Top 10 Sopranos Revenge Kills
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most brutal and memorable revenge kills in “The Sopranos.” Warning: There will be spoilers of a bloody nature. Which Soprano murder had you avoiding large bodies of water? Let us know in the comments down below!
#10: Chucky Signore
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Retaliation murders are always the bloodiest. Chucky Signore was a soldier on Junior’s crew during his feud with Tony Soprano, given the assignment to get rid of Tony. Tony and the rest of his crew thus plan to whack him. As Chucky prepares to sail in his boat, Tony engages in a brief but friendly conversation with him. He then whips out a pistol from a fish and shoots him several times in the chest. Using cement blocks, he and Silvio cast Chucky into the sea to sleep with the fishes. Talk about cold-blooded efficiency.
#9: Fabian Petrulio
Petrulio’s case is among the most complicated. Petrulio was originally a gangster who went into the Witness Protection Program after he snitched. His ensuing drug-related activities, however, got him thrown out of the program. He now gives speeches to Criminal Justice students, prone to reminiscing about his old mafioso years. As Tony looks for colleges with his daughter Meadow, he recognizes Petrulio and begins his pursuit. The two engage in a cat-and-mouse game that ends with Tony trapping him at a travel agency, exterminating him with a piece of wire. A sad end to a sad case.
#8: Ralph “Ralphie” Cifaretto
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Ralph is among the most brutal and obnoxious characters in the show. It’s hard to best beating your pregnant exotic dancer girlfriend to death, after all. So it’s no surprise when he gets the ax — and all thanks to a horse. Suspicious fires at a racehorse stall have Tony suspecting Ralph’s involvement. Although Ralph denies it, he seems to imply that he had done it for the insurance money to pay for his son’s medical bills. Grieving for the horse, Tony fights and polishes off Ralph and has his nephew Christopher help dispose of the body. Due to Ralph’s abrasive personality, his death was not investigated too closely.
#7: Matthew “Matt” Bevilaqua
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Sometimes characters are motivated by something other than money or honor. Frustrated over his low status, Matt along with Sean Gismonte plan to dispose of Christopher Moltisanti. That way, they could impress Richie Aprile and move up in rank. This plan fails horrifically as Moltisanti does away with Gismonte instead. Not only that, but Matt is reproached by an unimpressed Aprile for his reckless act. Matt’s fate effectively sealed, Tony and Salvatore Bonpensiero finish him off. They have enough fellow feeling, however, to offer the kid a Coke before they do him in. Tough luck, kid.
#6: Salvatore Bonpensiero
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This cat-burglar-turned-made-man was a major player in the early seasons of the show. As one of Tony Soprano’s closest friends, his reveal as a secret FBI informant was particularly hard to take. Finally convinced of his betrayal via night terrors, Tony murders him on his boat. Bonpensiero’s death was weighty enough to affect even the cast members, who were grieved by his departure. The show tended to keep its core cast of characters, some of them even making it to the bitter end. Alas, it was not in the cards for Bonpensiero.
#5: Christopher Moltisanti
One of the most impactful deaths of the series was also the most tragic. Ever since the loss of his father, Christopher looked up to his uncle Tony as a father figure, and his need for validation ended up being his undoing. His drug dependency made him such a liability that Tony had to threaten to kill him to force him to go to rehab. But after the death of his fiancée, he reverts to his old ways. The final straw comes after he crashes the car with Tony inside, and the latter finally snaps. After all Christopher had done for him, it was all for nothing. Such is the way of the mafioso game.
#4: Phil Leotardo
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One of the biggest and baddest of Tony Soprano’s enemies, the Lupertazzis, finally gets their comeuppance. Upon being released from prison, Phil becomes the boss of the crime family. His war with Tony grows deadlier with each extermination, and it was never certain whether Tony would be the one to kill him — or end up Phil’s victim himself. But at last Phil gets properly whacked when Tony pulls up at a gas station with a gun. He then gets run over several times with his own car. Revenge has never been such a gas.
#3: Vito Spatafore
This tragic mafia death is one of the most grimly revealing. Vito is a loyal mafioso working under Tony Soprano until the mob learns of his homosexuality. After hearing about Vito frequenting gay bars, the Sopranos confront Finn, who admits to seeing Vito with a security guard. As Tony hesitates to kill Vito, the mobster evades capture and flies to New Hampshire. His peaceful life and romance with a cook is not enough, however, and he returns to New Jersey. There Phil Leotardo and the Lupertazzis ambush him, dispatching him with disturbing glee. A tragic end to a tragic character.
#2: Adriana La Cerva
This was the one major character death that the show could not bear on-screen. Adriana was Christopher Moltisanti’s girlfriend and a true outsider to mob life. To avoid prosecution for selling drugs, she becomes an FBI informant. But her biggest mistake was confessing it all to a loyal Christopher. Tony then lures Adriana with the fictional story of Christopher’s attempt to take his own life. Once she is in Silvio’s car, he drives her to the woods and shoots her while she begs for her life. Being an FBI informant is the mark of death with the mob. But Adriana being an innocent among this pack of criminals makes this death among the coldest.
#1: Tony Blundetto
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The ultimate revenge killing doubles as an act of mercy. Tony Blundetto is Tony Soprano’s cousin, and he attempts to go straight after prison. Unfortunately, he is quickly pulled back in. As a favor to his friend Angelo, he accepts the mission to bump off Joey Peeps, an associate of Johnny Sack. But when the Leotardos kill Angelo, Tony B. executes the brother of Phil Leotardo as revenge. He goes into hiding at the lodge, and Tony decides to spare Blundetto from unnecessary suffering. Tony B.’s death shocked his actor Steve Buscemi, who had signed on for at least two seasons. But at least Tony B. got as good a death as one can have in the mob.
