History Main / PowerNullifier

** There exist an expensive item, anti-magic shackles, for restraining magic-users.

** The Ultimate Nullifier nullifies ''anyone's'' power, including heavyweights like Mephisto and Galactus. There's a rookie underground hero calling himself the Ultimate Nullifier, with pistols modeled after the famous weapon that temporarily depower anyone they hit. The Ultimate Nullifer -- the weapon, not the hero -- doesn't just nullify a being's power. It erases them from existence. The catch is that the weapon will backfire on its wielder if they do not fully comprehend the nature of their target.

*** Leech negates superhuman powers by his proximity, which makes rescuing him from mutant-hating thugs a ''very'' difficult prospect. It's not just mutants -- he's shut down Franchise/SpiderMan, the ComicBook/PowerPack, and ComicBook/TheInhumans as well at different times, though there's one instance of his presence not affecting the ComicBook/FantasticFour. These days he can restrain his powers with effort, though you'll still be temporarily depowered if you touch him.

** It later appears in "Slumbering with the Enemy". Mojo Jojo threw it at the title superheroes in said episode to reduce them to normal little girls, though this [[SnapBack obviously doesn't affect subsequent episodes, since the Girls inexplicably get their powers back for the next episode]].

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'':

** Shota Aizawa, aka Eraserhead, has a Quirk called Erasure that allows him to nullify the Quirks of other people simply by looking at them, but the effect stops working when he blinks. However, it doesn't work on Quirks which permanently alter one's physical appearance. For example: If one had a Quirk which permanently turned them into a BeastMan, it would have no effect as said Quirk is continuously active and can't be turned off, but if their Quirk instead allowed them to ''transform'' into a Beastman, then it would work by preventing them from activating the transformation (or stopping the transformation from being maintained if it's already active and requires effort or fuel to maintain). He ends up very shaky with it though, with losing an eye in the Paranormal Liberation War.

** Shota Aizawa, aka Eraserhead, has a Quirk called Erasure that allows him to nullify the Quirks of other people simply by looking at them, but the effect stops working when he blinks. However, it doesn't work on Quirks which permanently alter one's physical appearance. For example: If one had a Quirk which permanently turned them into a BeastMan, it would have no effect as said Quirk is continuously active and can't be turned off, but if their Quirk instead allowed them to ''transform'' into a Beastman, then it would work by preventing them from activating the transformation (or stopping the transformation from being maintained if it's already active and requires effort or fuel to maintain).

* In ''Literature/OneHundredCupboards'', fabric woven of cobwebs or kelp will contain the powers of a magical being placed inside. It seems this can be overcome through skill or strength, though - junior wizard Monmouth is helpless when [[ShippedInShackles trapped in a kelp sack]], but an older and more experienced wizard is able to split one from inside with a spell.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Gold Kryptonite could permanently remove the powers of Superman and [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} other]] [[ComicBook/KryptoTheSuperdog Kryptonians]], and exposure to a red sun would do it temporarily, as would some varieties of Red Kryptonite. It was brought back after 20+ years but its effects are only temporary. This makes it less scary but more useful as a plot device.
** ''Batman: Secret Files #1'' introduces Platinum Kryptonite, which originates from a universe within the PhantomZone. Platinum-K is the antithesis of classic Gold-K, [[InvertedTrope permanently empowering anyone who touches it.]]
** In ''ComicBook/StarfiresRevenge'', Dr. Kangle, a minion of the eponymous ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} villainess, creates a pill which can nullify metahuman powers. Nonetheless, it merely causes periodic losses of super-powers instead of taking them away forever.
** In ''ComicBook/WhoIsSuperwoman'', Reactron and Superwoman use Gold Kryptonite to depower Supergirl in order to kill her more easily, and find the hard way that "powerless" is not synonymous with "helpless".

* ''Franchise/XMen'':
** The country of Genosha has mutant-power-nullifying collars. Certain mutants who dislike their powers have tried to use this rid themselves of their powers. The possibility has been addressed in various continuities and adaptions so we're not going to argue about it here. The short of it is sometimes prolonged use causes damage, or dangerous PowerIncontinence occurs when the device is turned off.

