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7[[quoteright:293:[[Film/WhiteHouseDown https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whitehousedown.jpg]]]]
8[[caption-width-right:293:[[{{Pun}} Time to live.]]]]
9
10->''[Gunshot]''\
11''[Flanders is knocked down]''\
12'''Ned Flanders:''' Wow, lucky I always keep a Bible close to my heart-\
13''[second gunshot]''\
14''[Flanders is knocked down again]''\
15'''Flanders:''' Ohoho, lucky I was wearing an extra large piece of the True Cross today.\
16''[Flanders notices that he doesn't have any other religious symbols with him]''\
17'''Flanders:''' I think I'll go inside.
18-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E15HomieTheClown Homie the Clown]]"
19
20Oh no! TheHero just got shot! There's a hole in their shirt right over their heart... but what's this? They have something in their pocket? It stopped the bullet! They are saved!
21
22They got a [[Literature/TheBible Bible]] in there? [[{{Doorstopper}} It'll stop the bullet.]] Ditto for cellphones, and especially lockets; if it contains photographs of beloved ones, expect a large modifier (positive or negative, depending upon the scene) to the attack.
23
24While it may have worked in the days when guns were extremely underpowered (relatively speaking), these days the life-saved-by-[[MementoMacGuffin sentimental-object]] trope is [[DiscreditedTrope discredited]]; it's rare to find a 21st century example that plays it straight. It's important to note that most real-world examples involve ricochets, spent bullets, shrapnel or other low-velocity projectiles. It's a very lucky break when the round is moving slow enough to be stopped by anything so small and thin as what you can fit in a pocket. Also, pretty much any real-life example of a bullet being stopped by a Bible or other book in the victim's pocket will involve the book being stored in a silver or steel box, which obviously provides more resistance than just paper.
25
26One commonly-used justification is that it's an attempted assassination; UsefulNotes/{{silencers}} only work with subsonic rounds (any supersonic round makes a loud crack as it [[ShapedLikeItself breaks the sound barrier]], which a silencer can only do anything about by slowing the bullet down enough that it ''doesn't'' break the sound barrier in the first place) meaning appropriate bullets can thus be rendered nonlethal by many everyday objects capable of fitting into a pocket.
27
28This trope is usually an example of either ChekhovsGun (if the object was introduced previously), DeusExMachina (if the object was not previously introduced), or both (if the object was introduced, but couldn't be expected to stop a bullet). Often overlaps with HeartInTheWrongPlace, if an item in the left breast pocket is claimed to have shielded the target's heart specifically.
29
30See BulletproofVest for things that are ''supposed'' to stop bullets.[[note]]Some of which in real life, incidentally, are fitted with protective ceramic plates stowed ''in pockets''.[[/note]] Compare ConcealmentEqualsCover, where the hero is protected by something that isn't in their pocket. If bullets are stopped by an unwilling {{Mook}} or bystander, that's a BulletproofHumanShield. For other uses for books, see UsefulBook. For intentional versions with (usually) larger objects, see ImprovisedArmour. Invariably leads to a WardrobeWound.
31
32[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] the pocket protectors stereotypically worn by nerds. Nor to be confused with [[Literature/{{Protector}} Pak Protectors]].
33
34----
35!!Examples:
36
37[[foldercontrol]]
38
39[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Rentarou fantasizes about the wooden charms of his girlfriends saving him from being shot in Chapter 53. [[spoiler: Subverted when he moves them out of the way beforehand so that they wouldn't be put in danger, and dies anyway.]]
41* In the final episode of the first season of ''Anime/AfroSamurai'', the titular character is saved from being decapitated by the BigBad's [[spoiler:third arm]] by a comb he kept as a memento of a GirlOfTheWeek from [[ChekhovsGun episode 2]].
42* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'': In their first meeting, Akame stabs Tatsumi, but he is saved by a small idol in his shirt.
43* ''Literature/TheAmbitionOfOdaNobuna'': Yoshiharu gives Nobuna his cellphone. It ends up blocking a bullet and then a sword strike, and doesn't even get damaged.
44* ''Manga/ArmedGirlsMachiavellism'': Fudō Nomura likes to smuggle magazines and manga into class by hiding them in his shirt. They end up saving him a few times from sword strikes. Kirukiru Amou's RazorSharpHand can penetrate them, but they manage to mitigate the damage from lethal to extremely painful.
45* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'':
46** During the Hawks arc, General Julius tries to have Griffith assassinated with a poisoned arrow during the royal hunt, but the arrow is stopped by Griffith's Behelit (or as ''WebVideo/BerserkAbridged'' calls it, the "Portable Deus Ex Machina Generator") before it can reach his heart. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Behelits are supernatural instruments of fate that ''want'' to keep their owners alive until they can cross the DespairEventHorizon, and are likely MadeOfIndestructium to boot.
47** Parodied in the manga, when the [[TheFundamentalist fanatically religious]] KnightTemplar Bishop Mozgus is apparently stabbed with Guts' {{BFS}}, but then gets up and pulls out the book of scriptures he always keeps in his robes to show where it caught the thrust. He states that the scriptures are what his faith is based on, and that because of his faith he cannot be harmed by a "tainted blade". A couple characters point this out as complete nonsense, as the book was easily torn through and he was protected from the sword by [[OurDemonsAreDifferent his own incredibly hard scales.]] What's more, once he took his OneWingedAngel form, the Bible was incorporated into his flesh... making it the one part of his body ''not'' protected by scales and thus his AchillesHeel for Guts to exploit.
48* Played glaringly straight in an episode of ''Manga/BlackJack 21'' when a single [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic ace of spades]] and his [[OrphansPlotTrinket mother's pendant]] stopped a bullet from piercing his left lung.
49* Ichigo's Hollow mask saves him ''twice'' from otherwise fatal hits in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', the second time being [[ClingyMacGuffin after being taken from him and thrown into a sewer.]]
50* In ''Manga/BoardingSchoolJuliet'', with their SecretRelationship under threat of getting exposed, Romio and Juliet have to stage a sword duel in front of the whole school to keep up the image of being mortal enemies. Romio's brother Airu, the one who accused them in the first place, doesn't buy the farce, until the two threaten to (really go for) literally aim for their necks. Airu had to step in before the swords connect lest the two kill each other. What's another secret to everybody was that Juliet sent Romio a sign to aim for the rosary he gave her (and vice-versa), which were the ones who actually took the hit.
51* ''Manga/CaseClosed'' uses the trope once in a while:
52** [[spoiler:A mahjong tile in Takagi's breast pocket (taken as evidence) stops a bullet. Shiratori even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s how cliche it is. On the other hand, Takagi ''did'' get injured anyway (due to quite the blunt trauma force to the chest) and had to be hospitalized and operated on.]]
53** Also, [[spoiler: once Conan almost gets stabbed in the gut by a suspect. He had an amulet with a piece of metal in his pocket (which he borrowed from Heiji), which stopped the knife. He still was in pain for a while and needed to rest up.]]
54** And [[spoiler: Megure's hat softens a blow to the head given to him with a metal pipe. It's not enough to avert the hospital trip, however.]]
55** In one episode, a boy's life is saved because a knife hit a hat that he had inside his jacket. The hat had been a gift from his late mother and he always had it with him.
56** In another case, a woman ([[spoiler:[[ActionGirl Sato]], while [[BodyDouble in a disguise]]]]) gets stabbed when she's wearing a FairytaleWeddingDress. The dress itself has a '''very''' thick corset so it stops the knife in itself.
57* In ''Manga/{{Change 123}}'' a bullet shot into the back of a girl gets stopped by a (hidden) combat knife tucked into her belt.
58* In the first episode of ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Suzaku is shot in the back; in the second, we learn that the bullet hit [[MementoMacGuffin a pocket watch]] that belonged to his DisappearedDad. Unlike many examples, the bullet still injures him even if it's not fatal. Note also that Code Geass uses something that's basically low velocity railguns instead of actual gunpowder guns. Bullet weight and speed are significantly lower then in the real life.
59* Played for laughs in ''Anime/CrossAnge''. After Momoka gets shot by the BigBad(then knocked off a cliff by a bus, which [[EveryCarIsAPinto naturally explodes]]), she shows up alive in the following episode. When a shocked Ange asks how the hell she survived, Momoka [[VictoriasSecretCompartment reaches into her blouse]] and pulls out a cast-iron frying pan with the bullet still lodged in it. No that ''doesn't'' explain how she survived everything else(or ''why'' she's carrying a frying pan, or how the hell [[{{Hammerspace}} it fit in there]]), that's the joke.
60* Occurs in ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' when the UnluckilyLucky Nagito is shot, but his school handbook keeps the bullet from penetrating. However, the impact was still enough to knock him out cold.
61* In ''Anime/DevilMayCryTheAnimatedSeries'', Dante gets possessed by a cursed pocket watch he was wearing as a necklace. Lady shoots him and he falls, but when the demon who set this up shows up to gloat, Dante gets up and reveals Lady's bullet destroyed the pocket watch and snapped him out of it. Slightly subverted because Dante points out the bullet actually penetrated the pocket watch and hit his heart anyway, but the bullet was slowed down enough that it just bruised his heart (which really hurt) instead of penetrating it. A simple matter for his HealingFactor to fix.
62* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
63** Goku survives Tao Pai Pai's Dodonpa to the chest at one point in ''Manga/DragonBall'' because he had the [[MementoMacGuffin 4-Star Dragon Ball]] under his shirt. Considering those are said to be indestructible, it makes sense.
64** In the movie ''[[Anime/DragonBallCurseOfTheBloodRubies Curse of the Blood Rubies]]'', Yamcha's history as a thief [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Za3hWHlC8s pays off]] when Pasta sprays his chest full of bullet holes, but he's unharmed due to the blood rubies he was hiding in his shirt.
65* Almost every time someone is shot in the chest in ''Manga/EtCetera'', expect them to survive thanks to a trinket they kept in their pockets. Mingchao and Alternate both survived a shot thanks to Goldy's coin, while Baskerville was saved by his rosary when he was almost killed by Cavanaugh.
66* In ''Anime/FirstSquad'', the old monk survives an attack from Nazi ninja twins because his book took a bullet meant for him.
67* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'':
68** A boy is saved from a bullet by having a locket with a picture of his deceased mother hidden underneath his shirt. Made more poignant by the fact that this locket had been a point of strife between the boy and his brother, who had held a grudge against their mother for a certain misunderstanding. Adding to the EmotionalTorque is that the bullet causes the locket, which was stuck up to that point, to open, its contents clearing up the misunderstanding.
69** Done in the bonus OVA ''Yet Another Man's Battlefield'', with Mustang surviving because his state alchemist pocket watch stopped the bullet.
70* A bag of gold coins takes a bullet for Tetsuro early in ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999''.
71* An episode of ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' opens with Okita appearing to be fatally stabbed by a passerby on a busy street, only for him to catch his fall and suplex the offender into the dirt before revealing they had stabbed a bottle of Tabasco sauce he was concealing in the front of his pants. He was keeping it handy for the sake of playing a prank on Hijikata and others, [[TheGadfly as per usual.]]
72** This is also used in the Benizakura arc: when Katsura is supposedly killed by Nizou, [[BigDamnHeroes he shows up later on to save the day.]] The reason why he survived was that he carried an old textbook of his beloved teacher around. It's the same story for [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Takasugi]].
73* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': In Tomoko's {{improv}} performance, {{delinquent}} son Kenji accidentally stabs his mother (also played by Tomoko) with a boxcutter, but it turns out she was carrying her dead husband's watch in her pocket, which blocked the blade.
74* In ''Anime/GunXSword'', a turtle (conveniently hanging around her chest) saves Wendy's life within the first 2 minutes of the first episode, and the damned thing shows up in every episode with that hole in its shell.
75* The ''Manga/GunsmithCats'' manga has Rally surviving a bullet to the side thanks to the bullet having to penetrate a collapsible rifle stowed in her jacket -- along with her car's ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll_cage roll cage]].'' The rifle is left with a bullet hole in the stock and barrel, and Rally is left with broken ribs as it was a fired from a ''[[{{BFG}} fourteen-inch .45 Desert Eagle]].''
76** Once Rally is forced to shoot Roy, but deliberately aims at the revolver in his shoulder holster.
77** There's also one time when she takes control of an assassin's arm and forces her to empty her magazine right at her chest... where she put a paperback novel just for the purpose. Justified by the circumstances; May was being held hostage in their hotel room and started TalkingThroughTechnique -- referring to a "favorite piece" when she knows fully well that Rally is using a cheap throwaway gun due to her license being suspended. Rally thus realizes this, and makes the logical assumption of an assassin using a silenced small-caliber pistol.
78* ''Manga/HenkyouNoRoukishiBardLoen'': Bard is saved from death at Jogg's hands by keeping his cutlery set on his chest, which hinders his greatsword from slicing his chest and saves his life. [[spoiler:Said silverware is not only a gift from Lady Aidra, but contains the [[McGuffin royal family seal]] inside.]]
79* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
80** In part 3 Jotaro survived a storm of knives thrown at him by Dio during a [[TimeStandsStill timestop]] because of his hat and several copies of Shonen Jump he had stuffed in his jacket (the fact his stand was able to move for 1 second during the timestop and deflect half of the knives helped, but he still would have died were it not for the hat and magazines).
