Spoilers Off applies to all Quotes pages. You Have Been Warned.
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Comic Books
"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day."
The Scarecrow: But I'm offering you the chance to see the fear in their eyes! I have spent enough time in Arkham Asylum to know the symptoms, Becky. You have the classic psychological profile to be one of us!
Becky Albright: You're crazy. That's not the way to deal with it. That's not the way I'm going to deal with it!
Scarecrow: I am not crazy! This is a perfectly sane and rational response to my traumatic experiences. And if you don't believe me... I'll Kill You!.
Becky Albright: You're crazy. That's not the way to deal with it. That's not the way I'm going to deal with it!
Scarecrow: I am not crazy! This is a perfectly sane and rational response to my traumatic experiences. And if you don't believe me... I'll Kill You!.
— Batman New Year's Evil: Scarecrow
Verity: What makes hate easy?
Valeria: Mommy and daddy.
Loki: Harsh! But yes.
Valeria: Mommy and daddy.
Loki: Harsh! But yes.
— Loki: Agent of Asgard issue 7
"You've got to understand, Kara, Cat's been to Hell and back with Toyman. You didn't know Cat before her son was killed. She was a different woman back then. Heck, we all were. [...] Her son Adam was killed rescuing a group of children who were kidnapped by one of Toyman's malfunctioning robots. The robot cut his throat. Cat changed after that. She didn't grieve. Instead, she turned hard. She moved to L.A. and started writing for tabloids, tearing down anyone she could. The more teen stars and starlets she saw parading around town, the angrier and angrier her writing became. [...] Clark thinks Cat became angry that those teens were still alive to make messes of their lives... and her son wasn't."
— Lana Lang, Supergirl (2005), Day of the Dollmaker
"I have a complicated relationship with Justice. Slaving under the Duke, knowing awaited after a short life of torment... I didn't fear Justice, I longed for it. Supergirl and her dynasty patrolled the universe, but when salvation came for me, it did not wear an "S". It was an Eye. Supergirl ignored my suffering. But once I was free of it, pillaging the galaxy in service to my eye, she had no problem standing against me."
— Emerald Empress, Supergirl (Rebirth), The Girl of No Tomorrow
Fan Works
The Beyond Birthday case made so much more sense now, BB wasn't a megalomaniac he was L's spurned and neglected lover. Clearly the jam was just the aftershock of being forced into sex with someone that looked vaguely like a crack head. And she had prevented him from burning himself alive, if she had to have sex with L she might have tried to burn herself alive too. Naomi noted to herself that perhaps it was a good time to go to L.A.'s prison and apologize to that poor madman.
Pit: Why are you doing this?!
Pyrrhon: Why?! I'll tell you why! Everyone knows who Palutena is. Everyone knows who Viridi is. Everyone even knows who Hades is! But what about me, huh? Does anyone even recognize me? Anyone worship me? Anyone even acknowledge me?! No. Well, that's all about to change. Now it's Pyrrhon's time to shine! I'll make everyone remember me! Even if I've gotta carve my name into the very fabric of this planet!
Pyrrhon: Why?! I'll tell you why! Everyone knows who Palutena is. Everyone knows who Viridi is. Everyone even knows who Hades is! But what about me, huh? Does anyone even recognize me? Anyone worship me? Anyone even acknowledge me?! No. Well, that's all about to change. Now it's Pyrrhon's time to shine! I'll make everyone remember me! Even if I've gotta carve my name into the very fabric of this planet!
For years, you thought the supercilious face he put on was a facade that he wore for everyone else, that he was only cruel because society wanted him to be and when he was with you, that's what was real.
It took six years of knowing him to realize you were wrong. You had it backwards.
The first time he yells at you, you cry.
It took six years of knowing him to realize you were wrong. You had it backwards.
The first time he yells at you, you cry.
— Feferi about Eridan in the Homestuck fic "Insurgency
"
""Why? Because you have everything and we have nothing! Just look around, the dragon kingdom is practically a wasteland while Equestria is a paradise! You ponies also have control over most of the planet, while we dragons don’t even have pillows!"
— Garble, when Princess Luna asks him why he hates ponies so much, "The Fallen"
""Sunny... when I brought you up... I always told myself that I would do what was best for you. And that, in my mind…was to make you as great as I knew you could be. So I worked you, oftentimes harder than others, because I knew you could do it. I knew you could be the best that Crystal Prep, that any school, could ever hope to have."
After a while, she finally opened her eyes again.
"When the days started to come when you were no longer the best... I will fully admit that my attitude towards you was... not what it should have been."
Sunny looked away, a look of anger now crossing her. But Cinch was not angry in return, and instead let out another sigh.
"But my disappointment, and it was disappointment... was not with you... it was with myself."
After a while, she finally opened her eyes again.
"When the days started to come when you were no longer the best... I will fully admit that my attitude towards you was... not what it should have been."
