History Main / AlmostLethalWeapons

* ''Film/ABetterTomorrow2'': In the final scene, approximately 80 mooks are killed with every weapon imaginable. The heroes also suffer injuries, but appear to suffer no ill effects. At the end, they calmly sit in their blood-soaked clothes and wait for the cops to arrive. Interestingly, the only John Woo movies where the heroes suffer the same injuries as the villains are ''Film/ABetterTomorrow 1'' and, perhaps, ''Film/TheKiller.''

* Happened thrice in ''Manga/CityHunter''. The first time Ryo ''[[RatedMForManly shot through his own hand to slow down his bullet and avoid collateral damage]]'' without suffering permanent damage (it's mentioned that Ryo avoided hitting the bones exactly to prevent the crippling damage that would have happened to anyone without ImprobableAimingSkills). The second time Umibozu had been shot in the back with three .38 bullets, but he only needed to flex his muscles to expel them with little damage (Ryo immediately pointed out that nobody else could have done it). In the final instance Ryo managed to knock out a thug with a bullet from his ''.357 Magnum'' (again, it was a special circumstance: Ryo's ImprobableAimingSkills had allowed him to make the bullet pass near the head of the thug, knocking him out with the shock of it). Every other time it's averted: people actually hit by bullets will have the wounds cripple them for months if not for life

Not TruthInTelevision, for obvious reasons. Even a bullet wound to a non-vital area can cause massive infections, shattered organs and bones, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking terrible hospital food]]. Even "nonlethal" weapons such as tasers, pepper spray, tear gas, and beanbag guns can kill under the right circumstances, e.g. a taser being used on someone with preexisting health problems or heart disease (or simply being at too high of a voltage and crossing the line from near-electrocution to electrocution), a beanbag striking someone at close range, through the eye, or at the wrong spot on the chest, or pepper spray or tear gas being used on someone with breathing problems.[[note]] Which is why law enforcement personnel officially refer to these as [[InsistentTerminology "Less Lethal"]][[/note]]

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "Unity". A [[RedShirt Gold-shirt]] was hit in the shoulder by a small pistol and instantly died, proving the weapons weren't on stun. Chakotay took a blast from a large rifle directly to his center mass... and woke up with a headache. It ''did'' do some nerve damage however that unless treated ''could'' eventually kill him, but the fact it didn't kill him outright is rather ridiculous.

* Throughout ''{{Franchise/Transformers}},'' you can expect generic 'bots and 'cons to suffer instant death with one blast of the attacks main characters are constantly surviving. In the 80s series and comics, if you no longer had a toy on the shelves, disposing you by suddenly making you similarly one-hit-kill-able was common, but not so much these days. (Turns out ''fans don't like it'' when you [[KillEmAll atomize most of the entire cast]] and have [[ForgottenFallenFriend no one notice or care]] so you can focus on the new toy-characters.) However, generics still die in droves to weapons that are then used on major characters to less effect. Most blatant example in recent years are the Insecticons from ''Prime,'' - despite all being of the same identical model, named ones like Hardshell are NighInvulnerable while massive swarms of others are easily dealt with - one hit equals one kill.

* in ''Anime/ChargemanKen'', Ken's Alpha Gun has a tranquilizer mode, that can put a lion to sleep. However, the tranquilizer mode disintegrates Juralian aliens Ken fights against.

* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': Most weapons in pistol or rifle sizes are unlikely to kill outright.

* Codified by Creator/JohnWoo's ''Film/ABetterTomorrow 2.'' In the final scene, approximately 80 mooks are killed with every weapon imaginable. The heroes also suffer injuries, but appear to suffer no ill effects. At the end, they calmly sit in their blood-soaked clothes and wait for the cops to arrive. Interestingly, the only John Woo movies where the heroes suffer the same injuries as the villains are ''Film/ABetterTomorrow 1'' and, perhaps, ''Film/TheKiller.''
* The ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' doesn't know how lethal the damn pumpkin bombs are. In [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]], they vaporize a group of people in an instant, but in a later scene just knock Peter across the room. In [[Film/SpiderMan3 the third movie]], they mostly end up knocking people down -- until Peter uses one to completely incinerate Venom. In the comics (and the movies' novelisation) Goblin has different bombs for different purposes but this is never even alluded to in the movies.
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', when Han shoots Greedo with a blaster, there is a small explosion, turning Greedo into a blackened, smoking corpse. In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Luke is shot in his false hand, but it only burns off the skin. Range could be a factor; Han shot at point-blank range, while Luke is shot from a distance. Also the model of blaster; the ExpandedUniverse and a few [=RPGs=] make Han's [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/DL-44_heavy_blaster_pistol DL-44]] into the Galaxy's equivalent of an HandCannon.

* In ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', [[spoiler:Sharon]] shoots [[spoiler:Adama]] twice in the chest at close range with her side arm, and he survives. He needed a long stay in the sick bay, though. Later, she shoots [[spoiler:the Cylon leader Natalie]] in the chest at short range with her side arm, and she dies within a minute.

** Tended to happen, especially ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' and ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]''. A single phaser shot would kill an enemy mook no problem, but anyone with their name in the credits rarely suffered more than shoulder and leg hits that were completely cured. If you didn't have your name in the credits, you usually aren't so lucky, particularly if you happen to be wearing a gold or red shirt at the time. Nog learn this the hard way, when he ''lost a leg''.

