Line #92 Main/PoisonRing


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13	[[quoteright:260:[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/asterixpoisonring_3.PNG]]]]
14	[[caption-width-right:260:[[WesternAnimation/AsterixAndCleopatra Perfect for making arsenic pudding as well.]]]]
15
16	Many combat-oriented characters will have some [[HiddenWeapons concealed weapons on them]]. The GunNut will have holdout pistols, the BladeEnthusiast will build sheaths into all his clothes, and so on.
17
18	But how does a MasterPoisoner keep his "supplies" on him? Often, it's with a Poison Ring -- an elaborate ring with a SecretCompartment just big enough for a stash of high-powered poison.
19
20	Most often, a Poison Ring holds a pellet or some powder that can be [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink dumped into the victim's dinner]]. A subset of these rings overlaps with PoisonedWeapons, and inject the toxin by some means. A Poison Ring could also be used for cases where the victim is to be [[SlippingAMickey drugged]] instead of killed.
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22	While rings are the most commonly used poison holder, any item of personal adornment can go here.
23
24	No connection at all to RingsOfDeath. Compare CyanidePill, where the poison is intended as a means of suicide to avoid being taken alive.
25
26	----
27	!!Examples:
28
29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
32	* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', Titan Shifters are humans who can transform into titans by drawing their own blood. The most common method is to bite down on their own hand, but one Shifter had a ring that hid a small needle inside so they could stab themselves to draw blood.
33	* ''[[Manga/CountCain Godchild]]'',
34	** Riff's estranged ex-fiancee Lucinda tries to poison Cain with one of these in RevengeByProxy for Riff's supposed part in her lover's death.
35	** Merryweather's mother commits suicide with poison pills hidden inside a bracelet.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Comic Books]]
39	* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} [[Recap/AsterixInSwitzerland in Switzerland]]'', the corrupt Roman governor wears several of these rings on his fingers. To his annoyance the first two rings are empty, implying that the quaestor he's about to poison isn't the first to meet their demise this way. "I must remember to get refills."
40	* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': In "Where Were You on The Night Batman Was Killed?", ComicBook/TheJoker's testimony involves him getting in a fight with Batman, and accidentally injecting him with a fatal dose of Joker venom when the poison ring he is wearing discharges during the struggle.
41	* In one ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' story, the Scourge of the Underworld hits Spidey in the face with the back of his hand. First, it looks like it was just a slap, but seconds later Spider-Man starts to tumble and the Scourge reveals the poisoned needle on the ring he is wearing.
42	* ''Marvel Team-Up'' #92: Spidey and Hawkeye are taking on the second Mr. Fear. When Mr. Fear turns Spidey's own taunts against him, the webslinger foolishly lets the villain take his best shot. Mr. Fear does so, and his PoisonRing injects Spidey with a full dose of the Fear Formula.
43	* Dark Beast used a needle-tipped ring to murder one of Beast's old female friends with a bioweapon in one issue of ''ComicBook/XMen'' after he'd kidnapped and replaced the real Beast. It was part of a scheme to kill off Beast's old friends for...[[ForTheEvulz reasons]].
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
47	* The title gag of a ComicStrip/SpyVsSpy cartoon had both spies drinking tea together with comically-oversized rings. Only one Spy's ring had poison, the other had a tiny fan to blow the powder from the first spy's ring into their ''own'' drink.
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
51	* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanAndHarleyQuinn'', Harley sucker-punches Nightwing with a poisoned ring that gives him a weakened version of Joker Venom (it just makes him laugh a little and lose consciousness for a short time since Harley has renounced being a villain).
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
55	* ''Film/BlackLizard'': When jewel thief and criminal mastermind Black Lizard realizes the jig is up and there's no escape, she flips open her ring, dumps some poison in her mouth, and dies.
