History Main / PubertySuperPower

* A variation is present in ''VideoGame/Splatoon''. Inklings start out as tiny little squids, then over the years [[http://i.imgur.com/VwRXAVn.png gradually grow more humanoid]] until they become fully developed at around 14 -- which is also when they gain the ability to [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shift between human and squid form at will]].

* In Valentino's ''{{Normalman}}'':
-->'''Normalman:''' When did you get your super powers?
-->'''Sophisticated Lady:''' Puberty.

* ''Film/SkyHigh''.
** Although, Layla said that she used her powers to help her lima bean plant grow back in kindergarten. Perhaps the latest one receives powers in puberty, like 'Up, up and away.'
** And to be honest, the film only has the main character as having his powers first activate on-screen whilst he was in his teens, and it does kinda say that what with the powers being in the blood, the PubertySuperpower is the last possible point for you to gain superpowers (unless you have a vat of toxic waste), afterwhich its pointless to have that cape at the ready.

** [[Literature/{{Carrie}} The book]] however mentions an incident which happened when she was still a baby. So her powers only ''returned'' with puberty, apparently.
** Not necessarily "returned". Carrie always had the powers, but puberty turned them UpToEleven.
** Similar to the Freudian ideas on human development and sexuality.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', magical talent typically sets in at puberty.
** But people only begin to achieve their full power at age 100. This emphasises how BadAss Harry is, as he isn't even 40 and is among the top twenty most powerful wizards on the planet.
* In MercedesLackey's novel series, the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' gain their Gifts, and their Companions, in their teen years. It can be traumatic when this happens much earlier or much later than 13 or so.

* Mutants living in the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' generally go through the activation of their powers between ages ten and twelve, with some cases waiting as late as age fourteen.

** ''GenerationX'' is about a group of powered teens at Xavier's spin-off school.

->''"And like all puberty induced superpowers, it comes at night, while thunder claps."''

* ''SkyHigh''.

* ''{{Carrie}}'' dealt with this theme. Note that {{superhero}}es aren't the only ones with super-powers...
** The book however mentions an incident which happened when she was still a baby. So her powers only ''returned'' with puberty, apparently.

* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' claims that half-witches come into their powers on their [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday 16th birthday]], before which Sabrina's aunts had engaged in an elaborate {{Masquerade}} to keep the other world a secret from her -- though this does not jive well with the later implications that witches are generally comically bad at dealing with things in the usual mortal way, and that deliberately avoiding magic is unhealthy for a witch. This is also {{retcon}}ned in ''SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'', where a 13-year-old Sabrina has full knowledge of the other world.

* Interestingly enough Creator/HannaBarbera gave us one of the few inversions on this trope. Bamm-Bamm Rubble whole super powered as a baby loses his in his teen years on WesternAnimation/ThePebblesAndBammBammShow only to regain them in adulthood in later movies.

* Notable film exception: Pixar's ''TheIncredibles'', regarding Dash and especially Jack-Jack (who was modelled after Franklin Richards, in keeping with the ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' references throughout the film). In a DVD extra showing an early opening scene that wasn't used, Violet uses her powers as a baby as well.

** Although, of course, Layla said that she used her powers to help her lima bean plant grow back in kindergarten. Perhaps the latest one receives powers in puberty, like 'Up, up and away.'

* Another exception: [[http://nodwick.humor.gamespy.com/ps238/comics/index.php PS238]], which deals with "prodigies", who are elementary-school students with superpowers (one of the titular school's taglines is "PS238: Making sure the next generation doesn't break too much of this generation's stuff").

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* [[CaptainObvious The ability to reproduce.]]
* An increase in height. Which includes an increase in strength.
* For '''guys''', the power to grow [[BadassBeard beards]] and [[BadassMustache mustaches]].
** Counterbalanced by the loss of the ability to speak in a high voice, except in falsetto.
* For people with the right genes and diet, this can be a very significant change. A [[{{Woobie}} puny little nerd]] can come back from the summer vacation with [[BadassBookworm an additional 6 inches in height and thirty pounds of muscle]], while a bully can remain at relatively the same height and weight.
* And for '''girls''', of course, the MostCommonSuperpower.
** Counterbalanced by the inability to prevent blood from escaping from the vagina every month.
[[/folder]]

** The X-Men spin-off 'NewMutants' is explicitly this trope; all team members have powers that appeared with puberty, a varying number of years in the past (Xian's the longest ago (she's 19), Rahne's only a month or two before (at 13)).

* In ''TheDresdenFiles'', magical talent typically sets in at puberty.
** But people only begin to achieve their full power at age 100. This emphasises how BadAss Harry is, as he isn't even 40 and is among the top 20 most powerful wizards on the planet.

* Latent telepaths in ''Series/Bablyon5'' often manifest at puberty, though some (like [[spoiler: Susan Ivanova,]] manifest substantially earlier.

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* [[CaptainObvious The ability to reproduce.]]
* An increase in height. Which includes an increase in strength.
* For '''guys''', the power to grow [[BadassBeard beards]] and [[BadassMustache mustaches]].
** Counterbalanced by the loss of the ability to speak in a high voice, except in falsetto.
* For people with the right genes and diet, this can be a very significant change. A [[{{Woobie}} puny little nerd]] can come back from the summer vacation with [[BadassBookworm an additional 6 inches in height and thirty pounds of muscle]], while a bully can remain at relatively the same height and weight.
* And for '''girls''', of course, the MostCommonSuperpower.
** Counterbalanced by the inability to prevent blood from escaping from the vagina every month.
* There's a connection between {{poltergeist}} phenomena and the onset of puberty, but it's difficult to study as it tends to cease entirely as a person matures.
[[/folder]]

* Magicians in ''TheCovenant'' have a two-level PubertySuperpower. They first get their powers around age 13, and get a massive power boost when they hit [[strike:21]] 18.

* Averted in ''{{Scanners}}'', where the telepaths of the title are quite capable even [[FetusTerrible before birth]]. This guarantees that when they grow up, they will have [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity a host of psychological problems]], and - because they've been able to hear the thoughts of others their whole lives - a deeply flawed sense of self.

* The "Topless" of ''Anime/Diebuster'' manifest in certain humans at the onset of puberty and disappear when puberty fades, similarly to ''StrikeWitches'' above. The organization of the Topless, the Fraternity, has numerous allusions to childhood and its trappings as a result.

* The "Topless" of ''Diebuster'' manifest in certain humans at the onset of puberty and disappear when puberty fades, similarly to ''StrikeWitches'' above. The organization of the Topless, the Fraternity, has numerous allusions to childhood and its trappings as a result.

* For people with the right genes and diet, this can be a very significant change. A [[Woobie puny little nerd]] can come back from the summer vacation with [[BadassBookworm an additional 6 inches in height and thirty pounds of muscle]], while a bully can remain at relatively the same height and weight.