Line #6 Main/TheGift


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7	->''"You can't coach it. That's the 'it' thing that everybody talks about."''
8	-->-- '''Pat Dye''', on Bo Jackson's talent
9
10	[[HardTruthAesop Some people are just better than others]]. Whether it's by being TheChosenOne, having SuperpowerfulGenetics or just being a plain old BornWinner, this character is special.
11
12	These characters are born with The Gift that just makes every character in the same field look ''bad'' by comparison. They were born with something special: this character could have an [[PowerCopying instinctual grasp]] of the techniques that take other characters years to master, maybe they are a natural LightningBruiser with little to no training at all. A character with The Gift need not be physically gifted. If the story revolves around science or school, expect a person with the Gift to be [[SuperIntelligence impossibly smart]], to the point that their peers are struggling to make sense of the person's ''doodles''. You think you're good? Well this guy is just innately ''[[AlwaysSomeoneBetter better]]''. Many times TheMentor of these characters will near worship The Gifted because of this talent, falling over themselves to teach these characters. The teacher may favor this character at the expense of other students. The character may even be TheAce if they're just ''that'' much more talented than everyone else.
13
14	If the character is a good guy, expect them to be TheParagon that everyone looks up to. If the character's talent is intelligence, they may be an InsufferableGenius since no one is near The Gift's level. However, if they let it go to their head, they may turn into an ArrogantKungFuGuy, SmugSuper, or TheSocialDarwinist. If they can't handle the pressure, expect them to become the BrokenAce, or if looked up to by someone, the BrokenPedestal.
15
16	If the person with the gift is the protagonist, then it is a UniqueProtagonistAsset, and that person is often an example of HardWorkHardlyWorks. Those with The Gift are frequently {{Born Winner}}s, especially if they have an amazing life. Though sometimes being better than everyone isn't so great: people might [[LonelyAtTheTop not like you]], or [[TallPoppySyndrome be envious of you]]. In the end, life may become [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction too easy to be enjoyable]]. As they say; it's the journey, not the destination.
17
18	Sometimes, to even things out, someone with the gift [[BrilliantButLazy drops out]] of their training for some reason, leaving them IncompletelyTrained and thus UnskilledButStrong. See also TheParagonAlwaysRebels.
19
20	Finding your own version of this trope, through hard work, is one of the components of JapaneseSpirit.
21
22	Having a gift but maintaining it through training, research, and working (or risk wasting it) makes you TalentedButTrained.
23
24	Not to be confused with "The [[ForumSpeak G.I.F.T]]", GiftOfSong, or GiftOfTheMagiPlot.
25	----
26	!!Examples
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28	[[foldercontrol]]
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30	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
31	* ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' won his first match in mahjong at the age of 13 after a ten-minute introduction to the rules. A few hours later he had defeated a professional rep player for some {{Yakuza}} who was cheating and backed up by the other two players. Things only got better from there. The manga repeatedly references just how unnaturally skilled Akagi is at gambling in general, and particularly in Mah Jong, to the degree he's almost killed once for failing to lose. In ''Manga/TenTheBlessedWayOfTheNiceGuy'', where he has been a gambler for over thirty years, he is renowned for having never lost a game in his life.
32	* Mikasa Ackerman from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is described as a prodigy of unparalleled talent, with a natural mastery in all her subjects. She's still out-shined by in-series WorldsStrongestMan Levi, though, although it's possible she may grow past him with combat experience. [[spoiler:They may actually be related too. Their 'gift' is apparently a unique trait of the Ackerman bloodline.]]
33	* ''Manga/BakiTheGrappler'': Yujiro Hanma is by far the most talented character in the series and squarely falls into NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction. He was born with '''so many gifts''' his birthday might as well be [[BornWinner Christmas]]. His genetics make him physically stronger, smarter, and tougher than anyone else on the planet and holds the title of the World's Strongest Creature. He's so powerful no one is even ''close'', and became so desperate for a challenge that he fathered several children, took the most talented one, [[AbusiveParents and put him through hell]] -- all in the ''hopes'' his child could offer a challenge.
34	* ''Anime/BakutenShootBeyblade'': Brooklyn fits this to a tee. Thanks to a savant-level natural talent at playing spinning tops, he's never had to try in his entire life. On the one hand, far from making him an ArrogantKungFuGuy, he's actually a pretty nice guy who approaches the game with a zen-like calmness. On the other, when he's finally defeated for the first time, he actually starts ''trying''... and the results [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity are not pretty at all]].
35	* ''Manga/BlackClover'': Asta's best friend and fellow orphan Yuno has incredible magical potential. When the time came to receive a Grimoire, Yuno was chosen by a Four-Leaf Clover Grimoire, the highest level Grimoire of them all. Asta, on the other hand, [[{{Unsorcerer}} has absolutely no magical potential]]. Nonetheless, Yuno still looks up to Asta for his courage and determination and considers him to be a worthy rival.
36	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Ichigo has an innate fighting talent that allows him to develop his combat abilities at a truly phenomenal growth rate. He was able to become capable of fighting, and defeating, lieutenants and captains after just ten days training. He was able to achieve Bankai in two and a half days, and within the space of only a couple of months in total, he went from being a powerless person who could see ghosts to being capable of defeating a god-mode Aizen. All the various powers his mixed heritage has given him merely distract from the fact that his combat ability is completely innate. Various characters in the manga have lampshaded this, observing time and again that combat training doesn't work on him and that his ability to fight isn't evidence of heritage or training but of instinct. Even when he loses all his powers, his combat instinct makes him incredibly good at handling unsavoury humans such as thieves.
37	* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
38	** Vegeta likes to think he was born with the gift, being a prince from a race of proud warriors who boast about being the strongest in the universe. It does not help that he was more or less called special by all those who knew him, even his BadBoss Frieza. He is not too far off. He is extremely talented and reach levels that none in his race could comprehend. However, Goku has a greater gift for fighting, being able to outpace Vegeta no matter how hard he trains. During the Cell and Buu Sages he states that Goku has a gift, something he denied before by calling Goku low class trash. By the end of the series Vegeta had to fully admit to himself that Goku was the superior fighter.
39	** Even then, both Vegeta and Goku's gifts are outpaced by Gohan who can easily become the strongest in the universe if he desired it. Even as an untrained child, when Gohan's anger brought out his hidden power he was stronger than Goku was after a lifetime of training. In ''Super'' despite often neglecting his training when compared to Goku and Vegeta, Gohan was able to raise his Unlocked Potential form to be roughly on par with their Super Saiyan Blue forms with comparatively much less training. [[spoiler:In ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'' after working out the cobwebs fighting Gamma 1 and Cell Max, Piccolo's near death allows him to unlock even more power as Beast Gohan that seemingly makes him the strongest being on Earth.]]
40	** Frieza himself has by far the most natural fighting ability of any non-god character in the series, even more than Gohan or Goku. Before losing to Goku he'd literally ''never trained'' in his life and was ''still'' one of the strongest beings in the universe. [[spoiler:After being revived, it only takes him ''four months'' of training to surpass even Buu and be a match for a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan, the same power allowed Goku to fight a semi-serious God of Destruction Beerus on roughly even terms]]. If Frieza had bothered to train regularly for years, literally ''no one'' would have been able to beat him. [[spoiler:In the ''Super'' manga he uses a Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train for years. This allows him to one shot Goku, Vegeta and the arcs BigBad Gas after they gained power that made them the strongest warriors in the universe.]]
