Marcus

To say that interracial dating had never been done on television before would be inaccurate. This has been seen on many shows such as the Jefferson’s and even as early as the 1950’s there were interracial loves shown on television. Case in point being “I Love Lucy” (gotta love the irony in that J) when Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz teamed up with their successful show though she was Caucasian and he was Cuban.

What makes this show so special is they never made race an issue. Never. You have to remember that when this show started out it was on rocky ground and barely making it. For them to start off the series with a black man (Draco) making eyes at a white woman is nothing short of bold. They were, in effect, saying “we will tackle the issues that are important. Two people of different races falling in love with each other is not one of the important issues. Race is a non-issue because people are people.”

They stopped hinting at the possibility of race mixing when Marcus made his debut in “The Path Not Taken.” I will never forget how thrilled I was to sit down and see the beautiful Xena kissing her handsome lost love Marcus. It’s a fact this cost the show a lot of viewers in the early days and I have to applaud the producers for having such guts. You see I too am a product of mixed marriage. Xena could be my mother and Marcus my father. It was this episode that made me a die hard fan (though I loved Sins of the Past) when I saw the producers thumbing their noses at racists across the world with this episode.

Marcus started out a bad guy with a confused heart. He wanted to do good but was understandably afraid to take that leap. That is until the source of his strength came along: Xena. She did have to lie to him at first in order to save a princess and stop a war between two kingdoms, but in the end it was their love that turned him around and gave him the courage to do the right thing, even though that meant he would have to die to do it.

Marcus makes his only return in “Mortal Beloved” when he enlists Xena’s help to take back the Helmet of Invisibility from the evil soul Atyminius, who had thrown the Underworld into chaos by robbing Hades of his most valuable tool. He proved his good spirit once again when he gives up his once chance to live again, with Xena, when he gives Hades the helmet back.

Marcus is more than just another male notch on Xena’s breastplate. He was a statement that this show is about love in all its glory, and understanding in its infinite wisdom. He was the lover of Xena’s soul and though he has been gone a long time he will never be forgotten. Battle on Marcus!

Caina Q. Fuller.