Magic Feather: Difference between revisions

In comic books, a retooled [[Super-Hero Origin]] sometimes shifts a character's gimmicky power to being innate, with lampshading that the famous prop or incantation was simply a focus.

 

 

Sister trope of [[All That Glitters]] and [[Motivational Lie]]. Compare [[It's the Journey That Counts]]. Not to be confused with [[Super Mario World (video game)|Mario's flying cape item.]]

 

== Advertising ==

* In [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=govyq9f2djo this] ''[[SSX]]'' 2012 commercial, a jaded snowboarder is given a sacred amulet that takes him on a crazy adventure. Afterwards:

 

 

* In a first-season episode of ''[[Ranma ½]]'', Nabiki gives aspirin to Ryoga in the middle of his first on-screen challenge fight with Ranma, and tells him that they're basically instant steroids. Ryoga, who is not the sharpest spoon in the drawer, believes her and upon taking them gets a psychosomatic boost to his already-monstrous strength, allowing him to pull telephone poles from the ground simply because he thought he was on steroids (which don't even work that way).

** In a much later episode, Happosai, ticked off at Ranma interfering with his [[Panty Thief|undie raids]], takes Kuno and offers him "Speed of Light elixir", which he claims will make him superfast. It turns him into a [[Lethal Joke Character]], even upgrading his [[Razor Wind]] attacks, but it's implicitly at least as much due to the [[Training from Hell]] Happosai put him through (running into ''occupied'' women's bathing areas, locker rooms, and other places where they were nude, while trying to evade their attacks and survive being beaten to a pulp). Said "elixir" is revealed to actually be tap water and [[Squick|the scrapings from under Happosai's fingernails]].

* [[Depending on the Writer|Some writers]] have stated that [[Zatanna]]'s speaking spells backwards routine is just a focusing technique and that she can cast spells without using it (she uses this justification when she takes down the supervillain Magenta while gagged in an issue of ''[[Wonder Woman]]'', for instance). However, current canon says the backwards words ''are'' necessary, but they need not be spoken (writing them will work, for instance).

* ''[[PS238]]'' had Tyler instructed by Revenant via earphone on how to "go through the motions" of flying a VTOL plane supposedly running on autopilot, to show confidence before the other kids, up to the point where he was hovering with open door. And once the super-kids left, he was [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2016-05-20/ notified] that the autopilot is about to (remotely) activate for landing.

 

== Film ==

* The [[Trope Namer]] is ''[[Dumbo]]'' and, of course, its magic crow feather which was claimed that it could make Dumbo fly. Naturally, during the climax, Dumbo discovers that he was able to fly even without the feather.

* Happens in the second ''[[Ice Age]]'' movie, to an extent: Diego, the saber-toothed tiger, has a fear of water, but he needs to swim to save his friend. Said friend told him earlier that "Most animals can swim as babies," and he uses this to go after him. Once saved, the friend tells him baby tigers can't swim; he left that part out.

* Parodied in The [[SpongeBob SquarePants]] [[The Movie|movie]], Princess Mindy turns Spongebob and Patrick into "men" with seaweed mustaches with her "mermaid magic", or so che claims, which are then ripped off later by the villain. In typical manner, they still manage to make it through.

* In ''[[Space Jam]]'', Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan or able to rally the TuneSquad by giving them a bottle said to be filled with "Michael's Secret Stuff," a special formula Mike uses (really just tap water). When the Monstars trample them in the last bit, Daffy tries to get more and Jordan tells them they had it in them the whole time. It...doesn't work out as well.