Stallone vs Schwarzenegger: 10 of Their Best Characters

Welcome to the ultimate Stallone vs Schwarzenegger. In this list, we rank the top ten Stallone vs Schwarzenegger most badass characters. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are two of the biggest action movie stars of all time.

The two musclebound actors practically dominated the action genre in the 80s and 90s, depicting some of the most iconic heroes ever and launching some of the most successful movie franchises that are still being continued to this day.

With famous quotes like “I’ll be back!” and “Hasta la vista, baby” to “I am the Law” and “You’re the disease, and I’m the cure!” these two Hollywood legends have entertained us and made our lives richer.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Jungle Fighters

The jungles cover more than six percent of the total surface of the Earth. Yet, how many of us have spent even one night where the lion sleeps? Well, these two major badasses are at the top of the food chain even in these deadly surroundings.

John Rambo, First Blood (1982)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
John Rambo, First Blood (1982)

John Rambo is the main protagonist of the Rambo film series. A former Vietnam special forces veteran and highly skilled Green Beret, Rambo returned from the war as a decorated, but disturbed hero, having faced unbearable terrors. When he arrives in a small US town, the town’s sheriff spots him as a troublemaker and arrests him. Things quickly get out of hand as Rambo uses his outstanding survival skills and guerrilla tactics to take down the entire town’s police force.

Major Dutch Schafer, Predator (1987)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Major Dutch Schafer, Predator (1987)

Dutch is a mercenary and the leader of a private military team. He and his men are hired by the CIA for a “rescue mission” in Guatemala. The mission turns out to be a set-up to fool them into eliminating the rebels in the area. On their way back, Dutch’s squad comes into contact with a Predator – a murderous alien – that stalked and killed the elite unit one by one. Using guerilla skills he learned during and after his service in the Vietnam War, Dutch manages to kill the Predator and was one of only two survivors of the encounter in Guatemala. Following the release of Rocky IV, a joke circulated in Hollywood that since Rocky Balboa had run out of earthly opponents, he would have to fight an alien if a fifth film were to be made. The Predator Screenwriters took inspiration from the joke and wrote a screenplay based on it.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Mid-1980s Badasses

Lt. Marion “Cobra” Cobretti, Cobra (1986)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Lt. Marion “Cobra” Cobretti, Cobra (1986)

Lt. Marion Cobretti – aka Cobra, Marion Cobretti is a Los Angeles Police Officer and Lieutenant of their Zombie Squad. He’s known to be unorthodox in his method of law enforcement which is what he uses to get the job done, like executing criminals. Cobra is more physically fit than the average cop and very quick in terms of gun or knife play. When it comes to dealing with firearms, Cobra is known for his lethal precision. His general attitude toward criminals reflects in his catchphrase: “You’re a disease, and I’m the cure”.

Colonel John, Matrix Commando (1985)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Colonel John, Matrix Commando, Source: Multitude Of Movies

Matrix is a Delta Force soldier who retires from the military to raise his beloved daughter, Jenny. When Jenny is kidnapped by a ruthless warlord who tries to force Matrix into assassinating a South American president, Matrix goes off to find his daughter and destroy the warlord and his entire private militia. Matrix has an extremely muscular physique, which he keeps honed by hard work around his remote mountain home. His training for black ops has made him something of a one-man army, skilled with both firearms and knives. He also improvises weapons from items at hand, employing such items as a spading fork, circular saw blades thrown like shuriken, a woodcutting ax, and a pipe was thrown like a spear.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Small Town Sheriffs

Sheriff Freddy Heflin, Cop Land (1997)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Sheriff Freddy Heflin, Cop Land (1997)

The pay is lousy, the hours long, the banter surly, and retirement? Well, that’s just asking for a bullet. Still, both Arnie and Sly rolled up their sleeves and portrayed local lawmen, fighting crime and apprehending varmints. Freddy Heflin is a New Jersey sheriff who is charged with keeping order in a small community populated almost entirely by officers of the New York City Police Department. However, Heflin’s authority is rarely taken seriously and he is often dismissed by the locals. Heflin begins to clash with these officers when a young hero cop goes missing and the others attempt to cover it up. Though no one takes Freddy seriously as any kind of law enforcer, he turns out to be a major badass when the action starts.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Framed Lawmen in the Future

