History Main / FeedItWithFire

* Very common in games of ''TheAwfulGreenThingsFromOuterSpace'' until the crew work out what weapons will kill the things and which will make them grow larger.

The MonsterOfTheWeek is apparently ImmuneToBullets, but not only that, it's getting stronger too! Maybe you shot it with an Energy Weapon, maybe you intervened in a situation and [[ReedRichardsIsUseless caused a worse problem to appear]] or maybe you just hit its BerserkButton, but it didn't die, and now it's stronger than ever. FeedItWithFire is the process by which attempting to [[KillItWithFire kill or destroy]] something ends up making it grow, [[VivaLaEvolution become more powerful]], or otherwise [[InfernalRetaliation help it out.]]

* VivaLaEvolution

** Android 19 absorbs Ki blasts to increase its power.

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* In ''DragonBallZ'', Android 19 absorbs Ki blasts to increase its power.

* The hydra, of GreekMythology, would grow two heads in place of each one you cut off.
** Unless, ironically, you [[KillItWithFire cauterized the stump]].

* Likewise, the dragon ogres from ''WarhammerFantasy'' gain much of their power (and immortality) from lightning. Casting lightning bolt on them is a bad idea.

* In ''{{Pokemon}}'', the move "Bide" increases its attack power with every point of damage taken during the time your Pokémon "bides its time," and "Rage" starts out as a weak move, but each hit your Pokémon takes pumps its Attack stat as long as it keeps using the move.

*** Considering how ridiculously over the top some of the stronger attacks are, it can be quite comical to see these monsters get healed by things like disintegration, [[EarthShatteringKaboom world ending explosions]], or being sliced in half.

* ''RockManMinusInfinity'' has Dust Man. When he is sucking in lines, anything fired at him except Toad Spell heals him instead.

* ''Game/MegaMan 2'' is currently the only ''Mega Man'' game in which this can happen. Using Bubble Lead on Bubble Man will fully heal him, using Crash Bombs on Heat Man will fully heal him, and using ''any'' weapon other than [[spoiler: Bubble Lead]] on the final boss will fully heal it.

* In the film ''{{Evolution}}'', the trope title plays out literally when fire induces rapid growth in the alien invaders.

*** Considering how ridiculously over the top some of the stronger attacks are, it can be quite comical to see these monsters get healed by things like disintegration, or a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that culminates with them ''exploding''.

* ''{{Kirby}} Right Back Atcha'' had a MonsterOfTheWeek LITERALLY like this. It was called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Flame Feeder]]. As Dedede said when Kirby tried to torch it, "Ha ha! Flame Feeder feeds on fire!"

* In ''FinalFantasyIX'' the villain Kuja has just figured out that he can use the game's LimitBreak system in order to make himself nigh-unstoppable, after absorbing a whole bunch of souls. All he needs is a lot of aggressive energy to trigger the [[OneWingedAngel transformation]]. So naturally he walks right up to the heroes and starts a boss fight.

Compare HealItWithFire, InfernalRetaliation. Contrast KillItWithFire, ReviveKillsZombie.

* In ''DragonBallZ'', Android 19 absorbs Ki blasts to increase it's power.

* ''FengShui'' has this as a Creature Power called "Conditional Escalation," which temporarily gains you a point in one of your stats each time a particular condition is meant (getting hit with a gun, a fu power, a successful spell, taking a certain amount of damage, causing a certain amount of damage, etc.)
* In ''{{Pokemon}}'', the move "Bide" increases its attack power with every point of damage taken during the time your Pokémon "bides its time," and "Rage" starts out as a weak move, but each hit your Pokémon takes pumps its Attack stat as long as it keeps using the move.
** There are also some abilities, like Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, Flash Fire, Motor Drive, and in 5th Gen Lightningrod and Storm Drain, that heal a Pokemon's health or raise a stat when the Pokemon is hit by a certain type of attack instead of damaging them.
* In ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'', the replicator pods on Ghost Planet are found to grow when hit with Space Ghost's destructo ray. This being Space Ghost, it takes him awhile to stop shooting his ray even after he realizes that it's making it grow. Eventually, he uses this to make the one next to Zorak gigantic.
* In the {{Kaiju}} parody episode of ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Mandark's MASER Tank only makes the monster grow larger and more powerful.
* In ''{{Crysis}}'', [[spoiler:the alien ice field absorbs a nuclear weapon's blast to grow.]]

