• No doubt tiring of the question, Craig Engler tweeted yet again that SyFy would not be saving Legend of the Seeker. I won’t lie to you, Marge – it looks beyond grim.

• George Lucas announced this weekend that he will finally release all six Star Wars movies on BluRay in 2011. But if you’re looking for the original films, you’re out of luck – it would cost too much to restore them to BluRay quality. You’ll have to make do with the special editions, and console yourself with this never-before-seen lightsaber scene of Luke activating it for the first time. Is that the “official” moment he became a Jedi?

• Why did Scott Pilgrim vs. the World have such a horrible opening weekend, around $10.5 million? Was it because of Michael Cera fatigue? Maybe because some women’s groups found it misogynistic? Me, I loved it, but I blame the entire opening weekend disaster on editor Brent Hartinger, who wrote two negative reviews of the film. Love ya, boss! [Editor's note: I'd like to think I had that much power. In fact, I do think that! Nah, nah, nah. Next up? Stomping Ed's new kittens!]

• As long as we’re discussing it, here’s the Scott Pilgrim vs. the Animation that ran on Adult Swim Thursday night after I fell asleep. It’s oddly innocent, but gave me some backstory that I didn’t know since I haven’t read the graphic novels.

• I completely missed a theatrical release on Black Lightening, which seemed to happen in February. It’s now hitting DVD, and looks goofy and fun. A weird cross between James Bond, Herbie, and a touch of Men In Black, the trailer truly surprised me – has anyone seen it?

• One of the favorite things in the world for people to do is blame James Cameron for things. So we may as well blame him for Guillermo del Toro abandoning The Hobbit, because that’s what’s being reported. And Cameron conveniently has a new partnership with del Toro.

• There’s so much coverage on one page out of Movie-Con III in England, it’s hard to summarize it all. The detail for everything else in the post is at this link, but the highlights are (definitely spoilers beyond this point):

• Ironclad showed new footage. The original clip just showed a castle siege, but they now explain that it was about the siege of Rochester Castle in 1215, after King John signed the Magna Carta and reneged. It’s the longest siege in English history. The filmmaker says it’s a siege movie with a Magnificent Seven feel, while the moderator says it’s Saving Private Ryan in a castle. Jame Purefoy’s broadsword in the movie is named Florence, and it’s huge.

• Jason Flemyng confirms that, now that he’s done swinging an ax in Ironclad, he’s in X-Men: First Class as Azeazel, who can teleport by waving his arms. He’s got a huge heavy costume, but his tail with be CGI.

• Simon Pegg swears that his alien farce Paul is 80% done, and that we’ll actually see him, Blythe Danner, Sigourney Weaver, et al at some point. It is one of the odder films I’ve ever heard described or cast.

• They explain why there are two Jeff Bridges in Tron: Legacy, about one being a digital counterpart who doesn’t age.

• Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is nearly half-way done in the filming process.

• Daniel Radcliffe showed up for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows panel. He says that, despite their best efforts, the final shot took place in front a green screen. He also says that if they do remake these films in 30 years time, he calls dibs on playing Sirius Black.

• Zack Snyder showed new footage of The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga-hoole, but they said he was so incoherent talking about it, they couldn’t report anything except that the footage looks good.

• I’m just going to lift a line about Red, because I can’t imagine what this looks like. “Then a rather girly clip from Red, with Helen Mirren bonding with Mary Louise Parker while also using a high-powered rifle to pick off armed attackers – wow, chick flick.”

• Prince Caspian is back in Dawn Treader, obviously, and Ben Barnes is happy about that. The director also promises that this film is more magical and fun, like the first film. He feels that the second film was too political and heavy.

• O.K., that was a lot of information, and trust me, it was the Cliff Notes version. Enjoy this clip of Nanny McPhee with a baby elephant to unwind your mind.

• It feels like this movie has been in development forever, but the trailer for Seth Rogen’s take on The Green Hornet has arrived.

• In other superhero news, Marvel may be releasing short films to introduce the possibly comic-deficient film-going public to some of its lesser-known secondary characters. Depending on the scripts, that has the potential to be really cool.

• I won’t lie. There have been a few times when I thought it might be nice to snuggle next to Legolas on a cold winter night. But I never thought he would be so … plushy.

