This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A character's powers are useless, but the plot contrives to make them useful anyway.

  • Straight: Amazing Girl's superpower is to create puddles. Fortunately, the plot makes sure that all of Emperor Evulz' guards are prone to slipping and hitting their heads.
  • Exaggerated: Amazing Girl has the power of making the furniture clash with the wall. Fortunately, Emperor Evulz is an interior decorator with a frail heart.
  • Justified: Amazing Girl knows her powers are pretty useless but still wants to do some good, so she seeks out villains who are prone to slipping.
  • Inverted: Kryptonite Is Everywhere
  • Subverted: Amazing Girl creates a few puddles. The guards look at her as if she's stupid.
  • Double Subverted: So she just creates more puddles, after which they slip and hit their heads again.
    • That power was akin to a Limit Break, and shows up rarely.
  • Parodied: Everyone on the Superawesome Hero Team has incredibly amazing superpowers, except for Amazing Girl, who has marginally less useful powers. Despite this, they deride her for it.
  • Deconstructed: After his first defeat at Amazing Girl's hands, Emperor Evulz takes steps to prevent history from repeating itself by equipping all his men with slip-proof rubber boots. Amazing Girl is left powerless.
  • Reconstructed: However, it just so happens that Amazing Girl's colleague, Skillful Lad, has the power to make rubber extremely sticky...
  • Zig Zagged: Amazing Girl slips in and out of The Load depending on the sense of balance of her enemies.
  • Averted: Her powers are useful and require no plot intrusion to work successfully.
  • Enforced: The writer is fascinated by people with obscure talents and wants to write an aseop about how these talents are useful.
  • Lampshaded: "Alright, they actually brought me along for this mission!"
  • Invoked: Emperor Eluz is actually a Friendly Enemy of Team Superawesome and wants to raise Amazing Girl's spirits so he arranges a scheme with its other members that plays to her strengths.
  • Exploited: ???
  • Defied: After learning her abilities are useless, she starts training to get stronger.
  • Discussed: ???
  • Conversed: ???

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