History Main / NoManOfWomanBorn

* ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'': The main party once faces an evil wizard protected by a prophecy that said he can't be slain by mortal hands, and as such he automatically resurrects when given a lethal injury by an opponent. [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou They finish him off by booting him off his tower, so gravity kills him.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': The first story from the very first issue of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' uses this. Superman encounters an old high school friend of his named Margo Griffiths; back when they were teens she was told by a fortune teller that "Margo Griffiths will cease to exist," on her 21st birthday. All his other predictions wound up coming true, and with her 21st birthday coming up she's scared out of her mind. Superman is able to help her out of her funk by convincing her to marry her fiance. As the two are wed, he tells her "You don't have to worry about anything happening to Margo Griffiths anymore -- you're Margo ''Vaughn'' now!"

* In the animated version of ''WesternAnimation/TheMummy'', Alex and his friend Yanit were faced with a challenge: A bridge that had many giant axes attached to pendulums swinging across them. An inscription near the bridge declared that "No man could pass alive." After confirming that that was exactly what it said, Yanit crosses the bridge without activating the traps and admits that "he" has been a SweetPollyOliver the whole time.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

-->"Fool! No man can kill me."\\

A subtrope of ProphecyTwist and DoubleMeaning; compare PropheticFallacy. Can be a form of FalseReassurance. For some other instances of impossible conditions being met, see ImpossibleTask and EngagementChallenge. For when condition Y isn't really fulfilled but a half-assed excuse is used to justify X happening anyway, see MetaphoricallyTrue. Its more comic SisterTrope is CueTheFlyingPigs. SubTrope to both ExactWords and ProphecyArmor, which is any time the subject of prophecy is stated to only be defeatable under specific circumstances, not necessarily seemingly-impossible ones.

* In volume 5 of ''Literature/TheFarawayPaladin'', Will and Menel challenge Kittelsen, [[OurGiantsAreBigger a giant from the age of the gods]] who is blocking a crucial road and keeping a nearby village from accessing a spring. The giant is [[NighInvulnerable invulnerable to all damage that doesn't come from something that both has a definite form, and is bigger than him]]--which would be a neat trick since Will doesn't come up higher than his ankles. On their second attempt, Will and Menel bet him that they can overcome his vulnerability, and if they win, he'll hear them out. [[spoiler:They then ''trip'' him so that he's damaged by the only available material thing bigger than him: [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou the ground]].]]

* The giants Otos and Ephialtes could not be killed by anyone except themselves. Indeed, Zeus' thunderbolt bounced off them. They tried to storm Olympus and take it over. After Apollo figured it out, he had Artemis turn into a deer and run between them. The brothers threw their spears, missed, and killed each other.

** ''Film/Macbeth2015'': As in the source material, Macbeth is prophesied to be undefeatable until Birnham Wood moves upon his castle. Macduff sets Birnham Wood on fire to cover his army's advance, with the wood therefore reaching Dunsinane as floating ashes.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': Amon Garam/[[DubNameChange Adrian Gecko]], late in the third season, gets his hands on the [[TheJuggernaut nigh-unstoppable monster]] Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, which cannot be defeated in battle and is immune to all of the opponent's card effects. Then he faces off against Yubel, who uses Armityle the Chaos Phantasm's effect to switch control of itself to the opponent for one turn, remove all of its new owner's cards from play, and then switch back. This bypasses Exodius' protection since Armityle was Adrian's card, and not his opponent's, at that moment.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' has a minor character, Charlie [=McKay=], getting a powerful card that gives him supernaturally good luck that will only run out "when the sun is split in two" (or in the dub, it lasts "as long as the sun that shines stays complete"). When he faces off against Yuma, his incredible luck puts Yuma on the ropes until one of Yuma's cards reveals Charlie's Sun Scale card from the top of his deck, which happens to have a sun drawn on its artwork. Yuma then destroys Sun Scale, causing the card's hologram to split in half right down the sun in its artwork, and Charlie's luck immediately runs out.

* ''Literature/TheElderScrollsInUniverseBooks'': ''The Hope of the Redoran,'' tells the story of a Dunmeri noble named Andas, of whom it was prophesied that his blood will never be spilled, and that he cannot be harmed by magic, illness, or poison. Indeed, the prophecy seems to come true, leading people to call Andas "The Hope Of The Redoran," in accordance with the wording of the prophecy. When he grows up, he lords this over his friends and peers as a sign of his superiority in combat, and it gives him the arrogance to challenge his cousin Athyn to a duel for an important political position. Athyn beats him to death with a wooden club.

* ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'': The main party party once faces an evil wizard who was protected by a prophecy that said he can't be slain by mortal hands, and as such he automatically resurrects when given a lethal injury by an opponent. [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou They finish him off by booting him off his tower, so gravity kills him.]]

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1599037181011578800
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:270:[[Webcomic/{{XKCD}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_1rsz_gnome_ann_2x.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:270:"[[Literature/RevengeOfTheSith A prophecy that misread could have been...]]"]]

%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900

* ''Literature/GoblinSlayer'' and his party once faced an evil wizard who was protected by a prophecy that said he can't be slain by mortal hands. He automatically resurrects when given a lethal injury by an opponent. They finish him off by booting him off his tower, so gravity kills him.

* In one of the episodes ''ComicStrip/{{Thrud the Barbarian}}'', the protagonists meet a beast that "cannot be defeated by the hand of a mortal man". A female character present thinks this will be a task for her to overcome, but Thrud manages to kick it to death instead.

* Played with in ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged''. Rip Van Winkle assumed that since no man could defeat Alucard, it meant a ''woman'' could do it. It ends [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice about as well as you'd expect]].

:: This corresponds to the canon ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''; see the Literature section below.
* In the WesternAnimation/{{Daria}} fanfic ''The Thirteenth Man'' Mack develops godlike powers and is forced to fight another godlike being. When informed that his opponent cannot be defeated by any weapon made on Earth, Mack beats him to death with rocks from the moon.

* WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch fic, ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21447313?view_full_work=true Final Stand of Death]]'', [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin Steve]], Debbie, and even [[Music/{{KISS}} Gene Simmon]] all points out who can kill Music/MarilynManson. The one has to be a female fallen victim of Manson who is foreign-born, with the same birth month and sign. Since Manson was born in January and is a Capricorn and all his female victims were British Nationals, Manson is the Macbeth, while his Macduff is [[spoiler:Music/MelanieC]].
* The ''Manga/OnePiece'' / ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' crossover ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11880306/5/One-Hat-to-Rule-them-All One Hat to Rule them All]]'' does the Witch-King's "No Living Man" from ''The Return of the King'' as talked about below, only to make it a CurbStompBattle with the addition of Brook (an undead), Nami and Robin (women), Chopper (a reindeer), Jimbe (a Fishman), and Franky (a cyborg). The Witch King's expression after seeing them [[OhCrap is very clear]].
* The Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse fic "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/42634407/ mr. roper]]" sees Clint Barton meet and basically adopt Kate Bishop during his time as Ronin, with the result that Kate accompanies him to Vormir. When [[spoiler:Thanos attacks during their time on Vormir, Kate is shot and jumps off the cliff, her injuries so severe that she "dies" for a moment before Clint can restart her heart, allowing him to claim the Soul Stone without either of them dying ''for good'']].

