History Main / WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity

* In the ''Literature/HeroDotCom'' series, along with its sister series ''http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/VillainDotNet'', when a Prime, someone born with powers that doesn't need to download them from the titular websites, downloads powers from them, it either causes insanity or death.

**** Why in the first place do you think that there were SOLDIERs (1st Class at least), who were ''not'' created as an experiment?

If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.

* A lot of the meteor freaks in ''{{Series/Smallville}}'' end up going insane and evil. Granted some of the characters already have a screw (or several) loose before becoming meteor freaks (e.g. [[PsychoLesbian Tina Greer]], Greg Arkin), but some only went nuts after getting powers. Sean Kelvin for example - before getting powers he was just a jerk, after he got powers he became a SerialKiller. Even the non-killing meteor freaks aren't always all right in the head (e.g. Cyrus Krupp). Also, when normal people get [[PhysicalGod Kryptonian]] powers [[AGodAmI they tend to go nuts]] (e.g. Jeremiah Holdsclaw, Lana Lang, Eric Summers). Not ''all'' meteor freaks and normal-humans-with-Kryptonian-powers go nuts ([[spoiler:[[EmpathicHealer Chloe Sullivan]]]] for the meteor freaks, [[MuggleFosterParents Jonathan Kent]] for the humans-with-Kryptonian-powers, but notably, in both case the powers are [[CastFromHitPoints physically self-damaging]]), just most of them.

* ''Film/HollowMan'', starring Kevin Bacon. He goes nuts after gaining his ability because he realizes he can get away with a lot of crimes while invisible. It goes from disgustingly creepy (opening a sleeping co-worker's top) to badness and murder real soon. There's some talk about the invisibility PsychoSerum causing insanity, but it's never made clear how much of an effect it's supposed to be having on him.

** As expected, the failure with Bacon's character doesn't stop the government. In the sequel, they use the serum on several more people, including a decorated soldier (ChristianSlater), who also goes insane and starts killing people. Unfortunately, his soldier training makes him doubly difficult to kill. Unlike the scientist, who already had quite an ego, the soldier goes insane from a side effect of turning cells transparent. Since the skin no longer protects the brain from solar radiation, this causes unavoidable mutations and, as a result, insanity.

** Also, the side effects of using [[FunctionalMagic Ars Armagus]] weaponry [[PhlebotinumOverload for extended periods of time]] are, amongst other things; [[AppliedPhlebotinum seithr]] addiction, [[BodyHorror physical and]] [[AxCrazy mental detoiration]], death ([[FateWorseThanDeath if you're lucky]]) and [[IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream complete and utter madness]] (if you're not). This is also something of an InvokedTrope by the [[ArtifactOfDoom Nox Nyxtores]]; in order to make their wielders as effective as possible in battle, they're designed to suppress unnecessary things such as fear, empathy, compassion and emotions and instead provide its wielder with cozy things such as enhanced aggression, hate, bloodlust and latent psychosises ''on top of'' the Armagus weapons' side effects.

* In a less malevolent example, an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' had Genie's powers be transferred to Iago. Iago notices pretty quickly that, along with Genie's powers, he has also become more eccentric and strange, while the de-powered Genie becomes more morose. Apparently, possessing semi-phenomenal, nearly-cosmic power makes you a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}.

* ''[[Manga/InuYasha Inu-Yasha]]'''s heritage of demonic power from his Greater Demon father is so strong that it is too much for his half-human body to handle. That's why his father created the [[EmpathicWeapon Tessaiga]], to serve as a RestrainingBolt on Inuyasha's demonic power and thus preserve his sanity (while also making up for the power suppressed with the sword's own usefulness). If the sword is taken from Inuyasha or broken, he must refrain from getting too emotionally excited, or he risks unleashing his full, uncontrollable strength. Worse, each subsequent overload renders him more insane than the last, and it becomes harder to snap him out of it. If left unchecked, Inuyasha would eventually be reduced to a mindless monster killing and destroying everything and everyone around him, ''permanently''.

* A major part of ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}''; whenever most characters use more of their potential powers, a direct effect is the deterioration of their sanity. Examples are [[spoiler:Akiha's inversion impulse, Arcueid's blood-lust taking over (often called 'Warcueid'), and the protagonist upon using his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception too much. The entire Tohno family has this. In spades.]]
** Arcueid's case is kinda special in that she does not gain additional power during her "blood-lust" mode; she always had that power, "blood-lust" simply makes her no longer hold back. Well, unless she's fighting against Shiki, because only normal women can resist the Nanaya glands.
** In Type-Moon's same-universe series ''[[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Fate/Stay Night]]'', the Servant class Berserker has this as a specific class trait - the ability to sacrifice sanity and reason for immense combat power.

** One of the rare ''good'' endings for someone getting the Super-Soldier serum is Isaiah Bradley, grandfather of Patriot from the ''Comicbook/YoungAvengers''. Instead of going crazy with power, he simply lost a lot of his intelligence, sort of a super-Alzheimer's. Yes, that's what passes for a good ending when trying to reproduce the Super-Soldier serum. One wonders why they keep trying.

** Interestingly, this doesn't actually apply to the original comic book version of Spider-Man; he wore the symbiote suit for about a year without any ill effects, and it wasn't until [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything the suit wanted their relationship to be a little more intimate than Spidey was ready for did he realize it wasn't such a great idea]]. The [[WesternAnimation/{{Spider-ManTheAnimatedSeries}} '90s cartoon]] was [[LostInImitation responsible]] for the "symbiote makes you a psychopath" aspect, [[RetCanon which eventually came into play in the comic universe.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has Simon Petrikov, aka [[spoiler:[[WasOnceAMan the Ice King]]]]. An antique merchant from JustBeforeTheEnd who found an ArtifactOfDoom that gave him immense magical power and immortality...but also slowly drove him to become a demented, miserable [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who only has the vaguest memories and a FreudianExcuse from his past life.

