Newly revised and added to (yet again!) July 2006

Great Comic Book Quotables

"To be or not to be...", "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want...", "The problems of three people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world..." and so on. When people quote books, movies and TV, it's a form of legitimization. If it's worth repeating, it must be worth knowing in the first place. But what of comics?

To consider the respectability, and value, of comics, let's delve whole heartedly into that epitomy of pop intellectualism...the quote (or quotes). What wisdom can be milked from comics, that most maligned of mediums?

So, without further ado, may I present Great Quotations of Western Thought -- the Funnybooks Version:

With great power there must also come -- great responsibility! (perhaps the most famous phrase of the Silver Age of comics, and, arguably, it redefined the narrative focus of the entire genre...or, as actor Nicholas Cage said, when presenting Stan Lee with a lifetime achievement award, it's a phrase that can raise an ordinary man up to the level of a hero...or bring a hero down to the level of an ordinary man.  It was first expressed in a narrative caption (not by his uncle as it was in the movie) in Spider-Man's debut in Amazing Fantasy #15, Stan Lee)

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"We are responsible for each other. That's part of being human -- isn't it?" (Robin re-iterating a similar "brother's keeper" theme, though on a more personal level, after Batman denies responsibility for Catwoman's nervous breakdown -- a sentiment Batman would come to recognize by issue's end -- "Never Scratch a Cat" Batman #355, Gerry Conway)

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"You've been so full of vindictive, self-righteous wrath that you've forgotten one little thing; you killed this man's wife and child! If Fate is insane, if "Sunshine" is dead -- it's your fault!" (Super hero Devil Slayer was a reformed mob hit man, but when Fate, a man whose wife and child Devil-Slayer had inadvertently killed, comes after him for revenge, it's the people around Devil-Slayer who suffer -- including a junkie Devil Slayer had been trying to rehabilitate named "Sunshine". It took guest star Wonder Man, in the above dialogue, to remind Devil-Slayer that culpability doesn't end just 'cause we want it to -- "Yesterday Never Dies!" The Defenders, 1st series, #104, J.M. DeMatteis)

"Wars are never won, regardless of who might be the victor. The very act of war is itself a horrible defeat." (a Guardian of the Universe to Hal Jordan after Hal asks if "we've won?" as they survey the grim aftermath of a conflict between the Green Lantern Corps and the Weaponers of Qward -- "Battleground: Oa!" Green Lantern, 1st Silver Age series, #127, Denny O'Neil)

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"I got a look at some of our Japanese-American relocation centers, back during the Big One. Saw what they do to men -- on both sides of the barbed wire." (Nick Fury explaining why he allowed traitor-by-association, the alien Captain Marvel, to escape -- "All Things Must End!" Avengers, 1st series, #92, Roy Thomas)
 
 

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"We didn't mean it! We never mean it! But what good does that do..." (Vietnam veteran Flash Thompson, having second thoughts about the war in Southeast Asia and its impact on the Vietnemese -- "Enter: Dr. Strange!" Amazing Spider-Man, 1st series, #109, Stan Lee)

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"I'll never forget the Death Star...but I'll never forget the day after it, either." (Luke Skywalker battles a storm trooper in the aftermath of the destruction of the Death Star, only to discover that, beneath the impersonal mask, lies a boy no older than himself.  Not a radical scene, but it spoke more about  the reality of war in a single comicbook than in any of George Lucas' multi-billion dollar grossing motion pictures -- "The Day After the Death Star" Star Wars, Marvel Illustrated Book, vol. 1, Archie Goodwin)

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"No good has ever come of a Holy War, and never will!" (Superman chastising some Christian and Jewish kids fighting over religious differences -- though the kids make up by agreeing tto all go off and watch A Christmas Carol together, suggesting the writer may've missed the nuances of the conflict himself! -- "The War for Peace", Action Comics #517, Gerry Conway)
 

"In this world, there is right and there is wrong, and that distinction is not difficult to make." (Superman making, arguably, an oversimplification...but, damn!, it makes sense -- Kingdom Come #3, Mark Waid, but paraphrasing a phrase written by Elliot S! Maggin in the novel Superman, The Last Son of Krypton...and maybe elsewhere)

