History NighInvulnerability / ComicBooks

* TheJuggernaut in the ''X-Men'': it's almost impossible to inflict even minor damage on him, he quickly [[HealingFactor regenerates]] in the rare cases (almost always involving magic) that somebody can can hurt him, and once he gets up some steam, he just plows right through any obstacle in his way.

** A similar situation with Hydro-Man. You can't punch or shoot him with projectiles considering they'll just flow through him harmlessly, but you ''can'' hit him hard with electricity to induce electrolysis, evaporate him, or contaminate his liquid body mass with a solidifying agent like cement to trap him.

* MarvelComics [[TheMightyThor Thor]] is nigh-invulnerable due to being a literal PhysicalGod, what with being the son of Odin and Gaia. He's one of the few non-cosmic beings in the Marvel universe capable of going toe-to-toe with TheIncredibleHulk and can survive blows from Galactus, Hulk, and other such powerful beings.

** One of course can't forget his OmnicidalManiac AlternateUniverse version, [[NightmareFuel Superboy-Prime]], a relic from a destroyed alternate universe that was left in a paradise dimension with several other refugees, only realizing his destiny as a great hero was "stolen" from him. In the end, it takes ''two'' other Super''men'', a ''legion'' of Green Lanterns, and being thrown through ''Krypton's sun'' to weaken him enough to be captured.

* As quoted above, Craig "Mr Immortal" Hollis from the ''GreatLakesAvengers'' (a comical offshoot of ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'', whose members all had powers considered too useless to be in the main organization). He had no special abilities, no power to withstand damage, but if he actually died, he just stood up again three seconds later, fully healed. Since he was a child, he's been haunted by Deathurge, a psychopomp-like being who convinces people to kill themselves, but decided to take Craig in as a sort of adoptive son. It's been said somewhere that he's destined to be the last living creature in the universe. In the ''GLA'' miniseries, he's revealed to be "Homo Supreme", [[EvolutionaryLevels one step beyond]] [[Comicbook/XMen mutant]] (which caused Flatman, who'd just come out as gay, to mutter "Always have to one-up me, don't you?").

* Cell, one of TheMorlocks from XMen-related comics, is a giant single-cell organism, meaning he can regenerate any damage done to him at all and absorb organic matter for nourishment. Basically the ''only'' catch to this is that he can't digest inorganic objects, meaning he had a bullet stuck harmlessly in his head for a while. His teammates Shatter and Litterbug, however, were just super-tough; Shatter was made of some kind of super dense obsidian-like rock, while Litterbug had a layered, chitonous exoskeleton.

* How has this topic gone on this long without mention of [[XMen Colossus]], who was stronger than Ben Grimm and the Hulk when introduced as a ''17-year old'', and can now go toe-to-toe with any incarnation of the Hulk (barring the tragedy-enhanced "Green Scar" incarnation from WorldWarHulk).

* Short-term [[XMen X-Man]] Paulie Provenzano had NighInvulnerability as his mutant power, but it came with the limitation that he had to be able to be generally aware of the attack. He learned of this limitation when he made the mistake of taunting [[SuperSpeed Northstar]] with a homophobic slur, which resulted in the speedster punching him so fast he couldn't even register it.

* {{Darkseid}} is essentially a god and there are very few things that could even slow him down. Only Superman has been able to stand a one on one match with him. Similarly, Darkseid is one of the few opponents who can hurt Superman by way of having powers that are just that strong (as opposed to having a Kryptonite ray gun or otherwise exploiting the rules of Superman's powers.)

** Though not, apparently, Wolverine's head-banging in a certain 2009 movie... though this is probably because in the comics his head was always vulnerable compared to the rest of his body. He's generally more vulnerable to sensory assaults-the [[MakeMeWannaShout Banshee]] once stunned the Blob with his sonic scream, while both the IncredibleHulk and {{Sleepwalker}} both exploited his blubber. The Hulk stretched the Blob like a piece of taffy, while Sleepwalker used his [[EyeBeams warp vision]] to wrap a steel girder around the Blob and squeeze him. In both cases, it was pretty painful.

* While not nearly as durable as Plastic Man, [[FantasticFour Reed Richards]] is Made of Rubber and can survive most attacks, at least as long as he sees them coming in time to stretch with the impact.

* {{Darkseid}} is essentially a god and there are very few things that could even slow him down. Only Superman has been able to stand a one on one match with him.

