Most Common Superpower: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|'''Hobbes:''' ''Is Amazon Girl's super power the ability to squeeze that figure into that suit?''

 

Whether the superheroine/villainess is a [[Mutants|mutant]], an [[Hot Amazon|Amazon]] [[Everything's Better with Princesses|princess]] or an [[Human Aliens|alien humanoid]], if she's female, she is straining against the bonds of gravity... but not in a flying sort of way.

[[Live Action Adaptation]]s inevitably lead to a [[Big Bra to Fill]]. A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Heroic Build]]. Compare [[Form-Fitting Wardrobe]], [[Stripperific]], [[Gag Boobs]], [[Gainaxing]], [[Boobs of Steel]], [[Cleavage Window]], [[World of Buxom]]. See also [[Top-Heavy Guy]] for a male exaggeration of the chest area (just a different form of this).

 

 

{{examples}}

* Lampshaded in an episode of ''[[My Hero Academia]]'' where a talk show host asks his guests - Midnight and Mt. Lady, two heroines who clearly have this "power" - whether it's truly necessary for heroines to have it. The segment ended with both heroines shouting at each other and each calling the other an [[Attention Whore]]; which [[Hypocrisy Nod| ''both'' of them obviously ''are''.]]

 

* The [http://ragnell.blogspot.com/2006/05/power-girl-you-be-judge.html urban legend] goes that legendary comics artist Wally Wood, one of the original artists for [[Power Girl]] at [[The DCU|DC]], started enlarging her chest issue-to-issue to see how far he could go with it before the suits upstairs caught on. Again, this is just a myth; however, it started a tradition, and it's often considered one—er, ''two'' of the main features of the character, i.e. that she has ''even larger'' breasts than the average generously-endowed [[superhero]]ine. Plus the "boob window" over her cleavage making them that much more obvious.

** [[Lampshaded]] in the ''[[Superman]]/[[Batman]]'' comic when Batman, Superman, Katana, and Power Girl are discussing the [[We Need a Distraction|need to distract]] the Toyman (a thirteen-year-old Japanese [[Teen Genius|boy genius]]). Power Girl (in her [[Cleavage Window|costume with the big window in the chest]]) asks why everyone is suddenly staring at her before realizing the obvious. Well, the pair of obvious.

** The same issue gave us this other great lampshading, when Superman and Batman talk with the Toyman about his invention after Power Girl is done distracting him:

* As originally drawn in the 1940s, [[Wonder Woman]] had an average chest. Obviously, things have changed since then. Tellingly, she is described as ''canonically'' [[Most Writers Are Male|the most beautiful woman in DC Comics]]. All the beholders have the same tastes, then?

** [[Black Canary]] once told Wonder Woman that she has "our community's second most famous bosom." The most famous one is Power Girl's.

* Played straight by Caitlin Fairchild from ''[[Gen 13]]''; whilst in her superhero persona her [[Clothing Damage|clothing is frequently destroyed]] but she's left unharmed, and in civilian attire she [[Inner Monologue|complains internally]] about getting lecherous stares from passers-by, and her teammates—one of whom is a very open lesbian. In the most recent version of ''Gen13'', when Grunge absorbed Caitlin's power, he also acquired [[Nightmare Fuel|her bust size]]. Apparently, boobs ARE part of her superpowers. In the post-[[Canon Discontinuity|Worldstorm]] version, she was explicitly [[Ms. Fanservice|genetically engineered for attractive appearance]]. Regardless of continuity, her large breasts were always the ''result'' of her powers. In her first appearance, she suddenly turns from mousy and slender to [[Amazonian Beauty|muscular and curvy]] when her powers activate. This is attributed to an increase in "[[Boobs of Steel|muscle mass]]".

** In an issue of the ''[[Wildstorm]]'' [[Crossover]] ''Armageddon'', Caitlin meets a future version of herself:

{{quote|'''Empowered:''' "'Racktastic'? Having allegedly large breastesses, that's ''not'' a superpower. Okay?"

'''Ninjette:''' "''Au contraire'', Count Rackula. Believe me, I would ''so'' flaunt them [[Pettanko|if I had 'em]]."

