Red Sonja (Birth of the She-Devil)

Background

Red Sonja
Aliases: The Hellion of Hyrkania, the She-Devil with a Sword, the Red Sonja, the Red Devil
Nicknames: Tiger
Age: 18
Occupation: Warrior, mercenary
First appearance: Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #1 (June 12, 2019)
Likes: Ale, Shashana, Elli, Sylvan, men, women
Dislikes: the gods, Ozzyus, Raka

Backstory

The land of Hyrkania, a nation whose people are often regarded as ignorant goat herders. Despite its poor reputation, this land was home to a young girl known only as Sonja. Raised in one of its villages by two loving parents, Sonja’s idyllic childhood would come to an abrupt end when the village burned down by mercenaries. Though she and her parents escaped the arson, by the time she was discovered by the warrior thief Ozzyus, she was alone in the snow, her family having been murdered by animals. Taking pity on her, Ozzyus decided to raise her as his own, and as she grew up, Sonja would end up befriending a girl named Shashana. Though they got along and even trained in swordplay together, the two friends would be separated one day when Shashana was kidnapped by Raka, a worshiper of the chaos god Bel. Sonja attempted to fight for her, but was knocked out by Ozzyus, who believed he was doing what he could to save himself and Sonja.

Infuriated by this, Sonja disowned Ozzyus and set off on her own, hoping to find Shashana, now sold into slavery as a concubine. For the next three years she searched for leads and eventually found a potential informant in Sultan Bashir. She tried to earn his favor by obtaining his most prized possession: the Heart Stone, and the sultan “rewarded” Sonja by having her chained up and taken away to serve as his concubine. When it came time for her “reward,” Sonja killed him in his own bed and escaped, leaving the king’s men in her dust when they tried to seize her. Left in the middle of the desert, Sonja traveled through the hellish heat in search of leads on Shashana.

After reaching civilization and reuniting with Ozzyus, they began working together, using the knowledge Ozzyus had gathered to sail into Khwaras’ capitol of Kaldor, where Raka had been spreading vapors to drive others mad. Their journey led to them discovering a new ally in the stowaway Elli, as well as Shashana’s location, but it was too late. Her friend had been driven mad by Raka’s vapor, though the effects were starting to fade. Sonja, Ozzyus, and the kingdom’s forces then charged into battle against Raka and his men, but Ozzyus would end up infected and mortally wounded by Sonja. To make matters worse, Raka had transformed into a more monstrous state, but Sonja still emerged victorious and allowed Shashana to land the killing blow. With the battle won and Shashana’s sanity restored, Sonja left Kaldor on good terms and went out with Elli in search of more adventure.

Fresh off the success of killing Raka, Sonja and Elli attended the wild, drunken, depraved party of the Festival of Fire, but it was interrupted by the Holy Order of Mitra. Believing those participating in the festival were heretics, they killed each, though Sonja was saved by Yfat, who tranquilized her and dragged her off the battlefield. But Yfat had a reason for saving Sonja, as she was promptly hired to assassinate it’s grand inquisitor. Going undercover as a repentant sinner in need of confession, Sonja murdered the grand inquisitor, leading to the governor Zelden placing a bounty of 1000 gold pieces for whoever brought her in.

With the palace guards stretched thin searching for anyone that resembled her, Sonja was assigned her next mission: assassinating the chief of the guard, and despite some slight troubles, she succeeded, letting him bleed outfrom castration. But when it came time for her next mission to kill Governor Centillis, things went horribly wrong. Sonja and her allies were lured into a trap, and Elli and Sylan didn’t make it out.

Enraged by her friends’ deaths, Sonja was forced to retreat, but still trailed the Order in search of revenge. Before she could ambush them, Fyat intervened, knocking her out with a poisoned dart and turning her in. After some time in prison she was dragged out to be judged by the new inquisitor and hanged, but Fyat once again saved her. And with a silver bow that had been stashed nearby, Sonja took out the governor. After escaping with Fyat’s help, Sonja was finally rewarded for her jobs and set off to her next journey.

Personality

In her younger days she didn’t tend to think things through and would often get caught up in the moment. Even as an adult she tends to rush into fights with her sword in hand.

