History Main / PowersAsPrograms

* Powers in ''Manga/{{Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo}}'' can all apparently be copied. Though of course, only one can be stored at a time, and it's overwritten by the next power if another power is copied.

** And of course, in the more recent main series and ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' games, demons or Personae will inherit skills learned from [[FusionDance their predecessors]]; inheritance mechanics are more or less random, leading to the potential for hours of annoyance while fusing and re-fusing demons. This is not an inconvenience as of late, though, for Atlus has heard everyone's prayers and allowed the player to choose the moves the fusion result will learn in more recent games, starting with ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', and the trend has continued with ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', ''VideoGame/{{Persona4}}'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''.

** Speaking of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', there's now the Demon Whisper mechanic, in which after a demon has learned all the moves it can learn as it is leveling up, it will talk to you and offer to teach you one of its moves, barring passive abilities and some ''seriously'' broken moves.

** Speaking of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', there's now the Demon Whisper mechanic, in which after a demon has learned all its moves and levels up, it will talk to you and offer to teach you one of its moves, barring passive abilities and some ''seriously'' broken moves.

** And of course, in the more recent main series and ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' games, demons or Personae will inherit skills learned from [[FusionDance their predecessors]]; inheritance mechanics are more or less random, leading to the potential for hours of annoyance while fusing and re-fusing demons. This is not an inconvenience as of late, though, for Atlus has heard everyone's prayers and allowed the player to choose the moves the fusion result will learn in more recent games, starting with ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', and the trend has continued with ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', ''VideoGame/Persona4TheGolden'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''.

* In the world of ''ShinMegamiTensei: DigitalDevilSaga'', the abilities used by your demonic alter-egos are literally programs, called 'Mantras', which you download from 'Karma Stations'. The game actually uses the term 'Download' directly. Of course, the fact that [[spoiler:the whole thing is apparently a VR world]] effectively turns it into a sort of meta-self-referential-thingie...
** The Karma Stations being in the second game as well is one of your first clues that [[spoiler:the 'real' world is ''also'' composed of data--data God begins deleting when it gets ''really pissed...'']]

** And of course, in the more recent main series and ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' games, demons or Personae will inherit skills learned from [[FusionDance their predecessors]]; inheritance mechanics are more or less random, leading to the potential for hours of annoyance while fusing and re-fusing demons.

* On ''Series/{{Haven}}'', one of the Troubled has the ability to steal other people's Troubles, one at a time--he takes on the Trouble, the person who had it loses it, and then when he takes another Trouble the previous person gets theirs back.

* ''ComicBook/JLAActOfGod'' relies on this as its premise; a mysterious event removes superpowers from all the characters in the DCU albeit inconsistently. HumanoidAliens like Superman and Martian Manhunter lost abilities that are typical of their species (ie, they don't actually have "superpowers" per se) beyond that of baseline humans. Technology is supposed to remain functional so Steel's PoweredArmor is unimpeded but somehow Kyle Rayner's ring (made with Oan technology) no longer works. Yeah, it really made no sense at all.
* Averted with a PowerPack storyline, for several issues, where the kid's powers are swapped around. The skills are individual, and they all have fits learning how to use the powers they're not familiar with, and come up with individual applications of the new powers.

* In ''{{Smallville}}'', Clark Kent has lost his powers so many times the wiki has a page for it. Naturally, as the comics section stated, it generally makes no sense.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has the so called Sphere Grid which looks like a board game with substitutes for your characters on it. You can activate the fields on this grid with matching spheres and the character would immediately gain the status buff or magic spell from the field permanently.

* Commands in [[BirthBySleep Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep]] can be purchased, combined, and even stolen from you in some cases.
** An earlier example occurred in ChainOfMemories, with some justification. All of Sora's powers were in cards made from his memories. ItMakesSenseInContext.

** In Fusion a few of the abilities (all of the missile abilities and the 2 bomb abilities) are gained by going to a data room, where they have been transferred to, and "download" them, if you will.

