Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner
"This is the '90s. You don't just go around punching people. You have to say something cool first."
—Joe Hallenbeck, The Last Boy Scout
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It is almost an official duty of an Action Hero to deliver sardonic one-liners. And what better time to produce one than just before the execution of the other official duty - kicking ass?
Common variations on this trope include:
- A form of comic subversion in which the one-liner is stupid or silly. This has the potential to stall or confuse the opponent.
- A form of comic subversion in which the outcome of the intended ass-kicking fizzles, negating the one-liner or at least failing to justify it.
- A Catch Phrase or Battle Cry that may have started as a one-liner, or may work as one to some degree.
Chew Bubblegum is a particularly popular example. See also Badass Boast, Badass Creed, In the Name of the Moon, My Name Is Inigo Montoya and Pre-Mortem One-Liner.
- Anime and Manga
- Comic Books
- Fan Works
- Film
- Literature
- Live-Action TV
- Music
- Oral Tradition
- Professional Wrestling
- Theatre
- Toys
- Video Games
- Web Animation
- Web Comics
- Web Original
- Western Animation
Video Games
- "I got a present for ya!"
- Baldurs Gate has quite a few used by both villain and hero, even if we discount the fact that every character has his own Battle Cries.
CHARNAME: Is it true that dragon meat tastes like chicken? Never mind; I'll find out for myself. |
- Minsc has the best battle cries. "Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes! Raaagghhhhhhh!!"
- Even better: "Jump on my sword while you can, evil! I won't be as gentle!"
- My personal favorite is if he's in your party during the final confrontation with Jon Irenicus. "Evil, meet my sword! Sword, meet Evilllllllllllllllll!"
- Mass Effect, made by the same company as Baldur's Gate, includes a whole lot of team chatter that qualifies, including a shout-out to Minsc's famous line:
- Tali: "Go for the Optics, Chikkita! Go for the Optics!"
- Jack: "Hello, Dead People!"
- Mordin: "Flammable! Inflammable! Forget which! Doesn't matter!"
- Grunt: "I! AM! KROGANNNNNN!"
- Kasumi: "Going silent!" *cue Stealth Hi Bye and Back Stab*
- Commander Shepard is full of these. If we were to list all the one-liners s/he says we would probably have to give Mass Effect its own section. AGAIN!
- Emily Wong got one in a Twitter feed. She was in an aircar, unarmed, bleeding, with a Reaper right in front of her. She had only one choice. Her last message: "You want to see how a human dies? At ramming speed." A shame she almost certainly accomplished nothing with it.
- Every Fighting Game you can find these days.
- Most phrases said by video game bosses before the Boss Battle, especially in RPGs. Most well-known example: "I, Garland, will knock you all down!".
- "Your hope ends here! And your miserable existence with it!"
- Final Fantasy X in general has the characters say one-liners before casting spells and using skills. Lulu is particularly known for that.
- Final Fantasy VI
- "My name is Ultima... I am power both ancient and unrivaled... I do not bleed, for I am but strength given form... Feeble creatures of flesh... Your time is nigh!"
- "Life... Dreams... Hope... Where do they come from? And where do they go? Such meaningless things... I'll destroy them all!"
- The Big Bad of VII gets several on separate occasions (and games):
- From Crisis Core: "Traitor...you will pay!" (Cue Octaslash)
- From Kingdom Hearts II:
Sephiroth: Well, that's an interesting sword you're carrying. (indicating Sora's weapon) |
- From Advent Children after impaling Cloud on the Masamune: "Is this the pain you felt before, Cloud? Let me remind you... this time, you won't forget."
- Zack Fair, a non-villain example: "...and above all...protect your honor...AS SOLDIER!! COME AND GET IT!!!" To a whole army.
