History Main / PowerCopying

* The action figures (based on the [[Series/MegaMan Ruby-Spears animated series]],) has this as its main feature. Every robot figure in the line can replace one hand with a spring loaded arm canon (though only a couple actually COME with an arm canon) and all the various weapons are completely interchangeable, which not only allows Mega Man himself to do his thing, but many other wild combinations--like having Cut Man fire plasma shots, bombs, or even Guts Man's fire hydrant from his head.

[[caption-width-right:300:{{Kirby}} might be the only one better at this than {{Megaman}}]]

* MegaManMegaMix: Not as prominent as other versions, but Mega Man DOES copy powers here.

* MegaMan of Archie Comics. It's pretty accurate to games, though also a source of angst as Rock is inherently a pacifist who is gaining ever more powerful weapons.

* The MegaMan action figures (based on the [[Series/MegaMan Ruby-Spears animated series]],) has this as its main feature. Every robot figure in the line can replace one hand with a spring loaded arm canon (though only a couple actually COME with an arm canon) and all the various weapons are completely interchangeable, which not only allows Mega Man himself to do his thing, but many other wild combinations--like having Cut Man fire plasma shots, bombs, or even Guts Man's fire hydrant from his head.

* MegaMan is the (former) TropeNamer, having the ability to utilize the weapons of the various Robot Masters that serve as the bosses for the series--though there is some occasional alteration for the sake of gameplay or other compatibility issues. Almost all his Expies and AlternateUniverse counterparts either have this ability direct or use something based off the same concept.
** Taken [[UptoEleven up to the extreme]] in Z4, where you can take each and every one of the mook's weapon using your [[TrickedoutGloves Z-Knuckle]].

** If this is true, then it gives rise to FridgeLogic, since in ShadowTheHedgehog the implication is that Chaos Control and Spear [[spoiler: are abilities inherent to Black Arms, or at least those with Black Doom's blood in them.]] It's more consistent to say that he went the MegaManning route, ''[[MindScrew somehow.]]''
*** The best explanation is a brief scene showing Sonic captured in a prison. When Amy lets him out she finds the walls absolutely ''covered'' with complex math equations and a few drawings of things like Chaos Emeralds. While never fully explained, the implication seems to be that Sonic simply mathed it out.
**** Weren't those Gerald Robotnic's, as seen in his video message on the Arc?
* There are some examples in the Sonic series.

** Actually, what happened was he generated a giant version of himself from within the giant that ate him, causing said giant to explode. He then proceeded to beat the hell out of the other giants with the giant version of himself. He is capable to generating all or part of his giant form whenever he bleeds (which is why he bites down on his thumb to transform from that point onward), though he can't really control it all that well.

See also PowersAsPrograms and AwesomenessByAnalysis. Compare AllYourPowersCombined, AdaptiveAbility and TheAssimilator. Supertrope of VictorGainsLosersPowers, where the character gets powers after he's defeated the enemy.

** Even more so, he uses his ability of reflecting an enemy's moves to predict what they would do next. Which got him absolutely nothing when Deadpool kicked his ass with the power of dance and randomness.

%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1312664506077289700

[[quoteright:241:[[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kirby_Sucks_Cut2_7867.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:241:Sometimes, you really ''are'' [[LiteralMetaphor what you eat.]]]]

* In ''TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the player, as the Dragonborn, has the power to absorb the souls of slain dragons, which can be used to unlock [[WordOfPower shouts]], [[OurDragonsAreDifferent the incantations that give dragons their powers]].

* In ''MetroidPrime 1'', Samus gets her Plasma Beam by copying what was apparently originally a beam used by the Space Pirates for mining.
** Samus gets a missile expansion from the Dark Missile Trooper in ''MetroidPrime'' 2.

See also PowersAsPrograms and AwesomenessByAnalysis. Compare AllYourPowersCombined, AdaptiveAbility and TheAssimilator. Supertrope of YourDefeatMeansIObtainYourPowers, where the character gets the powers only after he's defeated the enemy.

