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Nova Shine: Shimmer, let's not mince words. We're mortal nemeses. You've been a thorn in my side since the day you nearly smothered us in the Vaults. Doesn't really leave much in the room for being friends.
Envy/Shimmer Silvermane: Hey, ask Sunbutt and Moonbutt about Discord. When you've lived as long as we have, sometimes the closest thing you have to a lifelong friend is a mortal nemesis.
Envy/Shimmer Silvermane: Hey, ask Sunbutt and Moonbutt about Discord. When you've lived as long as we have, sometimes the closest thing you have to a lifelong friend is a mortal nemesis.
— Chapter 5 of The Archmage's Last Bow
"One of the greatest threats you will meet as heroes is the villain that simply refuses to go away. Whether it be breaking out of prison, escaping to live another day, always seeming to be one step ahead, or simply pure dumb luck, you will eventually find that one tenacious villain. These are often called a hero’s ‘Nemesis’ by the media."
— Aizawa, Lamarckian
Film — Animation
"I can't think of a morning I haven't woken up with the thought of strangling you."
Terry McGinnis: It's funny. I know about all your other major enemies, but you never mentioned [the Joker]. He was the biggest, wasn't he?
Bruce Wayne: It wasn't a popularity contest. He was a psychopath. A monster.
Bruce Wayne: It wasn't a popularity contest. He was a psychopath. A monster.
Basil: Know him? That bat, one Fidget by name, is in the employ of the very fiend that was the target of my experiment! The horror of my every waking moment. The nefarious Professor Ratigan!
Dawson: Ratigan?
Basil: He's a genius, Dawson. A genius twisted for evil. The Napoleon of crime!
Dawson: As bad as all that, eh?
Basil: Worse! For years I've tried to capture him, and I've come close, so very close, but each time he's narrowly evaded my grasp!
Dawson: Ratigan?
Basil: He's a genius, Dawson. A genius twisted for evil. The Napoleon of crime!
Dawson: As bad as all that, eh?
Basil: Worse! For years I've tried to capture him, and I've come close, so very close, but each time he's narrowly evaded my grasp!
"Thank you, thank you. But it hasn't all been champagne and caviar. I've had my share of adversity, thanks to that miserable, second-rate detective, Basil of Baker Street! For years, that insufferable pipsqueak has interfered with my plans, and I haven't had a moment's peace of mind."
— Professor Ratigan on Basil of Baker Street, The Great Mouse Detective
Film — Live-Action
"Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever."
"It all makes sense! In a comic, you know how you can tell who the archvillain's going to be? He's the exact opposite of the hero. And most times they're friends, like you and me!"
— Elijah Price, Unbreakable
"So what now, Jack Sparrow? Are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until Judgment Day and trumpets sound?"
—Hector Barbossa, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
"All I want to do is bury Cocteau up to his neck in shit and let him think happy-happy thoughts forever."
—Edgar Friendly on Dr. Raymond Cocteau, Demolition Man
"I been dreamin' about killin' you for forty years!"
—Simon Phoenix to John Spartan, Demolition Man
"Poor Peter. To weak to send me home to die."
"No. I just wanna kill you myself."
"Attaboy!"
— Peter Parker and Green Goblin, Spider-Man: No Way Home
Literature
"I tell you, Watson, in all seriousness, that if I could beat that man, if I could free society of him, I should feel that my own career had reached its summit, and I should be prepared to turn to some more placid line in life. Between ourselves, the recent cases in which I have been of assistance to the royal family of Scandinavia, and to the French republic, have left me in such a position that I could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is most congenial to me, and to concentrate my attention upon my chemical researches. But I could not rest, Watson, I could not sit quiet in my chair, if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty were walking the streets of London unchallenged."
— Sherlock Holmes on Prof. James Moriarty, "The Final Problem"
"Ages ago Set coiled about the world like a python about its prey. All my life, which was as the lives of three common men, I fought him. I drove him into the shadows of the mysterious south, but in dark Stygia men still worship him who to us is the arch-demon. As I fought Set, I fight his worshipers and his votaries and his acolytes."
