History Main / HollyWoodAcid

* The 1985 B-grade horror flick ''Film/AttackOfTheBeasCreatures'' features a whole ''river'' made of acid, which coincidentally looks exactly like normal water. When one person tries to cross it, his body gets dissolved until only the skeleton remains. It's never made clear how such a large body of highly corrosive acid came to exist, nor how the tropical rainforest on the river bank manages to prosper.

* A gout medication ad features a man walking around with a giant flask of fluid, which shrinks to illustrate how his uric acid levels fall once he tries the medicine. Uric acid is colorless in solution or yellow when crystallized, yet the flask's contents are a sickly greenish hue. If you don't pay attention it appears that he has quite a love for his homemade Mt Dew.

In films, on TV, and in comic books, an "acid" is any liquid that can eat away at and completely dissolve skin and muscle, [[StrippedToTheBone leaving only bone]] and sometimes not even that. Even stronger "acids" will dissolve steel, glass, plastic (even though it's ''nearly impossible'' for plastic to be dissolved by an acid), concrete, and ultimately everything it comes into contact with... except whatever container it is stored in. Such liquids are almost always either a [[TechnicolorScience bright green or sickly yellow]] color. They bubble and fizz on the counter or floor when you spill them, give off visible, smoky fumes (which [[FridgeLogic never seem to be harmful in their own right]]), and they never dissipate. If a drop of acid eats through the floor, it will continue to eat through things on the next level down, and so on. There are even some video games where puddles of this stuff can move around and [[EverythingTryingToKillYou try to kill you]].

This stuff will usually be referred to as either "acid," "toxic waste," "poison," or simply "chemicals," unless it's given some [[TechnoBabble highly scientific]] name at its introduction, after which it will simply be called one of the names above. If it's ''glowing'' rather than giving off fumes, you're probably looking at [[ILoveNuclearPower Hollywood Radioactive Goo,]] which will otherwise behave exactly the same. Expect it to show up at least once in any work involving a MadScientist. If this stuff is ever spilled on a person or other living creature, say hello to the NightmareFuel.

-->"It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypergolic_propellant hypergolic]] with such things as cloth, wood, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick test engineers]], not to mention asbestos, sand, and water — with which it reacts explosively. It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals — steel, copper, aluminum, etc. — because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminum keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. If, however, this coat is melted or scrubbed off, and has no chance to reform, the operator is confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended [[DontAskJustRun a good pair of running shoes.]]"--[[http://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2008/02/26/sand_wont_save_you_this_time John D. Clark, Rocket Scientist]].

** Oddly, hydrofluoric acid is ''not'' considered a strong acid by chemists. Its pH is not nearly as low as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. Hydrofluoric isn't dangerous because of its acidity (i.e. how much of the acid forms hydrogen ions, which is how pH is measured), but because it contains ionic fluorine, the single-most reactive element in the entire periodic table, which will happily (and extremely aggressively) target and react with anything sufficiently electropositive in its vicinity (it is the fluorine, not the hydrogen, that reacts with calcium and causes the health issues associated with hydrofluoric acid exposure). Florine will even react with [[UpToEleven some of the Nobel Gasses]]!
** At one point, serious consideration was given to the possibility of building space rockets propelled by burning hydrogen with fluorine. They would be significantly more efficient than rockets that burned hydrogen with oxygen. The only problem was that this fuel-oxidizer combination produces hydrofluoric acid as its [[AccidentalNightmareFuel exhaust]]. And also the fact that storing pure florine in large quantities is ''incredibly'' dangerous by itself.

In films, on TV, and in comic books, an "acid" is any liquid that can eat away at and completely dissolve skin and muscle, [[StrippedToTheBone leaving only bone]] and sometimes not even that. Even stronger "acids" will dissolve steel, glass, plastic (even though it's ''nearly impossible'' for plastic to be dissolved by an acid), concrete, and ultimately everything it comes into contact with. Well, everything except the glass flask that it is stored in. Such liquids are almost always either a [[TechnicolorScience bright green or sickly yellow]] color. They bubble and fizz on the counter or floor when you spill them, give off visible, smoky fumes (which [[FridgeLogic never seem to be harmful in their own right]]), and they never dissipate. If a drop of acid eats through the floor, it will continue to eat through things on the next level down, and so on. There are even some video games where puddles of this stuff can move around and [[EverythingTryingToKillYou try to kill you]].

