It takes a lot to start a film franchise, but none of the other countless factors will be enough if the hero doesn’t measure up. Something that all ofthe greatest franchises of all timehave in common is they each have likable protagonists whom the audience can relate to on some level and root for. The conflict they face can vary in scale, and just how much this means to our champion informs how much the audience will become emotionally invested in the plot. A good hero will make their struggle feel like high-stakes, whether it be a boxing match or the fate of the universe.
Major franchises are built on a brand, and the hero must follow that brand without feeling like they’ve lost the human element of their character. Their flaws must come through as the story unfolds, and whatever inner struggle they face should be just as important to the narrative as whatever corporeal enemy they face. If the world is at stake, why should this character be the one to save it? Surely not because it will be easy, and not because this character won’t learn anything on the way. With the exception of someone like Furiosa from theMad Maxsaga, the best heroes from major franchises also tend to be the ones who were there from the beginning.Their unique personalities engage the audience, their apparent flaws bring about compelling arcs, and the actors portraying them tap into the character in a way that only they could.
10Indiana Jones
From the ‘Indiana Jones’ franchise
Not everything about Indiana Jones has aged wellsince 1981’sRaiders of the Lost Ark, butHarrison Fordis too charming a frontman to dismiss. The movie introduces us to the character by showing him skillfully disarm someone with a whip. He goes on to kind of do the opposite later in the movie, when he casually shoots a swordsman down in broad daylight. Whether he’s making us laugh or impressing us, Indiana always comes out on top.
Created byGeorge Lucas,Steven Spielberg, andPhilip Kaufman, this character is a professor of archaeology who tends to find himself having to escape from various places across each of his five films. The man’s knack for spotting booby traps, getting out of sticky situations, and besting the Nazis has earned him a permanent place in many an adventure enthusiast’s heart. Ford’s charisma and humor are essential to the franchise’s playful tone, elevating the material to the point where people were still willing to watch ol' Indie search for hidden artifacts all the way into his 80s.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
From the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The movie that kicked off theMarvel Cinematic Universeintroduced us to one of the quippiest heroes of the modern age: Iron Man. Known by most people as the CEO of Stark Industries, Tony Stark is more brilliant at weapon-designing and inventing than everyone else. Of course, that doesn’t make him perfect. His playboy lifestyle has led to a drinking issue, but the bigger problem is probably the fact that his inventions and workers often come back to bite him. From the 2008’sIron Man. to 2015’sThe Avengers: Age of Ultronto 2019’sSpider Man: Far From Home, Tony has accidentally inspired some pretty dangerous nemeses (and those are just three examples).
Robert Downey Jr.more or less plays Stark as a version of himself, which pays off big time. Stark would become the face of theMCU, and his joke-heavy persona would influence the demeanors of many subsequent Marvel heroes. For his influence on the franchise and arc toward becoming a selfless Avenger, Tony goes down as one of the greats.
From The Dark Knight Trilogy
Bruce Wayne’s backstory has arguably never been more affectingly rendered on the screen than inChristopher Nolan’s trilogy.Batman Beginsdepicts a young Bruce falling through the well, sparking his profound fear of bats, andGus Lewisdoes a great job of making us believe how much it has affected him. After his parents are murdered outside the opera, this phobia gets compounded by a furious lust for vengeance. That’s whereChristian Balecomes in, and he furthers the character such that the transition from traumatized child to angry young adult is smooth.
Then there’s Bruce’s training with the League of Shadows, after which he has grown into a more mature and calculating man. His relationship with Rachel is compelling throughoutBatman BeginsandThe Dark Knight(two ofChristian Bale’s most rewatchable movies), all while Bruce’s public persona as the spoiled billionaire makes for some amusing in-between scenes. Along with having the best Batmobile and making Batman a viable blockbuster again, Bale’s iteration shall endure in the public’s consciousness. Of course Superman, especiallyChristopher Reeve’s take on the character, must be mentioned here, but the Dark Knight arguably remains the most compelling DC Comics hero in movie history.
Batman Begins
7Frodo Baggins
From the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Franchise
Based onJ.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic,The Lord of the Rings Trilogyis about a group of people who journey to destroy the Ring and defeat Sauron’s army. Frodo Baggins is the hobbit who has to carry this ring around his neck throughout the long and difficult trek, making him the most important character in the franchise. Putting the ring on your finger can make you invisible to everyone around you, ironically make the eye of Sauron immediately find you, and give the wearer a sense of power that’s hard to resist. However, merely having the Ring on your person can be challenging.
This diminutive hero shows formidable strength of will as he is largely able to resist it, but the object definitely burdens him a noticeable amount throughout these movies. Frodo is usually a very kind and thoughtful soul, which makes his occasional lapse of personality all the more unnerving. Thanks toElijah Woods' performance, this hero helped makeLOTRsuch a rewatchable trilogythat directorPeter Jacksonwould later make one aboutThe Hobbit, too.
The Lord of the Rings
6Ellen Ripley
From the ‘Alien’ franchise
TheAlienfranchise wouldn’t be the same without Ripley.Sigourney Weaverelevates one of her best moviesby embodying a character who is more professional than her peers. When Dallas and Lambert bring Kane to the ship with an alien attached to his face, Ripley doesn’t let them back on board. If Ash hadn’t used his authority to let them back on (for reasons that would become clear later in the movie), then the number of casualties for this journey would have been much lower.
