History Main / PowerIncontinence

** Satori Komeiji has the power to [[{{Telepathy}} read the hearts and minds]] of anyone and everyone with her [[ExtraEyes third eye]], and [[OhGodDidSheJustHearThat the contempt]] [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead this earned her]], both amongst humans and other {{youkai}}, impacted her to such an extent that she willfully exiled herself to [[FantasticGhetto the Underground]] with other undesired youkai.

!!Examples

* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', the superpowered "Contractors" must pay for using their powers by performing a pointless action specific to that individual shortly afterwards. Those who don't have to make such a payment are called "Moratoria", suffering from PowerIncontinence. Moratoria are stated to be extremely rare, the only one shown in the series having been changed from a normal Contractor as a side effect of a contract-suppressing plant. The same person reverted back into a normal Contractor in the end, something stated to have a near-zero likelihood, but not before going on several uncontrolled rampages wherein she [[PlayingWithFire incinerated several people.]] Sometimes the pointless action makes their powers ''very'' much not worth it, like having to drink the blood of children. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Or being forced to smoke.]]

* ''Manga/ShamanKing'': both [[spoiler:Hao]] and [[spoiler:Anna]] have an uncontrollable ability to read minds. This leads to [[spoiler:Hao's StartOfDarkness]] and [[spoiler:causing further PowerIncontinence for Anna in the form of her spontaneously summoning demons]].

** [[spoiler:Kotetsu]] starts showing the first signs of PowerIncontinence when his powers starts going haywire in episode 14 -- increasing in strength dramatically (jumping manages to cause a sonic boom) but also shutting on and off seemingly at random. [[spoiler:It's revealed that he is slowly losing his power, a very rare thing among NEXT, and that his powers going haywire is like a candle flickering brightly before it goes out.]]

** [[spoiler:Black Mage Zeref]] cannot control his magic if he cares for the lives of others. This is very bad since he has ''Death'' magic, and PowerIncontinence turns him into an EnemyToAllLivingThings.

* In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' Gambit joined the evil Fenris corporation because they helped cure his PowerIncontinence. He tells Rogue that his energy charging powers had gone out of control and he couldn't even ''eat'' -- any food he tried to touch would explode.

* PowerIncontinence is the entire point of ''HiddenTalents'' by David Lubar, where six kids meet at a school for delinquents only to discover they have latent psychic powers that caused their apparent behavior problems. By the end of the first book, they all have better control over their powers [[TheWoobie except Lucky]].

* PowerIncontinence is the whole premise driving ''TheGreatestAmericanHero''. It's somewhat self-inflicted: the aliens who gave Ralph Hinkley his power-giving super suit also gave him the instruction manual for it, but he promptly lost it (because this is a comedy and [[HilarityEnsues hilarity must ensue]]). And when he got another copy of the manual, he almost immediately ''lost it again'' trying out one of the powers described. HilarityEnsues as he and his FBI agent side-kick make attempts to determine how to activate the suit's various abilities while fighting crime.

** Many meteor freaks also suffer from PowerIncontinence, like Sean Kelvin who sucks heat out of everything he touches.
* Many of the characters on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' deal with PowerIncontinence in some form or other (and [[IdiotBall intelligence incontinence]] at times, but that's a separate rant).
** A major plot point in the first season dealt with Peter Petrelli having to learn to control the powers he absorbs. PowerIncontinence seems to be a long-term, almost systemic problem for Peter. When he's under pressure, he seems to get ''some'' power, but it's never exactly what he needs (unless he's used it in the past few minutes). If he has time to work at it, though, he can call up a specific power.

* Elliot and Ellen from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' experience what is perhaps one of the most literal forms of this possible; to the extent that Elliot is instructed to use his transformation powers in the privacy of a bathroom at every opportunity so as to prevent "accidents." In fact, anyone who gains their magical powers "improperly" will have some form of PowerIncontinence until their magic power stabilizes.

** In the "Only a Dream" episode, John Dee a.k.a. Doctor Destiny traps several members of the Justice League in their worst nightmares. Three of them have nightmares related to PowerIncontinence. TheFlash gets stuck in SuperSpeed mode so that TimeStandsStill for him. John Stewart's concerns that his new powers as a Franchise/GreenLantern have permanently altered and isolated him from humanity are taken to an extreme (poor guy literally cracks up as Green light bursts out of his body!). The worst is Franchise/{{Superman}}. His powers go out of control and he accidentally kills the people closest to him.

* ''Anime/TanteiOperaMilkyHolmes''
** Sheryl downplays it to the point where all it does is make her look cool. Whenever she uses {{Psychokinesis}} without her hat, [[DramaticWind the ribbon in her hair defies gravity]].
** Ellery's power activates without her control, ''and'' her power is to activate other people's powers.

* Rae, the main character of the series ''{{Fingerprints}}'', can't control her PsychicPowers, and the sudden onslaught of other people's thoughts when her ability first manifests causes her to freak out in public and get committed to a mental institution for a year. She later starts putting wax on her fingers as a sort of makeshift PowerLimiter. There's one other character who also can't turn off their psychic ability, but any difficulties they might have aren't directly addressed in the story.

* In ''VideoGame/CognitionAnEricaReedThriller'', the titular character has the power to briefly look into the past by touching objects imprinted with memories. However, her ability gets extra sensitive if she is emotionally distressed, causing her to involuntary use the power in situations where it is very inconvenient for her.

* In one story from the ''Miles Edgeworth Case Book'' manga for the ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' series, Maya's spiritual powers have developed to the point at which she can unconsciously the spirit of her dead older sister Mia merely by thinking about her in her sleep. At the end of the same story, Pearl shows the same ability.

** After being restored to full power on his return from [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman death]], Superman's powers started slowly increasing which was welcome at first but eventually lead to his powers being out of control and his body physically warped. Eventually cured by having Parasite leech his excess power and the strange element with it that was causing the problem. This also justified an art shift for Parasite from basically looking like a bald man with purple skin to his current more monstrous appearance.

* Like Ghost Rider, the first ComicBook/SpiderWoman was at first unable to keep her pheromones in check, causing guys to be attracted to her and woman repulsed at her. She learns to control it, eventually.
* Black Bolt of TheInhumans has vast energy powers, comparable or exceeding a Herald of Galactus. Sadly, the region of the brain that controls them is the same that controls his voice. The net effect: he can't open his mouth without unleashing devastation. ( Which often gets mistaken for a sonic attack )

* The League of Supermen, a far future team in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}} Annual #8'' all suffer from variants of this, due to each having ''one'' of Superman's powers (and their artificial nature, as they are all humans genetically modified to simulate Kryptonian powers). [[EyeBeams Heat]] has to fire his heat vision every 15 minutes, or he'll burn up from the inside; [[XRayVision See-Through]] has to wear a lead-lined visor when not using his powers; [[{{Flight}} Flyboy]] has to be tethered to stop him drifting away if he doesn't concentrate; [[SuperStrength Pounder]] DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength; and [[NighInvulnerability Shield]] can't feel anything. New recruits [[SuperBreath Tempest]] and [[SuperSpeed Speed]] are given PowerArmor that simulates the powers rather than genetic modification; they still have disadvantages (Tempest can't breathe ''in'' too sharply; Speed needs to constantly replenish her energy) but at least they can turn them off.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Finder}}, Jaeger's healing factor makes him near impossible to kill, but is so robust he ''has to get injured regularly'' to avoid becoming ill.

* The reborn Emperor in the finale of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' comic ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'' creates a Force Storm to deal with a Rebel fleet parked in front of his enormous battlewagon Star Destroyer. When he's about to be killed by the Skywalker twins, somehow he looses control over the Force abomination and it begins to consume him and his ship in a titanic conglomeration of power.

* ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' has a variant with Apachai, as he's extremely powerful and is physically incapable of holding back when he fights. As such, he undergoes [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/history_s_strongest_disciple_kenichi/v03/c023/3.html special]] [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/history_s_strongest_disciple_kenichi/v03/c023/4.html training]] so that he won't accidentally kill Kenichi during training.
* Several people in ''ToAruMajutsuNoIndex''. Touma can't turn his right arm off, so he constantly cancels his own luck and interferes with any magic in the vicinity. Aisa Himegame constantly draws in vampires and kills them en masse. Accelerator suspects that he has such an [[WhitehairedPrettyBoy abnormal appearance]] because his power deflects ''sunlight'' off him, but isn't really sure. Index has no control over her John's Pen mode. [[spoiler: Aureolus Izzard needs intense focus to control his alchemist abilities and appears to rely on some type of acupuncture for it, and it still turns on him. As the final major example, the angel that gets sucked down from Heaven really can't help the fact that it ''has'' to return and that in doing so it will cause a major catastrophe. It doesn't seem very thrilled about the idea.]]
* Yoshiki, a high school student in ''BoogiepopPhantom'', gains an incontinent ability to hear peoples' thoughts in episode nine, "You'll Never Be Young Twice". He promptly discovers that [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead all of his friends dislike him, only sticking around to leech his money]]. He then [[MoreThanMindControl gives his mind away]] to a bad guy out of desperation.
* Tetsuo of ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' starts losing control of his powers following the battle with Kaneda, which manifests as his body starting to mutate around the metal arm he built with them after losing the original to [[KillSat SOL]]. Eventually, [[SuperpowerMeltdown his body starts mutating out of control]], leading to the most horrific scene of the movie.
** In the movie Akira himself seems to have this, as he has reached such a power level that when resurrected his powers automatically destroys the city of Neo-Tokyo and then he dissapears into a dimension of his own creation, sucking down everything within a few miles radius with him.
* Clow Reed of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', ''TsubasaReservoirChronicle'', and ''{{xxxHOLiC}}'', reportedly the most powerful magician to ever exist until the coming of his [[MagicalGirl successor]], caused the plots of ''all three series'' with his power incontinence. He caused the first two by needing to run a GambitRoulette to get rid of his ability to predict the future (he couldn't turn it off), and he caused the latter two by ''accidentally turning someone into a zombie'' simply because while she was dying he wished for her to open her eyes again. The ''entire multiverse'' gets fucked up and screwed over several times in trying to fix that booboo.
* Joshua Christopher from ''ChronoCrusade'' has the power to [[{{telepathy}} read minds]] after he's given the horns of a powerful demon. However, he can't control the power, so it [[TerribleTicking quickly]] [[HearingVoices drives]] [[UnhappyMedium him]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity insane]].
* Ageha, Frederica, and Shao from ''{{Psyren}}'' all have this as a result of their PSI powers being fueled by emotion instead of focus of thought.
* In ''OnePiece'', [[spoiler:Coby developed the ability to use Haki (specifically, the Color of Observation) during the war at Marineford. However, his ability to [[HearingVoices hear voices disappear]] as people die can't seem to be controlled, and it seriously takes a toll on him during said war.]]
** Luffy had the same problem when he developed [[PureAwesomeness Color of the Supreme King Haki]], he ended up knocking out everyone in the general vicinity whenever he lost his temper. [[spoiler: after the TimeSkip, he has full control over it.]]
** [[spoiler:After stealing them Whitebeard's from his corpse, Blackbeard had a test run of his new [[StoryBreakerPower Gura Gura Fruit powers]] and accidentally sent a tsunami at Sabaody Archipeligo.]]

* ''{{Translucent}}'' is a gentle SliceOfLife manga about a girl who's slowly turning invisible. This is presented as a documented medical syndrome, not a special power; at least one adult she knows is permanently invisible. The girl appears more solid when she's feeling self-confident, but will eventually have to learn to find a happy life and accept her condition.
* ''SketDance'' introduces Koma-chan, a ladylike and desperately shy HugeSchoolgirl who is not able to control her enormous strength whenever she's embarrassed.
* Coyote Starrk from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' was so powerful that he inadvertently killed anything that came near him with his [[BattleAura reiatsu]] alone. After wandering the endless desert of Hueco Mundo for ages, begging for friends, he gladly joined [[BigBad Sousuke Aizen]], as he was the first person strong enough to come near him without being harmed.
** Early on in the series, Ichigo is pretty much the embodiment of this trope. He has a ton of reiatsu and has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to control it, and while it doesn't pose much of a problem usually, it has proved to be a pain in certain occasions, such as [[spoiler:when he and Uryu battle a Menos Grande, and once he defeats it he loses control of his power. He would have burnt himself out were it not for Uryu, who had to stand on Ichigo, absorb all his spare power and fire it into the air.]] He gets better at it, though.
** On top of that, upon awakening his powers, before controlling it, his power constantly leaked to the point that several people he knows started to develop minor to major spiritual powers just from being around him.
* In ''IsThisAZombie'', it's revealed that [[{{Necromancer}} Eucliwood Hellscythe's]] magic is extremely powerful and unstable to the point that she has to constantly [[EmotionlessGirl remain emotionless]], [[TheVoiceless never speak]], and [[TwentyFourHourArmor wear magic-suppressing armor]] in order to control it. Even worse, whenever the words she says become magical, she experiences something equivalent to MindRape. Even more worse, provoking her enough for her to lose control of her emotions for one moment will have ''[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds very disastrous]]'' results.
* [[spoiler:Kotetsu]] starts showing the first signs of PowerIncontinence when his powers starts going haywire in episode 14 of ''TigerAndBunny'' - increasing in strength dramatically (jumping manages to cause a sonic boom) but also shutting on and off seemingly at random.
** [[spoiler:It's revealed that he is slowly losing his power, a very rare thing among NEXT, and that his powers going haywire is like a candle flickering brightly before it goes out.]]
** Also the case for [[spoiler: his daughter Kaede when she starts to develop her NEXT power. Her power is to copy the ability of the last Next she touches. She can't easily control the first couple of powers she copies, but when Kaede gets [[AnIcePerson Karina]]'s ability she can use it in a variety of ways, probably because she knew what she was dealing with by that point.]]
* [[spoiler:Black Mage Zeref]] of ''Manga/FairyTail'' cannot control his magic if he cares for the lives of others. This is very bad since he has ''Death'' magic, and PowerIncontinence turns him into an EnemyToAllLivingThings.

* In one story from the ''Miles Edgeworth Case Book'' manga for the AceAttorney series, Maya's spiritual powers have developed to the point at which she can unconsciously the spirit of her dead older sister Mia merely by thinking about her in her sleep. At the end of the same story, Pearl shows the same ability.
* [[spoiler: Asa Shigure]] from ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'', as [[spoiler: the demonic powers that she inherited from her mom Ama start awakening. She refuses to use them, however, to not break Ama's [[BrokenBird already damaged heart]], and they start to flow so strongly that her life comes to risk. Rin has to ''force'' her to use them so Asa won't die due to this trope, taking a knife and slitting his wrists open so Asa will have to heal his nearly fatal injuries.]]

* This is the cause of [[spoiler: karma demons]] in ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld''. They lose subconscious control of their power allowing it to warp their surroundings unabated, leading to very devastating results.

[[folder:Comicbooks]]

** Rogue drains the powers of anyone she touches, so she wears gloves and skin-concealing outfits to avoid accidental physical contact with others.
*** Even worse, when she used this power on Ms. Marvel, it never wore off for some reason, absorbing Marvel's powers and memories permantly. Rogue lives in constant fear that this same thing might happen again to someone else she uses her power on.
*** She was cured of this power incontinence by Professor X in X-Men: Legacy #224. [[StatusQuoIsGod We'll see how long it lasts this time]].
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, without his trademark visor he wears as part of his costume, or a pair of ruby quartz glasses out of costume, would be firing his EyeBeams 24/7. (In fact, he ''is'' firing them 24/7, they're just being blocked.)
*** [[spoiler:This limitation was recently revealed to be a mental block, and was fixed by Emma Frost.]]
*** Used to be from having hit his head in the accident that killed his parents.
*** There was a throwaway scene in one of the comics shortly after Wolverine lost his Adamantium (and briefly regressed to a neanderthallic state) where Cyclops hit his head in some kind of rune-covered pit, and a caption stated, "A subtle change is worked in an area of his brain damaged so long ago", so it's possible both explanations are correct.
*** After the events of ''Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen'', the visor can't block his eyebeams anymore. The only thing that can are his own eyelids.

** Cyclops' brother Havok originally required a special containment suit to control his powers.
*** Interestingly enough, Cyclops and Havok are immune to each other's powers.

** Chamber's power is always on, and in fact destroyed half his face and some of his internal organs (heart and lungs) when he first used it. This is what happens if a mutant ''isn't'' [[RequiredSecondaryPowers immune to his or her own powers]].
*** Though it has been established that the fire is actually his true form and his human body is more of a "shell" (or, one might say, a 'chamber') that he doesn't really need, so no real harm done (at least, physically. ''Half your face being missing'' tends to put a cramp in one's social life.)

