Real life women revolutionaries would make amazing Assassin's Creed protagonists

Contrary to popular belief (and popular culture) women across history and across cultures have done far more than get married, have babies and be the mothers, daughters, sisters or wives of the key players on the world stage. A recent list on Whizzpast of ten lesser-known women revolutionaries is a perfect example, and a lineup that deserves attention from, say, game developers that create fiction around particular historical periods.

Take Petra Herrera, a soldadera (woman soldier) who went into combat in the Mexican revolution.

She established her reputation by demonstrating exemplary leadership (and blowing up bridges) and was able to reveal her gender in time. She participated in the second battle of Torreón on May 30, 1914 along with about 400 other women, even being named by some as being deserving of full credit for the battle.

If ever there's an Assassin's Creed game that takes place in India during WWII and the subsequent Indian Independence Movement, I'd want to see "Captain Lakshmi" in the mix.

Lakshmi Sahgal, colloquially known as "Captain Lakshmi", was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and later, the Minister of Women’s Affairs in the Azad Hind government. In the 40s, she commanded the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, an all-women regiment that aimed to overthrow British Raj in colonial India.

As the industry increasingly looks to represent women characters — or, fails to — it's important to be wary of the biases of modern pop culture and the presentation of history. The truth is almost always more complicated that the tropes and stereotypes associated with our common understanding of a time period or movement. That goes for gender just a much as any other factor.

Any of the ladies on this list would make for an intriguing playable character — in one of Ubisoft's historic adventures, or in any game. And all of the movements represented here offer fresh territory for drama, intrigue and action.