History Main / KeystoneSuperpower

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'': During the ''Bad Guys'' miniseries, [[MadScientist Doctor Starline]] gets ahold of several Power Cores, objects that can grant the user temporary use of either flight, SuperStrength, or SuperSpeed. Starline proceeds to merge several cores together into a glove-mounted device called a Tricore, which enables him to use any of those abilities at will.

Compare SwissArmySuperpower, which is one single superpower used in different applications for a variety of different effects, as opposed to this trope, which is an ability that grants one access to separate, unique, and distinct abilities. Contrast SuperEmpowering, a.k.a the ability to give ''other people'' one or more abilities.

* SelfMadeSuperPowers: A mad scientist's only power is their intelligence. They use it to gather many others.

Compare SwissArmySuperPower, which is one single superpower used in different applications for a variety of different effects, as opposed to this trope, which is an ability that grants one access to separate, unique, and distinct abilities. Contrast SuperEmpowering, a.k.a the ability to give ''other people'' one or more abilities.

Compare SwissArmySuperPower, which is one single superpower used in different applications for a variety of different effects. In terms of PsychicPowers, Keystone is if {{Telepathy}} is by forming a mental link and {{Telekinesis}} is using the mind to generate physical force, they're different mechanisms accessible though the same ability, but it's SwissArmySuperPower is both are done through the same mechanism, if {{Telepathy}} is just fine manipulation of someone's brain, or perhaps somehow applying ''force'' to mental concepts and ''pushing'' them into others' minds.

Contrast SuperEmpowering, a.k.a the ability to give ''other people'' one or more abilities.

Compare SwissArmySuperPower, which is one single superpower used in different applications for a variety of different effects. Contrast SuperEmpowering or the ability to give ''other people'' one or more abilities.

** Aaroniero Arruruerie has absorbed the power of 33,650 Hollows including Metastacia and, through it, the shinigami Kaien Shiba, Shikai, and all via his Hollow ability "Glotoneria". It allows him to absorb the powers and abilities of dead Hollows without limit, unlike other Hollows who can only absorb power (and not unique abilities) up to a certain limit.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] has the power of SuperEmpowering, known as Akumatization. By default he can only empower one person [[spoiler: or small group]], and not himself. However, he can seemingly pick whatever power he likes to grant to the Akumatization victim. This is best shown in the "Hero's Day" special where he gives his Akuma the ability to amplify his own powers, and thus becomes able to create an entire army of returning Akumatized minions from throughout the series, each with a different power.

* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', possessing a Keyblade access to a CoolSword with AbsurdCuttingPower, but you also gain access to powerful magic ranging from PlayingWithFire to TimeMaster. Keyblades are also revealed to be {{Morph Weapon}}s that can transform into any number of forms, including cannons, hoverbikes, and drills.

** The eponymous character has the ability to copy the [[WeaponofChoice Signature Weapon]] of every Robot Master he defeats through his Variable Weapons System. [[ComicBook/MegaManArchieComics The comic book]] and [[WesternAnimation/MegaMan TV show]] depicted him copying the weapons of other robots with a simple touch.

* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in which the boys pretend to be ninjas, each with their own special power. When [[EnfanteTerrible Cartman]] keeps making up new powers, the boys challenge him:

* ''ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers'': [[TheBigGuy Big Bertha]], alias Ashley Crawford, is a mutant with the power to swell her fat cells. That single mutation is a springboard for all of other abilities, including SuperStrength, SuperToughness (to the point where she is ImmuneToBullets and, at her largest, can stop a truck--literally--without getting hurt), [[SizeShifter changing size]], and [[InASingleBound jumping great distances]]. Later stories also have her [[ExploitedTrope exploiting]] the MostCommonSuperpower trope by selectively arranging her swelled mass to go directly to her breasts and curves, making her an ideal (and extremely wealthy) plus-sized model. This clever use of a single mutation makes her the only permanent member of the GLA that has more than one ability.

* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', in which the boys pretend to have superpowers and Cartman's power is that he has lots of powers and comes up with new ones on the spot.

** The eponymous character has the ability to copy the [[WeaponofChoice Signature Weapon]] of every Robot Master he defeats through his Variable Weapons System. [[ComicBook/MegaMan The comic book]] and [[WesternAnimation/MegaMan TV show]] depicted him copying the weapons of other robots with a simple touch.

** Aaroniero Arruruerie has absorbed the power of 33,650 Hollows including [[spoiler: Metastacia and, through it, shinigami Kaien Shiba, Shikai and all]] via his Hollow ability Glotoneria. It allows him to absorb the powers and abilities of dead Hollows without limit, unlike other hollows who can only absorb power up to a certain limit.

* The main character from the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series has this as their stock ability in every game. Every other persona user in the game has access to only one persona they can use in battle that reflects their [[BeneathTheMask hidden or true self]] that they may not reveal in public. Personas therefore follow a motif related to the character and have abilities in line with that motif like ShockAndAwe, AnIcePerson, PlayingWithFire, etc. The main character however has access to any standard persona and can stock up to 12 personas at one time to use interchangeably. A bit of FridgeBrilliance since the main character is portrayed as an EveryMan since as the player character, their role is to be decently blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, thereby making their "true self" dependent on the player.

* The main character from the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' has this as their stock ability in every game. Every other persona user in the game has access to only one persona that reflects their [[BeneathTheMask hidden or true self]] that they may not reveal in public. The main character however has access to any standard persona and can stock up to 12 personas at one time to use interchangeably. A bit of FridgeBrilliance since the main character is portrayed as an EveryMan since as the player character, their role is to be decently blank slate for the player to project themselves onto, thereby making their "true self" dependent on the player.

