Combo-Platter Powers: Difference between revisions

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'''Col. O'Neill:''' How do those two go together?|''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' }}

Superheroes sometimes have an unintuitive combination of powers. Sometimes this is a [[Justified Trope]]. For example, anyone with [[All Your Powers Combined]] will have [[Combo-Platter Powers]] at least some of the time. Other times it is the result of either an excess or lack of thematic unity. Sometimes, combinations that look strange to modern-day Western conceptual categories made perfect sense in the culture where they originated.

Superheroes sometimes have an unintuitive combination of powers. Sometimes this is a [[Justified Trope]]. For example, anyone with [[All Your Powers Combined]] will have '''Combo-Platter Powers''' at least some of the time. Other times it is the result of either an excess or lack of thematic unity. Sometimes, combinations that look strange to modern-day Western conceptual categories made perfect sense in the culture where they originated.

This can happen through accretion, as with [[Superman]]; as a deliberate change to the character, like the [[Fantastic Four|Invisible Woman]]; or even at creation, like the [[Martian Manhunter]]. Sometimes there will be a [[Hand Wave]] as an off-hand explanation ("Secondary mutation", anyone?) or a later [[Retcon]] to explain how the powers actually work together; other times, it just happens. The most common set is the [[Flying Brick]].

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== Comics ==

* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X Men]]'', has the concepts of ''Secondary Mutations'', [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]], which are un-related to their primary mutations, and ''Homo Killcrop'', the informal term for the original pre-modern sub-species of x-gene-possessing mutants, whose powers manifest at birth/infancy and are much more ~~chaotic -- and~~ thus more ~~varied --than~~ those of the modern sub-species of mutants, whose powers manifeset at puberty (stated to be the result of natural selection, as mutant babies tended to have an extremely low survival rate compared to mutant teenagers). A number of X-characters thus fit this trope, including:

* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X Men]]'', has the concepts of ''Secondary Mutations'', [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]], which are un-related to their primary mutations, and ''Homo Killcrop'', the informal term for the original pre-modern sub-species of x-gene-possessing mutants, whose powers manifest at birth/infancy and are much more chaotic—and thus more varied—than those of the modern sub-species of mutants, whose powers manifeset at puberty (stated to be the result of natural selection, as mutant babies tended to have an extremely low survival rate compared to mutant teenagers). A number of X-characters thus fit this trope, including:

** '''Wolverine''': healing factor, retractable claws, enhanced smelling and hearing, adamantium skeleton. It's explained that Wolverine is the [[Superpowerful Genetics|product of two mutant families]]. His mother's family has long been "cursed" with bone claws and mindless animal rages, while his father has the regeneration and enhanced senses. [[Lamarck Was Right|Wolverine gets all of them]]. The adamantium is added, much later in his life, by government experimentation. They'd been wanting to do it for a long while to produce [[Super Soldier~~|Super Soldiers~~]], but adamantium is ~~poisonous -- a~~ test subject who could heal away the ill effects was perfect.

** '''Wolverine''': healing factor, retractable claws, enhanced smelling and hearing, adamantium skeleton. It's explained that Wolverine is the [[Superpowerful Genetics|product of two mutant families]]. His mother's family has long been "cursed" with bone claws and mindless animal rages, while his father has the regeneration and enhanced senses. [[Lamarck Was Right|Wolverine gets all of them]]. The adamantium is added, much later in his life, by government experimentation. They'd been wanting to do it for a long while to produce [[Super Soldier]]s, but adamantium is poisonous—a test subject who could heal away the ill effects was perfect.

** '''Emma Frost''': Telepathy and turning to diamond.

** '''Nightcrawler''': Physique and coloration give him poor-man's-Spiderman agility and shadow-camouflage. And teleportation.

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** '''Rogue''': the power and [[Life Energy]] absorption, and used to have the [[Flying Brick]] package permanently absorbed from Ms. Marvel. For a time, she had Sunfire's flames-and-flight combo. Even more recently, Rogue has gained voluntary control over her absorption along with the ability to recall any and/or all of the powers she has absorbed in the past.

