Red Sonja (Marvel): Ultimate Respect Thread
Background
Red Sonja
Aliases: Sonja of Hyrkania, The Grim-Eyed Goddess from the East, The She-Devil of the Hyrkanian Steppes, The She-Devil With A Sword, The Goddess of War, The Pale Destroyer, Sonja of the Flaming Hair, Mary Jane Watson (while possessing her)
Nicknames: Son-Ya, Red-Hair, Flame Hair, Scarlet-Locks, Red-Top, Bloodhair, Devil-Beauty, Bloody Bitch, Fire-Top, Firehair, Red, Fire-Mane, MJ
Height: 5’11
Weight: 130 lbs
Occupation: Warrior, mercenary, soldier, bounty hunter, captain of Ghaniff’s army (formerly), general of Suumaro’s army (briefly), bodyguard (for the right price), thief
First appearance: Conan the Barbarian #23 (November, 1972)
Likes: Ale, Conan, horses (especially unicorns), contests, dancing, sausages, gold, diamonds, being called “milady,” Spider-Man
Dislikes: Rapists, prostitutes, robbers, beheadings, torture, human sacrifices, slavery, owing favors, being called “mother” or “harlot,” Valeria, Kulan Gath
Backstory
“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 and 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
In the ancient land of Hyboria, there exist tales of a woman whose swordsmanship is unmatched by any other. A wanderer and mercenary to the highest bidder, her exploits are spoken of among the greatest of legends. She is the hellcat of crimson hair, the She-Devil with a Sword: Red Sonja.
But before her reputation became that of legend, Sonja of Hyrkania was born the only daughter to a family of farmers. An eager youth, Sonja spent her nights sneaking out of her home to practice with the swords her father (a retired commander) had used to train her brothers. Though this made her an oddity among the more feminine and romantic Hyrkanian women, Sonja was still content to follow in their footsteps as a mother who would stay at home and raise her children. However, this would change some time after her seventeenth birthday.
One night, a group of wandering mercenaries happened upon her village, led by her father’s former second in command. The mercenaries slaughtered Sonja’s family before her eyes, and Sonja herself was brutally raped by their leader, who left her to die by setting fire to her house.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja claims the men that killed her family and burned her home were sent by Kulan Gath, but this is never stated or implied in any of the flashbacks or recaps of her origin. This claim is more in line with Sonja’s backstory under Dynamite Entertainment, but the miniseries explicitly references Sonja’s previous crossover with Spider-Man, implying this is supposed to be Marvel’s version of Red Sonja.
Upon escaping her burning home, Sonja was visited by Scathach, who became infatuated with her desires for revenge. The goddess blessed Sonja with a warrior’s strength on one condition: she must never allow another man to bed her unless he has first bested her in combat.
From that day forward, Sonja honed her skills as a warrior until she was unmatched by man or woman. Her reputation grew along with her exploits, and she was soon hired by King Ghaniff of the Hyrkanian city-state Pah-Dishah. Under Ghaniff’s orders, she was to lead his armies and steal a serpent tiara from the neighboring city of Makkalet. During this quest, she would encounter the Cimmerian barbarian Conan and begrudgingly work with him to obtain the tiara and slay its monstrous true form. However, she’d ultimately give Conan the slip and desert him, taking the now inert tiara for herself.
Though she returned to the king successful, Ghaniff wasn’t satisfied with just having the tiara and tried to enslave Sonja as part of his harem. This greediness would later prove his undoing when Sonja killed him and his guards before escaping into the night.
She’d later return to aid Conan against the undead sorcerer Costranno, with this adventure leaving them on more friendly terms. They’d go on to have several adventures together, and each one would end with her somehow tricking the Cimmerian and giving him the slip.
During her own travels, she eventually discovered the man who ravaged her body years ago, now a broken shell after being tortured by a group of sadistic robbers. Though she couldn’t enact vengeance on him in this state, the sight of it still left her pleased, and she continued her journeys with a renewed vigor.
Marvel Comics Super Special #9, Red Sonja (Volume 2) #1, and Savage Sword of Conan #230 claim she killed her rapist and that he was her first victim, but these claims are blatantly contradicted by the above story. It’s likely the writers confused him for her actual first victim, one of his men.
She’d go on to succeed in a wide manner of quests, vanquishing demons and cults, freeing oppressed kingdoms, killing giant bee women, and facing off against powerful sorcerers like Kulan Gath and Apah Alah.
After several years of adventuring, Sonja returned to her home, curious to see how things had changed in her absence. Her curiosity would lead her to a mysterious cave, and upon venturing inside, she discovered a tribe of bronze-skinned people with hair as red as her own. She’d later discover that this tribe was known as the Favored, a sub-race of humanity created by Scathach and blessed with unmatched skill in weaponry, all for the purpose of slaying the flesh-eating cave dwellers known as Drommach.
And among these discoveries, Sonja would learn of her true origins. Years ago, Scathach had decreed a prophecy that in their final days, the Favored would die in battle, led by a pale-skinned member of their kind heralded to be their destroyer. This prophecy struck fear into the rest of the Favored, and when Sonja was born with her naturally pale skin, her own people turned on her. As punishment for their “sin,” Sonja’s birth parents were slaughtered, and the infant Sonja was abandoned to suffer at the Drommachs’ claws. Yet, through either miracle or divine intervention, Sonja survived, and her return threw the Favored onto a frenzy.
Wanting to prevent the prophecy from passing, the Favored’s leader Tamil attempted to sacrifice Sonja to Scathach, but her efforts were rendered futile when Sonja’s jailer (and supposed sister) Zora took pity on her. In a strange twist of fate, the Drommach invaded their cave at the same time, and as her own people were slain, Sonja confronted Scathach, who revealed that her ties to Sonja’s past ran deeper than expected.
As it turned out, Scathach had lied to her this entire time. The vow Sonja had made all those years ago hadn’t granted her any strength. In reality, Scathach had used her godly abilities to purposefully inhibit Sonja’s natural strength and skill. Not only that, but everything Sonja experienced, including the deaths of her foster parents and being raped, had been orchestrated by Scathach for the purpose of turning her into the perfect weapon!
The guidebook Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica adds onto this by claiming that Sonja’s life had been manipulated from the start as part of an alliance between Scathach and Erlik.
Disgusted by this revelation, Sonja renounced her devotion to Scathach by destroying her temple and led the Favored into battle against the Drommach. Unfortunately, her involvement would only fulfill the goddess’ prophecy, as all but Sonja and Zora were slain.
With Zora as her new companion, Sonja continued her adventures, all while teaching her cave-dwelling “sister” about the outside world and concepts like stranger danger or hangovers. Sadly, their time would end in tragedy during an escort mission with Lord Daquis, which ended with Zora taking a crossbow bolt meant for Sonja.
Though she mourned Zora’s death, this didn’t stop Sonja from continuing her adventures. She even gained companions in the form of the wizard Achmal and the Alwazarian warrior Galon, though they were eventually slain in battle. Shortly after, she’d find herself engaged in battle with Vassilisa Iceheart, sorceress queen and sworn enemy of Scathach. With aid from the ghost of Achmal (in reality a servant of Scathach) some new companions, and the blessing of Scathach, Sonja slew the dark sorceress, earning favor in Scathach’s eyes.
Following this, Sonja would continue to have many adventures, usually with Conan. These would include battles with enemies such as the Devourer of Souls, the shapeshifting Baron Strakkus, the first vampire Varnae, and the sorcerer turned giant slug Rothath. She even briefly took up a role as leader of a band of mercenaries that she personally inspired.
Even when she reached her 60s, Sonja continued her life as a warrior and a mercenary. At one point, she even coerced Conan into joining her on a quest just like old times. And much like those old times, she wound up playing him for a fool and escaping.
Much of Red Sonja’s life afterwards is shrouded in mystery, though it is known she eventually had a child, and one of her descendants would go on to become Red Sonya of Rogatino.
Thousands of years after her death, Sonja would be resurrected when her soul unknowingly possessed the body of Mary Jane Watson on two occasions to battle a resurrected Kulan Gath. Aided in her efforts by the Amazing Spider-Man, Sonja would finally put an end to the sorcerer’s reign of terror, allowing her vengeful soul to obtain peace.
