History Main / WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway

** And in The Ultimates reboot, where she her neurological knowledge means that she can attack people's brains. In addition, in Ultimate Canon, [[spoiler: she is a mutant]] and can do the "Wasp Stings" innately at full size, where they are painful and cause nerves to go numb. Unfortunately, her power [[spoiler: and her intellect intimidates her her husband [[{{Ant-Man}} Hank]]]], who [[spoiler: physically abuses her and attempts to kill her]].
** She was, for reasons never made clear, on the superhero team in SecretWars (a godlike being, the Beyonder, made the most powerful heroes and villains fight against each other for his amusement). Feeling useless next to a literal god ([[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]), the master of magnetism (Magneto), and various others, she spent at least one issue sulking about how lame her powers were. She did manage to single-handedly beat the Lizard in that issue by basically being to small for him to be able to hit her.

* For a ''lesser'' example (which just goes to show how bad these situations ''could'' be), when we first met [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} Jean Grey]], her powers were only good for levitating as much as she could physically carry. She was considerably more useful than day-one Sue and Wasp, but compared to Beast, Cyclops, and Iceman, her powers weren't so great. Even Angel ''made'' more of a non-combat power (having flight alone ''should'' make you a bullet sponge, but with incredible agility, high flying speeds, and super-strong wings, he could kick some ''serious'' evil mutant posterior even pre-Archangel.) to the degree that Jean fell behind. However, she had incredible precision with her powers, and the 'school' theme means, like her teammates, she became stronger and more skilled with her powers as time went. Eventually, she became so powerful that she reached HumanoidAbomination levels...at least before the {{retcon}}hit. But even after that she's still one of the most powerful mutants.

** Ultimate later upped the ante, having Kitty specifically train herself (off panel) to control her phasing ability; her theory that, if she can make her atoms ''seperate'' enough to phase through things then she could ''condense'' them to gain invulnerability and super strength. This incidentally being what TheVision has done with his own intangibility in the main Marvel Universe all along.

* When Ellen and Elliot start developing magic in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' Ellen gets the variation of TransformationRay turning the target into a [[HelloNurse very impressive]] human female, the first being a TransformationRay turning ''her'' into the target's clone. Elliot starts off able to transform into a girl, and then develops the ability to turn into any girl and change outfits. The first "really useful" spell he eventually got was the one turning him into [[spoiler:a stock [[FlyingBrick superheroine]]]]. Granted, they both started off as students of "[[SupernaturalMartialArts Anime Style Martial Arts]]", so can't really complain about wacky powers.

* In Kristin Cashore's novels ''{{Graceling}}'', ''Fire'', and ''Bitterblue'', a "Graceling" (an individual gifted, or cursed, with an unusual/superhuman ability) doesn't automatically know ''what'' their Grace is, and has to discover it through experience. Some of these Graces, once identified, turn out to be pretty useless. Among the examples given are the Grace to eat rocks and not get sick, the Grace to open your mouth so wide your face gets turned inside out -- good only for grossing people out (Beetlejuice-inspired, perhaps?) and various nice but limited Graces such as knowing exactly what food will satisfy someone at the moment (Here I see Vincent from Syfy's ''Eureka'').

* The obscure RPG ''Stuperpowers'' is basically if somebody made a whole game based around this trope. The list of powers available to PCs includes such endlessly useful metahuman abilities as making it rain nachos, summoning mariachi bands, turning yourself into modern art and making all the phones in the world ring at the same time. Meanwhile the villains they're expected to defeat usually have "real" powers like speed, strength, invisibility, PoweredArmor, loads of gadgets, etc. Although their concepts are still usually as ridiculous as the PCs'.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' contains some of the [[SuperpowerLottery most horrifically powerful individuals]] in existence, [[TimeAbyss epic, ancient beings]] or [[PersonOfMassDestruction monumental powerhouses]] that could obliterate continents or subdue planets. And then there are the... others, such as Rumia, with the power to create darkness around herself that [[RequiredSecondaryPowers she can't even see out of]] (however, she still has enough power to be a real danger, and since youkai have a better night-sight than humans, her ability may be of some use), Lily White, with the power to announce the arrival of spring, [[TheOneGuy Rinnosuke]], with the power to identify the name and purpose of any object without knowing HOW to actually use it, Kogasa, with the power to surprise people (though that one has been [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower rather useful]]).

