Carbon is a very versatile element; it's one of the building blocks of organic life, but it's also the same element that composes diamonds, coal, and graphene. Carbon is thus used as a visual shorthand for a highly durable, but still organic, shield of sorts.
"Carbon Coating" takes the appearance of a dense impenetrable layer over a character's skin, greatly enhancing their strength and durability. A lot of these characters can do so through some kind of superpower, but it can also be the product of magic or science.
To apply for this trope, the character need not literally be coated in carbon specifically, but the appearance and application should still evoke the image of the substance. This often means they look dark and shiny in appearance. It can also invoke diamond, another carbon-based material.
The main application is to No-Sell enemy attacks.
Related to Chrome Champion, where the character is encased in a metallic skin, and Sculpted Physique, where their skin appears to be made of an inorganic material.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Boruto: Deepa has the power of carbon control, which allows him to turn his skin into carbon or form cubes of carbon to fire at his opponents.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The homunculus Greed's signature power is his "Ultimate Shield"; he can cover himself in a malleable but nigh-impenetrable suit of graphene. Bullets and explosions can't do squat to him, and he's especially dangerous in a one-on-one fight. Conversely, after Father reabsorbs him, Greed performs an Assimilation Backfire by using the same power to convert Father's flesh into brittle graphite, severely weakening him.
- In Girls und Panzer, the tanks have a layer of carbon armor that prevents crew injuries, thus explaining why 12-year-olds are trusted with high explosives.
- One Piece:
- "Armament Haki" is a technique that lets a user manipulate their spirit energy to harden their bodies; this is conveyed visually as their bodies turn into a black, shiny substance that resembles graphene. Melee attacks with Armament Haki become way stronger. Devil Fruit users like Luffy who have malleable bodies benefit greatly, as the Haki lets them gain strength and durability without losing the flexibility of their powers (in Luffy's case, he's made of rubber).
- Jozu ate a devil fruit that lets him turn his body into diamond, layering over his skin like a sheet. It makes him one of the toughest sons-of-bitches to hurt, but he can still be harmed by Haki like other devil fruit users.
- The fourth episode of Tiger & Bunny features a villain with the power to turn his body into diamond (a form for carbon, naturally), which makes him nigh-impenetrable.
Comic Books
- X-Men: Emma Frost can transform her skin into organic diamond, granting her increased strength and durability. However, she cannot use her telepathy in this state.
Films — Live-Action
- Fantastic Four (2005): The cosmic storm that mutated the Fantastic Four also affected Victor Von Doom, changing his skin into a black metallic material which his doctor describes as stronger than titanium or carbon steel and harder than diamonds. According to Victor, this is just like the metal that was supposed to shield the ship from the storm.
Live-Action TV
- Danger 5. In "The Diamond Girls", Hitler's female bodyguards inhale the fumes from a small glass and suddenly their skin gains a black coloration. This is the effect of the carbonado, making the female guards invincible to normal bullets, but they can be downed by diamond ones.
- In the first episode of The Boys (2019) Hughie sees Translucent on television talking about his carbon skin. This enables him to work out Translucent's vulnerability to electricity when the invisible superhero attacks them later.
Multimedia Franchises
- Transformers:
- The accompanying comic of Destron Leader Megatron Black Ver. (a reissue of the original Generation 1 Megatron toy using an alternative colour scheme that was considered and rejected prior to Transformers being released) has Optimus and Megatron fighting when a blow from Optimus accidentally unleashed a surge of quantum surge energy that had been hidden in his body for some time.note The resulting power boost turns Megatron's body black, allowing him incredible healing abilities and greatly enhanced strength.
- The Black Body technology is introduced during the events of Robotmasters (a toy line and story that involved the G1 Transformers encountering their descendants from Beast Wars). Both sides fight over it, as it coats a Transformer's body in a black shell that not only grants them greater strength and endurance, it also absorbs energy from all around them.
- When Galvatron II (an alternate version of Galvatron from The Transformers (Marvel)) seizes leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron, Optimus Prime goes to face him. However, to give himself an edge Optimus adopts a version of his original body fully coated in Black Body. He does this because he arms himself with twin launchers so energy-intensive, Black Body is the only way he can keep them powered for a reasonable length of time.
Video Games
- The TITAN augmentation of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided coats its user in a High Tech Triangles cover. Absorbing nearly any kind of damage the user might take as long as they have the biochemical energy necessary to keep it up. It even covers their clothes and hair, leaving them completely encased.
- Halo: The MJOLNIR armor worn by Spartans has a black nanocomposite bodysuit in its inner layer. Despite being skintight, it's still thick and heat-resistant material that can deflect enemy weapons, albeit not to the same extent as the thicker outer shell that makes up the green parts of Master Chief's armor.
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: Armstrong's nanomachines allow him to harden his body into a nigh-indestructible substance that not even Raiden's sword can cut.
- Street Fighter V: Urien's V-Skill, Metallic Aura, creates a hard, blackened layer over his skin that can absorb the next attack that hits him. This gives his special attacks super armor, allowing him to overwhelm opponents with his versatile approach tools.
Web Series
- Danger 5: In the arc "The Diamond Girls", Hitler's female bodyguards inhale the fumes from a small glass and suddenly their skin gains a black coloration. This is the effect of the carbonado, making the female guards invincible to normal bullets, but they can be downed by diamond ones.
