Another Top 10 Movie Heroes Who Kill More than the Villain

The silver screen isn’t short on protagonists ready to spill blood. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for Another Top 10 Movie Heroes Who Kill More Than the Villains. For this list, you may see a number of anti-heroes, but we’re drawing the line at main characters who are clearly villains, like Scarface. These protagonists might not shy away from spilling buckets of blood, but they’re undeniably the heroes of the story, however flexible their moral codes may be. If you don’t see someone you expected here, make sure to check out our original video on the topic.

“Dredd” (2012) “Judge” might be his official title, but in the dystopian future metropolis known as a Mega-City One, “jury” and “executioner” are implied, and criminals know it. This iconic comic book figure was first brought to life on the big screen by Sylvester Stallone in 1995, but much to the chagrin of fans, Dredd and his history of violent police work were watered down almost beyond recognition. Thankfully, in 2012, Dredd finally got the justice he deserved with this R-rated, hyper violent adaptation that even earned the approval of the character’s creator, John Wagner. Played by Karl Urban, this Judge Dredd, true to the comics, kills countless criminals, dishing out death sentences without remorse.

#9: Richard B. Riddick

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“The Chronicles of Riddick” franchise (2000-) Convict, murderer, mercenary, soldier, survivalist, devoted pet owner and onetime leader of the religious death cult the Necromongers… Riddick has been many things over the course of his storied life. Throughout it all, however, there have been two relative and somewhat contradictory constants - his penchant for shedding buckets worth of blood, and his tendency to do the right thing, or at least… his version of it. No one’s saying Riddick hasn’t claimed innocent lives along the way, but this anti-hero has a soft streak, that more often than not sees him putting his Furyan predator skillset to unselfish use. In this universe… no villain or adversary can kill as efficiently as Riddick.

“Hardcore Henry” (2015) If you’re prone to motion sickness, you might want to look away for this one. This sci-fi flick/experiment in film technique is 96 minutes of fast-paced action shown exclusively from the first-person perspective of Henry, who more than earns the title of “Hardcore” as he tears through countless minions. Most online kill counts have his death toll at well over 200, making Henry a literal killing machine. Though the villain, Akan, has likely done more than his fair share of dastardly deeds, and intends to claim many innocent lives with his terrorist plots. Thanks to Henry, he never gets the chance, making Henry’s pile of corpses far more impressive than his adversary’s.

“Punisher: War Zone” (2008) Frank Castle has been portrayed onscreen by a number of actors, and each iteration has brought something to the table. Admittedly, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher is the clear standout, but since he’s thus far been limited to the small screen, we’ll be focusing on Ray Stevenson’s take on the character. Why? Because for our purposes, “Punisher: War Zone” is the film that delivered the one thing that matters most - over-the-top justice via countless brutal kills. “War Zone” opens with a clear mission statement in the form of a massacre - this is the character you know from the Punisher MAX comics… one who will leave no mobster behind. Jigsaw just can’t keep up.

#6: Harry Tasker

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“True Lies” (1994) Hey, you can’t have a list titled “Movie Heroes Who Kill More Than the Villain” without an appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Though Harry Tasker may not deliver carnage in comically massive proportions like Matrix did in “Commando,” you have to give credit where credit is due. Matrix was a retired Special Forces Colonel operating off-the-record on foreign soil… meaning he could really go wild. Though part of a covert operation himself, Tasker is attempting to not only save the world, but simultaneously spice things up with his wife in order to save their marriage. To answer your question Helen Tasker, yes, your husband has killed people… a lot of people… but they were bad.

“Blade” franchise (1998-2004) Before “Twilight” made vampires brooding and erotic above all else, Wesley Snipes proved that the undead had real box office teeth, and sex appeal was just a part of the package. As the human-vampire hybrid Blade, Snipes drew a lot of blood, but his character wasn’t interested in feeding. He was a vampire hunter that sliced and diced his way through hundreds of vampires across the three films. And sure, many of those bloodsucking fiends had likely killed many an innocent over the course of their unnaturally long lives, but at least within the diegesis of each film, none of them had a large enough appetite to keep up with Blade’s thirst for justice.

#4: Logan

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“Logan” (2017) On-screen, Wolverine has always been the X-Men member most willing to draw blood, but as fans of the comics can attest, that PG-13 rating always meant keeping the beats under control. Sure, we saw him go berserk once or twice, but it was never the carnage his comic book counterpart was known for. For Hugh Jackman’s highly-anticipated last outing as the character, the Wolverine was finally allowed to show the world why he’s the best at what he does. In “Logan,” the claws really came in all their R-rated glory. Logan was still fighting for what he believed in, but he wasn’t held back by the constraints of public heroics… and it was beautiful.

“Kick-Ass” franchise (2010-13) Now… this is a franchise that, in keeping with its mature comic book source material, has never been concerned with good taste. These are heroes without powers living in a realistic world where superheroes and villains alike are basically playing dress up and hacking each other to bits. Though brutality is the name of the game, no one in the series delivers bloodshed and mutilation quite like Hit Girl, the child vigilante whose small stature and young age only serves to increase the shock factor of her violent acts. Though Red Mist and company rack up the kills, none have the skills required to compete with Hit Girl’s killstreaks.

#2: Neo

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“The Matrix” franchise (1999-2003) Do the kills count if they’re all taking place within a virtual world? While we’d usually answer “no,” when it comes to “The Matrix”… the answer is a resounding “yes” because for each consciousness killed in the Matrix, a body dies in the real world. There’s no denying Neo’s status as a hero, as he and his fellow resistance members are fighting for the survival and freedom of the entire human race. While audience members generally accept that justification, it’s pretty crazy to think of how many innocent lives Neo has indirectly claimed especially when you take into consideration all the body’s agent Smith infected over the course of the trilogy.

#1: James Bond

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“James Bond” franchise (1962-) They gave this man a licence to kill, and boy has he ever used it. Though he may not kill as many nameless goons per film as some of the other contenders on this list, over the course of his colorful, stylish, and violent history, he has claimed well over 350 lives. In most instalments, Bond’s handful of kills still puts him ahead of the villain because, being the highly effective agent that he is… said villain’s deadly plot rarely claim many lives before James puts a stop to it. Of course, there are some films in which Bond kills laps around his foe, like “GoldenEye,” where he single-handedly ends the lives of 47 men.