Story-Breaker Power: Difference between revisions

This is a common problem for sequels of works that end with the protagonist unlocking their full power. Once they get [[Super Weight|too much power]] they win the [[Superpower Lottery]] and become [[Physical God|godlike]] or worse, ''[[God Mode Sue|Suelike]]''. On the other hand, a simple or limited power can lead to viewers [[Fridge Logic|asking]] "[[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?|Why doesn't he just]] use his power of X to do Y and stop the bad guy/get the [[MacGuffin]]?". The second easiest way to tell if this trope is in effect is when the writer resorts to handing the protagonist the [[Idiot Ball]] and [[Forgot About His Powers]] to keep the character from using their powers in a straightforward way. The easiest way of all is when it turns out that the author has resorted to [[Amnesiac God|actual amnesia]] to keep the character from solving everything in five minutes.

 

 

The abilities most likely to be Story-Breaker Powers without careful use are:

** Fugo was actually [[Put on a Bus]] for this very reason. His Stand Purple Haze produced a toxin that destroyed every living organism that came in contact with it. Araki eventually decided to bench him because it became too difficult to design fights with Fugo around.

*** It is not that Purple Haze was actually ''overpowered'' by the standard of this story. The entirety of Part 4, except the final fight, was built around the assumption that the protagonists could kick anyone's ass in close combat (Jotaro even {{spoiler|retained his [[Time Stands Still]] power after the final battle of Part 3}}), and they still were severely challenged. The Purple Haze was just boring - either you were in range and you instantly died, or you weren't, and so it was never really useful for solving the situation.

** Wasn't the reason given that since [[Physical God|Alastor]] consumes massive amounts of energy, something the [[Big Bad]] had just flooded the city with, he now had another source of it other than his Flame Haze's.

** The Snake of the Festival is the God of ''Creation'', and ''he'' seems to have no problems showing off: infinite power, immunity to flame, [[Prehensile Hair]], and a sword that {{spoiler|causes anyone who tries blocking it to sustain heavy injuries (Blutsager)}}. Plus the whole "Creator" bit.

* The ending of ''[[Mai-HiME]]'' is made of these, complete with {{spoiler|[[Artificial Human|Miyu]] [[Ass Pull|pulling powers out of her ass]] until she cracks the barrier to Fuuka by essentially smashing it with a really big mallet, the resurrection of everyone who had died at that point up to and including the [[Big Bad]] of the first half of the series, Yuuichi [[Took a Level In Badass|taking a couple hundred levels in badass]], and finally ending with [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|HiME Can Breathe In Space]].}}

** One cannot forget the new protagonist of Force, Tohma. He starts out rather basic, for this series anyway, but then {{spoiler|he becomes fully infected and is turned into a [[Divide by Zero|Zero Divider]], [[Cursed with Awesome|a person who can cause everyone around him to fall unconscious and possibly die, doing so completely subconsciously.]].}}

* Accelerator of ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' won the [[Superpower Lottery]] with the ability to change the vectors of anything, as in he's immune to nukes if he wants to be and could take out an entire army by himself if he didn't get tired while slaughtering everyone. {{spoiler|Then the story takes the time to illustrate that he's not a complete amoral psychopath so they can make him into a hero. Naturally, after getting a [[Morality Pet]] he makes an (anti-)[[Heroic Sacrifice]] that makes him far less brokenly powerful so [[Drama-Preserving Handicap|he can be a hero fighting at a disadvantage.]] Later in the novels since vol.13 he has started to evolve his powers and vol.15 he had a power "awakening" killing the second Level 5 in the process giving him new levels of badass}}.

** Applies to the [[Big Bad]] of the story, Sosuke Aizen as well, whose special ability is complete control over the senses of other people, to the point were they cannot escape his illusions even if they know something's wrong. On top of that, the sheer magnitude of his spiritual pressure serves to make him extremely formidable even without using it. It works on anyone who has seen his sword's release, which is ''everyone'' of considerable power in Soul Society, and as a result it's impossible for any of them to beat him and why [[The Hero|Ichigo]] was effectively the only one who stood a chance. {{spoiler|By the time Aizen actually fights Ichigo, [[Idiot Ball|he doesn't even]] [[Forgot About His Powers|use his powers]] anyways, because both of them have several other story-breaker powers.}}

** Yamamoto, with just his primary release, could be able to {{spoiler|kill every single arrancar, shinigami, and vizard present, plus Aizen.}} Inevitably this leads to {{spoiler|his sword getting sealed eventually resulting in his defeat, though even then he just casually goes about beating up the arrancar who sealed his power with his bare hands. Reminder: this particular arrancar was able to not only fight evenly with the likes of Urahara with his abilities sealed, but also overpower Ukitake, one of the other cemented badasses of the series (albeit by surprise)}}.

