On this channel, we discuss a wide range of characters, both heroes and villains, from both DC and Marvel comics. There are, however, a plethora of other comics, villains, and heroes worth mentioning out there in the universe.
Heavy Metal Comics is one of them. Heavy Metal Magazine is a science fiction, dark fantasy, steampunk, and erotica comics magazine that began in 1977 and rapidly became a fan favourite owing to its mixture of science fiction, dark fantasy, steampunk, and erotica comics.
We are going to show you a badass female character from Heavy Metal Comics today. She is one of the most well-known characters, having first appeared in the 1980s. Her character has progressed significantly, and she is now regarded as one of Heavy Metal’s most iconic ladies. Taarna, the strong and gorgeous, is here to greet you!
Main comic appearance explored
While Taarna debuted all the way back in the year 1981, more recently she has been part of some major storylines. In the first issue of Taarna: The Last Taarakian, the inhabitants of a nameless world somewhere in the cosmos have realized that all is lost. Nobody can rescue their people now that their sun is gone.
A creature named Neeran is tasked with informing his people of their inevitable demise, as well as his small daughter, who cries out that she doesn’t want to end up dead and there has to be something that can be done to save them all. However, Neeran is unable to console her until a shadow crosses their sun… the shadow of Taarna. The final Taarakian and her bird-mount fly into space and she lifts her blade to destroy the Loc-Nar, the primary antagonist.
A massive blast of likely magic envelops her, rekindling the sun and sending the “goddess” plummeting to the ground beneath. She manages to save the people even though she loses her sword in the process. She ignores the greetings of the people, stopping only for a glass of water.
Taarna gathers herself and flies away while the people hail her as a deity, ignoring their screams for help. She returns to the temple that we all remember and, indeed, removes her clothing for her signature leisurely swim. We also encounter a monster who not only seeks to defend her but also provides commentary on the situation. A familiar-looking green sphere is up to no good as we fade to black.
She is described succinctly in a few words by the narrator as she appears – “warrior, goddess, savior, saint, and even sinner – she is all this to the universe and much more”. This first issue shows how Taarna in herself is creation personified as unbridled energy runs through her veins A cosmic entity of unmatched power, she has given her life to the protection of her realm, her world – but the people are never satiated, no matter how much of herself she gives. She is however duty-bound to do good.
In the second issue, we watch as the same green orb, named Kako (otherwise known as Loc Nar, the main antagonist) recruits a massive army called the Army of Sumuul. The army is recruited for one purpose only, to dethrone Taarna who is called a ‘false God’ by Kako. The army’s leader is a ruthless being called Urcuss. While this is happening, we watch Taarna fight demons and monsters of all shapes and sizes, something she clearly excels at. In this issue, we are also introduced to a young Sumuulian girl named Shaan who goes on to become Taarna’s companion for the rest of this series. Taarna shows up as the army ransacks the Sumuulian villages and decapitates all the soldiers that confront her.
Taarna, the multiverse’s lone protector, and her new ally, young Shaan are pushed to their limits to save a planet from destruction, while Urcuss, the chaotic leader, leads his army to eliminate everyone who stands in the way of their god and master, Kako!
This saga continues in issue 3, Taarna is on the quest for huge monsters when she comes upon a helpless survivor of a horrific attack by Kako’s troops. She is pitted against a grotesque monstrous uniclops. The creature is defeated quickly, leaving her to deal with Shaan, who is the survivor of Urcuss’ attack. The Last Taarakian meets the approaching army with her sword and her beloved bird… thing, and she fares much better this time than she did on film, concluding on another massive cliffhanger to kick off the second half of the miniseries.
Phillips spends a lot of time in this comic on the continuous sway of energetic movement, which takes up nearly all of the pages. This is a comic that plays to its strengths, using its 22-page length to rapidly get through an enjoyable but formulaic tale so that it can focus on the dramatic moments that set it apart.