* Spider-Carnage of ''WesternAnimation/{{Spider-Man The Animated Series}}'' is an example of this happening to a [[EvilTwin version]] of Spider-Man himself.

* ''Anime/DNA2'' has TheRival become the BigBad when he gained the power to "absorb other people's DNA". Don't ask how that works or why it gave him a BattleAura and shapeshifting powers, [[HandWave it just did]].

* ''Anime/{{DNA2}}'' had TheRival become the BigBad when he gained the power to "absorb other people's DNA". Don't ask how that works or why it gave him a BattleAura and shapeshifting powers, [[HandWave it just did]].

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* Utsuho Reiuji of ''[[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Subterranean Animism]]'' was once just a simple, somewhat scatterbrained [[CrowsAndRavens Hell Raven]], until she gained the immense power of nuclear fusion. Then she immediately decided to torch down [[FantasyKitchenSink Gensokyo]] and turn it into hell on earth. Luckily, she gets better after a good beating from the PC.

** In ''Subterran Animism'' there is also Utsuho Reiuji who, well... ask yourself this: If you had been a [[TheDitz birdbrained]] little [[CrowsAndRavens bird]] {{mook}} who was granted [[ILoveNuclearPower nuclear powers]] by a Goddess and, over the course of an instant, became Final Boss material, would you honestly have reacted in any other way than trying to TakeOverTheWorld?

* The ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' movies have Broly, who's more or less the personification of this trope (although it is also heavily implied that the life-threatening experiences of his childhood also contributed quite a bit to his insanity as well).

** And in the Revised version of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', [[CloudCuckooLander the Malkavians]], who have both [=MalkNet=] (a sort of hive mind of insanity) but also the super power to make OTHERS share a little insanity.

* The [[CloudCuckoolander Malkavian]] Clan from ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines''. While they do gain all the benefit of vampiric powers when Embraced, they also inherit the clan's weakness (which oddly enough, happens to be their greatest power as well) - each Malkavian becomes incurably insane. And if that wasn't frightening enough, they can make you think ''whatever they want''! Yup, their madness power lets them mess with ''your'' brain if they want.

** Also, the side effects of using [[FunctionalMagic Ars Armagus]] weaponry for extended periods of time, which [[PhlebotinumOverload exposes its weilder]] to [[AppliedPhlebotinum seithr]], are, amongst other things; seithr addiction, physical mutations, spiritual mutations, complete and utter madness and death, not necessarily in that order ([[TafeWorseThanDeath if you're lucky death actually comes relatively quickly]]). This is also something of an InvokedTrope by the [[ArtifactOfDoom Nox Nyxtores]]; in order to make their weilders as effective as possible in battle, they're designed to remove unnecessary things such as compassion, fear, memories and/or self-restraint and instead provides its weilder such cozy things as an enhancement of dormant psychosises, bloodlust and AxCrazy-ness.

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', we have Arakune, a scientist who sought knowledge from a place known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Boundary]], and got it. It had the unfortunate side effect destroying his sanity, turning him into, well, [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/699190-arakune_large.jpg this]], and giving him the power to summon '''[[MemeticMutation BEES!]]'''
** Also, Blazblue characters that gained possession of [[EvilWeapon Nox Nyxtoreses]] as children tend to be mentally unstable, at best, or outright insane, when sufficiently provoked. However, this is averted for characters that gained the said Nox Nyxtoreses after they turned adult - they tend to maintain their initial sanity/insanity.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', Remilia Scarlet locked her sister in the basement for 495 years because she was afraid that this trope would apply. While Flandre is almost certainly crazy, the fandom is divided on whether it's due to her powers or due to being locked in the basement with next to no social interaction for nearly 500 years.

It seems like any major military or corporate backed venture to give a [[{{Muggle}} mundane person]] [[StockSuperPowers super powers]] or just enhance their [[BadassNormal normal abilities]] always results in the test subject going [[PsychoPrototype uncontrollably berserk]] as a [[GoneHorriblyWrong side-effect.]]

{{Invisib|leJerkAss}}ility seems to drive one insane, or at least [[TheUnfettered evil]], more than any other power, because it lets you [[PowerPerversionPotential spy on people undetected]] and [[{{GIFT}} escape easily without consequences]]. HGWells' novel ''Literature/TheInvisibleMan'' is the TropeCodifier for invisibility letting you be evil in the modern era, but the germ of the story is [[OlderThanFeudalism much older than that]]; if you asked Wells where he got the idea he would probably have mentioned {{Plato}}'s tale of the ring of Gyges (from ''Literature/TheRepublic'').

A.K.A. ComesGreatInsanity for short, to go with the original version, ComesGreatResponsibility. Compare TheCorruption, AlmightyIdiot, DrunkWithPower, GodForADay and MadGod.

* During an episode of ''MagicalProjectS'', Misao dreams about having magic powers and the "fun" she would have using them. When she actually ''got'' said powers, she becomes the arguably insane persona of Pixy Misa (who tortures the entire main cast).
* In ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'', the titular character is kept LockedOutOfTheLoop regarding the fact that her friends are all examples of the very weirdness she seeks to find for this very reason. Already a JerkAss {{Tsundere}}, they're afraid that if she discovers that aliens, espers, dimension/time travellers and other such entities are real, she will manage to make the intuitive leap and realise that she is a RealityWarper of such power that she is, in all practical terms, [[AGodAmI a goddess]]. Given how much strain she can put on the fabric of reality even while she's unaware of her power, they naturally fear that allowing someone of her attitudes and ethics full control of her abilities would effectively bump her to EldritchAbomination status.

* In ''Anime/TheBigO'', NietzscheWannabe villain Schwarzwald is the only known character to figure out the big secret. As a result, he goes batshit insane, wraps himself up like a mummy, and spends the rest of the series raving about philosophy, leaving typewriters lying around everywhere he goes, and [[spoiler:showing up in a robot several weeks after his death to chew out another villain who gets killed trying to use it]].

