History Main / TheyWouldCutYouUp

* In a very meta episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' (1980's) several of the characters wind up on a planet inhabited by [[YouFailBiologyForever giant humanoids, to whom the Autobots are the size of]] [[MerchandiseDriven toys]]. When a scientist gets hold of them, they do indeed try to dissect them. One might wonder how [[MechaMooks being tiny and mechanical]] plays into the decision.

** Specifically, the MadScientist wants to graft Pluto's head onto a hen's body and then breed the result with a normal rooster to see if whatever hatches from the egg will cackle, crow, or bark. Talk about YouFailBiologyForever...

* Referenced in ''{{Watch My Chops}}'', when Corneil said to Bernie that he did not want anyone to know his secret for fear of being a laboratory specimen because he can talk.

* Nedzu from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is a very rare example of a non-human animal with a Quirk, which led to him being experimented on when he was first discovered. Eventually he was freed, though, and despite the abuse he suffered, he decided to become a hero with his SuperIntelligence, eventually becoming the principal of [[AcademyOfAdventure UA High]]. His glee when given a socially acceptable opportunity to make humans squirm serves as a sign of how traumatic the experiments were for him, though.

* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Last Supper", an immortal woman finds this out the hard way when she's discovered by the US government and experimented on. Thankfully, she's rescued by a military guard who can't stand to see it happen, but the scientist who conducted the experiment finds out years later she's still alive and wants to finish his work...

* The plot of ''Film/{{Paul}}'' kicks off when the government decides he's [[OutlivedYourUsefulness Outlived His Usefulness]] and are going to dissect him so Paul escapes from [[Area51]] to reunite with his mothership.

** In the ''Film/{{Bumblebee}}'' prequel, Charlie tells him this will happen if he's caught outside of his car form. Luckily, this is a BriadStrokes prequel where [[spoiler:the Sector 7 agent let's Bumblebee go for saving his life.]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Literature/{{Unwind}}. Literally. And to make this worse this process is legal and organized by the government.

* This is the reason the Diffy family in ''Series/PhilOfTheFuture'' try to hide the fact that they come from the year 2121. Mind you, they're bog-standard ''homo sapiens'', so this is a flimsy excuse. This is pointed out in-universe by Mrs. Diffy, who reminds her husband that one of two tests would be performed on aliens "and one of them was a personality quiz". In fact, in a speculative episode where the secret ''does'' get out, it doesn't happen.
* In ''Series/PushingDaisies,'' this is why Ned doesn't want anybody to know that he can bring people BackFromTheDead. Given Ned's neurotic personality, it's not really surprising that he would think this.
** Besides which, if anybody found out how his powers worked, he'd be arrested for murder for reviving Chuck when he knew that it would result in an [[EquivalentExchange innocent person dying.]]
** This show is a good example of this trope done right. For Ned, who really has no idea why he can do what he can do and who's had no guidance whatsoever on how to deal with it (meaning for most of his life he had no outside feedback to help keep him grounded), and who has numerous issues with abandonment, emotional intimacy, and social anxiety on top of that, this fear is a logical extension of his character and life story, rather than merely being a nebulous threat meant to justify TheMasquerade.
* In a less extreme example, the main character of ''Series/KyleXY'' keeps his abilities a secret because he wants to live a normal life, rather than spending all his days being tested by scientists.
* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', HRG tells Claire that this is what the company would do to her if they found her, presumably in order to test her regenerative properties.
** In other words, it'd be [[GoodThingYouCanHeal no different from her day-to-day life]], and at least it'd be ForScience rather than for kicks as is usually the case with the poster child for masochistic self-mutilation.
** Also, while not exactly cut up, Elle was treated to some rather unpleasant tests to figure out how powerful she was as part of her BackStory.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Crichton thinks he's returned to Earth. It's a world constructed from his memories, and when the aliens running the show introduce a copy/clone of Rygel dead on a dissection table, it's implied this is what Crichton subconsciously expects to happen. And he's a ''military scientist!''
** Ironically, when the crew actually does arrive on Earth, they're all treated as honored dignitaries and celebrities. Moya arrived at Earth several weeks before Crichton did (note that Crichton's father and several other humans were already aboard when Crichton steps out) so the aliens actually managed to do fine by themselves.
** In the first case, Crichton also angrily points out the hypocrisy of sending out invitation to alien life to come and visit only to murder and vivisect them when they do. Of course, he fails to realize that people who send out these invitations are different from the people who will be dealing with hypothetical alien visitors, who will likely have a "kill them before they kill us" mentality.

* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''. Sarah thinks that if UNIT ever found out about Luke, they'd consider him a threat and lock him up. She's not keen on them knowing about alien supercomputer Mr Smith, either.
* Inverted, with humans 'cut up' by non-humans, in ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959''.
* In ''Series/TheSecretWorldOfAlexMack'', this is one reason that Alex keeps her powers secret. Since the chemical plant really ''does'' want to cut her up and/or kill her lest the knowledge of the chemical's danger get out, her fears are somewhat justified. In the last episode, they do finally catch her, but rather than cut her up, they leave her to die in an exploding chemical plant. Danielle Atron also rubs this trope in Alex's face in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmu1nuyhJkg the last episode]].
** This was somewhat subverted in regards to her parents. When they discovered her powers in the same episode (due to her confessing after said parents were left for dead in the exploding plant as well), they were quite understandably offended by Alex's belief that they would turn her in.
* At the beginning of ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', Kira suggests they go to the authorities about their new superpowers and the {{Mooks}} that attacked them. HollywoodNerd Ethan argues that in movies, people with powers tend to end up in a lab with wires in their head, and JerkJock Conner agrees that even ''he'''s GenreSavvy about that part.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' ("The Measure of a Man"). A Federation cyberneticist, Bruce Maddox, wants to disassemble the android Data for study, and Captain Picard has to legally establish that he has [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman the right to refuse to undergo the procedure]].
** Which brings up some nasty FridgeLogic about the fact that Data had already been admitted to Starfleet Academy, been granted a commission and rank as an officer, and even decorated with medals for valor in the line of duty; none of which would or could apply to a piece of property rather than a legal recognized individual. The scientist's argument is essentially just "ignore that stuff because it would be cool if I could figure out how to make lots of new androids that we can treat like disposable slaves".
** Given that Data is called to testify in his own trial, the whole thing seems moot. After all, if he wasn't an individual, he'd have been "submitted into evidence" (like a video recorder) instead.
** The truly interesting twist on this one is that even Data himself is intrigued by Maddox's theories and ideas -- he was mainly concerned that Maddox wouldn't be able to put him back together when he was done, and was open to the idea if the risk could be reduced sufficiently. He actually makes an overture of friendship toward Maddox at the end of the episode; a later episode was all about a day in Data's life in which he mastered tap dancing and learned the basics of ballroom dancing and tried to comprehend the dynamics behind the events of Miles O'Brien's marriage to Keiko, narrated in a letter to...Maddox. Who is still continuing his research, with Data's full support.
* Clark's secret is kept for this reason in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' and it's also mentioned in ''Series/LoisAndClark''. How would they [[NighInvulnerability cut him up?]] [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere Kryptonite knives.]]
** In a ''Series/LoisAndClark'' episode, Lois travels to an AlternateUniverse where Clark never became Superman due to his adoptive parents dying when he was little. His fiancée keeps berating him using this trope as a warning whenever he covertly uses his powers to save people. This world has also [[CrapsackWorld gone to hell]] after the arrival of Tempus, who gets himself elected President and removes all gun regulations. Cue the chaos. Fortunately, Lois fixes the situation by making Clark a suit identical to her Clark's.
** In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', "Memoria", Clark is captured and experimented on because the scientists have the blind luck of messing with kryptonite liquid at the time. In "Ryan", Ryan is also sent to the same research facility. In "Freak", ComicBook/LexLuthor captures [[spoiler:Chloe]] and [[KickTheDog has his team experiment]] [[MoralEventHorizon on her in his secret lab.]]
* The aliens of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' lived in constant fear of this and it was brought up whenever they thought they might be found out. Subverted in that, despite their fears, the idea of them being aliens never occurred to anyone other than [[SpecialGuest Kathy Bates]] and her character was portrayed as insane. This is despite their occasional SuspiciouslySpecificDenial to being aliens.
* In the first season of ''Series/{{Roswell}}'', the FBI is pursuing the aliens, presumably to do sinister experiments on them. In the episode ''The White Room'', [[spoiler:Max is captured, and narrowly escapes vivisection after being tortured. Though Pierce, the head of the Special Unit, was after information, not scientific knowledge.]]
* What Wolfram & Hart want to do with Connor in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Given that the main thing that separates him from the many people with superpowers in the world is that he's a focus of prophecy (presumably ones that will be defunct if they kill him) it seems a bit of a waste.

