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Anime and Manga
"I'm the man who makes the impossible possible."
— Mu La Flaga, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Do the impossible, see the invisible
Row, row, fight the power!
Row, row, fight the power!
Comic Books
"Lost cause? Of course it's a lost cause! That's why we're here."
— Springer, The Transformers Megaseries "Stormbringer" #2
Ray Stantz: He could hear me?
Ectronymous Diamatron: He's fighting hand-to-hand with a being made of living electricity, Ray. Optimus Prime does impossible things.
Ray: Well, luckily, so do we.
Ectronymous Diamatron: He's fighting hand-to-hand with a being made of living electricity, Ray. Optimus Prime does impossible things.
Ray: Well, luckily, so do we.
Fan Works
"What I'm trying to remind her of is that our powers place us in a certain position. And it's one of obligation. No one on Earth can do what we can, and very often, to protect it and other planets, we are required to do everything we're capable of."
Suddenly the Scheme-Maker thumped her fist on the table and grinned. "So! Seems impossible to touch Cloud Horn. Recalcitrant owners. Deadly consequences if caught stealing. Can't give much in way of resources, since seems like a waste. Have to use own gear. Still, only Key mission now. Welcome to try. Want?"
The four looked at one another, knowing they were all of the same mind. "I reckon we'll have a bash," said Paul. "We're a bit good at the impossible."
"Especially the impossible at a luxury resort," murmured John.
The four looked at one another, knowing they were all of the same mind. "I reckon we'll have a bash," said Paul. "We're a bit good at the impossible."
"Especially the impossible at a luxury resort," murmured John.
Films - Live Action
Colonel Benson: Mr President, my men are doing everything possible!
The President: I don't want the possible, I want the impossible!
The President: I don't want the possible, I want the impossible!
— Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966)
"Kitten, what I'm saying is that, sometimes, shit happens, someone's gotta deal with it, and who're you gonna call?"
— Peter Venkman, Ghostbusters II
CASE: It's not possible.
Cooper: No. It's necessary.
Cooper: No. It's necessary.
"This isn't Mission Difficult, Mr. Hunt. It's Mission Impossible. 'Difficult' should be a walk in the park for you."
— Swanbeck, Mission: Impossible II
Literature
Eithan: I know you want to keep the arm, but that's quite a request. You're talking about a potent weapon stolen from an ancient, cursed labyrinth and confiscated from a traitor to our Empire's leadership. It's in the Emperor's personal vault. Do you think I can do the impossible?
Lindon: Apologies. [...]
Eithan: Wrong! You were supposed to say, "Yes, Eithan, of course you can do the impossible." I'll have it to you in a few weeks.
Lindon: Apologies. [...]
Eithan: Wrong! You were supposed to say, "Yes, Eithan, of course you can do the impossible." I'll have it to you in a few weeks.
— Cradle Series, Book 6: Underlord
Mercy: If I asked you to punch a hole in the sky, I thought you'd say "Apologies, it might take me a few years."
Lindon: [thinking] Was that how she saw him?
[later...]
Lindon: I'm here to punch a hole in the sky.
Lindon: [thinking] Was that how she saw him?
[later...]
Lindon: I'm here to punch a hole in the sky.
— Cradle Series, Book 8: Wintersteel
"Never promise them what's possible. Always promise the impossible. If you succeed, you've changed the limits of what's possible. And if you fail, well, it was impossible."
He knew what he had to do. It was, of course, an impossible task. But he was used to them. Dragging a rat all the way from the wood to the hole had been an impossible task. But it wasn't impossible to drag it a little way, so you did that, and then you had a little rest, then you dragged it a little way again...
The way to deal with an impossible task was to chop it down into a number of merely very difficult tasks, and break each one of them into a group of horribly hard tasks, and each one of them into tricky jobs, and each one of them...
— Nomes Trilogy: Truckers
"If you've done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways?"
"But I'm a Battle Schooler. We had classes in doing the impossible. I got A's."
— Ambul, Shadow Puppets
"Impossible is our stock in trade, and success is what we deliver."
Grandpa Joe: He has some really fantastic inventions up his sleeve, Mr Willy Wonka has! Did you know that he's invented a way of making chocolate ice cream so that it stays cold for hours and hours without being in the refrigerator? You can even leave it lying in the sun all morning on a hot day and it won't go runny!
Charlie: But that's impossible!
Grandpa Joe: Of course it's impossible! It's completely absurd! But Mr Willy Wonka has done it!
Charlie: But that's impossible!
Grandpa Joe: Of course it's impossible! It's completely absurd! But Mr Willy Wonka has done it!
Live Action TV
"Hey, I'm Dr. Rodney McKay, all right? 'Difficult' takes a few seconds; 'impossible,' a few minutes."
— Dr. Rodney McKay, Stargate Atlantis, "Brain Storm"
"Risk is our business. That's what this starship is all about. That's why we're aboard her."
— James T. Kirk, Star Trek: The Original Series, "Return to Tomorrow"
Music
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while
The impossible will take a little while
— Billie Holiday, Crazy He Calls Me
We're doing what can't be done
Mind over matter
There's no battle that can't be won
Mind over matter
We never let dreams die young
Mind over matter
Mind over matter
There's no battle that can't be won
Mind over matter
We never let dreams die young
Mind over matter
— Nikki Leeger, Mind Over Matter
Tabletop Games
"Impossible? Is it possible to build a car that can fly faster than any other has been known to move? Leaping 2000 miles in under five minutes is impossible. We are the ones who make the impossible real."
— Chevalier Yves Mercure, Mage: The Ascension - Tradition Book: Sons of Ether (revised)
Video Games
Thane Krios: Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega-4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so.
Commander Shepard: They told me it was impossible to get to Ilos, too.
Thane Krios: A fair point. You've built a career on performing the impossible.
Commander Shepard: They told me it was impossible to get to Ilos, too.
Thane Krios: A fair point. You've built a career on performing the impossible.
"Thanks to the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, the impossible is easy."
— GLaDOS, Portal trailer
Western Animation
Phineas: Can we help?
Lawrence: Well, I'm afraid not, unless you can perform miracles.
Phineas: ...what's your budget?
Lawrence: Well, I'm afraid not, unless you can perform miracles.
Phineas: ...what's your budget?
— Phineas and Ferb, "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together"
Real Life
"We the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much with so little for so long, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing."
— variously attributed
"The word 'impossible' is not in my dictionary."
"Impossible is not a fact. Impossible is an opinion."
— Mohammed Ali
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
