This iconic line from Avengers: Endgame is often used by fans of the Marvel franchise to express affection for one another.
Not only is saying “I love you 3000” a way of signaling membership of the Marvel fandom, but it is also a sweet sentiment in and of itself.
The line comes from a scene in which Robert Downey Junior’s character, Tony Stark, is putting his daughter, Morgan Stark, to bed. He tells her that he loves her tons, to which she responds, “I love you 3000.”
If you’re initially confused by the message “I love you 3000,” don’t worry, this handy guide will talk you through a great selection of possible responses.
22 ways to respond to “I love you 3000”
- You’re cute. And I love you 3000 too.
- Well, I love you tons.
- Well, I love you 6000.
- Maybe, but however much you love me, I love you more.
- 3000? That’s crazy.
- Stop procrastinating. Get to work or I’ll sell all your toys.
- Gosh, where do you store all that love?
- I love that scene. That quote makes me want to be tucked in and kissed goodnight.
- Oh my gosh, stop. I’ll start crying if I think about that movie too much!
- Well, this is how feel about our relationship: This is the fight of our lives. We’re going to win. Whatever it takes. Good luck.
- Maybe you could start putting some that 3000 love into washing the dishes?
- Stop using my favorite quotes against me to try to get out of the bad books! (But it’s kind of working…)
- Avengers! Assemble!
- Aw no way! You’re an Avengers fan? I think I like you even more than I did a few minutes ago.
- That scene kills me every time! I love that you just referenced that ☺
- While we’re talking Marvel…want to try that Spiderman kiss sometime?
- So…what’s your favorite Marvel movie? Careful, this is a sensitive subject for me…
- So, who do you like better, Iron Man or Captain America? Beware, the future of our potential relationship might depend on your answer to this question.
- While we’re on the subject, what do you think was the worst-cast Marvel role? Oh, and I love you too, by the way.
- Aw! So nice to hear from you! When are you coming over to mine to do a Marvel marathon?
- Do you know the story behind that line?!
- So nice to hear from you! Love receiving random Marvel quotes while we’re apart. Can’t wait to see you over the holidays.
If you and your partner are big fans of the Marvel franchise, they may send you “I love you 3000” as an inside joke.
Your crush might send it to you to test the waters to see whether you will recognize the quote!
Or, you might just get a text saying “I love you 3000” from a flirty friend who is just reaching out to show their affection for you.
Whatever the case, here is some inspiration for how you might respond.
How to respond to “I love you 3000” from a partner
One of the hallmarks of a long-term relationship is that you and your partner will essentially develop your own language. You’ll talk in slang, inside jokes, and movie quotes.
If you happen to be big fans of the rise of superhero films and, in particular, all things Marvel, it makes sense for your partner to send you a message referencing an Avengers film.
Your partner might also send you “I love you 3000” if you are feeling down, because it is a great thing to say over text if your girlfriend is sad and is a good mood booster.
Here are some cute and funny (and irritated!) responses you could send back, depending on the circumstances.
1. You’re cute. And I love you 3000 too.
This is basic response might be just the thing to let your partner know that you got the reference and appreciated the quote.
You don’t have to say much more, because all they probably wanted was some acknowledgement that they said a clever thing and to hear that you feel the same way about them.
Your partner will also surely enjoy responding to someone calling them cute!
2. Well, I love you tons.
In Endgame, Tony Stark puts his daughter to bed and tells her “I love you tons.” She responds, “I love you 3000.”
By reversing the order of these quotes in your exchange with your partner, you’re showing them that you know what they are referencing.
They will be sure to think this is a cute way of expressing your care for them.
They will be sure to think this is a cute way of expressing your care for them.
3. Well then I love you 6000.
The funny thing about Morgan Stark’s assertion that she loves her father 3000, is that it doesn’t make much sense.
Children have a funny way of communicating and often don’t have a firm grasp on how counting and numbers work.
What Morgan is saying is that she loves her father a lot, and she is expressing this by using an arbitrary large number.
You can riff on this with your partner by doubling it. What you are essentially saying is “I love you more.”
Your partner will then have to figure out how to respond to “I love you more,” but they will sure to be smiling while they do.
4. Maybe, but however much you love me, I love you more.
Another way to engage in a little friendly, “who loves each other more?” competition, is tosay that whatever love metric your partner is using, you will rank higher on it.
This is also a good response if you aren’t a massive Marvel fan, or if you aren’t quite sure what your partner is trying to reference!
You don’t have to engage with the content of the quote too much, you can just respond to the sentiment it is expressing.
5. 3000? That’s crazy.
