Lamarck Was Right: Difference between revisions

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If the comic or show is rife with [[My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours]], then the superkid will luck out and be ''at least'' as powerful as the strongest parent at the time of conception, and often [[Goo-Goo Godlike|radically more powerful]]. This can get interesting if a family has more than one kid, as each succeeding one gets stronger. This usually also applies to fighting skills; they'll be a prodigy black belt before they can walk. If the parent got their powers from a magical or technological artifact, they'll have ''"internalized"'' and passed on that item's power. To use a real world analogy: if your mom were an IT expert that always carried around a laptop, you'd have a Bluetooth connection in your head and know how to code a Linux kernel from scratch.

Other times, if the parent got their power from a [[Freak Lab Accident]] involving [[Applied Phlebotinum]], their children will all have that same power, regardless of whether it affected their DNA. This also applies to magic and telepathic powers. Of course, with [[A Wizard Did It|magic]], the reason it's passed down will frequently be less biological than spiritual, so the usual rules need not apply. Another real-world analogy: If your dad were a food tester who developed a high tolerance for poison through controlled exposure, you'd have his high resistance and then some. This one is often [[~~Retcon|retconned~~]] into a [[Meta Origin]] or [[Secret Legacy]]; for instance, maybe the accident didn't ''cause'' your dad's powers, it just unlocked the powers already in his DNA, and he passed the "unlocked" version on to ~~you -- and~~ note that ''this'' [[wikipedia:Epigenetics|is real science]].

Other times, if the parent got their power from a [[Freak Lab Accident]] involving [[Applied Phlebotinum]], their children will all have that same power, regardless of whether it affected their DNA. This also applies to magic and telepathic powers. Of course, with [[A Wizard Did It|magic]], the reason it's passed down will frequently be less biological than spiritual, so the usual rules need not apply. Another real-world analogy: If your dad were a food tester who developed a high tolerance for poison through controlled exposure, you'd have his high resistance and then some. This one is often [[retcon]]ned into a [[Meta Origin]] or [[Secret Legacy]]; for instance, maybe the accident didn't ''cause'' your dad's powers, it just unlocked the powers already in his DNA, and he passed the "unlocked" version on to you—and note that ''this'' [[wikipedia:Epigenetics|is real science]].

This trope is named for Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, a French naturalist whose theories (of which we call Lamarckian evolution) inspired [[Charles Darwin]] and eventually led to modern Darwinian evolution. While very insightful, his theory of "Inheritance of Acquired Traits" incorrectly viewed the cause of evolution as the parents' self-improvements in life being passed on to their offspring. Giraffes had long necks because they kept stretching for higher branches over many generations, for instance. While this idea has become closely linked to Lamarck, it was not original to Lamarck, nor was it central to Lamarck's contribution to evolutionary theory.

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* A mainstay of the [[Marvel Universe]], where everything from [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'s radioactive spider bite to the [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'s cosmic ray exposure can be inherited. Generally, it's revealed that the various doses of radiation ''did'' change their DNA, so the offspring of [[Freak Lab Accident]] Silver Agers can officially be called Mutants.

** The official Marvel parlance is Mutants for X-gene variations on the human template, and ''mutates'' for those like Spider-Man who've been mutated by some external factor. How the public magically tells the difference is another question altogether.

* Two [[The Flash|Flashes]] ~~-- Wally~~ West and Barry ~~Allen -- have~~ had children, and in both cases the children have inherited the speed powers. It's a Speed Force thing, or something. It's even bred true to both of Barry's grandkids.

* Two [[The Flash|Flashes]]—Wally West and Barry Allen—have had children, and in both cases the children have inherited the speed powers. It's a Speed Force thing, or something. It's even bred true to both of Barry's grandkids.

** Indeed, Barry Allen's grandson's ''half-brother'' also has speed powers, although neither of his parents ever did. Also, as the [[Legacy Character|son of Captain Boomerang]], he's inherited his father's knack for using boomerangs as offensive weapons. {{spoiler|And as of [[Blackest Night]], his father's terrible decision-making skills}}.

*** On the other hand, Owen and Bart's mother, Meloni Thawne, is a descendant of Barry's twin brother, Malcolm Thawne, as was Eobard Thawne, AKA Professor Zoom, which suggests that the Barry Allen bloodline has a genetic predisposition toward speed, rather than a Lamarkian outgrowth from Barry's.

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** In Spider-Man's case, the bite changed him on a genetic level, so it ''would'' make sense for any children of his to inherit his powers. And to be fair, Spider-Girl's powers aren't an exact copy of Peter's, there's a major difference in how their wall-crawling powers work.

** Kara Killgrave (a.k.a. Purple Girl, Persuasion, Purple Woman), the daughter of the Purple Man, is another case, as she developed the exact same powers as her father, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|right down to his purple skin]]. That's despite the fact that he was hit by a rapidly-escaping nerve gas.

