History ExactWords / MarvelUniverse

** In ''ComicBook/Deadpool2013'' #7, Deadpool makes a DealWithTheDevil (or rather, a demon connected to Mephisto) to get Iron Man drunk in order to empower the demon. However, Deadpool has a change of heart when he sees how horribly plastered Tony is (as it was set during the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline), so he ends up knocking Tony out, hijacking the armor and getting ''himself'' plastered. When the demon appears calling him out for failing, Deadpool points out that the contract specifically stated ''Iron Man'', not ''Tony Stark''.

** When [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]] attempts to recruit the X-Men for help during the events of the ''Doomwar'' arc, ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} says that he cannot sanction X-Men involvement as it would make them look like global aggressors. However, he later confides that that doesn't mean he would stop them going of their own accord. Sure enough, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, Colossus, and Nightcrawler are already packed by this stage.

* ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'': In a case of a cover doing this, ''ComicBook/CaptainMarvel1968'' #34 boasted that Nitro was [[HeroKiller "the man who killed Captain Marvel"]]. While Mar-Vell didn't die in ''that issue'', the events of it, namely being exposed to a DeadlyGas that Nitro tried to steal, was indeed what led to the titular event of ''The Death of Captain Marvel''. So, indeed, Nitro is the man who killed Mar-Vell.

* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': In ''ComicBook/Deadpool2013'' #7, Deadpool makes a DealWithTheDevil (or rather, a demon connected to Mephisto) to get Iron Man drunk in order to empower the demon. However, Deadpool has a change of heart when he sees how horribly plastered Tony is (as it was set during the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline), so he ends up knocking Tony out, hijacking the armor and getting ''himself'' plastered. When the demon appears calling him out for failing, Deadpool points out that the contract specifically stated ''Iron Man'', not ''Tony Stark''.

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': In the Grandmaster's debut story arc, he offers Comicbook/KangTheConqueror either the power to give life, or the power to cause death. Letting his hatred consume him, Kang shouts "Death to the Avengers!" as his reply. He should've worded his request more carefully, because it turns out his new powers can be used against the Avengers... ''and nobody else''. After the current roster of Avengers is downed, cue the entrance of unaffiliated hero Comicbook/BlackKnight, who easily defeats Kang with a single blow from his enchanted Ebony Blade. For extra irony points, he's ''immediately'' made a member of the Avengers after this.
* In a case of a cover doing this, issue 34 of ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'', volume 1 boasted that Nitro was [[HeroKiller "the man who killed Captain Marvel"]]. While Mar-Vell didn't die in ''that issue'', the events of it, namely being exposed to a DeadlyGas that Nitro tried to steal, was indeed what led to the titular event of ''The Death of Captain Marvel''. So, indeed, Nitro is the man who killed Mar-Vell.
* Discussed in one of the Marvel comics leading up to ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'', where [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] coaches [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] on how to answer questions under oath, by not volunteering ''any'' information beyond answering the precise question asked:

* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': In Vol. 5, issue 7, Deadpool makes a DealWithTheDevil (or rather, a demon connected to Mephisto) to get Iron Man drunk in order to empower the demon. However, Deadpool has a change of heart when he sees how horribly plastered Tony is (as it was set during the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline), so he ends up knocking Tony out, hijacking the armor and getting ''himself'' plastered. When the demon appears calling him out for failing, Deadpool points out that the contract specifically stated ''Iron Man'', not ''Tony Stark''.
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom is known for this. It has allowed him to maintain his reputation for never telling a lie.
** On one occasion, he killed a group of musicians for failing to play the "Minute Waltz" in less than 60 seconds. The title "minute" is meant to be the adjective, not the unit of time.
** Then there was the time he said that two of his three Doombots were wired to explode. All three blow up. His response? "I never said the third one WASN'T explosive."
** He pulled the opposite trick in an issue of ComicBook/TheAvengers when he held Avengers Mansion hostage. He warned that they must not attack him because his armor was wired to a NeutronBomb that would detonate if breached. He actually ''did'' have a bomb in his armor, but he was miles away, speaking through another Doombot.
** Doom abuses this even further in ''ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl''. [[MuggleBestFriend Nancy]] gets him to promise to bring Squirrel Girl back from the past. When the moment comes, Doom points out he said nothing about SG's condition and intends to deliver her dead. Nancy finds it ridiculous that a supervillain who runs a country gets out of his promises via "baby word-games".
* In ''ComicBook/TheEternals'', it's eventually revealed that this is how Uranos the Undying, one of their original three leaders, formed his genocidal manifesto. He looked at the Principles, the [[{{Geas}} three rules]] their creators the Celestials bound them by, and interpreted them in a way that didn't strictly ''break'' them.
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': in an early storyline, Mr. Fantastic, Thing, and Torch are sent back in time to retrieve Blackbeard's treasure or Doctor Doom will kill Sue. Mr. Fantastic decides to dupe him, saying technically they promised to bring back the treasure ''chest'', so even if it's a chest filled with chains they've fulfilled their word.
** Doom for his part had promised Sue's safety but not the rest of the team's.
** One of Doom's more evil periods saw him trap Franklin Richards, a small child, in Hell. While holding baby Valeria, he promises Reed that he'll release his child if he surrenders. Reed agrees, and Doom promptly sets Valeria down, leaving Franklin in Hell.
* In an ''Comicbook/IronMan'' storyline, ComicBook/DoctorOctopus holds the city hostage with a nuclear bomb, just to force Tony to say he's not as smart. At the end he reveals that it's nuclear, but isn't really a bomb, and points out he always called it a "device". {{Subverted|Trope}} when a perplexed Tony says that isn't true, and Ock replies, "Who cares? ILied."
* In ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'', Old!Loki comes from [[spoiler: a future where Asgard is perfect, but the price was that Loki returned to being a villain.]] When unable to lie, he assures the All-Mothers of this. When they ask about [[spoiler: Midgard]] he says "'Twas governed most perfectly, by my reckoning". It doesn't occur to anyone to ask what someone who ''isn't'' evil might think of it. [[spoiler: It's a dead world.]] Or to ask ''who'' governs it so most perfectly. [[spoiler:Loki is the "[[AuthorityInNameOnly King]]" of Midgard in that timeline, and what else would Loki ever judge his own rule?]] Loki is many things, but ''humble'' is not one of them.
* In its first appearance in ''Menace'' #11, the Human Robot would do ''exactly'' what it was ordered to. The business manager of the scientist who created it grew frustrated with the scientist's lack of interest in commercial applications, and ordered the robot to kill "the man in the room", which it did. The businessman then entered the room, and the robot killed him as well. It then went out into the city, looking for men in rooms...
* In one ''ComicBook/MiniMarvels'', some Skrulls take advantage of this. A policeman holding the Fantastic Four and Skrull impostors says that whoever can prove who's the real Fantastic Four will be released immediately. The Skrulls immediately admit that they're fakes and prove it by reverting to their true forms. The police officer holds to his exact words unquestioningly and lets them go.
* In ''ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica tries to get ComicBook/BlackPanther's backing when he decides to go against Comicbook/TheIlluminati's plan to destroy another world in order to protect their own. When Cap asks if he has the Panther's support, Panther responds by saying "Have you ever known me to not do the right thing?" [[spoiler: It turns out the "right thing" in this case is siding with the Illuminati against Captain America in order to make sure Wakanda is saved, and Cap ends up being {{Mind Wipe}}d for his trouble]].
* Comicbook/ThePunisher: If you're a bad guy and Frank Castle says that in return for information or cooperation he'll "scratch your name off his list," "think about" sparing your life, or promise to let you go while on top of a tall building, you're not much longer for this world. Giving him what he wants will buy you a few minutes at most.
* When supervillain Man-Mountain Marko's wife comes to ComicBook/MoonKnight for help, saying her ex-husband is likely to kill her and corrupt their daughter, Moon Knight confronts him and tells him he's never going to see them again. Marko scoffs at the warning. Moon Knight promptly [[EyeScream uses his thumbs]] to ensure it's literally true.
* When Franchise/SpiderMan is trying to come up with a plan to defeat an evil Spider-Woman (yes, ''another'' Spider-Woman) he asks a man with supposedly ultimate knowledge what can defeat her. He answers "Nothing." This Spider-Woman is a psychic vampire powered by the thoughts of others. By thinking of nothing when they fight she finds she can't feed on them and soon loses power, she is beaten ''by'' "nothing."
* The Franchise/MarvelUniverse's Comicbook/{{Thanos}} of Titan is notorious for resorting to this trope when carrying out his end of a bargain, as a way of "honoring" his word while essentially screwing over other characters. To his credit, Thanos mostly dupes villains (or other similarly shady characters), and as much as possible, honestly keeps his word when he gives it. One notable incident occurred when Thanos promised Mephisto a [[ArtifactOfDoom Cosmic Cube]] in return for his assistance. [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/7/72716/2609255-f3.jpg Upon Thanos delivering the Cube to Mephisto]]:

