History Main / MuggleBornOfMages

** ''MageTheAwakening'' has Proximi, who are dynastic hereditary Sleepwalkers: [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]] who do not have the supernal power of mages, but can witness it without violating the WeirdnessCensor. A Proximus, unlike a Sleepwalker, is born into an established family of mages and other Proximi, and ''can'' use limited supernal magic. Mages also believe Proximi are more likely to Awaken than other Sleepers.

[[SuperpowerfulGenetics Children of superparents get superpowers...except when they don't.]]

!!Examples
[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:Film]]

* Jack-Jack in ''TheIncredibles.'' [[spoiler:But subverted by the end, and in the associated short.]]

[[AC:Literature]]

* In ''World Weavers'', Thea is the seventh child of two seventh children...and she doesn't have any of the normal magics. (She gets a cool power later, but it's ''not'' magic.) At one point, it says that children around the country send her mail--when she's just days old--about how powerful she is...sucks to be her.
* In the second of the {{Abhorsen}} trilogy, the protagonist Lirael is born of the Clayr, seeresses who live in the cold northern arctic. Most girls are expected to gain the Sight around the time they hit puberty, but as Lirael enters her late teens, she still shows no sign of it, and agonizes over being considered still a child and an outcast.

* Granta Omega from the StarWarsExpandedUniverse is the normal son of [[spoiler: Xanatos]], a former Jedi. However, while he isn't Force-sensitive, he does have the ability to slip past any being's senses, even a Jedi's.

[[AC:Comics]]
* Tyler in PS238.
** Hardly counts; he's clearly got BadassNormal ''potential'', even if he's not quite there yet.
** And he's not so much bitter over not having powers as frustrated with his parent's putting him in potentially dangerous situations so he can get powers. And then paying more attention to [[spoiler:his clone which does have powers]].
** One of PS238's main arcs is Tyler's evolution from this trope into a BadassNormal.
* Mystique and Victor Creed/Sabertooth had a child together, who turned out to be a human (for those two, must be karma), which is almost unheard of for two mutants. He went on to become an anti-mutant extremist out of jealously and [[{{ptitlefer89dxpeovn}} his parents' rejection]].
** Not so unheard of: You also had Quicksilver and Crystal's child, Luna. At least until her parents exposed her to [[SuperpowerLottery the Terrigen Mist]] (Which is apparently S.O.P. among Crystal's people, the Inhumans, for those who aren't born with powers).
*** Technically, Crystal wasn't another mutant, she was an Inhuman. Apparently the mutant gene and the Inhuman genetics cancelled each other out and Luna was effectively a normal human. Then her crazy father exposed her to a rather high amount of Terrigen Mist to empower her -- this was ''[[AbusiveParents extremely]]'' risky since Terrigen Mist exposure can have [[{{Understatement}} unpleasant]] effects on anyone who isn't a pure Inhuman.
* Joel Kent in the Generations series was exposed to Gold Kryptonite in the womb making him the muggle son of {{Superman}}. It doesn't help that his younger sister Kara got to keep her powers. Eventually, Lex Luthor uses his jealousy and an unstable repowering formula as part of a revenge plot against the Man of Steel.
* Wally West's son. He had powers till the {{Flash}} Rebirth storyline but was sharing an unstable link with his sister. When it stabilized, it all ended up in her.

* In [[WerewolfTheApocalypse Werewolf: the Apocalypse]], Kinfolk are humans or wolves with werewolf blood, immunity to the [[WeirdnessCensor Delirium]], at least loose connections to werewolf society...and nothing else. No shapeshifting or [[FunctionalMagic Gifts]] for you, sorry!
** WerewolfTheForsaken has the wolf-blooded, functionally the same, but who get at least a ''little'' more respect than their spiritual ancestors. One of the splatbooks gave them their own share of abilities.

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* The Dark Knight in HarryPotterComics is a squib and can't use wands or magic on his own. But he's highly practiced as a magical artificer, welding magic into everyday objects, including his own battle armor (kevlar-lined full plate) that makes him highly resistant to bullets, swords, AND magic attacks.

* On ''SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries,'' Tim the Witch-Smeller was one of these---worse, he was apparently unique, so he grew up [[FreudianExcuse mocked and tormented by his empowered peers]]. The result---a psychopathic hunter with a [[FantasticRacism grudge against witches]].

* Joel Kent in the Generations series was exposed to Gold Kryptonite in the womb making him the muggle son of Superman. It doesn't help that his younger sister Kara got to keep her powers. Eventually, Lex Luthor uses his jealousy and an unstable repowering formula as part of a revenge plot against the Man of Steel.