* The gloriously bonkers NeonGenesisEvangelion CrackFic ''ALiitleAngelOnMyShoulder'' has the Instrumemory system, which is a bit different from most examples of this trope since it involves the Shoulder Angels (basically pint-sized ghosts of the canon Angels) temporarily merging with the Eva to allow it to borrow the Angel in question's abilities.

See also PowersAsPrograms and AwesomenessByAnalysis. Compare AllYourPowersCombined, AdaptiveAbility and YouWillBeAssimilated. Supertrope of YourDefeatMeansIObtainYourPowers, where the character gets the powers only after he's defeated the enemy.

** Played with in Milky Way Wishes, where Kirby cannot copy enemies by eating them. Kirby has to find them in capsules hidden throughout the levels, which lets Kirby can select that ability at any time from the pause screen, much like ''VideoGame/MegaMan''. [[spoiler: The Copy ability is unaffected, which makes it much more useful - [[GuideDangIt if you know where to find it.]]]]

* Rogue from ''{{X-Men}}'' is possibly the best-known example besides the TropeNamer. However, her power works on bare skin contact and works [[BlessedWithSuck whether she wants it to or not]], and [[IncrediblyLamePun sucks]] the life out of the victim. This has been a constant source of angst, but at least once it's been {{Lampshade}}d that she could wear a power inhibitor that she could disable at will, but [[{{Wangst}} where'd be the fun in that?]]. There have been other X-Men examples over the years:

* [[MegaManBattleNetWork Bass.EXE]] has his Get ability, which he uses to absorb data to gain more power and abilities, not unlike his Classic counterpart.

* ''TigerAndBunny'' [[spoiler: Kaede]] can imitate the power of any NEXT she touches, a very ''very'' important plot twist.

* Taskmaster, of MarvelComics, possesses photographic reflexes. He can do anything after seeing it performed once, with exactly as much skill as the person he watched had in the task. Up to and including [[http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3841/751/1600/AgentX05-Taskmaster.jpg Chow Yun-Fat]]. However, he gains the ability to use it, not their powers. Meaning he can do the same flips as Spider-man, but he'll never be able to leap off a sheer wall. However, he can watch a scene in fast-forward and perform it at double-speed for a (very) limited time.

[[quoteright:241:[[{{Kirby}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kirby_Sucks_Cut2_7867.jpg]]]]

-->-- '''Game/MegaMan''', [[Series/MegaMan Ruby-Spears animated series]] (1995)

* Kazuo Kiriyama in [[BattleRoyale Battle Royale]]. He can mimic the skilled martial artist Sugimura after seeing him use the moves in combat a couple of times. Even when Sugimura gains the ability to [[spoiler: use ki attacks]], Kiriyama quickly copies this as well.

* How Urahara trained Ichigo in ''{{Bleach}}''. Knowing he didn't have time to actually learn to fight, [[TrainingFromHell he just pummeled him until he learned]] the moves that were being used against him.

* Several characters from ''{{The Prince of Tennis}}'' have an ability referred to as State of Self-Actualisation (Muga no Kyouchi), which allows them to subconsciously replicate any techniques ever witnessed. Some other characters, while not possessing Muga, can also duplicate their opponents' moves, giving them a mental edge.

* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' gives us Ku Nel. His Pactio card [[spoiler: allows him to become anyone he's met for a few minutes, complete with all their abilities. However, he can't maintain someone stronger than him for more than that.]]

* In ''OnePiece'', Luffy is able to replicate [[FlashStep Soru]] after [[AwesomenessByAnalysis watching]] the technique a couple of times and adapting his RubberMan powers to allow his body to perform the task.

* [[WalkingTheEarth Wandering]] [[ActionGirl Warrior]] [[MeaningfulName Reina]] enters the ''QueensBlade'' competition after dueling (and losing too) several of the other Queen's Blade competitors and incorporating their moves into her repertoire, taking her from rank amateur to world champion, and later defeats her friends and allies in the competition by taking on their ''goals'' and making them her own. As a ''finishing move''.
* In ''{{Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas}}'', Leo Regulus can fully understand how a technique works, copy it and execute it ''better than the original user'' just by seeing it.

* Road Roller Extreme from [[http://fav.me/d4a27sp Super Milestone Wars]], a [[SuperRobotGenre super robot]] that can assume the power or MechaExpansionPack of any other super robot in fiction.

