By the Power of Grayskull: Difference between revisions

 

For some heroes, the phrase can be omitted when time does not allow, especially if the full [[Transformation Sequence]] is omitted. Superheroes who do not go through an explicit [[Transformation Sequence]] ([[Batman]], [[Superman]]) are exempt.

 

A common [[Anime]] phenomenon, where it may be a form of [[Calling Your Attacks]]. In the Japanese dialog of [[Sentai]] and [[Anime]], the word "Henshin"—meaning roughly "change" or "transform"—is often found in the phrase, and is sometimes the ''entire'' phrase.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'': In the first season of the English dub, Yugi's transformation into the pharaoh is usually precipitated by his shouting the title of the series.

* ''[[Getter Robo]]'', the majordomo of piloted [[Super Robot]] anime, used the phrase "Change, Getter X", where X was the number/name of the form to be assumed. The actual change was just assembling the [[Combining Mecha|combiner team]] in a new order. Later on in the series the phrase "Open Get" was used to disconnect the component vehicles.

** ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Show Within a Show]] [[Gekiganger 3]], based heavily on Getter Robo and other shows of its type, uses "Let's Gekiga In!" (based on ''[[Voltes V]]'''s "Let's Volt In") for all its combination sequences, and "Gekiga Out" to disconnect the vehicles.

** The ''[http://www.thekeep.org/~rpm/vertigo/sailor-hellblazer/ Sailor Hellblazer]'' [[Crossover]] [[Fanfic]] spoofs this when John Constantine accidentally sets his Transformation phrase as "bloody friggin' hell."

** Sailor Jupiter's pre-attack powerup [[Invocation]] probably counts. "Guardian Jupiter! Stir up the storm, summon the clouds, send me your lightning! ''Supreme Thunder!''" She drops everything but the attack name later on, though. Though it does appear a few times later, making the attack seem more Bad Ass then normal.

* In [[The DCU]], Jason Blood is changed into [[Etrigan]] when a certain poem is read, by him or by someone else. The full version is:

{{quote|''Change, change the form of man.

** Often, especially in adaptations, only the two last lines are used. To change back, he recites "Gone, gone, O Etrigan! Resume once more the form of man!"

** Other versions of the poem have been seen to work. Spoofed at least once by Blood himself, while in a particularly snarky mood:

{{quote|''Gone, oh little man so tame,

** Thunder Girl, ''Big Bang Comics''' Captain/Mary Marvel pastiche, had the word "Alakazam!" Her evil Nazi counterparts (who more closely resemble the rest of the Marvel family, with another Mary thrown in for good measure) have "Gotterdammerung!"

** Perhaps ironically, an even later issue of [[The Flash]] had our hero Wally West spouting the equation out of desperation to be faster during a particularly large disaster. {{spoiler|Not only did he speed up, but time actually froze around him -- keeping the world in a frozen moment of time that only fellow speedster Max Mercury could reach for a few minutes before being dragged out again. Time resumed its natural flow when Wally was finally able to let go and allow time to resume.}} 'Pointless' indeed.

* Johnny Thunder commanded his magical (though literal-minded) genie through the mystical phrase "cei-u". In his early issues the running gag was that he wasn't aware of this, and the magic would happen at seemingly random times without him realizing that it was always after he has spoken the words "Say, you". Needless to say, he wasn't portrayed as very bright.

** There's a reason for this: {{spoiler|"Khaji da!" is the Scarab's ''name''}}, a point revealed in Blue Beetle #25 (of the most recent series).

* General Glory, also from [[The DCU]]. He forgot his magic catch phrase after being mindwiped by the government. He finally tracked it down via the propaganda comics the government used to issue so they could deny his very existence. "You saw General Glory beating up a tank? Sure... stop reading so much, soldier."

* [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] (now [[Public Domain]]) superhero the Green Lama used as his transformation phrase the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum". Since the Lama was supposed to be Buddhist this makes a sort of sense.

* The Great Ten's Thundermind uses the mantra "All hail the jewel in the lotus" (or its translation "Om mani padme hum") to transform into the mighty superhero. Since Thundermind is a Buddhist-based superhero, it makes some sense (as with the Green Lama).

* Hawk and Dove, from the DC Universe, would magically gain their superpowers and costumes by shouting out loud their super-hero names. This would only work if there was danger afoot, however.

* Issue #24 of ''Plop!'' contained a story called "The Bella Button Caper", in which the titular character was legislating to ban all comic books forever. In response, the "Great Comic Book Spirit" gave a twelve-year-old called "Comic Book" [[Mc Fiend]] the power to turn into a different DC superhero by saying - what else - "Plop!". After he finally cornered a remorseful Bella, the spirit told her to say "DC", which turned her into a comic book.

