| “ | All right, Lockett. You wanna go there. Let's go there. I commanded men and men died. Kids. 19 years old. The best men I ever led. Do you think for a second I wouldn't rather trade places with them? I know you think I got my men killed. They're dead. I'm here. Like the punchline to some bad joke. You think I like that? Do you think a minute goes by that those faces aren't right here [points to head] seared into my brain. | „ |
| ~ Staff Sergeant Micheal Nantz to Corporal Jason Lockett, when the latter confronts about being responsible for his brother's death. |
| “ | This is Foxtrot-Two-November. Let's take back Los Angeles! | „ |
| ~ Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, when he and his men join the fight to retake the city of Los Angeles from the aliens. Also his most famous quote. |
Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz is the main protagonist of the 2011 alien invasion film "Battle: Los Angeles". He is portrayed by actor Aaron Eckhart.
Appearance[]
Personality[]
Micheal Nantz is a very dedicated US Marine with a tragic backstory as he suffers from survivor's guilt, due to his last our during Iraq, when he lost all of the men in his platoon when taking on enemy insurgeants, making him feel responsible for their deaths left him a bitter, distant, and broken man who is haunted by those dead faces. However over the course of the film he finally manages to moves on.
History[]
Origins[]
Not much is known about Nantz's early life or the beginning of his career, but he was a very skilled US Marine. In his last deployment before the unexpected Battle of Los Angeles, he lost many men including his best friend Lockett, Duane G., who was Jason "Cochise" Lockett's deceased brother.
During the Alien Siege of Los Angeles[]
Nantz went into the battle leading a platoon of men from "E" Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines alongside the Platoon Commander, 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez. Their mission was to rescue innocent civilians from a LAPD police station within three hours. If they did not complete the mission within the time-limit, they would all be killed when the U.S. Air Force would arrive to bomb the city in an effort to kill the extraterrestrials. They were ambushed many times by the aliens and lost so many good men. While in the midst of the fighting, the platoon encountered a group of U.S. Army Soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division. One of the many was a Air Force Intelligence Technical Sergeant known as Elena Santos. When her division was attacked, she was the only one able to escape.
The platoon joined forces with Santos and the others and reached the police station in time. They found five civilians hiding inside the building, terrified. A helicopter then arrived to take the injured Marines. As it was taking off, an alien air unit attacked it and destroyed it. The Marines then found one of the city's invaders, wounded, and attempted to find it's weaknesses. One of the civilians, Michele, who was a veterinarian, helped them out, and Nantz and the others discovered that the creature had a weak spot in the torso. They also discovered some of the aliens' military tactics. They learned that the alien attack aircraft were remote-controlled drones and that the aliens were tracking them through their radio communications.
Death of a Hero and Rise Against the Extraterrestrials[]
The Marines believed that there was a control center that, if destroyed, would eliminate all control of the drones, which would open enemy forces to air attack. When the Marines began an evacuation and took control of a bus, they were attacked while driving on a freeway. The Marines began to help the civilians get off of the freeway. One of the civilians (whose name was Joe Rincon) was severely injured by one of he aliens when he fired on them, and the Marines had to get him to safety. Martinez, meanwhile, put Nantz in charge of his platoon. Martinez was also wounded and sacrificed himself, despite his longing to return home to his pregnant wife, by detonating C-4 explosives inside the bus to destroy an enemy mech unit in a massive explosion.
A sad Staff Sergeant Micheal Nantz then led the remaining members of the platoon and the civilians to safety in a convenience store to rest. The team began to wait for the bombing to begin after learning that the aliens' purpose on Earth was to take the water supply, which they used as fuel. Nantz and the others escaped to the FOB after the bombing did no begin. They discovered that the aliens had already destroyed the FOB. They decided to get to another excavation point so they could escape in a helicopter. Before they left, Joe Rincon died, despite great care given to him. His son, Hector, was saddened by this. Nantz told him that it was alright, but he had to be strong. This caused one of the members of the platoon, Corporal Jason Lockett, to lack faith in Nantz's ability to lead. He reassured him, however, and told them that they will make it to the extraction point. They managed to find a few surviving military vehicles for transport, including an LAV Armored Personal Carrier and a Humvee.
Getting the Civilians to Safety, Locating the Enemy Base, and Final Battle[]
As they were evacuating, the helicopter suddenly experiences a brief loss of power. One of Nantz's men Corporal Lee "Cowboy" Imlay spotted a large, black spot on the ground. Looking through the night vision binoculars himself he himself firmly believed that to be the primary command and control center. He left the helicopter in an effort to go in and destroy it. The platoon led by followed Staf Sergeant Michael Nantz all decided to stick together (due to his men worrying about him), while the helicopter manages to get out safely with the civilians on board.
Going underground, the Marines confirmed the presence of a large alien vessel. They returned to the surface and succeeded in calling in a missile strike using infared laser designators, unfortunately, Lance Corporal Peter J. "Irish" Kerns died soon after making the radio call, as he his killed by an enemy drone aircraft. However, the command center remained intact and rose from the ground. The severely outnumbered but greatly determined US Marines fought the alien forces as more missiles were launched from Edwards Air Force Base at the hovering command center, and Nantz manages to successfully use the laser to guide the last missile straight towards it's target, after Santo's uses the rocket launcher to stop an enemy drone from protecting the fleeing spaceship. The command and control vessel them came crashing down to the ground in a fiery explosion, much to the joy of the marines as the cheered and praised Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, as the now disable alien drone aircraft came crashing down in the area. However as this was happening Nantz and his team were again being fired at the aliens, who were retreating. Noticing that they were retreating Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz lead the charge as his remaining troops forced the alien ground forces to retreat. Once the Aliens were gone Staff Sergeant Micheal Nantz, Corporal Lee "Cowboy" Imlay, Technical Sergeant Elena Santos, Corporal Kevin J. "Specks" Harris, Hospital Corpsman Second Class Jibril A. "Doc" Adukwu, and Corporal Jason "Cochise" Lockett all stood victorious as the enemy ships rained down all around them.
Aftermath and Rejoining the Fight[]
Soon after, the team was extracted by helicopter to a temporary base in the Mojave Desert, where they were greeted as heroes for their outstanding bravery. All other cities under attack now planned to emulate their strategy, destroying the alien command center in each city in order to one day drive their alien oppressors from the planet for good. More forces were being sent to Los Angeles to finish off the aliens there. Despite orders to rest, Michael Nantz and the platoon all decided to rejoin the fight to help take back Los Angeles as the film ends.
Skills[]
- Leadership: He is a very good at leadership.
- Tactical and Strategist Skills: Nantz is very good and skilled at coming up with plans within seconds.
- Marksman: He is very skilled and expert marksman, especially when handling firearms.