Psychic Powers: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

In general, the more powerful and [[Pstandard Psychic Pstance|dramatic]] the psychic, the [[Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness|softer]] the [[Sci Fi]]. The extreme cases are largely confined to the horror and superhero genres (with exceptions, such as ''[[Star Wars]]''), but the weakest powers can [[Psychic Dreams for Everyone|crop up even in mainstream shows]].

In order of increasing power, the standard abilities are:

 

** In dream form, this is [[Dream Spying]].

** A more limited version of this is called Psychometry, or object reading, which "reads" the past of an object. Sometimes also includes aspects of Empathy, by picking up an imprint of strong emotions from the object left by the person who last handled said object. Can include sensing the "auras" of places, too, especially if something violent happened there recently.

*** Certain versions of Pyschometry have [[Heart Is an Awesome Power|combat applications]] in that a Psychometer who picks up a weapon may theoretically be able to [[Instant Expert|absorb the skills of anyone who's ever wielded that weapon]].

** Another fairly common variant is sensing the memories of one's ancestors or (in [[The Verse|universes]] with [[Reincarnation]]) past lives, similar to [[Genetic Memory]].

** This can manifest as [[Dreaming of Times Gone By]].

** Sometimes includes the ability to send emotions the other way.

* [[Telepathy]] -- [[Mind Probe|mind reading]], can sometimes also transmit thoughts or [[Mind Manipulation|implant suggestions]], etc. Telepathy is the psychic power most commonly attributed to [[Telepathic Spacemen|aliens]] or [[Evolutionary Levels|"advanced" humans]].

** Telepathy can often be stopped by [[Psychic Static]] and [[Psychic Block Defense]].

** Telepaths are often shown to be able to detect the presence of others; sensing their thoughts or merely the presence of a mind in a sort of [[Psychic Radar]].

** Basically, [[Fan Boy|Fanboys]] love to stick -kinesis as a suffix on anything and describe it as a psychic power. Thus you get bastardized terms like Chlorokinensis ([[Green Thumb|controlling plants]]), Chronokinesis ([[Time Stands Still|controlling time]]), Umbrakinesis ([[Casting a Shadow|controlling shadows]]), Hydrokinesis ([[Making a Splash|controlling water]]), [[Hurricane of Puns|Terrakinesis]] ([[Dishing Out Dirt|controlling stone and soil]]), [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Curvacionubiliterriclothokinesis]] (The ability to [[Fan Service|whip the towel off a co-ed]] in a locker room without being physically present) etc., etc., Ad Infinitum.

*** Which is especially funny given that -kinesis is "movement" or "motion", and [[You Keep Using That Word|has nothing to do with psychic powers]]. The word pyrokinesis originated with Stephen King [[Did Not Do the Research|not knowing which of tele- and -kinesis meant "remote"]] in "telekinesis" (lit. "remote movement") and [[Blind Idiot Translation|picking the wrong one]]...

* [[Teleporters and Transporters|Teleportation]] -- [[Fetish Fuel|with or without your clothes]]

 

The first five powers are purely internal. There's no evidence they're being used apart from the occasional [[Psychic Nosebleed]] (and of course, [[Pstandard Psychic Pstance|the stance]]). The remaining powers have much more obvious effects. However, all these powers have stronger versions, found generally at the [[Mohs Scale of Sci Fi Hardness|softer end of sci-fi]]. That is, strong clairvoyance is as good as [[X-Ray Vision]], or even a [[Crystal Ball]]. Strong telepathy allows for complete [[Mind Control]]. Strong telekinesis or apportation can become a means of saying [[You Will Not Evade Me]], and so on. The ultimate manifestation of psychic power is the ability to just [[Reality Warper|make your thoughts into reality]]. As generally portrayed, all of these powers display [[No Conservation of Energy]], though there are exceptions, especially if the writer wants to [[Mohs Scale of Sci Fi Hardness|stiffen up]] the story's science yet still include cool <s>magic</s> Psionics; if so, expect terms like [[Techno Babble|"quantum uncertainty", "observer effect" and "particle entanglement"]] to be slung around with abandon.

 

 

Compare [[Ki Attacks]], [[Enlightenment Superpowers]], and [[Functional Magic]] for other genre's "special powers." See also [[Mind Over Manners]] and [[Brain Critical Mass]]. [[90% of Your Brain]] is sometimes brought in as an [[Hand Wave|explanation]] for them. See also [[Phony Psychic]] and [[Not-So-Phony Psychic]].