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' contains some of the [[SuperpowerLottery most horrifically powerful individuals]] in existence, [[TimeAbyss epic, ancient beings]] or [[PersonOfMassDestruction monumental powerhouses]] that could obliterate continents or subdue planets. And then there are the... others, such as Rumia, with the power to form a sphere of darkness around herself that [[RequiredSecondaryPowers she can't even see out of]], Lily White, with the power to announce the arrival of spring, [[TheOneGuy Rinnosuke]], with the power to identify the name and purpose of any object without knowing HOW to actually use it, Kogasa, with the power to surprise people (though that one has been [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower rather useful]]).

** For that matter, Reed's stretching powers can seem a tad useless in a lot of situations (he's never displayed the kind of limitless shapeshifting abilities of, say, PlasticMan). But Reed's ''real'' super-power is being [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist the most brilliant scientist on Earth]].

* The ''Zoom Academy for Superheroes'' graphic novel has this.

* Jaqueline Priestman could change TV channels whitout touching a remote or the TV because her body had a larger than normal voltage.

** Subverted with Cypher/Doug Ramsey, whose power is to understand ''ANY'' language, even body language, or code, making him now quite the {{Badass}} as he can even foresee his opponents' movements (as long as he can "read" a pattern), or find the weak point of architectural structures.

* The Forgotten Beasts in VideoGame/DwarfFortress will sometimes have one of these. The random nature of their breath attacks means sometimes they breath fire or molten iron. Sometimes it is harmless snowflakes.

* Marvel's very own FadSuper {{Dazzler}} has the ability to absorb sound and convert it into light. This may not seem like much at first glance, but she can do things like blinding people with bright flashes(duh),create a strobe effect that upsets equilibrium, create holograms, and FrickinLaserBeams. She's also immune to sound based attacks, because they just make her stronger. This ability is shown to be obscenely powerful, as Galactus once recruited her to retrieve one of his Heralds and exposed her to unimaginable sounds, including the explosion of a galaxy(yeah yeah, [[SpaceDoesNotWorkThatWay no sound in space]]. He's [[GreenLanternRing Galactus]], he has no care for your paltry human physics), to boost her to sufficient levels.

** Touhou is full of these. For example, Shizuha Aki, the [[OddJobGod goddess of autumn leaves]], has the power to turn leaves red (by [[PaintingTheFrostOnTheWindow painting them manually) and making leaves fall from trees (by violently kicking the tree). Toyosatomimi no Miko, who has the power to listen to 10 conversations at once. Hatate Himekaidou, has the power of spirit photography, basically magic version of Google Image. Shikieiki Yamaxanadu has the power to see things as [[BlackAndWhiteMorality clearly good or evil]] (although considering she's TheJudge, it's probably useful in her job). [[ExpandedUniverse Outside the games]], we have Renko Usami, who has the power to accurately tell time and location by looking at the night sky.

** Touhou is full of these. For example, Shizuha Aki, the [[OddJobGod goddess of autumn leaves]], has the power to turn leaves red (by [[PaintingTheFrostOnTheWindow painting them manually) and making leaves fall from trees (by violently kicking the tree). Toyosatomimi no Miko, who has the power to listen to 10 conversations at once. Hatate Himekaidou, has the power of spirit photography, basically magic version of Google Image. [[ExpandedUniverse Outside the games]], we have Renko Usami, who has the power to accurately tell time and location by looking at the night sky.
** It should also be noted, though, that the Spellcard Rule forces combat to be resolved through [[BulletHell danmaku fights]], which are [[NonLethalWarfare non-lethal]]. Because of this, the actual abilities are [[InformedAbility very rarely actually used in combat]], only serving as inspirations for spellcard names and patterns. Besides, ability alone is not the gauge to someone's actual power level, as shown by Yuuka above.

