History Main / ItOnlyWorksOnce

* Discussed in "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/25601596/ Honey and Magic]]", when [[Literature/{{Matilda}} Matilda Honey]] talks with [[Franchise/HarryPotter Fred and George Weasley]] about possible methods of getting rid of Umbridge by discussing her own experiences with Miss Trunchbull. While the twins admire her tale of how she drove Trunchbull out after hearing about the headmistress's cruelty, they note that Umbridge's political connections at the Ministry basically give her more power than Trunchbull, as Umbridge can rely on support from Fudge whereas Trunchbull would have faced serious trouble if she was ever subject to an official investigation by impartial outsiders to the school.

In ‘’Literature/GodfatherDeath’’, Death gives his godson a magical herb to make him a famos physician. If Death is standing at the head of a patient’s bed, the physician can cure any illness they have with the herb. When the physician sees that the king is destined to die because Death is standing at the foot of the bed, [[LoopholeAbuse he turns the bed around so that Death is standing at the head of the bed, letting the physician save the king's life with the magic herb]]. Death is outraged at this betrayal but spares his godson's life out of love, warning him that if he ever pulled that stunt a second time, he would pay the consequences. [[spoiler:When the physician does the same trick to save the life of the king's daughter, Death makes good on his threat and takes the physician's life]].

* ''LightNovel/ASimpleSurvey'':

* The ''Comicbook/AstroCity'' "Dark Ages" story arc featured the Innocent Gun, a powerful mystic superweapon that was left behind by alien {{Precursors}} to be used to protect humanity from a vaguely unspecified future threat, and was crafted so that it could only be used once. Unfortunately, TheLancer [[NiceJobBreakingItHero ended up using it]] against another BigBad, tearing a hole in reality and [[ThreadOfProphecySevered leaving the gun unavailable for future use]].

* Comicbook/DoctorStrange once was turned into a vampire by Dracula, who boasted that since Dracula rules over all vampires, Strange was unable to attack him. Indeed, try as he might, Strange could no longer call upon his usual sources for spells: Aggamotto, Cyttorak, Watoomb, etc. In desperation, and with effort that nearly killed him, Strange called out the name of God.

* In one of the ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' try-out issues, one of the would-be Legionnaires was a woman called X-Bomb Betty, who had the power to "create an explosion of 150 million megatons". When they asked her to demonstrate this she got a panicked look and said, "But ... but I can only do it ''once''!"

* Becomes a long set up BrickJoke in ''Comicbook/{{Transmetropolitan}}.'' Spider cloaks himself in source gas (a substance that records sounds like a microphone because reasons) before his first interview with the Smiler in order to catch his campaign in a lie. The second time he goes in, The Smiler's wise to the trick, and disables ALL of Spider's recording equipment. At the end of the comic, Spider pulls the trick a ''third'' time, and this time it works, because Spider's "been showy" with guns, and the Smiler only had him searched for ''weapons.''

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Later, Sesshomaru discovers the hard way that the [[HealingShiv Tenseiga]] can only bring a single person BackFromTheDead once.
*** In the sequel series, Anime/YashahimePrincessHalfDemon, this is also brought up by Totosai to the recently revived Setsuna in the first episode of the second season, telling her not to die again after being initially cut down by Kirinmaru at the end of Season 1.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Straits/Straizo in Part 2 had the powerful [[EyeBeams Space Ripper Stingy Eye]], an ability he witnessed in Part 1 where a vampire can shoot fluids from the eyes at a ridiculously high velocity, allowing it to cut through flesh. The first time he fires, he misses a fatal shot at Joseph, but nicks his neck. The next time he tries it, he hits a mirror reflection of Joseph, and then the third time, it is completely reflected. Joseph lampshades that he only needed to see the attack once to know how to counter it, due to the predictability that Straits would go for the fatal shots in the neck and forehead again.
** Subverted in Part 1 where Jonathan is caught off guard by Dio's attack of the same kind, as the first time it was used, he was plummeting off a cliff and didn't see it firsthand. The second time it is used, he had no idea it was coming.
*** The above two can also be grouped together, as the attack ended up being fatal to Jonathan in the first real encounter with it, but the story of the attack was passed down through Erina to Joseph, her and Jonathan's grandson. As a result, it never succeeds from the start on Joseph because he already knew how the move worked.

