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  • 12 Rounds: Miles Jackson is a suave, perpetually cheerful terrorist who masterminds the entire plot. Miles has evaded capture and conviction for his atrocities for years, always staying one step ahead of his law enforcement pursuers, and is introduced tricking a mole in his organization into betraying the F.B.I. and robbing them, after which Miles murders the same mole for ever thinking of turning on him. Though imprisoned for several years thanks to a freak accident, Miles breaks out of prison and sets up the game "12 Rounds" to be played with his arch enemy Danny Fisher. Using the excuse that he is getting revenge for his deceased girlfriend, Miles sets up various puzzles and traps throughout the city for Danny to figure out and stop, using the man's wife as a hostage the hold time. Miles' true magnificence comes with the reveal that the entire point of 12 Rounds was solely to serve as a long, complicated set-up to a bank robbery for millions of dollars, and that every round Danny played further assisted Miles in his scheme. Always ready with a quip and possessing a swaggering charisma that draws all eyes on him, Miles is an intelligent, charming villain, one capable of ridiculous amounts of manipulation and strategy, and whose very first scene illustrates his character perfectly by having him win a losing chess game for a stranger on a whim.
  • 13 Assassins:
    • Shimada Shinzaemon is an older samurai seeking a place to die. Secretly contracted to assassinate the twisted Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira, Shinzaemon rejoices as a chance for such a worthy end and to destroy such a great evil. Disgusted with Naritsugu's monstrous cruelty, Shinzaemon recruits twelve other warriors, knowing it will mean their deaths, while plotting the defeat of Naritsugu's 200-man strong guard. Shinzaemon converts an entire town into a series of death traps so that the thirteen may triumph, ultimately cutting down countless good men to reach Naritsugu and his honorable guard Hanbei. Shinzaemon ultimately slays Hanbei and allows Naritsugu to mortally wound him so he might die as he finishes the sadistic lord himself.
    • Koyata Kiga is a mysterious trickster who joins the twelve samurai conscripted to kill Naritsugu. Aiding the samurai in journeying through the forest, Koyata proves a cunning fighter as he lays traps for Naritsugu's forces and picks off many of the enemy samurai with slings and rocks. Seemingly killed by Naritsugu himself, the likely supernatural Koyata cheerfully returns after the battle finishes, declaring his time with the samurai fun before departing to reunite with his beloved Upashi.
  • 16 Blocks: Det. Frank Nugent is an NYPD cop seeking to keep thief Eddie Bunker from testifying against him and other corrupt cops involved in witness tampering. Nugent himself having threatened a witness who had a heart attack as a result. He arranges for two drug addicts to kill Eddie and when this fails because of his former partner Det. Jack Mosley, Nugent arranges a plan for Eddie to be killed attempting to escape. Jack protects Eddie and Nugent tirelessly pursues them throughout the city, making use of a stolen police radio to track them and later the stoic Nugent is barely phased when Eddie holds a gun on him. When the crooked Jack decides he will testify instead of Eddie, Nugent resolves to have him killed to prevent it. In the version with the alternate ending though, Nugent decides to order his man to stand down instead of kill Jack and then even puts himself in the line of fire to try to save Jack, clearly feeling guilty when he fails.
  • 2 Guns
    • Robert “Bobby Beans” Trench is a DEA Agent working undercover to take down drug lord Papi Greco. A quick witted charmer, Bobby spent years building up a reputation as “I know a guy Bobby” to earn Papi’s trust. Along with his partner Stig, Bobby steals a supposed stash of Papi’s from a bank, expertly planning it so they make a clean getaway. Shot but left alive by Stig, Bobby escapes the desert and eventually reconciles with Stig after learning he’s Navy Intelligence and they kidnap Papi. Learning that the money was actually the CIA’s, the two are forced to recover the money from a navy base. When it turns out the money has been stolen by Commander Quince, Bobby escapes the base by disguising himself as an officer. Initially deciding to walk away, Bobby instead recovers the money and returns to help Stig. Luring the CIA into a standoff with Papi and Quince, Bobby blows the money up to start a shootout that kills all of his enemies, ending the film targeting more CIA banks with Stig while also revealing he saved some of the money.
    • Michael “Stig” Stigman is an undercover Navy Intelligence officer attempting to bring down Papi Greco’s drug cartel. Snarky and quick with a joke and a wink, Stig first shows off his skill by effortlessly beating Papi’s men in a shooting contest. Stig and Bobby pull off a perfectly planned bank robbery before Stig betrays Bobby and takes the money, leaving Bobby alive out of loyalty. When his superior, Commander Quince, tries to kill him for sparing Bobby Stig outmaneuvers and escapes him. Later ambushing Bobby at his hideout, Stig helps him escape Quince before teaming up with him and kidnapping Papi. Forced to recover the money from a navy base, Stig uses a contact to get weapons before crashing his car through the base’s gates to act as a distraction for Bobby to get the money. Luring Quince to Papi’s hideout, Stig and Bobby wipe out their enemies before teaming up to rob more banks.
  • 21 Bridges: Captain Matt McKenna is the head of the 85th precinct who has several corrupt cops on his payroll. Teaming up with various drug dealers, McKenna and his officers distribute drugs throughout New York City without any other precincts in the city knowing of their illegal activities. When several officers are killed during a botched robbery, McKenna has his officers hastily hunt down the criminals whilst also eliminating any potential witnesses or allies who could expose his operation. After one of the robbers uncovers evidence exposing the drug operation, McKenna has him murdered even after he gives himself up. Once confronted by protagonist Andre Davis about his schemes, McKenna calmly tries to explain that he did what he did to support the officers and their families before attempting to kill him too when Andre tries to arrest him.
  • 3 Idiots: Ranchodas "Rancho" Shyamaldas Chanchad, later known as Phunsukh Wangdu, is a student at the Imperial College of Engineering whose philosophy of learning for interest and fun puts him at odds with the principal Viru Sahastrabuddhe, who believes that students should focus exclusively on scoring well in exams. His methods at rebelling against this philosophy include having his classmates find definitions for two made up words to call them out for their Skewed Priorities, and publicly humiliating Chatur by altering words in his Teachers Day speech to show him the dangers of memorization without understanding. He also displays a knack for creativity, re-constructing a senior's final project after Viru rejects it and later uses an invention of his design to help Viru's daughter give birth during a power outage. While he is later revealed to have been an impostor, he is still able to make a name for himself in the present day, as a genius inventor and scientist who teaches in his free time and is highly sought after by many companies, including the one Chatur works at.
  • 3:10 to Yuma:
    • 1957 original: Outlaw leader Ben Wade is willing to remorselessly shoot through one of his own men being used as a Human Shield. Despite this, Ben is quite polite and tender with a barmaid he romances. After robbing a stagecoach, he's nice enough to tell the nearby town that the passengers are stranded in the middle of the desert. He keeps his gang Crazy-Prepared about what to do if any of them are captured. He tries to threaten and bribe his guard, Dan Evans, at various points, but also deeply respects his honesty and feels a sense of gratitude when Ben saves his life from a vengeful relative. At the end of the movie, Ben foils his own gang's jailbreak so that Dan can survive and collect his reward, but confidently notes that he's broken out of Yuma before.
    • 2007 remake: Ben Wade in the remake is a charismatic bandit leader who starts the film by driving cattle to block an armored car and then rob it. Famed for his brilliance and skillful gambits, Ben is eventually caught thanks to rancher Dan Evans and is sent to be taken to a train to be sent to Yuma prison with his former gang pursuing. Ben shows himself to be a slippery prisoner, constantly outwitting his captors and killing the most morally bankrupt of them. When he learns Dan's reasons for trying to get him to the train at the end, Ben even fights to assist in getting himself to the train and after Dan is mortally wounded, steps on board of his own free will, cementing Dan as a legend. Ben also reveals to Dan that he's been to Yuma prison twice-and escaped twice (which he and Dan both laugh over), and the film ends with him clearly planning his escape once again.
  • The 51st State: Elmo McElroy is a former pharmacology graduate turned drug chemist, who decides to betray his boss the Lizard, and sell his new drug POS 51 to a gangster in Liverpool himself in order to get out of the drug business. McElroy rigs a machine in his lab so that it will blow up when the Lizard turns up his thermostat, but not before letting his lab mice go. When his buyer is killed by Dawn "Dakota" Parker, McElroy teams up with Felix DeSouza to find a new buyer and tricks a group of skinheads into allowing them to use their labs to brew POS 51. Convincing Dawn to betray the Lizard, McElroy engineers a plan that would kill the Lizard and put the corrupt Virgil Kane behind bars at the same time. Having Dawn lead the Lizard into a trap, McElroy tricks the Lizard into digesting an explosive drug that would go off the exact moment Kane comes in to arrest the group, before revealing that POS 51 is just a placebo and escaping once his plan goes off without a hitch. A master chemist and skilled salesman, McElroy ends the film finally a free man.
  • The 6th Day: Michael Drucker, billionaire owner of Replacement Technologies, is secretly an illegal human clone. Accumulating wealth and lobbying powerful politicians, Drucker aims to abolish the titular 6th Day laws and legalize human cloning to let people live forever. His scheme is only even discovered when pilot Adam Gibson switches places with his friend when scheduled to fly Drucker and Drucker and the other man are killed by an anti-clone extremist. Realizing Adam was cloned in error, Drucker fights both Adams to keep his secret, even catching a trick they planted for him and fighting tenaciously to clone his own dying body when wounded.
  • 6 Underground: "One" is the codename of a philanthropist who witnessed the massacre of a civilian hospital by Turgistan's President Rovach Alimov. He fakes his death and recruits five specialists to form a vigilante squad known as "The Ghosts" to take down oppressive regimes, with the caveat that they'll be left to die if their mission is in jeopardy. Masterminding a scheme to overthrow President Alimov and replace him with his more sympathetic brother Murat, One recruits a sniper to replace one of their lost crewmembers before luring Alimov's generals to Las Vegas, using hookers to distract them before the team kills them. After freeing Murat from armed guard in Hong Kong and deciding to make the team more cohesive after an argument, One hacks Turgistan's network so Murat can inspire a revolt, then flushes Alimov out with a series of bombs. When the team pursues Alimov to a yacht, One uses a device to turn the entire ship into a giant magnet, killing many of Alimov's men before capturing Alimov and dumping him into the same refugee camp that was massacred, allowing the refugees to beat Alimov to death for his crimes.
  • The Abominable Dr. Phibes: Dr. Anton Phibes himself is a cultured, accomplished organist and theologian lashing out after the death of his beloved wife. Blaming the surgical team, Phibes spends years in hiding, letting them believe him dead, until he resurfaces and begins to murder them in a series of killings designed to emulate the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Phibes is repeatedly a step ahead of every attempt to stop or capture him and ends the film almost completely victorious. Resurfacing years later, Phibes once again destroys his rivals as he seeks to restore his Victoria to life, ending up completely untouchable by the end, with his calculating mind seeing him through every challenge.
  • Absolute Power (1997): Luther Whitney is a methodical career burglar whose high-profile thefts have never been traced back to him. During one such burglary, Luther witnesses the President of the United States, Alan Richmond, murder Christy Sullivan, the young wife of billionaire philantropist Walter Sullivan. Luther steals the murder weapon and being disgusted with the President's attempts to have it covered up, resolves to expose him. Luther threatens the President and his conspirators by sending them notes and proof of Richmond's crime while visiting the White House on a guided tour in disguise. Luther also manages to avoid being assassinated by two independent snipers when agreeing to meet his estranged daughter Kate out in the open and simultaneously avoid capture by the police officers investigating Christy's death by donning a police uniform hidden underneath his overcoat. Luther eventually manages to destroy the conspiracy by exposing the truth to Walter Sullivan and protect his daughter after she becomes a target, causing the President himself to commit suicide in shame.
  • Accident Man: Mike Fallon is a Professional Killer, known by the moniker "the Accident Man" for his signature style of disguising his hits as everyday accidents. Upon hearing that his ex-girlfriend and unborn child were killed, Mike analyzes the remains to deduce that his associates had a hand in it and swiftly kills them and everyone involved in it, save Milton. Playing a recording of Milton ordering the hit on him, Mike gets Big Ray to turn against him and the two orchestrate his death by tricking him into putting on a poisoned band-aid. Quitting his assassination job with his revenge complete, Mike resolves to protect the city as a vigilante.
  • The Addams Family: Wednesday Addams is the younger of the two children who despite a penchant for wanting to become a killer or a witch later in life is smart, compassionate, methodical and perceptive in her youth. While often convincing older brother Pugsley to let her put him in death traps, Wednesday—in addition to helping lead a séance—begins to suspect and investigate when an apparent imposter shows up claiming to be Uncle Fester and eventually when finding out the truth is able to escape capture immediately after. In the sequel, Wednesday along with Pugsley also makes creative attempts to get rid of their new baby brother Pubert and then spies on new nanny Debbie Jellinsky, discovering she's a deranged, greedy killer targeting Fester. When Debbie has her and Pugsley sent to what ends up being a very racially-insensitive and Xenophobic summer camp, Wednesday eventually convinces everyone she wants to conform to the status quo while then leading all the other put upon kids in a daring and elaborate insurgence to bring the whole camp to its knees and then escape with Pugsley to go home to their family.