The fourth issue continues Taarna’s fight against Kako’s servants, the ultimate expression of multiversal chaos. As she battles to safeguard her new friend, the cryptic girl named Shaan, her showdowns push her to the limit. Urcuss maintains his deadly siege, as Shaan observes Taarna’s debilitated state as a result of her struggle. Most of this issue is Taarna fighting monsters and demons but not succeeding quickly as we are used to seeing her do. In fact, she becomes so weak that Shaan has to come to her rescue as she uses Taarna’s sword to open a portal via which she takes the battle-worn warrior back to her temple to rejuvenate her. Taarna’s new adventures thus continue in the second act.
In the fifth issue, a rejuvenated Taarna returns in an all-new blue and red armour, a celestial army made for the purpose of battle and she is ready to take on the hordes of Kako. The narrator begins this issue by saying that “Taarna is the last of her kind, a part of the universe and its protector. But despite the many species and planets, the millions of stars and suns, despite everything that Taarna oversees, she is alone.” She shows up on the battlefield once again, just as the soldiers were getting complacent, and begins taking them down one by one with Shaan helping her, watching from on top of Taarna’s bird companion in the sky. However, things don’t go as planned and Shaan is taken hostage by Urcuss himself.
The story reaches a climax in the last issue where Taarna comes to the aid of her new friend, Shaan but we learn that Shaan had been playing along with Urcuss’ plan when she met Taarna but had since come to adore the heroine. However, the true villain was not Urcuss in this story, it was Kako.
Urcuss announces in this issue that he had done what had been asked of him and that Kako would soon take over the Earth, the dreaded Vault was finally going to open. A gigantic monster emerged from this vault and Taarna went ahead to battle it. In the ensuing chaos, Urcuss also tried to kill Taarna but Shaan shielded her and died in place of her. And although she scorched Urcuss into ashes, Kako was still free, free to churn up some other devilish scheme.
However, Taarna would be ready to fight, when the time came, as it was her realm after all.
Taarna: the last Taarakian – a brief review
“Taarna was born from the demise of the last Taarakian and the fall of the cosmos. In her struggle against Kako, the manifestation of chaos, Heavy Metal’s central protagonist from the animated feature returns in a fresh series of cosmic intrigue and conflicts across the multiverse. This is the tale of a millennia-old war between godlike creatures, with all sentient species trapped in the crossfire.”
She might always be known for being the poster girl for the Heavy Metal Movie released in the year 1981 however, Stephanie Philips took this masculine wet dream and gave it a fresh, 21st-century perspective.
We meet the title figure in Taarna: The Last Taarakian when she swoops down from the sky to save a dying planet. Her first act, which involves saving a planet from a dying sun, is told from the point of view of people who are being saved, giving Taarna the impression of a glorious savior right away. Though the people applaud her efforts, they soon reveal themselves to be fickle followers, dismayed that she would abandon them to hunger in the aftermath of the falling sun she had just fixed.
Taarna comes out as chilly and haughty in these early scenes. We get to witness a softer side of her later when she unwittingly acquires a sidekick. But not before kicking numerous huge asses. Stephanie Phillips writes most of the comic as background narration outlining Taarna’s place and deeds in the cosmos, thus there’s a very little conversation in this issue. This provides the titular figure with a mythological persona that matches the location and size of the story. Under the plot, Taarna is flying across galaxies on her cosmic pterodactyl, which is quite successful in making this comic seem epically badass.
The character movements and intricacy are exceptional. Taarna’s illustration by Patrick Zircher is notably goddess-like, as the heroine deserves in this book, with over-the-top splendor and amazonian-esque strength. The bright colors are warm and inviting and the dizzying plethora of stars dying and being born lends a psychedelic style to it.
Throughout the six chapters of the collected series, three artists are featured. Taarna’s progress through this voyage is shaped by each of them in their own unique way. With bright galaxy bursts of colour and lightning flashing through the pages, the first two chapters keep Taarna at an arm’s length, concentrating on her celestial attempts. Taarna is confronted with huge creatures from chapter three onward, and the art becomes rough, brutal, and gory. Finally, as the story draws to a close and Taarna grows to care about her new companion, Shaan, the visual softens a little and the fights, this time against people, become more intimate.
