History Main / ImprovisedArmour

* Mal in Webcomics/CthulhuSlippers use the indestructible necronomicon as body armour in [[http://cthulhuslippers.com/comic/keep-safe/ this strip.]]

* In ''Film/{{Batman}},'' Bruce Wayne hides a [[PocketProtector small silver tea-tray]] inside his jacket, as body-armor against the Joker's gun. Then again, this is Batman - who's to say he hasn't [[CrazyPrepared had all his silverware specially reinforced]] for just such an occasion?

* [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent Minions]] in ''VideoGame/Overlord'' will use almost anything as a helmet, even a pumpkin rind or dead rat.

* In ''Film/IronMan'', he has to improvise his first suit of armor [[LockingMacgyverInTheStoreCupboard out of missile parts]], '''[[MemeticMutation IN A CAVE! WITH A]]'''--oh wait, we did that joke already. Then again, this being a life-supporting suit of PoweredArmor with fully operational flamethrower and mostly-operational [[JetPack rocket-pack]], [[GadgeteerGenius "improvised" is a bit of a stretch]].

* [[Literature/Emberverse Dies the Fire]] features many examples. In later books, most cultures have learned to make proper armor, but occasional savage bands wearing improvised armor still turn up, such as the Bekwa

** Because he was in ''Vicki Vale's'' apartment.

* Mentioned in one of AndrewVachss's Burke books. A prisoner who suspects he's going to get attacked will stuff as much newspaper as he can under his clothes. It won't totally stop a shiv, but even a centimetre or inch less of penetration can make the difference between a trip to the hospital and a trip to the morgue.

* In ''TheDevilsRejects'', the Firefly family shoots it out with the police wearing various amounts of improvised armor. The most heavily armored Firefly stays behind to cover the family's retreat. The armor proves very effective, but ultimately he succumbs under the hail of gunfire.

* In ''TheGauntlet,'' Eastwood makes an APC out of a bus, by welding steel plates to the exterior.

* In ''TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen,'' Mr. Hyde uses a steel door in order to block enemy bullets.

* In ''KungPow'', The Chosen One uses a ''squirrel'' to protect himself from Master Betty's deadly attack.

[[quoteright:330:[[Literature/AliceInWonderland http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/improvarmor01_6002.png]]]]

* A ScavengerWorld example: in ''{{Japan}}'' (the manga by Kentaro Miura), body armor is cobbled together from available junk. The main character has an old tire as a pauldron.

* As depicted above, in LewisCarroll's ''[[Literature/AliceInWonderland Through the Looking Glass]]'', Tweedledum and Tweedledee get Alice to help them dress in this sort of armor before fighting a not-very-lethal "battle".

* In ''BackToTheFuture 3'', Marty managed to slip the door off a stove under his clothes in preparation for his showdown with Buford. It works like a charm, stopping not only the bullet but also causing Buford's punch to backfire.

* In ''TheHobbit'' the Dwarf Thorin Oakenshield gains his sobriquet after he uses an oak branch as a shield in battle when his own shield gets broken.

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* In ''TheGoodTheBadTheWeird'', Tae-goo survives a particularly crazy shootout by putting on a huge, metal diver's helmet.

* In ''{{Batman}},'' Bruce Wayne hides a [[PocketProtector small silver tea-tray]] inside his jacket, as body-armor against the Joker's gun. Then again, this is Batman - who's to say he hasn't [[CrazyPrepared had all his silverware specially reinforced]] for just such an occasion?

** Homaged in ''Film/BackToTheFuture 3'', with a oven door used for the same purpose.

** Homaged in ''BackToTheFuture 3'', with a oven door used for the same purpose.