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Lovecraftian Superpower: Difference between revisions
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Where [[Stock Super Powers]] meets [[Body Horror]].
Usually, when you gain some special ability, it will manifest in some fairly conventional forms. [[Pure Energy|Energy blasts]], [[Psychic Powers]], [[Nigh Invulnerability|steel skin]], [[Elemental Powers|control over different forms of matter]] and varieties of [[Magic]] are all relatively common.
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The name originates from classic scifi/horror writer Mr. [[H.P. Lovecraft]], whose characteristic creations often seemed equal parts Nightmare Fuel and biology textbook.
A subtrope of [[Bad Powers, Bad People]], usually, possibly because [[Magic Is Evil]]. May be a useful side-effect of [[The Virus]] or [[The Corruption]]. Often manifests as [[Combat Tentacles]], [[You Are Who You Eat|cannibalistic]] and [[Body Horror|horrific]] [[Shapeshifting]] (sometimes [[Partial Transformation|partial shapshifting]]), [[Bloody Murder]], or a [[Bee-Bee Gun]], and is likely [[Power Incontinence|not quite controllable]]. Can overlap with [[One-Winged Angel]] and [[Shapeshifter Mashup]], and usually counts as a [[Super-Trope]] of [[Spider Limbs]].
{{examples}}
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* Mushizo of ''[[Ninja Scroll]]'' is a deformed hunchback with a hornet's nest growing straight out of his back.
** A few of the characters from the series are worthy of mention as well, such as a swordsman who has a hideous parasitic worm living in his stomach that attacks and kills anyone that is about to kill its host.
* Likewise, Shino and the Aburame clan in ''[[Naruto]]'' turn their bodies into living hives for their Kikkai insects, but are portrayed much more sympathetically, and with only a few tiny holes in their cheeks as the only visible indicator of their trait (they wear rather concealing clothing, so any further changes are unseen).
** The [[omake]] at the end of Shippuden episode 110 strongly implies that [[Eye Scream|his eyes are empty sockets]]
*** His eyes are [http://images.wikia.com/naruto/images/f/fa/Shino_Eyes.jpg seen from the side] in episode 149 of Part I. The manga says nothing either way.
** Heck, a lot of ninjas are like this. Kimmimaro's blood limit is to weaponize his ''bones'' stands out as pretty freaky. But then there is any ninja who can use the 2nd level of the curse seal, that transforms their body into some monstrosity. Or Juugo, the original source of the curse seal, whose abilities are basically shifting his body into whatever the situation at hand calls for. Kakuzu passes into this territory as well, given that he is partially made of freely-controllable string and artificially extends his life by using his opponents like organ banks whenever something grows too old to work, plus there's those... ''things'' that he can create out of the string.
** Orochimaru transformed himself into a humanoid-snake like being who can extend his body to bizarre lenghts(including his neck and tong), puke swords, eat large objects, body surf and do other nightmarish things. {{spoiler|Also, his real form is a big snake made of other snakes with his human head on the end.}}
* The aliens in ''[[Parasyte]]''.
* [[Eldritch Abomination|Awakened Beings]] in ''[[Claymore]]'' tend to start sprouting tentacles to rip people apart with. That's [[Up to Eleven|only the beginning]] of the [[Body Horror]] here, though...
* Mentuthuyopi from [[Hunter X Hunter]], one of the elite Chimera Ants, has the ability to mutate his own body. There is seemingly no limit to the number of bodyparts or amount of distortion. He does some really cool stuff with this, too; his period as a centaur-thing was impressive.
* This is [[Inuyasha|Naraku's]] main method of attack.
* In ''[[Ranma ½|[[Ranma
* In [[Speed Grapher]], one of the Euphorics<ref>(people with disturbing sexual fetishes turned into super powers)</ref> is a dentist who can make lots of tentacles made out of dental instruments sprout out of his back. Because backs sprouting tentacles and dental tools weren't terrifying enough on their own.
* [[Guyver]] tends to invoke this trope, especially with the first activation of the eponymous suit.
* In ''[[King of Thorn]]'', infection by [[The Virus|Medusa]] can grant this to those with [[Heroic Willpower|sufficient willpower]]. The good news: you can make all your dreams into reality! The bad news: by having them explode out of your body like chestbursters. [[Body Horror]] doesn't begin to cover it.
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* In ''[[Bleach]]'' the 9th Espada Aaronerio has resurrection.