81** In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'', happen to Kira (the BigBad). After Hayato Kawajiri uses the time loop caused by "Bites the Dust" to spill hot coffee on Kira, he puts his wrist watch inside of his shirt pocket instead of wearing it on his burned wrist. It saves his life when Hayato later tries to kill him with Stray Cat's air bullets. [[spoiler:In the end, this destroyed watch makes Kira realize that his final desperate attempt to use Bites the Dust failed and he got turned into a ghost, as it should have been restored had the time loop succeeded.]]
82* ''Anime/LupinIII'':
83** In ''Anime/LupinIIIIslandOfAssassins'', Zenigata is shot in the opening segment, and the bullet hits the badge in his pocket. While it keeps the shot from being ''instantly'' fatal, it still injures him severely. He's hospitalized immediately, but still flatlines.
84** The movie ''Anime/LupinIIIMissedByADollar'' has a more plausible example, with a bullet bouncing off of Lupin's gun. Unfortunately, the animators depict the bullet (in a slow-motion flashback) bouncing off at an angle that would have buried it in Lupin's head...
85* In ''Manga/MaidenRose'', the [[MementoMacguffin textbook Taki wrote in]] slows down the bullets that Klaus takes at point-blank range in Volume 2, causing the wounds to be non-fatal.
86* Played with in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''. "Do you suppose the bullet was stopped by a silver dollar in his pocket?" "The Bible and a metal lighter are also options."
87* Used with a twist in ''Anime/MegaloBox'': Aragaki is given a losing dog-racing ticket as a memento by Nanbu before shipping off to war, with Nanbu joking that the ticket couldn't buy them a goodbye dinner [[LampshadeHanging but might stop a bullet for him]]. The ticket ends up saving Aragaki's life by falling out of his jacket when he was about [[DrivenToSuicide to shoot himself]], causing him to break down crying instead of going through with it.
88* An example in a later episode of ''Manga/MiracleGirls'' where Mika gets saved from a knife hurled by [[spoiler:Takamura using psychic powers]] because it hits the pocket watch she got from Chris.
89* In a pinch, Rin Asougi of ''Anime/{{Mnemosyne}}'' uses a hotel Bible to block a bullet from an assassin's small caliber, silenced pistol. And then dug out the bullet and threw it into the assassin's face, blinding her in one eye.
90* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'' gives us Aina's pocket watch/locket, which saves her from a bullet by hanging in front of her heart during the final episode.
91* In ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray'', an angry Rondo Gina Sahaku tries to shoot Lowe and the Red Frame InTheBack after the latter defeats him and the Gold Frame. To Gina's shock, his beam rifle shot is reflected off the shattered piece of the Red Frame's "Gerbera Straight" katana that ''he'' broke.
92* In ''Manga/OutlawStar'', Gene takes a surprise shot to the gut that fortunately only succeeds in ruining his rather bulky PDA.
93* In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', Blue would have been killed off by a RazorWind aimed at his heart had it not been blocked by a pendant given to him by his grandfather, Professor Oak.
94* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Ahiru fends of a sword attack from Fakir ([[ItMakesSenseInContext don't ask]]) with a PaperFanOfDoom.
95* In ''Manga/Reborn2004'' while taking on [[BigBad Byakuran]], Tsuna was losing badly. An attack from Byakuran almost pierced Tsuna through the heart, only to be stopped by Lanchia's Ring, an object last seen 140 chapters earlier.
96* In the first episode of ''Anime/RODTheTV'', the paper sisters are flying alongside Nenene's plane, trying to save the author from an assassin. The youngest pokes her head out to look in windows, and we see the assassin shoot at the girl a few times, breaking windows of the airplane. The girl ducks back into the paper beast, readying her rescue attempt, and, after Nenene is saved, reveals the signed copy of Nenene's book, with a huge bullet hole through the cover, digging down through most of the book. She then says, "You need to write thicker books, my defense isn't so good..." Subverted as the Paper Sisters have control over the elemental powers of paper, and use loose sheets of paper to stop bombs exploding, among other things.
97* In the ''Manga/RedRiver1995'' manga, Kail was saved from a fatal arrow strike, thanks to Yuri's letter to him being conveniently kept and shattered near his heart. This letter was a clay tablet, however, and he still had a nasty wound from it afterwards.
98* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Sanosuke punches Anji in the heart, which should have killed or crippled him, but Anji's Buddhist prayer tablet inside his robes took the hit.
99* ''Manga/SailorMoon'' is forced to stab a BrainwashedAndCrazy [[JamesBondage Mamoru]] in the chest, and she's so traumatized that she attempts suicide... except he lived because the sword was stopped by the crystallized forms of the Shitennou, and she did too because the blade hit the pocket watch Mamoru had let her borrow.
100* One chapter of the ''Anime/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' manga has a bullet intended for the title character getting stopped by a "No War" button one of his students pinned on his back.
101* Parodied in ''Manga/{{Senyuu}}''. A character claims to have been saved from a spear by a memento dagger in his front pocket, but Hero points out that everyone saw him get ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice. He refuses to admit that he died and had an UnexplainedRecovery.
102* ''Manga/{{Spriggan}}''. [[ChekhovsGun Yu shows Rie the message plate]] left as a warning to future generations by AdvancedAncientHumans, saying it's MadeOfIndestructium. Later he's slashed with an [[{{Hihiirokane}} Hihiirokane saber]] wielded by Moroha, who's surprised because NoOneCouldSurviveThat It's implied this trope happened because Yu then uses the plate to block Moroha's sword directly.
103* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'':
104** In the finale of the Death Gun arc, [[spoiler:Kirito is stabbed by Kyouji with a syringe containing a lethal drug that he and his brother had used for their other murders as Death Gun. The syringe is stopped by an electrode that had been left on when he ran to Shino's house from the hospital]].
105** [[spoiler:[[ChekhovsGun That same electrode]] ends up saving Sinon during ''War of Underworld'', stopping Subtilizer's last' bullet and giving her an opening to recharge her weapon and fire to finish him off]].
106* ''Literature/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'': In Sword Art Online and games developed from its engine, some things are coded as "Immortal Objects", meaning they can't be destroyed. One such item is the "Satellite Scan Terminal" in Gun Gale Online's Bullet of Bullet and Squad Jam tournaments. At least until [[spoiler: [=LLENN=]]] survives a full clip to the heart because she had her Scan Terminal in her breast pocket. [[ObviousRulePatch In the next game, the Scan Terminal is no longer an Immortal Object]].
107* At the end of ''Anime/SwordOfTheStranger'', Nanashi and Luo Lang's sword duel ends when they both stab each other in the chest at the same time, they collapse to the ground both seemingly dying, it is then revealed that Nanashi survived because Lang had stabbed the gem Kotaro had given him earlier as payment for being his bodyguard which caused his sword to miss his heart.
108* In ''Manga/{{Trigun}}: Badlands Rumble'', Vash is saved from a gunshot wound to the heart by a rock-hard chunk of [[HorseOfADifferentColor Tomas]] meat that he'd tried and failed to get an edible knife scraping off of earlier in the movie.
109* In ''Anime/UnlimitedPsychicSquad'', Andy's PowerLimiter stops a bullet from [[spoiler:his boss's attempt at YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness]]. Rather impressive, since the savior trinket is about the size and shape of a quarter; he's lucky the bullet didn't force the whole thing partway into his chest.
110* In ''Anime/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', after Shiki learns that Neku has two Player Pins, which allow people to participate in the Reapers' Game, she proposes that he keep the second near his heart so it can "stop a bullet like a miniature shield." The second pin actually does come in handy, but not for this reason -- [[spoiler:it allows him to continue playing after Kitaniji destroys the other Player Pin.]]
111* In the ''Manga/YokaiWatch'' manga, a manga volume under Nate's shirt saves him from being stabbed in the gut.
112* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Joey uses the trap card "Silver Dollar" to stop Siegfried's attack. This results in a silver dollar in Sasuke Samurai's shirt blocking Valkyrie Erste's sword.
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder:Audio Plays]]
116* In the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' story "Return of the Rocket Men", Steven is able to survive a shot to the heart by stuffing [[ConvenienceStoreGiftShopping a 1967 diary given to him as a birthday present]] into the front of his spacesuit, although this is {{Justified}} in two ways -- first, he had already witnessed exactly where the bullet was going to hit him thanks to a StableTimeLoop, and second he put a sheet of improvised metal armour in the back cover (turning it into a ShoutOut to ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'' to match the story's SpaghettiWestern theme).
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Comedy]]
120* Brilliantly spoofed by Creator/WoodyAllen in his monologue back in the days when he was a stand-up comic:
121-->'''Woody:''' Years ago, my mother gave me a bullet... a bullet, and I put it in my breast pocket. Two years after that, I was walking down the street, when a berserk evangelist heaved a Gideon Bible out a hotel room window, hitting me in the chest. Bible would have gone through my heart if it wasn't for the bullet.
122* One Creator/BillyConnolly joke involves a soldier with a watch in his breast pocket. When fired upon the bullet would have pierced his heart had it not been for the watch case... which caused it to ricochet off and blast through his skull instead.
123* Stand-up comic [[BlackComedy Anthony Jeselnik]] tells a story about this:
124-->'''Anthony:'''' Now, I'm not a religious man. But my Uncle Tom? Super-religious. And one day, during a walk, he was mugged and shot in the chest. Now, miraculously -- and I mean miraculously -- he always kept a Bible in his left front pocket. And he had something to read while he bled to death.
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Comic Books]]
128* In ''ComicBook/BatLash'' #2, a young girl is saved from a bullet when it hits the doll she is carrying. Earlier, her father (who was a USMarshal) had hidden his metal cigar case inside the doll; the case containing proof that the local undertaker was running guns to the Indians. The bullet bounces off the case.
129* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
130** Happens in one early story featuring ComicBook/TwoFace. Two-Face tosses his coin to decide if he should reform. The coin lands on its edge; stuck in a gap in the floorboards. Two-Face refuses to flip it again and puts the coin away in his breast pocket, saying it is now up to fate to determine if he should be good or evil. When a policeman shoots at Two-Face, the bullet deflects off the coin. When Two-Face looks at the coin, he sees that the bullet struck the scarred side of the coin. He takes this a sign that he is supposed to be a criminal.
131** In ''[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison The Return of Bruce Wayne]]'', an amnesiac Bruce Wayne wakes up in hospital; his life apparently having been saved by Mordecai Wayne's journal he was carrying in his pocket.
132* ''ComicBook/Batman66'': The batarang in the back of Batman's utility belt prevented Bane from crushing his spine.
133* ''ComicBook/CodeNameGravedigger'': In ''Men of War'' #10, Gravedigger is shot in the middle of the chest by the Nazis, only for the bullet to be stopped by a locket given to him by an elderly Jewish man earlier that evening. This allows him to seemingly rise from the dead a few minutes later and inflict righteous vengeance on the Nazis.
134* In a ''ComicBook/DylanDog'' story, Groucho gets saved from a bullet to the heart by the Bible he had previously stuffed in his jacket, and [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the cliche. Then he reveals that he has at least seven other books inside his jacket.
135* ''ComicBook/HackSlash'': In ''Fame Monster'', Vlad is saved from a magical blast fired by an assassin when it strikes the machete he is carrying in the pocket of his BadassLongcoat.
136* ''ComicBook/IKilledAdolfHitler'': Hitler is saved by (of course) a copy of ''Mein Kampf'' in his pocket.
137* ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'':
138** One of the {{evil poacher}}s who killed Jon's family is saved from Jon's RoaringRampageOfRevenge by the AK-47 he was carrying at chest height. Jon's bullet hits the rifle and the impact is enough to knock the poacher out, leading Jon to assume he is dead.
139** In #20, Jon gets shot by a rookie cop. The doctor tells Capt. Winters he is lucky, but stable. He shows Winters the jacket Jon wore and says one round hit him in the hip and 5 in the torso, though 3 rounds were stopped by the folded manuscript that Jon had inside his jacket. The doctor asks if they are shooting marshmallows and Winters says .38 cal, the next best thing.
140* Used as the origin of the ComicBook/MarvelNoir-verse version of ''ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|Noir}}''. Unlike his mainline counterpart he's not really invulnerable, people just think he is because he survived being shot in the chest, which turned out to be the result of the bullets lodging in a flask he was carrying.
141* Spoofed in ''[[ComicBook/RatMan1989 Rat-Man]]'': when our hero was mistaken to have killed ComicBook/ThePunisher's aunt, Castle eventually shot him, but a Bible stopped the bullet to the heart... And given Castle emptied a Colt 1911's magazine into him, a Quran stopped the one to the spleen, ''[[Creator/KarlMarx Das Kapital]]'' the one to the stomach, a copy of ''Literature/TheBetrothed'' another, [[OverlyLongGag and so on]].
142* ''ComicBook/RoughRiders'': When General Linares shoots Annie Oakley, the bullet is stopped by a hip flask (a gift from Wild Bill Hickcock) that she has [[VictoriasSecretCompartment stuffed down her cleavage]].
143* Played for laughs in ''ComicBook/TheSimpingDetective''. Jack and Demarco get into a firefight with some mooks, during which Jack takes a hit. Demarco asks him if it's bad, only for Jack to pull out his hipflask, which has a large hole in it and is now leaking whiskey.
144-->'''Jack Point:''' It's worse!
145* ''ComicBook/SinCity'' plays this straight in the yarn ''The Big Fat Kill''. Dwight is apparently killed by a shot to the heart, and we only realize he's alive when his attackers find the badge he'd lifted from a dead cop earlier...with the bullet lodged in it. Needless to say, this is an OhCrap moment for Dwight's would-be killer, just before Dwight comes back with a vengeance.
