Something i noticed about Heroens

My favorite kind of hero is a mental hero who does whatever he does primarily with his wits. People like Sherlock Holmes, Batman, The Doctor even Jack Sparrow and to a lesser extent Aladdin and Bilbo Baggins.

Then i noticed something there aren't a lot of female heroes like that. Oh sure there are a few, Emma Peel from The Avengers, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter and Barbara Gordon as Oracle after she was injured but there doesn't seem to be quite as many as the men.

It seems like whenever someone wants to make a strong female lead they make another Xena or Wonder Woman, maybe it's just me.

Is it?

Black Widow definitely relies on her wits, but you're right. The only other female heroes I can think of like that are people like Catwoman and Electra, who are better known for their ninja skills.

Are you kidding? Tanya Huff's Torin Kerr and Vicki Nelson are, yes, badass but they're mostly better than everyone else because they're smarter than everyone else. Same goes for L.M. Bujold's Cordelia and Ekaterine, Pratchett's Susan is just the single most sensible person on the disc, same with Granny Weatherwax and Tiffany Aching.

Then there's Ripley (Alien), and Laura Holt (Remington Steele), and Cagney and Lacey, and River (Firefly, though she is both)
Never mind most of George Bernard Shaw's women.

Then there's Emma Frost, whose powers are all about her brain, and the heroines of a good third of the mystery novels (Ms Marple, Rita Mae Brown's Harry, Garrison Allen's Penelope)

Partially though, I think it is because we've had centuries of women only having their wits (Elizabeth Bennett, Jane Eyre, Beatrice "oh, god, if I were a man", Viola) and having women be physically badass is still somewhat new.

Granny Weatherwax is the ultimate brains over brawn and powers heroine, actually, if you're feeling bereft of them go read Terry Pratchett. Especially the Wee Free Men books.

Also, Tamora Pierce writes smart female heroines, but not just physically strong. Her stories are also just generally amazing. :)

I like the three sisters in Charmed. They're smart and can kick warlock @ss.

How about some of the female characters in Doctor Who? It's not a book, but still, I think that's what you mean.

There is Tory in Virals, Katniss from The Hunger Games, Max from Maximum Ride, Alanna from The Song of the Lioness, (I'm looking at my bookshelf) Violet Baeudelaire from Series of Unfortunate Events, Eva Nine from The Search for WondLa, Katsa from Graceling, Fire from Fire, Annabeth from Percy Jackson & The Olympians, etc.

I guess I know this because I tend to enjoy books from a strong heroine perspective. :)

what about

Arwen
Jean Grey
Rogue
Mystique
Princess leia

Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Temperance Brennan, the Bones series
Meg Murry, A Wrinkle in Time
Tuesday Next, The Eyre Affair and others
Motoko Kusanagi, Ghost in the Shell (OK, she's 50/50, but the equivalent of 75/75...)
Mattie Ross, True Grit
Deryn Sharp, Leviathan
Flavia de Luce, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
Cassie Maddox, Into the Woods and The Likeness
Lyra Belacqua, His Dark Materials trilogy
Susan and Lucy Pevensie, The Chronicles of Narnia
Sophie Hatter, Howl's Moving Castle

OK, admittedly, most of these characters are detectives or children, but my point still stands. (You mentioned Sherlock Holmes and Hermione Granger, after all...)