History Main / HowDoIShotWeb

* Somewhat inverted with building a PC: the standards of interconnects (everything is designed to fit one way) and mounting (everything is designed to mount one way) make the physical building of a PC no harder than assembling that Lego castle. The hard part is troubleshooting when something goes wrong or making sure it all fits together. It is true that most incompatible parts will not fit where they shouldn't go, but that doesn't help when you end up with a computer with no RAM because the sticks you ordered won't fit.

* Programming. You may have mastery in the basics of it, but going from one programming language to another takes time to figure out how it works. This is on top of figuring out any projects that use said language. Or even languages that you know. And if you step away from a project, even for a few weeks, you'll likely forget how it worked and have to relearn it again. Even for code you wrote yourself.

You got a NewSuperPower or two? Great! Can you use them? While the standard hero seems to [[PossessionImpliesMastery instinctively know]] his or her way around every possible ability he or she can obtain throughout the story, some people have to flail and struggle, with everybody laughing at them. Hey, there's all those RequiredSecondaryPowers that you have to master that nobody tells you about!

* This is the entire premise of the show ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero''. The hero ''lost the manual'' to his super-suit in the pilot episode, and as a result does not know how to use his powers or even what they are. It's worth noting that Ralph ''finally'' got a replacement instruction manual in one episode. [[spoiler:He loses it when, experimenting with shrinking powers, he gets startled by an ant and returns to normal size... [[StatusQuoIsGod leaving the manual microscopic]].]]

* It takes LaResistance around a year to figure out how to pilot an [=ANIMa=] without killing themselves in ''TabletopGame/BlissStage''. It's still very unintuitive [[ThePowerOfLove even with proper Anchoring.]]
* The Sorcerer class in TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons is based on innate spellcasting power. First level sorcerers can create light or perhaps burn something with a bit of acid, but get more powerful with time. However, they are greatly limited in the variety of spells they can cast, as they have to figure them out themselves instead of learning them from scrolls or books.
* For many powers in ''TabletopGame/GURPSSupers'', power level and power skill are bought separately (and it's even possible to completely neglect buying the latter, which generally results in defaulting to an effective skill level of either [=DX-5 or IQ-5=]). It doesn't matter how many points are sunk in the former; a low score in the latter will result in someone struggling to activate their powers at all, let alone effectively.
* Player characters in ''TabletopGame/MasksANewGeneration'' are rookie superheroes who tend to have a shaky grasp of their powers; as such, even a successful usage of them tends to be unstable or temporary unless you roll an exceptional success.
* The roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' has the character channeling their divine power through Birthrights -- gifts from their god-parents. If someone were to steal a Birthright, they could use all the real owner's powers that it channels -- but the chance of failure, and the penalties, are significant though, meaning most characters who try this end up dying to this trope.

* ''Film/GreenLantern'' milks the humor from Hal Jordan's attempts to activate his power ring for the first time, which include calling out [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory "To infinity and beyond!"]] and [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 "By the power of Greyskull!"]]

* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'':

* 'Literature/InCryptid'':

** Clark Kent has [[IJustWantToBeNormal a rather difficult relationship with his powers]] to begin with, and doesn't know what many of them are meant to be, meaning that he usually gets caught by surprise when a new one pops up. Like his ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', he's distinctly reluctant to fly, and even once he does in the sequel, he's a ''hilariously'' bad flier. However, partly thanks to Harry's tutelage, partly thanks to his own intelligence, he learns the basics very quickly - and as Harry also notes, his TapOnTheHead tactics at SuperSpeed demonstrate an extraordinary degree of control (otherwise there'd be a lot of messy corpses and/or permanent brain damage).

* ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'':
** This happens literally to Peter Parker in [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]].
--->'''Peter:''' Go web!!... Fly!... [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Up, up, and away]] web!... ComicBook/{{Shazam}}!... [[WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget Go!... Go!... Go web go!...]]
** In [[Film/SpiderMan2 the second movie]], he briefly loses the power to shoot web -- usually at inopportune moments.

* ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' PlayedWith. While Peter knows the relative basics of his suit, he doesn't know some of the more advanced functions. But they ''were'' locked, and at one point in the film he is trapped in a warehouse, and so learns how to use them by methodically going over them in no particular order.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries''
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' shows more of this. Professor X hypothesises that Banshee's sonic scream should enable him to fly (with a wing-suit), so he encourages him to jump out of a second story window. Three guesses what happens. Then, they decide that the main problem is that he didn't have long enough to generate lift, so they go to the top of a satellite dish. Banshee doesn't want to. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Erik doesn't care]].
** Even {{Wolverine}} isn't immune, at least when it involves his adamantium upgrade. His original bone claws tapered to points, whereas his adamantium claws have cutting edges. The first few hours after he got his metal in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' were spent accidentally cutting things up, and ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' has him trying to slash with the bone claws and failing.

* ''Film/BatmanBegins'' shows Bruce Wayne experimenting with the technology that would eventually become part of his iconic identity, learning from his mistakes (bouncing off that fire escape ''had'' to hurt!) and upgrading accordingly.

* During his first flight as Film/TheRocketeer, Cliff Secord accidentally turns the rocketpack off as [[LookMaNoPlane he's saluting passengers aboard a plane]].
** In the comic, his first flight had him unable to control his speed, and ended with an intentional crash landing because he couldn't figure out how to stop.
* ''Film/GreenLantern'' milks the humor from Hal Jordan's attempts to activate his power ring for the first time, which include calling out [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory "To infinity and beyond!"]] and [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 "By the power of Greyskull!"]]
* ''Film/{{Chronicle}}'' features a lot of this when the three teenagers discover their [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], starting off with fairly basic experiments with redirecting thrown baseballs and assembling lego sets (Matt having great difficulty getting the bricks to stay together), to testing forcefields by stabbing each other in the hands with forks. Even after they think they've managed to master their powers, more of this trope crops up when Steve learns how to fly; while Andrew gets the hang of it very quickly, Matt's first three attempts result in him [[EpicFail crashing to the ground.]]
* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': After Steve comes out of the tank with super-strength and speed, he spends the next minute or so running into store fronts and cars while trying to turn. Also apologizing. A lot.
* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', it took Clark a few tries to figure out how to fly, and some time to get a handle on his SuperSenses. He uses this against the villainous Kryptonians, who need special helmets to prevent SensoryOverload. Zod, unfortunately, is disciplined enough to adapt pretty quickly.
** Played for laughs in ''Film/Shazam2019'', in which the wizard Shazam declares Billy Batson TheChosenOne, hands him godlike powers, and lets him and his MuggleBestFriend Freddie figure out the rest from there.
* Bill Cage in ''Film/EdgeOfTomorrow'' initially has no idea how to fight in a powered exoskeleton or how to even remove the safety off of its mounted guns when he is dropped on a beach to fight in a failed invasion against invading aliens with SaveScumming powers. But when Cage gains their powers, he slowly but surely learns how to use his foreknowledge of the day's events to his advantage and learns more about how to fight in his suit.
* In ''Film/TheFly1986'', upon unknowingly becoming a HalfHumanHybrid Seth feels ''different''. Hours after his first self-teleportation, he startles himself out of sleep when he manages to catch a buzzing fly in his hand. From there, he quietly begins testing his new, mild SuperStrength and reflexes by lifting himself by his arms out of a sitting position in a chair, and even manages to perform a gymnastics routine on a hanging pipe. A few days later he challenges a barfly to an arm-wrestling match; it turns out to be [[OneSidedArmWrestling so one-sided]] that ''he rips the man's arm open'', and the expression on Seth's face suggests he wasn't expecting ''that''. The changes get ''much'' uglier from there, and because no one has ever undergone an experience like this he has to feel his way through them; he notes that he had to figure out "the hard and painful way" how to eat upon realizing he couldn't digest solid food anymore, and when Veronica is startled to see him {{Wall Crawl}}ing he simply notes "Got pretty good at it, haven't I?"

* Mathias Martel in ''Literature/MagikOnline'' spends most of the story's first arc testing out the limits of his spells through trial and errors. He eventually figures out how to combine two spells into one.

* Say what you will about the {{Doorstopper}} length of Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, but it does allow the channeling characters a realistic period of time to get a grasp on controlling and developing their powers. Notably, none of the characters become {{Instant Expert}}s, but have a learning curve of three or four books before they gain consistent control. Nyneave takes a full ''seven'' books to overcome her block. Learning to use ''saidin'' without a teacher is so difficult that Rand finally has to [[BatmanGambit trap a Forsaken]] to keep from getting himself killed. Later, Nynaeve and Elayne hold another one hostage in order to learn lost techniques that have stayed lost for a good three millennia. Eventually, the Asha'man (a corps of male Channelers) are created an it was realized this trope could come into play. They develop a TrainingFromHell regimen (similar to Covenant's above in that recruits learn by using the Power for ''everything'' in order to get the hang of it quickly) to deal with this.

* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth''
** [[MarySue Richard]] from never learns how to use the vast majority of his abilities... except, of course, the ones that are absolutely necessary to allow him to [[DeusExMachina save the day]]. Richard's magic appears to be keyed to strong emotion; a big deal was made of whether or not he could actually ''use'' his anger in the first book, as opposed to simply keeping it locked inside himself.
** Subverted in the case of swordplay -- which is, let's face it, the first thing to master when trying to use any magic sword's [[AbsurdlySharpBlade first and foremost super power]]. Getting magic swords that can cut anything is great -- for knights and swordmasters. For anyone else, it's a health risk. Richard's a woodsman, the most experience he'd have with blades would be limited to a machette and a skinning knife. He'd have to learn swordplay like any other, right? [[spoiler:No. [[SwordOfPlotAdvancement The Sword of Truth]] [[InstantExpert can share the collective combat experience of all previous users with the Seeker]]; Richard of course learns this ''while'', and promptly uses it during, a fight with 30 -- that's ''thirty'' -- Baka Ban Mana blademasters. They're guys who spend most of their lives training swordplay, each day, ''all'' day, dawn till dusk. [[StoryBreakerPower Right]].]] He actually lampshades it right before that fight, thinking that against one man he ''is'' virtually unstoppable -- but only because the sword cannot be parried, and so he can count on getting one strike through.
** There is a villainous case in book 4, where [[BigBad Jagang]] takes over the mind of a wizard. He ''can'' use simple telekinesis and throw fireballs, but never uses more advanced powers like DeflectorShields or tranfiguration.
* ''Literature/{{Matilda}}'' spends a substantial amount of time trying to figure out the ins and outs of her "push-stuff-around-with-her-eyes" (telekinesis) power.
* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series, we see the Academy is where most Alerans go through this learning process. However, when [[spoiler:Tavi]] becomes aware of furies, the person goes through a TrainingFromHell for months, which we see briefly in the second to last book.

* In ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'': The first book has several amusing scenes of Kelsier teaching Vin about Allomancy and being a Mistborn. In particular, after he teaches her the basics of steel and iron (blue lines that connect to sources of metal), but says he'll explain the rest later, Vin's suspicious nature gets the better of her. She experimentally "tugs" on one of the blue lines, and yips and ducks as a loose nail shoots at her chest. Kelsier simply muses "I should have expected you to do that," then proceeds to explain Ironpulling and Steelpushing to her. Still takes her a bit to figure it out, though.
** An unusually grand variant of this trope [[spoiler: is what resulted in the world becoming an ash-blanketed wasteland a thousand years ago. The Lord Ruler received cosmic levels of power for a ''very'' limited amount of time and tried to stop the mists that were destroying civilisation. The power came with instinctive knowledge of how to use it to, say, move the planet closer to the sun to burn off the mists, but gave no information about the consequences of doing so or where the best place to put it would be. The Lord Ruler couldn't get the position right, and with limited time decided to move it too close to the sun, and then introduce a permanent nuclear winter to stop it overheating too much. He then realised plants and animals couldn't survive such a world, and frantically tried to adjust their biology to fit the new environment, with each change causing more problems until his power ran out.]]

