History Main / MarkedBullet

* In a Playboy cartoon during the Vietnam War, a young pilot is painting the word "Love" on a bomb under his plane. A grizzled veteran tells him "You can't have it both ways, kid."

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultramarines}}'', one of the marines scratches "Kill the Heretic" on a bullet. Of course, it gets its share of BulletTime.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'', one of the missiles fired at the robot probe is signed [[Film/ETTHeExtraterrestrial "E.T. Go Home!"]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheReplacementKillers'': In this HeroicBloodshed film, Chow Yun-Fat's character uses a bullet that has the Chinese/Japanese character for 'Death' on its shell casing to kill one of the major bad guys. He sets one down in front of the target as a way to say "Hi. I'm here to shoot you now." Seems sort of counterproductive for a hitman to telegraph his intentions like that, [[RuleOfCool but, hey]].[[note]]One could also consider that it is a bit redundant. You could mark a bullet with "Macaroni cheese" but it still means death.[[/note]]
* ''Film/{{WANTED}}'': In the trailer, Angelina Jolie is shown firing a bullet that says "Good Bye" written on it. Which was more a message to Wesley than to the ones that it hit. In fact, in the same film, there is an invoked aversion to the trope, with a character whose bullets had a [[AbnormalAmmo break-away outer casing]] to prevent the gun from leaving any identifying marks at all on them. When one of these bullets fails to separate from the casing it ends up playing the trope straight by making the bullet even ''easier'' to trace than a normal one would be.
* In ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'', one of the gun shells that are falling in slow motion says "Umbrella Corp". In ''Film/ResidentEvilApocalypse'', the Umbrella logo was seen on the back of the slug itself. Both were probably to show just how big and diverse of a company Umbrella was.

* In ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'', when they figure out they're fighting vampires, they decide to draw crosses on their bullets (see "Holy bullets" in the real life section below).
* In ''Film/BrotherhoodOfTheWolf'', Jean-François de Morangias (Vincent Cassel) uses silver bullets to "sign" his shots.
* In ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'', Gilles de Rais (Vincent Cassel) writes "Hello" on a cannonball that is shot into an English fort.
* ''Film/TheLoneRanger'': The SilverBullet was, itself, the mark and signature of the Lone Ranger, who not only used them to [[ImprobableAimingSkills magically aid his marksmanship]] but would leave one, in cartridge, to indicate he had been about incognito.
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': The bombs in the bomb bay of Maj. T.J. "King" Kong's B-52 had "Hi There!" ([[spoiler:this is the one Kong [[RidingTheBomb rode to his death on]]]]) and "Dear John" scrawled on them.

* Parodied in ''Film/ErnestInTheArmy''. Ernest had heard the euphemism about a bullet with your name on it and failed to realize it's not literal. He has one of these with his own name on it that he carries around with him, in the belief that it means he can't be shot.
* In the 2009 short film ''.303'', a British paratrooper carves his name on a .303 rifle round (presumably for the same reason Ernest did) but the round gets dropped and picked up by a fellow paratrooper. Later that paratrooper is down to OneBulletLeft, so uses it to kill a German sniper who has him pinned down. [[spoiler:Then he discovers he's actually shot the paratrooper who originally carved the round, after he came up behind and shot the German sniper. So it was a SelfFulfillingProphecy!]]
* In ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'', the titular character is on his way to a gunfight only to realize he forgot most of his ammo at home. He decides he'll have to make do with the 12 rounds he did bring, telling the audience "Let's count 'em down!" In a subversion that solves the ballistics issue, each bullet has a number from 1-12 stamped on the bottom of the ''casing'', several of which are shown to the audience as they get used. More of a [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall break]] than anything, but it seems to at least be a partial parody of this trope.
* In ''Film/ABulletForTheGeneral'', a high-profile assassin uses golden bullets for his intended targets so he can claim the kill.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Film/IronMan'' opens with the protagonist, engineering genius and ArmsDealer Tony Stark, being caught in an ambush in Afghanistan. A delayed-action shell lands in front of him, giving Stark enough time to see the ''Stark Industries'' logo painted on the side [[HoistByHisOwnPetard before it explodes]]. It takes him half the movie to find out why he was fired on with his own ordnance. [[spoiler:TheStarscream in his own corporation paid his ambushers with Stark Industries weapons in exchange for killing his boss, so it was [[DesignatedBullet literally a shell with his name on it]].]]
** The scene gets a CallBack in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' when [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch Wanda]] and [[ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} Pietro]] Maximoff explain why ItsPersonal for them.
--->'''Pietro:''' We were ten years old. Having dinner, the four of us. When the first shell hits, two floors below, it makes a hole in the floor. It's big. Our parents go in -- and the whole building starts coming apart. I grab her, roll under the bed, and the second shell hits. But it doesn't go off. It just... sits there in the rubble. Three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted one word.
--->'''Wanda:''' "Stark".
--->'''Pietro:''' We were trapped two days.
--->'''Wanda:''' Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think, "This will set it off." We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us.
** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': The ''Valkyrie'' has manned cruise missiles with their designated targets of New York and Chicago painted on their nosecones.

* ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'': In O'Brien's series, reference is made to a Royal Navy tradition of the period to mark cannon balls POSTPAID. Why? Because stopping the Royal Mail was a capital offense.
* Literature/BridgetJones, of all people, gets a named bullet in the mail in the second book.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' featured a serial killer who carved letters into the bullets he used to kill his victims. They spelled out a message to the detective assigned to the case.

* Two rival Puerto Rican gangs in ''Series/{{CSINY}}'s'' episode "Sangre por Sangre" carve their gangs' initials onto their bullets as a way of taking credit for their kills.

* A line in the Music/BonJovi song Love Lies goes, "Scratched a picture of a heart on a bullet and took his life away."
* "Hollywood the Cracked" by Music/CoheedAndCambria states "She's got a bullet with your name on it, no doubt she's a mental case".

* The ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' supplement "Friends of the Dragon" has rules for these kinds of bullets due to this trope's inclusion in ''The Replacement Killers'' and basically fitting the HeroicBloodshed genre like a glove.

* The trailer for ''VideoGame/{{Brink}}'' gives us a grenade with '''jah lick them with thunder'''.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Ocelot has one for Snake ([[DoubleEntendre no, not like that]]). [[spoiler:It's a blank.]]
* Parodied by the Spectre's StopPokingMe lines in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'': after evidently missing with several "bullets with your name on them", he stops to consider:
-->''No, '''this''' one has - hey, what ''is'' your name, anyway?''
** Also, if you look closer on the Terran Nuke when it's launched, it has a "TAKE IT!" graffiti on it.
* The Bullet Bills from the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series games have angry eyes on them. Or are they actual faces?

