History Main / RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain

* [[Wiki/TheSCPFoundation SCP Foundation]]:

* [[WebOriginal/SCPFoundation SCP Foundation]]:

* [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/clef101 There's an article]] on the ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' where Dr. Clef says that the best way to kill a RealityWarper is to shoot them through the head before they know you're there.
[[/folder]]

** Averted in the first three editions, where undead (including zombies) are immune to the bonus damage from {{Critical Hit}}s since they are sustained by supernatural forces and don't rely on any particular body parts to function. This even applies if they suffer [[OffWithHisHead automatic decapitation]] from a Vorpal Blade.

* This is how you kill ''vampires'' in ''Franchise/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' - the mystical artifact that creates them does so by altering their brains, making destruction of the head the only way not involving sunlight or Hamon to get rid of them. (Decapitation just creates a pissed-off vampiric head, so you have to ''destroy'' the head entirely.)

** Played straight by Titan Shifters, however, as their HealingFactor allows them to regenerate from serious injuries that would cripple or kill normal people, including lost limbs. Destroying their heads or severing their necks are [[spoiler:usually]] fatal wounds for them [[spoiler:and it's why Titans when eating them have a compunction to bite off their upper bodies around their shoulder areas]]. Otherwise, the only way to kill one is to leave NoBodyLeftBehind or the ChunkySalsaRule (preferably with their heads/spines pulped). It's heavily implied the reason for this is because [[spoiler:the original Titan Shifter, Ymir Fritz, gained the power of Titans when an alien creature symbiotically attached itself to and merged with her spine.]]

* Not exactly true decapitation, but the Titans in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' can only be killed when they are slashed on the nape of their necks. The Rogue Titan usually decapitates titans with its powerful fists and then stomps on their necks in order to kill them. [[spoiler: Later played straight in that slicing out the nape actually decapitates what's left of the human pilot inside.]]

* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TimeAndAgain'' Naruto fights a rogue ninja with incredible regenerative powers. He's able to take him out of action by cutting off his head but is savvy enough to watch it for a few minutes afterwards and sees the flesh of the neck wriggling as it begins to try and grow a new body, so he pulverizes the brain, which finally kills his opponent once and for all.

* [[Film/{{Transformers}} From]] [[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen all]] [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon of]] [[Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction the]] ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' films, you could count every Cybertronian who DOESN'T die by suffering a cranial injury on one hand. It's gotten to the point where it signifies "dead for real", as Optimus and Megatron both came back from other grievous injuries.
* Cutting off their heads is the only way to kill immortals in the ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'' franchise.

* In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', Thanos’s only true weak point is apparently his head/brain. The Avengers/Guardians came closest to defeating him when Mantis essentially hypnotizes him. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Once Star Lord breaks Mantis’s control of his mind]], Thanos is able to defeat the entire team all by himself. And later, Thanos directly tells Thor that [[PreMortemOneLiner he should have gone for the head]].
* In ''Film/StarshipTroopers'', the Arachnids can be riddled with automatic fire and have limbs blown off but still be able to fight effectively, but a single shot to the "primary nerve cluster" will put them down for good. This cluster is actually at the base of their "heads". They're StarfishAliens, what can you do.

* Shooting It through the head seems to be the only way to stop the monster from ''Film/ItFollows''. Though WordOfGod says it survived.

* In an ''ComicBook/XMen'' storyline, it's revealed that Professor X had a set of "worst-case scenario" protocols to take down any member of the X-Men should they [[FaceHeelTurn go rogue]]. The protocol for ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is to use a long-range attack to decapitate him, then separate his head and body to ensure he can't just heal back up. [[spoiler:Years later Wolverine kills his arch-rival Sabretooth, who also has regenerative powers, by cutting off his head.]]
* The best way to put down chupacabra (a race of cannibal demons) in ''ComicBook/WynonnaEarp'' is to shoot them in the head.
* In IDW's run of ''Franchise/TheTransformers'' comics, destruction of the head or [[OurSoulsAreDifferent Spark Chamber]] are generally necessary to permanently kill a Transformer. And sometimes, even that's not enough.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' gave us Hidan who, despite being human, uses a forbidden jutsu that makes him {{immortal|ity}} and the only way to even slow him down is to decapitate him. This won't necessarily defeat him permanently, as his head can still be reattached by [[FleshGolem Kakuzu]] (and possibly other methods). [[spoiler: Since Shikamaru left his body in pieces buried in a ditch in the middle of nowhere, his severed head is shouting obscenities until he eventually starves to death.]]