— Epemitreus to Conan, The Phoenix on the Sword
She had battled with Shem Shem Tsien across the world, and it never changed or got any better. He did something awful, she went and tidied up; in Rome, in Kiev, Havana. They fought on boats and in caves, on the roofs of houses and in alleyway. Sometimes one or other of them had an army, sometimes they were alone. It went on and on and it never settled anything. Shem Shem Tsien didn't change, didn't learn, did not accept that the new age had no space for him. Her body was a dictionary of woundings now, courtesy of his impossible speed, and she had learned to distract him, harry him, cheat him of her own death by guile. Once or twice, she had even survived him by skill. She tried not to think about how their addiction to this private, predictable conflict mirrored the ridiculous proxy wars the East and West were fighting with one another.
How many years, how many decades had I played Father's games? Losing every game. Until by sheer luck I found the game he could not win.
I couldn't afford to lose that way to Crayak. The game pieces had become real beings. We played for real lives. And I played the weaker side: I had to save; he had only to destroy.
And yet, here is the shameful truth: I needed Crayak as Father had needed me.
I couldn't afford to lose that way to Crayak. The game pieces had become real beings. We played for real lives. And I played the weaker side: I had to save; he had only to destroy.
And yet, here is the shameful truth: I needed Crayak as Father had needed me.
—The Ellimist, Animorphs - The Ellimist Chronicles
To an attempt an understanding of Muad'Dib without understanding his mortal enemies, the Harkonnens, is to attempt seeing Truth without knowing falsehood. It is the attempt to see the Light without knowing Darkness. It cannot be.
—From "Manual of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan, Dune
Thanquol: How many times, orange-fur? How many? Which spiteful god set you upon this sphere to hound and torment me yet again? Was one lifetime of unmerited failure not enough?!
Gotrek: I know not! Nor, I think, do I care! Gods? Fate? It is enough that it has brought you here, to me! For we are grudgesworn!
Live-Action TV
"He's my best enemy."
"You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies."
Amy Pond: So, you have enemies, then?
The Eleventh Doctor: Everyone's got enemies.
Amy Pond: Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got arch-enemies.
The Eleventh Doctor: Everyone's got enemies.
Amy Pond: Yeah, but mine's the woman outside Budgens with the mental Jack Russell. You've got arch-enemies.
"Hang on a minute - Davros is your arch-enemy now?... I'll scratch his eye out!"
"You know, I used to think it was our families that made us who we are. Then I hoped it was our friends. But if you look at history, the great men and women of the world have always been defined by their enemies."
"I hate having a nemesis. Clark always made it seem so fun, like a deadly pen-pal you see once a year! But no, having a nemesis is STRESSFUL!"
"I'm gonna kill you!"
"Take your shot."
"Take your shot."
Music
I'm just trying to show you
Just how well I know you
I understand just how you feel
Threw your reason away
Cause you had one bad day
And your mind let go of the wheel
Still we're fated to battle
You pout and I prattle
Don't you ever tire of this game?
But you'll not make it end
'Cause I'm your only friend
We are opposites but we're the same!
We are two of a kind
Violent, unsound of mind
You're the yin to my yang, can't you see?
And if I were to leave
You would grumble and grieve
Face it, Bats...
You'd be lost without me!
Just how well I know you
I understand just how you feel
Threw your reason away
Cause you had one bad day
And your mind let go of the wheel
Still we're fated to battle
You pout and I prattle
Don't you ever tire of this game?
But you'll not make it end
'Cause I'm your only friend
We are opposites but we're the same!
We are two of a kind
Violent, unsound of mind
You're the yin to my yang, can't you see?
And if I were to leave
You would grumble and grieve
Face it, Bats...
You'd be lost without me!
What you call an infinite brawl, eternal souls clashing
War gets deep, some beef is everlasting
War gets deep, some beef is everlasting
— Nas, "One Mic"
Tabletop Games
It was in the decades after the Winter of Woe that Ariel first became aware of a malignant and abhorrent presence that would prove to be her nemesis. The existence of this being was of great offence to to Ariel, standing for everything that she opposed, its very being antithesis to her.
—Warhammer: Wood Elves Army Book (6th edition)
Video Games
"BWAHAHAHA! Not bad! I guess I chose the right guy to be my archenemy. At least you always put up a fight."
— Bowser, Super Mario Galaxy
"WHAA—?! IT'S YOU?! Well, I'd expect as much from my archnemesis. Your time is up, Mario!"
— Bowser, Super Mario Galaxy 2
"We will never come to accept one another. We shall always be in conflict!"
