Line #72 Main/DuelingScar


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6	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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11	[[quoteright:290:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duelingscars.jpg]]]]
12	[[caption-width-right:290: Dual duel scars!]]
13	->''"Give it up, Me-Mow! You're only making my face look cooler!"''
14	-->-- '''Finn''', ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''
15
16	Originally a Dueling Scar was a scar on the face, usually on the left cheek, resulting from being cut by a sword in a duel. They're part of the stock uniform for a sinister Nazi or obsessive, pickelhaube-wearing Prussian and have become a fairly common accessory for any sinister military man regardless of origin.
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18	These scars resulted from a peculiar tradition widespread amongst [[UsefulNotes/TheStudentenverbindung Studentenverbindungen]], euphemistically called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_fencing Academic Fencing]]--which is still practiced--mostly in the university towns of Germany, but also in Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Flanders. In Germany, the weapon is known as a ''Schläger'', also known as the [[FanNickname "soup-plate of honour"]] due to the large size of the hand guard.
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20	In one of these bouts (called a ''Mensur''), two students stand a fixed distance from one another wearing armor that covers everything but their cheeks, forehead, and lips and attempt to slash at the exposed skin of their opponent. There are no points, you lose by flinching or dodging and win by getting sliced in the face. The scar that results is the goal of this practice, the bigger the better! Students would even go so far as to [[WorstAid badly sew the edges together]] or even [[{{Squick}} sew horsehairs into the wound]] to ensure a big, visible scar. The resulting scar is a ''Schmiss'' or Dueling Scar. Until UsefulNotes/WorldWarII this was seen locally as a [[GoodScarsEvilScars Good Scar]] as it showed that the wearer was educated and brave. In modern practice, these scars are seen more as a sign of poor performance than a sign of manliness, as the goal of a Mensur is to parry each incoming hit, and more often than not, a bout ends after a certain number of rounds without anyone having incurred a scar.
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22	If that's all there was to it this wouldn't be a trope, it would be mentioned in [[UsefulNotes/{{Germany}} Useful Notes—Germany]] and that would be the last of it. However, a number of Nazi officers had dueling scars and after the war, no serious villainous ''movie'' Nazi -- especially a NaziNobleman -- would be seen without one.[[note]]Although in point of fact, the Nazis didn't really approve of ''Mensur'' duels and the practice was officially discouraged under the Third Reich.[[/note]] From there the dueling scar became a standard adornment any time casting wanted a quick way to tell the audience that this character was a military man and serious about it, even if the character was not from a country that practiced academic fencing, even if they weren't from Earth at all.
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24	To qualify for this trope, the scar needs to be on the face and used to make a character look more militarized and badass. The scar need not necessarily be from a sword or an actual duel, although writers should get extra credit if they know the origin of the trope.
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26	Subtrope of RuggedScar.
27	----
28	!!Examples:
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30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
33	* Guen Ban Chon from ''Manga/Area88'' has several on both sides of his face.
34	* The female version of Prussia in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' has just such a scar. And since she's [[BloodKnight Prussia]], of course she's a badass. And, you know, German.
35	* ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaAkiraHimekawa'': In the adaptation of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'', Link gives one of these to a JerkJock by cutting him just under the left eye.
36	* In the ''Anime/{{Leijiverse}}'', both Manga/CaptainHarlock and his long-time ally Emeraldas have left-cheek scars that are supposed to suggest this, though they are apparently genetic (Matsumoto's heroes are so badass, they come out of the womb with dueling scars). The origins of Harlock's scar are never discussed, but Emeraldas subverts or plays this trope straight, depending on the particular installment: in ''Arcadia of My Youth'', she is shot in the face by a member of the alien occupation force, but in [[Manga/QueenEmeraldas her own series]], she had received it while dueling Goddess Siren.
37	* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': Char gets one between his eyebrows courtesy of Amuro stabbing through his helmet during their sword fight inside A Baoa Qu. He retains it in his [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam subsequent]] [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack appearances]].
38	* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Shanks' scar across his left eye - which consists of 3 parallel lines - was done to him by Marshall D. Teach, back when the latter was one of Whitebeard's pirate crewmen. To be specific, he wielded WolverineClaws back then.
39	* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Kenshin got half of his iconic scar in a "duel" to the death (it was really more of a CurbStompBattle, but the man who gave him the scar had such a will to live that he managed to leave his mark).
