Red Sonja

Know also, O Prince, that in those selfsame days that Conan the Cimmerian did stalk the Hyborian kingdoms, one of the few swords worthy to cross with his was that of Red Sonja, warrior woman out of majestic Hyrkania. Forced to flee her homeland because she spurned the advances of a king and slew him instead, she rode west across the Turanian Steppes and into the shadowed mists of legendry. -- The Nemedian Chronicles

created for Red Sonja Marvel Comic series.

= Cover to Red Sonja #1 (June 2005).
Pencils by John Cassaday.
Colors by José Villarrubia.|character_name = Red Sonja|publisher = Marvel Comics
Dynamite Entertainment|debut = Conan the Barbarian #23
(February 1973)|creators = Robert E. Howard (name)
Roy Thomas
Barry Windsor-Smith|alliances =|aliases = Original Name Red Sonya of Rogatino

==Marvel Comics Name;Red Sonja-the jsounding like an y.

|powers Super Name: Red Sonja Real Name: Sonja Aliases: Red Sonya of Rogatino Flame-Hair She-Devil She-Devil with a Sword The She-Devil of Hyrkania The Red One The Chosen One Lady Sonja of Dorn Sonja the Red Queen Sonja Empress Sonja Mary Jane Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Gender: Female Character Type: Human 1st Appearance: Conan the Barbarian #23 Appears in: 390 issues Birthday: Died: Red Sonja #34

= A sword-master in peak human physical condition, martial arts expert, as well as knowledge and experience of fighting the supernatural.|}}Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture". She first appeared in the Marvel Comics book Conan the Barbarian #23 (February 1973). Red Sonja has become the archetypical example of the fantasy figure of a fierce and stunningly beautiful female barbarian who typically wears armor resembling a bikini or lingerie. She was ranked first in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. ==Origin ==The origin story for Red Sonja, "The Day of the Sword", first appeared in Kull and the Barbarians #3 by Roy Thomas, Doug Moench, and Howard Chaykin, and was later redrawn by Dick Giordano and Terry Austin for The Savage Sword of Conan, issue 78. In this story, Red Sonja lived with her family in a humble house in the Western Hyrkanian steppes (this seems to be in modern Ukraine/Russia though historical Hyrcania was on the borders of modern Iran/Turkmenistan). When she had just turned 17 years old, a group of mercenaries killed her family and burned down their house. Sonja survived but was brutally raped by the leader of the group, leaving her in shame. Answering her cry for revenge, the red goddess Scáthach appeared to her, and instilled in her incredible skill in the handling of swords and other weapons on the condition that she would never lie with a man unless he defeated her in fair combat. In the current Dynamite comic book series, Sonja's origins are portrayed in "flashbacks" within each issue beginning with issue #8. The goddess makes her first appearance in the new series in issue #12, which also marks the return of the deadly sorcerer Kulan Gath. Later during the series, the original character is killed off in issue #34. Instead, a new character of the same name, described as a reincarnation of the original Sonja, takes her place from issue #35 onward.

Marvel Introduction

Red Sonja is a comic book character that first appeared in Conan the Barbarian #23,where encounters Conan of Cimmeria.She later in issue Conan the Barbarian

Wiki Style Guide « back Red Sonja appearances next » Red Sonja 2005 Dynamite Entertainment 69 appearances The Savage Sword of Conan 1974 Marvel 33 appearances Queen Sonja 2009 Dynamite Entertainment 31 appearances Conan the Barbarian 1970 Marvel 29 appearances Savage Sword of Conan 1977 Marvel UK 23 appearances Red Sonja 1977 Marvel 15 appearances Conan 1990 Schibsted 14 appearances Conan Saga 1987 Marvel 14 appearances Red Sonja 1983 Marvel 13 appearances Savage Tales 2007 Dynamite Entertainment 9 appearances Marvel Feature 1975 Marvel 7 appearances Red Sonja 2008 Panini Comics 6 appearances Red Sonja: Revenge of the Gods 2011 Dynamite Entertainment 5 appearances Witchblade / Red Sonja 2012 Dynamite Entertainment 5 appearances Spider-Man/Red Sonja 2007 Marvel 5 appearances Red Sonja: Wrath of the Gods 2010 Dynamite Entertainment 5 appearances Sword of Red Sonja: Doom of the Gods 2007 Dynamite Entertainment 4 appearances Classic Red Sonja Re-Mastered 2010 Dynamite Entertainment 4 appearances Red Sonja vs. Thulsa Doom 2005 Dynamite Entertainment 4 appearances Red Sonja/Claw: The Devil's Hands 2006 Wildstorm 4 appearances Savage Red Sonja: Queen of the Frozen Wastes 2006 Dynamite Entertainment 4 appearances Prophecy 2012 Dynamite Entertainment 3 appearances The Adventures of Red Sonja 2006 Dynamite Entertainment 3 appearances The Chronicles of Conan 2003 Dark Horse Comics 3 appearances King Conan 1980 Marvel 3 appearances Red Sonja Annual 2006 Dynamite Entertainment 3 appearances Marvel Treasury Edition 1974 Marvel 2 appearances The Savage Sword of Conan 2007 Dark Horse Comics 2 appearances Giant-Size Red Sonja 2007 Dynamite Entertainment 2 appearances Conan The Barbarian Annual 1973 Marvel 2 appearances Marvel Comics Super Special 1977 Marvel 2 appearances Kull and the Barbarians 1975 Curtis Magazines 2 appearances Red Sonja 1983 Marvel 2 appearances Red Sonja 1985 Marvel 2 appearances Conan 1984 Semic As 2 appearances Conan the Savage 1995 Marvel 1 appearance The Official Handbook Of The Conan Universe 1985 Marvel 1 appearance The Art of Marc Silvestri 2008 Top Cow 1 appearance Red Sonja: One More Day 2005 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Marvel Tales 1966 Marvel 1 appearance Red Sonja: Sonja Goes East 2006 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: Atlantis Rises 2012 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: Monster Isle 2006 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Mighty Marvel Team-Up Thrillers 1983 Marvel 1 appearance Essential Marvel Saga 2008 Marvel 1 appearance The Erotic Worlds of Frank Thorne 1990 Eros Comix 1 appearance Blackthorne 3-D Series 1985 Blackthorne 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil With A Sword Omnibus 2010 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: Vacant Shell 2007 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Rough Stuff 2006 Twomorrow 1 appearance Red Sonja: Cover Showcase 2007 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Queen Sonja 2010 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Xotica - The art of Esteban Maroto 1995 SQP 1 appearance The Marvel Saga The Official History Of The Marvel Universe 1985 Marvel 1 appearance Art Fantastix Select 2001 mg/publishing 1 appearance Marvel Team-Up 1972 Marvel 1 appearance Marvel Fanfare 1982 Marvel 1 appearance Dawn Sketchbook 2008 2008 Linsner.com 1 appearance George Perez Storyteller 2006 1 appearance Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme 1988 Marvel 1 appearance Dawn: Convention Sketchbook 2002 Image 1 appearance Red Sonja: Deluge 2011 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance FOOM 1973 Marvel 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 8 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 7 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 6 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 5 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 4 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 3 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume 2 None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword Volume I None Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Red Sonja: Break The Skin 2011 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Amazing Heroes Swimsuit Special 1990 Fantagraphics 1 appearance Red Sonja: Blue 2011 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Modern Masters 2003 Twomorrow 1 appearance Acts of Vengeance Omnibus 2011 Marvel 1 appearance 100% Cult Comics. Spiderman & Red Sonja 2008 Panini Comics 1 appearance Giant Size Spider-Man 1998 Marvel 1 appearance Conan: The Ravagers Out of Time 1992 Marvel 1 appearance What If...? 1989 Marvel 1 appearance Conan the King 1984 Marvel 1 appearance Barry Windsor Smith Archives 2010 Dark Horse Comics 1 appearance The Astonishing Spider-Man 2007 Panini Comics 1 appearance Red Sonja: Raven 2012 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance Dynamite Art of Alex Ross 2011 Dynamite Entertainment 1 appearance The 3 Minute Sketchbook 2007 Hero Initiative 1 appearance Red Sonja: Death in Scarlet 1999 Cross Plains Comics 1 appearance Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt 1995 Marvel 1 appearance Elementals 1989 Comico 1 appearance news Exclusive Extended Previews: QUEEN SONJA #68 And LORD OF THE JUNGLE #7 Babs news Exclusive Extended Previews: THE BIONIC MAN #12 and QUEEN SONJA #31 G-Man news First Look: Dynamite Entertainment October Comics G-Man news Exclusive Extended Previews: RED SONJA ATLANTIS RISES #1 & WARRIORS OF MARS #4 G-Man news Exclusive Extended Previews: WITCHBLADE/RED SONJA #5 & DEJAH THORIS/WHITE APES OF MARS #4 G-Man news Exclusive Extended Previews: BIONIC MAN #10 & QUEEN SONJA #30 G-Man forum Calling Red Sonja readers... is she worth reading? moywar700 news Exclusive Extended Previews: QUEEN SONJA #29 & QUEEN SONJA Vol. 3 COMING OF AGE TPB G-Man The content below is entirely editable. Edit Article The Warrior Woman of Hyrkania, Red Sonja is an unparalleled sword-master with vast knowledge and experience in fighting the supernatural.