* [[DC Comics]]: [[Human Aliens|kryptonians]] have a standard [[Flying Brick]] ([[Super Strength]], [[Super Speed]], [[Flight]]), [[Eye Beams|heat vision]], [[X-Ray Vision]], and so on when exposed to yellow sunlight. The most well known character being:

** ''[[Superman]]'': His original powers were mainly exaggerations of normal human abilities; in the first story, simply because he was from an older planet and more "[[Evolutionary Levels|highly evolved]]" than us mere mortals. Later this was [[Retcon~~|Retconned~~]] as from being born on a world with high gravity and a thick atmosphere. Around the same time, [[Power Creep, Power Seep]] caused [[In a Single Bound|Super Leaping]] to become [[Flight]]. Later [[X-Ray Vision]] split off [[Eye Beams|heat vision]], and so on.

** ''[[Superman]]'': His original powers were mainly exaggerations of normal human abilities; in the first story, simply because he was from an older planet and more "[[Evolutionary Levels|highly evolved]]" than us mere mortals. Later this was [[Retcon]]ned as from being born on a world with high gravity and a thick atmosphere. Around the same time, [[Power Creep, Power Seep]] caused [[In a Single Bound|Super Leaping]] to become [[Flight]]. Later [[X-Ray Vision]] split off [[Eye Beams|heat vision]], and so on.

* ''[[Superboy]]'': Conner Kent and Chris Kent a.k.a. Nightwing have Kryptonian powers ''and'' tactile telekinesis. Chris' girlfriend Thara Ak-Var aka Flamebird has Kryptonian powers ''and'' [[Playing with Fire|pyrokinesis]].

* ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes]]'': Ultraboy a guy with the powers of Superman but he can only use one at a time (even the passive ones like invulnerability.) He does have a Legion flight ring so he doesn't have to use his natural flight which frees him up to use one other power. He does seem to keep the [[Required Secondary Powers]] for whichever ones he's using at the time though.

* ''[[Sub-Mariner|Namor the Sub-Mariner]]'': has everything you'd expect from a being built to survive underwater: strength enough to survive ocean pressure, agility and speed to swim quickly and efficiently... and tiny wings on his ankles that allow him to fly, making him a [[Flying Brick]]. This last was eventually explained as a mutation caused by his [[Half-Human Hybrid|surface-dweller/Atlantean hybrid]] heritage. Thus he's considered one of the first mutants of the modern age in the [[Marvel Universe]].

* ''[[Martian Manhunter]]'': [[Super Strength]], [[Intangible Man|intangibility]], [[Shapeshifting]], [[Size Shifting]], [[Psychic Powers|telepathy]], [[Super Speed]], [[Eye Beams|heat ray vision]], the ability to strain gold from seawater, the ability to create ice cream cones with the power of his mind, the power to animate clothing, underwater breathing, and control over magnetism. Oh, and fire is his [[Kryptonite Factor]]. Yes, ''even though'' he has heat vision. And the explanation for all this? He's Martian. That's it. The more ridiculous powers (ie everything after heat vision) have been mostly dropped in recent years. In his [[Justice League|cartoon incarnation]], his powers are strength, flight, intangibility, shape-shifting and telepathy.

* ''[[Spider-Man]]'': Most of his powers are supposed to be those of a spider, amped up to human proportions, but with [[Spider Sense]] standing in for a spider's multiple eyes. But once having got these powers, Peter quickly invents his web-shooters<ref>Originally, he knew instinctively how to mix chemicals to make web, which he then loaded like cartridges into a "blaster" on his arm</ref>, which are thematically appropriate, but not really connected to the rest of his powers. Later versions of the character have given Spidey "organic web-shooters" to more closely tie his powers together. Over the decades, Spider-Man has developed other temporary powers or devices. A recent secondary mutation gave Peter more spider-based powers including the ability to feel trace vibrations in his weblines, enhancing his spider-sense to where he can practically see in the dark, making his hairs more sensitive, giving him poison stingers in his arms... [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|and the power to instantly recognize what species a spider is by looking at it]]. However, most of these powers, plus his organic webbing, have been lost in the [[Time Skip]] between ''[[One More Day]]'' and ''Brand New Day''.

