Like every great Hollywood action star, Vin Diesel has multiple characters that have helped define his career. Over the course of his career, Diesel has starred as Riddick in the Chronicles Of Riddick series, Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and numerous others, but nothing compares to what the actor has done in his two most iconic roles - Xander Cage in the xXx series and most notably as Dominic Toretto in the Fast And Furious franchise.
And like all those famous action stars from yesteryear, we as fans like to compare those characters and see who is the baddest of them all. As a kid, my friends and I would argue about who would win in a fight between Rocky and Rambo or Conan and T-800. And although people might not put Diesel in the same category as Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is still fun to see which of his two signature characters is the bigger badass - Xander Cage or Dominic Toretto?
xXx's Xander Cage
Before Xander Cage even speaks one line of dialogue in xXx, we watch as he acts like a valet driver to steal the red Corvette belonging to a California senator who wants to ban rap music and video games. After attaching a dash cam to the front of the vehicle, the car thief proceeds to take the car (and trail of police cars) on the joyride of all joyrides while justifying his actions. Just as he is about to drive the boosted car off a bridge, the extreme sports enthusiast looks into the camera, tells the senator that he's now entering the "Xander Zone," and parachutes to safety. And that's just his first scene…
Xander Cage is eventually picked up by NSA Agent Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson) for stealing and destroying the senator's car and forced to either work for the agency or go to prison for his crimes. Throughout the rest of the movie, Cage does everything from jumping out of a plane, snowboard through an avalanche, and kill lots and lots of bad guys.
Not much has changed by the time we catch up with the adrenaline junkie in xXx: Return Of Xander Cage, where we first see him jump off a communications tower, ski through the jungle, skateboard down a long and winding road and along the side of a moving bus, and run like hell to set up the cable so essentially everyone in the Dominican Republic can watch a soccer game.
Like in the first film, Xander Cage is picked up by the government and forced to work to stop an evil criminal mastermind hellbent on destroying the world. You know, the rinse and repeat plot for essentially every action movie in the history of cinema. However, through all of this, we do get to see Cage fly a plane into an incoming satellite and then jump out to safety. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but man, he looks like such a badass.
Fast And Furious's Dominic Toretto
There wouldn't be a Fast And Furious franchise without Dominic Toretto (they tried and failed with the second and third installments), the gruff but affectionate leader of the a crew of car enthusiasts and outlaws. Over the course of the six movies in which Toretto has starred, we have seen the character grow from a guy who races cars and steals DVD players in Los Angeles to a guy who literally ramps off a partially submerged nuclear submarine in Russia.
When we're first introduced to Dominic Toretto in The Fast And The Furious, he is portrayed as a strong, yet volatile street racer and thief who will do just about anything for the people closest to him. When no one wants to give Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) a chance in the early goings of the 2001 summer hit, Dom takes him in and welcomes him to the family. He even offers him a beer, as long as it's a Corona.
That relationship with Brian, like others in the crew, continues to grow stronger as the stakes get higher as the franchise progresses. During their time together, Dom and Brian are part of some of the most ridiculous stunts ever to be seen on the silver screen. This all culminates in Furious 7, where the two longtime friends and partners drive a stolen sports car through not one, not two, but three buildings to make their escape.
As the stunts and jobs continue to grow, so does the family around Dom. In The Fate Of The Furious Toretto discovers that he has a son from his short-lived relationship with DSS Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) that he must rescue from terrorists. This puts Dom in quite the situation as he has to turn his back on his friends in order to save his family. Dom's son is eventually rescued and all is well with the Toretto crew, or least until Fast And Furious 9.
Xander Cage Vs. Dominic Torettto
It's safe to say that Xander Cage and Dominic Toretto are both pretty righteous in their own right, but for the sake of this argument, there can only be one. Now that we've gone over what makes each character tick and what they've done, it's time to have them face off (bald) head to (bald) head.
Xander and Dom are both ridiculous behind the wheel and are probably two the most talented wheelmen in action movie history, but Cage has to take the point here because not only does he drive, he can fly a plane into a crashing satellite, snowboard down an avalanche, and ski through the jungle. Sure, Dom took down a submarine and drove through some buildings, but nothing compares to the extreme feats that Xander pulled off.
There's more to being a badass than pulling off extreme stunts. You also have to be able to protect those around you and sacrifice everything you have in order to protect them. That's exactly what Dom does throughout the entire Fast And Furious franchise. From bringing Brian into the crew, to never giving up on Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), and stopping at nothing to protect his son, Dom is more than a badass, he's a badass with a heart of gold.
To settle this fight once and for all, we're going to have to take a look at the signature looks of Xander Cage and Dominic Toretto, or as I like to call it - the battle of the "xXx" tattoo vs the cross necklace. Cage's tattoo is the first thing we see of him in the first xXx movie, but it doesn't really hold as much sentimental value as Dom's cross does in the Fast And The Furious franchise, and is featured pretty heavily in the Fast And Furious 9 trailer. Because of that and the fact that the tattoo (and the skin around) was torn off Cage's head in this weird XXX: State Of The Union promo, the third and final round goes to Dominic Toretto.
Did we make the right call, or do you think Xander Cage could mop the floor with Dominic Toretto? Vote in the poll below...
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