• The Baltimore Sun has a slew of pictures of the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which drew many of the films’ stars. Personally, I think my editor,Brent, should send me there to cover it up close. Let’s start an online petition to get Tim to Orlando!

• Yarr! Wanna read some scurvy plot points of ye old new Pirates of the Caribbean movie? Then click on the link, thar, matee. (Okay, I don’t do pirates well. But don’t I get points for trying?)

• This is pretty awesome: 7 cool special effects ILM created for The Last Airbender.

• And finally, principal photography for the new Conan movie is done, and Nu Boyana Film Studios have released this beefcakey promotional pic of Jason Momoa as the big guy himself. He actually looks pretty bad-ass. Now let’s hope the movie lives up to the potential bad-assery.

• For those who love a little high fantasy with their gambling, Microgaming is unleashing video slot machines based on the Lord of the Rings movies. Makes sense — anyone who’s spent any time in a casino knows that the people hunched over the video slot machines bear more than a passing resemblance to Gollum.

• Arrr! Deadwood’s Ian McShane is in talks to join the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment of the super popular series. It’s funny. I never realized how attached I was to Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann until I learned that the series was going on without them.

• While we’re on the subject of POTC, here’s a cool little report about the Black Pearl — the actual ship used in filming — arriving in Hawaii while they prep for the new movie. Is anyone else surprised to discover it’s actually a sea-worthy vessel?

• Early reactions to the new high-fantasy-spoof Your Highness are rolling in, and it’s looking good. But then, with a cast that includes James Franco and Zooey Deschanel, did we really have any doubts?

• Speaking of early reports, a few lucky chaps got a sneak-preview of some footage from the latest Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and were mighty pleased with what they saw. (Let’s hope so. I thought Prince Caspian was way too dark and depressing.)

• io9 has a list of 18 shows that they believe could save sci-fi and fantasy on the small screen. It’s a pretty exhaustive list, but oddly it includes the upcoming remake of La Femme Nikita. I was a huge fan of the series with Peta Wilson from the 9′0s, but I don’t remember it being science-fiction at all. Am I remembering it wrong?

• One of the shows on the aforementioned list is a possible US version of the hit British show Torchwood, which is of course a spin-off of another hit British show, Doctor Who. After hearing about it for years, I finally watched all three seasons, and was delighted to discover it actually exceeded the hype. But half of its charm was the Welsh and British accents, so I’m not sure how smoothly the transition to the states would work. Plus, given how creator Russel T. Davies loves nothing more than brutally killing his beloved main characters, I’m wondering if there’s anyone left loyal enough to give it a chance.

• You know how Barbie has had about a million jobs? Here’s a hilarious list of how 20 action figures spend their moonlighting time.

• For everyone out there who, like me, has been watching Lost since the very first season and who, like me, has a horrible memory, here’s a reminder of the great storylines that … uh … never actually went anywhere. Oh, yeah! Remember when Charlie was a horrible person? Forgot all about that.

• So there’s a movie coming out called Centurion, which tells the story of seven Roman soldiers who are stranded behind enemy lines when their legion is attacked and slaughtered in Britain. So, the guys who invaded and attempted to conquer an entire race of people … are the good guys? And the ancient Britons who are fighting back, led by a rather Boudicca-esque leader, are the bad guys? Interestingly, the film doesn’t have distribution in the states as of yet.

• Turns out both Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhaal turned down the lead role in Avatar. Good move, guys. I mean, sure neither one of you is exactly hurting for cash right now, but still.

• Finally, just so everyone can stay on the same page with all of the genre shows that are currently on the air, Trekmovie.com gives us a handy-dandy renewal report card.

A few weeks ago, the rumor mill was churning that the plot for the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (which, so far, reportedly doesn’t include Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightly in its cast) was going to involve a search for the Fountain of Youth.

Word was there would also be “some kind of Captain Nemo-type villain utilizing new-style technology.”

Now Johnny Depp, speaking at this weekend’s Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, California, has revealed the name of the would-be film, scheduled for the summer of 2011: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Other fantasy-related news from the conference included the announcement from Nicholas Cage, appearing to introduce a trailer for the upcoming live-action remake of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, that there would “absolutely” be a third National Treasure film.

Disney also announced a deal with Guillermo del Toro, the frequent fantasy director now in pre-production on the upcoming movie version of The Hobbit. Their joint venture, called Disney Double Dare You, will produce “scary” genre-related films, books, and merchandise.

