History Main / MarkOfShame

* The Mark of Cain, the First Murderer, from TheBible.

* In the {{Gor}} novels, slaves are branded so other people will know what they are.

* In the Knight and Rogue series by HilariBell, Michael is declared "unredeemed", which basically means that he's committed a crime and hasn't atoned for it in the eyes of the law. Unredeemed people have broken circles tattooed on their wrists, which any local official knows to check for. Michael's actual offense isn't very terrible--he's a LawfulGood hero who got himself in trouble via HonorBeforeReason--but the tattoos make for instant HeroWithBadPublicity.
* Kimahri's broken horn in ''FinalFantasyX'' serves as one of these.
* In DantesInferno, the cross sewn onto Dante's chest, which details all his sins.

* In ''TheScarletLetter'', the red letter "A" the main character is required to wear on her clothes labels her an adulterer in the Puritan community where she lives.

* Fade's brand of cowardice in the ''CodexAlera''. It's the Legions' mark for soldiers who run from battle, [[spoiler:and he has it because nobody would go looking for Araris Valerian behind the face of a [[ObfuscatingStupidity brain-damaged]], cowardly slave. And because Araris [[FailureKnight thinks]] [[MyGreatestFailure he did just that]]...]][[/folder]]

* In ''{{Halo 2}}'', after one of the titular rings was destroyed in the first game, The Arbiter has the mark of shame branded onto his chest.
* In ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', Zuko's facial burn serves as one of these.
* In ''TheScarletLetter'', the red letter "A" the main character is required to wear on her clothes labels her an adulterer in the Puritan community where she lives.
* ''TheThreeMusketeers''. In her youth, Milady de Winter was branded on the shoulder for thievery.
* In the RobertSilverberg short story "To See The Invisible Man". A man is punished for "coldness" by having a mark affixed to his forehead so everyone else will know to shun him. Later made into a ''New TwilightZone'' episode.
* In ''TheBaroqueCycle'', Jack is branded with a V for vagabond. It works out to his advantage later, though.
* Kimahri's broken horn in ''FinalFantasyX'' serves as one of these.
* Raven's tattoo, "POOR IMPULSE CONTROL", was supposed to be this in ''SnowCrash''. It didn't end up working out that way.
* In ''InglouriousBasterds'', the protagonists carve swastikas into the foreheads of the Nazis they don't kill.
* In the books, {{Zorro}} cuts his ZorroMark into the cheeks of evil men he feels are beneath him to kill. Since everyone in Old California knows what that means, most of them vacate the territory post-haste.
* Kratos' characteristic pale white skin in ''GodOfWar'' is actually caused by [[spoiler: having the ashes of his wife and child, whom he murdered in a blind rage, grafted onto his skin]] as a perpetual reminder of his betrayal.

* In ''WolfsRain'' [[spoiler: Tsume]]'s Cool Scar is eventually revealed to be a mark of cowardice given by his former packmates.

* Criminals (usually read: people from Satellite) in ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}'' are given these. In fact, criminals who weren't from Satellite originally are forced to hang out there since they're no longer welcome in the city. TheHero Yusei, naturally, gets one in the sixth episode.
* Fade's brand of cowardice in the ''CodexAlera''. It's the Legions' mark for soldiers who run from battle, [[spoiler:and he has it because nobody would go looking for Araris Valerian behind the face of a [[ObfuscatingStupidity brain-damaged]], cowardly slave. And because Araris [[FailureKnight thinks]] [[MyGreatestFailure he did just that]]...]]
* The classic {{Doctor Who}} serial 'The Visitation' features aliens called Tereleptils. The only one the TARDIS crew, and thus the audience, meets has a disfiguring facial scar that - apparently - marks him as a prisoner and a failure.

* In the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' movie, Jack Sparrow is positively identified as a buccaneer when Norrington uncovers a 'P' brand on his right wrist. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, ''pirate''?" In the second movie, it was revealed that this was the handiwork of Cutler Beckett. [[spoiler: Jack may have retaliated in kind. Beckett told Will "We've both left our marks on each other", but made no reply when Will asked "What mark did he leave on you?" The movies never answer this question either.]] There has been some fandom speculation that Beckett branded Jack on the arm rather than the forehead (as was more commonly done to convicted pirates of that day) because he did not wish to mar Sparrow's comely face (possible sinister implications...?)
* In ''OnePiece'', there is the "Claw Of The Soaring Dragon", a claw-shaped branding mark given by the World Nobles (whose name translates roughly into "Heavenly Dragon People", you see) to their slaves. The branding is a mark of shame, hidden by those who do escape, like [[spoiler:Boa Hancock and her sisters]]. The fishman pirate Fisher Tiger fixed this for slaves that became his crew members by branding over the mark with the symbol of his "Sun Pirates". This erased the shame, because he gave the sun mark to ''everyone'' on his crew. Nobody but Fisher and the former slaves know who originally had the slaves' mark.

