Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Boy, he must've done something really bad to have this comin'.
"This is the '90s. You don't just go around punching people. You have to say something cool first."
—Joe Hallenbeck, The Last Boy Scout

It is almost an official duty of an Action Hero to deliver sardonic one-liners. And what better time to produce one than just before the execution of the other official duty - kicking ass?

Common variations on this trope include:

  • A form of comic subversion in which the one-liner is stupid or silly. This has the potential to stall or confuse the opponent.
  • A form of comic subversion in which the outcome of the intended ass-kicking fizzles, negating the one-liner or at least failing to justify it.
  • A Catch Phrase or Battle Cry that may have started as a one-liner, or may work as one to some degree.

Chew Bubblegum is a particularly popular example. See also Badass Boast, Badass Creed, In the Name of the Moon, My Name Is Inigo Montoya and Pre-Mortem One-Liner.

Examples of Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner are listed on these subpages:
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