History Main / WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway

* ''Fanfic/ThinkingInLittleGreenBoxes'': As it turns out, Harry ''does'' have a mutant superpower: hair regeneration. He'll never go gray or bald. Learning this is the in-fic explanation as to why [[BaldOfAwesome Professor X]] [[DisproportionateRetribution becomes Onslaught]].

* ''Literature/{{Graceling}}'': 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.

->''"Heart!? ''Heart''!? They get fire, wind and water, and I get fucking heart!? What a ripoff! Why can't I get any flashy powers? Heart? Are you kidding me!? What a fucking coup! I mean, you can't do anything with heart. What, you make people feel better? Who gives a shit!? I mean, this kid totally got ripped off."''

* ''Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheMovie'': When the Rangers get their new [[GratuitousNinja ninja]] AnimalMotifs, Tommy gets [[NobleBirdOfPrey Falcon]], Rocky gets [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Ape]], Billy gets Wolf, Aisha gets {{Bear|sAreBadNews}}, and Kimberly gets Crane. Adam is [[MyNewGiftIsLame less than impressed]] that he gets a frog.

** Discussed in ''Film/Deadpool2''. While recruiting for his brand new X-Force team, he comes across Characters/{{Domino}}, who proclaims that her power is "being lucky". Deadpool is annoyed - being lucky isn't a superpower and it certainly isn't cinematic, falling into this trope, while Domino is insistent that it is, falling into the HeartIsAnAwesomePower trope. [[spoiler:Domino is proven right when her powers ensure that she's the only member of Deadpool's team to survive their first mission besides Deadpool himself, who only lives because of his HealingFactor.]]

* Averted and lampshaded in ''Literature/FindingGaia''. A female GreenThumb is generally the least powerful in any group of superbeings, but Anna is legitimately more powerful than Jason, her [[spoiler:life-stealing]] male counterpart.
* {{Averted|Trope}} in the ''Literature/CircleOfMagic'' series. What kind of lame power is "thread-magic?" While it's not quite as spectacular as, say, Tris' [[ShockAndAwe lightning magic]], Sandry still uses it to tear several villains apart, [[spoiler:escape a kidnapping]], and [[BoringButPractical make really durable clothes]].
* Some of the magical talents in Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' are so widely useful and powerful that their possessors are known as Magicians and eligible to rule the magical land. And on the other hand are those with the power to make a small colored spot appear on the wall, play a magic flute, or make people in the vicinity age slightly faster. Much is made in the series out of finding real uses for even the feeblest talents, and a lot of crappy powers turn out to be surprisingly powerful, at least when facing [[PlotTailoredToTheParty the right plots]]. The spot-on-the-wall talent, for instance, can be used multiple times in order to make pictures, often quite convincing ones. The ability to make people age faster comes in handy when an important character is accidentally exposed to water from the FountainOfYouth and regresses to an infant.
* Tim Burton's ''Oyster Boy and Other Stories'' features a whole array of kid heroes with this trope, one being Stain Boy whose only power is to make nasty stains.
* Played with by Creator/BrandonSanderson in ''[[Literature/AlcatrazSeries Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians]]''. The Smedry family all have magical "talents" that typically sound not just useless, but actively detrimental, but also have some sort of powerful effect. Sometimes the beneficial effects are extensions of the talent, like Grandpa Smedry being late to everything, including being shot or his own death, while others are less directly related, like Sing's ability to fall down, which actually acts as an early warning sign of impending danger.
* The ''Literature/{{Fingerprints}}'' series features characters with a variety of PsychicPowers: some awesome, some... less so. Lampshaded when the main character Rae, who has the ability to read thoughts from fingerprints, tries to fight a villain with a much stronger psychic power, who laughs at the uselessness of Rae's ability.
* In the ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series, the Tan Adept has the totem of the Evil Eye, granting him (later ''her'') the power of mind control -- much the same as [[Anime/CodeGeass Lelouch's Geass power]], with similar limits (only targets one person at a time, only if they make eye contact, and only works once on the same person). Still sort of nifty, until you realize several of the other Adepts (Blue, Yellow, and Red in particular) could work spells to achieve much the same effect. Along with about a thousand other things which Tan ''can't'' do. In Tan's first appearance (''Juxtaposition'' -- the last book of the first trilogy), Tan had all the versatility of the other Adepts, limited only by line of sight. Piers Anthony apparently didn't read up on his own creations.
* In ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet A Nightmare on Elm Street: Suffer The Children]]'' Freddy gives several teenagers powers, with his plan being to manipulate them into being his servants in the real world. FinalGirl Alex gets empathy. She even states near the end of the book that this "power" just sucks compared to the ones her friends got, which included the likes of pyrokinesis, telekinesis and mind control. She tries to find a silver lining by thinking it could at least help her sense Freddy's presence. Reading her mind, his disembodied voice responds with "Don't count on it, bitch."
* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', some vampires gain genuine supernatural powers, while others just have a natural trait magnified. The latter circumstance tends to suck. Carlisle got stuck with compassion, Esme with ThePowerOfLove, Marcus can see relationships, and Rosalie with beauty. Renesmee can show her own thoughts to people she touches and who can't be blocked out from anyone.
* In Creator/LawrenceWattEvans' ''[[Literature/TheLegendsOfEthshar With a Single Spell]]'', the orphaned apprentice's eponymous lone firestarting spell is useless and laughable the entire book, until it plays a deadly role in the end. Also, when the protagonist is trapped in a dead mage's extraplanar castle and is going through all the spellbooks for a means of escape, he casts the badass but extremely lame spell "Jalger's Jar Opener". This spell summons a 9-foot silvery spike-covered demonic entity. To open a jar for you. After which it disappears...
* In Creator/MichaelGrant's ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' series, a lot of kids who were left in the FAYZ develop superpowers. Some of these are powerful and useful, such as telekinesis, shooting powerful beams of light, SuperSpeed, or HealingHands. Others... not so much. Astrid has a vaguely defined ability to sense the "potential" of people. In the second book, Duck has the ability to alter his mass and density. He can use this to sink into the ground, float in the air (just float, since he has no way to propel himself), and that's about it. This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when immediately after discovering his power, he says, "I'm a moof with a really sucky power!" [[spoiler:That said, at the end of the book Duck uses his power to defeat the BigBad. By increasing his mass as he drops on said BigBad, burying himself alive in the process. Yay?]]
* This trope appears often in William Boniface's ''The Extraordinary Adventures Of Ordinary Boy'' kids' novels, set in a city where everyone has super-powers (except for the eponymous protagonist). Said powers range from the typical FlyingBrick and MindControl powers to the less-than-useful -- Puddle Boy can create puddles beneath his feet, Melonhead has a melon-shaped head and spits (ordinary) watermelon seeds, and Whistlin' Dixie can whistle any song perfectly.

