open/close all folders
Anime & Manga
Barnaby: No good! I'm out of ammunition!
Kotetsu: Me too, Riders!
Barnaby: But you know, I actually have pretty amazing powers! I just normally keep them secret!
Kotetsu: Whaaat!? ... Actually, I got the exact same powers just yesterday!
Kotetsu: Me too, Riders!
Barnaby: But you know, I actually have pretty amazing powers! I just normally keep them secret!
Kotetsu: Whaaat!? ... Actually, I got the exact same powers just yesterday!
Comic Books
"Th-The money... swirling around—! Some kinda new Superman trick, I bet!"
— Bank robber, Who Took the Super out of Superman?
"You gotta... be kidding. The power to overcook waffles...? How is that even a power?"
The Joker: I didn't know you could do eye lasers...
Superman: Like I said, I can do lots of stuff. I'm Superman.
— Adventures of Superman, issue 41
Fan Works
Kristoff: She can fly?
Anders: [facepalming] Of course she can fly. I don't know why I'd just assumed she couldn't fly.
Anders: [facepalming] Of course she can fly. I don't know why I'd just assumed she couldn't fly.
"Hey, that's just like an anime, isn't it? I got that new power right when I needed it!"
— Haruhi, Kyon: Big Damn Hero
"I mean, when my powers first came in, all I could do was jump really high and punch people way too hard. By the time I was ten, I could shoot lasers out of my eyes and knock people down just by exhaling. Now I'm fourteen going on fifteen, and all of a sudden, I can fly. Am I just going to keep getting more and more powers, the older I get? When I'm eighteen, are bones going to start shooting out of my fists? When I'm twenty, is my body going to turn into electricity, and I'll just zap everything around me? Is it ever going to end? Am I even going to be able to control it, forever?"
Film
Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking, fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose? I am open to suggestions!
— Iron Man, Captain America: Civil War
Drax: [after seeing Groot release luminescent spores] When did you learn to do that?
Quill: Pretty sure the answer is "I am Groot".
[Groot nods]
Quill: Pretty sure the answer is "I am Groot".
[Groot nods]
Live-Action TV
Amy: You can drive a motorbike?
Rory: I expect so. It's been that kind of day.
Rory: I expect so. It's been that kind of day.
— Doctor Who, "Let's Kill Hitler"
Video Games
Groot: I am Groot. [produces luminescent pollen to light their way]
Gamora: ...has he always been able to do that?
Groot: I am Groot.
Rocket: He says he don't like showing off.
Gamora: ...has he always been able to do that?
Groot: I am Groot.
Rocket: He says he don't like showing off.
Raffina: You know, lately, I've found myself with the strange ability to transform in battle. How about you?
Sig: Same here.
Raffina: Then how about we give these new powers a spin?
Sig: Okay.
Sig: Same here.
Raffina: Then how about we give these new powers a spin?
Sig: Okay.
Webcomics
"I could fly all along but chose not to!"
— Warrior Princess Lolita, Oglaf, "Young Adult Fiction 3"
Web Video
Sailor Moon: Tiara! Use your lesbian trapper!
(Sailor Moon's tiara becomes larger and binds the Monster of the Week)
Luna: How the f*ck did you do that?
Sailor Moon: Hell if I know! This show makes no sense!
"Now I shall use Mega-Ultra Chicken's secret ability that I just this second made up to convert my Life Points into Attack Points, merging me with the beast itself!"
—Melvin, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series
"I have placed my soul inside the Millennium Puzzle, because apparently I can do that."
—Florence, Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series
Alister: They [the plane's crew] were illusions created by me with the power of the Orichalchos!
Mokuba: So the Orichalchos can take people's soul, make monsters turn real, and create illusions of dozens of people?!
Kaiba: Welcome to season 4! The show where the magic powers are made up and the plot doesn't matter!
"Yes, my roses allow me to do this [turn invisible] as well... I won't lie to you, I am just as surprised about it as you are."
—Pisces Aphrodite, Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque : La Série Abrégée
Krillin: Goku, did you just read my mind?
Goku: Yu-huh!
Krillin: But how could you-!
Goku: Muffin button.
Krillin: ...What?
Goku: Yu-huh!
Krillin: But how could you-!
Goku: Muffin button.
