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3%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Take care to put your example in its proper place in accordance with Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings!
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7%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700
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10[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swiss_army_superpower1.jpg]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:350:Spidey proves that a little bit of Silly String can go a long way.]]
12
13->'''EB:''' all i can do is make a lot of wind blow around!\
14'''EB:''' how is that going to help?\
15'''AG:''' Use your imagination!\
16'''AG:''' That windy thing of yours is more versatile than you think.
17-->-- ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''
18
19Sometimes a power seems limited. While [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} talking to fish]], [[Franchise/TheFlash super speed]], and [[TheTriple superhuman]] [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed parkour skills]] are most definitely special abilities that could prove formidable in certain, ''very specific'' situations, much of the time they appear to be near-useless novelties.
20
21Or so it would seem to those who lack imagination. See, characters with Swiss Army Super Powers are able to apply their narrowly-defined abilities in an amazing array of situations. Solely because their insight is so great, the Swiss Army Super Powered are always expanding the potential utility of their powers.
22
23What sets the Swiss Army Power apart from similar power tropes is that the defined base ability never changes. The user simply becomes aware of aspects of their power they didn't think of before. The base rules don't change, only the application of those rules does.
24
25This blend of flexibility and limitation is convenient for the writers because it allows them to [[ThreeActStructure get their heroes in and out of a host of sticky situations]] while avoiding complaints from fans that they've pulled a new power out of a character's ass. It still has a semblance of consistency. However, this also depends on how creative a writer can be about it.
26
27Often confused with ComboPlatterPowers where a character is simply given multiple unrelated powers rather than using variations on a theme (like Superman's Flight ''and'' Laser Eyes, or ComicBook/EmmaFrost's telepathy ''and'' diamond form.)
28
29RealityWarper, by definition, is a Swiss Army Superpower. ElementalPowers, especially [[ShockAndAwe electric ones]], are often treated this way as is {{Biomanipulation}}, but even seemingly simple abilities like SuperSpeed and SuperStrength can be given a wide variety of applications for a writer willing to think outside the box. This is very common when RequiredSecondaryPowers are acknowledged in-universe. In some cases, they can even eclipse the primary ability in usefulness.
30
31Named after Swiss Army Knives, which are pocket-sized sets of 8 - 10 undersized tools that can do everything.
32
33Expect ForgotAboutHisPowers to occur on multiple occasions.
34
35Compare GreenRocks (which do this stuff at the whim of the writers, rather than serving a specific character), NewPowersAsThePlotDemands (for cases where new powers are the result of AssPull), {{Repower}} (for situations when a character has their powerset either expanded upon in a "nonlinear" way, or reimagined entirely from the ground up), AdaptiveAbility, SwissArmyWeapon, and AdaptiveArmor. When a weak-sounding power has this, then it's HeartIsAnAwesomePower. SemanticSuperpower, KeystoneSuperpower, and ImaginationBasedSuperpower are also related.
36
37----
38!!Examples:
39
40[[foldercontrol]]
41
42[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
43* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Matsuri's [[BlowYouAway wind ninjutsu]] has a enormous variety of uses even beyond the typical gusts and RazorWind. He can move it around him to increase his speed, fly by [[SkySurfing lifting up large objects]] or a glider suit, or make it still so he can detect foes through illusions. He's solidified it to make shields and [[DoubleJump stepping stones]], and his mother once made ropes that hold a person stationary. Matsuri even integrated wind into his exorcism rituals, which basically [[GhostsAbhorAVacuum suck the evil spirits out of a person's body]].
44* [[LittleMissBadass Eve's]] shapeshifting powers in ''Manga/BlackCat'' are a particularly interesting example. Our heroine starts the series as an emotionless {{tykebomb}} with nothing in the way of imagination, so her powers are limited to turning her hands into blades, but her character development throughout the series eventually leads to her coming up with dozens of other uses as she matures mentally. By the end of the series she's turning her body into steel, becoming a mermaid, turning her hair into monomolecular blades, sprouting wings, and shapeshifting air into handheld weapons among other things.
45* ''Manga/BlackClover'':
46** Vanessa has the power to use magical thread. She can use her magic to entangle enemies, control someone like a puppet, temporarily keep broken bones in place and close open wounds, and, at its peak, have power over the Red Thread of Fate, making destiny favor her close comrades to have them avoid any attack so long as her cat is nearby.
47** Thanks to mercury being liquid metal and his sheer precision with his magic, Nozel Silva can shape it with great versatility. He's been seen using it to form spears, shields, bullets, swords, an eagle to fly on, and even a giant cage to trap enemies.
48* ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'':
49** We see Misaka use her power, [[ShockAndAwe control over electricity]], to perform all types of feats from attaching herself to a concrete wall, using surrounding pieces of steel as cover, and using iron sand to create a chainsaw whip sword, as well as various other uses.
50** Most Espers in fact have shown some degree of this as long as they are a bit creative with it. For example, Teitoku Kakine, the Number 2 Level 5, has an ability called Dark Matter that creates matter that ''doesn't exist in our universe'' and ''defies the laws of physics of anything'' it come into contact with. Among other things we have seen him merging it with mundane matter (like air, for example) to create physics-defying barriers (meaning its vector equation is ridiculously complicated), use said barrier to reflect and refract light to create over ''2500'' forms of radiations, and merging Dark Matter with objects to detonate them into oblivion. Much later, [[spoiler:he can even create ''human flesh and organs'' to regenerate his body from damage, allowing him to come back from nothing but molecules. He also used this to create entire armies made of Dark Matter to fight against Accelerator and fellow Level 5 Esper Mugino.]]
51* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', Light does so well in figuring out imaginative new ways to use the Note -- whilst adhering to its rules -- that even an experienced user like Ryuk is surprised by what it can do. But then, it is mentioned in the series that not even a given Joe Random Shinigami knows what all the Death Note is capable of.
52* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': [[TheDreaded Hisoka]] has two special abilities: Texture Surprise, which allows him to reproduce any image on a surface in perfect lifelike realism, and Bungee Gum, which allows him to give his BattleAura the properties of rubber and sticky gum. The ways he can use these seemingly mundane and unimpressive abilities are staggering. With Texture Surprise, he can conceal injuries or fake documents directly under the nose of observers. With Bungee Gum, he can create bungee lines to repel and adhere to any surface, [[YouWillNotEvadeMe use his aura to grab opponents and pull them in to lay down a beating]], attach his aura to opponents and then to other objects to make said object strike opponents at high speed, use his aura to both trap and shield himself from oncoming projectiles, create prostheses for lost limbs that (combined with his texture surprise) make him seem like he was never hurt at all, or wrap his aura [[spoiler:around his lungs and heart so that they can expand and contract, allowing himself to come back from the dead]].
53* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
54** In the first 2 parts of the series "channel LifeEnergy through organic materials" sees a staggering number of uses and personal variations.
55** And after Stands are introduced in the 3rd part, users will find a lot of different ways of using their powers.
56*** Josuke's Crazy Diamond has the ability to repair things. He's broken a slab of pavement and repaired it in an upright position for some quick cover, he's wrecked a motorcycle to get around an obstacle and then fixed it right after to keep up the pace, he's "fixed" projectiles sent after him to return them to sender, and by the end he even makes ''homing missiles'' by "fixing" his own dried blood to send it (and the glass shards it dried on) towards a bloodstain he left on the villain's suit.
57*** Giorno Giovanna's Gold Experience in particular is noted for an especially versatile Stand. It revolves around giving life to things, and beyond the obvious [[TheMedic healing applications]], can also transform inorganic objects into plants and animals, speed up the life cycle of certain living things, and hit people to speed up their thought processes and disorient them.
58*** Jotaro manages to invoke this despite not even really ''having'' a power [[spoiler:that he knows about]] beyond his [[FightingSpirit Stand]] existing at all. Star Platinum, Jotaro's stand, has a range of two meters, SuperSenses, SuperSpeed, SuperStrength, high precision, and the famous RapidFireFisticuffs; also, like most stands, it's an intangible manifestation of the user's soul. Jotaro abuses this latter fact to steal exercise equipment, beer, and magazines ''[[ImpossibleThief while locked in a jail cell]]'', talk to people underwater (through Star Platinum's mouth), [[FingerPokeOfDoom poke people with the force of a gunshot]] by ''[[YourMindMakesItReal thinking]]'' all his Stand Power into Star Platinum's index finger and extending it to the edge of his range, increase his durability by having Star Platinum block attacks from inside his body, [[spoiler:stop and restart his own heart by phasing Star's hand through the body]], draw incredibly detailed pictures in the span of about a minute, see microscopic and far-off objects, and perform brain surgery on a malevolent PuppeteerParasite.
59*** Part 6's Jolyne Kujo's Stone Free probably has the most unimpressive power out of the main jojo's parts up until her introduction, but has an extreme and expansive amount of abilities she can perform with her stand. While its power is simply to manipulate strings, but this allows Jolyne to use it to eavesdrop on distant conversations in the form of sound vibrations through her string by the same principles behind the tin can telephone but also converse through them, slice people with the sharpness of the strings, pickpocket small objects, weave a tight net instantly strong enough to stop bullets to protect herself, create a large net to capture enemies, tie people up for various uses, mainly pulling them in range or choking them, stitch her wounds, deploy a "string barrier" to detect movements over a large area, create complex patterns to the point where Stone Free can make a portrait, swing from place to place, pick a car lock to start the engine without the key create a net strong enough for her to run on and counteract an enemy's ability to turn things inside-out by meshing affected areas of her body into a Möbius strip. And that's not even getting into the fact she can unravel most of her body or her stand's body to increase her stand's effective range or minimize damage against herself!
60*** Weather Report's stand (as his name suggests), can [[WeatherManipulation control weather]]. This power is pretty versatile as it is, but Weather still manages to take it further by stretching the definition of what could be considered "weather". For example, he can summon rare and freaky weather occurrences, like animal rains -- a rare phenomenon where small animals are picked up by high winds and subsequently dropped from high altitudes. Because of that, he can conjure rain of frogs and freely choose which species of frogs it will be -- including highly poisonous south american frogs. [[spoiler:And then when he unlocks his memories and regains Heavy Weather... well, let's just say it's not pretty.]]
61** Similarly to Hamon in the first two parts, ''Steel Ball Run'' has the huge variety of Spin techniques. Essentially, a certain technique lets one imbue objects with incredible rotational momentum; this version of the Zeppeli family uses Spin-imbued steel balls pressed to the skin to stimulate nerves and muscles for anesthesia and cures similar to acupressure. Gyro uses the same steel balls to power up his horse's hind legs in order to make a dangerous jump, twist the wrists of people pointing guns at him (causing them to shoot themselves), kick up dust, and deliver disproportionately damaging blows to enemies. Johnny, who is paralyzed from the waist down, first uses the Spin to mount his horse: he convinces it to lick him in such a way that ''he'' is imbued with Spin, letting him flip himself up onto its back.
62* The BarrierWarrior abilities of the titular ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}'' are incredibly adaptive for someone who's intelligent enough with them. While the standard uses are defense or attack via collapsing the barrier in on an enemy, they can also be used for everything from a spear-like attack to making platforms to allow the user to stand on thin air.
63* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', the teachers of [[HeroAcademy U.A. High School]] encourage this in their students. They explain that getting into the habit of [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer overly narrow applications of one's powers]] limits their potential and causes glaring weaknesses in their fighting abilities.
64** Despite being introduced as being an equivalent to Shigaraki's "Decay" ability, Overhaul's Quirk is one of the most versatile in the series. On top of the ability to disintegrate someone at a touch, Overhaul can heal beyond even what [[TheMedic Recovery Girl]] can do, regenerate any injury [[spoiler:that does not affect his hands]], reshape [[DishingOutDirt concrete and stone]] (it's implied this goes for any other solid material), fuse his body with other people's (allowing him to access their [[PowerCopying Quirks]]), and seemingly reverse death in some instances.
65* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
66** Naruto is able to get this use out of [[MesACrowd shadow clones]], which he can use for everything from a multi-hit combo, to [[InstantExpert learning new techniques in hours]], to extending the length of his SuperMode.
67** Once Naruto finally get the hang of his [[spoiler: Fox Mode]] his Rasengan variations became [[ImaginationBasedSuperpower limited only by his imagination]].
68** Same goes with Sasuke's Chidori and [[spoiler: Amaterasu/Susanoo combo]]. Although for sheer power, Sasuke's Chidori is still weaker than his teacher Kakashi's version, Raikiri (despite Sasuke being stronger than Kakashi by this point), Sasuke does all kinds of things with Chidori that Kakashi never dreamed of.
69* ''Manga/OnePiece'': This is considered to be necessary for any skilled Devil Fruit user. By [[WordOfGod Word of Oda]], Devil Fruit powers don't grow any stronger over time but their users can learn to use them in all sorts of new ways.
70** Main character Luffy has the ability to stretch, which he's used to increase his blood flow to greatly increase his speed, blow into his bones to give himself the strength of a giant in a limb, and combine the two. It's hard to say which is more surprising, in retrospect, about Luffy: that there are so many plausible uses for being made out of rubber, or that [[IdiotHero someone as stupid as Luffy]] can think of them.
71** Then there's Kuma's ability to push, which he's used to push away attacks, push the air to create air bullets, push away pain (and push the pain ''into'' somebody else), push himself to essentially teleport, and push opponents away from himself to wherever he wants.
72** Viola from the Dressrosa arc can form "goggles" with her fingers. This gives her x-ray vision (perfectly logical), clairvoyance (still logical), telepathy (a reasonable extension of eye powers) and the ability to make her tears into giant whale figures to crush her enemies with (chalk ''that'' one up to [[LostInTranslation a Japanese pun]]).
73** Donquixote Doflamingo is great at showing how utterly versatile strings can be. Offense? [[RazorFloss Cutting]], Whips, [[AbnormalAmmo Bullets]], [[PeoplePuppets Puppetry]]... Defense? [[AllWebbedUp Web Shields]], [[ActuallyADoombot Decoys]]... Mobility? [[NotQuiteFlight String roads attached to the clouds]]... Healing? [[SelfSurgery Internal wound stitching]]...
74** All of the above examples [[spoiler:except Luffy's fruit[[note]]It's actually the Human Human Fruit, model Nika[[/note]]]] are Paramecia Fruits, meaning that the powers they grant don't have any fixed pattern; it's not surprising that some of them would be extremely flexible. However, there are also example of Logia (ElementalPowers) and Zoan ({{Animorphism}}) being used in very creative ways:
75*** Enel (sometimes spelled "Eneru") is a Logia-type who like all Logia-types has the ability to create, become, and manipulate an element; in his case, [[ShockAndAwe lightning]]. While he does use it to attack, and like most Logia-types reflexively becomes intangible against physical harm, and should something nullify his intangibility and knock him out his power can act as a MagicalDefibrillator, but his most dangerous attribute is his ability to 'hear' electromagnetic waves; this combined with his observation Haki (which boosts a person's senses and sensory-processing capabilities to an insane degree) means that he knows ''everything'' that happens [[SuperSenses within a completely absurd radius]], making it [[BigBrotherIsWatching essentially impossible to plot against him]] since he's ''also'' as fast as a bolt of lightning. [[MundaneUtility He also uses lightning bolts and strong magnetic fields to heat and sculpt metal respectively,]] though how he does that with ''gold'' is anyone's guess.