Current Events

Red Sonja In the Red Sonja ongoing series, which depicts Red Sonja's life as a wandering adventurer, Sonja has made a powerful enemy of Strabonus, the insane ruler of the kingdom of Koth, who has put a price on her head. Sonja is currently under the employ of a merchant named Osric, who hired her to protect his caravan as it journeyed to Luxur, the capital city of the desert realm of Stygia. During the journey Sonja fought and destroyed Akim-Mekht, the chosen champion of the ancient Scorpion God. She then helped Osric outrace a rival merchant's caravan to Luxur, only to be confronted by armed guards at the gates of the city. Queen Sonja In the Queen Sonja ongoing series, which depicts the royal stage of Red Sonja's life, Sonja liberated the downtrodden kingdom of Sogaria from the oppression of the Emoran Empire and became Sogaria's queen. After successfully defending her people from the threat of Thulsa Doom, Sonja made plans with her ally, Zartur, to protect Sogaria from Emoran reprisal. Sonja and Zartur launched a covert operation to cause a war between two opposing factions within the Empire while also instigating a slave revolt, throwing Emora into chaos. In retaliation, Emoran Emperor Antonious marched his vast army to Sogaria with the intention of crushing Sonja's kingdom. Sonja countered by leading a daring raid on the Emoran capital of Nicola and seizing the Imperial treasury. Sonja then challenged Antonious to a duel for the possession of the Empire's riches. Antonious unwisely accepted the challenge and Sonja killed him in personal combat. With the victory, Queen Sonja has become Empress Sonja, but she must now defend her new title from Imperial wizard Koliostri, who is determined to destroy her. Origin

During the Hyborian Age, a red-haired girl named Sonja lived with her family in a humble home in the western Hyrkanian steppes. When Sonja had just turned seventeen years old, a gang of cruel mercenaries killed her father Ivor, her mother and two younger brothers, and burned their house and all their possessions. She survived, but at the cost of her own virginity after she was brutally raped by the leader of the group, leaving her in shame.

Sonja's goddess, Scathach Answering Sonja's cry for revenge, the red goddess Scathach appeared to her, and offered to bestow upon her unparalleled skill in battle on the condition that she would never lie with a man unless he defeated her in fair combat. Sonja gladly accepted the offer. She grew to womanhood as a wandering adventurer, and as she journeyed her legend grew as well. She became known as Red Sonja, due her flame-red hair, fiery personality, and uncanny ability to spill the blood of her enemies wherever she went.

Creation

Illustration of Howard's original "Red Sonya" Though the comic book version of Red Sonja was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith in 1973, the original inspiration for Red Sonja was created in 1934 by fantasy novelist Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian and the mythical Hyborean Age. Howard's character was named "Red Sonya of Rogatino," and she first appeared in the short story The Shadow of the Vulture (which was adapted into Red Sonja's first comic book story by Marvel). However, Howard's Red Sonya was a saber-and-pistol wielding heroine of the Renaissance era rather than a swordswoman of the Hyborean Age.

In the 1970's, after Conan the Barbarian became a hit series for Marvel Comics, other Howard characters were considered for introduction into the series, including Red Sonya. In order to transform her character so that she could be a contemporary of Conan, writer Roy Thomas altered the spelling of her name to the more exotic "Sonja" and made her a barbarian swordswoman from the land of Hyrkania. Red Sonja was a hit with readers, growing from a supporting character in Conan to starring in several volumes of her own comic book series. She has also become the archetypal example of what is now a fantasy staple: The fierce and strikingly beautiful warrior-woman clad in revealing bikini-like armor.

Character Evolution

Marvel Comics

Red Sonja's first feature story Red Sonja first made her comics debut in 1973, as a supporting character for Conan the Barbarian in his monthly series. IConan reaches the city of Pah-Dishah with a request of help for the besieged city of Makkalet. He delivers the message and leaves, despite the king's interest in his "barbaric tales." He heads south. Meanwhile, at Makkalet, Yezdigerd is visited by Mikhal Oglu - the Vulture. The prince sends the Vulture to find and punish Conan for the scar the barbarian gave him some weeks back. The Turanian forces track Conan down in a village south of Pah-Dishah. The Cimmerian is herded back to Makkalet and rescued by the newly arrived armies of Pah-Dishah, led by the warrior woman Red Sonja. Conan is now stuck with Melissandra and Eannatum, who tried to have him killed. Conan stumbles across a group of spies for Yezdigerd attempting to send messages. They tied him up but he is found by Sonja. Conan is freed and sets a trap for the Vulture, knowing he is on his way. A day later a package arrives in the Turanian camp - the head of the Vulture.

n her earliest featured story The Song of Red Sonja, drawn by Barry Windsor-Smith, she wore a distinctly more modest scale mail shirt and red shorts.Red Sonja<would return in Conan the Barbarian No# 24,in story title ""The Song of Red Sonja based loosely on a poen by Bob Howard.The story,was also the last issue drawn by Barry Smith,for Marvel.

Red Sonja’s famous bikini was designed in a non-commissioned sketch (which also got said artist the gig drawing Red Sonja’s first solo comic book story),that appeared in the First issue of Savage Sword of Conan.However, after Red Sonja made her appearance in Conan, the artist Esteban Maroto sent Roy Thomas (who was also the editor of the Conan series of comics) a drawing of Red Sonja. In subsequent appearances she would don the famous silver bikini for which she is now known.And sure enough, in Savage Sword of Conan #1, in a story drawn by John Buscema, that costume made its debut…

The fiery red-haired warrior woman proved immediately popular with fans, and she continued to make appearances in Conan’s title as a guest star. Though she and Conan were generally portrayed as allies, their relationship was a tenuous one due to her fiercely independent nature and the fact that as mercenaries, they would sometimes be in competition for the same prize. Thus they would often come to blows, though the threat of a common enemy would invariably cause them to join forces later. To complicate matters Conan was attracted to Sonja, who would repeatedly rebuff his advances due to her personal code of never laying with a man who could not defeat her in combat. Conan was never able to best Sonja in a fight, despite making several attempts, and this often added to the tension between the two.

By 1975, Red Sonja had become so popular that she was given a solo debut in the Marvel Feature title. After headlining Marvel Feature for seven issues she was given her own title, which ran for another fifteen issues. Artist Frank Thorne would become indelibly associated with the character during this run. Sincerely yours-Upward Onward Maveric MAVERIC LIONS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP Maveric Lion Productions (c)TM-2010.all right reserved Maveric Lion Productions presents. 01:45, September 8, 2012 (UTC)After her series ended she continued to make appearances in Conan’s series, where she first faced one of her most enduring enemies, the evil sorcerer Kulan Gath.

Character DEvolution

Red Sonja's first team-up with Spider-Man

In 1979, Red Sonja even teamed up with Marvel’s most popular superhero, Spider-Man, in Marvel Team-Up # 79. Through mystical means Sonja unfortunately was transported to modern-day New York City by switching bodies with the similarly red-haired Mary Jane Watson, the girlfriend of Spider-Man. There, she fought alongside the web-slinger against Kulan Gath, who had traveled back in time along with Sonja. Spidey and Sonja were victorious.Spider-Man left,sounding a jerk and Sonja returned to her own time-as this really Red Sonja at all.

In 1983, to help promote the upcoming release of the Red Sonja movie, Marvel made a final attempt to give Red Sonja her own title. Her metal bikini was retired and she wore a less revealing blue tunic for this series. The reboot was unsuccessful and was canceled after thirteen issues. Red Sonja continued to make guest appearances in Conan up until the early 1990’s, when Marvel decided not to renew their rights to the Conan characters.