** Kitty Pryde became stuck in her intangible phase in the aftermath of an extended period spent hurtling through space [[PutOnABusToHell inside a giant, ever-hardening bullet]] that she had phased through the Earth.
*** She was also stuck in intangible mode once after being hit with an energy harpoon during the Mutant Massacre but was restored to normal with the help of Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom.

* Bruce Banner transforms into ''TheIncredibleHulk'' whenever someone makes him too angry, and once he's in that form he has no control over his actions.

* SpiderMan was like this during the ''Acts of Vengeance'' storyline. He received the powers of Captain Universe (in order to fight a threat that the Uni-Power predicted would happen after the crisis) but an experiment he was working on with an ESU professor muddled it a little, making him unable to fully control the incredible cosmic powers. This caused horrible mental strain on him, almost pushing him over the edge; he had lived by the saying "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" all his life, and now had ''godlike'' power. Fortunately, the power of Captain Universe is always temporary; once he had defeated the threat and fulfilled the purpose for which he had been given the power, it went away.
* Citizen Steel, one of the newer members of the JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, gained the powers of super-strength and NighInvulnerability through exposure to liquid metal blood. The exposure removed his ability to register temperatures, textures, and (more importantly) how much strength he's exerting. He goes around in a steel costume he's ''literally'' welded into to keep him from accidentally crushing anyone.

* Wundarr absorbed ambient energy constantly, and if it wasn't burned off by occasional acts of SuperStrength or dampened by special [=SHIELD=] equipment, he tended to explosively regurgitate it periodically. Later, as [[NewAgeRetroHippie Aquarius]], his power is [[RePower modified]] to neutralize ''all'' energy above a certain threshold near him, whether he wants it to or not.
** Similarly, Strong Guy of ''Comicbook/{{X-Factor}}'' has the power to absorb kinetic energy and redistribute it as super strength, but if he doesn't let it out soon enough, it has effects on his physiology (which is the reason for his... unique appearance).

* Zeitgeist, the original leader [[spoiler:and SacrificialLamb]] of the revamped ''{{X-Force}}'' in MarvelComics. While this didn't carry on for very long, when his powers (vomiting acid) first manifested, he accidentally killed the girl he was drunkenly making out with on the beach.
** Guy Smith, aka Orphan and Mister Sensitive, led the team thereafter, including when it became X-Statix. His superhuman senses meant that any irritation to his skin caused him great pain. Attempting to block out the pain with mental exercises didn't work; eventually Professor X designed him a special suit.

* Mind**** in ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' can only speak and see using her psychic powers, which makes her unable to lie, [[spoiler:because her brother removed her tongue and eyes so she'd be forced to rely on her powers more]] and reads the minds of everyone nearby; since most of those people are superheroes and most of ''them'' are jerkasses, she can't really handle being in groups for long and spends most of her time on their space station alone, which she hates.
* The new Comicbook/{{Superman}} limited series ''[[SupermanSecretOrigin Secret Origin]]'' shows Clark Kent's heat vision going off involuntarily when his emotions are stirred up. The first time fire shoots out is when Lana Lang kisses him, [[SomethingElseAlsoRises which is]]... [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything suggestive]]. At this early point in his life, his glasses serve much the same purpose as Cyclops' shades.
* Like Ghost Rider, the first SpiderWoman was at first unable to keep her pheromones in check, causing guys to be attracted to her and woman repulsed at her. She learns to control it, eventually.

* The League of Supermen, a far future team in ''Comicbook/{{Superman}} Annual #8'' all suffer from variants of this, due to each having ''one'' of Superman's powers (and their artificial nature, as they are all humans genetically modified to simulate Kryptonian powers). [[EyeBeams Heat]] has to fire his heat vision every 15 minutes, or he'll burn up from the inside; [[XRayVision See-Through]] has to wear a lead-lined visor when not using his powers; [[{{Flight}} Flyboy]] has to be tethered to stop him drifting away if he doesn't concentrate; [[SuperStrength Pounder]] DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength; and [[NighInvulnerability Shield]] can't feel anything. New recruits [[SuperBreath Tempest]] and [[SuperSpeed Speed]] are given PowerArmor that simulates the powers rather than genetic modification; they still have disadvantages (Tempest can't breathe ''in'' too sharply; Speed needs to constantly replenish her energy) but at least they can turn them off.
* Suntop in ''Comicbook/ElfQuest'' has a version of this. Since his power is [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway extreme empathy]], he's able to feel the anguish of any elf strong enough to communicate it magically. Even pain from thousands of years into the future. He can't help it, since he's just a child for most of the main plot.
* In ''UltimateXMen'' Gambit joined the evil Fenris corporation because they helped cure his PowerIncontinence. He tells Rogue that his energy charging powers had gone out of control and he couldn't even ''eat'' -- any food he tried to touch would explode.
* Superman villain Parasite is a little worse off than Rogue stealing life force from anyone near him and being constantly hungry for more.
* After being restored to full power on his return from [[TheDeathOfSuperman death]], {{Superman}}'s powers started slowly increasing which was welcome at first but eventually lead to his powers being out of control and his body physically warped. Eventually cured by having Parasite leech his excess power and the strange element with it that was causing the problem. This also justified an art shift for Parasite from basically looking like a bald man with purple skin to his current more monstrous appearance.
** This tends to happen to him periodically because it taps into one of his greatest fears: losing control of his immense power and the harm that could result.
* In {{Finder}}, Jaeger's healing factor makes him near impossible to kill, but is so robust he ''has to get injured regularly'' to avoid becoming ill.
* Negative Man from the Comicbook/DoomPatrol is perpetually radioactive, needing to wear head-to-foot specially treated bandages to contain his condition. This is just one example of the sort of DisabilitySuperpower typical of the team.
* Emmy in ''Comicbook/{{Demo}}'' has a CompellingVoice that she has no control over; it's ''always'' on. She tries to get by without talking at all, which generally she can... unless someone's hassling her and refuses to back off, that is.

* The reborn Emperor in the finale of the ''StarWars'' comic ''DarkEmpire'' creates a Force Storm to deal with a Rebel fleet parked in front of his enormous battlewagon Star Destroyer. When he's about to be killed by the Skywalker twins, somehow he looses control over the Force abomination and it begins to consume him and his ship in a titanic conglomeration of power.

* FanFic/DungeonKeeperAmi has all individuals, youma or otherwise, trained in Dark Kingdom styled magic exhibit this as a teleportation side-effect. (Lishika is a special example- not only is her affinity [[ShockAndAwe lightening]] but it's strong enough that each teleport will shock any passengers she may be carrying, and once set her on fire!) Also featured are keepers themselves- whose dungeon hearts tend to leak corruption that, in sufficient quantity, takes on the aspect of whatever element/affinity is most closely attuned to the Keeper in question. Examples: Mercury's sleet storm, Zarekos' perpetual night.
* Paul in ''FanFic/WithStringsAttached''. At his highest level of strength, he's so powerful that he can barely move without causing chaos. He has practiced literally day and night to get to the point where he can at least walk around, but he has to keep constant watch on himself, keep his arms at his sides, etc. And to revert to his more manageable lower level of strength, he has to explode, creating a large glassy crater and pretty much wiping out everything around him. But even at "low" strength he has to fiercely regulate his behavior.
* ''FanFic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K''. When Shinji's psychic powers first appear, he's reluctant to depend on them during battle since they interfere with his syncing capabilities. When he does it anyway to win a battle, he has no idea how to turn them off and as such, is booted from NERV. To solve the situation, he [[spoiler:embarks on a pilgrimage to Javaal where he learns how to suppress his abilities enough for him to continue piloting and still have enough psychic power to vaporize a human-sized target from a few meters]].

* The ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fanfic [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/109481 "four titles"]] interprets Rose's "mind" powers as giving her permanent, uncontrollable telepathy;
-->''there's no way for you to ignore a complex and varied stream of input save doing it consciously. Unfortunately, you can't ignore it consciously; the thoughts of others reach into your mind and fill it with thoughts, tales, ideas.''
* In "Fanfic/MiracleChild", Gamzee can't control the fear-producing chucklevoodoos well because his lifelong habit of sopor slime consumption stopped them from developing normally. This does not endear him to the other trolls.
* In FanFic/TouhouTonari this is a serious problem for Yuyuko due to her power to invoke death on others and forced her to isolate herself.

* ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'': Twilight normally has no problem with this...except if she gets drunk. [[NoodleIncident Last time she did]], she lost control of her powers and Ponyville had to be reassured that Discord hadn't returned.

[[folder:Film]]

* Two Words: Burning Franchise/{{Godzilla}}.
** Likewise, Larva Battra had no control whatsoever over his eye-beams.

* A good number of the Aces and Jokers in ''WildCards'' have powers that are always on.

* In the {{Halo}} story TheFallOfReach it's revealed that if a non-[[SuperSoldier SPARTAN]] tries to utilize the [[PoweredArmor MJOLNIR armor]], they will literally break themselves due to their inability to control their new super-speed and super-strength
* "Lucky" from ''HiddenTalents'' by David Lubar can't stop hearing voices from lost objects. In the sequel, [[spoiler:[[NightmareFuel he goes crazy from this and ends up in a hospital]], but gets better with the help of some AppliedPhlebotinum to suppress his powers]].
** PowerIncontinence is the entire point of ''HiddenTalents'', where six kids meet at a school for delinquents only to discover they have latent psychic powers that caused their apparent behavior problems-- [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Martin]] [[TheEmpath can sense]] {{Berserk Button}}s, "[[MeaningfulName Flinch]]" is [[SpiderSense precognitive]] which makes him jumpy and a distraction in the classroom (but excellent at sports and stand-up comedy), "[[MeaningfulName Torchie]]" [[PlayingWithFire sets things on fire]], "[[MeaningfulName Trash]]" unconsciously [[MindOverMatter flings things around or just plain wrecks them]], and "[[MeaningfulName Cheater]]" unwittingly copies other people's test answers word-for-word, because he's telepathic and [[ParanoiaFuel can't tell which thoughts aren't his own]]. By the end of the first book, they all have better control over their powers [[TheWoobie except Lucky]].

* ''HarryPotter'':

** Not to mention what usually happens to child wizards - they make strange things happen when they're angry or scared. This is evidenced by Harry removing the protective glass keeping a large python inside its cage at the zoo, which made Dudley tumble into said cage.
** This even carries over into adolescence.
** This was the reason why [[spoiler: Ariana Dumbledore]] was locked up at home. [[YouDoNOTWantToKnow After whatever-those-boys did to her]] she was unable to control her magic and was close to blowing up the house every other day.
* Flinx, of Creator/AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series, has a strong [[TheEmpath empathic]] talent that turns itself on and off at seemingly random intervals. While the ability grows more sensitive and powerful over the years, it's still maddeningly unpredictable. In addition, when sorely provoked he sometimes erupts in [[SuperpowerMeltdown uncontrolled telekinetic detonations]], making him a PersonOfMassDestruction.
* Mat Cauthon from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' is extremely lucky. Especially in totally random things-like dice. In fact, he wins so much that people frequently suspect him of cheating and he's forced to leave the scene quickly (sometimes, his luck is kind enough to make him lose to avoid this). Anything and anyone he comes across by random selection will turn out to be important, even when he would much rather avoid trouble.

** Aes Sedai can muffle their psychic link with their Warders, but the Warders apparently have no such ability and must rely on the Aes Sedai to do it for them. When [[spoiler: Rand and Elayne finally have sex]] late in the series after several other people are bonded to them, they forget to muffle the bond, resulting in much embarrassment and a near ass-kicking by Birgitte, Elayne's other Warder.
*** It's not so much they forget, they (or at least Elayne) DO muffle it at first but they were um.... occupied after that and didnt maintain it.

* Janie in Lisa [=McMann=]'s [[TheWakeTrilogy Wake Trilogy]] (''Wake, Fade'', and ''Gone''). Janie has the power to be in other people's dreams. The only problem is, she passes out in the real world and she can't control it. She actually almost gets in a car accident because she got sucked into the dream of a kid on a school bus and passes out and nearly hits the bus.

* In ''[[Creator/StephenKing Firestarter]]'', Charlie [=McGee=]'s pyrokinetic power first arose when she was a infant, and more than once it nearly kills her and her parents; as she grows older, she does gain some control over it, but this doesn't stop the GovernmentConspiracy hunting her from fearing that she could become a PersonOfMassDestruction unless she's given the ''[[TykeBomb appropriate]]'' training. It's also worth noting that while she gains the control necessary to avoid starting fires when she doesn't want to, it's very hard for her to stop once she does start one.
* In ALeeMartinez' ''Literature/{{Monster}},'' the main character of the same name has [[ComboPlatterPowers hundreds of different superpowers, including flight, invulnerability, super-strength, laser-sight, and invisibility]]. Unfortunately, each one is tied to Monster's skin colour, which changes every day: at the beginning of the story, Monster's skin is blue, granting him invulnerability; the next day, it's purple, giving him [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the inability to smell anything.]] However, when he steals the CosmicKeystone from Lotus close to the end of the story, he gains a temporarily measure of control over his power, resulting in many a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
* Henry, from ''TheTimeTravelersWife'', has no control over his time-jumping ability, which complicates his life as one might imagine, and also leads to some NightmareFuel when [[spoiler: his offspring inherit the ability - while still in the womb, with usually fatal results]].
* The Confessors in the ''SwordOfTruth'' series have to keep conscious control of their power at all times to avoid unleashing it on anyone they touch.
* When Colin wakes up after [[CoolStarship Dahak's]] " minor improvements" to his body in the first ''EmpireFromTheAshes'' book, he very nearly goes ''insane'' from the sensory overload and sensation of an alien presence in his mind. It takes some extended TrainingFromHell before Colin gets completely used to his new powers.
* In ''Literature/TheLegendsOfEthshar'' universe warlocks experience this with increasing severity as they develop their powers. Unlike other magical schools, warlocks rely simply on exerting their own will to bend reality; the source of their power does not require bargains, prayers, or rituals to obey them. However, with the passage of time they become increasingly attuned with their powers and so exercise them without conscious thought, often against their own will.
** This is a bad thing because the more a warlock uses their power, the more they become attuned to the whispers that accompany it. Unless killed naturally, warlocks are eventually drawn to the source of those whispers against their will; the Calling is one of the greatest concerns of their guild.

* In ''[[HeraldsOfValdemar Brightly Burning]], Lavan Firestorm's gift of Firestarting was provoked into action by bullies at the Merchant's School. He can't control it himself. His Companion [[spoiler:and lifebond,]] Kalira, controls his power. [[spoiler: When Kalira is killed in the final battle with Karse, Lavan has neither the means nor the desire to control his gift further. He incinerates the entire region, including the Karsite army, the surrounding forest and grounds, and himself.]]
* [[CircleOfMagic Trisana Chandler]] was abandoned by her family due to the unnatural weather phenomena that tended to occur around her, which was caused by her magic getting away from her.
** Mages in general in the series have minor ''HarryPotter''-style leakage until they learn to control it. The worst affected character is Zhegorz, a man who was assumed to be plain old insane for having visions and hearing voices and was locked up in a BedlamHouse until he really did develop paranoid schizophrenia or something like it.
* A mild case of this occurs in the ''LonelyWerewolfGirl'' books with the fire demons tending to set things alight or shoot sparks when they get emotional.

* Discussed in ''TheDresdenFiles'', where just about all mortal wizards have [[WalkingTechbane difficulty using technology]] because their magic "leaks" out into the surrounding environment, generating a "Murphyonic field" (as one character describes it) that disrupts delicate electronics. Simply turning on a phone or computer in the presence of a wizard will cause it to go haywire, and if a wizard is powerful, emotional, or ''both'', it can cause an entire building's worth of electronics to blow out.

* In the prequel trilogy, his problem was that [[HowDoIShotWeb he couldn't figure out how to use his magical powers.]] But in ''[[ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'', the title character has the opposite problem: lashing out with increasingly ferocious discharges every time he's in pain (which, given that he is a character in a Stephen Donaldson novel, is ''All. The. Time.'') Towards the end of the trilogy, he's in danger of destroying the entire fantasy world, which was of course [[BigBad Lord]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Foul's]] plan all along.
* Due to a chemical accident, the title character in ''Confessions of Super-Mom'' has a warped right hand from which she can spray a mysterious fluid. Not only is she incapable of completely stopping it from dripping, she discovers during a sexual encounter that she . . . well, [[FreudWasRight sprays]] at the moment of climax.