* Marvel character Scorpion (Carmilla Black) was designed based on the original plan that she was the daughter of Viper (Madame Hydra). To show she was Viper's daughter they gave her naturally green ~~hair -- which~~ would only be possible if hair dye is hereditary. Granted, they ended up with Monica Rappaccini (AIM Leader) as her mother.

* Marvel character Scorpion (Carmilla Black) was designed based on the original plan that she was the daughter of Viper (Madame Hydra). To show she was Viper's daughter they gave her naturally green hair—which would only be possible if hair dye is hereditary. Granted, they ended up with Monica Rappaccini (AIM Leader) as her mother.

** It's since been suggested Scorpion's father might be [[Incredible Hulk|Bruce Banner]] as an explanation for her green hair. Since this would have been before Banner became the Hulk, this just raises further questions.

* Speaking of Dr. Banner, he's had three children post-Hulk. His daughter Lyra has green skin and some super-strength, but averts the trope because she was created via genetic engineering. His son Skaar is able to become a Hulk himself, while his twin Hiro-Kala appears to have inherited nothing of the Hulk (implying they're likely fraternal twins).

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* While not really offspring, [[The Joker]] manages to "Jokerize" scores of supervillains in The Last Laugh storyline. He does this via some insane [[Evil Plan]] that infuses everyone with his DNA, turning their skin white, hair green and giving them Joker's sense of humor and making them totally loyal to him. How this works when the Joker's skin and hair color is not due to any sort of genetics but his skin and hair being permanently bleached from (in the usual backstories) falling into a vat of chemicals is not explained.

** For that matter, how does being "totally loyal to him" qualify as one of the traits in Joker's DNA? He's chaos embodied, the polar opposite of loyalty.

** Similarly, a [[Batman]] vs [[Alien~~|Aliens~~]] comic featured a mad scientist infusing xenomorphs with the DNA of Batman's villains. Not only did one of them develop white skin and red lips, another developed scarring on the left side of its head and a third somehow acquired the colouring of Scarecrow's costume.

** Similarly, a [[Batman]] vs [[Alien]]s comic featured a mad scientist infusing xenomorphs with the DNA of Batman's villains. Not only did one of them develop white skin and red lips, another developed scarring on the left side of its head and a third somehow acquired the colouring of Scarecrow's costume.

* [[Avengers Academy]] character Finesse has the same powers as [[Taskmaster]], who gained them by special serum, and it's implied she might be his daughter. When the two of them meet, she directly asks him about it, only for it to turn out that a drawback of his powers is loss of his non-combat related memories, so he has no damn idea.

* One ''[[What If]]'' story had the heroes getting trapped in Battleworld after the events of ''[[Secret War]]'', settling down and having children. All the kids have combinations of their parents' powers ''and'' traits; [[Captain America (comics)]] and [[X-Men|Rogue]]<ref>With Ms. Marvel's personality having taken over</ref>'s daughter has strength, flight, and is a natural leader, while [[Fantastic Four|Human Torch]] and [[Avengers|Wasp]]'s son has [[Hot Wings]] and [[Kill It with Fire|fire projection]] (but only when he's shrunk) and is a smartass.

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* [[Discworld]]

** ''[[Discworld/Soul Music|Soul Music]]'': Susan Sto Helit is [[The Grim Reaper|Death's]] granddaughter, and has much of his power. The problem is, Susan's mother was Death's ''adopted'' daughter; her father was Death's apprentice. She also has a mark on her cheek that resembles the mark her father got when he was slapped by Death. Susan [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this by repeatedly pointing out genetics does not work that way. The series itself, meanwhile, has noted that [[A Wizard Did It|on the Disc]], not all heredity ''is'' genetic.

** Conina from ''[[Discworld/Sourcery|Sourcery]]''. She is the daughter of Cohen the ~~Barbarian -- and~~ frustrated by her constant urges to dress in skimpy animal skins and beat the crap out of everyone that looks at her the wrong way. She's also inherited his [[Charles Atlas Superpower]].

** Conina from ''[[Discworld/Sourcery|Sourcery]]''. She is the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian—and frustrated by her constant urges to dress in skimpy animal skins and beat the crap out of everyone that looks at her the wrong way. She's also inherited his [[Charles Atlas Superpower]].

* The passing of skills along family lines is explained within the religious underpinnings of Nancy Farmer's ''The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm'': The spirits of your ancestors actually hung around the family, and if they took a liking to a kid, they'd pass down their own skills. Hence, if little Jimmy winds up with unbelievable skills at piloting a fighter plane, it's not so much because he's genetically related to great-great-grand-uncle George (the ace fighter pilot), but because George's spirit stuck around after death, and kinda melded with Jimmy to grant him George's original powers.

