History Main / SwissArmySuperpower

* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': One of the three stats is Imagination, representing an Inscribed's ability to come up with clever new uses for their Epithet, and in terms of actual effectiveness, it generally seems to be the most powerful.

*** Part 6's Jolyne Kujo's Stone Free probably has the most unimpressive power out of the main jojo's parts up until her introduction, but has an extreme and expansive amount of abilities she can perform with her stand. While its power is simply to manipulate strings, but this allows Jolyne to use it to eavesdrop on distant conversations in the form of sound vibrations through her string by the same principles behind the tin can telephone but also converse through them, slice people with the sharpness of the strings, pickpocket small objects, weave a tight net instantly strong enough to stop bullets to protect herself, create a large net to capture enemies, tie people up for various uses, mainly pulling them in range or choking them, stitch her wounds deploy a "string barrier" to detect movements over a large area, create complex patterns to the point where Stone Free can make a portrait, swing from place to place, pick a car lock to start the engine without the key create a net strong enough for her to run on and counteract an enemy's ability to turn things inside-out by meshing affected areas of her body into a Möbius strip. And that's not even getting into the fact she can unravel most of her body or her stand's body to increase her stand's effective range or minimize damage against herself!

** [[LetsGetDangerous If so inclined]], she can combine all of these and bulk up ''her entire body'' into [[SuperMode Heartbeat Superhero]] form -- where just one good punch sends [[MightyGlacier Aster]] flying. She can also perform a [[SuperSpecialMove Heroic Heart Attack]], where, in this form, she [[TheRightHandOfDoom buffs up a single arm]] ''even further.''

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

* Trauma from ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'' comics can [[EmpathicShapeshifter become anybody's worst fear]]. Literally, he doesn't just take on the appearance of their greatest fear, but the abilities as well. If their fear happens to be [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] or the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]] well... that person should run. Also, he became a therapist. Turning into your patients' greatest terrors and making them face it is an intriguing method.
* ComicBook/CosmicBoy has the ability to control and sense magnetic fields, which has over the years been used to allow him to "fly" without a flight ring, create a personal force field, yank people around by the iron in their blood--though he usually avoids this since the internal damage can kill them--and operate as a computer hacking {{Technopath}} which makes him incredibly effective in the computer driven setting in which he lives. He can, and has, locked people out of their own buildings and systems without anyone even having a chance to realize he's using his powers.
* The Invisible Woman of ''The ComicBook/FantasticFour'' learned the cause of her invisibility: force fields, the shape and placing of which she could manipulate, in a variety of useful ways such as in an offensive attack (think invisible, bullet-shaped forcefields-- [[Music/TenaciousD ''mind bullets'', that's Telekinesis, Kyle!]]), carrying herself in the air as a mode of transportation, or [[LethalHarmlessPowers putting air bubbles in the bloodstream of someone's brain]]... Related to her invisibility, more recently she's been able to use it to change the colour of her hair and, to an extent, her skin (i.e. making it look like she's got dark hair and a tan), as a method of disguise. However, this comes with the downside of requiring headache inducing concentration. Even before that, she was capable of feats like [[https://imgur.com/a/DM64YKF blinding a person by turning their optic nerves invisible]].
* ComicBook/TheFlash is a famous application of this trope. His one power of "running very quickly" worked for a while, but eventually the writers found out there's only so much you can do with ''one'' power. ''To this day'' the Flash still gets new powers to keep his stories from becoming dull. Likely the most infamously outdated is the "vibrate through matter" power (based on [[ScienceMarchesOn actual scientific speculations of the time]] about a vibrational frequency to reality and then heavily leavened with WeirdScience), which can make any modern physicist cry. There's also the famous [[EnhancedPunch Infinite Mass Punch]], in which the Flash exploited the fact that while [[RequiredSecondaryPowers the Speed Force means the theory of relativity doesn't apply to him]], it ''does'' apply to the guy he's punching.
** In the Golden Age Flash's ''first appearance,'' he was able to use his powers to catch bullets, and be effectively invisible, both of which are non-obvious uses of the power. Since then, various Flashes have gained the ability to speed up healing beyond natural bounds (their own and other people's), accelerate chemical reactions, vibrate through objects and make them explode, accelerate objects by running past them (for example, turning a pile of lumber into a flock of superspeed missiles flying in formation with the hero), and causing objects to ignite by carrying them really fast, then retracting the hero's friction-protection aura...

