History PowerIncontinence / ComicBooks

* In the original ''Creature Commandos'' stories, Warren Griffith was the team's "Wolfman", but due to an imperfection in the formula that gave him his werewolf powers, he would change to human form and back almost randomly, and typically at the most inopportune times.

PowerIncontinence in comic books.

%%* Most of the cast of ''[[ComicBook/TheNewUniverse DP7]]''.

* ''Queen Bee'': Haley often has trouble with controlling her psychokinesis, with results ranging from merely embarrassing to quite destructive. [[AlphaBitch Alexa]], who has the same abilities as Haley, is far more skilled with her powers.
* ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}'': Harold Nelson, the "Rainmaker", obtains the metahuman power to intensify or downgrade the metahuman powers of others, leading to Power Incontinence when he turns their power up to maximum level. At one point he forces a superheroine-in-training with ShockAndAwe powers to continually fire lightning and makes another who uses the SquareCubeLaw to become 'denser' and more powerful to become so dense she's unable to move.

!!Franchise/TheDCU
* ''ComicBook/ComicCavalcade'': If Locksley Smith gets close enough to a lock he can't help but unlock it even when he'd literally rather die. While this was okay when he was a child, save for getting yelled at frequently, and he even once rescued a baby locked in a safe no one knew the combination to it has mostly served to ruin his life and make it impossible for him to hold a job.
* Negative Man from the ComicBook/DoomPatrol is perpetually radioactive, needing to wear head-to-foot specially treated bandages to contain his condition. This is just one example of the sort of DisabilitySuperpower typical of the team.
* The Human Bomb, a character created by Quality Comics and later bought by DC, had the ability to cause explosions with a touch. Most versions of the character need a containment suit to prevent him destroying everything he touches, and/or medication to keep him from spontaneously combusting.
* In ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperheroes'', this is a common reason for characters to get kicked out, usually after a DisastrousDemonstration of their abilities at tryouts. Most members of the Legion have perfect control over their powers, with several being the equivalent of a professional athlete [[PlanetOfHats at wielding their people's respective ability]], so they take a lack of control fairly seriously. Polar Boy is easily the most notable one, as he decided to StartMyOwn and form the Legion of Substitute Heroes, most of whom also had control issues. Fire Lad in particular was as big a danger to his allies as he was to any of their enemies. (Polar Boy himself would go on to "graduate" to the true Legion once he'd learned to master his powers.)
* ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica''
** Citizen Steel, one of the newer members, gained the powers of SuperStrength and NighInvulnerability through exposure to liquid metal blood. The exposure removed his ability to register temperatures, textures, and (more importantly) how much strength he's exerting. He goes around in a steel costume he's ''literally'' welded into to keep him from accidentally crushing anyone.
** Another member, Lightning, can't touch anything electrical; otherwise, she causes it and the the surrounding area to short out. Her being a teenage girl who had a popular social life makes it worse for her.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''
** The limited series ''[[ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin Secret Origin]]'' shows Clark Kent's heat vision going off involuntarily when his emotions are stirred up. The first time fire shoots out is when Lana Lang kisses him, [[SomethingElseAlsoRises which is]]... [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything suggestive]]. At this early point in his life, his glasses serve much the same purpose as Cyclops' shades.
** Superman villain Parasite is a little worse off than Rogue, stealing life force from anyone near him and being constantly hungry for more.
** After being restored to full power on his return from [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman death]], Superman's powers started slowly increasing, which was welcome at first, but eventually led to his powers being out of control and his body physically warped. This was eventually cured by having Parasite leech his excess power and the strange element with it that was causing the problem. This also justified an art shift for Parasite from basically looking like a bald man with purple skin to his current more monstrous appearance.
** This tends to happen to him periodically because it taps into one of his greatest fears: losing control of his immense power and the harm that could result.
** Superman's (canon) son, [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Jon Kent]], has his powers tied to his emotional state, thus he has no real control on what triggers off what and he has to be as calm as possible so that he doesn't accidentally kill someone.
* The League of Supermen, a far future team in ''Franchise/{{Superman}} Annual #8'', all suffer from variants of this, due to each having ''one'' of Superman's powers (and their artificial nature, as they are all humans genetically modified to simulate Kryptonian powers). [[EyeBeams Heat]] has to fire his heat vision every 15 minutes, or he'll burn up from the inside; [[XRayVision See-Through]] has to wear a lead-lined visor when not using his powers; [[{{Flight}} Flyboy]] has to be tethered to stop him drifting away if he doesn't concentrate; [[SuperStrength Pounder]] DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength; and [[NighInvulnerability Shield]] can't feel anything. New recruits [[SuperBreath Tempest]] and [[SuperSpeed Speed]] are given PowerArmor that simulates the powers rather than genetic modification; they still have disadvantages (Tempest can't breathe ''in'' too sharply; Speed needs to constantly replenish her energy), but at least they can turn them off.
* In ''ComicBook/TheSupermanAdventures'' (a series based off [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries the animated series]]), a body-swapped ComicBook/JimmyOlsen gets a mild case when Superman's x-ray vision comes on by accident. Unlike many of the cases mentioned, nothing catastrophic occurs.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', Dr. Manhattan [[spoiler:is tricked into thinking he has this problem, being convinced he's constantly radiating power and is a walking carcinogen]].
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Dr. Lana Kurree can travel backwards in time, however she cannot control where she ends up and the "winds of time" sweep up her and those in close proximity when she gets sufficiently upset, though she can return everyone to the correct time period once she has calmed completely. Luckily she's very level headed, unfortunately her boyfriend frames her for murder and tries to steal her work.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Mayfly's speed is not fully under her control by the design of those who granted it to her. This leads to her death when she can't stop and runs into a gate while trying to escape prison.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'': Dio has a bit of an issue in that just being around him makes people's inhibitions go right out the window. He can control it if he's trying to but he normally isn't, if his sclerae are black it's not safe for mortals to be near him.
** ''ComicBook/WonderGirl'' Vol. 1: When Cassie is upset for long periods it sometimes causes electrical storms, but she has no control over this and does not gain a method for channeling her ShockAndAwe powers for quite some time.

!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse
* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'': During the Silver Age, [[ComicBook/AntMan Goliath]] went through a period where his SizeShifter powers malfunctioned and left him perpetually stuck at 10 feet tall, with a doctor saying that shrinking any further would kill him. He eventually got over this affliction, however.
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Franklin Richards, the pre-teen son of Reed and Sue Richards. His mutant reality warping powers are practically without limit; he was the one who created the ''Heroes Reborn'' universe that saved Franchise/TheAvengers and the Fantastic Four from dying at the hands of Onslaught. However, he rarely has any control of his powers at all. Things... just seem to happen.
** Ben Grimm is the only member of the Four who cannot turn off his powers without the use of occasional one-off phlebotinum. He's ''always'' in his rock-man form. He actually briefly gained the ability to turn back into a human for a while, but in that same story it was revealed that doing so actually presented a threat to the world (ItMakesSenseInContext) so he was stuck being unable to use that ability.
* Firestar, former member of ComicBook/TheNewWarriors, Franchise/TheAvengers, and current ComicBook/XMen member has the power of controlling microwave energy. However, due to her inexperience with controlling her powers, one of the bad side effects of this was developing ''breast cancer''. It turned out that she lacked the RequiredSecondaryPower of being immune to her own powers, but Dr Pym figured out a cure for her.
* ComicBook/GhostRider originally suffered from this by automatically turn into the Spirit of Vengeance whenever he was in the proximity of evil whether he wanted to or not, but gained control over his powers eventually.
* ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'':
** Bruce Banner transforms into the Hulk whenever someone makes him too angry, and once he's in that form, he has no control over his actions (depending on which personality is in control).