** Ichigo himself after {{spoiler|his training in Dangai. He was strong enough to easily beat Aizen when Aizen was in his upgraded form thanks to the Hogyoku. No wonder he had to lose his powers or else every other conflict in the story would be Ichigo curbstomping his opponent. It still wasn't enough to kill Aizen who currently has a [[Nigh Invulnerability]] status.}}

* The ''[[Digimon]]'' franchise:

* ''[[Tenchi Muyo!|Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki]]:'' {{spoiler|Tenchi and Z, whose introduced later, possess powers from something that's even more powerful than ''the Goddesses that made the universe''. Some feats that are probably the bottom of the list of what they can do: Z destroyed half of the Earth and Moon in an instant (literally; the mantle and core of the Earth was visible afterwords) without exerting any visible effort, Tenchi traveled to Saturn from Earth within an instant (a physical impossibility as light is nowhere that fast), Tenchi stopped an ''anti-planet'' weapon single-handedly and Tenchi's powers going out of control as he began becoming the entity that created said goddesses caused a dimensional quake crossing all 11 dimensions and into the realm of the goddesses. Oh, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|they can breathe and talk in space with no trouble]].}}

** Even ''before'' the feats of the 3rd OVA, the 2nd has Tenchi effortlessly not only escaping from inside the event horizon of a black hole, he did this not by moving faster than light or teleportation, but by ''sheer brute force'', as he ''destroyed the black hole in the process''.

** Recently, a potential weakpoint of his has been revealed: none of his alternate selves encountered the Vongola Boxes, leaving him unaware of their powers, and killing him in one timeline kills him in all of them since he is synchronized with all of his alternate versions.

* Shinigami in ''[[Soul Eater]]''. He started Shibusen to have humans fight kishin because he could not. If he had been freed from Death City when Asura was, the main cast would have had nothing to do for the last forty-odd chapters. As it is, he's kept effectively useless (combat-wise at the very least) [[Barrier Maiden|within]] Death City while the students and his beleaguered staff do the dirty work for him. Aside from the one fight when Asura was inside the city, all we get is tantalising hints via flashbacks and his son, of what this grim reaper's capable of.

** {{spoiler|Itachi's version of Susano'o.}} Much like Giorno's power it can deflect ''any'' attack and permanently seal anyone with a single one of its own, with the only theoretical drawback being how physically taxing it is to use. {{spoiler|Now that he's a zombie, with complete control over his own body and limitless stamina, [[God Mode Sue|this is no longer a problem.]]}}

** {{spoiler|Shisui's eye}} could [[Mind Control]] apparently anyone without them even knowing about it (although other people know when it's in use), albeit with a limit to how often, which was only used one or two times before being destroyed.

** And then there's {{spoiler|the real Madara, who as an Edo Tensei zombie, cannot be killed, on top of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, has the Rinnegan which he uses to [[Energy Absorption|absorb all chakra based attacks]], [[Green Thumb|Mokuton]] which includes the ability to make indistinguishable clones that have all his powers and even regenerate like he does, and can [[Colony Drop|summon giant fucking meteors]].}}

** {{spoiler|Tobi's Six Paths appeared to be this, since they were the Edo Tensei zombies of the dead Jinchuriki that had their tailed beasts resealed in them and a Sharingan, Rinnegan combo to let Tobi combine their attacks and predict any attempts made to attack them, it was subverted when Killer Bee and Naruto managed to kick their asses with a bit of help from Kakashi and Guy.}}

* In [[Yu Yu Hakusho]] Raizen is stated to have once been the most powerful demon in the entire series. His power was so great that the other Two Kings of Demon World could be easily defeated if he was currently in his prime. What is preventing Raizen from using this power? He's starving. Raizen's power comes from eating human flesh and he gave up the practice hundreds of years ago. Notably on his '''death bed''' Raizen still has S class demon power on par with Yusuke's current powers who as far as S class demons are concerned is a runt in the litter.