** {{spoiler|Aizen during his fight vs Ichigo gets a gruesome transformation with the skin of his face ''splits'' in half}}
* Almost everyone from the Demon World in ''[[Wicked City]]'' has some kind of [[Lovecraftian Superpower]]. Main character Maki's [[Femme Fatalons]] is probably the tamest example in the movie, which says something. The only demon whose power doesn't evoke [[Body Horror]] is [[Dirty Old Man]] Giuseppe {{spoiler|who wields [[Shock and Awe|lightning]] instead.}}
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' gives us a lot of the angels, but especially [[The Virus|Bardiel and Armisael]], though [[Fusion Dance|Israfel]]'s dance of death is also pretty bad. And, ahem, the entirety of the Instrumentality.
* All the devilmen in ''[[Devilman]]'' gain their powers through [[Demonic Possession]] and [[Body Horror]]. [[It Got Worse|It gets worse]] the more a demon takes over a human host or [[Mix and Match Critter|several merge]] into one body.
* ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'': So, so much. Rosiel's powers are exclusively this, and a few others get in on the act too.
== Trading Cards ==
* [[Chaotic]]'s Stelgar: though originally a very spiny starfish [http://chaotic.wikia.com/wiki/File:Stelgar01.png and slightly creepy], his new look [http://chaotic.wikia.com/wiki/File:Stelgar.png.png makes his old look seem cute and snuggly]
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' sometimes does this with cards like Unstable Mutation and some of the versions of Unholy Strength feature frightful assymetry. Other cards, like Fallen Angel, involve sacrificing creatures to pump them up.
** Or there's the direct route, via [http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=193492 Eldrazi Conscription].
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*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQ2RVqJCNM This] video parodies the problems that result from having the claws without the [[Good Thing You Can Heal|healing factor]].
** Predating the Spike is the even more Lovecraftian Marrow, whose bone growths were originally uncontrollable, random, and disfiguring. She would tear them out periodically to use as melee weapons, healing the wounds left behind with her [[Healing Factor]].
** As well as the rest of [[The Morlocks]] living in the sewers.
** And then there's Tusk, who was exactly like this, but also with little Mini-Me sort of things that could jump out of the pods on his back, for some reason.
** A former X-Man with the charming name of [[Xtreme Kool Letterz|Maggott]] had two parasitic slugs that ''crawled out of his belly'' and could eat anything. He spent most of his childhood nearly starving to death until his primary digestive system (the slugs) emerged.
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** Or the time when he fights Miss Arrow. Or, really, just her entire being. Bonus points for being a Lovecraftian horror in the FIRST place, madam.
** Minor Spidey villain the Squid can grow multiple tentacles and spew black ink from his skin.
* The Bride of Nine Spiders from ''[[Immortal Iron Fist]]'' can summon hordes of spiders from her chest.
* Milder example in ''[[Fantastic Four]]'': The Thing looks like a giant rock hulk.
* The various 'Symbiotes' in the [[Marvel Universe]] all have this, to varying degrees. Most noticeable is Carnage, a psychopathic serial killer whose symbiote tends to turn into a cloud of barbed tentacles whenever it feels like it. Also, the reason his suit is red is that it's made up of the Venom symbiote mixed with Cletus Cassidy's blood.
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** Perhaps most emblematically, Freak. A parasitic tentacle beast lives in her body. While she has total control over its tendrils... ''ick''.
* {{spoiler|The evil Green Martian D'kay D'razz}}, introduced in ''[[Brightest Day]]'', uses her shapeshifting powers to frightening and effective use via [[Combat Tentacles]] and ''turning her head into a Venus Flytrap''. Assuming a monstrous form comes naturally to her, since she's a murderous lunatic.
* In the [[Marvel Universe]], the Celestial experiments on proto-humans that created the Eternals and mutants also created the Deviants. While the Eternals are superhumans with the ability to manipulate energy, the Deviants look like horrible monsters straight out of Lovecraft's works. Fortunately, [[Dark Is Not Evil|most of them aren't that bad]] and just want to live in peace.
* [[Deadpool]] was an attempt to replicate Wolverine's healing factor that went wrong. Deadpool's healing factor comes from the fact that his entire body is made of cancerous tumors that are constantly being destroyed and rebuilt.
** Actually, ''Deadpool'''s healing factor comes from having Wolverine's DNA injected into himself. The cancer was killing him already, and they thought the healing factor would cure that. Unfortunately, the healing factor applied to his body AND the cancer cells, so while his superhuman immune system is perfectly capable of killing the cancer, the cancer can recover and mutate just as quickly.
* The first three issues of ''Generation Hope'' dealt with the manifestation of the powers of Kenji Uedo, the fifth new mutant since M-Day. His power is a sort of "techno-organic" shapeshifting, but that doesn't quite convey [http://marvel.wikia.com/Kenji_Uedo_(Earth-616)/Gallery how very Lovecraftian they can be].