* ''[[Fanfic/LostInCamelot The Lost Kingdom]]'' has Morgana assume that an equivalent of this applies to how she was able to open a barrier spell that could only be accessed by a magical being of royal blood, speculating that her status as Uther's ward and Gorlois's loyal service to Uther means that she essentially qualifies as royal even though she believes at this point she's not actually a princess.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2086374/1/A-Light-in-the-Heart-of-the-Misfit A Light in the Heart of the Misfit]]'', Justin, a Whitelighter-human hybrid, was cursed by the [[Series/Charmed1998 Elder Gideon]] to be hated by any human that see him, which includes [[WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution mutants]] and augmented humans. However, it fails to work on the WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaucers}} since they are aliens[[note]]Meanwhile, the magic rings they gave to the Secret Scouts also make them immune to Justin's curse[[/note]], as well as [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero The Blind Master]], since he cannot ''see'' Justin. Thankfully, General Hawk invokes the Oath of Abraham to make Gideon release his curse on Justin.
* [[PlayedForLaughs Played For]] [[BlackComedy (Dark) Laughs]] in this [[https://writebecauseyoucannotbreathe.tumblr.com/post/637132510055317504/ursa-azulas-at-that-stage-where-she-only-has-one post]], where Ursa dares Ozai to find a husband for Azula, with one of the conditions being "someone she's murdered but not quite." Ozai's response several years later? [[NotQuiteDead Aang.]]
* ''Fanfic/ThingsIAmNotAllowedToDoAtThePPC'': Attempting to bait Theatre/{{Macbeth}} into fighting people who don't qualify as being "of woman born" is forbidden. The rule about it specifically mentions [[Franchise/StarWars Boba Fett]], [[Film/StarTrekNemesis Shinzon]] (clones), and WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} (puppet brought to life).
* ''Fanfic/TheMLPLoops'': Loop 69.1 revolves around this -- [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings the Witch-King of Angmar]], who cannot be killed by any man, is confronted by a whole slew of Loopers who either aren't men (because they're women), aren't men ''[[GenderBender right now]]'', or are any of a number of non-human species. Twilight Sparkle herself is the first in the last category, nonchalantly saying "Not even human," when she reveals herself. Despite knowing he has no chance, the Witch-King charges them anyway because Sauron had forbidden him from retreating.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5985759/1/Colors-and-Capes Colors]] [[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-22287/dogbertcarroll+Colors+and+Capes.htm and Capes]]'': Discussed in one chapter, where Xander tells the Gotham City rogues at the Busted Flush about how he and his friends killed The Judge, who "could not be harmed by any weapons forged by man"... and on recollection, admits that with that in mind, he's not sure how the Judge was actually dismembered in the first place, since the limbs were cleanly severed. Catwoman promptly guesses the people who dismembered him got a female blacksmith to forge them weapons, which one of the others agrees is a good possibility. Xander in turn admits that he and his friends didn't think about as their ''own'' solution at the time (and didn't have time to get a woman to do the job anyway). With hindsight, he also speculates that weapons forged by a demon would also do the trick. He then points out that modern weapons aren't ''forged'' at all, hence the rocket launcher they used in the end.

* At the climax of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea'', Morgana, having claimed Triton's trident, claims dominion over "all things with fins". [[spoiler:Unfortunately for her, Melody has just turned back into a human.]]

* In ''Film/{{Ladyhawke}}'', a curse can be lifted only if two lovers confront the bad guy in human form, which is impossible because one is a wolf by night and the other is a hawk by day. Then their monk ally foresees "a day without a night; a night without a day" and the exact time it will happen. It turns out to be [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot a solar eclipse]]. Complicating things is that one of the characters is near his DespairEventHorizon and has decided to just ''kill'' the bad guy, deciding {{revenge}} is a better option than relying on some prophecy.

* In ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'', "no weapon forged by man" can hurt Mordred. He's [[spoiler:killed by Excalibur]]. Mother Nature would like to add that a large icicle, rock, tree branch, or angry boar passes the test, so this prophecy is less difficult to get around than one would think (however, all of these aren't exactly an advantage when fighting a good swordsman). Additionally, there's also poison, slings, non-metal arrows, garrote wires, fire, fisticuffs, starvation...
* Not fully impossible, but close. In a German film ''Film/HauntedMill'', said mill is haunted by evil ghosts who can only be destroyed by "snow in the summer". The heroes spend half of the film figuring how to lure the ghosts onto a REALLY HIGH mountain, only to discover that [[spoiler:a fire extinguisher also works.]]

* ''Film/BedtimeStories2008'', which revolves around Skeeter telling seemingly-prophetic stories, has a couple of examples. One story he tells involves Abraham Lincoln suddenly appearing out of nowhere, which is later fulfilled by a Lincoln penny dropping off of a bridge he's standing under. Another, which involves him being set on fire, comes true when he is "fired" from his job.

* In the Russian Disney film ''Film/TheBookOfMasters'' film, the golem army of ardars will serve Countess of Stones until "the stone cries and human pities the stone". But Countess herself counts as creature of stone too, even after her soul is restored, and she herself fulfills the prophecy by crying and being pitied in the end. The twist is that ardars don't turn on her after it, they're just free, and still decide to follow her.

* There is a Russian story about some lad who is stuck in a foreign land until his new boots (received at entrance) are gone, but they cannot be worn out, burned, or thrown away. The lad gets rid of them by feeding them to the host.
* French folklore is full of tales about canny peasants outwitting {{Satan}} at his own game, essentially through the use of this trope.

* Ireland has one that reads like something out of the mind of ''Creator/TerryPratchett''. In it, a woman sells her soul in exchange for a flourishing family farm. When the Devil comes to collect, she gives him ''[[{{Pun}} the sole of her shoe]]''. Because it was a verbal contract, the devil couldn't contest it.

* From the ''{{Literature/Deverry}}'' novels:

