Maria is actually pretty well-written, especially for 1985

Most good MST3K movies flirt with quality on some level or other, and in this movie, Maria is the standout. Did you notice? She doesn't fall in love with the hero, she doesn't cry, she doesn't need rescuing, she's a dedicated and competent police officer who, in the end, throws her career away to do the right thing.

Women with that much moxie were all but unheard-of in the 1980s, and even today the handling of women is hit-or-miss. Hell, "True Detective" still can't get women right, at all. I can unironically point to "Final Justice" as an example of how to write women well.

(Kudos as well for not having Geronimo fall in love with Maria, but men can always choose to fall in love or not in movies, so nothing new there.)