* The miniseries ''[[North 40]]'' deals with what happens when some kid reads the [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]] in a small town's library, triggering a [[Mass Super-Empowering Event]] of this type. The lucky ones get abilities like invulnerability, super-strength, and [[Animal Eye Spy|the ability to see through an animal's eyes]]. The ''other'' ones, however, get the ability to make man-powered killing machines, see through any photograph of themselves with their "new eyes" (which [[Eye Scream|look like fanged maws]]), or just plain all purpose [[Body Horror]].
* In [[The Umbrella Academy]] series, The Horror is pretty much the embodiment of this. He's said to have several monsters hidden under his skin. Whether or not they're from space or another dimension or something else has yet to be stated. However, according to some people in universe, they're horrible and disgusting.
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* Corrupted spellcasters in ''[[The Banned and the Banished]]'' are linked to animals, but the link is always perverse in some way. The first in the series gives birth to man-eating spiders, and they scale up from there all the way to twins who grow pustules that explode into rats. The only one who initially avoids this {{spoiler|transforms into any animal he wears the skin of}}, and he later {{spoiler|skins and wears one of the protagonists}}.
* In books by [[Clive Barker]], villains ([[Dark Is Not Evil|and otherwise]]) tend to have these.
** In [[Abarat|The Abarat Quintet]], the Prince of Midnight, Christopher Carrion, has the ability to distill his nightmares in physical form. They come out of tubes set in his skull and into a tank around his neck, cavorting in the fluid he breathes. On command, they can grow to many times their size and attack.
*** Leeman Vole is a man who enjoys growing insects. [[Nausea Fuel|On and in his own body]].
*** Leotho is a boy with a [[Involuntary Shapeshifting|ravenous beast form]]. He works for Carrion in return for the antidote, which he needs continual doses of to remain human.
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* Oddly enough, the kindly, feminine protagonist of ''Confessions of Super-Mom'' has a Lovecraftian power--her warped right hand constantly leaks a mysterious living fluid. She can blast it from her hand with incredible force as a way of knocking people over or making holes in weak objects, and she discovers that it can also be [[Mundane Utility|used as a stain remover]].
* Another heroic example: Bes from ''[[The Kane Chronicles]]'', whose trademark attack is scaring the crap out of his enemy by warping his face hideously.
* Drake from [[Gone (novel)]] ends up with a long, dangerous whip where his arm should be.
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== Film ==
* Engineers from ''[[Tokyo Gore Police]]'' are genetically modified humans who sprout weapons from injuries they receive. For example, the first one in the film grows a bio-mechanical chainsaw after his arm is cut off.
* [[David Cronenberg]] uses this a lot:
** Seth Brundle in ''[[The Fly]]'' gains the ability to wallcrawl, super strength, and even vomit a corrosive enzyme to dissolve food (or enemies). Unfortunately, he gained these abilities when he accidentally fused his genes with a fly, and slowly mutates into a grotesque giant insect/human hybrid. [[Blessed with Suck]] indeed.
** ''[[The Brood]]''. While Psychoplasmics isn't ''necessarily'' a superpower, the ability to birth homunculi from your traumatic memories who end up subconsciously doing your bidding might be considered useful, if fucked up.
** ''[[Videodrome]]'', where Max ([[Unreliable Narrator|probably]]) gets mutable flesh and a giant mouth in his stomach, which can apparently create hand grenades.
* In [[District 9]], Wikus is exposed to alien fluid which slowly transforms him (starting with his arm) into one of the aliens. This gives him both an alien's strength and the ability to operate their weapons.
* Generally the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] from the movies of [[Resident Evil (film)|Resident Evil]] gain this through [[The Virus|the T virus]].
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** Vampires can also be considered to have this, as they have a hideous [[Game Face]] that makes them stronger, and it's implied that, with age, the [[Game Face]] can't be changed back, but they get a massive power boost.
* In one of the ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' online novels, one man's superpower was to involuntarily grow spikes; he accidentally killed his wife this way, and then everyone in the van he was being transported to prison in (except for a guard who could turn into liquid).
** And then, of course, there's volume 3 Mohinder, who {{spoiler|uses his own serum to grant him Spider Man-style powers, with the side-effect of growing scales over his skin}}.
** Maya could cry toxic tears.
** In another graphic novel, there was a character who breathed out chlorine gas instead of carbon dioxide.
* Pathfinders in ''[[Farscape]]'' can shoot poisonous bristles from the gills in their heads.
** Aside from the Corlata's ability to shapeshift in a particularly gruesome way, one of them apparently had the power to exude an explosive fluid from his hands.
