Quotes / Tragic Villain

Anime & Manga

"I no longer trust anything anymore. I trust nothing. I believe in no one. I am my own master!"

— Prince Demande, Sailor Moon Crystal

Unico: I should have know, I've never had a chance against him.
Lord Kuruku: What are you talking about? This is more than a scratch.
Unico: But I had no idea I hardly touched you. I'm sorry.
Lord Kuruku: (yells) Why are you saying that you're sorry!? Why!?
Unico: Because I feel sorry for you.
Lord Kuruku: You feel... what do you mean you feel sorry for me?
Unico: I'm sorry that you're full of... so much hate. You think that all people are your enemies but that's only because you've never had a friend.
Lord Kuruku: Did you say a friend?
Unico: I know how important friends are. That's why I understand you.
Lord Kuruku: (getting weak) Please stop it, the idea of being someone's friend. It's making me feel quite ill. (shrieks)
Unico: I know what happened to you long ago, I know that some people treated you badly. If you had a friend you'd know not everyone's like that. You must be very lonely.
Lord Kuruku: LONELY!! He says that I'm lonely! But don't you understand? I hate people, I d-o-o-o-o-o!!!

— Unico talking to Kuruku, Unico in the Island of Magic

Comic Books

Donald: Those beings... They were so many, and I was there, alone... And also, their eyes... they were terrifying, One...

One: They were scary, uh?

Donald: Worse, One... they were pitiful. And, instead of helping them, I can only fight them. How can I feel a hero?

— Paperinik New Adventures

"I know...something of grief. Search throughout my homeland, you will find none who bear my name. Mine was a large family, and it was slaughtered - without mercy, without remorse. So speak not to me of grief boy. You know not the meaning of the word!"

— Magneto, Uncanny X-Men

Fan Works

Discord: "I knew you’d have some excuse! I thought, maybe, just maybe I could be happy. Or find someone to care about me. But…” he opened to a marked page and held it out. “I’m your ‘favorite villain?!!’ I exist so the damn ponies can have a force to balance against?!"

Arachnos: "Discord, please, if I can-"

Discord: "I thought it was bad enough when your precious little ponies treated me like a pariah just for looking different. I thought it was bad enough when Sunbutt declared me a monster. But after all that, to come back here and find that the only reason I exist is because my bucking father wanted me to be a monster… well." (Beat) "I GUESS THAT MEANS I SHOULD BE ONE!!!"

— Discord completing his Start of Darkness, After Death, Creation

"I had nothing and nopony to begin with. So what if I die alone? It's my funeral anyway. My whole life I kicked, I screamed, I raised Tartarus, and I always knew that when it all finally killed me, I’d smile as I left because I at least did something."

— King Sombra, Don't Let the Darkness Consume Me

Qrow: I'm sorry, kid. You don't deserve all this.
Jaune: I don't. No one does. But since no one will stand up for us, I have to.
Qrow: Nicholas wouldn't have wanted you to become like this...
Jaune: Dad wouldn't have wanted to die! He wouldn't have wanted us to be experimented on, tortured and used like lab rats! Don't you dare tell me what he would and wouldn't have wanted me to do. I'm here for my sister.

— Jaune Arc, Null

"What ever happened to those days?" Blueblood whispered, running a hoof across the picture. He was so innocent, so...happy. He sighed, choking back tears as he placed the items back into the box. He gently laid the dagger inside, and closed the box. "I'm sorry." He said, placing the box back into its hiding place. But, he wondered, who was he apologizing too. Was it Princess Twilight, the mare who he had conspired to murder? Or was it his younger self, that playful colt that was always smiling, always laughing? He sighed, burying the box once again, albeit quickly, sloppily. He stood up, fixing his mane. He ran his hoof across his cheek, finding the remnants of a tear."

With one last glance at the tree, he turned, and trotted back to his chambers, head bowed low.

