100 Kick-Ass Female Characters: #9
9. Captain Elizabeth Swann, as seen in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man's Chest, and At World's End, portrayed by Keira Knightley
Elizabeth Swann gets a lot of hate, especially in regards to the final movie, but I will defend Elizabeth Swann with my last breath and here's why: name me a female action hero in the movies in the past five years who isn't Angelina Jolie. Name me a female action hero who does her fighting without her cleavage out or her skirt up around her ass. In fact, just plain name me a female, movie action hero under the age of 25 whose name isn't Katniss Everdeen (who, it should be noted, didn't exist when these movies were made) or a superhero.
Elizabeth isn't the smartest character in the series or the most talented; she ends up gaining some skill with a sword, but she isn't the greatest swordsman in the series. And while she spends a bit of time being the damsel in the first film, even that she upends by proving to be far more resourceful than anyone expected. In the second film (which I would say is the strongest for her, character wise) Elizabeth comes alive when she's on the Pearl alongside Jack; for the first time, we see her begin to acknowledge that she's far more comfortable on the sea than in Port Royal, and the sexual tension with Jack adds a different facet to her character; without societal expectation upon her, Elizabeth becomes someone not to be fucked with. She ends up the captain of a ship in her own right, the Pirate King, and she does so without ever once stripping down to her bra and panties (see, Hollywood? It can be done.)
Now, there are definitely problematic elements to both the character and the series as a whole, but what makes Elizabeth Swann great is, even in her most vulnerable moments, she is never weak.
And that's pretty kick-ass.
Elizabeth Swann gets a lot of hate, especially in regards to the final movie, but I will defend Elizabeth Swann with my last breath and here's why: name me a female action hero in the movies in the past five years who isn't Angelina Jolie. Name me a female action hero who does her fighting without her cleavage out or her skirt up around her ass. In fact, just plain name me a female, movie action hero under the age of 25 whose name isn't Katniss Everdeen (who, it should be noted, didn't exist when these movies were made) or a superhero.
Elizabeth isn't the smartest character in the series or the most talented; she ends up gaining some skill with a sword, but she isn't the greatest swordsman in the series. And while she spends a bit of time being the damsel in the first film, even that she upends by proving to be far more resourceful than anyone expected. In the second film (which I would say is the strongest for her, character wise) Elizabeth comes alive when she's on the Pearl alongside Jack; for the first time, we see her begin to acknowledge that she's far more comfortable on the sea than in Port Royal, and the sexual tension with Jack adds a different facet to her character; without societal expectation upon her, Elizabeth becomes someone not to be fucked with. She ends up the captain of a ship in her own right, the Pirate King, and she does so without ever once stripping down to her bra and panties (see, Hollywood? It can be done.)
Now, there are definitely problematic elements to both the character and the series as a whole, but what makes Elizabeth Swann great is, even in her most vulnerable moments, she is never weak.
And that's pretty kick-ass.