** In ''GundamSEEDDestiny'', Blue Cosmos has been attempting to create "Artificial Coordinators" through depraved combinations of surgery, hypnosis, [[TrainingFromHell insane training]], drugs and other horrors. Of the dozens of children selected for the project, only a few survived, and those seen in the series are all, understandably, raving mad and almost incapable of functioning normally in life. Without routine "maintenance" their bodies break down and they die. The sad thing is that in comparison to ''SEED'''s pre-Extended (see above) they're all poster children for Mental Health Week: Stellar Louissier, for example, is a sweet [[PsychopathicManchild if incredibly childish]] [[TheWoobie and still very sympathetic]] young woman who loves to dance, as long as you don't [[BerserkButton tell her that either she or her friends will die]].
** In ''GundamWing'', the ZERO System gives the person who uses it incredible reaction times and tactical predictions bordering on prescience. If he can't focus on the battle, those violent predictions start afflicting whatever he starts thinking about (like say his girlfriend, or that nice peaceful space colony over there), and soon enough he's a psychopath slaughtering whatever the System says is his enemy.
* Similarly, ''{{Gasaraki}}'' has mecha pilots who were given a cocktail of boosting drugs in order to improve their battle performance (without their knowledge or consent, and said drugs was actually fluid extracted from the muscles of a 1000 year old demon), and the inevitably go berserk from the effects, before either lapsing into a coma or suffering cardiac arrest.

** And in ''DragonBallGT'', Goku loses his reason and turns into a giant, supremely powerful golden ape when he first transforms into a [=SS4=]. He Got Better.

* Contractors in ''DarkerThanBlack'' appear to have 'complete lack of conscience' as one side-effect of gaining their powers (and their powers are usually destructive in nature). Even the sanest amongst them are AffablyEvil or {{Anti Hero}}ic at best and have no problems with taking lives, though whether it is the powers themselves that cause it or the result of the extensive {{masquerade}} surrounding them and how their fellow humans treat them is up to debate.
* Human-type homunculi of ''BusouRenkin'' are a borderline example, as while becoming a homunculus does grant a human great power, none of the ones seen seem like they were particularly sane beforehand. Victor, though, is a dead-on example, as becoming a Victor made him do a FaceHeelTurn from an alchemic warrior to a demigod attempting to destroy all alchemy.

* [[NietzscheWannabe Sensui]] from ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' would probably count, as he seems to have been at least ''slightly'' cracked before he [[FaceHeelTurn officially]] [[StartOfDarkness went insane on the mission to the Black Black Club]]. (As a child, he says that he is the [[WellIntentionedExtremist "warrior for justice"]]. Wondering why demons only attacked you as opposed to other people, and knowing about the extent of your own power to destroy other living things leads to this trope.)
* A major part of ''{{Tsukihime}}''; whenever most characters use more of their potential powers, a direct effect is the deterioration of their sanity. Examples are [[spoiler:Akiha's inversion impulse, Arcueid's blood-lust taking over (often called 'Warcueid'), and the protagonist upon using his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception too much. The entire Tohno family has this. In spades.]]

* In ''ChronoCrusade'' Joshua Christopher is given the horns of a demon by the BigBad. The power is too much for the small boy, however - within minutes he's gone completely insane, using his powers to freeze everyone around him in time and destroy the orphanage he lived in. It gets '''so''' bad that later [[spoiler:he can't even remember his own sister]].

* In ''DevilmanLady'', the entire story centres around evolution and the gaining of vast, beast-like powers by ordinary people, many of whom go insane. The main character, Jun, for much of the series appears to be descending into insanity herself despite her best efforts not to. The climax moment of this aspect of the series is when, having been prevented to indulge her bloodlust by the Human Alliance, she attacks a nurse, but ultimately overcomes her instincts by drawing her own blood.
* In ''TenjhoTenge'', characters who possess supernatural powers are remarked as always being in danger of becoming insane. A classic example of this is Natsume Shin, Maya and Aya's elder brother who was overwhelmed by his powers and started killing random people. This leads to powers being referred to as "Dragons" that will devour their wielder's sanity. Because of this, there is a tremendous social stigma attached to the possession of supernatural abilities, which naturally only serves to aggravate the problem even more.
* ''{{S-Cry-Ed}}'' shows this one off pretty well, with most (if not debatable all) of the Alter Power users being completely insane to some degree. Particular samples include Straight Cougar, most of the one-shot villains and our main Kazuma (whose personality initially flips between JerkWithAHeartOfGold and nice-guy... only for the nice guy to completely vanish by the final battle).

* A {{Claymore}} who activates her demonic powers (i.e. "Awakens") gains great power but stands a chance of losing her humanity and turning into a human flesh-craving demon permanently.
* In ''RosarioToVampire'' being injected with a youkai's blood gives you all of their abilities for a short while. Eventually the effect starts wearing your body down. One time too many will kill you (if you're lucky) or [[BodyHorror horribly mangle your body]] and, if vampire blood is involved, leave you a mindless killing machine. Fortunately there are [[PowerLimiter ways to counteract]] the less-than-desirable effects.

* In ''GetBackers'', Ginji and [[spoiler:Kazuki]] have this as a side effect of their {{Superpowered Evil Side}}s. Ginji's "Lightning Lord" aspect is quiet, cold and utterly ruthless, while [[spoiler:Kazuki goes absolutely berserk when he releases the seal on his "Stigma," becoming vicious and blood-thirsty.]] They're always sorry afterward.