* In an unusual twist, the Tam family in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' presumably laughed off this possibility, if it even occurred to them at all, when the government expressed interest in their 'gifted' daughter, River. Disaster [[BreakTheCutie ensued]], and her brother Simon had to sacrifice his medical career to get her away from the scientists post-cutting up and take her on the lam to prevent it from happening again.
* Sort of the catalyst for the whole series in ''Series/RedDwarf''. In the first episode, the Captain tells Lister his cat will be cut up and have tests run on it, prompting the response, "Would you put it back together when you were done?"
-->'''Hollister''': Lister, the cat would be dead.\\
'''Lister''': Well, [[WithDueRespect with respect]], sir, what's in it for the cat?
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': This trope is why Rose didn't call a doctor for the Doctor in "The Christmas Invasion".
** Quite justifiable, considering what happened to the Seventh Doctor the last time a medical "professional" got a hold of him, during the TV Movie. "Wow, this man has a double heart beat! Let's ignore that bullet wound and poke his arteries with our scalpels and see what happens!" [[spoiler: He promptly dies.]]
** Especially since Henry van Staten does it to him in "Dalek" in an earlier season.
** And then Torchwood get their hands on him. [[spoiler:And promptly avert things; the squad with trained guns ''lower'' them and applaud, and while he's captive he's told he'd be kept comfortable, and is in no way actually restricted. The Doctor proceeds to ... act civilised (aside from breaking a window to make a point).]]
** This happens to a human captured by Silurians in "The Hungry Earth". Alive, and without anesthetics.
** When short-lived companion Adam has future technology installed ''in his head'' in an attempt to set up a TimelineAlteringMacGuffin situation, the Doctor drops his useless ass back on earth and tells him that now he has to live quietly, less this happen to him. Which isn't going to be easy, since now his skull opens up every time someone snaps their fingers in his vicinity.

* Series/H2OJustAddWater: The mermaids fear this will happened to them if their secret is known, but they hide the secret even from their families, who presumably wouldn't cut them up. On one occasion, a scientist does find out and try to experiment on them against their will.
* Henry from ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'' is captured by [[NebulousEvilOrganisation the Cabal]], who attempt to turn him into a werewolf permanently, kill him and study him -- all in the name of science, of course. He's even promised it'll be a noble end for him.
* In ''Series/BeingHumanUK'', the group encounters a zombified girl (who is in total denial of her status and appearance as a rotting corpse). When they go looking into her origins at the hospital they find evidence of several other living dead individuals who met this fate at the hands of doctors and scientists trying to discover what made them tick. The video they find even includes the final disposal of the still aware remains of these individuals (by cremation).
* Series/TheInvisibleMan: One of the episodes features a plot by the Chinese to get the quicksilver gland. Darien ends up getting his head drilled into so they can drain the quicksilver.
* In ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', Zack invokes this trope after convincing Woody that a rat bite has mutated him.
* In ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'' episode "Last Supper", an immortal woman finds this out the hard way when she's discovered by the US government and experimented on. Thankfully, she's rescued by a military guard who can't stand to see it happen, but the scientist who conducted the experiment finds out years later she's still alive and wants to finish his work...
* ''Series/{{Misfits}}'' averts this entirely, revealing their super powers to the general public seems only to result in mass media fame, with a notable lack of scary scientist dissections.
* ''Series/TorchwoodMiracleDay'': An extremely disturbing example occurs when Jack's immortality is discovered by a family of butchers in the 1920's. They repeatedly stab him to death in front of ever-growing crowds. Eventually, the whole crowd starts hacking away at him.

* In the second season of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', the Inhumans are in hiding because they fear this sort of response to their differences. Their leader Jiaying was vivisected by HYDRA and only survived due to her powers.

* Invoked in at least a few Literature/ChakonaSpace stories.

* Referenced and averted in ''Film/{{Hop}}''. Fred says that this would happen to E.B. if he just went around talking in public. This is immediately followed by E.B. complaining to their waitress about his order, and her [[NoBigDeal acting as if this is perfectly normal]].
* Referenced in ''{{Watch My Chops}}'', when Corneil said tp Bernie that he did not want anyone to know his secret for fear of being a laboratory specimen because he can talk.
-->'''Bernie''': Surprise! And I'm gonna play the cassette to John and Beth and then, hello, evening news!
-->'''Corneil''': Ah! And then, hello, animal research lab! Oh, Bernie! You can't!

