I Love Nuclear Power: Difference between revisions

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'''Dentist:''' I'm ''sorry,'' Bill!|''[[Show Within a Show|MANT!]]'' - from the movie ''[[Matinee]]''}}

{{quote|''[[Caffeine Bullet Time|Bonk!]] is fulla radiation, which as we all know is pretty great for givin' people superpowers.''|''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]], The Scout Update''}}

{{quote|''[[Caffeine Bullet Time|Bonk!]] is fulla radiation, which as we all know is pretty great for givin' people superpowers.''|''[[Team Fortress 2]], The Scout Update''}}

This is the tendency in fiction for exposure to nuclear radiation or other hazards (including [[Green Rocks]]) to result in a character gaining super-powers when a quick death by acute radiation poisoning or a slow and agonizing demise by cancer or leukemia would be a more likely outcome.

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== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Godzilla]]'' movies aside, this is not a particularly common trope in Japan as, for reasons that should be abundantly clear to anyone with even the barest knowledge of history, the Japanese are much better acquainted with the effects that atomic radiation has on human physiology than most. There are however, a few examples. Many of [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s early sci-fi manga had radiation doing strange things. ''[[Metropolis (~~Anime~~)|Metropolis]]'' featured a radioactive metal called Omotanium that could cause animals to grow to giant sizes, create artificial sunspots and even helped create a superpowered [[Artificial Human]]. ''Nextworld'' features various bizarre mutants created by nuclear testing including the superintelligent Fumoon who may or may not have been created from humans. Oddly enough, nobody ever got cancer or radiation sickness. Tezuka's later ''[[Astro Boy (~~Manga~~)|Astro Boy]]'' series handled this a bit better. The hero still got his powers from atomic energy, but that's because he was a nuclear powered robot. One Astroboy story, "The Coral Reef Adventure", involves nuclear testing in the Pacific & features animals & people who are hideously deformed & dying due to radiation.

* ''[[Godzilla]]'' movies aside, this is not a particularly common trope in Japan as, for reasons that should be abundantly clear to anyone with even the barest knowledge of history, the Japanese are much better acquainted with the effects that atomic radiation has on human physiology than most. There are however, a few examples. Many of [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s early sci-fi manga had radiation doing strange things. ''[[Metropolis (anime)|Metropolis]]'' featured a radioactive metal called Omotanium that could cause animals to grow to giant sizes, create artificial sunspots and even helped create a superpowered [[Artificial Human]]. ''Nextworld'' features various bizarre mutants created by nuclear testing including the superintelligent Fumoon who may or may not have been created from humans. Oddly enough, nobody ever got cancer or radiation sickness. Tezuka's later ''[[Astro Boy (manga)|Astro Boy]]'' series handled this a bit better. The hero still got his powers from atomic energy, but that's because he was a nuclear powered robot. One Astroboy story, "The Coral Reef Adventure", involves nuclear testing in the Pacific & features animals & people who are hideously deformed & dying due to radiation.

** Also, in one episode of ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]'', there's a grasshopper mutated by radiation. Guess what happens? Well, here's a hint: The episode is called "The Gigantic Grasshopper."

** ''[[Ode to Kirihito]]'', on the other hand, is ''almost'' realistic about this. Irradiated water causes gradual, painful, and horrible death. Less probably, it makes people look like they're part-dog.

* In ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure ~~(Manga)~~|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' it is eventually revealed that the apparently mystical Stands were somehow created by an ancient artifact created from a radioactive meteorite.

* In ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' it is eventually revealed that the apparently mystical Stands were somehow created by an ancient artifact created from a radioactive meteorite.

* In ''[[~~Patalliro (Manga)|~~Patalliro]]'', Patalliro tries to hatch a "super duck" by irradiating a duck egg, but what hatches is just a rather large duck.

* In ''[[Patalliro]]'', Patalliro tries to hatch a "super duck" by irradiating a duck egg, but what hatches is just a rather large duck.

== Comic Books ==

* ''The [[Incredible Hulk (Comic Book)|Incredible Hulk]]'', as well as his foes the Leader and Abomination.

** Not to mention [[She ~~Hulk|She-~~Hulk]]: Apparently deadly radiation can turn you into a 6'7" green supermodel who can bench a train.

** Not to mention [[She Hulk]]: Apparently deadly radiation can turn you into a 6'7" green supermodel who can bench a train.