146* ''ComicBook/StarWarsTagAndBink'': Tag is shot by Boba Fett but the blaster bolt bounces off Chewie's medal which he had just put on. Twice.
147* In the ''ComicBook/StrontiumDog'' "Outlaw" story, Middenface's money belt saves him from Stix's blaster. Unfortunately, it costs him about 40,000 credits.
148* Invoked in one Franchise/{{Superman}} comic where Clark Kent has to explain why he is unharmed after apparently just being shot. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a silver dollar, denting it with his SuperStrength as he does so, and claims that the bullet deflected off the coin.
149* In the ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'' story arc "Body Count" near the end Casey Jones gets shot near the heart Raphael thinks he's dead and carries his body around with him, it is later revealed that he is alive his lucky Wayne Gretsky autographed hockey puck had been strapped to his chest for such an emergency.
150* In a [[StoryWithinAStory double-fictional]] version of ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' called ''From the Mountain to the City'', Spider Jerusalem (here imagined as a grizzled, musclebound pacifist) is saved from a cop's stray fire this way. [[StylisticSuck Naturally, it's about as ham-handed as possible.]]
151-->'''Alt-Spider:''' The steel hypodermic syringe case [[{{Infodump}} my best friend Mitch Royce gave me]] as a thank-you gift for taking on the column to save his career! It stopped the bullet!
152* In ''ComicBook/{{Trigger}}'', Carter Lennox is shot by an assassin he witnessed in the act. He's saved by a hardcover of ''Literature/TheLongGoodbye'' that he had in his coat pocket, with the bullet not even getting through the whole book. He muses, "I think Phillip Marlowe just saved my life." Humorously, he isn't finished reading it and doesn't let the bullet hole stop him.
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:Comic Strips]]
156* ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'':
157** In "The Vampire of Malvescu", Willy is saved when a bullet fired at him hit the tin mug he was holding. Justified by the bullet being a soft nose that deformed on hitting the mug and lodged in the far wall. The mug still hit him with enough force to knock him out and break a rib.
158** In "The Killing Distance", Sir Gerald (barely) survives a sniper's bullet when it deflects off a medal on the costume he was wearing.
159** In "The Hanging Judge", Willie is saved when a crossbow bolt deflects off the bandoleer of knives he is wearing. Again, he is left wounded, but alive and mobile.
160* Bill Mauldin drew a ''ComicStrip/WillieAndJoe'' cartoon during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII that shows a soldier writing a letter to Margaret Mitchell, author of ''Film/GoneWithTheWind''. The letter's opening makes it clear her book saved his life during the invasion of Italy.
161[[/folder]]
162
163[[folder:Fan Works]]
164* A variant in ''Fanfic/DiariesOfAMadman'', where a throwing knife aimed at Navarone is randomly deflected by a stud in his clothing. It doesn't do much to stop the next two aimed at his wings, though.
165* In the ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex''/''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' crossover ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9894086/1/HOPES-and-FEARS HOPES and FEARS]]'', a cross necklace Saito gives Prince Wales saves him from the sword stab that killed him in canon.
166* In ''The Killer Dame'' (a parody of the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "The Killing Game") a member of LaResistance has a bullet stopped by his cigarette case, only to drop dead from the blunt-force trauma to his heart.
167* In the FanFilm ''Film/NeverHikeAlone'', protagonist Kyle [=McLeod=] is saved from a fatal machete strike thanks to his hiking guidebook he stuffed in his pocket. Downplayed, however, as the book merely softened the blow and got stabbed all the way through, leaving him with a nasty, albeit survivable, wound.
168* ''Fanfic/OniGaShikuSeries'': Doubled with ChekhovsGun, [[spoiler:Nishiki's old lighter]] that Izuku carries as a good luck charm saves his life when [[spoiler:he [[TakingTheBullet takes the bullet]] for Akatani.]]
169* A side story of ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' focused on [[{{Ninja}} Sanpei]] has him confronting a villain named Capriccio, who is part of Team Cipher. He takes his kunai and stabs him in the chest with it. Sanpei drops himself on the ground and plays dead until Capriccio leaves, revealing that a scroll he was keeping in his chest pouch saved him.
170* Ellen Brand's ''Supernatural'' series of ''Manga/CaseClosed'' fics mentions this in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3992650/1/Gift-of-the-Moon the fifth story]], where it's noted that the professional assassin and sniper Snake, AKA Jackal (who'd murdered the first Kaito Kid by sabotaging his stage equipment), had twice shot the second and current Kaito Kid. Both times, Kid survived -- once from a well-hidden BulletproofVest, and once because of this trope, when the bullet struck a gem in the thief's pocket.
171* Parodied in ''Fanfic/TheVinylAndOctaviaSeries''. Vinyl survives a stabbing from a sword thanks to a miniature subwoofer she has strapped to her chest.
172[[/folder]]
173
174[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
175* Done straight in the Creator/AlfredHitchcock film ''Film/{{The 39 Steps|1935}}'' with a hymn-book (which happened to be inside a coat that the hero has been given). Cue gag about some of the hymns being "awfully hard to get through".
176* In ''Film/TheAggressionScale'', Owen is saved from Lloyd's bullet by the hubcap he had stolen and shoved down his sweatshirt to use as a weapon. The bullet still goes through it, but is slowed down enough that lodges in his sternum rather than pentrating his chest cavity.
177* A variant appears in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. Loki needs to touch a person over their heart with his scepter to [[{{Brainwashed}} control]] them. [[spoiler:He tries this on Iron Man, but the arc reactor in Tony's chest gets in the way]].
178* The ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy features Marty taking a cue from Creator/ClintEastwood ([[ImMrFuturePopCultureReference AS]] Clint Eastwood) using the front plate of a coal oven as an improvised BulletproofVest under his poncho. The actual event happens in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' but Marty sees Clint do it in a movie in Biff's suite in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII''.
179* In ''Film/Batman1989'' with Michael Keaton, the Joker shoots Bruce Wayne in the chest at close range with a small pistol. Luckily Bruce had hidden a metal tray under his jacket in the scene before expecting just this (good thing the Joker didn't shoot for the head). There's a reason it's called a BatmanGambit.
180* In ''Film/BeachParty'', Von Zipper punches Sutwell in the stomach, but only succeeds in breaking the tape recorder he's wearing under his shirt.
181* A variation in ''Film/BigGame'', as Moore defends himself from a knife with a book so [[{{Doorstopper}} thick]] the blade isn't long enough to punch through.
182* The climax of the kung-fu film, ''Film/TheBloodyBladeOfKingLanling'', ends with the heroine, Duan Mu-Lan ([[Literature/TheBalladOfMulan no relation]]) sacrificing herself by allowing the evil vizier responsible for her father's death to stab her, allowing the hero, Lanling, to impale the vizier. Cue the heroine seemingly [[DiedInYourArmsTonight succumbing in Lanling's arms]], sad music plays in the background, a scene later Lanling is a newly-promoted minister and building an orphanage in Mu-Lan's honour... and cue Mu-Lan, ''alive'', riding up beside Lanling. It turns out the jade pendant Lanling gave Mu-Lan on their first meeting absorbed what would've been an otherwise fatal stab.
183* In ''Film/BooneTheBountyHunter'', Boone gets shot in the chest, but has only a bruise due to it being stopped by the metal case holding his "Boone Deputy" signed trading cards.
184* Happens twice in the Japanese film ''Film/BrandedToKill''. The main character gets shot by his psycho wife and falls over, but he was hit in his large belt buckle. Later, he figures out that the assassin hired to kill him always hits his victims with a perfect headshot to the center of the forehead. Just before entering the final showdown, he puts his girlfriend's hairband over his forehead. As he steps out of hiding, he's immediately shot and falls over. As the assassin turns to leave, we see the broken hairband on the floor as the hero jumps up and shoots the assassin.
185* In ''Film/BringingDownTheHouse'', Charlene is saved by Peter's titanium-cased phone in her bra when her ex-boyfriend Widow is revealed as the BigBad and shoots her. The impact is still bad enough to have briefly knocked her out and she wakes up groaning loudly about how much it hurt.
186* ''Film/BulletTrain'': The phone in Ladybug's breast pocket saves him from a surprise stabbing from The Wolf.
187* ''Film/ChipNDaleRescueRangers2022'': [[spoiler: Near the end, a [[OneWingedAngel hodge]][[MixAndMatchCritter podged]] Sweet Pete tries to hit the chipmunks with a cannonball fired from a robotic ArmCannon, and Dale [[TakingTheBullet jumps in front of Chip to take the blow]]. Fortunately, Dale had his special golden ''Rescue Rangers'' pog hidden in his shirt.]]
188-->'''[[spoiler: [[AnimateInanimateObject Cannonball]]]]:''' [[spoiler: Ow, that pog smashed my nose!]]
189* Ronald Reagan's character in ''Film/CodeOfTheSecretService'' was saved by carrying the book 'Spanish in 7 Days' in his breast pocket.
190* ''Film/CurseOfTheUndead'': This is how Robey explains his survival after being shot in the chest by Buffer. Of course, being a vampire, normal bullets do not effect him.
191* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Deadpool 2}}'': [[spoiler:After Deadpool gets fatally shot, Cable [[TimeTravel slips back in time]] to before the fight and sneaks Deadpool's Skee-Ball token keepsake into his chest pocket. Deadpool has enough of a RippleEffectProofMemory to call him out on it.]]
192* In ''Film/{{Deewaar}}'', Vijay's "786" badge saves him this way when he's shot by one of Samant's men while stealing the gold back.
193* ''Film/DoraAndTheLostCityOfGold'': Randy gets shot in the side with an arrow and freaks out when he sees red liquid spilling. Then it turns out the arrow hit a juice box in his pocket.
194* In ''Film/TheFall'', the Black Bandit tries to shoot his love (because she's engaged to be married to Odious, the [[BestServedCold man he's sworn to kill]]), but his bullet is stopped by her heart-shaped locket. It then falls open -- she's been unable to open it for years -- and reveals a message left by her father, telling her to marry for no reason other than love. The characters take this as a sign that they should get married. (Amusingly, the tale of the Black Bandit is actually a [[ShowWithinAShow story being told to a young girl]]. At this point, she gets upset because she thinks people in love should get together. Since he has to keep his sole audience happy, the story teller winds up having to invoke this trope and everything afterwards as a blatant AssPull.)
195* The film Marty saw in the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' example above is ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', where Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name hides a metal plate under his poncho before the final showdown. In that fight, Blondie deliberately goads his opponent to aim at his chest, which is the only part of his body that is armored.
196* The Music/ElvisPresley film ''Film/FrankieAndJohnny1966'' has Elvis' Johnny survive being shot onstage by a NotSoFakePropWeapon when the bullet is lodged in the lucky cricket pendant Frankie had given him earlier.
197* ''Film/{{Gettysburg}}'': During [[StandYourGround the Twentieth Maine's epic defense of Little Round Top]], Colonel Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) is hit and knocked flat by an enemy musket ball, but when he gets up he discovers that it merely dented his (''very'' skinny) sword scabbard. His reaction? He examines the bent scabbard and remarks calmly, "I'll be damned." This was loosely based on an actual incident which happened to the real Colonel Chamberlain.
198* In ''Film/GlassOnion'', [[spoiler:Helen Brand]] survives a gunshot to the chest from an unknown assailant, which ''looks'' like it kills her, but it later turns out that [[spoiler:her sister's journal in her coat pocket stopped the bullet, saving her life. It helps that said gun appears to be low-calibre and was first fired through a thick pane of glass, and even then, it still came close to piercing her skin, just barely stopping short]].
199* ''Film/TheGoldenChild''. When the demon tries to stab Chandler Jarrell with the Dagger it hits the medallion the old man/priest gave him.
200* A story along these lines is told near the end of ''Film/Heist2001'' when veteran thief Bobby (Delroy Lindo) is sitting in a van with a sort-of partner, Jimmy (Sam Rockwell) before a heist.
201-->'''Bobby:''' Sometimes the adrenaline hits, it gives you the shakes.\
202'''Jimmy:''' I'm alright.\
203'''Bobby:''' No, I'm just saying, sometimes adrenaline gives people the shakes, some other people mistake it for cowardice, maybe you want to pray about it.\
204'''Jimmy:''' I'm not a religious man.\
205'''Bobby:''' There's nothing wrong with prayer.\
206'''Jimmy:''' You think so?\
207'''Bobby:''' I'm in this firefight, this trooper, always carried a Bible next to his heart, we used to mock him. That Bible stopped a bullet.\
208'''Jimmy:''' No shit.\
209'''Bobby:''' Hand to God, that Bible stopped a bullet, would've ruined that fucker's heart. And had he had another Bible in front of his face, that man would be alive today.
210* ''Film/HardBoiled'': A cigarette lighter blunts the force of a bullet enough that the guy shot only goes into intensive care after managing to relay important information to the cops. [[spoiler:The lighter was sleight-of-handed into his pocket by an undercover cop, shortly before firing the "killing shot" into that area.]]
211* In ''Film/HardTarget'' it happens twice. The first time is a subversion since the homeless man's dog tags fail ''completely'' to stop an arrow fired at his heart. Later, it happens when Chance's uncle gets stabbed in the chest with an arrow. It it later revealed that the arrow only pierced the hip flask he kept some moonshine in.
