History Main / CranialPlateAbility

* ''Literature/TheSurprisingAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'': In Russia, Munchausen and his drinking buddies are baffled by an old general who, in a [[VodkaDrunkenski nation of hard drinkers]], is drinking everyone under the table without ever showing signs of intoxication. Munchausen however discovers the general's secret, which is to discreetly lift the silver plate that serves him as a skull prosthesis once in a while, thus releasing the alcoholic vapors which would otherwise collect in his brain.

* ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}:'' The Steel Inquisitors have several metal spikes driven through their body, with their most striking feature being steel spikes driven through their eyes. This process allows them to use all of the core allomantic powers, even if they weren't a mistborn to begin with. They're also immortal, with [[spoiler:Kelsier's younger brother-turned-inquisitor, Marsh, appearing in the sequel series to ''Mistborn'', which is set 341 years after the end of the original series]].

* Played for laughs in a ''ComicBook/{{Cattivik}}'' story, where the person he just hammered on the head happens to have a 10 cm thick steel plate under his hat.
* When ''Creator/MarvelComics'' character U.S. Archer had his skull fractured in a murder attempt, it was replaced with a "cap" of experimental metal. In addition to the hammerhead abilities that it gives him, he can hear different radio frequencies based on which filling he touches with his tongue. Taking the foil from a stick of gum and making contact with all of his fillings at once makes him immune to mind control, but also a severe headache afterwards.
* During Walter Simonson's run on ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', during "ComicBook/TheSurturSaga" story arc, Thor fights TheFairFolk with the assistance of an army veteran who turns out to have partial immunity to their glamour because of the [[ColdIron steel]] plate in his head.

* ''ComicBook/{{US1}}'': The truck-driving superhero U.S. 1 (or US Ace in latter incarnations) had a metal plate installed in his head to save his life after his truck was run off the road by the Highwayman. This allows him to hear radio transmissions in his head and gives him resistance to mind control.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

-->[After the doctor explains the whole thing in a matter-of-fact way]
-->'''Bolec''': What is he, a fucking Film/{{Robocop|1987}}?

* In ''Film/{{Infinite}}'', it's mentioned that Evan [=McCauley=] suffered a mental breakdown due to the jumbled memories [[BornAgainImmortality of his past lives]] and attempted suicide via car crash, requiring doctors to install a steel plate in his skull. Late in the film, [[BigBad Bathurst]] shoots Evan in the head with the Dethroner, an attack that ''should'' kill Evan and [[SealedGoodInACan prevent him from being reborn]] - but thanks to the steel plate in his skull, the Dethroner bullet doesn't penetrate, and Evan is back on his feet in seconds. For good measure, Evan mocks Bathurst for forgetting about the plate [[FailedASpotCheck when he was the one who brought up this detail in the first place]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': [[spoiler:Stanford Pines]] has a metal plate put in his head sometime after he [[spoiler:fell through the portal]] in order to protect his mind from being taken over by Gravity Falls' resident EldritchAbomination, Bill Cipher. The plate also makes him immune to Dipper's [[LaserGuidedAmnesia memory-erasing gun]] in a panic, with the unintended consequence that [[spoiler: his brother Stanley has to let himself get possessed by Bill and mind-wiped instead of him.]]

** Ghazkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the biggest of all ork warlords, has a skull partly made of adamantium. Ever since he got it he claims to have received visions from the ork gods and is threatening to lead every ork in the galaxy as a unified threat. He won the fealty of many rival warbands in part by defeating their leaders in combat, often finishing the fights with powerful headbutts from his metal-plated skull.

* When ''Creator/MarvelComics'' character U.S. Archer had his skull fractured in a murder attempt, it was replaced with a "cap" of experimental metal. In addition to the hammerhead abilities that it gives him, he can hear different radio frequencies based on which filling he touches with his tongue. Taking the foil from a stick of gum and making contact with all of his fillings at one makes him immune to mind control, but also a severe headache afterwards.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Exaggerated with recurring antagonist [[Characters/SpiderManCentralRoguesGallery Hammerhead]], originally a low level thug following being fatally wounded in an ambush his life was saved by an experimental procedure from a disgraced surgeon that replaced most of his skull with a strong steel alloy. As he discovered to his absolute joy upon recovery this meant [[UnbreakableBones his head]] was now hard enough for him to shrug off punches from Spider-Man and even headbutt his way through brick walls. Between this power and his strategic insight, he quickly rose to be one of the most dangerous [[SuperMobBoss Maggia Bosses]] in the city.
* ''ComicBook/{{US1}}'': The truck driving super hero U.S. 1 (or US Ace in latter incarnations) had a metal plate installed in his head to save his life after a his truck was run off the road by the Highwayman. This allows him to hear radio transmissions in his head, and gives him resistance to mind control.

* ''Film/BulletProof'' has Jack Carter, who is shoot in the head (accidentally) by his friend Archie. He uses the steel plate on Archie when he's pissed. Later he uses it as [[HardHead a surprise weapon]] against bad guys.

* ''Film/KickAss''. After his disastrous first attempt at being a superhero the protagonist ends up with a lot of metal in his body, including a metal-plated skull. This metal is used throughout the film as the reason he's MadeOfIron and able to withstand blows that should at the very least knock him unconscious, if not outright kill him.
* Inverted in ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation''. Eddie used to have a metal plate in his head, but would forget things when his wife turned on the microwave, so it was replaced with plastic. He doesn't believe the plastic is as strong as his skull.

