All the titular Nikita wants is to take down Division and be able to live out her life with Michael, knowing her loved ones (Alex, Birkhoff, Ryan, and yes, even Sean) are safe. But as The CW drama ramps up to its second season premiere, series star Maggie Q told Snakkle things are only going to get more intense before she may even come close to getting her wish.

The third iteration of Luc Besson’s film La Femme Nikita to get adapted into a television series, Nikita is responsible for weekly jacking up audience heart rates and causing more than a few vicarious thrills every Friday night on The CW at 8:00 PM EST/7:00 PM C. Series stars Maggie Q (Nikita) and Shane West (Michael), and series producer/writer Albert Kim give us some exclusive intel on what’s to come this season.

We decided to take a look at the butt-kicking women of TV, past and present. Some have super-powers, some are cyborgs, and all are as tough as nails (and sometimes tougher).