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3%% The examples have been alphabetized. Please put any new example in its proper place in the folder rather than at the end.
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6%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1442968522010833300
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9[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fa31_24.jpg]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:350:[[HilariousOuttakes "Your face a splode!"]]]]
11
12->'''''"THIS HAND OF MINE GLOWS WITH AN AWESOME POWER!"'''''
13-->-- '''Domon Kasshu''', ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''
14
15Sometimes, you need to let the BigBad have it right where it hurts. Sometimes, you just gotta burn that smirk off of {{The Dragon}}'s face in the most direct and painful manner possible. Sometimes, TheHero deserves to know just how powerful you are when you're DrunkOnTheDarkSide.
16
17Sometimes, you just need to give them the Facepalm of Doom for massive damage.
18
19The Facepalm of Doom, named so because it ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin is]]'' a {{Facepalm}}... [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom of Doom]], is basically when you grab someone by the face, or sometimes just by the head, but usually the face, and proceed to unleash the pain by [[PowerPalms releasing some kind of energy]], [[PileBunker activating a weapon contained in the hand]], or in a more [[{{Gorn}} bloody]] series, [[GroundPound slamming the victim against the floor]] or [[HeadCrushing crushing their head outright]]. As you can imagine, such a move is probably extremely painful and is usually pretty high up there in terms of power. Due to the [[CombatPragmatism nastiness]] inherent in [[NotInTheFace assaulting someone's visage]], as well as the frightening potential for EyeScream, this trope is generally indicative of TheUnfettered, an {{Anti|hero}}- or UnscrupulousHero, the ObviouslyEvil, or someone who has had their BerserkButton mashed ''extremely hard'' or otherwise reached their RageBreakingPoint. It is essentially the bare-handed equivalent of [[CoupDeGrace shooting an opponent executioner-style,]] and carries many of the same connotations.
20
21Compare NeckLift.
22
23----
24!!Examples:
25
26[[foldercontrol]]
27
28[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
29* In ''Manga/AliveTheFinalEvolution'', the normally IdiotHero protagonist goes LetsGetDangerous on a powerful enemy and does this using his heat powers. The formerly {{Bishonen}} enemy is left with [[ScarsAreForever permanent]] scars on [[TwoFaced half of his face]] and later adopts a rather large EyepatchOfPower.
30* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'', in which the immortals, most notably [[BigBad Szilard]], "consume" one another by placing their right palm on someone's forehead and essentially vacuuming up their entire body in an exceptionally grisly manner...
31* ''Manga/BakiTheGrappler'': Dorian's ultimate technique is a tiny bomb hidden in his palm so he can blow someone's face off with it.
32* ''Manga/{{Baoh}}''; The main character is capable of producing corrosive acid from his hands which is quite capable of melting people alive, leading to more than a few instances of this.
33* Guts from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' does this to a scummy knight of the Holy Iron Chain during the "Retribution" arc, actually lifting him off the ground by his face despite his heavy suit of armor. After interrogating him, he then '''throws the knight''' at a horse-riding enemy, still gripping him by the face, just before taking the [[{{BFS}} Dragonslayer]] to the both of them.
34* ''Anime/TheBigO'': The eponymous mecha's signature attack (Sudden Impact) can work like this by it grabbing an opponent's head and retracting the pressurized pistons inside the arms and subsequently releasing them for massive damage.
35* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': A sign that there's a large imbalance of power is when one combatant grabs their opponent by the head and violently throws them away. Grimmjow does this to both Rukia and Ichigo, while unleashing a Cero at point-blank range. Ichigo's inner Hollow does this to Ichigo during their BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind and the inner Hollow later does this to Ulquiorra, a tit-for-tat response to Ulquiorra having earlier performed the same move on Ichigo. [[spoiler:Ichigo eventually becomes powerful enough to grab Aizen by the face and drag him to a battlefield of Ichigo's choice; the man-handling and violence of being thrown to the ground doesn't hurt Aizen anywhere near as much as the damage Ichigo does to his pride. Especially given that [[TalkToTheFist Ichigo cut of Aizen mid-sentence]] when the latter was mocking his demand that they fight away from bystanders, claiming Ichigo was too weak to get to make such requests.]]
36* ''Manga/BusoRenkin'': After becoming a [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent homunculus]], Papillon kills his {{jerkass}} younger brother by grabbing his face and consuming him through an orifice in his palms -- he just sucks them right in, leaving behind nothing but their empty clothes.
37* ''Manga/CodeBreaker'': Rei Ogami uses this to deliver his {{Hellfire}} to bad guys that he seeks to punish.
38* [[ActionGirl Kallen's]] Guren [=Mk-II=] and its derivatives from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' come equipped with a right-handed Radiant Wave Surger which she uses to blow up any Knightmare Frame in contact. There's a reason why people call her the [[Memes/CodeGeass daughter of Domon]].
39* In Session #5 of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession5BalladOfFallenAngels Ballad of Fallen Angels]]", Vicious does this to Spike after the latter disarms him with a bullet in the shoulder (thus using his still good arm). Then, Vicious uses this grip to throw Spike through a stained glass window.
40* [[BadassLongcoat Hei]] of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' uses this to [[ShockAndAwe fry people's brains]] so often that it's practically his signature move.
41* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
42** Broly loves doing this, as do several villains in the ''Manga/DragonBall'' series.
43** Goku does the top of the head variation during his fight with Kid Buu. He combines it with a ki attack that goes right through the Planet of the Kais.