* Vanya's pills in ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy'', combined with brainwashing that she doesn't have any powers. The pills suppress her emotions, as they [[PsychoactivePowers fuel her abilities]]. She was also placed in an anechoic chamber as a kid, because sound is the other fuel source for her powers, unfortunately that doesn't work in the present since her heart is always beating.

* In the Series/{{Arrowverse}}, there are a number of means for dampening metahuman abilities. They usually take the form of a collar or handcuffs. They have been shown to exist on at least three worlds ([[Series/TheFlash2014 Earth 1]], [[Series/CrisisOnEarthX Earth-X]], and [[Series/Supergirl2015 Earth 38]]). Some metahumans are strong enough to fight through the dampening effects. Some facilities also come equipped with dampening generators (e.g. Iron Heights Penitentiary, A.R.G.U.S. headquarters). In one case, Ray Palmer develops specialized nanites that, when injected into a speedster, sap his speed, although a skilled speedster is able to vibrate his body to get rid of them. Flash ArcVillain Cicada has a dagger that nullifies powers in a certain range (except of course, Cicada's own power to control it psychically.) The result is a deadly weapon that can follow you anywhere (so long as Cicada knows where you are) and can NoSell any way you try to use your powers to fight or flee. It should be noted that these methods typically only affect metahumans. Magical abilities and alien powers are immune.
** Part of the rules for this involve the source of powers. The dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion that kicked off The Flash is responsible for the powers of everyone in that series -- even the Earth-2 villains were empowered by ''their'' dimension's version of that event, and a particle-accelerator-affected villain called The Thinker figured out how to manipulate the same dark matter responsible for his SuperIntelligence (and [[DarkLordOnLifeSupport withering body]]), hence the new metas in Seasons 4 and 5 -- in other words, the ones we don't ''think'' of as having been created by the explosion may have a few degrees of separation from the original incident but they're still powered by the same dark matter it released. As such, the same cuffs, cells, or dagger can work equally well regardless of what power the target has. Kryptonians and magic-users are of course not powered by it at all, thus immune. (We eventually find out Killer Frost got her powers much earlier, in childhood, though they only recently awakened. As such, she becomes a secret weapon against Cicada: not powered by the dark matter, she's the only member of Team Flash that the dagger won't shut down.)
** On Earth 38, Shelley Island has power dampers that affect all aliens and metahumans. The island is meant as a processing center similar to Ellis Island, but for extraterrestrial refugees and immigrants.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E12Helpless "Helpless"]], Buffy, as part of a test by the Watchers' Council on her eighteenth birthday, is hypnotized and Giles is forced to inject a regimen of drugs into her that suppress her Slayer strength.

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', the Obsidian Order had a prototype device that would prevent a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting Founder]] from returning to their natural gelatinous state, with potentially lethal results for the changeling if the device is left on for extended periods.

* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime'': Channelers can block others using the One Power, though it's very difficult to do this to the more powerful.

* ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes:'' There's a drug that suppresses powers, but instead of being used to keep villains prisoner it's primarily used to allow heroic supers brief periods of normalcy.

** In ''Fanfic/{{Asylum}}'', restraining rings are used on unicorn patients as a safety precaution for both the staff and themselves. Unfortunately for Twilight, this makes her life a lot harder.

* In ''[[Literature/TheShipWho The Ship Who Won'', the ship figured out how to prevent magic from working. [[spoiler:This was MagicFromTechnology, and the spells were made using microwave transmissions.]] The mages could still use their magic at least once.

** A "Capacity Down" device later shows up on ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex''. Accelerator counters by throwing a car at the enemy base from a safe distance.
* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'': Discussed. Since Celty makes her clothing out of her own shadows, Izaya asks her if they would disappear if he shone a powerful enough spotlight at them. Celty doesn't know, but luckily, Izaya has no interest in finding out.

* In ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'', when Shana is captured in Season 3, she has a small chain wrapped around her wrist that stops her from using her powers.

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'':

* ''LightNovel/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': The Batlantis Empire has several restraints like collars and cuffs as well as cells that stop people from using their powers. The restraints can be dialed down to let prisoners use some of their powers, like when the Empire forced Kizuna and Grabel to face each other in GladiatorGames so they could entertain the crowd but not generate enough force to escape. The two manage to escape by [[DeusSexMachina engaging in foreplay on the arena floor]] until they generate so much energy they overload and burn off their cuffs.

