History Main / IceBreaker

* The ''Film/MortalKombat'' movie has Sub-Zero calmly freeze the muzzle of Sonya's Glock and snap it off with his bare hands when she tries pointing it at him.

** Justified, as mentioned above, in that water does expand with quite impressive force as it freezes.

* The element Tin is normally found in its malleable white tin form (β-tin), but if conditions are cold enough (below 13.2°C) it transforms into the less dense and far more brittle grey tin form (α-tin) via an autocatalytic, allotropic reaction. This is also known as Tin Pest and caused many problems with tin objects in colder climates. As such, other metals are often added Tin to form an alloy, greatly lowering the temperature for Tin Pest to occur or prevent it entirely.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'''s Evangeline A K [=McDowell=] has a few spells that fit this trope.

* This is actually a mechanic in ''Videogame/DragonAgeOrigins'' where several cold-based spells actually freeze enemies solid. A critical hit landed on a frozen enemy will cause them to shatter, killing them instantly. The animation merely shows the ice breaking and the enemy dying as they would from any other killing blow, but the "Shattered!" text appearing over them leaves no doubt as to the intended effect.
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem 3D'' lets you do this to enemies: Frozen enemies will shatter into shards no bigger than your fist if kicked or shot, without fail. However, if they have time to thaw they'll still somehow be able to [[OneHitPointWonder keep fighting with one hit point]].

* In ''Videogame/PathOfExile'' cold damage can freeze enemies, leaving them helpless for a time based on the amount of damage taken relative to their total health. Being slain while frozen causes the target to shatter, leaving no corpse and suppressing some on-death effects. When using the Herald of Ice skill a shattered target will also explode into icy shrapnel, striking those nearby with cold damage.

* This is actually a mechanic in ''Videogame/DragonAgeOrigins'' where several cold-based spells actually freeze enemies solid. A critical hit landed on a frozen enemy will cause them to shatter, killing them instantly. The animation merely shows the ice breaking and the enemy dying as they would from any other killing blow, but the "Shattered!" text appearing over them leaves no doubt as to the intended effect.
* A subtrope of this is when a character becomes frozen, only to shatter the ice seconds later by flexing his or her muscles. Spark Mandrill of ''''VideoGame/MegaManX1'' does this every time.
** So does Samus in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', if she gets attacked by an ice-based weapon.
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem 3D'' lets you do this to enemies: Frozen enemies will shatter into shards no bigger than your fist if kicked or shot, without fail. However, if they have time to thaw they'll still somehow be able to keep fighting with one hit point.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' allows you to do this to enemies by hitting them with an Ice Arrow, then slamming them with the Skull Hammer.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'' does this in a horrifying MoodWhiplash scene. WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids
* Freeware game ''^VideoGame/ExitFate'' has a "Freeze" status ailment: Affected characters cannot dodge and will be killed instantly by any physical attack.
** As does ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope''. A few Battle Trophies revolve around doing this to foes.
** And in ''VideoGame/LuminousArc2'', freezing works almost the same way. The only difference is that Frozen characters can't take any action whatsoever.
* Many of [[AnIcePerson Sub-Zero's]] Fatalities throughout the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series employ this. Freezing the opponent and uppercutting him to bits; holding them over his head, freezing them with his hands and breaking them in two; ripping their skull and spine from their frozen body and shatter it by swinging the skull like a flail, you name it.
** Oddly, Sub-Zero also subverts this trope. Later games show him fighting with his fists frozen, which [[GameplayAndStorySegregation apparently]] makes his punches stronger.
* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series has a few variations on this. When using the [[FreezeRay Ice Beam]], a creature not strong enough to survive the shot simply explodes into frozen chunks, while a stronger creature will freeze and can be shattered with a missile. Some take more than one. Other times, a frozen enemy may be used as a stepping stone to reach higher areas, and will not shatter when a 200+ pound suit of armor jumps on top of it.
** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' outright states that this is one of Samus' favored tactics.

* In ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' any player character with an ice enchanted weapon or ice based spells could destroy enemies like this. Shattering an enemy like this leaves no corpse behind, which is helpful against Nihlathak or Regurgitators, but a hassle for Necromancers and Barbarians, who have skills that consume corpses.
* In ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}'' your ice plasmid does this. Though the damage something takes while frozen is actually separate from their regular health bar...
** It is also mentioned by [=McDonagh=] in an Audio Log this is a major problem with living in a city under water where said water can "get colder than a witch's teet". He seems to have repeatedly told people they have to make sure their pipes stay warm or they will burst. One of the main obstacles at the beginning is finding the Fire Plasmid so you can get past a door that has been frozen over due to a pipe burst.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' frost mages have a talent called Shatter which greatly increases their critical strike chance against frozen targets.