Compare SwissArmySuperPower, which is one single superpower used in different applications for a variety of different effects. Contrast SuperEmpowering or the ability to give ''other'' people abilities.

* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' what makes the protagonist, Neku, special is that he can use any pin (in this setting, fashion has abstract effects on the world, and pins basically grant powers) he finds. By comparison, most characters (including your partners) only get one pin and a specific ability (for example, Shiki has telekinesis that's limited to animating her stuffed toy to serve as an AttackAnimal).

* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'':
** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'': Soma Cruz has the ability to [[YourSoulIsMine steal the souls of the demons he kills]] and [[PowerCopying copy their abilities]]. This means that he's potentially capable of using the powers of anything in the castle, even though he technically has only one ability.
** In a similar vein, Shanoa from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' can only absorb glyphs by herself, but those glyphs grant her various abilities. It's essentially a copy of Soma's powers, but in her case, it is caused by magical symbols tattooed on her body rather than have it naturally. She can also steal them from demons while they're still alive.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Imperial Privilege grants the user the ability to get any skill they have a basis in. Since all roads lead to Rome in ancient times and all sorts of trades took place there, and the Emperor is Rome itself, Romulus can have any skill he wants. Nero Claudius Caesar (Saber) who tried nearly everything in life, can use this skill too.

** [[Characters/XMen80sMembers Rogue]] has PowerCopying and can absorb the powers, memories, and skills of any person she touches. The length of time for which she has access to these abilities is directly proportional to the length of time she touches the person, something she tries to avoid seeing as she's technically draining the life energy of everyone she touches, not just copying their abilities, and therefore can outright kill someone if she's not careful. Her trademark super-strength and flight that she's had since her debut she actually got from permanently absorbing the abilities of Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers.

* ''Franchise/XMen'':
** David Haller has the ability to create spontaneous mutations, granting him a virtually limitless number of mutant abilities. He has over 200 "Omega Level Mutations" and more are being created constantly. For comparison, about a dozen omega-level mutants are known to exist.

* ''ComicBook/JokersLastLaugh'' features the mutant Multi-Man, whose "core" superpower is the ability to [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist resurrect after death.]] Every time he does, though, he gains a new superhuman ability. It's definitely a case of BlessedWithSuck, as both the villains and heroes repeatedly kill Multi-Man (which still hurts) until he's revived with a power useful to their plans.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'': During the ''Bad Guys'' miniseries, [[MadScientist Doctor Starline]] gets ahold of several Power Cores, objects that can grant the user temporary use of either flight, SuperStrength, or SuperSpeed. Starline proceeds to merge several cores together into a glove-mounted device called a Tricore, which enables him to use any of those abilities at will.
* ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'': The Quiz, a member of the Brotherhood of Dada, has the power of having every power you haven't thought of. This means a typical fight against the Quiz involves naming a bunch of powers, only to be defeated by an obscure power that wasn't named (in one appearance, this unnamed power was the ability to create escape-proof spirit jars).

* In the ''Film/XMen'' series, Rogue has the ability to drain a person's energy by touching them. Absorbing a mutant's energy allows her to temporarily take on their power.

This is a superpower that grants access to multiple distinct superpowers and is not a power that is applied in unconventional ways but rather a power that grants access to many other, separate powers while everyone else is limited to comparatively fewer numbers.

To elaborate, while counting as a single power, technique, or ability, it is the door to many separate powers in effect. In a setting where OnePersonOnePower is the rule, this can be used to give TheProtagonist or TheAntagonist the power to stand above the rest of the cast without breaking the rules of the series.

Note that it doesn't necessarily have to be a single power or artifact. It can be more than one as long as it technically counts so, all the while granting many '' distinct or separate'' powers.

For example, Bob lives in wonderland and has PowerCopying via which he can access many other powers even though it is technically a single power.

ComboPlatterPowers and AllYourPowersCombined is usually the result.

Compare SwissArmySuperPower, which is one single superpower used in different applications for a variety of different effects.

** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} technically only has one mutation: a highly-accelerated (to the point of being unmatched) HealingFactor. That core mutation is used to justify all of his other gifts, including bone claws (the healing factor allows him to survive having a part of his skeleton pop out of his skin), {{Immortality}} (he ages very slowly because his body keeps healing), the ability to regenerate from near-fatal injuries, and the SuperStrength and [[SuperToughness durability]] that come from having adamantium grafted onto his skeleton (the Weapon X program specifically sought him out because he was the only mutant who could survive the process in the first place).

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception Shujinko]] was granted the power to copy any special move or fighting style he sees by the Dragon King Onaga.

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': Imperial Privilege grants the user the ability to get any skill they have a basis in. Since all roads lead to Rome in ancient times and all sorts of trades took place there, and the Emporer is Rome itself, Romulus can have any skill he wants. Nero Claudius Caesar (Saber) who tried nearly everything in life, can use this skill too.

** The provider for the page quote, Emiya Shirou can only use a single projection magecraft properly. [[spoiler: But thanks to this, he can copy the Noble Phantasm of every hero he encounters, granting him their skills alongside it. He can also make the projections have the same power as the original for one attack, a technique called Broken Phantasm. By Shirou's own admission, he could never stand up to a Servant like Saber who dedicated themselves to one weapon even with this power. But his power to project, combined with his Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works, is the perfect counter to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon, as demonstrated in the Unlimited Blade Works route]].
** Archer [[spoiler: being a future version of Emiya Shirou, can do this as well but is far better at it.]]

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': Rimuru Tempest possesses the Predator Skill, allowing him to [[CannibalismSuperpower copy the abilities and transform into any creature he eats]], Great Sage, a nigh-omniscient guide that can tell him almost anything about the world, Pain Nullification, which allows him to FeelNoPain. Combined, it gives him the ability to develop endlessly.