* ''[[Read or Die]]'' has an interesting variant: Paper Masters have the ability to telekinetically control paper. At one point {{spoiler|Donny}} implies that ''all'' psychic powers are possible, and that the only thing stopping people from achieving them is [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|their belief that it's impossible]].

* The Contractors from ''[[Darker than Black]]'' wield a wide variety of psychic powers. However, due to the nature of their [[Conditional Powers|Remunerations]], there are no pure telepaths or telekinetics.

* While [[Functional Magic|magecraft]] is something you can learn with the right requirements, psychic powers in ''[[Nasuverse]]'' are abnormalities that generally only last one generation. That being said, they have [[The Empath|Empathy]], [[More Than Mind Control|Telepathic Suggestion]], and Teleportation (well, close). One character has the double-whammy of Clairvoyance coupled with [[Mind Over Matter|Telekinesis]].

* The Diclonius in ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' can telekinetically lift objects, as well as rip people apart with a thought.

** {{spoiler|There's also the [[Big Bad]], who's so powerful that no antipsychic countermeasures are effective against him. He's also not limited to one type of ability}}.

* ''[[Cyborg 009]]'', in which Cyborg 001 is a baby with psychic powers and Cyborg 005 is an empath. Also, a [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] is composed of only espers.

* The espers in ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' ''supposedly'' have psychic powers, although it's really more like in a [[Magical Girl]]-way. As a matter of fact, Kyon asks Koizumi to lift a cup of coffee with [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]] to which Koizumi replies "My powers [[Not That Kind of Mage|aren't like that]]". What they can do is enter the [[Phantom Zone]], fly around in cool energy bubbles and shoot fireballs. They also have a person-specific form of empathy, and are all able to feel Haruhi's mental state.

* A few people from ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. [[Kill All Humans|Lance]] and [[The Medic|Yellow]] both can read Pokémon's minds and Yellow has the added bonus of limited telekinetic powers. Sabrina can 'see' even if her physical eyes are blinded and can track things and people by putting her energy into her Alakazam's spoons. Morty has the ability to see with his mind pretty much whatever he's looking for.

* Dynamis users in ''[[Gilgamesh]]'' are essentially psychics with a different name.

* This is apparently Aki Izayoi's [[Blessed with Suck]] in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's|Yu-Gi-Oh 5 Ds]]''.

* The Kasuga clan of ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' (Kyousuke's mother's family) all have psychic powers of one sort or another.

** Cousin Akane can [[More Than Mind Control|appear to be someone else to others]], while her little brother Kazuya has all of the powers Kyousuke has, but much stronger.

* ''[[Katsuhiro Otomo]]'' seems to like this trope. His first manga was a rather forgettable one about cops investigating psychic crimes, next was ''[[Domu: A Child's Dream]]'', a story of a heroic little girl with telekinesis who must save a city pitted against an equally-powered [[Psychopathic Manchild]], finally culminating in ''[[Akira]]'', which was about the government trying to replicate the powers they saw in [[Domu: A Child's Dream|Etsuko]]'s story.

* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' goes a bit easier on the Psychic Powers thing. Every Gundam Meister in Season 2 can communicate through means of Quantum Brainwaves, except for Lyle Dylandy (AKA Lockon Stratos). This actually turns out to be an advantage for Lockon in the movie, because the ELS constantly try to communicate with anyone using Quantum Brainwaves, rendering them unable to fight due to the accidental mind rape. Lockon's inability to use Quantum Brainwaves is actually what also saves Setsuna.

* Rei Hino/Sailor Mars of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' possesses psychic abilities.

* ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'', a manga and short anime series, is based around Ganta Igarashi who's accused of massacring his classmates. Eventually Ganta finds out that the Red Man (Wretched Egg) gave him a red stone that makes him a "Deadman", a human with the power to manipulate their own blood for offensive/defensive purposes called "Branches of Sin".

* The eponymous character of ''[[Helen ESP]]'' possesses a variety of psychic powers, at the start mainly telepathy and being able to sense things that are [[Invisible to Normals]], though she later gains the ability of flight. She's not the only one with such powers, but {{spoiler|they get preyed upon by such things as a giant cloud spider...thing.}}

* [[Akira]] includes psychic characters such as the infamous Tetsuo, as well as the titular Akira, who {{spoiler|levels all of Tokyo in a massive psychic explosion.}}

 

== Comic Books ==

* In the [[Marvel Universe]] and [[The DCU|DC]] universes (and many [[Take a Third Option|other companies]]). Marvel has numerous [[Mutants]] with telepathy, including [[X-Men (Comic Book)|Professor X, Phoenix, Psylocke]], and dozens of others. Some of these also have telekinesis or other related powers. Oddly enough, Marvel in particular differentiates between mutant and non-mutant psychics. [[Spider-Man]] has a minor form of this in his [[Spider Sense]]. DC has a few alien races, including [[Martian Manhunter|Martians]] and [[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Titanians]], who have native psychic powers of various kinds.

