History Main / PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars

* ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'': [[spoiler:Theon]] is [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] physically, including everything from probable castration to {{flaying|Alive}}. The psychological effects include a complete loss of identity, possible insanity, and a [[UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome rather twisted relationship]] with his torturer. Also of note is Sandor Clegane, known to most of Westeros as 'The Hound'. His massive and horrific burn scars across one entire side of his face are both the indicant and causation of his bitter, angry demeanour.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Lucius was once the best-looking of the Emperor's Children Legion and entire army of gene-tailored narcissists. Then his nose was broken in a fight with another Space Marine so badly it couldn't be restored, and after he fell to Chaos his face was scarred in successive fights with Loyalists. Now his face is a single massive network of scar tissue because he adds one with every victory as the Campion of Slaanesh.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Prince Zuko's father issues are represented physically through the scar over his eye, and Zuko suffered both [[spoiler:as part of a confrontation with his father]]. The connection between the two is even discussed in-universe when [[spoiler:Katara laments that she didn't get the chance to heal the scar because it may have helped clear up his emotional issues as well.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture'': It's revealed in the episode "Growing Pains" that the various hits, falls and psychical encounters Steven went through in the [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse original series]] actually did injure him, he just has an incredibly powerful HealingFactor that fixed him up before he or anyone else noticed -- on the outside, that is. His ''skeleton'', on the other hand, is covered head to toe in various healed cracks and fractures. This was revealed as Steven's sanity [[SanitySlippage spiraled further and further downward]], symbolizing how he bottles up any remotely negative emotion under [[StepfordSmiler the facade of a happy-go-lucky guy]].

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[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[https://moringmark.tumblr.com/post/687042933405417472 Artwork]] by Creator/{{Moringmark}}-]]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scars_comic.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[https://moringmark.tumblr.com/post/687042933405417472 Artwork]] by Creator/{{Moringmark}}-]]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Ibiki has scars on his head that represent [[spoiler:the mental torture he underwent years back]].
** To a lesser extent, Kakashi's scar over his left eye. [[spoiler: He received that scar shortly before his teammate and friend Obito died which was the beginning of a lot of bad things and trauma for him.]]
* [[spoiler:Kazundo Gouda]] in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'': [[spoiler:Second Gig]] was badly scarred in an accident. He could have elected for reconstructive surgery but chose to retain his mutilated appearance, probably so he could see the looks on people's faces when they saw him for the first time. Mentally he changed from a bland bureaucrat to a manipulative bastard.
* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', [[spoiler:Izak]] gets a scar while [[spoiler:fighting against Kira]]. He could get it removed but decides against it. He wants to keep it until he gets his revenge against Kira. In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' he doesn't have it anymore, after giving up on his grudge.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': [[spoiler:Sensui]] is covered in self-inflicted scars from training to show that his fanaticism has damaged him in body and mind.
* Manga/RurouniKenshin is identified by his cross-scar, and the backstory behind it is what forms the kind of person he is today.
** This trope is even mentioned (although not quite [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] or [[DiscussedTrope discussed]]) in later chapters when the idea that scars from a grudge never heal until the grudge is gone.

* ''Manga/BetrayalKnowsMyName''[='s=] Usui Shuusei has some nasty burn marks on his upper body. He got them from [[spoiler: [[InterruptedSuicide interrupting Hotsuma's suicide attempt]]]]. While they don't bother him all that much ''personally'', Hotsuma [[ItsAllMyFault hates himself for inflicting them]]. This puts a massive strain on their relationship sometimes, which goes so far that Shuusei starts to think [[spoiler: if he can't get rid of the scars, he should just disappear himself.]] After all is said and done, these scars actually fuse them together even more, though.
* [[MeasuringTheMarigolds Edward]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Elric]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has this in spades, with a good amount of heavy scarring mostly concentrated at his shoulder - where he's missing his right arm, and his left leg too, both from a botched attempt to resurrect his dead mother after he and his younger brother were orphaned. RuleOfSymbolism is in full swing here, with the wounds eventually becoming so extensively symbolic for his character they can't entirely be explained here. See the work's analysis page for details.
* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', at the climax of the final fight in the series, after being weakened to a dangerous degree [[spoiler:Muzan]] reveals numerous scars all over his body, as if they magically appeared on him; that's the physical and psychological trauma [[spoiler:Muzan]] was actually never able to truly rid himself off after surviving against his mortal enemy [[spoiler:Yoriichi]], it is quite telling since [[spoiler:Muzan]] has the absolute best demonic regenerative abilities in the series by far, yet he was never able to truly heal a 400 years old wound, he could only conceal it, he has been terrified of anything remotely resembling that encounter ever since.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* The major antagonist of the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' fic "Grudge Match," [[spoiler:Nyssa Al-ghul]], has two ''gnarly'' scars that take two-quarters of her face; one cutting across her left eye and the other on the bridge of her nose. [[spoiler:They're a MarkOfShame inflicted by her older sister Talia. When Ra's was SlutShaming Nyssa for getting raped, Talia spoke out against it, and to test Talia's loyalty, Ra's forced his daughters to duel each other. Talia was too afraid of disappointing their father, so she won the fight, mutilating Nyssa for good measure, and allowed her to be exiled. In the present, the scars are symbolic to Nyssa's burning hatred and [[EtTuBrute feelings of betrayal]] directed at Talia.]]
* ''Fanfic/PokemonJohtoQuest'': Protagonist Emily Hawthorne picks up a few of these along her journey, especially in [[spoiler:episode two]]. In [[spoiler:episode three]], it's revealed that Eddy had also picked up some of these prior to the events of Johto Quest.
* ''Fanfic/PokemonMysteryDungeonLostTracksOfTime'': Sneasels have gems on their chest and forehead, and during the story, Ingo and Emmet both have their gems crack under different circumstances. For Ingo, the gem on his forehead cracked after days of being stressed when [[spoiler:a [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Chained]] [[CoolBigSis Sneasler]] calls him a warden (referencing his past that he can't remember) and then knocks him unconscious]]. In this case, the scar is both physical and psychological. For Emmet, the gem on his chest cracked after [[spoiler:he regains his memories]], meaning the gem cracked solely from mental trauma.
* One fanfic for ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41879061 Don't Tell Your Mother]]'', depicts [[Characters/TheSimpsonsElementarySchool Seymour Skinner]] as having multiple battle scars from [[TheVietnamVet his time in the Vietnam War]]. Since several episodes of ''The Simpsons'' portray him as a ShellShockedVeteran (which is PlayedForLaughs on the show itself but PlayedForDrama in ''Don't Tell Your Mother''), his scars serve as a physical representation of how deeply his time in Vietnam affected him psychologically.

