The Badass Hero
He’s a foul-mouthed, trash talking, chain smoking, gun-toting, ex-Marine, New York cop who’s not afraid to run through shards of glass to single-handedly take down a group of greasy German thieves and save a bunch of hostages, including his ex-wife Holly, while screaming “Yippee-ki-yay Mother F*ckers!” We’re pretty sure that’s actually the Webster’s definition of “hero” word for word. John McClane is indeed a modern-day cowboy, and nobody you want to f*ck with. In the original Die Hard, McClane kills Hans Gruber by defenestration, or throwing him out a window (which is definitely one of the coolest-sounding ways to kill a Faux Euro-terrorist). Die Hard 2 sees him regain control of the Washington Dulles International Airport, after mercenaries hijack airport communications and threaten to crash a bunch of planes (wife Holly also happens to be on one of those planes–is it us, or is that broad nothing but bad luck?). In the third and fourth movies, Die Hard With a Vengeance and Live Free or Die Hard McClane saves the day once again, with the help of Samuel L. Jackson and Justin Long, respectively. Most heroic action in his final flick? Shooting through his own shoulder to kill the bad guy. Yippee-ki-yay indeed, Mother F*ckers!