Taarna is a mute warrior woman who, guided by her golden sword, is prepared to sacrifice herself to save people in distress in her first appearance. However, in this one, she has the ability to speak, but she uses it sparingly, preferring to let her sword do all the work. Shaan, her new companion, provides her with much more to say and do, especially in terms of story and character. Stephanie Phillips’ script feels like the gradual unraveling of a legendary cosmic narrative. This magnificent voyage through the cosmos is a breath-taking trip of exotic planets and exploding suns thanks to the graphics of Patrick Zircher’s pencils and Jessica Kholinne’s use of colors. Any fan of Heavy Metal Magazine or good comics, in general, should definitely buy this one!
Taarna in the Heavy Metal animated film
Heavy Metal Comics has always wanted to take their stories and characters off of the pages of their comics and into various other types of media, most notably, films. Being one of the flagship heroes of Heavy Metal, it is an absolute no-brainer that Taarna would be featured in their films. One of her best appearances till date happens in the Heavy Metal Animated Film.
Since its release in the early 1980s, the Heavy Metal animated picture has become a cult classic, comprising a series of interconnected episodes set in far-flung science-fiction worlds, with lots of rock, nakedness, brutality, and combat as was traditional of the franchise. Several separate production studios worked on different pieces of the anthology film, all of which adapted distinct storylines from Heavy Metal Magazine.
The film’s last scene shows Taarna, a silent heroine who makes the climactic sacrifice in the struggle against the terrible Loc-Nar, the comic’s main villain. In the film, she is summoned to defend a village against mutant barbarians who are deadly and terrifying to go up against. Although she was summoned by the elders, she came too late to save the hapless villagers. Taarna then swears to take revenge by destroying their murders and eradicating the root of their tremendous evil.
Taarna is kidnapped and tormented by her foes as she embarks on her journey of vengeance to carry out her mission. However, she is not one to give up and eventually triumphs against all the mutants. After slaying the barbarian leader in battle, the warrior woman must confront the terrible Loc-Nar, a glowing orb that rises in strength as the Heavy Metal film progresses. It teases Taarna and warns her that she can’t stop it, but she refuses to give up and overcomes it. All was not lost however and her warrior spirit has been resurrected in the shape of a young girl, who rides away on her monstrous mount, showing the Taarakian mark on her neck, as shown in the ending to Heavy Metal.
In terms of her character, she remains silent all through the flick. Her sole feature is her harsh tenacity and wordless commitment to her goal – destroying evildoers. She wields a golden sword capable of dismembering her opponents, a tactic she employs frequently in battle. Taarna is known for her remarkable appearance, which includes silvery hair and a revealing black suit with crimson armour and boots. Her neck is tattooed with the Taarakian mark that makes her stand out. Post this, she became extremely popular with the fans and this appearance is cosplayed often.
What makes her such a gallant warrior?
Taarna comes from a race of courageous and skilled warriors thus it is quite obvious that she is also a mighty warrior. Her people are descendants of Taarak the Defender who is a highly skilled and mysterious warrior. However, that alone is not the reason she is so skilled in battle. Her warrior genes aside, she is also extremely dedicated to the art of war and swordsmanship is her specialty.
The sword that she wields is one of a kind – a dangerous weapon made from an unknown gold alloy. It is so sharp that is able to completely decapitate humans and similar creatures with surprising ease. With her swinging this mean weapon around, I would not want to be caught on her bad side!
She also flies through the air like every stunning superhero must be able to and she does so with the help of her trusty mount which is a winged beast in its own right. It is a cross between a chicken-like bird (albeit probably a hundred times the size of a regular chicken) and the terrifying Pterodactyl. All of this, coupled with the fact that she is bound to protect the people she is summoned by to defend them, she is duty-bound to be a gallant warrior and she embodies all of it with grace.
Who doesn’t love a badass heroine? Taarna has captured the hearts of many readers and the female audience especially, has resonated deeply with her over the years. You can often find women cosplaying Taarna as they pay homage to this majestic warrior. She is bold, beautiful, skilled, and brave – what else can one ask for? Her story is inspiring and the world-building is amazing. If you haven’t read Taarna: The Last Taarakian, then I highly recommend you do! What do you think about Taarna? Let us know in the comments section below!