3.5 year old giving violent threats

I have a very intelligent, strong-willed little guy that has an opinion about dang near everything and assumes he has just as much (if not more) authority than any given adult. Sounds on par for a 3-y-o, right? His language skills have always been impressive and he seems to remember complicated words and phrases used months ago and will recall them at just the appropriate time.He also likes to be rocked before bed every night — whether it’s because he cherishes the snuggles or the chance to stay awake for a few minutes longer is yet to be determined. I assume a little of both.But the other night he was being rude and obstinate and I warned him that he needed to work on showing me he could be a better listener and be respectful, or he could continue doing what he was doing and I would leave him to put himself to bed.He didn’t take the path I’d hoped for, naturally, and I knew I needed to follow through to show him I was serious. So, I said, “Okay, good night, I love you,” and stood up to leave.Instantly he screamed a guttural “NO!” and began the full-on crying fit. And yelled, “You’re not listening to my words! I will rip you to shreds!”And while I was trying to figure out WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL was coming out of his mouth, he then proceeded to tell the cat to bite my knee off (I have bad knees) and as a cherry on top, he said, “I will shatter your eyeballs.”First of all ... I’m not sure where he’s getting these phrases. They seem kind of specific, and I’m trying to think if we’ve watched any movies recently that would have said such a thing? But like I said, his memory is ridiculous and he could be pulling something out of his pocket he’s been holding onto for months. It’s not the first time I’ve heard him say violent things, but usually he’s talking to his toys and the threats are a bit more “generic”, I guess.Second of all, and this is the heart of the matter: is this ... typical? Or is my kid letting me know he’s got a violent side we need to treat?TL;DR I’m trying reeeeeal hard to not be raising a future serial killer. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2WlkBSc