Sunny looked away, a look of anger now crossing her. But Cinch was not angry in return, and instead let out another sigh.
"But my disappointment, and it was disappointment... was not with you... it was with myself."
Carol: Good, now that we're alone. I'm asking you to try to be a little nicer to Bruno, okay? I know it's not an easy task and he's not the most pleasant person you'll ever meet. Bruno's not a bad kid Scott. Yes, I know he's a bully, but he's only acting out what he knows. What his father taught him.
Scott Summers: So? That makes it okay for him to threaten to hurt Bobby? That makes it okay for him to threaten to hurt someone younger than he is?
Carol: No, of course not. But Bruno has only threatened, and he actually hasn't made a move to hurt Bobby. That leaves a lot of room for you to let it slide off your back and compromise until he actually tries something. If Bruno tries to hurt Bobby, you won't be the first one to trounce him. Trust me.
Scott: Compromise, in my experience, has always been another word for lose.
Carol: You are so wrong, Scott. Compromise most times is the only way everyone wins. Bruno is acting out the lessons that his drunken, abusive father taught him. Don't act out the lessons that Jack taught you. Don't let Jack win like that.
Scott Summers: So? That makes it okay for him to threaten to hurt Bobby? That makes it okay for him to threaten to hurt someone younger than he is?
Carol: No, of course not. But Bruno has only threatened, and he actually hasn't made a move to hurt Bobby. That leaves a lot of room for you to let it slide off your back and compromise until he actually tries something. If Bruno tries to hurt Bobby, you won't be the first one to trounce him. Trust me.
Scott: Compromise, in my experience, has always been another word for lose.
Carol: You are so wrong, Scott. Compromise most times is the only way everyone wins. Bruno is acting out the lessons that his drunken, abusive father taught him. Don't act out the lessons that Jack taught you. Don't let Jack win like that.
"I spent my whole life letting my bitch of a mother run my life, and most of high school being everyone's punching bag, and now that I have the power, I'm going to make damn sure that nobody is going to step on me ever again!"
— Amy Madison, Bring Me to Life
Film — Animated
"You took everything from me when you sent Abigail into that machine. Now, I'm taking everything away from YOU!"
— Yokai to Alistair Krei, Big Hero 6
"My parents... hated me. Do you understand? They wronged me. I... will make it right."
— Lord Shen to the Soothsayer, Kung Fu Panda 2
"Hey, not so special anymore, huh? Well, guess what? No one ever told me I was special. I never got a trophy just for showing up! I'm not some special little snowflake, no! But as un-special as I am, you are a thousand-billion times more un-special than me!"
— Lord Business, The LEGO Movie
Donkey: Hey, what's your problem, Shrek? What you got against the whole world anyway?
Shrek: Look, I'm not the one with the problem, okay? It's the world that seems to have a problem with me! People take one look at me and go "Aagh! Help! Run! A big, stupid, ugly, ogre!" [sighs] They judge me before they even know me. That's why I'm better off alone.
Shrek: Look, I'm not the one with the problem, okay? It's the world that seems to have a problem with me! People take one look at me and go "Aagh! Help! Run! A big, stupid, ugly, ogre!" [sighs] They judge me before they even know me. That's why I'm better off alone.
— Shrek
"When I was a young boy, I had a toy train. Then, one day, I lost it."
— Alternate Doctor Doofenshmirtz explaining why he’s more evil than his mainstream counterpart, Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
"It's not my fault that I'm so evil, it's society, society. You see, my parents were sometimes abusive and it made a prick of me."
— Saddam Hussein, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Popppy: Why not? Why won't you sing?
Branch: Because singing killed my grandma, ok?
Film — Live-Action
"He's a font of misplaced rage. Name your cliché; Mother held him too much or not enough, last picked at kickball, late night sneaky uncle, whatever. Now he's so angry moments of levity actually cause him pain; gives him headaches. Happiness, for that gentleman, hurts."
— Garland Greene on Billy Bedlam, Con Air
"You wanna know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker, and a fiend. One night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. He takes the knife to her, laughing as he does it. Then he turns to me, and says 'Why... so... serious?' He comes at me with the knife. 'Why... so... serious?' He sticks the knife in my mouth. 'Let's put a smile on that face!' And... why so serious?"
— The Joker, The Dark Knight
"Father. I would have butchered the whole world... if you would only love me!"
— Commodus before smothering his father, Gladiator
"The Duke of Oxford. Good day to you, sir! You are the very symbol of everything I'm tryin' to destroy. Aristocrats like you stole my parents' mill in Scotland when I was a lad. Entitlement has 'title' in it for a reason, no? Huh! I'm gonna fucking love killing you!"
— Shepherd, The King's Man
"You'll never know how it felt that night, to be told that the only man that I'd ever loved had to die. But I should not have fought it. I should have killed Charles myself."
— Helene Le Domas, Ready or Not
"You know what it's like for a child to be told you'll never be good enough? No you don't. What you said to me all those years ago made me realize who I really was. And you know something? I am not pure of heart."
