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Partial Transformation: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
One of the understated traits of [[Shape Shifter
This can also be used for offense and defense, using their alternate form's natural weapons (claws or whatever) as a type of [[Shapeshifter Weapon]] while remaining in human form.
▲One of the understated traits of [[Shape Shifter|Shape Shifters]] is their versatility, not just in having multiple forms they can assume, or people they can impersonate, but by using the stages in between. When a shapeshifter uses a Partial Transformation they can selectively shapeshift a part of their body (often an arm or limb) into their alternate form. This has [[Mundane Utility|a lot of potential uses]]: For example, a shapeshifter needing to [[This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman|open a safe underwater]] doesn't have to transform into a ''full'' fish or shark, but can instead choose ''just'' the gills (and perhaps a few fins) to breathe and maneuver underwater, while retaining their human hands to manipulate the safe itself; a [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire]] thrown off a building could swap out her arms for a pair of [[Winged Humanoid|bat wings]] to slow her fall; and a sniper without any surveillance gear could [[Animal Eyes|transform his eyes into that of an owl's,]] cat's, or anything else with [[Super Senses|enhanced vision]].
▲This can also be used for offense and defense, using their alternate form's natural weapons (claws or whatever) as a type of [[Shapeshifter Weapon]] while remaining in human form.
A second variant of partial transformation occurs when the character "stops" their usual [[Transformation Sequence]] "half way" between their forms. For example, a character who can transform between a human and a wolf shape (and we don't [[Totally Not a Werewolf|necessarily]] mean a [[Our Werewolves Are Different|werewolf]]) may opt to transform into a [[Wolf Man]] instead of a "full wolf", [[Multiform Balance|combining the advantages of both]], like the sharp claws and fangs of their wolf shape while retaining the bipedal mobility of their human form. It goes without saying that these "middle" forms typically look like [[Sliding Scale of Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]] [[Petting Zoo People|animals]].
One interesting thing about the Partial Transformation is it's usually a "high level" technique that can be mastered only by the best shapeshifters. A character who has recently acquired [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]] must first learn how to shapeshift between their "basic" forms before they have ''any'' hope of mixing and matching the elements between them; attempting to selectively invoke a
[[Phlebotinum Breakdown]] can also trigger this accidentally, and put the character in great danger; not only by [[Broken Masquerade|revealing their powers]] to unaware [[Muggles]], but because the broken transformation can also leave the character "[[Shapeshifter Mode Lock|stuck]]" between forms, possibly [[Painful Transformation|in a lot of pain]] at the same time.
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* [[Cute Bruiser|Eve]] from ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'' can transform different parts of her body (usually her arms) into swords, hammers, and shields. Her hair can be turned into fists and sharp spikes. At one point, she even [[Winged Humanoid|gave herself angel wings]] that she [[Saw It in a Movie Once|saw a picture of in a book]].
** Her expy, Yami the 'Golden Darkness' in ''[[To
* Naraku of ''[[Inuyasha]]'' will occassionally transform his hand into one or multiple [[Combat Tentacles]] whiler otherwise retaining his default appearance. On other occasions, he has turned into a mess of tentacles while leaving his upper body in a mostly humanoid shape.
* This happens in ''[[Naruto]]'' with Gaara.
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** Though the Elfman in the beginning could only do this , due to fear of lost control.
* Greed from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' ''might'' count, it's more armor forming that actual shapeshifting, but he tends to only shift up to his elbows because he thinks he looks ugly when he covers himself entirely.
* In the film adaptation of ''[[
== Comic Books ==
* ''[[Marvel Universe]]''. Rahne Sinclair could change into a wolf or a transitional state between human and wolf.
* The "flyer" and "mermaid" forms Kasumi designs for the shapeshifting spell used by the "Sisterhood of Doom" in ''[[Desperately Seeking Ranma]]''.
== Film ==
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* John Carpenter's ''[[The Thing (film)|The Thing]]'' could change any part of its body into any living material it had previously absorbed. It loved spider legs.
** Combine this with the mechanic that "every part is a whole new animal" and you get situations where you cut one's head off, they both keep fighting, and the head grows spider legs to crawl away.
* [[Humanoid Abomination|Harvesters]] in ''[[The Deaths of Ian Stone]]'' apparently have precise control over how far their transformations go. Their use of this
== Literature ==
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** One time Rachel goes partly into her elephant morph to scare off a mugger. She succeeded in changing her face, but she also ended up bursting her shoes when her feet also changed.
** Cassie is frequently noted to have a talent for morphing, and so is usually the exception to the rule. During one of her first attemps she managed to hold her horse morph at a centaur-like stage, and another time she retained bird wings until the end of a demorph (causing her to look like an angel). Ax has mentioned that his people have an 'art' of graceful morphing. Also, her ability to morph into the second animal ''while'' demorphing from the first is basically what saves the day in one episode. The {{spoiler|Andalite spirit that shared her mind with in said episode}} has to comment that her morphing talent can make her a hero if she was born an Andalite.