* In the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', feel free to hide in a cardboard box right in front of the enemy. If they see you, they'll look at the box in confusion, then move on. However, if the same enemy sees that same box in the same place, he'll pick it up. [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy Apparently, it's more suspicious for the box to still be there than for it to suddenly disappear.]]

* ''Manga/SpaceAdventureCobra'': Cobra's arch enemy of the Three Sister's Arc, Crystal Boy, is {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le to just about every attack Cobra used against him. Near the end of the Arc Cobra faces off against him and after a long fight he catches him off guard by launching his fake arm at him via the Psychogun, presumably killing him. When he appears in the Psychogun OVA Cobra attempts to kill him the exact same way only to have him catch the fist mid air and proclaim that the same trick wasn't going to work twice.

** Many of [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]]' attempts to cure ComicBook/TheThing have been of the only-works-once variety. These always come with a reversal method [[StatusQuoIsGod which Ben will inevitably use, sacrificing his humanity]] to stop the villain.
** When Kristoff Vernard was uploaded with ComicBook/DoctorDoom's memories to take his place after his apparent death, he decided to attack the FF by reusing an old plan to send the Baxter Building into orbit, reasoning that it had only failed the first time the true Doom attempted it because of the treachery of [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]]; the plan failed again, but only because Kristoff's uploaded memories didn't include the [[ComicBook/InvisibleWoman Invisible Girl]]'s ability to generate forcefields, allowing the FF to survive the building exploding in space and return to Earth.

* This trope is used as an actual story element in ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}''. Nico Minoru's weapon, the Staff of One, can cast any spell whatsoever but then can never cast it again. (Attempting to repeat a spell results in random effects.) It essentially serves as a leash to her [[SwissArmySuperpower otherwise godlike powers]]. However, it turns out that she can only use each specific spell with ''[[SemanticSuperpower a specific code word]]'' once; in a team-up with the ComicBook/YoungAvengers, she was able to cast the same spell repeatedly by running through ComicBook/TheVision's language banks, while on another occasion she was able to 'reuse' a 'Freeze' spell by instructing her enemies to freeze at a specific temperature.

** Similarly, after being [[AHandfulForAnEye blinded with a squirt of webbing]], [[Comicbook/DoctorOctopus Doc Ock]] started treating his glasses with a non-stick coating.
** Spidey once came across Stilt-Man wreaking havoc. He was disappointed, as the villain had designed a mask to keep Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} from hitting him in the face with his stick. Spidey just webs him to a lamppost.

** Doomsday has [[AdaptiveAbility "evolution"]] powers, such that he could adapt to counter attacks once used against him -- i.e., having once been beaten by a Green Lantern's ring, he became relatively immune to its power. In ''ComicBook/SupermanDoomsdayHunterPrey'', the Radiant's energy attack which killed Doomsday in the past no longer has any effect on the creature when the recreated Radiant tries it again on him.

** In ''ComicBook/TheGirlWithTheXRayMind'', the Phantom Zone criminals get their hands on a ray gun powerful enough to kill a Kryptonian, but they want to be certain what it works before using it on Superman or ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. So they test it on their partner-in-crime Lesla-Lar, and after verifying it does work just fine, they realize the weapon was too damaged to be used more than once, and it is now useless.

** When ComicBook/{{Superboy}} was dying after a particularly strenuous fight, ComicBook/{{Robin}} was able to find a cure in one of Lex Luthor's secret labs. However the cure could only be used once and any attempt to use the same concoction again after having used it once would kill Conner.

* {{Creator/Marvel|Comics}} villain ComicBook/{{Ultron}} tends to come back whenever he's destroyed, now with immunity to whatever wrecked him the last time.

* In an issue of ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' ComicBook/{{Rogue}} absorbed ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}'s powers and defeated Nimrod, the mutant killing robot from the future, by teleporting a chunk of his body away. The next time the X-Men fought Nimrod, Nightcrawler simply tried the same trick again, only to discover that Nimrod had adapted himself so that not only did it not work but the attempt messed Nightcrawler up quite badly.