— Dr. Sivana, SHAZAM! (2019)
"I barely had a job before! 'Farva, get the coffee, Farva, hit the radio, Farva, clean the cells!' I'm a cop, goddammit!"
— Rod Farva, Super Troopers
"For as long as I can remember, people have hated me. They looked at my face and my body and they ran away in horror. In my loneliness I decided that if I could not inspire love, which is my deepest hope, I would instead cause FEAR!"
— The Monster, Young Frankenstein
"You were the one who wanted to win, and I just wanted a sister!"
— Nebula, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
"Baxter, I have been trying to get back at my father, but I think I've a good reason for it. Dad's a prick."
Duke: The lights are growing dim, Otto. I know a life of crime has led me to this sorry fate... and yet, I blame society. Society made me what I am.
Otto: That's bullshit. You're a white suburban punk just like me.
Duke: Yeah... but it still hurts.
Otto: That's bullshit. You're a white suburban punk just like me.
Duke: Yeah... but it still hurts.
— Repo Man
"Our Billy wasn't born a criminal, Clarice. He was made one through years of systematic abuse."
— Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs
"Your mother never gave birth to you, did she? Just popped you into the sewer and split, letting you blossom into the asshole you are today!"
— Ice to Hot Dog, 1990: The Bronx Warriors
"What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Didn't Mommy and Daddy show you enough attention when you were a child?"
— Gunnery Sergeant Hartman to Private Pyle, Full Metal Jacket
"When you're hurt and scared for so long, the fear and pain turn to hate and the hate starts to change the world."
— Alessa Gillespie, Silent Hill
When you were young, and your heart was an open book
You used to say, "Live and let live"
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did...)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry...
...say live and let die...
You used to say, "Live and let live"
(You know you did, you know you did, you know you did...)
But if this ever-changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry...
...say live and let die...
"Anakin came from a desert planet, so I understood his contempt for it."
— Hayden Christensen, regarding the infamous "I don't like sand" line from Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Nova: They took my grandfather. That's why I really hate sharks.
Matt: Now I really hate sharks too.
"All our lives we've lived with death hanging over us! Why? Why shouldn't they know what it feels like for a change, Michael?"
— Milo, Morbius (2022)
Literature
"Nothing made him that way. No matter what terrible things happened in his life, no matter what dreadful hungers rose up from his soul, he chose to act on those desires, he chose to do the things he did. He's responsible for his own actions, and no one else."
— Bean, Shadow of the Hegemon
People cling to their rotten memories, to all their misfortunes, and you can't pry them loose. These things keep them busy. They avenge themselves for the injustice of the present by smearing the future inside them with this shit. They're cowards deep down, and just. That's their nature.
— Journey to the End of the Night, by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
"My heart bleeds for him, as a child. Someone took a kid and manufactured a monster. At the same time, as an adult, he's irredeemable. As an adult, someone should blow the sick fuck out of his socks."
— Will Graham, Red Dragon
"Every man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be. What is my story now, I wonder?"
— Sand dan Glokta, The First Law
Wuher had been abandoned on Mos Eisley in early youth, a human amidst people who disliked humans. He'd been kicked about and spat upon all his squalid, hard life. His boss hated droids essentially because they didn't drink and took up unnecessary room that might be occupied by paying customers. Wuher hated everyone, but droids were the only creatures he could actually kick with impunity.
Why should I apologize for the monster I've become? No one ever apologized for making me that way.
— Little Lucknow by Nitya Prakash, nearly always attributed to The Joker or Suzuya Juuzou, but neither character has said this quote.
Live-Action TV
Charles: You must understand, he had a very terrible childhood.
Klaus: I understand. I'm having a very terrible childhood right now.
Klaus: I understand. I'm having a very terrible childhood right now.
"...but I'm afraid you have me confused with somebody who gives a crap. And it's okay, you don't need to be embarrassed. Turns out it happens all the time. For instance, my father actually made the same mistake on his deathbed."
— Dr. Cox, Scrubs, "My Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Spike: The tingling in my forearms tells me she's too far gone to help. She's one of us now. She's a monster.
Angel: She's an innocent victim.
Spike: So were we, once upon a time.
Angel: She's an innocent victim.
Spike: So were we, once upon a time.
"Mother? May I call you mother? My mother was a person with no self-respect of her own, so she tried to take mine. Ten years old, she had the scissors, you wouldn't believe what she did with those... [chuckling] She's dead to me now. Mostly 'cause I killed and ate her."
— Zachary Kralik, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Helpless"
Monica: This is so bizarre. I guess it kinda makes sense though, you know, she had such a terrible childhood.
Chandler: I had a terrible childhood and I don't do porn.
Monica: Yes, but you're dead inside.
Chandler: I had a terrible childhood and I don't do porn.
Monica: Yes, but you're dead inside.