  • The Adjustment Bureau: Agent Thompson is a high-ranking member of the Adjustment Bureau, nicknamed "The Hammer" for his efficient and heavy-handed tactics to convince people to comply with the Bureau's plan for humanity. Brought in to force David Norris and Elise Sellas apart to fulfill the plan, Thompson explains that Elise was planted by the Bureau to inspire David to make a speech that brings him back from the brink of defeat after losing an election due to a costly mistake and his role in their plans is to become President of the United States. Thompson then reveals that Elise and David will never reach their dreams together, injuring Elise's ankle and goading David into hitting him to make a point about David's impulsiveness being brought to the forefront by Elise, convincing David to abandon Elise so they can fulfill their dreams. When David chooses Elise once more, Thompson leads the efforts to stop David, trapping David and Elise on the Bureau's top floor and only being stopped because the Bureau's leader changes the plan, whereupon Thompson respectfully stands down.
  • Air Force One: Ivan Korshunov is the leader of a group of Russian terrorists who infiltrate Air Force One by means of killing and replacing a film crew and then, by breaking into the weapons vault and killing most of the Secret Service, hijack the plane. He seeks to have Russian prisoner General Ivan Radek released from prison. He also successfully prevents an emergency landing while the plane is on the runway. Impeded by US President James Marshall, Korshunov first threatens a hostage to try to lure him out and then forces Vice President Kathryn Bennett to send for fuel when the plane loses it. Once capturing Marshall, Korshunov gets him to agree to and follow through with the release and later, Korshunov nearly escapes with a parachute. Korshunov proves constantly how he's a No-Nonsense Nemesis with every challenge he's met with and manages to retain honor in the process.
  • Airborne (1998): Bob Murdoch is a high ranking officer for Mach One. A smart, yet callous agent, Murdoch knows there's a mole working for Pierre Melo hiding amongst the team once they acquire the deadly virus. Unsure if it's either Bill McNeil or Ron Simpson, Murdoch plants a fake virus for Mach One and Dave Toombs to acquire in a chemical plant, not telling anyone in Mach One about his plan and willing to have them risk their lives to find Melo. Figuring out that Simpson was Melo after tracing his call with Toombs, Murdoch watches as Mach One kills Simpson, exposing his plan to his team knowing that they'll hate him for not telling them about the fake virus.
  • All About Eve: Addison DeWitt is a brilliant and manipulative critic. Spotting the ascent of the titular Eve Harrington through the acting industry at the expense of others, DeWitt aids her in her rise to fame while pretending to be her ally and underling. Playing along with her, he effortlessly creates a paranoia which undermines Eve's rival Margo Channing and turns the tables, netting Eve a profitable career. However, when Eve decides to marry Lloyd Richards and rise to fame, DeWitt verbally breaks her down, making it clear that he alone is responsible for his career and that she has been outplayed, taking control of her life. As the film ends, DeWitt meets a similar woman to Eve and invites her into her home, beginning the cycle once again and always coming out on top.
  • Along Came a Spider: Jezzie Flannigan is a secret service agent who exploits Gary Sonjei's kidnapping of Megan Rose for her own agenda. Pretending to help Alex Cross rescue Megan, Flannigan has her co-conspirator Ben DeVine kidnap Megan from Sonjei before calling Cross and demanding that he gives her $10 million for Megan's safe return. Retrieving her money and aware that Cross will be coming after her, Flannigan kills DeVine and tries to kill Megan once she has served her purpose.
  • Amar Akbar Anthony: Kishanlal, father of the titular trio, is the former chauffeur of crime boss Robert. After taking the fall for an accident caused by Robert and spending time in jail for it, he returns home to find his kids starving and wife sick, despite Robert assuring him that they would be taken care of. After Robert humiliates him and mocks his plight, Kishanlal shoots him and flees in one of his cars, later finding a crate of gold in it. He uses this gold to build his own criminal empire and buy out his former boss' organization, subjecting him to the same humiliations Kishanlal himself received from Robert many years ago. As Robert's actions also led to him getting separated from his family, Kishanlal kidnaps Robert's infant daughter, raising her as his niece and sending her abroad to finish her college, also framing Robert as her father's killer, denying Robert any kind of relation with her and circumventing his attempts at getting to her. When Kishnlal gets arrested at the end of the movie, he is just happy to be reunited with his wife and children after 22 years, and that Robert got his comeuppance.
  • The Amazing Spider-Man Series: "Fiers" is a mysterious man always obscured by shadows, who demonstrates an uncanny ability to get into highly secure locations, like prisons. He is heavily implied to have had a hand in many of the events throughout the storyline, including the disappearance of Peter Parker's parents. Later revealed to be acquainted with Harry Osborn, Fiers helps him to assemble a team to get revenge on Spider-Man, with their first candidate being mobster Aleksei Sytsevich. Fiers orchestrates Sytsevich's escape from prison, then grants him a rhino-shaped exo-suit he acquired from Oscorp, allowing Sytsevich to rampage across New York.
  • Amber Alert (2016): Calum McGail is a young man with borderline personality disorder determined to do whatever it takes to save his sick mother from dying of terminal cancer. To this end he kidnaps a school bus full of children and holds them hostage for a ransom, disabling the GPS system and forcing the authorities to call out an amber alert. Calum sends the police an anonymous tip leading them to a warehouse that he has booby-trapped with various land mines and explosives. Strapping a time bomb to crisis negotiator Amber Cross, Calum videotapes his hostage takeover to the news reporters threatening to kill Amber, as well as the kids to show how serious he is. Upon his demands being met, Calum blows up an empty school bus as a distraction to make his escape where it is revealed that not only the time bomb was fake but that he was pretending to hold the kids hostage using a recording of their voices while he disguised himself as a police officer using an ambulance truck to pick up his mother as the two make their getaway with the insurance money.
  • American Assassin: Stan Hurley runs Orion, a CIA assassination squad in charge of eliminating the world's most notorious terrorists with absolute discretion. Hurley has his cadets endure brutally intense training before sending them out to kill their targets, while always reminding them that no one will rescue them should they get caught. Through Hurley's unscrupulous methods, such as threatening to burn a nuclear physicist alive, he learns that his former pupil, Ghost, is working with the Iranian Government to develop a nuclear bomb and that an Iranian mole, has infiltrated Orion. When Ghost kidnaps Hurley and tortures him for abandoning him, Hurley calls out Ghost on his excuses justifying that Ghost's reckless behavior nearly got his unit kill, while remaining fearlessly defiant throughout the session; Hurley would exploit his torture session to uncover Ghost true plan to use the Iranian bomb to destroy the U.S Navy's Sixth Fleet, and tells his agent, Mitch Rapp, about it, allowing Mitch to kill Ghost and foil his plans.
  • American Gangster: Frank Lucas is the friendly but ruthless former right-hand man of crime lord "Bumpy" Johnson, seeking to restore order to Harlem following Johnson’s death. Frank manages to monopolize the Harlem drug market with his business practices, built on the principles of honesty, integrity, hard work, and family, inspiring loyalty amongst his community and subordinates. Frank becomes so powerful that he can commit muder in the open without repercussion, and operates for half a decade without issue, cultivating the image of a well-meaning family man. Upon his arrest, Frank assists Richie Roberts's investigation, putting corrupt cops and most of the DEA behind bars, while also getting his 70-year sentence reduced to 15. A man that lives by a code, despite his violent actions, Frank instills devotion in his followers and respect in the clean-cut Roberts, operating by his wits and willpower while exploiting a massive Cassandra Truth: that a black man in the 1960s has managed to rise to power.
  • American Hustle: Victor Tellegio is a Mafia member who rose from a violent hitman to a cultured underboss with lucrative casino interests. When he is offered a chance to bring casinos back to Atlantic City, he is cautious but intrigued, proposing calculating strategies in how to get around legal obstacles and showing an unexpected fluency in Arabic that nearly exposed a phoney Arab Oil Sheikh. His ruthless reputation intimidates the Boxed Crook con artist protagonists so much that they sabotage the case against Tellegio to make sure he won't seek revenge, something he communicates his appreciation for via an intermdiary.
  • April Fools' Day: Muffy St. John is a young entrepreneur with a penchant for pranks. Inheriting a mansion, Muffy decides to turn it into a country hotel where the guests would be involved in a simulated murder mystery, Ten Little Murder Victims-style. Needing a test run for the booby-trapped mansion, Muffy invites her cousin Skip and their college friends to the mansion, places items from each person's past in their rooms to unnerve them, cuts off contact to the mainland, and pretends to "murder" each of them one-by-one using the persona of a fake Evil Twin named Buffy. When the secret is found out, Muffy apologizes for the personal taunts and tricking the survivors into thinking their friends were dead, and appears all set to make her dream a reality.
  • Arlington Road: "Oliver Lang", apparent real name William Fenimore, seems to be the utterly plain neighbor of Michael Faraday, but in truth is an orchestrator of an anti-government terrorist operation. Driven to villainy by his parents' abuse by the government, Oliver murdered his friend as a youth and stole his identity to cover up his own suspicious past and hide as an average citizen. Oliver becomes one of the masterminds for a homegrown terrorist group, specializing in bombing government targets and then framing one person for it. Befriending Michael in present, Oliver turns Michael into his lastest puppet, driving the man to paranoia and rage throughout the film before tricking him into delivering a bomb straight to the FBI headquarters, killing Michael and getting the whole scheme pinned on him as Oliver ends the film ready to move with his family to a new location and start the process all over again. Polite even in the face of danger, genuinely caring for his family, and holding an apparent real affection for Michael's son Grant, Oliver's brilliance is matched only by his sincere belief in it being Necessarily Evil of taking down the government.
  • Army of the Dead:
    • Original film: "Zeus" is King of the Shamblers, an immense undead being of unknown origins first recorded as a US military test subject. Escaping custody in a traffic accident, Zeus turns the soldiers transporting him into zombies and leads them to turn the majority of the humans of Las Vegas as well, getting the city quarantined. From his base in the Olympus casino, Zeus and his wife, the undead showgirl called the "Queen", turn the undead hordes into a functioning society, with no quarrel against the humans outside the quarantine zone so long as they supply him with sacrificial "tributes" to broker ceasefires. When a government agent kills the Queen to obtain samples of her immortal tissues for research, Zeus considers his ceasefire with the protagonists to be broken and effortlessly massacres most of them, using unexpectedly advanced tactics such as covering his one weak spot, his head, with a helmet. Utterly implacable with his grief at his lost love, Zeus proves more than a match for all the heroes together and survives many things that should have killed him, defeated only by a last-second distraction and killing all but one of the protagonists.
    • Army of Thieves Prequel:
      • Gwendoline Starr leads a band of thieves in Europe, orchestrating many heists throughout the continent. Wanting to steal from the three safes made by legendary safe builder Hans Wagner, Gwendoline recruits Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert to her band after seeing his safecracking skills in actions, having him successfully crack the first two safes while also evading the authorities. Leaving Brad Cage band when the latter abandons Sebastian, she and Korina find Sebastian and convince him to help them crack the third safe in Switzerland. Literally stealing the third safe and eventually cracking it, Gwendoline subdues Brad and leaves him for Interpol to arrest before allowing she herself to be arrested so that Sebastian may escape and giving him a identity new so he could start a new life.
      • Korina Dominguez is a brilliant hacker who uses her skills to help Gwendoline Starr pull off many heists thought to be impossible. She displays her genius in the first two safe heists by hacking into security cameras and later into Interpol's severs to have them go on wild goose chases so her band can succeed in their heists. Korina later follows Gwendoline Starr when she decides to leave Brad Cage and help her and Sebastian steal the third safe in Switzerland. She then tries to stop Brad and Rolph from pursuing Gwendoline and Starr before finding a way to warn her allies of them, upon being captured by Interpol.
  • The Art of the Steal: Crunch Calhoun is a charismatic art thief who desires revenge on his brother Nicky for a betrayal by Nicky which left Crunch in prison. Crunch orchestrates a scheme to make his brother think they're stealing a copy of the Gospel of St. James and then banks on his brother's greed to convince him to keep it and make copies to increase their profit. In reality, the book doesn't exist and the money Nicky gave the forger to make the copies is instead pocketed by Crunch. Crunch convinces the Interpol agent to both arrest Nicky and allow him to take Nicky's expensive painting to make himself even more rich.
  • The Assassin's Code (2018): Kurt Schlychter is an affable, soft-spoken assassin who deeply values integrity. Under the employment of Angelo Leonetti and Jack O'Brien, Schlychter was hired to dispose of any potential threats to either men's businesses. After killing two thugs who robbed one of O'Brien's drug shipments, Schlychter also murders a detective just as he comes across the bodies. Later on, he murders two witnesses and warns one of his associates that the police are going to arrest him, only for Leonetti to have him assassinated later. Knowing his employers are equally disloyal and intend to kill him later, Schlychter kills Leonetti and assists Michael Connelly in killing O'Brien before successfully evading police forces before they can catch him.