* The live action ''Series/{{Batman}}'' has an inspired variant in a Riddler story where the villain gets a special wax. It is the perfect safe-cracking tool: a powerful corrosive potent enough that a pocketful of the stuff will quickly and silently penetrate thick steel doors or concrete walls in minutes and yet is perfectly safe to handle until you expose it to direct flame. In fact, you'd almost wonder why Riddler didn't [[CutLexLuthorACheck make a bundle simply auctioning the stuff to other criminals]].

** Oddly, hydrofluoric acid is ''not'' considered a strong acid by chemists. Its pH is not nearly as low as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. Hydrofluoric isn't dangerous because of its acidity (i.e. how much of the acid forms hydrogen ions, which is how pH is measured), but because it contains ionic fluorine, the single-most reactive element in the entire periodic table, which will happily (and extremely aggressively) target and react with anything sufficiently electropositive in its vicinity (it is the fluorine, not the hydrogen, that reacts with calcium and causes the health issues associated with hydrofluoric acid exposure).
** At one point, serious consideration was given to the possibility of building space rockets propelled by burning hydrogen with fluorine. They would be significantly more efficient than rockets that burned hydrogen with oxygen. The only problem was that this fuel-oxidizer combination produces hydrofluoric acid as its [[AccidentalNightmareFuel exhaust]].

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has this as a damage type, as seen on a few magical items, spells such as acid arrow and acid fog, and the black dragon's acid breath. Notably it's one of the few ways to put down a troll for good. Whenever the stuff is illustrated, expect it to be a bright green. One fluid ounce of ''ultimate solution'' from the 1e ''Unearthed Arcana'' book can dissolve up to a cubic foot of adhesive (glue, cement, etc.); however, if it is carefully distilled to one-third of its original volume, an ounce of the resulting liquid can dissolve a cubic foot of ''any'' substance.

* In the novel of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', one of the Temple of Pandora's boobytraps is a tripwire that spills a substance so powerful that it turns the room into a ''sinkhole''. The fumes also burn Kratos on contact.

* In ''Film/HorrorOfTheBlackMuseum'', Bancroft disposes of Dr. Ballan's body by lowering it into a vat of acid that strips the flesh from the bones in a matter of seconds.

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': Reptile. His fatality in ''Ultimate VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' has him vomit a gallon of "acid" on his opponent, melting their flesh clear off their skeleton. He also has acid fatalities in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance''.

* In the AMC series ''Series/BreakingBad''. [[TheSmartGuy Walter White]] and his partner Jesse Pinkman need to get rid of a body. Walt tells Jesse -- who at this point has not yet learned to follow Walt's instructions regarding chemistry to the letter at all times -- to pick up a specific type of plastic tub, because the hydrofluoric acid they're using will dissolve any other container. So what does Jesse do? [[WhatAnIdiot Takes a shortcut and dumps it in a ceramic bathtub]]. The result is a very... messy hole in the ceiling (the tub being on the second floor). Since the body, at this point, is no longer recognizable as human, the result, for those who are not [[{{Squick}} completely disgusted]], is BloodyHilarious.

* The WesternAnimation/{{Batman|TheAnimatedSeries}}[=/=]WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheAnimatedSeries}} episode ''World's Finest'' both subverts this and plays it straight, kinda. When the Joker leaves Superman and Batman trapped in one of Luthor's laboratories (with a chunk of kryptonite slowly killing Superman), Batman begins looking for ways to escape. He finds a container of hydrochloric acid. Batman notes that while it will take a week for the acid to eat through the wall of the room they're in, it will [[ArtisticLicenseChemistry destroy the kryptonite]] almost immediately. Similarly, Superman's Anti-Kryptonite suit is supposed to be designed to resist corrosion by acid, yet is destroyed by it anyway.

A {{subtrope}} of HollywoodScience. Compare PoisonIsCorrosive and AcidPool (when this is applied to a DeathTrap). Has nothing to do with those [[MarijuanaIsLSD other]] [[DisneyAcidSequence kinds]] of acid. Compare BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce, which is almost always PlayedForLaughs.

* ''VisualNovel/CodeRealize'': Alhough the characters refer to it as "{{poison|IsCorrosive}}", the [[PoisonousPerson player character]]'s skin and blood act more like a fictionalized super-acid in the way that she burns and melts whatever she comes into contact with. After testing it on a variety of materials up to and including a sample of titanium, [[ScienceHero Victor]] concludes that the reaction is something more alchemical than natural.

