Power Limiter

A plot device used to restrict a character's power level, often because their powers are too dangerous or too uncontrollable to be let loose at their fullest.

Power limiters can lighten the load on the Sorting Algorithm of Evil, or maybe just to give new characters a chance to shine. Releasing these limiters in time of need may be difficult; if the limiting was voluntary, it's Always Need What You Gave Up... then again, if the controls are in their hands, it's a non-issue. Releasing a previously unmentioned power limiter can provide a last minute save against a particularly powerful Big Bad. Of course, this can be done badly, especially if there were no clues that the limit was in place.

Often times, the justification is that the person may willingly be wearing a Power Limiter as a form of training, as training with their power suppressed sometimes helps increase their power. Weighted clothing is often used in this fashion, in fiction and Real Life.

The upgraded version is the Power Nullifier, which downright removes superhuman abilities.

See also Restraining Bolt, Weaksauce Weakness, Cover-Blowing Superpower, I Am Not Left-Handed and Holding Back the Phlebotinum.

See Suppressed Mammaries for a limiter of the Most Common Superpower.

Anime & Manga

 * The first two seasons of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha featured 10-year-old girls with insane Power Levels exceeding the power meter of 1,000,000 points, and then introduced many other characters able to match them. When the series proved popular enough to go on to a third season, government-required power limiters were introduced to knock them down several ranks, with them only able to use full power when authorized by a high-ranking Bureau member.
 * The new recruits have power limiters of their own; after getting their devices, they have a four-stage limiter set on them, which restricts how much power and what abilities they can use. One stage typically gets removed just before every major battle, so they can more easily get accustomed to their devices.
 * In the aftermath of StrikerS Lutecia and Agito are also given limiters, reducing them to mage rank D for the duration of their probation.
 * The Evangelions have these in Neon Genesis Evangelion in the form of their armor, which doesn't serve to protect the Eva and its pilot as much as it serves to . If an Eva.
 * Unit-02 in Rebuild of Evangelion is shown to not only possess armor, but actual limiters implanted into its back which release once.
 * Used by the goddesses in Ah! My Goddess in the form of jewelry. Releasing them without permission is a big no-no, but Kami seems to be a bit flexible about this depending on situation and especially the personality of the goddess; Urd is often the Butt Monkey of this compared to her more foward-thinking but much more (dangerously) powerful sister Belldandy. When Urd's mother Hild comes to Earth for a visit, she admits her excessive amount of gaudy jewelry (a total of twenty pieces, each one a separate power limiter comparable to the one that Belldandy wears) is mostly to keep her arrival from leaving their home a smoking crater. In fact, if Hild were to remove all her limiters while on Earth, she'd be a danger to the planet simply by existing.
 * Belldandy isn't more powerful than Urd. It's directly stated by Belldandy that Urd is more powerful than her, and Belldandy Can Not Tell a Lie. It's just that as a Goddess First Class she's able to access far more of her power than Urd. When Urd took the exam for promotion to First Class, we got a glimpse of her true power. Which overwhelmed Peorth, a Goddess First Class who's supposed to be a close match to Belldandy in power.
 * Alucard from Hellsing uses the "Control Art Restriction System", which divides his powers into levels. Considering how ridiculously overpowered he is, enemies tend not to be worthy enough to have him unlock any levels. When he reaches Level Zero, run kill yourself.
 * Fortunately, he can't go full-power on his own accord - full release requires approval from Integra Hellsing. Mostly.
 * Also of note, his state of dress also indicates what power level he is at.
 * A-Ko, from the parody series Project A-ko, wears Wonder Woman-like bracers to keep her from crushing everything she picks up. This is because she is implied with as much subtlety as a brick to the nuts to be the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman.
 * To be fair, while asleep and without her bracers she throws a pillow to silence her alarm clock and nothing gets broken.
 * Weights in clothing are a popular method to use for this in Shonen manga and anime series.
 * Many characters in Dragon Ball and Dragonball Z, including Goku and Piccolo. However, they *usually* wear them more for training purposes more than anything else, in order to get a better workout.
 * Most notably in Dragonball Z, Broly of the movies wears a technological device created by his father designed to keep him from using too much of his power and going berserk. It causes the "Super Saiyan" trademark gold hair to take on a turquoise hue instead. By the time he becomes angry enough, his power overloads the device and he achieves his maximum power, growing almost three times his normal size in muscle mass yet sacrificing none of his speed. It becomes quite obvious why his father was so adamant about keeping him under control...
 * Freeza has an interesting variation: his transformations. His final and most powerful form is his natural state: all of his weaker forms are deliberately designed to keep his power in check. It's obvious why: when he finally does go all-out against Goku, he starts strong, almost evenly matched, but quickly burns out and loses power at a drastic rate.
 * Rock Lee from Naruto. He jumps on top of a structure and reveals leg weights, then undoes them, prompting those watching to remark on the futility of casting off a few leg weights. He then tosses them aside, where they gently fall to the ground... and land with a thunderous ground-cracking slam while Rock Lee takes off, showing that he has more than doubled his already-unique fighting speed.