* Wen from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' could only be killed by being shot through the head with a gem that was part of the accident that gave him CompleteImmortality in the first place.
* The Ctarl Ctarl from ''Anime/OutlawStar'' are NighInvulnerable and one of the few ways to kill them is to crush their skulls.
* Cell from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' was the TropeNamer for regenerating FromASingleCell. As long as a group of core cells in his brain are intact, he can regenerate the rest of his body. He was also shown regrowing his head at one point, so the English dub said he can regrow his body from any cell.

This trope is a consequence of a CranialProcessingUnit. Accepting this rule is often a part of suspension of disbelief. If it doesn't work this way, and every part of the zombie can work independently of one another, you might find them PullingThemselvesTogether. In this scenario, it's likely the only option is to KillItWithFire.

Subtrope of DecapitationRequired. Sister trope to BoomHeadshot and AttackItsWeakPoint but distinct from them; BoomHeadshot is when a headshot is the most ''efficient'' way to kill something, whereas this trope is where BoomHeadshot is the ''only'' way to kill something, period. Related to the ChunkySalsaRule.

The ubiquitous "gotta shoot 'em in the head" scenario. For many different reasons, TheUndead throughout fiction are vulnerable only to BoomHeadshot. Kinda like how ([[OurVampiresAreDifferent many]]) vampires are only vulnerable to getting stabbed in the heart. Fortunately, removal of the head also works on people who are not a member of the walking dead, so you don't have to worry about it going out of fashion as a killing method. This may have a somewhat scientific basis: first, [[YouCantKillWhatsAlreadyDead a zombie would have a lowered to nonexistent pain response, and would most likely not stop attacking until its nervous system has been effectively severed]] — since it is ''dead'', pettier issues like "missing organs" or "blood loss" won't be as effective as they would be on the living. Second, mindless though they may seem, zombies logically have to still need brains to command to their muscles to walk, to analyze what their eyes send them and thus know that there is a human to be eaten in front of them, etcetera.

This trope is a consequence of a CranialProcessingUnit. Accepting this rule is often a part of suspension of disbelief. If it doesn't work this way, and every part of the zombie can work independently of one another, you might find them PullingThemselvesTogether. In this scenario it's likely the only option is to KillItWithFire.

* In ''Manga/MermaidSaga'', some people who eat mermaid flesh turn into [[BodyHorror zombie-like monsters]] and some become immortal. In either case though, the only way to permanently kill them is to decapitate them.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The only surefire way of ending a Noumu (an Artifical Human with multiple quirks), is to do this. Most of them have really strong healing powers that make damaging or even cutting off parts of their bodies minor incoveniences to them. [[spoiler:In the High-End Noumus case, which are the most powerful of the Noumus, the head needs to be destroyed, because even if they are decapitated, the head can create a new body.]]

* In an ''ComicBook/XMen'' storyline, it's revealed that Professor X had a set of "worst case scenario" protocols to take down any member of the X-Men should they [[FaceHeelTurn go rogue]]. The protocol for ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is to use a long-range attack to decapitate him, then separate his head and body to ensure he can't just heal back up. [[spoiler:Years later Wolverine kills his arch-rival Sabretooth, who also has regenerative powers, by cutting off his head.]]

* ''ComicBook/SimonDark'': Averted. While there are several flavors of undead in the comic Simon and his "brothers" fit the pop culture zombie concept the closest and are, at most, midly incovienced by decapitation or being shot or sabbed through the head. Their hearts seem to be more important as the only one of their number to die gets ripped in half and his heart removed.
* In the chilean comic ''Zombies en la Moneda'' this is the only effective way to eliminate the undead.

* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TimeAndAgain'' Naruto fights a rogue ninja with incredible regenerative powers. He's able to take him out of action by cutting off his head, but is savvy enough to watch it for a few minutes afterwards and sees the flesh of the neck wriggling as it begins to try and grow a new body, so he pulverizes the brain, which finally kills his opponent once and for all.

* ''Literature/Area51'': This turns out to be the only way the Airlia can be killed, since their technology heals anything else.

* The ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "Epidemiology" has an outbreak of zombies. Chang shouts "You have to destroy the brain!" after [[spoiler: Rich and Britta]] turn into zombies while in their safe area. Unfortunately, his attempts to follow his own advice directly lead to a broken window (breeching their own defenses) and allowing the zombies to grab and infect [[spoiler: Annie.]]

* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', it's the only way to kill someone with [[HealingFactor Rapid Cell Regeneration]], unless you can DePower them. If impaled through the brain, they'll stay dead until the impaling object is removed and shooting them through the head kills them permanently.

