Tom King > Quotes

“To assert as truth that which has no meaning is the core mission of humanity.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“Facts without context are like individuals without society. Just as an individual must find his or her place in society or else they are useless, a fact must find its place in an argument or else it serves no true purpose.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“Parents sacrifice their lives for their children. Then children become parents and sacrifice their own lives. And so all is sacrificed and nothing is gained. Life, then becomes the pursuit of an unobtainable purpose by absurd means.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 2: Little Better Than a Beast

“You cannot hate what you do not know. They do not know you, therefore they are incapable of hating you. Perhaps I might concede they hate the idea of you. But if this is true, then your task is a simple one. You merely have to show them that you are not that idea.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“I am not a joke. I am not a riddle! I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin! I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not your broken friend! I am not your regretful teacher! I am not a child's fairy tale! I am not a circus act here to amuse and frighten you! I am not another one of your madmen howling at the moon! And I...I am not...I am not some rich boy playing dress-up! I AM BANE!”
― Tom King, Batman, Vol. 3: I Am Bane

“He does not provide solace from pain.
He cannot give you hope for the eternal.
He cannot comfort you for the love you lost.
God blesses your soul with grace.
Batman punches people in the face.
- Bruce Wayne”
― Tom King, Batman, Vol. 8: Cold Days

“Mister Miracle: No one loves L.A. People just come here because they think they have to. Then they don't leave because they think they can't.

Big Barda: Darling, please. After everything. Haven't you learned by now? That's all love is.”
― Tom King, Mister Miracle

“The pursuit of a set purpose by logical means is the way of tyranny... The pursuit of an unobtainable purpose by absurd means is the way of freedom.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“I have said it. Therefore it is confirmed.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“Is the truth not kind?”
― Tom King, The Vision #7

“You're not someone who can be figured out. Or solved. And you never will be.”
― Tom King, Batman #50

“Alfred, when it happened with Mother and Father, how did you help me?

Master Bruce, with all due respect, each night you leave this perfectly lovely house and go leaping off buildings dressed as a giant bat. Do you really think I helped you?”
― Tom King, Batman, Vol. 1: I Am Gotham

“You are who he made. Fine. And I'm whatever the horrors of my life made me. Fine. All our sins, our earned tragedies, all of it. All that damn pain. It's all here with us. It is us. And I'm sure it's all meaningful or hilarious or philosophical or deep or something or everything. We could spend our whole lives mired in the complexities. But really, compared to us--compared to you and me--what we have, or could have...all that pain we have...honestly Who cares?”
― Tom King, Batman, Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles

“I asked the Lord Our God why do we suffer.

He didn't answer.
He couldn't speak through the tears.”
― Tom King

“The floating water vases of Zenn-La are always empty.

The methanic sulfite that causes the water to levitate is poisonous to all known species of flowers.

The mystery is then not why they are empty, but why anyone would make such a vase.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“I was actually sweet. But then he says, "before you answer, I have to tell you something. Its about Kite Man”
― Tom King

“Comics aren’t for everyone.

Created by the children of immigrants, it is the medium of the outsider and the outcast, the nerd who won’t fit in.

We exist, we thrive because we recognize and amplify the voices of those who must struggle mightily to be heard.

We say, I’m here.”
― Tom King

“The pursuit of an unobtainable purpose by absurd means is the way of freedom; this is my vision of the future. Of our future.”
― Tom King, The Vision, Vol. 1: Little Worse Than a Man

“They said I was hope. . .I couldn't be what I thought they'd wanted me to be. . .but hope isn't denying who you are or what you've been through; what you lost. Hope is knowing what you carry with you. How heavy is the load. How easy it'd be to stay still, to do nothing. To yield to the weight and fall to the mud. And yet despite that burden, or maybe because of it, you're still running.”
― Tom King, Heroes in Crisis

“You are an engine that turns pain into hope.”
― Tom King, Batman, Vol. 7: The Wedding

“Behold the Vision and the Scarlet Witch.

