Del Rio. In ''Bira, Darna, Bira!'' starring Rio Locsin, she wore the classic red bikini with gold stars, red helmet with an encircled star in the middle of the gold winged medallion, bracelets with gold stars and red straps, red knee-high boots, star-filled medallion belt and short yellow loincloth with red details, with the addition of a gold-embellished red choker. This time, Ding, played by

Romnick Sarmenta Romeo Nicolas Sarmenta Tejedor (born April 28, 1972 in Quezon City, Philippines), known professionally as Romnick Sarmenta, is a Filipino actor best remembered as the five-year-old boy who played the role of Peping in the TV series ''Gulong ng ...

, also had his own superhero costume. He wore a red mask, long sleeve shirt and boots, and blue shorts.

=1980s

= Santos wore a shiny red bra with gold stars and chains, shiny blue shorts with white loincloth, and red and gold helmet with the gold winged medallion. Her bracelets, belt and boots were all-gold. This time, Ding (played by Niño Muhlach) also had his own superhero costume together with his own superpowers. He wore red long-sleeved leotard and boots, and red helmet with gold winged medallion. In a cameo role in Viva Films' ''Captain Barbell'' (1986), Sharon Cuneta appeared as Darna. She wore a red and blue one-piece with gold stars—the top part was red while the bottom was blue and the stomach area had red and blue stripes. For the first time, Darna's red helmet had a transparent wing with ruby encrusted gold medallion in the middle. She also donned a ruby encrusted gold medallion belt with red loincloth, and red knee-high boots. Her gold cuff bracelets were encrusted with star-shaped rubies.

=1990s

= In the 1991 film ''Darna'', produced by Viva Films, Nanette Medved wore a red bikini top with gold stars. Instead of wings on the ruby-encrusted tiara, this Darna had two golden leaves entwined for a headpiece. The costume was still a red bikini with the gold stars now adorned with red crystals at the center. Like Medved's Darna, Abayari wore a high-cut panty. The bracelets remained gold; the gold belt was a bit different, it had a large buckle but still with a red loincloth, and the boots had gold details in them. However, the Ravelos and majority of fans wish to preserve Darna's

signature look Trademark look or signature look is the characteristic clothes or other distinguishing signs used by a certain character or performer, making the person more recognizable by the audience. Politicians may also have trademark signs, such as the sui ...

with a few design tweaks here and there from time to time. Darna made another cameo this time in a series of Toyota Tamaraw FX commercials in 1997, with Anjanette Abayari, portraying Darna. Lisa Macuja in Komiks CCP Ballet as Darna (1997) wore a red and turquoise sleeveless leotard (the stomach portion was white in color) with yellow stars, red helmet with yellow winged medallion, yellow belt with black loincloth, and yellow ballerina shoes. In one of the issues by Super Action Komiks, Darna was illustrated differently. This time she's wearing a chest and stomach-bearing red-trimmed blue one-piece with red shoulder pads, ruby encrusted gold winged medallion tiara, blue bracelets and belt, blue knee guards with yellow wings, and red boots. In an episode of Dolphy's sitcom ''

Home Along da Riles ''Home Along Da Riles'' ( or Home Along the Railroad) is a Philippine situational comedy series that aired on the Philippine television network ABS-CBN from December 2, 1992 to August 10, 2003, and was replaced by '' Ang Tanging Ina''. The tit ...

'',

Babalu Babalu may refer to: * "Babalú", a 1939 song popularized by Desi Arnaz in the 1940s * '' BaBalu'', a 2001 Michael Bublé album * Babalu, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * The nickname for mixed martial artist Renato Sobral * Ba ...

's character Mang Ritchie once wore a Darna costume. He wore a gold headband, red bra with gold stars, red shorts, and gold belt with red loincloth.

=2000s

= In Premiere Productions' 2003 remake of ''Captain Barbell'', Regine Velasquez made a cameo appearance as Darna. She wore a red and yellow one-piece costume (it looked like a gold-trimmed red bikini with the stomach part being yellow) with yellow stars, red helmet with white stone encrusted yellow winged medallion, white stone encrusted gold medallion belt with white loincloth, white stone encrusted gold bracelets, and red boots. In ''Darna: The Ballet'' (2003), Kristine Crame and Kris Belle Paclibar who alternately played Darna wore the costume. There were two versions of the costume: (1) the traditional red bikini with gold stars, red helmet with gold winged medallion, red bracelet adorned with gold medallions, gold belt and loincloth, and red ballerina shoes adorned with gold medallions (the ballerina shoes looked like boots); and (2) red bra with gold dots surrounding the gold stars, yellow shorts, red helmet adorned with a seemingly large gold bird, red bracelets and belt both with gold embellishments, and red loincloth and boots.Darna the Ballet (2003) musical
superheroeslives.com Mango Comics 2003 miniseries/Angel Locsin's Darna look for the 2005 Darna TV series is also considered one of Darna's many 'official' costumes just as the original by Nestor Redondo is. Angel wore the same costume in a 2006 Robitussin LiquiGel TV advertisement. In the 2005 TV series, Katrina Halili also wore a Darna costume as the villain

. As the name implies, her costume was similar to Darna but in all black and gold. Marian wore the traditional red bikini with gold stars but now gold-trimmed, gold-trimmed red helmet with the ruby encrusted gold winged medallion, gold bracelets and now with gold arm cuffs, golden medallion belt with gold-trimmed yellow loincloth in the middle, and gold-trimmed red knee-high stiletto boots. The gold wing detail on her helmet had a more angular shape. Darna is currently sporting this incarnation of the costume. In the 2009 TV series,

Rufa Mae Quinto Rufa is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Rufa Mae Quinto (born 1978), Filipina actress, comedian, television host, and singer *Rufa Mi Maria Krista Aguilar (born April 8, 1988), known professionally as Rufa Mi, is a Filipina ...

played the character Francesca. She once wore a Darna costume. She had a red bandana with a gold diamond and red gem accent in the middle, gold cuff bracelets and armbands, red sequined brassiere cups with gold diamond details and transparent spaghetti straps, red bottoms, gold diamond-shaped medallion belt with red gem accent and yellow loincloth in the middle, and red mid-calf boots. Rufa Mae also played a super-heroine in the 2002 film Super-B; the title and the main character's name was in reference to Vilma Santos who previously played Darna on the big screen.

=2010s

= In the 2010 ''Sinenovela: Mars Ravelo's

Trudis Liit ''Trudis Liit'' (International title: ''Little Trudis'' / ) is a 2010 Philippine television drama comedy series broadcast by GMA Network. Based on a 1963 Philippine film of the same title, the series is the twenty-first and final instalment of ' ...

