History Main / PhlebotinumBattery

** Comicbook/MoonKnight gets power boosts from the full moon.

-->-- '''[[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]''', ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', "[[Recap/XMenS4E7SanctuaryPart2 Sanctuary, Part 2]]"

-->-- '''[[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]''', ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', "Sanctuary, Part 2"

* Cole from ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'' needs to be in areas with electricity to recharge his powers, batteries and people can also be drained for power.

This is when a character's powers are charged by some outside source, such as [[ThePowerOfTheSun sunlight]] or electricity or exposure to [[AppliedPhlebotinum Phlebotinium]]. If the hero's powers are ever taken away or are weakened somehow, all the hero needs to do to get them back is regain access to this source of power and they are rejuvenated.

* Anime/{{Daitarn 3}} is powered by the sun.

* WesternAnimation/{{Birdman}} is powered by the sun, as are his sidekicks Birdboy and Birdgirl. Unlike Superman above, his batteries are much, much, shorter in storage capacity, as he runs out within minutes of leaving sunlight.

* {{Superman}}'s powers come from the yellow sun and he is essentially a solar battery. If he is weakened he can regain strength better in sunlight. This was actually a RetCon that has served to become an important part of his mythos and multiple stories have been told surrounding this.

-->-- '''ComicBook/{{Magneto}}''', ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', "Sanctuary, Part 2"

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'' runs on a Photon Atomic engine. When it runs out of Photon energy, it ceases functioning and it has to be replenished to work again. Its successors ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' and ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'' also works with a Photon engine. Another of its sucessors, ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' works with the same principle but different energy source.
** In the same vein, the various ''Manga/GetterRobo''s are powered by Getter Energy, though some canons state that it can actually recharge itself.

** This latter part becomes relevant twice during the series: in the final battle of the second season, the 00 Raiser using both the Exia's and the 0 Gundam's GN Drives to operate means that the repaired and fully combat-ready Exia is forced to sit out most of the battle due to a lack of GN Drive to power it with and [[spoiler:Lasse is forced to use the 0 Gundam with a particle condenser, abandoning it when it runs out of juice - only for Ribbons to rip the Exia's GN Drive off of the 00 Raiser and use it to reactivate the abandoned 0 Gundam while Setsuna uses the 0 Gundam's original GN Drive to reactivate the Exia in turn]]. Then in the movie, [[spoiler:it is revealed that with the Exia and the 0 Gundam having destroyed each other's GN Drives in their MutualKill, Celestial Being sent an expedition out to Jupiter to build replacements and were forced to send the 00 Raiser into battle with particle condensers when the new drives failed to arrive quickly enough]].
* Interesting example in ''Anime/{{K}}'' - Clansmen get their powers from their Kings, and Kings get their powers from the Slates, the real power source (though it's hinted that the Slates get it from somewhere else, but that has yet to be explored). If a King dies, the Clansmen are left with just the powers their King gave them when he was alive, as is the case with [[spoiler: the Red Clan]] in the movie that comes between seasons 1 and 2. But developing a stronger emotional connection with one's King can also make a Clansman more powerful - as in [[spoiler: new Silver Clansman Kuroh]]'s development from the movie through the end of season 2.
* ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable:'' Akira Otoishi's [[FightingSpirit Stand]], Red Hot Chili Pepper, can grow on strength by absorbing electricity around him. The Stand becomes nigh unstoppable when Akira moves to Morioh Town's power plant.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}:'' The "natural energy" is the key for gaining the "Sage Chakra" and entering a state called "Sage Mode". The Sage Chakra is stronger than natural chakra and can strengthen the user's techniques that consume chakra. As one can only gather natural energy by meditating and being completely still, and a body can only hold so much Sage Chakra at any given time, Naruto would have to take care not to use too much Sage Chakra at once whenever he's using Sage Mode - though he finds a way around it, by having his [[SelfDuplication shadow clones]] (which are basically bundles of his chakra taking his shape) meditate and gather natural energy into their own bodies in a safe place, then they "deactivate" themselves, which causes the Sage Chakra in their bodies to flow back to Naruto's main body.

