History Main / SelfMutilationDemonstration

[[caption-width-right:Really, Claire, at the dinner table?!]]

[[quoteright:350:[[{{Baccano}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mutilationdemonstration.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:It's okay, he's immortal.]]

* In ''MenInBlack'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mndsvjYhr6Q K shoots Jeebs]] in the face mostly to unveil TheMasquerade to J.

* Inverted in ''FirstWave'', when Foster is captured by people claiming to be government agents who know the truth about the Gua. To prove he is really human, the agent in charge let's Foster stab him in the hand, as aliens have a HealingFactor. The hand doesn't heal, convincing foster. Later, it is revealed that all this was an elaborate alien ploy. In fact, it was difficult for them to create an arm that ''wouldn't'' heal.

* In ''BloodTies'', Henry demonstrates his vampiric nature to Vicki by shoving a knife through his hand.

Not to be confused with [[SelfHarm]].

Expect more cynical fans to note its similarity to the practice of wrist cutting/self-harm synonymous with {{Emo Teen}}s, especially since immortals tend to [[WhoWantsToLiveForever complain a lot]] about their [[CursedWithAwesome immortality]]

* In ''MenInBlack'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mndsvjYhr6Q K shoots Jeebs]] mostly to unveil TheMasquerade to J.

* Ciel does this in differing ways between the manga and the visual novel of Tsukihime. In the manga she stabs herself through her eye to the squicking of Akiha, and in the VN she slits her own throat to the amazement of Shiki.

[[caption-width-right:350:He's not {{Emo}}; he's just immortal.]]

* In ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', when [[spoiler:the mayor]] becomes invulnerable in human form, he has a vampire slice his head from the top to his neck. The two side reattach almost immediately.

** At the end of the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist anime]], [[spoiler:it seems like this is the only reason why Bradley lets Mustang incinerate him.]]

Sometimes, the empowered individual will ask someone to just HitMeDammit. This is either a stylistic variant of the same thing, or a character is using to mock {{Mook}}s by revealing that [[ShootingSuperman this is one thing they have in common with superman]], particularly to justify hitting them back to much greater effect.

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* There's a vampire comic by the Finnish artist Petri Hiltunen which starts with the vampire holding a pistol while facing his human guest. The human thinks he's going to get shot, but the vampire actually just wanted to prove to his skeptical visitor that he's a vampire - he shoots himself in the head, and the wound disappears in a couple of seconds. To clarify, the man assumes that the vampire is just a crazy person, and is trying to intimidate him with a gun into agreeing that he is what he says he is.

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* ''Series/{{Heroes}}''

* An episode of ''{{Highlander}}'' had Duncan doing this to an Immortal that had lost his memory. In another episode it's shown in flashback how he convinced Tessa of his imortality. [[spoiler: He shot his brains out.]]

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* Jurinjo of ''EmergencyExit'' makes a large cut in his arm to prove his healing powers to Jason so that he can [[spoiler:fix Karl's face.]] He still feels the pain though.

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->"''"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone."'' Wheat, eh? There's enough of it, we can afford to waste as much as we want. Like my head, you see!"\\
-- [[XenoSaga Albedo]].

* Happens occasionally in the ''{{Baccano}}!'' series, such as in the scene pictured above.

* Masato does this after the {{Phoenix}} grants him immortality, first slicing his skin open with a knife, then shooting himself.

* There's a vampire comic by the Finnish artist Petri Hiltunen which starts with the vampire holding a pistol while facing his human guest. The human thinks he's going to get shot, but the vampire actually just wanted to prove to his skeptical visitor that he's a vampire - he shoots himself in the head, and the wound disappears in a couple of seconds.
** To clarify, the man assumes that the vampire is just a crazy person, and is trying to intimidate him with a gun into agreeing that he is what he says he is.
* Batman Contagion features a man who ''thinks'' he can do this after walking through a plague zone and being unharmed. Turns out being immune to a disease does not translate into being immune from other harm.