* In the game of ''TheDarkness'', one of the powers The Darkness grants Jackie Estacado is to protect him from virtually any harm... and if he does manage to die, it just rewinds time to a point when he's alive (the justification for the game's checkpoint system), or sends his spirit to The Otherworld while it rebuilds his body. Presumably, The Darkness has some variation on these powers in the comics, as well, but this editor is not familiar with them.

* Butterball, from ''TheInitiative'', has a variation on this power; he is completely immutable, and therefore cannot be harmed in anyway. This power is apparently all-encompassing, as he has extreme difficulty learning new subjects, can't lose (or gain, for that matter) weight, can't get in shape, etc, etc....

* This is the sole power of Turtle in ''TheLegionOfSuperHeroes''. Literally, he's simply ''very nearly'' completely invulnerable. He ''can'' be harmed, but not much and not without an excess of effort. He was rejected from the Legion due to his lack of offensive capabilities, but joined the Legion Auxilliary along with Night Girl and his friend Sizzle with the hopes of eventually graduating to the Legion proper.

* J. Michael Straczynski's ''RisingStars'' series had a character, Peter Dawson, whose special power was that he was effectively indestructible: a microthin energy shield surrounded his entire body, protecting him from literally everything, and also lined the inside of his lungs and stomach, making poisons ineffective, too. However, the usefulness of this power is called into question, and the power as a whole heavily subverted, in the issue where Dawson appears. Since the shield can't tell what is and isn't an attack, he can't feel any sensation whatsoever--the only sense he really has available (besides sight and hearing, of course) is taste, causing him to overeat until he's a pudgy blob. While he was in high school, the football coach tried him out on the team, but as he discovered, Dawson's invulnerability doesn't make him any tougher or stronger--the other team would just run right over him. Dawson later applied to be a bodyguard, a policeman, anything where his ability might conceivably be useful, but his obesity meant he failed all the physicals. The only job he ends up getting is as a mechanic in a local garage.

* Darkseid is essentially a god and there are very few things that could even slow him down. Only Superman has been able to stand a one on one match with him.

* DoctorDoom is an example of the ''Proxy'' variant. Doom has been defeated and killed on many occasions, only to reveal later (whether intended at the time or [[{{Retcon}} retconned in later]]) that it was ActuallyADoombot and the real Doom would never be defeated by something so pathetic.

* The Saint of Killers from ''{{Preacher}}''. Lose the "Nigh." His utter immunity to damage (of the Divine Protection sort) is first shown when he [[ImmuneToBullets ignores a hail of gunfire from a dozen cops]]. The villain, after he sees that the Saint is bulletproof, is [[GenreSavvy smart enough]] to bring a battalion of tanks to their next clash, only for the Saint to shrug off multiple tank shells to the face and proceed to [[InstantDeathBullet kill everyone present]]. The villain, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy who anticipated even this]], drops a [[NukeEm nuclear bomb]] on him as a coup de grace. Cut to the Saint, standing amidst the nuclear fire, ''completely unharmed''.

* In ''{{Watchmen}}'', Doctor Manhattan's [[PhysicalGod god-like powers]] first manifested in the ability to reform himself after the complete disintegration of his original body. He would later demonstrate intangibility and indestructibility as well.

* Werecheetah Britanny Diggers, along with all other lycanthropes in ''GoldDigger,'' can only be harmed by silver or magic (other injuries regenerate almost instantly). Alas, magic is pretty common in the Diggerverse.

** When Amadeus Cho accused Reed Richards of killing the Hulk, Richards mantained that was impossible, "Because the Hulk doesn't die."
* The Sandman. No, not [[TheSandman that one]]--the ''Comicbook/{{Spiderman}}'' villain. He could change the density of his body so that one moment he was hard as a rock, and the next moment Spiderman's punches just hit loose sand.

* The various Miracle-people in AlanMoore's ''{{Comicbook/Miracleman}}'' all have skin-tight forcefields that render them invulnerable to pretty much anything in the universe. (It's also implied, though never explored, that this forcefield is also what gives them their super strength.)

** Though not, apparently, Wolverine's head-banging in a certain 2009 movie... though this is probably because in the comics his head was always vulnerable compared to the rest of his body. He's generally more vulnerable to sensory assaults-the [[MakeMeWannaShout Banshee]] once stunned the Blob with his sonic scream, while both the IncredibleHulk and {{Sleepwalker}} both exploited his blubber. The Hulk stretched the Blob like a piece of taffy, while Sleepwalker used his [[EyeBeams warp vision]] to wrap a steel girder around the Blob and squeeze him. In both cases, it was pretty painful.