Personality
From her first appearance, Sonja shows a commanding, authoritative presence and is extremely blunt when speaking to others, not holding back from telling them what she thinks. She’s shown to be extremely fond of ale and has an insanely high tolerance for alcohol, said to be capable of outdrinking even the strongest man under the table.
Her second appearance depicts her as somewhat playful and rowdy, with a love of combat and a willingness to toy with her enemies. However, when it comes down to it, she focuses on business over pleasure.
From this point on, Sonja’s character becomes more well-defined. Her
love of ale becomes one of her more defining traits, as does her dedication to her vow. Any time someone shows her romantic feelings or tries to improperly lay hands on her, she’ll immediately turn them down or threaten them with violence depending on their insistence. This attitude is mainly caused by her refusal to believe she could ever fall in love with anyone. However, her belief in it isn’t absolute. There are times where she doubted her agreement and questioned if it truly happened.
Strangely, even Sonja’s last stories have her doubt Scathach’s existence despite previous comics blatantly establishing it.
She even admits there are men she wants to be with, but she still refuses them because she doesn’t think she’d make a good wife. She also fears that being with another man would strip her of her power and turn her from an accomplished warrior to just another woman. Despite this, she has acknowledged that the day will eventually come where a man can best her. Later comics even reveal that she wants it to happen and sometimes dreams about it, but her pride as a warrior prevents her from allowing it.
In the same story that establishes this, Sonja finds a loophole for her vow and pride by purposefully losing to Prince Linneus in a game of chess. However, she comes to regret this and refuses to ever do it again.
Conan: The Ravagers Out of Time has Sonja imply that if she’d remained in ancient Atlantis she would have forsaken her vow by falling in love with Kull. Though she claims this is because her vow technically wouldn’t exist yet.
Even after learning the truth behind her vow, she still held to it due to being a woman of her word. When Conan bested her in a sword fight (albeit by technicality), she was reluctant but willing to let him do whatever he wanted to her (though he didn’t actually do anything sexual to her. He just took her into a private room to explain why he attacked her).
While she showed a similar willingness after being defeated by El-Ron, it was later revealed this was just a ruse, as she let him win so she could fulfill her contract by killing him in their wedding bed.
While her vow to a goddess and belief in gods would make you think otherwise, Sonja isn’t particularly religious, having abandoned prayer and worship back in Hyrkania. In fact, she’d rather oppose the gods than appease them. However, this doesn’t stop her from calling upon Scathach to grant her strength in battle. She’s also invoked the names of Hyboria’s other gods, like saying “Tarim’s blood” (and on one occasion, “Erlik’s blood”) when shocked or using Erlik’s when angered. She’s even invoked other religious deities like Mitra or Ishtar on occasion.
Despite her formidable nature and massive body count, she takes no pleasure in killing others, whether man or animal, and will only do so if it’s necessary. She also despises torture and takes pity on those who had to suffer it, even putting them out of their misery should they request it. Similarly, human sacrifices and slaughtered animals are shown to enrage her.
There have only been two exceptions to her hatred of torture. The first is when she discovered her rapist had been tortured to the point of breaking. The second is when she left Sieglinde (an opportunistic gloryhound who betrayed her trust) to suffer after she swapped bodies with an undead corpse
Slavery is another hot topic for her, with enslaved women being a particularly sore spot.
She’s also shown to have a deep bond with horses and takes a special liking to unicorns. She has a similar sense of camaraderie with any soldiers under her command, whether they’re human or undead.
By her own admission, she enjoys games and is willing to participate in them, claiming to fear combat and contest with nothing that lives. She also enjoys partying and dancing.
She’s somewhat stubborn and hates owing favors to others or being protected by them, though she’s willing to pay whatever debts she owes. She also has a slight habit of mouthing off to, taunting, or insulting enemies and captors. However, she isn’t a meathead and prefers to avoid meaningless conflict. It’s even been shown that she’s willing to retreat against a more imposing foe.
She’s so dedicated to her life as a warrior that she’s prepared to die in battle, refuses to die on her knees, and intends to bring her sword with her into Hell when the time comes. This lifestyle is so ingrained in her that she’s attacked a man out of instinct when disguised as a submissive harem girl and while asleep.
In later comics, she’s shown to have a heated rivalry with Conan’s partner Valeria. Despite being responsible for Valeria’s career as a pirate (which the stories never acknowledge), they can not get along with each other, and all of their interactions consist of bickering and insults.
Unlike Conan, Sonja isn’t averse to magic and is less wary of it compared to him, though she still has some reservations toward it.
Experience
Though her fighting style is mainly self-taught, Sonja is easily among the greatest warriors of her time. While the comics aren’t explicitly clear on how long she’s trained, she claims to have handled a blade since she was knee high to Trolus’ hauberk.
Scathach, the goddess who restored her latent strength, declared that Sonja would become the equal of any man or woman she meets. Right after receiving this boost, she was able to slay a trained mercenary with ease. Her training for the next five years would only further improve her skills, to the point that early in her career she could become captain of a military force within a week with only half of her feats.
Such feats would include her slaying Trolus, who’s been bred to sword fight since he was born, and the vampire Uathacht, who has been around for centuries and is so old “the stars have forgotten [her] birth.”
She’s also bested some of the finest warriors of her time, such as Conan, the she-pirate Belit, and even fellow Favored like Zora. Even an attempted assault from a family of assassins ended with a swift victory.
Making her even more dangerous is her sense of pragmatism. She’s willing to do anything to win a fight, whether it’s exploiting her surroundings, kicking dirt into eyes, going for bites and low blows, pulling hair to drag enemies into her blade, improvising with mundane objects, or stealing weapons from others. She can even fight by using a sword with her mouth! And if that wasn’t impressive enough, she’s been able to fight while blind, took down a pirate crew while seasick, and led a 14 hour long battle while suffering a broken arm.
Even into her 60s, Sonja continued to serve as a mercenary, and was still in her physical prime.
Strength
Conan the Barbarian #23:
Conan the Barbarian #24:
Punches a bar patron in the face.
Cuts through the gold-plated skin of the serpent tiara’s monster form.
Savage Sword of Conan #1:
Cuts a bandit across the back.
Decks a prostitute, and the same page has her imply she severed a pikeman’s hand.
With Conan’s help, she slams a massive table into a squad of guards.
Stabbed one of Costranno’s followers through the chest.
Flips one of King Ghaniff’s soldiers over her shoulder, knees him in the gut, and kicks him.
Is so strong that multiple guards are needed to properly restrain her.
Pulls one of Ghaniff’s concubines into a bath.
Kills a palace guard with a slice to the chest.
Kills Ghaniff’s eunuch by cutting him across the side.
Conan the Barbarian #43:
Helps Conan push a large boulder off a cliff.
Conan the Barbarian #45:
Punches a stone wall, though she nearly breaks her hand.
Grapples with Uathacht and forces her to stab herself in the chest.
Knocks Conan out by bashing him with a rock.
Conan the Barbarian #48:
Kicks Vincentius in the face and chokes him with her thighs. While doing so, she implies she could snap his neck.
Stabs Vincentius in the chest.
Stabs one of Vincentius’ followers in the stomach.
Cuts Hunwolf in the side, causing him to quickly bleed to death.
Kull and the Barbarians #2:
Grabs a fully grown man and lifts him into the air while kicking his son in the crotch.
Kull and the Barbarians #3:
Severs a robber’s hand and stabs another through the chest.
Throws her sword hard enough that it impales a third robber through the back.
Upon receiving Scathach’s blessing, Sonja became strong enough to effortlessly lift her father’s sword, which was previously impossible. She then cuts a mercenary’s sword in two and stabs him through the chest.
Marvel Feature (1975) #1:
Pulls herself out of a trapdoor.
Cuts through a prisoner’s shackles and mercy kills him.
Cuts down two satyrs with one swing and stabs a third with her dagger.
Cuts a satyr on the side, disarms him, and knocks him into the pit.
Marvel Feature (1975) #2:
Knocks out a crippled swordsman by kicking him.
Marvel Feature (1975) #3:
Knocks a soldier off his horse with a swing.
Climbs up the side of a cliff despite one of her arms being injured. She then uses her other arm to pull Neja off a cliff.
Marvel Feature (1975) #4:
Sends a villager flying with a kick.
Flips another villager over her shoulder.
Holds off an army of villagers and kicks one in the face.
