10 Movie Heroes Forced To Kill For The Greater Good

This is slightly different to other examples here, but it counts on the same terms because it represents a mother putting aside her maternal instincts - no matter how perverse - for the greater good of the universe.

In Alien: Resurrection, the resurrected Ripley clone comes face to face with her mutant offspring (complete with angry, painful exposed genitalia and tiny horned nose) and it's obvious that she's smitten with the monster. For a brief moment, the pair share a tender embrace, seemingly heading towards a hybrid relationship that could change everything.

But then Ripley's humanity kicks in and she saves Winona Ryder's Call by burning a hole in the ship's hull with her acid blood and letting it suck the creature out. Her emotional reaction proves how much of a toll that decision takes on her and that she's very much doing it because she's got no other choice.