* ''ComicBook/XFactor2006'': During the "X-Cell" arc, Rictor is kidnapped and brought to Quicksilver, who tells him he can leave at any time, and Pietro won't try to stop him. He says nothing about X-Cell, who are waiting outside the door.
* ''Franchise/XMen'':
** When [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]] attempts to recruit the ComicBook/XMen for help during the events of the ''Doomwar'' arc, Comicbook/{{Cyclops}} says that he cannot sanction X-Men involvement as it would make them look like global aggressors. However, he later confides that that doesn't mean he would stop them going of their own accord. Sure enough, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, Colossus and Nightcrawler are already packed by this stage.

** In a separate X-Men story Matsuo pays a Russian officer for the frozen body of Omega Red. Within moments of the transaction a bunch of ninjas jump out of the snow to murder the Russian and his men. His last words were "Damn you, we had a deal!" To which Matsuo responds "and I honored it to the letter. I never agreed on how long you'd enjoy it."

* Writers [[DependingOnTheWriter occasionally use this trope]] when they want to paint ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the Devourer of Worlds, in a more positive (or at least [[AntiVillain anti-villainous]]) light. As his fearsome title implies, Galactus can only live by draining the "bio-energy" of a planet into himself, which wipes out all life in that particular world permanently. However, there's nothing that says the planet has to ''have'' life on it--bio-energy simply means that the world has the potential to support life ''at some point.'' As such, whenever heroes such as the Fantastic Four are shown helping Galactus find new worlds to eat in exchange for his help, they explicitly state that they're sending him to a planet that doesn't have any life on it at the moment, but could in the future or did in the past. Galactus himself even deliberately chose uninhabited or dying worlds early in his life, and only turned to currently-populated planets because his hunger was evolving too quickly to find others.
* Played to horror-style effect in ''Spider-Man Unlimited'' #14 (December, 1996), the conclusion of the long-running story-arc about the Great Game (1995-1996). The supervillain El Torro Negro/Sergio Torres repeatedly lied about his true motivations throughout the story. In this issue, it was revealed that Torres was actually an undercover agent for villain Justin Hammer (an Iron Man foe) and his true purpose was to prepare the hostile takeover of a corporation. With his mission fulfilled and his services no longer needed, Torres asks for his pre-arranged reward: the elimination of his weaknesses. Hammer replies that Torres' greatest weakness is his mind, and that he is fully prepared to eliminate this weakness by having Torres lobotomized. When last seen, Torres has Hammer's device sawing through his brain.

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': In the Grandmaster's debut story arc, he offers Comicbook/KangTheConqueror either the power to give life, or the power to cause death. Letting his hatred consume him, Kang shouts "Death to the Avengers!" as his reply. He should've worded his request more carefully, because it turns out his new powers can be used against the Avengers... ''and nobody else''. Cue the entrance of the unaffiliated hero Comicbook/BlackKnight, who easily defeats Kang with a single blow from his enchanted Ebony Blade.

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': In the Grandmaster's debut story arc, he offered Comicbook/KangTheConqueror either the power to give life, or the power to cause death. Letting his hatred consume him, Kang shouted "Death to the Avengers!" as his reply. He should've worded his request more carefully, because it turned out his new powers could be used against the Avengers... ''and nobody else''. Cue the entrance of the unaffiliated hero Comicbook/BlackKnight, who easily defeated Kang with a single blow from his sword.

