History Main / PowerTattoo

* In ''[=~D.Gray-Man~=]'', Kanda has that huge tattoo over his chest. Or at least the left side of it. It's related to his HealingFactor.

* ''[=~Thieves' World~=]'' stories. The Adepts of the Blue Star had a blue star tattooed on their foreheads as the symbol (and price) of their powers. It glowed when the wearer felt strong emotions.

* In ''DemonTheFallen'', a tattoo that you can change at will is something humans have been known to make a DealWithTheDevil to obtain.

* The tattoos that Lindsay gets in ''AngelTheSeries'' to hide himself from the senior partners.

* The Mystics in ''[[LegendOfLegaia Legaia: Duel Saga]]'' all have tattoo-like birthmarks on their body. One of them, of course, has it somewhere that [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean doesn't get shown.]]

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** This becomes vital in the ''FinalCrisis'' mini-series when a specific design placed on the face thwarts alien brainwashing efforts.

* Smaxx from ''Top Ten''. A tattoo unwittingly left on his chest by a dying princess is the focus of much power-usage.

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* ''[=~Thieves' World~=]'' stories. The Adepts of the Blue Star had a blue star tattooed on their foreheads as the symbol (and price) of their powers. It glowed when the wearer felt strong emotions.

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* In the first season of ''{{Smallville}}'' when nearly every citizen in town got powers from GreenRocks, a gang has tattoos with meteor rock ink that allow them to pass through solid matter.

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** Psionic users can create literal magic (well, psionic) tattoos.

* Caste marks appear on the foreheads of all Celestial ''{{Exalted}}'' if they spend peripheral Essense.

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* [[TheHeartless The Noise]] in ''TheWorldEndsWithYou'' all have tattoos which make up part of their bodies. In a particular example, the Psychedelifox, Ambiefox, and Progfox, who can steadily gain extra tattoo-tails during battle, which in turn allow them to do more vicious attacks.

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* Talies from ''FanFic/TheMotleyTwo'' (as well as other [[GeometricMagic Writer-Mages]]) has a rune inscribed on his palm that, apart from marking him as part of the order, gives him a sensitivity to the flow of magic.

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* ''Series/YoungJustice'' has the new Aqualad, whose arms are tattooed. They [[PowerGlows glow]] when he is using his hydrokinesis.

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* ''SoulEater'' has the very pretty black tattoos covering Black Star and Tsubaki when they use the fey blade mode.

** Also "Combustion Man" fires powerful beams from his eye tattoo.

* Negi from ''MahouSenseiNegima'' gets these when he initially activates his [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Magica Erebea]]

* Hiei from ''{{Yu Yu Hakusho}}''.

** And in ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}!'', the Eye of Anubis fulfills this trope. Sometimes mistaken for The Eye of Wdjat, which is the symbol on Yugi's Puzzle, it can appear on the foreheads of bearers of the items when they use shadow magic. Glowing gold. It has also turned up on [[strike:the Steves]] those under the power of Marik through the Millennium Rod.

* +Anima markings in ''[[PlusAnima +Anima]]'', though they're actually scars.
* Orochimaru's Curse Marks in {{Naruto}}, although they turn into {{Marked Change}}s when activated.

* {{Soul Eater}} has the very pretty black tattoos covering Black Star and Tsubaki when they use the fey blade mode.

** This becomes vital in the ''Final Crisis'' mini-series when a specific design placed on the face thwarts alien brainwashing efforts.

* The new character Ink in the ''[[{{Comicbook/X-men}} X-Men]]'' comics has a different power for each tattoo he has. [[spoiler: At first he thought he was a [[{{Mutants}} mutant]] who would get powers based on his tattoos, but it turns out his tattoo artist is a mutant who could give people powers by giving them tattoos.]]
* Kinetix, in ''TheLegionOfSuperHeroes'', when she got her powers restored by the White Witch. In this case, the tattoo was the least unusual part of her resulting appearance, which included white skin, pointed ears and a tail.

* This was the point of ''TattooedTeenageAlienFightersFromBeverlyHills'', an early 90's knock off of ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. [[Tropers/LuckyMcDowell I'm]] somewhat ashamed I remember it.

* [[{{Portmanteau}} Electoos]] from ''{{Warhammer40000}}'' - it's a little unclear exactly what they do. Sometimes they are simple rank identifiers, whilst other authors use them as remote access keys, or even cybernetic circuitry.