212* Occurs in the ending of ''Film/HeroesAmongHeroes'', an early 90s Creator/DonnieYen action flick based on UsefulNotes/WongFeiHung and starring Yen as Beggar So. Fei-Hung and Beggar So takes on the BigBad on a martial arts duel, until the villain decides playing dirty by grabbing a flintlock pistol and trying to shoot the heroes. Beggar So got hit in the chest, but still managed to use his Eagle Claw kung fu [[ImpromptuTracheotomy to rip out the villain's neck]]; in the aftermath it turns out a bronze coin Fei-Hung gave Beggar So as a lucky charm took the bullet.
213* ''Film/HotFuzz'', with Nicholas' trusty police notebook! In this case, the [[spoiler: knife wasn't blocked, but rather Danny faked stabbing Nicholas Angel and used the ketchup to make the deception more convincing.]]
214* Parodied in ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux:'' Ramada is saved by a locket about the size of a dime, which upon examination still has the perfect condition, large caliber bullet -- [[CartridgesInFlight including the cartridge]] -- lodged in it.
215* ''Film/JamesBond''
216** In ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', Bond is saved from an assassin's knife by a wad of cash he had earlier won while gambling with the BigBad Kamal Khan.
217---> '''Bond:''' Thank God for hard currency!
218** In ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', Bond tries to shoot Jaws in the face, only for the bullet to ricochet off [[RedRightHand his steel teeth]].
219* Another Michael Keaton movie, ''Film/JohnnyDangerously'', featured this trope, with Jack Dundee's cigarette case (which Johnny fills with chewing gum instead once Dundee gives it to him). It has a dent from an attempt on Dundee's life, and it later saves [[spoiler: Johnny's brother Tommy]] from an assassin's bullet as well.
220* Subverted in ''Film/KissKissBangBang''. Robert Downey Jr is shot by the bad guy and collapses; the love interest is afraid that he's been killed, but wait! He sits up, and pulls out from his pocket that trashy detective novel from earlier in the movie, with a bullet hole in it! But then she realises that, wait a minute -- the bullet hole goes right through. He's been shot in the chest and is in dire need of an ambulance. (The bullet may have been slowed down by passing through [[spoiler:his partner]] first.)
221* In ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'', The Chosen One is saved from Master Betty's deadly technique by having... a ''squirrel'' hidden in his clothes. And the squirrel is still alive, accepting peanuts in his hand-shaped imprint of a body! This was actually done in the original Kung Fu movie that Kung Pow was an edit of as well, only there the hero had a metal plate under his clothes. Using a squirrel was just funnier.
222* In ''Film/TheLegendOfZorro'', [[spoiler: Father Quintero appears to die from a shot, but then he comes back later and reveals that he was saved by his crucifix necklace.]]
223* Referenced in ''Film/LoveAtFirstBite'', where Dracula is revealed to have survived his 1931 staking by Van Helsing because of a cigarette case Renfield gave him for his 650th birthday.
224* Used as a plot point in ''Film/TheManWhoWouldBeKing''. Danny's bandolier beneath his coat stops an arrow. All the villagers who see it assume that he's impervious to harm and worship him as a god. This gives them idea of using the GodGuise trick that eventually causes their downfall.
225* ''Film/NiebezpieczniDzentelmeni'': [[spoiler: The copy of Volaire's "Candide" in Żeleński's pocket saves him from being shot by the bolshevik assasin]]
226* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInChina'', Lian Quan is saved by the pocket watch Sun gave him earlier from a bullet. Luke lampshaded this. [[spoiler: Subverted the next second where Luke himself was shot in an area that his own watch couldn't protect him.]]
227* The Spaghetti Western ''Film/OneSilverDollar'' has the protagonist being saved by a bullet because of a... silver dollar in his pocket.
228* In ''Film/{{Paul}}'' Ruth's father gets shot in the chest, only to show up later, showing the bullet lodged in his copy of Literature/TheBible.
229* A villan using this is in ''Film/PlunkettAndMacleane'' cheats death. [[spoiler: General Chance manages to survive a duel to the death with a Bible over his heart]].
230* ''Film/Predator2''. Before going in to fight the Predator, Harrigan puts a metal plate in his shirt to protect against its attacks.
231* In ''Film/ProblemChild'', Ben (Creator/JohnRitter) survives a bullet to the chest because it hits an old, dried prune he had in his shirt pocket. In a slight subversion, [[spoiler:the bullet goes straight through one or two other mementos in the same pocket.]]
232-->'''Ben:''' It's all right, officer... he got me in the prune.
233* In ''Film/RecklessKelly'', an assassin sent by the villain shoots the hero in the chest with a stupidly big gun, and the bullet is stopped by the tacky oversized crucifix the hero had been wearing as part of a costume for a B-movie in which he was acting.
234* Happens twice in ''Film/TheReturner''. Miyamoto accidentally shoots Milly when she appears, but she's protected by a metal plate in her jacket. Justified by the fact that she's a time traveler from AfterTheEnd and was probably wearing it for just such a reason. Later on, Miyamoto gets shot in the heart but is saved by [[spoiler:the same metal plate, which a further-future version of Milly put in his jacket. Again justified, because Milly knew exactly where and when he was going to get shot (presumably from looking up his coroner's report).]]
235* A similar sequence happens in ''Film/RushHour2'', where Carter is saved from a sword wound by a wad of counterfeit 100 dollar bills.
236* The German western parody ''Film/DerSchuhDesManitu'' has a character saved by a gingerbread heart, which is at least 10 years old and has become hard as rock.
237* In ''Film/Seven1979'', Mailei doublecrosses Cowboy, shoots him, and leaves him for dead. However, Cowboy survives because the bullet the deflects off his lucky medal he wears on a chain round his neck.
238* ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'' also subverts this; the corrupt sheriff dies when a bullet goes right through his sheriff star badge, which dramatically fails to stop it. There has to be AnAesop in there somewhere.
239* ''Film/SinCity'': Dwight is apparently killed by a shot to the heart, and we only realize he's alive when his attackers find the badge he'd lifted from a dead cop earlier...with the bullet lodged in it.
240* In Creator/TheAsylum's ''Film/SirArthurConanDoylesSherlockHolmes'', Holmes is saved from Miss Ivory's bullet by his tobacco case. This is a {{call back}} to Thorpe's early comment that Sherlock's tobacco habit would be deleterious to his health.
241* ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'': Ichabod is saved from Lady Van Tassel's shot by Katrina's book in his jacket.
242* ''Film/StayTuned'': In the western, when Spike shoots Roy, much to his family's horror...But upon investigating, the remote Roy had on him took the bullet.
243-->'''Roy:''' ...You missed me, pardner.
244* In ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'', the main character doesn't stop a bullet, but rather a ''bus''. The icing on the cake? It's with his ''watch''. Granted, they slammed on the brakes, but the metal shards from the watch jammed into his veins and stopped him from bleeding to death. This was an absolutely shameless in-universe AuthorsSavingThrow.
245* ''Film/StrippedToKill'': During their final fight, Cody plunges the killer's own knife into their chest. However, he is saved by [[spoiler:the fake breasts he was wearing as part of the bodysuit that allowed him to impersonate his sister]].
246* ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'': While assaulting the federal building, Captain Boomerang gets stabbed in the chest by one of the zombies. After he cuts the zombie's head off, it is revealed he was saved by a huge wad of cash he had apparently stashed in his jacket offscreen.
247* ''Film/SupportYourLocalSheriff'':
248** Subverted in this western comedy when the newly-hired sheriff of a lawless Western town is given his badge, which has a nasty bullet-dent in it...
249--->'''Sheriff:''' This must have saved the life of whoever was wearing it.\
250'''Mayor:''' Sure would have, if it hadn'ta been for all them other bullets flyin' in from everywhere!
251** Later played straight: the outlaw patriarch gives his false teeth to his son for safekeeping during the firefight.
252--->'''Danby Jr:''' Pa! Your teeth! They saved my life!\
253'''Danby Sr:''' Always worryin' about YOUR life! What am I going to chew with now?!
254* ''Film/TheyCallMeBruce''. Bruce wins the jackpot from a slot machine and so many coins pour out, he has to stuff them down his pants and shirt because his pockets are full. As he's staggering to his hotel room, a mafia hitman tries to stab him only to hit the coins instead.
255-->'''Bruce:''' Call a doctor!
256-->'''Karmen:''' You're not bleeding! That knife never touched you.
257-->'''Bruce:''' Then call a banker!
258* ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993'' Aramis is shot, but his crucifix stops the bullet. He quips, "I told you there's a God!"
259* In the first part of the ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers2023'', D'Artagnan gets shot point-blank with a musket during his first skirmish against Milady's men. Luckily, he had a Bible in his coat's pocket that stopped the bullet.
260* ''Film/TrickRTreat'' has a variation. When the killer trick'r'treater Sam tries to stab GrumpyOldMan Mr. Kreeg with a [[EdibleBludgeon sharpened lollipop]], the lollipop impales a candy bar that had fallen on Mr. Kreeg's chest. Sam takes this as an offering ("Something good to eat") and leaves Kreeg alive.
261* In a crossover with ThrowTheBookAtThem, Travis blocks an incoming chisel by throwing a Bible at the attacker in ''Film/TheVisitation'' and instead has the book blocking the incoming weapon.
262* In ''Film/WhisperingSmith'', Smith shoots Leroy and Gabby Barton and is saved when a bullet is deflected by a harmonica in his pocket.
263* In ''Film/WhiteHouseDown'', President Sawyer is saved from a bullet by Lincoln's pocket watch. Didn't stop him from getting shot earlier, but then those guys had automatic weapons that certainly wouldn't have been hampered by the watch.
264* ''Film/Wishmaster2EvilNeverDies'': Morgana is shot in the chest by one of the gallery guards, but the bullet is stopped by the gem she had snatched out of the statue and stashed in her top. This saves her life, but splits the gem and releases the Djinn.
265* Featured at the climax of a short film at a theme park (Disneyland?) A "[[NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning please turn off your phone]]" ad plays, at which point an actor starts walking around talking loudly on his mobile. He's promptly punished by being pulled "into" the film, and cycles through several different genres. He ends up in a medieval battle and is only saved from death by arrow thanks to this trope.
266[[/folder]]
267
268[[folder:Literature]]
269* In ''The Bad Bunch'' by Creator/JTEdson, Dusty Fog's life is saved when a bullet from a derringer strikes his belt buckle. The impact is still enough to lay him out in bed for several days.
270* In the ''Literature/BenSnow'' short story "The Trail of the Golden Cross", Ben is saved from being shot in the back when the bullet deflects off the eponymous cross, which he had concealed by hiding it in the small of his back under his shirt.
271* A DiscussedTrope in the short story "Best of Luck" by Creator/DavidDrake. The protagonist is in the middle of 'Nam and carries a lucky silver dollar with him. He's heard stories of people being saved from a bullet by something they keep close to their chests and wonders if the dollar will save him in such a manner. He quickly dismisses the idea since a silver dollar by itself isn't going to stop bullets of the caliber being used by the Viet Cong. [[spoiler:The silver dollar does save his life in a very different manner however.]]
272* ''Literature/{{Clue}}'': At the end of book 5, Mr. Boddy is stabbed in the chest by [[spoiler:Miss Scarlet]]... but the introduction of book 6 reveals that he wasn't hurt a bit because the Knife was stopped by his "custom-made, titanium-lined, mega-million sized" wallet.
273* ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'':
274** Subverted in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresDeathAndDiplomacy Death and Diplomacy]]'': a character tells the story of his grandfather, who went away to war wearing a crucifix of great sentimental value. One day, a bullet fired at him hit the crucifix -- which shattered, aggravating a wound that would otherwise not have been lethal.
275** In the ''Short Trips: Past Tense'' story "All Done With Mirrors", the Doctor is saved from a stab to the heart due to a copy of the ''Complete Works of [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]]'' that he kept in his breast pocket. Then he [[StableTimeLoop gives the book as a parting gift to William Shakespeare himself, telling him 'only to look at it if he gets stuck']].
276* In ''Literature/TheDrawingOfTheThree'', the second book of ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series, Jack Mort is saved from a bullet by his cigarette lighter; the lighter, however, shatters, and Mort's shirt catches fire. Five minutes later, Roland makes him jump in front of a train.
277* In ''Literature/EndOfWatch'', the villain shoots a former co-worker point-blank and leaves her for dead. While the bullet did penetrate enough to cause blood loss, several layers of clothes and an almost absurd number of objects in her breast pocket kept the impact from being lethal.
278* In ''Literature/ExpirationDate'', the protagonist is shot by the villain in the final confrontation, but is saved by a memento of his father he's carrying inside his shirt.
279* In ''[[Literature/ThursdayNext The Eyre Affair]]'', Thursday Next is saved from a bullet by a copy of Jane Eyre in her pocket. She still suffers serious injury, though, and received first aid from none other than Mr. Rochester himself.
280* Subverted in ''Literature/FortuneDeFrance''. "This medal would later save my life, but not in the manner that you think."
281* In the novel ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'', Literature/JamesBond is saved from Red Grant's bullet by his trusty cigarette case. Which Bond surreptiously put in place while the mentally dubious Grant explained how they'd set him up: Grant was using a special gun disguised in a book. Meant for public executions, it used a special low-power cartridge for minimum noise, and an expanding (dum-dum) bullet for maximum damage from the low power. As Fleming tended to play such tropes more realistically, the bullet still knocks the wind out of Bond and leaves him with a relatively shallow wound as he plays dead on the ground.
282* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Necropolis'', Gaunt's life is saved by a metallic rose he is wearing. (Though he is hurt. Badly.)