'' television series (episode 37),

Jillian Ward Jillian Ward (; ; born Jhyllianne Wardë; February 23, 2005) is a Filipina actress, singer, and vlogger. She is known for playing the title role of Gertrudis "Trudis" Capili-Ferrer in GMA Network's ''Sine Novela'', ''Trudis Liit'', Donna Marie ...

(who also played Captain Barbell's sidekick, Lelay/Super Tiny, in the 2011 ''

'' TV series) wore the traditional Darna costume while

Pauleen Luna Marie Pauleen Luna Sotto (born Marie Pauleen Javier Luna; born November 10, 1988) is a Filipino actress and television personality. She appears on GMA Network, particularly as one of the regular hosts of the long-running Philippine variety sho ...

wore a Valentina costume similar to the one worn by Alessandra De Rossi in the 2005 Darna TV series. In a dream sequence, Jillian portrayed Darna and defeated Valentina portrayed by Pauleen. Marian Rivera, who previously played Darna in 2009, was also in this series as Odessa. Marian Rivera donned her Darna costume once more for GMA at 60, the special presentation of GMA Network to celebrate their 60th anniversary in 2010. Stars of GMA Telebabad shows were featured along Marian's Darna. Marian also wore a red cape like Vilma Santos in ''Darna vs. the Planetwomen''.

In other media

Darna films (1951-1994)

Darna in the 1950s

Over the years, Darna has appeared in many films. The superheroine's popularity skyrocketed in 1951, when Royal Films produced the first Darna film. Since then, a ''total of 14 films'' have been made portraying Darna and endless serialized stories in different comic books followed. Two Darna films were made by Royal Films, both starring

in ''

'' (1951) and ''Darna at ang Babaing Lawin'' (1952). The film was a huge box-office success. The 1952 film was based on ''Darna at ang Babaing Lawin'' (Pilipino Komiks No.120 January 5, 1952). In Eric Cueto's interview with Rosa in th
Official Mars Ravelo Darna website
she revealed that in her flying scenes in Darna, she was actually flying over Quiapo with the aid of a helicopter. She was suspended in the air with help of cables attached to her body and the helicopter. All her flying scenes were shot at night to hide the cables. She nearly crashed into

Quiapo Church The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene ( es, Basílica Menor del Nazareno Negro; fil, Basílika Menor ng Itím na Nazareno), known canonically as the Parish of Saint John the Baptist and also known as Quiapo Church ( es, Iglesia Parroquial d ...

in one of her flying scenes.

Darna in the 1960s

In the early 1960s, two more Darna films were made, starring Liza Moreno as Darna with Danilo Jurado as Ding in ''Si Darna at ang Impakta'' (1963) produced by People's Pictures, Inc. It was very atmospheric and true to its comics serial roots. Darna's origin is once again retold on the big screen. The role of Roma was first played by Gina Alonzo who also played Lucy ang Babaeng Tuod in ''Si Darna at ang Babaing Tuod'' (1965) while Paquito Salcedo played the evil twin. Liza Moreno starred again as Darna and was pitted against another superhero named Isputnik played by

Nida Blanca Dorothy Guinto Jones (January 6, 1936 – November 7, 2001), popularly known by her stage name Nida Blanca, was a Filipina actress. After a successful acting career in films during the 1950s, many of which are with actor Nestor de Villa, sh ...

. In 1965,

Cirio H. Santiago Cirio Hermoso Santiago (January 18, 1936 – September 26, 2008) was a prolific Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago and Leonard Hermes. Life and career Santiago was born on Janu ...

, who eventually became one of the most influential Filipino directors, directed the first Darna film produced in color. It was produced by People's Pictures Inc. ''Si Darna at ang Babaing Tuod'' was shown to the public—this time then-newcomer Eva Montes was tapped for the role. Eva also played

's daughter, Alona, in the 1964 film ''Anak ni Dyesebel''. This version was vastly different from Ravelo's original tale. This was also the only Darna film that focused more on the villain than on the hero; Darna appeared in the film only three times. In one of her later interviews, Eva revealed that this was because Gina Alonzo, who played the villain Lucilla, ang Babaing Tuod, was being groomed by People's Pictures, Inc. to be its next big star.

portrayed the role in Vera Perez Productions' own version of Darna in ''Si Darna at ang Planetman'' (1969). In the film, Pareño played Darna and Daria, while Narda was played by the young

Gina Alajar Regina Liguid Alatiit (born June 28, 1959), professionally known as Gina Alajar (), is a FAMAS and Gaward Urian Award winning Filipino film and television actress and television director. Career Since appearing as a child actress in the earl ...

. Darna also fell in love for the first time in this film. She fell for a man who turned out to be the Planetman whom she had to defeat.

Darna in the 1970s and 1980s: Vilma's Darna

In the 1970s, films with Vilma Santos as Darna are iconic, influencing people's perception of the character some 30 years afterwards. In these films, Darna is already a teenager and she has to swallow the stone each time she transforms, as it comes out of her mouth whenever she changes back to Narda. Her home planet was not named. ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad''! (1973) is the first and only trilogy of the superheroine. On March 23, 1973, Darna breaks all box-office record. It was the highest-grossing Darna film in Philippine film history and considered a turning point in Vilma's career. On the opening day of the film, the cast gave away free Darna dolls. Coca-Cola also promoted the film by giving away Darna characters mask. It was also the first Darna film where Darna and Narda were played by the same actress. Unfortunately, there is no existing copy left of this classic film. The line "''Ding, ang bato''!" ("Ding, ive methe stone!") from the film ''Lipad, Darna, Lipad'', became a favorite catchphrase, though it was not in the original komiks. The film had three episodes: (1) "Impakta" directed by Maning Borlaza. It starred Gloria Romero as Miss Luna, a school teacher with a dark secret. She is actually a flying flesh eater creature at night; (2) "Babaing Ahas" directed by Elwood Perez. It starred Celia Rodriguez as Valentina, a campy supermodel/

gorgon A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. W ...

