History Main / EveryScarHasAStory

* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'': Quint and Hooper show off their scars and explain how they received them. This leads to Quint telling the story of the USS ''Indianapolis''.
** Meanwhile, Brody surreptitiously checks his appendix scar.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', Gobber regails the Viking kids with stories of how his leg and hand were eaten by dragons.

* ''[[Franchise/MonsterVerse Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted]]'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Raymond Martin]] got the scars on his face when Femuto attacked a building that was holding him and his family during the events of ''Film/Godzilla2014''. His family died in that incident, the which is the catalyst for his monster-murdering rampage of VanHelsingHateCrimes in the present.

** Although Mariko is revealed to have survived the destruction of Outpost 58 which was depicted in her canon appearance (the ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' official novelization), she came out of it with bad facial scars which serve as a permanent physical reminder of her crime.
** The spin-off ''Fanfic/AbraxasEmptyFullness'' reveals in King Ghidorah's StartOfDarkness story that the distinct chipped horn which the [[MultipleHeadCase right head (Ni)]] has in the movie was the result of the horn being broken when Ni and his brothers [[spoiler:were violently captured by [[AbusivePrecursors the Makers]] to be subjected to experimentation, when the three brothers were still Dorats -- which also explains why the horn doesn't regenerate under Ghidorah's HealingFactor; because the horn was broken before the Makers' experiments infused Ghidorah with that power]].

* ''WebVideo/DisneyVillainSongsLydiaTheBard'' "Merida's Villain Song": Merida has claw-mark scars running down the right side of her face, as a result of her mother Elinor's bear form attacking Merida once the spell permanently subsumed Elinor's humanity due to Merida in this scenario being [[WhatIf too late]] to save Elinor from the spell's CelestialDeadline. The attack also prompted Merida's father to defend her by killing the bear that used to be her mother in front of her.

* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/OwlsHellThatEndsWell'': Loona reveals the origin of her canon EarNotch to her adoptive father [[RoleSwapAU Stolas]]. Before she entered the hellhound adoption circuit, as a child she was living on the streets alongside an older hellhound named Claw who took care of her. During a raid on a warehouse's food supply, Claw attacked and attempted to murder Loona so she could take all the food for herself, maiming Loona's ear before she left the latter for dead.

* ''[[Franchise/MonsterVerse Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted]]'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Raymond Martin]] got the scars on his face when Femuto attacked a building that was holding him and his family during the events of ''Film/Godzilla2014''. His family died in that incident, the which is the catalyst for his monster-murdering rampage of VsnHelsingHateCrimes in the present.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' has several scars, and during the ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'' storyline, ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} gets to see them. We see that Two-Face and the Joker are tied to particular scars, [[DatingCatwoman as is Catwoman, which they both treat as a fond memory]].

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Beric Dondarrion opens his shirt to show the scars created by his multiple deaths.

** They used the same joke another time, except it was a wooden leg and "The Great White Whale".

* In the live-action ''Film/JonahHex'' film, when asked about his disfigurement, Jonah explains: [[DeadpanSnarker "Cut myself shavin'."]]

