This wonderful snowball fight between Princess Leia and Lara Croft got us wondering who'd win if these two ladies actually squared off (or curved off, rather) in real life. Then our stunted pea brains wandered and we found ourselves pondering who is truly the toughest woman in pop-culture history.

Before we knew it, we had a sort of March Madness for gladiatrices on our hands ... and in our geeky hearts. Because there's just something awesome about a woman who could kill you, but doesn't.

Read on to see which pop-culture babe is the baddest ever, and please let us know if we've left anyone out. Xena, anyone?



So far, so vicious. But let's see what happens when the pairings get a bit more unpredictable.


We're down the final two fights now, composed of our heartiest heroines.


And it all comes down to this: a clay goddess versus a steely mortal.