** Several characters use insanity to their advantage, but most do so from [[TheCorruption outside]] sources where they are at risk of permenantly losing their minds. Even the Nakatsukasas trace their power back to Arachne's experiments. Kid's is a unique case so far because he is an AnthropomorphicPersonification of a kind of insanity, albeit a deliberately weakened and incomplete one (a 'fragment of Shinigami').
* In ''{{Berserk}}'', the main character finds that he can enter into an UnstoppableRage like never before due to his recently obtained UpgradeArtifact. However, he finds himself BlessedWithSuck due to the [[PowerDegeneration incredible physical strain it puts on his body]], and he could [[TheCorruption accidentally]] FaceHeelTurn at any moment and kill all of his companions.
* Played with in ''MiraiNikki'', where some individuals who're not so mentally sound to begin with are given the ability to predict the future and told by God to kill each other [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne highlander style]]. Whether the ability, situation or just generally being that nuts before drives them [[AxeCrazy crazy]] is up for interpretation.

* In ''{{Saikano}}'' this more or less happens to [[spoiler:[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Chise]] who loses her sanity as the [[BodyHorror weapon of mass destruction inside her]] grows and apparently slowly takes over her brain, turning her into a [[AxCrazy killing machine]] against her will.]] She gets[[ThePowerOfLove better]]. [[FromBadToWorse But]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt then]] [[DownerEnding again]]...

* All attempts to replicate the SuperSerum that gave ComicBook/CaptainAmerica his powers have ended up as PsychoSerum, either made people go crazy or been used on someone who was already crazy. In fact, in the [[UltimateMarvel Ultimate]] universe, this seems to be the origin for all of [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan Ultimate Spider-Man's]] RoguesGallery.
** If you're a scientist introduced by name in the Spider-Man comics, you're usually one issue away from your experiments turning you into a deranged supervillain. Especially if [[MeaningfulName your name conveniently sounds a lot like the type of experiment you're conducting...]]
** One of the rare ''good'' endings for someone getting the Super-Soldier serum is Isaiah Bradley, grandfather of Patriot from the ''YoungAvengers''. Instead of going crazy with power, he simply lost a lot of his intelligence, sort of a super-Alzheimer's. Yes, that's what passes for a good ending when trying to reproduce the Super-Soldier serum. One wonders why they keep trying.
* In almost every incarnation of {{ComicBook/Spider-Man}}, when he gains access to the power-enhancing abilities of the symbiote, and ends up becoming irrationally angry and cocky. Or, in the case of [[Film/{{Spider-Man Trilogy}} the movie]], an emo.
** Interestingly, this doesn't actually apply to the original comic book version of Spider-Man; he wore the symbiote suit for about a year without any ill effects, and it wasn't until [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything the suit wanted their relationship to be a little more intimate than Spidey was ready for did he realize it wasn't such a great idea]]. The [[SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries '90s cartoon]] was [[LostInImitation responsible]] for the "symbiote makes you a psychopath" aspect, which eventually came into play in the comic universe.

* In the comic book series ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'', losing control of one's powers and/or humanity was a major theme of the series, especially for Liz Sherman and Hellboy himself.

* Apparently, ChrisClaremont likes this one, or used to. In ''Comicbook/{{X-Men}}'', The Phoenix being a cosmic entity was a {{Retcon}} to satisfy the then-editor-in-chief's requirement for bringing Jean back: she had to be innocent of her crimes as Phoenix. (The destroyer of five billion lives couldn't very well be welcomed back to the team with open arms. In fact, her original HeroicSacrifice was ''mandated'' for [[RedemptionEqualsDeath that very reason]].) The original story portrayed Jean's cosmic powers as the ultimate expression of her abilities, and the change from hero to AntiHero to cosmic-scale threat as simply the result of having the sort of powers she now possessed. Storm also began a similar change upon maxing out her powers, but thankfully was able to return to her previous self (her power level returning to normal with it) within that issue and before she did anything particularly heinous.
** The 'return' of Jean Grey in for the ''ComicBook/{{X-Factor}}'' retread of the original X-men was so badly done that it left ''permanent'' damage to the storylines of the Marvel Universe. The obvious moral cop-out of 'it wasn't really her' not only undid the basic ''point'' of one of the landmark storylines of the MU, but was done in a half-assed way, because they tried to claim that Jean deserved the credit for the self-sacrifice of the Phoenix entity, but not the blame for its crimes, even though both supposedly derive from the human element from Jean. Sorry, folks, you can't have that both ways.

*** Speaking of Mastermind and his plan to gain power through unleashing the Dark Phoenix, as Jean [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity lost her mind]] and became the Dark Phoenix for Mastermind's evil means, she turned on him and [[KarmicDeath ironically, gave Mastermind more power than he could ever comprehend, sending him into a coma (and insanity when he came to)]].
** Claremont also established that classic X-Men adversary {{Magneto}}'s magnetic powers damage his sanity over time. This explains rather a lot; wouldn't being able to control one of the four fundamental forces of the ''universe'' screw you up, too?
** Magneto comes close to saying this trope by name in issue two of the nineties X Men series. When Moira Mctaggart explains how his powers played havoc with his mind he states: "What, with great power comes mental instability?"
*** Magneto's daughters, Polaris and the Scarlet Witch, suffer from similar sanity-damaging [[CursedWithAwesome "cursed"]] powers. Insanity might be InTheBlood where this family's concerned.

**** Considering {{Quicksilver}}, Magneto's son, also went a bit crazy when he gained a new power set after House of M, odds seem high.

