History BlessedWithSuck / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'': When Firefly became Phosphorus, he gained the ability to generate intense heat. However, he had little to no control over it, leaving him unable to interact with anything without burning or melting it.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'':
** An accident involving a nerve gas he created and a radiation treatment turns Derek Powers into Blight, a humanoid pile of radioactive waste, but he doesn't have a problem with that. What he ''does'' have a problem with is that said transformation makes him a [[SicklyGreenGlow green glowing skeleton]], and it's a bit difficult to be a CorruptCorporateExecutive when your business partners can get sick just from you being in the room. He uses a synthetic skin to contain the radiation and look normal, but it's a temporary fix at best.
** The Terrific Trio from "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS1E8Heroes Heroes]]" get this, too. While their powers are great, their DNA is slowly decaying codons at a time, at least one of them has been rendered so monstrous in appearance that everyone is afraid of him.
** Ian Peek from "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS2E19SneakPeek Sneak Peek]]" uses a belt that induces {{intangibility}} to phase through matter, which, as an opportunistic reporter, he uses to discover Batman's secret identity and thus gain fame. Unfortunately for him, the more he uses it, the more it affects him, and eventually, his body becomes intangible without the belt. So intangible, in fact, that he can't stand or hold onto things, and he eventually falls through the ground to presumably die of either a fiery death in the earth's mantle, or asphyxiation... [[AndIMustScream or not]].

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'':
** Thanagarians like Hawkgirl have [[PsychicBlockDefense innate psychic defenses]]... which the team finds out in "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E5And6OnlyADream Only a Dream]]" when Hawkgirl has been trapped in her worst nightmare (being BuriedAlive), and the team's resident psychic J'onn J'onnz can't enter her dreams and save her. In "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E24To26Starcrossed Starcrossed]]", when J'onn desperately needs to learn how to pilot a Thanagarian craft, the poor mook he mind-scans [[MindRape gets his mind broken along with the defenses]]; when we next see him in "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E8HuntersMoon Hunter's Moon]]", it turns out that he's basically brain-dead if not using a special life-support suit.
** Ace is one of the most tragic examples. She has incredible PsychicPowers and is basically unstoppable; when she appears in "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E21And22WildCards Wild Cards]]", Batman is only able to save the day by reasoning with her. However, she inadvertently drove her parents insane as a toddler and spent her childhood with a RestrainingBolt headband on while being subjected to experiments with her powers. By the time of "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E13Epilogue Epilogue]]", she's basically a RealityWarper... but the mental strain has given her a brain aneurysm which soon kills her. The only bright spot is that Batman not only agrees to stay with her until she died but convinces her to take his hand and holds it until she dies peacefully.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan's'' Spider-Man, as usual, has always viewed them as a burden and responsibility, rather than a blessing, because of the bad guys who've been pulled toward his family and friends because of them, and the problems that have cropped up when he chooses not to use them.
* One ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' villain gained the power to absorb non-living matter in lieu of eating regular food. Unfortunately, the mass just accumulates (without a regular digestion system, he body wastes nothing) without actually increasing his size, and he eventually becomes so dense that he's incapable of moving.
** And while Static's powers are usually just fine, there's one episode where sunspots mess with his powers and make them particularly strong. First it's kind of cool, but then he finds that he can't control them and the extra electricity is causing problems. Then they go very ''weak''. Then a bad guy needs a beat down.
** There's also Time Zone. Her powers caused her to randomly slip back and forth through time. Gear built a belt that stopped the random travelling, and enabled her to mechanically control her powers -- with a ''remote control''. Time Zone was then at the mercy of whoever had the remote.
** Permafrost was AnIcePerson with the power to generate massive snowstorms and totally freeze over anything she touched...trouble is, she was a homeless teenage girl with schizophrenia ("the voices in the dark" gave her the name) and general mental health issues. And her powers were tied to her emotions -- seeing other people happy and content while she starved on the street was enough to trigger a blizzard. Thankfully, she eventually seeks out the help she needs.
** Talon has the powers of flight and a sonic scream...but they come at the cost of her looking like a bird-human hybrid.
** Mirage, who has the power to manipulate light to [[MasterOfIllusion create realistic illusions]], lampshades this trope when her criminally-minded brother suggested that their abilities were a blessing: "You call this a ''gift?'' We're FREAKS!"
** Some Bang Babies have interesting powers that come with serious physical alterations. Hyde has super-durable skin...that makes it look like a rhinoceros's back was grafted onto his body. Ferret has superhuman smelling powers...which emerge from his decidedly inhuman nose. D-Struct can generate powerful ionic blasts...but looks like a massive giant made of pure white energy.
** Tying into the above, a quartet of bang babies became physically hurt by light at the cost of their powers in comparison to others who didn't have that drawback.
** Heck, just being a Bang Baby has its own problems. Not only do people in general fear and distrust you (much like mutants in the X-Men universe), but the government is secretly working to experiment on you, ''and'' it's eventually revealed that the mutagenic gas which granted people their abilities has a tendency to [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity make them go crazy]], which is why so many of those exposed to it turn to a life of crime.

