Basic Trope: Something that can turn off superpowers.
- Straight: The Nullifier is used to deactivate the powers of heroes or villains as the wielder requires.
- Exaggerated: The Nullifier can strip skills and abilities from anyone, reducing their physical and mental capacity to infant level.
- Downplayed:
- The Nullifier strips off exactly one of The Hero's skills... Specifically, one he doesn't use anymore.
- Power Limiter
- Justified:
- Harmony uses sound waves for her powers. The nullifier reduces the strength of sound waves in the area, greatly reducing Harmony's powers.
- Sometimes powers need to be removed before somebody can be taken on.
- The Nullifier emits a special sound wave that makes it hard to focus thus preventing anyone from effectively using their power.
- Inverted: The Nullifier actually grants a Superpower Lottery to The Hero.
- Subverted: The Nullifier is explained and put into use, but then has no effect on the hero.
- Double Subverted: That's because they used the wrong type or setting of nullifier for the hero's particular power. When they use the correct one, it depowers them just fine.
- Parodied: Nullifiers are so common that there are commercially-made guns which can launch them at super-villains. The villains keep trying to rob banks and take over the world anyway, but are constantly thwarted by random people on the street who pull out a nullifier and incapacitate them.
- Zig Zagged: There is a Nullifier. It only works 50% of the time, but it's supposed to strip the power of a hero when it does, it was just an advertisement to get the villain to buy it.
- Averted: There is no way to remove powers.
- Enforced: Evuls wins too much, so they decide to find a way to remove his main power.
- Lampshaded: "Oh, look, powers are off like a broken toaster. wonderful."
- Invoked: Heroes learn enough martial arts to become Badass Normal, just in case one of their villains uses a nullifier.
- Exploited: Bob uses a nullifer Bomb while in the same room as Evulz. As Bob Fights Like a Normal while Evulz normally lets the Powers Do the Fighting, this gives Bob an edge.
- Defied: "That wouldn't work! You can't just turn off a physical attribute like a light switch!"
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed: The Nullifier ends up disabling a power that was essential to the hero's survival (i.e. breathing underwater), and it very nearly (or actually does) kill him/her.
- Played For Laughs: Bob and Evulz are both nullified of their powers at the same time. Brought Down to Normal, they both pause and then launch into a Wimp Fight
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