** The office of VP was even used as a dumping ground for unwanted politicians, and quite often the VP was kept in the dark about important things, such as what was going on while the nation was at war. This has seriously backfired a few times, like when the unwanted politician (TheodoreRoosevelt) inherited the top job, and HarrySTruman suddenly had to take over the reigns of the UnitedStates near the end of {{WWII}}, and wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

* Deconstructed in SkyHigh, where the StartOfDarkness for the BigBad was that she was a Technopath before that became a well respected superpower, so she was relegated to sidekick, unable to show how powerful she really was. The deciding factor for whether one is a Hero or sidekick? The coach, based on his first and only impression. More generally, the sidekicks' powers tend to fall under this, with plenty of "heroes" who contribute little.

* It was established via {{retcon}} that the reason Hank Pym abandoned the AntMan identity to become Giant-Man was because he felt his shrinking abilities were a little useless on a team that included Comicbook/IronMan, [[TheMightyThor Thor]], and Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk.

*** In "Justice League Unlimited," Zan is shown to be legitimately threatening, since "Turns to water" could be used to drown people or blast them with high-pressure streams. This lasts ''right'' up until he actually has to fight Aquaman, who can breathe water, has super-tough skin, and is made of almost solid muscle.

* In the comics, Aqualad developed concerns similar to Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}'s (see WesternAnimation below) about feeling useless as a member of the ComicBook/TeenTitans, which became so severe that he later developed a psychosomatic illness. Once the cause of his problem was realized, Aqualad decided to relegate himself as a Titans reservist, who participated with the team only when they had a mission in the sea.
** He later got a costume change, a power upgrade and TookAlevelInBadAss, becoming "Tempest". Then he died.

* Angel at MarvelComics has similar problems to Hawkman and Aquaman. His power to fly is fairly useless in a superhero context. He was variously given razor-sharp metal wings, the ability to shoot poisoned metal pieces from his wings, and a healing factor to make him more powerful. The current version is physically powerful for a similar reason as Aquaman: to actually fly with his wings and survive hundreds of miles per hour winds, he [[RequiredSecondaryPowers must be very strong and resistant to damage]]. Angel was largely rescued by Marvel in an issue of ''{{Thunderbolts}}'' where he flies rings around them in their own comic in an awesome "Taking them back to school" moment. Angel also has a little-remembered ability of extraordinarily keen eyesight, comparable to a hawk's. That may not sound like much, but being able to spot movement from a rabbit when you're flying half a mile up is no mean feat.

** He also deconstructed this trope as it applies to Aquaman. When the subject came up at one point, he went on a lengthy tract pointing out all of the legitimately BadAss aspects of Aquaman's character and powers(He's King of the Ocean - the entire thing, 70% of ''the planet'', mind you - and controls the Atlantean's navy, all of the SuperStrength, NighInvulnerability, and SuperSpeed that being able to survive, much less swim really fast, in the crushing depths of the ocean entails, as well as being able to summon the likes of sharks, whales, and '''Cthulu''' to lend a hand if he felt like it), and noting that he ''is'' BadAss in virtually every media in which he appears... with the '''[[NeverLiveItDown sole exception]]''' of ''{{Superfriends}}''(and parodies written by people who seem to only know Aquaman ''through'' Superfriends).
* Dr. Horrible's roomie Moist from ''DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' apparently has the power to make things... moist. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when he laments that at his most badass he can make people feel like they want to take a shower. A prequel comic actually shows that it's not a superpower so much as a condition he developed when his father bought a plutonium-powered air humidifier to deal with his dry skin.
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] at considerable length in the "Aquatic Justice" episode of KevinSmith's podcast, which features much maligning of poor Aquaman.