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"Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never compromise." (Rorschach summing up his philosophy -- "A Stronger Loving World" The Watchmen #12, Alan Moore)

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"May God protect us -- from guys who do the right thing." (Hulk side kick Jim Wilson after being reassured his betrayal of the Hulk was the "right thing" to do -- "A Titan Stalks the Tenements!" The Hulk, 2nd series, #131, Roy Thomas)

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"What you say is reasonable, logical, justifiable. But does that make it right?" (Nightcrawler's pointed response to Wolverine's justification of lethal force...and you can bet Marvel doesn't O.K. such critiques of their feral cash cow these days -- "Rage" Uncanny X-Men #140, 1st series, Chris Claremont)

________Truth
 

"(Truth) is a subjective concept, one to be accepted or rejected depending on the viewer's prejudices" (villain Thanos -- "How Strange My Destiny" Warlock, 1st series, #11, Jim Starlin)

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"..truth is a whore. She'll belong to any man for an hour if the price is right. When the time's done, you're back where you started -- alone." (A philosophical membeer of the conspiracy -- "A Little Dream of Me" The X-Files #3, Stefan Petrucha)

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"The news isn't there to tell you what happened. It's there to tell you what it wants you to hear, or what it thinks you want to hear. They already have their stories worked out. They just wait for events to fill in the blanks. When they don't fit, they get sidelined or twisted till they do." (Cyclops -- "Dangerous, Chap. 1" Astonishing X-Men #7, Joss Whedon)

"Are arbitrary labels more important than the way we live our lives, what we're supposed to be more important than what we actually are?" (Cyclops in the graphic novel X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, Chris Claremont)

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"We paid our fare just like anyone else!" (mutant Cyclops again, responding to the dirty looks the X-Men are receiving from fellow, human, commuters on a subway; it's the very mundanity of the scene that makes it as chillingly pointed as any of the high end, hysterical "mutant prejudice" scenes the X-Men face these days -- "Trapped: One X-Man!" X-Men, 1st series, #5, Stan Lee)
 

"Do you suppose they finally understood...that a man who can inspire laughter...and joy...is the holiest man of all?" (guest star Ayla, in what could be an eulogy for entertainers everywhere; actually I could literally quote almost the entire issue, it's that good -- "And Then I Died" Man-Thing, 1st series, #6, Steve Gerber)

"Insanity is defined by its cultural milieu." (told ya I could quote more from that issue -- Man-Thing #6, again!)

"If rich guys like you can't be happy in this world -- what chance have the rest of us got?" (and yet again -- Man-Thing #6)

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"Count Nefaria will be a nightmare that has ended -- another Hitler, scarring the pages of history!" (the Whizzer attacks the invincible, super-powered villain Count Nefaria the only way he can...psychologically, by pointing out his very mortality is his greatest weakness, and that even a Hitler ultimately becomes dust and irrelevant.  Actually, I just like the Whizzer's whole monologue (as reproduced to the right) -- "Hammer of Vengeance", Avengers, 1st series, #165, Jim Shooter)

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"A man without hope is a man without fear" (mobster, the Kingpin, too late realizing he might've created an even more implacable enemy in Daredevil, after stripping him of everything he holds dear -- "Pariah", Daredevil, 1st series, #229, Frank Miller)

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"..that is the decision all lovers must make -- whether their relationship will destroy...or heal the other. It's often the most difficult decision they'll have to make -- and, as love is not a constantly stable factor, it's one they'll have to make again and again." (The Black Panther reflecting on love and relationships -- "But Now the Spears Are Broken", Jungle Action #9, Don McGregor)

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"People are like cattle. Give them just enough comfort to satisfy them and anything that threatens them or they think threatens them...they attack!" (villain Black Hand explaining his cynical view of humanity...and how easy it is to manipulate the masses (even if he is mixing his analogies -- I mean: attacking cattle?) -- "Peril in Plastic", Green Lantern (1st Silver Age series) #84, Denny O'Neil)

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"But, surely this is better than celebrating the season of life by killing a tree?" (Mr. Fantastic explaining the moral virtues of an artificial Christmas Tree -- "Terrax the Untamed", The Fantastic Four, 1st series, #242, John Byrne)