** Worth mentioning that She-Hulk didn't directly get her powers from radiation but rather a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner, her cousin...

** And they're only the most famous. The Hulk comics have seen a whole horde of people mutated by gamma radiation over the years.

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** There's also [[Red Hulk]], who even absorbs radiation. Combining gamma radiation and cosmic power will let you do that, apparently.

* [[Spider-Man]] acquired his powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider.

* In [[X Men]], the exact cause of mutant powers are rarely discussed. In the 60's however, Professor X explained his powers as the result of his parents working on the first atom bomb. The Beast's powers have been explained as the result of his father being exposed to radiation, while Sunfire was born in Hiroshima on the day when they dropped the atom bomb. All of these explanations have either been either [[Ret Conned]] or completely ignored.

* In [[X-Men]], the exact cause of mutant powers are rarely discussed. In the 60's however, Professor X explained his powers as the result of his parents working on the first atom bomb. The Beast's powers have been explained as the result of his father being exposed to radiation, while Sunfire was born in Hiroshima on the day when they dropped the atom bomb. All of these explanations have either been either [[Ret Conned]] or completely ignored.

* Averted [[Post-Crisis]] in ''[[~~Superman (Comic Book)|~~Superman]]'' (albeit played straight elsewhere in the [[DCU]].) The chronic health problems that plague [[Lex Luthor]] in both his comic book and cartoon series appearances are a result of exposure to the [[Kryptonite Ring]] he wore for quite some time. While it certainly hurts [[~~Superman (Comic Book)|~~Superman]] very quickly, having it around you for ''years'' will have the same effect any kind of radiation will.

* Averted [[Post-Crisis]] in ''[[Superman]]'' (albeit played straight elsewhere in the [[DCU]].) The chronic health problems that plague [[Lex Luthor]] in both his comic book and cartoon series appearances are a result of exposure to the [[Kryptonite Ring]] he wore for quite some time. While it certainly hurts [[Superman]] very quickly, having it around you for ''years'' will have the same effect any kind of radiation will.

* Deconstructed in the origin of the Cyborg Superman. In a pastiche of the [[Fantastic Four]], a space shuttle crew is exposed to cosmic radiation but suffer vastly detrimental effects. Two are killed immediately and resurrected in painful or dangerous forms, eventually leading them to suicide, and one is nearly drawn into an alternate dimension. The fourth member of the crew, Hank Henshaw, suffers an accelerated radiation poisoning which rots away his body. However, Henshaw's mind quickly returns to life with [[Technopath|technopathic]] abilities.

** And rampaging sociopathy.

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*** In the mainstream continuity, radiation-based origins have been explained as [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetic experiments]] by the [[Physical God|Celestials]] that were triggered by radiation.

* Averted in the ''[[Doom (Comic Book)|Doom]]'' comic. The Doomguy is very displeased with the fact that radioactive waste is carelessly left lying around.

* Knuckles the Echidna in the [[Archie Comics]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (~~Comic Book~~)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic books, had his egg irradiated with Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald by his father Locke (himself self-subjected to radiation and [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetic testing]]), granting him powers and abilities far beyond even his own lineage had as the crystal's guardian. Likewise, his ancestor Dimitri, aka Enerjak, became a near-god from excess radiation siphoned off of the Master Emerald. In fact, if a character doesn't have a natural affinity for powering up with the Chaos Emeralds (like Sonic or Shadow), any Chaos-imbued powers they gain are usually a result of this trope.

* Knuckles the Echidna in the [[Archie Comics]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic books, had his egg irradiated with Chaos Energy from the Master Emerald by his father Locke (himself self-subjected to radiation and [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|genetic testing]]), granting him powers and abilities far beyond even his own lineage had as the crystal's guardian. Likewise, his ancestor Dimitri, aka Enerjak, became a near-god from excess radiation siphoned off of the Master Emerald. In fact, if a character doesn't have a natural affinity for powering up with the Chaos Emeralds (like Sonic or Shadow), any Chaos-imbued powers they gain are usually a result of this trope.

* [[The Flash]] has a minor recurring adversary named [http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/fallout.html Fallout], a former blue-collar worker who was hired to do work on a nuclear power plant, fell into the reactor, and emerged with translucent green skin and radioactive powers that caused him to inadvertently kill his wife and son. After Flash apprehended him he agreed to act as a living power source for the prison in which he was incarcerated as penance.

