The ode to ’80s action movies, The Expendables franchise, is full of badass and deeply lovable characters. Sure, these characters may just be an extension of the phenomenal action stars who appear in the franchise, but they are great characters, nonetheless. The Expendables are a group of some of the deadliest and seemingly unkillable mercenaries in the world.

Each member is deadly in their own right, but every member receives compelling performances from the stars, as well as enough complexities to make us fall in love with them. So without further ado, sharpen your knives and load up your guns, as we rank the best characters in The Expendables franchise.

10 Luna – Ronda Rousey

Introduced in the third installment of the franchise, Luna is an expert in close-quarters combat. As a proficient and undercover bouncer, Luna quickly proved herself as a valuable member of the team during Barney Ross’ (Sylvester Stallone) search for a new and far more “expendable” team of mercenaries.
Played by the UFC’s first female champion, Ronda Rousey, Luna’s deadly close-quarters combat skills are only enhanced by the UFC fighter’s expansive history with martial arts and fighting. Although Rousey doesn’t always sell herself as an actor, she truly shines in this role, delivering a mostly compelling and incredibly joyous performance.

9 Gunner – Dolph Lundgren

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In the first Expendables movie, Gunner served as a secondary antagonist who would have been simply detestable, if not for Dolph Lundgren’s hilarious yet still intimidating performance. However, in The Expendables 2 Gunner had much more of an opportunity to grow and become a fan-favorite character. His insults are mostly unnecessary but serve as great comic relief, and learning that he used to be a scientific “genius” was the cherry on top of the cake.
On top of that, Gunner is one of the more valuable members of the team. His large physique and gargantuan strength give him a huge edge in battle.

8 Yin Yang – Jet Li

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As one of the greatest movie martial artists of all time, Jet Li’s inclusion into this action-packed franchise was incredibly exciting. Although his character does fall under heavy stereotypes, Li manages to infuse Yin Yang with his deadly martial arts abilities and charm for us to adore his character all the same.
Related: Best Martial Arts Movies of the 2000s, Ranked

7 Trench – Arnold Schwarzenegger

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How can you not love a character portrayed by the great Arnold Schwarzenegger? He is one of the most charming and iconic action heroes ever. Trench, much like Schwarzenegger himself, is legendary. He tends to often swoop in and save the day with a large weapon, spouting out many lines from his iconic filmography. Most notably, “I’ll be back” and “Get to the choppa”. While Trench doesn’t receive much if any development, he is still badass enough to make us love his character.

6 Doc – Wesley Snipes

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As the second knife specialist in the franchise, Doc gets so many awesome moments and pieces of hilarious dialogue to make him stand out from his competition. Deeply skilled in hand-to-hand combat and knife throwing, it’s Doc’s quippy dialogue, expertly delivered by Wesley Snipes, that had us falling head-over-heels for his character. Lines like “Oh Sally, the man attacked me with a knife”, “jingle-ing jingle-ing” and “I’m the knife before Christmas” are so dumb, but end up sounding cool.

5 Booker – Chuck Norris

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Each member of the Expendables is deadly in their own right, and they all bring something different to the team. Barney Ross is a brilliant leader and deadly gunman. Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) is a master bladesman, and Caesar (Terry Crews) packs a punch with his huge assortment of large guns. But there is one character who harnesses each special skill of the Expendables crew into one, and that is Chuck Norris’ Booker.
Of course, it is, Chuck Norris is one of the most awesome individuals of all time. There are countless memes that only help prove this point. From his very first appearance, Booker effortlessly defeats an army of bad guys before shooting a rocket launcher at a tank, destroying it. From there, Booker talks about the time he was bitten by a King Cobra, mentioning that “after five days of agonizing pain. The Cobra died”. Brilliant stuff.

4 Barney Ross – Sylvester Stallone

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Barney Ross, the leader of the band of unhinged mercenaries, is easily among the best characters the series has to offer. His deadly skills with a pistol, brutal physicality in close-quarters combat, and charm elevate Barney Ross above many other characters in the franchise.
Barney is without question the main character in the franchise, who receives the most depth. That depth is a little thin and needless at points, but Sylvester Stallone’s stone-cold, and at the same time, fun performance make Barney Ross a great character. Plus, his endearing bromance with Jason Statham’s Lee Christmas, makes The Expendables movie far more entertaining and adds an undeniable human factor to the series.

3 Galgo – Antonio Banderas

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Fans can sometimes be a little overbearing. They will do anything to grab your attention, become your best friend and attempt to be a part of the team. Galgo is that fan. His giddy excitement and passion for joining the kill squad of mercenaries is deeply infectious, as Antonio Banderas’ hilarious and energetic performance won us over almost instantly.
His character pales in comparison to his counterparts, in terms of physique, but his larger-than-life personality and appetite for killing make him a valuable asset to the team. Galgo is fast, and incredibly agile, as well as being very deadly with any weapon he gets his hands on.
Related: Best Antonio Banderas Movies, Ranked

2 Caesar – Terry Crews

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Having a name like Caesar immediately catapults you into placing among the best character in a given movie. Add Terry Crews’ large, muscular physique and undeniable charm, and Caesar is simply unforgettable. Much like many characters on the list, Caesar comes equipped with many memorable quotes, such as, “Time to mow the lawn”, when wielding a large mini-gun, and, “Remember this s*it at Christmas” after pumping an army of bad guys with deadly shotgun shells.
But what makes us adore his character is his preference for using large weapons, like a mini-gun or an automatic shotgun, which he treats as his most prized possession.

1 Lee Christmas – Jason Statham

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In a sea of characters so incredibly memorable in their own ways, it’s very difficult for one character, in particular, to stand out. Well, that’s where Lee Christmas comes in, shining way above the rest of the characters on this list. Lee Christmas is exceptionally deadly with a knife. Whether he’s accurately hurling a barrage of knives at his enemies or simply slashing them in close-quarter combat, very few characters in the film franchise match Christmas’ deadly skills.
With that, Christmas is responsible for some of the franchise’s best moments. His battle with the tragically underrated martial artist Scott Adkins was exhilarating; his brawl on a basketball court was badass, and his massacre in a church after saying perhaps the coolest line of the dialogue in the whole franchise was just fantastic. Top that with an enthralling performance from the great Jason Statham and you have the best character in the entire Expendables movie franchise.