Month: December 2011

“When you have to shoot, shoot! Don’t talk!”

From: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Tuco

The story behind the quote: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is a classic spaghetti western. Probably best known for its soundtrack (the whistle song… its kinda hard to describe) and starring Clint Eastwood before he made it big. It’s pretty easy to make a summary of the story: three guys that don’t trust each other are searching for buried gold. However, that summary doesn’t really do the story justice. There are a lot of twists throughout the film that keeps it interesting.

Anyway, the quote in question comes from one scene where Tuco, the “Ugly” noted in the title, is taking a bath. A bounty hunter who was injured during the start of the film, manages to track down the wanted man. Since he has Tuco (presumably) corners, the bounty hunter starts to ramble about how he was searching for him for months. What he didn’t know was Tuco was pretty much prepared for that situation.

Geek wisdom: You’ve seen supervillians do this all the time. Before they kill the hero, they brag about their plan and how they’re gonna kill them. What usually happens? The hero escapes! Simply put, if you gotta do something, just do it! Don’t waste time talking about it. Execute whatever you need to do and let your actions speak for themselves.

“By the power of Grayskull… I have the power!”

From: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: He-Man/Prince Adam

The story behind the quote: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is actually several things: a highly successful 80’s Saturday morning cartoon, a widely hated animated series in the 90’s and a well-received remake in 2002. Still, the story behind all of them is ridiculously simple. The villians, led by the aptly named Skeletor, an apparently very muscular sorcerer who has a skull for a head, wants to take over the planet, generally Eternia. When the bad guys do attack, Prince Adam will held aloft his magic sword and… well, yell out the quote. This transforms Prince Adam in the He-Man, “the most powerful man in the universe!”

Here is the intro for the original 80s version of the show…

Now, the weirdly different 90s version…

Finally, the very serious but still quite awesome 2002 remake…

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we can forget our roots. We can become very successful or very wealthy and forget that we didn’t do it alone. All successful people needed the help of other people to be in the position that they are in. Whenever Prince Adam would use the quote to transform into He-Man (the most powerful man in the universe), he is actually acknowledging that his power is not his: its given to him by another. In this case, the magical castle of Greyskull.

People should not forget where they come from. It’s a big part of why they are the way they are now. We have to acknowledge this and remember the people that helped us along the way.

“Kneel before Zod!”

From: Superman II

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: General Zod

The story behind the quote: Superman II is, obviously, a sequel. And this is actually kind of important to note since we actually get to see what happens to the three criminals that were sent to the Phantom Zone during the first Superman movie. So, if you’ve watched the 1st Superman film and wondered, “Hey! What happened to those guys that were encased in a floating square?” then you really need to watch this movie.

Anyway, the leader of the criminals, General Zod, tried to take over Krypton, which is why he and two of his followers were jailed in the Phantom Zone. Because of the events that unfolded during the 1st film, Zod and his group managed to escape and, this time, try to take over Earth. They actually succeeded for the most part. However, with the timely return of Superman (long story, just watch the original or the Richard Donner cut, with the latter being more serious in tone), the Man of Steel challenges the General to battle. This is when General Zod yells and orders the Last Son of Krypton to kneel before him.

Geek wisdom: There is going to be a time, when pushed too far, we have to fight back against what we hate. While we do symbolically kneel before those things sometimes (following orders from a boss you don’t like or stuck in a hurtful relationship), we have to gauge when enough is enough. We do eventually have to stand up, say that we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore.

Speaking of which…

(God, I just love this clip!)

“Face it, tiger… you just hit the jackpot!”

From: Spider-Man

Genre: Comics

Who said it?: Mary Jane Watson

The story behind the quote: Wow, when it comes to comics, I seem to either go to Batman or Spider-Man… but this is a bit different since it isn’t the hero that gives the quote. Rather, it’s the love interest of Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson.

We have to get into a lot of backstory regarding this quote to really get the full impact of the wisdom from it. Prior to her first (official) appearance in the comics, she was just this faceless girl that Aunt May kept on trying to set Peter Parker up for a date (initially mentioned in Amazing Spider-Man #15). Peter kept blowing it off since he assumed that, since his aunt liked her so much, he wouldn’t really like her. This actually kept on for a really long time and it became somewhat of running joke of the series.

Finally, in Amazing Spider-Man #42 (around two years after she was initially mentioned), Peter does meet Mary Jane, who turns out to be a bombshell of a red-head who jokingly mentions how lucky he is.

Geek wisdom: You shouldn’t be afraid to try new things once in a while. Sure there’s going to be a chance that the experience is awful. However, unless you try it, you’ll never know if its something that’s plain god-awful or something given from God. Imagine if Peter Parker never met Mary Jane. He wouldn’t have had met the love of his life. Remember, you may hit the jackpot, too, if you try something new.