History Main / TattooedCrook

** The tattoos are highly symbolic as well. Kiryu's enemies tend to either invoke TigerVersusDragon or LegendaryCarp motifs, and one enemy disdains tattoos entirely to show how far from the GoodOldWays he has fallen. Majima's mask, on the other hand, is indicative of his hiding his true personality behind "the Mad Dog".

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''VideoGame/Yakuza6'' with Takumi Someya, who lacks the Irezumi, opting to focus more on profit, much to Kiryu's shock.

** There is a very strong tendency in Creator/JossWhedon works for characters with visible tattoos or other body modifications to be villainous and/or highly self-destructive. The most notable examples are Faith, Angelus (it's also there when he's Angel), and the Reavers, but many more minor characters follow the pattern. The only exceptions are Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter's real lower-back tattoo, which they initially made token efforts to hide before deciding that she [[BareYourMidriff looked sufficiently sexy in low-waisted clothes]] to outweigh the metaphorical issues) and Kennedy.
** In the Expanded Universe for Buffy we find out that Faith's was entirely against her will, as it was put there by being possessed by a dead Greek Slayer. It's the Mark of Kakistos, the very mutated vamp that killed her Watcher. You'd think she'd want something with such connections to one of the biggest losses of her life to be removed. Then again, she might see it as a "taking it from you and using it against you" thing.
** In Angel, the villainous [[spoiler:lawyer Lindsey]] returns in Season 5 with a set of tattoos that serve a plot purpose: they [[spoiler:ward him from all forms of magical detection, thus protecting him from the wrath of the Senior Partners, who don't approve of his extracurricular activities]].
** We can't forget Giles's and Ethan's Mark of Eyghon, which is not just a demon-cult tattoo but an ArtifactOfDeath in itself. Ethan later removes his, though.

Tattoos have a long history, and have over the millennia been signs of different social classes, from royalty to the rags. In more recent times, they have become associated with criminals, sailors and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs criminal]] [[{{Pirates}} sailors]]. In fiction, a tattoo can act as a shorthand for "criminal", and at times [[TruthInTelevision it's not that far off]]. Organised crime from The {{Yakuza}} to GangBangers have their own codes, and prisoners [[StoryboardBody tell their life stories in pictures]].

The attitudes towards tattoos has during the past decades softened, and many old pirate and prisoner tattoos have been adopted into the general lexicon of tattoos, prime example being the spider web, which depending on the bearer might have meant drug addiction, incarceration or killing a minority, but is now a fashion accessory.

Still the stigma with the past backgrounds makes tattoos also popular with rebel types. Even the RuleAbidingRebel -- or [[EspeciallyZoidberg especially]] the RuleAbidingRebel, since it does not actually require committing illegal acts to look rebellious. There is still extreme stigma related to tattoos in Japan, as they are still closely associated with Yakuza to this day. A tattoo is still a common visual cue in Japanese media for a character of dubious morals or simply a {{Delinquent}}.

** ''One Piece'' seems to like this trope. Boa Hancock and her sisters Marigold and Sandersonia were revealed to have a scar tattoo on their backs [[spoiler: called the "Hoof of the Soaring Dragon", the crest of [[AristocratsAreEvil Celestial Dragons]]. It is a mark that is burned into people who are slaves to the nobles, and signifies that they are "less than human", which explains why they invented the story of the Gorgon so nobody would look at their backs]].

** [[spoiler:Subverted with the New Fishman Pirates. While they sport a tattoo that looks like the Sun Pirates' tattoo on first glance, it has a decapitated human inside the sun ring instead of a dot. Since this would not cover up the Celestial Dragons' SlaveBrand, this eventually leads to TheReveal that no member of the New Fishman Pirates has ever been a slave.]]

* Cabbage from ''Manga/RainbowNishaRokubouNoShichinin'' has a tattoo on his bicep. His criminal activities are just an act of violence while drunk, but it's possible he had the crime pinned on him because the suspicious tattoo.

* In ''ComicBook/TheCouriers'', Mous, one of the two criminal protagonists, has large tribal tattoos on both shoulders. The other protagonist, Special, has a smaller one on her shoulderblade. Their former boss, Triad gangster Johnny Funwrecker, is heavily tattooed all over with a mixture of traditional Chinese and punk rock styles.

* A very insignificant background character in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' had the left side of her body covered in tattoos. The annotations refer to her as Signalwoman, in nod to D-List Batman villain Signalman. The tattoos were meant to correspond with the symbols on his cape.

* Justin Timberlake's gangster in ''Film/AlphaDog'' is covered in Chinese character. He probably [[BilingualBonus doesn't realize]] that they declare a great love of ice skating, though.

* ''Film/FatalInstinct'': Spoofed by Max Shady. His prison tattoos include quotes by Pee Wee Herman and Bart Simpson, and mementos to remind him which of his hands is right or left.