Dynamite Entertainment

Red Sonja's debut with Dynamite Entertainment A smaller publisher, Dynamite Entertainment, then bought the rights to Red Sonja. Dynamite decided to bring back Sonja’s classic bikini armor for her new series, which debuted in 2005 and featured the art of Mel Rubi, who has since put his own stamp on the character just as Frank Thorne did in the 1970’s. The series was an immediate hit, becoming Dynamite’s best-selling title and firmly returning the character to mainstream popularity.

In addition to her own title (storyline detailed below), Sonja also would star in a number of miniseries, including one alongside Claw the Unconquered. In 2007 Marvel, with the cooperation of Dynamite, welcomed back Red Sonja for a five-issue miniseries in which Sonja and Spider-Man met again in modern-day New York City, in a scenario very similar to their first team up. Sonja again switched bodies with Mary Jane Watson, and she and Spider-Man battled old nemesis Kulan Gath once more. The two succeeded in defeating Gath a second time, despite the latter’s recruitment of Spider-Man's arch-foe Venom to his cause.

Death and Reincarnation

In 2008, the original Red Sonja character met her apparent death in Red Sonja #34, and journeyed through the underworld while contemplating her life and destiny. She was then reincarnated into the body of a different woman of another time and place in Red Sonja #35, beginning a new continuity in the series.Obvious,a storyline created to avoid legal troubles.

Her reincarnated form was that of a married noblewoman named Lady Sonja of Dorn, living a wealthy and sheltered existence and longing for the return of her husband, Lord Daniel. She was a distant relative of the original Red Sonja, who was now legendary for being the most beautiful and fearless woman in Hyrkania. Upon Lord Daniel's return, the couple was betrayed by Sonja's own sister, Verona, and her husband, Lord Lucan Martur. In a bid for greater power, they had arranged for Lord Daniel and Lady Sonja to be attacked by a ruthless band of pirates. Taken by surprise, Daniel was slain and Sonja was brutally assaulted and left for dead. Her life was saved by Osin, who was a bard companion in Red Sonja's previous life and now a seasoned warrior. After the original Sonja had died, Osin had accepted the curse of Claw the Unconquered in exchange for the ability to locate Sonja's reincarnated form and train her to be the invincible warrior she once was.

However, the reincarnated Sonja now only had the physique of a sheltered noblewoman, making Osin's task difficult. Though she was able to exhibit flashes of her former reflexes, she no longer possessed the peak-level athleticism or the formidable powers granted her by the goddess Scathath (whose own divine powers had also faded due to belief in her having waned). But like her original incarnation, Sonja proved to be a quick study and regained considerable fighting skill faster than expected. She then disguised herself and infiltrated Lucan Martur's gang of pirates in order to get closer to her husband's assassins and exact revenge.

Personal Profile

Portrait by Mel Rubi Gender: Female Height: 5' 11" Weight: 130 lbs (59 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Red Place of Birth: Hyrkania Occupation: Warrior, adventurer, mercenary Marital Status: Single Known Relatives: Ivor (father, deceased), mother & two brothers (unnamed and deceased). Reincarnated version: Lady Verona (sister, deceased), Lord Daniel Dorn (husband, deceased), Lord Lucan Martur (brother-in-law, deceased). 1985 film only: Varna (sister, deceased). Powers and Abilities Peak-Level Athlete: Through a combination of the divine gifts granted her by the goddess Scathach and her own relentless warrior training, Red Sonja is in peak human physical condition. She is imbued with the maximum strength, speed, endurance, agility, and reflexes that a human female could possess without being considered superhuman.

A one-woman army

Weapon Master: Red Sonja is a virtually unparalleled sword-master of her era, having fought and defeated countless enemies with her blade. Even Conan, himself a legendary swordsman, cannot best her in a duel. Though the sword is Sonja’s weapon of choice, she is just as skilled with other weapons and can gain expertise with unfamiliar ones with minimal training. She is an accomplished archer and demonstrates remarkable accuracy with any distance weapon. Sonja’s mastery of arms includes being able to quickly improvise and construct weapons with any available materials at hand, so that even when seemingly disarmed, she is rarely weaponless.

Unarmed Combat: Red Sonja has mastered the martial arts disciplines of her era and is a deadly fighter even without any weapons. She has taken down many enemies larger than herself merely with her fists and feet.

Berserker Strength: When greatly angered or outnumbered, Red Sonja can go into a berserker fury, significantly increasing her strength and deadliness in battle. She has single-handedly annihilated waves of armed opponents while in this state, literally becoming a one-woman army.

Tracking: Red Sonja has spent much time traveling the diverse and dangerous landscape of the Hyborian age and is a gifted ranger and tracker. She can navigate and survive nearly any form of terrain and hunt down almost any quarry. She is also adept at covering her tracks and leaving little trace of her passing.

Impervious to cold

Stamina: Red Sonja's physical stamina is at peak human level due to Scathath's divine gifts and Sonja's own rigorous conditioning. She can exert herself at maximum effort for far longer than most humans can endure. Being from the harsh and wintery climate of the Hyrkanian steppes, Red Sonja has built up a high tolerance for adverse environmental conditions and is seemingly impervious to cold, even when clad only in her metal bikini.

Stealth: Red Sonja possesses catlike grace and can move about in near-silence in order to avoid detection, making good use of shadows and any other available cover. She is also highly skilled at disguise, camouflage, and infiltration.

Divine Protection: As the chosen favorite of the goddess Scathach, Red Sonja is seemingly watched over by her in much the same way a guardian angel would. Despite wearing no armor (since her metal bikini hardly counts as such), Sonja has fought her way through countless bloody battles and performed numerous death-defying feats while emerging virtually unscathed, usually suffering only scratches or minor wounds at most. While much of this can be attributed to her uncanny fighting skill and superb athleticism, many feel that Red Sonja also enjoys divine aid and protection by the red goddess in some way, adding to her legend and instilling greater fear in her enemies as a result.

Other Abilities: Red Sonja's diverse physical skills include swimming, climbing, acrobatics, and escape artistry. She is an expert horseback rider and an accomplished sailor. Sonja is highly intelligent and resourceful, and possesses a keen understanding of warfare and battle strategy. Her charisma makes her a natural leader when called upon, though she usually prefers to operate alone. While she distrusts magic, she is well acquainted with it and instinctively understands how to deal with the supernatural – a necessity when battling her greatest enemy, Kulan Gath.

Armor

Explaining her bikini armor

Red Sonja is famous for wearing scanty bikini-like scale mail armor that reveals far more of her curvaceous figure than it conceals, and therefore is nearly useless as a means of protection. Numerous supporting characters have commented on this fact, but Sonja has explained that her armor is deliberately provocative for good reason: "Men are easily distracted. Most of them never even notice my sword... until their heads roll off their necks." In addition to taking deadly advantage of its distraction against her mostly male opponents, Sonja enjoys the freedom of movement it provides, preferring not to be encumbered by any sort of heavy or restrictive armor anyway (though on occasion she has picked up and used a shield when necessary). She instead relies on her incredible agility, reflexes, and unsurpassed fighting skill to avoid injury during battle.

Red Sonja did not always wear a scale mail bikini. In her first comic book appearance in Marvel's Conan the Barbarian title, artist Barry Windsor-Smith drew the character wearing a scale mail shirt and shorts. However, this relatively modest mode of dress did not last long. In the introduction to the Red Sonja Adventures Volume 1 collection released by Dynamite Entertainment, editor Roy Thomas explained that a Spanish artist named Esteban Maroto submitted an uncommissioned illustration of Red Sonja wearing a far sexier bikini version of the armor. This occurred while Thomas was editing the magazine Savage Sword of Conan, and it inspired Thomas to have the character redesigned. Soon afterward, Red Sonja appeared for the first time wearing what is now known as the "silver metal bikini," and this quickly became her signature look.

Recently, Dynamite has been featuring Red Sonja in other classic costumes besides her bikini. In current issues of the Red Sonja ongoing series she has been wearing a scale mail shirt and leather skirt, an outfit that closely resembles her earliest costume. And in the Red Sonja: Blue one-shot, she wore a blue tunic as a tribute to her latter days at Marvel. However, the signature metal bikini is still her regular attire in the Queen Sonja ongoing series.