* In ''TheMedallion'', Jackie Chan's character is made immortal by the eponymous artifact, and tries to prove this to his partner by asking said partner to first shoot (the partner refuses, saying there'd be a ton of paperwork if he discharged his weapon) and then stab him. After he refuses to do ''that'', Jackie stabs himself. On seeing he's unharmed, the partner then takes the knife and ''keeps stabbing him'' in awe of the regeneration.

* It's not done to show immortality, so it might not count, but in one ''{{Animorphs}}'', a recently freed Hork-Bajir is suspected of being controlled by a Yeerk (parasitic alien brain-living slug). His response is to '''''[[CrazyAwesome ram his arm blades into his skull and pull his head apart to show his own Yeerk-free brain]]'''''. Tobias, the narrator of that particular book, points out "it's not like it didn't hurt him, either. I could see the pain on his face." He has a HealingFactor, but it doesn't make it any less awesome.
* In the ''WomenOfTheOtherworld'' novel ''Stolen'', Cassandra is trying to convince Elena that vampires are real, despite standing in broad daylight and wearing perfect makeup (which she would have needed a reflection to apply). So she takes a ballpoint pen and stabs her own hand. The wound doesn't bleed and heals almost instantly.

* Claire in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has been known to do this quite a few times.
** To prove to herself that she really can heal, Claire '''''cuts off her own toe and watches her foot grow a new one to replace it.'''''
*** I personally make it a drinking game when watching ''Heroes''.
*** That was more to test how well she can heal, not that that makes it any less crazy.

* An episode of ''{{Highlander}}'' had Duncan doing this to an Immortal that had lost his memory.
** In another episode it's shown in flashback how he convinced Tessa of his imortality. [[spoiler: He shot his brains out.]]

* In the re-imagined version of ''{{V}}'', members of LaResistance cut their skin to show that there's nothing reptilian underneath.

* It's not done to show immortality, so it might not count, but in one ''{{Animorphs}}'', a recently freed Hork-Bajir is suspected of being controlled by a Yeerk (parasitic alien brain-living slug). His response is to '''''[[CrazyAwesome ram his arm blades into his skull and pull his head apart to show his own Yeerk-free brain]]'''''. He has a HealingFactor, but it doesn't make it any less awesome.

* There's a vampire comic by the Finnish artist Petri Hiltunen which starts with the vampire holding a pistol while facing his human guest. The human thinks he's going to get shot, but the vampire actually just wanted to prove to his skeptical visitor that he's a vampire - he shoots himself in the head, and the wound disappears in a couple of seconds.

->"''"Not but corn of wheat go into the ground and rise again. It abideth alone."'' Wheat, eh? Why not. There's plenty of it, we can afford to waste as much as we want. Like my head, you see!"\\

* In ''{{Film/X-Men}}'', Wolverine, in one scene after Professor X threatens him if he doesn't stop smoking in the lab, calmly smothers the cigar by burning his hand.

SelfMutilationDemonstration is the favorite method of Immortals for proving to others their powers. The method is simple: grab a sharp object, slash open your arm (or any other body part), and let your HealingFactor kick in and amaze your guest. In other words, you take GoodThingYouCanHeal to its logical extreme, deliberately injuring yourself for the sole purpose of proving you have a HealingFactor.

* Claire in ''{{Heroes}}'' has been known to do this quite a few times.

*** I personally make it a drinking game when watching Heroes.

* A variation of this trope is used in {{Ever17}}. [[spoiler:In the Jellyfish Gondola, Tsugumi shows that she has a disease that makes her immortal by killing her pet hamster Chami, which is also infected by the disease. After seeing Chami's shocking sudden death, Takeshi sees an even more shocking sight as the hamster just regenerates so quickly that it looks like he never died after only a minute.]]

* Jurinjo of EmergencyExit makes a large cut in his arm to prove his healing powers to Jason so that he can [[spoiler:fix Karl's face.]] He still feels the pain though.