** Even the original "Superman" Siegel and Shuster created for their short story "Reign of the Superman" had psychic powers instead of physical ones (specifically [[Mind Control]].)

** The actual [[Superman]] could have this at times during the [[Silver Age]] (at one point using "telepathic will-control", for example) as part of his whole [[New Powers as the Plot Demands]] deal.

* The Judges of ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' have a Psi-Division just for people with "special talents".

* The elven "magic" in ''[[Elf Quest]]'' is this. Telepathy is almost universal among them, and other powers crop up. It's implied early on that humans have the potential, too, and stories later in the timeline confirm this.

* [[Madman (Comic Book)|Madman]] has a variety of psychic powers as well.

 

* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', the key to [[Haruhi Suzumiya|Koizumi]]'s use of his powers are stated to be linking to Haruhi's mind and acknowledging the differences between his own emotions and hers. Eventually he manages to form mind links with anybody else, possibly getting to read their surface thoughts. Through his limited experimentation, he learns that most of the SOS Brigade have some kind of [[Psychic Block Defense]] with varying strengths, ranging from feeling like a strong wind, to being completely undetectable.

* In ''[[Oh God, Not Again]]'', Harry claims that his scar is psychic to explain how he knows so much (in actuality, he [[Time Travel|time traveled]]). Note that he doesn't say ''he'' is psychic- just his scar is. Professor Trelawney calls him a Seer by proxy.

* Ringo in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'' is ''exceptionally'' psychic, with [[My Significance Sense Is Tingling|mindsight]] that lets him see everything from atoms to the surface of the sun, [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]] with which he can feel stuff at least 100 miles away and move it around, a latent [[Teleporters and Transporters|teleport escape clause]], and the ability to sense (and, unfortunately, be affected by) other things operating on the psychic plane. Luckily, as an [[Actual Pacifist]], he's a very peaceable soul; all he wants to do is lie around all day looking at things.

** John can link “water-strings” with people and communicate [[Psychic Link|telepathically]] with them, usually by touch. He can also tap into and share Ringo's [[My Significance Sense Is Tingling|mindsight]], though he does not experience it as fully as Ringo does. It is not known whether he can delve deeper into anyone's thoughts.

 

== Film ==

* In ''[[The Black Hole]]'', Yvette Mimieux's character had a telepathic link to a robot.

* [[The Force]] in ''[[Star Wars]]'' includes many of these, most notably telekinesis, empathy, precognition, and mind control. It also includes telepathy (as when Vader is able to talk to Luke telepathically, or when Luke is able to call for help to Leia on Bespin).

** And of course there are the Kiffar, a species of humanoids with a relatively high occurrence of psychometrics.

* The psychics in ''[[Scanners]]'' not only control thoughts, they can alter your biological functions (heartrate, etc.) and really powerful ones can make [[Your Head Asplode]]. Spawned a series of films of [[Sequelitis|increasingly lower quality]].

* In ''[[Serenity]]'', River Tam's psychic powers are finally confirmed.

* The telepath Kuato and various other mutants in ''[[Total Recall]]''.

* Samara Morgan and her Japanese counterpart Sadako Yamamura, from ''[[The Ring]]'' films wield all these abilities, and then some, to tremendous effect. However, in contrast to [[Person of Mass Destruction|the novel version]] (see below) their powers are more sedate.

* ''[[Push]]''. The premise that people are born with different powers, and each are given a shorthand term for whatever power they are born with:

 

== Gamebooks ==

 

 

** ''[[Escape to Witch Mountain]]'': Tony has clairvoyance and telekinesis. His sister Tia has a form of telekinesis that lets her open locks; she is also a [[Friend to All Living Things]]. They are ''not'' telepathic, however as in the film adaptations.

** ''[[The Forgotten Door]]'': Little Jon is telepathic (which lets the author [[Hand Wave]] how quickly he learned English), an ability which carries over to reading the thoughts of animals. He is also telekinetic in that he can 'lighten his feet' to run and jump unusually fast.

