10 action movies where the villain was the best fighter (the hero should have lost)

Even the most iconic superheroes and action. movie The heroes did not deserve some of their victories, as there were many villains who were by far the better fighters. Having an antagonist who can go toe-to-toe with the hero of an action movie adds to the experience. If it is clear that the hero is far superior, suspension of disbelief will not hold. However, some action movies go too far and create villains who are better than the hero and should have defeated them in the end.

Naturally, it makes sense to expect the hero to win in the end, especially when the hero in question is played by one of the biggest action movie stars of all time. Still, some of the best action movies also feature incredible artists to play the antagonists. This, combined with strong fight choreography that makes everything feel grounded, is often the key to creating a good action movie. Said that. Some villains were too powerful or skilled compared to the heroes and should not have been defeated at all.

10 Ivan Drago

Rocky IV (1985)

He Rocky and Creed The films include quite a few examples of fights where the plot armor won, but the biggest of them is Drago in rocky 4. Known primarily as the man who kills Apollo Creed, Ivan Drago proves to be an intimidating opponent in rocky iv. Played by Dolph Lundgren, the Russian boxer has no fear or reservations in the ring. and even Rocky admits that Drago is beating him during the final fight. Even Dragon’s training montage feels more intense than anything Rocky has ever done.

Drago’s use of steroids before his fight with Rocky calls into question how much better he is when he is in his natural state, but there is no arguing that he is a powerful boxer. Not to mention Dragon’s reach, which Rocky could never match. Both Drago and Rocky put up a good fight and while they could have gone either way, it would have made a lot more sense for Drago to win.

9 Erik Killmonger

Black Panther (2018)

Erik Killmonger was born N’Jadaka, nephew of King T’Chaka. As such, he believes that he has a right to the throne of Wakanda. He challenges T’Challa to a ritual fight and wins, wounding the prince so badly that he falls into a coma. Although T’Challa defeats Killmonger later in the film, it is clear that Killmonger is still the better fighter. Without the vibranium suits, Killmonger was able to overpower T’Challa due to the extensive training he underwent, as well as his time as a Navy SEAL. Although T’Challa’s victory and Killmonger’s death in the final fight meant that Wakanda was left with the true king, Killmonger was still the better fighter.

8 General M. Bison

Street Fighter (1994)

General M. Bison is one of the main antagonists of the popular Street Fighter video games and in the 1994 film based on them. Played by Raúl Juliá, Bison enters into hand-to-hand combat with the film’s hero, Colonel William Guile. Guile, played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a skilled fighter, but Bison continually surpasses him. Even when electrocuted, the general can still deal damage to Guile. While Guile is the hero and must always defeat Bison at the end of a street. Fighter history, this version of Bison should not have been defeated.

7 David Lo Pan

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Played by the esteemed James Hong, David Lo Pan is the shady antagonist of John Carpenter’s action comedy film inspired by old martial arts films. Although most of Lo Pan’s fighting skills come from his magical abilities, he is still more capable than the hero. Jack Burton, played by Kurt Russell, relies mostly on bad luck as he travels through San Francisco’s underbelly, Chinatown. He defeats Lo Pan by catching a knife thrown at him and simply throwing it at Lo Pan. If Burton’s friend Wang Chi had been the hero, Lo Pan’s defeat would have been acceptable. Since this is Jack Burton, it stands to reason that Lo Pan should have prevailed.

Drunk Master (1978)

Also known as Yim Tit-sam, Thunderfoot is the antagonist of The Drunken Master, a film starring influential martial artists Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tin and Hwang Jang-lee. Played by Hwang, Thunderfoot’s primary martial arts style involves a technique called “Devil’s Kick”, which is so deadly that no one has been able to defeat it. In his first fight, Chan’s character, Wong Fei-hung, is easily defeated by Thunderfoot. Only through intensive training can Wong surpass Thunderfoot. Still, Thunderfoot’s martial arts prowess should lead him to defeat Wong, even as the latter creates his own version of the “Drunk Miss Ho” maneuver to combat Thunderfoot’s “Devil’s Shadowless Hand.”

5 Bucky Barnes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

After his fall from the train in Captain America the First Avenger, Hydra brainwashed Barnes into becoming a super soldier for them. Even though both Captain America and Bucky’s nature are super soldiers, Barnes is a superior fighter to Rogers. Throughout his appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bucky Barnes proves to be an excellent and capable fighter. He is able to overpower Rogers in most of his encounters and even uses Rogers’ own shield against him. Although Rogers technically did not win in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it shouldn’t have been much of a competition. Bucky would continue to be weakened in other MCU films.

4 Scorpion

Five Deadly Poisons (1978)

In Five deadly poisons, an elderly teacher fears that his former students, the Venom Mob, are using the skills they learned from him for evil. The students, the Centipede, the Snake, the Toad, the Lizard and the Scorpion, want to steal the fortune of the teacher’s clan, the Poison Clan. Although they were all trained by the same master, Scorpion’s abilities rival those of others. Not only is he a good fighter, but He is the most elusive of the students.

Scorpion always wears a mask, hiding his identity for the big reveal at the end. He also knows the weaknesses of others, despite not having trained with any of them, and uses that knowledge against them in fights. Scorpion was a formidable enemy who should have been victorious, rather than defeated.

3 Jade Warlord

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

The forbidden kingdom It follows a Boston teenager who finds himself transported to ancient China with the Monkey King’s staff. He, along with his allies, is pursued by Warlord Jade, who wants the staff. Without the staff, Jade Warlord is still a formidable opponent. He was the one who tricked the Monkey King into dismissing the staff from him when turned the king into stone. He is an excellent fighter and is able to go toe to toe with the Monkey King, one of the most powerful beings. Being killed with a pitchfork, especially coming from a character who has very little knowledge of martial arts, makes no sense.

2 Perdition

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Bane is incredibly strong, extremely intelligent, and one of the few people who knows Batman’s true identity. In The dark knight rises, it’s obvious that Batman is no physical match for Bane. In his first fight, Bane actually breaks Batman’s back over his knee. Although Batman is able to recover from this brutal injury, which occurred too quickly, it doesn’t seem right that he can then overpower Bane in his next encounter. Bane has shown how much more powerful he is than Batman and should have defeated the caped crusader in their final fight. Someone as smart as Bane should have found a way to shield the mask’s weakness from him.

1 Shang Tsung

Mortal Kombat (1995)

Shang Tsung is one of the main villains of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise and is without a doubt the best character of 1995. Mortal Kombat movie. Tsung is played by Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, and he outshines all the other fighters in Mortal Kombat. One of Tsung’s abilities is to devour the souls of the defeated. This, combined with his martial arts acumen makes him a clearly superior fighter. He dominates and outsmarts Liu Kang. in his final battle and is only defeated when he falls onto a bed of spikes on the ground. Tsung’s complete dominance over all other opponents should have led to Liu Kang’s defeat as well.