Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / SemanticSuperpower

Go To

1%%
2%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16763003600.66712400
3%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
4%%
5[[quoteright:200:[[Webcomic/ShenComix https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/semantic_superpower.png]]]]
6[[caption-width-right:200:It's a matter of {{perspective|Magic}}.]]
7%%
8%% Caption selected per most recent IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without further discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
9%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
10%%
11->'''The Dragonborn:''' So the Key unlocks any door?\
12'''Karliah:''' Well, yes, but the Key isn't only restricted to ''physical'' barriers. All of us possess untapped abilities; the potential to wield great power securely sealed within our minds. Once you realize the Key can access these traits, the potential becomes limitless.
13-->-- ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim''
14
15A power that is defined solely by wording, and thus capable of a great deal of stretching what it is capable of. Can be used to justify HeartIsAnAwesomePower. Done poorly, it comes across as an {{Asspull}} unless it's obviously being PlayedForLaughs.
16
17In many cases, this is an example of a weapon or power that overtly tests the ''creativity'' of the wielder and their ability to think outside the box. Often, when villains get ahold of the device, they fail at using it, only to be scolded by the hero that their flaw is that they lack the imagination and creativity to make any real use of the item. A creative villain with a power like this, on the other hand, is one to be very much feared.
18
19See also WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer, ImaginationBasedSuperpower, and SwissArmySuperpower. Compare/contrast the InverseLawOfComplexityToPower. See also LiteralGenie. Not to be confused with superpowers that actually consist of [[MakeSomeNoise using speech]] or [[WordsCanBreakMyBones specific words]].
20
21----
22!!Examples:
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26* ''Manga/{{Aphorism}}'' is literally this. All the powers of the characters are based on a single kanji. Someone with the character for "flame" can produce flames, for example. [[spoiler: It's even possible to change your power by interpreting that character differently.]]
27* Nero from ''Manga/BlackClover''. Her Sealing Magic first seemed to only seal objects, unlocking and locking them. However, after working with Lumiere and having her magic affected by Forbidden Magic, she can use it to seal magic into tools, enemies in a cubical prison, damage, and wounds. She even changes between her anti-bird and human forms by sealing and unsealing herself.
28* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
29** Hirako Shinji's Zanpakuto, Sakanade, [[InterfaceScrew can invert its targets' perception of space such that all directions are reversed]]: front and back, left and right, and up and down. He is later able to reverse their perception of sound as well, [[SdrawkcabSpeech inverting the words they hear into nonsensical gibberish]] that only adds to the confusion.
30*** His Bankai takes it to an entirely new level by inverting his targets' perception of ''friend and foe'': [[LetsYouAndHimFight his enemies will start attacking each other]] and [[EvilFormerFriend his allies will turn against him.]] [[FriendlyFireproof In order to prevent the latter]], [[CombatPragmatist Shinji only ever uses his Bankai when he's surrounded by enemies and there are absolutely no allies nearby.]]
31** Tsukishima's Fullbring, Book of the End, allows him to "[[ExactWords insert his presence in the past of whatever his sword cuts]]". Its effect ranges from [[BackstoryInvader inserting himself in the memories of people]], [[MoreThanMindControl to the point that they see him as a lifelong friend or comrade]] ([[spoiler:[[MemoryGambit or as an enemy, if that's more convenient]]]]), to spontaneously creating traps in places he's never even visited before, to [[spoiler: [[RetConjuration retroactively cancelling abilities]] even Orihime cannot reject with [[RealityWarper her power]]]].
32** While at first it seems that Rukia's Zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki, can only [[AnIcePerson create ice or freeze things]], its true power is to drastically decrease her body temperature to the point that anything she touches is frozen on the spot, the sword itself merely increasing her reach. As such, she can bring herself to such a low temperature that [[TechnicallyLivingZombie she's not technically alive anymore]], allowing her to circumvent attacks that only affect the living (such as, say, [[EmotionBomb magic poison capable of inducing bouts]] of [[SupernaturalFearInducer irrational fear]]).
33** Inverted with [[GreaterScopeVillain Yhwach's]] [[RealityWarper The Almighty]]: while the ability to see all possible futures and alter the world to fit into whichever future he chooses is [[StoryBreakerPower overpowered as hell]], it's still limited to altering the future, and only by what Yhwach can see. As a result, it is [[LogicalWeakness vulnerable]] to [[spoiler:Tsukishima's equally broken [[RetConjuration alterations of the past]] and the [[MasterOfIllusion illusions]] of [[PredecessorVillain Aizen's]] Kyoka Suigetsu]].
34** Ichibē Hyōsube, the Commander of Squad Zero has a Zanpakuto called Ichimonji, which takes the form of a huge calligraphy brush and whose powers are entirely based around semantics and nomenclature. His power is to know the name, and thus abilities, of anything and everything he encounters, and his brush can create or change that name and the powers that go with it. The true implication of this power is that he can erase and alter the very essence of a being by removing and rewriting their names. He's able to do things like "cut" someone's arm with his brush, changing its name from "arm" to "ar" and halving its strength in the process, rename someone as an ant, reducing their abilities to nothing more than what an ordinary ant can do, and even [[spoiler: revive himself from a [[LudicrousGibs messy death]] just by having someone say his name close enough to what's left of his corpse.]]
35* [[NamedAfterSomebodyFamous Akutagawa Ryuunosuke]] in ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'' has an Ability that's strictly worded as 'the power to control clothing'. This may seem like WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway, but it ''can be deadly''. Think about making the fabric as sharp as a blade, or creating an omnivorous creature to destroy everything in your path. Or, more obviously, to shield yourself or to propel yourself into the air by rooting your now rock-solid clothes. This power is so dangerous that people are specifically told to stay away from him.
36* In ''Manga/CastleTownDandelion'', [[spoiler:Aoi]]'s RoyaltySuperpower ''Absolute Order'' relies on [[ExactWords how she phrases her speech]] to work. Notice that she politely asks questions to make requests rather than [[CompellingVoice simply telling people to do things]].
37* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' introduces one late in the series: [[spoiler:earlier, Lelouch used his [[CompellingVoice Geass]] on Suzaku to compel him to "''live''", and as a result, Suzaku becomes compelled to prioritize his survival above all else when placed into dangerous situations. By the time Lelouch makes his grab for power with Suzaku as his personal [[TheDragon Dragon]], Suzaku has learned to manipulate the command given to him by Lelouch's Geass to fight even more fiercely, his drive to "''live''" giving him a distinct edge over many of his opponents. In one prominent example, his Geass command to "''live''" overpowers a rival's Geass ability to [[CombatClairvoyance foresee the immediate future]].]]
38* In ''Manga/EdensZero'', the Ether Gear [[GravityMaster Satan's Gravity]] initially appears to just have the standard powers you might expect of this ability. However, it's later revealed that its proper power is the ability to manipulate "true" gravity, allowing its user to apply gravity's concepts to figurative or conceptual things. For example, [[OldMaster Xenolith]] demonstrates to Shiki the ability to "lighten" one's pain, acting as a substitute to HealingHands. It can also be used to make things "fall" into the user, such as other's memories (serving as a form of {{Telepathy}}), feelings (making one TheEmpath), [[spoiler:or even powers (becoming a PowerParasite)]]. [[spoiler:[[BigBad Ziggy]]]] is even able to use true gravity to destroy a set of NighInvulnerable relics that came from [[TheMaker Mother]], stating that since they're made of matter, it doesn't matter what "special" properties they might have because ''nothing'' can ultimately overcome gravity.
39* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
40** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'':
41*** [[spoiler:Gold Experience Requiem]] can return anything to zero. [[spoiler:Its more straightforward use is to return attacks made against it to zero, basically applying a CosmicRetcon to anything that'd harm it. It's also used to set an enemy's death to "zero". Since he can no longer die, he gets caught in a cycle where he constantly "dies", then wakes back up a few moments before "dying" again.]] The character profile suggests that this power can expand to nearly anything, such as a person's motivation.
42*** [[spoiler:Silver Chariot Requiem]] has the ability to "switch people's souls". At first, this manifests as a FreakyFridayFlip, but it is soon revealed that it's started to "switch" people into {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, without them even noticing.
43** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'':
44*** [[spoiler:After merging his Stand, Whitesnake, with the Green Baby, Pucci's]] powers gain the motif of the ability to manipulate gravity: C-MOON can reverse gravity, but also has the ability to turn things inside out by inverting their ''center'' of gravity. However, since gravity in the [[GravitySucks literal]] and [[YouCantFightFate metaphorical]] senses is a major theme of ''Stone Ocean'', the ability is also implied to give [[spoiler:Pucci]] PlotArmor.
45*** Weather Report (whose Stand has the same name as he does) has the power of WeatherManipulation. This includes straightforward applications such as attacking with wind and lightning, but also extends to causing a RainOfSomethingUnusual; at one point, he makes it rain frogs... poison-dart frogs capable of killing a person with a single touch, to be exact. And that's not even the weirdest application of his power; that honor goes to the time when he created rainbows... which [[spoiler:are encoded with subliminal messages that hypnotize people into believing they're snails, almost causing an apocalyptic scenario.]]
46** ''[[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureJojolion JoJolion]]'':
47*** The Stand that Josuke uses, Soft & Wet, has the power to "steal" anything from something, which boils down to removing a certain property from something. He has already used it to remove friction from a floor and the "click" sound from a light switch.
48*** Yasuho Hirose, with the Stand of Paisley Park, from the same part. It possesses the power of "guidance", which has been used to organize internet searches and as a GPS... or to give others a presentiment to push them ''exactly'' where they should be.
49*** Kei Nijimura has her Born This Way. It activates every time her chosen target opens something (or if Kei opens something and it comes into contact with the target), including but not restricted to flip phones, car doors, and ''removing the cap of a pen''.
50* In ''Manga/MakenKi'', this is how Celia's "reverse" power works. Normally, she just uses it to reverse someone's momentum when they attack her, and for a while [[IAmNotLeftHanded everyone assumes that's all she can do]]. However, she can also reverse a fighter's strength (making them weak), reverse the {{Determinator}}'s aggression (turning him into an apathetic mess), and [[spoiler:[[GenderBender reverse her own gender (turning her from her natural male gender into a girl)]]]].
51* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
52** Tsuyu's Quirk allows her to [[AnimalThemedSuperbeing do whatever a frog can]]. Which means she has very powerful leg muscles, can leap huge distances InASingleBound, has a very long and powerful tongue, has excellent mobility in water, can adhere to walls, hide things in her stomach to get them out later, and even camouflage herself. As a downside, however, she's ectothermic and becomes sluggish in the cold.
53** Similar to Tsuyu, Mirko's quirk is basically "anything a rabbit can do", which gives her [[KickChick some]] [[SuperStrength monstrously strong]] [[SuperSpeed legs]] along with SuperHearing and DangerSense. She's the 5th top-ranked hero and the no.1 female hero in Japan, even beating out other top-ranked female heroes whose quirks involve ''turning gigantic'' and ''transforming into an enormous dragon.''
54** {{Inverted|Trope}} with the USJ Nomu: it's Quirk is Shock ''Absorption'', not Shock ''Nullification''. All Might realizes he can exploit this and, figuring the Nomu's Quirk must have a limit to how much it can absorb, engages in a PummelDuel with it until it can't absorb his punches anymore, after which he [[ATwinkleInTheSky sends it flying]] with a MegatonPunch.
55** Eri's Quirk is described as being able to [[spoiler:"rewind" things to a previous state. So far, her blood's removed Quirks, she's undone fusions, healed injuries, and ''[[DeathByDeaging erased people from existence]]'']]. Because such a power could easily become a StoryBreakerPower, she's hospitalized and feverish at the end of her spotlight arc, which also implies that her power is limited.
56** "One For All," the protagonist's inherited Quirk, behaves like this, but only over long periods of time. Originally it was a weak ability to "stockpile power" combined with a separate ability to transfer Quirks to others. Turns out it can "stockpile power" over ''multiple generations'', so it gradually inherited characteristics from its users until it became a [[LightningBruiser super-strength and super-speed combo]]. It seems to have also "stocked" some of the collective will of its past users, as seen when their spirits seemingly intervene to break Midoriya out of a mind-control attack. His mentor and predecessor tells him not to narrow-mindedly imitate the way he used this Quirk, since developing his own style will both allow him to fight more effectively and allow the Quirk itself to become more powerful. [[spoiler:And then it's revealed the natural extension of it "stockpiling" powers when most of the previous users had other Quirks as well as One For All; it's reached the point that the ''other'' Quirks locked within One For All are being unlocked, granting Izuku '''six more''' Quirks. And since the "stockpiling power" makes One For All more powerful with each generation, Midoriya's versions of these Quirks will also be stronger than the previous wielders' versions of them. The SuperpowerLottery has officially been won by him. The only downside is that the increased power makes learning to ''control'' these Quirks also more difficult...and while this is a serious downside the first few times he uses a Quirk, he masters each of them fairly quickly after that.]][[note]][[spoiler:And some are mastered offscreen, during a significant timeskip.]][[/note]]
57** Tamaki Amajiki's Quirk, Manifest, lets him [[YouAreWhoYouEat don the attributes of whatever he ate]] so long as it's still in his digestive system. If he eats shellfish, he'll manifest the shell. If he eats vegetables, he'll manifest leaves. If he eats takoyaki, he'll manifest octopus tentacles, and so forth. [[spoiler:And the thing he eats doesn't need to be food, as demonstrated during the Shie Hassaikai arc, where he eats one of an ExtraOreDinary gangster's crystals.]]
58** Best Jeanist’s MasterOfThreads quirk is usually thought of in terms of clothing and fabric fibers, but he can also control things like steel building wires.
59* One of the marks of a strong Devil Fruit user in ''Manga/OnePiece'' is how many of these uses for their powers they can figure out. In a column for his DirectLineToTheAuthor, series creator Eiichiro Oda stated that Devil Fruit powers never change or grow stronger over time; their users just get more creative.
60** Gecko Moria's [[CastingAShadow Shadow-Shadow Fruit]] allows him to [[FightingAShadow control his own shadow as though it were a clone of himself]]; it can also be broken apart to serve other purposes, and Moria can even [[SwapTeleportation switch places with it at will]]. But perhaps a deadlier use of his ability is the power to remove the shadows of his enemies, which he can then transplant into corpses to [[PowerCopying grant them the skills of the shadow's owner]], making him a {{necromanc|y}}er in all but name: such corpses become [[AnimateDead zombies]] that inherit the personality of the shadow's owner, and Moria can alter the shape of the transplanted shadow to alter the physical form of the zombie's body (when it is usually the shadow that reflects the shape of the owner). As a rather nasty side effect, people who've had their shadow stolen [[NoBodyLeftBehind will be disintegrated]] if [[WeakenedByTheLight exposed to sunlight]], under the logic that if an object CastsNoShadow, then it doesn't exist. If pushed into a corner, Moria can forcibly reclaim the stolen shadows and transplant them into ''himself'', gaining the cumulative strength and size of the absorbed shadows; [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever he becomes colossal]] after absorbing ''1,000 shadows''.
61** Bartholomew Kuma ate the Paw-Paw Fruit. He can push and repel anything with the paws on his hands. While he can repel any attack he can put his hand on, it doesn't stop there. First off, anything he repels he can do so at any speed he desires, such as ''the air itself.'' His "Paw Cannon" where he reflects the air at supersonic speeds serves as a powerful ranged attack while also pushing himself so fast he seems to be teleporting. He can push the air and concentrate it into a large paw bubble and condense it to make a pressure explosive. He can send someone basically anywhere in the world they can travel to via a straight line (or taking gravity into account, a parabolic curve) at intense speeds. That straight line limitation is only as far as one can guess. He can even ''repel the pain'' out of someone, taking the form of an ominous red bubble that can then be pushed into someone to deal them the damage and fatigue the other person had.
