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Puberty Superpower: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"And like all puberty induced superpowers, it comes at night, during a thunderstorm."''|[[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s [http://blip.tv/nostalgia-chick/nostalgia-chick-teen-witch-1284605 review of Teen Witch]}}
The acquisition of superpowers or abilities at the onset of becoming a teenager, usually not below 14 or 15. This is probably to avoid the inherent danger of a child or baby casually using powers in a potentially destructive manner or, if there is one, blowing the [[Masquerade]]. However, more often, it works as a rather transparent metaphor for puberty.
Curiously, few such teens have trouble figuring out [[How Do I Shot Web?]]; apparently, the powers are just instinctive. This doesn't stop [[Professor X Likes Watching Teenagers Sweat|mentor figures]] from putting them through [[Training
Nearly all current "dramatic" superheroes with "natural" superpowers (such as [[Marvel Universe|Marvel's]] mutants) receive them as teenagers. In fact, the trope originated with the creation of ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|the X-Men]]'' in the 1960s.
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* The age is thirteen in ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]''. Any mermaid with her pearl becomes a legal adult in the mermaid world, as well as summoning an apparition of Aqua Regina, who may or may not upgrade her power.
* In ''[[Karin]]'', vampires are born outwardly normal and attend school like anyone else until their vampirism suddenly kicks in and they become weak against sunlight and so forth, which can happen any time up to high school.
* ''[[Omamori Himari]]'': Yuuto's demon-hunting powers were supposed to have awakened when he turned 16. His powers took a little longer to manifest, however.
* [[Haruhi Suzumiya]] gained her reality-warping abilities at age twelve. Itsuki got his [[Psychic Powers]] at the same age, though in his case it wasn't a real example since he got his powers ''because'' of Haruhi subconsciously creating espers, and he just happened to be around the same age as her.
** Alternatively, it's also possible that Haruhi has had the ability to warp reality since birth, but she had never really questioned the way the world works until the age of 12. [[Epileptic Trees|Or perhaps that she has remade the world multiple times in the past, but the protagonists of the main series, being denizens of ''this'' world, are unaware of these prior universes]].
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* Most later versions of [[Superman]], e.g. ''[[Smallville]]'', although original [[Superman]] continuity (including the 1978 movie) has him lifting cars as a baby. Read any Pre-Crisis ''Superboy'' comic featuring "Superbaby" to see [[Goo-Goo Godlike|why most writers don't let babies have super powers]].
* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''
** The X-Men spin-off '[[New Mutants]]' is explicitly this trope; all team members have powers that appeared with puberty, a varying number of years in the past (Xian's the longest ago (she's 19), Rahne's only a month or two before (at 13)).
** ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]'' [[Alternate Continuity|reworks continuity]] to put most of the main characters ''in'' their teens.
** ''[[Generation X]]'' is about a group of powered teens at Xavier's spin-off school.
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== [[Literature]] ==
* Channelers in the ''[[Wheel of Time]]'' get their abilities as teenagers (or early twenties for men).
* Magical education starts in early adolescence (age 11) in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series (a coming of age story.)
** Magical ability, however, is 'generally accepted' as revealing itself at 7 years.
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* Almost every superpower in ''[[Women of the Otherworld]]'' is a puberty superpower. Werewolves first begin to change at the end of puberty; the average age of their first change is 18, although it can happen anytime between 15 and 21. Witches can begin practicing minor spells at a young age, but after their first [[No Periods, Period|period]] can perform a ritual that greatly increases their magical strength. Half-demon powers also start showing up at the beginning of puberty, and increase in strength until their late twenties. In fact, the parallel young adult series focuses on adolescents just coming into their powers.
* The ''[[Firestarter]]'' refers to this. The child protagonist already has the titular powers... but scientists are afraid puberty will make them spike to nuclear levels.
* The twin sisters in ''[[Twitches]]'' discover they have magical powers at age 14. In the the movie, it was curiously changed to 21.
* In Diane Duane's ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series, the Powers most often offer Wizardry to kids in their teens; Nita is considered a bit early, at 13, Kit even earlier, at 12, and Dairine is shockingly young at just 10. The younger a wizard is when they start, the more raw power they have; however, the Powers generally want kids to have as much of a childhood as possible before offering them the magic.
** They also get a smaller burst of power from hormones during puberty, as happens in High Wizardry: Kit has a growth spurt, and Nita is getting a little bit of growth up top.