* Much like the example below, Deadshot in VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity uses custom rounds with his moniker on them. It's one of several mistakes that eventually lead the Dark Knight straight to him. However, Deadshot somewhat sensibly applied his moniker to his rounds' casings rather than to the bullets themselves.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': {{Invoked}} by the turian military, according to Garrus. Of course, since the bullets are microscopic chunks of ammo carved off an "ammo block", no message would be visible. The message (the shooter's name) is carved onto the entire block, instead. It's specifically stated to be a symbolic gesture, of "owning your kills".
* A sidequest on Kashyyyk in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' involves finding a Wookiee gone missing in the Shadowlands. You find what's left of him, some marked casings from a bowcaster (Wookiee hunting weapon), and [[spoiler:a [[HunterOfHisOwnKind slaver's contract]].]] The Wookiee village judge you show them to is quickly able to determine who shot the guy. Showing them what ''else'' you found on the corpse can change the outcome.
* All of the [[BigBulkyBomb Payload bombs]] in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' have something written on them, all of them apparently done by [[TheBigGuy the Heavy]]. The most common [[StealthPun Fatman-style]] bomb has "Cry some more!" scratched onto its side. The Hoodoo cart (a collection of dynamite, timers, and radioactive fuel drums) has "So much blood!" painted on the front (with a little note reading [[InherentlyFunnyWord "Bonk!"]] left on the side by the [[BrattyHalfPint Scout]]). The cart on Frontier (a weaponized train with lethal biting steel jaws named [[PunnyName Lil' Chew Chew]]) has "All of you are dead!" painted in front of its smokestack.
* Gauss Rifle slugs in ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' have a skull painted on their tip. The tendency for Gauss Rifles to [[SnipingTheCockpit kill pilots through the cockpit canopy]] means that it'll often be the last thing you see.
* For his X-Ray attack in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', [[TheGunslinger Erron Black]] fires a bullet that has his opponent's name etched onto it. It ricochets twice inside his opponent's body before exiting, breaking bones along the way. There are some {{Easter Egg}}s: the bullet will be labeled "Me" if he uses his X-Ray attack in a MirrorMatch, and [[MythologyGag "Ugly Mofo"]] when used against Predator.
* A mod exists for ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' called [[http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/40171 "A Bullet With Benny's Name On It."]] This mod allows you to take "your trophy bullet" (i.e. the one Benny put in the Courier's head in the intro cutscene) and recast it as a special 9mm round (that optionally does increased damage) which, if you drop it and look at the world model, does indeed have Benny's name on it. Get your hands on Benny's [[ICallItVera custom 9mm handgun, Maria]], for extra payback.
* Captain Vor from ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' taunts you with "This one has your name on it!" as he pulls out his gun.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Calamity Jane's bullets are labeled "Bad Luck".

* ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'''s second "Bro Trip 40,000" episode provides us with a [[EarthShatteringKaboom world-shattering Cyclonic Torpedo]] painted over with a cheery "Please Die :D"

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': In the fourth season, Matrix has one with Daemon's name on it. [[spoiler:Daemon stops it midair, then gingerly holds it between two fingers and lets it explode, not harming her in the slightest.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight'' Deadshot leaves initialed bullets as a calling card.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ultramarines'' features not a marked bullet but a marked casing instead. An Ultramarine is seen carving "Kill the Heretic" into one of his bolt rounds and later during a firefight as [[SpentShellsShower dozens of rounds are pouring out]] of his heavy bolter we get a [[BulletTime slow-motion shot]] of his carved shell ejecting.

* OlderThanFeudalism: Archaeologists have found ancient Greek sling shots with "ΔΕΞΑΙ" ("take that") written on them. The ones on Wiki/TheOtherWiki are dated to the 4th century BC.

* Two rival Puerto Rican gangs in ''Series/{{CSINY}}'s'' episode "Sangre por Sangre" carved their gang initials onto their bullets as a way of taking credit for their kills.

* On ''Series/{{Life}}'', Charlie is shot, and when he recovers he asks for the remains of the bullet taken out of him. He then melts it down and molds it into another bullet, and shoots the man who shot him.

* For his X-Ray attack in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', [[TheGunslinger Erron Black]] fires a bullet that has his opponent's name etched onto it. It ricochets twice inside his opponent's body before exiting, breaking bones along the way. There are some {{Easter Egg}}s: the bullet will be labeled "Me" if he uses his X-Ray attack in a MirrorMatch, and [[ShoutOut "Ugly Mofo"]] when used against Predator.

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': In the fourth season, Matrix has one with Daemon's name on it. [[spoiler:Daemon stops it midair, then gently holds it between two fingers and lets it explode, not harming her in the slightest.]]

* The trailer for ''VideoGame/{{Brink}}'' gives us a grenade with [[AC:jah lick them with thunder]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': In the fourth season, Matrix has one with Daemon's name on it. [[spoiler:Daemon just stops the bullet with a wave of her hand.]]

