History Main / GreenRocks

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has Sakuradite, a natural resource with high conductivity that's used in everything in the series; the Lancelot's SuperPrototype-ness is explained by saying that it uses more Sakuradite than normal [[AMechByAnyOtherName Knightmare]] [[MiniMecha Frames]], giving it incredible energy efficiency. The Gefjun Disturber is a device that blocks Sakuradite's conductivity, making it work something like an EMP weapon. It also somehow has the properties to block radar and aids in the blooming of energy weapons, which allows the Gawain's hadron cannons to go from awful to amazing.
* Legion in the manga version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' is described as the "building block" of a demon's body, similar to human cells, and it's what fuels their regeneration abilities and probably aids a demon with their unique powers as well. On top of that, it's also used to bring a human girl back from the dead (and give her regeneration powers), possibly turns a human boy insane by connecting to his mind, and dissolves another human being on contact, apparently eating him alive. And to top it all, legion also seems to be the building blocks for demonic ''architecture'' as well, which allows them to create shields and hidden doors, among other things. [[spoiler:When left unchecked, it can cause a host to turn into a spiky mutant with a mind driven so insane it's boiled down to its basic instincts of kill or be killed]]. Scary stuff.

* In ''Film/{{District 9}}'', the "black fluid" serves as some sort of fuel for a space ship. It has the bizarre side-effect of altering the DNA of any human exposed to it, causing them to transform into a "prawn".

* The Tesseract in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse was [[WordOfGod confirmed by Kevin Feige]] [[http://www.craveonline.com/film/interviews/601057-exclusive-interview-kevin-feige-on-thor-and-marvels-future/ in this interview]] to be the Space Gem of the Infinity Stones, but besides opening portals (which it does several times) it also powers weapons and disintegrates people, both effects being easily explained as derivative of space manipulation.

* ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'' likes to use [[OurDarkMatterIsMysterious dark matter]] as the goto SuperEmpowering AppliedPhlebotinum. Virtually all of the metahumans that appear in the show can be traced back to dark matter, with a few rare instances being the result of some other form of mutagen.

* On ''Series/LandOfTheLost'', the light crystals could do any number of things, by themselves or in combination with other colors, including emit light, heat, and energy, explode, and open dimensional portals.

* The TropeNamer is ''Series/{{Smallville}}'''s kryptonite. It has been used to kill people, heal people, give people powers (the powers can be anything, including, [[AnIcePerson cold]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]], [[PsychoElectro electricity]], {{intangibility}}, [[HiveMind bee control]], [[TouchOfDeath death touch]], [[MesACrowd splitting]], [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]], and more... or in short, with no common theme other than the circumstances of exposure), erase memories, used as car fuel, add strength to dynamite, give back memories, make chewing gum, make a LovePotion, make Clark Kent crawl on the floor in pain, make Clark Kent act like a dick (red), make Clark Kent lose all his power (blue), give humans perfect health (also blue), give Kryptonians a CompellingVoice (jewel), make Bizarro Kent explode with too much power (blue), manifest, fuse or destroy [[LiteralSplitPersonality polarized moral aspects of someone's personality]] (black), make Clark Kent crazily paranoid (silver), ''make a phone call to twenty-four hours ago'' (by teaming up with LightningCanDoAnything), cause two people who were nearby during an explosion to psychically bond, make counterfeit banknotes, etc., etc. And it GLOWS! And even here, it is... diverse. Sometime it glows, sometime it doesn't, sometimes it glows only in Clark's presence, sometime it always glows, and sometimes it could somehow dim the lights around it by being next to Clark.
* At times, the "Orbs of the Prophets" in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' acted as green rocks. For example, enabling TimeTravel in the famous "Trials and Tribble-ations" episode.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Seven of Nine's Borg implants and nanoprobes were used to resolve a number of problems.
* The almighty Deflector Array in ''Franchise/StarTrek''. Any time anything in the universe that's even remotely energy-based needs to be absorbed, converted, transmitted, created, destroyed, or, well, deflected, you can count on the ship's engineer thinking up a solution that uses the deflector array. No ship should be built without it! Federation/Starfleet ships seem to be the only ones in the Trekverse to have an obvious main deflector dish (and [[http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Miranda_class not all the time]]). Everyone else, from the Klingons to the Romulans to the Cardassians to ''Voyager'''s Delta-Quadrant-Menace-Of-The-Week, seems to get by without them. Which is especially odd given that the basic vanilla function of a deflector array is to function as a futuristic cow catcher and would be hugely important if you didn't want to destroy your ship by flying into a piece of grit at warp speed...

