History Main / PunchPunchPunchUhOh

* Herbie Popnecker, the Fat Fury, has such a powerful resistance to damage that he sometimes doesn't even notice that he's being attacked. Occasionally a villain will attack Herbie strongly enough to be noticed and he'll glance about in puzzlement muttering "Something...?"

* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': This happens all the time to Saitama, the series protagonist, as he's [[ComicallyInvincibleHero basically indestructible]] and so he often lets his enemies wail on him while looking bored until he finally decides to hit back and end the fight in [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin one punch]]. In his fight with Suiryu, he dragged this out longer than usual, due to his wish to 'experience martial arts', but it eventually ended the same way as the rest of his fights.

* When Ivan Ooze breaks into the Command Center in ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Alpha the robot tries to karate chop him -- cue belch noise, Ivan electrocuting Alpha, and Zordon giving him a PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize.

** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'': Logan goes mano-a-mano against Fred Dukes a.k.a. The Blob without using his claws to get information from him. Logan's glove-clad punches prove rather ineffective.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' , Tai Lung experiences this when he realizes that, due to how hugely fat his opponent Po the Panda is, the technique he's perfected and used to defeat the Furious Five won't work. Po is simply [[{{Kevlard}} too fat for the nerve-targeting strikes to affect him]], doing nothing more than tickling him. With his signature move taken from him, Tai Lung cannot defeat Po.

** He does this in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' against a [[GiantMook gigantic Nazi bruiser]]. How he finishes the fight is [[DeadlyRotaryFan disturbing]].
** He has a similar encounter with the same actor, but wearing a turban, in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''. Again, his body ends up horribly mangled.
** Luckily for him, in [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade the third film]] that actor's character missed the Zeppelin. They planned to have a fight in the third film, and from the looks of it they were going to subvert this trope by giving the guy a glass chin. (There's some footage in the "Stunts of Indiana Jones" special on the DVD.)
*** A variation occurs later in the film, when Col. Vogel and Indy fight atop the tank. Once Indy finally gains the upper hand, he smacks Vogel's head against the turret a few times... then he realizes [[OhCrap the tank is about to roll off a cliff...]]

'''Spider-Boy:''' No! I'm just getting started-- Gnh-- ''[tries to force himself free]'' Um... this is kinda tight actually... Uh-oh.

** Also simultaneously played straight and averted. [[spoiler: In TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, an advance team lead by Kotaro runs into [[BigBad Fate]]. Since one of the party has an invisibility artifact, Fate has no idea they're there, which gives Kotaro the idea to kill him. It doesn't work and Fate beheads Kotaro. Then it's revealed that that sequence was just an ImagineSpot, Kotaro hasn't moved an inch, and Fate's still walking down the hallway oblivious.]]

** Luffy started the big fight against [[BigBad Arlong]] with a whole flurry of attacks, Arlong was not impressed. Slight subversion in that Luffy isn't really fazed by this either, probably because he was still [[WeaksauceWeakness soaked in seawater]] and probably unable to hit quite as hard as he could have.

[[caption-width-right:340:[[Franchise/SpiderMan Spidey]] learns [[StealthPun the hard way]] why they call [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} him]] "The Man of Steel". ]]

* Franchise/SpiderMan: This happens a lot to Spidey since he's generally written as an underdog character:
** While trapped on a deserted island, he punches Venom in the face with everything he has. While it actually draws blood from Venom's mouth, Venom laughs it off and tells Spidey that he has FirstBlood. Though it comes back the other way in a later issue, when Eddie Brock tries to attack Spider-Man, only this time the symbiote is not around. Eddie is a peak human specimen, almost as strong as Captain America, but Spidey barely notices his punches. "Give it up, Eddie. Without the symbiote you're out of your league here."
** The famous "Nothing Stops the Juggernaut" story from ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #229-230 is basically two issues of this. Spidey tries to deter the Juggernaut from kidnapping Madame Webb. He not only tries dozens of punches, but girders, webbing, a manhole cover, a load of bricks, a wrecking ball, [[MadeOfExplodium a gas truck]] and more. Nothing works, but Spider-Man [[{{Determinator}} refuses to let another of his friends get hurt.]]
** Another example happens in his first encounter with The Hulk. He throws his hardest punch and not only does he hurt his own hand but the Hulk doesn't even blink.
** In the "Atlantis Attacks" story of a Spider-Man Annual, Spider-Man and She-Hulk are trying to stop a rampaging Abomination. She-Hulk gets knocked out and the fight moves on to a bridge. Spidey notes that all the civilians are clear, and Abomination is focused solely on him. He muses that maybe he can end this now, by putting everything he has into one, tremendous ... PUNCH!!!