Ozzyus has noted that she feels at home in violent situations and always had a death wish, either because of survivor’s guilt or because she’s sick of the injustice in the world. Sonja herself has admitted to having a bloodlust, that she gets a thrill from killing corrupt manipulators, and enjoys mutilating those who deserve it, but she‘ll only inflict pain on those people.

She’s aware of her reputation and wears it on her sleeve, being amused by the fear she strikes in others. She’s also something of a thrill-seeker, actively refusing to become a queen in favor of continuing her adventures.

She‘s noted to have a sharp tongue and often taunts others or responds with sarcastic remarks, actively enjoying it at times. Aside from taunting, she’s also extremely foul-mouthed, whether she’s calling the world shit, calling others “bastards,” “sons of bitches,” and “shits.”

She loves ale, accepts it without question if offered to her, and wishes she had some while recounting her adventures. She even ordered it as her first drink after walking 10 miles through desert heat. The only thing that rivals her love of ale is her love of men and women. According to her, she’s been thieving, drinking, and fucking ever since she was a little girl, and she’s gotten distracted by prostitutes.

Unlike most of her other counterparts, this version has no interest in the gods. She believes they don’t care about humanity and enjoy their suffering, which causes her to actively curse them for allowing it and creating such a shit world. Still, that hasn’t stopped her from swearing by them, like saying “Mitra” when surprised. It also doesn’t affect her attitude toward more peaceful religions, as she had no problems with the monk Sylvan.

Experience

Under Ozzyus, Sonja was taught how to fight, drink, and steal, and she’s well-versed in all of these. By the time she was 15 she’d grown to the point where Ozzyus could never beat her, and at 18 she’d slain multiple mercenaries.

She’s also somewhat ingenious when it comes to exploiting her surroundings, like using a burning stick to make enemy horses panic and hijacking one mid-battle. Or there’s the time she ripped a dagger out of a corpse and used it to slit her attacker’s throat.

Strength

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #1:
Slaps a sultan hard enough that he spits blood, stabs him in the side of the neck, knees one of his guards, and slices another in half.
Jumps out a window.

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #2:
Slices a man’s throat, then amputates and decapitates his crew.
Butchers some more men.
Severs a giant octopus’ tentacle.
In a flashback, she makes Ozzyus spit blood with a punch.

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #4:
Decapitates a man.
Punches Ozzyus and stabs him with her dagger.
Amputates Raka’s arm.
Kills Raka’s soldiers by splitting their heads in half, decapitation, bisection, and cutting their bodies to pieces.
Cuts Raka across the chest, leg, and mouth.
Gouges out Raka’s eye.
Splits Raka’s skull with an axe.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #1:
Kicks a prisoner in the face.
Knocked a drunkard out in one blow.
Tackles a man to the ground.
Severs a man’s leg and slices him across the chest through his armor.
Slices a man’s throat with her fingernails and throws him through a window.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #2:
Sends a man across a man with a dagger lodged in his socket.
Snaps a man’s arm with her elbow and slits another’s throat.
Kicks a man in the stomach, stabs another, and decapitates a third.
Slices a guard across the nape.
Uppercuts Zelden, smacks him with her sword, then stomps on his balls and stabs him there.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #3:
Cuts through a grate, slits a man’s throat, and breaks another’s nose with a dropkick.
Cuts an arrow in half.
Severs a man’s legs with one swing despite him wearing armor, then slices another in half.

Speed

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #3:
Grabs a kid’s wrist mid-swing, tosses him aside, and palm strikes a guy.

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #4:
Dodges a slash from a mad Ozzyus.
Ducks under Raka’s sword.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #2:
Ducks under a punch.
Ducks under a sword swing and moves fast enough to leave an afterimage.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #3:
Flips over a spear that’s flying at her.
Cuts an arrow mid-flight.

Durability

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #1:
Punched by a muscular man hard enough to draw blood.

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil #4:
Takes a punch from Ozzyus.
Backhanded by Raka’s monster form.
Punched twice by Raka and thrown through some rubble.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #1:
Knocked to the ground by a horse.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #2:
Elbowed from behind.