* ''[[Discworld]]'' [[Our Werewolves Are Different|werewolves can do this]] when it's near the full moon (although the [[Take Our Word for It|in between forms are apparently unpleasant to look at]] and they ''have'' to assume full wolf form when the full moon is out). Most notably when {{spoiler|Angua fights her brother at the end of ''[[
* In ''[[Harry Potter]] and the Goblet of Fire'', Viktor Krum uses a partial transformation into a shark for the underwater task.
* In ''The Burning Realm'', a werewolf needs to convince some pirates that she's a powerful sorceress, and does so by transforming her hands and features just enough to make herself look bestial and terrifying. She then reverses the effect (with difficulty), because if she turns all the way into a wolf, she'll be in a recognizable shape and [[Nothing Is Scarier|thus less frightening]].
* Daine from ''[[Tortall Universe|The Immortals]]'' can partially or fully change into any animal as part of her powers. Notably, when she's pregnant, she's forced to constantly shift the shape of her lower body, so that the fetus, which has inherited the powers, doesn't rip though it somehow.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* In one episode of ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'' Banner stopped halfway through his transformation. He had some of Banner's personality but much less knowledge, like it was hard for him to think, and he was stronger than Banner but not as strong as Hulk. He had his green eyes, but not green skin. It wasn't voluntary though.
* In the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "Fear Itself", everyone celebrating Halloween inside a [[Haunted House]] is forced to live out [["What Do They Fear?" Episode|their worst fear]]. Oz, a werewolf, inexplicably starts to change and [[Mode Lock|gets stuck]] halfway between man and wolf. He ends up huddled in a bathtub, scared out of his mind and muttering a hopeless [[Survival Mantra]] that he's not going to change.
* In the first episode of ''[[Being Human (UK)]]'' series 4 George manages to trick his body into thinking it's full moon in order to {{spoiler|rescue his daughter from vampires.}} He changes to somewhere between human and wolf, which greatly enhances his strength, but also allows him to remain somewhat in control. There is one drawback, though: while a complete transformation heals what it damages, a partial transformation does not. {{spoiler|It's fatal. George dies of heart, kidney and liver failure just minutes later.}}
== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
* ''[[Dungeons
** 1st-2nd Edition
*** Most
*** The beastweres: wolfwere (a wolf that could take human shape) and greater wolfwere could half-change, thus gaining human arms and legs but keeping their wolf head.
*** In the original Oriental Adventures supplement (1985), hengeyokai shapeshifters could change into a transitional bipedal form with arms and hands and the rest of the body in animal form. While in this form the hengeyokai could speak normally and use weapons, armor and equipment and had infravision.
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** [[Vampire: The Masquerade|Vampires]] with the Protean discipline (which allows shapeshifting into wolf and bat forms) could learn the Partial Transformation merit, which allowed them to change one feature into that of their animal form for dice bonuses or attacks.
** One Vampire bloodline in ''Shadows Of Mexico'' the Dead Wolves, could actually shapeshift into a werewolf Crinos form thanks to an ancestral connection.
* ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]'' supplement ''The Asylum and Other Tales'', adventure "The Asylum". Proto-shoggoths can change any given part of their bodies to anything else of living material (organs, skin, etc.).
* ''[[GURPS]]'' 3E sourcebook ''Bestiary'' Second Edition. Were-Creatures could have a "Beast-Man" form, an anthropomorphic blend of human and animal.
* Michael Stackpole's ''[[Shadowrun]]'' ''Wolf and Raven'' short story "If As Beast You Don't Succeed" in Ka•Ge magazine Volume 1 Issue 12. Wolfgang Kies can turn into a half-man half-wolf form.
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'', Alex Mercer's de facto form of attack is to shapeshift parts of his body into weapons, such as claws, the ''whipfist'', hammerfists, a shield, or a [[
* Cornell the werewolf from ''[[Castlevania]]'' is depicted with inhumanely long fingernails in most of his human form's original artwork, besides being used in combat without fully changing, they allow him to shoot laser beams from his hands... for some reason.
== Web Comics ==
▲== Web Comic ==
* It's been established that Timmain from ''[[Elf Quest]]'' can do the wolf-man... er, wolf-elfwoman thing, both with tail and without. Mostly seen in flashbacks to her early days though. In later comics she's usually either one or the other.
* Grace from ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' can transform to any stage between full squirrel and full human, can selectively morph away her furry antennae, as well as routinely pull off various [[Shapeshifter Mashup|ShapeShifterMashups]] with any or all of her continually growing number of forms though all of them are humanoid.
* Qwerty and his family from the
* Sphinxes in ''[[Wapsi Square]]'' have shown the ability to take forms between full human and full sphinx. This includes revealing fangs and talons in human form, combining the size of the sphinx form with a human shape, and a few other combinations.
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[American Dragon: Jake Long]]'', Jake can transform parts of his body for when he needs to use his dragon powers on the sly.
* In one episode of ''[[Care Bears]]'', [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|Mr. Beastly]] accidentally breaks [[Big Bad|Lord No-Heart]]'s [[Transformation Trinket|amulet]] and tries to use it himself to capture the Care Bears. He discovers that the damaged amulet can ''only'' perform
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Shapeshifting]]
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