** For perspective Kurama talks about how there are some demons that are so powerful that even the S Class ranking (the highest level of demon) doesn't properly describe their power level, these kind of demons are more accurately described as gods rather than demons. Raizen is said by everyone who knew him in his prime as the most powerful demon that had ever lived and that his power was so great that his enemies would "piss their pants" if they saw him in action. Definitely counts as story breaking power.

*** Several characters have the ability to use [[Blinded by the Light|Solar Flare]] and [[Deadly Disc|Destructo Disc]], but they never think to use them together. However, after Frieza, it doesn't work because the main villains can [[From a Single Cell|regenerate]].

** The devil Akkuman emits waves that amplify every evil or impure thought, causing even saintly people to ''explode from within''. He was defeated only because Goku has [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|a totally pure heart]] and could not be affected. Unsurprisingly, he never appeared again after the story arc featuring him.

** He ''did'' actually help out in ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]'' (where, with a bit of magical assistance, he fought the [[Big Bad]], who had already absorbed the titular Infinite Earths, to a standstill) and in ''[[Blackest Night]]'' (pity the [[Big Bad]] didn't have a soul).

* One of the longest-standing examples in [[Marvel Comics]] is Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Sue Richards of the ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]''. A [[Reality Warper]] on a cosmic scale, he has been largely [[Comic Book Time|kept as a child for decades]] specifically because it has been demonstrated that his mature power levels would be so far off the scale that he would become virtually unusable as a character.

* [[X-Men|Professor Charles Xavier]] is the most powerful psychic in the world. By rights, any problems the X-Men face should be dealt with at, literally, the speed of thought. As a result, most of the major plotlines the team faces start with either a [[Deus Exit Machina]] or a lecture on [[Mind Over Manners]]. That or some kind of suitable [[Poke in the Third Eye|anti-telepathy gadget]] has to be brought in to explain why he cannot do anything.

* Loki, from ''[[The Mighty Thor]]'', when you think about it. He's only a [[Squishy Wizard]] by ''Asgardian'' standards (note: in Asgard, the kids are all as strong as Spider-man, for comparison). So, in addition to vast magical power (he is only listed as surpassed by Odin and perhaps Karnilla, another Thor character, so his exact magical abilites are unknown in comparison to someone like Dr. Strange or the [[Scarlet Witch]]), Loki is also super strong, super durable, experienced in combat, a genius (though this aspect is limited by his [[Inferiority Superiority Complex]], [[Unfavorite]]-ness, and need to defeat Thor no matter what), and is so much of [[Consummate Liar]] that he has tricked Mephisto (aka the devil), [[Norman Osborn]], [[Doctor Doom]], Odin, and the heroes of Earth several times over. At least some of these traits need nerfing to keep the story alive.

* [[Black Dude Dies First|Ambrose Chase]] from ''[[Planetary]]'' had concentration-based [[Reality Warper]] powers that allowed him to alter physics at will in a small radius around himself. Barring taking him completely by surprise (like a particular villain did by battling him in a universe that ran on [[Horror Tropes]] and using a bullet of [[Applied Phlebotinum]], hence the past tense), he was practically unkillable. {{spoiler|It turns out it didn't take; Chase used his power to freeze his own injury and trap himself in a pocket dimension until the others could extract and rescue him.}}

* In [[Irredeemable]] it turns out {{spoiler|the Plutonian}} is literally this personified and the people who know have (reasonably) decided that the knowledge of the full extent of power must at all costs be kept from them so to stop [[Go Mad From the Revelation]] and/or the character becoming a [[Game Breaker]] ''in-comic''. The power being absolute-level [[Reality Warper|manipulation of reality]], that's a good idea.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* Samantha from ''[[Bewitched]]'' and Jeannie from ''[[I Dream of Jeannie]]''. Their powers were pretty much "do anything by wiggling your nose/bobbing your head". If it weren't for the [[Useless Superpowers|random nature]] of their powers and otherworldly relatives, Darren and Major Tony would lead completely idyllic and boring lives.

