History Main / ToxicPhlebotinum

*** The Omega Molecule from "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS4E19TheOmegaDirective The Omega Directive]]" is the most powerful and dangerous ''thing'' in the universe -- so much so that the Federation has a strict policy to destroy them [[GodzillaThreshold at all costs]]. Ordinary destructive things just destroy things -- Omega Molecules can screw up subspace, meaning ''warp travel becomes impossible in the area'').

** In ''Film/IronMan2'', the palladium components of Tony's chest-mounted arc reactor decay over time and emit toxins into his blood, slowly killing him [[spoiler:(at least, until he perfects the technology using a hidden schematic from his dead father to make a new atomic element to replace the Palladium]]) An inversion, since it's the original reactor that is killing him, and the shiny new one that is actually safe.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' has Karlach's Infernal Engine, a hellfire-powered reactor taking the place of her heart which was forced upon her during her time in [[{{Hell}} Avernus]]. It runs extremely hot in the best of times, but has been running hotter than usual since she escaped back to the Material Plane, too hot for her to be able to touch others without risk of harm. [[spoiler:With some Infernal Iron, she can have a cooling system built and installed into her that would let her touch others safely, but that doesn't address the primary issue with the Infernal Engine: that it simply was not designed to operate outside of Avernus, and will continue to get hotter and hotter until it eventually melts down, killing Karlach. The only long-term solution is to permanently return to Avernus, where the Engine can run safely.]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' has the source of Quiet's preternatural abilities: [[spoiler:a specially-modified variation of the vocal cord parasite. All of the benefits given to her by the parasites is offset by the fact that ''she is infected with the parasites''. Worse still, it is a variation of the parasites that is attuned to the English language: if she ever speaks English, the infection will not only eventually kill her, but turn her into a walking plague that can potentially destabilize the entire world by robbing it of its dominant language.]]

* Aether, often depicted as the source of magic in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, is this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'': while casting magic using crystals is relatively harmless, channeling aether through one's body to cast magic -- as done by [[SlaveRace Bearers]] and [[PersonOfMassDestruction Dominants]] -- has detrimental effects on the body. Known as "the crystals' curse", continuous use of magic in this fashion causes the caster's body to gradually petrify. [[spoiler:There is also Blight, the encroaching devastation afflicting the land: the Mothercrystals which provide magical power for the realm draw in such massive amounts of aether that it is rendering more and more of the world uninhabitable.]]

* Aether, often depicted as the source of magic in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, is this in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'': while casting magic using crystals is relatively harmless, channeling aether through one's body to cast magic -- as done by [[SlaveRace Bearers]] and [[PersonOfMassDestruction Dominants]] -- has detrimental effects on the body. Known as "the crystals' curse", continuous use of magic in this fashion causes the caster's body to gradually petrify.

-> ''"Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive is also killing you."''

* Inverted in ''Anime/GaoGaiGarFINAL''. The villains' power source is the "Loud G-Stone", which has a constant power output which is higher than the G-Stones the heroes are using. Of course, the Loud G-Stone isn't powered by '''[[MetaphysicalFuel courage]]'''. Sure enough, Guy's G-Stone power goes through the roof when he gets pissed off enough, and the rest of the robots follow suit. The Sol 11's "non-toxic" Loud G-Stones can't keep up. Guy points this out in his heroic BreakingLecture: "Everything is because you were afraid! Afraid the G-Stone's power would transcend the Loud G-Stone! The power born from ''courage!''"

* Starting with ComicBook/PostCrisis version of Franchise/TheDCU, ComicBook/LexLuthor was able to harness kryptonite in a variety of means of bedeviling Comicbook/{{Superman}}. Unfortunately, Luthor learns the hard way that kryptonite radiation is also harmful to humans with sufficient exposure.
* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, attempts to weaponize adamantium in SuperSoldiers met problems because adamantium is toxic. One of their first successful subjects was ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, who had a HealingFactor that kept the adamantium from killing him. The tradeoff for him is that his Healing Factor lost some of its potency.
* In the ''ComicBook/IronMan'' online Infinite Comics story "Fatal Frontier", the discovery of phlogistone, moonrocks that gained special powers after being exposed to various kinds of Phlebotinum (the Power Infinite, the Phoenix Force, etc.) kicks off a wave of colonization and industry on the moon. Tony eventually finds evidence that phlogistone [[spoiler:also corrupts souls.]] After discovering this Tony puts all of his efforts into keeping phlogistone out of anyone's hands while looking for a way to depower it.
* In ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'', Power Ring's RingOfPower is taking over his body. The ring seems to be growing into his finger and there are prominent green veins protruding from his arm to his neck. He is very concerned about this and wants to get the ring off as soon as possible.
* Ore-13, aka Ultra Energon from the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' IDW comics. It greatly enhances a Transformers' abilities, but burns out very quickly and leaves the user in a very vulnerable state.
* When Comicbook/SpiderMan got his black suit during the ''Comicbook/SecretWars'', it came with a slew of useful traits that made it more useful than his original suit: increased strength, unlimited organic webbing, some shapeshifting abilities, and accelerated healing. Unfortunately, it also made him more aggressive and merciless. It doesn't help that this suit is actually an alien [[TheSymbiote Symbiote]], which made removing it very difficult, and later gave rise to one of Spidey's most iconic rivals, Comicbook/{{Venom}}.
* In ''Comicbook/SpiderGwen'', the Lizard serum Peter Parker created to become the Lizard has toxic side effects. Staying in Lizard form for too long will kill you. This is how Peter died. Gwen toying with him during their fight as opposed to beating him as quickly as possible caused him to stay in Lizard form long enough that even reverting to human form didn't save him.

* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, Eridium hits this trope on the head. Its gas form is extremely corrosive but does well for powering certain individuals and killing off almost any organic matter that it touches [[spoiler:like Flood]]. Slag, the byproduct from mining/refining Eridium, is also hostile to life but makes excellent coolant for FasterThanLightTravel or other high-heat applications.
* ''Fanfic/CyclesUponCycles'': [[Franchise/MassEffect Element Zero]]. As [[VideoGame/StarCraft Kerrigan]] found out [[spoiler: while assimilating the Krogan,]] Element Zero exposure all but wipes out the victim's psionics, with the bare scraps left over interacting with the eezo to make biotics. As soon as this was discovered, the Koprulu Alliance immediately banned all eezo from being brought into their territories and are systematically eradicating any sources of the substance already present.
* ''Fanfic/IWokeUpAsADungeonNowWhat'': Life springs release pure mana into the environment in the same way dungeons do, allowing for the growth of plants and animals. However, the mana released by a life spring carries with it some form of corruption that accumulates first in the plants, then later moves up the food web a la heavy metal poisoning. This causes the corrupted animals to first mutate into more monstrous forms, then eventually go into a berzerk rampage and have to be put down.

* ''Film/IronMan2'': The palladium components of Tony's chest-mounted arc reactor decay over time and emit toxins into his blood, slowly killing him. [[spoiler: At least, until he perfects the technology using a hidden schematic from his dead father to make a new atomic element to replace the Palladium.]] An inversion, since it's the original reactor that is killing him, and the shiny new one that is actually safe.
* In ''Film/AntMan1'', exposure to Pym Particles without proper protection (like the Ant-Man helmet) can affect the mind, and exposure to them through the course of his experiments is implied to be part of the reason Cross is so nuts, [[spoiler: especially after he starts using the Yellowjacket suit]].
* In ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', Adrian Toomes uses Chitauri power cores salvaged from the [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Battle of New York]] to manufacture deadly energy weapons. Exposure to certain forms of radiation causes the cores to explode. [[spoiler:This almost results in Toomes's death as a result of the arc reactor cores he tried to steal emitting radiation that made his flight suit's power core unstable.]]
* The black liquid from ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'', officially dubbed Chemical [=A0-3959X.91–15=], transforms animals exposed to it into Xenomorph-like creatures - and was most likely involved in the production of the first Xenomorphs - and if ingested causes complete disintegration at a genetic level. In the Dark Horse ''Fire and Stone'' comic series, it terraforms LV-223 and not even the Xenomorphs themselves are immune to its mutagenic effects.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', it was revealed that protomatter was used in the creation of the Genesis Planet. Unfortunately, protomatter is highly unstable and dismissed by most scientists and is shown as the Genesis Planet suffers an EarthShatteringKaboom due to its properties. In other entries, protomatter has been used as detonation materials.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* Naquadriah is the variant unstable form of Naqadah in ''Series/StargateSG1''. It's the basic form of this trope; more power can be taken from it, but it's unstable. In fact, naquadriah's instability depends on how much energy you are trying to get from it. Higher energy means ''exponentially'' higher instability to the point where the X-302 attempted a hyperjump via its naquadriah-powered hyperdrive but the guidance computer automatically and intentionally missed the hyperspace window to avoid the craft being blown to pieces upon entry, and the ''Prometheus'' experienced a misjump while using its much bigger hyperdrive. After these incidents and the acquisition of some serious Asgard tech, naquadriah was never used for anything aside from boosting the yield of nuclear warheads - something the stuff is very good at.
* In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' they try extracting energy from an alternate reality, which will destroy the reality in question. No one has a problem with it at first since the chances of the reality being inhabited are astronomically small. Predictably, the alternate reality is inhabited and they have to deplete the ZPM (their usual power source) to stop the energy transfer before it is destroyed.
* Trilithium, the dangerous form of dilithium in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe.
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "The High Ground", the Ensata terrorists resort to using a teleporter device called an inverter to carry out their attacks on the occupying Rutian forces without being tracked, although the downside is that it caused severe cumulative distortions in the cellular chemistry of anyone using it, a process which, with prolonged use, could prove fatal.
