Kneecapping: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|'''Zoe''': Preacher, don't [[The Bible]] have some pretty specific things to say about killin'?<br />

'''Book''': [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|Quite specific.]] It is, however, somewhat [[Technical Pacifist|fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.]]|''[[~~Firefly (TV)|~~Firefly]]'', "War Stories"}}

'''Book''': [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|Quite specific.]] It is, however, somewhat [[Technical Pacifist|fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.]]|''[[Firefly]]'', "War Stories"}}

{{quote|''[[Memetic Mutation|I used to be an adventurer, like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.]]''|'''Guards''', ''[[The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim]]''}}

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In real life, it is often not the kneecap itself that is the target of these attacks, as opposed to the joint and tissue beneath it. A piece of [[Common Knowledge]] is that kneecaps don't repair when broken/shattered. They do when treated properly, it just takes a very long time.

A sub-trope of [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty]]. Compare [[Agony of the Feet]] for other mobility hampering injuries, and [[An Arm and A Leg]] for occasions when the legs are lost completely.

A sub-trope of [[Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty]]. Compare [[Agony of the Feet]] for other mobility hampering injuries, and [[An Arm and a Leg]] for occasions when the legs are lost completely.

== Anime & Manga ==

* Chinatsu from ''[[Jormungand]]'' brings us a particularly zealous example: When she's not gunning people down as part of her hitman duties, she apparently likes to build complex mechanical torture devices... including one designed to shoot a bound captive in the knee. In the same spot. ''[[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|27 times]]''.

* ''[[~~Ibitsu (Manga)|~~Ibitsu]]'': When the Strange Lolita corners Hikari and a classmate in the gym after school one night, she takes the classmate out of the picture by smashing her kneecap with a sledgehammer.

* ''[[Ibitsu]]'': When the Strange Lolita corners Hikari and a classmate in the gym after school one night, she takes the classmate out of the picture by smashing her kneecap with a sledgehammer.

* In ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'', [[The Chick|Kaoru]] ends up fighting [[Villainous Crossdresser|Kamatari]] in a one-on-one matchup after Misao is taken out. Her final move (after her bokken and Kamatari's scythe are both broken) is to break Kamatari's kneecap with the handle of her wooden sword.

== Card Games ==

* The ''[[Munchkin (~~Tabletop Game~~)|Munchkin]]'' card game gives us the Hammer of Knee-capping, usable only by dwarves.

* The ''[[Munchkin (game)|Munchkin]]'' card game gives us the Hammer of Knee-capping, usable only by dwarves.

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== Fanfiction ==

* In the ''[[~~Mass Effect (Franchise)|~~Mass Effect]]''/''[[Command and Conquer]]'' crossover ''[[Renegade (~~Fanfic~~)|Renegade]]'', Spectre Garrus Vakarian doles out plentiful kneecaps to his opponents.

* In the ''[[Mass Effect]]''/''[[Command and Conquer]]'' crossover ''[[Renegade (fanfic)|Renegade]]'', Spectre Garrus Vakarian doles out plentiful kneecaps to his opponents.

== Film ==

* In ''[[~~Undead or Alive (Film)|~~Undead or Alive]]'', after the protagonists find out that the zombies pursuing them can't be killed with a bullet to the brain as one would expect, Sue opts to shoot out the zombified sheriff's kneecaps to make it much harder for him to catch up. This leads to a humorous scene later in which Cletus is forced to carry him piggy-back while chasing the heroes.

* In ''[[Undead or Alive]]'', after the protagonists find out that the zombies pursuing them can't be killed with a bullet to the brain as one would expect, Sue opts to shoot out the zombified sheriff's kneecaps to make it much harder for him to catch up. This leads to a humorous scene later in which Cletus is forced to carry him piggy-back while chasing the heroes.

* There's an ''ensemble'' knee-capping scene in ''[[Terminator 2]]''. The Terminator has promised John Connor he won't kill anyone. But they still need to get into heavily guarded areas, so he starts shooting people in the knee instead.