This response is exactly the response Tony Stark gives his daughter when she originally says, “I love you 3000” to him.
Repeating it to a partner who has told you they “love you 3000” is a cute way to continue your quoting session, while also being romantic.
They will know exactly what you are doing and will probably wonder how they got so lucky as to meet their soulmate, which you obviously must be if you’re happy to spend your time quoting Avengers lines back and forth.
6. Stop procrastinating. Get to work or I’ll sell all your toys.
This is a cute response to send if your partner is at work or is supposed to be busy with something.
In the film, Tony Stark tells his daughter to “Go to sleep or I’ll sell all your toys.” By changing “sleep” to “work” you are adapting this funny line to an adult context.
Your partner will appreciate your good sense of humor and your ability to quote freely from one of their favorite movies.
7. Gosh, where do you store all that love?
This is a bit of a silly response, but it perfectly captures the silliness of the original quote.
What makes the line “I love you 3000” so profound and so widely loved is that it captures a universal human truth, which is that it is incredibly difficult to quantify love, but that we try anyway.
None of us can accurately measure what we feel for someone else, which means we can’t communicate to each other just how much we love one another.
By giving “the feels” a number, Morgan is revealing a certain naivete about how emotions work.
This response transfers that sweet naivete to a new context by pretending to think that if love is quantifiable, it must also have a size that corresponds to that quantity.
8. I love that scene! That quote makes me want to be tucked in and kissed goodnight.
If you don’t feel like trying to be clever and would rather just have a cozy chat with the person you love, respond to “I love you 3000,” by telling them how much you like the scene they are referencing!
Most of us spend so much time out in the real-world fending for ourselves and being tough, that when we are with the person we feel most safe with, we kind of just want to regress into being cared for.
This is totally normal! Tell your partner their message has made you want to be tucked up cozily in bed. They will surely make an effort to be extra loving and soft with you.
9. Oh my gosh, stop. I’ll start crying if I think about that movie too much!
When you’re speaking to the person you are in love with, there is no need to send back and forth a load of witty quips. Unless of course, that is your thing!
But it is also completely fine to just talk to your partner normally over text.
Simply tell them you enjoy the movie they are referencing. Maybe they will respond by suggesting the two of you watch it again together at some point.
10. Well, this is how feel about our relationship: This is the fight of our lives. We’re going to win. Whatever it takes. Good luck.
This is a funny response to “I love you 3000” that also quotes from Avengers: Endgame.
While your partner has just sent a moving quote about how much they love you, you can lighten the mood by referring to your relationship as a fight.
As long as they have a good sense of humor, they will surely appreciate your light-hearted approach to “I love you” texts.
Perhaps they know you sometimes struggle to be sincere and are just happy to see you engaging, or else they know you well enough to know that you can turn everything into a joke.
11. Maybe you could start putting some that 3000 love into washing the dishes?
If you are irritated with your partner for whatever reason, for example, if they neglect all the housework and expect you to clean up after them, you could make a suggestion for what they could channel their 3000 love into.
Whether it is the fact that they don’t take out the trash, listen when you talk, or empty the dishwasher, there is surely something about your significant other that drives you a little batty.
Why not use this opportunity to point out to them that actions speak louder than words!
12. Stop using my favorite quotes against me to try to get out of the bad books! (But it’s kind of working…)
Maybe you have been arguing with your partner, and they are trying to reestablish closeness by referencing one of your favorite movies.
Maybe he has finally texted you back after hours of radio silence, and you feel annoyed at having been ignored.
If so, you can respond by pointing out to him that you know what he is doing, but that the strategy is proving effective.
He will be happy to hear that you aren’t too mad at him and will probably say he misses you.
How to respond to “I love you 3000” from a crush
Is there any better feeling than having a crush? The science behind love, lust, and companionship is incredibly complicated, and we may never understand exactly why it is that we feel what we feel. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it!
It can be distracting to have that buzzy, butterfly feeling in your belly. But while it lasts, take advantage of the unique high you get from being excited about getting to know someone.
When you’re crushing, your mind is totally consumed by questions like, how to respond to a kissy-face emoji, or concern that the person you’re into may turn around and tell you they aren’t ready for a relationship.
While it isn’t hard to be attracted to someone based on superficial factors, what will determine whether your relationship progresses is usually whether you have enough things in common.
For this reason, when we’re first talking to someone, we often probe to see what it is that they actually like to do with their free time.
If you’re crush texts you “I love you 3000,” they are likely not really saying they love you (though they may be implying that they could one day).
They are actually checking to see whether you understand the reference to a movie they like!
