I’m Putting Together A Team
Sequel Soldiers - Part Three
Team Two: Heroes of second installments of movie franchises that were better than the original.
Fictional heroes, villains, and everyone in between have formed unlikely alliances to answer a common calling: which group of kindred characters is the mightiest of them all? United by a shared theme, troops of four fabulous fictional characters will figuratively compete in a tournament of television, movie, and literature’s finest where only one foursome can be crowned kings and queens of popular entertainment. Join in on the roll call to learn more about these similar characters and delve into their individual histories. It's time to assemble the analogous all-stars and find out who is the best, one team at a time.
The second time's the charm for these cinematic commandos, and they have the box office blowouts to back them up. Each member of this “Part Two” party is featured in a film that is widely considered to be superior to the first. Subjectivity can sway opinions, but there is no doubt that these characters are a force to be reckoned with.
Sequel Soldiers, assemble!
3. John Rambo
First appearance (on screen): First Blood (1982), returned for the sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Popular entertainment of 1985:
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - film starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner
MacGyver - television series starring Richard Dean Anderson
The Cider House Rules - novel written by John Irving
First Blood was, er, first published in 1972 as a novel written by David Morrell and featured the homeless veteran protagonist only known as Rambo. The film adaptation debuted in theaters in 1982, featuring Sylvester Stallone as the lead role, John J. Rambo. The movie sees Sly portray the PTSD-suffering combat vet hitchhiking his way through a sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest. Rambo attracts the ire of local law enforcement, and defends himself the only way he knows how - by utilizing his superior skills as a Special Forces soldier. Rambo’s old commanding officer, Colonel Trautman (played by Richard Crenna), comes to stop Rambo and convince him to end things as peacefully as possible. Rambo is arrested after confessing how his deeply troubled mind has affected him since his time in Vietnam.
First Blood Part II finds Rambo serving time in a labor camp when Trautman pays him a visit. Enlisted in a rescue mission to help save POWs still trapped in Vietnam, Rambo is released with the promise of a presidential pardon if he completes his new assignment. The bureaucrat in charge of the operation, Murdock (played by Charles Napier), orders Rambo to only photograph evidence of the captured men, though Rambo knows it won’t be that simple. Rambo parachutes back into the jungle to once again become war itself.
During Rambo’s search for the prisoners, he meets Co Bao (played by Julia Nickson), a local woman working with the Americans and she leads him to the camp where the men are being held. Violence ensues as Rambo utilizes several high-powered weapons to destroy his enemies. Soviet and Vietnamese forces attack him, but Rambo is able to fight them off, though he nearly perishes in the process. Co isn’t as lucky as she is shot to death by ambushing soldiers.
Rambo frees the POWs and successfully delivers them to the American base. It is there that Rambo aggressively accosts Murdock, demanding that the bureaucrat rescue the remaining prisoners. After an explosive series of battles across the treacherous jungle, Rambo walks away but does so while still fighting his inner demons.
Rambo would reup for more dangerous deployments in the form of an animated series, toys, video games, and even returned to the big screen in Rambo III (1988), Rambo (2008), and Rambo: Last Blood (2019). Rambo’s legacy of, ahem, over the top action movies is celebrated to this day, further cementing Stallone as one of the all time great heroes of the silver screen. Of all of Sly’s famous characters, Rambo stands out as the most brutal yet complex role. Not just a mindless killing machine, Rambo carries with him a history of violence that will always haunt his days. It’s this fierce training and battle-hardened experience that makes Rambo a deadly asset - just give him a bow and arrow, and a few explosives, and your worst nightmare will get the job done.
The Terminator, Hicks, Rambo, and Peacemaker make for an impressive party of four, but they’ll have to use their brains (or cybernetic learning computers) as well as brawn to the test if they want to be the last team standing.
Stay in the loop for more details by subscribing to Jonfiction Blog on Substack and be sure to check out jonmcbrine.com for more info about this and my books.
New blog every Monday. Jon McBrine Newsletter first Monday of each month via email.
