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{{trope}}
[[File:minamimoto_mark_1199minamimoto mark 1199.png|link=The World Ends With You (Video Game)|frame| Left: [[Mad Mathematician]]. Right: Demonic Mathematician.]]
 
{{quote|''"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a MARK in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the MARK, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is [[Number of the Beast|Six hundred threescore and six]]."''|'''[[The Bible (Literature)|Revelations 13:16-18]]'''}}▼
 
A character who has made a [[Deal Withwith the Devil]], released his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] or taken the [[Psycho Serum]] receives symbols, patterns or markings as a part of his [[Evil Makeover]]. They may only be [[Facial Markings]], or be all over the body. Occasionally, they will start in one area, such as the neck or face, and spread out further the more powerful or evil the person becomes.▼
▲{{quote|''"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a MARK in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the MARK, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is [[Number of the Beast|Six hundred threescore and six]]."''|'''[[The Bible (Literature)|Revelations 13:16-18]]'''}}
 
▲A character who has made a [[Deal With the Devil]], released his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] or taken the [[Psycho Serum]] receives symbols, patterns or markings as a part of his [[Evil Makeover]]. They may only be [[Facial Markings]], or be all over the body. Occasionally, they will start in one area, such as the neck or face, and spread out further the more powerful or evil the person becomes.
 
These are generally more minor than those to the [[One-Winged Angel]], though there may be some overlap between the two. See also [[Red Right Hand]].
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This trope's namesake makes it [[Older Than Feudalism]].
 
{{examples}}
 
== Anime & Manga ==
* The Zebul Spell in ''[[Beelzebub (Manga)|Beelzebub]]''. It expands as Oga fights.
* ''[[Dragonball Z]]'': The stylized M on the forehead of every minion of Babidi, which Vegeta received after his [[Face Heel Turn]].
* The Curse mark on Sasuke of ''[[Naruto]]'', placed by Orochimaru. It spreads across Sasuke's body the stronger it becomes.
** When Sasuke unleashes the Curse Seal's full power, he actually transforms into a vaguely demonic creature, complete with two very large wings growing out of his back that look like giant webbed hands more than anything.
*** Pretty much any unleashed Curse Seal. The Sound Four all turn into monsters. And the first bearer of the Curse Mark gets a [[Psycho Prototype]] treatment, as well as having a monster form.
** For that matter, the title character has whisker-like lines on his cheeks that grow more pronounced as he draws on the power of the [[Sealed Evil in Aa Can|Nine-Tailed Fox sealed in his belly]]. At least until he draws enough power that his ''skin'' peels off and he is [[One-Winged Angel|completely covered in his own chakra-infused blood]].
* The demonic taint in Ashitaka's body in ''[[Princess Mononoke]]''.
* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', when the Book of Darkness awakens {{spoiler|and takes over Hayate}}, red lines spread all over her body. These lines disappear once the Book of Darkness is cleansed of its corrupted self-defense program.
* ''[[Inuyasha]]'' gets facial stripes only when his demon blood takes over and he goes berserk.
** His brother Sesshomaru has them all the time. And he's a full-blooded demon.
* The odd stylized eye that appears on the forehead of the Yami (Name) Characters in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]!''
** This symbol is based on the Eye of Wdjat ,<ref> pronounced ''oo''-jaht</ref>, an Egyptian heiroglyph that symbolizes rebirth or regeneration, and is supposedly the eye of Horus.
** A better example is the Seal of Orichalcos. Its users have the Seal appear on their foreheads and become obsessed with evil.
* The Homunculi in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' have an ouroboros somewhere on their bodies (e.g. Lust by her collarbone, Gluttony on his tongue, etc.). The humans turned into homunculi also gain this mark upon ingesting {{spoiler|a philosopher's stone with Father's soul}} and it disappears when {{spoiler|the soul}} is removed. Not sure if it was ''meant'' to symbolize evil. but it damn well has the same end result.
** Its meant to represent their immortality, as the ouroboros is a symbol for eternity. Originally the Ouroboros symbolized how process and result are one thing (it devours itself and thus creates himself) - and thus was a symbol for the Philosopher's stone itself. Neat one, [[Magnificent Bitch|Arakawa]], neat one.
* Those who make a contract with Ai in ''[[Hell Girl]]'' gain a mark on their chest to remind them always that they will be dragged to hell upon their own death.
* Variant: those offered as a sacrifice to the Godhand by Behelit users in ''[[Berserk]]'' have the Mark of Sacrifice -- threeSacrifice—three crossed lines -- carvedlines—carved into some place on their body, signifying that they are food for demons. They bleed as the demons near.
* In ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'', the kiss of a Satan leaves the mark of said satan behind. It seems to give the Satan power over the victim {{spoiler|as with Noise}}, but can also be a sign that someone made a deal with a Satan {{spoiler|Arakune who turns out to be a traitor.}}
* When it's your turn to pilot Zearth in ''[[Bokurano]]'', you'll get a mark on your body. They're often [[Facial Markings]] (like {{spoiler|Ushiro}} and {{spoiler|Youko}}), but not always: Mako's marks were on her thighs, and Kirie's were on his stomach.
* Tsukune in ''[[Rosario to+ Vampire]]'' when he first transforms into a ghoul. The markings are {{spoiler|Moka's}} blood creeping through his body and taking over his mind.
* Miu from ''[[Akuma Nana Eros]]'' gains one on the back of her shoulder after making a [[Deal Withwith the Devil]].
* In the backstory of ''[[Black Butler]]'' of which we see a flashback, Sebastian draws with his [[Femme Fatalons|long, sharp fingernail]] an elaborately decorated pentagram in [[Eye Scream|Ciel's right eye]] to mark the [[Deal with the Devil|contract between them]]. You can only imagine from Ciel's scream how painful that is. Sebastian also draws an identical mark on the back of his left hand.
 
