Colonel Stuart
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Colonel Stuart, portrayed by William Sadler, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the film Die Hard 2. Colonel Stuart was deliberately written as an antithesis to the villain of the first film. Whereas Hans Gruber was a suave, charming European who preferred to let his henchmen do the hard work, Stuart was a no-nonsense all-American military man who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty doing what had to be done.
[edit] Fictional biography
Colonel Stuart is an American military officer turned rogue. On Christmas Eve, he seizes control of Washington Dulles International Airport in order to free a South American drug lord who has been captured and is being transported to the USA to be sentenced. When asked why he has done so, he says it is to liberate a man who "is not afraid to stand up to communism".
Stuart arrives at the airport inconspicuously, although a news reporter recognises him; he manages to brush her off. Like the other Die Hard villains, he comes face-to-face with John McClane only twice throughout the movie and otherwise only communicates with him over radio broadcasts; however, unlike the other villains, the first instance is near the start of the movie. Stuart and McClane bump into each other and part ways apologising, neither realising who the other is.
Stuart's men then take control of a nearby church in order to set up a temporary base, and his men at the airport sabotage the equipment. When everything is ready, Stuart seizes control of the airport systems from the church and informs the men in the control tower of the situation: he is in control, and any attempts to disobey him will be punished with the destruction of one of the many planes circling the airport. When the airport police attempt to reconnect control to the tower, he does just that and tricks a British jet into crashing into the ground, killing everyone aboard.
McClane attempts to take charge of the situation over the incompetent airport police, trying to kill the drug lord when his plane arrives; however, he only manages to wound him before Stuart's men come to pick him up, and McClane barely escapes the attack. Aided by an airport technician, Leslie Barnes, and military officer Major Grant, McClane attempts to break into Stuart's impromptu command centre in the church, but Stuart and his men escape on snowmobiles. It is later revealed that Major Grant is actually working with Stuart, and joins him on their escape plane.
McClane attempts a last-ditch effort to stop Stuart and Grant by sabotaging their plane as it taxis for takeoff. Both officers climb out onto the wing to stop him; Stuart hangs back as Grant leads the assault, but Grant is killed. Stuart then moves in, using the martial art techniques he was seen practicing at the start of the film. He easily bests McClane and knocks him off the wing, but unbeknownst to Stuart, McClane managed to rip free the fuel cap. As Stuart re-enters the plane, McClane ignites the fuel stream, destroying the plane and its passengers.
| The Die Hard films | |
|---|---|
| Die Hard | Die Hard 2 | Die Hard with a Vengeance | Live Free or Die Hard | |
| Characters | |
| Heroes: John McClane | Sgt. Al Powell | Zeus Carver | Matt Foster | |
| Villains: Hans Gruber | Colonel Stuart | Simon Gruber | |
| Recurring: Holly Gennero McClane | Richard Thornburg | |
| Crew | |
| Directors: John McTiernan | Renny Harlin | Len Wiseman | |
| Producers: Joel Silver | Lawrence Gordon | John McTiernan | Bruce Willis | |
| Writers: Steven E. de Souza | Doug Richardson | Jonathan Hensleigh | |
| Video games | |
| Die Hard | Die Hard Arcade | Die Hard Trilogy | Die Hard Trilogy 2 | Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza | Die Hard: Vendetta | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Fox Plaza | Glock 7 | Nothing Lasts Forever |
