History Main / SlaveBrand

** The [[BlessedWithSuck l'Cie]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' all bear brands indicating which Fal'Cie they serve. It's also a MarkOfShame because if you're an l'Cie to a Pulse Fal'Cie, you become hated by the people of [[HollowWorld Coc]][[FloatingContinent oon.]] The brand also functions as a timer, becoming more elaborate the longer it takes a l'Cie to complete their [[MissionFromGod Focus]]. If the brand becomes complete before the Focus is done, the L'Cie is turned into [[AndIMustScream Cie'th]].

** The [[BlessedWithSuck l'Cie]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' all bear brands indicating which Fal'Cie they serve. It's also a MarkOfShame because if you're an l'Cie to a Pulse Fal'Cie, you become hated by the people of [[HollowWorld Coc]][[FloatingContinent oon.]]
** Bearers in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'' are branded with a tattoo over their left cheek, marking them as something other than human. The brand is written in poisoned ink, if it's damaged in any way, it will spread into the bearer's blood and kill them. It takes a skilled surgeon to attempt to remove the brand, and even those who survive have to endure days of agony afterward.

* This is the reason the African mercenary decides to help the main characters in ''Film/TheIsland''. Their tattooed numbers identify them as clones - their lives to be thrown away for the benefit of their purchasers. He finds this uncomfortably reminiscent of the reason he was branded himself as a child, and decides to switch sides, making this a case of OpposeWhatYouSuffered.

** Many members of the Sun Pirates, including their first captain Fisher Tiger, were former slaves of the World Nobles freed by Tiger himself. Upon joining the crew, all of the former slaves [[TattooConcealsScars had their slave mark altered into a tattoo of a Red Sun]], which was also the crew's jolly roger. This was done to make sure that Marines and bounty hunters could not tell who on the crew was a former slave, as all crew members including non-slaves had this tattoo branded on them such as Jinbe and Arlong.

** Slaves of the World Nobility are marked on their backs with the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon." This brand is meant to impress upon them the fact that they are less than human.
** A group of slaves who were freed and became pirates altered this mark into one resembling a sun, which everyone on the crew, slave or not, adopted to remove the distinction of freeman and ex-slave. This group of freed slaves took up the name the Sun Pirates. Another set freed at the same time, the Gorgon Sisters, took great pains to hide the mark, claiming it to be the result of a curse that caused anyone to see their backs to petrify.
** Nami's Arlong Pirates tattoo could also be viewed as this. Nami herself certainly saw it that way. After she had stabbed out the tattoo, she had a new one put in its place resembling a pinwheel with a tangerine growing from it, to honor her adopted parents.

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* Franchise/DCUniverse: Grace of ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' was a slave before her powers manifested. Although she has covered much of it with tattoos, her brand remains.

* Various type of slave brands have been used in various X-Books

** Hounds have various markings around their faces
** the Genoshan Mutates Have there identification number branded on there foreheads
* ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, being a [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Holocaust]] survivor, has a concentration camp number tattooed on his arm.

* Gamzee in the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic ''FanFic/{{Hivefled}}'' is CoveredWithScars, including a GlasgowGrin, and has the words "slut", "pet", "rape toy", "pail", and "worthless" carved on various parts of his body, along with his captor's sigils on his neck (Alternia's traditional method of marking slaves, rendered obsolete with the conquering of other species to use instead) and the magical binding "namoha" on his arm, which will imprison his spirit if he dies.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheGreatRedPandaRescue'', Mei is kidnapped and is branded "RP1" under her lip.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/CurseOfTheCrimsonAltar'': After Peter completes his initiation (however unwillingly) into Lavinia's cult and signs his name in blood in her book, Lavinia has his branded to mark him as now belonging to her.

* In ''Literature/HonorHarrington'', genetic slaves are marked with their identification number on their tongues. The ex-slave terrorists of the Audubon Ballroom have made it their trademark to stick their tongues way out to show off these marks to the slavers they kill.

* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Slaves get a pair of glyphs branded on their forehead (though more cooperative slaves can get them tattooed instead). These glyphs say when and where the person was made a slave. Slaves deemed dangerous get a third glyph, ''shash'', which means "dangerous". These are rare; most slaves who earn a ''shash'' glyph are just executed.
** Freed slaves have these brands tattooed over with the glyphs for "freedom", along with smaller glyphs stating when they were freed and by whom.

* In Creator/JackChalker's ''Literature/SoulRider'' series, the male-dominated society of New Eden tattoos the rump of all new Fluxgirls, women bound into slavery (and perpetual ignorance) by magic.