  • Assault on Precinct 13:
    • 1976 original: Napoleon Wilson is a snarky, yet honorable, convict on death row for murder. Forced to work with some officers to defend their station from a siege of gangsters, Wilson happily obliges, putting his skills to good work as he helps take down every gangster he sees. Abiding by a code that sees him refusing to abandon the cops to their fate, Wilson's able to warn everybody about the gangsters' deceptive tactics, while charming the officers into forming a genuine friendship with him as they all survive the night.
    • 2005 remake: Marion Bishop is an arrested crime lord forced to stay overnight at Precinct 13 due to poor weather conditions stopping the prison transport where the crooked Captain Marcus Duvall plans to kill him before he can testify in court. In a shaky alliance with hero Sergeant Jake Roenick, Bishop proceeds to improvise and adapt against the dozens of intruders. Devising a plan to kill a traitorous officer when caught, Bishop also holds out under torture from Duvall, allowing Jake to kill Duvall, then escapes as dawn breaks.
  • Assault on Wall Street: Jim Baxford is an average joe New Yorker whose life savings are wiped out by crooked investment bankers, his dire financial situation causing him to lose his job as an armored truck driver, his home when he can't afford his mortgage, and even his wife Rosie to suicide when she can't handle the burden her recent battle with brain cancer and her expensive medical needs has inadvertently placed on her husband. After mourning Rosie's death, Jim uses his military experience to start planning revenge on the white collar criminals who wronged him, assassinating high-placed bankers who defrauded their clients but faced no prosecution and planning these kills out meticulously to get away with them and destroying any incriminating evidence afterwards. Jim caps off his rampage with a shooting spree in the NYC financial district, luring his former financial advisor out into the open to kill him with a sniper rifle, followed by dozens of employees working for the bank that deceived him. Jim finally holds their senior portfolio manager hostage, tricking him into snatching a gun under the guise of a "fair play" survival of the fittest, to ensure that SWAT officers will shoot him instead and unknowingly escort Jim safely off the scene.
  • The Assignment (2016): Frank Kitchen is a notorious hitman who has murdered numerous people for money. Forcibly converted into a woman by Dr. Rachel Jane as retribution for killing her brother, Frank seeks vengeance on Jane, killing everyone involved in his surgery before reaching Jane. When Jane captures her, Frank seduces Jane's assistant before killing him and all of Jane's other men, before Frank shoots Jane non-fatally. Frank would then stage the scenario to make it look like Jane's assistant committed the murders and frame Jane for killing her assistant sending Jane to a psychiatric ward, while also cutting all of Jane's fingers off so that Jane will never be able to perform her heinous surgeries on anyone else ever again.
  • The A-Team: Brock Pike is the ruthless head of Black Forest who, along with General Morrison and CIA Agent Lynch, masterminds a plot to steal printing plate so they can make themselves wealthy off counterfeit money. When Lynch trick the A-Team into recovering the plates for them, Pike and Morrison double cross him, faking Morrison’s death and absconding with the plates while the A-Team is locked away for the sanctioned mission. When the team, recruited by Lynch, track Morrison and Pike to Germany and capture Morrison, Pike pursues them and almost kills B.A. Arrested, Pike faces his execution at Lynch’s hands with mild annoyance at his incompetence before teaming up with Lynch to put an end to the team and cover their tracks. When the A-Team lures them into an ambush in a shipyard, Pike tries to reign in the rash Lynch before blowing up a nearby ship, throwing the team’s plan into chaos before nearly killing Face in the ensuing firefight.
  • Atomic Blonde: Lorraine Broughton is the elegant spy for MI6 sent into Berlin to recover "The List" and expose the mysterious KGB mole Satchel. In the midst of double-dealings and betrayals, Lorraine comes out on top and betrays her superiors at MI6, being the true Satchel who had manipulated the situation the entire time. In truth, Lorraine actually works for the CIA to play MI6 and the KGB against one another, wiping out the Russian agents and escaping back to America with her job complete.
  • Austin Powers: While Dr. Evil himself misses no chance to delve into Bond Villain Stupidity, many of his subordinates operate brilliantly:
    • Number Two is Dr. Evil's aptly-named, far more competent right-hand man. Managing the business front of Evil's empire while his boss is cryogenically frozen in space, Number Two expands the operation to a multibillion dollar national corporation. Surviving his seeming death due to oversight in the first film, Number Two is kept on by Evil likely for his effectiveness and provides reconnaissance, capturing Austin Powers while the doctor concocts his latest goofy scheme. Forming an effective Hollywood talent agency by undercutting the competition's prices, Number Two eventually joins Dr. Evil in turning to good after being touched by Evil's reunion with his long-lost father Nigel Powers.
    • Frau Farbissina is Dr. Evil's hammy head scientist, and one of the only members of his organization he genuinely respects. The founder of the militant wing of the Salvation Army, Frau oversees the creation of the Fembots, who have the ability to seduce men into dropping their guard and easily killing them. Using them to try to kill Austin Powers, it's later revealed that Frau and Dr. Evil created his wife Vanessa to kill Austin when he leasts suspects it. Dearly devoted to Dr. Evil, while very protective of her son Scott Evil, Frau does what she can to help her boss in his schemes.
    • International Man of Mystery: Alotta Fagina poses as the Sexy Secretary of Number Two. When Austin sneaks into her penthouse to uncover Dr. Evil's plans, she seduces him, uncovering his true identity to let Evil catch him and even after Austin disables Evil's apocalyptic drill, captures Vanessa, nearly forcing him to allow for Evil's escape.

     B 
  • Baby Driver: Doc is a criminal mastermind who formed an enterprise on the basis of intricate and precise robberies. He demonstrates impressive planning—from what to wear, who to contact, and how to escape—and takes into account every eventuality. One of Doc's main strategies to avoid being caught is to use a different crew for every bank robbery he stages, though he does mix and match members of those various crews along the way. Having zero tolerance for stupidity, Doc sees the titular Baby as his lucky charm to the point he's willing to gaslight the kid even after he's paid off his debt. In the climax after his criminal enterprise has been uprooted in one reckless night, Doc packs up his base of operations to leave, but seeing the couple Baby and Debora, he decides to help them escape all because he was in love once like them, even giving up his life.
  • The Babysitter (2017): Bee, in addition to being the world's best babysitter, is a ruthless and manipulative satanist who made a pact with the Devil. Bringing together cults and stealing the blood of kids she babysits, Bee lures over sacrifices to kill and drink the mixed blood with the cult. After seemingly being defeated by her charge, protagonist Cole Johnson, Bee later repents of evil and spends her time manipulating her former cult to help Cole, bringing him together with her first charge Phoebe Atwell, in the hopes that she and Cole will hook up and render his "innocent" blood tainted to the demonic cultists.
  • Bad Black: Swaaz, also known as "the Ugandan Schwarzenegger", is the titular Bad Black's father and Flavia's husband. Desperate to save the latter when she's dying while about to deliver Bad Black, Swaaz works with his young partner Buddy Spencer to rob a bank in order to get the required medical funds. Having Spencer distract an armed guard, Swaaz disarms him and robs the bank before escaping with Spencer in a car, later on giving the loot to Spencer and having jump out of the car while Swaaz continues to draw the police's attention. Successfully doing so through his quick thinking—at one point hiding in a hole, waiting for one of his pursuers to run above it before shooting him dead—and his skills as a gunman, Swaaz is only killed when the police blow up his car. Despite his demise, his "Supa Tough" mission is a complete success, Spencer having delivered the heist money just in time to save Flavia's life.
  • Bad Boys for Life: Isabel Aretas and Armando Aretas are a pair of Mexican criminals seeking to avenge the fall of the Aretas cartel. While in prison, Isabel murders one of the guards and escapes after posing as the guard she killed. After escaping, Isabel hands Armando a list of law enforcement and other officials to kill, all of whom helped dismantle the cartel and put Isabel in prison. After wounding Mike Lowrey, Armando spends several months assassinating the officials, swiftly eluding the police after each kill. To further torment Mike psychologically, Armando posts a video of him shooting Mike onto the dark web and later murders Captain Howard while they're both attending a basketball game. Once Mike and his partner Marcus try to sneak into Isabel's palace to confront her and Armando, Isabel anticipates their assault and immediately captures them, before attempting to kill them both.
  • Bad Times at the El Royale: Father Daniel Flynn, formerly Donald "Dock" O'Kelly, once planned a daring heist of an armored car. Spending ten years in prison before being paroled, Flynn, disguises himself as a Catholic Priest, also fighting and overcoming memory loss due to mental-illness, then goes to the El Royale Hotel where his brother and partner Felix hid the money before being killed. Realizing he's in the wrong room, Flynn attempts to drug singer Darlene Sweet for the purpose of getting her to pass out so he can access her room and when that doesn't work, Flynn tells her the story and offers her half of the money to help him get it. Flynn and Darlene divert attention while they find the money and Flynn then fights back against cruel cult leader Billy Lee. Flynn pretends to be a priest once again to help ease a troubled and wounded man to peace as he lays dying and flees with Darlene and the money, later showing up again to watch her perform at a show too.
  • Bandits: Joe Blake and Terry Collins break out of prison and embark on a bank robbery spree where they kidnap bank managers and their families the night before the robbery, merrily have dinner with their well-treated hostages, and make their hostages let them into the banks the next morning. Terry is good at long-term planning and logistical realities, while Joe excels at brilliant Refuge in Audacity Indy Ploys. The two manipulate and betray each other in escalating ways after falling in love with their hostage turned accomplice, Kate Wheeler, but ultimately get over these problems and reaffirm their bond. Even when they are cornered by the police and blame each other for this, it is all a deliberately staged show to publicly exonerate Kate and then fake their own deaths by using special effects to pretend they shot each other and wired their bodies with explosives. The two end up rich and retired in Mexico, in a polyamorous relationship with Kate, while the world assumes they are dead and sees them as folk heroes.
  • Bangkok Dangerous:
    • 1999 Original: Kong is a deaf-mute hitman who uses his disability to block out all sounds that could distract him during his hits. Once a kid bullied for his deafness, Kong rose to become a skilled assassin, revered for his efficiency and loyalty. After his friend and mentor Joe is killed by the Hong Kong mafia, Kong accepts an offer to kill the murderers, taking them all out efficiently, even killing the leader before he could pull out a gun. Outmaneuvering a client's attempt to kill him, even though it leads to the death of Joe's girlfriend Aom, Kong tracks down the mob and wipes them all out, and when surrounded by the police with the mob's boss in hand, he chooses to kill himself by shooting himself in the head, making sure the boss's head is next to his so that he'll die too.
    • 2008 Remake: Joe is an international assassin known for his ruthlessness and using everything at his disposal to accomplish his hits. Introduced killing a target by timing his sniper shot with a church bell, Joe often hires con artists and pickpockets to assist him in his hits, killing them after the job's done and making their deaths look like accidents. Heading to Bangkok to accomplish his next series of hits under mob boss Surat, Joe spares his new partner Kong after he screws up too many times because he saw himself in him, deciding to make him his protégée. Ultimately deciding to retire after finding love in the form of Fon, Joe outmaneuvers Surat's attempt to kill him, from using homemade paint can bombs to wipe out oncoming goons, to sneaking into his base and wiping out his forces to rescue Kong and his girlfriend Aom. Eventually surrounded by police after killing all of Surat's men, Joe chooses to kill himself and Surat as a form of redemption.
  • Barb Wire: Barbara Kopetski, aka Barb Wire herself, is a premier Bounty Hunter who runs her bar as a neutral zone. Introduced successfully infiltrating a strip club to rescue a young girl before holding the girl hostage until she gets paid, Barb later manages to kidnap Dr. Krebs despite all of his security. When Colonel Victor Pryzer begins hounding her for the resistance leader they're looking for, Barb helps sneak her out of the club to protect her, then makes a deal with Big Fatso to get them out of the country in exchange for the set of contacts she has. When the deal goes bad, Barb throws a grenade to make everyone scatter, eventually killing all of her enemies through her quick-thinking and resourcefulness before escaping the country to Quebec.
  • The Batman (2022): As revealed through the ARG, while seeking insight into the Riddler, Batman goes to visit an unnamed Arkham prisoner. Looking at the photos Batman gives him, he quickly deduces that the motive is personal and that he both has a grudge against Batman but also admires him. While Batman feels he's wasting his time, he finally probes Batman by taunting Bruce with the fact that he feels Riddler's victims deserved it. Meanwhile the prisoner discreetly keeps a paper clip that was on one of the Riddler's files. Towards the end of the film, the Riddler's scheme has been foiled, and he's having a nervous breakdown in Arkham. The prisoner comforts him, praising his genius, and convinces Riddler to be his friend while telling him "Gotham loves a good comeback story."
  • Batman Returns: Catwoman, real name Selina Kyle, was once the put-down secretary of shady businessman Max Shreck. When Shreck pushes her out of the window of his building for learning too much, Selina is given cat powers by strays out on the streets and uses them to become a vengeful vigilante herself. As Catwoman, she overcomes a thug mugging a woman with ease, blows up one of Shreck's stores while timing her escape perfectly and, on more than one occasion, bests Batman in a physical fight. Catwoman also briefly teams up with the Penguin to successfully pull off a scheme to frame Batman, and later saves the Dark Knight while finally taking out Shreck once and for all.