* In ''Film/AGirlWalksHomeAloneAtNight'', the drug-dealer, loan shark and pimp Saeed has both Latin and Arabic-script tattoos all over his body.

* ''Film/HoubaOnTheTrailOfTheMarsupilami'': The three gangsters Pablito owns money to have their faces heavily tattooed. At the end their are beaten up by the Marsupilami and are smashed against a wall, leaving an imprint of their tattooed faces.

** Alexei Shostakov from ''Film/BlackWidow2021'' acquires [[https://screenrant.com/black-widow-red-guardian-tattoos-meaning/ a large number of tattoos]] during his time in a Russian prison. Like Vanko's, many of them are descriptions of his crimes, length of incarceration and political stances. He also has more personal markings dedicated to [[UndercoverAsLovers Melina]], Natasha and Yelena showing that he really did love them even though their "family" was a cover story for spy work.

* ''Film/ShotCaller'': Jacob acquires a large amount of white supremacy tattooes during his prison sentence displaying his gang affiliations. Obviously, the same holds true for the other higher-ranked members.

* Marks the difference between the levels of criminals in ''Film/{{Stiletto}}''. The more street level criminals, like the biker gangs and the Mexican cartels, all sport large numbers of tattoos. The members of vigil's organised crime family -- even PsychoPartyMember Lee -- are all clean skins. Raina often comments on a criminal's ink before she kills them.

* Literature/TheIlluminaeFiles features the House of Knives, who has tatoos in a similar fashion to TheMafiya to represent jail time. This includes Nik, one of the protagonists, though it doesn't include his cousin Ella, a PlayfulHacker who is too talented to be caught.

* ''Literature/JoePickett'': Timber Cates in ''Endangered''. He is covered is prison tattoos that his mother finds disgusting. These make him stand out when he attempts to pull a JanitorImpersonationInfiltration at the hospital.

* Count Olaf has an tattoo of an eye on his leg in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.

* In ''Swords of Exodus'' Lorenzo witnesses a knife fight between a large, heavily muscled Mongol and a smaller, scruffier and older Russian. Most of the spectators are betting on the Mongol to win but Lorenzo sees the Russian's fading tattoos and concludes that the Russian should win easily. The tattoos identify the Russian as a convicted murderer who killed more than dozen people in prison knife fights.

** The crime kingpin Kai Proctor has a crucifix tattooed on his back. The Ukrainian mobsters tend to wear nice suits but you can still see some of their tattoos on their hands and necks. In contrast Lucas does not seem to have any tattoos even after spending 15 years in prison.

** Companion Turlough had a triangle-shaped tattoo-like scar on his arm. In his last storyline, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E5PlanetOfFire "Planet of Fire"]], he revealed to the Doctor that he was an escaped political prisoner, and the scar was a prison mark. At the end of the arc, a police officer from his home planet informed him that the regime that had imprisoned him was overthrown, and that Turlough and his family were pardoned, so he was free to return to his world.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Volantis has an variant where slaves are given face-tattoos to identify them as such. Quite the MoodWhiplash when one sees them on the shows many prostitutes. There was also an Red Priestess with such an tattoo, implying quite the backstory.

* Cook's dad in ''Series/{{Skins}}'' has a tear drop tattoo under his left eye, suggesting he's been to jail.

* ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'' got the Rin Sisters, Asian assassins with a tattooed leg, a tattooed arm and a tattooed back.

* In ''Webcomic/TheCroaking'' the [[WingedHumanoid corvids]] who belong to a gang (called a murder in case of crows) signify their kills through black lines on their arms. Since killing somebody is part of the initiation, full-fledged gang-members can easily be recognized by these tattoos.
* ''Webcomic/DocRat'' [[http://www.docrat.com.au/default.asp?thisItem=763 gets one patient manifestly dangerous from his tattooes.]]

* Many examples in ''Webcomic/LaMouetteNoire''. Sarena, Mara and Easy, to the authorities. Lady Faucon to Mara.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Something that Vi and Jinx share as adults are their prominent tattoos; Vi's signature VI tattoo on her right cheek as well as her arms, back and neck, while Jinx's are in her right arm and the right side of her abdomen. Then there's Silco's unnamed Giant Mook and chemlord Finn, who are also covered in tattoos.

* Todd Ianuzzi from ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' has a tattoo on his right bicep of a flaming skull wearing an eye-patch clutching a knife between its teeth with a message around it reading "Life Sucks."

** "Tattoo Annie" in Springfield Women's jail has a Mad Magazine fold out page tattooed on her back, reading "What kind of slime would I marry?" [[spoiler:folding into "What me worry?"]]
** There's a Season 27 CouchGag that makes a parody of ''Series/MiamiVice'' and ''Series/KnightRider'' with Ned Flanders portrayed as the villain. While working out in prision, he's shown with several tattoos, one of which is his catchphrase "Hi-diddly-ho, neighborino!" while most of the others are christianism symbols.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2003}}'' (2003), several members of the Purple Dragons-gang sport the gang's trademark dragon as a tattoo. Their leader, Hun, sports the dragon tattoo along his left arm, and wore a tattoo of the Foot insignia on his left. Another member had a purple dragon tattooed on his face, and not surprising, everyone called him "Dragon Face."