* Deconstructed in the story of Element Girl in the ''TheSandman'' comics. She is tired of being an invulnerable superhero, but she cannot commit suicide because her body keeps involuntarily changing to a form that will survive each attempt.

* In the J-horror inspired DCComics comic, ''CrossingMidnight'', Toshi first discovered this when she jumps from the {{treehouse of fun}} in her yard and doesn't get impaled by the wrought iron fence.

* Short-term [[XMen X-Man]] Paulie Provenzano had NighInvulnerability as his mutant power, but it came with the limitation that he had to be able to be generally aware of the attack. He learned of this limitation when he made the mistake of taunting [[SuperSpeed Northstar]] with a homophobic slur, which resulted in the speedster punching him so fast he couldn't even register it.
* Adam Destine of ''Comicbook/ClanDestine'' is completely invulnerable, as well as being immortal. He can withstand superpowered combat, large-scale explosions, lasers, crashing on Earth from space in a ''bus'' with broken windows (albeit with a spaceship engine attached, courtesy of his GadgeteerGenius son) and who knows what else with nothing more than ClothingDamage. He also apparently doesn't need to eat, drink, or breathe to survive- he once went a decade without doing any of the above, with no ill effects. The power was given to him by his wife, a very powerful genie.

** Though not, apparently, Wolverine's head-banging in a certain 2009 movie... though this is probably because in the comics his head was always vulnerable compared to the rest of his body.

** Similar to DC's ''SwampThing''. When Alan Moore took on the title [[spoiler:he retconned Swamp Thing as a mass of swamp growth with Alec Holland's memories, rather than a transformed Holland. He also explained the character's apparent death in the previous issue and subsequent survival with the summation "You can't kill a vegetable by shooting it through the head". Swamp Thing soon discovered he was the Earth's latest plant elemental (courtesy of John Constantine), and learned how to manipulate the planet's flora through the metaphysical plant-collective plane called the 'Green'; including growing new bodies for himself at an accelerating rate. (Several days with the first attempt, split-seconds soon after.) His invulnerability started at 'Blob' but soon encompassed 'Regeneration', 'Made of air', 'External Repair', 'The Proxy', 'Multiple Bodies', 'Can Only Kill Part of Him', and arguably 'Physical God'. Things only escalated when he absorbed the powers of Earth's other elementals...]]

* ''{{Invincible}}'' and other comics taking place in that universe are teeming with NighInvulnerable characters, but Guardians of the Globe member Dupli-Kate is a particularly good example of HiveMind-style invulnerability. When all her copies are apparently killed in a brawl, her [[FlyingBrick husband]], [[AxeCrazy brother]] and team mourn her death -- only to learn that her 'zero' has been holed up in a remote location for, apparently, ''years'' as proof against just this kind of scenario.

* TheTick, for whom this trope is named. His primary power is always listed as "nigh invulnerability."

* The Saint of Killers from ''{{Preacher}}''. Lose the "Nigh." His utter immunity to damage (of the Divine Protection sort) is first shown when he [[ImmuneToBullets ignores a hail of gunfire from a dozen cops]]. The villain, after he sees that the Saint is bulletproof, is [[GenreSavvy smart enough]] to bring a battalion of tanks to their next clash, only for the Saint to shrug off multiple tank shells to the face and proceed to [[InstantDeathBullet kill everyone present]]. The villain, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy who anticipated even this]], drops a [[NukeEm nuclear bomb]] on him as a coup de grace. Cut to the Saint, standing amidst the nuclear fire, [[BeyondTheImpossible completely unharmed.]]

* [[CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew Captain Carrot of the Zoo Crew]] seemed to have about the same durability level as the Tick. His origin story paired him with Superman, and made it plain that he was nowhere near as tough as Supes, but that he could still withstand a lot of punishment.

* The Saint of Killers from ''{{Preacher}}''. Lose the "Nigh." His utter immunity to damage (of the Divine Protection sort) is first shown when he [[ImmuneToBullets ignores a hail of gunfire from a dozen cops]]. The villain, after he sees that the Saint is bulletproof, is [[GenreSavvy smart enough]] to bring a battalion of tanks to their next clash, only for the Saint to shrug off multiple tank shells to the face and proceed to [[InstantDeathBullet kill everyone present]]. The villain, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy who anticipated even this]], drops a [[NukeEm nuclear bomb]] on him as a coup de grace. Cut to the Saint, standing amidst the nuclear fire, [[BeyondTheImpossible completely unharmed.]] That's the page picture. [[BadassBoast His legendary response]] is the caption.
** Justified, as he is TheGrimReaper.