A monthly column by Talisha Harrison aka Tali Adina
Happy New Year my fellow geeks! Welcome to Talking Comics’ Character Spotlight! It’s been awhile since I wrote new articles for this column and I sincerely apologize. Life got in the way and things got hetic and busy. But I’m glad to say that I’m back and with a vengance! For those who are new to this column, Character Spotlight highlights characters from the comic book, animated, and TV Sci-fi, fantasy, adventure genres. Instead of weekly posts, I’ll be bringing you a new character spotlight each month. And we’re gonna start this column off with a bang this year with this awesome character. This month’s spotlight falls on:
Initially known as “Destroyer of Nations” this character went from evil to good and is forever known as
Xena: Warrior Princess
As a kid during the 90’s, this was one of the shows that I watched. I loved it because it had action, adventure, and it didn’t hurt that the lead character was a badass female who was just awesome all around. I loved this show and it’s just one of my all time faves. If I do have children, I would name one of them Xena. It’s just a cool name. So here are a few facts about Xena:
- Xena first appears as an outlaw in the Hercules episode “The Warrior Princess“. She’s about ten years into her career of pillaging and marauding.
- Xena was originally supposed to die at the end of the third Hercules episode, “Unchained Heart“, but when the studio wanted to do a spin-off from the show, producer Robert Tapert told them that Xena was the best choice, since she was largely well received by television critics and fans and had a full story to be explored.
- The original choice to play Xena was the British actress Vanessa Angel.
- Her signature weapon is the chakram, a razor-edged throwing weapon which she often uses for ranged combat.
- Xena is a master swordsman and has remarkable skill in hand-to-hand combat. She has been able to disable and/or otherwise kill multiple opponents at one time. She is also skilled in the use of pressure points.
- The animated movie Hercules and Xena: The Battle for Mount Olympus marks the first appearance of Xena outside of the television series.
- Xena is a playable character in the videogames Xena: Warrior Princess, and a selectable character in The Talisman of Fate.
- She also appears in the comics series Xena: Warrior Princess, originally released by Topp and Dark Horse Comics, and he comic book series Xena Contest Of The Pantheons and Dark Xena from Dynamite Entertainment.
- Xena: Warrior Princess has been referred to as a pop cultural phenomenon and feminist and lesbian icon.
- In 2005, the team that discovered the dwarf planet 2003 UB313 nicknamed it ‘Xena’ in honor of the TV character.
As you can see, Xena is an awesome character. If you have never seen Xena, I urge you to go on Netflix or get the dvds and watch it. It’s a ground breaking show that kicks ass. And this concludes this month’s Character Spotlight. I’ll be back next month with a new character. Until then have a wonderful new year!
