Line #73 Main/Depower


1	%% Please add all new examples in alphabetical order, thank you.
2	%%
3	[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/e2fc233876c15c50ddce745319d510d0.jpg]]]]
4	[[caption-width-right:300:That's what you get after a DealWithTheDevil.... or the god of the underworld, in this case.]]
5
6	->''"This crystal chamber has harnessed the rays of the red sun of Krypton. Once exposed to these rays, all your great powers on Earth will disappear forever. But consider once it is done, there is no return. You will become an ordinary man. You will feel like an ordinary man. You can be hurt like an ordinary man. My son, are you sure?"''
7	-->-- '''Lara''' to her son Kal-El, ''Film/SupermanII''
8
9	A superpowered character (generally a ''very'' powerful one) loses their powers for a permanent or extended period of time.
10
11	This isn't just a case of BroughtDownToNormal which inevitably ends, but a much longer-lasting if not permanent reduction in strength. This is often done as a long-term DramaPreservingHandicap on the character in order to keep them in the cast without having to [[DeusExitMachina write them off]] or use really convoluted GreenRocks and KryptoniteFactor plots. (This may be accomplished by a PowerNullifier.)
12
13	It's unlikely the character will be pleased by this turn of events, and if they're power-hungry or evil they'll fight tooth and nail to find a way to get it back. Heroes who [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to be normal]] will be happy, even if it means they can no longer use their finger-snapping problem-solving powers.
14
15	This trope mostly applies to characters who are already gods, [[GodModeSue godlike]], or mortals who through the story gain powers to rival the gods. The result is usually a GodInHumanForm. Expect them to learn that PowerLossMakesYouStrong... that is, unless [[DeathByDepower being depowered leads to their death]].
16
17	This isn't just a simple FailureIsTheOnlyOption or StatusQuoIsGod, where a character who gains godlike powers has them gone in the same episode, but the writers trying jump out of the corner they've [[AuthorsSavingThrow painted themselves into]] by depowering the character who by all indications should/could have kept all their powers throughout the show.
18
19	If this happened because the character was transported to another dimension, it's because YourMagicsNoGoodHere. Subtrope of BroughtDownToNormal. See also JustForFun/HowToStopTheDeusExMachina, FieldPowerEffect, and DePowerZone.
20
21	%%If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* ''Manga/AngelSanctuary'': Alexiel's true powers were unsealed with the destruction of Eden.
29	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
30	** Uryuu Ishida broke the Quincy limits in the Soul Society arc when Letzt Stil turned him into a WalkingWasteland to worlds that are built of reishi (Soul Society and Hueco Mundo). He was able to one-shot both a captain and his bankai at the same time at the cost of losing his power forever. ParentExMachina restored his power, revealing that Uryuu's power was under-developed and immature. [[spoiler:The final arc revisits this by finally allowing him to begin developing the true power his father indicated he was capable of more than 200 chapters previously.]]
31	** Ichigo went through a de-power at the end of the Arrancar Arc after fighting Aizen. The Lost Agent Arc was about the process of him finding a way to gain power to replace the power he's lost [[spoiler:and during which time he became a BadassInDistress, requiring the shinigami to step in at the very last minute to save him by restoring his shinigami powers. It was further confirmed his power to date had been controlled and suppressed by his Quincy heritage so it takes the final arc before he's allowed to begin developing his power properly. However, Yhwach later strips Ichigo of his Quincy and Hollow powers after defeating him.]]
32	** Yhwach possesses the ability to perform a ritual that de-powers any Quincy that is selected for it. [[spoiler:He used it nine years before the final arc to steal the power of all Quincies he classified as "impure", including Ichigo and Uryuu's mothers (Masaki and Kanae). Masaki was de-powered just as she entered battle with the Grand Fisher, leaving her defenceless against a hollow she should have curbstomped. At the same moment, Kanae collapsed into a coma that lasted three months before she finally died; [[DeathByDepower de-powering her literally destroyed her very life]].]]
33	* Happened to Havoc in the backstory of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack''. However, she ''really'' doesn't want her powers to come back, since that would also mean that she'd [[LackOfEmpathy lose her feelings and morals]] again, and she [[EatsBabies drank children's blood]] when she was a Contractor. In season 2, [[spoiler:Hei loses his ShockAndAwe powers, making him less of a OneManArmy, although he's [[BroughtDownToBadass still a formidable opponent]].]]
34	* ''Manga/FairyTail'': Releasing a mage's Third Origin grants them temporary access to their full potential at the cost of permanently losing their magic power. [[spoiler:However, Sherria demonstrates that the loss is actually only temporary, as she slowly begins to regain her magic after the war with Alvarez.]]
35	* ''Manga/TheFoxAndLittleTanuki'': Senzou, an evil fox who wrought havoc in times past, was sealed by the gods and had his power slowly sapped. When he is released at the start of the story, he is about as impressive as an average fox. The Sun Goddess promises to restore his powers if he raises a promising {{tanuki}} pup named Manpachi to be an upstanding servant of the gods.
36	* In the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' manga and ''Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:protagonist Edward Elric]] gives up his alchemy for [[spoiler:his brother Al's body]] at the end of the series.
37	* ''Literature/TheHeroLaughsWhileWalkingThePathOfVengeanceASecondTime'': After the Goddess of Earth resets the timeline, Kaito gets reset to Level 1. However, he retains all his techniques, as well as the stat boosts he gained from the AchievementSystem, so he is still pretty powerful.
38	* ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'' has this happen to Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon. She was originally introduced as so powerful that fighting her was a laughable concept, such that the next-most powerful character so far introduced was barely able to inflict damage at all (and what damage he did was immediately healed). Then a huge portion of her power was stolen by the villains. Shortly thereafter, Ophis gives up even more power when [[spoiler:resurrecting Issei]]. While still a very powerful character, Ophis is no longer invincible and is out-powered by the primary villains.
39	* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Late in the Chimera Ant arc, [[spoiler:Gon sacrifices his gigantic potential to utterly destroy Neferpitou, to avenge the murder of Kite. After nearly dying and recovering thanks to Killua and Alluka's help, Gon permanently lost his Nen and the ability to perceive it.]]
40	* In ''Manga/JapanTenguPartyIllustrated'', LaResistance discovers why the powerful {{tengu}} (supernatural crows and transformed humans) hate and fear a certain professor: [[spoiler:he's discovered a ''real'' tengu, a large, seemingly flightless bird (think [[WesternAnimation/{{Up}} Kevin]]) and if the supernatural tengu, who use their uniqueness to define their very existence [[BrownNote see the bird]] they become permanently depowered into ordinary humans and crows. Strangely enough, the tengu had no clue about the bird (it's as elusive as bigfoot) and were only going on the fact that the professor was snooping on them and thus a serious threat.]]
41	* Season 1 of ''Anime/{{K}}'' establishes that a King can beat any non-King in combat, and ''both'' the Red and Blue Kings are after the main characters. In season 2, [[spoiler:the aforementioned main character has been revealed as the most powerful King of all, and he makes an alliance with the Red and Blue Kings to defeat the Green King. They are just barely enough to top the Green King, and it would be difficult to justify an antagonist more powerful than him, so the series has the alliance defeat the Green King by destroying the Slates that give them their powers]].
