History Main / Kneecapping

* ''Series/TopBoy'': when Jamie finds out Leyton has been disloyal to the Summerhouse crew, on the advice of his Irish drug connection, he sends out his soldiers led by Farah to kneecap Leyton, instructing them to shoot in the fleshy part of the thigh, but Leyton's sturggling and Farah panicking leads to the bullet hitting an artery and Leyton bleeding out.

* One of Trevor's WrenchWhack options in the infamous "By The Book" mission of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', selectable by pressing the action button when Trevor is on Kerimov's right side. (Oddly, the closing cutscene depicting Ferdinand entering the airport terminal doesn't change, implying that poor Ferdinand is MadeOfIron by still being able to walk independently despite the pain & loss of stability that knee fractures cause.)

* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''

* This seemed to be ComicBook/BuckyBarnes's preferred method in dealing with enemy agents during his tenure as ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.
* In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Magneto was disappointed with his children for weakening the Brotherhood in his absence. So he knee-caps Pietro, ''his own son'', with a shotgun and forces his daughter Wanda to watch.
* One of [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle's]] preferred methods of interrogation, since he's almost always carrying some kind of pistol, it's quick, and it's hideously painful. Although often he'll just shoot a victim's ''legs'' full of holes until they tell him what he wants to know, not just the knees.

* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Rob took out Mister Mayhem by kicking his knee the wrong way during a melee in Bludhaven where Robin, Ragman, and ComicBook/BlueDevil were fighting thirty villains lead by Tapeworm. This had the added benefit of having the gadget Mayhem was about to throw in Rob's face hitting one of Tapeworm's crew instead.
* ''ComicBook/StrontiumDog''. During "Traitor To His Kind", Johnny and Wulf are pulled over by the police and taken off the road to be summarily executed. When Johnny throws a smoke grenade he'd been hiding in his shoe, he and Wulf get the drop on the cops, killing all but one. The last survivor, knowing he's outmatched, surrenders. Johnny shoots out the guy's kneecaps anyway. He's later asked if doing so was strictly necessary, to which he responds "Strictly? No."

* In ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', Jim Gordon does this to ComicBook/TheJoker after he kills his wife, Sarah Essen.

[[caption-width-right:204:[[MemeticMutation Too bad it wasn't an]] [[{{VideoGame/Skyrim}} arrow.]]]]

* One of Trevor's WrenchWhack options in the infamous "The Whole Truth" mission of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', selectable by pressing the action button when Trevor is on Francois' right side. (Oddly, the closing cutscene depicting Francois entering the airport terminal doesn't change, implying that poor Francois is MadeOfIron by still being able to walk independently despite the pain & loss of stability that accompanies knee fractures.)

** Yugi threatens Tristan with this with a monkey wrench. He follows through it on the end [[FelonyMisdemeanor when Tristan quotes]] ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' too many times.

* In the deleted scenes montage in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'', Yugi threatens Tristan with this with a wrench. He follows through it on the end [[FelonyMisdemeanor when Tristan quotes]] ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' too many times.

* ''Series/TopDog'': an attempt at a kneecapping goes wrong when the bullet hits an artery and the target, who was supposed to just be warned, dies.

* Knee-capping was often used as a punishment by the IRA and other Northern Irish paramilitary groups. There were four versions of it: A) [[ThisIsADrill a drill]] B) putting a gun at the back of the knee and firing C) a sledgehammer, and D) [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill cinder blocks]], originating with Protestant terrorists and gleefully adopted by their Republican counterparts. This lead to hospitals in Belfast such as the Royal Victoria Hospital becoming some of the best in the world for knee replacement and knee trauma surgery.

* In ''Fanfic/ShatteredSkiesTheMorningLights'', [[spoiler:[[TheHeavy Joker]] does this to a captured and helpless [[Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure Erika / Cure Marine]] with a sledgehammer. Complications from the injury result in the ''Arthra's'' medical staff having to [[AnArmAndALeg amputate it]] once she's recoveredw.]]

* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. During the FinalBattle, Sandro is told off for ordering his cyborg to do this to a charging female suicide bomber, especially since she blows herself up anyway.

* Figure skater and Olympic hopeful Usefulnotes/TonyaHarding's then-husband attempted to help her [[JustForPun get a leg up]] on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan by paying off her bodyguard to attack Kerrigan's (right!) knee shortly before the 1994 Winter Olympics, in hopes of taking Kerrigan out of the competition. The attempt failed, since Kerrigan still won the silver medal; Harding came in 10th.

* In ''Film/RockNRolla'', LondonGangster Lennie Cole makes the mistake of being racist and rude towards [[TheMafiya Russian gangster]] Yuri at a golf park, when Yuri is already in a bad mood from having his lucky painting stolen. [[spoiler:Yuri's response is to have his {{Dragon}} Victor beat Lennie's kneecaps with a [[GolfClubbing golf club]] until they break, forcing Lennie to drag himself all the way from the 18th hole to the reception desk to get help, and from that point on, Lennie spends the rest of the film as an EvilCripple.]]

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Rob took out Mister Mayhem by kicking his knee the wrong way during a melee in Bludhaven where Robin, Ragman, and ComicBook/BlueDevil were fighting thirty villains lead by Tapeworm. This had the added benefit of having the gadget Mayhem was about to throw in Rob's face hitting one of Tapeworm's crew instead.

* In the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "[[Recap/FireflyE10WarStories War Stories]]", this is how [[BadassPreacher Shephard Book]] gets around the whole "don't kill" rule.

* ''Literature/TheExecutioner''. In "Jersey Guns", Mack Bolan does this for a MutilationInterrogation while hunting a TortureTechnician that has recently tortured a friend to death. Far than being a non-lethal option, it's presented as OOCIsSeriousBusiness, and Bolan follows it up with a MercyKill. On finding the torturer in a later novel, Bolan kneecaps him as a KickTheSonOfABitch, but again quickly inflicts the CoupDeGrace.