* The protagonist of ''[[Nobody Will Speak Of Us When Were Dead]]'' gets her knee corkscrewed during a torture scene.

* ''[[~~Casino Royale (Film)|~~Casino Royale]]'' ends with Bond locating and knee-capping [[The Man Behind the Man]].

* ''[[Casino Royale]]'' ends with Bond locating and knee-capping [[The Man Behind the Man]].

* ''[[Die Hard With a Vengeance]]'': "[[Not ~~With~~ the Safety On, You Won't|Have to take the safety catch off]]." ''Dakka''

* ''[[Die Hard With a Vengeance]]'': "[[Not with the Safety On, You Won't|Have to take the safety catch off]]." ''Dakka''

* A new and unusually intelligent mook looking to join [[Big Bad|Bucho's]] drug gang in ''[[Desperado]]'' gets put into [[Initiation Ceremony]] that consists of having to win a savage fight against an [[Threshold Guardian|established member]] of the cartel. He gets his knee cap completely smashed during the fight, (prompting Bucho to quip "He'll never dance again") but manages to win and earn a spot anyway. For the rest of the movie he wears a crude brace by his knee and has issues moving around.

* Referenced in [[Reservoir Dogs]], where Mr White tells Mr Orange that his gut wound is the second most painful place to be shot after the kneecap.

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== Literature ==

* In one of the [[Raymond Chandler]] short stories, the protagonist stops one of the crooks from escaping by shooting in the most painful spot he could think of that wouldn't kill him: the back of the knee.

* In Todd Strasser's book ''[[Give a Boy A Gun]]'', the two boys who shoot up the dance shot the star quarterback in the knees. Since he's a football player, this is one of the most damaging things they could do to him without killing him.

* In Todd Strasser's book ''[[Give a Boy a Gun]]'', the two boys who shoot up the dance shot the star quarterback in the knees. Since he's a football player, this is one of the most damaging things they could do to him without killing him.

* In [[The Dresden Files|''Death Masks'']], [[Anti-Hero|Harry]] favors this method when dealing with a [[Smug Snake]] of a Denarian.

* In ''[[Stardoc|Blade Dancer]]'', this has ''already'' happened a few times to Jory, over the course of her [[Blood Sport|shockball career]], by the time the story begins. {{spoiler|[[It Got Worse|And then]], it happens a few ''more'' times. By the last chapter, the [[An Arm and A Leg|leg has to be amputated from the knee down]].}}

* In ''[[Stardoc|Blade Dancer]]'', this has ''already'' happened a few times to Jory, over the course of her [[Blood Sport|shockball career]], by the time the story begins. {{spoiler|[[It Got Worse|And then]], it happens a few ''more'' times. By the last chapter, the [[An Arm and a Leg|leg has to be amputated from the knee down]].}}

* Tywin Lannister from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' issues this as punishment to deserters.

== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[~~Criminal Minds (TV)|~~Criminal Minds]]'': In the season 6 episode "Today I Do", a self-ascribed motivational speaker turned serial killer shatters the kneecap of her most recent victim with a hammer after the victim refuses to eat the popcorn she made for her. She later turns this into a self-help lesson, by teaching the victim to "walk in the face of adversity".

* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'': In the season 6 episode "Today I Do", a self-ascribed motivational speaker turned serial killer shatters the kneecap of her most recent victim with a hammer after the victim refuses to eat the popcorn she made for her. She later turns this into a self-help lesson, by teaching the victim to "walk in the face of adversity".

* In ''[[24 ~~(TV)~~|Twenty Four]]'', Jack Bauer shoots a terrorist in the kneecap to get him to talk. In another season, he shoots the [[Dragon]]'s wife near the kneecap to get him to talk.

* In ''[[24|Twenty Four]]'', Jack Bauer shoots a terrorist in the kneecap to get him to talk. In another season, he shoots the [[Dragon]]'s wife near the kneecap to get him to talk.

* In the ''[[~~Firefly (TV)|~~Firefly]]'' episode "War Stories", this is how [[Badass Preacher|Shephard Book]] gets around the whole "don't kill" rule.

