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{{trope}}
[[File:
The application of high voltages to animated flesh and bone renders the former translucent and the latter luminescent, allowing the skeleton to be seen in the style of a classic X-ray for as long as the current flows. Despite the impressive light show, the victim will usually then still be alive, if a bit singed and shocked.
Sometimes this is not caused by electricity but by another source, like a [[Disintegrator Ray]]. In ''this'' case, it is more frequently lethal, the skeleton just showing up briefly before the whole body turns to dust. Or, [[Stripped to
The trope name is a tribute to the "X-Ray Specs" that have been advertised in the back of comic books since time immemorial.
See also [[Harmless Electrocution]].
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== General ==▼
== Standard Implementation ==
* Was once a (non-[[Discredited Trope|discredited]]) live-action trope, appearing in various monster movies of the black-and-white era, as well as "The Borderland", an episode of the original ''[[The Outer Limits (TV)|The Outer Limits]]''.▼
▲=== General ===
▲* Was once a (non-[[Discredited Trope|discredited]]) live-action trope, appearing in various monster movies of the black-and-white era, as well as "The Borderland", an episode of the original ''[[
=== Advertising ===
* One advertisement for Advertising/Orangina features [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9KopBHFepE a man-in-Orangina-bottle in a giant pinball machine], including X-Ray Sparks at one point.
=== Anime & Manga ===
* When Ash first meets Pikachu in ''[[Pokémon (
* ''[[
** A common result of Nami using her Climattack to shock some bad guys.
** Parodied by having it happen to, and be [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] by Brook, a living ''[[Dem Bones|skeleton]].''
{{quote|
* ''[[
* Shown in ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka
* Happens to the villains in ''[[
* ''[[
* Naga and Diol both get an electrifying experience from one of Lina's spells in an episode of ''[[
* Happens to Panty and Stocking in episode 8 of ''[[Panty
* In the ''[[
=== Comic Books ===
* In ''[[Leonard Le Genie]]'', this happens almost every time Basile has to power up some new invention.
* Tends to happen to [[Wolverine]] whenever he's struck by a large amount of electricity. Like Storm's lightning.
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=== Comic Strips ===
* ''[[
=== Films -- Animation ===
* In ''[[Monsters vs. Aliens]]'', briefly happens to Susan when Doctor Cockroach attempts to revert her to normal size.
* Occurs in ''[[Cloudy
* In ''[[Fantastic Mr. Fox]]'', Kylie (an opossum) and Mr. Fox climb an electric fence and their skeletons are seen. (This film is stop-motion animated.) It also happens later to {{spoiler|Rat when fighting Fox in the sewer.}} It doesn't end well.
* When Remy and his brother Emile attempt to cook food by chimney smoke in ''[[Ratatouille]]'', they get struck by lightning (attracted to the TV antennae) and their skeletons briefly appear for one or two separate frames.
* Scrat when struck by lighting in the first ''[[
* ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]''. Happens to the title character during the short cartoon ''Somethin's Cookin' ''at the beginning, when his fingers get stuck in some electrical sockets.
* Happens to Batty in ''[[Fern Gully]] 2''.
* Happens in ''[[
* Happens to several pink elephants during this part of the song "Pink Elephants on Parade" from ''[[
{{quote|
They're walking around your bed
On their heads! (Clippity-cloppity)
Arrayed in braids,
[[Title Drop|Pink Elephants on Parade!]]'' }}
* Happens to the goons in ''[[Sleeping Beauty (Disney film)|Sleeping Beauty]]'' when they're all hit by [[Big Bad|Maleficent's]] lightning.
* Happens to [[God Save Us From the Queen|the Evil Queen]] in ''[[Snow White and
* Played with in ''[[Winnie the Pooh (
* Happens to [[Red Shirt|several submarine crew workers]] in ''[[Atlantis:
=== Films -- Live-Action ===
* The first ''[[
* The film ''[[Home Alone]] 2'' features Marv (Daniel Stern) being shocked; an effects shot briefly replaced him with a [[Real Life]] skeleton puppet wearing the same hair, beard and clothes as him, before turning back to his regular fleshy self.
* ''[[Star Wars]]''
** Darth Vader when hit by Force lightning at the end of ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''. This displayed not only his skeleton, but some of his [[Freeze
** Pretty much anyone hit by force lightning is subject to this trope. See also Mace Windu in ''Revenge of the Sith''.
* In ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'', this trope is used as the monster is brought to life (using lightning). Only (alas) the monster's skull is shown illuminated under his skin.
