Queen Nara (Ligra; Nara Gale)

Queen Nara on her throne QUEEN NARA
of Ligra

Real Name: Nara Gale

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrially (Planet Ligra)-based human;
Early 20^th century (1900-1930 and 1930-1945, at least)

Occupation: Empress of Ligra, Queen of the Lion-People

Group Membership: Queen of the Lion-People

Affiliations: Electro the robot, Lion-People of Ligra, Professor Philo Zog

Enemies: Dragon-Men of Ligra (notably Jago and Zoor), giant octopus of the Dragon-Men

Known Relatives: Sir Ronald Gale (father, deceased), unidentified mother (deceased)

Aliases: None known

Base of Operations: Her castle within the domain of the Lion-People, planet Ligra, Mandahl system, Milky Way galaxy

First Appearance: (Mentioned) Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (June, 1940);
(seen) Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (July, 1940)

Powers/Abilities: Nara did not demonstrate any superhuman abilities.

She had experience ruling an unidentified population of Lion-People (and possibly an empire beyond that).

She had the courage to defy threats from beings physically more powerful than her, but she lacked the power to oppose them herself.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 125 lbs.)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Brown

History:
(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb) - BTS / Marvel Mystery Handbook: Lion-People profile) - In the early 20^th century, British scientist Sir Ronald Gale flew his wife and their infant daughter, Nara, to planet Ligra in his stratosphere-plane, becoming the first humans to visit the planet.

The ferocious Dragon-Men soon slew Sir Ronald and his wife.

Nara was rescued and raised by the peaceful Lion-People, eventually becoming their queen upon reaching adulthood.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (fb) - BTS) - The ferocious Dragon-Men of Ligra sought to overthrow Queen Nara and the peaceful Lion-People, the then-current ruers of Ligra.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6) - BTS) <1937> - King Jago sent a number of Dragon-Men to Earth to capture the powerful terrestrial robot Electro. They also captured and controlled Electro's creator, Philo Zog.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - After Jago tortured Zog and forced his compliance, Jago sent a messenger to the palace of Queen Nara.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - Considering his ultimate victory assured, Jago sent a messenger to the palace of the Lion-People's ruler, Queen Nara, delivering a message informing of his intentions and warning her to surrender her crown or he would declare war.

Refusing to bow "to a wretch such as Jago," Nara instructed her aide Gor to summon the armies of Ligra to her palace.

Learning of Nara's decision, Jago sent his warriors to attack the Lion-People, and an army of foot soldiers -- aided by eagle-riders and Electro -- soon assaulted Nara's palace, their bombs destroying its walls, and their death-rays killing hundreds. As the Lion-Men fought back with their Q-Rays guns, Jago commanded Zog, at knife-point to send Electro into action.

dragon-men-ligra-mmc9-octopus-v-electro

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 - BTS) - Unaffected by the Q-Rays, Electro attacked the Lion-Men soldiers, devastating their ranks.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - Their path cleared by Electro, Jago and his powerful bodyguard, Zoor, rushed into Queen Nara's chambers, and Jago grabbed Nara, warning her that she would regret her actions. One of Nara's faithful Lion-Men (possibly Gor) rushed to her aid and ordered Jago to stop, but Zoor swiftly flattened the Lion-Man.

Taking Nara hostage to protect himself, Jago carried her to his monstrous War-Eagle, which flew him back to his castle, there he cast her into the dungeon, mockingly telling her he hoped she would be comfortable.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) - Aided by Electro, the Dragon-Men defeated the Lion-People. Searching the castle, however, the Dragon-Men were unable to find the royal jewels and treasures.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - After a messenger reported their victory, Jago asked about the royal jewels and treasures. Upon learning they were still unlocated, Jago rushed to Nara and demanded to know their location. When Nara refused to tell him anything, Jago released a giant octopus to force her compliance. nara-liagra-mmc9-knighting

As the octopus slithered toward Nara, Zog took advantage of the distraction to escape and trap his captors Free to act, Zog directed Electro to attack the Dragon-Men, and Electro uprooted a tree and used it to destroy scores of Dragon-Men. Zog then ordered Electro to rescue Nara; smashing into the dungeon, Electro ultimately apparently slew the octopus.

When Jago and his guards attempted to flee in some craft, they were swiftly overtaken by Electro, who cast their craft into the water, apparently killing them.

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5) - Nara made Professor Zog an honorary knight of Ligra (the highest honors in their land). Zog then noted he and Electro would return to Earth, but that she should not hesitate to call on them again if she needed them.

Comments: Created by Steve Dahlman.

Queen or Empress

Nara was referenced as Empress of the peaceful Lion-People of Ligra in Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6, and she was revealed to be human in Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5, wherein she was called Queen Nara.

As Jago considered he would become ruler of Ligra upon conquering the Lion-People, it would seem LIKELY that Nara was ruler of Ligra. Perhaps there were more races on Ligra than the Lion-People and Dragon-Men. Or perhaps not.

Regardless, for the purpose of this profile, I have listed her as Queen of the Lion-People, and Empress of Ligra.

