History Main / LamarckWasRight

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Shinigami are spirits and humans are very much alive. Nevertheless, Ichigo is a shinigami because his father is one. [[spoiler: And Isshin can also use Ichigo's signature Getsuga Tenshou technique, too. On top of that, the Thousand Year Blood War arc reveals that Ichigo possesses developing Quincy powers because his mother Masaki was a Quincy herself.]]

** Ruby inherited his Gym Leader father's Pokemon battling skills.

* ''Characters/LupinIII'': His famous grandfather, Literature/ArseneLupin, was an exceptional thief. Flashbacks show that his father, Lupin II, was awesome as well. It continues in his illegitimate son ([[Manga/LupinIII manga-Lupin]] only), who is incredibly cunning; he was able to outsmart Fujiko.

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* In ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}!'', [[MadScientist Huey Laforet]], immortal thanks to the Elixir of Life, sires [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Chane]] for the [[GuineaPigFamily purpose of testing this trope]]. Turns out that Lamarck ''Wasn't'' Right.

* In ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'' is frequently implied that ninja powers are transmitted within a family line. For example, Shogen's little brother is almost identical to him even in abilities, while at one point Danjo mentions that Gennosuke inherited his EvilEye from his mother's family line.

Other times, if the parent got their power from a FreakLabAccident involving AppliedPhlebotinum, their children will all have that same power, regardless of whether it affected their DNA. This also applies to magic and telepathic powers. With FunctionalMagic the reason it's passed down will frequently be less biological than spiritual, so the usual rules need not apply. Another real-world analogy: If your dad were a food tester who developed a high tolerance for poison through controlled exposure, you'd have his high resistance and then some. This one is often {{retcon}}ned into a MetaOrigin or SecretLegacy; for instance, maybe the accident didn't ''cause'' your dad's powers, it just unlocked the powers already in his DNA, and he passed the "unlocked" version on to you -- and note that ''this'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics is real science]].

Other times, if the parent got their power from a FreakLabAccident involving AppliedPhlebotinum, their children will all have that same power, regardless of whether it affected their DNA. This also applies to magic and telepathic powers. Of course, with [[AWizardDidIt magic]], the reason it's passed down will frequently be less biological than spiritual, so the usual rules need not apply. Another real-world analogy: If your dad were a food tester who developed a high tolerance for poison through controlled exposure, you'd have his high resistance and then some. This one is often {{retcon}}ned into a MetaOrigin or SecretLegacy; for instance, maybe the accident didn't ''cause'' your dad's powers, it just unlocked the powers already in his DNA, and he passed the "unlocked" version on to you -- and note that ''this'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetics is real science]].

** Although, after multiple reboots and retcons, Alan Scott's power base ended up magical, so a WizardDidIt.

** ''Discworld/SoulMusic'': Susan Sto Helit is [[TheGrimReaper Death's]] granddaughter, and has much of his power. The problem is, Susan's mother was Death's ''adopted'' daughter; her father was Death's apprentice. She also has a mark on her cheek that resembles the mark her father got when he was slapped by Death. Susan {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this by repeatedly pointing out genetics does not work that way. The series itself, meanwhile, has noted that [[AWizardDidIt on the Disc]], not all heredity ''is'' genetic.
*** I believe the explanation given in the story was that the reason Susan got Death's powers was because she was born into the family. Ysabelle was adopted and Mort was married into it, but Susan was "born" into the family of Death, thus giving her some of his powers. It makes sense, if you only think of half the explanation at a time.

* The Archeans, human-analogs from the ''TableTopGame/{{Talislanta}}'' game, are descended from BeastFolk who'd used magic to eliminate their more animalistic traits. Justified in that, well, [[AWizardDidIt it's magic]].

* In Creator/MikeResnick's ''Widowmaker'' series, the main character is the most lethal fighter in the galaxy but contracted a disease with no cure. He had himself frozen until a cure can be found but due to maintenance expenses, the doctors unfreeze him to make bounty hunter clones. The clones have his memories and skills but have subtle (sometimes) differences.

* Solid Snake of the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series inherited, among other things, near-inhuman combat abilities and love of [[CompanionCube cardboard boxes]] from his "father" Big Boss (Though not really he had the least perfect genes of all his brothers and yet beat them due to his own combat experience, the genes only allowed him to be physically capable of being a good soldier it was still up to him whether he was and how good of one he was after all one of the main themes of metal gear is nature vs nurture and since he beat his genetically superior brothers its pretty obvious which side of the debate the game takes.). ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' even featured "Genome Soldiers" that were augmented by "gene therapy" with Big Boss's "soldier genes" in an effort to create elite soldiers without military training. [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy It didn't work]].

