Vasilisa Vasilyevna (Russian Folktale) The Gender-Nonconforming Heroine Who Kept the Tsar Guessing When the Tsar became hellbent on nailing down her gender, this clever gender-nonconforming heroine kept him guessing to the end.
Nafanua The Goddess Who Killed With Courtesy When an oppressive regime threatened her home, this Samoan war goddess took matters into her own hands.
Comics Janequeo (16th century) The Rebel Spain Never Caught When her husband was killed by conquistadors, this native Chilean showed the Spanish what "fight like a woman" really means.
Comics Wungala (Indigenous Australian Myth) The Mom Who Beat the Devil with Bread When she came face-to-face with a great monster, this mother saved her child and herself through bravery, quick thinking, and great culinary skills.
Comics Nitocris (22nd century BCE pseudohistory) The 6th Dynasty's Worst Banquet Host When her brother was killed, this pharaoh took her time cooking up revenge.
Comics Isabella of France (c.1295-1358) The She-Wolf of France After years of neglect and abuse from her husband, this queen raised an army and took over England for herself.
Comics Mary Anning (1799-1847) The Princess of Paleontology When her father died, leaving her lower-class family in debt, this indomitable woman worked tirelessly and became one of history's greatest fossil collectors.
Comics Gouyen (c.1857-1903) Wise Woman of the Apache When an enemy killed her husband, this Apache woman broke the rules of her tribe to get revenge - and in so doing, became one of her tribe's greatest heroes.
Comics Tirgatao (5th century BCE) The Princess Whom Walls Could Not Hold Abandoned and imprisoned, this real-life Amazon took back the life she had stolen away.
Comics Lyudmila Pavlichenko (1916-1974) The Deadliest Female Sniper in History When her beloved college of history was bombed by the Germans, this woman began a dark path that would see her become history's deadliest female sniper -- and one of Eleanor Roosevelt's best friends.