History Main / HollyWoodAcid

* 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 is bones, [[spoiler:which is retrospect is an early clue that it was staged]].

** Xenomorph blood 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 their 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!"

* ''Fanfic/BecomingFemale'' 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".

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'': while the title character makes strong use of some unspecified acid it simply acts like a ''real'' acid, if a powerful one. The closest thing it gets is when Diabolik breaks out the more powerful acids, but even those acts realistically and, like the usual ones, have encountered metal safes that are unaffected ([[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome a natural consequence of the presence of a thief that makes heavy use of acids]].

* The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' TrollFic ''Fanfic/BecomingFemale'' 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/{{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]].

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'': while the title character makes strong use of some unspecified acid it simply acts like a ''real'' acid, if a powerful one. The closest thing it gets is when Diabolik breaks out the more powerful acids, but even those acts realistically-and, like the usual ones, have encountered metal safes that are unaffected ([[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome a natural consequence of the presence of a thief that makes heavy use of acids]].

* 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''...

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. Don't expect to ever see bases used in the same role as acids, despite being equally dangerous in reality (perhaps they just don't [[RuleOfCool sound as cool]]). 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.

* In ''{{Manga/Gantz}}'', the Thousand Arms Buddha statue carries a vial full of acid corrosive enough to completely liquefy a person in the blink of an eye, ''[[OhCrap even if he's wearing the protective Gantz suit]]''. [[spoiler: This actually worked in the hunters' advantage, as it was the acid spilled by Sei Sakuraoka that eventually disabled the Buddha statue's regenerative ability. (Although this didn't happen until Kei Kishimoto, among others, had met their fate because of the same acid.)]]
* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', [[HornedHumanoid Mina Ashido]] has the ability to generate acid of this type from her body. Fortunately, she has the ability to control the corrosiveness and viscosity.

* 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. Realistically, mixing a strong acid and a strong base together would result in a violently exothermic reaction.
* {{Subverted}} in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'': while the title character makes strong use of some unspecified acid it simply acts like a ''real'' acid, if a powerful one. The closest thing it gets is when Diabolik breaks out the more powerful acids, but even those acts realistically-and, like the usual ones, have encountered metal safes that are unaffected ([[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome a natural consequence of the presence of a thief that makes heavy use of acids]].

* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek[=/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.

* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': The WesternAnimation/{{Batman|TheAnimatedSeries}}[=/=]WesternAnimation/{{Superman|TheAnimatedSeries}} episode [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E16To18WorldsFinest "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 2013 episode of ''Series/MythBusters'' revealed that the trope had actually been played straight in the ''Breaking Bad'' scene in The Cat's in the Bag. 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.

** Hydrofluoric acid is actually deadlier than portrayed here. A fairly small amount of it landing on skin can lead to death fairly quickly by affecting calcium metabolism. Jesse shouldn't have survived his exposure in this episode.
** However, while hydrofluoric acid is extremely good at making living tissue dead and gooey, it is not so good at making dead and gooey tissue liquid and watery. For this, other, stronger and less toxic acids such as sulfuric or nitric are recommended. Or, even better, strongly oxidizing ones, like Caro's acid (a.k.a. piranha acid; guess why it is called so?).

** 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/BreakingBad'': In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E2TheCatsInTheBag The Cat's in the Bag]]". [[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.

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': Krayt dragons can spit gouts of greenish acid that dissolve living flesh on contact.

[[no real life]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The closest thing in real life is known as "Piranha Solution," a mix of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids. It quickly reduces any organic matter it touches to carbon and steam. It resembles nothing so much as it does CoolClearWater, as both reagents are clear liquids. It takes on a black coloration when dissolving stuff until all the carbon settles to the bottom.
[[/folder]]