John McClane, the lone wolf hero of the Die Hard franchise, is often described as “the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.” McClane certainly has his share of bad fortune. Terrorists besieged the office Christmas party while he was visiting his wife, different terrorists besieged an airport where he was picking her up from a flight, and he was forced to play a sadistic game of “Simon Says” while nursing a bad hangover.
But McClane has had his share of lucky breaks, from surviving the explosion of a fighter jet to landing in a giant pool of water while falling from a great height in Chernobyl.
When He Was Out Of The Room As Terrorists Invaded Nakatomi Plaza
When Hans Gruber and his merry band of terrorists invade the offices of Nakatomi Plaza in the original Die Hard movie, McClane is lucky enough to be in the other room, changing his clothes. He’s not wearing any socks or shoes and all he has on his back is a grubby undershirt, but he manages to flee the scene.
If he was on the main office floor, he would’ve been taken hostage with everybody else. Gruber would’ve easily succeeded in his diabolical scheme without meddling McClane hiding out in the vents.
When Powell, Holly, And Argyle Had His Back
At the end of the first movie, McClane saves his estranged wife Holly from Gruber’s wrath and the heroes regroup outside the lobby of Nakatomi Plaza. At the last second, Karl reveals that he’s still alive and tries to kill McClane once and for all.
Luckily, McClane’s new pal Al Powell has his back. Powell shoots Karl dead, achieving redemption, and when Richard Thornburg accosts him for an interview, Holly punches him in the face and Argyle arrives in his limo to take them away.
When He Bumped Into Marvin The Janitor
During the airport siege in Die Hard 2, McClane wonders, “How can the same s**t happen to the same guy twice?” But he has a useful ally on his side. McClane receives no help from the airport police chief or the air traffic control director. But while he’s wandering around the basement, he bumps into a friendly janitor named Marvin.
Marvin helps McClane navigate his way around all the secret tunnels and entrances in the airport, giving him an advantage over the bad guys.
When He Made It To The Ejector Seat Of An Exploding Plane
In one of the most far-fetched set-pieces in Die Hard 2, a band of evil commandos toss a bunch of grenades into the cockpit of a plane where McClane is trapped.
This seems to spell certain doom for the plucky hero. But McClane makes it into the plane’s ejector seat in the nick of time, which sends him flying into the air just as all the bombs go off.
When He Escaped From The Flooded Tunnel At The Exact Moment Zeus Was Driving Past
The third movie, Die Hard with a Vengeance, is a “buddy cop” movie that pairs McClane with Zeus Carver, a shopkeeper played by Samuel L. Jackson. When McClane is trapped in a tunnel, the villainous Simon Gruber explodes a cofferdam to flood the tunnel and kill him. But fortunately, McClane climbs up an air vent and the water pushes him out onto the surface.
Zeus happens to be driving past at the exact moment that McClane is spat out of the air vent. Assassins then start shooting at him. If Zeus wasn’t there at that moment to pick him up, he would’ve been killed.
When Simon Gruber’s Aspirin Bottle Gave Away His Location
Hans Gruber’s brother seems to get away with his devilish game of “Simon Says” by the end of the second act in Die Hard with a Vengeance. But when McClane is about to call Holly from a pay phone, he glances over at the bottle of aspirin that Simon gave him.
Seeing that it was purchased at a truck stop in Quebec along the U.S./Canadian border, McClane realizes where Simon is heading, setting the stage for the thrilling third act.
When Two Cars Converged To Catch A Flying Automobile
Cyberterrorist Thomas Gabriel, the villain of Live Free or Die Hard, first flexes his hacking abilities when he turns out the lights in a busy tunnel that McClane is driving through.
McClane and his latest mismatched “buddy cop” partner, Matt Farrell, desperately flee from oncoming traffic whose drivers can’t see where they’re going. As a flipped car hurtles toward them, they duck for cover and two speeding cars converge to catch it.
When He Survived An Attack By A Fighter Jet
Toward the final act of Live Free or Die Hard, as McClane pursues Gabriel across an evacuated highway, an F-35B Lightning II fighter jet arrives on the scene. Gabriel redirects the jet that was sent to attack him to attack McClane instead.
Fortunately for McClane, the jet is eventually knocked off its course by falling debris. McClane slides down a piece of broken highway to escape the explosion.
When He Effortlessly Found His Estranged Son In The Aftermath Of An Explosion
The fifth Die Hard movie, A Good Day to Die Hard, was the first to be universally panned by critics. All of the movies are far-fetched, but this one takes the cake. When he hears his estranged son Jack is in legal trouble in Russia, McClane flies to Moscow to help him out.
As soon as McClane arrives at the courthouse, a bomb goes off and he conveniently finds his son wandering around in the frenzied aftermath of the explosion.
When A Pool Of Water Broke His Fall In Chernobyl
There’s a giant pool of water waiting to catch McClane’s fall in A Good Day to Die Hard’s convenient climax. On top of the stroke of luck that he survived a trip to Chernobyl, he managed to survive an attempted murder by helicopter, too.
To avenge her father, Irina tries to kill McClane and his son by ramming a helicopter into them. The McClanes jump from the building and land in a well-placed pool of water right below them.
