History Main / NonFatalExplosions

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', during the appearance of the Imperial Legatus during the (currently) last storyline mission, he calls a powerful blast from an airship, supposedly engulfing everyone on its flames to end the fight. 10 seconds later the player character wakes up unharmed in a cave, everyone else present during the cutscene is fine as well.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', detonation can fulfill this trope or invert it. On one hand, you can have a sim caught in detonation have no other effects other than be singed, on the other hand, sometimes it sets the area or random areas on fire too, which can kill them quickly as the sim is already singed. (But it's still not quite the explosion killing them) It's played entirely straight if detonation is done at home lot and you have the lifetime reward that nullifies any fire occurring in your home.

Subtrope of NoOneShouldSurviveThat. A supertrope of AshFace, where an explosion leaves a character with nothing worse than a blackened face, and ExplosionPropulsion, where they're harmlessly BlownAcrossTheRoom.

In the real world, explosions are lethal. Let's assume, for a start, that the blast doesn't vaporise you or [[LudicrousGibs blow you limb-from-limb]]. If the pressure-wave doesn't kill you (instantly) by turning your organs to mush or dashing you to pieces against something, all the things and bits of things - shrapnel - caught in the blast can kill you all the same. These aren't usually chunks of rubble big enough to punch your guts out through your chest[[note]] those can smart a bit, mind[[/note]] but rather little shards of (sharp) stuff travelling fast enough to bury themselves in your brains. Even if you survive the pressure-wave and the shrapnel, there's a real chance you'll just plain bleed to death from the internal and/or external wounds those two gave you. That's assuming the heat-wave isn't enough to (instantly) cook your internal organs either or sear enough of your flesh from your bones that you'll die of blood loss. [[SteelEardrums Never you mind the effect of all this on your hearing]], i.e. perforating or just plain damaging your eardrums (perforation may well render you [totally] deaf for life). Merely seeing an explosion can be harmful, as some (e.g. [[AtomicHate thermonuclear]]) explosions are so bright they cause blindness - which is, moreover, permanent within certain ranges.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Creator/CheechAndChong's Next Movie'', while said duo are driving along in a car full of gas fumes (as well as covered in gas), Chong [[TooDumbToLive lights up a joint]] and causes a decent-sized explosion to occur inside the car. When the smoke clears, both are fine, though they're covered in ash and have ClothingDamage.

* In ''Film/DuckSoup'', Groucho gets his head caught in a water pitcher. Harpo lights a firecracker and sticks it in the pitcher. The absurdly massive explosion results in the lip of the shattered pitcher hanging around Groucho's neck ... and an unscathed Groucho calmly asking if anyone left messages for him while he was out.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' does this on occasion, with a lot of explosions not damaging anything [[ClothingDamage except clothes]].

* Of all places, ''Comicbook/SinCity'' had one in a short back-up story featuring Shlubb and Klump. Their task was to dispose of a dead body that was revealed to be a dummy filled with explosives. It was a [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness message]] from the various mob bosses they continually disappoint. Despite the violent nature of the comic, that particular story ended with the two bad guys in AshFace and AmusingInjuries as opposed to a more realistic result.

* Applies to an extent in ''TabletopGames/{{BattleTech}}'', where most vehicle-scale weapons do significantly reduced damage to conventional infantry units and salvo-fired explosive ordnance such as missiles or autocannon shells is no exception. A standard class 20 autocannon, capable of shredding over a ton of 31st-century armor (or a light building) in one burst and potentially ripping limbs or heads off 'Mechs, will when used against common ground-pounders eliminate at most ''four'' troopers out of an infantry platoon of any size -- two if they have any sort of cover like "rough" terrain or woods. (Weapons with an explicit area effect ''on'' the vehicular scale are highly lethal to the same units if they're caught in said area, however.)

* The bombs in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'''s final battle are only lethal on a direct hit or two consecutive near-misses. [[spoiler:A nearby booby trap made out of several of these bombs stacked on top of each other is apparently ''just'' outside the lethal range when the player drops into the scripted sequence.]]

