Power Glows: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"This hand of mine glows with an '''awesome power'''!"''|'''Domon Kasshu''', ''[[G Gundam]]''}}
{{quote|''"This hand of mine glows with an '''awesome power'''!"''|'''Domon Kasshu''', ''[[G Gundam]]''}}


Power glows. The more power, the more glow. So, anything that glows is [[Power Makeover|automatically presumed to be superior]] to otherwise identical things that don't glow, and more glow is better. This is closely related to the [[Rule of Cool]] because glowing is cool, so things that glow automatically get more [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]], allowing them to be more unrealistically powerful. They're often [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience]], too. For example, evil glows bright red, good glows blue or gold, and [[Sickly Green Glow|radioactive materials glow green]].
Power glows. The more power, the more glow. So, anything that glows is [[Power Makeover|automatically presumed to be superior]] to otherwise identical things that don't glow, and more glow is better. This is closely related to the [[Rule of Cool]] because glowing is cool, so things that glow automatically get more [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]], allowing them to be more unrealistically powerful. They're often [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]], too. For example, evil glows bright red, good glows blue or gold, and [[Sickly Green Glow|radioactive materials glow green]].


[[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]? Inherently superior to ordinary, everyday, garden-variety eyes of doom. Glowing [[Battle Aura]]? Opponents who don't glow won't stand a chance! Any physical object that glows will also be powerful somehow. [[Laser Blade|Glowing sword]] vs. boring sword? Glowing sword wins, every time. [[Stuff Blowing Up|Explodey things]] that emit a [[Pre-Explosion Glow|glow first]] are bigger, louder and/or do more damage, and if they were [[Sucking-In Lines]] first, they're even more so. The most powerful magical potions will also glow to signify their superiority over ordinary, non-glowing magical potions. And don't forget the inherent awesomeness of the [[Pillar of Light]], which is Glow going to Heaven just to show how overwhelming it is.
[[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]? Inherently superior to ordinary, everyday, garden-variety eyes of doom. Glowing [[Battle Aura]]? Opponents who don't glow won't stand a chance! Any physical object that glows will also be powerful somehow. [[Laser Blade|Glowing sword]] vs. boring sword? Glowing sword wins, every time. [[Stuff Blowing Up|Explodey things]] that emit a [[Pre-Explosion Glow|glow first]] are bigger, louder and/or do more damage, and if they were [[Sucking-In Lines]] first, they're even more so. The most powerful magical potions will also glow to signify their superiority over ordinary, non-glowing magical potions. And don't forget the inherent awesomeness of the [[Pillar of Light]], which is Glow going to Heaven just to show how overwhelming it is.
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* Gourry in ''[[The Slayers]]'' has an extremely powerful Sword of Light, much better than any other regular swords. He can chop through ''trees'' with his sword, and we're not talkin' fist-width saplings, either. [[Shout-Out|It also makes lightsaber noises]].
* Gourry in ''[[The Slayers]]'' has an extremely powerful Sword of Light, much better than any other regular swords. He can chop through ''trees'' with his sword, and we're not talkin' fist-width saplings, either. [[Shout-Out|It also makes lightsaber noises]].
* Everything that has some sort of spiritual nature in ''[[Earth Maiden Arjuna]]'' gives off an awesome glow. Including Juna's [[Magical Girl]] transformation, as well as her energy bow Gan Deeva.
* Everything that has some sort of spiritual nature in ''[[Earth Maiden Arjuna]]'' gives off an awesome glow. Including Juna's [[Magical Girl]] transformation, as well as her energy bow Gan Deeva.
* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' has Excalibur, the "ultimate weapon of humanity", able to convert the user's [[Mana]] into light energy and fire it as a destructive wave. Since it takes in the user's own power, it also [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience|changes color according to alignment]].
* ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' has Excalibur, the "ultimate weapon of humanity", able to convert the user's [[Mana]] into light energy and fire it as a destructive wave. Since it takes in the user's own power, it also [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience|changes color according to alignment]].
* Some ''[[Initial D]]'' characters can tell roughly how good another driver is by the glowing aura around the driver and by extension, his car when the person is driving it.
* Some ''[[Initial D]]'' characters can tell roughly how good another driver is by the glowing aura around the driver and by extension, his car when the person is driving it.
* Many attacks in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' glow (insert color here) before making things explode and blast off (Iron Tail, Focus Punch, Bubblebeam, etc).
* Many attacks in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' glow (insert color here) before making things explode and blast off (Iron Tail, Focus Punch, Bubblebeam, etc).