* In ''[[Willow]]'', occurs as Queen Bavmorda is struck by lightning as a result of her own backfiring magic.
* One of the Green Goblin's weapons in the movie ''[[Spider-Man (
* ''[[The Mask (
** Happens to Stanley Ipkiss in the first movie when he becomes the eponymous Mask for the very first time.
** In one sequel, the dad gets possessed and shoots lightning at the bad guy. He starts to flip around and flash into a skeleton.
** In ''[[Son of the Mask]]'', this is the fate of Loki when Odin struck him with lightning to remove his godly powers.
* The programs being drained by the MCP near the end of ''[[
=== Live Action TV ===
* Since 1988, the Dalek energy guns on ''[[
* In the third episode of the Korean series ''[[Strong Girl Bong-soon]]'', this happens to a poor schmuck that Bong-Soon accidentally forces to taser himself while she's tying him up.
▲* Since 1988, the Dalek energy guns on ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' make the victim's body briefly flash lime green while their bones glow bright white. According to dialogue, the victim dies as their internal structures are chaotically rearranged. Earlier it was just a circular area of film around the victim turned negative.
=== Music Videos ===
* Happens to [["Weird Al
=== Tabletop Games ===
* ''[[
=== Video Games ===
* Happens in ''[[Little Big Adventure]]'' whenever someone is electrocuted.
* This was a feature of Pikachu's electrical attacks in the original (and ONLY in the original) ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' [[
** On the other hand, when [[Kirby]] and [[Pokémon
* ''[[Touch Detective]]'' Nintendo DS game. One of the characters in Episode 2 can suffer from X Ray Sparks by fooling around with an electrical socket.
* ''[[Crash Bandicoot]]''
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** Weirdly seen in ''The wrath of Cortex'' with Crunch Bandicoot. When he (Crunch) prepares an electric blast, his skeleton will be shown with red eyes. Even though he's made out of wind.
** Returns in ''Crash Tag Team Racing'', where Crash shocks himself in the die-o-rama.
* This happens to characters from ''[[
* Similarly, ''[[
** In ''Street Fighter 4'', the feature of X-Ray Sparks returned.
** ''Captain Commando'' too.
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]''
** Happens to Knuckles in ''[[Sonic 3 and Knuckles
** Predating this, sprites found from a prototype of ''Sonic CD'' revealed that Sonic was originally going to get this effect when shocked by the electric wires of Wacky Workbench, but this was scrapped due to policies regarding the image of the [[Sega|company's]] mascot (which must've been pretty strict, since in the original Mega Drive/Genesis title, sprites of Sonic being comically stretched while going down the high-speed elevators of Scrap Brian were removed from the final game).
* The title characters in some ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' arcade game show this effect when they are zapped by beams from roving robots on wheels.
* Touch any electrified material in ''[[
* ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''
** In ''Mortal Kombat 3'' (and only there), Nightwolf's lightning and Stryker's taser fatality will make the foe flash blue, and a skeleton can be seen throughout the lightshow. This was removed in ''Mortal Kombat Trilogy'' (an update of the same game).
* Somewhat subverted in ''Mortal Kombat 9''. Stryker's X-ray attack has a part where he uses taser and the foe's entire skeleton can be seen, shaking.
* ''[[
** Any victim of Rachel's electric attacks. It's especially visible on the long-duration attack from the electric frog, [[Killer Rabbit|George XIII]].
** Also invoked with Iron Tager's Gadget Finger attack.
* Happens in ''[[
* In ''Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars'', Yatterman-2's grab attack consists of her electrocuting her opponents with their skeletons (or inner mechanical parts for robots) showing. For some reason this is the only electrical attack that does this.
* Happens in 3D in ''[[The Sims|Sims 2]]'': attempting to repair anything without enough Mechanical skill causes you to flash as a bright green skeleton, then wind up with your clothing turned to soot and hair completely frazzled.
* ''[[Bubble Bobble
** ''[[Bubble Bobble
* Used in the ''[[
* Occurs in ''[[Vanguard Princess]]'' when Luna Himeki or support character Eko blows an electrified "kiss" to their opponent.
* Happens in the ''[[Metal Slug]]'' Series whenever any of the main playable characters gets zapped.