** In the Anime/{{Pokemon}} anime, Team Rocket sometimes threw bombs at Ash and company -- if it was a critical hit they would have nothing more than an AshFace and temporary ClothingDamage, and if Team Rocket was hit by them, it just sent them [[OnceAnEpisode blasting off again]].

* All of [[VideoGame/MetalGear Snake's]] attacks in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' are explosive based (assuming he's not just using close-quarters combat skills). Apparently, Nintendo thought guns would be too violent and would seem jarring compared to other characters, not to mention [[GameBreaker too easy to break the game with]], so now all of his smash attacks and most of his special moves become variations of grenades, rockets, and missiles - his forward smash attack involves him pulling out an RPG and shooting the ground less than two feet in front of him with it. This actually makes him a very unique character with a strong field-control if used right.

* Not-quite averted in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''; hitting an unarmored person dead-on with a missile is probably going to kill them and anyone standing next to them, or at least very nearly so. Somehow, though, if you try it with the V.A.T.S. system and it misses, even if the missile hits the wall a foot to their left, the blast damage is less than if the exact same situation happened without using VATS. Grenades, however, tend to [[LudicrousGibs work as advertised]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The bombs in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'''s final battle are only lethal on a direct hit or two consecutive near-misses. [[spoiler:A nearby booby trap is apparently ''just'' outside the lethal range when the player drops into the scripted sequence.]]

Some movies will feature similarly neutered explosives; rather than killing people in the blast radius, they transform people into stuntmen who are then pulled into the air by cables while going "[[WilhelmScream Aiiieee]]!" Often it's possible to survive such a device even if standing a few feet from the detonation point, as long as you're [[OutrunTheFireball jumping through the air in the opposite direction]].

* Of all places, ''Comicbook/SinCity'' had one in a short back-up story featuring [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Shlubb and Klump]]. Their task was to dispose of a dead body that was revealed to be a dummy filled with explosives. It was a [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness message]] from the various mob bosses they continually disappoint. Despite the violent nature of the comic, that particular story ended with the two bad guys in AshFace and AmusingInjuries as opposed to a more realistic result.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': Averted in "Charge of This Post," where Flack nearly died from having a huge hole blown in his torso by a bomb. He survived but still had some severe damage. Mac had some as well, though it was only cuts and scrapes.

* In a lot of WizWar100's videos he has explosions happening around the objects he or his friends throw which are non-lethal(Mostly because they're just computer effects).
* In the first episode of "WebVideo/HellsParadise" a garage full of propane explodes a few feet behind Keane. He gets up a few seconds later, coughs up blood, then continues on his way.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
** Averted in "Charge of This Post," where Flack nearly died from having a huge hole blown in his torso by a bomb. He survived but still had some severe damage. Mac had some as well, though it was only cuts and scrapes.

* Averted on ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', where Flack nearly died from having a huge hole blown in his torso by a bomb. He survived but still had some severe damage. Mac had some as well, though it was only burns and cuts.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Despite how many times Vaarsuvius has inscribed, "I prepared [[BrownNote Explosive Runes]] this morning." and successfully caught someone in the blast radius, no one has died. The elf uses them as ''pranks''.

* In the ''Film/CharliesAngels'' films. The Angels have stood in front of massive explosions the should be enough to rip them to shreds, but they just sent hurling 5 feet in the air without any signs of wounds or bruises.

[[folder:Pinball]]
* In ''[[VideoGame/ProPinballFantasticJourney Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey]]'', blowing the steam boiler actually ''rewards'' the player.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:{{Radio}}]]

A similar behaviour can be seen in many video games, where fragmentation grenades typically have an incredibly small blast radius after which the lethal wall of burning-hot shrapnel they create simply vanishes. Some games (mainly multiplayer ones) even allow players to survive grenades going off right in their faces or even direct hits from rockets -- albeit just barely -- as a way to prevent explosives from being {{Game Breaker}}s. It goes even further in games where [[MadeOfExplodium every enemy and object dies with an explosion]] and where ChainReactionDestruction phenomenon is common as the explosions caused in that manner are outright harmless. Sometimes explosions are so harmless they can be [[RocketJump actively invoked as a propulsion system]]. In strategy games, explosives may deal less damage to infantry than they do to vehicles as a form of GameBalance.