* ''Franchise/TheDCU'' has various metals which can give people powers merely by wearing them, or other godly properties. The Nth metal the mace of ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' is made of primarily negates gravity, but is also capable of regeneration, metamorphosis, reincarnation, magic nullification, emotional manipulation, dimensional travel and basically anything the plot requires of it. ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'''s various metal items accomplish all sorts of feats, which are primarily due to the blessings of the gods upon the item, but the post-Rebirth continuity ties together all of these metals as being different, less pure forms of 'Tenth Metal', used in the Forge of Worlds as the very essence of creation. The Nth metal is in fact 'Ninth Metal' and the metal of Earth's gods is the Eighth. Tenth Metal is so powerful that it basically lets you alter reality with the smallest piece.

* As seen in the ''ComicBook/{{Hitman}}'' series, multiple powered characters in DC Comics are a result not of the accidents they had, but mutating to ''survive'' the accidents; it's fairly common for people to crawl out of a vat of toxic goo and go on a rampage. The title character is often called in to provide a very discreet bullet.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'': Magic is broad and ambiguous, and distinctions are drawn on the ''use'' of magic rather than different ''types''. However, magic has narrative properties similar to radiation (which is an example of WritewWhatYouKnow, as Creator/TerryPratchett used to work in the media relations office at a nuclear power station), with sites of old wizard battles essentially being uninhabitable fallout zones that mutate living things. It's also subject to some physical laws and nothing can be truly created with it (for example, Conservation of Mass applies when turning someone into a frog, and a cheese made by magic falls apart into a disgusting inedible mess). The most important reason for witches and wizards to learn magic is frequently said to be how to ''not'' use it when they could do it for every little thing. Sam Vimes once complains about the fact that "you can't explain how the magic is done [[ShapedLikeItself because it's all done by magic]]."

* Phazon from the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'' was a poison, a weapon, and fuel, and interestingly, was the only thing that could hurt the Metroid Prime in the [[VideoGame/MetroidPrime first game]] despite it also causing the Metroid's transformation in the first place. In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' it turned out to be [[spoiler:the [[TheCorruption corrupting influence]] of a [[GeniusLoci living planet]] of the stuff seeking to [[YouWillBeAssimilated take over the universe]]]]. Whoa. Oh, and did we mention that it's sentient in all of its forms?

** Actually, the virus does have the consistent effect of always mutating people according to their own subconscious desires and/or fears. Every single mutation is unique, because every person's psychological make-up is unique. The 90% fatality rate is explained as the human body almost always not surviving the mutagenic effects.

* The Blinker Stones from ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' were initially presented as Pink Rocks: creating fires and giant glowing sky signals alike, with nary an [[MagicAIsMagicA explanation of how]] for 20 chapters. Then it was revealed that they are [[GreenLanternRing lenses for latent psychic powers]].

* Tiberium from the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series is the most valuable substance in the world (leading to GDI and Nod fighting over it) and will either kill or mutate anybody who steps in it. It also corrupts the land so much that by [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun the second game's expansion]], the Earth's air and biosphere are one year or so away from becoming toxic to humans. To top it off, it's part of an alien invasion plan. Yes, it's green. There's also a blue variety, which has aged considerably, and thus is much more valuable, but tends to [[StuffBlowingUp react poorly]] when people start slinging explosives around. There's supposedly red too... To be fair, Tiberium (at least the CNC 1-2 variety) contains valuable metals in high yields, conveniently sent to the surface [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6906MLBkIsM in packed crystals]]. In [=CNC3=], its more unappealing properties come through radiation. Either way, it's toxic and/or mutagenic in all forms.\\\

* Tiberium from the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series is the most valuable substance in the world (leading to the GDI and Nod fighting over it) and will either kill or mutate anybody who steps in it. It also corrupts the land so much that by [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSun the second game's expansion]], the Earth's air and biosphere are one year or so away from becoming toxic to humans. To top it off, it's part of an alien invasion plan. Yes, it's green. There's also a blue variety, which has aged considerably, and thus is much more valuable, but tends to [[StuffBlowingUp react poorly]] when people start slinging explosives around. There's supposedly red too... To be fair, Tiberium (at least the CNC 1-2 variety) contains valuable metals in high yields, conveniently sent to the surface [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6906MLBkIsM in packed crystals]]. In [=CNC3=], its more unappealing properties come through radiation. Either way, it's toxic and/or mutagenic in all forms.\\\

*** ''Inquisition'' introduces Red Lyrium, [[spoiler:lyrium tainted by the Blight]], which can grow into and infect both living things (which strengthens them and also drives them insane) and even the landscape. It also reveals that [[spoiler:lyrium is the blood of immense beings known as Titans.]]

