Rumors from the grapevine hint that the new James Bond movie will feature a woman instead of the traditional dapper lad. This brings up a discussion about women playing roles as spies. Women have been playing more of these lead roles lately, but often they just replace a male actor in an already successful franchise to get a leg up on diversity. We want to see women playing their own roles in their own franchise so people aren’t forced to compare them to the previous male role. Fortunately, there are some great female badasses that never needed to fill the role created by a man.
M
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Perhaps one of the best Bond characters of all time, M doesn’t take crap from anyone. Perhaps, also, the only female able to resists Bond’s charm, M is always calm, cool, and collected. She never hesitates to make the right decision even if that means putting an Agent in danger. Sitting at the helm of MI6, M is, and always has been, a total badass.
Black Widow
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You know you are tough when the Avengers want you as part of their team. This born and bred assassin spy is in league with a Hulk and a literal God. After spending her whole life as a spy for the Russian government, she finally decided to join the forces of good. Her ability to think, fight, and negotiate has solidified her as one of the most accomplished spies in the Marvel Universe.
Batgirl/Oracle
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A lot of controversy has surrounded the portrayal of Batgirl in the recent animated movie Batman: The Killing Joke. She was used as a dummy character that Batman has sex with then discards. However, even though she is almost completely destroyed in the movie, she comes back as Oracle. In the DC universe, Oracle is like the Xavier from X-Men. Oracle is the mastermind behind all of the Justice Leagues intelligence and organizes the group into one coherent force.
Mrs. Bradley
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We cannot have a discussion about female spies without paying tribute to the lovely Mrs. Bradley! Her story takes place in the 1920 during the jazz age of music. The show depicts what it was like for women in the 20’s who were trying to make something of themselves. Mrs. Bradley handles herself with class and poise as she breaks social norms while always catching the perpetrator.
Jessica Jones
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Jessica Jones is another character from the Marvel Universe that is making waves. Starring in her own Netflix original series, Jessica Jones becomes owner of Alias Private Investigations. Her skills as a detective and journalist are far out-shined by her superhuman abilities gained by radioactive exposure. This gritty superhero is strong as well as smart and is a welcome addition to this list of badass woman spies.
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