* ''Literature/TheTommyknockers'': Gardener and Ev Hillman are immune to the BodyHorror effects of the spaceship, because they have metal plates in their heads (Gardener because of a skiing accident, Ev because of a war wound).

* In the season 1 finale of ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'', [[spoiler: the Handler]] is shot in the head by Hazel. However, season 2 reveals that the character actually survived thanks to a metal skull plate, installed following a NoodleIncident during the backstory. However, the impact of the bullet ''does'' leave [[spoiler: the Handler]] paralyzed, to the point that the Commission would have disposed of the body in a cremation oven if the "corpse" hadn't regained consciousness and demanded to be taken to a hospital. Plus, it takes three months before the character is capable of walking again.

** Ghazkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the biggest of all ork warlords, has a skull partly made of adamantium. Ever since he got it he claims to have received visions from the ork gods and is threatening to lead every ork in the galaxy as a unified threat. He won the fealty of many rival warbands in part by the defeating their leaders in combat, often finishing the fights with powerful headbutts from his metal-plated skull.

* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' features a form of this as {{Foreshadowing}}. During the battle at Deathshead's Compound in 1946, after B.J. picks up either Wyatt or Fergus, they escape the Compound just as it's about to be destroyed via grenade. A shrapnel gets into B.J.'s brain, and leaves him catatonic for 14 years. Fast forward to 1960, [[spoiler:during the climax, he's faced with Bubi, Frau Engel's lover, who drugs B.J., only to find out that the shrapnel prevented the drug from getting into B.J.'s brain. B.J. recovers and knifes Bubi to death while Frau Engel is ForcedToWatch from a distance]].

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'': When Dr. Psycho betrays the crew, he uses his powers to brainwash King Shark and Clayface. He also attempts to do the same to Cy Borgman, but it doesn't work due metal plates in his skull. Psycho isn't phased by this issue.

%% (Administrivia/PartialContextExample - Doesn't mention if the plate is a ''head'' plate) * Find the Metal Plate item while playing ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', and it'll give you a [[BodyArmorAsHitPoints Soul Heart]] and a flat 25% to cause any physical enemy projectiles that hit Isaac to be reflected harmlessly instead of dealing damage.

* Find the Metal Plate item while playing ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'', and it'll give you a [[BodyArmorAsHitPoints Soul Heart]] and a flat 25% to cause any physical enemy projectiles that hit Isaac to be reflected harmlessly instead of dealing damage.

!!Examples

* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls[=/=]VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' crossover fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13892926/1/Pine-Trees-And-Honeybees Pine Trees And Honeybees]]'', Stanford Pines ends up getting shot in the head by a rogue Council of Venice operative during the climactic battle between [[VideoGame/ThePark Lorraine]] and the Bogeyman. However, thanks to the metal plate in his head, he survives... but he's left in a ''lot'' of pain, he has to bandage up the gory wound in his head before he can continue, and [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome the impact leaves him concussed]] - prompting him to warn Dipper and Mabel not to let him fall asleep. For good measure, Ford specifically notes that if it had been an ordinary surgical steel plate and not a rare prosthesis made out of extradimensional alloys, he'd be dead.

* Joyce Wrigley, the protagonists' mother in ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' has a metal plate in her head (it even gets a spot in the opening credits), but it's mostly used to pick up Mexican radio stations and the local police scanner. She even met her husband because he was looking for treasure with a metal detector. The downside is that people can also it to broadcast suggestions into her mind as well, and it makes it too heavy for her to swim and vulnerable to magnetism and lightning.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Ghazkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the biggest of all ork warlords, has a skull partly made of adamantium. Ever since he got it he claims to have received visions from the ork gods and is threatening to lead every ork in the galaxy as a unified threat. He won the fealty of many rival warbands in part by the defeating their leaders in combat, often finishing the fights with powerful headbutts from his metal-plated skull.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Exaggerated with recurring antagonist [[UseYourHead Hammer Head]], originally a low level thug following being fatally wounded in an ambush his life was saved by an experimental procedure from a disgraced surgeon that replaced most of his skull with a strong steel alloy. As he discovered to his absolute joy upon recovery this meant [[UnbreakableBones his head]] was now hard enough for him to shrug off punches from Spider-Man and even headbutt his way through brick walls. Between this power and his strategic insight, he quickly rose to be one of the most dangerous [[SuperMobBoss Maggia Bosses]] in the city.

* ''VideoGame/WolfesteinTheNewOrder'' features a form of this as {{Foreshadowing}}. During the battle at Deathshead's Compound in 1946, after B.J. picks up either Wyatt or Fergus, they escape the Compound just as it's about to be destroyed via grenade. A shrapnel gets into B.J.'s brain, and leaves him catatonic for 14 years. Fast forward to 1960, [[spoiler:during the climax, he's faced with Bubi, Frau Engel's lover, who drugs B.J., only to find out that the shrapnel prevented the drug from getting into B.J.'s brain. B.J. recovers and knifes Bubi to death while Frau Engel is ForcedToWatch from a distance]].