History Main / SelfMutilationDemonstration

* ''Literature/TheCityOfBrass'': HalfBreedDiscrimination against ''shafit'' teaches that a Nahid who [[HealingHands magically heals one]] would [[DePower lose their powers]]. After an anti-''shafit'' pogrom, Nahri heals dozens on a busy street, then furiously slashes her arm open and heals the wound in full view of the public -- and the king who had abetted the violence.

** Claire (who used to be in the trope image) has been known to do this quite a few times. To prove to herself that she really can heal, Claire cuts off her own toe and watches her foot grow a new one to replace it. It was more to test how well she can heal, not that that makes it any less crazy.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'' liked to frequently remind viewers that while ''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, and then "crazy" Sam sliced open his own finger and starting dripping the blood all over the guy's face while continuing to babble on. As you can probably imagine, this ''completely'' freaked the guy out.

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', an Indian fakir, seeking an audience with a powerful sultan, impresses the palace guards by severing his own hand at the wrist (a wound which, naturally, doesn't bleed) and then reattaching the hand with no loss of function afterwards. Subverted slightly in that [[spoiler:although he's immensely powerful, the fakir isn't immortal: he ''does'' possess a fruit which grants immortality to whoever eats it, but he refuses to use the fruit for himself]].

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': "Contagion" features a man who ''thinks'' he can do this after walking through a plague zone and being unharmed. Turns out being immune to a disease does not translate into being immune from other harm.

* There is a scene where ComicBook/{{Spawn}} stabs himself in the chest to show Cogliostro how he can't die, even if he wants to.

* ''Series/MyHero'' has George shoving a wooden spoon through his ears at one point to show Janet's parents that he's (to quote him) "completely impervious to pain and injury". A second later, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome he realizes they've fainted.]]

* In ''Series/BloodTies'', Henry demonstrates his vampiric nature to Vicki by shoving a knife through his hand.

[[folder: FanWorks]]

* In ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers of Victory: Klarion'', Submissionary Judah smashes his fists against a book with iron pages in order to demonstrate his willingness to spill his own blood for his people.

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[[quoteright:334:[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator2_346pyxurz.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:334:"Now, listen to me ''very'' carefully..."]]

* An interesting variation is shown in an episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}''. Piper goes a little back in time and is trying to recruit her past self to help her. To prove that she's who she's saying, and not some doppleganger demon, she pinches Past!Piper really hard and then shows the bruise that appears on herself.

* In one ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', a recently freed Hork-Bajir is suspected of being controlled by a Yeerk (alien brain parasite). 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 appropriately 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.

* ''Series/MyHero'' has George shoving a wooden spoon through his ears at one point to show Janet's parents that he's (to quote him) "completely impervious to pain and injury". A second later, [[RealityEnsues he realizes they've fainted.]]

* [[ThoseTwoBadGuys Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar]] do this in ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'' via a knife to Vandemar's hand.

* An interesting variation is shown in an episode of ''{{Charmed}}''. Piper goes a little back in time and is trying to recruit her past self to help her. To prove that she's who she's saying, and not some doppleganger demon, she pinches Past!Piper really hard and then shows the bruise that appears on herself.

* Similarly in ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'', [[spoiler:Rin Nohara]] was brought BackFromTheDead, gaining Hashirama's Wood Release and many other capacities including regenerative healing. To prove it, she cuts off a finger, which immediately regrows with no trace of injury.

Sometimes, the empowered individual will ask someone to just HitMeDammit. This is either a stylistic variant of the same thing, or a character is using to mock {{Mook}}s by revealing that [[ShootingSuperman this is one thing they have in common with Superman]], particularly to justify hitting them back to much greater effect.

* In ''Film/MenInBlack'', K shoots Jeebs in the face mostly to unveil TheMasquerade to J.

* Steve Weatherby in ''Webcomic/CaptainStupendous'' does this by [[http://www.captainexcelsior.com/?id=51 stabbing himself in the throat]]

* After [[spoiler:draining Joseph Joestar's blood]], Dio Brando of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' decides it'd be fun to demonstrate to Jotaro just how invincible he now is by casually tearing at his own face and ramming his finger through his own skull while he taunts him. With his newfound power, the damage [[HealingFactor heals instantaneously]].

* Downplayed in an episode of ''{{Charmed}}''. Piper goes a little back in time and is trying to recruit her past self to help her. To prove that she's who she's saying, and not some doppleganger demon, she pinches Past!Piper really hard and then shows the bruise that appears on herself.

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', Jack Baker demonstrates how much of a threat he is by shooting himself in the head, blowing off half of his skull, just so he can later show off his head knitting itself together later on. In the ''Daughters'' DLC, he also stabs himself in the chest to reveal this HealingFactor.

* In ''Discworld/ThiefOfTime'', a yeti invites Lobsang and Lu-Tze to chop off his head in order to demonstrate the yetis' SaveScumming abilities.