* The trope was parodied in issue #23 of the [[Batgirl 2009|Stephanie Brown]] ''[[Batgirl 2009|Batgirl]]'' [[Batgirl 2009|series]], where she confronts the Reapers, the (Somewhat pathetic, although admittedly dangerous) villains she has faced for the majority of the tail-end of the series. When she finds herself outmatched by the numerically superior Reapers, she shouts '''''[[Shazam]]!''''' at the top of her lungs. The Reapers pause momentarily in confusion, and [[Genre Savvy|question one another on if Batgirl is magic or not]], before the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] [[Big Damn Heroes|burst to the rescue]], having been waiting for the signal to come charging in. They proceed to [[Curb Stomp Battle|effortlessly annhilate the Reapers]], [[Cherry Tapping|some of whom do not even bother to look at the Reapers as they defeat them]].

 

==Fanfiction==

* ''[[Becka Rangers Nemo Thunder]]'' had "From Down Under, Nemo Thunder!" and "Taking on the Jellies!", as it was a combination of ''[[Finding Nemo]]'' with ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]''.

 

 

== Literature ==

* Averted in the Tortall universe, in which the most powerful shapeshifter in the world quite frequently shifts into something else without saying anything at all.

** After her series ends, she gets pregnant with a baby shapeshifter, and has to change shape whenever the baby does so she doesn't kick her way out. Another character comments that it is quite distracting to try to talk to the shapeshifter when she has to change shape every few minutes.

* In Bruce Coville's ''The Monster's Ring'', the main character had to recite some doggerel in order to make the titular ring work, one verse to turn into a monster and another to change back.

* In Zilpha Keatley Snyder's ''Black & Blue Magic'', the main character had to recite a flying-related verse while rubbing a certain magic oil into his shoulder blades in order to grow wings.

 

== Live Action TV ==

** Although in ''[[Power Rangers Operation Overdrive]]'' there were double-figure instant morphs. Still needed words for everything else, but when there was emotion involved, woohoo baby, they went for the silent approach.

** They weren't afraid to spoof it from time to time. Whenever [[The Smart Guy|Billy]] did the call, he would often say it in technobabble, i.e. "It's time for molecular transmutation!"

*** ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' justifies the catchphrase as a voice lock for the morphers.

*** Other series have it weird, for example those Rangers (like ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'' and ''[[Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue]]'') whose morpher has a password keypad and is used as such, still have team call (and intricate hand gestures before typing their codes).

** ''[[Tomica Hero Rescue Force]]'', which is actually a [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''Madan Senki Ryukendo'', used ''"Chakusou!"'' This is the exact same word as "souchaku".

* In ''[[Cutey Honey the Live]]'', Honey transforms by touching two fingers to a little heart charm on her neck and calling "Honey Flash!". Her transformation is a naked/sparkle scene a la ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', but the catch is that the people around her can ''see'' her naked and sparkling.

** [[Himitsu Sentai Goranger|"Go!"]]

** [[Battle Fever J|"Fever!"]]

* [[Ultraman 80]]: "Eitii!"

* [[Ultraman Mebius]]:"Mebiusu!"

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Most tabletop games don't require the ''player'' to chant anything, as it's assumed the PC says whatever he needs to say to get the desired spell activated (ie, Power Word Kill doesn't specify the word used).

*** Actually, the majority of the incantation is done during the prepariation step. The actions they take to unleash it are simply finishing the last part of the spell. (Sorcerer's use the words to help them focus as their power is largely instinctive).

*** There's also the Nonverbal Spell feat in one of the supplements which allows a spellcaster to bypass the use of ''words'' as long as they use some other sound (grunting, mumbling, or even singing). This was initially so that one race which didn't speak could still become a spellcaster. It also allows for a cheaper way of being stealthy than Silent Spell since it doesn't affect the spell slot level.

** However, ''[[GURPS]]'' has an optional rule for spellcasting using cantrips; you can prepare in advance (or invent on the spot) a poem to cast a spell; longer poems give better effects. The player, not the PC, must recite or read the actual cantrip, and you're not allowed to "stop time" to make up a poem, so you'd better be good at improvisation or have a prewritten one at the ready.

** Spells in ''Kobolds Ate My Baby'' require the player to perform the correct action/speak the correct words. The phrase for casting "Wall of Beer" was "Tappa tappa kegga, wall o'Beer omega!". Being invisible required the player to cross their arms and do their best to look like a brooding vampire.

