Epiphany Comeback
The Hero fights the Big Bad and gets badly curbstomped. He is already down for the count and all hope seems lost when time slows for him and the hero comes to some very important realization. Sometimes it takes Journey to the Center of the Mind for them do so. He then stands up and easily defeats his opponent.
Congratulations! The Hero just had an Epiphany Comeback! They make him practically invincible for the duration of the fight, but expect them to wear off shortly after.
Not to be confused with Enlightenment Superpowers.
Examples of Epiphany Comeback include:
Anime and Manga
- Played with epically by Roger Smith in the "Roger the Wanderer" episode of The Big O.
- Ichigo has one in Bleach against Kenpachi, when he realized that his sword wasn't just a tool, but was literally an extension of his soul. The sword has to tell him this, specifically to counter Kenpachi, who was strong without knowing the same lesson.
- Setsuna has one in Gundam 00 when he's fighting Ali-Al-Saachez after he steals a very powerful mobile suit, although it wasn't his epiphany that brought victory, exactly: due to a poorly timed backstab by Alejandro Cross, the Trans Am system activates in all the active gundams.
- Saizou in Brave 10 comes to realize he no longer thinks like an Iga ninja while being thoroughly beaten by a renegade member of his ninja school. Cue fight reversal.
Comic Books
- Scott Pilgrim gets his "Power of Understanding" sword this way.
Film
- Neo at the end of The Matrix comes back from death thanks to an epiphany. He proceeds to destroy the previously invincible Agent Smith with ease.
- You have to think in Russian in Firefox.
Western Animation
- Toph in Avatar: The Last Airbender invents metalbending this way, after she gets captured and locked in a metal cage.
- Later in the series, Aang has one at the final battle with the Phoenix King Ozai.