No matter the material nor the bloodshed, the moment they pick up a
blade or fire a hand cannon, they are championed as the series best. The
break-out star. The show stealers. The [Insert your own moniker].
Perhaps it is because they are instantly viewed as sweet, fragile, and
innocent. Readers tend to become instantly hooked, when the veil is
pushed aside and said innocence is revealed to be anything but.
A topic like this tends to constantly cause a bit of an ethical debate,
but for the purpose of just having fun, let’s just take a moment to
appreciate the fantastic fiction of the unapologetic kick-ass little
ladies that speak like sailors and emote with their fists.
You know you have a favorite, everyone does. From comic books, movies,
and TV shows; the often rude and violent heavy firecracker character
trope will always make anything entertaining. Be it Gertrude of I Hate
Fairyland, the E for everyone Buttercup of the Powerpuff Girls, or the
hard R Matilda from Leon The Professional, or Logan’s very own X-23.
Game of Thrones has two! Arya Stark and Lyanna Mormont, and of course
Invincible’s Monster Girl (yeah, I know she’s 24, but the trope still
stands.)
I’m not even gonna touch anime and doujins — perhaps on a later date. 
But since I brought this up, I’ll crown my pick first, and without
hesitation the victor is none other than: Hit-Girl.
The little purple demon from the minds of Mark Millar and John Romita
Jr. featured as the deuteragonist in the once popular series, Kick-Ass.
In an age of constant bombardment of new media, Kick-Ass will forever be
one of those tales that took innocence and crumbled it for our amusement
with quick paced panels splashed with blood, and brains.
Hit-Girl has become and should be remembered as a quintessential icon of
a character trope that is as radical as is amusing. A constant treat of
extreme vigilante fiction that takes mighty leaps in rude brutality
without compromise. A true modern day marvel, standing on the shoulders
of Charles Bronson and Sonny Chiba. Hit-Girl had her time in the
spotlight with 2 movies, 3 graphic novels, and several solo ventures
written by the talents of Peter Milligan, Daniel Way, Jeff Lemire,
Rafael Scavone, and everyone’s favorite clerk Kevin Smith.
But while her popularity faded with time and admittedly overuse, the
occasional revisit still ignites that same spark she had on everyone
with her debut.