History Main / MagicFeather

Supertrope to PlacebotinumEffect, and of course this ''is'' the PlaceboEffect. It's also a neat way to subvert the AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome. May or may not be a character's CharmPoint. Somewhat of a DeadHorseTrope in newer works (a common subversion is that the character throws away her 'feather,' only to discover that she needed it after all).

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Awaki Musujime can teleport and points a flashlight at her intended destination. Misaki Shokuhou has mental manipulation abilities and points a TV remote at her intended target. Neither of them actually need these items to use their powers, but they help them concentrate.
* In ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia'', Hatou's ability to communicate with infinite parallel universes was there all along. It was just that [[spoiler: Yukari rebuilding her arm with a cellphone]] awakened said power.

* In ''Literature/WizardOfThePigeons'', all wizards have to follow certain rules to [[ConditionalPowers keep their magic working]]. The titular [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Wizard]] must care for pigeons, answer questions for those who ask him, never abuse his strength on others, never have more than a dollar on his person, remain celibate, and help those who come to him for help. However, late in the story it's revealed that [[spoiler: half the rules are ones he had made up himself and forgotten, and have no real impact on his magic except that he [[PlaceboEffect thought they did]]]].
* In ''Literature/RangersApprentice: The Siege of Macindaw'', Sir Karel uses a [[HypnoTrinket blue gemstone]] to hypnotize and interrogate his prisoner Alyss. The healer Malcolm sends her a '[[MagicMeteor stellatite]]' stone, along with instructions for using it to defeat the hypnosis, and she manages to [[FeedTheMole trick him]]. When she goes to give it back to Malcolm, he revealed that it was an ordinary rock all along.
* Played straight in the novel ''Literature/{{Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince}}'', wherein Harry tricks Ron Weasley into thinking that he (Harry) has just poured some "Felix Felicis" luck potion into Ron's drink to improve his Quidditch game (which had been suffering due to an extreme case of nerves). Hermione saw Harry do it, and warned Ron not to drink it, as it would be cheating to use a potion in a Quiddich game. Ron drinks it anyway, and his game improves hugely. Then, when Hermione confronts Harry again afterward (once Gryffindor has won with over 200 points), Harry shows both of them that he hadn't poured a drop--in fact, the bottle was still sealed. This causes additional problems for Ron and Hermione's already-strained friendship (as she appeared to imply that he couldn't have done it without the aid of the potion), but it also helps Ron realize that he actually ''is'' a good player, which helps him through the rest of the season.
* This is also seen in ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard'' during the story "The Fountain of Fair Fortune". [[spoiler:In the end, it turns out that the fountain is just an ordinary fountain, but the three witches and the {{Muggle}} knight who traveled to reach it have all had their lives changed for the better.]]
* ''Literature/TheTalisman'', written jointly by Creator/StephenKing and Peter Straub, has the novel's resident MagicalNegro give the main character a drink that allows him to flip between worlds. After he consumes it all, it turns out that he always had the power; the stuff was just sour wine. It's hard to fault the main character not recognizing it for what it was, seeing as he was just a ''ten-year-old boy'' (talk about negligent spiritual guardians...)
* Played straight in Creator/JackVance's novel ''Literature/{{Lyonesse}}'' -- the boy Dhrun is given a talisman to avert fear, which in fact means that whenever he feels afraid, he misinterprets the emotion as anger and is able to be brave. In a crisis, he often reflects on how fortunate it is that he can't feel fear, because he should be terrified at that moment. The talisman eventually gets broken and replaced with a regular stone, but it continues to work until he realizes the replacement.

* In ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman'', even though Captain Underpants' powers came from [[SuperSerum alien super power juice]] (ItMakesSenseInContext), he's convinced they come from cottony soft underpants. When Captain Underpants is depowered by spray-on starch, the boys have to come up with a magical feather, so they {{Retcon}} a powerful crystal he swallowed as a child on his home planet (even though Captain Underpants is actually the boys' principal, while Captain Underpants he believes he has the fictional character's backstory).