41	** Broly in both his original movie and his Canon debut exemplify this.
42	*** Without any real training his natural, raw power is so great that even facing 4 Super Saiyan's and Piccolo combined is barely a workout.
43	*** His Canon counterpart lives on a DeathWorld by Saiyan standards and received some training by his father yet barely scratched the depths of his potential. Just unlocking Super Saiyan makes his power rival that of Beers the God of Destruction.
44	* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'':
45	** Kongo Agon of the Shinryuuji Nagas is another advanced example. He's described as a once-in-a-century football prodigy, capable of reacting in 0.1 second to any move the opposing team makes, as fast as physically possible. He never goes to practice and never exercises, at all, in sharp contrast to his brother Unsui, who trains tirelessly every day but can't keep up with him. Deimon managed to throw Agon a loop by sending in benchwarmer Manabu Yukimitsu, who managed to overtake Agon through sheer determination and tenacity. Oh, and he's practically the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the OpposingSportsTeam.
46	** There's also Takeru Yamato, ''[[TheRealRemingtonSteele the real Eyeshield 21 from Notre Dame]]''. Gifted both physically and mentally, he's the star player of the Teikoku Alexanders, Japan's best high school football team. To give you an idea of how good he is, Kongo Agon challenged him to a one-on-one match, and lost.
47	** Finally, Donald "Mr. Don" Oberman of Team USA overshadows ''everyone'' in terms of being gifted. He's a giant of a man who possesses inhuman strength and speed, is very intelligent and fluent in multiple languages, is charismatic enough to win legions of fangirls, and is the son of the US president. His hobby seems to be putting lesser beings in their place, especially in the football field, where he casually curb-stomps opponents while lamenting of how futile it is to challenge "chosen ones" like himself.
48	* ''Manga/FoodWars'' quite neatly skewers the entire concept. The series subverts HardWorkHardlyWorks at every turn, with all victories going to those who train hardest and are best prepared. However, those who can't keep up are more than willing to attribute the successes of their superiors to The Gift, simply because not doing so forces them to face that the only reason they can't match them is because they've been slacking.
49	** There are also some characters who are genuinely gifted with superior talents (primarily Erina and Akira), but their talents are presented as more of a leg-up than a GameBreaker. Both of them are truly formidable, but only due to the fact that they have an extremely strong work ethic and extensive training that lets them use their innate abilities to the fullest.
50	** Finally, one character is shown to have been driven to a complete breakdown due to the expectations laid on him by people's belief in this trope. As his skills grew, so did the pressure from people around him, who only saw his results and not the insane levels of work he put in to get them. In the end, he had a near-complete breakdown, and was forced to drop out to maintain some semblance of sanity.
51	* ''Manga/TheFoxAndLittleTanuki'': Both titular characters were born with supernatural powers that caused their parents to reject them. This made Senzou, the fox, ultimately turn evil after much ostracization and wreak havoc on the world, for which he was punished and sealed away. Manpachi, the tanuki, remains a good-natured cub despite the abandonment, and despite being raised by a reluctant and bitter Senzou.
52	* ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo''
53	** Takamura is stated by the author to be the best boxer in the series and when he was found by his coach was considered a "diamond that didn't need to be polished". His fights are usually [[CurbStompBattle one-sided affairs]] and played for laughs but one of his opponents, [[UnskilledButStrong Bryan Hawk]], actually had more talent than Takamura; so much more that he gave Takamura his hardest match in the series. Takamura won, but it was partly because [[BrilliantButLazy Bryan Hawk]] never trained for any of his fights and relied on his raw talent while Takamura ''always'' [[TrainingFromHell trains his hardest for fights]].
54	** Woli from Indonesia. He is by far the character with the most raw talent, out stripping even Takamura and Bryan Hawk. It took him only three fights to become the Indonesian champ and he gave the main character, Ippo (who at the time had 22 fights and had defeated multiple national champions), a very tough fight. Ippo's coach stated that they would never fight Woli again as a second fight would end in Ippo's loss since the only thing Woli was lacking was [[SkilledButNaive experience]].
55	** Ryuuhei Sawamura arguably qualifies as well. He is a genius counter puncher, and unlike Miyata, who's counter punches leave him at risk of being clobbered if he messes up, Sawamura's are low risk, high reward counters. If Sawamura wasn't so sadistic about unnecessarily torturing his opponents, be could have easily become a champion long ago.
56	* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'':
57	** Gon and Killua are gifted kids noted by many Nen users as having a potential for nen found in only ''one in ten million'' and learned Nen at amazing speed when it would take months for a normal person to master even one technique. [[spoiler:However, Gon throws away his potential to age into an adult by placing a Restriction on himself to kill Pitou.]]
58	** [[spoiler:Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou]] is even more talented than the two main characters since he was able to learn the basics in a single day. But he is, in a few words, a complete and total psychopath who somehow tops ''Hisoka'' in his depravity that his teacher fears what will happen if he learns Nen. [[spoiler:Theta]] tries to muddle his training to prevent this, yet he immediately figures it out and develops absurd techniques on his own.
59	* ''Literature/{{Katanagatari}}'': [[spoiler:Yasuri Nanami, the main character's DelicateAndSickly older sister]]. Let's count the ways: first, she's so naturally strong and talented that her father, the head of the most deadly swordsmanship school of the era, had literally no idea how he could possibly teach her. [[spoiler:This, and not her frail body or gender, is the only reason she isn't the head of Kyotouryuu.]] Her body absolutely refuses to let her die, [[spoiler:even though she herself would like nothing better]]. She can completely read the moveset and secrets of any martial art by seeing someone take a stance in it; and moreover instantly learns any technique by seeing it once, and masters it by seeing it twice (or performing it herself once) -- even if that technique involves restructuring her own body on the fly. And finally, the ultimate goal of this utterly broken PowerCopying is to [[spoiler:take her further away from using her own strength and skill so that Shichika can finally kill her, because otherwise he'd have no chance.]]
60	* Berserker of ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' poses the danger he does entirely because of this. Berserker is ''so'' naturally talented in martial arts that he can defeat the best of his peers despite not having had ''any'' formal training whatsoever. His defeat requires a massive aversion of HardWorkHardlyWorks, with Hermit claiming to have put in 10,000 times the normal effort. Unfortunately, a later chapter of the manga suggests he has since received that formal training.
61	** Chikage also has this, being referred to as a prodigy. Unlike Berserker on the other hand, Chikage not only has the incredible talent, but she has been raised by an excellent master since birth, whereas he relied on natural ability for most of his life.
62	* ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' features an extremely rare gift called, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Gift]] (Jap. ''shishitsu''). It allows people to [[MindScrew screw with minds]] [[RealityWarper and reality]].
