History Main / HumanPinCushion

* The woodcut "Der verwundete Mann" (The Wounded Man) from page 21 of the book ''Feldbuch der Wundarzney'' (Field Book of Surgery, by Hans von Gersdorff and illustrated by Hans Wechtlin, printed 1517) shows a man who has several swords and knives sticking out of multiple places, three arrows lodge in others, a crossbow bolt in his leg, a spear in his foot and stomach, two spiked clubs sticking out, several pieces of shrapnel stuck in his already wounded leg, what appears to be a cannonball in his forearm and calf, a broken wrist, ''the head of a war-hammer sticking out of his upper arm'', and what may be a pointy stick poking his foot.

** In the Blood+ Adagio manga, Hagi becomes a pincushion as multiple swords are driven into him to prove his immortality. Just because he's immortal, doesn't mean the poor guy can't feel pain.

* In ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', items can become impaled in a character. Mostly arrows shot from a bow/crossbow. This item will then be in your inventory. So, if after a battle, a character suddenly has a bunch of arrows added to their inventory but didn't pick any up then they have just become pincushions.
** It's Worth noting that these arrows must be pulled out of the body before they can be used, causing bleeding. There have been quite a few adventurers who have died this way.

** In the ''Unlimited Blade Works'' route, Berserker is on the receiving end of this thanks to Gilgamesh's [[StormOfBlades Gate of Babylon]]. This being [[{{TheJuggernaut}} Berserker]], however, it takes a ''lot'' of punishment before he finally goes down.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': According to {{Fanon}}, this is the common fate of anyone who severely pisses off Sakuya Izayoi, the knife-throwing, time-stopping NinjaMaid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, with [[TheChewToy Hong Meiling]] being her most common victim.

* Saint Philomena of Rome. According to the private revelations of [[http://philomena.us/story-saint-philomena/ Mother Maria Luisa di Gesù]], this was one of the methods of execution Emperor Diocletian ordered when the previous ones (scourging and drowning with an anchor tied to her) did not work. The first time, she was riddled with arrows and was taken to the dungeon where she was supposed to die, but her wounds were miraculously healed. The second time, the arrows were not loosed. The third time, the arrows were placed in a furnace and then loosed at St. Philomena, but flew back into the archers and killed six of them; the survivors renounced their paganism and became Christian. Eventually, Diocletian ordered that St. Philomena [[OffWithHisHead be decapitated]] instead.

* ''WebAnimation/TheAmazingDigitalCircus'': In the teaser, not only is [[TheChewToy Pomni]] skewered with four knives, but she’s [[AndIMustScream still alive]] and [[BloodlessCarnage not a single drop of blood can be seen]].

* ''Series/AmericanGods'' features a version lacking from the book. In the book, the first Vikings to reach the shores of America use a man from a local Native American tribe who came to befriend them as a HumanSacrifice to Odin. In the series, presumably the gods of the Natives warned them about the danger these Vikings posed because the first time one of the Vikings tries to step off the beach their ship landed on he is shot by unseen archers until he is covered from head to toe with arrows. ([[http://p.fod4.com/p/media/9015cde16b/mdw2dqnDShdfJhitsZkQ_Arrows-American-Gods-1.gif Literally]]) The increasingly desperate Vikings pull a ScrewThisImOuttaHere and will try ''anything'' to get a favorable wind from Odin just so they can leave the place.

* In ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion The End of Evangelion]]'', this is the Mass Production Eva's final insult to [[spoiler:[[CruelAndUnusualDeath Asuka's already]]-gnawed corpse.]] Happens because she hasn't given up [[GraspTheSun and is still trying to attack them.]]

