Power Copying: Difference between revisions

[[File:CannibalismSuperpower_8084CannibalismSuperpower 8084.jpg|link=Super Smash Bros.|frame|[[Kirby]] copies various [[Nintendo]] characters.]]

{{quote|''"Now ''I've'' got your power!"''|'''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]''', [[Mega Man (animation)|Ruby-Spears animated series]] (1995)}}

On the other hand, some heroes merely have to see a special ability or attack being used a few times, and will pretty much learn it instantaneously, or be able to copy it. Most of the time, this'''Power Copying''' is explicitly defined as [[Hard Work Hardly Works|an innate ability]] of the hero in question. In the name of balance, such powers may only work as long as the original power-wielder is in the hero's vicinity, or he can only keep them temporarily. If he can keep them permanently, he'll only be able to copy one or a few powers at a time, [[Discard and Draw|the new one overwriting the old]]. If no restrictions are in place, this character has a good chance of degenerating into [[God Mode Sue]]. However it goes, expect such a hero to be an [[Instant Expert]], never having to actually train in the ability (this doesn't apply to team members with this power, who presumably have practiced using their teammates' abilities).

See also [[Powers as Programs]] where powers are 'installed' and [[Awesomeness By Analysis]] where observation can grant the steps needed to initiate the power or moveset. Compare [[All Your Powers Combined]], [[Adaptive Ability]] and [[The Assimilator]]. Supertrope of [[Victor Gains Loser's Powers]] where the character gets powers after he's defeated the enemy, and [[Cannibalism Superpower]], where the character gets powers after he's ''eaten'' the enemy.

** Cell had this ability as his schtick, being able to copy anything he sees just once. Thanks to his trait of assimilating DNA as well, he gains everyone's secondary powers as well, including Namekian super regeneration, Saiyan's intense resilience, and Frieza's ability to survive without an atmosphere.

** Ranma's ability is more about [[Awesomeness By Analysis|analysis and breaking down attacks to principle and vulnerability]]. Copycat Ken from the anime is more of an example of Mega-Manning.

* How Urahara trained Ichigo in ''[[Bleach]]''. Knowing he didn't have time to actually learn to fight, [[Training Fromfrom Hell|he just pummeled him until he learned]] the moves that were being used against him.

* While it didn't exactly happen overnight, [[Kid Samurai]] Yahiko from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' nonetheless managed to duplicate one of Kenshin's signature techniques solely from observation -- whichobservation—which is still fairly impressive, since Kenshin apparently went through several years of [[Training Fromfrom Hell]] to master his Hiten Mitsurugi style.

** [[Crazy Awesome|Jack Rakan]] demonstrates this ability too. He can use high-level Shinmeiryuu techniques from simply having seen Eishun perform them.

* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha AsA's]]'', the final challenge -- thechallenge—the manifested form of the Book of Darkness -- notDarkness—not only has her own suite of nasty-sounding attacks, she's also got the ability to copy and enhance the attacks of anyone whose magic has been used to fuel her. Which, unfortunately, includes both Nanoha and Fate. [[Oh Crap|Cue our heroes bravely running like hell]] to escape the blast-range of Nanoha's trademark [[Wave Motion Gun|Starlight Breaker]].

* In ''[[Guyver]]'', the zoanoid Aptom has a particularly terrifying version of this power. At first he could only poorly mimic other forms: admittedly he could do this after only ''looking'' at them, but his imitations were far inferior to the originals. Once he's reworked by one of the series' [[Big Bad|Big Bads]]s, he gains the ability to ''perfectly'' replicate ''any'' form just by getting a sample of their DNA. Except he gathers samples by melding genetic matter with his own body, and he can do this [[Nightmare Fuel|while the target is still alive]]. This becomes Aptom's favored method of killing, and it is lethal to amazing degrees: at one point he has contact with another character for roughly 3 seconds before being turned into shreds of skin, then atomized. In that time, his DNA-merging trick had already [[Body Horror|seeped into the other character enough]] to let Aptom take over with all his abilities intact, ''plus'' those of the character. Oh, and if he wants he can just let the DNA replicating system seep into someone and overwrite them without absorbing their body, meaning he can replicate himself without limit so long as there are bodies around to infect. He can even do this to ''[[Came Back Wrong|corpses]]''.

