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Superhero movies are some of the most quotable around; however, some lines from Marvel films have not aged well over the years. Be it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which started in 2008 with Iron Man and has no ending in sight, or the rest of the live-action Marvel films, heroes and villains have had some quotes that continue to look worse as time passes.
These quotes do not necessarily have to come from bad films, as some of them are from a few of the MCU's best movies. That said, there are various reasons that contribute to Marvel movie quotes aging poorly. Sometimes, a line worked for the time the movie was released, but it lost its meaning with the years. There are also cases where other movies in a franchise quickly made quotes feel dated, and some lines should never have been uttered in the first place, looking even worse now.
10 "We Have Orders. We Should Follow Them."
Captain America, The Avengers (2012)
Chris Evans' Captain America is one of the MCU's most important characters. As the leader of the Avengers, Steve Rogers has given several impactful speeches during his MCU tenure. However, one of the character's lines in The Avengers would age poorly merely a couple of years after it was uttered.
Captain America and Iron Man did not like one another much in The Avengers. During the same argument where Tony Stark utters one of his most famous lines, "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist," Captain America tries to make Stark let go of his careless demeanor, saying, "We have orders. We should follow them."
The sixth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers is an action superhero film that sees the heroes assembled across the franchise face off with a deadly galactic threat. With the arrival of Thor's brother, Loki, heroes such as Captain America, The Hulk, Iron Man, and Black Widow are brought together to stop him from unleashing an alien race upon earth.
Release Date May 4, 2012
Runtime 143 minutes
That line makes sense for the moment, as Steve Rogers had just woken up after several years, and his military training took over. However, in the same movie, Captain America would take a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet without authorization. Throughout the rest of his MCU history, Steve Rogers butted heads with the government multiple times, even becoming a fugitive for it, which made this quote age poorly.
9 “That’s A Cute Outfit, Did Your Husband Give It To You?”
Peter Parker, Spider-Man (2002)
Tobey Maguire's first Spider-Man movie is one of the best live-action Marvel films ever. While its success would lead to many other superhero films being made in the years after it was released, 2002's Spider-Man is certainly a product of its time. Peter Parker has an offensive quote in the movie.
Early in the film, Peter goes into wrestling to get money for a car. As The Human Spider, Peter fights Bonesaw McGraw. In the middle of their fight, the Marvel character decides to mock his adversary's getup, saying, "That’s a cute outfit. Did your husband give it to you?"
Spider-Man is the first film in Sam Raimi's trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Released in 2002, the film introduced superhero fans to a live-action Norman Osborn, played by Willem Dafoe, who is transformed into his villainous alter ego, Green Goblin, after being forced out of Oscorp Industries. At the same time, Peter Parker is grappling with his newfound abilities as the iconic wall-crawler.
Release Date May 3, 2002
Writers David Koepp
Runtime 121 Minutes
The quote was played for laughs at the time the movie was released. However, in the years since Spider-Man arrived in theaters, the parameters of what is acceptable or not by society have changed. The homophobic tone of the joke has led to it aging extremely badly over the years, which has even resulted in the problematic Tobey Maguire quote being cut from Spider-Man TV showings.
8 “Well, What Would You Prefer, Yellow Spandex?”
Cyclops, X-Men (2000)
Like Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man franchise, Fox's X-Men movies helped usher in the era of superhero franchises. 2000's X-Men has a moment that aged poorly for a couple of reasons. The line in question comes from James Marsden's Cyclops, who, after being asked about going outside in the X-Men costumes by Wolverine, says, "Well, what would you prefer, yellow spandex?"
Disney+'s X-Men '97 flips the quote around . Cable receives a classic X-Men costume from Cyclops, and after asking if the colorful suit means they are going to a circus, Scott Summers says, " What did you expect? Black leather? "
The line is a clear nod to the X-Men's most famous comic book suits. The team often wears matching yellow uniforms in the comics. However, Fox executives thought that the black leather look — inspired by Keanu Reeves' The Matrix — would make the team cooler in live-action.
X-Men is the first film in the long-running superhero franchise centering on the iconic Marvel team. Wolverine and Professor X take center stage as they and the other X-Men attempt to stop Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto) after he has a violent response to the proposed Mutant Registration Act. Hugh Jackman stars as Wolverine, alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, and Anna Paquin.
Director Bryan Singer
Release Date July 14, 2000
Writers Tom DeSanto , Bryan Singer , David Hayter
Runtime 104 Minutes
In the short term, the quote aged badly because of how fans wanted to see the classic X-Men suits in live-action. The film mocked that desire. Recently, Hugh Jackman finally wore Logan's iconic yellow and blue suit in Deadpool & Wolverine. The MCU showed how the suit could work in live-action, making the line out of place.
