My personal list of the top five characters for female SciFi roles:
5. Sara Conner
4. Princess Leia “A New Hope”
3. Captain Janeway
2. Red Sonja
1. Ellen Ripely
Sara Conner fought in Terminator one, but ended up going crazy or so it seemed. She got locked away in T2 for talking crazy about robots. But while in the loony bin, she stayed mentally and physically strong so she was ready to kick butt when the time came.
Princess Leia the first ‘self-rescuing’ Princess on film. Yeah she got captured, but give her ONE phaser pistol and get out of her way. She really didn’t need Luke, Han, Chewie and the robots slowing her down. She comes from a lineage of kick-butt woman, like her mom, Padme.
Captain Janeway could do battle with a phaser rifle or match you in a can of wits. She had to pick up arms and defend her crew and ship but she also had to make many hard ethical decisions that would put her under scrutiny if she was anywhere near Starfleet, but she had to get through the Delta quadrant on her training as a captain and her ability instill loyalty in her crew.
Red Sonja I hear you shout. Well go back and watch the movie. She trained as a warrior, her sister’s a leader in an all woman tribe. The villain is a woman, the heroine is a woman. Schwarzenegger was only there for eye candy, and the boy and his servant only for comic relief. She really didn’t need any of them.
Ripley has to be the first because she WAS the first. She’s the godmother of female scifi roles and she did a lot of butt kicking in tiny underpants. If someone inst getting the job done, she will do it.
So that’s my top five scifi roles for women!
Surlana 