* In ''[[Gakuen Alice]]'', Mikan and {{spoiler|her mother}} Yuka [[In the Blood|both]] have the ability to turn other peoples abilities into gems and then absorb said gems into their body, gaining those powers.

* In the manga chapters of ''[[Saki (manga)|Saki]]'' set after the Prefecture finals, {{spoiler|Yumeno Maho, [[Those Two Guys|one of the two]] [[Kohai]]'s from Nodoka's previous school (she's the one with the ribbon)}}, is revealed to have the power to copy any mahjong player, but she can only do it once per round per day each. She demonstrates this by using the styles of all the Kiyosumi players, culminating with her out-[[Finishing Move|Rinshan Kaihoing]] Saki herself.

* In ''[[Kinnikuman]]'' Stecasse King, a giant cassette player, inserts tapes from the Choujin Encyclopedia into his chest, gaining the abilities of whichever wrestler the tape covers. This proves his downfall when he tries to copy Kinnikuman -- theKinnikuman—the tape he has is outdated, from back in the days when the big guy was a cowardly wimp.

== [[FanficFilm]] ==

* A number of examples from ''[[Charmed]]''.

** The new ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' series, ''[[Kamen Rider OOO]]'', uses a similar concept, with the main character having to take Core Medals from the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]]s this series, the Greed, in order to use the powers contained in them. ''Most'' [[Kamen Rider|Kamen Riders]]s have some element of [[Phlebotinum Rebel]], but OOO is probably the only one whose powers are ''chunks of'' his villains instead of merely made by them.

{{quote| Resistance is futile.}}

* In the ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' book Serpent Kingdoms, the Sarrukh has an ability called "Manipulate Form" which can permanently imbue any reptilian creature with its own physical features and powers. This forms the basis of the infamous [[Game Breaker]] character "Pun-Pun", which can copy ''everything in the universe at the same time'', [[Up to Eleven|with the power increased as much as he wants]]. By some interpretations of the rules he can even ''make up'' things to copy.

** Oh, and this can be done at 1st level (although only in the [[Forgotten Realms]] universe). It is an important lesson in what happens when you take the rules literally.

* The Tyranids of ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' do something similar to Power Copying. When they turn their opponents into the raw materials to make more Tyranids, they also absorb their information and occasionally their traits; these are then used by the hive fleet to make it easier to counter those tactics and abilities. Some sources also hint that some varieties of Tyranid were "invented" using the DNA of certain foes, such as the psychic Zoanthropes (believed to have come from Eldar DNA) and the durable Tyrant Guard (supposedly created with Space Marine DNA).

*** The Kroot Shapers are shamans within tribes that direct what they eat, to ensure only good traits are retained and not detrimental ones. This came after one section of kroot decided it would be good to assimilate canine DNA, and getting trapped in an evolutionary dead end. The current Kroot themselves are actually not the base race, they use to be a type of scavenging bird before consuming a humanoid race.

* The Mega Man action figures (based on the [[Mega Man (animation)|Ruby-Spears animated series]],) has this as its main feature. Every robot figure in the line can replace one hand with a spring loaded arm cannon (though only a couple actually COME with an arm cannon) and all the various weapons are completely interchangeable, which not only allows Mega Man himself to do his thing, but many other wild combinations--likecombinations—like having Cut Man fire plasma shots, bombs, or even Guts Man's fire hydrant from his head.

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Former [[Trope Namer]] [[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]] has the ability to utilize the weapons of the various Robot Masters that serve as the bosses for the series--thoughseries—though there is some occasional alteration for the sake of gameplay or other compatibility issues. Almost all his Expies and [[Alternate Universe]] counterparts either have this ability direct or use something based off the same concept.