44** Syn Shenron, in Tenkaichi, grabs people by picking them up by the face and unleashing a volley of ki blasts straight into the face of whichever unlucky schmuck stupid enough to challenge him.
45* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
46** During the Nirvana Arc, Cobra grabs Natsu by the face when he tries to launch a [[BreathWeapon Fire Dragon Roar]] before blasting him with poison into his mouth. Natsu complains it felt like he tried to melt his face off.
47** During the Grand Magic Games, Natsu grabs Rogue by the face and slams him into Sting before setting his hand ''on fire'' and blasting the two of them. Good thing for Rogue he was tough enough to take it.
48** During the Alvarez Empire Arc, Mirajane [[spoiler:using Satan Soul: Algeria]] grabs [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Heine Lunasea and Juliet Sun]] by the faces before slamming them into the ground and unleashing enough magic power that it creates a ''[[FantasticNuke mushroom cloud]]'', decisively defeating them both.
49* In the second ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' OVA, Terry has a nightmare of Krauser doing this to him.
50* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': This is how [[spoiler:[[WorthyOpponent Falco]] executes [[EvilChancellor Jakoh]]]]. More exactly, he ''melts his face off''.
51* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
52** Scar kills his victims in this manner; he grabs them by the head and [[FullContactMagic makes their bodies disintegrate]]. Somewhat justified in context, however, as the arm he uses is covered in alchemic symbology tattoos that is used to "deconstruct" the matter of an object (or creature), but because it is alchemy-based he can only use it on things that he understands at least some of the material makeup of, and as his religious faith forbids the study and practice of alchemy, he is only able to use it in the most, well, ''direct'' manner.
53** In addition, [[MadBomber Kimblee]] does this as well in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the 2003 anime version]], making his victims [[StuffBlowingUp explode]]. As a matter of fact, [[spoiler: Scar's eponymous injury is the result of Kimblee performing a Face FingerPokeOfDoom on him.]]
54** ''Brotherhood''-only villain Isaac [=McDougal=] manipulates water molecules with his alchemy. While he only needs to touch his opponent's skin to flash-boil or flash-freeze them, he prefers to go right for the face whenever possible.
55** This is how Ed beats [[spoiler:Pride]]: by grabbing his face, physically and metaphysically, and ''ripping his soul out of his body''.
56* Araya Souren from ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'' absolutely loves this trope. Even losing his arm afterwards won't stop him from subsequent attempts.
57* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShell1995'', the SpiderTank grabs [[spoiler:the Major]]'s head and attempts to crush it, but it gets blown to hell by [[spoiler:Batou]] just before its victim's cybernetic skull can crack.
58* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' works:
59** This is one of the {{Signature Move}}s of the School of Touhou Fuhai (''The Undefeated of The East'') in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', represented by protagonist Domon's [[FinishingMove Shining and God Finger attacks]] and Master Asia's Darkness Finger. The novelization explains its function and origin a bit, saying that it was made to adhere to Buddhist tenets of ThouShaltNotKill, and works by sending {{Ki|Manipulation}} into an opponent's head via the palm and the three central fingers, shorting out their motor functions and disabling them[[note]]And yes, this means it can be used outside of Gundams[[/note]]. ''VideoGame/SDGundamGGeneration'' even retroactively gave "Finger" attacks to Master Asia's previous Gundams, Kowloon and Shuffle Heart. Similar attacks have appeared elsewhere in the franchise as homages to ''G'':
60** The [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny Destiny Gundam's]] MMI-X340 "Palma Fiocina" palm beam cannon; despite the name, Shinn never used it as a ranged weapon in the series[[note]]The ''G Generation'' spin-off ''Generation of C.E.'' depicts the ranged version as part of the Destiny's [[AlphaStrike Full Weapons Combination]] attack[[/note]].
61** In-universe it's based on the [[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray Astray Red Frame]], which can channel its battery power through its weapon-powering handplugs, generating a "lightning ball". In his first battle with Gold Frame, Lowe uses a super-charged version that blows up Gold's head, but also takes out Red's right arm.
62** The [[Anime/TurnAGundam Turn X's]] weld-off/destruction manipulator, which [[BigBad Gym]] even calls Shining Finger. Naturally, crossover games have him and Domon fight all the time.
63** ''Anime/GundamBuildFightersTry'' normally averts this since [[TheHero Sekai]] uses an entirely different fighting style (and since he initially isn't familiar with ''Gundam'', he wouldn't consciously try and mimic the attack the way most of the show's {{Otaku}} cast would). However, he does use the attack on two specific occasions: in episode 4 he uses the Musha Godmaru (a SuperDeformed, samurai-styled God Gundam) and performs its version of the God Finger, and in episode 20 [[spoiler:during his showdown with his FallenHero sempai, the "Jigen Haoh Innermost Secrets" attack he uses to end the fight ends with an unnamed Shining Finger-like attack.[[note]]because as it turns out, his master is none other than Domon Kasshu himself![[/note]]]]
64* In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', [[spoiler: Seras gives one to Zorin Blitz during their fight, intending to crush her face. Zorin retaliates by giving a Facepalm of Doom of her own, attempting to MindRape Seras. This totally backfires, allowing Seras to move ahead with her previous plan.]]
65* In ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' TheMovie , everyone is fighting the mooks: [[BoisterousBruiser America]] is boxing, [[InscrutableOriental Japan]] is wielding a stick {{Katana|sAreJustBetter}}, and [[PsychopathicManChild Russia]]....you guessed it.