* Though the characters of ''VisualNovel/CodeRealize'' refer to it as "poison," the [[PoisonousPerson player character]]'s skin and blood act more like a fictionalized super-acid in the way that she burns and melts whatever she comes into contact with. After testing it on a variety of materials up to and including a sample of titanium, [[ScienceHero Victor]] concludes that the reaction is something more alchemical than natural.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''. Garland has the Light Warriors (plus White Mage) [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2002/03/15/episode-128-the-acid-would-be-healthier/ tied up over a cauldron full of a hissing, bubbling green liquid]] -- which turns out to be Mountain Dew, swapped with Garland's real acid by the Forest Imps. Note the comic's name: "[[TakeThat The Acid Would Be Healthier]]"
* In ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'', [[CaptainErsatz Jokerella]] threatens her with ''citric'' acid (which ''can'' be harmful in its pure form, but it's not exactly [[ComicBook/TheJoker Joker]]-level evil).
** Either mocked or taken to its literal extreme [[http://nonadventures.com/2014/01/25/acid-splashback/ here]], with so-called "galactic" acid.
* The Thinner River in ''Webcomic/TheStrongestSuit'' is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: a ''river'' of super-corrosive liquid. Although to be fair it is colorless rather than green or yellow, and doesn't bubble or fume.

* The WesternAnimation/{{Batman|TheAnimatedSeries}}[=/=]WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheAnimatedSeries}} episode ''World's Finest'' both subverts this and plays it straight, kinda. When the Joker leaves Superman and Batman trapped in one of Luthor's laboratories (with a chunk of kryptonite slowly killing Superman), Batman begins looking for ways to escape. He finds a container of hydrochloric acid. Batman notes that while it will take a week for the acid to eat through the wall of the room they're in, it will [[ArtisticLicenseChemistry destroy the kryptonite]] almost immediately.
* Similarly, Superman's Anti-Kryptonite suit is supposed to be designed to resist corrosion by acid, yet is destroyed by it anyway.

** Homer was also about to quaff a beaker of acid, but it was knocked out of his hand by Frank Grimes. It splashed all over the wall, creating a hole big enough to drive a car through. Grimes was then chewed out by Mr. Burns for destroying the wall. And for wasting his priceless acid.
** In another episode heavy pollution had covered Springfield in Hollywood Acid ''Rain'' which corroded soft materials in seconds. The effects on human flesh ([[MagicPants and underwear]]) weren't so extreme, but according to Willie still "stings like a Glasgow bikini wax!"
* ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'' has several of the giant monsters spit out acid that melted various materials, usually metal and plastic. How fast the acid ate away whatever it was spat on varies.

* In WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail Alcoholic mouse politician Honest John is seen sloshing around a trail of alcohol from his glass as he gesticulates drunkenly. This alcohol is so strong, it ''burns holes in the floor'' where it lands, yet seems to have no lasting effect on Honest John than ''moderate'' drunkenness.
* The Scorpion from ''WesternAnimation/SpidermanTheAnimatedSeries'' has the power to spit acid from his tail.

** A 2013 episode of ''Series/MythBusters'' revealed that the trope had actually been played straight in the ''Breaking Bad'' scene described above. Adam and Jamie found that hydrofluoric acid wouldn't completely destroy organic tissues, so they switched to sulfuric acid with a dose of (what appeared to be) hydrogen peroxide (AKA [[AndSomeOtherStuff special sauce]]) to boost its corrosive power (this combination is often called "piranha solution" in real life, because the aforementioned Caro's acid is formed when mixing these two chemicals, and is used for cleaning stubborn organic matter off of glassware). They put 35 pounds of pig carcass parts and 6 gallons of their acid mixture in a ceramic-coated cast iron tub; the acid destroyed most of the carcass, but did not eat through the tub or the floor below it. When they used 36 gallons of acid in a fiberglass tub, the carcass was reduced to a black organic sludge in a spectacularly smoky and violent reaction - but again, neither the tub nor the floor gave way under the acid's effects.

* ''Series/BetterOffTed'': Oe episode features a biocomputer that leaks an "acid-like goo", or "ass-goo" for short, that burns through several floors and desks.
* ''Series/TheXFiles'' gets the bit about acid vapors right. The aliens have acid blood similar to the Xenomorphs, but most of their victims die from inhaling the stuff. This may have something to do with the fact it's cheaper to film than acid eating through people's bodies. The blood emits toxic vapors which cause swelling and reddening around the eyes and death by coagulation. It may be acidic, but that is incidental to its effectiveness. This effect was based on the real-life, and as yet unexplained case of Gloria Ramirez - whose blood wasn't corrosive, but fumes which apparently came off her did cause similar and acute symptoms in the hospital staff which was treating her.

