The Most Badass Women of Scifi

In this article, we pay tribute to twelve of sci-fi’s most kickass women.

See who’s in the club, after the break.

12. Dr. Ellie Sattler (Jurassic Park)
            – Now some of you may be confused as to why I chose Dr. Sattler, but hear me out. I draw from the book as well. She is an expert on paleobotany, and agrees to visit the Jurassic Park facility. But through all the shit that goes down, she stays determined the entire time. She runs into an underground bunker to turn on the power, with Compsagnathus and Velociraptors running around in the dark. She escapes several velociraptors, and then (in book) volunteers to go out to the fence and BAIT them to buy everyone some time. This ends with her jumping off the roof of the building to escape. And then of course, she willingly walks into the velociraptor nest and doesn’t get eaten. No big deal. They cut out her coolest exploits in the movie, but she definitely qualifies as a total badass. In her universe, other female badasses include Sarah Harding (The Lost World).

11. Agent Carter (Captain America: The First Avenger)

           – This one is fairly obvious. Out of all the Marvel girlfriends, she is the only one who runs around with the boys shooting at things. At the same time, she maintains her feminine side in the midst of a job usually dominated by men. She’s a crack shot, and in the end, she runs through a hail of deadly blue laser fire right along with the soldiers. She’s a soldier herself, and in her time, that’s quite admirable. Also, she’s has a British accent, which automatically adds cool points.

10. Number Six/Caprica Six (Battlestar Galactica)
          – Six is a Cylon (or cybernetic organism) who was sent in to inflitrate human defenses and facilitate the fall of humankind. She’s a smart, sexy, kickass killing machine who will not hesitate to do what is necessary to get what she wants. But (SPOILERS) halfway through the show she shows her moral side, advocating peace with humanity and becoming a symbol for other Cylons to follow. She is also one of the only Cylons (exlcluding Number 8) who becomes pregnant, although she loses the child, she remains brave until the end.

9. Ellen Ripley (Alien)
          – A while back we did a tribute article just to Sigourney Weaver, who portrayed a normal woman in extraordinary circumstances. She was a scientist aboard the Nostromos when she had to face Xenomorphs and rogue AI. She survived it all (by being a badass) and even went back to the planet, saving a little girl named Newt from certain death and defeating a nasty Xenomorph Queen. She never had children, but she would’ve made an awesome mother. A landmark character in sci-fi history.

8. Josephine Lupo (Eureka)
          – Jo is the deputy sheriff for a town full of geniuses. She’s ex-military special forces, with a vengeance. She’ll take whatever crisis comes her way and handle it, all while trying to find the perfect man. She’s a total kickass, ’nuff said.

7. Zoe Washburne (Firefly)
          – Zoe is the first mate aboard the ship Serenity, and boy is that a job. She survived the war for independence with Captain Malcolm Reynolds and they’ve worked together ever since, getting out of more crazy shenanigans than normally possible. She stays calm under fire, and always does the right thing. She also wants to start a family, with her husband Wash, the ship’s pilot. Always prepared for any sticky situation, Zoe’s got your back no matter what.

6. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
          – Katniss went to the Hunger Games (a fight to the death between 24 kids) in order to save her sister. She is an expert archer and survivalist. She’ll kill if she has to, but she doesn’t enjoy it, which puts her above some of the opponents she has to face. She does everything out of love, and SPOILER it inspires a revolution.

5. Black Widow/ Natasha Romanoff (Iron Man 2, The Avengers)
          – Natasha is a secret agent working for SHIELD who has dealt with a lot of crap (not to mention Tony Stark’s attitude). She’ll kick your ass, and she’ll do it with smooth grace, without even messing up her hair. She plays a key role in saving the world in The Avengers.

4. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)
          – “I’m your best shot, in or out of the cockpit”. She’s a badass star pilot who survived the Cylon holocaust. She gets lots of kills and lots of men. While she may not always be the best role model (drugs, alcohol, sex, etc) she will accomplish the mission at whatever cost. She returns to a war zone just because she promised to save Anders, and she’ll disobey orders if it means saving lives.

3. Alice (Resident Evil franchise)
          – She kills zombies. In strappy clothing. With snarky attitude and slinky outfits. With shotguns filled with quarters. Sometimes with psionic superpowers. With katanas and throwing knives and guns and everything else she can get her hands on. She just keeps coming after the bad guys, and protecting her friends from mutants. How is that not badass?

2. Olivia Dunham (Fringe)
          – She’s an FBI agent recuited to Fringe division. She’s also a brilliant shot and an intelligent woman. She’s got some past issues with her stepfather, and being experimented on as a child, but no matter what happens, no matter what universe she’s in, every version of her is a total kick ass investigator. She’ll get to the bottom of any mystery, no matter how strange. And she might even get the guy along the way.

AND THE MOST BADASS SCI-FI WOMAN AWARD GOES TO:

1. River Tam (Firefly/Serenity)
          – She’ll fuck you up.

Of course, these are only twelve of the many badass women scifi has to offer. There are many others, and many in fantasy as well. Didn’t see your favorite up here? Post a comment and let us know! Tune in next time for the most badass women of fantasy!

– JV out.