History Main / ShapeshiftingHealsWounds

* This happens in ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'' as in ''Literaute/{{Animorphs}}'' canon, but characters are more aware of and willing to exploit it, doing things like starting to morph after being wounded and reversing the morph as soon as the injury is repaired.

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]

[[AC:Film - Animated]]

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

[[AC:Myth and Religion]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': A gargoyle turned to stone in sunlight will turn back at sunset with most of their wounds healed.

* Subverted in ''{{VideoGame/Starcraft}}'': Zerg structures are made by a Drone making a cocoon that morphs into the structure, so if the drone is damaged the structure will be as well. Similarly, Zerg creatures that undergo metamorphosis into other forms retain their partial HP.
** This is reversed in VideoGame/StarCraftII, with any Zerg unit which undergoes a successful transformation healing to full.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': After Ganondorf transforms into the monstrous boar Ganon, the scar on his humanoid body's chest is not only still visible but even bigger (running along the boar's entire underbelly), serving as the WeakPoint for Link to tear into once Ganon has been knocked prone.

** In #24, the Helmacrons are encountered for the first time (one of the smallest known species in the universe with inversely-proportional egos, whose ships can be mistaken for children's scifi toys). They steal the morphing cube and use it to power a ShrinkRay that brings the humans and Tobias down to their size (and morphing animals still keeps them at the reduced scale). The issue is resolved by acquiring a new source of DNA unaffected by the shrinking ray (that happens to be perfectly suited to overpowering flea-sized aliens: [[spoiler:an anteater]]).

*** In Megamorphs #2 Tobias' wing gets broken and isn't fixed after demorphing, while surrounded by hungry dinosaurs. It gets healed later [[spoiler:by the aliens who lived on Earth in the Cretaceous]], but no explanation is ever given for why it failed to work in the first place.

** [[GalacticConqueror Frieza]] is a villain with a number of OneWingedAngel forms, and as he successfully transform into the next form, the previous form's damage is healed, as shown when he loses part of his tail in his second form, but as soon as he transforms into the third, the tail has regrown.

** With her full powers [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood Charlie]] possessed this ability, after being shot and later having her {{Neck Snap}}ped she momentarily seemed dead before (seemingly automatically) taking another form without the injury. She outright states her abilities make her immortal, as every time she shifted form her clock got reset, to the point that its presently unclear what it would have taken to kill her (assuming she can actually die). Unfortunately due to John Constantine stripping her of powers (which only gradually come back) this no longer applies.

* ''Literature/TheTrojanCycle'': On returning from Troy, Menelaus is advised to seek the sea deity Proteus to learn what became of his brother Agammemnon. Proteus successively turns into different wild animals and even a tree, fire and water, but Menelaus keeps fighting until Proteus finally surrenders, telling him that his brother was murdered along with the unenviable fates of other Greek heroes.

** A variation occurs with the Nightbringer's transformation of the Necron Lord : while the Nightbringer takes no damage (being completely invulnerable), the Necron Lord's HP percentage is transferred over the Nightbringer's and the inverse is true as well when he reverts back to the Necron Lord. [[LifeDrain But any damage inflicted by the Nightbringer is transfered to its health]] and the Nightbringer didn't have a natural health regeneration.
** The Deceiver's transformation of the Necron Lord plays it straighter : while it shares the some of same properties (invulnerability and health percentage transfer in both ways) as the Nightbringer's, the Deceiver gradually regenerates health instead of regain it by attacking. This can be downplayed if the Necron Lord is equipped with the Phylactery upgrade which triples its regeneration (but not the Deceiver's), making it more effective than the Deceiver's transformation but vulnerable.

* Kamala Khan from ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'' has a limited healing factor which seems to be both connected to her morphing powers, because she can't use them while she's healing, and CastFromCalories, because she becomes utterly ravenous while healing. It hasn't come up much after introduction though, only referenced after saving her from a gunshot wound when she squees over working with Wolverine.

** Whenever Nate Heywood uses his [[ChromeChampion Steel] powers]], any injuries he sustained in human form will have healed when after he 'unsteels'.

* In ''Series/AgentsOfShield'', whenever Robbie Reyes turns into ComicBook/GhostRider, any injuries he sustained as a human disappear after he returns to normal. With the exception of one WoundThatWillNotHeal crack across his skull.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TwilightPrincess'': After Ganondorf transforms into the monstrous boar Ganon, the scar on his humanoid body's chest is not only still visible but even bigger (running along the boar's entire underbelly), serving as the WeakPoint for Link to tear into once Ganon has been knocked prone.