* Given the overwhelming influence of Creator/{{Shakespeare}} on ''Literature/MobyDick'', it's no surprise that one of Ahab's crew members makes a similar prophecy concerning Ahab's death.
** There's ''several'' in ''Moby-Dick'', all by Fedallah, but the one that sticks out most poignantly is him saying, "I go before thee, my captain." No, Ahab, that doesn't mean you're invincible while Fedallah's alive, it just means he'll die before you.
** Another is that Ahab can only be killed by hemp. He assumes this means he will only die if he is hanged. Not, say, that he should be careful around rope in general. And in fact, rope does him in, tying around him and dragging him under when the whale submerges.
* The ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' example is purposely referenced, complete with a similar prophecy, in E. L. Konigsberg's book ''Literature/JenniferHecateMacbethWilliamMcKinleyAndMeElizabeth''.
* In Russian fantasy novella "Jack the Mad King", the evil sorceress claims that "No [[ExactWords one]] can kill [her]". Yeah, sure. In the end, she was impaled with a sword held simultaneously by a warrior, a monk, and a woman - since they did it together, neither of them counted as the one and only one to kill her.
* In ''Literature/{{Stardust}}'' by Creator/NeilGaiman, a character is imprisoned "until the moon loses her daughter, if that occurs in a week when two Mondays come together". She is freed when [[DayOfTheWeekName Robert Monday]] marries Victoria Forrester (making her Victoria Monday), and Yvaine, who is a [[ArtisticLicenseSpace star and therefore the daughter of the moon]], admits that she's fallen in love. Yvaine, being in love, gives herself entirely to Tristran; from then on, she belongs to him and no one else.
* ''Literature/MostlyHarmless'': Due to an accident of TimeTravel, Arthur Dent knows that he can't die until after he's visited Stavromula Beta (which he takes to be a planet, but can't ever find any description of). It turns out to be [[spoiler:the second, or "beta", nightclub owned by Stavro Mueller]], which he only realizes after he's already there.
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** One of the {{Trope Namer}}s (specifically, the "No Man" part): In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', the Witch-King of Angmar is the subject of a prophecy made by the Elf-lord Glorfindel, who foretold that he would not fall by the hand of man; naturally, he was slain by Éowyn, a woman who entered the battle [[SweetPollyOliver in disguise]], with the aid of Merry, a hobbit. This was intentionally based on ''Macbeth'', where the prophecy that "none of woman born" could harm Macbeth was fulfilled by a normal dude who was cut from his mother's womb (by C-section) and thus was not technically "born" -- a pay-off which Tolkien considered an eye-roll-inducing cop-out. Same thing with the prophecy that Macbeth should not fall until "the Great Birnam Wood" marched against him - this being fulfilled by Macbeth's enemies putting some twigs in their caps. Tolkien resolved to do things properly: the latter with Ents ([[WhenTreesAttack actual walking trees]]), and the former by having the killing-blow struck by a woman.
** Creator/JRRTolkien has a prophecy theme in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. One involves the death of Huan, the Hound of Valinor, which will happen only when he fights the greatest wolf ever to live. So at one point Sauron the shape-shifter (yes, ''that'' Sauron) decides to try to play the prophecy by turning into the greatest wolf in the world... and it doesn't work, because the greatest wolf ''ever to live'' won't be around for another three pages or so. So Huan kicks Sauron's ass.
* In ''The Light Bearer'', a novel about the Roman Empire's conquest of Germania, an evil Germanic warrior is told "you shall not die by the sword." He is killed in the Coliseum by the female protagonist, who strangles him with her own hair.
* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Meng_Jiang Lady Meng Jiang]]'': A traditional Chinese tale about the construction of TheGreatWall of China. Her husband Wan Xiliang was PressGanged into a crew on the wall, died, [[ConstructiveBodyDisposal and was buried inside it]]. This trope gets added to to the tale - a cruel Emperor is told "ten thousand must die for the wall to stand" - and ''Wan'' can also mean ''ten thousand''. The tale has the Emperor meet her, be taken by her beauty, and marry her - only to have her get revenge and denounce his cruelty for entombing her late husband in the wall.
* One of the ''Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier'' books does a variation on the old "No man can defeat you" one: "No man or woman" can defeat the BigBad, but one member of the Excalibur crew is a hermaphrodite.
** Although one could make the argument that a hermaphrodite would be ''both'' a man and a woman, not neither.
* In Creator/MercedesLackey's ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'', Godmother Elena and her army of Champions know at least three ways to get around a "No Man Shall Enter" clause -- send a woman, send a nonhuman (e.g. a dwarf), or have someone change his name to "Noman." Notable in that the spellcaster meant to say "No ''One'' Shall Enter", but [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality The Tradition]] altered the words as he said them, to leave a [[CurseEscapeClause loophole]].
* In the backstory of the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, there is the tale of Sun and Shadow, about two lovers who are each under a curse, the woman's active by day and the man's by night. They meet with each other at dawn and twilight, the only times when neither curse is active.

** Upon his oath, [[Literature/MonstrousRegiment Sergeant Jack Jackrum]] is not a dishonest man. [[spoiler:Or any kind of ''man'' at all.]]

* ''Literature/WorldOfTheFiveGods'':
** The titular curse in ''The Curse of Chalion'' can be broken only by someone who would lay down his life three times for the royal family. When Cazaril breaks the curse, there turn out to be two distinct twists involved. More obviously, he doesn't have to [[spoiler:die as the result of laying down his life, just to expect that he will]]. More subtly, it's sufficient if the person he lays down his life for [[spoiler:eventually becomes a member of the royal family: the first time he lays down his life, it's for the princess's future husband, before they even meet]]. Most interestingly, it's not just a prophecy for prophecy's sake: it's necessary. As Cazaril realizes, this [[spoiler:has to happen "for the ''practice''," so that when the important events occur, he's not freaking out about dying]].
** In an arguably closer example, in the backstory, Arvol dy Lutez received a prophecy that "he should not drown, except upon a mountaintop." As mountaintops are not known for their resemblance to large bodies of water, he considered himself immune from drowning. He was later drowned in the cells of the Zangre, a huge, mountainous fortress, with sheer walls larger than most cliffs.
* In the final book of Creator/LloydAlexander's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'', a prophecy states that the BigBad will be vanquished only when such things as "rivers burn with frozen fire", "night turn to noon", and "mute stone and voiceless rock to speak" occur. [[spoiler:Some characters set a natural dam on fire to melt a frozen waterfall, another uses magic to light up an entire valley in the middle of the night, and they are clued to the location of the lost EmpathicWeapon needed to do the deed by the sounds of the wind blowing through hollowed-out rocks]].
* In ''Empire of the East'' by Creator/FredSaberhagen, one character threatens to slay another "not by day or night, neither with the staff nor with the bow, neither with the palm of the hand nor with the fist, neither with the wet nor with the dry." This is said to be a repeat of an old prophecy in which the god Indra slew the demon Namuci "in the morning twilight, by sprinkling over him the foam of the sea." The repeat comes true when its target is [[spoiler:asphyxiated by the foam of a fire extinguisher at sunset]].
* In Creator/DianaWynneJones's ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'' there's an entire poem (that a couple of the characters take to be a regular spell but Howl realizes is a curse) of things that must happen before the Witch of the Waste can locate him. They all eventually come true, frequently by Sophie accidentally making things happen in unexpected ways. The poem is ''Song'', by Creator/JohnDonne. Though it's a good thing Howl stops the [[spoiler:third verse from being read]].

* This is quite literally the plot of ''Moonsword'' by Diana Hignutt. A druidic prophecy states that "no man and no born woman" can wield the AppliedPhlebotinum which will kill a demon, so the druids turn TheHero into [[GenderBender a woman]] much to his chagrin. LesYay ensues.

* In Kate Eliott's ''Literature/CrownOfStars'' series, Sanglant cannot be killed by 'any creature, male or female'. [[spoiler:He ends up getting run over and killed by an out of control wagon being driven by a hermaphrodite. He got better.]]
* Inverted in Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn'', in which a trap of this nature is used to lure the ''heroes'' into becoming the villain's MacguffinDeliveryService by means of a [[PropheticFallacy prophecy purporting]] to offer the means to defeat the Storm King. Near the end, a EurekaMoment reveals the truth: the prophecy is actually written ''for the Storm King'', telling him how to return to power. Cue a massive, collective OhCrap on the part of the heroes and a delicious YouAreTooLate moment from the villains.
* In Edmund Spenser's Elizabethan epic, Literature/TheFaerieQueene, a knight named Marinell receives a prophecy from his mother stating that a maiden was destined to do him harm. Thinking that this meant that a woman would break his heart, he vehemently avoids falling in love throughout his life. Unfortunately for him, what the prophecy ''actually'' meant was that a maiden would literally beat the shit out of him, which came to pass when he was defeated in battle by the female knight, Britomart.
* ''[[Literature/TheWheelOfTime Wheel of Time]]'':
** There are two seemingly contradictory prophecies surrounding The Stone of Tear, a massive fortress that has never been breached. The first says the Stone will never fall until the People of the Dragon come to it, while the second says that it will never fall until the Dragon Reborn wields Callandor, a "sword that is not a sword" which is housed within the Heart of the Stone. So why would the Dragon ever be allowed inside the Stone if it is destined to fall after his people come, but how can the Dragon gets his hands on Callandor without the fortress it's inside falling to people under his command? [[spoiler:By sneaking in. The Aiel, known historically as the People of the Dragon even though almost no one remembers that, raid it on the same night. Both prophecies are fulfilled at the same time: Rand takes Callandor, proving that he is the true Dragon Reborn, and the Aiel are able to capture the Stone, revealing them to be the People of the Dragon.]]
** As prophesied, the Dragon Reborn is born to a maiden. In this case "maiden" does not mean virgin but refers to the Aiel warrior society, the Maidens of the Spear.
* In the VideoGame/{{Diablo}} ExpandedUniverse novel ''Demonsbane'', the BigBad has a glyph on itself that makes it invincible to all living creatures. The twist, then, is that [[spoiler:the hero of the novel turns out to have been DeadAllAlong.]]