* Thick, in the [[RealmOfTheElderlings Tawny Man]] trilogy, is somewhat mentally handicapped, but incredibly strong in The Skill (a form of mental magic). He often has difficulty ''not'' broadcasting strong emotions to everyone within miles of him (and forcing them to feel an echo of what he does).
* In the third book of the ''KnightAndRogueSeries'' Michael has had magic long enough that his powers have adjusted to him and began to trigger on their own, though he's still capable to shutting them down once he notices he's using them.
* In Literature/MelodyAndThePierToForever, Mathematicians who are untrained may experience power incontinence. In Book 1, Melody struggles to control the Aecxis of Rage and suffers explosions of unintentional or poorly directed aecxal power on multiple occasions.
* In the myth of the ancient King Midas of Pessinus, (which is a city of Phrygia):
** King Midas spoke a prayer in vain, asking for everything he touched to turn to gold. This newly granted enchantment was something that Midas could not control in any way. Everything he touched turned to gold, and he died from starvation as a result of not being able to digest golden things. -According to Aristole.

* In Fred Saberhagen's ''BooksOfSwords'' series, many of the powers granted by the Swords are like this. Sightblinder, for example, always disguises its wielder, from friend and foe alike. Soulcutter causes soul-crushing despair in everyone within its area of effect, including the wielder. Townsaver and Shieldbreaker both prevent their wielders from putting down either one, or from running away, once battle is joined; Dragonslicer seems to have a similar issue, although the circumstances under which it activates in the first place are much rarer. The Mindsword, when its blade is exposed but it is not wielded by anyone, generates waves of potentially harmful telepathic noise; the Mindsword, when wielded, also affects everyone within its radius, even those whom the wielder might prefer not to mentally enslave.

* Common in Octavia Butler's Patternmaster universe. 'Latent' telepaths, in particular, are entirely unable to control their mind-reading abilities, which makes them miserable people in every sense of the word.

* On ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark Kent had trouble finding the "off-switch" to his newly discovered eye beams. (or as Chloe [[DeadpanSnarker snarked]], "[[FreudWasRight Premature ignition]]".)

** When he [[spoiler:gained MindControl powers, his CompellingVoice makes everyone does exactly as told...including himself.]]

** A major plot point in the first season dealt with Peter Petrelli having to learn to control the powers he absorbs.
*** PowerIncontinence seems to be a long-term, almost systemic problem for Peter. When he's under pressure, he seems to get ''some'' power, but it's never exactly what he needs (unless he's used it in the past few minutes). If he has time to work at it, though, he can call up a specific power.

* Until he learned to control it somewhat, ''{{Chuck}}'' suffered from this with the Intersect. Even now in the fourth season, where he pretty much has a handle on it, he will still flash involuntarily on non-combat Intersect entries, i.e. his flashing on Heather Chandler, Sarah's AlphaBitch in 'Chuck vs. the Cubic Z.'
** The flashing is always involuntary. However, he's gained enough control over it able to hide it from people who don't know he's the Intersect, whereas at first he would [[NonSequitur automatically blurt out whatever he flashed on]], then try to cover it up.
* Ned in ''PushingDaisies'' suffers from this. It doesn't cause many problems in regard to actually bringing stuff back to life, but it does mean he can never directly touch his dog or his girlfriend or they'll die.
** Well, he's also forced to be vegetarian, for somewhat squicky reasons. And he can't eat his own pies. And there was the incident with the bearskin rug. But the "not touching his girlfriend" thing is the worst of it.

* Ea, the eponymous heroine of the Dating-Sim story turned TV Miniseries ''ToumeiShoujoEa'' (''"Invisible Girl Ea"'') was [[InvisibleMainCharacter turned invisible]] by the [[GovernmentConspiracy Random Men in Black]] before the series starts. This would be a [[CursedWithAwesome pretty awesome power]], except for the fact that she cannot turn it off and several [[ContrivedCoincidence common things]] both disable it and cause her pain -- including static electricity, bright light being reflected off a mirror, and being touched (like, say, [[NakedPeopleAreFunny by clothes]]). Trying to find a way to remove her powers so she can live a normal life is a focus of the series.
* When the title character of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is accidentally infected with a demon's telepathic powers and can't stop reading minds, she nearly goes insane.
** Also Willow after the development of her addiction to magic and especially after [[spoiler: Tara’s death]]. At certain point even a minor magic practice triggers personality changes in her and locks a “dark personality↔dark magic” feedback loop.
* Illyria from ''Series/{{Angel}}'' initially has full control over her [[TimeMaster time manipulation]] powers, but the mortal body she's in isn't strong enough to contain them, so she eventually loses control and comes UnstuckInTime. She has to be [[DePower depowered]] to prevent her from [[SuperpowerMeltdown exploding and taking out at least the entirety of Los Angeles]].

* In ''TrueBlood'', it takes a great deal of effort for Sookie Stackhouse to block her telepathic powers.

* ''KamenRiderStronger'', being the first KamenRider with an alternate form, could use his Charge Up to become significantly more powerful - However, he must use the extra energy up within a minute, or else he will explode.
* Happens to every villainous protagonist during an episode of the season 2 of FlandersCompany, which has the effect to temporarily unlock Docteur Parker's [[spoiler:evil JekyllAndHyde personality.]]

* One major reason mundane humans distrust telepaths in ''Series/BabylonFive'' is not only that said telepaths can theoretically pry into your mind - they also cannot turn off those abilities. While a deep scan (memories, subconsciousness etc.) requires a deliberate effort, telepaths are constantly, unconsciously surface scanning, i.e. snapping up what people are currently thinking. The only way to avoid is for telepaths to constantly occupy and distract their minds with other stuff. In season five, [[MeaningfulName Byron's]] renegade telepaths explicitly reject that as an oppressive measure forced on telepaths by mundanes.

* If you think it's tough to break up with someone, just imagine what it's like for Curtis of {{Misfits}}, whose power is to [[GroundhogDayLoop rewind time every time he feels guilty]]. So he has to constantly find a way to break up with his girlfriend in a way that prevents her from pulling his guilt strings.

* In ''MahouSentaiMagiranger'', after obtaining their [[SuperMode Legend Modes]], the siblings experience an overflow of power while in their civilian forms, which is resolved by the end of the episode.
* Poor Morgana on {{Series/Merlin}}. She's had precognitive dreams her entire life, and even after being trained in magic, she ''still'' has absolutely no control over them and needs her magic bracelet to stop them, and even that occasionally fails. It's implied that this is the case with all magic users, as both Morgana and Mordred had no control over their magic when it surfaced.
** Averted with Merlin, who could control his magic since before he could talk. [[TheArchmage Good thing, too]].

* Psykers (psychically sensitive humans) in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' generally can't control their powers... which leads to them usually being [[WitchHunt hunted down as witches]] and [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]]. Believe it or not, the alternative is actually ''[[DemonicPossession worse]]''.
** Ork pskyers, or Weirdboyz, have even ''less'' control of their psychic abilities. They generally live apart from the other boyz because the gestalt Waaagh! energy that pervades the Orkish race ends up being vented through the Weirdboy, [[YourHeadASplode with negative effects for those around him]]. In game terms, this means that Weirdboyz ''must'' use a psychic power each turn, and the exact ability used is determined randomly.
*** And the power appears randomly, sometimes taking other orks around the weirdboy off.

** Many other point-based systems allow that as well, such as MutantsAndMasterminds or Big Eyes, Small Mouth.
** "Uncontrollable" comes with a even worse version of this trope where your power is actively malicious toward you.

* ''CthulhuTech'' has this sort of thing with its psychics. Run out of magic points? Don't worry, you can still CastFromHitPoints. You just have a chance of Burning for hours afterwards.

* The 'broken' creeds of ''TabletopGame/HunterTheReckoning'', Hermits and Waywards, suffer from this, among other things. Waywards have their "second sight" always on, meaning they can /always/ see any monsters around them, non-stop, 24/7. Given that every Wayward is on a personal mission to eliminate the supernatural from the world, this does /not/ do much to help their mental stability. Hermits have a constant connection to the PowersThatBe; unfortunately, the human mind wasn't meant to maintain that kind of connection, so the Hermits end up a little unbalanced, as well.
* Plenty of Mega-Heroes from ''HeroesUnlimited'' have some problem controlling their powers. For example: Hazmat has the powers to control radiation and transform into living plasma. The problem? He can't transform back, meaning he has to permanently stay in a specially designed HazmatSuit.

* Although it's not ''necessarily'' your powers (but it can be), this is how some Afflictions work in ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' - they provide a constant stream of miracles whenever the HG thinks they should, but you have no control over which miracles they are or how they are used. One like "My Estate frequently does things in my area without my consent" can lead to [[HilarityEnsues much hilarity]], although depending on your choice of Estate, this could be anything from randomly inflicting despair on people to the creation of pine cones out of thin air. And you get MP every time an Affliction proves inconvenient to you.

[[folder:Videogames]]

* While they aren't specifically superheroes, the [[SuperSoldier Terran Ghosts]] in ''Videogame/{{Starcraft}}'' suffer from being unable to not read thoughts of those around them. At least the superficial stuff.

** In the novel ''Liberty's Crusade'', the titular reporter meets Sarah Kerrigan and thinks how great it would be for a reporter to have telepathy, only for Kerrigan to pick up on his thought and simply tell him that it wouldn't be as great as he thinks. In ''Ghost: Nova'', the titular character is an extremely-powerful telepath and telekinetic who has yet to learn what she is thanks to her wealthy father carefuly hiding her abilities (any telepath is prompty taken by the Ghost Academy). However, the violent murder of her parents by a terrorist group results in her MindOverMatter abilities to manifest violently in the form of a wave that not only kills anyone still alive in the penthouse but also shatters the glass dome that is supposed to be rated against ''direct nuclear strikes''.
* Psycho Mantis from ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid'' is constantly reading the minds of those around him unless he wears his gas mask.
** The popular explanation (which was used in ''TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'' as well) is that the mask itself [[GogglesDoNothing doesn't do anything]]. Rather, it serves as a sort of crutch, like a security blanket or a lucky charm or MagicFeather or something, that allows Mantis to filter out undesirable thoughts.

* ''FreedomForce'' has Man-Bot, whose Energy-X mutation is [[BlessedWithSuck much less desirable than those of his teammates.]] His body constantly builds up volatile Energy-X. He wears a suit of PoweredArmor that contains it; without it, he randomly suffers powerful energy discharges that nuke anything in the immediate vicinity... like his brother. It carries over to gameplay as well; even with the armor, any attack that strikes Man-Bot has a small chance of triggering an explosion that damages Man-Bot and anyone close to him. This can be either very good or very bad, depending on whether he's in the middle of the enemy or the team.
* ''MetroidPrime 3'' has this as a side effect of using [[SuperMode Hyper Mode]]. Sometimes the power meter starts charging on its own, causing a NonStandardGameOver if it fills. While the usual "treatment" is an UnstoppableRage, Samus can opt for ATeamFiring if there are no targets nearby.
* The Carson Extreme Hot Rod in ''[[{{Burnout}} Burnout Paradise]]''. Infinite boost is a pretty sweet deal... too bad there's no way to turn it off. If you can master it, though, it's one of the fastest and most fun cars in the game.

* K' from ''TheKingOfFighters'' has to wear a special glove to control the flame powers given to him by the Kusanagi DNA, otherwise he can cause explosions without trying. A similar character, Nameless, also has to wear a special glove to control his flame powers: at one point in his backstory he killed somebody accidentally by tapping them on the shoulder.

*** Her sister Koishi, who had the same power, permanently sealed off her eye in order to escape the contempt. On the down-side this had the unforseen side-effect of permanently [[EmptyShell sealing off her own heart and mind]], resulting in her WalkingTheEarth in a purely subconscious stupor. She now also has the incontinential power to [[PsychicPowers manipulate other peoples' subconscious minds]] [[PerceptionFilter which]] [[ImaginaryFriend manifests]] in [[ByTheEyesOfTheBlind various]] [[InvisibleToAdults interesting]] [[NotSoImaginaryFriend ways]].

* One variant of the [[PoisonMushroom "Disease"]] item in ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'' causes him to uncontrollably drop bombs.
** With the charming in-game name of ''bomb diarrhea''.

* Two important examples in DaCapo, though only one really minds. Sakura's magic is highly dependent on her emotions and acts out in ways she wouldn't normally. As a child, her magic would accidentally break people's arms. In the main story, a girl gets a branch dropped on her head in Sakura's route and there are implications that she is accidentally responsible for Nemu's sickness in that route. Kotori is the other example, who often feels fatigued and ill due to constantly reading the minds of others, especially their more negative thoughts or ones in which she is the school idol, not a person.
* David, the autistic mathematical genius introduced in the ''Videogame/MassEffect'' [=DLC=] ''Overlord'' can understand the Geth and talk in their language. Once plugged in the Geth neural network however, he can't block out any of their constant chattering.

* A more pleasant example is Nadia Grell, the Consular's companion in ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic.'' The poor girl might be one of the most powerful telekenetics in a generation. Unfortunately, Force Sensitives (much less Force Users) are unheard of on her planet. Without training, it led to things ''exploding'' whenever Nadia got too happy, too sad, too scared, or too angry. Part of the reason her father was so eager to make an alliance with the Republic (and the Consular, personally) was to find ''anyone'' who [[GoodParents could help his daughter control her abilities]].
* Pichu is power incontinent. In the {{Pokemon}}, video games, this doesn't manifest. In the anime, as well as in ''Videogame/SuperSmashBros'' Melee, however, it [[CastFromHitPoints damages itself with its electric attacks]], bringing the cute little critter from "outmatched" to "useless".

* Shiki of ''{{Tsukihime}}'' [[EvilEye sees]] lines of death on ''everything'', allowing him to destroy nearly anything with even a butterknife. Shortly after acquiring this effect, he started having nightmares of the world falling apart at its seams and would have gone insane if he had not been given indestructible glasses that block this effect. Using this power anyway puts a strain on his brain and usually gives him headaches when he takes off the glasses.
** In the manga, he also kills things with a tree branch and his ''finger nails''.

* Likewise, in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Rider wears a eye visor constantly, [[spoiler:not just to hide that she's Medusa, but also the fact that her petrification ability from her [[EvilEye eye]] cannot be restrained]]. Or if she's in her normal mode, she wears a pair of glasses, probably the same as Shiki's.
** The exact same style of glasses actually - they're called Magangoroshi (Mystic Eye Killer) glasses. Seeing as [[spoiler: Aozaki Touko is one of the few connections between the Tsukihime and Fate timelines, as she's the one who makes Shirou his artificial body, it's very likely she also made Rider's glasses, as she made Shiki's as well.]]
* ''Anime/TanteiOperaMilkyHolmes'' has two examples:

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* [[spoiler:Zimmy]] from ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' has RealityWarper powers. They tend to spontaneously manifest by making her nightmarish hallucinations become real.
** Either that or the power only has one setting; it's really not clear at all how it works, or if the hallucinations are caused by the power or merely coexist with it. Although the point still stands that she can't control it. The closest she can come to controlling it is by sticking close to a PowerNullifier, which is far from a perfect solution. (Especially since her PowerNullifier of choice is subject to human needs like sleep.)
** When Parley's teleportation ability first manifested, she accidentally transported herself and the group with her into ''her bedroom''. She was not amused.
*** Parley eventually finds out she can control her powers by sticking close to a boy whose power is to [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway organize the disorderly]]. [[{{Tsundere}} Whom she already had a crush on.]] [[RelationshipUpgrade This works out well.]]

* Jigsaw Forte from ''LastRes0rt'' learns about her Vampiric powers the hard way, right down to having to either learn to control her temper or risk letting her more... [[RedEyesTakeWarning visual aspects]] manifest themselves.
** She can't turn her mind-reading off, either, which makes her have panic attacks around crowds.
* Witches in ''SerenityRose'' have good control over their powers for the most part, but can conjure up creatures in their sleep. Sera creates a monstrous version of a girl she once knew, which results in a hiker losing his arm, and later results in the [[http://www.heartshapedskull.com/2009/03/25/goodbye-crestfallen-page-069/ violent dismemberment]] of many of the soldiers sent to stop it. Another witch, who never consciously used his powers at all, supposedly created 100 giant fire-breathing metal horses to crush Napoleon's army. He was of course burned alive, being a witch in the 19th century and all.
* Summer Mighty in ''EverydayHeroes'' has trouble controlling her [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=74000 eye beams]].

* In ''TheIntrepidGirlbot'', Raccoon #1 just can't control her EyeBeams.