63	* ''Manga/MedakaBox'': Medaka Kurokami is better at everything than everyone. If she sees someone do something or even hears about it, she will quickly become better at it with no effort. Her [[TheAce better than everyone at everything]] status ''includes being better at being worse than others.'' One of her abilities is explicitly one that makes her ''just'' weaker than her opponent, no matter who said opponent is.
64	* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Katsuki Bakugo is absurdly talented at everything he puts his mind to. He's naturally athletic, a gifted student, and born with a rare and powerful Quirk along with excellent reflexes to use it. He has an instinctive grasp of making calls in the field on top of being able to learn how to do anything if he wants to. He was so much better than all of his peers growing up that he was treated as TheAce, which stoked his ego to the point that he became an egotistical {{Jerkass}}. However, he also puts so much value into his Quirk that he develops an InferioritySuperiorityComplex at his former best friend, the protagonist Izuku Midoriya, who had no Quirk at the start. While Bakugo may have TheGift, being forced to compete against equally talented, detemrmined, tough and smart folk forced him to try harder and slowly fix his attitude. In fact, Uraraka notes she believes that Bakugo ''fears'' Midoriya because for all the good he was born with, Izuku's determination to be a hero and goodness despite having no power got him just as far and thus, believes Izuku is a worthier hero. He also has a terrible HairTriggerTemper though this appears to be a trait he picked up from his mother.
65	* Most of the main characters in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', starting with the Uchihas (yes, all of them) and former BigBad Orochimaru and working from there. It's really more notable when characters considered "geniuses" ''don't'' turn evil than when they do.
66	** Naruto himself is a subverted example. If you believe LamarckWasRight, then he technically always had great potential; however, most of his power is owed to being the host of the Nine Tails, who he of course was not naturally born with. However, his son, Boruto Uzumaki, is a straight example; much like his grandfather the Fourth Hokage, he was simply born a prodigy.
67	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
68	** Negi Springfield is often called 'Prodigy' or 'a Genius' thanks to his ludicrous growth, amazing smarts and [[InstantExpert innate ability to master many fighting styles]]. Neither brash nor overconfident, he's instead insecure, self-sacrificing, somewhat power-hungry with a noted inferiority complex, [[spoiler:which eventually causes him to choose the [[BlackMagic powers of darkness]] to prevent harm to his students, in that sparing himself unnecessary pain at losing more loved ones]]. His lonely disposition has yet to be fully confronted, though he occasionally gets accused of being a MartyrWithoutACause.
69	** Later on we get introduced to Kurt Godel, who's also described as a prodigy/genius. Unlike Negi, he's a SmugSuper and is the epitome of the WildCard.
70	* Shiro of ''Literature/NoGameNoLife'' is of the 'intelligent' sort. As in, she's basically a staggeringly powerful supercomputer that just happens to look like an 11-year-old girl. She's said to be able to beat any chess-computer with absolute certainty, since she's capable of considering every possible game-state simultaneously -- essentially doing the same thing they do, but better. In an FPS, she outright seems to be cheating due to her ability to instantly calculate the trajectories of every shot fired by both herself and her opponents, allowing her to [[DodgeTheBullet dodge bullets]] and pull off crazy [[PinballProjectile ricochet shots]]. Even Sora, who is a genius in his own right -- particularly in 'softer' areas, such as predicting and manipulating human behavior -- considers himself average-at-best compared to her, and indeed sees her as a [[TheParagon shining example of human potential]].
71	** She's also appropriately isolated by this incredible talent -- she could speak fluently before she turned ''one'', and was basically raised in a lab beyond that, acing IQ-test after IQ-test (effectively making her IQ ''[[ReadingsAreOffTheScale imeasurrable]]'') -- leaving the adult, highly-educated scientists surrounding her to realize that this mere infant indubitably was smarter than all of them... possibly 'put together', to boot. Sora was essentially the first one to treat her as a ''person'', rather than some scientific curiosity or test-subject (her [[ParentalNeglect parents included]]), and as a result, she feels heavily detached from humanity as a whole.
72	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
73	** Luffy's aptitude for combat is remarked upon frequently, and his growth rate as a fighter is insane. He's defeated several warriors with decades of experience on him with his sheer determination and instincts, and has even managed to figure out new techniques and abilities mid-battle. [[spoiler:As seen during his second battle with Kaido, the very moment Luffy figures out what he's doing (coating himself with Conqueror's Haki), he manages to replicate the technique to the point of being able to match Kaido within ''minutes'']]. Something like that takes natural talent that's only seen once in a generation, if that.
74	** Zigzagged with Roronoa Zoro. While a major portion of his strength is due to the constant training he puts himself through while the crew is traveling from island to island, he is also naturally talented in combat in his own right. Flashbacks show him to be a ChildProdigy who could already defeat several adults on his own (with his only superior being ''another'' ChildProdigy), and in the series itself, he manages to master several powerful techniques, such as cutting steel, within a single battle. [[spoiler:His own mastery of Conqueror's Haki Coating is even more impressive than Luffy's; while Zoro had prior advanced training with Haki, he had no idea he even had Conqueror's Haki until the Onigashima War. Even then, he misses all the signs until his fight with King, where he finally uses it master his new sword Enma]]. That is something that, much like Luffy above, takes natural talent only seen once in a generation.
75	* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', the character Autor ''thinks'' he has powers to [[spoiler:"[[RewritingReality bend reality to his will with pen and ink]]"]]. Turns out he's mistaken, and the true prodigy of this power is [[spoiler:Fakir]]. Autor even notes that they've "been chosen" in one particular scene. [[spoiler:Fakir himself isn't a villain, but he ''is'' a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, so he fits the personality type for this trope well.]]
76	* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' puts a particularly dark spin on this. The titular character is noted early on to have vast potential as a MagicalGirl. [[spoiler:Too bad this means her eventual, inevitable transformation into her SuperpoweredEvilSide will destroy the world if she contracts and activates her powers]]. Despite the fact that she is a sweet, innocent, trusting person with a low opinion of herself, [[spoiler:her Gift has the potential to wreak more destruction on the Earth than that of most other examples]]. The story also makes it absolutely clear that she wasn't even "special" in the ways that this trope often implies, [[spoiler:given that her status as the ChosenOne is an [[GoneHorriblyWrong unintended side-effect of another person's actions]], rather than even the standard "[[YouCantFightFate fate]]" or SuperpowerfulGenetics [[HandWaved Hand Wave]]]].
77	* ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'': Maximillian [[MeaningfulName Jenius]] (known as Max Sterling in the ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' adaptation) joins AcePilot protagonist Hikaru's squadron as a rookie pilot -- and ''immediately'' proves himself to be the single best pilot in the entire series, even better than his commanding officer. No reason is given for why he's even better than Hikaru, who grew up as a stunt pilot in a flying circus before joining the military, even despite the fact that Max wears vision-correcting glasses -- he's just ''that good.''
78	* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'': Kishou Arima is athletically and intellectually gifted, but where he really shines is his profession as a ghoul investigator. He is readily acknowledged as the greatest one to have ever lived, has by far the largest extermination rate of any investigator, and at no point in the series does anyone come close to actually defeating him. [[spoiler: He is even shown in a flashback to have defeated the One-Eyed Owl, the most powerful ghoul on record. He allows Kaneki to defeat him in ''Re,'' but this was all part of his plan and he openly taunts him during their fight that he could have killed him hundreds of times over already and is simply drawing it out for his own reasons.]]
