History Main / InstantExpert

-->-- '''Sniper''', ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''

* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' has ArrogantKungFuGuy Ryan Tabbott, who is very proud of his ability to learn any skill just by watching someone else do it. His fighting style comes from having watched martial arts movies, and he ''is'' a strong fighter. Nevertheless, he gets taken down a peg when the HighlyVisibleNinja member of the Peewee's TerribleTrio uses a [[StreetFighter Hadoken-like]] energy attack and Ryan soon finds out that while he can mimic the physical action perfectly, [[HowDoIShotWeb he doesn't know how to focus his chi properly.]]

** A more literal and weaponized example comes from the prequel ''LightNovel/FateZero''. The servant Berserker, the Black Knight, whose ability, Knight of Owner, can turn ''anything even remotely usable as a weapon'' into a [[WeaponOfChoice Noble Phantasm]] and use them to their fullest extent, even better than Shirou and his Projection magic. [[spoiler: This ability brings to mind one of the tales with the figure he's based on (Sir Lancelot) winning a duel armed with only a twig of wood.]] Combined with his "Eternal Arms Mastery" (which allows him to keep all of his prodigious fighting skills even when under the effects of [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Mad Enhancement]]) he turns out to be a nearly unstoppable combatant who only loses due to a sudden loss of mana supply -- ''and all this despite being insane the whole time''. Among other things, Berserker is shown picking up and kicking ass with a street lamp, the mythical weapons of other legendary heroes, [[CoolPlane an F-15 fighter jet]], and ''[[MoreDakka the gun from that same jet.]]''

* Daniel-san, of ''Film/TheKarateKid'' fame, manages to go from dweeb to a Force To Be Reckoned With in the space of a few weeks, with some yard work thrown in. It's to the point of being able to defeat [[OpposingSportsTeam Cobra Kai dojo]] and [[TheRival Johnny]] who had far longer training. Although Daniel does learn exceptionally quickly, this is treated more that Mr. Miyagi was teaching him a superior discipline than what the Cobra guys were taught. This is reflected in the way the fight scenes were choreographed; others moved faster and more aggressively, but Daniel behaved more efficiently.

* In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' series, it doesn't matter if you're an elite STARS agent, a university student, or a subway station employee, you ''will'' know how to expertly and safely use the handgun, assault rifle, flamethrower, or experimental prototype mine launcher the second you pick it up. The remake of the original subverts it a bit with Jill not being as skilled with firearms as Chris: When she picks up a new weapon she's not ''quite'' the expert with it that Chris would be, with slightly worse aim or slower firing and reload time.

* Prometheus, a supervillain of the Franchise/DCUniverse, has a helmet with some fancy technology where he can just pop in a disc with whatever skill or knowledge he needs. This can range from the blueprints for a space station to the skills of the top thirty martial artists in the world--with which he handily defeated Batman (until the rematch, when Batman uploaded [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments the combat skills of Stephen Hawking]]). [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers Captain America]] was [[CurbstompBattle not impressed.]]

* Franchise/{{Batman}} does this, occasionally in-frame, but constantly by implication. Advanced use of computers, forensic chemistry, multiple martial arts disciplines, stunt driving, acrobatics, marksmanship with a variety of ranged weapons (firearm, thrown and otherwise)... all these are barely scratching the surface of the immense collection of formal training and acquired skills Mr Wayne apparently acquired by the time he was 30. Consider that he didn't even start seriously training for anything except CEO-hood until after his parents were killed when he was 8 and that some of the skills he's obtained would normally take even an exceptionally talented real-world student more than 20 years of dedicated training to learn, ''individually'', to Batman's degree of proficiency. And don't forget that, the entire time he was doing all this learning, his training had to compete for his time with nocturnal crime-fighting, running a major corporation, cooking the books so that anyone receiving a Wayne Enterprises stock report wouldn't immediately know his secret identity, designing tons of cool, but distinctively branded, toys, jumping through hoops to purchase such toys in ways that wouldn't immediately give away the identity of the purchaser of the world's entire supply of Batarangs, and all of this while maintaining enough of a carefree social life to maintain his cover identity.

** ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'': Katy Chen is a completely ordinary civilian who gets caught up in a world-saving situation. However, she masters archery very quickly and is good enough to contribute to to final battle.

** [[spoiler: Tserriednich Hui Guo Rou takes this UpToEleven. If Gon and Killua are 1 in 10,000,000, he has a more astonishing talent than them as he mastered the Nen basics in '''just one week''' even when his teacher sabotages his learning. And as a Nen Specialist, he immediately develops CombatClairvoyance that allows him to change the future and develop a Nen Beast that's pretty much a SuperpowerLottery. This isn't a good thing since he's one of the vilest characters in the manga that even his own teacher dreads what will happen if he actually masters Nen.]]

** Goku and most of the other protagonists to a lesser extent. Muten-Roshi took almost a century to master the {{Kamehameha|doken}} wave; Goku picks it up by seeing Roshi do it once. Similarly Goku picks up Tenshinhan's Solar Flare technique simply because Tenshinhan used it twice on him. However, it's averted with learning how to fly, which requires a timeskip.

** In the original anime, most duelists get the hang of Kaiba's new rules for Battle City (which better resemble the ones of the OCG) rather quickly. The only one who has some difficulty is Jonouchi (who's always depicted as slow) who makes a mistake in the duel with Espa Roba, but he catches on quickly after that.
** Subverted in ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', where Aki has a ''lot'' of trouble learning Turbo Dueling, and even makes a mistake trying to use a Speed Spell in her test exam, but manages to adapt.

** The main character Ryoma Echizen is shown to be easily copying and mastering techniques such as the snake, Rising Shot, Zero-Shiki Drop Shot, etc., while constantly employing new techniques such as the single-footed split step. However, it's explained that this is because he was trained at a very young age by his father, not because of any natural talent.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', [[TheHero the Warrior of Light]] can pick up practically any craft ridiculously quickly. The Machinist questline begins with the Warrior outshooting their own marksmanship teacher after having a gun placed in their hands a scant few hours ago. It takes them just ''two'' practice sessions to be mistaken for a piano virtuoso. They can also flawlessly imitate dances they've seen just once, performing the Sunlift Dance as well as the Gundu's most hardened warriors and dancing in the Moonlift Dance in perfect sync with Linu Vali after watching her for a few moments.

* In ''Anime/InazumaEleven'', characters will often be able to pull off certain moves without much, or any, practise, and a lot of characters who have seemingly never played soccer before end up having a natural talent for it and become instantly great at it. The most obvious and glaring example is Tachimukai, who after just seeing Endou pull of God Hand once, was able to perfectly replicate the move. He's able to do the same for Majin The Hand, although it takes him a little while to actually master that one. In fact, this combined with the fact he was copying Endou's moves was so glaring a problem with Tachimukai's character that the third season actually ''addressed the fan hate'' for the character by having Tachimukai get depressed over being the very thing many fans accused him off being a copycat.

** There’s also a set of advantages that provide a pool of character points that can be reassigned as required to different skills and other character features. One notable use for these is in the ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace'' setting, where artificial intelligences (who can be playable characters) can be designed with interfaces allowing them to be given access to useful skills in the form of software. However, in this case, the benefits are somewhat downplayed, in that plug-in skill use is penalised in high-stress situations such as combat, because the plug-in skill isn’t bedded in like a “real” skill.

** Mind Mages are the ''kings'' of this trope (especially the ''powerful'' Mind mages, apprentices still exhibit this trope but to a lesser extent). They can, at any time, instantaneously learn any human skill, talent or knowledge. A Mind mage can become the master of kung fu, a virtuoso, a genius computer hacker or compete with a Nobel prize winner in his own field within seconds. Coupled with their ability to instantaneously alter their innate intellectual and social capabilities (becoming more intelligent, more charismatic, etc.) and there's virtually no non-athletic human achievement they can't duplicate(and even if they can't be the absolute and utter pinnacle of physical achievement, often they can still be scarily good). If they combine that with Life magic - which allows for the raising of physical attributes - then there's virtually no mundane feat that they can't duplicate.

