History Main / OnlyAFleshWound

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':
** In the First season, Sarge receives a bullet wound to the head, and is resuscitated with standard CPR. Later in the early Second season, Caboose's toe is shot off and is rendered fine after being rubbed with some aloe-vera. In season 3, we come across a group of 'capture the flag' players, who get up after a trumpet is played, even after being shot point-blank with a sniper rifle. Even later, it is practice for the Red team to shoot Private Grif before enacting any plans. Regardless, it seems no injury is sufficient to render someone in the series dead indefinitely.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

See also MajorInjuryUnderreaction, HollywoodHealing, CriticalExistenceFailure, DidntNeedThoseAnyway, UnexplainedRecovery, BelatedInjuryRealization, ObviouslyNotFine, LodgedBladeRecycling, and TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain. Contrast with InstantDeathBullet. Particularly egregious examples would fall under the category of NoOneCouldSurviveThat.

* Averted in ''TabletopGame/{{FATAL}}'', involving some of the usual ArtisticLicenseBiology. It's possible to damage the [[GroinAttack uterus]] ''[[UpToEleven on a male mook]]'' while avoiding everything else completely.

See also MajorInjuryUnderreaction, HollywoodHealing, CriticalExistenceFailure, DidntNeedThoseAnyway, UnexplainedRecovery, BelatedInjuryRealization, ObviouslyNotFine, and TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain. Contrast with InstantDeathBullet. Particularly egregious examples would fall under the category of NoOneCouldSurviveThat.

* Averted in ''Webcomic/RiverPassage'', when a character bled to death from a single stab wound.

* [[ArtisticLicenseBiology Averted]] [[{{Gorn}} in]] ''TabletopGame/{{FATAL}}''. It's possible to damage the [[GroinAttack uterus]] ''[[UpToEleven on a male mook]]'' while avoiding everything else completely.

* ''Fanfic/WarriorsOfTheWorldSoldiersOfFortune'' averts this trope when Valkron gets a blade in his left shoulder. His left arm is rendered completely useless for the remainder of the time, he can't fight, he's bleeding profusely and the only thing stopping him from falling unconscious from shock is adrenaline -- and even that was only for a while since he eventually passes out.

* [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' fic ''Fanfic/ABrighterDark'' where even "light" hits are enough to effectively remove a character from play for long periods of time. [[SubvertedTrope Though less noticeable than other examples due to frequent timeskips.]]

Do note that many of the examples below are subversions or outright aversions. A small part of RealityEnsues.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Sigrun ''tries'' to pull this off after a troll bites her in the arm badly enough to require stitches. Unfortunately for her, RealityEnsues during a critical battle when the pain from the bite wounds leaves her unable to keep a grip on her dagger, and she's promptly slammed in the stomach by an attacking troll.

* [[LampshadeHanging Pointed out]] and [[RealityEnsues averted]] in ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'', when the Nerd [[AllJustADream dreams]] that he is in various Creator/TheCW shows, starting with ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':

* WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle infringe on Powerful Pierre's lumber yard in "Log Rollers." Heckle smack talks at Pierre, who lunches him in the face. Subverted as after claiming he didn't feel it, Heckle goes catatonic and collapses on his back unconscious.

* WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle infringe on Powerful Pierre's lumber yard in "Log Rollets." Heckle smack talks at Pierre, who lunches him in the face. Subverted as after claiming he didn't feel it, Heckle goes catatonic and collapses on his back unconscious.

* In one of ventriloquist Creator/JeffDunham's concert films, "Spark of Insanity", this comes up when one his puppets, Achmed the Dead Terrorist, explains that he has finished his job as a suicide bomber but insists that he feels fine and is not dead.
-->'''Jeff:''' But you're all bone!\\
'''Achmed:''' It's a flesh wound.

* [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in ''Fire Emblem Fates'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11962940/1/ A Brighter Dark]]'' where even "light" hits are enough to effectively remove a character from play for long periods of time. [[SubvertedTrope Though less noticeable than other examples due to frequent timeskips.]]

See also MajorInjuryUnderreaction, HollywoodHealing, CriticalExistenceFailure, DidntNeedThoseAnyway, UnexplainedRecovery, IAintGotTimeToBleed, ObviouslyNotFine, and TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain. Contrast with InstantDeathBullet. Particularly egregious examples would fall under the category of NoOneCouldSurviveThat.

->'''Arthur:''' ''Look'', you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left!\\
'''Black Knight:''' Yes I have.\\
'''Arthur:''' ''[exasperated] Look!''\\
'''Black Knight:''' ''[takes a look, and another look; {{beat}}]'' Just a flesh wound.
-->-- ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail''

'''Black Knight:''' ''[takes a look, and another look; {{beat}}]'' [[TropeNamer Just a flesh wound.]]