** In the ''Literature/{{Nightside}}'' novel ''Paths Not Taken'', a cocky 6th-century thug sneers at Suzie's drawn weapon, boasting that he and his gang are supernaturally protected against all magical and edged weapons. Suzie, a time traveler, sneers right back and blows his head off with her (mundane) shotgun.
* The mages who sealed the portal that contains Takhisis in the Literature/{{Dragonlance}} world mandated that a good priest, a black (evil) robed magic user, and a kender had to work together for it to open, assuming good can't work with evil, evil with good, and nobody works well with kender. They did this because they weren't able to simply make the portal impossible to open, and this was the most difficult means of opening the portal they could think of.
* A story within a story, set in Megan Whalen Turner's ''[[Literature/TheQueensThief King of Attolia]]'' tells of a deal a man made with the moon to allow the area to become prosperous, and in return, he'd cover the hills with silver. She agrees on the condition he never lies by moonlight. The silver is olive trees, which have silvery leaves, which then feed the starving people in the area, directly and indirectly. The man becomes famous for his honesty. [[spoiler:When he is about to tell a lie in the moon's light, a friend bashes him on the head. The king accepts that the trees will die, but the moon says he told no lie.]]

** Per the wording of the protection, beating him to death with a wooden club should work just fine too. Or with one's hands, since punching someone isn't a poison.

* In the "Vampire's Taste" evil vampiric Baron, terrorizing the town, was prophesied to die "not by human's or inhuman's hand, but in the maw of the iron fire". Protagonist at some point considers just stuffing him into blast furnace, but doesn't get the need to do it - [[spoiler:Baron tries to flee from a duel and accidentally picks a booby-trapped car for that]].
* The Creator/RogerZelazny story "The Bells of Shoredan", from the ''Literature/DilvishTheDamned'' series, features a prophecy to the effect that "eyes will never see the weapon" that will kill a particular character. He is killed by an assassin with an invisible sword.
* Though it isn't prophecy-related, there's a variation of the gender-switch in the ''Literature/NancyDrew'' mystery ''The Curse of Blackwood Hall''. When a woman's jewels are stolen, she is warned by her husband's spirit (read: con-artists) that she must tell no man or woman about the theft. Her jeweler finds a loophole and takes her to see Nancy; neither man nor woman, but a nineteen-year-old ''girl''.

* In ''Literature/TheShatteredSea'', Gorm-gil-Grom, King of Vansterland has a prophecy that says no man will kill him. So, surely shieldmaiden Thorn will be able to kill him, right? [[spoiler:No, but it still works out - Thorn is nearly killed by the much more experienced Grom, but the envoy of the High King treats him as a servant one too many times ordering him to kill her. This causes Grom to snap, finally deciding he's willing to join Gettland to fight against the High King.]] Ultimately, Grom isn't killed by any man [[spoiler:he's killed by being poisoned]].
* In Alexander Grin's ''Literature/TheScarletSails'', there is a barrel of wine belonging to the aristocratic Grey family that will only be drunk by "a Grey in Paradise", and for generations, the owners had been trying to guess what it could mean. One of the Greys decided to build a country estate called Paradise and drink the wine there but died of a heart attack before even opening the barrel. Arthur Grey ends up drinking the wine at his wedding when both he and his bride feel themselves in an earthly paradise.
* Creator/AnaMardoll's ShortStory collection ''Literature/NoManOfWomanBorn'' is named for this. "Tangled Nets" plays it straightest: A dragon extorting {{human sacrifice}}s from a village proclaims after killing a would-be dragonslayer that "No man or woman can kill me". The protagonist is genderqueer. Another story features a GenocideBackfire where a warlord killed all the "sons" of a man whose son was prophesied to kill him, but [[SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson missed the trans man]].
* In the first ''Literature/GotrekAndFelix'' novel, a Champion of Khorne is told that she cannot be slain by any warrior. She ends up dying at the hands of a child, who picks up a dropped sword and stabs her in the back.
* In ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'', the school's resident urban curse is the "Cheese Touch", which stemmed from someone touching a really mouldy piece of cheese left in the playground and was afflicted by the "Cheese Touch", where the holder would be a school pariah until they managed to touch someone else and pass it onto them. This would've made it extremely hard to pass it on until Greg (who was the holder at the time) passed it onto a newcomer who had no idea about the Cheese Touch, and then moved away shortly after for unrelated reasons, essentially taking it away and ending the curse for now.
* In volume 5 of ''Literature/TheFarawayPaladin'', Will and Menel challenge Kittelsen, [[OurGiantsAreBigger a giant from the age of the gods]] who is blocking a crucial road and keeping a nearby village from accessing a spring. The giant is [[NighInvulnerable invulnerable to all damage that doesn't come from something that both has a definite form, and is bigger than him]]--which would be a neat trick since Will doesn't come up higher than his ankles. On their second attempt, Will and Menel bet him that they can overcome his vulnerability, and if they win, he'll hear them out. [[spoiler:They then ''trip'' him so that he's damaged by the only available thing bigger than him: [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou the ground]].]]
* ''Literature/TheFindersStoneTrilogy'': When the ancient elves imprisoned the dark god Moander, they placed a condition that he could only be freed by an "unborn child". To get around this, the villains of the first book created an ArtificialHuman, [[spoiler:the protagonist]], and maneuvered her toward Moander's prison so she would end up freeing him.