* Used nearly literally in an episode of ''TransformersGeneration1'', in which Megatron used a device to transfer all the Decepticons' gimmick powers (including hardware based ones, such as Starscream's null ray guns) to himself so he could defeat Optimus Prime in an [[CombatByChampion honor duel]]. He won, obviously, and it took the Autobots half the episode to figure out that Megatron didn't usually teleport around when people took a shot at him.

*** Marvel Comics also has S.P.I.N technology, Super Power inhibiting nanobots that can strip seemingly any super of their powers. They were used during the after math of the Civil War arc. Which seemed to work on Mutants, Mutates and Gamma Mutates to various degrees. And of course some genius sent amateurs to use them on [[{{Spider-Man}} Spider-Man]], it ends how you think it would. Unknown how the SPIN tech would work on martial arts based powers like Iron Fist's.
**** Though S.P.I.N did tend to avert this at first. The Nanites had to be specifically designed for the intended victim, and wouldn't work on anyone else (unless they had the same power etc). Eventually , generic ones were developed, but these only covered common powers rather than everything (Spiderman got stung with them once, - he lost his strength/agillity, but kept his spider sense) and were temporary in effect, which fit better.
*** Peter Petrelli owes a lot to Mimic. Mimic can take on the powers of any mutant he's around, his body altering itself to match (such as gaining Beast's physique and Angel's wings.) The villainous main MarvelUniverse one has permanently taken on the powers of the original X-Men in addition to gaining new ones based on who he's around. The good Comicbook/{{Exiles}} version can hold any five powers at once. At one point, Exile!Mimic mimics the Phoenix Force from one of the Summers - granted, as with all his mimics he got it at half power, but he mimic'ed a fundamental force of the universe (and half of infinity is still infinity).
* Anthony "Tony" Masters, aka {{Taskmaster}} falls into this, as he can copy every muscle fiber twitch of most people's physical abilities (He can throw a shield like Cap, Punch like Iron Fist, but don't ask him to jump like Hulk) from simply watching it of this as just like a computer his mind gets full, so his brain has formatted itself to dump memories even those of his wife and past life as an [[spoiler: Ex-shield agent, which is how he met his wife.]] It gets even sadder as ''ComicBook/AvengersAcademy'' member Finesse believes she may be his daughter due to her having similar abilities, meaning she's possibly gonna have this weakness. He admits when they meet alone that he can't remember but it's a possibility. He won't take a DNA test, though, as he likes to stay off the grid.[[spoiler: Avengers Academy #23 has a possible future version of Finesse, and her memory has been affected so much, that as she looks at her daughter, she can only remember her vaguely by her movements.]]
** One aspect/flaw of his abilities is that he's only able to replay (and to an extent, integrate) moves but not expand or tweak them to his own needs (depending). For instance, he can punch at superhuman speeds by watching a video on fast-forward but can not simply punch at superhuman speeds just because he wants to (not to mention, he explicit says he doesn't do this often anyway since being an otherwise normal human, superhuman feats destroy his body from stress and strain).

* ComicBook/JLAActOfGod relies on this as its premise; a mysterious event removes superpowers from all the characters in the DCU albeit inconsistently. HumanoidAliens like Superman and Martian Manhunter lost abilities that are typical of their species (ie, they don't actually have "superpowers" per se) beyond that of baseline humans. Technology is supposed to remain functional so Steel's PoweredArmor is unimpeded but somehow Kyle Rayner's ring (made with Oan technology) no longer works. Yeah, it really made no sense at all.

* Japan's ''KamenRiderDecade''. The title character and his similarly-powered rival (despite being from entirely seperate versions of Earth) use cards via their {{Transformation Trinket}}s to become/summon Riders from any past Kamen Rider series, perform special attacks, summon equipment, and make their finishing moves. The official descriptions of the suits and {{Transformation Trinket}}s even say that the cards are just stored data and that the suits have the power to read the data and [[RealityWarper alter reality]] in order to create things or change pre-existing things, as seen with their ability to turn past Riders into objects.