** This was {{Lampshade}}d in the ''Assault on Weapon Plus'' story arc, where the Weapon Plus files stated that super soldier experiments on criminals and psychopaths yielded less than reliable results, prompting them to find a different method of creating anti-mutant super soldiers.
** Another X-related example has to do with Omega Red, the [[SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn USSR's]] attempt to engineer its own CaptainAmerica-like super soldier. [[IdiotBall The brain trust in charge of the program chose a]] SerialKiller [[IdiotBall who'd been shot by his fellow soldiers for murdering children in his hometown.]] While initially a loyal operative, he eventually became too AxCrazy even for the KGB and was put in suspended animation, at least until the Hand freed him. He now functions as a PsychoForHire and one of the X-Men's deadliest foes.
* The evil and non-evil versions of insanity pop up in a ''lot'' of the MarvelUniverse's more powerful human characters, apparently as a way of HoldingBackThePhlebotinum. Scarlet Witch, Phoenix, The Sentry, or anyone else like that being able to use their maximum power levels while fully themselves would remove all drama. ScarletWitch is currently the most powerful and resultantly has it the worst. We haven't seen her mind in stable condition for quite some time now that her power's gone from "[[WindsOfDestinyChange I point and my opponent slips on a banana peel]]" to "[[RealityWarper whatever I decide simply]] ''[[RealityWarper is.]]'' She'll ''never'' get to have that kind of power and the ability to think "Wouldn't it be nice if the Skrulls (okay, except [[{{Runaways}} Xavin]], [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Lyja]], and [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} Cadre K]], and the Super Skrull if [[HeelFaceTurn he keeps playing nice]]) turned into rice pudding?" at the same time.
* Apparently, getting hopped up on Chaos Emerald Energy in the ArchieComics ''Comicbook/SonicTheHedgehog'' series makes you do crazy things. Examples:

* WarrenEllis' ''GlobalFrequency'' not only invokes this, but explains it in terms of the surgical alterations required to keep the superstrong bionic arm or whatever from physically tearing the body apart. "They gave him a mirror."
* In ''[[TheNewUniverse newuniversal]]'', which is also by WarrenEllis, John Tensen gains telepathic powers that let him "see" a person's misdeeds or ignoble intentions. The first time he used these abilities, he discovered that his own nurse was planning to poison him. Tensen, not surprisingly, became AxCrazy and is now the "worst serial killer in New York City history," to quote a minor character.
* In ''{{Powers}}'', a naturally occurring variant occurs in "The Sellouts" storyline, in which a never-aging CaptainErsatz of Comicbook/{{Superman}} gradually loses his connection with humanity and goes insane, [[AGodAmI declaring himself to be a God]]. It's discussed that this may partly be a result of his ever-increasing level of superpowers, which go ''way'' beyond anything seen before (to the extent that the government has lied about exactly how powerful he is in order to prevent hysteria about him), and partly because, despite the fact that he doesn't ''look'' very old, he's at least over a hundred years old and has gone senile.

* ''ComicBook/TheMask'' is this trope. Summary of every Mask story: Person finds the mask, puts it on, discovers they're a NighInvulnerable VoluntaryShapeshifting RealityWarper, starts using their powers in pursuit of some logical goal, loses sight of their goal and engages in wanton violence ForTheEvulz, is either tricked into removing the mask or removes it after a WhatHaveIBecome moment.
* ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk''. The gamma bomb gave Bruce Banner huge power and exacerbated his multiple personality syndrome. Plus, the madder he gets, the stronger he becomes.
** Interestingly, for both ''The Mask'' and Marvel's gamma ray mutants, what happens to the subject's mind depends on what part of their personality they had dissociated themselves from. Most people who get the Mask unlock their evil side, but the fellow in TheMovie didn't ''have'' an evil side, only a chaotic side, so he essentially became a WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes character. Marvel goes into more detail--Banner suppressed the rage that came from being abused as a child, SheHulk suppressed [[MsFanservice her sexuality]], Doc Samson suppressed his desire to be a hero, and the Abomination suppressed his self-hatred.

* Similarly inverted ([[ZigZaggingTrope or not]]) in ''TheAuthority'', where the Doctor gives up his powers to a [[LegacyCharacter previous]] Doctor, who was relieved of his duties for being a [[OmnicidalManiac psychotic maniac]]. As soon as the full extent of his powers kicked in, he was [[VillainousBSOD overwhelmed]] by the empathy for every living thing in existence. Super-empathy being part of the Doctor's role as the world's shaman, makes you wonder why this guy was psychotic [[FridgeLogic in the first place]].

* A rather mundane case of this appears in ''[[{{Irredeemable}} Incorruptible]]''. Max Damage becomes [[SuperStrength stronger]] and [[NighInvulnerable more invulnerable]] the longer he stays awake. If he stays awake for say, a week, his powers reach PhysicalGod levels. However, he is still vulnerable to the effects of sleep deprivation. The result is someone who is mentally exhausted and strong enough to topple buildings -- an unnerving combination. Dealing with the numbness his invulnerability brings with it for years has also taken its toll on Max's sanity.

* In the Fanfic/OneiroiSeries (for Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick), this fits [[SplitPersonalityTakeover Deirdre]] to a T. (Though to be fair, she had a few screws loose before she got the Great Power...)

* Shinji Ikari in Fanfic/PointsOfFamiliarity.

* ''FalloutEquestria'': The Goddess, as if the self-given name wasn't a dead giveaway. An immensely powerful gestalt psyche that commands the alicorns of the Unity. Unfortunately, being a disharmonious merging of some of the early-war era's most powerful unicorns (including Twilight Sparkle and Trixie, the latter being the first victim and the most dominant persona) means that she's not at all mentally healthy. In ''[[Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaProjectHorizons Project Horizons]]'' we find that the Goddess likes to take every bad memory, every indication of a shortcoming or flaw, and shunt them into the head of Lacunae, an exiled alicorn whose position at Hoofington means she's not fully connected to the Unity and can be tuned out. Which means that the Goddess won't grow and improve in any way, although Lacunae is becoming a better pony from it.

* ''{{Bananas}}'': After overthrowing the government of San Marcos, rebel leader Esposito declares himself the new president. Esposito also announces "the official language of San Marcos will be Swedish," "citizens will be required to change their underwear every half-hour" and "all children under 16 years old are now 16 years old." He spends the remainder of the film in an insane asylum.

* In ''[[RoboCop RoboCop 2]]'', the evil corporation OCP attempts to build a successor to Robocop, but in all cases the new cyborg goes crazy and commits suicide. Finally, they stick the brain of a convicted, drug-addicted, psychopath into the cyborg. That doesn't work out too well in the end, either.