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81	[[folder:Comic Books]]
82	* {{Inverted\|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel''. Snake-Eyes, [[MightyWhitey a white friend of the family]], is regarded by the masters of the Arashikage ninja clan as being their most gifted and promising student. He stays good (probably partly because the masters ''don't tell him this to his face''), but his friend, Storm Shadow, a blood member of the clan who had trained with them since childhood, [[TheResenter becomes embittered]] at being [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter constantly thought of as coming up short compared to his friend]].
83	* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
84	** The Gorgon, from ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'', is a ridiculously advanced case. He could read and write by his first birthday. By four, he was one of Japan's most acclaimed artists. He composed his first opera at age six. At twelve, he wrote a mathematical equation that proved the existence of {{God}}. He became a ridiculously skilled martial artist in adulthood, as well. He's also one of the most bugfuck insane guys out there and is fanatically devoted to the evil Hand. Oh, and he can also ''[[TakenForGranite turn people to stone]] [[DeadlyGaze by looking at them]]''. His actions so frequently cause "WHAT?! NOBODY IS THAT [good/fast/strong/silent]!" reactions that "Wrong. The Gorgon ''is'' that [whichever previous adjective]" is practically his [[CharacterCatchphrase catchphrase]]. After Wolverine barely defeated and killed him by reflecting his own stone gaze back at him, the Gorgon was [[BackFromTheDead resurrected]] by the Hand ''[[CameBackStrong even more powerful than before]]''.
85	** Moondragon, from ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' and ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', is a classic case of this. Orphaned by the renegade [[Characters/MarvelComicsThanos Thanos]] of Titan, she was brought up on his homeworld and instructed in [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower physical]] and [[PsychicPowers mental]] disciplines for which she proved to have considerable talent. She got proud enough to challenge the [[DraconicAbomination Dragon in the Moon]] and apparently proved good enough to destroy it, which [[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning did not help]]. At her best she is [[ArrogantKungFuGuy insufferably arrogant]] (being almost That Damned Good to boot), and when the [=DitM=]'s [[MoreThanMindControl influence]] surfaces, she lapses into [[AGodAmI full-blown megalomania]]. Life with her new girlfriend seems to have mellowed her... somewhat.
86	* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
87	** Lady Shiva, who was born with CombatClairvoyance, is considered to be ''the'' greatest non-metahuman/non-magical martial artist in the world. Not even Batman–the CharlesAtlasSuperpower poster boy–has ever canonically beaten her in a straight fight. She borders on InvincibleVillain, as unless the heroes pull off some unorthodox manuver, they're by definitioin going to lose. Only ComicBook/RichardDragon is considered to be her equal. Meanwhile...
88	** [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Cassandra Cain]], Lady Shiva's daughter, is usually depicted at near-reaching her mother's level, but Cassandra has the benefit of not being in her prime. She has the potential of ''exceeding'' her mother in time.
89	* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' introduced the concept of "Point One Percenters" to Creator/IDWPublishing's ''Transformers'' continuity (and eventually to others). These are a special subset of Cybertronian (0.1% of the population, hence the name, although that's implied to be a considerable overestimate) who have unusually strong [[OurSoulsAreDifferent sparks]]. Point One Percenters are simply ''better'' than regular Transformers; of the two known classes, "load-bearers" can control bodies much larger than average (such as MetaMecha), and "heavyweights" are simply stronger, faster, and tougher. Their numbers include big names and war heroes such as Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Grimlock, and Megatron.
90	[[/folder]]
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92	[[folder:Fan Works]]
93	* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Bolt and Penny are discovered to have natural acting ability despite their minimal thespian experience in "The Pilot."
94	* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsFriendshipSouls'':
95	** How the Equestrian magic of friendship interacts with spiritual power. It's basically shonen protagonist in a bottle giving the recipient an accelerated growth rate allowing them to be able to surpass Lieutenants and press Captains who have had centuries of experience in a matter of months as shown by Sunset and the Humane Five.
96	** Sweet Cider and Blueblood are prodigies as well. Sweet Cider became one of the strongest Captains in only ten years and she doesn't even have Bankai. Blueblood never put any effort into his training in his life and still made Captain, and then he ''does'' begin to put in effort and you'd think he has a friendship magic power boost as well.
97	** Tirek is revealed from Grogar's musing to have this. Not only is he one of the oldest Hollows/Arrancars in existence, but he has the unique trait to get the most power out of every soul he ever devoured, allowing for near-infinite growth. This fills Grogar [[TheResenter with no small amount of envy]], as despite being of the same generation as Tirek he himself has long ago hit the limit of his natural growth, forcing him to resort to artificial augmentation to grow stronger.
98	[[/folder]]
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100	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
101	* ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'': Manolo's father lampshades in the beginning that he has ''the gift'' of bullfighting.
102	* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'': There are more than a few echoes of this in how Master Shifu treats [[WellDoneSonGuy Tai Lung]] -- and true to form, seeing only the snow leopard's incredible natural talent for kung fu (he was after all the only one to master all one thousand scrolls) the guy proudly pumps him up to be the Dragon Warrior, all without seeing the darkness that was growing in his son's heart. Though Tai Lung turned evil, he luckily didn't indulge in a great deal of {{Wangst}}. You can guarantee, though, that if he didn't die in the final battle, shows up in a sequel, and does a HeelFaceTurn, he will become either an IneffectualLoner (which he may well have been before his StartOfDarkness) or thanks to DefeatMeansFriendship, an AloofBigBrother to Po.
103	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Remy is something of a subversion: he possesses the gift of incredible cooking skills, but unlike the examples here ''nobody'' looks up to him or is envious of it because he's a rat, who don't need to cook and aren't allowed in kitchens anyway. When he's able to express his gift by being TheManBehindTheMan of a human, he gets taken advantage of: his rat clan uses him to steal food from the kitchen while his human "puppet" [[LethalChef (who couldn't boil spaghetti without Remy's help)]] takes all the credit.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
107	* ''Film/BulletsOverBroadway'': Chazz has a gift for writing; where David went to dozens of writing classes, Chazz had no use for "those blue-haired bitches". David struggles to do what Chazz does effortlessly. However, Chazz just thinks David is needlessly pretentious. David counters that as a kid he was taught to play the accordion, and while he was passable, a friend could just press two keys and make magic.
108	* Sing, the eventual protagonist of ''Film/KungFuHustle'', had tremendous chi reserves in his body for his entire life, which he subtly sets up for the climactic fight scene by recovering from a serious stab wound, concussion and poisoning, in the span of about an hour, then casually mentioning that he's never had to go to a hospital in his life. Only after a near-death experience (that is to say, the BigBad delivered sufficient damage that the surprisingly powerful wise old men had to mummify him) was he able to use it consciously.