* The first quasi-romantic moment between Hanala'Jarva and Joachim Hoch in the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8213106/8/Uplifted Uplifted.]]''
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Harry start with his canon one, and develop several more, varying from vampire bites to impalement through the heart, to being stabbed with an impromptu lightning rod a.k.a. [[spoiler: his own sword]].
* Examples from ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' fanfics:
** Kurenai in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9285638/3/Leftovers Leftovers]]'' has one on her from a BearTrap. She mentions that it's the reason she started studying traps as a hobby.
** ''FanFic/AGrowingAffection'' has two examples.
*** Due to his HealingFactor, Naruto only has one scar on him. [[spoiler: That is where he nearly stabbed himself through the heart to save Hinata from the Kyuubi. Hinata, understandably, loves this scar, and kisses it whenever she can.]]
*** Keiko Takamichi has some "cool battle scars" on her back, from where [[spoiler: Pein's Animal path hit her after she and her cousin finished off the Naraka path.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BaitAndSwitchSTO'', this is the source of Captain Kanril Eleya's facial scars, along with one on her abdomen, is shown in a FlashbackNightmare in the first chapter. While repelling a boarding action she was slashed across the face then stabbed in the right kidney by an Orion matron.
* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{Article 2}}''. Shane is a combat marine, and has a pretty hefty set of scars with stories to go with, but the stories are things like "lost a fistfight with a dumpster", "tried to do a handstand on a grocery cart and missed the dismount" and [[NoodleIncident "steak knife"]].
* We slowly learn the story behind some of Raegdan's multitude of scars in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{The Lunar Guardsman}}''.
** He tells Twilight and her friends of the time he and a dying, giant cat creature fought each other as each was the other's last chance for food. He won but he has its teeth marks on his arm from when it bit him hard enough to break it.
** He has two large circular scars on his chest near his heart. One is from when one of Twilight's kidnappers shoved his horn in his chest. The larger one he got from a horn too, only this one he got from Celestia herself.
** A scar in his cheek is revealed to be from a bullet when he tried to kill himself.
** His missing pinkie finger. He forced Luna to bite it off as punishment.
* In the ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' fanfic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1768006/chapters/3782848 The Princess and Her Canary,]]'' Felicity sees some of Nyssa's scars and asks the origins of them. Several of them came from the same incidents that gave Sara her scars. One came ''from'' Sara, in a sparring match...with real swords.
* Inverted in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' fanfic [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/907942 "In the Blood."]] Sam Vimes [[CoveredInScars has too many scars to keep track of]], which ends up setting up the whole plot because he doesn't realise he's acquired another one during the events of ''Literature/TheFifthElephant''... [[spoiler: Until he wakes up with twice his usual quota of legs, and eventually figures out he got it from getting scratched by a werewolf's tooth.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' fanfic [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/8555944 "What Doesn't Kill Him"]] is a more lighthearted example: [[OnlySaneMan Zack]] is shocked to see that [[BornUnlucky Milo]] is CoveredInScars under his shirt, but Milo just thinks of them as reminders of his many "adventures."
* In ''FanFic/{{How To Drill Your Way Through Your Problems}}'', Bakuda and Mouse Protector swap scar stories after MP catches Bakuda's. This leads to MP sharing her secret to overcoming the scars and the inevitable pain that they cause- tattoo them, and make the wound their own thing instead of a reminder of the one that did it to them.
* ''Fanfic/AChokerAndAScalpel'' explains Black Canary's choker as being due to a scar she received as a child. She hated her supersonic scream powers and tried to cut out her vocal cords, but cut the wrong place and would have likely bled out if her mother hadn't caught her. Black Canary no longer feels ashamed about the scar and notes that she has scars all over now that she's a superhero herself. Every one of them has a story so she isn't bothered by her scars:
-->''It wasn't about the scar now, however. She was a hero- she had scars practically everywhere at this point. They were part of the job description. And that was alright. She wasn't disgusted by them like she used to be. Dinah was proud; proud of every accident, every win, every loss, every doubt, every single one of them. They made her who she was, and she was strong and beautiful.''
-->''And she never doubted it. Not anymore.''
* In ''RWBY'', Weiss has a scar on her face. As it's not initially mentioned in-series how she got it, various works describe how she received it:
** ''Fanfic/IvoryBones'': Weiss received her signature eye scar in a sword fight with her [[AbusiveParents father]]. She successfully hit her father, but he was dissatisfied because she was holding back. He slashed her across the face to show her a lesson.
** In the AlternateUniverseFic ''Fanfic/{{Camellias}}'', Weiss never went to Beacon. She received her scar when the White Fang attacked her.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Pawprints}}'', Weiss received a scar over her left eye on her first hunt.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Somnium}}'', Giselle received her facial scar when Narissa slashed her across with face with her nails.

* Subverted with Iris in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines''. While showering with her under a waterfall, Ash notices that she's CoveredWithScars all over her body, though most of them are small and he suspects probably don't have epic stories behind them. In a later chapter, while she's bathing with the girls in a pond, she reveals that a few do have some stories behind it, such as one she has around her left hip caused by a fight with some Gabite for a pond near a cave.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/ASwordToPass'', Ursa’s recon team start to bond with [[spoiler:Sabine]] over their scars with tales that just sound silly and embarrassing, such as one getting their head stuck in a door. Which contrast with [[spoiler:Sabine’s]] as it was gained in a fight.

