History Main / ImmunityDisability

* In Fanfic/SnugglesTheSymbiote, the RequiredSecondaryPowers of her superhuman hormone production doesn't discriminate, making her immune or resistant to all drugs and toxics... Including pain killers, antibiotics, and other medications. This is a problem becuase her chemical resistance is only enough to keep her from ODing on her own hormones, it's not calibrated to perfectly counter her increased production and potency meaning that she's physically weak with a severely compromised immune system.

* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. After Steve's best friend is KIA during a mission, Steve complains that one of the downsides of the SuperSoldier serum is that he [[DrowningMySorrows can't get drunk anymore]].

* Kate in ''AudioPlay/TheElysiumProject'' is partially immune to the Elysium formula, a SuperSerum that grants people [[RealityWarper reality-bending powers]]. It does work on her, but unlike any of the other test subjects her powers go away after about a month unless she injects herself with more of the formula. This sucks when you're on the run from people who want to kill or capture you and all of your friends. This is not to mention the fact that Kate has only one normal arm. The other is [[ArtificialArm a prosthetic that she manipulates using her powers]]. Without them, it's just a piece of metal.

[[folder: Web Animation]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Hazel Rainart's Semblance makes him [[FeelNoPain immune to pain]]. While useful in how it lets him stick giant Dust crystals into his arms with little apparent negative effect, it's noted that it doesn't actually stop him from ''taking'' damage, just from ''feeling'' it. Weiss and Nora take advantage of this to land critical blows in "Downfall."

[[/folder]]

* Guardian Angel of ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'', suffers from this. She's never experienced the feeling of rain [[spoiler:until Harold neutralizes her power]]. Due to her power protecting her from everything, [[spoiler:she's never developed any immunities and she essentially dies due to a common cold]], which is made worse by the fact that [[spoiler:when her power comes back, it prevents her from being injected with anything that might cure her]].

* In ''ComicBook/Thor2014'', Mjolnir's ability to magically purge its wielder of all poisons becomes a serious problem for the new Thor [[spoiler:Jane Foster, who is on a course of toxic chemotherapy drugs to treat her aggressive cancer.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' Ellie's immunity to the fungus means that she won't become a zombie, but [[spoiler: the Fireflies plan to use her to develop a vaccine would have resulted in her death]].

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy Allergies]]. An allergy is an over-reaction by the body's immune system to (perceived) foreign pathogens. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis The consensus is that allergies develop due to]] ''too clean and hygienic'' an environment where the immune system develops over-reactions to usually harmless substances such as foodstuffs and pollen.
** By extension, autoimmune diseases, where the sensitivity is to stimuli occurring naturally in the patient's own body, leading the immune system to attack healthy cells. The sufferer's immune response to external pathogens is great, but on the flipside their own immune system becomes the sole reason they are ill.

* There is a conditional called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, and those born with it suffer multiple injuries over time due to their inability to tell when they are beginning to be injured. They can continue to discriminate, for example, hot and cold or sharp and dull, but they cannot tell when that sharp is cutting them or that cold is freezing their tissues.

* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', the Stranger / [[spoiler: Baldur]] is impervious to harm and [[FeelNoPain feels no pain.]] This comes with the pretty major drawback of not feeling anything ''else'', either.

* Yunalesca in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the nasty habit of inflicting Zombie on your characters, which turns heals into damage and persists through death. You may be tempted to equip armor with zombieproof on it, but as the fight wears on she pulls out Mega Death, an attack which only targets non-zombie characters and deals an instant OK.

** And apparently, in this setting, luck is a gift from God and is nullified. So his luck is non-existent.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy Allergies]]. An allergy is an over-reaction by the body immunity system on foreign substances. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis The consensus is that allergies develop due to]] ''too clean'' and ''too hygienic'' environment where the body immunity system does not have enough opponents to fight on, and rather develops over-reactions on usually harmless substances such as foodstuffs and pollen. An allergy can be interpreted as a condition where the immunity system is too strong and reacts as an overkill for anything perceived as "dangerous".
* Any Autoimmune Disease. The basic premise of autoimmune diseases in general is that the person's immune system is too powerful, so powerful in fact that it attacks not only invading germs, but also the body's own healthy cells. The sufferer becomes effectively immune to all germs, while at the same time their own immune system becomes the sole reason they are ill.

* {{Superman}}'s near invulnerability is often parodied by having it also prevent him from shaving because even his beard is too tough to cut.

Compare and contrast DisabilityImmunity, LogicalWeakness, DisabilitySuperpower and ExploitedImmunity.

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Franchise/OnePiece''. While fighting a giant zombie, Chopper, the team's doctor, tells it that the fact that it can't feel pain is its greatest weakness, as it has no way of knowing how much damage its body parts are accumulating until they're so injured that they simply stop responding altogether. The Straw Hats eventually beat it by shattering its spine, leaving the thing laying on the ground wondering why it can't move.

[[AC:AudioPlay]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Thurim in ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'' had a HealingFactor gifted to him by Dracula. When Thurim rebelled, Dracula took advantage of Thurim's unkillability by having him drawn and quartered for eternity.
* {{Superman}}'s near invulnerability is often parodied by having it also prevent him from shaving because even his beard is too tough to cut.