* The ComicBook/{{Planetary}}/[[JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] crossover oneshot is set in an alternate reality where the Planetary organization controls the advancement of science and technology the world over. By the time of the story, they've ''already'' cut up [[ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen]] and Ray Palmer (the Atom) in order to create super-fast couriers and shrinking technology for ''Fantastic Voyage''-style medical procedures.

* A different example has {{Deadpool}} supporting character Montgomery at the mercy of a corporation that keeps him hooked up to machines, the better to utilize his precognition to their advantage.

* An issue of Comicbook/{{Hellblazer}} has John Constantine dealing with the ghost of a recently deceased Unit 731 scientist who participated in these kinds of experiments. In contrast to the experiments described below under Real Life that at least had purpose, the ghost relates all manner of ForTheEvulz stories about the pointless 'experiments' he and his colleagues had done. He even preempts the question of "why?" or "How would this help you win the war?" by explaining "You have to understand; we were insane." His last request is that he wants to die being vivisected by John using his rusty wartime surgical implements before moving on, not for absolution, but because he feels it would be appropriate.

* Agito, the short-tempered fire fairy from ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', can only remember being confined in a lab, which had left her almost completely broken, physically and mentally. According to her, she was only days away from death by exhaustion before being rescued.

Modern research works a lot less intrusively as sonography, [=MRIs=], and other medical imaging techniques have made hands-on vivisection less necessary for the internal examination of research subjects. Given sufficient funding and resources, there should be no reason for slicing off a limb just to see how it looks on the inside. The PlayingWithSyringes mentality of fictional "research" also happily ignores the fact that when you only have ''one'' specimen, it is a good idea to take care of it because once it stops working it'll be much harder to figure out how it used to. Of course, this is cold comfort to said specimen - it just means the torture will be of a greater duration, and would still result in them being locked away somewhere against their will. Just because they aren't cutting you up doesn't mean they ever intend to let you wander off (or that [[AndIMustScream you won't wish they were]]).

* Besides the fact that she will eventually die from [[PsychoSerum drug]] withdrawl, this is also why Shinn wants to send [[SuperSoldier Stella]] back to Earth Alliance Forces in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny''.

* ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretIdentity'' - [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] ''is'' captured and experimented on by shady military types, and only narrowly escapes. On his way out, he finds the bodies of other superhumans who weren't so lucky, some of them children. When he learns he's going to have kids of his own, he makes it clear that [[IfIWantedYouDead he could have taken the entire government apart]] a long time ago if he wanted to and is prepared to help them out on his own terms.

* Creator/MichaelCrichton's ''Literature/{{Next}}'' revolves around the ''RealLife'' legal precedents that could be [[LoopholeAbuse interpreted]] as this. Yeah, that's right; current biotech laws are vague enough that if a doctor harvests cells from you, not only can they sell them to researchers without compensating you, whoever buys those cells might own your "cell line" - AKA ''you and your children.'' ...At least if they have a skilled AmoralAttorney.

* In ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1'' the pan-dimensional beings [[spoiler:also known as mice]] try to obtain Arthur Dent's brain to perform experiments on ("Diced.") to find out the question of Life, the Universe and Everything.

* This is the reason the Diffy family in ''Series/PhilOfTheFuture'' try to hide the fact that they come from the year 2121. Mind you, they're bog-standard ''homo sapiens'', so this is a flimsy excuse. This is pointed out in-universe by Mrs.Diffy, who reminds her husband that one two tests were performed on aliens "and one of them was a personality quiz". In fact, in a speculative episode where the secret ''does'' get out, it doesn't happen.

** Ironically, when the crew actually does arrive on Earth, they're all treated as honored dignitaries and celebrities. Moya arrived at Earth several weeks before Crichton did (Note that Crichton's father and several other humans were already aboard when Crichton steps out) so the aliens actually managed to do fine by themselves.

* In ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'', the Cheiron Group is a MegaCorp which does just this - it captures supernatural creatures, figures out how their powers work, and then [[LegoGenetics cuts out bits and implants them into field agents so they can use those powers]]. This is one of the few times where the ''player'' is doing the cutting-and-utilizing.

** 2nd Ed introduces Insatiate Alchemists, humans who have learned of the Prometheans' status as walking alchemical reactors and decided to hunt them down in the name of working wonders. Mind you, the miracle ingredient for the Alchemists' works is the substance that naturally accrues as Prometheans [[ToBecomeHuman take steps towards completing their Pilgrimage]]... but they don't really seem to care. One anecdote describes an Alchemist who's made a killing on the "cash for gold" market - namely because he always seems to have a store of strangely organ-shaped ore...