* In ''Literature/MaximumRide'', while some members of the flock are developing awesome super powers such as super speed or mind control, Iggy gets the ability to feel color and see if everything is white, and Fang has invisibility that only works if he is standing still.

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', the Powers of the World have different spheres of influence. One has mastery over the sky, one over metals, one over the ocean, etc. Some of the female Vala are lame, though. Nessa is "The Dancer," Vairë weaves, and Vána is the ever young, whose power is the ability to make birds chirp and flowers bloom by her presence. Even one of the Aratar (the most powerful of the Valar) Nienna, is the Vala of Grief and Mourning.
* Deuces in ''Literature/WildCards'' are all about this trope. There's Mr. Rainbow, who can change the color of his skin to any color (solid colors only, no patterns); a woman who can levitate, but only when she's sleeping; and a man who can stick his hand into a tub of water and make it boil in just under 8 minutes.

* In ''Literature/ThePaleKing'', Claude Sylvanshine has Random Fact Intuition, which is ESP with nothing but useless facts.
* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', Peeta jokes that the only thing he's really great at is icing cakes; Katniss, understandably, doesn't think that's likely to help him in the arena. [[spoiler:[[HeartIsAnAwesomePower In fact it makes him freaking boss at camouflage, which is great news for the]] NonActionGuy.]] In addition he is [[UnskilledButStrong actually quite strong]], even compared to the careers just without any real combat training. Though this is less true [[spoiler: In Catching Fire after he has been injured in the first games]].
* The ''Sidekicks'' series by Dan Danko and Tom Mason parodied this a ''lot'', having such superheroes as Pumpkin Pete (his head is a pumpkin), Exact Change Kid, Spice Girl (she smells nice), Boom Boy (he can blow up...but only once), and Haiku Boy. In fact, when Speedy jokingly asks, "Where's Bar-of-Soap Boy when you really need him?" [[RuleOfFunny it turns out]] [[ContrivedCoincidence there ''was'' a Bar-of-Soap Boy on the team]], but he moved away to a place "where it didn't rain so much".
* The first power Michael develops in the ''Literature/KnightAndRogueSeries'' after getting magic are an ability to see magic in nature, while he could already sense it if he was close enough to the magical object, and he treats this like [[{{Wangst}} the end of the world]]. He's even less pleased to discover his ability to make water wetter (let that one sink in) because of what it ''can'' do. He only calms down when Fisk points out that, actually, having water that's extra wet isn't really that useful.
* In Kristin Cashore's novels ''Literature/{{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.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' lots of people can use magic, it's just that most of them ("minor talents") have very little power, oftentimes so slight that they might not even recognize that it's a magical ability. For example Abby from ''White Night'' who is precognitive, but can only see about two seconds into the future, which mostly just makes for very confusing conversations.
* In ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', Magrat's magic wand only seems able to turn things into pumpkins (because she doesn't know how to use it). However, she finds some good uses for this as the story progresses, turning it into HeartIsAnAwesomePower.
* The main character of ''Literature/TheCasterChronicles'', Ethan Wate, is a Wayward -- a mortal whose destiny is essentially intertwined with that of a specific Caster. Waywards are also essentially a guide or compass for their Caster, and instinctively know where they need to go and what they need to do, especially when Casters are about as lost as the next person in the room. Needless to say, this only ever comes in handy when all other options have been exhausted. Comes with plenty of LampshadeHanging that explicitly references Aquaman and his usually useless powers.
* In ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'', Claire's "super-cuteness" powers aren't really all that effective against anyone other than Penny. They're a mild distraction to anyone else.
* The ''Literature/{{Temps}}'' novels include a man who can turn into a human-sized frog, with all the weaknesses of a frog, but can't swim very well, a man who can channel beer from elsewhere in the pub into his own pint, a woman who spontaneously generates rubbish when she's stressed (although she gets to show that HeartIsAnAwesomePower), and a man whose ShockAndAwe abilities are limited to very slowly building an electrostatic charge on a person or object, as long as the target isn't earthed.
* In Marcus Sakey's ''Brilliance Trilogy'', about 1% of the population is born with some sort of savant mental ability, for which they face a frankly ludicrous level of discrimination. A handful are quite powerful, like the financial genius who made $300 billion on the stock market, or the KnifeNut assassin who perceives everything 11.2 times slower than everyone else. The vast majority, though, are pretty pointless, such as the guy who's really good as estimating large numbers of objects, such as people in a stadium or jelly beans in a jar. Being able to play any song by ear is considered one of the more powerful abilities.
* Lampshaded in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. In the sixth book, Harry learns about the prophecy foretelling he has the power to defeat the BigBad Voldemort. Throughout the series, Voldemort already made it clear his magical abilities are way above Harry's. And then Dumbledore finally reveals that Harry's power to defeat Voldemort is... his ability to love and care for others. Harry expresses his disappointment about this revelation, treating it as this trope.
* Discussed in ''Literature/{{Ratburger}}'' when Zoe has recently dug through her bedroom wall to escape [[YouAreGrounded being grounded]] and save her pet rat, she ends up covered in dust. When Raj the news agent asks why, she replies that it's Fancy Dress Day at school and she's dressed as a superhero named "Dustgirl" whose superpower is that she's good at doing the dusting.
* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' the SuperpowerLottery means that some powers have enormous potential while others just don't do that much. Nearly everyones power had at least some sort of way that it could be useful, often [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower far beyond what is expected of them]], but there are still a bunch of powers that have extremely limited or specific uses, or are just weaker versions of other other peoples powers. Oliver of the Travelers, for example, has the power to look attractive to anyone who sees him. That's it. It doesn't allow him any sort of super-powered influence, he just looks pretty in any situation. He probably shouldn't have taken only half of that SuperSerum though. Of course even his power [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman does end up becoming relevant]].
** There are also the "Case 53"'s, people with powers that often come with physical changes ranging from being made of metal to being basically just a head attached to a mass of tentacles. A lot of their abilities are actually very powerful, the problems with them they tend to be either related to control or side effects. They still tend to be the one group of people who really really wish they didn't have powers at all, mostly due to the various side effects of their transformation and of the prejudice they face due to their appearances.