** Another interpretation is that both shows were allegories for [[Stay in the Kitchen]] - a woman is happiest living a normal life with her man, and all that power she has just screws things up.

* A fifth season episode of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' introduced a character with [[Reality Warper]] powers resulting from implausible circumstances (which also raised all sorts of questions), and who was obviously more powerful than any other character seen up to that point, even making the primary villain ''[[Satan]]'' seem like a joke by comparison. Having probably realized this, the writers quickly [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|abandoned the character]] by writing him out at the end of his first appearance.

* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' has Peter Petrelli, a perfect example of a character that's too powerful, as he can gain anyone's power ''simply by being near them''. Once he has Hiro's teleportation/time travel power, he can have any power that exists. If he wants Linderman's healing power? He can just go back to when Linderman was alive and get it. Et cetera. In season 2 it was necessary to give him amnesia to overcome this, and in season 3 he actually lost his powers for a handful of episodes. Of course, the fact that he has the [[Idiot Ball]] glued to his hands also serves the plot pretty well.

** Hiro himself is an example of a power that's so powerful the show has to have him constantly not use it like he should. In fact, both Hiro and Peter are fond of [[Deus Exit Machina]] to cover the times their respective [[Idiot Ball]] isn't big enough.

** Also worth noting on ''Smallville'' is that [[Kryptonite Is Everywhere]], and almost everyone worth fighting has it, sometimes in their very bodies where it can't be conveniently knocked away; thus vastly-powerful-and-constantly-increasing Clark can often be overpowered by relatively wimpy foes.

* Parodied in ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'', where Angel Summoner and the BMX Bandit form a mismatched duo. Angel Summoner can summon angels, which can accomplish essentially anything; BMX Bandit has... BMX skills, making him feel like a permanent third wheel. On one mission Angel Summoner allows BMX Bandit to fight alone, while secretly summoning invisible angels to help him.

** Earlier in season one, Angel manages to acquire the Gem of Amarra, a mystical ring described as the equivalent to the Holy Grail for vampires, from Spike in a [[Crossover]] episode from [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]. This artifact would grant the vampire wearer increased abilities and complete invulnerability to all their usual weaknesses, as demonstrated by [[Torture Technician|Marcus]] earlier when he shrugs off a bow-to-the-heart from Oz and the ability to walk in direct sunlight without erupting in flames. At the end of the episode Angel, who had remained doubtful about keeping the ring or not, decided to destroy it, understanding that if he kept the ring he would be in danger of forgetting about his mission; while the Gem would allow Angel to help people in daylight, they already had help from the rest of the world, and it was his duty to protect those in the dark who could not ask for help themselves, but in reality there was no good reason to get rid of it besides allowing it to make the show and Angel's fights [[Immortal Hero|a lot less suspenseful]].

* Averted/played with in the fifth season of ''[[Babylon 5]]:'' Although [[Touched by Vorlons|Lyta]] can mind-control several dozens of people at the same time, there is ''one'' person she can ''not'' control. {{spoiler|It's Sheridan, who was also [[Touched by Vorlons]].}}

* While we're on the subject of Kamen Rider, we have [[Kamen Rider Decade|Decade]]. [[Big Bad]] monsters from previous series iterations? [[Curb Stomp Battle|Taken care of in no time flat.]] Still in a tight spot? Turn on your [[Super Mode]] and [[Summon Magic|summon a previous rider clone for a synchronized double attack.]] Baddie still not finished yet? [[Body Horror|Turn that ally into a useful weapon or vehicle]] to blow him away. Going up against giants and spaceships? [[Serial Escalation|Merge with J and turn everyone else into a card to kick them all to death.]] Just another day for a [[Catch Phrase|passing-through Kamen Rider.]]

* [[Kamen Rider Kabuto]]'s [[Up to Eleven|Hyper]] [[Super Speed|Clock Up]] allows him to move faster than light, and travel through time and alternate dimensions. On top of Kabuto being [[The Ace]]. However, [[Power Incontinence|he does not appear to have full control over its more powerful functions]], it will sometimes send him to random places of its own accord, his most powerful attack cannot be used while it is active, and some of his enemies have [[Time Stands Still|powers which can counter it]].