- Dissidia Final Fantasy has all characters say something when the battle starts, and a good part of the time it'll be this trope, or some sort of mocking comment about the opponent. The prequel Dissidia 012 went further with custom introductory quotes for storyline battles where both character speaks. For example, this gem from the Final Boss:
Garland: "I will grant you true and utter annihilation!" |
- From Chrono Cross: "Now, let love bleed! Darker and deeper than the seas of hell!"
- Gene from God Hand has a few of these, even more irrelevant than usual because he doesn't give a damn about his opponent. "You can wax on wax off all you like, I'm still kicking your ass" is probably the most well-known. Probably the most amusing is the one word he spouts in response to the Mad Midget Five's Team Shot:
"Douchebags!" |
- Elvis' "I'm gettin' hungry, hombre!"
- Team Fortress 2 has those whenever an ubercharge is used on a Heavy. "Is good time to run cowards!"
- NOW IS COWARD KILLING TIME!
- I AM BULLET-PROOOOOOOF!! *Commence ass-kicking*
- The Soldier's Buff Banner when used also makes him utter one of his battle cries.
- Also, every character on both teams at the very start of a round. They can also be used at any time through the "Battle cry" voice command.
- The "Meet the Medic" short gives us this:
Medic: Now? (creepy chuckle) Let's go practice medicine. |
- "Can't let you do that, Star FOX!"
- "Andross has ordered us to take you down."
- "Peppy! Long time, no see!"
- "Andross' enemy is my enemy!"
- "Your daddy screamed REEEEEALL good before he DIED"
- "Think you're tough eh? In that case, IT'S SECRET WEAPONS TIME!"
- "Let's rock, baby!"
- And Nero's "Let's roll."
- Nero's got more, from "Hell yeah!" accompanying cutting downward in the air, "You're going down," for one of his longer but more powerful attacks, and "Sweet!" when Devil Trigger is activated.
- When using Buster on Sanctus, one of his lines is "You are the demon. NOT ME!"
- "Foolishness, Dante, foolishness. Might controls everything, and without strength you cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself."
- And Nero's "Let's roll."
- Bayonetta has several, including Dante's "Let's rock, baby!"
- This is part of the reason why Duke Nukem is such a Badass, even though he lifts a few lines from other sources. Example: "Come on out, Morphix. There's only two ways this can end, and in both of 'em, you die!"
- From Vampire: The Masquerade -- Redemption, said by a crusader who has survived to the modern nights.
Christof Romuald: Stand, sir, or wouldst thou arrive in hell squatting upon thy arse? |
- AREEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!
- Ares, destroy my enemies, and my life is yours!!
- I am not the same man you found that day. The monster you created has returned... to kill you!
- ZEUS! YOUR SON HAS RETURNED! I BRING THE DESTRUCTION! OF OLYMPUS!
- Knights of the Old Republic II actually has one for, of all people, Bao-Dur.
Bao-Dur: "I think he wanted us to give the General to his poorly trained collection of bounty hunters." |
- More than a few of these in Kingdom Hearts, especially from the Organization XIII baddies.
- Axel, Demyx (below), Larxene, and Xemnas:
Axel: "Oh? So you really do remember me this time. I'm sooooo FLATTERED. But you're toooo LATE!" |
- Cloud's memorable and extremely clever comeback to Sephiroth's taunts (several times): Shut up!
- Gems from Auron: "I foresee no difficulty," "You don't want to move," and "Pray. Now."
- "They'll pay for this." Cue Flung Clothing and Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- And what about some of Those Few Bosses' lines, such as "Different name, same fate," the Lingering Sentiment's ever so simple "Xehanort!" or Demyx's Let's Get Dangerous line, "Silence, traitor."
- Zexion, his attempted Mind Rape of Riku thwarted and on the verge of a Villainous Breakdown, gets one during his (actual) boss fight in re:CoM (he was The Unfought in the original). Had Axel not started a chain of events leading to Naminé playing Spanner in the Works, he might have very well succeeded in carrying out his threat.
Zexion: "Then I shall make you see... That your hopes are nothing--nothing but a mere illusion!" |
- Many Time Crisis bosses:
- Sherudo Garo (Time Crisis Stage 2 boss): "Since you have traveled so very far, be my guest and let me ENTERTAIN YOU!"
- Wild Fang (Time Crisis 3 Stage 3-1): "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Wild Fang, and it's a pleasure to meet YOU!"
- Marcus Black (Time Crisis 4 Stage 1-3): "You want it? Then come over here and TAKE IT!"
- Jack Mathers (Time Crisis 4 Stage 2-3): (in response to Captain Rush asking "Where's your patriotism?") "What good is patriotism?"
- Wild Dog (Time Crisis 4 Stage 3-2): "A bunch of annoying little flies..."
- Altered Beast: "WELCOME TO YOUR DOOM!"
- The beginning of a Gears of War multiplayer match normally has someone saying something.
- In Fire Emblem 7 before taking down the Big Bad, all characters that are taking part in the battle get to deliver one, or at the very least the group they're fighting for. The best is Canas' "Let this battle be forgotten by history, that is all I ask."
- "It's time for revenge." "Let's attack aggressively."
- And the lesser known "What is this place?" "Keep your eyes peeled!" *gun cocking sounds*
- In Blood Omen 2, before the first boss, the boss in question says that Kain will die if he fights the Sarafan Lord, Kain says that may be true, and then adds, "But you will never know how it ends, Faustus, for I will bury you first of all."
- One female voiceset in Neverwinter Nights says "I hope you like pain!" when you attack an enemy
- Super Smash Bros..:
Lucario: Watch the power of aura! (Kamehame Hadoken) |
- BlazBlue has some characters with truly justifiable one liners.
- "I am matter... I am antimatter... I can see your past... I can see your future... I consume time... And I will consume you!"
- In Fate Stay Night "Unlimited Blade Works", when Shirou uses the titular ability for the first time, against Gilgamesh: "Here I come, King of Heroes. Do you have enough weapons in stock?"
- Which on the internet is often paraphrased as "KING OF HEROES, DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH SWORDS?"
- Killer7 has Harman's first lines in the game "Good night child, it's past your bed time."
- And Dan's classic, "I went to see the Devil, now it's your turn."
- World of Warcraft: Each of the Alliance & Horde faction leaders will deliver one of these if you attack them.
- One attack on the Horde capital city of Orgrimmar featured this especially well. The raid organisers were targetting Thrall, warchief of the orcs, and forgot (as many do on both factions) that the leader of the trolls also spends most of his time in Thrall's keep. They charged Thrall at full speed, only to hear from behind, "Dis gonna be de last mistake you make, mon" seconds before Vol'jin the Shadowhunter tore their formation apart, starting with the healers at the back.
- "Leeroy Jenkins!"
- "Arcanite Reaper, HOOO!"
- During the Gunship Battle we have "You DARE board my ship? Your death will come swiftly." if you're on Horde and "What's this then?! Ye won't be takin' this son o' Ironforge's vessel without a fight!." if you're on Alliance.
- During the Wrathgate cinematic, Saurfang the Younger delivers this gem:
Rise up, sons of the Horde! Blood and glory await us! |
- The standard Battle Cry of "FOR THE HORDE!" or "FOR THE ALLIANCE!" can work as one of these.
- In Metal Gear Solid, Snake and Otacon are trapped inside a building while the Big Bad circles it in an armed helicopter. Snake tells Otacon to go fix the elevator so they can move on, and Otacon asks Snake what he intends to do. Snake's response? "I've got to go and swat a noisy fly."
- Metal Gear Solid also had Gray Fox's: "A cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal!" though YMMV on that, since he died shortly after saying it.
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty: "You want eternal rest? I've got it right here."
- Also, a couple from Solidus in the same game: "I applaud your attitude. Well, if you have a death wish, I'll be happy to accommodate you; see you in hell!" "Stupid Machines!"
