DONNA GARTH

Real Name: Donna Garth Mason

Identity/Class: Human

Occupation: Boss of Garwood Industries and Garth Manor Coffee

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Angelina Beliard, Anton Cartier, Det. Sam Jagger, Hannibal King, Moira Mason

Enemies: Deacon Frost, Gene Griggs, Gyps, Hackman, Katanya, Marie LaVeau, Narcisse, Papa Nebo, Richard Ricard

Known Relatives: Zombie (Simon Garth, father, pseudo-deceased), Bruce Mason (husband, see comments), Miranda Garth (mother)

Aliases: Spider-Thing

Base of Operations: New Orleans, Louisianna

First Appearance: Menace#5 (July, 1953); (retold) Tales of the Zombie#1 (August, 1973)

Powers/Abilities:

History: (Strange Tales V#1/3 (fb)) - Donna attended a Catholic school as a child, where she met Angelina Beliard. While there, Angelina continued her romance with Narcisse.

(Tales of the Zombie#2 (fb) - BTS) - Simon Garth was longtime friends with Anton Cartier in Haiti. Donna came to regard Anton as a pseudo-uncle.

(Tales of the Zombie#2 (fb)) - Simon Garth brought his daughter, Donna, to Haiti, where he had his agent, Hackman, explain how they paid musicians to play along the field workers, as it markedly improved their productivity.

(Tales of the Zombie#1 (fb)) - Donna was annoyed with her father for forbidding her to hang out with one of her friends, but she still rushed out of the house to give him some papers he'd forgotten, discovering a voodoo charm on their gardener Gyps. Later, thinking she was alone on the property, Donna went skinnydipping, but was most surprised when Gyps rushed to her side and accosted her. As her father arrived and beat Gyps, Donna fled back into the Garth manor.

(Menace#5/Tales of the Zombie#1/2) - Gyps sent the Zombie to frighten Donna so that he might appear to rush to her rescue. She heard the Zombie approach, but seeing her allowed the Zombie to free himself from Gyps control, and he left before Donna could see him, heading back and killing Gyps instead.

(Tales of the Zombie#1/6) - A few weeks after her father's disappearance, Donna was called on to identify Gyps' dead body. Feeling a connection to her father via the Amulet of Damballah which they had found on Gyps, she convinced Detective Sam Jagger to allow her to keep it. Concentrating on the Amulet, she unwittingly summoned her father to it, but she lost the amulet to mugger Gene Griggs a short time later. 

(Tales of the Zombie#2) - Sensing her father's disappearance was tied to Voodoo, Donna traveled to Haiti and sought out Anton Cartier, showing him a drawing of the Amulet of Damballah.

(Tales of the Zombie#2/9) - Donna was abducted in her sleep by Hackman and brought to Professor Richard Ricard, who injected her with his experimental spider-venom, transforming her into the Spider-Thing. In that form, she slew Ricard and another man she encountered. The Spider-Thing also came across the Zombie and she attacked it as well, but her bites and venom did her no harm, and after exhausting herself she returned to normal form, passing out. The Zombie wandered back to its cavern before she revived. Upon awakening, she vaguely recalled seeing her father, and thinking that he had behaved the same way he always did (passive-aggressive).

(Tales of the Zombie#3) - Donna met Bruce and Moira Mason, who had traveled to Haiti in hopes that Anton Cartier could lead them to a voodoo ceremony, which Bruce could film. The voodoo practitioners allowed the four of them to observe, but strictly forbade the filming. However, Moira refused to waste the trip and attempted to film the ceremony in secret, disrupting it and angering the goddess Ezili-Kokobe. Donna and the others were helpless to interfere as the cultist bound Moira, and their leader, Katanya, summoned Ezili-Kokobe to judge Moira; she was found wanting and her face hideously scarred by the goddess. The Zombie then acted the voodoo practitioners and put Moira out of her misery, and Donna recognized the amulet around the Zombie's neck, and was appalled by his inhuman nature.

(Tales of the Zombie#4 (fb) - BTs) - Donna, Anton Cartier, and Bruce Mason fled from the voodoo cultists.

(Tales of the Zombie#4) - Donna comforted Bruce over the loss of his wife, hinting that she now knew the truth about her father.

(Tales of the Zombie#9 (fb) - BTS) - Donna and Bruce fell in love and became engaged to be married.

(Tales of the Zombie#9) - Donna was delighted when her father, briefly returned to life by Layla and Papa Doc, attended her wedding. Knowing that he would soon become a zombie once again, Simon Garth told his ex-wife, Miranda, to apologize to Donna and to tell her he loved her.

(Tales of the Zombie#9 - BTS) - Simon Garth arranged the sellout his half of Garwood, using it as a trust for Donna and Miranda

(Blade: Crescent City Blues (fb) - BTs) - At some point, ownership of Garwood Industries and Garth Manor Coffee passed into Donna's hands.

(Blade: Crescent City Blues) - The vampire Deacon Frost sought to usurp Donna's ownership of Garwoord. Donna hired Hannibal King to track down and find the stolen Talisman/Amulet of Damballah, as well as her father. King, Blade, and Brother Voodoo drove off Deacon Frost and his ally, Marie LaVeau.

(Spider-Man Unlimited I#20) - Donna met King at a New Orleans airport, where she took custody of her father's body (encased in a crate) and promised to bury him where no one would find him. She expressed some interest in King, but he kept his distance from her, determining that "one dead man in her life was enough."

(Strange Tales V#1/3 (fb)) - Narcisse was horrified to meet up with Angelina and Donna years later, only to find out that Donna had introduced Angelina to another man, to whom she was now engaged.

(Strange Tales V#1/3) - After a love spell performed by Papa Nebo for Narcisse went wrong, Donna dug up her father to avenge her best friend, and sent him to kill Nebo and return with Narcisse. Donna and the Zombie then entombed Narcisse with Angelina's undead body, after which Donna vowed to use her father and his curse to purge the earth of other walking dead.

Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Bill Everett; revamped by Roy Thomas, Steve Gerber, John Buscema and Tom Palmer.

Steve Gerber intended for Donna to join the Legion of the Night , but it never came to be.
    And why is that? How can there be so many crappy titles on the market today, but the inability to support a great title by Gerber? Boo! and shame on everyone.

Donna was never shown to be divorced, but subsequent writers have apparently forgotten that she was married. Where they are happily married, estranged, or divorced is unknown.

Thanks to Jean-Marc Lofficier, Madison Carter, and Snood for the images.

by Madison Carter, Prime Eternal and Snood

CLARIFICATIONS:
Donna Garth should not be confused with:

• Donna Maria Puentes, ally of Captain America, @ Captain America I#206
• or any other donnas, bella donnas, or primadonnas.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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