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* The ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' movies introduce this in spades. The most obvious example is what happens to Unit-01 at the end of the second movie: it starts going berserk and gets the usual [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]. But so does its pilot. And the mecha's fluorescent green parts starts glowing sickly red. As well as the inside of its maw. {{spoiler|Then it rebuilds its amputated arm as a glowy, proteiform appendage, grows a halo, shoots [[Eye Beams]] left and right and lose its armour only to reveal glowing white patches beneath it. By the time the credits flash, it has become a giant glowing figure of pure white.}} Unsurprisingly, its opponent is [[Curb Stomp Battle|unable to resist such a brilliant display]].
* The ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'' movies introduce this in spades. The most obvious example is what happens to Unit-01 at the end of the second movie: it starts going berserk and gets the usual [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]]. But so does its pilot. And the mecha's fluorescent green parts starts glowing sickly red. As well as the inside of its maw. {{spoiler|Then it rebuilds its amputated arm as a glowy, proteiform appendage, grows a halo, shoots [[Eye Beams]] left and right and lose its armour only to reveal glowing white patches beneath it. By the time the credits flash, it has become a giant glowing figure of pure white.}} Unsurprisingly, its opponent is [[Curb Stomp Battle|unable to resist such a brilliant display]].
* ''[[Darker than Black]]'' is rather fond of this trope. Contractors using their powers glow blue (identified as Cherenkov radiation), and their [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|eyes]] start shining [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red]]. Even more extreme when {{spoiler|Hei gets a bit upset near an [[Amplifier Artifact]]}}, which makes the entire ''neighborhood'' glow.
* ''[[Darker than Black]]'' is rather fond of this trope. Contractors using their powers glow blue (identified as Cherenkov radiation), and their [[Glowing Eyes of Doom|eyes]] start shining [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red]]. Even more extreme when {{spoiler|Hei gets a bit upset near an [[Amplifier Artifact]]}}, which makes the entire ''neighborhood'' glow.
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', the titular character, as well as his fellow [[Sealed Inside a Person Shaped Can|jinchuuriki]], are engulfed in a glowing aura of chakra when in their demon forms (except Gaara, he gets covered in sand). This [[Demonic Possession|takes the form of the jinchuuriki's demon]] after the initial stage, at which point it is often time to [[Unstoppable Rage|run]] [[Super-Powered Evil Side|away.]] Of course, there IS a threshold past which the aura disappears in exchange [[Body Horror|for]] [[One-Winged Angel|something]] [http://www.mangareader.net/93-444-13/naruto/chapter-439.html far worse]...
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', the titular character, as well as his fellow [[Sealed Inside a Person-Shaped Can|jinchuuriki]], are engulfed in a glowing aura of chakra when in their demon forms (except Gaara, he gets covered in sand). This [[Demonic Possession|takes the form of the jinchuuriki's demon]] after the initial stage, at which point it is often time to [[Unstoppable Rage|run]] [[Super-Powered Evil Side|away.]] Of course, there IS a threshold past which the aura disappears in exchange [[Body Horror|for]] [[One-Winged Angel|something]] [http://www.mangareader.net/93-444-13/naruto/chapter-439.html far worse]...
** This is lampshaded when {{spoiler|Naruto's controlled form of the 9-tails's chakra}} is actually [[Mundane Utility|used as a flashlight.]]
** This is lampshaded when {{spoiler|Naruto's controlled form of the 9-tails's chakra}} is actually [[Mundane Utility|used as a flashlight.]]
** A the Fourth Raikage's Raiton: Yoroi (Lightning Armor) cover his body in lightning.
** A the Fourth Raikage's Raiton: Yoroi (Lightning Armor) cover his body in lightning.
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== Literature ==
== Literature ==
* In ''[[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'' magical Power Glows [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience]].
* In ''[[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'' magical Power Glows [[Color-Coded for Your Convenience]].
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'': orc-hating elvish swords and entire tower of Minas Morgul.
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'': orc-hating elvish swords and entire tower of Minas Morgul.
** Gandalf invokes this trope when he adds lighting to [[Hand Wave|explain]] the disappearance of Bilbo in his Birthday party.
** Gandalf invokes this trope when he adds lighting to [[Hand Wave|explain]] the disappearance of Bilbo in his Birthday party.
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* Subverted several times in the [[Discworld]] series. Because of the world's narrative causality, mundane items wielded with true conviction are often stronger than fancy magic weapons.
* Subverted several times in the [[Discworld]] series. Because of the world's narrative causality, mundane items wielded with true conviction are often stronger than fancy magic weapons.