Kills two villagers with one swing and kills another two by stabbing.
Marvel Feature (1975) #5:
Flips the Bear God onto its back.
Steps on Tusan’s shoulder wound.
Marvel Feature (1975) #6:
Stabs a jackal assassin through the back.
Kicks another jackal assassin off her, flips it onto its stomach, and stabs it to death.
Impales a crocodile man by throwing her sword.
Stabs another crocodile man to death with her dagger.
Conan the Barbarian #67:
Clashes with Belit and proves herself superior.
Marvel Feature (1975) #7:
Cuts through a candelabra, clashes with Conan, and kicks various accessories at him.
Cuts a lamp open and clashes with Conan again. They proceed to have a long, drawn out duel that ends inconclusively when they’re attacked by a giant snake.
Conan the Barbarian #68:
Red Sonja (1977) #1:
Kills several cultists on two occasions.
Red Sonja (1977) #2:
Stabs a sorcerer through the stomach.
Kills a demon and the man it possessed with a single slash.
Red Sonja (1977) #3:
Cuts a whip out of Grosias’ hand, disarms him of his sword, destroys his carriage with one swing, then kicks him.
Pins Sortilej and smacks a knife out of her hands.
Throws a javelin hard enough to impale Sortilej in her spider form.
Red Sonja (1977) #4:
Kills a bunch of monsters, each with one swing.
Red Sonja (1977) #5:
Topples a dinosaur statue with her legs.
Slashes and impales a two-headed dragon.
Savage Sword of Conan #23:
Kills a cultist by stabbing him in the chest.
Red Sonja (1977) #6:
Kicks and punches two guardians, then slices them across the chest.
Cuts a giantess’ restraints, then begins hacking away at them when they try to ensnare her.
Kills the giantess by stabbing her through the chest.
Red Sonja (1977) #7:
Clashes with Oryx several times before disarming him.
Boasts that she could kill a man by throwing a tankard of ale at him.
Red Sonja (1977) #8:
Kicks a drunkard in the face and claims she could smash his skull in.
Stabs a guard through the chest.
Cuts through metal chains with one swing.
Red Sonja (1977) #9:
Severs Amparo’s arms, then bifurcates him with one swing.
Savage Sword of Conan #29:
Clashes with Mikal, then simultaneously disarms and topples him in one swing.
Red Sonja (1977) #10:
Red Sonja (1977) #11:
Stomps on Narca’s head and kills her with one stab.
Red Sonja (1977) #12:
Chops through a mutant plant whose vines are stated to be strong as chains.
Red Sonja (1977) #13:
Marvel Comics Super Special #9:
Destroys a statue of Scathach by hurling a leaden weight.
“Carves a swath of gore and guts” as she strikes down an army of Drommach. Once the battle ends, she, while exhausted, carries Zora (who weighs 12 stones) out of the cave.
Red Sonja (1977) #14:
Stabs a man with enough force to splinter his spine, though he’s unharmed because he already died.
Uses a diamond to carve her way out of a giant clam. Then, despite her arms being weakened, she proceeds to harm a monster by throwing a bag of diamonds at it and knocks out another.
The narrator says the monster she knocked out is “stronger than most mortals,” but that “she (Sonja) too is stronger by far than she appears…”
Kills the man from the story’s beginning by stabbing him in the stomach.
Marvel Team-Up (1972) #79:
Decapitates a dragon that had trapped Spider-Man, then severs a demon’s arm.
Knocks Spider-Man out with the butt of her sword.
Some time in the past she killed Kulan Gath by cutting out his heart.
Red Sonja (1977) #15:
Kicks a man and smashes a bottle against another’s head.
Stabs two drunkards in the chest, then kicks a third in the face.
Stabs a traitorous prince from behind.
Savage Sword of Conan #45:
Kicks a pervert in the face hard enough to break his teeth, then flips another with her legs and throws the first over her.
Stops an assassin from stabbing her by holding his wrist back.
Forces an attic’s shutter open.
While close to blacking out, she stabs a man in the ribs.
Uses her legs to throw a man off a rooftop, then stomps on his head and kills him underwater.
Red Sonja (Volume 2) #1:
Slams a stableman against a wall.
Hurts Zora’s wrist by grabbing it.
Stabs a pirate in the side, then lifts one of his mates with one hand and slams him into the mast.
Red Sonja (Volume 2) #2:
Kills a fat man by stabbing him in the heart.
Bashes the Dark God’s statue against a wall.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #1:
Barados claims Sonja could’ve shattered his sword arm by throwing her dagger.
Knocks Barados over the head with a beer mug.
Cuts open a statue’s back, stabs a second in the chest, and decapitates a third.
Shatters the Blood Gem of Chari’is with her dagger.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #2:
Slices a man’s throat and kicks another in the face.
KOs an executioner with one punch.
Disarms Feema with one swing and stabs her in the chest.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #3:
In a flashback, she kills Lassusar’s men and cuts out his eye.
Throws a lesor hard enough to shatter a bronze war shield.
Staggers Lassusar and knocks his helmet off.
Hits Lassusar in the head with her lesor.
Cuts through one of Lassusar’s men.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #4:
Stabs a man in the throat and slices another in the shoulder.
Knocks out a guard by throwing her lesor.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #6:
Kicks a Pict in the face and punches him.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #7:
Slices, kicks, and stabs some Mongols.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #8:
Conan the King #28:
Kicks Conan in the face, with Conan saying she kicks like a mule.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #9:
Pops Alain’s shoulder back into place.
Kills a thief in one swing and cuts another across the back.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #10:
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #11:
Severs a harpy’s wing and later stabs it in the throat.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #13:
Snaps one of her restraints, then cuts the rest while flipping Vassilisa with her legs.
After obtaining Scathach’s blessing, Sonja repeatedly slices at Vassilisa and mortally wounds her.
Conan the Barbarian Annual #12:
While stripped of her powers, she overcomes her inability to lift a sword through sheer anger and slaughters some scavengers.
Conan the Barbarian #200:
Clashes with an undead soldier.
Savage Sword of Conan #144:
Cuts a man across the face and kicks another.
Stabs a man through the head, with her sword piercing his helmet. She then severs another man’s hand, punches him hard enough to snap a wooden beam, and stabs him in the throat.
Stabs a deformed monster, severs its hand, and kicks it in the balls.
Stabs a man through the chest.
Savage Sword of Conan #145:
Kills some slave traders off panel.
Conan the Barbarian #204:
Holds back Strakkus and throws him aside.
Conan the Barbarian #205:
Stabs Strakkus hard enough to make him scream, then destroys a crystal with one swing.
Savage Sword of Conan #153:
Clashes with Conan twice, hits him in the gut with her hilt, beats on him, flips him with her legs, and knocks him down.
Savage Sword of Conan #170:
Grapples with Valeria, trips her with a sweep kick, and kicks her in the face.
Savage Sword of Conan #172:
Stabs a thief in the chest, decapitates another, and stabs a third through the head.
Savage Sword of Conan #178:
Impales a man through the stomach.
Savage Sword of Conan #179:
Throws two men out of her inn room, with one shattering a bannister and another smashing into a support beam.
Conan the Barbarian #241:
Conan the Barbarian #242:
Throws a roasted turkey at Conan.
Overpowers Conan and knocks him out of his chair.
Trips Conan with a sweep kick.
Conan the Barbarian #243:
Chokes out a palace guard and stabs another in the stomach.
Conan the Barbarian #244:
Conan the Barbarian #245:
Kicks an Afterling in the stomach.
Kills two Afterlings with her blades.
Conan the Barbarian #246:
Stabs an assassin in the head while simultaneously punching another.
Carries a massive log on her back.
Knocks a man out with a kick to the stomach.
Savage Sword of Conan #187:
Kicks a soldier in the stomach.
Knocks out a sailor with the butt of her sword.
Conan the Barbarian #247:
Cuts herself free from a net and kicks a Stygian in the face.
Conan the Barbarian #248:
Breaks free from her restraints, KOs a Stygian with a kick to the stomach, then uses his sword to slit another’s throat.
Cuts through her restraints and slices another Stygian’s throat.
Conan the Barbarian #249:
Kills some of Natohk’s soldiers.
Conan the Barbarian #250:
Savage Sword of Conan #194:
A slave trader says she kicks like an ostrich.