{{quote|'''Alex:'''" A wig? * points to boobs* Are...are those real? "

'''Outlaw:''' "Well...hate to tell you this, cowboy, but..."

'''Alex:'''" Well, I just naturally assumed..." }}

* One of the girlfriends of ''[[Savage Dragon]]'' sees a photo of Dragon's deceased wife, the busty superheroine Smasher. She wonders out loud if her power was the power to defy gravity.

* In an issue of ''[[The Sandman]]'', a knockout blonde describes going into a comic book store; the creepy clerk says "we don't usually see breasts as small as yours here", [[Don't Explain the Joke|presumably because]] the only women ever seen in that store are on the pages of the comic books.

* Britt in ''CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations'' is a supermodel-turned-vampire. "Naturally", this means she has huge rack (another female character once calls her "38 Double-D"). On the other hand, she also has plenty of muscle and is fairly tall, and her vampiric strength likely prevents any back pain. Then again, she still would've suffered problems as a human (although her career as a supermodel was assured). Again, "naturally" for a comic book, she wears a skin-tight leather outfit with a ''very'' low cleavage.

** Similarly, Yumiko, a Japanese [[Snake People|snake girl]] has a decent-sized bust, even though Japanese women generally aren't known for their bust size (outside animation). However, Britt is still the winner in this regard.

** Then there's Amanda Houellebecq, the new leader of Oblivion, a secret group dedicated to stopping the threat of [[Eldritch Abomination]] influence (they poisoned [[H.P. Lovecraft]] for being too close to the truth). Her blouse looks barely able to contain her bust. No wonder [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Bools]] jumps to her rescue.

** Really, it's much easier to list a female character who ''doesn't'' fit into this trope (there are few).

 

* In ''[[My Super Ex-Girlfriend]]'', the advent of G-Girl's metahuman abilities is heralded by an, er, expansion, of her bosom, followed by several other cosmetic changes. Which is a total [[Non Sequitur Scene]], as no one ever points this out and her breast expansion is never once mentioned in the entire film. As well as the fact that in every scene of her as an adult, G-Girl seems to be pretty average sized up top.

* Averted in ''[[Supergirl (film)|Supergirl]]'' by the [[Big Bra to Fill|modestly-endowed Helen Slater]], whose bra size is 32A according to several online sources. In an interview with ''Starlog'' magazine, Slater noted "In the comics, Supergirl is quite, um, buxom... so I hope people won't come to the film expecting that."

 

* [[Lampshaded]] in [[Perry Moore]]'s ''[[Hero (novel)|Hero]]'', where pyrokinetic Miss Scarlet says during an icebreaker that she grew up by a nuclear power plant and one day in her teens, she woke up with her flame powers and "a rack that would make Dolly Parton jealous."

* Suzie Shooter in ''[[Nightside]]'' is quite female and from several descriptions, is... endowed with MCSP according to John Taylor's own internal dialogue

** Ms. Fate, the Nightside's resident costumed superheroine, averts this trope because she's the crime-fighting alter-ego of a male transvestite. He does, however, include a high-grade set of falsies in his costume, the better to ''emulate'' this trope.

* This trope is averted in ''[[Wearing the Cape]]''. Hope/Astra, while a [[Flying Brick]], describes herself as "built like an underage pixie" and has a stuffed bra built into her costume to make her look older. Elsewhere she comments that the practice of incorporating wonderbras into superheroine's costumes is almost universal.

 

 

* ''[[Trinity Universe (game)|Aberrant]]'' has a "Mega-Attribute" section of powers which are enhancements of the standard "attributes" that all characters have in the Storyteller system—strength, dexterity, and so forth. Although "Mega-Appearance" comes in many forms, the pic accompanying the section is of a woman with gigantic breasts being photographed by paparazzi.

** And it's noted a couple of times in the corebook that even "novas" who don't have Mega-Appearance tend to be pretty good looking. This is partially attributed to their incredible metabolism, which keeps their body fat to a bare minimum, and partially to the way their bodies tend to reshape themselves according to subconscious wish fulfillment when they gain their superpowers. Mega-Appearance, by contrast, is reserved for those novas who are ''superhumanly'' good looking, better than any supermodel or Hollywood star could ever hope to be.

