History Main / HumanPincushion

* ''Series/MyCountryTheNewAge'': Hwi dies after being shot repeatedly by Bang-won's archers.
* ''Series/Kingdom2019'': Mu-yeong is impaled and shot with several arrows by Lord Cho Hak-ju's men midway through the second season. He lives just long enough to tell Prince Chang about the Queen's gathering of pregnant women, including his wife.
* ''Series/TheRiseOfPhoenixes'': The Crown Prince gets shot with dozens of arrows after his failed rebellion.
* ''Series/PrincessAgents'': Yan Xun is shot repeatedly in episode twenty-four. He snaps the arrows' shafts so they don't get in the way and continues trying to reach the box holding his father's head.
* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had an episode with a victim where the cause of death was "gunshot wounds to everything".

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' gives us a literal example when in one experiment Dr. Forrester dresses TV's Frank up as a giant pin cushion and shoved several giant pins into him.

* ''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.

* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': Hansel and Gretel do this to one of Balalaika's men after kidnapping him. It is implied that they did this while he was alive, and continued after he died because they found amusement in his spinal reflex's making him "twitch like a fish."

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

* 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 cannon ball 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.

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

* 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.

* ''Film/ReturnOfTheLivingDead3'': Julie Walker drives spikes into her ''own'' body after becoming a zombie, attempting to numb her bestial impulses with pain. By the end of the movie she's got rail spikes through her arms, along with nails and glass shards sticking out of her head.

* In ''Film/TheWolverine'', Logan receives plenty of AnnoyingArrows by the ninjas... which, being poisoned, knock him out.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Boromir goes out in a fashion similar to Longinus of the Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy while buying the hobbits time to get out of there. (The movie only shows three arrows, while the novel details many more--however, it compensates by having the arrows be fired at near-point-blank range by TheDragon of the film.)
* ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'': The Metallic Art of [[TheDarkArts Hemalurgy]] is based on this. It involves stabbing a TargetedHumanSacrifice with a metal spike, then impaling another being with the same spike. This anchors a piece of the sacrifice's soul to them, and will not kill the person given the spike. Hemalgury can be used to create various creatures or grant certain powers, but exposes the (willing or otherwise) user to an increased risk of MindRape.

* ''Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy'': Both in the book and in the movie, Longinus dies from from being shot with multiple arrows after the enemy corner him but dare not approach within the range of his sword.

* In one of Thomas Harris's novels, it's stated that Hannibal Lector once mutilated one of his victims to turn him into an exact copy of "The Wounded Man" (see art section).

--> '''Spike:''' Fuss, fuss. The thing was about to strike. It was on your back. What was I supposed to do?
--> '''Angel:''' Ask me to turn around.
--> '''Spike:''' Heat of battle. Wasn't time.
--> '''Angel:''' You just like stabbing me.
--> '''Spike:''' I - I'm shocked, SHOCKED, that you'd say that. I much prefer hitting you with blunt instruments.

* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' gives us a literal example, when in one experiment Dr. Forrester dresses TV's Frank up as a giant pin cushion and shoved several giant pins into him.

* ''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.

* ''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.

* 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 the ''Heaven's Feel'' route Shirou suffers a self-inflicted version after he receives [[spoiler:Archer's arm as a transplant]]. [[BodyHorror Swords begin erupting from within his body]] due to its presence, slowly killing him while replacing any body parts too damaged to continue functioning with ''metal blades''. In the final fight with [[spoiler:Kirei]] he only has to protect his head because a blow anywhere else on his body will shred the enemy's fist.

* 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 of 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.

* 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.

* The opening stage of ''VideoGame/NewLegends'' have a cutscene where your scout reports of an impending invasion - while having dozens and dozens arrows embedded all over him. He succumbs while passing the message.

* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', Black Mage fills his teammates with knives a fairly regular basis - i.e., whenever they really piss him off. They're all fine in the end, though.

* [[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.

* Arrows in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' will persist in your character for a while, and will remain stuck in your shield until you remove them (which actually [[LodgedBladeRecycling gives them back to you]]). Fighting with a group of [[DemBones skeletons]] will often leave you looking like a pincushion.