* Lampooned in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iOcxSXiw7I Cartoon Network ad]] starring the Wonder Twins from ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''. It ends with Zan complaining how his only power is to turn into "a wave or a puddle" and how he could easily be defeated by a sponge; wouldn't even have to be an ''evil'' sponge. After Jayna leaves, he is accidentally used to mop a floor by the janitor.
** Cartoon Network [[SelfDeprecation invokes this on themselves]] for an ad a block of 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoons which had the line "At Cartoon Network, we know the difference between a funny cartoon (''clip of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny'') and a laughable one (''clip of WesternAnimation/TheCattanoogaCats'')."
* The version of Metallo on ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' gains super strength, immunity to disease, and NighInvulnerability, but loses all his senses of taste, touch, and smell in the process. The constant detachment from reality gradually drives him insane.
* Both Terra and Raven of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' have incredible kinetic abilities. The downside of this is that the actual ''control'' of each character's power is directly tied to their current emotional state, so when rage or panic overtakes them, chaos inevitably erupts. [[spoiler:This was such a large problem for Terra that she eventually [[IJustWantToBeNormal opted for high school instead of heroism]]]].
** It gets worse for Raven... when she loses control, she's liable to turn into a reasonable simulation of an EldritchAbomination (just ask Dr. Light, if you can get him to put his experience in words). And, oh yeah, she was born to be a tool through which her demon lord father can kill everyone on Earth, ''then'' take it over. Luckily, she gets better after that.
** This trope seems to be the main reason [[BadPowersBadPeople Jinx picked villainy]] [[spoiler:at first]]; with her powers of bad luck, at least as a villain she could be respected by her peers for destroying things. Considering the sheer, mindboggling amounts of collateral damage the Titans can do (Cyborg using a building as an ImprovisedWeapon, anyone?)...
** To a lesser extent, Starfire's powers are also emotionally based and thus can fail to work at unfortunate times. There's been at least one instance where relationship drama has caused her to lose her ability to fly. [[OhCrap While she was flying at a high altitude]].
** And Red Star, from the episode "Snowblind", who's basically the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], but a nuclear bomb instead of a rage monster. The more he uses his power, the more radiation he gives out, and the more dangerous he is to be around. [[spoiler: He eventually experiences a SuperPowerMeltdown and willingly [[HeroicSacrifice throws himself out into space]] so his explosion wouldn't harm the earth.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', Jean Grey is often unable to use her PsychicPowers. It's common to see her passing out after trying to use them, saying that "she can't do (whatever she is trying to do) because her powers aren't as strong as Professor. X's", probably an action from the writers to not let her be too powerful or the others would be rendered useless. Not including her Phoenix-embodiment form.
** Hank [=McCoy=]'s "Beastly" appearance often prevents most people from understanding his incredibly cultured and intellectual mind, as well as his good-natured heart.
* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', a lot of the characters have this:
** Rogue gets this trope as her power is to siphon off the powers, memories, life force, etc. of anyone with whom she makes skin-to-skin contact. Her downside is the same as the classic "Midas" example: can't shut it off.
** Jean Grey is a remarkably powerful telepath, but in one episode, her powers get out of hand and she's overwhelmed by hearing everyone's thoughts and she can't control her telekinetic bursts.
** Scott has his EyeBeams that are very useful as a crime fighter, but he's forced to wear his visor or glasses at all times. If he loses them (which tends to happen a lot), he has to keep his eyes closed, depriving himself of sight, or end up destroying everything in his path so he can see.
** Blob and Toad are outcasts in school, thanks to their physical appearances that are tied into their powers.
** Wanda's powers are so powerful that she was locked in a mental institution by her father to prevent her from destroying everything, though when she gets out it seems like she can control them just fine.
** Kurt not only has his "Fuzzy Elf" real form (while it is cute, it freaks people out) -- with that he can't touch people without them realizing he's uh fuzzy and two-fingered. It's revealed that his teleportation shunts him through what's best described as ''Hell'' to get from Point A to Point B and the one time they worked something to slow him down so they can figure how it actually works, the residents decided he looks tasty.
** Every mutant is BlessedWithSuck, in that once everyone finds out about mutants, just having special powers makes you instantly hated and despised by everyone.
** The Morlocks are mutants whose powers give them non-human features.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has Team Impossible, a very dark parody of The ComicBook/FantasticFour. Sally Impossible has invisible skin: not only is it ''just'' her skin (making the musculature underneath visible) but it's invisible by ''default'' meaning she needs to use all her concentration to look like a normal human. Her brother Cody instantly combusts in contact with oxygen but doesn't have Johnny Storm's immunity to the pain of being enveloped in fire nor can he turn it off. Her cousin Ned is has super strength but completely covered in callused skin, which leaves him in constant pain in addition to his already existing mental disability. Meanwhile Sally's husband Richard Impossible has the same powers and control as Reed Richards but lacks Reed's empathy and devotion to his family and just concentrates [[ForScience on science]] to the exclusion of everything else.

** Additionally, whereas every other Avatar (that we know of) had years to learn how to bend all the elements (Roku mentioned taking roughly a decade), Aang has less than one year.