1. Rico's Rough-Necks
The Rough-Necks actually qualify for double points in this list thanks to their two different versions. First met under the command of Lieutenant Jean Racszak (the wonderfully bad-ass Michael Ironside), the unit are as mahogany tough as they come, famed for their exploits and swaggering more confidently than Bill Paxton ever managed in even his most animated monologues. They were then defined by their leader, Racszak presented as a walking legend, bristling with both charisma and fearsome power, and most of all a blood-thirsty intent to kill bugs. Ultimately Racszak would meet the traditionally gruesome and glorious death of a leader on the battle-field, handing over his duties to Rico who would lead the Rough-Necks Version 2.0 in their bloody war against the bugs. And Rico is as bad-ass as they come, hardened by personal loss, more than handy in a battle and adaptable to the nth degree, he is the perfect choice to lead the rough-necks after exploding a giant bug on his own, and being pretty much the only trooper in the entire film to survive a bug attack. But really it is the enemy that defines how bad-ass a military unit are - and the bugs take some beating. They are as motivated as Predator, and occasionally as cunning thanks to their "brain bugs", and they don't die particularly easily. They're also largely projectile weapon-free, and meet their heavily loaded trooper invaders with venom and commitment despite their lack of guns, and that takes some serious bug cojones. They are some seriously bad-ass aliens, hunting in larger numbers than Alien's Xenomorphs (who could take over any planet in numbers, but could never really kill one woman), with more success than Predator, and are demonstrably much harder to kill than both Nazis and Persians. So it is done to them that Rico's Rough-necks take the number one spot here. http://youtu.be/ZBgqiCC2UMk Oh, and there's almost certainly some added points for the inclusion of a Busey. You can celebrate the Troopers' victory with
Starship Troopers: Invasion, or by revisiting the first three films with
the Starship Troopers blu-ray boxset. Share your own thoughts below.