Compare ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice for characters being viciously impaled by various implements, AnnoyingArrows for projectiles being treated untruthfully in fiction, OnlyAFleshWound for wounds that do little to slow an attacker down, and DeathByAThousandCuts for deaths involving a long repetition of small cuts or hits.

** In the original game's AnimatedAdaptation, [[spoiler: [[https://youtu.be/30tWsSFAJcQ?t=1m3s "Junko Enoshima's"]] original "ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice" death is turned UpToEleven and becomes this trope. The spears that go through her ''thighs'' look specially painful.]]

** ''Film/SawIV'' has Rex, a {{Domestic Abuse}}r, and his wife Morgan strapped back to back in a column, with both having spikes impaling their bodies as punishment for Rex's abuse and Morgan becoming complicit in allowing him to abuse their young daughter as well. While the spikes went through Rex's major arteries, they didn't penetrate Morgan's, and she has the task of pulling out the spikes which will kill him, but allow her to escape and seek help for her and their daughter. While Morgan pulled out most of the spikes, she lost consciousness at some point before Rigg came to the scene and pulls the last spike from her, ultimately leading to Morgan's survival.

!! Examples:

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

** ''Film/SawII'' has Amanda Young thrown into a pit of used needles to retrieve the key needed to get the antidote out of a safe that she and the other occupants of their poison house need to get out and survive. As painful and gruesome as it is, [[spoiler: she does, only for one of the others to drop the key down a hole.]]
** ''Film/SawIV'' has a {{Domestic Abuse}}r and his wife strapped back to back in a trap with both having spikes impaling their bodies as punishment for his abuse and her becoming complicit in allowing him to abuse their young daughter, as well. While the spikes went through his major arteries, hers didn't and she had the task of pulling out the spikes [[spoiler: which will kill him, but allow her to escape and seek help for her and their child. She ultimately does.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder: {{Religion}} and {{Mythology}}]]

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Boromir goes out in a fashion similar to Longinus of the Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy while buying the hobbits time to get out of there. (The movie only shows three arrows, while the novel details many more)

** ''Film/SawII'' has Amanda Young thrown into a pit of used needles to retrieve the key needed to get the antidote out of a safe that she and the other occupants of their poison house need to get out and survive. As painful and gruesome as it is, [[spoiler: she does, [[WhatAnIdiot only for one of the others to drop the key down a hole.]]]]

[[quoteright:170: https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/picushion_human_489.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:170:[-For some reason, Western acupuncture never really worked out.-] ]]

* [[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.

* ''Film/{{Hero}}'': The ending features this, though the result is only [[KnifeOutline implied]]. [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Thankfully]].

* After a brawl ComicBook/SolomonGrundy will often have arrows, swords, knives, etc, all sticking out of his undead corpse. This doesn't phase him given he's mostly made up of detritus from Slaughter Swamp and has an impressive HealingFactor.

* Benkei, retainer of Minamoto Yoshitsune, died this way while pulling a YouShallNotPass. His body, riddled with arrows, was said to be [[DiedStandingUp still standing]] after his death.

* Blackbeard the pirate was supposedly stabbed over twenty times in his final battle and continued fighting on for several hours with the blades protruding from his body before finally succumbing to his wounds.
* According to tradition, King Edmund the Martyr was killed when the Vikings tied him to a tree and fired arrows into his body.

->''"Masochism is a valuable job skill"''
-->-- '''Creator/ChuckPalahniuk'''

* In ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' the Benkei example found under the Real Life section serves as a clue in one early case. Mainly that [[spoiler: the victim died at a later time than previously thought, as the rigor mortis set in early from them having been playing an intense table tennis match and causing a buildup of lactic acid.]]

[[folder:Comics]]

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' features Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance, 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 to inflict the same fate on her victims.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}} this is used as a visual gag. Ash does a fantastic job of putting on a happy expression, but when [[LoveInterest Emily]] confesses she's going on a date with another guy... well, check out the [[http://www.misfile.com/misfile/2006-10-18 last panel]] for his[[note]]Don't be fooled by the body, Ash is a guy. It's a long story, but the short explanation is GenderBender[[/note]] real feelings on the matter. There's only a few knives and one arrow, but you can also only see the top bit of his torso and his head, so you could look at this as either an implied example of the trope or a downplayed one.