History Main / DifferentlyPoweredIndividual

* The Franchise/MarvelUniverse takes care to distinguish between "{{Mutants}}" (people who develop superpowers through an inherited trait) and "Mutates" (people who gain powers due to exposure of foreign elements), mainly because of the FantasticRacism against the former (the pejorative term "[[FantasticSlurs Mutie]]" is quite popular among anti-mutant bigots). [[note]] It should be noted that this distinction only really exists among fans and writers. InUniverse, the term Mutate is never actually used to distinguish superpowered beings and it's never really explained how the general populace of the Marvel Universe are able to tell the difference between someone with powers who is a Mutant and someone with powers who is not a Mutant. A good example would be to compare the Mutant, Pyro, [[PlayingWithFire who can control fire]] and the ComicBook/FantasticFour member, The Human Torch, [[PlayingWithFire who can also control fire]], but is not a Mutant.[[/note]]
** Ironically, many superhumans are still mistaken for mutants, with Franchise/SpiderMan at the top of the list.

* At least one version of the ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperheroes'' distinguishes between "planetary adapted" (people who have a "superpower" that everyone on their planet can do, like ComicBook/CosmicBoy, Saturn Girl and [[ComicBook/{{Valor}} Mon-El]]) and "uniques" (people who have acquired powers somehow, like Lightning Lad, Ultra Boy and Chemical King).

** ''Jokers'' got their appearance mutated by the infection, ranging very minor to full-on BodyHorror. However some jokers also got some powers out of the deal and are sometimes referred to as ''joker-aces''. In fact Peregrine, a WingedHumanoid, is considered as an ace by the public, but as a joker by medical science (and herself). The distinction betweeen ace and joker-ace tends to be fuzzy and seems to largely come down to how conventionally attractive an individual is.

On the opposite side, with politically ''in''correct terms, you've got FantasticSlurs. See also NotUsingTheZWord. For MadScientist types with a common origin or nature, see ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder. If they're [[FantasticRacism treated as a minority]], they might be asked "HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster"

* The ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' eschews the "Mutant" and "Mutate" terminology used by the comics they're based upon, and due to licensing, have featured no traditional Mutants, except Wanda and Pietro Maximoff (whose mutant/non-mutant status has gone back and forth over the years, and who were included under the Avengers' rights). Individuals granted superhuman abilities as a result of experiments, science, and other outside stimuli, such as Bruce Banner, Peter Parker and Wanda Maximoff, are "enhanced" humans. Time will tell if the Mutant/Mutate will be implemented with Marvel Studios gaining the film rights to the ComicBook/XMen.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'' uses "Force-sensitive" for its particular brand of space wizards.

* ''Film/{{Bright}}'': Magic users are called "Brights" in this setting, and they're almost exclusively elves. Human and Orc Brights (such as Jirak and [[spoiler: Ward]]) are extremely rare.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' and other entries in the "Universal Century" metaseries has "Newtypes", humans who have adapted to life in space such that they began to develop preternatural abilities. The most common manifestation of these abilities is a heightened sense of spatial awareness that borders on CombatClairvoyance, an ability that makes Newtypes particularly adept as using [[CombatDrone fin funnels]], as well as empathic and telepathic connections with other Newtypes. Some Newtypes are also capable of [[MindOverMatter psycokinesis]], and even full-blown psychic brainwashing.

* In ''ComicBook/TheNewUniverse'', "paranormals" is the common term.

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel uses "posthuman".

Well, you could be all [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad politically correct]] and call them a Differently Powered Individual. Or, you could call them any other universal term that's used to label superhumans… such as the ones below.

* ''Literature/{{Graceling}}'' has the Gracelings, blessed or cursed with different-colored eyes and a superpower.

* Many fictional realms class their extranormal individuals as [[WitchSpecies witches]], or (in older works) witch for female and warlock for male.

* In ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'', [[WitchSpecies they]] are called Others.

** People with magic potential but no magical abilities are Dreaming, and people who have gained magic are Awakened. Awakened people who can copy other people's spells (and may or may not be able to gain their own) are wizards, while wizards who have an inherent understanding of magic are seers.

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' refers to magic users who, due to their genes, can learn other people's spells as "wizards" and part-human/part-alien natural shapeshifters as "seyunolu" which means "chimera".

