Top 10 Most Heroic Deaths in Movies
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#10: Captain John H. Miller
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“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.
#9: Nux
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“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.
#8: Bing Bong
“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.
#7: Spock
“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.
#6: Jyn Erso & Co.
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“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.”
#5: William Wallace
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“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.
#4: Severus Snape
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“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.
#3. Tony Stark
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“Avengers: Endgame” (2019) His death marked the end of an era. The first “Iron Man” movie kicked off the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Robert Downey Jr. reprised his role as Tony Stark in a further eight films before his swan song in “Endgame”. More than any other character, he was the glue that held the franchise together. So his death scene in “Endgame” was emotional, to say the least. Making the ultimate sacrifice, Tony used the Infinity Stones to reverse Thanos’ devastating Snap. He went out knowing that he’d saved his friends and family, and could finally rest.
#2: Logan
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“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. Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Harry S. Stamper “Armageddon” (1998) Obi-Wan Kenobi “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977) Iron Giant “The Iron Giant” (1999) Father Damien Karras “The Exorcist” (1973) Lee Abbott “A Quiet Place” (2018)
#1: Boromir
“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.
