Val Kilmer’s performance as Doc Holliday is often the highlight of Tombstone, but it’s easy to miss one of his most important quotes. Tombstone is filled with so many great quotes that some of the best ones can go unnoticed by some fans. When every word out of Kilmer’s mouth is worth listening to, it’s hard to zero in on any particular phrase. However, one of his quotes about Johnny Ringo reveals a lot about both the villain and Doc Holliday himself, and it lends extra weight to their intense shootout.

Tombstone follows Wyatt Earp and his allies as they try to bring order to the town of Tombstone, Arizona, but they are plagued by the Cowboys, a violent gang who have their own brand of justice. Among the many great villains in the cast of Tombstone is Michael Biehn as Johnny Ringo. While Ringo can often look like a cartoonish, over-the-top villain much like Curly Bill, Biehn’s performance helps bring some humanity to the character. An important Doc Holliday quote toward the end of the movie also provides some insight into Ringo, making him appear almost sympathetic.

Doc Holliday Understands Johnny Ringo’s Jaded Worldview

Not Even Wyatt Earp Can Understand The Villain

Throughout Tombstone, Doc Holliday is one of Wyatt Earp’s most trusted allies, and he often provides a different perspective. While Earp can be consumed by his rage and stubbornness, Holliday has a calm, almost zen-like presence at times. Despite his drunkenness and his growing sickness, Holliday acts as a guide for Earp. When he’s lying in his hospital bed, he still has the wherewithal to breakdown Ringo’s character in a brief but meaningful exchange with Earp. He proclaims that Ringo wants revenge for “bein’ born“.

​​​Even when he’s seemingly on the brink of death, Holliday has the wisdom to tell Earp, “A man like Ringo has a great, empty hole right through the middle of him“. When Earp asks what Ringo needs – in an effort to understand him – this is when Holliday explains that Ringo only wants revenge for his own birth. This banishes any hope that Earp may have had of trying to reason or negotiate with Ringo. The villain is simply a destructive force who must be stopped at all costs.

What Does Holliday’s Quote About Ringo “Wanting Revenge For Being Born” Mean?

Holliday Sums Ringo Up In Just A Few Words

While some members of the Cowboys gang seem to revel in the power they accumulate, the riches they steal or their ability to strike terror into all those around them, Johnny Ringo never seems truly satisfied. Even in moments when the Cowboys are celebrating and drinking together, Ringo seems to have something else on his mind. Holliday’s quote pinpoints the precise reason for this. He understands that Ringo will never be satisfied, and that he carries too much pain to be able to enjoy the little things.

Of course, there are other ways of describing someone who can’t be satisfied, so it’s important to note the way that Holliday highlights Ringo’s need for “revenge“. This suggests that he has a bitterness deep within him, as if he’s unable to accept life’s injustices and play the hand that he’s been dealt. It’s easy to sympathize with Ringo’s jaded worldview in this context, but the way that he handles this feeling of being wronged is what makes him a villain. He has no direct focus for his rage and hatred, so he turns it loose on anyone and everyone who crosses his path.

How Holliday’s Quote About Ringo Reveals A Lot About His Own Nature

Holliday Also Feels Ringo’s Sense Of Injustice

Holliday instinctively understands Ringo in a way that Earp simply does not. This could be because Holliday is simply a better judge of character, but it’s also an indicator that Earp can sympathize with Ringo’s plight. Holliday also feels like he’s been dealt a bad hand in the game of life. Perhaps his excessive drinking and his laissez-faire atтιтude are his ways of coping with this feeling. Both Holliday and Ringo have come from nothing, but the difference is how they internalize this information and how it informs their decisions.

The ending of Tombstone revolves around a final showdown between Holliday and Ringo. After Earp’s violent rampage picks off most of the Cowboys, it’s Holliday who has the final say. This is because he’s the one who shares the most in common with Ringo. It’s his fight; not Earp’s. The final showdown between Holliday and Ringo feels more meaningful when Holliday’s all-important quote is taken into consideration, since this reveals that the two men are two sides of the same coin. Tombstone is known as a classic Western thanks to its pithy dialogue and its sense of style, but it has a surprising amount of narrative depth upon closer inspection.