* In the ''{{Touhou}}'' FanFic [[FanFic/ImperfectMetamorphosis Imperfect Metamorphosis]], [[spoiler:Rin Satsuki can absorb other people]]. By doing so, she becomes able to replicate their powers and appearances.

* In ''KamenRiderDecade'', the eponymous hero possesses the ability to transform into one of his nine predecessors ([[KamenRiderKuuga Kuuga]] [[KamenRiderAgito t]][[KamenRiderRyuki h]][[KamenRiderFaiz r]][[KamenRiderBlade o]][[KamenRiderHibiki u]][[KamenRiderKabuto g]][[KamenRiderDenO h]] [[KamenRiderKiva Kiva]]), gaining all the abilities and equipment that comes with them. The only difference is that he retains his own TransformationTrinket belt, since his powers operate by using a [[CardBattleGame card reader in the buckle]].

* In ''[[WorldOfDarkness Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', a vampire can steal another vampire's power by devouring the vampire's soul. The game considers this act, called Diablerie, to be a Very, Very Bad Thing, especially in the eyes of the Camarilla... Though they mostly dislike it for the precedent it sets.
* In ''{{Exalted}}'', Eclipse Caste Solars and Moonshadow Caste Abyssals can learn the Charms of other types of Exalted, as well as Charms unique to spirits. The catch is they have to be taught the Charm by an Exalt of that type (or Spirit) who knows it.
* In the ''DungeonsAndDragons'' book Serpent Kingdoms, the Sarrukh has an ability called "Manipulate Form" which can permanently imbue any reptilian creature with its own physical features and powers. This forms the basis of the infamous GameBreaker character "Pun-Pun", which can copy ''everything in the universe at the same time'', [[UpToEleven with the power increased]] [[BeyondTheImpossible as much as he wants]]. By some interpretations of the rules he can even ''make up'' things to copy.

* The Tyranids of ''Warhammer40K'' do something similar to MegaManning. When they turn their opponents into the raw materials to make more Tyranids, they also absorb their information and occasionally their traits; these are then used by the hive fleet to make it easier to counter those tactics and abilities. Some sources also hint that some varieties of Tyranid were "invented" using the DNA of certain foes, such as the psychic Zoanthropes (believed to have come from Eldar DNA) and the durable Tyrant Guard (supposedly created with Space Marine DNA).

* The [[VariantChess chess variant]] ''[=PlunderChess=]'' allows pieces that capture other pieces to use the captured piece's move once.

* In ''Metroid Prime 1'', Samus gets her Plasma Beam by copying what was apparently originally a beam used by the Space Pirates for mining.

* In the ''{{Disgaea}}'' series, characters are able to learn magic, weapon skills, and abilities from others on their team through different methods, depending on the game.
** In the first two games, only magic could be learned via the master and student system, which allows a character to use the spells of an adjacent unit if they were the ones who created them. The spell would be learned permanently with enough uses.
** ''{{Disgaea 3}}'' introduces the Class World, where a character who's leading a school club can learn the magic, weapon skills, and abilities (Or "evilities", as they're called in-game) possessed by any characters in the same club, albeit for a much higher price then what they purchased them for. It also gives [[{{Disgaea 2}} Yukimaru]] a unique primary evility that makes her to copy the primary evility of a target she kills.

* Many variations on the Blue Mage from the ''FinalFantasy'' series of games work like this. The precise variant varies from game to game -- sometimes, they have to be hit by the ability, and in others they merely have to be in the party when the ability is used, and some have to do something special related to killing the enemy to do it (''FinalFantasyX'' has you use an Absorb-like spell, while ''FinalFantasyIX'' has you eating and cooking enemies). ''FinalFantasyVI'' specifies that the Blue Mage has to ''see'' the spell being cast, so he can't learn anything if he's [[StandardStatusEffects Blinded]]. In a variation on the theme, Summoners in the series often must defeat prospective summons in combat before being allowed to summon them.

