History Main / ObliviouslySuperpowered

* ''Series/IDreamOfJeannie'': In "My Turned-On Master", Jeannie agrees to transfer [[RealityWarper her powers]] for 24 hours so that they have no problems of her being tempted to use them at the embassy dinner that night. However, she doesn't tell Tony that she transferred them to him. Thus, Tony spends the episode unknowingly granting wishes by expressing casual desires and observations i.e. accidentally supercharging a gardener's motorised lawnmower by remarking "it sounds more powerful than my car," causing it to shoot off out of control taking him along for the ride. When Tony finally starts to notice, he assumes its Jeannie messing with him until she flat out tells him, by which point he's already accidentally given them to Dr. Bellows (who does quickly notice, but Tony is able to convince him it's all a hallucination from working too hard and manipulates him into giving them back whilst he's none the wiser).

* ''ComicBook/WonderGirlInfiniteFrontier'' Yara Flor is completely oblivious to her wonderful powers. This is best seen when she is dragged under a river by Iara for so long Yara ''falls asleep''. Yara sees nothing strange about not drowning, about instantly recovering after being dried off with no further medical attention, after sleeping underwater!

* ''ComicBook/WonderGirlInfiniteFrontier'' main character Yara Flor is completely oblivious to her wonderful powers. This is best seen when she is dragged under a river by Iara for so long all observers assume Yara is dead and sees nothing strange about not needing any medical attention when she finally emerges.

* ''Manga/EdensZero'': Early in the series, Rebecca is the TeamNormal, but gradually develops her own [[MagicByAnyOtherName Ether Gear]] which grants her brief bursts of SuperSpeed. Then comes the Belial Goer arc, when things go so badly that TheBadGuyWins and her friend [[TheHero Shiki]] is executed in front of her. A week later, [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening the trauma causes her to access her true power]], and she suddenly [[MentalTimeTravel wakes up in a time before everything went wrong]]. Later, Master Noah informs her that she had ''always'' had [[TimeMaster this power]], and had been unconsciously using it every time her life was threatened to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong without any memories of having done so.

Also, it's not uncommon for these individuals to be lumbered with PowerIncontinence, leaving them surrounded by inexplicable wonders and calamities but unable to explain any of it.

** "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho049Master Master]]" features the Doctor's long-time ArchEnemy being stripped of his memories and deposited in a backwater human colony so he can have a second chance at a peaceful life. Now known as "John Smith", [[NightmareOfNormality he believes himself to be an ordinary human being]] and is able to make a life for himself without knowing that he's an immortal psychic alien. Unfortunately, John's telepathy is still active and under the control of the Master's dormant personality, so people around him begin to demonstrate odd behaviour, the result of his telepathy encouraging them to [[TheCorrupter act on their darker impulses]]. Of course, John doesn't realize this, and initially attributes the plague of weird outbursts to the "curse" surrounding his house -- up until the Doctor finally reveals the truth.

* ''Film/{{Jumper}}'': As in the original book, David isn't aware of his ability until he instinctively uses it to escape a traumatic situation. Unlike the book, the film's traumatic situation is David falling into a frozen lake.

* ''Franchise/StarWars:'' Force Sensitives are often detected and conscripted by the Jedi in infancy, but it's not unheard of for Sensitives to occasionally slip through the cracks, especially in regions beyond Republic control or in eras where the Jedi are rare. As such, such Sensitives may unconsciously tap into the Force and never realize it -- as was the case with [[Film/ThePhantomMenace young Anakin Skywalker]], who didn't realize that his reflexes as a podracer were due to his connection to the Force until he met Qui-Gon Jinn. Both of Anakin's children had similar experiences. Both developed ImprobableAimingSkills, while Luke had similar piloting skills to his father and had no idea it was unusual until Obi-Wan explained it to him, and Leia is implied to have had full-blown [[DreamingOfTimesGoneBy visions of the past]] that she misinterpreted as memories until Luke revealed their relationship.
* ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'': David Dunn has preternatural levels of strength, resilience, and health, but because he's never had a reason to seriously push himself, these abilities have gone unnoticed for most of his life: it's not until finds himself as the sole survivor of a devastating train crash that he realizes that there might be something unusual about him -- but even then, it takes a note from Elijah Price to make him realize that he's never been sick. [[spoiler:It later turns out that he ''was'' aware of his powers, having used his strength to rescue his future wife from a car crash, but willingly forgot about them so he wouldn't have to continue his football career, even feigning a CareerEndingInjury to that end.]]

