Misapplied Phlebotinum: Difference between revisions

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* Somewhat averted in ''[[Cannon God Exaxxion]]''. They go into a considerable amount of detail about all the interesting things you can do with [[Artificial Gravity]] tech & how it dramatically changes the face of modern industry & combat. The limited way [[Nanomachines]] are used in the series smacks of this trope, but they at least bother to handwave it by citing the technology's astronomical cost.

* Averted by ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]''. The villains get their hands on easy teleportation and quickly use it to warp warheads straight through the ''Nadesico'''s [[Deflector Shield]].

* Gosunkugi from ''[[Ranma ~~One Half~~]]'' gets ten paper dolls which let him give people commands that they must obey. He suffers from a pretty severe lack of imagination. He tries to command Ranma to argue with Akane -- he didn't succeed, but nobody would have noticed anyway. The other nine are similarly squandered.

* Gosunkugi from ''[[Ranma ½]]'' gets ten paper dolls which let him give people commands that they must obey. He suffers from a pretty severe lack of imagination. He tries to command Ranma to argue with Akane -- he didn't succeed, but nobody would have noticed anyway. The other nine are similarly squandered.

* Averted in ''[[Code Geass]]'' with Sakuradite, a naturally-occurring substance that is an exceptionally good conductor. It's used in [[Humongous Mecha]] '''and''' consumer electronics, and is the reason the why [[Magnetic Weapons]] have completely replaced gunpowder, even when it comes to personal firearms.

* ''[[Ranma ~~One Half~~|Ranma 1/2]]'''s Jusenkyo --cursed springs that, when submerged inside them or splashed with water from them, give you the shape of whatever drowned there first until you turn yourself back with hot water (and then turn again with cold.) Any living thing can be transformed into a multitude of other things: men, women, children, a huge variety of animals, twins, or even [[Superpower Lottery|godlike lightning- and fire-spewing entities]]. Yet no one in the series ever thinks of [ab]using it to, for example, dump a handful of ants in the Spring of Drowned Ox and feed impoverished villages with the resulting hundreds of oxen. Worse, there's even ''powdered'' packets of "instant," single-use springs, but they're even more obscure than the springs themselves. About the only people who profit from the springs are the Musk Dynasty (who, in antiquity, would dump strong animals into the Spring of Drowned Girl in order to procure wives to yield [[Lego Genetics|stronger children]],) and [[Winged Humanoid|the people of Mt. Phoenix]], who use their bird-cursed water [[Mundane Utility|for everything water is typically used for]] (bathing, drinking, cooking, washing) and, from time to time, turning themselves human to spy on others.

* ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma 1/2]]'''s Jusenkyo --cursed springs that, when submerged inside them or splashed with water from them, give you the shape of whatever drowned there first until you turn yourself back with hot water (and then turn again with cold.) Any living thing can be transformed into a multitude of other things: men, women, children, a huge variety of animals, twins, or even [[Superpower Lottery|godlike lightning- and fire-spewing entities]]. Yet no one in the series ever thinks of [ab]using it to, for example, dump a handful of ants in the Spring of Drowned Ox and feed impoverished villages with the resulting hundreds of oxen. Worse, there's even ''powdered'' packets of "instant," single-use springs, but they're even more obscure than the springs themselves. About the only people who profit from the springs are the Musk Dynasty (who, in antiquity, would dump strong animals into the Spring of Drowned Girl in order to procure wives to yield [[Lego Genetics|stronger children]],) and [[Winged Humanoid|the people of Mt. Phoenix]], who use their bird-cursed water [[Mundane Utility|for everything water is typically used for]] (bathing, drinking, cooking, washing) and, from time to time, turning themselves human to spy on others.

** And on the subject of Mt. Phoenix: their lord, the Phoenix King, breaks every last law of thermodynamics with [[Playing with Fire|his ability to generate limitless heat and light]], [[Good Thing You Can Heal|regenerate from any injury]], and [[The Phoenix|bring himself back from the dead]]. [[Person of Mass Destruction|How many countries has he conquered?]] None, because his primary task is to [[Orcus on His Throne|sit pretty and prim on his hanging perch]] and provide light [[Mundane Utility|for the comfort of his subjects]].

** This world also has the technology to create [[Powered Armor|powerful suits of armor]] --strong, quick, and durable enough to give Ranma serious trouble-- at such low cost it's readily available to the public via mail-order. Nobody thinks of removing the armor's [[Power Limiter]] and equipping the local police force with these.

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*** ''[[GURPS]] International Super Teams'' incorporated ''SuperTemps'' into its setting, and expanded upon it. And the ''I.S.T''. chapter of ''GURPS Y2K'' had detailed passages on supers using their powers for construction and other mundane occupations. And not-so-mundane UN-sponsored occupations, like weather control (to divert destructive hurricanes, alleviate drought, and so forth) and famine relief ("you can make plants grow? come with me!").

** Captain Hammer in ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog]]'' is mentioned by Dr. Horrible as being "corporate"; presumably he takes sponsorships. Given the character in question (an [[Jerkass|incredibly self-absorbed jackass]] who takes special pleasure in beating up geeks and seducing clueless women, getting away with it all because he's [[Designated Hero|labeled a "hero"]]), it wouldn't exactly be surprising. Given his chest insignia, it wouldn't be terribly surprising if he was funded by Sears.

** ''Almost'' subverted in DC's critically-acclaimed ''[[Starman (~~Comic Book~~)|Starman]]'' comic of the mid-to-late-1990s. Our Hero, Jack Knight, agrees to take on his father's mantle as Starman, ''if'' his father will in turn take the amazing Cosmic Rod technology that he's used for self-indulgent heroics for half a century, and adapt it to civilian use: clean power, antigravity, force fields, and more. In the final issue, Ted makes good on the promise, and hands Jack a thick sheaf of documents detailing exactly that, just before his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. It's ''almost'' subverted because, years after the end of the series, [[Reed Richards Is Useless|no trace of the "spin-off" technology has been seen]].

** ''Almost'' subverted in DC's critically-acclaimed ''[[Starman (comics)|Starman]]'' comic of the mid-to-late-1990s. Our Hero, Jack Knight, agrees to take on his father's mantle as Starman, ''if'' his father will in turn take the amazing Cosmic Rod technology that he's used for self-indulgent heroics for half a century, and adapt it to civilian use: clean power, antigravity, force fields, and more. In the final issue, Ted makes good on the promise, and hands Jack a thick sheaf of documents detailing exactly that, just before his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]. It's ''almost'' subverted because, years after the end of the series, [[Reed Richards Is Useless|no trace of the "spin-off" technology has been seen]].

** Seriously averted in ''[[Watchmen]]''. Dr. Manhattan's unique physiology and abilities are used to derive a massive amount of technologies, including electric cars. Ozymandias is running a mega-conglomerate, selling, among many other items, perfume and action figures based on himself and his colleagues. The original Silk Spectre also made a living as a model. She went on to marry her agent.

** [[Deadpool]] (at various times, Cable and the Six Pack also qualify) use their abilities for mercenary work, drawing a paycheck for using their powers and skills to hurt and kill people. It may not be particularly nice money, but hey, it's a living.