* ''ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers'': Ashley Crawford, better known as [[BigBeautifulWoman Big Bertha]], has the unique mutation of swelling her fat cells at will. In addition to letting her [[SizeShifter change size]], Bertha's power grants her SuperStrength, SuperToughness (to the point of being ImmuneToBullets and completely absorbing the impact of a speeding truck at her fattest), and [[InASingleBound fantastic jumping ability.]] In her civilian form, she is even able to [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] the MostCommonSuperpower trope by selectively swelling the mass of her breasts and curves, making her a successful (and extremely wealthy) plus-sized model.
* During Creator/GrantMorrison's [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] run, a villain asked ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} what good being able to talk to fish could do him now. Answer: tap into the elements of the villain's brain that he inherited from his marine ancestors, and give him an aneurysm.
* ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor variously]] an enemy and an ally of the [=X-Men=], has powers to control magnetism. Although it's become far more stabilized as of late ([[DependingOnTheWriter usually]]) over the years his powers have been used for a whole ''host'' of things that are dubiously related to actual magnetism. Creating a force-field to block fire/optic blasts/ROCKS comes first and foremost to mind, but he's also shown the ability to: control non-magnetic metals (though may be a misunderstanding about what is and isn't magnetic); levitate someone by controlling the trace molecules of iron in their blood (only slightly more realistic was the time he [[BodyHorror ripped the iron OUT of someone's blood]]); block telepathy by ''controlling the electrical impulses in his brain'', or read someone ELSE'S mind by "sensing" their own; hack into computers; at least once, when "supercharged", was able to project a ''hologram'', since "light is just another aspect of the electro-magnetic spectrum."
** He can move things without a trace of anything ferrous by "negating the gravimetric lines of force," as he put it the first time we saw him fly. Ever since Polaris sent Krakoa blasting off agaaaaaain that way, the powers of Magneto and Polaris have gone from "move stuff that's metal" (useful, but underutilizing a power with more possibilities) to, as one [[http://luchins.com/what-were-they-thinking/from-the-same-issue-as-the-last-x-panel/#comment-11119408 message board comment]] put it, "do anything as long as he mentions magnetism while doing it." On an island where his powers were a bit stronger than usual, he once ''created a portal'' to go save his daughter. ''How'' does magnetism let you Stargate a couple continents away? (Though, to be fair, no one InUniverse had any idea how he did it either).
** Essentially writers decided that "Magnetism" was too limited for a major villain so they expanded it to "Electromagnetism". Unfortunately they found out later that electromagnetism is almost infinitely broader than magnetism since it's one of the fundamental forms of interactions the universe.
* The "ComicBook/{{Shazam}}" Captain Marvel, in the ComicBook/PostCrisis stories, has learned that the lightning bolt he uses to change [[LightningCanDoAnything can have other uses]]. For instance, it can break spells imposed on the Marvels in their human form, and can power up equipment if it's [[TimTaylorTechnology hardy enough to absorb so much energy suddenly]]. It's a powerful attack if they say their magic word close to an enemy and dodge the resulting bolt, causing it to hit their opponent instead (as seen in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' and {{homage}}d in both ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' where Marvel lost because he failed to dodge it and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' as a [[FinishingMove heroic brutality]] and a grab move). It can even be used as a MagicalDefibrillator, providing there are two Marvels, one to call down the lightning, and one to absorb it safely; otherwise this works [[OhCrap the same as the attack]]. That, or have [[NighInvulnerable a physiology that can stand up to the power]] of the lightning (which is how [[spoiler:Black Adam saved Atom Smasher, whose body [[HealingFactor regrows itself]] when he changes height and so could deal with the power]]).
* ComicBook/{{Silk}}'s webbing has similar properties to Spider-Man with the added advantage of being organic and capable of being spun into clothing.
* Songbird, better known as part of the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, combined her [[SuperScream super screaming]] with a gizmo that created "solidified sound" out of it. She usually makes wings that allow her to fly, and SpontaneousWeaponCreation or creating barriers are also common.
* ComicBook/SpiderMan's webbing and spider-sense are sometimes treated this way; for example, using the webs to make anything from shields to swim fins to hang gliders, or using the spider-sense to sense [[WireDilemma which wire to cut on a bomb]].
** Once in the old animated series he made a motorboat ''entirely out of web''. No, not a sailboat. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9uP1n6ERkA A motorboat.]] The series was notoriously bad for this. He once made a parachute, which is relatively plausible, but another time he made a ''sword''.
** Not to mention that the webbing, at various times in the comic, has served as an electrical conductor ''and'' an electrical insulator. It's been shown that Spidey has different chemical compositions for his webbing, and if he knows he's going to be facing someone like Electro, he uses the insulating kind.
---> '''Luke Cage''' ''(glowering at Electro):'' How'd you beat this guy in the old days, anyway?\\

