Superpower Silly Putty



From the diary of James Bartholomew Olsen:

""Dear Diary, I became Turtle Boy today. I was better than last time; I only fell on my shell once and a nice man was there to flip me over. I don't know quite what set it off -- the radioactive meteorite I was investigating or that mystical talisman my girlfriend gave me. It was certainly better than yesterday: a combination of Omega Radiation and a kryptonite candle turned me into Melting Lad. I really don't understand how melting is a superpower, but I was a puddle for half the day. Superman had to use his super-sculpting skills to put my atomic structure back together. I have to remember to get him something good for his birthday. Maybe a tie? Well, tomorrow is a new day. Let's hope I don't get any more weird or wacky powers -- I don't know how much I can handle, to be honest. It's never just super-strength or flight, it's always something weird, like lycanthropy or becoming super-fat (again, how is that a superpower?). Tomorrow looks to be better, though, diary. I only have one assignment with Ms. Lane: to photograph STAR Labs' new particle decelerator. Here's hoping there are no mishaps. Until tomorrow, Jimmy.""

A Sister Trope to Unfazed Everyman. Where an Unfazed Everyman is a normal person surrounded by weirdness, but who stays normal nonetheless, someone who is Superpower Silly Putty is one who is transformed by the weirdness. Numerous times. He never keeps the powers, however; he always manages to lose them just as he is getting used to them. Don't expect him to know exactly how to use them during the duration.

Pretty much a Dead Horse Trope by now, it was used quite frequently in the Silver Age.

A subtrope of Superpowers for A Day. Not to be confused with Plastic Man, a literal Silly Putty superhero.

Comics

 * Jimmy Olsen, who had (and lost) so many superpowers, there is an entire collection called The Many Transformations of Jimmy Olsen.
 * In the Elseworld story The Nail Jimmy Olsen is the aide of Metropolis Mayor Lex Luthor because he has extensive experience of Meta-Human affairs due to his numerous transformations..
 * One comic (a lead-up to the New Krypton story) suggests Jimmy has had this happen to him so many times that it's made his mind impossible to read. Jimmy himself figures it out while being chased by a mind reading assassin. Long story.
 * And in Countdown to Final Crisis, Jimmy starts cycling through all his powers, and decides now's his moment to become a superhero ... Mr Action.
 * Lana Lang also fell into this a lot in the Silver Age.
 * So did Lois Lane. In fact, the sheer amount of Silver Age Superman stories where either Jimmy, Lois or Lana get superpowers is the most frequent Running Gag in Superdickery.com
 * At least Perry White got off scot-free, right? ...Oh.
 * There was period in the Silver Age when Batman was either getting a superpower or experiencing a bizarre transformation (alien, genie, giant, merman, etc) every month. It would always Snap Back at the end of the story.
 * It still happens every now and then. There's even an Elseworld based on Bruce Wayne becoming a Green Lantern. (Or a pirate, or a knight...)
 * And according to Grant Morrison, every single wacky Silver Age transformation is now canon. Albeit with most of them Ret Conned into being hallucinations brought about by a sensory deprivation experiment, or by the many chemical weapons Batman's rogues tend to use.
 * Rick Jones, the sidekick to the entire Marvel Universe.

Western Animation

 * Ron Stoppable is hit with this quite frequently in Kim Possible.
 * Johnny Test.
 * Clover in Totally Spies! tended to be subject to Fetish Fuel-inducing transformations.
 * Similarly, Alex would always be the one to trade faces with the villain in the cases of a partial body swap machine. (Yes there were multiples of these)
 * For the sake of completion, it was Sam who took on all the brainwashing.
 * Martin Morning changes into a new character (spy, robot, eskimo, etc.) every morning.
 * On Jumanji's animated adaptation, Peter was often transformed into all kinds of humanoid animals, usually as a sanction for trying to mess with the game's rules or Tempting Fate.