History Main / PhlebotinumBattery

[[folder:literature]]

* A [[GreenLantern Green Lantern's]] ring is charged by a lantern connected to the central battery on Oa. The ring had a limited power life span and they would have to recharge it every so often (the exact time would change based on the continuity).

* In ''SupermanReturns'', Superman was weakened with a Kryptonite shard in his side, so he [[FightOffTheKryptonite Fought Off the Kryptonite]] by rising into the sunlight.

* The titular hero of 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.

* The giant Anteus, from Myth/GreekMythology, had undefeatable strength as long as he was touching the earth. The moment he was lifted into the air, he lost his strength, thus making this trope OlderThanFeudalism.

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'' runs on an engine powered by 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.

* MarvelComics uses this a lot:
** ComicBook/{{X-Men}} leader ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}' red optic blasts are charged by solar power. In a pinch they can be charged by Storm's lightning (which turns them white) but it is not at all pleasant for him if he does it.

* ''{{Champions}}''. Powers can be defined as drawing power from an Endurance Battery, which can be recharged through various means (electricity, sunlight, radiation, waiting for the next adventure to begin, and so on).
* This is how [[{{Mana}} Essence]] in general works in ''{{Exalted}}''; it's recharged by "respiring" the local Essence (a process made more efficient by increasing levels of relaxation), with some circumstances (most notably natives of Creation or the Underworld being in the non-native one) making such respiration harder or impossible. [[PlaceOfPower Demesnes and manses]] (and the [[PowerCrystal hearthstones]] produced by the latter) and [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly prayer]] also help recharge Essence.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', waterbenders are at their peak under a full moon. Firebenders are at their normal peak under the sun. When a comet passes through the atmosphere it supercharges the firebenders' abilities, which is a major plot point throughout the series. Also, to a lesser degree waterbenders gain strength at night, and firebenders gain strength in the day.

** Water is SubMariner's power source. He's still strong out of it, but if you've exposed him to heat or dehydration, immersing him in water again will restore him to strength.

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'' runs on an engine powered by Photon Atomic engine. When it runs out of Photon energy, it ceases functioning and it has to be replenished to work again. Its sucessors ''Anime/GreatMazinger'' and ''{{Mazinkaiser}}'' also works with a Photon engine. Another of its sucessors, ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' works with the same principle but different energy source.

* In {{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.
* In ''LoisAndClark'':

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

* TheFlash normally doesn't have this problem as he can access the Speed Force from anywhere in the universe. But in JLAAvengers, he needed a battery pack to store energy for when he traveled to the Marvel Universe which doesn't have a speed force or anything like it.

** In the same vein, the various ''GetterRobo''s are powered by Getter Energy, though some canons state that it can actually recharge itself.

* The giant Anteus, from GreekMythology, had undefeatable strength as long as he was touching the earth. The moment he was lifted into the air, he lost his strength, thus making this trope OlderThanFeudalism.

* {{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.

** The BlackPanther gets his powers charged by a plant extract of Wakandan origin.

** MoonKnight gets power boosts from the full moon.

* In the live action ''HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse'' film, 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.

* While many ''{{Gundam}}''-based Mobile Suits are explicably stated that they're ran on some sort of nuclear power, ''{{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.

[[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

[[AC:Folklore]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:Religion and Mythology]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]