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** In the ''Super Mario Strikers'' intro, a hammer bro gets slipped onto an electric fence.
*** Also occurs in the sequel ''Super Mario Strikers Charged'' to not only a Birdo and a Pianta in the opening clip, but also to all characters when knocked into the electric fence (Or hit by Dry Bone's Skillshot).
** Happens in the ''[[
* In ''[[Magicka]]'', using a eletric component in your spell will shock the enemies and show their [[Crowning Moment of Funny|3D rigging]].
* Happens in a boss fight near the end of ''[[Donkey Kong Country|Dixie's Double Trouble]]''. Just hit K.Rool's flight pack and he'll fall onto the electrified floor.
* In ''[[Creatures]] Adventures'', norns that are struck by lightning show their skeleton briefly. It's completely harmless.
* Occurs when a spy is blown up or killed by a [[Bucket Booby Trap]] in ''[[Spy vs. Spy]]''.
* Subverted in ''[[Bug
* The first ''[[
* This happens to any enemy in ''[[Fable]] 3'' when using the Shock Gauntlets. Killing them with it leaves their corpses as bare skeletons.
* Happens in Makai Kingdom when anyone is hit with an electric based attack.
* Happens to the characters in [[
* In Bloodrayne: Betrayal, if Rayne is struck by Kagan's lightning, her skeleton flashes for the duration of the spell. Also happens when you beat him the first time, he electrocutes her to stun her.
** The "Electric Eyes" Also do this if you try to go Raven Form in front of them.
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* In Nexon's game, Dragon's Nest, this happens if you or an enemy is affected by the "electrocuted" satus debuff.
* In ''[[Balloon Kid]]'', touching a spark at any time causes Alice to get electrocuted and [[Death Throws|knocked out]].
* During the Greek myth-themed season of ''[[Fornite]]'' released in early 2024, one of the mythics available is Zeus's lightning bolts. These can be thrown at other players, and if you hit, their skeleton will be very briefly visible.
=== Web Comics ===▼
* [[Exploited Trope|Exploited]] in [http://www.explosm.net/comics/1802/ one strip of] ''[[Cyanide
* Spoofed in ''[[Rusty and Co
=== Web
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BG00B2nrI4 Senpai Notice Me: A Yandere Simulator Musical (feat. SparrowRayne & Nathan Sharp)], by [[Random Encounters (Web Video)]], happens after Yandere-chan 'gives a shower' to Oka. Oka doesn't survive.
▲* [[Exploited Trope|Exploited]] in [http://www.explosm.net/comics/1802/ one strip of] ''[[Cyanide and Happiness (Webcomic)|Cyanide and Happiness]]'' in order to take an ''actual'' X-ray.
* In V5E13 of ''[[RWBY]]'', Nora's skeleton is briefly visible through her flesh when the enraged Hazel is unknowingly charging her up with his electrical attack.
▲* Spoofed in ''[[Rusty and Co (Webcomic)|Rusty and Co]]'': who would have guessed that [http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-4-16/ Mimic has a jawbone]?
=== Western Animation ===▼
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* Any number of ''[[Bugs Bunny]]'' and ''[[Tom and Jerry (Animation)|Tom and Jerry]]'' cartoons.
** Happens in one ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon, where Taz gets zapped up by a christmas tree's lightbulbs.
** In the 2006 [[Christmas Special]], Daffy Duck gets hurled onto an telephone wire.
** In the 2011 remake, ''The Looney Tunes Show'', Daffy Duck and Bugs bunny get struck by lightning, revealing rabbit and duck bones.
* On ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (
* ''[[Inspector Gadget]]''
** Happens to Chief Quimby in every [[Title Sequence]], while inside a safe, as the self-destructing sheet of paper explodes to his face.
** Happens to Inspector Gadget too, in the episode "Gadget and Old Lace", when he is shocked by the electric chicken.
* In one episode of ''[[
* In ''[[Home Movies]]'', Duane and McGuirk both show their skeletons in electrocutions, unusual for a show that's otherwise low-key and absent of exaggerated cartoony action.
* Played straight in ''[[The Fairly
* Asajj Ventress, when hit by Dooku's force lightning in ''[[Star Wars: Clone Wars]]''.
* Happens from time to time in ''[[Darkwing Duck]]''. Pretty much any episode with the [[Shock and Awe|lightning-wielding]] Megavolt.