 * Bui, an enemy from the Dark Tournament arc of Yu Yu Hakusho, wears heavy armor over every inch of his body and wields a gigantic axe. Everyone thinks this is to protect him from attack, but it turns out that the armor was actually a Power Limiter, and once it's removed, he shows off an impenetrable Battle Aura that lets him defeat Hiei's Wave Motion Gun, the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.
 * Similarly enough, Hiei himself wears 2 limiters. His headband suppresses his Jagan's demon energy, while the bandages suppress the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, with very good reason; without said limit, Hiei's demon energy was so powerful, if his aura were to clash with Bui's, the resulting reaction was said by Kurama to be powerful enough to destroy the entire stadium.
 * It was revealed in the Dark Tournament arc that Yusuke was given "spirit cuffs" by Genkai because his constant effort to overcome it would buff up his spirit energy.
 * In what is probably a Shout-Out to Rock Lee, MegaMan and ProtoMan both have 'limiter programs' that are essentially giant weights that they drop off in their last battle in the bonus chapter of the final Mega Man NT Warrior manga.
 * In The Prince of Tennis, wrist/leg weights are used in a regular basis during training to develop more focus and leg strength. Masaharu Niou from Rikkaidai also uses additional wristbands to tap his own potential, and utterly refuses to take them off.
 * Kakashi from Naruto will keep his eye patch for most fights, because without his Eyepatch of Power his power is always on and will cost him all his energy too quickly. He also has a limit on his  - twice in one fight! That power could end any threat real quick if not for the 3 limits... the   take a long while to get started, 2 weeks of recovering in bed for doing them, and not being able to train this dangerous power means he can't aim   well... yet.
 * The seals containing the bijuu tend to act as limiters, restricting the flow of the bijuu's chakra until their host activates it when in need.
 * Bleach has several examples. Shinigami aren't allowed to release their swords into either shikai or bankai without permission. This applies to both Soul Society and the living world. The damage they can wreak is too much to contemplate without power limiters. As a result, they also have a further limit on their power. To protect humans in the living world, shinigami of captain and vice-captain ranks have to wear a limiter that reduces their power by 80% in the form of a tattoo of their division's symbolic flower. They again can't release this without express permission.
 * Kenpachi normally wears a parasitic eyepatch that was specially designed to guzzle some of his energy. This limits the amount of energy he can use in battle to prevent him from dispatching his opponents too fast. He wears it on purpose in order to make his fights more challenging.
 * When Ichigo first encounters the true form of Senbonzakura, Senkei, he realises that being surrounded on all sides by thousands of swords puts him in a very bad position. Byakuya guesses what he's thinking and tells him not to be concerned. Apparently Byakuya once made a vow to only ever use Senkei on someone he intended to kill with his own two hands. As a result, he can't maximise the potential of his bankai's thousands of swords because he can only wield the blades one or two at a time from the palms of his hands.
 * Ikkaku possesses bankai but hides it. Even when he finally enters bankai, he doesn't power straight into its full form the way other bankai-wielding shinigami do. He first has to re-engage the fight with the active, but weakly powered, bankai until he makes a first cut. Once his bankai has made a cut in the opponent, the bankai begins to wake up. Once the dragon crest on the highest blade turns fully red, Ikkaku is finally allowed access to the proper power level of a bankai.
 * Findor Carias' mask. He becomes more powerful the more he chips it away, and can apparently match his power to that of certain Shinigami ranks, although Hisagi points out that he underestimate's a captain's strength.
 * When Yumichika releases his sword it rather uselessly splits from one to four blades. Then it's revealed this is a fake shikai and even name. He deliberately calls his sword by a loathesome nickname to hide his true abilities without anyone noticing; this works because the fake name pisses his sword off, thus, it actively refuses to help him until he calls the sword by its proper name. His real release is a snaking mass of unbreakable flower vines that drains an opponent to death. His fake shikai gives him no abilities, forcing him to fight against enemy special abilities with only base skill and resolve. However, his real shikai is so powerful that he's achieved a single-strike victory every time he's used it. The reason he won't use it is because it breaks his division's code of conduct for him to even possess the power let alone actually use it.
 * Crossbone Gundam X3 has two variations on this trope. Its built-in I-field generators have a cool-down period longer than their operational period (which finally gets fixed in Steel Seven by simply adding two more generators). And its Muramasa Blaster initially has a safety Tobia doesn't know about - which isn't a huge problem, as that just makes it a club rather than a beam saber.
 * In Saiyuki the "good" youkai of Shangri-La generally wear jewelry-like power-limiters to keep them human-shaped and closer to human-strength when in mixed company. After the Minus Wave, very few youkai are sane enough to even think about wearing limiters. Two of the protagonists wear limiters nearly all the time: Goku's diadem and Hakkai's ear cuffs. (Goku's is many, many times stronger than a standard youkai limiter due to his Super-Powered Evil Side). Hakkai at full youkai strength scares the shit out of even his friends and he's more susceptible to Minus Wave influence without the ear cuffs. Goku's unlimited form is strong enough to be a direct threat to Heaven and Sanzo's the only non-god who can put the diadem back on. In both cases, if and when the limiters come off, you'd best run and not look back.
