New Powers as the Plot Demands: Difference between revisions

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This is sometimes employed as a form of [[Deus Ex Machina]] - having written themselves into a corner with a villain or situation that's [[Only the Author Can Save Them Now|too overwhelming for our heroes to handle]] with the tools they've been given, the writer decides to have the hero instantaneously learn the one ability he needs to save the day. Frequently, without any form of [[Foreshadowing]] to suggest that he can do that. It gets worse if he conveniently forgets this ability when it would come in handy in a later situation.

Not all [[New Super Power|New Super Powers]] fall into this category, just the ones resulting from an [[Ass Pull]]. Generally speaking, this trope is far, ''far'' more forgiveable early in the story- a character who has only recently been empowered is fully [[Justified Trope|justified]] in [[How Do I Shot Web|not knowing what he can do]]. Likewise, "neither did I until now" in an experienced character ''can'' be reasonable, if it's happening in some circumstance or special condition that the character has never encountered before. An inherent power of [[Science Hero|Science Heroes]] - other than their [[Two-Fisted Tales|Two Fists]], they're ''supposed'' to be building bizarre devices to deal with bizarre circumstances. It only gets annoying if the writer can't come up with a reason the guy would have that precise device on his person at that precise moment - other than him just being [[Crazy Prepared|crazy]].

Not all [[New Super Power|New Super Powers]] fall into this category, just the ones resulting from an [[Ass Pull]]. Generally speaking, this trope is far, ''far'' more forgiveable early in the story- a character who has only recently been empowered is fully [[Justified Trope|justified]] in [[How Do I Shot Web?|not knowing what he can do]]. Likewise, "neither did I until now" in an experienced character ''can'' be reasonable, if it's happening in some circumstance or special condition that the character has never encountered before. An inherent power of [[Science Hero|Science Heroes]] - other than their [[Two-Fisted Tales|Two Fists]], they're ''supposed'' to be building bizarre devices to deal with bizarre circumstances. It only gets annoying if the writer can't come up with a reason the guy would have that precise device on his person at that precise moment - other than him just being [[Crazy Prepared|crazy]].

Commonly used to bring a character [[Back From the Dead]].

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[[Suddenly Always Knew That]] is the same type of retcon as this, but instead of "Neither did I", the character will explain that [[You Didn't Ask]].

If the plot was crafted to fit the powers (as opposed to the powers changing to meet the needs of the plot) you have a [[Plot Tailored to The Party]] or [[This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman|a job for Aquaman]]. See also [[Adaptive Ability]], where your power is the acquisition of new powers/immunities. When the new ability is something overly narrow or silly, this often leads to [[Flight Strength Heart]], as was common in [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]].

If the plot was crafted to fit the powers (as opposed to the powers changing to meet the needs of the plot) you have a [[Plot Tailored to The Party]] or [[This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman|a job for Aquaman]]. See also [[Adaptive Ability]], where your power is the acquisition of new powers/immunities. When the new ability is something overly narrow or silly, this often leads to [[Flight, Strength, Heart]], as was common in [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]].

Is one of the common traits of a [[Mary Sue]].

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* Pick a [[Magical Girl]] anime. Any [[Magical Girl]] anime.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'':

** Sasuke frequently obtains [[Combo Platter Powers|new Sharingan abilities]] with the eye's upgraded forms.

** Sasuke frequently obtains [[Combo-Platter Powers|new Sharingan abilities]] with the eye's upgraded forms.

** This has extended to Sasuke's allies as well. Karin and Jugo reveal miraculous healing powers when Sasuke is wounded after their battle with Killer Bee, though they did not use these abilities when Sasuke was bedridden from injuries after fighting with Deidara.

** In Chapter 562, in order to get all the five kages to fight {{spoiler|a revived Uchiha Madara}}, we learned Genma's team are able to use a watered down version of Minato's Hiraishin and they quickly use it to transport the Mizukage.

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* In ''[[Tsubasa|Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle]]'', this is effectively the main purpose of Mokona's 108 Secret Abilities power.

* ''[[Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro]]'': Neuro's 666 tools of the Demon World and 7 Tools of the Demon Emperor. That's 673 different powers he can pull out of thin air whenever he needs to.

* Kogarashi from ''[[Kamen no Maid Guy]]'' has a ''large'' [[Combo Platter Powers|platter of various powers]], many of whom only show up once to advance the plot ([[Heroic Sociopath|and cause massive amounts of comedic havoc for everyone else in the vicinity]]) and are never touched on again. The sheer bizarreness of most of these powers -- like knowledge of every gourmet recipe in the universe and the ability to [[Brown Note|paralyze people with his voice]] -- makes most of them fall squarely under the [[Rule of Funny]].