. One scene has the actress naked in bed being caressed by a dozen snakes; and (3) "Babaing Lawin" (Hawk Woman) starring Liza Lorena as Babaing Lawin and Rod Dasco as Aguila directed by Joey Gosiengfiao. Santos starred in three more Darna films: ''Darna and the Giants'' (1974)" and ''Darna vs. the Planet Women'' (1975) - both under Tagalog Ilang-Ilang Productions - and ''Darna and Ding'' (1980) with

Niño Muhlach Niño Muhlach (born Angelo José Rocha Muhlach, October 27, 1971) is a Filipino actor. He is the father of Filipino child actor Alonzo Muhlach. Early life Niño was born to Alexander Muhlach and Rebecca Rocha, he has five siblings. A nephew ...

as Ding, under Muhlach's D'Wonder Films. * ''Darna and the Giants'' (1974) was the continuation of Santos' first Darna film and Darna again wore the red and gold bikini costume. The giants were played by Divina Valencia and Ike Lozada. Helen Gamboa played the villainess Alien Warrior Queen X3X. Together with her alien minions, X3X terrorized Narda's village and captures several townsfolk and transforming them into mindless giants who go on a rampage across the countryside in the hopes of conquering Earth. * ''Darna vs. the Planet Women'' (1975) rebooted Darna origins, with Narda portrayed as a crippled teenager who was given a magical stone by a mysterious source. The Planet Women, a band of bikini-clad space amazons who are each coded with a different shade of primary-hued body paint consisted of Noche, Elektra (played by Rossana Ortiz), come armed with a shopping list of Earth scientists whom they plan to abduct, setting stage for the most of the film's action, which involves Darna's efforts to thwart those abductions), Orang (played by Eva Linda), Maia and Kara. * ''Darna and Ding'' (1980) was the final time Santos played Darna. For the first time, Ding was mentioned in the title. The film begins with a pre-credit sequence recounting Darna's origins. Apparently the notion of Darna's alter-ego having a bum leg, introduced in "Darna vs. the Planet Women", has since been abandoned. In this film, Darna is joined by Ding, who now has his own superpowers. Muhlach's Ding also becomes Darna in this film. Also, Lito Anzures' character stole the magic stone and transformed into Darna. Dr. Irene Vontesberg played by Marissa Delgado in an eye-flashing performance addressing a past injustice by raising the recently dead and setting them upon the villagers. This provides for a lot of creepy moments. Veronica Jones played Babaeng Lawin. As is typical of the series, the film shows Narda's tiny rural village to be the locus of every imaginable kind of extraterrestrial, criminal and paranormal activity—and shambling, green slime slobbering ghouls. Santos displayed her ''faux'' kung fu skills, but then it takes a darker turn, with one of the cons gunning down an innocent bystander. Much as with Dr. Vontesberg, there seems to be a tragic dimension to Lei Ming, as she follows many of her acts of evil with extended crying jags. Darna and Ding's final episode sees the pair following a trail of missing children to the doorstep of Lei Ming, an evil Chinese sorceress played—in a yet another eye-flashing performance by Celia Rodriguez.

Darna in the 1970s: the male Darnas

Chiquito was the first male Darna in Philippine films. In Vilma Santos' film ''Terribol Dobol'' (1974), he played the superhero in a short scene. He was considered the arch-rival of Comedy King, Dolphy, who later on also played Darna and Captain Barbell. In 1979, Regal Films produced a parody of the Darna films titled '' Darna, Kuno?''. In this film, there were actually three Darnas: Dolphy, Brenda del Rio and

. Del Rio's part was first offered to Vilma Santos. The story is about a poor underdog man Dondoy (Dolphy). The real Darna (Brenda del Rio) became pregnant by Japanese anime robots

Mazinger Z is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later was reissued in Kodansha ''TV Magazine ...

and

Voltes V , popularly known as simply ''Voltes V '' (pronounced as "Voltes Five") is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Dōga and animated by Nippon Sunrise (formerly known as Soeisha). It is the second installment of the '' Robot R ...

. Darna lends Dondoy her magical stone and will reclaim it as after as she gives birth. In order for Dondoy to turn into Darna, he has to swallow the stone and shout "Darna, Kuno" and for him to return to his human form, he has to shout "Darna, lekba!" (a

verlan () is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. The wor ...

backslang Back slang is an English coded language in which the written word is spoken phonemically backwards. Usage Back slang is thought to have originated in Victorian England. It was used mainly by market sellers, such as butchers and greengrocers, f ...

metathesis of the Tagalog word ''balik'', which means "return"). Darna Kuno also encountered different kinds of Filipino folklore characters like the ''

tikbalang The Tikbalang (/ˈtikbaˌlaŋ/) (also Tigbalang, Tigbalan, Tikbalan, Tigbolan, or Werehorse) is a creature of Philippine folklore said to lurk in the mountains and rainforests of the Philippines. It is a tall, bony humanoid creature with the he ...

'' (half-man and half-horse creatures), the ''

aswang Aswang is an umbrella term for various shape-shifting evil creatures in Filipino folklore, such as vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and werebeasts (usually dogs, cats, pigs). The aswang is the subject of a wide variety of myths, s ...

'' and others. Annabel (Lotis Key) also put on the Darna costume without the sash. She discovers Darna Kuno's secret identity and stole the magical stone. At the end of the film, Darna Kuno and Annabel battled a group of aliens and defeated them. The real Darna returns with her baby, also dressed up as Darna, and took back her stone. The baby also seemed to have powers as the little one was seen flying with Darna. A few months after Dolphy's Darna parody, MBM Productions presented its own Darna film, ''Bira, Darna, Bira!'' starring 18 year-old Rio Locsin (who also made an appearance in the parody). This is the only Darna film that did not do well in box-office. Narda also became a high-class model in this film.

Darna in the 1990s

Viva Films Viva Films is a Philippine film production company established under Viva Communications. It was founded on November 11, 1981, by Vic del Rosario Jr. History Veering away from the Sharon Cuneta-Gabby Concepcion tandem, Viva became home to qual ...

produced ''Darna'' (1991), and was directed by Joel Lamangan. Half-Russian, half-Filipina actress

played Darna. Then nine-year-old

(under her real name Anna Marie Falcon; she also starred in the 2009 Darna TV series as Babaeng Tuod) played the young Narda. Nanette portrayed Narda as a model working in Manila and Darna with reference to Wonder Woman's ability to block bullets with her bracelets. This started the criticism that Darna was a Wonder Woman rip-off. Darna's costume was also altered in this film. From the helmet Darna used to wear in past films, she now wore a tiara with wings. She had two brothers in this film, Ding and Dong. After appearing in a TV commercial for an automobile company as Darna (with fellow beauty queens Alma Concepcion and

Daisy Reyes Daisy Garcia Reyes is a Filipino beauty queen, film and television actress, singer, TV-host, politician and businesswoman. She was crowned Binibining Pilipinas World 1996. She earned the title as the Beauty Queen Diva. She is a former councilor ...