* The Music/TheyMightBeGiants song "John Lee, Supertaster" is about the benefits and drawbacks of being a guy with an unusually sensitive sense of taste. The song is based on a real John Lee - the bassist for TMBG collaborators Muckafurgason and the co-creator of ''Series/WonderShowzen'' - who really is a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster supertaster]].

* ''Radio/ThatMitchellAndWebbSound'' - Angel Summoner and the BMX Bandit. One can summon hordes of immensely powerful angels. One rides a BMX. Any guess as to whose power tends to get used?

* In the tongue-in-cheek roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/InNomineSatanisMagnaVeritas'' (American Tropers might better know its DarkerAndEdgier remake, ''TabletopGame/InNomine''), character powers are assigned at random from a rather long list. If you're lucky, you can wind up with lightning bolts, holy dancing swords, mind control or even limited time travel. If you're ''not'' lucky, you're going to be the guy on the team who can control molluscs, or whose "power" is to have materialized on Earth in the body of a famous rock star (considering most scenarios involve [[{{Masquerade}} discreet investigations among Muggles]], this is all kinds of BlessedWithSuck). There's also the unbalance of domain powers, granted by the Archangel/Demon Prince you serve (and by extension, the virtue/sin they embody). Again, some of those are powerful -- petrification, turning people into pillars of salt, nightmare curses... but lust demons get [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Deadly Orgasm]], which while [[RuleOfCool somewhat awesome]] ([[{{Squick}} YMMV]]) is not exactly useful in a fight. Meanwhile, sloth demons get a power which makes any physical exertion impossible to anyone in a 100m radius... demon included. Not to be outdone in the lameness department, some angels get the power to ''speed up crop growth''.
** Even the American version is not immune to this entirely - the core book mentions that sometimes the Words (i.e., powers over one aspect of reality) handed out to angels and demons aren't necessarily the most useful. Anger Lucifer and you might find yourself as the next Demon of Stale Bong Water.

** ComicBook/WarrenWorthingtonIII a.k.a. Archangel uses the codename of his SuperpoweredEvilSide (Wisdom theorises that it's a response to his rejection by his family) and possesses deadly sharp metal wings, which are arguably even more dangerous than in canon -- they're made of some kind of supernatural/alien metal that means that Warren's speed is not exactly constrained by normal physics (he's seen comfortably breaking Mach 1, maybe even Mach 2, when he really gets going), low level superhuman physical abilities and a HealingFactor that would make Wolverine blink. He's essentially a LivingWeapon and is bitterly aware of it.

* In ''Fanfic/RiskItAll'', some of Ren's less combat-ready skills are at least useful life skills like speaking multiple languages or driving. He struggles to come up with uses for some of the more esoteric skills like Barista, which just makes him an impeccable coffee brewer. The only thing he can come up with is starting a MeTube channel about brewing coffee for some Prestige.

* In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} uses super-hypnotism -one of her most undervalued powers- to mesmerize D'reema into speaking the Life Equation and so cancelling out ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s Anti-Life Equation.

* In ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'', [[ComicBook/StarLord Peter Quill]] begins to ask ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} what kind of power talking to fish is, only for Aquaman to summon a tidal wave that includes a humpback whale squashing several of Thanos's forces.

** ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'': Kid Omega's power is [[http://cdn-www.cracked.com/phpimages/photoshop/5/3/8/1538_slide.jpg?v=2 retractable spines all over his body.]] Onscreen, we only see him use them to ''hug'' a lady to death. However, it's played like his powers should be at least mildly intimidating to the X-Men, who can regenerate, shoot lighting, etc. Also, when Magneto holds his meeting for mutants, he points out that there are a lot of weak mutants with powers that just make them unusual or have what amounts to aesthetic differences - a lot of them don't have much in the way of powers, but still get singled out for being different at all.
** Discussed in ''Film/Deadpool2''. While recruiting for his brand new X-Force team, he comes across ComicBook/{{Domino|MarvelComics}}, who proclaims that her power is "being lucky". Deadpool is annoyed - being lucky isn't a superpower and it certainly isn't cinematic, falling into this trope, while Domino is insistent that it is, falling into the HeartIsAnAwesomePower trope. [[spoiler:Domino is proven right when her powers ensure that she's the only member of Deadpool's team to survive their first mission besides Deadpool himself, who only lives because of his HealingFactor.]]

* ''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:

* ''WebAnimation/TheCyanideAndHappinessShow'' features a group of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet'' {{Expies}} who all get elemental powers. Naturally, the Ma-Ti Expy gets the power of Monkey. It summons one aging, diabetic monkey who does little more than sit around and doesn't even follow his commands. His time with the power ends a few minutes later when the monkey eats his ring and promptly chokes to death. As consolation, the goddess gives him the power of Heart, which a future short reveals to be the power to give himself a heart attack. (Unfortunately, it's still necessary to summon General Globe, since without it, he has a giant hole in his chest cavity.)

* In the ''Webvideo/TGWTGYearOneBrawl'', resident ButtMonkey Ma-Ti gets his ass handed to him by everyone while shouting "Heart" as his battle cry, then subverted as it suddenly becomes more badass when he repeats while repeatedly firing a gun. "Look out, Ma-Ti is packing heat!" Turned UpToEleven in ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'', where heart [[spoiler:is the only thing that can beat the evil wizard]].

* [[MeaningfulName Lincoln]] from ''WebVideo/TheGuardsThemselves'' has the power to spontaneously generate pennies. NoConservationOfMass, infinite money, sounds amazing, right? Well, he can ''only'' generate pennies. He may be set for life, but he's a pain for every store he shops at. [[spoiler:His tendency to slip BeneathNotice turns out to be the superpower that's actualy important, since it allows him to film Meyer's EvilGloating]].