** ''[[The Dead Zone]]'': clairvoyance and precognition.

** ''[[The Shining]]'' gives Danny Torrance and Dick Halloran pretty much the whole package: telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and postcognition.

** ''[[Carrie]]'' gives its title character both telekinesis and a sort of "broadcast telepathy"; during her rampage, everyone in town has Carrie's thoughts beamed into their head, and she [[Mind Rape|mind rapes]] Sue near the end. Powers are passed down genetically through the mother, and manifest around puberty; it's also strongly implied that they are a lot stronger when she's [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|distressed or angry]]. The film version removes her telepathy and focuses on her telekinesis.

* Julian May's ''[[Saga of the Exiles|Galactic Milieu/Pliocene Exile]]'' series had a detailed scientific classification of these, and high end powers including intergalactic teleportation.

* The ''[[Tower and The Hive|Rowan]]'' and ''Pegasus'' series by [[Anne McCaffrey]] revolve around the [[Differently-Powered Individual|Talents]], the world's first real, proven psychics who quickly become the cornerstone of the world's economy, and later the foundation of a galactic civilization. Their powers run the gamut of those listed here, and are [[Superpowerful Genetics|inheritable]].

* Appears several times in [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[Known Space]]'' universe. The Kzin have a telepathic subspecies, the Grogs have powerful telepathy and [[Mind Control]] (which, being immobile, they use to draw prey into their mouths), and several psychic humans have shown up, particularly Gil the ARM, who has a telekinetic third limb. Teela Brown was originally implied to have "[[Born Lucky|psychic luck]]", but this is [[Deconstruction|deconstructed]] and left ambiguous in later stories. Matt Keller had Plateau Eyes which could either make you ''really'' not notice him, or completely fascinate you.

** Depending on how you count, you might say Gil the ARM has a telekinetic second arm (or forth limb); he's lost one arm, and his previously latent TK powers provide a "prosthetic" invisible replacement arm. While the tech level in the Gil stories do mean he could get the missing arm replaced, he deliberately doesn't do so as he suspects the telekinetic one might then vanish - and with creative use it offers substantial advantages over and above what a regular arm could provide.

* [[Fred Saberhagen]]'s ''[[Berserker (Literature)|Berserker]]'' universe has the Carmpans, with the [[Framing Device|Framing Story]] being narrated by the Third Historian who has the power to sense events throughout time and space. Then there are the Carmpan Prophets of Probability who can predict more immediate events.

* ''[[Coils]]'' (1980) by [[Roger Zelazny]] and [[Fred Saberhagen]] features a whole team of psychics selected by a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] because of their mental powers. These include a female telepath, a bio-PK (a former faith-healer who can [[Healing Hands|heal]] or [[Touch of Death|kill with his mind]], a female telekinetic, and the protagonist, a [[Technopath|machine empath]] who can control machines and even "dive" [[Inside a Computer System|into the global computer network]].

* In the ''[[Sector General]]'' universe, all species with psi abilities receive the classification of V regardless of physical type.

* The Sharonans of [[David Weber]]'s ''[[Hell's Gate]]'' series have examples of all the broad categories sprinkled through 25% of the population, which, layered on top of their 19th-century-level technology, makes them quite formidable.

* Though the ''[[Lord Darcy]]'' stories mostly use [[Functional Magic]] instead, precognition is one manifestation of [[Witch Species|the Talent]] that's poorly understood. Visions of the future arise spontaneously and without need of ritual implements, making it more like a psychic power.

* In ''[[Enchantress From the Stars]]'', the very advanced members of the Federation, the most enlightened race of humans, are able to use telepathy, telekinesis, and put up a Shield to protect themselves both physically and psychically.

** Ianira states outright that Margo could learn the same.

** [[Jack the Ripper]] has mesmerism and an aura of evil so powerful it can send psychic sensitives into paralytic visions.

 

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* ''[[Star Trek]]'': The Betazoid race is entirely telepathic; Counselor Troi, a [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-Betazoid]], is an empath, implying that "empathy" is a "lesser" telepathy.

** Kes's species on ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' also had some telepathy, as did Species 8472. Kes later developed powerful telekinesis.

** At least one Vorta on ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' was telekinetic. The other Vorta never demonstrated any such ability.

** In ''Plato's Stepchildren," the crew not only encounters super-powerfully telekinetic race of enemy aliens, but Kirk learns how to become even more powerful than they are, and so defeats them using telekinesis. He also states that the Federation can acquire such powers any time "in a matter of hours."