- The video game adaption of The Warriors had each warrior give one of these when entering rage mode. Here is an example from each warrior:
- Cleon: Here comes the motherfucking warchief, asshole!
- Swan: I'm gonna march right through you!
- Ajax: You stupid fucks!
- Snow: Enough of this bullshit! You're fucking finished!
- Rembrandt: Let me show you how the Warriors bump!
- Vermin: All right, all right, that's fucking it!
- Cowboy: I'm gonna go wild on you asshole!
- Fox: I'll show you how to flex!
- Cochise: Bring it on sucka!
- Bayonetta: "Don't fuck with a witch!"
- S.W.I.N.E. has units that always drop a taunt whenever they spot an enemy or score a kill. The combatants are rabbits (French accent) and pigs (German accent). The best are the rabbit artillery units.
I'm going to open a can of whoopass on these pigs! |
Lucia: Dragons of Althena, come forth! |
- In Yggdra Union Gulcasa give the anti heroic version of this trope during his first confrontation with Milanor.
Milanor: So you're the big man around here, huh? Get ready! |
- "You talk too much".
- Persona 3 has a lot of great lines after you knock down an enemy and get a chance to have all four characters gang up on it, such as Akihiko's "Oh, I've been waiting for this!" and Junpei's "Come back here, you son of a-!"
- "I make my living as an elevator attendant but... I know several effective ways of inflicting pain. Don't worry, I'm not as fragile as I look. Try to kill me... if you can."
- And its Spear Counterpart: I am he who governs power. I should pose a challenge, even for you. I advice that you do not hold back. Fight as though you intend to kill.
- Every Shadow boss in Persona 4 starts with "I am a Shadow, the true self..."
- Kanji: "I LIVE FOR THIS PART!
- "I make my living as an elevator attendant but... I know several effective ways of inflicting pain. Don't worry, I'm not as fragile as I look. Try to kill me... if you can."
- "Target verified. Commencing hostilities." The last words you will hear.
- Do not...toy with me
- also: "Haven't I killed ALL of you yet?!"
- "It's game time."
- "Hasta luego."
- In Tales of Symphonia, Corrine dies to protect Sheena from Volt. After Lloyd motions her into action Sheena yells "For the sake of everyone that risked their lives to protect me, Volt...I DEMAND YOUR POWER!! The party then kills the God of Thunder and Lightning.
- Lloyd and Kratos team up to do this at the Iselia Ranch. As Forcystus emerges from the front doorway after shooting Lloyd, Kratos says very calmly that he is disappointed that this is how the great Desian hero Forcystus meets his end. He doesn't need to do anything though, as Lloyd does the asskicking part for him WHEN HE SHANKS HIM. Kratos has some choice lines when he finishes off Kvar ("Feel the pain" *slash* "Of those inferior beings" *slash* *sheathes sword* "as you burn in hell") and before right after you kill Remiel in the first time in the tower of salvation and Kratos show up and as the fight starts he say "Do you earnestly think you can defeat ME?"
- Darksiders: "You can look at me in the eye when I kill you."
- Red Faction: Guerrilla: Alec Mason cracks quite a few of these during the game, but the most epic one happens in the end, when the Red Faction is about to shoot down the Hydra, the largest warship ever known to man.
Kobel: This is Admiral Kobel of the EDF Hydra. What is your status? |
- Dragon Age: Origins Alastair gives us this gem.
Alright, who ordered death? |
Bob Page: "Soon, I will become pure energy. I will burn like the brightest star." |
- From No More Heroes, Travis will deliver quite a lot of these (In addition to Pre- and Postmortem One Liners.)
- v.s. Skelter Helter: "And when you see your brother in hell, tell him, that he's still a DOUCHE!"
- v.s. Nathan Copeland: "Hale-fucking-lujah!"
- v.s. Matt Helms: "Time for some pro-bono ghost-busting!"