== Tabletop Games ==

* If you try making a [[Super Speed|super-speedster]] in a tabletop RPG like ''[[Champions]]'', you'll quickly discover that you have to do it by buying the abilities the super-speedster actually uses, not the abilities the comic claims he has, since the latter is just too powerful (and therefore too expensive).

** Worse, repeatedly casting the "Love's Pain" spell (someone the target loves takes damage, cannot be stopped) on a [[Mook]] who you have given [[Fake Memories]] of loving your enemy...

** Hypothetically, a well-prepared [[Dungeon Master]] can counter all of these by having equally hyped-up enemies with appropriate countermeasures in place. Unfortunately, this not only pits the DM's foresight against the collective ingenuity of the players, and is little more than shooting down any possible solution the players come up with other than "big epic battle", it also pits the DM's memory against the collective output of Wizards of the Coast... forgot to give your big bad dragon a countermeasure to ''shivering touch''? Ooops.

* The Primarchs and the God-Emperor in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' are obscenely powerful even for the setting (the first action of Leman Russ after birth was to ''climb out of a volcano'', and later in life all of them casually crushed [[Physical God|Greater Daemons]]), and if they were still around it would devastate the [[Status Quo Is God]] so beloved by the writers. Hence they have all, in one way or another, been out of action for ten thousand years, with the Emperor immobilised (possibly dead) and directing the Astronomicon, and the Primarchs either dead, incapacitated, lost, or in the case of the surviving Traitor Primarchs simply content to sit in the [[Negative Space Wedgie|Eye of Terror]]. There is a very good reasons for this, as the one time a Primarch (Angron) decided to do something, he conquered approximately ''seventy sectors'' before the Imperium could direct a large enough force against him.

** There are rules for the Primarchs, but they can only be used in 5000 point or higher games. Said rules cause them to take up about one third of that total.

{{quote|'''Harry:''' Billy, this whole section DISTURBS me. I'm making this face at you. Like, the one in the picture [http://i54.tinypic.com/2iia90o.png right here]. }}

 

** Kogasa Tatara's power to surprise people would seem to be [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|the exact opposite of this trope]], except that after she managed to {{spoiler|surprise ''the player'' by re-appearing as an Extra Stage midboss, with the required massive power boost}}, she could potentially do anything she wanted if it was simultaneously surprising enough.

** It is telling, that Flandre Scarlet, whose power,[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|"Destruction of anything and everything",]] allows her to annihilate things with a mere thought is so far down on the list.

* Shiki in ''[[Tsukihime]]'' kills things in one hit. Period. No matter what, if you have a concept of death, he can kill you. The limiter factor he has during the story is A. no one tells him what he needs to know, B. he thinks killing is wrong, C. initially he can't fight properly unless put in Nanaya mode, D. overuse will implode his mind since a human mind can not continously perceive death. Also E. has a nasty scar that likes bleeding and making him pass out. All of these (except for D) are essentially dealt with by the end of the story, so the sequels so far have given him opponents that he ''can't'' [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|simply kill, even if he could beat them.]] Len? Doesn't want to. [[Melty Blood|Wallachia?]] Exists as a unique repeating phenomenon. Since they've done away with them, one has to wonder what kind of opponents he can really have in [[Vaporware|Tsukihime 2.]]

** His power does have some limits, as there are a handful of beings that his eyes can't kill, like Wallachia, who exists as a phenomenon (basically, it'd be like killing the wind. You... can't really do that), [[Our Vampires Are Different|Arcueid]], who literally is incapable of dying at night time (usually), and [[Eldritch Abomination|ORT]], who... doesn't have a Gaian concept of death because it comes from Mercury...

== Web Original ==

* Tennyo, in the [[Whateley Universe]], is so powerful that in her battle at Christmas she ''ripped a hole in space and time'' and destroyed an unkillable thirty-foot regenerating monster. Plus, she may be the strongest regenerator on the planet. Other authors have had to come up with reasons why she isn't saving the day in ''their'' stories when she's around. Apparently, the [[Idiot Ball]] is not allowed as an excuse. So far.

** In fact, she has SEVERE trouble in the team tactics class, as she has to dial herself down, and in fact now has a Rad-counter bracelet to check herself.

** In "Ayla and the Great Shoulder Angel Conspiracy", the authors figured out how to use her backstory to give her a [[Heroic BSOD]] and totally take her out of the game.