Visual media nowadays is chock-full of incredible female characters. Especially in films, women can be seen in more prominent roles that are interpreted wonderfully. From Lara Croft to Wonder Woman, we’re getting a steady increase in badassery from the ladies. Thankfully, though, it’s not just in movies and series that we’re getting strong women to look up to. From books, we know Tris Prior and Katniss Everdeen, who are both remembered for bringing great change to their respective worlds. But there is a different medium of consumption for these types of characters: WEBTOON. This app/website provides us with thousands of online comics of diverse genres and styles. Truly some of the most impactful female characters I’ve ever seen have come from this app and I can’t wait to share them with you.
1. Queen Navier Trovi from The Remarried Empress
To start us off, what better than a LITERAL queen? When we first meet Navier, she is confronted with a request for divorce from her husband, Sovieshu, the Emperor of the Eastern Empire. Rather than be married to a wise empress, he wishes to be wed to his mistress, Rashta, who is rather smug about the whole affair. Despite being somewhat humiliated before the court, Navier coolly accepts the divorce. Then, in what can only be described as a power move, she requests permission to remarry THE KING OF THE WESTERN KINGDOM (these two are the cutest, BTW). Tell me that that isn’t icon behavior, I dare you.
2. Lady Lucia Chauvet from Suitor Armor
Secondly, we delve into the fantasy genre with Lucia. She’s a lady-in-waiting to Lady Kirsi, who is to marry King Reimund. However, she is hiding the fact that she’s actually a fairy from basically everyone around her, because that would seriously endanger her, as there’s been an ongoing war between humans and fairies for several centuries now. Did I mention that she’s falling for an enchanted suit of armor? Lucia and Modeus (the enchanted armor) are very wholesome in their interactions, slowly helping each other grow, particularly in Lucia’s process of embracing her true nature as a powerful fairy. She really has the makings of a future monarch.
3. Hayan Park from Unholy Blood
Now this is why I decided to write about all these awesome women: a pureblood vampire who wants to fix what’s wrong in her society. Hayan used to live a pretty normal life among other people, managing to hide her true nature from them. However, all good things must come to an end; her lovely life was ruined by a single vampire who decided he wanted to mess with the people who were dear to her. Now, she wants to get to the top of the vampire’s hierarchy and completely dismantle their operations. To do so, she gets help from an up-and-coming police detective, Euntae Hwang, who has a similar objective to hers. Hayan and Euntae are a badass team in general, but it’s really our leading lady that’s going to be the one to raise hell.
4. Empress Latrasil “Latil” Valentine Tarium from Men of the Harem
Take one look at this woman and try to tell me she isn’t a badass. She became empress after defeating her half-brother who had usurped the throne following their father’s assassination. As soon as she had acquired the throne, the nobles of the court began pressuring Latil to marry, as it would help “stabilize” the empire and inner workings of the court. She agreed but proceeded to institute a harem of 5 beautiful men instead. Complaints were voiced, as the court claimed that it was inappropriate for an empress to have a harem but Latil shut them down, arguing that previous emperors had done so. Besides, each of the men were of political benefit to Latil, so this wasn’t just a bunch of himbo boy toys now inhabiting the harem (though they look the part).
5. Officer Lauren Sinclair from Purple Hyacinth
To wrap up this lineup, we get a cop that ain’t crooked! Officer Sinclair here is dead set on taking down the terrorist organization known as the Phantom Scythe, who were responsible for a bombing that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, including her childhood best friend. But she has a secret ability: Lauren can tell whenever someone says a lie. Over the years, this ability has helped her as a cop, but got her demoted from the rank of detective when she got angry and attacked a suspect in a case. Now, to be able to destroy the Phantom Scythe, Lauren finds herself joining forces with a man named Kieran, who happens to be the terrorist organization’s most notorious killer, the Purple Hyacinth. Together, Lauren and Kieran investigate as an efficient crime-solving duo as Lauren is faced with past demons coming back to haunt her.
All that’s really left to say is, “Go read these Webtoons”. They throw these women into some intense scenarios that really show their true colors. It’s remarkable how these creators were able to bring these stories to life and continue to give us such amazing role models.