* The real life {{Yakuza}} sport full-back to ''full-body'' tattoos depicting traditional symbolism. This is a major reason why visiting tourists are advised to cover up tattoos in places like public baths, since tattoos carry ''major'' UnfortunateImplications in Japan.

* Getting tattooed in prison is very common in many countries, to the point that "prison tattoos" are a whole unique "genre" of tattoo. Many of them, at least originally, carried specific meanings. The spider web can mean drug addiction (when on the inside of the arm joint), incarceration (when on the elbow) or membership of a white supremacist organization/killing a minority (neck, bicep). Teardrops can mean anything from dead family members, bragging about a kill count to being a child molester (the latter being the standard in Australia).

** This also holds true in Eastern and Central Europe, mainly parts which were once part of the Soviet Union, although usually the code isn't followed as strictly as in Russia itself. In Poland for example such tattoos, usually on the hands or around the eyes, indicate the kind of crime the inmate was convicted of. Marks for the length of a sentence (and eventual paroles) and the particular prison are usually made on arms, back and the chest.

* In many cultures at many points throughout the history of settled human civilization, from ancient times to the modern era, forced tattooing (as well as branding, scarring, and disfigurement) was used to permanently mark a convicted criminal. This was typically reserved for certain crimes, though in some cases just doing time or getting arrested earned you a conspicuous mark of shame. Even if the criminal escaped custody, served their sentence fully or were exiled from a certain region, for the rest of their lives law enforcement would distrust them and law-abiding citizens would ostracize them. Some modern criminal cultures trace their tattoo traditions back to these practices, or at least claim to.

* Johnny 23 in ''Film/ConAir'' has an elaborate series of heart symbols tattooed on his right arm -- one for each of the 23 counts of rape for which he was convicted.

[[quoteright:350:[[Series/SonsOfAnarchy https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sons_of_anarchy_tatooedcrook.png]]]]

** Little Miss Malachite, a crime boss of the Mistral underworld, runs a criminal organization with a [[AnimalMotifs spider motif]]. The organization's spider-in-web sigil, aside from being used to mark affiliated buildings, also serves as a gang tattoo. Every single person who works for her organisation has the same tattoo somewhere on their body, with Little Miss herself wearing hers on her shoulder.

** Alexei Shostakov from ''Film/BlackWidow2021'' acquires a large number of tattoos during his time in a Russian prison. Like Vanko's, many of them are descriptions of his crimes, length of incarceration and political stances. He also has more personal markings dedicated to [[UndercoverAsLovers Melina]], Natasha and Yelena showing that he really did love them even though their "family" was a cover story for spy work.

* The bikers in ''Film/HellRide''. Small plot point comes from villain Billy Wings who has different color wings tattooed on him to mark sexual transgressions, including purple wings for "licking dead pussy".

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* {{Barcode Tattoo}}s are marks of prisoners in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''. This is one of the few remaining elements of Creator/WilliamGibson's version of the script.

* Corky from ''Film/{{Bound 1996}}'' sports a labrys, a symbol of lesbianism and feminine strength.

* Seth in ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn''.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', Drax never wears a shirt, showing off a muscular torso ''covered'' with elaborate scarification.

* Ivan Vanko from ''Film/IronMan2'' is covered in Russian prison tattoos. Except those tattoos seem to indicate that he's a card sharp and did time for theft, disorderly conduct, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick raping a minor]], even though he was supposed to have been jailed for plutonium smuggling.

* The Finglerling in ''Film/TheNumber23''.

* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'', Hook sings:
-->As a special offer for today, / I'll tell you what I'll do / All those who sign without delay / will get a free tattoo...

* ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'': Mac Gargan has a noticeable tattoo of a [[{{Foreshadowing}} scorpion]] on the left side of his neck.

* The skinheads in ''Film/ThisIsEngland'' have home made tattoos. At one point, they give a Shaun one too, a cross on [[KnuckleTattoos his left middle finger]].

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* The assassin [[HavingABlast Combustion Man]] from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has a ThirdEye tattoo.

*** In a straight example, Avatar Kyoshi’s [[Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi tie-in novel]] reveals that her mother Jesa was a rogue Airbender. She met Kyoshi’s bandit Earthbender father and ran off with him and started a gang. She turned her arrows into snakes.