* ''WesternAnimation/SuicideSquadHellToPay'' features a 'Get out of Hell' card as the main plot point, hinted to be the only one in existence and sought after by multiple dying and concerned about death parties to bypass punishment in death. [[spoiler: It ends up being used up by Bronze Tiger when ComicBook/{{Deadshot}} leaves it on his dying body, though ComicBook/AmandaWaller is initially unaware of this when Deadshot gives it to her, she finds out in the tie-in comic that she had been duped. The comic focuses on her attempt at finding the second best thing available, a Key that also bypasses eternal damnation but doesn't necessarily sends someone to Heaven like the Card, and its also even harder to find.]]

-->'''Deadpool:''' ''[[[AsideGlance looking straight at the camera]]]'' Well. [[TakeThatUs That's just lazy writing]].

* Tony's badass [[spoiler:wrist-lasers]] in ''Film/IronMan2''. {{Justified|Trope}} when we see [[spoiler: Tony eject a pair of smoking doohickies from his gauntlets after firing the lasers. The single shot clearly burns the doohickies out, leaving him physically unable to use the weapon again at the time. Since he doesn't grab a new pair of doohickies out of a storage compartment, we can assume that re-readying the lasers requires more than a simple doohicky swap. [[InherentlyFunnyWords Doohicky]]]]. Lampshaded by Tony himself when [[Comicbook/WarMachine Rhodey]] says he should have led with that: "It's a one-off."

* This is a matter of some contention among the ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fandom, among whom there is a vocal minority that considers Aragorn's use of a seemingly invincible undead army in only one battle (rather than throughout the war) to be a Headscratcher verging on a Wall Banger. Debates about whether the ExactWords of their oath would have allowed him to demand longer service from them can go (and have gone) on for dozens of pages in various internet fora. The popular consensus is that the undead army was not magically compelled to obey Aragorn, but did so voluntarily as he was the only one who could release them to pass on to a more standard afterlife. If they'd gotten it into their heads that he did not intend to release them, they could very well have gone over to the other side, so he decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. YMMV on whether this explanation makes this a legit example or is merely a convenient bit of FanWank. It should also be noted that it is never made clear (in the books at least) if the army of the dead can ''physically'' hurt people, as the only army they deal with they simply terrify into fleeing. If they could not actually attack people, once the psychological impact of them wore off, their usefulness would be greatly reduced. Regardless, they demanded to be released after a single battle, and he complied.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In Season 7, Sam and Dean eventually acquire a VillainBeatingArtifact that can be used to kill an otherwise {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le Leviathan, but it can only be used once. They decide to target their leader Dick Roman, hoping that [[KeystoneArmy his army will collapse without him]]. [[spoiler:When the weapon is finally used, it sucks both Dean and Castiel along with Roman into the monster afterlife.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'', in order to try to shoot down one of the Arsenal Birds, the Oseans sneak a team of engineers into Stonehenge deep within Erusean occupied territory to repair the remaining railgun that was spared by the ISAF in [[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies Shattered Skies]], due to it having been knocked out by a meteor. However, because it had been rotting away in the desert for a decade an a half, combined with the fact that they power it up with a fleet of generator trucks, they’re only able to get one shot in. [[spoiler:Fortunately, thanks to the LRSSG damaging the Arsenal Bird, they’re able use the railgun to hit and destroy the Arsenal Bird, which turns the tide of war into Osea’s favor]].

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Vaarsuvius tells Durkon that [[spoiler:their brief period of unimaginable magical power was "a singular event" that can't be repeated and [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0667.html doesn't disagree]] when Durkon asks if it had a heavy CastFromExperiencePoints cost. It's true that it almost certainly can't be repeated... because the power came from a DealWithTheDevil that the Fiends [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0631.html almost never grant]], and comes with a debt that Vaarsuvius hadn't even started to pay off.]]