** In "When The Bough Breaks" from ''The Next Generation'', it's the Aldeans' DeflectorShield and cloaking device that are causing all the trouble, degrading Aldea's ozone layer and exposing the inhabitants to ultraviolet radiation sickness. Beyond being sterile, they're quite close to death before Dr. Crusher is able to treat them and the Enterprise "reseeds" the ozone layer (somehow).
** The Omega Molecule. The most powerful and dangerous ''thing'' in the universe. So much so that the Federation has a strict policy to destroy them [[GodzillaThreshold at all costs]] (ordinary destructive things just destroys things. Omega Molecules can screw up subspace, meaning ''warp travel becomes impossible in the area'').
** In ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'''s "Course: Oblivion", ''Voyager'' has created an enhanced warp drive that generates a form of radiation that would be harmless to normal living beings, but ''is'' dangerous to beings and substances made of "silver blood", causing the ''Voyager'' of this episode (a duplicate of the original created months ago) to demolecularize.
* On ''Series/LukeCage2016'', Bushmaster gets his power from a herbal mixture that not only decreases in effectiveness the more you use it but also slowly poisons you.
* ''Series/TheBoys'' has Compound V, a SuperSerum [[MegaCorp Vought]] uses to provide people with superpowers. Compound V can only be safely administered to infants and children, however; administering Compound V to anyone who is at least adolescent is exceedingly painful and dangerous, with only 20% of adults who receive Compound V surviving. The third season also explores "Temp V", a variant of Compound V that can provide non-superpowered people with superpowers and enhanced physical strength for 24 hours. Unlike normal Compound V, Temp V can be safely taken by adults, at least in theory; in practice, while Temp V isn't immediately lethal like Compound V can be, repeated use causes cumulative brain damage that can be potentially fatal in as few as three doses. [[spoiler:Billy Butcher pushes his luck with six doses over the course of the season, which ends with him diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given a prognosis of 18 months, at best.]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

* In ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' the Shadow Weave is an alternative arcane magic PowerSource, mostly incompatible with normal magic which in itself brings some advantages. Its use involves either [[DealWithTheDevil a pact with one of evil deities]] or taking mental/spiritual damage.
* Creator/GamesWorkshop games:
** Warpstone from ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' is not merely the setting's local GreenRocks, it can be used to boost magic workings and the skaven use it not only as the basis of their economy, but to power their MagiTek... everything. As a downside, it's a magical, madness-inducing [[TheCorruption mutagen]]. The [[RatMen Skaven]] use it in their weaponry with the idea that it's more powerful, but less safe. This is characterized by every single weapon team being devastatingly powerful, but having the potential to misfire, which can range from simply not firing to exploding the weapon and everybody and everything around it.
** In the 3rd Edition of ''TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}'', the [[LostTechnology STC]] that is the source of House Van Saar's technical brilliance is so badly damaged and incomplete that is has irradiated the entire House, resulting in every member becoming terminally ill by the time they come of age. In-game, the sickness suffered by members of the house is represented by members of the gang being unable to gain more than a single Toughness advancement when they go up a level (rather than the two that other Houses can receive).
* In ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'', the Federated Suns developed a type of [[HumongousMecha BattleMech]] myomers muscles that quadruple their strength when operating [[OverHeating at high temperatures]]. However, it would violently explode when exposed to a certain gas. The [=FedSuns=] would go on to [[ISurrenderSuckers leak the flawed design]] to their enemy, the Capellan Confederation, who promptly began installing it in their battlemechs without realizing the fatal flaw, which the [=FedSuns=] used to their advantage in a spy extraction by dosing the battlefield with the gas. The Capellans eventually stabilized the myomers at the cost of dropping to a 'mere' triple strength increase, though pilots still had to operate the mech within the heat redline zone that would cause targeting computer failures and the risk of ammunition explosions in order to gain the strength increase.
* ''{{TabletopGame/Numenera}}'': Carrying around too many Cyphers (artifacts from previous civilizations) will kill you. Exactly how they will kill you is abstracted because there are so many different kinds of technology, and nobody knows enough science to determine the root causes for certain. A Cypher could kill you with nuclear radiation, unchecked nanotech, psychic interference, alien laws of physics, or something as simple as lead-based paint.

