Numbers 30 - 26

30. Sarah Connor (Terminator)

She fights practically unstoppable killing machine. Of course she deserves a place on this list. Sure, in the first movie she was more like a terrified damsel in distress until almost the last scene, but I’d like to see you do any better in that situation. Besides, she more than makes up for it in the second film, by training hard every day since now she knows what she’s up against. I know that mothers are pretty much expected to protect their children, but most aren’t likely to be killed every other day.

29. Jean Grey (X-Men)

Do you know what an Omega-level mutant is? It’s a mutant of extremely high power. Like, for example, immense psychic powers. Because that’s what Jean Grey has, as well as the Phoenix Force, which basically keeps her from dying (at least, permanently). Like Rogue, Jean’s powers were originally too much for her to handle, so Professor X suppressed them. When she was old enough, Charles gave her powers back, and she controlled them perfectly. Maybe a little too much, since she did become the villain Dark Phoenix for a little while.

28. Merida (Brave)

Didn’t we already have a red-haired archer on this list? Merida is the most recent edition to the Disney princesses (because Leia’s not officially recognised yet), and it’s not hard to see why. She’s rebellious, a keen archer, and just her own woman in general (partly because she won her own hand in marriage, despite what her mother might say). And I do like a woman who can fight, which Merida most certainly can. To the point where she can beat her own father (the very man who trained her in the first place).

27. Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time)

You’d think someone playing around with science and associating with Peppermint Butler would be a mad scientist, wouldn’t you? But no, Princess Bubblegum is the kind and caring leader of the Candy Kingdom, whose love of science could put Bill Nye to shame, once staying up for eighty three hours to create an heir to the kingdom....that sounded less dirty in my head. I think her most impressive feat was the time she carried Finn, Jake, and the Ice King on Lady Rainicorn’s back for TWO DAYS after defeating Ricardio.

26. Korra (The Legend of Korra)

To become The Avatar, you need to control all four elements (earth, wind, water, and fire). Korra had mastered three of these by the age of four. Without a master to teach her. To put that in perspective, her predecessor Aang had only mastered wind by age twelve, and he was pretty damn powerful. But really, what’s more impressive is how well she’s portrayed. Yes, she’s a strong, capable fighter, but that doesn’t mean post-traumatic stress disorder won’t affect her. And I was as impressed as anyone that the creators managed to get an LGBT character into a children’s cartoon.