Summary
Spies have existed for a long time in entertainment media. While male spies have their own tropes to them that make them distinct, female spies are more notable. Females are generally thought of as the more social of the two, which fits exactly for the role of a spy, where charisma is key to achieving your goals.
Not to mention the femme fatale archetype that video games and movies often use to employ romantic elements. Female spies just do the job better in many ways, but what characters are the best?
7Ada Wong
The Spy In The Red Dress
Afan-favorite female Resident Evil characterhas to be Ada Wong, who appeared inResident Evil 2, 4, and 6,. Her goals are usually unclear at first, and the same applies to her allegiances, but one aspect that remains constant is her relationship with Leon S. Kennedy.
Despite the mission, Ada Wong always has Leon’s back when the time calls. She’s a part of him that Leon can’t let go. Not to mention, she’s a badass spy, especially when Capcom gave her a Hookshot in Resident Evil 4, which made her way cooler.
6Passionate Patti
As Nasty As She Wants To Be
Before Thankskilling 3 and Goat Simulator 3,Leisure Suit Larry 5was the first sequel to just skip a game entirely. Like Larry 3, you play as both Larry and Passionate Patti, with the latter having the better sections of the title. Patti is a spy for the FBI investigating the rap group 2 Live 2 Screw for subliminal messages that are destroying the youth of America.
This is quite fascinating if you’re familiar with rap history, as 2 Live Crew’s 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be caused so much controversy it’s considered historically significant in the same way Night Trap and Mortal Kombat 1 are for games. The commentary here is on point for 1991, and Patti’s sections offer most of the funny moments in the title. For a comedic spy, Patti works great here.
5Joanne Dark
The Spy Of The Future
Rare’s all-time great FPS,Perfect Dark, has the biggest female FPS protagonist ever. That character is Joanne Dark. An agent of the Carrington Institute, she excels in both stealth and when stuff gets hot, and she needs to go guns blazing.
Akin to many female protagonists in the late 90s and early 2000s, she’s a total badass, even to the extent that she wields her gun gangsta style when right next to an enemy. Her team-up with Elvis, the alien, is just wacky enough that it ends up being awesome to see. Unfortunately, the character was a bit bungled in the prequel, Perfect Dark Zero, but the upcoming reboot seems to do the character justice.
4C. Viper
The Flaming Red-Headed Spy
One of the big debuting characters inStreet Fighter 4was the CIA spy C. Viper. First, her design is incredible, and no other fighting game character looks like her. Second, she’s really fun to play as, with a unique moveset utilizing a mix of electric and fire attacks.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t very competitive, which might be why the character hasn’t reappeared in any future games despite being fan-beloved. Elena’s also in that camp, but she was very competitive back in Ultra Street Fighter 4, and she’s returning in Street Fighter 6. Hopefully, Capcom can make the female super spy return once again.
3Cate Archer
The Best Female Spy Of The 1960s
The spy genre exists on its own, but ’60s spy media is a whole different ballpark in terms of aesthetics, tone, and humor. The Operative: No One Lives Forever is a great example, taking inspiration from Austin Powers and Get Smart to create a lovable game world, and that also applies to the lead character, Cate Archer. Many describe her as the female James Bond, but that’s not really the whole story.
She’s consistently likable the entire time, largely due to the great voice performance by both Kit Harris and Jen Taylor. Bond can be an absolute prick sometimes, especially in films like Spectre, but that’s not the case with Cate. Plus, the gameplay utilizes the female protagonist, as you get plenty of female-themed gadgets that fit really well.
2Kara
The Best 1900s Spy
One of the most underappreciated flash game creators has to be Mateusz Skutnik. The artwork in his games is so beautiful and so distinct that it is just unlike anything else. He’s madeplenty of incredible flash games, and one of them’s Covert Front. Taking place in the early 1900s across various countries in Europe, you play as field agent Kara. This character fits the series so well.
For one, a spy matches great with the escape room point-and-click-style flash game that Covert Front is. Second, the elegant protagonist matches the beautiful art style on display, similar to many comic books. Kara fits the strengths of all the elements of Covert Front and makes it more distinct than Skutnik’s other series, Submachine, which barely even has a protagonist to begin with.
1Eva
The Classic Femme Fatale
Metal Gear Solid 3has a ton of James Bond influence, even in the Bond-style intro with the Snake Eater song. Another Bond element is the femme fatale, which is utilized through Eva, the female deuteragonist. Watching Snake and Eva interact is great, with Eva clearly seducing him, and Snake acts dumb virtually the entire time.
They have amazing chemistry together, and the ending between them couldn’t be more fitting due to Eva’s role as a spy. The anonymous voice actress who plays her in Snake Eater and Peace Walker delivers Kojima’s vision nearly perfectly, making her a fan-favorite female character in the series. Later on, she plays a vital role in the overall Metal Gear story as well, including the creation ofthe franchise’s biggest hero.