* Kogarashi from ''[[Kamen no Maid Guy]]'' has a ''large'' [[Combo-Platter Powers|platter of various powers]], many of whom only show up once to advance the plot ([[Heroic Sociopath|and cause massive amounts of comedic havoc for everyone else in the vicinity]]) and are never touched on again. The sheer bizarreness of most of these powers -- like knowledge of every gourmet recipe in the universe and the ability to [[Brown Note|paralyze people with his voice]] -- makes most of them fall squarely under the [[Rule of Funny]].

* Ryoko of ''[[Tenchi Muyo]]!'' certainly falls into this category when she gets immobilized from the neck down and shoots a bunch of lasers from her ''hair''.

* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', Suzaku's "live" command, which initially took over his body and forced him to survive by any means, is almost completely repurposed in Turn 22. Now it makes Suzaku a better fighter without taking over his body or erasing his memories while it is active. The only way this makes if one [[From a Certain Point of View|changes what "live" is supposed to mean]] from 'run away from danger' to 'overcome it somehow' but even then it doesn't make much sense.

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* ''[[Detective Conan]]'': Conan can do anything. ANYTHING. He can drive a car, scuba dive, shoot a gun, drive a boat, drive a Jetski, fly a small plane, and FLY A HELICOPTER (which is completely different from flying a plane). Why can he do these things? Because he "learned in Hawaii!"

* Haru, the lead in ''[[Rave Master]]'', actually has the power to acquire new powers when he's in a sticky situation thanks to the Rave of Wisdom. The technical explanation is that he has a sword with ten (preset) forms, and he learns a new one whenever he happens to need it most. This manages to avoid being an [[Ass Pull]] at several points because he either obtained some powerful artifact to grant him another sword, he had to get some reforging done before he could access one form, and another form was used by a villain before he figured out how it worked.

* Always present to some extent in ''[[One Piece]]'', though normally the powers are natural outgrowths of previously existing abilities or brand new items with some degree of [[How Do I Shot Web]]. However, in the Enies Lobby Arc, it's practically endemic, with every single character pulling bizarre new abilities and weapons out of nowhere. Oda has said he doesn't like to do training arcs like in other Shonen series. Instead, he'll have a character pull out a new ability and then go into a flashback about how they trained for that ability off-screen. To clarify:

* Always present to some extent in ''[[One Piece]]'', though normally the powers are natural outgrowths of previously existing abilities or brand new items with some degree of [[How Do I Shot Web?]]. However, in the Enies Lobby Arc, it's practically endemic, with every single character pulling bizarre new abilities and weapons out of nowhere. Oda has said he doesn't like to do training arcs like in other Shonen series. Instead, he'll have a character pull out a new ability and then go into a flashback about how they trained for that ability off-screen. To clarify:

** Luffy learned how to use Gear Two and Gear Three. He supposedly perfected both techniques in the roughly week and a half after being beaten to near-death in the previous encounter. Luffy also learned how to flash-step via mimicry mid-battle.

** As Sogeking, Usopp unveiled a brand new super-slingshot with tech-boosted firepower, range, and accuracy. It's not clear when exactly this weapon was built, as Usopp had been holding the [[Distress Ball]] for at least a day and a half before arriving at Enies Lobby, and the weapon definitely would've prevented much of that distress.

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** A self-leveling bridge.

** A ''[[Star Trek]]''-like bubble-shield.

** [[If It Swims It Flies|The (completely gratuitous) ability to fly]].

** [[If It Swims, It Flies|The (completely gratuitous) ability to fly]].

** Weaponized, rocket-propelled anchors.

* For nearly a hundred episodes in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' the audience has know Kurama to be a [[Green Thumb|plant user]]. But in the fight against {{spoiler|The Elder Toguro}}, he used a smoke screen? Where'd that come from?

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* In the children's comic ''Korgi,'' the magic korgi spontaneously develops the ability to breathe fire.

** Don't forget Ivy suddenly revealing that she has wings a la [[The Dark Crystal]]. These sudden powers are perhaps more jarring because the main story has no dialog whatsoever, and the only indication that the korgis are magical comes from the introduction - we're never given any hint as to ''how'' this magic manifests.

* ''[[Darkhawk]]'' is an interesting variant on this trope, in the sense that Chris Powell [[How Do I Shot Web|didn't get an instruction manual along with the fancy amulet that transforms him into Darkhawk]], so he ended up discovering many of his powers by trial and error, most notably in reacting to new and stressful situations.

* ''[[Darkhawk]]'' is an interesting variant on this trope, in the sense that Chris Powell [[How Do I Shot Web?|didn't get an instruction manual along with the fancy amulet that transforms him into Darkhawk]], so he ended up discovering many of his powers by trial and error, most notably in reacting to new and stressful situations.