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' where they try to get Maggie out of a locked bathroom. Homer tries a coat hanger then gives up. Lisa tries it again and successfully unlocks the door.
-->'''Lisa''': [[LampshadeHanging I don't understand why we only try ideas once.]]
** Played straight in a Treehouse of Horror parody of ''Manga/DeathNote'', where one of the rules is that you can't use the same kill more than once. This forces Lisa to be more contrived in her kills, such as parachute accidents, toilet alligators and eventually toilet lions.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''

** Another example, where they countered one enemy gamebreaker and hijacked the other, is how the three battles fought against the Epirote army led by Pyrrhus went: at Heraclea the Romans were easily matching the Epirotes and even started gaining the upper hand after overcoming the enemy cavalry, only to be routed when Pyrrhus sent his WarElephants in, a beast the Romans had never met; at Asculum the Romans showed up with anti-elephant wagons, contraptions equipped with large polearms, fire-bearing grapnels, and all sort of projectile weapons, and while they were defeated they retreated in good order after killing many irreplaceable veterans and even sacking and destroying the Epirote camp (in particular stealing their famed [[AngryGuardDog molossoid dogs]]), prompting [[TropeNamer Pyrrhus]] to quip "[[PyrrhicVictory If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined]]"; and at Maleventum the Romans, after repulsing a night attack thanks to guard dogs bred from the ones stolen at Asculum, answered the elephant charge with enough projectiles aimed to their weak trunks that they killed two, captured eight, and routed the rest ''through'' the enemy army.

-->'''Dorg''': IT WAS A ''BOMB''! YOU CAN ONLY USE IT ONCE!

* ''Literature/AesopsFables'': In "The Dog and the Wolf," a dog is caught by a wolf and about to be eaten. The dog tells the wolf that while he's too skinny at the moment and won't taste good, in a few days his master will hold a feast and give him all the scraps, and the wolf can then eat him while he's nice and fat. The wolf agrees. When he comes back a few days later, he finds the dog sitting on the roof of his master's house. The wolf said, "Come down, my friend, don't you remember our agreement?" The dog said, "My friend, if you ever catch me on the ground again, don't wait for any feast."

*** For a more literal interpretation of this trope, BonusBoss Pringer X is this trope. Any special attack used against him will only damage him once. If you're fighting multiple Pringers, they all become to immune to the special move.

* This trope is used as an actual story element in ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}''. Nico Minoru's weapon, the Staff of One, can cast any spell whatsoever but then can never cast it again. (Attempting to repeat a spell results in random effects.) It essentially serves as a leash to her otherwise godlike GreenLanternRing powers. However, it turns out that she can only use each specific spell with ''[[SemanticSuperpower a specific code word]]'' once; in a team-up with the ComicBook/YoungAvengers, she was able to cast the same spell repeatedly by running through ComicBook/TheVision's language banks, while on another occasion she was able to 'reuse' a 'Freeze' spell by instructing her enemies to freeze at a specific temperature.

** This was actually used in the pilot, when Flash asks Martian Manhunter [[StatingTheSimpleSolution why he doesn't use the nerve gas he used to defeat the Imperium before]]. Manhunter explains [[SimpleSolutionWontWork it can only be made from a rare Martian plant, and the only sample of it he had was destroyed when he got captured]].

** At one point Ruby summons Jinn in order to use her TimeStandsStill ability to get a moment to focus on her Silver Eyes [[NotTheIntendedUse instead of asking her a question]]. Jinn admonishes Ruby that this is not an acceptable use of her power, but lets her get away with it just this once because she respects Ruby's quick thinking and audacity -- and of course, it wouldn't be either of those things to try the same trick again.
** A self imposed version, but Raven will save the life of any non-enemy, no strings attached…exactly once. After that, they need to earn their own survival.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': Bombs only work once, right? No one needs to make a point of that, [[CaptainObvious because it's obvious]]. Unless you're Captan Dorg supplying munitions to the infamously stupid Pakleds. His frustration is [[EnragedByIdiocy abundantly clear]] when the Pakled captain tells him the veruvian bomb he gave them "stopped working" after they tried to test it on an asteroid to see if it would work. Well, it did. And as a bonus, the unique radiation it produces attracts two Federation ships to their location, exposing Dorg's conspiracy to destabilize the quadrant.

** When Batman goes to Mr. Freeze in order to finish a cure for the Joker's, and his own Titan infection, Freeze ends up betraying him and starting a Predator sequence, during which [[FinalExamBoss each of the Dark Knight's repertoire of takedowns only works on Freeze once]], since he'll begin nullifying their usage afterward (e.g. freezing electromagnets, using high-power jets on the rear of his suit, encasing railings, breakable walls/ceilings, etc.). To defeat him, Batman [[PuzzleBoss must employ five different takedowns to catch him by surprise.]] In New Game Plus Mode, this is increased to seven different takedowns, requiring even more careful planning of when and how to strike.

