John McClane

Bruce Willis, "Die Hard"
He’s the fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, and the pain in the ass of terrorists everywhere, yet police officer John McClane’s always asking himself, “How the fuck did you get into this shit?” First, he’s at the top of Nakatomi Plaza, taking down Germans one by one, either with his trusty Beretta or…ho, ho, ho…a machine gun; the next, he’s battling a rogue Army officer and has to blow up a plane to stop the guy.  What does a guy like that do for an encore?  Why, save New York City from being blown sky-high, of course.

Definitive badass moment: While pretending to laugh at Hans Gruber’s awful German pronunciation of the phrase, “Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker,” McClane whips out the gun he’d strapped to his back with Christmas wrapping tape, shoots Hans, then nails Gruber’s henchman right in the forehead for good measure.  “Happy trails, Hans,” smirks McClane.

Classic badass line: “Motherfucker, I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna fuckin' cook you, and I'm gonna fuckin' eat you!”

Indiana Jones

Harrison Ford, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Who says college professors can’t be badasses? Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones may not have time for love, but he always makes time for an archaeological expedition.  Indy’s first and foremost a historian, but to find his inner adventurer, he needs only remove his glasses, don his fedora and grab his trusty bullwhip.  A profound desire to see precious antiquities in museums rather than on the black market has found him ankle-deep in adders, poisoned by the Chinese mafia, dragged under a tank by Nazis, and almost flattened by a giant boulder…but that’s all in a day’s work for Indiana Jones.

Definitive badass moment: When facing a sword-wielding assassin who boastfully demonstrates his dexterity with his blade, Jones shrugs, pulls out his revolver, and shoots the guy dead in his tracks.

Classic badass line: “You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together. I've got nothing better to do!”