** In fact, Jay Garrick, the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] Flash, gained his powers when he accidentally inhaled fumes of ''heavy water'', a rare non-radiation based version of [[I Love Nuclear Power]].

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** ''[[Godzilla]]'' is the most famous example.

** ''[[Them]]'' is another good one.

* ''[[Class of Nuke Em High]]'' is about a high school next door to a ''leaky'' nuclear power plant.

* ''[[Class of Nuke 'Em High]]'' is about a high school next door to a ''leaky'' nuclear power plant.

* Something similar in ''[[Dark Storm]]'': Exposure to dark matter causes anything to disintegrate. Except if it's a human. Then he gets dark matter-controlling super powers. [[You Fail Biology Forever|Somehow.]]

* In "Mant!", the film-within-a-film of ''[[Matinee]]'', radiation combines a shoe salesman with an ant. ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y2Lbhwl23M He gets bitten while getting a dental x-ray.])

* As seen in the ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'' episode, ''[[Beginning of the End]]'' has radiation not only increasing the size of crops, but the size of the grasshoppers who eat the crops! The army then suggests [[Nuke'Em|dropping a nuclear bomb]] on the insects, to which Crow quips, "[[Sarcasm Mode|Oh great]], maybe they'll get ''larger''!"

* In [[X Men (~~Film~~)|X-Men: First Class]], [[Big Bad]] Sebastian Shaw believes that mutants are the "Children of the Atom" and believes all mutants are immune to radiation because of this. This is why he plans to {{spoiler|turn the [[Cold War]] nuclear, beliving that the radiation will wipe humanity out but spare mutants}}.

* In [[X-Men (film)|X-Men: First Class]], [[Big Bad]] Sebastian Shaw believes that mutants are the "Children of the Atom" and believes all mutants are immune to radiation because of this. This is why he plans to {{spoiler|turn the [[Cold War]] nuclear, beliving that the radiation will wipe humanity out but spare mutants}}.

== Literature ==

* Parodied in [[The Onion]] book ''Our Dumb Century'', where a headline from 1963 declares "[[Spider Man|Boy Bitten by Radioactive Spider Dies of Leukemia]]". The body of the article mentions that this is the sixth atomic accident fatality in the last month, referring to [[The Incredible Hulk|Dr. Bruce Banner]] and [[Fantastic Four|Reed Richards and friends]].

* Parodied in [[The Onion]] book ''Our Dumb Century'', where a headline from 1963 declares "[[Spider-Man|Boy Bitten by Radioactive Spider Dies of Leukemia]]". The body of the article mentions that this is the sixth atomic accident fatality in the last month, referring to [[The Incredible Hulk|Dr. Bruce Banner]] and [[Fantastic Four|Reed Richards and friends]].

* In ''[[Perry Rhodan]]'', the first Mutant Corps consisted almost solely of individuals endowed with various [[Psychic Powers~~|psychic powers~~]] due to their parents' exposure to radiation -- including, though not limited to, the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

* In ''[[Perry Rhodan]]'', the first Mutant Corps consisted almost solely of individuals endowed with various [[Psychic Powers]] due to their parents' exposure to radiation -- including, though not limited to, the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

* In ''[[Gone]]'', people can die from radioactivity (and some of them nearly do), but it's also a potential cause for the superpowers that some of the kids have. It's also what the local monster feeds on. Justified, because ''[[Gone]]'' takes place in an [[Alternate Universe]] where the laws of science have been rewritten.

* In the ''[[Wing Commander (~~Literature~~)|Confederation Handbook]]'', mutations from cosmic radiation are said to be the cause of Pilgrim powers, though not in the short term as often depicted by this trope, taking multiple generations.

* In the ''[[Wing Commander (novel)|Confederation Handbook]]'', mutations from cosmic radiation are said to be the cause of Pilgrim powers, though not in the short term as often depicted by this trope, taking multiple generations.

* In the [[Jakub Wedrowycz]] stories, the Chernobyl power plant incident released radiation since used as [[Applied Phlebotinum|a handy explanation]] or theory for the appearance of [[When Trees Attack|psychic trees]], [[Little Red Riding Hood|talking wolves]] or dinosaurs.