76*** Tony-Tony Chopper is a reindeer that gained the ability to transform into a human, which as a side effect gave him human intelligence. The fruit, strictly speaking, only lets him access a full-human form and a hybrid form (in addition to his original, full-deer form) but his human intelligence, combined with medical training, let him develop drugs to create additional forms that are distorted in useful ways (such as having extra-strong arms, extra-fit legs for jumping, massive horns, and huge amounts of thick fur to block attacks).
77*** Marco ate a Mythical Zoan that lets him become a phoenix, a bird made of blue flame. Not only does this give him {{Flight}} and the enhance physique that all Zoans gain, but most physical attacks simply pass through his phoenix form (similar to a Logia), and any injury he sustains can be healed rapidly when he is in flame form. He can also transform his body parts selectively, even summoning blue flames only over wounds to heal while otherwise fully human.
78** The Amazon Lily arc brought prominence to the previously-hinted-at ability called "Haki" (basically [[KiManipulation weaponized force of spirit]]) by showing us just how many different powers can be created by using it. Over the course of ''one'' battle, we saw Haki users: enhance attacks to the point that ''hair'' can shatter stone, bypass Luffy's rubber defenses with impact blows, read attacks ahead of time, harden one's body to block any attack, and create a wave of {{awesome|nessIsAForce}} capable of knocking out dozens at a time. And the fact that these are all powers that other, unrelated enemies had over the course of several unrelated arcs makes one wonder how many ''other'' applications there are for Haki.
79* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Mami Tomoe has the power to create and manipulate ribbons. Aside from the obvious uses of binding and bludgeoning her enemies, she also somehow figured out how to shape them into "ribbon constructs", including ''functional musket rifles and bullets''. In ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion The Rebellion Story]]'', she can make her ribbons phantasmal (so she can negate [[spoiler:Homura's TimeStandsStill powers by being in physical contact with Homura when she activates them]]) and can even shape them into [[spoiler:[[DoppelgangerAttack a perfect duplicate of herself]] that explodes when damaged]].
80* ''Anime/RedoOfHealer'' has protagonist Keyaru's Healing ability be used for pretty much anything...especially since with enough practice, the concept of "healing" can be stretched out to an unimaginably-creative degree. Of course he can use the powers to restore someone to former health, but because healing requires the wielder to know everything about the person to restore them to a previous state, he also gains access to some of the people's powers and strength (which also gives him access to their spells). Time rewinding is also not off the table, since it counts as restoring the world to a previous state. [[spoiler:Precisely how he managed to [[MentalTimeTravel travel backwards through time]] before the so-called [[EvilHero "heroes"]] found and took advantage of his [[WideEyedIdealist former naivete]] to prepare for their inevitable betrayal towards him, only this time... [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong he's more than prepared for it.]]]]
81* Drills for the titular robot in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' can do ''absolutely anything''. You'll find drills used as bullets, shields, lances, whips, means of propulsion, machine assimilation adapters, and shockingly enough, even actual digging tools.
82* Eve's {{Expy}}, Golden Darkness in ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', has nearly identical powers. Her favorite methods seem to be turning her hands into blades, or turning her hair into fists, usually for the purpose of delivering a MegatonPunch to an {{Ecchi}} person. She also turned her hair into RazorFloss at least once, as well as [[PowerPerversionPotential using her power to increase her bust size]].
83* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'':
84** Kurama has the ability to control plants. He just happens to have the seeds for different demonic plants on him that allow him to do pretty much anything, from flying to trapping enemies in {{Lotus Eater Machine}}s.
85** [[HotBlooded Kuwabara]] can make a sword out of PureEnergy. The majority of the fights that he wins are done so by manipulating said energy in slightly different ways, letting him do things such as: trap four monsters by impaling them and connecting the ends around a tower, pole vault over wide gaps, extend his sword to hit an opponent who moved too quickly, and, when faced with a villain who can move his vital organs around to prevent any hit from being fatal, expand his sword into a giant tennis racket shape to [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome completely pulverize the guy]].
86--->'''Kuwabara:''' [[CallingYourAttacks SPIRIT FLYSWATTER!]]
87* In ''Manga/ZatchBell'' Gash's Zagurezemu spell acts as this at times. Despite its stated purpose of making things explode on contact with Zakeru or Zakeruga, it has been used to supercharge Baou Zakeruga, act as a homing beacon, and split Baou Zakeruga in four. The last time even Kiyomaro wasn't sure what it would do.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Comic Books]]
91* In ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'', the magic of House Amethyst have been used to grant super-strength, create constructs like claws, shields...
92* Trauma from ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative'' can [[IKnowWhatYouFear become anybody's worst fear]], ''literally'' -- he doesn't just [[EmpathicShapeshifter take on the appearance of their greatest fear]], but the abilities as well. If their fear happens to be [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] or [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]], well... [[PersonOfMassDestruction that person should run]]. Also, [[BadPowersGoodPeople he became a therapist]]. Turning into your patients' greatest terrors and making them [[FaceYourFears face it]] is an intriguing method.
93* The Invisible Woman of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' learned the cause of her {{Invisibility}}: [[DeflectorShields force fields]], the shape and placing of which she could manipulate, in a variety of useful ways such as in [[BarrierWarrior an offensive attack]] (think invisible, bullet-shaped forcefields -- [[Music/TenaciousD ''mind bullets'', that's Telekinesis, Kyle!]]), carrying herself in the air as a mode of transportation, or [[LethalHarmlessPowers putting air bubbles in the bloodstream of someone's brain]]... Related to her invisibility, more recently she's been able to use it to change the colour of her hair and, to an extent, her skin (i.e. making it look like she's got dark hair and a tan), as a method of disguise. However, this comes with the downside of requiring headache inducing concentration. Even before that, she was capable of feats like [[https://imgur.com/a/DM64YKF blinding a person by turning their optic nerves invisible]].
94* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' is a famous application of this trope.
95** The Flash's [[TheSpeedster one power of "running very quickly"]] worked for a while, but eventually, the writers found out that there's only so much you can do with ''one'' power. ''To this day'', the Flash still gets new powers to keep his stories from becoming dull. Likely the most infamously outdated is the [[{{Intangibility}} "vibrate through matter"]] power (based on [[ScienceMarchesOn actual scientific speculations of the time]] about a vibrational frequency to reality and then heavily leavened with WeirdScience), which can make any modern physicist cry. There's also the famous [[EnhancedPunch Infinite Mass Punch]], in which the Flash exploited the fact that while [[RequiredSecondaryPowers the Speed Force means the theory of relativity doesn't apply to him]], it ''does'' apply to the guy he's punching.
96** In the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Flash's ''first appearance,'' he was able to use his powers to [[BulletCatch catch bullets]] and be effectively {{invisib|ility}}le, both of which are non-obvious uses of the power. Since then, various Flashes have gained the ability to speed up healing beyond natural bounds ([[HealingFactor their own]] and [[HealingHands other people's]]), accelerate chemical reactions, vibrate through objects and make them explode, accelerate objects by running past them (for example, turning a pile of lumber into a flock of superspeed missiles flying in formation with the hero), and causing objects to ignite by carrying them really fast, then retracting the hero's friction-protection aura...
97** Some of the more outrageous abilities that the Flash has claimed as being based on speed include melting his own body then reforming it as a mirror and creating highly articulated casts that allowed him to run with broken legs out of Speedforce energy.
98* ''ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers'': Ashley Crawford, better known as [[BigBeautifulWoman Big Bertha]], has the unique mutation of swelling her fat cells at will. In addition to letting her [[{{Sizeshifter}} change size]], Bertha's power grants her SuperStrength, SuperToughness (to the point of being ImmuneToBullets and completely absorbing the impact of a speeding truck at her fattest), and [[InASingleBound fantastic jumping ability]]. In her civilian form, she is even able to [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] the MostCommonSuperpower trope by selectively swelling the mass of her breasts and curves, making her a successful (and extremely wealthy) plus-sized model.
99* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern1941'': The Sportsmaster has the ability to be an InstantExpert at any sport or sport-related skill, no matter how obscure, competing at a world-record level. He needs it, too, having ComicBook/GreenLantern as an enemy and all.
100* ''ComicBook/IronMan'':
101** While Iron Man has different armor for different situations, what pushes him beyond Swiss army knife into this trope is the "Extremis" BioAugmentation, which makes him a {{Technopath}} able to hack into anything remotely with his mind and summon as many suits of his armor as he needs.
102** His armor also counts as this trope; during ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'', it's revealed that his armor records the fighting styles of anyone nearby, and (presumably only if the database is large enough) counter their every attack. He demonstrates this while fighting ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.
103** ComicBook/UltimateMarvel's Iron Man has {{Nanomachines}} in his blood -- in the present-day comics, they're limited to letting him control his armor, but they apparently used to be a lot more general-purpose, including forming swarms of shape-shifting insectoids that can pick locks, disable nuclear bombs, hack into any computer, and transform into an [=iPod=].
104* During Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/JLA1997'' run, a villain asks ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} what good being able to [[SpeaksFluentAnimal talk to fish]] can do him now. Answer: tap into the elements of the villain's brain that he inherited from his marine ancestors, and give him an aneurysm.
105* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': Cosmic Boy has the ability to [[MagnetismManipulation control and sense magnetic fields]], which has over the years been used to allow him to "{{fl|ight}}y" without a flight ring, create a personal force field, yank people around by [[BloodIron the iron in their blood]] (though he usually avoids this, since the internal damage can kill them), and operate as a computer-hacking {{Technopath}} which makes him incredibly effective in the computer driven setting in which he lives. He can, and has, locked people out of their own buildings and systems without anyone even having a chance to realize he's using his powers.
106* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': In the ComicBook/PostCrisis stories, Captain Marvel has learned that the lightning bolt he uses to [[HenshinHero change]] can have [[LightningCanDoAnything other uses]]. For instance, it can break spells imposed on the Marvels in their human form, and can power up equipment if it's [[TimTaylorTechnology hardy enough to absorb so much energy suddenly]]. It's a powerful attack if they say their magic word close to an enemy and dodge the resulting bolt, causing it to hit their opponent instead, as seen in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' and {{homage}}d in both ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' (in which Marvel loses because he fails to dodge it) and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' (as a [[FinishingMove heroic brutality]] and a grab move). It can even be used as a MagicalDefibrillator, providing there are two Marvels, one to call down the lightning, and one to absorb it safely; otherwise this works [[OhCrap the same as the attack]]. That, or have [[NighInvulnerability a physiology that can stand up to the power]] of the lightning (which is how [[spoiler:Black Adam saved Atom Smasher, whose body [[HealingFactor regrows itself]] when he changes height and so could deal with the power]]).
107* ComicBook/SpiderMan's ProjectileWebbing and SpiderSense are sometimes treated this way; for example, using the webs to make anything from shields to swim fins to hang gliders, or using the spider-sense to sense [[WireDilemma which wire to cut on a bomb]].
108** Once in [[WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967 the old animated series]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9uP1n6ERkA he makes a motorboat entirely out of web.]] No, not a sailboat, ''a motorboat''. The series is notoriously bad about this; he once makes a parachute, which is relatively plausible, but another time, he makes a ''sword''.
109** Not to mention that the webbing, at various times in the comic, has served as an electrical conductor ''and'' an electrical insulator. It's been shown that Spidey has different chemical compositions for his webbing, and if he knows he's going to be facing someone like [[ShockAndAwe Electro]], he uses the insulating kind.
110--->'''ComicBook/LukeCage:''' ''[glowering at Electro]'' How'd you beat this guy in the old days, anyway?\
111'''Spider-Man:''' Made mittens out of webbing and punched him til he cried.\
112''[{{Beat}}]''\
113'''Luke Cage:''' ''[holding up his fists]'' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Web me up.]]\
114'''Electro:''' [[OhCrap Hey, now, hold on...]]
115** In one case, he mixes up a batch that takes advantage of the whole "spider silk is stronger than steel" thing and slaps it on his uniform to use as ''armor''. Unfortunately, he then had to fight a villain who not only fire ''and'' ice powers, but a modicum of common sense; a few near-miss fireballs melted the armor, and a blast of ice locked Spidey in a suit-shaped coffin. He smashed out of it easily enough but that was the last time ''that'' idea showed up.
116** Though he's never put it in use due to ThouShaltNotKill, Spider-Man points out to Kingpin once as he's beating the life out of him that he could kill him (and potentially many others) easily and very painfully any time he wants by [[CruelAndUnusualDeath shooting webs inside someone's lungs and forcing them to slowly suffocate to death as their respiratory system turns into a bunch of useless tissue and webbing]].
117** ComicBook/{{Silk|MarvelComics}}'s webbing has similar properties to Spider-Man with the added advantage of being organic and capable of being spun into clothing.
118* Songbird of the ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' combines her [[SuperScream super-screaming]] with a gizmo that creates "solidified sound" out of it. She usually makes wings that allow her to fly, and SpontaneousWeaponCreation or creating barriers are also common.
119* In the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 earlier]] ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' comics, the titular heroine's emblematic lasso serves as more than a vaguely fetishistic LieDetector. Over the course of a DC ''Showcase'' anthology, she used it as an impromptu propeller, an emergency roller coaster track extension, an electrical conduit, another propeller, a [[ThisIsADrill drill]], and some sort of sonic dinosaur repellent. She also uses it occasionally to actually snag things -- specifically, [[SerialEscalation a nuclear missile, all of Paradise Island, and a lightning bolt]].
120* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
121** Magneto, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor variously]] an enemy and an ally of the X-Men, has powers to [[MagnetismManipulation control magnetism]]. Although it's become far more stabilized as of late ([[DependingOnTheWriter usually]]), over the years, his powers have been used for a whole ''host'' of things that are dubiously related to actual magnetism. Creating a force-field to block fire/optic blasts/''rocks'' comes first and foremost to mind, but he's also shown the ability to: control non-magnetic metals (though may be a misunderstanding about what is and isn't magnetic); levitate someone by [[BloodIron controlling the trace molecules of iron in their blood]] (only slightly more realistic was the time he [[BodyHorror ripped the iron OUT of someone's blood]]); [[PsychicBlockDefense block telepathy]] by ''controlling the electrical impulses in his brain'', or read someone ELSE'S mind by "sensing" their own; [[{{Technopath}} hack into computers]]; at least once, when "supercharged", was able to project a ''{{hologram}}'', since "light is just another aspect of the electro-magnetic spectrum".
122*** He can move things without a trace of anything ferrous by "negating the gravimetric lines of force", as he put it the first time we saw him {{fl|ight}}y. Ever since Polaris sent Krakoa blasting off agaaaaaain that way, the powers of Magneto and Polaris have gone from [[ExtraOreDinary "move stuff that's metal"]] (useful, but underutilizing a power with more possibilities) to, as one [[http://luchins.com/what-were-they-thinking/from-the-same-issue-as-the-last-x-panel/#comment-11119408 message board comment]] put it, "do anything as long as he mentions magnetism while doing it". On an island where his powers were a bit stronger than usual, he once ''created a portal'' to go save his daughter. ''How'' does magnetism let you Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}} a couple continents away? (Though, to be fair, no one InUniverse had any idea how he did it either.)
123*** Essentially, writers decided that "Magnetism" was too limited for a major villain, so they expanded it to "Electromagnetism". Unfortunately, they found out later that electromagnetism is almost infinitely broader than magnetism since it's one of the fundamental forms of interactions the universe.
124** Lifeguard has the superpower of spontaneously developing whatever additional superpower is required at any given moment, although only if somebody's life was in danger. ''Somebody other than herself'', and the power to save a particular life and the power to kick the enemy's butt aren't always the same.