— Rise From Betrayal

"Why must this have happened to me? What must I have done to deserve this? Am I a monster, or still a mare? Must I follow this ‘master’ and return to my home, as this disgusting abomination? Will Seirbigh still see me as Crystal Charm, or a demon of the seas? I still love him, but will he still love me? And what did that monster mean by me creating my own Changelings and surviving without a life of my own? Must I kill and turn the innocent into abominations like me, all for the pleasure of some mysterious creature of the deep? I can no longer trust what life tells me to do, for it is gone and replaced with the wishes of that foul beast. My body and soul say no, and yet, at the same time, it desires for me to return to my love, no matter the costs. I must go to Trihearth, I shall return to my home, and I will reunite with Seirbigh."

— Crystal Charm/Queen Chrysalis, The Tragedy of Queen Chrysalis

"Princess Crystal Charm, once the heir of the Forest Kingdom, once to be married to the love of her life, once to have a great life set for her, now a monster that despises love and friendship. As queen of the Changelings, she and her army began their global campaign of destruction. Fitting to the disguises of loved ones, the Changelings toppled kingdoms left and right, devouring every grain of each country’s love and growing their army. However, despite Queen Chrysalis’ finest efforts, she’ll never be able to let go of the betrayal of Seirbigh. There will always be a void in her soul, and no matter how much love she consumes, she’ll always remained tortured and desire more, for the rest of her eternal days."

— The Tragedy of Queen Chrysalis

"You understand?!" Platinum fired a spell that knocked Trixie onto her back with a surprised yelp. "You understand nothing! You were born with nothing! You had your little show taken from you? You lost your dear love to your own stupidity? Try losing your entire kingdom! Try watching helplessly as your subjects fall before you, and somepony else saves their lives! Try watching those same subjects choose some outsider over the family that had led them for several generations!
"Try watching everything you've worked towards crumble, and know that you're powerless to stop it!" Tears streamed down Platinum's cheeks as Trixie rose to her hooves. In a low whisper, she added, "Try watching your two best friends in the whole world betray you… and then watching one of them murdered by the very pony who turned them against you."
"Queen Platinum, it was not I who murdered Chancellor Puddinghead," Princess Celestia said.
"You were the one who got into his mind, and convinced him to join your side! If it wasn't for you and your damn tribe, the three of us would have been friends forever! YOU. RUINED. EVERYTHING!''"

— Unicornia

"That is my tragedy, princess. I am the only one left who puts any value on loyalty. But I am alone in this world and have nobody left to be loyal to. I would've been honoured to call Discord my friend if I had met him in his prime... Instead, I met the weasel wearing that old legend's skin who aligned himself with your pitiful lot. If he had remained loyal, he would've arrested me, and I would be alone. If he betrayed you for me, as he did, it would've helped propel me back into power, but I still would've been alone in the end. And here I am now. Scorpan did this. He is the reason I am alone in the world. He is the reason I can never trust again. He's the reason I can never call anybody a friend again. Because I'm on my own in a world of traitors, and if there is anybody left who cares about loyalty, then they're not on my side."

— Lord Tirek, World of Traitors

Film — Animated

Tai Lung: You knew I was the Dragon Warrior! You always knew. But when Oogway said otherwise, what did you do? What did you do?! NOTHING!
Shifu: You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior! That was not my fault!
Tai Lung: Not. Your. FAULT?! Who filled my head with dreams?! Who drove me to train until my bones cracked?! WHO DENIED ME MY DESTINY!?! All I ever did, I did to make you PROUD! Tell me how proud you are, Shifu! Tell me! TELL ME!

— Kung Fu Panda

Lord Shen: My parents hated me, do you understand? They wronged me and... I will make it right.

Soothsayer: They loved you. They loved you so much that having to send you away killed them.

Lord Shen: (pauses in shock) The dead exist in the past and I must tend to the future.

— Kung Fu Panda 2

I shall possess
My one happiness
The power I covet
And who wouldn't love it?
Would you?
Now would you dare try me
And would you deny me what's mine?

