History Main / MagneticPlotDevice

[[folder:Comics]]

* One of the many variations of {{Supergirl}} (written by PeterDavid) had her move to a small town. Naturally, crazed super villains followed. This was partly explained by a mystical river that ran underneath the town, it attracted oddness like deer to a salt lick.

-->-- ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}''

* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'' actually made a plot point about how busy they were being related to an apartment building that attracted supernatural energy. This building was specifically designed as a dimensional portal to bring in Gozer the Gozerian, an ancient god not seen for the last 7,000 odd years.
** The river of slime in the second movie also filled this role.
** The video game also does this as it's revealed [[spoiler:Ivo Shandor, the cult leader/architect who rigged the apartment building, also rigged the library and hotel from the first film, and the museum from the second, as nodes for this city wide apparatus meant to fuel Gozer's Destructor form, with the apartment building being the door. His old estate was a castle/laboratory where the slime river was first made before it was pumped into the sewer. Also it was revealed one of Ivo's henchmen killed Eleanor Twitty, who became the librarian ghost.]]

* The MarvelCinematicUniverse introduces the Infinity Stones, which has an impact on ''at least'' half the films. ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' has the Tesseract fuel the MadScience of the BigBad (and hints suggests the new element Tony created in ''Film/IronMan2'' is based on it), which previously appeared in TheStinger of [[AnachronicOrder the chronologically later]] ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and becomes the MacGuffin for ''Film/TheAvengers2012''. ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' reveals a new Stone in the Aether and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' makes the connection between the Orb, Aether and Tesseract. It takes until Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron and the discovery of the Mind Stone within the Scepter ([[ChekhovsGun previously an artifact in the first Avengers]]) for the characters to start recognizing the pattern and theorize someone, which the audience knows is ComicBook/{{Thanos}}, has been playing [[TheChessmaster a long form game with them]]. The storyline of the Infinity Stones will reach their apex in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.

* Throughout the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise, John Connor is the Magnetic Plot Device for both himself and his mother, as well as his uncle and robot sister in [[Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles the series]].

* In {{Kekkaishi}}, there are spiritual hot-spots (like Karasumori) that attract Ayakaishi (demons) who are hungry for power. In the beginning, this was the source of almost every MonsterOfTheWeek.

* Throughout the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' franchise, John Connor is the Magnetic Plot Device for both himself and his mother, as well as his uncle and robot sister in [[TheSarahConnorChronicles the series]].

** It also helps that Ichi does such a bad job of containing said spiritual power that he ends up SuperEmpowering a lot of the people who hang out around him.

** It wasn't until the Cell saga, mid-way through ''DBZ'', that they had a BigBad whose plans did not involve the Dragon Balls in any way. (Tenshinhan was never a true "BigBad", only a {{rival}}, and the Piccolo Jr. saga flowed directly from the King Piccolo saga, which did involve the Dragon Balls.)

* In ''SupremePower'', the various parts of the spacecraft that brought Hyperion to Earth tend to catalyze plot-signifigant events, as well as providing a MetaOrigin for most other superhumans.

* TheLostRoom All of the objects attract one another. One object-wielder eventually got tired of being targeted by collectors and gave his up willingly to the hero.

* For ''{{Smallville}}'', the Magnetic Plot Device is not the GreenRocks, but instead is the Kryptonian influence of Jor-El. The GreenRocks were just a side effect of that.

* ''Series/TeenWolf'' doesn't have one to start with, but at the third season break the writers evidently felt they needed an explanation for why things will continue to show up, and they create one by [[spoiler: having the main characters activate the Nematode]], which is said to draw supernatural creatures to it.

* The Allspark from ''TransformersAnimated''. Even with its GottaCatchThemAll status, it certainly keeps things interesting for everyone.

* After capturing so many ghosts, ''TheRealGhostbusters'' eventually had ghosts coming to them, for better or for worse (the "worse" usually being freeing some other ghosts from the [[CardboardPrison containment unit).]]

* The anomalies in ''{{Primeval}}''.

* The Starbrand of ''TheNewUniverse'' is a WeirdnessMagnet and a weirdness ''generator'' all in one, it's the MetaOrigin of [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Paranormals]]... And it [[ArtifactOfDoom blows up cities]] if you mishandle it.

* ''TheWarOfWinds'' The Key shapes events around it and in turn whoever currently possesses it.