, both also wearing Darna costumes), Filipina-American and dethroned Bb. Pilipinas-Universe 1991

was chosen by Viva Films to play its second Darna film, ''Darna: Ang Pagbabalik'' (1994). Although the grandmother was named Lola Asay in the early versions of the comics serial, she wasn't named in the previous film. Abayari appeared again as Darna in a cameo in ''Ang Pagbabalik ni

Pedro Penduko Pedro Penduko is a Filipino comic book character styled as a folk hero or superhero, created by National Artist for Literature Francisco V. Coching and debuted on the magazine ''Liwayway''. In his numerous incarnations, Pedro Penduko is an ordin ...

'' (1994) starring Janno Gibbs.

Cameos and abandoned projects

In a cameo role of Viva Films' ''Captain Barbell'' (1986) starring

Herbert Bautista Herbert Constantine "Bistek" Maclang Bautista (born May 12, 1968) is a Filipino actor and politician who served as mayor of Quezon City, the Philippines' largest city by population, from 2010 to 2019. Bautista has starred in numerous films and T ...

and

appeared as Darna. It was supposed to be Cuneta's promotion for her own full-length Darna film. However, she declined the project later due to the excessive requirements of the role. Back then, there were no invisible wires to lift Darna in the air, so an actress would need to lie down, head first, while a long piece of iron would hold her tight on both sides of her body. In the 2003 remake ''Captain Barbell'' by Premiere Productions starring

Ogie Alcasid Herminio Jose Lualhati "Ogie" Alcasid Jr. (; born August 27, 1967) is a Filipino singer-songwriter, television presenter, comedian, parodist, and actor. He is currently the President of OPM (Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-Aawit). Early care ...

and

Bong Revilla Ramon Bautista Bong Revilla Jr. (; born Jose Mari Bautista; September 25, 1966) and commonly known as Bong Revilla, is a Filipino actor, television presenter and politician serving as a Senator since 2019, and previously from 2004 to 2016. The ...

made a cameo appearance in a dream sequence as Darna which she reprised in her concert tour "The Singer and the Songwriter" the following year. Like Cuneta, Velasquez was supposed to portray Darna in her own full-length film but it was cancelled as well. In 2012, Darna's action sequences from ''Darna vs. the Planet Women'' (1975) were shown side-by-side comedian

Vice Ganda Jose Marie Borja Viceral (born March 31, 1976), popularly known as Vice Ganda (; ), is a Filipino comedian, talk show host, television presenter, actor, entrepreneur, and singer. He is a regular host on ABS-CBN's noontime variety show '' It's ...

's Darna-inspired action scenes in the comedy film, ''

This Guy's in Love with U Mare! ''This Guy's In Love With U Mare!'' is a 2012 Filipino comedy parody film under Star Cinema and Viva Films. It stars Luis Manzano, Vice Ganda and Toni Gonzaga, and it is directed by Wenn V. Deramas. The film received mixed reviews from Filipino ...

'', directed by

Wenn Deramas Wenn or WENN may refer to: *WENN (AM), a radio station (1320 AM) licensed to Birmingham, Alabama, United States *''Remember WENN'', a television series that aired from 1996 to 1998 on American Movie Classics *World Entertainment News Network, an ...

. Vilma Santos' son,

Luis Manzano Luis Philippe Santos Manzano (; born April 21, 1981), also known by his nickname Lucky, is a Filipino-American TV host, actor, comedian, VJ, and model. He is the son of actors Edu Manzano and Vilma Santos. He is best known for his roles in th ...

, also stars in the film.

Darna TV series

1977 TV series

The comic book superheroine also found its way to the small screen. The first ''Darna'' TV series was created by Kitchie Benedicto and starred a 14-year-old Lorna Tolentino as Darna/Narda. It was aired on KBS 9 ( RPN 9).

2005 TV series

In 2005,

tapped

to play Darna after the success of the TV series ''

Mulawin ''Mulawin'' is a Philippine television drama fantasy series broadcast by GMA Network. Directed by Don Michael Perez and Dode Cruz, it stars Richard Gutierrez, Angel Locsin and Dennis Trillo. It premiered on August 2, 2004 on the network's Teleb ...

'' where she played one of the lead roles. Locsin had to learn wushu, kung fu and other fighting techniques even as she mastered the art of flying and display Darna's superpowers. A lot of changes and new material were added for this incarnation of Darna. The show follows the original version's storyline with Narda finding the stone as a child, but she only becomes Darna and discovers her powers at age eighteen. Many new allies and enemies were invented for the show, as well as more backstory. Notably, Narda and Valentina are half-sisters while Ding has been killed. In the story, the Black Darna is a result of Narda's release of all her pent-up emotions. Another Mars Ravelo's creation "Dyesebel" (portrayed by

) made a guest appearance in the series for the very first time. Four actresses who previously played Darna were involved in the 2005 TV series: *

(''Darna and the Planetman'', 1969) appeared as Darna's grandmother. *Rio Locsin (''Bira, Darna, Bira'', 1979) appeared as the wife of Dr. Zombie, one of the villains. *

(Darna in 1977 TV series) portrayed

Queen Adran Queen Adran is the queen of the Adranika race, a fictional race in Darna created by Filipino comics writer Mars Ravelo. Character Description Queen Adran (another anagram of Darna) was the benevolent queen of the surface-dwelling race c ...

of Marte. *

(Darna in the 2003 film ''Captain Barbell'') sang the theme song of the series, "Di Na Nag-iisa" (composed by

Jay Durias Jay Oliver Durias Sr. (born 26 August 1975) is a Filipino singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer known for his collaborations with South Border. Early life Durias is the frontman of South Border, a pop and R&B band that traces its roo ...

South Border South Border is a Filipino pop and R&B band formed in the early 1990s who gained widespread recognition in the music scene in the mid 1990s to the 2000s. Origins and early years Originally formed in 1993, the band whose name is a tribute to ...

). She also provided the voice clip of shouting "Darna!" for use in the TV series. In the final episode,

makes a cameo appearance. It was done to tease the upcoming Captain Barbell TV series. Captain Barbell's face was not shown, only his "CB" chest insignia, as the role was not yet cast.

2009 TV series

After the success of the 2005 series, GMA Network confirmed that it still held the rights of Darna, along with

and

. In January 2008, it was announced that GMA Network decided to make another Darna series but this time, it will be along with Captain Barbell. But due to schedule conflicts of Richard Gutierrez, the plan was shelved. Also, Locsin already transferred to rival station

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

in 2007.Captain Barbell Meets Darna (2008)
telebisyon.net GMA Network, along with the Darna copyright holders, unanimously chose

as Darna. It was announced by Wilma Galvante, GMA Network's SVP for Entertainment TV, in an interview that the new Darna should be a real star because it is a prime role.

