Top 20 Most Heroic Deaths in Movies

“Independence Day” (1996)
In the sprawling cast of “Independence Day,” Russell Casse doesn’t stand out at first. Sure, he’s a drunk former fighter pilot who claims to have been abducted by aliens, but that’s par for the course in this movie. But in the final battle against the alien invaders, this gag character gets an incredible send-off. With the mothership above the base and everyone else’s ammunition exhausted, Russell arrives just in time. Despite his missile jamming, he resigns himself, tells someone to tell his kids how much he loves them and flies straight into the spaceship’s energy weapon. Russell saves the world through his sacrifice. If he were our dad, we’d be proud of him too.

“Armageddon” (1998)
‘90s disaster movies were rife with heroic sacrifices. In this film, a huge asteroid is bound for Earth, and a ragtag crew of drillers turned astronauts is sent to destroy it. But when the remote detonator is destroyed, they draw straws to see who’ll stay behind. A.J. draws the short straw, but Harry Stamper forces him to return home safely. After some emotional goodbyes with A.J., and his daughter Grace, Harry detonates the bomb, splitting the asteroid and saving the world. Dying to save the world is heroic, but it’s Harry saving A.J. so that his daughter won’t lose the man she loves that adds an extra emotional hit to this death.

“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (2017)
When the trio of Kingsman agents arrives at Poppy Land, the bizarre '50s-themed drug lord base in Cambodia, they immediately land in trouble - Eggsy steps on a landmine. The group’s gadget man Merlin steps in, briefly freezing the trigger, only to shove Eggsy aside and take his place. After telling his comrades to get on with the mission, Merlin distracts the guards by singing his favorite John Denver tune. Not only does he lure them in, he even headbutts one! Merlin certainly lives up to his nickname - delivering one last bit of magic before he goes. What an absolute legend!

“A Quiet Place” (2018)
The Abbott family, along with the rest of the world in this film, are menaced by alien creatures attracted to sounds. When Lee tries to get his children back to their house by putting them in a truck, he’s wounded by one of the creatures. This causes his son Marcus to call out at seeing his father struck down, attracting the monster’s attention. Lee, already wounded, signs to his daughter that he loves her. Then, he screams at the top of his lungs, calling the creature away from his children and buying them time to get away. It’s incredibly heroic of Lee, and the ultimate expression of parenthood - doing anything for your kids.

“Léon: The Professional” (1994)
Léon is a hitman, but when a young girl named Mathilda is orphaned after corrupt DEA agents kill her family, he takes her in. Following a final battle in which Léon rescues Mathilda from Stansfield, the head of these crooked agents, Léon tries to sneak away in disguise. Unfortunately, Stansfield spots him and shoots him in the back. All seems lost, as the villain appears triumphant. But with his last breaths, Léon presses something into Stansfield’s hand - a grenade pin. He has a cluster of grenades on his chest. It’s quite the gift Léon has given Mathilda - a better life, with her family avenged, and no need to look over her shoulder.

“Aliens” (1986)
There’s no shortage of deaths in “Aliens.” When the titular xenomorphs take over a colony world, even the hardcore space marines sent in to exterminate them are no match for them. When the group escapes through some ventilation ducts, the incredibly badass Vasquez holds up the rear. Unfortunately, her close-quarters fire on a xenomorph leads to its acid blood hitting her leg, leaving her unable to move. Her inexperienced and indecisive commanding officer, Lieutenant Gorman goes back for her. With the aliens closing in on the group, and both of them out of ammo, Gorman uses the one weapon he has left - a grenade. The duo blowing themselves up not only buys the rest time to escape. It saves them from a worse fate.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017)
The Guardians of the Galaxy have seen plenty of heroic sacrifices. While Groot protecting his friends at the cost of his life was also fantastic, Yondu’s just hits harder. As the Guardians destroy Ego the Living Planet, Peter Quill’s awful father, the world collapses around them. Yondu swoops in to save Quill, whom he raised like a son in lieu of returning him to his bad dad. As they rise out of the atmosphere, Yondu gives Quill the only spacesuit, apologizing for not being as good a father as he could have been. He may not think he was a decent dad, but in the end, he got the most important part right.

“Gladiator” (2000)
A general turned slave gladiator, Maximus is put through the wringer by the despicable emperor Commodus. He gets a chance at vengeance in the arena, but Commodus seemingly leaves nothing to chance and stabs Maximus beforehand. Yet even with that handicap, Maximus manages to fight through the pain and overcome his hated foe, avenging his murdered wife and child. Saving Rome from the rule of Commodus would be heroic enough, but Maximus also requests that the wishes of Marcus Aurelius be honored and for his fellow gladiators to be granted freedom. If we could, we’d honor Maximus the way Rome does. But we get the feeling reuniting with his wife and son in the afterlife is reward enough.

“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991)
The battle against the superior T-1000 Terminator takes its toll on the T-800. The reprogrammed killing machine does manage to terminate the T-1000, though, shooting it into a vat of molten steel. To prevent the terrible future it came from, the T-800 has John and Sarah Connor throw the advanced cybernetic parts they’ve acquired in the vat too. But the T-800 also explains that it too must be destroyed. John is heartbroken that the Terminator he’s bonded with has to go, and we are too - that thumbs up gets us every time! But while the T-800 may have lived as a machine, he died a man - and a hero.

“The Iron Giant” (1999)
The titular massive mechanical man is often misunderstood. After his young human friend Hogarth is hurt, the Iron Giant goes berserk, prompting the military to intervene. However, Hogarth manages to calm him down, telling him he can be who he chooses to be. Unfortunately, the cowardly, spiteful Agent Mansley orders a missile launch, endangering the entire town. Because the missile is headed for him, the Iron Giant decides to leave to save Hogarth and everyone else. Flying up into the sky, the Giant decides who he wants to be as the missile hits him. We think the man of steel would approve.