Good writers can make this [[InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality work for a character]]. Their power, such as it is, is not the ''real'' reason they're in the group. Some characters end up being TheHeart (the team's social and moral compass), TheFace (diplomat and spokesperson), TheSmartGuy, or the BadassNormal. Often, said character is TheCaptain — superpowers would be just a tiny bonus to his real ability -- [[MagneticHero leadership]]. TheCaptain tends to be specifically written to have ''no'' special abilities, in fact.

* BBC radio comedy show ''Radio/TheBurkissWay'' had a ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' sketch where the team are irritated by an applicant trying to claim the ability to stand up from a sitting position as a super-power. ("I can do it quite quickly...") When this fails to impress them, he claims to have the ability to move from place to place at will -- by getting on the bus. They try and throw him out, so he reveals he has one last super-power: The ability to stop any comedy programme at will.

* The Vice President of the United States of America is supposed to be the second most powerful job in the US government, right? But usually the only thing he does that isn't ceremonial is cast tiebreaking votes in the Senate. Unless the top spot suddenly becomes vacant, VP is a pretty powerless position. The office of VP was even used as a dumping ground for unwanted politicians (as the job for handpicked successor at the time was Secretary of State), 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 (UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt) inherited the top job, or when UsefulNotes/JohnTyler suddenly gained it despite only being expected to scoop up southern votes. It's a case of CommonKnowledge. The President was never intended to be the "most powerful job in the US government" nor the Vice President be the "second most powerful job." The executive branch was set up to be the ''weakest'' branch of the government. The purpose of the executive branch is to enforce the laws. However, UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson realized the veto power given to the president when he believes a law is unenforceable was a valuable bargaining chip, which every president has since used to pass their own agendas. The only reason the Vice President's office exists is to create a clear line of succession to a person that has no major duties in the government. [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} That, and protect the space-time continuum. Read the Constitution]]. The Vice President was, until the passage of the 12th amendment, awarded to the loser of the Presidential election.[[note]]It was the same mentality now used for beauty pageants: "If the winner should be unable to continue holding their title, the runner-up will take their place."[[/note]] The lack of power was by design, in those days. Though by "loser," it was less often the candidate of the opposing party, and instead the candidate of the SAME party. Electors voted for two candidates, and one elector would abstain from voting a second time. Then they realized this was dumb, and changed it so that the Vice President would be on the same ticket of the President. The irony of this is, the House Speaker is ''third'' in line for the Presidency, and ''his'' job has ''far'' more formal responsibilities than the Vice President.

* This trope appears often in William Boniface's ''The Extraordinary Adventures Of Ordinary Boy'' kids' novels, set in a city where everyone has super-powers (except for the eponymous protagonist). Said powers range from the typical FlyingBrick and MindControl StockSuperpowers to the less-than-useful -- Puddle Boy can create puddles beneath his feet, Melonhead has a melon-shaped head and spits (ordinary) watermelon seeds, and Whistlin' Dixie can whistle any song perfectly.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' Yarne initially finds the his race the Taguel's ability to turn into [[HairRaisingHare giant rabbits]] rather lame compared to the ability of Manaketes such as Nah to turn into [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], though she manages to convince him that it's useful in its own ways. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower It proves true in gameplay]], with the former filling a semi-viable FragileSpeedster role, while the latter serve as {{Mighty Glacier}}s.

** The main [[FunctionalMagic magic system]] is allomancy. There are numerous powers, each associated with a metal, and Mistborn are people with [[SuperpowerLottery all the powers]], while those with a single one of the abilities are called Mistings. Obviously Mistborn are much more powerful, but many powers are very handy on their own, like Brass giving EmotionControl, Tin giving super-senses or Pewter enhanced strength and dexterity. Others are pretty unimpressive on their own, like Bronze allowing you to sense other allomancers or Copper allowing you to prevent them from being sensed, or Gold that lets you learn about your past self. While the former two aren't totally useless (being able to find or hide other allomancers does have some value), using gold allomancy is basically just considered a waste of gold as not only is their no real way to benefit, many with the power find it unsettling to use.

* [[MeaningfulName Lincoln]] from ''[[WebVideo/DoorMonster The Guards Themselves]]'' has the power to spontaneously generate money, NoConservationOfMass. Sounds amazing? Well, he can only generate pennies.

This refers to a special ability of someone on a team such as a FiveManBand who is [[CastSpeciation so specialized]] as to [[BlessedWithSuck seem useless in most situations]]. Usually, it's because the ability has no direct combat capabilities. Sometimes, a power that is more badass on paper can be lame in practice, usually when 1) [[PowerIncontinence the power is hard to control]], 2) the power's activation/requirement is ridiculously complex and/or the situation where it can be used rarely comes up (see ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman when it does), 3) the user - who normally isn't lame - is facing [[KungfuProofMook a problem]] or is [[YourMagicsNoGoodHere in a situation]] that [[PowerfulAndHelpless their powers can't solve]], 4) the user lacks enough ingenuity and creativity to use it, 5) the power [[PowerAtAPrice has a big tradeoff]] such that the user cannot use it too often without [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique endangering themselves]], 6) the power's effect is too small to be effective.

Good writers can make this [[InverseLawOfUtilityAndLethality work for a character]]. They may have a power (such as it is), but it's not the ''real'' reason they're in the group. Some characters end up being TheHeart (the social and moral compass), TheFace (diplomat and spokesperson), TheSmartGuy, or the BadassNormal. Often, said character is TheCaptain — superpowers would be just a tiny bonus to his real ability -- [[MagneticHero leadership]]. TheCaptain tends to be specifically written to have ''no'' superpowers, in fact.

Not every character is this lucky. It is a fact of life that leadership tends to favor the badass, [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass even if their level difference has been no fault of the weaker character himself]]. [[CantCatchUp Soon they will be ignored in favor of other, more interesting characters]] and eventually [[TheLoad people will even question why they are still on the team at all]]. They may even turn into TheScrappy.

