History Main / SuperPowerMeltdown

* In ''{{ComicBook/Watchmen}},'' the giant squid [[spoiler: Ozymandias]] plans to drop on New York is [[BatmanGambit expected to die in transit,]] causing a psychic wave killing millions, driving millions more insane, and scaring the hell out of the rest of the planet. [[spoiler: It works.]]

* In ''RomVsTransformersShiningArmor'', its discovered that [[TheAssimilator Dire Wraiths]] possessing [[AmbiguousRobots Transformers]] ends ''horribly'' for both parties; the biomechanics of a Transformer wrecks havoc with Wraith magic, resulting in a deranged mutant who's powers are wildly out of control. This eventually leads to the Wraith overloading its new body and exploding into flames. [[spoiler:Vekktral manages to figure out a safe method that avoids the meltdown, but that technique has its own problem; the victim retains their individuality and is able to fight back against the possession.]]

* In the Italian Disney comic ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', ''DonaldDuck'' has a superhero identity and one of his allies is the sole survivor of a destroyed planet who has literally absorbed the power of her star (yeah, it's a bit of a [[ShoutOut Superman shout-out]]) gaining control over matter and energy. The energy she has at disposal is immense, and if she were to release it fully it would cause her to '''''go nova.''''' ''Really.''

** Damage actually does have one of those at the end of ''ComicBook/ZeroHour'' when he's fighting Parallax. Just as well, since [[spoiler:they were the only creatures in the DCU by then; Damage created a Big Bang that [[CosmicRetcon recreated the DCU]] as something ''mostly'' resembling pre-ComicBook/ZeroHour continuity.]]

** Vegeta suffers from this when attempting to pull off a HeroicSacrifice against Majin Buu, expending all of his life force and ki in one suicidal blast, [[TakenForGranite turning his body to stone.]] Unfortunately, Buu can regenerate FromASingleCell, and renders it a SenselessSacrifice.

** ''Film/{{Logan}}'' sees nonagenarian Professor X suffering from a unknown neurodegenerative disease (speculated in the film to be Alzheimer's or ALS), and shows what happens when the world's most powerful psychic's brain starts deteriorating. Xavier needs to be heavily medicated to keep him from having seizures that induce paralysis on everyone in the area. [[spoiler:One such seizure years before the film caused hundreds of casualties, including most of the X-Men.]]

** About the spoiler above [[spoiler: Dr. Ujiko is the author of the Quirk Singularity theory that postulated that mankind will eventually suffer a SuperPoweredMeltdown at global scale. It explains that quirks become more powerful and complex every passing generation, thus becoming harder to control as well. There will come a point when Quirks will become too overpowered and complicated, and no one will be able to control them anymore. No one believed it and Ujiko was lambasted and ostracized from society as a result, losing all his credibility and at some point, he went missing. All For One was the only person who believed him for the reasons stated above. In appreciation, Ujiko became one of his most loyal allies. As the series went on, the theory gained some credibility but even then, most people deem it fringe thinking reserved for insane conspiracy believers.]]

* In the manga of ''Manga/ElfenLied'': [[spoiler: Lucy going in to a literal meltdown due abusing of her telekinetic powers while destroying some planes and then for healing Kouta's injuries. Forcing Kouta to tearfully kill her for good.]]

* In the manga of ''Manga/ElfenLied'': [[spoiler: Lucy going in to a literal meltdown due abusing of her telekinetic powers while destroying some planes and then for healing Kouta's injuries.]]

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the supervillain Damien triggers his own SuperpowerMeltdown when his [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-05-07 failure to defeat]] [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-04-20 Fallen Grace]] makes him realize that he may not [[AGodAmI be a god]] after all.

** The first time Ichigo took on a Gillian also resulted in one of these. The powerful upgrade he had just received was beyond his body's current ability to handle and would have resulted in a nasty death if Uryuu hadn't saved him.

** In the Joint Training Arc, [[spoiler: Izuku]] suffers one that nearly kills both his team and his opponents, and does a number on the training ground they're in. [[spoiler: One for All has reached the point where the quirks of the previous wielders (which were stored in One for All all along) can be utilized by the current wielder. Izuku accidentally activated a One for All-powered [[CombatTentacles Blackwhip]], and had no idea of its existence, even less how to properly use it.]]

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'':A major risk with [[FunctionalMagic channeling]], though it's rarely shown. Every channeler has a certain "strength," corresponding to how much of the Power they can draw safely. Go further than that and they might [[{{Depower}} sever]] themselves. Or render themselves brain-dead. Or kill themselves. Or disintegrate themselves in a PillarOfLight that results in a volcano and a brand-new mountain, called "Dragonmount" because that's where The Dragon killed himself, if there's enough strength. More likely to happen to people who have The Gift but no training. The series does a good job of making The One Power sound dangerous. Lews Therin Telamon, Aginor's first body, and eventually [[spoiler: Egwene al'Vere]] fall victim to this.

Compare SpontaneousHumanCombustion, LoadBearingBoss, PhlebotinumOverload, UnstoppableRage, SuperPoweredEvilSide, ActionBomb, PowerIncontinence, and TakingYouWithMe. Contrast HeroicRROD, where the meltdown is mostly contained within the hero.

* ''Manga/ZettaiKarenChildren'':

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''

* ''FanFic/MyHeroAcademiaMarvelverse'': Hobgoblin's powers are unstable and after he takes too much damage during his battle with All Might they go out of his control. This results in Hobgoblin blowing himself up in a giant fiery explosion.

* In ''[[Fanfic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, this is subverted. It ''could'' have happened if [[SuperDoc Mordin Solis]] wasn't around, but thankfully the salarian proved able to defuse over-charged Eezo nodules.