* ''Literature/{{Monster}}'': Judy is a [[WeirdnessMagnet magnet for supernatural creatures]] and unwittingly capable of influencing them with her emotions. However, the fact that she's a [[{{Muggle}} Light Cog]] means that [[ExtraStrengthMasquerade she can't remember anything supernatural]], so she has no explanation for any of the accidents caused by her powers -- leaving her in constant trouble with her parents, teachers, employers, landlords, ''and'' the police. Of course, it's a very subtle power, so even when Monster gives her a memory rune that allows her to remember the supernatural, she still doesn't notice the power up until Monster points out that paranormal creatures have shown up at every location they've visited in the last few days. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that this particular power is due to Judy's nature as the universe's chosen weapon against [[BigBad Lotus]].]]

** Indeed many of the Exile's party fall here. Brianna the Handmaiden [[IThoughtEveryoneCouldDoThat has heard her Mistress's holocrons talking]] (something that is a sign of ''strong'' Force Sensitivity in lore). Bao-Dur's MachineEmpathy turns out to be the way his Force gift manifests. And Atton knows he's a Sensitive by the time he meets Exile [[spoiler:the ''way'' he found out was because he was very good at masking himself in the Force with strong emotions and a talented Jedi killer/torturer. His last victim warned him that his superiors were on the cusp of discovering it. Atton manually strangled her to death and ran.]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|2011}}'' Volume 4[=/=]''ComicBook/{{Teen Titans|2011}}'' Volume 5 Cassie Sandsmark assumes all of her powers come from The Silent Armor and The War Bracelets. In reality The Silent Armor is trying to drain Cassie's [[LifeEnergy life force]] and Sandsmark's innate demigoddess powers are the only thing keeping her alive.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|2011}}'' Volume 4[=/=]''ComicBook/{{Teen Titans|2011}}'' Volume 5 Cassie Sandsmark assumes all of her powers come from The Silent Armor and The War Bracelets. In reality The Silent Armor is trying to drain Cassie's [[LifeEnergy life force]] and Sandsmark's innate demigoddess powers are the only thing keeping her alive.
* ''ComicBook/WonderGirlInfiniteFrontier'' main character Yara Flor is completely oblivious to her wonderful powers. This is best seen when she is dragged under a river by Iara for so long all observers assume Yara is dead and sees nothing strange about not needing any medical attention when she finally emerges.

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': In John Byrne's classic run, there is one story where an [[TheEveryman absolutely ordinary middle-aged man]] is actually a nigh-omnipotent RealityWarper. He remains unaware of this throughout the story, never realizing that the small lucky breaks and coincidences around him are caused by his power. At one point, he even [[TimeMaster speeds up time]] so that the weekend will arrive sooner. In the climax of the story, he spends all his power to fix the Earth when it's destroyed in a battle between Ego the Living Planet and the Fantastic Four, becoming truly an ordinary man, while everyone (including himself) remains unaware that planetary destruction has been overwritten.
* As a baby, Johnny Thunder, formerly of his own comic and later a member of ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, was bonded to an incredibly powerful genie who would follow his [[ExactWords commands]] for a while after he said "Cei-U", pronounced "Say, you..." a phrase he used very, very often. He's not the brightest spark, so it took him literally in-universe ''years'' of obliviously using this power to finally cotton on to the idea that something might be up with that.
* Cypher of the ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' didn't realize that his linguistic skills were due to being a mutant until the New Mutants had to recruit him in the middle of the night so they could talk to an alien life form they'd encountered.
* In ''ComicBook/RisingStars'', Cathy Jean was conceived during the same MassSuperEmpoweringEvent as the rest of the Specials, but because of the nature of her powers (she can resurrect the recently deceased), she remained completely unaware of her powers until she was in her thirties.

* ''Franchise/BerniceSummerfield'': In "The Ship of Fools", the BigBad of the tale is a harmless little old lady [[LittleOldLadyInvestigates who is a parody of the regular "old lady investigator"]] characters of Creator/AgathaChristie. It's eventually revealed that she has a psychic ability she did not know about that sent out commands for people to commit murders, which was the main reason she had solved so many in her career.

* ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'': Exploited. While Sophie can do things like sense when someone is coming to the house or unconsciously levitate a cookie towards her, [[ObsessivelyNormal her mother]] purposely makes sure Sophie doesn't realize it's magic, either by hiding the evidence or insisting it's nothing, since she is trying to hide her daughters' magical heritage from them until they lose their powers permanently at 13. Also discussed -- Marnie later learns from her mother that she used to use accidental magic without realizing it as well.

** At the very start of the game, John Vattic is unaware of his psychic powers thanks to his amnesia when he first awakens at the Osiris Medical Facility. Even after he instinctively uses telekinesis to release himself from his restraints, he's so disoriented that he isn't aware of what he just did and doesn't believe that he did anything until the player uses the TK power to unlock his cell door.

** One of the big revelations of the flashback chapters is that John was a latent psychic all along, but as a professional debunker of psychics, he doesn't believe in his own powers. Even after he somehow detects bombs without even seeing them and notices the {{astral projection}}s of the [[PsychicChildren Zener Children]] (which are InvisibleToNormals, by the way), he doesn't acknowledge anything supernatural about himself. It takes having his latent powers awakened by one of the Children and having to rescue Colonel Starke with them to get John to [[SkepticNoLonger finally admit the reality of his own abilities]].