* ''ForbiddenPlanet'' exhibits this principle most chillingly through Morbius.

* In the first ''[[Film/{{Spider-Man Trilogy}} Spider-Man]]'' movie, this is the origin of the Green Goblin. The process to make him a super soldier also seems to produce a homicidal second personality. Ironically, Norman [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong subjected himself to the serum]] in an effort to prove it would ''not'' have that effect on humans...
** Doc Ock in the second film was made crazy by the robot arms. In fact, they slaughtered a room full of medical personnel while Otto was still unconscious. He overcame their programming just in time for a HeroicSacrifice.

* ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'': The most recent movie finds hardened veteran soldier, Emil Blonsky given [[PsychoSerum a prototype super-soldier serum]] - to put "what I know now into the body of a man ten years younger". The combination of being defeated despite this and the taste of such power grow into the classic ComesGreatInsanity.
** Funnily enough, that serum is all but directly stated to be the one that gave CaptainAmerica his powers, but with Blonsky lacking the additional radiotherapy his insanity is a classic symptom of the SuperSoldier serum gone wrong. Then he demands ([[WhatAnIdiot against repeated warnings]]) a dose of an even ''more'' experimental serum from a much ''less'' reputable source and...let's just say the end results of that little cocktail ain't pretty.

* ''UniversalSoldier''. In the sequel, one of them even gets an artificially intelligent, ''Self-Evolving Thought Helix'' military supercomputer downloaded into them.
* ''HollowMan'', starring Kevin Bacon. He goes nuts after gaining his abillity because he realizes he can get away with a lot of crimes while invisible. It goes from disgustingly creepy (opening a sleeping co-worker's top) to badness and murder real soon. There's some talk about the invisibility PsychoSerum causing insanity, but it's never made clear how much of an effect it's supposed to be having on him.

** As expected, the failure with Bacon's character doesn't stop the government. In the sequel, they use the serum on several more people, including a decorated soldier (ChristianSlater), who also goes insane and starts killing people. Unfortunately, his soldier training makes him doubly difficult to kill. Unlike the scientist, who already had quite an ego, the soldier goes insane from an side effect of turning cells transparent. Since the skin no longer protects the brain from solar radiation, this causes unavoidable mutations and, as a result, insanity.

* ''{{Scanners}}''.

* Subverted in ''AmazonWomenOnTheMoon,'' when Ed Begley, Jr. plays the son of the original invisible man. He creates a potion that he believes will turn him invisible but not insane. Unfortunately, he becomes insane but visible.

* ''TheCraft'': Nancy. It didn't help that she had a DysfunctionalFamily.

* The villian in {{Frostbite}} is probably an example. He stated that his first goal was to ''cure'' vampirism, until he decided that he should ''enhance'' it instead.

* ''Saidin'', the magic used by males in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', is tainted by The Dark One, causing inevitable insanity in its users. As time progresses, one of the main characters begins to show the effects of this, becoming schizophrenic, moody, and temperamental; halfway through the series, he seems like a completely different person, though he ''is'' [[ChosenOne under a lot of pressure]]... The Forsaken also have access to what they call the True Power, an extremely addictive, ''evil'' flavor of magic that also has serious psychological consequences; most would only consider using it under ''dire'' need.

* Brandon Sanderson's ''{{Mistborn}}'' series:

** Also true for the Lord Ruler's [[TheDragon Dragons]], the Steel Inquisitors. The Inquisitors use [[spoiler: hemalurgy, a ghoulish form of magic that allows them to remove portions of someone else's lifeforce by killing them with a metal spike, trapping said life force in the spike, and then impaling * themselves* with said spike to aquire whatever power they stole.]] This makes them supremely powerful, but is in no way good for their long-term mental health. All the Inquisitors we see in the series are somewhat... [[AxeCrazy homicidal]].

* Jacen Solo in the ''StarWars'' "Literature/LegacyOfTheForce" novels seems to get crazier and crazier the more he falls to the Dark Side of the Force. He first justifies his actions as necessary sacrifices for the good of the galaxy, but by the end of "Fury," [[spoiler:he uses the Force to break an underling's neck for failing him]]. They don't call it TheDarkSide for no reason. The same applies to Anakin/Vader and a host of other ExpandedUniverse characters.
* In DavidBrin's original novel ''Literature/ThePostman'', the brutal survivalists/Holnists are led by General Macklin and his aides, who were pre-war experiments on creating soldiers with superhuman strength and speed. The government chose the most ruthless, intelligent and efficient killers in its military, with foreseeable results when the US itself turned into an anarchistic warzone. Macklin is finally killed by George Powhatan, a later experiment of the same ilk, though with a nature loving Neo-Hippie as subject.
* ''Midnight'' by DeanKoontz. Half straight, half inverted. A [[MadScientist rather twisted]] [[StrawVulcan scientific genius]] has designed microchip-like spheres that augment a person's mental and physical abilities, but suppress all their emotions except fear, which produces some rather odd behavior on its own. Then the townspeople begin to discover that an accidental side-effect gives them mind-over-matter shapeshifting powers, and they promptly escape into forms in which their lack of emotions doesn't bother them - either animalistic creatures without the intelligence to notice, or cyborgs without any emotion at all. Everyone dies.

* TimothyZahn's ''[[TheCobraTrilogy Cobra Trilogy]]'' has people being made into Super Soldiers and adjusting to new strength and speed and lasers in a matter of weeks. They're carefully screened beforehand; only the most emotionally stable ones actually become [[FunWithAcronyms Cobras]]. Even so, a percent of them do not handle the transition well and develop something called a "Titan complex", the belief that one is so powerful that one is above normal laws and standards. Handing someone all that physical power at once, instead of having to acquire and use it in small increments, essentially sidesteps the usual adjustment mechanisms, according to the books. These people tend to decide that they know what's best and proceed to rebel until other Cobras either kill them or restrain them long enough to have the Super part downgraded. A major plot point is the main character, a Cobra himself, realizing that he has to help his colonies secede from the Dominion of Man and trying not to look like he's developed the complex.