The best thing you can do, if you do get what they’re saying, is respond with a light-hearted reference to the movie to show you’re on the same page.
13. Avengers! Assemble!
This is a simple, quick way to show that you know what they’re talking about. This is also a quote from Endgame, so you’ll be perfectly on topic.
14. Aw no way! You’re an Avengers fan? I think I like you even more than I did a few minutes ago.
If you’re genuinely happily surprised to find out that the person you’re chatting with likes Marvel, tell them!
You can keep the conversation flirtatious by telling them that this revelation makes you like them even more than you already did.
15. That scene kills me every time! I love that you just referenced that ☺
Finding out that someone you like likes the same things you do is always a happy experience. It is far better than a guy calling you cute or receiving a smiley face with three hearts emoji, because it means you have the potential for a genuine connection.
You might suddenly be imagining all the things you could do together––all the cinema visits, all the trips to Comic-Con, all the costumes your children would wear––but don’t get too ahead of yourself just yet.
Start by telling your crush you like the reference they made! Then see where it goes…and a few years down the line you can start planning your family vacations to all the relevant theme parks.
16. While we’re talking Marvel…want to try that Spiderman kiss sometime?
If you’ve known your crush for a little while and would be comfortable being intimate with them, why not suggest trying the infamous Spiderman kiss?
This is a cute way to take their sweet Marvel reference and turn it into flirty banter.
17. So…what’s your favorite Marvel movie? Careful, this is a sensitive subject for me…
Now that you and your crush have established that you have similar taste when it comes to popular entertainment, why not delve a little deeper into their preferences.
You can keep it funny by pretending that there is a lot riding on their answer.
While you obviously would not seriously care if their favorite Marvel movie was one you didn’t like, acting like this is the case gives the conversation an exciting edge.
18. So, who do you like better, Iron Man or Captain America? Beware, the future of our potential relationship might depend on your answer to this question.
You could also spell out the nature of your inquisition more explicitly!
Respond to “I love you 3000” by telling your crush that the future of your relationship depends on who their favorite Marvel character is.
They will appreciate how invested in the Avengers universe you are and will surely be willing to spend some time joking back and forth with you.
How to respond to “I love you 3000” from a flirty friend
The funny thing about flirty friendships is that you know one another so well and share real feelings of care, so it is not actually strange to tell each other you love each other, despite the fact that you are not dating.
This can lead to some confusing ambiguity about what the actual nature of your relationship is. You express love for each other and flirt, and yet are supposedly platonic.
So, here are a few ways you could navigate the tricky territory of responding to “I love you 3000” from a flirty friend.
19. While we’re on the subject, what do you think was the worst-cast Marvel role? Oh, and I love you too, by the way.
If you would like to use the opportunity presented by the fact that your friend has just told you they love you to say, “I love you too,” but don’t want it to come across sounding too sincere, this is a great way to play it.
First ask a trivial question––preferably a humorous one! Then, add that you love your friend too as an afterthought.
They probably won’t think about it too explicitly.
This response allows you to emphasize how much you care about your friend without having to be too forthcoming about it.
20. Aw! So nice to hear from you! When are you coming over to mine to do a Marvel marathon?
If a flirty friend of yours has been out of touch for a while and suddenly gets in touch to send the message “I love you 3000,” you can tell them it is great to hear from them before asking when you’re going to see them next.
By couching your next hangout in terms of doing something related to the quote they just sent you, you can avoid making it sound like you are openly inviting them over to your house.
21. Do you know the story behind that line?!
If you think your friend might genuinely enjoy knowing how the line “I love you 3000” came to be included in the Avengers: Endgame movie, ask them if they know.
If they don’t, you can tell them!
Apparently, Robert Downey Jr., the actor who plays Tony Stark, told a story about how his children used to say “I love you 3000” to him.
This anecdote made it into the writers’ room and was such a hit that the writers decided to include it in the screenplay!
Who doesn’t love a good bit of new trivia––especially about productions they really like!
22. So nice to hear from you! Love receiving random Marvel quotes while we’re apart. Can’t wait to see you over the holidays.
If you haven’t heard from your friend for a while and they now write to you of the blue with the Endgame quote, “I love you 3000,” you could joke that you enjoy receiving random quotes.
While your friend will understand that your appreciation is genuine, it still quite funny that this is how they’ve decided to get in touch after all this time.
Then, reference the next time you will see them. Hopefully they will pick up on this hint and suggest a more concrete plan!
Hey, it’s me, Steven. Dating and relationships have always fascinated me. On Dategosu, you will find my best tips to make sure your next date is a great success!