** Blue Mages in [[FinalFantasyXI Aht Urhgan]] are able to use monster abilities because ''[[{{Squick}} monster parts are grafted onto their body]]''. Story-wise, becoming a Blue Mage is akin to [[DealWithTheDevil selling your soul]].
** This is how Ramza learns the Ultima spell in FinalFantasyTactics, having to get hit first. [[spoiler:You need to be a Squire for that battle, and be careful not to be turned into a frog or charmed instead]].

** Enemy Skill materia in ''FinalFantasyVII'' also lets you learn a, well, enemy's skill that is used on you.
** Also inverted by a boss in ''FinalFantasyV'', he can learn Blue Magic from your party. [[AnticlimaxBoss Including]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Self-Destruct.]]
* ''FinalFantasyX's'' Blitz Ball mini game allows the players of your team to mark and learn new abilities from the players of the opponent team.

** This also carried over to ''SuperSmashBros'', although he can't really eat his enemies. He also only copies one move of the inhaled opponent, which replaces his Inhale move until you decide to drop the ability by taunting or if you take enough damage from the opponent(s).
** In KirbySuperStar, he can even use the ability to create a "Helper", an ally with similar abilities to the enemy that commonly has the skill (often a PaletteSwap). The helpers themselves has a bit of MegaManning; if one's health is reduced to zero, they begin to glow before exploding. In this state, they simply need to touch an enemy to turn into that enemy's respective helper and completely restore their health to boot. One of the abilities also allows Kirby to copy powers by scanning the enemy rather than inhaling them. This is rather pointless for Kirby, but gives the Helper even more freedom.
** Played with in Milky Way Wishes, where Kirby cannot copy enemies by eating them. Kirby has to find them in capsules hidden throughout the levels, which lets Kirby can select that ability at any time from the pause screen, much like Mega Man. [[spoiler: The Copy ability is unaffected, which makes it much more useful - [[GuideDangIt if you know where to find it.]]]]
* Shanoa in ''{{Order of Ecclesia}}'' is able to perform power-copying feats by absorbing magical glyphs. In several cases, she can steal a monster's magic in the middle of battle. [[spoiler:She even ''kills a boss'' this way.]]
** Don't forget Dimitrii from ''[[CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Dawn of Sorrow]]'', who can copy ''Soma's'' magic souls by being hurt by them... However, it makes him a pathetically easy boss if you know what soul to use on him - he ''will'' copy that attack, no matter what it is, so making him use a weak and easily avoidable attack makes the battle a cakewalk.

* ''Samurai Legend Musashi'' allowed you to copy the moves of any enemy by completing a button-press sequence.
** The game to which Samurai Legend is a Spiritual Sequel, ''BraveFencerMusashi'', also allowed Musashi to copy enemy moves by absorbing the enemies into his shortsword, the aptly-named Fusion. He could only hold one at once, though, as opposed to Samurai Legend's version being able to learn as many as he pleases.

** The final boss of ''Sonic Heroes'' copies Chaos Control from Shadow, Chaos' ability to manipulate water (Though in this case, he uses metal) from Froggy and Cheese and everyone elses' own powers.

* ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', does essentially the same thing. On the [[KarmaMeter dark side path]], the player character can learn complex lightsaber techniques and Force forms from Jedi Masters while fighting them. To be fair, the Jedi Masters do [[LampshadeHanging protest that this is impossible...]] [[spoiler:it turns out to be part of your character's unique abilities]]

* Shirou of ''FateStayNight'' ([[spoiler: and by extension, Archer]]) is a rather IneptMage in most aspects, but he eventually discovers that [[spoiler:he excels in a special brand of Projection magic, able to reconstruct any sword-type weapon he sees as well as the original's owner's skill in using it]]. In the final route of the game, [[spoiler:True Assassin]] seems to exhibit a form of this, as well, gaining form and intelligence by eating the hearts/bodies of his opponents.
* In the obscure [[CyberPunk cyberpunk]] FPS game ''[=CyberMage=]'' by Origin, one of the ways the titular character can gain new Darklight spells is by allowing them to hit him, so that the crystal implanted in his forehead can replicate the spell. You can do this either by letting enemies cast the spell on you, or by finding Icons that cast the spell and shooting one into a nearby wall.