* In the ''Literature/DragonJousters'' series, only free men shave their heads or cut their hair. Slaves and serfs (an even lower class) wear their hair long as a mark of their unfree status.
* ''Literature/BlackDaggerBrotherhood'' gives us the vampire BloodKnight [[spoiler: Zsadist; who sports pitch black bands around his "drinking points" (wrists and neck), from the time he was enslaved and sexually abused during the eighteen hundreds.]]

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', slaves in the east are tattooed on their face to show their specific occupation. [[spoiler: Ser Jorah Mormont]] gets a special one for being rebellious.
* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', Jean Valjean views his [[YouAreNumberSix 24601 number]] and brand as this. ''Technically'' it's to show that he's a criminal, rather than a slave, but in Revolutionary France the two statuses amounted to the same thing.
* In ''Literature/LeftBehind'', the MarkOfTheBeast is enforced on all citizens of the Global Community whether they wanted it or not, including criminals. It consists of injecting a biochip into a person's right hand that acts as both a tracking device and a means of making legal transactions, while the person's region code is tattooed on either their right hand or their forehead.
* All slaves in ''Literature/RollOverAndDie'' are marked with an ''actual'' brand on some part of their body, and protagonist Flum is unfortunate enough to receive it on her cheek. It's also noted that each brand is treated with a certain ink that makes it impossible to wash it off or remove it with magic.
* In ''Literature/RakuinNoMonshou'', all slaves in Mephius are branded. This includes the protagonist, Orba.
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's science fiction novel ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'' slaves on the planet Jubbul (including the book's protagonist, Thorby) are tattooed with a serial number. (Thorby's is on his left thigh.) If a slave is manumitted, a line is tattooed through the serial number, along with the seal of the Sargon and the volume and page number of the record book in which the manumission has been duly recorded. Thorby is not at all ''ashamed'' of what has been done to him, but when another character mocks him over his experiences, Thorby does react with minor violence (responding to a command of "Hey, Slave! Pass the potatoes!" by throwing said potatoes--"bowl and all"--in the other guy's face).
* ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'': PlayedForDrama when Imriel is MadeASlave, sold to a brutal sexual sadist, and branded on the buttock at age 11. He's rescued, but the ScarsAreForever and the trauma of the experience lingers well into his adulthood.

* ''Series/TheBlacklist'' Reddington goes after a human trafficking ring that brands its slaves. At the end of episode Reddington's male body guard is changing in the locker room and you see the same scar on his shoulder.
* In ''Series/{{Alice 2009}}'', humans who wind up in Wonderland have a light shone somewhere on their bodies that causes a tattoo to form. The Wonderland inhabitants refer to them as "Oysters" and typically round them up to have their emotions harvested. Alice gets hers on her arm and has to cover it up to move freely. It is still there when she makes it back to Earth, one of the things that proves her experience wasn't a dream.
* One of the nastier human trafficking rings the detectives of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' takes down brands its victims with barcodes on their necks.
* Handmaids in ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'' are ear-tagged like livestock are.
* ''Series/HorribleHistories'' has a sketch on the Tudor punishment of branding perjurers with a large 'P' in the middle of their forehead. A perjurer applying for a job firstly claims it is a birthmark, and then that he slipped and fell onto a hot branding iron.

* In the apocryphal book of Literature/ThirdMaccabees, King Philopater of Egypt decided to disgrace the Jews by subjecting them to registration as slaves and having the ivy-leaf symbol of Dinoysus branded upon them unless they chose to renounce their religion and thus be regarded as equals among the Alexandrian citizens.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', [[HumanSacrifice sacrificing a living human in the name of a deceased human]] will cause the sacrificed to become a slave-ghost to the person they were sacrificed to. The ghost-body of the slave bears a special mark that will never disappear, even if body-altering ghost-magic is used. Special ghost-apparel that can hide this mark is highly valued in the Underworld.

* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** Casteless dwarves are marked by facial tattoos.
** Tranquil mages (mages who have had their magical ability forcibly stripped from them) have a sun brand on their forehead, which is apparently a symbol of the Chantry. This is only actually visually present in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', but it is mentioned in the first game. It also resembles a lobotomy scar, which is pretty close to what Tranquilization is supposed to represent.
** In ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'', Solas claims that [[spoiler:the Vallaslin markings the Dalish apply to their faces]] were originally slave brands that [[spoiler:the elven nobility of Arlathan would put on their slaves to honor their gods. A Dalish Inquisitor is understandably horrified.]]