* A pirate with a [[SeadogPegLeg peg leg]], a HookHand, and an eyepatch walks into a bar.

'''Pirate:''' It was my first day with the hook.
* Some OlderThanPrint historical anecdote tells about two kings (name forgotten) comparing their scars. The one boast about his fight with a lion in the arena. He looks at the even more impressive scars of his colleague and asks: "Lion, arena, too?" "No, Lamia, bed." (Not ''the'' [[Myth/GreekMythology Lamia]] - it was the name of his wife - but that was probably part of the joke too.)

* Many characters in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' bear scars, and probably the most notable "how-I-got-these" story would go to Sandor Clegane, who decides it would be fun to tell Sansa all about how his brother held his face down in a lit brazier when they were kids. Sansa is not enthused.

** Lin from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' received two scars on her cheek when [[spoiler:she tried to arrest her half-sister, Su, who cut a metal cable connecting them which flew back and cut Lin by accident. It serves as a reminder of their estranged relationship. After we see a flashback of this, Lin and Su fight and reconcile in the present.]]

** Bart asks Herman, the gun shop owner, how he lost his arm. He replies, "You know how they tell you to keep your arms inside the bus?" According to the [[WordOfGod commentary]] on the DVD, this was going to be a running gag: Every time the character showed up he would be asked about his arm and [[MultipleChoicePast and he would have a different story everytime]]. However the second time, wherein he lost his arm in a bowling alley ball return, was cut and they never bothered to pursue it further.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Sc]][[NoNameGiven ar]] who received his scar after [[spoiler:his town was blown up by [[MadBomber Kimblee]]]].

* A Spanish joke: Un policia y un bombero entran en una cantina y se sientan cerca de un borracho. El policia muestra una cicatriz en su brazo y le dice al bombero, "Ves este? UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity." El bombero le muestra al policia una cicatriz en su pierna y le contesta, "Ves este? UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} City." Y el borracho, al ver y escuchar a los otros dos, se les acerca y levanta su camisa para mostrarles una cicatriz en la barriga y les dice, "Miren este - apendi citi."[[labelnote:English translation]]A policeman and a fireman walk into a bar and sit down near a drunk. The cop reveals a scar on his arm and says to the fireman, "See this one? New York City." The fireman shows the cop a scar on his leg and answers him, "See this one? Boston City." And the drunk, after seeing and hearing the other two, approaches them and lifts up his shirt to show them a scar on his belly before saying, "Look at this one - appendicitis."[[/labelnote]]

* Harry Dresden from ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. At one point Anastasia sees him topless and touches each scar. He gives a short summary of what gave it to him. Even though he has a (very slow) HealingFactor, he still has lots of them.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': The paladin O-Chul has a very distinctive scar next to his eye. The story "How the Paladin Got His Scar" (a Kickstarter-exclusive story that eventually got compiled into the ''Good Deeds Gone Unpunished'' print book) details [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin how O-Chul got the scar]]. [[spoiler: O-Chul was stabbed by a fantatical paladin who would have led Azure City into a bloody war of extermination against the hobgoblins that would have led to the deaths of countless innocents. O-Chul kept the scar, despite there being magic that could heal it, to remind himself and the Saphire Guard to never stoop to such fantaticism that they forget that their duty to protect.]]

* ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'': The paladin O-Chul has a very distinctive scar next to his eye. The story "How the Paladin Got His Scar" (a Kickstarter-exclusive story that eventually got compiled into the ''Good Deeds Gone Unpunished'' print book) details [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin how O-Chul got the scar]]. [[spoiler: O-Chul was stabbed by a fantatical paladin who would have led Azure City into a bloody war of extermination against the hobgoblins that would have led to the deaths of countless innocents. O-Chul kept the scar, despite there being magic that could heal it, to remind himself and the Saphire Guard of what their duty should be.]]