Sylvester Stallone is one of the most iconic movie stars in Hollywood. He forged his own path by writing a movie for himself to star in and turning that movie into a worldwide cultural phenomenon. Most actors are lucky if they end up headlining one major franchise, but Stallone has two.

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After creating the Rocky series as a starring vehicle for himself, Stallone became just as renowned for playing the titular PTSD-ridden war veteran in the Rambo franchise. From Rocky Balboa to John Rambo to countless other action heroes, Stallone has delivered snappy one-liners under the guise of many iconic characters.

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John Rambo Justifies His Small-Town Rampage
“They Drew First Blood!”

All the sequels to First Blood turned Vietnam War veteran John Rambo into a remorseless, jingoistic killing machine who marches into warzones and leaves a trail of blood in his wake. But the original movie was much more cerebral than that.
After being run out of town by corrupt small-town cops, Rambo takes them on a manhunt through the woods. The cops act like Rambo is the bad guy, but as he points out, “They drew first blood!” The first Rambo adventure was a poignant commentary on the treatment of veterans when they returned from Vietnam.

Marion “Cobra” Cobretti Lays Down The Law
“You’re A Disease. I’m The Cure.”

Stallone gave one of his most delightfully hammed-up action hero performances as the titular vigilante cop in Cobra. Marion “Cobra” Cobretti is a comic-booky take on a police character who plays by their own rules, like John Klute or “Dirty” Harry Callahan.
At one point, Cobra tells a bad guy, “You’re a disease. I’m the cure.” The producers knew they had a soon-to-be iconic line on their hands with this one, so they used it as the poster tagline.

Barney Ross Describes How The Expendables Operate
“We Are The Shadow.”

Apparently dissatisfied with only headlining two major franchises, Stallone recruited every movie star buddy from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Jason Statham to appear alongside him in The Expendables and its sequels.
While the Expendables movies might not be as timeless or well-crafted as the Rocky and Rambo franchises, they’re a great excuse to assemble star-studded casts of iconic action heroes. Stallone’s Barney Ross explains how the titular mercenary team operates: “We are the shadow, the smoke in your eyes, the ghosts that hide in the night.”

Rocky Balboa Calls Out To The Love Of His Life
“Yo, Adrian!”

One of Stallone’s most-quoted lines is “Yo, Adrian!” from the Rocky movies. All throughout the franchise, this is how Rocky Balboa calls out to the love of his life, Adrian Pennino (later Pennino-Balboa), played by Talia Shire.
RELATED: 10 Ways Rocky Still Holds Up Today
Boxing would go on to define the sequels, but the original Rocky film was not a boxing movie at its core. It’s primarily a love story that happens to revolve around a boxer.

Ray Tango Throws Shade At Stallone’s Other Iconic Action Hero In Tango & Cash
“Rambo’s A P****!”

Stallone teamed up with Kurt Russell for the zany “buddy cop” movie Tango & Cash. Stallone plays Tango, while Russell plays Cash. Tango & Cash has arguably the highest goofy one-liner quotient of any Stallone movie.
When Tango stuffs a grenade down a bad guy’s pants, he quips, “My contribution to birth control.” When Cash asks why Tango’s gun is bigger than his, he jokes, “Genetics, peewee.” The most memorable line in the movie is also the most meta, as Tango calls John Rambo “a p***y.”

The Suicide Squad’s King Shark Enjoys Eating People
“Nom-Nom!”

From Guardians of the Galaxy’s Groot to Peacemaker’s Eagly, James Gunn is renowned for including adorable computer-generated characters in his comic book-related projects. In The Suicide Squad, Gunn assembled a new Task Force X with Bloodsport, Ratcatcher 2, Polka-Dot Man, and Nanaue – better known as “King Shark.”
King Shark fills the typical Gunn role of the cute CG character. Stallone’s vocal performance makes this bloodthirsty character lovable with childlike deliveries of his lines. When he devours human beings, he says, “Nom-nom!”

Rambo’s Philosophy
“Live For Nothing, Or Die For Something.”

After the second and third Rambo movies indulged in triumphant bloodshed that glorified warfare, the fourth one – aptly titled Rambo – returned to the First Blood tradition of cynical grit.
RELATED: 10 Reasons The Rambo Sequels Could Never Top First Blood
The movie sees Rambo reluctantly returning to action to save some Christian missionaries from the Burmese militia. Throughout the movie, Rambo repeats the credo, “Live for nothing, or die for something.” The Karen National Liberation Army reportedly adopted the line as a battlecry in the real-world conflict depicted in the film.

Gabe Walker Signs Off With A Quippy One-Liner In Cliffhanger
“Remember, S*******, Keep Your Arms And Legs In The Vehicle At All Times!”

Best described as “Die Hard on a mountain,” Cliffhanger stars Stallone as a mountain climber who gets swept up in the theft of a U.S. Treasury plane in the Rockies.
Before killing the villain, Stallone rattles off a badass James Bondian one-liner: “Remember, s***head, keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times!”

Corporal Weaver Boosts His Friend’s Confidence In Antz
“You Da Ant!”

In the fall of 1998, DreamWorks’ first fully computer-animated feature film, Antz, managed to slip into theaters a few weeks before Pixar’s own insect-based adventure, A Bug’s Life.
The movie revolves around a nebbish ant named Z. Stallone voices Z’s much more confident best friend, Corporal Weaver, a badass soldier ant.

Rocky Explains The Key To Success
“It Ain’t About How Hard You Hit…”

Over a decade after Rocky V brought an unceremonious end to the mainline Rocky series, Stallone reprised the role for a bittersweet legacy sequel titled Rocky Balboa.
An aging Rocky is brought out of retirement for one last fight when his championship title is challenged by a young boxer. This movie features a truly iconic monologue that applies to all walks of life: “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
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