- v.s. Jasper Batt Jr. (last form): "Come on, Prez! Unleash your hate! Your anger! Everything! I'll take it all and FUCKING kill you with it!"
- Travis gives a good number of these in the first one too.
To Dr.Peace: "This is what I LIVE FOR. Fighting your own kind, nothing's more gratifying!" |
- Asura's Wrath: Come on! (To a fucking planet-sized god, and he wins.)
- Neverwinter Nights' NPCs and PCs have voice that sets will occasionally have them say one of these once they attack an enemy.
- Dark Hero: "NO QUARTER!"
- Reserved Guardian: "Let the earth take you!"
- Confident: "I'll handle this one!"
- Dramatic: "Your death has been too long delayed."
- In Neverwinter Nights 2, this ultimately fails with Kaelyn the Dove, for which she can explain why. And this is one of her One Liners.
Kaelyn: "Oh...you...oh, I don't know any profanities! How embarrassing..." |
- EVE Online gives us this from the trailer for the latest expansion, called Incursion. This particular one-liner precedes the collective ass-kicking of a galactic cluster, 4 established empires and their respective naval forces, and the player-base.
Sansha Kuvakei: "I will vanquish your fear, and commute your flesh...to dust." |
- Wing Commander Prophecy has Maestro's: "I think we haven't been properly introduced yet, I'm Maestro, you're dead,"
- Mechwarrior's BattleMechs themselves almost seem to coincidentally have one every mission you start off already in the middle of a fight. Given that your 'Mech is an armored behemoth bristling with more than enough firepower to level a city block in a single instant the third part of the line rather... telling.
Mech Power Up Voice Over: "Reactor online, sensors online, weapons online. All systems nominal." |
Arcanus: How many times must I prove that you little insects can't hurt me? |
- Subverted, Arcanus teleports away.
- Played quite nicely in Portal 2, although the person the one-liner was directed at never actually got their ass-kicked;
GLaDOS: I hope you brought something stronger than a portal gun this time, otherwise I'm afraid you're about to become the immediate past president of the Being Alive Club. Ha Ha. |
- Dungeon Siege 3 has one especially memorable one.
- The World Ends With You has some memorable ones; one of the best is from Neku and Joshua's Level 3 Fusion Attack:
Neku: "Another world awaits!" |
- Also, Neku and Beat's max fusion level 3:
Beat: "Let's start it up!" |
- In Eternal Sonata, if you build up enough echoes before unleashing a special attack, the character will say something awesome.
Falsetto: "By thunder and lightning will you be thrown. By wind will you be scattered. Heaven and Earth! Howling Thunder!" |
Bill: "Goddamn Smoker! You're going to have to use that tongue of yours to pull my foot out of your ass!" |
Coach Oleander: Kochamara does not speak giant monster boy language. |
- In Wario World, Wario frequently utters the line "I'm-a number one!" before boss battles.
Web Animation
- Just before fighting O'Malley in Red vs. Blue, Church rattles off a number of these lines such as: "You're just one big headache, and I've got a whole pistol full of aspirin!" and: "I've got half a mind to kill you! And the other half agrees!"
- With Tex snarking in the background. Even though those are clever, they're very corny.
- "My name is Michael J. Caboose. And I. HATE. BABIES!!!"—Just before massacring an army single-handed.
- At the end of season 1, Donut, before killing Tex at super-long-range with a plasma grenade: "HEY, BITCH! REMEMBER ME? I SAVED SOMETHING FOR YA!"
- "Okay, so who's first?" The next episode is a 7-minute episode of her absolutely demolishing Sarge, Grif, Simmons, and Tucker at the same time, without even breaking a sweat. Also they're all armed and she's not. It doesn't matter.
- Still the best one goes to Washington "Peace talks have broken down, now we do it OUR way"
- How has anyone forgotten "You just got Sarged!" Hilariously subverted when he doesn't get to finish it once.