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* The warp-spasm of Cuchulainn from [[Celtic Mythology]] is all this. Think the [[Incredible Hulk]], [[wikipedia:Cuchulainn#The Cattle Raid of Cooley|only uglier]].
** Longrunning [[2000 AD]] strip ''[[Slaine]]'' (being a fusion of Celtic mythology, Robert E Howard novels and the good old fashioned, classic 2000 AD, punk aesthetic) has its eponymous hero (an appropriate fusion of Cuchulainn and Conan, with a punk aesthetic) warp-spasm similarly.
== Tabletop Games ==
* A feature of ''The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor'', a supplement for ''[[Monsters and Other Childish Things]]''. The more powers you have, the more creepy other people find you and the less you can pass for normal. (In the original game, you have a [[Mons|mon]] companion. In ''Candlewick Manor'', you have an eerie power which (usually) manifests physically, or else mentally or psychically.)
* Sorcerers in the game ''Sorcerer'' who have Parasite demons commonly have this kind of power.
* Many of the mutations Chaos champions gain in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' fit this, usually a physical boon specific to the chaos god they represent. If they are unlucky, however, they might get something like an eye on their navel or an emu's leg.
** Hell, an eye or emu's leg is nothing compared to the grotesque explosions of tentacles (with breasts and tongues if we're talking about Slaanesh)that you can get stuck with!
** Chaos Marauders, at least in their [[MMORPG|Age of Reckoning]] manifestation, use Chaos energies to spontaneously mutate their limbs into a variety of crablike claws and similar weapons.
** In fact, a persistent danger to Chaos champions is that their gods will [[Blessed with Suck|"gift"]] them with so many of these mutations that their minds collapse. These are known as Chaos Spawn.
* ''[[GURPS]]'' lists the Battle Jaw, Tentacle Transplant and Ripsnake as potential body modifications, which can come as quite a shock to the unsuspecting.
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** A ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' 4e special is the spellscarred multiclass feature, which has all kinds of nasty [[Body Horror]] powers. Including unhinging your jaw to take a bite out of your enemies, bleeding on your sword to make it blister with plague, and creating a rope of flesh that binds you to your target so they can't escape you.
** ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]'' magazine in #296 and #300 introduced the Monster Cultist prestige classes. Give yourself over to a monstrous god, and you gain the powers of their natural worshippers ... at the cost of becoming more like them. Examples include Sphere Minion (beholders); Illithidkin (mind flayers); Snake Servant (medusas); Waker of the Beast (tarrasque); Faceless Ones (doppelgangers); Deep Thrall (kraken); Shoal Servant (kua-toas); and Tiger Mask (rakashas). Anything that involves shifting your Creature Type from Humanoid to Abberation is probably a bad idea...
* In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' is the Obtenebration discipline, which at a certain level allows the user to make tentacles out of shadows.
** Don't forget what Tzimisce can do with their Vicissitude, which allows them to sculpt themselves or others into [[The Blob|slimy pus-heaps]] or powerful [[Mutants|mutant monsters]], as they see fit. One sourcebook played up the Lovecraftian connections by making it a parasitic virus from the Umbra. [[Canon Discontinuity|This was not well-received and eventually struck out]], but the idea remained that Vicissitude wasn't so much a proper Discipline as a virus devised by the clan's antediluvian for some foul purpose.
** A few of the [[Prestige Class|bloodlines]] in the successor game, ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', have similar abilities. Take [[Circus of Fear|the Carnival]], whose special Discipline ranges from contortion tricks to merging with another vampire to form a hybrid. Or the [[I'm a Humanitarian|Noctuku]], who alter their flesh so they can absorb more blood and better digest vampiric flesh. Or the Norvegi, who lack fangs but make up for it by producing bony spines that allow them to feed through their fingers. Or...
* The ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' Cherion Group thaumatechnology from ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'' is based on implanting monster organs and body parts into a human host.
** The reality deviant worshippers in ''Second Sight'' get a whole ''section'' of [[Body Horror]]-themed features and rituals.
** [[Geist: The Sin Eaters|Sin-Eaters]] have the Caul Manifestation, allowing them to assume a whole range of horrifying forms. Most notable are the Industrial Caul (which allows them to implant objects in their body) and the Phantasmal Caul (which lets them transform into a living nightmare that can induce paralytic fear or outright madness).
** And then there's the Centimani of ''[[Promethean: The Created]]'', Prometheans who turn their back on [[To Become Human|the Great Work]] and embrace [[The Dark Side|Flux]]. They can buy all sorts of twisted mutations, from tentacles to extra organs to the ability to turn into a puddle of sentient liquid.