  • Bedazzled (2000): The Devil herself is a sultry wish-granter who seduces humans into surrendering their immortal souls in exchange for their grandest desires. The Devil has successfully conned mortals for thousands of years and millions of souls, always maintaining a chipper, likable attitude even through her many years of evil doing. Manipulating Elliot into being her latest victim under promise for a set amount of wishes, the Devil tricks him into making a variety of requests that she always corrupts or twists in some manner, forcing Elliot to consistently waste his wishes. Even though Elliot winds up doing the impossible and getting out of his contract with the Devil by showing his willingness to perform a Heroic Sacrifice, the Devil faces her undoing with nothing but grace and respect for Elliot, and continues her ages-long chess game against God himself for the soul of humanity.
  • Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon: Leslie Vernon is an aspiring killer in the vein of Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger who is chosen to be the subject of a documentary that the main character, Taylor Gentry, is making. Taylor ends up charmed by the shockingly charismatic Leslie who details to her and her film crew exactly how he plans to carry out his murder spree. When Taylor opts to interfere on behalf of the victims, she realizes Leslie's real plan: she and her crew were also intended to be his victims, and they're playing right into his hands, becoming part of his attack just as Leslie always intended. It turns out Taylor is actually Leslie's chosen "final girl" to defeat him and seal his place in slasher legend. It also turns out Leslie predicted exactly how Taylor would defeat him and took precautions to survive this as well.
  • Best Seller: Cleve is a hitman who has murdered many people while in the employ of Madlock Industries, removing various "liabilities" to the organization. Cleve and a small crew successfully steal millions of dollars from a police evidence lock-up in 1972, then fifteen years later contacts ex-policeman turned True Crime novelist Dennis Meechum, the man he nearly killed years before, to relate his lifestory. Cleve intends to use Meechum as a weapon against his former boss, shady businessman David Madlock, out of revenge for having dismissed Cleve by exposing Madlock's crimes to the world. Always a charming smooth talker and polite individual to those he meets to mask his true nature, Cleve continually treats Meechum like an old friend. Despite being a contract killer, Cleve admits to some standards such as a distaste for rape and wanton cruelty, and in the end takes out Madlock and his armed staff in order to save Meechum's daughter at the cost of his own life.
  • The Big Lebowski: Maude Lebowski is the daughter of the title character. When Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski gets caught in a kidnapping scheme involving her father's wife and takes a rug that is rightfully hers, she has two thugs knock him out and then tells him to come visit her. While there Maude tells him to visit a doctor, and when he eventually does, the doctor checks his virility. She later seduces him, and reveals she was simply using him to get a child from a man who would want nothing to do with her. In the meantime she even helps the Dude figure out that her father embezzled money and never intended on paying the ransom for the kidnapping. She ends the film triumphant with the narrator letting us know "a little Lebowski is on the way."
  • Big Trouble in Little China: "David" Lo Pan is an ancient Chinese sorcerer cursed until he can marry the green-eyed daughter of a holy woman. Ruling the underworld and keeping his enemies on the retreat, Lo Pan masterminds the kidnapping of heroines Miao Yin and Gracie Law so he can circumvent the prophecy by marrying both while sacrificing one to a demon so he may keep both his youth and godly power simultaneously.
  • A Bittersweet Life: Kim Sun-woo is a stoic, highly efficient enforcer for the crime lord Mr. Kang. Sun-woo is able to physically incapacitate entire rooms of enemy crooks, and when dispatched on tailing missions, his stealth skills enable him to stalk his targets with ease. After refusing Kang's orders to kill his unfaithful mistress Hee-soo, Sun-woo is captured by Kang and sentenced to be tortured and Buried Alive. Sun-woo proceeds to survive both, manipulate his captors into lowering their guard, and mount an escape that entails him outdoing dozens of goons. Sun-woo then kills an Arms Dealer to steal his arsenal and goes on a one-man warpath in which he ambushes and wipes out Kang, as well as his allies and minions with badass flourish. Accepting that the rampage will end in his own demise, Sun-woo dies with a smile on his face at having avenged himself and protected Hee-soo, even having bought Hee-soo a special gift for her to find once Sun-woo was dead.
  • The Black Pirate: The unnamed Duke of Arnoldo, the "Black Pirate" himself, is the Sole Survivor of a ruthless pirate attack, bent on avenging his father's death. He decides to join the evil captain's pirate gang, and proves his worthiness to the crew by killing the captain in a sword duel. He then single-handedly takes a Spanish ship on, and when the pirates resort to their usual looting tactics, he convinces the pirates to take both the ship and a princess on board hostage. The Black Pirate goes behind the pirate crew's backs and rescues the princess from captivity, and improvises his way through the attacks of the pirate crew, including being forced to walk the plank and surviving the depths of the waters. He returns with a boatload of men to rescue the princess and storm and capture the pirate's vessel. Afterwards, the Black Pirate reveals his Spanish duke status to the Princess and marries her.
  • Black Rain: Sugai Kunio is an old-school Oyabun and a boss who believes in honor and dignity. Running an international counterfeiting scheme, Sugai reveals his crimes are a way to repay America for the bombing of Hiroshima which he witnessed as a child and the aftermath of American dominance in Japan. With hero Nick Conklin, Sugai forms a scheme to lure the upstart killer Sato Koji into a trap while successfully reclaiming his counterfeiting plates and keeping his reputation clean.
  • Black Sunday (1977 film): Dahlia Iyad is a high-ranking member of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, with a lingering hatred of Israel for the deaths of her family. Approached by unstable blimp pilot Michael Lander with a plot to detonate a Flechette Storm bomb at the Super Bowl, Dahlia persuades Black September to finance the plan and co-opts it into a political statement to punish the US for their support of Israel. Dahlia herself keeps Lander stable enough to proceed with the plan and runs interference throughout the film, murdering a Mossad agent and the blimp pilot so that Lander can replace him. When the plan is discovered, Dahlia ensures that Lander is able to get the blimp into the air and holds off cops and FBI agents long enough for him to activate the bomb, nearly causing the deaths of thousands of people.
  • Blacula: The noble Prince Mamuwalde is turned into a vampire by the evil Count Dracula. Later returning in modern day, Mamuwalde kills numerous people to slake his lust for blood and easily eludes and confounds his attempted vampire hunting pursuers. Finding a woman who resembles his lost love, Tina, Mamuwalde wins her over with his charisma and charm, until her death results in his somber suicide. Returned from the dead, Mamuwalde turns the tables on a man who believes he might control him and attempts to rid himself of his vampire curse by winning over priestess Lisa Fortier.
  • Blade II: Prince Jared Nomak is the original heir to the empire of vampire Overlord Eli Damaskinos. After being experimented on by Damaskinos, Nomak becomes the progenitor of the Reaper strain, feral mutant vampires who feed on their civilized kin. Making his presence known after luring several vampires into a trap, Nomak leads his Reapers to attack other vampires, using the distraction to catch his sister Nyssa. Seeing the Daywalker Blade as a natural ally, Nomak sincerely tries to persuade him to join forces, while also sparing the life of Blade's mentor Whistler to reveal the truth about the Reapers' origins. Finally confronting and killing his monstrous father, Nomak also feeds on Nyssa at her behest and calmly accepts his own death at Blade's hands, thankful that his pain is over.
  • Blade Runner franchise:
    • Original film: Roy Batty is a Replicant and former soldier model who is driven to gain more life for himself and his partners from his "father", Dr. Eldon Tyrell. Stealing to Earth while eluding all pursuers, Roy has his lover Pris seduce the Tyrell Corporation engineer Sebastian to provide access to Tyrell, whereupon Roy learns his wish is impossible. Killing Tyrell and Sebastian, Roy engages the Blade Runner cop Rick Deckard in battle, but ends up saving and sparing Deckard despite having the cop dead to rights. Using his last moments to impart a few of his memories to Deckard, Roy ensures he will not be forgotten even as he notes his own memories shall be gone "like tears in rain", proving himself one of the most complex, charismatic and dynamic antagonists in sci-fi cinema.
    • Blade Runner Shorts's "Black Out 2022": Iggy Cygnus is a combat model Nexus-8 replicant, who fought in a war on the colony Calantha. Discovering that all soldiers in that war were replicants built to fight and die for their human masters, Iggy escaped to Earth only to see that human supremacy movements have been hunting down and killing Replicants there by tracking them down with Tyrell Corporation's database of registered replicants. Coming up with a plan to destroy the entire Tyrell's database to help hide the identity of every replicant from humans, Iggy recruits Ren Dus, a technician at the Tyrell Corporation in charge of launching nuclear missiles, and fellow replicant Trixie. Having Ren redirect a missile to detonate above Los Angeles, which turned all the power in the city off and deleted all the data, killing countless innocent people in the process, Iggy and Trixie invaded Tyrell's archives to destroy all magnetic backups. Succeeding at the cost of both of his partners, Iggy removes his right eye, making himself completely untraceable.
  • Blast (2004): The eco-terrorist named "Michael Kittredge" is in actuality a master thief named Talbert Skyler who killed and replaced the real Kittredge to adopt his identity and goals as a cover to hide his own agenda. As Kittredge, Skyler takes over an oil rig and makes a show of attempting to extort money and a confession out of the corrupt CEO Mr. Heller to distract from his real goal, effortlessly playing both sides with cool-headed, masterful deviousness. Skyler continually undermines efforts to thwart him, disorienting and wiping out a team of Navy SEALs sent to the rig and quickly deducing there's a federal agent among his ranks, ruthlessly rooting out every loose end around him. In the end, Skyler's true goal — to wire billions of dollars all across California to his secret account before using an EMP to knock out power all across the state the instant it's done — is stopped only scant seconds before it can be achieved.
  • Blazing Saddles: Jim is a wry and witty gunslinger who was once "The Waco Kid", the fastest gun in the world. Having killed many men who foolishly thought they could challenge him, after getting shot in the ass by a child he spared, Jim turned to alcohol and became depressed. Befriending Rock Ridge’s new sheriff Bart and demonizing the white citizens’ racist attitude, Jim shows he’s still got it as he assists Bart in preventing Hedley Lamarr and his men from destroying the town by luring them into numerous traps, coming out as one of Rock Ridge’s saviors.
  • Blood Debts: Mark Collins, after seeing his daughter and her boyfriend killed by a gang, takes revenge on them by interrogating one of their members, then systemically taking them down before going after other criminals. When Bill forces him to do his bidding, only to come back on his word by attempting to kill him with a car bomb that kills his wife Yvette, Mark rampages throughout Bill's compound, and when Bill seemingly has him cornered, he reveals a grenade launcher underneath his sleeve and blasts Bill to death with a single shot, turning himself in to the police when all is done.
  • Blood Diamond: Danny Archer is a Rhodesian mercenary forced into the debt of the unscrupulous Colonel Coetzee and intends to retrieve a large diamond known to the fisherman Solomon Vandy. Pulling Vandy along by manipulating him with promises to help his family, Danny helps Solomon survive and also assists journalist Maddy in obtaining evidence against the diamond trade. Developing a conscience, Danny calls in Coetzee's forces to destroy the local RUF and helps Solomon overcome Coetzee's men. Mortally wounded, Danny gives his life to cover Solomon's escape to make it to Maddy and expose the illegal diamond trade worldwide.
  • Blood Moon: "The Killer", real name Chad Atkins, was a former kung fu champion who was disqualified from the Tournament of the Champions for injuring a contestant. After faking his death in a car crash, he reemerged three years later as a theatrical Serial Killer of martial arts champions, starting with his fellow tournament contestants. His modus operandi is to duel his victims to the death in disguise and in private areas while leaving minimal evidence that could be used to trace his real identity, quickly knocking out potential witnesses. When he decides to broadcast the murder of one of his victims live on the internet, he rigs the building he's in to explode the moment anyone steps foot in it and escapes before the police can track his location down. Continuing to evade the police while sending them cryptic messages, he finds a Worthy Opponent in Detective Ken O'Hara after a chance encounter with him during one of his attempted murders. He soon kidnaps O'Hara's wife and child and straps a timed bomb to them, forcing O'Hara to kill him so he can save his family, the bomb posthumously revealed a bluff as Atkins leaves a recording reminding he doesn't kill innocents.
  • Blood Shot (2013): The nameless Vampire is a towering, demon-possessed creature loyal to the US government. Hunting the terrorist best known as "Bob", the vampire steadily clears out nests of terrorists with his wits, roping in the police officer Rip to the conflict while grooming him as a replacement vampire. In the final battle, the Vampire reveals his plan was to pass the torch to Rip all along, turning him into a vampire to finish the fight against Bob as he moves on to heaven, giving Rip his card to the Vampire Division and finally revealing his name.
  • Bloodsucking Bastards (2015): Affable, friendly Max is an old rival of the hero Evan Sanders, having been sent overseas to a Carpathian program where he has returned as a vampire to increase productivity at Evan's company. Max does this by steadily converting employees to vampirism and removing "weak links" while plotting to supplant company president Ted. To ensure he leaves nothing to chance, Max makes certain to turn the legal department first and make everything compliant before murdering Ted and attempting to deal with Evan and friends.