56	* In the 1920 film adaptation of ''[[Film/DrJekyllAndMrHyde1920 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'', Hyde's girlfriend has one of these, which Hyde takes from her. Jekyll winds up taking the poison to avoid turning into Hyde forever.
57	* TheBully in ''Film/HowToEatFriedWorms'' wears a ring that another kid claims is filled with a poison that causes a victim who is punched by him to develop an ulcer that will kill them years later so it won't look like they were poisoned, but it is probably just something that was made up to scare people.
58	* In ''Film/ImJuli'', a female seductress uses a Poison Ring to [[SlippingAMickey drug]] the hero.
59	* Phillipe, the EvilTwin impersonating UsefulNotes/LouisXIV in ''Film/TheIronMask'', has one of these. He uses it to dump poison in his mother's wine goblet. He then does the PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo right in front of her.
60	* ''Film/JohnnyEnglish'': Johnny wears two hypodermic rings and mistakes his "[[BitsOfMeKeepPassingOut muscle relaxant]]" ring with his "{{truth serum}}" ring. HilarityEnsues.
61	* The Director's Cut of ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' adds a scene of Sibylla sorrowfully using such a ring to slip poison into the drink she gives to her own son to peacefully euthanize him after it's discovered that he's contracted leprosy just like her recently deceased brother King Baldwin, and Sibylla didn't want him to suffer like his uncle did.
62	* An agent in ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'' uses one of these to poison a mark.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Literature]]
66	* Lara from ''Literature/TheBridgeKingdomArchives'', being a well-trained assassin, has a "cleverly designed bracelet", which allows her to hide a vial of chosen poison--although she mostly uses narcotics to induce sleep.
67	* Part of the equipment ''Literature/ButlerParker'' often equipped his female associates with was a ring with a releasable spike, coated with sleeping poison.
68	* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
69	** Assassins Guild teacher Lady T'Malia has both hands full of this sort of ring. Wise pupils watch her fingers, not her body.
70	** In ''Literature/MakingMoney'', Cosmo Lavish wears several rings that suggest this, but Moist doubts if someone who ''personally'' kills people would bother to advertise that much.
71	* In ''Literature/{{Hawksmaid}}'', the Abbess uses a poisoner's ring to poison the Bishop of Ely's dessert. Matty and Friar Tuck conspire to prevent him from eating it.
72	* [[BlackWidow Eleanor]] in ''Literature/TheFacelessOldWomanWhoSecretlyLivesInYourHome'' hides poison in an earring to murder her husband.
73	* Lyra of ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' [[UnreliableNarrator claimed]] that, during a Jordan College meeting, a delegate from the Izmir University attempted to poison her uncle Asriel's wine cup but that her uncle detected this attempt and managed to have the would-be poisoner drink his poisoned cup.
74	* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', Glimmer's district token, a ring, is confiscated because the gem twisted out to reveal a poisoned spike.
75	* ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'': In the opening op an IMF agent uses a ring to quickly inject a target with a paralytic before snagging his suitcase.
76	* ''Literature/NoTimeLikeThePast'': [[UnusualWeaponMounting Poison Tongue Piercing]], actually. [[spoiler:K'Mara has a ruby tongue stud that's actually a miniature {{hypospray}} containing a deadly toxin; she uses it to kill a RedShirt in a brawl.]]
77	* ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'': Members of the "Fist of God" carry poison at all times so they can kill themselves if caught. Several female members hide their poison in a necklace or pendant, and at least one male agent carries his in a large ring.
78	* In the Literature/TommyAndTuppence novel ''The Secret Adversary'', Mr. Brown carries one of these and uses it when he gets caught since a genius like him is unwilling to submit to a trial for treason.
79	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Poison was smuggled into a feast in a hairnet -- changed to a necklace in the TV series. Subverted in that the wearer of said jewelry, Sansa Stark, knew nothing about the plot: Lord Petyr Baelish planned this surprise as Sansa's introduction into the world of intrigue.