7 "Next Time, Baby."
James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Iron Man (2008)
The MCU has always been about presenting exciting stories and setting up the next one. Even though 2008's Iron Man was not sure to be a hit, Marvel Studios teased possible events if the franchise were to continue. However, one of those teases did not age well.
Terrence Howard played James Rhodes in the first Iron Man film. When the character passes through the Mark II Iron Man armor, he says, "Next time, baby." This was a tease that would be paid off in Iron Man 2, where Rhodey donned the suit to stop a reckless Tony Stark, who wore his Iron Man armor at his birthday party.
Iron Man is the first film in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, who becomes Iron Man after he is kidnapped and discovers terrorists are using weapons developed by Stark Industries. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Tony's love interest Pepper Potts alongside Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and Jeff Bridges as the villainous Obadiah Stane.
Release Date May 2, 2008
Writers Matt Holloway , Art Marcum , Hawk Ostby , Mark Fergus
Runtime 126 minutes
The issue that makes this quote age poorly comes from the real world. Terrence Howard and Marvel Studios could not reach terms for the actor to continue as Rhodey in the MCU. As such, Don Cheadle was the War Machine actor to pay off his Iron Man line, which makes the scene awkward.
6 "Last Time I Trusted Someone, I Lost an Eye."
Nick Fury, Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
As the man behind S.H.I.E.L.D., Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury has had his fair share of secrets in the MCU. One of the biggest relates to how the character lost his eye. Fury teased that past event multiple times before Marvel revealed what happened.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of the MCU's most intriguing movies. With H.Y.D.R.A. rising inside S.H.I.E.L.D., the heroes do not know who to trust. Nick Fury is included among those, and during a conversation with Chris Evans' Captain America, he explains why he will not let his guard down, saying, "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye."
Captain America: The Winter Soldier, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, follows Steve Rogers as he adapts to contemporary life while confronting a new adversary, the mysterious Winter Soldier, amidst internal threats to S.H.I.E.L.D. The film explores themes of trust and loyalty as Rogers teams up with allies to uncover hidden conspiracies.
Release Date April 4, 2014
Writers Christopher Markus , Stephen McFeely
Runtime 136 Minutes
The line was good initially, adding to the mystery behind Fury's scars. However, Captain Marvel revealed that Carol Danvers' alien cat, Goose, was the one to scratch Fury's eye. That less-than-enthusiastic explanation makes the quote age poorly in retrospect, as it did not amount to a major reveal.
5 "You're Amazing! They Should Call You... the Amazing Spider-Man!"
Electro, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Andrew Garfield is perfect as Peter Parker. However, The Amazing Spider-Man franchise has multiple issues, particularly in its second film. Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has a few quotes that aged poorly, and the movie's villain, Electro, is hard to watch in retrospect.
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Electro was not handled well in the film, and his dialogue matched that. The choice of making Max Dillon — pre-transformation Electro — a major Spider-Man fan led to a few cringeworthy moments. One of those included Max pretending to have a conversation with Spider-Man, saying, "You're amazing! They should call you... The Amazing Spider-Man!"
In The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andrew Garfield returns to the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, dealing with balancing his life as a high school student and his responsibilities as a hero. After reconnecting with his old friend, Harry Osborn, Peter learns details regarding his late father's mysterious past and begins to connect the dots that his father's disappearance, the emergence of new supervillains, and other dark dealings in his city are all connected to Oscorp.
Director Marc Webb
Release Date May 2, 2014
Writers Jeff Pinkner , James Vanderbilt , Alex Kurtzman , Roberto Orci
Runtime 142 minutes
The quote was already far from ideal when the movie was released, as it is a wink at the film's title. However, with Tom Holland's Spider-Man films seeing both Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx reprising their roles in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it has become worse. Electro has better and more natural exchanges with Garfield's Spider-Man in the MCU.
4 "He's never fought me twice."
Thor, Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War has perhaps the most shocking MCU opening scene. Thanos has beaten Thor and later easily wins a fight against the Hulk before killing Loki. Chris Hemsworth's Thor would let his anger from that moment lead him.
Thor cannot let go of his early loss and how he could not save his brother.
When talking to Rocket Raccoon about Thanos, Thor says, "He's never fought me twice." Thor cannot let go of his early loss and how he could not save his brother. This quote shows just how much the character is focused on doing better the next time that he meets Thanos, which he does, but not as he expected.
Avengers: Infinity War is the third Avengers movie in the game-changing Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film is positioned as the beginning of the culmination of everything that has transpired in the franchise to date. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, who previously helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War, have assembled the largest ensemble in a superhero film to date. Nearly every living character in the MCU is included as the Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to take down Thanos in a battle that has massive repercussions for the future of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. A sequel, Avengers: Endgame, was released in 2019 and marked the end of the Infinity Saga.