  • Blood Vessel: "The Patriarch" is the leader of a family of Strigoi stowed away on a German ship. After being left dormant, the Patriarch is unknowingly awakened after Bigelow opens his coffin, and immediately drained of his blood so the Patriarch can regain his strength and later revive his wife. With his daughter, Mya, having already infected Jane and Faraday, the Patriarch uses his psychic powers to take over Faraday's body, forcing the Allied soldiers to kill him. After Mya is killed, he uses his powers to force Jane to free himself and his wife, both of whom use their powers to try and kill the remaining survivors. Despite perishing when the ship is incinerated, the Patriarch allows Jane to live so she would later kill Sinclair and spread her vampiric disease to others in the future.
  • Blown Away: Ryan Gaerity is a brilliant bomb designer and terrorist who has made it his life's mission to pay Jimmy Dove back for thwarting a scheme decades ago—which resulted in Gaerity's imprisonment and the death of his sister. Escaping prison in the present by manipulating his cellmate and turning a toilet into a bomb, Gaerity tracks down Dove and begins picking off the man's bomb squad team with ingeniously strategic explosives, predicting their moves every step of the way. A genuinely affable, humorous fellow who dances to Irish tunes and collects toys he admires, Gaerity successfully kills off several of Dove's friends and the man's uncle before leaving a bomb to take out his family as well, with Gaerity's final moments being spent admiring his greatest explosive art ever concocted, even as it consumes him in its flames.
  • Body Heat: Mary Ann Simpson, known as "The Vamp" in her teenage years, is a beautiful, beguiling woman who breathed new life into the Femme Fatale trope. She seduces the sleazy and incompetent lawyer Ned Racine, engaging in a torrid affair with him before convincing him to kill her wealthy husband Edmund Walker by subtly exposing the man's shady business affairs to soothe Ned's possible moral qualms. Marry Ann then has her husband's will improperly changed behind Ned's back so it will be declared null and void by a judge and render her the sole beneficiary of her husband's estate. Mary Ann fakes her own death and implicates Ned, while also being revealed to have assumed the identity of her supposed friend Matty Tyler and killed her as well. Mary Ann's scheme took years of planning, ultimately leaving her with a fortune and living scott-free in a tropical island paradise.
  • The Boondock Saints:
    • Connor and Murphy MacManus are a pair of Irish Catholic brothers in Boston who believe they have received a revelation to kill the wicked. First murdering a host of Russian mobsters via a clever ambush, the two recruit their friend David Della Rocco and use his knowledge of the inner mob workings to strategically strike and eliminate as many evil men as they can. After being caught by the Yakavetta family, the two get free via Murphy having Connor break his wrist to slip a cuff and the two reunite with their long-lost father to avenge Rocco by sneaking into "Papa Joe" Yakavetta's trial to execute him. Seen as heroes, the brothers later return to all but annihilate more syndicates and prepare to take their crusade to new levels, their influence having grown to the point even police hear their calling.
    • Special Agent Paul Smecker of the FBI is a genius who never fails to solve a crime. Upon the string of murders of criminals in Boston, Smecker soon puts together that Connor and Murphy are responsible but believing in the righteousness of their cause decides to save them from the Yakavettas by disguising himself as a woman to gain access. Arranging their access to the courthouse to execute Papa Joe, Smecker later fakes his death to go underground and directs his protege Agent Bloom to help the Saints while he builds a secret network to see their work taken to new levels.
    • "Il Duce", real name Noah MacManus, is a mob hitman feared for his deadly proficiency and known for his refusal to take contracts on women or children. A genius killer ever since he watched a mobster murder his beloved father, Noah is hired by Papa Joe to kill the MacManus brothers, proving the boys' deadliest match before recognizing them as his sons and executing Papa Joe in court before retiring to Ireland. Returning when the Roman—his former childhood friend who had betrayed him—attacks his sons, Noah reigns down furious vengeance upon his organization, personally killing the Roman even while mortally wounded, fulfilling his revenge and dying accomplished.
    • All Day Saints (2009):
      • Special Agent Eunice Bloom is Smecker's protege and equal in crime scene deduction. Secretly a devotee to the Saints, Bloom, after having her fun scaring Smecker's old colleagues, begins setting up their murder scenes to stage as mobsters killing each other and keeping the MacManus brothers safe from the law. Even when they wind up arrested at the end, Bloom meets with Smecker and after the two hatch a plan to spring the brothers from jail.
      • "The Roman" was once Louie Romano, best friend of Noah MacManus. After helping his vigilante friend arm and prepare himself for hits, Louie grew greedy, helping the mob arrest Noah and later used the Yakavetta family to secure his rise in the criminal underworld. Luring out Noah by having his hitman attack his sons, the Roman prepares for their attack on his manor, calmly admitting his crimes to Noah before having his men Noah and the MacManus brothers, ending with Noah mortally wounded and calmly accepting his fate, the battle bloody enough that even the Saints themselves cannot escape the police when they happen upon the scene.
  • Bottle Rocket: Mr. Abe Henry is a master thief who runs his operations under the guise of a lawn services company in Texas. Alternately encouraging and crude to his subordinate thieves, Henry is an expert at reading people and plays on the insecurities of protagonists Anthony, Dignan, and Bob to pull a job robbing a cold storage facility for him. The job is a disaster, but Henry couldn't care less, considering his actual objective was keeping the trio busy so he could steal all of Bob's expensive furniture.
  • The Bourne Series:
    • Jason Bourne himself is an unstoppable, exceptionally dangerous man who has made his mark as one of film's most badass super spies. Born "David Webb", he was the first volunteer for the Treadstone program, taking the name Jason Bourne and becoming the CIA's most efficient operative. Upon losing his memory when his morals cost him a mission, Bourne becomes a rogue agent in his attempt to find the truth about his past, skillfully evading all forms of law enforcement and government interference as he traverses the globe. Bourne is a master of cat-and-mouse, capable of dodging dozens of cameras and enemy eyes with little hassle, and he is just as proficient in giving or avoiding chase, as he demonstrates incredible evasive maneuvers multiple times both on foot and on wheels. Proficient in hand-to-hand combat, Bourne regularly brutalizes multiple policemen at a time, and with his ability to turn almost anything into a weapon, he consistently outperforms his fellow Treadstone assassins both tactically and physically. In his quest for the truth, Bourne humiliates and dismantles his CIA pursuers on the regular, even turning some of them into his allies, and though he loses several loved ones like Marie or Nicky, he always avenges them tenfold. By the time Bourne is done with those working against him, multiple black ops divisions have been exposed to the public; the men behind Treadstone and who killed Bourne's father are dead; and Bourne has vanished without a trace once more, never to be found until he chooses.
    • Supremacy: Kirill is a Russian federal agent who moonlights as the personal triggerman for corrupt oil magnate Yuri Gretkov. Kirill opens the film by skillfully assassinating multiple CIA agents and silencing a source of information they were meeting who would expose Gretkov's criminal activities. Framing Jason Bourne for the murders, Kirill tracks Bourne down and nearly kills him, claiming Marie's life in the process. Later chasing Bourne through the streets of Moscow, Kirill seriously wounds him with a gunshot and is only held back from killing him by police presence. After a lengthy car chase during which time he matches up nicely with Bourne, Kirill is seriously wounded and left at Bourne's mercy, yet remains stoic with no sign of fear at his approaching death.
    • Ultimatum: Dr. Albert Hirsch is the psychologist overseeing the behavioral transition of candidates into the Treadstone program—and continues on through the Blackbriar and Operation Outcome programs as well, during which he watches the torture the recruits undergo to agree to submit to joining and following orders without question. Hirsch also once each candidate is primed, modified and ready personally gives his approval for each once they've successfully executed a masked prisoner—as he did with Bourne—and then proudly sends them off for active duties as Black Ops assassins. Hirsch once finding out from Noah Vosen that Bourne is on his way chooses to stay not only to give the CIA the chance to race there to catch Bourne, but also to willingly fill Bourne in on what he wants to know as well in hopes he can convince him to come back—remaining very calm and relaxed even when Bourne holds a gun to his head.
    • Legacy:
      • Aaron Cross, formerly Kenneth James Kitsom, was a PFC in the military who agreed to join Operation Outcome after injuries and become a biologically engineered assassin—doing so by taking the medications provided to be able to temporarily advance those physical and mental prowesses. During a training exercise after a mission where he accidentally wrought collateral damage, Cross discovers he's being targeted by drone by means of his tracking device; fakes his death by implanting it on a pursuing wolf and then tracks down and takes out operatives sent after virologist Dr. Marta Shearing while faking her death as well so that he can bring her with him to the facility in Manila, The Philippines—where she successfully virals him off and makes the effects of the medications permanent. Upon both being targeted by police and LARX #3, Cross beats the cops down in combat; leads LARX through a destructive and harrowing chase to get rid of him and then escapes off the grid with Marta indefinitely.
      • Colonel Eric Byer of the National Research Assay Group personally oversaw the structuring; architecture and workings of Outcome and its specially-enhanced operatives and having known Cross from his PFC days, selected him to join as one of their test subjects. Upon Blackbriar's exposure and the heavy investigating and scrutiny the CIA is facing, Byer comes in and makes the arrangements to erase everything related to Outcome as a means of damage control—such as sending poisoned medications to all their assassins; taking out another with a drone strike—and nearly Cross himself in the process—and having a scientist at the lab drugged so that he'll shoot all his colleagues dead before taking himself out—with Marta miraculously surviving and Byer nearly having her killed in a staged suicide shortly after. He also has Dr. Albert Hirsch killed when his own role is too badly compromised and upon discovering Cross is alive and saved Marta—who is now going to viral him off in Manila, Byer sends LARX #3–specially trained with no emotions to robotically follow responses without question—to track them down there before it's too late.
    • Jason Bourne: Heather Lee is the ambitious, but well-meaning, head of the CIA Cyber Ops Division seeking to advance in the ranks of the agency. She first identifies and locates rogue agent Nicky Parsons as the one who stole the black ops files from Treadstone to Iron Hand, tracks her and has a small part in her death too. Heather is able to download malware into the files so she can trace them later on and then use a phone in the same room as an encrypted computer to delete the files. Heather seeks to convince Jason Bourne to return to the CIA as a valuable assassin rather than have him killed and when she learns of how corrupt both Director Robert Dewey and the Asset are, Heather helps Bourne sneak back to America through Las Vegas. When Heather realizes they are under suspicion, she alerts Bourne, later saves Bourne herself by killing Dewey and then once again tries to take power using her influence with Bourne, only for him to just barely outsmart her.
  • Bowfinger: Bobby Bowfinger is an aging Hollywood director who decides to shoot an Alien Invasion movie starring an action star without him knowing he's in it. Gathering together a group of wanna-bes for his actors and illegal Mexican immigrants for his crew, he follows A-list actor Kit Ramsay around filming him in secret and editing the film around his footage. Unaware that his actions are triggering Kit's Paranoia Fuel about aliens being real, Kit's mentors at Mindhead realize what's happening and bust Bowfinger as he films the final scenes. Bowfinger bounces back with secret footage of Kit flashing himself to the Laker Girls, blackmailing Mindhead and Kit into cooperating. Fast-talking, quick-thinking, and never letting any opportunity go to waste, Bowfinger manages to pull off his scheme and finally make a movie like he's dreamed of.
  • Bowery at Midnight: The devious Doc Brooks, chafing at the treatment he receives from his sociopathic boss Karl Wagner, decides to get back at him. Karl trusts Doc with the cadavers of the many people he's murdered, where for the entire film Doc experiments on them under Karl's nose until he's brought them back as zombies. When Karl's scheme falls apart, the Doc convinces Karl to hide in the cellar—where he's also hidden the zombies—who rip Karl apart as Doc watches, chuckling.
  • The Bride With White Hair: Lian Nishang is a talented assassin for an evil cult, performing her work for them with guile and skill, before she meets Cho Yihang. Falling in love with him, she works to fight against her old masters, before Lian Nishang finds herself betrayed by her love. Becoming the "White-Haired Witch", Lian Nishang wipes out her old cult and creates a new one as a way to protect betrayed and abused women while working to destroy the other martial arts sects, kidnapping the new heroine to brainwash and use her against her own love.
  • The Brothers Grimm: Wilhelm "Will" and Jacob "Jake" Grimm themselves are charming storytellers and con men. After the tragic death of their sister, the brothers spend years tricking villagers across Germany into paying them for "slaying" fake monsters until being arrested for perjury by the occupying French military. Offered the chance to disprove the haunting of Marbaden, where a series of children have gone missing, in exchange for their lives, even after the brothers initially fail, Jake manages to quickly think up a lie to stop the French General from executing them. Returning to the legitimately haunted village, the brothers battle the villainous mirror queen, Will killing the wicked General, and Jake using his knowledge of the queen's weakness to destroy her and free the village children.
  • Brotherhood of the Wolf: The alluring and deadly Sylvia is an agent of the Holy See sent to stop the mad priest Henri Sardis. Posing as a prostitute, she seduces the Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac and gives him information to hunt down Sardis' organization before poisoning him to fake his death and allowing him to get close enough to wipe out Sardis' group, the Pact while she brings her forces to eliminate any others swiftly.