* [[RobinHobb Megan Lindholm's]] out-of-print novella "Wizard of the Pigeons" is based on a radical re-interpretation of this trope. Magic usually comes hand in hand with [[LossOfIdentity letting go of your previous life, memories, and basic perception of reality]]. Usually, the mage is so divorced from the outside world that he or she cannot hold down a job or personal relationship, and usually ends up living on the street. They also have to follow [[SuperOCD their own set of arbitrary rules and rituals]], implicitly for thePlacebotinumEffect. Cassie has been doing this since the Trojan War, and [[CrazyAwesome is so uninhibited by her environment that she can bend reality to her whim.]]

* ''MyWorkIsNotYetDone'' by ThomasLigotti: ZigZagged by Frank Dominio, the AntiHero narrator of the short novel, who manages to [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds go violently insane]] ''before'' he makes his FromNobodyToNightmare transition, then proceed to ''[[UpToEleven lose it even more]]'' whilst simultaneously gaining more and more control of his extremely [[RealityWarper scary]] [[LovecraftianSuperpower superpowers]].

* In the ''KeysToTheKingdom'' series, Arthur begins to slowly get driven insane the more Keys he gets, and almost uses the power of the Keys to kill Denizens several times, but luckily manages to stop himself before he ever does.

* Spoofed rather effectively on ''ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'', with a sketch involving a man going insane with his power to levitate...''biscuits''.

* In the third season of ''{{Roswell}}'', Michael the sidekick ends up [[spoiler: becoming the back-up king after the real king's (temporary) death]] and promptly goes crazy and [[spoiler: tries to kill his supposedly-destined wife's human husband]].

* In the ''TheSixMillionDollarMan'', Steve Austin adapted to his bionic replacements very well, remaining well-integrated and with his reasonably decent moral sense intact. Not everyone else who was given/forced to take bionics did as well, Jaimee Summers was plagued with amnesia and mental troubles, another bionic man went the 'crazy with power' route as well. The implication was that power didn't necessarily go with madness...but it easily could.

* In the fluff backstory of ''MageKnight'', it was stated that mastering the opposing magics of Necromancy and Elementalism would drive a mage insane. The [[ChosenOne one guy who did]] went on to found [[TheEmpire the Atlantean Empire]], which practiced slavery and subjugation.

* ''CthulhuTech'', in the grand Lovecraftian traditions, is into this in a big way. Having a chip implanted in your brain so you can pilot the awesome ''EldritchAbomination'' ''HumongousMecha''s drives you mad slowly, being linked to an extradimesional symbiont that makes you essentially into a were-Lovecraftian Beast drives you nuts over time, learning both sorcery and enhancing your paraphysic abilities makes you crazy, and the Zoner parapsysics are normal people who a) got powers by going near a tear in reality that used to be Las Vegas and may be an intrusion into the body of Azathoth, and b) as you guessed, go very, very crazy.

* ''{{Rifts}}'' gives us the Mind Over Matter (M.O.M.) Works, a process that grants incredible strength, reflexes and PsychicPowers to its users via a set of tiny chips implanted in key spots in their brains. Trouble is, the chips slowly cause mental instability that gets worse and worse with time. The character type that has M.O.M. conversion is called, fittingly, the Crazy.

*** All oWoD had some kind of character that was completly out of its mind. Marauders, Black Spiral Dancers, Specters, [[HearingVoices every playable character in Hunter.]]

* The ''ForgottenRealms'' setting has Sammaster, one of the mages "promoted" by Mystra to semidivine being status. This impaired his sanity, triggering a delusion (provoked by a [[DeusSexMachina ritual]]) that the goddess was infatuated with him, and the [[TreacherousAdvisor "friendly" advice]] of an evil priest [[FromBadToWorse made it even worse]]. He ended up stripped of power and convinced that dead dragons shall rule the world due to his bad translation of old prophecy. [[MoralEventHorizon To fulfill this prophecy]] he created dracoliches and the infamous [[AncientConspiracy Cult of the Dragon]].
* ''BattleTech'' features several types of neural interface technology that can boost battlefield performance beyond what's possible with just the usual manual/voice controls and neurohelmet, but are correspondingly more invasive and dangerous. Clan [=ProtoMech=] pilots, who ''depend'' on this kind of interface to control their smaller-than-regular-'Mech war machines in the first place, consequently tend to become increasingly unstable over time and usually die young.

* Pictured above, [[http://magiccards.info/cs/en/135.html Zur the Enchanter]] from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. He was a powerful wizard who went mad trying to achive immortality and attacked his former homeland Kjeldor. After his invasion was thwarted he went into hiding and spent the rest of his days aloof from the world basking in his own power.

** It's all but stated explicitly by a few [=NPCs=] in the game that the process that made him a MagiTek knight before the game started turned him into [[AxCrazy a raving psychopath]] from the get go.

*** Other Soldiers are shown in ''CrisisCore'', and they, too, are normal. (Genesis and [[spoiler: Angeal]] don't count, since they were in their own experiment)
* ''SinandPunishment'' places Saki (as well as his son, Isa, in the game's sequel) as the victim of this trope once he becomes a half-Ruffian, as Achi tells Saki that the only thing that can redeem him at this rate is by [[ThePowerOfLove accepting his humanity by falling in love with]] ActionGirl Airan.

* ''JeanneDArc'''s [[spoiler: Liane grows increasingly reckless as she comes to rely more and more on the Paragon's Armlet, both ignoring her friends' suggestions and allowing the Crown to manipulate her. Later on, Roger himself goes insane with bloodlust as the Reaper inside him manifests openly.]]

