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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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Severe trauma tends to release inhibitions that keep hidden potential in check. Strong emotions, most especially rage, work best. As such, the form of the awakening tends to be violent, even, in extreme cases, [[Angst Nuke|explosive]].
With superpowers, once the bottle is opened, it can't be sealed again. The awakened one will typically need to seek training to control their new powers, so that their every emotional outburst won't trigger a new disaster. A period of [[How Do I Shot Web?]] will follow, and learning to control one's emotions or face inner demons is typical.
This tends to coincide with [[Puberty Superpower
'''Not to be confused with [[Die or Fly]]''', in which superpowers awaken in response to a life-threatening situation, as a manifestation of a self-preservation instinct. See also [[Angst Nuke]] and [[Came Back Strong]], which are very extreme variations on this. If the superpowers attained are related to the cause of the trauma, it's an [[Adaptive Ability]].
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Haku from ''[[
** This is typical for the sharingan. While the first form may also activate in [[Die or Fly]] situations, the advanced "Mangekyou" version requires severe trauma, so severe in fact, that the most reliable way to awaken was considered to be murdering your best friend.
** Nagato got his Rinnegan when he saw his parents die (when they were stupid enough to act aggressively against soldiers). There might be more to it than that, as Tobi (a known liar) says he gave Nagato his Rinnegan. Whether this means he at least partly engineered the situation, did something else, or if it is just another lie, is completely unknown.
* In ''[[Dragon Ball
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* Shiki in ''[[
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
* This is common, though not universal, in ''[[
▲== Comic Books ==
▲* This is common, though not universal, in ''[[X-Men (Franchise)|X-Men]]''. [[Puberty Superpower]] is more widely applied.
** Jean Gray first used her powers when her friend got hit by a car and died in her arms.
== [[Film]] ==▼
* As mentioned above, the ''[[X
▲== Film ==
** In the ''[[X
▲* As mentioned above, the ''[[X Men (Film)|X Men]]'' movie franchise has many examples.
** Likewise in ''[[X-Men 1]]'', Rogue first discovers her life draining abilities when she nearly kills her boyfriend.
▲** In the ''[[X Men First Class (Film)|X Men First Class]]'' film, Magneto is originally only able to use his powers when extremely angry. The first two times, it involves maternal separation.
**
* In the film version of ''[[Matilda (
▲* In the film version of ''[[Matilda (Film)|Matilda]]'', Matilda's telekinesis first displays itself when her father rips up her library books and tries to force her to watch TV with the rest of the family.
* This happens to the main character in ''[[Kung Fu Hustle]]'': after he is beaten to within an inch of his life, his chi flows are unblocked, and his potential to become the Greatest Kung Fu Master the World has Ever Known is suddenly realised.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* Garion of the ''[[Belgariad]]'' comes into his power this way. Though he is sensitive to sorcery for a while, and his first use of it is actually, unconsciously, to heal a brain-addled man, he first uses it intentionally against a man who has just slapped his Aunt Pol, and kills him when he learns the same man killed his parents. [[Kill It
▲== Literature ==
* In one of the short stories in ''[[The Witcher]]'' book ''[[
▲* Garion of the ''[[Belgariad]]'' comes into his power this way. Though he is sensitive to sorcery for a while, and his first use of it is actually, unconsciously, to heal a brain-addled man, he first uses it intentionally against a man who has just slapped his Aunt Pol, and kills him when he learns the same man killed his parents. [[Kill It With Fire|In the same way.]]<br />Aldur invoked this for Belgarath by telling him to move a large boulder. When Belgarath became so frustrated that he shouted at the boulder to move, it did. Upon meeting another sorcerer in the ''Malloreon'' who gained his powers similarly, the main characters suppose this is the typical way for it to happen, and that it also explains why there are fewer and fewer sorcerers around, as the will of the universe prevents objects from being unmade: if someone, in a fit of anger, tries to unmake something, he will be himself unmade.
▲* In one of the short stories in ''[[The Witcher]]'' book ''[[The Last Wish (Literature)|The Last Wish]]'', a queen hires Geralt to kill a monster (actually a cursed prince) to stop him from marrying her daughter. {{spoiler|When she nearly succeeds, it turns out that the princess is really in love and is an untrained source - and so everyone must forget their differences and fight together to get her powers under control.}}
* [[Harry Potter]] initially used his unfocused, underage magic in times of distress. This seems to be a common way for magic to appear in the setting, but not universal: contrast Voldemort, whose powers manifested as ways to manipulate and hurt people.
* In ''[[
* In [[Sergey Lukyanenko]]'s ''Labyrinth of Reflections'', Divers most commonly acquire their rare gift under extremely stressful circumstances, such as when your friend is dying in [[Real Life]] and you have to exit [[Cyberspace]] ''right now'' without using any common devices.
* In ''[[Mistborn]]'', [[Functional Magic|allomantic]] powers only manifest themselves following an intense trauma, which is usually a near-death experience (not always, though, as Kelsier, one of the main characters, came into his powers after watching his wife get beaten to death). [[Aristocrats Are Evil|Noble houses]] often severely beat their children to try and force "snapping".
* Mercedes Lackey's ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' novel ''The Last Herald-Mage'' has this. The protagonist, Vanyel, has his gifts triggered when his lover/soulmate commits suicide.
** In ''Brightly Burning'', Lavan's Firestarter gift was starting to come through as a normal [[Puberty Superpower]], but being tortured by the older students snapped it on full-power.
* In the
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* ''[[
* On ''[[
== [[New
* The protagonist of ''[[Vigor Mortis]]'' found out she was a natural mage when she was getting beaten to death.
▲* ''[[Angel (TV)|Angel]]'', "Untouched". Bethany, the girl with telekenesis, had it awakened when she was abused physically and sexually by her father. It also flared up when someone threatened her in an alley early in the ep.
▲* On ''[[The Finder (TV)|The Finder]]'', Walter's powers of deduction are purportedly because of a few bumps to the head that occurred during military service.
* In the lore of ''[[Magic:
==
▲* In the lore of ''[[Magic the Gathering (Tabletop Game)|Magic the Gathering]]'', one in every million sentient beings in the Multiverse is born with a "spark", or the potential to become a Planeswalker. Igniting that spark and actually becoming a Planeswalker usually happens as a result of some kind of trauma or epiphany.
▲== Video Games ==
* Psycho Mantis of ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' had his powers fully awaken after he accidentally read his father's mind and thought his father would kill him, resulting in the destruction of his entire village.
* Ryu in ''[[Breath of Fire IV]]'' gains the ability to transform into a dragon early on in the game, but for the first half of the game he only has access to his weakest form, Aura. It takes him seeing [[Complete Monster|Captain Rasso]] massacre a village full of innocents (and forcing him to duel with a monster shortly afterwards) for him to unlock the much more powerful Kaiser transformation.
* Rydia in ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' is an inversion; she has an innate talent for magic, but the trauma of watching her village being burned to the ground makes it difficult for her to use fire spells.
* The premise of summoning a Persona in ''[[
* Lang in ''[[Legend of Legaia
==
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* Becka in ''[[
* In ''[[
== [[Web Original]] ==
* This is the ''only'' way to gain superpowers in ''[[Worm]]''. A Parahuman's "Trigger" is ''always'' on/because of the worst day of their life.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Parodied on ''[[
* A fairly mild example occurs in ''[[My Little Pony
* In ''[[
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Skills and Training Tropes]]
[[Category:Traumatic Superpower Awakening]]
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