Basic Trope: A super power has a time limit.
- Straight: Bob is a superhero with the ability to transform into a hero mode, enhancing his physical strength, speed, and granting him a number of other abilities. But he can only stay in this powered state for an hour.
- Exaggerated: In his hero mode, Bob becomes practically a god, but if he tries to stay in it for more than five minutes, he'll die from the shock.
- Downplayed: Bob can only stay in his hero mode until he gets too tired to maintain it, though he knows this typically lasts an hour.
- Justified: Bob's hero mode is physically taxing to maintain.
- Inverted: The hero mode is actually Bob's normal self, and he can only maintain a non-powered mode for about an hour.
- Subverted:
- Everyone believes that Bob can only stay in his hero mode for an hour. However, this is actually a lie that he tells to deceive his enemies, and he can maintain his hero mode much longer if needed.
- The one hour time limit is just an approximation, so when a villain tries to wait it out, he is surprised to realize that Bob is still in his hero mode after the hour's up.
- After the time limit expires, and Bob reverts to normal, he quickly re-enters his hero form for another hour.
- Double Subverted:
- Though the one hour limitation is a lie, the hero mode actually has a two hour limit before he loses it.
- Because the one hour time limit is just an approximation, Bob reverts to normal after an hour and two minutes.
- Parodied: Bob has a number of different hero modes that each grant him different abilities, each of which he can only maintain for an extremely specific time period.
- Zig-Zagged: There are a lot of conflicting stories and rumors about Bob's hero mode and its time limit, to the point that not even Bob knows how long the time limit is, if there even is one.
- Averted: Bob's hero mode has no time limit.
- Enforced:
- If Bob's access to his hero mode has no restrictions, he'd be able to defeat the villains way too easily and make the story boring.
- Due to budget limiting the amount of cooling it can get, the rigging for Bob's super form can't be run for more than a few minutes per shooting day and it becomes blatantly visible when off.
- Lampshaded: "What's the time limit for that form?"
- Invoked: The scientist who gave Bob his powers intentionally added the time limit to the hero mode to protect Bob from killing himself from overuse.
- Exploited: Knowing Bob's hero mode lasts an hour, a villain defeats him by letting him activate it, then running away for fifty-nine minutes to finally go in for the kill when the timer runs out.
- Defied: Through willpower, Bob forces himself to stay in his hero mode longer.
- Discussed: "A power like that has to have some time limit."
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Though there's no mention of the hero mode having a time limit, after a long and exhausting fight, Bob is forced to revert back to normal.
- Deconstructed: The time limit of Bob's hero mode limits his ability to do hero work, as there are still lots of dangerous villains active while his time limit's up and he needs to rest.
- Reconstructed: Despite this, he learns how to plan his use of his hero mode carefully, so he can go after the most dangerous enemies, while leaving petty criminals to the police.
- Played for Laughs: Bob's time limit always runs out at inopportune times, leaving him in hilariously awkward and embarrassing situations.
Quick! Back to Hour of Power before your power runs out!
