Every hero needs a villain who can challenge them, the chink in their armor. Hans Gruber in Die Hard does that in spades against John McClane. While McClane is a sarcastic brute who will do anything to survive, Gruber counters this with a practical and keen intellect. He fools the police and FBI, making them think he was a terrorist. He even fools McClane (albeit not for very long) into thinking he was an innocent hostage. He has everything planned to a T, hoping to make away with millions. Unfortunately, he never plans for McClane.