** Although it's worth noting that even in the fairy's day someone could've just painted a portrait.

** Interesting, particularly, in that this is a typical way of causing a Prophecy Twist, but unexpected once another "escape clause" has been mentioned.
* In season 3 of ''Series/{{Angel}}'', a prophecy states that Darla's baby will not be born. ("For surely in that time, when the sky opens and the heavens weep, there will be no birth, only death.") [[spoiler:The prophecy comes true when she stakes herself to dust, leaving the baby behind.]] The trope namer is even mentioned in the following episode -- "Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripped."
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Of the Judge in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E14Innocence Innocence]]", it's said that "No weapon forged can kill him". Which may still be true, but even in the ancient times when he first walked the Earth it was possible to stop him with a big enough army -- eventually his arms, legs, and head were cut off and kept separate. Modern technology [[MoreDakka offers some far more efficient ways of turning people into little bits]], such as...
--->'''The Judge:''' You're a fool. No weapon forged can stop me.\\
'''Buffy:''' That was then.\\
''[Buffy shoulders a ''bazooka'']''\\
'''Buffy:''' This is now.\\
'''The Judge:''' ''[confused]'' What's that do?\\
''[Buffy [[LudicrousGibs proceeds to demonstrate]]]''
** From "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E12ProphecyGirl Prophecy Girl]]". We learn early on that there is an unalterable, unavoidable prophecy that Buffy will die during her battle against The Master. Because of this, he goes into their fight full of confidence and kills her without difficulty. However! [[spoiler:The prophecy says nothing about cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, and his victory is very, very short-lived.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Merlin 1998}}'' mini-series, Vortigern consults a soothsayer to find out why his castle keeps falling. The Soothsayer (taking false information from Mab) tells him to mix the blood of a man with no mortal father into his mortar and the castle will stand. Merlin, who was the only candidate found, knows that [[spoiler:there's a spring under the castle, so he's basically building on water.]]
* In the BBC ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' series, you cannot kill a High Priestess by any mortal blade. However, the show does show how easy it is to poke holes in this: one high priestess is killed by lightning, another is smashed into a wall and left to die from her injuries[[note]]technically she died a year later with a magical blade in a ThanatosGambit, but the wall-smashing was still her cause of death[[/note]], and the last is killed by Excalibur. In addition, all three were killed by Merlin, who is [[spoiler:an immortal]].
* One ''Series/BloodTies2007'' episode featured PandorasBox, which no living person can resist opening. Since Henry, as a vampire, isn't a living person, the box doesn't affect him.
* Discussed in one episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', when Bones and Booth discuss whether they could catch each other if one of them committed a murder. Booth boasts "I always get my man," and Bones replies smugly, "I am a ''woman''."
* A FirstEpisodeTwist for ''Series/TheLastManOnEarth'' is that Phil is [[AfterTheEnd the last man on Earth]], but Carol is the last ''wo''man. [[spoiler:Eventually, their group expands to include many other members, each of whom thought they were the last person on Earth before meeting the others.]]

* The ''Series/RelicHunter'' episode "Roman Holiday" concerned the search for an enchanted breastplate that could make its wearer completely invulnerable to any "living man (or woman)." The villain who rediscovers it dies from being impaled by a spear that was being held aloft by a skeleton.

* Althaea, from [[Myth/GreekMythology Greek myth]], was told by the Fates that her newborn son Meleager wouldn't live any longer than it took the log in her hearth to burn up. She smothered the log, preserving his life. Decades later, when Meleager murdered his uncle (on his mother's side, naturally), she threw it in the fire. Meleager died once it was consumed.
* Legend has it that Aeschylus was prophesied to die from the [walls of] a house falling on him. Naturally, he stayed outdoors all the time. Then an eagle mistook his bald and shiny head for a stone and dropped a turtle on him (to crack its carapace), and a turtle can be said to wear its house on itself.
* Agamemnon couldn't be killed in his house or out of it, naked or clothed, feasting or fasting. He was killed in his bath house, covered with a net, while eating an apple. The name for such a condition is "[[LiminalTime liminality]]", being between two different or contradictory states.
* A similar example appears in the ''Literature/{{Mabinogion}}'': hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes cannot be killed during the day or night, indoors or outdoors, while riding or walking, clothed or naked, and by any weapon lawfully made. His unfaithful wife tricks him into demonstrating his conditions (at dusk, under a free-standing roof, wrapped in a net, with one foot on a goat and another on a cauldron, using a spear forged when everyone else is at mass), and Lleu is nearly killed by her lover.
* The Oracle of Delphi was quite fond of this trope:
** When king Croesus of Lydia asked if it was a good idea to invade Persia he was told that if he did a great empire would fall. When he asked how long his kingdom would last, he was told that when a mule was the king of the Medes it would not be shameful to flee. At the time the king of the Medes and the rest of Persia was Cyrus, who was half Mede and half Persian and therefore a mule. And the great empire that fell was Croesus' own.
** Later the emperor Nero experienced something similar. When the oracle told him (after insulting him for having his mother killed) that the number 73 would mark the hour of his downfall, he thought that he would have a long reign and die at the age of 73 (and burned the oracle alive for the insult). He was overthrown the next year when the 73-year old Galba rose up in rebellion.

* A Polish legend tells of a nobleman called Twardowski:
** Twardowski made a deal with the devil to gain magical skills. In exchange, the devil had agreed for Twardowski to give over his soul when he visits Rome. Of course, for many years afterwards, Twardowski didn't even get close to Rome. His career ended, though, when he visited a certain inn: the devil then popped up and pointed out that the inn was called... guess what.
** A followup legend (and poem) has Twardowski tricking the devil into three last demands. The last one is for the devil to live with Twardowski's wife after he's taken to Hell for a year. The devil high-tails it.
** In another version, his initial wish was to visit the Moon but forgot it due to all the other great places the devil took him. However, when the devil was about to take his soul, he reminded him of the original wish, and since the Moon is a heavenly body, denied of demonic creatures, the devil was forced to break the bargain. The man still ended up on the Moon, somehow, and apparently became immortal in the process.
** Alternately, as he's being dragged down to Hell, Twardowski remembers a song about the Virgin Mary his mother used to sing to him. He sings the song and the Devil has to let go due to the holiness of the song. God then puts Twardowski on the moon because even though he used this deal with the Devil to do good things for people, he still sold his soul and can't get into Heaven.

* There's a story about the siege of Troy in which it was prophesied that the first Greek to land on Troy's beach would be killed. Odysseus solves that problem by tossing out a shield and jumping on that instead, tricking other men to jump behind him.
* OlderThanDirt: In Myth/EgyptianMythology, The Sun God Ra decrees that Geb and Nut (God of the Earth and Goddess of the Sky) will be unable to give birth on any day of the year, for fear that their children will be powerful enough to usurp his place as the king of Egypt. Thoth, God of Wisdom, later tricked the moon god Khonsu into gambling away a small amount of his light every day, until eventually, Thoth had saved up enough light to add five days to the calendar. Nut bore Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nepthys on four of these five days. Isis would go on to learn [[IKnowYourTrueName Ra's true name, essentially gaining total power over him]].
* The giants Otos and Ephialtes could not be killed by anyone except themselves. Indeed, Zeus' thunderbolt bounced off them. They tried to storm Olympus and take it over. After Apollo figured it out, he had Artemis turn into a deer and run between them. The brothers threw their spears, missed, and killed each other.
* It was prophesied that the son of the goddess Thetis would be greater than his father, so Zeus, [[TaughtByExperience remembering what happened to his father, and his grandfather]], realized it was a bad idea for him to mate with her (Poseidon had also courted her until he learned the same prophecy). In what must have been an epic show of self-control from [[ReallyGetsAround Mr. Can't-Keep-It-In-His-Chiton]], Zeus decided to get her hitched with the mortal Peleus. The result was the nigh-invincible, but still mortal, Achilles.
* One of Zeus's cousins and [[ReallyGetsAround many mistresses]], Leto, was cursed by [[ClingyJealousGirl Hera]] to not be able to give birth to their children on any land under the sun. She eventually gives birth to the twins Artemis and Apollo under an olive tree on a floating island not connected to the sea floor -- and thus technically not "land".
* In Myth/CelticMythology, Cú Chulainn is immune to a curse that renders all fighting men of Ulster crippled for nine days and nights when needed most, owing to the fact that he is not an Ulsterman, and is technically still a boy, anyway. Thus, when Medb invades, he remains as Ulster's defender. His death is prophecy-related too: he's undefeatable so long as he doesn't break any ''{{geas}}a'' that have been placed upon him. Unfortunately, one of them was to never eat dog meat, and another was to never refuse hospitality. An old woman offers him dog stew, so [[MortonsFork no matter what he does he's breaking one of them.]]
* Poseidon raped a woman named Caenis, but afterwards was so satisfied that he offered to grant her a wish. She wished to be turned into a man. He granted it, and Caenis changed her name to Caeneus. Poseidon was in such a good mood that he made Caeneus invulnerable to weapons. Caeneus became a mighty warrior who seemingly couldn't be harmed, but was eventually killed when the centaurs crushed him under a pile of logs and boulders.

