Rick Grimes vs Jim Hopper: who would win in a fight?

Rick Grimes versus Jim Hopper isn't even close. Rick wins, and here's why. Rick comes from The Walking Dead (2010), played by Andrew Lincoln. Hopper comes from Stranger Things (2016), played by David Harbour. Let's run this like it would play out.

Jim Hopper might win a straight fistfight with Rick Grimes

If they spawn in a room together with no prep, Hopper might win that. He's bigger, heavier and physically stronger. "Hopper hits like a truck," and he has that cop brawler style where once he grabs you, you're in trouble.

If this turns into a straight fistfight, Hopper has a real chance. He's tough, and he can take punishment.

Rick Grimes fights like a survivor, not a brawler

Rick doesn't fight like that. Rick fights like a survivor. He has fought killers, soldiers, cannibals and entire hostile groups, and walked out alive. He's been stabbed, beaten, shot at and starved, and he still figured out ways to win.

He doesn't rely on strength. He relies on reading people and doing whatever it takes. That's where this shifts.

Rick fights dirty immediately, while Hopper follows a structure

Hopper fights fair until he has to fight dirty. Rick fights dirty immediately. He'll lie, stall, distract, fake surrender, use the environment and grab anything nearby as a weapon. He's bitten someone's throat out. He's ambushed armed men. He wins fights by ending them before they really start.

Hopper is still used to confrontations that follow some kind of structure: interrogation, intimidation, escalation. "Rick doesn't escalate, Rick skips to the end."

Rick Grimes wins because he's more willing to cross lines

If the fight turns into a survival situation with movement, objects and unpredictability, that's Rick's world, and fights almost never stay clean.

Rick Grimes wins, not because he's stronger, but because he's more willing to cross lines. Hopper might still hesitate to.