Origins on Hercules Xena originally appears as a
villain in the
Hercules episode "
The Warrior Princess". Ten years into her career of pillaging and marauding, Xena meets Hercules. Initially, she sets out to kill him. In "
The Gauntlet", her army turns against her, believing that she has become weak after she stops her lieutenant, Darphus, from killing a child in a sacked village. Xena
runs a gauntlet and survives, becoming the only person ever to survive the gauntlet. She then fights Hercules in the hope that she will regain her army if she can bring back his head. Xena seems to be getting the upper hand until Hercules‘s cousin Illoran intervenes, inadvertently giving Hercules his sword, which allows him to fight Xena on equal ground and defeat her. However, Hercules refuses to kill Xena, telling her, "Killing isn't the only way of proving you're a warrior". Inspired by Hercules' integrity, and by the fact that he too lost family and yet chooses to fight in their honor, she decides to join him and defeat her old army. In "
Unchained Heart", the two share a brief romantic relationship before Xena decides to leave and start making amends for her past.
Fictional character history Initial turn to evil Several years prior to the series pilot, "Sins of the Past", Xena commits numerous deeds from terrorism to piracy and murder; at one point, she becomes known as the "Destroyer of Nations". Her journey down the path of evil arguably begins when her brother is killed during an attack by the warlord Cortese. Xena vows revenge and becomes estranged from her mother as a result. Later she acts as the captain of a pirate ship, raiding ships and ransoming hostages. It is during one ransom attempt that she encounters a young Roman nobleman named
Julius Caesar. Caesar is an experienced warrior and military commander with grand ambitions. He and Xena have a passionate love affair and plan to join forces. Caesar, however, betrays Xena. Caesar has Xena beaten and crucified (with her legs broken) on a beach to die of exposure, but she is saved by an Egyptian slave girl named M'Lila. M'Lila had originally stowed away on Xena's ship and subsequently befriends her and teaches Xena how to use pressure points. After saving Xena, M'Lila takes her to a healer who treats her injuries. While the healer is treating Xena, Roman soldiers burst in and try to kill Xena, but M'Lila shields Xena, takes a fatal shot from a crossbow and dies in Xena's arms. This event drives Xena to the side of evil completely. Despite her injuries, she kills the soldiers but warns the last one before he dies, "Tell Hades to prepare himself; a new Xena is born tonight."
First steps towards redemption Afterward, Xena becomes the leader of an army and aligns herself with Borias, seducing him away from his family and the two join forces. The two become lovers and Xena eventually becomes pregnant with her son
Solan. During her pregnancy, Xena travels with her army to China, where she hopes to build an alliance with the powerful Lao family. Borias betrays Xena, leading to Xena running for her life and being hunted. While on the run, Xena meets Lao Ma, a woman with special abilities. She scares away the hounds chasing Xena with just a look and can move like a martial artist which awes Xena. Lao Ma cares for Xena, and under her friend's guidance, she learns to put aside much of her hatred and pain. Lao Ma heals Xena's crippled legs and it is implied that she teaches Xena fighting moves she had not yet developed. Lao Ma gives Xena the metaphorical title "Warrior Princess", intending that she be a major catalyst for change in the land. Borias and Xena reconcile and renew their alliance, only to break it a final time and split their forces between them, with Xena proving the stronger of the two. Borias is killed in the ensuing battle, and Xena gives the newborn Solan to the centaurs to raise.
Encounter with Hercules and subsequent reform Xena continues her life as a warlord for many years. She turns against her troops to protect a baby whose family would not pay the ransom she demanded. Her troops try to kill Xena for becoming weak in their eyes. After these events, Xena travels with Hercules for a short time and they share a brief romantic relationship. While their romance does not last long, the two form a special friendship. In "Prometheus", each acknowledges the positive impact the other had on the world.
Meeting Gabrielle Haunted by her past transgressions, she is about to give up on her life as a warrior completely. In the episode "Sins of the Past", she strips off her
armor and weapons and buries them in the dirt. She sees a group of village girls being attacked by a band of warriors. In the group is
Gabrielle. Xena saves the young women and warns an awestruck Gabrielle not to follow her. Gabrielle follows Xena in a quest to persuade Xena to let her be her traveling companion. Xena returns to her hometown, Amphipolis, and eventually reconciles with her mother, Cyrene. (with the help of Callisto); and Gabrielle nearly dies many times. The instances where Xena and Gabrielle almost part ways tend to result from the outside manipulations of others. After Gabrielle's demonic daughter Hope kills Xena's son, Gabrielle, consumed with grief, journeys to stay with the Amazons. Xena locates her and tries to kill Gabrielle by throwing her over a cliff while she is in a weakened state. Xena fails and both women reconcile with the help of Solan's spirit. Solan creates the land of Illusia wherein, through music, both women express their grief and anger at each other and the traumas they have endured. Xena confesses that she did indeed kill Ming T'ien because he killed his mother Lao Ma. Xena admits to Solan that she is his mother and asks his forgiveness.
Enemies . Soon after the start of her journeys with Gabrielle, Xena runs into
Ares, who has known her since her warlord days and he tries to seduce her into joining him as his Warrior Queen, which she repeatedly thwarts. She also encounters a formidable warrior woman named
Callisto, whose family was killed by Xena's army years ago and has since vowed her revenge.
