“I now see my true enemy. He waits for me in the void, wielding powers I cannot imagine. I go to face him, having renounced everything: My humanity. My identity. The man I love. But I will not face this enemy alone. I am the Swarm. “
This is our list of the top 25 female characters of all-time.We’re counting down one by one until we reach the best of the best on Sept. 30.
13) Sarah Kerrigan (StarCraft) – 4 votes/182 points
Shaun: The only Kerrigan I really know about is Nancy Kerrigan, and I have to say, she seems much nicer than Sarah.
Where Sarah Kerrigan is the Queen of Blades, Nancy Kerrigan is the Queen of Ice Rink Blades. Where Sarah was cruelly tortured and experimented on, Nancy Kerrigan was cheated out of an Olympic gold medal when Tonya Harding knee-capped her. Where Nancy Kerrigan is the nicest, kindest, most admirable human being on earth, Sarah Kerrigan is twisted and vindictive, leading an entire army to exact revenge against the ones who gave her her powers in the first place.
Yes, it’s a much different world for Nancy than it is for Sarah, but you gotta admit, tragedy makes for the most compelling characters. And if your tragedy involves giving you super powers and allowing you to play hero, rogue, and villain depending on your mood, that’s actually a pretty good deal.
Chris: There’s one other Kerrigan who matters besides Nancy Kerrigan, and that’s the one from the old Legendary Frog flash cartoons. If you were on Newgrounds about 10 years ago, you know what I’m talking about. Insert muffin reference here.
Anyway, it’s interesting how Sarah Kerrigan went from a character who was supposed to appear in just one level to perhaps the most recognizable face in StarCraft. She and Jim Raynor have one of the most complex relationships in video game history, what with her undergoing a horrific mental transformation at the hands of the Zerg.
The best villains are the ones with complex motivations, and I’m not sure you can find a much higher level of complexity than Kerrigan’s story.
Joseph: It’s not easy being a psychic in the world of Starcraft. They do experiments on you, probably prod you with something, and mentally assault you until you are able to apply you powers under the stress of combat. Sarah went through that and came out relatively unscathed, until her own people left her to be overrun by the Zerg. For whatever reason (I’m sure they explain it) she is kept alive by her enemies,
twisted and mutated into the Queen of Blades. Then she takes control of the entire swarm and uses them to get her revenge. Beautiful.
And I’m not personally aware of her journey through the events of Starcraft II, but I’m certain her character gains more depth and continues to wreak havoc on those who dared leave her for dead. For taking over an entire alien race to settle a grudge, you have made it on this list.
Jason: Ahh yes… The Queen of Blades herself. The closest the list has to a true villain. I’ve written at lengths about Sarah in the past, so I won’t go into it again. All you need to know is that Sarah Kerrigan has been an ever evolving (hehe) character for many years now. She’s been a hero, a villain, and anti-hero… pretty much everything. Likewise her on-again off-again romance with Jim Raynor has served as an emotional core to what might have otherwise been a rather cut-and-paste sci-fi series. She’s iconic, she all powerful, she’s the Queen Bitch of the Universe; and totally deserves to be on this list.
TOP 25 FEMALE CHARACTERS
Introduction/Honorable Mention
Gray Areas 