125** Darwin has the power to [[AdaptiveAbility develop any power he needs to survive]]. Submerge him in water, he grows gills; blast him with lava, he's immune to heat and pressure. This power is entirely involuntary; as a child, he [[DrivenToSuicide attempted suicide]] by leaping of a building only to discover that he had become elastic and [[BungledSuicide simply bounced when hit the ground]]. It should be noted that Darwin's power only did what would let him ''survive'' a fight, not necessarily ''win'', such as when he ended up in the path of [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]] during ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', and he spontaneously gained the power to [[RunOrDie teleport to the next state over]].
126** Cypher of the ComicBook/NewMutants has the [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway widely-mocked]] ability of omnilingualism. He can [[{{Omniglot}} instantly understand and speak any language]], which sounds really limited, but creative writing has allowed Cypher's ability to prove [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower very useful]]. The baseline is language, and ''anything'' related to it is available for Cypher to take advantage of. Apart from ordinary languages on Earth, he can use alien languages, dead languages to cast spells, and [[TheCracker crack computer encryption via secret codes]]. He's also a tech genius because he can understand mechanics and computer languages with no effort. After he died in 1988 via a HeroicSacrifice, and then [[DeathIsCheap came back to life over twenty years later]], Cypher's abilities were expanded even further. He became an expert fighter by reading body language and copying various fighting styles (not unlike [[Characters/MarvelComicsTaskmaster Taskmaster]]). Furthermore, his ability allows him to develop complex computer systems through languages he developed, which proves a vital tool in establishing the status quo in ''ComicBook/XMen2019'' by creating an entire network for the land of Krakoa, the refuge for mutants everywhere, and he develops a unique language that ''only'' mutants can understand that is psychically transplanted to all residents.
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129[[folder:Fan Works]]
130* John in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' has complete control over water, to the point where he can actually change the physical properties of water, which lets him do pretty much whatever he (or the Kansael) can come up with.
131* ''{{Fanfic/Luminosity}}''
132** Bella has a mental shield that negates any vampire power used on her, if that power is mental in nature. So Edward can't read her mind, for example. Jasper's power of emotional manipulation is apparently a manipulation of the body, not the mind, so it works on Bella, [[spoiler:until she convinces herself that it shouldn't work, and then it doesn't]]. Later, she [[spoiler: has been torn to bits and set on fire. By thinking something along the lines of "My power protects my mind, but my mind is useless without my body!" she manages to repair her own body and put out the fire with her mind.]]
133** Elspeth's power is telling the truth, with words or visions. She manages to extend this to showing people arbitrary visions and making people's [[MySkullRunnethOver skulls runneth over]].
134* Izuku's Quirk in ''Fanfic/{{Raindancer}}'', "Liquid Body", allows him to produce, manipulate, and become water as he pleases. This renders him NighInvulnerable to physical injury because he can pass through virtually any attack or simply disperse into droplets if he's ever smashed or crushed. He can also manipulate the temperature of water at will, flash freezing foes, shaping his limbs into razor-sharp ice blades, and manipulating clouds by drawing in or releasing moisture. He can ''also'' pressurize his water to slice through objects at a distance, fly by manipulating his own liquid form, and shield himself and others from oncoming attacks with barriers made of water. He can also heal nearly any of his own injuries simply by turning into liquid and reforming. As if he needed anything else, all of the water he makes is drinkable and he never runs out. Not bad for such a "simple" power.
135* In ''Fanfic/{{Juxtapose}}'', Izuku's Quirk, "Minor Banishment", lets him delete 10 g of matter from existence for as long as he's touching the object, knows its structure, and its location. It's derided for how limited it is, but he later finds that it has far more applications than he could have ever imagined. [[spoiler:To date, he has learned how to cut through virtually anything with it, can perform PsychicSurgery on brain tumors and kidney stones, move at SuperSpeed by manipulating the air around him, and even fly.]]
136[[/folder]]
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138[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
139* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Elsa's ice powers prove useful for offensive and defensive fighting, creating and sustaining living snowmen, architecture, walking on water, and that's just the first movie.
140* ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'':
141** Elastigirl, being able to stretch any part of her body to great lengths, is able to shapeshift into many different shapes and forms. These include taking the form of parachute or hang-glider, flattening herself, or making herself extremely tall.
142** Violet can use her force fields in a variety of situations. She can surround herself, other people as well as objects to protect them. She can also use them as weapons, widen gaps in walls so they are big enough to go through, and even cast them as projectiles to shatter falling objects.
143[[/folder]]
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145[[folder:Literature]]
146* The book ends too soon to fully explore it, but this seems to be the gist of Fat Charlie Nancy's power in ''Literature/AnansiBoys''. Having inherited from his father (TheTrickster God, Anansi) the nebulous power of 'stories', he's able to essentially warp reality any which way as long as he can sing it into a plausible story. Of course, stuff like 'miraculous recovery from mortal wounds' or 'evil god is permanently [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a can]]' make for excellent stories...
147** To a lesser degree, but much more explored, is his brother Spider's power, which basically amounts to 'convincing'. A key skill for a Trickster, obviously, and he's not shy about using it in the straightforward way. But he can also enable someone to walk on water just by convincing them that they can, make a house inaccessible by convincing the street that it doesn't exist, convince a door in a boring row-house in London to lead to a grand condo in Brazil, or access secure files by convincing the computer that he's got the password. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments It doesn't work on ornery mothers-in-law, however.]]
148* Carrie has them in ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', though not in any of the film adaptations (''Film/Carrie1976'' or ''Film/Carrie2013''), where telekinesis is only applied to move physical objects. Carrie of the book can invade bodily processes to [[spoiler:stop her mother's heart]] or implant thoughts, and [[spoiler:read the thoughts, memories, and entirely life history of Sue at the end, which suggests she can do it to anyone.]]
149* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'''s Merle gets hold of a magic ring that taps into so many mystical sources, it can do just about anything, thus letting him thumb his nose at the agendas of both the [[OrderVersusChaos Pattern and the Logrus]], as well as his [[StageMom interfering relatives]].
150* The Poets from ''Literature/TheLongPriceQuartet'' have access to this power. Any abstract concept they can describe with absolutely no ambiguity becomes theirs to control in the form of the Andat, bound avatars of the concept. So, the poet who controls Stone-Made-Soft can at will alter the hardness of any and all stone everywhere. The poet who controls Clarity-Of-Vision has complete control over all beings' clarity of vision. However there are limits. The andat are constantly seeking to escape by playing on their captors' mental weaknesses. If an andat escapes it must be described in a completely new way to be bound again.
151* In ''Literature/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'', most of the girls' power are described with ExactWords, which leads to many creative uses of their powers:
152** Snow White's powers are more versatile than most people are led to believe. Her power is "[[HeartIsAnAwesomePower to hear the thoughts of those in need]]", which lets Snow White hear her opponents thoughts [[ExactWords if they are stressed enough]], which ''unsurprisingly'' happens a lot in combat. In ''Restart'', [[spoiler:she's capable of using her powers to interrogate people for information by scaring them]].
153** Pechka in ''Restart'' has the ability to make delicious food after she touches something for five minutes. Doesn't sound very useful in a combat situation. And yet, [[spoiler:when she's pinned down by Melville, Pechka uses her power to turn the entire ground ten meters in diameter around her into soup to escape]].
154* ''Literature/MagicExLibris'' has libriomancy, the power of pulling items from books. Meaning a given libriomancer has access to everything from a [[Franchise/StarTrek phaser]], to a healing potion, to Excalibur, to a [[Franchise/StarWars lightsaber]]. There are few hard rules, no true Necromancy, no time travel, no unlimited wishing, libriomancy damages books so they need to be rested after some uses, can't be used on comic books or videogame guides, and libriomancers can lock books that are too dangerous, to keep people from making [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The One Ring]] or such. Still, a libriomancer is ultimately limited only by their imagination and knowledge of literature.