42	* In the third season of ''Anime/MonsterRancher'', Mocchi and Tiger of the Wind are briefly sealed into Mystery Discs. After they're revived, both learn that they have lost all but their most basic fighting moves, and must rebuild their strength from the ground up. The younger Mocchi copes with this much easier than the more {{Pride}}ful Tiger, who [[ImplausibleDeniability repeatedly denies]] that he's lost anything and [[BreakTheHaughty suffers for it]].
43	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
44	** [[SupermanSubstitute All Might]] starts the series on a massive drain thanks to the injuries he sustained during a fight with his ArchNemesis, [[BigBad All For One]], several years prior to the start of the series, which caused him to revert to a frail and weak state. From that point on, he could only use his powers to maintain his hulking physique for a few hours each day, which over the years has steadily decreased. This is why he chooses to transfer his Quirk, [[SuperEmpowering One for All]], to Izuku Midoriya and train him to become his successor. [[spoiler:By the time he finally defeats All For One at the end of the Hideout Raid arc, the remaining power he had is completely spent and he's forced to retire.]]
45	** [[spoiler:At the end of the Training Camp arc, Ragdoll, a member of the hero team, Wild Wild Pussycats, was captured by the League of Villains. It was then revealed when she was rescued in the Hideout Raid arc that her Quirk was stolen by [[PowerParasite All For One]]]].
46	** During the Internship Arc, the Shie Hassaikai, under the leadership of Overhaul, created special bullets that can rob someone of their Quirk either temporarily or permanently. His plan was to sell the rarer permanent variety to other villains and then sell the cure to the heroes, in order to rule society from the shadows like All For One. Overhaul managed to do this [[PoweredByAForsakenChild by drawing the blood out of a tortured little girl named Eri]], which contains her unique and powerful Quirk that he calls [[SemanticSuperpower "Rewind"]] and then implanting the blood into bullet form. [[spoiler:During his attempt to rescue Eri, Mirio Togata is shot with one of the permanent bullets and loses his Quirk.]]
47	*** [[spoiler:During the Paranormal Liberation War arc, Eri has been properly trained to use her Quirk, and uses it to successfully undo the rewind effect on Mirio, allowing him to regain his powers]].
48	** [[spoiler:Overhaul himself technically counts when at the end of the Internship arc, the League of Villains attack the prison convoy transporting him, taking a box filled with some of the Quirk destroying bullets and then cutting off both of his arms using their Quirks. While he still technically has his power, because his Quirk can only be activated using his hands, this renders him functionally Quirkless.]]
49	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
50	** During Sasuke’s battle with his older brother Itachi, the latter removes the Curse Mark placed on his brother by Orochimaru using his Susanoo.
51	** [[spoiler: Despite gaining new powers after the Fourth Shinobi World War, both Naruto and Sasuke lose some in particular, such as the Six Paths Yin and Yang Seals to seal away Kaguya Otsutsuki and Black Zetsu with both of those seals returning to the Sage of Six Paths, and after the two rivals face each other one last time, Naruto loses the Truth Seeking Orbs by the end of the series.]]
52	*** Naruto using the power of {{Flight}} hasn’t been seen since ''The Last'', it’s implied that he still has it but he chooses not to use it to almost never using it for an, as of yet, unknown reason.
53	** Kakashi Hatake [[spoiler: loses his Sharingan after Madara takes it out of his eye socket, in order to get his other Rinnegan, and during the final battle against Kaguya, he temporarily gains both Sharingan eyes from Obito’s spirit, and after the final battle Kakashi loses them as well.]]
54	** In the SequelSeries ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'', [[spoiler: [[AsianFoxSpirit Kurama]] dies in a HeroicSacrifice during the battle against Isshiki, leaving Naruto without his superhuman chakra and unable to use his more powerful abilities]].
55	* ''Manga/SaintSeiyaNextDimension'' had this since the last saga had all six of the main characters in '''God Cloths.'''
56	* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', there's a very rare phenomenon where [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual NEXT]] will slowly lose their powers over a period of time. [[spoiler:This starts happening to [[TheHero Kotetsu]] in the second half of the series, and Kotetsu learns in the 16th episode that his own hero, Mr. Legend, had the same thing happen to him -- [[BrokenPedestal and really didn't take it well.]]]]
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
60	* ''Animation/BoBoiBoy'': After his watch upgraded and reset during the time between the original series and ''Galaxy'', [=BoBoiBoy=] lost all of his newfound powers and was reset back to 0. He regains all his elemental powers during the course of Season 1 of ''Galaxy''. He goes through it again during the ''[=BoBoiBoy=]: Movie 2'', where Retak'ka absorbs his elemental powers, though he manages to steal them back.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Comic Books]]
64	* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', this happens to every superhero and villain in the world. Permanently.
65	* In ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/TheAttackOfTheAnnihilator'', the BigBad gets permanently devolved into his non-powered human state when he is encased in ice by Kara and Babs.
66	* UsefulNotes/{{The Silver Age\|of Comic Books}} ''Franchise/TheDCU'' had characters so powerful that they basically had to destroy the universe in order to De-power all of them.
67	** In the pre-''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' era, Kryptonians -ComicBook/{{Superman}}, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and the like- could permanently lose their powers through exposure to Gold Kryptonite.
68	** Post-Crisis Superman had to use this to defeat a group of Pre-Crisis Kryptonians in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlSaga''; fortunately, Kryptonite only works on Kryptonians from the same universe.
69	** ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'''s goal was scaling Superman's off-the-charts Silver Age power levels way back to much more manageable levels (he lost 2/3 of his power). However, readers didn't take to this revision and DC was forced to backtrack.
70	** In ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' story ''ComicBook/TheGreatDarknessSaga'', Element Lad makes Gold Kryptonite in order to permanently strip a "Superman" clone of its powers.
71	** In ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'', Superman exposes himself to Gold Kryptonite to remove his powers permanently.
72	** Subverted in ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'' when Dr. Kangle develops a pill to remove superhuman powers permanently. It does not work as intended, though, and Supergirl ''merely'' suffers periodic and unpredictable power losses.
73	** This was also used in alternate universe storyline ''ComicBook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations''. Superman's first child, [[MythologyGag Joel,]] was exposed to Gold Kryptonite in the womb. His sister wasn't, but she wore a red sun pendant in early childhood until she was ready for her powers. This eventually led to a bitter adult Joel being manipulated by ComicBook/LexLuthor into using temporary powers to [[CainAndAbel kill his sister.]]
74	** During the ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' saga, Clark Kent spends the entire year powerless due to the events of ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. It drives Luthor nuts because there's no Superman around.
75	* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': ComicBook/{{Galactus}} at one point depowered himself in Creator/MarkWaid's run in order to hide from planetary forces that wished to [[ItMakesSenseInContext kill him for his actions]].
76	* ''ComicBook/GhostRider'': Johnny Blaze eventually had the demon exorcised from himself, making him a normal human, and he enjoyed it. He later became a sort of mentor to a new Ghost Rider.
77	** Eventually, Johnny Blaze became the Ghost Rider again and fought his way out of hell.
78	* Marvel's ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'' has the Beyonder become a human to see what it's like.
79	* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'':
80	** ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'': The Skrulls arrive benevolently and give every human on Earth superpowers with a pill (only Ben Grimm refuses). Then they cause a massive simultaneous De-Power so they can invade unimpeded... except Ben Grimm is still a BadassNormal and thwarts the invasion all by himself, via time travel.