* Solid Snake of the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series inherited, among other things, near-inhuman combat abilities and love of [[CompanionCube cardboard boxes]] from his "father" Big Boss. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' even featured "Genome Soldiers" that were augmented by "gene therapy" with Big Boss's "soldier genes" in an effort to create elite soldiers without military training. [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy It didn't work]].

** In the games (in general), it's normally said that only certain bloodlines can use certain weapons. Examples include: the Falchion ([=FE1/FE3/=]Shadow Dragon); Aum Staff (FE1/FE3/Shadow Dragon) and all of the holy weapons (Genealogy of the Holy War).

* The Archeans, human-analogs from the ''TableTopGame/{{Talislanta}}'' game, are descended from BeastFolk who'd used magic to eliminate their more animalistic traits. Justified in that, well, it's magic.

There is a real world phenomenon known as the epigenome, that describes how the DNA expression if not actual DNA can be affected by environmental factors in the lives of ancestors. For instance, famines at certain stages in the lives of grandparents can adjust the rates of diabetes in the grandchildren. [[WebVideo/VlogBrothers Hank Green]] briefly explains the relatively new field of epigenetics in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp1bZEUgqVI this YouTube video.]] Another often overlooked possibility is gut bacteria, which are known to change in response to environmental factors and are [[{{Squick}} passed from a mother to their baby at birth]]. But while this can affect stuff like heritability of IQ or the ability to metabolize milk proteins, it is unlikely to confer say, complex things such as your father's encyclopaedic knowledge in engineering or your mother's macaroni cooking skills. It might tend towards [[RequiredSecondaryPowers a better production of muscle/brain tissue or something like that]], but skill itself is not biologically heritable.

* It's never outright stated, but ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' implies that Goten and Trunks can reach Super Saiyan at a young age because their fathers had achieved the level before the boys' birth; compare to Gohan, born before Goku ever became a Super Saiyan, and had to earn it the same way his father and Vegeta did. This was apparently a major source of fan contention, since some viewers took a cue from Vegeta and complained it took away from the mythos of how becoming Super Saiyan was supposed to be incredibly difficult.

* Certain skills in which physical traits convey a direct advantage really ''can'' benefit from that hereditary edge, even if the learned aspects of such skills are non-heritable. For example, inheriting a keener-than-average sense of taste and smell gives a practical advantage to a would-be chef.

* Endosymbiosis is the current prevailing theory on the origin of certain organelles--mainly the mitochondria and chloroplasts--in the cells of eukaryotic (multicellular) life. The theory is that the organelles were originally entirely separate single celled organisms that were eaten by the eukaryotic cell but not digested properly. When the larger cell divided, so would the organelles, and so they were passed onto descendants without any genetic change.
** Further, the organelles provide an energy source which was not previously available, so it [[RuleOfFunny could be argued]] that they cells were given superpowers by something that they ate, which was then passed on to their descendants.

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'', Joseph was born already knowing the Ripple technique that his grandfather had mastered.

If the comic or show is rife with MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours, then the superkid will luck out and be ''at least'' as powerful as the strongest parent at the time of conception, and often [[GooGooGodlike radically more powerful]]. This can get interesting if a family has more than one kid, as each succeeding one gets stronger. This usually also applies to fighting skills; they'll be a prodigy black belt before they can walk. If the parent got their powers from a magical or technological artifact, they'll have ''"internalized"'' and passed on that item's power. To use a real world analogy: if your mom were an IT expert that always carried around a laptop, you'd have a Bluetooth connection in your head and know how to code a Linux kernel from scratch.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Shinigami are spirits and humans are very much alive. Nevertheless, Ichigo is a shinigami because his father is one. [[spoiler: And Isshin can also use Ichigo's signature Getsuga Tenshou technique, too. On top of that, Ichigo possesses quincy powers because his mother was a quincy.]]
** Oh, and Ichigo's developing [[spoiler:Quincy]] powers in the Vandenreich arc? [[spoiler:He apparently gets it from Masaki's side of the family.]]

* It's never outright stated, but ''Manga/DragonBallZ'' implies that Goten and Trunks can reach Super Saiyan at a young age because their fathers had achieved the level before the boys' birth; compare to Gohan, born before Goku ever became a Super Saiyan, and had to earn it the same way his father and Vegeta did. This was apparently a major source of fan contention, since some viewers took a cue from Vegeta and complained it took away from the mythos of how becoming Super Saiyan was supposed to be incredibly difficult.

** It's since been suggested Scorpion's father might be [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] as an explanation for her green hair. Since this would have been before Banner became the Hulk, this just raises further questions.