62** Trafalgar Law, who has the Op-Op Fruit, can operate on things inside a spherical space. Being a surgeon, the ability to perform operations is fitting, but living things are not the only thing he can operate on and the word "operate" itself is not limited to a medical context. This translates to him being able to literally "work" (i.e. "operate") on anything inside his space, [[SpaceMaster manipulating and modifying everything inside]]. After the TimeSkip, it’s shown that his abilities are far more than just manipulation. He can scan objects, [[BeatStillMyHeart remove your still-beating heart]] and [[FreakyFridayFlip make people switch bodies]] (by transplanting people's souls), [[ShockAndAwe electrocute his target]] by using his hands as a defibrillator, and even [[AtomicSuperpower generate and wield radiation-like energy weapons]] to [[ArmorPiercingAttack fry his enemies from the inside]]. [[spoiler:[[NextTierPowerUp Awakening his Devil Fruit]] brings new possibilities to the table by allowing him to coat his sword with a compressed ROOM, allowing him to alter its length and channel electricity through it while otherwise harmlessly phasing through his target, or latch a remote version of ROOM at his target to apply specific effects on them from a distance.]]
63** Charlotte Brûlée ate the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, which gives her a variety of different powers relating to mirrors and reflections, resulting in a loosely related set of ComboPlatterPowers. She can enter and exit from mirrors, which she does via access to a "Mirror World" that appears to be an alternate dimension; perfectly imitate someone else's movements while taking on their mirror image form including duplication of powers; [[MirrorMonster appear in mirrors and affect the world outside of mirrors]]; and temporarily [[CloneByConversion morph a human or animal into a duplicate of another human or animal]].
64* The magical girls' individual powers in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' and its spin-offs come from their wishes. Some are pretty obvious simply from the wish's wording, some are not. The more specific the wish is, the simpler the power is. Sayaka, who wished for her crush's hand to be healed has the power to heal almost instantly, while Mami, who wished to survive a car crash, has her power derived from a ''Buddhist philosophy'' of "connecting to life" which granted her power to create ribbons that she can manipulate and shape as she wishes. Those barriers, muskets, and cannons she uses? Made from ribbons. And in ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]'', she makes a ''[[ActuallyADoombot clone]]'', who may have fought an elaborate GunFu battle with Homura, out of those ribbons.
65* In ''Sachie-chan Go!'', the Octonians reward a pair of Earth heroes with rewards to be chosen from a (physical) catalog, using a [[{{AppliedPhlebotinum}} machine that materializes the pictures within]]. Zarido, who comes from a drought-stricken small village, chooses the lush mountain on the catalog cover. The Octonians have no choice but to give him the reward.
66* The "hundred power" possessed by Kotetsu and Barnaby in ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' is said to increase their abilities a hundredfold. They primarily make use of the considerable boost this gives to their strength, speed, and ability to resist injury, but Kotetsu is also shown using it as a HealingFactor and to enhance his senses when needed.
67* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' and ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'' there exist the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception which allow you to see the "lines of death" of objects, which cause the object to be destroyed when cut. This has been applied not only to destroy inanimate objects and mortal beings but also numerous immortals, poisons, telekinetic attacks and barriers, and even space. The concept of death is stretched to the point where it is said that by the end of ''The Garden of Sinners'' [[spoiler: Shiki at full power is basically a god.]]
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Comic Books]]
71* Mirror Master, one of ComicBook/TheFlash's enemies, can do just about whatever the writer can imagine as long as it involves light and/or glass, up to and including creating entire mirror universes.
72-->''"I can use a mirror a thousand different ways. Can turn a man inside out. Cut a hole through a seven-foot concrete wall. Make ye see things from yer fantasies--or from yer worst nightmares."'' (''ComicBook/TheFlash'' vol. 2 #212)
73* Cypher of ''ComicBook/XMen,'' whose only power is the ability to understand all languages. After being written as completely useless 99% of the time, writers upgraded his powers to include programming languages and a dozen other things most sane people would never label a language. For example, understanding "body language" lets him know what somebody's going to do in a fight before they make the move. And let's not get into how broken it is to have total understanding of the language of ''magic'' -- not as broken as one might assume, though; Doctor Strange has pointed out to several foes (most notably Nicodemus and Silver Dagger) that mastering the reciting of spells can only make one a skilled adept. True mastery requires spiritual development and enduring trials and experiences... it has to be earned as well as learned.
74* Various versions of the villainous android Amazo possess the combined powers of the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}. One version of Amazo turned out to possess the JLA's abilities on a conceptual level to such a degree that he could copy all members present or not and [[spoiler:he was depowered and defeated when the heroes temporarily disbanded the JLA.]]
75* ComicBook/DoctorStrange is the Master of ''all'' Mystic Arts, thank you. In an early appearance, he saves some bystanders using the Indian rope trick, an old standard from stage magic.
76* [[DependingOnTheAuthor Some writers]] of ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} give him power over any living thing that has a connection to the sea. The trick is that it doesn't have to be a ''present'' connection: so long as the creature, or its ancestors, was in the sea at some point in time, he can control it. And guess where virtually ''all life on Earth'' originates from?
77* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'': Beast Boy can take the form of any animal. Do alien life forms count? Mythic animals? [[ContinuitySnarl Depends on writer and/or retcon.]] Various versions of him have also become ''groups'' of animals and a werebeast that combined traits from multiple animals.
78* Nico Minoru from ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' has the Staff of One, a powerful MagicStaff that can do just about anything. The only limitation is that [[ItOnlyWorksOnce she can't use the same command twice]] and expect the same result. However, she can get away with using ''synonyms''. A cursory look at the English language alone (and she's not limited to only English) proves that the Staff's limitation isn't so much a limitation as it is a test of her ingenuity and her willingness to expand her mind and her vocabulary. Many times she is sidelined because she finds herself unable to come up with a new way of wording something.
79** This even appears in ''Videogame/MarvelPuzzleQuest'', where whenever one of Nico's Staff of One abilities is used, the power name changes, at times even in other languages (Heal! becomes Kaifuku!, Curar!, and Curatio!).
80* Wildcat from the ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' has nine lives. You'd think he'd be gone after dying nine times, but nope: he ''always'' has nine lives.
81* This is about the only limitation to the [[SmugSnake infuriatingly annoying]] Gladstone Gander's [[BornLucky inherent power of extremely good luck]] in the [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Donald Duck comic stories.]] Specifically, Gladstone seems to have the ability to always receive an outcome that has the lowest possible odds. This backfires on him, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard especially when he tries to manipulate that outcome,]] on several occasions:
82** In one instance, Huey, Dewey, and Louie fill a contest-entry box with pieces of paper with Gladstone's name on them, and leave only one of Donald's. Gladstone, confident of his victory, chooses a piece and gives it to the judges... only to realize (too late) that with the odds so stacked against Donald, the ''luckiest'' option would be choosing his name. Sure enough, Donald wins. Subverted on the final page, where Gladstone insists that no amount of semantics can change the fact that having ''good luck'' should not lead to ''losing'' unless there was something bad about winning -- and then finds out, much to his schadenfreude, that Donald's victory did indeed amount to him being BlessedWithSuck.
83** Gladstone, Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie once competed to find a rare ruby buried somewhere on a beach. While the boys dug, Gladstone spread his towel out on the sand and waited, knowing full well that his luck powers would eventually hand the ruby to him. When he finally got impatient and left, Huey, Dewey, and Louie decided to check the one spot no one had thought to look: ''under Gladstone's blanket.'' And sure enough, that's precisely where the gem was. In other words, Gladstone's powers [[ExactWords did find the ruby's hiding place]] -- they didn't ''give'' it to him.
84** Gladstone himself occasionally complains about the semantics of his luck in instances that overlap with BlessedWithSuck. His power specifically gives him ''abnormally'' good fortune like winning sweepstakes or finding treasure (in other words, things that have incredibly low odds)...which means that "minor" lucky things (like catching a bus or finding what he needs while shopping) are basically impossible. He even has to have Donald run simple errands for him because any attempt he makes to get to a store is inevitably blocked by a constant string of once-in-a-lifetime happenings that don't let up until well after said store has closed.
85* ComicBook/{{Vixen}} has the ability to mimic the abilities of any animal in existence. Given that she lives in the FantasyKitchenSink that is the DCU, this means she can copy the abilities of mythical beings such as dragon. At one point, she could also copy the abilities of the human animal which allows her to copy the speed of Jay Garrick (one of the Flashes), Black Lightning's electrokinesis, and every power in Superman's entire set of ComboPlatterPowers, although she protested that this ''wasn't'' how her powers worked, and it turned out the TricksterGod Anansi was altering her story.
