History Main / FightingSpirit

* Minor ComicBook/{{Batman}} villain Doctor Double X was a scientist specializing in auras that managed to supercharge his into a superpowered duplicate that can act independently of him. Its main weakness is requiring an external source of power to maintain itself.
* {{Franchise/Green Lantern}}s and Lanterns of other colors sometimes use their constructs in this way. Karu-Sil of the Sinestro Corps especially is known for being accompanied by three constructs of [[RaisedByWolves the beasts that raised her]], and all of the Orange Lanterns are constructs of people that Larfleeze has killed and assimilated.
* ComicBook/{{Raven}} can manifest a bird made of black energy referred to as her "soul-self". It can travel long distances, become intangible, communicate telepathically and act as a shield.
* ''Diesel'', a one-off comic by Joe Weltjens, is a [[SerialNumbersFiledOff transparent ripoff]] of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', up to and including calling its examples of this trope "Stands."
* The 2006 run of ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' featured a Canadian Mountie named Daniel Crow-Brings-Darkness who could transform his [[CastingAShadow shadow]] into a crow.

-> '''Zenkichi''': [W]hat's with the chained-up knight thing?\\
'''Morgana''': That's the rebel in your heart awakened: the power of your Persona.\\
'''Zenkichi''': A rebel, huh... Hey, fine by me. I don't understand a damn thing, but if it can help me fight, I'll take it.

* The TropeCodifier for this trope in Japanese media are the Stands from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. Introduced in the third installment, ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', as a way of making PsychicPowers more visually interesting,[[note]]Inspired by an ''ComicBook/XMen'' storyline in which Xavier and the Shadow King sat at a table together, then [[AstralProjection projected their spirits out of their bodies and battled on the Astral Plane]].[[/note]] they would prove to be so awesome that they would become the main powerset of later installments. Their name comes from how they typically manifest as InvisibleToNormals humanoid beings that ''stand'' behind their user and cannot move very far away, but they come in many stranger forms, some of which are less like this trope and more like {{Tulpa}}s, SummonMagic or {{Magic Tool}}s. A strong fighting spirit (or at the very least a lot of passion, as seen with [[SupremeChef Tonio]] in Part 4) is actually required to properly control a Stand; Jotaro's main reason for hunting DIO in ''Stardust Crusaders'' is because his mother is too gentle to control her forcibly-awakened Stand and it's [[SuperpowerDisability slowly killing her]].[[labelnote:*]]Though even that tenet of Stands ends up a case of FridgeLogic when later on, characters like Mannish Boy, an EnfantTerrible BrainyBaby and Bug-Eaten, a literal, if highly cunning and sadistic, rat also manifest and perfectly control Stands of their own.[[/labelnote]]

* ''Manga/BungouStrayDogs'': a few [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals Gifts]] take the form of these. The most prominent in the story are Akutagawa's [[PowerOfTheVoid Rashoumon]] and Kyouka's [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Demon Snow]].
* ''Manga/DragonBallSuper'': [[spoiler:The climactic battle of the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga has Moro growing to giant size due to merging with the planet. Thanks to a power boost from Grand Supreme Kai and Uub, Goku is able to manifest a giant blue avatar of himself which he uses to pin down Moro and shatter the crystal on Moro's head that empowered the evil wizard.]]

[[quoteright:300:[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jotaro_star_platnium.png]]]]

* The TropeCodifier for this trope in Japanese media are the Stands from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. Introduced in the third installment, ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', as a way of making PsychicPowers more visually interesting,[[note]]Inspired by an ''ComicBook/XMen'' storyline in which Xavier and the Shadow King sat at a table together, then [[AstralProjection projected their spirits out of their bodies and battled on the Astral Plane]].[[/note]] they would prove to be so awesome that they would become the main powerset of later installments. Their name comes from how they typically manifest as InvisibleToNormals humanoid beings that ''stand'' behind their user and cannot move very far away, but they come in many stranger forms, some of which are less like this trope and more like {{Tulpa}}s, SummonMagic or {{Magic Tool}}s. A strong fighting spirit (or at the very least a lot of passion, as seen with [[SupremeChef Tonio]] in Part 4) is actually required to properly control a Stand; Jotaro's main reason for hunting DIO in ''Stardust Crusaders'' is because his mother is too gentle to control her forcibly-awakened Stand and it's [[SuperpowerDisability slowly killing her]].