** [[The Greatest American Hero|This sounds familiar.]]

* The [[New Warriors]] had an enemy/ally named Helix, who adapted to '''any''' threat against his body, be it disease, telekinesis, spider webs, or a beat down from [[Flying Brick|multiple super sonic flying, nigh invulnerable, super strong enemies]]. As soon as he was out of range from whatever threatened him, his body dropped whatever adaptations it developed.

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== Films -- Live Action ==

* The Heisei ''[[Gamera]]'' series deconstructed this trope completely. Gamera reveals in the second film to have a "[[Wave Motion Gun|Mana Cannon]]" that obliterates the enemy of that film. It is learned in the final film that using that attack drained the Earth of its health, and [[~~Gaias~~ Vengeance|releasing a hoard of Gyaos upon the planet]]. It is also learned that Gamera [[Friend to All Children|bonded with humans]] in order to gain the [[Green Lantern Ring|ability to mutate and get new powers]] such as the Mana Cannon and Flame Absorbing powers -- but the Mana Cannon cost him that connection to humanity as well! This causes him to ignore Property Damage as he hunts the Gyaos.

* The Heisei ''[[Gamera]]'' series deconstructed this trope completely. Gamera reveals in the second film to have a "[[Wave Motion Gun|Mana Cannon]]" that obliterates the enemy of that film. It is learned in the final film that using that attack drained the Earth of its health, and [[Gaia's Vengeance|releasing a hoard of Gyaos upon the planet]]. It is also learned that Gamera [[Friend to All Children|bonded with humans]] in order to gain the [[Green Lantern Ring|ability to mutate and get new powers]] such as the Mana Cannon and Flame Absorbing powers -- but the Mana Cannon cost him that connection to humanity as well! This causes him to ignore Property Damage as he hunts the Gyaos.

** [[Godzilla]] could be similar at times. The most famous examples would have to be his gravity-defying drop kick, and his sudden ability to ''fly'' at the end of one movie by curling up his body and firing his atomic breath backward so he shoots through the air like a rocket. Additionally, Godzilla randomly decided he had magnetic powers in the climactic battle of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla.

* In ''[[Jason Goes to Hell]]: The Final Friday'' Jason is ambushed by the FBI which leaves his body completely obliterated, forcing his heart to evolve into a small creature that can hypnotize and possess people.

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** [[The Thrawn Trilogy]], and [[Timothy Zahn]]'s work in general, gives him the ability to read someone's presence like a second face, picking up on emotional states and knowing if someone's had an idea, the ability to enhance his senses, plus a kind of short-term [[Photographic Memory]] - he can rewind his short-term memories, within an hour or so, and recall with perfect accuracy things he wasn't paying attention to before. There is mention of him learning this from Yoda, at least.

** ''[[Dark Empire]]'' grants him the power to make legions of droids self-destruct, the ability to generate dopplegangers, send two way visual/audio messages across great distances, and in the audio drama, the ability to fix hyperspace anomalies.

** In the ''[[Jedi Academy Trilogy]]'', a prospective student won't come study with him until he's crossed a [[Lethal Lava Land|lake of lava]]. Half way across, Luke fights a creature living in the lava, which covers up the stones he's been hopping across. Not a problem! He extends the power he's been using to [[Convection Schmonvection|defy convection]] and just walks across the surface. He's also able to invade peoples' minds to find if they're Force-Sensitive.

** In the ''[[Jedi Academy Trilogy]]'', a prospective student won't come study with him until he's crossed a [[Lethal Lava Land|lake of lava]]. Half way across, Luke fights a creature living in the lava, which covers up the stones he's been hopping across. Not a problem! He extends the power he's been using to [[Convection, Schmonvection|defy convection]] and just walks across the surface. He's also able to invade peoples' minds to find if they're Force-Sensitive.

** In ''I, Jedi'' he has the ability to retrieve lost memories and damp down any of his senses.

** [[The Black Fleet Crisis]] gives him rather pointless ''super-architectural powers'' which would make anyone who's ever worked with stone white with envy. He goes to the beach where his father once had a fortress and finds only widely-scattered rocks.

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** Klingons get some of this once they cease being [[Always Chaotic Evil]]. For instance, in the ''Next Generation'' episode "Ethics", a shaky camera accident breaks Worf's spine, paralyzing him. During the experimental operation to replace his spine, something goes wrong, and he goes braindead. For a moment, it looks like disaster; then his other neural system kicks in.

*** Perhaps he asked for a raise.

* In the first appearance of the Tenth Doctor in ''[[~~Doctor Who (TV)|~~Doctor Who]]'', the Doctor gets his hand chopped off in a sword fight. Luckily he remembers that he has enhanced [[Healing Factor]] shortly after a regeneration and grows back his hand.