* In [[Harry Potter]], Harry instantly becomes a talented Seeker despite never having played or even seen anyone play before. The characters explain this by saying that James was an incredible flyer as well.

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== Live-Action TV ==

* The Goa'uld in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' are an entire species for which [[Lamarck Was Right]]. They even [[Genetic Memory|inherit memories]]. Since they are aliens with a very divergent reproductive cycle, [[Justified Trope|human genetics doesn't apply]]. Less justifiable is that the child of two goa'uld hosts also inherits memories, despite being biologically human.

* The Goa'uld in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' are an entire species for which Lamarck Was Right. They even [[Genetic Memory|inherit memories]]. Since they are aliens with a very divergent reproductive cycle, [[Justified Trope|human genetics doesn't apply]]. Less justifiable is that the child of two goa'uld hosts also inherits memories, despite being biologically human.

* The commercials for ''[[Birds of Prey]]'' made a great deal out of the idea that the daughter of [[Batman]] and Catwoman would have inherited her father's drive to fight crime and her mother's drive to commit it. She also inherited cat-like abilities from her mother (who was a metahuman in the television show, despite her comic book [[Badass Normal]] characterization).

* Used oddly in ''[[Psych]]'' where Gus insists that he can handle spicy (Indian) food because he's 1/4 Jamaican. His grandparent or parent may have cooked spicy Jamaican foods a lot, but it's not mentioned.

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== Real Life ==

* As mentioned above, recently, it's been discovered that some acquired changes ''can'' be inherited, albeit in a weaker, less permanent, and (probably) less important form. The study of this is called [[wikipedia:Epigenetics|epigenetics]]. Basically, chemical changes to the DNA can help inactivate or activate parts of ~~it -- and~~ because it's still DNA, these can be passed on. For instance, malnutrition might mean that your DNA doesn't methylate properly while you're growing up, and conditions in the womb can affect development of the fetus, which can pass on some information about the mother's ~~environment -- how~~ much food is available, and so ~~on -- to~~ the child. [[Science Marches On]]. <ref>Note that technically epigenetics is the study of DNA being turned on and off ''in general'', something that happens all the time in a living organism. What's recent is the discovery that these normally short-lived changes can sometimes last long enough to be inherited.</ref>

* As mentioned above, recently, it's been discovered that some acquired changes ''can'' be inherited, albeit in a weaker, less permanent, and (probably) less important form. The study of this is called [[wikipedia:Epigenetics|epigenetics]]. Basically, chemical changes to the DNA can help inactivate or activate parts of it—and because it's still DNA, these can be passed on. For instance, malnutrition might mean that your DNA doesn't methylate properly while you're growing up, and conditions in the womb can affect development of the fetus, which can pass on some information about the mother's environment—how much food is available, and so on—to the child. [[Science Marches On]].<ref>Note that technically epigenetics is the study of DNA being turned on and off ''in general'', something that happens all the time in a living organism. What's recent is the discovery that these normally short-lived changes can sometimes last long enough to be inherited.</ref>

** Experiments in rats have shown that cross-fostered pups of mothers who exhibit attentive parental care (licking and grooming behaviors, in particular) end up, through the action of acetylation and methylation, having less of an "anxious" response to stressors. When these rats become mothers themselves, they exhibit the same sort of parental behavior towards their pups, so it is a continuing ~~cycle -- independent~~ of genotype, the maternal attention is propagated to the next generation and so on.

** Experiments in rats have shown that cross-fostered pups of mothers who exhibit attentive parental care (licking and grooming behaviors, in particular) end up, through the action of acetylation and methylation, having less of an "anxious" response to stressors. When these rats become mothers themselves, they exhibit the same sort of parental behavior towards their pups, so it is a continuing cycle—independent of genotype, the maternal attention is propagated to the next generation and so on.

* Endosymbiosis is the current prevailing theory on the origin of certain ~~organelles--mainly~~ the mitochondria and ~~chloroplasts--in~~ the cells of eukaryotic (multicellular) life. The theory is that the organelles were originally entirely separate single celled organisms that were eaten by the eukaryotic cell but not digested properly. When the larger cell divided, so would the organelles, and so they were passed onto descendants without any genetic change.

* Endosymbiosis is the current prevailing theory on the origin of certain organelles—mainly the mitochondria and chloroplasts—in the cells of eukaryotic (multicellular) life. The theory is that the organelles were originally entirely separate single celled organisms that were eaten by the eukaryotic cell but not digested properly. When the larger cell divided, so would the organelles, and so they were passed onto descendants without any genetic change.

** Further, the organelles provide an energy source which was not previously available, so it [[Rule of Funny|could be argued]] that they cells were given superpowers by something that they ate, which was then passed on to their descendants.

* Bacteria can pass down traits acquired through horizontal gene transfer. When two bacteria swap genes or "mate", the exchange is permanent and the altered genome carries on to all offspring.