*** [[Fridge Logic|But, if they have minimal body fat, shouldn't big breasts be impossible?]]

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'', there has been some complaint from female players that even the smallest bust option on females is at least a C-cup. No complaints from the guys though...

* This is also true in ''Champions Online'', which isn't surprising given the game was made by the same developers. And likewise, some clothing options make it easier to downplay it (or not) than others.

 

* Alternately parodied and embraced in ''[[Supermegatopia]]'', especially by the characters of Buxom Gal, an explicit parody of Power Girl whose breasts expand as she absorbs energy and contract as she uses it, and Distraction Damsel, whose "super power" is to distract bad guys (and everyone else) with her assets and precisely-timed "wardrobe malfunctions".

** Lampshaded by the newspapers of that world who have offered a large reward for photos of Buxom Gal after more than a week of not using her powers. Sadly, the constant amount of supervillain attacks means she can barely go one day without expending her power.

* Ellen from ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' has this pretty literally: her "superpower" is to transform anyone into a beautiful, busty, long-haired girl. This is tied to the origin story that magically created her, so she's normally fairly well-endowed, although [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-04-11 she can transform herself even further]. Her own assets have occasionally been referred to as the "Wonder Twins" on this basis, both in comics and within fandom.

** Ditto for her brother/progenitor Elliot, whose superpowers are related to self-induced [[Gender Bender]]. His spellbook specifically notes a tendency for his genderbent forms to possess "[[Expospeak Gag|exorbitant breadth]]" [[Unusual Euphemism|with regard to his chest]].

* The whole premise of ''[[Sidekick Girl]]'' is that superheroes are chosen because they "look the part" and sidekicks are assigned on the basis of the heroes' needs. This leaves the intelligent and skillful but [[Hollywood Homely|relatively plain]] Valerie as [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] to a telegenic and curvaceous blond bombshell [[Brainless Beauty]] named Illumina, with a (highly inaccurate) reputation for getting a long string of sidekicks killed with her incompetence. Valerie was picked because she can't die - and [[Blessed with Suck|that's it]]. No [[Healing Factor]], no immunity to injury or pain. She just doesn't ''die'' from anything. She can suffer, though. Man, can she suffer.

{{quote|[http://sidekickgirl.net/superhero-school-ii/ Then I got to the fitting room] and discovered there are certain standards that a superhero is expected to measure up to...}}

{{quote|'''Aubrey:''' Oh, I wanna be a superhero! All that power and might! The cool abilities and costumes! The shockingly perfect boobie-spheres that have their own unique center of gravity!

'''Davan:''' I noticed fighting for truth and justice wasn't in that little wish list.

'''Aubrey:''' Davan, super women have super boobies. Super boobies are a "get out of fighting for good" card in the [[Monopoly]] game that is our lives. }}

* The titular character of ''[[The Challenges of Zona]]'', and even more so the giantess Liri who would be at least a DD if she was human. Being around 15 feet tall her breasts pretty much demand their own zip code.

* Slick from ''[[Sinfest]]'' knows this trope. [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209160557/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2116 See for yourself.]

* ''[[The Magnificent Milkmaid]]'', ''[[Chocolate Milkmaid]]'' and the villainesses they fight. The Milkmaids' powers are that their breasts expand from about D cups to closer to triple-K cups when they drink milk, and they can use their jugs as weapons.

 

* Played with in the online story ''[[Interviewing Leather]]'': Leather is a supervillain who used to be a superhero. Amongst her reasons for her [[Face Heel Turn]] is the fact that she didn't look like a superhero: she was only a B-cup and most heroines had at least double D's. "You know what they call it? [[Sidekick]] physique." Then again, she may be an [[Unreliable Narrator]] making excuses. Especially given that female supervillains are, if anything, even ''more'' inclined toward having supersized breasts and skimpy costumes that barely hide them.

* In the ''[[League of Intergalactic Cosmic Champions]]'' Hamburger Pattie lived up to this trope while Frangelica was the inversion. Guess which character was written by a man & which by a woman?