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Even "nonlethal" weapons such as tasers, pepper spray, tear gas, and beanbag guns can kill under the right circumstances, e.g. a taser being used on someone with preexisting health problems or heart disease, or pepper spray or tear gas being used on someone with breathing problems.
Probably a special case of the larger trope of [[Plot
See Also: [[Improbable Aiming Skills]] (kill in one shot, even at beyond limit range, or conversely never accidentally strike a mortal blow when not shooting to kill) and [[A-Team Firing]]
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In the first ''[[Appleseed]]'' movie the cyborg assassins sent after Deunan
== [[Film]] ==
* Codified by John Woo's ''[[A Better Tomorrow 2
* The ''[[Spider
** Partially justified by the possibility of different kinds of pumpkin bombs - the vaporization in the first film was ''definitely'' not a regular explosion.
*** Also, {{spoiler|Symbiotes are weak against sonic and fire. The metal beams supplied the sonic and the pumpkin bomb supplied the fire. According to ''[[
**** It's super effective!
* In ''[[Star Wars]]'', when Han shoots Greedo with a blaster, there is a small explosion, turning Greedo into a blackened, smoking corpse. In [[Return of the Jedi]], Leia takes a blaster hit in the shoulder with only a minor injury.
** Range could be a factor; [[Han Shot First]] at point blank range, while Leia was basically sniped by a Stormtrooper.
*** As could size. Han's weapon seems more powerful that the tiny holdout weapon that the stormtrooper used on Leia. It's like shooting someone from 100 feet with a .22 rimfire. Yeah, it's gonna sting, but you can get up in a bit. Still follows the trope, though.
*** In the ''Star Wars'' Universe, Hans pistol, the DL-44, is one of the most powerful blaster pistols in the universe. Assuming the holdout weapon the stormtrooper used on Leia was a scout blaster, comparing the two would be similar to comparing a .44 Magnum to a .38 SPL. Also, their different goals: despite their names, the stormtroopers believed in taking prisoners, not disintegrating on sight. These troopers have "recapture alive" as a priority, along with "don't punch holes in the bulkheads we can't repair", so they'd be issued less-powerful weapons. On the other hand, Han is a smuggler who has only one thing he wants to do to any bounty hunter or pirate on his case:
*** If one applies the gun mechanics from the games to the films, this is justified. Many blasters have different power levels, and heavy blaster pistols like Han's, in particular, can charge up to five charges into a single shot; this is, more often than not, enough for a single-hit-kill. In the movie, one would think Han had plenty of time to charge the shot while talking to Greedo - or maybe he holds a shot pre-charged.
*** Careful observation of where the blaster bolt hits shows it strikes the wall beside Leia. She was hit by the splash damage from the blaster bolt's impact and shrapnel from the wall.
*** Darth Vader stops Han's blaster with one hand, using the Force. The EU offers a couple of explanations, such as a Force power that allowed him to absorb energy on contact and use it to power other Force abilities, and the ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (
== [[Live
* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', where Jaffa keel over from one hit but the team take multiple hits from the same weapons over the course of the series. It should be noted that three of SG-1 have been killed by [[Boom Stick|staff weapons]] (and were brought back by [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien
** One episode [[Lampshade Hanging|hung a lampshade on it]] by having someone read the long list of injuries O'Neill suffered over the course of his career with the express purpose of pointing out how unusual that was of him.
** Strangely, Jaffas are supposed to be tougher than humans...
** However, this could be justified by the fact that the Jaffa rarely do any healing (as in, clean a wound, bandage it, bedrest etc.). Bullets are repeatedly shown to be much more deadly than the staff weapons. When someone in the SGC is hit, they are given first aid and are transported to the infirmary as soon as possible. Apparently even though Jaffa are tougher, they can be killed by a few bullets just as easily as an ordinary human - most of their "toughness" is more about strength (useless in ranged fight) and resistance to illness (would help recovery but is pretty much useless if you bleed out in just a few minutes).
* Supernatural: While the Winchester boys'
* Tended to happen on ''[[
** Quite a few episodes have main characters taking a phaser (or whatever energy weapons) hit at center of mass in the chest, point blank range only to be barely inconvenienced (at most they'll be knocked out for a bit or have to limp).
*** One of the best examples was in a Voyager episode. A nameless Gold-shirt was hit in the shoulder by a small pistol and instantly died, proving the weapons weren't on stun. Chakotay took a blast from a large rifle directly to his center mass... and woke up with a headache. It ''did'' do some nerve damage however that unless treated ''could'' eventually kill him, but the fact it didn't kill him outright is rather ridiculous.
** Another example is during the TNG episode "Enemy Mine", where Geordie and an annoying Starfleet officer get hit with the ''same'' weapon, ''seconds'' apart, in the ''exact'' same way. Next scene, Geordie's nursing a headache from the blast, while they're covering the other guy with a sheet.
** Justified in most cases by the [[Stun Guns|stun setting]].
* In ''[[Battlestar Galactica
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* The
* Invoked in the D&D 3rd edition player's handbook as an explanation for why characters gain additional hit points as they grow in level, as well as for why they recover them faster. A 1d8 longsword will usually fatally injure a peasant, but the same attack results in an entirely superficial injury if used against a high-level fighter.
*
** Well almost. They deal flat damage - and little damage at that (meaning they don't benefit from critical hits) and have less powers than most monsters. Also few minions rarely have ranged attacks and almost never area attacks. They can still be a threat because they are present in huge numbers, allowing them to deal [[Death of a Thousand Cuts]] on [[Player Characters
* ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'' has had this mechanic from the beginning though its better defined in 2nd edition. Pretty much everyone aside from the important characters (good or bad) are knocked out after one good hit. In both this and the above case, they're deliberately mirroring the presence of this trope in their respective genres.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Pick a [[First-Person Shooter]]. Any [[First-Person Shooter]]. Arguably this is for gameplay reasons, though.
** However, higher difficulties in these games avoid the use of this trope, allowing the player character to be killed by single (or very few) shots. Also, more 'realistic' tactical shooters such as ''[[Rainbow Six]]'' and their ilk feature very fragile (by FPS standards) player characters, with injuries commonly sidelining characters for succeeding missions.
* Played straight and subverted by the ''[[Max Payne (
* Starting with the third "main story" game in the ''[[Wing Commander (
* Justified in the ''[[Halo]]'' games. The best-equipped soldiers, both human and Covenant, have plasma shields. These prevent instant death most of the time, but a handful of weapons are still one-hit kills if properly aimed. In other
** Or if you play on Heroic (the way the games are meant to be played) or Legendary (which is what the books assume), in which case it's completely averted.
** Indecisively used on sniper rifles, which will [[One-Hit Kill]] you on a [[Boom! Headshot!|head shot]] but just take out your shield if aimed anywhere else. Either sniper rifles magically do more damage when aimed at a head, or your [[Force Field]] shield is weakest in the place it should be strongest.
* Brutally averted in ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon]]'' - unless your armor and health are maxed out, if the enemy shoots you with a weapon that instagibs them, you will die instantly in turn.
* In ''[[
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Guns and Gunplay Tropes]]
[[Category:Television Is Trying to Kill Us]]
[[Category:Almost
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