"My relationship with my daughter is going to affect her relationships with men for the rest of her life. Every man in here has dated a woman with some daddy issues. That shit ain't fun. She givin' you a hard time over something that her daddy did in 1969."
— Chris Rock, Never Scared
"You'd think it was because my parents didn't love me, but actually, they loved me a great deal."
— Raj, The Big Bang Theory
"It doesn't justify it... but it might explain it."
— Detective Olivia Benson, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
"What else could I have been? My father was a half-crazed military failure, my mother was a bitch-queen from hell. Yes, I admit I'm nothing. But from what I started with, nothing is up."
— Arnold Rimmer, Red Dwarf
"What'd I do wrong? I did everything you asked me to. I hurt people. Killed people. For you."
— Jason Neville, Revolution
Prince Ludwig: With your information, gentlemen, I intend to kill your queen and take over your country. The Master of Disguise shall become the Master... of ze world! [Evil Laugh]
Edmund Blackadder: Oh, just one thing Ludwig, before you go.
Prince Ludwig: What?
Edmund Blackadder: Were you ever bullied at school?
Prince Ludwig: [suddenly tense] What do you mean?
Edmund Blackadder: Well, all this ranting and raving about power. There must be some reason for it.
Prince Ludwig: Nonsense, no. At my school, having dirty hair and spots was a sign of maturity.
Edmund Blackadder: I thought so, and I bet your mother made you wear shorts right up to your final year!
Prince Ludwig: Shut up! Shut up! When I am King of England, no one will call me "Shorty Greasy Spot-Spot" again!
Edmund Blackadder: Oh, just one thing Ludwig, before you go.
Prince Ludwig: What?
Edmund Blackadder: Were you ever bullied at school?
Prince Ludwig: [suddenly tense] What do you mean?
Edmund Blackadder: Well, all this ranting and raving about power. There must be some reason for it.
Prince Ludwig: Nonsense, no. At my school, having dirty hair and spots was a sign of maturity.
Edmund Blackadder: I thought so, and I bet your mother made you wear shorts right up to your final year!
Prince Ludwig: Shut up! Shut up! When I am King of England, no one will call me "Shorty Greasy Spot-Spot" again!
"I didn't do it for her. I did it for me. That's why I still wear these. To remind myself that I'm not cruel for the sake of cruelty! That I'm not my father! That I'm not a monster! [Beat] Am I?"
— Wilson Fisk, Daredevil (2015)
Nothing is ever anyone's fault
John Wayne Gacy was hit by his dad
Exactly! It wasn't technically Hitler's fault!
Hitler's brother died and that made him super sad
It's hard to paint people with evil or glory
When you know that everyone's got a tragic backstory!
John Wayne Gacy was hit by his dad
Exactly! It wasn't technically Hitler's fault!
Hitler's brother died and that made him super sad
It's hard to paint people with evil or glory
When you know that everyone's got a tragic backstory!
"Boy, I love meeting people's moms. It's like reading an instruction manual as to why they're nuts."
— Ted Lasso, Ted Lasso
"You see, that's why your father has so many... issues. He allowed his father to die for a crime he committed!"
— Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood, "Sins of the Father"
Marty's Conscience: You're throwing your life away.
Marty Slash: Life? What life? You mean being a Goddamn gofer for a bunch of drooling morons just because they can play three chords on a guitar? "Marty! Marty, these-these groupies are too ugly, Marty!" "Oh, Marty! This chicken isn't extra crispy enough, Marty!" "Marty, we told you we don't like red ones in the M&M bowl, MARTY"! For TWELVE YEARS, it's been "Marty" this and "Marty" that! And I got nothing to show for it. That is, until NOW!
Marty Slash: Life? What life? You mean being a Goddamn gofer for a bunch of drooling morons just because they can play three chords on a guitar? "Marty! Marty, these-these groupies are too ugly, Marty!" "Oh, Marty! This chicken isn't extra crispy enough, Marty!" "Marty, we told you we don't like red ones in the M&M bowl, MARTY"! For TWELVE YEARS, it's been "Marty" this and "Marty" that! And I got nothing to show for it. That is, until NOW!
Music
If they'd called him a brother
Or a neighbor or a cousin
Then the world would be less
One angry young man
But they called him little nigger boy
When he was but a tike
So he grew up to be
An angry young man
Or a neighbor or a cousin
Then the world would be less
One angry young man
But they called him little nigger boy
When he was but a tike
So he grew up to be
An angry young man
— Les Claypool, "Ding Dang"
I grew up in a wild hood, as a hazardous youth
with a fucked-up childhood, that I used as an excuse
with a fucked-up childhood, that I used as an excuse
— Eminem, "Bad Influence"
I was born in the rotten part of the town
The biggest trap I've seen
herever you'll go and wherever you'll get to
Evil is all around
My mother's a bitch, my father's a killer
Gettin' paid for a murder
Fightin' and strugglin' the whole day
The only way to survive
Wanted from law but they'll never catch me
I'd much rather die in this bloody war
The biggest trap I've seen
herever you'll go and wherever you'll get to
Evil is all around
My mother's a bitch, my father's a killer
Gettin' paid for a murder
Fightin' and strugglin' the whole day
The only way to survive
Wanted from law but they'll never catch me
I'd much rather die in this bloody war
— Helloween, "Victim of Fate"
"And I've looked at it from your side
And I've looked at it from mine
And I know you had a hard time, when you were only nine
But that was long ago, and now there's just no denyin'
You're an asshole
And I've looked at it from mine
And I know you had a hard time, when you were only nine
But that was long ago, and now there's just no denyin'
You're an asshole
— Jim's Big Ego, "Asshole"
Why do you treat me this way?