Release Date April 27, 2018
Writers Stephen McFeely , Christopher Markus
Runtime 149 minutes
After uttering that line, Thor would get his rematch. At the end of Avengers: Infinity War, the Marvel hero gets the upper hand against Thanos in a fight. However, Thor chooses to swing his ax at Thanos' chest, not killing the villain, which allows him to snap the Infinity Gauntlet. Thor fought Thanos twice and lost both times, making the quote age poorly and very fast.
3 “Do You Know What Happens To A Toad When It’s Struck By Lightning?”
Storm, X-Men (2000)
Since it has been 24 years, it is easy to understand how a number of X-Men's lines have aged poorly. However, some of them did not even work that well in the movie when it was released, becoming even more negative as fans rewatched the films in the years that followed.
X-Men (2000) |
X2: X-Men United (2003) |
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) |
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) |
X-Men: First Class (2011) |
The Wolverine (2013) |
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) |
Deadpool (2016) |
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) |
Logan (2017) |
Deadpool 2 (2018) |
Dark Phoenix (2019) |
The New Mutants (2020) |
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) |
Halle Berry's Storm has one of the most famous quotes from the film. In the 2000 movie, the X-Men face off against Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants at the Statue of Liberty. During the fight sequence, Storm goes up against Toad. Trying to sound cool, she says,"Do you know what happens to a toad when it’s struck by lightning?"
The line is meant to be badass and mysterious, as there is no explanation for it. However, any excitement immediately gets taken out of the moment when Storm finishes the sentence. The character's answer was, "The same thing that happens to everything else," and Storm hits Toad with her powers. An attempt at comedy that continues to age badly.
2 "She Is Potentially A Very Expensive Sexual Harassment Lawsuit If You Keep Ogling Her"
Pepper Potts, Iron Man 2 (2010)
Scarlett Johansson made her first appearance as Black Widow in Iron Man 2. The movie introduced her as a Stark Industries employee from the legal department. Still pretending to be Natalie Rushman at the time, Black Widow became Tony Stark's assistant to keep an eye on him for Nick Fury.
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As was common in the 2000s and 2010s, a lot of Black Widow's scenes in the movie focus on sexualizing the character. That started already from her first scene. Tony and Happy Hogan are sparring in the ring when Natalie enters the room. From the moment she appeared, Tony could not take his eyes off her.
The third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 2, is an action-superhero film that occurs six months after the original film's events. After outing himself as the heavy metal superhero known as Iron Man, Tony Stark goes to great lengths to avoid demands from the government for his tech. But, unfortunately, the technology Tony used to save his life is beginning to impact his health inversely - just in time for a man named Ivan Vanko to arrive, who creates his version of the Iron Man tech to settle a decades-long score with Howard Stark's son.
Release Date May 7, 2010
Writers Justin Theroux
Runtime 124 minutes
After asking about who she was to Pepper Potts, Gwyneth Paltrow's character replies, saying, "She is potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit if you keep ogling her." The quote focused on the misogyny of the moment, joking about it, and with the world view on such scenes changing over the years, the joke has aged poorly.
1 "I Will Be Reinstituting Prima Nocta."
Iron Man, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015)
The most controversial line in Avengers: Age of Ultron happens to come in one of the film's best scenes. The Avengers movies do not often have the time to show how the heroes interact outside of saving the world. That is why Age of Ultron's Avengers tower party is so beloved by fans.
Amid the party, there is a sequence where the Avengers try to lift Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. When it is Iron Man's turn, Tony Stark utters the MCU line that has aged the worst. Before attempting to lift Mjolnir, Stark says that if he is successful, he "will be reinstituting Prima Nocta."
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Earth's Mightiest must reunite and work with newcomers Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to battle a new antagonist Ultron, who receives an all-new origin story while dealing with a new level of inner conflict amongst the team. Quicksilver & Scarlet Witch may not necessarily agree with The Avengers and initially blame Tony Stark for creating the new villain and the death of their parents. Avengers: Age of Ultron was directed and written by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige for Marvel Studios. The movie was released on April 13, 2015, followed by its eventual sequels, Avengers: Infinity War in 2018 and Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
Release Date May 1, 2015
Runtime 141 minutes
Prima Nocta is a mythical feudal law made famous by the movie Braveheart. It lets any noble have sex with a woman under his rule on her wedding night. This means Tony Stark was making a joke about non-consensual intimate relationships in the Avengers movie. The quote was already out of place then, but after the #MeToo movement raised awareness against violence towards women, the Marvel movie quote has aged tremendously poorly.
All Announced Upcoming MCU Movies
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Release Date February 14, 2025
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Release Date July 25, 2025
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Release Date July 24, 2026
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