HOUSE OF HORRORS 2021 Red Sonja in the Dungeon

 

This is for 's 2nd Annual Drew's House of Horrors Art Jam  which a list of Drew's House of Horrors' Waifu Girls 2021 List was supplied to be the stars of this jam tied up.  It is a chance to be play my usual DiD (Damsel in Distress) with a Halloween theme.

This is Dynamite Comics' Red Sonja dressed in her classic chain mail bikini being a prisoner in some dungeon.

Red Sonja is a fictional fantasy swordswoman and adventurer, based on the heroine created by Robert E. Howard and adapted by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith. Hailing from the Hyborian Age, Sonja was only seventeen when her family's home on the Hyrkanian steppes was attacked by bandits, leaving her the sole survivor. Swearing revenge, Red Sonja became a fierce and highly skilled warrior at the peak of human condition whose prowess with a sword is virtually unmatched.

Red Sonja debuted in 1973, and her adventures were told in comics published by Marvel Comics until 1986. Sonja was initially a supporting character in the stories of one of Howard's other creations, Conan the Barbarian, before getting her own comic book in 1975. In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment took over the license and have published Red Sonja comics ever since under a variety of creative teams. During this run, the original Red Sonja was killed off and replaced by a reincarnation until Gail Simone rebooted the series in 2013. Red Sonja has also been featured in a variety of other media, including her own movie released in 1985, starring Brigette Nielsen. An upcoming film is currently in development.

As originally told, Red Sonja's backstory included her being raped and beaten during the event that killed her family, and her powers were bestowed upon her by the goddess Scathach. Red Sonja also took a vow of chastity and vowed to never lie with a man who could not defeat her in battle. These elements were changed in Simone's 2013 reboot of the character, removing the sexual violence and giving the character more agency as she hones her skills and hunts down her family's murderers.

Red Sonja is also well known for her striking appearance. In addition to her red hair, Sonja is usually depicted in scale mail "bikini armor" which covers her modesty.

Red Sonja is a female swordmaster and adventurer, born to a humble family living on the western Hyrkanian steppes. When Sonja is seventeen, bandits raid her home, burning it to the ground and killing her family. Sonja tries to defend herself but is unable to wield her brother's sword. She is then raped by the leader of the bandits. Crying for revenge, Sonja is heard by the goddess Scathach who bestows on her incredible fighting prowess. However, in return for these skills, Sonja would never sleep with a man who could not first beat her in fair combat. Years later, an adult Sonja wastes her talents thieving, fighting, and drinking - trying in vain to drown her pain in blood and liquor. Sonja hunts the badlands of Hyrkania as a mercenary. At one point, she falls in with Ozzyus and his band of misfit mercenaries. As Ozzyus could never replace the father Sonja lost, she moves more jaded than before after a falling out where his moral flaws were laid bare.

Despite her nomadic tendencies, Sonja does have a quest - to find and kill those responsible for killing her family. Along the way, Sonja will settle for killing anyone who reminds her of her tormenters. Ultimately, she learns that her tormentors are agents of the dark sorcerer Kulan Gath, and their greatest goal is to return their master to the Hyborean world. Freeing the world from Kulan's oppression becomes her life's work. Until that is done, she cannot find closer, but along that journey, she develops into a master strategist and matures into a leader. In later years, she frees the kingdom of Sogoria from its oppression and rules it as queen. Throughout the years, a number of royals have offered her a throne, but she always turned it down; she will only sit on a throne she earns for herself.

Because of her history, Sonja has a large circle of compatriots from various backgrounds. She has allies in every land and tribe, but true friends she has few. Too many who have gotten close have died, she has been wounded too deep, so now she rarely lets anyone in.

There have been several incarnations of Sonja's origins beginning with her rape and her families murder as depicted by Roy Thomas. Michael Oeming later revised this to incorporate the incident into her larger conflict with Kulan Gath - the killers now followers of Kulan's cult religion bent on returning him to this dimension through blood sacrifice.  Gail Simone later reimagined her origin in 2013 to dispense with the sexual violence and give Sonja more agency; she escapes to hunt down her family's killers and take their lives one by one. These killers have no connection to any larger story. The attack on Sonja's family still occurs, but she is not raped during the assault. Simone's version of the character also does not get her fighting skills from divine intervention but rather learns them as a prisoner and gladiator in her youth. Without the aid of Scathach, Sonja also never undertakes her vow of chastity.

In 2005, Dynamite Entertainment acquired the comic license and began publishing Red Sonja comics. In issue #34 of the first ongoing series, the original Red Sonja dies and is replaced by a reincarnation who is also a distant relative of the She-Devil with a Sword. This version of the character lasted until 2013. Gail Simone rebooted Red Sonja in 2013, changing the character's backstory to remove several elements including her rape at the hands of bandits.