* In the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' episode "Detour", having been kidnapped by the bad guys of the week, Jimmy and Ducky free themselves from their bonds by using the victim's stomach acid to dissolve the chains holding them.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Eureka}}'' has the town plagued by bats that shit Super Acid - see RealLife section below, they got this right that it protonates matter. Over the course of the episode a cow is reduced to black and white goo, a jeep is rendered into a puddle, and a bunch of wires in a wall start dripping like water.

* The Mac game ''VideoGame/SpinDoctor'' had droplets of bright green acid that activated when you passed over them and chased you.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}}'' and ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', several zerg units use "acid" attacks.
* In the Flash game ''Crush the Castle 2'', acid projectiles play the trope 100% straight. They are green and hissing, will completely dissolve almost any substance it touches, and will leak down, dissolving any objects beneath that the target point directly contacts. This can create a chain reaction which can bring down entire structures by itself. Oddly, though it can disintegrate solid iron, it will not eat through the much softer earth once it reaches down that far, and a few kinds of rock walls are impervious to it. Human targets are naturally dissolved.

* In the first ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'' game, [[ActionGirl Kate]] [[PlayerCharacter Archer]] is given (among other [[Film/JamesBond Bond]]-like gadgets) small bottles of an acidic substance that dissolves a dead human body in ''seconds'' without leaving a trace. This is claimed to be because someone of Kate's size can't be expected to be able to lug around dead bodies of large men. While this helps preserving stealth in some parts of the game, Kate only has a limited amount of uses for the acid. The sequel allows Kate to carry bodies (even though her size and strength haven't changed) to hide them, although she can still get the acid. {{Mooks}} in the sequel will also have an equivalent to dispose of their dead comrades (a Russian soldier will usually say something like "Sorry, comrade, there's less paperwork this way").
* ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' introduces Dragalge, a Dragon/Poison type Pokémon living underwater, which the Pokédex claims can spit acid powerful enough to dissolve the hull of a tanker. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation In game]], Steel-types are still [[NoSell completely immune]] to its Poison-types moves.

* ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' has you combining aqua regia, orpiment, cuprite, and calamine to make a mysterious unnamed "acid." Note that aqua regia is a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid ''in the first place'', yet inexplicably can't be used on its own in the game.

* ''VideoGame/{{Trine}} 2'' has a number of puzzles that involve acid. It doesn't dissolve ''everything'' - in particular, Pontius the knight had his shield conveniently acid-proofed before the game began--but it's still a bright green colour and destroys almost anything put in it.

* In the ''Xtended'' mod for ''[[Videogame/{{X}} X3: Terran Conflict]]'', the Panos MobileFactory mines asteroid ore through the use of acid. It scans for ore, then uses its transporter to teleport powerful acid into ore deposits, then beams the slurry back on board for processing. A [=GalNet=] news article mentions a horrific accident where a Panos with a malfunctioning communications system unknowingly began mine an occupied mining site, causing several workers to die when acid started to materialize mid-air in the chamber they were excavating before the Panos operator realized what was going on.
* Gorgon of ''Videogame/{{Evolve}}'' has an acid spray attack. This is one of its most damaging attacks, rapidly melting through the health of anything caught by it.
* Acid in ''Videogame/XCOM2'' is a textbook example: It's green, it bubbles and hisses ominously and it'll melt even advanced alien materials to slag in a matter of seconds.

* The Acid Eye from the BreakingOut game ''VideoGame/BricksOfEgypt2'' is colored green and sheds acid tears that can destroy every block that can be found (except for the Key blocks).
* The acid from Toxic Tower in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'' is bright lime green, acts exactly like rising water and instantly kills anything it touches.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''. Garland has the Light Warriors (plus White Mage) [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2002/03/15/episode-128-the-acid-would-be-healthier/ tied up over a cauldron full of a hissing, bubbling green liquid]] - which turns out to be Mountain Dew, swapped with Garland's real acid by the Forest Imps. Note the comic's name: "[[TakeThat The Acid Would Be Healthier]]"

