History Main / HowMuchMoreCanHeTake

* ''UsefulNotes/{{Fudge}}'' is one of the few tabletop [=RPGs=] that actually weakens people as they get beat up, using a wound track (boxes under wound categories that get filled in), with hurt and very-hurt wound boxes. A hurt is a significant penalty, and it will be obvious; a very-hurt is a huge penalty and will be just as absurdly obvious.

* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' tends to fall into this trap, getting worse as time goes on; ''Film/RockyV'' is probably the worst offender.
** ''Film/RockyIV'' is bad, too. Ivan Drago managed to ''kill'' Apollo Creed with one of his punches, and Rocky is still able to hold him off for ten minutes screen time before his "come-from-behind" win.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Unless Superman is being screwed over by [[KryptoniteFactor kryptonite, red sunlight, or magic]], there's a good chance Superman will [[SuperToughness will shrug off]] practically any hit takes. At best, his opponent will usually do little more than get him to admit [[DamnedByFaintPraise he actually felt it]]. And even when he's facing [[PlanetDestroyer planet busters]] and other foes with a similar SuperWeight that can actually do legit harm to him, he'll often keep going and going unless [[StrongAsTheyNeedToBe the plot suddenly needs him to take an L.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', the final fight between Ocelot and Snake is this. Both beat each other down time after time after time and yet both of them keep getting back on their feet.

* Unlike the game series it's based on, ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' is generally able to avoid CriticalExistenceFailure as it has more freedom to visibly depict a Pokemon's condition as a battle goes on. This combined with the relatively fast pace of most battles allows the anime to avert this trope usually. But there are still many occasions where battles drag out with none of the combatants appearing to be close to fainting despite getting hit with multiple attacks, even powerful or super-effective ones that should lead to K.O. It can get so bad that sometimes, one Pokemon can land many strong moves that are clearly damaging, on the opponent without K.O'ing them yet get hit by one and be down for the count. It's especially common in knockout battles involving more than 1 Pokémon or battles between super strong trainers and Pokémon. And it's all but guaranteed to kick in during scuffles between [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokémon]].

* In his long superhero career, Franchise/SpiderMan has been on the receiving end of beatdowns and suffered a great deal of pain during them, but on the count of his [[{{Determinator}} never-give-up]] spirit, he just keeps on fighting and fighting until he finds a way to win.
* Unless ComicBook/{{Superman}} is being screwed over by [[KryptoniteFactor kryptonite, red sunlight, or magic]], there's a good chance Superman will [[SuperToughness will shrug off]] practically any hit takes. At best, his opponent will usually do little more than get him to admit [[DamnedByFaintPraise he actually felt it]]. And even when he's facing [[PlanetDestroyer planet busters]] and other foes with a similar SuperWeight that can actually do legit harm to him, he'll often keep going and going unless [[StrongAsTheyNeedToBe the plot suddenly needs him to take an L.]]

See also MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours, OnlyAFleshWound, and RasputinianDeath.

* ''{{Transformers}}'' often faces this problem and ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' especially: the Predacons (most commonly [[TheChewToy Waspinator]]) are frequently blown into pieces, and often survive without even going into the "safety lock" emergency state, yet [[spoiler:Dinobot]] died while largely intact. The show offers the (surprisingly consistent) justification that it doesn't matter how much they're torn apart, as long as their [[OurSoulsAreDifferent Spark]] has energon supplied to it they can be put back together. Thus [[spoiler:Dinobot]] died not from injuries, but because he kept fighting long after his system told him to shut-down, while Waspinator's spark is located within his head, allowing him to survive attacks and mishaps that blow him to pieces. This spark placement is meant to be very unusual.

* Unlike the game series it's based on, the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, is generally able to avoid CriticalExistenceFailure as it has more freedom to visibly depict a Pokemon's condition as a battle goes on. This combined with the relatively fast pace of most battles allows the anime to avert this trope usually. But there are still many occasions where battles drag out with none of the combatants appearing to be close to fainting despite getting hit with multiple attacks, even powerful or super-effective ones that should lead to K.O. It can get so bad that sometimes, one Pokemon can land many strong moves that are clearly damaging, on the opponent without K.O'ing them yet get hit by one and be down for the count. It's especially common in knockout battles involving more than 1 Pokemon or battles between super strong trainers and Pokemon. And it's all but guaranteed to kick in during scuffles between [[OlympusMons Legendary Pokemon]].

* A non-combat version which applied to ''both'' contestants was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isner%E2%80%93Mahut_match_at_the_2010_Wimbledon_Championships the Wimbledon 2010 first-round match between Nicholas Mahut and John Isner]], famously recorded in [[https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/jun/23/wimbledon-2010-tennis-live Xan Brook's live blog]] which read like an ApocalypticLog. The game had started on the 22nd late in the day and had to be put on hold because of fading light before the start of the final fifth set. Resuming at 2:05 the next day, the two men battled for '''seven hours''' in the deciding set (longer itself than any other tennis match in history), ending up ''tied'' at 59 games each when the umpire was forced to stop play again at 9:10 PM, declaring they would resume where they left off the ''next'' day. Both men were reduced to shambling zombies, staggering around the court in obviously exhausted agony, but refusing to concede defeat even when they were literally falling flat on their faces. ''[[{{Determinator}} Isner wanted to play on!]]'' When they resumed the next day the match fortunately didn't take ''nearly'' as long to resolve, as Isner finally won the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, '''''70-68!'''''