* In Wrestling/{{WWE}}, there is a sure-fire way to get your ass kicked: Go to the ring, and at any point in your speech say the words "and there's not a MAN ALIVE who can stand in my way!" As Wrestling/PaulHeyman found out when he uttered these words, [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker The Deadman]] ''will'' show up, and you ''will'' get your ass handed to you.
** Replace "man alive" with "mortal man", and you get the same result. Only this time, with "The Immortal" Wrestling/BobbyLashley, as Omos found out.
* When The Wrestling/UltimateWarrior debuted on ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' on August 17th, 1998, it was shortly after "Hollywood" Wrestling/HulkHogan declared in the middle of the ring "There's not a WARRIOR in the world that I can't beat to get my belt back..." Cue The Warrior's dramatic entrance, a long & rambling promo, and him vanishing in a cloud of smoke, with no physical contact between the two, which may make this an aversion.
* Going into Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}'s 2015 SeasonFinale ''Top Banana'' on December 5, 2015, [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pa/e/chikara/chikara-g.html CHIKARA Grand Champion]] Wrestling/{{Hallowicked}}, who defended the title in a [[MeleeATrois Triple Threat Match]] against the two former Champions Wrestling/EddieKingston and Wrestling/{{Icarus|Wrestling}}, claimed that his "master" [[EldritchAbomination Nazmaldun]] had assured him that no man would be able to defeat him for the title. Cue [[Wrestling/KimberLee Princess Kimberlee]] running in to cash in her Golden Opportunity[[note]]from her team Crown and Court (herself/Jervis Cottonbelly[=/=]Los Ice Creams [Ice Cream Jr. and El Hijo del Ice Cream]) defeating The Wrecking Crew (Max Smashmaster/Blaster [=McMassive=]/Flex Rumblecrunch[=/=]Wrestling/{{Jaka}}) earlier in the night in the final of the season-long Challenge of the Immortals tournament[[/note]] and defeating Hallowicked for the title with the CHIKARA Special in under three minutes to become the fourth, and [[BreakingTheGlassCeiling first female]] CHIKARA Grand Champion.

* ''[[TableTopGame/{{Munchkin}} Star Munchkin]]'' has a monster called [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow "Thing Man Was Not Meant To Know"]]. It's harmless to women characters.
* In ''[[TabletopGame/BetrayalAtHouseOnTheHill Betrayal Legacy]]'', the GreaterScopeVillain can be defeated only by "a weapon not of this world". Fortunately for the heroes, they find a meteorite in the penultimate chapter that can be forged into a spear.

** The DarkerAndEdgier [[Film/Macbeth2015 2015 film adaptation]] had Macduff set Birnham Wood on fire to cover his army's advance, the wood reaching Dunsinane as floating ashes.
* A minor plot point in ''Theatre/HenryIV'' is a prophecy saying King Henry "should not die but in Jerusalem", which he takes to mean he will die on Crusade. He falls ill before he gets the chance, and dies peacefully in his bed. In the Jerusalem Chamber at his palace.

* In Creator/AlexanderPushkin's ''Scenes from a time of Knights'', the main hero, after an unsuccessful rebellion against evil knights, is condemned to imprisonment "until the wall of this castle will go in the air and blow away." Then his friend, a monk, invents [[StuffBlowingUp gunpowder]].

* During his boss fight with Salvador in ''VideoGame/Guacamelee2'', he boasts that Juan will never be able to so much as scratch him because he has invented a new shield that no man can break. Juan just so happens to have [[VoluntaryShapeshifter the ability to transform into a chicken]]...

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
** This can play out with Quan in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. Quan confidently asserts that no one can defeat him whilst he wields the Gáe Bolg, the legendary spear bound to his family's bloodline. However, in the Yied Desert, [[spoiler:it is very likely that his wife Ethlyn will die before him when they are ambushed by Travant's forces. Quan, with his daughter now Travant's hostage, has to surrender the Gáe Bolg ...]]
** This is utilized during gameplay in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Naga is the Divine Dragon; Grima is the Fell Dragon. Even when Naga blesses the divine blade, Falchion, with her own power, [[spoiler:her power cannot destroy Grima for good; destroying Grima with the Falchion will only put him in a millenium-long sleep. Only Grima can destroy himself. This is a EurekaMoment for [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]] (a.k.a you) - the Avatar is the vessel of Grima, and during the final fight with him, the Avatar can kill himself/herself to destroy Grima for good. Not that the Avatar stays dead.]]
* When trying to get to the Stygian Well in ''VideoGame/FullMetalFuries'', a Mini-taur miniboss will warn you that it's ground not meant for man to tread. Furies leader, Triss the Tank, is gleeful to inform him than she's no man.
-->'''Miniboss:''' ''I was being colloquial. God, you guys suck.''

* One of the [[InGameNovel in-game books]] in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', called ''The Hope of the Redoran,'' tells the story of a Dunmeri noble named Andas, of whom it was prophesied that his blood will never be spilled, and that he cannot be harmed by magic, illness, or poison. Indeed, the prophecy seems to come true, leading people to call Andas "The Hope Of The Redoran," in accordance with the wording of the prophecy. When he grows up, he lords this over his friends and peers as a sign of his superiority in combat, and it gives him the arrogance to challenge his cousin Athyn to a duel for an important political position. Athyn beats him to death with a wooden club.
* In the text game of ''VideoGame/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1984'', Arthur must have both tea and no tea, and present them at the same time to a door for it to open. The computer mocks him constantly about the impossibility of the situation. The way you do this is by going into your own mind and removing your [[ViolationOfCommonSense common sense]], at which point you can simply type "get no tea" and the puzzle is solved.
* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Dragonsphere}}'' the protagonist receives an amulet that can only be invoked by a man already dead. The presenter even points out that this makes it pretty useless and that it's just meant as a symbol to wish him luck. When [[spoiler:the King's treacherous brother]] confronts the Hero for the finale, he [[NiceJobFixingItVillain helpfully]] taunts: "You don't even know how to hold a sword. YouAreAlreadyDead!"