* {{Superman}}'s powers come from the yellow sun and he is essentially a solar battery. If he is weakened he can regain strength better in sunlight. This was actually a RetCon that has served to become an important part of his mythos and multiple stories have been told surrounding this.
** In a more literal example, Superboy Prime built himself a power suit to maintain his solar energy charge and block out red sunlight.
** Ultraman, Superman's EvilTwin from the MirrorUniverse, gets his powers from Kryptonite.

* Ultiman of ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'' is a CaptainErsatz version of Superman, but his powers come from a meteor that struck his shuttle when he was an astronaut. Today, he keeps it in a safe in his Secret Citadel, and exposes himself to its rays every now and then to recharge.
** A pseudo-BadFuture showed a retired Ultiman, who built up a tolerance to the meteor's rays and kept having to expose himself to them for longer and longer until he got radiation sickness and had to quit the superhero game. His powers gradually faded away due to the lack of exposure to the meteor.
* Franchise/TheFlash normally doesn't have this problem as he can access the Speed Force from anywhere in the universe. But in ''ComicBook/JLAAvengers'', he needs a battery pack to store energy for when he travels to the Marvel Universe which doesn't have a speed force or anything like it.
* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'''s Apollo is powered by sunlight (being a Superman expy). In one arc where he's low on power, the plan is to drop him midair and hope he charges up fast enough to fly before he hits the ground.

* In ''Film/MastersOfTheUniverse'', He-Man had his sword taken from him and used to unlock the secret powers of Grayskull. He was left as a strong but weaponless warrior. Retaking his sword from the lock seemed to renew his strength and even frighten the empowered Skeletor.

* The titular hero of Literature/TheElricSaga is normally an enfeebled albino dependent on rare and exotic drugs to maintain his strength and vitality. All this changes when [[SoulCuttingBlade Stormbringer]] enters his life and provides the energy he needs. If seperated from the sword, or if the sword is prevented from feeding on soul-energy it passes to Elric, he sickens and almost dies.

* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark is fighting against his Bizarro clone who has all of his powers inverted. Kryptonite strengthens him and the sunlight weakens him. It was here that Clark learns that the yellow sun fuels his powers. In an earlier episode, solar flares/sun spots cause his powers to go haywire and he doesn't have the same precision control.

* ''Series/Supergirl2015'' had [[Recap/Supergirl2015S2E9SupergirlLives an episode]] where Kara and Mon-El are stranded on an alien planet with a red sun. The team going to rescue them are given a yellow sun grenade in order to restore their powers if necessary.

* Sir Gawaine, from [[KingArthur Arthurian legend]], is solar-powered.

* Ultiman of ''Big Bang Comics'' is a CaptainErsatz version of Superman, but his powers come from a meteor that struck his shuttle when he was an astronaut. Today, he keeps it in a safe in his Secret Citadel, and exposes himself to its rays every now and then to recharge.

A SubTrope of PowerSource. Compare AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome, and PhlebotinumMuncher for when they feed on the phlebotinum itself. If the phlebotinum is commonplace and must be ingested, it's PowerUpFood.

* While many ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''-based Mobile Suits are explicitly stated that they're ran on some sort of nuclear power, ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'' takes the cake - most mook- and enemy- units are initially powered by solar energy, but are easily overwhelmed by the Gundams, which run on GN Particles. By the time the second season starts, everyone has the GN Drives - the engines that run on GN Particles. However, the villains use incomplete variations known as GN Drive Tau, which needs to be replenished once emptied, unlike the true GN Drives.

* Birdman is powered by the sun, as are his sidekicks Birdboy and Birdgirl. Unlike Superman above, his batteries are much, much, shorter in storage capacity, as he runs out within minutes of leaving sunlight.