* ''[[{{Spelljammer}} Cloakmaster]]'' cycle:

* JonnyQuest's father, Dr. Benton Quest, is a scientific genius and professional Magnetic Plot Device.

* Megas in ''MegasXLR'' is either used to transport the characters to alien places, draws aliens to it, or causes major problems, justifying why two guys from New Jersey encounter so many aliens.

* Season 5 of WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic introduces the "Cutie Map", first shown in the episode of the same name, which is an offshoot of the [[WorldTree Tree of Harmony]]. It can summon all -- or any -- of the Mane Six to deal with friendship crises anywhere in Equestria by making their cutie marks shimmer and vibrate[[note]]at least two {{StealthPun}}s have been noted in this, one of which is related to WatchItForTheMeme[[/note]] and pointing out their destination on the map, and it sends a different signal to their marks when [[ButNowIMustGo they've solved the problem]].

* The MarvelCinematicUniverse introduces the Infinity Stones, which has an impact on ''at least'' half the films. ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' has the Tesseract fuel the MadScience of the BigBad (and hints suggests the new element Tony created in ''Film/IronMan2'' is based on it), which previously appeared in TheStinger of [[AnachronicOrder the chronologically later]] ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and becomes the MacGuffin for ''Film/TheAvengers2012''. ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' reveals a new Stone in the Aether and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' makes the connection between the Orb, Aether and Tesseract. It takes until Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron and the discovery of the Mind Stone within the Scepter ([[ChekhovsGun previously an artifact in the first Avengers]]) for the characters to start recognizing the pattern and theorize someone, which the audience knows is ComicBook/{{Thanos}}, has been playing [[TheChessmaster a long form game with them]]. The storyline of the Infinity Stones will reach their apex in ''Film/TheAvengersInfinityWar''.

* Throughout the ''{{Terminator}}'' franchise, John Connor is the Magnetic Plot Device for both himself and his mother, as well as his uncle and robot sister in [[TheSarahConnorChronicles the series]].
* In the TransformersFilmSeries, the Allspark takes on this role. The first film it was an object that both Autobot and Decepticon wanted and would cause unpredictable things to happen around it (mostly creating mini-robots from nearby mechanical devices). ''TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' used leftover fragments of the Allspark to cause more chaos, the big one being that it downloads a Cybertronian database into Sam's head. While Sam says IJustWantToBeNormal, TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive and this is the only reason why he is involved with the events of the movie at all.

* The Brand of Sacrifice borne by Guts in ''{{Berserk}}'' draws demons to him like a lightning rod, making his life (and the life of his lover Casca, who also bears the Brand) a literal living Hell. The two of them are only alive because Guts is an unstoppable demonslaying {{Badass}} (and because [[spoiler:the Skull Knight has a vested interest in making sure they live to oppose the Godhand]]).

* Inverted with ''TheXFiles''. The files are a constantly growing folder of the unexplained, meaning the characters themselves are searching out the unexplained. This in turn adds to the X-Files.

* A perfect example is in Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series in which the main characters are ta'veren. The ta'veren are people who inexplicably create outrageous coincidences and shape the world around them simply by existing.
** "Outrageous coincidences" are putting it mildly. On one ordinary day while Rand is in the city, a baby falls out of a high window onto cobblestones and crawls away unhurt; a freak wind blows a tiny feather into a man's open mouth and suffocates him to death; and a basket of roof tiles falls off a tower, shatters into a million pieces, and its shards happen to randomly (but perfectly!) form the image on the city's new flag.
** This sort of thing becomes really important in Mat Cauthon's development, once he becomes GenreSavvy. Since he's aware his presence skews probability, Mat takes bets on being able to do impossible things, and then does them-- such as when he throws a knife into a tiny block of wood in midair, a long distance away, while blindfolded.
*** Though he forgot to put any money on that one...

* The One Ring in ''TheLordOfTheRings'', as the Nazgûl are constantly searching for it and it calls out to servants of the Dark Lord to try and get back to his hand. Also, the Silmarils in ''TheSilmarillion'' for more temporal reasons - everyone seems driven mad with the desire to possess them, meaning anyone who holds one can never rest easy. Even if he's [[BigBad Morgoth]].

* In the early Literature/{{Discworld}} novels, Rincewind is a walking magnetic plot device due to being possessed by one of the most powerful spells in the world. He's rid of it at the end of the second book, after which... he's ''still'' a magnet for everything weird that Creator/TerryPratchett wants to throw at him. If it ain't broke...