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#the one thing zuko likes about being firelord is it means he can fund sokkas ridiculous ideas
thisentertaining · 4 years
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Instinctual - The Instincts of the Airwalkers- pt 1
Zuko wasn't sure what to think about the tales of modern day figures living and flying in the Northen Air Temple. His people are... thorough. He doesn't want to let Aang down, but he finds it hard to believe that anyone not stuck in an iceberg had escaped the eradication.
When he got to the temple, he hated being proven right. What's more, he hated seeing Earth Kingdom strangers destroying what little of Aang's heritage survived the attack of his people. But the day that the Fire Nation launches a second attack on this once idyllic temple, Zuko hates the most that he has to finally make a clear choice.
He'd thought he'd made this choice already, thought he'd made it several times over, but the question remains when he'd least like it to: Is he willing to fight against his Nation?
Read on Ao3
Read from Beginning
Azula had never been shy about calling him insulting names. In fact, he was almost certain that casual insults had been more common than ‘Zuzu’, and she certainly never deigned to call him Zuko. She’d had a lot of fodder to create the names, centering on how he clung to Mother, his inability to please the tutors, his abysmal fire bending progress, the innate weakness that she and Father saw and he’d never been able to identify to change. Most of them bothered him, and he wasn’t good at hiding it, which only encouraged her to keep using them.
The only one that hadn’t bothered him was when she called him a Theatre Nerd. Ursa had been an actress, bringing life to even their bedtime stories before Azule got ‘too old’ for them. Zuko hadn’t felt too old, but he was older than Azula, and so he’d been too embarrassed to request that they continue. Regardless, he’d loved trips with his mother to see the theatre, and even Azula had enjoyed when they went to the Ember Island Players together, if only because Ursa eviscerated the poor quality shows with a viciousness that the prodigy could appreciate.  
After Mother disappeared they never went to another play, but Azula would use the insult every time she caught Zuko cramming a theatre scroll in his homework pile or humming the notes to the overture in ‘Love Amongst the Dragons’. Zuko hadn’t minded. If anything, it had made him feel closer to his mother, as if this was a part of her that remained even though she was gone. Additionally, he didn’t really think there was anything wrong with enjoying good storytelling.
This was not good storytelling.
The man at the fire had told a story that was winding, without a clear plot or purpose. Even his terminology was off, he called airbendenders ‘airwalkers’, and acted as though it was reasonable for the main character to think it was a human-sized parrot. He only really got artistic with it at the end, and by then Zuko was as bored as Aang was enthralled. The Fire Nation teen was mentally going through the Airbender-featuring plays he’d read to give Aang a proper story when the man stopped talking.
(Technically, scrolls with non-Fire-Nation main characters were illegal unless the foreigners were the villains, but Ursa had a cache of scrolls that even Ozai had never known existed.)
(They’d disappeared the night she did; all but one. Zuko’s favorite, a biography of Avatar Kyoshi, had appeared under the turtleduck tree. Mom used to joke that she regretted letting Zuko read that one because he’d learned to be stubborn from a woman renown for her will even among a nation who took pride in their tenacity.)
“Aren’t airbender stories the best?” Aang asked happily, and Zuko felt some of his annoyance at the subpar story ease. This was important for Aang, it was good that he got the reminder that his people were not forgotten.
“Was it realistic?” Katara asked. “Is that how it was back then?”
“I laugh at gravity all the time!” Aang said immediately, referencing the man’s ending line.
Zuko snorted. “You laugh at everything all the time, Aang.”
“Well, so did the other airbenders. There used to be a running tab to see how many times you could get a pie to land on someone’s head! But it only worked if they actually got pied, if they spotted it and deflected, you didn’t get the points. Monk Gyastso won every week.”
That… hadn’t been in any of the plays Zuko was thinking of. Except… maybe that one scene in ‘As the Wind Follows’… that had been a pudding, but maybe it had been inspired by the pie thing.  Zuko was just about to ask when the man showed up with his hat, obnoxiously shaking it in front of a half-dozing Sokka. The teen scrambled in his pockets, but all of them knew exactly what he would find. Or wouldn’t find. They’d spent the last of their money at the Fire Nation Festival, and had been too busy running from Zhao since to try and pick up odd jobs.
Anything but fishing.
