History Main / WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway

Unfortunately, fiction tends to favor the badass. [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass Even if their power difference is no fault of the character himself]], [[CantCatchUp they will be sidelined in favor of more interesting characters]] and eventually [[TheLoad people will wonder why they are on the team at all]]. They may even turn into TheScrappy.

Named for an [[MemeticMutation Internet meme]], itself referring to Ma-Ti's ring power in ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers''. While the other team members could control the raw elements with visually impressive feats, he could just [[SpeaksFluentAnimal talk to animals]] with a SpiderSense. No doubt it was useful — his telepathy bailed them out a lot, as did the ability to get nearby animals to help, and it seemed to ward off the IdiotBall — but [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass it lacked the total]] [[ElementalPowers elemental]] "badass" quality of the others. Then there was the fact that the one BigBad he bothered to use it on was invulnerable to its powers because "You have no heart!", and [[MindOverManners the other villains never merited an attempt, for some reason]]. Ironically, since his power involved a form of limited mind-control (humans are still animals), [[FridgeLogic he probably could have been]] the [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower most devastatingly powerful]] [[StoryBreakerPower of all the Planeteers]] if he weren't a pacifist, something which the show itself acknowledged on at least one occasion. Plus it's hard ([[Anime/CodeGeass but not impossible]]) to have dramatic tension when the hero [[GameBreaker can just command the bad guys to shoot themselves in the head]].

** The entire school club The Underdogs is made of kids in this category. Kamuro can shoot sparks out of her hands. Not lightning blasts or anything dangerous. Just sparks. And don't ask about [[{{Gasshole}} Miasma]].

** Warlocks could take the Hideous Blow invocation, which allows you to make a single melee attack and add your Eldritch Blast damage on a successful hit. Unfortunately, warlocks are not really built for melee, and using the invocation negates most of the advantages of the basic Eldritch Blast (a sixty-foot range, touch attack that ignores most conventional forms of armor) in favor of adding a meager amount of weapon damage (assuming you even had a decent weapon you were proficient with). A later splatbook introduced the Eldritch Glaive invocation, which turned the blast itself into a weapon that allowed full-round attacks, granted inherent proficiency, delivered EB damage and weapon damage, and could trip foes. It was ''still'' very situational and a poor pick compared to other invocations, but it topped Hideous Blow in every way.

* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear''. The older brothers are mocking the main character for having a "love" totem. It's hard to say if being changed into bear counts as a superpower, but it's obviously not natural.

* ''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 the ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' books, the awesome power of the Sword of Shannara, the only weapon that can defeat the Warlock Lord (BigBad of the first book), is... truth. This works because the Warlock Lord is long-dead but refuses to accept it until the sword forces him to do so. It's also good for healing people who've been corrupted by deceitful [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bastards]] in some other books. However, the threat in the second book is a very much alive, real and physical army of demons, so it's explicitly said the sword would be no help there.

* The WebAnimation/{{Animutation}} ''[[WebAnimation/ColinMochrieVsJesusHChrist French Erotic Film]]'' by Creator/AndrewKepple, where various animutation characters contribute elements and finally "spleen!" -- with "What kind of lame-ass power is 'Heart' anyway?" written in the background.

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

* Morgan from ''WebVideo/SAndDTier'' is a "D-Tier Supervillain," because, while they technically have superpowers, they're considered to be a virtual non-threat. Why? Because their power is the ability to teleport ''other'' people... once a month. And they can't choose where they send people; they can only teleport people ''to them''. Oh, and they can't teleport anything that isn't biological matter, so whoever they summon shows up naked. Unsuprisingly, Morgan's had to become WeakButSkilled in order to compensate.

* ''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 somewhat less influential, 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.

%* Lampshaded in [[http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20080912 this]] strip from ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo''.

* ''Literature/BrillianceTrilogy'': 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.

** 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 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 is shown to be excrutiatingly painful for Aranea]].

* ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'': Some, like Buckaress, have no identifiable powers at all (unless you count her being able to [[LethalChef set any food item on fire by being tangentially involved in its preparation]]), 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]].

