History Main / TooMuchForManToHandle

* The ultimate fate of Dr. Strange in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman.'' He became TheQuisling for [[AssimilationPlot The Joining]] in exchange for all of their knowledge. By the time Batman and the Justice League found Strange, he was a vegetable.

Related to but different from ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow, as it is more the reaction/effects of said Things. Contrast PossessionBurnout, where DemonicPossession inherently damages the body. Compare MySkullRunnethOver, where information overload strains someone's mind beyond its limits. Compare RequiredSecondaryPowers, where a powerset can be too dangerous for a character's body to handle unless kept in check by a different power to go with it.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': The Infinity Stones are described as requiring tremendous power -- either personally or shared among a group -- to handle safely. In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', a non-super humanoid explodes like a bomb from touching one, and the [[spoiler:half-Celestial Peter Quill]] can only use it for a few seconds with help from three friends. Some artifacts, like [[spoiler:Ronan]]'s hammer or [[spoiler:the [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome Eye of Agamotto]] in ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'']], can channel their power safely, and the Mad Titan Thanos can handle multiple Infinity Stones barehanded without any difficulty (though using them all at once to make widespread changes to the universe, even when channeled through the Gauntlet, is enough to seriously injure him, and later the Hulk!)

Related to but different from ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow, as it is more the reaction/effects of said Things. Contrast PossessionBurnout, where DemonicPossession inherently damages the body. Compare MySkullRunnethOver, where information overload strains someone's mind beyond its limits.

** Subverted by Ax'Senaea the Thrice-Possessed: She was tricked into thinking she could be willingly possessed by a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, dominate its will, and use its power for herself. To everyone's surprise (especially the daemon's), it ''worked'', and she went on to do this twice more before Slaanesh hirself put a stop to it, granting her daemonhood out of actual admiration.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'':

** The most prominent example is in Creator/GeorgePerez's ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' Ares storyline. Ares walked away from his plans and agreed to a long standing truce after Wonder Woman showed him what would happen if he won with the Golden Lasso.

* ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'' plays with this. When [[spoiler:Lex Luthor gets the power of Superman, he breaks down and sees why Superman is such a good person. Someone with this much power would have to be a good person, because he is constantly aware of all the suffering in the world]].

* In the Twilight fanfic ''{{FanFic/Luminosity}}'', [[spoiler:Addy]] escapes from [[spoiler:imminent execution]] by telepathically broadcasting her entire lifetime's memories. She's several centuries old, and by using Aro's power has absorbed the memories of ''dozens'' of other vampires, some of whom are several ''millenia'' old. The escape... succeeds, to say the least.

** [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Karsus' Folly]] in the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', named after the man who developed a spell to borrow a god's divinity. His target: Mystryl, the Goddess of Magic. The [[BackgroundMagicField Weave]] of magic worldwide almost unraveled completely in his hands, forcing Mystryl to kill herself and reincarnate to preserve it; Karsus was left an immortal [[AndIMustScream vestige]], knowing how badly he had failed. Tragically, he had expected the spell to be a HeroicSacrifice to save his country, but had underestimated what it would demand of him.

** The power of the Elder Scrolls is so great, their truths so irrefutable, that not even the machinations of a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] can overcome them; that's how [[spoiler: the curse on the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal is broken]] in the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' ThievesGuild questline. In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', you get to read one yourself to [[spoiler:gain knowledge of a [[MakeMeWannaShout Thu'um shout]] lost to time; it turns out you don't read the scroll, you see events happen as if the scroll was a window to another (possibly alternate) time]]. Trying to read the scroll outside of the [[RealityIsOutToLunch Time-Wound]] temporarily robs you of vision — and the reason you only suffer that much is because you have the soul of a being that exists partially outside of time, not unlike the Elder Scroll itself. Even the [[DragonsAreDivine dragons]] like Paarthurnax and [[BigBad Alduin]] himself fear the Elder Scrolls' power. Turns out that they don't just reveal events, they can [[RealityWarper alter reality]] as well; with no recourse left, the ancient Nordic heroes who faced Alduin invoked the power of an Elder Scroll to "cast Alduin out of time", postponing his reckoning until the age where ''Skyrim'' (the game, not the province) takes place. The residue from that event created the Time-Wound, mentioned above.

** In the first game, Hakuowlo completely loses himself whenever he activates his divine powers, transforming into a deific beast of immense power, but in that form he cannot control himself. [[spoiler:He ultimately chooses to allow himself to be sealed away before he can accidentally do any more damage with his power.]]

* In ''Anime/BeastSaga'' The Godlot parts will kill anyone not strong enough to handle its power if they touch it. As proven when a Sea Tribe foot soldier touches a part of the Fire Godlot and gets fried. It takes a specially made potion just to be able to carry it.

* In ''Anime/BeastSaga'' The Godlot parts will kill anyone not strong enough to handle it's power if they touch it. As proven when a Sea Tribe foot soldier touches a part of the Fire Godlot and gets fried. It takes a specially made potion just to be able to carry it.

* Franchise/WonderWoman's Lasso of Truth has helped her defeat enemies by forcing them to confront that their own goals will destroy them, most prominently in George Perez's ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' Ares storyline. Ares walked away from his plans and agreed to a long standing truce after Wonder Woman showed him what would happen if he won with the Golden Lasso.

