10 Minor Film Characters Whose Lives Were Probably Ruined Forever

4. The Retired Henchman - Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 proposes a tough and incredibly powerful question, one that we - as movie-goers - probably don't consider enough whilst we're watching action flicks: "What does a surviving henchmen do when's he's spared by the hero and the villain is dead?" Yes, Iron Man 3 presents this scenario to viewers as something of a quick joke, as Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark goes up against a few bumbling goons whilst attempting to escape from a house where he was previously kidnapped and tied up in. As he takes out a couple of henchies, one guy - who realises he's not going to win - holds up his hands and says: "Honestly, I hate working here. They're so weird," referring to the evil corporation led by the Mandarin that Tony Stark goes up against for the sum of the movie. Tony obliges the guy and lets him escape, of course, but now what? What is this guy supposed to do? Return to his boss? Well, nope, because he failed his boss, and by the end of the movie, his boss is dead. And he can't go back to being a henchman - Tony let him go, and a reunion between these characters would probably result in some serious injuries on behalf of our surrendering friend. Truth is, this guy has nothing left - sure, he decided to bail on his life as an evil understudy. The reason we're so very rarely faced with this situation, though, is because movie henchman are usually always either arrested or killed by the end of any given movie: this guy just exists. He has no plan, no agenda, no loyalty of any kind. He's a lost spirit - and though the idea of having nothing to do might sound like fun, how is this adult male going to find a job in another line of work? "Excuse me, sir, what's your experience?" "Uh, well..."