Taking Matters



"(Laughing, Flotsam and Jetsam congratulate each other for tipping Ariel and Eric's boat.) Nice work, boys. That was a close one. TOO close! The little tramp! Ah, she's better than I thought. (Fuming, Ursula swims over to her cabinet of potions and angrily knocks many of them down with a crash.) At this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure! Well, it's time Ursula took matters into her OWN tentacles! (Ursula tosses magic potion into her cauldron and places an orb with a butterfly inside into it.) Triton's daughter will be mine! And then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him WRIGGLE LIKE A WORM ON A HOOK! (She cackles maliciously as she transforms herself into a beautiful girl.)"

- Ursula taking matters into her own hands when she is running out of time and must keep Ariel from kissing Prince Eric.

If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. In other words, there comes a time in a story when the villain decides enough is enough and it is time for him to take matters into his own hands and carry out his evil plan himself. This usually happens under these circumstances:


 * The villain is running out of time and/or reaching his/her deadline.
 * His minions fail to carry out his plans.
 * His army is defeated in battle.
 * He discovers an opportunity.
 * The villain's plans (usually constantly) fail.
 * The villain reaches his breaking point.

This can lead to a villainous breakdown, crossing the Moral Event Horizon, and/or the final showdown with the hero.

Examples

 * Thanos: After Loki Laufeyson failed to conquer the Earth with his scepter and Ronan betrayed him he donned the Infinity Gauntlet, deciding he will gather the Infinity Stones himself.
 * Queen Narissa decides to poison Giselle herself after Nathaniel fails to carry out her plan.
 * Thrax takes matters into his own hands when his deadline is approaching to kill Frank.
 * The Wicked Queen decides to take matters into her own hands and kill Snow White herself when the Huntsman defies her and brings back the heart of a pig instead as she goes to the Dwarfs' cottage, disguised as a witch-like peddler.
 * After his robot probe is destroyed, Gallaxhar decides to capture Ginormica himself and obtain the quantonium.
 * After realizing that Cady Heron gave her a weight loss bar, Regina George decides to get her revenge and turn the school against each other herself.
 * Ursula takes matters into her own hands and prevent Ariel's romance with the human prince Eric when the third day - the day Ariel has to kiss Eric - approaches.
 * Judge Doom deciding to kill Eddie Valiant himself after weasels failed that in to kill him.
 * Governor Ratcliffe makes his decision to shoot Chief Powhatan himself when the colonists defy him.
 * After noticing that Ofelia has made off with his newborn son, Captain Vidal decides to go after the girl and kill her himself.
 * Frieda: Due to the witches and trolls' failure to capture Ella when they had the chance, she decides to bring her to the palace herself when Rumpelstiltskin disobeys her orders.
 * After his henchmen are overpowered by Gutsy and his force, General von Talon decides to go after Valiant himself.
 * Colonel Richard Strickland makes his decision to go after the Asset after interrogating Zelda.
 * After Chris Bradford and Xever have failed to eliminate the Turtles, Shredder announces that he will deal with them himself.
 * Nigel: Upon seeing that the marmosets failed to capture Blu and Jewel (and got the living tar beaten out of them), Nigel decides to take matters into his own wings and find and retrieve the macaws himself.
 * After the dark forces failed to kill Anya while she's on her way to Paris, Rasputin decides to kill her himself in person.
 * Sōsuke Aizen: Aizen seemingly killed his lieutenant Momo Hinamori himself after his former lieutenant Gin Ichimaru failed to kill her while fighting Tōshirō Hitsugaya.

Quotes
"(Gallaxhar sees that Susan/Ginormica has defeated his giant robot probe.) (Computer: Retrieval has failed. Don't get upset. It happens to everyone.) ARRGH! That lower life form thinks she can steal my quantonium?! Send another probe at once! (Computer: Quantonium cannot be retrieved via robot. Carbon-based life-form, locally known as Susan, is now too strong.) (Gallaxhar snarls) Oh, you think because you're all big and strong, that you're gonna destroy my robot probe and you're gonna send me running and hiding? My days of running and hiding are over! Computer, set a course to Earth. I will retrieve the quantonium myself, even if I have to rip it out of her body, one cell at a time! (He drinks his tea, then promptly spits it out.) (Computer: Careful, it's hot.)"