[[folder:Film - Animation]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* In ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin's relationship with Padme went downhill fast when he said [[WeCanRuleTogether they could rule together]]; when Obi-Wan Kenobi showed up, Anakin blamed him for her turning against him. They got into a fierce lightsaber battle with Obi-Wan, [[spoiler:with Anakin falling into a river of lava in the process, and screaming at Obi-Wan while on fire. He survives long enough for Palpatine's medical team to show up and save his life, and in the process putting him in a full suit with ArtificialLimbs.]] Basically, his new suit buried his physical scars, while his new role in the empire buried his mental scars.

* In ''Film/{{The Count of Monte Cristo|2002}}'', the scars on Edmund's back that he received from being repeatedly lashed in the Chateau D'If represent how his time in prison embittered him.
* Raleigh Becket in ''Film/PacificRim'' has scars from his battle with the {{Kaiju}} Knifehead over his chest and arms and psychologically he is scarred from that battle when [[spoiler: he witnessed and experienced his brother's death.]]
* In ''Film/Deadpool2016'', the torturous process that physically scarred Wade Wilson also psychologically warped him. He wasn't the most upstanding citizen before the Weapon X treatment but seems to have lost his moral and psychological moorings after being tortured to the brink of death for days.
* In ''Film/DriveACrookedRoad'', Eddie has a very prominent scar that runs across his forehead and round his eye: the result of a car crash. It is implied that it is the scar that makes him withdrawn and socially awkward, and causes his issues with expressing or receiving affection.

* In ''Literature/TheJungleBook'', Hathi the elephant has a large white scar from the time he [[spoiler:fell into a spiked pit trap]]; he felt humiliated enough by the event that when he escaped [[spoiler:he ''razed three villages'']].
* The Seablite gang from ''Literature/DarkLife'' have both physical and psychological scars from [[spoiler: their time as Doc's unwilling experimental subjects.]]

* It's heavily implied that this is why Kaladin of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' retains the scars of his SlaveBrand, despite possessing a HealingFactor that has been shown to repair cuts, bruises, scrapes, bad eyes, missing arms, damaged souls, and death itself.

* In ''Literature/HeartOfSteel'', Alistair Mechanus is a physical wreck from a car crash, mirroring the mental wreck he is from a subsequent psychotic break.
* In ''Literature/AvalonWebOfMagic'', the resident MagicalNativeAmerican advises Emily that an injury both physical and psychological can be harder to heal than purely singular ones. This is relevant to the book's plot in that [[spoiler:the severing of Lorelei's horn was painful in addition to being emotionally humiliating and indirectly caused by (what she perceives as) a failure on her part. It almost doesn't matter to Lorelei that her horn will grow back because the psychological scars seem overwhelming to her]].
* In ''Literature/WhyborneAndGriffin'', Griffin has a tentacle-like scar on his thigh as a result of his traumatizing first encounter with the supernatural, which also led to him being forcibly confined to an asylum and enduring further psychological damage. The scar serves as a reminder for both.
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': {{Justified|Trope}} because the Stormlight HealingFactor is guided by the person's self-image. Kaladin can't heal his SlaveBrand [[spoiler:until ''Literature/RhythmOfWar'']] because its history is closely linked to his SurvivorGuilt, which is remarked on in the story. Similarly, [[spoiler:Navani's LightEmUp attack on [[FallenHero Moash]] simultaneously [[EmotionBomb overwhelms him with his suppressed emotional pain]] and permanently blinds him.]]
* ''Literature/TheGideonTrilogy'' has Gideon mention this trope when showing Peter the scars down his legs from when a farmer set dogs on him.
-->'''Gideon:''' [[TheStoic Physical pain is over as soon as it stops.]] Other things take longer to heal.

* ''Webcomic/TheFoxSister'': Yun Hee's arms, hands, and chest are covered in scars which she received when attempting to fend off the Kumiho during their traumatic first encounter.

* ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'': Oh, whew! It's Tron, the BigGood of the franchise. And even though he's a little bit more grim and stoic than what he was back in the [[Film/{{Tron}} 1982 film]] or ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', at least he isn't [[spoiler:Rinzler yet]]. Oh, yikes! That's a ''lot'' of dead pixels. Then we get his unwillingness to trust because he was "blinded by friendship" [[note]]He was ostensibly talking about Dyson, but the statement could have implicated Dyson, Cyrus, Flynn, or ''all three.''[[/note]] and being unable to call Beck a friend unless under duress. His TrainingFromHell for Beck may be necessary, the advice for Beck to push away potential allies like Mara, less so. [[EvilStoleMyFaith It's also noticeable that he never mentions having faith in the Users, even though that was central to his character in earlier entries]]