Here's every role on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys that had Karl Urban clashing swords with heroes long before he ever took his first swing at Homelander as Billy Butcher on The Boys. Many of Urban's roles this millennium have seen him squarely in the hero category himself, most notably as Dr. Bones McCoy in the Star Trek reboots. In the late-90s fantasy series Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess, however, Urban was a veritable chameleon of antagonists and troublemakers, with roles ranging from Julius Caesar to Cupid. All told, the star took on four different roles in the Xenaverse before the franchise was over.

Urban's first appearance in the Xenaverse was in the 1996 XWP episode "Altared States," in which he plays the antagonist, Mael. This episode is based heavily on the story of Abraham and Isaac from the book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. In "Altared States" (and in the Bible story), God commands the father of a young boy to sacrifice his son as a demonstration of faith. In the episode, it's not God pulling the strings, but Anteus' jealous older son Mael seeking to steal the inheritance. In the end, Xena defeats Mael in battle and the latter dies when he falls into a gorge refusing Xena's help.

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Prior to the death of Lucy Lawless' Xena, Urban played the prominent role of Julius Caesar. First appearing in the XWP episode "Destiny," Caesar becomes a recurring antagonist in the series, with one appearance in HTLJ as well. Caesar and Xena begin their relationship as flirtatious allies in "Destiny," but it's quickly revealed they are both double-crossing each other, and Caesar gets the upper hand when he crucifies Xena. From there, the crafty dictator of Rome crops up to do battle with the Warrior Princess until his death in "The Ides of March" at the hand of his second-in-command, Brutus. He also appears as a secondary antagonist in the Hercules episode "Render Unto Caesar," and once as the Emperor of Rome in Xena season 6 during a brief resurrection.

Compared to his other personas, Urban is virtually unrecognizable as Cupid. Cupid is the son of the goddess Aphrodite and comes equipped with his classic bow and quiver of love and couple-inducing arrows. However, it's revealed in Cupid's debut that due to a curse cast on him by Hera, he will transform into a green-eyed monster whenever he experiences unrequited love. This happens when Cupid inadvertently shoots Hercules with a love arrow, making him fall in love with Cupid's own mortal sweetheart, Psyche. Things are eventually resolved with a little help from Aphrodite, and Cupid retreats with his now immortal bride to Olympus. Following this episode, Urban reprised his Cupid role for a few brief appearances in Xena ("For Him the Bell Tolls" and "A Comedy of Eros," most notably).

Last and probably least, Urban had one more role in the Xenaverse. Kor, a member of a Stone Age timeline cannibal tribe, initially appeared in an unaired pilot film called Amazon High, where he was the love interest of the main character, Cyane. The film ended up getting scrapped, but a good chunk of the story was recycled for the Xena episode "Lifeblood" in season 5. Kor's main function is to be a more peaceful and sympathetic cannibal who helps make peace between his tribe and the Tretolmecs, who eventually become the Amazons. While Karl Urban has taken on a variety of roles in his career, Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys alone showcase his range through these four different characters.

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