History Main / WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks

* In ''LightNovel/TheHeroWhoReturnedRemainsTheStrongestI'', Daiki is determined to use the powers he got from saving the other world to make his life easier, initially trying to become a baseball star with his SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, and SuperReflexes. Unfortunately for him, his [[PowerIncontinence Sword Arts skill prevents him from using a bat as anything but a sword]], so he has give up on his childhood dream of reaching Koshien (the Japanese high school equivalent of the World Series). He doesn't mind at all when Farsight kicks in to give him a good look at Kaguya's breasts though.

* Nao from ''Anime/MaiHime'' uses her powers as part of her schemes to trap and rob perverts.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-131 SCP-151 - The "Eye Pods",]] a pair of [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter wheeled, one-eyed, one-foot tall creatures]] each roughly as intelligent as a housecat. They like to follow people around.

* Many Stands in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'' are used for benign self-enrichment. For instance, Shigeshi uses [[MicrobotSwarm Harvest]] to collect loose change all over town, and Antonio uses Pearl Jam to make food that [[{{Panacea}} cures illnesses]].

-> ''With great power comes great authority, but absolute power rocks absolutely.''

** Present Android 18 uses her powers only for personal gain and fun. She more often than not only cares about monetary gain, and hardly ever gets involved in the GoodVsEvil struggle. Future Android 18 is very much evil, taking this trope to a sociopathic extreme. After all, if you can blow up a city with a wave of your hand, [[AppealToForce you don't need to pay at the clothing store]].

When this character gets superpowers, the first thing they do is... not much. They use their powers to marginally improve their lives, and simply do what they feel like. They don't (openly) care about the typical GoodVsEvil struggle [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive (unless their mother gets kidnapped by the Evil League of Evil, or is staked by the local Knight Templar)]]. Their behavior is probably how most ordinary people would act if they got superpowers. They aren't particularly mean, nor especially kind. They are just ordinary people given extraordinary powers. Often this is how characters in shows on the center of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism act before the plot shows up.

* In ''Literature/AGiftFromEarth'' the hero discovers his psychic powers; he can control people's pupil sizes, making them overlook him when he shrinks their glance. He uses his powers to lead a revolution, in the course of which he loses his virginity- in the dark. At the end, he realizes in his nervousness about sex he had previously made girls ignore him. However he realizes his power can be used to expand pupils, making him an object of fascination to women. [[/folder]]

[[/folder]]

Not this character.

* In ''Film/DoctorStrange2016,'' Strange isn't much interested in putting his powers to any serious use until he literally has no other choice; until then, he masters the art of opening teleportation portals by stealing books from the library and uses his astral projection to read said books while his physical body sleeps. Granted, he's still a student at the time, but the prospect of fighting interdimensional threats ''definitely'' doesn't appeal to him when it's brought up.

Opposite trope of ComesGreatResponsibility and WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity. Related to CutLexLuthorACheck and ChaoticNeutral (they tend to do whatever they want).

** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] with Hank Pym who is able to control ants, become a giant and shrink down to ant-size... and uses them ForScience until his girlfriend (see the Wasp, below) convinces him to become more proactive.

* Using magic for personal gain or other petty reasons was usually looked down upon or outright forbidden on ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' and ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' (though in the former, it became a MundaneUtility).

* Using magic for personal gain or other petty reasons was usually looked down upon or outright forbidden on ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' and ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch''

* In ''Lierature/{{Worm}}, rogues are loosely defined as [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual parahumans]] who are neither heroes nor villains, and generally either use their powers to turn a legal profit or just ignore their powers and try to live normally.

* Many Stands in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'' are used for benign self-enrichment. For instance, Shigeshi uses [[MicrobotSwarm Harvest]] to collect loose change all over town, and Antonio uses Pearl Jam to make food that [[{{Panacea}} cures illnesses]].

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', this is Kyoko's attitude after becoming a MagicalGirl. Though initially an idealist like Madoka and Sayaka, after her minister father goes PaterFamilicide on her family after learning about her powers, she decided to only use her powers for her own benefit.

* The {{Faust}} legend, and how it's depicted in ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'' is all about this, and would qualify as a darker take on this. After making his DealWithTheDevil, Faust behaves in a quite similar manner to Film/BruceAlmighty and uses his power to pull pranks and satisfy his whims of the moment. While this kind of thing makes the audience laugh, it amounts to him wasting the true potential of the deal and he ends up eternally damned without a lot to show for it. And also there are [[ThoseTwoGuys his apprentices]], who use his magic books for even wackier shenanigans.

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-387 SCP-387 - Living Lego]] is a tub of supernatural Franchise/{{LEGO}}. [[BuiltWithLEGO Anything built with them is fully functional and (depending on what the creation represents, such as a humanoid or an animal) alive.]] Staff are free to play with SCP-387 in their recreational time, provided that they disassemble their creations afterward. This has greatly improved morale, with Dr. Arch declaring in their notes that [[HeartwarmingMoments "people are really kids at heart here."]] However, children under 10 are NOT allowed to play with SCP-387. Turns out that [[KidsAreCruel if you let your 7-year-old play god, things get violent.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', there is a Treehouse of Horror episode where both Lisa and Bart get superpowers. After getting his powers Bart declared "[[ItAmusedMe I must only use these powers to annoy!]]". He annoys bad guys.

-> ''With great power comes great authority, but abslolute power rocks absolutely.''