Xena: Dark Horse Comics

Xena #1

Xena and Gabrielle are being crucified. Callisto, of course, is behind all of this. She sees Zeus and he's really mad at her. Then Callisto's purpose is revealed: she wants Xena to turn to thally.

Xena #2

Xena and Gabrielle are still being crucified. Callisto is there. She has worked to get Xena alive again, in a way. Xena continues her path of vicious war that she had before. Then when she's alone she sees Zeus.

Gabrielle is trying to get some people to follow a peaceful path and not fight. Xena encounters Gabrielle and tries to explain her warring methods, that she's trying to bring peace to the world by getting everyone conquered.

Zeus tries to interfer and Xena realizes the path she had been following that was to punish evil-doers was the correct path, not the one she had been as a conqueror.

The issue ends with it seems both of them dying on the crosses.

Xena #3

There's a totally evil Xena in hell. Julius Caesar is also there. She gets instructions to corrupt Thor and bring him to Hell. Sometimes getting what you want isn't the best thing, though, Hell finds out he's not really the type of person they can either control or hold.

So, there's another job offer for Xena.

Here's where I'm totally confused. How did she end up in Hell, corrupted? Further, the other comics in the series don't have anything to do with this one. Maybe I'm missing something somewhere.

Xena #4

Xena is pregnant. She and Gabrielle are no longer on the crosses. They both died but were brought back to life. A lion attacks and Xena sends it away with some thug complaining to her that it was a valuable animal for the arena and she needs to catch it.

You can guess what she told him.

They go to a slave auction. There's a pregnant woman named Fatima. Gabrielle and Xena win the bidding but some guy tries to kill Xena. She takes care of him but he turns into a skeleton. Some old guy talks to Xena and they find out Fatima is really Philomena. While they are talking some thugs kidnap the girl and set fire to the building Xena and the others are in.

Xena #5

Philomena is still in trouble. Xena tries to stop them but isn't able to. She and Gabrielle head to Egypt and find Philomena's parents who tell them about the fact that the baby Philomena is carrying is Ptolemy's. Xena meets Cleopatra and is told Julius Caesar used to curse Xena quite a lot.

They find Philomena tied to a sacrificial altar.

Xena #6

Xena, Cleopatra, a plan to raise Set and a bunch of thugs take on Xena.

Guess who wins?

The evil ones have to raise a second-level guy before they can get Set raised, though. All he has to do is kill a woman who is pregnant.

Didn't count on a flying disc, though. Heads will roll! Also, never piss off Egyptian gods. They don't take nice to the things being done. Neither do Cleopatra's loyal soldiers. Nor Xena.

Some days a villain should just stay in bed and forget about his dreams of glory.

Xena issue #7

The Romans are talking about a show at the amphitheater. One of the charioteers has an ego the size of a planet plus he cheats. There's also a very peaceful group of people she had met and the Romans plan to throw them to the lions.

So it's Xena vs cheater egotist and guess who wins? What makes it even better is that the thug who put the games on is now bankrupt because his toadie lost.

Xena 8

Mercurus, the charioteer, has an ego beyond belief. He also has a strong tendency to cheat during a race. Xena introduces him to her fist. She goes nighty-night. The guy running the races is way over his head in debt and if Marcurus doesn't win the chariot race he'll be in a lot of trouble.

Xena and Gabrielle fight some Romans and one of them kills an innocent man. Xena almost kills the guy in retaliation. She and Mercurus end up in the chariot races with Xena winning, Mercurus being massively embarased and the running the games in major financial trouble.

Xena #9

Xena, Gabrielle and Amarice have been riding through a forest when they finally find a tavern. A guy comes into the tavern and says his daughter has disappeared. None of the other guys in the tavern are willing to help him. Amarice finds something pretty bad and Xena and Gabrielle join her, only to have the path they were following disappear.

Gabrielle gets caught by some kind of growth but Xena frees her. Xena sees what might be the missing but it turns out to be a weir hog. Weir hogs don't like fire. Burn, hoggie, burn. It turns out a ghost has been involved.

Xena #10

Xena and Gabrielle are in a forest and find a nude prince hanging upside-down from a tree. He's on a quest to prove himself. So far, not a good start.

He and his group were supposed to be pillage this one place but his men found out he was paying for things that he was passing off as being something he stole. Also, seems his step-brother hired a guy to kill him.

Thug meets Xena. Thug loses. More thugs, more fighting. This time the Prince proves his mettle. Instead of killing the thugs he and his men take them prisoner.

Xena #11

The story opens with what appears to be the end of the world happening. Then it switches to the next section, 'six months earlier.' Xena and Gabrielle have arrived in yet another village.

A crack appears in a wall and then the story changes yet again, this time to Olympus. Helios is having a major argument with Zeus who is not one to hold his temper in check.

Then it's right back to the village and everyone seems to have forgotten about the wall that was cracking. They talk to a guy that says he channels messages from Zeus to people in (or near?) the village.

Then he gets a vision that the lamia are coming. An (the?) original lamia seduced a bunch of amazons. The text says she had a lust for 'unnatural passions' which makes it plan they words were anti-lesbianism (and bisexuality?)

The turned amazons kill the original lamia and then go on a spree of killing, only to be stopped by a mage and put into a mountain. Then we go to a scene where mermaids have caused a ship to start to sink and the lamia/amazons show up to link up with the mermaids.

Then another jump to some creature talking to Hades (maybe) and then its jump to Xena and Gabrielle and look outside to see Hell has come to play.

I don't care much for this jumping from one place to another for a couple of pages and then jjmp somewhere else and even includes a time jump.

Issue 12

Xena, Gabrielle and one other person are chased by monsters. Gabrielle is hurt. There is no sunlight. A demon army attacks a castle as Gabrielle is slowly turning into a monster.

The chariot of Helios is found and this allows the sun to shine again, defeating the monsters. Xena has a talk with Zeus who tells her the whole thing was a test of humanity.

That's a very interesting point as it applies even up to the modern day when some people, upon something bad happening, say it's a test of their faith. As to the comic, it shows how the early gods and godesses were capricious but this is probably because their legendary existence was based on how real people acted.

Xena: Warrior Princess, Dark Horse #13

Legion appears. Gabrielle and Xena are almost out of money. Xena is to fight in a cage match against some guy. Xena and Gabrielle meet a woman that says a wraith has been set after her.

No good deed goes unpunished.

They find out the woman is not who she says. Evil woman goes buy-buy, leaving behind a good bit of money that the two friends can use.

Xena: Warrior Princess Issue 14

Salmoneus again and a process to make duplicates of people and create an army. Seems like an idea and evil villain can run with.

Until he runs into another army, this one consisting of Xena clones. His dreams of glory hit a roadblock with the real Xena holding him by the throat and giving him a chance to quit.


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