Bites Kahoul on the cheek, kicks him in the balls, then knocks out him and her captor by slamming their heads together. She then casually kills another slaver.
Conan: The Ravagers Out of Time:
Cuts the lock off a treasure chest.
Savage Sword of Conan #207:
Bites Murabi and punches him in the stomach, though it hurts her hand.
Disarms Murabi and severs his hand.
Savage Sword of Conan #223:
Savage Sword of Conan #224:
Savage Sword of Conan #226:
Stabs a thief through the chest.
Savage Sword of Conan #229:
Stabs one of her captors in the thigh.
Savage Sword of Conan #230:
Kills a familiar by smashing the Heart of Ahriman against its head.
Stabs a barbarian through the back.
Kicks a waitress into a table.
Casually blocks and parries a sword.
Stabs a man in the chest and cuts along his body.
Throws a rock hard enough to kill another monster.
Kills enough monsters to fill the battlefield with their corpses.
Savage Sword of Conan #231:
Severs the Burrower from Below’s tendrils, then cuts into its head.
Casually disarms Olin while holding back.
Savage Sword of Conan #232:
Clashes with her doppelganger.
Cuts into a sorcerer, splits another’s skull, and cuts down a third.
Amputates a swamp monster’s tendril.
Cuts through multiple zombies.
Savage Sword of Conan #233:
Cuts a monster across the face.
Stabs Pelides through the chest.
Throws her sword hard enough to pierce through Asroth’s skull.
Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt:
Staggers Borlech with a kick and stabs him in the chest.
Cuts a stone golem across the back.
Throws a helmet hard enough that a golem explodes.
Gouges out a T-Rex’s eye with a hammer.
Clashes with a possessed Sieglinde and pulls her by the hair to stab her in the gut.
Elbows Analee’s mummified body and stabs her in the head.
Conan the Savage #9:
Slices a man across the chest while wielding a sword in her mouth.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #1 & #2:
Cuts Spider-Man with her sword and draws blood, then bludgeons him when he webs it up.
Kicks Spider-Man in the balls, then punches and kicks him.
Kicks Venom in the face, slices his back open, then cuts him across the side.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #3:
Draws blood from a troll and cuts an axe in half.
Knocks out some trolls with Spider-Man.
Stabs a giant rat through the head.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #4:
Kicks a pumpkin bomb back at Hobgoblin.
Punches Hobgoblin and nearly decapitates him.
While weakened from being shot, she tore herself off a tree and threw its remains at an ogre.
Speed
Savage Sword of Conan #1:
Kull and the Barbarians #2:
Avoids a staff being swung at her.
Marvel Feature (1975) #1:
Unsheathes her dagger and raises it above her while she’s being tackled.
As a trapdoor falls beneath her, she manages to grab her sword and use it as support before she can fall through.
Marvel Feature (1975) #2:
Ducks under a sword swing while on horseback.
Marvel Feature (1975) #3:
Using a chain, she swings away from Balek before he can catch her.
Ensnares Neja faster than Neja can swing Sonja’s sword.
Dodges Balek’s attacks again after he gets faster.
Marvel Feature (1975) #4:
Dodges some sword swings from a villager.
Moves away from a villager before he can bodyslam her.
Marvel Feature (1975) #5:
Ducks under an attempt to tackle her.
Reacts to a bolt of lightning. (debatable)
Marvel Feature (1975) #6:
Dodges a jackal assassin’s lunge and flips herself onto her horse while it’s rearing back.
Conan the Barbarian #67:
Ducks under Belit’s sword swing.
Marvel Feature (1975) #7:
Leaps away from Conan’s slash.
Keeps up with Conan during their battle.
Red Sonja (1977) #1:
Rides on a unicorn said by the narrator to move at the speed of lightning.
Red Sonja (1977) #3:
Matches Sortilej in a footrace.
Smacks Sortilej’s dagger out of her hand before she can stab Sonja.
Red Sonja (1977) #4:
Can react to attacks from the monsters of Chimu, who traveled to Earth from their home planet, which contains a distant star. (debatable)
Savage Sword of Conan #23:
Quickly steals a cultist’s dagger.
Red Sonja (1977) #6:
The narrator describes her dagger swing as “cat-swift and flawless.”
Red Sonja (1977) #7:
Grabs onto a sentient root before she can fall to her death.
Creates afterimages during her fight with Oryx.
Runs away from a stampede of giant elephants.
Red Sonja (1977) #8:
Savage Sword of Conan #29:
A legend claims her sword strokes move too fast for the eye to perceive, calling them “a blur of white fire.”
Red Sonja (1977) #12:
Shields herself as a blinding explosion of light goes off.
Marvel Comics Super Special #9:
Red Sonja (1977) #14:
The speed of Sonja thrusting her blade is described as “a streak of silver silence.”
Red Sonja (1977) #15:
Kills a man before he can draw his sword.
Jumps out of the way of a sword swing.
Savage Sword of Conan #45:
Leans her head back to prevent an assassin from targeting her eyes.
Reacts to a dart flying past her head.
Red Sonja (Volume 2) #1:
Draws her sword and parries Zora’s in a single stroke, then easily disarms her.
Outspeeds an attempted assault from five pirates.
Red Sonja (Volume 2) #2:
Leaps away from a dagger swing, with her attacker calling her “as fast as a greased leopard.”
Dodges a sword swing from the Dark God.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #1:
Matches the speed of a sentient statue.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #2:
Strikes with the speed of a panther.
Avoids Feema’s sword swings, then swings her own sword like “a living whirlwind of flashing steel.”
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #3:
Blocks an attack from Lassusar.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #4:
Dodges Lassusar’s sword swings.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #10:
Shoots a harpy in the eye before it can attack her.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #11:
Rolls away from a harpy’s attack.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #13:
Blocks a magic blast from Vassilisa and intercepts another.
Conan the Barbarian #195:
Catches Conan’s dagger mid-flight.
Conan the Barbarian Annual #12:
While depowered, she moves faster than eyesight while fighting scavengers.
Savage Sword of Conan #144:
Dodges a giant’s mace swing, then dodges again.
Conan the Barbarian #204:
Savage Sword of Conan #153:
Blocks Conan’s sword and leaps over his slash.
Savage Sword of Conan #170:
Savage Sword of Conan #172:
Moves so quickly that her movements are described like liquid and her sword appears in her hand like magic.
Savage Sword of Conan #178:
Her sword arm is faster than an experienced swordsman’s.
Her sword is described as a whirlwind.
Conan the Barbarian #243:
Simultaneously ducks under El-Ron’s sword swing and stabs him.
Conan the Barbarian #246:
Dodges a metal tetherball flying at her.
Conan the Barbarian #294:
A man prepared to attack her is killed before he can swing his sword.
Conan: The Ravagers Out of Time:
Catches a sword tossed by Conan.
Savage Sword of Conan #207:
Dodges Murabi’s sword swings and amputates him before he can face her.
Savage Sword of Conan #210:
Is said by the narration to have “lightning fast reflexes.”
Savage Sword of Conan #224:
Savage Sword of Conan #226:
Pushes a boy out of the way before he gets crushed by a pillar.
Savage Sword of Conan #229:
Savage Sword of Conan #230:
Casually dodges a swordsman’s attacks, then moves fast enough to create afterimages. When he attempts to catch her off guard, she attacks him before he can swing his sword.
Savage Sword of Conan #231:
Says she can grab her sword and gut Pelides before he could even draw his.
While holding back, she keeps up with and dodges Olin’s sword swings.
Savage Sword of Conan #232:
Ducks under a sorcerer’s dagger throw.
Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt:
Dodges Borlech’s sword swings.
Dodges an attempted slash from a possessed Sieglinde.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #2:
Dodges a kick from Spider-Man.
Leaps away before Venom can tackle her, then dodges a claw attack.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #4:
Intercepts a pumpkin bomb from Hobgoblin.
Jumps onto a moving train as it speeds toward her.
Durability
Conan the Barbarian #43:
Gets back up after falling off a horse.
Conan the Barbarian #44:
Nearly breaks her hand by punching a stone wall.
Kull and the Barbarians #2:
Gets backhanded by Ghunthar.
Kull and the Barbarians #3:
In a flashback to her past, she gets backhanded by a mercenary.
Marvel Feature (1975) #2:
Can go several days without food or water, though she’s left weakened by the end of it.