* [[VideoGame/BlazBlue Sector Seven]] has the reoccuring issue of hiring lunatics to deal with scientific discoveries. In fact, everyone that was offically hired by Sector Seven that's major to the story has this at some point. Lambda-11 comes to mind, [[spoiler: but Relius gets a prize for using his own ''daughter and '''wife''''' as experiemnts.]]

* Historically, this trope has been the subject of some intense debate in medical fields. Significant advances in medical science have been made by examining the results of some horrifically unethical medical practices (the aforementioned Mengele freezing experiments being arguably the best known example) and there are plenty of health care professionals who feel uncomfortable building on knowledge that was obtained through what amounts to torture. After all, knowledge gained in such a manner could save thousands of lives and give the deaths of those experimented upon long-lasting meaning - but it also tacitly acknowledges that such torturous practices [[TheEndJustifiesTheMeans can be given a justification if the results are good enough]].

* Subverted and justified in Anime/DigimonTamers: the local [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]]'s leader Yamaki has an all-consuming hatred for Digimon, and really ''would'' cut them up. At one point, he sadistically destroys a Digimon on-screen over the mon's pleas for mercy. Takato worries about this for Guilmon and at one point imagines the army brutally gunning down his dinosaur buddy. [[spoiler:Yamaki eventually sees the error of his ways, at which point the Tamers stop caring about keeping their Digimon hidden.]]

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest''. Johnny doesn't want anyone to know that his dog Dukey can talk, because if they did they would ''[[FauxHorriffic make him a]]'' ''[[TrumanShowPlot reality tv show]]''! It makes sense, as there is no usual scientific data that could be gained from it that couldn't also be gained by, you know, just ''asking'' Susan and Mary, since they gave him all of those abilities. In one episode, the Network Executives are shown to scare even the axe-crazy Repto-Slicer.

* The Nazis, most infamously Mengele, whose "experiments" almost never produced any actual, useful scientific data (the main exception being the research on freezing injuries, which formed the basis of medical practice in that field for decades after the Nazi experiments ended), and didn't seem to have any purpose other than "how many more horrible things can we do?" [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Mengele's contemporaries were baffled.]]
* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Japanese Unit 731, headed by Shiro Ishiii, did this to Prisoners of War and Chinese civilians with their vivisection campaigns. They also tore babies out of pregnant women, threw prisoners into pressure chambers, tested how much damage bombs and various diseases did on the prisoners, and tried out poison gas, all without anesthesia or any medical treatment. Unlike Mengele, some doctors actually did produce some useful data such as the infection rates of malaria and created artificial blood, which led to the US military's biological and chemical weapons departments insisting on their freedom of ''all'' the doctors, including Ishii, in exchange for their findings. [[KarmaHoudini They got it, their medical qualifications meaning many also went on to become rich]].

* Very nearly carried out in the pilot episode of ''StreetSharks'', to the point in which the doctor has Slammu [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable tied down to an operating table]] and heavily sedated before the others escape and save him. They then try to perform the same "explorative surgery" on the doctor with what is essentially a chain saw before they have to escape.

Scientists will usually be portrayed as [[ForScience too obsessed to care]] for anyone or anything who might be used to further our knowledge of the universe or make a cool new weapon, caring only about the fame or payment they'll receive from their higher-ups. Only one bad scientist is enough to spoil your day, but in [[DarkerAndEdgier settings that use this trope]] the ''majority'' of encountered research workers are likely to be like this.

* This is pretty much the reason the Diffy family in ''Series/PhilOfTheFuture'' try to hide the fact that they come from the year 2121. Mind you, they're bog-standard ''homo sapiens'', so this is a flimsy excuse.

* Similarly to the ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone Twilight Zone]]'' example, the first humans to encounter the aliens in ''Literature/PandorasStar'' by Peter F. Hamilton are dissected. The sequence, told ''from the alien's point of view'', is pure horror even with death being (usually) a minor inconvenience in the Commonwealth.

* Inverted, with humans 'cut up' by non-humans, in ''TheTwilightZone''.

* In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2011]]'' ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''Good-Looking Corpse'', Kara Zor-El investigates an abandoned clandestine research facility and finds the bodies of several Kryptonians who have been experimented on.