And why do you try so hard to break my spirit?
I think someone was mean to you,
When you were little,
That's what I think
I think someone was mean to you
And why do you try so hard to break my spirit?
I think someone was mean to you,
When you were little,
That's what I think
I think someone was mean to you
— the Mountain Goats, "Pseudothyrum Song"
It's not his fault that he can't behave
Society's made him go astray
Perhaps if we're nice he'll go away...
Society's made him go astray
Perhaps if we're nice he'll go away...
— Oingo Boingo, "Only A Lad"
I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me!
(He's just a poor boy from a poor family!
Spare him his life from this monstrosity)
(He's just a poor boy from a poor family!
Spare him his life from this monstrosity)
— Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
This world may have failed you
It doesn't give you a reason why
You could have chosen a different path in life
It doesn't give you a reason why
You could have chosen a different path in life
— Within Temptation, "Angels"
I'm only human, after all
I'm only human, after all
Don't put the blame on me...
I'm only human, after all
Don't put the blame on me...
— Rag'n'Bone Man, "Human"
Poetry
They fuck you up, your mum and dad;
They might not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had,
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
They might not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had,
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
— Philip Larkin, "This Be the Verse"
Theatre
My daddy is a bastard
My ma's an SOB
My grandad's always plastered
My granny pushes tea
My sister wears a moustache
My brother wears a dress
Goodness gracious, that's why I'm a mess!
My ma's an SOB
My grandad's always plastered
My granny pushes tea
My sister wears a moustache
My brother wears a dress
Goodness gracious, that's why I'm a mess!
"Feeling for humanity, gentlemen, is cut for the purse of an ordinary millionaire; with financial resources like mine you can afford a new world order. The world turned me into a whore. I shall turn the world into a brothel."
— Claire Zachanassian, The Visit
Video Games
"Listen. You have NO idea how awful he was to me. HE'S the reason I have CONSTANT back pain. I LITERALLY ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF ALL THE CRAP HE FORCED ME TO DO TO BECOME 'A MAN'. If it wasn't for his awful parenting I wouldn't have left and I'd be living a happy life in a happy home but I can't have that. I have to go out of my way to get what I want. You don't know what it's like! I just want him to SUFFER. Just ONCE. Just so HE can see what it's like. To be ME. Is that bad?"
— Gale Ravena, The Brains And The Brawn
"I'm sorry, I had a difficult childhood!"
— Carl "CJ" Johnson when performing a carjacking, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
"Look, this is all I've got, alright? I had a tough upbringing. My daddy was not nice to me!"
"My country lay within a vast desert. When the sun rose into the sky a burning wind punished my lands, searing the world. And when the moon climbed into the dark of night, a frigid gale pierced our homes. No matter when it came the wind carried the same thing... Death. But the winds that blew across the green fields of Hyrule brought something other than suffering and ruin. I... coveted that wind, I suppose."
— Ganondorf, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
"I assume you think it's sinister to hold an ancient grudge,
But understand, it cost my hand, so don't be quick to judge!
A Musky Husky mangled it and chewed it like a shoe,
He thought it was some sausages, so now this glove must do!"
But understand, it cost my hand, so don't be quick to judge!
A Musky Husky mangled it and chewed it like a shoe,
He thought it was some sausages, so now this glove must do!"
— Dr. Strangeglove, "The Doctor Will See You Now", Moshi Monsters
, Moshi Monsters"All assassins are fucked up somehow, or we wouldn't be in this profession."
— Travis Touchdown, No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
"It's always been like this... all those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me...! I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong about demanding a reward for that!?"
— Shadow Kamoshida, Persona 5
"You're right... I'm a poor, ugly... idiot... How am I supposed to live a normal life like this...? It's all because of our society! Weak people can't live a happy life, no matter what they do! I'm a victim too, you know!? Yeah, none of this is my fault!"
— Shadow Kaneshiro, Persona 5
"The one little catch was that the head coach of the camp was stealing campers' brains and putting them inside armored death tanks that I guess he was gonna use to take over the world or something. I went into his mind and found out he just had issues with his father. I mean, who doesn't, right?"
