3. Colonel Hardy
Man of Steel was a flawed movie with mixed messages and Superman, in my opinion, not being the greatest of do-gooders. However, there were positive things to it as well. A particularly awesome character was Colonel Hardy, a US air man who just has nerves of steel. He participates in the battle against Zod’s minions in Smallville; he crashes a helicopter while shooting at all the Kryptonian combatants, survives the landing, and then decides to try and take on Faora with a combat knife. Unfortunately, Superman intervenes in what could’ve been an awesome fight, and even then Hardy decides to trust the caped crusader. He participates again in the finale, sacrificing his life to destroy Zod’s spaceship, taking the impressed Faora with him. As both said, a good death is its own reward.
2. The Old German
I nearly had this at number one, but my choice for that is my favourite. The Avengers is a great, fun movie that culminated the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with some fantastic moments and character interaction. One of the more moving moments is when Loki threatens people in Germany, forcing them to kneel before him and then he berates them for their submissiveness. That is until an old man stands up and refuses to bow to another dictator, knowing what it is like to be oppressed and mistreated by evil. I particularly like the dialogue between Loki and the old man: “There are always men like you.” Of course, Captain America and Iron Man come to the rescue, but that brief moment is one of my favourite moments in film.
1. Train Passengers
Spider-Man does it again. I just love Spider-Man 2. The greatest scene in a superhero movie: the battle on the train. Spider-Man fights Doc Ock atop a speeding train which faces going off the rails, and has to slow it down and stop it. Peter gets unmasked and nearly kills himself to save the passengers, and in return, they save him from falling to his death. The grateful passengers lift him to safety, set him down in the carriage, give him back his mask, agree to keep his identity a secret, and then try to protect Spider-Man from Doc Ock. Now that is fantastic and brings things full circle of the superhero genre, when the hero saves the innocent and then they do the same. Wonderful.
Are there any heroic good samaritans in movies you cheer for? Leave a comment below or on our Twitter feed.
