Sarah Connor (Terminator)

"On August 29th, 1997, it's gonna feel pretty fucking real to you too. Anybody not wearing 2 million sunblock is gonna have a real bad day." (Terminator 2)

Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton) is one of the protagonists of the first two Terminator films. In the original The Terminator, she is relentlessly hunted by the merciless titular Terminator and overcomes the machine with help from time-traveller Kyle Reese. In the second film, Terminator 2, however, her character takes a drastic turn and becomes one of the most iconic action heroes of the '80s.

While she would be easy to compare to Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise, the two have a substantial difference. Ripley is an action hero from the second we see her on screen, with a "badass" attitude and a powerful skillset. One of the most unique and interesting aspects of Sarah Connor's character is that the majority of her character arc and development happens between these two films. She begins and ends the first film still being somewhat meek and only defeating the T-800 with what amounted to a couple of lucky circumstances. However, in the second film, despite beginning the film in an insane asylum, she had gained substantial physical muscle, and had accumulated mastery over all manner of impressive skills via numerous men she had seduced. While this could be seen as lazy characterisation to go from one end of the spectrum to the other without the audience seeing anything in between, it feels extremely organic to have her undergo this change throughout the 13 or so years between these films after what she underwent in the first Terminator. She is a perfect example of not just a powerful female character, but one with reasoning and background behind what makes her so effective and efficient.