Tanith Low (Skulduggery Pleasant)

“Did you know, and this is a fact here, did you know that most spiders are ugly? It's true. The woman spiders have it really hard time of it. I saw it on a documentary. Why do you think the Black Widow kills the guy she mates with? Shame, that's why." (Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire)

Tanith Low is a character in Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant series (2007-14). She could be considered to be the tritagonist of the series, and featured as the protagonist of the spinoff book The Maleficent Seven (2013). She acts as a driving force behind many of events that take place in the nine-book series, dipping in and out of the main plot, while also serving her own story and arc.

Tanith accomplishes what many “badass” female characters fail to understand. Many female heroes are considered to be inspirational and powerful because of the fact that they can achieve all that they do due to that fact that they are female. Their femininity is inherent in their character, and removal of that would change the character and the story as a whole. This is necessary to complete some stories, one example being Ripley’s role in the Alien (1979) series, a series synonymous with themes of motherhood and sexuality. Another way powerful female characters are often used is to depict an “underdog” character, in order to surprise an audience with their competency and skill, such as Samus Aran's reveal in Metroid (1986). These characters still have their place in fiction, and can service the story, and can successfully subvert the expectations of both the consumer and fellow characters. However, in the Skulduggery Pleasant series, Tanith’s role as a powerful woman is just that: a powerful woman. In trimming down on the complexity and meaning behind a powerful female, she manages to show that a woman can be a powerful driving force without having an agenda behind the character. She doesn't have a romantic subplot; she doesn't need one. She's simply a powerful and compelling character. She just happens to be a woman.