* In ''Literature/TheLostWorld1912'' by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle the white explorers encounter a Native American tribe menaced by ape people. The Native Americans ask the explorers to use their modern weaponry to help fight the ape people. The explorers agree, but when the actual battle comes around they barely get to fire a shot. The extra confidence their presence gave the Native Americans allowed them to defeat the ape people on their own.
* Creator/LenDeighton's novel ''Bomber'' demonstrates the fine line between GoodLuckCharm and Magic Feather. After a hairy landing in a damaged Lancaster, one of the pilots notices that his good luck charm (a walking stick) was broken by an enemy bullet. He realizes that, had he noticed before the landing, he would have been much more frightened and more likely to make a mistake.

* Creator/TerryPratchett uses several of these in his ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels.
** Headology, the main branch of Witch magic relies mostly on the application of common sense with a light sprinkling of Magic Feathers, once handily supplied by the patient himself.
** In ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', [=HEX=], Unseen University's [[{{Magitek}} thinking machine]] becomes a TalkativeLoon after prolongued exposure to [[CloudCuckoolander the Bursar.]] Ridcully, who normally doesn't understand technology, solves the problem by typing DRYD FORG PILLS into the keyboard, reasoning, "If it can get the idea of being sick, it can get the idea of being cured." It works.
** In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', Lobsang is wearing a portable procrastinator to enable him to continue walking around after time has been stopped. [[spoiler:He panics after Susan tells him it stopped a while ago.]] Not a standard magic feather as the device would work as described, it just turns out that [[spoiler:Lobsang doesn't need it, as he's the son of (or rather [[SplitAtBirth half of the son of]]) the anthropomorphic personification of Time.]]
** In ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' Magrat finds the ancient armor of Queen Ynci the Short-Tempered, and believes that her spirit is with her and gives her an extra capacity for violence and determination. As it turns out, Ynci was completely made up, and her armor had been made a few decades ago to give the royal house a little more color.
** In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Moist is given a dangerous test to get into [[ItMakesSenseInContext a secret society of postmen]]; vicious guard dogs. However, Moist recognizes these are Lipwigzers; a rare breed from his own homeland, whom are all taught various commands from birth, and of whom only the males are exported, to prevent breeding and keep the prices high. Realizing this, he simply shouts commands at the dogs, pacifying them and passing the test. However, it is then revealed to him that they aren't purebreds at all; they are mixed breeds, and were never taught the commands. Apparently the dogs were just shocked to have an unfrightened human shout at them.
* ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'':
** In ''Literature/OnAPaleHorse'', while fighting {{Satan}}, [[TheGrimReaper Death]] realizes that he doesn't actually need his scythe and cloak to use his powers, reasoning that if that had been true, Satan would have attacked him earlier while he was off duty. (The course of the series suggests his reasoning was actually wrong about that but his intuition was correct - while the scythe and cloak are in fact highly enchanted objects that would permit almost anyone to carry out the minimum of job performance as Death, it's the actual officeholder's adjustment to the office and intent to fill it which really matters.)
** In ''Literature/UnderAVelvetCloak'', Karena finds from Morgan Le Fae that the velvet cloak has magical properties. Morgan teaches Karena how to use the invisibility, phase through the ground, protect the wearer from attack, and finally the spell Karena wanted -- "Locate a person", to find her lost lover. Later in the story, Karena finds the most important quality of the cloak: the cloak is not magical; Karena did this all with her innate magical abilities.
* Subverted in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'', where the Magic Feather given to Yeden's army by Kelsier (a promise that his mistborn abilities could be channeled into others) [[spoiler: leads Yeden to send out his still unprepared army prematurely out on a raid because of overconfidence, killing them all]]. Kelsier gets a serious WhatTheHellHero by his entire crew for his efforts.
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'':
** Thaylen religion, based around "the Passions," involves carved charms representing an emotion such as bravery. The charms are not magical and the Thaylens do not think that they are; the intent is for the charm to remind you to keep the emotion in mind when you need it.
** In ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'', Shallan's overarching goal is to steal her teacher Jasnah's Soulcaster and learn how to use it to work magic, as the one owned by her family had stopped working. [[spoiler: She eventually successfully steals it and replaces Jasnah's with her broken one, but for a long time, is unable to figure out how to use it. Finally, in a climactic moment, she figures out the secret, using it to save her own life... and then discovers that Jasnah's Soulcaster was a fake: Jasnah was Soulcasting without needing a Soulcaster (widely believed to be impossible), and Shallan just did the same thing.]]
** In the second book, ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', Shallan discovers that she can't use her [[MasterOfIllusion Lightweaving]] powers without drawing a picture of it first. When she's disguising herself as people, this makes sense due to how complicated they are, but she needs to do it even for something as simple as an illusion of a plain wall. Her [[BondCreatures spren]], Pattern, notes that this shouldn't be necessary, implying she'll grow out of it eventually.
** The fourth book, ''Literature/RhythmOfWar'', makes it clear that this is common for Lightweavers. One of Shallan's apprentices uses paint to activate his powers, another has to focus on the general colors, and another can only use illusions on himself when he adjusts his mind to become his illusion (the others are baffled by him explaining how he made an illusion of a rock by "thinking like a rock"). Likewise, one of the apprentices has a lot more success with Soulcasting when she has a sample of the material she is trying to transform, as a "seed" to "show" the thing what it should be. This is entirely different from how Elsecallers, the other Order with Soulcasting, work.
* In Creator/GeneWolfe's ''Literature/BookOfTheNewSun'', the Claw of the Conciliator. The trope is subverted, however, in that it is likely that all Severian's 'miracles' were orchestrated by the Hierogrammates to make him ''think'' he has divine powers. The Claw may even more more of a TrackingDevice.
-->"I cannot escape the thought that the power manifested in both Claws is drawn from myself... I reject and fear [this thought] because I desire so fervently that it be true; and I feel that if there were the least echo of truth in it, I would detect it within myself. ''I do not.''"