- Gallaxhar making his choice to capture Ginormica and obtain the quantonium himself after she brings down his robot probe.

"(At night, the Queen stands before her Magic Mirror holding the heart box as she is consulting the Magic Mirror once again) Magic Mirror on the wall, who now is the fairest one of all? (Magic Mirror: Over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs, dwells Snow White, fairest one of all.) Snow White lies dead in the forest. The Huntsman has brought me proof. Behold, her heart. (Magic Mirror: Snow White still lives. The fairest in the land. Tis the heart of a pig you hold in your hand.) The heart of a pig?! Then I've been tricked! (The Queen furiously storms downstairs into the dungeon and enters the door leading to her laboratory) The heart of a pig! The blundering fool! (tosses the heart box to the floor) I'll go myself to the Dwarfs' cottage in a disguise so complete, NO ONE will ever suspect. (reaches into her bookshelf and pulls out the one that says "Disguises") Now, a formula to transform my beauty into ugliness. Change my queenly raiment to a peddler's cloak. (finds the 'Peddler's Disguise' formula in her book) "Mummy dust, to make me old. To shroud my clothes, the black of night." (pours a drop of a black substance from a vial into a goblet of water, and the water turns pitch black) "To age my voice, an old hag's cackle." (turns on keg and a hag's cackle is heard as it pours more contents into the goblet). "To whiten my hair, a scream of fright." (turns on keg and a ghostly image comes out and shrieks in terror). A blast of wind, to fan my hate! (Wind blows fiercely into the laboratory) A thunderbolt... (crack of thunder strikes on cue)... to mix it well. Now... begin thy magic spell. (The Queen slowly drinks her potion from the goblet. Suddenly, she begins to groan and writhe, clutching her throat as she begins to transform. Her hair becomes long and white) Oh, no! Look! My hands! (Her hands become wrinkly, bony and hideous) (In the shadows as the transformation is complete...) My voice! My voice! (cackles) A perfect disguise! (reveals herself as a hideous, old, Witch. Her terrified pet raven hides in the skull it was a perched on) And now, a special sort of death for one so fair. (scans through her book) What shall it be? ...AH! A poisoned apple. Sleeping death! (reads from the book) "One taste of the Poisoned Apple, and the victim's eyes will close forever... in the sleeping death!...." (Grins wickedly)"

- The Wicked Queen taking matters into her own hands after her Huntsman defies to kill Snow White and she transforms herself into an ugly Witch.

"(Queen Narissa is furious with Nathaniel.) YOU IDIOT! (Nathaniel: But Your Majesty - ) I sent you to KILL her, not SAVE her. Can't you get that straight? (Nathaniel: I - I realize you're upset, madame. But if you could find me one way to give me one more chance...) Another chance?! You think poison apples grow on trees? There's only one left. You are OUT of chances! (Nathaniel: But Your Majesty - !) No, FORGET IT! I'M coming here! AND I WILL KILL THE LITTLE WRETCH MYSELF!' (Nathaniel: Oh, pooh.) (Narissa's shriek shatters every glass bottle and cup on the kitchen counter.)"

- Queen Narissa berating Nathaniel for letting Giselle escape and making her decision to poison her herself.

"(On the Ingrown Toenail, Thrax and his thugs are listening to the radio. He pulls off the curtains and laughs with evil glee.) (Bruiser: What's so funny?) (Joe Cramp: I don't know.) They're making this too easy! (Thrax continues to laugh.) You know, in all of the bodies I've been in, no one has ever gotten wise to me and now for the first time, an immunity cell has figured out everything and they don't believe him! (Bruiser and Joe Cramp laugh.) Can you taste the irony in that? (Thrax's men continue to chortle.) SHUT UP! What are you two laughing at? Alright, we're back on schedule. (Thrax begins to gather pollen pods and place them in his vest.) (Bruiser: But, boss, we're the only ones left. Maybe we should incubate for a while?) (As soon as he hears this, Thrax's eyes narrow and he points his red-hot claw at Bruiser's eye.) YOU incubate. I said 48 hours, I'm gonna make my deadline. (Bruiser and Cramp whimper in terror. Thrax burns down his hideout, killing his thugs in the process.) Medical books aren't written about losers!"