"So what will it be, Bats? You and me caught in this eternal struggle? One destined to kill the other? What will we do when one of us wins? Have you even considered it? Terrifying, isn't it?"
Sub-Zero: Again, we meet.
Scorpion: Again, and always.
Sub-Zero: Again, you will suffer.
Scorpion: Again, and always.
Sub-Zero: Again, you will suffer.
Sub-Zero: Our kombat is renewed, Scorpion?
Scorpion: It never ended, Sub-Zero.
Sub-Zero: It will end today.
Scorpion: It never ended, Sub-Zero.
Sub-Zero: It will end today.
"The guy behind everything turned out to be your archenemy. What an oddly poetic twist."
Web Original
Up pulls a familiar Eagle sedan, and out steps renowned goons Tinker and O'Connor. For unknown reasons, they're here to bring Dalton to see Brad Wesley. Dalton sits up, hangs his head momentarily, but goes along with them. I guess even he knows that a meeting between two men so perfectly embodying the concepts of good and evil is only inevitable.
Chris: These two dudes are completely on their own level that's just beyond anyone else in the movie, which makes them a really great pair. There's a grandness to them and their adversarial relationship—as well as their familiarity with each other—that this movie does pull off pretty well despite all its other flaws.
David: Well, Luthor even says it: he'll miss Superman, the only man who can keep up with him. He's also, notably, the only man who's ever outsmarted Luthor, with his great gambit at the end of Superman II. He not only outsmarted Luthor, he used Luthor as a pawn to outsmart someone bigger. Luthor respects the Hell out of that.
Chris: Exactly, which is why as far as Luthor's concerned, Superman has to die.
David: Well, Luthor even says it: he'll miss Superman, the only man who can keep up with him. He's also, notably, the only man who's ever outsmarted Luthor, with his great gambit at the end of Superman II. He not only outsmarted Luthor, he used Luthor as a pawn to outsmart someone bigger. Luthor respects the Hell out of that.
Chris: Exactly, which is why as far as Luthor's concerned, Superman has to die.
— Chris Sims and David Uzumeri on Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for PeaceStrangely the point in which she was truly cemented in my mind as the Doctor was when she faced down the Master in Spyfall, there’s something about when these two get together that brings out the best in the Doctor (and probably another reason why I don’t hold Matt Smith in such high esteem).
—Joe Ford on Jodie Whittaker
Jodie WhittakerPokey is something of an anti-Ness; he is everything that Ness is not, and perhaps in equal proportions.
— Pat R. on EarthBound (1994)
on EarthBound (1994)"After Champion-3 died, Champ-4 turned out to be a decent kid, he saved Dad’s life once, and well, GizDad just didn’t have the heart to keep up the feud.”
“Yes, well, you never really get over your first Nemesis,” Kate allowed.
“Don’t worry, Kate,” I patted her hand. “Someday, that special hero will come along, someone you can really HATE.”
“Yes, well, you never really get over your first Nemesis,” Kate allowed.
“Don’t worry, Kate,” I patted her hand. “Someday, that special hero will come along, someone you can really HATE.”
Western Animation
"Lord Monkey Fist, my arch-foe! ...Hey, I just realized I have my own personal arch-foe. It's kind of cool."
— Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible
Doctor Venture: You just have to keep pushing my buttons, don't you?
The Monarch: I'm your arch enemy! That's what I do! That's my thing!
The Monarch: I'm your arch enemy! That's what I do! That's my thing!
There's a certain rhythm to these things! I cause trouble, he shows up. We have some laughs and the game starts all over again! [...] Without Batman, crime has no punchline.
— Joker, Batman: The Animated Series
"I am the thing that keeps you up at night, the evil that haunts every dark corner of your mind. I will never rest — and neither will you."
—Slade, Teen Titans (2003), "Haunted"
Sideshow Bob: Rakes... my old arch-enemy.
Bart: I thought I was your arch-enemy.
Sideshow Bob: I have a life outside of you, Bart.
Bart: I thought I was your arch-enemy.
Sideshow Bob: I have a life outside of you, Bart.
"We must seek the balance, Megatron. Not only between the organic and the technological, but the balance between eternal enemies: between you...and I!"
—Optimus Primal, Beast Machines
You've bested me in many worlds, child... but I always return.
—The Lich, Adventure Time, "Whispers"