40	* The already [[AxCrazy Batshit Crazy]] Dilandau gets one from Van in one of the earlier episodes of ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne''. It only serves to make him [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge even more crazy and dangerous]].
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Comic Books]]
44	* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, NaziNobleman and senior member of HYDRA Baron Wolfgang von Strucker has a massive one covering quite a bit of his head.
45	* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': Captain Marvel, Jr.'s archenemy Captain Nazi bears one such scar marring his otherwise handsome face. He's bitter about it because he's supposed to represent the Aryan ideal but he has an obvious flaw.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Fan Works]]
49	* "Fanfic/AenrhienVailiuri": When describing the ''Bloodwing'''s executive officer Sarsachen tr'Sauringar, the narration says that he was challenged to a duel by another Romulan Republic officer who took exception to Sarsachen having served in the Federation Starfleet for fifteen years (he has a dual commission). Sarsachen came away needing stitches on his face and has a scar under his eye; the other guy apparently spent a week in the hospital.
50	* A fencing accident is Jacques' and Weiss' [[CutHimselfShaving excuse]] for Weiss' eye scar in ''Fanfic/RWBYScars''. In actuality, it was [[spoiler:[[SelfHarm self-inflicted]] with a razor blade]].
51	[[/folder]]
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53	[[folder:Film]]
54	* ''Film/BuddhasPalm'': The Hero, Long Jian-fei, gains a scar on his cheek after being bested in a duel in the opening.
55	* Theodor Kretschmar-Schuldorff from ''Film/TheLifeAndDeathOfColonelBlimp''
56	* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'': Inigo Montoya has two scars down his cheeks, which is understandable, given his career as a swordfighter. They are later revealed to be a [[MarkOfShame humiliation]] inflicted upon him at the age of eleven after the first time he tried to avenge his father's murder by Count Rugen.
57	* ''Franchise/StarWars'' has a couple of examples.
58	** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin has a scar beside his right eye which is unexplained but is meant to hint that he [[WarIsHell hasn't been unscathed]] from three years of fighting in the Clone Wars. (A ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'' work showed that he got it in a duel with Count Dooku's apprentice, Asajj Ventress.)
59	** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Kylo Ren (Anakin's grandson) gets slashed across the face in a duel with Rey, leaving him with a similar-looking scar.
60	* ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'': The Creator/DonaldPleasence version of Blofeld has a dueling scar. Blofeld grew up in what was then Germany but is now Poland.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Literature]]
64	* In the ''{{Literature/Flashman}}'' novel ''Royal Flash'', which is a pastiche of ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'', Flashman has to impersonate a German prince, and since the prince had one of those dueling scars, Flashman has to be given a scar in the same place. Unfortunately the [[KickTheDog villains insisted on giving them to Flashy the traditional way]], instead of just cutting him more precisely with a straight razor. Flashman later gets busted because [[SpotTheImposter the scars don't quite match the man he's impersonating]].
65	* ''Literature/GloryRoad'' by Creator/RobertAHeinlein. Oscar Gordon considers attending Heidelberg so he can earn dueling scars. He thinks they'll be worth extra pay from a defense industry job.
66	* According to a tie-in storybook based on ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', [[BigBad Scar]] actually got his, um, scar in a fight against a buffalo while complaining about why his parents liked his older brother Mufasa more than him. When Scar and Mufasa's parents find out that Scar now has a scar on his face, they reject him and make Mufasa the future heir to the throne, fueling his hatred.
67	* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Luke Castellan, who got a scar over one eye while attempting to steal one of the apples of the Hesperides. [[spoiler:This turns out to also be what made him turn to evil and seek out Kronos.]]
68	* The two German recruits from the first day at boot camp in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' have them. But it's blink and you'd miss it; Johnnie doesn't see the scars, but Zim's dialog indicates they have them.
69	* ''Literature/TheShipWho'': The main character of ''The City Who Fought'' is a WetwareCPU whose onscreen avatar has a dueling scar because he thinks it's cool. Only one other character recognizes it.
70	* ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'': Commander, later Captain Mueller. Bonus points for actually being shown swordfighting recreationally in the holodeck.
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72
73	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
74	* ''Series/{{Charite}}'' plays in the late 19th century in Germany; Medicine student Georg Tischendorf gets a dueling scar as a sign of his joining a fraternity in the traditional, regulated ''Mensur''. Not much of a RuggedScar though, because it doesn't actually make Georg a badass; he has to admit that in a real fight against his romantic rival, a veteran who's been serving several years, he'd be defeated in no time.