* ''[[Spider-Man]]'': Most of his powers are supposed to be those of a spider, amped up to human proportions, but with [[Spider Sense]] standing in for a spider's multiple eyes. But once having got these powers, Peter quickly invents his web-shooters,<ref>Originally, he knew instinctively how to mix chemicals to make web, which he then loaded like cartridges into a "blaster" on his arm</ref> which are thematically appropriate, but not really connected to the rest of his powers. Later versions of the character have given Spidey "organic web-shooters" to more closely tie his powers together. Over the decades, Spider-Man has developed other temporary powers or devices. A recent secondary mutation gave Peter more spider-based powers including the ability to feel trace vibrations in his weblines, enhancing his spider-sense to where he can practically see in the dark, making his hairs more sensitive, giving him poison stingers in his arms... [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|and the power to instantly recognize what species a spider is by looking at it]]. However, most of these powers, plus his organic webbing, have been lost in the [[Time Skip]] between ''[[One More Day]]'' and ''Brand New Day''.

* ''[[Fantastic Four]]'': Susan Storm, who started out with just invisibility, then gained force field powers to allow her a more active role in the stories. A much later [[Retcon]] claimed that her invisibility was actually an instinctive use of the forcefield to distort light around her. Johnny Storm also has the [[Flying Firepower]] set, and is over on that page.

* ''[[Comic Book/Danger Man|Danger Man]]'' (nee [[Sue Donym|Dan Jermain]]) was a hapless worker in a nuclear plant who was caught in an industrial accident that made him bigger, stronger, and more powerful. And also gave him energy blasts, the ability to breathe underwater, and he can have a meltdown if he gets angry. His head and hands glow and have little spheres orbiting around them, atom-style. Although he's also a huge subversion of the whole "radiation accident" origin; He's not a superhero. He's still a hapless worker in a nuclear plant, but now when he rolls over in bed he crushes his wife, tears his clothes up with one false move because he's so strong, and gets stared at on the subway because of how obvious his situation is.

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* ''[[The Incredibles]]'':

** '''Jack-Jack''' can shape-shift, turn into metal or a goblin, phase through walls, fly, set himself on fire, eat wood, and shoot [[Frickin' Laser Beams]], and that's just what we've seen so far... And he's a ''[[Goo-Goo Godlike|baby]]''. [[Word of God]] goes that he has so many powers precisely because he is a baby. When he grows up, he will make his choice of powers.

** '''Violet''' had the seemingly unrelated powers of turning invisible and generating a force field, as a [[Shout-Out]] to the Invisible Woman. As the Invisible Woman's entry above explains, those powers could be ~~related -- you~~ might use a field of some sort to bend light away to go invisible, and if you can project a field that bends away light, why couldn't it deflect other stuff too?

** '''Violet''' had the seemingly unrelated powers of turning invisible and generating a force field, as a [[Shout-Out]] to the Invisible Woman. As the Invisible Woman's entry above explains, those powers could be related—you might use a field of some sort to bend light away to go invisible, and if you can project a field that bends away light, why couldn't it deflect other stuff too?

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== Literature ==

* ''[[Dracula]]'': is supremely strong, hypnotic, commands animals, [[Super Smoke|can turn into a mist]], addict people to his blood, and climb walls like a spider. Most of these powers can be found in folklore about vampires, or previous vampire novels, but not usually all at once. And just what constitutes "vampire powers" is under ~~dispute -- see~~ [[Our Vampires Are Different]] for further discussion.