* Kili of TheDragonDoctors has such powerful spiritual senses that they went totally out of control when she was a child; she's been branded with magical marks on her face and body that suppress her spiritual vision to keep her from going insane. What remains of her power is still immense, since it turns out these tattoos ''completely'' negate the powers of ordinary shamans.

* ''TheChosenFour'' shows Ness loses control of his PSI as a result of emotional trauma, becoming an UnstoppableRage. [[spoiler:Department Store Spook learned that the hard way.]]
* Brian from ''ThinkBeforeYouThink'' can't turn off his mind-reading ability.
* One subplot in ''WapsiSquare'' involves Shelly's inability to control her [[spoiler:sphinx side. She's partially shapeshifting whenever she feels strong emotions, and her instincts are interfering with everyday life.]]
* Gail in ''WhenSheWasBad'' does not have a stable set of powers aside from SuperStrength.
* In the middle of the {{Gackt}} arc in ''ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'', Mr. Fish (a [[VideoGame/{{Pokemon}} Gyarados]]) learns Hyper Beam. The problem is that once he starts Hyper Beaming, he can't ''stop''. [[spoiler: He Hyper Beams Gackt in the face and then runs out of steam.]]

* Witches in SerenityRose can conjure things in their sleep. This may not sound like much of a problem, but then you add things like Night Terrors to the mix and bad things can happen.
* Katia Managan, protagonist of Prequel, suffers this as she learns to control her magical abilities.

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* Hawthorne dorm at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse has a bunch of people with this problem - it's what the dorm is for. Frostbite manipulates any water around her and freezes it, but isn't immune to the cold she creates. Diz has a PK field that has a force of over eight tons - and she can't stop it. ''Everything'' she touches get hit with eight tons of force. She has to take liquid food (and presumably air) through a special [[GadgeteerGenius deviser]]-built nano-tube straw because her forcefield keeps everything out, so she hasn't had solid food since her powers came on.

* ''TrintonChronicles'' brings us several mentioned but non-obvious examples; the biggest is [[CuteMonsterGirl Sara]] who has fire generating powers with the power to ignite and burn whole towns; the catch...she can only control it while awake normally so when she sleeps or is knocked out everything burns.

* The "Sorcerer's Apprentice" scene from ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}'' has Mickey Mouse trying on [[RobeAndWizardHat his master's hat]], using his newfound magical powers to animate his broom and have it fetch buckets of water for him. Problem is, Mickey isn't experienced enough with magic to know how to make the broom ''stop'' once it's started, and chopping it into pieces with his master's axe only makes things worse, [[AsteroidsMonster leading to the creation of]] ''[[AsteroidsMonster more]]'' [[AsteroidsMonster brooms with]] ''[[AsteroidsMonster more]]'' [[AsteroidsMonster buckets of water]], and poor Mickey soon finds himself in way over his head.
* Generally averted with {{Popeye}}, who can maintain control well under the influence of spinach. However, in at least two shorts Popeye force-feeds Bluto spinach, who then proceeds to lose all control and involuntarily and senselessly beats Popeye up (in both shorts, Bluto has reasons for not doing so).
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Raven's and Terra's powers fluctuate according to their level of emotional stability.

* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has this problem, especially at first. Even later, hormones and extreme emotion cause his powers to bleed over to his human form, although limited to glowing eyes (when angry) or bouts of invisibility/phasing (particularly when around an attractive girl). He also had a hard time learning to [[MesACrowd duplicate]].
** His two strongest powers repeatedly gave him problems. His [[MakeMeWannaShout Ghostly Wail]] would use up all his ghostly energy and cause him to revert back to his human form after using. When he first manifested his [[AnIcePerson ice powers]], they caused him to feel like he was freezing, to the point where he eventually was. All of these problems were solved by the end of the series and he was in complete control of his powers.
* A second season episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'', "U is for Undivided", had [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Cornelia's younger sister Lillian]] began to manifest her Heart of Earth powers, making her as powerful as Elyon. Without even knowing it, she gave her cat Napoleon the ability to speak, and transformed her family's apartment building into a medieval castle. The girls and Matt had to arrange a complex {{plan}} to get Lillian to unknowingly pass off her powers to Matt, Mr. Huggles, and Napoleon, keeping the girl LockedOutOfTheLoop about her abilities until she reached the age where she'd be able to handle her powers responsibly.

-->Bulkhead: Maybe you should try holding it in!
** She tried, then damn near exploded. Lose/lose.

** Derek Powers AKA Blight, the BigBad for season 1. Powers became a WalkingWasteland in the show's beginning. He managed to pass for human by applying a fake skin; however, it degraded after time. Anyways, as Batman continuously foils his schemes, Powers undergoes a season-long VillainousBreakdown which causes the fake skin to degrade even faster; eventually, his temper means that the skin wastes away too quickly for him to continue running his corporation. He then undergoes a rather literal SuperpowerMeltdown, though its implied he might've survived.
* In the "Only a Dream" episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', John Dee aka Doctor Destiny traps several members of the Justice League in their worst nightmares. Three of them have nightmares related to PowerIncontinence. TheFlash gets stuck in SuperSpeed mode so that TimeStandsStill for him. John Stewart's concerns that his new powers as a GreenLantern have permanently altered and isolated him from humanity are taken to an extreme (poor guy literally cracks up as Green light bursts out of his body!). The worst is {{Superman}}. His powers go out of control and he accidentally kills the people closest to him.
-->'''TheFlash''': I've always been afraid this would happen. I'm gonna live out my whole life in the time it takes you to tie your shoelaces! Somebody! '''Say something!''' (curls up in a fetal position)
-->'''GreenLantern''': Come back! Why are you all running? What are you afraid of? (as his friends and neighbors all run away when they see him)
-->'''{{Superman}}''': I started out with no power at all. Then I kept getting more. What if it ''never stops?''

* Occurs in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' with Aang's [[SneezeOfDoom Sneezes of Doom]], with a variety of "oops" levels including [[HilarityEnsues accidental blown roofing]].
** Aang also has the problem of reflexively entering the Avatar State whenever he's under emotional duress. When he does, duck and cover. Should you happen to be the focus of his wrath, put your head between your knees and kiss your butt goodbye.
* Spyke in ''WesternAnimation/{{X-Men Evolution}}'' slowly gained this problem. In the third season, he had increasing trouble retracting his spikes, to the point where he simply couldn't do so. Then he was PutOnABus until the fourth season, where his spikes had grown into full-blown bone armor he couldn't remove.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", Twilight Sparkle flashes back to her entrance exam for Princess Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns. In the course of taking the test, she taps into her latent magic for the first time and ends up accidentally leaking magic all over the place, turning her parents into potted plants, among other things.

[[folder:Other]]
* In Franchise/{{Bionicle}}, some Masks of Power are always active, or are simply too much for a normal being, or even a highly powerful being who lacks experience to handle and use properly. Even regular masks need time and practice, but in the case of organic masks (which are actually [[{{Squick}} soft, pulsating living creatures]] [[NightmareFuel that latch onto your face]]), it can take a lot of effort to shut them down, since they have their own mind. The Toa Inika still made good use of them, since the intense light radiation their heads gave off couldn't be turned down.
** Kongu had it worst: he was never able to turn off his Mask of Telepathy (or stop reading minds around him) until he became a Toa Mahri and got another mask.
** Then there's the Felnas, Mask of Disruption. As the name implies, it causes whomever the wearer targets to lose control of their powers. This works for the Toa's ElementalPowers, their Kanohi masks, and other species' special abilities. As shown with both [[spoiler:Krika and Icarax, disrupting powers like intangibility and teleportation is a very efficient way of killing someone. Both met their end after Gorast did just this with the Felnas she wore.]]
* As {{poltergeist}}s differ much from other ghosts, usually having [[BedsheetGhost no apparitions]] and making no noises beyond the mess they cause, there is a theory in occult circles that they actually aren't ghosts, but the observable effects of uncontrolled and unconscious telekinetic ability.

-->--[[http://web.archive.org/web/20101020123407/http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/JustBugsMe/StarWarsArchive2010 Just Bugs Me (Archive)]], ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[hottip:*:on the Emperor's apparent inability to stop using force lightning on himself.]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* Miroku from ''Manga/InuYasha'' has [[CursedWithAwesome the Wind Tunnel]], a black hole-like void in his hand that pulls in everything in front of him unless he has it covered up using his prayer beads. What's worse, eventually the void ''will'' be big enough to pull in him (and anything that happens to be around him) unless Naraku is destroyed. (It's one of the reasons he keeps asking random women to have his children. The other is that he's a CasanovaWannabe.)
** Inuyasha also has a genetic predisposition to this problem, which his father made a magic sword to fix. After it breaks the first time, the chances of him getting [[SuperpoweredEvilSide extra power in a way that makes him kind of evil]] increase dramatically, especially if he doesn't have the sword on him. Luckily it's an awesome BFS which gets continuously upgraded to an InfinityPlusOneSword, so he's not missing much, even if a compulsion to kill things didn't bother him.
*** At first you say, he fought without that sword his whole life before Volume Two, and then you remember that said sword was inside the corpse of his father inside the pearl... inside his eyeball...
* Yeon Yihwa from ''TowerOfGod'' is an immensely powerful [[PlayingWithFire fire user]], but she is not only [[TheKlutz physically clumsy]], she has at times so little control over her powerful flames that she has a history of being a TeamKiller. She is a little insecure about it.
* A-Ko from ''ProjectAKo'' wears bracelets to keep her SuperStrength from crushing everything she touches (Which tends to happen anyway as she's kind of spazzy.)
** Also, every morning her LateForSchool SuperSpeed run causes damaging sonic booms, yet [[SnapBack the damage is always repaired by the next morning]].
** A-ko does not wear her wrist bands to bed, and in at least one movie was able to throw a pillow to silence an alarm clock without destroying anything. Maybe her powers don't work unless she's fully awake?
* Likewise, RumikoTakahashi's ''Maris the Chojo'' wears "strength restraints" since she's a Thanatosian--she has six times the normal strength of a human being. Even with the restraints she still ends up accidentally destroying much of what she touches.
** Takahashi also used this with Asuka in ''UruseiYatsura''.
* Kyo from ''FruitsBasket'' has to keep his prayer beads on whenever he's in human form [[spoiler:to prevent him from instantly reverting to his demon form.]]
* Kakashi from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was offered a special eye from his dying friend, but can't turn its power off, so he covers it with his headband in order not to waste energy.
** If Naruto reaches four-tails or above then he needs an outside source [[spoiler:or [[strike:daddy]] the Fourth Hokage]] to calm him down because he can't on his own, and if given enough incentive or time ''more'' tails will come out.

* In ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', the superpowered "Contractors" must pay for using their powers by performing a pointless action specific to that individual shortly afterwards. Those who don't have to make such a payment are called "Moratoria", suffering from PowerIncontinence. Moratoria are stated to be extremely rare, the only one shown in the series having been changed from a normal Contractor as a side effect of a contract-suppressing plant. The same person reverted back into a normal Contractor in the end, something stated to have a near-zero likelihood, but not before going on several uncontrolled rampages wherein she [[PlayingWithFire incinerated several people.]]
** Sometimes the pointless action makes their powers ''very'' much not worth it, like having to drink the blood of children. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Or being forced to smoke.]]
* Mao from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has a Geass that allows him to read the mind of anyone within 500 meters. Over time, he loses the ability to control it and as a result hears the surface thoughts of everyone within range.
** Late in the first season, the same fate befalls [[spoiler:Lelouch's CompellingVoice Geass; he suffers a brief, debilitating headache, and doesn't realise that he's lost control over his power. He later makes a joke to Euphemia about killing all Japanese people, and realises a moment too late that he's Geassed her into doing it. In the beginning of R2, C.C. gives him a special contact lens to block it when needed.]]
*** C.C. claims that the contacts will eventually stop working, leaving it active all the time.

* Minki the Oni from ''HellTeacherNube'' has incredibly destructive powers... which she loses control of and end up [[HoistByHisOwnPetard backfiring]] when she's not wearing her, um, panties.

* ''ShamanKing'': both [[spoiler:Hao]] and [[spoiler:Anna]] have an uncontrollable ability to read minds. This leads to [[spoiler:Hao's StartOfDarkness]] and [[spoiler:causing further PowerIncontinence for Anna in the form of her spontaneously summoning demons]].
* Negi Springfield's [[SneezeOfDoom Sneezes of Doom]] in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' are accidental discharges of magic caused by ordinary sneezes.

** His BlackMagic ability is also acting up; it's [[spoiler:slowly turning him into a demon and causing poisoning-like symptoms in the process, and as the poison and transformation progress, he increasingly goes into SuperMode involuntarily]].
* In ''BusouRenkin'', the character Victor is constantly displaying a life-draining ability that he can't turn off, even if he wanted to... [[spoiler:And so is protagonist Kazuki, who in the later part of the series, begins to turn into a being just like Victor.]]
** Justified in that it is a vital life function, Victor compares it to breathing.

* In ''[[TheHitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy The Restaurant at the End of the Universe]]'', the Belcerebon people of Kakrafoon are cursed with the disease of uncontrollable telepathy. They seek relief from it by staging a Disaster Area concert.

* The Unbreakable Darkness from ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny''. Merely appearing somewhere causes fluctuations in time and space and creates Dark Piece clones formed from the characters' pasts and even alternate futures. Oh, and the world she's in and everything around it will be reduced to nothing if she ever reaches full power, even though she doesn't want such things to happen. The ending reveals that [[spoiler:the Materials and the Tome of the Purple Sky were originally meant to be a PowerLimiter system so that she could regulate her unlimited powers, and she's finally able to use them for good once Lord Dearche, the Material of Sovereignty, successfully re-establishes this role of hers]].

** Sheryl downplays it to the point of cuteness. Whenever she uses {{Psychokinesis}}, [[DramaticWind her ribbon defies gravity]].
** [[spoiler:Ellery]]'s power activates without her control, and her power is ''to activate other people's powers''.

* Phoebe of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' is practically the queen of this trope (not that the other sisters are entirely innocent): She doesn't have any sort of control over her premonitions until ~season 6 (and even then she never learns how to turn it off), the flying power she accidentally stole from the dragon in season 2 was unreliable to say the least and she never learned to control her empathy power ever. In act neither did Prue when she [temporarily] became an empath. Also happened to Piper "Exit Strategy", where her ability to freeze time is upgraded to StuffBlowingUp too. Plus, Paige has struggled with this in her orbing ever since she was a high-schooler.

* Goku in ''{{Saiyuki}}''. When his power limiter breaks or is taken off and he reverts to his true form he will try to kill anything that moves including his friends. He'll probably be reasonably successful as he's immensely powerful in this form. When it breaks the limiter can only be recreated by the gods or Sanzo. Hakkai also has to wear his power limiters although the risk of him losing himself and going berserk when he removes them is only because of the minus wave and when he has been shown to remove them he remains in sane(ish) mind and can put them back on to revert to human form. But he's currently at risk when taking them off, probably.

* In ''{{Croak}}'', Damning comes with unfortunate side effects. Like potentially damning your friends if you don't discharge the energy often enough.

* Flinx, of AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series, has a strong [[TheEmpath empathic]] talent that turns itself on and off at seemingly random intervals. While the ability grows more sensitive and powerful over the years, it's still maddeningly unpredictable. In addition, when sorely provoked he sometimes erupts in [[SuperpowerMeltdown uncontrolled telekinetic detonations]], making him a PersonOfMassDestruction.

* On ''{{The 4400}}'', [[spoiler:After taking the [[SuperSerum promicin]] shot, Danny gets the ability to spread promicin through the air. He can't stop it without dying himself, and he ends up killing an enormous amount of non-promicin-tolerant people.]]

** One of the residents of the all-mutant neighborhood District X was a woman who could spontaneously burst into flames. Unfortunately, unlike other mutants with similar powers, she was [[RequiredSecondaryPowers not immune to fire]]...

* The reborn Emperor in the finale of the ''StarWars'' comic ''Dark Empire'' creates a Force Storm to deal with a Rebel fleet parked in front of his enormous battlewagon Star Destroyer. When he's about to be killed by the Skywalker twins, somehow he looses control over the Force abomination and it begins to consume him and his ship in a titanic conglomeration of power.

** On top of that, upon awakening his powers, before controling it, his power constantly leaked to the point that several people he knows started to develop minor to major spiritual powers just from being around him.

** On top of that, apon awakening his powers, before controling it, his power constantly leaked to the point that several people he knows started to develop minor to major spiritual powers just from being around him.