Red Sonja

That thing must chafe like hell. Red Sonja, warrior woman out of majestic Hyrkania, that gutsy, wild, tortured free spirit, forged in pain yet unafraid of life or death - the She-Devil with a sword. Forced to flee her homeland and because she spurned the advances of a king and slew him instead, she rode west across the Turanian steppes and into the shadowed mists of memory. Red Sonja, the character here, was created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith for Marevl Comics' Conan the Barbarian #23. So why is this an Epic HACKS figure and not a Marvel Legend? Well, it's not a "Death's Head" situation, where the character would have belonged to Hasbro if he hadn't been in other comics before showing up in Transformers. No, in this case it's because Red Sonja (with a J) was based on Red Sonya (with a Y), a character who appeared in one of Robert E. Howard's short stories. Thomas adapted that story for his Conan run, so while she was technically an original character, it was in the same way DeviantArt Sonic the Hedgehog OCs are original characters. Marvel might have been able to copyright her, but it would have been a fight and they didn't feel like it, instead just ceding the rights to Conan Properties International from the get-go. So Marvel doesn't own her, and thus Boss Fight Studio makes the toys instead of Hasbro. The places in Conan's "Hyborian Age" are loose approximations of real-world places, just fictionalized enough that Robert E. Howard wouldn't have to do painstaking historical research in order to write about them. While Sonya-with-a-Y's story was set in 17th-century Vienna, the character herself was Polish-Ukranian; fittingly, Sonja-with-a-J's homeland of Hyrkania is the equivalent of the Eurasian Steppe, the western edge of which covers the same territory. Slava Hyrkani! You remember how good the Vitruvian HACKS were ("Highly Articulated Character Kits System"), and those were just 4" figures. Now Boss Fight has moved up to 6", and have yet again dwarfed Hasbro's quality, even before we begin to think about articulation. The point of HACKS is to have a plain body that costume details can be added onto, so that means her clothing is done as separate pieces that fit onto the body. Weird pervert customizers, start your engines! It's certainly very shapely, which befits a cheesesteak character like Red Sonja - she's pretty much the archetype for the "chainmail bikini" pin-up girl, and has always been drawn as a whole heap'a woman! We get a lot of variety when it comes to her clothing. There's only one set of boots, and one bra, but that's the base level, and it's all uphill from here! For instance, two different styles of gloves, with a notch cut out or not. Two different types of shoulder armor, either angular metal plates or rounded, layered ones. Optional bands that go around her biceps. Another set that go around her thighs, plus an extra with a knife sheath molded on it. An alternate loincloth with a red sash worn beneath. You can really make this Sonja your own. Just for the record, though: everyone does understand that a loincloth doesn't just hang down the front and back, right? Like, it also covers the underside? That it's generally one long strip of cloth, tucked under the trunk and held up by a belt? She probably wouldn't want to jam cold metal chainmail up against there, but there'd still be something, not just bare skin. But since you swap these pieces by pulling the figure apart at the chest and sliding them down onto her hips, that wouldn't work for the toy. The figure includes three heads, with two different expressions and two different haircuts. That is, two of the heads share the same face, with a stern and intense look, while the third is snarling a yell. That third one has wild, "modern" hair blowing about, as does one of the stern heads, the one with large hoop earrings; the other stern head has smoother "80s" hair. So it's basically a choice between Marvel Sonja or Dynamite Sonja. Her articulation is great! The Epic HACKS body has a barbell head, pectoral hinges, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a barbell chest, barbell waist, balljointed hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, and swivel/hinge ankles. All the joints move smoothly and securely, though the shoulders' butterfly joints are slightly loose. The kneecaps are actually separate pieces that snap onto the physical joint beneath, presumably so they can be more easily swapped for more ornate things on other figures. That does mean they may pop off if you move the knee incorrectly, so be careful not to lose the piece. In addition to all the clothes, and all the heads, Red Sonja has three pairs of hands (open, holding, and fists), and three weapons: a dagger that fits in the sheath on her leg, a scarred battle axe, and a sword with a wrapped scabbard. There's also a belt for the scabbard to plug into, so she can carry it without needing to fill a hand. Obviously she can never use all her accessories at once, but at least she can hold all her weapons. The figure is sold in a dark red box with a uniquely shaped window on the front. There are photos of the toy decorating the front and back, and comic art on the side you open. The figure is twist-tied into her plastic tray, and there's a second with accessories behind her. The figure includes one of three random inserts: I got the Jenny Frison cover of Red Sonja #12, but you could also get Jim Cheung's 2023 Red Sonja #1 cover, or Michael Turner's 2005 Red Sonja #1 cover. Three very distinct looks! Some other company no one's ever heard of made a Red Sonja figure in this same 1:12 scale, but it was $100, which is an absolutely bonkers ask. Boss Fight's Epic HACKS version is still expensive - $60 - but we tend to be forgiving of smaller companies, tend to give them at least a little leeway. Like, Five Guys costs more than McDonald's, yeah? Your favorite local Mexican joint costs more than Taco Bell. Red Sonja is definitely better than any other 6" figures currently on the market, and is absolutely a lot of fun to play with. And hey, if you've got that old Legendary Heroes Conan, the two of them make a hell of a pair! -- 07/30/25 If Marvel could permanently regain the rights to one formerly licensed character, who would you pick? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.