Basic Trope: Someone has a disability and a superpower that counters the disability's effect(s).
- Straight: Bob is blind but has bat-like sonar.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob is blind, paraplegic, and mute, but has the superpowers of telekinesis, telepathy, and ESP to compensate for his disabilities.
- Every disabled character has a superpower that counters the disability.
- Downplayed:
- Bob isn't the only one with a bat sonar, but because of his blindness, his is the most effective.
- Bob's sonar is helpful for general purpose tasks, but is useless during high action fights, driving, swimming, and the like.
- Bob has an enhanced sense of hearing, which makes life easier for him but does not fully compensate for his blindness.
- Justified:
- Bob has a sonar and is blind as a bat, because of a genetic experiment that gave him both traits.
- Bob lives in a world where anyone can train psychic powers. Naturally, blind people will train to "see with the mind" due to sheer necessity.
- Everyone has superpowers that suits their traits. Blind people have sonar, deaf people are immune to sound based attacks, the like.
- Inverted:
- Bob has a superpower which enhances something he's talented at, but doesn't help his blindness at all.
- Bob is Blessed with Suck, and his superpower makes him effectively blind for the purposes of normal interaction with the world.
- Subverted: While the sonar allows Bob to "see" in the dark, there is a book with important information that he needs to read. If only he could "hear" colors.
- Bob isn't actually blind, he just wears a blindfold to hide his obviously abnormal eyes which can easily see through the blindfold.
- Double Subverted: Luckily, Bob has a cellphone with a camera and a friend, Alice, helps him any time.
- Parodied: Bob thinks he has sonar, but he is just an average blind person with trained hearing. While he tries to stop evil, he often trips or runs headfirst into obstacles.
- Bob would be utterly ineffectual in crime fighting except for the fact criminals sandbag becaus they are afraid of looking like bigotted jerks for beating up a blind guy. The few who defy it appall every other villain.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob is blind and has bat-like sonar. Then his sonar fades away. Later, however, he gets medicine and/or a surgical procedure that let(s) him see. As a bonus, his sonar returns later.
- Averted:
- Bob is blind, and doesn't have compensating superpowers.
- Bob has 20/20 vision and a radar sense.
- Bob is blind and has Healing Hands. His power is both unrelated to his blindness and does not compensate for it.
- Enforced: "We need a disabled person for the demographics, but he can't be useless." "I know! Let's make him blind and give him bat sonar!"
- Lampshaded:
- "So ... you are blind person who can see? That's convenient..."
- "So, with the sonar, does this mean you can still collect disability benefits?"
- "Hey, Bob? What do you think about your sonar power directly compensating for you being blind?"
- Invoked: Bob undergoes a genetic experiment to gain his sonar.
- Exploited:
- Bob offers his services as a guide for blind people without sonar.
- Bob is hired to find the MacGuffin, which is small enough for a person who can see to miss it.
- Defied: Bob is blind, and is permanently worse off than anyone who has sight, and in no way gains any benefits or superpowers from his blindness.
- "Fighting crime while blind? That would be insane, even most sighted people aren't suitable. No I'll do good by continuing volunteer work on suicide hotlines."
- Discussed:
- "No, I do not have super-sonar. I just have the fireball-shooting powers."
- "Can't you just pull some Daredevil crap and help us out here?"
- Conversed: "Bob is blind, isn't he? Why is he so confident in his movements?" "Didn't you see the last episode? He has sonar."
- Implied: Bob is blind, but apparently functions as if he were sighted.
- Deconstructed: Even with his superpower, Bob has a much harder time than average folk.
- Reconstructed: While life is still more difficult for him, Bob still saves the day.
- Played for Laughs: Bob's sonar doesn't help him much; he sometimes trips and incurs Amusing Injuries.
- Played for Drama: Bob is told that he can't be an example to blind/disabled people, because he isn't truly disabled.
- Intended Audience Reaction: Bob's claims to have a sonar sense aren't plausible, which is a hint that he's Obfuscating Disability.
Back to Disability Superpower