The director, who appeared via videotape from New Zealand, claimed the deal is inspired by his love for Disney’s darker site, in attractions such as the Haunted Mansion.

The first movie, based on an original idea by Del Toro, will be called The Troll Hunters.

Welcome back, gorehounds, to another installment of Deadliest Fantasy Warrior!

Previously on DFW we took a look at who wold win in a fight between Spaniard fencer Inigo Montoya and Wudan master Li Mu-Bai. The winner: Li Mu-Bai and his mystical sword Green Destiny.

Today we peer into the past and match up two fierce ladies who were no stranger to battle: Elizabeth Swann, the aristocrat-turned-pirate who famously sailed the high seas with Captain Jack Sparrow, and the Woad warrior Guinevere, who eventually became the wife of Arthur and Queen of England.

With us today to discuss the life of Elizabeth Swann is Althea Gray, an elderly resident and historian of Port Royal, Jamaica, where Elizabeth once lived.

“Child, Elizabeth Turner, as is the proper name to call her, is a legend not only in Port Royal but the whole of the Caribbean. She was a fearless, driven woman, a natural pirate born into the body of a proper, noble young woman. Her association with Jack Sparrow and his crew brought out her inner pirate. In one instance, she used a basic pirate trick - deception - to sacrifice Jack Sparrow so she and the rest of the crew, including Will Turner, the love of her life, could live. The guilt later on drove her to go to the end of the world to retrieve Jack Sparrow and return him to life.”

And how was she as a fighter, Ms. Gray?

“Well, from what the histories tell us, Elizabeth was a fierce, fierce fighter. She must have been, to be involved in all those skirmishes with pirates and survived! By all accounts, she was a tough young thing, good with a sword, and whatever other weapon she had in hand. She battled cursed immortal ghouls and mortal men alike, fighting side by side with Will Turner, Jack Sparrow, and Hector Barbossa. She was also a leader - she was elected the Pirate King, if you believe it. Imagine, a woman elected Pirate King — by male pirates – at that time in history! She could rally the troops and lead the charge into battle. She was something, I tell you, child.”

Moving on to our next fighter, we examine a legendary woman, one whom historians have never been able to agree on which story of her life is accurate. There have been many tales told about Guinevere, Queen of Camelot, but the version we’ll be discussing today is one championed by historian Artie St. George.

“The true origin of the legend of King Arthur,” Artie tells us, “actually springs from the fifth century AD, when the Romans, who had occupied Britain, began to withdraw, after having battled the native Woads and the ever-invading Saxons for centuries. Arthur, or more accurately Arturius Castus, was a half-Roman, half- Celtic military commander,and was charged with rescuing an endangered noble family. Turns out the head of that family had captured and entombed Guinevere. Arthur freed her, and it turned out to be the best move he could have made.”

Why?

“Later on, Arthur fought against the Saxons at the Battle of Badon Hill, and had it not been for Guinevere and, through her, the allegiance of the Woad people, they would have lost in a heartbeat.”

What were Guinevere’s fighting skills?

“Savage,” Artie tells us. “Woads were highly trained warriors and masters of pretty much all of the martial technology of the time: swords, axes, bows and arrows, whips, you name it. They could fight in packs or just go at it one on one. They never retreated from battle. To do so, for a Woad, would earn them disdain from their fellow warriors. Let’s put it this way: they didn’t lose a lot of fights.”

So how would you place her chances going toe to toe with famed Pirate Elizabeth Swann?

“I’ve heard stories of how tough Elizabeth Swann was, but she’d be no match for Guinevere.”

Overhearing this, Althea interjects. “Oh, honey, I wouldn’t be so sure. Elizabeth Turner — again, she was married — could take on pirate after pirate and not break a sweat. You, for example, couldn’t last two seconds fighting her.”

Artie replies, “Yeah, I’m not going to get roped into a smack-talking situation with an old lady, okay? Just run the stats through the damn computer.”

Run the stats we do, and as it turns out, Artie was right — our battle simulation computer had Guinevere winning the fight 79% of the time. It would seem her martial prowess, lifetime of physical training, and knowledge of many different styles of weaponry giver her the edge over the tough young pirate.

Funny how their artist renderings look alike, though, isn’t it? The resemblance is uncanny.

Join us next time for Deadliest Fantasy Warrior!