See also MajorInjuryUnderreaction, HollywoodHealing, CriticalExistenceFailure, DidntNeedThoseAnyway, UnexplainedRecovery, IAintGotTimeToBleed, and TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain. Contrast with InstantDeathBullet. Particularly egregious examples would fall under the category of NoOneCouldSurviveThat.

Insofar as this trope has any truth to it at all, it comes from the fact that the largest muscle pads on the human body — about the only type of tissue which can take a wound of impressive visual nastiness that isn't necessarily incapacitating or life-threatening — are in the thighs and the outside (''not'' the center) of the shoulder. The ''[[ShotInTheAss gluteus maximus]]'' also suffice, but that particular target zone is often felt to [[{{AmusingInjuries}} lack dramatic gravitas]]. This is despite it being a relatively common wound among retired soldiers — because of its size, and because getting hit there is (''comparatively'') less lethal. Hitting someone on the other side of their body, in the groin, on the other hand, pretty much guarantees they will bleed out very quickly.

In reality, there's no "safe" place to shoot a person, not even in a seemingly non-vital extremity like a leg or arm. There are ''huge'' blood vessels in a human being's shoulder as well as lots of very delicate nerves and a very complex ball-and-socket joint that no surgeon on Earth can put back together once it's smashed by a bullet. The legs also contain large blood vessels; a shot that nicks the femoral artery will cause a fatal loss of blood in only a few minutes. And this is all assuming a "clean" through-and-through wound, disregarding the possibility of the bullet glancing off a bone or joint and deflecting or fragmenting into pieces, of which each can then hit something ''else'' more important inside. In short, there's no way for anyone, good or bad, to shoot someone and ''know'' that they will survive the wound. As they say, if you're shooting at all, you're shooting to kill.

See also MajorInjuryUnderreaction, HollywoodHealing, CriticalExistenceFailure, DidntNeedThoseAnyway, UnexplainedRecovery, and TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain. Contrast with InstantDeathBullet. Particularly egregious examples would fall under the category of NoOneCouldSurviveThat.

Video Games are usually an exception. Draining a game target's HP is quasi-realistic enough to kill/destroy it even if all damage was to the legs or arms. In games with [[LudicrousGibs dismemberment]], taking off a limb may lead to instant death. Very few video games actually feature bleeding and those that do tend to be OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank. Surprisingly, a person suffering a [[AnArmAndALeg traumatic amputation]] in RealLife is often less likely to bleed out due to an autonomic muscle clamping response that closes major blood vessels. In these cases a clean cut or puncture is actually more dangerous.

* ''Fanfic/WarriorsOfTheWorldSoldiersOfFortune'' averts this trope when Valkron gets a blade in his left shoulder. His left arm is rendered completely useless for the remainder of the time, he can't fight, he's bleeding profusely and the only thing stopping him from falling unconscious from shock is adrenaline -- and even that was only for a while, since he eventually passes out.

* ''Radio/BleakExpectations'': Protagonist Pip Bin gets stabbed in a sword-fight and insists it's just a flesh-wound. A deep flesh-wound. In fact, so deep a flesh-wound that it's gone straight to some of his vital organs, "but a flesh-wound nonetheless!" He's fine shortly afterwards.

** In the First season, Sarge receives a bullet wound to the head, and is resuscitated with standard CPR. Later in the early Second season, Caboose's toe is shot off, and is rendered fine after being rubbed with some aloe-vera. In season 3, we come across a group of 'capture the flag' players, who get up after a trumpet is played, even after being shot point blank with a sniper rifle. Even later, it is practice for the Red team to shoot Private Grif before enacting any plans. Regardless, it seems no injury is sufficient to render someone in the series dead indefinitely.
** In most cases, this is just RuleOfFunny, although sometimes it's played a little more seriously. During ''Reconstruction'', Caboose shoots Agent South Dakota. After a few minutes of battle, they approach her. She says she can't walk on her own, but appears to be perfectly capable of standing (though that's partly due to the limitations of machinima).

-->'''Gil:''' Seven broken ribs. Severe fracture, right leg. Fractured clavicle. Some crush injuries, but the kidneys appear unharmed. First and second degree burns on upper back and lower legs, third degree on the lower back. Four broken fingers, three broken toes, sprained and bruised muscles throughout — major and minor lacerations, and a concussion.\\

* On ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'', Skipper's wing is badly broken after a fall, but insists that he's fine, and that his flipper is bent like that because he's double-jointed. And he keeps insisting it even as he's in obvious pain while playing volleyball. And arm wrestling. And practicing hi-fiving.

** Homer spoofs it again when he gets himself into a duel with a Southern gentleman. When he's shot in the arm he starts screaming like a stuck pig, but promptly forgets all about it when pie enters the conversation.

'''Black Knight:''' ''[takes a look, and another look; {{beat}}]'' Just a flesh wound.