* Todd Ianuzzi from ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' has a tattoo on his right bicep of a flaming skull wearing an eye-patch clutching a knife between its teeth with a message around it reading "Life Sucks."
* The white and black skull marking on the ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}'' villain Hex's face was stated to be a tattoo in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse''. Ironically, though, in ''Omniverse'', he's [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] and has become something of an EmbarrassingTattoo for him as it made things difficult for him to get an honest job and only got his current job as a professor because he donated all of his collection to the university.
* In the episode "Cape Feare" in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' we see Sideshow Bob's prison tattoos, including "DIE BART DIE" ("Oh, it's German, 'The Bart, The'"), as well as his KnuckleTattoos LUV and HĀT, referencing ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter''.

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' (2003), several members of the Purple Dragons-gang sport the gang's trademark dragon as a tattoo. Their leader, Hun, sports the dragon tattoo along his left arm, and wore a tattoo of the Foot insignia on his left. Another member had a purple dragon tattooed on his face, and not surprising, everyone called him "Dragon Face."
* Lockdown from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has large black decals on both his robot and car mode that resemble tattoos.
** This is also true with [[Film/{{Transformers}} Movie]] [[TheStarscream Starscream.]]

* In ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'', Kyoshi's mother Jesa had dragon tatoos that ran across her entire body, and was the leader of a daofei gang. [[spoiler: They are to cover up her airbender tatoos, as she renounced her status as an air nomad.]]

* In ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' Kyoshi's mother Jesa had dragon tatoos that ran across her entire body, and was the leader of a daofei gang. [[spoiler: They are to cover up her airbender tatoos, as she renounced her status as an air nomad.]]

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* Mugen from ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' has blue rings tattooed around his wrists, to mark him as a convict.
* The target of the week in the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Heavy Metal Queen" was described to have a dragon tattoo, which caused some confusion as bounty hunters looked for the right guy.
* Gene from ''Manga/OutlawStar'' has a tattoo of a star on his bicep. And is an outlaw.
* Mion Sonozaki has a large yakuza tattoo on her back in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. It's also a major plot point, [[spoiler: since ''Shion'' should have gotten it instead, but a TwinSwitch screwed all up]].
* Orochimaru's Curse Seals from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' are magical tattoos that let you go OneWingedAngel that he gives to his EvilMinions.
* The leader of the clown gang in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' has a clown face tattooed on both his arms.
* In ''Manga/BlackCat'', Train has a tattoo of the number XIII on his chest. It signifies that he belonged to [[NebulousEvilOrganization Chronos]], and is generally viewed by people as being fearsome. He doesn't seem to mind showing it though.
* Many characters in ''Manga/{{Gokusen}}'' (including the dog!) like to let their jacket fall open to reveal a heavily tattooed shoulder, for intimidation purposes. Kumiko sometimes does this unconsciously while yelling at her students (although she doesn't seem to have any tattoos).
* Delinquent Jacuzzi Splot from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}!'' has a scimitar tattooed on his face, as a symbol of solidarity to Nice, who got her face scarred in an accident.
* In ''Manga/KingOfThorn'', Marco Owen is identified by the other survivors as a criminal due to his prominent prison tattoos.

* Cabbage from ''Manga/RainbowNishaRokubouNoShichinin'' has a tattoo on his bicep. His criminal activities are just an act of violence while drunk, but it's possible he had the crime pinned on him because the suspicious tattoo.
* Horada from ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}'' sports a butterfly tattoo on his left wrist. The butterfly logo also can be found on his shirt and the hood of his car. [[spoiler:He is also one of the more ruthless gang members, also being a former Blue Square higher-up that was involved in the kidnapping and crippling of Kida's girlfriend Saki]].
* ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'' features two tattooed former criminals, one Thai and the other Italian, who have both become Catholic priests.
* Yazan, PsychoForHire of Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam has a turtle tattooed on his chest.
* One chapter of ''Manga/BlackJack'' involved performing an operation on a yakuza boss with fully tattooed skin, without damaging the tattoo.

* Taken to its logical extremes in Franchise/TheDCU, with two supervillains known as the Tattooed Man, both of whom have the ability to bring their many tattoos to life for villainous purposes.
** Though subverted in ''Final Crisis'' where he [[spoiler: performs a HeelFaceTurn and becomes an honorary member of the Justice League.]]
*** [[spoiler: Then he joined Deathstroke's Titans and helped murder an innocent man for a chance to find the villain who killed his son.]]
** Two of his tattoos, Kabuki Dan (a samurai) and Altara (a succubus) have been coming to life outside of his power and committing crimes of their own volition, making them the most literal possible expression of this trope: criminals who ''are'' tattoos.

* The conspiracy members in ''ComicBook/{{XIII}}''.
* Sakura the gambler, in ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo''.

* {{Wolverine}}'s MagnificentBastard son {{ComicBook/Daken}} sports a very prominent tribal tattoo on his left pectoral, trapezius, and arm, despite having inherited his dad's HealingFactor.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** Scorpion from ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan''.
** Red Skull in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''. He has these all over his body including on his skinned face!