* Subverted in ''Series/Charmed1998''. Prue comes dangerously close to having one of these when she accidentally becomes an Empath in season 3 but following a pep talk from Leo promptly gets her shit together.

** In the last episode of ''Anime/TheUnlimitedHyoubuKyousuke'', [[spoiler:Kyousuke's]] powers go out of control [[spoiler:due to overuse of his Unlimited Mode]]. [[spoiler:Fortunately, [[AntiMagic Andy]] manages to shut them off before it was too late]].

* [[spoiler:Isako]] in ''Anime/DennouCoil'' deliberately triggers one of these in order to [[spoiler:close a portal to the Other Side]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/IronMan3 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/extremis_combo.png]]]]

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', this is [[spoiler:Father]]'s ultimate downfall. [[spoiler:After he uses the souls of Amestris to suppress God within his body, Hohenheim's countermeasure strips him of the energy, leaving him with only the souls of Xerxes he originally had. Father is then forced to use up a great portion of his Philosopher's Stone in a battle against nearly ''all'' the heroes, dramatically weakening him the more he fights. Eventually, he is left so weak he can't defend himself, and he is finally done in by Hohenheim's son, [[TheHero Edward Elric]], who deals the finishing blow by ''destroying'' Father's Philosopher's Stone with [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice a punch through the chest.]] This leaves Father completely stripped of all his power to keep God inside of him, allowing God to break free and drag him into the Gate.]]
* In the manga of ''Manga/ElfenLied'': [[spoiler: Lucy going in to a literal meltdown due abusing of her telekinetic powers while destroying some planes and then for saving Kouta.]]

** When Goku delivered the killing blow to Broly in ''Anime/DragonBallZBrolyTheLegendarySuperSaiyan'', he underwent a Superpower Meltdown and exploded.

** The first time Ichigo took on a Gillian also resulted in one of these. The powerful upgrade he had just received was beyond his body's current ability to handle and would have resulted in a nasty death if Ishida hadn't saved him.

* Not exactly a superhero, but in ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', Takato's rage and despair forces Guilmon to digivolve to Meggidramon...whose very existence starts to shatter the fabric of the Digital World.
** In ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', Masaru [[spoiler:forces [=ShineGreymon=] into a [[DeadlyUpgrade corrupted Burst Mode]], which then proceeds to go on a rampage until the power consumes it, killing Agumon (he gets better)]].

* In ''Anime/TurnAGundam'', when the Turn A and Turn X are fighting one another at the end, both begin releasing the Moonlight Butterfly against the pilots' wishes. The last time that happened, humanity was knocked back into the Stone Age and Earth's ecosystem was shattered, and it's taken over 2,000 years to repair the damage. It's hinted that the two machines were programmed to destroy one another at any cost, so were utilizing the greatest power they possessed in order to do so. [[spoiler:This ends with the Moonlight Butterfly malfunctioning and sealing the two machines inside a solid cocoon of nanomachines, locking them in an eternal stalemate. Loran barely makes it out in time. Ghingnham isn't so lucky.]]

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', a magical girl's soul gem becomes somewhat dark and tainted after they use magic. This can be undone with grief seeds, but if they neglect to do this and their gem turns completely black, they lose control and [[spoiler:[[EldritchAbomination turn into witches]]]]. This happens to [[spoiler:Sayaka, and Madoka in previous timelines. Every other witch in the series was created by an unnamed magical girl's power meltdown.]]

** In the Joint Training Arc, [[spoiler: Izuku]] suffers one that nearly kills both his team and his opponents, and does a number on the training ground they're in. [[spoiler: One for All has reached the point where the quirks of the previous wielders (which were stored in One for All all along) can be utilized by the current wielder. Izuku accidentally activated a One for All-powered Black Whip, and had no idea how to properly use it.]]
** The fear of and therefore averting this fate turns out to have been the goal of [[spoiler:[[BigBad All For One]]. Each generation of quirk users gets stronger but his own body has limits. While his [[PowerParasite quirk]] can take any kind and any number of quirks from others, his body hasn't changed and a time will come when his power is too much for his body to handle. His funding of [[EvilGenius Dr. Ujiko's research]] was to find a way to enhance his body to handle the greater power of holding more powerful quirks. And when it looks like he himself won't be able to benefit from the research, he makes sure to leave his quirk and the necessary research in the doctor's safekeeping for his own successor to take them both up and become an even greater villain.]]

* In the ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' anime, bionical [[EvilKnockoff Cloneblades]] work nice (though not as good as real thing) and do not causes problems (unlike self-willed Witchblade) until some minor damage happens to trigger deterioration. Shortly afterwards, their transforming power's failure ensues and user ends up crystallized (and usually [[LiterallyShatteredLives shattered]]). And ''of course'' it's [[ClingyMacGuffin irremovable]]. Witchblade itself is more perfect, but quickly overloads a human body.

** The fear of and therefore {{averting}} this fate turns out to have been the goal of [[spoiler:[[BigBad All For One]]. Each generation of quirk users gets stronger but his own body has limits. While his [[PowerParasite quirk]] can take any kind and any number of quirks from others, his body hasn't changed and a time will come when his power is too much for his body to handle. His funding of [[EvilGenius Dr. Ujiko's research]] was to find a way to enhance his body to handle the greater power of holding more powerful quirks. And when it looks like he himself won't be able to benefit from the research, he makes sure to leave his quirk and the necessary research in the doctor's safekeeping for his own successor to take them both up and become an even greater villain.]]

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'''s Joint Training Arc, [[spoiler: Izuku]] suffers one that nearly kills both his team and his opponents, and does a number on the training ground they're in. [[spoiler: One for All has reached the point where the quirks of the previous wielders (which were stored in One for All all along) can be utilized by the current wielder. Izuku accidentally activated a One for All-powered Black Whip, and had no idea how to properly use it.]]