Ripley is the one who finds out that Mother considers the crew expendable and that Ash knew. She’s able to eventually make theNostromoexplode and kill the alien, but this hero is also unique in the sense that the first movie doesn’t even treat her as the main character until her fellow crew members have perished. Focusing on Ripley the entire time would’ve made it obvious that she’d be the last one standing, and the audience relates to her more because she, too, had no idea who would die next. Along with her contributions to theAliensequels, Ripley would be a huge influence on future female protagonists.
5Rocky Balboa
From the ‘Rocky’ franchise
Rockyis one ofthe best boxing movies you’re able to find, and that’s largely because ofSylvester Stallone’s unforgettable turn as “The Italian Stallion,” Rocky Balboa. He’s getting old for a boxer, fighting in small matches that nobody cares about, and working as a debt collector on the side (which he’s too nice to be very good at). Some boxers feel like has-been’s, but Rocky feels like a never-was. Out of the blue, he’s given the opportunity to fight heavyweight champ Apollo Creed when no reliable contenders are available.
Suddenly Rocky has a chance to prove himself, and this inspires him to turn his life around. He starts dating Adrian (Talia Shire) and gets himself into shape. The way his relationship with Mick (Burgess Meredith) changes over the course of the first film is moving, and the training montage near the end would become a staple of the franchise. Since then, Balboa has become a beloved symbol of the American Dream: if you’ve got the heart and the drive, you can accomplish almost anything.
4James Bond
From the James Bond franchise
Responsible for some ofthe most entertaining spy movies of all time, James Bond is also known as Agent 007. He likes to drink martinis (shaken, not stirred), and his persona has been on the screen since 1962’sDr. No. 1964’sGoldfingerwould propel it into the stratosphere, and the saga has been a mainstay in Western cinema ever since. Some Bonds have been more successful than others, thoughSean Conneryis the classic. The much more recentDaniel Craigis another great one, but fans can choose their favorites.
This hero inspired other popular film series, includingIndiana Jones,Mission: Impossible,Kingsman,and the hit-parody seriesAustin Powers. That’s a lot of media right there. A colossal figure of ideal masculinity, he routinely sleeps with a different beautiful woman (often with names that don’t age well) in every movie, he foils significant plots by evil men, he gets out of dangerous scenarios, he’s smooth, and his name is very catchy. Though some aspects of the character are a product of their various time periods, his impact on our culture is undeniable.
Goldfinger
3Sarah Connor
From the ‘Terminator’ franchise
The Terminatorfranchise started with the premise that a cyborg gets sent back to the 80s to prevent the future resistance-leader John Connor from being born. His mother is Sarah Connor, and her character changes significantly over the course of those spectacular first two movies.Linda Hamiltonstarts the first one fitting into the damsel-in-distress trope, and she finishes it by destroying the T-800 sent to kill her.Terminator 2gives her a much different arc, and it’s even more riveting.
Sarah Connor starts the second movie in a psychiatric hospital, as she tried to explain that the terminators were going to take over in the near future. Inside, she is older, enraged, strong (doing pull-ups in her room), good with weapons, and mistrusts the T-800 now trying to help her. Over the course of that movie, she learns to trust it and have some hope in humanity. For the most part, though, she’s a badass whose intensity electrifies every scene she’s in. While she does reappear in a few more oftheTerminatorsequels, it’s her arc in the first two movies that makes this troubled hero such an icon.
The Terminator
2Luke Skywalker
From the ‘Star Wars’ franchise
Han and Leia are terrific, but Luke Skywalker is the one with the lightsaber. Played byMark Hamillin a way that traces a character arc that would inform the culture to a previously unimaginable extent, Luke starts off as a farm boy who wants to leave so he can be with his friends, and goes on to join Ben Kenobi after his aunt and uncle are killed. He is naive and impatient at first, unbelieving that he can block a blast without looking or elevate a ship without touching it. He is both very relatable and in need of growth.
Luke’s greatest scenesare undoubtedly some of the coolest in the series, including the way he stares off into the sunset in the firstStar Warsand battles Darth Vader inThe Empire Strikes Back. The audience watches this character complain to more than one master Jedi, yet his confidence steadily grows. His apparent inner struggle is what makes him so compelling, and it’s a shame thatReturn of the Jedidrains him of nearly all emotion. Regardless of what you think of his character in otherStar Warsmedia, though, his role in the saga’s first two installments is enough to make him one of the best movie heroes ever.
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
1Harry Potter
From the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise
Played byDaniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter is such a great character that he even makes picking out a wooden stick at the store surprisingly intense. Of course it turns out to be amongthe most powerful wands in the wizarding world, suitable for one of the strongest wizards. Harry’s not a showoff, though; he’s modest, yet confident when he needs to be. Growing up orphaned with his aunt’s family makes him instantly sympathetic, but he also chooses his friends very well (shout-out to Ron and Hermione—two more terrific heroes).
His rivalry with schoolmate Draco Malfoy is classic, but he also has a very close connection to one ofthe greatest villains ever: Voldemort. Harry even has the iconic lightning-shaped scar as proof that the Dark Lord tried to kill him. His mother’s love saved him as an infant, and his desire to see his parents is captured from the Mirror of Erised all the way to The Resurrection Stone. Many fans grew up alongside Mr. Potter, making it all but impossible not to grow deeply attached to this remarkably crafted hero.
