History Main / WoundThatWillNotHeal

* DC Comics' Slade Wilson[=/=]ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} was given an impressive healing factor in the experiment that turned him superhuman; however, after a failed rescue mission for his son, his angry wife shot him in the eye. Despite his healing factor, he has never regenerated the eye, leaving it as a permanent mark of his failed attempt at having a family.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Various Charms can do this, the majority of them belonging to the [[OmnicidalManiac Abyssals]].

** The Hyena, a powerful [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblin]], inflicts injuries like this as a matter of course. It mauls its victims in body and soul, and once it's done so it can use the injury to drive them to madness and exert control, turning it into a MinionMaster. Death itself will not ease the pain; the victim's soul and ghost will linger, still maimed, as the Hyena makes use of them to hunt.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': White Diamond's Pearl has a cracked face and a missing eye, even though normally when a gem is injured they just generate a new body as long as the gem itself isn't damaged. Her face still doesn't heal even after [[spoiler:she is freed from White Diamond's control and turns pink again.]] It's revealed in ''[[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture Future]]'' that Steven's healing powers don't work either and the injury [[spoiler:was caused by Pink Diamond accidentally [[MakeMeWannaShout hitting her with her screaming attack]] during a temper tantrum. It can't be repaired like a regular injury because it is a manifestation of the ''[[YourMindMakesItReal psychological]]'' injury [[StepfordSmiler Pink Pearl refuses to acknowledge]]. Once she does confront her feelings and comes to an understanding of them with Pearl, [[RiddleForTheAges the show avoids ever showing if the wound was healed]] by purposefully hidding her face from the viewer in her last appearance.]]

* ''VideoGame/CultOfTheLamb'': The four Bishops of the Old Faith were each wounded when they imprisoned the One Who Waits: [[MonkeyMoralityPose Leshy's eyes, Kallimar's ears, Heket's throat]], and Shamura's skull. Seemingly centuries later, their wounds are still bound with bloody bandages.

** A more straight example comes from ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' with Arven’s [[BigFriendlyDog Mabosstiff]]. One day, when they were exploring [[spoiler:Area Zero]], they were attacked by a vicious [[spoiler:Koraidon or Miraidon, depending on the version]], which resulted in Mabosstiff getting terribly injured. He was unable to walk, bark, or open his eyes, and healing items and even Pokémon Centers proved to be completely ineffective at treating him. Eventually, Arven discovered the Herba Mystica, reported to be able to cure any ailment if all five are eaten. [[spoiler:These slowly heal Mabosstiff, and after all five he is back at top fighting strength]].

* Downplayed in ''The Skin Trade'' by Creator/GeorgeRRMartin, the wealthy Jonathan Harmon is a lycanthrope of the purest strain, so he's especially potent. 20 years ago, the police detective father of P.I. Randi Wade was investigating a series of murders which Jonathan wanted to stop. So Jonathan personally attacked Officer Wade in wolf form, who shot him with 6 silver bullets. This would leave Jonathan, wheelchair-bound and aching from the wounds while in human form, but Jonathan once implied that when he's in wolf form he's at full health.

* Downplayed in ''TheSkinTrade'', the wealthy Jonathan Harmon is a lycanthrope of the purest strain, so he's especially potent. 20 years ago, the police detective father of P.I. Randi Wade was investigating a series of murders which Jonathan wanted to stop. So Jonathan personally attacked Officer Wade in wolf form, who shot him with 6 silver bullets. This would leave Jonathan, wheelchair-bound and aching from the wounds while in human form, but Jonathan once implied that when he's in wolf form he's at full health.

* In Douglas Hill's ''Blade of the Poisoner'', KidHero Jarral is cut by [[EvilWeapon the Tainted Blade]]. Not ''only'' does the wound—in [[ZorroMark the shape of the villain's monogram]], no less—refuse to heal (and [[AcheyScars hurts like hell]] in the bargain), but it leaves him with [[RaceAgainstTheClock a month to live]] unless he manages to destroy the sword in question before his time is up. [[spoiler:With the help of his friends, he manages, with [[JustInTime moments to spare]].]]

* In ''The Medusa Amulet'' by Robert Masello, the titular amulet makes anyone immortal if they look at their reflection and the reflection of the full moon at the same time, but they are left completely frozen in the state they were in when they see themselves. Artist Benvenuto Cellini, who created the amulet and was the first beneficiary of its power, is noted as still suffering crippling damage to his legs after he jumped out a window to escape a Nazi raid in the Second World War, and other users of the amulet's power- Marie Antoinette [[spoiler:and Adolf Hitler]]- are depicted as actually still retaining consciousness [[AndIMustScream even after being completely decapitated]] until their heads are explicitly destroyed.

