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Anime and Manga
"I will jump in and take out Loki and his subordinates. Then, I will go home and prepare dinner."
— Miu (before cutting a cross on a windshield and smashing through a car), Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple
Comic Books
"Yo, Star-shorts! I figured you'd be getting lonely so I thought I'd hang with you. We can talk girl-talk. Y'know, butt-kicking, name-taking, like that."
— She-Hulk, JLA/Avengers #4
Film — Animation
"I'm at the top of my game! I'm runnin' out there with the big dogs! Girls, come on! Leave saving the world to the men? I don't think so!" [sigh] "I don't think so."
— Elastigirl, The Incredibles
Film — Live-Action
Thor Odinson: Who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?
Lady Sif: I did!
Thor Odinson: [embarrassed] ...true, but I supported you.
Lady Sif: I did!
Thor Odinson: [embarrassed] ...true, but I supported you.
— Thor
Aragorn: You have some skill with a blade.
Eowyn: The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain.
Aragorn: What do you fear, my lady?
Eowyn: A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire.
Aragorn: You are a daughter of kings, a shield maiden of Rohan. I do not think that will be your fate.
Eowyn: The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain.
Aragorn: What do you fear, my lady?
Eowyn: A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire.
Aragorn: You are a daughter of kings, a shield maiden of Rohan. I do not think that will be your fate.
Sarah Connor: Kyle, the women in your time, what are they like?
Kyle Reese: Good fighters.
Kyle Reese: Good fighters.
Literature
"This war is everything or nothing. If I could round up each woman in the Borderlands and put a sword in her hands, I would. For now, I'll settle for not doing something stupid - like forbidding trained and passionate soldiers from fighting. If you, however, decide not to exercise that prudence, you are free to tell them what you think. I promise I will give you a good burial once they let me take your head down off the pole."
— The King of Malkier on a nation of Action Girls, The Wheel of Time
I it for this the Spanish maid, aroused,
Hangs on the willow her unstrung guitar,
And, all unsexed, the anlace hath espoused,
Sung the loud song, and dared the deed of war?
And she, whom once the semblance of a scar
Appalled, an owlet’s larum chilled with dread,
Now views the column-scattering bayonet jar,
The falchion flash, and o'er the yet warm dead
Stalks with Minerva’s step where Mars might quake to tread.
Hangs on the willow her unstrung guitar,
And, all unsexed, the anlace hath espoused,
Sung the loud song, and dared the deed of war?
And she, whom once the semblance of a scar
Appalled, an owlet’s larum chilled with dread,
Now views the column-scattering bayonet jar,
The falchion flash, and o'er the yet warm dead
Stalks with Minerva’s step where Mars might quake to tread.
— Lord Byron describing the "Maid of Sarragossa"
It was a performance. It was like the culmination of a lifetime's observation of martial arts tapes, cheap ones, the kind Case had grown up on. For a few seconds, he knew, she was every bad-ass hero, Sony Mao in the old Shaw videos, Mickey Chiba, the whole lineage back to Lee and Eastwood. She was walking the way she talked it.
"Look, sir, I know Angua. She's not the useless type. She doesn't stand there and scream helplessly. She makes other people do that."
— Captain Carrot, Jingo
The woman was still outside, armed and dangerous. And that was just her looks.
"Two dead in two seconds. She drew her knife and set to work like a demigod of battle, destroying everything before her. This was the girl I had lied to and flirted with? Shite."
— Edrin Walker witnessing Eva in action, The Traitor God, by Cameron Johnston
She was the kind of woman that men would die for. Starting now.
— Soldiers of Barrabas
Live-Action TV
Derek Reese: Remind me again, why are the boys out here and the girls in there?
John Connor: Because, one of the girls is harder than nuclear nails.
Derek Reese: And the other one's a cyborg.
John Connor: Because, one of the girls is harder than nuclear nails.
Derek Reese: And the other one's a cyborg.
"I'm not weak, I'm not barren, and I'm not a whore!"
— Lt. Colonel Sarah MacKenzie (while kicking Arab terrorist Sadik Fahd), JAG, "Persian Gulf"
O'Neill: Oh, this has nothing to do with you being a woman. I like women. I just got a little problem with scientists.
Carter: Colonel, I logged over a hundred hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War. Is that tough enough for you? Or we're gonna have to arm-wrestle?
Carter: Colonel, I logged over a hundred hours in enemy airspace during the Gulf War. Is that tough enough for you? Or we're gonna have to arm-wrestle?
— Stargate SG-1, "Children of the Gods"
The Mole: See, this is your problem. Some men like women who are feminine!
Agent 99: [outraged] I'm not feminine?
The Mole: No.
Agent 99: I'm not feminine?! [Kicks him in the face]
Agent 99: [outraged] I'm not feminine?
The Mole: No.
Agent 99: I'm not feminine?! [Kicks him in the face]
Music
I'm a warrior woman, forget the prophecies
As a warrior woman, I'll do exactly as I please
As a warrior woman, I'll do exactly as I please
— Jex Thoth, "Warrior Woman"
You know I'm a super girl
Yes, I'm a spunky gal
I never say die
No one can stop me
'Cuz I
Like to FIGHT! (Fight!)
Yes, I'm a spunky gal
I never say die
No one can stop me
'Cuz I
Like to FIGHT! (Fight!)
— "Super Girl", Shonen Knife
Video Games
"I AM THE STRONGEST GIRL ALIVE!!!"
— Gaige, Borderlands 2
"I don't like your attitude, mister! I can be every bit as heroic as some guy!"
— Sheba, Golden Sun: The Lost Age
"Take my advice, Rookie. If you ever fall for a woman... make sure she's got balls."
— Gunnery Sergeant Buck, Halo 3: ODST
"Who says girls can't shoot? Oh yeah, that guy."
— Arcee (to a dead Decepticon), Transformers: War for Cybertron
Webcomics
"When men were men, and women killed them."
— Tagline for Battleaxes
Western Animation
Clobberella beats you up!
Clobberella beats you up!
Who does she beat up? You!
Clobberella!
Clobberella beats you up!
Who does she beat up? You!
Clobberella!
— Futurama, "Less Than Hero"
"I'm a warrior, but I'm a girl, too!"
— Suki, Avatar: The Last Airbender
"Unhand that gentleman, knaves!"
— Niko, Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
SpongeBob: Looks like we're going to start our training now, ladies! [laughs] I call you a lady to humiliate and demean you. It's a motivational tool we coaches use.
[scene cuts to Sandy walking down the street]
Sandy: Hmm... I don't know why, but I think I'll kick SpongeBob's butt tomorrow.
[scene cuts to Sandy walking down the street]
Sandy: Hmm... I don't know why, but I think I'll kick SpongeBob's butt tomorrow.