** When Batman goes to Mr. Freeze in order to finish a cure for the Joker's, and his own Titan infection, Freeze ends up betraying him and starting a Predator sequence, during which each of the Dark Knight's repertoire of takedowns only works on Freeze once, since he'll begin nullifying their usage afterward (e.g. freezing electromagnets, using high-power jets on the rear of his suit, encasing railings, breakable walls/ceilings, etc.). To defeat him, Batman [[PuzzleBoss must employ five different takedowns to catch him by surprise.]] In New Game Plus Mode, this is increased to seven different takedowns, requiring even more careful planning of when and how to strike.

** Each of the takedowns against Mr. Freeze only work once, as he'll adapt to them. [[PuzzleBoss You must find five unique methods of taking him down.]] In the higher difficulty modes, you have to figure out even more ways to attack him.
** In the comic book tie-in Batman comes up with the idea of disguising the Bat-boat as a fishing boat to sneak into Arkham City. It works brilliantly...until he tries it a second time, where the boat winds up blown up with a rocket. Lampshaded by Batman.

** Talents themselves are a form of this in ''Xanth.'' Each person has a unique magical talent, and it's strongly implied (if not outright stated) that talents will never reoccur. Once a person with a specific talent dies, no one else will ever have that specific talent ever again. Talents can overlap in their effects (with Surprise's talent, by definition, overlapping with ''everyone'' else's), but no two are ever exactly the same.

->'''Flash''': ''[to J'onn]'' What's the big problem? Can't you just whip up another batch of that nerve gas?\\
'''J'onn''': Unfortunately, no. The gas can only be made from a rare Martian plant. I brought a sample with me, but it was destroyed when I was captured.\\
'''Flash''': Uh, what's Plan B?

* In ''Series/{{UFO}}'', the invading aliens use a new superweapon in each attack. It fails not necessarily because it is flawed but also through bad luck. However, they never try it again although it still exists and might be devastating in another attempt.

NeverRecycleYourSchemes is a subtrope. Compare SoLastSeason, ForgottenPhlebotinum, HoldingBackThePhlebotinum, NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup, and WontGetFooledAgain. See also AdaptiveAbility, ReedRichardsIsUseless, and the DisposableSuperheroMaker. Most {{Wave Motion Gun}}s apply a limited form of this trope by making its use prohibitively slow and energy-intensive, but the usual dramatic application is [[FinishingMove rather different]]. Often overlaps with DeathOrGloryAttack. See also LimitedUseMagicalDevice, which involves a magical object or magic spells that can only be used a limited amount of times, often just once.

* In Shapter 3 of ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', Dan [=McNinja=] defeats Frans Rayner by punching him in the right butt cheek and exposing his neckbeard. Years later, when Dr. [=McNinja=] fights him, Frans [[spoiler: has moved his weak spot to a different location]] and taken extreme precautions to keep his beard from ever being noticeable.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' had a TimeTravel storyline; but the particular method could only work once [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2005-04-10 due to some of the equipment being destroyed]] in the process (and before the effective start of the conditions that made it useable in that way), meaning only one shot...

* Lelouch's mind control power in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' only works once on any specific person. The duration can be permanent if worded correctly, but if the effect ends, that individual can never again be affected by the power. [[spoiler:That is, unless Jeremiah uses his Geass Canceler to undo the effects. But even then, if he does, Lelouch's power can work on someone again.]]

* In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse/''Franchise/HarryPotter'' crossover "[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26698570/ Strange Potter]]", when Doctor Strange purges the horcrux from the infant Harry Potter, he soon realises that his actions have granted Harry the ability to wield chaos magic similar to the Scarlet Witch. Wong observes that such a feat should be impossible as nobody can wield all those magics at once without exploding, but Strange speculates that it was due to a combination of factors such as Lily's protection still being fresh, Harry's natural magic, the dark energy of the horcrux, Strange's own powers, and the natural significance of Halloween. Strange also explicitly notes that he doubts he could do such a thing again without it being fatal to the subject, as all those events coming together so perfectly was essentially a fluke.