* In ''[[
* ''[[
** Demonstrated in an episode of the first season where Heather gets shocked by an [[Electric Jellyfish]].
** A teaser for ''Total Drama World Tour'' features this happening to Duncan when he gets hit by a laser beam.
* In the ''[[
* Happens in ''[[Spider
* ''[[
** In season 1 episode 6, Vampyro shocks Sadlygrove with a mere touch, causing X-Ray Sparks.
** Happens to Posho at the beginning of episode 12... from the [[The Medic|Eniripsa]]'s vigorous "healing".
** Adamaï gets his turn when struck by the giant gerbil's lightning in season 2 episode 1.
** In ''The Legend of Ogrest'' special episode, it happens to Long-Tail the Ecaflip when struck by Otomaï's lightning potion.
* Happens in ''[[Jimmy Two
* When [[
* This happens repeatedly in ''The Avengers'', with the first appearance of Thor, he uses mystic lightning on frost giants, showing their skeletons. In the first appearance of the Hulk, he is struck by an electrical weapon that reveals his skeleton.
* In the episode The Last Roundup of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
* Happens to Ed in the ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'' movie finale, he also transforms into various forms of himself that has been used previously on the show.
== Disintegration variant ==
* In book 9 of the ''[[Lone Wolf]]'' series, ''The Cauldron of Fear'', it is shown [http://www.projectaon.org/en/xhtml/lw/09tcof/ill15.htm with this illustration] of a soldier trying to attack [[That One Boss|Zakhan Kimah]] while the latter is protected by the Orb of Death, the poor [[Red Shirt]] ending up disintegrated by the magical aura.
=== Films -- Animation ===
* Happens to Ursula at the end of ''[[
* Happens with Jafar's [[Family
=== Films -- Live-Action ===
* In the 1953 adaptation of ''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'' a soldier is hit by the Martians' [[Disintegrator Ray]]. There's a closeup shot of him as his body glows a bright green, with the skeleton showing through the glow, before the whole thing fades away and the unlucky victim vanishes into nothingness.
* During a battle in ''[[
=== Literature ===
* In ''[[
=== Live-Action TV ===
* Notoriously used in the [[Made for TV Movie]] ''[[
** The effects themselves were realistic, but the special effects department's choice of photographs on which to create the effects made less sense. A few seconds earlier, Kansas City was a scene of panic and rioting; the people shown being vaporized are enjoying a day by the riverside, at weddings, in schools, in bars and coffee shops, etc. Some of the photos used in the vaporization scenes are actually stills from earlier in the movie.
* ''Super Nova'', the second ''[[Lexx]]'' TV movie, shows Giggerota's skeleton briefly, because the super nova's shockwave dissolved her flesh and clothing a fraction of a second before her bones. It probably wouldn't happen like that in real life, but [[Rule of Cool|it looked cool enough that it was used in every version of the show's opening credits]].
=== Video Games ===
* ''[[
* The taser weapon in the Sega Genesis game ''[[Jurassic Park]]: [[So Cool Its Awesome|Rampage Edition]]'' is insanely powerful, able to kill dinosaurs and people in a single shot. When you use it, you see the skeleton of whoever or whatever you use it on before they collapse into ashes.
* The [[Ray Gun]] from ''[[Another World (
* Raiden's [[Bowdlerized]] fatality in the SNES port of ''[[Mortal Kombat (
▲== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|The Order of the Stick]]'', this happens to victims of the "Disintegrate" spell, whether they resist and only take damage, or are killed and next turn to dust.▼
* In ''[[Looking for Group (Webcomic)|Looking for Group]]'', Richard applies on Cale a [http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/3 fried-to-a-crisp-by-fireball] variant.▼
* ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic (Webcomic)|Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]''. [http://yafgc.net/?id=1515 Lamia, meets lightning strike.]▼
=== Web Comics ===
▲* In ''[[
▲* In ''[[
▲* ''[[
* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' shows plasma hits on those without enough armor to stay mostly intact as bright disintegrating skeletons in a cone of light. Like [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-06-22 this] (spoiler) or [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-07-04 this].
=== Western Animation ===
* In ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987
* [[The Simpsons (animation)|"Extremely high voltage? Well, I don't need safety gloves 'cause I'm Homer Simp-"]] [[Killed Mid
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Amusing Injuries]]
[[Category:Zany Cartoon Tropes]]
[[Category:Graphical Tropes]]
[[Category:Rule of Perception]]
[[Category:X
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