* In ''ComicBook/SecretWars'', when Doctor Doom gains the power of The Beyonder. Doom cannot even sleep for fear of accidentally destroying the universe.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': The Infinity Stones are described as requiring tremendous power -- either personally or shared among a group -- to handle safely. In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', a non-super humanoid explodes like a bomb from touching one, and the [[spoiler:half-Celestial Peter Quill]] can only use it for a few seconds with help from three friends. Some artifacts, like [[spoiler:Ronan]]'s hammer or [[spoiler:the [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome Eye of Agamotto]] in ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'']], can channel their power safely, and the Mad Titan Thanos can handle multiple Infinity Stones barehanded without any difficulty.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]]: [[spoiler:Rose absorbs the Time Vortex to become the Bad Wolf and can't control its powers effectively]].

* In ''Anime/BeastSaga'' The Godlot parts will kill anyone not strong enough to handle it's power if they touch it. As proven when a Sea Tribe foot solider touches a part of the Fire Godlot and gets fried. It takes a specially made potion just to be able to carry it.

* In ''Discworld/AHatFullOfSky'', this is the [[BigBad Big Bad's]] entire motive for possessing Tiffany. Possessing people helps the hiver stave off the crushing pain of being simultaneously aware of every blade of grass or speck of dust in the entire universe. Having experienced a similar phenomenon in ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'' while channeling her full magical strength to defeat the Queen of the elves, Tiffany begins to sympathize with the hiver.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': The Infinity Stones are described as requiring tremendous power -- either personally or shared among a group -- to handle safely. In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', a non-super humanoid explodes like a bomb from touching one, and the [[spoiler:half-Celestial Peter Quill]] can only use it for a few seconds with help from three friends. Some artifacts, like [[spoiler:Ronan]]'s hammer or [[spoiler:the [[AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome Eye of Agamotto]] in ''Film/DoctorStrange'']], can channel their power safely, and the Mad Titan Thanos can handle multiple Infinity Stones barehanded without any difficulty.

This is what happens when a character goes into [[PhysicalGod God mode]], or at least experiences it in some way... and then realizes that he can't handle it: The knowledge of the inner workings of the universe [[MySkullRunnethOver overwhelms his mere human brain]], the sheer power begins to burn out his mortal shell, he essentially experiences complete sensory overload on a cosmic scale. This can lead to [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity insanity]] and sometimes [[SuperpowerMeltdown other]] [[YourHeadAsplode grisly]] [[PowerDegeneration results]].

* In George Perez's Ares storyline in ''WonderWoman'', Ares was defeated by Wonder Woman showing him what would happen if he won with the Golden Lasso.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:{{FanFic}}]]

[[folder:{{Film}}]]

[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Parting of the Ways", [[spoiler:Rose absorbs the Time Vortex to become the Bad Wolf and can't control its powers effectively]].
** The episode "The Long Game" has a mention of futuristic computers - activated by linking to people's brains - having safeguards to prevent overload.
** At the end of Series 4, [[spoiler:[[HalfHumanHybrid Doctor Donna's]] brain starts burning out from all of the Doctor's Time Lord experience, leading to a serious DownerEnding]].

* Series/JoanOfArcadia once complained that she was tired of doing the oddball tasks God gave her without knowing the point of it all. God replied that people aren't meant to see the big picture, that they only see their part in it because that's all they can process. Joan insists on getting the full view of where her latest task leads and God obliges. Joan sees a rapid flash of images that showcase the results of her actions and she quickly blacks out from sensory overload.

[[folder:TabletopRPG]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:VisualNovels]]

[[folder:WebComics]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* In ''Manga/AyashiNoCeres'', once a ten'nyo/celestial maiden's powers are activated, her (or his) body starts to break down on a cellular level. It goes more quickly for some than for others, but it happens to all of them (save Aya/Ceres, who is [[strike:the protagonist]] different).

* Ursault the All-Seeing from ''[[ForgottenRealms A Little Knowledge]]'' by Elaine Cunningham has a great and clean prescience... and all he saw was one infinite maze of [[ForWantOfANail possibilities that change everything]] both for good and ill, depending on other possibilities, that... and so on. Since even his trained mind could keep only a very little part of the picture, this was more annoying than useful. Others considered him a MadOracle because if he was asked for a prediction, it habitually dissolved into babble of endless conditional forks.

This is what happens when a character goes into [[PhysicalGod God mode]], or at least experiences it in some way... and then realizes that he can't handle it: The knowledge of the inner workings of the universe overwhelms his mere human brain, the sheer power begins to burn out his mortal shell, he essentially experiences complete sensory overload on a cosmic scale. This can lead to [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity insanity]] and sometimes [[SuperpowerMeltdown other]] [[YourHeadAsplode grisly]] [[PowerDegeneration results]].

Related to but different from ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow, as it is more the reaction/effects of said Things. Contrast PossessionBurnout, where DemonicPossession inherently damages the body.

* The titular scrolls from ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' are divine artifacts from outside space and time. If a mortal attempts to read them they usually go blind, go insane, or simply die. There's an order of monks who spend their whole life preparing to glimpse an Elder Scroll through study and meditation, knowing that the knowledge they attain will permanently blind them, but also give them glimpses of the distant past or future. The Dragonborn of ''Skyrim'' "only" suffers a few seconds of disorientation, possibly because he/she isn't an ordinary mortal with an ordinary fate. The Scrolls are so eldritch that even Alduin, a draconic ''demigod of time'', is afraid of their power.

[[folder]]