* Discussed in one of the Marvel comics leading up to ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', where [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]] coaches [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] on how to answer questions under oath, by not volunteering ''any'' information beyond answering the precise question asked:

* In one ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'' issue, he makes a DealWithTheDevil (or rather, a demon connected to Mephisto) to get Iron Man drunk in order to empower the demon. However, Deadpool has a change of heart when he sees how horribly plastered Tony is (as it was set during the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline), so he ends up knocking Tony out, hijacking the armor and getting ''himself'' plastered. When the demon appears calling him out for failing, Deadpool points out that the contract specifically stated ''Iron Man'', not ''Tony Stark''.

* Writers [[DependingOnTheWriter occasionally use this trope]] when they want to paint ComicBook/{{Galactus}}, the Devourer of Worlds, in a more positive (or at least [[AntiVillain anti-villainous]]) light. As his fearsome title implies, Galactus can only live by draining the "bio-energy" of a planet into himself, which wipes out all life in that particular world permanently. However, there's nothing that says the planet has to ''have'' life on it--bio-energy simply means that the world has the potential to support life ''at some point.'' As such, whenever heroes such as the Fantastic Four are shown helping Galactus find new worlds to eat in exchange for his help, they explicitly state that they're sending him to a planet that doesn't have any life on it at the moment, but could in the future or did in the past. Galactus himself even deliberately chose uninhabited or dying worlds early in his life, and only turned to currently-populated planets because his hunger was evolving too quickly to find others.

* In ''Comicbook/NewAvengers'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica tries to get ComicBook/BlackPanther's backing when he decides to go against Comicbook/TheIlluminati's plan to destroy another world in order to protect their own. When Cap asks if he has the Panther's support, Panther responds by saying "Have you ever known me to not do the right thing?" [[spoiler: It turns out the "right thing" in this case is siding with the Illuminati against Captain America in order to make sure Wakanda is saved, and Cap ends up being {{Mind Wipe}}d for his trouble]].

** When [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]] attempts to recruit the Comicbook/XMen for help during the events of the ''Doomwar'' arc, Comicbook/{{Cyclops}} says that he cannot sanction X-Men involvement as it would make them look like global aggressors. However, he later confides that that doesn't mean he would stop them going of their own accord. Sure enough, {{Wolverine}}, Colossus and Nightcrawler are already packed by this stage.

* In a case of a cover doing this, issue 34 of ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'' volume 1 boasted that Nitro was [[HeroKiller "the man who killed Captain Marvel"]]. While Mar-Vell didn't die in ''that issue'', the events of it, namely being exposed to a DeadlyGas that Nitro tried to steal, was indeed what led to the titular event of ''The Death of Captain Marvel''. So, indeed, Nitro is the man who killed Mar-Vell.

* In a case of a cover doing this, issue 34 of ComicBook/CaptainMarVell's solo series boasted that Nitro was [[HeroKiller "the man who killed Captain Marvel"]]. While Mar-Vell didn't die in ''that issue'', the events of it, namely being exposed to a DeadlyGas that Nitro tried to steal, was indeed what led to the titular event of ''The Death of Captain Marvel''. So, indeed, Nitro is the man who killed Mar-Vell.

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': In the Grandmaster's debut story arc, he offered Comicbook/KangTheConqueror either the power to give life, or the power to cause death. Letting his hatred consume him, Kang shouted "Death to the Avengers!" as his reply. He should've worded his request more carefully, because it turned out his new powers could be used against the Avengers... ''and nobody else''. Cue the entrance of the unaffiliated hero Comicbook/{{Black Knight|Marvel Comics}}, who easily defeated Kang with a single blow from his sword.

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': In the Grandmaster's debut story arc, he offered Kang the Conqueror either the power to give life, or the power to cause death. Letting his hatred consume him, Kang shouted "Death to the Avengers!" as his reply. He should've worded his request more carefully, because it turned out his new powers could be used against the Avengers... ''and nobody else''. Cue the entrance of the unaffiliated hero Black Knight, who easily defeated Kang with a single blow from his sword.

* In a case of a cover doing this, issue 34 of ComicBook/CaptainMarVell's solo series boasted that Nitro was [[HeroKiller "the man who killed Captain Marvel"]]. While Mar-Vell didn't die in ''that issue'', the events of it, namely being exposed to a DeadlyGas that Nitro tried to steal, was indeed what lead to the titular event of ''The Death of Captain Marvel''. So, indeed, Nitro is the man who killed Mar-Vell.