The man walked away with a disgusted grumble and Zuko couldn’t help but a feel a pang of guilt. Mom had campaigned for funding to be channeled to the dramatic arts back home, knowing first hand how hard it was to make a living. Here, they didn’t even charge tickets, relying wholly on the tips of their listeners. Zuko wished he could give something, but he owned almost nothing, and could not spare anything he did.
Aang jumped up and followed the man, thanking him for the story. Zuko watched as Katara and Sokka bickered about their nonexistent funds. It should be fine, they should be able to survive off of what they had until they reached the Northern Water Tribe, and hopefully they would be generous to their tribesmen and the Avatar… and Zuko would get stuff by association.
Suddenly Aang was there, moving so quickly that Zuko hadn’t seen him shift, eyes wide and smile so huge that it seemed to split his face like a alli-pelican. “Guys, they say the airbenders last week. They must have- some of my people survived! I’m not the last airbender after all! WOO HOO!”
In his excitement, the boy created a tornado under him and shot into the sky, cheering all the while.
One of the other story patrons gasped. “A giant parrot!”
______________________
“We’re almost to the Northern Air Temple!” Aang said as Appa floated past yet another identical mountaintop. Excitement threaded every syllable the boy spoke, and he was practically vibrating in his seat. “This is where they had the championships!”
Zuko squinted, though he was always squinting now. Aang had never pushed Appa to go this fast before, and as they got closer the air bison seemed to just keep going faster, the wind on their ride was much more intense than the risers were prepared for after weeks or months of fairly sedate flying with occasional bursts of speed. “The… pie throwing championships?”
“No!” Aang laughed. “For sky bison polo.” The boy launched into a well-detailed explanation that was ignored by all of his passengers.
“Do you think we’ll really find airbenders?” Katara asked Sokka, but her face was filled with hope rather than the concern and dread filling Zuko’s stomach.
“You want me to be like you, or totally honest?” Sokka asked.
“Are you saying I’m a liar?” Katara asked, affronted.
“I’m saying you’re an optimist. Same thing basically.”
She huffed and turned to the boy who had said hardly a word since Aang had made his announcement. “What do you think Zuko?” She asked, as though expecting him to be on her side.
He wished he could be. “My people are very… thorough, Katara. If Fire Lord Sozin saw them as a threat… well, neither he nor any Firelord after him were known for doing things part way.” Nor for showing mercy.
The girl cast an anxious look at Aang, pain creasing her face. In attempt to just, get rid of that look, Zuko allowed. “Although… they were nomads. How can I say that they didn’t miss a couple who were off… doing couple things. In a hundred years you could have as many as four or five generations easily. There uh, there’s a chance.”
Sokka sent him a look while Katara’s smile returned. Zuko scowled in response and looked down. Nothing that he’d said was false. It was just that… well his people were very thorough. They’d killed the last of the dragons, spiritual creatures blessed to be the first Fire Benders. If they’d managed to hunt down each and every one of them, Zuko feared that the Air Nomads hadn’t been much trouble. He shouldn’t have said anything. He’d spent too long with dwindling-nonexistent hope, he’d forgotten how much it hurt to be disappointed.
Except, maybe they wouldn’t be disappointed.
“Hey guys, look!” Aang shouted, and gleefully pointed at an impossibility.
They could see the air temple in the distance, and it was absolutely surrounded by flying figures, figures larger than any giant parrot. People. Airbenders.
His people had failed.
If Zuko hadn’t become so much a traitor, that thought wouldn’t be bringing him so much job, but looking at Aang’s face he couldn’t find it in himself to feel anything else.
Katara gasped in wonder. “They really are airbenders!”
“No they’re not.” Aang argued, his excitement having drained with starling speed. The boy crossed his arms and settled petulantly against the Bison’s head.
“What do you mean?” Sokka demanded. “Those guys are flying!”
“Gliding maybe.” Aang said angrily. “But not flying. You can tell by the way they move.”
Zuko squinted at the figures and could kind of see what Aang was talking about. “They’re all going the same paths.” He realized suddenly.  “They’re riding air currents.”
“Riding them, not creating them.” Aang agreed. “They’re not airbending. Those people have no spirit.”
Zuko caught movement out of the corner of his eye and hit the deck, grabbing a protesting Sokka and dragging his with him, though Katara was too far away at the front of the saddle. The pair had barely hit the ground when suddenly  cart glided inches from where there heads had been, a boy in green laughing merrily as he flew past. Zuko popped up with a scowl, punching out a firebending move that should have served as a warning shot just as close as the strangers dive had been. It would have, at least, if he could produce anything more than a weak-looking puff of smoke.