** The ''13 Riders'' ''KamenRiderRyuki'' special had Shinji get the Ryuki Advent Deck from the previous Ryuki, then at the end a dying Ren gives him his Knight deck when the Ryuki deck is broken.
** The Rider Gears changing hands like this was practically the secondary gimmick in ''KamenRiderFaiz''.

* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', the SuperSentai MilestoneCelebration and equivalent to ''KamenRiderDecade'' (above), has this as well. In the backstory, the 34 previous Sentai teams sacrificed their powers to protect Earth from an alien invasion. The Gokaiger have recovered those powers, which take the form of keys that can be used in their TransformationTrinket cell phones to change them into any previous Ranger, with all the powers and abilities inherent. The keys can also be used in the Gokaigers' weapons to power them up for a FinishingMove.
** Taken a step further in ''Film/KamenRiderXSuperSentaiSuperheroTaisen''; KamenRiderOOO loans his TransformationTrinket to the Gokaiger, which causes them to change from coins to keys. Likewise, the [[TensouSentaiGoseiger Goseiger]] loan their power cards to {{Kamen Rider}}s [[KamenRiderDecade Decade]], [[KamenRiderRyuki Ryuki]], and [[KamenRiderBlade Blade]] (also card-based heroes), who can use them with no problem.

* [[OneGenderRace Reyvateis]] in ''ArTonelico'' series gain life extending and stat boost with the process called "programing", i.e. having a male bodyguard inserting a huge crystal into his partner's back.

* ''{{Dollhouse}}'' is all about this as a commercial business. Want a super-spy? Just programme one of the dolls.

** ''KamenRiderDouble'' is similar, possibly even [[JustifiedTrope justified]]. The main {{Transformation Trinket}}s are USB flash drive-like devices said to contain all the Earth's knowledge about a single subject (like magma), and come in two forms. The monster versions require a bio-connector port to be "injected" into the body with a special device that bonds the Memory to that user (though they can be passed around or used without a port, this is shown to be a [[BodyHorror bad idea]]). The Kamen Riders use more refined Memories that are apparently plug-and-play, as demonstrated when Double loans his Cyclone Memory to his ally Accel, who plugs it into his sword to beef it up with wind power ([[spoiler:and the hypothetical [=CycloneAccel Xtreme=] implies that Accel's Memory can be used in Double's transformation belt rather than his specialized one]]).

** ''KamenRiderWizard'' has magic rings, which come in two distinct forms: Wizard Rings used by Wizard, the White Wizard, [[spoiler:and Mage]], and Beast Colors used by Beast. During one battle, Wizard ended up with one of Beast's rings and tried it out in a do-or-die moment; it worked, but had a slightly different effect. Beast, however, can't use Wizard's rings because they function differently [[note]]Wizard scans his rings over his belt, while Beast plugs them into a socket and uses them like keys[[/note]]. In a later episode, Wizard is given a ring and tries to use it, but his belt simply says "ERROR" - it turns out to be one of the White Wizard's rings.

** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' takes this a step further in TheMovie, where the title character borrows [[SixthRanger Second Rider]] Meteor's TransformationTrinket to assume [[MultiformBalance Meteor Fusion States]]. This apparently grants Fourze mastery of [[BruceLeeClone Jeet Kun Do]], despite the fact that Meteor has those abilities as a result of training and they have nothing whatsoever to do with his Rider powers.

* Anthony "Tony" Masters, aka {{Taskmaster}} falls into this, as he can copy every muscle fiber twitch of most people's physical abilities (He can throw a shield like Cap, Punch like Iron Fist, but don't ask him to jump like Hulk) from simply watching it of this as just like a computer his mind gets full, so his brain has formatted itself to dump memories even those of his wife and past life as an [[spoiler: Ex-shield agent, which is how he met his wife.]] It gets even sadder as ''ComicBook/AvengersAcademy'' member Finesse believes she may be his daughter due to her having a similar abilities meaning she's possibly gonna have this weakness. He admits, when they meet alone that he can't remember but it's a possibility but won't take a DNA test as he likes to stay off the grid.[[spoiler: Avengers Academy #23, a possible future version of Finesse, her memory has been effected so much, that as she looks at her daughter, she can only remember her vaguely by her movements.]]