* [[https://web.archive.org/web/20050405212800/http://www.man-man.org/?comic=&date=20050331 Basilica]] in ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20011221191029/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.
* In the ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' parody webcomic ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', we have The Chinaman of the [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad Dead Cell unit]]. In a team consisting of a giant explosives expert, a superb strategist, and a vampire who can see in the dark, run up walls, walk on water and pin people to the ground by their shadows, The Chinaman is... a special effects expert and a navy swimming champion. Who can also hold his breath for a really long time. Did I mention that he's currently stationed in a ''desert''? Because of all this, he ends up trying ''way'' too hard.

%%* Parodied in [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=164 this installment]] of ''Webcomic/VGCats''.
* A short arc in the ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' BSideComics "Bikini Suicide Frisbee Days" dealt with the main characters getting powers like these. Riff gained the power to make sound effects, Torg gained the "power" of having his life narrated, and Zoe gained the ability/curse to speak a different language each time she opens her mouth (but never English). Gwynn's the only one who got a useful superpower: the power to create an anti-climactic ending, causing all the other useless superpowers to fade away.
%%* Lampshaded in [[http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comic/20080912 this]] strip from ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo''.

%%* Apparently the entire point of ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'''s "Supers" theme. For ''both'' heroes and villains.
* This trope forms the 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.

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' Andrew's etheric ability is to subconsciously impose order, or as Parley puts it, [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=385 "his super power is to make everything boring!"]] [[SubvertedTrope That being said]], it gradually becomes more useful as Andrew becomes more competent at using it and eventually develops into borderline {{Reality Warp|er}}ing thanks to being able to manipulate probability and subtly produce beneficial results for Andrew and anyone he's close to. His ability just isn't as flashy as, say, Parley's [[FlashStep teleportation]] or Annie's [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]].
* 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 [[https://web.archive.org/web/20020804221715/http://www.dragon-tails.com/comics/archive.php?date=020202 change how they feel about doing those things]].
* In [[http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001479.html this]] ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics'', T-Rex imagines bizarre superpowers for himself and his friends. "Your super power is shooting sunscreen out of your eyes." "What do yours do? Dribble out salty water, but only when you're sad?"
%%* [[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.
* Hamsterfall from ''Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower''. When he wills it, hamsters drop from the sky.
** Also Plantae. He has the power to control plants. In comic books this is typically a reasonable power, but that's because it implicitly [[RequiredSecondaryPowers gives the plants the ability to move]]. The only plant that can move in this comic is Bob himself (and possibly Stumpy). Needless to say, the uses of commanding a flower with anger issues are limited.
* Almost the entire cast of ''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.'' [[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.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
** In the 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. So HeartIsAnAwesomePower after all.]] 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 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 is shown to be excrutiatingly painful for Aranea]].
* Bob's power in ''Webcomic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer'' is to "fail at building demolition".
* In ''Webcomic/APathToGreaterGood'', Noah's power is ''the inability to see his own reflection''. It later gets upgraded to [[spoiler:travelling between two parallel worlds, but he often materialises dozens of feet in the air or surrounded by man-eating dinosaurs]].
%%* 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.

* [[https://web.archive.org/web/20090503021753/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!
%%* [[http://woodsforthetrees.comicgenesis.com/d/20110214.html "Heart doesn't win any awards, Reuben, it just tastes of iron... or in Jess' case, cholesterol."]]
* In ''Webcomic/WrightAsRayne'', Misty Smid's superpower is the ability to sense when people are looking at her and where they're standing. [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower This can make her a decent spy]], but it's useless in combat, especially when you consider her best friend is a witch.
* Lampshaded in ''The Clone Wars'' Online Web Comic ''The Valsedian Operation'', which features a scene where a washed-out ex-Jedi student (now part of the Agricultural Corps), with extremely limited Force abilities, is working with a competent Clone Captain to hunt an assassin through a city. When the Clone (who is used to working with full-fledged Jedi) asks her if she can sense anything, she replies all she can sense is that there are no plants around. The Clone confidently replies, "Well, think of it as a strength looking for a situation!"

* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':
** When Ellen and Elliot start developing magic, Ellen gets the variation of TransformationRay turning the target into a 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 gets is the one turning him into [[spoiler:a stock [[FlyingBrick superheroine]]]].
** Some of the other spells and powers of characters count too. Nanase has a disguise spell that only works on her hair and a spell that allows her to exchange a clothing item she's wearing with another clothing item. Sarah almost gets the ability to turn into a guy before she was foiled by her own brain. [[spoiler: Susan's]] only known spell lets her summon magic hammers at any time, but they don't leave any serious injury and are mostly intended for gag purposes. Magus can slightly amplify emotions (This has yet to be of ANY use). And [[spoiler: Rhoda and Dex]] have the powers to, respectively, make things larger and to summon a fairy companion. However, the former ability winds up saving the user's life and the person with the latter ability just wants companionship, so it works out in the end.
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Krosp I, Emperor of all cats, has the power to command other cats. The intent was to use cats as spies, but unfortunately cats aren't that bright, get distracted easily, and don't understand most of the things humans do. Even if they don't just forget what they're supposed to be doing, the chance of them coming back with any usable information is low, and Krosp was nearly killed off as an embarrassing failed experiment. Later, it turns out that Krosp is [[spoiler:actually supposed to command his creator's army of bears]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'', Max gets magnet powers from his possessed bat. It would be pretty cool, except all the enemies in the comic are intangible ghosts and spirits, so throwing around a bunch of metal stuff isn't really as useful as you'd think.
%%* 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."
* Selan Pike's ''Webcomic/EvilFTW'' has a girl who is psychic, but only when it comes to vending machines; all but Selanio, Xeno, Professor Pain, Reza, Damon Lords, and Apogee are BlessedWithSuck in some form in this series. One might try to argue that Selan is different -- right up until she faints from hypoglycemia. She can't use her powers while tired.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Pulse}}'' possessors of such powers are classified as E-Class: "A person with unconventional or ineffective powers."
* In ''Webcomic/{{Henchgirl}}'', Mary's roommate, Tina, reveals she has the power to make carrots come out of her wrists. Later in the series, she finds out she can animate them.
* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': Vedika's {{magical girl}} power is a relatively weak form of {{telepathy}} that allows her to send and receive simple thoughts -- a far cry from the flashier, more effective powers that most of her peers possess, and seemingly useless in fighting monsters. She's rather self-conscious about her powers' lack of combat utility, and laments that volunteering at a nearby hospital is about all she's useful for.

* ''Webcomic/LearningWithMangaFGO'':
** The unnamed FBI agent Assassin's Noble Phantasm creates a folder with all of the target's dirty little secrets, perfect for shaming and blackmailing them. Though this has some applications, it's near-useless for combatting Servants--being figures of myth and history, their secrets and weaknesses are already well-known, using it to [[IKnowYourTrueName identify a Servant]] is unnecessary when ''Grand Order'' is pretty lax about True Names, and most of them would respond to threats of blackmail by simply vaporizing you. It also does nothing to help Assassin's dreadful combat skills.
** The bunnygirl Rider's Noble Phantasm is even sillier - being able to summon reels of every film she ever worked on. As it turns out, though, [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower old-school filmstock is highly flammable,]] meaning this has at least some applications. She can also create costumes, [[PaperThinDisguise which are rarely convincing]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Cornucopia}}'': Many people make fun of Hiccup’s chosen power: the ability to control paint.

* ''Literature/{{Temps}}'' includes 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.