Sokka pat Zuko on the back awkwardly as Katara turned back to the Avatar. “I don’t know, Aang. That kid seems pretty spirited to me.”
The kid swung back up by Appa’s head, sending Aang a look, and suddenly Aang’s face morphed into a competitive smirk the likes of which Zuko had never seen on the boy’s face, and he immediately jumped off the bison, his staff growing it’s sails as he chased after the glider.
“Great. Yeah, just, go after the stranger, Aang. Great idea.” Zuko grumbled, and Sokka laughed at him.
“You’re just grumpy cause the guy didn’t notice your fire-poof.”
“It’s a good thing he didn’t notice my bending. He’s Earth Kingdom, it would have been bad for us. I shouldn’t have even tried.” Zuko grumbled, and looked away so that he didn’t have to acknowledge that it wasn’t the bending that had upset him. It’s was Aang’s face just before he jumped into the sky. It was an expression that Zuko had never seen before, but one that fit the child so well. How many times had he made it in the past? Flown circles around the other child-monks in the temples, played games with people who could actually keep up.
How much had his people actually taken from him.
Luckily, the teen was momentarily broken from his thoughts when two close-flying gliders got too close to Appa’s nose and the bison jerked back, jolting the trio in the saddle.
"We need to get to some land before it get’s to us first." Sokka said once they’d settled, and Zuko happily jumped to steer the bison to the temple, anything to keep his mind focused on anything else. Anything beyond how good it looked to see Aang racing the glider.
It wasn’t much of a race. Aang had a freedom of movement that the glider simply couldn’t accomplish, running along walls and using is air sphere where the earth kingdom boy was much more restricted. Though, using smoke to create a caricature of Aang was a decent comeback. Still, when Aang landed beside Katara and Sokka there was something impossible to decipher in his expression.
The earth kingdom teen landed shortly after, skidding halfway across the platform before stopping, and immediately other children came forward to remove the wings and tops of the cart, though it became clear that the boy wouldn’t be getting out of the cart itself as he expertly wheeled himself over to the trio.
What followed was a lot of geeking out. The kid, Teo apparently, geeked out about the airbending and Avatar-ness, Sokka geeked out about the gliding chair. Zuko geeked out about nothing and tried very hard not to see ghosts in every corner. Teo led them through the temple, and Zuko had to fight to keep his face from screwing up. It wasn’t bad, per say, but with the plays and Uncle’s teachings, he’d pictured the nomad’s temples as things of beauty, clean and simple. This was… not that. There were pipes filling so much space that the lines were hard to follow with his eyes, and the walls had become an odd off-grey color. Some of the pipes even bisected reliefs and carvings and sculptures, creating ugly holes and cracks in the likely once-beautiful designs.
It was… sad.
Probably a lot sadder for Aang. Zuko realized when the boy flatly refused to share in Teo' pride and Sokka’s wonder. Zuko followed when Aang walked away, placing a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. Aang cast him a weak attempt at a smile as he walked him over to a large mural that had probably been stunning before it was stained with soot and marred by piping. Katara came on the boy’s other side and offered her silent support as well. “This is supposed to be the history of my people.” Aang said mournfully, gesturing at the images on monks and bison still faintly visible. One figure had even been decapitated by an extremely disrespectful pipe placement.
He wandered over to a stylized statue of a bison, the fountain now filled with disgusting polluted refuse. A plume of dark, sick looking smog burst from the statues mouth, making Aang jump back in disgust.
Zuko twitched awkwardly. “Do you want me to yell at someone? I’m really really good at it.” He offered.
Aang’s answering smile was a little less weak this time. “No, it… you don’t have to do that.”
“If that changes, let me know.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Katara, still on this bizzarely-nice kick, sent Zuko a wide smile before turning back to Aang. “I’m sure some parts of the temple are still the same.”
“Maybe. Hey, Teo! Are there any parts of the temple that haven’t been… changed like this?”
The boy, who had been deeply entrenched with Sokka about… something, scrunched his face in thought  before brightening. “Yeah! There are some platforms in the east side of the temple that are kinda tricky to get to so we haven’t done much with them! I can show you the way if you want.”