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorine_trifluoride Chlorine trifluoride]] - not technically an acid, but it burns through flesh, glass, rock and concrete like nobody's business. When mixed with water it explodes and forms hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids as ''byproducts''. And for bonus points, in its liquid state it actually is a greenish-yellow color. While [[ThoseWackyNazis the Nazis]] considered the acid [[EvenEvilHasStandards too nasty to use in actual combat]] even by their standards, they did produce the stuff throughout [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the war]] at a partially underground bunker near the town of Falkenhagen. By the time the [[RedsWithRockets Red Army]] captured the facility in 1944, already ''30 to 50 tonnes'' of the acid had been made at the cost of 100 German Reichsmark (equal to 4.2 USD) per kilogram.

* Probably the least thought about frequent subversion of this are nucleic acids. In other words, the DNA ('''d'''eoxyribo'''n'''ucleic '''a'''cid) and RNA ('''r'''ibo'''n'''ucleic '''a'''cid) that exist in every lifeform and pseudo-lifeform, as well as artificially created [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleic_acid_analogue nucleic acid analogues]], a.k.a. xeno nucleic acids. [=XNAs=] such as peptide nucleic acid, glycol nucleic acid, and threose nucleic acid, have been found to have various uses in genetic research, meaning that the biggest threat ''these'' acids pose is the unlikely scenario of [[TheCorruption XNA-corrupted]] lifeforms escaping from a laboratory [[ZombieApocalypse and infecting or contaminating all life on Earth]]. [[Film/JurassicPark After all]], [[GenreBlind the scientists only seem to be thinking that they can]] and not [[GoneHorriblyWrong if they should]], and even [[StayingAlive alien life finds a way]]...[[note]]It's extremely unlikely for XNA to be incorporated into the DNA of existing organisms as no organism has proteins that would allow them to transcribe (read) or replicate XNA. The idea of synthetic life with a fundamentally different genome being able to "corrupt" Earth life is as plausible as [[NoBiochemicalBarriers aliens being able to eat and breed with Earth life]] - i.e. the softest of soft science.[[/note]]

* In ''Literature/NewJediOrder'', the Jedi-hunting ''voxyn'' beasts can vomit acid (which is, unusually, not depicted as stereotypical acid, but rather mucus that happens to be strong enough to [[BodyHorror burn through faces]]), and their blood is [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill both acidic and a neurotoxin]].
* The rogue cleaner droids in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Doomsday Ship'' can squirt acidic cleaner. No one is ever actually killed by this directly, but when [[spoiler: TheCaptain]] is climbing and needs both hands, they attack his face, and when he tries to paw them away frantically he falls to his death.
* One of the murder victims in ''Literature/{{Ghoul}}'' by Creator/MichaelSlade is disposed of in a bathtub full of sulphuric acid, leaving only the victim's gallstones behind (for some reason). This is possibly a reference to John Haigh. A real life killer that used acid to dispose of bodies and who was only tied to the murder of one suspect because of the few bodily parts not even the strongest acid can dissolve: teeth and gallstones.

* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Acidbath is a cell-block leader in [[TheAlcatraz the Birdcage]], with the ability to turn part or all of his body into Hollywood Acid to enhance his attacks or survive enemy attacks.

* ''Series/BetterOffTed'' had an episode which featured a biocomputer that leaked an "acid-like goo," or "ass-goo" for short that burned through several floors and desks.

* The live action ''Series/{{Batman}}'' had an inspired variant in a Riddler story when the villain gets a special wax. It is the perfect safe-cracking tool: a powerful corrosive that is potent enough that a pocketful of the stuff will quickly and silently penetrate thick steel doors or concrete walls in minutes and yet is perfectly safe to handle until you expose it to direct flame. In fact, you'd almost wonder why Riddler didn't [[CutLexLuthorACheck make a bundle simply auctioning the stuff to other criminals]].

* Clark Kent, in the 1950’s ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman'' series episode "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfSupermanS6E12ThePerilsOfSuperman The Perils of Superman]]", was lowered into an enormous vat of acid by chortling villains, who then walked out to arrange their next evil deed. Naturally, Superman then emerged, his costume soaked, but unharmed. Presumably, Kent’s glasses and clothes were dissolved.

* Several episodes of ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' play this trope straight with various degrees of accuracy, particularly "Deep Fried", "Fools Russian", and "Caught In A Lye".
* Played with in ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr''- a skeleton is found in a bathtub full of acid. [[spoiler:The skeleton was a fake, left by the supposed victim to fake his own death.]] But despite only sitting about waist deep in the acid tub, the entire body was bones, [[spoiler:which is retrospect was an early clue that it was staged]].