109	* Played with in ''Film/TheMatrix''. The Oracle's comment to Neo about him not being the One ("Sorry, kid. You've got the gift, but it feels like you're waiting on something.") may seem like a confirmation of Neo's fears, but it actually leads into some foreshadowing of his eventual fate ("Your next life, maybe. That's how these things usually work." and "One of you is going to die." and can be seen as clever manipulation to hook Neo into the path she wants him to take.
110	* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' Sith, Jedi, and anyone who is capable of the force are by default Gifted. But there are a few that take it the another level:
111	** Luke, Ben Solo and Anakin Skywalker in their respective ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogies. The Force was strong with those ones.
112	** Rey, skilled engineer, staff-combatant, novice pilot, Force adept, and lightsaber wielder in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Literature]]
116	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': While anyone can learn some magic, only a few have the inherent gift of being able to instinctively feel and use magic on their own, and thus can become full-fledged wizards. Even among wizards, strength appears to be an inherent trait; Harry Dresden himself is one of the strongest of his generation (though he's not even close to what [[TheArchmage the Senior Council]] can pull off), while his apprentice Molly is acknowledged unlikely ever to match him in sheer destructiveness (her skills lie in illusion magic, which she has a finer grasp of than Harry), and he's met a variety of minor talents who can only manage one or two tricks to their names with no indication they can grow stronger.
117	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': A theme in the series is about what individuals with incredible gifts choose to do with them. And, why you don't necessarily need them to become great:
118	** From a very young age, Tom Marvolo Riddle was treated as an amazing prodigy and given special preference and instruction. Yet all he chose to do with his gift was pursue immortality, killing hundreds of people in the process. In the end he dies in his fifties, probably younger than he would if he'd lived a peaceful life.
119	** Dumbledore had incredible abilities from an early age. Unlike Voldemort he mostly used them for good, except for a period in his teenage years that haunted him for the rest of his life. He reflects while talking to Harry that he never trusted himself with power again.
120	** Harry is notable for ''not'' having the gift, despite being the title character. He's a decent wizard, sure, but he pales in comparison to Hermione and, when he was the same age, Snape. He gets by on ingenuity, courage and some good broom flying skills
121	* Kvothe from "Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle" is an advanced example of this trope. An unrivaled prodigy, his intellect is such that he can learn complicated concepts in days when would take even the most intelligent people months or years. He has learned a language in less than two days, runecrafting in a week, and joined the greatest university by the age of 15. And that is just the beginning. By the time he is an adult he is a living legend.
122	* ''Literature/{{Nevermoor}}'': Many people are born with some sort of gift, which in this setting is called their "knack." A person's knack can take many forms; physical traits (being born with gills), supernatural abilities (being able to see the future), or unfathomable prodigious talent at a non-magical skill (being able to perform surgery at the age of eleven). It's unclear if ''everyone'' has a knack, but it doesn't seem to be uncommon; the Wundrous Society, which is dedicated to educating children with the most impressive and powerful knacks and making them [[TheOrder the most powerful people in the Free State]], only accepts nine out of ''hundreds'' of applicants each year.
123	* ''Literature/OfFireAndStars'': Affinities are generally inborn abilities certain people get to use specific ElementalPowers, which many consider [[ReligionIsMagic a gift from the gods]]. Few get more than one Affinity; it's considered highly dangerous when someone does (like Dennaleia) becaues they're difficult to control together.
124	* ''Literature/TheScholomance'': At least once a generation, a wizard is born with a potent magical gift that is the universe's reaction to whatever event in the previous generation that ended up UpsettingTheBalance. For example:
125	** Main protagonist Galadriel "El" Higgins, who was born to a IncorruptiblePurePureness healer after her lover sacrificed his life to a maw-mouth to get her and the unborn El out of the Scholomance. As a result, El has a powerful affinity for TheDarkArts and especially large-scale, destructive spells, and is unquestionably the most powerful wizard of her generation -- and the most likely one to destroy the magic world if she ever fell to the dark side.
126	** The only person who can compete with El is deuteragonist and LoveInterest Orion Lake, a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} MagicKnight who has an infinity for combat magic and slaying mals. He was born as a result of the previous year's senior class of the Scholomance being massacred by a group of would-be Maleficers for a major power up. So, when Orion shows up at the Scholomance, his mal-slaying skills allow him to save hundreds of students attending the school at the same time as him.
127	** The only other once-in-a-generation talent mentioned thus far is Li Shan Zheng, the current Dominus of the Shanghai enclave. He's a powerful artificer with an affinity for large-scale construction, who got offers from every major enclave in the world before deciding to reject them all in favor of restoring his family's ancestral enclave. He was also both the planner behind and the point man for the third maw-mouth kill in recorded history [[spoiler:(El soloed one her junior year, and again her senior year)]]. He was born as a result of the BalanceOfPower tipping too much towards the western enclaves; so, after he took over Shanghai, it grew under his leadership to become the second most powerful enclave in the world and a major sponsor of Asian enclaves, making the balance between the east and the west more equal.
128	* ''Literature/SchooledInMagic'': You need to be magically-gifted to use most forms of magic. [[spoiler:Rune Magic doesn't require this, but magicians don't teach that to {{muggles}} because the Subtle Art is a serious pain in the ass as it is. Alchemy also technically doesn't require magic, but using it safely generally requires magical wards.]]
129	* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': Most magic users have the gift, the inherent ability to use it. However, some have the calling, the ability to learn magic regardless. It's noted that the latter is inherited, but over the centuries with so much battle between magic users the gifted are steadily dying out.
130	* Flipped in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'' with Lobsang Ludd, who is naturally great at both the theory and practice of time manipulation. None of the teachers among the History Monks like him, because you can't teach someone who already knows everything.
131	* In the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'' books, there is a subversion on two levels. In the first, just about half the population has "The Gift", and it's actually called that. What it is is basically the ability to use magic -- and that's it. Some of them ''do'' [[SmugSuper think they're better than everyone]] and two are the BigBad of their series, but most are decent and nice. The second subversion, closer to the trope idea, is wild magic; a much rarer 'gift' which has specific abilities. The only characters to have this (Daine and Tobe) are TheHero and a different hero's SideKick.
132	* John Rumford in ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' is a non-supernatural example. Much like Ender Wiggins in ''Literature/EndersGame'', Rumford is socially awkward, mildly eccentric, ruthless, and often hostile to authorities, yet a [[MagneticHero charismatic leader]] and [[TheStrategist military genius]] of such rare raw natural ability and talent that his whole nation's fate eventually comes to depend on him.
133	* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, some channelers require training and others have this, such as Nynaeve. Wilders (as 'gifted' channelers are known) are no more likely to turn evil than any others, they just have a harder time accessing their power before they undergo special training to break their 'block' that's sealing the power away.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
137	* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': It only took eight years for Oliver Queen to go from useless playboy to WorldsBestWarrior. Granted, a majority of those eight years were comprised of TrainingFromHell and multiple near-death experiences, but even then, that shouldn't have been enough to kill a man who had several ''centuries'' worth of experience over him. The only viable explanation is that Oliver was born to fight, and is a combat prodigy with talent only seen once in a lifetime.