Major Story Arcs

The Celestial One

Red Sonja has been wandering the world. She eventually enters a town where most of the men have left for war. Women were being treated like slaves, however, Red Sonja did not help them as they did not want any help. She goes into a bar and chats with the bartender named Jessa. Sonja drinks until she passes out on the table, some men came in to take advantage of her being passed out. It was all planned out, make her pass out, and kill her easily. However, Red Sonja was not a warrior that is easily defeated, as she woke up and defeated all the men easily and left afterwards. Sonja then spends the night in the woods with her horse, Throne. She then shoots an arrow and kills an owl for food. After she finished eating, she continued her search for the Hyborian Kingdoms. Sonja runs into a group of bandits attacking a messenger on a horse. Sonja uses her skilled marksmanship and kills most of the bandits from afar with a bow and arrow. Once they began closing in on her, she drew her sword and finished off the rest. The messenger begins hitting on Sonja due to her revealing armour, but she assures him that it distracts men long enough for her to chop off their heads. They then get straight to the point, he mentions that he is a messenger of Gathia. He tells her that he was bringing a message to the Zedda Tribes (the bandits that attacked him) about surrendering. The two of them head for Gathia, which is a city that Sonja had been looking for. However, it was a days ride to get there. They rest near a pond, where the messenger warns Sonja to be careful of the monster in the pond. He begins telling her about how pure his city has become thanks to their King, and that the only reason she is allowed to come is because she saved him. Just as the messenger finishes drinking the water, he begins chocking and a vine type monster emerges from his mouth. Sonja was forced to decapitate him in order to kill the monster. Sonja decides to take his head to Gaitha and deliver his message for him. Once she arrived at the city, she shows them the decapitated head and they recognize her as Red Sonja. She tells them that part of their land is corrupted but they do not believe her, so they decide to attack her.

The number of soldiers did not overwhelm her at all as she easily killed soldier after soldier. However, Sonja stood atop a trap door and it opened, causing her to fall in it. There is a monster inside the area, and Sonja begins preparing herself by grabbing hold of a skull and lighting it on fire for distraction. Sonja gains the upper hand and stabs a broken sword in its head, she then takes the skull and drives the sword deeper in, killing him after multiple blows. Sonja passes out after the battle and the guards take her away. She awakens in a white dress with hand cuffs chaining her down. A woman was cleaning her and Sonja becomes angered that the woman is forced to bow before anyone. A priest comes in and tries to get her to worship his God. The people of that kingdom worship a man named The Celestial One, and he “purified” most of the lands around the area. Since Sonja did not accept The Celestial One as her God, she is to be killed. Sonja is then tied up to a pillar out in the open as the priest drives a dagger through her heart. Sonja is then dumped into the area where they throw dead people in. However, later that night, the priest returns and recovers Sonja’s body. He takes her to a nearby refuge to tend to her dagger wound. He uses some dark magic and revives Sonja to the world. Later that morning, Sonja wakes up and the priest Fa, shows Sonja that he spoke the truth, they truly needed her help. The priest reveals that he used the Blade of Vaven to feign her death, then revive her for help. However, the knife is forced to remain within her. He also reveals that they have to return the blade to the idol it stood on or else her death will be permanent. Sonja tells him that she is not for sell, but he assures her that he wants to take down the Celestial One. Sonja agrees and they head to the Idol.

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==Defeating the Celestial ==

Red Sonja heads out with Mika, Kang, Solath, and an old ally, Osin. They head into the forest where they have to leave their horses due to terrain problems. They finally arrive at the idol, Sonja then takes the blade out of her chest when Solath betrays them, killing Kang and Mika. Sonja is forced to stab Solath with the blade in her neck, killing her quickly. Sonja then passes out once again. Osin tended to her wound and eventually Sonja would re-awaken. Osin wants to exact revenge for his fallen friends, and continues the journey with Sonja. Sonja and Osin then run into the savage bandits that Sonja saved the messenger from earlier. Fa emerges from the group and Sonja is angered that Solath was a spy for Celestial. Fa said that he knew her since childhood and would’ve trusted her with his life, but it does not calm Sonja down. Fa then reveals that the Zedda had come to them for help since the Celestial One opened the dam and destroyed their homes. The Zedda leader is angered that they are allying themselves with the woman who saved that Celestial messenger and killed many of his men. He challenges Sonja to a fight, but Sonja backs down after Fa convinces her it is not the time. However, the Zedda leader thought otherwise, he leaps at her while her back was turned. Sonja turns in time to catch him while stabbing a knife in the Zedda, killing him. The others bow to their new leader, Red Sonja. Fa goes over the attack plans with Sonja and one of the Zedda. Afterwards, they prepare for a big feast. Later that night, Osin and Sonja talk to each other about the Celestial. They begin talking about her travels and how big of a legend she is. Osin then mentions that he likes that “she will not sleep with a man until he has beaten her in battle” part. He then tries to sucker punch her but she catches it and flips him on his back. Later that morning, they begin their assault on the Celestial One’s kingdom. Sonja, Osin, and a Zedda named Borg were able to enter the kingdom easily. They kill all the guards that are in their way, afterwards they see their ally Borg hurt. They pick him up and they are all ready to fight to the end. They hear children screaming for help in the dungeon, to which they tend to. However, the Children were some kind of demons and they are trapped inside with them. At first, Sonja could not bring herself to kill the children, however they turned out to be demon spawn so there was no guilt in killing them. As they headed up stairs, they encounter a giant snake-like monster. Borg would sacrifice himself for Sonja and Osin to continue on. Sonja eventually arrives at Celestial’s room, where he is ready to battle her. They begin battling each other and Sonja would be able to knock off his helmet. She discovers that Celestial is really a Zedda in disguise. She then grabs a sword and slices his neck, she then cuts off his arm and knocks him off the ledge. Sonja and Osin fall off the ledge also, but Sonja lands in the water. She searches for Osin but could not find him.

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== Pirate Troubles' ==

Sonja goes to a bar and gets drunk again. She gets into another bar fight with the drunk men there. After she humiliates them, she talks to a young man named Ander, who is seeking her help. He asks her to help him escape from the pirates keeping him, to which she agrees. They run to a harbour then grabbed a small boat to sail off in. They were able to escape and land nearby safely. They walk through the forest and he tells her that he is trying to find out what his father had learned, but Gorkon (the pirate leader) told him that his father died at sea, to which they both did not believe very much. They enter a cave and discovers the treasure chest. The only thing inside it was a small stone, but it was activated when he touched it and he saw what really happened to his father. It was Gorkon who murdered his father. Gorkon and the pirates arrive and Ander is ready to fight them. Sonja defeats the other pirates while Ander battled Gorkon. Ander was able to stab and kill Gorkon. Afterwards, they part their separate ways.

More Celestial Followers

Sonja runs into an area where some of Celestial followers are performing a ritual on a girl. Sonja kills them and demands to know more about other Celestial generals. However, the man was killed before he could say anything. Sonja travels to a nearby town to discover a massacre, everyone there was dead. She discovers a surviving girl buried under rubble. She takes the young girl to a house with survivors to tend to her wounds. Sonja begins reminiscing through her memories about the time she played with her father’s sword. Later, Sonja decides to go after the men who did this to the village. While she was sleeping, the girl named Karena she saved followed her, wanting to exact her own revenge. Sonja decides to teach her how to fight, later that night they sneak into the men’s camp and attack them. Karena turned out to be a very good archer, however, in the shadows a mysterious man is lurking, ready to attack Red Sonja. She teaches the girl a more on strategy now, and they ready their attack again. Both of them snipe the guards from afar. They continuing picking the guards off, however, Sonja was attacked by a mysterious stranger. The stranger then flees after he misses his attack, Sonja heads inside to where Karena was. She had the leader tied up already. Later that morning, Sonja and the girl part their separate ways. Karena takes the heads of the men and the leader back to her village as a trophy.

