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| “ | I never underestimate the power of loyalty, when it comes naturally. Not like the kind that has to be paid for. | „ |
| ~ Qualen acknowledging how treacherous his henchmen could be. |
Eric Qualen's Crew are the main antagonists of the 1993 action film Cliffhanger.
They are a group of psychopathic mercenaries, with Qualen as the boss, who work together in order to attempt to steal $100 million dollars in uncirculated $1,000 bills for international banking transactions from a U.S. Treasury transport plane flying over the isolated Rocky Mountains.
After the plan goes south, the group take two guides from the Rocky Mountain Center, Gabe Walker & Hal Tucker, and force to go find their money. However, this also goes wrong, as Gabe is able to escape and find/take each of the 3 cases before the terrorists can find them. All the while, gradually killing his way through all the terrorists, including Ryan, Kynette, Delmar, Travers, and eventually Qualen himself.
They are portrayed by John Lithgow, Rex Linn, Caroline Goodall, Leon Robinson, Craig Fairbass Gregory Cummins, and Denis Forest.
Personality[]
While they are a group and work together, Qualen and his group often do not get along, thanks to constant bickering and backstabbing between them, with the most troublesome being Qualen, Travers, Delmar, & Kynette constantly at each others throats.
While Qualen is the leader of the group, he & Travers are constantly trying to kill each other, resulting in Kristel's death at the hands of Qualen. Near the end of the film, after Travers finds out that Gabe stole the last case, he goes insane, curses out Qualen over radio, and goes after Walker in a fit of blind rage, which angers Qualen as well.
The other example is the xenophobic rivalry between Delmar & Kynette, the most brutal & sadistic of the group. It mostly starts out after the group sees Ryan fall to his death after fighting Walker. Hal taunts Delmar, saying "Gravity's a bitch, isn't it?" This prompts Delmar to lash out at Hal & the rest of the group, exclaming "I WASN'T BORN TO DIE ON NO F-CKIN' MOUNTAIN!" Kynette taunts in response, to which Delmar attempts to shut him up by calling him "boy". This angers Kynette, who grabs him by the head and holds a knife to his mouth, threatening to "make this BIG MOUTH a little BIGGER!" Qualen intervenes and stops the fight, scolding them both. Even after, Delmar is still mad at Kynette, telling Kristel to "Blow up that black bastard while you're at it. Save the time of doin' it me self."
Members[]
Eric Qualen[]
- Main article: Eric Qualen
Eric Qualen was the leader of the crew and the main antagonist in the film Cliffhanger. He is a former military intelligence member turned expert thief who leads the terrorists in the plan to hijack the U.S Treasury Jet. However, after the plan tanks, Qualen & his crew attempt to find the money with a few guides. Throughout the process, Qualen kills several people, including a teenager and his own lover. He is arguably the most dangerous of all the terrorists.
Richard Travers[]
- Main article: Richard Travers
Richard Travers was a U.S. Treasury agent and the inside man & lieutenant of Eric Qualen, who steal 3 suitcases of the value of over $100 million. During the theft, Travers shoots and kills other treasury agents and an undercover FBI agent Matheson. Travers also regularly butted heads with Qualen, and gradually lost his mind as Walker stole every case. Eventually, he tried to kill Walker himself in a fit of nihilstic rage, and failed. Despite being Qualen's lieutenant, he was one of the most hot-headed of the group.
Kristel[]
- Main article: Kristel
Kristel was a British terrorist, who was Eric Qualen's pilot and most trusted henchwoman. She and a band of other thieves attempt to steal $100 million. Kristel is one of the more level-headed thieves amongst the group. She is clever & strategic, faking a distress call so she could lure in guides to help them find their money. However, she is just as sociopathic as the rest, having little to no care for the others, including Walker, Hal, and Jessie. Throughout the theft, she was Qualen's love interest, as he protected her from an avalanche, and she helped him in attempting to kill Walker and Jessie. However, Qualen shot her with no hesitation just to keep him alive.
Kynette[]
- Main article: Kynette
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Kynette was the brutal & psychotic enforcer of Qualen. Like Delmar, he was ruthless and extremely brutal, beating Gabe Walker to a pulp. Kynette was also mostly loyal to Qualen, following and enforcing his orders. But he also got out of hand, fighting with Delmar, and needlessly going after Walker after being advised to draw back. When he finds Walker, he not only fights his girlfriend, Jessie, but he also beats Walker endlessly while screaming for him to give up the money, even threatening to abuse Jessie once he kills Walker, but it is he who gets killed, being impaled by a stalagtite. Ultimately, Kynette was one of the most serious threats of the entire film.
Delmar[]
- Main article: Delmar
Delmar was a sadistic ex-soccer player turned mercenary of Qualen. He served as the archenemy of Hal Tucker. Delmar was one of the most ruthless & sadistic henchman of all of his accomplices, due to helping Kynette shoot some teenagers, and killing an elderly man, Frank, against Qualen's orders. He was often the most problematic of the group, due to his xenophobism, rivalry with Kynette, and his will to defy orders. Near the end of the film, Travers tells Delmar to quickly and quietly execute Hal. But instead, Delmar decides to brutally beat Hal down like a soccer ball, almost killing him, before Hal stabs & shoots him and sends him off a cliff.
Ryan[]
Ryan was one of the henchman for Eric Qualen who aided him in his plan to steal $100 million. He isn't as prominent as the other henchman, but he does hunt down and attempt to kill Walker & Jessie. He then gets blinded by Walker's flare and the 2 fight and end up sliding down a snowy slope. Ryan nearly succeeds in killing Walker, but Walker grabs on the cliff with ice axe, sending Ryan falling off to his death in the darkness. Ryan is also shown to be a sadist, smiling when finding & shooting Walker & Jessie.
Heldon[]
Heldon was one of the henchman for Eric Qualen who aided him in his plan to steal $100 million. He was the least prominent of the group, but still stands out. He demanded to kill Travers since his plan almost killed the crew, and later, he also attempts to kill Walker when he tries to escape. However, this causes an avalanche, which launches Heldon off the cliff and to his death.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- For their actions and personalities in general, Qualen's henchman, most notably Delmar & Kynette, are considered by far the darkest and vilest out of all the henchmen from the Die Hard scenario films.
- Due to their actions and personalities, Qualen’s henchmen are often likened to bullies, and some even say that the film has the message of standing up to them.
- During casting for the film in the summer of 1992, Leon impressed the casting agents so much, he was immediately cast as Kynette.
- Rex Linn (Travers) appeared in episodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996) and Northern Exposure (1990), which starred his co-stars in this movie, John Lithgow (Qualen) and Janine Turner (Jessie), respectively.