* In ''X-Men Noir'', all of Xavier's original X-Men have an "X" tattooed somewhere on their body - and all of them are master criminals in the making. In the sequel, ''Mark of Cain'', prisoners at Genosha Bay are marked with an "M" tattoo over their right eye. This is ostensibly to signify that they pose a "maximum" risk should they ever be transferred to another facility, but functionally it serves as an automatic identifier should they manage to escape.

* A very insignificant background character in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' had the left side of her body covered in tattoos. The annotations refer to her as Signalwoman, in nod to D-List Batman villain Signalman. The tattoos were meant to correspond with the symbols on his cape.
** Von Bach and Swastika are both ''very'' heavily tattooed; Von Bach's body is almost completely covered in ink, making him black as coal from head to toe except for the unmarked areas on his chest and arms. Swastika has an elaborate design of blocks tattooed on him in such a manner that his non-tattooed skin forms a swastika symbol.
* "Parker Girls" (Darcy Parker's henchwomen in ''ComicBook/StrangersInParadise'') are all given a lily tattoo. If you're Darcy's "favorite toy" (read: Katchoo), she'll put it on your breast.
* The Hellmoth is a tattooed criminal ''kaiju''.
* In ''ComicBook/TheCouriers'', Mous, one of the two criminal protagonists, has large tribal tattoos on both shoulders. The other protagonist, Special, has a smaller one on her shoulderblade. Their former boss, Triad gangster Johnny Funwrecker, is heavily tattooed all over with a mixture of traditional Chinese and punk rock styles.
* Similar to the Tattooed Man, Franchise/{{Batman}} villain Pyx has the ability to animate the tattoos that cover her body.
* Akita Sagawa in ''Comicbook/{{Nikolai Dante}}'' is mistress of the [[{{yakuza}} Black Dragons]], and is covered in tattoos from her neck to her thighs. Since this is the 27th century, her tattoos change shape and colour depending on her mood.
* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'': King Snake considers himself a MightyWhitey and is a racist crook who murdered his way into a position of power among the gangs of Gotham's Chinatown with a prominent snake tattoo.
* Saya Kuroki from ''ComicBook/DeadlyClass'' is [[MafiaPrincess the heiress]] of the most powerful Yakuza syndicate of Japan. One of her main trademarks is the fact that her body is covered with Japanese tattoos widely used by Yakuza, known as Irezumi.

* ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', the TropeMaker for KnuckleTattoos featured a serial killer with LOVE and HATE tattooed on his knuckles.
* Another serial killer, the titular ''Film/RedDragon'' (nicknamed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media) had a whole-back tattoo based on a William Blake painting of the eponymous dragon.
* Captain Jack Sparrow from ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' has plenty, including the trademark Sparrow tattoo on his arm.
* Seth in ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn''
* The skinheads in ''Film/ThisIsEngland'' have home made tattoos. At one point, they give a Shaun one too, a cross on [[KnuckleTattoos his left middle finger]].
* The Finglerling in ''Film/TheNumber23''.
* In ''Film/LittleOdessa'' Creator/TimRoth plays a hitman for the Russian mob with his tattoos occasionally on display. The Russian mob is known for its use of meaningful tattoos.

* Lester has an Ace of Spades tattooed on his arm in ''Film/{{Rounders}}'', calling it the ace up his sleeve.
* {{Barcode Tattoo}}s are marks of prisoners in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''. This is one of the few remaining elements of Creator/WilliamGibson's version of the script.
* Darth Maul from ''Franchise/StarWars''. See also the Expanded Universe entry below.
* Tran, the 10-year-old drug kingpin from ''Film/TropicThunder''.

* Corky from ''Film/{{Bound 1996}}'' sports a labrys, a symbol of lesbianism and feminine strength.
* Nig in ''Film/OnceWereWarriors''. In an unusual but in-setting variation, his tattoos are a mixture of criminal gang markings and traditional Māori face markings, or ta moko.
* Max Cady in ''Film/CapeFear'' has his torso completely covered with tattoos of Bible verses, a broken heart, and a cross, among other things. To quote an officer seeing him shirtless, "I don't know whether to look at him or read him."

* Toorop, the mercenary protagonist played by Vin Diesel in ''Film/BabylonAD''.

* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'', Hook sings:
-->As a special offer for today, / I'll tell you what I'll do / All those who sign without delay / will get a free tattoo...
* Cole from ''Film/TwelveMonkeys'' has two barcodes tattooed on his neck that reveal that he was convicted for violent crimes.

* The bikers in ''Film/HellRide''. Small plot point comes from villain Billy Wings who has different color wings tattooed on him to mark sexual transgressions, including purple wings for "licking dead pussy".
* ''Film/CurseOfTheZodiac'' features a killer with unexplained tattoos printed on the left side of his neck.

* ''Film/{{Faster}}''. Driver has a tattoo on his forearm marking those people he killed in prison over the past ten years. A Badass Samoan takes one look and backs off, knowing full well the reputation of the man wearing it.

