|
"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | I'm going to bring the whole f-cking diseased corrupt temple down on your head. It's going to be biblical. | „ |
| ~ Clyde's most famous quote. |
| “ | Sit down, 'cause you're gonna be busy. | „ |
| ~ Clyde to Nick Rice. |
Clyde Alexander Shelton is the titular main antagonist of the 2009 thriller film Law Abiding Citizen. He is a former family man who murdered several "evil" police officers and criminals in an attempt to get rid of the justice system's corruption.
He was portrayed by Gerard Butler.
His Evil Rankings[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
- When Rupert Ames was about to be executed, he changed the mixture of his injection so that Rupert would die from slow and agonizing death while he is screaming.
- He tracked down Darby's lawyer; Bill Reynolds, because he blamed him for Darby's low sentence, buried him alive, and provided bottles with oxygen to prolong his torment before the oxygen system stopped on the last day.
- When he was arrested, he killed his cellmate because he wanted to be put in isolation.
- He continued to carry out his murders by using a secret passage from his cell, implanting a mini bomb in Judge Laura Burch’s cell phone because he blamed her for Darby's sentence and blew her head off. However similar to Darby, it’s hard to sympathise with her that much because of her corrupt and hypocritical nature as a Judge.
- He implanted several bombs in cars at the parking lot, detonating them and killing several people, including Sarah Lowell, one of Nick's friends.
- After he was released because they couldn’t find any evidence that Clyde committed the murders, he used a weaponised robot at Sarah’s funeral to kill District Attorney Jonas Cantrell, another friend of Nick, and two other people who were travelling in the same car, also endangering the lives of dozens of other people at the funeral because the weaponized robot was shelling the car relentlessly.
- When the Mayor called an emergency meeting at the City Hall because of the murders, he planted a bomb directly below the room and planned to detonate it and blow up dozens of people who are attending the meeting.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He is too tragic to be even close to being Near Pure Evil, as he was tied up and forced to watch as Clarence Darby raped and murdered his wife and daughter and was unable to do anything to stop him. The court giving an unfair sentence of only 3 years in jail to Darby made Clyde lose his faith in the justice system, ending up as a murderous vigilante. All of this is played for heavy sympathy by practically every character in the film (aside from obviously Darby and anyone permanently on his side).
- He genuinely loves his family as he is shown being a loving husband and father to his wife and daughter in the first scene of the movie and when they get raped and killed and their murderer receives a low sentence, he becomes a vigilante to exact vengeance for them.
- He genuinely believes that his actions are justified because he believes his actions would bring down the corrupt justice system aside from avenging the deaths of his family, making him an extremist.
- He showed disgust at Nick because he made a deal with a murderer/rapist (Darby) and allowed him to get away with a low sentence. At the end of the film, when Nick says he is not making deals with murderers, Clyde chuckled and says that apparently he was a good teacher to Nick which does show some level of respect over Nick's growth as a person.
- In the end scene, even the main protagonist Nick sympathizes with him and offers him to stop his killing spree because by hurting other people, he won't get his family back. Clyde considers this for a moment but then decides he has gone too far to stop now and says, "I am sorry, Nick!" before trying to detonate the bomb. His apology to Nick is sincere.
- In his last moments he accepts his fate with dignity, chuckles a little when he realizes that Nick has outsmarted him, and looks at a necklace made by his daughter which says, "Daddy" before he dies. There is dramatic music played in the background and his death is clearly portrayed with sympathy.
External Links[]
- Clyde Shelton on the Villains Wiki.
- Clyde Shelton on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki.