How Do I Shot Web?: Difference between revisions

Content added Content deleted
VisualWikitext
m (Mass update links)
m (update links)
Line 95: Line 95:
*** It could easily be argued that this trope is the basis for the X-Men as a whole, as the series has ''always'' revolved around a group of mutants who are ''being trained in the use of their own powers'' at what is quite literally a school that exists for precisely that purpose.
*** It could easily be argued that this trope is the basis for the X-Men as a whole, as the series has ''always'' revolved around a group of mutants who are ''being trained in the use of their own powers'' at what is quite literally a school that exists for precisely that purpose.
** Inverted with Rogue, who can use her powers quite well, but doesn't know how to turn them off (It's been pretty much spelled out that she ''could'' control them, except that [[The Woobie|some serious psychological trauma]] concerning both her power's first use and the effects of continued use were serving as a block.)
** Inverted with Rogue, who can use her powers quite well, but doesn't know how to turn them off (It's been pretty much spelled out that she ''could'' control them, except that [[The Woobie|some serious psychological trauma]] concerning both her power's first use and the effects of continued use were serving as a block.)
* The trope is very logically subverted in ''[[X-Factor (Comic Book)|X-Factor]]'' when the team tracks down Alchemy, a mutant whose [[Puberty Superpower]] is the ability to transmute any matter into a simple element like gold. He was kidnapped by trolls and had to defend himself by transforming their leaders. He then couldn't change them back because he has to imagine the totality of the matter he is changing something into, and organic matter is so complex on a molecular level that he can't do it. So, he goes off for the advanced education in biochemistry needed to cure the beings he has affected.
* The trope is very logically subverted in ''[[X-Factor]]'' when the team tracks down Alchemy, a mutant whose [[Puberty Superpower]] is the ability to transmute any matter into a simple element like gold. He was kidnapped by trolls and had to defend himself by transforming their leaders. He then couldn't change them back because he has to imagine the totality of the matter he is changing something into, and organic matter is so complex on a molecular level that he can't do it. So, he goes off for the advanced education in biochemistry needed to cure the beings he has affected.
** By the time Alchemy reappeared in the pages of ''Excalibur'', he had gotten enough education and control over his power that he was able to restore the humans he had inadvertently transformed after the trolls had kidnapped him again to try and force him to change their leaders back to normal.
** By the time Alchemy reappeared in the pages of ''Excalibur'', he had gotten enough education and control over his power that he was able to restore the humans he had inadvertently transformed after the trolls had kidnapped him again to try and force him to change their leaders back to normal.
** Never explained was why Alchemy thought he could learn more about biochemistry in a university than with X-Factor, given that one of their members is the Marvel Universe's most brilliant biochemist.
** Never explained was why Alchemy thought he could learn more about biochemistry in a university than with X-Factor, given that one of their members is the Marvel Universe's most brilliant biochemist.
Line 105: Line 105:
* Parodied in a ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' strip where Calvin is standing around trying to get his butt to light up like a firefly, and attributes his lack of success to "not even knowing what muscle to flex".
* Parodied in a ''[[Calvin and Hobbes]]'' strip where Calvin is standing around trying to get his butt to light up like a firefly, and attributes his lack of success to "not even knowing what muscle to flex".
* In the 1990s [[Marvel Comics]] ''[[Sleepwalker]]'' comic series, Rick and Sleepwalker [[Freaky Friday|end up accidentally switching bodies after an encounter with one of Sleepwalker's enemies]], and Rick has to try and figure out how to use Sleepwalker's abilities, in between being attacked by supervillains and demons from the Mindscape.
* In the 1990s [[Marvel Comics]] ''[[Sleepwalker]]'' comic series, Rick and Sleepwalker [[Freaky Friday|end up accidentally switching bodies after an encounter with one of Sleepwalker's enemies]], and Rick has to try and figure out how to use Sleepwalker's abilities, in between being attacked by supervillains and demons from the Mindscape.
* [[Spider-Girl (Comic Book)|Spider-Girl]] didn't exactly have problems learning to use her powers, but she needed training from her [[Spider-Man|father]] and his friend Phil to really be able to master them and become a more experienced fighter.
* [[Spider-Girl]] didn't exactly have problems learning to use her powers, but she needed training from her [[Spider-Man|father]] and his friend Phil to really be able to master them and become a more experienced fighter.
** Similarly, Phil Urich himself had a number of problems figuring out how to use the Green Goblin's equipment when he moonlighted as a superhero in the short-lived ''[[Green Goblin]]'' series Marvel published in the 1990s.
** Similarly, Phil Urich himself had a number of problems figuring out how to use the Green Goblin's equipment when he moonlighted as a superhero in the short-lived ''[[Green Goblin]]'' series Marvel published in the 1990s.
** Later, in ''[[Runaways]]'', he knew how to fly the ship the mysterious benefactor gave Phil's group because it was based on the Goblin equipment.
** Later, in ''[[Runaways]]'', he knew how to fly the ship the mysterious benefactor gave Phil's group because it was based on the Goblin equipment.
Line 112: Line 112:
* [[Spider-Man]]'s ally and generally lovable loser the Fabulous Frog-Man. Stealing the fully automated frog-suit of his father, the villainous Leapfrog, Eugene Patilio wholeheartedly attempts to make a difference while being utterly clueless about how the suit works. This proves to be his greatest strength, however, as [[The Fool|his frequent misfired jumps tend to knock out waves of bad guys]] and make him look like a real hero who knows what he's doing. Pretty much the only person who knows that Eugene is a bumbler in person is Spidey himself.
