The Top 10 On-Screen Vigilantes

14 January 2011

The Green Hornet stars Seth Rogen as Britt Reid, who after inheriting his father’s fortunes decides to make something of his life and become a masked crime-fighter. To celebrate the release of the film (in cinemas from today), we take a look at the top ten on-screen vigilantes:

10: V for Vendetta

Film: V for Vendetta

Reason for vigilantism: A revolutionary against a fascist dictatorship.

Weapon/s of choice: Knives, explosives and the mind of a technological genius.

This character from the acclaimed Alan Moore graphic novel could be considered a futuristic Guy Fawkes, paying homage to the historical figure by wearing an iconic mask of his face to cover disfigurement from a brutal experiment. In the 2006 movie adaptation, V (Hugo Weaving) finds an unlikely ally in a teenage girl named Evey (Natalie Portman) and together they take down the tyrannical Norsefire party by blowing the hell out of it and the Houses of Parliament. Kaboom.

9: Machete

Film: Machete

Reason for vigilantism: They messed with the wrong Mexican.

Weapon/s of choice: It’s all in the name.

Machete was actually the spawn of a spoof trailer made by Robert Rodriguez for the Grindhouse double feature he produced with Quentin Tarantino. Played by Danny Trejo, Machete is framed by members of a racist political party and relentlessly hunted as a result. What they don’t expect however, is that he is an ex Federale, and a merciless one at that. With the help of what appears to be practically the entire Mexican community of the United States, Machete takes down the whole party, but not before exposing it for what it truly is. Next time you have a job that needs doing, remember: If you hire Machete to kill the bad guy, make sure the bad guy isn’t you…

8: John Creasy (aka Creasy Bear)

Film: Man on Fire

Reason for vigilantism: The kidnap of the child in his care.

Weapon/s of choice: Pure, unadulterated anger.

Forget a woman scorned, take away everything of worth from Denzel Washington… sorry… John Creasy… and you have a Man on Fire. The bond between Creasy and the young girl he is hired to protect (Dakota Fanning) becomes as strong as that of father and daughter, but when he is shot and she is kidnapped, he destroys all that stands in his way of retrieving her. Not to be messed with, the idea of John Creasy alone should make all kidnappers stop and think about who might miss their next victim.

7: The Watchmen

Film: Watchmen

Reason for vigilantism: They are the few who dare to protect a world which is its own worst enemy.

Weapon/s of choice: Too many to mention.

The Watchmen are an excellent group of vigilantes, but are ultimately flawed by emotion, just like the rest of us. Like V for Vendetta, they are the creations of Alan Moore, one of the greatest writers in comic book history. Only one of The Watchmen, Dr Manhattan, has superpowers after an experiment gone wrong. The rest are just bad-ass inventors, children of former heroes or psychopaths with a thirst for adventure and justice. Who watches The Watchmen? You certainly should.

6: Frank Castle (aka The Punisher)

Film: Punisher/Punisher: Warzone

Reason for vigilantism: He is a man with nothing to lose.

Weapon/s of choice: A combination of anguish and shotgun.

Frank Castle had his wife and child murdered before his very eyes, and for that reason, he became one of the most psychopathic vigilantes ever created in comic books. Then he came to film, and to be quite honest, those films weren’t all that great (John Travolta rarely makes a good bad guy). But that doesn’t make the character of The Punisher any less of an awesome vigilante. He is a man with nothing to lose and is completely relentless in dishing out cold, hard justice to anyone who may be considering doing anything slightly out of order. His iconic Skull t-shirt is enough to strike fear into the hearts of any wrong-doer.

5: Walt Kowalski

Film: Gran Torino

Reason for vigilantism: Standing up for those who can’t.

Weapon/s of choice: Racist taunts and foul language.

One of Clint Eastwood’s finest moments was as Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino, a narrow-minded, bitter old man who comes to love his Hmong neighbours, especially one boy named Thao. But when Thao is forced by members of a local gang to steal Walt’s prize Gran Torino and his family is attacked when he decides to have no part in their activities, Walt honourably steps forward to commit what is quite possibly the most passive, but effective, form of vigilantism ever seen in cinema. But we wouldn’t want to spoil anything now would we?

4: Harry Brown

Film: Harry Brown

Reason for vigilantism: Fed up with chavs.

Weapon/s of choice: Slick cockney accent and some Marine training.

Harry Brown (played by Michael Caine) is the UK, no-nonsense equivalent of Walt Kowalski. Fed up with the way in which youths on the council estate he lives on behave after his only friend is stabbed and killed by one, Harry goes out to clean the streets, guns blazing. Harry is higher than Walt in the vigilante chart because, although his methods may be far more uncouth, he did what everyone watching wanted him to do: Show those chavs that if you mess with Michael Caine he’ll blow your bloody doors off!

3: Dexter Morgan

TV Show: Dexter

Reason for vigilantism: Mentally scarred as a child.

Weapon/s of choice: Syringes, surgical knives and glass slides.

Dexter Morgan is one truly disturbed individual. Obsessed with killing following some horrific childhood events, he struggles to balance his social life and an insatiable urge to end lives. His adoptive father, Harry, noticed these urges from an early age and taught Dexter a code that would mean he only killed those guilty of the most horrendous crimes. Some argue, however, that Dexter is not truly a vigilante, as although he only kills those who are truly deserving, it is through bloodlust and not the search for justice. Discounting this though, Dexter is one of the greatest on-screen vigilantes of all time.

2: Hit-Girl

Film: Kick-Ass

Reason for vigilantism: Brain-washed by Dad.

Weapon/s of choice: Anything she can get her hands on. And the C word.

This little girl was perhaps the most shocking thing about Mark Millar’s Kick-Ass, if not the most controversial thing ever to hit mainstream cinema. Mindy Macready was raised by her deluded father to be as close to a comic book vigilante as he himself dreamed of being, creating a twisted father-daughter superhero team. The foul-mouthed 12 year old (played in the movie adaptation by Chloe Moretz) is a master of almost any weaponry imaginable and has no qualms about slicing and dicing any and all bad guys. Not to be underestimated.

1: Bruce Wayne (aka Batman)

Film: Far too many to list.

Reason for vigilantism: Murdered parents and an obsession with bats.

Weapon/s of choice: Batarangs, cool gadgets and LOTS of money.

Bruce HAD to be the top of this list, and anyone who thinks otherwise should seriously consider tests of some kind. He is the best of the best, the vigilante to end all vigilantes, he is The Dark Knight, the world’s greatest detective. Another product of horrific childhood events, Bruce saw his parents murdered over their wallets and jewellery and since vowed to protect the city of Gotham from the likes of those who would commit such acts. Played by numerous actors, his most celebrated outings are the most recent, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale. There is no denying that Batman is one of the most iconic fictional figures in history, and for that reason, he is the number one on-screen vigilante of all time.

FemaleFirst – Fareed Athman