* Seemed rather prevalent in ''GIJoe''. You'd have situations where 2 characters were being held in a cell and the rescuers would blow the steel door to said cell open with explosives. None of this was a danger to the occupants.

In the real world, explosions are lethal. Let's assume, for a start, that the blast doesn't vaporise you or [[LudicrousGibs blow you limb-from-limb]]. If the pressure-wave doesn't kill you (instantly) by turning your organs to mush or dashing you to pieces against something, all the things and bits of things - shrapnel - caught in the blast can kill you all the same. These aren't usually chunks of rubble big enough to punch your guts out through your chest[[note]] those can smart a bit, mind[[/note]] but rather little shards of (sharp) stuff travelling fast enough to bury themselves in your brains. Even if you survive the pressure-wave and the shrapnel, there's a real chance you'll just plain bleed to death from the internal and/or external wounds those two gave you. That's assuming the heat-wave isn't enough to (instantly) cook your internal organs either, or sear enough of your flesh from your bones that you'll die of blood loss. [[SteelEardrums Never you mind the effect of all this on your hearing]], i.e. perforating or just plain damaging your eardrums (perforation may well render you [totally] deaf for life). Merely seeing an explosion can be harmful, as some (e.g. [[AtomicHate thermonuclear]]) explosions are so bright they cause blindness - which is, moreover, permanent within certain ranges.

It should come as no surprise, then, that their lethality means that explosions are used in modern warfare. Numerous explosive weapons are used to kill infantry; there exist anti-personnel grenades, anti-personnel mines, mortars, and shrapnel/high-explosive artillery shells. These blow people apart and/or pulp them with shrapnel, which causes them to die of shock or blood-loss. Most countries don't bother stocking less-lethal or non-lethal explosive weapons, e.g. stun ('flash-bang') grenades - such weapons are only useful in very specific situations which involve Special Forces (such as in hostage situations).

A similar behaviour can be seen in many video games, where fragmentation grenades typically have an incredibly small blast radius after which the lethal wall of burning-hot shrapnel they create simply vanishes. Some games (mainly multiplayer ones) even allow players to survive grenades going off right in their faces or even direct hits from rockets -- albeit just barely -- as a way to prevent explosives from being {{Game Breaker}}s. It goes even further in games where [[MadeOfExplodium every enemy and object dies with an explosion]] and where ChainReactionDestruction phenomenon is common as the explosions caused in that manner are outright harmless. Sometimes explosions are so harmless they can be [[RocketJump actively invoked as a propulsion system]]. In strategy game explosives may deal less damage to infantry than they do to vehicles as a form of GameBalance.

** ''One Piece'' is in general an offender. Explosions are rarely played for fun, and characters will usually be injured (sometimes seriously) and often taken out of the battle if they are hit by one at point-blank range, but they will not suffer any of the physically realistic effects. Instead, they will just be covered by dirt, bruises and wounds as if they had been beaten up by a human's fists and thrown around in the soil.
* In Ed's introduction episode of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', her hideout gets blown away by the shockwave of a meteor striking nearby, leaving behind a molten crater. She just goes flying and only suffers a couple bruises.
* ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' has a subversion. [[CastingAShadow Velgemon]] uses an attack called [[UnholyNuke Dark Obliteration]] on [[TheLancer Koji]], who is in his most powerful Digimon form, [=BeoWulfmon=]. Koji manages to get out of the attack's area of effect, but is still caught in the resulting explosion which reverts him to human form. If Koji were not in a Digimon form at the time, the explosion would likely have killed him.

* In ''Creator/CheechAndChong's Next Movie'', while said duo are driving along in a car full of gas fumes (as well as covered in gas), Chong [[TooDumbToLive lights up a joint]] and causes a decent sized explosion to occur inside the car. When the smoke clears, both are fine, though they're covered in ash and have ClothingDamage.
* In ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', one of Kevin's traps lights Harry's head on fire, Harry puts it out in the toilet, not knowing it is filled with kerosene, and blows the entire first floor up. Luckily, Harry only has second-degree burns on his scalp (as well as soot on his face and teeth and a damaged hat) to worry about (not to mention the fact that kerosene doesn't really explode when exposed to an open flame).

