The fabulous femmes of sci-fi: Top 20 sci-fi heroines of all time

No list of the top sci-fi heroines would ever be complete without including one of the first. To be fair, when it comes to the topic of Maria from Fritz Lang's classic "Metropolis," one has to ask whether the focus is on the human Maria (Brigitte Helm) or the robot created in her honor by a mad scientist driven by her memory. In either case, Maria exists as both monument and fantasy, delicately walking a line that would certainly change in terms of perception as she remains a stark example of the male gaze in sci-fi.

The newest addition to the "Star Wars" universe may also be one of its strongest. Marooned on the desert planet of Jakku, Rey lived a quiet life as a scavenger, never knowing her place in the universe until she found herself on a series of adventures where, in a short time, she learned her powers in the force made her stronger than she ever could've dreamed. Many fans were off put by Rey's ability to use the force so well with only scant training, but if anything, it only solidifies the fact that this is a character we've never experienced before. In time, she will be an icon in her own right.

As the second in command to Captain Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), Zoe Washburne (Gina Torres) displayed a tough exterior, but deep down cared for her crew, including nerdy husband Wash, who she would tragically lose during the events of the film version of "Firefly," "Serenity." Zoe represented the best of the show and possibly best adhered to the classic tenets of its roots as a futuristic western.

The perfect biological weapon designed to stop ultimate evil, Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) also was more than her design. While she was more than able to hold her own in a fight, she also possessed a heart and an ability to love, which quite possibly made her an even more formidable force to be reckoned with.

Anakin Skywalker's one and only Padawan trainee, Ahsoka Tano was introduced to audiences as a young Togruta who more than held her own as her tutelage under fire met a tragic end when her master turned to the dark side of the Force, becoming the infamous Darth Vader. Ahsoka would be forced more than once to face off against her former master, and each time, she proved herself more than a match for the former Jedi-turned-Sith Lord.

One of the finest of the Doctor's many companions, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) went on a number of adventures with the fourth incarnation of the Doctor, becoming beloved by fans and considered by many as the most memorable of the companions due to the time and popularity of "Doctor Who" as well as her wit and tenacity. Years later, Sarah Jane would gather a team of her own for similar adventures on "The Sarah Jane Adventures" until Sladen died in 2011.

A simple cop who stumbles up on the Torchwood Institute, Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) starts a journey beyond her wildest dreams as she faces off against alien threats as part of a team that would evolve and sometimes be killed. Through it all, Gwen stood as a pillar of the team, holding everyone else up during their weaker times. 

Of all the heroines on our list, the journey of Laura Roslin stands as possibly the greatest and ultimately the most heartbreaking. From her humble beginnings as a school teacher, Roslin would step up when called upon, even if she never wanted to be president. During her time as leader, Roslin would endure great tragedies, including developing breast cancer and seeing a number of former allies become enemies. Through it all, Roslin held true, and in her dying moments, she was able to see the new home she and her people fought tirelessly to find.

Carrie-Anne Moss was far from a damsel in distress as she turned the tables in the original 1999 classic "The Matrix," instead serving as the savior for John Anderson (Keanu Reeves) before his awakening into the messianic hero Neo. Trinity was both able and determined to fight, sacrificing herself to save the man she loved as well as the future she believed in. While Trinity's fate was meant to be as a martyr, what earns her spot on our list is her no-holds-barred ability to kick ass, take names and leave no doubt who was in charge.

The first depicted female captain of a Federation starship, Kate Mulgrew absolutely owned in the role of Kathryn Janeway, leader of a crew lost in space (heh) who manage to find themselves in a number of other ways through a series of adventures that would've tested even the crew of the Enterprise. Janeway represented a tough but fair leader who was as much a mother figure as she was a stern leader and friend.