* Chester Gould was fond of this in ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'':
** Tracy chases crook Gargles inside a warehouse for glass windows. Trying to escape, Gargles knocks over a cart of glass before falling down a staircase. The glass shards follow him down to stab and cut Gargles to shreds.
** Tracy is fighting Empty Williams inside a kids' tree house. The fight causes the whole tree to collapse with Empty pierced several times by branches.
** TV Wiggles tries to shoot Tracy inside a factory. He ends up knocking over a huge container of sheet metal which lands on him and literally staples Wiggles to the floor.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': The following characters exhibit this trope:
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} invokes this every so often thanks to his HealingFactor. Ranges from things like arrows to multiple [[http://i.annihil.us/u/prod/marvel/i/content/69274comic_storystory_full-6284508..jpg swords.]]
** Marrow had this as her superpower; she could grow bones out of her body, usually as outward jutting spines or claws.
** Spike from ''ComicBook/XForce'' had the same abilities and tended to use them in a similar fashion.
* Mr Croup in the comic version of ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}''.

* '90s Marvel comic ''Nightstalkers'' had a villain called Shiv, whose gimmick was having various knives sticking out of his body. He started feeling pain from them when the magic that was powering him ran out.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* Dracula on ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania3SummerVacation'' gets hit with dozens of darts and arrows, venomous snakes, even an axe to the head, while protecting Ericka from a booby-trapped-riddled temple in Atlantis.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* The villain of the 2007 film ''The Promise Keeper'' is a wooden, Golem-like creature covered in nails.

* ''Film/ThreeHundred'': In the {{Bittersweet|Ending}} GrandFinale, where the Persian army finally overwhelms the Spartans, many of the Spartans have arrows, swords, and other weapons stuck in their bodies.

* In ''Film/{{Savaged}}'', Zoe shoots Creed with so many arrows that Trey describes him as being 'a human pincushion'.

* In ''Literature/TheBalladOfTheWhiteHorse'' Eldred takes seven spears to the torso before he finally goes down, and that's only because the seventh spear was enchanted.
* In one of Thomas Harris's novels, it's stated that Hannibal Lecter once mutilated one of his victims to turn him into an exact copy of "The Wounded Man" (see art section).

* ''Literature/FireAndBlood:'' Happens to Ser Criston Cole during the Dance of the Dragons, when he's surrounded by a superior enemy force. All attempts to talk his way out are rejected, and when he tries asking them to settle the matter with trial by champion, he's told they'll have no songs about how bravely he died, at which point Ser Pate of Longleaf signals to his archers to fill Cole full of holes.
* ''Literature/{{Heimskringla}}'': After the Birchlegs have lost the Battle of Re to King Magnus Erlingsson, one Birchleg survivor sneaks into the King Magnus' camp and makes an attempt at Magnus' life. He fails, "and then weapons were so thick around the Birchleg that he could hardly fall down."

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/HagarTheHorrible'': Hagar returns home looking like this sometimes (usually axes, spears, and arrows), showing that his last pillaging foray wasn't as successful as he'd hoped.
[[/folder]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the Purrodaemon is an evil spirit of [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse War]] that usually appears with a dozen blades piercing its flesh. It can safely store a small armory in this manner and grant magical enchantments to a weapon impaling it.

* Happens quite often in "arrow run" levels of ''VideoGame/HappyWheels''. [[https://imgur.com/gallery/Pw3MFDm Here's an example]].
* ''VideoGame/DungeonSiege'': Particularly visible throughout the series and downright ridiculous in "winter" areas, where opponents tend to use large ice shards instead of arrows.

