There are tons of superheroes and action stars out there that when you hear the word “badass” they immediately come to mind. And let’s be honest, most of those characters are men; Batman, Rambo, Walter White, Don Draper, Jack Sparrow, take your pick. There are many and they’ve earned it.
But what about our badass fictional females? We’ve grown up in a time where there are quite a few intimidating, intelligent, and formidable women out there who deserve that title too. They were that fictional characters that you saw on screen or read about and thought, “If only I could kick ass like this girl.” So without further ado, the most badass fictional females of our generation (in more or less chronological order).
Mulan:
Possibly the first Disney princess with a real cause, Mulan, hoping to shield her elderly father from the strain of war, goes instead to fill his place in the Chinese army. She embodied the concept “anything you can do I can do better”, being just as strong mentally and physically as her male counterparts—and maybe even a little smarter, too. After all, whose idea was it to save that last cannon for a well-timed avalanche?
The Powerpuff Girls:
Bubbles, Blossom, and Buttercup may have been created to be the “perfect little girls,” but that Chemical X introduced a whole generation to the “super awesome” trio that is the Powerpuff Girls. While there’s an extensive list of male superheroes for us to idolize, it was about time girls got a couple crime-stopping, city-saving, badass superheroes of our own; adorable, kickass superheroes that make extensive pop culture references at that!
Hermione Granger:
Being badass doesn’t have to mean physically kicking ass—you can kick ass with your mind too, as Hermione Granger illustrates. The “cleverest witch in our class” may have started out as a snobby know-it-all, but by the end of the series, her book smarts and bravery had saved the Harry Potter trio more times than anyone could, or probably wanted to, count.
Katniss Everdeen:
Regardless of whether you watched the movies or read all the books, we can probably all agree that Katniss is the kind of character that made us want to learn archery. She’s smart and resourceful, calm under pressure, firm in her convictions, and she (spoiler alert) survived the Hunger Games – twice. Love triangles aside, Katniss is the kind of tough and tenacious heroine that everyone wants to be—if you can get past the whole constant mortal danger aspect of the gig.
Lisbeth Salander:
A world-class hacker with revenge on the mind, the protagonist of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is both terrifying and revered. Lisbeth is troubled, extremely troubled, but there is no denying this girl is badass. She will not rest until the job is done, and done right. Honestly, this is one woman you can tell just by looking at her that she won’t deal with anyone’s shenanigans.
Virtually Every Woman on Game of Thrones:
Obviously, it is impossible to list just one. Name a GoT character and there is a list of reasons why she’s absurdly awesome (possibly malicious, insane, and/or evil, but awesome in her own unique way); Kahlessi is a commander and a freaking mother of dragons, Cersei is a conniving and resilient leader, Brienne has physical strength greater than every man who belittles her, Arya is the deadliest little ragamuffin you never saw coming…the list goes on and on. “Even Sansa Stark?” you might add. And yes, she may have started out as a whiny and grating complainer, but any woman who can handle the abuse and torment she endures with the grace and courage she possesses is worthy of our admiration.
Olivia Pope:
Not a lawyer but one of the “gladiators in suits” Scandal’s Olivia Pope has been hailed as groundbreaking. She’s intelligent and knows the law inside and out; she doesn’t suffer fools kindly and she calls the shots. Sure, the job might be stressful, but if anyone can keep a level head, it’s Olivia Pope. The minor detail of sleeping with the (married) leader of the free world maybe a little questionable, but if the girls from GoT are on here, I think we can agree Olivia has more than earned her spot. This list is about Badass, not Best-Behaved.
There are many characters out there that deserve this title, so many we can’t list them all. Maybe they aren’t as widely known as their male counterparts, but that doesn’t make them any less badass. So when the going gets tough, Collegiettes, just channel your inner Katniss or Khalessi, and go out there and kick ass.