* A theme from the ancient Sumerian tale ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'' can be seen as a predecessor to this trope. Gilgamesh goes on this elaborate quest for immortality, eventually laying hands on a magical coral flower with the power to extend his life. A snake steals the flower when he's not looking and Gilgamesh is crushed, but [[spoiler:in the end he realizes he had immortality all along -- through the legacy of his contributions to the enduring power of his city, Uruk. He was also made a god some time after he died.]]

* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': In her prequel novel, Polgara the Sorceress teaches her seneschal {{Telepathy}} by telling him that she enchanted a particular closet to transmit his thoughts to her when he stands in it. Once he gets used to the ability, she reveals that it was his own [[AchievementsInIgnorance Achievement in Ignorance]].
* In the second Literature/CircleOfMagic book, Niko doesn't have time to teach Tris how to see magic, so he puts a spell on her glasses to help her see it. When she asks how long it will last, he says "As long as you have those lenses." Two books later, he casually reveals that wasn't true: the spell only lasted a week. Ever since, she's been seeing magic on her own.

* The [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Donald Duck]] comic [[https://inducks.org/story.php?c=I+TL+3347-1 "Bum Bum e il cappello fortunato"]] deconstructs the trope. In order to boost the self esteem of their common friend Bum Bum Ghigno, Donald Duck and Gyro Gearloose give him a top hat patterned like a ladybug with a (presumably fake) four-leaf clover on it, telling him it's a creation of Gyro that gives instant good luck to anyone who wears it. To their surprise, the lucky hat ''is actually working'' and makes Bum Bum as lucky as Gladstone Gander in the span of a few days. Donald immediately goes crazy and tries to get the hat back. At the end, the hat is lost and they tell Bum Bum the classic "the luck was all inside you all along" stuff... except we then see a street artist picking up the lost hat and immediately getting the luck.

* ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'': When his mojo is stolen, Austin is rendered impotent. Aside from his erectile dysfunction, he also believes he cannot defeat Dr. Evil without it. However, in the end, he saves the world, defeats Dr. Evil, and wins Felicity's love without his mojo. In the end credits, Austin is confirmed to have his mojo back when he sees his past self shagging Felicity.

* Inverted in the ''Film/InspectorGadget'' movie where Gadget requires a computer chip in order for his cyborg body to function. However, after the chip is taken out and smashed by Claw, it turns out that he can still operate without it.

