History Main / ReversePolarity

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'', Holley says this while trying to escape a death trap in the Big Bentley clock tower. On one hand, they at least keep it grounded in reality: once reversed, the only effect is the clock's motor and gear system running in reverse. On the other hand, she does it by shocking the motor with a Taser...
* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'', the heroes' ship is targeted by Decepticon missiles. Kup's solution is to reverse the polarity, like he did against the Shrikebats of Dromedan. Hot Rod is afraid it will tear the ship apart; instead it repels the missiles.

* In the very last episode of the original ''{{Transformers}}'' cartoon, "The Rebirth, Part 3", the heroes [[spoiler:derail Galvatron's plan and bring about a new Golden Age on Cybertron]] by reversing the polarity of Galvatron's rocket thruster.

* Creator/{{Filmation}} 1960's versions of Franchise/DCUniverse heroes:

* In ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory: Ego Trip'', all that takes to turn Mandark's stupid dystopia into Dexter's brilliant utopia is to reverse the polarity of the Neurotomic Protocore from negative to positive, with a button.
* Creator/{{Filmation}} 1960's versions of Franchise/DCUniverse heroes.
** ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' episode "How Many Herring In A Wheelbarrow?". To stop the Joker's Solar Mirror from melting Gotham City, Batman must reverse the polarity of the Master Electrodes powering it by hitting them simultaneously with Batarangs. Seriously.
** ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' episode "The Twenty Third Dimension". Hawkman's "quazer" is converted into a Dimension Ray by reversing its polarity.
** ''ComicBook/TheAtom'' episode "The House of Doom''. The Atom reverses the polarity of a miniature nuclear battery to turn it into a SelfDestructMechanism.

When a major obstacle in a ScienceFiction show is resolved purely through the judicious application of TechnoBabble, the characters have successfully Reversed the Polarity. It seems that every futuristic gadget or space ship subsystem performs some miraculous function if only you route the power through it ''backwards''. [[BeamMeUpScotty Urban legend has it]] the expression originated on ''Series/DoctorWho''. In reality, the phrase "Reverse the Polarity" [[OlderThanTheyThink can be traced back at least as far back as]] the 1898 ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' sequel ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' by Garrett P. Serviss. However, it was popularized by ''Series/DoctorWho,'' as Creator/JonPertwee asked the writers for a simple piece of TechnoBabble he could reliably deliver. The version most associated with the Third Doctor is "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", although he [[MemeticMutation only said it once]] during his time as the Doctor and once in a multi-Doctor special.

** The two times Jon Pertwee used the exact phrase "Reverse the polarity of the neutral flow" are in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils "The Sea Devils"]] and the 20th anniversary special "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]".

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': In episode 13, a continuously-evolving GreyGoo gets into NERV headquarters by hitching a ride on one of the [[HumongousMecha EVAs]]. They then form themselves into an organic supercomputer, which starts to hack into the Magi supercomputers that run the headquarters. [[spoiler:To prevent them from resulting in the self-destruction of the Magi, Ritsuko has to open them up, ''climb inside'' one of them, and reprogram it from the inside]].

* In the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Honky Tonk Woman":

->'''Harley Quinn:''' ''[holding a raygun]'' Don't come any closer, or I'll...''[reads label on her raygun]'' reverse polarity!\\

'''Harley Quinn:''' I don't know...but it always works on ''Star Quest''.

* This once happened in ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'''s English dub when Team Rocket tried to get hold of two Luvdisc, and then reverse the polarity to get rid of all of the love in the world. [[GoldfishPoopGang This being Team Rocket]], it's pretty much an AffectionateParody of the trope. The original version just has them wanting the Luvdisc captured for an ongoing Team Rocket project.

* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Honky Tonk Woman":
-->She reversed the polarity of one of the missiles! It's coming right back at us!

* In ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'' the crew reversed the polarity of the power link between the Command Module and the Lunar Module in order to get enough power to restart the Command Module systems for reentry. Unlike most examples, this was a real-life necessity as the LM's power link was intended to power the LM from the Service Module until separation, and reversing the polarity allowed the command module to draw power from the LM.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' episode "The Borderland". During the experiments to reach the other dimension, the scientists reverse the polarity of a magnetic field in order to send objects to the other side and reverse them. A series of preliminary orders from the lead scientist to the technicians readying the reversal (that sound more like a magical incantation than technobabble) leads up to a final, dramatic "Polarity...REVERSE!"

* In ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', used almost word for word by [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Malcolm Reed]] in the episode "Harbinger", when he reversed the polarity on the plasma coils to knock out an alien.
** {{Justified}} in the pilot when they reversed the polarity of magnetic latches to get a structure to come apart.

* A popular filk song, "The USS Make Shit Up" by Music/{{Voltaire}}, about the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series contains a similar line: "''Bounce the graviton particle beam / Off the main deflector dish / That's the way we do things, lad / We're making shit up as we wish...''"

* In episode 17 of the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' [[Anime/SakuraWarsTV anime]], Kohran puzzles over how to make Iris's ''kohbu'' properly handle her vast spirit energies, and comes up with an idea that, among other things, reverses the flow of her spirit energy through the regulator crystal.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'', [[http://scp-wiki.net/scp-674 SCP-674 ("The Exposition Gun")]]. When a Foundation doctor tested SCP-674 by firing it at a TV show or movie featuring the cast of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', Spock reversed the polarity of a phaser and shot him with it, killing him.

