Seriously Geeky Sundays – Maiden, Mother, Crone

Bloody hell, is it time for Seriously Geeky Sundays again? How times flies!

Well, here we are again, writing down our answers to the frankly powerhouse questions dreamed up each week by Heather of Just Geeking By, a woman so powerful that, it is rumoured, the blogging scene would collapse into a pocket dimension without her work!

Anyway, today’s issue is all about amazing women in geekdom, which is very on point I must say! Let’s get the rundown, shall we?

March 8th is International Women’s Day (IDW), a worldwide celebration of women, and later this month it is also Mother’s Day in the UK. What better time to think about the leading ladies of fandom?

Question 1 – Who is your favourite leading lady?

Let’s talk about Resident Evil 2 Remake‘s leading lady, Claire Redfield! (Specifically that version, because I’m fussy with my Resident Evil games and have… unpopular opnions about certain popular entries!)

So yeah, Claire. This student, with no combat training, rides into Raccoon City in search of her brother, police officer and member of the STARS team that was sent to investigate the events of the original Resident Evil. Except things in town aren’t quite as… friendly as can be. Zombies roam the streets and whole city is just a big old mess. Claire teams up with Leon, a rookie cop fresh in town for his first day, and together they head for the police station, to plan their escape.

What makes Miss Redfield such a good egg, however, is that her mission changes quite early on. Her brother Chris split just before the calamity that befell the city, heading off to Europe to look into the evil (and really sloppy) Umbrella corporations’ affairs. Claire’s act of heroism is still to come, however, when she finds a young girl, Sherry, who is being stalked by a particularly unpleasant creature.

Claire puts her life on the line, again and again,to keep Sherry safe, making her a serious badass!

Question 2 – Which kickass female fighter do you admire?

Rats, I used my answer for this one a couple of issues back!

Okay, so what other badass, powerful ladies are there in the world of geekdom? What about…

Sadie Adler, from Red Dead Redemption 2? Said has quite the story arc, going on a journey of growth from grieving, terrified widow to, at the end of the game, a gun-slinging, rage fuelled bounty hunter. Sadie’s confidence and bravery often surprise the other members of the vicious Van Der Linde gang, even protagonist Arthur Morgan is occasionally taken aback by her plans.

From gunning down raiders and stealing hot air balloons, Sadie sure knows how to kick ass and is certainly no damsel in distress!

Question 3 – Who is the most badass female villain in your opinion?

Hela, daughter of Odin and the rightful heir to Asgard, I reckon!

Yes, the villain of Thor: Ragnarok, as played by the ever excellent Cate Blanchett, is all sorts of unpleasant. Merciless, without empathy and longing for a past era, when Asgard was a conquering force instead of a peaceful kingdom, Hela will summon blades and… turn her hair into a scary helmet thing (?) if needed, and her combat skills are pretty damned impressive too…

…she even pokes poor Thor’s eye out and breaks his hammer, Mjolnir.

Question 4 – Do you have a favourite fictional mother or grandmother?

As a science fiction fan, there’s really only one character that fits this description…

Ellen freakin’ Ripley!

Yes, Sigourney Weavers’ iconic heroine really is one of cinemas’ finest, though her status as powerful mother figure only really comes in during the events of 1986s’ Aliens, in which alien attack survivor Ripley is talked into joining a group of hardass space marines on a mission to the colony on LV-426, which has gone silent under mysterious circumstances (spoiler alert, its full of aliens).

Ripley finds the colony’s sole survivor, a young girl called Newt, and over the course of the movie defends her from aliens, daft marines and, of course, massive explosions that wipe out the entire facility! She’s the ultimate mother figure, and we all love her! Apart from the alien queen!

And, of course, this scene exists!

Question 5 – IDW is about celebrating women’s equality and inclusivity in all fields; what characters have championed this cause?

The first character to spring to mind here is Black Panthers’ Okoye, the badass head of King T’Challas’ personal guard, spear wielding killing machine and hater of wigs. Interestingly, actress Danai Gurira also played an equally tough-as-nails character in The Walking Dead, the katana-wielding Michonne. She’s just one seriously talented performer!

Question 6 – Which women in pop culture inspire you?

Honestly, with how messed up the world is these days and how many asshats lurk around on the internet, so many women working in pop culture are worthy of our respect. Anyone who makes a stand against gatekeeping and rampant sexism gets a high five from me!

And that’s your lot, gang! Hopefully everyone had a fun read and are all primed to check out the many excellent writers under the #SeriouslyGeekySundays hashtag, who are mostly, funnily enough, excellent women worthy of your respect!

See you all next time!