History Main / TaintedVeins

* ''Literature/{{Dreamcatcher}}'' had this, but it was an alien plant growing into the infectee's face.

* The vampires in ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' had visible veins on their faces, too, but that was as much due to their creepily transparent porcelain white skin as it was to their veins being full of freshly drunk blood.

* In ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle'' this was the first sign that a drug user was infected with the virus Poppy tainted the drugs with; blue veins started appearing all over the user's body.

** [[Characters/MCUTonyStark Tony Stark]]'s Palladium poisoning in ''Film/IronMan2'' caused grey veins around his arc reactor.

* Alien-influenced humans in ''Film/{{Skyline}}''.

* ''Film/SpaceSweepers'': James Sullivan is suffering from some illness that is never exicitly revealed (presumably related to the way his lifespan was artificially lengthened). It flares up throughout the film whenever he loses his composure, and when it does, his veins became discolored and visible and his skin becomes discolored, spreading outwards from the veins.

* BigBad [[spoiler:Salem]] from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' sports prominent black veins all over her body, including on her exposed hands and face. This is apparently normal for... whatever she is. [[spoiler:She's a human infected with Grimm essence, but flashbacks show that she didn't have black veins when she was initially corrupted and that it developed later somehow, either from repeated exposure or time.]]

This is a JustifiedTrope (Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad): There are toxins that cause venous thrombosis (clotting of blood in veins) which can make surface veins visible and dark -- especially if the clotting is in deep tissue in an affected limb.

* Surprisingly, this happens in ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', a children's show ''of all things'': In the episode "[[Recap/PowerRangersInSpaceS1E14TheBarillianSting The Barillian Sting]]", Carlos, the Black Ranger, is infected by a bite from an alien insect released by Darkonda, a villainous bounty hunter. The infection begins to spread over his body, giving him inflamed red and blue veins, among other horrific symptoms.

* BigBad Salem from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' sports prominent black veins all over her body, including on her exposed hands and face. This is apparently normal for... whatever she is. [[spoiler:She's a human infected with Grimm essence, but flashbacks show that she didn't have black veins when she was initially corrupted and that it developed later somehow, either from repeated exposure or time.]]

* ''VideoGame/SkullGirls''' Painwheel has dark veins all over her body, thanks to the experiments that transformed her into her current state.

* ''Film/SpaceSweepers'': James Sullivan is suffering from some illness that is never exicitly revealed (presumably related to the way his lifespan was artificially lengthened). It flares up throughout the film whenever he loses his composture, and when it does, his veins became discolored and visible and his skin becomes discolored, spreading outwards from the veins.

[[caption-width-right:330:[[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong Who'd have thought putting]] an experimental energy source in your chest might have [[PowerDegeneration harmful side effects]]?]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''
** Geordi gets infected by a disease that covers him with [[VolcanicVeins invisible blue glowing]] veins. It's bad news.

* Skinner in ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode "SR 819" was poisoned by {{Nanomachines}}. He got better. However, it was never fully resolved and he could be affected by it later at any time.

** [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS3E16AltarOfMortis "Altar of Mortis"]]: When [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the Son]] [[spoiler:forcibly turns Ahsoka to the Dark Side by biting her, her veins turn dark and her eyes turn [[SupernaturalGoldEyes gold]].]]

** In "Piranha Germs", after Shake injects himself with piranha bacteria, it devours his body from the inside bringing out infected veins.
* TheStinger in ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}: The Doomstar Requiem'' shows Murderface's veins slowly turning black as the virus planted in him that will turn him into a traitor courses through his body. (Unfortunately this never pays out due to the show being ScrewedByTheNetwork.)

* In ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'', Xishi, a squid-like monster about the size of an average human, climbs all the way down her victim's throat and forces them to speak the truth, causing their veins to be strained.

[[caption-width-right:330:[[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong Who'd have thought]] [[EmergencyTransformation putting]] an experimental energy source in your chest might have [[PowerDegeneration harmful]] [[HeroicRROD side effects]]?]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII,'' this is one symptom of the Darkspawn corruption that finally kills [[spoiler: Wesley]]. [[spoiler:And Bethany/Carver, if they die in the Deep Roads.]] Or anyone who dies via the Taint, of course.

*** If you look closely, you can see that [[Characters/MCUHelaOdindottir Hela]] has faint but visible black veins on her shoulders, forehead and around her eyes and jawline. This is presumably to represent that she's maybe not fully alive (as the goddess of death) and is maybe a mild homage to the goddess Hel appearing as half alive and half dead in the original Norse Mythology.

** [[Characters/MCUIronMan Tony Stark]]'s Palladium poisoning in ''Film/IronMan2'' caused grey veins around his arc reactor.
** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': When [[Characters/MCULoki Loki]] seemingly dies, his skin turns ash-grey, and his veins become highly visible.

*** If you look closely, you can see that [[Characters/MCUHela Hela]] has faint but visible black veins on her shoulders, forehead and around her eyes and jawline. This is presumably to represent that she's maybe not fully alive (as the goddess of death) and is maybe a mild homage to the goddess Hel appearing as half alive and half dead in the original Norse Mythology.
*** When [[Characters/MCUThor Thor]] and Loki are zapped by the [[ShockCollar shock devices]] (which likely contain a neurotoxin) for long enough, they develop purple veins.
*** [[Characters/MCUTheHulk Banner]], finding himself on an alien planet after two years as the Hulk, rants to Thor about how stressful this is to him. While he does, the veins of his face and neck briefly flush [[HulkingOut green]].

* Taken UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}''. Alex Mercer's and James Heller's bodies are covered in thick, pulsating red and black veins when they unleash their Blacklight-virus powers.