  • Bullet to the Head: Jimmy Bobo is a Professional Killer who opens the film assassinating a corrupt cop but sparing an innocent prostitute. When he realizes he is seen as expendable by corrupt businessman Morel, Jimmy goes to war to get his hands on Morel's dealings, luring the mercenary hitman Keegan and his squad into a trap and blowing up his cabin to kill all save the escaping Keegan. Clearing his way through Morel's men and using his flash drive to bargain for the life of his daughter from Morel, Jimmy proceeds to face the unhappy Keegan in a fight to the death in which Jimmy wins by fighting smarter and pulling a knife. To spare his detective ally Kwon from any questions regarding their team up, Jimmy shoots him in the shoulder just to make it look like Kwon tried to stop him.
  • Bullet Train: "The Elder" is a wise Yakuza whose boss was slain and betrayed by the White Death, he himself barely surviving with his son. Waiting for the day Fate would deliver him revenge, the Elder finally gets his chance when his son is forced to work for "The Prince" with his own son a hostage. When the Elder confronts the Prince, he reveals that he anticipated his grandson was a target after he was pushed off of a building, having the would-be assassin murdered and calmly mocking her. Working with the surviving cast to turn the White Death's trap against him, the Elder easily dispatches his underlings before finally confronting his nemesis. Fighting valiantly, the Elder and his family survive the ordeal while the White Death dies, the Elder's vengeance finally delivered.
  • Byzantium: Clara Webb began life as a poor woman by the sea who was tricked by the evil Captain Ruthven and sold to a brothel. After years of rape and abuse by Ruthven, Clara gave her daughter Eleanor to an orphanage while giving money for her care. Stealing a map to the "Nameless Saint" from Ruthven, Clara became a vampire and embraced her new life, only violating the mysterious "Brotherhood's" rules to save Eleanor's life and turn her daughter. Centuries on the run, Clara manipulates the heartbroken Noel to take refuge at the Byzantium hotel and lures a pimp to his death so she can both save his girls and have them work for her safely at the Byzantium. Clara is even able to fool and kill members of the Brotherhood who hunt her while also attempting to murder Eleanor's new love interest Frank when Eleanor carelessly tells him their nature. Clara later weaponizes her emotions to have the vampire Darvell turn on his master Savella and save her, ending as she realizes she must finally send Eleanor out on her own before departing with Darvell to fulfill her instinct of preying on oppressors to protect the weak.

     C 
  • The Cabin in the Woods: The Director is the head-strong leader of the Organization, charged with keeping the evil gods that slumber below the Earth dormant so they will spare humanity. Under the Director's guidance, the Organization selects Human Sacrifices every year and manipulates them into taking part in an elaborate ritual narrative. The Director is the first to notice that Marty's survival is threatening the ritual's completion, and succeeds into talking Dana into killing Marty before resolving to kill Marty herself when that fails. Far more professional and strategic than her subordinates, the Director has sacrificed numerous lives for the greater good while harboring no ill will towards her victims whatsoever.
  • The Campaign: Tim Wattley is an international criminal from Greece named Leonidas Stavros under the employment of Glenn and Wade Motch. Fully complicit in the Motch brothers' plan to turn Hammond into a factory complex for their Chinese business partners, Tim would become Marty Huggins' campaign manager to mold him into the Motch brothers' puppet. Tim would completely reinvent Marty's character, home, and lifestyle, making it more appealing to voters but also create a rift between Marty and his family. When Marty learns about the nefarious plans for Hammond and goes against them, Tim defects to Marty's rival Cam Brady and uses the same tactics to get Cam ahead of Marty in the votes. When Cam withdrawals from the election and helps Marty get rid of the corruption in Hammond, Tim finds a way to escape justice while the Motch brothers get arrested for their association with him.
  • Candyman: The Candyman himself, born Daniel Robitaille, was tortured and murdered by racist whites. His anguished spirit survives as a murderous urban legend within the whispers and imaginations of Cabrini-Green, forcing him to kill to stay alive. The Candyman kills those who summon him to spread the fear of his myth, but when the heroine Helen begins to debunk the myth, he is compelled to appear to her. Framing Helen for murder and the disappearance of a child, the Candyman systematically lures her to him, intending on consuming much of Cabrini-Green in a fire while enshrining Helen as his beloved victim to enhance his myth even further, handling himself with an unmistakable cunning and pure charisma to go along with his dark conviction.
  • Casablanca: Rick Blaine is a cynical, smooth operator of a saloon, using the guise of a mere bar to mask the massive amounts of illegal gambling he oversees. Bribing local police and facing down Nazi majors with wit and laid-back suaveness, Rick expertly hides valuable Letters of Transit from even a probing ransacking of his saloon while treating his employees so well that rival businessmen can't buy them off. After bitterly threatening to let his old flame, Ilsa, and her husband be arrested by the Nazis due to her abandoning Rick years ago, Rick ultimately accepts his still raging feelings for Ilsa and uses his passion to propel him into a scheme in which he sells off his saloon while securing the futures of his employees, manipulates Captain Renault into a trap, and murders the Nazi Major Strausser. Rick then ensures that Ilsa and her revolutionary husband are spirited away safely to America, imparting powerful and timeless words to Ilsa before escaping the Third Reich with a spring in his step and the start of a "beautiful friendship" with a befriended Renault.
  • Catch Me If You Can: Frank Abagnale Jr. is a born Con Man whose first relatively harmless scheme involved impersonating his French teacher, fooling the entire school for weeks. His later criminal actions consist of acquiring millions of dollars by writing fraudulent checks, sending out fake letters, and posing as air plane pilots, doctors, and lawyers, all to live a lavish lifestyle spent in expensive hotels, throwing parties, and sleeping with numerous women he seduces, as well as a high-class prostitute whom he tricks into paying him for the night spent with her. When the FBI's Financial Crimes unit starts pursuing him, Frank cleverly manages to avoid capture numerous times, such as performing a Bavarian Fire Drill that convinces FBI Agent Carl Hanratty that Frank is a Secret Service agent, and in his most audacious scheme, smuggling himself through an airport filled with FBI agents by recruiting a group of good-looking stewardesses to distract the men supposed to be watching out for him. Although the law ultimately catches up with him, Frank is a Lovable Rogue who is so good at what he does that he's able to elude the authorities for years and all before he was even 21.
  • The Cat in the Hat: The Cat in the Hat himself is a mischievous prankster who intends to teach Sally and Conrad a lesson about how to have fun. Entering their house, he immediately causes as much damage as he possibly can with his "fun", concluding by wheeling in a locked box and telling Conrad not to open it. When Conrad breaks the lock anyway, the Cat brings the children on a dangerous adventure, even having them drive on a busy highway and ultimately traversing through the "The Mother of All Messes", the horrifying and broken version of their house. After they fix the lock, it's revealed that the Cat planned out everything on their journey, purposefully telling Conrad not to open the lock because he knew that would make Conrad want to do it. With the kids having learned their lesson, the Cat returns to fix up the damages he caused, departing from the children as a friend.
  • Chain Reaction: Paul Shannon is an enigmatic man and the seeming head of the hydrogen project at the University of Chicago. In truth a government agent, likely CIA, Paul effortlessly manipulates the hero Eddie Kasalivich into trusting him and guides the pieces into place so he might gain knowledge of a deceased genius scientist's inventions. Disdaining the brutal methods of his monstrous associate Lyman Earl Collier, Paul is revealed to be manipulating Lyman as well, "retiring" him before allowing for the heroes to escape while getting away free and clear himself.
  • Chaos (2005):
    • Detective Quentin Connors, once one of Seattle's greatest police officers, fell from grace after a botched hostage situation and decided to strike back as a master thief. Connors and his partner Jason York orchestrate a bank robbery while masking it as an attack on a Saudi official. In reality, this is a diversion from their real plan to siphon untold amounts of money from the digital accounts of the bank using a Computer Virus. Connors plays everyone for a fool, including his new partner, Detective Shane Dekker, and eventually fakes his death in a bombing to throw people off his involvement. In the end, Connors gets away with everything and ends the film coolly drinking champagne on a private jet with his riches.
    • Jason York works alongside his partner Quentin Conners to pull off a brilliant money heist after being screwed over by their police superiors. Having lost his detective job following a botched hostage crisis, York disguises himself as the brother of a deceased criminal and takes a bank hostage under guise of robbing it. In truth using the heist as a cover to inject a computer virus into the bank's systems and get Conners reinstated, York leads the police on wild goose chases while picking off his partners, leaving all of the cash purely for himself and Conners. Even when exposed by outside circumstances, York uses a waitress as a hostage to further his escape, letting her go unharmed when he's done with her and snarking at the pursuing cops all the way.
  • Charade: Carson Dyle was once an OSS agent transporting money when he was seriously wounded and Left for Dead by his comrades, spending the next 10 months in a German POW Camp in lingering pain. Resolving to take revenge on his ex-partners and reclaim the money, Dyle takes on the identity of a CIA agent named Hamilton Bartholomew to keep tabs on them before murdering Charles Lampert, the last man known to have the money. Summoning Charles' widow Regina to inform her of her husband's dealings, Dyle plays the part of a Reasonable Authority Figure throughout the film while systematically stalking and murdering his ex-partners and doing his best to discredit Brian Cruikshank, the real government agent sent to retrieve the money. Finding himself face-to-face with Regina and Cruikshank, Dyle comes within a hairsbreadth of killing Regina before being killed by Cruikshank.
  • Charley Varrick: Crop-duster turned bank robber, Charley Varrick, disguises himself as an injured old man to discreetly complete his theft. Discovering the money he stole belonged to The Mafia, Varrick suggests to his friend, Harman, that they lay low, avoiding spending it for four years, to avoid suspicion. When Harman's avarice leads to him spending, Varrick double-crosses him by swapping their dental records and forging a passport to confuse the hitman sent after them. Acting friendly to the corrupt bank president, Varrick leads the hitman to believe they are associates, resulting in the president being killed. Tricking the hitman into trying to retrieve the money from a car he rigged to explode, Varrick kills him, getting away clean.
  • Charlie Wilson's War: Gust "Gus" Avrokatos is a snarky and incredibly competent CIA agent who joins the covert operation against the USSR in Afghanistan after falling out with his previous bosses. Gus puts Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson in contact with CIA weapons experts and jointly arranges a major weapons deal with Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan to supply the Mujihideen with Soviet military material to bleed the Red Army dry and ultimately cause the collapse of the Soviet Union. Committed to serving American interests above all else, Gus takes massive pride in his record while also being world-wise enough to foresee what negative consequences arming islamic radicals might have in the future, teaching the idealistic Charlie an important lesson as his parting gift.
  • Charlie's Angels trilogy:
    • 2000 film: Eric Knox, born John McGann, is a software designer who incorrectly believes Charles "Charlie" Townsend murdered his father in Vietnam. Seeking revenge, Knox stages both his own kidnapping and the theft of his new voice recognition software and sets up his shady rival Roger Corwin to take the blame. Convincing the Angels that Corwin has bad intentions for the software, Knox gets them to break into the company and hack Corwin's servers. Knox is able to gain access to Corwin's face recognition satellite and use that combined with his voice recognition software to determine Charlie's location thanks to Charlie making a phone call. Knox then heads out in a helicopter and nearly blows Charlie up in his cabin.
    • 2000 film & Full Throttle: The "Creepy Thin Man" is a hitman hired by Knox to help execute his staged kidnapping scheme and framing of Corwin. A skilled fighter, the Thin Man engages the Angels in a fight before then leading them to where they "find" Knox and remains undercover near Corwin while also engaging in and escaping during a race car chase and later killing Corwin on Knox's behalf too. The Thin Man also continues to remain diligent in helping Knox succeed. Escaping death when Knox blows the place up and returning in the next film, the Thin Man pursues and takes out a hitman sent to kill teenaged federal witness Max Petroni who's from the same orphanage as the Thin Man. He then helps the Angels take on mobster Seamus O'Grady and his men in a climactic fight later on.
  • Chicago: Billy Flynn is Velma Kelly's greedy, smooth-talking lawyer. After learning of Roxie Hart's incarceration and seeking to earn more money, Flynn decides to become her lawyer as well. Over the span of several weeks, Flynn teaches Roxie how to earn sympathy from the public whilst also manipulating multiple reporters into thinking she killed her victim in self-defense. During Roxie's trial, Flynn cajoles Roxie's husband, Amos, into forgiving Roxie, making her more sympathetic to the jury. Billy also accuses a district attorney of tampering with evidence incriminating Roxie, evidence Flynn fabricated himself, while also using the evidence to get Velma acquitted. Due to Flynn's conniving words, Roxie is declared not guilty, and Flynn walks away having won another case.
  • Chill Factor: Colonel Andrew Brynner is a former soldier turned terrorist. After being wrongfully imprisoned for ten years for the deaths of eighteen soldiers and scientists, Brynner lost faith in the American government and decided to strike back at the country. With a team of mercenaries at his disposal, Brynner infiltrated a military base so he could steal a chemical weapon known as "Elvis" and sell it to foreign terrorists. After civilians Mason and Arlo acquire the weapon instead, Brynner and his team chase after the two for several hours, with Brynner going as far as destroying part of the road they're driving on and manipulating local police deputies into looking for them. Once Brynner captures both of them and procures the weapon, he threatens local military forces to retreat or else he'll release the weapon. Even after realizing that Mason switched the weapon with fish bait, Brynner calmly resumes his pursuit and nearly reclaims the weapon.
