Aleena

Aleena
First appearance:	"The Enchantress"
Created by:	Lee Falk and Phil Davis

Aleena is a character from Mandrake comic strip that first appeared in "The Enchantress". She was a beautiful blonde woman who had studied with Mandrake at the College of Magic, where they were briefly lovers. Initially, she went by the nickname "Enchantress" to avoid drawing too much attention, using her magical powers to scare people away. Later, she shifted tactics, leveraging her beauty and magical abilities to charm wealthy men, leading a life of luxury. Once her partners ran out of money, she moved on to her next victim.

Fictional Character Biography

The Phil Davis Era

Aleena was a student at the "College of Magic" at the same time as Mandrake, and they became sweethearts when they were around sixteen and seventeen. To Narda, Mandrake described her as beautiful in a wild way. He also said that she was the only girl who had ever studied at the college and that she was very talented. Aleena came from a remote small country in southern Europe and when her parents fell ill she had to finish her studies and go home. When they parted, they made an agreement that they would meet again after thirteen years, at Bald Mountain.

After all theese years Mandrake only vaguely remembered her and had no intention of meeting her again, but Aleena had completely different plans. She envisioned them getting married, and she used her powers to trick Mandrake into coming to the Bald Mountain. She told that thirteen years ago when she returned home the country was in the hands of evil men, tyrants. Using her powers, she helped the rightful king regain his crown. A little later she helped the king in battle against a hostile king. In gratitude, the king gave her the residence Bald Mountain.

Bald Mountain was a mountain peak where a secret entrance led to an elevator. At the top of the mountain was a palace-like house surrounded by a beautiful garden with fountains and a small zoo of its own. The palace was built in marble and room after room was filled with art treasures.

After a woman to woman conversation with Narda, Aleena decided not to marry Mandrake, but rather to choose Gurn, who had been infatuated with her for a long time.

The Fred Fredericks Era

In 1973 Mandrake told that Aleena had been one of the few girls studying at the "College of Magic," and that he and Aleena had been friends and classmates. When they were seventeen, they became lovers; Mandrake described it as puppy love.

Theron was not fond of Aleena, describing her as a frivolous and vain woman who had misused her powers, mainly to attract husbands. She had been married and divorced six times, and Theron warned Mandrake that she was likely looking for her seventh husband, the true love of her youth whom she had never forgotten — Mandrake.

Aleena contacted Mandrake with a mental vision, claiming she was dying, and enchanted him to follow a mental beam leading to her house. Upon his arrival, Mandrake discovered that Aleena was indeed dying, but from boredom.

Aleena was accompanied by Set, a man disfigured by a lion who now served her and obeyed her every command. She recounted how, many years ago, Set had been jealous of a lion tamer who admired her. In an attempt to win her attention, Set had entered the lion's cage but was attacked and disfigured. Since then, Set had followed her as a loyal servant.

She also spoke of her first husband, Gurn. Although they had been together, she had grown bored and one day threw her necklace into a burning house. To prove his love, Gurn rushed into the house to retrieve it, suffering severe burns. Aleena married him mostly out of pity and spent a fortune on plastic surgery to restore his looks. After his recovery, he left her for the blonde singer Kimberly.

Her second husband was Pablo, a bullfighter whom she described as brave but foolish. Her third husband was Georgeous Cyril, a wrestling champion who quit wrestling but not overeating. Her fourth husband was a deep-sea diver, but she said she couldn't swim. Her fifth husband was a rich banker who went bankrupt, and her sixth husband was King Rupert, who lost his crown. Her last five husbands remained with her and Set, bewitched to serve her.

Aleena revealed that her real goal was not Mandrake himself, but something he possessed — the Crystal Cube.

In the story about Mandrake's twin brother, Derek, from 1980 followed by the story of Aleena a slightly different story is told.

The story begins with Mandrake's time at the College of Magic, where he, Derek, and Aleena were students together. Theron noted that Aleena was the first female student they had had in fifty years.

Mandrake and Aleena were childhood sweethearts at the age of seventeen. However, when Derek tried to kiss Aleena against her will, it led to a fight between the two brothers. Although the twins eventually reconciled, the incident left a lasting impression on Aleena, as she discovered she enjoyed having boys fight over her.

Mandrake also realized that Aleena wasn't very faithful when she started a relationship with Luciphor, Theron's closest associate. Luciphor attempted to steal the treasures from the College of Magic but was caught and fled. Many years later, he reappeared as the Cobra, Mandrake's arch-nemesis. The relationship between Mandrake and Aleena never recovered after Luciphor's betrayal.

At the age of eighteen, Mandrake and Derek graduated and left the College. Before they parted ways, Aleena told Mandrake they would meet again in ten years.

Aleena continued her studies for two more years, and upon her graduation, Theron advised her that her powers and beauty were a potent combination and urged her to use them for good. However, Aleena had different plans. She amassed a series of suitors, a castle, and great wealth. Over the next few years, she married and divorced six times, with all her ex-husbands bewitched and effectively enslaved by her. Only three of Aleena's ex-husbands are mentioned: Jorge, Boris, and Oliver.

Again a slightly different story is told in 1986 when Aleena needs Mandrake's help when she is in trouble with a drug smuggling gang.

The background story is set during Mandrake's time at the College of Magic. Mandrake and Aleena were lovers when Aleena began a relationship with Luciphor. She ended things with Mandrake, telling him he was just a boy while Luciphor was a man. Mandrake graduated at eighteen, and shortly after, Luciphor fled the College following a failed theft attempt.

Aleena didn't care about completing her exams and ran away from the College with a prince. Over the next twelve years, Aleena married and divorced six times, leaving her ex-husbands penniless. She now lives in a castle-like house surrounded by luxury, but finds herself lacking money.

Aleena's last appearance occurs during Mandrake and Narda's wedding at the College of Magic, where she arrives as an uninvited guest. To Narda Mandrake explains that he and Aleena were students at the College when they were young and were sweethearts at the age of fourteen.

Behind the scenes

• Aleena, named after Lee Falk's mother or his stepsister Ailine (Aileen/Arleen).

Notable appearances

The stories where Aleena has featured are:

Year	Daily/Sunday	Title	Comments
1954	Daily	"The Enchantress"	Marries Gurn
1973	Daily	"Tale of Aleena"
1980	Daily	"Derek"
1980	Daily	"Aleena the Enchantress"
1986	Daily	"Aleena and the Smugglers"
1997	Daily	"Mandrake's Wedding at the College of Magic"