81	** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': In The Ultimates 2, Loki is a reality-warping Physical God able to summon an entire army from Asgard and fight toe-to-toe with his brother. However, as a direct result of him cutting loose, he lands squarely on Odin's radar. The Allfather re-powers Thor and sends a squadron of Valkyries to back up The Ultimates while stripping Loki of his godhood. In a later arc, he reappears, still mortal, having to rely on his own magical prowess and wits.
82	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
83	** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Diana was depowered for a while in the 70s. DC wanted to cash in on {{Action Girl}}s and was aiming for PowerLossMakesYouStrong.
84	** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Cassie (ComicBook/WonderGirl) eventually learns that the powers Zeus "granted" her for her heroism were actually hers by birth, but that she had been depowered before she'd ever been born because her mother wanted her to have a normal human life and Zeus wanted to hide his infidelity from Hera.
85	* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
86	** After having all the adamantium in his skeleton ripped out by ComicBook/{{Magneto}} during the ''ComicBook/{{Fatal Attractions\|MarvelComics}}'' storyline, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} found himself subjected to this, with his claws reduced to bone and the efficacy of his HealingFactor heavily reduced.
87	** Nate Grey the ComicBook/XMan might hold the record for the most cases of this happening to a single character. As he is a SuperpowerLottery winner writ large, with StoryBreakerPower sufficient to crack a narrative in half, nerfing him is understandable from a narrative standpoint, though the sheer number of times writers had to resort to it is still impressive.
88	** Banshee lost his sonic scream powers when his vocal cords were damaged. He eventually healed enough to use them again, but it took decades in real life time.
89	** In the second season of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', BigBad Mr. Sinister builds a device that depowers all mutants in the Savage Land. He and his minions safeguard themselves by way of (of all things) special belts. A similar plot was also used in the first volume of ''X-Men'', except it was the High Evolutionary serving as the BigBad ([[spoiler:though he was being manipulated by Mr. Sinister who quickly betrayed him]])) and his de-powering plot affected all mutants across the planet, not just those in the Savage Land.
90	** The infamous [[ComicBook/HouseOfM "M-Day"]] event, where the ComicBook/ScarletWitch, ''deep'' into a psychotic breakdown due to being exploited by ComicBook/DoctorDoom, used her RealityWarper powers on maximum to declare "No More Mutants". The result is referred to in-universe as "The Decimation", as 99% of all mutants in the Marvel world were permanently BroughtDownToNormal, and the X-gene stopped manifesting in all subsequent births entirely. The latter effect was eventually undone and a sizable portion of the depowered Mutants would later regain their powers through various means. While some who had been BlessedWithSuck were quite grateful for it, the vast majority of mutantdom ''still'' loathes Wanda for it, rendering her [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten an absolute pariah amongst the mutant community]]. In ''ComicBook/HouseAndPowersOfX'', there is even a briefly shown sequence of mutant children reacting to the mere mention of her name with revulsion and horror, establishing just how bad her reputation has become.
91
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Fan Works]]
95	* ''Fanfic/TheDesertStorm'': Happens to [[spoiler:Qui-Gon]] at the end of the ''Tarot'' arc. After [[spoiler:Maul]] stabs [[spoiler:Qui-Gon]] through the chest, Obi-Wan uses the Nightsisters' magick to keep [[spoiler:Qui-Gon]] alive, unintentionally cutting off the latter's connection to the Force in the process.
96	* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'':
97	** [[spoiler:In two ways in chapter 4 of the sequel ''Diplomat at Large'' - first, Discord strips Chrysalis of her status as the Lady of Self-Centeredness; second, she's Sealed, robbing her of her changeling powers once and for all.]]
98	** [[spoiler:Chapter 11 reveals that Adagio Dazzle, leader of the siren trio, is actually the Lady of Hatred. Like Chrysalis, she's stripped of her Power for abusing it, having used her fellows to channel it and spread its effects, which is against the rules.]]
99	** [[spoiler:In chapter 7 of the second sequel, ''Diplomacy Through Schooling'', Neighsay's captor breaks his horn off, and then burns away the nerve endings to ensure he can never use magic again.]]
100	* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'': A majorly [[WhamEpisode shocking moment]] occurs when [[spoiler:Daolon Wong ultimately has all of his magic stripped from him by Charles Ludmoore, who assimilates it into himself, leaving Wong as a normal human]].
101	* The ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' fic [[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/3010722/1/Just-Folk-Now "Just Folk Now"]] does a crossover where Mal was Caleb from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Zoe was Jasmine and Jayne was Adam, both from ''Series/{{Angel}}'' and Inara was Adria from ''Series/StargateSG1''. As the title says, they’re all just normal humans now, living in the ‘verse.
102	* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeries'': Early on in Season 2, Drago [[SuperEmpowering empowers]] Raythor, Frost, and Hak Foo with portions of his chi. In the midpoint chapter "Return", he reverses this when they're captured along with the rest of the Knights of Vengeance [[spoiler: [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness since he and Nerissa don't need them for their plans anymore]]]], stripping them of the powers that the chi had granted them.
103	* In Chapter 10 of the ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12459102/1/Loud-heroes Loud Heroes]]'', Lincoln temporarily loses his fire superpowers for a day upon taking considerably damage from Chandler's water-based attacks during their first fight. The next chapter, which takes place during the aforementioned timespace, has Lincoln struggling in his second fight with Chandler until his sisters come in for a BigDamnHeroes moment, after which he gets his powers back.
104	* ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': [[spoiler:The soul that was the Nightmare is stripped of its position and abilities by Balance before being cast into its permanent prison.]]
105	* ''Fanfic/SharingTheNight'': Discord's power is eventually derived from the stars, [[spoiler:since stars are the origin of all mortal beings' magic, and Discord so happens to have been the very first pony to absorb and be profoundly changed by magic when the first stars fell to earth. When Twilight becomes an alicorn and claims the stars for herself, she inadvertently pulls this power from Discord and leaves him bereft of his original cosmic power, although he is still immortal and capable of some restricted magic. He takes this all rather in stride.]]
106	* ''Fanfic/ATriangleInTheStars'': [[spoiler:Bill has lost the majority of his powers, which is initially why he sticks with Steven.]] [[{{Downplayed}} However, he knows he'll get them back, and steadily regains the abilities he's lost as time goes on.]] But with this, [[BroughtDownToNormal he also needs to sleep]], and using too much power at a time exhausts him [[spoiler:and causes him to ''lose'' abilities if it's bad enough.]]
107	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2358485/1/What-Insertion What Insertion?]]'': Happens to both Hellmaster Phibrizzo and Deep Sea Dolphin after they get banished from the ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' universe. Phibrizzo especially is hit hard, losing his vast power over death and most of his magical reserves after turning half-human; all he has left to start with are his ability to teleport via the astral plane and his [[{{Kamehamehadoken}} Dark]] [[{{Hellfire}} Harsh]] technique, and that just barely. In Dolphin's case, it's not quite as bad, since she got a few new powers out of the deal [[spoiler:and because her mind is what's trapped on Earth instead of her body]], but the tremendous might afforded to her as one of Ruby Eye's foremost creations is still completely inaccessible.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Films — Animated]]
111	* The Disney version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' has him lose all of his godly powers except SuperStrength as a baby, get them back full force towards the end, and chooses to be BroughtDownToNormal (er, normal for him, so he's still super strong) so he can be with his beloved Meg. He even temporarily loses said super strength [[DealWithTheDevil after making a deal with Hades]] in exchange for [[IHaveYourWife Meg's safety]], until [[LoopholeAbuse Meg sacrifices herself to protect the now-mortal-Hercules from a falling pillar and nullifies the contract]].
