History Main / NotInTheFace

* ''Webcomic/Collar6'': See the image at the top of the page.

* In ''Webcomic/StarImpact'', this is one of [[GirlyBruiser Lily]]'s big drawbacks as a boxer -- even though she never says the trope's name or anything to that effect. She values her IdolSinger career more than her boxing career, so she'll throw in the towel if she thinks that her face is sustaining too much damage. [[TheHero Aster]] plans on [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] this, [[DeconstructedTrope as her need to protect her face leaves her wide open to body blows]].

* ''Manga/EdensZero'': When the tyrant Madame Kurenai is about to punish Cedric for [[DisproportunateRetribution touching her without permission]], he begs her not to harm his face because he is a model. She proceeds to burn his face and disfigure him.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Lucius of the Emperor's Children was the handsomest of an entire Legion of bishonen SpaceMarines, but hias nose was broken and unable to be fixed in a fight. Later, the Legion's descent into Chaos and another scar to the face sent him way off the deep end, voluntarily scarring his face. These days, he's an absolute mess.

* During an early chapter of ''Manga/ZombiePowder'', a {{Mook}} who has failed his boss is given a choice of punishment: Get it in the face or the stomach. He politely asks to not get it in the face. [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe So his boss slices him in half at the stomach.]]

%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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* In ''Webcomic/StarImpact'', this is one of [[GirlyBruiser Lily]]'s big drawbacks as a boxer. She values her IdolSinger career more than her boxing career, so she'll throw in the towel if she thinks that her face is sustaining too much damage. [[TheHero Aster]] plans on [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] this, [[DeconstructedTrope as her need to protect her face leaves her wide open to body blows]].

* On ''Series/{{Friends}}'' when Ross and Chandler are going to fight the couch bullies, they agree to no face attacks, because they all have work on Monday. Nor below the belt because one of the bullies and his wife are trying to get pregnant.

* ''Series/{{Tracker}}'', "Double Down". Troy Montana, the underwear model whose billboard Cole took his human form from, says this several times. Obviously, he's afraid of being out of a model job if his face gets messed up.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Jumanji}}'' animated, episode 17, Peter has been frozen solid (long story). Alan and Judy end up using him as a bridge; when walking across him he remarks, "Not the face, not the face!"

* Grell from ''Manga/BlackButler'' yells this when Sebastian is about to hit. He of course gets hit several times in the face.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': When Sasuke is hunting down escapees from Orochimaru's lab, amongst the screams one person can be heard shouting, "Please, please, not the face!" It rather undermines the drama of the situation.

* Although he never openly ''said'' anything of this nature, [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Tim Drake]] occasionally worried about this when out superheroing -- mainly because a teenage boy having visible bruises invited uncomfortable questions.
* ''ComicBook/ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'' has a vicious outbreak of all of the inmates from their cells, and the guards are getting their asses kicked until head guard [[BadassNormal Aaron Cash]] arrives, giving the following scene:
-->'''Junkyard Dog:''' Aw, man! Not ''you!'' Wait... just not the face!\\
'''Cash:''' You giving me orders, Dog?! '''''CRACK'''''

* Lampshaded by Grace Choi in ''Outsiders'' #36 after an evil speedster [[RapidFireFisticuffs beats her up]], leaving her with a face like raw hamburger.
-->'''Grace:''' Ow. Always the face. ''Why'' do these douchebags always mess up the face?
* ''ComicBook/Batman66'': Or "not in the beak", as the Penguin says.

* "Hey, not in the face, pal!" Said during a fight in ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster''... by Radio, the only character who does not have any sort of face at all.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', the robot B.E.N. shouts it when captured by pirates.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRoadToElDorado'', Tulio says this during his sword fight with Miguel.

* ''Series/TheATeam'', "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E8TheOutOfTowners The Out-of-Towners]]". When one of East Side Charlie's underlings ends up stuck in the backseat of a cab Face is using just as he has to go back to the street to prepare for the showdown, he threatens to punch him. Face responds, "Not in the face." However, as he's already employed safety equipment to keep the guy away from him, he says it very in a very blase style, unlike the usual versions of the trope.