* [[Spider-Man]]'s ally and generally lovable loser the Fabulous Frog-Man. Stealing the fully automated frog-suit of his father, the villainous Leapfrog, Eugene Patilio wholeheartedly attempts to make a difference while being utterly clueless about how the suit works. This proves to be his greatest strength, however, as [[The Fool|his frequent misfired jumps tend to knock out waves of bad guys]] and make him look like a real hero who knows what he's doing. Pretty much the only person who knows that Eugene is a bumbler in person is Spidey himself.
* Liz Sherman from ''[[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]]'' can't control her fire powers at a young age, accidentally killing several people, including her parents. She joins the [[BPRD]] because they can teach her how to use her powers, or at the very least have ways to keep her from hurting people again.
* Liz Sherman from ''[[Hellboy (comics)|Hellboy]]'' can't control her fire powers at a young age, accidentally killing several people, including her parents. She joins the [[BPRD]] because they can teach her how to use her powers, or at the very least have ways to keep her from hurting people again.
* Poor [[Empowered (Comic Book)|Empowered]] gains her powers from an alien supersuit that is the very definition of "enigmatic". She found out the obvious ones ([[Super Strength]], vison enhancement, [[Kamehame Hadoken|hand beams]]), but the other powers were discovered by accident. {{spoiler|For example, her [[Wall Crawl|Wall Crawling]] was activated when she was thrown against a wall and she still hasn't actually "discovered" its flying abilities.}}
* Poor [[Empowered]] gains her powers from an alien supersuit that is the very definition of "enigmatic". She found out the obvious ones ([[Super Strength]], vison enhancement, [[Kamehame Hadoken|hand beams]]), but the other powers were discovered by accident. {{spoiler|For example, her [[Wall Crawl|Wall Crawling]] was activated when she was thrown against a wall and she still hasn't actually "discovered" its flying abilities.}}
** In fairness, it's kind of hard to know instinctively that the super-suit ''enhances libido''. Yeah, exactly.
** In fairness, it's kind of hard to know instinctively that the super-suit ''enhances libido''. Yeah, exactly.
*** It's [[Fanon]] (and suggested by [[Mind Screw]] in-universe) that the costume gives fantastic cosmic powers limited only by the user self confidence. As Empowered has the self confidence of a used kleenex in a dirty cesspool, you can see how it works. So yes, she unconsciously granted herself the power of being easily aroused and multi orgasming. Kudos!
*** It's [[Fanon]] (and suggested by [[Mind Screw]] in-universe) that the costume gives fantastic cosmic powers limited only by the user self confidence. As Empowered has the self confidence of a used kleenex in a dirty cesspool, you can see how it works. So yes, she unconsciously granted herself the power of being easily aroused and multi orgasming. Kudos!
Line 127: Line 127:
* In Marvel's [[Young Avengers]], teenage spellcaster Asgardian (later Wiccan) is shown to have difficulty using his powers. His boyfriend, Hulkling, helps him learn to control them with ordinary self-help books.
* In Marvel's [[Young Avengers]], teenage spellcaster Asgardian (later Wiccan) is shown to have difficulty using his powers. His boyfriend, Hulkling, helps him learn to control them with ordinary self-help books.
* Way back in the origins of the [[New Mutants]], Cannonball was only able to shoot himself straight ahead, and stopped mainly by running into things. It took a while for him to control his flight, much less realize he could steer himself and get any good at it. Luckily for him, he's physically invulnerable while "blasting" (and {{spoiler|possibly immortal, depending on which retcon they're on at the moment}}), so he could always walk away from a crash.
* Way back in the origins of the [[New Mutants]], Cannonball was only able to shoot himself straight ahead, and stopped mainly by running into things. It took a while for him to control his flight, much less realize he could steer himself and get any good at it. Luckily for him, he's physically invulnerable while "blasting" (and {{spoiler|possibly immortal, depending on which retcon they're on at the moment}}), so he could always walk away from a crash.
** This was also the case with ''[[Nova (Comic Book)|Nova]]'' to some extent, in the early issues of his first series; he could fly at supersonic speeds, but sometimes couldn't turn or stop in time to keep from crashing into things, particularly during a fight. Writer/creator Marv Wolfman also mentioned more than once (through other characters) that Nova had powers that he was completely unaware of; later series would eventually reveal these.
** This was also the case with ''[[Nova]]'' to some extent, in the early issues of his first series; he could fly at supersonic speeds, but sometimes couldn't turn or stop in time to keep from crashing into things, particularly during a fight. Writer/creator Marv Wolfman also mentioned more than once (through other characters) that Nova had powers that he was completely unaware of; later series would eventually reveal these.
* Parodied in the [[Great Lakes Avengers]], with the Grasshopper. After spending a couple of pages setting him up as an important character, revealing his identity, origin, and mandatory superhero romantic troubles, he decides to exit the scene by engaging the "Maximum Jump" capability of his super-suit. It launches him into space and he dies.
* Parodied in the [[Great Lakes Avengers]], with the Grasshopper. After spending a couple of pages setting him up as an important character, revealing his identity, origin, and mandatory superhero romantic troubles, he decides to exit the scene by engaging the "Maximum Jump" capability of his super-suit. It launches him into space and he dies.
* The second [[Blue Beetle]], Ted Kord, inherited the magical {{spoiler|(or, as it much later transpires, alien tech)}} scarab that powered his predecessor's superhuman abilities - but couldn't figure out how to make it work for him. He never did - which didn't stop him from having a long heroic career as the Beetle under his own steam.
* The second [[Blue Beetle]], Ted Kord, inherited the magical {{spoiler|(or, as it much later transpires, alien tech)}} scarab that powered his predecessor's superhuman abilities - but couldn't figure out how to make it work for him. He never did - which didn't stop him from having a long heroic career as the Beetle under his own steam.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/How_Do_I_Shot_Web%3F"