Which fictional character comes to your mind first when someone says strong, independent woman?
Which fictional character comes to your mind first when someone says strong, independent woman?
Can be from any kind of media.
For me it's Margot from The Magicians (which is interesting because in the books she is anything but) and Jesse Faden from Control.
Adding my vote for Ellen Ripley.
There are others that come to mind from more obscure movies I've watched more recently, like the women in Grandma (2015), Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020), and even Men (2022), also non-fictional women like those in Kokomo City (2023). There are so many more I can picture in my mind but can't put my finger on the movie and or am just shit with names so I can't think of them right now, but might come back to update.
Ellen Ripley. Under pressure she steps up and does what needs doing. Whether that means operating a loader, comforting a child or making monsters extinct.
Ellen Ripley from the Alien series.
Lieutenant Ellen Ripley.
Leela from Futurama
Ripley
Captain/Admiral Kathryn Janeway
Couldn't tell you why, but my mind went straight to Wonder Woman.
Sarah Connor
No love for the bad bitch Agent Dana Scully?
Ripley
Buffy. I was the right age (or maybe a bit too young) when it aired and it was the first female-led show that I fell in love with.
Major Matoko Kusanagi from the Ghost in the Shell series.
Aloy from the Horizon games was my first thought.
Xena
Zoe, Inara, Kaylee, and River. Mic drop.
Can't believe princess Leia hasn't been mentioned yet.
"What the hell are you doing?" "Somebody has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute flyboy!"
Lol
Zoe from Firefly, Tiffany Aching from Discworld are two that come to mind
Captain Janeway
Korra and Toph from Avatar, Tsunade and Sakura from Naruto
Agnes Nutter, Good Omens.
Alternatively, "The most powerful person in Discworld is Granny Weatherwax"
Not the first that comes to mind, but I have to add Nausicaa into the mix. She shows her strength through nothing but kindness and determination, without the need for violence or cold cruelty. A frightened critter bites her, and she endures the pain to keep soothing it without interruption. Ripley's a badass, but she'd never be able to do that.
Lara Croft
Clobberella from Futurama.
But I rather prefer to read about real strong women. Like scientists, nobel prize winners, political figures and people of (contemporary) history. Or I just consume their content if they're an author, comedian or content creator.
Nobody in particular stands out, but a thought I had a while back is that Game of Thrones was one of the rare pieces of modern cinema with a host of great female characters who, for the most part, actually had to put in effort to earn their status rather than just being born with it.
Xena Warrior Princess
My girlfriend ):
For me, I respect female characters who are written strong but not mean or "buff". Your character doesn't need to be a dick or on steroids to be strong. A strong person can be kind and compassionate, just not capitulate under pressure. I also don't believe being "independent" means you can't love someone and lean on them in times of need, it just means you aren't defined by the relationship.
- Bastila Shan from KOTOR
- Mustang from Red Rising
- Rita from Groundhog Day
- Hermione from Harry Potter (if only JK respected ALL women)
- Dottie from A League of Their Own
- Mulan from Mulan
- Ellie from The Last of Us Part 2
- Freya from God of War
Alt: Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
The first one I thought of was Mara Jade.
Fuck you Disney!
The bride from kill bill.
Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong from Fullmetal Alchemist
Only Brits or BBC International viewers will know this character but Catherine Cawood from Happy Valley.
And obviously Ellen Ripley, Dana Scully and Sarah Connor.
Granny Weatherwax
Someone already said Susannah Dean so I'm gonna go with Roz from Frasier
Garnet (Steven Universe)
For me, Commander Ivanova from Babylon 5. Like the rest of the characters, she wasn't perfect, but she was so strong.
High King Margot is a great answer
For me, I thought of Linda Carter’s Wonder Woman and then Captain Rachel Garrett, commander of the USS Enterprise, 1701-C
Off the top of my head - all of Lady Parts, Lydia West as Jill Baxter in It's a Sin, Toni Collette as Muriel and Rachel Griffiths as Rhonda in Muriel's Wedding, Parminder Nagra as Jess in Bend It Like Beckham, Milla Jovovich as Leeloo in The Fifth Element, Natalie Portman as Evey in V for Vendetta
Cate Blanchett's portrail of Elizabeth I (who I know was real, but I'm sure there was some creative license with the character).
I'm really liking the evolution of Shallan Davar in the Stormlight Archives at the moment.
Taarna
Miss Marple.
Lauren Oya Olamina, from Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Strong, independent, and wise enough to know that there's strength in community.
Tina Fey. And I don’t care that she’s not fictional. She’s a badass and needs to be recognized. But if I had to play by the rules…
Liz Lemon.
Because shes played by someone I admire.
Caska from Berserk
Diana Taverner from Slow Horses.
Veronica Palmer from Better Off Ted.
So the absolute first that comes to mind is a joke answer: Strong Woman, the vice Principal from South Park.
The actual answer is Phryne Fisher
Mirko from the popular My Hero Academia anime/manga series.
She doesn't take crap from anyone and fearlessly goes into battle.
Hetty Lange
Agatha Heterodyne from Girl Genius.
And a lot of her friends too.
Hachikuji Mayoi from monogatari series.
Senjougahara Hitagi from monogatari series.
Deishuu Kaik-- oops you didn't read that.
Appsros character in Abberation
Nest Freemark
Joan Holloway from Mad Men- she at the very least has the evolution of a woman rising to independence while in a world built around suppression of women. A lot of characters from that show are badass ladies at different stages of independence though.
Susan Sto Helit Aka the lady Susan Death.
Elastigirl