Battle #7: Elizabeth Swann vs. Guinevere

Winner: Guinevere

Back for more sauciness after last week’s Sexiest Women article, we now present those dudes of fantasy that burned their way into our collective memory.

Same rules as last time: we’re rating characters who have been made flesh by an actor on either the big or small screen. Animated or literary characters will have to wait patiently for their own list.

And away we go!

7. Will Turner

I know, I know, what about Captain Jack? Sure, Johnny Depp’s Keith Richards-inspired pirate captain is a work of comic genius, and Johnny Depp himself is one sexy dude, but is Jack Sparrow really someone you would want to … you know? Meanwhile, dashing and daring Will Turner, as portrayed by genre fave Orlando Bloom, stands smoldering and hot just a few feet outside the spotlight. Let’s show this kid some love.

6. Conor

In the role that first introduced him to American audiences (though precious few actually remember it), Heath Ledger played Conor on the short-lived fantasy series Roar. The show, which took place in 4th-century Ireland, featured Ledger as the young leader of a ragtag rebellion determined to fight off the encroaching Roman occupation. Though the show suffered from uneven writing and production values, the young, sexy Ledger kept it anchored right up to its all-too-soon series finale. This also comes as a painful reminder of the many great performances we could have seen from Ledger had his life not ended so tragically early.

5. Jin

After the success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, wuxia (Chinese martial arts fantasy) films became popular with American audiences. Zhang Yimou quickly rose to the top by creating such beautiful works as Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Though the gorgeous Zhang Ziyi gets most of the attention, many people found an extra special bonus in Takeshi Kaneshiro’s character Jin, who proved to be as deadly with his kung fu skills as he is easy on the eyes.

4. Richard Cypher

Yeah, you’re not even reading this, are you? You’re just looking at the picture. It’s cool. I get it.

3. That dude who said “Then we will fight in the shade.”

The reaction to 300 is split, to say the least. Personally, I’m not a huge fan. But that dude who said we will fight in the shade had it seriously goin’ on.

2. Aragorn

As if you could make a list of the sexiest guys in fantasy and not include a character who makes his audience swoon with practically every line. (Even when he picked up that weird Irish accent for two seconds in Return of the King — “May the LARD of the Black Gates come FARTH!” Seriously, what happened there, Viggo?)

And here we go, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

The Number One Sexiest Male Character in Fantasy Ever of All Time is…

1. Gimli

Do I even have to explain it? From the moment he showed up in Elrond’s Homely House, we all fell in love.

Okay, just kidding.

Here ya go.

1. Wolverine

Nine years ago, Aussie actor Hugh Jackman did what was thought impossible — he brought a fairly accurate portrayal of comic book character Wolverine to life. Four movies later, we’re still hungry for more…provided there are more scientific experiments done naked, of course.

Honorable mention:

I don’t know if the cheese stands alone on this one, because all I ever heard from my fellow Buffy fans was the fight for supreme hotness between Spike and Angel. A small minority spoke up proclaiming it was the adorkable Xander who deserved the title of sexiest Buffy dude. But I always thought the answer was simple:

How can you ignore the innate sexiness of a 5′4″ guitar-playing laconic too-cool-for-school werewolf rock star? I’m pretty sure his character was meant to express one of those famous Whedon metaphors, that even the gentlest-looking guy has a beast inside him, but the message got lost once the full moon hit and — oops — he morphed into a wolf, thus shredding his clothes, only to wake up in the morning in some field and show off everything his mama gave him. Plus he has awesome hair. So how excited are we that Oz has now (finally!) resurfaced in the Buffy comics?

Looking for more, more, more of these men (or interested in buying any other media)? Support TheTorchOnline.com by purchasing it through this link.

Okay, one thing I’ve learned in an exhaustive search of sexy ladies is that while many people fetishize the women of sci-fi (Aeon Flux, Trinity, Barbarella, etc), fantasy women are not considered equal in the allure department.

Sure, there are the metal-bikini-clad ladies of Boris Vallejo’s paintings, but when you look at fullly realized fantasy stories, truly sexy women are not really that common.  But that’s not to say they don’t exist…

This is a list of seven sexy fantasy characters who have appeared in film and television and realized by a real-life actress – no cartoons or literary heroines. It’s a truly academic study, so be sure to take notes. There’ll be a quiz.

