Plot armor

Plot armor is a plot device wherein a fictional character is preserved from harm due to their necessity for the plot to proceed. The Oxford English Dictionary identified the term as originating in the 2000s, with its first reported use on the Usernet forum alt.games.dur-trs-trap. While protagonists and heroes within fictional works are often shielded from destruction by plot armor, their deaths in certain works function as a plot twist.

Within certain works of fiction, elements of the story can provide an explanation for why the protagonist is protected. Various iterations of James Bond have been cited as defining examples of plot armor. Other works eschew plot armor for main characters. The deaths of Ned Stark and other main characters within A Game of Thrones and its television adaptation have been considered examples of protagonists defying expectations that their role in the plot protected them from harm; a battle where many main characters escaped harm within the same series has also been cited as examples of plot armor. Outside of fiction, plot armor has been used to describe how a dominant political figure like Donald Trump has survived multiple major scandals and the societal benefits of white privilege.