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', [[spoiler:Cesare Borgia]] tries pulling this... so Ezio drops him off a wall. Notably, all indications are that [[spoiler:Cesare]] was just delusional, and Ezio did this just to troll him.
** Ezio would lampshade this in the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations sequel]] when disguised as a minstrel with these little ditties:
-->'''Ezio''': Young [[spoiler:Cesare]], I heard him say, could not be killed by man. So I tossed him through the air. To see where he might land.
-->'''Ezio''': [[spoiler:Cesare]], oh [[spoiler:Cesare]], a man of great depravity. Believed himself immortal 'til he had a date with gravity.
* Attempted in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' by Nemissa when trying to pass a barrier that says "No man without the Entry Scroll may pass." It fails.
* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', the quest "Recruitment Drive" involves having to beat an enemy who cannot be harmed by any man. If you're playing as a woman, no problem. If you're playing as a man, the Makeover Mage just outside of town will turn you into a woman for a small fee, and the quest rewards include reimbursement for that and the change back.
** In "Evil Dave's Big Day Out", Evil Dave forces a FreakyFridayFlip on you and sets out to redo all your quests and gain your glory so [[MinionWithAnFInEvil he can take selfies with Zamorak]]. When he redoes "Recruitment Drive", he immediately figures out the intended solution is to become a woman... then realizes that becoming something that isn't human would work... or [[RefugeInAudacity bringing a random cat to battle Sir Leye for him]]. We next see Dave in the Sea Slug quests, which are gated by Recruitment Drive, so apparently the cat won.
* In the ''Hearts of Stone'' expansion for ''VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt'' the player winds up luring Olgierd to a moon-goddess' temple, to stand on a giant mosaic of the moon and fulfill the final part of his contract with O'Dimm (effectively, the devil) that they would meet on the moon. The player can then choose to stand by as Olgierd's soul is taken, or stake their own soul in a riddling game.
* In [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Byleth]]'s trailer for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', Byleth gets his arse handed to him by every other sword fighter in the roster. When he stumbles before Sothis, she quips "Too many swordsmen, are there?", then asks what he intends to do. When Byleth is seen again, [[GenderBender they become a swords]]'''[[GenderBender woman]]'''. In recognition of their cleverness, Sothis rewards them with the Sacred Relic weapons to even the odds.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'': Shows up in the personal story for sylvari characters who choose to join the Durmand Priory. During the final part of the mission, the character is carrying the sword Caladbolg (grown by the Pale Tree from one of her own branches).
--> '''Mazdak the Accursed:''' Know this before you die: no weapon forged can harm me. You face your doom!
--> '''Character:''' I carry a weapon that was never forged, Mazdak.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/AngryBirdsEpic'' has a passive skill stating that he cannot be defeated by any bird. However, [[spoiler:it says nothing about ''pigs'', and it just so happens that [[EnemyMine Prince Porky joins the party for this]]]].
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', [[spoiler:after Atreus falls ill [[HeroicRROD after awakening his Spartan Rage for the first time]], Kratos must go to Helheim to retrieve a rare ingredient needed to save his life. However, Freya warns him that "no magic in all the Nine Realms" can start a fire in the deathly cold realm. Fortunately ([[GodzillaThreshold and unfortunately]]), Kratos knows where to get fire that wasn't born in any of the Nine Realms: the Blades of Chaos, given to him by the god of war before him, Ares.]]

--> '''Barthes''': Is it just me, or was he a bit overconfident that no man could kill him when he can die from getting stabbed in the face?
--> '''Eowyn''': Yeah, I was a bit surprised that was all it took, to be honest.

* Subverted and lampshaded in ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'', where on [[http://yafgc.net/comic/155-confidence/ page 1558]], a princess concludes that since it is said "he who enters... must face his inner demons" she is clearly exempt for being a woman. On [[http://yafgc.net/comic/1561-planmaker/ page 1561]] her inner demons point out that it was a stupid plan.

* Also parodied in ''Webcomic/ValAndIsaac'': the prophecy says no weapon on this world can slay the beast, but...
-->"We're from space. Our weapons are from space."\\

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' episode "Seer No Evil", the Rangers get a set of predictions from a gypsy moth named [[MeaningfulName Cassandra]]. Chip's was the most elaborate, and the most ominous: "Before the next sun rises, Chip will follow a bear with two tails who will dance with a tiger. He will fall from a circle of light, and only a flying horse can save him. Finally, he will walk under an elephant, and the trunk will fall, and... *slashes throat* then, all is darkness!" As the Rangers investigate their next case, all the predictions start coming true, one by one. And just when Chip thinks he's avoided his fate by walking under an elephant, a ''steamer'' trunk lands on him. Luckily, he's saved by a ProphecyTwist when he [[ByWallThatIsHoley slips through a hole in the floor and so ends up underneath it]], where it is very dark. The throat-slashing gesture was made by the bad guy's pet monkey.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'', a reality-shifting experiment resulted in a ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' spoof:
-->"Where is the one not born from a woman?"\\
"My mother was a mouse!"

* In Disney's ''Ariel'', a curse of a werefish can be healed by "living silver." It turns out that silverfishes qualify.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' features Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn fleeing in a car and boasting that "no man can take us prisoner!" Seconds later, [[FairCop Officer Renee Montoya, GCPD]] shoots out their tires and arrests them both.
* On ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', Heinrich's kidnapper Black John Licorice declares, "No man has ever out-sugared Black John Licorice!" Stickybeard smirks, "Now, who said anything about a man?" before revealing his challenger as Numbuh 5. It proves true anyways though; she doesn't out-sugar him, she just keeps the contest going long enough for the sun to rise and activate their curse.

* The ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "The Doof Side of the Moon" revolves around a building that the boys built in the backyard; at one point, a minor character assures Candace that "There's no force on Earth" that could move the building. [[ItMakesSenseInContext What ends up moving the building?]] The moon.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': In "Origin of the Sorceress", the villain Morgoth protected his SoulJar with a forcefield that he claimed no living thing could penetrate. Indeed, not even He-Man could break it. Fortunately, the robot Stridor was not a living thing and could pass through the forcefield.

* ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'': In episode 2 ("Scoobra Kadoobra"), Daphne is put under a ''Literature/SleepingBeauty''-style spell that can only be broken by a kiss from "a great Danish prince." Fortunately, a lick from a Great Dane dog dressed as a prince fulfills the condition, and Scooby breaks the spell.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', Grim gives Billy a cursed knight armor, which the boy is unable to take it off (which becomes an issue when Billy has a PottyEmergency for the rest fo the episode) unless he defeats someone in a challenge. Billy loses every challenge he tries (not helping by Grim sabotaging them just so he can see him suffer), but eventually he wins against [[InvincibleVillain Mandy]]... by default because she forfeited the challenge (a breakdance competition) since she thought it was ridiculous, which was enough for the armor to finally come off.

* Legend has it that Aeschylus was prophesied to die from the [walls of] a house falling on him. Naturally, he stayed outdoors all the time. Then an eagle mistook his bald and shiny head for a stone and dropped a turtle on him (to crack its carapace), and turtle can be said to wear its house on itself.

Over-reliance on this phrase by the baddie usually leads to a delicious OhCrap moment. It often involves a EurekaMoment, followed by the newly minted MagnificentBastard drawing his sword and CuttingTheKnot. Theatre/{{Macbeth}} — the TropeNamer — was promised that he couldn't be killed by any "man of woman born;" alas, he was up against a man delivered by emergency C-section. When the clause includes an exhaustive list — neither by night nor by day, or neither by man nor by beast — a LiminalBeing such as a werewolf or a LiminalTime such as twilight may slip through because, being half of each, it's neither.

* ''ComicBook/{{Pixy}}'': The indie comic tells the story of a couple who has an abortion — the titular Pixy — who likes to call them up from the afterlife when drunk. On a road trip with his dad, Pixy happens upon the source of all life and information in the world: The Holy Hot Dog Stand, He Who Writes on the Milk Cartons, and extorts Him for candy with a bazooka. The Holy Hot Dog Stand, He Who Writes on the Milk Cartons says, "I'm the almighty, no one of woman born can harm me." Then guess what happens.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': The first story from the very first issue of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' uses this. Superman encounters an old high school friend of his named Margo Griffiths; back when they were teens she was told by a fortune teller that "Margo Griffiths will cease to exist," on her 21st birthday. All his other predictions wound up coming true, and with her 21st birthday coming up she's scared out of her mind. Superman is able to help her out of her funk by convincing her to marry her fiance. As the two are wed, he tells her "You don't have to worry about anything happening to Margo Griffiths anymore — you're Margo ''Vaughn'' now!"

