You Got Spunk: Difference between revisions

Line 2:

{{quote|''"A little fight in ya...I like that."''|''[[The Joker]]'' ''in'' ''[[The Dark Knight]]''.}}

In fiction, most villains are used to dealing with the [[Damsel in Distress]]. They scream, they're easily subdued by grasping their [[Standard Female Grab Area]], they're generally easy to dominate. This can get rather dull if it goes on for long enough.

As a result, the villain tends to be pleasantly surprised when he captures an [[Action Girl]] and she puts up a fight. Oh, he'll still hold her hostage. He'll still kill her when the time comes. But when she spits in his face, [[Groin Attack|kicks him in the crotch]] and insults him with a witty rejoinder, well, he can't help but shake his head (perhaps smirking as he does so) and say, "I'll give you this. You Got Spunk."

Line 10:

These days, this isn't strictly a man-to-woman trope. It has a much darker and creepier connotation when used in the middle of [[Rape Tropes|a rape scene]]. It may also be used in less extreme situations by someone who's not a villain, merely a [[Grumpy Bear]], in which case they'll make it a backhanded compliment by adding "[[It's X. I Hate X.|I hate spunk.]]" Not that real villains can't hate spunk, too.

For the non-rapey version, please see "[[I Love You Because I Can't Control You]]". "You Got Spunk" is more "''I '''will''' love you because it is hard to control you''", and [[Captain Obvious|unsurprisingly]], has the [[Unfortunate Implications|less pleasant implications]]. Compare [[Will Not Be a Victim]] (for the [[Action Girl]]'s perspective) and [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]] (for the villain's perspective). Contrast [[No Guy Wants an Amazon]] and [[No Guy Wants to Be Chased]].

Line 22:

== Films -- Animation ==

* In [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney's]] ''[[Hercules (~~Disney~~ film)|Hercules]]'', a centaur tells a captured Megara, "I like 'em fiery."

* In [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney's]] ''[[Hercules (1997 film)||Hercules]]'', a centaur tells a captured Megara, "I like 'em fiery."

* In ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|The Jungle Book]]'', Shere Khan says to Mowgli, "You have spirit for one so small."

* In the ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' sequel the Return of Jafar, Jafar tells a captured Jasmine who's face he has grabbed: "Mmmm such spirit." In response Jasmine tries to bite him.

Line 59:

== Live-Action TV ==

* The most famous usage is arguably [[Ed Asner]]'s subversion in the pilot for ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'', when his character, [[Lou Grant]], gives Mary the aforementioned compliment, only to follow it up by saying, "I ''hate'' spunk." This exchange was also used when Asner appeared on ''[[The Colbert Report]]''.

* ''[[Star Trek: ~~Enterprise|Star Trek~~ Enterprise]]'' ("Borderland"). T'Pol and other crew members are captured by Orion slave traders, one of whom is played by enormous wrestler Paul "Big Show" Wight.

* ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' ("Borderland"). T'Pol and other crew members are captured by Orion slave traders, one of whom is played by enormous wrestler Paul "Big Show" Wight.

{{quote|'''Orion Slaver:''' ''(with his hand around T'Pol's neck)'' You've got spirit. I might just keep you for myself.

''(T'Pol delivers a well-aimed kick to a [[Groin Attack|sensitive area]])''

'''T'Pol:''' I'm not for sale. ''(she's beamed away)'' }}

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'':

Line 67:

'''Buffy:''' Yeah, but it was ''fun''.

'''Ken:''' You've got guts. [[Narm|I'd like to slice you open and play with them]]. }}

** Also:

{{quote|'''Glory:''' ''(grinning)'' Ooh, I like her. She's sassy! ''(pauses, tone turns serious)'' And I'll kill her.}}

* In an episode of ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'', the incompetent builder O'Reilly speaks of Sybil Fawlty, "I love a woman with spirit! I do! I do!" She beats the shit out of him.

Line 111:

** Arguably seen in the first episode of ''[[Beast Wars]]'', where Rhinox finds Dinobot to have "[[Getting Crap Past the Radar|ball bearings of chrome steel]]."

** A more definitive example in "TransWarped" of ''[[Transformers Animated]]'', as Megatron fights Optimus. "You have persistence, Autobot. I hate persistence."

* ''[[Totally Spies]]'' The video game-themed villain, Lady Dragon, says, "You girls have spunk. [[Shout-Out|I hate spunk]]!"

* ''[[Totally Spies!]]'' The video game-themed villain, Lady Dragon, says, "You girls have spunk. [[Shout-Out|I hate spunk]]!"

* In the [[Mirror Universe]] episode of ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', Negative Number 3 says this to Number 4 in her [[We Can Rule Together]] speech: "Listen up, shorty! I don't like you, but you've got spunk, so I'm gonna make you an offer you'd be stupid to refuse!"

* Lobo does this to Lois Lane in ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]''—since he's [[Nigh Invulnerable]], he in fact ''encourages'' her to slap him.

Line 129:

[[Category:Stock Phrases]]

[[Category:~~You Got Spunk~~]]

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]