History Main / SelfMutilationDemonstration

Compare MachoMasochism, which is more about harming yourself just to demonstrate how tough you are, without the regeneration powers to back it up. Contrast ImpostorExposingTest, which may use a similar action to prove that the character ''isn't'' anything special. See also ImmortalLifeIsCheap, which can occasionally be used by other characters to nonchalantly display another's immortality by hurting them severely.

* ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel''. Elijah Baley accuses his [[AndroidsAndDetectives android partner]] R. Daneel Olivaw of being a human just pretending to be a robot. After patiently listening to Elijah [[TheSummation spell out the evidence of why he's human]], Daneel deactivates the magnetic seal on his arm, causing the artificial flesh to fall off and reveal the machinery underneath. Elijah promptly goes into shock.

* Daisy did this once in an episode of ''Series/DeadLikeMe''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', a young Queen Moon confronts BigBad Toffee and his army of lizards. To show her that they are indestructible, one lizard bites off another's arm, which then regenerates. The second lizard then uses his new arm to high-five his old arm. It's rendered a bit unneccessary, however, as Moon already knew about their healing powers, and tried to tell them as much, but to no avail.

* Freddy Krueger does this a few times in the ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' series, mostly just to horrify his victims. In [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 the first film]], for example, he says "Watch this!" before cutting his own fingers off, causing a strange green liquid to squirt from them. Later, he answer's Nancy's "What are you?" by cutting into his own chest, revealing more green pus and what looks like maggots under his skin. In [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge the second movie]], he emphasizes his "You've got the body, I've got the brain" line by peeling back the skin on his own skull. In [[Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare the sixth]], he cuts off his fingers (again) while counting the ways people have tried and failed to put him down for good.

* It's not done to show immortality, so it might not count, but in one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', a recently freed Hork-Bajir is suspected of being controlled by a Yeerk (parasitic alien brain-living slug). His response is to ram his arm blades into his skull and [[CrazyAwesome pull his head apart]] to show his own Yeerk-free brain. Those observing, Tobias, Ax, Marco, and Jake, are all approriately horrified and disgusted. Tobias, the narrator of that particular book, points out "it's not like it didn't hurt him, either. I could see the pain on his face." He has a HealingFactor, but it doesn't make it any less awesome.

* ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'' has [[[[BigBad Salem]] - BarredFromTheAfterlife through CompleteImmortality - ]] set out to demonstrate her power by traveling the land, challenging the strongest warriors to cut her down and walking away unscathed. [[spoiler:She uses the demonstrations, together with the false claim that she ''stole'' immortality from the gods, to entice the kingdoms of humanity into joining her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens rebellion against the gods.]]]]

* ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'' has [[[[BigBad Salem]] - BarredFromTheAfterlife through CompleteImmortality -]] set out to demonstrate her power by traveling the land, challenging the strongest warriors to cut her down and walking away unscathed. [[spoiler:She uses the demonstrations, together with the false claim that she ''stole'' immortality from the gods, to entice the kingdoms of humanity into joining her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens rebellion against the gods.]]]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'', a young Queen Moon confronts BigBad Toffee and his army of lizards. To show her that they are indestructible, one lizard bites off another's arm, which then regenerates. The second lizard then uses his new arm to high-five his old arm.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator2_346pyxurz.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Now, listen to me ''very'' carefully..."]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Come on, [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger Arnie]], we already know you're MadeOfIron.]]

* Midori in Ninja Tail demonstrates her HealingFactor abilities by having Deidara blow off her hand with one of his bombs and simply regenerating from it when asked why she was partnered with him.

* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' has John Connor order the T-800 to show Dyson he really is a robot. The T-800 peels off the skin and muscle of his arm, only to look at the exposed endoskeleton dispassionately.

* It's not done to show immortality, so it might not count, but in one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', a recently freed Hork-Bajir is suspected of being controlled by a Yeerk (parasitic alien brain-living slug). His response is to ram his arm blades into his skull and [[CrazyAwesome pull his head apart]] to show his own Yeerk-free brain. Tobias, the narrator of that particular book, points out "it's not like it didn't hurt him, either. I could see the pain on his face." He has a HealingFactor, but it doesn't make it any less awesome.

'''Stan:''' Kenny, no!\\

* In ''Literature/InterviewWithAVampire'' Louis remembers when learning about his new attributes, he jammed a dagger in his arm, and before he could pull it out, the body had healed itself around the dagger.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'' liked to frequently remind viewers that ''physical'' torture [[TortureIsIneffective simply doesn't work]], mind games, on the other hand, are sometimes risky but can work wonders. One of their interrogations involved Sam convincing the guy he was talking to that Sam was a crazy sadist by having Sam pretend to get all worked up about how he was going to use the giant knife in his hand on the guy being interrogated, until Sam sliced open his own finger and starting dripping the blood all over the guy's face. As you can probably imagine, this completely freaked the guy out.

* The title character of the ''Literature/MediochreQSethSeries'', while technically not ''immortal'' and also susceptible to pain, demonstrates his HealingFactor to some villains * In the first book to prove that they will probably not win in a fight and should just back down. He opts to ''blow off his own finger'' and watch it regrow.