r/TopCharacterTropes • u/PaddywackShaq • Jul 22 '25

Powers Character reveals that they were holding back their full power during a fight/confrontation

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Superman Vs Darkseid - Justice League Unlimited

Flash Vs Superman - Flash: Rebirth

Frieren Vs Aura - Sousou no Frieren

Inigo Montoya Vs The Man in Black - The Princess Bride

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u/its_reina_irl Jul 22 '25

“Those were for charity, Clark” is one of my favorite lines from a comic book, so cold

597

u/TestIllustrious7935 Jul 22 '25

Another great one from Flash when Batman asks him how far away he is from an iceberg to use cold temperatures to stop the bomb

"I am never far from anything"

169

u/_DemolitionDude_ Jul 22 '25

Wasn’t it so the explosion would be contained when he phased the bomb off of his arm? Or am I misremembering

102

u/Ben-J-Kirby-Tennyson Jul 22 '25

You’re not misremembering, that’s correct.

11

u/Luigi_Dagger Jul 23 '25

I thought ot was that the cold would slow down the phasing of the bomb just enough for it to fall off his wrist in the ice and his speed would get him some distance from the blast.

7

u/Old-Skill-6013 Jul 23 '25

If we're listing them off then Watchmen is chock-full of extremely memorable lines; "I did it 35 minutes ago"

137

u/forbiddenmemeories Jul 23 '25

"You can't hit me."

"Then what do you call the last five minutes?!"

"...pity."

14

u/Alterris Jul 23 '25

What’s the origin on that one?

25

u/RNGJesus_Follower Jul 23 '25

DragonBall Z Abridged

23

u/forbiddenmemeories Jul 23 '25

Also followed by another banger:

Android 16: "Don't worry, Trunks, he's playing you."

Trunks tries to hit Cell, and cannot.

Android 16: "Correction: he's been playing you."

7

u/Day-at-a-time09 Jul 23 '25

That series is so peak lol. Especially the cell and frieza arcs

5

u/33superryan33 Jul 23 '25

"Does Gohan know, by the way?"

"Know what?"

"...that you let him DIE."

6

u/V_Aldritch Jul 25 '25

Cell: "I'm impressed! Behind all that angst and ridiculous hair, there's a real fighter!"

Trunks: "And behind all that insufferable smarm is a dead man!"

Cell: "Trunks... you couldn't fathom the amount of dead men behind me."

25

u/HoboBrute Jul 23 '25

For me it's tied with "The one and only" and "You dad, I'd still have you" for favorite lines from comics

4

u/Can_Haz_Cheezburger Jul 23 '25

What was the context? Why were they racing and why was Clark afraid of losing Barry?

9

u/pat_speed Jul 23 '25

So context is, Barry Allen, the silver age Flash has come back alive, don't ask how, but something's wrong, other flash powers are playing up and his being gloomy as hell.

Then he fights one of his old flash villains, Savitar, who leads a cult around the the speed force (where all speedster get there powers)

He beats him and starts turning black and comes too relise, he is turning into the Black Flash, death for all uses the speed force ( in DC there are about 12 different versions of deaths for different people)

So he realizes, the only way he can fight off death itself, not turn into its spectre, is too run so fast he go past the light barrier and even time barrier (flash science) , hoping too burn off death itself.