…(and for the very first time), I thought I'd post a new topic completely non-WT-related... about a subject matter I have a particular affinity for...
..I'm a major movie geek (most people here already know that), but one of the many things I especially like are what I call "Middle-Finger Victory Lines".
They are memorable (and extremely quotable) moments of dialogue, wherein the protagonist says an extremely cool or badass comment to a very deserving defeated opponent...
...usually (but not always) said when victory has just been literally snatched from the clutches of certain defeat, and serving as a tall, proud, and victorious flipoff to the often (but not always) shocked-at-the-sudden-turn-of-events enemy.
My Ten Favorites:
"Smile, you sonofabitch."
Sheriff Brody to the Shark...
...just before firing his last bullet into a scuba tank lodged in the charging shark's open jaws.
Jaws (1975)
"You're terminated, fucker."
Sarah Connor to the Terminator...
...as she crushes it in a hydraulic press just as it's about to tear her throat out.
The Terminator (1984)
"I'm having an old friend for dinner."
Hannibal Lector to Clarice Starling...
...in a phone call to her after his escape, as he's watching his former asshole warden from across the street.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
"Dear Warden: you were right... salvation lies within."
Andy DuFresne to Samuel Norton...
...in a note revealing the empty space in his prison-issued Bible, where he'd hidden the crucial tool of his escape.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
"Assimilate this."
Worf to a dozen hostile Borg...
...just before vaporizing them with a well-placed phaser rifle shot.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
"I'm sorry, Professor... I must not tell lies."
Harry Potter to Dolores Umbridge...
...as she's hauled away by angry centaurs, begging him to vouch for her despite her near-psychotic abusive behavior.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
"Never disposed of sewage with a toilet before... obvious, really."
Rorshach to Big Figure...
...after eliminating the shocked villain's murderous thugs with overflowed plumbing and an exposed electric cable.
Watchmen (2009)
"Live long and prosper."
Spock to his Vulcan professors...
...after they diss his half-human heritage, thus cementing his decision to drop out and join Starfleet instead.
(a particular favorite... it was the first, last, and only time I've ever heard the eponymous phrase sound just like "go fuck yourself")
Star Trek (2009)
"The latest thing from Q branch... it's called a radio."
James Bond to Raoul Silva...
...when Silva realizes that MI6 has actually been tracking them all along.
Skyfall (2012)
"And I... am... Iron Man."
Tony Stark to Thanos...
...after the gloating alien warlord snaps his fingers in apparent triumph, only to discover - horrified - that Tony nicked the Infinity Stones right out from under him.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Honorable Mention:
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara...
...as he finally walks away from their toxic relationship and all her stupid bullshit.
Gone With the Wind (1939)