Action movie franchises are defined by their heroes. The ones that aren’t actively wearing capes, spandex, or some kind of super-powered armor, especially, have a distinct place in cinema history compared to the ones that put on masks. Some of the best action movies don’t need their leads to have superpowers; instead, they just follow regular guys who have a good head on their shoulders and an incredible amount of luck at their disposal. One that we can all probably agree fits that bill is none other than Indiana Jones.

Across five movies, Indiana Jones not only punches a lot of nazis in the face (Captain America would be proud), stops powerful relics from coming into the hands of objectively evil forces, saves an entire village’s child population, makes first contact with extraterrestrials, and even travels back in time. If all of these don’t qualify him for being a superhero, then the definition might be too rigid. That in mind, these four action movie heroes have just as much space to claim the superhero title as Indiana Jones, though he may still be the best.

4) Rama – The Raid franchise

Played by Iko Uwais in Gareth Evans’ two feature films, The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2, Rama is one of the best action movie characters of the century. Despite the remarkable feats of strength that he clearly displays across the franchise, Uwais keeps his character fully grounded and human. He’s a man who remains loyal to his family, his religion, and his cause, despite nearly meeting his end countless times.

Rama is not only a fully capable fighter, taking on multiple opponents with nothing but his wits and his hands, but he’s also a great marksman and a good thinker on his feet. All these, combined with what he manages to live through in two movies, is more than some superheroes get to do in your average MCU adventure.

Obvious Superpowers: Super durability, hand-to-hand combat expert.

Heroic feats: Defeated 15 stories full of gangsters in one building; successfully infiltrated the Bangun crime family.

3) John McClane – Die Hard franchise

Bruce Willis’ most iconic character arrived in the first Die Hard as a fully formed template, one that would be replicated for decades. Though reluctant to get involved in any kind of problems that aren’t his own, McClane’s ability to thwart evil while taking a severe beating makes him a prime candidate for superhero status; he even admits in the fourth film that he keeps getting dragged into these scenarios “because there is nobody else to do it.”

Not only is McClane good in a fight (mostly, he loses plenty of times) but his years as a police officer give him a skillset that is often forgotten about with superheroics, detective reasoning. McClane can defeat his adversaries with a gun or a fist, but he also knows how to tear them down mentally after understanding their plots.

Obvious Superpowers: One man army, proficient detective skills.

Heroic feats: Single-handedly defeated terrorist pockets in a building and then at an airport, outsmarted another terrorist holding New York hostage, and took on yet another terrorist plotting to disable America’s infrastructure.

2) Ethan Hunt – Mission: Impossible franchise

Besides Indiana Jones, Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is perhaps the action movie character that doesn’t need help in making the case for his superhero status. Beyond the extensive stuntwork that Cruise deploys in the movie as obvious feats of heroism, the character’s extensive arc across the eight movies in the series proves it. Ethan does the right thing and always acts in the best interest of saving as many people as possible.

Even if that’s not enough, the circumstances that Ethan must overcome in every movie push him over the edge. Like every good superhero, Ethan Hunt loses a lot, but he’s able to learn from it and adapt. Plus, don’t forget the gadgets. If Batman is a superhero, then Ethan Hunt is one too.

Obvious Superpowers: Afraid of nothing, improvisational adaptation.

Heroic feats: Successfully defeated terror cells across the globe, infiltrated impenetrable buildings like CIA headquarters and The Kremlin, navigated a sunken submarine in arctic waters, and defeated The Syndicate.

1) Terry Richmond – Rebel Ridge

Unlike the others on this list, Aaron Pierre’s Terry Richmond has just one movie to his name, but in the course of Rebel Ridge, he proves that there’s no one else quite like him in the action movie game. Richmond spends the majority of the film not throwing hands, but outsmarting his aggravated and violence-prone antagonists with only his intellect. When it comes to finally do something and actually put himself in harm’s way, Richmond is able to take down all of his assailants without killing any of them, but deliberately making a show about how he won’t kill any of them. He sticks to the main code that most superheroes operate in, and he does it with style.

Obvious Superpowers: Expert hand-to-hand combatant, keen observational abilities.

Heroic feats: Single-handedly disarmed and defeated an entire Sheriff’s office of deputies with no casualties.