* Most of the mutants in ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' suffer from this, particularly Sam. Strangely, Caine and Diana have already figured out how to use their powers because EvilIsCool and GoodIsDumb. Diana and Caine spent a while practicing their powers before coming down to Perdido Beach. It was said in the first book they'd had their powers for a couple months.
* ''Shonsu'' in ''The Seventh Sword'' trilogy, by Creator/DaveDuncan, spends all three books learning to use the abilities given to him by a goddess. When he is first granted the abilities and knowledge to be the world's greatest swordsman, he has no idea. As the story progresses, he learns more and more about his capabilities, usually as the situations arise. This even applies to textbook-type knowledge, which actually works really well in the story.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' builds this trope right into the setting. You've got magical powers? Great! You still have to go to school for seven years to learn how to use them. Both young Harry and Tom Riddle are able to occasionally "will" something to happen, but the effects are haphazard without training.
** All young witches and wizards can use magic during times of stress or when feeling extreme emotions, though the effects are notoriously unpredictable (though they'll often reflect the emotion the kid's feeling; for instance, when Harry wanted to escape from Dudley and his friends, he apparated on top of the school chimney). It's shown that they can gain ''some'' control over it on their own, like Lily did as a kid, but to do anything functional and avoid losing control of their powers, they need schooling.
* Deliberately invoked in ''Literature/TheImmortals'' when [[spoiler:Emperor Ozorne]] turns himself into a Stormwing to avoid punishment. As the Stormwing queen Barzha tells him, he just lost all his mortal magic in exchange for immortal magic, which he has no idea how to control. [[spoiler:Sadly, he gets a grip on it pretty fast.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Ozorne:''']] I still have magic! I have Stormwing magic!\\
'''Barzha:''' [[DeadpanSnarker That's sweet, dearie. Do you know how to use it?]]
* In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', young Tash Arranda is an untrained Force-Sensitive. TheForce is a fantastic power... but she really doesn't know anything about using it beyond what a sympathetic Luke Skywalker told her in the first book: that she should trust her feelings. When she fails at Jedi anything in ''The Nightmare Machine'', her memory of this failure sabotages her repeatedly in ''Ghost of the Jedi''.
-->''For a while, I thought I might be -- or could be -- a Jedi. But now I think that was just a fluke. When we were on Hologram Fun World, I didn't know what was happening even though we were in danger. Now I just feel like I'm going crazy. That's the opposite of what a Jedi is.''
* In ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'', the kids got the general hang of morphing easily, but had to watch every new morph because they risked losing control of it. And in some cases, like termites, they never morphed them again.
* PlayedForDrama and/or {{Wangst}} in ''{{Literature/Twilight}}''. Becoming a vampire in this 'verse grants you SuperStrength and NighInvulnerability, but you have to spend a long time relearning your fine-motor skills and [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength accidentally break stuff a lot]]. Edward's ''still'' got a fair way to go on this issue a hundred years after being turned.
%% * Lena seems to experience this for a while in ''Literature/TheCasterChronicles''.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheAldenata'': [[HordeOfAlienLocusts The Posleen]] inherited all of their technology from their NeglectfulPrecursors, and they have no idea how most of it works. This can lead to some humorous bits, such as when a computer helpfully informs one Posleen about incoming artillery fire and he just stares at it like a moron.
* In ''{{Literature/Dinoverse}}'', kids are [[TimeTravel sent back in time]] and possess the bodies of dinosaurs. Most of them get used to their new abilities quickly, but Janine, in the body of a [[PteroSoarer Quetzalcoatlus]], had to struggle and work to learn {{Flight}}.
* In ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheBlackSun'', Sympaths almost always have this, if they even try. They have the ability to generate vast amounts of magic from their surroundings, but seldom know how to do anything notable with it, and are more often used as accumulators of magic for other mages. Sierra, the protagonist, was originally intended to be this (much against her will), but becomes very dangerous when she escapes and starts learning how to ''use'' the magic she gathers.
* In the Literature/{{Drenai}} saga, Decado, a former BadassNormal, experiences this on his first astral travel as there is nobody around to teach him the subtleties of it. Whereas his friends' spirit forms appear clothed in silver armour and carrying swords of light, he has to fight the forces of evil [[FullFrontalAssault naked]] and with his bare hands. Not that this slows him down too much.

* In ''Literature/MinecraftTheIsland'', a major part of the early chapters is the protagonist learning how ''Minecraft'' works and what they can and can't do, especially what foods they can and can't eat.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': After becoming the Master of the Deck of Dragons, Ganoes Paran spends quite a while not knowing what his abilities (or responsibilities) actually are, let alone how to use them. By ''The Crippled God'' he has become a full-blown SpaceMaster capable of opening portals between or within dimensions and can go to or summon to himself anyone represented by the Deck. Since he is also commanding a BadassArmy this is terrifyingly effective in terms of logistics and maneuvers.
* Various Surgebinders in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' suffer from this. Kaladin takes something like a book and a half to really get a handle on things.
* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/{{Starship Troopers}}'', a major part of the first half of the novel is learning to use the powered armor "suits" of the Mobile Infantry.

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}''
** Peter Petrelli , both in season one (where he learned how to control his empathic powers from Claude) and in season two (where he got amnesia and forgot both which powers he had ''and'' how to use them). This seems to be one of the recurring problems which always almost brings about an apocalypse of some sort. Hell, in the beginning of Season One Peter ''didn't even know what his power was'', having spent his life around [[spoiler:five people]] with a power he could copy.
** [[spoiler:Arthur Petrelli]] doesn't seem to have this problem. [[spoiler:He has a pretty good handle on how to use the powers he stole from Peter despite not having seen him use them.]]
** There is also serial killer Sylar, who can use powers ''better'' than the person he stole from due to his power of "[[AwesomenessByAnalysis Intuitive Aptitude]]" which is the ability to analyse how things work, including brains (which is where powers manifest). However, [[spoiler:Sylar seems to need a fair bit of training when he learns to take powers without examining the brain.]] Of course, we're still not sure how this works.
* This is the entire premise of the show ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero''. The hero ''lost the manual'' to his super-suit in the pilot episode, and as a result does not know how to use his powers or even what they are. It's worth noting that Ralph ''finally'' got a replacement instruction manual in one episode. [[spoiler:He loses it when, experimenting with shrinking powers, he gets startled by an ant and returns to normal size... [[StatusQuoIsGod leaving the manual microscopic]].]]

* Used in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' a number of times as Clark's [[PubertySuperpower emerging powers]] make themselves known, most notably with his heat vision and X-ray vision. Clark spends all the way up to ''Season 10'' unable to figure out how to fly, while Kara and other Kryptonians can do it in a few minutes - though it turns out that that's pretty much entirely psychological. Clark ends up accidentally firing off his EyeBeams (the first time he realizes he has them) by watching a sex ed video with a new hot teacher (KristaAllen). It's not difficult to see what the writers were trying to get across, especially since he triggers his second time by thinking of his crush Lana. By the end of the episode, he can trigger the beams on demand (such as by incinerating a bullet in flight).

* In a relatively unremarkable [[FreakyFridayFlip body switch]] episode of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Rygel (the tiny frog-like [[TheNapoleon Napoleon]]) is occupying John Crichton's body when he finds himself needing to urinate. John leads him through the steps, but when it comes to zipping up... well, it didn't go well. Let's not forget that John was in Aeryn's body while giving the instructions, for added hilarity. Aeryn later hints that she did certain things in John's body as well.
* British superhero drama ''Series/{{Misfits}}'' really goes to town with this trope. Of the five protagonists, only Simon (whose power is {{Invisibility}}) can exert any kind of deliberate control over his power, while the others remain baffled and exasperated by their ungovernable abilities. Both Kelly, who hates being [[{{Telepathy}} telepathic]] and wishes she could just turn it off, and Alisha, whose [[BlessedWithSuck "power"]] of pheromone manipulation -- which causes anyone who touches her skin to experience such violent surges of lust that they will generally attempt to rape her -- can do nothing to mitigate or restrain the effects of their powers. Curtis finds his power of time manipulation to be infuriatingly sporadic, and then there's Nathan, [[spoiler:whose power of Healing (and effective Immortality), works so incredibly slowly that it's possible for him to die, and only come back to life several days later -- to find himself buried alive, naturally.]] It is, however, a little early in the Series to deem them all ''truly'' [[PowerIncontinence power incontinent]].
* The Objects from ''Series/TheLostRoom'' have shades of this, when someone even knows what they do or how to activate them. This is doubly true for the abilities of Object combinations, which don't always have anything to do with combining the abilities of the individual Objects (for example, the Wristwatch can boil an egg if it's placed around the egg, but when used with the Knife it grants the user telepathy).
* The pilot of ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' involved Darian being implanted with a gland that can turn him invisible, after which he has to be taught how to activate it, and then he experiments with it and learns to do things the scientists who developed the gland didn't even think were possible. The first time they get him to go invisible is by releazing tarantulas in a locked room with him. Considering Darien has arachnophobia (and his brother would know), this is a good way to trigger a massive generation of adrenalin necessary to activate the gland. When Darien tries to spy on a nurse and a soldier getting in on, his excitement causes his adrenalin levels to drop... and he gets a black eye from the pissed off soldier. Learning yoga helps control it. In another episode, Kevin Fawkes's RNA is injected into the gland in order to "revive" Kevin's ghost in Darien's body. Naturally, Kevin has to relearn how to use the gland.
* The members of ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'' have to spend quite some time learning the strengths and limitations of their new abilities. It occasionally goes poorly.
* The pilot of ''[[Series/TheFlash1990 The Flash]]'' has Barry learn about his ability and limitations. The first time he accidentally activates it, he tries to catch a bus... and ends up miles away on a beach. He has a hard time stopping. The only thing that helps is running on water, which absorbs a lot of his momentum. He also faints frequently due to his metabolism going into overdrive, turning him into a BigEater.
** The [[Series/TheFlash2014 2014 remake]] has Barry try to run after discovering his power, only to accidentally end up in a van that happens to be full of clothes to soften the impact.
* Vampires in the ''Series/ForeverKnight'' verse have to learn to control their powers right after being turned, especially the trick of not being overpowered by the hunger. That's why most of them have masters guiding them for a while.

* ''Series/MutantX'':
** One episode has a young boy kidnapped for ransom. It turns out that the boy is an Elemental [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals New Mutant]] capable of throwing fireballs. However, he's young, so he's not sure how to control his ability. The first time it manifests is during the kidnapping, when he accidentally burns a hole in a kidnapper's hand. At the end of the episode, he finally learns to produce fireballs on demand by copying Brennan's PstandardPsychicPstance when he's charging his electric powers.
** There's also a bit of this when the team receives an upgrade. Brennan learns he can create a continuous blast akin to an ion engine with his hands, enabling brief flight. Shalimar becomes even stronger and can hear someone sneaking up on her while working out with loud music in her earbuds. Emma's PsychicPowers are boosted UpToEleven. Jesse learns to make other things intangible.
* In ''Series/TheAmazingExtraordinaryFriends'', Ben has no idea how the Captain X insignia works and spends a lot of time trying to figure out how to control his powers (and occasionally discovering powers he did not know he had).
* ''Series/TheShannaraChronicles'': Wil can't reliably trigger the Elf Stones, and even when he succeeds it's [[CastFromHitPoints got its downsides for him.]]
* ''Series/TheSentinel'' is about a cop who discovers he has SuperSenses. At first, they trigger instinctively, and sometimes to his detriment. A large part of the show, and the purpose for the character Blair, is Jim learning how to use and control his powers to help him fight crime.

* ''Series/RaisingDion'' follows a seven year old boy, who is just discovering his superpowers. He has quite some trouble at first to keep them under control, or use them the way he wants.

* The roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' has the character channeling their divine power through Birthrights -- gifts from their god-parents. If someone were to steal a Birthright, they could use all the real owner's powers that it channels -- but the chance of failure, and the penalties, are significant though, meaning most characters who try this end up dying to this trope.

* For many powers in ''TabletopGame/GURPSSupers'', power level and power skill are bought separately (and it's even possible to completely neglect buying the latter, which generally results in defaulting to an effective skill level of either [=DX-5 or IQ-5=]). It doesn't matter how many points are sunk in the former; a low score in the latter will result in someone struggling to activate their powers at all, let alone effectively.

* The Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Ditto has only one power -- Being able to copy those that belong to its opponent. (It's also immune to being paralyzed, but that's beside the point.) However, Ditto cannot copy the opponent's HP and all the moves it copies come with only 5 PP, showing its inability to master techniques on the spot.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}''
** Rumia can generate a field of darkness to protect herself from light, which hurts her, but she [[RequiredSecondaryPowers can't see through]] her ''own'' field of darkness; she can often be seen bumping into trees midflight. Apparently, ZUN thought it would be funny to make a character's powerful-sounding ability (control of darkness) actually be useless.
** Keine can hide and "eat" history, as well as create entirely new history in her hakutaku form, which would make her one of the most powerful characters in a setting already overflowing with {{Story Breaker Power}}s if she had any idea how to use it. The only time she even attempted, hiding the Human Village during the [[TitleDrop Imperishable Night]], the player characters found it easily anyway.
** It is occasionally assumed that [[RealityWarper Yukari Yakumo]] herself ''[[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm cannot fully grasp the potential of her abilities]]'' (them being the complete control of boundaries, both physical and metaphysical), [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity or simply isn't willing to]].
* The backstory to the NESTS saga character Nameless in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' reveals that he had a number of problems controlling his pyrokinetic abilities. Most of his time after testing was spent in the infirmary recovering from severe burns, and on his first real assignment he killed somebody just by tapping them on the shoulder.