* Some women have a genetic mutation that allows them to see a fourth color of light, probably yellow, as it's sensitive to wavelengths between red and green. It gets worse: the way of the mutation that means only women can get the 'power' means their male children run a high risk of colour-blindess.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''WebVideo/PotterPuppetPals'' in the live show at least. Dumbledore describes the awesome power of:
-->'''Dumbledore:''' ... The spell we know as love.\\
'''Harry:''' ''Lame!''
* Marik from ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' can use his [[ArtifactOfDoom Millennium Rod]] to control minds. Unfortunately, it only works on people called Steve. Although having people's names legally changed makes them susceptible, as Joey and Tea find out. This also applies to people whose middle names are Steve, as Marik was able to control Bandit Keith because his middle name was Steve, and presumably people whose last names are Steve. He also pointed out that, if he felt like it, he could have Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin kick your ass.
* [[TheLoad Sailor Mercury]] from ''WebVideo/SailorMoonAbridged'' is not only utterly useless, in one episode [[spoiler:she even causes the people to die by using her powers, hence blocking their views and prevent them from fleeing the scenery]].
* Kroko gets this in ''Fanfic/APosseAdEsse''. While his fellow inmates get things like emotion-controlled weather, limited gravity manipulation and [[spoiler:the ability to pause time for 30 seconds]], Kroko... can fly seven feet in the air. (Granted, he is 19cm tall, but still.) And he seems to have to constantly flap his arms to maintain this flight.
* ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6302431/1/Just-Check-Both Just Check Both]]'':
** Manga/{{Naruto}} has inherited a kekkei genkai from his father that causes him to [[GenderBender change genders at semi-random intervals]]. [[WholesomeCrossdresser Haku]] is severely creeped out by the idea of someone who changes genders having a crush on him.
** Gaara from the same story has the power to set his hair on fire.
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' rehabilitates one or two people who have previously lame or underdeveloped powers.
** Sean Cassidy a.k.a. Banshee is mostly famous for screaming at people to knock them down or at the ground to (somehow) fly. The story delves into some of his lesser-known powers and the lesser-known properties of sound -- for instance, he's got a powerful CompellingVoice, he controls sound in a small area around him, so he can move in complete silence, he's got a form of superhearing that allows him to use his own footsteps as sonar and he can shatter anything if he hits its resonant frequency. This includes wands, bone and diamond. Fairly formidable, even before you take into account the fact that he's had nearly fifty years to get very, very good with his powers. He's also [[OlderThanTheyLook physically about thirty]] due to a NoodleIncident involving [[ShoutOut 'a living island,]] [[ComicBook/XMen name of Krakoa']] and a badass of note, who's prepared for his powers being nullified by training in hand to hand. Natasha notes that he's a particularly skilled practitioner of Aikido.
** [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam 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.
* ''Fanfic/OriginStory'':
** Louise Fulford, Alex Harris's partner, is a mutant with the power to change her hair color at will. She can change it to any range of color she can imagine, and even can change it to a rainbow-like combination of colors. Alex at one point jokingly assigns her the superhero code name "Lady Clairol." Rather than be embarrassed by this, Louise actually calls herself Lady Clairol at one point as a matter of pride.
** A lot of the residents of the homeless camp at which Alex and Louise take shelter fall under this trope. Aaron's power is to see infrared light, Oz can shapeshift, but only to the four primary characters of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' (Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion), without actually gaining any of their abilities. Jan was a teenager with oversized jaw muscles and superhumanly strong teeth. And Debby's skin is translucent. The Avengers these people aren't.
* 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.
* Rambar in ''Webcomic/TheMotleyTwo''. As a ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' troll, he's got PsychicPowers, but rather than something useful, they just make him into a FourthWallObserver who can hear the mysterious voices that are the [[InteractiveComic readers' suggestions]] and argue with them.
* In ''FanFic/TheEyesHaveIt'', Kurenai Yuuhi has a doujutsu that let's her slightly (1.5x) magnify objects she's looking at. According to her, it's mostly useful for reading fine print.
* Both [[GravityMaster Xander]] and Franchise/TheFlash have a secondary power born from "having become one with an aspect of reality" in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5237318/1/Crush Crush]]'': the power to sense where breasts are with larger ones being easier to detect. When Batman questions why Flash never mentioned said power, he points out that having breast radar is [[UselessSuperpowers basically never useful]], even in search and rescue operations since it doesn't help him find men (or young girls). Though apparently both Flash and Xander can detect [[BoobsOfSteel Powergirl]] anywhere on the planet.
* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': A Devil Fruit that allows you to turn into a human child would be pretty much useless for anyone. [[spoiler:Unless they happen to be an inanimate object, like a ship.]]
* Discussed in ''Fanfic/MortalMan'' when Barnacle Boy asks [=SpongeBob=] to be his sidekick due to his people skills:
-->"You make people happy. That's your superpower."\\
"Really? Gosh. That seems kind of cheesy," laughed [=SpongeBob=].\\
"What do you mean?" scowled Barnacle Boy, standing up straight and placing his hands on his hips indignantly. "I thought you of all people appreciated the power of friendship."\\
"Oh, I do," assured [=SpongeBob=], "It's just... that's not a real superpower. I can't make water balls or assemble the creatures of the deep."
* Downplayed in ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku''. Mashirao Ojiro's Metahuman power just gives him a muscular tail for attack, defense, and mobility. While it's a useful enough power to get him into the most prestigious Hero school in Japan, he complains that it isn't particularly flashy or powerful when compared to other Metahuman powers like Ochako's GravityMaster abilities or Kaminari's ShockAndAwe. It doesn't hold a candle to [[FlyingBrick Izuku's]] [[PowerMisidentification "Quirk"]] either.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Atonement}}'', the Travellers have incredibly destructive or fairly useful powers... except for Oliver, who got the power to look attractive to anyone who sees him.
* 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 [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]]'s Anti-Life Equation.
* In ''Fanfic/ABoyAGirlAndADogTheLeithianScript'', Orome -the God of Hunt- considers the Art of her sister Nessa -the Goddess of Dance- "is a frivolous waste of time". Then Luthien dances [[GodOfEvil Morgoth]] into unconsciousness, and Nessa proceeds to ''gloat'' a lot.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Juxtapose}}'', this is Izuku's opinion of his own Quirk, Minor Banishment. He's able to [[PortalCut banish anything from existence]]... but no more than 10 grams at a time. He also has to be touching whatever he wants to banish and he has to have a solid image of the structure of whatever he's banishing in his head. These highly specific conditions made Izuku the laughingstock of his peers and even All Might initially doubts Izuku's prospects of becoming a hero. But [[SubvertedTrope he discovers more and more applications for it]] while attending Yuuei as a general education student, which manages to get him into the Sports Festival after more than a year of TrainingFromHell to prepare. [[spoiler:By the end, he and [[BadPowersGoodPeople Hitoshi Shinsou]] end up winning it despite the presence of powerhouses like [[SuperpowerLottery Shouto Todoroki.]]]]
* In ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'', [[Characters/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyModern 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.
* [[{{Animorphism}} Animagus]] potential is shown to be quite common (between 1/3 and 1/2 of all wizards and witches) in ''[[https://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-23251-19/BarefootXO+Time+and+Again.htm Time and Again]]'' but most don't bother to pursue it due to either the fact it takes a couple years to learn or the fact their form isn't terribly useful. [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Xander]] never bothered as his form is a spotted hyena and he [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes has some serious trauma]] related to the animal, while Harry Potter's form is a moth.
* Jaune's father in ''Fanfic/ProfessorArc'' has a Semblance that tells him when it's going to rain.
* ''FanFic/LearningToBeHuman'': In an omake later declared to be canon, a minor character has one of these. He [[TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening Triggered]] due to the stress of being Kaiser's nephew and overshadowed by his uncle, gaining the Stranger power to... have no one be able to remember his first name. Doesn't matter how he tells them or even if he writes it down, nobody retains that information. He's stuck as 'Probably-Francis' after someone decided that he looked like a Francis.
* ''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 [[ChromeDomePsi Professor X]] [[DisproportionateRetribution becomes Onslaught]].
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13430275/13/Level-Up Level Up!]]'', some of the possible Feats members of Izuku's party can get are utterly worthless, such as "whistling" or "double strength bonus when opening jars".
* In ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/HereThereBeMonsters'', Mister Midnight and Midnight Maid are equipped with several blinding weapons. Ridiculous compared with the Marvel Family's incredible powers or Ibis' sorcery, but effective to disable a Flying Brick with no defense against them.
-->Mister Midnight and Midnight Maid reached in their belt-pouches and came up with weapons. Chuck's was the blackout device, Joyce held the Torch. She activated hers a second before his and blasted the Poet's eyes with a ray of intense brightness. A second later, Chuck's gimmick projected a cone of blackness, engulfing their foe.\\
"Confound it!" griped the Poet, floundering about. "They didn't give me a power to deal with this!"
