Have a new mosaic header, with the women who were submitted so far, and a list, grouped by show/movie etc., under the readmore!
Don't worry; if your champion isn't in here, you can still submit them via this form, until April 30th!
I chose these pictures based on the following ranked criteria:
included/linked in the submission OR
actual still from the movie/show/whatever, rather than a promo shot or fan art etc. AND
showing them in a characteristic and/or competent situation
for the characters Deanna Troi, Dr. Beverly Crusher and Seven of Nine, I decided to go with their most recent appearances in ST:PIC
If by any chance I chose NOT a still/screenshot, but your manip of the same, please let me know if you'd like me to take it down/replace it, or keep it and credit you!
Ally McBeal (TV show): Ally McBeal
Better Call Saul (TV show): Kim Wexler
CSI (TV show): Catherine Willows
DC (franchise): Alex Danvers
DC (franchise): Sara Lance
DC (franchise): Zari Tarazi
Doctor Who (TV show): River Song
Doctor Who (TV show): Sarah Jane Smith
Drawtectives (Youtube show): Jancy True
The Expanse (TV show): Camina Drummer
The Expanse (TV show): Chrisjen Avasarala
Pokémon (franchise): Cynthia
Pokémon (franchise): Iris
Pokémon (franchise): Nemona
Rizzoli and Isles (TV show): Dr. Maura Isles
Sanctuary (TV show): Dr. Helen Magnus
The Sandman (TV & Comics): Death of the Endless
Sonic the Hedgehog (franchise): Amy Rose
Star Trek (franchise): B'Elanna Torres
Star Trek (franchise): Deanna Troi
Star Trek (franchise): Dr. Beverly Crusher
Star Trek (franchise): Erica Ortegas
Star Trek (franchise): Jadzia Dax
Star Trek (franchise): Kathryn Janeway
Star Trek (franchise): Seven of Nine
Star Wars (franchise): Ahsoka Tano
Stargate (franchise): Samantha "Sam" Carter
Tomb Raider (franchise): Lara Croft
Warehouse 13 (TV show): Claudia Donovan
Warehouse 13 (TV show): Helena George Wells
Warehouse 13 (TV show): Myka Bering
The X-Files (TV show): Dana Scully
Xena Warrior Princess (TV show): Xena
(please stay civil in the notes: no bashing anyone, no matter who, or where they're from!)
This is the first of two elimination polls that I'll post today. The top three scorers in this group of 10 will get the three spots left in Group 2 of the bracket! This poll only goes one day, so vote quick!
Endorsement/blurbs under the readmore!
Group 2 contestants (1 DAY POLL!!)
Vala Mal Doran, Stargate
Erica Ortegas, Star Trek
Dr. Julia Ogden, Murdoch Mysteries
Naomi Nagata, The Expanse
Garnet, Steven Universe
Death of the Endless, The Sandman
Zari Tarazi, DC
Allison Blake, A Town Called EUReKA
Bad Wolf, Doctor Who
Voting ended onMay 2, 2023
Vala Mal Doran, Stargate: Best thief in two galaxies? No in all seriousness people treat her like a joke but that’s how she protects herself. She was taken as a goa’uld host, forced to live with that trauma and rather than lying down she forged a life for herself which included saving the Galaxy a few times. Smart, good at reading people, good at adapting accordingly. She can fight, she can use and modify alien tech. More street smarts than book smarts but when people underestimate her she uses that too.
Erica Ortegas, Star Trek: They are a pilot. They have flown manually through asteroids and nebulas, without sensors. They have skimmed off black holes to slingshot. If they didn’t do evasive manoeuvres right everyone would die. They are driving the ship. That’s pretty critical. Bonus mention for sword skills in that fantasy nebula.