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', although he's a crack shot with his bow, Wander doesn't know much about how to use his sword except that it shines when he is getting near a colossus and "point stabby end at colossus; stab." [[spoiler:The eventual backstory revelations imply that he stole the thing, which would explain why he's so awkward with it.]]
* In ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'', [[spoiler:Grissom]] takes a few moments to notice he CameBackWrong and now has cool undead powers:
--> "...Please, a moment. My body is not... cooperating."

* In ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'', Ryu is born as a baby dragon, and his first few shapeshifts between human and dragon forms (which occur outside of actual combat) are [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting completely uncontrolled]]. Although the player gains the ability to transform at will during battle, it is not until [[TimeSkip later]], when he reaches adulthood, that he has full control over his transformations.

* Bang Shishigami from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' was only told two things by Platinum; [[spoiler:that he had a Nox Nyctores, which are insanely powerful, and that its ability could very well save several people.]] She didn't bother telling him though ''what'' it was and not even how to activate it.
* Fairly well done in ''VideoGame/SecondSight'', where John escapes a hospital with LaserGuidedAmnesia. He has a lot of psychic powers but doesn't know about them, until they manifest themselves by an appropriate challenge. For example, he finds himself tied to a cot and unable to get free. Suddenly, he realizes he can will the bonds to open and the door to unlock. He's also weak and hurt. He clutches his head... and suddenly feels better via psychic healing. A guard tries to stop him and threatens him with a gun. Once again, John gets a headache and fires a sphere of psychic energy at the guard that sends him flying across the room, breaking the guy's neck. This all culminates at the end when John realizes that [[spoiler:most of the events of the game are the manifestation of his Precognition ability; i.e. the game events are a possible future]].
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has a couple cases of this.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep:'' Mickey steals a magical item of Yen Sid's, which lets him teleport between worlds in lieu of using a Keyblade Glider like Terra, Ven, and Aqua.
--->'''Mickey:''' All I hafta do is think it, and this Star Shard will take me wherever I want to go... At least I thought it would. I haven't quite got the fine points down, like... when... [[EpicFail or where]]. It kinda just goes off whenever it feels like it.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'': Toward the end of the game [[spoiler:Lea receives training to use a Keyblade, then pulls a BigDamnHeroes in the climax to save Sora... with Eternal Flames, the RingsOfDeath he used back when he was Axel. After Sora is woken up, Lea reveals that he couldn't get his Keyblade to materialize.]]
--->'''Lea:''' [[spoiler:[[TemptingFate Must be in the snap of the wrist, or somethin'...]] ''[Keyblade suddenly appears in his hands]'' ...oh.]]
* Each time Delsin absorbs another conduits powers in ''VideoGame/InFamousSecondSon'' he must learn everything from scratch. [[spoiler:Invoked by Augustine, who allows Delsin to absorb her abilities knowing he will be left powerless.]]
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': [[spoiler:Sir Galahad]] possesses Mash Kyrielight to save her life and turn her into Servant Shielder. But since he's a prick and thinks the heroes' struggles are not his problem, that's as far as his generosity goes. With a few exceptions, he refuses to communicate with Mash, teach her how to use his powers, or even tell her the name of their Noble Phantasm. She is forced to figure it out on her own. Fortunately, she manages to activate her Noble Phantasm on instinct to protect Ritsuka.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'': The final boss of the base game, Xeno'jiiva, possesses incredible power but moves rather clumsily and overall doesn't make very good use of its abilities. This is justified because it's a newborn, and therefore doesn't really know how to use its giant energy beams, claws, and wings to best effect. Hell, it only seems to realize it even ''has'' wings halfway through the fight! [[spoiler:In Iceborne, the player is introduced to Safi'jiiva, an adult of the same species, which has much greater control over itself and its abilities, and is a MUCH tougher fight as a result.]]

* In ''WebAnimation/XRayAndVav'', the titular duo obtain powers via ClothesMakeTheSuperman. However, their (very reluctant) benefactor, Hilda, tossed them out in a hurry without telling them what things did, leading them to ravage their city trying to stop their first crime.

* After the title character of ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'' acquires spider powers from a gene-splicing ray, she gets to ''literally'' figure out how to shoot web. Like [[Film/SpiderManTrilogy movie-verse Spidey]], she eventually learns how to do it; ''unlike'' movie-verse Spidey, though, it doesn't come from her wrists... Sahira, a biology major, almost dies laughing at this:
-->'''Sahira:''' ''[laughing]'' Yeah, I guess it'd make sense for the web to come out of your ass!\\
'''Heather/Spinnerette:''' It does not come out of my ''ass''! [[InsistentTerminology It comes out of a gland at the base of my spine!]]
* The full capabilities of the Monster in the Darkness from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' have never been revealed. The in-comic reason is speculated to be that he's too... childlike to know his full potential. Xykon implies once or twice that he actually knows the exact limitations and capabilities of the Monster in the Darkness, even if the Monster doesn't; he's repeatedly stated that the Monster is his trump card, and he has no intentions of bringing it out until its planned debut, or until things go completely out the window, whichever comes first.
* The girls instinctively learn how to command their powers in ''Webcomic/M9Girls'' Later on, they train to fine-tune them.

* In ''Webcomic/SparklingGenerationValkyrieYuuki'', the main character Yuuki is selected to be the next Valkyrie, and is flung into several fights with no idea how to use her new powers. She's forced to more or less play it by ear early on. That's not the least of her problems, though...

* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', Gwynn has never really mastered her magical ability, partly because, more often than not, she bungles the spells badly and HilarityEnsues, partly because the source of her powers is the [[TomeOfEldritchLore Book of]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast E-Ville]].

* The first several chapters of ''[[http://www.kip-comics.com/index.php Knowledge is Power]]'' deal with these kinds of difficulties -- such as [[http://www.kip-comics.com/?strip_id=65 when the gravity-manipulator tried to use his powers to move a water heater]]...

* Inverted in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': When someone gains a new spell their spellbook [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2007-01-31 grows several pages]] to comprehensively describe the details of how that spell works. Elliot goes [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-11-01 over a week without reading it]] despite recently obtaining and using a new spell. It gets to the point where his sister [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-12-10 knows more about his new spell than he does]] because she reads about it before he does, because [[JustifiedTrope she stole his spellbook as a prank]]. Susan turns out to be even worse; she [[https://www.egscomics.com/egsnp/2014-10-29 assumed she'd "know" when she got a new spell]], and would check the spellbook then. A later strip [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/balance-004 makes a point]] of the fact ''nobody'' checks their spellbooks as often as they should.
** A more straightforward example comes when Tedd suspects he finally has a power of his own. Grace encourages him to try, but after a pause, he simply asks, "How do people cast spells?"

** played with by Buckaress, who lately, and for no apparent reason, has developed the "superpower" of setting anything she cooks, alight - even a sandwich..
* ''Webcomic/TwoGuysAndGuy'' dips into this trope [[http://www.twogag.com/archives/3147 at Wayne's expense, as usual]].
* In one episode of ''Webcomic/FullFrontalNerdity'', Frank runs a superhero campaign in which, reasoning that "Superman was always Superman", he lets his players start with ludicrously overpowered supers... who don't really know how to control their powers. Multiple destroyed cities ensue.
* In the ''Kings War'' arc of ''{{Webcomic/Roommates}}'' the injured MonsterRoommate Jareth gives all his power (and kingdom, and resposibilities, etc.) to his best friend (and TokenGoodTeammate) James with literally no explanation; cue this trope ensuing on a grand scale and at the worst time.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Chirault}}'' Bethan [[OurGhostsAreDifferent becomes intangible]]. It seems to give her a lot of sweet options, from going through objects and flying to dispelling magic by touch. However, she still has a problem with not falling through the ground: the gravity does not affect her, but she thinks that it should...
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]] in ''Webcomic/AvasDemon.'' When [[LateArrivalSpoiler Ava makes a]] MagicallyBindingContract [[DealWithTheDevil with the demon inside her,]] she gets [[SuperEmpowering Super Empowered]] with a whole grab bag of [[PlayingWithFire fire]]-and-[[MagmaMan magma]]-related powers, all without knowledge of how to use them or how many she has. This includes…
** NighInvulnerability, which kind of is an easy power to master.
** [[http://www.avasdemon.com/pages.php?page=0335 Running a fever-level body temperature]] [[MyBloodRunsHot twenty-four seven.]]
** [[http://www.avasdemon.com/pages.php?page=0335 Barfing up lava.]]
** [[http://www.avasdemon.com/pages.php?page=0352 A completely-functional compartment drawer]] [[WeirdAside in her chest cavity.]]
** BurningWithAnger… [[http://www.avasdemon.com/pages.php?page=0656 along with any other]] [[EmotionalPowers intense emotion.]]
--->'''Ava:''' [[FreakOut WH- A SUN!? I LOOK LIKE A SUN!?]]\\
'''[[TallDarkAndSnarky Odin:]]''' Your whole FACE is orange! C-can’t you see it!?\\
'''Ava:''' I CAN’T SEE MY OWN FACE!!
* At the beginning of Volume Two, the Adventurer of ''Webcomic/PennyBlackfeather'' has been trying to learn some magic, but it's still work in progress. [[spoiler:Also, when turned into a parrot, he doesn't automatically aquire the ability to fly.]]
* In ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', Sydney has seven orbs that grant her superpowers when gripped in her hand, but since she didn't find a manual when she found the orbs, she had to do a lot of experimenting to figure out what the powers were, and has to do more whenever the orbs level up to figure out what new or upgraded abilities have been unlocked. It takes her until comic #541 to figure out even the most basic applications of what the green orb even ''does'', and more than 900 comics in she ''still'' has no idea what the red one does.
* Charo of ''Webcomic/DameDaffodil'' fame, in her first fight, uses her powers and transforms on instinct. After ''that'', however, she has no idea how to consciously transform back or use her powers. There are ''no'' mentors, ''no'' instruction manuals, and [[GrailInTheGarbage she got the daffodil hairpin for £3 at a regular store]] so she can't just up and ask the seller for advice. Fortunately, a bit of practice helps her overcome these flaws. [[spoiler:This is rather common to all that get a flower accessory.]]

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Allison is an ordinary twentysomething from modern-day LA who gets the [[CosmicKeystone Master Key to Creation]] shoved into her forehead one day with no explanation or tutoring included. Needless to say it takes her a ''long'' time to begin using it in ways that aren't completely accidental.
-->'''Allison:''' Get me -- out of here -- you stupid pain in the ass piece of shit key! Come on! I'm being '''extremely''' resolute!\\
'''Maya:''' Tch! You must not ''ask''. You must simply ''do''. You won't get anywhere with ''that''. Five feet perhaps. Though in fairness to you -- many powerful men and women spent lifetimes mastering how to cut space-time. I'm guessing so far you've managed to teleport only out of sheer luck. But don't stop trying!

* Discussed in ''Blog/HowToHero'''s entry on [[https://howtohero.tumblr.com/post/169293153974/mind-swaps mind-swaps]].

* Princess from ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' acquires powers like the heroines' several times over the course of the series, by various means. She fails to beat them every time, but never learns a lesson about it.
* The ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' animated series used this a lot in the first season introduction stories, most notably for for Kitty Pryde and Rogue, but it virtually disappeared after that. That's because they were being trained specifically to control their powers, and other characters (Cyclops, Jean, Nightcrawler) had been using their power for years but still had trouble getting it right from time to time.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}''
** [[PowersInTheFirstEpisode In the very first episode]] the new Guardians have a powers practice that is the ''definition'' of how HowDoIShotWeb. None of their ElementalPowers are under control yet, flying is... iffy, even for the naturally inclined [[BlowYouAway Hay Lin]] and when the girls try to Caleb from Cedric Will attempts to do an AllYourPowersCombined attack and hits everything ''but'' Cedric. They do pull it together in the second episode and are seen practicing some more in later episodes.
-->'''Will:''' ''(after their first practice)'' ...I think we've destroyed enough of Heatherfield for today.
** In the second season finale, Cedric falls victim to this trope after [[spoiler:devouring the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of seasons one and two, consequently gaining their powers, as well as]] gaining the powers of all five heroines. Despite having by far the most raw power of any villain in the series, he is unable to utilize his new skills to anywhere near their full potential. This, combined with [[DeadlyUpgrade new transformations for all five heroines]], led to Cedric's defeat in a little more than five minutes.

