Daily News for Marvel Movie

Summary

• "I Call It The Ex-Wife" – Justin Hammer, Iron Man 2
• "Well, I Panicked, But Then I Handled It" – Trevor Slattery, Iron Man 3
• "All That For A Drop Of Blood" – Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War

The villains of the Iron Man movies have some incredibly quotable lines of dialogue, with their best moments ranking among the highest of the MCU's villains. As the longtime darling and flagship character of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr.'s charisma and delivery as Tony Stark makes nearly every line that comes out of his mouth sheer gold. In this sense, it's all too easy to forget the excellent dialogue of the antagonists of Iron Man's trilogy and beyond.
Throughout Iron Man's Marvel Cinematic Universe journey, he's encountered a wide range of supervillains looking to supplant his economic empire. Tony Stark's movies are inundated with hilarious, thought-provoking, or threatening lines from his villains, who sometimes even address him more directly than other heroes in crossover films. From snake-oil salesman Justin Hammer to the headstrong and homicidal Obadiah Stane, Iron Man's many enemies have certainly left an impression with their quotable quips.
10 "Tony Stark Was Able To Build This In A Cave! With A Box Of Scraps!" Obadiah Stane, Iron Man Even when stripped of nearly all resources, Tony Stark has proven time and time again that he's capable of building reality-defying inventions. His MacGuyver-like ingenuity is shown off to a greater extent in Iron Man 3, but the first film in his solo trilogy makes this clear as he creates the very first Iron Man armor. Busting himself out of the Ten Rings' terrorist hideout, Tony frustrates his villain Obadiah Stane to no end.
To make matters even worse for Stane, he's unable to replicate Stark's advances while working in squalor, even under perfect conditions. Unable to stave off his frustration with this, Stane explodes at one of his hapless scientists, letting rip one of the most famous lines said by any Iron Man villain. Jeff Bridges' terrifying bellow and genuine seething resentment that boils through to his performance as Iron Monger makes this read hard to forget upon first hearing it.
9 "Trying To Rid The World Of Weapons, You Gave It Its Best One Ever!" Obadiah Stane, Iron Man The irony of Tony Stark's heel turn from a money-hungry billionaire playboy willing to sell weapons to dubious actors to an altruistic hero isn't lost on any of his villains. Some might call it hypocrisy, but Obadiah Stane surmises Tony's ultimate actions as an amusing coincidence. Finally able to create his own off-brand version of the Iron Man armor, Stane engages his pesky Stark Industries junior in a power-armored brawl.
Before entering his vehicle of destruction, the Iron Monger belts out this line, making the irony of Tony's situation clear to him. It's true that Tony Stark relies on the idea of powerful Iron Man armors to keep the peace around the world, promoting a dangerous idea of "might equals right." In Stane's case, however, the Iron Monger armor ultimately isn't able to compete, making this line truer than Obadiah might have ever realized when he says it.
8 "I Just Want To Point Out That Test Pilot Survived" Justin Hammer, Iron Man 2 Iron Man 2 might largely be considered one of the weakest MCU films, particularly among the first phase of the franchise's existence, but if there's one brilliant thing the film contributed to the series, it's Justin Hammer. From his snake oil sales pitches to his sudden bouts of intense anger, Sam Rockwell managed to embody the Tony Stark wannabe with a rare kind of fanaticism for an MCU villain performance. This shines through even in his most simple lines of dialogue.
During a weighty judicial hearing, Justin Hammer's exploits in attempting to replicate the success of the Iron Man armor are made public, much to the shock of the courtroom. In one particularly grisly recorded incident, a test pilot is violently twisted 180 degrees at the waist, assuredly shattering his spine. Miraculously, Hammer claims that the test pilot in question actually managed to survive. Indeed, this poor soul affected by this experimental armor may have been who Doctor Strange was being texted about the night of his fateful car crash.
7 "I'd Love To Leave My Door Unlocked At Night, But This Ain't Canada" Justin Hammer, Iron Man 2 The same judicial hearing in which Justin Hammer sheepishly attempts to save face once damning video evidence of his exploits is made visible includes not one, but two quotes worthy of remembering. Before he can be embarrassed, Hammer makes an earnest plea for the importance of private weapons manufacturing. Poking fun at the American perception of Canada's peaceful nature, he reiterates "I'd love to leave my door unlocked at night, but this ain't Canada."
Justin Hammer's performance in this scene is so earnest, it's easy to believe he actually buys his own fake sentiment. It's interesting how similar Hammer and Stark were before the Ten Rings incident that caused the latter to turn a new leaf, with Justin Hammer standing as a living reminder of Tony Stark's greedier days as a weapons developer. Even if Iron Man 2 might make the Iron Man standalone series one of the weakest MCU solo trilogies, it still got away with some fantastic lines.
6 "I Call It The Ex-Wife" Justin Hammer, Iron Man 2 Perhaps the single most memorable moment of Justin Hammer's antics in Iron Man 2 is his pitch of the "Ex-Wife" munition to the United States Air Force. Amazingly, this scene was hardly written, being mostly a testament to Sam Rockwell's improvisation ability as he read weapon specifications off-screen while ad-libbing on top of them. While the Ex-Wife is played for laughs as a dud in the film's climax, Justin Hammer's introductory speech about it actually gave some crucial information that went ignored.