Red Sonja: The Price of Blood #3:
Punched by a knight hard enough to draw blood.

Abilities

Seduction

Sonja’s aware of her beauty and knows how to exploit it, having seduced a sultan before killing him.

Marksmanship

Has consistently pulled off headshots even while remaining hidden.

Arsenal

Chainmail Bikini

Sonja’s usual outfit while traveling and battling.

Fingernails

Even without her sword on her, Sonja’s fingernails are sharp enough to slit a man’s throat.

Broadsword

Sonja’s main weapon.

Dagger

A dagger kept at her side. It’s coated in a poison so potent that spilling even a single drop of blood brings instant death.

Bow

Used to kill Raka’s men. Price of Blood has her briefly use a silver one to assassinate Centillus.

Axe

Sonja’s wielded an axe to split Raka’s skull.

Horse

Sonja’s preferred method of transportation.

Resistances

Toxins/Empathic Manipulation:
Forcibly regained her faculties after she exposed herself to a blossom that drives its victim mad and fills them with bloodlust.

Feats

• Obtained the Heart Stone for Sultan Bashir and killed him
• Led Khwaras to victory against Raka and his men
• Killed the Holy Order of Mitra’s inquisitor, chief of the guard, and its governor Centillus

Weaknesses

Sonja’s a force to be reckoned with, but she’s by no means infallible. Barring some flashes of brilliance, she’s kind of a meathead that doesn’t bother thinking things through and rarely strategizes unless someone else is there to guide her. When left to her own devices, her main battle plan is to rush in mindlessly swinging her sword, and that doesn’t change even when she knows she’s outnumbered.

And despite resisting them to an extent, she’s still vulnerable to toxins or poisons, as seen both times she was knocked out by a tranquilizer.

Conclusion

Surprise! We've got another Sonja spin-off instead of continuing the trend of making blogs for the entire volume and its associated books. Some of you might be wondering why I chose to split this one up into its own blog, and that's because of the continuity errors that make it difficult to place in any volume of Sonja. Birth of the She-Devil's description implied this was one of Sonja's first adventures, and considering when it was published, this would mean it would have to be during Mark Russell's 2019 run. However, that run had a bunch of changes to Sonja's backstory that made it completely incompatible with this.

For example, Russell has Sonja's parents die during the arson, but they survived for a bit longer here. And if you try to argue for these taking place in the same world, it causes a few discrepancies like "Why does Russell have her travel to Zamora by cart after her parents died, but here she gets adopted after they traveled to the mountains?" "When would Sonja have had time to train under Domo if she was searching for Shashana for all of these years?" and "Why is Ozzyus never referenced as Sonja's foster father or shown in the flashbacks after her parents died?"

Anyway, Birth of the She-Devil was a breath of fresh air after 28 issues of sketchy art, simple colors, and a relatively weak ending for Mark Russell’s run! The story wasn’t much to write home about, but there was still enough to keep me interested. The most memorable part was Sonja taking a hit from the plant that created Raka‘s mist, tripping out for a second, and calming down.




When I learned The Price of Blood was a sequel, I was both surprised and a bit excited, but the final product was extremely disappointing.

I like Walter Geovani’s work, but there are a few times the mouths and expressions just look wrong. And despite Luke Lieberman writing this and Birth, Sonja barely felt like the same character. With how horny she was and the constant talk about ale, it was bringing back some bad memories of Simone’s run.

I also thought there’d be some interesting development for Sylvan when he accidentally broke his vows by murdering a man and started freaking out. Instead it just amounted to “Lol the celibate holy man had sex” before he and Elli died the next issue.

The last issue also felt kind of rushed near the end. All that build up for the last two issues and we finally discover how Sonja got imprisoned. And now she has personal stakes against her final contract. Centillus, the governor that killed Sonja’s friends and oversaw the slaughter of an entire festival. Considering the rest of Sonja’s kills were up close and personal, you think there’d be some cool final battle where he and Sonja face off. Instead she snipes him in one page and leaves. I mean, it’s a cold way to take him out. It’s efficient. But it’s also kind of a lame way to end the story.

Hopefully the rest of volume 5’s spinoffs will make up for it, but I’m not sure.