*** Similarly, the [[I Love Nuclear Power|Zeky]] get a ''whole'' bunch of unwholesome Transmutations based around atomic energy and its side effects. Three words: Mind. Control. Tumor.
** [[Mage: The Awakening|Mages]] have Branding [[Magic Misfire|Paradox]], where the [[Cosmic Horror Story|Abyss]] warps their body in various ways, which can include temporarily granting them strange mutations of their bodies (such as horns, claws, tails, and, of course, tentacles). There is also a [[Black Magic|Left]]-[[Omnicidal Maniac|Handed]] [[Prestige Class|Legacy]] called "[[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|the Legion]]", whose whole shtick is that they give up parts of their body to the Abyss, and receive mutated transplants in return.
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* In the Glorantha setting of ''[[Rune Quest]]'', Chaos Features (powers granted by exposure to "primal Chaos") often have a physical side effect like this--But some folks get Chaos Flaws instead, all side effect and no power.
* In ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'', Tagers and their Nyarlathotep-worshiping counterparts, the Dhohanoids, manifest a [[Guyver]]-style ability to transform into [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations.]]
* Nightbane. A Palladium horror dark fantasy, where your [[Blessed with Suck]] powers are to transform into an inhuman, grotesque, powerful form.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' has a fair number of horrors with these abilities. Chimera Knacks for Lunars, some of the freakier Yozi charms for Infernals, the Abyssals and their freaky undeath powers...and let's not even get into a discussion of the Wyld. (With the Broken-Winged Crane expansion, Infernals can even literally turn into a [[Cthulhu Mythos|shoggoth]].)
* You can learn the Celtic "warp-spasm" in ''[[Scion]]''. The picture that accompanies it shows someone in the middle stages of transformation, and it isn't pretty (he's effectively turning into a mutant crow).
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== Video Games ==
* The viruses and the Las Plagas parasites from ''[[Resident Evil]]'' usually spawn such mutations in those they infect. Even villains who don't go full-on [[One-Winged Angel]] tend to have giant claws and [[Combat Tentacles]].
** As Albert Wesker, who himself gained quite a few of these powers, revealed, this was the ultimate intention of the plague; to transform select humans into superpowered monsters and kill all others.
* The hero of [[FPS]] ''[[The Darkness]]'', Jackie Estacado, sprouts a pair of snapping serpentine demon-heads from his shoulders, as well as producing dark tentacles to impale foes and destroy walls as needed.
* In the first ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' game, {{spoiler|Geldoblame}} is transformed into a hideous deformed monstrosity after {{spoiler|infusing himself with the power of Malpercio}}. [[Jiggle Physics]] are involved, which is as [[Squick|unpleasant]] as it sounds.
* ''[[Bioshock]]'s'' "Insect Swarm" plasmid causes a small hive-like growth to form on your palm, which allows you to ''[[Bee-Bee Gun|throw live swarms of hornets]] at your foes''.
** Most of the other plasmids, which are injected into yourself in order to [[Lego Genetics|rapidly modify your genetic structure]], combine this with [[Elemental Powers]].
* Similarly to ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'', [[ADOM]] features various "corruptions" that you eventually gain after enough exposure to the forces of Chaos (from traps and Chaos beings, but also simply being deep in a dungeon). These most commonly take the form of Lovecraftian superpowers - although as "superpowers", they're mostly examples of [[Blessed with Suck]]. Also similarly to the ''Warhammer'' games, taking enough corruption will turn you into a "writhing mass of primal Chaos".
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* Harp's Bane and {{spoiler|Gravehouse}} in [http://www.necessarymonsters.com Necessary Monsters] both have rather [http://www.necessarymonsters.com/2009-07-16-106 unsettling transformations].
* [[Shadowgirls]], which has ''literal'' Lovecraftian powers (like "turn into living shadow" or "become a snake-monster made of light").
* Alcolla in [[Reliquary]] becomes an angel, [[Our Angels Are Different|but not the attractive kind]]: [http://reliquary.comicgenesis.com/d/20090629.html She looks more like an undead shadow creature].
* Vorte from ''[[Hitmen for Destiny]]'' can puke up a sticky liquid and use "deadly headspikes". Also at some point {{spoiler|Bianca grows a tentacle on her back}}.
* Nergal demons in the fancomic ''[[Grim Tales from Down Below]]'' have [[Combat Tentacles]] that can form [http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=41 just] [http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=44 about][http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=46 anything!]And also [http://grim.snafu-comics.com/index.php?comic_id=85 a gun].
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{{spoiler|'''Kenny's mom:''' Fifty-second.}} }}
== [[Real Life]] ==
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