138	* ''Series/{{Community}}'': Troy Barnes has the Gift -- for plumbing and air-conditioner repair. Considering that in their world, air conditioning repairmen secretly control the world, its kind of a big deal.
139	* River Tam of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is a genius prodigy who can basically do anything she puts her mind to with incredible ease, and was already in some form of college by the time she was 14. As her brother Simon puts it, "River wasn't just gifted... she was a gift." After her MindRape, she is still extremely intelligent and talented, but it's often hidden behind many layers of insanity.
140	* Sylar of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has the power of "intuitive aptitude", and thus is able to rapidly master new superpowers over the course of a few days, whereas the people he takes them from tend to suffer from HowDoIShotWeb or SuperpowerMeltdown even after living with their powers for several months. Then again, he has to crack open people's skulls and take their brains to get the powers in the first place, so the "evil" part is kind of a chicken or the egg thing with him. Compare the heroic Peter Petrelli, who also can absorb powers (without stealing brains) but is pretty incompetent with them and needs to spend considerable time training to get them to work properly.
141	* Morgana Pendragon from ''Series/Merlin2008'' When she finally accepts her magical powers, sometime between Seasons 3 and 4, she becomes a High Priestess after one year of training. She eventually becomes a serious threat to Merlin, who is the most powerful Warlock in history. She is a skilled swordswoman and is always able to get her hands on an army.
142	* ''Series/TheQueensGambit'': ChildProdigy Beth has a gift for Chess and shows brilliance at it even when she is going through dark periods of drinking, drug use and depression. Even at her lowest points, there are only a few people in the world who can beat her.
143	* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': Jerry has incredible natural talent for bootlegging movies. When the camera was shoved into his hands because the actual bootlegger got sick and had to leave (after flashing his gun to make sure Jerry filmed the movie in his place), Jerry's only concern was not getting caught illegally filming the movie, and had no idea what he was doing. The bootlegger later told him that his camera work was the most beautiful he had ever seen, and his bootleg became a smash hit on the street. When he's conscripted into shooting more bootlegs, he starts acting like a PrimaDonnaDirector, demanding multiple cameramen posted around the movie theater and headsets for communication.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
147	* The potential to tap the supernatural in ''TabletopGame/AllFleshMustBeEaten'' is literally called "The Gift". What that gift encompasses -- PsychicPowers, holy magic, SupernaturalMartialArts -- is up to the user.
148	** This is the same for all Unisystem games.
149	* The ability to use magic -- just plain magic as well as summoning -- is called "The Gift" in ''TabletopGame/AnimaBeyondFantasy''
150	* ''TabletopGame/ArsMagica'' has this at the center of its premise. Magical ability (referred to as the gift) instantly puts the primary player character class, magi, above the rest of the mundane world. This is reasonable enough; its setting, Mythic Europe, is a world of medieval beliefs after all. However, while the magi of the Order of Hermes swear an oath not to do anything that deprives another magus of his right to arcane power, or brings the ire of the mundane authority on the Order as a whole, any given mage is perfectly within his or her rights to abuse anyone who isn't a mage at their leisure, including their own apprentices. A particular list of legal cases includes the case of one mage who tortured several of his apprentices to death and was found to have committed no crime.
151	* The Planeswalker's Spark in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is something that one either is born with, or isn't. It is possible to transfer a Spark from one being to another, however.
152	* As with the above, ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'' has the gift of magic being incredibly rare. The thing is, it tends to cause Adepts to become... well, insane. The technical definition is that they become obsessed with things like taking risks, cutting themselves up, or saving money, to the exclusion of all else. Oh, and the only reason mages aren't ruling the world is because they're terrified of what could happen when the world finds out about magic. Otherwise, their obsessions and magic cause them to look down on normal people, referring to them as sheep.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Video Games]]
156	* In the ''VideoGame/AtelierAyeshaTheAlchemistOfDusk'' series, to use a traditional alchemy that involves the cauldron you need the natural talent or gift for it, which involves a special kind of intuition to use with like Ayesha, Escha and the Shallies. Alchemists like Logy and Miurca don't have this natural talent thus need to resort to the newer alchemy method that involves specialized equipment that don't need the person to have this natural talent thus anyone can technically use it.
157	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
158	** The Soldier program only takes the strongest of mind and body into their ranks, so the protagonist Cloud's bragging of having reached the rank of 1st class is high praise of his abilities. [[spoiler:In actuality he had the physical strength but not the mental, which left him vulnerable to the power of Sephiroth when he was put through a similar process that gave him matching strength.]]
159	*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRebirth'' shows that Cloud really is ridiculously skilled at just about anything he puts real effort into. Card playing, piano, virtual brawling, dancing, Chocobo Jockey and motorcyclist are among his skills. A late game side quest has him being challenged to become the Ultimate Party Animal at the Gold Saucer, something he can rise to the occasion for.
160	** According to her teacher Zangan, Tifa Lockhart has the greatest potential as a martial artist of all his students. This help account for her CharlesAtlasSuperpower as other games show that normal people would have to be either a literal SuperSoldier or use anti-tank weapons to fight some of the monsters that she can.
161	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', [[spoiler:Adelle]] is one of "The Gifted", which grants her such boons as an extremely extended lifespan, unique abilities and near-instant mastery of (non-combat) skills. While she never falls into outright evil ([[spoiler:except for a brief moment when she is BrainwashedAndCrazy]]), The Gift causes her a large amount of angst towards the fact that it makes her "different".
162	* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' plays with the trope, but it still ends up used straight: the player character learns the ways of the Force very, very quickly, "learning in weeks what has taken others years". Later in the game, there turns out to be an explanation for that -- but that explanation means that the player character is [[spoiler: Revan, who before that revelation had been described as a bit of a prodigy, and rather powerful.]]
163	* ''VideoGame/LuminousPlume'':
164	** In the Mystic Forest, Raven notes that Valerie picked up on the basics of aura very quickly. Later, she's able to use techniques and understand concepts that took Raven years to learn.
165	** Valerie and [[spoiler:Victor]] note that it's impressive that Raven can learn so many techniques just by roughly imitating his teacher with minimal instruction. [[spoiler:Victor suppresses part of Raven's memory in order to intentionally keep the latter from surpassing him.]]
166	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': As the series has gone on the only explanation for Sonic's feats and skills is that he is just that good. ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' in particular makes note of this, as the plot is that cyberspace had trapped Sonic's friends and Eggman to keep an ancient evil at bay an advanced society gave everything to seal away. The reason that Sonic wasn't trapped himself and can win were they had fallen is that he is Sonic.
167	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Some characters are noted to have extraordinary talent in fighting. Often this is done in contrast with the main character Ryu, who actually doesn't have a massive amount of innate talent and simply trains and broadens his skills quite frankly religously.
168	** Most notably is his rival Ken, who despite having made a family and the Masters' fortune to look after is still considered his equal. This is shown that Ken often picked up skills immediately in training while Ryu chose to continuously hone a single skill all day.
169	** Oddly enough, the boxer Balrog is likely the best example of the villains in raw talent. While the rest of the villains use esoteric powers or highly refined skills, Balrog relies highly on his prodigious talent and simply fights as a means to an end to fuel his encompassing greed. When he was a legitimate boxer, he used to train enough to win champion fights and squander the winnings in his vices and repeated until he was kicked out. Ryu notes that if he really committed that he wouldn't have a chance against him.
