Background
Fifteen years before the start of the series, Magica and her mortal nemesis Scrooge McDuck dueled on top of Mount Vesuvius in which Magica intended to use the Dime to banish Scrooge to another dimension inside it, only for Scrooge to repel the spell and trap her instead. Before she was completely sealed away, however, Magica enchanted her shadow and her staff to carry out her revenge. The staff became a talisman and the shadow a corporeal entity that created its own form and identity: the young duckling Lena.
Lena would then spend the next fifteen years under the command of her "aunt" Magica, who was able to manifest through Lena's own shadow, and forced to carry out her will, having been promised her freedom for her cooperation.
Personality
Lena is rebellious, a prankster, and loves scaring people. She speaks with an attitude and is not impressed by families saying all they do is argue. She is very confident no matter what the situation is. With Mrs. Beakley and other ducks she finds in poor taste, however, she makes no attempt to hide her sour opinions toward them and is not afraid to prove them wrong. However, she helped Mrs. Beakley when the latter was trapped.
Above everything, Lena desired to be free of Magica from her life, even if it meant having to do what Magica says and initially keeping the McDucks from uncovering her deception. Over the course of time, Lena struggled with balancing out between listening to Magica and being a good friend to Webby. Upon recognizing her friendship with Webby is genuine, and the McDuck family's kindness, Lena's opinions change and she stands up to Magica's abusiveness deciding to finally stop Magica, but this comes at the cost of her freedom.
Physical appearance
Lena is a female duck with some of her hair dyed pink and purple eyeshadow. She wears green and white sneakers, a black and gray striped shirt, and a mint-collared shirt underneath. She also wears a purple talisman, which is later revealed to be the magical staff of Magica.
Abilities
By focusing on her talisman, Lena can perform powerful magic like using telekinesis to lift a train car and pull Beakley out from under before she lost control. She can also perform a certain spell to summon Magica through her shadow; however, Magica can also appear on her own accord, and Lena cannot hide nor control Magica when she does. The talisman binds Lena and Magica's shadow together with no ability to escape one another. As Magica's powers grow stronger, she is able to possess Lena.
Role in the series
Lena makes her first appearance in "The Beagle Birthday Massacre!", lounging at the stage of a coastal amphitheater writing fake S.O.S. notes into the docks that found their way to Webby on the beach. Lena introduces herself and hits it off with Webby, then invites Webby to a "party" she's going to, although it was actually Ma Beagle's birthday celebration Lena wanted to attend to pull a prank on her. The offense irks the Beagle Boys to hunt down Lena and Webby. During the chase, when giving Webby the choice to escape with her or be left to fend off the Beagles with the triplets, Lena leaves when Webby chooses to stay with them. Lena ends up captured by the Beagles later on and held hostage at the amphitheater. Webby and the triplets launch a rescue attempt that also gets them captured. In the end, however, the kids are able to escape by turning the Beagles against each other. Lena bids farewell to the duck children then returns to the amphitheater. There, she summons Magica to report her successful infiltration.
In "Terror of the Terra-firmians!", Lena accompanies Webby and the triplets to a movie and later leads them to an abandoned subway station to settle a dispute between Huey and Webby over the urban legend of the Terra-Firmians. The group eventually become trapped underground, so Webby's grandmother Bentina Beakley, having grown suspicious of Lena and her influence, has Lena accompany her to detach the train cars that are trapped under rocks. When the train car lights are shined on Lena, however, the shadow of Magica briefly controls Lena's movements to attack Beakley, but Lena jumps out of the light before this, and Beakley noticing it, could happen. After Beakley is trapped by rubble, Magica's shadow tempts Lena to let Beakley perish, but Lena puts aside these thoughts and uses her magic to remove the car and pull Beakley out. After the group finds a way out, Magica questions Lena why she showed Beakley mercy. Lena claims that by changing Beakley's impressions of her, her playing the "long game" will make it easier to earn the McDuck's trust.