66* This is the basis of Genthru's Little Flower attack in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': He has the ability to convert his Nen (life force) to take on explosive qualities, and by channeling it through his arms, he can then expel it through his palms. The most common thing for him to do is this trope, grabbing someone by the face and detonating his Nen (but also creating Nen armor for his hands prior, or else he'll blow them up too).
67* Used memorably in Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable when [[SerialKiller Yoshikage Kira]] [[spoiler:resumes killing after going into hiding]] breaks into an [[AssholeVictim obnoxious couple's]] apartment. When the man attempts to kick him out, Kira, without even glancing at the man, sets his hand on his face and [[StuffBlowingUp brutally vaporizes him]] as he strolls by.
68* In ''[[Anime/{{K}} K: Memory of Red]]'', Mikoto Suoh, the Red King, does this to Eric Surt, a {{Yakuza}} assassin who's tried to kill him and his followers several times. But it's subverted in that, instead of killing Eric (as he and everyone around expected), Mikoto [[SuperEmpowering makes Eric his Clansman]], giving him powers and rescuing him from the yakuza group that's held him captive and forced him to kill for them for almost his whole life. Eric appears in the anime as a member of Mikoto's Clan, HOMRA.
69* ''Manga/{{Kanamemo}}'': Hinata does that to Haruka to prevent her from jumping Kana ([[http://imgur.com/zFJDVMO the non-lethal and non-super version, she grabbed her just by the face]]).
70* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
71** Showing surprising strength in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha TheMovie First'', [[BigBad Precia]] grabs one of [[TheFederation the Adminitration Bureau]] mages in this manner and bodily lifts him off the ground [[GrievousHarmWithABody before throwing him at one of his fellow Bureau mages]] when they [[spoiler:entered the room [[{{Necromantic}} containing Alicia's body]]]]
72** In ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'', [[spoiler:Diego]] attempts to crush the head of [[spoiler:Veyron]] in this manner. Keyword being "attempts". Then the latter rips out the former's arm and returns the favor [[YourHeadAsplode much more successfully]].
73** Lutecia performs this as well in ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'', making [[spoiler:[[WickedWitch Fabia]]]] eat an energy blast to the face at point blank range.
74* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
75** Actually discussed when it's used by All-Might. His narration explains that when you grab someone's face people's natural response is to frantically try to pull your hand off. Being able to predict their next move means the move helps you take control of the fight.
76** Shigaraki tries to do this to Tsuyu during the USJ arc. A last second nullification from Aizawa saves Tsu from getting disintegrated.
77* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Sachiel, the Third Angel and the first Shinji has to fight against in the Eva Unit-01, grabs the mecha's head and inflicts it what can only be described as an [[PileBunker hydraulic pump-like pounding with energy from the Angel's forearms]] that comes out of the Angel's palm. It tears a hole in the Eva's head, causing a [[HighPressureBlood geyser of blood]]. Fortunately, the Eva goes berserk by itself and destroys the Angel afterwards.
78* Obito, from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', uses this against the Edo-Tensei Third Hokage after having absorbed the Juubi, by latching his hand onto his face and releasing a black omni-element material through his hand as a spear. It obliterates the Third's entire upper body. He later attempts to use it on Sasuke and Naruto [[spoiler:but is saved by Minato and Naruto's quick thinking]].
79* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
80** [[SuperStrength Miss Monday]] attempts to punch Zoro's face into the ground at one point. He is completely unfazed, and responds by casually pulling this on her until she passes out.
81** During the Water 7 arc, Blueno attempts this on [[{{Cyborg}} Franky]], unfortunately for him he only succeeds in pissing him off and prompting Franky to give a much more effective Facepalm of Doom ''right back at him''.
82** Whitebeard did the same thing at several points, but using his Quake Quake powers, resulting in a mini earthquake limited to the victim's head. Needless to say, nobody really got back up from that one.
83** The first thing that [[spoiler: Bellamy]] is shown doing post-timeskip is [[spoiler: crushing a man's skull with one hand]].
84** [[spoiler:Sabo, after proving himself to be alive after all]], proves his strength by taking out a vice-admiral by crushing his head, complete with the ''iron mask'' he was wearing. He seems to be a fan of the move in general, as he puts it to good use later on Jesus Burgess (Blackbeard's right-hand man), complete with some sickening crunching sounds.
85* In ''Literature/Overlord2012'', Momonga pulls one off on Hekkeran Termite during his [[CurbStompBattle "battle"]] with the Worker group Foresight. By the standards of the trope, Hekkeran gets off quite "easily", only getting paralyzed, although Ainz could effortlessly have dealt with him much more gruesomely. Unfortunately, [[FateWorseThanDeath Ainz just happened to have other plans.]]
86* In ''[[Manga/Reborn2004 Reborn!]]'' Tsuna does this to Mukuro at the end of their fight.
87* While being attacked by a teacher, Tsukune from ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' does this. The look on the dude's face is priceless.
88%%* After a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown vicious beating]], [[BigBad Suitengu Chouji]] of ''Anime/SpeedGrapher'' grabs a scumbag's pulped face and utterly shreds his body with his superpower.
89* Simon in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' does this in the crushing variety in a giant robot TO a giant robot. Considering the series, it and everything around it explodes spectacularly.