* According to {{LetsPlay/Chuggaaconroy}}, ProtonJon has the power to call [[MarioParty minigame names]] [[LetsPlay/TheRunawayGuys wrong...]]

*** The same design also appears in the TCG. To make things more confusing, every item except TMs appear the same as it did in the TCG. The fact that the first appearance of TMs was a horribly broken set that was [[NoExportForYou only released in Japan]] while the others are from the original set of cards may be a factor.

* In ''Main/DCUniverseOnline'' the player characters get their powers from nanobots called Exobytes that ''SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor'' stole from Brainiac in the ''Main/BadFuture''.

* One episode of ''WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego?'' had Carmen using a neuro-net to steal artists' and performers' abilities.

* Used very literally in ''[[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Tron 2.0]]'', which is set InsideAComputerSystem. The player receives ExperiencePoints through version upgrades and gains new powerups through swappable and upgradeable subroutines.
** Pretty much the same for TronEvolution, with older abilities being archived when upgraded into newer ones.

* Powers in ''Manga/{{Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo}}'' can all apparently be copied. Though of course, only one can be stored at a time, and it's overwritten by the next power if another power is copied.

*** Peter Petrelli owes a lot to Mimic. Mimic can take on the powers of any mutant he's around, his body altering itself to match (such as gaining Beast's physique and Angel's wings.) The villainous main MarvelUniverse one has permanently taken on the powers of the original X-Men in addition to gaining new ones based on who he's around. The good Comicbook/{{Exiles}} version can hold any five powers at once.

* Anthony "Tony" Masters, aka {{Taskmaster}} falls into this, as he can copy every muscle fiber twitch of most people's physical abilities (He can throw a shield like cap, Punch like Iron fist, but don't ask him to jump like hulk) from simply watching it of this as just like a computer his mind gets full, so his brain has formatted itself to dump memories even those of his wife and pass life as an [[spoiler: Ex-shield agent, which is how he met his wife.]] It gets even sadder as ''ComicBook/AvengersAcademy'' member Finesse believes she may be his daughter due to her having a similar abilities meaning she's possibly gonna have this weakness. He admits, when they meet alone that he can't remember but it's a possibility but won't take a DNA test as he like to stay off the grid.[[spoiler: Avengers Academy #23, a possible future version of Finesse, her memory has been effected so much, that as she looks at her daughter, she can only remember her vaguely by her movements.]]

* Slightly varied in AlanDeanFoster's ''Cyber War'', where a Navajo sandpainting grants 20th century detectives [[spoiler: natural language command level access to Reality's core AI.]]

Thus, if you need to increase your powers fast, just look around for an UpgradeArtifact! Forget about rolling your own powers, however -- the tools required to create the programmed powers in the first place (such as a programming language and associated compiler program) are nowhere to be found, and nobody ever thinks to ask about them. Compare VancianMagic and PowerCopying. A subtrope is DiscardAndDraw, where the "diskspace" freed by losing one power gets utilized for another power afterwards. For powers that are performed through actual programming with mathematics, see FomrulaicMagic.

Thus, if you need to increase your powers fast, just look around for an UpgradeArtifact! Forget about rolling your own powers, however -- the tools required to create the programmed powers in the first place (such as a programming language and associated compiler program) are nowhere to be found, and nobody ever thinks to ask about them. Compare VancianMagic and PowerCopying. A subtrope is DiscardAndDraw, where the "diskspace" freed by losing one power gets utilized for another power afterwards.

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* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode ''Go team Go'', it's revealed that [[TheDragon Shego's]] powers are the result of an [[ILoveNuclearPower irradiated meteorite]] which gave her and her siblings super powers. The [[RoguesGallery episode's villain]] found [[AppliedPhlebotinum a way]] to [[BroughtDownToNormal steal these powers]] and "download" them into another person, until the "weapon" ends up broken and [[NoOntologicalInertia all powers return to their original owners]].