75	* ''Series/GetSmart'': Ziegfried had a large scar on his cheek, revealed in TheMovie to be from a duel with his brother in Heidelberg.
76	* ''Series/HogansHeroes'': General Burkhalter has a dueling scar. Leon Askin, who played General Burkhalter, actually got the scar while being beaten by members of the SS for being Jewish.
77	* Implied in the ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch "It's a Man's Life In The British Dental Association" when Arthur Lemming is sent to the book shop where some shady dealings are happening:
78	-->'''Bookseller:''' Who sent you?\
79	'''Arthur:''' The little old lady at the sweets shop.\
80	'''Bookseller:''' She didn't have a dueling scar right here (''draws his finger across his cheek'') and a hook?
81	* The PlanetOfHats in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E3CodeOfHonor "Code of Honor"]] includes a dueling tradition; the leader has a large scar on one cheek and his subordinate, a slightly smaller one on the other.
82	[[/folder]]
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84	[[folder:Music]]
85	* Vocal jazz group Music/TheManhattanTransfer is known for their cover of the song "The Boy From New York City" (originally by '60s doo-wop group The Ad-Libs). The only lyrical change from the original version swaps out the line "You ought to come and see / His pretty bar / And his brand-new car," for "You ought to come and see / '''His dueling scar''' / And his brand-new car."
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
89	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Parodied. [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orks]] appreciate "fightin' scars," ideally a good, thick scar running from the top of the skull to the jaw, with any stitches or staples left in place. Thus, the Orkish ruling caste, or "Nobz," pick fights with each other just for a chance to earn impressive facial injuries, and "the generation of truly vile insults is about the only exercise an Ork Nob's imagination ever gets."
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Video Games]]
93	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': Squall receives a scar over his face from dueling with Seifer, who receives a matching but flipped scar after Squall retaliates, making their scars a literal case of "Dueling Scars".
94	* ''VideoGame/TheLastRemnant'': Emma Honeywell bears several scars on her face.
95	* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'': Coach Oleander comes complete with dueling scar and pickelhaube despite sounding suspiciously American.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Web Comics]]
99	* ''Webcomic/MinionComics'': The main villain, Von Gernsbach, has a stereotypical German dueling scar covered partially by a monocle.
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Western Animation]]
103	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': The assassin [[CatsAreMean Me-Mow]] strikes Finn on the cheek with her knife, which causes him to utter to the page quote. However, Me-Mow isn't much bigger than her knife, so [[StatusQuoIsGod the scar's completely healed by the next episode]].
104	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Prince Zuko's burn scar. He's a young noble from a militaristic culture whose team colors are red and black. It would be more surprising if it wasn't a ShoutOut to the classic dueling scar, even though it turns out to be more a MarkOfShame (which technically speaking he did get during a duel).
105	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': Arkady Duvall, a one-off villain, bears one from his days studying in the Heidelberg University fencing team.
106	%%* General Skarr of ''[[WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOFBillyAndMandy Grim]] [[BreakoutCharacter &]] [[WesternAnimation/EvilConCarne Evil]]''.
107	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Dr. Drakken has one under his left eye. Like the blue skin, it is never explained why.
108	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The Twilight Sparkle of the future has one from the BadFuture she came from in ''"[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E20ItsAboutTime It's About Time]]"''. [[spoiler:Of course the whole thing is a parody: It's just a paper cut from a future that isn't exactly bad.]]
109	* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'': Fearless Leader seems to have been based on Otto Skorzeny, a real-life Nazi with a scar that was seen as his trademark.
110	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Obergruppenfuhrer Wolfcastle, Rainier Wolfcastle's announcer (and possible relative) on the ShowWithinAShow ''Up Late With [=McBain=]'' sports a few of these... and [[PuttingOnTheReich a full SS officer's uniform]].
111	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Ezra Bridger gets a pair on his left cheek in the season 1 finale from his first lightsaber duel.
112	%%* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow''.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Real Life]]
116	* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Skorzeny Otto Skorzeny]] shows off some dueling scars, and why most of the world views these as [[GoodScarsEvilScars evil scars]].
117	* UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck You won't see it on the picture, he had one (small) scar on his left cheek (he was a very good duelist, in his school days).
118	* Lazare Hoche received one right in the middle of his face in 1788, during a duel with a fellow corporal. It is especially noticeable on [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Lazare_Hoche1.jpg this]] posthumous portrait.
119	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / DuelingScar