Zuko sneered, anger and guilt melting in his stomach uncomfortably. That mural was just as stained with smoke dust and ash as it was ruined by pipes. His people had brought this pain to Aang just as much as these squatters did. He’d already realized that this war was wrong, that they shouldn’t be fighting, be decimating like they were. Was it so much of a leap to think that it had never been right? It was hard to think anything else at the moment. He was furious that Aang had lost so much, and felt horrendous guilt knowing that his people had a part to play. But Sozin wasn’t here. This kid, this trespasser was. “I’m sure Aang knows this place far better than you. We don’t need a guide.”
Sokka cast him a surprised, reproachful look as Teo flinched back physically from the vitriol in Zuko’s voice, the venom in his words. The look Aang sent was understanding, almost grateful, but he shook his head. “It’s okay, Zuko. I’m- I’m upset but this isn’t Teo’s fault.” No, it was the Fire Nations’. His peoples’. His. “We would be honored if you could show us the way.”
Teo sent a hesitant smile at the boy, but still watched Zuko carefully until Katara cut in. “Sorry about Zuko. He’s just really protective of Aang.”
“I am not!” Zuko protested hotly.
“No, of course not.” Sokka mocked, having gotten over his shock. “You just singlehandedly snuck into a Fire Nation stronghold for him.”
“I mean, that-“
“And risked getting arrested by the Fire Nation to get him a teacher.”
“I just wanted Fire Flakes.”
“And you-“
“Enough! I get it.” He grumbled, and Teo laughed.
“It’s okay.” The boy said with a easy casualness. “I can understand being protective of someone. It isn’t a big deal, I forgive you. I don’t like to be mad at people anyway.”
Zuko squinted at him. “Are you sure you’re not an airbender?”
Aang laughed. “Maybe some of our philosophies have rubbed off on you just by living here.”
Teo grinned back. "Well, I wouldn’t mind that. The airbenders seemed awesome. How about this, you can tell me all about them on our way to the eastern platforms.”
“Only if you tell me how you guys ended up here in the first place.”
____________
Zuko trailed slightly behind the group and tried very hard to look as not-Fire-Nation as possible as Teo led them through the winding corridors. They were refugees, of course they were refugees. Every time you see Earth Kingdom people in weird places, it was because they were refugees fleeing the war. Which meant that his people were not only the whole reason this place got abandoned, it was also the reason why it had gotten reinhabited, why even this last spot of the Air Nomads was being changed and destroyed.
“It’s nice to see at least one part of the temple that isn’t ruined." Aang said happily as they made their way into a courtyard.
There were wooden doors surrounding the area, likely dorms, and a few noble and peaceful statues acting as guardians. Aang stared at one of the statues with the first hint of peace that had crossed his face since they’d landed. Zuko was about to ask Aang about the figure’s history when suddenly a loud voice yelled lookout, and the statue was destroyed right in front of Aang’s eyes.
Out of the dust stepped a man with the worst haircut Zuko had ever seen (and he’d tried to do a bald phoenix plume after his injury). “What the doodle?” The man asked, and Zuko was even more certain that he did not like him. “Don’t you know better than to be in an active construction zone? We have to make room for the bathhouse.”
“Do you know what you just did?” Aang asked, voice filled with a passionate fury that sent shivers down Zuko’s spine. “You just destroyed something sacred. For a stupid bathhouse!” He cried, anger so intense that his voice broke.
The man seemed entirely oblivious, “Well, people around here are starting to stink.” As though that was the important point.
“This whole place stinks!” Aang shrieked, sending a gust of wind to push the destruction machine off the mountain face. “This is a sacred temple. You can’t treat it this way. I know what it’s supposed to be like.”
“The monks?” The man asked. “But, you’re twelve.”
“Dad, he’s the Avatar.” Teo responded. “He used to be here a hundred years ago.”
“What are you doing? Who said you could do this?” Aang asked, his fury not abated in the least. “Just because you’re refugees, doesn’t mean you can destroy something sacred. Destroy history.”
The man wove a tale that would have been heart rendering, had he not said it in such a ridiculous way, and had he not been completely oblivious to the anger that was only building in Aang as he spoke of ‘improvement’ and ‘progress’. The distracted man soon had his attention pulled away as he realized the time, dismissing his conversation with Aang as though that would clear him of the repercussions.
Zuko attempted to smile at Aang. “Looks like I’m not the only one whose good at yelling.”
