Because you like Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Ellen Ripley defines the word "badass." When she's not leading her crew on an interstellar voyage, she's slaying terrifying creatures. See them in Alien.

This barber doesn't cut hair. Sweeney Todd sends his clients down a chute to be baked into his partner-in-crime's pies. See them in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

The "runt" of his biker gang, Tetsuo Shima grapples with a perpetual inferiority complex. See them in Akira.

A vampire hunter, Integra Hellsing doesn't tolerate failure, least of all her own. See them in Hellsing.

Told her son will one day save the world, Sarah Connor dedicates her life to training him to do just that. See them in The Terminator.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress who can read minds and break hearts. See them in True Blood.

Susie Salmon has a big heart, even though it's not beating anymore. See them in The Lovely Bones.

Although she's only six, Hushpuppy is a tough girl ready to stand up to terrifying, pre-historic beasts after the storm. See them in Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Stuck on a lifeboat with zoo animals without food and fresh water, Pi Patel uses his intelligence to face the greatest test of all: survival. See them in Life of Pi.

Rose Hathaway is a reckless, rebellious smartass who's training to be a royal vampire guardian. See them in Vampire Academy.

Smart but insecure, Tally Youngblood is torn between what she wants and what her society demands. See them in Uglies.

A poised, stately man-out-of-time, Ichabod Crane typically faces the modern world with wry quip. See them in Sleepy Hollow.