* ''[[Dracula]]'': is supremely strong, hypnotic, commands animals, [[Super Smoke|can turn into a mist]], addict people to his blood, and climb walls like a spider. Most of these powers can be found in folklore about vampires, or previous vampire novels, but not usually all at once. And just what constitutes "vampire powers" is under dispute—see [[Our Vampires Are Different]] for further discussion.

* ''[[Codex Alera]]'': Even a single-element Crafter will get an impressively broad array of powers. As an example, an Earthcrafter can gain superhuman strength, shift rock and earth to create barriers or tear down walls, calm animals, travel rapidly over the ground, [[Rule 34|induce]] [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick|lust]], and sense people's locations if they're on the ground. {{spoiler|Tavi is smart enough to recognize the implications of this, and when he is short of combat engineers enlists the local brothel to aid a demolition project.}}

* ''[[Book of Amber]]'': The Amberites basic package includes superhuman strength and endurance, regeneration, telepathy and dimension hopping; various family members also have prodigous weapon skill, sorcerous powers, or shapeshifting. Most of these [[Justified Trope|make perfect sense]] given their background (part of which you don't find out about until fairly well along in the Chronicles, because Corwin himself doesn't know it). See the series page for more details.

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** '''Ando''' eventually acquires the ability to boost the superpowers of others by touch; this ability apparently manifests as red lightning that can blast people with concussive force.

** "Baby Touch-and-Go", whose touch can activate or deactivate electrical and mechanical devices, and... superpowers?

* ''[[Charmed]]'': the Halliwell sisters have at various times suggested that their powers are supposed to grow with time and use, and some future versions of them bear this ~~out -- Piper~~ freezing whole city blocks, Prue accidentally demolishing part of the house with a careless handwave. But the actual power sets they develop over the course of the series don't match up so ~~well -- Prue~~ adds astral projection to her telekinesis, Phoebe adds levitation (and empathy, which sort of works) to her premonitions, and Piper adds blowing things up to her freezing time. All of these were handwaved to some extent, but they certainly don't match at first glance.

* ''[[Charmed]]'': the Halliwell sisters have at various times suggested that their powers are supposed to grow with time and use, and some future versions of them bear this out—Piper freezing whole city blocks, Prue accidentally demolishing part of the house with a careless handwave. But the actual power sets they develop over the course of the series don't match up so well—Prue adds astral projection to her telekinesis, Phoebe adds levitation (and empathy, which sort of works) to her premonitions, and Piper adds blowing things up to her freezing time. All of these were handwaved to some extent, but they certainly don't match at first glance.

* ''[[Farscape]]'' has a lot of characters with a lot of weird powers, but Sikozu really takes the combo platter to new levels: she can re-attach lost limbs, walk on walls, and, near the end of the series, {{spoiler|it's revealed that she is a walking anti-Scarran [[Doomsday Device]].}} At one point, she expresses mild surprise that other people can't do it. Of course, it's revealed that {{spoiler|most of her powers (with the exception of the wall-walking) was due to being a bioloid infiltrator.}}

** She can also learn any language in record time, which is a good thing because she's allergic to [[Translator Microbes]].

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** ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' can match one of three fighting styles ([[Bare-Fisted Monk]], [[Simple Staff]], and [[The Gunslinger]]) with one of three [[Elemental Powers]] ([[Blow You Away]], [[Rubber Man]], and [[Playing with Fire]]) for a total of nine combinations, plus a handful of upgrades ([[Mid-Season Upgrade|FangJoker form]], which matches the melee fighting style with an exclusive brute-force "element"; and a few "[[Super Mode|Xtreme]]" upgrades to his default melee-wind form).

** ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'' takes this further, able to select different powers for his head, body, and legs; with five options for each. At least OOO's powers are tied together by an animal theme. For example, his default form has the [[Improbable Aiming Skills|eyesight of a hawk]], the [[Wolverine Claws|claws of a tiger]], and the [[In a Single Bound|leaping ability of a grasshopper]]. And again, this is before counting the dinosaur-themed [[Super Mode]] (which can't be mixed with any other powers), nor is it counting powers and combinations exclusive to movies and promotions.