-->-- [[http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-war.html Murphy's Laws of War]], concerning this trope.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', if you watch a saved film and freeze it, you can see the bullet casings in mid-air. On the back of each of them are the words "Chief EG-X".
* ''VideoGame/{{Nocturne}}'': The opening cutscene showed The Stranger carving crosses into the tips of his bullets, the practical reason no doubt being that this '''would''' make a difference against some of the monsters he hunts.

** ''Film/IronMan'' opens with the protagonist, engineering genius and ArmsDealer Tony Stark, being caught in an ambush in Afghanistan. A delayed-action shell lands in front of him, giving Stark enough time to see the ''Stark Industries'' logo painted on the side [[HoistByHisOwnPetard before it explodes]]. It takes him half the movie to find out why he was fired on by his own ordinance. [[spoiler:TheStarscream in his own corporation paid his ambushers with Stark Industries weapons in exchange for killing his boss, so it was [[DesignatedBullet literally a shell with his name on it]].]]

* In the ''Film/ResidentEvil'' film, one of the gun shells that are falling in slow motion says "Umbrella Corp". In the second film the Umbrella logo was seen on the back of the slug itself. Both were probably to show just how big and diverse of a company Umbrella was.

* Jimmy Doolittle [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/Doolittle_LtCol_i02457.jpg put a Japanese medal]] on one of the bombs that would be dropped in his famous raid. Many American soldiers had received medals from the Japanese government for their service in WWI, and after Pearl the majority sent those medals to the Air Force with the instructions [[DeadlyEuphemism "return to sender."]]

* In ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'', the titular character is on his way to a gunfight only to realize he forgot most of his ammo at home. He decides he'll have to make do with the 12 rounds he did bring, telling the audience "Let's count 'em down!" Each bullet has a number from 1-12 stamped on the bottom of the casing which is shown to the audience as they get used. More of a [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall break]] than anything, but it seems to at least be a partial parody of this trope.

* ''Film/IronMan'' opens with the protagonist, engineering genius and ArmsDealer Tony Stark, being caught in an ambush in Afghanistan. A delayed-action shell lands in front of him, giving Stark enough time to see the ''Stark Industries'' logo painted on the side [[HoistByHisOwnPetard before it explodes]]. It takes him half the movie to find out why he was fired on by his own ordinance. [[spoiler:TheStarscream in his own corporation paid his ambushers with Stark Industries weapons in exchange for killing his boss, so it was [[DesignatedBullet literally a shell with his name on it]].]] The scene gets a ShoutOut in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' when [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch Wanda]] and [[ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} Pietro]] Maximoff explain why ItsPersonal for them.
-->'''Pietro:''' We were ten years old. Having dinner, the four of us. When the first shell hits, two floors below, it makes a hole in the floor. It's big. Our parents go in -- and the whole building starts coming apart. I grab her, roll under the bed, and the second shell hits. But it doesn't go off. It just... sits there in the rubble. Three feet from our faces. And on the side of the shell is painted one word.
-->'''Wanda:''' "Stark".
-->'''Pietro:''' We were trapped two days.
-->'''Wanda:''' Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks, I think, "This will set it off." We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us.
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': The ''Valkyrie'' has manned cruise missiles with their designated targets of New York and Chicago painted on their nosecones.

* A sidequest in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' involves finding a Wookiee gone missing in the Shadowlands. You find what's left of him, some marked casings from a bowcaster (Wookiee hunting weapon), and [[spoiler:a [[HunterOfHisOwnKind slaver's contract]].]] The Wookiee village judge you show them to is quickly able to determine who shot the guy. Showing them what ''else'' you found on the corpse can change the outcome.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'', superheroine [[PoweredArmor Mecha Maid]] has missiles with things like "Mine is bigger!", and "From MM with <3!" written in them.

* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': Scorponok had missiles with the Maximals' logo painted on. Unfortunately, this confused viewers as Transformers usually put their own team's logo on equipment (even weapons), so the idea was dropped.

