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Shapeshifter Mode Lock: Difference between revisions
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* A memorable example in ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'' came when the [[Big Bad]] sent a shapeshifting demon to kill Elaine. The demon in question killed her father and took his form to get close to her. {{spoiler|After Elaine escaped, the Big Bad decided to stop said demon from interfering by trapping it in that form permanently. It literally begged for death at the end, as the man's memories started to overwhelm it.}}
** {{spoiler|Context is necessary to really appreciate the "begged for death" bit: It is immortal to the extent it had already outlived the ''death of a previous universe.'' There's no indication ANYTHING can give it release.}}
* In ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'', Courier [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shapeshifted]] into a woman to make an appointment with Mr. Sinister, who was posing as an obstetrician. Realizing he was set up, Sinister injected "her" with a destabilizing agent, the only antidote for which was to take away her powers completely. [[
** Courier's not the only X-character to suffer this. Nearly any character with a civilian form and a combat form will find him/herself stuck in powered-up mode. Colossus has been trapped in metal form, Iceman in ice form, Lifeguard in [[Half-Human Hybrid|half Shi'ar form]], Shadowcat as intangible (not shapeshifter but worth mention), Wolfsbane as at least part wolf, and so on.
* Parodied by the ''[[She Hulk]]'' graphic novel. Jennifer is told by Reed Richards that he has bad news: She's stuck as She-Hulk forever and can never change back into regular human Jennifer. After a [[Beat Panel]], She-Hulk inquired "So what's this bad news"? It [[Retcon|turned out]] that Reed was lying anyway since he's a dick.
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== Fan Works ==
* In ''[[With Strings Attached]]'', it happens to George thanks to a flaw in the ring that normally allows him to [[Voluntary Shapeshifter|shape change at will]]. He gets stuck as a pigeon in New Zork and is ''not'' happy about it; he uses his ring more cautiously for a time after it happens.
* Because of the multiple shape-changers that make up the [[Love Dodecahedron]] at the heart of its plot, most of whom are looking for cures for their conditions, this is a persistent theme/device in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' fanfiction, in contexts that range from light farce to horror.
==
* Occurs in ''[[The Secret of Kells]]''. After {{spoiler|allowing Crom Cruach to hurt her so she can let Brendan sneak past safely, [[Our Werewolves Are Different|Aisling is stuck in her white wolf form]], unable to speak to Brendan anymore. In the [[Distant Finale]] of the movie, however, we ''briefly'' see her in her human appearance, implying the lock is starting to wear off, or possibly already has.}}
* In ''[[The Return of Hanuman]]'', one of the conditions for Hanuman to be reincarnated as a human on Earth is that when he turns back into the original Hanuman, he could not turn back into human form.
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** Also used more conventionally within the series: Angua frequently worries about the psychological effects of becoming a wolf, fearing that if she stays in wolf form too long, she will forget how to be human.
** Shown with her father, in particular, who is slowly forgetting how to be human. Mentioned also that the human/reasoning side becomes less powerful the longer they're in Werewolf form, while the senses fade in human form.
** Angua becomes mode-locked in wolf form while directly exposed to the light of the full moon. A curtain is shown to prevent this, but she makes a comment about having to sleep in a dog basket for a week every month, suggesting that keeping the curtains closed might not work all the time.
** Borrowing can also cause this, in a way; if a witch borrows an animal's mind and stays there for too long, she'll forget she was ever human and it'll take a powerful witch to bring her back.
* An unusual variation occurs in the ''[[Switchers]]'' series. The titular shapeshifters [[Growing Up Sucks|lose their powers at 15]] (which is to say, Midnight on the morning of their fifteenth birthday) and are stuck as whatever they happen to be at the time. This issue is directly and pointedly addressed in the second book, appropriately entitled ''Midnight's Choice''.
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* The title villain of ''[[IT]]'' by [[Stephen King]] can be forced into one form if several people all think of it that way at once. {{spoiler|Like a [[Giant Spider]].}}
* There's a German children's book (main character's named Agathe) which involves witches, shapeshifting into cats and a "stay-a-cat-powder".
* In [[Larry Niven]]'s ''[[The Magic Goes Away]]'' series, werebeasts become mode-locked whenever the [[mana]] runs out (but recover their power if they enter another mana-rich area).
** In ''What Good is a Glass Dagger?'', a werewolf is surprised to learn that {{Spoiler|he reverts to wolf-shape in the absence of mana, losing the human part of his intelligence in the process. This has huge implications for his descendants.}}
** ''The Lion in His Attic'' strongly implies that the above applies to all werebeasts.
== Live-Action TV ==
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== Myths and Religion ==
* Some variations of the [[Selkies and Wereseals|selkie]] myth have it that they can only go upon land a certain number of times before suffering permanent Mode Lock (either as a seal or human depending on what they were at the time).
** Another variation is for a human to steal a selkie's skin in order to Mode Lock [[Abduction Is Love|her]] in human form.
* Another shapeshifter myth: the Margotines are fey white cats that can change into pretty human females — or can confer a human female the power to turn into a white cat. However, if the woman is wounded while in this form, she can no longer change back to her true shape — and the Margotine cannot turn into a human any longer either.
* In [[Norse Mythology]] Loki suffered a temporary Shapeshifter Mode Lock in form of a mare, before giving birth to the Sleipnir. [[It Makes Sense in Context]].
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