Looking to create a playoff bracket of action heroes

[Atreus21]

Criteria

• Movies only, with multiple movies comprising a franchise.
• Must be a human being, not part of any superhero universe (no Batman, for example), nor considered super-human.
• One character per actor.

So far I've come up with the following names, in no particular order:

• Bryan Mills (Taken)
• Jason Bourne
• James Bond
• John Wick
• Robert McCall (The Equalizer)
• Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible)
• Mike Banning (X Has Fallen)
• John McClane (Die Hard)
• Frank Martin (The Transporter)
• Sarah Connor (Terminator)
• Ellen Ripley (Alien)
• Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (Predator)
• John Rambo
• Indiana Jones
• Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry)
• Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon)
• Snake Plissken (Escape from New York)
• Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
• Ash Williams (Evil Dead)
• James Braddock (Missing in Action)
• The Bride (Kill Bill)
• Detective Lee (Rush Hour)

Having collected 22 characters, I need to seed them before I create the bracket. Please take my survey below, if you'd like to give your opinion on seeding.

Seeding - Action Heroes

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[ElFenix]

ripley, aliens
sarah connor, terminator 2
dutch, predator

 

[Atreus21]

ripley, aliens
sarah connor, terminator 2
dutch, predator

Added, thanks. Anyone else?

 

[ElFenix]

oh and rambo is definitely an action hero

 

[RPD]

What about Kevin from Home Alone, how much prep time does he get?

 

[OccamsToothbrush]

Snake Plissken
Ash Williams
Lara Croft
James T. Kirk
Jack Ryan

 

[zinfamous]

I would have gone with John Matrix over Dutch for Arnie.

lol, how obvious is that name?


and Jack Bauer! that dude dies about 4 times every "day." oh, missed movies "only"

 

[DigDog]

because this is meta then any random Chuck Norris character `would win

 

[Atreus21]

Snake Plissken
Ash Williams
Lara Croft
James T. Kirk
Jack Ryan

I was conflicted about Jack Ryan because of Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones. I think Ford has played Ryan more than any other single movie actor.

I also didn't consider Kirk. Is he rightly considered an action hero?

I've added the other three. Don't know how I overlooked Ash.

 

[OccamsToothbrush]

I was conflicted about Jack Ryan because of Harrison Ford and Indiana Jones. I think Ford has played Ryan more than any other single movie actor.

I also didn't consider Kirk. Is he rightly considered an action hero?

I've added the other three. Don't know how I overlooked Ash.

Yeah, Ford played Ryan twice, but it's not like any actor is really associated with the role. 4 different actors in 5 films and plus another for the TV series. Kirk was definitely an action hero albeit a cheesy one, christ, he must have had 50 fight scenes.

 

[Atreus21]

because this is meta then any random Chuck Norris character `would win

Completely overlooked Missing in Action. I think we can divorce Norris' character from the legend of Norris itself.

 

[Atreus21]

Yeah, Ford played Ryan twice, but it's not like any actor is really associated with the role. 4 different actors in 5 films and plus another for the TV series. Kirk was definitely an action hero albeit a cheesy one, christ, he must have had 50 fight scenes.

Considering that Star Trek is not straightforwardly an action franchise, and is also first and foremost a TV show, I propose to add him in the event that the final list yields an odd number.

 

[DigDog]

Kirk is a man of action, but not an action hero.

Would any of the Bruce Lee characters count? Or, other martial arts practitioners, such as The Bride?

Because, while i get what you wanted to do, once you start to look past the first initial 4-5 badasses that immediately come to mind, you get a whole lot of subgenre action characters that start to push the limits of what is realistic. This still while applying the rule of "no supernatural abilities".

Remember the old adage "who would win between Superman and Mickey Mouse"?

 

[Atreus21]

I'm also not at all familiar with Steven Seagal movies. Was he in any movies that qualify?

 

[Atreus21]

Kirk is a man of action, but not an action hero.

Would any of the Bruce Lee characters count? Or, other martial arts practitioners, such as The Bride?

Because, while i get what you wanted to do, once you start to look past the first initial 4-5 badasses that immediately come to mind, you get a whole lot of subgenre action characters that start to push the limits of what is realistic. This still while applying the rule of "no supernatural abilities".

Remember the old adage "who would win between Superman and Mickey Mouse"?

Right, exactly. I was originally just looking for the secret agent/assassin types, like James Bond and similar. But guys like Indiana Jones complicated things.

I'm inclined to exclude straightforwardly kung fu/martial-arts franchises, even though there aren't that many with recurring main characters, excluding Rush Hour or Kill Bill.

EDIT: Screw it. I'm adding them both.

There's gonna be mismatches. So be it. I'll let the bracket sort it out.

 

[glenn1]

Lee Mu Bai from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Mad Max.

Takeshi Kovacs from Altered Carbon.

 

[shortylickens]

Ash Williams.

The shit that guy has put up with overrides every other person mentioned.

 

[HomerJS]

Jason Statham
John Wick

 

[Atreus21]

Lee Mu Bai from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Mad Max.

Takeshi Kovacs from Altered Carbon.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is more straightforwardly a kung fu movie, and also isn't exactly a franchise.

Mad Max is Mel Gibson. I already got Riggs from Lethal Weapon. Unless you think the Mad Max character is a stronger candidate.

Altered Carbon is a TV series. Doesn't meet the criteria.

I would have gone with John Matrix over Dutch for Arnie.

Me too, but Commando isn't a franchise.

 

[Atreus21]

Jason Statham
John Wick

Statham's already there - Frank Martin.

So is John Wick.

 

[Chapbass]

So, I know its not directly related, but your post reminded me of this:

Local sports radio guy semi-recently(2011) did a "what would a football team of superheroes look like?" multi-part piece. Pretty cool stuff, if you're into football and superheroes. He did one for Marvel and one for DC.

Holmes: Superhero Football Team, Part I

I've taken my love for football and my love for comics and tried to combine them. In putting together the team, I tried to make it to scale with the bigger players closest to the ball.

chicago.cbslocal.com

 

[Chapbass]

As far as some others that I can think of:

Ip Man (Donnie Yen) EDIT: You posted above: "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is more straightforwardly a kung fu movie, and also isn't exactly a franchise. " ....not sure if this counts then?
Casey Ryback (Steven Seagal, Under Siege)

 

[zinfamous]

I'm also not at all familiar with Steven Seagal movies. Was he in any movies that qualify?

Hard to Kill, or Marked for Death may be the best of those flicks

 

[Atreus21]

I need to seed the characters we've collected. Please take the survey below if you'd like to contribute your opinion:

Seeding - Action Heroes

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[IronWing]

Derek Flint
Archibald Tuttle