Power Tattoo: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
One of the many components of a [[Power Makeover]], the '''Power Tattoo''' is a distinguishing mark that shows a character has a certain set of powers. It may only appear when the time is right, or it may be visible at all times, but it frequently tends to [[Power Glows|glow]]. Expect it to be placed somewhere on the body that reflects its usage. The more benign version of [[Mark of the Beast]].
Compare [[Marked Change]], where the marks generally cover more of the body, but only when someone has powered up. See also [[Volcanic Veins]], which similarly glow. A person ''covered'' in these is a [[Human Notepad]].
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* ''[[G Gundam]]''. Symbols of the Shuffle Alliance.
* +Anima markings in ''[[Plus Anima]]'', though they're actually scars.
* Orochimaru's Curse Marks in ''[[Naruto]]'', although they turn into [[Marked Change
** Kyuubi's seal may also count.
* In ''[[King of Thorn]]'', Marco Owen is a [[Tattooed Crook]] to begin with, but one in particular marks his upgrade from [[Badass Normal]] to [[Badass Abnormal]]: {{spoiler|when Alice alters his body so that he'll stand a chance against Zeus, he gains a large tattoo on his chest resembling the anarchy symbol}}.
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** This becomes vital in the ''[[Final Crisis]]'' mini-series when a specific design placed on the face thwarts alien brainwashing efforts.
* The Starbrand from Marvel's ''[[The New Universe]]''- basically a [[Amplifier Artifact|Cosmic Cube]] in tattoo form.
** [[Warren Ellis]]'s [[Alternate Continuity]], ''newuniversal'', takes it a step further and has four "power glyphs": the Starbrand glyph as above, the Justice glyph (which lets the bearer [[Detect Evil]] and generate [[Laser Blade
* The new character Ink in the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' comics has a different power for each tattoo he has. {{spoiler|At first he thought he was a [[Mutants|mutant]] who would get powers based on his tattoos, but it turns out his tattoo artist is a mutant who could give people powers by giving them tattoos.}}
* Kinetix, in ''[[The Legion of Super Heroes]]'', when she got her powers restored by the White Witch. In this case, the tattoo was the least unusual part of her resulting appearance, which included white skin, pointed ears, and a tail.
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** Psionic users can create literal magic (well, psionic) tattoos.
** In ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' the tradition of [[The Magocracy|Thayan Red Wizards]] teaches [[Status Buff|personal enhancements]]<ref>like spell resistance, casting level and ability scores improvement</ref> via tattoo, usually on their faces or shaved heads. The spell "Create Enchanted Tattoo" (AD&D) / "Create Magic Tattoo" (D&D3) makes a temporary empowered tattoo, and can be made permanent like other spells. It requires at least ''some'' degree of tattoo skill.
** The Al-Qadim spell Tattoo of Power allows the caster to make a single-use tattoo with another
** 3e [[Forgotten Realms]] [[Sourcebook]] ''Lords of Darkness'' has Tattoo Magic as item creation feat (mostly, for Red Wizards) -- this variety holds an arbitrary low-level spell affecting the bearer, is touch-activated and counts as a magical item worn on the inscribed body part.
** Dragonmarks in ''[[Eberron]]''. Well, halfway between
** Not to mention the new Spellscarred option in Forgotten Realms 4e, those affected by the spellplague (but not completely monster-ized) usually have the spellscar somewhere on the body. It tends to glow with blue fire when activated.
** There's also the Tattooed Monk prestige class.
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** Likewise, in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne|Nocturne]]'', the main character gets [[Power Glows|glowy]] sorta-power-tattoos all over his body, "sorta" in that they're a natural part of his demon body.
* Shanoa of ''[[Castlevania]]'' has a nice set of three Power Tattoos, one on each upper arm and a large one on her back, which use Glyphs to cast her spells.
* When Jin Kazama of ''[[Tekken]]'' becomes [[Super-Powered Evil Side|Devil Jin]], he grows several
* The Rood Inverse tattoo of ''[[Vagrant Story]]'' is quite literally a ''Power'' Tattoo, as it unlocks the power of Lea Monde and grants its user complete control over the city and its spirits. It makes [[Anti-Villain|Sydney]] effectively immortal. {{spoiler|When Guildenstern acquires it, he uses it to much more destructive purposes.}} Needless to say, the thing is practically [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]. Which is why they need [[Badass|Ashley]]...
* [[The Heartless|The Noise]] in ''[[The World Ends With You]]'' all have tattoos which make up part of their bodies. In a particular example, the Psychedelifox, Ambiefox, and Progfox, who can steadily gain extra tattoo-tails during battle, which in turn allow them to do more vicious attacks.
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* [[Phantasy Star Universe|Beasts]] can turn into a large humanoid monster if they get a special kind of tattoo, known as a Blast Badge.
* ''[[Fable|Fable III]]'' has tattoos that start to glow as you gain more magic power and morality. And then there are glowing markings that appear on your clothes if you use flourish attacks, their amount are increased as you gain more magic power. If your morality is good, your tattoos glow blue, just like the tattoos of Maze in the first Fable.
* In ''Rift'', the Defiant faction's resident [[Five Races|stouts]] canonically tattoo themselves heavily, both to [[Storyboard Body|commemorate their accomplishments]] and to [[Human Notepad|help channel their elemental heritage]]. Unfortunately, while this can be seen on [[NPC
* In ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'' Himi of Yamatai has [[Facial Markings]] on her forehead that greatly resemble the Third Eye Stone. Conveniently, the Third Eye is what she needs to [[Fainting Seer|wake from her visions]] and extract useful knowledge from them.
** Mysteriously, villain Blados has similar markings on his forehead. Their purpose is unknown, but [[Epileptic Trees|speculated]].
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