Sergeant John Spartan, Demolition Man (1993)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Sergeant John Spartan, Demolition Man (1993)

a.k.a “The Demolition Man”, John Spartan was a member of the L.A.P.D back in the late 20th century. Framed by his nemesis Simon Phoenix with the deaths of 32 bus passengers, Spartan is charged with involuntary manslaughter and placed in the cryo-prison for a sentence of 70 years. 36 years later, Simon Phoenix, who was also placed in the cryo-prison, escapes custody, and the future police department decides to revive Spartan in order to catch Phoenix. Once revived, Spartan is immediately reinstated as a member of the police force and sets out to capture Phoenix, only to find out that Phoenix has gotten twice as stronger and smarter since he last encountered him.

Ben Richards, The Running Man (1987)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Ben Richards, The Running Man (1987)

Richards, a.k.a “The Butcher of Bakersfield”, is a cop in a Hunger Games-like movie, and part of a totalitarian police force in the future. Ben is scapegoated for killing innocent civilians (whom he actually refused an order to kill). He was forced to compete in the barbaric gladiatorial live reality show called “The Running Man”. Sent to the ruins of Los Angeles where The Running Man’s action takes place, Richards and two other prisoners face murderous Stalkers like Professor Subzero, Buzzsaw, and Dynamo that have to kill them as part of the game. Only when Richards joins the resistance fighters, the real game begins. The truth about his innocence is exposed.

Sheriff Ray Owens, The Last Stand (2013)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Sheriff Ray Owens, The Last Stand, Image Source: Krzysztof Langhammer, Youtube

A former LAPD officer from a sleepy border town. Ray is called upon by the FBI to stop a notorious drug lord from fleeing across the U.S./Mexico border. When the shooting begins Owens’ gunmanship and high combat abilities are put to a test.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Dystopian Future Badasses

Judge Dredd (1995)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
Judge Dredd (1995)

Based on the titular comic character, Stallone plays Joseph Dredd, the toughest and most strict street Judge in history. Dredd is a dystopian futuristic film. Dredd summarily arrests, convicts, sentences, and executes criminals. When Dredd is falsely charged with murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, he has to fight to prove his innocence.

The Terminator (1984)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
The Terminator (1984)

Schwarzenegger, in one of his most famous roles, depicts Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator, sent by Skynet in 2029 to Los Angeles in 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, the future mother of John Connor, the leader of the future human Resistance. Luckily for Sarah, a human soldier is sent by the future John Connor to protect her against the Terminator and a fierce battle for the future of humanity ensues. 

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: International Action Men

Barney Ross, The Expendables (2010)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
The Expendables (2010)

Barney Ross is the leader of a group of Elite Mercenaries called the Expendables, who runs missions across government agencies. He has a long history of missions across the globe in places like Somalia, Nepal, and Serbia, and he is by far the fastest sharpshooting handgun shooter on the team. Ross is very protective of his men and loyal, but can also be vengeful. His signature weapon is the Modified 1911 Kimber Gold Combat II pistol, which he typically fires and reloads at rapid speed.

Harry Tasker, True Lies (1994)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegger
ARNOLD-SCHWARZENEGGER-TRUE-LIES-1994-

An international spy in a US counter-terrorism agency called “The Omega Sector” fighting terrorist organizations. Harry has been keeping it a secret from both his wife and daughter who believe him to be a computer salesman. He and his crew are after a terrorist organization led by Salim Abu Aziz, a Palestinian terrorist who vows revenge on America and plans to detonate nuclear warheads in US territory. When Aziz kidnaps Harry’s wife and daughter, the fight between him and Harry becomes personal. Harry is an expert in unarmed combat and with a firearm, an airplane pilot, and great in horse riding.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Crime Lords

“Snaps” Provolone, Avenging Angelo (1991)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
“Snaps” Provolone, Avenging Angelo (1991)

In a rare attempt by Stallone at doing a comedy role, Angelo “Snaps” Provolone is a feared mob boss trying to go straight. Despite his best intention to become a banker and give up a life of crime, he soon realizes that he would rather deal with gangsters and gunmen than “respectable” bankers, and decides to abandon his short-lived honest ways and return to a life of crime. Angelo is very energetic, a quick thinker, and a natural leader.