The Next God Trouble

As Red Sonja watches Karena head back to her village, she is attacked by that same man that attacked her earlier, and he drops a decapitated head next to her. They eventually begin battling each other. His swordsmanship rivalled Red Sonja, and as they clashed swords and struggled, he bit her arm, to which she bit his shoulder back. However, she quickly discovers living vines coming out of her hand, similar to the way the messenger died. He knocks Sonja onto the ground and reveals the decapitated head to be Karena. Just as he was about to slash Sonja with a sword, Osin arrives and distracts him. Osin then engages against the monster as they fall into a temple in ruins. However, before they could fight more, a giant behemoth comes crashing in, causing them to fall underneath to a hidden area. Sonja was knocked unconscious, but she would eventually reawaken after she dreamed about the time when she was raped, and her first time meeting the Goddess. After Sonja wakes up, the man reveals his name as Suumaro, and that he was once a prince. He also reveals that he sent his behemoth in to save them from being killed, but the behemoth was killed protecting them. He tells her that his Goddess told him to seek out Red Sonja to help him with his problem. His father, King Quillo, has been taken over by a great evil. He reveals the Dark Shadow that has taken over his father, and it surprises Sonja. The Borat-Na Fori is the Dark God who his father fell in love with. Luckily for Suumaro, Sonja had been seeking out this God her whole life, killing all those loyal to it. She agrees to help Suumaro and mentions that they have to destroy the baby the Witch is bearing, which is the son of a terrible God named Kulan Gath. They begin to go after the Dark God, as they were resting, Sonja asks Suumaro about the Goddess that helped him. It surprises her that it might be the same Goddess that granted Sonja her powers. They quickly finish up and head off again, as time is running short for them.

They finally arrive on the mountains nearby the castle, and are scouting the area. They decide to just burst in and kill anyone in their way. Meanwhile, the Witch just gave birth to Kulan’s son, as he bursts through his mother’s stomach killing her in the process. Sonja and the others are being chased by guards and are forced to fight after they kidnapped Suumaro’s possessed father. Her horse’s head was decapitated but was quickly possessed by Kulan’s son and threatens Sonja. Suumaro tries to snap his father out of it but is unsuccessful, then the Goddess shows up. However, only Sonja and Suumaro sees her and Osin does not. She tells them that they must seek out the Old Gods and wake them from their slumber. They start their journey, looking for the Old Gods. Traveling through snowy mountains, their horses would eventually die from tiredness. While climbing the mountain, Osin was carrying the mad King, but he struggles too much and Osin drops him. Sonja catches him safely, but they are interrupted by an avalanche. A monster then rises out of a pond nearby controlled by the Kulan’s son. The monster crashes into the icy walls and causes them to collapse, Sonja and the others are forced to run from the area or else they’d be crushed. They were able to avoid getting crushed and they prepared to fight the monster. Sonja charges in and stabs it in the face, defeating it. The group continues forward and discovers heat leaking, eventually finding the entrance to the temple. Suumaro’s father this pokes his own eyes out and kills himself in order to be free. Then, Kaleval emerges and demands to know what they want. Sonja pleads for help but he attacks them because they are not Gods. Sonja then jumps and attacks him, however he defeats her easily. They finally convince him after telling him about the new evil and how he can be praised and worshipped if he helps them rid the world of this new evil. Sonja tells Kaleval about a blade that is in her homeland of Hyrkania. He tells her that they will go there and get the sword, while Suumaro forms an army with whatever they had.

They arrive back at her homeland to discover the river is covered in blood. Sonja jumps into the river of blood to go after her sword, to which she does successfully and then emerges. Later that night, Sonja talks with Kaleval and mentions that he already knows what happened to her in Hyrkania, and that a man finally defeated her in battle. The two of them make love near the fire. Sonja and Kaleval head back to the gathering place to prepare for battle. The next day, they take their armies and battle against the evil forces. Sonja and Sumaro headed straight for Kulan’s son. Sonja and Suumaro engage against Kulan’s son and their fight begins. Sonja would be overpowered by the demon, but Kaleval was able to come in and aid her. Unfortunately, Kaleval was not strong enough and had his heart pulled out by the demon’s bare hands. Just as he taunts at Sonja and eats the heart, she sneaks up behind him and decapitates him. Meanwhile, Osin is forced to battle against the mysterious man that kept ambushing Sonja earlier. Osin gets his left arm cut off, but luckily, after Sonja decapitated the demon, the man Osin was engaged with began to lose his mind. However, killing Kulan’s son did not do any good, as it opened the door for Kulan Gath himself to enter. Osin grabs Sonja and escapes as the place is being destroyed. Sonja wanted to finish off Kulan as it was her destiny. They continue running as the place continues to collapse. They arrive at a boat and takes it down stream. However, Sonja was grabbed by the mystery man and is forced to battle against him. Osin jumps off the ship tied with a rope to go after Sonja, just as Sonja was about to deliver to killing blow, Osin grabs her and pulls her back onto the boat. Some of them decide to sleep while the current takes them somewhere, however when they wake up, they discover a water fall right in front of them. Everyone falls off the water fall but were able to survive. Sonja feels that she has failed her mission, however, there was nothing they could do but rest for now.

Finding their next Journey

Sonja, Suumaro, and the remaining of their army arrive at the area where Suumaro’s kingdom was being held. It was being held on a lone piece of land with vines wrapped beneath it. Suumaro agreed to just cut the vines and let it fall, as it is better then letting it continue standing the way it was now. Quickly afterwards, a group of flying beasts attack Sonja and company. Some where captured by a net, but Sonja was able to escape. The man beasts do not follow them into the jungle as it is already a death sentence. The group is attacked by living vines again, killing some more men. Luckily, some beings that reside in the jungle save Sonja and her men, then they took her to their village. Sonja learns more of the man beasts called Leijona. They also tell Sonja about an Old God that has been dead in their pond for a long time, and that she should seek it out for help. Sonja decides to jump in the pond and grab the key down there. However, after she grabs it, she is attacked by a sea-beast. It knocked her out but she was rescued quickly. Sonja and her men then went to seek the help of Gaimad, the lord of the El-Hazar. Gaimad then gives them some information before he teleports them unknowingly to their captured friends. They were easily defeated and have become the prisoners of the Leijona. Sonja convinces the Leijona leader to allow them to live for a bit longer, to which he agrees and sent them to the dungeon. In the dungeon, Sonja uses the smoking pipe she received from Gaimad and figures out what to do. Sonja and the others set up a play for them, performing a story that the Leijona absolutely loved. The play was successful and the Leijona allowed Sonja and her men to leave. The play also helped the Leijona and the El-Hazar to be in speaking terms with each other again. The next morning, they prepared their ship and sailed off.

Other Media

Red Sonja (1985 film)

Brigitte Nielsen as Red Sonja (1985 film) In 1985 a live action Red Sonja film was released, with actress Brigette Nielsen in the title role. Nielsen, a blonde, dyed her hair red in order to look the part. Sonja was not portrayed in her scale mail bikini in the film and instead wore leather corset-style armor.Red Sonja was also not portrayed by an actress,but a medea star married to actor Syvester Stallone.

The film took several liberties with Sonja's origin story from the comics and original story. The rape of Sonja and the murder of her family was carried out by the soldiers of Queen Gedren, the film's main antagonist (played by actress Template:Sandahl Bergman), rather than by a gang of men acting alone. Gedren ordered the attacks in retaliation for Sonja refusing to be her consort. The fact that a woman was behind Sonja's victimization seemed to contradict one of the primary motivations behind Sonja's character in the comics. In another departure from the comics, Sonja had a sister and a brother, rather than two brothers. The sister, Varna, avoided the fate of her brother and parents and grew to adulthood as a priestess, but was eventually killed by Gedren's soldiers later in the film.

The film received poor reviews and was a commercial failure despite the presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger, co-starring as a thinly disguised version of Conan.Story had a few nice visual,such as dinosaure bone bridge,something Barry Smith might have put in a comic and a candle lit room,where Sonja fight Queen Grdren,something Frank Thorne might have drawn in the Red Sonja comic.But all in all,the story ran dull.Brigette Niesen was too butch-almost boyish and did have the talent to pull the character off,who full fire and flame.

Conan The Adventurer (1998 TV series)

Angelica Bridges as Red Sonja (television) In 1998, Red Sonja made an appearance in the short-lived live action Conan the Adventurer television series, in the episode appropriately titled Red Sonja. She was portrayed by red-haired actress/model Angelica Bridges. Sonja wore bikini armor in this appearance, though it was made of leather, not scale mail. She was sent by her village to aid Conan in a quest to rescue a kidnapped young wizard. When Sonja arrived, one of Conan's companions asked why the village sent a woman instead of their best warrior. Sonja shot back, "They did send their best warrior, mule brain."

