History Main / PowersInTheFirstEpisode

** For that matter, every single MagicalGirl show in existance (except those with [[Cute Witch]]es, since the heroines of those shows already ''had'' powers.)

* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', Bloom

* ''{{Bleach}}'' does this with Ichigo gaining shinigami powers.

* The first chapter of ''YuGiOh'' features Yugi Muto solving the millenium puzzle, and thus being introduced to his super powered alter ego.

* ''{{Pokemon}}'': Pikachu proved it was much more powerful than it appeared even before Team Rocket ever made their appearance when it defended Ash from the Spearow flock.

* Helena and Dinah both show off their metahuman powers in the first episode of BirdsOfPrey.
* Subversion: ''{{Lost}}'' put solid proof of the island's unnatural properties into the first episode (Locke's standing up and walking), but didn't actually reveal there was anything odd about it until a later episode ("Walkabout", where we learn he was wheelchair-bound).

* ''{{Baccano}}'' reveals its {{Immortality}} premise within the first third of the introductory episode when, after Firo's fingers are severed, the bloody digits slowly pick themselves off the ground and reattach to his hand. The effect is both unnerving and extremely cool.

* ''DeathNote'': The title Death Note falls outside Light's school within the first five minutes/few pages of the series. Justice ensues.

* ''DeathNote'': The titular Death Note falls outside Light's school within the first five minutes/few pages of the series. Justice ensues.

* In the ''{{WITCH}}'' animated series, the Guardians receive their powers in the very first episode... save for Will, who, in a serious [[InvertedTrope inversion]], [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway has to wait until episode 30]] to receive hers.
* ''WinxClub'', Bloom

* ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'': Subverted in the NonIndicativeFirstEpisode. We get see a SoBadItsGood movie, which doesn't really say anything about the actual plot. Then again, the persons ''are'' almost acting themselves. That girl ''is'' from the future, her antagonist ''is'' an alien, the {{Bishounen}} ''has'' psychic powers!
** Note that someone new to the series has almost no way of knowing this.

The plot of this introductory episode has a strong tendency to be one of the coping-with-new-powers or power-manifestation scenarios like HowDoIShotWeb, DieOrFly, or FallingIntoTheCockpit. May overlap with FirstEpisodeSpoiler if the powers are revealed toward the end of the episode. Compare contrast SecondHourSuperpower.

* ''SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' where she learns of her powers in the first episode.

* ''SuzumiyaHaruhi'': Subverted in the NonIndicativeFirstEpisode. We get see a [[SoBadItsGood So Bad Its Absolutely Brilliant]] movie, which doesn't really say anything about the actual plot. Then again, the persons ''are'' almost acting themselves. That girl ''is'' from the future, her antagonist ''is'' an alien, the {{Bishounen}} ''has'' psychic powers!

The plot of this introductory episode has a strong tendency to be one of the coping-with-new-powers or power-manifestation scenarios like HowDoIShotWeb, DieOrFly, or FallingIntoTheCockpit. May overlap with FirstEpisodeSpoiler if the powers are revealed toward the end of the episode.

Unusual capabilities manifest in the pilot episode. This lets the audience know right away that the series is about unusually enabled characters. It is very hard to pull off the introduction later on in a series without throwing your viewers for a loop, unless you are a ''master'' of foreshadowing.

[[AC:{{Anime}}]]

* [[{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] proved it was much more powerful than it appeared even before Team Rocket ever made their appearance when it defended Ash from the Spearow flock. Granted, it may have been with the aid of the ongoing storm, but that Thunder (it wouldn't be right to call it a Thundershock) was still quite impressive.
** Of course, Thunder ''is'' super effective against flying, so there's that.
*** And Pikachu doesn't learn Thunder until well into mid-game levels.

* Subverted in the NonIndicativeFirstEpisode of ''SuzumiyaHaruhi''. We get see a [[SoBadItsGood So Bad Its Absolutely Brilliant]] movie, which doesn't really say anything about the actual plot. Then again, the persons ''are'' almost acting themselves. That girl ''is'' from the future, her antagonist ''is'' an alien, the {{Bishounen}} ''has'' psychic powers!

* Similarly, while ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'''s main character first realizes her powers as a mage by activating [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart's]] [[SimpleStaff staff form]] and creating a full [[DeflectorShields Barrier Jacket]] on the first episode, she only casts her first spell on the second episode, and unlocks her oft-used [[SmallGirlBigGun Shooting Mode]] on the third.
* ''{{Baccano}}!'' reveals its {{Immortality}} premise within the first third of the introductory episode when, after Firo's fingers are severed, the bloody digits slowly pick themselves off the ground and reattach to his hand. The effect is both unnerving and extremely cool.
* [[RubberMan Monkey D. Luffy]] ate his [[SuperPowerLottery Devil Fruit]] in the first chapter of ''OnePiece''.
* The titular DeathNote falls outside Light's school within the first five minutes/few pages of the series. [[strike: Chaos]] Justice ensues.
* The first chapter of ''YuGiOh!'' features Yugi Muto solving the millenium puzzle, and thus being introduced to his super powered alter ego.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Redlance's tree-shaping powers in ''ElfQuest''. They don't appear at a critical moment, they just come in handy when he's doing a spot of gardening. They do help to save the day in later issues, though.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Several characters on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' discover their abilities in the first episode, including Nathan, Hiro, and Niki. Matt, who wasn't in the first episode, discovered his abilities in the second.

* In the ''{{Power Rangers}}'' shows that involves the characters having super powers in their civilian form, they always showcase them using their powers just to show they thy have them. The trope name is particularly apt here, since the out-of-costume powers tend to be used heavily in the first few episodes and then pretty much vanish thereafter.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* Slightly subverted by ''DannyPhantom''. The first episode is mainly about Danny trying to keep his powers under control and figuring out how to use them and what they were for. The subversion is that he actually got his powers a month before the first episode.
* The first episode of ''StaticShock'' shows Virgil and all of the various super powered cast getting their powers.
* The four protagonists are turned into sharks in the pilot of ''StreetSharks''.
* In {{Trollz}}, Amethyst's powers manifest after her friends' already have, and the first episode has spells cast by a single Troll. In the second episode they cast their first spell together, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero turning Coal into ice and opening the rift to unleash the Big Bad]].
----
<<|ComicBookTropes|>>
<<|MagicAndPowers|>>

* ''{{Baccano}}!'' reveals its {{Immortality}} premise within the first third of the introductory episode when, after Firo's fingers are severed, the bloody digits slowly pick themselves off the ground and reattach to his hand. The effect is unnerving, to say the least.
**[[RuleOfCool That was supposed to be disturbing?]]