** In the [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness|first]] [[Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories|two]] games, only magic could be learned via the master and student system, which allows a character to use the spells of an adjacent unit if they were the ones who created them. The spell would be learned permanently with enough uses.

** ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]'' introduces the Class World, where a character who's leading a school club can learn the magic, weapon skills, and abilities (Or "evilities", as they're called in-game) possessed by any characters in the same club, albeit for a much higher price then what they purchased them for. It also gives [[Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories|Yukimaru]] a unique primary evility that makes her to copy the primary evility of a target she kills.

* Many variations on the Blue Mage from the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series of games work like this. The precise variant varies from game to game -- sometimesgame—sometimes, they have to be hit by the ability, and in others they merely have to be in the party when the ability is used, and some have to do something special related to killing the enemy to do it (''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' has you use an Absorb-like spell, while ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' has you eating and cooking enemies). ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' specifies that the Blue Mage has to ''see'' the spell being cast, so he can't learn anything if he's [[Standard Status Effects|Blinded]]. In a variation on the theme, Summoners in the series often must defeat prospective summons in combat before being allowed to summon them.

*** Also the Mime materia, which when equipped lets you copy what ever move was just used. This included summons and [[Limit BreaksBreak]]s.

** Also inverted by a boss in ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'', he can learn Blue Magic from your party. [[Anticlimax Boss|Including]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Self-Destruct.]]

* ''[[Kirby]]'', the eponymous star of his own Nintendo video game series and the anime ''[[Kirby: ofRight theBack at StarsYa!]]'', copies the power of any enemy he can successfully eat, except for in the first game.

** This also carried over to ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', although he can't really eat his enemies. He also only copies one move of the inhaled opponent, which replaces his Inhale move until you decide to drop the ability by taunting or if you take enough damage from the opponent(s).

* Revolver Ocelot from the ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' series falls squarely into this trope. [[All There in the Manual|According to the supplemental material]], after merely witnessing a tactic on the battlefield, he can them use said tactic thereafter. This certainly explains his ludicrous skills with revolvers, but he is noticably clumsier as his younger self in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'', where Snake [[Lampshade Hanging|calls him out]] on using a tactic he's only just seen in battle.

* ''[[SagaSaGa Frontier]]'' has a single instance of this in Alkaiser's story. In the fight against the ''[[Affably Evil]]'' robot version of himself, upon using the move Dark Phoenix, Alkaiser can use his own special move in response to seeing his in order to learn his ultimate ability, Re-Al-Phoenix.

* The ''[[Breath of Fire]]'' series. In many of the titles, you can copy specific enemy abilities by simply witnessing them (in ''[[Breath of Fire III|III]]'' it was a Examine command, and in ''[[Breath of Fire IV|IV]]'' you merely had to be Defending.).

* Marivel of ''[[Wild ArmsARMs 2]]'' and Emma of the ''[[Wild ArmsARMs 1]]'' remake build up their skill set by stealing/downloading the abilities of the monsters they meet.

* ''[[Command and& Conquer]]: [[Command and& Conquer: Red Alert 3]]'' features the Hammer Tank, which steals the weapons from the vehicles it destroys.

{{quote| '''Black Mage''': When Sarda casts a spell to hurt you and you learn that spell, you learn to ''cast a spell that hurts you.''}}

*** More recent seasons have Kevin as a sidekick, having found a way to return to human form. His power is the absorption ability he originally possessed, although he only uses it to absorb matter instead of copying powers. It's explained in a much later season that his power copying is a [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]] that turns members of his species evil and insane.

* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Men in Black (animation)|MIB: The Series]]'' was Alpha, the human founder of MIB, who merged with an alien artifact that allowed him to absorb the body-parts of aliens into his own, allowing him to cheat death and also resulting in him turning into a rather grotesque patchwork lifeform (with the abilities and attributes of all his alien body parts).

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