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"Men live by their history -- it is the source of their identity. Deny a man his past, and you are denying his present. Men call me the Phantom Stranger, and wonder if I have a past. Not knowing, they doubt, and doubting my past -- they disbelieve, my very existence!" (The Phantom Stranger addressing the reader -- "Images of the Dead" The Phantom Stranger, 2nd series, #37, Paul Levitz)

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"..once you find an excuse for killing, you will never lack one." (The Phantom Stranger cautioning that some lines, once crossed, can't be un-crossed -- same issue, "Images of the Dead" The Phantom Stranger, 2nd series, #37, Paul Levitz)

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"Why -- I never even considered the possibility of -- dying! But he's serious -- I know it! Thor's prepared to die! He expects to die tonight -- unless we win against a foe he's told me is invincible!" (Wonder Man expressing an emotion few heroes are allowed to express...fear, and contrasted with Thor's do or die determination.  The portrayal of Wonder Man during that era as super powerful, nigh invincible, but plagued by very human fears and insecurities, is one of the most intriguing -- most adult -- takes on a super hero I've ever read -- "The Bride of Ultron"Avengers, 1st series, #162, Jim Shooter)
 
 
 
 
 

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"..nobody's got so many friends that he can afford to start losin' 'em." (The Falcon, explaing his search for a missing old friend -- "The Summons of Psyklop" The Avengers (1st series) #88, Roy Thomas)

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"If your life had little meaning...your death has none." (villain Nightmare contemptuously dismissing villain Cyrus Black's attempt to reclaim some dignity...through suicide -- "A Midsummer's Nightmare", Dr. Strange (2nd series) #34, Ralph Macchio)

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Childhood is the interval between nothingness and disillusionment. An interval of innocence. (A text caption from "Suffer the Children" The Question #3, Dennis O'Neil)

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"Vengeance is but the last resort of the unthinking!" (Vashti trying, in vain, to calm the raging Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner -- "When a Monarch Goes Mad!", Tales to Astonish #81, Stan Lee)

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"Haven't you done enough with your stinking violence?" (a grief stricken Jimmy Martin rebuffing a confused Hulk, after trying to use the Hulk for his own purposes with tragedy resulting --  "One for my Baby...and One More for the Hulk", The Hulk (magazine) #27, (J.M.) Marc DeMatteis)

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"And give the streets a martyr? No, Black Lightning will die as he lived...a man without face or name...and soon to be forgotten. A word to the wise, my young informer." (mobster Tobias Whale explaining why he won't have Black Lightning unmasked before having him publicly executed -- and subtly reminding his masked inforrmer how tenuous his position can me -- "The Conscience of the Killer", Black Lightning (1st series) #7, Tony Isabella)

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"Maybe it was just you, all the time!" (I was never much impressed with this gritty story wherein the Joker attempts to prove anyone can be driven insane -- as he was -- by the right circumstances...and fails. But I liked Batman's line...which might be a good rejoinder to anyone who's too quick to assume their perceptions are universal -- like writers who insist their vision of
life is more authentic than anyone else's -- Batman: The Killing Joke, Alan Moore)

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"Every time a man raises his hand against his neighbour in the name of his faith, he renounces his faith!" (Superman, same scene as the earlier quote in the War & Consequences category -- "The War for Peace" Action Comics #517, Gerry Conway)

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"My parents...taught me a different lesson -- lying on this street -- shaking in deep shock -- dying for no reason at all -- they showed me that the world only makes sense when you force it to..." (an aging, bitter Batman -- "The Dark Knight Falls" Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #4, Frank Miller)

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"Send me a bill." (Hal Jordan vents his rage on a pollution-spewing symbol of "progress", and delivers one of the best final lines in comics, summing up rage, bitterness and frustration at the callousness of the world -- trust me. -- "..and through him save a world" Green Lantern, 1st Silver Age series, #89, Denny O'Neil)
 
 
 
 