* Potemkin from ''Videogame/GuiltyGear'' has barcodes with a serial number tattooed on his shoulders from his time spent as a slave.
* Slaves in ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'' have these. It not only shows that they're slaves, but allows their master to control them. One of the origins, Sebille, has her main goal being to remove her slave brand.
* ''VideoGame/SaltAndSanctuary'': They aren't seen, but slaves are branded on their necks. Which becomes a minor plot point when [[spoiler:the Despondent Thief tells the player that she finally found the "nobleman" she was hired to protect but got separated from (or rather, she found his dead body), and discovered to her great shock that he had a slave brand on his neck.]]
* ''VideoGame/BioShock'': The [[spoiler:PlayerCharacter’s tattoos, three chain links across both wrists]] are never directly mentioned, but they’re implied to be this due to how he was [[spoiler:raised in a lab and genetically conditioned to be under mind control.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The "M" for Mutant is very close to being a mark of slavery in some of the Franchise/{{Marvel Universe}}s.

* Teito Klein from ''Manga/ZeroSevenGhost''.

* ''Manga/{{Shitsurakuen}}'' - Almost all girls (excluding Sora) have a symbol right above their chest symbolizing their slavery, and all males (and Sora) have a glove symbolizing rulership.

* The tattoo number of a Nazi concentration camp Magneto from ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' carries upon his forearm, which he has brought attention towards to serve as a reminder for human cruelty.

* In the ''{{Film/Apocalypse}}'' film series movies ''Revelation'' and ''Tribulation'', the MarkOfTheBeast resembles this, while in ''Judgment'' it is a coin-sized tattoo.
* In the backstory of ''Film/DjangoUnchained'', both Django and Broomhilda have been branded with an "r" on their faces after an attempted escape.
* Immortan Joe from ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' has his symbol branded on the napes of his subjects' necks. Max is also branded with [[HumanNotepad useful descriptive information]].
* ''Film/CurseOfTheCrimsonAltar'': After Peter completes his initiation (however unwillingly) into Lavinia's cult and signs his name in blood in her book, Lavinia has his branded to mark him as now belonging to her.
* In ''Film/ReformSchoolGirls'', Charlie marks 'her' girls by branding a circle on their butt cheeks. When Charlie brands Lisa, this is one of the last events in the TraumaCongaLine that ultimately [[DrivenToSuicide drives her to suicide]].
* In ''Film/HeartOfDarkness1958'', all Kurtz's slaves are branded with the letter "K." One character is narrowly prevented from ''willingly'' accepting the brand.
* ''Film/BerlinSyndrome'': Andi does something similar to Clare, writing "Mine" on her shoulder blade in ink, which she views using the mirror after seeing a photo of another woman he did the same thing with. It's what tells her he won't be letting her go.
* Although it wasn't common practice in the American South during slavery, in ''Film/{{Harriet}}'', a freed woman shows an ally where her "mistress" branded her as "punishment" - for [[MisplacedRetribution being her husband's favorite sexual victim.]]
* ''Film/{{Antebellum}}'': After her latest attempt to run away fails, the General brands his [[MarkOfShame slave mark]] on Eden's back to identify her as his property.

* ''WesternAnimation/Primal2019'': Mira, a slave who has escaped from the viking village, has the brand of a scorpion on the back of her shaved head.

* African slaves would occasionally be branded before being shipped. However it was seen as [[EveryoneHasStandards just a bit too cruel]] a practice in American slave states. If a slave did try to escape, they would usually be fitted with a semi-permanent collar as punishment though.

* ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero:''

* All slaves in ''LightNovel/RollOverAndDie'' are marked with an ''actual'' brand on some part of their body, and protagonist Flum is unfortunate enough to receive it on her cheek. It's also noted that each brand is treated with a certain ink that makes it impossible to wash it off or remove it with magic.

* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's science fiction novel ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'' slaves on the planet Jubbul (including the book's protagonist, Thorby) are tattooed with a serial number. (Thorby's is on his left thigh.) When a slave is manumitted, a line is tattooed through the serial number, along with the seal of the Sargon and the volume and page number of the record book in which the manumission has been duly recorded. Thorby is not at all ''ashamed'' of what has been done to him, but when another character mocks him over his experiences, Thorby does react with minor violence (responding to a command of "Hey, Slave! Pass the potatoes!" by throwing said potatoes--"bowl and all"--in the other guy's face).