- Thrax taking matters into his own hands when his henchmen suggest incubating (which would mean he won't be able to break his record) and he kills his goons before leaving.

"(Nigel stalks into the wreckage of the marketplace battlefield. He groans in disgust as he sees all the marmosets lying on the ground unconscious, with Blu and Jewel nowhere to be seen. Nigel grabs the woozy marmoset chief.) What happened? (Mauro: [woozily] Papa?) WHAT HAPPENED?! (Mauro doesn't respond and instead collapses again. The little green sparrow pops out of her hiding spot and flutters off, only to be pounced on by Nigel.) (Tiny: Oh, no! Oh, no! Let me go!) Stop your chirping and talk to me! (Tiny: No, no, no! I don't know anything! HELP!) Hmm, when I bite down on your head will it go "pop" or will it go "crack"? (He squeezes hard on Tiny's head.) Where are the cerulean birds? That means blue, by the way. (Tiny: They escaped! Went to Luiz!) Anything else? (Tiny: They said you were very nice.) Hmm... did they? (Nigel beams for a moment. Then he glares at Tiny.) Liar! (Tiny: And handsome, too? AAAH!) (Nigel tosses Tiny straight at Mauro's head, knocking him out.) Never send a monkey to do a bird's job. (With a bloodcurdling squawk, Nigel flies off, determined to finish his task.)"

- Nigel deciding to take matters into his own wings and track down Blu and Jewel himself after the marmosets fail to capture them.

"DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?!"

- The Toad

"I have to do everything myself!"

- Big Boss

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

- Thanos taking matters into his own hands and making his decision to find and obtain the Infinity Stones on his own.

"Venus fell to the ExoFleet and now Mars is destroyed. Where once we had an empire, now it has turned to dust. I will never surrender, even if it means destroying every living thing on this planet!"

- Phaeton planning to destroy Earth after his world Mars is destroyed by the self-destructing alien complex.

"(Rasputin seethes with fury as he sees his plan to send Anya to a watery grave failed thanks to Dimitri.) NOOOOOOOOO!' (Rasputin clutches his head in frustration, his fingers actually sinking into his cheeks. He repeatedly bangs his head on ceiling, his neck actually stretching and starting to tear as he pulls on his own head.) (Bartok: Easy, Master, wow... This is no time to lose your head!) You're right. Oh! I am calm.  (Rasputin exerts a monumental effort to compose himself, his neck slowly shrinking back to normal) Ahh. I am... heartless. I have no feelings whatsoever. (His head sinks into his collarbone) (Bartok: Sir?) I feel a sudden onset of clarity, Bartok. I'll have to kill her myself, in person. (Bartok: What, you mean... physically?) You know what they say. If you want something done right... (his headless body bashes into a wall) (Bartok: But that means going topside.) Exactly. (Rasputin's head pops back out, albeit backwards. He turns his head back around with a sickening crack. Then he picks up a small green limbo bug off his shoulder) I have so many fond memories of Paris. (He squeezes and strangles the bug mercilessly) AND KILLING THE LAST OF THE ROMANOVS WITH MY OWN HANDS WILL BE SO DELICIOUS! (He tosses the bug aside and the bug runs off, screaming, while other bugs tremble in fear.) Well, time to go. (He dons on a fur-trimmed cloak and applies some perfume) (Bartok: But you're dead! You're falling apart, sir! How do you expect to get to Paris in one piece?!) I thought we'd take the train.) (Suddenly, the reliquary launches Rasputin and Bartok into the air like a rocket.) (Bartok: WHOAAAAA!) (They burst through the ceiling, sending  sending bone fragments scattering all over the place.)"

- Rasputin deciding to go to Paris himself and kill Anastasia there after his previous attempts failed.

"Get me a broom. I'm gonna take out little Miss Goody-two-slippers myself! (With a wicked laugh, Frieda takes off on her broomstick.) Heads up, Cindy! Stepmama's on her way!"

- Frieda deciding to capture Ella and return her to the palace herself since Rumpelstiltskin is too busy taking care of the baby.