* Pretty much the most awesome example ever: in ''Manga/OnePiece'', for the Luffy vs. Foxy duel, Usopp hands Luffy a ''giant afro'' to give him strength... and then the entire crowd goes wild when he appears sporting it. And when he starts to show his HeroicResolve, it is apparently because "THE AFRO POWER MADE HIM GO BERSERK!". In short, the MagicFeather that ''everybody'' (except [[OnlySaneMan Nami]], but ''including [[TheStoic Robin]]'') believe. Even more confusing is that he effectively wins ''because'' of the afro! [[spoiler:Not because it is special, but just because it happens to catch a shard of a mirror that Luffy pulls out later.]]

* Creator/LenDeighton's novel ''Bomber'' demonstrates the fine line between GoodLuckCharm and MagicFeather. After a hairy landing in a damaged Lancaster, one of the pilots notices that his good luck charm (a walking stick) was broken by an enemy bullet. He realizes that, had he noticed before the landing, he would have been much more frightened and more likely to make a mistake.

* Subverted in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'', where the MagicFeather given to Yeden's army by Kelsier (a promise that his mistborn abilities could be channeled into others) [[spoiler: leads Yeden to send out his still unprepared army prematurely out on a raid because of overconfidence, killing them all]]. Kelsier gets a serious WhatTheHellHero by his entire crew for his efforts.

* Paulo Coelho's ''Veronika Decides to Die'' gives the MagicFeather in the form of ''[[YourDaysAreNumbered an uncurable heart disease.]]'' The protagonist Voronika decides to kill herself because she has nothing to do, and is put into a mental hospital because of it. To cure her mental illness, Dr. Igor, her psychiatrist, tricks her into thinking that she will die very soon, invoking Veronika to spend her life a lot more carefully. He plans to let the woman acknowledge his MagicFeather by herself as she is discharged from his care a few days before she "dies".

* In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', it is implied early on that Apollo's ability to Perceive tension and nervous tics in his witnesses is thanks to his bracelet. Later on, it is clarified that [[spoiler:the descendents of Magnifi Gramarye]], including Apollo [[spoiler:and Trucy]], have inherent powers of perception, and the bracelet is a [[spoiler:keepsake from Thalassa Gramarye]] which seems to tighten when the wearer detects tension and thus tenses themselves, creating the illusion that it is the source of the ability. This is [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]], however, due to the fact that the tightening of the bracelet itself acts as a cue to begin intentionally using the ability. Without it, the increased tension in the body would be much harder to notice, and thus it would be far more difficult for Apollo to know when to begin using the ability in earnest. This gives the bracelet more importance than the standard MagicFeather, even after the above is revealed.

** In one episode, Kim is unable to pass her driving test. By coincidence, she has to team up for a mission with a self-driving car, and uses it to pass the test. While on her mission something goes wrong and the computer can't control the car anymore, and Kim needs to drive the car she and Ron are in out of the villain's lair, she protests she can't drive, and the computer tells her that it never did anything - it was her all along. Kim, inspired, drives the car out of the collapsing lair. Suberted when the computer reveals that it lied - the computer had been doing the driving before, but needed to inspire her.

* ''WebVideo/OutsideXbox'''s Oxventure Dungeons and Dragons campaigns pulls a parody of this when the guild is trying to sell an obviously haunted house that tries to kill and/or horribly maim the prospective buyers.

* In ''Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger'' [[HalfHumanHybrid Eiji Takaoka]] depended on his father's shakujo to keep his Ashu heritage in check. After the Questors destroyed it, [[TheLeader Satoru Akashi]] gave Eiji the [[TransformationTrinket GoGo Changer]] and [[SwissArmyWeapon Sagasniper]] telling him that the latter was made by analyzing the shakujo. After Eiji successfully suppressed his Ashu blood and fought off the Questors, Santorum revealed that the Sagasniper didn't play a role in suppressing Eiji's Ashu blood at all. Eiji's heart was more than strong enough to do the work.

* MailOrderBride: She's Russian

* Inverted in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. Gil isn't convinced that his super-awesome perpetually-flaming hat (made for him by the Jagermonsters, who are ''[[SeriousBusiness very]]'' invested in {{Nice Hat}}s) gives him any divine authority whatsoever. The rest of the crowd treat it like he's wearing a giant king's crown on fire (which it sort of is). Except one guy, who gets filed for promotion by Gil for having common sense. Basically, the hat makes him think less of himself (why is everyone willing to bow down and worship a [[spoiler:prince]] who wears a jester's crown -- OH WAIT), but almost all the non-regular cast are awed by it.

