List of The Expendables characters

This is a list of characters in The Expendables franchise.

All the following characters are all shown to be members of the Expendables at some point in the films.

Barney Ross, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, is the leader of the Expendables, who served as USAF pilot and Marine before becoming a mercenary. He is hired by Agent Church in the first film to investigate suspicious activities on the island of Vilena and take out its fanatical dictator, General Garza. Barney considers abandoning the job after finding out that renegade CIA agent James Munroe is using Vilena as a source of narcotics production. However, he is impressed by the courage of Garza's rebellious daughter and ends up taking down both Garza and Munroe. Though Barney completes his assignment, Church wants compensation for the death of Munroe and hires the Expendables in the second film to recover a briefcase containing sensitive information from a downed plane in Albania . Since the case is locked in a booby-trapped safe, Church forces Barney to take hacker Maggie Chan along for the mission. Barney reluctantly accepts and the mission goes off without a hitch. However, Barney's crew is ambushed by arms-dealer Jean Vilain and his gang, the Sangs. Vilain murders Barney's rookie crew member Billy the Kid and takes the briefcase, which contains a computer map revealing the location of five tons of discarded plutonium. Vowing vengeance, Barney and the crew hunt down Vilain. After a one-on-one battle at an airport, Barney kills Vilain.

In the third film, Barney and his crew, now reinforced by veteran member Doctor Death, are sent to take down an arms dealer who turns out to be Expendables co-founder Conrad Stonebanks. The mission ends in disaster and Hale Caesar is severely injured. Barney is tasked by CIA agent Drummer to arrest Stonebanks and deliver him to the Hague for war crimes; Ross subsequently forms a new Expendables team, disbanding the former members. The new team is initially successful, catching Stonebanks during a deal in Poland, but they captured when Stonebanks' lackeys come to rescue him. Barney initially plans to go after Stonebanks accompanied only by ex-mercenary Galgo, but the old team rejoins him on a mission to take down Stonebanks in Asmenistan. Barney confronts Stonebanks on the floor level of a demolished hotel in a fist fight that ends with Barney fatally shooting Stonebanks and narrowly escaping the collapsing building.

Barney is very close to his teammates and often worries over their safety, showing great remorse over the death of Billy the Kid and even disbanding his former team after Hale Caesar is hospitalised. He also expresses some regret when it comes to his life choices; when Billy states his intention to retire and live with his girlfriend, Barney shows no ill will towards him and commends his choice, stating that he would likely do the same if given the choice. His signature weapon is a revolver pistol, which he keeps hidden in a holster behind him in order to take targets by surprise, and is also an expert pilot. Barney has an affinity for skulls, which feature prominently in his personal effects. The most notable of these is his lucky ring, which he gives to Hale Caesar while he recovers in hospital.

Trent "Trench" Mauser, portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the head of a competing mercenary group who turns down the job offer from Church in the first movie. Barney and Trench are old acquaintances, and while they do not consider each other friends, their dialogues imply that there is a mutual respect on some level. At the beginning of the second film, Barney's crew rescues Mauser, who had become imprisoned in Nepal trying to rescue the same Chinese billionaire the Expendables are there for. Trench lets the Expendables take the hostage and is left indebted to Barney. Trench returns the favour later by rescuing the Expendables, who had been trapped in a mine by Jean Vilain. Trench, Church and the Expendables collectively take down the Sangs and Vilain, who are trying to escape Albania with 5 tons of weaponized plutonium.

Trench helps out Barney on his mission to capture Stonebanks in the third film. The two have seemingly become friends now, though Mauser calls Barney an idiot for planning to go after Stonebanks alone when his second Expendables team is captured. During the finale Agent Drummer, Trench and Yin Yang provide support for the Expendables as they are attacked by the Asmenistan army, controlled by Stonebanks.

Schwarzenegger parodies his own action movie persona with the role of Trench. He is often seen smoking a cigar, a real habit of Schwarzenegger's, and he delivers several lines that are either related to or directly taken from his prior action-movies. Trench's appearance in the first film was limited as Schwarzenegger was still serving as Governor of California during production. This is jokingly referred to in the film, as Barney claims that Trench "wants to become President".