Super Serum: Difference between revisions

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Naruto]]'': Although his abilities don't center around them, Chouji's food pills can increase his chakra supply dramatically, allowing him to use more powerful attacks more often. These leave him burnt out afterwards at best, in critical condition at worst.

** As do Kiba and Akamaru's battle pills, which had been mostly abandoned by the ninja corps due to the side effect of ''not being able to move for three days'' after a ten-minute dose.

** [[Hourman]] got his powers from the "miraculous vitamin" Miraclo, which gave those who took it superhuman strength and speed for exactly one hour. Miraclo turned out to be addictive, and both the Golden Age Hourman and his son who [[Legacy Character|took up his mantle]] had to fight the addiction. (He currently takes a non-addictive "homeopathic" version of Miraclo.)

** [[Batman]] villain Bane (who also appeared in ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'') got his superhuman strength from Venom, a steroid-like chemical. In a [[Continuity Nod]], it later appears in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' as a street drug and future-Bane has become a wheelchair-bound invalid due to the damage a lifetime of Venom use wrought on his body. In the comics, he also suffered severe problems from continued Venom use, but eventually got himself clean and now relies solely on his (considerable) natural strength.

** Johnny Quick, The [[Mirror Universe]] [[Evil Twin]] of the [[Flash]], uses an extract of his [[Legacy Character|predecessor's]] ''blood'' to give him super-speed powers.

** B'Wana Beast used a mystic elixir from somewhere in Africa, though his 'base' was at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. His mask-slash-helmet allowed him to control animals, though the elixir allowed him to [[Biological Mashup|fuse two animals into one]]... which he could control with the helmet.

* One of the ongoing plot threads in ''[[Empire]]'' centers around discovering the secret of the production of Eucharist, a highly addictive substance that supercharges the abilities of those who take it. People under its influence can dodge bullets, and the high is described as being "[[Better Than Sex]]."

* [[Daniel Clowes]] [[Captain America (comics)]] parody "The Battlin' American" has horrible addiction problems requiring him to take regular doses of the super serum. {{spoiler|The street thugs who steal it from him find this out the hard way.}}

 

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Captain Underpants]]'' didn't have superpowers initially, but gained them after drinking some literal Super Serum off of an alien spaceship in book three. This simply complicated things further, naturally.

** Not entirely. [[FTL Travel]] is enabled by the Holtzmann generator and is possible without spice, but you're running the risk of ending up inside a star or a planet 1 out of 5 times. It's the above-mentioned precognition that allows the Nagigators to plot a safe course through space.

* ''[[The 39 Clues]]'' series is all about gathering 39 ingredients, or "Clues", to {{spoiler|create a Super Serum that gives you the abilities of each of the four "branches" of the family searching for it - the cunning of the Lucians, the intelligence of the Ekaterinas, the strength of the Tomas, and the artistic talent of the Janus}} - feasibly allowing you to rule the world. These Clues include all kinds of ingredients, from harmless ones you can find in a grocery store such as {{spoiler|honey, salt, and mint}} to highly toxic substances like {{spoiler|mercury, lead, and king cobra venom}}.

== Video Games ==

* The video game ''[[Galerians]]'' was centred around a [[Tyke Bomb|boy]] named Rion, who had powerful latent psychic abilities he needed to consume drugs to use. His addiction caused him to waste away slowly.

** It actually does retain the semi-scientific stance; the only significant change between the original game and Crisis Core (for example) is that Jenova cells are ''not'' injected as a matter of course. The mako energy process was also changed from "showered with" to "infused with". It doesn't necessarily make the SOLDIER operative super-strong, but it does allow them to do things that normal humans are not capable of (jumping ''really'' high, summoning magic without materia, etc).

*** And the Jenova cells are a normal part of the procedure. The only exception I can think of is Weiss of Deepground. [[Super Strength]] is also pretty much standard, though third class operatives aren't that much stronger than the average fighter. Not sure where in the games (or [[Advent Children|the movie]] the "magic without materia" thing comes from. The closest is Zack being able to call up summons without the materia being equipped.

* [[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'s Super Soldiers get their superhuman abilities from being injected with a strain of [[The Virus]] that has beneficial properties and none of the downsides.

* Runescape has the Combat Potion made from Harralander herbs which can improve your stregth and reflexes but most of all the herb in general has energy stimulating properties.

* ''[[Deus Ex]]'' has "physiopharmaceutical" augmentation for the Men in Black, which among others makes them seriously [[Made of Iron]].

* In ''[[Freedom Force]]'', the Domain's secret weapon is Energy X, which they have used to conquer all dimensions except this one. In order to have some fun, Lord Dominion decides to give Energy X canisters to Earth's worst criminals and watch them tear apart the planet. An alien named Mentor steals the ship containing the canisters and takes it to Earth, hoping to give it to good people to defend themselves and the others. The ship is shot down in orbit, and the canisters fall all over Patriot City and other parts of the world (Bullet is exposed all the way in Vietnam). Both good and bad people get hit with Energy X and transformed into superheroes and supervillains, respectively. Apparently, a super's blood can also act as super-serum, as Liberty Lad gets his powers from a transfusion of Minuteman's blood.

* An explosion of "meta-gas" during a gang feud on ''[[Static Shock]]'' gave Static and a bunch of other troubled teenagers in Dakota different powers. One [[Teen Genius]] [[Monster of the Week]] learned how to control it, and could grant himself different short-term powers through short-term exposure.

* Parodied in the classic [[Looney Tunes|Bugs Bunny]] [[Wartime Cartoon]] "Super-Rabbit", among other places.

** The movie implies that the ability to get super-strength from spinach was a family trait. In the original comics, the Sea Witch ''does'' try it on Alice the Goon. It's uncertain if it actually worked, partly because Popeye added milk to his spinach diet to make himself even stronger and {{spoiler|partly because the Goon [[Hilarity Ensues|fell in love with Wimpy]] shortly after, leading the way to her sympathizing with Popeye and the gang. The last fight she has with Popeye breaks up rather quickly, as he sees the Goon has a child and won't hit a mother.}}

** There actually was one episode where after Bluto starts sobbing about how he Popeye always beats him up, Popeye responds by feeding Bluto some of his spinach, causing Bluto to power up, and he immediately launches into a song about what a great guy Popeye is, while pausing to clobber him at every pause in the Melody.

== Real Life ==

* In their origins, steroids were looked as if they were this: some magic serum that gave new soldiers muscles with no training whatsoever.

* Scientists have actually developed a reliable supersoldier serum. However, it [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45890174/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/scientists-make-supersoldier-ants/#.TxCQ4G-vLTo only works on ants].

* The [[Nazis With Gnarly Weapons|German military]] from 1938 throughout [[World War Two]] used liberally a compound of the dreaded methamphetamine (then known as [http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,354606,00.html Pervitin]), under the hope it would give the soldiers and most importantly airmen superhuman performance. While the effects of meth as an insanely strong stimulant are known, the mild concentration used back then led the troopers to stay awake for weeks, raise themselves from total exhaustion, [[Deconstructed Trope|but it did not grant]] ''super''human powers.