There are a number of ways to fix this. If the character [[JokeCharacter still seems ridiculously underpowered]], they can still be RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap by [[RePower giving them additional powers]] or responsibilities. A common method is to have [[MagikarpPower the character suddenly "evolve" to a higher power level]]. WeakButSkilled characters might take advantage of the RequiredSecondaryPowers. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower Maybe there ARE more potential uses for this power]], it's just that the writers have somehow ignored them this far. Sometimes the character will uncover a devastating new use and become the dreaded LethalJokeCharacter. Some may try empowering themselves in the same way normal people would (because they're considered as good as {{Muggles}}): either by [[FightsLikeANormal developing mundane combat skills]] or by using technology or magic trinkets.

[[caption-width-right:240:[-[[Franchise/{{Wolverine}} He's the best there is at what he does,]] [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative if that's any consolation.]]-] ]]

* In a ''Webcomic/SavageChickens'' [[http://www.savagechickens.com/2014/05/revenge-of-aquaman.html webcomic strip]]: "What good is Aquaman, nothing ever happens in the ocean."

* Vedika of ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'' runs afoul of Heartful Punch's rule against people pooping on their own powers when she laments that work in the hospital is about all she's useful for since her power is noncombat. The conversation does not reveal what her power actually ''is'', other than that, despite being useful in a hospital setting, it is not actually healing.

* ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'' IS this trope.
** Some, like Buckaress, have no identifiable powers at all, and Good Girl's abilities are... well, we don't know what they are.
** Gyrognome is really good at punching people in the balls. Justified since he's at the perfect height for it.
** Laser Pony can shoot immensely powerful laser beams from his eyes... that he can't ''aim'' because the lasers ''burned out his retinas.''
* Subverted by [[http://buttersafe.com/2007/09/27/the-power-of-love/ this]] ''Webcomic/{{Buttersafe}}'' comic, in which love is [[spoiler:the source of energy which powers eye lasers]].
* In ''Webcomic/TheBMovieComic'', Mopey hasn't been a MagicalGirl for more than one minute, and [[http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=229 she already asks that very question]].

* Parodied in [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=164 this installment]] of ''Webcomic/VGCats''.

* Lampshaded in [[http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20080912 this]] strip from ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo''.
* Subverted in [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=499 this]] strip from ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal''.
* Apparently the entire point of ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'''s "Supers" theme. For ''both'' heroes and villains.
* This trope is the ''entire premise'' of the furry superhero comic ''Psychic Dyslexia Institute'' (PDI), where a "psychic dyslexia" is an exceptionally odd superpower; characters include, among many others: a girl who can create completely convincing illusions, but only of clothing; someone who has the power to tell whether or not a building contains cheese; a boy who subconsciously generates a field around him that makes anyone who enters it suddenly feel an irrational overriding hatred towards him, and an anthropomorphic chicken whose eggs glow in the dark. They actually find fairly creative ways to use these abilities, especially with the addition of a team member whose ability is to reverse the ability of any powered character he touches. Pathos, for example, generates a field that makes people become absolutely enraptured towards him while touching Reverso, generally used as an extremely effective distraction.

* Noah of ''Webcomic/APathToGreaterGood'' has, at the start of the series, the magical power to ''not see his own reflection''.

* [[https://web.archive.org/web/20081007091908/http://www.captainexcelsior.com/index.php?id=81 Average-Man]] is the world's most average superhero. He's okay at flying.
* The premise of [[http://www.optipess.com/2008/12/05/amazing-superpowers/ this]] ''Optipess'' strip.

* ''Fletcher Apts.'' [[https://web.archive.org/web/20080804050531/http://www.fletcherapts.com/archive/20070521.html Here]], Ma-Ti gets an upgrade to his Heart powers. A giant monkeywrench to smash people in the face with.

* Many fans of ''Webcomic/MegaTokyo'' initially felt this way when [[{{Ninja}} Junpei]] pointed out that {{Magical Girl}}s gain their [[ThePowerOfLove power from love]], [[AvertedTrope but...]] just head over to HeartIsAnAwesomePower and you'll get the idea.
* ''Luke Surl Comics'' has [[http://www.lukesurl.com/archives/1294 one more view]] on Ma-Ti.
* Lampshaded in [[http://survivingtheworld.net/Lesson237.html this]] ''Webcomic/SurvivingTheWorld'' strip on superpowers.

* [[http://woodsforthetrees.comicgenesis.com/d/20110214.html "Heart doesn't win any awards, Reuben, it just tastes of iron... or in Jess' case, cholesterol."]]

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' has the [[https://xkcd.com/1012/ "Wrong Superhero"]] Etymology-Man, whose powers are to [[FromTheLatinIntroDucere explain where a word comes from]]. Of course, this is of no help to the people who summoned him by accident while trying to fight a horde of [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant mantises]].
** He originally appeared in [[http://xkcd.com/1010/ Etymology-Man]], where it is noted that, ironically, even Aquaman would be more useful in those circumstances.

** Infamous as perhaps the worst card ever printed is Break Open. It interacts with the Morph mechanic which allows a player to play a creature faced down as a 2/2, a relatively small creature, then later pay more mana to flip it over, usually into a more powerful creature and often triggering an effect when flipped. So more often than not, when you Break Open an opponents creature (since it cannot target your own), you're actually upgrading the creature and saving your opponent from having to spend the mana themselves. Not to mention that this is assuming they even have Morph creatures in their deck in the first place, since if they don't you can't even play the card, which might be for the best anyways.

** Warren Worthington III a.k.a. Archangel uses the codename of his SuperpoweredEvilSide (Wisdom theorises that it's a response to his rejection by his family) and possesses deadly sharp metal wings, which are arguably even more dangerous than in canon -- they're made of some kind of supernatural/alien metal that means that Warren's speed is not exactly constrained by normal physics (he's seen comfortably breaking Mach 1, maybe even Mach 2, when he really gets going), low level superhuman physical abilities and a HealingFactor that would make Wolverine blink. He's essentially a LivingWeapon and is bitterly aware of it.

* In ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'', Peter Quill begins to ask Aquaman what kind of power talking to fish is, only for Aquaman to summon a tidal wave that includes a humpback whale squashing several of Thanos's forces.

