History Main / DeathByDisfigurement

* In ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', Neo [[EyeScream has his eyes burned out of their sockets]]. Apparently this is enough to require that both he and his girlfriend Trinity have to die. Or it could have been because he's a [[MessianicArchetype blatant Christ Allegory...]]

* Another, more fiddly Batman example is Two-Face in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. If the movie wasn't based on a world-famous comic book and didn't have characters who were household names, then to the audience Harvey Dent's disfigurement would have been a sure sign of his death. But because we all know Harvey becomes a supervillain named Two-Face, we know that this isn't really the case. Then Nolan went and killed Two-Face anyway.

* Captain Vidal in ''Film/PansLabyrinth'', who gets stabbed in non-lethal places and scarred with half a GlasgowGrin courtesy of Carmen before he ends up meeting his end not too long after.

* Averted in ''Film/TheLastCircus'', the BigBad Sergio gets horribly beaten to the face by the protagonist Javier and because the circus doesn't have time to take him to an hospital due to all the blood loss, they take him to a BackAlleyDoctor in the form of a vet who gives him a life-saving MeatgrinderSurgery resulting in a lovely FacialHorror covered in ScaryStitches. [[spoiler: The real aversion comes with Sergio ''not'' dying despite becoming hideous on top of being a loathsome CrazyJealousGuy, but he still gets a DownerEnding.]]

* In ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' the main antagonist, Richard Strickland, loses two fingers of his left hand right at the start of the movies. While he seeks to get them reattached, the graft is unsuccessful and they keep literally rotting for the whole film. When he loses them altogether, the Asset (the one biting off his fingers earlier) is ready to furtherly reward his evil deeds by killing him.

* PlayedWith in one episode of ''Series/MelrosePlace''. A minor character ''gets a tattoo''. He's killed in the following episode.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Daleks' Master Plan", one-shot companion Sara has to transport a time-destroying weapon which ages her into an old woman. She's dead by the end of the scene.

** Also, in ''LightNovel/AnotherNote'', [[spoiler:Beyond Birthday]] attempts SelfImmolation as part of his MurderSuicide Plot. He is rescued and given medical attention, before being sent to prison for life (with presumably worse/more extensive burns than Mello had)...only to eventually die of a Kira-induced heart attack in his cell. Interesting example in that it's not known ''exactly'' what he looked like, given his status as a MasterOfDisguise (and the fact that there are no official pictures of him)...and the person he was trying to become was ''not'' considered attractive InUniverse.

* Given the [[DeathIsCheap nature]] of Subaru's powers in ''LightNovel/ReZero'', when he (or one of his friends) loses a limb or an eye (which happens pretty often), it's a pretty safe sign of an incoming death - followed by a [[ResetButton new loop]].

'''As a DeathTrope, all spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

* This is a frequent fate of many characters in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', where the humans of the Walls are constantly at the mercy of the man-eating Titans. Most notable perhaps is Miche Zacharius, who is fed to a hoard of mindless Titans by the Beast Titan commanding them and promptly torn to shreds. Not long after his fellow squad member Nanaba meets this fate after the Titans' assault on Castle Utgard, with her as the last survivor of her squad. Fighting to the death, her three-dimensional maneuvering gear runs out of gas and is left screaming for mercy as she is torn limb from limb until she is apparently decapitated.

** In the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime version]], Scar loses both of his arms before transmuting himself and all the military inside the city they are attacking.

* ''Film/Batman1989''. The Joker burns his girlfriend Alicia's face with acid to make her a "work of art". She later commits suicide by throwing herself out a window... or so he says. Knowing the Joker, anything's possible.
* In the ''Film/BattleRoyale'' film, a student who loses his arm to Shogo’s shotgun is promptly killed merely seconds later.
* In ''Film/TheBigHeat'', Debby's face is badly burned when Vince throws hot coffee at her. Of course, she gets killed off ... but not before she returns the favor to Vince, who is arrested, but survives.

* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', Elektra is in a fight with Bulls-eye. When she gets her weapon thrown back through her hand, she dies very shortly after.

* In ''Film/{{Robin Hood|2010}}'', the English turncoat who has been secretly conspiring with the French king against Prince John undergoes a gradual physical degradation as the movie goes along: first, his face is grazed by an arrow, giving him a GlasgowGrin; then a small cut is opened on his forehead by a sword's blade; and, finally, he is slain by a second arrow through the skull in the movie's climactic battle.
* In the ending sequence of ''Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}'', henchman Emil is drenched by a vat of toxic waste, disgustingly disfiguring him. Shortly afterwards he is killed by stumbling out in front of his boss' speeding car. Interestingly, this series of events directly leads to the final showdown with the BigBad.