283* In ''Literature/GoodOmens'', a man is saved from a bullet by his wallet, but is still shocked at how many credit cards were ruined in the process. This is justified shortly afterwords as explicit supernatural intervention (which was, to be fair, the reason he was being shot at in the first place.)
284* In Creator/CharlesStross' ''Literature/HaltingState'', Jack is saved from a stab wound by the foldup keyboard in his jacket. It later turns out that his jacket is practically ''lined'' with computer stuff, though.
285* In Creator/JamesPBlaylock's ''Homunculus'', Bill Kraken is shot at point-blank range and survives because the bullet is blocked by the book of philosophical anecdotes he's been reading. He takes it from his jacket and checks what phrase the bullet failed to penetrate, but to his disappointment, the quotation doesn't seem pertinent.
286* Parker survives his wife's attempt to kill in ''[[Literature/{{Parker}} The Hunter]]'' because her first shot hits his belt buckle. This knocks him down (and knocks him out) and causes her remaining five wild shots to pass over the top of him.
287* In ''Literature/TheIckabog'', when Flapoon shoots Bert, the bullet hits his father's medal that he's wearing under his shirt.
288* In Book 4 of ''Literature/TheIliad'', Pandarus shoots an arrow at Menelaus, but Athena intervenes so that the arrow hits Menelaus's belt. He's still injured, but the arrow is slowed down enough that it doesn't kill him.
289* Spoofed in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'': Sergeant Colon recalls how a book of prayers kept an arrow from entering his great-grandfather's chest. Unfortunately, said book didn't stop "the other seventeen arrows". In response, Nobby briefly wears the Book of Om, a holy book that is five inches thick and wide enough to cover his entire chest in this manner. He reckoned that "even a longbow could only get an arrow as far as the ''Apocrypha''".
290* The protagonist of ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho'' once was hit by a high-explosive [[BratsWithSlingshots slingshot pellet]] in the chest... pulverizing a bottle of psychostimulant he carried. In the same fight when a homing magical weapon instead of beheading him annihilated an amulet. [[spoiler:So he had to sleep without any protection, which he normally avoided -- Sir Max is ''supposed to'' be a CosmicPlaything.]]
291* Invoked in ''Literature/TheLandOfStories'', in Connor's short story ''Starbordia'' , [[spoiler: Admiral Jacobson]] is shot by Smoky-Sails Sam. [[spoiler: He is saved by the [[ChekhovsGun massive ruby briefly discussed earlier.]]]] Invoked in that Connor actually ''wrote'' the trope into the story.
292* Mentioned in ''Literature/TheLongEarth'': Private Percy remembers his sergeant being furious with new recruits who have armoured prayer books in their breast pockets, asking them if they have any idea what shrapnel is.
293* In the Literature/MatthewHawkwood novel ''Resurrectionist'' by James [=McGee=], what should have been a killing thrust from Colonel Hyde's SwordCane deflects off the tipstaff Hawkwood carries inside his coat. This buys Hawkwood enough time to draw the tipsatff and start defending himself properly.
294* Spoofed in ''North'', where one character manages to convince another that he saved their life after accidentally shooting them, merely by grabbing the nearest Bible, writing "To my friend" in it, shooting it, and then telling them at it must have softened the blow.
295* Averted in ''Once There Was a War'' by Creator/JohnSteinbeck, a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII non-fiction book.:
296-->''A novelty company in America has brought out a Testament bound in steel covers to be carried in the shirt pocket over the heart, a gruesome little piece of expediency which has faith in neither the metal nor the Testament but hopes that a combination may work. Many of these have been sold to parents of soldiers, but I have never seen one carried. That particular pocket is for cigarettes and those soldiers who carry Testaments, as many do, carry them in their pants pockets, and they are never considered as lucky pieces.''
297* ''Literature/PeterPan'': The arrow the Lost Boys shoot at Wendy doesn't kill her because it hits an acorn button Wendy was wearing around her neck after Peter gave it to her as a present.
298* Subverted in ''Literature/ThePowerOfOne'': Peekay's grandfather knew someone during the Boer War whose Bible blocked a bullet to the chest. He gave all the credit to having God in his pocket, then got shot in the head after underestimating the range of the Boer rifles.
299* Creator/StephenKing used this in his early novel ''Literature/Rage1977'': the protagonist survives being shot by a police sniper because he dropped the padlock from his locker into his breast pocket. {{Lampshaded}} as the protagonist has a FlashForward to seeing a commercial where the same brand of padlock survives being shot with a rifle -- and {{Stress Vomit}}s as it reminds him of getting shot. ZigZagged in that he still suffers shrapnel damage and a broken rib.
300* In ''The Secret Diary of Literature/AdrianMole, Aged 13¾'', Bert Baxter shows Adrian a pocket Bible with a bullet hole, which, he claims, saved his life in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Adrian notices that the Bible was printed in 1956.
301* In ''Slay and Rescue'' the prince mentions a soldier who carried a stack of love letters from his lady to battle, where it slowed down an arrow that hit him so that he only suffered a minor scratch ... but the wound got infected and he died anyway. War fortune is a fickle lady.
302* Literature/TheBible version happens ''again'' in ''Literature/TempleMatthewReilly''. {{Justified|Trope}} in that the shot was from a flintlock.
303* The back cover of the book version of ''Blog/WhatIf'' warns that it will ''not'' stop a bullet, and anyone wanting to use it as armour should buy a lot more copies.
304* In ''Literature/TheWinterQueen'', Erast Fandorin's life is saved when an attacker's knife is turned away by his corset.
305[[/folder]]
306
307[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
308* Walter narrowly escapes death in ''Series/NineteenFortyOne2009'' when a bullet strikes the locket he carries in his pocket.
309* Spoofed in the Australian series ''Series/TheAdventuresOfLanoAndWoodley''. Col hits Frank in the chest with an arrow. Frank screams and staggers backwards, but then discovers his autumn leaf album was in his pocket and stopped the arrow. His ''massive'' autumn leaf album.
310* Inverted in an episode of the original live-action ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman'' series. The bad guys are holding Clark, Lois, and Jimmy hostage, and their boss insists Clark is Superman. The boss shoots Clark, who in turn reacts with surprise, and Lois and Jimmy are both convinced. Clark, however, reaches into his jacket and feels around thoughtfully. After the situation is resolved Clark reaches into his jacket, finds a silver dollar and dents it with his SuperStrength before pulling it out and claiming the bullet deflected off the coin. This is actually a CallBack to one of the Superman comics.
311* In the second episode of ''Series/{{Alphas}}'', Marcus Ayers, whose AwesomenessByAnalysis abilities have allowed him to set off DisasterDominoes throughout the episode with as little as a single coin, is shot in the chest, but his body isn't found in the stream into which he fell. While the characters are searching, the camera pans down the side of the stream, where a shot of some pebbles reveals a coin like the one Ayers had been using, except now with a bullet-shaped dent.
312* In ''Series/BabylonBerlin'', Kardakow survives being shot at close range due to a book in his pocket.
313* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] nonsensically in the pilot of ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'', in which Stephen Fry shows the undamaged cigarette case his grandfather carried into battle in World War I.
314-->'''Stephen:''' He used to keep his cigarette case here in the breast pocket of field tunic or "battle blouse." Now, one day, Grandfather had to go over the top, out of the trenches, into action... and he was shot by a German sniper clear through the temple. Now if Grandfather had worn his cigarette case here ''(holds case to temple)'' it would have an unpleasant dent in it and I'd be alive today.
315* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'':
316** In the second season, there's a scene where Blackadder and Percy are practicing archery with a target held by Baldrick. Blackadder psyches out Percy, who slips and accidentally fires an arrow into Baldrick's groin. Baldrick comments that fortunately, his "willy" prevented the arrow from going into his body.
317--->'''Blackadder:''' Excellent, it can be your lucky willy.\
318'''Baldrick:''' Right! And years from now, I'll show it to my grandchildren!\
319'''Blackadder:''' I think children might be out of the question now, Balders. ''[pulls arrow out]''
320** ''Blackadder the Third'' has a parody example; Edmund manages to avoid death by ''cannonball'' thanks to a cigarillo case he had in his chest pocket. "I always knew smoking was good for you," he remarks. It is then immediately {{invoked|Trope}} when Prince George is shot (this time with a flintlock) for his insolence. He then gets up, explaining that he too has a cigarillo case in his breast pocket. While trying to show it off, however, he can't find it and realizes that he left it on his dresser that morning, and [[PuffOfLogic promptly dies]].
321* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': In series 7, Gordon gets shot three times by Julie's police bodyguard. Luckily for Gordon, all three of the bullets hit his cigarette case with "I've been to Gravesend" inscribed on it, making Gordon worried that it might upset his wife (who had gave him the case as a 'gift’).
322* Played with in one episode of ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'': a character has a copy of ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' in his coat pocket that stopped a bullet.
323-->'''Ryan:''' Good thing he reads Russian literature. If he was a Creator/NicholasSparks fan, he'd be dead.
324* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' (2007), the eponymous character gets shot in his nerdy pocket protector, and the shot doesn't go through it. Luckily, it was only a tranquilizer dart.
325* ''Series/ColonelMarchOfScotlandYard'': In "Death in the Dressing Room", the killer throws a Javanese throwing dagger at March, but the blade is blocked by the hardback book March is holding.
326* ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'': In "Darkness Visible", when Clare Llewellyn attempts to stab Jock Clement, he is saved when Lucien deflects the knife and it hits him the wallet in his jacket pocket.
327* ''Series/DoctorWho''. In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]", the Doctor is repairing something on the Nerva space station and puts a metal object in his famous roomy pockets. This serves as a ChekhovsGun for "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]" (which follows directly on from this episode) when the bit of metal stops the Doctor from being killed by the Sontaran's RayGun.
328-->'''The Doctor:''' Piece of the locking system on Nerva. Popped it into my pocket.\
329'''Harry:''' Fortuitous.\
330'''The Doctor:''' Foresight. You never know when these bit and pieces will come in handy. Never throw anything away, Harry. ''[throws it away]'' Now, I remember jotting some notes about Sontarans in my diary... ''[searches himself]'' ... [[HypocriticalHumor It's a mistake to clutter your pockets, Harry]].
331* ''Series/FatherBrown'': In "The Penitent Man", Flambeau is saved from a warder's bullet by the gold medallion he is wearing around his neck.
332* In ''Series/FatherTed'', a whistle has sentimental value because it saved a man from a firing squad in this way... except that they simply reloaded and shot again.
333* Inverted in ''Series/{{Forbrydelsen}}'' (''The Killing''): [[spoiler:Jan Meyer]] is shot twice in the chest; the first bullet goes straight through, but the second is diverted by his cigarette lighter and nicks his lung. [[spoiler:He doesn't survive]].
334* ''Series/GetSmart'':
335** Parodied when a villain shoots at Agent Smart and he holds up a book to stop the bullet. The villain asks how Smart knew that would save him, and Smart says back, "Nobody gets through ''Literature/WarAndPeace''!"
336** He did again, with the same book and same quote, against a knife in the movie ''Get Smart Again!''
337** In the first episode of the 1995 ''Get Smart'' reboot, Zack Smart is shot but the bullet is stopped by his pocket copy of the CONTROL Field Manual, steel coated for just such an emergency.
338** A similar joke is told among Mormons, with a missionary being shot at, and finding that his pocket copy of Literature/TheBookOfMormon stopped the bullet. He jokes that the bullet couldn't get through 2 Nephi either.
339* In the pilot of ''Series/TheGoodGuys'' Dan's flask saves his life when it stops a knife that is thrown at him (the bad guy is out of bullets).
340* ''Series/HecRamsey'': In "The Century Turns", Hec blocks a bullet with the brass-bound trunk that holds his portable crime lab.
341* In ''Series/ItsGarryShandlingsShow'', Garry's life is saved when a bullet is stopped by a videocassette of the Bible in his pocket. [[SubvertedTrope Which he'd taped over.]]
342* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In "Déjà Vu", Colonel Patano's life is saved by a metal plate in his chest that stops a bullet. The plate itself was the result of an old war wound.
343* In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the final duel between Captain Marvelous and Basco ta Jolokia ends with what seems like a MutualKill when the former slashes the latter in the chest, and the latter shoots the former at point-blank. After the two power down, it's revealed that Basco's bullet was caught by a piece of Sally's necklace that Marvelous had kept in his coat, saving his life. The biggest irony is that Basco had given Sally the necklace saying that it was a protective charm, when it was actually a bomb meant to kill Marvelous (which failed because Sally tried to contain the blast with her body at the last minute), and he ends up [[DyingSmirk smiling at the realization as he dies]].
344* DCI Gene Hunt of ''Series/{{Life on Mars|2006}}'' was saved from a bullet by a whiskey flask tucked in a pocket. Instantly parodied when, after being asked what the odds of such a thing are, he produces [[TheAlcoholic two more flasks from other pockets]] and states that the odds were quite good.
345* Inverted on ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Locke survives a shooting because of the kidney that ''isn't'' there.
346* In one of ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'''s time-traveling dream sequences, he is saved from an assassin's bullet by the wooden swiss army knife he'd been given at the beginning of the sequence. For OrWasItADream credit, when he wakes back in the real world, he finds that he's still carrying the knife, complete with bullet hole.
347* In ''Series/TheMagnificentSeven'' TV series, Ezra Standish pulls this in two consecutive episodes. In one, the bullet hits a diamond he had in his shirt pocket (to his great distress), and in the other, it fails to penetrate a satchel of money he had under his coat.