The boy grimaced. “Yeah, I kind of lost my temper.”
“That isn’t always a bad thing, Aang. Maybe he’ll be more careful with this place now that he knows how important it is.”
The airbender perked. “Yeah, maybe!”
Teo rolled up to them. “Hey, Aang, I want to show you something.”
The boy looked hesitant, but nodded. Zuko looked up, but Sokka had already wandered off with weird dude so he shrugged. Might as well stick with the airbender. Aang needed all of the help that he could get.  
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Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2010) Part II
We’ve reached a decade of lists! To be honest the year 2010 was one of the weakest years when it came to decent comic movies but there were still some good ones! We get two sequels with Iron Man 2 and Predators and the debut of Kick-Ass, The Losers, Jonah Hex, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, and one of the worst movies in cinema, The Last Airbender. Without any more delay here’s #50-26!
*SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*
50. Firelord Ozai (The Last Airbender)
"My son has failed me."
Firelord Ozai was shown a lot more in the film than he was in the show during Book One. To me, this was a mistake. In the show, Firelord Ozai had this Big Brother creepy aura that kept fear in everyone who talked about him and made the viewers know that he was the most dangerous person in their world. In the movie we see him calmly strolling next to some flowers and while he does look powerful, he kinda looks beatable and not much of a threat.
49. Noland (Predators)
"I'm the one that got away. The one you don't fuck with."
At first I thought Noland was someone that group needed. He's survived the planet for several seasons and has even managed to kill a couple of Predators himself. Only problem? He's crazy. He tries to take out the group which forces Royce to signal one of the Predators to find them. Noland tries to take off but is quickly blown to pieces by the Predators he's been avoiding for years.
48. Sokka (The Last Airbender)
"I always end up getting wet."
I hated Sokka. He wasn't funny at all and in the show, some of the best comedy comes from Sokka. It seriously bothered me every time he showed up on the screen because I knew it would be nothing like the Sokka from the film, in the worst way possible. We also didn't get to see him begin his journey of becoming the great leader he becomes by the time Book Three rolls around and his relationship with Princess Yue fell completely flat.
47. Natalie 'Envy' Adams (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)
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"You just headbutted my boyfriend so hard he burst."
Envy was Scott's big ex that dumped him when her band got signed and moved away. Now a big star, she returns so her current boyfriend can destroy Scott once and for all. She mainly just eggs Todd on but once he's destroyed she moves on with her band. I will say that I really liked the song her band performed at their concert. It was catchy.
46. Happy Hogan (Iron Man 2)
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"I got him!"
Happy is back with a little more screen time in the second film. Still serving Tony Stark, Happy shows he's just as loyal as Pepper is when it comes to helping Tony when he's in need of it. However, it seems he prefers Pepper more as he decides to work for her once she briefly cuts ties with Tony. We also see him bravely take down one of the bad guys...while Black Widow takes care of the other twelve men.
45. Nick Fury (Iron Man 2)
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"Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe."
When Tony Stark hits rock bottom, Nick Fury shows up to smack some sense into him. He reveals Black Widow is an agent of his, Tony's father is a co-founder for S.H.E.I.L.D., and lets Tony know what elemental metal he can use as source of energy that won't kill him. He does all this in a matter of one scene then takes off to probably go recruit more Avengers.
44. Max (The Losers)
"I've done a lot in four months, Wade. I'm a very busy man."
The big baddie of the film, but he barely made an impression of me. At first I thought he was going to be this evil, calculating guy that killed 25 kids and felt nothing but he turned out to be just really rich and could pay people to do what he wanted. He, himself, wasn't that imposing so it was a surprise to no one that once his goons and his money were gone he was reduced to someone that gets mugged on the bus.
43. Justin Hammer (Iron Man 2)
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"I'd love to leave my door unlocked at night, but this ain't Canada."
This dude reminded me of a horrible used car salesman that just wouldn't shut up. Seriously this guy is the very definition of a cockroach. He first tries to take down Tony with the government but when that fails he tries to be buddy-buddy with him so he can get a slot in Tony's expo. When Stark doesn't fall for it, he then starts funding the guy who tried to kill Stark to basically copy him so Hammer could get all the glory. I'm glad no one took him seriously but something tells me he really means to get back at Pepper for having him arrested.
42. Katara (The Last Airbender)
"I'm the only water bender left in the Southern Water Tribe."
