Numbers 10 - 6

10. Uhura (Star Trek: The Original Series)

It makes sense to include Uhura on this list. She was the first woman of colour on TV who wasn’t in some menial role. In fact, she was already a lieutenant in her first appearance. But Uhura didn’t just make it into the top ten because she’s black. Uhura is the Communications Officer on the USS Enterprise, although has occupied other stations when necessary. She’s also a talented singer, and just an intelligent, trustworthy person.

I’d also like to bring up that she had the first interracial kiss on television. Props to William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols for messing up all the non-kiss takes so this would happen.

9. Dana Scully (The X-Files)

Yep, another redhead. But really, she’s a doctor and an FBI agent, so I guess that makes sense. After being assigned to work on the apparently extra-terrestrial cases known as the X-Files alongside Fox Mulder, Scully helps solve them with science and logic…until Mulder’s abduction proves to her that aliens exist (but that’s not until season seven). Prior to this, Scully simply dismissed all possible signs of paranormal activity with her scepticism. But Scully gets plenty of stand-out moments prior to this, including a Kung Fu scene in “Kill Switch” (season five), kicking the bad guy in the face in “2Shy” (season three), and just being an intelligent, successful, and professional woman (every episode, movie and comic).

8. Daenerys Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire)

DRAGONS! Now that I’ve got your attention, Dany has dragons at her disposal. Well, not during the first book, but she gets a helluva lot of character development in it. When we first see her, she’s a scared thirteen year old girl, forced by her brother to marry Drogo. By the end of the book, she’s fearlessly walking through fire to hatch her dragon eggs. Now, without her brother or husband to hold her back, Dany is slowly building an army to claim her rightful spot on the Iron Throne. If George doesn’t kill her first.

7. Princess Leia (Star Wars)

The two people it’s the most difficult to talk with contempt to: your father and a dark lord. Leia did both of these in one of the first scenes we see her in. Granted, she didn’t know about the former yet, but whatever (Was that a spoiler? Screw it, you should have seen the original trilogy by now). She doesn’t stop being awesome after that though. I mean, who else takes control of their own rescue attempt? And despite her home planet being destroyed, she puts aside her emotions to focus on the problem of The Empire attacking before mourning. And this is just from A New Hope. She’s still got two movies after this where she’s being awesome (well, three now, but that’s not until December…unless it’s the prequels all over again).

6. Mulan (Mulan)

Does Mulan count? She was actually a real person. I guess she does because Disney’s version isn’t exactly what happened in real life (not that makes her any less awesome). When her homeland of China was being invaded by the Huns, Mulan pretended to be her father to fight them in his place. Pretty good so far, but it gets better: she pretty much took out their whole army with an avalanche. Didn’t stop them for good unfortunately, and the people she fought alongside (and saved) shunned her for being a girl, but that didn’t stop her from fighting until the Huns were finally down for the count.