[[AC: FanWorks]]
* A minor example in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'': Paul, being NighInvulnerable, finds that being caught in a dust storm is an inconvenience because his eyeballs don't get irritated and tear up to clear out his eyes.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* This sets off the whole plot of ''Film/SantoVsLaHijaDeFrankestein'' -- Frieda Frankenstein has developed an immunity to the youth serum she needs to survive.
* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''. After Steve's best friend is KIA during a mission, Steve complains that one of the downsides of the SuperSoldier serum is that he [[DrowningMySorrows can't get drunk anymore]].
* In ''Film/DeathBecomesHer'', the two women gain immortality just before one suffers a broken neck and the other has a hole blown through her stomach. Yes, they are immortal but their bodies are falling to pieces, literally. The very end of the movie has their heads rolling down the stairs.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''Literature/EscapeFromGenopolis'', the people of Genopolis have eliminated all forms of pain, including hunger and thirst. This means that, aside from people forgetting to eat and not being able to gauge when they need medical help, nobody can feel emotion anymore.
* ''Literature/{{Chrestomanci}}'': At birth, it was foretold that Christopher Chant's weakness would be silver, so his father cast his strongest spells against silver affecting him. Ultimately, silver causes him to be BroughtDownToNormal; when Christopher isn't touching it, he's the most powerful enchanter in the worlds. (It's implied that it was a SelfFulfillingProphecy.)

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode [[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E6EscapeClause "Escape Clause"]]. A man makes a DealWithTheDevil to gain immortality, which is effectively immunity to death. He murders his wife so that he can experience the electric chair, but his lawyer manages to get him life in prison. [[KarmicTwistEnding Since he can't die, he's going to be there a long time]]... at least until [[spoiler:the devil shows up and mercifully gives him a fatal heart attack]].
* In the final episode of ''Series/{{Alias}}'' BigBad Arvin Sloane has gotten his hands on enough [[MacGuffin Rambaldi documents]] to create a vat of fluid which somehow makes him immortal - and immediately thereafter a giant stone pillar falls on him, trapping him under it forever.
* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Claire can't get drunk because of her regenerative ability. She uses this to her advantage once, but complains about it other times.
* ''Series/ForeverKnight'': If someone learns of vampires, a vampire will hypnotize them to forget. If they're one of the few people who are immune to hypnosis they'll usually be killed.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* Followers of Nurgle in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are generally immune to pain, due to their bodies being so much dead or festering tissue. Likewise, Slaaneshi cultists are TooKinkyToTorture, but they require ever-greater amounts of sensory input to feel anything.
** Blanks are rare individuals who are immune to all psychic powers. This causes a number of side effects:
*** Blanks not only nullify psychic powers on themselves, but often in a small area around them. Psychics in the area can normally find people by seeking out their psychic signatures. The dead-zone created by a blank is even more of a sign that something odd is there.
*** As emotions are a form of psychic power, blanks cannot feel emotion and drain emotions from those around them. This gives them an UncannyValley effect.
*** Being immune to all psychic powers includes healing or support abilities as well.
*** Because blanks are so rare, once discovered, you'll be picked up by the Inquisition and trained into a commando. Depending on your viewpoint, this is either awesome or horrible.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'', Ninjas are the only class able to dodge special techniques. Unfortunately, that includes healing spells.
* Joshua Graham from ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' suffers from horrific burns as a result of being covered in burning pitch as punishment [[YouHaveFailedMe for failing]] [[BigBad Caesar]]. He's also ImmuneToDrugs, meaning that no medicine can ease his constant pain.
* One of the reason why fighting the BonusBoss of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' is hard and tedious. You can at most resist her attacks. If you happen to null, absorb or reflect the element she's going to use, you get a 9999 damage [[NonElemental Megidolaon]] to your face instead. This is an exception however, as other times being immune will greatly help you throughout the game.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Magicka}}'', accidentally casting immunity to Life makes you unhealable.
* In ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawlStoneSoup'', there are a few cases of this:
** Mummies do not become hungry and thus cannot eat. This also prevents them from drinking healing potions.
** Undead characters are immune to Torment, but because it can only be cast by those who will feel its pain, they can't cast it either.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' Ellie's immunity to the fungus means that she won't become a zombie, but [[spoiler: the Fireflies plan to use her to develop a vaccine would have resulted in her death]].

[[AC:WebComics]]
* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' resistance to magic is generally considered a disability, because while magic fireballs can't hurt you, white mages can't heal you when something non-magical almost kills you.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Highlighted in a story from ''[[http://thecodelesscode.com/case/115 The Codeless Code]]'', where a monk (read: programmer) is shown the error of his ways by having his sense of pain suppressed as he retrieves a coin from a fireplace.

[[AC:RealLife]]

* There is a conditional called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain. It is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, and those born with it suffer multiple injuries over time due to their inability to tell when they are beginning to be injured. They can continue to discriminate, for example, hot and cold or sharp and dull, but they cannot tell when that sharp is cutting them or that cold is freezing their tissues.

* Followers of Nurgle in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'' are generally immune to pain, due to their bodies being so much dead or festering tissue. Likewise, Slaaneshi cultists are TooKinkyToTorture, but they require ever-greater amounts of sensory input to feel anything.

* During the Giffen/[=DeMatteis=] run on ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague'', ComicBook/PowerGirl was badly injured in a battle but the doctors could not perform surgery because no scalpel could cut through her invulnerable skin. Superman ended up saving her life, using his heat vision as a lasar scalpel while [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Kilowog]], then serving as the Justice League's engineer and tech expert, whipped up a device that could hold Superman's head perfectly still to allow him to use his heat vision with precision.
* ''ComicBook/TheSavageDragon'' has a HealingFactor as part of his power set. One villain took advantage of that by pounding his body into a pulp and breaking nearly all his bones, and then throwing him into a smokestack so by the time he could climb out, his body had healed poorly, his limbs and torso twisted and mangled. Mighty Man (the resident [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] {{Expy}} had to re-break all his bones to allow them to set properly.