*** In ''Alien Force'', there are no mistransformations, and he can change from alien to alien! The bad news is mistransformations are how new forms were unlocked - ten means ten now, PERIOD. In season three, he tampers with it to unlock more aliens ([[BigBad Vilgax]] is returning, after all.) and ends up making it play by original series rules, for better or worse (sometimes worse). He can still change from alien to alien, though.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ProjectGeeker'', the eponymous character Geeker has almost limitless power as a [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetically engineered]] cyborg. However, Becky stole Geeker before he could receive the programming which would allow him to control those powers (and allow the antagonist to control ''him''). Thus, Geeker generally discovers his powers by accident, and has difficulty controlling them.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'':
** In the prequel "XANA Awakens", on his first materialization on Lyoko, Odd discovers his power to fire Lazer Arrows quite by accident, almost hitting Ulrich with one.
** There is a repeat incident in episode "A Fine Mess", where [[FreakyFridayFlip Odd and Yumi exchange bodies]] and Odd-in-Yumi has to explain to Yumi-in-Odd how to fire the weapon -- and almost gets hit in the head for his effort. Meanwhile, Odd-in-Yumi requires quite a bit of practice before getting Yumi's PrecisionGuidedBoomerang fans down. Amusingly, Yumi-in-Odd can't quite get the hang of the Overboard either, and ends up sitting on it like a go-kart. Of course, [[FridgeLogic we're not supposed to ask why they didn't just switch vehicles.]]
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' centered around The Penguin obtaining The Green Lantern's power ring, and his efforts to figure out exactly how it worked. When he obtained The ring himself, The Batman also had to learn how to use its powers. Which he did almost immediately, just the ring started running out of power shorty after he got it. There's a [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/green-lantern-batman.jpg reason for that.]]
* In "The N Men", an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'', this kids almost destroy the entire town before they learn to control their newly acquired superpowers.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':
** "Switched" has Raven and Starfire [[FreakyFridayFlip body switched]] and having to figure out how to use each others' powers. Starfire and Raven's learning experiences, interestingly, are about attitude rather than the powers themselves. They both have powers tied to their emotions, but while Starfire's only work when her emotions are allowed to flow free, Raven has to keep her emotions under strict control lest her powers go off unexpectedly and wreak havoc.
** Terra had trouble controlling her powers, as well. [[DeconstructedTrope It became a serious issue]]...
* The pilot of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' is caused by ComicBook/BlueBeetle not knowing how his suit works and unintentionally creating a wormhole to the other side of the Milky Way.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
** The entire storyline of the series is fundamentally about [[TheHero Aang]] mastering [[MakingASplash Water]], [[DishingOutDirt Earth]], and [[PlayingWithFire Fire]] bending to become a "fully-realized Avatar". In particular, Aang demonstrates the most difficulty with learning Earthbending, since the philosophy behind its use (i.e., to face issues and obstacles head-on) is effectively opposite to his ideals as a native [[BlowYouAway Airbender]] (which places greater emphasis on evasion and dodging).
** [[TheLancer Katara]] also goes from not being able to consciously control a few liters of water to being a waterbending master.
** Behind-the-scenes info for [[MadeOfExplodium Combustion Man]] from state that he got his mechanical arm and foot after blowing them off while learning his ability to shoot explosions out of his forehead when he was younger.
** In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Aang's successor Korra spent the first season struggling with airbending due to its heavy emphasis on spirituality and emotional stability. Two things that she was ''incredibly'' lacking in as a sheltered teenager who had yet to meet a problem she couldn't easily solve via a physical altercation.
* In the animated series of ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', Clark Kent is still figuring out how to use his powers in the first episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':
** Superboy, being a clone of Franchise/{{Superman}}, has some of the older hero's powers, but does not know how to use them. This sets up tension between the two as Superboy wants to learn from Superman and sees him as a father while Superman is (understandably) disturbed by Superboy's ''existence'' and wants nothing to do with him.
** In season 2, ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes has powerful suit of AdaptiveArmor capable of creating just about anything he can imagine and even has UniversalTranslator capabilities. Too bad he has no idea how to use any of the Scarab's powers at first, and the Scarab's ArtificialIntelligence hurts more than it helps since it always suggests the most violent and destructive approach to solving any problem. In "Salvage" the Scarab doesn't inform Jaime that it can communicate with the monster that's kicking his and Superboy's behinds until Jaime rhetorically asks if it can do so because the Scarab sees peaceful communication as a sign of weakness.
** [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits The Reach abductees]] have just about as much trouble with their new powers as you'd expect. Even after a couple of months, Virgil has trouble levitating a trash can, and Tye can't even turn his power on until the end of the episode.

* When Scott Lang from ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' first tries to use Hank Pym's ComicBook/AntMan gear for a bank robbery, he finds out by chance that the helmet allows communication with insects. Also, when he tries to use Pym Discs to make the stacks of money pocket sized, he accidentally makes them shrink smaller than microscopic size instead.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'', one episode has him switch minds with Wolverine. Wolverine has no problem with Spider-Man's agility, but doesn't try to use his other powers. When he tries using the Webshooter gadgets, he fails, however. Spider-Man needs to use Wolverine's powers, but claws are essentially extra limbs so they just go wild as he's trying to process how to use them, and ends up stabbing himself just offscreen. ([[GoryDiscretionShot The cartoon cuts ahead citing technical difficulties.]])
* In the old ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' special, the baby reindeer always had the ability to fly, but they still had to learn how to do it.

** In a season three episode where the heroes end up having to use each other's powers, we get a variation on this - it's not a matter of knowing how to activate a power, or knowing what it does. It's that using it effectively is a lot harder than the one chosen for it makes it look. So when Mister Bug uses Lucky Charm, he gets the exact item he wants, to Marinette's annoyance - a giant mirror. However, deflecting the villain's HumongousMecha's beam back at it doesn't actually harm it. When Lady Noir uses Cataclysm, it damages the machine but doesn't destroy it, and worse, fries its control system, sending it berserk.

** The season 4 premiere starts out with Twilight Sparkle learning how to fly with her new wings with mixed results. Later in the two-parter, she is able to fly from one city to another with Spike as a passenger but not without him kissing the ground afterwards.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPrinceAchmed'' kicks into gear when Prince Achmed mounts a magic mechanical horse and pulls the lever that makes the horse fly. He does not know how to make the horse land.
* In the second season premiere of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Rattrap and Cheetor awaken to find themselves altered into Transmetals. Apart from the aesthetic differences, they also gained new movement capabilities (Cheetor gains jets and Rattrap can convert into a wheeled mode). But their first attempts at this caused them to crash around the ''Axalon''.
-->'''Rattrap:''' This... is gonna take some getting used to.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', the Maximals initially have no idea how to transform into their more combat-capable robot modes after the Oracle alters their bodies to make them more technorganic. The on-board computers their original bodies possessed that handled transformations for them are absent, meaning there's more to it than simply saying "Maximize". It takes a DieOrFly situation for Optimus to figure it out. He later teaches the other Maximals how.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'', the villain Catra has a magic mask that lets her transform into a powerful panther. Since she stole it from its rightful owner, she is unaware of the mask's other abilities like teleportation and communicating with cats. In a few episodes, she discovers these abilities.
** In [[WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower the 2018 reboot]], Adora can't figure out how to turn into She-Ra at will and spends a good portion of Episode 3 trying to get her TransformationSequence to fire by dancing around with the Sword and shouting her [[ByThePowerOfGreyskull catchphrase.]] She manages to turn Horsey into a WingedUnicorn, who panics and trashes a refugee camp. While she eventually figures out how to transform, she is told She-Ra has HealingHands abilities and tries to figure out how to use them at will. Light Hope tells her it will take several years of isolated training to use HealingHands, so she decides to skip it since she can't leave her friends unprotected.
* In season three of ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'', the paladins end up shuffling lions [[spoiler:(Keith moving to the Black Lion, Lance moving to the Red Lion, and Allura becoming the new pilot of Blue Lion)]]. The means that the pilot of a FragileSpeedster is now piloting a JackOfAllStats, the pilot of a JackOfAllStats is now piloting a FragileSpeedster, and Voltron's lesser JackOfAllStats is now being piloted by someone whose previous piloting experience concerned capital ships rather than fighters. As a result of this, they do so badly in their first fight against Lotor that he concludes that his father ''killed'' half the original pilots and they're still breaking in a new flight roster.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': In the SwappedRoles episode, Timmy becomes Cosmo and Wanda's fairy godparent and as a result gets fairy powers. It immediately becomes obvious that he has no clue how to use them, struggling to even shapeshift.

* In ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'''s TournamentArc, One opponent managed to steal one of Recca's flame dragons. However, he had no idea which one out of Recca's eight dragons he acquired (he was hoping to get the most powerful one). This guy manages to acquire a one-eyed dragon named Setsuna who, as told by one of Recca's other dragons, is quite powerful but a rather disobedient dragon. When the opponent tries to sic Setsuna on Recca, the very annoyed dragon promptly asks why the hell he should listen to some new guy and fried him in response.
* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** QuirkyMiniBossSquad leader Captain Ginyu trades bodies with Goku. This is fairly ingenious, because he waited until he was weakened and nearly defeated by Goku before trading. To make it even better, he inflicted a severe wound to his own body (punching himself through the chest) immediately before making the switch. However, he couldn't get full power out of Goku's body, because he doesn't know his powerup technique, the Kaio-ken. Unfortunately for him, Vegeta then shows up and beats the snot out of him before he gets it to work. And then when he reverses the trick so he can try the same technique to body-jack Vegeta, the trick doesn't work twice; they throw a frog in the way.
** The same thing happens with Goku Black in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': [[spoiler:Even though Zamasu was quite powerful after stealing Goku's body, he had no idea how to use Goku's abilities and only learned to do so after watching him in action.]] Even later, as his power continues to grow, he rips a hole in reality. When Vegeta asks him what exactly he just did, Black shrugs and says he has no idea: his power has grown beyond his own understanding of it.
* When Pist from ''Anime/FinalFantasyUnlimited'' steals Kaze's Magun, the device that allows him to summon powerful beings using special bullets, he tries to use it himself (including a bizarre subversion of the normal firing sequence) but the resulting summon turns on him.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** The rambunctious Kamina steals the Gurren and, confident that he has access to new powers, attempts to combine with the Lagann as the head. It fails pathetically and hilariously. They eventually get it to work through determination.
** Similarly, Simon has a few issues with Lagann's systems at first, especially the jet thruster. Quoth Yoko: "Ah, hello? We're sorta falling..."
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'' Lelouch instinctively knows the basic principle behind the Geass, (leading to the iconic "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you... Die!" scene) but he doesn't know all the specifications, and after a couple of mishaps, he takes on the task of testing it to figure out ''exactly'' what it can and can't do. The fifth episode shows just how CrazyPrepared he is by that point by having him rattle off all the things he's learned via experimentation, such as its maximum effective range of 270 meters. The audio commentary lampshades this when the voice actors (including [[Creator/JunFukuyama Lelouch's]]) muse on exactly ''how'' he discovered these things, suggesting (for the range example) that he used cell phones in walkie-talkie fashion.
* [[AllThereInTheManual Prequel stories]] of ''Anime/{{K}}'' show the original HOMRA trio figuring out their powers this way in Izumo's bar, after Mikoto first awakens as the Red King and [[SuperEmpowering makes the other two his Clansmen]]. So if you were wondering why Izumo had to replace the bar...
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** There's a sequence involving Light Yagami learning the rules and limitations of the Death Note before he embarks on his great scheme of moral cleansing. He continues to experiment with its powers and devise loopholes throughout the series. By the end of episode three, he knows more about the thing than Ryuk, a shinigami.
** The Yotsuba executives also learn some of its rules this way, for instance, giving someone a death condition that is physically impossible will result in that person simply dying of a heart attack. The Death Note's owner, [[spoiler:Higuchi]], actually ''does'' understand the rules, but has to avoid revealing them openly to hide his identity.
* In ''VideoGame/GateKeepers'', Ukiya Shun is blessed by the Gate of Wind. It took him several episodes just to properly summon the power again (which he did in the first episode on instinct), and an episode testing a new technique (which he later perfects).
* In ''Manga/JigokuNoGoukaDeYakaReTsuzuketaShounen'', Flare initially struggles to control his hellfire with any degree of precision, burning away underbrush haphazardly and nearly burning Primavera while trying to take care of a raging giant boar. He comes up with the idea of using his shaman magic to concentrate the fire around his arms to make them easier to handle rather than shooting them everywhere.
* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'':
** The manga has Tsukune kidnapped by a shapeshifter, who copies his form and goes out to fight Tsukune's UnwantedHarem. Unfortunately, the fellow runs into quite a few HowDoIShotWeb moments as he tries (in vain) to kill them, not realizing that he's far, far weaker than they are in human form. When he wises up and copies Moka's SuperpoweredEvilSide, he's beaten for good when the power of the rosary weakens him.
** Tsukune himself had a bit of trouble until he got some well-earned [[TrainingFromHell training]] with Inner-Moka and Touhou Fuhai.
* Sort of happens to the protagonist of ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'', [[MagicalGirl Himeno Awayuki]] -- more of "How Do I Shot Wind?" It is implied that she ''should'' know instinctively how her [[ElementalPowers powers]] work, but the first time she is forced to fight a monster, she panics and can't figure out what to do. However, this wasn't enough to make her give up, and she actually demands to receive some training in order to learn to use her powers properly.

* At one point, Padudu of ''Anime/MagicalPlay'' (a.k.a. ''Magical Witchland'') saves two other characters from death via [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands suddenly being able to fly]]. When asked by Pippin why she hadn't done that in the pilot, when she fell on Pippin and cost her a tournament, Padudu says: "[[ForgotICouldFly Oh, that time, I forgot I could fly!]]"
* In the 2003 anime version of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ed learns of the ability to transmute without a circle by clasping his hands in frustration then grabbing a basin of water, heating it through alchemy to boiling temperature. Afterward, he has no clue how he managed to do it, and his attempts to reproduce the effect are unsuccessful until he finds himself in another emergency situation (saving someone from a collapsing structure). It was only after that he realized how he did it.

* ''Anime/{{Macross}}'':
** In ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', whenever they figured out a new thing the eponymous ship could do, trying it always led to embarrassing mistakes. The first time they tried to take off, the anti-grav units broke free of the ship. Using the fold system left them millions of miles off-course, surrounded by ''inhabited bits of the island'' they folded near, and the fold engine ''disappeared''. The first time they transformed the ''Macross'', they destroyed the entire city inside the ship. The first time they fired up an impenetrable energy shield, the shield generator overloaded and destroyed Toronto. Though they were able to use that last one to [[spoiler:take down Boddolza's flagship by using the Daedalus Maneuver to break through the hull and then activate the shield while inside]]. It nearly destroyed the ship.
*** Humorously, this is also why they survived so long against the Zentraedi attacks: whenever they pulled one of these stunts, the Zentraedi commanders were unsure of whether the humans ''meant'' to do that or not, and therefore wonder what ''other'' tricks they must have up their sleeves, leading to an overly-cautious approach on their part.
*** On a much smaller scale, Hikaru in the second episode is a very competent pilot... of airplanes. When his Valkyrie unexpectedly turns into a giant robot, he promptly tries to make it walk. He topples forward and wrecks Minmay's room in doing so, and needs a conveniently-passing-by seafood truck to right him again.
** ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' has an excellent deconstruction of this trope. Sheryl Nome received some basic training on how to operate a VF-25; when the time came to put it to the test, her eyes narrow and she even gets a ThemeMusicPowerUp, which lasts long into her glorious failure at even flying in a straight line.
* In ''Manga/ZatchBell'', almost every time Zatch and Kiyomaro learn a new spell, Kiyomaro still struggles to understand that the spells are powered by emotion and will. However when they learn their third spell, which magnetizes their opponent, Kiyomaro tries several unsuccessful attempts to test this spell (which he didn't know the effects of at the time), and eventually tried singing the incantation, very badly. Part of the punchline with the third spell was that he was casting it successful in his tests, just that since the spell is purely magnetic and he tested in a place with no metal around, the spell had nothing to effect. Happens again with the fourth spell as despite putting in emotion, the spell didn't work. They later learn that instead that spell works off of tension rather than will. Eventually Averted when Kiyomaro [[spoiler:dies and obtains Answer Talker,]] allowing him to know literally everything. And then used again when it turns out [[spoiler:he doesn't even know how to control it yet, needing help from Dufaux just to get it to work.]]
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', as Kuwabara is trapped inside Mitarai's water monster, he is determined to break free, and suddenly summons a special sword from his spiritual energy that can slice through dimensions, freeing himself and his friends and defeating Mitarai. The next morning, he tries to summon the same sword while fighting Sensui, but ends up getting his normal spirit sword instead.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Nami with the Clima-Tact in her fight with Miss Doublefinger. Unfortunately for her, half of the functions on the device are party tricks (and they're listed first in the instruction manual), and the other half are abilities that are useful, but only if used correctly, and Usopp may not have known how good they can be (he suggests playing boomerang catch with the Cyclone Tempo). Despite this, once she manages to find the right functions to use, she can win if she identifies the good moves and learns how to use them. Nami's experience with the Perfect Clima-Tact is also like this to some extent, but only because she didn't realize how powerful it was the first time she used it.
** This applies even more to the [[GreenRocks Devil Fruits]]. The average person who has absolutely no idea what their fruit even ''does'' unless they've either read a restricted access catalogue or been outright told. Even then, you'd have no idea how to activate it until you experiment. Brook's power only activated ''after he died'', meaning he could've started off simply knowing he couldn't swim. Hell, Brook takes this even further after the TimeSkip, when he develops his powers into the abilities to use AstralProjection and channel GhostlyChill into [[AnIcePerson Ice Powers.]] This means that it took Brook ''well over fifty-two years'' to realize these powers were available to him and work out how to use them.
*** A Devil Fruit's powers aren't entirely unknown to the eater — once a person eats a Devil Fruit, they gain an awareness of the Fruit's basic ability. However, the specifics of how the ability works and any further aspects and uses of the ability often require some experimentation to figure out. In Brook's case above, he actually knew in advance that he would come back to life once he died, but spent the next fifty years following his resurrection operating under the assumption that that's all the Yomi Yomi Fruit did, before he eventually discovered other aspects of its power.
** Whitebeard's revealed power to make earthquakes involves punching the air as if it were a glass window. [[GuideDangIt Can you honestly say you'd figure that one out without being told?]]
** A flashback to [[RubberMan Luffy's]] youth showed that it was years before he could even use Gum-Gum Pistol (basically just a stretching-arm punch, which is Luffy's most basic attack in the main storyline) without hitting the ground or it rebound into his own face. Though that can be largely blamed on his youth and his relatively small body at the time.
** After Kaku ate a Devil Fruit that transformed him into a giraffe or giraffe-man hybrid, he had trouble changing into the specific form he wanted and, since he hadn't been able to explore his new capabilities, just made new attacks up as he went along. That said, because he was a skilled fighter before he ate his DF, adapted to his new powers much faster than the average DF user and thus was still a formidable opponent. Still, having a full-grown giraffe fall through the ceiling [[Funny/OnePiece made for some hilarious moments]].
** Tashigi, after she [[spoiler:was body-switched with Smoker]], has a hard time [[spoiler:using the latter's Devil Fruit powers]], and has to ask how to use them.
** Momonosuke also has a hard time figuring out how to control his transformations into a dragon and back after he ate an artificial Zoan-type Devil Fruit. Though in his defense, it could be either due to his young age, his inexperience with the fruit (And limited knowledge of Devil Fruits in general), the fact that said fruit is artificial and a failure, or all of the above.
** [[spoiler:Sabo]] had some issues with controlling the abilities of the [[spoiler:Flame-Flame Fruit]] after first eating it. While he was able to utilize its previous user's signature technique, he had trouble [[spoiler:''turning off'' the flames]]. Also, despite the Devil Fruit being a Logia and giving him "Made of Air" style NighInvulnerability, he still dodged attacks simply out of habit.
*** Although that dodge instinct could be considered a good thing, considering most figures he'd fight against (being in the Revolutionary Army) would have some knowledge on how to combat Devil Fruits.
** Trafalgar Law's Op-Op Fruit abilities make him a borderline RealityWarper, but at the time he first ate the fruit he had no idea how to actually use its powers. Thus he was unable to help [[spoiler:Corazon/Rocinante]] after the latter was riddled with bullets.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Even though he had it first, Yuuno of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' never was able to properly use [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart]], only being able to fight with its crystal-like Standby Mode and [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull needing to say a really long activation phrase to do even that]]. One must wonder how he felt when the then beginner mage Nanoha was able to easily unlock a full Barrier Jacket, activate [[SwissArmyWeapon RH's alternate Modes]], and do all of that without the need of the long incantation. According to the [[AllThereInTheManual novel version and the official page]], [[EmpathicWeapon Raising Heart fine-tuned herself]] for Nanoha. Guess given the choice of being a tool for a Bombardment Mage or a Force Field Mage, [=AIs=] go for the path that lets it [[StuffBlowingUp blow stuff up]].
** In Sound Stage 3 of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', Teana, having had the fourth and final stage of her device limiter removed, has a new long-range mode for Cross Mirage, but decides to work on the skills she has since there won't be enough time to master it before the final battle.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The first time Shinji Ikari tries to pilot an Eva with no training or preparation, he falls on his face. Fortunately, [[spoiler:putting him in danger this way activates the Crazy-Protective Alter-Ego of his Eva suit, who handily defeats the Angel for him.]]
* Season Three ''Manga/Reborn2004'' spoiler'd example: [[spoiler:[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture In the Future]], when Tsuna first uses his KillItWithFire X-Burner Attack, he can't find out how to set it off without propelling himself backward into a wall. When he figures out to use his other hand to make a balancing fireball, he THEN has the limitation that he can only fire on level ground, when he gets around THAT, he needs a way to balance out the flames. Luckily, we're spared that Training episode by Spanner.]]
* Karin from ''Manga/KamichamaKarin'' wore the Goddess Ring for YEARS without having a clue that it could allow her to transform into a PhysicalGod. And even when she finds out, she struggles long and hard before even being able to transform without help, much less be any kind of useful. It probably doesn't help that she's [[ThisLoserIsYou really, really stupid]].

* Manga/{{Naruto}} faces this difficulty with controlling the Kurama's chakra throughout the series. After the time skip it's largely a matter of not going berserk while using it, but pre-time skip his major problem is accessing the power to begin with. This led to a month of humiliating "training" in summoning tadpoles, culminating with being thrown into a ravine. And just to make it worse, when summoning really counts, he's only able to get a toad the size of his hand. Twice! Course at the time Orochimaru had hit him with a sealing spell which was throwing his Chakra out of balance. By the time Jiraya had removed that handicap, it was only a few days before Naruto had to fight in the second Chunin tournament, so he really didn't have any time to master it.
* [[spoiler:Ako Izumi]] has this problem after getting her [[spoiler:StatusBuff]] Pactio in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. She manages to get the hang of it soon, though.

* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** Unlike virtually every other Precure before her, Tsubomi Hanasaki, alias Cure Blossom, of ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' has to be practically hand-held through most of her powers and abilities early on. Compare this to her teammate Erika Kurumi, alias Cure Marine, who was able to figure out everything on the word "go".
** A similar situation happens in ''Anime/SmilePrettyCure'' with Miyuki Hoshizora, alias Cure Happy, though she's quicker mastering her powers than Tsubomi. And once she does, cue the pink heart-shaped [[Manga/DragonBall Kamehameha]]. Though, it's starting to seem like the rest of Miyuki's teammates are stuck in this same predicament.
** These days, any Precure fans would notice a similar pattern of a newbie main Cure, while trying to figure out how their power works, accidentally and to their shocks, [[InASingleBound jumps absurdly high]]. This maneuver is eventually nicknamed the "Holy-Crap-I-Can-Jump-This-High" Maneuver.
** In ''Anime/HappinessChargePrettyCure'', Hime is given a special stone that will search out her partner and allow them to become a Pretty Cure. She's never told how the stupid thing works and decides to chuck it and make the first person it hits her partner. It's a good thing the person she does hit, Megumi, does make it work.
* ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' has this: Endou's Seigi no Tekken and God Catch, Tachimukai's Majin the Hand and Mugen the Hand, and Kidou/Fudou's attempt to create Emperor Penguin No.3.
* ''Manga/BeetTheVandelBuster'' started off with the five ultimate weapons given to him by his dying heroes. Of course, he still had to learn how to use them, and after several years was only able to use one, the spear, effectively. He eventually learns to fire more than one shot with the gun, and comes closer to mastering the shield with training from its original owner (who was NotQuiteDead). With foresight he learned to work around the axe's twelve-second materialization time, and over time got better at the sword bit by bit if nowhere near able to master it. In fact, when the series was cut short at twelve volumes, Beet still arguably hadn't totally mastered ''any'' of his weapons!
* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', occasionally one of the heroes' Pokemon will have trouble mastering a new attack until several episodes later. One of the Sinnoh arc's running gags was Gible's Draco Meteor misfires always homing in on Piplup.
** Then there was Duplica's Ditto, which couldn't master transformations for a long time...it would never get the face right.