In "JAW$!", Lena is instructed to plant an amulet in Scrooge's treasure in order to obtain the Number One Dime. Lena also learns about Scrooge's grudge towards magic and Magica, making her uncomfortable with the truth, despite Webby also having an interest in magic. Lena later discovers the amulet created a treasure shark named Tiffany at the Money Bin that will devour anything—and anyone—for the Dime. Angry with Magica on not telling her about Tiffany, Magica accuses Lena of growing attached to Webby upon noticing Lena's friendship bracelet. While trying to lure Tiffany, Lena's magic briefly changes in accordance with Webby's sentimental friendship that falters when Lena chides Webby for affecting her. After Tiffany does acquire the Dime, Lena is about to be eaten only for Webby to push her out of the way, before being eaten herself. Though the Dime is just above her reach, Lena is moved by Webby's sacrifice that she chooses to embrace her friendship and becomes charged with sentimental magic that destroys Tiffany from the inside. Lena recuperates at the amphitheater the next morning where another reprimand by Magica leads her to abandon Magica's cause before being suddenly held back by her own shadow. As Lena struggles to escape, Magica reminds her that if Lena does what she says, then she may grant Lena's darkest desire—her freedom. Mournfully throwing away her friendship bracelet, Lena begrudgingly concedes to Magica.
In "The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!", Magica grows further impatient towards Lena's practical approach for she has yet to acquire the dime while the eclipse is approaching. Lena promises to use her connection with Webby to get the Dime. But this time, the Dime has been placed in Scrooge's deadly "Other Bin" after Scrooge suspected something was amiss. Convincing Webby to go with her to the Other Bin, the girls find their way into a series of vaults each containing a dangerous acquisition. Opening one of the vaults releases a vicious unicorn that attacks Webby, during which Magica asks Lena why she remains Webby which Lena, at first, defends she cares nothing for Webby. But Lena instinctively throws Webby a dagger to fight the unicorn, unintentionally showing her care for Webby. After finding another vault, Lena goes in and sees a series of terrible things occur — Magica being released, Webby learning the truth and transformed into Magica's puppet, and Lena destroying her. Lena is then back in reality and learns she witnessed her nightmare from the vault's mystic dreamcatcher. Haunted by the illusion, Lena decides to walk away from finding the Dime. At that moment, they then run into Scrooge retrieving the Dime, but Scrooge's understanding nature convinces Lena to finally reveal Magica to Scrooge. Unfortunately, Magica hijacks Lena's voice to dissuade him and fully takes over Lena. Now possessing Lena's body, Magica masquerades as her niece to get the Dime on her own terms.
When the eclipse is at its peak in "The Shadow War!", Magica uses Lena's body to get to Scrooge when the latter was suffering a depression, although Lena desperately tries and fails to warn Scrooge in the moments when she breaks from Magica's influence. Magica ultimately acquires the Dime at the lunar eclipse, and her shadow leaves Lena to reunite with her true form from the Dime. Lena confesses to her actions to Scrooge who takes pity on her, but Magica then absorbs Lena back into herself before Lena gets the chance to help him stop Magica. While looking for Lena, Webby and the others discover the truth of Lena; Webby becoming upset that Lena was never her friend. In the climax of Magica's brawl with the McDucks, Webby takes out her frustration of losing Lena on Magica but Magica derides Webby for befriending something that was never real. Before Magica can execute her, however, Webby's friendship bracelet, still containing Lena's magic, revives Lena through Magica's shadow. Lena fights against Magica, angrily demanding Magica leave her friend alone, but she is unable to hold for long before Magica eliminates Lena's essence altogether to Webby's horror. After Magica is finally defeated, Webby honors Lena's sacrifice, and it is revealed that Lena survived through Webby's shadow where she smiles back at Webby.
Gallery
Trivia
- Her relationship to Magica makes her Magica's second-known niece, the first being Minima De Spell from the comics. However, other than being "related" to Magica, Lena has no connection to Minima.[3]
- Concept art revealed that Lena was originally going to sport black hair and feathers, and had the surname "Le Strange". However, this was intended to be a placeholder name to keep Lena's relationship with Magica a secret.[1]
- According to herself, Lena's shirt came from the lead singer of the Featherweights during one of their gigs in Paris. However, a flashback in "The Shadow War!" revealed that she was born with that shirt.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Angones, Frank. "Question, there's been a bit of a confusion, is...". Tumblr.
- ↑ "IDW Publishing April 2018 solicitations". Newsarama (January 24, 2018).
- ↑ Angones, Frank. "Was Lena inspired by Magica's niece Minima...". Tumblr.
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