* All of the ''Film/MysteryMen'' are D-list superheroes with bizarre powers, ranging from the goofy but cool (Spleen's [[{{Fartillery}} super farts]] and Bowler's [[EmpathicWeapon haunted bowling ball]]) to the useful but poorly utilized (Blue Raja is so committed to his theme he refuses to use his ImprobableAimingSkills for anything other than forks and Sphynx is more interested in being mysterious than cutting guns in half with his mind) to the "so conditional it's useless" (Invisible Boy can only turn invisible when no one is looking, [[spoiler:though it does let him get past cameras]], and the level of angry Mr. Furious has to be for his SuperStrength to kick in is nigh-unreachable, especially for someone as passive-aggressive as him). Not to mention The Shoveler, a BadassNormal with a [[ShovelStrike relatively lame theme]].

** Discussed in ''Film/Deadpool2''. While recruiting for his brand new X-Force team, he comes across Domino, who proclaims that her power is "being lucky". Deadpool is annoyed - being lucky isn't a superpower and it certainly isn't cinematic, falling into this trope, while Domino is insistent that it is, falling into the HeartIsAnAwesomePower trope. [[spoiler:Domino is proven right when her powers ensure that she's the only member of Deadpool's team to survive their first mission besides Deadpool himself, who only lives because of his HealingFactor.]]

* Played with by Creator/BrandonSanderson in ''[[Literature/AlcatrazSeries Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians]]''. The Smedry family all have magical "talents" that typically sound not just useless, but actively detrimental, but also have some sort powerful effect. Sometimes the beneficial effects are extensions of the talent, like Grandpa Smedry being late to everything, including being shot or his own death, while others are less directly related, like Sing's ability to fall down, which actually acts as an early warning sign of impending danger.

** Gali, a Toa of Water, complained to her trainer that she cannot think of a way to make good use of her [[MaskOfPower Mask of Water Breathing]] as an offensive ''or'' defensive item, especially since the training took place in a desert. Later on, though, she moved to a watery area and also gathered five other masks, so it was all good. Actually, a lot of mask powers in the Bionicle Universe may seem kind of awesome at first, but when you remember that often these are the only masks their user has access to, they may find themselves in hairy situations. Gali is actually a bit luckier than she seems in this regard; as a Toa of Water, water-breathing is essentially a RequiredSecondaryPower for her.

* Rebecca Chambers in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0''. Though she is technically the main character of the game, Billy is far more useful in combat due to his ability to take more damage. Rebecca's only unique talent is her ability to mix herbs, which is only useful because Billy is the only character in the entire franchise who can't do this. In all the previous Resident Evil games, every playable character had this ability.
* While other characters in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' got things like swords, spears, bows, black magic, and axes, Edward's weapon is a harp that shoots lines of music at enemies. His special ability is singing, which often fails to work on regular enemies, while bosses are immune to it.
* The Forgotten Beasts in ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' will sometimes have one of these. The random nature of their breath attacks means that, while sometimes they have dust that'll cause bleeding on every surface it touches, at other times they'll have a mild numbing vapor, which is essentially a painkiller dust. (Though, even the painkiller dust will wreck the player's day by [[RealityEnsues ruining their framerate]].) The web-shooting ability is glitched to complete unusability for Forgotten Beasts.
* The first ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' game has an example with Decoy Octopus, who can imitate another person perfectly, even down to the blood. While it ''sounds'' good and is certainly useful, it just can't compare to the likes of the FourthWall-shattering Psychic, the hulking shaman wielding a {{BFG}} commonly found on ''fighter jets'', the ColdSniper skilled enough to hit you in a ''blizzard'', and the clone of the greatest soldier ever who is [[MadeOfIron Made Of Frickin' Titanium]]. He only one-ups the sharpshooting BadassNormal... but who acts mostly [[ManipulativeBastard behind]] {{the|Chessmaster}} [[TheManBehindTheMan scenes]] instead of in the battlefield.
* The Eyeclops helmet in ''VideoGame/KidChameleon''; in an irritatingly NintendoHard game, its primary application is to... fire harmless green beams that reveal invisible blocks, which is useless most of the time (as power up blocks are either clearly seen or easily found without the helmet). Its ''attack'' function is its ''crystal power up'', which fires a brief white beam of kill energy that only takes off one hit from normal enemies, doesn't damage bosses ''at all'', yet eats gems like candy per use. The only real advantage it gives you over your normal, unpowered self is an extra hit point (which any of the other helmets can get you, themselves). There are actually several levels which make creative use of this helmet, [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman as the blocks the beam reveals form a temporary platform.]]
* The Sleep power up in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series; all you do with it activated is, well... sleep for a while, not healing or becoming invulnerable or anything, just... sleeping and being a sitting duck. Enemies or powerups that grant Sleep are actually used as obstacles later in the series for just that reason; likewise, it's a {{Zonk}} when two or more powers are absorbed at the same time ("Mix"). This was later subverted in one game, where a treasure lets Kirby use Sleep to heal his health bar. In several games, Sleep ''does'' give you invulnerability; there was even a level in one game where you had to sleep through a conveyor belt filled with invulnerable spiky enemies to reach a secret door. Although, to be honest, even with the scroll to give it healing abilities, Sleep is still useless. You'd probably be better off with any other healing item.
** The Ghost power up in ''Squeak Squad''. To get this ability, Kirby has to collect the hidden pieces of Ghost Medals, and once he does, the special ghost minibosses will appear in one part of each world; Kirby has to defeat the miniboss to get the power. Once you get it, Ghost Kirby's power is to... [[SetAMookToKillAMook possess enemies and move them around to fight other enemies]]. Only mook-level, not miniboss ones (let alone a proper boss). And the enemies' abilities (not all enemies have a special ability, by the way) are all inferior to the ones Kirby can take normally. Only good if you're just screwing around, not when you're solving puzzles or fighting bosses.