* The cause of [[spoiler:Asch]]'s death/defeat (the ending waffled a little bit) in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. Buying time for the rest of the party he held off a force of replica knights as long as he could, eventually getting impaled with three swords. To cement his badassery though, he managed to pull one of them out of his torso and use it to kill a few knights before finally going down.
* In ''Duodecim'', the prequel to ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', this is part of [[spoiler:Desperado Chaos]]'s [[LimitBreak EX Burst]], and the impaling...elements happen to be measured in ''stories''. Distressingly, the impaling isn't even ''[[NothingIsScarier close]]'' [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to being the scariest or most horrifying part of that particular attack]].
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', characters can be turned into human pincushions with literally dozens of arrows sticking out of them. If their health is high enough they can keep going. If this happens to the player character, some of those arrows show up in their PlayerInventory and can be equipped and [[LodgedBladeRecycling fired back]].
** Ditto in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''. Thanks to GameplayAndStorySegregation, it's possible to hear a guard whine about how his adventuring career was cut short by an archery-related knee injury while you yourself have an arrow stuck in your face. Or, in case you've had a run-in with a mage, an ice shard the size of a small log shoved through your neck.
* Ditto in ''VideoGame/MountAndBlade,'' extending to other throwing arms such as javelins and axes, as well. Anything that is both a projectile and has something that can be called a pointy end can and will lodge in both player characters and NPC troops, sharing models as they do. [[http://mountandblade.wikia.com/wiki/File:Mb_warband_2011-06-26_22-50-44-55.jpg There's quite the upper bound on the number of arrows that can remain visibly lodged in an object,]] though given how the game averts AnnoyingArrows completely, few players will catch nearly as many in one battle without a shield or high-quality armor.
* In ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', items can become impaled in a character. Mostly arrows shot from a bow/crossbow. This item will then be in your inventory. So, if after a battle, a character suddenly has a bunch of arrows added to their inventory but didn't pick any up then they have just become pincushions.
** It's Worth noting that these arrows must be pulled out of the body before they can be used, causing bleeding. There have been quite a few adventurers who have died this way.
* Any game with visible arrows/javelin/pointy/non-pointy impalement has a possibility of a character looking like this if the injections stay.
* In ''VideoGame/OddworldStrangersWrath'', this can easily happen to Stranger in if he gets hit with enough shots and doesn't [[WalkItOff shake them off]].
* The Iron Maidens in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' have bodies bristling with spines. Their basic attacks against Leon include extending their spines to impale him, either when they get close or after grabbing him.
* The Haunted in ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'' are invariably bristling with glass shards, arrows, knives, and other stabbing implements, or full of holes from having been skewered repeatedly.
* Arrows in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' will persist in your character for a whole minute after taking each shot. Fighting with a group of [[DemBones skeletons]], pillagers, or ranged [[PigMan piglins]] will often leave you looking like a pincushion.
** Similarly, [[ScaryStingingSwarm being stung by a swarm of bees]] will result in the bees' stingers protruding out of you in much the same way. Given how honeybee stings work in real life, ending up like this is [[TruthInTelevision probably a more realistic - and survivable - outcome]] than having a double-digit number of arrows deep inside your flesh. (Especially if we ignore the fact that the stingers, and the bees they come from, are [[BigCreepyCrawlies a bit larger than your usual garden variety]].)
** Averted with [[ProngsOfPoseidon tridents]]. Which makes sense for normal tridents thrown by the player, since they bounce back out of the target and can be [[LodgedBladeRecycling used again immediately]]. Less so for drowned zombies, since unlike you, they can [[BottomlessMagazines lob an infinite number of them]] at their unsuspecting victim.
* The opening stage of ''VideoGame/NewLegends'' have a cutscene where your scout reports of an impending invasion - while having dozens and dozens of arrows embedded all over him. He succumbs while passing the message.
* In ''VideoGame/Nioh2'', the youkai form of [[spoiler: Shibata Katsuie]] has a massive number of swords and spears embedded in his back. Nothing that actually prevents him from being a LightningBruiser.
* From ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'':
** Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance, is a ghostly legionnaire who was killed in an act of betrayal by one of her comrades, and now acts as [[PayEvilUntoEvil an arbiter of vengeance on traitors throughout the rest of Runeterra]]. Her visual and conceptual designs [[RuleOfSymbolism appear to have a sense of cosmic humor]]: she manifests [[JacobMarleyApparel with the spears that killed her still stuck in her body]], and she uses the same spears [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice to inflict the same fate on her victims.]]
** Volibear, the Relentless Storm, is a bear-shaped [[PhysicalGod demigod of the storms]], a sort of [[AnthropomorphicRepresentation an avatar representing fury and primal destruction]]. His violent personality has given him the title of being a WarGod, and one of his mythological incarnations depicts him as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "The Thousand-Pierced Bear"]], an almost [[EldritchAbomination eldritch monstrosity]] with endless swords, spears, and other sharp weapons [[BodyHorror jammed into his back.]]

* ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'': One scene has Richard in a torture chamber with various sharp objects stuck through his body, telling the torturer there's some room near his thigh. Justified in that Richard is a supremely overpowered undead warlock, for who this is a pleasant experience.

* ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'': Had this as one of the many possible deaths of the main characters.

* Interesting variant in ''VideoGame/EasternExorcist''; the skeleton archer enemies (and their boss equivalent, the Skeleton Knight) have dozens and dozens of arrows embedded on their bodies, and they'll pull those arrows out and load them into bows for firing at you. The Skeleton Knight notably pulls three to six arrows from it's torso before firing.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Zabuza got a small army's worth of weapons deposited in his sides when he attacked Gatto for betraying him.
** Earlier, Naruto himself was impaled by dozens of needles by Haku. What's notable about this is that, unlike when the same thing happened to him and Sasuke earlier in the fight, his regeneration was kicked into overdrive and LAUNCHED the needles right back out.
** Sasuke got six of Killer Bee's [[DualWielding seven swords]] stuck inside of him, though thanks to some IntimateHealing (and no apparent damage to vital organs) he lived.
* ''Manga/ShinMazingerZero'': In chapter two, [[spoiler:[[Anime/MazingerZ Sayaka Yumi]]]] died when her body was impaled by several dozens of iron rods.
* ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'': iI Yuki's memorable battle with [[spoiler:Ryoko]], she is impaled by a large number of metal spikes, but doesn't seem concerned at all.
* Monkey D. Luffy ended up looking like an actual pincushion in the sixth ''Franchise/OnePiece'' movie, ''Anime/BaronOmatsuriAndTheSecretIsland'', thanks to a RainOfArrows.

* In ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', [[spoiler:King Duke Freid]] rises from safe cover to shout defiance at the invading Zaibach army... only to get struck with dozens of bolts simultaneously, from nearly every conceivable angle. [[spoiler:He dies immediately.]]
* In ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion The End of Evangelion]]'', this is the Mass Production Eva's final insult to [[spoiler:[[CruelAndUnusualDeath Asuka's already]]-gnawed corpse.]] Happens because she hasn't given up [[GraspTheSun and is still trying to attack them.]]
* [[spoiler:Thors]] in ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' gets shots with about a dozen arrows. He then continues talking with the enemy leader and says goodbye to his men and his son, and only then falls over to die.
* The cause of death for [[spoiler: Ususama Wisdom King Mayuri]] from ''Manga/LegendOfHeavenlySphereShurato''. Bonus for [[spoiler: him being both hit by arrows ''and'' by a single spear, the last one keeping him [[DiedStandingUp on his feet]].]]
* In ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', [[spoiler: Anthy was subjected to this at the hands of an angry mob for sealing Dios away long ago, and she still has to endure the pain of constantly being skewered by the Swords of Hate as a scapegoat for humanity's rage toward the Prince who lost his faith and then abandoned his people.]]

* In the ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' manga [[spoiler: those fighting Elendira usually end up like this with many massive nails impaled through their torsos. This made her potentially one of the most powerful characters in the series. Livio is victim to this several times.]]
* In the ''Anime/SailorMoon'' anime, this is how [[spoiler: Nephrite]] dies. At least ''four'' huge pointy roots go through [[spoiler: his]] torso, and when [[spoiler: Naru]] tries to pull one out, she's [[ElectricTorture hit with lightning]].