* In ''Series/AlteredCarbon'', nearly everyone has their memories and personality stored in a [[BodyBackupDrive stack]] in the back of their neck and can be transferred into a new body after death as long as the stack isn't damaged. Though the super rich have their memories beamed up to a satellite every 48 hours.

** Averted in the first three editions, where undead (including zombies) are immune to the bonus damage from {{Critical Hit}}s, since they are sustained by supernatural forces and don't rely on any particular body parts to function. This even applies if they suffer [[OffWithHisHead automatic decapitation]] from a Vorpal Blade.

** This actually gets subverted in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 5]]''. The "zombies" of the game, the Ganados/Majini can often be stunned by shooting them in the head, but doing so brings risks. Namely, destroying their heads may release difficult to kill Las Plaga, some of which can [[OneHitKill kill the hero in one hit]][[note]]Although Plagas will still erupt from their neck even if you don't shoot them in the head, so long as your guns or knife are what "killed" the regular enemy[[/note]]. The best option is to shoot them in the body, legs or head once to stun them, then use melee attacks.

** Subverted with most of the Necromorphs: a headshot alone will not kill one unless you've cut off at least one other limb, and on harder difficulties, not even then. One of the gameplay features is called "strategic dismemberment", where removing or destroying certain parts has different consequences, depending on the Necromorph. For all intents and purposes the head counts as another limb you can dismember, and it has an effect: the monster will lose all sight and attack blindly.

** Ghouls in the series are humans mutated by radiation to merely ''look'' like zombies (though many of them are "feral" and act the part as well). Though FantasticRacism has perpetuated a rumor that they need to be killed with headshots, they die just fine from anything that would kill a human. One ghoul in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' hires you to kill some specific people he says are racist against ghouls, and will pay you extra if you give them a KarmicDeath by headshot. [[spoiler:Except only one of them is actually racist, the others just have keys to a treasure that he wants. If you discover this and tell him he'll admit he was lying and that he just wants the keys, but he still wants the one actual racist dead]].

** Subverted in the second and third games' multiplayer modes. Zombie characters have the unique ability to continue fighting without their heads if they still have health remaining, and lose their head after a single headshot from any weapon. Headshotting a zombie character with a low powered weapon on multiplayer can make them ''tougher'' to kill.

* In ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'' the only sure way to kill [[BodyHorror troll, beast or giant]] is to destroy it's brain. Then again, ViralTransformation makes it problematic to say ''where'' the brain is, and giants are [[BodyOfBodies Bodies Of Bodies]]...

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', when Roy decapitates an undead dragon. Xykon points out that he controls it with his mind and it doesn't need eyes, ears or a brain to follow his commands. In fact, the main thing Xykon is annoyed by is that the dragon no longer has teeth to bite with.

* Invoked in ''{{Literature/Tasakeru}}''. During a fight with a MadeOfIron [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Revenant]], Commander Nadeshiko wonders how invincible he'll be with a split skull. [[spoiler: She doesn't get a chance to find out.]]

This trope is a consequence of a CranialProcessingUnit. Accepting this rule is often a part of suspension of disbelief. If it doesn't work this way, and every part of the zombie can work independently of one another, you might find them PullingThemselvesTogether.

This trope is a consequence of a CranialProcessingUnit. Accepting this rule is often a part of suspension of disbelief.

* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'', an Uruk Nemesis has a chance to "cheat death" and come back to torment you unless you decapitate them (and decapitation is the ''only'' way to make sure a Nemesis with the title "the Unkillable" stays dead). In the sequel ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', even this might not stop them, as they can come back as Frankenstein's monster-like beasts with their heads stitched back on, or as the undead.

* Touted by some humans in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' on how to kill ghouls ("zombie" being used as a slur for ghouls), even though they die from normal damage just like any other creature would. One particular ghoul wants you to kill certain anti-ghoul humans, and will pay you more for killing them with a head shot.

* In the ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC ''Dead Money'', the Ghost People do not die unless one limb is destroyed; it doesn't have to be the head, though it's undeniably convenient. If not killed in this manner, they just revive with full health within a minute. Fortunately, you can still amputate during this period. If you have the super-mutant Dog with you, he can eat them instead, which is also a permanent death, and can teach you to kill them without needing to take a limb. Amusingly, the "Bloody Mess" perk, which greatly increases the chance of LudicrousGibs and is usually just a cosmetic effect (aside from a small damage boost), becomes ''highly'' useful in ''Dead Money'' since its triggering will put down a Ghost Person permanently.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd''. Judge Anderson actually tries this on Judge Death as he's holding a woman and her baby hostage, but it barely even fazes him. Judge training doesn't really help if your perp is a talking corpse.