** In "The Cage/The Menagerie," a race called "Talosians" were able to read minds and project illusions that were indistinguishable from if they were real.

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'': Telepathy, telekinesis, and in the case of the Centauri, a form of precognition.

** The Centauri took this [[Up to Eleven]]: Specially trained-from-birth teams of telepaths could communicate with each other across interstellar distances.

* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' has several characters with Psychic Powers, among them a mind-reader, a precognitive painter, and a man who can delete memories and "damper" other characters' powers by creating a psychic static. In fact, it's implied all the characters' powers are technically Psychic Powers, as the "seat of power" is universally in the brain.

* ''[[Medium]]'': precognition, postcognition, psychometry, communicating with ghosts, empathy/telepathy, and the ability to be possessed by ghosts. The show is inspired by the real-life Allison Dubois, who [[Phony Psychic|claims to be]] a medium.

* ''[[Ghost Whisperer]]'': Melinda plays with this by claiming she ''isn't'' a psychic, and honestly compared to Allison's powers she's quite limited: she can't see the future at all, psychic dreams and postcognition are directly caused by spirits, and psychometry only works on items related to the ghost-of-the-week. Her "partner" Eli James is even more limited: he can only hear spirits after a near-death experience and surprisingly {{spoiler|her husband Jim has no powers at all despite ''actually dying'', taking over a new body, and dying ''again'', although it did bring his memory back}}.

* ''[[The Tomorrow People]]'' had these courtesy of being the [[Evolutionary Levels|next stage of evolution]].

* Daphne on ''[[Frasier]]'' claims to be "a little bit psychic" in the pilot. This is phased out after a few seasons.

* Corporal "[[Meaningful Name|Radar]]" O'Reilly from ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|Mash]]'' gets his nickname from either some form of clairvoyance ("able to tell things before they happen") or telepathy (the ability to read other characters' minds), although the original movie-character simply had super-acute hearing.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' has generic clairvoyant psychics Pamela Barnes and Missouri Mosely as well as the [[Fan Nickname|Special Children]], a gaggle of young adults with psychic abilities of [[Blessed with Suck|varying]] [[Cursed with Awesome|usefulness]].

* ''[[Poltergeist: The Legacy]]'' has main characters Derek and Alex possess "The Sight", a mix of clairvoyance and precognition.

** {{spoiler|Olivia}} demonstrated pyrokinesis in an event during the {{spoiler|drug testing in her childhood, in which she used her mind to char and incinerate most of the room she was in}}.

** In the season 2 finale, one of the now-adult children on whom Bell and Bishop performed experiments has a short-lived role and demonstrates strong pyrokinesis; she is able to create balls of fire with her mind and throw them.

* A running joke on ''[[The Mentalist]]'' is someone asking Patrick Jane if he has these, [[Subverted Trope|only for him to state that psychics don't exist.]] He "reads" people by [[Sherlock Scan|observing details about their wardrobe, surroundings, and/or nonverbal tics.]] Of course, this doesn't stop anyone on either side of the fourth wall from asking questions.

** Shawn Spencer does pretty much the same thing on ''[[Psych]],'' except he doesn't mind grabbing the [[Phony Psychic]] trope with both hands and giving it a big, warm, wet kiss in every episode. Even if doing so freaks everyone else out. Which only makes it even more hilarious.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** D&D 4th Edition introduced the Psionic power source in the Player's Handbook 3, which includes the Psion, Battlemind, Ardent, and Monk (for some reason) classes. As with [[Broken Base|many other parts]] of the edition, [[Your Mileage May Vary]] as to how well it was implemented. Plot-wise it is mentioned to have been produced by the world in the humanoid races as a defence against the many [[Eldritch Abominations]] coming from [[Eldritch Location|The Far Realm]]

* ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'' has its parapsychics, who vary quite a lot in power. At the low end, they can keep their coffee hot. At the high end, they can crush a [[Humongous Mecha]] into a little tin can, set fire to [[Kill It with Fire|entire buildings]] with a thought, and [[Mind Rape|rebuild your personality]] from the ground up. For this reason, they're subject to mandatory registration with the [[State Sec|OIS]], and those with powers deemed ''Dangerous'' or ''Invasive'' have to wear public identity tags. On the plus side, both the government and corporations ''love'' their abilities, so they tend to migrate to high paying jobs.