* On one episode of ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'' which stars a pair of bandit lovers, the man is always paranoid about something happening to his visage. At the end of the episode you find out that the reason for this is [[spoiler:that they are zombies, and therefore any bodily damage done to them will not be deadly but still leave a lasting mark. He gets shot in the face and, while still undead, is left looking like that for the rest of time.]]
* Recurring bad guy on ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries'' William Ray "Pudface" Morgan has an issue with this, ever since his first encounter with [=RoboCop=] resulted in him being disfigured from toxic waste; Morgan blames Robo for it, but according to Sgt. Parks (the series's equivalent of Sgt. Reed from the movies), it was Morgan's own fault. In their subsequent encounters, whenever [=RoboCop=] has Morgan cornered, he will invoke this trope. [=RoboCop=] does not oblige him.

* On ''Series/That70sShow'', Kelso is being beaten by Jackie and yells this, there is then a pause and he yelps in pain and says "Alright, alright! In the face!"
* Inverted in an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' has Malcolm wanting to get out of something, so he asks Reese to hit him. Naturally, Reese obliges with a punch to the stomach. Malcolm then says he ''wanted'' to be hit in the face, and Reese answers that their mother would see the bruises, and ground him for it, thinking Malcolm just wanted to get him in trouble.
* On one occasion in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', Ted was angry at Barney, who offered Ted one free hit anywhere but the face. Ted complied -- by punching Barney [[GroinAttack in the groin]] instead.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}''
** When Puck tries to recruit more people into glee by telling his football teammates how cool it is, they decide he needs to be beaten up like all the other nerds, and he yells for them not to damage his pretty face.
** When Rachel expects physical retribution for betraying Quinn, she ''offers'' her face, but requests that, if she can, Quinn try to avoid her nose.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'', this is practically Prince Vekar's catchphrase. As soon as he's in the slightest bit of danger, he panics, starting with screaming "Not In The Face!!".
* The first episode of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' had Ziggy screaming this after his carjacking attempt goes awry. He didn't exactly expect the lone traveller to be a skilled fighter capable of chopping metal with his bare hands.

* From ''Series/BurnNotice'', Westen plays this straight, as the villain of the week has a gun pointed at him and ready to shoot: "If you're gonna do it, then not in the face, please. Please, not in the face!" He's not BriarPatching, merely buying a few seconds while he moves out of range of the trap he set for her.

* Jeff from ''Series/{{Community}}'' claimed that he had never been in a fight due to his vanity. When it came time to get into a fight with the college's bullies, he asked not to be hit in the face. He was punched in the gut instead.
* An episode of ''Series/HappyDays'' saw the Fonz being forced to punch Richie in order to keep up his tough guy image (long story). He asked Richie where he wanted to be punched, mentioning that a gut punch hurt more but a punch to the face would leave a bruise. Richie ended up convincing him not to hit him but as they left the room, Richie hit his head on the door, prompting everyone to believe Fonz did it. This restored Fonz's tough-guy image but also led to Richie earning the sympathy of every girl in town.
* ''Series/LostGirl''. In "Caged Fae", Bo is tortured by the guards after striking one of them, but they're ordered not to harm her face as [[GirlsBehindBars "the Warden wants her pretty."]]
* Played with in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' episode "[[Recap/ThePrisonerE15TheGirlWhoWasDeath The Girl Who Was Death]]" as Number Six is pulled into a boxing match with a typical hulking bruiser who tells him between punches "'Ey, take it easy, me face is me fortune, you might knock it back into shape!"
* ''Series/TheProfessionals''
** Doyle enters a BadGuyBar and hauls a customer into the storeroom. Turns out he's an undercover cop and the two of them start knocking things off the shelves to make it sound like Doyle is beating him up. When it's time to leave, Doyle goes to inflict the required facial injury, and the cop tells him not to hit his good side as he's got a date tonight.
** On another occasion Bodie and Doyle have to fake a fight, so Bodie agrees to avoid Doyle's good side only to get it wrong in the excitement.
* ''Series/ThePunisher2017''. When Frank Castle is about to shoot Nikolai Poloznev with a SawnOffShotgun, the Russian oligarch decides to FaceDeathWithDignity, his LastRequest that Frank not shoot him in the face for the [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes sake of his wife and daughter]] who'll be looking at his body in the coffin. Frank decides to spare his life, though he's killed shortly afterwards by Pilgrim--ironically by being shot in the face.