* The title character from ''[[The Secret World of Alex Mack]]'' has [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]], [[Shock and Awe|electrical manipulation]] (with some minor [[~~Technopath|technopathy~~]] on the side) and can [[Elemental Shapeshifter|turn into a puddle of watery liquid]], which she often uses for escaping unseen from danger or to travel quickly via sewers.

* The title character from ''[[The Secret World of Alex Mack]]'' has [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]], [[Shock and Awe|electrical manipulation]] (with some minor [[technopath]]y on the side) and can [[Elemental Shapeshifter|turn into a puddle of watery liquid]], which she often uses for escaping unseen from danger or to travel quickly via sewers.

* [[Misfits]]: Although most people were only given one power by the Storm, a drug dealer has the ability to transfer powers from one person to another. One of his customers bought telekinesis, walking on water, teleportation and the ability to drive people mad with lust when he touched them. {{spoiler|Simon}} gained {{spoiler|precognition}}, time-travel, and immunity to others' powers. In a few rare cases people gained secondary powers from the storm, such as {{spoiler|Nathan}} gaining {{spoiler|immortality and the ability to see the spirits of the dead}}, and Simon gaining invisibility and {{spoiler|super-human aim}}.

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== Myths & Religion ==

* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: A good example is the [[Classical Mythology|Greek god Poseidon]], who, in addition to the oceans and seas, also held dominion over earthquakes ... and horses.

** The horse thing came from a story where Poseidon and Athena were challenged to come up with something both beautiful and practical by some settlers, who agreed to name their city after the ~~winner -- Athena~~ came up with the olive tree, and Poseidon with the horse (the city in question is Athens, so you can probably guess who won). Another variant of the myth has Poseidon offering the city a less-handy (but decidedly more Poseidon-ish) saltwater spring. (The myth explains two natural features of Athens, the aforesaid spring and an olive grove supposedly predating the original settlement.) Which lends support to the [[Retcon]] idea.

** The horse thing came from a story where Poseidon and Athena were challenged to come up with something both beautiful and practical by some settlers, who agreed to name their city after the winner—Athena came up with the olive tree, and Poseidon with the horse (the city in question is Athens, so you can probably guess who won). Another variant of the myth has Poseidon offering the city a less-handy (but decidedly more Poseidon-ish) saltwater spring. (The myth explains two natural features of Athens, the aforesaid spring and an olive grove supposedly predating the original settlement.) Which lends support to the [[Retcon]] idea.

** A lot of such gods have justifications, that usually don't immediately make sense unless you were worshiping them at the time. For instance, Pallas Athena was the patron deity of Athens (obviously), and associated with defensive warfare, wisdom and olive trees- things primarily associated with Athens.

** This also helps us date the myths. For instance, Athens was ''also'' known for its extensive sea trade (which included settling about half of the Greek colonies in Ionia), so this legend probably dates from a time when that association had been made (i.e. towards the end of the Greek Dark Age), and people were asking why they seemed to have favor with Poseidon (or somesuch).

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== Tabletop Games ==

* Superhero [[Tabletop Games|RPGs]] in which the characters are randomly generated tend to fall into this trope regularly, for obvious reasons.

* ''[[Golden Heroes]]'': an early Australian entry in the field, allowed the player to roll for random ~~powers--but~~ then required her to come up with a justification for all the powers working together. Any powers the GM wasn't convinced were properly explained got cut.

* ''[[Golden Heroes]]'': an early Australian entry in the field, allowed the player to roll for random powers—but then required her to come up with a justification for all the powers working together. Any powers the GM wasn't convinced were properly explained got cut.

* ''Super [[Munchkin (game)|Munchkin]]'': your powers are literally based on the luck of the draw.