90* Happens in a flashback in ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' when [[spoiler: a young Yuri Petrov activates his NEXT power and sets his father's hand alight. Rather than screaming in pain, his dad (who arguably deserved it, [[DomesticAbuse incidentally]]) starts to ''laugh'' and puts his hand over his son's face, leaving a massive palm-shaped burn. This is not enough to save him, however]].
91* In ''Anime/TigerMaskW'', Red Death Mask uses the Iron Claw (see the Pro Wrestling folder for info) as a finishing move; his large, powerful hands enable him to easily draw sickening amounts of blood with the hold. Failing that, he has the Red Death Drop, a leaping windmill-motion Iron Claw Slam -- he manages to ''kill'' a minor character with a Red Death Drop off a cliff.
92* ''Manga/UshioAndTora'': This is how Tora kills Towako a second time, pointing out that she came back from the dead too soon and was thus a mere shadow of her former self.
93* In ''Manga/YuruYuri'', Chizuru uses an un-superpowered version on Kyouko so she doesn't jump her again.
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Card Games]]
97* [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=180115 Disfigure]] and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=41136 Swat]] in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''.
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Comic Books]]
101* In ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] enemy ComicBook/BlackAdam rams his right hand through Psycho-Pirate's face and skull:
102-->'''Black Adam:''' [[BondOneLiner No more silly faces.]]
103* ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk does this to ComicBook/{{Cyclops|MarvelComics}} in ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' to block his eye-beams, which takes Scott out for the rest of the fight.
104* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' stories:
105** ''ComicBook/SupermanBrainiac'': [[ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} The titular villain's]] androids grab their victims' heads and pierce their skulls with spiky, extensible tentacles hidden inside their hands.
106** In story arc ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', villain Reactron clutches a cop's head as burning him to a crisp. Later in "[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 The Hunt for Reactron]]" he murders one entire squad of Metropolis Special Police via this same method.
107** ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'': When confronted by Gangbuster, Bizarrogirl grabs his head and starts to ''squeeze''. She cracks his helmet and almost crushes his skull.
108** ''ComicBook/SupermanSupergirlMaelstrom'': After Hadrok hands over a stolen Boom Tube to her, Maelstrom grabs her minion's head and shoots an energy blast through his skull.
109** During the final battle in ''ComicBook/TheGreatDarknessSaga'', ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} grabs ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s face and starts crushing her skull, eliciting a pained scream out of her.
110* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
111** In ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'', [[AntiHero Kaine]] uses this as his preferred method of murder, the "Mark of Kaine". He grabs the poor victim's face, then rips it off, leaving them dead and with a gruesome handprint as a souvenir. Ouch.
112** In ''ComicBook/GrimHunt'', Peter does something similar to one of the villains that was dogging him through most of the arc. Fittingly, it was to avenge Kaine, who was dead. Again. He got better.
113** It should be noted that the Mark of Kaine is simply a stronger version of Peter's "[[WallCrawl stick-em powers]]" that Kaine has thanks to his CloneDegeneration.
114* ''ComicBook/StreetFighter'': Bison holds Charlie this way in the first issue.
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Fan Works]]
118* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': While both in human form, Godzilla Junior attempts to grab Irys by the face, only for her to escape by firing her BreathWeapon, injuring his hand and arm.
119* ''Fanfic/TheGamesWePlayTheGamerRWBY'': In "Expansions" Jaune grabs Gilgamesh by the face and feeds him a Lux Aeterna.
120* In ''[[Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy Heart of Ashes]]'', Smaug uses his recently discovered ability to [[PlayingWithFire emit flames]] from his {{Human|ityEnsues}} palm to grab a dwarf merchant in the face and kill the poor fellow by scorching his head.
121* Mokou grabs [[spoiler:a mental representation of Eirin Yagokoro]] like this before [[KillItWithFire reducing her to ash]] in ''Fanfic/ImperfectMetamorphosis: Rhapsody Of Subconscious Desire''.
122* In the first chapter of ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'', Sachiel attacks Unit 01 like this when Rei's piloting it: the monster grabs the robot's face and slams an energy spike through it.
123* In the ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' fanfic ''Time Braid'', during one of the [[GroundhogDayLoop loops]], Sakura kills Kabuto by creating a [[EnergyBall Rasengan]] inside his brain. Due to his HealingFactor, it's not overkill.
124[[/folder]]
125
126[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
127* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse'': Superman attempts [[EyeBeams heat vision]] at point-blank range only for Darkseid to facepalm him. Cue Disco-Ball-of-Lasery-Doom effect.
128* ''WesternAnimation/OperationZero'': This is how [[DaChief Numbuh 362]] is zombified as she’s being held down. Notable in that, unlike the other [=KND=] operatives, this is shown in first-person [=POV=].
129[[/folder]]
130
131[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
132* ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'': On the night Alita finds that Ido is a hunter-warrior, Grewishka catches Ido by the face and presses him against a wall, forcing him to watch as Alita is fighting the murderous female cyborg. Grewishka is fully expecting his accomplice to kill Alita before Ido's eyes, only to be disappointed.
133* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Bane ([[GoryDiscretionShot presumably]]) does this to [[spoiler:[[CorruptCorporateExecutive Daggett]]]] after he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlives his usefulness]].
134* In ''[[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter]]'', Doug and Sara [[ShowerOfLove make out in the shower]]. Once Sara leaves, Jason, who is known to get upset by [[BerserkButton teenagers getting down and dirty in Camp Crystal Lake]], arrives to punish Doug by crushing his head against the wall with his palm.