348* In an episode of ''Series/McMillanAndWife'', Sgt. Enright is saved by the very thick hero sandwich, wrapped in aluminum foil, that he'd stuffed in his jacket pocket.
349* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' has one of the most justified examples in all of fiction. [[spoiler: Greef Karga]] is spared from a blaster shot by not one but two ingots of Beskar steel he had taken as payment. Beskar is so incredibly valuable because it makes for such effective armor. Incidentally, the writers only stuck the steel into his pocket after [[Creator/CarlWeathers his actor]]'s audition convinced the showrunners to keep him on for more than two episodes, necessitating a revision to what originally marked the character's [[DeadStarWalking early demise]].
350* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': In "Desperate Half-Hour", Al takes a bullet to the chest, however, the bullet was stopped by the lucky shoehorn in his shirt pocket.
351* ''Series/MurderSheWrote'': In "Lone Witness", a killer takes a shot at the grocery delivery boy who witnessed the crime. The bullet is stopped by the sack of sugar in the box of groceries he is carrying.
352* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'':
353** In "Anything You Can Do", a bullet hitting Murdoch is stopped by an English poetry analysis book that he borrowed from Dr. Ogden.
354** In "Glory Days", [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Masterson Bat Masterson]] receives a bullet in the chest from a derringer, but it is stopped by his sport columnist notepad. Murdoch comments that he was lucky to have changed profession.
355* The ''Series/MythBusters'' pretty much proved this trope was a myth, at least with modern firearms in mind.
356** They tested normal everyday items like a book, a deck of cards, and a Zippo lighter and showed that they were all ineffective at stopping bullets. They also tested police/sheriff badges (outcome depends on how the badge is made -- they put holes in two test badges, but the third type stopped a handgun round). In another episode, they tried the same with knives. A book, or a thick pile of paper (e.g. money), can save you. It takes about 60 or so sheets thick to stop the hardest hit the build team managed.
357** In an episode regarding myths from the American Civil War, they showed it was plausible for a silver dollar of the time to stop a bullet. A pocket Bible, not so much.
358** In another episode, they tested urban legends involving stories of items that stopped bullets. A laptop computer wouldn't, unless the bullet hit the battery. A hair weave didn't even slow the thing down; if that story was close to true, the bullet probably ricocheted around inside the woman's car and then got caught in the weave once it was too slow to be dangerous. Three pepperoni pizzas in a deliveryman's warming bag blocked ''most'' of the pellets from a shotgun firing birdshot, so you might survive (as was claimed by a pizza delivery boy). Buckshot at the same range, however, required 14 pizzas distributed between 5 warming bags before they could be stopped.
359** During a final season revisit, Jamie and Adam took a second look at "Zippo lighter stops a bullet". While a bullet fired straight at the lighter went straight through, a ricocheted shot only dented it, earning Zippos a "Plausible".
360* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Gibbs keeps a silver flask with a bullet still embedded in the side.
361* ''Series/TheNewAvengers'':
362** In "The Midas Touch," smuggler Hong Kong Harry is shot by an assassin to prevent him from reaching a meeting. He is saved because he is wearing a quarter of a million dollars' worth of gold dust inside a FatSuit.
363** In "Faces," Steed is saved when his doppelgänger's bullet hits the pocket watch given to him minutes earlier by his best friend's widow.
364** In "K is for Kill: Tiger by the Tail," Steed is saved by because he is a gentleman. Although he doesn't smoke, he carries a cigarette case for those of his friends who do, and an assassin's bullet strikes the cigarette case.
365* ''Series/NewTricks'': Ted Case's lucky charm is a cigarette case that stopped a bullet and saved his life (or so he claims -- Sasha keeps pointing out that the bullet [[AvertedTrope went straight through the case]] and he spent months in hospital, while Ted maintains that if the case hadn't slowed the round down, he'd have died). He goes into a mild panic when he loses it in "Life Expectancy."
366* Parodied on ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses''. Grandad launches into the story about the cigarette case belonging to his grandfather, which deflected the bullet aimed at his heart, saving his life... at least, until it went up his nose and blew his brains out.
367-->'''Grandad:''' I want you to have it. My grandmother always said it was ''lucky''.\
368'''Rodney:''' Lucky? It went up his nose and blew his bloody brains out!\
369'''Del:''' Could have been worse? It could have shot downwards and ''[[GroinAttack ruined his entire life]]!''
370* ''Series/{{Psychoville}}'' has one character get saved by a watermelon he is carrying.
371* In an episode of ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' Leo is saved from the effects of a freezing monster due to the monster's weapon striking his brother's dog tags.
372** In the later ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'', a crossover episode has [[TheHero Jayden]] and [[Series/PowerRangersRPM Scott]] being brainwashed into a LetsYouAndHimFight situation by the BigBad. However, both are NotBrainwashed and instead provide the other with a form of protection before the fight.
373* The French TV series ''Le Retour d'{{Literature/Arsene Lupin}}'' has an episode titled "La Tabatière de l'Empereur" (The Emperor's snuff box) in which the title GentlemanThief inherits from a friend a snuff box that saved that friend's life during the war.
374* Lampshaded in ''Series/RaisingHope'': when Burt becomes a BountyHunter, he reassures Virginia that until he's earned enough money for a BulletProofVest, he'll wear a ''fishing'' vest with the pockets filled with flasks and Bibles.
375* In Episode 1, Short 2 of the ''Music/TenaciousD'' television show Jack and Kyle have a falling out over a girl named Flarna. [[spoiler:Kyle jumps in front of a robber's bullet, but is saved by a huge friendship medallion that was under his shirt. They proceed to perform the song "Kyle Took A Bullet For Me."]]
376* At the end the first part of the SciFi channel miniseries ''Series/TinMan,'' [[spoiler:Wyatt Cain]] and [[spoiler:Zero]] engage in a conversation of great revelation, with a side of epic battle, which ends with [[spoiler:Zero]] trying to put a bullet through [[spoiler:Cain]]'s chest. This is conveniently stopped [[spoiler:by his long lost son's [[MementoMacGuffin small toy horse]]]]. The shot retains enough force to knock him backwards [[DestinationDefenestration through a window]] and into a frozen lake. He survives anyway.
377* In a non-pocket variant, Bob on ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' gets chomped on the shoulder by a walker, making both the audience and his companions think he's done for. Lucky for him, closer inspection reveals it'd bit him directly on top of a thick gauze bandage he'd been wearing over a previous injury, so its teeth didn't penetrate.
378* Averted in Episode 1x10 of ''Series/Warehouse13'': a convict is apparently shot. The team pulls a Bible from his pocket; it's bloody. The bullet went right through it.
379* In the ''Series/WhiteCollar'' episode "Book of Hours", Neal manages to block a gunshot from the villain of the week by holding up a Renaissance-vintage Bible (that he's spent the entire episode looking for).
380* ''Series/YancyDerringer'': In "Return to New Orleans", Yancy gets slugged over the head and tossed off the side of a riverboat. He is saved from unconsciousness, and therefore drowning, by [[HiddenWeapons the derringer hidden inside his hat]].
381* The Beeb's ''Series/YoungDracula'' has this happen when van Hellsing, by accident because he gets frightened by a loud noise, shooting [[MrFanservice Vlad's dad]] in the chest with a ''crossbow bolt''. It is stopped by a small decanter of poisoned holy water which Hellsing tried to slip him earlier... which has a blood red liquid in it. Coincidental.
382* In ''Series/TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'', Indiana Jones is saved this way in the episode "German East African 1916", by a locket over his chest. Partially subverted when several Belgian Askaris say he must have divine protection; Indy says there is a mundane explanation for his survival, but his African Sergeant points out that there is indeed something miraculous about such a small target (made of a non-ferrous metal like silver or pewter) deflecting a rifle bullet.
383[[/folder]]
384
385[[folder:Music Videos]]
386* In Music/BigAndRich's ''Somewhere Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G601HPr9Jc]], the main character gets saved in this fashion. Well, y'know, after he got ''saved'' in a more metaphysical fashion.
387[[/folder]]
388
389[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
390* In the [[Myth/RussianMythologyAndTales Russian bylinas]], the child of Ilya Muromets attempts to murder him in his sleep (due to being offended at Ilya making them a bastard), only to strike the heavy cross Ilya is wearing.
391[[/folder]]
392
393[[folder:Radio]]
394* Parodied in ''Radio/BleakExpectations'' when Pip accidentally stabs ''through'' his nemesis and into his LoveInterest. She apparently dies, but in true CliffHanger fashion turns up all right late into the next episode because she'd been carrying Pip's letters with her everywhere. Though she is still pretty cross about having been stabbed.
395* The "Bandits" episode of ''Radio/TheVeryWorldOfMiltonJones'' ends with Milton surviving death by firing squid when the bullets are deflected by the Tesco Clubcard in his pocket. "Now that's what I call a saving!"
396* A rather realistic example in ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}''. A cab driver had been shot in the chest by the criminal gang of the episode. However he had placed a few silver dollars in his shirt pocket before hand. He still wound up in the hospital but the silver dollars were enough to slow the bullet.
397[[/folder]]
398
399[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
400* ''TabletopGame/{{Bang}}'' has a card that involves being saved by a bible in your pocket.
401* The ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' novels bring us a specialized assassin's laser that can only deal with flesh or regular clothing. Candace Liao is shot and goes down with a smoking hole in place of her right breast. The damage turns out to be purely cosmetic. She had an aggressive single mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and they used myomer artificial muscle extensively in reconstructive surgery. Myomer is also known for its use as ''secondary armor'' and motive power on HumongousMecha.
402* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' campaign ''Masks of Nyarlathotep''. The {{NPC}} Jack "Brass" Brady has a magical metal plate that attracts attacks that can cause impaling, such as bullets.
403* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}: Tactical Shooting'' disputes the realism of this, suggesting that the main factor is luck (angle of impact, incomplete burn, long range). However the steel magazines of the AK-47 give some real protection if they're hit.
404* Victory Games' ''TabletopGame/JamesBond007'' game, ''Heroes'' magazine Volume I #3 article "Accessories for Agents". Card Case Armor is a small armored case that holds business cards. The PlayerCharacter wearing it can spend a Hero Point to have a bullet hit the case instead of his body.
405* In ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' this is a popular method of stopping a bullet, since it is entirely coincidental if done properly (and thus incurs no Paradox) -- as long as an observer cannot be fully certain the mage didn't have a Bible or cigarette case or other object there beforehand, it can happen. Even though both player and Storyteller will know that Bible never existed five seconds ago.
406* While you need to have the necessary item on your person, this is the justification for Fate-based magical protection in its successor, ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' -- bullets are attracted to items that can deflect them.
407* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}} XP''. The Giant Metal Plate can be worn on the front or the back (or both) under a Troubleshooter's reflec armor. It provides extra protection against attacks and severe back injuries.
408* In the Creator/{{Chaosium}} TabletopGame based on the ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' ComicBook, a piece of metal jewelry could stop weapon damage.
409* ''TabletopGame/TimeLord'' RPG, based on ''Series/DoctorWho''. A PlayerCharacter may trade in some of his initial ability scores for a pocket watch that will automatically stop the first bullet that hits the character.
410* In the game ''TabletopGame/WarZone'', one of the hero characters has a special rule that essentially boils down to the fact he wears a locket as a memento of his dead family and therefore it might stop a bullet.
411* ''TabletopGame/{{Aftermath}}'' supplement ''Scenario Pack 1: Into the Ruins''. One of the opponents has a pocket watch in Area 6 (the right middle of the chest) of his coveralls. If a missile attack (arrow, bullet, etc.) hits him in that area, the attack will hit the watch, providing the opponent with extra armor against the attack.
412[[/folder]]
413
414[[folder:Theatre]]
415* Just like in the Hitchcock film, in the 2005 play ''Theatre/The39Steps'', one of the characters survives getting shot when a prayer-book in his coat pocket stops the bullet.
416* In ''Theatre/SeraMyu: La Reconquista'', when Zoisite dies, his body turns into a small crystal, which Queen Beryl gives to Endymion. Endymion later survives being slashed with the Holy Sword because Zoisite's crystal deflects the blade away from his heart.
417* Mickey of ''Theatre/TooManyCooks'' survives a gunshot due to the cigarette in his breast pocket.
418[[/folder]]
419
420[[folder:Video Games]]
421* At the end of ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt'', [[spoiler:Gunvolt after rescuing Joule from [[BigBad Nova]] is confronted by his mentor Asimov, who reveals his [[SuperSupremacist true colors]] and gives him the WeCanRuleTogether speech. When Gunvolt refuses, Asimov shoots him with [[TheRival Copen's]] gun [[PowerNullifier first with its Septima-disabling function]] before firing an actual bullet through his heart to finish him off, followed swiftly by shooting Joule too.]] [[CruelTwistEnding That's the ending]]...[[spoiler:until you get [[MultipleEndings the true ending]] from collecting the seven jewels hidden through the levels and give them to Joule, who fashions them into a necklace. It doesn't seem to have any purpose at first, but if you go through the final level again with it equipped, when Asimov shoots GV the necklace breaks but slows the bullet down, leaving GV in critical condition and allowing Joule, dying from her own gunshot wound, to gain the time and strength to merge her spirit with Gunvolt [[CameBackStrong and bring him back with permanent Anthem]] for the TrueFinalBoss fight.]]