** In the ''Voyager'' episode "Unity". A [[RedShirt Gold-shirt]] was hit in the shoulder by a small pistol and instantly died, proving the weapons weren't on stun. Chakotay took a blast from a large rifle directly to his center mass... and woke up with a headache. It ''did'' do some nerve damage however that unless treated ''could'' eventually kill him, but the fact it didn't kill him outright is rather ridiculous.

** One episode of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' dealt with this trope directly. Cardassian weapons only have stun and kill settings, but federation phasers have ''dozens''.
** In the original Star Trek, someone shot with a phaser on kill, who should have disintegrated, instead died normally ''purely'' because he had to give a FinalSpeech.

* Invoked in the [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]] 3rd edition player's handbook as an explanation for why characters gain additional hit points as they grow in level, as well as for why they recover them faster. A 1d8 longsword will usually fatally injure a peasant, but the same attack results in an entirely superficial injury if used against a high-level fighter.
* D&D 4th Edition has "minions", enemies with a single HP. In nearly all other regards, they are normal foes.
** Well almost. They deal flat damage - and little damage at that (meaning they don't benefit from critical hits) and have less powers than most monsters. Also few minions rarely have ranged attacks and almost never area attacks. They can still be a threat because they are present in huge numbers, allowing them to deal DeathOfAThousandCuts on [[PlayerCharacters PCs]], as well as serve as a distraction when fighting alongside bigger threats.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', most weapons in pistol or rifle sizes are unlikely to kill outright.

* TabletopGame/SavageWorlds plays this to a T. If an unnamed character takes damage, they're either stunned or dead. Named characters can be stunned, wounded or incapacitated, only dying if they bleed out, or are finished off while incapacitated.

* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', when Han shoots Greedo with a blaster, there is a small explosion, turning Greedo into a blackened, smoking corpse. In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Luke is shot in his false hand, but it only burns off the skin. Range could be a factor; HanShotFirst at point-blank range, while Luke is shot from a distance. Also the model of blaster; the ExpandedUniverse and a few [=RPGs=] make Han's [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/DL-44_heavy_blaster_pistol DL-44]] into the Galaxy's equivalent of an HandCannon.

*** One of the best examples was in the ''Voyager'' episode "Unity". A [[RedShirt Gold-shirt]] was hit in the shoulder by a small pistol and instantly died, proving the weapons weren't on stun. Chakotay took a blast from a large rifle directly to his center mass... and woke up with a headache. It ''did'' do some nerve damage however that unless treated ''could'' eventually kill him, but the fact it didn't kill him outright is rather ridiculous.

** This ''can'' be {{TruthInTelevision}}, though. Wounds from handgun bullets are typically quite survivable if medical attention is received quickly enough, but the victim can also die before receiving said attention, depending on what organ(s) got hit.

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[[folder:{{Film}}]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': While the Winchester boys's various weapons work pretty reliably on the bad guys, Sam and Dean themselves have managed to survive car crashes, bullet wounds, head trauma and strangulation (among many, many other mishaps) with, at worst, a broken bone. There are times where this is averted, some characters died or were at the brink of death because of common weapons, including [[spoiler:Bobby, Rufus, Pamela and, while they were resurrected afterwards, Sam and Dean more than once.]]

* In ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'', [[spoiler:Sharon]] shoots [[spoiler:Adama]] twice in the chest at close range with her side arm, and he survives. He needed a long stay in the sick bay, though. Later, she shoots [[spoiler:the Cylon leader Natalie]] in the chest at short range with her side arm, and she dies within a minute.
** This ''can'' be {{TruthInTelevision}}, though. Wounds from handgun bullets are typically quite survivable if medical attention is received quickly enough, but the victim can also die before receiving said attention, depending on what organ(s) got hit.
* ''Series/TheBarrier'': In the finale, one of the protagonists gets shot twice. The first shot injures them, but all they need to live until the epilogue is to cajole the wound for the rest of their screen time. The supporting character who pulled at TakingTheBullet for the second shot? They only had time for a few seconds of farewell for their loved ones before dying.

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' has this effect for ''all'' named characters, heroes and villains alike, reflecting how tough major characters in HeroicBloodshed movies tend to be in regards to bullets.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', most weapons in pistol or rifle sizes are unlikely to kill outright.

* Justified in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games. The best-equipped soldiers, both human and Covenant, have energy shields. These prevent instant death most of the time, but a handful of weapons are still one-hit kills if properly aimed (for example, a sniper rifle [[BoomHeadShot head shot]] is a OneHitKill). In other cases -- especially with a fully charged plasma pistol shot -- your shields may be downed in a single hit, at which point you can be killed with realistic ease, like any {{mook|s}}. This trope is completely averted if you play on Heroic or Legendary, in which case you may die if the enemy so much as sneezes on you.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' - unless your armor and health are maxed out, if the enemy shoots you with a weapon that instagibs them, you will die instantly in turn.
* In ''Franchise/AceAttorney'', murder victims rarely require more than a single blow, stab, or shot to die. But if you're a major character like [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma, Franziska von Karma, or Shi-Long Lang]], a bullet is a mere inconvenience. The game does ''usually'' justify the lethal wounds, in that they tend to hit vital areas, and after the first game, death is rarely instantaneous. Bullets hit hearts (which is [[ImprobableAimingSkills another trope]]), necks are broken, victims live long enough to alter the crime scene...

* Justified in the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games with Vega, one of the few characters in the series who regularly fights with a weapon. His claw is curved at the tips to prevent him from lethally stabbing his opponents; it can only deal superficial slashing damage. Of course, it can still kill if it hits the right vein, but by that logic, every fighter in the series has skills and/or powers that could potentially kill even without a weapon.