Movie heroes who were breathtakingly incompetent in their roles

Movies are supposed to offer their audiences an escape from the troubles that plague  them in their real lives, and the heroes of those stories are supposed to act as a way for the viewers to better relate to the fictional world in front of them. While some heroes are presented as a suave, charming or downright badass—characters like James Bond, Imperator Furiosa or Rey—others seem to fall ass-backwards into the limelight.

Luke Skywalker – Star Wars

Who let Luke leave his house in the first place? He doesn’t complain about sand quite as often as his dad, but that doesn’t change the fact that Luke is horribly unqualified to do anything remotely heroic. Yoda must’ve taken one look at him after he crash-landed in the swamp and thought, “If this fool wasn’t the best living hope for the Jedi Order, I would drown him in the swamp right next to his stupid X-Wing.” He barely survived a trash compactor, ran head-first into a trap where he lost his hand and almost plummeted to his death. He’s just lucky that his friends and sister are much better at their jobs.

Rapunzel – Tangled

As horrible as Mother Gothel may be, after 18 years of imprisonment, she wasn’t really wrong in assuming that Rapunzel would die as soon as she left her tower. This was a young woman with just about no survival skills other than magic hair that works about as well as the Fountain of Youth with added portability thrown in as a bonus. While Flynn Rider may have tried to get her killed by bringing her to the Snuggly Duckling, there’s a good chance Rapunzel would’ve wound up lost, deep in the woods with no way home.

Simba – The Lion King

Spoiled children of powerful and/or rich leaders tend to grow up to be a bit insufferable, at least until they’ve successfully navigated puberty. Ignoring Simba’s tragic childhood, let’s discuss how he thought it would be a good idea to sprint across a desert and take on an army of hyenas all by himself after spending years eating a disgusting amount of grub and lounging around all day. He must’ve been the fattest, most out-of-shape lion to ever step foot on the Pride Lands, and he absolutely would’ve been eaten if his friends—a geriatric monkey, a lioness who hasn’t eaten properly in months, a warthog and a meerkat—didn’t manage to catch up with him in time.

Harry Potter – The Harry Potter Series

This series should’ve been called Harry Potter And The Time His Friends Bailed Him Out Of A Horrible Situation. Harry’s best skill might actually be the ability to find the absolute most dangerous area possible; he’s lucky that his friends don’t mind following him around. From the very first time Harry left home to attend Hogwarts, someone had to save him: The Weasleys needed to show him how to find the train in the first place. Without them, he would have been trapped at King’s Cross Station and would likely have died of starvation before anyone came to get him. Chamber Of Secrets showed that the train conductors don’t really notice when their passengers don’t make it aboard, and there was no way that the Dursleys would spoil a lovely afternoon just to come pick up their nephew.

Anna – Frozen

Honestly, how many people whose memories have been tampered with end up in a great situation? It’s not like anyone would let Gilderoy Lockhart out in the streets, so why is Anna allowed to hang out with a random prince unsupervised? Did her parents neglect to tell a single butler or maid to watch out for their magically modified child? She didn’t even bother to bring along a warm coat from one of the countless wardrobes littered throughout her castle before charging after her sister, who just turned a lovely summer’s evening into a wintry hellscape.