Mars Ravelo created the first images of Darna before World War II, as the character's predecessor Varga. Ravelo, a then young pioneering illustrator from Tanza, Cavite, thought of creating a female counterpart for Superman because he believed in the concept that America is "male" and the Philippines, then a colony of the United States, is "female". Ravelo's inspiration for Darna's heroic qualities came from his childhood fascination with Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman (first appearance on Action Comics, No. 1, June 30, 1938; debut as a newspaper comic strip on January 16, 1939). He did not want to use the term "Superwoman" so as not to plagiarize the Siegel and Shuster creation. So instead, Ravelo originally referred to his superheroine as "Kamangha-manghang Dilag" (The Amazing Warrior Maiden) and combined the superhuman qualities of Superman with his own real life hero, his mother. The winged medallion on Darna's helmet was inspired by the emblem of the Philippine airforce as Ravelo also dreamed of the opportunity to fly. The magic white stone concept is cultural iconography as Philippine folklore has many stories of brave young mortals whose courage and heart enable them to be worthy of magic amulets - the only thing in these stories that could even the odds against evil, supernatural forces.