— Razputin Aquato, Psychonauts 2
"I never really knew my cousin, Maria. Everyone spoke of her like she was very special. All that love for someone who was gone when I! Was! Right! There!"
Tippi: Why does it have to end like this...
Count Bleck: Timpani... When you vanished, I searched long for you. I never gave up looking... I searched and searched... But I never found you. Without you, the world held no meaning or joy... So I used the forbidden prophecy of the Tribe of Ancients to end all worlds. I wanted to destroy everything that had taken you away from me...
Count Bleck: Timpani... When you vanished, I searched long for you. I never gave up looking... I searched and searched... But I never found you. Without you, the world held no meaning or joy... So I used the forbidden prophecy of the Tribe of Ancients to end all worlds. I wanted to destroy everything that had taken you away from me...
Marina: The hero of any story is always the least interesting character! Heroes wouldn't even exist if there were no villains to shake things up!
Pearl: Villains wouldn't exist if their parents hugged them when they were kids!
Pearl: Villains wouldn't exist if their parents hugged them when they were kids!
"Blair is certainly an interesting case. She's definitely a delinquent type, constantly disrupting class and struggling to keep her average above a D. I'm assuming it's due to her growing up without a second parent, and from the few phone calls home I had to make to her father, I can say with complete certainly he's a piece of work."
—Blair Gardener's student profile, Turtle Head: Unmasked
Supergirl: Nobody trusts you, do they?
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan): We've all made mistakes.
Supergirl: Sounds like you also make excuses.
Green Lantern (Hal Jordan): We've all made mistakes.
Supergirl: Sounds like you also make excuses.
Webcomics
"When I was young, I was the smallest and the weakest. They never let me play in all their halfling games, like Throw the Rock, or Throw the Stick, or Throw the Rock and Then the Stick Shortly Thereafter. All I wanted was to grow up to be a big strong adventurer and go out into the world where I would be accepted. And then, someday, I could return to my home village... and brutally murder them in their dreamless sleep."
— Belkar Bitterleaf fakes a tragic backstory for roleplaying xp, The Order of the Stick
, The Order of the Stick"This one's for you, Mom. Fire the catapults!"
"In order to realistically portray such a comfort zone, then, try creating a reason why the character has whatever emotional response you are giving him. The single best way to do this is through childhood experience."
Such a tortured past, such a tortured past,
So much disappointment, happiness never lasts
Day after day with nothing going my way
This tortured past is how a monster is made.
An ice cream cone dropped at my feet
A game of Tic-Tac-Toe that ended in defeat
A beloved goldfish that ended up dying
An under-heated hot-pocket, so unsatisfying
A girl I loved in college didn't love me back
Walking in my socks and I stepped on a tack
That's how a monster is made.
So much disappointment, happiness never lasts
Day after day with nothing going my way
This tortured past is how a monster is made.
An ice cream cone dropped at my feet
A game of Tic-Tac-Toe that ended in defeat
A beloved goldfish that ended up dying
An under-heated hot-pocket, so unsatisfying
A girl I loved in college didn't love me back
Walking in my socks and I stepped on a tack
That's how a monster is made.
"Look, I didn't have a dad either, and I turned out... [Beat Panel] Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that..."
Web Original
Chris: Lionel lies to his son about where Clark was while the holding facility was being blown up and then literally tells his son that there are dozens of people in the world that are out to get him. PARENTING!
David: AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY LEX IS AN ASSHOLE. SERIOUSLY.
Chris: Isn't there something we read about how Ollie used to bully him at school, too?
David: Yeah, and he was really bullying and dismissive towards Lex in this episode as well for basically no reason. He's had an absolutely terrible life, and superheroes have constantly been picking on him basically for no reason.
David: AND PEOPLE WONDER WHY LEX IS AN ASSHOLE. SERIOUSLY.
Chris: Isn't there something we read about how Ollie used to bully him at school, too?
David: Yeah, and he was really bullying and dismissive towards Lex in this episode as well for basically no reason. He's had an absolutely terrible life, and superheroes have constantly been picking on him basically for no reason.
Cop: So, I pulled you over, because there’s five bloody limbs hanging out of your trunk, you were driving 150 mph in a stolen car, you mowed down a litter of kittens, your backseat is filled with weed you stole from a medical marijuana dispensary, you reek of a Lohan and worst of all, you're blasting a Carly Rae Jepsen song.
OctoKid: My mom is OctoMom and I watched her porn when I was 11.
'Cop': Have a good night, sir. Drive safe. Do you need a police escort to the strip club?
OctoKid: My mom is OctoMom and I watched her porn when I was 11.
'Cop': Have a good night, sir. Drive safe. Do you need a police escort to the strip club?
— Michael K., "That 11-year-old kid just won a free pass to do whatever the hell he wants"
, "That 11-year-old kid just won a free pass to do whatever the hell he wants""The Worms have plenty of twyrine available — for a price. All they ask for in return are healthy human organs. The trade screen comes up, and my heart sinks. I don’t have nearly enough to trade for the ten herbs required by the man at the tavern. I barely have enough for one.