* "Holy" bullets were actually used by witch hunters and similar sorts for a short time. This typically involved carving a cross onto a [[SilverBullet silver musket ball]]. The result (when tested in modern times) was that the weapons became even more inaccurate than usual.

** Although there have been documented cases of soldiers of various militaries, especially, for some reason, in Africa, carving lines into their bullets with knives in an attempt to create frangible rounds. Whether or not this actually works or simply makes the bullet more inaccurate is debatable.

* In a Playboy cartoon during the Viet-Nam war a young pilot is painting the word "Love" on bomb under his plane. A grizzled veteran tells him "You can't have it both ways, kid."

* A mod exists for ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' called [[http://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/40171 "A Bullet With Benny's Name On It."]] This mod allows you to take "your trophy bullet" (i.e. the one Benny put in the Courier's head in the intro cutscene) and recast it as a special 9.mm round (that optionally does increased damage) which, if you drop it and look at the world model, does indeed have Benny's name on it. Get your hands on Benny's [[ICallItVera custom 9.mm handgun, Maria]], for extra payback.

* Two rival Puerto Rican gangs in ''Series/{{CSINY}}'s'' episode, "Sangre por Sangre" carved their gang initials onto their bullets as a way of taking credit for their kills.

* The Bullet Bills from the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series games.

* For his X-Ray attack in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', [[TheGunslinger Erron Black]] fires a bullet that has his opponent's name etched onto it. It ricochets twice inside his opponent's body before exiting, breaking bones along the way.
** He goes so far as to have one labeled "Me" if he uses his X-Ray attack in a MirrorMatch. Take that how you will.
** He has another bullet with [[ShoutOut "Ugly Mofo"]] carved in it set aside for [[spoiler: Predator]].

* The Bullet Bills from the ''SuperMarioBros'' series games.

* In ''Film/{{Deadpool}}'', the titular character is on his way to a gunfight only to realize he forgot most of his ammo at home. He decides he'll have to make do with the 12 rounds he did bring, telling the audience "Let's count 'em down!" Each bullet has a number from 1-12 stamped on the bottom of the casing which is shown to the audience as they get used. More of a [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth wall break]] than anything, but it seems to at least be a partial parody of this trope.

[[folder:Web Origninal]]

* Much like the example below, Deadshot in VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity uses custom rounds with his moniker on them. It's one of several mistakes that eventually lead the Dark Knight straight to him.

* Another Creator/BioWare example played it straight, though. A sidequest in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' involves finding a Wookiee gone missing in the Shadowlands. You find what's left of him, some marked casings from a bowcaster (Wookiee hunting weapon), and [[spoiler:a [[HunterOfHisOwnKind slaver's contract]].]] The Wookiee village judge you show them to is quickly able to determine who shot the guy. Showing them what ''else'' you found on the corpse can change the outcome.
* Thanks to the {{Troperiffic}} presentation of the game, ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' does this--not with a bullet however, but a ''bomb''. Several bombs, in fact. All of the [[BigBulkyBomb Payload bombs]] have something written on them, all of them apparently done by [[TheBigGuy the Heavy]]. The most common [[StealthPun Fatman-style]] bomb has "Cry some more!" scratched onto its side. The Hoodoo cart (a collection of dynamite, timers, and radioactive fuel drums) has "So much blood!" painted on the front (with a little note reading [[InherentlyFunnyWord "Bonk!"]] left on the side by the [[BrattyHalfPint Scout]]). The cart on Frontier (a weaponized train with lethal biting steel jaws named [[PunnyName Lil' Chew Chew]]) has "All of you are dead!" painted in front of its smokestack.

** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', if you watch a saved film and freeze it, you can see the bullet casings in mid-air. On the back of each of them are the words [[spoiler:"Chief EG-X"]].

* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': Mainframe Entertainment was quite fond of this trope. Scorponok had missiles with the Maximals' logo painted on. Unfortunately, too many viewers thought this was supposed to mean a Maximal (when he clearly wasn't), so the idea was dropped.