* Sypha in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' has an ice spell that freezes enemies, who can then be shattered with her staff. It's the only way a [[NighInvulnerable Blood Skeleton]] can be permanently killed.
* One boss in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' is defeated by knocking over nitrogen tanks and shooting him while he's frozen.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' has nitrogen rounds for the GrenadeLauncher that turn mooks in ice statues which can be shattered in a single melee hit. If untouched, they will [[HarmlessFreezing thaw out perfectly fine]] in fifteen seconds.
* Most ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games featuring Shiva as a summon will have this -- her magic encases enemies in ice; then, with a snap of her fingers, she shatters them to bits. Of course [[SlapOnTheWristNuke it's only a visual effect]]. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' lacks the traditional summons, but Fran has ice-based quickenings, and her "Shatterheart" acts in the same way.
* Getting hit by or killing a Frostie in ''VideoGame/{{Amorphous}}'' causes it to explode in an icy explosion. This freezes both you and any [[BlobMonster glooples]] caught in it. Getting touched by anything while frozen [[LiterallyShatteredLives kills you instantly]] (thankfully, you can do the same to glooples once you unfreeze).
* ''MegaManBattleNetwork'': setting your foe in ice (by hitting them with Aqua element attack while they're standing on an ice panel) will make them take double damage from Break-attribute attacks.
* In ''Videogame/PathOfExile'' cold damage can freeze enemies, leaving them helpless for a time based on the amount of damage taken relative to their total health. Being slain while frozen causes the target to shatter, leaving no corpse and suppressing some on-death effects. When using the Herald of Ice skill a shattered target will also explode into icy shrapnel, striking those nearby with cold damage.
* ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' adds cryo to the series' palette of elemental damage types and status effects. Cryo damage usually has a chance to freeze an enemy solid for a few seconds. Frozen targets are highly vulnerable to melee, explosives, and falling (which otherwise never causes damage); a slap in the face will often be an instant, satisfying, shatter-to-pieces kill. There is even a mission that requires you to freeze and shatter specific enemies so you can bring the chunks back. [[VerbalTic CHUNKS BACK]]!
* Master Xehanort has this in a partial CutscenePowerToTheMax in the ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' promo video. While both cutscenes and in game boss battles have him with massive ice power, the promo video has him FlashFreeze Ven, then throw him off a cliff. While we see this shatter Ven's mask and keyblade, Aqua manages to save Ven before he himself shatters. This is replicated as close as possible in the game proper.
* In a non-combat video game example, ''[[VideoGame/LastHalfOfDarkness Beyond the Spirit's Eye]]'' requires you to break into a barred cabinet by freezing the bar with a fire extinguisher's spray, then smashing it. Justified by a recall order in a nearby office drawer, indicating the extinguisher is defective and dangerous.
* ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' has an EasterEgg death sequence homaging the scene from ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' early in the game.

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* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'': Elsa semi-consciously freezes metal manacles restraining her to the point where she (a fragile young woman) can break out of them by struggling hard enough. In the process the freezing also spreads over the entire dungeon cell she's in, eventually causing a large wooden beam to dislodge and demolish a wall, letting her escape.

* Scott Lang in ''Film/AntMan'' manages to break into a vault by pouring water in the locking mechanism, followed by liquid nitrogen. While the door doesn't shatter, it frosts over and warps out of shape, sending bolts flying before finally falling off its hinges.

* Many steels, including a lot of common varieties used to make most everything, are cold-short — that is, they become brittle when exposed to cold, generally below 50-60°C. This is why you'd need special steels for construction and machinery designed to work in polar regions; or in space, where very low temperatures can be achieved. The catch is that this cold-shortness is often caused by phosphorus, [[MortonsFork which is a common additive to make steel immune to rust]].

In fiction, this miraculous ability of cold to turn rubber balls into shrapnel bombs is, naturally, turned UpToEleven. Simply encasing a thing in ice or freezing it to the point that frost forms on the surface is often treated as enough to make steel bars shatter with a dramatic kick. In reality, you'd need several minutes of exposure to liquid nitrogen to achieve such a result, and [[TongueOnTheFlagpole touching anything that cold with bare skin]] would probably leave you in need of a new appendage or two. (In fact, many science class demonstrations with liquid nitrogen involve freezing a banana, then using it to hammer in a nail...the exact opposite effect of what is shown on the movie screen.)

