History Main / DevolutionDevice

* The Commodore64 game ''Dino Eggs'' had as a hazard the possibility of getting bit by a spider and suffering "devolution" into a spider due to genetic contamination. Seriously.

* The Devolutionizing Machine in [[http://superdickery.com/images/stories/science/0006a43h.jpg this page]] from a WonderWoman comic. It changes a crocodile into a Tyrannosaurus Rex and elephants into mastodons.

* In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' #9, Professor Zool's evolution machine is used to turn the gorilla Giganta into a human. However, the machine later malfunctions and Wonder Woman and her friends are de-evolved into earlier human forms. This effect seemingly extends across all of Earth. the rest f the issue is devoted to finding the machine and reversing the effects. Oddly, history is shown as being subject to evolution as well, with humanity being destined to pass through particular phases and certain points in its evolution.

** In "[=UFoe=]" when Darkwing insults a highly advance alien race, they punish him by de-evolving him into a Neanderthal. Launchpad convinces them to change him back.

* An edition of "Justice League of America" featured an "villain" called Anachronus, who bragged to Snapper Carr (the JLA's Rick Jones expy) that he had just used his De-Evolution ray gun to de-evolve the entire JLA into amoebas; however, the arrival of the JLA exposed the villain as a compulsive fantasist, recently escaped from a State mental hospital.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The episode "Beer Bad", where enchanted beer turned a bunch of college guys and Buffy into cave-people.

** In "UFoe" when Darkwing insults a highly advance alien race, they punish him by de-evolving him into a Neanderthal. Launchpad convinces them to change him back.

* An issue of ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigra Tigra]]'' [[note]](no, not [[ThunderCats Tygra]])[[/note]] had a scientist of the Cat People developing a ray to turn the heroine back to her human form. An renegade CP got ahold of it and used it as a devolving ray. [[note]][[spoiler:Cat People usually devolved into big cats. When turned on the bad guy, he devolved in a ''house cat''.]][[/note]]

* Many superhero RolePlayingGames — like ''MutantsAndMasterminds'' and the original ''[[MarvelUniverse Marvel Superheroes Role-Playing Game]]'' — include, among the list of powers available to players, some sort of "Hyper-Evolution" power that lets a hero shift up and down along their "evolutionary path," generally affording them the ability to "devolve" into cave-man form (temporarily lower their intelligence to raise their strength). In Mayfair Games' ''TabletopGame/DCHeroes'' RPG this was covered by the Mutation power.

* The Dinaurians in ''FossilFighters'' have ray-guns that de-evolve humans into "theriodontia", rat-like ancestral mammals.

** ''DCUniverseOnline'' has Grodd using a similar plan.

** One episode of ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' had Gorilla Grodd construct a "devolution" ray (his own words) that turned humans into humanoid gorillas... including Comicbook/{{Superman}}, who is not human at all. After his plan failed even Lex Luthor [[WhoWritesThisCrap complained how stupid the whole thing sounded]] and [[KlingonPromotion used it as the pretext to take over the Legion sooner than he planned.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'''s Kanohi Ignika, the Legendary [[MaskOfPower Mask of Life]]. Having been sentient, it was able to do this to others by itself, without a user. It can also do the opposite, ''increasing'' a creature's [[EvolutionaryLevels evolutionary level]], because hey, it's the Mask of ''Life''.

** Then in another episode, Dr. Zygote uses the ray again to further evolve himself into a more advanced form, from a big brained alien, to a lemurian, to a floating giant brain, and finally into a flash of light. At the end, he [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence "evolved beyond good and evil" and left]]. There was a subversion along the way, as he became a [[strike:chicken]] fowl-like humanoid similar to Max's [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]] Virgil, who mentioned humanity will find the form enjoyable, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmB5NDeziMk much to Max's surprise.]]

* There was a weapon in ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaucers}}'', able to turn the pro- and antagonists, who are anthropomorphic sentient dinosaurs, into non-anthropomorphic, apparently non-sentient, and much bigger dinosaurs.

* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}} International'' adventure ''Hot Rods of the Gods''. After Meera undergoes his magical power-up he uses the tablet to fire a red devolvo ray at the Ghostbusters. When hit by this ray a person becomes hairy, has their arms grow to knee-length, their jaw juts out like a stereotypical "ape man" and their intelligence decreases somewhat. The effect wears off in about 30 minutes.

[[quoteright:300:[[Film/SuperMarioBros http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/supermariobros_devolvecontrolpanel_5418.jpg]]]]

** In one episode, a mad scientist named Dr. Zygote develops a ray that devolves anything to their prehistoric state. A bunch of human tourists become apes, Max's pet lizard becomes a dinosaur, and Virgil (a lemurian who is supposed to be the next step in human evolution) gets turned into a pterodactyl (?!) Later it's used by Dr. Zygote to turn a bunch of devolved mutated monsters into primordial ooze. He surmises that the ray "reversed their evolutionary path to the final quagmire, an evolutionary dead-end"--which really makes no sense at all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZqBj0vLXU&feature=related
** Then in another episode, Dr. Zygote uses the ray again to further evolve himself into a more advanced form, from a big brained alien, to a lemurian, to a floating giant brain, and finally into a flash of light. at the end, he [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence "evolved beyond good and evil" and left]]. There was a subversion along the way, as he became a [[strike:chicken]] fowl-like humanoid similar to Max's [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan]] Virgil, who mentioned humanity will find the form enjoyable, much to Max's surprise. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmB5NDeziMk

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1226 SCP-1226 ("Postmodernism")]]. When a person looks at the entire painting it radically changes their body, causing them to assume the appearance of a stereotypical caveman, including a sloping forehead and a protruding jaw.

* ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'' [[http://safr.kingfeatures.com/idn/ck3/content.php?file=aHR0cDovL3NhZnIua2luZ2ZlYXR1cmVzLmNvbS9GdW5reVdpbmtlcmJlYW4vMjAxNC8wNi9GdW5reV9XaW5rZXJiZWFuX3RzLjIwMTQwNjA4XzE0NDAuZ2lm for June 8th, 2014]]. The entire strip is the cover of issue #216 of the fictional comic book ''Starbuck Jones''. Starbuck Jones is on the cover, but he's in the shape of a chimpanzee after being affected by a Xaxian De-Volv ray.

** Dr. Fossil, one VillainOfTheWeek from the episode "Jurassic Jumble" uses these to turn anthropomorphic ducks (including himself) into prehistoric animals - himself into a pterosaur, his minion Stegmutt into a Stegosaurus, and Darkwing into a Film/{{Godzilla}}-like giant theropod.

* ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'': "Liam Neesan" (a character, not the actor or even played by [[Creator/LiamNeeson the actor]]) had a ray gun that turned people into monkeys. He planned to use it on the human race, but Dick Solomon stopped him by turning [[HoistByHisOwnPetard him]] into a monkey.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'' Bob the Killer Goldfish creates a device called the Darwinator that allows him to climb up the evolution ladder by stealing them from other targets, making them devolve. Jim and Peter become cavemen (or a cave worm and dog, anyway) while Princess Whats-Her-Name is reduced to a ladybug. Bob meanwhile steals enough evolutions to evolve himself into the highest lifeform possible: [[spoiler: a fish.]]