* Johnny 23 in ''Film/ConAir'' has an elaborate series of heart symbols tattooed on his right arm -- one for each of the 23 counts of rape for which he was convicted.
* While it wasn't as obvious as the other examples, Tony Montana of ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}'' has a tattoo on his hand showing that he was in prison.
* The Creator/JohnSingleton "reboot' ''Film/{{Shaft 2000}}'' features a henchman with the imaginative name of Tattoo, whose distinctively tattooed hand proves to be a ChekhovsGun
* Justin Timberlake's gangster in ''Film/AlphaDog'' is covered in Chinese character. He probably [[BilingualBonus doesn't realize]] that they declare a great love of ice skating, though.
* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': Max spent several years in prison and is on parole, and as we can see from his scenes in the beginning, is very inked out.
* In the LiveActionAdaptation of ''Film/MrMagoo'', the art thief/seller Austin Cloquet is entertaining criminals from all over the world at his mansion. As they disrobe to go into a pool, the crooks start comparing tattoos. Then they take a look at the Yakuza whose entire body is completely covered in elaborate tattoos.
-->'''American Crook:''' Not bad. What do they mean?\\
'''Yakuza:''' Every time I kill a man... I tattoo his portrait on my body.\\
'''Russian Crook:''' What do you do when you run out of room? Stop killing people? ''[laughs]''
* ''Film/{{Shuttle}}'': When [[spoiler:Andy]] is revealed to be TheMole, it's punctuated by him ripping his shirt open to show off his tattoos.
* In ''Film/SupermanReturns'', Lois and her son are held hostage by a bald thug with a clown tattooed on his skull. He's the guy who gets squished by a piano.
-->'''[[http://comicsalliance.com/comicsalliance-reviews-superman-returns-2006-part-two/ Chris Sims]]''': ''I have always suspected that Luthor was down with the [[Music/InsaneClownPosse Dark Carnival]], but now we know that he employs henchjuggalos.''

* ''Film/CharliesAngelsFullThrottle'' has Seamus, the tattooed thug of TheIrishMob, the [[BastardBoyfriend bastard]] [[PsychoExGirlfriend ex-boyfriend]] out to get [[Creator/DrewBarrymore Drue Barrymore's]] character, [[DarkAndTroubledPast Dylan]].
* In ''Film/AGirlWalksHomeAloneAtNight'', the drug-dealer, loan shark and pimp Saeed has both Latin and Arabic-script tattoos all over his body.
* ComicBook/TheJoker, El Diablo, and Harley Quinn in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse's adaptation of ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' are all heavily tattooed.
* Anatoli Knyazev, Comicbook/LexLuthor's main henchman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' has a distinctive tattoo on his neck.
* ''Film/DenOfThieves'': All of the bank robbery crew except Donnie sport prominent tattoos. So do most of the deputies, who are depicted as being little better than a gang themselves.
* ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'': Mac Gargan has a noticeable tattoo of a [[{{Foreshadowing}} scorpion]] on the left side of his neck.
* ''Film/TheSignOfFourSherlockHolmesGreatestCase'': Small's partner the Tattooed Man escaped from prison with him. He has his entire body covered with tattoos to disguise his appearance and works as a tattooed man at the funfair.
* ''Film/ShotCaller'': Jacob acquires a large amount of white supremacy tattooes during his prison sentence displaying his gang affiliations. Obviously, the same holds true for the other higher-ranked members.
* ''Film/BillAndTedFaceTheMusic'': The Bill and Ted in prison are muscle-bound and covered in tattoos that say things like "Excellent" and "Heinous."
* Marks the difference between the levels of criminals in ''Film/{{Stiletto}}''. The more street level criminals, like the biker gangs and the Mexican cartels, all sport large numbers of tattoos. The members of vigil's organised crime family--even PsychoPartyMember Lee--are all clean skins. Raina often comments on a criminal's ink before she kills them.
* ''Film/LostGirlsAndLoveHotels'': Kazu, in keeping with the Yakuza tradition, is heavily tattooed all across his torso.

* "The Masked Breton" in ''Papillion'', which would also make it a RealLife example. Escaping from the harsh prison camps, too late did he realize that the distinctive facial tattoo he got in prison made him extremely easy to identify and would prohibit him from living a normal life pretty much anywhere.

* The Death Eaters' signet in ''Literature/HarryPotter''.
* Count Olaf has an tattoo of an eye on his leg in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
* The Sith, and various alien races in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse.
* ''Literature/SnowCrash'' has some jurisdictions issuing tattoos to the convicted, giving the likely reason for their crimes as a warning to others. As such, they are always [[FacialMarkings on the face]]. Hiro is threatened by one guy with "Racially Insensitive" and "Mood Swings", while BadassBiker Raven, who has a ''Nuclear Weapon'' as the sidecar of his bike, has one that reads "Poor Impulse Control" on his forehead.