** It gets rather ridiculous when two characters start repeatedly shooting each other in the face with shotguns, repeatedly, at point blank, only resulting in some soot covering their faces. You'd think they'd try something else after the second shot...

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' this occurs when Falcon is going up against the hellicarriers in the finale. [[PointDefenseless A trio of flak turrets fail to hit him]] during a series of barrel rolls, even though realistically those flak bursts would have filled him with shrapnel. [[note]] A much more realistic version would have been using gatling guns of the same type shown in the movie Battleship as used on modern warships, that would have instead filled the sky with tracer rounds. [[/note]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* This has happened on ''Series/{{Angel}}''. A demon gives Angel and Spike a bag, claiming it contains the episode's MacGuffin, but it actually contains a ticking bomb. Oddly enough, the fact that Angel and Spike survive being blown up is more [[JustifiedTrope justified]] than most examples of the trope, since their vampire toughness is the obvious explanation. Said toughness is usually played for drama, but in this case it's handled with exactly the same emphasis on humor and humiliation as any other AmusingInjuries.

* Averted on ''Series/{{CSINY}}'', where Flack nearly died from having a huge hole blown in his torso by a bomb. He survived, but still had some severe damage. Mac had some as well, though it was only burns and cuts.

* On the July 3, 2006 episode of Raw Wrestling/VinceMcMahon banned the reunited Wrestling/DGenerationX from the building. In response, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHCP9PMXuwU DX blew up fireworks in Vince's limo resulting in Vince looking like Wile E. Coyote after he blew himself up.]]

** They can be used to knock enemies a significant distance, especially when placed at the top of a staircase, but it only results in a knock out. Somehow, Batman can blow up walls next to and even ceilings above enemies, but the explosion and debris only result in a knockout.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', during the appearance of the Imperial Legatus during the (currently) last storyline mission, he calls a powerful blast from a airship, supposedly engulfing everyone on its flames to end the fight. 10 seconds later the player character wakes up unharmed in a cave, everyone else present during the cutscene is fine as well.

* Cars, trucks, fuel tanks, jerrycans and helium tanks in ''VideoGame/GoatSimulator'' are all pretty much Main/MadeOfExplodium and detonate by a simple headbutt. The worst they do is set your goat on fire. Kind of justified since the goat you play is pretty much immortal.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', one of the bosses is Rolento, a character in a military uniform who constantly tosses grenades all over the screen, five or six at a time. In real life, of course, this kind of fighting style would be utterly suicidal, but this being a typical beat-em-up game, his grenades have all the explosive power of a bottle rocket, and if a character is caught in the miniscule blast radius, it just takes a small amount of health off his LifeMeter and knocks him off his feet for a second.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', detonation can fulfill this trope or invert it. On one hand, you can have a sim caught in detonation have no other effects other than be singed, on the other hand, sometimes it sets the area or random ares on fire too, which can kill them quickly as the sim is already singed. (But it's still not quite the explosion killing them) It's played entirely straight if detonation is done at home lot and you have the lifetime reward that nullifies any fire occurring in your home.

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' has an episode in which Dan rigs an animal shelter with explosives (right before he liberates a bunch of animals and "adopts" a pet kitten) and sits back to watch the building explode, with Crunchy, owner of the animal shelter, still inside. He survives the explosion, but also loses his locks in the cost of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' has an episode in which Dan rigs an animal shelter with explosives (right before he liberates a bunch of animals and "adopting a pet kitten) and sits back to watch the building explode, with Crunchy, owner of the animal shelter, still inside. He survives the explosion, but also loses his locks in the cost of it.

* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'' has an episode in which Dan rigs an animal shelter with explosives (right before he liberates a bunch of animals and "adopting a pet kitten) and sits back to watch the building explode, with owner Crunchie still inside. He survives the explosion, but also loses his locks in the cost of it.