170	** Sakura Kasugano has been considered a prodigy for learning to mimic Ryu's highly developed fighting style through watching him alone, his signature KiAttack and everything. While her skills show that she still has a ways to go before she completely catches up to her, the amount of speed she has learned is staggering.
171	* In ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', PsychicPowers are this. Psionic potential is rare, tied to a soldier's Will stat, and can only be discovered by screening your soldiers in a Psionic Lab facility -- it's not uncommon to only have two or three psionic candidates on a roster of over a dozen soldiers. Appropriately, it is called "The Gift" in-game, [[spoiler:and the entire AlienInvasion is an attempt by the Ethereals to [[INeedYouStronger see if humanity can develop its psychic potential while remaining physically capable]], in contrast to all their current servitor races, which are one or the other.]]
172	** ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' changes psionics to something even a Rookie can develop after a stay in the Psi Labs, probably because it's set twenty years later in a VichyEarth scenario, so XCOM has a better understanding of how to develop even an average soldier's psychic potential. But the ''War of the Chosen'' expansion assigns each soldier a Combat Intelligence stat that determines how many Ability Points they earn upon promotion, which can be spent in the Training Center to unlock additional abilities beyond what they get with class promotions. A "Gifted," "Genius" or "Savant" soldier can master both of their class' skill paths, or spice up their repertoire with abilities from another class entirely.
173	* Leo Stenbuck from ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' literally [[FallingIntoTheCockpit falls into the cockpit]] of SuperPrototype orbital frame Jehuty, but rapidly shows a prodigious talent for piloting the mech in the face of an enemy invasion until he's taking the attacking force apart single-handedly. When he finally meets up with the UNSF officer who's supposed to take it off his hands, the officer refuses to do so because the fate of the colony is still at stake and, having seen Leo fight, he already realises that the kid is better than he is with only a few hours experience. Even the enemy ace Viola insists that it's more than just the power of Jehuty that makes Leo so good after the first time he defeats her, refusing to back down from a rematch against him because her own pride won't let her accept that he's better than her, eventually leading to her death when his skills prove superior. By the time of the second game, Leo is no longer piloting Jehuty, but with his new Vic Viper he's almost a match for Jehuty and its new pilot, and is the undisputed ace of the UNSF forces, despite still being only a teenager.
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
177	* Kinda {{deconstructed\|Trope}} in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', as it's ''because'' [[BrilliantButLazy Leon]] [[LovableJock Kuwata]] is so crazy-talented at baseball that he doesn't see why anybody would need to practise or work on it because he's so ridiculously good at it without trying, leading him to resent the boring routine of training and wanting to branch out from being Ultimate Baseball Star and do something else. He does like playing baseball at heart, along with the perks of free scholarships and attention from girls, but he goes to great lengths to distance himself from it.
178	** This extends to pretty much every character in the series that goes to Hope Academy or is trapped in these [[DeadlyGame contests]]. Everyone is the Ultimate something and are at the top of their respective fields. While many of the characters are over-the-top gifted, the series does explore, deconstruct, and reconstruct the themes of being exceptionally talented in a situation where most of these characters talents are [[CripplingOverspecialization useless]], especially for a [[TenLittleMurderVictims murder mystery game]].
179	[[/folder]]
180
181	[[folder:Web Animation]]
182	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[Characters/RWBYRubyRose Ruby Rose]] is a talented fighter who is pushed ahead in combat school by two years. Born with silver eyes, she possess a mystical ability to become the best of all fighters and slay Grimm with the power of Light. Initially, she doesn't want to be treated as special, but also believes her skills are enough to win any fight without help. She has to learn to value team-work and academic study, that there is more to being elite than just natural talent, and that leadership requires giving her best to receive it from others.
183	[[/folder]]
184
185	[[folder:Webcomics]]
186	* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', several characters comment on Nanase having a ''lot'' of inborn magical potential, even aside from her martial arts training under Greg focusing her abilities to be harnessed easier. Being the niece of Noriko Verres, who Not-Tengu describes as one of the most powerful wizards in the modern world, may or may not have something to do with it. [[spoiler: Tara's AuraVision labelling her as "royalty" lends further credence to there being ''something'' special about Nanase]].
187	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'''s StartOfDarkness for the lich villain Xykon revealed that one of his earliest conflicts was with the hard-studying wizards who [[UnequalRites looked down on him for the natural gift of sorcery he possessed]].
188	* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'':
189	** Twenty-Fifth Bam's incredible Shinsu resistance and his huge talent for learning Shinsu techniques. While it's true that he himself was very pure-hearted, his immense talent drew a lot of jealousy towards him and made some of his "friends" develop crushing inferiority complexes that led to soul crushing events. Others whoever were awed by his power and decided to risk their lives to follow him (Khun, Rak, and everyone who survived the tests). [[spoiler: Even after Bam's "death" the team still decided to stick together to honor his memory.]]
190	** All the irregulars who ever entered the Tower are gifted in such a way that they are considered a combination of HumanoidAbomination and PersonOfMassDestruction. They are considered so dangerous and so rare that an Irregular is thought by many as sign of great upheaval.
191	* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Tacit casters are capable of performing magic without speaking the LanguageOfMagic. They just have to think the words in their head and they're good to go. This is a rare skill, and one you have to be born with. Tacit casters have a distinct advantage in a WizardDuel because it means the other guy can't predict what they're going to cast.
192	* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'''s Ritsu Kageyama, Mob's "normal" younger brother, is so effortlessly smart, athletic, and attractive that everyone regards him as the gifted one even though Mob has literal superpowers. [[BrokenAce However, he can find absolutely no pride in any of it]], as he knows it contributes to Mob's SuccessfulSiblingSyndrome and that no number of mundane talents are going to protect Ritsu from an emotionally fragile esper brother who once nearly killed him with his PsychoactivePowers. Thus he instead comes to quietly resent Mob for forcing him to be the MatureYoungerSibling [[spoiler:and violently lashes out at him when he finally comes into his own PubertySuperpower]].
193	[[/folder]]
194
195	[[folder:Western Animation]]
196	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderPrincessAzula Azula]] and [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTophBeifong Toph]] are both among the most naturally gifted/talented characters in the series. Azula was born as a child prodigy. Toph meanwhile was born blind, so she relied on her other senses and would encounter the earth badgermoles (large subterranean '''blind''' creatures a mix of badger and mole and where humanity picked up earthbending from.) The former is DaddysLittleVillain and the latter is a loner who requires an entire season to soften up to her TrueCompanions. [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderKatara Katara]] is a subversion; she taught herself waterbending and became a master soon after finding a master to formally train her. [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarAang Aang]] is an ''inversion''. His gift means it's his job to save the world. [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Zuko]] is played with. He doesn't possess the gift, but that's ''precisely'' what makes him special since it made him [[TheDeterminator who]] he is.