Red Sonja (proposed remake)

Poster of Rose McGowan as Red Sonja More recently a completely new Red Sonja feature film was announced, originally scheduled for release in late 2009 or early 2010. The film was to be produced by Robert Rodriguez, directed by Douglas Aarniokoski, and actress Rose McGowan was cast in the title role. It was intended to be a full reboot that ignored the 1985 film, with Sonja's arch-enemy Kulan Gath featured as the film's main villain. At least three different promotional posters for the film were released, all featuring McGowan wearing a chain mail bikini (which differs from the scale mail usually depicted in comics). A completed script was confirmed, but various production and funding delays caused filming to be postponed indefinitely and finally scrapped altogether.

"Red Sonja 2010" "Red Sonja 2010 Trailer" - First Look "Red Sonja" - In Movie Theaters TBD

'''''"Red Sonja" is based on the heroine created by Robert E. Howard and adapted for Marvel Comics by Roy Thomas. The "Red Sonja" character was featured in a movie first in 1985. The 1985"Red Sonja" starred Brigitte Nielsen as the title character and Arnold Schwarzenegger headlined the film.

In a dingy tavern, a woman posing as a harlot brutally murders the warrior who just hired her. She rips a distinctive amulet off his necklace. Before she's able to escape, the group of soldiers recognize her: the wanted outlaw Red Sonja. They attack - but they're no match for this flame haired whirling dervish of steel. She takes them all out and then rides off into the woods...

Years earlier, we find Sonja as an innocent teenager living in Western Hykania. While sparring with her childhood sweetheart, Cryus, a group of marauders ride into town. Her entire family is butchered before her eyes. The brutes - each of whom wear the familiar amulet (among them, the warrior from the tavern - then turn their attention to young Sonja, savagely raping her. Left for dead, Sonja awakens to pure devastation. Her village has been burned to the ground, the corpses of her friends and family are strewn about the wreckage. Barely alive, Sonja crawls through the countryside until she can no longer move. Deciding to end her own life she jumps from a cliff to a river below. But somehow her fall is magically slowed. She lands underwater where she meets the mystical Red Goddess, who tells Sonja she will become a powerful warrior, the Goddesses' Blade Of Justice.

Sonja awakens in the camp of Ozzyus, a thief and warrior, the man who is to become her mentor. Here Sonja wins over Ozzyus's band of rogues with her tenacity and heart. She begs Ozzyus to train her, as she wants to exact her revenge on those who destroyed her family. Sonja immediately shows supreme natural ability in fighting. Time passes. Sonja's skills become formidable and eventually she joins the band on several robberies, finally killing a nobleman. Knowing now she's a wantedcriminal, she decides it is time to leave Ozzyus - and to seek her vengeance on the five men who killed her family.

Flash forward again, and Sonja is bathing in a forest brook when a man sneaks up on her. She quickly has her blade to his throat when she realizes this man is Cyrus, who begs Sonja to join his fight against the villanous Kulan Gath. Sonja refuses. In the town of Shadizar, Sonja fights her way to the next member of the band who killed her family, Theron. Before she kills him Theron tells her that her own father worked for Kulan Gath and that is why they came to her town. Sonja is captured and sent to the gallows, only to be rescued by Ozzyus, who was on his way to meet Cyrus and join his rebel army. No sooner than Sonja agrees to fight Gath, Cyrus is kidnapped by Gath's men. Sonja tracks Gath's henchmen into the mines under the temple city of Pah Disha, rescues Cyrus and they discover an underground temple, built by thousands of Hykanian slaves in which Kulan Gath plans to harness heavenly powers and become as a God to rule the world with an iron fist. Sonja and Cyrus know they must stop this before it happens, thus setting up a final epic battle between good and evil.

STARRING: Rose McGowan DIRECTOR: Douglas Aarniokoski STUDIO: Millennium Films RATING: R (For violence, nudity, adult situations) THEATER COUNT (Opening Weekend): TBD RUNNING TIME:TBD TOTAL DOMESTIC BOX OFFICE: TBD U.S. DVD RELEASE DATE: TBD

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Afterward, the studio behind the 2011 Conan the Barbarian remake (Nu Image/Millennium) bought the rights to Red Sonja and tabbed Simon West (director of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) as the director. Producer Avi Lerner reportedly wanted actress Amber Heard to star as Red Sonja, though the role has not yet been cast. The studio hoped that the Conan remake would do well enough that they could release Red Sonja as a follow-up. Unfortunately Conan was a box office failure, which does not bode well for the prospects of a Red Sonja remake.

Marvel's Red Sonja

riginal medium: Comic books Published by: Marvel Comics First Appeared: 1973 Creators: Roy Thomas (writer) and Barry Windsor-Smith (artist), with inspiration from Robert E. HowardIf this site is enjoyable or useful to you, Please contribute to its necessary financial support. Amazon.com or PayPalPopular knowledge has it that the comic book character Red Sonja's original appearance was in a short story by Robert E. Howard — specifically, "The Shadow of the Vulture", which was first published in the January, 1934 issue of The Flying Carpet magazine. And popular knowledge would be correct, if Red Sonja had been a gun-wielding Russian, lived in a 16th century world without fantasy elements, and spelled her name "Sonya".Actually, writer Roy Thomas (Arak, Son of Thunder; Ghost Rider) drew some inspiration for Sonja's basic character, tho none of the incidents of her life, from Sonya; but the Red Sonja who made her first appearance in Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian #23 (February, 1973) had never been seen before.In a sence,the Marvel character,was a re-creation of the original Howard character.The most obvious change in Red Sonja from the original Sonya was, of course, the setting. The "She-Devil with a Sword",used as not cobfuse readership with another Marvel Character [[Shanna,the She-Devil}} as she was sub-titled, existed in a pre-tech never-land, full of monsters and wizards and whatnot. That and, of course, her chain mail bikini (speaking loosely — scale mail, or more properly, leaf mail, is often called chain mail)was created by artist Estiban Morato,thus replacing the design created by Barry Smith years before. This outfit, which she almost always wore after her first couple of years, combined discomfort with impracticality, but made up for it by being extremely implausible. But probably the most salient difference between Sonja and Sonya was Sonja's oath to the supernatural entity who helped her recover from a teenage trauma (family all murdered, herself brutally raped and left for dead), the red goddess Scathach, never to "lie with a man" (as Code-approved comic books, where she mostly appeared, express it) until he's defeated her in battle. That was the price of the awesome combat skills Scathach granted her. In other words, from then on, being raped was the only way she could have sex. But such was her prowess, it never happened. (Except in an issue of Marvel's What If in which Wolverine managed it outside regular continuity.) Her introductory story, written by Thomas, which appeared in Conan #23, was drawn by the regular Conan artist, Barry Windsor-Smith (Machine Man, X-O Manowar). It was a rewrite, in the new setting and in comic book form, of the original short story by Howard. The origin story didn't appear until Kull & the Barbarians #3 (September, 1975), which, being a black and white, non-Code-approved magazine in the Mad/Vampirella format, was able to depict the full horror of the incident. Sonja continued as a frequently recurring character in Conan's series, and began to star in a few stories of her own by 1974. She first headed up a whole comic book of her own in Marvel Feature #1 (November, 1975), a revival of the try-out title where The Defenders had first appeared. It was in the second issue that she was first drawn by the artist who would become most closely associated with her, Frank Thorne,Mighty Samsonfrom Gold Key Comics, Moonshine McJuggs for Playtboy). Red Sonja #1 was dated January, 1977. It only lasted 15 issues, but she was back in her own title twice more during the 1980s. Between 1981 and '83, Sonja starred in a series of paperback novels published by Ace Books (which, by the way, had been the first publisher to put the original Buck Rogers novel in book form). Also, on July 3, 1985, Dino De Laurentiis Productions released a movie version with Brigitte Nielsen in the title role. Nielsen is scheduled to reprise the part in 2010.The Conan franchise, licensed from the heirs of Robert E. Howard, was a lucrative one for years, but eventually ran its course. Marvel allowed it to lapse during the early 1990s, and the rights to Red Sonja went with it. But a smaller company, Dynamite Entertainment (Project Superpower), picked her up in 2005. Dynamite, which also licenses Battlestar Galactica and The Lone Ranger, has had its greatest success to date with Sonja. She's even had a crossover with a very minor 1970s DC Comics character, Claw the Unconquered. With Dynamite's comic book going strong, and the second movie coming up, it looks like the Howard/Thomas/Windsor-Smith character, after years dormant, has a future === Revamped Sonja ===