112	* The Chinese animated film ''Animation/MonkeyKingHeroIsBack'' features a main character who is famous for singlehandedly defeating all the gods by himself. Except for the first and last few minutes, he spends the entire film unable to use his magic powers.
113	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'': The villain has a weapon called a [[SinisterScythe rejuvenator]] that's capable of giving full Gems IdentityAmnesia. On HalfHumanHybrid Steven, although he's immune to being poofed and cannot get amnesia, the weapon instead saps his powers, putting him back to where he was at the beginning of the [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse series]].
114	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', Eugene [[spoiler:[[TraumaticHaircut cuts Rapunzel's hair]] so that Gothel cannot use it to exploit her anymore. Rapunzel believes this means she has lost her HealingPowers that could help her save Eugene's life after Gothel [[DisneyDeath stabs him]]. {{Subverted}} when the magic of ThePowerOfLove in Rapunzel's tears are able to save Eugene]].
115	* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract'', [[spoiler:Raven uses her dark magic to drain all of Blood's stolen power and his immortality.]]
116	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei's female relatives do this to themselves voluntarily sealing away their red panda spirits and with them the ability to transform into giant red pandas.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
120	* In ''Film/HaloNightfall'', Colonel Randall Aiken of the Sedran Colonial Guard is actually Randall-037, a Spartan-II (the same series as [[PlayerCharacter Master Chief Petty Officer John-117]]) who was missing in action and presumed dead for years. Once contact was reestablished, he struck a deal with ONI to have many of his Spartan augmentations removed in exchange for them no longer pressuring him to rejoin the UNSC. Thus while he has the experience of a Spartan and the natural physical strength that came with being a SPARTAN-II candidate ([[spoiler:he lifts a HAVOK nuke onto his shoulder and carries it for several kilometers unaided]]), he is no longer a SuperSoldier.
121	* In ''Film/Hercules1983'', this happens to Circe when (an unseen) Aphrodite, on Zeus's orders, causes her to fall in love with Hercules, as love causes a witch to lose all of her powers; this keeps them from making it all the way to Atlantis by way of the flying chariot, forcing them to finish the journey on foot. Zeus does this to counter Hera's complaints that he and Athena have given Hercules too many advantages since Circe's magic supplements his already-superhuman strength in various ways.
122	* ''Film/TheShadow'': After the climactic battle, BigBad Shiwan Khan awakens in a room in an insane asylum, wearing a straightjacket and with a semicircular scar on his forehead. When the doctor shows up, Khan tries to mind-control the doctor and convince him to set Khan loose. After this fails, the doctor mentions how the life-saving surgery that kept him alive [[spoiler: had to remove a part of his brain, but only a part that "we never use"]]. As Khan starts shouting how he "must be released! [He is] [[CassandraTruth the direct descendant of Genghis Khan]], destined to rule the world!", other patients start yelling that they are Napoleon, or George Washington...
123	* In ''Film/SupermanII'', Clark gives up his powers to be with Lois Lane... of course, this turns out to be a spectacularly bad idea. At least, it's spectacularly badly timed, since Zod and his cronies broke out of the PhantomZone soon after.
124	* In Wim Wenders' movies ''Film/WingsOfDesire'' and ''Faraway, So Close!'', the protagonists are angels who renounce their status as spiritual creatures in order to experience mortal life as human beings. It's hinted that Creator/PeterFalk, of all people, is himself a former angel.
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Literature]]
128	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': This is the crux of a SadisticChoice that is given to [[spoiler:Polgara the Sorceress]], when the question arises of whether the gods can bring [[spoiler:her]] dead love interest, who is a normal human, back to life. Can [[spoiler:she]] accept a life together where [[spoiler:she]] has no more power than the love interest. [[spoiler:She accepts, only to find out later that rather than de-power her, they {{empowered\|BadassNormal}} him.]]
129	* ''Literature/{{Dragonvarld}}'': Anora casts a spell on Marcus which prevents him from using his magic and is slowly leeching this away when he's weak. He's saved when the spell is broken due to her host body being killed.
130	* ''Literature/{{Earthsea}}'': Tehanu, written decades after the original trilogy, discusses how a character adapts to the permanent loss of his magical power in the original trilogy.
131	* ''Literature/TheFactoryWitchesOfLowell'' ends with [[spoiler:Hannah losing all her magic. Hannah tells Judith she's happy with the change, as her powers prevented her from living a normal life.]]
132	* ''Literature/FeralsSeries'':
133	** The Midnight Stone has the ability to take a portion of a feral's powers and store it into itself.
134	** [[spoiler:The Mother of Flies later ends up severing her bond with the flies after exerting too much of her power in her battle with Caw.]]
135	** In ''The White Widow's Revenge'', [[spoiler:Caw temporarily has his feral abilities taken away from him by Black Corvus, but regains them in a confrontation with Corvus in the Land of the Dead.]]
136	* ''Literature/FineStructure'' starts with the BigGood sealing himself and the BigBad in our universe (where they're both, at least temporarily, end up as a GodInHumanForm). Also, a side effect of one character's YouShallNotPass moment is [[spoiler:the depowering of every FlyingBrick superhero in the setting]].
137	* ''Literature/GoodOmens'': The angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley are effectively immortal, but could still be inconvenienced by bodily discorporation. Both are agreed that a new terror applies if they were to lose their human bodies through misadventure. Namely, having to explain it to their respective unhelpful bureaucracies and to fill in all the forms and follow all the procedures so as to account for the loss and -- eventually -- be issued new mortal forms. Later in the story, Aziraphale really ''does'' lose his earthly body. He is forced to resort to serial possession of humans until he gets it back.
138	* ''Literature/GuardiansOfTheFlame'': Andrea loses her magic due to casting a powerful spell which destroys this.
139	* ''Literature/GunsOfTheDawn'': Warlocks get their powers from their king, so when Denland's monarchy fell, it was left without warlocks to bolster its army in the war against Lascanne. This kind of de-powerment becomes unexpectedly useful at the end of the book when [[spoiler:Giles Scavian, a warlock of Lascanne captured when the Denlanders won the war, is rendered harmless and therefore safe thanks to Emily killing her own country's king]].
140	* ''Literature/{{Inkmistress}}'':
141	** Hal is drugged with peaceroot, a plant which prevents someone using any magic while it's in their system.
142	** Asra is later too when she's overpowered and knocked out.
143	* ''Literature/LabyrinthOfReflections'': After the first book, Divers (humans with a rare ability to manipulate virtual reality) have their powers taken away.
144	* ''Literature/TheLittleWitch'': [[spoiler:The little Witch]] strips [[spoiler:the big witches]] of their magic, leaving her the only active witch in the world.
145	* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Gandalf, Saruman, and the other Wizards are angelical entities who were bound into the forms of old men and sent to Middle-earth to oppose [[EvilOverlord Sauron]]. They are instructed to never oppose Sauron using their own innate power, but only to counsel and support the peoples of Middle-earth. When Saruman violates this commandment, he is stripped of ''all'' his power and made mortal. Sauron himself and his master [[BigBad Morgoth]] are also both eventually trapped in the material forms that they have assumed, as a consequence of their corruption.