* In Ian Watson's novel ''Queenmagic, Kingmagic'', injuries inflicted by magic can only be healed by personally killing the magician who injured you. If someone else happens to kill them first, you're stuck with a permanently unhealed injury for the rest of your life. This can be very nasty if it's something like a broken arm or fractured skull.

* Donna Jo Napoli's ''Sirena'' is based partially on the legend of Philoctetes (see below): Sirena tries to take care of Philoctetes' wound, but every day it requires special care, and it never gets better (in a variance from the source material, the reason that the crew abandoned Philoctetes on the island was that he was bitten by a snake sent by ''Hera'', and they didn't want to be harboring a man who had angered the Queen of the Gods).

* Somewhere around Volume 11 or 12 of ''Manhwa/{{Priest}}'', Ivan Isaacs gets stabbed in the chest by Armand. Even with an exceptional healing ability, the wound perpetually bleeds and never closes, never heals — not until volume 15, at least, due to a bit of magic.

* Early in ''Film/{{Highlander}},'' Ramirez slices the Kurgan's throat open but doesn't completely decapitate him. When Connor meets the Kurgan centuries later, he still has the wound, and it's apparently being held closed with safety pins.

* Kasen Ibara from ''[[Videogame/{{Touhou}} Touhou Ibarakasen -- Wild and Horned Hermit]]''. Her entire right arm is made of smoke and covered in bandages, ''only'' because her real right arm was cut off in some manner that prevents her from attaching it back. She has a sake cup that can heal any wounds, however, it's useless against her own and can only preserve her arm from rotting. [[spoiler:This turns out to be a lie; she actually can reattach her real right arm, but it turns her back into the wicked oni Ibaraki Douji.]]

* After being bitten, nearly drained of blood and poisoned by [[OurVampiresAreDifferent "space vampire"]] Minty Mazata in the third ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' book, Jay finds that the puncture wounds show no signs of healing after four days.

* [[UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic Covid-19]] causes this, to varying levels. For some lucky individuals, prolonged effects aren't particularly bad or debilitating, lasting as little as a few weeks after the primary effects of the virus have vanished and being only comparatively minor things like sluggishness. Less lucky individuals have much more serious issues, such as partial body paralysis or physical and/or neurological damage that, while it's too early to determine the actual length, is presently believed to be '''permanent'''.

* In ''Fanfic/TheArithmancer'', anything that is sacrificed as part of ritual magic can never be recovered. So if you sacrifice a drop of your blood, your body will be forever just slightly less efficient at making new blood, if you sacrifice a year of your life, you'll age that much faster, and so on.
* In the Doctor Who fanfiction ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/ThreeDoctorsNineCompanionsWhatCouldGoWrong 3 Doctors, 9 Companions, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?]]'' Adam Mitchell gains a kind of immortality when he unintentionally cryogenically freezes himself with his ice-related superpowers. This comes with the unfortunate side effect of ''losing'' his normal human healing abilities. He sprains his ankle a few days after this incident and is stuck with the sprain forever; not because it was a particularly bad injury, but just because his body can no longer heal itself from ''anything''.
* In the ''VideoGame/Persona3'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/DeathAndKer'', Minako has a series of wounds all the way down her back from where she was pulled off the Great Seal. They alternately bleed, scab over, and bleed again throughout the story, by way of indicating Minako's status as an integral part of the Seal.

* In ''[[http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/19769 The Legend of Link: Lucky Number 13]]'', an injury inflicted by [[LegionsOfHell the Originals]] cannot be healed by anyone, be they a mortal wizard or the strongest of gods. The effects of these permanent injuries also tend to be somewhat... varied.

** Hadrian's body wasn't damaged but instead, he lost the ability to kill.
** Link lost his right eye and left arm, which were [[ArtificialLimbs replaced with look-alikes made out of dark magic]]. They function just as well as... well as, [[{{Pun}} the originals]]. Notably, even after [[spoiler: acquiring enough power to obliterate the Originals with ease]], he still doesn't have the ability to restore the old limbs.
* In the ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' fic ''Fanfic/HogyokuExMachina'', [[spoiler: this is the ability of Kenpachi's zanpakuto, Shakushi.]]
* In ''Fanfic/CosmicWarriors'' it is the effect of Experiment-D-U-D's golden spear.
* In ''Fanfic/TheFirstSaniwa'', a Revisionist lands a magic attack on Hiromasa's shoulder that has this effect. The worst part is that it also has a [[TheCorruption corruption]] effect that is ''impossible to remove without breaking the laws of nature''.
* In the ''Series/LostGirl'' fic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8532956/1/Stop-the-World Stop The World]]'', Lauren develops a permanent scar from the being on the receiving end of a ShootTheHostage situation in the previous story. That it won't heal despite her HealingFactor is a cause for concern. Lauren muses that it still hasn't fully healed, and later when she gets angry, begins to hurt and bleed. [[spoiler:This may be because she's possessed by the Garuda, and it got in there]].