86* The Legion of Super-Heroes villain the Persuader has an axe said to be able to cut through anything. This includes intangible things like the force of gravity causing things to float, metaphorical things like someone's air supply, and even the boundary between timelines to build the Fatal Five into the Fatal Five ''Hundred''.
87* This trope is taken to its logical conclusion with ''ComicBook/TheInhumans'' character simply named Reader. His power is warping reality to manifest whatever he reads. In his past, his people had gouged his eyes out to try and nullify this ability, but he worked around it by learning braille. Maximus correctly guesses that, since words and their meanings are entirely constructed, he can manifest any nuanced effect he wants as long as there's a word to mean so. To this end, he coins the word "floob", as a concise way to induce a mass astral projection.
88** Karnak, a BadassNormal member of the royal family was given a similar semantic upgrade to Cypher's. Originally, he was Black Bolt's bodyguard, whose training and mental focus allowed him to sense the weak points in solid objects, and strike them at just the right force and angle to make them shatter. That ability was expanded so that he can see the weak point in anything, from solid objects to fighting styles to ''arguments.''
89* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' enemy Dr. Destiny is a pro at this, employing lateral thinking for new uses and ways to return after the League beats him.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Fan Works]]
93* In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfiction, ''Fanfic/{{Harmless}}'':
94** Jazz thinks the Box Ghost's powers could operate like this. With some flexibility about what he considers "boxes," it could provide him with a lot more versatility. Confirmed in Chapter 15, where he attacks [[BigBad Ammit]] with boxes he swiped from a Guys In White's warehouse, reminding everyone that he can not only control boxes but their contents as well.
95** Sidney Poindexter has only the basic ghost powers everywhere but on the Casper High School grounds. ''Grounds'' is the key word here. When the school is attacked, and the Ghost Shield protecting the students limits his options, he drags up the plumbing and sprinkler system.
96* Some of the more creative uses of Pokemon abilities in the ''Fanfic/{{Pokeumans}}'' universe have incorporated this. For instance, Pain Split, which is normally used to equal out physical damage, has also been used to displace emotional pain as well.
97* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11021904/1/ White]]'', the abilities of the [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Sternritter]] are based around a word, but it's shown that the extent of their abilities depends on how they interpret them, such as Gerard Valkyrie using his power of "Miracle" to become unkillable. The newest Sternritter, [[spoiler:Yuzu]], is given the power of "Light" and several remark that depending on how she uses it, she might become one of their strongest members.
98* In ''Fanfic/{{Juxtapose}}'', Izuku's Quirk allows him to banish up to 10 g of any substance to another dimension so long as he's touching it, knows its structure, and where exactly he wants to make the "cut". It's the continuity of the object, not the size, that matters. [[spoiler:When he realizes that the atmosphere is one continuous object, he quickly weaponizes it to swat a fleeing Villain out of the sky.]]
99* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': ''Manga/OnePiece'''s use of this trope is discussed in chapter 15 when Cross is giving some of the crew advice on their abilities. They take his advice, and it winds up vastly aiding them in getting stronger.
100-->"Devil Fruits give powers based around a word. From there, their users can exploit that word to the utmost, pushing it to its limit, and finding copious ways to exploit them. The stupid and ineffective users, they'd do like Usopp did: they'd focus on the ''obvious'' effect, the ''obvious'' usage of their powers. Now, that might cut it for users out in the Blue Seas... but the ones here, here in the Grand Line?" I jabbed my finger out to sea. "They're the dangerous ones. The strong ones. The ''smart'' ones. They're the ones who embrace ''every'' aspect of their words and use them to the utmost. They take the words 'paw', 'string', 'love' and 'sand'..." I looked Luffy dead in the eye. "And they use those words to maintain their positions as ''Warlords''."
101* In ''Fanfic/PathToMunchies'', Taylor has an unrestrained Path to Victory (a power that automatically gives her all the steps she has to take in order to fulfill an objective) but for various reasons, she believes she has the restriction that her paths must have steps related to production or consumption of food. It still allows her to do things like finding people - by planning how to have lunch with them - or defeating an enemy - by using food as a weapon or a distraction.
102* Izuku in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13135627/1/Bringing-the-Heat Bringing the Heat]]'' has a Quirk that allows him to pull anything he perceives as "hot" towards him. While initially it seems to only apply to temperature, he also pulls Ochako towards him by thinking about how hot she is.
103* In ''Fanfic/ADarkerPath'', Taylor's power is the Path to Ending, which gives her the steps to kill anyone or anything. Besides using it to kill Sophia, she's also used it to kill a conversation (knowing exactly what to say to make someone stop talking to her) or kill the chances of someone spotting her (knowing exactly where to step so she's always out of their line of sight). After Sophia's body is discovered Taylor considers that she might need to find a way to kill the investigation. She even proves capable of "killing" things like thread locks and bans on the PHO forums. Finally, it's implied she broke out of her locker by killing the lock.
104* ''Fanfic/HawkmothGetsAReference'': The akuma Shipmaster's power works based on whoever she ships using their PortmanteauCoupleName to make them [[LovePotion fall in love with each other]]. For example, when she hits Chloé to ship Libee (Lila x Chloé), Lila is the first to fall in love and pull the blonde into a makeover fest. Likewise, when Ladybug gets hit to ship [=LadyNoir=] she falls madly in love with Chat, though he manages to break her out of the spell by tricking her into de-transforming behind a dumpster, as the ship is with their hero identities and not between Chat and Marinette. Though even after Shipmaster is defeated, [[BrainwashResidue Marinette still feels the effect of the brainwashing]].
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
108* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', the fairies can only "do good to bring joy and happiness." This implies that they can't use offensive or martial magic, but there's [[LoopholeAbuse a loophole]]: "good" can be interpreted fairly broadly--for example, killing Maleficent might be considered evil, but they don't kill her themselves, instead helping Phillip to do it with a spell that specifically states it will let "good endure." It's also implied that they [[NoSelfBuffs aren't allowed to use magic for their own gain]]--Merryweather gripes that "[turning] Maleficent into a fat old hop toad...would make ''me'' happy," but she never tries to do so. However, saving Phillip so he can kiss Aurora would make ''the two of them'' happy, and rescuing the prince and princess of two kingdoms would undoubtedly "bring joy" to the entire populace. This is probably the reason why the fairies are able to use defensive transformation magic during the climax of the movie (and Merryweather gets her wish of revenge by transforming Diablo, Maleficent's raven, into stone as part of that defense).
109* The short 2020 film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJvzuJvDHlI The Box Assassin]]'' is about a hitman who can teleport into and conceal himself in anything that can be considered a "box", no matter how small -- mailboxes, birthday boxes, boomboxes, toolboxes, pizza boxes, etc. He uses this for the DeadlyDelivery and YouGotMurder tropes. At the climax of the movie, he appears in the glove compartment of the fleeing target's car -- also known as a glove''box''.
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Literature]]
113* In the ''Literature/AlcatrazSeries'', the Smedry family have Talents like "being late", "talking nonsense", "getting lost", "tripping and falling", "waking up ugly", "dancing badly" or "breaking things". Doesn't sound like much - until you consider that "being late" to a meeting with a bullet or "breaking" the space-time continuum are fully acceptable uses of these Talents. The guy who gets lost is the group's guide (it acts as a semi-randomized teleport; you'll get to your destination eventually, you'll just get to see a lot of other random locations first), the girl who wakes up ugly is the MasterOfDisguise (she's got a ''really'' broad definition of ugly), and the bad dancer is one of the deadliest martial artists in the world if there's music playing (when he says he's a bad dancer, he ''means'' bad dancer).
114* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
115** Accelerator's power is "controlling vectors". Now, let's look at what he's done so far and what he says he can do. Flight because he has to LET gravity affect him. Super strength and speed that can be multiplied infinitely. Telekinesis. Pyrokinesis. Wind control. Plasma creation. [[{{Technopath}} Control over all electrical currents, including bioelectricity.]] Immunity to all weaponry and damage except lack of air, pretty much. And much, much more. Vector control means he gets to do pretty much whatever he wants to as long as it involves 'something goes somewhere,' which is basically everything since movement is the basis of, well, everything. The only things shown to affect him without tricking him or making him neglect to deflect something are [[spoiler: [[HollywoodVoodoo magic or techniques that would make him take damage or pain that the other is feeling or something similar]], since [[LogicalWeakness he has nothing to repel there]]]]. The only limit to Accelerator's abilities is the mathematics behind controlling the vectors: if something is too complicated for him to calculate in his head, he can't do it, even if his powers technically should cover that. This isn't too much of a hindrance to him though, as he's a practically superhuman [[GoodWithNumbers mathematical genius]].
116** [[spoiler:[[BigBad Fiamma of the Right]]]]'s power is to "replicate any feat performed by the right hand". As long as it's been performed by the right hand, he can do it himself. Much like Accelerator's powers, this doesn't really limit what he can do as much as it sounds like it would at first: What ''hasn't'' been performed by someone's right hand? What makes this power so terrifying is it applies to divine beings like angels as well, which is the application [[spoiler:Fiamma]] typically invokes. Look at how he recreates the sword used by the cherub who protects Eden: a ''forty-kilometer-long flaming sword!'' This is nowhere near [[spoiler:Fiamma]]'s maximum strength, by the way.
117* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'': Sandry is a stitch witch, having magical powers over thread and anything made of it. This ability extends to things that can be treated as thread. For example, she wove her magic and the magic of her three friends together to save them during an earthquake, and she "stitched" the soul of her uncle, the Duke of Emelan, to his body and kept him alive during his heart attack until the Healers could get to him. She is the only known stitch witch that can do this, since her teacher Lark, a Great Mage, can't spin or weave magic.
118* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Sages touch upon "Icons," Platonic ideals of specific concepts like the Sword Icon, the Strength Icon, or the Void Icon. These Icons give them RealityWarper powers directly related to their core concepts (plus a few abilities common to all Sages, like [[{{Teleportation}} spatial transit]]). As it turns out, a lot of Sage work depends on how you think about something, rather than the actual effect. For example, using the Void Icon to fill a mug of water is horrifically difficult, but using the Void Icon to empty one mug into another is the easiest thing in the world, despite having the exact same effect. With enough practice the Void Sage can even "empty" someone of injuries by ordering the injury to stop existing.
119* ''Literature/DateALive'': Mukuro Hoshimiya's Angel, [[CoolKey Michael]], can "lock" the traits of the object it touches. It can lock anything from physical capabilities to ''abstract concepts'', she used the ability to lock her own emotions in the past. It can disable machines, lock away emotions and memories, and even [[ApocalypseHow stop Earth's]] [[WorldWreckingWave rotation]]. It can also "unlock" traits, such as space to create wormholes, herself to unleash her full power, or the bonds between particles to disintegrate the target.
120* ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'':
121** Issei starts with the power of Boost ([[StatusBuff doubles his own strength with each use]]), and soon unlocks Transfer (transfers the effects of Boosts to another). In one of his first big fights, he uses these to Boost ''holy water'', enhancing its properties to the point where it can extinguish the flames of a Phoenix-themed demon and [[AntiRegeneration negate their regeneration]].
122** Issei's rival Vali has the opposite power, to [[StatusInflictionAttack Divide an opponent's strength in half]] and [[EnergyAbsorption absorb it]]. He's also capable of dividing ''space'', crushing things out of existence.
123** Issei's "Dress Break" was originally invented to defeat opponents nonlethally by [[TheNudifier destroying their clothes]]. As [[CerebusSyndrome the story becomes more serious]] (and Issei more powerful) he learns how to use it to ''save lives'', pumping in so much mana that its effects extend into the Astral Plane and strip away even deadly curses from the target.
124** Ddraig's true power, Penetrate, makes Issei's attacks [[UnblockableAttack pierce all defences]]. He soon figures out how to apply Penetrate to his ''vision'' as well, letting him [[XRayVision see through solid objects]].
125* In ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'', this is basically how the [[LanguageOfMagic Ancient Language]] works, with skilled/imaginative magicians able to perform feats using words that have no obvious relation. For example, [[spoiler:Selena]] was able to use the word for "heal" to perform a form of PsychicAssistedSuicide by "healing" people of all of their negative emotions, which caused them to just stand there in a state of total bliss while she just walked up to them and calmly murdered them all.
126* ''Literature/KagerouDaze'': Kido's Concealing Eyes lets her make people or objects within several meters of her impossible to notice. The seventh novel reveals a much different way her power can be used: [[spoiler:causing LaserGuidedAmnesia by "concealing" memories.]] The final novel goes further with this, with the Concealing Eyes [[spoiler:disabling a powerful enemy by "concealing" everything around him from all of his senses]].
127* ''Literature/TheLongPriceQuartet'': The Khaiate poets have this power. If they can completely and unambiguously describe a concept that nobody else has described in that fashion before, that concept becomes incarnate as an ''andat'', and grants total power over that concept. So the poet who holds Stone-Made-Soft can harden or soften any stone anywhere in the world, while the poet who holds Clarity-Of-Vision can enhance the vision of any living thing... or blind it.
128* In ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'', Door can unlock and open anything. Including, when she sets her mind to it, people, with gory results.
129* ''Literature/{{Nightside}}'':
130** John Taylor has the power to find things. Things include lost people, secret paths, bullets that were just in your gun, air that was just in your lungs, crucial weaknesses, your death, or the possibility that you were never born.
131** Quite a few characters have powers to "choose and enforce an alternative timeline/reality/possibility." How far removed the new reality will be depends only on the user.
132* ''Literature/ThePerfectRun'': Yellow powers are "concepts." This results in people with powers like "cut anything" or "being lucky" or "being a ghost" or "controlling death." Generally speaking, Yellows are completely supreme within their own domain, and can only be defeated by bypassing it somehow. Ryan is able to avoid Fortuna's luck and Pluto's bad luck by acting within his time stop, because he is overlaying the Violet world and their powers only affect the human world. Everyone else generally agrees that Yellows are the most annoying to deal with.
133* The major characters of ''Literature/PlayingForKeeps'' apparently have [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway lame]] abilities, but several of their powers actually have this function.
134** Main character Keepsie inherently protects her belongings by paralyzing anyone who tries to steal something from her. In other words, anything that's hers can't be taken away. She eventually realizes that her ''life'' "belongs" to her, which makes her completely immune to intentional harm, and begins to extend this skill to several other metaphysical concepts. You know how people tend to call their companions "''my'' friends"?
135** Michelle's power is the ability to carry and perfectly balance any tray, regardless of what's on it. She learns to translate this into a form of SuperStrength--if something is technically resting on a tray (regardless of the size of both), she can pick it up.
136** Collette is a SupremeChef who has the power to instinctively know a person's favorite food, and how to prepare it just the way they like it. With some creative thinking, this makes her a LivingLieDetector--people who disguise themselves as other individuals (which occurs more often than you'd think in a world where VoluntaryShapeshifting is commonplace) might be able to perfectly alter their appearance, but they can't change who they ''truly'' are, and that's what her power works on.
137* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}'': Mace Windu has the power to identify the precise point in anything, if such a point exists, on which he can perform a ShatterpointTap to break it. He can do this to crystals, armor plating, strategies, people's egos, the will of armies, and entire interstellar nations. However, being able to identify a shatterpoint doesn't mean tapping it will be easy, or that it will remain there permanently. His greatest shame is not killing Count Dooku on Geonosis when he had the chance -- Jango Fett would've killed him immediately after, but Dooku was the shatterpoint whose death would have broken the Separatist alliance in its infancy, which the escalation of the Clone Wars means is no longer so simple.
138* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', one of the ten powers of [[FunctionalMagic Surgebinding]] is "Adhesion". While Windrunners use Adhesion to stick objects together, Bondsmiths use it in a much more abstract sense: forging spiritual connections to people to become {{Instant Expert}}s in their native language, merging the [[spoiler: [[SpiritWorld Cognitive]] and Spiritual Realms with the Material world]] in a region, and so on.
139** It's implied that the other orders also have semantic powers, though they are less pronounced than those of the Bondsmiths.