146	* ''Literature/OfFireAndStars'':
147	** Peaceroot is a plant that can be used to prevent mages from doing magic if they're drugged with it, but this has nasty side effects like horrible headaches and necrosis that starts at the digits before spreading over time the more it's taken.
148	** Sigvar, a cult leader in a Zumordan village, also gets his ability to do magic permanently removed after nearly enslaving the country's queen into his HiveMind cult through removing his horns when he's in [[VoluntaryShapeshifting his deer form]].
149	* ''Literature/ThePower'': [[spoiler:Bernie and Darrell Monke conspire to steal Roxy Monke's skein]] so that they can take back control of their criminal empire.
150	* ''Literature/RaiKirah'': [[TheEmpire Derzhi]] strip the magic from their Ezzarian slaves, including the protagonist Seyonne, with the torturous "Rites of Balthar". Victims are BuriedAlive for days until they've exhausted all their power staving off death, then {{Mind Rape}}d by sorcerers to destroy what remains. [[spoiler:However, it's only a trauma-based mental block, and Seyonne is able to regain access to his power with help from his old friends.]]
151	* ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': Injure a mage, you hurt them. Injure their etheric body, however, and you seriously weaken their powers. [[spoiler:This happens to Alvin Godfrey at the end of volume 7, courtesy of Cyrus Rivermoore stealing his sternum and a chunk of his etheric body attached to it, leading to the main plot of volume 8 where the Campus Watch sends a posse after Rivermoore to recover the bone so Godfrey's etheric body can heal in time for his matches in the combat leagues.]]
152	* ''Literature/{{Renegades}}'': In the second book, [[spoiler:the eponymous heroes premiere Agent N, a chemical that can (apparently permanently) de-power a prodigy, with the intent on using it to neutralize villains.]] Though Nova is horrified, as it basically means that anyone not with the Renegades will be permanently stripped of part of what makes them ''them'', her Anarchist compatriots are elated and want to use it themselves.
153	* ''Literature/SmallGods'' centers around Brutha, the reluctant chosen one of the Great God Om, who has incarnated in the form of a turtle. Not his fault, mind you; he had planned to incarnate as a giant raging bull, but the Omnian religion has become a CorruptChurch ruled by fear of the Exquisition rather than any genuine ''faith'', and in a world where GodsNeedPrayerBadly and [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve belief]] can change the very nature of reality, this means bad news for any deity.
154	* ''Literature/SweetAndBitterMagic'': Wren manages to break the link between Tamsin and Marlena, leaving the latter without magic as a result, therefore harmless too.
155	* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': After the Dark Forest is defeated, Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovewing permanently lose their special abilities (TheEmpath[=/=]DreamWalker for Jayfeather, NighInvulnerability for Lionblaze, SuperSenses for Dovewing).
156	* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Aside from various measures to temporarily remove Channelers from the Source, such Mat's amulet, a ''stedding'', or being shielded by another channeler, there are two means by which a Channeler can permanently lose their power: accidentally, by trying to draw too much (this can also cause death in extreme cases), or by deliberate severing by another Channeler. This is called gentling for men and stilling for women. A cure is found about halfway through the series, but if one is cured by the same sex, their power will be restored to only a fraction of its original state.
157	* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'':
158	** Cauldron apparently has a method of removing parahuman powers. [[spoiler:Contessa uses it on Taylor at the end of the story.]]
159	** [[spoiler:This is possible for every parahuman in the setting due to shards drawing from a pool of energy to fuel the superpower they grant. While it seems the Entities planned out the rough amount of power the shard would need during dispersal its possible for the pool to run out of energy if the power is overused, as Taylor found out when using [[ThinkingUpPortals Doormaker's]] power.]]
160	* ''Literature/XanaduStoryverse'': In "Mermaids of Xanadu", the {{superhuman traffick\|ing}}ers' plan hinges on the use of a newly-created mage's powers to suppress the effects of the Change on their victims, turning them back into regular humans. This is noted to be a dicey proposition, and in some ways more useful as a threat than as an actuality, as using it inherently ruins the value of their victims. The other main problem is that the mage can only sustain the spell for so long before running out of energy, and can't easily cover multiple targets at once.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
164	* Season Four of ''Series/{{Angel}}'': [[spoiler:Cordelia, after becoming a minor ThePowersThatBe:]] "Oh god, I'm so bored."
165	** Season Five as well: hellgod Illyria is brought down several orders of magnitude [[spoiler:when she takes over Fred's physical body.]]
166	*** And even then she had massive StoryBreakerPower and in all her fights she effortlessly [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] everyone else. She had to be depowered ''further'' before any of the other characters could touch her.
167	** Angel becomes human for a day in Season One.
168	* In order to keep them in check, one of the choices given to human telepaths in ''Series/BabylonFive'', alongside conscription into the MRA (Metasensory Regulation Authority) or prison, is a weekly sleeper injection to nullify their psychic abilities. It's not without its side effects, however, namely disassociation and depression.
169	* ''Series/TheBoys2019'':
170	** SuperSpeed hero A-Train ends up being left unable to use his powers without threatening his life after his abuse of the SuperSerum [[FantasticDrug Compound V]] ruined his heart. [[spoiler:Near the end of the third season, he gets over it through a heart transplant from another hero (that he killed).]]
171	** Soldier Boy, ArcVillain of the third season, gains the ability to inflict this on Supes after he CameBackStrong, [[spoiler:and hits Kimiko and [[WonderWomanWannabe Queen Maeve]] with it. The former just takes Compound V again and gets her powers back, while the latter takes the opportunity to live a normal life and [[PutOnABus goes into hiding]].]]
172	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
173	** Anyanka was a powerful vengeance demon who lost her powers to manipulate the past, thus changing the future. She got her powers back but then this happened to her ''again''.
174	** This happens to Willow with the destruction of the Seed of Wonder.
175	** This also happened to Amy with the destruction of the Seed of Wonder.
176	* Leo from ''Series/Charmed1998''. He [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascends]] ''thrice'', the last time being part of a cabal of reality-warping godlike beings, before finally becoming mortal again.
177	** Phoebe loses her active powers (but not her basic witch ones) during season six as punishment for abusing them for her own personal gain. She can earn them back when she proves herself worthy.
178	** The Charmed Ones from the [[Series/Charmed2018 2018 reboot]] lose their active powers at the start of season two. By the end, only the eldest sister regains her original power while the other two develop new ones.
179	* In ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', the Hexenbiester/Zauberbiester are a MageSpecies, different from the other [[OurMonstersAreDifferent Wesen]], as they are able to do things bordering on magic. However, their powers can be taken away if they ingest a [[HunterOfMonsters Grimm]]'s blood, which is what Nick forces Adelind to do (by forcibly kissing her, causing her to bite his lip). It's possible for a de-powered Hexenbiest to regain her powers, but it requires undergoing an extremely complex (and gross) ritual as well as the sacrifice of another Hexenbiest. Adelind does this and pays Nick back by de-powering him. Not only is he unable to see Wesen anymore, but his enhanced strength, speed, and senses are also gone.
180	* ''Series/H2OJustAddWater'': A full moon that only happens WhenThePlanetsAlign once every fifty years will strip any mermaid in the Moon Pool of their powers. This happened to Gracie in the past, and then to her granddaughter Charlotte in the final episode of the second season.