''({{Beat}})''\\
'''Luke Cage''' ''(holding up his fists):'' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Web me up.]]\\

** In one case, he mixes up a batch that takes advantage of the whole "spider silk is stronger than steel" thing and slaps it on his uniform to use as ''armor''. Unfortunately, he then had to fight a villain who not only fire ''and'' ice powers, but a modicrum of common sense; a few near-miss fireballs melted the armor, and a blast of ice locked Spidey in a suit-shaped coffin. He smashed out of it easily enough but that was the last time ''that'' idea showed up.
** Though he's never put it in use due to ThouShaltNotKill, Spider-Man pointed out to Kingpin once as he was beating the life out of him that he could kill him (and potentially many others) easily and very painfully any time he wants by [[NightmareFuel shooting webs inside someone's lungs and forcing them to slowly suffocate to death as their respiratory system turns into a bunch of useless tissue and webbing]].
* The Sportsmaster has the ability to be an InstantExpert at any sport or sport-related skill, no matter how obscure, competing at a world-record level. He needs it, too, as he's usually a ComicBook/GreenLantern villain.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel's Iron Man has {{Nanomachines}} in his blood -- in the present-day comics, they're limited to letting him [[{{Technopath}} control his armor]], but they apparently used to be a lot more general-purpose, including forming swarms of shape-shifting insectoids that can pick locks, disable nuclear bombs, hack into any computer, and transform into an [=iPod=].
** And in the classic universe, while he has different armor for different situations, what pushed him beyond Swiss army knife into this trope a few years ago was the "Extremis" which made him a cyberpath able to hack into anything remotely with his mind and summon as many suits of his armor as he needed.
** His armor also counts as this trope... in the ''Civil War'' timeline, it's revealed that his armor records the fighting styles of anyone nearby, and (presumably only if the database is large enough) counter their every attack. He demonstrates this while fighting Captain America.
* In the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 earlier]] ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' comics the titular heroine's emblematic lasso served as more than a vaguely fetishistic lie-detector. Over the course of a DC Showcase anthology she used it as an impromptu propeller, an emergency roller coaster track extension, an electrical conduit, another propeller, a [[ThisIsADrill drill]], and some sort of sonic dinosaur repellent. She also used it occasionally to actually snag things. Specifically, [[SerialEscalation a nuclear missile, all of Paradise Island, and a lightning bolt]].