* ''Polar Star''. Former Moscow detective Arkady Renko encounters a crook he sent to TheGulag for murder who has the scars from when the prison doctors removed his tats. Arkardy points to an evident injury on the man's forehead and asks what he had up there. It was "Communism drinks the blood of the people". Arkardy is impressed that he could fit all that on his forehead.
** In ''Red Square'', the sequel to ''Polar Star'' (which is the sequel to ''Literature/GorkyPark''), one of Renko's partners looks at witness's tattoos and sounds off that each picture has a meaning, e.g. he's been to prison and is willing to murder and so on.
* The book of ''Literature/PeterPan'' has Bill Jukes, every inch of him tattooed.

* In ''Swords of Exodus'' Lorenzo witnesses a knife fight between a large, heavily muscled Mongol and a smaller, scruffier and older Russian. Most of the spectators are betting on the Mongol to win but Lorenzo sees the Russian's fading tattoos and concludes that the Russian should win easily. The tattoos identify the Russian as a convicted murderer who killed more than dozen people in prison knife fights.
* Web serial ''Literature/{{Barkwire}}'' features Doublewide, an inexplicably tattooed dog who runs a protection racket on the local Arby's.
* ''Literature/JoePickett'': Timber Cates in ''Endangered''. He is covered is prison tattoos that his mother finds disgusting. These make him stand out when he attempts to pull a JanitorImpersonationInfiltration at the hospital.

** In Angel, the villainous [[spoiler:lawyer Lindsey]] returns in season 5 with a set of tattoos that serve a plot purpose: they [[spoiler:ward him from all forms of magical detection, thus protecting him from the wrath of the Senior Partners, who don't approve of his extracurricular activities]].

* Vega from ''Videogame/StreetFighterII'' has a snake tattoo on his back, meant to invoke Yakuza imagery.
* Kenzo Satake of ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'', as a yakuza boss, has a full-back tattoo.
* The ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' series naturally features many characters with ''irezumi'' back tattoos and some with sleeve tattoos. The series protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu, has a full-back tattoo of a silver dragon that's shown whenever he [[BattleStrip takes his shirt off]] for a final boss throwdown. [[BreakoutCharacter Fan-favorite]] Goro Majima has a Hannya mask on his back.
** The tattoos are highly symbolic as well. Kiryu's enemies tend to either invoke TigerVersusDragon or LegendaryCarp motifs, and one enemy disdains tattoos entirely to show how far from the GoodOldWays he has fallen. Majima's mask, on the other hand, is indicative of his hiding his true personality behind "the Mad Dog".
** Notably, Kiryu's dragon tattoo is unfinished in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', symbolizing that he hasn't yet become the [[RedBaron Dragon of Dojima]].
** ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' has the heavily-tattooed ex-hitman Wen Hai Lee. He's searching for the man who [[spoiler:kidnapped Makoto and sold her into slavery]], with the only real clue to his identity being the distinctive bat tattoo on his left forearm. [[spoiler:Every member of Oda's old street gang, including Tachibana, had a bat tattoo, but Oda's the only one responsible for selling Makoto.]]
* [[ScannableMan 47]] from ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}''.
* Some of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games make it possible for the player character to get tattoos.
* The ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' franchise lets you give The Playa/The Boss tattoos. There's also Maero, the heavily-tattooed leader of the Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''.
* In ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'', you have to get a large tattoo of a spider on your chest in order to join the nefarious Black Widowz gang.

** [[SpaceRomans Turian]] society inverts this - most turians you meet wear facepaint to identify what colony they're from. "Barefaced" turians are considered untrustworthy and, true to form, the only barefaced guys you meet are the main villain of the first game and a PrisonShip-running slave trader trying to pass himself off as a hero.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', casteless dwarves are forced to have their faces tattood so to set them apart from regular dwarven citizens. Since casteless dwarfs have no rights in dwarven society and cannot work legally, every one of them is either a thug working for the local crime syndicate or a beggar.
* Francis of ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' seems to enjoy stealing things, and also pretending to be "The cops".
** Ellis in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' mentions at one point that his friend Keith got a tattoo on his forehead - of the words "I'm A Moron". He won a $200 dare as a result. Keith may or may not be a criminal, but if Ellis is to be believed, he's done a lot of questionable things.
* ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns'' got the Rin Sisters, Asian assassins with a tattooed leg, a tattooed arm and a tattooed back.
* Bambi "Buck" Hughes of ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' is an [[AwesomeAussie Australian]] [[PsychoForHire mercenary]] who wears the tattoo of a stage head over his bared chest. Somewhat appropriate, since he's a [[spoiler:SerialRapist [[DepravedHomosexual of other men]],]] and [[AnimalMotif stags are known to be quite violent when it's breeding season]].

* As of later entries in the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series, Johnny Cage has his name across his chest. A shining example of the RuleAbidingRebel type - he's an actor and the ButtMonkey of the series.

