Basic Trope: A character has little or no reaction to a major injury.
- Straight: Bob gets his arm severed off, and just says "ow" nonchalantly.
- Exaggerated:
- Feel No Pain
- Bob gets all of his limbs removed, but he shrugs it off as being flesh wounds.
- Bob is decapitated, and he doesn't even notice until after the battle.
- Bob's only reaction to getting his organs forcibly removed from him is a quiet "ouch".
- Downplayed:
- Bob gets a nasty slash across his chest but only whimpers a little.
- Bob gets his arm cut off and nervously states "Well that can't be good."
- Justified:
- Bob is immortal or is very resistant to pain.
- Bob is trying to remain calm until he sees get medical aid so the injury does not get worse.
- Bob's injury is so serious that it severed his nerve endings in that particular area.
- Bob has a Healing Factor of some sort.
- Bob is running on a huge amount of adrenaline.
- Bob is in shock.
- Bob was wounded on a cybernetic limb that doesn't transmit pain.
- Bob is an Iron Butt-Monkey.
- Bob has a disorder that inhibits his ability to feel pain.
- Bob is Afraid of Doctors, and is ignoring the pain in an attempt to pretend that he's fine.
- Inverted:
- Minor Injury Overreaction
- Major Injury Overreaction: Bob gets his arm cut off and he lets out an ear-piercing shriek and collapses, writhing in pain, before passing out shortly afterward.
- Subverted:
- Bob gets his arm cut off and he starts screaming in pain when he notices it.
- Bob doesn't notice his broken arm, because it was a prosthetic.
- Double Subverted: But that was only to fake his enemy out. He doesn't seem to suffer any lasting effects from the limb removal.
- Parodied:
- Bob steps on a Lego brick, but shrugs it off as Only a Flesh Wound.
- Bob is perfectly okay with the spear sticking through his chest, but starts crying for mommy when he stubs his toe.
- Bob is mortally wounded. As he bleeds out, he is slightly annoyed to be dying.
- Bob is less concerned about the loss of his arm than he is that his favorite shirt was ruined in the process.
- Zig Zagged:
- The effect pain has on Bob varies form episode to episode, and also how angry he currently is.
- Bob shrugs off a tactical nuclear strike, then passes out because he broke a nail.
- Averted: Bob has a reasonable pain threshold.
- Enforced: He’s a video game character in a console- system that does not have the data-space to track individual wounds and react appropriately.
- Lampshaded: "Y'know, you don't seem to be bothered by the entire "I-just-tore-your-freaking-arms-off" thing."
- Invoked: Bob uses his seeming inability to feel pain to unnerve his foes.
- Exploited: Alice defeats Bob by using an infected blade: because he seems unaffected by his wounds, he won't think to see a doctor about the lethal infection until it's far too late.
- Defied: Bob loses his arm. Despite his insistence that he's fine, he suffers agonizing pain.
- Discussed: "...Think we should tell Bob about the axe in his head?" "Nah. Let him figure it out."
- Conversed: "By god, what a battle! Why can't I feel my arm?"
- Deconstructed:
- Bob gets his arm cut off, but shrugs it off. He bleeds to death.
- Bob casually walking around with his bloody arm stump horrifies everyone around him.
- Reconstructed:
- He shrugs that off as well.
- They weren't horrified at his injuries, but at the (non-venomous) spider on his head.
Back to Major Injury Underreaction