197	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' animated series, he tells Dogbert that he has "The Knack" (for engineering.) He accidentally drinks his boss's coffee, gets 'management germs,' and loses it for an episode. HilarityEnsues.
198	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]] is a unicorn whose unique magical talent ''is'' magic. Princess Celestia -- a thousand-year-old ''[[PhysicalGod Physical Goddess]]'' -- says that Twilight has the greatest magical potential she has ever seen in a unicorn. In the pilot Twilight does come off as slightly arrogant and dismisses the future members of her TrueCompanions as silly fillies who are getting in the way of her efforts to stop Nightmare Moon. Much of the series is devoted to Twilight coming out of her sheltered bookworm lifestyle. A few episodes also deconstruct this trope by showing that Twilight can't always control her vast magical power.
199	** About half of the Manes have some form of The Gift. Aside from Twilight, [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRainbowDash Rainbow Dash]] is such a [[AcePilot skilled flyer]] that she smashed records left and right when she attended a training camp, and [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]] is so good with animals that she can actually [[SpeaksFluentAnimal talk to them.]] While the other Manes are skilled at their chosen professions, they aren't on a plateau like those three.
200	** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity's]] thing is being a clothing designer; even the pony equivalent of Michael Jackson comes all the way to Ponyville to have Rarity custom-make her outfits. [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicApplejack Applejack]] is a farmer, and her green thumb is to the degree that that she can hold a seed with a clod of dirt around it in her hooves and make it grow. [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPinkiePie Pinkie Pie]] is FunPersonified to the degree that she lives by cartoon physics, as well as being Ponyville's premier event planner. While not as glamorous as Twilight's magic, they're all the best around at what they do.
201	** Basically, ''every'' pony has this trope at ''something.'' After closer to 30 than 20 years of the franchise's existence, those symbols on their flanks are explained: your 'cutie mark' represents your special talent of sorts. "Blank flanks" have not discovered their special talent yet. Those are typically quite young and getting yours has been used as a puberty metaphor at least once. However, because of how abstract some can be, it can be interpreted in different ways. Rarity has gems and while she does use them in her fashion, it embodies her finding the inner beauty in things (she got them when she found them in a rock). Another is Trouble Shoes, a Clydesdale-like pony who seemingly had bad-luck/clumisness as his talent, which he laments since he causes trouble when he wants to see rodeos. The Cutie Mark Crusaders help him realize how to approach the situation and he ends up becoming a professional rodeo clown.
202	* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': [[Characters/TheDragonPrinceCallum Callum]] is something of a prodigy when it comes to magic. Without proper training and only a few tidbits of information, he was able to competently cast spells and protect the group. Later, he was able to, over a period of a few days, forge a connection to the sky arcanum, something thought of as impossible for humans. Within weeks of trying sky magic for the first time, he can grow wings and fly.
203	[[/folder]]
204
205	[[folder:Real Life]]
206	* UsefulNotes/WiltChamberlain was simply ''built'' for Athletics. Despite a lanky frame due to his unusual height and wingspan, Wilt was unreasonably strong and coordinated.
207	* Bo Jackson was, and still is, considered to be one of the most talented athletes in the history of sports. He is the only athlete in history to become an All-Star in two professional American sports. The only person that beats his talent is...
208	* ...Jim Thorpe. He won Olympic gold medals in both the Pentathlon and Decathlon, and played at the professional level in Baseball, Basketball, and American Football.
209	** Just to hammer home how extraordinary and versatile Thorpe's abilities were, he led his college team to an 18-15 victory against Harvard (one of the best teams in the country at the time)... while playing four positions and ''scoring all of the points himself.'' As UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower put it:
210	--> "Here and there, there are some people who are supremely endowed. My memory goes back to Jim Thorpe. He never practiced in his life, and he could do anything better than any other football player I ever saw."
211	* UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli was born with incredible speed, reflexes, and coordination. His coach Angelo Dundee trained him in an unorthodox way; instead of telling Ali what to do, Dundee instead just let him do what he felt was natural and simply 'suggested' things to do. Ali would ''simply do them.''
212	* Similarly, hailing from the other side of the Earth, we had Creator/BruceLee who was, according to his peers, pound-for-pound the strongest and fastest, not to mention best, martial artist in the world, standing at a level most humans are unable to achieve even with a lifetime of training. [[note]]Though Lee did go on record that he felt Ali was the stronger of the two of them.[[/note]]
213	* Roy Jones Jr. is possibly the most talented fighter to ever put on a pair of gloves. In his prime, he was gifted with superhuman speed and reflexes.
214	* Phil Heath, who reigned as Mr. Olympia from 2011 to 2017, is literally nicknamed "The Gift" because of his perfect genetics for bodybuilding. He’s got small joints and round muscle bellies, which in combination give him that enviable "3-D" effect of the muscles popping out at you. His body responds very well to training, to the point where he doesn’t have to train anywhere near as hard as, for example, Ronnie Coleman to get similarly huge. And finally he’s one of the most complete guys ever just going body part by body part. Pretty much his ''only'' genetic weaknesses are his narrow clavicles, which cause him to look kind of scrunched in the Front Lat Spread, and an imperfect midsection which had a tendency to become bloated later in his career.
215	* People with The Gift outside of martial arts include Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart who, when he was no more than 14-years-old, was taken to a performance of Allegri's ''Miserere'' and, upon returning to his lodgings, wrote down the entire piece from memory. And that was nine years after he wrote his first composition. We'll repeat that: Mozart wrote a Minuet and Trio in G major ''when he was 5-years-old.''
216	* And while on the topic of classical music, we cannot leave out Music/LudwigVanBeethoven, who was, and still is, to this day, considered one of the greatest musical composers of all time. Just listen to his [[https://youtu.be/t3217H8JppI 9th Symphony]] and try to remember: He was ''[[DeafComposer stone deaf]]'' when he wrote that, and still he wrote ''everything,'' from the loudest, most bombastic brass segments, to the softest, most hushed flute segments; he wrote everything that each and every single separate instrument should play. While! Deaf!
217	* Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian race driver who was known as one of the top five best ''UsefulNotes/FormulaOne'' racers in history. He was known for outperforming teammates and driving impossibly fast in any given car. Other than being naturally talented, he was also a very dedicated and sophisticated, if very aggressive, driver. His personality also responded to the fan base very well.
218	* [[http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2015/0522/Eleven-year-old-earns-three-degrees-one-year-after-finishing-high-school This 11-year-old]] graduated college with three degrees... in ''one year.''
219	* French fashion designer and taste maker UsefulNotes/YvesSaintLaurent first showed his talent for fashion at 4-years-old, when he critiqued his aunt's style. He started sketching shortly after that, and by the time he was a teenager he was attending design school in Paris. He soon won a prestigious design contest and when he showed his sketches to a magazine editor, the editor noticed his sketches resembled Christian Dior's upcoming collection without the teen ever having seen it. At 19, Saint Laurent dropped out of school to work for Dior and not long after designed the Dior dress that is seen in the photograph Dovima with Elephants. When Dior died three years later, Saint Laurent was made Creative Director of the world's most important fashion house at age 21. He founded his own house at 24, which defined the style of the 1960s and 1970s.
220	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheGift