Three Action Heroines I actually liked

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character chat, legend of the seeker, mistborn, salt, strong heroines

I’ll be blunt, I usually despise females in warrior roles. Why? I feel like they aren’t characters at all, just cardboard cutouts. They either aren’t allowed to have flaws or their flaws are excused by virtue of femininity. (Whole other blog post in that.) Anyway, here are the first three action heroines that come to my mind when I think of my favorites and they are my favorites with good reason.

Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt in “Salt.”

Evelyn Salt (Salt, 2010)

I keep seeing all these people whine about the lack of female action heroes and I want to hit them in the face with this. Salt is an incredible portrayal of a female spy/assassin who is not invincible, makes miscalculations, gets knocked down, but always gets back up. She basically leads a one-woman war against two governments and is pretty much as hardcore as they come. She’s probably my favorite action heroine in film, but not many seem to have heard of her (and judging by their mewling online, that includes Feminazis).

Vin (Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson)

If we’re talking vulnerabilities and relatability, Vin takes the gold without batting an eye. Insecurity and softness mixed with awesome power and a capability for terrible destruction, Brandon Sanderson really set a standard here. It is impossible to be in possession of a heart and not want to protect Vin, even though she’s the character who tears through 300 soldiers and comes out with nary a scratch (seriously, that happened once).

Tabrett Bethell as Cara in “Legend of the Seeker.”

Cara the Mord Sith (The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind/The Legend of the Seeker, 2007-2009)

Cara is pretty much all the things I usually dislike in a character—sassy, sarcastic, dominant, sometimes outright cruel. But the author (and the writers of the television series) spent huge amounts of time humanizing and sympathizing the Mord Sith order as a whole. The reader/viewer is shown how much pain these women are in (physically and emotionally) every second of their lives. We see Cara cry and regret and mourn, then turn right around and level entire an entire battalion while dragging an evil sorceress by the hair.

I really wish there were more action heroines like this. Not one-dimensional tropes like Black Widow in Iron Man 2 or Andromeda in Wrath of the Titans. These three ladies are characters that feel real and I think that’s what all characters should be.

Ten Characters I Would Vote For If They Ran For President

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argetallam saga, election, firefly, Harry potter, John Carter of mars, king Arthur, legend of the seeker, Narnia, president, the hunger games, USA

With the race for the President of the United states of America coming up, the airwaves have been bombarded with political message after political message. (Those of you who live outside the US, be grateful.) I just so happen to not like either candidate and I can think of ten individuals I would rather vote for. So without further ado, may I unveil my presidential nominations in ascending order.

10. John Carter of Mars

Here’s a bloke who’s all action and no talk. A war hero who’s taken on the hordes of Green Martians, you couldn’t ask for a stronger personality. However, his strength is also his weakness and his rather martial mindset could be a problem during diplomatic state visits.

9. Peeta Mellark

Unlike Mr. Carter, Peeta has the gift of speech. He has a way of inspiring people which would be invaluable as a leader. He’s also cute.

8. Doctor Who

The Doctor would make a brilliant president. Clever, open-minded, and creative, he always knows what’s best. Though, he might find the restrictions of office to be a bit much, which is why he’s No. 8.

7. Dumbledore

Wise, patient, kind, from what I’ve seen, Dumbledore would be an awesome president, too.

6. Shepherd Book

The retired black-ops specialist turned priest in Firefly would also be an excellent choice for his open-mindedness, cleverness, and sense of humor.

5. Armandius Caersynn

Armandius Plontagent Kirlistan Caersynn is strong, brave, and does a fine job as High Lord of Green Haven, so I say we vote him in.

4. Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander

As a Wizard of the First Order, we wouldn’t have to worry about a security detail for this president. Not to mention he would see to it that White House dinner parties always had excellent menus.

3. Prince Caspian

Do I really need to explain? Caspian is good-hearted, strong, patient, and tries to do the right thing. (I may have also had a crush on him at one point, but that’s irrelevant.)

2. Gandalf

Another president who wouldn’t need a security detail. And with the wisdom of centuries inside that head, who can protest his qualifications?

1. King Arthur

The Once and Future King would be the perfect president. He united All Britain, didn’t he? So long as we keep a look out for Morgan Le Fay and keep him from meeting Guinevere until after she hooks up with Lancelot, we’ll be fine.

So…who would you vote for?