* In [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [[Foundation]], everything good is atomic. The kingdom of Anacreon is seen as horrifyingly barbaric for their burning of fossil fuels.

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== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* Subverted in ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' season three, where a couple characters die from a machine that exposes them to radioactivity that causes exploding tumors. Yeah, we thought it was rather improbable too.

* Spoofed on ''[[The Daily Show]]'', with a [[Public Service Announcement]] stating that exposure to radioactive mist and substances will, in fact, not give you superpowers. [[Spider Man|Radioactive animal bites, on the other hand, assure them]].

* Spoofed on ''[[The Daily Show]]'', with a [[Public Service Announcement]] stating that exposure to radioactive mist and substances will, in fact, not give you superpowers. [[Spider-Man|Radioactive animal bites, on the other hand, assure them]].

* ''[[Penn and Teller Bullshit|Penn and Teller: Bullshit!]]'' did an episode praising nuclear power, declaring it much safer, cheaper, and more reliable than other forms of energy such as oil and coal.

* Brutally averted in ''Farscape'' where Crichton builds a wormhole-controlling device with a nuclear power source. {{spoiler|His ally turned enemy steals it and in the ensuing chase, the radiation shield protecting the power source is knocked open, meaning Crichton has to make a split-second jump towards the device to render it safe. He fails, absorbs a lethal dose of radiation and succumbs to his illness by the end of the episode.}}

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== Tabletop Games ==

* Viciously averted in ''[[GURPS]]'' where too much radiation will cause all sorts of horrible things to happen to you even if you successfully make a save against the effect. In fact radiation damage causes a build up of genetic damage that is incurable without special powers or advanced technology. However, "weird radiation" can result in powers.

* Embraced lovingly by every edition of ''[[~~Gamma World (Tabletop Game)|~~Gamma World]]'' and its sister setting, ''[[Metamorphosis Alpha]]''.

* Embraced lovingly by every edition of ''[[Gamma World]]'' and its sister setting, ''[[Metamorphosis Alpha]]''.

* ''[[Promethean: The Created]]'' has the Zeka, named after the Russian gulag prisoners who worked the uranium mines. They're the result of several demiurges who exposed corpses to nuclear power, triggering the Azoth to reanimate them. They may have the worst luck of any Promethean - they're [[Walking Wasteland|living fallout]], doomed to exist only in radiation-filled hellholes. And if they pull off the Great Work and become human? They have an ''excellent'' chance of dying from radiation poisoning thanks to their innate radioactive contamination. No wonder so many of them turn to [[The Dark Side]].

* In ''[[Deadlands]]: Hell on Earth'', being exposed to supernaturally-charged radiation could potentially give useful mutations (like an extra mouth that consumes the life essence of all that die near you), or it could give you a horrible deformity (like an extra mouth that never SHUTS the HELL up), or it could just kill you. Then, there are the [[Religion Is Magic|rad-priests]] called Doomsayers, who prove that, if you love radiation enough, it just might return the favor.

* Some superheroes (and villains) in ''[[Champions]]'' received their powers from nuclear radiation or being descended from people exposed to radiation.

* This may or may not be the cause of the mutation of every last citizen of Alpha Complex in ''[[Paranoia]]''.

* One possible Origin in ''Super [[Munchkin (~~Tabletop Game~~)|Munchkin]]'' involves stubbing one's toe on a "super ultra radioactive block of stuff".

* One possible Origin in ''Super [[Munchkin (game)|Munchkin]]'' involves stubbing one's toe on a "super ultra radioactive block of stuff".

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* ''[[Fallout]]'' had the ghouls, people who were scorched and sterilized by the atomic blasts. On the bright side they now live for centuries (which explains the presence of ghouls in ''Fallout 2''). Some even glow in the dark and they're absolutely immune to any kind of radiation (in fact, they even require a minimum of radiation to survive and it heals them). Rats also mutated to the size of a pit bull, and cows grew an extra head. Other species such as the Deathclaws have more ambiguous origins, while Super Mutants on the other hand were created via a virus that forced them to 'evolve'.

** In ''[[Fallout 3]]'' as a side effect of having to become irradiated for a survival guide research mission, the player character can develop a mutation that causes his crippled limbs to fix themselves if he is irradiated. Though it's half due to the therapy, which involved "Twisting your DNA like a kitten with a ball of yarn!" Cars also got miniaturized nuclear reactors as engines just before the end of the world.