Silent but extremely deadly, fans were originally introduced to the exploits of the lithe Aeon Flux during MTV's "Liquid Television." Her popularity would spawn a series of her own as her role expanded from constant martyr to something more sustainable. (She usually died at the end of each "Liquid Television" short.) Eventually, Aeon would see herself segue from animation to live action, as Charlize Theron would portray the character in a 2005 film.

When Katee Sackhoff was introduced in a role played by a man in the original series, it was hard to see what would become of the cocky fighter pilot, but it didn't take long before this version of Starbuck would grow into not only the best version of the character, but also the most important to the dynamic of the show. While she began as a gruff warrior determined to prove her worth, Starbuck would become much greater as she evolved through life, death and rebirth as the driving force for her people to finally find their home.

Jane Fonda embodied the essence of spacefaring sexuality mixed with intelligence and guile as the comic book heroine Barbarella. While not quite a feminist icon, Barbarella was a self-assured free spirit who owned her sexuality without ever becoming a victim to it. The future, as depicted by director Roger Vadim, was certainly full of the male gaze, but Barbarella navigated it with aplomb as she used her wiles as a personal power that in the end would literally save the day.

Based on the hit young-adult book series, Jennifer Lawrence steps into the boots of Katniss Everdeen, a simple girl in a post-apocalyptic society who finds herself volunteering for the Hunger Games, a competition that pits children against one another in a sick Olympiad of carnage meant to appease a sadistic dictator. Everdeen would win the Hunger Games and use her elevated status to form a revolution that would save an oppressed society and forever solidify her as a heroine for the ages.

One of the more tragic entries on our list, we first meet time-traveling heroine Dr. River Song (Alex Kingston) at the end of her life, as she sacrifices herself to save the person she loves and has known for a good period of her life, even though this was the first time he ever met her. And so goes the nature of the timey-wimey relationship between song and the infamous Doctor Who, as from that point, their paths would collide at various points in time, each instance showing viewers just how precious and important Song is to the life of the immortal Doctor and his adventures.

Gillian Anderson starred for 10 seasons and two films as FBI agent and medical doctor Dana Scully in "The X-Files." While the character was originally intended to serve as a foil to the more paranormally sensitive Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), Scully eventually shed her skeptical persona, opting for someone who not only believed, but had what it took to defend herself, her partner and sometimes the world from unknown alien and paranormal menaces.

Originally portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura is an integral part of the crew of the USS Enterprise, in her role as Communications Officer. But in real life, Uhura represented something much more important, as people of color were scarcely depicted in media in the late '60s, and here she stood as a vision into a future where black men and women could also be part of a future that sees them as an equal. In more recent years, Zoe Saldana took over as Uhura, and while her performance isn't as culturally groundbreaking, it shows by its very existence just how far society has come and how much farther into the stars it can go.

In the halcyon days of 1984, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) had few cares above having enough Aqua Net and not walking in to finding her roommate having sex with her latest boyfriend. That is until a hulking cyborg traveled back in time to murder her because she was the mother of the resistance in the wake of a machine takeover. Hamilton's take on Connor would evolve into a take-no-prisoners role in the 1991 sequel and will reappear in the role in the latest "Terminator" film, scheduled for release in 2019.

From her humble beginnings as a space trucker in 1978's "Alien," Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) has been a paragon of survival, managing to live, die and be cloned, but never falling victim (for the most part) to her Xenomorph antagonists. As sci-fi heroines go, few have been as resilient and hardcore as Ripley.

The greatest of them all. When a 19-year-old Carrie Fisher rolled her hair into dual buns in a small space opera called "Star Wars," no one would've guessed she'd turn that character into an icon, and a feminist one at that. Forty years and five films later, Princess Leia Organa stands alone as the best of all sci-fi heroines, a fact that makes the death of Fisher, mere months after filming her final appearance in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," feel like an even bigger loss. Fortunately, through unused footage, fans will get one last chance to say farewell to an intergalactic icon when "Star Wars Episode IX" hits theaters in the winter of 2019.