* One of the main gameplay mechanics in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' is that the characters are able to fight alongside the spirits of characters from previous installments of [[Franchise/FireEmblem the franchise]], called “Emblems.” The Emblems inhabit magical rings or bracelets. The Emblems give their user certain buffs and abilities, and can even merge with their user (called “Engaging”) for some exclusive attacks and abilities.

* This is how spirits are materialized via Oversoul in ''Manga/ShamanKing'', in many ways similar to Stands.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s transforming [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakuto]] are extensions of the wielder' souls. Most simply become other melee weapons but a few are more dramatic. Hitsugaya's forms parts of an [[AnIcePerson ice dragon]] around him while Komamura's creates a giant, armored warrior to mirror his movements. The latter also shares its battle damage with Komamura in ''[=JoJo=]'' tradition, though it was only revealed so during the later half of the Winter War Arc, because until then, no one was able to even damage Komamura's Bankai.
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'' [[spoiler:Sayaka can now call forth Oktavia, her own Witch form, to fight alongside her.]]
** [[spoiler:This concept gets expanded to basically the whole cast of the series in ''VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory''. By using a power known as Doppel, the Magi can summon their Witch form to fight for them.]]
* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' has symbiotic [[GuardianEntity angels]] attached to each goddess. Since they mainly materialize to make casting spells look cooler, they're essentially this trope whenever conflict breaks out.
* Possibly the first series to take after ''[=JoJo=]'' may have been an obscure, children's anime called ''Wrestler Gundan Galaxy-hen''. The main characters could project psychic "Binds" which looked like swirling energy in the shape of humanoids or animals that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin held a target in place]] for their [[FinishingMove finishing move]]. Broadcasting ''less than 6 months'' after Stardust Crusaders debuted, it was either a massive coincidence or one shameless rush.
* Raoh from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', could use his ''[[BattleAura Touki]]'' to attack an opponent without so much as flexing a single finger.
* Arguably, ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam''[='s=] Sekiha Tenkyoken, a KamehameHadoken that takes the form of a gigantic energy fist. Near the end of the series, Domon even uses this to perform a gigantic version of his Bakunetsu God Finger attack that grabs the opponent's entire body and not just their head.
** During the final battle, Domon and Rain perform the Sekiha [[ThePowerOfLove Love-Love]] Tenkyoken, which transforms into a giant, pissed-off King of Hearts.
* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', Tokoyami Fumikage's Quirk is a birdlike creature called Dark Shadow that grows more powerful in darkness and eventually gives him an AnimalBattleAura.
* In ''Manga/BungouStrayDogs'', a few [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals Gifts]] take the form of these. The most prominent in the story are Akutagawa's [[PowerOfTheVoid Rashoumon]] and Kyouka's [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Demon Snow]].
* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'':
** Omokage are duplicates of people made from their LifeEnergy and manifesting their inner desires. Usually they're a EnemyWithout the creator can't control that drains them to the point of injury or death. Suzu has enough energy to spare, and eventually learns to recreate and control hers at will, and even [[RemoteBody link their senses together]].
** Sosuke Hinojiki is himself a spirit, albeit one that looks human, but his Engulfing Shadow ability is a giant, spectral mouth that devours LifeEnergy. He can manifest in anywhere in sight, [[ConfusionFu letting him attack from bizarre angles and blind spots]], [[spoiler:but the mouth itself is relatively fragile, and [[{{Synchronization}} damage done to it carries over to his actual body]]]].