* Of the crazy Phlebotinums in the ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', two in particular count for this: Isoflux-Alpha and OblivAeon shards.

Related to PhlebotinumDuJour, MetaOrigin. For less-exotic variants, see LightningCanDoAnything, ILoveNuclearPower and GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke. Contrast MinovskyPhysics, MagicAIsMagicA.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has Australium, a rare metal from Australia that grants [[GeniusBruiser enhanced intelligence and muscle mass]] but reduces common sense. It's the reason for Australia's simultaneous hyper-advanced technology and TestosteronePoisoning. The Engineer's grandfather Radigan Conagher was given 100 pounds of the stuff which he used to build all sorts of inventions, but the radiation eventually mutated him into a shirtless Australian with chest hair in the shape of Texas.

* Another Marvel example is Vibranium, from ''ComicBook/BlackPanther''. When introduced, Vibranium was the setting's ultimate {{Unobtainium}}; a hyper-durable, NighInvulnerable metal that absorbed vibrations and converted them into durability, so the more you hit it, the tougher it became. To put things in perspective, the famous Adamantium is a ''softer'' knock-off version. It was subsequently retconned into also serving as the foundation for [[MarySueTopia Wakanda's]] ultra-advanced technology, because somehow having access to a super-durable metal translates to figuring out anti-gravity and energy blasters at a time when the rest of the world has only just figured out flintlock pistols. Subverted in ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'', where instead Vibranium is just a super-durable metal and Wakanda is so technologically advanced because it's reverse-engineered a crashed alien spaceship.

* In the ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' comic books, gamma radiation often has a completely random effect on the individual exposed, usually something to do with their psychological makeup, although this effect is often completely arbitrary. This is the way they explained gamma radiation turning Hulk into a id-like monster, She-Hulk into a fun-loving Amazon, Doc Samson into a musclebound superhero type, and the Abomination into [[MeaningfulName what you'd expect]].\\\
It's also been revealed that most people would just die horribly when exposed to such large amounts of gamma radiation (which is a rather more plausible result), and the people who got superpowers from it did so because the radiation interacted in some pseudoscientific way with random genetic anomalies they already had. It was explained once that everyone who got a positive mutation from gamma exposure had a single common genetic ancestor somewhere back in the mists of history. No one else has that funny genetic quirk. This was demonstrated when the Leader dropped a gamma bomb on a town of about ten thousand people or so; everyone died, except five individuals who mutated. One of the Leader's main goals is perfecting gene therapy to allow anyone to achieve powers from gamma radiation.

** For some Skaven, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil fitting their generally-deranged style]], it's a magical-power-boosting FantasticDrug.

* The Chemical X in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' did weird and arbitrary things sometimes. Like turning a bowl of "sugar, spice, and everything nice" and a monkey into three {{Magical Girl}}s and an evil genius. Disturbingly enough, [[{{Squick}} the contents of Mojo Jojo's gross prison toilet]] is apparently a decent substitute for Chemical X since that's what's used to create the [[ThePsychoRangers Rowdyruff Boys]].

* ''Energy X'' serves this purpose in ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'' and its sequel. Not only does it give almost all the super-characters their powers - which are as varied as anything the X-gene ever provided - but it provides the power-ups that are sprinkled around each battlefield. It heals injuries, temporarily super-energises characters, provides permanent power boosts for characters and can give the team a bonus helping them to recruit more members. It comes in easy-to-carry canisters[[spoiler:, and is a sentient energy being with dark designs on the universe!]]
* The Fire Emblem in the [[Franchise/FireEmblem series by the same name]] seems to function somewhat like this. In Sacred Stones it's a plot device, and in Shadow Dragon all it does is let you open locked doors and chests without a key.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', Magicite is merely a stone that has absorbed enough [[BackgroundMagicField Mist]] to become magical itself, allowing one to cast basic elemental magic, keep airships aloft, or create city-wide barriers. The most significant (and powerful) Magicite in the [[TheVerse Ivalice Alliance]] world is known as Nethicite and Auracite.

