Badass Abnormal: Difference between revisions

Keep in mind that to qualify as a [['''Badass Abnormal]]''', a character must spend a significant amount of screen time as a [[Badass Normal]] before gaining his upgrade. For example, Hal Jordan of the ''[[Green Lantern]]'' series starts off as a [[Badass Normal]] (he's an Air Force pilot) but gets his powers so early in the story that he cannot be considered a [[Badass Abnormal]]. Likewise, fellow Green Lantern John Stewart used to be a member of [[Semper Fi|another Corps]], but that wasn't even brought up until decades after his introduction. If the power upgrade is a part of the character's origin story, then he doesn't count as a [[Badass Abnormal]]. If the character only uses his powers in extreme circumstances, he probably [[Fights Like a Normal]].

Compare [[Took a Level Inin Badass]], where a character who was legitimately weak gets a power boost. [[Power Loss Makes You Strong]] and [[Boxing Lessons for Superman]] are inversions.

'''Important Note:''' [[Badass Abnormal]] is a trope that specifically deals with a [[Badass Normal]] who gains superpowers. It does ''not'' mean "[[Badass]] with superpowers." There are plenty of other [[Badass]]-related tropes to deal with those. Please help us fight this [[Trope Decay]].

** A magical swimsuit made from a jellyfish-like substance, which allows the user to swim like a dolphin --notdolphin—not only negating Akane's [[Super Drowning Skills]], but also giving her a speed and coordination that left Ranma wallowing in her wake.

* An awful lot of [[Fan Fiction]] tends to give [[Batman]] powers, typically so he can "stand up" to [[Superman]]. Some comics do this, too, usually as a one-issue gag or an [[Elseworld]]. One Elseworld gave him a ''[[Green Lantern Ring]]'' -- leading—leading to this [[Motivational Poster|Demotivator]] titled [[media:green-lantern-batman.jpg|"Overpowered"]]

*** Actually the ''original'' original [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] Fox Features Blue Beetle [https://web.archive.org/web/20160220162955/http://pdsh.wikia.com/wiki/Blue_Beetle\], before being revived by [[Charlton Comics]] and thence moving to [[The DCU]], started as a [[Badass Normal]] then got a bulletproof costume and [[Super Serum]] from a scientist ally. The scarab didn't pop up until the [[Silver Age]] at Charlton.

* In the early years of his published existence, [[Jimmy Olsen]] was a [[Tagalong Kid|sidekick]] who's only ability was a watch that let him call [[Superman]] for help. Then, in the pages of Jimmy's own title, the writers decided to have him [[Take a Level In Badass]] by giving him superpowers of his own. Trouble was, the power-ups never seemed to take, and they seemed to become [[Motive Decay|wackier with each attempt]]. Over the years, Jimmy went through spats of being a [[Super Speed|speedster]], a [[Telepathy|telepath]], a [[Rubber Man]], a [[Our Werewolves Are Different|werewolf]], a [[Spikes of Doom|human porcupine]], a [[Kaiju|giant turtle]], and a [[Bourgeois Bohemian|hippy]], [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink|just to name a few]]. By the time the title was cancelled, they had abused the [[Badass Abnormal]] trope so throughly, the title itself had come to feel like an extremely meta subversion.

* In ''[[Tangled]],'' [[My Beloved Smother|Gothel]] kind of fulfills this trope. She seems to be a normal woman, except for the fact that she can maintain her youth forever using her adopted daughter's [[It Makes Sense in Context|magic hair]]. Her only other weapons are a cunning mind and a knife. (Which sort of makes her an [[Inversion]]--the—the original stories describe her as a witch.)

* Tavi of the ''[[Codex Alera]]'' is the [[The Call Put Me on Hold|one and only]] [[Muggle]] in a world where absolutely everything [[Magitek|runs on]] [[Elemental Powers]]. He can't even turn the lights on and off by himself. He is, however, so [[Badass]] that he easily outmatches more than a few people who have [[Super Strength]] or can throw waves of fire around, and often saves the day through sheer [[Badass Normal]] [[Crazy Enough to Work|awesomeness]]. But he also becomes less and less normal with time; his [[Bond Creatures|bond]] with Kitai increasingly sharpens his senses and improves his stamina, and at the end of ''Cursor's Fury'', {{spoiler|he finally starts to get over his mother stunting his magic and develops some rudimentary furycrafting ability. But since he's short about 15 years of practice, he's unable to utilize it properly until he gets some [[Training Fromfrom Hell]] in ''First Lord's Fury''.}}

* In ''[[Discworld/Snuff|Snuff]]'' it's revealed that due to the events of ''[[Discworld/Thud|Thud!]]'' {{spoiler|Sam Vimes can see in the dark, understand the language of goblins, and can ask the Summoning Dark to tell him anything that happened in darkness.}}

* Xander Harris on ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' definitely should be this. Before leaving highschoolhigh school, he's been possessed by a soldier and a hyena spirit, and been given a treatment which, had it been completed, would have turned him into a fishman. He more or less stops getting weirdness shoved into his brain after graduation. There are indications that all three events permanently (though subtly) changed him, and all made him more powerful.

* ''[[New World of Darkness|World of Darkness]]: Mirrors'' has the "Dark Hero" template, which (on top of a few inherent abilities such as a power stat and [[Made of Iron|greater durability]] and [[Healing Factor|healing]]) allows one to utilise "Skill Masteries", specialized powers based in mundane Skills. The weakest of these constitute [[Charles Atlas Superpower|Charles Atlas Superpowers]]s, while the greatest are positively superhuman.