Mark Herras Mark Angelo Santos Herras (born December 14, 1986) is a Filipino film and television actor. He won in the reality talent show '' StarStruck'' aired in GMA Network. He also appeared in ''Forever in My Heart'', ''Encantadia'', ''SOP'', and ''I Lu ...

was considered for the lead male role of Eduardo, but

Mark Anthony Fernandez Mark Anthony Lacsamana Fernandez (born January 18, 1979) is a Filipino actor. He is the son of actor Rudy Fernandez and actress-politician Alma Moreno. Career He first rose to prominence when he was once a former member of one of the famous ...

won the part. Regine Velasquez (who previously portrayed Darna in the 2003 "Captain Barbell" film) was again involved in the series. Like the 2005 TV series, she also provided the voice clip of shouting "Darna!", and later played a villain called Elektra, the Planet Woman in the 2nd season. GMA Network announced that the new Darna would be a mirror to Marian Rivera's personality, possibly featuring more comedy flavor into the drama plot. Rivera is best known for her roles as the leads in the Philippine adaptation of MariMar and another Mars Ravelo creation,

. Rivera underwent rigid physical and mental training for the role and also began to train in wushu. She was about to start her fighting routines with an expert and also to be trained on harness. Unfortunately, it was postponed due to conflicts on schedule. Also, Galvante confirmed that Captain Barbell, another Mars Ravelo creation, is going to be shown in the series. However, it did not push through, so a new character named Pancho (Narda's childhood friend from orphanage and love interest played by

Dennis Trillo Abelardo Dennis Florencio Ho (born 12 May 1981), known professionally as Dennis Trillo (), is a Filipino actor, model and recording artist. He is currently a contract star of GMA Network. He was known for his role as Eric del Mundo in the firs ...

) was introduced instead. The rebooted Darna TV series directed by Dominic Zapata and Don Michael Perez premiered on August 10, 2009. Rivera soared high as Darna. The series' 44.1% pilot rating is Rivera's second-highest primetime-series opening, after Dyesebel's 44.9%. But it cannot be denied that Locsin's Darna made history when it reached 52.1% on its fourth episode, where she appeared in a Darna costume for the first time. It was the highest rating achieved by any GMA Network show at that time.

2022 TV series

On December 4, Jane De Leon signed an exclusive contract with

’s

Star Magic ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts, Inc., trade name, doing business as Star Magic (formerly known as ABS-CBN Talent Center), is the Talent agency, talent agency owned by ABS-CBN Corporation based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines t ...

a which made the announcement that she will star in the TV series called ''Mars Ravelo’s Darna: The TV Series''. Now it has been titled as ''Mars Ravelo’s Darna.''

, who was once offered to do the role sometime in 2005 but was withdrawn and gave it to

, played the role in a single episode. She is referred as the ''Unang Darna'' (First Darna) who will pass the stone to her daughter Narda played by de Leon.

''Darna Lives!'' webcomic

In 2011, comic book creators

Gerry Alanguilan Doroteo Gerardo N. Alanguilan Jr. (20 January 1968 – 21 December 2019), also known in the Philippines by his alias Komikero, was a Filipino comic book artist, writer, and architect from San Pablo, Laguna. He was an important figure in the Ph ...

and

Arnold Arre Clem Arnold Lawrence Arre (born September 2, 1971) is a Filipino comic book writer, artist and self-taught animator best known for his graphic novels '' The Mythology Class'' (1999) and '' Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat'' (2006). He was born in Metro ...

partnered to write a 9-page concept webcomic called ''Darna Lives!'' which reimagined the life of Darna. Alanguilan wrote the story and Arre provided the art for the piece, which portrayed Darna's alter-ego Narda having forgotten her superhero identity and moved on to a life of obscurity and poverty, until fate intervenes to bring Darna back. Although short, the fan-fiction was notable for its significantly different portrayal of the character, since it was the first time the Narda alter-ego was portrayed as anything but a demure young woman.; Narda is married and has three children. Commenting on the work in a ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' interview, Alanguilan explained his motivations for coming out with the story:

"''I think Arnold and I were able to show that Darna, as a character, can stand to be interpreted differently to allow her to remain appealing and relevant to a new audience. I hope ''Darna Lives!'' can push for this kind of change. I think Filipinos, as we have seen, are open too it, and comics creators and filmmakers do not need to keep relying on old tricks and gimmicks that have worked before. I hope it can push our storytellers in other media, especially TV and movies to be bolder. 'Di mage-gets ng masa yan' ('The masses won't understand that') is a stupid, cowardly statement that ensures nothing but stagnancy.''"

Song in a story depiction

*"Kahit Man Lang Sa Pangarap" (1991) **Performed by:

Vina Morales Sharon Garcia Magdayao (born October 17, 1975), known by her stage name Vina Morales (), is a Filipino singer, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur and model. Dubbed as the “''Ultimate Performer''” by various media outlets, she has won 2 Awit ...

(1991 Movie OST) *"Hindi Ako si Darna" (1998) **Filipino version of "Superwoman" popularized by Karyn White **Performed by: Jenine Desiderio *"Narda" (2005) **Composed and Performed by: Kamikazee (2009 TV series OST) *"Mamaw" (2005) **Performed by

Michael V. Beethoven Del Valle Bunagan (born December 17, 1969), known professionally as Michael V. and also known as Bitoy, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and recording artist, who appears in the GMA Network show ''Bubble Gang'' and '' Pepito Manaloto ...

(2009 TV series OST) *"Time In" (2007) **Performed by:

Yeng Constantino Josephine Eusebio Constantino-Asuncion (born December 4, 1988), professionally known as Yeng Constantino, is a Filipino pop rock singer-songwriter, occasional actress and host. She is referred to as the ''Philippines Pop Rock Royalty'' and ...