181	** ''Series/MakoMermaidsAnH2OAdventure'': The Water Dragon's cold fire will turn any mermaid it hits into a normal human. Most of Weilan's pod lost their tails trying to fight it, as does Evie halfway through the third season.
182	* In ''Series/{{Haven}}'', one of the Crocker family's Troubles is if they kill a Troubled person, everyone else in that person's family is rendered normal. Ironically, this happens to the Crocker family itself when Duke Crocker kills his brother Wade. Audrey Parker eventually gives Duke his Trouble back, plus a few extras.
183	* Volume 4 of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has done this with its two GameBreaker heroes, Peter Petrelli (mass-PowerCopying) and Hiro Nakamura (teleportation, time freeze, and time travel), whose powers were stolen by BigBad Arthur Petrelli in Volume 3. Both have since regained much weaker versions of their original abilities: Peter can only copy one power at a time (losing the previous power whenever he takes on a new one), and he now needs to copy powers by touch; while Hiro was limited to stopping time, but [[spoiler:it turns out that this was actually his powers becoming a bit unpredictable: they're [[CastFromHitPoints killing him]] and he accelerates a brain tumor every time he uses his powers. He has his full range back, but his powers still misfire sometimes]].
184	** Similarly, [[spoiler:Sylar]] lost all of his powers prior to Volume 2, got his two main ones (telekinesis and understanding how things work) back at the end, and has been expanding his collection ever since.
185	* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' kicked off the plot by having all the Franchise/SuperSentai teams sacrificing their powers for a CombinedEnergyAttack that annihilates the Zangyack fleet invading Earth. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, the Gokaigers, who have inherited that power, returned them to their rightful owners.]]
186	* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'' has two examples in quick succession: [[spoiler:Ex-Aid's MidSeasonUpgrade, Mighty Maximum X, has the ability to "hack" the [[TheVirus Bugster Virus]]. He uses this power first to remove Genm's zombie-based ResurrectiveImmortality then, when faced with the SadisticChoice to let the bastard live or betray his Hippocratic Oath and kill him, [[TakeAThirdOption uses the hacking power to strip Genm of his ability to become a Kamen Rider]].]]
187	* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': The quillions can remove magic from a person (unlike the books, it doesn't require them to die).
188	* In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Rita Repulsa creates and uses the Green Candle plotting to steal back the Green Ranger powers from Tommy. Jason fails to retrieve the candle and Tommy is forced to hand over the Power Coin to Jason to keep it out of Rita's hands. When Tommy completely lost his powers in Season 2, Lord Zedd creates Colored Candles from the remains of the old Green Candle to drain the other Rangers' powers, mostly to get Jason's goat over his failure. Thankfully, Jason comes out on top.
189	* ''Series/{{Misfits}}'':
190	** Seth can remove people's powers (with or without consent), then put them in other people.
191	** Greg is able to remove a person's power through having sex with them (which he does repeatedly).
192	* ''Series/OddSquad'': In "End of the Road", the mid-season finale for Season 3, The Shadow takes away all of the present villains' powers and places them into a cube as part of her EvilPlan to funnel said powers through the tubes at Tube Central Station, which will release oddness into every Odd Squad precinct in the world. She promises the villains that they will receive their powers back when the plan is a success, but the Mobile Unit eventually manages to stop her and Opal convinces her to pull a HeelFaceTurn and become good. Even when the cube breaks and the powers are released into a large purple tornado (which the Mobile Unit, the Big O, and The Shadow manage to suck back into the cube), the villains never get their powers back, as the cube is handed to the Big O and kept in her possession until the events of "Box Trot", where the cube, and the powers, are disposed of in a black hole.
193	* ''Series/PainkillerJane'' The "chip" the agency tags [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual neuros]] with prevents them from using their ability, letting them be taken in safely.
194	* ''Series/ThePower2023'': As fear of the power grows, governments start researching ways to remove the skein that causes it surgically, or suppress this with a drug.
195	* ''Series/StargateSG1'''s Daniel Jackson spends a season as an ascended being and a frequent guest star before rejoining the mortal plane and the main cast in the following season.
196	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': At the end of "Inherit The Earth", [[spoiler:Jack steals all of [[GodIsEvil Chuck's]] divine power, reducing him to an ordinary human]].
197	* ''Series/TheThundermans'': In the episode Thunder in Paradise, Dark Mayhem had a secret supply Malvexium, an element that can render superheroes/villains powerless.
198	* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime2021'':
199	** Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah are devoted to hunting down men who can channel the One Power, after which it's stripped from them, which they call "gentling". It's shown in the pilot (with very ungentle effects).
200	** Non-permanent "shielding" also blocks the ability to channel, but it requires constant effort to maintain.[[note]]Later books also have a version of a shield that holds on its own, but can be broken by the prisoner's efforts.[[/note]] Aes Sedai keep the captive Logain Ablar this way, and he returns the favor when he briefly breaks free.
201	** Stripping power from women is called "stilling". [[spoiler:Ba'alzamon seems to have done this to Moiraine in episode 8. It's later revealed she had only been shielded however, by a weave that had been lost for millennia so it wasn't recognized at first.]]
202	[[/folder]]
203
204	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
205	* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'': As part of their DramaPreservingHandicap, the three "Mistika" Makuta -- Krika, Gorast, and Bitil -- suffered ShapeshifterModeLock and lost several of their near-fifty original powers due to MutagenicGoo. In truth, their EvilPlan required them to keep from using their powers to kill the heroes anyway, but the writers didn't want the fans to learn this too soon.
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Roleplay]]
209	* In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', one [[{{Flashforward}} flash to the future]] shows a mysterious group called the Overseers who are capable of permanently removing a character's superpowers. This is revealed when Benedict notices that Zia has to ask him questions, rather than pluck the answers from his mind, prompting her to reveal that her telepathy was removed.
210	* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Leon loses his half-god powers when he is resurrected as a mortal. All mortals lose their innate magical abilities after the Cataclysm which was caused by the Godslayer.
211	* The plot of ''Roleplay/RollToDodgeSavral'', which originated in the [[Roleplay/TVTropesRollToDodge TV Tropes Roll to Dodge thread,]] begins this way. Prior to [[KillerGameMaster Cathy's]] takeover, players could easily travel to alternate dimensions, form armies of their own, possess important figures and become gods themselves. Once Cathy ascended to godhood, she removed all of their powers, reducing them to the equivalent of 1st level RPG characters. Part of the story involves reclaiming the powers that were lost.
212	* In ''Roleplay/{{Veritable}},'' [[spoiler:Sayaka's]] sword has the ability to rob magical girls of their abilities. Homura finds out the hard way, losing a handful of abilities during their fight. Permanently.
213	[[/folder]]
214
215	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
216	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 4th edition gives this as a possible character's background, where you could no longer use arcane effects.
217	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
218	** After Time Spiral, all Planeswalkers suffered this; most notably [[MagnificentBastard Nicol Bolas]], who went from a PhysicalGod to your average, run of the mill Dragon Mage with a thousand [[GambitIndex gambits]].
219	** In ''[[Literature/WarOfTheSparkRavnica War of the Spark]]'', Bolas tries to undo his depowering by stealing the Sparks of other Planeswalkers with the Elderspell, [[spoiler:only to lose his own Spark and be permanently stripped of his magical powers when his enemies turn the Elderspell against him]].