* Kingdom Hearts 2 has that and the Drive Forms. Each form's fighting style is a reflection of the person from whom the form is derived:

* The ''BreathOfFire'' series. In many of the titles, you can copy specific enemy abilities by simply witnessing them (in ''III'' it was a Examine command, and in 4 you merely had to be Defending.).

* Marisa Kirisame of ''{{Touhou}}'' has a variation on this, where she actually [[KleptomaniacHero steals the spells or spellbooks of others]]. She has only a small few spells that are actually of her own design (and rarely even uses them), even her own signature move was stolen from Yuuka (although since [[KamehameHadoken Master Spark]] seems to be an innate ability, it seems to be a more 'pure' example of this trope than spellbook-based [[BeamSpam Non-Directional Laser]].) Since spellbooks are specifically stated in canon to be illegible to anyone who is not at least as great a mage as the one who wrote the spellbook when they wrote it, the fact that [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower "mere" human Marisa]] can swipe powers from [[WitchSpecies Patchouli]], much less [[PhysicalGod Yuuka]], however, implies she has at least in some way earned her powers.

** Humorously, in the Windows era Marisa is something of a CompositeCharacter of her prior incarnation and various other PC-98 characters. She has Mega Manned her ''appearance and personality''.
** One of the official supplementals, "Grimoire of Marisa", uses this as its framing device. Marisa compiles a list of other people's spell cards, and ranks them according to how useful it would be to Mega Man them (rejecting many based on her inability to copy the [[RequiredSecondaryPowers required secondary powers]], her doubts on her ability to [[HowDoIShotWeb control them]], or... well... because they're [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway not worth the trouble to steal]]).
** Also from ''TouhouProject'', Satori Komeiji of ''Subterranean Animism'' is able to copy your partner's spellcards with her mind-reading powers, making her stage a NostalgiaLevel.

* Marivel of ''WildArms2'' and Emma of the ''WildArms1'' remake build up their skill set by stealing/downloading the abilities of the monsters they meet.
* As a MegaMan homage, {{Rosenkreuzstilette}} has Spiritia plays it straight, Grolla averts it, and Freudia uses an odd variation by retooling the attacks to fit her [[AnIcePerson Ice Person]] status.

* A darker version in {{Myth}}. As part of the ViciousCycle, the Leveler, a dark god that destroys the world every thousand years, [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnates]] the last hero who defeated him and turns them into the next Leveler.

* Red Mage of ''[[EightBitTheater 8-Bit Theater]]'' can copy the last action he's seen, though only once. This is because his class was changed to Mime -- a real class from the FinalFantasy series -- but the author uses it for occasional references to [[http://nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=060114 Marvel's Taskmaster]] as well.

* The BigBad of AkumaTH is The Undertaker (No, not [[TheUndertaker that one]]), a demon with the ability to copy and absorb a person's soul, gaining that person's strength, techniques, and knowldge. [[spoiler: He can copy inanimate objects, too, as long as they have energy.]] Gemel from TonyTH learns any move that he personally sees. [[http://www.mgcomics.com/AkumaTh/Misc/GhostPast_27.gif When the two meet during a crossover]], [[DiscussedTrope The Undertaker briefly discusses the different methods that can be used to perform this trope]]. [[spoiler: 'Taker then proposes that they copy each others' ability to copy, allowing them both to copy a person's entire moveset just by looking at them.]]

* The Shushu Anathar from ''{{Wakfu}}'' can copy the magic of anyone he touches. He can even those use their magic ''better'' than they can. When he copied Yugo's power he could create dozens of portals at once while Yugo is only able to create one pair of portals at a time.

Named for the ability of video game hero Game/MegaMan to copy the special move of each major opponent [[YourDefeatMeansIObtainYourPowers that he defeats]]. Contrast with DittoFighter, where the copying of the opponent's moveset ([[ShapeShifting among other things]]) only lasts for a single battle/match involving that opponent.

This has absolutely nothing to do with two certain active quarterbacks in the NFL who happen to be brothers... Or their father for that matter... Or their [[LongLostSibling other]] [[http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55329 brother]]. Also not to be confused with the term commonly used in the spriting community, where Mega Manning is making "8-bit" characters with more than four colors (including transparency), as the original NES Mega Man games were able to do by drawing the face as a separate object.