* The Mark of Cain, the First Murderer, from TheBible.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_kzrk1oJQF41qb2fv3_443.jpg]]

* In the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' movie, Jack Sparrow is positively identified as a buccaneer when Norrington uncovers a 'P' brand on his right wrist. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, ''pirate''?" In the second movie, it was revealed that this was the handiwork of Cutler Beckett. [[spoiler: Jack may have retaliated in kind. Beckett told Will "We've both left our marks on each other", but made no answer when Will asked "What mark did he leave on you?"]] There has been some fandom speculation that Beckett branded Jack on the arm rather than the forehead (as was more commonly done to convicted pirates of that day) because he did not wish to mar Sparrow's comely face (possible sinister implications...?)

* In the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' movie, Jack Sparrow is positively identified as a buccaneer when Norrington uncovers a 'P' brand on his right wrist. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, ''pirate''?" In the second movie, it was revealed that this was the handiwork of Cutler Beckett: [[spoiler: Jack may have given Beckett something at least as bad. Beckett told Will "We've both left our marks on each other", but declined to elaborate.]] There has been some fandom speculation that Beckett branded Jack on the arm rather than the forehead (as was more commonly done to convicted pirates of that day) because he did not wish to mar Sparrow's comely face (possible sinister implications...?)

* In the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' movie, Jack Sparrow is positively identified as a buccaneer when Norrington uncovers a 'P' brand on his right wrist. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, ''pirate''?" In the second movie, it was revealed that this was the handiwork of Cutler Beckett: [[spoiler: "We've both left our marks on each other."]] There has been some fandom speculation that Beckett branded Jack on the arm rather than the forehead (as was more commonly done to convicted pirates of that day) because he did not wish to mar Sparrow's comely face (possible sinister implications...?)

* In the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' movie, Jack Sparrow is positively identified as a buccaneer when Norrington uncovers a 'P' brand on his right wrist. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, ''pirate''?" In the second movie, it was revealed that this was the handiwork of Cutler Beckett: [[spoiler: "We've both left our marks on each other."]] There has been some fandom speculation that Beckett branded Jack on the arm rather than the forehead (as was more commonly done to convicted pirates of that day) because he did not wish to mar Sparrow's comely face (possible Sinister Motivation...?)

* In the first ''{{Pirates of the Caribbean}}'' movie, Jack Sparrow is positively identified as a buccaneer when Norrington uncovers a 'P' brand on his right wrist. "Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, ''pirate''?" In the second movie, it was revealed that this was the handiwork of Cutler Beckett: [[spoiler: "We've both left our marks on each other."]] There has been some fandom speculation that Beckett branded Jack on the arm rather than the forehead (as was more commonly done to convicted pirates of that day) because he did not wish to mar Sparrow's comely face (possible UnfortunateImplications...?)

* In [=~Dante's Inferno~=], the cross sewn onto Dante's chest, which details all his sins.

* Criminals (usually read: people from Satellite) in ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}'' are given these. In fact, criminals who weren't from Satellite originally are forced to hang out there since they're no longer welcome in the city. TheHero Yusei, naturally, gets one in the seventh episode.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_kzrk1oJQF41qb2fv3_443.jpg

* Kovu, from [TheLionKing The Lion King 2]] gets one from his [[AbusiveParents Abusive Mother]] making resembling Scar from the first film.

* In ''OnePiece'', there is the "Claw Of The Soaring Dragon", a claw-shaped branding mark given by the World Nobles (whose name translates roughly into "Heavenly Dragon People", you see) to their slaves. The branding is a mark of shame, hidden by those who do escape. [[spoiler:Boa Hancock and her sisters]]. The fishman pirate Fisher Tiger fixed this for slaves that became his crew members by branding over the mark with the symbol of his "Sun Pirates". This erased the shame, because he gave the sun mark to ''everyone'' on his crew. Nobody but Fisher and the former slaves know who originally had the slaves' mark.

* [[MassEffect Garrus]] bears a MarkOfShame due to one of his comrades selling him out and winds up being shredded by a gunship.

* In SnowCrash, one of the villains has 'Poor Impulse Control' tattoo'ed on his forehead, the effect of a judicial measure.