Previously I gave you my list of Ladies in Scifi and Fantasy movies that I felt represented how women have changed in the movie industry. The first six came from movies filmed before the year 2000. Now I’ll round out the dozen with a final six filmed after 2000.

I could not decide between these two women from “The Lord of The Rings” trilogy, so I decided to feature them both; Arwen and Eowyn. They both love the same man, Aragorn, and it could be argued that they are two sides of the same coin. Eowyn the fair haired human niece of a King, and Arwen the raven tressed Elvin princess – both beautiful and strong and equally alluring; yet it is Arwen who holds Aragorn’s heart. It is obvious in the movie that had Arwen never been in his life, Eowyn could have easily won him over with her bravery and beauty but he had long ago declared his love for the Elf and there would never be anyone else that could compare in his eyes. Arwen is equally devoted, giving up the chance for immortality by refusing to sail away to the Elvin lands and instead staying in the human world with her love.

In 2003 we were introduced to the ultimate Lady of the Night, Selene from “Underworld”. Our 9th Femme Fatale (literally) is clothed head to toe in black latex, and she makes it look good; not only good – she makes it look easy. Like Catwoman and Trinity before her, this is a woman that knows how to kick butt! She can also use pretty much any weapon given to her. Add in the fact that she can heal almost any wound, she’s super strong, and she’s pretty much immortal and you’ve got the recipe for one bad dame! So what if she can’t stand sunlight? They’ve been warning us for years about the harmful effects of UV rays – and you can be sure that this gorgeous vamp is not going to be getting any premature wrinkles. And she gets to rescue the guy! How much more perfect can a girl get than that?

Being a Mom is tough, we all know that. Now try being a Mom that has a secret identity. That is exactly what our 10th lady, Helen Parr AKA Elastigirl from “The Incredibles” has to contend with on a daily basis. Sure, having appendages that stretch the length of a room comes in very handy as a mom. But when your daughter can turn invisible, your son runs at the speed of light, and the baby explodes – it kind of all evens out. Then you also have to throw in the fact that your retired superhero husband is going through the mother-of-all mid life crisises by going back into the superhero business, and a Mom’s day is just never done. When it comes down to it, it is up to Helen to rescue her husband, keep the older two kids from blowing up, and catch the baby from an exploding plane (which he blew up). Now, I have 3 kids, and I feel overwhelmed at times – but I must admit that this Mom does make me feel a little inadequate!

If Helen Parr is the perfect mom, then Zoe Washburne from “Serenity” is the perfect wife. First Officer to Captain Mal Reynolds of the ship Serenity, Zoe is the model soldier. Having fought with Mal in the War against the Alliance (which the Alliance won) Zoe just naturally stayed with Mal when he got his own ship and started running a little cargo route – both legal and illegal (the illegal are more productive, and definitely more fun!) She’ll follow any order Mal gives her, unless she thinks it’s wrong – and then she does what’s right, apologizes, promises not to do it again, and the pattern repeats. But Mal knows he can depend on her to the end. The only person that stands higher in her life is her husband “Wash” Washburne. Originally, Zoe didn’t want Mal to hire Wash as the pilot of the Serenity, thinking him too flippant, but she soon fell utterly in love with him. She has complete faith in Wash’s abilities, and because of her faith in him, Wash can do anything, even fly through system made up of cannibalistic warriors. Zoe will protect the entire crew of Serenity – some out of duty, but Wash out of love, and her wrath is unparalleled when he is threatened.

We finish up this dazzling dozen of amazing women with a star. Yes, all these ladies are stars, but I’m talking about a literal Star that has fallen to Earth, Yvaine of “Stardust”.

Everyone has wished upon a falling star at some point in their life, but in “Stardust”, Tristan not only has to wish upon the star to capture the heart of his lady love, he must also retrieve it. Little does Tristan know that Stars are actual beings, and more than that, this one is a beautiful young woman named Yvaine. Along with her beauty she is intelligent, pure of heart, and she won’t take nonsense off of anyone. She and Tristan fight almost the entire way (it might have something to do with him capturing her, who knows?), yet somehow they begin to fall in love. She can see right into the heart of him to the real man that he is, to the true man that he will one day grow to be. Yvaine is courageous, risking herself to save Tristan from dangers. In the end it is her love and light that saves them both from evil.

So there ends my list…for now. I’m sure as more movies are made and as we women show that we are not to be taken lightly, there will be many more heroines to come.