220	** Shortly after the New Phyrexian invasion, multiple planeswalkers [[labelnote: list, should you want it]] Calix, Huatil, Kiora, Koth of the Hammer, Narset, Nissa Revane, Ob Nixilis, the Kenrith Twins, Saheeli Rai, Samut, Sarkhan Vol, Teferi Akosa, Tyvar Kell, and The Wanderer [[/labelnote]] lost their sparks for unknown reasons. While it hurts, they survive.
221	* ''{{TabletopGame/Pathfinder}}'': Paladins a.k.a Champions will get instantly depowered if they violate their [[OathboundPower codes of conduct]]. This was also present in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 3.5th and earlier editions.
222	[[/folder]]
223
224	[[folder:Video Games]]
225	* In ''VideoGame/CthulhuSavesTheWorld'', the titular EldritchAbomination gets stripped of his powers by a mysterious wizard, and to get his powers back, he should become a true hero. [[BreakingTheFourthWall Hearing that from narrator of the story]], Cthulhu then [[NominalHero embarks on a quest to become a true hero to reclaim his powers back and destroy the world]]. [[spoiler:He succeeds in the fake-out ending, but the narrator, after learning that the player is not satisfied with the ending, reluctantly rewrites the story so Cthulhu would [[RefusalOfTheCall refuse to get his powers back]] after embracing his heroism.]]
226	* In ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' Etna is depowered by 999 levels to level 1.
227	* In ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'' [[spoiler:Valvatorez was depowered from at least level 4000 (as revealed in a flashback DLC) to level 1 after he decided to honor his deal with Artina to not drink human blood until he could scare her even after her death. This also lowers his natural aptitudes so even if you level him back to 4000 he is still weaker than his past self.]]
228	* ''VideoGame/Dishonored2'',
229	** In the intro, Dahlia removes the Outsider's Mark from Corvo, leaving him without his powers from the last game. When you play as him, he'll meet the Outsider again and is offered the power of the Mark once again, but the player has the choice of [[SelfImposedChallenge rejecting it this time]].
230	** The non-lethal way of dispatching Delilah's top witch Breanna Ashworth involves tampering with a device so that it ends up draining her of her powers, rendering her useless to Delilah.
231	* At the midpoint of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' [[spoiler:Mordegon]] takes the power of the Luminary from TheHero. In an instance of GameplayAndStoryIntegration when this happens that portion of the skill tree is removed.
232	* Mantorok, an EldritchAbomination from ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', is sealed within his own temple by Pious Augustus. This prevents him from being able to fuel any SummonMagic the player character tries to cast using his rune (meaning no Mantorok Trappers, Zombies, or Horrors). For extra irony, Pious used a spell fueled with Mantorok's own supreme element to seal it.
233	* Happens in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' to [[spoiler:Thancred after Y'shtola's Flow spell leaves them trapped in the Lifestream]] resulting in him losing his ability to conduct Aether. By the time of Shadowbringers, he's managed to somewhat subvert this by using the new Gunbreaker job, with Minfilia[[spoiler:/Ryne]] charging shells with aether for him to use.
234	* In the very first cutscene in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', the Traveler (along with their twin) is shown to be flying, and their in-game dialogues outright show that they could travel between worlds before their encounter with the Unknown God. After the battle with [[spoiler:Childe]], they can choose to muse to themself about how they're gradually regaining their power.
235	* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'', Kratos is BroughtDownToBadass and slain by Zeus at the start, allowing the player to reacquire his powers as the story progresses.
236	* ''VideoGame/HeroMustDie'' has this happen to TheHero, who was brought back to life for five days after defeating the Demon Lord to set his affairs in order. As time passes, his power gradually wanes, he forgets his magic spells, and he is forced to use weaker armor and weapons to compensate for his dwindling strength, as well as relying increasingly on his allies to help him in battle.
237	* Happens to two of the three Sacred Treasure bearers by the time ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters XIII'' rolls around because of Ash Crimson. Chizuru Kagura is unfortunately depowered to the point she can't even fight anymore but Iori Yagami doesn't let this handicap stop him and enters the tournament anyway (his family's fighting style also incorporates slashing attacks, which is what makes up the bulk of his moves without flame powers). By the end, he regains his power, despite the fact [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity having it can turn him into a bloodthirsty monster]] if he's exposed to the Orochi's power.
238	* This happens to [[spoiler:Magolor]] in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLandDeluxe'''s Magolor Epilogue; [[spoiler:After being defeated as Magolor Soul, he is banished to the depths of AnotherDimension, being stripped of almost all of his powers in the process.]]
239	* This is basically the player character in both of the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games. They used to be very powerful but lost their memory and/or powers just before the start of the game, and you have to gain it back slowly.
240	* In ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'', the main heroine, Lucia, begins as a literal demigod, with enough power to cripple final-dungeon-level enemies that she freely uses to annihilate any enemy you face... until partway out of the first dungeon, when EvilGod Zophar strips her of her power and leaves her a weak, helpless mortal. She can regain much of her power with experience, but for a time she's no better than the rest of the cast.
241	* Amaterasu in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' has been severely weakened after being SealedGoodInACan for [[ExactlyExtyYearsAgo hundred years.]] This means even lowly imps can pose a challenge, and by the end of the game you're strong enough to challenge [[spoiler:Yami, god of the Void and Darkness.]]
242	* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series:
243	** Koudelka Iasant of ''VideoGame/{{Koudelka}}'' suffered this shortly before the first ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts1''. She ended her own game with the power of a Druidic God in addition to her own significant PsychicPowers, but when she confronted [[spoiler:Albert Simon]], her opponent ''also'' had access to powers on that level, in the form of [[spoiler:Amon, the God of Destruction]]. The fight ended with Koudelka drained of almost all of her powers and locked in a mental asylum, though she still had enough power to act as [[spoiler:the voice in Yuri's head guiding him through the plot]].
244	** In the very beginning of ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' Yuri is is shown to canonically acquire [[spoiler:aforementioned Amon]] as a Fusion, and demonstrates this power to a [[MookHorrorShow frightening effect]]. However, early on he gets stabbed by the Holy Mistletoe, and has ''all'' of his Fusions sealed. He manages to get basic Fusions back very quickly, but said power remains sealed until much later on.
245	* Jade Curtiss from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' is a major CrutchCharacter. When you meet him, he's level 45 and awesome enough to wipe the floor with anything your party might encounter, but he soon gets almost all of his powers sealed away and has to spend the majority of the game unsealing them. (ie: Leveling up again)
246	* In ''VideoGame/TouhouTenkuushouHiddenStarInFourSeasons'', [[FinalBoss Okina Matara]] steals the power of the heroine, leaving her with 0.00 power and unable to collect more power again just as Okina uses their sub-weapon to make her final spell card.
247	* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfchild}}'': If Wolfchild loses enough health he will transform back into the human Saul Morrow, this removes any ranged attack and forces you to rely on close quarters combat until you can obtain a powerup and become Wolfchild again.
248	* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': [[spoiler:Joshua, the Composer]] seals much of his powers away so he can play the "game" he has going fairly. Several characters try to take advantage of this to kill him... only to discover that even at "baseline human," [[spoiler:he can still deflect bullets with his mind]].
249
250	[[/folder]]
251
252	[[folder:Webcomics]]
253	* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' [[spoiler:the Light Warriors are all reduced to a fraction of their abilities by Sarda. Thief also has his class change stolen. By Thief.]]
