Zula from Conan the Destroyer (1984)

Out of all the female warriors in fantasy media, maybe Zula is one of the least talked about, almost always overshadowed by the likes of Red Sonja or Xena. However, this secondary character played by the lovely Grace Jones is memorable and enjoyable to watch.

The character originated in the seventies Conan the Barbarian comics and was originally male, but when brought to the screen in 1984 a black woman was cast on the role and the sorcery elements of the character were taken away, going for a raging female tribe woman instead.  

Zula is encountered about 20 minutes into the picture and is seen fighting a group of men who captured and chained her. She is shown to be a feisty thief who has no fear in facing multitudes of enemies. The teenage princess Conan is escorting orders him to set her free and he does. 

Soon after, Zula follows the group and battles one of the bodyguards, after defeating him, she becomes one of Conan's companions out of respect and gratitude. From then on, she accompanies them on their journey, engaging in battle against hordes of enemies and creatures.  

Being the last of her tribe, Zula soon found a new community she could belong to in her new group of partners. During the climax of the film, she wounds the final beast and the princess makes her the captain of the palace's guards, putting a purpose and direction to her aggressiveness and strength. 

This was a surprisingly fun movie and it had some nice feminist undertones regarding Zula, despite some other elements not aging very well. Either way, I am gonna leave you with the classic “attract a man” scene, that conveys the character's savage attractiveness in her primitive animalistic attitude.