* The game ''VideoGame/SuperheroLeagueOfHoboken'' is built on the subversion of this trope. Set in postapocalyptic Hoboken and surroundings, the protagonists are superheroes with... really weird powers. And names. And backgrounds. Such as Captain Excitement, so boring that he can cause animals to fall asleep at will. Treader Man, half man, half boat, who is really good at treading water. Breadbuster, able to vanquish any baked goods. Madame Pepperoni, able to instinctively know the content of any pizza box without looking. (Only pizza boxes, though.) The list goes on. Yet, almost all of them make use of their powers one way or another, either to solve a quest (a hostel is swamped with unfolded road maps; fortunately, Princess Glovebox's power is specifically the ability to handle this), or to assist in combat (causing animals to fall asleep is REALLY useful when you're attacked by Albino Rhinos). In fact, the only hero whose power is NOT useful in some way is [[spoiler: Crimson Tape, the main character... and the only one you can't remove from the party]]. Fortunately, you can give heroes secondary powers to round out the group.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', the various deities you get your powers from are the gods of things like fire, restoration, water, etc. The cat, Kabegami, however, is the God of ''Walls'', and while being able to walk up vertical surfaces may seem pretty handy, in practice it's limited to a few very specific paths marked by Kabegami statues and pawprints. The power is mainly only useful for HundredPercentCompletion.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLastRemnant'', most (if not all) of the characters that can be recruited into your party have, in addition to their usual complement of standard "RPG Attributes", a single custom attribute which can also increase through combat along with everything else. This attribute can have interesting names such as 'bravery' and 'love', but also non-sequiturs like 'gluttony'. However, they all actually have the exact same use, i.e. they determine that character's Base Reaction Value - which among other things determines how it behaves in combat when you give the "Play it by ear" command (which lets that particular unit/union to choose an appropriate action by itself).
* The InteractiveFiction series ''The Frenetic Five'' features a group of superheroes in a world where not all powers are awesome. The player character, Improv, has the power of "thinking ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' was a rank amateur," (a power which doesn't actually have any effect on the game -- the player himself is expected to provide that power in the form of solving puzzles through improvization). His teammates are:
** "Pastiche", each of whose body parts has a different power (her hand, for example, can phase through solid matter, but her KryptoniteFactor is ''rope'' and anything wheat-based);
** "Lexicon" knows every word in the English language (Not their meaning, though, as he's not a dictionary);
** "Newsboy" has a mystical ability to receive news headlines remotely;
** "The Clapper" can make objects beep by clapping (in one episode, The Clapper is replaced by Medic Alert, a hero with the power to beep loudly until help arrives).

* In ''[[VideoGame/TheBizarreAdventuresOfWoodruffAndTheSchnibble Woodruff and The Schnibble of Azimuth]]'', after you go back in time and save an injured bazouk, a Chinese-stereotype "guru" (whose existence you've caused) will periodically show up and give you such powers as... the ability to control your hair growth. Subverted when Woodruff asks what use these powers are and is told, [[spoiler:"Individually, they are useless. But once you have mastered them all, you will gain the ability to levitate!" And indeed, levitation is necessary to complete the game]].
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. In exchange for all of Dan Hibiki's inferiorities, he gains an ability unique to him that allows him to... taunt without limit. Other characters can only taunt once per round. Lucky bastard! It got even worse for him. In ''Capcom Vs SNK 2'', taunting charged your opponent's power meter. One of Dan's hypercombos was a non damaging series of rolls while taunting repletedly. Yeah, he could completely drain his power meter and leave himself wide open to an opponent's attack for a very long time... in order to make his opponent more dangerous. Way to go, Dan.

* ''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:
** Rumia, with the power to create darkness around herself that [[RequiredSecondaryPowers she can't even see out of]]. While conceivably useful, she's also a complete moron who never uses it for anything interesting.
** Lily White, with the power to announce the arrival of spring.
** The Prismriver sisters can play their instruments without touching them.
** [[TheOneGuy Rinnosuke]], with the power to identify the name and purpose of any object [[KnowNothingKnowItAll without knowing HOW to actually use it]].
** Shizuha Aki, the [[OddJobGods goddess of autumn leaves]], has the power to turn leaves red (by [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows painting them manually]]) and making leaves fall from trees (by violently kicking the tree).
** Renko Usami, who has the power to accurately tell time and location by looking at the night sky, which would be more useful if she didn't live in a future version of the outside world.
** Orin has the ability to carry away corpses. Not to supernaturally gather them or instantly transport them, simply to pick them up and take them away on her cart.
** [[OurMermaidsAreDifferent Wakasagihime]] becomes stronger in water. And she's still a stage 1 boss. During an incident that empowered the weak.
** The Tsukumo sisters, being personified instruments, have the listed ability of performing without players.
** And then there's [[AxCrazy Yuuka]] [[TheGadfly Kazami]] who has the power to [[GreenThumb make flowers bloom and turn towards the sun]]. Yeeeaaah. She's also [[TimeAbyss older than sin]] in a setting where non-humans get StrongerWithAge, [[FlightStrengthHeart effectively making her]] the WorldsStrongestWoman, so that is fun, too.

* In ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Scott Malkinson boasts that he has "the power of diabetes." Unlike the game's other silly superpowers, like the Dovahkiin's {{Fartillery}} and the Jew class [[CriticalStatusBuff gaining power through his people's suffering]], this confers no benefits. Subverted in [[Videogame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole the sequel]], where Scott, as Captain Diabetes, gains SuperStrength by deliberately sending himself into a diabetic shock (though this also comes at the risk of killing him if he doesn't have insulin, a weakness that you help him bypass).
* Present in the backstory of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII''. The great sage Noah had three immortal students - Doga, Unei, and Xande. He gave Doga incredible magical power. He gave Unei complete control over the world of dreams. He gave Xande... the ability to die. [[ImmortalsFearDeath This didn't sit well with Xande]], who is responsible for most of the major problems faced in the game in trying to avoid Noah's "gift."
* The gimmick of ''VideoGame/SpyroEnterTheDragonfly'' is that Spyro finds runes throughout the worlds, bring them to the Dragon Spirit and receive a new power. Bianca provides Spyro with the first rune. What does he get? [[BubbleGun Bubble breath]]. …no, seriously. While it does serve a functional purpose - collecting lost dragonflies - it is a very imprecise tool, making it hard for players to catch them, and it is completely useless against enemies.

* The ''Frenetic Five'' game series put the players in the shoes of the team's leader, Improv, an unpowered superhero whose main skill the his ability to improvise with objects in his immediate surroundings. The others are Lexicon (granted a superhuman grasp of the English language by a freak tertiary education accident), the Clapper (can make nearby objects beep loudly by clapping while thinking about them), Newsboy (can psychically access any news story from any news source past or present) and Pastiche (has a ridiculous number of superpowers, most fitting this trope, with enough being localized to specific parts of her body to cover them all). The third and final game sees the Clapper go on strike and be replaced by someone who tops them all: Medic Alert, who beeps loudly to alert the authorities in times of danger.