* [[HonorAmongThieves Gaius]] of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has what's all but stated to be a prison brand on his left arm, which he covers with a black band. When [[TheHero the Avatar]] accidentally sees it [[AccidentalPervert when s/he walks into him when he's bathing]], Gaius is so upset that he tries to bribe them to get them to stay quiet. [[WontTakeYesForAnAnswer Even after the Avatar repeatedly reassures him that s/he won't tell]].
* Pretty much every Triad-affiliated character in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs''.
** The main character has a sneaky one. The tattoo on his right arm is a depiction of the deity Guan Yu, who is venerated as the protector of all things requiring badassitude and loyalty, and is a favored god among both the Triads and the police.
* Georgie Porgie in ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' has numerous tattoos on his body and face.
* [[BigBad Reika the Tattooed Priestess]] in ''{{VideoGame/FatalFrame}} III'' has deep blue tattoos all over her body, which ensures that there's not much naughty detail to see despite [[FullFrontalAssault being topless]] while adding to her terrifying presence. In the selfsame game, those who are claimed by the Tattooed Curse and become hostile ghosts will have tattoos all over as well.
* In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', the Assassin of Shinjuku has an elaborate torso and sleeve of thorny roses, and in that storyline has indeed hired himself out to the Yakuza.
* Ronan O'Connor, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/MurderedSoulSuspect'', spent his formative years committing various crimes and getting tattoos to commemorate them.
* Not as elaborate as some of these examples, but during the bonus game in ''VideoGame/DarkTales: The Raven'', the body in the morgue turns out to have a Raven Society tattoo on his upper chest.
* Octopus-themed tattoos are very common in Bilgewater, the pirate town of ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''. This is especially obvious in ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' card art, which has a lot of minor characters covered in ink.
* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': [[PlayerCharacter V]], who is a mercenary, can have full body tattoos if the player so desires during creating their character.

* In the episode "Cape Feare" in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' we see Sideshow Bob's prison tattoos, including "DIE BART DIE" ("Oh, it's German, 'The Bart, The'"), as well as his KnuckleTattoos LUV and HĀT, referencing ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter''.
** Also, recurring petty crook Snake has a tattoo reflecting his moniker on his right arm.
** "Tattoo Annie" in Springfield Women's jail has a Mad Magazine fold out page tattooed on her back, reading "What kind of slime would I marry?" [[spoiler:folding into "What me worry?"]]
** There's a Season 27 CouchGag that makes a parody of ''Series/MiamiVice'' and ''Series/KnightRider'' with Ned Flanders portrayed as the villain. While working out in prision, he's shown with several tattoos, one of which is his catchphrase "Hi-diddly-ho, neighborino!" while most of the others are christianism symbols.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
** The ninja thief Kyodai-Ken has a ''huge'' tattoo of a Japanese demon's head on his back.
** In another episode, Scarface's DumbMuscle henchman Rhino had a tattoo (of a rhino's head, naturally) on his arm that was not very obvious at all, but Batman was still able to use this feature to identify him from a security camera and discover who he was working for. (Note that this was Scarface's first appearance in the series.)
* The Stalker in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has tribal tattoos all over his body, though in this case it's implied to be part of his attempt to go back to the roots of his trade.
* The Monarch, in a direct reference to ''Red Dragon'', has a full back tattoo of a minotaur at one point in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''. It turns out he was just trying to get his villain on again and used it to intimidate a prostitute; it late came off in the shower.

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' (2003), several members of the Purple Dragons-gang sport the gang's trademark dragon as a tattoo. Their leader, Hun, sports the dragon tattoo along his left arm, and wore a tattoo of the Foot insignia on his left. Another member had a purple dragon tattooed on his face, and not surprising, everyone called him "Dragon Face."
* Lockdown from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has large black decals on both his robot and car mode that resemble tattoos.
** This is also true with [[Film/{{Transformers}} Movie]] [[TheStarscream Starscream.]]

* There is some truth in this--people with tattoos are more likely to have criminal records and are also more likely to be sexually active and engage in more high-risk behavior.

* In many cultures at many points throughout the history of settled human civilization, from ancient times to the modern era, forced tattooing (as well as branding, scarring and disfigurement) was used to permanently mark a convicted criminal. This was typically reserved for certain crimes, though in some cases just doing time or getting arrested earned you a conspicuous mark of shame. Even if the criminal escaped custody, served their sentence fully or were exiled from a certain region, for the rest of their lives law enforcement would distrust them and law-abiding citizens would ostracize them. Some modern criminal cultures trace their tattoo traditions back to these practices, or at least claim to.

* The Ha'la'tha gang in ''Series/{{Caprica}}'' is made up of these. The elaborate tattoos all have [[http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/show-patrol/2010/02/exclusive-caprica-producer-jane-espenson-explains-sam-adamas-tattoos.html meanings]], by the way.

* As of later entries in the ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' series, Johnny Cage has his name across his chest. A shining example of the RuleAbidingRebel type - he's an actor and the ButtMonkey of the series.