* Septium (a fragment of this is called sepith) in ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' are gems which come in seven different energies representing four basic and three higher-tier existing elements in the series' universe; Fire (Red, called Carnelia), Water (Blue, called Sapphirl), Wind (Green, called Esmelas), Earth (Brown, called Amberl), Space (Gold, called Goldia), Mirage (Silver, called Argem), and Time (Black, called Nohval). Its purified form of sepith, quartz, is utilized in a mechanical device known as orbment in almost every technological aspect ranging from military to simple home cooking. In gameplay, each characters have tactical orbment with slots that can be filled with various types of quartz to grant them ability to use [[MagicFromTechnology arts]], alter their combat parameters or even their cooking proficiency in later games.

** Quite a few Marvel games have been using the Iso-8 such as VideoGame/SpiderManUnlimited, which is used to summon Spiders from high-level portals.

* One of ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}'''s writers is quoted as saying that E99 can do whatever the plot needs it to. This includes time travel, gravity manipulation and time manipulation for a start.

* In ''VideoGame/SpacePiratesAndZombies,'' there exists a substance called "Rez," which can be easily transmuted into ''any'' other element.
* Similarly, ''Conflicks: Revolutions'' uses "Metamatter," a substance that can be turned into anything else (except for mayonnaise, for some reason), derived from chicken eggs.
* Gaussite in ''VideoGame/{{Prismata}}'' is used to build mysterious Nightsider tech. True to form, it looks like a green rock.

* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'' has the Arkentools, superpower magical artifacts created by the Titans that, when fully unlocked, grant their wielders tremendous power. There are four known Arkentools on the face of the Erf at this time, and only three have been revealed in the comic.

* Taking alongside Comics Lore, Nth Metal from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''. Immune to almost any form of magic, virtually indestructible and can be formed into insanely powerful hand-held weapons.

* While the mutagen in ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2012}}'' (2012) initially seemed to have one specific use--to give whomever touched it the qualities of whatever organism they themselves last touched, as in the original cartoon--the ooze has since diversified, with it doing whatever the writers need it to do, such as turning squirrels into ferocious and lethal monsters.
** {{Justified|Trope}} since the Kraang actively modify the mutagen to perfect it for their sinister purposes, so each batch of mutagen could have subtle variations magnified by the environment.

* The TropeNamer is ''Series/{{Smallville}}'''s kryptonite. It has been used to kill people, heal people, give people powers (the powers can be anything, including, [[AnIcePerson cold]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]], [[PsychoElectro electricity]], {{intangibility}}, [[HiveMind bee control]], [[TouchOfDeath death touch]], [[MesACrowd splitting]], [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]], and more... or in short, with no common theme other than the circumstances of exposure), erase memories, used as car fuel, add strength to dynamite, give back memories, make chewing gum, make a LovePotion, make Clark Kent crawl on the floor in pain, make Clark Kent act like a dick (red), make Clark Kent lose all his power (blue), give humans perfect health (also blue), give Kryptonians a CompellingVoice (jewel), make Bizarro Kent explode with too much power (blue), manifest, fuse or destroy [[LiteralSplitPersonality polarized moral aspects of someone's personality]] (black), make Clark Kent crazily paranoid (silver), ''[[UpToEleven make a phone call to twenty-four hours ago]]'' (by teaming up with LightningCanDoAnything), cause two people who were nearby during an explosion to psychically bond, make counterfeit banknotes, etc., etc. And it GLOWS! And even here, it is... diverse. Sometime it glows, sometime it doesn't, sometimes it glows only in Clark's presence, sometime it always glows, and sometimes it could somehow dim the lights around it by being next to Clark.

* Lacrima Crystals in ''Manga/FairyTail'' tend to have whatever power is convenient at the time. Lightening Storms, engines, [[spoiler:dragon slayer magic.]] Justified in that Lacrima Crystals are just vessels. The magic placed inside them causes the effects desired by their creator, e.g. [[spoiler:Laxus had to make hundreds of lightening lacrima in order to create the thunder palace, but if he wants them to do anything other than zap people he'd have to make new crystals using a different type of magic.]]

* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern1941'': Despite all the differences between Alan Scott and all the other Green Lanterns that would follow, it's interesting to note that even in his 1940 origin story, the source of Alan's power is extraterrestrial Green Rocks. A burning green meteor crashes in China, and it is first formed into a lamp, then a lantern, and finally comes to Alan Scott to grant him power. The two would eventually [[ArcWelding be connected]] by an explanation that, after [[TheMagicVersusTechnologyWar collecting all the magic they could gather]], the Guardians of the Universe [[NeglectfulPrecursors just dumps it into another universe]], which is what eventually became Alan's ring and lantern.