* The much-maligned Aquaman from ''{{Superfriends}}'', who often needed episodes [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman specifically written to utilize his powers]] without the audience wondering why another character couldn't handle the situation just fine. A mantra of sorts that people use to describe Aquaman's powers is "Swim fast, talk to fish". As lame as his powers were, Aquaman's arch-nemesis on ''{{Superfriends}}'', The Black Manta, was even lamer. As [[http://seanbaby.com/super.htm Seanbaby's article on The Superfriends]] pointed out, his main power was that he ''owned a boat''.
** Of course, it's not entirely his fault; when you put somebody on a team with Comicbook/GreenLantern and {{Superman}}, everyone looks pretty inadequate. Aquaman's powers were just particuarly specialised.

** Lampshaded and Subverted on WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold, where Aquaman's abilities have come been useful on some of their adventures on Land, Sea, bloodstreams, and on the jungle floor. One adventure had Aquaman [[FantasticVoyagePlot shrunk to the size of a single-celled organism and he used his "talk to fish" powers to befriend a lymphocyte]], while another had him stretching the definition of 'fish' with wrangling a pair of silverfish. No, really. And because he's a bit of a cheesy Silver Age superhero, he's also over the top in his [[http://youtu.be/yE8C1WWixgc rousing songs of heroism]].

** Likewise, though not as widely bemoaned, the ''{{Superfriends}}'' version of Hawkman was almost as useless. He could fly... and that's it. Almost every other hero on the show had this ability ''and'' their namesake superpower. To add insult to injury, his wings weren't even ''real''.
** The ''{{Superfriends}}'' also had the Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna. While Jayna could turn into any animal (including a few alien ones), Zan could only [[ElementalShapeshifter turn into some form of water]] (like a wave, or an ice sculpture). [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iOcxSXiw7I This was spoofed in a CartoonNetwork]] where Zan interrupted a mock-PublicServiceAnnouncement to complain about how lame his power was: "I could get beaten by a sponge! It wouldn't even have to be an evil sponge!" At the end of the promo, Zan is mopped up by a janitor, with an indignant "Hey!"

* The obscure RPG ''Stuperpowers'' is basically if somebody made a whole game based around this trope. The list of powers available to PCs includes such endlessly useful metahuman abilities such as making it rain nachos, summoning mariachi bands, turning yourself into modern art and making all the phones in the world ring at the same time. Meanwhile the villains they're expected to defeat usually have "real" powers like speed, strength, invisibility, PoweredArmor, loads of gadgets, etc. Although their concepts are still usually as ridiculous as the PCs'.

* Deliberately invoked in the obscure superhero parody game ''Stuperpowers.'' The list of powers available to PCs includes such endlessly useful metahuman abilities such as making it rain nachos, summoning mariachi bands and making all the phones in the world ring at the same time. Meanwhile the villains they're expected to defeat usually have "real" superpowers like speed, strength, invisibility, PoweredArmor, loads of gadgets, etc. Although their concepts are still usually as ridiculous as the PCs'.

** And on the villain side of the spectrum, we had Riddler from the Legion of Doom. Riddler was basically a a guy with OCD who was smart but not as smart as Batman, and reguarly revealed the Legion's plans.

* Odd in ''CodeLyoko'' had a special power in the early part of the series in which he could see tiny snippets of future events. However, the power came at random, [[YouCantFightFate functioned as an absolute vision]], and once resulted in him getting taken out by [[TheGoomba a Kankrelat]] immediately following a vision. While reprogramming the avatars of the Lyoko Warriors in the later season, Jérémie noticed the uselessness of this power and removed it, much to Odd's disappointment.

*** Shining Armour effectively makes force fields. This could be a highly effective power, especially for a royal guard.