140*** Windrunners have power over [[GravityMaster gravity]] and [[StickySituation adhesion.]] They are also inspiring leaders and community builders who are good at ''drawing people in'' and ''binding them together.''
141*** Lightweavers can [[MasterOfIllusion create illusions]] and [[{{Transmutation}} transmutate matter.]] They are also gifted at telling [[SelfFulfillingProphecy lies that become true when people believe them]] (e.g., if you make people believe that you have power, they will start to obey you, which means that you'll have power). In other words, they create ''illusions'' of something being a certain way, and in doing so ''transforms'' the situation.
142*** Edgedancers can manipulate friction to make themselves [[SlipperySkid slick.]] They are also known to be very socially ''smooth,'' effortlessly fitting into any company.
143* Sayumi Takanashi of ''Literature/WhenSupernaturalBattlesBecameCommonplace'' has Origin Root, the power to restore things back to their original state. In contrast to other powers in the series that are very straightforward, it depends on interpretation and is used from healing damage to the body and fixing clothes, to teleporting backwards (by restoring oneself back to where she originally came from) to [[spoiler:rescuing Hatoko from kidnappers by restoring the literature club back to original state with all its members present]]. This almost certainly includes being able to resurrect the dead, but she swore not to ever try that. Being reliant on interpretation also imposes its limits, as she cannot just [[spoiler:restore people's superpowers away]] even though she wants to, as she does not subconsciously believe that [[spoiler:having superpowers]] is the normal state now.
144* The proprietor of ''Wong's Lost and Found Emporium'' can find anything you've lost on his shelves. This includes physical objects like car keys and immaterial things like the respect of one's children. He finds this for one customer in the form of the mice the man must make calm but the mice are eaten by a snake before that can happen. At story's climax, another customer points out that she can help the proprietor find the chance he lost to help the first.
145* ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'':
146** Reverse wood has the ability to reverse something, and can turn certain lame Talents into very deadly ones. Of course, given the LawOfNarrativeCausality is an actual ''law of physics'' in this world, it's not surprising.
147** Bink initially appears to have ''no'' magic, but the end of the first novel reveals that he is actually a powerful magician: he cannot be harmed by magic. And one way or another, basically [[StoryBreakerPower everything in Xanth is magic.]] And if finding out about this power caused someone to attack him via mundane means, even ''that'' would count as magic, so it won't work. [[note]]Because the only reason why someone would think to attack him mundanely is that they noticed that magic didn't harm him, which wouldn't have happened if there hadn't been some magic around to not harm him, so therefore the magic would have been the indirect cause of him being harmed... [[InsaneTrollLogic Yeah.]] That said, his talent does seem to work at slightly reduced strength when it has to stretch that far.[[/note]] And when the Demon X(A/N)th (the source of all magic) was freed, he immediately decided to come back, and characters theorize that his decision to do so was due to Bink's power (can't protect him from magic if there's no magic!). Yes, magic might only exist so that Bink can be safe from it. Try not to think too hard about it.
148* In ''Literature/WingsOfFire'', [[RealityWarper animus]] [[WordsCanBreakMyBones magic]] works entirely on semantics. Probably the most infamous example of this is a bowl enchanted to duplicate anything dropped in it when a command phrase is spoken. The animus who enchanted it intended it for food only, but due to the wording of the spell, ''anything'' placed in the bowl is duplicated as long as it's small enough, and the duplicates are perfect copies down to the enchantments. [[spoiler:Qibli abuses this to his advantage to save the entire [=IceWing=] tribe by duplicating an earring that protects the wearer from any spells ever cast on them by [[BigBad Darkstalker]]. Since the incurable plague currently afflicting the [=IceWing=] tribe was the result of a spell cast by Darkstalker, the earrings instantly cured the plague. In addition, because the Ice Kingdom is behind a magical cliff that only lets [=IceWings=] and [=IceWing=] hybrids pass, the earrings had to be distributed by an [=IceWing=] hybrid residing outside the Ice Kingdom (since Darkstalker is half [=IceWing=], he explicitly left an exception for [=IceWing=] hybrids so he wouldn't affect himself or his descendants).]]
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
152* ''Series/TheAlmightyJohnsons'':
153** Mike is Ullr, god of games, which means that he doesn't lose games under any circumstances--and a game is defined as anything that two people agree is a game. He's invincible in a fight if his opponent makes the mistake of betting on it, and he can even read minds if someone tells him to "Guess what". After all, it's a guessing ''game''.
154** Johann, father of the Johnson brothers, is Njord, god of the sea. His power is to "spread oil on troubled waters," to calm the sea. While this works fine on the literal sea, he mostly uses it to calm arguments. He coasts through life doing whatever he wants, since no one can stay mad at him.
155* ''Series/OnceUponATime'' has the Enchanted Sand, whose power makes anything broken appear fixed. It's first used on the broken blade of Excalibur, making it look like the sword is whole again. Later, it effectively works as a love potion when Arthur uses it on his wife Guinevere to fix their "broken" marriage after finding out about her affair with Lancelot. Then things get weird when he uses it to enslave Snow and David's minds after they find out about his nefarious goals, meaning... it fixed their broken trust or something?
156* In ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', a number of magical mishaps are the result of a pun or wordplay unexpected by the witch or warlock. Examples include Esmeralda trying to conjure up a Caesar Salad and conjuring up Julius Caesar instead, Uncle Arthur trying to conjure up a white bunny and conjuring up a [[PlayboyBunny cocktail bunny]] (a cocktail waitress wearing a bunny ears costume), and Esmeralda accidentally creating a dragon when she scolds Tabitha that she is making her little friend Dinah sore (a word play on "dinosaur").
157* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S5E16TheSelfImprovementOfSalvadoreRoss The Self-Improvement of Salvadore Ross]]", the title character discovers that he can obtain another person's characteristics such as age, social status, education or compassion but only if the other person agrees to make the trade.
158* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' features it in the form of enchantments, spells cast by witches in the form of a rhyme. They are virtually limitless, but when used without ExactWords, it can affect way more things than what the witch intended to.
159-->'''Hilda:''' I once casted a spell to make everything round. [[HistoricalInJoke Let's just say you can thank me for Columbus Day.]]
160[[/folder]]
161
162[[folder:Roleplay]]
163* Rhys from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' can potentially summon any object that he wishes, or modify his body in an untold amount of ways. This is because his superpower allows him to modify reality based on what he writes on his body. Since he's limited to one word per usage, he has to get creative to make full use of it.
164* ''Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo'': The protagonists' last obstacle on the road to Haven is Khaine, a "[[{{Whatevermancy}} Shadowmancer]]" who's stretched his written ability to [[CastingAShadow control darkness]] to include {{People Puppet|s}}ry powers by claiming that he can manipulate "the darkness in people's hearts" as well. Edgardo counters Khaine's attempts to "shadow paralyze" them by this BS interpretation by [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame interpreting]] his now-infinite Overflowing Spirit (an overlooked quirk of the game's mechanics that only his accidentally-broken character build can exploit) as having made ''his'' heart one of IncorruptiblePurePureness with [[LogicalWeakness no "darkness" in it to exploit]], before punching Khaine into the sun.
165[[/folder]]
166
167[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
168* Players of ''TabletopGame/DontRestYourHead'' are explicitly encouraged to use their Madness talents in metaphorical ways, especially when [[LetsGetDangerous things are really getting dangerous.]] Examples:
169** Using your SuperStrength not only the usual way, but also to lift your friend's spirit, bend the truth, and crush injustice.
170** Using a knife that can kill ''anything'', [[YouCannotKillAnIdea even ideas]], to cut off flaws, sever unhealthy relationships, and kill personal demons.
171** Using the ability to alter weight of anything to add weight to your words, making them impossible to ignore and easily crush arguments.
172* In ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'', players typically stretch their powers over basic concepts of reality in this way. The God of Borders once demonstrates this by suspending the conceptual distinction between "citizen" and "criminal", which plunges a city into anarchy for a month.
