Enjoy!
In our last essay, we explored how female characters are often brought down by bad writing and political garbage. With entertainment’s abysmal lows out of the way, it’s time to show off what creators are truly capable of. From the proud heroine to the femme fatale, all of these characters exhibit a strong influence on their respective genres, but you may not have heard of a few of them.
Without further ado, here are seven female characters that kick a whole lot of ass!
7. Xenia Onatopp (Goldeneye)
It’s very nice to squeeze yo… er, I mean, meet you.
As Portrayed By: Famke Janssen
Some people might think that Bond films sideline their female characters, but that’s not necessarily true. Prior to Daniel Craig’s revolutionary take on the franchise, Pierce Brosnan’s inaugural outing as 007 introduced a villainess that mixes the silliness of that era with some truly memorable moments.
Enter Xenia Onatopp.
At the time of Goldeneye‘s release, plenty of female villains had been in all sorts of movies. However, Famke Janssen’s delightfully sinister turn as a psychopath who takes pleasure from murder ratchets up the stakes of that film quite dramatically. Sure, Xenia has a few comedic moments here and there, but viewers can take her seriously even when she guns down a room and squeezes men to death with her thighs.
I know I did.
6. Olivia Dunham (Fringe)
Let there be weirdness!
As Portrayed By: Anna Torv
Fringe is one of the first shows to feature a female agent who meets a male non-agent, and it’s one of the best. While some may point to the interesting mythology, the characters make the show a blast to watch. Of course, Special Agent Olivia Dunham is just one part of the trio that holds it all together, but she’s damn important!
One of the most interesting aspects of the character is that she is effectively the straight woman in a “WTF?!” sci-fi world. Anna Torv imbues the character with enough warmth, humanity, and wit to reel the audience into the story. When the team has some downtime, she feels like a complete (and slightly awkward) person instead of some flawless goddess. When she’s on a case, viewers can buy into her badassery without reservation.
Give Fringe a shot. Next!
5. Daisy Johnson (Agents of SHIELD)
Use the Force, Daisy! Use it!
As Portrayed By: Chloe Bennet
When any character becomes sufficiently powerful, it is important to explain his/her evolution in a sensible way. While some creators fail at this task, the team over at Agents of SHIELD knows how to play the game of character development, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the development of Daisy Johnson.
As I’ve said in the past, one of the reasons why the character works so well is because the audience can track her development to the point of absurdity. She starts off as a jokey and somewhat careless computer hacker, turns into a black ops guru, and suddenly becomes an Inhuman after she gets caught in a terrigenesis chamber. Chloe Bennet’s acting evolves to flawlessly match this progression. As she learns new things from Coulson, May, and everyone around her, we’re learning from her!
People tend to give Marvel Comics shit for their cringe-worthy writing, but Agents of SHIELD has no such problem. Chloe Bennet’s acting ability and the prowess of the writers give Quake a place among the great superheroes of television.
4. Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs)
Hello, Clarice.
As Portrayed By: Jodie Foster
Say what you will about Thomas Harris’ novels, but there are a number of reasons why the film version of The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest thrillers ever made. Anthony Hopkins’ masterful performance as Dr. Hannibal Lecter won him the Oscar that year for Best Actor, but his villainy is great because it is balanced by an equally intriguing heroine by the name of Clarice Starling.
Jodie Foster’s incredible performance is driven in part by how she becomes the nemesis of Lecter and Buffalo Bill over the course of the film. She’s a rookie who may be in over her head, but her willingness to wade through clues and traps turns her into an excellent agent.
Jodie earned every award that she got for this film, and you owe it to yourself to check it out! Next!
3. Aeryn Sun (Farscape)
Don’t misunderestimate the sheer star power in this woman.
As Portrayed By: Claudia Black
I struggled with the choice between Vala Mal Doran and Aeryn Sun for this spot on the list. Both characters demonstrate Claudia Black’s versatility as an actress, but I think that her work on Farscape deserves a mention. It’s a damn near perfect mix of action, comedy, and a great love story.
And at its best, it’s batshit crazy!
Aeryn Sun became one of the most influential characters in all of science fiction because Claudia and the writers had the foresight to peel back the character’s layers like an onion. She starts off as the badass who is a friend to Crichton, but the show pulls the two leads ever so slowly into each other’s orbit. As Aeryn grows, her alien jealousy slowly turns to a mixture of vulnerability, love, and good old-fashioned smarminess.
What could be better?
2. Dr. Elsa Schneider (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
True chemistry doesn’t happen all that often.
As Portrayed By: Alison Doody
After the screeching annoyance of Temple of Doom, viewers who need to cleanse their palate are in luck. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is arguably the best film in that franchise because of its intriguing mythology, quotable lines, and a femme fatale by the name of Dr. Elsa Schneider.
Most people could probably guess the film’s major twist from the point when Indy and Marcus meet her in Venice. However, that doesn’t really matter because it’s so damn fun to watch! Alison Doody’s performance plays off of Harrison Ford so well that every twist, turn, and confrontation feels totally believable. And for the cherry on top of this sundae, she gets one part of the greatest fuck you goodbye ever captured on film.
It’s epic. Next!
1. Col. Samantha Carter (Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis)
Don’t mind her. She has to get back to work on something to do with… quarks!
As Portrayed By: Amanda Tapping
I often warn about awkward writing on this blog, and it’s fair to say that the writers of Stargate SG-1 could have gone that way with Colonel Samantha Carter. Her “girl power” dialogue in the first four episodes feels out of place in a military setting, but it can be easily forgiven because of the intervention of Amanda Tapping. To her everlasting credit as an artist, the actress steered the character away from such a miserable fate by pointing out the obvious fact that the vast majority of women don’t talk like that.
So, how did this military engineer become a sci-fi icon in her own right?
A part of her popularity has to do with the storylines that she has to juggle across the ten seasons of the show. She has to grapple with the wonders and horrors that she’s seen as a member of SG-1, her feelings for O’Neill (with two L’s!), and the challenge of rising through the ranks to a command position. On a personal level, she likes to awkwardly joke around with her team, volunteer for some missions for fun, push Dr. Rodney McKay’s buttons, and science the hell out of everything in her path.
Stargate Atlantis takes her development to the next level by showing how she will inevitably become a general. One particular sequence in “Be All My Sins Remember’d” sticks out as an example of her leadership abilities. After Colonel Abraham Ellis chews McKay out for his plans, she takes the Colonel aside and warns him to mind his manners or he’ll be banned from Atlantis.
Of course, she goes back to poking, prodding, and smacking some of McKay’s thoughts down in “Trio,” but that’s because she knows that he can be better than he is… and because he’s her favorite scientist.
Who are your favorite heroines and villainesses? Leave a comment below!
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