Hammer describes the Ex-Wife as a "kinetic" munition. In real life, this refers to weaponry mounted aboard aircraft that require a plane be in motion to fire, piggybacking off of the momentum of a flying plane in order to sail through the air. War Machine attempts to fire the Ex-Wife from a standstill, robbing it of its purpose and making it look like a joke. In Iron Man 2's original ending, Rhodey actually uses the weapon correctly, and blows Whiplash up with it.
5 "People Make Problem. Trust Me; Drone Better" Whiplash, Iron Man 2 Of all the Iron Man villains, Whiplash was by far the least talkative. With a seemingly tenuous grasp on English as demonstrated by Mickey Rourke's terrible Russian accent, it was rare that Whiplash had much to say. However, all this means is that when he does choose to talk, his words are made all the more impactful.
This happens just before the climax of Iron Man 2, in which Whiplash delivers Justin Hammer a fleet of unmanned Iron Man-style humanoid robots rather than suits, as promised. When Jutin Hammer objects, Whiplash ominously silences his objections by stating "People make problem. Trust me; Drone better." Of course, Whiplash ends up taking over these drones and using them to orchestrate his own petty revenge rather than hand them over to Hammer Industries fully-functioning, a move which frankly shouldn't have surprised Justin Hammer.
4 "Well, I Panicked, But Then I Handled It" Trevor Slattery, Iron Man 3 The reveal that the fearsome Mandarin, Iron Man's famous comic villain that was long-anticipated to appear in his third film, was only an actor playing a character was one of the most controversial decisions in the Iron Man trilogy. Looking back today, Trevor Slattery is an enjoyable character who even shows up again alongside the real Mandarin in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. One of his better quotes comes about in a debrief with Eric Savin.
At first, Slattery seems to be a fairly pathetic sort, a failed actor willing to committ horrible acts in the name of a cheap buck and easy living. However, it turns out that even the most unassuming of characters can spell trouble for Tony Stark's conscience. While being enthralled in Slattery's story, Tony is blindsided by the appearance of Eric Savin, another of Aldrich Killian's henchman. Savin chides Slattery for not using his panic button, only for him to respond with the humorous line and take a swig of his beer.
3 "All That For A Drop Of Blood" Thanos, Avengers: Infinity War It's true that Thanos isn't technically an Iron Man-exclusive villain, serving as the overall big bad for the sprawling Infinity Saga of the MCU. But considering Iron Man's status as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's flagship character, and his importance in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, it's safe to say Thanos should qualify for spouting some of the most memorable Iron Man villain lines. While there are a lot of great options to choose from, "All that for a drop of blood" is one of the most direct jabs against Iron Man.
Thanos says this during the incredible battle on his home planet of Titan. With Iron Man's nanite weaponry shockingly able to stand up to an incredibly amount of punishment from Thanos, Iron Man manages to get off an impressive combination attack on the Mad Titan using different weaponry. The barrage only results in a small cut on Thanos' head, causing him to chuckle and demoralize Iron Man's efforts with six simple words.
2 "You Gave Me The Greatest Gift That Anyone's Ever Given Me: Desperation!" Aldrich Killian, Iron Man 3 Compared to other Marvel Cinematic Universe heroes, Tony Stark seems capable of conjuring the most villains via even his most innocuous of choices. From Whiplash to Mysterio, the villains Iron Man creates aren't even limited to his own franchise. By neglecting to meet up with admirer Aldrich Killian, Stark creates a monster, resulting in the proliferation of the Extremis technology and the creation of Advanced Idea Mechanics, a.k.a. A.I.M.
In the final confrontation with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, Adlrich seems to actually appreciate Stark's influence on his life, transforming him into an idealized version of himself. He comments as much before casually murdering Advanced Idea Mechanics mastermind Maya Hansen. This quote defines the moment Killian goes completely off the deep end, even abandoning his own organization, all in the name of petty revenge against none other than Iron Man himself.
1 "Failure Is The Fog Through Which We View Triumph" Aldrich Killian, Iron Man 3 It's rare that villainous quotes can sound heroic, or even downright inspirational, when taken out of context. Yet that's what Aldrich Killian manages to convey in Iron Man 3, perhaps in due in part to the many sayings and wise phrases his father used to impart on him as a boy. Sure enough, Killian relays one last saying to Pepper Potts while pitching an investment in A.I.M. to her just as he did to Tony 13 years prior. This phrase winds up being one of the most best pieces of advice offered by an MCU villain.
The quote takes on a more sinister overtone when examined closely. This is the last moment Killian attempts to do things "above board", resigning himself to terrorism and villainy after being denied by Stark Industries a second time. It's no wonder Iron Man's villains get away with so many fantastic quotes.
Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Date Deadpool & Wolverine July 26, 2024 Captain America: Brave New World February 14, 2025 Thunderbolts* May 2, 2025 The Fantastic Four July 25, 2025 Blade November 7, 2025 Avengers: The Kang Dynasty May 1, 2026 Avengers: Secret Wars May 7, 2027