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Defence Mechanism Superpower: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
A character has a superpower that only works when they're threatened - they can't initiate it at will, and occasionally [[Power Incontinence|they can't stop it either]]. This kind of situation is a common cue for [[Die or Fly|heretofore unknown powers to develop]] or for existing ones to undergo [[Power Creep, Power Seep|a dramatic boost in power]], either temporarily or [[Took a Level In Badass|for keeps]]. A storyline in which the character [[How Do I Shot Web|tries to learn to use their power voluntarily]] is a likely result.
Can be used in a similar way to [[Always a Bigger Fish]], with a cowering hero looking up to discover their aggressor has mysteriously been blasted into dust, and muttering innocently "Did I do that?". Compare [[Desperation Attack]], a similar trope in video games.
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Compare [[Die or Fly]], in which a power is initially discovered in this way, but can be used freely thereafter.
{{examples
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
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* Son Gohan from ''[[Dragonball]]'' starts out as a pampered child who can only access his hidden powers when properly threatened or angered.
* ''[[Tower of God]]'': At first, 25th Baam's powers are completely passive, resulting in magic resistance. And occasionally, for example when he and Michelle Light get curb-stomped by Hwa Ryun, they are a last defense and use [[Functional Magic|Shinsoo]] to cut up faces. And [[Eye Scream|eyeballs]]
* ''[[Inuyasha]]''. When [[Inuyasha]] feels death staring him in the face, his [[Youkai|superhuman]] ancestry goes into a [[Super
** Happened to Kagome in the first episode, while [[Youkai|Mistress Centipede]] is hauling her through the Bone Eater's Well.
* ''[[Jo
* ''[[Naruto]]'''s [[Ax Crazy|Gaara]] qualifies as he is protected by the sand controlled by his [[Sealed Evil in A Can|inner demon, Shukaku]]. {{spoiler|The ninja war arc reveals he is protected by his mother, not Shukaku.}}
* In ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'', [[Heavily Armored Mook|The Invincible Pearl]] could manifest flames when he felt threatened, i.e. whenever anyone managed to put a scratch on him through his supposedly invincible defense. While screaming "DANGER!! DANGER!!"
* ''[[Ranma One Half|Ranma 1/2]]'', titular character has the Neko-Ken technique. His mind "learned" it as a way to briefly escape his crippling [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|ailurophobia]] when he's absolutely surrounded by cats and is unable to flee from them, turning ''him'' into a cat. It happens more often than you might think. While it makes him immensely powerful, lightning-fast, and savage, he still ''thinks like a cat'' while in that state, making it an [[Useless Useful Spell]] that anyone with half a mind can thwart and defeat.
* Pacifica from ''[[Scrapped Princess]]'' is only seemingly able to use her [[Make Me Wanna Shout|scream attack]] when under extreme stress.
* Emergy Maxfell of ''[[Scryed]]'' can only conjure his alter when he feels threatened, and it gets more powerful the more hopeless the situation gets.
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{{quote| '''Tenth Doctor:''' They have survived this long because they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved.}}
** When they reappear in "The Time of Angels", it is clarified that they aren't just ''stone''--you cannot, for example, break them with a hammer--but somehow out of phase with the universe in such a way that they cannot be damaged at all in stone mode. The word quantum may be involved.
* Maya on ''[[Heroes (TV)|Heroes]]'', who goes all [[
** Also from ''Heroes'', Elle surges with thus-far-unseen levels of electricity as a response to Sylar trying to slice her head open.
* The boy from the pilot episode of ''[[Sanctuary]]''.
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