135* This is how Norah Astor a.k.a. The Black Widow kills her victims in ''Film/TheGrief''.
136* Seen in the film ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', see Literature (and it was more gruesome, beside -- [[spoiler: instead of merely burning Quirrel, Harry's touch actually caused him to ''crumble into ash.'']]
137* ''Film/KungFuHustle'': The hero uses this as a ranged attack. It first makes a crater in the ground, then creates a palm-shaped hole in a building.
138* In ''[[Film/ShinKamenRider2023 Shin Kamen Rider]]'', the first act of violence that the mutant protagonist enacts is a double Facepalm of Doom while landing between two {{Mooks}}. The result is the Mooks' heads caving in while blood spurts everywhere.
139* In ''Film/{{Taken}} 2'', Bryan spares Murad's life so that he won't have to continue fighting off his vengeful family. How does he respond? By trying to shoot Bryan as he leaves his gun and has his back turned. How does Bryan respond? [[spoiler:He opens his palm to reveal that he popped the last bullet in the gun, then Murad by the face and impales his head into a wall hook, killing him.]]
140* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': The T-800 does this to a female guard, though since he had been instructed not to kill, it is not as disgusting as it could have been.
141* One of the last victims in ''Film/{{The Thing|1982}}'' is grabbed by his face as the Thing digs its finger into him then starts absorbing his body from there.
142* In the final segment of ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'', the airplane-assaulting gremlin starts to do the physical-crushing version of this trope to the interfering protagonist, but then realizes the jet is about to land, and so instead just grins and gives him a FingerWag before [[GracefulLoser flying away.]]
143* The preferred FinishingMove of the Blanks in ''Film/TheWorldsEnd''.
144[[/folder]]
145
146[[folder:Literature]]
147* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'': [[spoiler: [[TheChosenOne Harry Potter]] + {{The Power of Love}} + Facepalm of Doom = [[TheMole Quirrell's]] face blistering and burning.]]
148* In the backstory of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the elven king Gil-galad met this fate by Sauron, who grabbed him by the head and ''lit him on fire.''
149* In a ''Franchise/StarWars'' novella, a condescending hotel clerk offends a highly intelligent droid working for a powerful Dark Jedi. The droid asks the man to lean closer because he can't hear him, then grabs his face and slowly crushes it.
150* The last creature that Molly encounters in ''Literature/TheTaking'' is one of three that do this [[spoiler:to steal souls]]. Their touch is described as cold and greasy.
151* In ''Literature/KingOfKingsGaoGaiGarVsBetterman'', this is the ultimate attack of [[spoiler: Final [=GaoGaiGar=], connecting with the utterly massive Goldion Finger, which is a massive hand hooked up with Goldymarg's Super AI with a hand made up of Goldion Hammer heads]]. You can see this attack in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars30''.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
155* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Essentially how The Master dies in Season 8.
156* You know how Daleks have those plunger-arms in ''Series/DoctorWho''? In the new series, they can ''crush a man's skull'' with them. "[[TemptingFate What are you gonna do? Sucker me to death?]]" Later on, four of them do it again, the resulting head is '''smoldering'''!
157* In ''Series/GameOfThrones'', this is The Mountain's way of [[spoiler: killing Oberyn Martell]]
158-->'''The Mountain:''' Elia Martell. I killed her children. Then I raped her. ''Then'' I smashed her head, '''''IN LIKE THIS!'''''
159* In ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'', the assassin known as "The Golem" puts one of his massive hands over a target's face and crushes the life out of them.
160* ''Series/StargateSG1'': The Goa'uld "kara'kesh" (hand device) can be used in this manner, emitting a shockwave that can knock a group of people across a room, or, as shown when Carter used it against Seth, kill someone up close by slamming their body into the ground or another solid surface.
161* ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'': In "The ''Enterprise'' Incident", Spock uses the infamous "Vulcan Death Grip" to kill Kirk. [[spoiler:However, there's no such thing as a Vulcan Death Grip. [[FakeDefector It's a trick.]]]]
162* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Series/TheMandalorian'' "[[Recap/TheMandalorianS1E8Chapter8Redemption Chapter 8: Redemption]]", IG-11 grabs one of the Child's scout trooper captors by the faceplate and lifts him before brutally slamming said scout trooper's head into one of the speeder bikes to kill him.
163* This is the preferred method of the angels of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' for killing demons. It's usually accompanied by a flash of light.
164* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'': In ''Series/TaiyouSentaiSunVulcan'', Vul Shark's Shark Jaws attack consists of grabbing the enemy's head with both hands several times.
165[[/folder]]
166
167[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
168* The clawhold submission, commonly called the Iron Claw, popularized by the Wrestling/VonErichFamily and Baron von Raschke.
169* There's a clawhold variant of the [[Wrestling/NaoyaOgawa STO]] (a judo-based legsweep takedown), notably used by Kensuke Sasaki, Kenzo Suzuki, and Lord Tensai.
170* Bison Smith was known for his Iron Claw Slam, which is similar to a chokeslam (and therefore briefly incorporates the equivalent of a NeckLift). [[Wrestling/ErickRowan Erick Redbeard]] has also adopted the move as his signature since leaving WWE.
171* Devil Masami liked to smother Wrestling/{{A|llJapanWomensProWrestling}}JW rookies by clamping her hands over their noses and mouths, then bending their necks back in this hold. Face two palms of doom?
