Top 10 Movie Heroes Who Kill More than the Villains Do

Who says you can’t be a hero AND bathe in the blood of your enemies?  Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 movie heroes who kill more than the villains do.

For this list, we’re looking at movie protagonists who are undeniably the heroes of the story, despite the fact that they might not shy away from spilling buckets of blood, and may exhibit – shall we say – flexible moral codes at times. When it comes to kill counts, we’re talking onscreen deaths, although it should be mentioned that accurate numbers couldn’t always be 100% confirmed for all of them.  Also note that while you’ll probably see a number of anti-heroes, we’re drawing the line at main characters that are clearly villains, like Scarface. 

Oh John, what happened? One of the most remarkable aspects of “First Blood” is the fact that Rambo managed to fight off countless enemies without ever directly killing. Sure, he maims, he cripples, but never with lethal intent... until the sequel that is. In the clunkily titled “First Blood Part II,” it’s almost as if he’s trying to make up for taking it easy in the first film. It’s tough to quantify how many people the villains of the film manage to kill, but they can’t compete with Rambo, who personally racks up around 60 kills, according to various sources. The film’s been parodied ad nauseam, but never so well as in “Hot Shots Part Deux,” in which Charlie Sheen’s Topper Harley kills over 100 people.
 

Nothing says bona fide badass like a man holding a baby in one hand and a shotgun in the other. No seriously… that’s how Inspector Tequila appeared on the theatrical poster. Lessons to take from this Hong Kong action film include: never kill the partner of a cop who plays the clarinet and has earned himself the nickname “Tequila”; Never place babies in harm’s way unless you want to experience a whole new world of pain; and Chow Yun-fat is the Clint Eastwood of Hong Kong cinema. Not just anyone can make cops looks cooler than villains. Tequila kills over 75 baddies in this film - which must have incurred a considerable amount of paperwork.
 

Liam Neeson has played some seriously powerful characters over the years. Zeus - the Greek god, Aslan - the Christ-like lion of Narnia, Ra's Al Ghul - leader of the League of Assassins and Qui-Gon Jinn - Jedi Master. Yet of all the characters he’s played, the one responsible for the most pee trickling down the most legs is a guy named Bryan. His name might conjure up images of the boring accountant living next door, but Bryan Mills is a terrifying killing machine. He puts it better than we ever could… Word to bad guys everywhere, don’t try to kidnap or kill either him or anyone he loves. He will kill a staggering number of people to get to you.
  

Decked out in red (so no one can see him bleed), and hailing from depths of insanity, it's the one, the only, Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool! The unholy offspring of Rob Liefeld and a blatant ripoff of Deathstroke, Deadpool's kill count is worrisomely high for a superhero. His solo film was the surprise hit of 2016 and proved that though there might not be a lot of originality left in the comic book genre, when done right an R-rating can still bring in the bucks. Sure, Francis... er, “Ajax”... may be truly a detestable villain, but seriously, does he manage to kill anybody in the film? Deadpool’s quest for vengeance results in an awe-inspiring body count, despite the fact that he repeatedly forgets to bring his ammo bag.
 

He might not be number one on the list, but he deserves mention based on the fact that he’s the only hero to use a carrot with deadly force. This movie comes exactly as advertised and is one of the most trigger-happy, shoot ‘em up films ever made. It’s creative, never takes itself too seriously, and isn’t afraid to acknowledge that henchmen are nothing more than cannon fodder. Who can forget that sex shootout scene? Again, endangeringthe life of a baby inspires over the top violence on the part of the hero. But when a mother is gunned down in cold blood, and you’re left to protectthe child, it pretty much comes with a license to kill.
 

We could probably do a list of top 10 movies where Arnold Schwarzenegger kills more people than the villain does, but for today we'll have to make due with “Commando” alone. Besides, no one brings the pain quite like John Matrix in this action flick, in which he kills between 80-100 people, depending on who you ask. But hey, if we learned anything from Bryan in the first “Taken” film, it’s that you do not kidnap the daughter of a trained killer. “Commando” sees Arnie killing his foes with reckless abandon, using a number of absurdly powerful weapons, like a M202A1 Flash Rocket Launcher. He kills literally every man at the villain’s mansion, and he does it with such ruthless efficiency, that we’re willing to bet a few servants or gardeners died in the crossfire.
  

All John ever wants to do is get together with his family over the holidays. But time and time again, it’s up to him to stop some terrorist plot that he’s stumbled into. He’s a reluctant hero, but a hero nonetheless. Sure, he consistently kills way more people than the terrorist he’s up against does, but that’s just his style. He manages to kill all the bad guys before they can carry out their dastardly plans. That doesn’t make him a killer; it makes him smart, and extremely effective. With his many witticisms, he’s always a step ahead of the villain. You can call his style overkill; we just call it a pre-emptive strike.
 

This movie blew audiences away with some of the best action sequences seen in years. Many critics actually claim that it revitalized the action genre. As special tactics officer Rama makes his way through an apartment block controlled by a crime lord, he faces off against an endless slew of knife-wielding, deadly assailants. The fight choreography is stunning, and given the film’s setting, Rama’s body count climbs quickly. Considering only twenty cops enter the building and every resident appears to be trained in the Indonesian martial art Pencak Silat, the villain, Tama Riyadi, couldn’t kill as many people as the hero even if he tried. The sequel, another great film, keeps the body count equally high.
  

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Oh no, no. Hell hath no fury like a bride when you ruin her wedding, kill her fiancé and leave her for dead. It’s always bad form to crash a wedding, especially in such unceremonious fashion. And if that bride’s a trained assassin? Better make sure she’s dead, Bill. The Bride awakens from her coma and gets to work on the only thing she thinks she has left - revenge. Everyone’s a killer in this story, but no one does it better than Beatrix, who takes out between 60-80 people over the two films. Director Quentin Tarantino has always written his heroes with a penchant for bloodletting though - a habit “Django Unchained” only further reinforced.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Man with No Name
“Dollars Trilogy” (1964-66)
 
Connor & Murphy MacManus
“The Boondock Saints” franchise (1999-2009)
  

Aside from perhaps “Leon the Professional,” it's very hard for a film to make an audience see a hitman as an acceptable hero, but “John Wick” accomplishes that task with ease. It also proved that Keanu Reeves still has what it takes to be an action hero and that the theft of a vintage muscle car and the murder of a puppy are both acceptable reasons for vengeance. Although technically retired, John Wick hasn't lost the touch when it comes to killing thugs and baddies. He may be reluctant to pick up his gun again, but about 77 kills later, he remains a likeable and even relatable hero.
  
Do you agree with our list? Who’s your favorite hero to rack up a higher body count than the villain? For more heart stopping top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.