80	* ''Literature/TheTamuli'' series. When Khalad needs to come up with a way to conceal Sparhawk's ring, he has a jeweler take a poison ring apart and mount the "lid" so it completely covers the ruby.
81	* In ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'', Milady poisons [[spoiler:Constance]] using one of these.
82	* Sam carried one in ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'', but despite being a professional assassin, the only thing he used it for professionally was to store allergy medication during the pollen season.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
86	* Played with and ultimately subverted in ''Series/AgentCarter''. Agent Dooley goes to Nuremberg to interrogate a German officer who is facing imminent execution by hanging. He pops open his watch to reveal that it is a fake watch that holds three cyanide tablets. He offers one to the German officer, who then talks. As he's leaving, Dooley pops the watch open again in the presence of a guard and offers the guard a breath mint.
87	* ''Series/BreakingBad'' features a non-jewelry example with Jesse Pinkman, who spends nearly the whole second half of season 4 carrying, hidden inside a cigarette (which he calls his "lucky cigarette"), the ricin capsule Walter White gave him for the purpose of poisoning Gus Fring. Jesse never manages to find the right moment to use it, and it eventually serves an entirely different purpose in Walt's plans.
88	* Parodied in ''Series/LeCoeurASesRaisons'': Brad's "discreet tortoise ring" which contains a sleep-inducing poison is easily as big as his hand.
89	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E11BoomTown Boom Town]]", Margaret the Slitheen first attempts to kill the Doctor by pouring some poison out of a compartment in one of her rings into his drink when he isn't looking. He [[PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo switches glasses as soon as he turns back around]]. She then attempts to use some of her species' natural poisons, and those fail as well.
90	* ''Series/GetSmart''
91	** In "Our Man in Leotards", Max has a ring that injects "Immobilo", which causes instant paralysis.
92	** Used for an OverlyLongGag in "Is This Trip Necessary". When Max and 99 arrest KAOS scientist Dr. Jarvis Pym, he threatens to commit suicide with a ring containing a pill of [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum Sodium Calcium Chloride]]. Max however has a ring of his own containing the antidote.
93	--->'''Max:''' ''Anti''-Sodium Calcium Chloride. If you take that Sodium Calcium Chloride, I'll shove this down your throat...not the ring, the powder. And you'll be alive again.
94	--->'''Dr. Pym:''' That's very clever of you, Mr. Smart...but I was prepared. Observe again... ''[opens secret compartment in another ring]'' ''Pro''-Anti-Sodium Calcium Chloride. If you bring me back to life, I shall take this and then I shall be permanently disposed of.
95	--->'''Max:''' [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Tem-por-rarily]] permanently disposed of. ''[opens secret compartment on yet another ring]'' You know what's in here?
96	--->'''Dr. Pym:''' No.
97	--->'''Max:''' Oh...that makes two of us. What's in here, 99?
98	--->'''Agent 99:''' Anti-pro-anti-Sodium Calcium Chloride. If you take Sodium Calcium Chloride and Max brings you back to life with Anti-Sodium Calcium Chloride and you decide to destroy yourself again with Pro-Anti-Sodium Calcium Chloride, Max will bring you back to life again with Anti-Pro-Anti-Sodium Calcium Chloride.
99	--->'''Dr. Pym:''' Well, that's easy enough for you to say. I've run out of rings!
100	--->'''Max:''' Well I'm glad to hear that, it was my turn next.
101	* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In "[[Recap/StargateSG1S5E15Summit Summit]]", Daniel uses a ring with a retractable needle coated in [[LieToTheBeholder Reol]] toxin, which causes someone injected with it to hallucinate that the user is actually someone else they know. He uses it to impersonate Lord Yu's personal servant. In the later episode, "[[Recap/StargateSG1S10E9CompanyOfThieves Company of Thieves]]," Cameron Mitchell uses a similar ring to pose as a reclusive Lucian Alliance underboss.
