Invisibility: Difference between revisions

[[File:HawleyGriffin_2916HawleyGriffin 2916.jpg|link=The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen|frame|[[Defensive What|What?]] ... [[Invisible Streaker|He was cold.]]]]

* The ''[[Gemini Man]]'' had a small, fragile device which held his invisibility -- andinvisibility—and the certain death it brought with overuse -- atoveruse—at bay.

It is also interesting to note that the overwhelming majority of shows with [['''Invisibility]]''' use the same setup: The person is the product of a government experiment, usually military, and becomes an agent for a top secret government anti-crime task force. While this setup is not limited to this power, the fact that the two are so often coincident probably leads to a lot of [[Recycled Script|Recycled Scripts]]s. Expect newly invisible characters to make a point out of realizing that [[I Can't See Myself|they can't see themselves]].

It may be interesting to note that whatever the parameters of the invisibility -- permanentinvisibility—permanent or non-permanent, affecting clothes or only the body, voluntary or involuntary, these will usually be taken as the "obvious" properties of invisibility, without any need to explain why they should work according to those rules instead of one of the other permutations. (Note for example the opening monologue to the Sci Fi Channel's ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'', which cites [[The Invisible Man (novel)|the H.G. Wells story]], but implies that character's invisibility was non-permanent and voluntarily controlled.)

* Deconstructed and played straight in Kazuhiro Okamoto's manga, ''[[Translucent]]''. Shizuka is a typical 14-year-old girl; she just happens to have ''Translucent Syndrome'', which makes her body turn translucent during a semi-regular cycle -- althoughcycle—although it is affected by her mood (and can become permanent if she spends too much time translucent). While she never goes outright invisible per se, there's little enough difference between 100% invisibility and being 99% translucent. Indeed, she uses her condition to sneak into a building later in the series by simply leaving her clothing with a friend.

* The titular Alabaster in [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s ''[[Manga/Alabaster|Alabaster]]'' is partly invisible, as the raygun he used on himself to attempt to become invisible was unfinished and lethal. Disgustingly disfigured (the only thing invisible is his ''skin''; his organs are fully visible), he is obsessed with defacing "beauty" with the gun -- leavinggun—leaving partly invisible corpses in the wake of his murder sprees. Playing the trope more straight, Ami, Alabaster's hostage turned mistress turned partner-in-crime, was shot by the gun in the womb, and has been invisible her entire life.

* In ''[[The Incredibles]]'', Violet (who, as one of several [[Homage|homageshomage]]s to the ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'', is also a [[Barrier Warrior]]) can turn invisible at will except for her clothes. However, when Edna Mode makes costumes for the family, she makes one for Violet that turns invisible with her.

* In ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' the [[Artifact of Doom|One Ring]] turns whoever wears itinvisible. Prelude book ''[[The Hobbit]]'' introduces the Ring as nothing more than a ring of invisibility, and an imperfect one at that -- shadowsthat—shadows are barely visible in strong sunlight. Its full history was [[Retcon|invented for the sequel]].

* In the reverse, the primary power of ''[[The Shadow]]'' is his ability to "cloud the minds of men" -- he—he cannot become invisible, but can cause anyone nearby to fail to see him.

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' has ''more'' than one invisibility spell, and yes, invisibility is ''awesome''. The previous edition Invisibility spell allows invisibility until the invisible person attacks -- presumablyattacks—presumably only for game balance, as most invisible persons outside of D&D can attack and stay invisible. Of course, now, not only is the former second level AD&D spell a ''16th'' level spell in D&D 4e, it's been suitably [http://dnd4.com/dd-4th-edition-wizard-spells nerfed].

* Both ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' and [[Vampire: The Requiem]] feature the Obfuscate Discipline, which is a form of mental invisibility or camouflage -- itcamouflage—it causes others to ignore your presence, or think that you're somebody else. Needless to say, it's a common feature of the [[Looks Like Orlok|Nosferatu]].

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series has two flavors. The [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Invisibility]] spell effect makes the player invisible for a short period of time, and breaks as soon as the player performs an action other than moving. The Chameleon effect offers partial invisibility, making it harder for people to detect the character, and does not break on performing an action. Unlike the former it can be had as a permanent effect via enchantments, and getting permanent 100% Chameleon--whichChameleon—which makes the player fully invisible--isinvisible—is considered a [[Game Breaker]].

* Kali in ''[[Enjuhneer]]'' was created as a joke on the "invisible roommate," but has since been explained as having [[I Love Nuclear Power|eaten radioactive toast]]. In addition to her own transparency, any clothing she wears gradually and permanently becomes invisible, as does any dye she puts in her hair. (A Santa hat and a pair of [[White Gloves]] are immune to this, for reasons that have so far only been vaguely implied.) The author has mined a ''lot'' of jokes out of the various rules and applications of this ability--forability—for instance, Kali can hide items in an invisible messenger bag and pull them out as if from [[Hammerspace]].