422* In the climax of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', the titular witch unwittingly causes a TimeParadox by giving Cereza AKA [[spoiler: herself as a child]] her metallic makeup canister, this results in Jeanne [[spoiler: failing to fully seal Bayonetta away as her sword hits the canister, causing her to have all her memories in the present.]] [[MindScrew It's a little hard to follow.]]
423* The NES version of ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' has an entire item ''dedicated'' to this trope. It's a tiny pendant which, by a certain chance, may or may not deflect an enemy shot. There's a helmet in the game too, which increases your odds, but the pendant is modeled after the trope. The ''Rearmed'' remake also features two [[FlunkyBoss enemy captains]] who wear an ''absurd'' amount of medals on their chest, [[ExaggeratedTrope making them near-completely invincible to attacks from the front]][[labelnote:*]]Their medals can't protect against the Iron Boots[[/labelnote]].
424* One of the routes in ''VisualNovel/CorpseParty: Blood Covered'' uses the cellphone variant when somebody is seemingly stabbed by a pair of scissors. This leads to [[spoiler:a Bad Ending, as the cellphone is vital to preventing another character's death]].
425* In ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', Dwarven mothers often carry something of great sentimental value into battle which sometimes takes a blow that would have otherwise struck them. This being Dwarf Fortress, the 'object' in question is ''their baby''.
426* In ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', after Vaas [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim finally quits screwing around and straight-up shoots Jason in the chest]], Jason's life is saved by a lighter in his chest pocket. Even better is that it's the same lighter Vaas had earlier tried to torch Jason with, and that he himself put it in that pocket when it wouldn't light up properly -- Vaas even comments at the time [[HilariousInHindsight "so much for poetics"]].
427* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', the Memento Ring protects against [[UselessUsefulSpell instant death]], which may be a case of this.
428* In the final game of the ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'' trilogy, Eigou Kaiki no Toki, Kazuya is saved from being fatally impaled by a light spike from Herea (who at the time [[GrandTheftMe is possessing Roselle's body]]) by Roselle's pendant he was carrying in his uniform. The spike also cuts off the pendant's chain, making it fall off and allowing Roselle to see it and drive Herea out of his body.
429* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'' have this happening in the GoodEnding, where the titular character is saved from an otherwise fatal gunshot by a metal plaque in his coat. It's not evident to the players at first, but halfway in the credits' WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, the InspectorJavert pursuing him finds a dented plaque...
430* Spoofed and possibly lampshaded in ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'' when Fiona is telling Matthias about the PDA. When asked by Matthias if the "gadget" could stop a bullet, she responds by saying "No, but it can keep you from wandering around Korea like an idiot."
431* The ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series had the [[AttackReflector Franklin Badge]] which would deflect, respectively, a certain instant-kill attack and all lightning attacks just by having it in your inventory. In the [[VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings first]] [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 two]] games, it took up an inventory slot of the character you chose to equip it to, while, in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', it's classified as a key item, and is always equipped to Lucas once you acquire it. The badge returned in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl''. When worn, it deflects projectiles for a set period of time.
432* In the female protagonist's route of the ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' PSP remake, [[spoiler:maxing Shinjiro's social link will save his life thanks to a pocket watch, although he remains in a coma until after the final battle]].
433* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', [[spoiler:Yuri Cosmos is shot by Candice Arme when she discovers the murder of Clay Terran, only to be saved by the medal on his jacket]].
434* In ''VideoGame/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure,'' [[spoiler: Elisabeth is shot by Napoleon, but her life is saved thanks to the bullet bouncing off a locket with Marie's picture]].
435* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' can have this at some point, depending on a choice made earlier in the game: at one point, Lloyd maneuvers through a hallway full of arrows, dodging them all. At the end, one last arrow shoots straight at Lloyd, and either this happens (with a key item given to Lloyd by the character you chose earlier) or Lloyd just dodges it.
436* Averted in the penultimate cutscene of ''VideoGame/TheyBleedPixels'', where [[spoiler:our heroine stabs the Headmaster]] clean through the book.
437* In ''VideoGame/UnchartedDrakesFortune'' [[spoiler:Sully gets a bullet to the chest early in the game then returns very much alive. It turns out he survived due to having Francis Drake's journal in his pocket. Nathan even lampshades the trope saying "I thought this only happened in the movies!"]]
438* In ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', in the finale, [[spoiler:the defeated Munakata, in an angry fit after understanding Date's newspaper will ruin him, picks up Arai's weapon from the ground and shoots Akiyama in the chest. Akiyama falls down with all the drama necessary to the scene, and after a few seconds, pats his chest pocket, finding the bullet completely lodged inside a stack of dozens of 10,000 yen notes. Money saves lives indeed.]]
439[[/folder]]
440
441[[folder:Webcomics]]
442* In one ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' arc, one of the good doctor's patients is shot by the velociraptor-riding ''banditos'', and appears to be bleeding to death. However, in the next strip, it is revealed that the bullet had been stopped by a ''ketchup packet'' in his breast pocket.
443* Exaggerated in ''Webcomic/TheBMovieComic'', where [[spoiler:A disguised Winston Churchill]] catches a Big Bertha shell [[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=963 with]] his cigar box.
444* ''Webcomic/DemonseedRedux'': When Rhoda goes into the bar the second time, Hal shoots her with a SilverBullet to the chest. The Binding Medallion under her shirt takes the hit instead, slowly undoing Chico's brainwashing.
445* There's a non-canonical ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' strip in which Dies-Horribly is saved from a stray arrow by a very thick book. We see the group again much later, with Dies-Horribly ''wearing'' the book on his chest, with various signs of damage, including what look like attempts to cut through it (and failed, obviously); the goblins find a merchant who carries another book by the same author, this one noticeably ''[[DoorStopper thicker]] still'', making Dies immediately pick it up to replace his old "armor". This being an RPGMechanicsVerse, they also say that, since the book are masterpieces, they have a bonus to Armor Class because of their quality.[[note]] They make you harder to hit; apparently, they are ''that'' good.[[/note]]
446* In [[http://www.shortpacked.com/comic/comedygold these]] [[http://www.shortpacked.com/comic/orange two]] ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' comics, a girl is saved from a bullet by her impromptu Batman chest insignia. Awesome, but unlikely.
447* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20160624#.V23PQKKl-Uk Inverted]] with an agent of the Incorruptible Library when he comes under attack after finding a rare book.
448-->'''Bang:''' ...um, what are you doing?\
449'''Mook:''' If you shoot, I may be able to protect the book by ''stopping the bullet with my heart!''\
450'''Gil:''' See? I ''told'' you they were with the Library!
451* When Koark is shot at with arrows in ''Webcomic/OrderOfTales'', they hit the book he's always carrying in his pocket.
452* In [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/gotham one comic]] of ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'', [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne's]] parents survive the mugging that would have killed them when the bullets hit their cigarette cases. [[PointOfDivergence Bruce never becomes Batman as a result]], and he spends his adult years depressed and believing his life is pointless.
453[[/folder]]
454
455[[folder:Web Original]]
456* In one horoscope from ''Website/TheOnion'':
457-->''The Bible will stop the bullet dead in its tracks, though why you keep it fastened to your genitals like that is anyone's guess.''
458[[/folder]]
459
460[[folder:Web Videos]]
461* ''Webvideo/CriticalRole'': Exploited in the second campaign. One of Caleb and Nott's many secret plots is "modern literature", which they use to great effect in a battle against a group of goblins. Nott, who is a goblin herself, poses as one of the assailants and shoots Caleb, aiming for a book he keeps under his armpit that only she knows about. Caleb immediately collapses and [[PlayingPossum plays dead]], resulting in the goblins no longer seeing him as a useful target.
462* ''WebVideo/FiveSecondFilms'' presents, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmyzwLgJp_w "Assassination Attempt."]]
463* Parodied in ''WebVideo/GoldenMoustache''[='=]s video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_tlTXHAfBs&ab_channel=GoldenMoustache L'Otage]]" ("The Hostage"). A cop is shot by a hostage-taker but is saved by the police insignia. He is shot again and saved by the Holy Bible he had in his pocket. ("If that's not a proof that He exists!") The criminal keep shooting, only for a series of increasingly more unlikely items to save the cop's life (a gold tooth, a trombone, a set of keys, an inhaler...). He finally dies when he has an asthma attack and can't use his inhaler anymore.
464* ''WebVideo/{{Jreg}}'': In Centricide 6, [[spoiler: it's revealed that Conservative survived being shot twice by Nazi thanks to two books he had on him at the time. One was a copy of ''Literature/TheBible'', and the other was ''12 Rules for Life'' by Dr. Jordan Peterson.]]
465[[/folder]]
466
467[[folder:Western Animation]]
468* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', villain Kyodai Ken has discovered a special technique that can kill a target by striking a specific point on the chest. When he confronts Batman, he strikes him and thinks he killed him, only for Batman to rise again and take him down. It turns out he'd hidden a plate under his shirt to protect him, but even the plate was deformed from the strike.
469* PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' when Alan the cable guy who happened to be wearing a RedShirt is repeatedly told he's going to die after being forced to come along for a heist, only for his phone to block the bullet when he's inevitably shot by the police.
470* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'':
471** In the third season finale, Gin Rummy is protected by his [=iPhone=] after being shot by a [[RogueAgent rogue government agent]]. After he spent the rest of the episode deriding the thing and [[BrickJoke even dismissing Ed's claim that it would stop a bullet]].
472** Ed III was saved by his chain when shot during AggressiveNegotiations with the chocolate mafia that proceeded to turn into a firefight with another gang and the FBI.
473* In the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode "Bad Tidings", Darkwing is shot by a device from Steelbeak that will make his internal organs expand and explode. He is saved by the manual he had taken from Grizzlikoff earlier and put in his coat.
474* Spoofed in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' when [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Mayor Adam West]] tells a gunman (Brian) that he has, implanted somewhere in his body, a piece of [[BulletproofVest bullet-proof armor]] ...''the size of a bullet'' ... and if Brian happens to shoot him there, his plan will be foiled. The mayor tells him this ''before'' he tries shooting.
475* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
476** In the episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E11InsaneInTheMainframe Insane in the Mainframe]]", Fry gets stabbed in the chest by Bender's crazy friend Roberto, but the knife hits an oil can [[ChekhovsGun that he picked up earlier]]. As an added bonus, in this episode Fry is convinced that he's a robot, and the sight of him "bleeding" oil makes Roberto FreakOut and jump out the window.
477** In "[[Recap/FuturamaS6E17Benderama Benderama]]", Bender is shot and the bullet is stopped by a Bible he had in his compartment. The tiny Bender clone inside said Bible, however, wasn't so lucky.
478--->'''Bender:''' Too bad he didn't have his ''own'' Bible.
479* An impressive variation in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' where Demona shoots Elisa with a poisonous dart, then leaves with a challenge for Goliath to get the cure. Upon Demona's departure, Elisa opens her jacket to reveal that her police badge stopped the dart. Goliath [[TrapIsTheOnlyOption still shows up for the challenge]], because Elisa would just be targeted again if he doesn't. As it is, it probably takes a while for Demona to realize she is still alive.
480* In the Danish CGI movie ''WesternAnimation/JourneyToSaturn'', the Iranian-Danish Jamil Ahmadinejad carries a huge collection of photos of his extended family under his shirt. Enough to subvert an impending [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Middle-Eastern Dude Dies First]] moment.
481* In the second episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePiratesOfDarkWater'', Atani archers shoot at the Wraith, and Ioz apparently gets hit in the chest. It turns out that he had a golden goblet -- the theft of which was one of the reasons the Atani were chasing them in the first place—hidden under his robe.
482* ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'':
483** In a 1940s-era cartoon, Bluto pretended to be Franchise/{{Superman}} in order to woo Olive Oyl. Popeye and "Superman" have a one-upsmanship contest culminating in shooting each other with a Thompson sub-machine gun. Popeye is left for dead, then slowly gets to his feet, reaches into his sailor suit, and pulls out the can of spinach that has been in front of his chest, now riddled with bullet holes. He gives a Popeye chuckle, and says, "Saved by me spinach!"
484** Also in one episode, at the losing end of a fencing duel against Bluto, disguised as the International, Popeye is saved from a finishing thrust by none other than a can of spinach hidden in his shirt.
485* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
486** In the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E15HomieTheClown Homie the Clown]]", a mobster accidentally shoots Ned Flanders in the chest. The bullet hits his Bible. The mobster shoots ''again'', only to hit a piece of the True Cross he wears around his neck. Ned then flees before any more shots are fired, presumably because he realizes he's run out of religious objects.
487** Parodied again in an episode when Homer is hit by a car -- but is saved by the Bible in his crotch.
488** This happens in another episode where Apu is shot in a Kwik-E-Mart robbery, with the bullet bouncing off another bullet that was previously lodged in him in a different robbery.
489** In another episode, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS23E8TheTenPerCentSolution The Ten-Per-Cent Solution]]", Bart accidentally fires a gun, and the bullet fails to wound Homer because it is stopped by another gun Homer happens to have in his back pocket.
490[[/folder]]
491
492[[folder:Real Life]]
493* Bibles:
494** London's Imperial War Museum has a pile of dummies showing off different nationalities' uniforms during the two world wars. The British UsefulNotes/WorldWarI soldier showcases a pocket Bible... with the bottom right quarter blown off [[AvertedTrope and the rest drowned in blood]].
495** Many of the pocket Bibles carried by soldiers in World War II had metal-backed covers. As a consequence, even Jews, Atheists, and other non-Christians would carry them, as they did have the potential to stop a bullet. Many of the stories of Bibles stopping bullets come from this era, though with the storyteller [[GossipEvolution forgetting to mention the composition of the cover]].