** Lifeguard of the had the superpower of spontaneously developing whatever additional superpower was required at any given moment, although only if somebody's life was in danger. ''Somebody other than herself,'' and the power to save a particular life and the power to kick the enemy's butt aren't always the same.
** Darwin has the power to [[AdaptiveAbility develop any power he would need to survive]]. Submerge him in water, he grows gills; blast him with lava, he's immune to heat and pressure. This power is entirely involuntary, as a child he attempted suicide by leaping of a building only to discover he had become elastic and simply bounced when hit the ground. Though it should be noted that Darwin's power only did what would let him ''survive'' a fight, not necessarily ''win''. Such as when he ended up in the path of the Hulk, and he spontaneously gained the power to [[RunOrDie teleport to the next state over]].
** Cypher, of the ComicBook/NewMutants, has the [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway widely-mocked]] ability of omnilingualism. He can instantly understand and speak any language, which sounds really limited, but creative writing has allowed Cypher's ability to prove [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower very useful]]. The baseline is language, and ''anything'' related to it is available for Cypher to take advantage of. Apart from ordinary languages on Earth, he can use alien languages, dead languages to cast spells, and [[TheCracker crack computer ecryption via secret codes]]. He's also a tech-genius, because he can understand mechanics and computer languages with no effort. After he died in 1988 via a HeroicSacrifice, and then [[DeathIsCheap came back to life over twenty years later]], Cypher's abilities were expanded even further. He became an expert fighter by reading body language and copying various fighting styles (not unlike ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}). Furthermore, his ability allows him to develop complex computer systems through languages he developed, which proves a vital tool in establishing the status quo in ''ComicBook/XMen2019'' by creating an entire network for the land of Krakoa, the refuge for mutants everywhere, and he develops a unique language that ''only'' mutants can understand that is psychically transplanted to all residents.

*** Weather Report's stand (as his name suggests), can [[WeatherManipulation control weather]]. This power is pretty versatile as it is, but Weather still manages to take it further, by streching definition of what could be considered "weather". For example, he can summon rare and freaky weather occurrences, like animal rains -- a rare phenomenon where small animals are picked up by high winds and subsequently dropped from high altitudes. Because of that, he can conjure rain of frogs and freely choose which species of frogs it will be -- including highly poisonous south american frogs. [[spoiler:And then when he unlocks his memories and regains Heavy Weather... well, let's just say it's not pretty.]]

RealityWarper, by definition, is a Swiss Army Superpower. ElementalPowers, especially [[ShockAndAwe electric ones]], are often treated this way as is {{Biomanipulation}}, but even seemingly simple abilities like SuperSpeed can be given a large number of applications. This is very common when RequiredSecondaryPowers is acknowledged in-universe. In some cases, they can even eclipse the primary ability in usefulness.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the teachers of [[HeroAcademy U.A. High School]] encourage this in their students to discourage students falling into [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer narrow applications of their powers]], as the latter can cause glaring weaknesses in their fighting abilities.

* Songbird, better known as part of the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, combined her [[MakeMeWannaShout super screaming]] with a gizmo that created "solidified sound" out of it. She usually makes wings that allow her to fly, and SpontaneousWeaponCreation or creating barriers are also common.

*** Marco ate a Mythic Zoan that lets him become a phoenix, a bird made of blue flame. Not only does this give him {{Flight}} and the enhance physique that all Zoans gain, but most physical attacks simply pass through his phoenix form (similar to a Logia), and any injury he sustains can be healed rapidly when he is in flame form. He can also transform his body parts selectively, even summoning blue flames only over wounds to heal while otherwise fully human.

* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out to an unimaginably-creative degree. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state. [[spoiler:Precisely how he managed to [[MentalTimeTravel travel backwards through time]] before the so-called [[EvilHero "heroes"]] found and took advantage of his [[WideEyedIdealist former naivette]] to prepare for their inevitable betrayal towards him, only this time... [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong he's more than prepared for it.]]]]

* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out to an unimaginably-creative degree. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state. [[spoiler:Precisely how he managed to [[MentalTimeTravel travel backwards through time]] before the so-called [[EvilHero "heroes"]] found and took advantage of his [[WideEyedIdealist former naivette]] to prepare for their inevitable betrayal towards him, only this time... [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong he's more than prepared for it.]]

* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out to an unimaginably-creative degree. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state. [[spoiler:Precisely how he managed to [[MentalTimeTravel travel backwards through time]] before the so-called [[EvilHero "heroes"]] found and took advantage of his [[WideEyedIdealist former naivette]] to prepare for their inevitable betrayal towards him, only this time... [[/SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong he's more than prepared for it.]]

* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out to an unimaginably-creative degree. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state.

* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out far. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state.

