The primary television season has officially come to a close, which means it’s time for the 4th annual AP2HYC TV Awards! This year brought with it a slew of new heroes and villains, a bevy of bombshells, and enough excitement to tide us over until the Fall. We’ve spent months reviewing, recapping, and OMGing over your favorite (and maybe even least favorite) shows, and now it’s time to put you in the hot seat. Be sure to cast your vote and determine the best-of-the-best of nerdy TV. Which shows will come out on top? Only you can decide!
Everyone knows that most strong men wouldn’t be anywhere without the infinitely stronger women in their lives. This year has brought with it some fresh faces and consistently heavy hitters and we’ve narrowed down our top picks for the most Kick-Ass women on television. Check out the nominations and then be sure to cast your vote!
Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones)
Jessica Jones (and trusty sidekick Jack Daniels) returned in full-force for Season 2 of the Netflix series and packed as many proverbial punches as she did literal. With new enemies in both her personal and professional lives, Jessica somehow managed to navigate the chaos in true Jones fashion: by beating people up and generally getting sh!t done. Dealing with personal betrayals, mental relapses, and enough shake-ups to make anyone’s head spin, Jessica managed to end the season on a relatively positive note, which can be attributed to her kick-ass nature. Not many people could experience what Jessica Jones has gone through (murderous mom, rapist abuser, not that great best friend) and still manage to come out the other side stronger and more self-assured for it. Jessica is a true kick-ass, not because of all of the ass she kicks but because she’s beginning to kick her own a bit less.
Elektra Natchios (The Defenders)
Frankly, the whole resurrection thing alone would have put Elektra Natchios on our list of kick-ass females. Beating death is no easy feat but Elektra managed to do so and come out on the other side with a pretty awesome new name. The appearance of the Black Sky in The Defenders brought with it so many fight sequences and takedowns that it would’ve been impossible not to include Elektra on this year’s list of most kick-ass women. Somehow becoming an even deadlier assassin than she already was, Elektra spent her time on The Defenders bringing part of Manhattan to the ground, killing an alarming number of people (including Alexandra herself), and ultimately becoming the woman-in-charge of the Hand.
Sara Lance (Legends of Tomorrow)
Now the official leader of the Legends, Sara Lance has continued to prove herself as one of the most kick-ass women of the Arrowverse. Considering the utter madness that occurs on Legends of Tomorrow, you’d need to be kick-ass just to make it to the end of the season alive. While generally reckless (in an act first, think later way) Sara proved herself as a strong leader this year as the team took on sabre-tooths, Gorilla Grodd, vikings, Beebo, and even a possessed version of Sara herself. Seeing possessed Sara be as ruthless and difficult to defeat as she was only made it more clear what a kick-ass she really is. The fact that Sara managed to confront and accept her personal demons to the point that she was able to forge her path as a true hero made her more kick-ass this season than any other.
Anissa Pierce (Black Lightning)
The latest CW superhero series may be called Black Lightning, but it’s Thunder who steals the show. Anissa Pierce is a kick-ass individual with or without her custom super-suit, fighting social injustices as actively as she does the bad guys of Freeland. Anissa is a free-thinker who is firm in her beliefs and won’t hesitate to speak her mind. Having said that, Anissa is also deeply intelligent and isn’t one who frequently takes unnecessary risks (looking at you Jennifer!). As Thunder, Anissa uses her super-strength and general intellect to take on the 100 in an attempt to make her community more safe. She’s a strategic thinker and fighter and has proven time and time again that she’s one of the most kick-ass women on TV.
Lorna Dane “Polaris” (The Gifted)
Lorna Dane is the act first, think second, mutant who quickly established herself as someone that should not be trifled with. Understandably sick of being hunted by Sentinel Services, Lorna is generally the most gung-ho of the mutants when it comes to taking a stand and using their powers to fight back. Lorna is one of the clear leaders of the Mutant Underground, both in terms of physical capability as well as commanding personality. She is willing to do whatever it takes to protect those she cares about, including using her powers to tear apart a plane and bring it crashing to the ground. While her morals and actions are firmly in the grey area, there’s no denying that Polaris is one kick-ass mutant.
The Women of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a show whose female characters are all so kick-ass in their own right that it was impossible to nominate just one for this category. Daisy Johnson, Melinda May, Jemma Simmons, and Elena Rodriguez, though drastically different from one another, share one commonality: each is completely and utterly kick-ass in every sense of the word. Season 5 in particular gave each woman shining moments that demonstrated just how physically, mentally, and emotionally kick-ass they all are. Daisy beat up more Kree than I could count and became the de facto leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. during Coulson’s time away; May protected her team despite her own physical and emotional injuries; Simmons took down the Kree who enslaved her, defied the cosmos in the most insane game of Russian roulette, all while squeezing in a wedding and dealing with some major personal issues; and Elena overcame losing both of her arms while never failing to do what she believed was the right thing to do. As individuals, each of the women of S.H.I.E.L.D. are intelligent, powerful, and kick-ass leaders… together they are quadruply so. It’s no question that, without these women, S.H.I.E.L.D. would have far fewer victories… and the world would have been destroyed by now (literally).
Voting for the 2018 AP2HYC Awards has now ended.
Be sure to follow AP2HYC on Twitter and keep your eyes peeled for the reveal of the final poll results!
Want to get an early peek at the TV Award victors? Subscribe to Podcapers on iTunes and Spotify! We’ll be announcing the winners there first and discussing the epic fandoms who voted in record-breaking numbers this year.