—The Jester, Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return

"Once Upon a Time, long ago, there was a little girl who was different from the other people in her village. She could see and do things that no one could understand! And that made them scared of her! She turned away from everyone and became sad and lonely, and had no one to turn to! The more she turned away from people, the more scared they were of her. And they did something terrible! They became so scared that they took her away and they killed her! And even though she was dead, something in her came back! And this part of her, wouldn't go away even after three hundred years! And the longer it stayed, the less there was of the little girl."

— Norman Babcock, describing Agatha "Aggie" Prenderghast in ParaNorman

Agatha: Aggie... My name was Aggie... I - I remember... My mommy brought me here once. We sat under the tree and she told me stories. They all had happy endings. Then those horrible men came and took me away and I never saw her again!
Norman: Sometimes when people get scared, they say and do terrible things. I think you got so scared that you forgot who you are. But I don't think you're a witch. Not really.
Agatha: You don't?
Norman: I think you're just a little kid with a really special gift who only ever wanted people to understand her. So we're not all that different at all.
Agatha: But what about the people who hurt you? Don't you ever want to make them suffer?
Norman: Well, yeah, but what good would that do? You think just because there's bad people that there's no good ones either? I thought the same thing for a while. But there's always someone out there for you. Somewhere.
Agatha: I just want my mommy.
Norman: I'm sorry, Aggie. She's gone.
Agatha: That story you were telling. How does it end?
Norman: I think that's up to you.
Agatha: Is this where they buried me?
Norman: It's a pretty good place to sleep. Then you can be with your mom again. Sleep tight.

— ParaNorman

"I have been so lost for so long. Please, forgive me. I couldn't bear to see my son suffering so much. I couldn't bear it."

— Macha the Owl Witch to Ben, Song of the Sea

Here in the garden
Let's play a game
I'll show you how it's done
Here in the garden
Stand very still
"This'll be so much fun!"
And then she smiled, that's what I'm after
A smile in her eyes, the sound of her laughter
Happy to listen
Happy to play
Happily watching her drift away
Happily waiting
All on my own
Under the endless sky
Counting the seconds, standing alone
As thousands of years go by
Happily wondering, night after night
Is this how it works?
Am I doing it right?
Happy to listen
Happy to stay
Happily watching her drift away...

—-Spinel, Steven Universe: The Movie

Film — Live-Action

Thanos: Daughter?

Gamora: Did you do it?

Thanos: Yes.

Gamora: What did it cost?

Thanos: ...Everything.

— Thanos to a visage of Gamora as a child within the Soul Stone, Avengers: Infinity War

"Old pops said Wakanda was the most beautiful thing he’s even seen. He promised he was gonna show it to me one day. Do you believe that? Kid from Oakland, runnin' around believing in fairytales."

— Erik Killmonger, Black Panther (2018)

T'Challa: Is this all you wanted, to see them rip each other apart?
Zemo: My father lived outside the city. I thought they would be safe there. My son was excited; he could see the Iron Man from the car window. I told my wife, "Don't worry. They're fighting in the city. We're miles from harm". And the dust cleared... and the screaming stopped... it took me two days until I found their bodies. My father... still holding my wife and son in his arms. And the Avengers? They went home. I knew I couldn't kill them; more powerful men than me have tried. But if I could get them to kill each other... I'm sorry about your father. He seemed a good man, with a dutiful son.
T'Challa: Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them. I am done letting it consume me.

— Captain America: Civil War

"Ten years, I devoted to the duty you charged me! Ten years, I looked after those who died at sea! And finally, when we could be together again... You! Weren't! There!"

— Davy Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Literature

"It would perhaps not be amiss to point out that he had always tried to be a good dog. [...] He had never wanted to kill anybody. He had been struck by something, possibly destiny, or fate, or only a degenerative nerve disease called rabies. Free will was not a factor."

— Cujo

"I guess things have kind of turned upside down. That whole Superhero thing I told you about, before? It… really didn’t work out."