* Explained away in a ''[[Shadowrun]]'' book. People in the Shadowrun-verse yell, wave their hands in elegant motions, point, say things [[Narm|quite dramatically]], and other magicky stuff, but when asked this, a mage says that it's all used to help focus mana. It's not necessary, though.

 

== Video Games ==

* ''[[Super Monkey Ball|Super Monkey Ball 2]]'' and it's quite bizarre story mode where the heroes had to chant a song before they could go rolling around a level. According to the subtitles, the song had lyrics, but it all sounded like "Uki uki uki-ki-ki!"

* Combined with a [[Badass Creed]] in ''[[Princess Waltz]]'': A sword in my hand. A vow on my finger. I am clad in white. I will become a contestant in the Waltz.

 

== Web Animation ==

** The email "shapeshifting" pokes fun at this, with Strong Bad imagining himself gaining the ability to shapeshift and, in addition to having to put up with pointless rules and restrictions, having to activate the power out loud:

{{quote|"Shapeshift unto... a Sumatran tiger!" '''*DWAYNE!*'''}}

 

== Web Comics ==

* In ''[[Emergency Exit]]'', Karl Tameron activates his couch robot by saying the phrase, "I sing the body electric," the beginning of a Walt Whitman poem. While this is not an example, it happens that later that same phrase not only transforms his couch but also seems to give him some manner of super powered electronics control, which satisfies the criteria. Fridge logic dictates that it's possible that he would have gained the super powers if he had a face the first time he said it and didn't need to use the speaking program from the portal bracelet, as he did not say the words himself that time.

* ''[[Sinfest]]'' [http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=3050 remembers the grayskull]. Being performed [[Loony Fan|Seymour]], this didn't work well.

 

== Web Original ==

* Possibly in a reference to ''[[Power Rangers]]'', the Dimensional Guardians from the web fiction serial ''[[Dimension Heroes]]'' must shout "Dimensional Guardians, power up!" to activate their Guardian powers.

* [[Atop the Fourth Wall|"INTERNET REVIEWER!"]]

* Super-speedster Jenny Thunder, a hero from the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'' activated her speed powers by yelling out the phrase "THUNDERBOLT POWER NOW!"

** The actual phrase is only "blatherskite," chosen as the most obscure word in the English language. The blabbering part is just Fenton's expression, and he never realizes that he only needs to say the second half.

* The spell that serves as a modifier for Raven's powers in ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' is "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

* The ''[[Battletoads (animation)|Battletoads]]'' cartoon pilot had the three teenage protagonists shout out "Let's get warty!" to transform into their toad counterparts. A pretty stupid catchphrase, but not half as bad as what many people thought they said: "Let's get ''horny''!" (As in horny toads. Hopefully.) "Let's get normal" was used for the reverse transformation.

* Spoofed on ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'', where in one episode, Grim uses the exact same speech as He-Man to teleport his magical scythe into his hands. He has never before, and never again does need to say those words to do that.

{{quote|'''Arthur:''' I am King Arthur.

'''Knights:''' And we are the Knights of Justice. We pledge fairness to all, to protect the weak and vanquish the evil! }}

* In ''[[Jem]]'', a rare western [[Magic Idol Singer]] series, Jerrica would "transform" into Jem by touching her earrings and whispering, "Showtime, Synergy!" This was actually a slight subversion of the trope, however, as this wasn't a magic incantation; the earrings enabled her to communicate with the advanced computer system called Synergy, and "Showtime" was the code to tell Synergy to project the computerized hologram which changed Jerrica's appearance into that of Jem. (Synergy could be contacted in the same manner to project other holograms, usually with more explicit commands.)

** There was also an equivalent "power down" phrase: "Show's over, Synergy."

* 90's toon, ''[[Mummies Alive]]'' had the four titular mummies proclaim "With the strength of Ra!" before going [[Stock Footage|going trough their transformation sequence]].

* In ''[[Defenders of the Earth]]'', the Phantom would activate his super-strength by chanting "By jungle law, the Ghost Who Walks calls forth the power of ten tigers." His transformation sequence would then show... varying numbers of tiger heads passing into his body.

** "Guardians Unite" was an invention of the animated series, as the comics only had the girls naming their powers (except for Will). Also, in most other countries, the translation of the phrase is a simple straight translation. The most notable (if not only) exception is the French dub, which uses "Cristallisation" instead (even though the show was animated in France).

** And in the comics, after "New Powers" the four girls call their element, then Will call "The power to unite them". Could be a problem if she had to do an individual transformation.