Some time ago.

When we were young.

And everything was new and different.

'Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, recently told me a joke.'

'Okay.'

'Would you enjoy hearing it?'

'Okay.'

'Two toasters are sitting on a counter. One toaster turns to the other toaster and asks: "Do you sometimes feel empty?"'

'Then the other toaster says: "Oh my god! A talking toaster!"'

'Oh god. Hahahaha.'

'Hahahaha.'

'Hahahaha.'

'Hahahaha.'

'Hahahaha.”
― Tom King, The Vision #7

“It was sweet. But then he says "Before you answer I have to tell you something. Its about Kite Man".”
― Tom King, Batman: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition, Book 4

“Okay I admit I thought this would be better. with a lot more stars at least. I had this whole plan where like the light of the stars would meet the light of the valley and there would be light everywhere. But where are the stars?
Barda: We still have the valley!”
― Tom King, Mister Miracle

“Find the loyal. Punish the wicked.

I had a standard way of approaching the topic. I'd tell a joke about the king, something a little bawdy.
Having to do with the rumors that the firstprince was sired by the king's sister and not the reverendmother.
Those who go along with the humor reveal themselves to be unknowingly awaiting eventual execution.

Your father actually didn't laugh, much to his credit. Instead he objected forcefully.
He screamed at me for my rudeness on his land.
He did not like the content or context and asked me to immediately apologize for the blasphemy and walk away from the home of his family.

And I stood there looking at this small man, this farmer of rocks.
Screaming at me about his service to the king and my betrayal of our sacred nation.
Him making demands of me. knowing nothing of my life! my sacrifices for my king, my duty served so often.

I wasn't on that field anymore. Instead I saw him in my mind's eye, years after this, bending down day after day, clearing the fields of their hard seeds.
And all the while imagining himself my better.
Because he didn't like a joke I told.
I was lost in this vision, and when I found my way out, my sword was in his gut.”
― Tom King, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #7

“Am I supposed to believe CNN? Nobody believes CNN.”
― Tom King, The Sheriff of Babylon, Volume 1: Bang. Bang. Bang.

“Our hope for redemption is now just another hunt for vengeance.”
― Tom King, Heroes in Crisis

“I've been on the very top. I've been as happy as a man can be. I've had the greatest joys. The greatest friends. I've had victories and I've had....love. And then...something happens. You lose something or...someone or...and there it is again. I'm there again. Mother's tangled. Father's yelling. I'm ten and I'm on my damn knees. And I'm scared out of my damn mind. And feeling that, I say...I become...something, I do things....I'm not...I am myself. But I'm not what I want to be or what I should be. I'm scared. And I'll do anything to get out of the fright.”
― Tom King, Batman, Vol. 8: Cold Days

“And that's when I learned that far-off gods are fine for prayer, and I judge no person who seeks comfort in the infinity of the heavens. But here below, when the demons come in close, you're better off just relying on the staunch will of a good woman.”
― Tom King, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow

“When I was young, learning, I had a teacher who used to say over and over he knew the trick to winning every fight. The trick, he said, is to never want to win. Because wanting something is admitting you don't have it.”
― Tom King, The Human Target, Volume 1

“Let me tell you. Before anything, what you need to do next is talk to these people. Hear their story. Tell yours, and understand you're not the only one who tried to do something good, and ended up doing something horrible. You're not the only one who's been hurt so bad that the hurt becomes part of you, as much as you hate it, that the hurt is you. You're not the only one who was betrayed by a friend, who's had the person they thought they could trust forever end their life. You're not the only one who has felt the madness creep in. Who wants to turn away from it all and keeps turning toward it. You're not the only one who has done some terrible things who will now forever try to make up for that harm.

You understand. Don't kill. Don't run. Do what I did. Talk. Listen. And know. As bad as it is, we're in it together.”
― Tom King, Heroes in Crisis