— Taylor Hebert at her mother's grave, Worm

Live-Action TV

"Life isn't always fair. Sometimes, the world can be cruel. And that's why you have to learn to be cruel yourselves."

— John Kreese to his students, Cobra Kai

"Listen, Chase. You and me have a lot more in common than you think. I know what it's like to be unappreciated. To have a sibling who always steals the spotlight! I know how hard it's been for you, and I can help. You were the third one. By the time I got to you, I knew how to build compasities for upgrades, but my brother took you away before I can finish! Join me, Chase. I can help you be all that you were meant to be."

— Douglas Davenport, Lab Rats

Music

Now I'm not looking for absolution
Forgiveness for the things I do
But before you come to any conclusions
Try walking in my shoes
Try walking in my shoes, you'll stumble in my footsteps
Keep the same appointments I kept
If you try walking in my shoes

— Depeche Mode, "Walking In My Shoes"

You're walkin' down the street one night, a man pulls a gun

He didn't want to rob you, but it had to be done

His business and his family are being destroyed

His American dream has become null and void

—Randyandy, "The People Livin' In The USA"

"Crazy madmen on a leash or young men who lost their way?"

—Sabaton, "Wehrmacht"

Video Games

Mr. Freeze: Nothing matters. Do you understand? Nothing but my Nora!
Batman: You've endangered lives all over this city. Nora would never have wanted this!
Mr. Freeze: No. (Stares longingly at his wife) What she wants is to live a long life in the warmth of the sun, her hand in mine. But because of him, she'll only feel the icy touch of a man whose emotions run as cold as the blood in his veins!

— Batman: Arkham Origins - Cold, Cold Heart

"Evil is just a word. Under the skin, it's simple pain."

— Eleanor Lamb, BioShock 2

"Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye. And the world just fucking watched. Tomorrow, there will be no shortage of volunteers, no shortage of patriots. I know you understand."

—General Shepherd, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

"No. I will not allow another Red Canyon tragedy to happen here."

—Archbishop Rhea, Fire Emblem: Three Houses

"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

"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 to Tippi, Super Paper Mario

"I should have seen this coming. Ever since I came to this nacho-flavored shithole of a planet, I've been betrayed by everybody I gave a rat's ass about. My boss, my girlfriend, hell... my goddamn daughter. Maybe I deserved it... the road to hell is paved with good intentions, right? And the ones you love litter the roadside... oh, it's all just so... exhausting."

— Holo-Jack during Chapter 5, Tales from the Borderlands

I hurt her so bad. My son, Adam, went missing. I took him out hunting even though my wife said he was too young. I figured he had to learn. I came back without him and the look on her face said "You are a MONSTER." We all went out looking for him. We never found him. I hurt her so bad. And then we came back and all our stuff was gone. Your people, Lee. That asshole with a ball cap. His stupid f-cking wife. I could've earned her trust back if they hadn't made our situation so desperate. The hungrier we got the more she blamed me. Until she finally took our daughter, Elizabeth, and left. They didn't get far... I... found them a day later. In the road.

—The Stranger, The Walking Dead(Video Game)

"While I was under his control, I realised something. Egil once wished only to break the circle of suffering, he believed that if blood was spilt now a new world would be born. But something terrible happened and now, now he is consumed with vengeance."

— Xenoblade Chronicles 1

N: You cannot hope to win. Not while I stand here, at the brink of the void.
Noah: Void...
N: Hm?
Noah: That's just... your grief.
N: What?
Noah: It's called sadness, N.
N: (aggrieved grunt)
Noah: We came here... for you. To honour M's wishes. And to rescue you from your sorrow!

— Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Web Animation

"You cannot know the feeling of the Embrace. To wake one day, your skin cold, your heart still, ravenous, inhuman... Where once there was a world, friends, colleagues... now there is only prey and treachery. This story comes to no good end. I cannot follow my dreams, I must scrounge to stay alive or sane, I... I cannot remain human any longer. My only hope is to embrace a shadow of this dream. To embrace the Beast, and hope freedom is on the other side."