** Half-averted with the planet Vortis's naturally occurring {{Acid Pool}}s and rivers in the 1st Doctor serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E5TheWebPlanet The Web Planet]]". Although the acid is highly corrosive and instantly eats away at everything it touches (excluding the local terrain, for some reason), its completely transparent and easily mistaken for water. Ian comes very close to scooping up a handful to drink when he first encounters it, which would have ended very badly had the Doctor not stopped him, noting that his tie had dissolved.
*** That makes sense in that, for some reason, the entire planet had an imbalance of protons to electrons. This evens out among the surface matter, resulting in pooled acid in equilibrium with the surrounding substances. Everything that could be oxidized by the acid already had been, except things brought into the place.
* A ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' villain got rid of his victims this way.

* The Spanish game show ''Series/ElGranJuegoDeLaOca'' featured a challenge wherein the contestant had to unshackle himself before "acid" poured from above by a ScaryBlackMan ate through the layers of Styrofoam and reached him. (The "acid" was more than likely a harmless substance such as nail polish remover - acetone readily melts Styrofoam.)

* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Cody can take out potion bottles filled with an unknown acidic black liquid.
** EvilLuddite Ashley's acid melts through anything quickly.

* Three WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck stories by Creator/DonRosa involved a liquid called "The Universal Solvent" that compresses the atoms of anything it comes in contact with, turning all matter into a superdense powder, with one important exception: diamond. This of course means that the solvent has to be kept in a jar carved from diamond and can only be handled with tools coated in diamond dust. In real life, [[PhilosophersStone unless you're an alchemist]], the term 'Universal Solvent' usually refers to ''water''...
* Franchise/{{Batman}} loves this stuff; it's used to kill the villain in his very first story, ''The Case of the Chemical Syndicate'', and is the comic-book source of Harvey Dent's scars as Two-Face. The most popular origin for the Joker is also that he fell in a tank of acid and came out with his skin bleached, and [[TraumaCongaLine insane]]. Deconstructed in Dr. Scott's [[http://www.politedissent.com/archives/893#comments article]] on an issue where Batman counteracts ComicBook/TheJoker's acid by spraying the target with a strong base. Hello exothermic reaction!

* In the Star Trek[=/DS9=] comic, after the tribbles are reintroduced to the future; the cast finds that the creatures produce a "universal solvent" which somehow eats through force fields! It takes about a panel for a character to ask what they could store it in.

* The Literature/HarryPotter TrollFic, [[Fanfic/BecomingFemale Becoming Female]] manages to use water as this. At one point, various heroes are trapped in [[RonTheDeathEater Ron Raper's]] lair, and are rescued by a reformed Barty Crouch Junior, who melts the bars on a window by using what is referred to as "the dangerous chemical dihydrogen monoxide".
* In ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''VideoGame/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, "corrosive" elemental guns carry the trope as per the game. Furthermore, an army of clones is constructed that utilize this to avoid being used by {{Parasite Zombie}}s--if infected, the clone simply dissolves while [[ImMelting leaving nothing behind]].

* The blood of the xenomorphs in the ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' movies is made of a "concentrated molecular acid" (sic) that can eat through a starship's hull but not through the body of the xenomorph itself, due to being SiliconBasedLife. It seems to have less effect on human flesh when convenient. In ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', Private Hudson gets some splashed on his arm when Corporal Hicks shoots a Xenomorph in the head at point-blank range, causing little more than painful burns. Drake isn't so lucky when Vasquez attempts to shoot a Xenomorph off of him. Its potency freaks ''everyone'' out; one character makes noises about "[[TechnoBabble molecular acid]]" in ''Film/{{Alien}}'', and an executive speaks of "concentrated acid" in a patronizing manner in the second - they're saying, "Umm... Acid '''isn't''' supposed to '''''do''''' that!"
* ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'' and ''Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem'' are inconsistent with the lethality of Alien blood. A hunter's arm is seared off by a splash of facehugger blood, and another unfortunate human has his skull melted by a blast of Xenomorph blood to the face. However, the first film also presents it as mild enough to use for body scarification. This is actually a nod to the previous ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' fluff, where the Predators are said to have antacid blood that neutralizes the Aliens' acid blood. It damages their skin but stops once it reaches their blood. Also, in ''Requiem'', the Predator carries vials of a blue substance that can dissolve even Xenomorph bodies, which it uses to dispose of Xenomorph corpses.