 * Moka's rosary in Rosario + Vampire serves to keep her power in check . It can only be removed by Tsukune in times of extreme need.
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 * Kyo of Fruits Basket has a power limiter in the form of a bracelet; if it comes off he transforms into his monstrous "true form."
 * Abel Nightroad in Trinity Blood is the only Crusnik who can release his powers in three stages (40%, 80%, and 100%). These restrictions are self-imposed, following a My God, What Have I Done? moment long before the series' begin.
 * His Evil Twin Cain long before had permanently locked himself into 100% power, with results that demonstrate why Abel's Power Limiter is a really good idea. Their younger sister Seth seems to vary only between not activating the power at all and using it at 100%.
 * Peacemakers in Scrapped Princess have four "modes": compressed, normal , limited battle form , and fully released form.
 * Power Limiters are essential in Zettai Karen Children, as the girls' powers at their max can wreck an entire city block. At first, they were in the form of chokers, but Minamoto's persuasion changed them to a bracelet, earring and ring - much more stylish and less degrading. However, the limiter can only be deactivated when the emergency levels are at their highest.
 * Evangeline of Mahou Sensei Negima is an enormously powerful vampire sorceress who's spread havoc and destruction on a colossal scale, ravaging Europe for many hundreds of years. In her heydays at least. After her defeat by Nagi Springfield the Thousand Master, she's been constrained to remain as student in Mahora Academy for the last fifteen years. The curse he placed on her seals away most of her ability while the school's Magitek barrier weakens her significantly. Considering that the one time we see her without the power limiters, she takes out a demon god in one shot it's probably good that she isn't perpetually at full power. That doesn't go to say she doesn't have some tricks up her sleeve. Hundreds of years of life will do that. In times of dire need, the headmaster is willing to release her curse temporarily for a good Deus Ex Machina.
 * The Youma suppression pills in Claymore were designed to dampen a Claymore's power and let her act covertly. Later on they were used to.
 * In Gakuen Alice, there are power-limiting masks and earrings.
 * In Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Fay's phoenix tattoo (which covers his entire back) restrains his huge innate magical powers. When he trades it to Yuuko for a place in the traveling party, he swears off using his magic for fear of what might happen without the limit in place. Although,.
 * Just as a reminder, without that limiter,.
 * Sergeant Keroro wears a power limiter during the monsoon season to prevent him from turning into "Keroro From Back Then". (Although I've only seen it in Volume 9 of the manga)
 * The titular character from Hell Teacher Nube wears a black glove to keep his Oni Hand hidden away, and so it looks and functions as a regular human hand. When the glove comes off, the hand becomes monstrous in size and appearance, but he still keeps limits on his power with his own spiritual abilities and the help of his mentor's spirit.
 * A more direct application lies in the Oni-Sealing Bracelets which En no Gyōja left scattered throughout Japan (usually to seal something else, which Nube then has to contend with after taking the bracelet.) When he wears these on his Oni Hand, he can consciously allow a specific percentage of the Oni's power to manifest itself, while remaining in full control.
 * Aki Izayoi (Akiza Izinski)'s hairband in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's supposedly holds back her psychic powers, although whether or not it's really a Magic Feather remains to be seen. When it falls out of her hair while fighting against Yusei, her psychic powers seem to really hit home, but that may be psychological.
 * Miyanaga Saki from Saki takes off her shoes to get a power up in mahjong.
 * Parodied twice in Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei. In one instance, Harumi's glasses are revealed to have a tremendous weight and prevent her from exercising her full athletic potential (and she's an amazing athlete with the glasses on). The terminology used to describe them is a Shout-Out to the Restraining Bolt for mecha in Neon Genesis Evangelion. On another occasion, Nozomu is challenged by Lee Nakanao who is a parody of the stock Rival/ Worthy Opponent of shounen fighting anime. Lee is a White-Haired Pretty Boy with an Eyepatch of Power, and when providing stats on him, the manga indicates that the eyepatch restrains his full power and he'd go berserk if he removed it.
 * Yuki Nagato from Haruhi Suzumiya requests permission from her boss to use her powers, and later adds a second layer of restriction in the form of Kyon.
 * The mail-order Power Suit that Gosunkugi buys in Ranma ½. All things considered, it's extremely powerful tech: it can withstand Ranma's full-power punches without even a dent (and injuring Ranma's knuckles in return,) provides its wearer the speed to deliver Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs on par with Ranma, and, naturally, also provides Super Strength. What prevents misuse and abuse by any common crook? Three basic rules: a) it's unbelievably heavy, so once assembled, it effectively locks into place and the user cannot budge one inch until his rival is in range, at which point it automatically latches onto them with a retractable handcuff and powers up; b) once latched onto the rival, the armor will deactivate and fall apart by itself as soon as the user successfully strikes the enemy; and c) the user has a time limit to accomplish this, otherwise the armor will self-destruct.

