Gender: Female

First Appearance: "Deadly Force"

Other Appearances: "Her Brother's Keeper," "The Cage," and "Mark of the Panther."

Diane Maza was born and raised in New York City. She married Peter Maza and had three children, Elisa, Derek and Beth. Derek and Elisa followed in their father's footsteps, while Beth continued to attend her school in Arizona.

One night, in 1994, Diane, Peter and Derek dropped by at Manhattan General Hospital after Elisa was accidentally shot by Broadway. The family inquired as to who shot Elisa, but never learned the truth, as Tony Dracon was the prime suspect. Diane and family were relieved, however, that Elisa pulled through after surgery.

A few weeks later, Diane talked with Derek about his choice to leave the police force and join the ranks of Xanatos Enterprises. Unlike her husband's proclamation that it would kill his mother if he left the force, she instead encouraged him to do what he felt best, and he ended up accepting Xanatos' offer.

The Mazas, minus Derek, conversed at dinner one night after Derek "disappeared," and Beth reminded everyone of that unintentionally. Peter and Diane were visibly worried about Derek, but Elisa reassured them that he's fine. Outside the window, a silhouette went unnoticed by all but Elisa. It was revealed later on that Derek, now named Talon, was metamorphosed into a cat-like creature by Anton Sevarius. Talon's family was accepting, however, and greeted him with open arms.

After Elisa disappeared on her Avalon trip, Diane returned to Nigeria, where Elisa and she had visited once before, to trace her African roots. Once there, she integrated herself into a village, and told an amusing story about Anansi the spider, who transformed a panther into a woman, had her build a magical city called Karadigi, but foolishly banished everybody as the panther woman outwitted him, to an attentive group of village children.

After the children left, Elisa showed herself to her mother. They embraced, and Diane asked about her daughter's whereabouts. However, before too much could be learned, a poacher named Tea and two of her associates attempted to kill a panther locked in a cage. The gargoyles were poised to help Elisa and Diane, but Fara Maku, a village person, transformed into a panther. Tea shot him, but he ran off, and Tea followed the werepanther.

The other two poachers were about to do away with any evidence, but the gargoyles came out and attacked the poachers. They released the panther and locked the poachers in while Diane asked about Goliath, Angela and Bronx. They then went in pursuit of Tea and Fara.

During their search, they also found out that Tea can metamorphose into a panther, and they chased after her. Doing so, the five found the city of Karadigi, much to the shock of Diane. After determining a plan of action, the group split into two, Diane becoming upset that Elisa thinks Goliath needs to protect her. Diane and Goliath talked about how Angela demanded special attention. Goliath believed that Angela is being selfish, but Diane let him know that all children want love from their parents.

Once the two groups met up and stopped Tea from killing Fara, he explained why he marked her. That's when the real Anansi exposed himself to all. After knocking Anansi to the ground, Diane handed a spear to Angela, who threw it to Goliath, who in turn vanquished Anansi with a deep stab.

Right before sunrise, Goliath finally accepted his daughter, and they turned to stone. Diane and Elisa also reconciled, and Elisa began to tell the story about what happened on that fateful night in 1994. Much to Diane's delight, there were no more spiders in this story.

Presumably, Diane returned to New York to live with her husband.

Diane Maza is a normal human female, of average build, and possessing no superhuman powers or special skills.

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