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* Phazon, pictured above, from the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy''. Although there is no "safe" form of Phazon: it comes in "unstable and uber-deadly" blue and "even more unstable and uber-deadly" orange, unless you have the Phazon Suit from the original ''Prime'', in which case you take no damage from the blue Phazon. Orange Phazon still hurts, though.
** The Phazon Suit seems to have a lot in common with the Omega Pirate, which the Space Pirate research notes pointed out led to [[PsychoSerum insanity and a much shorter lifespan]]. Fortunately, Samus kills Metroid Prime, who [[TakingYouWithMe tries to kill Samus, but instead]] removes the Phazon Suit before this happens.
** ''Un''fortunately, Metroid Prime somehow merges with the suit, gains Samus's intellect, and spends the next two games spreading [[TheCorruption Phazon]] across the galaxy.
** Somehow, it's not surprising that Phazon is actually the substance of an EldritchAbomination [[GeniusLoci planet]] out to [[TheVirus take over the universe]].
** In the third game, Samus and the other Bounty Hunters are "infected" with Phazon by [[spoiler:Dark Samus]] early on. After a certain point, entering [[SuperMode Hypermode]] can result in "Corrupted Hypermode", which ends with "[[NonStandardGameOver Terminal Corruption]]", [[spoiler: where Samus transforms into ''another Dark Samus'']], if Samus cannot drain the Phazon from her system in time or holds out long enough for her suit to end Hypermode automatically. [[spoiler:Near the end of the game, when Samus lands on [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Phaaze]], the source of all Phazon, it overwrites her DNA to the point where Samus' own gunship cannot recognize her anymore and denies her entry.]]

** The games' namesake Tiberium is a virulent crystalline "plant". It leaches minerals from the soil and forms them into easily-harvested crystals on the surface, which is a hell of a lot easier than mining. The downside is that tiberium fields emit extremely toxic gases, mutates local flora, kills local fauna and is unstoppably spreading across the world.

** The Scrin don't suffer from these effects. On the contrary, they actually need regular infusions of Tiberium to survive. This is reflected in gameplay by Scrin units regenerating health while on Tiberium. Makes sense, as tiberium is a Scrin xenoforming agent.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Exspheres, which are used to power various {{Magitek}} and can be equipped for a combat boost... but without a keycrest made of special materials, they eventually [[BodyHorror turn people into monsters]].[[spoiler: They're also activated by [[PoweredByAForsakenChild human souls]].]]
* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore4/VideoGame/ArmoredCoreForAnswer'' has Kojima particles, which aren't dissimilar from GN or Minovsky particles, but turns the [=NEXT=]s into {{Walking Wasteland}}s
* Cleria in ''[[VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen Ys I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/YsOrigin Origin]]''. It bolstered the titular civilization's rise to prosperity, but also caused its downfall. Said to be a corrupt form of Emelas.
* The [[{{Precursors}} ancient civilization]] in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' was doing well using the powers of the sun and the elements. Then they discovered a certain sleeping EldritchAbomination and decided to tap its power instead... Well, let's just say it did not end well. In this case, just drawing from Lavos while it slept worked fine, but once they invented a machine to take much larger amounts, the process managed to wake it up, and that was a huge mistake.
* Data Draining from ''Franchise/DotHack'' is a form of this, as normal use inflicts status effects on the main character, but overuse is much worse. For one, side effects occur more often when you Data Drain more often (due to increased spread of the virus). However, the worst effect you can experience is [[NonStandardGameOver your character being randomly, unavoidably, and irretrievably corrupted]].
* ADAM and Plasmids in ''VideoGame/Bioshock1'' grant the user temporary superpowers, but at the cost of mental and physical deterioration from prolonged use. It is also extremely addictive, causing people to increase its use in order to maintain their stability.
* The Lutece Fields (aka Tears) in ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' allow its users to peek or to travel into other timelines. Prolonged exposure to them causes cancer, [[spoiler:sterility and rapid aging]].
* In ''VideoGame/PhantomDust'' [[spoiler:the same Dust that made the original Edgar a RealityWarper with ThePowerOfCreation fatally poisoned him.]] The Dust doesn't seem to have the same effect on anyone else [[spoiler:because they aren't really human.]] Though prolonged exposure to it does cause them to lose their memories [[spoiler:thanks to some tampering from either the second Edgar or Freya who seem to be immune to this]].

** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' reveals that red lyrium [[spoiler:is ordinary lyrium corrupted by the [[MysticalPlague Darkspawn Taint]], which has unsettling implications about the true nature of lyrium, given that the Taint can only affect living things...]] The DLC expansion ''The Descent'' then reveals that lyrium [[spoiler:is the blood of massive subterranean creatures known as "Titans"]].
* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': Terrazine gas is a potent agent used for enhancing psionic powers. However prolonged exposure to the gas can kill flora, and a wide range of effects on humans ranging from hallucinations to outright insanity.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' has imulsion, which after its potential was discovered was used fuel everything from factory machines to civilian vehicles. It also gave most of humanity's remnant a condition known as [[IncurableCoughOfDeath rust lung]] and is the main motivation for the Locusts' invasion of Serra's surface. Prolonged exposure to imulsion turns Locusts into AxCrazy [[EldritchAbomination abominations]] whose sole reason for being are infecting anyone near them, or killing them.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' has Karlach's Infernal Engine, a hellfire-powered reactor taking the place of her heart which was forced upon her during her time in [[{{Hell}} Avernus]]. It runs extremely hot in the best of times, but has been running hotter than usual since she escaped back to the Material Plane, too hot for her to be able to touch others without risk of harm. [[spoiler:With some Infernal Iron, she can have a cooling system built and installed into her that would let her touch others safely, but that doesn't address the primary issue with the Infernal Engine: that it simply was not designed to operate outside of Avernus, and will continue to get hotter and hotter until it eventually melts down, killing Karlach. The only long-term solution is to permanently return to Avernus, where the Engine can run safely.]]

* Notes scattered throughout ''VideoGame/ThePark'' reveal that Nathaniel Winter's attempts to harness the power hidden beneath Atlantic Island Park were fraught with disasters - most of them involving insanity. Construction workers committed suicide, visitors to the park were killed in all manner of horrible "accidents," a man in a Chad the Chipmunk costume stabbed two teenagers to death, and Lorraine Maillard starts to lose her mind the longer she stays at the park. [[spoiler: Actually trying to infuse himself with the extracted energy transformed Winter into the Bogeyman now haunting the park.]] ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' reveals that the source of this hidden power was almost certainly [[spoiler: the Gaia Engine under Solomon Island. Given that Gaia Engines serve as prisons for [[EldritchAbomination The Dreamers]], it's not all that surprising that things started going pear-shaped.]]

* Shinsu, the absolute baseline of power inside the ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' is not always agreeable with the human body. Without a certain resistance, people can die in the denser higher levels.

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
** Energon, in ''Anime/TransformersEnergon''.
** [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers The G1 series]]:
*** In one episode, they created anti-matter for Megatron to absorb and pelt the Autobots with. He subsequently had to eject it later in fear of ''DEATH''.
*** The Matrix Of Leadership is ''usually'' a powerup for any 'bot lucky enough to have a high affinity for it. It's also Unicron's kryptonite, so when Scourge (a Unicron-made bot with Matrix affinity) picked it up, he simultaneously got a lot stronger and ''started melting''.
** In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWarsTransformers'', the Energon found on ancient Earth was in such a massive and unrefined state that long exposure to it could eventually lead to stasis lock and even death. The destruction of the Vox's planet buster weapon eventually "purified" the Energon.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'':
*** [[TeleportationWithDrawbacks Transwarp energy]] fuses organic and machine elements, turning Wasp into Waspinator. Unfortunately, it's unstable, and he later fully ''explodes, teleporting'' at the same time. (He gets better.)
*** Nucleon. Created pretty much as an excuse for the Action Masters, it was more efficient and more powerful than Energon, but for some reason prevented them from actually transforming - supposedly forever. This, of course, became the excuse for the Powermasters, who could cleanse their partners of the Nucleon, regain their transformation ability, AND help boost their power levels to the point they were under the Nucleon.
** In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' Dark Energon is extremely powerful and dangerous [[spoiler:since it's the blood of Unicron. Megatron's abuse of it has dire consequences for him in the long run: he can never join the Allspark (the Transformers' afterlife) thanks to his contact with Unicron's Anti-spark.]]
** In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' raw Energon is extremely powerful but also very volatile. The reason the Transformers needed beast forms in the first place was to protect themselves from all of the raw Energon on the planet.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' once featured a crook who used a bodysuit made of a material that granted invisibility, but became toxic under the electric current that interacted with the fabric to make it invisible. Through his spree of small-time robberies, the man was slowly killing himself. His [[CoolCar invisible car]], however, was probably harmless.