* ''GodzillaTheSeries'' had a MonsterOfTheWeek aptly named the Fire Monster in the aptly titled "Ring of Fire" episode that got stronger whenever Godzilla used his atomic breath on it. H.E.A.T. had to resort to using nitroglycerin to knock it out since it doesn't create flames when detonated.
* Played straight many times in ''StargateSG1''.
** An alien time-capsule like thing absorbs staff blasts to help it grow
** An Ori shield generator type thing absorbs the orbital fire directed towards it and uses it to expand.
** Intervening in the internal politics of the Goa'uld System Lords has frequently backfired, causing a consolidation of power where before there were fragments and internal fighting.
** Inverted in the ''Stargate SG-1'' season 10 finale, when the heroes absorb enemy fire to power a time machine. (In case it's not clear, the inversion is that the ''main characters'' use this, instead of having it happen to the MonsterOfTheWeek.)

* Fred and George Weasley of ''HarryPotter'' designed their fireworks in ''Order of the Phoenix'' to be like this.
* RealLife:
** Attempting to persecute Religions often makes SelfFulfillingProphecies come true, and gives the religion Martyrs, helping them to grow in number and influence.
** In biology, this trope occurs when an infection is partly eradicated by an antibiotic, but not completely, giving the thing time to adapt and thus making it immune to this antibiotic in the future, and thus creating even worse strains.
** And don't spray that water-based Fire Extinguisher on an electrical fire!
*** Or a grease fire!
*** Or worse, a potassium fire or any other combustible metals.
* Some ''MagicTheGathering'' cards get more powerful in this manner, such as the old Fungusaur, which got permanently slightly bigger every time it sustained damage.
* In the book ''Pyramid Scheme'', [[spoiler: the aliens wanted to provoke the humans into nuking their device so it could absorb the energy and become unstoppable.]]
* In ''TheAndromedaStrain'', the scientists at the containment facility figure that if whatever they're studying gets out of control, they'll nuke it. Bad idea - the strain has mutated to the point where it can feed on nuclear radiation.
* Adam from ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was able to absorb energy from the [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms electricity guns]] that the Initiative used. It only really came up once though, presumably to prove that GunsAreUseless.
* ''{{Futurama}}'', when the plan to overload the energy being Melllvar's electro-quantum structure (described as being "like putting too much air in a balloon") doesn't work:
-->'''Leela''': It's not working! He's gaining strength from our weapons!
-->'''Fry''': Like a balloon, and... [[{{Metaphorgotten}} something bad happens!]]
* In the film ''{{Evolution}}'', the trope title plays out literally when fire induces rapid growth in the alien invaders.

* The hydra, of GreekMythology, would grow two heads in place of each one you cut off.
** Unless, ironically, you [[KillItWithFire cauterized the stump]].

* In the novel Meg, blinding the nocturnal giant shark made it deadlier, as its other senses compensated for its blindness and now it could hunt during the day.

** In ''DevilSurvivor'' a monster called Kudlak will arise stronger everytime it's killed, unless done so in a special way. It trys to goad the party into killing it.
* Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club in ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'' has powers that work like this. He absorbs the energy from attacks, so punching him makes him stronger.
* Subverted in YuYuHakusho, where the demon Byako gets stronger by absorbing the energy from Kuwabara's aura sword, until he takes in too much, causing him to get indigestion.
* In JoJosBizarreAdventure, Von Stroheim, nazi cyborg and also '''one of the good guys''' (I shit you not), attacked a very weakened Kars with his ultraviolet rays, to finish him off. But Kars had sneakily managed to wear a certain mask and a certain stone, so basically the rays that should have killed him, turned him into a god instead. NiceJobBreakingItHero...
* One of the villains of CaptainPlanet was once tricked into using a lightning attack on Captain Planet himself... Apparently striking someone, created by the spirit of the earth who is more or less a force of nature himself, with lightning will ''empower'' him.
* Likewise, the dragon ogres from WarhammerFantasy gain much of their power (and immortality) from lightning. Casting lightning bolt on them is a bad idea.
** One dragon ogre character has the special rule "Lightning Rod". Any lightning-based attack used within a certain radius will automatically redirect to him, and it grants him power just the same as his weaker relatives.
* In ''TheStoryOfThor'' for SegaMegaDrive, there's an enemy that takes the form of a string of flames moving around the area. Predictably, attacking it with fire-based attacks restores its health.

-->'''Fry''': Like a balloon, and... something bad happens!

** There are also some abilities, like Water Absorb, Volt Absorb, Flash Fire, and Motor Drive, that heal a Pokemon's health or raise a stat when the Pokemon is hit by a certain type of attack.