496** One bullet was documented to have stopped at the 91st Psalm ("...You need not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day... though thousands fall about you and ten thousand fall at your right hand, near you it shall not come....").
497** In a similar effect, there are accounts of [[https://aleteia.org/2019/07/16/this-priest-was-saved-from-a-bullet-by-wearing-his-brown-scapular/ priests saved by scapular]].
498* Badges worn by police officers have been proven to be able to stop small arms fire: [[http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/7034990/ Here's a story]] of a cop saved by his badge. Proven true by the Series/MythBusters above, though it depends on the materials used to make the badge. The [=YouTube=] channel TAOFLEDERMAUS [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdl4EKc9jrA also tested this]] and, so long as they actually ''hit'' the thing dead-on, were able to get a single badge to consistently stop multiple different types of handgun bullets with no damage to it that couldn't be undone with ten seconds of hammering it back into shape.
499* A man named John Schrank shot UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt in 1912, angered by his decision to run for a third term.[[note]]A term limit for American Presidents was never officially set until 1951, but until Teddy's distant cousin UsefulNotes/{{Franklin|DRoosevelt}} won four terms starting from 1932, it was rare for a President to seek more than two terms (and even rarer for them to retain enough popularity for it to be a realistic proposition) because of the precedent set by UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington deliberately stepping down after only two terms.[[/note]] Fortunately, the bullet was prevented from penetrating too deeply by several layers of clothing, a steel eyeglass case and a massive folded speech in his jacket. The bullet penetrated him anyway and hit a rib, but since he wasn't coughing up any blood, he gave his 90-minute speech from memory anyway (the speech papers were ruined) before seeking treatment. He famously began his speech, "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose!" He even went as far as to briefly confront Schrank moments after he had shot him.
500* A US soldier stationed in Iraq was wounded in a fire fight only to find out later that an ammo round had embedded itself in the copy of ''[[Literature/TheWheelOfTime The Eye of the World]]'' (which is about [[DoorStopper 685 pages long]] depending on the version) he happened to be carrying in his pack, rather than embedding in his side.
501* Another US soldier in Iraq was shot point-blank in the face by an insurgent, only realizing it later when the X-rays showed that the bullet had deflected off of one of his front teeth (knocking the tooth out) and [[http://www.snopes.com/photos/military/teeth.asp lodging in his upper jaw.]]
502* In addition to killing UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln, UsefulNotes/JohnWilkesBooth and his co-conspirators were going to kill the bedridden Secretary of State, William Seward. Secretary Seward's jaw had a large splint on it at the time from an accident, and it allegedly [[LifesavingMisfortune saved his life]] by keeping his knife-wielding assassin from being able to hit him in the jugular, though he did suffer very serious wounds.
503* The Australian War Memorial has a collection of such items that have saved the lives of Australian servicemen.
504* Lt. George E. Dixon of the American Civil War submarine ''H. L. Hunley'' carried a gold coin that his sweetheart gave to him as a good luck charm, which later deflected a bullet at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862 (not much it could do to save him from going down with the ''Hunley'' two years later, though). There were accusations that this was just a romantic story without basis in reality -- [[DatedHistory but then]] in the year 2000, 136 years after it sank, the wreck of the ''Hunley'' was pulled out, containing the deteriorated, skeletal remains of her crew. On the remains identified as Dixon, ''they found his bent coin''. Removing any doubt that it was just some other bent coin, Dixon apparently had it engraved after the bullet bent it, and the words were still legible: "Shiloh / April 6, 1862 / My life Preserver / G. E. D."
505* A clerk in a grocery store being robbed was holding a box of Hamburger Helper when the robber shot him. The bullet did hit the poor guy, but the Hamburger Helper slowed the bullet down enough that it barely penetrated his skin, whereas it otherwise would have been a fatal shot.
506* A man out mowing his lawn in backwoods Missouri was saved from a stray hunting bullet by his cellphone. [[MadeOfIndestructium On top of that, said phone still worked fine afterwards]].
507* In early 2009, a gun-wielding madman burst into a church in the American state of Illinois. The first few shots that he fired at the pastor were absorbed by the Bible that he was holding. Unfortunately, there were more bullets.
508* An Iraqi woman apparently survived what would otherwise have been a potentially fatal gunshot wound when the bullet lodged in her silicone breast implant.
509* This trope is explored at [[http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot31.htm the Box o' Truth,]] where the site owner empties a lot of bullets into a stack of books.
510* [[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090423/ap_on_fe_st/odd_bullet_stopping_bra A woman was once saved by a thick bra]]. She happened to be seen by fleeing burglars who had tried to break into the neighbor's house. One of them fired a round through her window, but the bullet was deflected by the underwire of her bra.
511* Creator/JamesDoohan was hit by a burst of friendly fire during World War II, taking six bullets total. One of the bullets took off a finger. Another one struck him in the chest near his heart, where it was stopped by his silver cigarette case that was given to him by his brother.
512* Rudyard Kipling was sent a copy of his book ''Literature/{{Kim}}'' (368 pages), complete with bullet hole stopping only at the last 20 pages, together with the Cross awarded to the soldier who owned it. He later became said soldier's son's godfather.
513* When author Creator/JoeHaldeman was serving in Vietnam he knew a soldier whose life was saved by a pocket dictionary that stopped a bullet. Later Haldeman saw that the story had been written up in ''Stars and Stripes'' (a newspaper that serves the U.S. Armed Forces). In the story, the dictionary had been changed to a Bible, and it was claimed that the word the bullet had stopped on was "peace."
514* Mustafa Kemal, the founder of modern Turkey who is now better known as Ataturk, was saved by one of these during World War I. It was a watch in his chest pocket and while it didn't prevent injury, it reportedly blocked the worst of it. The watch was put in a museum after independence.
515* In 1844, the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by an armed mob. There were a few other men with them at the time, including John Taylor (the third Mormon prophet), whose life was saved when a bullet hit his pocket watch. This story is unconfirmed, but [[https://web.archive.org/web/20141016202905/http://www.ldsces.org/inst_manuals/pres-sm/images/03-48-4.gif the watch]] provides some rather impressive evidence.
516* In 1631, during [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Magdeburg the Sack of Magdeburg]], the Lutheran priest Reinhard Bakes was slashed several times by a Catholic Croat soldier (in the Cathedral), but the Bible he was holding in his arms lasted long enough that the Croat abandoned the idea and let him live. The city still has the Bible.
517* UsefulNotes/DanielInouye, Japanese-American U.S. Senator from Hawaii, served in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in the 442nd Infantry Regiment. Once, while leading an attack, a shot struck him in the chest directly above his heart, but the bullet was stopped by the two silver dollars he had in his shirt pocket.
518* Prince (later King) Hussein of Jordan survived the assassination of his grandfather, King Abdullah I, at Friday prayers in 1952 when a bullet bounced off of a medal that the King made him wear on his shirt.
519* [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7318788/Womans-size-D-breast-implants-save-her-from-gunshot.html Woman saved from gunfire by breast implants]]. There was also a woman who was shot in a club, and her implants ''deflected'' the bullet and saved her life.
520* Composer Music/GeorgeFredericHandel was once challenged to a sword duel. His opponent thrust, but the tip of the blade hit a large brass button on Handel's coat and snapped off.i
521* Colonel Joshua Chamberlain:
522** During the Battle of Gettysburg, a bullet that would have hit his leg and likely crippled him ricocheted off his sheathed saber. He was left with a limp, but was still able to command his famous "swinging door" charge shortly afterward.
523** Ironically, Chamberlain was later hit in almost the same spot at siege of Petersburg. That time he'd already drawn his sword and the bullet punched through his pelvis, nearly killing him. Later at the Battle of Quaker Road, he was hit by yet another bullet that went through his horse's neck, a bible and a framed picture of his wife in his breast pocket, wounding but not killing him. He appeared to onlookers to have been shot directly through the chest, but instead the bullet after being deflected by the picture frame pierced his skin but skirted around his ribs before exiting his back. His men called him "Bloody Chamberlain," not because he was bloodthirsty but because he kept getting hit -- six times in all over the course of the war -- and thus was frequently covered in his own blood. All those wounds would eventually catch up with him, but not until much later in life. When he died 1914 at the age of 85, the medical examination revealed that he died not of old age but of complications from the wound he suffered at Petersburg ''fifty years earlier''. As a result, he's considered the very last casualty of the Civil War.
524* During the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_of_the_Romanov_family execution of the Romanov family]], the executioners had a hard time killing the Romanov children, as they had sewn/hidden a large number of jewels inside their clothes, which gave them some degree of protection from the bullets and bayonets. They were ultimately forced to go for [[BoomHeadshot headshots]].
525* In one possibly anecdotal case, a [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic brony]] in the Marines was saved by a Fluttershy toy [[http://bronies.memebase.com/2012/01/17/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-the-marine-brony/ when it stopped a bullet fragment.]]
526* One victim of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Kürten the Dusseldorf Ripper]] was saved from serious injury when he was stabbed in the back with a [[ShearMenace pair of scissors]], and the blades struck the heavy leather braces he was wearing.
527* Lucien Neuwirth (French politician mostly know for the promulgation of a law allowing oral contraception in France), member of LaResistance than Free French Army during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, was shot by a German firing squad and survived thanks to his wallet.
528* On August 22, 1962, WWII hero and French President UsefulNotes/CharlesDeGaulle was the target of an assassination attempt. A man shot at his and his wife's limousine in Paris with a machine gun. One of the bullets hit him, but was caught in the frame of a photograph he carried of his youngest daughter Anne, a girl with Down syndrome who died in 1948 at age 20.
529* Back in 1881 a physician in Tombstone noticed that a silk handkerchief had stopped a bullet while treating the patient who took it. He experimented in developing bulletproof vests made of silk, and had some success, but they were far too expensive to be practical.
530* {{Samurai}} of status wore [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horo_(cloak) a horo]] in battle, a cloak of cloth strips sewn together that would catch the air as its wearer rode a horse and make it inflate, virtually resembling a balloon. This inflated cloak was believed to be able to deflect/slow arrows that struck it, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B_6BU7SYf8 an experiment considered this belief]] to have credence.
531* Cell phones seem to be rather good for this:
532** Daniel Kennedy survived a close-range shotgun blast [[http://m.snopes.com/man-saved-by-iphone/ in part due to his iPhone taking the brunt of the blast]] in 2015.
533** One man was probably [[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34822664 saved by his mobile phone]] during the 2015 Paris terror attacks.
534** A Brazilian police officer had [[http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/nokia-lumia-520-incoming-bullet-saves-police-officer/ his Nokia cellphone stop a bullet]].
535** A Florida gas station clerk escaped serious injury during an attempted robbery [[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/30/florida_robbery/when his HTC smartphone took a bullet from a fleeing perp's pistol.]]
536** A Chilean young man was shot during a robbery, [[http://www.chilevision.cl/matinal/noticias/joven-se-salvo-tras-disparo-que-se-incrusto-en-su-celular/2017-04-12/090411.html but his Samsung phone saves him.]]
537** In the suicide bombing outside an Music/ArianaGrande concert in Manchester in 2017, one woman was saved [[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/may/25/woman-survived-manchester-bomb-thanks-to-her-phone-husband-says when a piece of shrapnel hit her iPhone]].
538** This [[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/anwYRhWVJq0 lucky Ukrainian soldier]]'s phone (allegedly) caught a 7.62mm bullet for them.
539* Imperial German soldier and author Creator/ErnstJunger had his life saved this way (as dramatized in ''Literature/StormOfSteel''). During a battle against a contingent from New Zealand during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, Jünger is almost killed by a sharp piece of shrapnel which hits him in the chest. Instead of penetrating his flesh, however, the shrapnel miraculously hits -- and bounces off of -- the clasp of one of his suspenders.
540* A soldier in WWI had his position given away by the clink of six coins in his pocket. [[https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/13/world/wwi-coins-save-soldier-trnd/ The bullet then deflected off of those same coins]].
541* One victim of SerialKiller Richard Ramirez (a.k.a."the Night Stalker") was saved when she instinctively held her hands up in front of her face and his .22 calibre bullet deflected off the car keys she was holding.
542* Danish Prime Minister and Jacob Brønning Scavenius Estrup infamously had an assassin try to shoot him dead [[https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.B.S._Estrup#/media/Fil:Attentatet_mod_Estrup_1885.jpg October 25th of 1885]], where one of his coat buttons deflected a revolver shot and then the gun jammed on the third shot after the second missed and hit the door behind Estrup. Estrup was infamously quoted asking the gunman "What, are you shooting at me?"[[note]]"Hvad, skyder De paa mig?" in Danish[[/note]], went on ahead to the party he was going to, told the story to the other partygoers and was celebrated when he went home intoxicated three hours later.
543* UsefulNotes/FrederickTheGreat was hit by a bullet during the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kunersdorf Battle of Kunersdorf]] but was saved by a gold snuffbox in his coat.
544* Abolitionist Cassius Clay (yes, UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli was named after him) was attacked by an assassin during a speech. The assassin got a shot off, but it hit the silver-tipped scabbard of the Bowie knife Clay was carrying. Clay then drew the knife and proceeded to [[CurbStompBattle brutally mutilate the man.]]
545* During the UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}n invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}, a [[https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/ukrainian-boys-life-saved-passport-26368265 Ukrainian boy's passport]] prevented a shrapnel from killing him.
546[[/folder]]

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