*"Di Na Nag-iisa" (2005) **Performed by

- Love theme from the 2005 ''Darna'' television series. This song was officially released by Universal Records in Regine Velasquez' Motion Picture Soundtrack, "Till I Met You". A 2nd version of "Di Na Nag-Iisa"(Acoustic version) appears on this same album. **

Jona Viray Jonalyn Roxas Viray (born November 15, 1989), better known by her stage name, Jona, is a Filipino singer and actress. She was the first '' Pinoy Pop Superstar'' grand winner. She was the lead singer of trio girl-group La Diva, alongside Maric ...

also covered the song for her debut studio album, On My Own under the title 'Di Na Mag-iisa'. *"Di Na Magigisa" (2005) **Performed by

*"Darna, Ikaw Na" (2020) **Performed by

Daryl Ong Daryl Neilsonn Ong (born March 24, 1987) is a Filipino singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after joining the singing competition ''The Voice of the Philippines''. When Ong sang his blind audition piece "Paano" (original by Gary Valenciano) ...

*"Patuloy Lang Ang Lipad" (2022) **Performed by

BGYO BGYO, also known during their pre-debut as Star Hunt Academy Boys or SHA Boys , is a five-member Filipino boy group that began formation in 2018 by ABS-CBN Star Hunt Academy and debuted in 2021 under ABS-CBN's Star Magic. The quintet—composed ...

(2022 TV Series OST) *"'Di Maghihiwalay" (2022) **Performed by LA Santos (2022 TV Series OST)

Television commercials

The character of Darna was used in a series of Toyota Tamaraw FX commercials, with Anjanette Abayari, Alma Concepcion, and

portraying Darna in 1997. Angel Locsin also appeared as Darna in a 2006

Robitussin Cold medicines are a group of medications taken individually or in combination as a treatment for the symptoms of the common cold and similar conditions of the upper respiratory tract. The term encompasses a broad array of drugs, including ...

LiquiGel TV advertisement wearing her Darna costume from the 2005 TV series. It was directed b
Avid Liongoren
The story started with a giant monster attacking a village. Narda was about to transform into Darna but was interrupted by her cough so she shouted only half of the name (Dar...). She was then seen holding a LiquiGel capsule which she swallowed to transform into Darna. She rescued some bystander first before defeating the giant monster to death.

Theater

Ballet

Darna has also been portrayed in several ballet productions by

Ballet Philippines Ballet Philippines (BP) is a ballet company in the Philippines founded in 1969 by Alice Reyes with the support of Eddie Elejar and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Proficient in both ballet and modern dance,Jacinto, J. 2007. The Ballet Com ...

(BP) and Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT).

=''Pilipino Komiks''

= On April 22–25, 1993, prima ballerina

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde (born October 3, 1964) is a Filipino prima ballerina. In 1984, she became the first foreign soloist to ever join the Kirov Ballet. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Manila ...

played Darna and Melanie Motus played Valentina in the musical stage play entitled ''Pilipino Komiks'' with Maritoni Tordesillas as Dyesebel and Noreen Austria as Bangenge; Katrina Santos; Osias Barroso as Dario; Raoul Banzon as Gorio; Cathy Lee as Rita; and Robert Policarpio as Ipe. This ballet stage production was presented by Philippine Ballet Theatre and featured comic book characters made by Mars Ravelo, including Darna, Valentina, Dyesebel, Rita Rich, Ipe and Bangenge, in a comedic way. Chino Toledo's music, Gener Caringal's choreography, Arturo' set and costume designs, and lighting by Eric Cruz brought comics to life on the stage. After 24 years, this dance story of the battle between good and evil that was first choreographed by former PBT director Gener Caringal was re-staged again on May 14, 2017, by Philippine Ballet Theatre and co-presented by Filipino Heritage Festival,

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining, ceb, Nasodnong Komisyon alang sa Budaya ug mga Arte) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. ...

, AB Leisure and

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR, ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established through the ''Presidential Decree 1869''. PAGCOR is the Philippines' largest contributor of revenue to the government after the ...

(PAGCOR) in celebration of Heritage Month. In this re-staging of ''Pilipino Komiks'', Regine Magbitang played Narda/Darna while Loby Pimentel played Valentina; Peter San Juan as Narda's boyfriend, Dario; Veronica Atienza as Dyesebel; Kim Abrogena as Bangenge; Mark Pineda as Gorio; Marika Desembrana as Rita; and Matthew Davo as Ipe. Both plays were performed in the

Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...

(CCP) Main Theater; the second play was additionally performed in

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

, Philippines.

=''Comics: The Ballet''

= In 1997, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde danced the part of Darna in ''Comics: The Ballet'' in celebration of Darna's golden anniversary.

=''Darna: The Ballet''

= Another ballet stage play was produced on August 1–17, 2003 by Ballet Philippines and presented at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. In this theater version, entitled ''Darna: The Ballet'', Christine Crame and Kris-Belle Paclibar alternately danced the part of Darna while Valentina did the singing. This action-packed dance-musical production is equally focused on both Darna and Valentina.

Other stage plays

=''Ding, Ang Bato!''

= On May 14 to 21, 2018, ''Ding, Ang Bato!'' that was presented by the Arts and Culture Cluster and the Dance Program of the School of Design and Arts of the

De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (Filipino: ''Dalubhasaan ng De La Salle San Benildo;'' French:'' Collège De La Salle de Sainte Benilde''), also known as Benilde and abbreviated DLS–CSB or simply CSB, is a private, Catholic research c ...

was a dance musical theatre that once more featured Darna and Valentina. Staged at School of Design and Arts (SDA) Theater at De La Salle College of St. Benilde on Pablo Ocampo St. and directed also by Chris Millardo, the story is told from the point-of-view of Ding (played alternately by Carlos Serrano, Juner Quiambao and John Peñaranda), the younger brother of Narda, who is born deaf in this version and accompanies Darna in the journey of empowerment. The production reunited the team with Benilde's Dance Chair Christine Crame who deftly reprised the role of Darna from the production that first saw 'flight' at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Theater in 2003 and is now devised for contemporary audiences. Stage and TV actor Natasha Cabrera inhabits the role of Valentina. Olivia Bugayong alternates with Crame for Darna while Dani Idea alternates for Valentina. In this version, Valentina is a sympathetic character and has an alter-ego named Tina that was played by Lea Roque. In this dance musical redux of "Darna", the quintessential Filipina super heroine grapples with the irascible serpent queen Valentina who used to be her childhood friend. Darna's encounter with Valentina flung the two friends, now arch-enemies, into fantastic realms of urban dystopia that make them confront their brightest and darkest selves. Choreographed by Denisa Reyes and Ernest Mandap, Filipino Sign Language was seamlessly interwoven into the choreography. In fact, the whole production used sign language and spoken dialog without the necessity of an interpreter so that both hearing and deaf audiences could experience the narrative.