—Kevin Wettsworth, Hunter: The Parenting

Webcomic

Izzy: No more bullshit. What happened to you?

Florida Man: You should know by now that I can't remember. Look at me. I've been scooped out. I'm all hollow inside. Maybe something awful was done to me. Maybe I did something awful and I deserved it. Maybe maybe maybe. Either way, what you see is what's left behind. Is it weird that something I can't remember would hurt this much?

— Ennui GO!, "Daughter"

Web Original

"Now, you might be thinking “but wait, you have no respect for the Ford Brothers.” And that is not precisely true. Rob Ford is excellent at constituent service, for example – he genuinely loves it and takes pride in it, it is quite possibly the best thing about a generally awful person. You can at least respect Rob Ford on that basis, and there are clearly other elements of the man that are respectable, which makes him such a tragic figure in so many respects."

— MightyGodKing, "Why I have lost all respect for Doug Ford."

Western Animation

"All this time, I thought you had forgotten me... like I tried to forget you. My dear friend... but you're too late. The things I've done, the pain I've caused... there's no going BACK!"

— King Andrias Leviathan, Amphibia, "All In"

Batman: I saw what happened to your wife. I'm sorry.

Mr. Freeze: I'm beyond emotions. They've been frozen dead in me.

Batman: That suit you wear... a result of the coolant?

Freeze: Very good. A detective to the last. I can no longer survive outside of a sub-zero environment. Tonight, I mean to pay back the man who ruined my life. (sadly) Our lives...

Batman: Even if you have to kill everyone in the building to do it?

Freeze: (slowly and affirmatively nods) Think of it, Batman. To never again walk on a summer's day, with a hot wind in your face, and a warm hand to hold... Oh, yes. I'd kill for that.

— Batman: The Animated Series, "Heart Of Ice"

"I failed you. I wish there were another way for me to say it. I cannot. I can only beg your forgiveness. (voice breaks as he starts to cry) And pray you hear me somehow, some place... some place where a warm hand waits for mine."

— Mr. Freeze, Batman: The Animated Series, "Heart Of Ice"

Amon/Noatak: The two of us together again. There's nothing we can't do!

Tarrlok: Yes, Noatak.

Amon/Noatak: Noatak. I'd almost forgotten my own name. (sheds a tear)

Tarrlok: It will be just like the good old days. (proceeds to blow up the boat)

— The Legend of Korra, "Endgame"

Kuvira: I was trying to help my people. Su turned her back on the Earth Kingdom, you were gone, I had to do something!

Korra: I think I get it now.

Kuvira: You don't understand anything about me.

Korra: I do. Su told me how she took you in while you were younger. It must have been so hard being an orphan.

Kuvira: Don't pretend you knew what it felt. The Avatar is adored by millions, I was cast aside by my own parents like I meant 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?

Korra: You wanted to create a place where you and your people would never feel vulnerable again. I may not have been an orphan, but believe me, I know what it feels like to be afraid.

— The Legend of Korra, "The Last Stand"

High Priestess: How could you betray your family?! He killed your sisters, and you let him live!
Ashi: No, you killed them! We were made for one purpose: to kill! Our fate was sealed the day we were born!

— Samurai Jack

Jasper: You can't manipulate me Rose Quartz!
Steven: I- I'm not manipulating, I'm trying to help!
Jasper: Help..? Help?! I've been fighting from the second I broke free of the Earth's Crust, because of what YOU did to my colony! Because of what YOU did to my planet! Because of what YOU did to my Diamond!

— Steven Universe, "Beta"

Believe me, I know
I've sunk pretty low
But whatever I've done you deserved
I'm the bad guy, that's fine
It's no fault of mine
And some justice at last will be served
Now it's time to step up
Or it's time to back down
And there's only one answer for me
And I'll stand up and fight
'Cause I know that I'm right
And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready
Ready as I'll ever be!

— Varian's Villain Song in Tangled: The Series, "Secret of the Sundrop"

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