* The flash animation by Egoraptor ''WebAnimation/GirlchanInParadise'' has Maytag, a woman with a price gun. Nobody seems to see this power as physically dangerous, yet everyone keeps reiterating they have no idea how to beat such a power, and The Green Guy comes to the conclusion [[spoiler:he has to use a suicide attack and blow himself up with her]].

* [[http://www.man-man.org/?comic=&date=20050331 Basilica]] in ''[[http://www.man-man.org/ Man-Man]]'' has possibly the most ludicrous power ever invented. He turns into a basilica, then the resident priest tells you to knock off what you were doing. Worse, ''other people'' can trigger the transformation.

* During the super hero story arc of ''Webcomic/DragonTails'', [[ExtremeDoormat Lemuel's]] alter ego gained the ability to manipulate emotions and make people happy. Not only did he gain these powers while playing a villain, he couldn't actually stop people from doing things, merely [[http://www.dragon-tails.com/comics/archive.php?date=020202 change how they feel about doing those things]].

* [[http://www.captainexcelsior.com/index.php?id=81 Average-Man]] is the world's most average superhero. He's okay at flying.

* Almost the entire cast of ''[[http://superslackers.com/ Superslackers]]''. For example, Invisible Right Leg Lad's power is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin having an invisible right leg]]. One of the few characters with a useful power [[DeathByIrony dies in a somewhat ironic manner]] exactly two panels after his first appearance.
* ''Fletcher Apts.'' [[http://www.fletcherapts.com/archive/20070521.html In here]], Ma-Ti gets an upgrade to his Heart powers. A giant monkeywrench to smash people in the face with.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''

* Lampshaded in [[http://survivingtheworld.net/Lesson237.html this]] Webcomic/SurvivingTheWorld strip on superpowers.
* [[http://www.metaleeto.com Metaleeto]] has total power over O-shaped metal. Rings, washers, certain foreign coins, and maybe possibly nuts are completely under his thrall!

* ''Webcomic/{{Wondermark}}'' features [[http://wondermark.com/534/ "The Adventures of the Superhero Whose Left Ear Is Bulletproof"]]. [[spoiler:He got shot once in his left ear and assumed his whole body was bulletproof. His superhero career after that point was very brief.]]

* The Metokur Chimera as created by former internet troll site "Metokur" has blue smoke breath and can turn people into "penis-headed monsters" or into inanimate objects by clicking its fingers. The kicker... the chimera doesn't even have a real appearance at all or isn't even a real threat.

* In the ''Webvideo/TGWTGYearOneBrawl'', resident ButtMonkey Ma-Ti gets his ass handed to him by everyone while shouting "Heart" as his battle cry, then subverted as it suddenly becomes more badass when he repeats while repeatedly firing a gun. "Look out, Ma-Ti is packing heat!" Turned UpToEleven in their 3-year anniversary, where heart [[spoiler:is the only thing that can beat the evil wizard]].

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh_zios6nIU USELESS SUPERPOWERS]]'' is a [=YouTube=] video highlighting some super heroes with really bad powers, such as Semi-Transparent Man, who can still be seen, and AOL, who can connect to the Internet (eventually).

* And just to add insult to injury, mathematician [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horton_Conway John Conway]] ''also'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_algorithm had that power]], but still was of the world's greatest living mathematicians.

* A few people, such as the Egyptian-born [[http://www.damninteresting.com/retired/hadji-ali-and-the-regurgitators/ Hadji Ali]], have been "gifted" with a talent for voluntary regurgitation, i.e. the ability to swallow and then upchuck various items and substances at will. About the only use any of them were ever able to make of this admittedly visually impressive ability was a career alongside sword swallowers and the like in circus sideshows--[[NauseaFuel and for best results, not during their dinner shows]].

** The Sequel Series adds more metals to the mix, which again vary significantly in power. One of the main characters has the ability to create a field around herself that basically put her and anyone else in it in slow motion compared to the outside world. She considers this useless, because the only thing it's good for is if you're tired of waiting for something to happen. [[spoiler: Of course at the end of the book first, our heroes make a plan involving using her power to stall long enough for TheCavalry to arrive.]]
** Duralumin allows Mistborn to supercharge one of their other powers by using both at the same time. However someone can also be a Misting with this power which is entirely useless because they have no other powers to use it in conjunction with. Aluminum is arguably even worse, as it just burns away their reserves of metals to no benefit, meaning that it does nothing for Mistings and is generally detrimental to Mistborn. It does have some niche uses, like safely disposing of bad metals (An allomancer can get sick or even die if they burn an impure metal, and some of the allomantic metals are poisonous if not burned off). WordOfGod also indicates that it could interact with other magic systems in Literature/TheCosmere, allowing the user to burn away harmful magical effects.

* In the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' Midnight Crew Intermission, The Felt are a gang of mobsters specializing in time-related magic. Most of the powers are pretty useful, but a few of them are rather pointless. Sawbuck's power is that whenever he gets hurt, he and everyone around him will jump to a random point in the timeline. Biscuits believes that his "magical" oven can teleport him into the future. He's technically correct, although it only moves at a rate of one second per second, so he's essentially hiding himself in a completely mundane box until the timer rings. [[spoiler:It eventually turns out that Biscuits' oven is BiggerOnTheInside, and able to ferry the entirety of the Felt around, including Ms. Paint and Arthour the horse butler.]] Doze has the power to speed up time around him, giving himself super-slowness, which causes him to be constantly be captured yet practically impossible to interrogate.
** Later {{subverted|Trope}} when the power of the Hero of Heart is elaborated upon by [[spoiler:Calliope]], the Guardian's [[spoiler:Cherub]] guide. Apparently Heart is effectively the same as [[spoiler:Soul]], which, combined with the powers of the Hero's class, makes the often thought innocent lolcat and fangirl parody Nepeta the [[spoiler:[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Stealer of Souls]]]] and [[spoiler:Dirk Strider, the Prince of Heart, the [[AwesomeMcCoolname Destroyer of Souls]]]]. Later he is shown being able to [[spoiler:rip the soul from someone's body which apparently is very painful]].