102	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS1E10StateOfFlux State of Flux]]", Maje Culluh commits a SickbedSlaying on a Kazon rescued by the Voyager with a nerve toxin hidden in his ring before the Voyager's crew can stop him.
103	* ''Series/WhodunnitUK'': Used by the murderer in [[spoiler:"A Piece of Cake"]]. A spike on the ring injects a lethal dose of snake venom into the VictimOfTheWeek when the murderer grasps his wrist.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Music]]
107	* ''Music/SophieEllisBextor'': In the music video for "Murder on the Dancefloor", Ellis- Bextor takes out three of her rival dancers by poisoning their drinks with poison hidden in her ring.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
111	* The video that accompanies the ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}} VCR Mystery Game'' (and forms part of the gameplay) includes a dinner scene where one of the characters uses one of these rings to poison the drinks.
112	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
113	** The second edition {{splat}}book ''The Complete Thief's Handbook'' [[note]]earlier editions of [=D&D=] had assassin as a subclass of thief[[/note]] included "Pin Rings", which could be used to inject poisons or knockout drugs.
114	** One of many 3[[superscript:rd]] Edition third-party supplements detailed an "Assassin" base class and several "tools of the trade." These tools included rings for stealthily delivering poisons by contact, ingestion, or inhalation.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Theatre]]
118	* In ''Theatre/CesareIlCreatoreCheHaDistrutto'', Cesare Borgia has only just begun to interrogate the traitor [[spoiler: Draghignazzo]] when the latter takes advantage of a moment of confusion and takes poison from his ring to spare himself further torture. (Cesare himself [[DatedHistory doesn't poison anyone]], of course).
119	* In Verdi's ''Theatre/IlTrovatore'', Leonora, who is in love with Manrico, commits suicide by drinking poison from her ring to prevent the Count di Luna from having his way with her.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
123	* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'': [[spoiler:Dahlia has a necklace containing poison that she used in poisoning Diego Armando's coffee during his interrogation of her.]]
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Web Comics]]
127	* On ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Therkla is poisoned by [[spoiler:her master [[AristocratsAreEvil Daimyo Kubota]]]] using one of these, giving him time to [[VillainExitStageLeft Exit, Stage Left]] while [[SadisticChoice the hero is distracted]] trying to save her. [[spoiler:She dies.]]
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Western Animation]]
131	* In the fourteenth episode of ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois l'homme'', set during UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance, Renaissance Nabot uses this kind of ring to kill Renaissance Teigneux. Teigneux in turn stabs Nabot InTheBack.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Real Life]]
135	* Lucrezia Borgia, of the infamous [[UsefulNotes/PopeAlexanderVI Borgia family]], was said to have used one of these to poison her family's enemies. Later historians consider this to be propaganda invented by those same enemies.
136	* Georgi Markov was a Bulgarian defector who, after finding shelter in London, became a fierce critic of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Then, in 1978, after feeling a stinging pain on his way to work, he fell mysteriously ill and died days later. An investigation and autopsy later confirmed that he was assassinated by order of the Bulgarian government, with aid from the KGB, by getting shot with a small pellet containing ricin, a powerful poison that kills with minute doses. Although the "gun" used to administer the pellet was never found, an account from Markov before he died had forensic researchers suspecting the weapon was an advanced shooting device hidden ''inside an umbrella'' (with the ''barrel'' shooting out of the umbrella's tip), of all places. A similar attack on ''another'' Bulgarian defector was recorded in Paris days earlier. This one also used a ricin pellet, but it failed. After surviving, the victim claimed that the suspect was not carrying an umbrella, which begs the question as to ''[[ParanoiaFuel what exactly was the assassin's weapon disguised as]]''. It was almost certainly though, an example of this trope.
137	* In 2018, a ring like this was found in the fortress of Caliacra, the former capital of a medieval Bulgarian [[RenegadeSplinterFaction feudal state]].
138	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PoisonRing