Comic Books

 * In X-Men 3, not to mention in the original comics it was based on, we learn that Professor Xavier placed a mental block in Jean Grey as a child, to keep her more extreme powers from manifesting.
 * Also, in the original Phoenix storyline in the comics, Jean unconsciously put blocks on her vast cosmic power to keep it at a level she could handle. Then, Mastermind started removing them. BAD move.
 * Also, Cyclops' goggles, which keep his uncontrollable Eye Beams under wraps. If he takes his glasses off completely and opens his eyes fully he's a match for even Juggernaut (for a little while, anyway) and once atomized a Sentinel. The bad news is that it means destroying everything else in the area too, so he doesn't do it often.
 * Cable's Psychic Powers would be Phoenix-class if a portion of his power wasn't constantly occupied holding back the techno-organic virus that threatens to consume him. As such, he typically uses BFGs and does the occasional nowhere-near-Phoenix-class telekinetic feat.
 * Similar to Jean Grey, in the post-Zero Hour Legion of Super-Heroes, blocks were put on the higher levels of Saturn Girl's telepathy when she was a child. When the blocks came off years later, she started using her powers without realizing it.
 * Albert Cranston in PS238 is implied, early on, to have one of these around his head. Apparently they limit his (apparent) telekinetic abilities to a level where he is barely able to press a keyboard button with his mind, and it seems that he is keeping the fact that he is even able to do this a secret from the remaining staff, implying it was meant to be a Power Nullifier.
 * That's exactly what it's for. Governmentally-enforced, no less.
 * During the recent Christopher Kent storyline in Superman, Superman had him wear a watch much of the time that emitted red sunlight to keep him normal as he hadn't learned to control his powers yet. He could take it off any time he wanted but kept it on most of the time out of respect for Superman.
 * In Generations, Kara Kent wore a red sunlight pendant during early childhood when her powers started manifesting. Lois had previously worn the same pendant when she was pregnant with Kara to keep the Kryptonian infant from damaging her.
 * The Spectre's power is severely limited when sealed in a mortal host. The Spectre still has near-omnipotent power but can only use it to punish murderers (and not every murderer at that). During the Day of Vengeance event the Spectre was between hosts and fell prey to Eclipso's manipulations and decided that magic was an affront to the Presence's will and had to be destroyed. The Spectre declared war on all magic in the universe. And pretty much won. Without anything holding him back, the Spectre turned Phantom Stranger into a mouse, forced Blaze and Satanus to flee for their lives, kicked a souped up Captain Marvel's ass, killed Shazam in the place where he was strongest, and killed all of the Lords of Order and Chaos. Unfortunately for the Spectre that last one was the final straw for the Presence. The Presence promptly demonstrated the difference between near-omnipotent and omnipotent power by sealing the Spectre into his new host.
 * The newest version of Steel (a member of the Justice Society not to be confused with John Henry Irons) wears a solid metal skin with no joints in order to resist his strength enough for him to function. It has draw backs like not being able to feel pretty much anything.