 
== Comics ==
* In the final scene of [[The DCU]]'s ''Underworld Unleashed'' [[Crisis Crossover]], in which many many supervillains made a [[Deal Withwith the Devil]] for increased power, the villain Major Disaster is shown gloating about how he got to keep his powers even though the [[Big Bad]] was destroyed. Then he sees his reflection in a window, and sees the [[Number of the Beast]] etched into his forehead...
* [[X -Men|Rachel Summers]] used to have facial tattoos from her grim and nasty future as a mutant hunter, which she could conceal until stressed or using her powers.
* A subplot in ''[[Spawn]]'' comics had an army of vampires who decided to only eat unholy sinners; which of course meant anyone they disagreed with. A bit of magic 'marked' them with sigils only the monsters could see. Spawn managed to turn off the mark for all. They didn't know who to eat so couldn't risk eating anyone 'innocent'.
 
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* The Black Spot in the Second ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' movie.
* In ''[[The Omen]]'', it is revealed that Damien has the "666" mark, but up above his hairline where you'd never see it.
* In Snoop Dogg's ''Hood of Horror'', Devon gets a stylized HoH on the back of his neck when he [[Deal Withwith the Devil|sells his soul,]] and agrees to become the Hound of Horror to [[Dead Little Sister|bring his sister back from the dead.]]
* A number of direct-to-video Christian-produced movies that take place in an [[The Antichrist|Antichrist]]-ruled world [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] take the verse from Revelations literally. Citizens in this world are required to have a highly visible mark (usually the number 666 or some arcane symbol) to even walk around in public, else be forcibly implanted with one (in public or private) or face execution.
** In the [[Apocalypse (Film)|Apocalypse]] film series, those who receive the [[Mark of the Beast]] may also experience miraculous healings, such as the blind woman in ''Revelation'' receiving her sight, the wheelchair-bound man in the same movie being able to walk, and the one-armed man in the hospital in ''Tribulation'' receiving his right arm again. There's also the [[Blessed Withwith Suck]] element of the recipients being blessed with limited telekinetic and telepathic powers, as featured in the movie ''Tribulation''.
** One example of such is the series that begins with ''A Thief in the Night'', in which citizens must be tattooed with 666 (disguised as digital code) and must have it scanned at all supermarkets before they can buy food. Those who refuse this mark are sent to the guillotine.
* The ''[[Blade]]'' movies. Those humans who submit to a vampire master get a tattoo; this tells other vampires "Don't eat me".
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== Literature ==
* [[The Bible (Literature)|The biblical]] Mark of the Beast. Durr.
** Ironically, it's often missusedmisused because it's so well known, people [[DidntDidn't Do The Research|Don't Do The ReasearchResearch]] on what it really is, assuming they know how to use it properly. First of all, there's a discussion over whether or not 666 is even the right number. Some sources say the number is actually 616, thanks to ancient writing systems. Secondly, the important part about the Mark is the ''value'', not the ''symbols''. That is to say, writing "29A" in base 16 would mean the same as writing "666" in base ten, but writing three sixes means nothing.
* The Denarians of ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' have the Sigil of the Fallen possessing them somewhere on their body. Their [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] also has a second pair of [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]] on their brow, above the normal ones.
* The ''[[Left Behind]]'' series, of course. In a strange variant, each mark comes with a numerical designation that represents a mathematical equation for [[Number of the Beast|three sixes]] where the operations are interchangeable (e.g., 216 (6 x 6 x 6), 30 (6 x 6 - 6), 18 (6 + 6 + 6), etc.).
* The "chahk'morg" in ''[[The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray]]''. It's a mark shaped like a Cthulhu-esque demon that is placed on those marked for sacrifice. The bad guys also use it to summon all of hell by {{spoiler|killing people all over London such that the spots they died will form a chahk'morg when you connect them. Don't ask.}}
* In the framing story for the ''Books of Blood'', by [[Clive Barker]], a young man who'd made light of communication with the dead is marked all over his body -- evenbody—even his genitals and eyelids -- byeyelids—by the irate words of outraged spirits, who carved them directly into his skin.
* [[Harry Potter|Lord Voldemort]] isn't a devil, merely a very powerful and evil human wizard, but the way he has his followers brand the Dark Mark (a skull with a snake coming out of the mouth) onto their forearms is strongly suggestive of this trope. It's a rare example of a [[Plot Coupon That Does Something|Mark with some practical purpose]]. LV uses it to summon his minions to him and, apparently, to track down renegades.
* The Sith in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] often (though not always) use distinctive tattoos as a symbol of membership and/or rank (most prominently, Darth Maul's full-body tattoos, which [[Star Wars Legacy|the One Sith]] later also adopt). Though not actually demons, they ''are'' a certified [[Religion of Evil]] and the most powerful and persistant evil faction in the setting.
 