"I like you Glorious Godfrey! You're a shallow, precious child -- the Revelationist -- happy with the sweeping sound of words! But I am the Revelation! The Tiger-Force at the core of things! When you cry out in your dreams -- it is Darkseid that you see!" (perennial DC villain Darkseid was never more menacing than when done by his creator, Jack Kirby, as demonstrated by Darkseid's own description of himself to sidekick villain Glorious Godfrey -- "Life vs. Anti-Life", The Forever People, 1st series, #3, Jack Kirby)

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"Your hypocrisy sickens even me, you poor excuse for a man." (gangster, Tobias Whale, evincing his contempt for the supposed principals of fellow villain Syonide who claims he won't "consent" to kill...even as he will capture people, knowing they will be killed by others -- "The Conscience of the Killer", Black Lightning, 1st series, #7, Tony Isabella)
 

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Only the sea, after all, is eternal. (the closing text caption from a melancholy ending to a quintessential 1970s Hulk tale -- "The Circus of Lost Souls!" The Inncredible Hulk, 1st series, #217, Len Wein)

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"You're a part of that world. And you love it. You let it hurt you and you love it all the more. I'm not that strong." (Elektra explaining to Matt Murdock (Daredevil) how tragedy can push them onto different life paths -- "Elektra", Daredevil (1st series) #168, Frank Miller)

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"..all my life...part of somebody else's gang...somebody else's orders...an' now I get offed...on the way to somebody else's funeral..." (dying words of  gunsel Joe Chill -- of an alternate earth -- after Chill has been shot by a hitman on the way to his main assignment -- "To Kill a Legend", Detective Comics #500, Alan Brennert)

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"This is your bike, huh? Kinky. You get scared by the Batmobile when you were a kid or something?" (a supporting character's assessment of Johnny Blaze's singular motorcycle -- "A Spectre Stalks the Soundstage", Ghost Rider, 1st super hero series, #14, Tony Isabella)

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"Sha-Shazam!" (okay, maybe it was more the context than the line itself...as we waited almost three 48 page issues for Billy Batson/Captain Marvel to utter his immortal magic word -- and it's even cooler in the audio-play adaptation! -- "Up in the Sky", Kingdom Come #3, Mark Waid)
 

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"Your hunger for battle is a disease -- and the hammer of Thor shall supply the cure!" (Thor finally fed up with Hercules, who is trying to prolong their grudge-match that Thor isn't interested in -- "Whom the Gods Would Destroy!", The Mighty Thor, 1st series, #126,  Stan Lee)

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Once upon a time, there was a woman named Jean Grey, a man named Scott Summers. They were young. They were in love. They were heroes. Today, they will prove it -- beyond all shadow of a doubt. (the lead up to one of the most famous climaxes of the Bronze Age, as Jean Grey makes the ultimate sacrifice -- "The Fate of the Phoenix" The Uncanny X-Men, 1st series, #137, Chris Claremont)

"Life is cruel, Nick. It feeds on your ambitions and enthusiasms -- and uses them to destroy you." (Scorpio, a very depressed super-villain, contemplating life's iniquities in a powerful, brilliant closing scene -- "Scorpio Must Die!" The Defenders, 1st series, #50, David Anthony Kraft)

..and...

"All my life, every time I've ever believed in anything, or had faith the future would get better for me, I've had that false hope knocked out of me...and found myself back on my knees in despair." (Scorpio again, same scene, same issue; a word to aspiring comic writers, or to pros who want to better themselves: read the final, two page scene of this issue. That's all I can say. Just read it. In fact, the whole Who Remembers Scorpio story line is discussed in my They Ain't Trade Paperbacks section -- The Defenders #50)

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"The people who had custody of the American dream had abused both it and us. There was no way I could keep calling myself "Captain America", because the others who acted in America's name were every bit as bad...as...the...Red...Skull!" (Captain America deals with the Watergate Scandal (metaphorically) in his comic, renouncing his identity for a time, becoming "Nomad" instead: here he explains why -- "Nomad: No More" Captain America, 1st series, #183, Steve Englehart)

..and...

"Whatever the threat -- wherever it originates -- I won't be blind again!" (Captain America, same scene, same issue, realizing that evil must be confronted, even when it exists in places you'd rather not find it, like cherished institutions; Cap's entire closing monologue is worth reading, but it would take most of this article to repeat it -- Captain America #183, again)