* In the ending sequence of ''Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}'', henchman Emil is drenched by a vat of toxic waste, gruesomely disfiguring him. Shortly afterwards he is killed by stumbling out in front of his boss' speeding car. Interestingly, this series of events directly leads to the final showdown with the BigBad.

* [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 Jeremy Fitzgerald]] and Bonnie Wickes are both killed in the [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 Springtrap]]/[[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4 Spring Bonnie]] suit in ''Fanfic/SomethingAlwaysRemains''. They both [[ColdBloodedTorture live]] [[AndIMustScream long]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath enough]] to comprehend ''exactly'' what's happening to them while the Smiling Man gloats over their [[ToThePain inevitable deaths]].

* In ''Film/Scream2022'', Amber, one of the killers, gets covered in hand sanitizer and lit on fire. When she [[NotQuiteDead gets up]] later and [[{{Determinator charges one last time]] at the survivors, we see that half of her face has been burnt off.

* In the ending sequence of ''Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}'', henchman Emile is drenched by a vat of toxic waste, gruesomely disfiguring him. Shortly afterwards he is killed by stumbling out in front of his boss' speeding car. Interestingly, this series of events directly leads to the final showdown with the BigBad.

* Neil "Lockon Stratos" Dylandy in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' [[EyeScream loses an eye]], put on an EyepatchOfPower then dies. [[JustifiedTrope Then again]], he ''is'' a Gundam pilot, and losing his eye let his rival/killer Ali have the upper hand as they fought.
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', Iggy loses a forearm during his battle with the falcon Pet Shop. Almost immediately afterwards, he leads the group to Dio's castle, where he meets his demise.

* ''{{Manga/Gantz}}'': Part of this follows the trope, and part of it subverts it. Subverted while the characters are brought to the places to fight aliens, and they get horribly dismembered. Many of them think they're goners. Until after the mission is over, in which case Gantz teleports all the survivors back and completely restores them. Followed, however, in the real world, where any character that gets a permanent dismemberment (and doesn't get sent to Gantz) dies.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Scar blows off both of Führer King Bradley/Wrath's arms; Bradley still manages to deal one last blow afterward (with a blade clenched in his teeth!) before breaking down and dying.
** In the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime version]], Scar loses both of his arms before transmuting himself and all the military inside the city they are attacking.

* In the ''Manga/BloodReignCurseOfTheYoma'' OVA, the protagonist's LoveInterest has a large, prominent scar on her face which [[DrivenToSuicide drives her to suicide]] when she regains her lost memories of how she gained it. Later on, during the climactic final battle, her {{reincarnation}} ([[ReincarnationRomance who also hooks up with the hero]]) gains an identical scar, [[SubvertedTrope but fortunately she's made of sterner stuff this time around]].
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Tien Shinhan has his forearm blown to a pulp by a simple punch from Nappa. Not long afterwards, he dies attempting to kill Nappa with a CastFromHitPoints technique, [[SenselessSacrifice which fails to kill him]]. This being ''Dragon Ball'', the death doesn't stick, but when Tien is later revived, he has his arm back.
* This is a frequent fate of many characters in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', where the humans of the Walls are constantly at the mercy of the man-eating Titans. Most notable perhaps is Miche Zacharius, who is fed to a hoard of mindless Titans by the Beast Titan commanding them and promptly torn to shreds. Not long after his fellow squad member Nanaba meets this fate after the Titans' assault on Castle Utgard, with her as the last survivor of her squad. Fighting to the death, her three-dimensional maneuvering gear runs out of gas and is left screaming for mercy as she is torn limb from limb until she is apparently decapitated.
* Given the [[DeathIsCheap nature]] of Subaru's powers in Anime/{{ReZero}}, when he (or one of his ''nakama'') loses a limb or an eye (which happens pretty often), it's a pretty safe sign of an incoming death - followed by a [[ResetButton new loop]].

* In ''Film/SpiderMan3'' Harry is disfigured after Peter throws one of his bombs back at him. He shows up disfigured in the last scene and dies (in a completely unrelated way) during the same scene.
* In ''Film/SinCity'', Lucille's death is basically guaranteed after she loses her hand.
* The cop in ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' is killed after he receives facial scars and loses an ear, even pointing out that he's "deformed" before he's killed.
* In ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'', Elektra is in a fight with Bulls-eye. When she gets her weapon thrown back through her hand, she dies very shortly after.