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', this is usually what happens to victims of Polnareff's [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Silver Chariot, thanks to its high speed. He explicitly tells [[CompleteMonster J. Geil]] he's about to turn him into one right before he gives him a CruelAndUnusualDeath.

* In ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne'', [[spoiler:King Duke Freid]] rises from safe cover to shout defiance at the invading Zaibach army... only to get struck with dozens of bolts simultaneously, from nearly every conceivable angle. [[spoiler:He dies immediately]].

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The first death of soon-to-be Zombie Reg Shoe, when the thwarted revolutionary is stuck with eight arrows but can still shout defiance at his attackers before dying. He soon recovers from this, and as a zombie proves it's impossible to kill him twice. In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' he confounds the Klatchians by blithely fighting on even after losing an arm, devising a new form of unarmed combat by using his severed limb as a club to hit people with. As a policeman, he concludes arrests with arrows sticking out of him, often while complaining about the holes in his armour and uniform that he will have to make good himself.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', Dante is interrupted in eating a slice of pizza by a large group of scythe-wielding demons warping in around him and turning him into an inhuman scythecushion. Up until Dante ''grins'', walks a few steps ''dragging the demons still holding onto their scythes'' and proceeds to kill every single one of his attackers '''with the scythe blades that are still stuck in him.'''

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', this is usually what happens to victims of Polnareff's [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Silver Chariot, thanks to its high speed.

* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'': The Tainted Coil's Punishing Party unit consists of several Dominatrices and the Slave. The Slave is a big demon with a truckload of arrows, swords, and other pointy objects stuck in his body. Punishing Party's basic attack is tearing out a projectile from the Slave's flesh and hurling it at the enemies.

* ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'': The Tainted Coil's Punishing Party unit in Brutal Legend consists of several Dominatrices and the Slave. The Slave is a big demon with a truckload of arrows, swords, and other pointy objects stuck in his body. Punishing Party's basic attack is tearing out a projectile from the Slave's flesh and hurling it at the enemies.

* [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_maiden The infamous Iron Maiden]], a nasty little means of execution. Basically it's a large sarcophagus-like cabinet with little iron spikes on the inner doors. Once closed up, you'd be human Swiss cheese.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': in Yuki's memorable battle with [[spoiler:Ryoko]], she is impaled by a large number of metal spikes, but doesn't seem concerned at all.

** In the anime prequel ''Anime/{{Dangan Ronpa 3}}'s'' ''Side Despair'' part, the OP shows [[spoiler: Seiko "Ultimate Pharmacist" Kimura]] [[https://67.media.tumblr.com/3e32d260cebda134266bd1386e87e64b/tumblr_obznjzUoP51vxf82qo4_1280.png being stabbed all over]] with syringes. [[spoiler: [[BaitAndSwitchCredits It never happens]], since she's [[https://67.media.tumblr.com/2db93fa6b9f4459c7aac67084a48df7a/tumblr_obznjzUoP51vxf82qo1_1280.png stabbed in the chest]] ''and'' placed in a CrucifiedHeroShot instead.]]

[[caption-width-right:169:[-For some reason, Western acupuncture never really worked out.-] ]]

* Subverted by RebelliousPrincess [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philomena Saint Philomena of Mugnano.]] Her ([[ArtisticLicenseHistory almost surely false]]) myth says that she ''was'' to be executed just like Sebastian (after [[ATasteOfTheLash flogging her to almost death]] and [[KillItWithWater tossing her into a river]] didn't work), but God used His Powers to save her [[RuleOfThree by the third time]] and [[KarmicDeath shoot the arrows back to the archers, killing several of them.]] So Philomena "had" to [[OffWithHisHead be decapitated]] instead.

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': The Republic officer who shot the leader of Kassa's [[TeenageWasteland adultless tribe]] in the back is hit with a barrage of poisoned needle darts from the tribe's BlowGuns in response, taking a few more shots at the kids before the many darts in him finally take him out.