History Main / InvulnerableKnuckles

* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', [[ForTheEvulz Ladd Russo]] beats a man to death [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill by punching him in the face no less than fifty times]], and his knuckles come away looking like [[http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y271/Green09/Screencaps/Baccano/vlcsnap-1311378.png this.]] And that was ''after'' he'd cleaned them off.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

* In ''LightNovel/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'', Snow White is infuriated by the DeadlyGame she and the others had been dragged into and tries to kill Fav by destroying the terminal that ties him to the world. Fav boasts that it's indestructible, and when smashing rocks into it does nothing, Snow White resorts to punching it. Despite her SuperStrength, her fist gets bloody while the terminal is unaffected. [[spoiler:Then Ripple stabs it with the magical halberd Ruler with much more success.]]

* In the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime version]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Izumi punches Greed in the face. Greed, having InstantArmor, takes no damage and casually asks her how many bones she just broke in her hand.

-->'''Willow''': Ow, ow, happy, but OWWWW!
** In another episode, when several frat boys have kidnapped Buffy and Cordelia. The Scoobies break down the door and Xander, leading them in, decks the first guy he sees. For the rest of the fight sequence, he pops in and out of frame, swinging around in wild agony and clutching his hand.

** Occasionally mooks make the mistake of punching ''Series/TheMandalorian'' in the head; given that he never takes his beskar helmet off, this is a bad idea.

* ''Franchise/StarWars''. When ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'' first gets into a brawl with a couple of lowlifes, he's shown yelping in pain after punching a Zabrak in the head and cutting himself on the horns there. It's a sign of how even a badass Jedi can lose his fighting skills after a decade in hiding.

* In the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Doppelgängland", Willow decks Anya with a perfect right hook... then grimaces, shakes her fist and yells:

* Not TruthInTelevision, naturally. Even if you don't injure your knuckles in some way - there's a reason Doctors call it a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer%27s_fracture Boxer's Fracture]] - repeated punches will quickly cause the skin on them to split.
** Before the invention of boxing gloves, fighters mostly targeted the chest, as a solid punch to the jaw is going to break even the toughest man's hands. The skull has to protect the brain, making it a natural helmet, so it is ''extremely'' hard and thick.
* Fist loads, taping the hands, brass knuckles, cesti, ''et al'' protect the hand of the puncher. Any additional damage, or protection, are just a bonus. And if you see any old wood cuts or photos of bare-knuckle boxers, look at how they hold their hands. With bare knuckles, you strike differently to reduce the chances of damaging your hand.

* This is also one reason some self-defense methods teach that you should strike primarily with the palm and elbows: in a fight, someone inexperienced is quite likely to injure their hand with the first good punch thrown, impeding their ability to grab or grapple an opponent. The palm can still cause very severe concussion injuries, and is easier to teach than a proper punch (if you doubt its effectiveness, just ask Creator/BasRutten).

*** And make sure your fist is at such an angle that the knuckles you are hitting with are lined up with the bones in your arm – that way the force will be absorbed better – and make absolutely sure that in the fist, the second set of knuckles is parallel to the ground, or there'll be shattered fingers.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

** The same has happened to Spider Man while fighting the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. Twice.

** The regular Joes play this straight though, and Sgt Slaughter [[UpToEleven turns it up to eleven]], punching through bad guys, robots, [[SerialEscalation and brick walls]].

* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' breaks with Film/JamesBond tradition by having Daniel Craig actually look like someone who's been through a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown after a brawl with a couple of heavies working for the African warlord employing [[BigBad Le Chiffre]] in the high-stakes poker game[=/=]money laundering operation that drives the plot.

* It's generally accepted in boxing that anyone who hits with power will suffer a hand injury in nearly every bout. The human body was simply not built to sustain the sorts of impact and damage that professional boxing places on it. One specific fracture is literally nicknamed the [[https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/boxers-fracture boxer's fracture]] because it is seen often enough in boxers. (Although this specific fracture is generally more common in young or aspiring boxers, since it's much more likely to happen due to incorrect mechanics in throwing a punch.)

* It's generally accepted in boxing that anyone who hits with power will suffer a hand injury in nearly every bout. The human body was simply not built to sustain the sorts of impact and damage that professional boxing places on it.

* In the ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' fanfic "Infidelity", a handler punches one of his cyborg girls in a rage and breaks every finger in his hand. She thinks he's not the first man to find that out the hard way.

* ''Film/{{Bullhead}}: A plot point. Jacky savagely beat the man who chatted up Lucia at the nightclub, and badly cut up his own knuckles in the process. When Lucia sees Jacky's scabbed-over bloody knuckles, she knows that Jacky is the man who beat up her friend.

Also a RequiredSecondaryPower for characters with SuperStrength who use it to punch through things.

* ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist has this as his primary super power; he channels his chi into his fist (or any limb) to make it invulnerable, allowing him to deliver extremely hard punches. Even without using said power, Iron Fist has conditioned his knuckles to be able to punch through stone, but just the fact the he has the power of the Iron Fist implies that he could hurt his hand if he struck something stronger, like adamantium or vibranium. With the power, he can punch ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's shield without being hurt.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13492828/1/Fate-Azure-Destiny Fate Azure Destiny]]'': Ritsuka Fujimaru challenges Purifier to punch and try to break Mashu Kyrielight's shield, Lord Camelot, which he is holding. She punches it so hard it makes a KungFuSonicBoom that nearly knocks Ritsuka off his feet, but the shield is unharmed. Purifier breaks both her arm and her hand, and her knuckles are covered with blood.

** Flash Thompson beats up three thugs who rob him and his then-girlfriend Felicia Hardy (not knowing that she is the Black Cat, and most likely ''not in danger'' at all). He sensibly hands over Felicia's purse without argument, but then they grab her with apparent intent to rape. He starts punching, commenting that he's a semi-pro boxer and it kind of hurts without gloves, though it hurts them much more.

* In ComicBook/SinCity, Dwight [=McCarthy=] hates punching people because he always skins his knuckles. When he ends up punching Shlubb, the inevitable happens. This is why he usually kicks or just shoots his enemies.

* In the ''Film/MortalKombat'' movie, Johnny Cage lands [[GroinAttack his signature move]] on Goro... and even ''that'' hurts Johnny's knuckles. To be fair to Johnny, Goro is [[GiantMook roughly eight feet tall and twice as wide as him]] and ''seriously'' MadeOfIron.