* Another, more fiddly Batman example is Two-Face in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. If the movie wasn't based on a world-famous comic book and didn't have characters who were household names, then to the audience Harvey Dent's disfigurement would have been a sure sign of his death. But because we all know Harvey becomes a supervillain named Two-Face, we know that this isn't really the case. Then Nolan went and killed Two-Face anyway.

* In ''Film/{{Se7en}}'' the victim of the pride murder commits suicide rather than live disfigured.

* ''Film/TheAtomicBrain.'' Bea loses an eye at about the mid-point of the film, and then gets arbitrarily, pointlessly killed off at the absolute last second before the end. ''After'' the villain was disposed of, no less.
* Inverted in ''Film/ThreeHundred''. Dilios loses an eye, and he is the only Spartan to survive.
* An example of the villain variant comes from ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro''. During the final fight, the young Zorro cuts an M into Captain Love's face, a variant on the standard Z. Subsequently, the fight ends very, very quickly.
* In the ending sequence of ''Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}'', henchman Emile is drenched by a vat of toxic waste, gruesomely disfiguring him. Shortly afterwards he is killed by stumbling out in front of his boss' speeding car. Interestingly, this series of events directly leads to the final showdown with the BigBad.
* In ''Film/TheBigHeat'', Debby's face is badly burned when Vince throws hot coffee at her. Of course, she gets killed off ... but not before she returns the favor to Vince, who is arrested, but survives.
* In ''Film/{{Robin Hood|2010}}'', the English turncoat who has been secretly conspiring with the French king against Prince John undergoes a gradual physical degradation as the movie goes along: first, his face is grazed by an arrow, giving him a GlasgowGrin; then a small cut is opened on his forehead by a sword's blade; and, finally, he is slain by a second arrow through the skull in the movie's climactic battle.

* In ''Film/DemonKnight'', a minor character loses an arm and then dies.
* A Japanese tourist in ''Film/{{Hostel}}'' loses an eye to torture and is DrivenToSuicide, despite being saved.
* In the ''Film/BattleRoyale'' film, a student who loses his arm to Shogo’s shotgun is promptly killed merely seconds later.

* ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' Subverted. It really seems like Cameron is done for after Revok inflicts massive and bloody trauma on his body in the climax and even ''sets him on fire'', but he manages to pull off a GrandTheftMe on Revok, letting him die in his decaying body.
* Helen in ''Film/{{Candyman}}'', played by the beautiful Creator/VirginiaMadsen, gets burned alive during the climax and dies from her injuries soon after. The shot of her corpse during her funeral shows that the mortuary wax barely even began to cover up the damage, and when she comes back at the end as the Candywoman, we see that the fire burned away all of her hair and left her scalp [[https://i1.wp.com/kindertrauma.com/images/shots/mancandy7.jpg covered in burn scars]] and looking like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]].

* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', Silena Beauregard, daughter of [[LoveFreak Aphrodite]], gets hit in the ''face'' with poison that is strong enough to ''melt armor''. Subverted because this ''is'' definitely what kills her.

* Averted and subverted multiple times in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Beautiful knight Jaime Lannister loses his right hand, and is initially ''ready'' to die from it because he sees no point in living without a sword arm, but survives and gets CharacterDevelopment instead of a quick death. Princess Myrcella Baratheon loses an ear and a cheek to a sword and lives on, though she's apparently [[BecauseDestinySaysSo doomed to die at some point after being crowned]]. Princess Shireen Baratheon (her cousin) was disfigured by [[BodyHorror greyscale]] when she was young and is still alive, though the wildlings claim it's only a matter of time before she dies from relapse. Loras Tyrell gets hideously disfigured by having boiling oil dumped on him and has yet to die from it, though he's currently still on his deathbed from said injury and may die from it after all. Tyrion Lannister loses half his nose on the Blackwater (but then again he wasn't exactly very 'handsome' to begin with) and survives it. And for the last few days of his life, Ned Stark walks with a cane after his leg is injured in a fight with Lannister soldiers. Then he gets executed.
* In ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', Inigo Montoya disfigures the six-fingered man with the same type of scars he got himself as a child during their duel. The six-fingered man is dead at the end of said duel.