* In ''Fanfic/TangledInTime'' while Ganondorf survives his execution by Master Sword from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', his wound is made even worse as now he's in constant pain and constantly has to take blue potions to ease it. In a CallBack to the example below, Ganondorf manages to keep the Master Sword.
* In ''Fanfic/ApartmentGensokyo'', Koishi comes home injured and her wounds never heal, instead, they continue bleeding. She later succumbs to them.
** Earlier in the series, we find out why Kaguya has to wear a large shoe. She hurt herself during one even with a tricycle and, while it healed, it didn't heal perfectly, so she wears the large shoe to help her walk evenly.
* ''Fanfic/FreedomDiesWithMe'' has this happen to protagonist Traveller; specifically he ends up being impaled in the stomach by Lord Brevon's blade. The blood on that blade is described as a sort of poison that hinders the body's attempts to heal. Even the [[ArtifactOfDoom Blade of Hysteria]] cannot heal it and it takes a TimeyWimeyBall to actually keep it closed.
* In ''[[http://fanfics.me/read2.php?id=127043 A RWBY Zanpakuto]]'', Aizen's Bankai inflicts these injuries. Only RealityWarper powers like Orihime or the Hogyoku can heal them, healing kido and healing factors are ineffective.
* ''[[Fanfic/BoundDestiniesTrilogy Blood and Spirit]]'': During his confrontation with the Fierce Deity early in the fic, Link suffers a slash across the chest that infects him with [[TheCorruption Majora's corruption]]. Every time Majora begins to exert his influence and corrupt him further, the wound reopens.
* Despite being a surprisingly tough demon and [[spoiler:the son of [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]] himself]], Fankil, the main antagonist of ''Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy'', seems to be unable to heal his arm after it's dislocated at the end of the trilogy's second part, for it is still in a sling when we enter the third part sixty years later. Even before that, he walks with a limp as if his leg is being affected by an old wound.
* In ''Fanfic/OfQuirksAndMagic'', Dr. Strange is shot with a bullet that spreads an infectious curse throughout his body that prevents healing and will eventually kill him. Wong has to place him in a stasis spell before rushing off the find the relic the assailant stole to remove said curse.
* In ''Fanfic/TheBloodstainedHero'', Izuku's missing arm is completely unaffected by his HealingFactor or even [[spoiler:his ResurrectiveImmortality]], considering all that he can get back up from, the problem seems less the amount of damage but rather the fact that [[spoiler:he received the wound from the [[EldritchAbomination Moon Prescence]]]].
* In ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'', [[StarfishAliens Q]] was wounded in a fight with Zim and Voel years ago. The damage is still there in the present, interfering with his shapeshifting.

** ''Film/CaptainMarvel'' reveals that Nick Fury wears an eyepatch due to being scratched by Goose the alien cat.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''; Malekith, Witch King of the Dark Elves, attempted to prove his legitimacy to the Phoenix Throne by stepping into the Flames of Asuryan. Unfortunately for him, the Flames deemed him unworthy and roasted him, and even with his magical armor keeping him alive the burns are still agonizingly fresh after centuries.

* In ''Manga/SoulHunter'', the Youkai Sennin Youka is really a sentient sword-like weapon, and the wounds inflicted by his blades are cursed and leave costantly-bleeding wounds. [[spoiler: Kou Tenka ends up wounded in the abdomen and, fearing to be outlasted by Chuoh, the object of his vengeance, he ends up taking the path that results in his death, even though Taikoubou told him that the other surviving Sennin were studying a way to patch up his wound.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has the Virus status effect (also known as Disease.) Taking damage in Virus status lowers your MAX HP as well as your current HP, so to heal this effect, you need a vaccine, casting cleanse or by touching a [[HealingCheckpoint Save/Gate Crystal]].

* We have an interesting case with the [[DemolitionsExpert Demoman]] from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' and his missing eye. In the real world, a normal human is unable to regrow an eyeball, but considering [[CombatMedic The Medic]] with his medigun, which can heal a cut open stomach in seconds, you'd think it'd be patched up by now. Yet somehow Demo's Eye hasn't healed. [[spoiler: The reason for this is that the Demo, when he was young, went to Marasmus the Wizard looking for jobs. He opened a book he was told not to open, and lost his eye, [[AWizardDidIt because Magic and shit.]] According to TF comics issue #6, The Medic HAS tried to fix his eye "At least eight times", but every time he does, [[HorrorDoesntSettleForASimpleTuesday on Halloween]], Demo's eye come out of his socket, and becomes a massive monster, because his eye socket is haunted. Medic was [[{{Lobotomy}} forced to scoop out the part of Demomans' brain]] that kept pestering Medic to give him another replacement eye.]]