7. Akasha

The late Aaliyah was a surprising choice for many people when she was cast as the immortal, ancient Vampire Queen, Akasha, for the film version of Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned. But doubts were put to rest when she made her grand entrance and almost sizzled through the screen. Though the film itself is widely considered lacking (and that’s being kind), her erotic performance is considerably more significant seeing as it was also her last film before her untimely death.

6. Faith Lehane

When Faith burst into Sunnydale on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, she took a lot of the wind out of Buffy’s sails by being funnier, sexier, and more violent than the other Slayer in town, even going so far as deflowering Buffy’s good buddy Xander. Faith was known for her flamboyant wardrobe, and with her descent into evil came more tight leather pants. Anyone complaining?

5. Catwoman

I won’t make a nine lives joke (you’re welcome), but this is a character who has gone through many incarnations, most of which are not fantastical at all. But in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, the script envisioned Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) as a mousy secretary who is magically brought back to life by cats and turned into a stunningly sexy, sensual psychobabe with her sights set on the similarly S&M-garbed Batman. (The less said about the Halle Berry film, the better.)

4. Elizabeth Swan

Being overtly sexual doesn’t necessarily make one sexy. Often what we don’t see is what sets our imaginations (and hormones) ablaze, and who better to exemplify this than the unbelievably gorgeous Keira Knightly in her role as the spunky, heroic Elizabeth Swan in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. What other woman would enrapture the likes of Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom with such ease?

3. Selene

When ads for Underworld first appeared, many wrote it off as just another Matrix rip-off that happened to focus on vampires and werewolves, with Kate Beckinsale’s Selene stepping in as a poor man’s Trinity. In a way, they were right. But if they didn’t stick around for the sequel, they missed a scorching love scene where we learn what comes between Selene and her leathers – nothing – and discover that she truly is one of the hottest supernatural women around.

2. Princess Leia

Hey, remember those body-hiding white robes from A New Hope? Neither do I.

1. Legolas

It takes a lot to keep up with two men and never mess up your hair, but when Legolas went off on a journey with Aragorn and Gimli to save two kidnapped hobbits, she truck a blow for feminism everywhere. Throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy, she jumped, slashed, and shot her arrows through a vast array of baddies without ever breaking a nail, earning her the number one spot on our sexiest women of fantasy.

Just kidding. Presenting our real number one, as if it’s any surprise…

1. Tie - Xena and Gabrielle

For six seasons, we watched these women go through a myriad of adventures and scandalously racy outfits on Xena: Warrior Princess, and the question of which one is hotter has never been settled. And so, the number one spot is a tie between the two ladies who made history in this ground-breaking show.

Looking to get a, uh, closer look at any of these sexy ladies (or buy any other media)? Support TheTorchOnline.com by purchasing it through this link.

It used to be that when one thought of stock characters in film and TV fantasy, several archetypes came to mind: a noble hero, an amusing sidekick, a wise old man, a monstrous villain, and, of course, the damsel in distress.

In short, men acted while women watched.

If a woman had any power of her own, this was likely due to her being a wicked sorceress, because if a woman is independent, then it certainly means she must be evil. For centuries, this was the accepted paradigm.

But then something happened.

Most contemporary fantasy fans know the story: in 1995, Xena: The Warrior Princess jump-kicked onto the airwaves, featuring a lead heroine armed with a razor-sharp Aerobie and a biting wit, sword-fighting and ululating her way across our television screens each week. Xena was a new breed of fantasy heroine. An anti-damsel-in-distress, Xena was unequivocally tougher than most of the men with whom she engaged in battle, and indeed often rescued less able men from danger, subverting the old gender roles. For a genre packed to the gills with helpless maidens, she was a breath of fresh air.

Two years later, another iconic fantasy heroine staked out some new ground. Buffy the Vampire Slayer reintroduced the world to Buffy Summers, first seen in the flop 1992 film of the same name. Armed with an arsenal of medieval weapons and a collection of puns of debatable merit, Buffy hacked and slashed through hundreds of creepy crawlies throughout the course of the series, with nary a hair out of place.

Both shows ended their runs in the early 2000’s, but their popularity remains, as evidenced by their legion of fans and annual conventions held in their honor. But it is in their influence on female characters in contemporary fantasy that one can see how the legacies of Buffy and Xena truly endure.