- This video is just Sarge spouting a whole bunch of these, with a couple of Bond One Liners for good measure.
- "I have to kill fast, and bullets too slow!"
Web Comics
- The Tally Ho features a pretty good Pre-Asskicking One-Liner... "I got the tools, I got the team, I got the motivation, and baby, I just ate me a whole ROLL of 'Mentos'."
- The Adventures of Dr. McNinja: "We are on Eastern Pain Time, and it is Dan o'clock!"
- Parodied in "D.A.R.E. to Resist Ninja Drugs and Violence" where the Doctor directs a pretty awesome speech at Frans Rayner...
Doc: Rayner, you killed my mentor, and you kidnapped my sidekick. I met Death himself last night, and he's going to follow me all the way to your house. You made it personal. |
- ... But then it takes him the whole chapter before he actually fights Rayner. When the Doctor and Rayner finally do fight, the best Doc can come up with is:
Doc: I'm trying to think of that thing I said earlier today, when I was riding that raptor there, and how Death was mad at me... and somehow I applied it to you? I forget it now. It would have been good. But, uh, whatever. You're like, the lamest Great Dane since Marmaduke, and I'm gonna kill you. Whatever, who cares. Let's go. |
- Mitzi McNinja gets one of her own during the "Punch Dracula" Story Arc: "And the dead can't hear their own eulogies. So let's wrap this up.!"
- Looking for Group: "Rejoice, for very bad things are about to happen."
- In The Order of the Stick, Elan actually needs to use these for an attack bonus on his "Dashing Swordsman" prestige class.
- And then there's Bozzok's "Yeah, and I'm bringing the onions - to make you cry!"
- Belkar: "Back me up and I'll cut a path through these guys." Then he decides to go into more detail.
- Haley: "Oh yeah? How are they at keeping you from becoming a shish kabob??" in this strip.
- Also Haley: "SNEAK ATTACK - BITCH!"
- Oasis tries to use some of these in Sluggy Freelance, but she doesn't quite have the hang of it.
- Bun-Bun gets a more straight example when he has his big showdown with Santa Claus: "Have a holly jolly funeral!"
- In Girl Genius Gilgamesh Wulfenbach does pretty well here (starting with the last panel, and continuing for the next few pages). Later attempts one here and fails.
- In Everyday Heroes, Summer lampshades the above quote from Scarface.
- Gordon Frohman of Concerned fails to assassinate Gordon Freeman before the explosion of the combine portal, because he's too busy coming up with a line.
- In this Sam and Fuzzy strip, Nicole delivers a good one just before decapitating Sin with a circular saw-looking thing.
Nicole: Oh, come on Sin... everyone loves a surprise hit. |
- Digger by Ursula Vernon. "Remember Tunnel Seventeeeeen!!!"
- Brianna from Servants of the Imperium tells Twink "May the Emperor have mercy on your soul... because I will not."
- Subverted in Sinfest in a Ninjapiece Theatre strip when Slick, the Pimp Ninja threatens Yellowtail (the Geisha Slut) with "I kill you so hard your ancestors will die!"
- Mandatory before every fight in What the Fu.
- In No Need for Bushido, Brother Wu delivers a rather appropriate one to the trash-talking Ken.
Brother Wu: It seems we are not the ones in a position to have our asses kicked. (kicks Ken's ass into a wall) |
- Caw caw, motherfuckers.
- In Brawl in the Family, during the Phillips CD-I arc, Waluigi returns from vacation to find a Phillips CD-I making everyone become characters from that game... except Dedede, who's trying not to go insane. He views the situation, and then says "Weh. You call this madness? Step aside. Waluigi time.
- In Schlock Mercenary, a mafia soldier expressed the intention to "unleash some hell" against some of the good guys, which is when an elephant with fists the size of him replies with a better line from behind.
- xkcd on this page (see Alt Text) got a cool one, in case someone gets a target lock on Mount Olympus. "I'm here to return what Prometheus stole."