== Live Action TV ==
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** However, it turned out to be linked to an ''[[Monster of the Week|actual]]'' beast, and by defeating it, the tattoo was destroyed.
* The alien writing that covers the body of the possessed in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "The Impossible Planet".
* The hero of ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'' has a circular tattoo that turns red bit by bit, counting down how soon he'll go [[Ax Crazy]] from the quicksilver in his system.
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Willow]] gets dark hair and black veins become visible all over her face when she starts getting possessed by dark magic. The Scoobies eventually start referring to the process of Willow becoming possessed as "going all veiny".
 
 
== Mythology ==
* According to [https://web.archive.org/web/20100317151149/http://www.zerotime.com/night/detect.htm Zerotime.com], werewolves have a pentagram "birthmark" somewhere on their bodies, often on the palm or chest.
** In folklore, this kind of mark was said to be given to witches by [[Satan]]. Any kind of birthmark could be interpreted as a "witch mark" by zealous [[Witch Hunter|witch hunters]]. Keep in mind that in many folk tales, [[Our Werewolves Are Different|witches were werewolves]].
 
 
== Tabletop Games ==
* The vampires of clan Gangrel in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' will receive what's actually called "the Beast Mark" each time they give in to the Frenzy. What it is differs depending on the circumstances.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' occasionally have marks of Chaos appearing on mortal worshippers. One mildly unnerving piece of art from one edition of ''Warhammer'' depicted a pair of eyes with the pupils turned into eight-pointed stars.
* Most of the [[Exalted]] have, as a side effect of using [[Ki Attacks|Essence]], the effect of generating a [[Battle Aura]]. One bit of this is the Caste Mark, a representation of your Caste that appears on your forehead. For Solars and Lunars, it's a golden/silver shining disk; for Sidereals, it's the astrological sign of the Maiden they were chosen by. Then you have the [[Omnicidal Maniac|Abyssals]]. Their Caste Marks ''bleed'' out of their forehead.
** The [[Deal Withwith the Devil|Infernals]] get a similar deal -- theydeal—they bear modified Solar Caste Marks that burn with the green fire of Ligier, Hell's sun. Each has its own special adornment based on the Caste's [[Our Demons Are Different|Yozi]] patron, of course, and the Fiend Caste (chosen of the [[Complete Monster|Ebon Dragon]]) get a special mark -- amark—a solid disk of such utter darkness that it hurts mortals to look upon it.
 