I hurry back to town, my mind racing. I have to get enough twyrine to keep prices low for myself in the future. I have to. Where am I going to come up with enough organs to satisfy the Worms? The knife-wielding maniacs only come out at night. Everyone else is just a regular townsperson. They’re unarmed, innocent people.
But I need those organs. I need them now."
I hurry back to town, my mind racing. I have to get enough twyrine to keep prices low for myself in the future. I have to. Where am I going to come up with enough organs to satisfy the Worms? The knife-wielding maniacs only come out at night. Everyone else is just a regular townsperson. They’re unarmed, innocent people.
But I need those organs. I need them now."
— kevin's Let's Play of Pathologic
Lea: Why did you join the organization that wants to destroy the world?
Saïx: I was jealous.
Lea: Understandable.
Saïx: I was jealous.
Lea: Understandable.
Baking the Wondertart
Is such a simple task
It's not enough to make the stuff
I'll eat it, at long last!
The flavor of the suffering
The anguish, and the tears
Will be my pay for the awful way
I was treated all these years!
"Make me cake, say, baker man!"
"Make a donut if you can!"
"Make me French bread, I don't care
If it's nighttime— just get out there!"
"No rest, no peace, you can't slow down!"
"Share your labor with the town!"
Won't be pushed around!
I have toiled!
But this island's spoiled!
My fury BOILS!
They will know the way it feels
To be treated like a meal
When they drown!
Is such a simple task
It's not enough to make the stuff
I'll eat it, at long last!
The flavor of the suffering
The anguish, and the tears
Will be my pay for the awful way
I was treated all these years!
"Make me cake, say, baker man!"
"Make a donut if you can!"
"Make me French bread, I don't care
If it's nighttime— just get out there!"
"No rest, no peace, you can't slow down!"
"Share your labor with the town!"
Won't be pushed around!
I have toiled!
But this island's spoiled!
My fury BOILS!
They will know the way it feels
To be treated like a meal
When they drown!
Western Animation
"Not even in this order, you shot me, shattered both my femurs, cornholed both my fiancees, got me turned into a robot, left to me to die in outer freakin' space, and also, blew me up in a grain elevator!"
— Barry Dylan, Archer
"I'm just saying, considering [Zuko's] messed-up family and the way he was raised, he could have turned out a lot worse."
— Toph, Avatar: The Last Airbender, "The Western Air Temple"
Is Azula really as evil as she seems? Or is there more to her?
Michael Dante DiMartino: As all the Avatar characters, even Azula has a softer side, though it's buried very deep. As "The Beach" and "Sozin's Comet" showed, she has a lot of unresolved issues with her mother. She really feels that her mother didn't love her as much as Zuko, and this drives her crazy, literally.
Bryan Konietzko: There are obviously some truly evil people in the world, but in the case of Azula, her repressed emotions and jealousies corroded her spirit and made her become that way. It is possible that she could have turned out better in a healthier environment, but growing up in a royal family of a nation seeking world domination proved to exacerbate her problems. But Zuko and Katara spared her life, and who knows she might have a chance to heal after the war.
Michael Dante DiMartino: As all the Avatar characters, even Azula has a softer side, though it's buried very deep. As "The Beach" and "Sozin's Comet" showed, she has a lot of unresolved issues with her mother. She really feels that her mother didn't love her as much as Zuko, and this drives her crazy, literally.
Bryan Konietzko: There are obviously some truly evil people in the world, but in the case of Azula, her repressed emotions and jealousies corroded her spirit and made her become that way. It is possible that she could have turned out better in a healthier environment, but growing up in a royal family of a nation seeking world domination proved to exacerbate her problems. But Zuko and Katara spared her life, and who knows she might have a chance to heal after the war.
— Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle, Page 63, describing Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender
"Don't pretend you know what it felt like. The Avatar is adored by millions. I was cast aside by my own parents like I was nothing to them. How could I just stand by and watch the same thing happen to my nation when it needed someone to guide it?"
— Kuvira to Korra, The Legend of Korra
"Backstory! Backstory! Backstory! The backstory is what drives an evil scientist. It is the 'Why does he do what he does?' of the 'What does he do?'"
— Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Phineas and Ferb
Announcer: Lord Darkar. The malevolent ruler of the UnderRealm. What makes him so evil?
Bloom: I think he's just misunderstood.
Lord Darkar: There's no misunderstanding. It's just... I'm pure evil!
Stella: I think what Darkar needs is a girlfriend!
Lord Darkar: OK, first of all, I have a girlfriend, but she lives far away. And second, I'm EVIL!
Bloom: I think he's just misunderstood.
Lord Darkar: There's no misunderstanding. It's just... I'm pure evil!
Stella: I think what Darkar needs is a girlfriend!