Art and literature

''Darna Komiks'' is a comic book series first published by Pilipino Komiks, Inc. and continued by Atlas Publishing Co., Inc. Its maiden issue appeared on February 3, 1968, with Ruben R. Marcelino as editor. In children's literature,

Edgar Samar Edgar Calabia Samar (born 1981) is a poet and novelist from San Pablo City, Philippines. He has received the Philippine National Book Awards for his novels and book of criticism, and the Palanca Awards for his poetry collections and short fictio ...

wrote a story entitled "Uuwi na ang Nanay kong si Darna" which won the PBBY-Salanga Writer's Prize in 2002 and was illustrated by Russell Molina, who won the PBBY Illustrator's Prize. In 2012, Anvil Publishing, Inc. published ''Darna & Other Idols'' by Marra P. L. Lanot with Marian Rivera as Darna on the cover. The book features former Darna actresses Marian Rivera and Vilma Santos, and Gina Alajar who played Narda in ''Si Darna at ang Planetman'' (1969).

Postage stamps

Darna has also been the subject of a series of national postage stamps released by

PhilPost The Philippine Postal Corporation ( fil, Korporasyong Pangkoreo ng Pilipinas), abbreviated as PHLPost and also known as the Philippine Post Office, is a government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for providing postal services in th ...

on November 15, 2004. The Darna issue 3 cover that Gilbert Monsanto did for Mango Comics and

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Francisco Reyes'

Kulafu Kulafu was one of the earliest comic book heroes in the Philippines. Created on July 7, 1933, by Filipino illustrator Francisco Reyes and Filipino writer Pedrito Reyes, Kulafu appeared on the first colored adventure strip and the first two-pag ...

, Francisco V. Coching's Lapu-Lapu, and

Federico Javinal Federico C. Javinal is considered one of the “great achievers in Philippine Art”, particularly in the field of Philippine comics. Biography Javinal started working for Bulaklak Komiks in 1955. He became an assistant illustrator for Francisco ...

and Coching's El Vibora.

Recurring Stars

Merchandising

Funko Pop!

The Darna x

Funko Pop Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, best known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessori ...

! vinyl figurine was first announced on the second day of ToyCon 2019 on June 29, 2019, at the

SMX Convention Center The SMX Convention Center Manila is a convention center located in Pasay, Philippines. It is the largest private venue in the Philippines for trade events, industry conventions, corporate functions, and international exhibitions. The building ...

in Pasay in a panel celebrating Darna's 70th anniversary. On July 25, 2019,

, the media company producing the new Darna movie, announced that the figurine by US-based toy manufacturer Funko will be exclusively available in the Philippines during Fun Con 2019 through Big Boys Toy Store from August 2 to 4, 2019. Darna is the first-ever Filipino superhero to have this most sought-after licensed pop culture collectible. Funko replicated Darna's trademark look created by artist

Nestor Redondo Nestor P. Redondo (May 4, 1928 – December 30, 1995)Nestor P. Redondo
at the

Jane De Leon was announced as the lead for

Star Cinema ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (doing business as Star Cinema or ABS-CBN Films) is a Philippines, Filipino film studio and film and television production company and film distributor headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the major film ...

's movie on the superhero. ABS-CBN even had the new Darna, Jane De Leon, do a Funko Pop! unboxing video of the superhero. Darna Funko Pop!—under the heading, Ravelo Komiks Universe, listed as No. 23 in Funko Pop Comics— was released alongside a glow-in-the-dark edition of the barong-wearing Jollibee Funko Pop! in time for the Philippine Independence Day celebration in June. Aside from the Darna Funko Pop! toy, other Darna collectibles are also available such as the Darna Card Game, statuettes, shirts, and other novelty items.

On-screen actresses and actors

Rosa del Rosario was the first actress to play the first Filipino superheroine on screen. Vilma Santos and Marian Rivera are the only two actresses who played two of Mars Ravelo's komiks characters respectively, namely Darna and

with Vilma having played Darna four times.

Official list of actresses and actors who played Darna

Others * Chiquito in ''Terribol Dobol'' (1974) as a male Darna *

in '' Darna, Kuno?'' (1979) as a male Darna *Brenda del Rio in ''Darna, Kuno?'' (1979) *

in ''Darna, Kuno?'' (1979) *

in ''Darna and Ding'' (1980) as Narda's brother Ding who temporarily became a male Darna *

in ''

Mars Ravelo's Darna ''Darna'' is a 2005 Philippine television drama fantasy action series broadcast by GMA Network. The series is based on Mars Ravelo's Philippine fictional character of the same name and a loose adaptation of the 2003 ''Darna'' comic miniseries ...

'' (2005 TV series) as

Angel Aquino Angel Aquino (born Angelita Velasquez Aquino on February 7, 1973) is a Filipino film and television actress. She is currently part of ABS-CBN's contract talents. She is mostly known for her lead antagonist roles such as Ether in '' Encantadia: ...

in ''

'' (2009 TV series) as the original Darna and keeper of the white stone *

Tetchie Agbayani Visitacion Parado (born July 2, 1961), better known by her screen name Tetchie Agbayani, is a Filipina movie and television actress, Mutya ng Pilipinas, psychology instructor and ''Playboy'' model. She appeared in a regular issue of German '' ...

and

Kim Molina Kimverlie Soriano Molina (born July 1, 1991), popularly known as Kim Molina, is a Filipino singer and actress, known for portraying Aileen in the long-running Filipino stage musical ''Rak Of Aegis'' (2014—present), Savannah in the drama series ...

in ''Hindi Ako Si Darna'' (2017 theatre play)

Official list of actors who played Ding

Darna's adventures won't be complete without her sidekick Ding.

21st century Darna

Darna under GMA Network

According to a news article in September 2004, GMA's Film division planned to produce a Darna film in addition to the 2005 TV series. Wilma Galvez of GMA 7 wanted a different actress for the film version and had reportedly offered the role to

who previously portrayed Darna in "Captain Barbell" (2003). However, the production of the project did not come to fruition. But due to schedule conflicts of Richard Gutierrez who was busy with other projects, everything was shelved. Also, Angel Locsin has already transferred to the rival network ABS-CBN in 2007. It didn't materialize as well.

