Basic Trope: A marking on skin that glows with power.
- Straight: Bob has a tattoo that glows with power when uses his powers.
- Exaggerated:
- Mark of the Beast
- Human Notepad
- All tattoos in the world that Alice and Bob live in grant the user magical powers.
- The main character is a Human Notepad who collects Power Tattoos to get every power he possibly can.
- Downplayed: Bob has a tattoo that he receives which grants him powers, but nothing happens when activated.
- Justified:
- Power tattoos are nanotechnology that react to biometrics of the user through colors.
- Bob is a humanoid robot, but he has a tattoo-like lights to express whether he's powered on or not. It turns blood red when he is programmed to kill.
- Power tattoos are a form of language that controls Sufficiently Analyzed Magic. They function as basic commands, written in ancient runes that are then fueled with mage's innate Mana to cast spells.
- Inverted: All of the skin on Bob glows except for his tattoo.
- Subverted:
- Bob has tattoos which reduce his powers to control his powers, or inhibit them.
- Bob has a Power Tattoo with the symbol of fire, but has ice-based powers. He does this to throw off his enemies.
- Bob's tattoo is related to his powers... but it's not their source. It's actually a warning that he'll soon have to use said powers, which will inevitably kill him.
- Double Subverted:
- Bob's Power Tattoo limits his use of one type of power but enhances another.
- Bob claims that his power is different than the symbol his tattoo indicates. When he finally uses his power, it turns out to be Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
- Parodied: Bob powers up for a devastating assault, and his power tattoo shines bright. Unexpectedly, it forms a 'check engine' symbol and his attack fizzles out.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted: ???
- Enforced: ???
- Lampshaded: Bob looks around at his super-powered friends with power-themed tattoos and asks them if there's a super-powered tattoo parlour somewhere he doesn't know about.
- Invoked: Bob goes to a tattoo parlour, telling the tattoo artist to give him a symbol which he has done extensive "research" online about from crackpot internet forums. He's convinced that it will give him powers that will boost his confidence so he can finally convince his boss to get the raise he's been hoping for.
- Exploited: Bob gains a tattoo in order to convince his enemies that he is a force to be reckoned with.
- Defied: Bob is given a list of ways that he can gain powers to defeat the Big Bad. When the option of getting a Power Tattoo comes up, he refuses, claiming that he'd rather defeat the Big Bad in a way that doesn't hurt his chances of getting a respectable job.
- Discussed: Blitz Bob is a superhero with a tattoo on his chest. Alice rolls her eyes and asks if it glows when he uses his powers.
- Conversed: Bob and Alice watches an Anime series. Alice points out how she doesn't understand why they need glowing Tattoos to have cool powers, but Bob insists that it's still a good series.
- Played For Laughs:
- Bob's friend is a tattoo artist that specializes in Power Tattoos. The tattoos he makes can be anything, but Bob tells him to make a tattoo that reads "Mom" or "I (Heart) Unicorns".
- Bob's Power Tattoo is located in an embarrassing place. It shines through his clothes when he uses his powers.
- Played For Drama: The glowing of Bob's Power Tattoo indicates that he is pushing his powers to the limit; he will die soon if he uses them too much.
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