* Pops up in the Music/{{Rush}} song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsj_FRBNrZE "Vital Signs"]].

* In episode 13 of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', an angel, in the form of continuously-evolving GreyGoo, gets into NERV headquarters by hitching a ride on one of the [[HumongousMecha EVAs]]. They then form themselves into an organic supercomputer, which starts to hack into the Magi supercomputers that run the headquarters. [[spoiler:To prevent them from resulting in the self-destruction of the Magi, Ritsuko has to open them up, ''climb inside'' one of them, and reprogram it from the inside.]] The entire episode contains no actual EVA combat, and introduces entirely new {{Technobabble}} terms, most of which relate to the workings of the Magi.

** The two times Jon Pertwee used the exact phrase "Reverse the polarity of the neutral flow" are in "The Sea Devils" and the 20th anniversary special "[[Trivia/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]".

* Subverted in ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'': Victor Mancha (who is being held captive by the aforementioned group) attempts to escape by threatening Gertrude York with a ''remote'' that has had its "polarity reversed". The other Runaways scoff at the idea.
-->'''Gertrude:''' Relax, people. He's a powerless kid holding a remote control.
-->'''Victor:''' I... I flipped this thing's vibranium battery when you weren't looking. If I press one button while the polarity is reversed, it... it won't be pretty.
-->'''Molly:''' Yeah, right. Even '''I''' know he's tricking, and I dropped out of the '''fourth grade'''.
** Ironically, it might not be pretty... but really only for the remote. This is one of those things you don't try at home.
* In Franchise/{{Superman}}/Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} story ''Comicbook/WarWorld'', Superman destroys the eponymous weapon-satellite by reprogramming its computers and redirecting its defense-systems in on itself.
-->'''Superman:''' Despite all our much-vaunted power, Kara and I wouldn't stand a chance of defeating Warworld in a head-on confrontation -- so I've done the only other thing possible: I redirected the satellite's defense-systems in on itself!
* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' series ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'', Lena stops a core reactor from reaching critical mass and exploding by reversing the polarity:
-->'''Lena:''' Atomic batteries to power... Reversing polarity of the neutron flow... activating quantum dimensional recall signal... Now!
* A Creator/CarlBarks comic book in the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse is the earliest recorded use of ReversePolarity as technobabble, dating all the way back to March 1961 ([[http://coa.inducks.org/issue.php?c=us/US+++33#02 US #33]]) in "Billions in the Hole".
-->'''Engineer''': "I have to de-amp the resistor diodes to reverse the polarity of the potentiometers -- it's simple when you know how!"
-->'''Dewey''': We'll take your word for it, sir.

** Caligula in Lostbelt 5.2. [[spoiler: Artemis afflicts him with {{Lunacy}}, but since it was her influence as Diana that drove him insane to begin with, being subjected to it again calms him. He retains his Noble Phantasm's power to spread his mental state to others, so [[NiceJobFixingItVillain he cures you of Aphrodite's brainwashing]].]]
** Brynhildr in Summer 5. A summer swimsuit form changing her class to Berserker stabilized her {{Yandere}} behavior to Sigurd, and they're able to date ''mostly'' normally.

-->-- ''WebAnimation/GothamGirls'', "Cold Hands, Cold Heart"

** Caligula in Lostbelt 5.2. [[spoilers: Artemis afflicts him with {{Lunacy}}, but since it was her influence as Diana that drove him insane to begin with, being subjected to it again calms him. He retains his Noble Phantasm's power to spread his mental state to others, so [[NiceJobFixingItVillain he cures you of Aphrodite's brainwashing]].]]

* In the 1952 British film ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044446/ The Sound Barrier]]''. the hero solved the problem of controlling a supersonic airplane by reversing the flight controls. To increase lift, for example, he pushed the stick forward instead of back as would be expected. This is based on the real-life phenomenon of "control reversal", which is detailed in the RealLife section below.

* At least ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}'''s GenreSavvy Dave Davenport knows he's appealing to the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: "[[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/users/narbonic/111005about_for.jpg Sometimes it helps, for some reason]]".

Compare to TimTaylorTechnology.

* In the 1960's ''Series/Batman1966'' episode "Better Luck Next Time," Batman reverses the polarity on his belt communicator in order to create an ultrasonic signal to drive away a tiger.

--->'''Website/{{SFDebris}}''': I mean it's got "Inverse" in there! It's the opposite of it! The neutron radiation probably makes it work even ''better'' than before!
** Memory Alpha records a total of at least five instances in which this order was given on the show. In three instances, it was helpful; in two, it was not.

** A common solution to problems with remotes is that the batteries are in backwards. In which case, literally switching the polarity (i.e. flip the batteries) will fix the problem.

* ''Film/ForbiddenPlanet''. Commander Adams orders a subordinate to "Stand by to reverse polarity" during the initial landing on Altair 4, apparently referring to flipping the engines from "push forward through space" to "push back against gravity".

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963'' episode "The Borderland". During the experiments to reach the other dimension, the scientists reverse the polarity of a magnetic field in order to send objects to the other side and reverse them. A series of preliminary instructions from the lead scientist to the technicians readying the reversal leads up to a final, dramatic "Polarity...REVERSE!" Since the episode was first aired on December 10th, 1963, it predates all other known examples.

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