254	* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' Gregory loses his White Magic when the Infernomancer ''rips them out of his chest''. In the comic's final arc [[spoiler:Dominic loses his Third Sight to the Beast, and his Second Sight returns to the Heart of Magic forever.]]
255	* In ''Webcomic/DraconiaChronicles,'' a dragon Priestess can call upon her patron to strip a sinner of her magic until she can prove she's worthy of getting it back with the current reigning dragon Queen deciding when that is. Tigers also have weapons made of a [[PowerNullifier metal that radiates the specific counterwave for magical energy.]]
256	* In ''Webcomic/{{Harbourmaster}}'', [[spoiler:any [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Yogzarthu]] who takes a bite out of Seisha Dree--such as Mormo--will find themselves adopting her HealingFactor in the worst way possible for them. Namely, they get locked into being a clone of her, with no way to shapeshift out--the Healing Factor interprets not-Seisha DNA as "damaged" and in need of "repair".]]
257	* ''Webcomic/HeroesOfHomeroomC'': At the start of the series, Albert and Nicola are zapped by a weapon wielded by [[{{Supervillain}} The Ruiner]]. While they're recovering, their parents are informed that the weapon took away their powers, meaning they can't be superheroes anymore. [[spoiler:Or so it seems, as Nicole is shown some pages later to be able to fly.]]
258	* In ''Webcomic/JennyAndTheMultiverse'', after Lord Grallyx's fire is put out by [[LogicalWeakness dousing him in water]], he is reduced to his true form of a tiny green lizard incapable of flight.
259	* ''Webcomic/KirbyCardClash'' started with Umbra doing this to Kirby, giving the comic a gimmick similar to the Milkyway Wishes subgame from ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' and its DS remake.
260	* In ''Webcomic/MysteryBabylon'', J.J. once wielded angelic superpowers in his role as Heaven's Champion. However, once all but one of the demons on Earth were trapped in the Pit, he had fulfilled his duty as champion and accordingly lost his powers. He attempted to fight the last demon, Mystery Babylon, without his powers; and died as a result.
261	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': When ThePaladin Miko Miyazaki's KnightTemplar tendencies escalate to the crime of [[spoiler:summarily executing her liege lord]], the Twelve Gods [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0407.html manifest in person]] to strip her of her [[OathboundPower powers]].
262	-->'''Belkar:''' But losing your paladinhood through your own willful actions? Do you have any idea how hard that is to reverse? Goodbye, Miko the Paladin--hello, Miko the Fighter-Without-Bonus-Feats.
263	* In ''Webcomic/{{Plume}}'':
264	** It's implied that this is what [[spoiler:Magnus]] wants to do for [[spoiler:Corrick]], although in this case, both parties would probably see this as a gift rather than a curse.
265	** [[spoiler:Azeel]] actually does that to Corrick, although the effects are, thankfully, only temporary.
266	* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'':
267	** It's natural for {{Magical Girl}}s to lose their powers once they become too old to qualify as a 'girl' anymore. Zoe's older sister is noted to be a former magical girl who lost her powers.
268	** Tessa ends up losing her powers earlier than expected when she burns out her magic healing Undine. This has had nasty effects on her mentally.
269	** Mingxing also burned out her powers [[spoiler:using her SuperSpeed to get baby Kokoro to the hospital right after being severely weakened from losing her arm.]] She considers it WorthIt.
270	** [[spoiler:Carrying a pregnancy to term while still a magical girl can result in this as well, as the powers that the mother had somehow transfer to the baby. This is what happened to Kokoro's mother, and explains why Kokoro doesn't have [[CurtainsMatchTheWindows windows that match the curtains]], despite that being the norm for magical girls.]]
271	** Anemone gives a brief explanation about magical burnout [[https://www.sleeplessdomain.com/comic/interstitial here]]. Apparently it's uncommon, but not unheard of.
272	[[/folder]]
273
274	[[folder:Websites]]
275	* ''Website/RPCAuthority'': Many [=RPCs=] apply to this trope, known in-universe as neutralized anomalies. Examples include:
276	** [[https://rpcauthority.wikidot.com/rpc-075 RPC-075]] were two weeping figs that no human could cross the path between but were de-powered and now this no longer works.
277	** [[https://rpcauthority.wikidot.com/rpc-478 RPC-478]] was a painting that could take people into itself but was de-powered and now no longer works.
278	[[/folder]]
279
280	[[folder:Western Animation]]
281	* In the finale of ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan2000'', the villains Tempest and Quake lose their powers permanently.
282	* In the GrandFinale finale of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' [[spoiler:Aang learns how to Energybend and uses it to remove the firebending abilities of Ozai [[ThouShallNotKill as an alternative to executing him.]]]]
283	* ''WesternAnimation/KulipariAnArmyOfFrogs'', Kulipari Quoba overextends her Kulipari powers to save Darel's life, burning out her poison entirely.
284	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
285	** Amon leads an uprising known as the Equalists with the promise to remove the bending abilities of all benders who are oppressing non-benders. As he believes that bending is ''inherently'' oppressive, this leads to a crusade to eliminate all bending throughout the world. [[spoiler:It is revealed that Amon is using a form of bloodbending, not the energybending which the Avatar uses, to perform his feats. His father, the crime lord Yakonne, had had ''his'' bending removed by Avatar Aang years before the start of the series. After the climax of the first season, Korra learns how to energybend herself and is able to reverse the de-powering of Amon's victims.]]
286	** At the end of Season 2, Unalaq robs Korra of her connection to [[LegacyOfTheChosen the past Avatars]], erasing 10,000 years of knowledge & experience and weakening the Avatar cycle for generations to come.
287	* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': The VillainOfTheWeek can be weakened if their weapon is taken away from them or broken in any way; however, they will be deakumatized completely once Ladybug uses her yo-yo to destroy the weapon and purify the akumatized butterfly used to evilize them.
288	* Shining Armor finds himself with [[BodyHorror black crystals embedded in his horn]] which seal off his magic after holding off King Sombra long enough so the others can escape in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''.
289	** Starlight Glimmer can remove the Cutie Marks from ponies, taking away their special talent. The extent of the de-power depends on the pony: Twilight Sparkle loses all her magic, whereas Rainbow Dash can still fly, but without her usual rocket speed.
290	* In the episode "Mo Job" of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', Princess Morbucks teams up with Mojo Jojo to de-power The Powerpuff Girls. Princess obtains powers from the same device Mojo is using to nullify the girl's powers, but Princess is the only character who ends up being hit with it, removing the powers that she gets in the episode.
291	* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', most of the Bang Babies lose their powers permanently.
292	* Both Bumblebee and Starscream lose their transformation cogs over the course of season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. This leads to both ModeLock and the inability to use their [[ShapeshifterWeapon built-in weapons]] leaving both bots at a severe disadvantage against other Cybertronians.
293	* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'':
294	** Bloom becomes de-powered near the end of Season 1 when the Trix steal her Dragon Flame powers. However, Daphne reveals the Trix can't steal the Dragon Flame completely because it's part of her, and once she believes in herself, she gets her powers back.
295	** Stella loses her ability to transform after Chimera turns her into a hideous monster.
296	* The titular team of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' "max out" their powers in the series finale in order to defeat [[spoiler:Cedric.]]
297	* In the Season Two Finale of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', [[CanonForeigner "Black Beetle"]] loses his powers when his PoweredArmor is destroyed by ComicBook/BlueBeetle.
298	[[/folder]]
299

Context Main / Depower