* In ''Fanfic/VoyagesOfTheWildSeaHorse'', whilst pursuing [[spoiler:Shampoo]], who has eaten a Zoan Devil Fruit that lets her turn into a rabbit, several marines comment on how lame a power that sounds. She thinks she's gotten [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower a pretty good deal]], however, as it nullifies both one of her biggest weaknesses and one of the things that most interferes in her pursuit of Ranma.
* ''Fanfic/VillainOfYourOwnStory'': This is why Alya [[AdaptationalVillainy becomes Hawk Moth]] in the new reality created by her Wish. When she finds the Butterfly Brooch, she's disappointed to learn that it specializes in SuperEmpowering -- she wanted a ''real'' power, not having to play support! This spurs her to become a 'fake' supervillain in order to lure out heroes, intending to steal their Miraculous and replace them so she can claim the glory she feels she rightly ''deserves''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* VideoGame/CaptainNovolin's "superpower" is [[InspirationallyDisadvantaged diabetes]]. No, he doesn't cure diabetes. No, he can't ''give people'' diabetes either. He ''has'' Type 1 Diabetes, and as an exaggeration of the real-life condition, dies instantly upon either eating too much or when he touches junk food. Other than that, his only other "power" is the ability to jump slightly higher than average- and suddenly, the likes of Ma-Ti and Aquaman don't seem all that bad. You would ''think'' that the last person in any position to fight off an invasion of evil sugary donuts would be the ''one'' person who dies instantly from just ''touching them'', but there you have it.
* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', the two starting contacts for heroes of the Mutation origin are both also mutants, but their powers aren't exactly super-heroic. One can instantly solve any math problem, the other can see into the infrared and ultraviolet areas of the light spectrum.
* In ''VideoGame/ComicJumperTheAdventuresOfCaptainSmiley'', Paper Lad from "The Improbable Paper Pals" has the ability to turn himself into different types of paper. Naturally, Smiley and Star mock him for this, and Paper Lad admits he's useless without his partner, Origami Kid.
* Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'': after a nun states that Lord Zenith's power comes from the hearts of people, Amos wonders if he wouldn't be happier with the power of fire or wind.
* 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 [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome ruining their framerate]].) The web-shooting ability is glitched to complete unusability for Forgotten Beasts.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** 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."
** 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.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' Yarne initially finds 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 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).
* 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.
* At the very end of ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'', after the final battle, one of the [[spoiler:newly empowered beastmen in Belinsk]] claims to have the power to... calculate compound interest.
-->"It's remarkably handy, actually."
* 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.]]
* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'':
** The Sleep power up in the 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 ''[[VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad 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.
* 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).
* ''Videogame/MegaManClassic'': Oftentimes, the robot bosses Mega Man would acquire [[PowerupLetdown lame copied powers]] from will naturally have lame powers themselves, and be seen as a joke because of that. Such as Bubble Man, Spring Man or Sheep Man. Downplayed with Top Man; while he's also seen as a joke, at least he handles his Top Spin better than Mega Man does.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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).
* 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.
* ''VideoGame/SpyroAHerosTail'': One of Spyro's breath powers is water breath. It can only harm fire-based enemies (of which there are only two) and it's only real use is solving puzzles that involve waterwheels.
* ''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/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.
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' 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/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]].
[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear''. The older brothers are mocking the main character for having a "love" totem. It's hard to say if being changed into bear counts as superpower, but it's obviously not natural.

* ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'': 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.''

* Marik from ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' can use his [[ArtifactOfDoom Millennium Rod]] to control minds. Unfortunately, it only works on people called Steve. Although having people's names legally changed makes them susceptible, as Joey and Tea finds out. This also applies to people whose middle names are Steve, as Marik was able to control Bandit Kieth because his middle name was Steve, and presumably people whose last names are Steve. He also pointed out that, if he felt like it, he could have Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin kick your ass.