** Joe Fix-It (a smaller, gray-skinned variant) had a brief storyline where he always came out at night and generally did things Bruce did not approve of. (This is in fact what the Hulk was ''always'' like in the very earliest issues. This new storyline tweaked the original Gray Hulk a bit, taking him from EarlyInstallmentWeirdness to a different manifestation of his powers.)
** Hulk villain Emil Blonsky aka the Abomination. He follows this trope in a different manner. While he has full control of himself, he cannot change back to his human form. His gamma powers are always active. Since his transformation is fueled by his own self-loathing, that really says a lot about Blonsky.
** Bruce's cousin, ComicBook/SheHulk, has been hit with this a few times.
*** During a stint with the Fantastic Four, she was hit with a dose of gamma radiation that locked her in as She-Hulk permanently (at that time). She didn't mind as she preferred that form over her normal mousy Jennifer Walters look.
*** Following the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWarII'', Jen developed a "Gray She-Hulk" of sorts that was born out of [[spoiler:her grief and regret of Bruce dying at the hands of ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}]]. She's able to shake it off once she's able to come to terms and properly grieve.
* ComicBook/BlackBolt of ComicBook/TheInhumans has vast energy powers, comparable to or exceeding a Herald of Galactus. Sadly, the region of the brain that controls them is the same one that controls his voice. The net effect: he can't open his mouth without unleashing devastation. (Which often gets mistaken for a sonic attack.)
* ComicBook/TheSentry has the problem that he is literally his own worst enemy. Due to a MindRape by the old Mastermind, Sentry is completely unbalanced, and displays any number of psychological problems on any given day. He also has some undefined psionic ability to periodically make everyone in the world forget he exists. His biggest problem is that every time he tries to do good with his vast power, he manifests his own arch-nemesis, The Void. The Void then proceeds to do as much evil as the Sentry does good. Which one is working with Norman Osborn?
* Franchise/SpiderMan was like this during the ''Acts of Vengeance'' storyline. He received the powers of ComicBook/CaptainUniverse (in order to fight a threat that the Uni-Power predicted would happen after the crisis) but an experiment he was working on with an ESU professor muddled it a little, making him unable to fully control the incredible cosmic powers. This caused horrible mental strain on him, almost pushing him over the edge; he had lived by the saying "With Great Power ComesGreatResponsibility" all his life, and now had ''godlike'' power. Fortunately, the power of Captain Universe is always temporary; once he had defeated the threat and fulfilled the purpose for which he had been given the power, it went away.
* Like Ghost Rider, the first ComicBook/SpiderWoman was at first unable to keep her pheromones in check, causing guys to be attracted to her and women repulsed at her. She learns to control it, eventually.
* Thane, the son of ComicBook/{{Thanos}}, has two powers. His left hand can rewrite reality and his right hand can trap others in a state of "living death". He can't fully control the power of his left hand yet, so it just ends up killing everything around him. Despite this, he's ''already'' more powerful than his father. The moment Thane decided to stop running from Thanos and fight, he used the power of his right hand to imprison him in an instant.
* ComicBook/UltimateXMen:
** In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Gambit joined the evil Fenris corporation because they helped cure his Power Incontinence. He tells Rogue that his energy charging powers had gone out of control and he couldn't even ''eat'' -- any food he tried to touch would explode.
%%** ''ComicBook/UltimateWolverine'': When activated, Mothervine subjects are victims of this.
* Wundarr absorbed ambient energy constantly, and if it wasn't burned off by occasional acts of SuperStrength or dampened by special ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} equipment, he tended to explosively regurgitate it periodically. Later, as [[NewAgeRetroHippie Aquarius]], his power is [[RePower modified]] to neutralize ''all'' energy above a certain threshold near him, whether he wants it to or not.
* ''ComicBook/XForce'':
** Zeitgeist, the original leader [[spoiler:and SacrificialLamb]] of the revamped ''X-Force''. While this didn't carry on for very long, when his powers (vomiting acid) first manifested, he accidentally killed the girl he was drunkenly making out with on the beach.