* Averted in ''Literature/DragonBlood'' with [[spoiler: Tisala]] who wasn't pretty to begin with, got under a torturer's knife, and survived, with lots and lots of scars.
* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', [[spoiler:Glimmer]] has a [[CruelAndUnusualDeath particularly]] [[BodyHorror horrific]] death at the hands of the genetically-modified tracker jackers with ''extremely'' volatile venom. When the jackers are done, her body is grotesquely bloated with large stings filled with pus. The film version only manages to make the image [[NightmareFace even more horrific]].

* Happens in ''Series/{{Spooks}}'' episode two. A female main character is tortured by having her arm put in boiling oil. She doesn't make it.
* PlayedWith in one episode of ''Series/MelrosePlace''. A minor character ''gets a tattoo''. He's killed in the following episode.

* {{Enforced}} in-universe by the villain of the ''Series/AdamAdamantLives'' episode "Beauty is an Ugly Word". If any of his 'perfect' humans is injured badly enough to leave a scar, he has them killed.
* In the ''{{Series/Smallville}}'' episode "Spirit", an AlphaBitch girl gains the ability to BodySurf after a severe car accident. At seeing what her real body looks like, she grows so disgusted she kills it at once. The spirit doesn't survive that long afterward either.

* In ''Condemned'' duology, SKX gets half his face blown off and carves an X into his forehead. He's thought dead at the end of the [[VideoGame/CondemnedCriminalOrigins first game]] (where he's shot in the face/shoots himself in the face), but survives the [[VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot sequel]] when his disfigurements are prominently shown off).
* Whether ''VideoGame/FearEffect'' plays this straight or averts it is up to the player. Glas loses his arm partway through. At the end, the player chooses whether or not he survives the MexicanStandoff. On Hard Mode, he survives no matter what because the standoff doesn't end in someone's death.
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', Piers gets his arm impaled and crushed, and tears what remained of it off to free himself. He injects himself with the virus to survive, disfiguring himself even further and growing a new, lightning-shooting appendage, but then decides to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself]] [[DyingAsYourself before infection fully takes over]].
** The series in general has a lot of human villains, such as William Birkin in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2]]'', Alexia Ashford in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Code: Veronica]]'', Albert Wesker in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'', Derek C. Simmons in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 RE6]]'', and Jack and Marguerite Baker in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard RE7]]'', whose ultimate fate involves getting infected with TheVirus and turning into monsters that are then put down in boss fights.

* In ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', Carter gets his face severely mutilated shortly before his HeroicSacrifice. In the LastStand {{Stinger}}, [[BrokenFaceplate Noble Six's visor becomes increasingly cracked]] [[InterfaceScrew as he takes damage]], emphasizing [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption the inevitability of his demise.]]

* In the ''Unlimited Blade Works'' route of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Shirou defeats Gilgamesh by severing his right arm. Almost immediately after, the spirit of the Holy Grail attempts to absorb Gilgamesh as a new vessel, drawing him into a void that the narration describes as beginning to melt him. Though Gilgamesh doesn't let this kill him, intending on using his chains and Shirou to pull himself out, he is subsequently finished off by an arrow to the forehead from Archer.

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:346:[[Film/{{Se7en}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/se7en_pride.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:346:''[[Film/{{Se7en}} A woman--so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside]]'']]

So you're watching a movie or TV show, and a formerly beautiful character gets injured in some way that makes them... [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished probably still beautiful;]] [[HollywoodHomely this is Hollywood we are talking about after all]]... but have some kind of unattractive disfigurement. Common examples are losing a limb or receiving severe burns in a universe where that means permanent disfigurement. At this point, it's a pretty safe bet that that character is doomed. This isn't simple cause and effect: the character isn't usually killed by his injuries, either directly or indirectly. The injuries are just a sign that something else is going to pop up and kill him. In general, if the disfigurement looks like it would be expensive or time-consuming to replicate every week, odds are they're not going to.

* Given the [[DeathIsCheap nature]] of Subaru's powers in Anime/{{ReZero}}, when he (or one of his ''nakama'') loses a limb or an eye, it's a pretty safe sign of an [[ResetButton incoming new loop]].

* Given the [[DeathIsCheap]] nature of Subaru's powers in "Anime/{{ReZero}}", when he (or one of his ''nakama'') loses a limb or an eye, it's a pretty safe sign of an [[ResetButton incoming new loop]].