“Saving Private Ryan” (1998)
Tasked with finding Private James Ryan and returning him home following the deaths of his three brothers, Captain John Miller leads a group of soldiers across war-torn France. After overcoming several deadly obstacles, Miller finds Ryan, but the Private refuses to leave his station at a strategically important bridge. Despite having little manpower, Miller agrees to take command and defend the bridge. They are able to hold off the Germans long enough for reinforcements to arrive, but Miller is tragically killed in the process. His intervention helps keep Ryan alive, however, and ensure his return home.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)
Nux is one of several War Boys who joins in the pursuit of Imperator Furiosa at the start of the film and he attempts to destroy the Rig multiple times. Distraught by his failure, he is comforted by Capable, one of Joe’s multiple wives. Nux then experiences a change of heart and begins assisting Furiosa and Max. Things look bleak for our heroes near the end of the film as Joe closes in on them, until Nux decides to sacrifice himself. By crashing the Rig, Nux not only kills Joe’s son, he also blocks the canyon, allowing for Max, Furiosa, and the wives to escape back to the Citadel.

“Inside Out” (2015)
Whether you want to admit or not, it’s highly likely that the majority of people watching this video had an imaginary friend as a child. For Riley, that friend was Bing Bong. As Riley grew older, however, she began to forget about her pink, fluffy friend, and as such Joy and Sadness find him drifting around in Long-Term Memory. After a failed attempt to return to Headquarters, Joy and Bing Bong find themselves stuck in the Memory Dump, where they try to use Bing Bong’s old wagon rocket to escape. Realizing their combined weight is too heavy and valuing Riley’s happiness over his own, Bing Bong sacrifices himself to allow Joy to escape in one of the most heartbreaking scenes Pixar has ever given us.

“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982)
Just when the crew of the Enterprise think they have defeated Khan, he activates the Genesis device with the intent of killing the entire crew. Refusing to allow his friends to die, Spock goes into the engine room to fix the warp drive to allow the ship to escape, despite the fact that he would be exposed to lethal radiation. He even uses the Vulcan nerve pinch to get past McCoy, who attempts to stop him. Spock’s efforts allow the Enterprise to escape the explosion, but not before he has one last emotional moment with Kirk.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016)
Sticking with the theme of sacrifice for the greater good, we come to Jyn Erso. A young rebel, Jyn teams up with Cassian, Chirrut, Baze, and K-2SO to steal the plans for the Death Star. The group arrive at the Imperial base on Scarif, with each character sacrificing themselves to allow Jyn and Cassian to steal the plans. At the last second, Jyn is able to transmit the plans to the Rebel command ship before the base is destroyed by the Death Star, killing both of them. Their actions, however, allow for the Rebels inspiring victory in “A New Hope.”

“Braveheart” (1995)
Perhaps the most gruesome death to make our list, William Wallace truly dies a hero, but he suffers for it. After witnessing the suffering of his Scottish people, Wallace leads an uprising against the English, winning several battles. He is eventually betrayed, however, and brought to England, where he is tried for high treason and sentenced to death. Well, that is, torture and then death. Wallace is hanged, drawn and quartered, but refuses to give in, shouting one last epic cry before finally being decapitated.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2” (2011)
For nearly the entire series, Severus Snape is seen as a villain. He constantly antagonizes Harry and even kills Dumbledore. It isn’t until the final film that we discover Snape’s true intentions. After being mortally wounded by Voldemort, Snape gives Harry his memories. From these, Harry discovers that Snape loved Lily, Harry’s mother. Devastated and feeling responsible over her death, Snape worked alongside Dumbledore to protect Harry, and only killed the Headmaster as an act of mercy. Harry also learns that he is a Horcrux, and as such needs to die in order to defeat Voldemort, a vital piece of information.

“Avengers: Endgame” (2019)
Iron Man himself, Tony Stark redeemed not only himself, but also Marvel movies in general by leading the MCU from its inception. And the character’s last stand comes during the final battle in “Endgame.” While Black Widow’s death is equally emotional and heroic, there’s no denying that Tony’s death took the spotlight. Tony steals the Infinity Stones away from Thanos at the eleventh hour, performing an epic Snap to defeat Thanos and his armies, saving the world and likely the universe from the mad Titan. His rest was well-earned. We just wish there had been another way.

“Logan” (2017)
The “X-Men” films have had several heroic deaths over the years, including Jean Grey sacrificing herself at the end of “X2.” Jump forward into the future, as we see an older Wolverine coming to terms with the fact that his adamantium skeleton is poisoning him. With few allies left, Logan reluctantly agrees to help Laura, a young mutant with similar powers. They are tracked down by X-24, a feral clone of Logan. The two engage in a vicious and bloody fight before Logan is impaled on the branches of a tree. Laura uses Logan’s adamantium bullet to kill X-24. Without Logan’s assistance and sacrifice, however, there is no way Laura and the other child mutants would have been able to escape.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
A strong and noble man, even Boromir was overcome by the temptation of the One Ring, attempting to take it from Frodo to use it as a weapon against Sauron. Boromir redeems himself, however, by protecting Merry and Pippin against a horde of Uruk-Hai. Single-handedly taking on dozens of orcs, Boromir continues to fight even after being hit by several arrows. Boromir’s heroic last stand was enough to draw the attention of Frodo and Sam, allowing the hobbits to escape capture.