* The technobabble version is used in ''Film/RichieRich'', where Richie and his estate's GadgeteerGenius use a thick, foamy white experimental corrosive, "hydrochloric dioxic nucleic carbodium", disguised as a tube of toothpaste to help break Cadbury, his {{b|attleButler}}utler, out of jail.

* The goop that Jack Napier falls into in Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/Batman1989'' is astroturf-green and has the consistency of a milkshake. It's later casually described as "acid". Later in the same film, the Joker's trick flower squirts acid strong enough to eat through thick metal in seconds (when he sprays it on the bolts holding up the church bell).
* A similar goop labeled "acid" is employed in ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'', with Harley Quinn jumping onto a vat of it. In a subversion, it only causes minor damage (most notably, the skin bleach that also happened to the Joker).
* The same fate befalls some nameless extras in ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'' as well. Rick even identifies the substance as "Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid." ('Salt acid' is the period-authentic name for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid Hydrochloric acid]].) Although, in a subversion, the acid here burns the extras rather than dissolving their skin.

* Jeff Goldblum's character Seth Brundle uses his stomach acid in the Cronenberg remake ''Film/TheFly1986'', both to externally digest food and in one stomach-turning scene, as a weapon. It's actually specified as containing digestive enzymes.

** Played straight in ''Film/SawIII''. In the infamous "Angel Trap" scene, Kerry has one minute to grab a key (which, contrary to Jigsaw's warning, never actually dissolves) inside a beaker of highly corrosive acid and free herself from a harness before it tears open her ribcage. By the time she finally retrieves said key, her hand is horribly mangled and the acid is dark red. [[spoiler: What makes the scene even scarier is that the key actually doesn't free her, so she still dies.]]

* The Tall Man is killed in ''Film/PhantasmII'' when the fluid he uses to reanimate corpses is tainted with hydrochloric acid and then injected into him, melting him from the inside-out. If that wasn't improbable enough to bother all of you chemists, this somehow causes his [[EyeScream eyeballs to explode.]] This may be justified as the Tall Man's physiology is alien.

* ''Stomach acid'' serves as this trope in the final battle of ''Film/{{Innerspace}}'', [[spoiler: when Tuck Pendleton drops his pod into Jack Putter's stomach with [[TheDragon Mr. Igoe]] clinging to the side. The pod survives; [[StrippedToTheBone Mr. Igoe doesn't]].]]

* A janitor is killed by having his head dunked in a sink that was randomly full of acid (or some kind of corrosive chemical) in ''Film/HospitalMassacre''.

* The 1985 B-grade horror flick ''Attack of the Beast Creatures'' features a whole ''river'' made of acid, which coincidentally looks exactly like normal water. When one person tries to cross it, his body gets dissolved until only the skeleton remains. It's never made clear how such a large body of highly corrosive acid came to exist, nor how the tropical rainforest on the river bank manages to prosper.

* ''Film/PacificRim'': [[{{Kaiju}} Otachi]] can spit a corrosive blue acid that makes short work of any type of metal, which it uses to [[spoiler:help kill a Russian mecha]].

* The 1957 film ''The Astounding She-Monster'' had the protagonists (such as they were) use acid to burn away the alien's spacesuit, killing it instantly.
* Ordinary water acts like this to the aliens in ''Film/{{Signs}}''.
* ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''. Silva reveals that he's missing part of his jaw and palate, the result of biting a defective hydrogen CyanidePill. Hydrogen cyanide doesn't produce that effect, but the writers may have assumed otherwise from its alternate name: prussic acid.
* The film of ''Film/TheDayOfTheTriffids'' treats sea water as this. Although it's only used to dissolve the triffids and win the day, the big warning sign next to a hose saying "Sea water - highly corrosive" suggests the writers really believed sea water acts this way on everything.

* In the novel of ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'', one of the Temple Of Pandora's boobytraps is a tripwire that spills a substance so powerful that it turns the room into a ''sinkhole''. The fumes also burn Kratos on contact.

* In Creator/AnthonyHorowitz's ''[[Literature/ThePowerOfFive Raven's Gate]]'', TheDragon is pushed into a tub of incredibly concentrated liquid boric acid at a nuclear power plant. By the end of her ordeal, there is nothing left of her.