** Guy Smith, a.k.a. Orphan and Mister Sensitive, led the team thereafter, including when it became X-Statix. His [[SuperSenses superhuman senses]] meant that any irritation to his skin caused him great pain. Attempting to block out the pain with mental exercises didn't work; eventually Professor X designed a special suit for him.
** Phat, one of the members of X-Force/X-Statix under the Orphan, has the power to fill his body with extradimensional gunk, causing it to balloon to grotesque proportions but increasing his strength exponentially. Prior to discovering he was a mutant, he experienced severe fluctuations in weight.
* Many ComicBook/XMen suffer from this:
** After the events of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, and other mutants who were close to the Phoenix Force all suffered problems with their powers in the aftermath. Magneto's magnetic powers fell back down to the Seep end of his perpetual PowerCreepPowerSeep, Cyclops' eyebeams became too strong even for his visor to contain (expounded on below), and Emma Frost's PsychicPowers went dormant (though she retained her secondary mutant ability to turn into diamond). Eventually, StatusQuoIsGod kicked in and their powers stabilized back to their normal levels.
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, without his trademark visor he wears as part of his costume, or a pair of ruby quartz glasses out of costume, would be firing his EyeBeams 24/7. (In fact, he ''is'' firing them 24/7, they're just being blocked.) [[spoiler:This limitation was eventually revealed to be a mental block, and was fixed by ComicBook/EmmaFrost. It used to be from having hit his head in the accident that killed his parents. There was a throwaway scene in one of the comics shortly after Wolverine lost his Adamantium (and briefly regressed to a neanderthallic state) where Cyclops hit his head in some kind of rune-covered pit, and a caption stated, "A subtle change is worked in an area of his brain damaged so long ago", so it's possible both explanations are correct.]] After the events of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', the visor can't block his eyebeams anymore. The only thing that can are his own eyelids. Because of the fact that losing his visor and glasses turns him into a dangerous liability, Cyclops has trained himself to fight while blind and to perfectly retrace his steps in order to (when possible) retrieve his visor if it's knocked off.
*** Cyclops' brother Havok originally required a special containment suit to control his powers. Interestingly enough, Cyclops and Havok are immune to each other's powers.
** In an arc of ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'', a North Korean man had been artificially implanted with Wolverine's {{healing factor}}. However, not only was it so incomplete that he couldn't heal brain damage, but his body kept ''[[BodyHorror trying to heal every orifice he had!]]''
** One of the residents of the all-mutant neighborhood ComicBook/DistrictX was a woman who could spontaneously burst into flames. Unfortunately, unlike other mutants with similar powers, she was [[RequiredSecondaryPowers not immune to fire]]...
** ComicBook/{{Gambit}} had to go to [[DealWithTheDevil Mr. Sinister]] to have a portion of his brain removed to curb his powers. At the time, he was having difficulty touching things without having them explode, and was worried that people would die because of it. The operation took him from having the power of an Omega-Level mutant (on par with the likes of Jean Grey, Hope Summers, and Cable) to an Alpha-Level mutant (still extremely powerful, even powerhouses like Magneto and Apocalypse are "only" Alphas). The storyline eventually revealed he was right to worry thanks to an encounter with an alternate universe counterpart of his who didn't get the surgery. Said parallel Gambit had changed his name to "New Sun". Because he had awakened to his full powers in a firestorm of energy that ''incinerated all life on Earth in a few seconds''.
** Chamber of ''ComicBook/GenerationX'' is what happens when a mutant ''isn't'' [[RequiredSecondaryPowers immune to his or her own powers]]. He is a "[[MeaningfulName chamber]]" of psionic energy, a power that is always on, and is so powerful that it destroyed half his face and some of his internal organs (heart and lungs) when he first used it. Though it has been established that the fire is actually his true form and his human body is more of a shell that he doesn't really need, so no real harm done (at least, physically; ''half your face being missing'' tends to put a cramp in one's social life). Worse, any disruption of his powers means having several internal organs missing is suddenly as detrimental to him as it'd be to you or me.