And that influence is vast. When one takes a look back at some classic fantasy films, one can find a slew of weak, flaccid women who exist for no other purpose than to be rescued and to titillate the male viewers. Take, for instance, the exquisitely beautiful but woefully foolish Lili (Mia Sara) in Ridley Scott’s 1985 film Legend. She sure looked great standing next to that unicorn, but ultimately her character was little more than a plot device to spur her companion Jack (a pre-thetan Tom Cruise) into action.

Harry Hamlin was a dashing Perseus in Clash of the Titans, while his bride-to-be Andromeda (Judi Bowker) mostly sat on the sidelines until the final act, when she was set to be sacrificed to the Kraken, a sea monster. Fortunately Perseus saved the day by swooping in on a winged steed. (You really can’t ask for a better entrance.)

We all know The Princess Bride is a grand romantic swashbuckling adventure, but was it really so great for Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright Penn)?  Throughout the film she gets captured, recaptured, force-married, and ultimately rescued by her handsome Westley (Cary Elwes). Surely she was itching to take part in some of the movie’s infamous swordfights.

Antiquated, pre-feminist ideas of women perpetuate these movies. And they were made in the 80’s! Fortunately for female characters and the men who love them everywhere, the advent of a world post-Xena and Buffy promised a new beginning.

And it has begun. Nowadays, women do get their shots in, almost as a rule. Name a fantasy movie made since the late 90’s, and chances are it has a strong female lead.

Who can forget the gravity-ignoring aerial antics of Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) and Jen (Ziyi Zhang) from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Twice these characters dueled one-on-one with no men in sight. Both women prove themselves to be fighters at the top of their game, besting almost all of the men they come into contact with.

The re-imagined Catwoman, universally panned though it was, featured a new take on the character (played by a mannequin that bore a striking resemblance to Halle Berry) and endowed her with some seriously brutal capoeira skills, which makes you wonder how Eartha Kitt managed to pull off all that cat-crime just by being sexy.

The X-Men movies are filled with strong women unafraid of throwing down even with the likes of Wolverine, such as Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) and Deathstrike (Kelly Hu). Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) led a charge to retake her castle in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and held her own in a gladiator pit in Attack of the Clones.

Keira Knightly gets honors for playing two fierce ladies: Elizabeth Swan in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and a seriously buffed-up version of Guinevere in 2004’s King Arthur.

Another double-header is Kate Beckinsale. She kicked some serious fang as Selene in the Underworld movies, and it was fun to watch her at least try it shock some life into the corpse that was Van Helsing.

And then there’s the big mama of all genre pictures. In December 2001, a tiny, low-budget indy film called Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring upped the bar for not only fantasy films, but movies in general. Adapted from one of the most beloved books of the 20th century and THE seminal fantasy story against which all other fantasy stories are judged, Rings sharply divided its audience by its handling of a particular character. In the book, the elf Arwen appears briefly in the house of Elrond, and has hardly enough time to register with readers before she is gone, only to return at the conclusion of the story, some 1000 pages later. For the movie, they didn’t just reinvent the character, they actually gave her something to do.

In the text that J.R.R. Tolkien put down, at one point the endangered hobbit Frodo is rescued by an elf named Glorfindel, who takes him to safety. Afterwards, Glorfindel disappears and is never seen again. Wanting the audience to grasp her significance in the greater scheme of the story, the filmmakers decided to have Arwen sub in for Glorfindel, providing a hero moment for the elf, even allowing her to draw her sword and challenge a host of demonic wraiths all on her own. (In another adaptation, a cartoon by Ralph Bakshi, it is Legolas who performs this rescue. Somewhere in adaptation purgatory, Glorfindel is shaking an angry fist.)

It should be noted that also featured in the Rings trilogy is the shield-maiden Eowyn, who in the final film really opens a can, killing both the pterodactyl-like Fell Beast and the powerful Witch-King. But this was no post-feminist story-tweaking: it’s right there in the book. Perhaps Tolkien, with all of his creative vision, had an inkling of the world to come.

Women have come a long way towards equality in the fantasy genre, but there are still miles to go. Numerous as the examples of strong females may be, there still persists the image of the damsel in distress, and how many of the characters listed above did their fighting while dressed in ridiculously revealing outfits? Here’s hoping the trends laid down by Buffy and Xena only continue to grow. Let’s let women kick ass and not be forced to do it in an outfit that requires any double-sided tape. We’re all looking at you, Red Sonja remake…