* In the first appearance of the Tenth Doctor in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the Doctor gets his hand chopped off in a sword fight. Luckily he remembers that he has enhanced [[Healing Factor]] shortly after a regeneration and grows back his hand.

** Of course, the Doctor's ability to regenerate is the result of the show's creators needing a way to [[Real Life Writes the Plot|explain]] the actor switch from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton.

** The Doctor's use of this trope pales in comparison to his sonic screwdriver, which has thousands of settings. A list of everything it has done would be as long as this page. The original series wrote it out as it was becoming omnipotent and the writers used it as a get-out-of-trouble-free card too much. [[The Movie]] brought it back, and the new series imposed some definite restrictions on its abilities so as to have a reason ''not'' to let the Doctor use it to get out of anything. It's still pretty handy, though.

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*** Mind you, Andros isn't the one who activated it--it was pressed by a little girl nearby. For all she knew, the setting ''was'' too powerful and it could have blown them all up.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Kuuga]]'' and his various forms. All he has to do is wish for a new ability, and [[Transformation Trinket|the Kuuga Belt]] will give him a new ''form'' for that ability! How'd he get Dragon form? [[In a Single Bound|He needed to fly!]] How'd he get Pegasus form? [[The Gunslinger|He needed a gun!]] How'd he get Titan form? [[Mighty Glacier|He needed to be stronger!]] How'd he get Ultimate form? ''[[Unstoppable Rage|He got really pissed off!]]''

** Granted, this was mitigated by two things. First, Yusuke needed to learn how his abilities worked (his initial fight using Dragon Form, before he knew it used a staff, was a [[No Holds Barred Beatdown]]). And second, in order to get his stronger forms he had to be shocked with a defibrillator.

** Granted, this was mitigated by two things. First, Yusuke needed to learn how his abilities worked (his initial fight using Dragon Form, before he knew it used a staff, was a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]). And second, in order to get his stronger forms he had to be shocked with a defibrillator.

*** Also take into account that those forms ''did'' exist (or there was at least a rough outline, hard to tell) prior to him wishing from them, how do we know that? ''Because the belt of all thing had [[Guide Dang It|instructions]] for them''! Granted they weren't ''good'' instructions (but at least they got the point across), and they were in another language that only ''just'' got translated right when he needed them the most, but the fact that they were there ''before'' Kuuga first activated them shows that he didn't just 'wish' new forms that didn't exist before into existence. Heck after he got Dragon form the fact that there was still text left to translate basically forshadowed that there was more

* Most ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' shows have this trope, but the first one to get the ball rolling was ''[[Kamen Rider Black RX]]'', which gave Kotaro two forms in the middle of the show, one gave him a [[Cool Sword]], and the other [[The Gunslinger|gave him a gun]].

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* Quite a few of the people in the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' are vulnerable to this, Fey and Jade. Chou is something like this, except hers is more Power Creep, Power Seep. A lampshade is hung in Call the Thunder 6.

** Jade is an exception. All she can do is "possess" objects using "spirit-selves". After a radiation accident, she can regenerate. However, within the "possessing objects" thing, she has a variety of applications of her power. Her power is closer to a [[Green Lantern Ring]] in that respect.

** But these kids have had their powers less than a year, and they went to [[Super Hero School|Whateley Academy]] to learn to use them. So most of their powers are [[Chekhov's Gun]] (Phase has done this a couple times) and [[Chekhov's Skill]] (Chaka) and [[Training From Hell]] (everyone in Ito's aikido classes) and [[Took a Level In Badass]] (Jade and Lancer, at different times). Still, some of Tennyo's powers are definitely [[New Powers As the Plot Demands]]. I mean, the reality warping that ripped open a hole in space-time? Come on!

** But these kids have had their powers less than a year, and they went to [[Super-Hero School|Whateley Academy]] to learn to use them. So most of their powers are [[Chekhov's Gun]] (Phase has done this a couple times) and [[Chekhov's Skill]] (Chaka) and [[Training From Hell]] (everyone in Ito's aikido classes) and [[Took a Level In Badass]] (Jade and Lancer, at different times). Still, some of Tennyo's powers are definitely [[New Powers As the Plot Demands]]. I mean, the reality warping that ripped open a hole in space-time? Come on!

* This sort of thing was curbed and curbed hard in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]''. While the ''[[Hero System]]'' [[Experience Point|experience point rules]] were being used, there were rather strict guidelines regarding what [[New Super Powers]] could be purchased, depending on the character's base concept. If a power didn't fit the concept, then the power was simply not allowed. Period.

** Characters who used a [[Green Lantern Ring]] or a [[Swiss Army Weapon]] were often granted more leeway with this than other characters, but even then the players in question had to justify their taking certain of the odder, more "out there" powers.

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[[Category:Magic and Powers]]

[[Category:New Powers As The Plot Demands]]

[[Category:Trope]]