May be used to extend a ShapeshifterShowdown. Compare ShapeDiesShifterSurvives. Contrast WoundsToKeep.

May be used to extend a ShapeshifterShowdown. Compare ShapeDiesShifterSurvives.

* Tamago of the Big Mom Pirates from ''Anime/OnePiece'' can only transform into a new form when his previous one has been beaten, becoming progressively more like a giant rooster as he goes. Naturally, once he's taken on the new transformation, any injuries he's incurred from the previous one disappear.

** In #14, Cassie realizes the racehorses acquired by the team to infiltrate a herd of wild horses look too good compared to the scruffy and weather-worn real herd, and has the team roll around in bushes and dirt to better fit in. She notes that their thoroughbred morphs still look better than the wild horses.
** In #28, the team acquires cows to infiltrate a slaughterhouse. Unfortunately, Ax and Tobias both acquire a steer ([[GroinAttack a gelded male cow]]), so when they morph at the same time Cassie now has to deal with two very large, very territorial, very aggressive ''bulls'' staring each other down and getting ready to fight.

*** In Megamorphs #3, Tobias' wing gets broken and isn't fixed after demorphing, while surrounded by hungry dinosaurs. It gets healed later [[spoiler:by the aliens who lived on Earth in the Cretaceous]], but no explanation is ever given for why it failed to work in the first place.

** The auxiliary Animorphs were recruited thanks to this, by offering the morphing power to severely wounded or paralyzed teens who couldn't be restored via surgery. Some of them still couldn't be healed by the morphing process, but being able to spend up to two hours as an animal that moves more gracefully than any human ever could (or able to communicate via thought-speak) is a good enough substitute.

*** In #41 (one of the bigger {{Bizarro Episode}}s in the series), Jake is propelled into a BadFuture where Rachel is reduced to a wheelchair-bound wreck. The morphing technology failing to fix her also goes unexplained.
*** In #40, two Andalites are found living on Earth, but both of them have disabilities that can't be fixed by morphing: one has a genetic disease that's part of his Andalite body and so returns whenever he demorphs (essentially Andalite AIDS), the other lost his tail and can't grow it back via morphing, which makes him a pariah among Andalites (as seen by Ax's disgusted reaction, calling him a "vecol").

* Subverted in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'': Angua changes to her wolf form to save Cheri from falling into a vat of molten wax. Unfortunately, Cheri was wearing her silver chainmail vest (she'd heard there was a werewolf in the Watch, [[DramaticIrony not once picking up]] that she confiding her fears ''to'' the werewolf), causing burns to her cheeks and gums that are still visible when she turns back to human.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Newman}}'', the titular character gets one of his legs blasted off when while pushing is friends out of the way of a monster's energy blast. He looks done for as he's bleeding out and goes into shock...until his werewolf transformation (which he got in an earlier story arc) triggers and saves him. When he comes out of it after everything is said and done, his leg is shown to have regenerated.

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'': Black Belt ends up TakenForGranite early on and gets the top of his head sheared off after landing upside-down in a pool of Mountain Dew for a long time. RealityEnsues [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2005/11/10/episode-622-now-shut-up/ once the petrification effect is reversed]], and he quickly empties himself of blood.

** The Necron Lord can temporarily transform into a manifestation of the C'tan god known as the Nightbringer. While the Nightbringer automatically has full HP (and takes no damage anyway), the Necron Lord's HP doesn't get reset to full once the transformation is ended.

* Inverted with the Lizard (a ComicBook/SpiderMan villain), a biologist who lost his arm and experimented with lizard DNA (since lizards can grow back their tails). He regained his arm, but soon transformed into a LizardMan with an evil personality.

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': The fact that morphing heals all wounds is mentioned OnceAnEpisode and is crucial to the team's continued survival, having recovered from horrific wounds up to and including limb loss. It is, however, very tiring.

* ''Myth/TheTrojanWar'': On returning from Troy, Menelaus is advised to seek the sea deity Proteus to learn what became of his brother Agammemnon. Proteus successively turns into different wild animals and even a tree, fire and water, but Menelaus keeps fighting until Proteus finally surrenders, telling him that his brother was murdered along with the unenviable fates of other Greek heroes.