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| “ | No one kills him but me. | „ |
| ~ Karl Vreski about John McClane |
| “ | We are both professionals. This is personal. | „ |
| ~ Karl Vreski to John McClane |
Karl Vreski is the secondary antagonist of the 1988 action-thriller film Die Hard, the first installment of the Die Hard film series.
He is a German terrorist-turned-thief and Hans Gruber's Lieutenant. During the Nakatomi Plaza heist in Christmas Eve of 1988, as the police hero John McClane starts fighting the terrorists to save all the hostages, Karl obsesses himself in killing McClane with his own hands after he kills his brother Tony.
He was portrayed by the late Alexander Godunov.
History[]
Karl Vreski was Hans Gruber's lead henchman during the operation at Nakatomi Plaza; when entering in the building, he killed the receptionist and the rest of the security with assistance from fellow terrorist Theo.
After John McClane killed his brother Tony, he started a manhunt throughout the building to capture him. After a brutal fight with John McClane in the floor leading to the roof, Karl was left hanging by a chain as the roof exploded and everybody fled.
After Hans was killed and the authorities started evacuating everyone, Karl managed to break free from the chain and went down to the first floor disguised as a hostage. As people were walking out of the building, he drew a Steyr AUG Assault Rifle to try to kill John and Holly. However, he was killed by Sgt. Al Powell, who quickly drew out his revolver and shot him five times.
Abilities[]
- Peak Human Condition: Karl is in top physical condition. He is strong enough to over turn a wooden office table. He is also very resilient, able to take multiple hits from John McClane and was able to come back after being hanged from a metal chain, only being put down after five well placed shots from Officer Powell.
- Expert Combatant: Karl is a skilled hand to hand fighter. His fighting seems to be comprised of Karate and Jujitsu. He was able to fight John McClane on near equal footing, even managing to overpower him.
- Expert Marksman: Karl is a skilled marksman able to uses various firearms such as handguns and assault rifles. He was able to take out the main desk guard before he could react, strategically shot glass panels around John McClane and was able to wound him as he was running through a door.
- Leadership: Karl is able to efficiently co-lead Hans's men in the field.
- Stealth: Karl is trained din stealth as he was able to take out a security guard and get the drop on John McClane.
Equipment[]
- Walther PPK: Karl used this handgun with a silencer attachment as his sidearm of choice. He used it took take out the guard at the front desk and one patrolling the hallways.
- Beretta 92F: Karl briefly uses John McClane's own gun against him before being disarmed.
- Steyr AUG: Karl used this assault rifle as his primary firearm of choice. It can be assembled for compact carry. He used it when he ambushed John McClane and later in a last resort to kill him.
- Flash Bang Grenade: Karl used a hockey puck shaped flashing to blind a guard before executing him.
Trivia[]
- Karl Vreski seems to have a strong neck and resistance, given how he survived being hanged with a chain by John McClane.
- It's possible the chain broke loose from the ceiling when the roof blew up. This would explain how he survived and the blood on his face when he returned near the end.
- Karl most likely served as an inspiration for Metal Gear Solid's Liquid Snake. Both are blonde, mulleted (vaguely) European men who are often calm, but prone to emotional outbursts - having very personal vandettas against the protagonist of the story. Both engage in a brutal fist fight near the end - where it is clear that they have the superiority technique-wise over the protagonists - and both are unnaturally tough to survive near-death encounters (Karl survives hanging and Liquid survives a helicopter crash and being dropped atop a giant mecha). Both also attempt to ambush the story's main character and love interest at the end by revealing to be still alive and gunning them down with a bullpup-type assault rifle.
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 Villains
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