172* One of Canadian Mafia Princess Tiffany's signature moves was to apply a reverse Indian death lock, grab the side of her opponent's head and then cover their nose and mouth with her other hand.
173* Wrestling/{{WWE}} sometimes plays this trope for laughs, such as when Wrestling/TheBigShow once eliminated a {{jobber}} from the Wrestling/RoyalRumble by facepalm-shoving him backwards over the ropes.
174* Since his late 2011 return, Wrestling/{{Kane}} has added this to his arsenal, clamping his hand over his foe's nose and mouth to suffocate them into unconsciousness. This even works on Wrestling/JohnCena.
175* During LLF's 2017 {{Halloween|episode}} show, Angélica outed [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown "Lady Steel" as the officially retired]] Bandida, who proceeded to attack luchadoras in this manner, Pricesa Maya for [[BestServedCold "retiring" her in particular]].
176[[/folder]]
177
178[[folder:Video Games]]
179* The last scene of the prologue in ''VideoGame/DotHackGU//rebirth'' features [[spoiler:not]]-Tri-edge doing this to the main character during their CurbStompBattle, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSb6ammdAfY complete with Haseo's first-person view of it.]]
180* In ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', Ragna's immensely {{narm}}y defeat of [[spoiler:Mu-12]] happens like this.
181* From ''VideoGame/BloodyRoar'' (At least in the ''Primal Fury'' installment), one of Gado's Beast Drives is exactly this. He grabs his opponent by the face and lifts them into the air before letting off a one-handed KamehameHadoken and slamming them head-first into the ground.
182* At the end of ''Videogame/Borderlands2'', [[spoiler:if you let Lilith kill Handsome Jack, she grabs him by the face and kills him with her Siren powers]].
183* Gwyn, Lord of Cinder has this as a move in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''. He'll grab your character by the face and lift you up before blasting you across the room.
184* One of Chuck Greene's special moves in ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' can involve this. Chuck grabs a zombie's head (whether it's a Facepalm of Doom or not depends on whether the zombie is facing Chuck) and viciously slams its head into a nearby surface, usually resulting in YourHeadAsplode.
185* If Adam Jensen from ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' grabs your face, he's about to [[NeckSnap break your neck]].
186* Happens at the end of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4''. [[spoiler:Except instead of grabbing the face of the False Savior and then releasing the energy, Nero uses the [[RedRightHand Devil Bringer]] to project an even ''bigger'' hand which is closer to the Savior's scale. Then he just crushes its face]].
187* In ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'', Mao has the Blast Finger attack, which is probably a ShoutOut to the [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam Shining Finger]], considering [[ReferenceOverdosed the nature of the series]].
188* ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has a pretty impressive one in Jecht's "Triumphant Grasp" HP attack ([[ShoutOut known as]] [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam "Jecht Finger"]] in Japan). He charges, '''ON FIRE,''' down at you, ''GRABS. YOUR. FACE,'' and then causes an explosion in his hand. This causes him to shake out his hand from the pain, and this is the guy who ''kicks a meteor into your face ''and can plant his huge sword half-way into the ground ''with one hand!''
189* Mage Hawke pulls this in the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII Destiny'' trailer, despite the fact that [[NeverTrustATrailer you can't actually do that in-game]] and it was definitely not the climactic move of the fight.
190* A fairly low-level female [[CombatPragmatist Brawler]] grappling move in ''Videogame/DungeonFighterOnline'' involves using one hand to pull in a target on a (very short-ranged) chained hook while loading the other hand with something gunpowder-based and converting the grab to a [[NeckLift face lift]]. Nasty, surprisingly hard for other foes to interrupt and can result in igniting multiple targets when the explosion hits.
191* ''Videogame/DwarfFortress'', being ''Dwarf Fortress'', allows your adventure character to pull one off. On top of the usual take-downs or throwing them by the head, it brings the additional joy of allowing you to follow it up with [[FacialHorror gouging and pinching off bits and pieces of their face]], [[EyeScream including eyeballs]]. In fact, if you want a viable wrestling character, it's either this or chokeholds. Regular dwarves occasionally do it as well, but usually just snap limbs, [[RedShirt or die trying]].
192* Lü Bu's Ex Attack in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' 7 is to grab his opponent in the face and slams him/her to the ground. In the eight game, his EX Musou attack has him drag an enemy on the ground by the head.
193* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: VideoGame/CrisisCore'' has Genesis do this to Angeal and set off a point blank magical explosion. It seems to only knock him out for a minute, as he turns up soon after looking no worse for wear.
194* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'': When [[spoiler:Dimitri]] is massacring the Flame Emperor's soldiers, he grabs one by the face. Since [[spoiler:Dimitri has freakish super-strength as a result of his Crest]], it's certain that this happens when you hear an offscreen ''crunch''.
195* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'':
196** One of Testament's throwing moves is to grab his opponent's face and impale the victim with spikes extending from his palm.
197** In ''[[VideoGame/GuiltyGearStrive -STRIVE-]]'', one of Sol Badguy's new moves has him go into his [[OneWingedAngel Dragon Install]] form and charge forward with his hand outstretched. If it connects, he'll grab his hapless opponent by the face and slam them into the ground in a fiery explosion.
198* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': Master Xehanort does a back-of-the-head version of this to Ventus at one point. In the CG version of that scene, he grips Ven's head hard enough to ''crack his whole helmet'' before freezing and dropping him to the ground. Ouch. He'll also rarely try it on you while you're fighting him with Terra, though you can escape with button mashing before you get frozen.
