"Soon every victory won by the resistance was attributed to my leadership. Stories of my 'brilliance,' my 'daring,' my 'courage' grew more and more unbelievable, yet the people insisted on believing them. My reputation even followed me into the labor camp where my mere presence seemed to inspire my fellow prisoners. And I had done nothing but shoot an unarmed Cardassian in his underwear. I'll never forget the look on his face as he died. He was so...embarrassed."
—Li Nalas, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ("The Homecoming")
Rocky: Uh, y-yeah. Um, it's just that, you know... life as I've experienced it - you know, out there lone free rangin' and stuff - it's, uh... it's full of disappointment, and, uh...
Ginger: What, you mean grass isn't all it's cracked up to be?
Rocky: Grass! Exactly, grass. It's always greener on the other side, and then you get there, and it's brown and prickly. You see what I'm trying to say?
"The Hero of Gallowmere, who fell at the first charge. The fog of war, and the shroud of time has rendered the arrow fodder the savior of the day. But we knows better."
— Gargoyle, MediEvil
"I think Kennedy was the spoiler and that he should have withdrawn in favor of [Eugene] McCarthy. After all, it was McCarthy who went into New Hampshire and destroyed L.B.J., something Bobby did not have the courage to do. For all of Bobby’s renowned toughness and abrasiveness, he was politically conventional and timid. He wanted to be President in the “normal” way. He wanted “to put it together.” Well, it isn’t together anymore. It was his bad luck to be caught in a revolution he didn’t understand... I wonder what will happen when the real thing comes along."
—Gore Vidal on Robert F. Kennedy
Harry: You're running away!? After all that stuff you did in your books!?
Lockhart: Books can be misleading!
Harry: You wrote them!
Lockhart: My dear boy, do use your common sense! My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things!
Harry: ...You're a fraud! You've just been taking credit for what other wizards have done!
Ron: Is there anything you can do?
Lockhart: Yes, now you mention it. I'm rather gifted with Memory Charms. Otherwise, you see, all those wizards would have gone blabbing, and I'd never have sold another book.
Lockhart: Books can be misleading!
Harry: You wrote them!
Lockhart: My dear boy, do use your common sense! My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think I'd done all those things!
Harry: ...You're a fraud! You've just been taking credit for what other wizards have done!
Ron: Is there anything you can do?
Lockhart: Yes, now you mention it. I'm rather gifted with Memory Charms. Otherwise, you see, all those wizards would have gone blabbing, and I'd never have sold another book.
You could've been happy, if only you would've done as I did and obediently followed the visionary, selfish desires of a great hero...
—King P, Mother 3
Major Man: (sobbing) Help! Please, help me!
Blossom: Why? You've been doing fine on your own.
Buttercup: Why don't you destroy the monster yourself?
Girls: Hmmm?
Major Man: I-I can't. Well, you see...
Bubbles: We can't hear you!
Major Man: I set up all of those other disasters so I could go in, save everyone, and get all the fame and glory. Now please help!
(The crowd gasps in shock at this revelation.)
Blossom: You mean the giant fire?
Major Man: I started it. (The crowd gasps.)
Buttercup: The robber and the old lady?
Major Man: My cousin and grandmother. (The crowd gasps.)
Bubbles: The train wreck?
Major Man: Bent the tracks. (The crowd gasps.)
Blossom: And the kids who beat up the old man?
Major Man: Paid them. (The crowd boos.) Please, help me!
Blossom: Do you promise to leave the heroics up to the real heroes?
Major Man: Yes, yes!
Girls: Well...
Major Man: Oh, please! Oh, please!
Girls: Okay.
—The Powerpuff Girls (1998), "Major Competition"
Hans: All that's left now is to kill Elsa and bring back summer.
Anna: [angrily] You're no match for Elsa.
Hans: No, you're no match for Elsa. [puts glove back on] I, on the other hand, am the hero who is going to save Arendelle from destruction.
Anna: [angrily yet weakly] You won't get away with this!
Hans: Oh... I already have.
Anna: [angrily] You're no match for Elsa.
Hans: No, you're no match for Elsa. [puts glove back on] I, on the other hand, am the hero who is going to save Arendelle from destruction.
Anna: [angrily yet weakly] You won't get away with this!
Hans: Oh... I already have.
"How messed up is that? That I've gotten away with this for so long? You have no idea how bad I am! Y-You think I'm so great, and I'm so mature, and I always know what to do! But that's not true! I haven't learned a thing from my problems! They've all just made me worse! You think of me as some angel, but I'm not that kid anymore! I'm a fraud. (collapses to the floor) I'm a fraud... I'M A MONSTER!"
"You were never one of us. You were nothing but a usurper. A false idol. My eyes have been opened. Let me help you to see, Slayer."
—Marauder, Doom Eternal
"I created Mysterio to give the world someone to believe in. I control the truth... Mysterio is the truth!"
—Mysterio, Spider-Man: Far From Home