  • Chinatown: Jake Gittes is a slick, fast-talking private investigator who may get battered and defeated now and again, but always gets back into the fight. Considered one of the best in the profession in Los Angeles, Jake has carved out a name for himself with his ability to stealthily expose cheating partners or find missing persons, using a variety of tricks up his sleeve to carefully monitor suspects and outthink the competition. When he is pulled into the Cross-Mulwray debacle, Jake slowly but surely unravels the mystery while evading law enforcement and murderous thugs alike, and it is only the systems of power and abuse involved that save the villainous Noah Cross from being exposed by the wily Jake. Though facing defeat at the end of the first film, Jake returns years later in The Two Jakes just as spry as ever, and cleverly deduces the truth behind the Bodine-Berman affair, using wire recordings and his usual snooping to succeed. Jake ultimately helps a dying Berman get away with murder so that his widow—an abuse victim Jake failed in the past—can finally live a peaceful life, and Jake can finally feel at ease.
  • Christine: Christine is portrayed in the film as an indestructible car who has had a mind of her own from the moment she came off the assembly line. With a possessive love for her new owner Arnie Cunningham, Christine plays hit songs over the radio to communicate with him, while scaring off anyone who threatens their relationship. When she's nearly destroyed by Arnie's bullies, Christine uses her healing powers to regenerate from the damage, then creatively chases down and massacres the entire gang. When Arnie's friend Dennis challenges her to a duel, Christine accepts, putting up a fierce fight against a tanker and regenerating whenever she seems about to lose. When Arnie is killed trying to stop Dennis, Christine mourns him and mounts a final attack on Dennis and Leigh to avenge his death, and even as she goes down, she taunts them that they will never be rid of her.
  • The Chronicles of Riddick: Richard B. Riddick is the deadliest and last survivor of the Furyan race. An adept, brutal killer and knife expert, Riddick has killed scores of people with traps and anything that could conceivably be used as a weapon, and escaped from so many maximum security prisons that bounty hunters follow him like flies and usually end up dead by his hands. Riddick is also far more cunning than he appears, being able to pick up on details in whatever environment he finds himself in and frequently manipulates or tricks others to his benefit. Despite his nature, Riddick has several standards he holds himself to, primarily refusing to harm innocent people, and values the bonds he has with those few who survive long enough to befriend him. Riddick even manages to defeat the holy undead Lord Marshal of the Necromongers by forcing him into an unwinnable situation and take over his entire empire. Riddick's main goal is to be left alone, with those who cross him soon wishing they hadn't.
  • Chungking Express: The Woman in the Blonde Wig is an enticing, cold-blooded drug trafficker who runs a smooth operation in the underbelly of Hong Kong. She smuggles drugs out of the country by taking exact measurements of her drug mules, then designing clothes and luggage for them capable of hiding many pounds of heroin. When her latest operation is screwed over by her American partner, the Woman moves fast in executing two thugs out to assassinate her, and when she needs information, she kidnaps the young daughter of a man to extort him while truthfully just feeding the girl ice cream and leaving her unharmed. Spending the night flirting and growing close with cop He Qiwu while he is totally unaware of her true nature, the Woman thanks Qiwu for his night of drinking by wishing him a happy birthday over voicemail before ambushing and murdering her American partner for his betrayal, after which she flees the country uninhibited for other prospects.
  • City For Conquest: Googi is an impoverished young man during The Great Depression who serves prison time for petty thefts and vows to never take risks again except for big stakes. He becomes a prominent gangster who is ruthless toward his enemies but throws generous parties for his friends, including his old friend Jimmy, a boxer who Googi makes money betting on. When Jimmy loses both his eyesight and a championship match Googi bet heavily on at the same time, Googi's main concern is for his friend. He seeks revenge on the gamblers who had Jimmy’s opponent grind rosin dust into his eyes, tricking them into inviting him to leave the match with them in their car when he has already had his bodyguard dispatch and replace their driver. He covertly checks the two men for weapons, then kills one of them without warning and lets the unarmed man leave with the threat of future retaliation unless Jimmy recovers. When the other man turns the tables and kills him, Googi's last words are to admit he didn't see that coming.
  • Clash of the Titans films:
    • 1981 original: Medusa, twisted into a monster by the gods, is a solitary figure who guards her lair with her two-headed hound. For any would-be monster slayer, Medusa is a true terror. A genius fighter who relies on ambushes and strategic arrow strikes, Medusa hunts her enemies relentlessly, even tricking them into gazing upon her so she might turn them to stone.
    • 2010 remake: Medusa, violated by Poseidon in Athena's temple and cursed to be a monster, is one of the most dangerous challenges Perseus ever faces. A crafty and cunning warrior who uses her deadly gaze to her benefit, Medusa lures her enemies into traps to finish them off with arrow strikes or the constriction of her serpentine body, while steadily cutting off all escape routes so she can kill them at her leisure.
  • Click: Morty, the Angel of Death, starts off as a friendly Bed, Bath & Beyond backdoor worker hiding an advanced remote from the market. When workaholic Michael Newman buys it, Morty warns him that the product can't be returned, and will program itself based on its usage. This causes Michael to fast forward through his life, even trying and failing to destroy the remote. Morty later reveals that he is sending Michael through a Bad Future to teach him the value of family. Despite his trickery, Morty genuinely regrets taking the life of Michael's father Ted, and grants a dying Michael a second chance at life.
  • Clearcut (1991): Arthur, a mysterious Indigenous activist who never reveals his tribe, lures tribal attorney Peter Maguire into accompanying him and kidnaps the head of a local mining company. Bringing them to the wilderness to see the damage the logging has done, Arthur puts them through a series of grueling tests, eluding and even tricking and killing several law enforcement agents while testing Maguire's mettle the whole time. By the end, Arthur simply lets himself sink into the water, strongly implying he is Wisakedjak, a trickster spirit who will return one day.
  • Clue: Wadsworth, the real Mr. Boddy, is a ruthless blackmailer who is blackmailing every guest in the house. Having lured them to the manor, he used a body double to fake his own death as a decoy before manipulating every guest to murder his former co-conspirators and destroy the extra evidence so he no longer has to worry about their treachery. After having every impediment to his schemes killed, he reveals he knows the guilt of every single guest and plots to continue blackmailing all of them. Despite his villainy, Wadsworth conducts himself with total charm and a dapper congeniality, pleasant even after he's been shot.
  • Cobweb: Sarah, the elder sister of Peter, was a deformed child locked away by her parents. Biding her time until Peter was old enough to free her, Sarah tunneled from her prison to behind the walls in Peter's room and tricked him into distrusting and eventually poisoning their parents before releasing her. Revealing her hatred of Peter for the privilege she lacked, Sarah intends to imprison him in turn and stealthily murders any other interloper in the house, leaving Peter with the haunting feeling that she will always be with him.
  • Coffy: Flower Child "Coffy" Coffin is a nurse killing her way through the local drug dealers after they harm her loved ones. To get closer to her targets, Coffy plays up her sex appeal to get close to them before blowing them away with a shotgun. She learns about drug boss Arturo Vitroni's scheme to control the city's drugs, and joins up with a prostitution ring he's dealing with after threatening a former member with a bottle. Coffy then manages to seduce Vitroni and tries to kill him, manipulating him into the ring's pimp for supposedly ordering his death when she fails. Vitroni orders Coffy killed anyways, but she manages to escape, steal a bystanders car, and kill all of Vitroni's men. When confronting the mob boss, Coffy convinces him to reveal the location of her traitorous boyfriend by claiming she'll let him live, before killing him anyways.
  • Collateral: The enigmatic, philosophical "Vincent" is a ruthless yet suave Professional Killer, tasked with eliminating witnesses to the crimes of drug lord Felix Reyes-Torrena. Bribing taxi driver Max Durocher to unwittingly assist him, Vincent has Max transport him while he murders his targets. Genuinely affable, Vincent respectfully listens to the story of a jazz club owner before offing him and visits Max's sick mother in the hospital, even bringing her flowers. Adapting when Max destroys the files on his targets, Vincent has Max retrieve a new copy from Felix, both keeping his anonymity and leading the police to mistakenly believe Max is him. Fatally wounded by Max while hunting his last target, Vincent chooses to calmly accept his fate, giving Max some parting words before passing.
  • Colombiana: Cataleya Restrapo is an assassin seeking revenge against Don Luis for the death of her parents. Cataleya shows tenacity even as a child, as she manages to evade all of Don Luis' thugs chasing her and eventually makes her way to America. Over the years, Cataleya leaves a trail of corpses, each the result of meticulous assassinations to draw out Don Luis, racking up a body count of over 20. When the FBI close in on her, Cataleya demonstrates her on-the-feet nature as she manages to evade them from her apartment. With the death of her uncle Emilio, Cataleya storms Don Luis' compound, catching them all off guard and slaughters all of them. Despite Don Luis' taunting efforts to escape, Cataleya reveals that she left a trap for him, resulting in his demise, her revenge complete and giving herself a chance to start a new life.
  • Commando: John Matrix is a retired Delta Force colonel enjoying a quiet life with his daughter Jenny. When Matrix and Jenny are kidnapped by terrorists aiming to put ex-dictator Arius back into power, Matrix manages to kill his guard and escape the plane transporting him. Enlisting the help of a flight attendant named Cindy, Matrix bumps off Arius's lieutenants through his own gambits, including: using Cindy as a Honey Trap and pretending to offer mercy to one before dropping him off a cliff, and all the while piecing together clues to find Arius's island base and gathering up supplies and weapons. Flying to the island, Matrix stages a one-man raid on the base, killing all of Arius's men before engaging in duels with both Arius and his right-hand man Bennett, rescuing his daughter and going back to retirement.
  • The Collector (2009) & The Collection: Arkin O'Brien is a former convict looking to settle down with his wife and daughter, who successfully matches wits with the titular killer, despite the trauma he's put through. To settle his wife's debt, Arkin burgles a family he befriends, during one of the Collector's home invasions. Using his wits to dodge the Collector's traps and get the drop on him, Arkin saves the youngest daughter of the family, and steals their expensive ruby, only to be abducted by the Collector while hospitalized. Later escaping, Arkin joins a rescue mission for an abducted teenager, especially when his family is threatened. Arkin makes a "map" on himsef of the Collector's hideout, giving himself different cuts in accordance to time, distance and direction from the spot of his abduction. To lure the police to the location, Arkin non-fatally shoots a vagrant to get their attention, before beating down the Collector himself, leaving him to burn in a "dungeon" full of his maddened captives. Even when the Collector escapes, Arkin narrows down his address and civilian identity, trapping him with the intent on repaying him for his torture, before finally killing him.
  • Con Air: Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom is a charismatic, ruthless psychopath who organizes the scheme to seize control of a flight full of convicts, then puts together the plan to exchange prisoners at Carson City and escape with his partner, a powerful drug lord, so he can flee to South America with his compatriots. Cyrus constantly displays a sardonic, dry wit and black humor even in stressful situations, before organizing an ambush for national guard troops and killing his drug lord partner when the man attempts to betray the convicts. Soon catching on to a traitor in their midst, Cyrus even survives the crash of the plane and nearly pulls off an escape to get revenge. A compelling villain who retains a few moral standards such as his hatred of rapists, Cyrus constantly plays the government for fools and comes perilously close to a free and clear escape.
  • Conan the Barbarian:
    • 1982 film:
      • Conan is a Cimmerian, forced to become strong and intelligent to survive enslavement after his village was raided by the warlord Thulsa Doom. Upon being set free, Conan flawlessly escapes the dogs sent after him and starts a life as a sellsword, all the while hunting Doom, now a deranged cult leader. Brilliant and quick-thinking, Conan uses his sharp mind to infiltrate Doom's cult, doing battle with them even after being revived from temporary death, and even, using Princess Yasamina as bait, to set up a battlefield of traps that allows him to eliminate Doom's elite forces before slaying Doom himself and avenging his family. Later in life, Conan allies with the evil queen Taramis to try and revive his beloved Valeria, risking the world yet recognizing the signs of deception and ultimately riding off to save the world from her when he is betrayed. Only made stronger by what does not kill him and always equipped with a new plan to crush his enemies, Conan comes to embrace his destiny of becoming a king by his own hand.
      • Subotai is a warm, humorous thief and mercenary who impresses Conan with his words and bravery, causing the Cimmerian to free him and take him along his path. Subotai aids Conan in stealing the Eye of the Serpent from Doom's cult. Subotai proves a master of stealth, skillfully sneaking into Doom's lair alongside his comrades and killing scores of cultists. A brilliant planner in his own right, Subotai not only aids Conan in setting up his traps but sets his own, preparing arrows on the battlefield to help him ambush the cult's riders. Slaying many riders thanks to these traps and his cleverness, and even firing an empty bow to trick two riders into falling from their horses, Subotai rescues Princess Yasamina from Doom himself despite severe injury.