199* ''Videogame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'': Darth Sion leads with this and eventually moves on to a NeckLift in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-pEG1JnDsM an unusually visceral beating]] for the Franchise/StarWars universe.
200* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'':
201** According to the ''Day of Sigma'' OVA included in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX Maverick Hunter X]]'', [[spoiler:[[BigBad Sigma]] gets his signature scars on his eyes when [[AllLovingHero X]] pulls off one of these on him]]. It should be noted that [[spoiler:X's attack looks a lot like Shining Finger, due to X being voiced by Creator/MarkGatha (who also voiced Domon Kasshu) at the time]].
202** Sigma pulls this on your character in the hard mode of ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX8 X8]]''.
203* Surprisingly played straight ''and'' inverted at the same time in ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', where Samus gives this to five Chozo Soldiers and Raven Beak. Three Chozo Soldiers get their faces slammed into the ground with Samus' hand before she pries their jaws open and blows them to organic soup with X parasite filling. [[spoiler:The inversion happens with the last two Chozo soldiers and Raven Beak, since it's their [[LifeDrinker life energy]] getting sucked into Samus via her awakened Metroid powers. Raven Beak barely hangs on after being drained ''along with his ship''; the two Chozo soldiers and their X cores get sucked dry, leaving nothing behind.]]
204* In ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' and its [[VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar sequel]], Talion can grab an orc by the face while the Wraith either makes it explode or [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood brainwashes]] it into a loyal mook. Once converted, loyal orcs continue to bear a handprint mark on their faces.
205* One of the consumes for the claw power in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' and ''VideoGame/Prototype2'' involves Mercer or Heller grabbing the victim's head, and shoving it into their torso.
206* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
207** Official artwork and the title screen for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' both show the titular monster grasping Brad Vickers' lifeless body this way. It seems to be a ShoutOut to the Sagat example above (both properties are from Creator/{{Capcom}}).
208** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'''s Separate Ways campaign, one of Saddler's attacks involves grabbing Ada's face and slamming her head into the ground. Fail "PressXToNotDie", and it crushes her skull.
209* In some of the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' games, Astaroth was able to grab a prone opponent by the face, squeeze their head, then stand them upright. The attack was pretty weak, but it prevented your opponent from getting a wake-up attack.
210* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', Kerrigan uses one to turn [[spoiler:Mensk]]'s face into a psionic bomb, which inevitably explodes, killing him and taking out the entire room and parts of the (outer) walls. Good thing everyone else present either wears PoweredArmor or happens to be a psionic demi-goddess quite capable of ignoring little things like that.
211* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
212** one of T. Hawk's specials is grabbing his opponent by the face, leaping into the air while windmilling them around (still by the face) and slamming them to the ground.
213** Sagat gets a simpler one starting from his first ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Zero]]'' appearance - no leaping or windmills, just grab and knee as many times as you can buttonmash in.
214*** An even earlier example from Sagat comes from his [[http://41.media.tumblr.com/4643726c117413e60b7216df2b665b75/tumblr_n7fbwikftN1ty71ejo1_500.jpg promo art in Street Fighter II]] where it would later be depicted as him killing Gou Hibiki, Dan's father.
215** Now, M. Bison/Vega does it as his 2nd Ultra, right before he gives you "The Psycho Abortion".
216** Seth's forward throw does this as well, picking the opponent up by the face, and smashing them face first with a heel kick.
217* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'': [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Ganondorf's]] side-B special move utilizes this. In addition to the "energy attack" part of this trope, he also literally picks his opponent off the ground by the face before exploding their face with dark fire (if the two of them are on the ground), or grabs their face and them ''slams them back down into the ground'' (if done in the air) Ouch. It's one of the few things ''Brawl'' did to distinguish him from [[VideoGame/FZero Captain Falcon]], of whom Ganondorf is otherwise a MovesetClone and merely delivers an uppercut or overhead punch with the same command.
218* [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Yoshimitsu]] in all of his ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' appearances, and his [[LegacyCharacter predecessor]] in his ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' appearances too... basically, a life-drain attack that consists of grabbing the opponent by the face and sucking out their life-horse. [[InvertedTrope An alternate version, however, allows you to ''heal'' them by channelling your own life-horse into them]]... nice way to show off. Though, in some games, if the opponent blocks it the effects are instantly reversed. Yes, this means that if the opponent reverses the healing version, he heals ''you''.
219* ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'':
220** Kuze does this to [[spoiler:Yoneda as punishment for killing their only source on Makoto's whereabouts]] -- grabbing his face and slamming his head into the floor hard enough to shatter his skull, killing him on the spot. To emphasize just how strong Kuze is to do that, Kiryu fought the victim earlier and slammed the guy's head face-first into a urinal hard enough to shatter the latter, and the guy shrugged it off (plus getting dropkicked out of a building later).
221** Kiryu's Brawler grab throw is a less lethal version of this.
222[[/folder]]
223
224[[folder:Visual Novels]]
225* Tamaki of ''VisualNovel/ToHeart2'' has a toned down version, the [[WrestlerInAllOfUs classic wrestling move]] the "Iron Claw". It leaves her victim (generally [[BromanticFoil her younger brother]]) unconscious, after an unsettling cracking noise.
226[[/folder]]
227
228[[folder:Web Animation]]
229* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': In "[[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes Winter Soldier]] vs. ComicBook/RedHood", [[spoiler:the former finishes off the latter by using his metal arm to grab his face, then crush it along with his mask]].
230* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
231** This is how the fight between [[spoiler:Weiss and the White Fang Lieutenant]] ends. [[spoiler:He grabs her by the face and slams her head into the ground hard enough to knock her clean out. Then, still holding her face, he throws her up in the air and smashes her through to the next train compartment with his chainsaw. What a brute.]]
232** The final move in the Volume 5 "Maiden Fight" is [[spoiler:Spring Maiden Raven using an electrified palm strike to Cinder's face, knocking her into an abyss.]]
233** During the [[spoiler:siege of the Belladonna residence]], [[PapaWolf Ghira]] grabs one schmuck by the face and rams his head into the hardwood floor. He doesn't get up again.
234[[/folder]]
235
236[[folder:Webcomics]]
237* Occurs in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', and is one of the first warnings that things are going to get [[CerebusSyndrome serious]]. A cleric grabs a goblin by the face and casts the level 1 spell ''inflict light wounds''. The results are [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/comic/12192005 not pretty...]]
238* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': When Thothogoth happens to call Dabbler a "slave" in front of Maxima, she grabs his demonic face in her super-strong hand. Dabbler then tries to clarify that [[NotHelpingYourCase she is indeed his slave]], prompting Maxima to start crushing with her fingers, cracks appearing over Thothogoth's cheek and horns.
239* In ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'', Dimple tries this against Mob as a last resort to brainwash him into laughing. Mob, being an extreme [[TheStoic Stoic]] and powerful [=ESPer=] himself, is able to resist and use his [[TranquilFury repressed anger]] to lay the smackdown on Dimple.
240* In ''Webcomic/TheSearchForHenryJekyll'', Edward Hyde delivers one to one of his victims. Subverted, in that it's only fatal because Hyde ''slammed the victims head through a fence picket.''
241[[/folder]]
242
243[[folder:Web Videos]]
244%%* ''WebVideo/CodeMENT'': "Laser arm!" "Laser arm?" "Laser arm."
245* ''Series/FlandersCompany'':
246** On her return to Flander's in season 4, PsychoElectro Carlo grabs Gladys's face with an electricity-charged palm.
247** Carla tries the same thing in season 5, but unfortunately this time her target is [[spoiler:Thor, God of Thunder, so it doesn't end well for her.]]
248* In ''WebVideo/ThereWillBeBrawl'' Ganondorf does this to [[spoiler: Link, by ramming his arm ''through'' Zelda as she went to protect him, and ''explodes Link's head'' while Link was at full health.]] Quite a HeelFaceDoorSlam.
249[[/folder]]
250
251[[folder:Western Animation]]
252* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
253** ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
254*** In the episode "Zuko Alone", when Zuko is fighting the thuggish soldiers. He knocks one of the soldiers' weapon out of the way and then grabs his forehead and knocks him down.
255*** Also, although there was a GoryDiscretionShot, it's very likely that this is how Ozai gave Zuko his scar. Examine it closely, and the burn is a clear impression of a hand.
256** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Amon takes people's bending away by grabbing their foreheads [[spoiler:and then bloodbending them]].
257* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania|2017}}'', Sypha kills one of Dracula's vampire generals by grabbing his face and incinerating him with a fire spell.
258* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse:
259** In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', Superman wins the climactic fight against Darkseid using this move defensively: while Darkseid is charging his [[EyeBeams Omega Effect]], Superman holds his hands to Darkseid's eyes, causing a massive explosion which blackens his eyes and opens up massive, red-glowing wounds on his face. (As his next appearance in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse would show, [[ScarsAreForever they scarred permanently]].) And Darkseid is ''a god''. Pretty good move, that.
260** Green Lantern actually gets Vandal Savage to do this to ''himself'' in the Season One finale of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. When Vandal tried to attack him with an AgonyBeam from his gauntlet, Lantern pushed his hand up, causing Vandal to hit himself in the face with the blast.
261** [[WalkingWasteland Blight]] does this against [[AnIcePerson Mr. Freeze]] in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', almost melting through Freeze's glass-dome helmet in the process.
262* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'', General Grievous uses a variation where he grabs an opponent's head with his clawed foot, smashes it into the ground and then throws the corpse into the ceiling.
263* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Pantha has a non-lethal variation called the Pantha's Claw, which leaves a red hand-shaped mark on her opponents face. It's powerful enough to take ''[[TheBrute Mammoth]]'' down in one go.
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:Real Life]]
267* There is an [[EyeScream eye gouging]] technique which involves placing the palm on the forehead to gain leverage, and ramming the thumb into the above mentioned target. It's a fairly dirty move, but there is no denying it gets results when things deteriorate that far.
268* Also a method of throwing your opponent to the ground in Sambo, by pressing the base of your fingers onto your opponent's nose from beneath.
269* Jujitsu and the related disciplines have a throw which consists of placing your hand on your opponent's face, rotating the head back, and pushing down. It's amazingly effective on most people and looks practically effortless.
270** Some monkey-influenced styles of Kung Fu and Silat go one step further by having you continue the Facepalm Of Doom all the way to the floor and bouncing your victim's head off whatever surface happens to be available - such as concrete, tarmac, or your own knee.
271* More generally speaking, it's a common principle in martial arts that where the head goes, the body follows. A great many throws and holds, in any style, involve getting a hand on the opponent's face, preferably with a finger in a sensitive spot. Once you have control of the head, you can manipulate them into any position you like.
272[[/folder]]

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