 
== Video Games ==
* Played with in the 9th and 10th ''[[Fire Emblem]] games'': The "branded", who are the result of mating between the games' two humanoid species (anthropomorphic animals and humans), {{spoiler|are really only viewed as wrong or evil in the story due to a character rewriting history}}.
* {{spoiler|Taboo Minamimoto}} from ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]''.
* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne]]'' (or ''Lucifer's Call'' in Europe) has the main character receive insta-tattoos all over his body when he initially receives superpowers from a demonic parasite. (Technically, that would make it a ''symbiote'', but the game calls it a parasite and there are oodles of negative effects so...)
** {{spoiler|This makes it a literal Mark of the Beast, due to the [[Louis Cypher|true identity]] of the boy who forces the parasite on you.}}
** It gets played with later in the game, though. You weren't considered to be truly marked with this trope unless you complete the [[Bonus Dungeon]], in which you're locked into the [[True Final Boss]] route, as what you were transformed into at the start of the game was merely so you wouldn't be a dead man the first time you ran into a demon.
* Also, the Dark Prince in ''[[Prince of Persia]]: The Two Thrones''. Black skin with red tattoos seems to be quite popular.
** In ''Prince of Persia'' (2008), the Corrupted are people who made a [[Deal Withwith the Devil|pact with AhirmanAhriman]], and were thus infected with his essence, transforming them into what seems to be physical darkness. {{spoiler|No clue if the Prince gets this after the [[Downer Ending]]...}}
* In ''[[Tekken]] 3''-and-forwards, Jin Kazama gains more and more black tattoos as his 'Devil Jin' mode awakens.
* The Mark of Torment, its description quoted on the top of the page, on The Nameless One's left shoulder in ''[[Planescape Torment|Planescape: Torment]]''. Where exactly The Nameless One obtained it is never revealed; it is implied {{spoiler|that it appeared as a result of the combined torment his incarnations accrued over the years}}.
* In ''[[Vagrant Story]]'', we have the Blood Sin, which controls the Gran Grimoire. Whoever acquires it has control of Lea Monde. {{spoiler|Sydney already has it. Everyone else wants it, and Guildenstern cuts the tattoo from Sydney's back to graft onto his own.}}
* Evil characters in the ''[[Fable]]'' series develop livid red cracks running across their skin.
* Samus' Phazon corruption in ''[[Metroid Prime]] 3'' gradually worsens, causing her suit (and, on those occasions when her face is visible, her skin) to develop glowing blue veins. Eventually one of her eyes begins to glow blue as well.
* {{spoiler|Sakura}} in ''[[Fate/stay Stay Nightnight]]'' gets spiky black lines that creep over her body at irregular points and then retract again {{spoiler|[[Freak-Out|after she goes]] into full fledged psychotic [[Yandere]] mode. Also, her hair turns entirely white.}}
* The l'Cie of ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'' are marked with a brand somewhere on their bodies; it functions both as a symbol of their [[Cursed Withwith Awesome]] status and a timer [[Death's Hourglass|indicating how long they have to fulfill their Focus before]] [[Fate Worse Than Death|they turn into horrifying Cie'th monsters.]]
* Kratos of the ''[[God of War (Video Gameseries)|God of War]]'' series was branded with the Blades of Chaos {{spoiler|after making his deal with Ares.}}
 
 
== Webcomics ==
* Inverted in ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|Gunnerkrigg Court]]'': It is the ''demon'' Reynardine who bears the mark of, and is therefore controlled by the heroine and human Antimony.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]'': Raven gets some in the "all over the body" variety in season 4, apparently heralding the end of the world.
** More interestingly, when {{spoiler|Slade}} [[Like a Badass Out of Hell|comes back]], he's got a glowing sigil in his forehead, to go with his new, fire-based powers and infernal army. When he loses the powers, the sigil disappears as well...
* In ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures (Animation)|Jackie Chan Adventures]]'', anyone who drew the mark of [[Big Bad|Tarakudo]] on their body would gain demonic powers and slowly turn evil. Also, the mark ''doesn't come off'', regardless of how it was made.
* In ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', the Eye of XANA is used in this manner with the possessed William, displayed on his forehead, chest and sword.
* In ''[[X -Men: Evolution]]'', {{spoiler|Mystique, Magneto, Xavier, and Storm}} receive markings similar to those of Apocalypse when he "recruits" them as his horsemen.
 
 
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