155
156* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' Lifebinding can be used to enhance ''any'' physical or mental trait of the user, or anything that's a [[BloodMagic part of their physical self]]. A Lifebinder can gain enhanced [[SuperStrength strength]], [[SuperSpeed speed]], [[SuperHearing hearing]], [[TheNoseKnows scent]], [[SuperSenses other senses]], [[SuperReflexes reflexes]], [[SuperToughness fortitude]], AuraVision, [[HealingFactor healing]], [[PhotographicMemory memory]], [[HyperAwareness perceptive]] [[SherlockScan scans]], [[WallCrawl grip]], [[InASingleBound jumps]], [[CharmPerson charisma]], [[spoiler: [[SuperIntelligence intellect]], [[ImprobableFencingPowers swordsmanship]], [[SwordBeam sunforged swords]]]], and [[LongList only the Light knows what else]].
157* This is explored in ''Literature/SuperPowereds''. Some Supers are fairly limited in their abilities. A good number have the standard SuperStrength / SuperToughness combo, which is pretty much limited to GoodOldFisticuffs. This tends to be just fine for them, who focus on combat training. However, as pointed out by Coach Persephone, in the real world, bad guys are rarely so obliging as to engage in hand-to-hand combat with a Hero. This is why alternative training is for those students, whose abilities are not directly focused on combat. One of the first assignments Persephone gives them is to try a new application of their power. Some are more successful than others (e.g. Alice tries to levitate just her foot instead of her entire body, but it doesn't work). Vince has EnergyAbsorption, which, initially limits him to fire and electricity, and he's at a disadvantage when faced with AnIcePerson (since cold is the ''lack'' of energy, he has nothing to absorb). As he learns, however, he grows more proficient with absorbing other kinds of energy, and there doesn't appear to be a limit on how much and how many different energies he can absorb. Professor Fletcher, notably, seems to be the opposite of ComicBook/TheFlash in that his primary power is lightning, allowing him to turn into, absorb, and control electricity. He has also learned to use this to give him SuperSpeed. Also, Alice later learns that [[spoiler:her real power isn't flying, it's being a GravityMaster, with flying being the most basic manifestation]]. Then there's [[spoiler:Globe]], who is a [[spoiler:RealityWarper, which means that he's effectively a god in a spherical area about 20 feet in radius, being able to do pretty much anything he wants to the molecules in that area]].
158* Bink, from the ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series, has the magic talent of protection from anything magical. Since the land where he lives is almost entirely infused by magic, this basically means his talent can do ''anything'', including bringing a person with the power to locally reverse time over just before he inhales poison gas, getting a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien to voluntarily [[SealedEvilInACan re-seal itself]], and dipping him and his friends and family in a youth spring when they get old, all without [[{{Masquerade}} revealing the talent's existence]]. The only thing that keeps Bink from becoming an omnipotent god-being is that the talent is completely outside his conscious control. That and both the fact that a sufficiently powerful Magician or demon could force his talent to reveal itself by acting overtly (as Trent did in ''A Spell For Chameleon'') and the fact that his power is useless against non-magical attacks. (A normal punch in the face or a thrown rock). However, if the being causing the attack is itself magical, the talent will ''still'' kick in: a human could theoretically kill Bink by dropping a large rock on him, but a demon couldn't even if the rock itself is entirely non-magical. His talent can occasionally be very weird about defining harm. Being put into a trance in the middle of a war? Not magical harm! (Apparently, his talent either knew he'd be removed from the trance before anything more permanent happened to him, or would've intervened at the very last second to prevent such harm.) His power is even implied to be able to affect [[BeyondTheImpossible its own source and the SOURCE OF ALL MAGIC!]]
159** The most confusing and roundabout part of this power, is that it is purposefully confusing and roundabout. To those not in the know Bink just seems to be incredibly lucky, because his power sets things up to seem like coincidence whenever possible because if someone knew how it worked, and that Bink could be harmed by non magical means, then if they then used such means, then the root cause of that harm, would be his own MAGICAL power, so it only lets itself be revealed when that won't ultimately harm him- Magician Trent mentioned above became friend with him later, and was the first to puzzle out this aspect, potentially because Bink's power knew that having Trent as an ally would be the best for Bink in the long run.
160* In the ''Literature/YoungWizards'' series, if it exists, you can call it here. And a ''lot'' of things exist in this galaxy.
161* Skitter in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' spends the entire series coming up with new ways to use her power (control over insects) to deal with the various challenges she faces. Generally, she discovers that while an individual insect is weak, she's never using individuals, but an entire swarm. She can locate every individual within her power's range and track and control them perfectly, string lines of spidersilk stronger than steel in the way of opponents, and use her swarm to disguise her location when she fights.
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164[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
165* The Intersect 2.0 in ''Series/{{Chuck}}''. It has all the original powers of the 1.0 in addition to granting combat skills, spoken languages, surgical skills, weapon skills, dance skills, extreme sports knowledge... and that's just in the first four episodes! Strange how just [[PossessionImpliesMastery knowing how to do something automatically makes you a pro at doing it]], completely ignoring physique and muscle memory, which are necessary for many of these feats.
166** This gets even better with the showdown between Chuck and [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Shaw]]]], when the latter gets the Ring version of the Intersect. The latter even uses it to get martial arts skills, even though he's an experienced spy and already has considerable skills in hand-to-hand combat.
167* [[RealityWarper The Author's]] powers in ''Series/OnceUponATime'' may be extensive, but not very useful in a fight, and extremely reliant upon his enchanted quill and magical ink (which can only be extracted from the blood of [[TheHero Emma]] once she turned dark). Thus, Isaac is constantly bossed around by more actively magical people. However, he does manage to use the Author powers creatively such as writing himself out of a room, effectively teleporting. Flash-forward to Seasons 5 and 6, and we discover that [[GuileHero Henry]], the new Author, can use this to gather knowledge on things happening in other places and even casually open portals between dimensions, something that's slightly difficult to do for most magic users. He can't, however, use most of these abilities due the rules involved, which prevent him from using the Author's powers to affect anyone in his book.
168[[/folder]]
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170[[folder:Roleplay]]
171* AT fields become this in ''Roleplay/AsukaQuest'', via Spacebattles and cutting-edge physics. They're not only shields, they're blades, platforms, railguns, degenerate matter creators, potential inducers of a RealityBreakingParadox, and more. Asuka also figures out a subset of AT fields (dubbed IFF fields) that block only what she wishes to block, allowing her to do fun things like pulling cores out of Evangelions, disintegrate things or cause them to explode by blocking certain particles, electron rip, and much more.
172* ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder'': The ability to control fish and fish-based products with your mind should be pretty useless... most of the time. A limitless supply of fish oil definitely helps matters though.
173[[/folder]]
174
175[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
176* In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' SAGA system that came out in the late nineties, all magic was divided into Schools of Sorcery or Sphere of Mysticism. The spellcasting system was freeform, so a creative player could use what schools of sphere they knew to create nearly any effect they could think of. So a person with the Spiritualism sphere(which deals with controlling incorporeal undead) could have spirits lift them up so they could fly.
177* A since abolished power framework in the ''TabletopGame/HeroSystem'' was the so-called "Elemental Control" -- basically simply a means for getting a point cost break on multiple powers if the character's creator could come up with a clever theme to tie them together and get the {{Game Master}} to accept it as legit. Thus, the "making a lot of wind" example at the top of the page could be plausibly used to buy some attacks, defenses, flight, telekinesis...and the combo package would be cheaper than just buying the powers separately solely on grounds of "hey, Elemental Control: Wind Powers!". (It's probably not hard to see ''why'' that framework was dropped.)
178* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' players often complain about this in white's role in the color pie. Other colors kill creatures or return them to their owner's hand; white removes them from the game. White can destroy enchantments, something red and black cannot, and blue has to "bounce and counter". Even vampirism is sometimes a white ability, as the lifelink (when this creature deals damage, you gain that much life) ability shows. However, it is the one colour that has no card drawing (with a few enchantment-oriented exceptions), which balances it very well.
179* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', as a superhero system with a great deal of freedom in customization, has several powers that have immediately apparent game breaking possibilities, such as Transform, which at its highest level is simply described as "Transform anything into anything else."; Nemesis, which allows you to simply choose an opponent and temporarily gain powers that will help you defeat them; and Adaptation, which can immediately grant you powers in reaction to a hostile environment, including effects attacking you. One of the most ridiculous is simply Boost, which, by applying its effect to itself recursively, could, in theory, temporarily grant you any power at maximum rank. Of course, that's ''if'' your GM lets you get away with that one. Pretty much any game with customizable superpowers needs a GM willing to veto {{Game Breaker}}s.
180** As of 3rd Edition, Variable is the main repository of these, essentially giving the player a stock of points to do whatever they want with and that they can change on the fly. Its weakness is that a) it still can't exceed the [[CharacterLevel Power Level]] of your character, and b) the power is expensive and the points you get out of Variable are less than the points you put into it. The idea is that you can instead put limitations on the power so that it reflects more basic abilities and also doesn't leave you with fewer points -- for instance, a shapeshifter might have Variable (limited to physical traits), and a mimic might have Variable (limited to the traits of people I have touched).
181** "Array" powers tend to fit into this category, effectively giving the player multiple different powers for a lower cost, at the downside of them not being usable at the same time. The game notes that while sometimes they refer to vague powers like FunctionalMagic, other times they represent simple applications of powers -- for instance, a fire-based hero might have a single-target blast, an area-of-effect attack, or a wall of fire to block people off. "Power Stunts" can give a character one of these temporarily, though it wears them out in the process.
182* Most supernatural characters in the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' have set lists of powers they can learn. For [[TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening Mages]], these are more like examples and guidelines. "Rote" spells are easier to cast (larger dice pool for casting, lower Paradox risk), but if you can convince the GM that you ought to be able to do something with Arcana X at level Y, you can.
183* Nobles in ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' have control over one aspect of reality. Total control.
184** To give just one example: in [[http://nobilis.me/is-this-halloween this campaign]], the Power of Halloween uses her abilities to, among other things: conjure Gothic horror castles, produce a pair of white gloves (and the rest of the Mickey Mouse costume), summon a baroquely Halloweenish crown, have a chat with some spiders, unleash a swarm of skeletons, intensify the power of a werewolf, ride Dracula's carriage to the North Pole, blot out the Sun, seal doors by dropping Frankenstein-monsters in front of them, and ''deflect a cruise missile with a shield of concentrated darkness''.
185[[/folder]]
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187[[folder:Video Games]]
188* ''VideoGame/Bomberman64'' and its [[VideoGame/Bomberman64TheSecondAttack sequel]] give Bomberman the ability to do this with his bombs. Unlike the [=2D=] games where bombs are only used to blow things up, in ''64'' Bomberman can use them as platforms and utilities for solving puzzles.
189* Scattered throughout ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' (and its [[VideoGameRemake remake]]) are large platforms emblazoned with a giant capital "B." [[ContextSensitiveButton Pressing the aforementioned button]] while standing atop them does ''something'' appropriate to his situation -- ranging from consuming copious amounts of alcohol, morphing into an anvil, merely jogging his memory, or pulling out a projectile (itself ranging from knives and guns to slingshots and toilet paper).
190* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' Shirou is able to apply his limited repertoire of spells in a variety of unique ways, from recreating a sword he saw in a dream to imitating the fighting skills of an opponent by synchronizing with copies of their weapon. The second route ultimately reveals that all of his already versatile abilities are actually just aspects of his only real magecraft, [[spoiler:his Reality Marble Unlimited Blade Works]].
191* Cole from ''VideoGame/InFamous'' has electricity powers, but they're of the ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' type below: he can use electricity to create shackles that hold people to the ground, electric hand grenades, a physical shield that converts projectiles to energy, hover jets, mini electric rockets, small shockwaves, drop with a large electric shockwave, blades of electricity, heal others, summon a lightning storm and, particularly egre... oddly, [[spoiler:eventually time travel]].
192** In the second game, he can develop [[AnIcePerson ice]] or [[PlayingWithFire fire]] powers via a transfer from another conduit. He can create giant icicles to launch himself into the air or launch himself at enemies as a fiery phoenix.
193* The Power of the Keyblade in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series is defined as being capable of open ''any'' lock. This extends from things as small as treasure chests, to things as grand as the keyhole that leads to the heart of the world itself. It can also be used to lock or unlock a person's heart, leading to a variety of dangerous effects. In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Hades exploits this by tricking Sora into using the Keyblade on a barrier placed by ''Zeus himself.'' It falls easily, allowing Hades access to the Underdrome. By the Final Mix+ rendition of the second game, though, it starts getting weird, where the OptionalBoss "Lingering Sentiment" demonstrating the Keyblade's ability to transform into a whip, a buckler, a humongous bow, a humongous cannon, what seems to be a humongous drill bit, an airspeeder, and a floating pickaxe. And then [[SerialEscalation later games]] give the Keyblade the abilities of [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep a hoverboard, a bow, wings, gauntlets, pleats, floating shields, chains, shrapnel, claws, fantastic firearms,]] and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick a heart manipulator/extractor.]] At this point it would be easier to list the things the Keyblade ''can't'' do.
194* Konoko from ''VideoGame/{{Oni}}'' has a "hyper-evolved" form of cancer that actually replaces tissue up to and including entire ''organs'' as they are stressed or damaged, with the attributes needed to survive the stress or damage. That is, if the damage in question doesn't immediately kill her: she regenerates fast enough to survive in acid and be immune to invasive surgery but being stuck in a grinding machine is still fatal. Justified in that said symbiote was designed specifically to make the host capable of survival in a catastrophically polluted Earth. On the other hand, the symbiote is [[AGodAmI not entirely sane]] and may try to [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind hijack]] the body, with the [[BodyHorror Daodan Imago form]] [[BigBad Muro]] [[OneWingedAngel transforms into]] implied to be the result.
195* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMajEyal'', the Stone Wall spell at a high enough level produces a temporary 3 by 3 cube of walls at the target location, doing significant damage to enemies caught in the effect. This can be used to temporarily block off a passage, block projectiles, take a few turns out of the fight to rest and heal, or trap a single isolated enemy.
196* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', Shiki's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are a lot more multi-purpose than you might think at first. This is because not only can he kill anything that's alive... he can kill inanimate things too. In the original Visual Novel, he killed a hallway[[note]]it collapsed[[/note]], the ground[[note]]cracked and nothing ever grew there again[[/note]], poison[[note]]it cured the poisoned[[/note]], a vampiric infection[[note]]the person stopped turning into a vampire[[/note]], and various locking mechanisms[[note]]they fell apart[[/note]].
197[[/folder]]
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199[[folder:Webcomics]]
200* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
201** John Egbert gets access to the ability to control the movement of not just air and wind, but the abstract concept of breath and soul. He uses this to save his life by turning his own body into wind as a villain goes to impale him, just in time to reappear behind the villain completely unharmed for a surprise attack.
202** Roxy is the Rogue of Void. The Rogue Class means she has the power to steal her aspect, but Void represents nothingness, which means that she has the "ability to steal nothing". She naturally assumed that her powers are [[WhatKindofLamePowerIsHeartAnyway useless]], but later found out that she can make imaginary objects real by stealing the essence of nothingness from them. Which means that she can conjure ''any object'' from nothing as long as she can properly visualize it. [[spoiler:Including the Matriorb.]]
203* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': In this world, PsychicPowers are about more than just [[MindOverMatter lifting things with your mind]]. These powers are refined by each esper, and they can learn new techniques unrelated to the ones they already know ([[spoiler:such as Teruki's pyrokinesis and Mob's Chlorokinesis]]), meaning any esper could potentially learn just about any psychic technique with enough effort.
204* In ''Webcomic/StarImpact'', [[TheFightingNarcissist Lily]]'s [[PowersViaWeapon gloves]], [[NamedWeapons Heartbeat Hero]], let her [[TemporaryBulkChange buff up any part of her body]] to massive proportions, which is unique among [[EveryoneHasASpecialMove glove powers]] for having many different applications which combine to make her an effective LightningBruiser:
205** Its most common application is [[TheRightHandOfDoom buffing up a single arm]] for [[EnhancedPunch a hefty combo-finisher]], but she can also buff up both arms to better hold a guard.
206** By bulking up her legs, [[SpeedShoes she can dart in and out of her opponent's range]] to perform withering hit-and-runs, or for a quick getaway out of her opponent's range.
207** Buffing up her torso lets her withstand body blows better, [[DeconstructedTrope which she takes lots of]] [[NotInTheFace since she prioritizes protecting her face]]. She can also [[LanternJawOfJustice buff up her face]] for these purposes if need be.
208** [[LetsGetDangerous If so inclined]], she can combine all of these and bulk up ''[[HeroicBuild her entire body]]'' into [[SuperMode Heartbeat Superhero]] form -- where just one good punch sends [[MightyGlacier Aster]] flying. She can also perform a [[SuperSpecialMove Heroic Heart Attack]], where, in this form, she [[TheRightHandOfDoom buffs up a single arm]] ''even further.''
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211[[folder:Web Original]]
212* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': One of the three stats is Creativity, representing an Inscribed's ability to come up with clever new uses for their Epithet, and in terms of actual effectiveness, it generally seems to be the most powerful.
213** Sylvie can put people to sleep and summon things out of dreams. The applications for this range from unleashing an army of imaginary sheep to psychologically traumatising people to falling asleep to give himself a SuperMode.
214** Molly's "Dumb" epithet mostly focuses on reducing the power of things. She uses this to negate summoned/empowered effects, nullify damage, shut down sound, and even temporarily reduce people's intelligence until they'll believe whatever she just said.
215** Giovanni has managed to turn the ability to summon and manipulate ''soup'' into a reasonable offensive and defensive toolkit that allows him to protect not just himself but his friends. Sure, the "offensive" part of that toolkit is mostly throwing orbs of soup, but even though it's only the "lavacid" he keeps insisting it is if you're ''very'' generous with definitions, that's still boiling hot liquid!
216** Inverted with Gorou, whose Imagination is so bad he can't even ''make his Epithet do what it does'' - his "Bluster" epithet would presumably allow some amazing wind effects if he used it well, but the most he's able to get out of it is being able to exhale ''very hard''.
217* Half of the point of ''Literature/PlayingForKeeps'', really. Characters using their supposedly useless superpowers to do amazing things is what the entire last third of the audiobook is about.
218* Chaka of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has one power. She is the Mistress of Ki. In about a year in-universe, she has gone from someone who could use her ki to make herself a black belt in her style of martial arts, to someone who is a threat even among the other students at SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy. She can now learn a new ki technique just from watching someone else use the technique. Once. Even if the person is using it on her at the time.
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221[[folder:Western Animation]]
222* All characters capable of [[ElementalPowers bending]] on ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' have displayed a wide range of uses for their powers not just in combat, but for [[{{Magitek}} industrial and domestic uses]], such as transportation, metallurgy, sailing and cooking. Water, being an element based on change, is the most versatile.
223** Earthbender Toph can bend metal, waterbender Katara can bend her sweat and firebender Azula once improvised a rocket-like propulsion device, all of which depended on how imaginative their powers were. As the series progresses you see additional uses for the different bending arts that, while new, still [[MagicAIsMagicA makes sense with the laws the universe has set up]].
224** Special mention has to go to King Bumi, who has, not an inventive way of reapplying his power, but a creative way of using it period -- he's so good at Bending he can do it using nothing but his ''face''.
225** In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', this pattern follows suits, especially with waterbending whose flexibility grows to an extreme unprecedented in the original series, with [[spoiler:the main antagonists of Book 1]] being able to use [[BloodMagic bloodbending]] without the restrictions imposed in the original series and the main antagonist of Book 2 being able to channel [[YinYangBomb light and dark]] energy through water.
226* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': [=XLR8=]'s sole power is SuperSpeed, which beyond just letting him run really fast, allows him to WalkOnWater, pull off RapidFireFisticuffs, appear [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]] to the naked eye because he's too fast to be seen and [[TornadoMove create a devastating whirlwind]] by running around in a circle.
227* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'':
228** Gwen is yet another prime example of the magic-users-can-do-anything variety. Originally her powers were traditional magic, only limited to pronouncing a spell correctly. Manifesting right from the get-go of the TimeSkip series where her magical abilities have received a drastic increase. Twice in the first episode she states, "Hey, let me try something," and proceeds to defy logic. On the other hand, her powers most of the time were "1001 uses for pink glass"; until ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' where she uses regular spells more frequently(for whatever power couldn't be explained through pink glass). All expressions of her power are labeled under magic, which the show defines very complexly.
229** Ben, in [[RealityWarper Alien X]] form, which can literally do anything, though he never ever uses it for other reasons. Namely, it paralyzes him afterward while he and [[LiteralSplitPersonality the other two personalities]] debate what to do.
230* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', Twilight Sparkle has her magic. Not unusual for unicorns... however, she seems to specialize in ''all kinds'' of magic. An early episode has Spike comment that they've discovered twenty-five types of spells she can cast, ranging from teleportation and telekinesis to giving somebody a mustache, and she's still learning new ones as the series progresses. This is in contrast to other unicorns, who have only a little magic to match their special talents, as well as standard telekinesis and light-generating powers. Twilight's special talent ''is'' magic. It's heavily implied she isn't unique in this sense. Many Unicorns have specialized in magical wizardry over time, such as Star Swirl the Bearded. Trixie was introduced moments after Twilight explained her special talent, suggesting she is similar (though less practiced). Most unicorns posses magic, they just don't specialize in it. Rarity has telekinesis but dedicates her life to clothes, and only seems to bother with telekinesis and Gem finding. Similarly, flight is extremely useful, but a lot of Pegasi (Fluttershy, Bulk Biceps, Scootaloo) simply specialize in other things.
231* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'''s [[LightningCanDoAnything electricity]] in the animated series did things lightning bolts simply should not do. Like carry people and sensitive equipment with ''bolts of lightning'' without damaging them, as well as ''creating forcefields''. He regularly pulled out some new, increasingly infeasible trick about every other episode.
232** This was an intentional change from the pilot, where his abilities were more realistically shown to be limited to exerting magnetic fields on metal objects to make them fly forwards or backwards or to give people an electric shock by touching them. Indeed, he's shown as being the underdog in his battle against Hotstreak because unlike Hotstreak he can't "shoot" his electricity as energy-blast lightning bolts -- he had to make creative use of his environment while Hotstreak just kept flinging fire at him. The writers apparently reneged on this because while more interesting than generic "lightning blast" powers it did make him kind of unimpressive for the audience of a kids' superhero show.
233*** Given comments within the show itself (like Static switching over to "microwave mode" when facing off against an [[AnIcePerson ice-controlling Bang Baby]] or patching into the signals being sent along phone lines), it seems like the writers went the Magneto route and gave Virgil the power to control the entire electromagnetic spectrum, which is ''enormous.''
234** The show also had Shiv, who could form solid energy constructs from his hands similar to a Green Lantern, but from both hands and without the ring.
235* Jinx of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' has the power of bad luck, which proves to be incredibly versatile.
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