** It can even be argued that this is the core theme of Mage in general. The name of their casting stat is gnosis, which is an old word for divinely granted knowledge (as opposed to learned or a priori knowledge), aka the medieval word for this trope. Their magic isn't power so much as instant understanding of how things really work and where to nudge for maximum effect.
*** First-level abilities generally reflect this: Matter - instantly understand how to operate a machine, Mind - instantly know how to interpret expressions, Fate - instantly understand how things fit together, Death - instantly understand how things decay and wear down. Etc.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', training in favoured or caste abilities takes no time. Spend the XP, and presto - instant competence.

** Vergil can do it too, so it's [[HandWave hand waved]] as just being something that Sparda's family is capable of doing. Nero, on the other hand, never gains different weapons from those he starts with; he simply gains new techniques.

* Memorably averted in ''Manga/SlamDunk''. Hanamichi Sakuragi is TheFool and ''does'' have enormous potential, but not only does he have no idea of how to use it, his sempai and teammates treat him like the rookie he is and he's stuck for a ''long'' time learning the basics.
* Kurapika from ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' learns the basics of [[FunctionalMagic Nen]] in a few months, and is then able to go toe to toe with, and eventually kill [[MightyGlacier Ubogin]] and later kidnaps Chrollo. Both are members are the [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad Genei Ryodan]], and very accomplished fighters and [[FunctionalMagic Nen]] users. Kurapika's designed some of his powers to work strictly on Genei Ryodan and no one else, on pain of his own death. If he'd been fighting anyone else of similar experience, he would have gotten his tail kicked. Even with fighting Genei Ryodan, [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique it still takes a toll on his body]].

** Opal can copy Korra's moves with airbending on her first try, and is even able to successfully stop a fight between her mother and aunt after only a few days of training.

** Because LamarckWasRight, Goku's bother and DBZ StarterVillain Raditz was retroactively given this ability in ''VideoGame/DragonballHeroes''. Strangely enough, despite acquiring the Super Saiyan form through PopularityPower their father Bardock has not exhibited this ability to date.

** Sokka learns to use the sword in a matter of days. Not even TrainingFromHell would be able to give normal people any passable sword skills in that manner of time -- and Sokka seems to spend just as much time doing calligraphy and feng shui as actual sword practice during said days. It should be noted that Sokka didn't become a master swordsman and had experience with other weapons and used some weapons similar to a sword, becoming a good fighter even before he had an actual teacher.

* [[AloofOlderBrother Sesshomaru]], from ''Manga/InuYasha'', [[HandicappedBadass being Sesshomaru]], is stated in his official character profile to be able to use any weapon to its full potential as shown in the manga by his ability to understand weapon attacks even when he's not touching the weapon itself. He even uses [[BattleBoomerang Hiraikotsu]] perfectly on one occasion. The only sword he struggles to master is [[HealingShiv Tenseiga]] because mastering it requires compassion rather than sword skill. This is especially noticable when Tenseiga gains the Meidou Zangetsuha technique. He masters the control and activation of the attack instantly but struggles to increase the attack's strength and potential because doing so requires compassion not skill. [[spoiler:Then soon after regaining his original arm he also gains a new original sword [[InfinityPlusOneSword Bakusaiga]], a weapon that does the [[ChainReactionDestruction polar opposite]] of Tenseiga.]]

** Boss. After only 10 minutes with a [[spoiler:Six Powers cheat sheet]], he can replicate it to its full effect.

* ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}, in the MarvelUniverse, can instantly learn how to do any physical skill or martial arts maneuver his body is physiologically capable of surviving simply by watching anyone else do it once, either live or via recorded media. {{Handwave}}d away by explicitly giving him the superpower of "photographic reflexes," or the ability to instantly learn by watching. His most recent mini-series also gave him the more conventional form of photographic memory in addition to his superpower, further enhancing his rapid learning abilities. He also has AwesomenessByAnalysis in that he understands what he learns so thoroughly that he can ''teach other people how to do it''. The whole thing worked against him, however, when he tried to use it on ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, who is just [[ConfusionFu too unpredictable]]. He even started dancing partway through the fight with Taskmaster, just because.
* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' has ArrogantKungFuGuy Ryan Tabbott, who is very proud of his ability to learn any skill just by watching someone else do it. His fighting style comes from having watched martial arts movies, and he ''is'' a strong fighter. Nevertheless, he gets taken down a peg when the HighlyVisibleNinja member of the Peewee's TerribleTrio uses a [[StreetFighter Hadoken-like]] energy attack and Ryan soon finds out that while he can mimic the physical action perfectly, [[HowDoIShotWeb he doesn't know how to focus his chi properly.]]

* High-end {{Telepath}}s in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' universe can do this by psychically downloading the knowledge and skills of others into their own minds or even the minds of others. ComicBook/ProfessorX and ComicBook/EmmaFrost have both made liberal use of this ability in their roles as teachers (Charles even used it as a MundaneUtility when he was still in school to become a star student), while ComicBook/{{Cable}}, ComicBook/XMan, and Exodus of [[Characters/XMenAcolytes Magneto's Acolytes]] have exhibited what more combat-oriented applications can do.
* Adept from ''ComicBook/StrikeforceMorituri'' had this as a super-power -- she could analyze and understand something just by touching it, though the speed of mastery varied according to the complexity of the subject. She learned to fly a spaceship in a minute, while alien machines from other worlds could require weeks of study.

* One character in the French comic ''Les exploits de Poison Ivy'' ([[ComicBook/PoisonIvy no relation]]) has the superpower to instantaneously absorb the knowledge of any book she reads or simply flip through, thus becoming able to fly a plane or operating on someone after flipping through a flight manual or a book of medicine. The drawback is that she can't turn this ability off, which causes the poor girl to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy embrace Nazi ideals]] when she happens to glance at ''Literature/MeinKampf''.
* In ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'', the Count of Champignac has invented a serum that grants super intelligence. His first test allows him to invent a submarine and scuba gear apparatus both years ahead of their time despite not know beforehand on the subject (he only needed to flip through a few books about it).

** This works two ways for San and Vivienne Graham via their TwinTelepathy. San picks up the English vocabulary directly from Vivienne's brain, and Word of God states Vivienne in turn can use her innate [[SpeaksFluentAnimal Bone Singer]] ability fluidly despite her lack of experience with it due to mentally "piggybacking" on San's natural understanding of Titans' communication.

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** Sylar's main power is the ability to "understand how things work," which goes towards explaining how he's able to rapidly master all his stolen abilities. And even he has to take a few days to iron out the kinks in particularly cumbersome abilities, such as superhearing (high pitched noises become a WeaksauceWeakness) or shapeshifting (involuntary shapeshifting due to major psychological issues).
** Charlie (and Sylar [[PowerCopying through power theft]]) can not only remember everything she read but could also properly apply it as well.
** In Season 2 there's also Monica who can instantly learn how to do any physical skill or martial arts maneuver she's physically capable of simply by watching anyone else do it once, either live or via recorded media.
** Initially subverted with power sponge Peter Petrelli, who has to be near someone to use their power and has no control over the power, as shown when he meets Claude and automatically becomes invisible. After some training, he can control them, but when he gets too many he has trouble suppressing all of them and goes off like a nuke. After that, though, he never has any issues again and can immediately use any power he gains.
** Ted Sprauge has no control over his nuclear-based powers for most of the first season and constantly emits radiation (which kills his wife via cancer) or explodes when under stress. While Sylar is instantly able to control his power near perfectly, Peter is not so skilled and nearly blows up New York
* The 1980s show ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'' is a funny aversion to this trope. The main character receives a super-powered suit as a gift from aliens -then immediately loses the manual, so he must resort to trial and error to learn what powers he has and how to use them.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Lana Lang learned kung fu in three days. She also learned how to successfully run her own coffee shop instantly and while still in high school. The big issue with her was that she kept knowing how to do things someone in her situation ''would not know'' to keep her plot-relevant. The coffee shop was to explain why she kept getting involved in things-the whole school hung out there, Clark included. The kung-fu and so-called "military training" were because the writers had finally listened to all the DistressedDamsel complaints about her character. The second she needed to know something, it was known so they could say she was still relevant.
** In "Leech," Jonathan points out to Clark (who has recently been BroughtDownToNormal) that it took him 12 years to learn how to use his powers properly. In the same episode, the guy who gained Clark's powers masters them in the space of about a day.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
** Subverted when Malcolm has to learn to duel with swords overnight. In the actual duel, he seems to be doing well at first, but his opponent is only playing with him. He does win the duel, but with [[CombatPragmatist combat pragmatism]] rather than fencing skill.
** River is implied to be one of these. Aside from being a gifted savant, she also possesses literal mind-reading powers, enabling her to pull complex knowledge from other people's minds, and it is implied that she had this ability even before she [[PlayingWithSyringes ended up in the Academy.]]

* The whole shtick of ''Series/ThePretender'': with a little learning time, Pretenders such as Jarod could master any role from janitor to astronaut.

* The title character of ''Series/JohnDoe'' is a perfect example of this - he can look up any piece of information at any time, making him an expert in every field. This is consistently shown as he flies a helicopter with no training, is a capable doctor, makes significant profits in the stock market, and pulls off Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}-esque stunts. One episode has him lose his "walking encyclopedia" ability. With it, he loses all the skills he picked up from that, including such things as DrivingStick. He ends up losing most of his fortune due to a bad investment since his broker is so used to doing everything John tells him instead of making the calls himself. Presumably, he makes it back the moment his ability returns.
* ''Series/{{House}}'':
** Not content at being the World's Greatest Diagnostic Physician, an accomplished musician and speaker of several languages, House recently was advised to get a hobby to help manage his pain without Vicodin. He accompanies [[TheWatson Wilson]] to his cooking class, and by the end of the episode is told he has created "the best thing I have ever eaten."
** After House fires him from the diagnostic team, Chase goes on to work in the OR. Not only does he quickly become a surgeon within a couple of months, but he's also suddenly Plainfield's '''best''' surgeon, and House's go-to both off the team and after rejoining it. Another fellow, Taub, was hired in part because he was a trained (cosmetic) surgeon, so this displacement causes him some angst, which [[DoctorJerk House]] loses no opportunity to play on.
* Between seasons nine and ten of ''Series/{{CSI}}'', Ray Langston went to CSI school in a big way, and instantly caught up to (and possibly surpassed) the regular crew on suspiciously specific scientific knowledge.
* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': Resident ding-bat Charlie apparently learns to play the keyboard with almost no practice, saying, "Keyboards just make sense to me."
* As the carrier of the latest version of the [[OmniscientDatabase Intersect]], ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' can do about anything that a World Class Spy can do, and then some.
* It's never drawn attention to but Dharma from ''Series/DharmaAndGreg'' is repeatedly shown to master complex skills in a matter of hours. All of them are forgotten by the end of the episode.
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries:'' Subverted. RecurringCharacter Roger Newsome ''seems'' to experience instant success at his various hobby clubs, but this is due to trickery like taking credit for a puzzle someone else filled out and planting a stuffed bird for him to "discover" in front of other bird-watchers.