Fairy Tales

 * The Runner from the fairy tale The Six Who Went Far in the World wore a single weighted boot, so he wasn't running around at full speed all the time.

Film

 * In The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, the world's fastest runner constantly has a ball and chain attached to each of his feet.

Literature

 * Done by choice in the Taltos novels of the Dragaera series, where is revealed to be one and the same with, and in this persona achieved success with hard work and minimal use of magic, refusing to use any resource or knowledge she didn't gain as  , even though in her true form she is an equal to the gods. Her explanation was simply that she got bored.
 * In the Fingerprints series, Rae's Psychic Powers initially drive her into a mental institution. In later books, she starts putting wax on her fingertips as a sort of improvised Power Limiter to keep other peoples' thoughts out of her head, since she can't turn her ability off.
 * Merlin Athrawes is actually a machine posing as one of the planet Safeholds legendary seijin. This lets him perform above and beyond your average human, but he still keeps a Power Limiter active to avoid being too above and beyond, and only removes them in extreme circumstances.
 * In Mistborn Vin's

Live Action TV

 * In Kamen Rider Kiva, Wataru (the titular hero) has his  Rider abilities are chained in two ways: symbolically in that being a , and literally with the chains adorning Kiva's armor that bring its power down to manageable levels. When he unlocks Emperor Form, the Transformation Sequence actually begins with one of his sidekicks shattering the chains.
 * Later in the series, Wataru gets his hands on an Evil Weapon that makes him go berserk. His Battle Butlers use a fragment of their souls to create a new Power Limiter that lets him use the sword without going crazy.
 * In Mahou Sentai Magiranger Hikaru ends up having to put a time limit on the main team's Legend Modes so that they don't lose their humanity.

Tabletop Games

 * Imperial Guard Sanctioned Psykers from Warhammer 40000 have augmetic dampers implanted to reduce the potency of their powers.
 * Similarly, Wystan Frauka, Ravenor's Blank, has a power limiter which can turn off his psychic blanking effect. Which is handy, when the hero is a powerful psychic...