Web Original
- The art collection website "Hey Oscar Wilde! It's Clobberin' Time!" has a name and banner that's all over this trope. It supplied the page image above (a contribution by one DocShaner).
- From Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series (Actually a 3 liner, but still...): "Time for a trip to the Recycle Bin, Phantom. And then, once you're in the Recycle Bin, I'm to to right-click on it and select "Empty recycle bin", because otherwise you'd just be taking up space. In other words, I'm going to kill you."
- From Naruto The Comedy Spoof Series Show: "DATTE-FUCKING-BAYO, BITCH!!"
- "It's curtains for you, Dr. Horrible. Lacy, gently wafting curtains."
- The That Guy With The Glasses Brawl has a few of these.
- The Nostalgia Chick has "Let's kick ass and get cynical."
- Linkara has "I'm not an idiot! I AM A MAN!" (though the ass-kicking is cut short by Benzaie).
- In Suburban Knights, if Malachite asks you, "What do you think of the 21st century?", run. You'll probably still die, but at least you know what's coming.
- "This will be over before you find that flaw"
Western Animation
- Avatar: The Last Airbender's Pakku gets a pretty excellent one before fighting Katara: "If you want to learn waterbending so badly, STUDY CLOSELY!!"
- "I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother." "No you're not."
- "Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname Dragon of the West?"
- "They're mine!"
- "Trust me, Zuko, it's not gonna be much of a match."
- The Legend of Korra has Korra, in the first episode confront a gang of three thugs. Surprised by the fact that anyone has the nerves or stupidity to challenge them, the confrontation leads to this exchange:
Thugs: Who do you think you are? |
- In Total Drama Island, by the end of the fight between Izzy and Chef in "Hide and Be Sneaky":
Izzy: Bye bye! (kicks Chef) |
- Ben from Ben 10 loves to spout these before turning alien and leaping into action. They tend to be incredibly cheesy, but give him a break, he's a Kid Hero.
- Played with in the The Simpsons several times. In the episode "Simple Simpson" when Homer becomes Pie Man. After a series of heroic exploits and delivering multiple pastry-based one-liners just before subduing his various victims, he eventually just uses, "I have run out of pie-related puns!"
- In the episode "Itchy & Scratchy Land", while fighting out-of-control animatronic Itchy and Scratchy robots with cameras, Bart says in Schwarzenegger-esque voice "Hey mouse... say cheese." followed quickly by "With a dry, cool wit like that, I could be an action hero." It's played with even further when moments later, Homer emerges from a pile of defeated robots, saying "Die, bad robots, die!... With a dry, cool wit like that, I could be an action hero."
- In a Halloween episode, Homer has to think of a witty remark to say before he assassinates Kent Brockman... but when he thinks of it, he realizes that there's nobody around and so he doesn't have to say it.
- Clone High: "More tea, Wesley?"
- "Bah! Chamomile!"
- My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic:[1]
- Rainbow Dash, when she's about to start rounding out the parasprites in "Swarm of the Century":
"Time to take out the adorable trash." |
- "A Dog and Pony Show":
- When one of the Diamond Dogs tries to put a bridle on Applejack, she quips "If you can take this bull by the horns, you better be ready for a ride!" before starting to buck him off.
- "A Dog and Pony Show" also gives us the precursor to a verbal ass-kicking:
- "A Dog and Pony Show":
Rarity: "I am not whining. I am complaining. Do you want to hear whining?" |
- In "The Return of Harmony", Twilight Sparkle gives one just before she and the mane cast defeat Discord with the Elements Of Harmony. Probably one of the most Badass ways of invoking The Power of Friendship ever.
Twilight Sparkle: "All right, ladies. Let's show him what friendship can really do!" |
- In "It's about Time," when Twilight prepares to kick the ass of Cerberus. Yes, that Cerberus. The moment is ruined by Fluttershy, but it's still pretty awesome.