** The games have some [[Armed ~~With~~ Canon]] issues, making this entirely unclear (especially as to ghouls) as to what's going on. That's the problem when you mix Science! and science.

** The games have some [[Armed with Canon]] issues, making this entirely unclear (especially as to ghouls) as to what's going on. That's the problem when you mix Science! and science.

*** The uneasy compromise arrived at by the time of ''New Vegas'' seems to be that radiation only creates a ghoul in ''just'' the right amount. Too little is just a person with Deadly Radiation Poisoning, a little too much is a mindless feral ghoul, a little more than that is a Glowing One, and more than that is a very, very dead human.

*** Though this does make the non-feral Glowing One, Jason Bright, even stranger.

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** Also, the games have Radaway, which can harmlessly<ref> More or less. Radaway was addictive up until Fallout 3, but the withdrawal effect was perfectly harmless so long as you stayed away from radiation</ref> remove radiation from you, quick and easy. Even if you're a single rad away from dying, enough bags of orange goo will have you as fresh as the day you left the vault. How this works is anyone's guess, but anyone working with nuclear material in real life would love something like that.

** It should be nated that the ''Fallout'' universe runs on the "Science!" of fifties science-fiction rather than hard science as even the laws of physics are subject to [[Rule of Cool]]. There are examples of realistic radiation exposure from a nuclear war in the occasional [[Apocalyptic Log]] that are as nightmarish as the radiation spawned monstrosities ''because'' they're done realistically.

** While radiation sickness will still eventually kill you in [[Fallout New Vegas]] there are two perks that make you stronger the more radiation you absorb, [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Rad_Child Rad child] and [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Atomic! Atomic!]. You still get radiation sickness effect but gain a healing factor, speed boast and fast action point recovery.

** While radiation sickness will still eventually kill you in [[Fallout: New Vegas]] there are two perks that make you stronger the more radiation you absorb, [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Rad_Child Rad child] and [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Atomic! Atomic!]. You still get radiation sickness effect but gain a healing factor, speed boast and fast action point recovery.

* ''[[STALKER]]'' includes mutants (of human origin), that can survive several shotgun blasts, as well as others that float and turn invisible, all as a result of the radiation from Chernobyl.

** The wasteland in STALKER was created long after the Chernobyl accident by a secret weapons lab operating in the Exclusion Zone. It has nothing to do with radiation.

* ''[[~~Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|~~Team Fortress 2]]'' invokes this trope [[Affectionate Parody|(parodiously, as always)]] with the '[[Memetic Mutation|Bonk!]]' energy drink for the Scout. As the advertisement tells us, "Bonk! is fulla radiation, which as we all know is pretty great for giving people super powers."

* ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'' invokes this trope [[Affectionate Parody|(parodiously, as always)]] with the '[[Memetic Mutation|Bonk!]]' energy drink for the Scout. As the advertisement tells us, "Bonk! is fulla radiation, which as we all know is pretty great for giving people super powers."

* The Zebesian Space Pirates in ''[[Metroid Prime]]'' use [[Applied Phlebotinum|Phazon]], a radioactive substance, to create elite troops. If the player reads the Pirate Data entries from your scan visor, it is learned that some of those exposed to Phazon radiation go insane and attack their allies.

** Some? Try ''all.'' [[The Corruption|Including you, eventually.]]

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* The Hierarchy in ''[[Universe At War]]'' love radiological weapons. This may be because radiation heals purebred hierarchs, and they get to use the dead and dying indigenous population as zombies.

* The TEC in ''[[Sins of a Solar Empire]]'' never leave home without a truckload of nukes for siege purposes. The Marza dreadnought can also be upgraded to re-purpose one for ship-to-ship warfare. Their superweapon, the Novalith Cannon, fires a massive, high-yield nuclear bomb at their hapless enemies' planets. One shot reduces the planets' population by 90%, and makes the rest die of radiation poisoning, two completely sterilizes the planet and makes it unusable for 5 minutes in real-time, which works out to several weeks game-time.

* The UEF in ''[[~~Supreme Commander (Video Game)|~~Supreme Commander]]''. They have two types of nuclear reactor, and one of their experimental weapons fires mini-nukes. Their [[Hero Unit]] can be armed with a backpack missile silo which can build one each nuke and counter-missile.

