The Fast and Furious franchise is nine movies in, soon to be 10 with the release of F9. Over the course of those movies, fans have witnessed some pretty incredible things. So in an age where superhero movies where we've seen others save the day, why aren't we talking about how Dominic Toretto may actually be an awesome superhero?
I'm sure there are many fans of the franchise who know exactly why I say this, and for those that don't, you'll soon know why. Dominic Toretto has all the makings of the ultimate blockbuster superhero on a level perhaps exceeding that of Superman, Spider-Man and maybe even Iron Man. Let's get into Dom, and how his heroic streak is worthy of recognition in the Hall of Justice.
Dominic Toretto Is Essentially Indestructible And Super Strong
Furious 7 features a scene in which Dominic Toretto played chicken with Deckard Shaw, but not really. The two collided head-on after multiple gear shifts, and despite the cars being crumpled, both men unbuckled and got out of the car to face each other. Any other man would've been killed instantly upon impact, but Dom was up and ready to talk smack like he was only mildly annoyed he came to a sudden stop from excessive speeds.
Beyond his insane durability, Dominic Torretto has also displayed some unbelievable feats of strength. Furious 7 also had a scene in which Dom single-handedly lifted a Lykan Hypersport, all so Brian O'Conner could slide underneath to do some work underneath it. As if Dom casually deadlifting a sports car as if he's a living carjack wasn't enough, there's a scene in the F9 trailer where he's on top of a moving car and literally pushes away a flipped car about to land on top of him. I'm not sure how strong Dom is, but safe to say stronger than the average human, which qualifies for superhuman.
He Has His Own Superhero Team
DC has the Justice League, Marvel has The Avengers and the Fast and Furious franchise has Dom's Crew. This crew has switched up its lineup over the course of the movies, but over time it has accumulated the most tech-savvy minds, the best drivers and the most battle-hardened folks on the planet. They've faced some of the biggest and baddest people in the world, and somehow always managed to come out on top.
I don't think Dom's crew would stand a chance against the Avengers or the Justice League. With that said, I do think Dominic Torretto and his crew would absolutely be able to be street enforcers in either universe and be able to even take down someone such as The Kingpin or the mob families of Gotham. Hell, I think there's a chance they could've taken on Ultron, though they'd still need Pietro and Wanda Maximoff's help.
He Lost A Parent
I don't know why so many heroes have to face the tragic loss of a parent so early in life, but it's a thing that happens quite often. Dominic Torretto is not immune to this phenomenon and tragically lost his father in a stock car racing accident after he was run off the road by another driver, Kenny Linder. As Dom has told it, he thought he could hear his father's screams, but was told by others his father was killed on impact. The screams, apparently, came from Dom, who watched his father die.
I'd like to say Dom walked away from the incident a better man, but things got worse for him before they got better. A week later, he beat Kenny Linder (the guy who caused the accident) with a wrench so severely that Linder was unable to ever drive again. Dom, of course, was banned from professional racing for life and sent to prison. He would then go on to live a criminal life for many years until the government officially put him on the payroll.
He Has Complicated Family Connections
While it seemed like Dominic Torretto's family was the least of his problems in the world, F9 is soon going to turn that on its head. The latest installment will introduce actor John Cena as Jakob Torretto, the previously unseen middle child in the Torretto family. Secondborn children are often characterized as the troublemakers in a family, and that seems on brand in the case of Jakob, who is an agent of Charlize Theron's Cipher.
It remains to be seen just how much of a match Jakob will be to his brother Dom, but given the strong genetics that has given Dom near-superhuman abilities, I'm expecting him to measure up. That is, unless Dom's dad took him from some Frost Giants or something similar to Loki's origin story. We have no reason to suspect that, I just wanted to plant the visual that Dom and Jakob are essentially the Thor and Loki of the Fast and Furious universe.
He's Had More Movies Than Most Marvel And DC Heroes
Let's step outside the Fast and Furious universe for a minute, because we have to address that Dominic Torretto has starred in more movies than many MCU and DC Universe heroes. In fact, if Vin Diesel portrays Dominic Torretto in the 10th and 11th installments, he'll have exceeded Chris Evans' nine appearances in the MCU. I think the best he can do is tie Nick Fury, considering Dom wasn't the star of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
In either case, that's an incredible feat. And yet, when we think of the greatest heroes of this era of pop culture, we still talk about Batman, Iron Man and Captain America, even though we have one guy who is all three lumped into one. He's lost his parents, is super good with machinery and boasts all the American muscle where it counts (under the hood). He is, in my opinion, one of the greatest, if not the greatest heroes in American pop culture right now. It's time we start putting some respect on his name when discussing the heavy hitters in the hero road, and come to terms with the idea that Dominic Torretto is actually an awesome superhero.
I've spoken my piece about it, so now I need the opinion of the reader. Sound off in our poll as to whether you believe Dominic Torretto is an awesome superhero. And of course, be sure to see his latest heroics in F9, which is set to release on Friday, June 25.
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