** This system was too inefficient to last more than a few years, though. A comission led by Cortés' lieutenant [[Literature/TheTrueHistoryOfTheConquestOfMexico Bernal Díaz del Castillo]] discovered corrupt landowners were marking and selling innocent natives, so they wrote to Bishop Sebastián Ramírez about it, and the whole native slavery thing, which was already legally questionable to begin with, was promptly abolished.

* In the French comic ''ComicBook/LeScorpion'', all of the prostitutes in one town were branded with a 'P' by order of the local bishop.

* {{Subverted}} by AncientRome. According to Seneca, at one point it was proposed that slaves be made to wear a common uniform. The proposal was rejected because they feared that slaves being able to easily recognize each other would also make them realize how much they [[SlaveLiberation outnumber their masters by.]]

* During the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, enslaving natives was legally forbidden for the Spaniards, but as their own indigenous allies didn't have qualms to make slaves out of war prisoners, UsefulNotes/HernanCortez wrote to Spain and got a special permission to do the same to those from tribes that rose against them after swearing loyalty to the king (which made them legally traitors). They marked those slaves with a G for ''guerra'' ("war"), so they could be later demonstrated this had been the cause.
** It got later expanded to another mark, R for ''rescate'' ("rescue") for indigenous slaves that were handed by their own people as a tribute.

* This is (nowadays) TheUntwist in [[spoiler:''Literature/TheStoryOfO'']].

* The numbers tattooed on the arms of Nazi concentration camp inmates. Not necessarily used to mark them as slaves but to keep track who each one was. Sometimes it determined their classification (besides Jews, a whole host of others were placed in the camps, such as condemned criminals, political prisoners or homosexuals).
** The tattoos were also intended to humiliate since tattooing wasn't a common practice back then. It was a particular humiliation for Jewish inmates; tattooing is expressly forbidden by Judaism, and even relatively unobservant Jews would have never even considered a tattoo.

* African slaves would occasionally be branded before being shipped to America. However it was seen as [[EveryoneHasStandards just a bit too cruel]] a practice in American slave states. If a slave did try to escape, they would usually be fitted with a semi-permanent collar as punishment though.
* During the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfTheAztecEmpire, enslaving natives was legally forbidden for the Spaniards, but as their own indigenous allies didn't have qualms to make slaves out of war prisoners, they wrote to Spain and got a special permission to do the same to those from tribes that fought against them after swearing loyalty to the king (which made them legally traitors). They marked those slaves with a G for ''guerra'' ("war"), so they could be later demonstrated this had been the cause.
* The FleurDeLis was branded onto runaway slaves as a form of punishment. And if that wasn't bad enough, they also had their ears cut off.
* Among some BDSM lifestylers in a total power exchange relationship, branding is a considered mark and ritual of dedication by both slave and master. Strike branding, using a hot iron, is still preferred by most. Tattoos are sometimes used if the master has the skill or a particular design that requires inked lines. A cold branding with liquid nitrogen is becoming more popular, as it requires a less practiced hand to get clean, lasting lines, and the result is less prone to infection.

Compare MarkOfShame, which this brand is to many slaves, and compare ButtBrand and GroupIdentifyingFeature. See also SlaveCollar, which is another way of marking a character enslaved, and SlaveRace, where just being born a certain race is enough to mark you as property. For supernatural versions, see ClaimedByTheSupernatural. More advanced societies might make you a ScannableMan instead.

* During the UsefulNotes/SpanishConquestOfMexico, enslaving natives was legally forbidden for the Spaniards, but as their own indigenous allies didn't have qualms to make slaves out of war prisoners, they wrote to Spain and got a special permission to do the same to those from tribes that fought against them after swearing loyalty to the king (which made them legally traitors). They marked those slaves with a G for ''guerra'' ("war"), so they could be later demonstrated this had been the cause.

* Discussed in the ''Series/KungFu'' episode "The Well": Caine is staying with a black family. The father (who had been in favor of throwing him out because he didn't want trouble with the town) sees Caine's tiger & dragon arm brands and assumes they're slave brands, since he (the father) had been branded when he was a slave. He asks Caine if he's a runaway slave.

Compare MarkOfShame, which this brand is to many slaves, and compare ButtBrand and GroupIdentifyingFeature. See also SlaveCollar, which is another way of marking a character enslaved, and SlaveRace, where just being born a certain race is enough to mark you as property. For supernatural versions, see ClaimedByTheSupernatural.

* African slaves would occasionally be branded before being shipped to America.
** However it was seen as [[EveryoneHasStandards just a bit too cruel]] a practice in American slave states. If a slave did try to escape, they would usually be fitted with a semi-permanent collar as punishment though.