Video Games

 * The Slayer class in Dungeon Fighter Online is a swordsman with a red, demon-possessed arm that constantly tries to take over the rest of his body. Right from the start, he's got a Power Limiter in the form of mystical shackles attached to the arm. One of his class advancements, the Blade Master, receives a more-powerful version called a Regulator, which allows him to focus nearly entirely on his swordplay and supresses the demon so strongly his arm turns white and glows. His alternate class advancements are much less positive, with two in particular involving striking a bargain with the demon to trade his eyes for power or just completely giving in to the madness.
 * Potemkin in Guilty Gear wears a restraint system designed to keep him under control during the years he was a slave; it had a bomb wired into it. He worked so hard to overcome it that he gained incredible muscle mass. Even now, having gained freedom, he still wears it to keep his strength in check. In his Instant Kill, he briefly removes it, and then kills the opponent with one punch.
 * As well, Sol Badguy, from the same series, wears a pseudo-magical headband which suppresses his true nature as a Super Prototype Gear, a race of magical living weapons of mass destruction, and allows him to retain his sanity. However, this comes at a cost of somewhere in the vicinity of 90% of his power. Given his already amazing battle skill, and his ability to destroy commander-level Gears with minimal effort, his true potental can be rather frightening to consider.
 * Still, That Man seems to casually fight him after Sol removes his limiter. Even at the end of the battle, barely any damage was done to That Man. Makes one wonder how powerful That Man really is.
 * Xenogears has the surface dwellers' and Solarians' powers limited by a nanomachine device literally called a Limiter. You get to destroy this Limiter later and unlock awesome new techs for your character.
 * Limiters are used in a lot of ways, not just to ensure that surfacers and Solarians can't attain their full power.
 * In Romancing SaGa 2 if you kill Rockbouquet before Noel, he will not allow you to make peace with him and will attack at full power; it is even worse if he is the only remaining hero since he will be the Penultimate Boss in the final dungeon; he will be in his second form and without the limiter, meaning he will use every technique at his disposal.
 * K' in The King of Fighters is forced to wear a special gauntlet, lest his flame control powers run wild. Normally, flame-users in KOF have perfect control, but since K' got his powers through an imperfect process, he has no control over them.
 * Both K9999 and Nameless have this too. It simplied that Nameless's glvoe is the reincarnation of his long dead lover or something.
 * Rugal Bernstein and Krizalid have first forms wherein they wear a tuxedo for Rugal or a huge coat for Kriz. Once they come off...well, don't say we didn't warn you. Rugal's tux is probably worn by Rugal for laughs, where as Kriz's coat is unexplained but could be this. Rugal flings his off, and Krizalid burns his, BTW.
 * Street Fighter 3's Oro willingly wears one of his arms in a sling while fighting as to use both would run the risk of killing his opponent due to his sheer power. During one of his Super Arts, however, he removes the arm and beats the crap out of the opponent.
 * In Starcraft, the Terran Ghosts go through brutal training to suppress their innate abilities and allow their superiors to keep better control over them. It can be reversed, though; Infested Kerrigan raids a Terran ship to find out how to do it, unlocking the Psionic Storm attack.
 * The gold rings on Shadow the Hedgehog's wrists act as a limiter. It was barely implied in the games, however in Sonic X he takes them off in certain desperate situations. In the comic he takes them off to fight Enerjak, warning the people of New Mobotropolis to "clear the area" and giving Nicole difficulty in maintaining the city.
 * It's canon in the games as of Sonic 2006. When Mephiles surrounds Shadow by duplicating himself several hundred times, Shadow removes the rings from his wrists and proceeds to curbstomp the entire clone army. He immediately puts them back on afterward.
 * Used twice on the same character in Tales of the Abyss. A piece of Applied Phlebotinum is used to bring Jade down 30 levels so he wouldn't be spectacularly overleveled for most of the game. Later, through a sidequest or two, you learn that Jade's eyes are where his ability to use fonic artes is most concentrated, and his glasses prevent all the fonic energy from going out of control and destroying him and whatever he happens to be standing by. (The glasses do come off for the final battle against the Big Bad, however...)
 * In Super Robot Wars, pretty much every Super Robot used by the Shadow-Mirrors is able to deactivate its power limiter by reciting a code word or phrase, i.e. "Code: Kirin". This is never used as a plot point, however, just an implied powerup during the characters' strongest attacks.
 * In God Hand, Gene wears the Deistic brace on his god hand so that he can keep control over the awesome power it contains.
 * Certain held items in Pokémon act as simultaneous Power Limiters and Power At a Price. The various "Power ________" items sacrifice Speed to increase another stat's development speed. The Iron Ball cuts Speed and removes the Flying-type immunity to Ground moves, but gives the strongest possible base power for the move Fling. Certain abilities, like Truant and Slow Start act as Power Limiters.
 * Machoke's belt is also an example, preventing it from expending all its power at once.
 * It is also implied that the Pokeballs themselves act as a power limiter in Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl.
 * The chest seals on Golett and Golurk keep their power at a manageable level.
 * Star Ocean's 2 final boss Indalecio used his daughter Filia as a limiter on his power. If, after reaching the final level of Fienal, the player decides to trek all the way back to Central City, do a private action and encounter Filia again, Indalecio will find her and kill her, removing his limiter. With limiter off, he's almost unstoppable.
 * In God of War 3, Hercules starts out as a Mighty Glacier, but when Kratos pulls off his armor and weapons, he becomes much faster, turning into a Lightning Bruiser.
 * Fate/stay night's Heaven's Feel scenario has Shirou, which would kill him if he used it much at all, thus forcing him to utilize a magical shroud to block it off. HF also reveals that  has been under a power limiter the whole time as well. If not for the limiter, the ability they block might accidentally kill everyone around her. With it off, she gains increased abilities as well.
 * functions similarly to Shiki's glasses in Tsukihime. In fact, Touko also creates a pair of glasses for for everyday purposes.
 * In Strange Journey, Alilat served as one of these. While now Metatron can siphon a bit of his power back, it means now Demiurge's power lines just got unclogged...
 * In Phantasy Star Online there's actually an item named Limiter. Once you get 20,000 kills with it equipped, it can become an Adept.
 * Deathwing from World of Warcraft Cataclysm has massive elementium plates welded onto his body to keep his own power from tearing him apart. He's still noticably "leaking" power despite them, and is in constant agony.
 * When the final battle comes, you tear off the plates to defeat him.
 * In the Diablo series, the first humans of Sanctuary (and Sanctuary itself) were Angel-Demon hybrids called the Nephalem. They possessed power beyond any angel or demon and more significantly were Immune to Fate. The Angels feared their power and created the Worldstone to limit their power. Then Tyrael was forced to destroy the Worldstone after Baal corrupted it in Throne of Destruction. Cue the sequel, and the first of the new Nephalem become powerful enough