The path to redemption continues Marcus, a warrior, close friend and lover from her warlord days, whom she persuades to follow her in choosing good, is killed while doing his first good deed. Later he is allowed to briefly return to the world of the living to help thwart a vicious killer who has escaped from the Underworld. He and Xena spend a night together before Marcus has to return to the other side. Several years after her first meeting with Lao Ma, a messenger is sent by Lao Ma to ask Xena to travel to China to aid in stopping a great evil. She sets out without delay, but insists that she must deal with this alone and that Gabrielle stay behind. Xena arrives too late to save her mentor and friend
Lao Ma from being tortured to death by her own son, the emperor
Ming T'ien and is crushed with the loss. Finally, she and Gabrielle are crucified by the Romans on the
Ides of March by her former lover
Caesar. Caesar himself is betrayed and killed by Brutus. They are later revived by a mystic named
Eli, along with the spiritual aid of Callisto, who became a demon and then an angel after Xena killed her.
Eve/Livia This leads to the birth of Xena's daughter,
Eve. After Xena lets Callisto die, she is sent to Tartarus but later returns and becomes a god and an even greater enemy of Xena. Finally Xena attempts to save Callisto from her suffering by sacrificing herself. Callisto becomes an angel and Xena a demon. Before Eve is born, Callisto the angel implants her soul in Xena's unborn baby as a way to redeem herself from her past. Mother and daughter have little time together, as Eve is prophesied to bring about the Twilight of the Olympian gods and the rise of the One God. To stop the gods from pursuing the infant Eve, Xena and Gabrielle fake their deaths, but their plan goes awry when Ares buries them in an ice cave, where they sleep for 25 years. During that time, Eve is adopted by the Roman nobleman
Octavius. She grows up to become Livia, the Champion of Rome and a ruthless persecutor of Eli's followers. In a sense she has become a reincarnation of Callisto. Eve's ruthless behavior may be due to the influence of Callisto's soul, but this is unclear, particularly since Callisto was purged of all the evil within her when she became an angel. After her return, Xena is able to turn Livia to repentance, and Livia takes back the name Eve and becomes the Messenger of Eli. After Eve's cleansing by
baptism, Xena is granted the power to kill gods as long as her daughter lives. In a final confrontation, the Twilight comes to pass when Xena kills most of the gods to save her daughter, with the help of God and
Archangel Michael, and is herself saved by Ares when he gives up his immortality to heal the badly injured and dying Eve and Gabrielle.
Final redemption and death Xena's quest for redemption ends when she sacrifices herself to kill the Japanese demon Yodoshi, who is holding the souls of the dead. Xena single-handedly fights the Japanese army and dies. Xena, now a spirit, fights and kills Yodoshi. Xena decides to stay dead so the souls of the 40,000 she accidentally killed years ago can be released into a state of peace. The series ends with Gabrielle on a ship, holding Xena's ashes and speaking with Xena's spirit.
Legacy According to Naiyima, a
darshan or an "enlightened one", this is only one of many lives Xena will live throughout the ages. One such life is that of Arminestra, an Indian holy mother who leads a movement that preaches peace. Another is a transcriber of ancient languages named Melinda Pappas who uncovers the tomb of Ares during WWII and is possessed by the spirit of Xena to stop the God of War. In many of those lives, she will walk a path together with her friend, Gabrielle, furthering the cause of good against evil.
Skills and abilities Xena has many skills that she acquired during her extensive travels across the ancient world throughout the years. She has remarkable skill and prowess in hand-to-hand combat, displaying numerous acrobatic tricks and the ability to disable or otherwise kill multiple opponents at once. She is also skilled in the use of pressure points – being able to cripple or even kill someone if she triggers the appropriate pressure point. Xena has extensive knowledge of first aid and herbal remedies that rivals any professional healer. Xena's signature weapon is the
chakram, a razor-edged throwing weapon which she often uses for ranged combat. Xena can skillfully deflect the chakram off the surfaces it strikes, allowing her to hit multiple targets in one throw. She can deflect the chakram back towards her, allowing her to catch it. Besides being a formidable weapon, the chakram has other uses such as distracting enemies or quickly cutting distant ropes. After breaking in half, Xena reforged her chakram with diameter "handles", called the "
Yin-Yang" chakram. These were utilized as daggers, could split in two mid-flight to strike multiple different targets, and allowed for "
boomerang" flight capabilities. Along with her sword and chakram, she has also shown great proficiency with other weapons such as staves, daggers, and whips. Xena often utilized a signature war cry. When asked about this unique cry, actress Lawless replied that it was her attempt at performing an
Arabic ululation vocal trill. “I tried to do it and I couldn’t, so I just twisted it to do my own version of it and out came the Xena thing,” she explained. Xena is a formidable tactician, inspirational leader, and strategic thinker. She has the ability to analyze her enemy's tactics and effectively formulate a response. In responding to her enemies' attacks, she demonstrates creativity and ingenuity; at times, she has worked with little or no resources and limited time. Xena is well versed in military tactics such as forming a defensive perimeter, building defensive fortifications, organizing and leading troops, and cutting an enemy's supply lines. She also repeatedly demonstrates a talent for disguises, infiltration, and cryptography. Although the majority of her skills are martial and mental, Xena does have some supernatural abilities. On three occasions, she used
telekinesis and energy projection thanks to Lao Ma's teachings. Xena also once possessed the power to kill gods through her daughter, Eve. Outside of these specific powers, Xena knows the rudiments of most other forms of magic, enough that she can effectively battle or outwit magic-wielding opponents. ==In other media==