* Played for laughs (and to give Music/BillBailey a chance to [[TheCastShowOff show off]]) in an episode of ''Series/BlackBooks''. Manny sits down at a piano, idly taps a couple of notes, then instantly joins in with the music playing on the radio, much to his own surprise.
* Mycroft pretends he learned Serbian in two hours in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}''. In fact, what he does is use his previous knowledge of some Slavic languages and figure out the key differences. Enough to be able to say a few phrases.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** When Rory is [[spoiler:quasi-resurrected through a Nestene duplicate]] as a Roman soldier in the first century, he mentions that he just woke up one day in Rome, his head full of "Roman stuff." He spends the episode fitting in with the Romans without any difficulty at all and displays the same weapons training that they do.
** Clara gains super hacking powers instantly courtesy of BrainUploading shenanigans in "The Bells of Saint John".

* One of the side effects of eating brains in ''Series/{{iZombie}}'' is the zombie temporarily gaining the deceased individual's skills. In the pilot, Liv learns to speak fluent Romanian. In the second episode, she becomes an artist. In later episodes, she becomes a martial artist, a master hacker/MMORPG player, and a sniper.
* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
** Downplayed in ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. While the characters didn't attain their level of skills in an instant, they still learned them in an unusually fast rate:
*** Oliver Queen, even in the island flashbacks, was able to perform a complicated counterattack with just 10 days of training. In the third season, he was able to beat ComicBook/RasAlGhul in a sword duel despite only being trained for three weeks while Ra's is a centuries-old MasterSwordsman who even curb-stomped Oliver earlier in the series.
*** Laurel Lance becomes expert street-fighter/superhero 'The Black Canary' after a few basic self-defense training (which she doesn't engage regularly in years) and a few months of evening boxing classes. In comparison, Oliver and Sara [[spoiler: the previous Canary]] had five years of TrainingFromHell from spies, soldiers, assassins and martial arts experts before donning their masks. Even sidekicks Roy and Thea underwent at least a year of intensive training similar to Oliver and Sara's and are clearly still learning. Despite having every other character lampshade Laurel's lack of advanced training, the writers still have Laurel taking on multiple members of the world-renowned, legendary League of Assassins without trouble (though Ra's implies via EvilGloating that they're the weakest members of the league).
*** Roy Harper was able to beat {{Tykebomb}} (as in trained since early childhood) Nyssa al-Ghul despite only having about ten months of TrainingFromHell.
*** Felicity Smoak was able to perfectly fly ComicBook/TheAtom's PowerArmor despite it being twice her size and the actual user still having issues flying it (though it ''may'' be in auto-pilot mode).
** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': Ray's [[PowerArmor ATOM suit]] is extremely easy to use. While it's fitted perfectly to him, meaning anyone who is too far off his body type can't wear it properly, if they can wear it, they can figure out the rest easily. This causes problems when he lands in feudal Japan and the suit is stolen by a local warlord.
--->'''Sarah:''' How does the Shogun even know how to operate your suit?\\
'''Ray:''' I designed it so that an idiot could use it.\\
'''Mick:''' An idiot ''does''.
** ''Series/TheFlash2014'': Speedsters can read something at superspeed, allowing them to become a low-level expert on any subject in seconds. It wears off over about half an hour, though, and then they have to do another speedread. It's impractical most of the time, but it lets Barry play lab assistant to Harry on a subject that Barry has never even heard of.
* Played with in ''Series/{{Limitless}}''. Brian can a lot of things he wasn't able to do before, but almost everything he accomplishes on his first dose was based on information he had been exposed to over his life but was unable to access from deep in his memory. When he realizes he might be able to help his father, he actually needs to go through his brother's old medical textbooks before he has any idea what he might be looking for.

* In the non-canon ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' episode "Gwen 10" Gwen gains the Omnitrix instead of Ben and, while she's not a perfect Omnitrix user, she's miles better than Ben was when he first got it.

* ComicBook/{{Rogue}} of the ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' universe lacks the FlyingBrick powerset of her mainstream counterpart; so while in combat, she has to rely just on her natural PowerCopying. So she either borrows an ability from a teammate or, well, "borrows" it from a nearest hostile mutant -- and then wipes her opponents with these newly learned powers like a pro.