Fate of Nara

We have no idea what happened after Zog departed. I like to think she married a nice Lion-Man and that they had hybrid human-Lion-People kids. Maybe Gur, seen in Marvel Zombies Destroy, is one of her descendants. Or not.

The 1937 date for Electro and Zog's trip to Ligra comes from the Marvel Mystery Handbook, but it is based on the story in Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6, which notes that Sarpo was sent to prison by Electro and Zog for looting towns during the Great Ohio Flood. The story in that issue follows shortly thereafter, as Sarpo gets word to his men to seek vengeance by making Electro help their criminal efforts. Thanks to Anthony Flamini for pointing this out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_River_flood_of_1937

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Nara has no known connection to:

NARA - Atlantean/Homo mermani studying at Braddock Academy, slain by monstrous form of Cullen Bloodstone--Avengers Arena#1
GALE ( ) - insane criminal, former inmate at Ravencroft, she was one of a group freed by Shriek in an escape attempt foiled by Spider-Man. Superhuman strength--Web of Spider-Man Annual#10
Dorothy Gale, who frequently traveled to the Land of Oz in the early 20th century...hmmm...--Wizard of Oz
other "Nara" or "Gale" characters...

Sir Ronald Gale

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) - British scientist Sir Ronald Gale flew to planet Ligra in his stratosphere-plane, becoming the first Earth-man to visit the planet.

The ferocious Dragon-Men slew Sir Ronald and his wife.

Their infant daughter Nara was rescued and raised by the peaceful Lion-People, eventually becoming their queen.

--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5

Note: The whole of Sir Ronald's story is told in a single narrative caption.

    For Nara to have been an adult circa 1940 (she could have been 20-40 years old when she encountered Electro), it would seem that her parents would have been slain around 1900-1920.

    The logical assumption is that Sir Ronald brought his wife and daughter with him to Ligra, and that he and his wife were slain soon after arrival.

    However, that is not explicitly stated in the original stories. Gale could have arrived there with his wife and lived there for years before the Dragon-Men slew them. Maybe Nara was born on Ligra? Maybe Sir Ronald flew to Ligra, spent some time there, then returned to Earth? Maybe he met and/or married his wife after returning from Ligra? He's called a scientist and an "Earth-man," but not specifically confirmed as human in the original story. The "Sir" part of his name would indicate he was British royalty (or had been knighted), but he could be a non-human receiving such honor, much like James Braddock Sr. (Captain Britain's dad, who originated on Otherworld).

    Additionally, it may just be be grammatical error, but the fact that the original story didn't separate Nara by commas could indicate that she wasn't the only daughter of Sir Ronald Gale and his wife...

    OR...it's just the logical assumption...The Marvel Mystery Handbook's Lion-People entry notes, "In the early 20^th century, British scientist Sir Ronald Gale left Earth in his experimental stratosphere-plane with his wife and infant daughter, Nara. The Gale family became the first Earthlings to set foot on Ligra, but the Dragon-Men soon killed Sir Ronald and his wife"
That's probably all there is to it...OR IS IT?

    Regardless, developing a craft to depart Earth and travel to a planet light years away in short order is pretty spectacular for early 20th century. Reminds me of Phineas Randall...I'd love to see Sir Ronald Gale shown as an uber-genius in stories around the turn of the 19th century.

Nara's mother

(Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (fb) - BTS) - In the early 20^th century, British scientist Sir Ronald Gale left Earth in his experimental stratosphere-plane with his wife and infant daughter, Nara.

The ferocious Dragon-Men slew Sir Ronald and his wife.

--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5

Note: Although not identified as anything other than Sir Ronald Gale's wife, the narrative also notes "THEIR infant daughter Nara," which pretty much means Gale's wife was Nara's mother.

As not taking a husband's last name was much less common in the early 20^th century, it's pretty likely that her last name was Gale. Now, her maiden name, that's another matter...but my speculation-ometer has fatigued

Stratosphere-Plane

In the early 20^th century, British scientist Sir Ronald Gale left Earth in his experimental stratosphere-plane with his wife and infant daughter, Nara.

--Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5

Note: As Proxima Centauri, the star closest to Earth, is 4.24 light years away, the Mandahl star system is farther than that.

The stratosphere-plane had to have either faster-than-light or warp capacity (maybe it was all a fluke, an overload of an experimental power source...or not).

images: (without ads)
Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5, pg. 3, panel 3 (Queen Nara, throne);
        panel 6 (angry, standing...potential addition);
    pg. 5, panel 5 (captured by Jago);
    pg. 8, panel 2 (held by octopus);
        panel 6 (knighting Professor Zog)

Appearances:
Marvel Mystery Comics#8/6 (June, 1940) - Steve Dahlman (writer, penciler, inker), Joe Simon (editor)
Marvel Mystery Comics#9/5 (July, 1940) - Steve Dahlman (writer, penciler, inker), Joe Simon (editor)
Marvel Mystery Handbook: 70th Anniversary Special: Dragon-Men

First posted: 03/21/2020
Last updated: 04/04/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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