History Main / PocketProtector

--> '''Ryan:''' Good thing he reads Russian literature. If he was a NicholasSparks fan, he'd be dead.

** Parodied in the manga, when a devoutly religious individual is shielded from a {{BFS}} stabbing with a Bible he always keeps on him. He then states that the Bible is what his faith is based on, thus he cannot be harmed by a "tainted blade" because of that faith. A couple characters point out this is complete nonsense, as the book was easily torn through and he was protected by the stab by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent his own incredibly hard scales.]]

* In White House Down [[spoiler:Lincoln's pocket watch saves him from a bullet]].

* A variant appears in ''Film/TheAvengers''. Loki needs to touch a person over their heart with his scepter to control them. [[spoiler:He tries this on IronMan, but the arc reactor in his chest gets in the way]].

* The ''{{Berserk}}'' anime/manga has an poison arrow to Griffith's heart blocked by his Behelit, or as the Abridged of that show calls it, the "Portable Deus Ex Machina Generator". Justified in that Behelits want to keep their owners alive until they can cross the DespairEventHorizon, and thus will take matters into their own... well... eyesockets.

* Ichigo's Hollow mask saves him ''twice'' from otherwise fatal hits in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}', the second time being [[ClingyMacGuffin after being taken from him and thrown into a sewer.]]

* In 1631, during [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Magdeburg the Sack of Magdeburg]], the priest Reinhard Bakes was slashed several times by a Croat (in the Cathedral), but the Bible he was holding in his arms lasted long enough that the Croat abandoned the idea and let him live. The city still has the Bible.

* In ''StrangerThanFiction'', the main character doesn't stop a bullet, but rather a ''bus''. The icing on the cake? It's with his ''watch''. Granted, they slammed on the brakes, but the metal shards from the watch jammed into his veins and stopped him from bleeding to death. This was an absolutely shameless in-universe AuthorsSavingThrow.

* ''TheGoldenChild''. When the demon tries to stab Chandler Jarrell with the Dagger it hits the medallion the old man/priest gave him.

* The film adaptation of ''SinCity.'' See the comic book example above.

* ''{{Predator 2}}''. Before going in to fight the Predator, Harrigan puts a metal plate in his shirt to protect against its attacks.

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', the Snow Scarf/Muffler and [[UnderwearOfPower Minerva]] [[ChainmailBikini Bustier]] are among the best "armor" in the game, and the Memento Ring protects against [[UselessUsefulSpell instant death]]. Averted with Beads in the original release, which were useless due to a bug.

See BulletproofVest for things that are ''supposed'' to stop bullets.[[note]]Some of which in real life, incidentally, are fitted with protective ceramic plates stowed ''in pockets''.[[/note]] Compare ConcealmentEqualsCover, where the hero is protected by something that isn't in their pocket. If bullets are stopped by an unwilling {{Mook}} or bystander, that's a BulletproofHumanShield. For other uses for books, see UsefulBook.

* In the ''Manga/LupinIII'' movie ''Recap/IslandOfAssassins'', Zenigata is shot in the opening segment, and the bullet hits the badge in his pocket. While it keeps the shot from being ''instantly'' fatal, it still injures him severely.

*** [[PulpFiction We just witnessed a miracle, and I want you to fucking acknowledge it!]]

* In ''{{Batman}}: [[GrantMorrisonsBatman The Return of Bruce Wayne]]'', an amnesiac Bruce Wayne wakes up in hospital; his life apparently having been saved by Mordecai Wayne's journal he was carrying in his pocket.

* Happens in one early {{Batman}} story featuring ComicBook/TwoFace. Two-Face tosses his coin to decide if he should reform. The coin lands on its edge; stuck in a gap in the floorboards. Two-Face refuses to flip it again and puts the coin away in his breast pocket, saying it is now up to fate to determine if he should be good or evil. When a policeman shoots at Two-Face, the bullet deflects off the coin. When Two-Face looks at the coin, he sees that the bullet struck the scarred side of the coin. He takes this a sign that he is supposed to be a criminal.

* Used intentionally in The Dark Knight Returns: Batman is being shot at by a collection of mooks, only to have the bullets bounce of the bat-icon on his chest. His narration notes that this is in fact the reason he wears a bright yellow target on his chest - it keeps fire away from more vulnerable places like his head.

* A [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Marine brony]] was once saved by a present from his sister, a Fluttershy toy, [[http://bronies.memebase.com/2012/01/17/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-the-marine-brony/ when it stopped a bullet fragment.]]

* Lt. George E. Dixon of the American Civil War submarine the ''Hunley'' carried a gold coin that was given to him as a good luck charm and later deflected a bullet. (Didn't save him from drowning, though.)

* Happens in one early {{Batman}} story featuring Two-Face. Two-Face tosses his coin to decide if he should reform. The coin lands on its edge; stuck in a gap in the floorboards. Two-Face refuses to flip it again and puts the coin away in his breast pocket, saying it is now up to fate to determine if he should be good or evil. When a policeman shoots at Two-Face, the bullet deflects off the coin. When Two-Face looks at the coin, he sees that the bullet struck the scarred side of the coin. He takes this a sign that he is supposed to be a criminal.

* In CharlesStross's ''Halting State'', Jack is saved from a stab wound by the foldup keyboard in his jacket. It later turns out that his jacket is practically ''lined'' with computer stuff, though.

* Literature/TheBible version happens ''again'' in MatthewRiley 's {{Temple}}. {{Justified|Trope}} in that the shot was from a flintlock.

* In ''PrincessTutu'', Ahiru fends of a sword attack from Fakir ([[ItMakesSenseInContext don't ask]]) with a PaperFanOfDoom.

* In Episode 1, Short 2 of the TenaciousD television show Jack and Kyle have a falling out over a girl named Flarna. [[spoiler:Kyle jumps in front of a robber's bullet, but is saved by a huge friendship medallion that was under his shirt. They proceed to perform the song "Kyle Took A Bullet For Me."]]

* In the climax of ''{{Bayonetta}}'', the titular witch unwittingly causes a TimeParadox by giving Cereza AKA [[spoiler: herself as a child]] her metallic makeup canister, this results in Jeanne [[spoiler: failing to fully seal Bayonetta away as her sword hits the canister, causing her to have all her memories in the present.]] [[MindScrew It's a little hard to follow.]]

* In the French TV series ''Le Retour d'ArseneLupin'' has an episode titled "La tabatière de l'Empereur" (The Emperor's snuff box) in which the titular GentlemanThief inherits from a friend a snuff box that saved that friend's life during the war.

See BulletproofVest for things that are ''supposed'' to stop bullets.[[note]]Some of which in real life, incidentally, are fitted with protective plastic cards stowed ''in pockets''.[[/note]] Compare ConcealmentEqualsCover, where the hero is protected by something that isn't in their pocket. If bullets are stopped by an unwilling {{Mook}} or bystander, that's a BulletproofHumanShield. For other uses for books, see UsefulBook.

See BulletproofVest for things that are ''supposed'' to stop bullets. Compare ConcealmentEqualsCover, where the hero is protected by something that isn't in their pocket. If bullets are stopped by an unwilling {{Mook}} or bystander, that's a BulletproofHumanShield. For other uses for books, see UsefulBook.