History Main / MadeOfPhlebotinum

** The Iron Man films do a similar thing with "repulsor technology". Initially the Jericho missiles are described as using "repulsor technology", which teases the later use of the technology as the foundation for the Iron Man suits. After Tony gets a "close up look at [the] old turbines" as Nick Fury puts it, the turbines on SHIELD's helicarrier are replaced with repulsors. An early version of the repsulor technology is teased in ''Captain America - The First Avenger'' with Howard Stark's flying car.

* In David Wingrove's Literature/ChungKuo, the world-spanning City is made of "Ice"

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant.'' Then, in the Second Trilogy, [[spoiler:They lose the phlebotinum. This is way more horrific than it sounds. In part, because they eventually realize that the phlebotinum hasn't actually been lost: it's become corrupted and is causing the various disruptions that the world is experiencing (rainstorms, droughts, pestilences etc.)]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' is pretty much supposed to be where, when TheMagicGoesAway on the rest of the Earth because [[MagicVersusScience the progress of technology leads to a lack of faith in magic]], all the magic is swept up and kept inside Gensokyo so that all the monsters, demons, and Gods can still live their magically supercharged lives. The technology is generally BambooTechnology hybrids with MagiTek, or simply stolen from "[[ThisIsReality the Real World]]". It is also worth noting that even the {{muggles}} have ''some'' kind of superpower in Gensokyo, it's just that you only hear about the [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld world-bendingly powerful little girls.]]

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' uses this as its ''CharacterTitle [[TitleDrop Drop]]'', despite being one of the hardest {{Space Opera}}s to date. How does [[CasualInterstellarTravel Casual]] FasterThanLightTravel work? [[AppliedPhlebotinum Mass Effect Fields]], generated by [[{{Unobtainium}} Element]] [[MinovskyPhysics Zero]]. How do the {{Flying Car}}s fly? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Biotics]] [[MindOverMatter move things with their minds]]? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do the guns have BottomlessMagazines? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero[[note]] And computers in the gun which calculate the size of the shot needed and shave it off of a large block inside the weapon. This technically makes running out of ammunition possible in-universe (which does happen in a few people's stories), but is entirely ignored in gameplay because players will never be shooting that long before getting back to some possible source of resupply[[/note]]. How do [[spoiler:the Reapers build a space station in the '''[[UsefulNotes/BlackHoles galactic core?]]''']] '''''[[OverlyLongGag Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero.]]''''' And of course, without Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero, [[AnthropicPrinciple there would be no interstellar civilization]].

Some [[TheVerse settings]] ''have'' {{Phlebotinum}}. It helps [[ScrewTheRulesIHavePlot move along the plot]], HandWave various characters' [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief improbable]] powers, and conveniently get the {{Heroes}} [[{{Teleportation}} from point A to point B quickly]]. It can let you just say AWizardDidIt.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' seems more Made Of Phlebotinum than most fantasy worlds, what with all its [[{{Magitek}} magically-powered civilizations]] and such. What's also notable is the multitudes of flavors of {{Phlebotinum}}; The Draeni lean towards magic crystals [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum given them by the Naaru]], [[OurElvesAreDifferent Blood Elves]] throw around Arcane magic like it's going out of style, the [[OurGnomesAreWeirder Gnomes]] love their tech, with a healthy dose of Arcane, and the [[EverythingsBetterWithCows Tauren]] stick to their [[NatureHero hunting, gathering, and communion with nature]].

But then some settings...are different. They have nothing ''but'' Phlebotinum. That CityOfAdventure the heroes are exploring around? It's completely {{floating|Continent}} in the air; not one building is touching the ground. Why? Phlebotinum! In fact, the whole planet is probably bound together with some sort of magical or super-science energy, without which it would simply [[EarthShatteringKaboom explode]]. Every single thing around requires whatever the local flavor of Phlebotinum is to run in worlds such as these, whether it's [[FunctionalMagic magic]], {{nanomachines}}, TheForce, or something else similar.

[[caption-width-right:310:How did this caption get written? Franchise/MassEffect.]]

* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' uses this as its ''CharacterTitle [[TitleDrop Drop]]'', despite being one of the [[MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness hardest]] {{Space Opera}}s to date. How does [[CasualInterstellarTravel Casual]] FasterThanLightTravel work? [[AppliedPhlebotinum Mass Effect Fields]], generated by [[{{Unobtainium}} Element]] [[MinovskyPhysics Zero]]. How do the {{Flying Car}}s fly? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Biotics]] [[MindOverMatter move things with their minds]]? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero. How do the guns have BottomlessMagazines? Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero[[note]] And computers in the gun which calculate the size of the shot needed and shave it off of a large block inside the weapon. This technically makes running out of ammunition possible in-universe (which does happen in a few people's stories), but is entirely ignored in gameplay because players will never be shooting that long before getting back to some possible source of resupply[[/note]]. How do [[spoiler:the Reapers build a space station in the '''[[UsefulNotes/BlackHoles galactic core?]]''']] '''''[[OverlyLongGag Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero.]]''''' And of course, without Mass Effect Fields, generated by Element Zero, [[AnthropicPrinciple there would be no interstellar civilization]].

** The short answer — they did. We still see a faint echo of that ginormous bang as a cosmic background radiation. It's just that due to the thing called CP-symmetry violation there was just a scant bit more matter than antimatter.

** In ''Literature/TheLastHero'' Discworld comic, Cohen and his Silver Horde have made it their mission to bring fire back to the gods --- via a large explosive. This would suddenly remove magic from the world and cause everything to die.

The main dividing line between a world that simply has a lot of Phlebotinum and one that's [[MadeOfPhlebotinum made of the stuff]] is this litmus test: if you took away the Phlebotinum, would your world still exist in any meaningful sense, or would it more or less just [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt collapse]]? If it would, your world is just plain Made Of Phlebotinum.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'''s DungeonPunk world comes to mind as an especially obvious example of this trope. Without that magical-flavored {{Phlebotinum}}, everything in that world would fall apart ''hard''. It's pretty much MadeOfPhlebotinum.
** To a lesser extent, all ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' settings fit this trope. ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' especially, but even a place like ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' is mildly MadeOfPhlebotinum.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' seems more MadeOfPhlebotinum than most fantasy worlds, what with all its [[{{Magitek}} magically-powered civilizations]] and such. What's also notable is the multitudes of flavors of {{Phlebotinum}}; The Draeni lean towards magic crystals [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum given them by the Naaru]], [[OurElvesAreDifferent Blood Elves]] throw around Arcane magic like it's going out of style, the [[OurGnomesAreWeirder Gnomes]] love their tech, with a healthy dose of Arcane, and the [[EverythingsBetterWithCows Tauren]] stick to their [[NatureHero hunting, gathering, and communion with nature]].

[[quoteright:300:[[Webcomic/AwkwardZombie https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mass-Effect-as-Phlebotinum_6452.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:How did this caption get written? Franchise/MassEffect.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:How did this caption get written? Franchise/MassEffect.]]

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' seems more MadeOfPhlebotinum than most fantasy worlds, what with all its [[{{Magitek}} magically-powered civilizations]] and such. What's also notable is the multitudes of flavors of {{Phlebotinum}}; The Draeni lean towards magic crystals [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum given them by the Naaru]], [[OurElvesAreBetter Blood Elves]] throw around Arcane magic like it's going out of style, the [[OurGnomesAreWeirder Gnomes]] love their tech, with a healthy dose of Arcane, and the [[EverythingsBetterWithCows Tauren]] stick to their [[NatureHero hunting, gathering, and communion with nature]].

** TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} literally so - it's a series of artifically-created "demiplanes" floating in the misty emptiness of the Ethereal Plane. When a domain's CosmicKeystone is destroyed, it may be absorbed by neighboring domains, or it may simply collapse into the Mists.

** ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' later establishes that the people of Wakanda base all of their advanced technology on their massive stockpile of Vibranium.

Some [[TheVerse settings]] ''have'' {{Phlebotinum}}. It helps [[ScrewTheRulesIHavePlot move along the plot]], HandWave various characters' [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief improbable]] powers, and conveniently get the {{Heroes}} [[TeleportersAndTransporters from point A to point B quickly]]. It can let you just say AWizardDidIt.

** The ''Science of Discworld'' books go on to give the Phlebotinum a name: narrativium, which (together with chelonium and elephantigen) in fact makes the formation of flat worlds on board giant turtles and elephants not only natural, but ''inevitable''. Too bad [[RealLife Roundworld]] lacks these ''perfectly normal elements'' and had to concoct some outlandish alternative involving big rocky balls...
** In ''Discworld/TheLastHero'' Discworld comic, Cohen and his Silver Horde have made it their mission to bring fire back to the gods --- via a large explosive. This would suddenly remove magic from the world and cause everything to die.