* Through his career, legendary British heel Mick [=McManus=] HATED anyone messing with his ears (apparently they were extra sensitive). The inevitable result was many matches where his ears became the sole focus of his opponents, much to the delight of the fans.

* "Dashing" Wrestling/CodyRhodes, who played a slightly toned down GorgeousGeorge gimmick, started doing this in a team elimination match in Survivor Series (2010) after getting slapped in the face. He left the ring to make sure it didn't leave a mark and even started crying. Then Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr broke his nose. Cody Rhodes [[UnstoppableRage did not react well.]]
* Caleb Konley's entire reason for being in EVOLVE is to show of his "flawless face", so naturally he doesn't take contact to it too well.

* This is an aspect of Wrestling/TheMiz's "Hollywood Megastar" persona, beginning in summer 2014. In backstage interviews he refers to his face as "the moneymaker" and stresses that he can't allow any harm to come to it. He'll even retreat from the ring if he fears his opponent might target his face.
* Wrestling/WorldWonderRingSTARDOM ruled that any punch in the face would draw an immediate match-ending disqualification following the February 22 2015 Korkuen Hall main event gaining infamy as "[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown The Seisan Matchi]]" for leaving budding draw Act Yasukawa hospitalized with three facial fractures a mere two months after her return from cataract surgery.

The PantyFighter league Lingerie Fighting Championships promotes itself on {{fanservice}}, and to this end banned all strikes to the face after their show in Las Vegas, though apparently everyone still tries to sneak them in anyway...[[/folder]]

* Shown on a sign held in the art of the ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' joke card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=74275 "Erase (Not the Urza's Legacy One)."]]
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Lucius of the Emperor's Children was the handsomest of an entire Legion of bishonen SpaceMarines, but hias nose was broken and unable to be fixed in a fight. Later, the Legion's descent into Chaos and another scar to the face sent him way off the deep end, voluntarily scarring his face. These days, he's an absolute mess.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': This is one of Zelos' "ouch" phrases.

* Vega of the various ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games. He goes so far as to wear a metal mask to protect his face from damage. In Vega's case, though, it has nothing to do with the pain of being hit: he just doesn't want his face damaged since he's a hopeless narcissist.
** In fact, in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', you can have Vega toss away his mask intentionally because by exposing his face to damage, he knows it'll allow him to fight more aggressively and he'll do better damage as a result.
* Variant: In the ending cinematic of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Mog is literally hanging by a hair after being saved from a BottomlessPit, but he still cries: "Not the hair!"
* ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Outcast]]'' had a line "Please! [[{{Pluralses}} Noble Jedis! Not in the faces!]]"

* Inverted with Face [=McShooty=] in ''[[VideoGame/{{Borderlands2}} Borderlands 2]]''. Not only does he want to be shot in the face, but he becomes irritated with the player if shot anywhere else.
* In ''VideoGame/ArmyMen'', this was General Plastro's reaction anytime violence was ready to be visited upon him.
* ''VideoGame/{{Paladins}}'': Kill Fernando, a narcissistic knight, and he'll let out a slightly more long-winded version of the trope.
* ''VideoGame/AtlasReactor'': Lockwood occasionally says this when hit.