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* in '''The Death Gate Cycle''' book series, a magician race called the Patryns uses tattoos for protection, amongst other things.
* ''ThievesWorld'' stories. The Adepts of the Blue Star had a blue star tattooed on their foreheads as the symbol (and price) of their powers. It glowed when the wearer felt strong emotions.
* ''The Black Tattoo''. And it was pretty darn creepy.
* Junichiro Tanizaki's ''The Tattooer'', a short story wherein a sadistic artist drugs a young geisha and tattoos a black widow spider on her back, thus releasing the [[TheVamp cruel seductress]] hidden within her.
* Eugenie Markham of Richelle Mead's ''DarkSwan'' series has multiple tattoos, most of which invoke the powers of the assorted deities she uses to enhance her magical abilities.
* The fledgling [[PhantasySpelling vampyres]] get a crescent moon on their forehead in ''TheHouseOfNight''. When it fills in completely, they have finished the 'change'. The main character [[MarySue Zoey Redbird]]'s tattoo has already filled in of course, along with her getting various others when she gets her numerous [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands special abilities]].
* Jennifer Lynn Barnes' novel ''Tattoo'' is about this. A woman from TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday gives a girl named Bailey and her friends some stick-on tattoos that last for a week. Each of them gets a different power for the time they have their tattoos, though they don't know this when they get them.
* Mr. Dark, the BigBad of ''Literature/SomethingWickedThisWayComes'', controls the other carnies this way.
* Gorlist, drow warrior from novels of Elaine Cunningham, has a dragon tattoo. Its glow indicated the presence of a dragon somewhere around, as well as [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience its kind]] (which is needed to prepare for the encounter).
* The Charter Mages in Garth Nix's {{OldKingdom}} series. Among other unspecified things, the forehead marks allow "uncorrupted" Charter Mages to identify each other with a touch.
* Cassandra Palmer from Karen Chance's ''Touch The Dark'' has a pentacle tattoo on her back that's a ward.
* The Shadowhunters from The MortalInstruments trilogy have the ability to carve (usually temporary, occasionally permanent) tattoos on themselves, giving them a variety of abilities, such as SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, etc. However, not all of these are good. [[spolier: The BigBad's endgame plan is to have the entire Clave enslaved and under his control by having all Shadowhunters accept a permanent Obedience Rune.]]
* The Imperium from TheGrimnoirChronicles brand kanji onto their operatives that enhance physical attributes as well as superpowers. The good guys know some that ''weaken'' captives and apply them in ash.
* TheFallen's protagonist Aaron has this whenever he activates his angelic powers.
* The protagonist of ''The Warded Man'' and ''The Desert Spear'' by Peter V. Brett covered himself in magical wards, each of which had a different power.

** Not to mention the [[SuperMode Fierce Deity form's]] facial tattoos from Majora's Mask.
* Used literally in PlanescapeTorment where Tattoos are one of the main pieces of equipment and confer numerous benefits on their wearer, as well as some playing a part in the plot.

* The Mystics in ''[[LegendOfLegaia Legaia: Duel Saga'']] all have tattoo-like birthmarks on their body. One of them, of course, has it somewhere that [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean doesn't get shown.]]

** Likewise, in ''[[{{ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne}} Nocturne]]'', the main character gets [[{{PowerGlows}} glowy]] sorta-power-tattoos all over his body, "sorta" in that they're a natural part of his demon body.

* [[TheHeartless The Noise]] in ''{{The World Ends With You}}'' all have tattoos which make up part of their bodies. In a particular example, the Psychedelifox, Ambiefox, and Progfox, who can steadily gain extra tattoo-tails during battle, which in turn allow them to do more vicious attacks.
* Although never seen due to graphics limitations, enemy mages in ''BaldursGate 2'' have these. They operate as an improved Contingency spell [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard granting the ability to simultaneously cast multiple spells of any level]].

* Almalexia in ''TheElderScrolls Morrowind''.

* [[Fable Fable III]] has tattoos that start to glow as you gain more magic power and morality. And then there are glowing markings that appear on your clothes if you use flourish attacks, their amount are increased as you gain more magic power. If your morality is good, your tattoos glow blue, just like the tattoos of Maze in the first Fable.

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* In ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', the Air Nomads are tattooed with sky bison arrow marks along their chi paths when they master Airbending. Since Aang is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the last Airbender]] [[LastOfHisKind alive]], his tattoos are also a dead giveaway that he's the Avatar. They [[PowerGlows glow]] along with his [[GlowingEyesOfDoom eyes]] when he's in the [[UnstoppableRage Avatar State]].
** Also "Combustion Man" fires powerful beams from his eye tattoo.
* ''Series/YoungJustice'' has the new Aqualad, whose arms are tattooed. They [[PowerGlows glow]] when he is using his hydrokinesis.

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* In ''DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'', Dan's clan mark finally manifests during his fourth battle with Dark Pegasus, indicating that he has exceeded some sort of power threshold.

* Talies from ''TheMotleyTwo'' (as well as other [[GeometricMagic Writer-Mages]]) has a rune inscribed on his palm that, apart from marking him as part of the order, gives him a sensitivity to the flow of magic.

* Fable III has tattoos that start to glow as you gain more magic power and morality. And then there are glowing markings that appear on your clothes if you use flourish attacks, their amount are increased as you gain more magic power. If your morality is good, your tattoos glow blue, just like the tattoos of Maze in the first Fable.

* The Imperium from TheGrimnoirChronicles brand kanji onto their operatives that enhance physical attributes as well as superpowers.

Compare MarkedChange, where the marks generally cover more of the body, but only when someone has powered up. See also VolcanicVeins, which similarly glow.

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