* The ''[[Traveller]]'' universe has an entire [[Human Aliens|human-variant subspecies]], the Zhodani, whose ruling class has psychic abilities. The Zhodani consider other humans dishonest and criminal, since a society of mind-readers cannot lie or steal.

* The Slann in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' fantasy battles have a telepathy rule that allows them to cast spells through skinkpriests (for range and line of sight and such).

* In ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]'', many mutations grant various psychic powers. This being [[Everything Trying to Kill You|Paranoia]], they tend to be dangerous to all involved.

* Every supernatural in the ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' has some variety of stereotypical psychic power, ranging from mind control to telepathy to psychometry to pre-/postcognition. However, the most "purely" psychic examples are psychic rules for mortals (ranging from medium powers to telepathy to pyrokinesis to biokinesis to mental assault). There's also the Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit from ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'', a branch of the FBI that gains access to Teleinformatics, psychic powers dedicated towards interrogation, evidence gathering, and skill augmentation. Think [[Millennium (TV series)|Frank Black]] on steroids.

** ''Adventure!'', set in the same universe, features mesmerists, the psions' predecessors.

* ''[[Eclipse Phase]]'': Asyncs, as psychics are termed, result from exposure to the Watts-McLeod strain of the Exsurgent virus. Given that the Exsurgent virus is quite simply [[The Virus]], most asyncs in the know worry that they might be slowly being corrupted by the TITANs.

 

 

== Theatre ==

 

 

* ''[[The King of Fighters]]''. Pyrokinesis is passed down genetically through the Kusanagi and Yagami clans, with the Kusanagi having regular red and orange flames and the Yagami having "cursed" purple flames. One character, Ash Crimson, possesses green flames, but how he got them is left unexplained. There's also Athena Asamiya and her Psycho Soldier Team.

* ''[[Street Fighter III]]'' has [[SNK Boss]] Gill and his dual pyrokinesis and cryokinesis (ice manipulation) abilities. His status as [[The Messiah]] among the Illuminati is primarily because of his ability to balance these two powers. His Seraphic Wing [[Limit Break]] also hints at a third, unidentified power.

** Rose is the primary psychic among the cast of ''[[Street Fighter]]'', being a [[Tarot Motifs|Tarot-reading]] [[Fortune Teller]] with powerful psychic abilities, and relying most heavily on her supernatural power to fight.

* The entire point of ''[[Psychonauts]]''. Raz learns such powers as telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and levitation; various campers and staff have other specialties, and even the local wildlife at Whispering Rock includes things like [[Everything's Worse with Bears|telekinetic bears]] and firestarting cougars. The levels are various people's minds---first your teachers in order to learn to use your powers, then later the patients of an insane asylum.

* The powers of Nick Scryer from ''[[Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy|Psi Ops the Mindgate Conspiracy]]'' include telekinesis, mind control, and pyrokinesis.

* In the various ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' games, some of the original characters are "Psychodrivers", which is a telekinetic ability that enables them to use attacks unavailable to normal people.

** The einst also have this ability, but it seems a little different from the TK fields produced by Psycho drivers. They can communicate telepathically with each other, {{spoiler|Kyosuke, and Excellen and since Excellen is an Einst, their connection is stronger, and Alfimi hijacks her mind a few times.}}

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' had Psycho Mantis. Interestingly enough, while he did have abilities like psychokinesis, precognition, and telepathy (telepathy being [[Deconstruction|deconstructed painfully]]), his favourite (or at least creepiest) use of his powers is to [[Meta Guy|peer beyond the]] [[No Fourth Wall|fourth wall]]...

* Two examples in the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series: [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Characters/Other Protagonists|Blaze the Cat]] is ([[Steven Ulysses Perhero|unsurprisingly]]) a pyrokinetic, while [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Characters/Other Protagonists|Silver the Hedgehog]] uses psychokinesis and levitation.

** Amy also has some psychic abilities, according to one of the manuals, though they don't come up much. This ''would'' explain her uncanny Sonic-finding abilities, and certain other plot-critical encounters with Shadow and Silver.

* ''[[Second Sight]]'' starred a man with every power on the list above except teleportation.

* The Flatheads in ''[[Zork]]'' are telepathic.

* In ''[[X-COM]]'' series, several aliens have psychic powers, and by interrogation and research, humans can learn them as well. In ''X-Com: Apocalypse'' "[[Half-Human Hybrid|Mutants]]" has a greater potential, Androids has none (but are immune to alien telepathy in turn).