* Referenced in the ''Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses'' [[WebVideo/TGWTGYearOneBrawl Brawl]], when [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]] tries punching Sean Fausz.

* Part of Creator/HarryHoudini's stage act, but eventually led to his appendix bursting and his death. Though it's a bit more complicated: Houdini was already in the early stages of appendicitis when he took the blow. He simply chalked the pain in his abdomen up to getting punched (without having adequate time to prepare for the blow) and didn't seek medical attention until it was too late.

* The intro movie to ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'' has Franchise/{{Superman}} powered up enough to pull this on [[ComicBook/BlackAdam Black Freaking Adam]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' episode "To Steal an Ant-Man" has an unusual example in that not only is it a villain who's throwing the ineffectual punches, he's doing so against somebody ''smaller than him''. Of course, the giant is just a random thug and the "smaller" guy is the still-huge and NighInvulnerable ComicBook/LukeCage.

** Terry gets this treatment from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDxxO50WxZ4 his generation's equivalent of Bane.]]
** Later, in "Out of the Past", he gets it once again from one of [[spoiler:Ra's Al Ghul]]'s henchmen while he isn't wearing the Batsuit. Then [[spoiler:Bruce, younger thanks to a Lazarus Pit]] punches the guy with more success.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Before Terry, Bruce went through this while fighting one of Scarface's goons.
** It also happened in "The Last Laugh" when the Joker had a [[MechaMook giant robot clown]] called Captain Clown. Batman clearly didn't know it was a robot at first, and hurt his hand trying to punch it. (Later, even knocking it upside the head with a crowbar barely slowed it down; he had to knock it into a car compactor to finally destroy it.)
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible}}'': A gruesome example occurs during Omni-Man's attack on the Guardians of the Globe with Red Rush. The [[SuperSpeed speedster]] tries rushing the murderous superhero with a flurry of speed-blitzed punches only to be grabbed. He frantically attempts to strike Omni-Man with [[RapidFireFisticuffs hundreds of desperate strikes]], to the point of bloodying and breaking his fingers, before his head is violently crushed. Particularly horrifying in that Red Rush has accelerated perception of time, so [[AndIMustScream he felt every agonizing microsecond of his death]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'':
** Ben's first encounter with Vilgax had the alien warlord effortlessly shrugging off Ben's attacks. When Diamondhead breaks his fists (Literally) punching Vilgax...

* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Fight Fighters", Dipper finds himself fighting the super-powered [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu]] [[{{Shotoclone}} look-alike]] Rumble [=McSkirmish.=] Dipper manages to land a single uppercut...which only lowers Rumble's health bar by ''0.5%''.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'':
** In the episode "Grudge Match", FOUR of the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse's toughest heroines basically throw the kitchen sink at Wonder Woman, even pinning her down -- for about two seconds. She straightens up effortlessly, and everyone else is groaning after they land. Diana was tougher under mind control than she ever was in regular episodes -- possibly as a result of her holding back most of the time so as not to unintentionally kill someone.
** Diana herself ends up getting the short end of the stick in a fist-fight with Mongul in "ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything". He barely registers her blows. She hurts her own hands. In all fairness, Mongul ''is'' supposed to be tougher and stronger than Superman.
** This also happens to Downpour when he tries to punch Aquaman. Aquaman then easily smacks him down.

** Superman himself is on the receiving end of this when fighting Doomsday. After everything he throws at Doomsday does nothing and Doomsday himself has about killed Superman, Supes tries lobotomizing him with his heat vision as a move of pure desperation. Unfortunately for him, Doomsday had already become immune to this. Only a timely eruption and quick thinking on Superman's part was able to save him.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E3TheHomerTheyFall The Homer They Fall]]'', where Homer wins boxing matches simply by taking hits until his opponents get tired due to him being MadeOfIron, then CherryTapping them for the win. Unfortunately, this is inverted when he goes up against an actual professional boxer [[OhCrap who doesn't get tired as easily]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Happens a couple times between Robin and Slade in Season 4, thanks to Slade's newfound demonic powers. Robin lays a series of hard punches and kicks to Slade, who just contorts back into an upright position and cracks his neck, completely unfazed. Cue Robin's OhCrap expression and Slade flinging him across the block.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' episode "Darkest", [[SuperSpeed Impulse]] delivers a [[RapidFireFisticuffs flurry of punches]] to [[SuperStrength Tommy Terror]]'s ''face''. Tommy doesn't even flinch and Impulse ends up hurting his own hands.