* In ''Bras and Broomsticks'' by Sarah Mlynowski, Rachel Weinstein's younger sister gets magical powers before her. This is explicitly because of puberty; her sister was an "early bloomer".
* While '''Magyk''' in ''[[Septimus Heap]]'' manifests itself much earlier than puberty, Apprentices achieve full abilities when they turn 14.
* Mostly averted in the novel ''[[
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
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* The special children in ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' develop their powers at the age of 22 years and six months. Past puberty, but still valid as a metaphor for emerging into adulthood.
* Notable exception: Characters in ''[[The 4400]]'' were granted superpowers by {{spoiler|people from the future}} at various ages, from childhood to old age. The one in-show exception is Isabelle, who was conceived and implanted into Lily's body during her abduction, and shows extremely powerful abilities as an infant and even some powers while still in the womb. Indeed, the character of Isabelle never really goes through puberty at all, as she is [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up|aged]] from an infant to adulthood in an instant at the end of the second series.
* Betazoids (a naturally telepathic race) in ''[[Star Trek]]'' gain their mind-reading powers at puberty, except for a few rare exceptions who tend to be mentally unstable from not being able to "tune out" the mental noise around them.
* Averted in ''[[Bewitched]]'', where the [[Witch Species|witch-children]] are shown using magic even as infants. Of course they're [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-mortal]], so their abilities may be atypical.
** Endora brags that Samantha was able to fly on her own by age five, but then adds that Samantha had been precocious for her age.
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** No, it's made clear that hers has manifested before that, the Haitian's just been wiping her memory. It's implied to be how she survived the fire when she was a baby.
* Averted on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' - the titular character could use his magic 'before he could talk'.
* ''[[Spaced]]'': The comic Tim is working on is about an orphaned kid who is exposed to some weird chemical by an amoral 'Doktor' as part of some twisted experiment. Absolutely nothing happened and the Doktor destroyed his research. Then when puberty hit, the dormant chemicals in his bloodstream activated and the orphan kid mutated into the comic's titular Bear.
* Slayers in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' fit this model too. They suddenly become a Slayer around thirteen or fifteen. {{spoiler|Right up until Willow breaks the 'one girl' system}}.
** Not most of them, prior to {{spoiler|Willow's spell at the end of the series}}. Only a few Potential Slayers ever end up being "activated". Most aren't, and if they're not called by the age of 20 or so, they never will be.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[Dungeons
* In both ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' and ''[[Werewolf: The Forsaken]]'', werewolves or other fera/changing breeds generally go through First Change around puberty at the earliest. Depending on circumstances, it can happen significantly later in life, or ''very'' rarely [[Kid Hero|earlier]]. In the ''[[Tabletop Game/New World|New World]] of Darkness'', puberty is also a common time for psychic powers or the more innate forms of thaumaturgy to manifest.
* In ''[[Exalted]]'', children in [[The Empire|the Realm]] are [[Tyke Bomb|raised on the assumption that they might turn into Dragon-Blooded]]. This almost always happens during puberty, so children who do not transform in this way by their 20s are considered "failures" and assigned to lesser roles.
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The alien race Starfire of ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' belongs to is born with powers, but undergoes a metamorphosis during the teen years (with puberty metaphor fully in place) that may grant additional abilities.
* Danny in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' made light that he was gaining "evil puberty" powers once he received the Ghostly Wail. His powers from the beginning onset also reacted to his growing teenage body (example: his nervous emotions towards a girl triggered an unexpected intangibility).
* Parodied [[Refuge in Audacity|to hell in back]] in ''[[Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law]]'', where Peanut gaining superpowers is used [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|as a stand-in for puberty]]. He's embarrassed by [[Raging Stiffie|his solar shield manifesting during a meeting]], is caught [[A Date with Rosie Palms|shooting off his power bands to pictures of supervillains in the bathroom]], and nervously asks [[Superfriends|Black Vulcan]] about [[Their First Time|his first time facing off against a bad guy]].
* {{spoiler|Inverted}} in ''[[Transformers Animated]]''. {{spoiler|Sari realizing her robot heritage and upgrading herself with the Allspark key actually ''causes'' her to go through puberty.}} It's never really explained how this works, nor is the disorienting nature of {{spoiler|going from eight to a teenager in an instance}} addressed in any way.
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[[Category:Transformation Causes]]
[[Category:Superhero Tropes]]
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