Fae Friday: Favorite Female Characters

#FaeFriday is a set of weekly blog prompts hosted by Caffeinated Fae.

This week’s topic is “What are some of your favorite female characters?” Talking about awesome female characters is my jam, so I had to jump on board.

This is going to be one of those lists that should rightfully be about fifty characters long, but I’ll probably get tired of writing at around five or so and wrap it up. 😅

Cassandra Cain from DC Comics

I’ve talked about Cass a couple times on the blog before. She’s not only my favorite Batgirl but also one of my favorite characters.

Raised by her father to be the perfect assassin, Cass chooses to be a hero instead, and her journey is all about learning how to live in the real world and make friendships after a lifetime of only fighting. She’s awesome because she’s an adorable sweetheart who’s amazed by everyday things that we take for granted, but when the time comes to fight crime and save the day, she’s a total badass.

Seriously. She’s arguably better at hand-to-hand combat than Batman.

Irene from The Invisible Library

I’ve been flying through The Invisible Library series lately. What’s not to like about magical librarian spies who travel through alternate worlds to acquire rare books?

Irene is one of these librarians, and she’s very good at her job. What I admire most about her is how she keeps cool under pressure. The books are from her point of view, so the reader can see the panic in her internal monologue as she deals with various murder attempts and near-apocalypses. But she does a remarkable job of pushing past her (totally reasonable) fear and staying calm long enough to come up with a clever solution to save herself/her friends/the multiverse.

She’s also unflinchingly polite and professional no matter the circumstances.

Kira Solomon from Shadowchasers

Kira is one of my favorite urban fantasy heroines. She fights demons and rides a motorcycle (occasionally at the same time!) and is the best there is at what she does: working as a Shadowchaser for the secret supernatural-fighting Gilead Commission.

Her powers include the ability to touch an object or person and instantly know almost everything about them… which tends to put the person in question into a coma, so she’s pretty much gone her whole adult life without physical human contact. When she meets her immortal love interest and finds out she can touch him without killing him, it’s a really big deal.

Tough, highly skilled, and stubborn as heck, Kira’s the one you’ll want to call when you need saving from a supernatural threat.

Sara Lance from Arrowverse

Where do I begin with Sara? She started off as a regular girl in Star City, got marooned on a deadly prison island after sneaking aboard a sabotaged ship, joined the League of Assassins, left the League of Assassins to become the vigilante Black Canary, got murdered, came back from the dead, joined the crew of a time-traveling ship, and eventually became its captain.

That’s quite a resume.

But the best thing about her is that she’s got swagger. Sara walks into a room and is instantly the coolest person there. And why wouldn’t she be? She’s traveling through time fighting villains with her best friends and adorkable girlfriend. She’s definitely living her best life.

Gin Blanco from the Elemental Assassin series

Gin is the third assassin on this list. I wonder what that says about me. 😶

Operating in the corrupt and dangerous city of Ashland, Gin is a retired assassin who still puts her skills to use for a good cause. She kills murderers and other criminals who have escaped justice. If an innocent person comes to her for help, she’ll protect them. If they’re in enough trouble, she’ll even offer her services for free.

She’s got elemental powers, though she tries not to use them on the job, and in her spare time she runs a barbecue restaurant. The series is in first-person from her POV, and she has a dry wit that’s fun to read. She’s a great example of a character who’s kind but not necessarily nice.

Wonder Woman from DC Comics

Need I say more?

Throughout her decades of appearances, she’s had some incredible stories. (She’s also had some terrible ones, but that’s par the course for a comic book character who’s been around for so long.)

What makes Wonder Woman stand the test of time is her ideals. Though she can pick up a sword and battle with the best of them, she stands first and foremost for love and understanding, with violence as a last resort. And that kind of mindset is something the world can always use more of.

Do you love these characters? Who are some of your favorites? Let me know in the comments!