Marvel Feature (1975) #3:
Withstands swinging off a cliff using a chain, though the recoil nearly rips her arm out of its socket.
Marvel Feature (1975) #4:
Only mildly pained when a barrel’s thrown at her head.
Hits her head after falling, then gets beaten by an angry mob.
Survives an attempted hanging, though it incapacitates her.
Gets attacked by swarms of rats.
Survives being thrown and bear hugged by Unkas.
Withstands multiple cuts from her own sword.
Marvel Feature (1975) #5:
Gets kicked and slashed by the Bear God.
Thrown into the side of a tent.
Marvel Feature (1975) #6:
Conan the Barbarian #68:
Red Sonja (1977) #3:
Participates in a dozen Olympic level events without tiring.
Red Sonja (1977) #5:
Survives hitting the ground after she’s thrown off a dragon by its death throes.
Savage Sword of Conan #23:
Some cultists knock her out with spiked ale, but she awakens seconds later.
Red Sonja (1977) #6:
Survived being stung by a swarm of man/bee hybrids, though the pain eventually knocks her out.
Red Sonja (1977) #8:
Gets bitten by Apah Alah’s snake form, noted by the narration to have deadly venom, but suffers no ill effects.
Withstands a whip slicing into her flesh.
Red Sonja (1977) #10:
Endures the wings of Apah Alah’s guardians digging into her skin.
Has acidic centaur blood jammed into her eyes, though it leaves her temporarily blind.
Red Sonja (1977) #12:
Withstands exposure to a plant’s poisonous breath, though it slowly weakens her
Survives being crushed in Kthonn’s grip.
Red Sonja (1977) #13:
Survives holding onto a cursed crown that fills her entire being with a pain said to be far greater than anything she’s endured. As she holds onto it, she also endures being slammed into nearby walls “with sledgehammer force,” having her back bend to the point of breaking (which she barely reacts to), then is rapidly aged via magic until she’s reduced to a still living skeleton.
While she dies a few seconds later, she still endures the pain of holding the crown even after she’s revived.
Red Sonja (1977) #14:
Survives a giant clam attempting to digest her.
Red Sonja (1977) #15:
Suffers no wounds after getting thrown through a window.
Savage Sword of Conan #45:
Survives being choked by garrote wire, though she nearly blacks out.
Takes hits from a hidden assassin.
Conan the Barbarian #115:
Is only angered after Conan backhands her.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #1:
Gets tackled into a table hard enough to flip it.
Takes a punch from a statue, though she admits it would’ve knocked her out if she hadn’t worn her helmet.
Gets smacked into a wall by Charii’is.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #3:
Gets thrown off her horse and lands on her shoulder hard enough to break it.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #4:
Remains conscious after getting kicked by Grull.
Unharmed after falling dozens of feet and landing on a rooftop.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #6:
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #7:
Withstands being choked by a tsar.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #11:
Falls off a harpy and lands on her ass.
Red Sonja (Volume 3) #13:
By receiving Scathach’s blessing, Sonja was granted the endurance to withstand Vassilisa’s magic blasts.
Conan the Barbarian #195:
Takes repeated bitch slaps from Bahkt, though she’s eventually knocked out.
Conan the Barbarian #204:
Gets blasted away by an explosion of wind.
Conan the Barbarian #205:
Gets up after Strakkus bitch slaps her.
Backhanded through a crystal, only to immediately get back up.
Savage Sword of Conan #170:
Survived being frozen solid during a blizzard.
Conan the Barbarian #241:
Gets thrown onto the rocky ground beneath a river.
Conan the Barbarian #242:
Knocked away by Conan, only to get back up.
Conan the Barbarian #243:
Withstands a possessed El-Ron attempting to choke her out.
Conan the Barbarian #245:
Gets back up after being dropped dozens of feet onto solid bone. She then survives a shorter fall a few seconds later.
Conan the Barbarian #248:
Kicked in the stomach by Katuman.
Conan the Barbarian #250:
Is only angered when a Zugite backhands her.
Savage Sword of Conan #194:
Savage Sword of Conan #210:
Being slapped by Linneus only annoys her.
Savage Sword of Conan #233:
Takes a punch from Pelides and gets back up.
Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt:
Backhanded by Borlech, but immediately gets back up.
Gets kicked and slashed by Sieglinde.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #2:
Takes a backhand from Spider-Man, then gets kicked and punched in the stomach.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #3:
Gets back up after being hit by a giant rat.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #4 & 5:
Keeps fighting after being shot in the shoulder.
Tanks two massive blasts of magic from Kulan Gath.
Scaling
Conan
Sonja has regularly harmed and bested the Cimmerian in both swordplay and close quarters.
Conan survived being exposed to a demon’s aerokinesis which destroyed the city around them.
Fought and killed the Devourer of Souls, who at the time had absorbed the power of Sedrick and Solaise, whose power could consume universes and destroy all creation.
Even without that, the Devourer could cause massive explosions and destroy entire kingdoms.
Has critically wounded Kulan Gath and killed him several times in the past. Even after Kulan absorbed the powers of Shuma Gorath, Conan could still harm him.
Wolverine has survived being punched from the X-Mansion to Georgia (13.34 - 333.49 tons of TNT) and dodged Cyclops’ optic blasts, which move at the speed of light (2.09 c).
Conan bashed Deadpool against a cell door until his mutilated bits could push through.
Deadpool tanked being in the epicenter of this massive explosion (5.63 tons).
Has dodged arrows and attacked others while doing so.
What If? Conan
This one’s a bit weird, but hear me out. While these are different versions of Conan, they shouldn’t be too different from the original. They’re still the same guy, just with an alternate history. In fact, one of those What Ifs take place during a story that Red Sonja was originally part of.
Additionally, this helps add more credibility to the street tier scaling already established during other crossovers between the Hyborian age and Marvel.
When transported to the modern day, Conan flipped a car with his bare hands. This isn’t an AP feat, but I wanted to bring it up because it looks cool.
Captain America can hit with the force of a 5 ton meteor and raise his shield at the speed of light.
Has dodged bullets, even at near point blank.
Kulan Gath
Sonja killed Kulan Gath early in her career as a warrior.
Kulan was able to conjure a massive pillar of energy in New York.
Takes a punch from Spider-Man, with Sonja stating he can recover as long as he has his amulet.
His magic transformed cities, all of Manhattan, and all of New York, and will eventually spread to the entire planet.
Tortured Spider-Man and later killed him.
Was so powerful Doctor Strange needed the combined power of the X-Men and Avengers to defeat him.
Crushed Doctor Doom’s arm through his armor and drew blood from him.
Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom combined were unable to defeat him.
Strange admits Kulan is the strongest wizard on Earth and that if he completely consumes Shuma Gorath, reality would be broken beyond repair.
For context, Kulan deliberately fed on Shuma slowly to make him suffer and later obtained his full power.
After absorbing Shuma’s power, Kulan demolished a combined army of heroes and villains, is said to have enough power to cast Earth into the sun, and burns Doctor Strange to death.
Spider-Man
In their first team-up, Sonja killed demons that were said to be capable of killing Spider-Man. Their second team-up had her hold her own against him and his villains, even nearly killing them at points.
Spider-Man pushed Hulk out of the way of an antimatter bomb (1.2 kilotons and Mach 409.51).
Fought Luke Cage and matched his strength, to the point he was worried they’d wind up killing each other.
Luke survived an explosion from Ultron’s sentries that destroyed Manhattan (54 megatons).
Survived being hit with enough electromagnetic energy to destroy a city (10 megatons).
Tanked a blast from the Scepter of the Manticore, whose energy could power the Sandman, which requires 1 exajoule of energy (239 megatons).
Has regularly beaten Electro, who could power a Quantum Particle engine that would destroy New York (316.5 megatons) and once absorbed all the energy in New York City (754 megatons).
Blitzed Daredevil, who could barely track Spider-Man with all his speed and reflexes.
Daredevil can react in a nanosecond and attack within that same timeframe (5.6 c).
Venom
Sonja’s fought Venom before, even drawing blood from him and dodging his attacks while he was bloodlusted.
Venom has been consistently shown as stronger than Spider-Man, even with just the symbiote, and Peter’s admitted Venom could easily kill him. Venom’s also shown to be way faster, and has stated Spider-Man’s movements are in slow motion to him.