* ''[[Nobilis]]'': while some Imperators have reasonably connected purviews, such as '[[Satan|Lucifer]], Imperator of Pride and Persuasion', you get others like 'Askelon, Imperator of Tremors, the Culinary Arts, and the Forge', or 'Ananda, Imperator of Murder, the Infinite, and the Fourth Age'.

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* ''[[Whateley Universe]]'': a variety of characters, several of which won the [[Superpower Lottery]].

** '''Tennyo''': keeps [[New Powers as the Plot Demands|finding new things she can do]]. Flight, ability to ignore gravity and inertia, super-strength, the ability to move through force fields, the ability to produce some form of ''antimatter'', the ability to cast spheres of plasma, the ability to [[Healing Factor|heal frighteningly fast]] from incredible injuries, the ability to form some sort of plasma "light saber", resistance to temperature extremes, she doesn't need to breathe air, etc. She also has thrown some sort of energy ball that temporarily acted like a neutron star, she may be able to teleport (although she was unconscious at the time), she may give off deadly levels of radiation when she's straining hard in a fight, and in one battle against over a hundred armed badguys, she literally [[Reality Warper|warped reality]] all around her and opened up a rift in space-time. Oh, and she may be the avatar of some extra-terrestrial or extra-dimensional demon. We don't know yet.

** '''Merry''': who started out as a combination energizer/technopath (reasonable so far), then got roped into a secret church order and endowed with mystical powers (notably the ability to heal herself or others with the side effect of sending her own soul to Hell for a brief visit), and the incident that permanently split her up into Petra and Paige (with two personalities ~~each -- it~~'s a bit complicated, okay?) also turned the latter into a werecat...

** '''Merry''': who started out as a combination energizer/technopath (reasonable so far), then got roped into a secret church order and endowed with mystical powers (notably the ability to heal herself or others with the side effect of sending her own soul to Hell for a brief visit), and the incident that permanently split her up into Petra and Paige (with two personalities each—it's a bit complicated, okay?) also turned the latter into a werecat...

** '''Jimmy T.''': ''Massively'' versatile [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shifter]] including massive [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|size-changing powers]]. Psychic null. [[I See Dead People|Talks to the dead.]]

** '''Murphy''': powers allow her to warp reality, grow back limbs, and cause dead animals to follow her around.

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== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': Apart from the "Ghost powers" he is supposed to have, like [[Flight]], [[Invisibility]], and [[Intangible Man|Intangibility]]; he also has various powers like energy blasts, [[Super Speed]], [[Super Strength]], a [[Make Me Wanna Shout|Supersonic scream]], [[Doppelganger Attack|duplication powers]], and...[[An Ice Person|Ice powers]]. Some Videogames have also gave him fire powers to go with the ice ones. The concept of "[[Our Ghosts Are Different|ghosts]]" covers enough bases in popular culture for most of these to be easily handwaved in some way.

* ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' starts off with each of the five lead characters having a single [[Elemental Powers|elemental power]] ([[Making a Splash|water]], [[Playing with Fire|fire]], [[Dishing Out Dirt|earth]] and [[Blow You Away|air]]) and [[flight]]. Later, each gets a different power upgrade (water and mind control/persuasion), (fire and [[telepathy]]), (earth and [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]]), (air and [[invisibility]]). Will also gains full [[Shock and Awe|lighting powers]] with some slight [[~~Technopath|technopathy~~]].

* ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' starts off with each of the five lead characters having a single [[Elemental Powers|elemental power]] ([[Making a Splash|water]], [[Playing with Fire|fire]], [[Dishing Out Dirt|earth]] and [[Blow You Away|air]]) and [[flight]]. Later, each gets a different power upgrade (water and mind control/persuasion), (fire and [[telepathy]]), (earth and [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]]), (air and [[invisibility]]). Will also gains full [[Shock and Awe|lighting powers]] with some slight [[technopath]]y.

** It's also revealed that, with time, all of them can learn how to teleport, though only Will ever uses this.

* ''[[South Park]]'' episode "Good Times With Weapons": parodied extremely well.