Krillin: ...What?
Goku: By the way, I can teleport.
Krillin: ...What?
Goku: Yep! [teleports] Check it!
Krillin: ...What?
Goku: Yep! [teleports] Check it!
...Aldritch Killian, an Ex-Nerd out for revenge after Tony skipped a meeting one time, and his nameless henchmen with a confusing grab-bag of fire powers, like (sounding progressively more confused) glowing, getting hot, exploding, Super-Strength, regrowing limbs, flameproof clothes, and... shooting fire off their mouth? They really made them up as they went along, huh?
—Honest Trailers about Iron Man 3
Superargo: If my costume weren't bulletproof, I'd be dead now.
(Kevin laughs)
Mike: Your costume is bulletproof?! Maybe lead with that next time someone asks you why you wear it!
Bill: No, wrestling days! All about wrestling!
(Kevin laughs)
Mike: Your costume is bulletproof?! Maybe lead with that next time someone asks you why you wear it!
Bill: No, wrestling days! All about wrestling!
—RiffTrax about Superargo Against the Faceless Giants
”...and that is my special ability, that I have literally never used or mentioned before, explained in a nutshell.”
Star Finger is an ability from Stardust Crusaders where, in order to get Jotaro out of danger, Star Platinum is given the rather strange ability of extending his fingers and just... stabbing people from far away. The issue I have with this is that Jotaro's Star Platinum is a short-range, high-damage Stand, meaning Jotaro's problem he must overcome in his battles is how to close the distance between his opponent and deliver as much damage as possible, and to do this, he'll need to carefully observe and understand the abilities of his opponent, and exploit the weaknesses of those abilities, while they try and do the same to him. This is the kind of psychological, tactical battle that would come to define JoJo, and how a series that is 95% male models shooting ghosts at each other can stay so compelling; because it leads the viewer on this wild ride of moves, counter-moves, and counters to those counters, thereby creating a strong technical narrative that leads the viewer through fights. The problem with Star Finger is it allows Jotaro to cheat the short-range limitations of Star Platinum, bypassing the entire narrative of the fight, robbing the audience of that story.
Hey, we need Ichigo to power up, why not add another new trait to him]] to make him the true Soul Reaper-Hollow-Quincy-Ninja-Pirate-Saiyan-Gundam hybrid he definitely always was from the start?
Screenwriter: Oh yeah, [the Indominus Rex] is nuts! It has T-Rex genes...
Producer: Woah!
Screenwriter: ... And raptor genes...
Producer: Scary!
Screenwriter: ... And snake genes...
Producer: Hum...
Screenwriter: ... And treefrog genes...
Producer: What?
Screenwriter: ... And cuttlefish genes...
Producer: Okay, this sounds like too many genes!
Screenwriter: No! You see, having a lot of genes meant I could make the dinosaur do whatever I needed it to do for the plot!
Producer: Woah!
Screenwriter: ... And raptor genes...
Producer: Scary!
Screenwriter: ... And snake genes...
Producer: Hum...
Screenwriter: ... And treefrog genes...
Producer: What?
Screenwriter: ... And cuttlefish genes...
Producer: Okay, this sounds like too many genes!
Screenwriter: No! You see, having a lot of genes meant I could make the dinosaur do whatever I needed it to do for the plot!
Western Animation
Katara: I guess... I always knew.
Sokka: [pissed off] Oh? Well, then thanks for all the first aid over the years.
— On Katara's Healing Hands, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Cartman: Hold on you guys, I actually have another power: I can see into the future too, but better than Kyle. Let me try it.
Kyle: God dammit, Cartman, you can't keep making up new powers!
Stan: Yeah dude, that's like the fifth power you've come up with!
Kyle: God dammit, Cartman, you can't keep making up new powers!
Stan: Yeah dude, that's like the fifth power you've come up with!
—South Park, "Good Times With Weapons"
"Hey, you guys! Did you know I can totally play the organ? Because I didn't!"
—Pinkie Pie, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
AndrAIa: I told you we'd be together, Enzo! I downloaded a backup of myself onto your icon, the game let me out thinking I was you!
Enzo: You can do that?
AndrAIa: Apparently!
Enzo: You can do that?
AndrAIa: Apparently!
—ReBoot, "AndrAIa"