** Justified in the case of Death's scythe and sword, since these are so sharp, they cut up the air molecules that happen to bump against them. This, of couse, causes lightning-like ionization.
** Justified in the case of Death's scythe and sword, since these are so sharp, they cut up the air molecules that happen to bump against them. This, of couse, causes lightning-like ionization.
* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer 40000]] novel ''[[Blood Angels|Deus Encarmine]]'', the Spear of Telesto. And Isskvan the Hated glows with anger.
* In [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer 40,000]] novel ''[[Blood Angels|Deus Encarmine]]'', the Spear of Telesto. And Isskvan the Hated glows with anger.
** And then the tomb of Sanguinius in ''Red Fury''.
** And then the tomb of Sanguinius in ''Red Fury''.
* All magic produces bright glows in ''[[Elantris]]'', because it is the sign of the power of [[The Force|the Dor]] breaking in to the physical world. The most powerful practitioners of magic, the [[Physical God|Elantrians]] actually glow non-stop, but other magic-users produce light with their powers as well.
* All magic produces bright glows in ''[[Elantris]]'', because it is the sign of the power of [[The Force|the Dor]] breaking in to the physical world. The most powerful practitioners of magic, the [[Physical God|Elantrians]] actually glow non-stop, but other magic-users produce light with their powers as well.
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* ''[[Exalted]]'' puts this principle to good use: the more Essence you draw into your Charms over a scene (i.e. the more powerful you make your superpowered attacks), the more glow, or Anima (in the parlance of the game), you produce. It begins with your Caste mark faintly appearing on your forehead, progresses into a glowing field or effect which physically envelopes you in various ways,<ref>(brilliant golden glows for Solars, sickly green lights for Infernals, silver tattoos lighting up across Lunars' skin, elemental environmental effects for Dragon-Blooded, spiritual auras and halos for Sidereals, bleeding necrotic Essence for Abyssals, and industrial or technoscientific effects such as electric discharges and arcs, billowing steam, and even chemical or molten metal secretions from Alchemicals' skins)</ref> and culminates in your [[Battle Aura|Anima Banner]] unfurling in some spectacular fashion. Once those Charms get about 16+ Essence pumped through them during a fight, a couple of battling Exalted can be seen unmistakably for miles around, and can even approximate daylight visibility conditions during the night.
* ''[[Exalted]]'' puts this principle to good use: the more Essence you draw into your Charms over a scene (i.e. the more powerful you make your superpowered attacks), the more glow, or Anima (in the parlance of the game), you produce. It begins with your Caste mark faintly appearing on your forehead, progresses into a glowing field or effect which physically envelopes you in various ways,<ref>(brilliant golden glows for Solars, sickly green lights for Infernals, silver tattoos lighting up across Lunars' skin, elemental environmental effects for Dragon-Blooded, spiritual auras and halos for Sidereals, bleeding necrotic Essence for Abyssals, and industrial or technoscientific effects such as electric discharges and arcs, billowing steam, and even chemical or molten metal secretions from Alchemicals' skins)</ref> and culminates in your [[Battle Aura|Anima Banner]] unfurling in some spectacular fashion. Once those Charms get about 16+ Essence pumped through them during a fight, a couple of battling Exalted can be seen unmistakably for miles around, and can even approximate daylight visibility conditions during the night.
** Which might seem like a horrible disadvantage to the cause of stealth, except that an Exalted with 16+ Essence running through their Charms is more or less a [[Person of Mass Destruction]] at any rate, and not to be fucked with.
** Which might seem like a horrible disadvantage to the cause of stealth, except that an Exalted with 16+ Essence running through their Charms is more or less a [[Person of Mass Destruction]] at any rate, and not to be fucked with.
* In ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' third edition, magic weapons have a 30% chance of glowing with light equivalent to that of a torch.
* In ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' third edition, magic weapons have a 30% chance of glowing with light equivalent to that of a torch.
** In fourth edition, if you don't want to have a bunch of (potentially handy) secondary effects, you can get a Fire, Ice, Poison, etc. enchantment. Activating the enchantment [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|changes your next attack into the specific element type]], nothing more. Except the Sun Sword enchantment, which gives divine damage and illuminates a large area around the sword itself. Great for slaying undead and certain types of abominations; NOT so great for doing so stealthily. Oddly enough, there's only a total of about five or six item enchantments that will ''mechanically'' give off light, although flavor text varies wildly.