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the reason why Louise seems to be an IneptMage is because [[spoiler:her affinity is [[PowerOfTheVoid Void Magic]], a long forgotten art]]. Once she learns this, she becomes much more effective when she figures out the kinks. Saito's power is to become an InstantExpert with any weapon, but it takes him a while to realize that it only works with real weapons. He tries to use an ornamental sword and gets his ass kicked. He also needs to be in a real fight, as when he tried to twirl a sword around to show off, he made a fool of himself.
** Above example is anime only. In the original light novels, Saito is capable of wielding the ornamental weapon as if it were any other and the activation of his abilities was merely dependent on being in contact with a weapon. The ornamental weapon was still meant to be a weapon, it just broke the first time Saito used it because it wasn't durable enough to withstand being used to strike stone by someone of Saito's strength. The trope is still played straight with Saito's combat abilities, though. He can swing a sword like a natural and gains incredible speed and strength, but it takes him some time and a fair bit of practice to be able to fully get a good head for actual combat.
* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':
** Touma Kamijou has no idea how [[AntiMagic Imagine]] [[PowerNullifier Breaker]] works. Throughout the series, he slowly learns its limitations, and eventually figures out how to pull a CatchAndReturn with it. To be fair to Touma, almost ''nobody'' knows how Imagine Breaker works. Aleister Crowley is the only one who has hinted that he knows how it really works (and he has no particular desire to explain it to anybody else).
*** Later deconstructed when Othinus reaches her full power and [[RealityWarper alters the world to her whims]]. Touma is the only one unaffected and knows Imagine Breaker can change the world back, but is unable to figure out how. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he gets her to pull a HeelFaceTurn, and she is convinced to restore the world to the way it was.]]
** Sogiita Gunha has a multitude of powers like SuperStrength, SuperSpeed, force fields, etc. While he knows how to use them, he has no understanding of the science behind them. It is pointed out that he would become ''much'' more effective if he knew how his powers worked and took better advantage of them. This is unlikely to happen as Gunha is an IdiotHero who lives by HonorBeforeReason and guts alone and [[ApathyKilledTheCat has no interest in brainy topics]].
* In ''Anime/DogDays'', each of the [[SummonEverymanHero summoned heroes]] slowly learn new techniques and get the hang of their powers. Later, during a FreakyFridayFlip, everyone has to get the hang of each other's bodies and techniques.
* Ryuko, of ''Anime/KillLaKill,'' took a while to figure out how to use [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Senketsu]] properly. Though Senketsu had [[UnskilledButStrong enough raw power]] and Ryuko [[EmpoweredBadassNormal enough talent]] to get her through her first few fights, they were badly synchronized and Senketsu [[CastFromHitPoints required a constant supply of blood]], which left Ryuko ending most fights on the verge of passing out. This is eventually revealed to be due to Ryuko's anxiety: she finds wearing [[{{Stripperiffic}} the ridiculously skimpy outfit]] to be [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl incredibly humiliating]], a mental block which she overcomes by learning to view Senketsu as a second skin rather than revealing clothing.
** Senketsu is also an example as it starts with little idea of its own capabilities other than its need to be worn by Ryuko and all of its subsequent power upgrades come as [[EmergencyTransformation Emergency Transformations]] during battle.
* ''Anime/DigiCharat'' has Puchiko attempting EyeBeams like her sister Dejiko and... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toiuaHCI_CU not quite getting it.]]
* A good amount of ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is dedicated to everyone attempting to figure out how to operate and utilize [[spoiler:Eren Jaeger's titan-shifting abilities]].
* Kouya's Garuda Eagle from ''Anime/CrushGearTurbo'' was once the Gear of Kouya's deceased elder brother, who happens to be the World Champion. Apparently, said Gear has a very powerful super move. Unlocking the secret involved several episodes of having the Gear analyzed by an ultra-powerful supercomputer just to learn the underlying science for the super move, and another batch of episodes of Kouya trying to find the right conditions to use the technique, and use it reliably. Even better, the supercomputer belonged to Kouya's wealthy rival Manganji who had his men surreptitiously copy a virtual data of Garuda Eagle, and said discovery of a special ability was a complete accident.
* The Manga/BirdMen spend significant time learning the basics of how to fly, and for one particular character, it took a DieOrFly moment to learn it.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Not everyone will immediately know what their Stand is capable of when they first gain it. The protagonist of Part 3, Jotaro Kujo, has no idea what his Star Platinum can do beyond being a physically powerful humanoid. [[spoiler:When he faces Dio's The World, who can stop time, he realizes Star Platinum is the same type of Stand and learns how to stop time too.]]
** Part 4 introduces the Arrow. When it hits a person capable of using a Stand, it grants them one; otherwise it's like being shot with a regular arrow. When Koichi is struck by it, he's mortally wounded; however, Josuke saves his life with his healing powers... which acts as something of a loophole and gives Koichi a Stand. Unfortunately, because Koichi wasn't ''meant'' to have a Stand, it takes him a while to figure out how one works (those meant to have Stands innately know their powers).
* In the world of ''Manga/SoulEater'', certain humans inherit a trait that causes them to transform into {{Living Weapon}}s. Once this ability starts to manifest (usually involuntarily, at first), they are scouted by Shinigami's school and given an education to deal with this trope. Just how far it goes is the choice of the student. Those who want to take advantage of their abilities take the [=EAT=] course and become hunters of evil (the characters of ''Soul Eater''). Those who [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to get a hold of themselves and lead normal lives]] take the [[Manga/SoulEaterNot NOT]] course instead.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Several characters had to practice with their quirks in order to make something useful out of them. Standout examples include:
** The protagonist Izuku Midoriya himself. Unlike his classmates, who had their Quirks since they were toddlers and thus had a lot of time to learn how to use them, Izuku only received One for All recently. Much of the beginning of the series is him figuring out how to use his god-like strength without literally destroying his body from the stress. [[spoiler:Then he [[AllYourPowersCombined starts manifesting the Quirks of previous One For All users]], and has to learn those as well]].
** Mirio Togata, who has a [[AwesomeButImpractical difficult to use]] intangibility quirk that has the potential to [[BlessedWithSuck kill him if used incorrectly]]. By training hard to learn the intricacies of his abilities, he manages to develop his quirk into a DifficultButAwesome StoryBreakerPower that rockets him to the #1 spot in UA's graduating class.
** This trope is specifically why the BigBad All For One doesn't [[PowerParasite take the quirks]] of people whose abilities are DifficultButAwesome because he doesn't want to waste the years on abilities to become useful when more straightforward and easy to use quirks are more practical.
** On a different note, this trope is generally averted with hero costumes and support equipment. They normally come with ''instructions''.
* Played with in ''Manga/MadeInAbyss''. Reg has [[AmnesiacHero amnesia]], so he literally ForgotAboutHisPowers. When Riko gets carried off by a flying monster, he instinctively powers up a WaveMotionGun; right when it starts firing, he realizes he doesn't even know ''what'' he's about to do, let alone how to control it. Luckily, the [[NoKillLikeOverkill out-of-control death beam]] hits most of the monsters and barely misses Riko. He first used this weapon from offscreen in the first episode, before he lost his memories, and focused it into a narrower beam that time.
* In ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'', [[TheHero Hibiki Tachibana]] had a lot of trouble in the first few episodes because she literally couldn't summon her [[WeaponOfChoice Armed Gear]] to use in battle. [[TookALevelInBadass She got better]] when they decided to have her [[BareFistedMonk focus on using martial arts]] and [[MegatonPunch channel the energy for an Armed gear into her fists.]]
* ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'': Both Inuyashiki and Shishigami go through this, which is justifiable considering they got their 'superpowers' by getting killed and having their [[BrainUploading minds uploaded]] into alien battle bots. It took both of them quite some time to even realize their bodies weren't their old bodies any more, nevermind figuring out they had beyond-human capabilities. Shishigami adapts and discovers his capabilities quicker, because of his youth and being a fan of superhero manga. Inuyashiki on his end needs a lot of motivation and help to reach the same level because he didn't really want to become a hero in the first place.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** The mainline Spider-Man actually subverts the trope. Many of his powers are hardwired into his reflexes and instincts. As such, acrobatics, fighting, dodging bullets, and balancing are all things he can do automatically. In his introduction, he backflipped twenty feet and stuck to the side of a building mere minutes after being bitten by the radioactive spider, purely because his SpiderSense sensed a car about to run him over. Even web-slinging needed little practice purely because his reflexes prevented him from screwing up. Spidey's biggest problem tends to be the fact that his opponents are stronger and faster than him and/or have an InstantDeathRadius that requires him to be smart about using his powers.
** Spidey also had no trouble figuring out how to shoot webs because it isn't actually one of his powers! That's right, Peter Parker actually designed some web fluid and shooters using his awesome powers of nerdiness. At least, not until the times in the comics when he (temporarily) ''does'' get natural webbing.
** However, he did have a minor problem when his Spider-Sense got burnt out -- without it, web-swinging was much tougher as he has no way of knowing what's safe to swing on or not. This story also taught him that his combat skills were sorely lacking without the precognitive edge of Spider-Sense; he spent some time training with ComicBook/IronFist to sharpen his brawling skills.
** This trope is used occasionally in the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' comic: most egregiously, when Peter Parker startles out of daydreams in school and breaks his desk ''multiple times'' without anyone becoming unduly suspicious about it. Public school chairs... The most hilarious use of this trope is when Wolverine and Spider-Man switch bodies. Wolverine's attempts to learn how to websling must be seen to be believed.
** Played straight with Miguel O'Hara, ComicBook/SpiderMan2099. Many of the events in the first three issues of his comic are of him learning how to use his new abilities, such as retractable talons, heightened vision, and -- yes -- shooting webs.
** The new Spider-Man Miles Morales originally did not shoot web, but eventually receives his own web shooters and learns how. It takes him a couple of tries before he gets the hang of swinging without smacking against a wall or onto a rooftop. Meanwhile, his best friend and unofficial MissionControl, Ganke Lee, faces the conundrum of "How Do I ''Make'' Web?", since it was the late Peter Parker's secret formula and he has to reverse engineer the web fluid so Miles can continually use it.
** ComicBook/SpiderGirl didn't exactly have problems learning to use her powers, but she needed training from her [[ComicBook/SpiderMan father]] and his friend Phil Urich to really be able to master them and become a more experienced fighter.
** Similarly, Phil Urich himself had a number of problems figuring out how to use the Green Goblin's equipment when he moonlighted as a superhero in the short-lived ''ComicBook/GreenGoblin'' series Marvel published in the 1990s. Later, in ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', he knew how to fly the ship the mysterious benefactor gave Phil's group because it was based on the Goblin equipment.
** Spider-Man's ally and generally lovable loser the Fabulous Frog-Man. Stealing the fully automated frog-suit of his father, the villainous Leapfrog, Eugene Patilio wholeheartedly attempts to make a difference while being utterly clueless about how the suit works. This proves to be his greatest strength, however, as [[TheFool his frequent misfired jumps tend to knock out waves of bad guys]] and make him look like a real hero who knows what he's doing. Pretty much the only person who knows that Eugene is a bumbler in person is Spidey himself.
* The short "untold" story of young Peter Parker called "The Punch!" from the Amazing Spider-Man Family Volume 1 issue 3 partially uses this trope for his super strength (his other powers subvert this trope). It takes place after Uncle Ben died and Peter decides to make Spider-Man a hero. He stops a robber by punching them with what he calls a "tap". However, Peter couldn't actually control his strength and the robber nearly ''died'' and had to be rushed to the hospital. Peter than goes to an abandoned building and lets loose to see just how strong he is. He wrecks the place and is shaking with fear over the amount of strength he has. He almost quits being Spider-Man because of it but realizes it is a good thing when it allows him to hold up a falling crane long enough for all the bystanders to get to safety. The story actually doesn't show how Peter learned to control his strength (just that he'll learn over time). Also, one has to wonder how Spider-Man not even trying nearly killed someone and yet Uncle Ben's killer didn't die.

* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague''
** The Justice League suffered a multiple bodyswap in the TPB ''Foreign Bodies''; a female villain called Psykosis was incited to do it by Kobra. It ended up with Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern) operating the body of J'onn J'onzz, J'onn taking over Aquaman's body, Aquaman in temporary possession of Wonder Woman's body, Wonder Woman in Psykosis' body, Psykosis' psyche in Flash's body, Flash in Steel's body, and Steel in Green Lantern's body. Separate to this, Superman and Batman had simply swapped bodies [[spoiler:or so it seemed; in actuality, Batman was indeed in Superman's body, but Kobra had taken command of Batman's body, leaving Superman resident in Kobra's body]]. And boy howdy, [[HilarityEnsues hilarity did indeed ensue]] at nearly everyone's expense before it was over. Worth noting that Batman gets an ''immediate'' grasp on Superman's powers, and starts saving the day worldwide. Only, he laments that so much power is ''distracting''.
** In ''JLA: Year One'', the Brain steals Flash's speed, Green Lantern's power ring, Black Canary's voice and the Martian Manhunter's 'martian-vision', incorporating their legs, right arm, vocal chords and eyes into a new body for himself. He seems to instantly know how to work each individual power, but the villain primarily relies on Green Lantern's ring, the flashiest and most "powerful" of the abilities. By overlooking the benefits of each different power [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman Aquaman is able to overpower and kick his ass]], observing that any team is only as strong as ''all'' of its members.

* ''ComicBook/XMen''
** Was actually a major theme of the original 1960s ''X-Men'', and still appears at times. It could easily be argued that this trope is the basis for the X-Men as a whole, as the series has ''always'' revolved around a group of mutants who are ''being trained in the use of their own powers'' at what is quite literally a school that exists for precisely that purpose.
** Inverted with Rogue, who can use her powers quite well, but doesn't know how to turn them off (it's been pretty much spelled out that she ''could'' control them, except that [[TheWoobie some serious psychological trauma]] concerning both her power's first use and the effects of continued use were serving as a block.)
** Subverted with Wing from Astonishing X-Men who tells Hisako (Armor) that after discovering that he could fly without propulsion, he assumed that this meant he was invincible as well and landed with a little too much force, breaking both of his legs.
** An old ''X-Men'' villain was Mimic, a mutant who can copy up to 5 different mutants' powers. These powers become permanent if he can be around them for at least an hour. He was usually defeated due to three reasons; his copied powers were only 1/2 as strong as the original, he had no experience in using them, and he was kinda dumb. Eventually he got smarter (and did a HeelFaceTurn), and now has the original five X-Men's powers permanently (though only at the level of their teenage years; this is still formidable because he can use all five simultaneously, but it would've been downright game-breaking if he had the power-ups they've all gotten). He can also mimic an additional power on top of those five, but trying more than that would be dangerous to him.
** An AU Mimic becomes team leader in ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}''. This version had joined the X-Men and had spent years developing and mastering his plethora of powers and becoming a champion of mutants. His "main" powers for most of the comics run were Flight (Angel), Invulnerability (Colossus; couldn't fly in steel form), super agility (Beast), energy projection (Cyclops), and healing (Wolverine). Even with years of practice copying others Mimic admits that he wouldn't be stupid enough to try and copy a shapeshifter or teleporter for fear of accidentally killing himself.
** Nate Grey a.k.a. ComicBook/XMan (who, ironically, was only rarely a member of the X-Men) suffered from this on a grand scale early on, something compounded by the fact that his in-built genetic degeneration meant he suffered from often explosive and entirely random PowerCreepPowerSeep. He was competent enough in a fight, and had some very unusual tricks (like using his telekinesis to create an electromagnetic pulse) thanks to tutelage from [[ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse his reality's]] version of Forge, but he mostly learned by a) making it up as he went along, and b) using his telepathy to [[MegaManning copy techniques]]. However, the difference between the kid who could barely outfight Dark Beast and the powerhouse who used the multiverse as his personal stepladder, treated death as a minor inconvenience, effortlessly flattened several teams of X-Men while simultaneously keeping Apocalypse prisoner and Magneto on a psychic leash, and ''[[ComicBook/AgeOfXMan created his own reality]]'' is astounding.
* The trope is very logically subverted in ''ComicBook/XFactor'' when the team tracks down Alchemy, a mutant whose PubertySuperpower is the ability to transmute any matter into a simple element like gold. He was kidnapped by trolls and had to defend himself by transforming their leaders. He then couldn't change them back because he has to imagine the totality of the matter he is changing something into, and organic matter is so complex on a molecular level that he can't do it. So, he goes off for the advanced education in biochemistry needed to cure the beings he has affected.[[note]]One rather odd part of that story was that Alchemy refused to join X-Factor's school for mutants because it wasn't training in his powers but training in advanced organic chemistry that he needed. This was entirely true, but apparently the writers forgot that one of X-Factor's members was the most accomplished biochemist on Earth.[[/note]] By the time Alchemy reappeared in the pages of ''Excalibur'', he had gotten enough education and control over his power that he was able to restore the humans he had inadvertently transformed after the trolls had kidnapped him again to try and force him to change their leaders back to normal.
* In the 1990s Creator/MarvelComics ''ComicBook/{{Sleepwalker}}'' comic series, Rick and Sleepwalker [[FreakyFriday end up accidentally switching bodies after an encounter with one of Sleepwalker's enemies]], and Rick has to try and figure out how to use Sleepwalker's abilities, in between being attacked by supervillains and demons from the Mindscape.
* ComicBook/{{Darkhawk}} received a cool amulet that turned him into an armored android with super-powers, but unfortunately it didn't come with an instruction manual. As a result, teenage Chris Powell ends up discovering many of his abilities by trial and error, and otherwise practicing to determine the limits of his abilities.
* In an issue of ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', the villain Absorbing Man absorbs the android Vision's ability to become intangible. He promptly falls through the pier he's standing on and into the water, due to a lack of control.

* ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' gains her powers from an alien supersuit that is the very definition of "enigmatic". She found out the obvious ones (SuperStrength, vison enhancement, HandBlast), but the other powers were discovered by accident. [[spoiler:For example, her {{Wall Crawl}}ing was activated when she was thrown against a wall and she still hasn't actually "discovered" its flying abilities.]] It's {{Fanon}} (and suggested by MindScrew in-universe) that the costume gives fantastic cosmic powers limited only by the user self-confidence. As Empowered has the self-confidence of a used kleenex in a dirty cesspool, you can see how it works. So yes, she unconsciously granted herself the power of being easily aroused and multi-orgasming. Kudos!
* Speedball from the Marvel universe spent issue after issue trying to figure out how to get his bouncing powers under control; not just turning them off when they were inconvenient, but just bouncing in the right direction. He learned how just in time.
** Receives a minor lampshade in a later issue of ''ComicBook/NewWarriors'', where he goes up against all the villains from his original run at once, and handily trounces them in a couple of pages due to now fully understanding how to use his powers.
* The ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' "Super/Bat" arc has a case where Silver Banshee "grant the wishes" of Batman and Superman (Superman to have a normal life, Batman to bring complete fear and order to Gotham's criminal underworld) by giving Superman's powers to Batman. It took Batman a lot of practice to use them right, and he realizes he needs sunlight to use them the best. Superman realizes that the side effect of Banshee's wish was ''both men did not have the means to properly use [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor what they wished for]]'', requiring Superman to get Batman to undo the wish before the Dark Knight becomes corrupted by his new power.

* In Marvel's ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'', teenage spellcaster Asgardian (later Wiccan) is shown to have difficulty using his powers. His boyfriend, Hulkling, helps him learn to control them with ordinary self-help books.

* Parodied in the ''ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers'', with the Grasshopper. After spending a couple of pages setting him up as an important character, revealing his identity, origin, and mandatory superhero romantic troubles, he decides to exit the scene by engaging the "Maximum Jump" capability of his super-suit. It launches him into space and he dies.
* ''ComicBook/BlueBeetle'':
** The second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, inherited the magical [[spoiler:(or, as it much later transpires, alien tech)]] scarab that powered his predecessor's superhuman abilities -- but couldn't figure out how to make it work for him. He never did -- which didn't stop him from having a long heroic career as the Beetle under his own steam.
** The ''third'' Beetle (Jaime Reyes), incidentally, gets along with the scarab like a house on fire. It just didn't take to Ted. It's implied by the scarab that the reason it didn't work for him is because he hung around ComicBook/BoosterGold too much, supposedly because of being exposed to too much of his "multiverse energy".
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' stories, Ma and Pa Kent were shown helping Superboy hone his powers. Particularly true with flight. Unlike in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', he figured out the thrust mechanism early on but had trouble with steering.
** In the Modern Age ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Superman was shown to be an elite soldier because of his extensive experience using his powers, leading to him training fellow soldiers in the New Krypton military.
** ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, by contrast, was able to activate all her powers but struggled with holding back.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanUpUpAndAway'', Superman's return to action is not a smooth one. His powers haven't been fully replenished and he gets suddenly thrust into a fight with Intergang's goons.
** In ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton'', Supergirl gets rid of Simon Tycho's organic android and starts searching for her stolen pod. Guessing it is stored somewhere in her enemy's space base, Kara tries to figure out how to use her X-Ray vision to scan the place swiftly.
--->'''Supergirl:''' Now... Where is my pod? Try to relax... feel that '''tingling''' behind my eyes... peel back the layers. See past it all. See '''inside'''... There.
* ComicBook/CaptainAtom is an interesting example. He didn't realize he had any powers at all at first; as far as he knew he just had a [[ChromeChampion peculiar deformity]]. He realized he could fly only when he had to jump out of a rocket he had been stashed on, and then only discovered his [[FlyingBrick nigh-invulnerability]] when Dr. Megala had Babylon shoot him. He discovered some of his other powers while experimenting and training with Megala, and discovered others as time went on. What's particularly interesting about this case is that there may be [[PhysicalGod no actual limit to his powers]], but he only gradually discovers this. Of course, many writers [[PowerCreepPowerSeep remember or forget the extent of Cap's powers]] as is [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands convenient for the plot]].
* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'', Sophie suffers from this at first, using several powers by accident until she learns to bring them under control.
* Black Alice can [[PowerParasite temporarily steal the powers of magical beings]], but she doesn't automatically gain knowledge on how to use said powers.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', Mina Mongoose first using Super Speed usually lead to her slamming into things, ultimately leading to her confronting Sonic and begging him to help practice it. She also used it to get closer to him, as she had a crush on him.
** In Issue #37 of ''ComicBook/SonicX'', Sonic and Eggman get their brains switched. They both run into this problem: Eggman can't control Sonic's speed and constantly crashes into things, and Sonic can't figure out Eggman's technology and can barely pilot the Eggmobile.
* ''ComicBook/{{Powers}}'' does this a lot, starting in the very first issue where a powers specialist police pathologist rants at length about the fact he ''has no idea how to do his job'' and has to retrain himself every day because every single powers operates on his or her own uniquely altered biology and there's no frame of reference for anything that they do. At least one hero meets an early end to his career when he kills a bystander while trying to figure out how to fly.
* The heroine of ''ComicBook/{{Ghost|DarkHorseComics}}'' took some time to learn to manage her intangibility: how not to walk through her garments; how not to drift while sleeping and wake up deep underground.
* In the first couple of issues of ''Comicbook/MsMarvel2014'' the titular heroine has this problem with her ShapeShifting abilities. They start off tied to her emotional state (shrinking when she feels small, turning into Carol Danvers when she thinks of Captain Marvel) and she's unable to control them willingly at first.
-->'''Kamala:''' I wonder if I can do it again, this time on purpose. '''[[ByThePowerOfGreySkull TRANSFORM!!!!]]'''\\
''[beat panel]''\\
'''Kamala:''' Nope
* ComicBook/{{Superboy}} had this problem after he first appeared during ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' saga - he had flight, limited invulnerability (fire actually harmed him) and super strength and a strange ability to blow metallic things up. The last one he had no idea how it worked and it seemingly came when he was in a panic. After learning he had Tactile Telekinesis (which allowed him to mimic Superman's abilities to a point), he started focusing more and using it a lot better. Then came the ''rest'' of his Kryptonian powers, like his heat vision, which first manifested in accidentally singing Superman's cape (he wasn't happy about that.)

* The protagonists in ''ComicBook/DeathVigil'' typically have a hard time figuring out what their veilrippers do. Sam, despite having been in the Vigil for 12 years, still uses his {{shovel|Strike}} and [[PowerfulPick pickaxe]] to whack the enemy around. Clara's veilripper is a [[ThePenIsMightier quill pen]]. She spends a few days trying to use it as a [[FeatherFlechettes flechette]] and magic wand before figuring out that she can draw with it, create [[ThinkingUpPortals portals]], and read/repair other people's memories.
* After Jax from ''ComicBook/JaxEpochAndTheQuickenForbidden'' stole the spellbook and the magic boots and gloves, she first has some troubles with casting spells, but she does get better later on in the story.
* ''ComicBook/HexWives'': When Becky sheds blood by accidentally killing Danali's cat, and thereby activates her magical powers, she starts to fly. She then crashes to ground because she has no idea how to control her flight.
* In ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', Thanos spends a few months after getting the Gauntlet acclimating to its power, doing a few small tests to see what he can do before going about his plan to woo Lady Death. When his daughter Nebula steals the Gauntlet from him later in the series, Adam Warlock notes she's getting DrunkOnTheDarkSide and quickly burning out from misuse of the Gauntlet.
* ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'':
** Even with her mother's training, Amaya is not fully prepared for combat on Gemworld. In her first swordfight, she is horrified when she kills the attacking swordsman and couldn't think straight in the heat of battle.
** Once she is given the magic of House Amethyst, Amaya has to be trained to use it to her full potential.