Headline text

Template:Unreferenced sectionIn this new continuity, Sonja is described as a distant relative of the original Red Sonja, taking her name as a good omen, since Sonja had come to be known as the most beautiful and fearless woman in Hyrkania. A noblewoman, this incarnation lives a fairly sheltered existence, along with her sister Verona and her little niece, longing for a child of her own and waiting for the return of her distant husband, Lord Daniel. Eventually she is reunited with her husband, but then a pirate crew (unbeknownst to them called upon by Verona's husband, Lord Lucan, in a bid for more power) slays him and leaves Sonja on the brink of death. Sonja is then nursed to health by Osin, in Sonja's previous life a bard companion and now a gruff swordsman, who accepted the curse of Claw the Unconquered for himself in exchange for the ability to locate, and train the new incarnation of Red Sonja. Osin begins her training, finding that, even if Sonja has occasional flashes of her former reflexes, she no longer has access to the full might of the skills bestowed upon her by Scathach (now an almost forgotten goddess with waning powers) in her previous life, nor the fit body she once possessed, due to her sheltered life. Despite these handicaps Sonja is able to learn faster than presumed, but decides to act stealthily, joining Lucan's pirate crew to be closer to Daniel's assassins. new==Prototypes: Red Sonja vs. Red Sonya==

== The character was loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's short story "The Shadow of the Vulture" (The Magic Carpet, January 1934), which Roy Thomas rewrote as a Conan story for Marvel Comics Conan the Barbarian #23 (1973). Thomas also somewhat based Red Sonja on another Howard character, Dark Agnes de Chastillon, a sword woman in 16th-century France. Red Sonja is somewhat different from Robert E. Howard's original Red Sonya. Besides tweaking the spelling of her name, Thomas transformed her from a sword- and pistol-wielding supporting character of the late Renaissance into a sword-wielding heroine of Conan's prehistoric Hyborian Age.

Iron Bikini

File:10.15.11RedSonjaByLuigiNovi1.jpg

A cosplayer at the 2011 New York Comic Con dressed as Red Sonja.

Most artists depict Red Sonja wearing a very brief bikini-like costume of scale mail, usually with boots and gauntlets. As originally drawn by Barry Smith for "The Shadow of the Vulture" and "The Song of Red Sonja" in Conan the Barbarian issues 23 and 24 (1973), she did not have as full a figure and dressed a little more conservatively, in a long-sleeved mail shirt and short pants of red silk, a style that did not last long.Template:Citation needed As told by Roy Thomas in the introduction of Red Sonja Adventures Volume 1 (Dynamite Entertainment) Spanish artist Esteban Maroto submitted an uncommissioned illustration to him when he was editing the magazine Savage Sword of Conan where he redesigned the character and for the first time showed her wearing what would become her famous costume, the silver "metal bikini", which resembled other fantasy costumes that other Maroto heroines sported in the 1970s. This illustration had been printed for the first time in Jim Steranko's magazine Comixscene #5 in black and white. It was reprinted in Savage Sword of Conan #1, and in Marvel Treasury Edition #15 colored but poorly reproduced, and finally restored and colored by José Villarrubia as an alternative cover for the Dynamite Entertainment edition of Red Sonja #2. Maroto drew her in this costume for a double page spread illustration in Savage Tales #3 and then for her first solo adventure in Savage Sword of Conan #1, and John Buscema drew her in this costume in the same magazine. Buscema drew her again in this costume in issues 43, 44 and 48 of Conan the Barbarian (1974) and Dick Giordano in the first issue of Marvel Feature (1975) before Frank Thorne took over from issue 2 (1976). The "bikini" proved popular, becoming well known through the paintings of Boris Vallejo and others.

Comics bibliography

These are the comic books that have featured Red Sonja as a main character:

• Marvel Feature 1-7 (Marvel Comics) (November, 1975 - November, 1976).
• Red Sonja 1-15 (Marvel Comics) (January, 1977 - May, 1979).
• Red Sonja v1, 1 (Marvel Comics) (February, 1983).
• Red Sonja v2, 2 (Marvel Comics) (March, 1983).
• Red Sonja v3, 1-13 (Marvel Comics) (August, 1983 - May, 1986).
• Red Sonja The Movie 1-2 (Marvel Comics) (November - December, 1985).* Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt (Marvel Comics) (December, 1995).
• Red Sonja in 3-D (Blackthorne) (1998).
• Red Sonja: A Death in Scarlet (Cross Plains) (1999).
• Red Sonja v4, 0-present, 69 issues as of August 2012, (Dynamite Entertainment) (2005-).* Red Sonja Vs. Thulsa Doom 1-4 (Dynamite Entertainment) (2005).* Red Sonja Annual v4, 1-3, (Dynamite Entertainment) (2006-2010).* Red Sonja & Claw 1-4 (Wildstorm/Dynamite Entertainment) (2006).* Red Sonja: One More Day (Dynamite Entertainment) (2006).
• Red Sonja: Goes East (Dynamite Entertainment) (2006).* Red Sonja: Monster Isle (Dynamite Entertainment) (2006).
• Savage Red Sonja: Queen of the Frozen Wastes 1-4 (Dynamite Entertainment) (2006).* Savage Tales v3, 1-10 (Dynamite Entertainment) (2007–2008).
• Giant Size Red Sonja v4, 1-2 (Dynamite Entertainment) (2007-2008).

 Red Sonja: Vacant Shell (Dynamite Entertainment) (2007).

Queen Sonja 1-present, 31 issues as of August 2012, (Dynamite Entertainment) (2009-).* Red Sonja: Wrath Of The Gods 1-5 (Dynamite Entertainment) (2010).

 Red Sonja: Revenge Of The Gods 1-5 (Dynamite Entertainment) (2011).

