There is no denying the contribution these characters have made to a genre otherwise dominated by men, and this list represents five of my favorite star hoppin’, cyborg bustin’ and alien blastin’ women in all the universe. They are bold, resourceful, intelligent, sexy and tough as nails. I know I wouldn’t mess with them that’s for sure, but enough jabbering on. Let’s get down to business.
5. Dana Scully of X-Files
The constantly skeptical and always serious Agent Scully certainly had her plate full. After being partnered with Fox ‘Spooky’ Mulder her life would never be the same, and she endured more than a lifetime’s fair share of danger while barely flinching through it all. Could you do that? I don’t think so. It’s true that most people didn’t take to Scully until about the second season of the show, mostly because of how cold she was toward Mulder who was admittedly more likable. It didn’t take long however for her to grow on you and from that point on her character would be an inseparable part of the X-Files much to our delight. As both an FBI agent and forensic pathologist, she was equally adept with a scalpel as she was with a firearm, and we all have to agree that through at all she looked damn good to boot.
4. Princess Leia of Star Wars
Some might balk at her inclusion in this list, but the fact remains that Princess Leia was tougher than anyone ever gave her credit for. First of all, it took major cojones (which she doesn’t even physically have) to spy on the Galactic Empire on behalf of the Rebellion. The odds of defeating the Empire when we first caught up with the princess at the beginning of ‘A New Hope’ were so hopeless that you wondered why they even bothered trying. Secondly, Darth Vader had her tortured yet she remained loyal to her cause and refused to give in. Skipping over to ‘Return of the Jedi’, she even had the balls (again, not physically) to disguise herself as an Ubese Bounty hunter in order to free the man she loved. Ahh, courage, nobility and quite the romantic…my kind of woman.
3. Trinity of The Matrix
This bad chick started off the movie by kicking ass and asking questions later. Actually, she didn’t ask any questions…just kicked ass. And my how well she did so. In what was perhaps the first display of the now overused ‘bullet-time’ technique, Trinity turned several dudes into minced meat before making her escape out of the Matrix. It certainly didn’t hurt matters that she was clad in a skintight leather outfit that would give Catwoman a run for her money. Like Leia, Trinity had no qualms in risking her life to further the cause of her people, but unlike the princess she definitely packed a heck of a lot more firepower. I don’t think she blinked when she mowed down all those guys in the famous lobby scene (or at least I couldn’t tell through her shades), and that speaks volumes about her character. Well, actually just one word, BADASS!
2. Ellen Ripley of Aliens
Those damn aliens. She just couldn’t get away from ‘em. Even her clone several years into the future ended fighting these nasty critters. It’s as if the aliens and Ripley’s cosmic essences are bound to encounter one another throughout every incarnation they manifest themselves into, their spiritual singularities eternally entwined and destined to foil one another throughout all space and time. That, or they’ll simply keep making these Alien movies as long as they’re commercially viable (let’s have it then, Alien 5 baby!). But seriously, Ripley is a top contender for one of the toughest ladies in sci fi simply because you and I know very well that we’d scat our pants at the mere sight of one of these scary bastards, but not Ripley. Oh no. She shot them, burned them, fought them with a giant robot suit, sent one into space, killed herself to destroy the one in her stomach…now that’s dedication. What a lady!
1. Sarah Connor of The Terminator
It’s been a great deal of time since this character has been given the treatment she deserves. The Sarah Connor Chronicles show made an effort but fell short of expectation (and is being cancelled :( ), and the new film opening in theaters later this month will only ever portray her as but a figment of John Connor’s memory. However, none of that changes the fact that the Sarah Connor we all know and love was one tough cookie. In the first Terminator movie she began as a regular girl with the real world concerns such as work, college and dating. That is of course until Kyle Reese dropped into her life (literally) and changed things forever. T2 was when she really embodied the virtue of the tough woman with a mission. Stark raving mad, deadly with an assortment of weapons, and ripped to shreds, Sarah Connor was not only ready to protect her all too important son from any threat, but I’d be damned if she wasn’t capable of leading the resistance herself! I say, to heck with everybody else, bring back the real Sarah Connor and set her loose against Skynet and see what happens then…yeah!
So that concludes this list of who I determined to be the baddest gals in science fiction. Not an official list by any means, just my own personal assessment of the issue. Now step away from the computer and go out there and meet some real women…