* [[MahouSenseiNegima Takamichi T. Takahata]] was born unable to cast spells, but, as a member of [[BadassCrew Ala Rubra]], is still one of the most [[BadassNormal powerful fighters of the magic world]], in part because he can use the powerful [[YinYangBomb ''kanka'' technique]].
* Similarly, Rock Lee from ''{{Naruto}}'' is unable to use [[FunctionalMagic Ninjutsu]] or [[MasterOfIllusion Genjutsu]], but achieves Badass status through hard work.

** SkyHigh borrowed a lot of elements from the Disney Channel movie, ''Up Up and Away'' (all they really changed was making the main [[RaceLift character white]] and having him get [[BrokenAesop superpowers in the end after all)]].

** The whole of the support system of Konoha: if you live there, you went to Ninja Acadamy. If you are not a ninja, then you flunked out, and now work in some non-military position (like running the ramen stand).

** And he's not so much bitter over not having powers as frustrated with his parent's putting him in potentially dangerous situations so he can get powers. And then paying more attention to his clone which does have powers.

Contrast AlmightyJanitor, BadassNormal. Compare ArthurDent. A {{subversion}} of LamarckWasRight. Compare UnSorcerer.

Contrast AlmightyJanitor, BadassNormal. Compare ArthurDent. A {{subversion}} of LamarckWasRight. Not to be confused with the UnSorcerer, who is the ''only'' {{muggle}} around, and generally gets a ''big'' [[TheChosenOne consolation prize]].

Contrast AlmightyJanitor, BadassNormal. Compare ArthurDent. A {{subversion}} of LamarckWasRight. Not to be confused with the UnSorcerer, who is the ''only'' {{muggle}} around.

Contrast AlmightyJanitor, BadassNormal. Compare ArthurDent. A {{subversion}} of LamarckWasRight. Not to be confused with the Unsorcerer, who is the ''only'' [[muggle]] around.

Contrast AlmightyJanitor, BadassNormal. Compare ArthurDent. A {{subversion}} of LamarckWasRight.

* Similarly, in the ''CodexAlera'' main protagonist Tavi lives in a society where everybody has ElementalPowers of various combinations and strengths... except him. He's treated with patronizing politeness at best and outright contempt at worst by just about everyone outside his small circle of friends and family, but makes up for his lack of raw power by using [[GuileHero his brain]]. [[spoiler: It turns out that Tavi is actually a scion of the ruling bloodline- his mother did a bit of crafting that delayed his powers coming in, among other effects, to conceal his identity).

* Similarly, [[{{Naruto}} Rock Lee]] is unable to use [[FunctionalMagic Ninjutsu]] or [[MasterOfIllusion Genjutsu]], but achieves BadassNormal status through hard work.
** The whole of the support system of Konoha: if you live there, you went to Ninja Acadamy. If you are not a ninja, then you flunked out, and now work in some non-millitary position (like running the ramen stand).

*** Technically, Crystal wasn't another mutant, she was an Inhuman. Apparently the mutant gene and the Inhuman genetics cancelled each other out and Luna was effectively a normal human. Then her crazy father exposed her to a rather high amount of Terrigen Mist to empower her -- this was ''[[ParentalAbuse extremely]]'' risky since Terrigen Mist exposure can have [[{{Understatement}} unpleasant]] effects on anyone who isn't a pure Inhuman.

* Subverted with [[spoiler:Jack-Jack]] in ''TheIncredibles.''

* The TropeNamer is Argus Filch, the [[HarryPotter Hogwarts]] caretaker (essentially a janitor), who is a squib (wizard-born muggle), and the mean-spirited version of this trope. J.K. Rowling tells us we should feel sorry for him. This is kind of hard sometimes.

Contrast AlmightyJanitor, BadassNormal. Compare ArthurDent.

* In World Weavers, Thea is the seventh child of two seventh children...and she doesn't have any of the normal magics.( she gets a cool power later, but it's''not'' magic.) at one point, it says that children around the country send her mail- when she's just day's old- about how powerful she is...sucks to be her.

* In [[WorldOfDarkness Werewolf: the Apocalypse from the OWoD]], Kinfolk are humans or wolves with werewolf blood, immunity to the [[WeirdnessCensor Delirium]], at least loose connections to werewolf society... and nothing else. No shapeshifting or [[FunctionalMagic Gifts]] for you, sorry!

**Also Mrs. Figg, who's a ''[[{{Understatement}} bit]]'' more friendly, if still batty and weird.

**Also Mrs. Figg, who's a ''bit'' more friendly, if still batty and weird.
* In ''{{Twilight}}'', the evil vampires have a human secretary. OrSoIHeard.
** That doesn't count, she's just someone they hired.