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Fists occupied? Feet unavailable? Thirty-two weapons are still available: the teeth!
This trope is about biting someone in combat. Biting is typically a desperate last resort employed when limbs are pinned. However, it is a move that can turn the tables in an instant. The true Combat Pragmatist will bite anytime he fancies: an unexpected bite to the throat can take a foe down quickly. That kind of savagery can also be a sign of being Raised By Animals, or being outright Ax Crazy. Strangely, despite the brutal nature of the attack, there are far more heroic examples than villainous.
A bite can result in some of the worst flesh damage a character can do to another, without a weapon. Most other unarmed attacks depend on blunt force. Expect the bitee to react with pain, shock and horror. As this is a trope about pragmatism, humans and other organisms not expected to bite should only be listed. No dogs, no vampires, etc.
For a detailed analysis of the plausibility of this trope see the analysis page.
See Now That's Using Your Teeth when the teeth are used for less meaty purposes. See also You Taste Delicious.
Examples
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Anime and Manga
- In one chapter of Blade of the Immortal, a crazed Itto-Ryu attempts to finish off Hyakurin this way.
- Rurouni Kenshin: Big Bad Shishio Makoto takes a chomp out of Kenshin to show that he's serious about his Social Darwinist philosophy ("The flesh of the weak is the food of the strong.").
- Invoked in the first Hellsing anime, after Alucard shoots off Anderson's arms but Anderson still charges at him, prompting Alucard to taunt him: "Are you gonna bite me next?" Anderson decides to retreat with dignity after hearing this (from a vampire, no less).
- Seras Victoria later bites off half of Zorin Blitz's hand while being punched in the face by her.
- In Dragon Ball, Goku was prone to use this, most notoriously when fighting against Frieza and Kid Buu.
- In a flashback within a Yu-Gi-Oh! episode, Anzu bites the arm of a rapist (thief in the dub) after he knocks Yugi down.
- In A Certain Magical Index, Index bites anyone who irritates her. Usually Toma.
- In One Piece Filler Arc Little East Blue, Yoko uses biting as her way to attack.
- Also Luffy, the main character (who's quite child-like) has no qualms about biting his opponents should his limbs be blocked. Two examples include against Arlong (was blocked) and Jinbei (who sat on him).
- In Baccano, Creepy Child Czeslaw Meyer tells world-renowned assassin and complete lunatic Claire Stanfield that he's not afraid of him, having been hurt and tortured in horrible ways for years. Claire's response is to grab Czeslaw's hand and bite his fingers off.
- In Nabari No Ou, Shijima occasionally bites people in combat.
- This is Turtle's signature attack in Rainbow. He doesn't get much opportunity to use it, but the bite wounds we see are brutal.
- How can one forget Ubogin from Hunter × Hunter? Bit through the skull of one enemy, and spit the fragment out with enough velocity to punch a hole in a second opponent.
Comic Books
Film
Literature
- In the Diablo tie-in novel Legacy of Blood, the villain is bitten on the neck by a woman he's about to torture. He starts to panic, thinking she might be a vampire, then realises she's just acting out of desperation.
- Solomon Kane is not above ripping an opponent's throat out with his teeth when necessary.
- One of Norm's favorite attacks, and apparently also erotic for him, in Rose Madder.
- Jeremiah toward squad leader The Stoic Asher in Someone Else's War. Jeremiah is seven, so perhaps it's a little more justified.
- In the Star Trek novel Section 31 Rogue, the Tellarite Doctor Gomp takes on a Chiarosian warrior by biting into his arm.
- Happens during Galaxy of Fear: Clones, when someone comes up behind Tash and circles her neck with his arm, cutting off her air.
She bit him.
- An arguable case in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum at least used to be a hobbit, and he bites Frodo's finger off.
Live Action TV
Professional Wrestling
- A move traditionally used by Heels (especially those with a "savage" gimmick), but may be employed by smaller, weaker Faces as well. As with any comparisons of Heels and Faces, expect some Moral Dissonance.
- Sting recently told Hulk Hogan (or was it Ric Flair?) not to point his finger at him; otherwise, Sting would bite it off! This would have been an out-of-character moment for Steve Borden at any time in the past, but it perfectly fits his new "Insane Icon" gimmick.
- Dementia of Glow always did this, more than any of the other rude ones. It only worked on jobbers or wrestlers unfamiliar with her, more technical wrestlers would use it to their advantage.
- Classy Freddy Blassie began his performance career biting the heads off small animals, it only made sense he'd start biting other people when he wrestled.
Tabletop Games
- One of the Rage Powers available to a Barbarian in Pathfinder is "Animal Rage," which gives your barbarian a bite attack and allows them to execute this trope on their enemies.
Video Games
- In Siren: Blood Curse, little Bella Monroe bites a Shibito's hand to make it release her mother.
- This trope crops up in Dwarf Fortress combat all the time. In fact, in adventure mode, players regularly defeat Boogymen by biting them, then shaking them around until their lower body is ripped off.
- Street Fighter veterans should be familiar with seeing this as a grapple from Wild Child mutant Blanka. And Husky Russkie Zangief can get in on the delicious facechomping action. Yummy!
- Side-scrolling Beat 'em Up Warriors of Fate featured this as an option for one of the heroes, in-game known for his love of eating. Enemies seem to count for his appetite, it seems.
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Wario has his Chomp special, which does Exactly What It Says on the Tin to anyone who touches his open mouth. His head inexplicably doubles in size while using this move and as a result, his victims are in his mouth up to the torso while he does the biting. It's the only time he's seen using this tactic in his history, but it's not terribly out of place, considering how bizarre his fighting style is.
Web Comics
- A Newshounds story arc had Lorna thinking she was a dog, and watching a bad man (her father) chewing out Kevin. One of the other dogs compliments her technique (while watching in shock).
- Newheimburg has Jack biting into a mugger's leg hard enough to draw blood.
Web Original
Western Animation
Real Life
- The infamous "Bite Seen 'Round The World" during the 1997 Mike Tyson/Evander Holyfield match, where Tyson got disqualified for biting Holyfield's ears, one bite being severe enough to rip off a piece of his right ear. The incident in question did not help Tyson's image at all, and made him look like even more of a savage.
- A woman in South Africa bites off her rapist's tongue and hands it to police as evidence.
- The field of forensic odontology
 , in addition to Identification By Dental Records, also deals a lot with bite mark analysis in cases where a criminal or a victim bit the other during the commission of a crime. Cases where such evidence played a key role included the case of Serial Killer Ted Bundy as well as the case of Jesse Timmendequas (the Megan's Law case).
- Biting incidents also crop up in child care settings.
- Bruce Lee once said he wouldn't be above biting someone in a fight if he believed it was necessary.
- Self-defense instructors would agree with him. Along with eye-gouging, ear-twisting, and the classical Groin Attack, biting is considered by experts to be one of the most basic and effective methods of self-defense.
- Fun fact: Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, even harder than bone. You can do a lot of damage with those things.
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