Lord Darkar: OK, first of all, I have a girlfriend, but she lives far away. And second, I'm EVIL!
— Winx Club, Lord Darkar advertisement
Saw his own dimension burn.
Misses home, but can't return.
Says he's happy. He's a liar.
Blame the arson for the fire.
Misses home, but can't return.
Says he's happy. He's a liar.
Blame the arson for the fire.
— The Axolotl, talking about Bill Cipher, Gravity Falls: Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure!
Stripperella: Why do you hate models so much?
Dr. Cesarian: Why? Because my whole life beautiful girls have spurned my advances. I vowed that one day I would make them all pay.
Stripperella: So just because—
Dr. Cesarian: Also, my mother was a model, she ran off when I was five; I declared then and there that I would make all models pay.
Stripperella: But what are—
Dr. Cesarian: Also, I once had a promising career as a model. I had a scholarship to go to modeling college and everything, but then I became horribly disfigured in a modeling accident and they said I would never model again, and I vowed to make them all pay! Oh — also, my grandparents were killed by models.
Stripperella: I'll admit, you definitely have some valid reasons for not liking models.
Dr. Cesarian: Why? Because my whole life beautiful girls have spurned my advances. I vowed that one day I would make them all pay.
Stripperella: So just because—
Dr. Cesarian: Also, my mother was a model, she ran off when I was five; I declared then and there that I would make all models pay.
Stripperella: But what are—
Dr. Cesarian: Also, I once had a promising career as a model. I had a scholarship to go to modeling college and everything, but then I became horribly disfigured in a modeling accident and they said I would never model again, and I vowed to make them all pay! Oh — also, my grandparents were killed by models.
Stripperella: I'll admit, you definitely have some valid reasons for not liking models.
— Stripperella, "Beauty and the Obese Part II"
"I always wanted a fire truck when I was little. I never got one. That's why I'm evil, heheheheheh!"
— Zorak, Cartoon Planet
"When I was a little boy, my mother brought me to the county fair — there was a Ferris Wheel, a big, beautiful thing, and you had to be a certain height to ride it, and of course, I was too short. But my mother would always say 'Patience, Eddie! I'm sure next year you're gonna be big enough!' Lemme tell ya right now, the next year rolled around, and I hadn't gotten any taller! Years went by. I hung upside-down by my ankles for hours! I took growth hormones — anything to ride that big wheel in the sky! I never did get there. But then, one day, something very unexpected happened. All those people fell to their deaths! And it was a RUSH! I thought it was so satisfying to watch all those people die! And that's when I decided to hate women."
— Dr. Psycho, Harley Quinn (2019), "A Fight Worth Fighting For"
"Wow. I'm starting to see why you're so fucked up, Reagan. There are layers."
— Magic Myc, after watching Reagan's parents argue, Inside Job (2021)
Real Life
"For the last eight years of my life, ever since I hit puberty, I've been forced to endure an existence of loneliness, rejection and unfulfilled desires all because girls have never been attracted to me. Girls gave their affection, and sex and love to other men, but never to me."
— Elliot Rodger, before committing the Isla Vista massacre
"The more the drive toward life is thwarted, the stronger is the drive toward destruction; the more life is realized, the less is the strength of destructiveness. Destructiveness is the outcome of unlived life."
— Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom
"Wherever an inferiority complex exists, there is a good reason for it."
— Carl Jung
"I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things. And no, don't... say, "Well that's your fault," because it isn't, you people had my phone #, and I asked and all, but no. No no no don't let the weird-looking Eric KID come along."
— Eric Harris, before committing the Columbine High School massacre with Dylan Klebold
"Life has wronged me, sir."
— Luke Woodham, after being asked why he committed a school shooting
"Why did you beat me so hard?"
— Josef Stalin to his mother in her later years (her response was "That's why you turned out so well")
"A tiny child with a high voice, he can be seen silently mouthing the other player's lines like Sheep #4 in the school nativity while he waits his turn. During this first season, Dustin Diamond was 12 to Elizabeth Berkley's 17. At that age, with the yawning bridge of puberty between them, that's effectively a million years. I think to how otherworldly and grown-up the sixth-form girls seemed when I was a curly headed little fuck in my first year of senior school. This dark undercurrent of Dustin Diamond as the gurning outsider of an older, heart-throb cast will return, time and again, as we move on through the years."
— Stuart Millard, So Excited, So Scared: The Saved by the Bell Retrospective
The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.
— African proverb
I don’t think that every villain in the world actually thinks they’re being a good guy, but I do think that everybody creates a value system that justifies the actions they’re taking, and and I think there’s a difference between those two things. Not everybody believes that they’re on the side of righteousness, but everybody has a way of justifying the actions they’re taking. Not every villain has to be a misunderstood hero, and in fact I think there are a lot of instances throughout history of people who were obviously doing the wrong thing and probably had an understanding of that on some level, but had some rationale or justification for it.
— Brennan Lee Mulligan (quoted here)
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