173[[/folder]]
174
175[[folder:Video Games]]
176* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
177** [[{{Chessmaster}} Yukari Yakumo]]'s signature ability is the manipulation of boundaries. According to Yukari herself, this is a SwissArmySuperpower which lets her do [[RealityWarper just about anything she wants]], but Yukari's nature as an UnreliableExpositor makes things less than clear. In {{Canon}} she is capable of creating "gaps" that act as portals, created the "Border of Fantasy and Reality" around Gensokyo,[[note]]A spell which made the valley feel "more fantastic" than the outside world, [[FantasticNatureReserve causing supernatural beings to be drawn to it as their power waned]][[/note]] and later assisted in constructing and [[BarrierMaiden maintaining]] the Great Hakurei Barrier.[[note]]A field of warped space that prevents sentient beings from entering or exiting the valley[[/note]] In Fanfic, "Yukari got bored again" might as well be the setting equivalent of AWizardDidIt.
178** Suika has the ability to manipulate "density and sparseness". This lets her change size, transform into mist, and create mini-Suikas and black holes. In her debut appearance, she "gathered peoples' sentiments" at the Hakurei Shrine so that they would congregate there for parties. Put another way, she manipulated ''population density''.
179** Reisen describes her abilities as manipulation of madness, but their true nature is reading and altering waves in her surroundings. She typically uses this to scramble enemy brainwaves to mess up their focus or bend light and sound to generate illusions, but she has displayed other applications for it as well: shooting EyeBeams, communicating with other {{Moon Rabbit}}s from long distances, judging peoples' personalities, seeing the Three Fairies of Light while they're invisible, and creating ultrasonic pest repellents.
180** [[TheHero Reimu]] describes herself as having the ability to [[{{Flight}} float in the sky]], something which just about everyone can do already. But in a tight spot, she will start [[TeleportSpam teleporting around]] and turning [[IntangibleMan intangible]], while seemingly unaware that she is doing so. In truth, Reimu [[BornLucky floats through]] ''life'', [[DontThinkFeel instinctively following the path of least resistance to any problem]] (which is also the origin of her signature {{Homing Projectile}}s). The only limit to this ability is that [[CentipedesDilemma her own thoughts cloud her instincts]] - she can become intangible simply by closing her eyes and clearing her mind of distractions.
181** [[TheAce Toyosatomimi no Miko]] can "listen to ten voices at once", a feat attributed to her historical counterpart Prince Shoutoku for his great skill at multitasking. In her case, however, she can choose to listen to the [[TitleDrop "Ten Desires"]] within a person's heart, learning their personality as well as their hopes and dreams. This ability also gives her a great affinity with ambient spirits of desire, allowing her to attract and absorb them for power.
182* In ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'', you have a notebook that summons anything and everything you write in it.
183* In ''VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries'', the UPPSSY spell turns anything into its opposite, broadly speaking. For instance, it will turn a two-by-four into a four-by-two, a jellyfish into a peanut butterfish, a crooked casino into a straight casino, or a flat-chested girl into a big-busted girl. Likewise, the RATANT spell turns a spell into similarly-sounding but vastly different spell, such as turning the "spell of opposites" into "spell of opossums".
184* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has a perfect example in the SkeletonKey, an artifact of Nocturnal, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of [[TheSacredDarkness Darkness and the Night]], who is also associated with Thieves and Luck. It "unlocks" anything, in a very broadly-interpreted sense. This means that anything that is restricted, hidden, or otherwise not used to its potential [[FullPotentialUpgrade can be "unlocked" with the Key]]. In the case of [[spoiler:Mercer Frey]], he uses it to gain {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s. However, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation the player is unable to use it as anything other than an unbreakable lockpick]].
185* In the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series:
186** Thieves can steal equipment from enemies, but they can also steal metaphysical concepts like health (rendering the target poisoned), memory (causing the target to forget how to use skills), consciousness (causes target to fall asleep), and even stats (increasing the thief's own, permanently).
187** A side story in ''Disgaea 3'' has characters teaming up to discover who has stolen various things from them. Things like letters (and even spaces) from their names, forcing Master Big Star to substitute an e for his missing a and go by Master Bigster, much to his embarrassment. Possibly subverted with Salvatore; she insists her "womanliness" was stolen, but most characters loudly doubt that she ever had any.
188* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'': Downplayed. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' introduced [[BlackMagic hexes]] as a form of FunctionalMagic. Hexes are not like this in general, but they stretch the definition of "spell" for the purposes of AntiMagic about as thin as they can. "Spells" apparently include everything from diseases to connections to memories.
189* While the Things from the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series screw with reality in a number of interesting ways, none really embody this trope like Hole Punch from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing''. So what does he do? He's a hole puncher; he punches holes in things and can spit those holes back out. By punching a hole in the sky, he ''steals the sun to use as a disco ball'', and he zombifies the Toads he abducted by ''punching a hole where their faces are''! Even in battle, he can lower Mario's max HP by punching holes in his body, and he makes traps on the ground by punching holes in that.
190* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': According to the lore established since ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', Vergil's Yamato can cut "anything". At its base level, it's merely an AbsurdlySharpBlade; for instance, it managed to pierce Nero's durable [[PowerFist Devil Bringer arm]] in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' (a feat even Dante's Rebellion can't do). However, this extends to far more than just being able to slice through any material. Depending on the power of the user and their imagination, Yamato can do some incredible things, such as [[DimensionalCutter cutting through space and time to open portals]], as well as [[spoiler:cutting Vergil's human half from his demon half, creating two separate individuals and kickstarting the plot of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5''.]]
191[[/folder]]
192
193[[folder:Web Animation]]
194* One in five people in the world of ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'' have powers defined by a random word, which can be anything from "[[DeflectorShields Barrier]]" to "[[EdibleAmmunition Soup]]". This seemingly includes every meaning of the word, which means a little creativity can make "[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway useless]]" Epithets [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower surprisingly powerful]], hence why each character's introduction card includes a "creativity" stat to drive this idea home. A good example of this is main protagonist Molly, who isn't necessarily thrilled about having a word like "Dumb" inscribed on her soul, but is able to play with its meaning enough that she can [[StealthExpert nullify sound]], reduce attacks to ScratchDamage and, in a pinch, turn people into [[StupidityInducingAttack drooling, suggestible morons]]. And the semantic nature of powers goes both ways, with a background character like Sheriff Gorou having so little imagination that what ''should be'' a basic BlowYouAway ability in "Bluster" manifests in him only being able to blow air '''''slightly''''' harder than the average person.
195[[/folder]]
196
197[[folder:Webcomics]]
198* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', the powers of Demon Lords are incredibly semantic. Toxel, Demon Lord of Poison, [[TheCorruption can also poison thoughts and relationships.]] The Lord of Treachery is so [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin treacherous]] that she won't even stay dead, and exploits this for a ThanatosGambit. But probably the best example is how Chaos demons are immune to WhiteMagic because demons being hurt by that ''is a rule.''
199* The titular Keys of the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' webcomic ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'' have the simple ability to unlock things, including the seals on the local {{Cosmic Horror}}s. However, according to WordOfGod, obtaining all five Keys grants the wielder omnipotence, as long as they can phrase the desired action as "unlocking". For example, the [[OmnicidalManiac Deathlords]] are immortal, or one might say "locked to life", and thus can be killed with proper use of the Keys.
200* Parodied by ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''. Red Mage is constantly showing his companions that he can make anything a MinmaxersDelight. Lockpicking can be accomplished, for instance, using the pickpocket skill because it's just removing a lock from a pocket in a door. The interrogation skill is simply emptying pockets of information in people's minds. This being ''8-Bit Theater'', InsaneTrollLogic is completely applicable [[AchievementsInIgnorance if you're stupid enough not to wonder how it's at all possible.]] ("[[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2008/05/01/episode-986-164/ There is no problem that cannot be overcome by an imaginative and vigorous use of the animal husbandry skill.]]") Likewise, Thief can steal things that are intangible or that ''don't exist'', basically [[ImpossibleThief doing anything as long as can it be called "theft"]]. Fighter can block anything, including the ground from a fall. Fighter's "logic" for this is that it's NotTheFallThatKillsYou, it's the ground.
201* The Kayoss Royal Family in ''Webcomic/LsEmpire'' are all granted a single word. Any definition of that word is available to them as a power. The current king has the power of sound; so he can control sound waves, [[CompellingVoice make whatever he says perfectly believable]], and put anything into a perfect (sound) state.
202* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'': This is more or less how magic ''works'' in Erfworld, and there are [[{{Whatevermancy}} many different disciplines]]. If you can think of a way to tie the wording of the task you want accomplished to that of your magic discipline, it can probably be done. However, it's strongly implied that this is just a manufactured image so that Casters can hide what their craft is truly capable of.
203** "[[{{Whatevermancy}} Turnamancers]]" have power over [[TurnBasedStrategy turns]], enabling them to reduce the [[RPGMechanicsVerse number of turns required to pop units.]] However, they are also responsible for [[HeelFaceTurn turning]] [[EnemyExchangeProgram enemy units]] to their own side. [[spoiler:The actual underlying gimmick for Turnamancy is that it's the magic of motivation and progression. As such, they can play around with time a little, control some aspects of movement, and affect what motivates people.]]
204** Shockamancy is the magic of both electricity and any sort of surprise, including the [[ShowSomeLeg Flash Mob]] ability the [[AmazonBrigade Archons]] use. Shockamancy is also where most straightforwardly offensive magic spells come from, [[ShockSite because, well...]]
205** Hippiemancy seems unsuited to the [[ForeverWar world of Erf]], being a discipline dedicated to pacifism, peace, and love itself. However, they can force units to avoid fighting each other, or, with sufficient skill, protect ''themselves'' from harm. Also included in the broad discipline of Hippiemancy is command over [[GreenThumb Flower Power,]] making them expert poisoners and dealers of some ''nasty'' drugs if they so choose.
206** Signamancy covers the [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance signs and portents of appearance]] (including makeup), but also signing documents or writing books. It's basically the magic of communication.
207** Thanks to the mechanics of linking casters for a spell, creative use of linking can allow for this. Example? [[spoiler:Parson linking an Dirtamancer with a Croakamancer, and uncroaking (reviving) a ''volcano'']].
208* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': Hench Wench has the combined powers of every supervillain who is currently legally employing her. [[ExactWords And yes, it does specifically only work for villains]].
209* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' a lot of Sburb class powers seem to depend on how creatively you can reinterpret the meaning of your class/aspect. For example, Roxy is the Rogue of Void. This translates to Thief of Nothing, which sounds useless (not stealing anything) until [[spoiler:Jade explains that she can steal the concept of nothingness from something [[ThePowerOfCreation to create it]].]]
210* ''Webcomic/UseSwordOnMonster'':
211** Most of the protagonist characters have the ability to wield a weapon and go on "auto-pilot," allowing their body to heroically fight monsters by enchanting their swords and bodies. While most of them use swords, any weapon will do, and as it turns out, ''anything'' will do if you can conceive of it as a "weapon". Humphrey manages to expertly pilot a plane into a monster when Maga helps convince him it's just a really big sword.
212--->'''Humphrey:''' OUR WINGS JUST FELL OFF!\
213'''Maga:''' That doesn't really matter.
214** From the other direction, it takes them a while to learn how to use their power without killing, because the auto-pilot won't stop until they've won, and defines "winning" as "killing every enemy in sight." Mostly, they disarm opponents by "killing" their weapons. With more practice, they even learn how to use their powers for more mundane things.
215--->'''Soldier:''' What did you just do?\
216'''Humphrey:''' Made us an escape route. I just had to convince myself this wall was trying to kill me.
217* ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'': Rosemaster has the power to control (to a limited extent) anyone with a flower-based name. This works great in the Flower Kingdom, where she erases everyone's memories of the princess that the heroes need to complete their quest. But she doesn't just have power over standard flowers; Cucumber, Almond, and Carrot are all susceptible to her power as well. This is why she kidnaps Nautilus and erases their memories of her. [[spoiler:This gets derailed when Rosemaster kidnaps Peridot (her own ally) and erases everyone's memories of her. Peridot is so pissed off that [[PuppyLove Almond]] doesn't remember that she destroyed Rosemaster's memory machine]].
218* ''Webcomic/ShenComix'': [[https://twitter.com/shenanigansen/status/1576039961261838336 This strip]] features a wizard who can make a ball disappear under a cup -- ''any'' ball, including [[https://twitter.com/shenanigansen/status/1577401461822132235 the sun.]]
219* ''Webcomic/BloodIsMine'': Jane's blood powers work on herself and on things that her blood is inside of. Except "herself" and "inside of" are defined purely by her own perception: for example, she can control an AirVentPassageway after smearing her blood over its surface because her mind considers it as "inside of the vent". [[spoiler: Her mother took it a step further: since marriage can be defined as two people becoming one, she considered her husband a part of herself, thus she could manipulate his biology even without giving him her blood.]]
220* In ''Webcomic/FullFrontalNerdity'', Shawn's character [[http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=2505 acquires]] the "Underwear of the Gods". It turns out [[http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=2529 he can use it]] to enter heavily guarded bedchambers. He then decides it also works on tombs because they're "resting places".
221[[/folder]]
222
223[[folder:Web Original]]
224* ''Literature/TalesOfMU'':
225** Fairy gifts. One character is blessed with the gift of "is always the strongest person in the room". When a dragon enters the same room as her, things start going out of hand.
226** Another character has the gift "divine laughter", a sparkling laughter that is appreciated by everyone except demonbloods, who react unfavorably to the "divine" part.
227* Lightfoot of ''Literature/AcademyOfSuperheroes'' has the power to make anything he's touching go faster. Naturally, this lets him [[SuperSpeed make himself go faster]] but he was also able to make a giant statue that would normally have taken a century to sink into the earth do so in minutes. His power makes things ''happen'' faster, not ''move'' faster.
228* On Website/ThisVeryWiki, much of the protagonists of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13967366270A45619600&page=1 this forum game]]'s power is based on this. At least, until the [[spoiler: AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent?]]
229* One of the winning entries on the ''[[Literature/LyttleLyttonContest Lyttle Lytton]]'' website, which rewards parodies of bad fiction, features a literal example, the Anagramancer, who apparently can do anything, as long as it's an anagram of the name of his enemy. So basically, he's omnipotent, but only based on the monster he's facing.
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Western Animation]]
233* PlayedForLaughs on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' -- ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} uses his command over fish to control two silverfish, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverfish which are (non-aquatic) insects]]. [[ComicBook/TheAtom Ryan Choi]] [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that that doesn't make sense.
234-->'''Aquaman:''' ''[cheerfully]'' [[AchievementsInIgnorance A fish is a fish]]! Even if it's a bug.\
235'''Ryan Choi:''' ''(sigh)'' Sure, why not?
236* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'', Gladstone's ability has been shifted slightly. Specifically, he is lucky enough that he does not have to do any work, so long as he does no work in return. This means he doesn't have to go to the bank, he doesn't have to open his wallet, but it's a magical ability, so it CANNOT protect him against other magic. Luck Vampires can still trap him, and a thief of magic can still steal it.
237* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', some of Doofenshmirtz's inventions can work like this. He once created a Rotten-inator to cheat at a meatloaf competition by causing the other entrants' meatloaf to become rotten. But during a battle, the Rotten-inator accidentally hit a book, and the reader complained that the book had a "rotten" ending.
238* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Discussed in the prologue of the episode "Analyze Piss", where the pair are confronted by a supervillain parody of [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]], except he can control cookies. Morty points out that cookies don't have a strict definition, so it leads to further questions; does it cover ''everything'' people consider cookies? Does it count ingredients ''of'' cookies? Cookie Magneto doesn't clarify beyond stating [[ShapedLikeItself cookies are the things he controls]], and we never find out what the limitations of his powers are, because Rick just kills him immediately.
239* ''WesternAnimation/SheZow'': The effect of [[FountainOfYouth Anti-Aging Cream]] is reversed when the "Anti-" part of the label is ripped off, making it just say "Aging Cream".
240* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Steven's healing power's operate on semantic logic, allowing them to "heal" something as abstract as a teddybear getting ripped.
241* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tigtone}}'' needs to defeat Nothing, so he manufactures a sword that cuts nothing by repeatedly damaging and blunting his own. This does indeed let him cut into the subdimension where Nothing exists.
242* A similar gag in ''WesternAnimation/ToxicCrusaders'': Major Disaster has the power to control plants, which comes in handy when a power plant goes critical.
243[[/folder]]

Top