Darna under ABS-CBN

In 2013, the Ravelo family gave

the rights to the characters created by

. ABS-CBN officially acquired the exclusive rights to 13 Mars Ravelo titles including

, Darna, and

. A Darna film was first announced in 2013 by

, and

Erik Matti Erik Matti (born December 21, 1970) is a Filipino filmmaker. He is known for directing '' On the Job'' (2013), ''Honor Thy Father'' (2015), ''Seklusyon'' (2016), ''BuyBust'' (2018), and '' On the Job: The Missing 8'' (2021). Matti co-founded ...

was revealed to direct the film. In October 2013, Star Cinema managing director

Malou Santos ABS-CBN Film Productions, Inc. (doing business as Star Cinema or ABS-CBN Films) is a Filipino film studio and film and television production company and film distributor headquartered in Quezon City. It is one of the major film studios in t ...

confirmed that Angel Locsin, who portrayed Darna in the 2005 GMA teleserye, would be reprising the role in the upcoming Darna film to be produced by

and

Reality Entertainment Reality Entertainment is a Philippine production company founded and managed by the Filipino filmmaker Erik Matti and his producing partner Dondon Monteverde (son of the film producer Lily Monteverde). Filmography References

Film pr ...

, five months after the network acquired the rights to Darna and 12 other Ravelo characters. During an interview with ABS-CBN, Locsin said that the yet untitled Darna film was one of the biggest projects ever done by the film company. Two years later, Locsin pulled out of the Darna film project. On October 26, 2015, Locsin stated on her

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account that she could no longer play Darna. According to a press statement from ABS-CBN, the actress was dealing with health concerns. On the photo posted on The Rodmagaru Show, it is confirmed that ''Darna'' has continued in production. Locsin developed a disc bulge in her spine and was soon considered a minor handicap because of her injury; as a result she chose to leave the project. Locsin also clarified on her Instagram account that ABS-CBN had already chosen another actress for the role of Darna, but did not reveal her name. On an interview with Spot.ph, Matti said that they have already found an actress for the role but still it isn't final. On September 1, on a dinner get-together hosted by ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Katigbak for the officer and members of Professional Artist Managers, Inc. (PAMI) and with other business unit heads of

network,

officially confirmed that Locsin will reprise her role as Darna. ABS-CBN executives had been eyeing Locsin to reprise the role as they could not find any other suitable actress to replace her. Thus, they waited until Locsin was fully healed and given clearance for the role. However, in March 2017, Locsin stated that she will be unable to play the title role and dropped out of the project due to health and safety reasons. Meanwhile, twelve actresses were considered as replacements for Locsin. Such included the likes of

Liza Soberano Hope Elizabeth Soberano( , ; born January 4, 1998), professionally known as Liza Soberano, is a Filipino actress, model and singer. She started in a range of television series and films, including ''Wansapanataym'' (2011), '' Kung Ako'y Iiwan M ...

Nadine Lustre Nadine Alexis Paguia Lustre (, ; born October 31, 1993) is a Filipino actress and singer. She rose to fame after playing the lead role of Eya Rodriguez in the film ''Diary ng Panget'' (2014). Lustre has since starred in the television series ...

Julia Montes Mara Hautea Schnittka (; born March 19, 1995), known professionally as Julia Montes (), is a Filipino-German actress and model. She is one of the most sought-after actresses in the country and has been hailed as the “''Royal Princess of Dram ...

Sarah Geronimo Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo-Guidicelli (, , born July 25, 1988) is a Filipino singer, performer and actress. Geronimo rose to prominence after winning the television singing contest '' Star for a Night'' earning her a recording contract with Vi ...

Maja Salvador Maja Ross Andres Salvador-Ortega (; born October 5, 1988) is a Filipino actress, performer, television host, occasional producer, and talent manager. Referred to as the “Majestic Superstar”and the "''Queen of Revenge Drama''", Salvador is ...

Pia Wurtzbach Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach ( ; ; born September 24, 1989), formerly known professionally as Pia Romero, is a Filipino model, actress and beauty queen who is known for being crowned Miss Universe 2015. She joined Binibining Pilipinas pageant three ...

, Arci Muñoz,

Jessy Mendiola Jessy Mendiola-Manzano (born Jessica Mendiola Tawile, ; December 3, 1992) is a Filipino actress. Early life Mendiola was born in Dubai, where her father used to work. She is the second of three siblings of a Filipino mother and a Lebanese fa ...

KC Concepcion Maria Kristina Cassandra "KC" Cuneta Concepcion (; born April 7, 1985) is a Filipino actress, singer, dancer, TV host, entrepreneur, socialite and humanitarian. She has had lead roles in Philippine films '' For The First Time'' (2008) and ''Whe ...

Yassi Pressman Yasmin Isabel "Yassi" Pressman(born 11 May 1995) is a Filipino-British model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer. As a power dancer, she was given a break in her career for portraying antagonist roles before rising to prominen ...

Anne Curtis Anne Curtis-Smith(; born 17 February 1985) is a Filipino-Australian actress, model, television host, entrepreneur and recording artist. She is dubbed as the "''Multimedia Superstar''" for her talent and influence. Curtis has received numerou ...

Kathryn Bernardo Kathryn Chandria Manuel Bernardo (; born March 26, 1996) is a Filipino actress and singer. Dubbed as “''Asia's Superstar”'' by various media outlets, People Asia hailed Bernardo as the Box Office Queen of her generation for being the onl ...

and

Ritz Azul Ritz Azul-Guy (born Ritz Ann Riggie Villafuerte Alzul on January 11, 1994), is a Filipina actress and television hostess known for her work as a talent of TV5 and later ABS-CBN through Star Magic. Early life and career Although born in Pampan ...

. In May 2017, it was announced that Liza Soberano will replace Locsin. But, in April 2019, Soberano withdrew from the project due to a finger bone injury she acquired during production for the network's 2018 TV series ''

Bagani Bagani or magani refers to the class of warrior-leaders of various Lumad ethnic groups of the island of Mindanao, Philippines. Bagani were most notably integral to the traditional society and government of the Mandaya, Mansaka, Manobo, and Bagobo ...

''. Meanwhile, ABS-CBN had begun casting on a new actress. In July 2019, it was announced that Jane de Leon would replace Soberano. In August 2020, ABS-CBN announced to postponement of the filming of the movie due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions. However, in December 2020, ABS-CBN announced the Darna film will be adapted into a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

.ABS-CBN News (December 4, 2020)
announces ‘Darna’ series; Jane de Leon still to star
''ABS-CBN'', Retrieved December 4, 2020.

Collected editions

References

External links

Official Mars Ravelo's Darna web siteMars Ravelo Superheroes web siteMango Comics''Darna'' 2005 TV series''Darna'' 2009 TV series
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1950 comics debuts Comics about women Comics adapted into television series Comics characters introduced in 1950 Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Comics characters with superhuman strength Female characters in comics Female superheroes Extraterrestrial characters in comics Filipino superheroes Philippine comics adapted into films Philippine comics titles