While weakened, Venom lifts up a collapsing ferris wheel, and was confident he could have supported its weight without Spider-Man's help.
The average ferris wheel can weigh between 32-35 tons.
Venom should be superior to other counterparts such as Ultimate Venom, who caused damage on a city block during a casual stroll (27.43 tons of TNT), and Mac Gargan Venom, who survived an explosion from Mar-Vell (1.83 kilotons of TNT).
Tanked a sound blast that broke windows for 10 miles (5.36 - 250 kilotons of TNT).
Fought Jack O’Lantern, who can harm suits capable of withstanding 50 megaton nukes.
Intelligence
Conan the Barbarian #23:
Leads a successful battle against an army of Turanians.
Conan the Barbarian #24:
Offers to teach Conan about Hyrkanian demi-vowels.
Distracts Conan by burning his rope and retreats on horseback before he can fully recover.
Kull and the Barbarians #2:
Is knowledgeable on werewolves and their weaknesses.
Marvel Feature (1975) #1:
Uses her sword as support to prevent herself from falling through a trapdoor.
Marvel Feature (1975) #2:
Tricks a bandit leader and restrains his horse with a Hyrkanian knot, which takes non-Hyrkanians 3 hours to untie.
Distracts a thief and gets him to knock himself out.
Tricks a man who’s been tracking her for several days into getting poisoned by a snake.
Marvel Feature (1975) #3:
Tricks Balek into breaking one of the chains holding her. She then uses that chain to choke his master and forces her to make him break the other.
Uses the chain shackled to her arm to save herself and trick Balek into falling off a cliff.
Uses another chain to ensnare Neja and throw her off a cliff.
Marvel Feature (1975) #4:
Positions her sword so a villager will impale himself on it.
Tricks Unkas’ rats into thinking his sister attacked him.
Uses one of Unkas’ rats to blind him.
Tricks Unkas into cutting the rope holding his magma chamber, causing it to burn him alive.
Marvel Feature (1975) #5:
Deduces that the Bear God she fought was a fake.
Conan the Barbarian #67:
Destroys a torch and escapes while Conan and Belit are blinded in the dark.
Marvel Feature (1975) #7:
Cuts through a lamp to blind Conan with its oil.
Red Sonja (1977) #2:
Dispels an illusion by relaxing her mind.
Savage Sword of Conan #23:
Deduces the only true weapon from a rack of illusions.
Red Sonja (1977) #7:
Uses torches to help some townspeople herd stampeding elephants.
Red Sonja (1977) #8:
Uses an elephant carcass to keep Jimodo from using his whip.
Immobilizes Jimodo by tricking him into following her up the elephant’s carcass, which collapses under his weight.
Red Sonja (1977) #12:
While being ambushed by a demon and a bloodsucking plant, she tricks them into fighting each other by splashing blood on the demon.
Red Sonja (1977) #15:
Uses her cloak to blind a man.
Blinds a prince with his own cloak.
Savage Sword of Conan #45:
Tricks an assassin into falling victim to his own spiked balls.
Red Sonja (Volume 2) #2:
Deduces the Dark God’s connection to his idol through “warrior’s instinct” and tricks him into destroying it.
Savage Sword of Conan #172:
Realizes a girl is faking her injuries to set up an ambush.
Conan: The Ravagers Out of Time:
When she and Conan realize they don’t have the keys to some treasure chests, they improvise with their swords.
Can tell the nigh identical ape lords apart.
Deduces the true way to kill Rothath’s seemingly invincible body.
Savage Sword of Conan #209:
Stalemates the genius prince Linneus in a game of chess. While she loses the rematch, it’s only after a several hour long game, and issue 231 reveals she let him win.
Savage Sword of Conan #210:
Repairs a runestone and uses it to weaken a monster.
Savage Sword of Conan #224:
Realizes two dinosaurs are herbivores and can be used to distract a T-Rex.
Savage Sword of Conan #230:
Recognizes the weaknesses of an army of monsters.
Savage Sword of Conan #231:
Hides the Ring of Ikribu and tricks Pelides into thinking she doesn’t have it.
Savage Sword of Conan #232:
Advises her men to amputate zombies to reduce their effectiveness.
Spider-Man/Red Sonja #4:
When Hobgoblin moves out of her range, she uses an oncoming train as a boost to reach his level.
Abilities
Stamina and Endurance
To put it bluntly, Sonja’s endurance is completely insane. She has survived being cut and stabbed by enemy blades, kept fighting after being shot in the shoulder, suffered no ill effects after getting bitten by a massive snake with deadly venom, and once fought and fled from a group of monsters despite her arms and legs being weakened from getting digested by a clam. But most impressive was her display against Apah Alah’s cursed crown. Merely holding onto it filled her with a pain that eclipsed anything she’d felt before, yet she held on even as the crown’s influence nearly broke her spine, and then she endured it aging her until she was a skeleton. But even in this state, she lived long enough to keep holding on to it until she eventually died (she was revived a few seconds later).
Her stamina is at a similar level of insanity. She’s participated in dozens of Olympic events without tiring, and survived for several days without any food or water, though it did start to affect her by the end of it.
Swordsmanship
Sonja’s years of training have made her an expert when it comes to dueling with blades. Her prowess is said to be the equal of the greatest swordsmen, enough that she could “shame many a male,” and it’s said no man can beat her. She’s even bested veteran swordsmen like Prince Olin while holding back. She’s never been beaten in a fair fight, and has only lost when her enemies employed underhanded tactics.
Weapons Mastery
As one of the Favored, Sonja possesses a natural affinity for weaponry and has shown proficiency with whips, chains, javelins, bows, and axes.
Close Quarters Combat
Even without her sword, Sonja is shown to be a beast in close quarters with a proficiency in unarmed combat. Her skills have let her taken down the likes of palace guards, the sorceress Sortilej (who was previously shown to match her physically), and Conan.
Leadership
With her years of skill and finesse on the battlefield, Sonja has become a capable leader able to rally troops and command them in battle.
Marksmanship
Sonja has been shown to have consistent accuracy with hitting targets from afar, even doing so in complete darkness. While she usually does this with daggers or her lesor, she’s occasionally used her broadsword as well.
Although it isn’t focused on as heavily, she’s shown to have trained in archery and javelin throwing.
Stealth
Sonja’s been shown to observe others from afar, sneak up on them, ambush them, infiltrate hidden areas, listen in on conversations, or kill, all without being noticed. She’s also escaped completely undetected while under cover of darkness and in plain sight.
In the event that she needs to blend in with a crowd or find information, Sonja is willing to don disguises, like dressing as a harem girl to pass information to a king or disguising herself as a mistress to enter a city.
Powers
Statistics Amplification
Sonja’s body is able to draw upon her latent strength during lengthy events, and in times of desperation, she can call upon Scathach to enhance her strength and endurance.
Enhanced Senses
Thanks to her warrior’s training, Sonja’s hearing is enhanced to the point of being comparable to a wolf’s. She can hear animals, monsters and stealth-based assassins sneaking up on her, brawls occurring some distance away, and whispered conversations in the distance. Her vision is similarly enhanced, letting her identify the necessary moves to disarm others.
Extrasensory Perception
Sonja is capable of perceiving and hearing spirits like Achmal’s ghost, which can’t be seen or heard by regular people or sorceresses who regularly interact with spirits.
Mental Manipulation and Possession
Upon dying, Sonja’s soul manifests within her sword. Should a woman find herself near it, she will become lulled into a hypnotic trance that forces her to pick up the sword. In doing so, Sonja’s soul will possess the woman and transform her body accordingly.
During this time, Sonja will remain in control of her host’s body while the host’s consciousness is placed in some sort of limbo. However, the host can still subconsciously influence Sonja’s actions and emotions, and in the right circumstances they can even converse and view each other’s memories.
The possession will last as long as Sonja desires, though she can willingly leave her host if need be.
Healing Factor
After she was shot in the shoulder, Sonja’s body pushed the bullet out in the span of a few minutes.
Resistances
Illusions:
Sonja is able to dispel illusions by clearing her mind.
Mental/Empathic Manipulation:
In her early appearances, Sonja could snap out of brainwashing of her own accord, though she couldn’t control her body. She also retained her mental faculties while under a sorceress’ hypnotic spell, but was unable to control her movements.