* In the ''[[Firefly]]'' episode "War Stories", this is how [[Badass Preacher|Shephard Book]] gets around the whole "don't kill" rule.

* In ''[[Carnivale]]'', Jonesy's limp is the result of being kneecapped by mobsters when he refused to [[Throwing the Fight|take a dive]].

* ''[[~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)|~~Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''

** Darla threatens to do this to Buffy in the episode "Angel":

{{quote| '''Darla''': So many body parts, so few bullets. Let's begin with the kneecaps. No fun dancing without them.}}

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== Videogames ==

* In ''[[~~The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim (Video Game)|~~The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim]]'', an unusually high number generic guards will sometimes tell you that "I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee."

* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim]]'', an unusually high number generic guards will sometimes tell you that "I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee."

* In ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', this is the general modus operandi of the [[Everything's Better ~~With~~ Penguins|Penguin Mafia]].

* In ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', this is the general modus operandi of the [[Everything's Better with Penguins|Penguin Mafia]].

* In the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series, the player can kneecap the infected/infested/zombies/abominations to pull off kicks and tricks against the enemy although kneecapping is also arguably justified when fighting zombies. This is especially useful in [[Resident Evil 4]] where Leon (and Ashley) can suplex the infested after a kneecap shot.

* ''[[Carn Evil]]'' specifically models damage to the kneecaps, with a successful blowout treated as a kill. Oddly, shooting one kneecap will visibly and gruesomely damage both of them simultaneously.

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** Also, throughout the series aiming at a leg has always been a viable strategy.

* Renegade!Shepard threatens this near the beginning of ''[[Mass Effect]]'' to get Fist to tell him/her where Tali is.

* The Scout in ''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]]'' has an aluminum bat melee weapon, and one of his common catchphrases is "Say goodbye to your kneecaps, [[Gosh Dang It to Heck|chucklehead!]]" There's no in-game way for him to actually attack someone's kneecaps, though, so his taunt is a bit meaningless.

* The Scout in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' has an aluminum bat melee weapon, and one of his common catchphrases is "Say goodbye to your kneecaps, [[Gosh Dang It to Heck|chucklehead!]]" There's no in-game way for him to actually attack someone's kneecaps, though, so his taunt is a bit meaningless.

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[The Beast Legion]]'' : In issue 4, [http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-04-page-44gorgoraths-final-wish/ Dragos intentionally breaks Xeus' knee after defeating him so that he cannot escape].

* In ''[[~~Girl Genius (Webcomic)|~~Girl Genius]]'', Higgs uses this move against Zola. Unfortunately for him, she is too high on combat drugs to fall down.

* In ''[[Girl Genius]]'', Higgs uses this move against Zola. Unfortunately for him, she is too high on combat drugs to fall down.

* In a March 2011 ''[[Wapsi Square]]'' there's a distant flashback that shows Jin, before she became part of the Chimera, being shot through the back of the knee with an arrow. [[Squick]].

** It gets worse on the next page where her feet/ankles are knifed.

* ''[[~~Life and Death (Webcomic)|~~Life and Death]]'': [http://www.drunkduck.com/Life_and_Death/index.php?p=804249 Death disables someone this way.]

* ''[[Life and Death]]'': [http://www.drunkduck.com/Life_and_Death/index.php?p=804249 Death disables someone this way.]

* {{spoiler|Gamzee}} in [[~~Homestuck (Webcomic)|~~Homestuck]] shot [[The Big Guy|Equius]] through the knee with an arrow to [[Kneel Before Zod|force him to kneel.]]

* {{spoiler|Gamzee}} in [[Homestuck]] shot [[The Big Guy|Equius]] through the knee with an arrow to [[Kneel Before Zod|force him to kneel.]]

== Web Original ==

* In the deleted scenes montage in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh ~~the~~ Abridged Series]]'', Yugi threatens Tristan with this with a wrench.

* In the deleted scenes montage in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series]]'', Yugi threatens Tristan with this with a wrench.