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{{trope}}
This is similar to (and might even be seen as a [[Sub-Trope]] of) [[Phlebotinum Muncher]], but the key difference is the level (and severity) of the dependency. In the case of the Muncher, the Phlebotinum is a nutritional requirement, and like any other nutrient, its absence will of course adversely affect the Muncher -- perhaps robbing it of its powers or unusual size -- and like any other deficiency eventually causing it health problems up to and maybe even including death. (And it's often implied that the Phlebotinum is a ''natural'' and ''normal'' part of the Muncher's diet; it's just unusual or dangerous from ''our'' point of view -- the monster version of carbohydrates or vitamin B-12.)
In theory, anyway. Realistically, we'll probably get to see a few [[Red Shirt|Redshirts]] with a similar handicap kick the bucket in order to emphasize just how agonizingly awful it would be to skip a dose. But fortunately our protagonists have [[Heroic Willpower]], so expect them to keep being awesome right to the end (with much panting, grimacing, and comments of "[[You Can Barely Stand]]", to let us know how much pain they're in).▼
In the case of the character with a Phlebotinum Dependence, though, the phlebotinum is ''not'' normally part of his diet or environment, but for whatever reason is now directly and actively responsible for keeping the character alive (and sometimes empowered as well), and its absence will have a far more ''immediate'' and ''drastic'' effect on the dependent individual. Missing doses will usually case pain, insanity or death -- and sometimes all three, either in sequence or all at once.
▲
See also [[Phlebotinum Muncher]], [[Bottled Heroic Resolve]], and [[Withholding the Cure]]. See also [[Fantastic Drug]], which could be the phlebotinum in question. Compare/contrast [[Addiction-Powered]], which can pair up nicely with this trope, as seen in a couple of the examples below.
{{examples}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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** Parasite is on a strict diet of the life force of living creatures. Superman is a giant buffet for him.
* In some depictions, Batman nemesis Clayface requires treatments to keep his body from dissolving. Regardless of the situation, he's always looking for something to give him better control of his form.
* In the recent{{when}} [[Green Lantern]] titles Sodam Yat must now permanently wear a power ring, despite being the bearer of the Ion, to keep him from dying of lead poisoning he received at the hands of Superboy Prime.
** Likewise, bearers of the red power rings will die if their rings are removed, because the red light replaces their blood with its energy. Only a Blue Lantern can purge it from their bodies.
* In [[Daniel Clowes]]' [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]] parody ''The Battlin' American,'' the super
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Iron Man (
* The movie ''[[Venom (2018 film)|Venom]]'' explains that this relationship becomes mutually necessary for a symbiote and their host: the symbiote needs to eat {{spoiler|living creatures to survive, and would prefer brains}}. Meanwhile the host cannot heal from the parasitic infection unless the symbiote heals them, using energy from {{spoiler|their food}}. In the sequel ''Venom: Let There Be Carnage'', Eddie and Venom have made compromises: {{spoiler|Eddie has Venom eat chickens instead, while keeping some for pets, because they can't eat every bad person in San Francisco; even one every couple of months is arousing suspicion from the cops. Meanwhile Venom heals Eddie's wounds, and at least tries to mend his broken heart when Anne announces she's engaged again by cooking him a hearty breakfast}}.
== [[Literature]] ==
* In the ''[[Plague Year Series]]'' by Jeff Carlson, a deadly nanotech has covered the planet and exists everywhere below 10,
* In ''[[Dune]]'', nearly all humans have been consuming spice for over 10,000 years and have become addicted to it in more ways than one. The Fremen are the most addicted, as spice is present in the very air on Arrakis, which is shown by their "blue-within-blue" eyes.
** Society itself has become dependent on spice. Even people who don't directly consume it depend on it because spice
** House Harkonnen also makes a point of poisoning all of the captured Mentat Thufir Hawat's food, then giving him the antidote later to keep him from betraying them.
* The dinosaurs in ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' are engineered not to produce lysine, requiring humans to administer it. [[Critical Research Failure|Pity nobody told the engineers that no vertebrates known to man do it either, and we all still survive.]] The book and sequels realize this and show how well it
== [[Live
* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' has many examples:
** A Goa'uld symbiote provides a Jaffa with great health and stamina, as well as regenerative powers, but at puberty, the Jaffa become incapable of living without these symbiotes for more than a few hours; it acts as their immune system.
** Tretonin, a chemical used to remedy the Jaffa's dependence on the Goa'uld for survival.
** The Ilempiri were incapable of being used as hosts by the Goa'uld, so they were fed a highly addictive drug that only the Goa'uld could manufacture, until the entire species was addicted.