As time went on, she’d gain more impressive showings, such as:
Her body continued to fight on its own after her mind was separated from it.
Broke free from a demon’s control after it spent several days manipulating her emotions and draining her willpower.
Was completely immune to the sirens’ hypnotic song.
Resisted the hypnotic allure of the jaws of Death.
No-sold a sorcerer’s hypnotic spell through sheer willpower.
Survived looking at Pelides’ face, which is so hideous it drives men mad.
Poisons:
A spiked ale meant to knock her out for a sacrifice only worked for a few seconds. She’s also suffered no ill effects after getting bitten by a snake with deadly venom.
Soul Manipulation:
When a wizard botched a spell to summon Red Sonja, he accidentally split her into five aspects: body, humor, spirit, mind, and soul. Since her soul was among those split and the rest of the Sonjas could act without it, this implies Red Sonja could survive without her soul.
Arsenal
Chainmail Shirt
Prior to gaining her more iconic bikini armor, Sonja wore this in her first two appearances. It provides the top half of her body with protection.
Chainmail Bikini
Sonja’s most iconic and self-explanatory outfit. After realizing it was impractical and chafes, she replaced it with the below outfit, but briefly returned to this one in Conan #242 and fully returned to it in Spider-Man/Red Sonja.
Blue Tunic
A blue fabric tunic Sonja began wearing during volume 2 of her series. It doesn’t have any special properties, but apparently it’s more practical than her bikini and less prone to chafing.
Plated Top
An armored, plated top Sonja wore during Savage Sword of Conan #172. Strangely, it only has one sleeve.
Leather Tunic
A self-explanatory armor set worn from Conan: The Ravagers Out of Time to Savage Sword of Conan #233.
Scavenger Hunt Costume
Because not even Sonja was safe from receiving a gaudy 90’s redesign. At the very least, its armbands and shoulder pauldron give her protection and she can conceal weapons with her thong.
Broadsword
Originally wielded by her deceased father, this double-edged broadsword is Sonja’s trademark weapon. Its blade is strong enough to cut through armor like butter, and it even makes for a good ranged weapon.
Her skill with it is so incredible it’s been rumored the sword is enchanted with magic that makes its wielder invincible in battle.Though Sonja denies these claims, its magical abilities may have basis. When Sonja dies, her sword can somehow be used to store her soul, allowing her to live on by possessing other women.
Scimitar
On occasion Sonja has been depicted with a scimitar instead of her broadsword. Since this happens even in flashbacks to her past comics, it’s likely just an artistic error, but it’s a weirdly recurring one.
Dagger
Sonja has wielded daggers numerous times throughout the years, either by stealing them from her enemies or using the two kept at her side. Regardless, she can use them in the event that she’s disarmed, needs to disarm others, perform a quick kill, or hit a target from afar.
Whip
Gained during a bar fight, Sonja used this to hold off some unwieldy patrons. She can use it for quick lashes or strangling.
Horse
Sonja is often depicted on horseback when traveling to other locations and sometimes into battle, with the horse usually appearing black, white, brown, or spotted. Being a horse, it should be able to reach a speed of 44 mph and kick with 2000 lbs of force.
Shield
Though she doesn’t wield them that often, Sonja has occasionally been depicted with a metal shield, which she can use to block swords.
Bone Pouch
Given to her by a dying wizard, Sonja can toss these bones into the air, transforming them into an undead army. These skeletal soldiers are all armed with swords, shields, and axes, and will obey Sonja’s every command. However, they are not permanent and will dissolve once the battle ends.
The skeletal army have shown the following abilities:
Self-Sustenance: Being undead, they have no need for food or water and are unable to tire.
Axe
A double-sided axe used while battling a cult. It can be wielded with one hand or two.
Blood Crystal of Charii’is
An ancient red gemstone whose true origins have been lost to history. Previously wielded by the sorcerer-king Sabaretus, the stone was eventually passed on to Sonja, who turned it into a necklace.
Housed within the gem is a giant demon that will emerge to defend the wielder from harm and kill all enemies in its path, only returning to the crystal once its job is completed.
The gem also possesses a unique defense system. Should anyone other than its current owner so much as touch it, they’ll be burned to ash.
However, this power comes with a price, as the Blood Crystal will corrupt its user over time. Sonja is no stranger to these effects, as it instilled in her a lust for power, intense bloodlust, battle lust, and lust in general. It also caused her to enjoy being feared by others, and corrupted her morals to the point of siccing the demon on innocent people.
All of this is to transform the wielder into the demon’s host by possessing their soul, with the process covering them in painful boils before sealing their soul in the gem. However, Sonja was able to prevent this by destroying the gem and vanquishing the demon.
Battle Armor
A scale mail robe and metal helmet Sonja wore during a battle for King Aldernal.
Lesor
Created by the wizard Achmal, the lesor is a hollow, cylindrical weapon disguised as one of Sonja’s bracelets. When thrown, it becomes a fast-moving projectile capable of destroying bronze shields and cleaving skulls from up to 30 yards. It can even ricochet off surfaces to return to her.
Ring of Ikribu
An ancient ring originally guarded by the Priests of Ikribu. Forged by the elder gods, it’s completely indestructible, unable to be harmed even by Sonja’s strongest blows. The only way to remove it from this world is to seal it away through magic incantations.
Its power can heal those tormented by vivid, death-inducing nightmares, and during battle the wielder is surrounded by a dome of fire that grants total protection against physical attacks and harmful magic. This barrier can even be spread to the wielder’s partners as long as they’re in close proximity. Despite this, its defenses aren’t foolproof. The barrier only shields against attacks, so it can be bypassed by- for example- accidentally exposing yourself to a deadly poison. It also won’t defend against attacks from previous wielders, as Sonja could still attack Pelides while he was using it.
Unfortunately, Sonja no longer has access to it, as she chose to relinquish it to the priests.
Enchanted Short Sword
Part of a mystical set of armor containing the soul of Princess Analee. Originally discovered by the diminutive Pict Freyda, Sonja inherited it after her death and used it to kill Analee after she was resurrected.
Like the art quality of the comic it’s from, the blade’s size is inconsistent. Its introduction depicts it as about two feet in length, but it’s later shown fully piercing through a woman’s body. Regardless, the sword is apparently small enough that Sonja can smuggle it through her thong.