      • Valeria is a thief and mercenary who quickly talks Conan and Subotai into allying with her when they chance upon the same heist as her. Falling deeply in love with Conan, Valeria stays by his side as long as she can. When Conan is temporarily killed by Doom, Valeria wastes no time in seeking out his resurrection, loving enough to revive the fallen Conan yet ruthless enough to threaten the innocent wizard Akiro if his spell fails, gladly accepting any price for the revival of her beloved. Valeria then sneaks into the cultist lair alongside her comrades and proves formidable, even knocking Princess Yasamina unconscious amidst the chaos so the trio can complete their mission to bring her home. Though she dies due to Doom's interference, Valeria returns as a valkyrie, saving Conan from death by seconds.
    • 2011 film: Conan swore revenge on cult leader Khalar Zym for the slaughter of his village, spending the next 20 years building up his skills as a pirate and mercenary. Learning that his enemy intended to conquer the world, Conan works his way through Khalar Zym's lieutenants, starting by infiltrating a prison and breaking out with ease, dropping the key down the warden's throat and leaving the prisoners to kill him to free themselves. Intercepting another of Khalar Zym's lieutenants as he tried to capture an Apocalypse Maiden named Tamara, Conan sends him back to Khalar Zym by catipulting him into the latter's house to "send a message". Sneaking into the cult's base after Tamara is captured, Conan destroys everything that Khalar Zym values, rescues Tamara, and departs for more adventures.
  • Confessions (2010): Yuko Moriguchi is a vengeful mother and teacher dedicated to ruining the lives of her daughter's murderers. Originally an optimistic, kind woman, Moriguchi was hardened into ruthlessness when two of her students callously killed Moriguchi's young daughter. In response, Moriguchi begins playing a long, strategic scheme against the two murderous teenagers, tricking them into thinking she has infected them with HIV while manipulating their fellow classmates and teachers into constantly harassing them. After driving one of the killers into murdering his mother and being arrested for it, Moriguchi twists the other teen's plot to bomb a school against him, tricking him into instead blowing up his own beloved mother as Moriguchi's final, cruel payback.
  • The Cooler: Larry Sokolov is a Harvard graduate employed by the shady owners of the Shangri-La casino to modernize the business and enhance profits. His means are effective but alienate the traditionalist casino manager Shelly. When Shelly's employee, Bernie, goes on a suspicious winning streak, Larry demands an explanation, causing Shelly's resentments of him to boil over to the point where he breaks Larry's hand and warns him to leave Bernie alone. This fails to deter or phase Larry, who sends men to kill Shelly and Bernie and retrieve the latter's money, telling Shelly's executioner to emphasize that Larry bears him no ill will. Though Bernie survives due to a freak accident, Shelly winds up dead and the film ends with Larry toasting to the implementation of his new money-making plans.
  • Copshop: Robert Kane "Bob" Viddick is an honorable hitman tasked with killing Theodore "Teddy" Muretto. To get to the imprisoned Teddy, Viddick pretends to be inebriated so that he'll be arrested for drunk driving. Using his charisma to convince rookie cop Valerie to release him, Viddick kills the traitorous cop Huber, using his body as a decoy to incapacitate amoral hitman Anthony Lamb, while offering parley with Teddy to kill Lamb together. Surviving Teddy’s betrayal, Viddick's able to save Valerie from death while killing Teddy in the process, making an escape via stolen cop car before the authorities arrive, and with Lamb's body by his side to be personally delivered to his boss.
  • The Counselor: Malkina is Reiner's conniving, greedy girlfriend who's secretly masterminding most of the events in the film. Upon learning of a drug transaction between the Counselor, Reiner, and a dangerous drug cartel, Malkina opts to steal from them all and leave the Counselor to take the blame. After the Counselor bails out a drug courier who's also the son of a high-ranking cartel official, she orchestrates the murder of said courier and later has a shipment of cocaine stolen from the cartel, making it appear as though the Counselor and Reiner were involved. When the cartel retrieves the stolen drugs, Malkina revises her plans, instead going after Westray and his offshore bank accounts worth millions. After acquiring the passcodes to his accounts, Malkina has Westray assassinated, and later escapes with the money with the intent to flee to Hong Kong.
  • The Count of Monte Cristo (2002):
    • Edmond Dantes, the titular Count of Monte Cristo, was a guileless and naive sailor until he was betrayed by his best friend, Fernand Mondego, falsely convicted of treason, and consigned to Chateau d'If. Consumed by revenge, Dantes becomes a darker, more cunning figure, cultivating his intellect under the tutelage of fellow prisoner Abbe Faria. Seizing a chance provided by Faria's tragic death, Dantes smuggles himself out of the prison by switching places with his friend's body, dragging the prison's vile warden to his death in the process. Challenged by pirate Luigi Vampa to kill another pirate, Jacopo, Dantes handily wins the fight, but spares Jacopo, earning his loyalty and winning Vampa's friendship. Reinventing himself as a charming and ruthless nobleman, Dantes enacts a plot for revenge. Earning the trust of Mondego's son Albert—later revealed to truly be Dantes' own son—through a staged rescue, Dantes tricks his enemies into a plot that exposes their crimes, taunting one of them by offering a pistol to avoid prison, only to reveal that the gun wasn't loaded. Winning back Mercedes, the wife Mondego had stolen from him, and bringing Mondego to personal and financial ruin before killing him, Dantes ultimately completes his vengeance, allowing him to move on to a peaceful life with his beloved and their son.
    • Napoléon Bonaparte, seen early on, is the man who nearly conquered Europe. Introducing himself to Edmond Dantes as a seeming friend, Napoleon allows his physician to help Edmond's captain but fools the young sailor to take a letter to a "friend" in France. Revealing his true colors, Napoleon reveals he sees the world as divided into kings and pawns, or "Emperors and fools," before plotting his return to power and ascent to France's throne yet again.
    • Luigi Vampa is the charming and good-natured smuggler captain who meets Edmond after his escape from the Chateau D'if. Seeing a way out of his predicament in executing a disloyal follower, Vampa has Edmond fight the man, Jacopo, to the death, before relenting when Edmond spares Jacopo's life and takes Edmond as a sailor. Later befriending Edmond, Vampa encourages him to seek his true destiny away from the ship and later assists in the kidnapping of Albert Mondego as part of Edmond's scheme to ingratiate himself to his enemies.
  • The Crew (2015):
    • Yanis Zeri is the leader of a successful Parisian heist gang specializing in robbing armored trucks with his friends Nasser, Frank, Eric and his little brother Amine. On his first one-screen heist, Yanis rams his car into a targeted truck, while Frank, Eric and Nasser's cars corner the truck to prevent any escape, with the ensuing robbery going smoothly and Yanis asking Amine to erase all evidence. When Amine sells one of the used guns to a friend instead, leading to Amine being threatened by Salif's drug dealing gang, Yanis pretends to be Amine to negotiate with Salif, ending up forced to pull a heist on the heroin shipment of Salif's rival, succeeding in that task but planning to kill Salif's gang during the exchange. While his initial plan fails, Yanis captures one of Salif's men, forcing him to give him his mother's location to rescue her from Salif's clutches. Managing to save his mother and kill Salif at the cost of Amine being arrested, Yanis breaks his brother out of the police van transporting him to prison, and dies covering Eric and Amine's escape.
    • Salif is the leader of a drug dealing gang based in Sevran. When one of his men is imprisoned after buying a gun from Amine, Salif has Adama give Amine and Yanis' sister Nora his number to implicitly threaten Amine into contacting him. Deducing that Amine and Yanis's crew is responsible for the robberies, he forces them to attack a rival drug shipment, which should allow him to reinforce his control over Sevran. To pressure them further, he also takes hostage Eric's girlfriend Audrey and Yanis and Amine's mother Khadidja. When the heist is a success, Salif disarms Yanis and Eric during the exchange. When one of Salif's men informs him that two people are outside, Salif deduces that Yanis tried to kill him and pressures him into forcing the two people to leave. When they later go back and kill Adama, Salif and several of his men manage to flee the scene, with Salif ordering them to kill the hostages. While he's ultimately killed, Salif managed to remain a serious threat against Yanis, keeping his calm even in the worst of situations.
  • Cross trilogy: Gunnar is a swiftly cunning viking cursed to be immortal, unable to die until he’s the last person on Earth. Seeking to break his curse after going through a lot of pain and sorrow throughout his long life, Gunnar set about to eradicate all of mankind in order to finally die. Manipulating crime boss Erlik into helping him power up the Staff of Sekhmet by kidnapping several women and draining them of their blood, Gunnar eventually betrays Erlik and lures Callan to him by using the women as hostages, needing his blood to activate the staff. Gunnar even tricks Callan into killing his own goons so that their souls can further power the staff. Returning after his initial defeat, Gunnar works with scientist Dr. Conrad to create a machine to eradicate all life in the universe, kidnapping Callan’s new girlfriend Riley to force Callan to give himself and his magic amulet over to power the machine in order to ensure her safety. Later working with Callan when Los Angeles is about to be destroyed, Gunnar takes advantage of his immortality to distract the villainous Drago and ensure his demise.
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Jade Fox once posed as a nun to infiltrate the Wudan school. Becoming the lover of its master, Jade Fox grew resentful of how he refused to see her as a student for her gender. Poisoning him, Jade Fox stole the Wudan manual to become a capable martial artist and fled, leaving a legacy of villainy behind her. Later infiltrating a noble household, she became the master to its daughter Jen, who later surpassed her. Fleeing after killing a policeman and realizing Jen's true abilities, Jade Fox returns to save Jen and use her to bait a trap for her enemies with her final act being to attempt to kill Jen with poison, calling her one-time apprentice "My only family. My only enemy."
  • The Curse of the Jade Scorpion: Voltan is a stage magician who hypnotizes insurance investigators C.W. Briggs and Betty Ann Fitzgerald during a routine magic show, only to trigger their hypnotic states again for his own profit. He uses Briggs to burgle wealthy household's that he designed security systems for. When Briggs is caught with the jewels, Voltan simply triggers Fitzgerald's hypnosis to have her steal back the jewels from the police. Due to his use of hypnotized pawns, Voltan remains Beneath Suspicion until the very end, when a chance remark gives Briggs a "Eureka!" Moment. When Voltan is confronted before he can escape with the loot, he compliments Briggs' intelligence, then pulls a gun at him. Briggs confidently asserts that Voltan is a thief, but not a killer. After a pause, Voltan proves Brigg right when he is unable to shoot Briggs and Fitzgerald. He flees with his jewels, with the arriving authorities just a few steps behind him.
  • Cutie Honey live-action films:
    • 2004 film:
      • Seiji Hayami, seemingly a mild-mannered reporter for the Daily News, is actually an American NSA agent tasked by a mysterious client to detain Honey Kisaragi and acquire her AI System. Using his journalist disguise as way to secretly take photos of Honey and Panther Claw for his client, while attaining extensive knowledge of them, Seiji befriends Honey and Inspector Natsuko Aki in order to get more information on the both of them. Miraculously sneaking his way inside the Jill Tower, Seiji uses the anti-nanomachine serum meant for Honey to instead release the thousands of captive women used for Sister Jill's fuel source. Assisting Natsuko and Honey in the defeat of Sister Jill, Seiji afterwards invites the two to join him in his new investigation service.
      • Butler is Sister Jill's loyal servant who seeks to bring her true happiness. Effortlessly having Honey's Uncle Uzuki captured by Panther Claw, Butler gives Jill the idea to obtain Honey's AI System and use it to increase her lifespan. After Cobalt Claw fails to acquire Honey's device, Butler sends Honey and company an invitation to the Jill Tower, while making a deal with Natsuko to act as his hostage in return for letting Uzuki go, and then getting Honey to give herself up to Jill in return for Natsuko's safety. After Honey reverts Jill back to a seed by giving her the gift of love, Butler thanks Honey for granting his mistress the gift of happiness, allowing her to leave while staying behind in the collapsing tower by his beloved Jill's side.
    • Tears (2016): Kazuhito Uraki is a resistance member who works with Seiji Hayami to take down the tyrannical Jill. Introduced rescuing Hitomi Kisaragi and Seiji from a group of Sodoms by dismantling them from behind, Uraki, knowing that a disease cloud will cover the entire city and kill everybody, plots to destroy Jill's HQ even if it means innocents will die, believing that the people of the city are more important than a few "measly" lives. Uraki agrees to participate in Seiji's safer plan nonetheless, while having his plan ready on standby in case time runs out. After getting shot by a Sodom during an attempt to rescue some children, Uraki and his crew keep on moving, even as the disease cloud slowly envelops the city.
  • Cypher: Sebastian Rooks is a dangerous freelance operative who has made a fortune inventing a brainwashing program for the mega corps DigiCorp and Sunway Systems, although loyal only to himself and his lover Rita Foster. In order to secure Rita's safety, Rooks hatches a plot to erase his own identity and become Morgan Sullivan, so he can pass a set of lie detector tests for one company and fail a set of lie detector tests for the other company to infiltrate both, all while appearing as a hapless pawn to both sides. By the end, all his enemies are dead, his plan to steal a specific data file is a complete success, and his real identity is still known only to Rooks and the woman he went to hell and back for.

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