* The title character of the Sci-Fi Channel's ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'' series needed periodic injections
* Paul Turner on ''Strange World'' was pressured to work as a double agent in exchange for a serum that would keep his aplastic anemia in remission. {{spoiler|Subverted when it turned out it wasn't the serum that was responsible.}}
* The Jem'Hadar of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' are addicted to the substance Ketracel White, to keep them loyal to the Founders. It provides all the sustenance they need to survive, removing the need to eat or drink, but they also ''can't'' take nourishment from any other source. Depriving a Jem'Hadar of the White causes them to go [[Ax Crazy|violently insane]] and then drop dead. There are a few very rare mutants who don't need the White, but in general even they don't know it.
** So rare in fact that only one was ever found. [[Reset Button|And then quickly]] [[Status Quo Is God|forgotten about.]]
** Two, if you count Taran'atar from the [[Expanded Universe]], specifically chosen for his experience and immunity to the White by Odo to be the Dominion representative on Deep Space Nine.
* Played with in
** Of course, the Brekkans are going to have an [[Inferred Holocaust|economic holocaust]], but after ''two centuries'' of enslaving the other world with needles to the point that they're no longer coherent enough to ''repair their own ships'', you might call it [[Laser-Guided Karma]].
* In ''[[Lexx]]'', Divine Assassin Kai needs protoblood {{spoiler|the blood of an Insect}} to maintain his undead existence. It stops being an issue after the first season when the crew manages to get a good supply of protoblood.
* In the 1970s-vintage [[Invisibility|"invisible man"]] series ''[[Gemini Man]]'', main character Sam Casey was caught in a radiation accident that rendered him invisible -- with the side effect that the invisibility was also slowly ''killing him''. He must wear a watch-like device called a "DNA stabilizer" which suppresses the invisibility and holds his inevitable death at bay; he can still be invisible if he needs to be... but for no more than fifteen minutes a day or his body will suffer more damage from the invisibility than it can cope with, and he will die.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In the [[Ravenloft]]
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In
* [[Mage Killer|Templars]] in the ''[[Dragon Age]]'' series develop Lyrium addiction over time, officially, because their [[Anti-Magic]] powers run on it. Unofficially, it's pretty clear that the [[The Church|Chantry]] hooks them up on Lyrium on purpose to keep them on a short leash.
* In ''[[Deus Ex: Human Revolution]]'', all augmented humans (with the exception of the main character) must take Neuropozene regularly. Otherwise, their body rejects the augments, and the results are... not fun. This is [[Truth in Television]] for many [[Real Life]] recipients of organ transplants.
* The ''[[Fallout]]'' games are full of a wide assortment of [[Fantastic Drug
▲* The ''[[Fallout]]'' games are full of a wide assortment of [[Fantastic Drug|Fantastic Drugs]] (and mundane ones), any of which can potentially become addictive after only a couple of uses, with the withdrawal symptoms causing stat debuffs whenever you aren't on the drug in question. Luckily, it's pretty straightforward for any doctor to rid you of your addictions (and in ''[[Fallout New Vegas]]'' there's a consumable item that does it for you).
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* [[Cybersix]] was designed so that she requires "Sustenance" in order to live. With the only source of Sustenance being the man who created her, she is forced to extract it from the creatures that he sends to destroy her.
* ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command]]'' had this happen briefly in an episode. Emperor Zurg infects Buzz and Mira with a disease that transforms them into blob monsters that cry acid and burp gas that turns anyone else in the vicinity into a monster. He is also susceptible, so he has his minions spray him with the antidote repeatedly if he sees a hint of blob. Eventually, Buzz and Mira track down Zurg to his ship after accidentally infecting all of Star Command, as was Zurg's plan, and figure out what the antidote is. They use their blob tongues to steal the spray bottle, leaving Zurg to succumb to his own disease. Fortunately, the antidote is permanent for everyone in Star Command; they just need to put on their clothes.
* ''[[The Owl House]]'' season one finale reveals that {{spoiler|Emperor Belos}} suffers from this with Palismen. {{spoiler|Part of the reason that the Bat Queen is so protective of orphaned Palismen, and that the Palistrum trees are nearly extinct, are that Belos eats Palismen to sustain himself. He claims he needs to do it or he'll dissolve into a black ooze}}. Season 2 later reveals the reason why this dependence happened: {{spoiler|Belos is actually a human who used to be Philip Wittenbane, a witch ''hunter'' posing as a humble explorer in the Boiling Isles, and eating Palismen has stretched his lifespan for hundreds of years. So no, it is definitely not natural, though he lies that it was wild magic that cursed him. The black ooze is actually the souls of the Palismen trying to stop him from succeeding in his ultimate goal: to wipe out all the witches and magical creatures in the Boiling Isles.}}
* Bane in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' has been reduced to this, owing to his body having become so debilitated that he needs his serum to get through the day, and that's not even counting his criminal endeavors. He's not amused when realizing that he has become the sci-fi version of a drug addict. Sure, he's a threat, and he's found a way to profit from his misery, but it's not dignifying.
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