** In ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', Edna Mode identifies Jack-Jack as a "polymorph" to explain his wide variety of powers. Jack-Jack [[VoluntaryShapeshifter can shapeshift]] at a ''molecular level'', to give him a plethora of powers like {{Intangibility}}, EyeBeams, [[MesACrowd cloning]], and a fair number of shapeshifting powers.

** All of the above examples are Paramecia Fruits, meaning that the powers they grant don't have any fixed pattern; it's not surprising that some of them would be extremely flexible. However, there are also example of Logia (ElementalPowers) and Zoan ({{Animorphism}}) being used in very creative ways:

** Roxy is the Rogue of Void. The Rouge Class means she has the power to steal her aspect, but Void represents nothingness, which means that she has the "ability to steal nothing". She naturally assumed that her powers are [[WhatKindofLamePowerIsHeartAnyway useless]], but later found out that she can make imaginary objects real by stealing the essence of nothingness from them. Which means that she can conjure ''any object'' from nothing as long as she can properly visualize it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': Elsa's ice powers prove useful for offensive and defensive fighting, creating and sustaining living snowmen, architecture, walking on water, and that's just the first movie.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'':

** Donquixote Doflamingo is great at showing how utterly versatile strings can be. Offense? [[RazorFloss Cutting]], [[WhipItGood Whips]], [[AbnormalAmmo Bullets]], [[PeoplePuppets Puppetry]]... Defense? [[AllWebbedUp Web Shields]], [[ActuallyADoombot Decoys]]... Mobility? [[NotQuiteFlight String roads attached to the clouds]]... Healing? [[SelfSurgery Internal wound stitching]]...

* The Power of the Keyblade in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series is defined as being capable of open ''any'' lock. This extends from things as small as treasure chests, to things as grand as the keyhole that leads to the heart of the world itself. It can also be used to lock or unlock a person's heart, leading to a variety of dangerous effects. In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Hades exploits this by tricking Sora into using the Keyblade on a barrier placed by ''Zeus himself.'' It falls easily, allowing Hades access to the Underdrome. By the Final Mix+ rendition of the second game, though, it starts getting weird, where the BonusBoss "Lingering Sentiment" demonstrating the Keyblade's ability to transform into a whip, a buckler, a humongous bow, a humongous cannon, what seems to be a humongous drill bit, an airspeeder, and a floating pickaxe. And then [[SerialEscalation later games]] give the Keyblade the abilities of [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep a hoverboard, a bow, wings, gauntlets, pleats, floating shields, chains, shrapnel, claws, fantastic firearms,]] and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick a heart manipulator/extractor.]] At this point it would be easier to list the things the Keyblade ''can't'' do.

-->-- '''John Egbert''' and '''Vriska Serket''', ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''

* In ''LightNovel/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'', most of the girls' power are described with ExactWords, which leads to many creative uses of their powers.
** Snow White's powers is more versatile than most people are led to believe. Her power is "[[HeartIsAnAwesomePower to hear the thoughts of people in distress]]", which lets Snow White hear her opponents thoughts [[ExactWords if they are stressed enough]], which ''unsurprisingly'' happens a lot in combat. In ''Restart'', [[spoiler: she is capable of using her powers to interrogate people for information by scaring them.]]
** Pechika in ''Restart'' does this for her SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. Her power is to make delicious food after she touches something for five minutes, [[spoiler: later when she's pinned down by Melville, Pechika turned the entire ground ten meters in diameter around her into soup to escape.]]

* ''LightNovel/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out far. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state.

*** Weather Report's stand (as his name suggests), can [[WeatherManipulation control weather]]. This power is pretty versatile as it is, but Weather still manages to take it further, by streching definition of what could be considered "weather". For example, he can summon rare and freaky weather occurrences, like animal rains -- a rare phenomenon where small animals are picked up by high winds and subsequently dropped from high altitudes. Because of that, he can conjure rain of frogs and freely choose which species of frogs it will be -- including highly poisonous south american frogs. [[spoiler:And then when he unlocks his memories and regains Heavy Weather... well, let's just say [[BalefulPolymorph it's]] [[BodyHorror not]] [[YourMindMakesItReal pretty]].]]