* The element Tin is normally found in its malleable white tin form (β-tin), but if conditions are cold enough it transforms into the less dense and far more brittle grey tin form (α-tin) via an autocatalytic, allotropic reaction. This is also known as Tin Pest and caused many problems with tin objects in colder climates. As such, other metals are often added Tin to form an alloy, lowering the temperature for Tin Pest to occur or prevent it entirely.

* The element Tin is normally found in its malleable white tin form (β-tin), but if conditions are cold enough it transforms into the less dense and far more brittle grey tin form (α-tin) via an autocatalytic, allotropic reaction. This is also known as Tin Pest and caused many problems with tin objects in colder climates.

* ''Series/MacGyver'' did this in one episode where he was locked in a freezer. However it worked because [=MacGyver=] had gotten water to freeze in the lock. Since water is one of the few chemical that expands when it freezes, it broke the lock as it froze.

Sometimes, this is an aversion of HarmlessFreezing. Other times, a person frozen solid will be completely fine if they're thawed out, but until that happens they're vulnerable to shattering at the slightest jolt.

* The episode ''When Justice Fails '' of ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries'' is full of this as it's centered around a cryonicatics/fuel company. First Robo's legs get's frozen and he breaks it attempting to pursue the criminal. Later he gets completely frozen in about 3 seconds but thankfully just before he's shattered into pieces he uses a plug to warm himself up (again in seconds). Then criminal slips on the ice right into a stream of liquid nitrogen freezing solid and breaking into pieces when something hits him.
* In the ''{{Angel}}'' episode "Expecting", they defeat the supposedly indestructible Haxil beast- fire and decapitation are confirmed to be ineffective methods of killing it and the creature is very large- by tricking it into grabbing a tank of liquid nitrogen and shooting the tank so that the Haxil is doused in the nitrogen and left frozen solid.
* Used as the murder method in the ''{{Castle}}'' episode "Food to Die For." An inventive gourmet chef who used liquid nitrogen is killed when a vat of it is poured over him. He's mostly intact, but his hand did shatter when he fell to the floor. Castle, being Castle, is thus inspired to get his own liquid nitrogen and spends some time freezing and shattering random objects at home with Alexis.

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* Naturally ''TableTopGame/RoleMaster'' with it's penchant for LudicrousGibs criticals gets in on this:
-->''Foe freezes solid and shatters into a thousand pieces. Most land within 20 feet from where he was standing.''
* It's cut down spinoff ''TabletopGame/MiddleEarthRolePlaying'' also gets a similar version:
-->''Frozen solid, then shatters into thousands of pieces after being slammed into the ground.''
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** ''Fusion'' has the [[{{Doppelganger}} SA-X]] use this very tactic [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame against Samus]].

* Though the freezing process tends to take longer than a quick dip, a liquid nitrogen bath can indeed cause this trope. A liquid nitrogen-frozen rose, for instance, can be smashed like sugar glass.

* In ''Blood & Ice'' by Robert Masello, an attempt to cure [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]] Eleanor Ames and Sinclair Copley of their need for blood involves injecting them with the blood of an Antarctic fish, which acts as a substitute means of allowing oxygen to circulate in their systems, thus replacing their need for fresh blood, but at the cost of rendering them extremely vulnerable to direct contact with ice; at the novel's conclusion, [[spoiler: Sinclair freezes and falls into a crevasse when a few flecks of snow land on his face]].

** As does VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope. A few Battle Trophies revolve around doing this to foes.
** And in ''LuminousArc2'', freezing works almost the same way. The only difference is that Frozen characters can't take any action whatsoever.

** So does Samus in ''MetroidPrime'', if she gets attacked by an ice-based weapon.

* The ''{{Metroid}}'' series has a few variations on this. When using the [[FreezeRay Ice Beam]], a creature not strong enough to survive the shot simply explodes into frozen chunks, while a stronger creature will freeze and can be shattered with a missile. Some take more than one. Other times, a frozen enemy may be used as a stepping stone to reach higher areas, and will not shatter when a 200+ pound suit of armor jumps on top of it.
** VideoGame/MetroidPrime outright states that this is one of Samus' favored tactics.

* It's spinoff ''TableTopGame/MERP'' also gets a similar version: