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| For other uses, see Red Sonja. |
Red Sonya of Rogatino is the principal protagonist in Robert E. Howard's story, The Shadow of the Vulture, which was originally published in January of 1934.
Biography[]
In the story, Red Sonya is a gun-slinging warrior woman of Polish-Ukrainian origin with a grudge against the Ottoman sultan. She has the eponymous red hair and a fiery temper to match.
It was revealed in the narrative that she was sibling to the favourite of Sulemain himself, the Ruthenian harem-girl Roxelana, who ended up marrying him as sole legal wife.
Trivia[]
- The character's name may have been inspired by Sonia Greene, a fellow author and one-time wife of Howard's friend, H.P. Lovecraft.
- Howard's Red Sonya had no connection to his Conan the Barbarian character. Roy Thomas and Barry Smith, in Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian title, transposed Red Sonya into the Hyborian Age, changing the spelling of her name in the process. "Shadow of the Vulture" itself was adapted by Marvel as a Conan and Red Sonja story of the same title in Conan the Barbarian #23 (February 1973).
- Red Sonja (1985 film), which took place in the Hyborian Age, is (as stated in the opening credits) "Based on the character created by Robert E. Howard", making this film another link between Red Sonja and the Hyborian Age.