* "Not the face!" is a catch phrase for Matt in ''WebAnimation/EddsWorld''.
* In ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions'', Blue shouts this when Red kicks him for interrupting her video on Literature/TheAeneid.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Arthur's battlecry on ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'', as mentioned above.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Moe says this quite a lot. He once got attacked by an eagle and screamed "Not in the face! Not in the face!" Eagle switches to his crotch, and trope is inverted. "OK, the face! The face!" When the eagle goes back to the face, he even remarks "That actually feels okay, after the crotch."
** And in the ''WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror'' segment, "The Ned Zone", Lisa basically lampshades an unwritten rule of said HalloweenEpisode series -- namely, facial injuries are rarely shown. The line in question is as follows:
--->'''Lisa:''' Remember, if you really have to [[spoiler:kill our dad]], remember the Simpsons'[[note]][[DontExplainTheJoke "The Simpsons" in the "title of the show" sense]][[/note]] rule: not in the face.
* At the end of an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' (in which he has dressed up as a Barney-like dinosaur) he yells at the kids jumping on top of him "Not the face! Not the face!"

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' ChristmasSpecial, Grim requests the vampire elf bats attacking him (long story) to not target his face.

* Justin and Chris both do this on ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Action''.
** Alejandro and Jose also avoid face shots in ''All Stars''. It's the Burromeutro family code.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Jumanji}}'' animated, episode 17, Peter has been frozen solid (long story). Alan and Judy end up using him as a bridge; when walking across him he remarks, "Not the face, not the face!"
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': When Laura Limpett becomes the Big Badolescent after tasting the Delightful Children's cake (angry that it has coconut in it), she advances on them menacingly. The Delightful Children, [[SpeakInUnison in unison]], say "Not in the face! Not in the face!"
* Plankton shouts it as he is about to be stepped on in the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode "Sleepy Time".

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn "Keep Calm and Flutter On"]], Rarity pleads "Not the dress! NOT THE DRESS!" to the animated soup tureen spitting on everypony.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', as part of a trap laid out for a rogue agent, Cyril is left naked in a compromising position, where said rogue agent finds him, and aims a rifle at him. Cyril begs him "please, not the face," to which the agent responds "[[JerkAss said your mom!]]"
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', this trope is, verbatim, the motto of Timmy's soccer team, the Dimmsdale Victims.

** Benito Mussolini said the same thing before he was executed. Even had his executioner complied, the population caved his skull in after his corpse was brought to Milan.
* At the battle of Pharsalus, Julius Caesar directed his pikemen to aim at the faces of Pompey's cavalrymen, guessing (correctly) that they would [[FateWorseThanDeath fear disfigurement more than death]].

* Maximilian I of Mexico gave each of his executioners a gold coin so that they wouldn't shoot him in the head, in order for his mother to see his face. [[note]]Not that it helped. It was reported, upon the arrival of his corpse in Vienna, that his face was horribly disfigured, with bared teeth, bulging eyes, cuts from broken glass via the window of the coffin, and his beard cut off by souvenir hunters.[[/note]]

'''Taggart:''' (''punches him in the stomach'')\\
'''Buddy:''' Thank you. (''collapses'')\\
'''Dancer''': They hit Buddy! Let's get 'em, girls!
* Whenever someone does something that irritates Bruce Willis' character in ''Film/TheLastBoyScout'':
-->'''Hallenbeck:''' (''to the friend his wife is having an affair with'') Head or gut?\\
'''Matthews:''' Gut. (''cue the punching'')
:: And at the end of the movie...
-->'''Hallenbeck:''' (''to the ingrate Senator whose life he helped save'') Head or gut?\\
'''Sen. Baynard:''' Huh? (''gets punched in the face ''and'' the gut'')

* ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou'': When Bianca punches a [[JerkAss very deserving]] [[BrainlessBeauty Joey]] in the face, he howls, "Shit, Bianca, I'm shooting a nose-spray ad tomorrow!"
* Parodied (if that's even possible) in ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' at the beginning of the Newscasters Fight Scene:
-->'''Ron Burgundy:''' Now before we do this, let's go over the ground rules. Rule number 1: "No touching of the hair or face." And that's it! Now let's do this!
** Even more amusing is the blasé way the other newscasters agree to it, as though it was something so incredibly obvious.
** Judging from the Canadian newscaster's reaction of "What do we look like, rookies?" this is indeed the case. Of course just the fact that full on brawls between different news organizations actually having ROE (Rules of Engagement) is hilarious in its own right.
* ''Film/{{Leatherheads}}'' inverts this during a fight between Carter and Dodge. After discussing numerous places not to hit, they agree to stick to hitting each other ''only'' in the face.
* At one point in ''Literature/AmericanPsycho'', Patrick Bateman chases a hooker through an apartment and tries to eat her leg. She kicks him in the face and, being a self-absorbed yuppie, he screams at her, "Not the face! Not the fucking face!"
* In ''Film/WildWildWest'', Artemis Gordon is captured by the villain and (because he's secretly wearing a bulletproof vest) makes a last request to be shot in the heart that he used to love his country so much. The villain realizes what's going on and orders his men to shoot Artemis in the head.
* In ''Film/HeroicTrio'', the three main characters get put through the wringer but when an explosion gets too close for comfort, the youngest member of the trio exclaims, "My face! Am I still pretty? ([[BeautyIsNeverTarnished she is]])," indicating the one and only part of her body she is concerned about.

* In ''Film/ThePunisher2004'', when Mickey thinks he's about to be killed by the mob for the death of Howard Saint's son, he calmly asks them not to damage his face, for his mother's sake. Luckily, they don't intend to kill him.
* In ''Film/TheEliteSquad'', this is [[spoiler:Baiano's]] plea when BOPE are about to finish him off, so as not to ruin it for the wake. [[spoiler:[[DefiedTrope Matias doesn't]] [[BoomHeadshot care.]]]]
* ''Film/{{Barbarella}}'': Barbarella points a laser gun at the Black Queen's face and threatens that she'll melt it if she doesn't release Pygar. The Black Queen gets all dramatic at the prospect: "Stop! My face! My beautiful face!"
* ''Film/IronMan3'':
** ''Almost'' directly quoted by Tony in Florida, as the pieces of the MK XLII fly to him; the last one is the face plate, which he catches in midair rather than letting it slam into place, paraphrasing this trope at the same time.
** Trevor Slattery, when Tony Stark points a gun at his face:
--->'''Trevor:''' Don't hurt the face, I'm an actor!

* ''Film/GrandSlam'': When Weiss slaps Jean-Paul around to stop him [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere walking away from the job]] after the CaperCrew discover [[SpannerInTheWorks the new "Grand Slam 70" safe system has been installed]], Gregg tells him not to hit Jean-Paul in the face as they still need him to be able to seduce Mary Ann.

'''Buddy:''' Thank you. (''collapses'')

** The reds have Tex captured, and they unload her ammo (the game engine didn't allow people to be unarmed). Grif taunts Tex finding out that she's a girl.

* In ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'', this is practically Prince Vekar's catchphrase. As soon as he's in the slightest bit of danger, he panics, starting with screaming "NotInTheFace!!".

* Justin and Chris both do this on ''''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Action''.

* On ''Series/TheSopranos'' episode "[[Recap/TheSopranosS2E13Funhouse Funhouse]]", [[spoiler:Pussy]] makes this request (which is granted - not that it matters because he'll be SleepingWithTheFishes) just before being shot by Tony and the others for being a stooge.

--->'''Castle Heterodyne:''' No! Not in the facing!

A character does not want to be struck or injured in a certain manner. They could have a low pain tolerance in general, or they may be able to take other kinds of punishment, just not ''that'' specific punishment. In these cases, it isn't uncommon to hear a character desperately shout this StockPhrase at their attacker.