• Red Sonja: Blue (Dynamite Entertainment) (2011).
• Red Sonja: Raven (Dynamite Entertainment) (2012).
• Witchblade/Red Sonja 1-5 (Top Cow Productions/Dynamite Entertainment) (2012). In addition she has been featured in solo stories in the following publications:
• Conan the Barbarian, (Marvel Comics) (1974–1991).# Issue 23, "Swords in the Night", Roy Thomas (w), Barry Smith (a), John Buscema/Akins/Stone (i). (First appearance in a Conan comic publication).# Issue 24, "Song of Red Sonja", Roy Thomas (w), Barry Smith (a).# Issue 43, "Tower of Blood", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema/Ernie Chua (i).# Issue 44, "The Fiend and the Flame", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema/The Crusty Bunkers (a).# Issue 48, "Episode!", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema (p), Dick Giordano (i). (First solo story in color).# Issue 67, "Talons of the Man-Tiger", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema (i).# Issue 68, "of Once and Future Kings", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema (i).# Issue 78, "Curse of the Undead-Man", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema (a), Pablo Marcos (i). (Reprint from Savage Sword of Conan Issue 1).# Issue 115, "A War of Wizards", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema/Ernie Chan (i).# Issue 195, "Blood of Ages", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Geof Isherwood (f).# Issue 196, "The Beast", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Geof Isherwood (f).# Issue 197, "Stand", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Geof Isherwood (f).# Issue 198, "The River", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Geof Isherwood (f).# Issue 199, "Revelation in the Mists", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Geof Isherwood (f).# Issue 200, "The Fall of Acheron", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Geof Isherwood(f).# Issue 204, "Goblin", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Vince Colletta (f).# Issue 205, "Necropolis", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Alfredo Alcala (f).# Issue 241-3, "The Sorcerer and the She-Devil", Roy Thomas (w), Mike DeCarlo (i).# Issue 244, "Fiends of the Flaming Mountain", Roy Thomas (w), Mike DeCarlo (i).# Issue 245, "Empire of the Undead", Roy Thomas (w), Mike DeCarlo (i).# Issue 246, "Chaos in Khoraja", Roy Thomas (w), Mike DeCarlo (i).# Issue 247, "The Sword that Conquers All", Roy Thomas (w), Mike DeCarlo (i).# Issue 248, "The Peril and the Prophecy", Roy Thomas (w), Talaoc/Ernie Chan (i).# Issue 249, "Red Wind", Roy Thomas (w), Ernie Chan (i).# Issue 250, "Chaos Beneath Kuthchemes", Roy Thomas (w), Ernie Chan (i). * Conan the Barbarian Annual (Marvel Comics) (1987).# Issue 12, "Legion of the Dead", James Owsley/Val Semeiks (w), Ernie Chan (a).* The Savage Sword of Conan, (Marvel Comics) (1974–1995).# Issue 1, "Red Sonja" Roy Thomas (w), Esteban Maroto (p), Ernie Chan/Neal Adams (i). (First solo story in black and white. Also featured in the cover painted by Boris Vallejo).# Issue 1, "Curse of the Undead-Man", Roy Thomas (w), John Buscema (a), Pablo Marcos (i). # Issue 23, "Wizards of the Black Sun", Roy Thomas/Clair Noto (w), Frank Thorne (a). (Featured in the cover painted by Earl Norem)# Issue 29, "The Wizard and Red Sonja Show", Frank Thorne (w/a).# Issue 45, "Master of Shadows", Christy Marx (w), John Buscema (p), Tony DeZuniga (i).# Issue 78, "The Day of the Sword", Roy Thomas/Doug Moench (w), Howard Chaykin (layouts) Dick Giordano/Terry Austin (a). (Origin re-drawn). (Reprint from Kull and the Barbarians Issue 3)# Issue 82, "Song of Red Sonja", Roy Thomas (w), Barry Smith (a). (Reprint from Conan the Barbarina Issue 24).# Issue 83, "Red Sonja", Roy Thomas (w), Esteban Maroto (p), Ernie Chan/Neal Adams (i). (Reprint from Savage Sword of Conan Issue 1).# Issue 144, "The Waiting Doom", Charles Dixon (w), Ernie Chan (i).# Issue 145, "Feast of the Stag", Charles Dixon (w), Geof Isherwood (f).# Issue 153, "Phantasm", James Owsley (w), Luke McDonnell (p) Armando Gil (i).# Issue 157, "Infant Terrible", Bruce Jones (w/a).# Issue 169, "The Endless Stair", Peter B. Gillis (w), Steven Carr (p), Armando Gil (i).# Issue 170, "Emerald Lust", Charles Dixon (w), Gary Kwapisz (i).# Issue 172, "The Waif and the Warrior", Jim Valentino (w), Steven Carr (p), Josef Rubinstein (i).# Issue 178, "Chains", Sue Flaxman (w), Gavin Curtis (p), Keith Williams (i).# Issue 179, "Fury of the Iron Damsels", Charles Dixon (w), Gary Kwapisz (i).# Issue 187, "Red Sonja Queels the Song of the Siren", Marie Javins/Steve Buccellato (w), Alfredo Alcala (a).# Issue 192, "On the Road of Kings", Roy Thomas/Dann Thomas (w), Tony DeZuniga (a).# Issue 194, "The Road to Zamboula", Roy Thomas (w), Tony DeZuniga (a).# Issue 195, "Swordless in Zamboula", Roy Thomas (w), Tony DeZuniga (a).# Issues 207-10, "The Road to Zanadu", Roy Thomas/Dann Thomas (w), Del Barras/Reggie Jones/ Kirk Etienne (a).# Issue 224, "Dragons of a World's Dawn", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i).# Issue 226, "Of Kings and Cataclysms", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i); "Days of the World Ending", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i); "Back from the Time Abyss", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i).# Issue 229, "A Lady for the Burning", Roy Thomas (w), Howard Simpson (p), Rober Quijano (i).# Issue 230, "Shall Python Fall?", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i).# Issue 231, "A Remembrance of Fires Past", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i).# Issue 232, "Reflections of Eveil", Roy Thomas (w), E.R. Cruz (i).# Issue 233, "Here Be Monsters", Roy Thomas (w), Geof Isherwood (i).# Issue 230-3, "The Ring of Ikribu" Roy Thomas (w), Esteban Maroto (a). * Marvel Graphic Novels (1992).* "Conan - The Ravagers Out of Time", Roy Thomas (w), Alfredo Alcala (i). * Kull and the Barbarians (Marvel Comics) (1975). # Issue 2, "She-devil with a Sword" Roy Thomas (w), Howard Chaykin (a).# Issue 3, "The Day of the Sword" Roy Thomas/Doug Moench (w), Howard Chaykin (a). (Origin story, first appearance of the Red Goddess. Also featured in the cover painted by Michael Whelan) * A Marvel Super Special (Marvel Comics) (1978). # Issue 9, "Day of the Red Judgement", Roy Thomas/ Christy Marx (w), Howard Chaykin (a). (Second appearance of the Red Goddess from origin story. Also featured in the cover painted by John Buscema) * Conan the King (Marvel Comics) (1985).# Issue 28, "Call of the Wild." * Conan the Savage (Marvel Comics) (1996).# Issue 9, "City Under Siege", Chuck Dixon (w). And with * Spider-Man in "Marvel Team-Up" # 79 (Marvel Comics) (The spirit of Sonja possesses the body of Mary Jane Watson to face her old enemy Kulan Gath). The two meet again in the Spider-Man/Red Sonja mini-series co-published by Dynamite Entertainment, in which Kulan Gath and Venom are the principal antagonists. * Wolverine in "What if?" Vol. 2, #16 (Marvel Comics) (Sonja is defeated by Wolverine and becomes his mate).* Claw the Unconquered in "Red Sonja/Claw" 1-4 (DC Comics/Dynamite Entertainment) (2006).* Official Handbook of the Conan Universe, #1 (Marvel Comics) (1986). Marvel Feature #4 was reprinted in the book The Superhero Women edited by Stan Lee. Red Sonja was featured arching among many of Marvel Comics's female characters on the cover painted by John Romita, Sr.. ==Novels==Sonja has been featured in several novels by David C. Smith and Richard L. Tierney with covers by Boris Vallejo: * #1 The Ring of Ikribu (Ace 1981) (Adapted to comics by Roy Thomas and Esteban Maroto in The Savage Sword of Conan issues 230-3)* #2 Demon Night (Ace 1982)* #3 When Hell Laughs (Ace 1982)* #4 Endithor's Daughter (Ace 1982)* #5 Against the Prince of Hell (Ace 1983)* #6 Star of Doom (Ace 1983) == In other media ==The character was played by Brigitte Nielsen in the 1985 film Red Sonja, which also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as High Lord Kalidor (originally intended to be Conan). The film was directed by Richard Fleischer. Actress Rose McGowan was originally intended to portray Sonja in 2010's Red Sonja film, but these plans were squelched by injuries that permanently damaged the mobility and strength of her right arm. In a February 2011 interview, film producer Avi Lerner stated that Simon West is was hired to direct the film and also mentioned Amber Heard as the frontrunner to star in the lead role. Angelica Bridges portrayed the character in the "Red Sonja" episode of the 1997 - 1998 TV series Conan.

Awards

• 1973 Academy of Comic Book Arts Awards: Best Individual Story (Dramatic). The Song of Red Sonja. Written by Roy Thomas and pencilled, inked and colored by Barry Smith. The story first appeared in Conan the Barbarian issue 24 (March 1972), where two panels were censored by John Romita, Sr. The uncensored story was reprinted in Marvel Treasury Edition, Volume 1, No. 15, 1977, where it was recolored by Glynis Wein and the artwork was slightly cropped to fit the page format. * Red Sonja publisher Dynamite Entertainment was awarded the title of "Best New Publisher" by Diamond Comics Distributors in 2005.

Legal

On June 6, 2006, comic news site Newsarama reported that Red Sonja, LLC (which holds rights to the Roy Thomas version of the character) filed a lawsuit on four counts against Paradox Entertainment (which claims rights to Red Sonya as part of the Howard library, though no renewal record for The Shadow of the Vulture exists) in US Federal Court in April 2006. The four counts are claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and unfair competition. The lawsuit was settled in January 2008, on the second day of the hearing, for a sum of $1 each. Red Sonja LLC paid $1 to Paradox for the rights to Howard's Red Sonya and permission for the Red Sonja stories to continue being set in Conan's Hyborian Age. Paradox simultaneously paid $1 to Red Sonja LLC for the exclusive print-publication rights for The Shadow of the Vulture now that one of the characters belongs to Red Sonja LLC.

==References==

==External links==

• Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja comic book series* Red Sonja: The official website
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• A bibliography of Marvel Feature Presents and all the solo Red Sonja series published by Marvel Comics
• Toonopedia page on Sonja Template:Conan de:Red Sonja (Comicfigur)es:Red Sonjafr:Red Sonjahr:Crvena Sonjait:Red Sonjapl:Czerwona Sonjapt:Red Sonjaru:Рыжая Соняsh:Crvena Sonjatr:Red Sonja