Family and heritage
Nagala is a Lemurian Homo Mermanus. According to her family tree published in “Mystic Arcana:The Book of Marvel Magic”, she is a daughter of Palatyne. Her maternal grandparents were Elynus and Pressyne. Her great-grandfather was Naga, former Emperor of Lemuria and powerful sorcerer. Her great-grandmother was Maralith, daughter of Typhon and Echidna.
Typhon is an Olympian God. He is a son of Tartarus and Gaea, the Elder Goddess. Echidna is an Olympian monster, daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. Ceto, according to Greek mythology, is a child of Pontus (the Sea God) and Gaea (the Earth Goddess). Phorcys had disputed origins in Greek legend. The Mystic Arcanna retconned him to a son of Set, the Elder God.
As a Homo Mermanus, Nagala has the sub-mariner physiology common to the Atlanteans and Lemurians. This includes a stronger and more durable physiology than the Homo Sapiens, able to withstand the vast pressures of the ocean depths. The average Homo Mermanus individual is ten time stronger than their Homo Sapiens counterpart and can swim at a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour. Their vision is superior to the Homo Sapiens, allowing them to see in the dim light of the ocean depths. Due to their connection to Set, the Lemurian variant of the race has skin covered in green scales and an appearance which combines mammalian and reptilian features. The Homo Mermani tend to age slower than their surface counterparts, their average lifespan lasting 150 years.
Whether Nagala has greater than average attributes due to training or heritage has been left unclear. Her direct descent from a number of Gods may have also made her physiology somewhat different from other Lemurians but the specifics have not been detailed.
Magic User
Nagala is a sorceress though her lever of experience in the field has not been determined. She wears a version of the Serpent Crown, previously worn by her grandfather Naga. The artifact was created by the Serpent Men c. 20,000 and greatly amplifies the mystical and mental skills of its users. The user who held the crown the longest was Naga and is presumed the one to unlocked the most out of its abilities. It gave him superhuman strength (c. 10 tons, on the range of Spider-Man strength-wise and slowed down his aging process. Naga lived to be 600 years old. The Crown projects concussive energy strong enough to level entire cities. The users can levitate themselves (“fly”), gain telepathy allowing him to scan and control other minds, telekinesis allowing him to levitate people and objects, cast convincing illusions, teleport at will and manipulate matter and energy for various results. The lever of experience of Nagala with its features is uncertain. With experience her powers may reach Naga’s levels.
In “Defenders” vol. 2 #7 (September, 2001) successfully defended herself from a series of magical attacks by Dr. Strange. In #11, Nagala held her own against both Dr. Strange and Hellcat (resistant to magical attacks) but was defeated when Silver Surfer removed the oxygen from the water around her, suffocating her.
In “Mystic Arcanna:Scarlet Witch” #1 (October, 2007), Nagala drew power directly from Set, serving as his new “Queen”. She was seen able to create a new version of the Serpent Crown by invoking a spell. The spell allows for more than one version of the crown to exist at a time and the implications have not been fully explored.