* In ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', Sydney has seven orbs that grant her superpowers when gripped in her hand, but since she didn't find a manual when she found the orbs, she had to do a lot of experimenting to figure out what the powers were, and has to do more whenever the orbs level up to figure out what new or upgraded abilities have been unlocked. It takes her until comic #541 to figure out even the most basic applications of what the green orb even ''does'', and more than 900 comics in she ''still'' has no idea what the orange one does.

* In ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', Sydney has seven orbs that grant her superpowers when gripped in her hand, but since she didn't find a manual when she found the orbs, she had to do a lot of experimenting to figure out what the powers were, and has to do more whenever the orbs level up to figure out what new or upgraded abilities have been unlocked. As of 500 comics into the strip, she has yet to figure out what the red and green orbs do.

-> ''Christ, why couldn't he have a simple superpower like Hank's PK superboy deal, instead of something that required years of training and a user manual the size of the New York City phone books?''

Often follows up PowersInTheFirstEpisode. Sometimes followed by PowerStrainBlackout. LimbSensationFascination can be a variant without superpowers. May be accompanied by PowerIncontinence if they're that inept at controlling their powers. DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength is the SuperStrength version of this trope. See also IneptMage, when someone does understand how to use the powers, but lacks finesse, and NewAbilityAddiction, when someone, upon recently acquiring powers, will try to use them at every opportunity, usually clumsily. See also TestingRangeMishap if someone attempts to test out the new powers, only to end up failing.

* Inverted in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': When someone gains a new spell their spellbook [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2007-01-31 grows several pages]] to comprehensively describe the details of how that spell works. Most of the magic users with spellbooks keep up to date with them. Elliot on the other hand goes [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-11-01 over a week without reading it]] despite recently obtaining and using a new spell. It gets to the point where his sister [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-12-10 knows more about his new spell than he does]] because she reads about it before he does.
** ... because [[JustifiedTrope she stole his spellbook as a prank]].

** Harry's PsychicPowers and their sheer scale (weaker than, but in the same weight-class as, his second cousin ComicBook/JeanGrey), along with rapid manifestation, force a very steep learning curve - his poor control nearly kills several people before he consents to proper lessons. By the start of the second book, months of expert tutelage and an intuitive knack mean that he's got pretty good control of his powers, but even then, he psychically traumatises half the planet when trying to replicate the psychic cry for help he unconsciously let out at the start of the first book, fracturing Blindfold's sanity in the process.
*** Jean herself has good control over her powers, but until the very end of the first book has very little idea of their sheer potential scope, meaning that she's largely winging it in the finale once she taps into her full strength.
** Bobby Drake, being an eleven year old with no understanding of his powers, which is problematic since they're [[PsychoActivePowers prone to manifesting when he's scared or hurt]] and he has a BigBrotherBully, and Loki explicitly warns his father that if he remains untrained, it risks something happening that cannot be undone. Thankfully, Professor Xavier takes care of that.
** Clark Kent has [[IJustWantToBeNormal a rather difficult relationship with his powers]] to begin with, and doesn't know what many of them are meant to be, meaning that he usually gets caught by surprise when a new one pops up. Like his ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', he's distinctly reluctant to fly, and even once he does in the sequel, he's a ''hilariously'' bad flier. However, partly thanks to Harry's tutelage, partly thanks to his own intelligence, he learns the basics very quickly.

** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' shows more of this. Professor X hypothesises that Banshee's sonic scream should enable him to fly, so he encourages him to jump out of a second story window. Three guesses what happens.

* Used in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' a number of times as Clark's [[PubertySuperpower emerging powers]] make themselves known, most notably with his heat vision and X-ray vision. Clark spends all the way up to ''Season 10'' unable to figure out how to fly, while Kara and other Kryptonians can do it in a few minutes. Clark ends up accidentally firing off his EyeBeams (the first time he realizes he has them) by watching a sex ed video with a new hot teacher (KristaAllen). It's not difficult to see what the writers were trying to get across, especially since he triggers his second time by thinking of his crush Lana. By the end of the episode, he can trigger the beams on demand (such as by incinerating a bullet in flight).

** One episode has a young boy kidnapped for ransom. It turns out that the boy is an Elemental [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals New Mutant]] capable of throwing fireballs. However, his is young, so he's not sure how to control his ability. The first time it manifests is during the kidnapping, when he accidentally burns a hole in a kidnapper's hand. At the end of the episode, he finally learns to produce fireballs on demand by copying Brennan's PstandardPsychicPstance when he's charging his electric powers.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'', one episode has him switch minds with Wolverine. Wolverine has no problem with Spider-Man's agility, but doesn't try to use his other powers. When he tries using the Webshooter gadgets, he fails, however. Spider-Man needs to use Wolverine's powers, but claws are essentially extra limbs so they just go wild as he's trying to process how to use them, and ends up [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar stabbing himself]] just offscreen. ([[GoryDiscretionShot The cartoon cuts ahead citing technical difficulties.]])

* In ''Fanfic/AllYourBaseAreBelongToHer'', Buffy alumni Dawn arrives in the universe inhabited by SG:1, and quickly discovers that being the [[TheChosenOne Key]] allows her to interface with the Stargate network on a fundamental level. She only learns what that ''means'' through a process of trial and error... all while being [[ChaseScene pursued through the entire Cheyenne Mountain complex]] by large numbers of armed and irate Airmen.

* In ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', all the four struggle with their magic when they first get it, especially Paul, and they undergo a continual learning process throughout the book.

* ''Fanfic/KyoshiRising''; the title character is an [[DishingOutDirt Earthbender]], but at the beginning of the story she is only a child and has no formal training whatsoever. She tries to teach herself Earthbending based off what others have told her (mainly stomping around and flailing her arms ala ''Film/TheLastAirbender''), but can never move more than a few small rocks at a time (unless she gets angry). Once she gets some formal training, she progresses quickly.

* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'':
** Several of the {{Kaiju}} transformed into native Equestrians run into this problem. Rodan needed a little practice to walk in his new Griffon body. Mothra can shapeshift as a Changeling, but it is difficult for her to hide her wings and horn. Mothra was also taught how to teleport by Twilight Sparkle, but it is a bit shakey the first few times she uses it. Xenilla needed to study a textbook to learn how to perform Unicorn magic. Raiga became a Siren, and needed to be told Sirens can levitate and she needed a bit of trial and error to pull it off.
** An example of a power copier with this problem. Congratulations Aria Blaze, you've copied some of [[spoiler:Kaizer Ghidorah's]] powers. Enjoy the SuperStrength, GravityMaster, HealingFactor, and SuperToughness that you have no clue how to use while an EldritchAbomination is hunting you for them! [[spoiler:She ends up striking an EnemyMine deal with Monster X to teach her how to use them.]]
** Monster X mentions he needs to train to use his powers in his human body.
** Godzilla Junior has it the worst. He's a Unicorn like Xenilla, but he has ''no idea'' how to use Unicorn magic. Even worse, he has no real interest in learning how to do it unlike his more scholarly brother.
** Gloriosa Daisy gains her canon GreenThumb powers, but she is still getting the hang of it and sometimes involuntarily summons animated vines.

* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Izuku struggles to control all of his new spider powers when they start developing one after the other on his first day back at school. He makes a fool of himself when his WallCrawling powers stick a kendo club flyer to his hand, waving it around while trying to shake it off. In class, he [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength accidentally destroys his desk]] with his new SuperStrength while dodging one of Bakugou's explosions. He slams almost face-first into a wall after [[InASingleBound he jumps twenty feet in the air]] to avoid an oncoming truck. After ''that'' his [[ShockAndAwe Venom Strike]] power electrocutes Peter when he mistakes him for a mugger.

* ''Fanfic/BuckyBarnesGetsHisGrooveBackAndOtherInternationalIncidents'': There's a learning curve to piloting an alien spaceship [[spoiler:that only interfaces with Barnes's metal arm]]. In order to actually move the spaceship, Barnes has to think about the end result he wants, not about just moving it or deploying weapons or whatever, which according to him is way harder than it sounds. Barnes learns about all of the ship's capabilities by accident, and through trial and error... sometimes explosively. And so what if it causes an international incident or two? It's fine...
* ''Fanfic/LightDarknessAndParadox'': After the first time she uses her silver eyes, Ruby is unable to do so again despite her efforts and despite receiving lessons in magic.

** Making things ''even worse'', Ichigo had[[spoiler:a PowerLimiter or three he didn't know about, most of which were operating sporadically. So trial and error wasn't a reliable method of figuring out what he could do or how, either.]]

* The Objects from ''Series/TheLostRoom'' have shades of this, when someone even knows what they do or how to activate them. This is doubly true for the abilities of Object combinations, which don't always have anything to do with combining the abilities of the individual Objects.

** ''ComicBook/GreenLanterns'': Jessica Cruz has never been properly trained in her new powers before being forced to protect the Earth alongside Simon and it shows. Not only does she struggle to make constructs in the early chapters, she actually notes at one point in her Internal Monologue that she had asked her Ring to tell her everything about itself, where she learned little tidbits like the "morphology" type and serial number of her Ring and how many other people had it before her. But not how to make constructs, which she apparently needs to learn for herself. Funnily enough, averted with Simon, who is the one who keeps gaining NewPowersAsThePlot Demands and getting confused by them. The reason being Jessica is the cautious planning type who tries to learn as much as possible before she acts, while Simon just hasn't thought to ask the Ring these things because he's more impulsive.

** In ''JLA: Year One'', everyone's powers (and their related body parts) are stolen by a villain. He seems to instantly know how to work each individual power, but the villain primarily relies on Green Lantern's ring, the flashiest and most "powerful" of the abilities. By overlooking the benefits of each different power [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman Aquaman is able to overpower and kick his ass.]]

** ''ComicBook/GreenLanterns'': Jessica Cruz has never been properly trained in her new powers before being forced to protect the Earth alongside Simon and it shows. Not only does she struggle to make constructs in the early chapters, she actually notes at one point in her Internal Monologue that she had asked her Ring to tell her everything about itself, where she learned little tidbits like the "morphology" type and serial number of her Ring and how many other people had it before her. But not how to make constructs, which she apparently needs to learn for herself. Funnily enough, averted with Simon, who is the one who keeps gaining New Powers as the Plot Demands and getting confused by them. The reason being Jessica is the cautious planning type who tries to learn as much as possible before she acts, while Simon just hasn't thought to ask the Ring these things because he's more impulsive.

** An old ''X-Men'' villain was Mimic, a mutant who can copy up to 5 different mutants' powers. These powers become permanent if he can be around them for at least an hour. He was usually defeated due to three reasons; his copied powers were only 1/2 as strong as the original, he had no experience in using them, and he was kinda dumb. Eventually he got smarter (and did a HeelFaceTurn), and now has the original 5 X-Men's powers permanently (though only at the level of their teenage years; this is still formidable because he can use all 5 simultaneously, but it would've been downright game-breaking if he had the power-ups they've all gotten). He can also mimic an additional power on top of those 5, but trying more than that would be dangerous to him.

* The ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' "Super/Bat" arc has a case where Silver Banshee "grant the wishes" of Batman and Superman (Superman to have a normal life, Batman to bring complete fear and order to Gotham's criminal underworld) by giving Superman's powers to Batman. It took Batman a lot of practice to use them right, and he realizes he needs sunlight to use them the best. Superman realizes that the side effect of Banshee's wish was ''both men did not have the means to properly use [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor what they wished for.]]''

** Averted with Iron Man's first match with Firepower in #230, as Jack Taggert's been training extensively on a simulator, and the real suit's capabilities [[CurbStompBattle totally overwhelm Iron Man]].

** In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'', Mina Mongoose first using Super Speed usually lead to her slamming into things, ultimately leading to her confronting Sonic and begging him to help practice it. She also used it to get closer to him, as she had a crush on him.

** Eventually, [[spoiler:he manages to learn how to use them. Well, most of them. In theory he knows how to use the Coordinate ability, but because he's not from the royal family, he doesn't have the ability to fully awaken its powers... yet.]]