Dr. Julia Ogden, Murdoch Mysteries: She's Toronto's coroner in 1895, and helps solve many many murders. She also becomes a psychologist and a surgeon, and helps the suffragettes. As a woman, at the turn of the 20th century. She also learns to fight in many layers of dress
Naomi Nagata, The Expanse: There is nothing that this woman can't build, fix, or frankenstein. Also, she survived being thrown out of an airlock by knowing (better than the person who threw her out) what to do in the vacuum of space. She fights with all that she has, and leaves no one behind, and has the biggest heart and heaviest conscience of them all.
Garnet, Steven Universe: Garnet can see into the future! She leads the whole team! She can punch anything into submission AND throw in one-liners when you least expect them!
Death of the Endless, The Sandman: Death of the Endless is the anthropomorphic personification of the concept of death, and she is literally the best at her job, i.e. carrying, ferrying or otherwise welcoming souls of the dead to their chosen afterlife, colloquially known in Sandmanverse as the Sunless Lands. Her duty is everything to her and about her, though Death also adores her siblings equally, even if she's very busy all the time; as she put it most poetically, "When the first living thing existed, I was there waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job will be finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave." And her vibes are SO. FRICKIN. FUN.
Zari Tarazi, DC: Zari doesn’t need a superpower or combat training for success because she has social skills that rival next to none. She knows her femininity can cause people to underestimate her so she uses it to influence her way in to places most other heroes would need force to access. Her deep understanding of people has helped save the world more than once while running a successful business besides.
Allison Blake, A Town Called EUReKA: Allison was a Department of Defense agent working as a government liaison between Eureka and the Pentagon. She was once a medical doctor and has 2 PhDs. At one point she oversees the main laboratories of Eureka, at another she's Director of Operations for Global Dynamics.
Bad Wolf, Doctor Who: Controls all of time and space, makes Jack immortal, disintegrates the Dalek fleet, is the intelligence of The Moment and is always protecting the Doctor.
This is the first of two elimination polls that I'll post today. The top three scorers in this group of 10 will get the three spots left in Group 1 of the bracket! This poll only goes one day, so vote quick!
Endorsement/blurbs under the readmore!
Group 1 contestants (1 DAY POLL!!)
Sarah Jane Smith, Doctor Who
Janet Frasier, Stargate
Una Chin-Riley (Number One), Star Trek
Zelda Spellman, Sabrina the Teenage Witch/Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Barbara Gordon, DC
Emerahl / The Hag, Age of the Five
The Armorer, Star Wars
Tara Cole, Leverage
Jancy True, Drawtectives/Drawfee
William Patterson, Blindspot
Voting ended onMay 2, 2023
Sarah Jane Smith, Doctor Who: Investigative Journalism! It's how she solves mysteries with the Doctor and the Bannerman Road Gang.
Janet Frasier, Stargate: Frontline doctor to teams dealing with alien crap nobody has ever seen before. She is having to write the book, there are no guidelines but she is so steadfast. There’s such a strength to her that makes me believe in her. Big heart too. Adopted the only survivor of her planet, a young girl, and somehow balanced the career as head medical officer of the SGC with being an amazing mother.
Una Chin-Riley (Number One), Star Trek: Canonically, she's a badass who has hopped around multiple departments in Starfleet and is serving as the First Officer of the flagship (where she is 'the best first officer in the Fleet'). She collects information and people tend to 'end up owing her favors.' Her Illyrian heritage gives her increased strength and a super immune system, which she successfully hides from everyone for decades while serving with distinction. When Captain Pike is kidnapped on Talos, she goes after him, breaks into the lair, and convinces the Talosians that humans would make terrible slaves by threatening to blow herself and all of them up rather than remaining imprisoned.
Zelda Spellman, Sabrina The Teenage Witch: High Priestess! Mortician! Midwife! Diretrix of the Academy of Unseen Arts (and its choir)! Teacher of ancient languages! Witch! Aunt and mother figure! There are not many things this woman is not competent at.