* The UEF in ''[[Supreme Commander]]''. They have two types of nuclear reactor, and one of their experimental weapons fires mini-nukes. Their [[Hero Unit]] can be armed with a backpack missile silo which can build one each nuke and counter-missile.

* ''[[Touhou]]'' has Utsuho Reiuji, a [[Crows and Ravens|hell raven]] with the power of manipulation of nuclear fusion, a control rod that doubles as an [[Arm Cannon]] that would make [[Metroid|Samus Aran]] jealous, a concrete boot on one foot and "electrons" orbiting the other.

** She also plays this trope literally--in one of the fighting game spinoffs, she's surprised to learn there are people beyond the barrier who ''don't'' like nuclear power.

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== Webcomics ==

* Parodied in ''[[The Non Adventures of Wonderella]]'', where Wonderella uses radiation to accelerate ''fermentation'' of some beer that she's brewing...radiation ''from her cell phone''. This naturally creates a beer monster, and then things get weird.

* Parodied in ''[[The Non-Adventures of Wonderella]]'', where Wonderella uses radiation to accelerate ''fermentation'' of some beer that she's brewing...radiation ''from her cell phone''. This naturally creates a beer monster, and then things get weird.

** As if they weren't already weird.

* Also parodied in one of the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' stick-figure fillers where Torg is bitten by a radioactive animal and gains the superpower to lose his teeth and hair. Fortunately, aliens are nearby to cure him and give him real superpowers.

* Both played straight ''and'' parodied in [http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=530 this] ''[[A Softer World]]''.

* In ''[[~~The Adventures of Dr. McNinja (Webcomic)|~~The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'', "crazy space radiation" seems to do a lot of, well, [[Captain Obvious|crazy]] things, like grant superintelligence to dinosaurs and create "NASAGHASTS", malevolent astronaut ghosts. It's not surprising, considering how the comic is influenced by ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' and other '80s nostalgia full of this trope.

* In ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'', "crazy space radiation" seems to do a lot of, well, [[Captain Obvious|crazy]] things, like grant superintelligence to dinosaurs and create "NASAGHASTS", malevolent astronaut ghosts. It's not surprising, considering how the comic is influenced by ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' and other '80s nostalgia full of this trope.

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== Western Animation ==

* Parodied in the ''[[Earthworm Jim (~~Animation~~)|Earthworm Jim]]'' cartoon for one episode where Jim, attempting to get superpowers to replace the weak super suit copy he was stuck with, used comic book methods. His efforts include getting trapped in a nuclear reactor, which gives him a glow-in-the-dark rash, and being bitten by a radioactive flea, which causes him to gain out-of-control leaping powers and grow flea legs from his head.

* Parodied in the ''[[Earthworm Jim (animation)|Earthworm Jim]]'' cartoon for one episode where Jim, attempting to get superpowers to replace the weak super suit copy he was stuck with, used comic book methods. His efforts include getting trapped in a nuclear reactor, which gives him a glow-in-the-dark rash, and being bitten by a radioactive flea, which causes him to gain out-of-control leaping powers and grow flea legs from his head.

* Played straight and parodied in the ''[[~~Family Guy (Animation)|~~Family Guy]]'' episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1". The Griffins are exposed to radioactive waste, and each gain separate powers (Stewie got telekinesis, Brian got superspeed, Chris got pyrokinesis, Peter got shapeshifting, Lois got super strength, and Meg could...[[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|extend and retract her fingernails]]). They proceed to wreak havoc in Quahog, and in an attempt to gain superpowers to stop them, Mayor [[Adam West]] rolls around in radioactive waste:

* Played straight and parodied in the ''[[Family Guy]]'' episode "Family Guy Viewer Mail #1". The Griffins are exposed to radioactive waste, and each gain separate powers (Stewie got telekinesis, Brian got superspeed, Chris got pyrokinesis, Peter got shapeshifting, Lois got super strength, and Meg could...[[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|extend and retract her fingernails]]). They proceed to wreak havoc in Quahog, and in an attempt to gain superpowers to stop them, Mayor [[Adam West]] rolls around in radioactive waste:

{{quote| '''Doctor:''' Mayor West, you have lymphoma.<br />

'''Adam West:''' Oh my.<br />

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'''Doctor:''' Well that's just silly.<br />

'''Adam West:''' Silly, yes... idiotic... yes. }}

* Likewise the ''[[~~Aqua Teen Hunger Force (Animation)|~~Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'' episode "Super Hero", where Master Shake exposes himself to toxic waste that, instead of giving him super powers, causes him to slowly melt.