** Later she is the victim of a curse that robs her of ''all'' of her magical powers, so she has to go searching for a cure alongside Xellos. [[spoiler:In the end, she had to kill the demon Mazenda, since [[NoOntologicalInertia her death was the only solution]].]]

* In ''Fanfic/MaulingSnarks'', a ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' fanfic, if Taylor and Broadcast Administrator open enough connections to another snark and use up all of its "bandwidth", it briefly nullifies their powers. When Glory Girl's aura first tried to make Taylor adore it, doing this and shouting across all those connections actually knocked Vicky's powers out.

* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': Any Genasi slaves known to wield magic are forced to wear special metal armbands that nullify their magical ability. Haara doesn't have one since she learned her magic in secret while growing up a slave.

* ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'':
** In ''Tokimeki Memorial 2'', when Sou-Banchou, the leader of Hibikino Town's {{Delinquents}}, turns into his [[TurnsRed Giant Form]], he gains the "Chou-Gankiri" (Super Insight) ability, which nullifies your [[LimitBreak Sports Club Hi-Ougi]] should you have one.
** In ''Tokimeki Memorial 4'', the Skill "Heart Unlocking Technique" / "Kokoro no Kaijoujutsu" negates the girls' negative Skills, such as Satsuki's [[WellExcuseMePrincess "Noble" / "Kouki"]], and Tsugumi's [[{{Tsundere}} "Tsun"]] Skills.

* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', Egil has a device called the Apocrypha made in order to disable Shulk's [[LaserBlade Monado]], shorting out its ability to damage his [[HumongousMecha Face Mechon]] along with its other powers.
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', Blades absorb Ether energy from the atmosphere and channel it to their Driver to allow both to perform Arts. If the flow of Ether is disrupted in some way, Drivers and Blades become unable to use their powers. The Ardainian Empire uses nets called "stasis webs" capbable of this to capture Drivers and Blades and the Kingdom of Tantal is capable of constructing rooms that drain Ether. These are notably [[NoSell ineffective]] against Artificial Blades like [[RobotGirl Poppi]] who contain an Ether Furnace which generates Ether energy to supplement Ether drawn from the surroundings.

* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', Leech's power extends to more than shutting down powers: it can shut down ''anything.'' When he used it to its fullest, a good chunk of the city lost power. Like movie Leech, he can also undo physical mutations, such as Spyke's permanent bone-armor vanishing, restoring his Season 1 appearance until the effect ended.

* ''Literature/TheBrokenEarthTrilogy'': [[InternalDeathSquad Guardians]] receive several anti-[[FunctionalMagic orogene]] MetaPowers from the procedure that creates them, including the ability to disable an orogene's powers entirely by touching them. The effect lasts a short time and is generally debilitating to the orogene.

* ''Literature/TheKingstonCycle'' by C.L. Polk: Copper suppresses a witch's powers along with causing pain and disorientation, either by touch or by the simple presence of enough metal. {{Exploited|Trope}} by law enforcement with copper-lined handcuffs and copper-plated prison cells.

This can be temporary or permanent; the temporary version is generally used as either part of a BroughtDownToNormal plot or as a plot device to enable villains who normally wouldn't stand a chance against the heroes, while the permanent {{Depower}}ing version is usually a way to threaten someone without trying to kill them. {{Tailor Made Prison}}s for super villains usually incorporate one into the design, as do general purpose {{Extranormal Prison}}s.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has the Trial System built into the Nadleeh/Seraphim. When it's switched on, every mobile suit connected to Veda shuts down while it's active. It doesn't sound so bad but when you realize that in Season 2, Veda was controlled by the BigBad who used it with every single mobile suit he and his underlings built. That could easily become a StoryBreakerPower. On the other hand, said bad guy's control of Veda meant that he could forcibly disengage the Trial System remotely. So naturally, it's rarely used until the series finale where it simultaneously puts every single {{mook}} out of commission as soon as the BigBad no longer has access to Veda.