* ''Manga/{{Gangsta}}'' has the Twilight, a "race" of people who are technically human but are for the most part considered monsters due to their SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, etc. The genesis of the Twilight comes from the PsychoSerum ''Célèbre'', a highly addictive drug created a century ago for use in wartime - but when it was found that Twilights had both drastically decreased lifespans compared to normal humans ''and'' that the child of any Twilight would almost certainly be born Twilight themselves the minority group was [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman quickly shafted into becoming a]] SlaveRace [[SuperHumanTrafficking for the majority.]]

* ''Webcomic/Paranatural refers to those who draw upon the power of Spirits as Spectrals, with two distinctions depending on how the power is being accessed. Those using objects that have a Spirit possessing them to channel it's powers aren't given a specific name in favour of dubbing these possessed objects Tools, but Spectrals who's ''bodies'' are the thing housing a Spirit are referred to as Mediums.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' uses the term "Metahuman" to describe people born with superhuman abilities. There's even a [[MetaOrigin Meta-Gene]] that factors heavily into the second season. True to DC form, the application of the term is somewhat inconsistent, usually applying to Meta-Gene bearers but also occasionally used for all superheroes and villains, as well as the genetically engineered, alien-hybrid Genomorphs.

** Mutants can further be broken down into Alpha, Beta, and Omega, in reference to how well they can control their power: Alphas are able to turn theirs on or off at will, like ComicBook/{{Jubilee}}, ComicBook/KittyPryde, or ComicBook/{{Colossus}}; while Betas' powers are always active, like ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]], or ComicBook/{{Rogue}}. Omegas are rare (by which we mean 90% of the main cast are listed as such at one point or another) and are basically some of the most powerful beings in the universe -- the prime example of an Omega is [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean/Phoenix]]. There are also lower Gamma/Delta levels for mutants who just got screwed, like the one whose sole power was a ten-foot neck, and those who didn't get (or lost) the RequiredSecondaryPowers they needed.

** Mutants can further be broken down into Alpha, Beta, and Omega, in reference to how well they can control their power: Alphas are able to turn theirs on or off at will, like [[Characters/MarvelComicsJubilee Jubilee]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsKittyPryde Kitty Pryde]], or [[Characters/MarvelComicsColossus Colossus]]; while Betas' powers are always active, like ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]], or [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]]. Omegas are rare (by which we mean 90% of the main cast are listed as such at one point or another) and are basically some of the most powerful beings in the universe -- the prime example of an Omega is [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey Jean/Phoenix]]. There are also lower Gamma/Delta levels for mutants who just got screwed, like the one whose sole power was a ten-foot neck, and those who didn't get (or lost) the RequiredSecondaryPowers they needed.

* The Franchise/MarvelUniverse takes care to distinguish between "{{mutants}}" (people who develop superpowers through an inherited trait) and "mutates" (people who gain powers due to exposure of foreign elements), mainly because of the FantasticRacism against the former (the pejorative term "[[FantasticSlurs mutie]]" is quite popular among anti-mutant bigots).

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' {{invert|edTrope}}s this trope. 80% of the world's population has some sort of superpower (referred InUniverse as "Quirks"), [[EveryoneIsASuper meaning that superpowered individuals are actually the norm]]. however not every superpowered individual becomes a superhero, with most of them living ordinary lives. The remaining 20% of the population who have no powers are referred to as being Quirkless.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' {{invert|edTrope}}s this trope. 80% of the world's population has some sort of superpower (referred InUniverse as "Quirks"),[[EveryoneIsASuoer meaning that superpowered individuals are actually the norm]] (however, not every superpowered individual becomes a superhero, with most of them living ordinary lives). The term, "Quirkless", is used to refer to those individuals who belong to the remaining 20% of the population who have no superpowers.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' {{invert|edTrope}}s this trope. 80% of the world's population has some sort of superpower (referred in-universe as "Quirks"), meaning that superpowered individuals are actually the norm (however, not every superpowered individual becomes a superhero, with most of them living ordinary lives). As such, the term "Quirkless" is often used to refer to those individuals who belong to the remaining 20% of the population who have no superpowers.

* ''Literature/MagicMetahumansMartiansAndMushroomCloudsAnAlternateColdWar'': As shown in the title, this timeline uses the term "metahuman" for people with powers, though it's noted that other terms are used by different nations at different points.