Usually, when the world of beloved films and shows are adjusted to include female characters, the fanbase gets a little 'dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria', as if the idea of someone managing to fight bad guys without the all important weapon of a Y chromosome would be a disaster the likes of which we haven't seen since Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Attack OF The Clones, and Star Wars: Revenge Of The Script.
It happened when in Battlestar Galactica's remake, Starbuck was no longer a buck. It happened when Thor was revealed as a Goddess of Thunder. It happens every time a new Doctor is on the horizon and fans act like it's the 19th century and women can't get medical degrees, travel through time, or have a passing interest in saving the universe.
When you look at who's been fighting the Big Bads, it becomes increasingly ridiculous that this is still a reaction. Because while the majority of heroes may still be of Specimen Dude, there's been more than enough ass-kicking ladies to provde that they're amply equipped to save the day. Here are some of them.
Ripley
Aliens - 1986
Really, this should have ended this argument nearly twenty years ago. I defy anyone to see Sigourney Weaver decimate her unwelcome squatters and still feel like the ladies might be a bit too delicate for such a mission. (Of course, the fact that the aliens are basically gooey vaginas whose weapon of choice is impregnation is not unproblematic, but a matter for a whole other discussion.
The Bride
Kill Bill - 2003
Taking the concept of a Scary Bridezilla to all new, gut-splitting level, is Uma Thurman in Tarintino's two-parter Kill Bill. The movie begins with the murder of her fiancee and unborn child, but rather than break down The Bride bucks up and goes on the mother of all revenge rampages.
Dana Scully
X-Files - 1993 - 2002
While Scully was more of a solve with smarts rather than swords kind of girl, she beat the boogeyman just as often, and proved you didn't need to remove any layers of clothing to do it. Nor did she ever once have to partake in what now appears to be standard part of the female FBI agent's role, pretending to be a sex worker for subterfuge.
Sarah, Nancy, Bonnie & Rochelle
The Craft - 1996
Don't pretend you didn't find Faizura Balk pretty terrifying. It's those eyes.
Buffy Summers
Buffy The Vamprie Slayer - 1992, & 1997 - 2003
Buffy subverted every cliche of the blonde cheerleader damsel in distress to provide a role model for an audience of young women fighting awful ex-boyfriends, unhelpful authority figures, and the horrors of high school masked as literal demons from hell out to destroy you. She saved her friends, her family, her boyfriend and the ENTIRE FLIPPIN' UNIVERSE on multiple occasions
So there's some pretty cracking examples. But we do need more of them. So bring it on, Ghostbusters. Who you gonna cast?