Besides her whiteness, Katara didn't bother me THAT MUCH. She seemed to have this worried look on her face the whole time and her narration just didn't have the same impact as the on in the show. With all the cuts to make the movie shorter, it seemed Katara got the short end of the stick most of the time. Aang takes her spot when it comes to inspiring the earthbenders that are imprisoned and her mastery of waterbending is completely taken out as well. Even her epic fight against Zuko is shortened in favor of a fight between Aang and him.
41. Kim Pine, Stephen Stills, Neil Nordegraf (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)
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"We are here to sell out and make money and stuff."
The members of the Sex Bob-Ombs! We got Stephen, the vocals and someone who just wants the band to reach the next level in their career so bad that it's made him paranoid; Kim, who used to date Scott in high school and now seems to hate him and insult him every chance she gets when she's not hating every other female drummer she sees; and Young Neil, who's basically the Great Value version of Scott and is only in the band when Scott can't play. They travel with Scott as he deals with all of Ramona's exes with the hope of getting signed but when that opportunity comes with Gideon, Ramona's top ex, they decide friendship is better and help cheer on Scott to victory!
40. Katie Deauxma (Kick-Ass)
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"I'd fuck his brains out if I got the chance."
Katie first had Dave on her radar when she thought he was gay and being outcast by the entire school. Wanting to be there for him, she offered her friendship and the two became super close through the movie. When Dave reveals he's Kick-Ass and that he isn't actually gay, they start a relationship. It's Katie's disapproval in the vigilante life that gets Dave to quit being Kick-Ass for a brief moment and they continue to date after Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl beat Frank and Red Mist.
39. Gideon Gordon Graves (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)
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"Game. Over."
Gideon is Ramona's most recent ex, who started the League of Exes when she dumped him. He has all the money in the world and uses it against Scott every way he can. He was honestly my least favorite ex. He wasn't as fun as the others and only dated Ramona because he had a mind control device on her. He's destroyed with the combined effort of Scott and Knives, allowing Ramona to date whoever she wants.
38. Tracker Predator and Falconer Predator (Predators)
*clicking sounds*
These two Predators were part of the trio hunting our group of humans. As a group they were able to take down a couple of them and on their own they were pretty impressive as well. Tracker Predator managed to kill Noland, who's been avoiding the Predators for years and mortally wounds Nikolai before the other blows the both up. Falconer Predator tried to do things the honorable way and take on Hanzo one on one in a sword fight. He dealt a finishing blow, but Hanzo also managed to bring him down as well.
37. Burke (Jonah Hex)
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"I'm gonna hand Turnbull your balls in a snuffbox!"
For every villain wanting to destroy a country there's always a psycho sidekick who just wants to go along for the ride because it's fun. Turnbull's psychotic sidekick was Burke, who didn't understand what was going on half of the time but still killed anyone that got in the way of Turnbull's plans and enjoyed every single second of it. He almost kills Jonah himself the first time they face off, but on the rematch Jonah manages to not only kill Burke, but also brings him back to life just to incinerate his body completely.
36. Prince Zuko (The Last Airbender)
"I will restore my honor!"
I felt like Zuko in film did really well portraying the anguish the Zuko in the show had, but I could not help but giggle every time he tried to be threatening or intimidating. I couldn't buy it. Also is that what you call a scar? Because to me all that looks like is a small scratch. His rivalry with Zhao was cut back which is a bit of a shame because that really is one of the few times during Book One that you feel some type of sympathy for him and want to root him on.
35. Lucas Lee (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)
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"The only thing separating me from her is the two minutes it's going to take to kick your ass!"
The cool action star and Ramona's 2nd ex! He wasn't so cool when they dated so she left him for Todd and he went on to be the biggest skate boarding/movie star the world has ever seen! When he faces against Scott he has his stunt team take him on before he kicks his ass all throughout the movie set. What kills him in the end? Scott convincing him to skate down a rail, which he does awesomely until he blows up all of a sudden.
34. Hanzo (Predators)
"Because I talk too much."
Hanzo never spoke a word to the group until he discovers an old samurai sword in Noland's hideout and even then it's only a couple of words. Although he works for Yakuza, he still has a sense of respect and decides to go against Falconer Predator one on one in a sword fight. Even though he's thrown around by the larger beast, Hanzo deals a killing blow that brings the Predator down. Soon after, however, Hanzo dies from his own wounds.
