50 reasons Star Wars is better than Lord of The Rings
By Ryan Wrenn
44. Leia Organa vs. Legolas
Who Was Leia? Princess of the ruling Organa family of Alderaan, Luke’s secret twin
Who Was Legolas? Elf, archer
Verdict: Both franchises are rightly criticised for a lack of strong female characters. In fact, there’s really only one among all six movies: Leia Organa.
She’s paired against Legolas here not because he’s the most effeminate of the Fellowship – though he is – but because he’s the prettiest. No wait, not that either. It’s because there’s no strong female character in Lord of the Rings with which Leia can fight.
That alone should be the final blow in this contest. Tolkien was writing a long time ago, so he can be excused for not thinking to include some memorable or impactful women in his story. That just wasn’t much of a thing back then.
Star Wars was produced after the 60s, though, so you’d think Lucas would have put a bit more effort into creating more roles for women, but still, at least he created Leia. The princess of Alderaan is braver than most of the men she leads and more than equal to her eventual love interest, the suave Han Solo. She might be the only hint of female empowerment in the original trilogy, but she’s a good one.
Legolas suffers from the same dearth that lost Gandalf the fight against Obi-wan. He’s just kind of there. He’s good with a bow and error and he’s got that cool thing where he can walk on the top of snow, but really there’s just not enough to go on here. Leia takes it.
Star Wars wins
Next: 43. Chewbacca vs. Gimli