Barbara Gordon, DC: Batman but better. She’d the og batgirl, obviously kicks ass, but most importantly after batgirl she becomes oracle the smartest and most competent person in the extensive batman gang. she's the girl on the computer, she runs everything behind the scenes, she knows everything and if she doesnt know it she will find out if you give her two minutes also she's a wheelchair using queen
Emerahl / The Hag, Age of the Five: Magician so competent she reached immortality, clever enough not to want to be deitified. Works whatever jobs are necessary to reach her goals, from prostitution to healer.
The Armorer, Star Wars: She is a total badass: expert armorer, leader and mediator, warrior
Tara Cole, Leverage: Highly skilled grifter, the only one Sophie trusts enough to help out the Leverage team
Jancy True, Drawtectives: Investigating, being a detective, solving cases... herding junior drawtectives like cats...
William Patterson, Blindspot: Anything to do with computers or science or problem solving, she's your girl. She can hack, she can program, she can find answers, crack codes, solve puzzles, make connections no one else can, notice details. She kills at trivia because she knows everything. She's also highly competent in the field, with firearms and other physically demanding tasks. Her knowledge of science is profound (her father is Bill Nye the Science Guy. No, literally).
This is the first of two elimination polls that I'll post today. The top three scorers in this group of 10 will get the three spots left in Group 3 of the bracket! This poll only goes one day, so vote quick!
Endorsement/blurbs under the readmore!
Group 3 contestants (1 DAY POLL!!)
Fleur Delacour (Harry Potter)
Iris (Pokémon)
Guinan (Star Trek)
Jocelyn "Joss" Carter (Person of Interest)
Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Donna Clark (Halt and Catch Fire)
Cassandra Pentaghast (Dragon Age)
Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada)
Nemona (Pokémon)
Voting ended onMay 3, 2023
Fleur Delacour, Harry Potter: Part Veela, adept with charms and overall magic, plus a proven healer with Hermione Granger.
Iris, Pokémon: [good at] Pokémon battling
Guinan, Star Trek: Excels at bartending and knowing absolutely everything that is happening on the ship and being always a few steps ahead of others. Always ready to listen, even if she probably already knows what you're going to say.
Jocelyn "Joss" Carter, Person of Interest: An excellent detective and probably the only truly good cop ever. She cares about helping people and refuses to use her power as a cop to take advantage of others. Her ideas of good and bad are clear, but over the course of the show she learns where to be flexible in order to do the right thing for people who need her help.
Amy Rose, Sonic the Hedgehog: 12 YEAR OLD WITH MASSIVE HAMMER. UNGODLY STRENGTH (CANON. IN THE COMICS SHE LIFTED UP A HAMMER 14x HER SIZE). LED(LEAD?? I CANT REMEMBER IF LEAD IS LIKE READ WHERE IT CAN BE READ DIFFERENTLY) A WHOLE RESISTANCE TO SAVE THE WORLD AND IS STILL ORGANISING THE EFFORTS TO FIX THE WORLD AFTER EVERY SINGLE DISASTER!! is being The most emotionally Mature motherfucker in her Friend circle count Towards being competent? OH YEAH SHES ALSO GREAT AT FORTUNE TELLING! TO THE POINT WHERE THEY ALL COME TRUE. IIRC. I DONT KNOW IF SHES MAGIC OR IF THE CARDS ARE. THERES A GOOD VIDEO BY AL THE BOI ON AMY AND HER CARDS. yeah :) i love Her shes Silly :)) she's Also a very good Cook!
Donna Clark, Halt and Catch Fire: Engineering. Can fix pretty much anything. Successful business woman
Cassandra Pentaghast, Dragon Age: When she sees a problem she does something about it. She has no time for people who “sit in the fire and complain that it is hot.” She starts an entire organization to combat problems the government and church would prefer to ignore. She has a fine tuned sense of justice and is excellent at sword play.
Donna Noble, Doctor Who: even before she was the DoctorDonna, she was able to research enough to follow the adipose trail and find The Doctor. She is a temp, and doesn't care who knows because those skills are worth more than people think.
Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada: Editor in Chief of Runway, she runs a fashion empire and she's always in charge and more than on time!
This is the second of two elimination polls that I'll post today. The top three scorers in this group of 10 will get the three spots left in Group 4 of the bracket! This poll only goes one day, so vote quick!
Endorsement/blurbs under the readmore!
Group 4 contestants (1 DAY POLL!!)
Catherine Willows (CSI)
Amanda O'Neill (Little Witch Academia)
Cynthia (Pokémon)
Gwendolyn Briggs (Ratched)
Jenny Calendar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Eileen Leahy (Supernatural)
Margo Hanson (The Magicians)
Laura Roslyn (Battlestar Galactica)
Mrs S / Siobhan (Orphan Black)
Voting ended onMay 3, 2023
Catherine Willows, CSI: Vegas is one of the top labs in the country. Blood splatter expert but obviously knowledgable about forensics generally. Good with people. Single mother and that’s a hard balance.
Amanda O'Neill, Little Witch Academia: Broomstick flying, thievery, disguises, not giving a fuck
Cynthia, Pokémon: She's fucking cool.
Gwendolyn Briggs, Ratched: Knows her way both in the world of politics and the queer circles of 1940s California
Jenny Calendar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Technology and Witchcraft
Eileen Leahy, Supernatural: Monster hunting, putting up with people's bullshit, they tried to kill her off but she just came back stronger and better // she kills monsters, she teaches her boyfriend sign language, she kicks ass and takes names
Margo Hanson, The Magicians: Leadership. Margo is a badass bitch who can take control of any situation. Besides saving the world with her friends, she became high queen AND high king of an entire realm. With perseverance she lead rebellions against corrupt governments and systems and empowering women against their abusers. She uses her loud attitude and fearlessness to bring out the best in others and lead them through revolution.
Laura Roslyn, Battlestar Galactica: Leading the survivors of the thirteen colonies to find a new home world while simultaneously trying to defeat/ make peace with the cylons
Mrs S / Siobhan, Orphan Black: Keeping secrets, protecting those she loves, general badassery
So - one of the submissions for this bracket is the 13th doctor! To wit:
However, a lot of people see the doctor as non-binary/outside the binary/agender/genderfluid, things along those lines. And I think that this is a valid reading, including the actual text and canon of the show - i also consider the reading of 13 as a woman specifically as valid too, though. Reading 13 as non-binary would mean that they don't really fall into the pool of Ultimate Competent Women, though - I did specify that i didn't want to pit non-binary people against women in this bracket, because of how imbalanced the ratio of non-binary people to women still is in media. So I'm gonna put it to the vote; make your voice heard:
Please feel absolutely free to submit trans women!! I'd love to celebrate their competence and see them compete!
(Submission form here; list of current submissions here!)
Is this bracket open for non-binary/agender/genderfluid etc. people?- Unfortunately not. I've decided to focus on women for this one, and I don't want to group women and non-binary people, because that would be a disservice to the non-binary people. If there's big interest, I can later make a separate bracket for highly competent non-binary, agender, genderfluid etc. people!
As elaborated in this post, the field of potential candidates is huge! So I'm gonna ask you all if you'd rather have a big bracket of 128 participants and lots of individual duels, or one massive elimination round beforehand and then a bracket of 64 participants!
(I hope the linked post is understandable; I did my best to describe what I mean, but I do NOT have the vocabulary for sports in English, so... :D)
Would you rather have
a long bracket of 128 participants
a big elimination round and then a shorter bracket of 64 candidates
Voting ended onMay 6, 2023
The elimination round, however long it is going to be, has to happen before May 4th when the bracket starts. So while I'm giving this poll here a one-week duration (because Tumblr doesn't give enough time options here), I'm gonna go with the results as they stand on Monday night (May 1st). This way you'll have the whole weekend to vote for this!
