"Beware of an old man in a profession where the men die young."
— Anonymous
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"
— Michael Corleone, The Godfather 3
And little she knew the arms that embraced
Had cloven a man from the brow to the waist:
And little she knew that the loving lips
Had ordered a quivering life's eclipse,
Or the eye that lit at her lightest breath
Had glared unawed in the Gates of Death.
(For these be matters a man would hide,
As a general rule, from an innocent Bride.)
Had cloven a man from the brow to the waist:
And little she knew that the loving lips
Had ordered a quivering life's eclipse,
Or the eye that lit at her lightest breath
Had glared unawed in the Gates of Death.
(For these be matters a man would hide,
As a general rule, from an innocent Bride.)
— Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of Boh Da Thone
Ken: (watching Vega showboat) Popular guy.
Sagat: The greatest cage fighter since Iron Fist.
Ken: What happened to him?
Sagat: He retired, and became me.
Sagat: The greatest cage fighter since Iron Fist.
Ken: What happened to him?
Sagat: He retired, and became me.
Jean Grey: So how is the sixth member of our team doing?
Scott Summers: Jeanette is being retired to a beautiful country estate that a friend of Professor Xavier owns. There, she'll live out the rest of her days in peace, officially retired from the superhero business.
Scott Summers: Jeanette is being retired to a beautiful country estate that a friend of Professor Xavier owns. There, she'll live out the rest of her days in peace, officially retired from the superhero business.
So today, his deli comes first
Still he dreams of his past days of glory
Goes in the back and beats up on the liverwurst
All the while you can still hear him say:
It's the rye or the kaiser, it's the thrill of one bite
Let me please be your catering advisor...
Still he dreams of his past days of glory
Goes in the back and beats up on the liverwurst
All the while you can still hear him say:
It's the rye or the kaiser, it's the thrill of one bite
Let me please be your catering advisor...
— "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Theme from Rocky XIII"
Oh, I don't like to talk about myself much. I'm not so interesting, in all honesty. I'm old, I live in a tree, sometimes I turn myself into an owl and hunt mice. I used to be someone. But that was a long, long time ago, and I don't care to remember. It was a different age and the world has moved on. Now I live in a tree and make tea out of bark. Life's a funny old thing, isn't it?
— Cucuvea, The Secret World
Henry: Frank Moses was one of the most effective black-ops agents we've ever had. He retired drug lords, terrorists... hell, he toppled governments. Yeah. He was truly gifted.
Cooper: Why was he retired?
Henry: He got old. Then some government thumb-sucker came along and tagged him RED.
Cooper: "Red"?
Henry: Yeah. RED, R-E-D. "Retired, Extremely Dangerous."
Cooper: Why was he retired?
Henry: He got old. Then some government thumb-sucker came along and tagged him RED.
Cooper: "Red"?
Henry: Yeah. RED, R-E-D. "Retired, Extremely Dangerous."
"Seeing you drop that tank on his head and kicking him in the stones, it felt like I was nineteen years old and back in Normandy again, buddy."
— Bucky, The Ultimates
The Golden Owlbear Society, a philosophical collective of like-minded wizards and warriors dedicated to the improvement of mortal civilisation. In practice, they’re a social club for retired high-level adventurers who like to get high on pipeweed and debate political theory, and they almost never accomplish anything of note, but they’re treated as an existential threat by many nations owing to the absurdly high concentration of power they in theory represent.
—David J. Prokopetz, "More inadvisable secret societies for your Dungeons & Dragons game" [1]
"The costumes are over. They had their time, but now the war, as far as we're concerned, is over. All we are now, is ourselves. Without the masks. So don't let me hear that you've put on the suit again and started trying to catch crooks. Fighting crime and studies don't mix."
— Mister Scarlet, Here There Be Monsters
"My name's McCoy. I'm a soldier. Least I was up until about a year ago. Ran outta wars."
—McCoy, Streets of Fire
"I got sick of killing people, Frank. Honestly, that's all it was. And...I got sick of being told it was okay. That it was good. That some people were just...just scum that needed shooting. That some people aren't proper human beings. That folks on benefits are scroungers, folks fleeing warzones are a swarm... I dunno. I feel like...like just needing help is enough to take you off the human list these days. Like that's been outlawed. Punishment for everyone. No wonder they called me a hero."
—Nigel Higgins aka Outlaw, Contest of Champions (2015)
Look at me: this is what an ended story looks like. I was giving my life for this country, this world, before you were born. Everyone I've ever loved is dead. I had my own brother killed. I have no partner, no children. I've done my good deed, and it took everything I had. I won't be dragged into another adventure. I've made a separate peace.
— Jane Chatwin, The Magician's Land
After wreaking death on every corner of the continent, his legend disappeared at once. The invincible Hard-Tooth-Uther woke up one morning and everything changed. Blood no longer delighted his taste buds, the shrieks of his victims no longer evoked him a sweet serenade, and his fingers plunged deep into his enemies' guts no longer gave of the smell of happy days. Another fate called him, and he happily put on the rags of Grandpa Pumpkin.
Barry (Alternate): Bruce Wayne is Batman?
Bruce (Alternate): Not really. Not so much anymore. You know... they don't really need me. Things have changed. Gotham's now one of the safest cities in the world.
Bruce (Alternate): Not really. Not so much anymore. You know... they don't really need me. Things have changed. Gotham's now one of the safest cities in the world.