* In "Bravehat" from ''Series/TheBookOfPooh'', the titular NiceHat is one of these. When Piglet ends up discovering and wearing a stylish black hat, he ends up scaring off some bees that are bothering Pooh while flailing about because hat is covering his eyes. Pooh declares it to be a "bravehat" and afterwards, Piglet commits some brave acts while wearing it, including sleeping without his nightlight. In the end, he goes into the Scary Woods to rescue Eeyore, only for the hat to snag on a branch just as he's entering without him noticing. When he returns with Eeyore, he at first faints about discovering he left the hat behind, but then everyone realizes it was really Piglet who was brave.

* An interesting subversion occurs in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', in which the titular heroine uses an intelligent driving computer to pass a driving test. When something goes wrong, the computer can't control the car anymore, and Kim needs to drive the car she and Ron are in out of the villain's lair, she protests she can't drive, and the computer tells her that it never did anything - it was her all along. Kim, inspired, drives the car out of the collapsing lair, whereupon the computer tells her it lied - the computer had been doing the driving before, but needed to inspire her.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime:

* Large swathes of the Creator/DCComics universe were [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] with the [[MetaOrigin metagene]]. Basically, random chemical spills or a radiation zap or looking into the core of an alien warp engine ''doesn't'' give you superpowers. The metagene, present in most humans, instead does an Instant Evolution bit to save you from the dangers. In short, most people do get crispyfried when zapped with the experimental magic ray.

* Comicbook/BlackLightning is another superhero who started out using a gadget, only to eventually realise it had unlocked his own powers.

* The Danny Ketch version of ComicBook/GhostRider initially believed he transformed into the titular character by touching his [[CoolBike mystical motorcycle]]. In ''Hearts of Darkness'' (a {{Crossover}} featauring Ghost Rider, Comicbook/{{Punisher}} and ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}), the villain Blackheart stole Danny's bike. Believing himself unable to transform, he decided to steal an ordinary bike to reach the villain's location, only to discover that he could transform on his own, also changing the ordinary bike into a mystical one.

* In the over-the-top {{blaxploitation}}''/''[[MartialArtsMovie martial arts]] parody film ''Film/TheLastDragon'', the "magic amulet" that Bruce Leroy's TricksterMentor gave him when he began his "great quest" turns out to be a belt buckle. It's more than that, when Leroy discovers that [[spoiler: the master Sum Dum Goy doesn't even ''exist,'' and that The Master he's been searching for is Leroy himself.]]

* Implied in ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings II'' with the [[HermeticMagic Hermetic Society]]. Their rituals give a character and ([[GenerationalSaga just as importantly]]) their offspring useful buffs, but nothing that can't be replicated through definitely non-magical means, and they work fine even with supernatural events turned off.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Cover Up" with [[ActionGirl Buttercup]] and a security blanket. Buttercup needs to be thoroughly convinced she can fight without the blankie after it's misplaced. Once she is, she gives it up and the girls' father Professor Utonium snatches it up claiming it had recently helped him create his newest invention.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie'', Princess Mindy turns [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick into "men" with seaweed mustaches with her "mermaid magic", or so she claims, which are then ripped off later by the villain. In typical manner, they still manage to make it through.

* Happens in ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' with the titular characters' Goggles. Back when Rex started working for Providence [[PowerIncontinence he had little control over his powers]], so Agent Six presented him with the Goggles which he said came from a master craftsman that Six had defeated in the past, claiming that with these goggles Rex would be able to control his powers. Zigzagged in that Rex figured out that [[ZeGogglesDoNothing the Goggles didn't even do anything]], but he still wore them [[ParentalSubstitute because he looked up to Six as a Father.]]

* In the ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' episode "That Old Black Magic", the girls use a courage potion on [[spoiler: the chosen one, which turns out to actually be plain water]].

** In the film Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods, the Super Saiyan God transformation is a subversion. It does indeed make Goku stronger, but when the transformation burns out, it has still given Goku enough determination that he can continue fighting Beerus (who had treated him to a CurbstompBattle earlier) without it.