Who’s the greatest kick-ass woman in science fiction movies?

THEY are the warrior women of the screen, who put their muscle-bound male counterparts to shame.But who is the greatest woman in science fiction? YOU DECIDE IN OUR ONLINE POLL.

THEY are the warrior women of the screen, who put their muscle-bound male counterparts to shame.

But who is the greatest kick-ass woman in science fiction? It’s a packed field, with plenty of legendary characters who missed out.

Tell us who you think is the greatest — and let us know if we missed your favourite.

ELLEN RIPLEY

Alien and Aliens

She was impressive in the first film, surviving her tussle with the Alien that killed the rest of her crew but it was in the second film that she showed herself to be a complete warrior.

Haunted by flashbacks, she is originally “protected” by a bunch of beefy soldiers — only to prove herself stronger than all of them.

First she saves them, then she leads them — and then she goes into the Alien lair to rescue the little girl Newt, the place where the marines got slaughtered. The final scene where she fights the Alien Queen to protect Newt is an absolute classic. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

Ripley and Newt prepare to scare off the Alien Queen.

Princess Leia was as good with a blaster as she was quick with a cutting put-down.

PRINCESS LEIA

Star Wars

Yes, she was captured by Darth Vader and needed to be rescued by Luke and Han but, after that, it was onwards and upwards for this fierce fighter. Whether she was shooting stormtroopers in the head, throttling Jabba the Hutt in a gold bikini or leading the Rebels and Resistance, she was a fearsome opponent. Even more impressive, most of her feats were from films in the 1970s and 1980s, when female characters weren’t supposed to kick ass.

SARAH CONNOR

The Terminator and T2

Another character who started out humbly, as a waitress who was scared of pretty much everything. By the end of The Terminator she was gutsy enough to lure the machine into a crusher. By T2 she was a killing machine herself, as deadly with a pen as she was with a machinegun. Watching her use a shotgun one-handed after copping a knife through the shoulder makes her one of the most kick-ass characters ever.

Stabbed by the T-1000, Sarah Connor was still able to load and fire a shotgun.

KATNISS EVERDEEN

Hunger Games

SHE didn’t want to kick ass and, in the end, she rejected violence in favour of peace but Katniss proved herself a real warrior across four movies. She was deadly with her bow but also quick with her mind and utterly fearless when it came to defending her friends and family. She was the poster girl for a new generation of young women.

Don’t get near Katniss Everdeen when she’s got a bow.

TRINITY

The Matrix trilogy

All you have to watch is that first scene when she floats in midair to kick the ass of a bunch of cops. It’s been copied in plenty of films since but Trinity was the first one to hit it. Graceful and deadly in equal parts, she rocked the black latex look while dispatching baddies with ease. If you needed someone to run around a wall dodging bullets and punch a bloke into the middle of next week, she’s the one you would pick.

That hanging kick by Trinity has been copied a hundred times since. But she’s the original and best.

PADME AMIDALA

Star Wars prequels

Princess Leia’s mum showed why her daughter would take on the galaxy. In the first movie she led her people into battle and showed she was a brilliant shot with a blaster. In the second movie she rocked a ripped top and took care of both an evil cat monster and a bunch of killer robots, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Jedi. She was a fearsome warrior — she just had the misfortune to fall in love with Darth Vader.

Killer robots couldn’t stop Padme Amidala.

NYOTA UHURA

Original Star Trek TV series and the new movies

The original Uhura was a smart, brave black woman in an era of discrimination against both. Just being an officer at that time made her a groundbreaking warrior, let alone the adventures she undertook.

The new Uhura has taken the character a step further, saving the butts of both her reckless captain Kirk and lover Spock.

Nyota Uhura was an inspirational kick-ass from Star Trek.

The new Uhura adds even more fearsome warrior to the old.

RITA VRTASKI

Edge Of Tomorrow

Rita Vrtaski could take on anyone.

Anyone who has a nickname of “Full Metal Bitch” has got to be a kick-ass character.

Watching her jump through the air and slice an alien in half with a sword made from a helicopter rotor blade is seriously impressive.

Watching her shoot Tom Cruise in the head — multiple times — is even better. Brave, ferocious and willing to sacrifice her life to save the planet. She’s brilliant.

BEATRICE “TRIS” PRIOR

Divergent movies

You could argue that she’s a slightly down-market version of Katniss Everdeen. But Tris is much more than that. She starts out unable to fight but pretty quickly learns how, wielding fists, knives and guns to deadly effect. Take her on at your peril.

The evolution of Tris from nervous warrior to stone cold killer.

RIVER TAM

Serenity

The movie Serenity sets up the Reavers as the most deadly fighting force in the galaxy. These mad cannibals attack until they are killed and will not be stopped by anything or anyone.

Until they run into a young girl who has been turned into the ultimate weapon.

River Tam is slightly deranged but completely unstoppable.

We get a hint of her powers when she punches out the entire contents of a rough bar. But it’s when she takes on a roomful of the beasts with an axe, a sword and her bare hands and leaves them in pieces that she shows she knows how to kick ass.

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