History Main / InvoluntarySuicideMechanism

* Members of the ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' each have explosives inside their bodies to detonate if they either (A) get captured, (B) fail their mission, or even (C) [[BadBoss defy]] ComicBook/AmandaWaller.

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* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Imperial Security agents are doctored so that they will have a fatal allergic reaction when given the universe's TruthSerum, which ironically was intended to prevent torture, but obviously, most people who know anything couldn't be given it. The protagonist was too politically important to be doctored in this way, but because of his odd medical history, he has an unusual reaction to fastpenta (becoming a TalkativeLoon), and is able to exploit this to beat one interrogation he's subjected to in the series. His clone brother Mark, who has an undamaged metabolism, does have the standard allergy to fastpenta and would die if he received it.

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* [[spoiler:Wormtail's prosthetic hand]] in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books turns out to be this, ultimately [[YouHaveFailedMe killing its owner for showing mercy to Harry]].

* [[spoiler:Wormtail's prosthetic hand]] in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books turns out to be this, as it's loyal to [[BigBad Voldemort]] and [[YouHaveFailedMe kills its owner for hesitating to kill Harry]].

* There's a fairly complicated version of this in the XWingSeries novels by Stackpole. There's a drug called [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Skirtopanol skirtopanol]] that is used in interrogating prisoners, since it lowers their defenses and makes them more sensitive to pain. But if someone's been taking [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lotiramine lotiramine]], the chemicals react, sometimes fatally. An Imperial gave lotiramine to someone he'd used, telling the man that it would protect him from a plague that was going around. When the local villain caught up with the Imperial, he told him that the man had gone into convulsions and died after being dosed with skirtopanol. The Imperial was surprised. He'd have had to have been taking four times the recommended dosage to go into convulsions.

* Gorilla Grodd remotely shuts down Metallo after he is captured in in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', but it isn't made clear whether this kills him or simply leaves him out of commission until someone can figure out how to fix him.

* Gorilla Grodd remotely shuts down Metallo after he is captured in in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague JusticeLeagueUnlimited]]'', but it isn't made clear whether this kills him or simply leaves him out of commission until someone can figure out how to fix him.

* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' Para Ventura's handlers in UNS Internal Affairs implanted a remote bomb in one of her cervical vertebrae. She seems rather disturbed after Petey removes it and informs her of its presence in the first place.

* In the Onyx Court book ''Midnight Never Come'', Invidiana has put a spell on Tiresias that will kill him if he tells what he knows about her. [[spoiler: He decides it's worth the price.]]

* The Priors in ''Series/StargateSG1'' are genetically programmed to burst into flame if they ever lose faith in their gods, [[ScaryDogmaticAliens The Ori]]. Though, Priors are so fanatically devout that this is hardly ever an issue.

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* The mooks in ''Manga/UntilDeathDoUsPart'' have explosives in their molars that they themselves can activate and that can be activated from afar. Soon enough Mamoru just cuts their jaws out.
* In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', Jan Valentine falls victim to one of these: a chip implanted in his head sets him on fire (one of the few surefire ways to kill a vampire) when his mission fails and he is captured. He knew it was going to happen too, so he took the moments leading up to it to troll his captors before dying.

* Black Hats in the {{Deadlands}} RPG have microchips implanted in their skulls that explode if they reveal secrets.

* In ''AgeOfEmpiresII'' you can activate one by researching Heresy, which causes your units to die if they're converted by enemy monks instead of actually going over to the other side.

* Gorilla Grodd remotely shuts down Metallo after he is captured in in ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', but it isn't made clear whether this kills him or simply leaves him out of commission until someone can figure out how to fix him.
* In ''TotallySpies'', one Big Bad turned out to be an android who was only following the programming of the scientist who created him, who was also evil. He seemed to be the scientist until the very end, when he had a RoboticReveal and explained everything, including that he was programmed to self-destruct if he ever revealed he wasn't human. Which he promptly did.
* The mooks in ''Manga/UntilDeathDoUsPart'' have explosives in their molars that they themselves can activate and that can be activated from afar. Soon enough Mamoru just cuts their jaws out.
* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' has a lowtech version of this, where Veidt pretends to be stopping a would-be assassin [[spoiler: he hired himself]] from taking a CyanidePill, [[spoiler: but actually had the pill himself, and shoves it down the other's throat.]]
* In {{Judge Dredd}} Mega City One Blitzers are hitmen with implanted explosives wired to detonate with the stress of capture.
* In the OnyxCourt book ''Midnight Never Come'', Invidiana has put a spell on Tiresias that will kill him if he tells what he knows about her. [[spoiler: He decides it's worth the price.]]

* This is the fate of [[spoiler:Vinceborg]] In BarkleyShutUpAndJamGaiden.

* Black Hats in the {{Deadlands}} RPG have microchips implanted in their skulls that explode if they reveal secrets.
* The Priors in ''Series/StargateSG1'' are genetically programmed to burst into flame if they ever lose faith in their gods, [[ScaryDogmaticAliens The Ori]]. Though, Priors are so fanatically devout that this is hardly ever an issue.
** The brainwashed za'tarc assassins are programmed to commit suicide if their mission fails or if someone tries to mess with their brainwashing.

* In ''Film/BattlefieldEarth'', the [[AuthorTract sinister cabal of psychiatrists]] that rules the Psychlo race has implanted mind-control devices in their subjects' skulls, both to modify behavior and protect the all-important secret of teleportation. If an alien asks a Psychlo about teleportation or even mathematics, males are conditioned to go into a suicidal killing spree, while females go catatonic.
* Happens to one of the Grey Men in ''[[TheStainlessSteelRat The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge]]''.

* An occasional plot device in ''PerryRhodan''. Usually employed by villains, one pretty grim example actually repeatedly used by the ''protagonists'' during the Hetos occupation of the Milky Way Galaxy (though with no instance of it triggering ever shown) was an acid capsule implanted in the brain of members of LaResistance on missions where they might fall into enemy hands, designed to dissolve and release its contents under torture or upon death; justified by their enemies' technology potentially still allowing them to retrieve information from ''dead'' brains as long as those were still reasonably intact.

* TheLaundrySeries has this as a side effect of trying to defy a security geas. "The Concrete Jungle" features an interrogation running up against a tightly-wounded geas that ends up cooking the subject's brain.
* ''{{Declare}}''. Elana's handler uses one to try and kill her when she announces she's defecting to the French. Fortunately she was praying when the hypnotic "kill command" was implanted, and this somehow disrupted it.
* A possible example occurs in ''{{UFO}}'', though it could also be a fatal reaction to the truth serum due to the alien's different biology.

* The Priors in ''[[StargateSg1 Stargate SG-1]]'' are genetically programmed to burst into flame if they ever lose faith in their gods, [[ScaryDogmaticAliens The Ori]]. Though, Priors are so fanatically devout that this is hardly ever an issue.

* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Imperial Security agents are doctored so that they will have a fatal allergic reaction when given the universe's TruthSerum, which ironically was intended to prevent torture, but obviously, most people who know anything couldn't be given it. Because of the protagonist's odd medical history, he wasn't doctored in this way, but instead has an odd allergic reaction to fastpenta (becoming a TalkativeLoon), and is able to exploit this to beat one interrogation he's subjected to in the series. His clone brother Mark, who has an undamaged metabolism, has been doctored to have an allergy to fastpenta and would die if he received it.

* [[{{Superman}} Lex Luthor]] remotely shuts down Metallo after he is captured in in ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', but it isn't made clear whether this kills him or simply leaves him out of commission until someone can figure out how to fix him.