33. Frank D'Amico (Kick-Ass)
"Playtime's over kid."
The most powerful mob boss in the city, Frank takes down everyone and anyone who gets in his way. With the snap of his fingers he can get whatever he wants, so you can only imagine how his ego was handling Kick-Ass ruining his business. Even though he doesn't take his son seriously, he allows Chris to become Red Mist to lure Kick-Ass into a trap, which gets ruined by Big Daddy. Frank gets his revenge by having his goons light Big Daddy on fire, but ends up having to deal with Hit-Girl. To his credit, Frank isn't hard to take down. In fact, he very nearly kills Hit-Girl before Kick-Ass comes and shoots a bazooka missile at him.
32. Edwin (Predators)
"I'm a murderer. I'm a freak."
Everyone thought that Edwin was this innocent doctor who was mistakenly thrown into the hunting preserve with the rest of these killers. He plays the act the entire movie, earning everyone's trust and basically becoming the little brother they all look out for and protect until the very end when it's just him and Isabelle. He shows his true colors by slicing her with a paralyzing blade and almost kills her before Royce shows up. Luckily Royce isn't fooled by the kid's act and he leaves him with a bunch of grenades to greet the last remaining Predator.
31. Todd Ingram (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)
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"Chicken isn't vegan?"
This idiot seemed to be the strongest out of all the exes and Ramona's longest relationship. With his vegan lifestyle comes really cool psychic abilities that allows him to wipe the floor with Scott in front of everyone, including Scott's ex, Envy, who happens to be dating Todd now. The idiot apparently doesn't know that a lot of stuff isn't vegan, specifically chicken, so the Vegan Police show up to take his powers away, which allows Scott to take him down.
30. James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine (Iron Man 2)
"Yeah, it's called being a badass."
Rhodey is back and even though he might have a small ounce of respect for Stark, he still doesn't like him. His dislike is what pushes him over the edge to take on Tony's War Machine before engaging in a fight that takes down Tony's entire mansion. I think he has a good moral compass but his dislike for Tony causes him to not recognize when Tony is right about something, which is how Whiplash is able to take over War Machine in the film's climax. In the end Rhodey has finally established himself as a hero and watching him fight along Iron Man as War Machine was very cool to see.
29. Uncle Iroh (The Last Airbender)
"We will find you a nice girl."
Uncle Iroh in the film is a perfect example of going in a completely different way with a character, and it still being good. Sure I would have loved to see him express a love for tea or play some Pai Sho but I didn't need it. Iroh was still laidback, cared deeply for Zuko, and had a respect for the spirits and other nations. They even touched on his son's death in Ba Sing Se. In the film there's this weird thing about firebenders not being able to create fire but only able to control it (extremely stupid, but whatever) and Iroh is one of the few people who can actually create it. He uses his techniques to aid Zuko in escaping from Zhao and continue to go after the Avatar another day.
28. Quentin Turnbull (Jonah Hex)
"The United States will know Hell."
Our main villain who kills Jonah Hex's family after Jonah betrays him and kills his son, Jeb. I personally don't think it's Jeb's death that makes Turnbull go evil, I think he was already like that when he served as the Confederate Army's Commander. It just took Jonah a while to figure that out and when he did it was too late to save his family. Turnbull fakes his death to throw off Jonah so he can create the ultimate weapon to destroy the United States. He's nearly successful but Jonah manages to show up at the last minute to kill him for good.
27. Classic Predator (Predators)
*original clicking sounds*
The group finds Classic Predator strung up on the other Predator's ship and later learn from Noland that he belongs to an inferior clan. Royce decides to free him in hopes that the Predator will take him back to Earth. The Classic Predator is good on his word, but when it comes to facing the stronger Berserker Predator, he falls short and gets decapitated.
26. William Roque (The Losers)
"Well, you better be, because I ain't getting killed by no girl."
Roque was my least favorite Loser for obvious reasons but I really liked him in the beginning. I thought he was going to be this crazy, unpredictable guy who would find any excuse to pull out his knives and that's not what was delivered. Instead Roque complained about everything the group did to get their life back even when the group's plans were actually pretty solid. Then he decides to betray the friend's he's known for YEARS for a chance to live in America again, which is something I would expect from Pooch so he could be with his family, not from a guy who had no one waiting for him back in the states. So yeah, I wasn't mad when Roque ended up getting blown to piece by Cougar.
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