-->'''Huan:''' Fool, did you not heed the words? Not — the greatest that walks the world, but — shall ever walk the world.

** Prince Naveen, turned into a frog, can only be freed of his curse when he kisses a princess, which is not ''impossible'', but princesses are rather difficult to come across in New Orleans. Any non-princesses he kisses (like the female lead, Tiana) get turned into frogs as well. Of course, it then turns out that ''any'' princess will do. The daughter of the person elected King of a Mardi Gras parade counts, even though she has no royal blood. [[spoiler:It doesn't work out because the parade ends before she can kiss him. Naveen and Tiana decide to get married as frogs. As the wife of a prince, she's now a princess — meaning her kiss turns them both back to normal.]]

* Mr. Negative, a Franchise/SpiderMan/[[ComicBook/ThePunisher Punisher]] villain introduced in the ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' storyline is regularly quoted saying "Mr. Negative was never born, so he is ever living!" He loves saying things like that. The truth of the matter is that Mr. Negative ''wasn't'' born, he was ''made''. The human trafficker who took on the identity of Martin Li is the one who was born, but that's besides the point.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/DagarTheInvincible'', in a story very much inspired by ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'', the warrior takes on a warlord called Magg-Deth whose medallion is proof against sorcery, but whose guilty conscience over murdering Ban-Dro, his rival, to take his throne plagues him with visions of the rival's visage and a sword that will slay him one day. Three beautiful witches that Dagar becomes involved with visit Magg-Deth with a prophecy about how only an entire nation can slay him, and only after that nation has entered the Dark Fortress that the warlord calls home. But as Dagar reveals during the final showdown with him, he is the [[LastOfHisKind sole survivor of the nation of Tulgonia]], which makes him an entire nation. Needless to say, Magg-Deth dies by Dagar's blade soon after.
* In ''ComicBook/ThessalyWitchForHire'', Thessaly is told that "no one and nothing" can defeat the monster coming after her... so she sends Fetch, a ghostly being who is quite literally no one and nothing.
* In the comic book version of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', Batman teams up with Kid Eternity, who has the power to summon great heroes of the past, to battle General Immortus. However, when Immortus reveals TheSpearOfDestiny prevents anyone born of woman from defeating him, Eternity can't think who to summon - "Even Hercules and Gilgamesh had mothers!" Batman suggests summoning the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII hero G.I. Robot.
* Used against Anathos, the GodOfEvil in [[ComicBook/LesLegendaires Les Légendaires]]. Anathos states they can't defeat him because only a God can kill another God, thus him committing suicide would be the only option (as at this point no other God is around). He ends up being stabbed by Jadina with Danael's sword, which was forged with Danael's blood and as such counts as part of his body.
* The first story from the very first issue of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' uses this. Franchise/{{Superman}} encounters an old high school friend of his named Margo Griffiths; back when they were teens she was told by a fortune teller that "Margo Griffiths will cease to exist," on her 21st birthday. All his other predictions wound up coming true, and with her 21st birthday coming up she's scared out of her mind. Superman is able to help her out of her funk by convincing her to marry her fiance. As the two are wed, he tells her "You don't have to worry about anything happening to Margo Griffiths anymore — you're Margo ''Vaughn'' now!"
* An indie comic called ''ComicBook/{{Pixy}}'' tells the story of a couple who has an abortion — the titular Pixy — who likes to call them up from the afterlife when drunk. On a road trip with his dad, Pixy happens upon the source of all life and information in the world: The Holy Hot Dog Stand, He Who Writes on the Milk Cartons, and extorts Him for candy with a bazooka. The Holy Hot Dog Stand, He Who Writes on the Milk Cartons says, "I'm the almighty, no one of woman born can harm me." Then guess what happens.

* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', the imperial Decree Passive forbids the Ecclesiarchy to "gather, train, promote, sustain, or in any way command any force of men under arms". While they complied, they did not disband or the disarm the warrior orders of the Adeptas Sororitas. Whether this was LoopholeAbuse or the decree was phrased that way deliberately to allow it depends on the author and the edition of the game. The Sisters of Battle are pretty much the Trope Codifiers of the AmazonBrigade.
* ''TabletopGame/TheTragedyOfMcdeath'', an early ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' campaign (and their take on ''{{Theatre/Macbeth}}'', in case you hadn't figured it out), states that the title character cannot be defeated until [[PunnyName Klinty's Wood]] comes to his castle, and that he cannot be killed by any man of woman born (he really takes no damage from any attack made by such a unit). Unfortunately, this is Warhammer, so the Treemen led by Klinty are more than willing to rise up and attack the laird who's been chopping down their forests, and the armies assembled against him include a DarkActionGirl, a man born by C-section, the aforementioned treemen, a knight's female squire, and a few dwarves, none of which are subject to the prophecy.

* The final boss of ''VideoGame/AngryBirdsEpic'' has a passive skill stating that [[spoiler:Wiz Pig cannot be defeated by any bird. It just so happens that [[EnemyMine Prince Pig joins the party for this]]]].

* In one of the episodes ''ComicStrip/{{Thrud the Barbarian}}'' meets a beast that "cannot be defeated by the hand of a mortal man" and promptly kills it with a kick. Note that there was a female character clearly thinking she was going to have to do it just before Thrud figured it out.

* It was prophesied that the son of the goddess Thetis would be greater than his father, so Zeus, [[TaughtByExperience remembering what happened to his father, and his grandfather,]] realized it was a bad idea for him to mate with her (Poseidon had also courted her until he learned the same prophecy). In what must have been an epic show of self-control from [[AnythingThatMoves Mr. Can't-Keep-It-In-His-Chiton,]] Zeus decided to get her hitched with the mortal Peleus. The result was the nigh-invincible, but still mortal, Achilles.
* One of Zeus's cousins and [[ReallyGetsAround many mistresses]], Leto, was cursed by [[ClingyJealousGirl Hera]] to not be able to give birth to their children on any land under the sun. She eventually gives birth to the twins Artemis and Apollo under an olive tree on a floating island not connected to the sea floor-- and thus technically not "land".

* ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'' by Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold:
** The titular curse can be broken only by someone who would lay down his life three times for the royal family. When Cazaril breaks the curse, there turn out to be two distinct twists involved. More obviously, he doesn't have to [[spoiler:die as the result of laying down his life, just to expect that he will]]. More subtly, it's sufficient if the person he lays down his life for [[spoiler:eventually becomes a member of the royal family: the first time he lays down his life, it's for the princess's future husband, before they even meet]]. And most interestingly, it's not just a prophecy for prophecy's sake: it's necessary. As Cazaril realizes, this [[spoiler:has to happen "for the ''practice''," so that when the important events occur, he's not freaking out about dying]].
** In an arguably closer example, in the backstory Arvol dy Lutez received a prophecy that "he should not drown, except upon a mountaintop." As mountaintops are not known for their resemblance to large bodies of water, he considered himself immune from drowning. He was later drowned in the cells of the Zangre, a huge, mountainous fortress, with sheer walls larger than most cliffs.