Rambo Series: John Rambo (ISFP)

Rambo is a classic action series about a Vietnam War veteran that spans five movies.  Action heroes can be tricky, because sometimes the movies are so fast-paced, or focused on action, that they don’t give enough time to significantly share the character’s thoughts. However, after watching this series, we believe that ISFP is the most likely option for the show’s main character, John Rambo. We looked into other suggested theories for Rambo, like ISTJ and ISTP, but ended up ruling them out in favor of ISFP. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Fi:

“I want revenge. I want them to know that death is coming, and there’s nothing they can do to stop it. I want them to feel our grief, and know that’s the last thing they will ever feel.”

“Who are they to protest me, huh? Who are they, unless they’ve been me and been there and know what they’re yelling about.”

“I want you to feel my rage, my hate, when I reach into your chest and rip out your heart.”

“You know what you are, what you’re made of. War is in your blood. Don’t fight it. You didn’t kill for your country. You kill for yourself.” – Trautman

While Rambo doesn’t often express his feelings, he appears to be guided by them. After his experiences in Vietnam, Rambo becomes jaded, angry at people’s response to his service. The military further reinforces this when requesting his services later. They deceive him, betray him mid-mission, and then abandon him to die by the enemy’s hand. After that, Rambo sees war and fighting as ultimately futile, no longer feeling motivated to try to make a difference. He essentially appears to be a man whose ideals have been shattered. For example, in the fourth movie, he rants to Sarah Miller about how people are animals, war is started by a few men on top, and peace can never truly be achieved. He concludes with: “Old men start it; young men fight it; nobody wins; everybody in the middle dies; and nobody tells the truth!”

Now, because talk of a higher cause no longer spurs him into action, Rambo needs to be emotionally/personally invested in the mission to agree to get involved. For example, in the third movie, Rambo refuses Trautman’s call to help, and doesn’t change his mind until the enemy takes him hostage. In the fourth movie, he refuses to help the missionaries, until Sarah Miller wins him over by her character and her ideals.

The final movie showcases his Fi rather well. Rambo focuses on values with Gabriela when he refuses to let her see her father again. He reminds her that her father isn’t a good man, and that there is no possible good explanation for what he did. Rambo reminds her that he knows how black people’s hearts can be. When she tragically dies, Rambo becomes determined to not only kill the villains in revenge, but to make them feel exactly what he’d felt. He wants them to feel his rage, his hate, and his grief. Rambo never appears to be out of sync with his feelings in any of the movies, but rather he uses them as fuel and communicates them through his actions.

Se:

“I’m just gonna move around as always.” – Rambo

“How will you live, John?” – Trautman
“Day by day.” – Rambo

Rambo lives day by day, with no sign of a long term plan. He excels at dealing with what’s right in front of him, and doesn’t appear to think much beyond that. He makes this clear at the end of the second movie, when Trautman asks Rambo how he will live. This is the first time in the series, since the debacle from First Blood, that Rambo actually has the freedom to do whatever he pleases. So, when Trautman asks that question, Rambo responds by saying “day by day.”

Of course, Rambo doesn’t just say it; he means it. In the next two movies, Rambo is shown in Thailand, making a simple living. In the third movie, he works in a monastery and participates in fighting competitions on the side. Similarly, in the fourth, he’s shown selling snakes, transporting people via boat, and fishing. He doesn’t appear to put down any significant roots, which is why it’s so easy for him to leave later. (He suddenly decides to head back to the U.S. on what seems like a whim, after Sarah Miller asks if he has any living family members.)

Later, after losing Gabriela, Maria asks him what he plans on doing. He claims that he’ll just move around, as always. Of course, he’s lying to her, to get her to vacate the ranch, so he can set it up as a mini war zone. However, that response is a glimpse into his mindset. His default tendency is to drift and focus on the present moment, with no long term future vision.

We did consider Se dominant for this character, but things like his fixation on nothing ever-changing, his rigidity as pointed out in the fourth movie, and his constant silence align more closely with an introverted personality type.

Ni:

While Rambo always acts in a reasonably strategic way. Given his line of work and the high stakes, his ability to think ahead and plan really shines in the final movie. Of course, all the previous movies focus on scenarios where he needs to survive moment by moment, enhancing his Se. However, given the fact that he actually puts down roots, the final movie ends up playing out differently.

In Last Blood, Rambo orchestrates a way to lure his enemies to the ranch, which he has configured to be the ultimate battle zone. Ever since moving in there, he had seen the potential for needing a defensible area, so he had actually spent years tediously digging tunnels all across the property. This level of preparation and long term, albeit paranoid, thinking seems more in line with tertiary Ni than inferior Ni.

Rambo also showcases some low level intuitive thinking, after the murder of Gabriela. He reinterprets that action symbolically, likening it to his heart being ripped out. In return, he decides to physically rip out his enemy’s heart.

Te:

“In town, you’re the law. Out here, it’s me. Don’t push it. Don’t push it, or I’ll give you a war you won’t believe.”

For the most part, Rambo leaves people alone, and wants them to leave him alone in return. However, when pushed, he can become extremely stubborn and assertive, even unnecessarily so. That’s why he gets into trouble initially in the first movie. Rambo refuses to leave town, like the sheriff was pushing him to do. Of course, the entire situation was unfair, but going along with it would have saved him from unnecessary drama, bloodshed, and jail time. After things go sideways, he essentially declares himself to be the law in the outdoor, mountain setting, warning the sheriff to stop now before it’s too late.

As also demonstrated above, when forced into action, Rambo will take extreme measures to accomplish his goal. The final movie is another good example of this. For instance, Rambo doesn’t just kill the head of the organization, or a few people at the top. Instead, he lures them all out to his ranch and slaughters what’s likely the majority of the organization.