Feats
Can outdrink even the strongest man
Killed her first man immediately after making her vow
Helped Conan fight off an army of Turanians
Recovered the serpent tiara for King Ghaniff and successfully tricked Conan
Assassinated Ghaniff after he tried to turn her into his concubine
Helped Conan kill the undead sorcerer Costranno and his cult of followers
Killed the vampire sorceress Uathacht and helped Conan kill her brother Morophla
Killed the werewolf Ghunthar
Destroyed the ancient mech Balek and killed its master, the witch Neja
Discovered the true nature of the Bear God (which was really a bounty Hunter working with the mayor to kill other bounty hunters)
Retrieved a page of the Book of Skelos, a tome of magic so ancient it predates Atlantis
Dueled Conan to a draw (technically) and helped him kill a giant snake
Befriended a unicorn and helped him murder some cultists that tried killing him
Led an undead army into battle against a sorcerer, killing him and his demon partner
Bested the Athosian queen Sortilej in the Games of Gita
Killed Sortilej and freed the kingdoms of Athos and Zotoz from her rule
Freed her companion Mikal from a sadistic beekeeper
Slew General Jimodo of Suumaro’s army
Killed the plant homunculus Amparo during a chariot race to the death
Helped the rest of the Favored kill the Drommach, and was one of the only survivors of their war
Killed three vampiric kings and their royal benefactors
Killed a family of assassins
Bested Zora in a spar
Helped fight off an ambush from a pirate ship
Tricked the Dark God into killing himself
Helped clear Adulsa-Dar of its pagan merchants
Destroyed the Blood Gem of Chari’is and saved herself from being possessed
Beat a group of potential suitors in a drinking contest
Defeated the warrior princess Feema in a sword fight and killed her
Led the forces of Calum-Barai to siege Alwazar and free it from the tyrannical warlord Lassusar
Helped save an entire village’s babies from Lassusar
Held off a Mongolian invasion
Killed Vassilisa Iceheart’s harpy
Killed Vassilisa and ended her war with Scathach
Was hired by Koth’s emperor Strabonus as part of a mercenary squad to slay Conan for rebelling against the nation’s leaders
While stripped of her powers, she killed a group of scavengers who invaded Conan’s camp
Aided Conan in his battle against the Devourer of Souls
Helped Conan free some child slaves
Defeated Conan in a fair fight
Fought the she-pirate Valeria to a draw
Teamed up with Conan, Valeria, and the Iron Damsels to fight the Vanir party
Fought King El-Ron and his forces alongside Conan
Helped free the bat-like race of Afterlings from Varnae’s control
Saved Conan from a child assassin
Aided Conan and Zula in their battles against Nahtok’s forces
Helped Zula kill a legion of slave traders and free their slaves
Saved Conan from being mauled by a bear
Aided Conan and his men in freeing the City of Light from an army of undead Turanians
While serving as a mercenary for Lord Olin, she killed a man so thoroughly it convinced an entire tavern of warriors to join Olin’s crusade
Helped Olin’s men kill the the sorcerer Asroth’s forces
Defeated Asroth’s beast, the Burrower from Below
While holding back, she defeated Prince Olin in a sword fight
Helped the Priests of Ikribu kill Asroth
Killed Borlech the Surly
Killed the enchanted warrior Sieglinde and the mummy queen Analee when they swapped bodies
Helped Conan battle the Sammarcians
While in her 60s, she and Conan infiltrated a death barge and plundered its treasure
While possessing Mary Jane, she briefly fought Spider-Man and would’ve killed him if MJ’s influence hadn’t stopped her
Helped Spider-Man fight Venom and the mystically transformed Scorpion, Lizard, and Hobgoblin
With Spider-Man’s help, she defeated Kulan Gath and returned New York to its former state
Weaknesses
Though she’s certainly a fierce warrior, Sonja is far from infallible. She’s been beaten before and has all the weaknesses of a regular human. While she resists them to an extent, poisons will still affect her just like any other man or woman, as will drugs, powders, and sleep potions. She also tends to get seasick rather easily
In terms of mental weaknesses, while she has overcome illusions before, there have been instances where she’s been fooled by them. She’s also may be a bit too trusting when it comes to her love of ale. Just being offered some was enough for her to blindly trust two old women she’d just met. Naturally this led to them spiking her drink and Sonja knocking herself out.
But her strangest weakness comes from her vow. Because Scathach granted her strength in exchange for a vow of celibacy, should Sonja have sex with someone (even nonconsensually), her powers will be stripped from her.
However, there are several stories that muddy this claim. An early story heavily implies she (while brainwashed) had sex for several nights, yet she still has her powers during and after this.
Even in the story where she loses her powers, it isn’t because her vow was broken. Dialogue in the story implies it’s just a psychosomatic effect, which is later proven when Sonja regains her strength in a fit of rage and is fully restored by the end of the story.
Conclusion
With that, this blog is finished. For the first sword and sorcery character I’ve covered, Sonja quickly grew to be one of my favorites, and it was a wild ride.
When I first started this off, I thought it would be a refreshing change of pace to go from covering all these universe busters and planet destroyers to a more grounded, human character. Since l’ve never seen anyone talk about Red Sonja in a vs sense, I figured she wouldn’t be anything that impressive. And for the first 40 or so comics I was correct because there was next to nothing even remotely superhuman. It got to the point where I was actually kind of annoyed because of just how little she had…
And then I got to the Marvel Team-Up with Spider-Man where she fights Kulan-Gath and is said to have killed him in the past. As soon as I finished that story I checked the Marvel wiki to see what Kulan had, and I found some insane stuff like transforming cities and killing the likes of Spider-Man and Shuma Gorath. Needless to say, I was surprised but initially wrote it off, thinking “Well, the Spider-Man scaling might be consistent, but using Kulan to scale Sonja to Shuma might be too much of a stretch…”
And then one of the Conan stories featuring Sonja had Conan blatantly hold his own against a guy that could destroy universes. It was at that point I reconsidered my stance and kept an eye out for anything similar. It was just my luck that as soon as I made this decision, her stories returned to having “peak human at best” feats.
And much like her feats, her stories were pretty consistent outside of a few exceptions.
Everything started off pretty good. Her appearances in Conan, Kull, Marvel Team-Up, and her first two volumes were all great with well-written stories and a grandiose tone that I really enjoyed. But her final volume was a pretty big slip in quality. It started off decent, but issues 5-7 felt like boring filler, and everything after was dedicated to a story so long winded that I got bored going through them. Some issues were so forgettable that even after reading them in-depth, I could only recall vague details. The only good things to come out of volume 3 were the covers, the art, and the final issue, which was actually pretty solid.
Her next major appearances in Conan 195 to 200 had a great story, but at the cost of some really bad writing for Red Sonja. Issue 198 has her get raped offscreen by an irrelevant minion, and the follow-up in Conan Annual 12 writes her as a crying damsel because she lost her powers (which is heavily out of character, even if those stipulations were brought up in prior stories). The only good thing I can say is at least she goes back to normal as soon as her powers return.
Right after, we return to a string of Conan’s books that are really good. Even the ones I didn’t like were still decent in terms of quality. The Savage Sword issues with Zula were really forgettable and barebones, but the ones with Linneus took Sonja in some unexpected but interesting places. And in between that there were some weird stories like the one where a giant slug sends Conan and Sonja back in time. Or there’s the other time travel story where the sorcerer Thugra Khotan sends her and Conan into the ancient past.
Her remaining stories are all pretty solid, with the Asroth story in particular building off the developments in the Linneus arc in a great way…
But then there’s Red Sonja: Scavenger Hunt. It’s the final Red Sonja solo published solely under Marvel, and it’s pretty bad! The plot is more barebones than her stories with Zula, Sonja’s redesign reeks of late 90s cliches, and the supporting cast is so forgettable that their abrupt deaths feel like a joke! To top it all off, the story’s ending is extremely rushed and abrupt, and Sonja starts acting really out of character for the final act. She blames the hastily introduced villain (Analee, who’s a spirit resurrected against her will) for what’s happening, calls her a harlot for not respecting her husband, and leaves Sieglinde to suffer in the villain’s rotting corpse.
Yeah, Sieglinde tricked the rest of Sonja’s party into dying, but they were all one dimensional, arrogant bitches and Sonja knew them for a minute at best. And why would Sonja care about Analee killing her husband? Other stories made it clear she doesn’t care about other people’s romances, and Sonja should know Analee’s fully justified in killing him. Not only did she overhear Analee say she didn’t want to be resurrected, she was explicitly told beforehand that her soul was condemned to a suit of armor until she fell in love with her husband.
Thankfully, this isn’t the final story for Red Sonja as a whole. In terms of comics published solely under Marvel, there’s Conan the Savage #9, where she’s in a backup story that’s decent at best, forgettable at worst. And then there’s the actual final story for the character: Spider-Man/Red Sonja.
It’s a sequel to the classic Marvel Team-Up 79, and it’s arguably even better than the original. We get to see Kulan Gath actually use his magic in more impressive ways, there are great scenes with J. Jonah Jameson as Kulan’s scribe, Spider-Man and Red Sonja have even more interactions (aided by the fact there’s no longer a language barrier), and there are some awesome designs for Spider-Man’s transformed rogues, which is only made better by Mel Rubi’s art. All in all, this was a great way to end Sonja’s history in Marvel and a satisfying transition into Dynamite’s iteration of the character.
Fun bit of trivia: Even though I ultimately went with the narration from the Nemedian Chronicles for the opening quote, there were several other quotes from Red Sonja that I’d considered using instead:
“Never have I beheld a group of animals like these who call themselves men… By the gods, I’ll not stand by and watch this carnage. If it’s a demon they want, I’ll give them one!”
“Ho, you lice-ridden raiders! Turn from terrorizing children and violating their helpless mothers! Turn from slaying farmers armed only with their rusty scythes! Turn and face Red Sonja- she who has earned the name… She-Devil with a Sword!”
“You who dare stand with me against this dark lord may or may not be remembered by your fellow men… but the gods see and record all things. Come with me now to bathe in the blood of battle and to die fighting or live free!”
![the stars have forgotten [her] birth](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ia9y9b2PLlU/VqtCuXS98yI/AAAAAAAAZf4/ayv13qLs02g/s0-Ic42/RCO011.jpg){kind=link}
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