Tattoos Inspired by Your Favorite TV Shows, Movies, and Books

Move over traditional swords and half-naked women, there’s a new wave of tattoo designs that plenty of millennials and Gen Z kids are trying out: iconic tattoos based from their favorite TV shows, films, and books.

Have you ever wanted to get a tattoo but found those traditional macho, masculine, or gothic designs to be out of your style? Perhaps you’ll like or get inspiration from some of these tattoos based on different types of entertainment.

Umbrella Academy

Netflix recently launched The Umbrella Academy, a show based on the comic book series written by Gerard Way, the former vocalist of the band My Chemical Romance. In 1989, eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven out of 43 children who were born on strange circumstances on the same day. Six of them are trained to become a superhero team collectively known as “The Umbrella Academy,” while the seventh is kept apart from her siblings and told all her life she was ordinary.

In the first episode, we get a glimpse of the seven children’s upbringing. Sir Hargreeves trains the six – literally named Number One to Number Six – and teaches them how to become superheroes while keeping Number Seven close by, though ultimately leaving her out. At one point, he forces the six to get matching umbrella tattoos on their wrists. Number Seven watches from a distance while using a marker to draw her own umbrella tattoo.

Playing on themes of being ordinary and being super, that scene made the tattoo much more than an aesthetic symbol. For Number Seven, that was the symbol of her wanting to belong and be more than just ordinary. Getting this tattoo is like saying you are one of the Umbrella Academy: definitely not ordinary.

John Wick

This blockbuster assassin movie caught people by surprise. But what was more surprising was not that the movie spanned two additional sequels, but the fact that plenty of people were more interested in John Wick’s tattoo and what it meant. Apparently, it’s not “fortune favors the bold” as many people assume, but rather “Fortune will save the brave.”  

Getting this tattoo may make some people mistake you for a member of the marines, but it’s a great tattoo for brave or strong people inspired by the movie. John Wick, the anti-hero, has overcome so many obstacles, and if you’re a fan of these action movies and want to show just how strong you are, this is a good idea.

Harry Potter

A story that won over a generation with the books, movies, merchandise, and spin-off games and universes, a Harry Potter-themed tattoo is sure to interest some Potterheads. If there’s one tattoo in the Harry Potter saga people may remember, it is the Dark Mark sported by the Death Eaters. If you’re still unsure about getting a tattoo here’s a temporary Death Eater tattoo on Amazon you might want to try out.

While it may look cool for those in House Slytherin and is sure to attract the attention of Harry Potter fans, not that many people might want to get inked with the symbol of a group of people J.K. Rowling wrote as a metaphor to racists. However, the great thing about Harry Potter is that it is full of lore and other symbols that would look good on your skin.

Take, for example, the crest of each Hogwarts House – Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff – or the crest of Hogwarts itself. There’s a lot of icons in Harry Potter to choose from. Or, if you want a more minimalist sort of tattoo, a simple triangle, line, and circle symbol of the Deathly Hallows is still a simple choice that many Potter fans will recognize.

Hitman

The movie may not have turned out so well, but those who enjoy playing the Hitman video game series will recognize the iconic tattoo inked onto the back of Agent 47’s head. If you’re bald and willing to take a bit more pain than your average tattooing session – or if you just want to do it at the back of your neck – you and your gamer friends could get a kick out of you looking like Agent 47 each time you wear a suit.

If you’re a fan of this game, I strongly recommend getting this tattoo. GamesRadar dubbed it the sixth sickest tattoo in gaming, stating how a simple tattoo easily draws the attention while referencing the game millions of gamers love, while WhatCulture named it the 14th most famous video game tattoo.

These are some popular tattoos, just to name a few. We hope this removes the belief that tattoos are limited to your average skull and sword tattoos. Pretty good tattoo artists out there can also give you something that pays homage to the shows, books, and even video games you like.