Webcomics

 * Agatha's brooch in Girl Genius inhibits her "spark" of Mad Science genius.
 * Kili's tattoos in The Dragon Doctors limit her shaman powers and protect her from insanity through dead people. Note that she's still the best shaman in the world, and her tattoos would completely negate the powers of a normal shaman.
 * Eclair from Dragon Mango is always seen wearing armor, which fits her concept as she is a swordfighter. But it's also made of iron, which hurts and weakens an elf (which she is) by its mere touch! She is also a graduate of swordfighting style with an insanely dangerous training method (most students either flee, die or go insane long before completing training) focused on enduring the touch of iron. When she goes up against an extremely powerful enemy, she drops the armor to unleash her full potential.
 * Black Mage from Eight Bit Theater has a huge amount of untapped potential power that is indicated to be enough to bring about at least one of the X-clases on the Apocalypse How scale. How does the universe stop this Omnicidal Maniac from destroying all reality? His physical body limits the amount of power he can access. As a result, after he died the first time (and a large hoard of terrified demons and the villains of the comic stuck him back into his physical form), the universe has been very careful to make sure he doesn't die.
 * Kin in Goblins, as part of her enslavement to Dellyn, has been fitted with a magical leash that supresses her magic abilities and prevents her from harming anyone else if the leash is being held.
 * In Rescuing Dara, like in Pokémon, Chivais' Everstone prevents her from evolving, which would make her an even more powerful fighter than she already is.

Web Original

 * The Hawthorne Cottage resident Olympia, from the Whateley Universe. She's an enormously strong brick with energy powers, and she's insane. The school has her wearing a golden 'power armor suit' that she thinks increases her strength. It's a Power Limiter. Everyone's hoping she doesn't figure this out.
 * The villain, Wolf from The Descendants has an 'inhibitor' that let's him control his were-wolf like transformations. Unlimited, he turns into a Big Badass Wolf but is much dumber.

Western Animation

 * Jafar is defeated in the first Aladdin movie by the limits of being a genie. "Phenomenal cosmic powers... itty-bitty living space."
 * Hexadecimal's mask is this, though you wouldn't know it until it comes off. It prevents her nearly unlimited power from overloading her body and exploding.

Real Life

 * Ever put a bell on your cat so you'll always know where they are? Well, the things they hunt can tell too, effectively removing their stealthiness.
 * Until the cat learns to silence the bell with a paw.
 * Several real life training methods involve limiting ones power. While most people will think of weighted clothes (vest, ankles, gloves), there is also running underwater, sled dragging, or even practicing certain things at night when your eyes are not as useful.
 * Many forms automobile racing use restrictors plates to limit the air intake, and thus the maximum power output of an engine. This is either to ensure parity or competitiveness between different cars (Le Mans Prototypes, GT racecars), or to reduce speeds that could lead to serious accidents (NASCAR superspeedways)
 * When you install custom firmware on your router, you can set the transmit power to anything you want.
 * It's worth noting that setting the power too high will result in the router quickly frying itself. For example, setting a router to 8 times its manufactured limit is quite likely to result in you having a brick in just 6 months time.
 * Boring ordinary example would probably be Speed Limits. Most vehicles on the road can likely go faster than the legal limit.