* Quite a few ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! Card(Tabletop Game)]]!'' cards underwent this. As the [[Lensman Arms Race]] of [[Game Breaker]] superpowers continued, a variety of iconic Normal Monsters became [[So Last Season]] [[Com Mons]] for many players. As a result, a large number of those Monsters were rereleased as Effect Monsters. For example, [[A Load of Bull|Battle Ox]] became [[Armor-Piercing Attack|Enraged Battle Ox]], [[Knight in Shining Armor|Gaia the Fierce Knight]] became [[Desperation Attack|Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight]], [[Jeanne D'Archetype|St. Joan]] became [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy|Guardian Angel Joan]], and [[Gradius|Victory Viper]][[I Am Not Shazam|/Gradius]] went from a random [[Shout-Out]] to another game to an entire archetype of similarly-statted references. But perhaps the largest of them all was Chaos Soldier[[Dub Name Change|/Black Luster Soldier]], which went from a subpar and outdated Ritual Monster, to [[Game Breaker|one of the founders of the banlist.]]

* The Sisters of Battle of ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' are for all intents and purposes normal humans, albeit [[Training Fromfrom Hell|trained to elite levels]], and equipped with [[Power Armor]], and a [[BFG|Boltgun]]. Their faith in the God-Emperor though is ''so'' strong that it gives them incredible powers on par with psionics (only explicitly ''not'' warp derived, therefore without possibility of invoking Perils of the Warp). In fact, they're good enough to where many players prefer to design their army ''specifically'' around Acts of Faith to make a competitive list, something of a necessity given that the codex is two editions out of date.

** Although the revelation that he was a born demigod may mean he was [[Badass Abnormal]] all along.

* Albert Wesker from the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' series was already one ''hell'' of a [[Magnificent Bastard]], but after successfully pulling off his massive [[Gambit Roulette]] in the first game and coming [[Back Fromfrom the Dead]] in ''[[Resident Evil Code: Veronica|Code: Veronica]]'', he gains superhuman strength and speed thanks to a specific form of [[The Virus]].

** ''[[Resident Evil 5]]'' reveals that Wesker {{spoiler|along with the other Wesker children, though he supposedly was the only survivor,}} was a subject of Project W, the first and greatest of Umbrella's experiments. He was indoctrinated with Oswell Spencer's beliefs and treated with the Progenitor Virus since early childhood. He was a [[Badass Abnormal]] all along.

* In the ''[[Fallout]]'' games, you start as a plucky [[Badass Normal]] survivor relying on a [[Cool Gun|hunting]] [[Boring but Practical|rifle]], [[Crazy Prepared|your wits]] and [[Combat Pragmatist|tactics]] to take on a variety of [[Nuclear Nasty|mutated animals and insects]], [[Our Zombies Are Different|Ghouls]], [[Our Orcs Are Different|Super]]-[[Our Giants Are Bigger|Mutants]], [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot|military robots]], and [[Super Soldiers]]. Over the course of the games, though, you can gain perks that grant you superhuman abilities and help level the playing field. They range from [[Cyborg|cybernetic implants]], [[Cursed with Awesome|beneficial mutations]], and quasi-supernatural abilities like [[Our Vampires Are Different|the ability to gain health from drinking blood]]. You can also acquire special equipment like [[Power Armor]], [[Invisibility Cloak|stealth devices]], and ludicrously powerful weapons that [[Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better|fire conventional solid rounds]], [[Frickin' Laser Beams|directed]] [[Ray Gun|energy]] weapons, [[Stuff Blowing Up|explosives]] and even ''[[Nuke'Em|nukes]]''.

* Ashley Winchester, the protagonist of ''[[Wild ArmsARMs 2]]'' is this when he gets his [[Second-Hour Superpower]] a few hours into the game. Comes with a [[Theme Music Power-Up]] too.

* Victor of ''[[Charby the Vampirate]]'' is looking more like this, he thinks of himself as human, others [https://web.archive.org/web/20120520222517/http://www.drunkduck.com/Charby_the_Vampirate/5017056/ don't]

* [[Anti-Villain|Macbeth]] from ''[[Gargoyles]]'' is a [[Badass Abnormal]] twice over. During his initial lifetime, he was a highly skilled swordsman and all-around warrior, but had [[Badass Normal|no superhuman abilities]]. Following a bargain with the Weird Sisters and Demona, he gained virtual immortality, and then at some point between his medieval backstory and first appearance in the present storyline, he also learned sorcery, becoming a [[Magic Knight]].

** Owen could probably count, although more from the viewer's standpoint--hestandpoint—he was {{spoiler|actually [[The Fair Folk|Puck]]}} for the whole series, but came off as a [[Badass Normal]] [[Battle Butler]] until revealing himself near the end of season two.

* In ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man|The Spectacular Spider Man]]'', Kraven and the Enforcers started out as [[Badass Normal|Badass Normals]]s who, while not actually ''winning'' against Spider-Man, could put up a decent fight. To level the playing field, they got themselves powers: Kraven became a [[Petting Zoo Person]] and the Enforcers got [[Powered Armor]].

* Agent Bishop in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003]]''.{{context}}