Twilight Sparkle: "Hey, Cerberus! You look like you could use some obedience training. Magic obedience training." |
- Transformers: "One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall." So nice, they used it twice. Also, and more to the point, "Megatron must be stopped."
- Surely the true one-liner is in this exchange:
Megatron: Why throw away your life so recklessly? |
- At the end of The Movie, Rodimus Prime gets two in the same scene.
Rodimus Prime: (after wrestling the MacGuffin from The Dragon) This is the end of the road, Galvatron. (throws him through a wall) |
- Almost everybody gets one of these.
Devastator: PREPARE FOR EXTERMINATION. |
- Bulkhead is the current reigning king of one-liners. He spouts one in every episode so far.
- Kim Possible
- Both heroes and villains often break them out, with Shego especially fond of them. With everyone recovering from a cold, Shego declares, "Looks like someone's been drinking a lot of fluids -- and retaining every ounce..."
- This, from The Movie.
- Teen Titans
- This is Robin's job. It gets a bit ridiculous at times.
- Starfire gets one in one of the first episodes.
Starfire: I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am stronger than I look. (WHAM) |
- Raven and Beast Boy have them during their Berserk Button moments,
Raven: Don't come any closer. |
- Earthworm Jim: "Eat dirt, everything in the vicinity!" (and about a billion variations thereof...). Brilliant when you think of it. He's an earthworm and his kind generally tends to eat... well..
- Stripperella. "Look out crime. I'm gonna to take a bite out of you. But... not in a way you're gonna find... pleasurable."
- Darkwing Duck:
- "Let's get dangerous!"
- Darkwing Duck's shift from comic relief to serious threat post-"Dangerous" constitutes its own trope.
- "Suck gas, evil doer!"
- Danny Phantom has the title character spout a few of these. Unfortunately it doesn't run in the family: Jazz's one-liners are terrible. Except for when she's saving Danny for once, and it's combined with a Don't Say Such Stupid Things and a Shut UP, Hannibal:
Jazz: Excuse me. I don't know this kid, but I hope it's okay if he gets a second opinion. |
- Metalocalypse: "That's my bread and butter you're fucking with." If anyone utters that, you know, RUN!
- Robot Chicken: "GO F#%* YOURSELF!"
- King of the Hill: "That's my purse!! I don't know you!" (kicks person in the balls). Seriously, you can't tell me you wouldn't get caught off guard by some fat kid yelling "That's my purse!" then yelling "I don't know you!" before kicking your nuts into your throat is a great way to finish it.
- Also, from the episode where Bobby and Joseph become professional panhandlers.
Bum: What're you gonna do, tell my mommy? |
- Dexters Laboratory: A mix-up involving cereal-prize decoder rings leaves Deedee being threatened by the Pony Puffs, and Dexter having to team up with Action Hank to save her. As Hank bursts through the wall with his team to save Dee-Dee from being dunked in scalding-hot oatmeal, he delivers that classic line:
Hank: Breakfast is no longer being served! Prepare to get brunched -- in the face! [2] |
- Popeye, spoken before using spinach: "That's all I can standz, cause I can't standz no more!"
- From Stunt Dawgs:
Needham: It's T. T. Kaaaaaaaay B.! |
- The only thing villains hate to hear more than that one is the one that means you're well and truly screwed:
Needham: It's P.B.T.! |
- Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated
- Scooby says the Text-Book defenition of a Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner in episode 10.
Scooby Doo: Bad Dog. Time to heel. |
- He followed it up with something even more bad ass, especially given his utterly cold delivery.
Scooby Doo: Play Dead. |
- Codename: Kids Next Door: Next stop: way down the lane!
- Justice League Unlimited: "What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am.
- Whenever Bugs Bunny utters the phrase "Of course you realize this means war!" is essentially this. What comes may not be an asskicking by normal standards...but he makes sure you feel for what you've done.
- All it takes is the right magic words...