Quotes / I Work Alone

"I don't do partners. You know that, Cap."

— Herschel Biggs, L.A. Noire

Kopaka: I work alone.
Pohatu: By choice, or just cause no one can stand you?

— BIONICLE

Flatman: Y'know what? Turns out that a lot' of super heroes have the exact same speech planned out ahead of time. It's actually a lot like the "let's be friends" speech when you think about it.
Spider-Man: Look, there's a very good reason why I can't...
Wolverine: ...I'm a loner, okay? And that means I work best alone. I can't help it...
Daredevil: ...I'm just not a team player. Never have been, never will be.

— Great Lakes Avengers: Misassembled #2

"You lost the game on the very first day you chose to train me to rule by your side... or better still, under your thumb. Teacher? Yes, and for that, I will be eternally grateful. But Master? Never."

— Darth Sidious to the dying Darth Plagueis, Star Wars: Darth Plagueis

"I am her student and I will do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends."

—Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

"Fly home, Buddy. I work alone."

—Mr. Incredible to Buddy, The Incredibles

Tony: I told you, I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band.
Fury: (chuckles) No, no, no, see, I remember, you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?

— Iron Man 2

"What I do, I do alone. That's the Sicilian way. That's omerta. Omerta isn't mafia oath of silence, like so many people believe. It has nothing to do with cosa nostra. It's something else, related by different....You want justice served? You want vengeance taken? You want honor restored? Then you do it yourself. That's omerta. When blood cries for blood, you answer the call. And you answer it alone."

—Huntress, Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood

Amarant: I work alone. Always have, always will. I don't know why you bother carryin' dead weight all the time.
Zidane: What's your point?
Amarant: I'm sayin' working alone beats working in a team any day, and I'm gonna prove it.

— Final Fantasy IX

"Like every tree stands on it's own
Reaching for the sky, I Stand alone
I share my world with no one else
All by myself, I stand alone"

— I Stand Alone, Quest for Camelot

Napoleon Solo: The thing is, I work better alone.
Illya Kuryakin: I work better alone too.
Napoleon Solo: Okay, I'll let you tag along.

— The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Ted: I'll organise a crack legion of our toughest guards to go with you and help retrieve the lovely Labia from the evil clutches of the...
Hercules: Shut the fuck up! I don't need their help. I'm a loner.

— Hercules Returns (1993)

Hellboy: What are you doing?
Agent Myers: Helping you! I—
Hellboy: Nobody helps me! It's my job!

— Hellboy (2004)

Bourne: Who else is out here? Who else — how many you got out here? I'm not gonna ask you again.
Professor: I work alone, like you. We always work alone.

— The Bourne Identity

"I want mages in each group to act as support and to burn out any obstacles. Fire will serve us all well in the estate but I want soldiers to be cautious regardless, support each other in these close quarters. Loners will die alone."

—Kyril Sutherland defying this trope, The Night Unfurls

"I'm done with alliances. I ain't trustin' anyone anymore! Just be happy I don't feel like killin' ya right here!"

—Eustass Kid to Luffy, One Piece

"Years ago, a man told me that the 'first rule of thieving' was to rely on those more skillful than yourself... and he was right. But he forgot the essential corollary to that advice: that if you attain enough skill, you need rely on no one. And why take that risk if you don’t have to? (...) I am alone. And I will not forget that again."

—Peter Nureyev, The Penumbra Podcast

"I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skill-set. But we're a team. That lone-wolf stuff stays behind."

— Carter-A259 to SPARTAN-B312, Halo: Reach

Bob Hauk: Remember, once you're inside you're on your own.
Snake Plissken: Oh, you mean I can't count on you?
Hauk: No.
Snake: Good!

—Escape from New York

Undine: ...May I ask you a personal question?
Heartful Punch: Sure?
Undine: Why do you fight alone? Isn't it scary?
Heartful Punch: Ah. Yeah, of course. There’s just lots of things that scare me more, y'know?
Undine: ... I think I can understand that.

— Sleepless Domain

"Fighting alone means I don't have to worry about anyone else. I can just do my own thing, and if I screw up, I'm the only one who gets hurt. [...] It's easier to just keep to myself and try not to get too attached, y'know? But lately I've been thinking... maybe that's my own way of being a coward. Rather than protecting anyone else, I'm just protecting my own feelings."

— Heartful Punch, Sleepless Domain

"You know the idea that a girl's powers say something about her? Well, my powers make it dangerous to work with close range fighters, and it's not efficient for me to work with long range ones. So if my powers are saying anything, it's, 'I can handle this, so give me some space.'"

— Rue Bahia, Sleepless Domain

"I don't want no volunteers, I don't want no mates, there's just too many captains on this island. $10,000 for me by myself."

—Quint, Jaws

"I don't take care of anybody and nobody takes care of me. I just watch out for myself. You should do the same."

—Alcott, The Big Doll House

Chill: Ve're on a search for Kaos and his baddies right now. Ve could use a spare pair of hands.
Crestfeather: Save your breath, I work alone. Besides, I'm not looking for Kaos. I'm looking for my family.

— Skylanders: Return to the Ruins

"Buzz Lightyear, personal log. In his crazed attempt to destroy me, Zurg has robbed the universe of a good man. My partner... my friend. On this day I vow, no ranger will ever again fall in harm's way because of me. I. Work. Alone."

—Buzz Lightyear after Warp Darkmatter's (supposed) death, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

Cramden: Here is a list of the men under your command.

Flint: No thank you; I don't need anyone, sir.

Cramden: You said you were joining the team.

Flint: But the team isn't joining me.

Cramden: Dammit man, for once in your life you're going to follow orders!

Flint: This is my mission, sir. I work alone, you know that.

Cramden: Your mission? The United States government is involved in this too, not to mention the rest of the world!

Flint: It's my show now.

— Our Man Flint

I have to work solo because for me there has to be a risk. This isn't because I like a cheap thrill but because I need the stimulation of constant hazard to whip up the nerves and galvanize the organism to the pitch where I can do things I couldn't do otherwise. If I had to rely on other people to keep me alive I'd get sloppy and make mistakes and that can be just as fatal as if you haven't got a shield at all, look at that poor bastard Crowther—I thought he was there, his face puckered like a child's and his eyes watching me as we swayed along in the ambulance, I thought he was there, the last thing he ever said and I've never told anyone because he meant he thought Jones was there, shielding his back while he went in and found he couldn't get out again till they dropped him over the railway bridge for someone to find, blown and cleaned out and dying while Jones was waiting for him in Lyons Corner House and stuffing himself on buns, a question of a missed rendezvous, that was all, a little misunderstanding at a critical time, the tears running down Crowther's face as he closed his eyes and gave it up—frustration, not self-pity or anything, he didn't leave anyone who loved him—frustration because he'd completed the access and was ready to strike and get out again, another beautiful job, beautifully timed, how does he do it, we all used to say.

Don't you give me Jones. Or anyone.

— Quiller, The Mandarin Cypher by Adam Hall

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