* In Spiderweb Software's ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' games, using the [[AppliedPhlebotinum genetic-modification canisters]] created by the Shapers enables you to build your skills and powers very quickly; but also pushes you strongly into the "arrogant, violent, and insane" realm, which determines the sort of interactions you're able to have with {{NPC}}s, and which of the [[MultipleEndings many game endings]] you'll achieve. In fact, the closest you can get to a GoldenEnding (even the best endings are mixed) requires never using a single canister. Using the [[ArtifactOfDoom Geneforge itself]] guarantees you'll end up a sociopathic SuperVillain; most likely a dead one. Some endings are so bad that they border on {{Anvilicious}} [[AuthorTract Author Tracts]] on the corrupting influence of power, and the evils of genetic engineering.

* Arguably [[spoiler: all three of the Brothers Sun]] in JadeEmpire. When you see the Emperor, he is quite clearly out of his mind, [[spoiler: being undead and powered only by leeching power from the Water Dragon]]. [[spoiler: "Master" Sun Li]] seems pretty sane, and has it together enough to pull one ''spectacular'' {{plan}} on your character. However, he obtains the [[spoiler: Water Dragon's power]] upon his brother's death and drains it even faster than his brother did. By the time you meet up with him for the final BossBattle, he is ''very'' clearly out of his mind.

** In fact, the genuises have to go past mad and out the other side...and then it's a crapshoot. Helen Narbonic reins in her crazy because of romantic feelings.

* Ian Samael of ''ErrantStory'' starts to fall into this trope after obtaining godlike powers. To his credit, it did take [[spoiler: his mother killing herself and his sister to finally drive him off the deep end.]]

* ''[[Webcomic/TheBMovieComic B-Movie Comic]]'': In the invisible killer arc, the process that makes a person invisible can also make them quite frightfully deranged, but only if the person has a basic character flaw to serve as basis. The scientist then also use the treatment on Snuka so they can fight the invisible killer, on the assumption that anyone working closely with the professor must be a person of impeccable character. Not quite...

* ''CwensQuest'': This seems to be case with the [[http://www.drunkduck.com/Cwens_Quest/index.php?p=467213 Witch Queen]]. She is easily the most magically inclined character in the series and while normally smart she seems incapable of mentioning the word magic without bursting into bouts of insane {{Maniacal Laugh}}ter that would scare most versions of the Joker. It is even more clear she is brilliant but insane in her Twitterings.

* In ''{{Endstone}}'', rocking the Banestone will drive the rocker crazy.
* Dragos from ''TheBeastLegion'' falls into this trope perfectly & it's clearly seen in the dialogue on [[http://www.thebeastlegion.com/?p=222/ the final page of Issue 2]] . But he does have a great amount of power to back his claim.
* In MoonCrest24, Drake accuses Aleck of this.

* There are three varieties of this in ''{{Homestuck}}'':

** Luthor poisons unwitting gangster John Corben, then offers to save his life with the Metallo project. Corben, advised only that there may be "some adjustments needed" to help him live a normal life after the process, accepts. But in his new robot body, the hedonistic Corben can't feel, smell, touch or taste anything, and becomes destructive in his rage at his human sensations being lost.
*** To be fair, Corben was already a criminal and card carrying psychopath.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' three {{supervillain}}s become as such when they get bonus mental instability with their powers. Electro and Doctor Octopus each suffer a FreakLabAccident. Electro gets [[PowerIncontinence volatile]] [[PsychoElectro electricity]]-based powers, then [[FreakOut freaks out]] at his loss of humanity. Doctor Octopus' [[ArtificialLimbs robotic arms]] are [[HollywoodCyborg fused]] [[UnusualUserInterface to his spine]] during a massive electromagnetic [[LightningCanDoAnything shock]], which causes an [[NotSoHarmlessVillain extreme]] [[MadScientist personality change]]. The Green Goblin ''claims'' that he suffered no blackouts and no change in personality from his PsychoSerum, but he may be in denial considering that he actually keeps acting crazy and speaking in rhymes while he's hovering above the prison in season 2 while no one can hear him.

** More recently, John Jameson was infected by alien spores, which made him super massive, super strong, and essentially a FlyingBrick without the flying, but, over time, messed with his head, making him filled with rage and aggression. After Venom threw him into a rage (making him think the one messing with him was Spiderman), Spidey was able to purge the spores from his system, making his body return to normal, but he was severely addicted to the power, and had to be admitted to an insane asylum. The effect was made more evident due to John having a cell right next to the now completely insane Electro, who babbles on about how [[ThatManIsDead he has no more human identity]].

* Maria from ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' is a mild mannered family women who is terrified of danger and hyperventilates when it is around her or her family. However, when she puts on her magical glove she transformers into the 'superheroine' Plata Peligrosa. If she only has it on for an hour she is fine, but a second longer and she becomes crazed and will do anything for a fight (even free crooks from jail). At one point she even starts attacking herself (because she has released villians and that is evil) and trying to kill HER OWN SON because he is trying to help her when she has labeled herself evil and attacking herself.

* Spider-Carnage of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' is an example of this happening to a [[EvilTwin version]] of Spider-Man himself.

* Happend to Goofy in the ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' short "Sandwich Makers".

[[folder:Web Original]]
* RickPointBlank: The plot revolves around a serum that grants a HealingFactor, makes you evil, and possibly makes you crave cookies and milk.
* ''Literature/PayMeBug'': [[{{Telepathy}} Telepaths]] are in danger of going insane if they aren't trained to handle their power early enough.
* ''TheQuestportChronicles'': The Master of Darkness, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, is also utterly insane. It's implied that part of this is due to returning from death.
[[/folder]]

** Many serial killers are [[TheSilenceOfTheLambs highly intelligent people]]. For example Edmund Kemper has an IQ of 136 and Andrey Chikatilo being a very educated man and an avid reader (It's quite possible that he was only staging schizophrenic-like madness to avoid death sentence, as it looks quite overacted).

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