Sylvester Stallone has carved a career portraying tough figures, from gritty, grounded characters to those with extraordinary abilities. While icons like Rocky Balboa and John Rambo defined his early success through human endurance, recent roles have placed him in the realm of the superhuman.
Stallone famously fought to star in his own script for Rocky Balboa. Despite pressure to cast established actors, including Burt Reynolds of Gunsmoke fame, Stallone insisted he play the lead, embodying the character's underdog spirit. This determination mirrored the resilience displayed by many of his early protagonists.
Characters like John Rambo relied on combat skill, grit, and survival instinct. Their strength came from facing overwhelming odds and refusing to quit, becoming symbols of perseverance.
Later in his career, Stallone took on roles that went beyond human capability. His first notable foray into this territory was the title character in the 1995 science fiction film Judge Dredd, a larger-than-life law enforcer though without traditional powers.
More recently, Stallone starred in the superhero film Samaritan, an Amazon Prime Video exclusive where he played Joe Smith. This character is depicted as a retired superhero possessing abilities such as super strength, durability, and a healing factor, making him significantly more powerful than Stallone's classic human roles.
Beyond Samaritan, Stallone has appeared in other comic book adaptations. He played Stakar Ogord in the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy films, a character with powers in the comics though not explicitly shown in the movies.
Perhaps Stallone's most physically powerful role to date is King Shark in 2021's The Suicide Squad. As a shark-human hybrid, King Shark exhibits immense strength and near invulnerability to conventional weapons.
Comparing his roles, the character Joe Smith in Samaritan represents Sylvester Stallone's strongest human character due to his inherent powers like healing and super strength. However, King Shark surpasses this, showcasing a truly fantastical level of power.
Stallone noted the difference in portraying Samaritan compared to his previous characters, telling SyFy, "He's just a unique sort of superhero, like a modern-day Hercules. He's that kind of a mythic hero and I think those are ones that you can identify with."