* Likewise the ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'' episode "Super Hero", where Master Shake exposes himself to toxic waste that, instead of giving him super powers, causes him to slowly melt.

** Another episode featured a nuclear powered grill that through the magic of radiation was able to bring piles of snot to life (and melt the polar ice caps). Well it was sort of a dream, but it took up the entire episode and given the setting...

* Listen to the theme-song for the old ''[[Spider-Man]]'' animated series: "Is he strong? Listen, bud, he's got radioactive blood!" ...in real life, people with radioactive blood aren't particularly strong.

* Played a bit more logically in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'': The radiation that turned Derek Powers, the [[Big Bad]], into the super-powered Blight was actually therapy for a dose of his own experimental nerve gas. Somehow, their combined effects turned him into a glowing green skeleton, possessing explicitly radiation-based superpowers and weaknesses, with a half-life of one season.

* Used in ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]'', as a [[G-Rated Drug|G Rated]] [[Fantastic Drug]]. Mira gets addicted to phasing through nuclear cores, which ups her power and speed to somewhere in the range of Superman and Flash. Though I suppose this could also be a subversion, as she suffers radiation withdrawal, complete with unkempt hair, dark circles under her eyes, and general creepiness.

* Two recurring villains of ''[[The Mask (~~Animation~~)|The Mask]]: The Animated Series'' got powers this way. First, they were two stupid teenagers that decided to get superpowers. They go to the nuclear power plant, get radioactive - and realize they forgot to bring a bug to bite them just before passing out by poisoning. As the ambulance is taking them away, an accident causes one to crash into a putty shop (turning him into the shapeshifting Putty Thing) and another into an aquarium (turning him into the harmless Fish Guy). Fish Guy didn't get anything good out of the deal either; even as a fish he still ''couldn't swim''.

* Two recurring villains of ''[[The Mask (animation)|The Mask]]: The Animated Series'' got powers this way. First, they were two stupid teenagers that decided to get superpowers. They go to the nuclear power plant, get radioactive - and realize they forgot to bring a bug to bite them just before passing out by poisoning. As the ambulance is taking them away, an accident causes one to crash into a putty shop (turning him into the shapeshifting Putty Thing) and another into an aquarium (turning him into the harmless Fish Guy). Fish Guy didn't get anything good out of the deal either; even as a fish he still ''couldn't swim''.

* Parodied in ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]''. The Crimson Chin's origin story has him bitten on the chin by a radioactive ''celebrity''.

{{quote| '''[[Steven Ulysses Perhero|Charles Hampton Indigo]]:''' So has the radioactivity affected your love life?<br />

'''Celebrity:''' Grrarrr! }}

* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' used this trope a little lightly. The hero was radiated by ecto energy that altered his genetic structure.

* ''[[The Simpsons (~~Animation~~)|The Simpsons]]'', of course, has their own Radioactive Man, and arguably the most popular of the two.

* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', of course, has their own Radioactive Man, and arguably the most popular of the two.

** In the episode where the family became farmers, Homer iradiates the crops with plutonium borrowed from the nuclear plant in the hope that they grow bigger, like in the movies. Instead, he ends up with normal-sized tomatoes, only they have combined with tobacco to form "tomacco".

* ''[[~~SpongeBob SquarePants (Animation)|~~SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' has The Atomic Flounder, a retired villain originally for a one-off gag. He later appeared in a [[Show Within a Show]] episode during his prime. His first appearance followed the more common use of the trope, with atomic breath, however the second also brought some [[Body Horror]] into the mix.

* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' has The Atomic Flounder, a retired villain originally for a one-off gag. He later appeared in a [[Show Within a Show]] episode during his prime. His first appearance followed the more common use of the trope, with atomic breath, however the second also brought some [[Body Horror]] into the mix.

* On ''[[Batman ~~the~~ Brave And The Bold]],'' [[Mix-and-Match Critters|B'wana Beast]] gets his powers from drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste. (In this comics it comes from a special elixir and helmet.)

* On ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold]],'' [[Mix-and-Match Critters|B'wana Beast]] gets his powers from drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste. (In this comics it comes from a special elixir and helmet.)