* The TropeNamer is ''Series/{{Smallville}}'''s kryptonite. It has been used to kill people, heal people, give people powers (the powers can be anything, including, [[AnIcePerson cold]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]], [[PsychoElectro electricity]], {{intangibility}}, [[HiveMind bee control]], [[TouchOfDeath death touch]], [[MesACrowd splitting]], [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]], and more... or in short, with no common theme other than the circumstances of exposure), erase memories, used as car fuel, add strength to dynamite, give back memories, make chewing gum, make a LovePotion, make Clark Kent crawl on the floor in pain, make Clark Kent act like a dick (red), make Clark Kent lose all his power (blue), give humans perfect health (also blue), give Kryptonians a CompellingVoice (jewel), make Bizarro Kent explode with too much power (blue), split Clark Kent into a LiteralSplitPersonality and inexplicably fuse them back (black), make Clark Kent crazily paranoid (silver), ''[[UpToEleven make a phone call to twenty-four hours ago]]'' (by teaming up with LightningCanDoAnything), cause two people who were nearby during an explosion to psychically bond, make counterfeit banknotes, etc., etc. And it GLOWS! And even here, it is... diverse. Sometime it glows, sometime it doesn't, sometimes it glows only in Clark's presence, sometime it always glows, and sometimes it could somehow dim the lights around it by being next to Clark.

* The TropeNamer is ''Series/{{Smallville}}'''s kryptonite. It has been used to kill people, heal people, give people powers (the powers can be anything, including, [[AnIcePerson cold]], [[PlayingWithFire fire]], [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]], [[PsychoElectro electricity]], {{intangibility}}, [[HiveMind bee control]], [[TouchOfDeath death touch]], [[MesACrowd splitting]], [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic scream]], and more... or in short, with no common theme), erase memories, used as car fuel, add strength to dynamite, give back memories, make chewing gum, make Clark Kent crawl on the floor in pain, make Clark Kent act like a dick (red), make Clark Kent lose all his power (blue), make Bizarro Kent explode with too much power (blue), split Clark Kent into a LiteralSplitPersonality and inexplicably fuse them back (black), make Clark Kent crazily paranoid (silver), ''[[UpToEleven make a phone call to twenty-four hours ago]]'' (by teaming up with LightningCanDoAnything), cause two people who were nearby during an explosion to psychically bond, make counterfeit banknotes, etc., etc. And it GLOWS! And even here, it is... diverse. Sometime it glows, sometime it doesn't, sometimes it glows only in Clark's presence, sometime it always glows, and sometimes it could somehow dim the lights around it by being next to Clark.

* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern1941'': Despite all the differences between Alan Scott and all the other Green Lanterns that would follow, it's interesting to note that even in his 1940 origin story, the source of Alan's power is extraterrestrial Green Rocks. A burning green meteor crashes in China, and it is first formed into a lamp, then a lantern, and finally comes to Alan Scott to grant him power.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has two. Normal energon, which is the life blood of all Transformers, is said to be the emanation of Primus that they use for almost everything. Then there's dark energon, which according to the ancient text is the blood of Unicron, which has the ability to [[spoiler:revive the dead into zombies]]. In some continuities, Energon takes the form of of a mineral crystal that can be mined from the earth. Both of the above examples are like this (Energon is blue, Dark Energon is purple).

* While the mutagen in ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2012}}'' (2012) initially seemed to have one specific use--to give whomever touched it the qualities of whatever organism they themselves last touched, as in the original cartoon--the ooze has since diversified, with it doing whatever the writers need it to do, such as turning squirrels ferocious and lethal monsters.

* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'': Magic is broad and ambiguous, and distinctions are drawn on the ''use'' of magic rather than different ''types''. However, magic has narrative properties similar to radiation (because Creator/TerryPratchett used to work in nuclear power), with sites of old wizard battles essentially being uninhabitable fallout zones that mutate living things. It's also subject to some physical laws and nothing can be truly created with it (for example, Conservation of Mass applies when turning someone into a frog, and a cheese made by magic falls apart into a disgusting inedible mess). The most important reason for witches and wizards to learn magic is frequently said to be how to ''not'' use it when they could do it for every little thing. Sam Vimes once complains about the fact that "you can't explain how the magic is done [[ShapedLikeItself because it's all done by magic]]."