* Noctis Lucis Caelum of the upcoming ''[[Final Fantasy Versus XIII]]''. For now the only apparent ability he has is telekinesis and teleportation.

* Psychic powers are an integral part of the ''[[Nasuverse]]''. The most notable examples are [[Evil Eye|Mystic Eyes]], the most powerful of which only happen as a genetic fluke. The Nanaya clan bred for psychic powers, removing the chance part of the equation. Nanaya Kiri had [[Aura Vision]] and [[Tsukihime|Shiki]] has the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception on top of an unmentioned lesser type of eyes called 'pure eyes,' which are presumably what distinguishes humans from non humans. [[Fate/stay night|Rider's]] [[Taken for Granite|eyes]] are such an absurdly rare kind that not a single person in the modern age has them and are probably as rare as Shiki's, only better documented.

* ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has Biotics, people exposed in utero to dust-form [[Unobtainium|Element Zero]], the exotic matter used to create the eponymous Mass Effect. If it doesn't cause miscarriage-inducing fetal cancer, the dust-form eezo collects in nodules throughout the nervous system. Through biofeedback, a Biotic can learn to create their own mass effect fields and manipulate things. However, for their powers to have any practical use, they have to undergo brain surgery to have an implant installed that syncs up all the nodules in their body to amplify the effects. A botched surgery can have unpleasant neurological side effects. These are purely Telekinetic in power. They have the ability to forcefully push people around, encase themselves in a biotically created [[Deflector Shields|kinetic barrier]], "warp" a target with an unstable mass effect field, make a target float weightlessly into the air, freeze someone in place, or create a singularity that pulls in all around it. In the sequel, many new powers are introduced, a tandem wave of upward bursts, the ability to dash-tackle someone across a room, and various other new powers.

* [[The Dragon|Kamek]] of the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series has precognitive abilities; he kidnapped the baby Mario Bros. because he foresaw that they would become a thorn in his master Bowser's side. He didn't count on the Yoshis' interference, though...

* ''[[OtherSpace]]'' features over seventy psionic powers, including telepathy, telekinesis, biokinesis, pre- and postcognition, ESP, and teleportation.

* ''[[Advent Rising]]'', oh so much. The humans here are pretty much ''the'' psionic race, and as such are worshiped as gods by some of the alien races. By the end of the game, it is easy to see why: the protagonist, Gideon Wyeth, gets augmented strength and speed, healing factor, telekinesis, force fields, electromagnetic bolts (and tied to that devastating energy explosions), ice bolts, gravity control ([[Techno Babble|and through it time control and what is essentially a teleport]]), and, oh yeah, that nifty ability to create microscopic black holes which you use against the epilogue boss.

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'': {{spoiler|Zimmy and Gamma}} communicate with each other telepathically. {{spoiler|Anja Donlan}} has subtle clairvoyance or precognition (or both). The protagonist has powers too. Some characters got sort of "[[Layered World|ether]] sight", mostly evident when someone see the protagonist's wound caused by a ghost.{{spoiler|Zimmy thought such things are her hallucinations.}}

* ''[[Zap]]'' is about a renegade psychic with amnesia.

* ''[[The Cyantian Chronicles]]'' contains a psychic race known as Siracs that can teleport, walk through dreams, read at least surface thoughts, [[Rule of Cool|walk through walls]], and at least one was shown controlling other people.

** Members of the audience do in fact make that argument about Jedi mind tricks when they're at the fridge, but Star Wars is a fairly well-controlled IP and Lucas intentionally tries to keep the good/evil thing simple so its never brought up in canon. Same as no one ever mentions that the Jedi actually did rebel against the elected government in Episode 3 and from a legal standpoint order 66 was more or less the appropriate response to attempted religious coup, dark-side or not.

* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' has shown us a Goblin Psionicist mind reading O-Chul.

** Some of the [[All Trolls Are Different|trolls]] have psychic powers of some sort. Aradia can hear the voices of the dead and summon ghosts, Tavros can commune with animals, Sollux has powerful telekinetic abilities and [[Eye Beams]] in [[Superpower Meltdown|certain unfortunate instances]] (and has "vision twofold", whatever that means), Kanaya can predict the future just like Jade, and Vriska can [[Mind Control]] people and used to have "vision eightfold" which seemed to involve [[X-Ray Vision]]. It's also been stated that the "lower" castes of Trolls happen to be more susceptible to psychic disturbances as well.