** In fourth edition, if you don't want to have a bunch of (potentially handy) secondary effects, you can get a Fire, Ice, Poison, etc. enchantment. Activating the enchantment [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|changes your next attack into the specific element type]], nothing more. Except the Sun Sword enchantment, which gives divine damage and illuminates a large area around the sword itself. Great for slaying undead and certain types of abominations; NOT so great for doing so stealthily. Oddly enough, there's only a total of about five or six item enchantments that will ''mechanically'' give off light, although flavor text varies wildly.


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** "Where did you get that?" Not even close.
** "Where did you get that?" Not even close.
** "How do you make your weapon glow?" Bingo!
** "How do you make your weapon glow?" Bingo!
** [[Fly FF]] took this [[Up to Eleven]]—every piece of equipment could be upgraded... and L10 Enhancements created awesome blue glows. If you had Level 120 Equipment with L10 Enhancements in every slot, [[Power Gives You Wings|you got glowing blue wings]] as well as a pulsing blue [[Battle Aura]]. That said, you had to be very rich to obtain that gear.
** [[Flyff]] took this [[Up to Eleven]]—every piece of equipment could be upgraded... and L10 Enhancements created awesome blue glows. If you had Level 120 Equipment with L10 Enhancements in every slot, [[Power Gives You Wings|you got glowing blue wings]] as well as a pulsing blue [[Battle Aura]]. That said, you had to be very rich to obtain that gear.
** Inverted in [[Phantasy Star Online]]. The common, weak weapons are all photon based, as opposed to some rare, high end weapons, which are non glowing real guns and swords. presumably because photon based weapons are cheaper to make than a properly tempered steel katana or a finely machined kinetic firearm.
** Inverted in [[Phantasy Star Online]]. The common, weak weapons are all photon based, as opposed to some rare, high end weapons, which are non glowing real guns and swords. presumably because photon based weapons are cheaper to make than a properly tempered steel katana or a finely machined kinetic firearm.
* In ''[[Blaz Blue]]'', Ragna, Hakumen and Bang glow when their [[Super Mode]]s are active. For the first two, having the [[Super Mode]] permanently switched on is part of their [[SNK Boss|Unlimited]] package.
* In ''[[BlazBlue]]'', Ragna, Hakumen and Bang glow when their [[Super Mode]]s are active. For the first two, having the [[Super Mode]] permanently switched on is part of their [[SNK Boss|Unlimited]] package.
** Rachel is surrounded by an ominous purple glow when in her [[SNK Boss|Unlimited]] mode.
** Rachel is surrounded by an ominous purple glow when in her [[SNK Boss|Unlimited]] mode.
* In ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', anything even vaguely related to phazon is always glowing. In the rest of the series, all powerups glow.
* In ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', anything even vaguely related to phazon is always glowing. In the rest of the series, all powerups glow.
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** [[Our Vampires Are Different|Rainbow Drinkers]] have glowing skin.
** [[Our Vampires Are Different|Rainbow Drinkers]] have glowing skin.
* [[Strays]] [http://www.straysonline.com/comic/76.htm Feral's blade]
* [[Strays]] [http://www.straysonline.com/comic/76.htm Feral's blade]
* [[Memoria]] [http://memoria.valice.net/?p=243 His hand]
* [[Memoria (2010 webcomic)|Memoria]] [http://memoria.valice.net/?p=243 His hand]
* [[Wooden Rose]] [http://www.woodenrosecomic.com/comic/comic.html Reviving a woman from the bed where she just had a C-section].
* [[Wooden Rose]] [http://www.woodenrosecomic.com/comic/comic.html Reviving a woman from the bed where she just had a C-section].
* In [[Roza]], [[The Power of Blood|her blood is magical]]. [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-05-03 It glows.]
* In [[Roza]], [[The Power of Blood|her blood is magical]]. [http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2007-05-03 It glows.]
* [http://whatsshakincomic.com/2011/01/17/page-20/ Ell] from [[What's Shakin]] has a power up moment with a golden glow.
* [http://whatsshakincomic.com/2011/01/17/page-20/ Ell] from [[What's Shakin']] has a power up moment with a golden glow.
* In ''[[Impure Blood]]'', even the [[Mundane Utility]] of unlocking the door [http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter003/ib017.html glows].
* In ''[[Impure Blood]]'', even the [[Mundane Utility]] of unlocking the door [http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter003/ib017.html glows].
* In ''[[Endstone]]'', the [[Artifact of Doom]], [http://endstone.net/2011/06/23/6-04/ the Banestone], can really glow.
* In ''[[Endstone]]'', the [[Artifact of Doom]], [http://endstone.net/2011/06/23/6-04/ the Banestone], can really glow.
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