51 GREATEST FICTIONAL BAD GUYS

#43. JOHN “ACE” MERRILL from STAND BY ME

I spent three of my most miserable years at Kelly Road Senior Secondary School. It was in a northern town called Prince George, where every year, the snow started to drift on my birthday, November 9th, always a bad omen for a depressed, introverted kid. I was tall for my age and gangly thin (how thin? So thin that my family doctor prescribed me stout beer at the age of 14 to try to beef me up). I wore huge David Cronenberg glasses, played roleplaying games and read comic books. As you can probably guess, that shit didn’t go over too well. The bullies at my school weren’t just mean, they were cruel. Even the teachers were bullies: it was years later I found out my Art/Phys-Ed teacher, Mr. Dalton, wasn’t even Mr. Dalton: he was some guy with a fake identity who sold drugs to the students.

Ace Merrill would’ve fit in just fine at Kelly Road. When I saw STAND BY ME for the first time, I recognized him right away. He wasn’t just a bully, he was a sociopath. Flanked by toadies and comfortable in his own power, Ace is arrogant enough to spout death threats… and stupid enough to follow through on them. When he pulls a knife on Chris at the end, ready to slit his throat, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll do it. He’s just a bad fucking seed. Try learning Algebra 9 with that kind of cheap, dime-store hood hovering over you.