Freeze, Batman & Robin (1997)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Freeze, Batman & Robin (1997)

After an accident that condemned him to live in sub-zero temperatures, Dr. Victor Fries became Mr. Freeze, a cold-hearted villain, determined to find a cure for his wife, Nora’s terminal disease, even if he had to freeze all of Gotham City to do it. As a criminal, Freeze is very resourceful and a cunning strategist. The accident that mutated his body has given him the vital weakness of being unable to survive in a temperate environment, which he has overcome with technology.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Los Angeles Detectives

Lieutenant Ray Tango, Tango & Cash (1989)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Lieutenant Ray Tango, Tango & Cash (1989)

Ray is a detective for the LA Police Department. He is a hero cop for busting many of Yves Perret’s criminal empire, making him a local celebrity. Tango has had a fierce rivalry with a fellow hero cop, Gabriel Cash, a lower-wage and seemingly reckless cop from downtown LA, who is also on the same case as Tango. When the two are framed for murder and sent to a maximum-security prison, they must work together to escape and clear their names. Ray is highly intelligent and is considered the more serious of the two, though he also takes very drastic measures to get the job done, such as shooting at a semi-truck or threatening a suspect with a hand grenade.

Jack Slater, Last Action Hero (1993)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge

Jack Slater is a fictional LAPD detective in a surreal world of an action film, as part of the Jack Slater film series. When a boy named Danny Madigan is magically transported from the real world into the world of the Slater IV movie, Slater slowly becomes aware that they are in a film. Things get even more complicated when Slater and Danny manage to escape to the real world through a portal and now Slater has to face his enemies in a universe where he can lose.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: The Experts

Captain Ray Quick, The Specialist (1994)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Captain Ray Quick, The Specialist (1994)

Ray is an ex-CIA explosives expert, now working as a freelance hitman. He specializes in “shaping” his explosions, building, and planting bombs that blow up only the intended target while leaving innocent bystanders unharmed. Colonel Ned Trent is a former colleague of Ray who blames Ray for getting him dismissed from the CIA and plans to take vengeance on him. What follows is a series of complex mind games and bomb traps between two of the most skilled demolition specialists in the world.

Marshal John Kruger, Eraser (1996)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Marshal John Kruger, Eraser (1996)

John “The Eraser” Kruger is a top Federal Marshall working for the Witness Security Protection Program (WITSEC) specializing in “erasing” high-profile witnesses, faking their deaths to keep them safe from those who may wish to silence them. John is given a new assignment to protect Lee Cullen, a senior executive at a defense contractor. When Kruger learns a mole is operating inside WITSEC, he hides Lee, keeping her location secret even from WITSEC.

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge: Iconic Characters

Rocky Balboa, Rocky movies

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Rocky Balboa, Rocky movies

On one corner, wearing the Stars and Stripes trunks, is The Pride of Philadelphia, The Two-Time Heavyweight Boxing Champion, The Italian Stallion, ladies and gentlemen, Rocky Balboa!!! Famous for his indomitable spirit, extreme tenacity, and ferocious body attack, Rocky has rightfully earned the love of the crowds. Rocky got his big break when the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion Apollo Creed decided that he wants to give an unknown fighter a chance to fight for the title and the rest is history.

Conan, Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Stallone vs Schwarzenegge
Conan, Conan the Barbarian (1982)

Conan is a Cimmerian barbarian of the far north. One day, the Cimmerians were massacred by a band of raiders led by Thulsa Doom, a powerful ruthless, and undead sorcerer. Conan, who was a child, was taken into slavery and then chained to work a large mill. Conan survives into adulthood, becoming a massive, muscular man. His master eventually trains him to be a gladiator; after winning countless fights and receiving training, Conan is freed and sets to seek out his nemesis Doom.