* The people with supernatural powers in ''[[Shadownova]]'' are described as Espers. While this implies psychic powers, only a few of them really fit the description of a psychic.

* Brian in ''[[Think Before You Think]]'' can read minds.

* The eponymous gang in ''[[Freak Angels]]'' are all psychic, with each having a different specialty but all being capable of basic telepathy with each other. It's later revealed that they can all teleport if they get an "upgrade", {{spoiler|which involves dying.}}

* ''[[Last Res0rt]]'' has the thought-reading Jigsaw Forte. Qin Xu's {{spoiler|[[Save Scumming]] power}} probably counts too.

 

== Web Original ==

* [[Heartwarming Orphan]] Shandala of ''[[Broken Saints]]'' has abilities of the [[The Empath|empathic variety]], which are later revealed to have been {{spoiler|genetically engineered into her [[Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter|by her biological father]], so that she may better serve the [[Evil Plan]].}}

* ''[[The Salvation War]]'': demons and angels are able to use a form of telepathy based on quantum entanglement. Humans actually learn how to use it against them.

* [[Played for Laughs]] in the [[Shiny Objects Videos]] appropriately titled "Psychic Powers".

* At the [[Super-Hero School]] [[Whateley Universe|Whateley Academy]] there are so many teenagers with psychic abilities of one kind or another that there is an entire Psychic Arts Department full of teachers who ''also'' have psychic abilities. In addition to pretty much every case mentioned above, there are also [[Combo-Platter Powers|Package Deal Psychics]] who have multiple powers (which typically can only be used one at a time): most have ESP, Psionics, and some form of PK ability. Some can even use the PDP talent to simulate the [[Superman]] bit (the [[Flying Brick]]), levitating themselves for flight, using the PK to give themselves a [[Deflector Shields|super-strong field]] about their body, yada yada yada. Living near the academy is a sweet little old lady... who may be the most powerful precog on the planet.

* The [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|aptly-named]] Psi-Experiments from ''[[Darwin's Soldiers|Darwins Soldiers]]'' are capable of using a multitude of psionic powers.

* The [[Academy of Superheroes|Academy of Superheroes Universe]] has many psychics. Telepaths in particular are regulated and trained by a government agency called MetaPsych. Telekinetics, precogs and the rest abound of course.

* Combustion Man seems to be a unique case of Psychic Powers in ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. Unlike other firebenders, he doesn't produce and actual flames from his limbs or mouth, but rather creates what seems to be a focused beam of intense heat coming from his forehead, that causes everything in its path to be incinerated in a massive explosion. The fact that he doesn't speak at all, has a bald head, and an eye-shaped tattoo on his forehead enforces the image of a pyrokineticist. His only weakness are blows to the head which makes it hard for him to focus his heat beam {{spoiler|which ultimately kills him}}.

* The [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|Power of Heart]] on ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers]]'' is a kind of empathy, natch.

* The five heroines in ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'', in addition to their [[Elemental Powers]], have psychic abilities, most of them gained in the early part of season two. Will has technopathy, Irma has suggestion/persuasion, Taranee has telepathy, Cornelia has telekinesis, and Hay Lin has limited precognition via her dreams.

* As mentioned in the page quote, Mentok, The Mind Taker from ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]''. He possesses just about every type of psychic power there is, but always refers to it as "mind taking". He gets a rival in the form of Shado, The Brain Thief, who also refers to his powers strictly as "brain thieving".

* [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|The original comics]] Brother Blood was a cult-leading sorcerer, but the one from the ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' animated series has inborn psychic powers instead. He most notably uses this for mind control, but also has telekinesis, the ability to fire energy blasts, and can enhance his own strength enough to go toe-to-toe with [[Genius Bruiser|Cyborg]]. And Raven has a considerable chunk of [[New Powers as the Plot Demands|the list of psychic powers]]. She just [[Forgot About His Powers|rarely uses them]].

* Shirley from ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' has a variety of psychic powers, including fulgurkinesis, [[Aura Vision]], and telepathy.

* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', all unicorns have [[Mind Over Matter|telekinesis]], and Twilight Sparkle has some limited [[Telepathy|telepathic]] abilities such as altering the minds of Parasprites to not eat food and forcing her good memories onto her friends. She also demonstrated limited pyrokinetic powers on occasion and also has the ability to teleport.

** Pinkie Pie, an earth pony, has Pinkie Sense, which is effectively a form of precognition by reading various twitches and aches along her body.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Stock Super Powers]]

[[Category:Magic and Powers]]