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': [[spoiler:In the climax, it's revealed that Ethan Winters was actually killed by Jack Baker early in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' and [[CameBackStrong brought back by the Mold]], hence why an ordinary civilian with no military training has somehow been able to defeat Mold-empowered superhumans ''and'' reattach lost limbs with just a splash of first aid fluid. Throughout both games, Ethan attributes his feats of survival entirely to the first aid fluid, never realizing the truth even in the face of increasingly unlikely victories. It's not until he survives having his heart ripped out by [[BigBad Mother Miranda]] that Ethan belatedly realizes his true nature.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Daenerys Targaryen has a unique ability to tolerate heat that ultimately extends to surviving total immolation -- but spends most of the first season unaware of it. In [[Recap/GameOfThronesS1E1WinterIsComing the first episode]], after getting felt up by her [[BigBrotherBully brother Viserys]], she climbs into a steaming hot bath without noticing the temperature, apparently too intent on ScrubbingOffTheTrauma to pay attention to the alarmed reaction of a nearby servant. In "[[Recap/GameOfThronesS1E6AGoldenCrown A Golden Crown]]," however, one of her handmaidens burns her hands on a red-hot dragon egg that Dany had previously lifted bare-handed without suffering so much as a scratch, and Dany finally realizes that there might be something genuinely extraordinary about her.

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': Jack-Jack is revealed to have a wide range of superpowers, from shapeshifting, laser eyes and teleportation. Being an infant, he is completely unaware of how to control his powers and of the consequences of his actions.
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': [[spoiler:In the climax, it's revealed that Ethan Winters was actually killed by Jack Baker early in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' and [[CameBackStrong brought back by the Mould]], hence why an ordinary civilian with no military training has somehow been able to defeat Mould-empowered superhumans ''and'' reattach lost limbs with just a splash of first aid fluid. Throughout both games, Ethan attributes his feats of survival entirely to the first aid fluid, never realizing the truth even in the face of increasingly unlikely victories. It's not until he survives having his heart ripped out by [[BigBad Mother Miranda]] that Ethan belatedly realizes his true nature.]]

* In ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'', Isaac and Miria fail to notice that they haven't aged since the 1930s. They finally take notice in 2001 and have a FreakOut. Being [[TheDitz Isaac and Miria]], they manage to come up with their own excuse for their immortality.
* ''Anime/CastletownDandelion'': Aoi Sakurada knew that as a royal, she would have a super-power -- she simply didn't know what it was until she reached middle school, where she discovered through chance that the reason people admired and adored her was due to the fact that she had a CompellingVoice and thus most people responded to a simple request as an absolute order that had to be obeyed. Needless to say, Aoi was horrified, and from then on, always made sure to phrase any requests in such a way that it was clear a person was free to refuse.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In "[[Recap/SupernaturalS15E10TheHeroesJourney The Heroes' Journey]]", Sam and Dean discover that they have obliviously benefited from PlotArmor and RequiredSecondaryPowers their entire lives and all previous 15 seasons of the show, courtesy of God himself. When this ability is removed, their ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount (through stolen credit cards) is suddenly taken away, they can get hurt or sick even from tiny scrapes or a poor diet like Dean's, their CoolCar breaks down regularly because it's 50 years old, and even [[MasterOfUnlocking casually picking a lock]] becomes next to impossible.

->'''Harry:''' I can't be a-a wizard. I mean, I'm... just... Harry... Just Harry.\\

->'''Harry:'''I can't be a-a wizard. I mean, I'm... just... Harry... Just Harry.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': The “Calamity Trio”, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy, gain brief surges of power in times of stress [[spoiler:thanks to their connection to the Calamity Box]], signaled by their eyes changing color for a split second, though none are conscious of it until the second season finale, “True Colors”, [[spoiler:when Anne’s SuperMode is triggered due to her anger and grief at seeing King Andrias drop Sprig out the window.]]

* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' episode "Urban Jungle" when Danny finds himself inexplicably cold for some reason, to the point that it hinders him in battle and that he causes nearly everything he touches to freeze. It's only when he goes to an ally ghost of his, Frostbite, that he learns he's actually manifested [[AnIcePerson a new ghost power]].

* ''Film/{{Halloweentown}}'': Exploited. While Sophie can do things like sense when someone is coming to the house or unconsciously levitate a cookie towards her, her mother purposely makes sure Sophie doesn't realize it's magic, either by hiding the evidence or insisting it's nothing, since she is trying to hide her daughters' magical heritage from them until they lose their powers permanently at 13. Also discussed -- Marnie later learns from her mother that she used to use accidental magic without realizing it as well.