** When ComicBook/JeanGrey (Marvel Girl, Phoenix) was a child, she couldn't control her omega-level {{Telepathy}} and ended up in a catatonic state. Later on, she had a similar problem with the Phoenix Force, which amplified her already [[StoryBreakerPower broken power level]] UpToEleven.
*** Her past counterpart in ''ComicBook/AllNewXMen'' has her telepathy manifest early as a result of the stress of time travel and finding out about the future, and she frequently has to fight to keep thoughts out of her head. [[spoiler:Eventually, it causes her to gain a whole new power by combining her two powers.]]
** ComicBook/JubileeMarvelComics can also lose control of her powers if she's angry. (In fact, she once [[BatmanGambit used this to her advantage]] when she and the rest of ComicBook/GenerationX were being held hostage by the mutant criminal Emplate. She insulted him to the point that he was so angry, he used his powers to drain a large portion of her life energy, gaining her powers in the process... which he could not control, because he was so angry. Suffice to say it turned the situation around.)
** ComicBook/KittyPryde became stuck in her intangible phase in the aftermath of an extended period spent hurtling through space [[PutOnABusToHell inside a giant, ever-hardening bullet]] that she had phased through the Earth. She was also stuck in intangible mode once after being hit with an energy harpoon during the Mutant Massacre, but was restored to normal with the help of [[EnemyMine Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom]].
** ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s powers are in a near-perpetual state of PowerCreepPowerSeep, with various reasons and excuses furnished depending on the storyline to justify him being as StrongAsTheyNeedToBe in any particular story. Said powers were also eventually established as playing havoc with his mental stability (overlapping into WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity) as a {{Retcon}} to explain away his years of being a CardCarryingVillain. However, absolutely PlayedForLaughs in "WhatIf Magneto got stuck in an elevator with ComicBook/{{Colossus}}, ComicBook/IronMan, and ComicBook/DoctorDoom?"
** From the second volume of ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' is Wither, a mutant with an always-on TouchOfDeath that dissolves any biological matter that comes into physical contact with him. Including, to his horror, [[SelfMadeOrphan his own father]]. Good thing he was born into an age of polyester. (If his power really affects organic matter in the chemistry sense, he'll dissolve polyester too. Tough luck, kid.)
** Another New Mutant who suffers this is Surge, who absorbs electrical energy around her from all sources (outlets, appliances, static electricity in the air, etc), building up a charge in her body which can then be released. She has no control over this, and is ''constantly'' absorbing energy. And if she absorbs enough, it begins wreaking havoc on her mental state, leaving her incoherent and babbling. Much like Cyclops, Nori is reliant on an external apparatus to regulate her power. Originally she was addicted to drugs that helped keep her powers in check, but after joining the Xavier school, Beast designed a pair of gauntlets for her that served the purpose instead, though she can lose control of her powers if the gauntlets are ever damaged (or even overloaded, as nearly happened in a fight with fellow electropath [[ComicBook/AvengersAcademy Striker]]). One story arc ''invoked'' this, when the Leper Queen, acting under the orders of Bastion, kidnapped her and used a modified form of the Legacy Virus to artificially intensify her powers to the point that even her gauntlets would no longer regulate it as part of an attempted terror attack.
*** Fellow New X-Man Wallflower secreted pheromones which could influence the emotional state of those around her, and originally she had no control over her ability to release them and it usually led to her making others feel what ''she'' was currently feeling. As a result, she was roomed with first Mercury (who was immune) and later Winddancer (who could use her powers to scatter them). Wallflower did eventually overcome her power incontinence.
** No list of power-incontinent X-Men would be complete without ComicBook/{{Rogue}}. She drains the powers, memories, and life energy of anyone she touches, so she wears gloves and skin-concealing outfits to avoid accidental physical contact with others. Even worse, when she used this power on ComicBook/MsMarvel, it didn't wear off for a long time afterwards, absorbing Marvel's powers and memories seemingly permanently, leaving her with thoughts and feelings not her own and Carol a detached EmotionlessGirl disconnected from her own feelings (as well as depowered for quite some time.) Rogue lives in constant fear that this same thing might happen again to someone else she uses her power on. She was cured of this power incontinence by Professor X in ''X-Men: Legacy'' #224. [[StatusQuoIsGod It didn't last.]]
*** It got worse in ''ComicBook/MrAndMrsX'', with her range increasing from just touch to an undefined distance around her. An earlier time it was amplified, the consequences of touching her became ''instant death'' and after her powers got reset back to their previous state, she tried to use them to kill Mystique, unaware that her powers had been reset, and ended up stuck with a copy of Mystique's mind in her head like what happened with Miss Marvel.
** ComicBook/{{Storm}} is very serene and calm, which she has taught herself to be over the years because if her emotions change, [[PowerOfTheStorm so does the weather]]. One of the most dramatic examples had the Beast take Storm into the stratosphere to let out her grief and anger [[spoiler:after Wolverine was killed]]. The result: the entire Northern Hemisphere experienced an ''aurora borealis''.
** One of the Morlocks from ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' is Leech, a deformed but innocent young boy with a mutant power which acts as a PowerNullifier to any other mutant (and some other superhuman) abilities. Said power is always on, whether or not Leech wants it to be, which has more than once caused trouble for heroes who were helping him.
** The Gamesmaster, also hailing from ''Uncanny'', is a mutant with {{Telepathy}} so advanced he is actually called an "[[TheOmniscient omnipath]]" because he is in constant telepathic contact with every sentient mind on Earth, ''all at once'', '''all the time'''. This came so close to destroying his sanity [[PowerLimiter he had to insert computer chips into his brain to help regulate his mental activity]] so he doesn't fry his own brain. Even this extreme measure was not enough, and he turned to becoming the titular "gamesmaster" for the Upstarts, not out of any sense of malice, but just because their DeadlyGame provided him a diversion from the horror of being constantly connected to over six billion minds.
** Fabian Cortez from the first volume of ''ComicBook/AdjectivelessXMen'' actually ''weaponizes'' this as his mutant power, which is a particularly nasty form of SuperEmpowering. By overcharging another mutant's power beyond their ability to control, he could effectively induce this in all but the most powerful of mutants.
** Strong Guy of ''ComicBook/XFactor'' has the power to absorb kinetic energy and redistribute it as super strength, but if he doesn't let it out soon enough, it has effects on his physiology (which is the reason for his... unique appearance, and [[SadClown also causes him permanent pain]]).
** Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man from the same team. His ability is that he can create duplicates of himself from kinetic energy... but he can't turn this off, so any firm impact will create a dupe of him. He later learned to limit this power, but he has to be actively thinking about doing so for it to work, and obviously he can't constantly be doing that. During his time with the government task force incarnation of X-Factor, he also wore padded armor to make him less likely to create duplicates when he doesn't actually want to.
** Exodus, first introduced in the aforementioned ''X-Factor'', is a cautionary tale of what happens when this trope is combined with the SuperpowerLottery. Literally described at one point as being able to use his psionic energy manipulating to do "anything he wants", Exodus also happens to be a FishOutOfTemporalWater crusader knight who has been a SealedBadassInACan for the past 800 years. Consequently, he is shown in his first twenty or so appearances having visible difficulty using powers [[HowDoIShotWeb he is unfamiliar with]], and is even implied in a few cases to suffer from a psychic variant of schizophrenia, as like the aforementioned Gamesmaster, he was unable at first to block out the voices around him with his {{Telepathy}}.
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} villain Omega Red shows even bad guys suffer from this, as he had to drain people's life energy to survive and temporarily had to release the death spores his body built up or they would kill him. Even after he found a cure that allowed him to survive without other people's life, he stole it anyway and would probably do the same with his death spores. He's mainly an enemy of Wolverine, whose healing factor makes him the one guy he ''can't'' just will to drop dead.
** Minor villain Unus the Untouchable has a powerful psionic barrier that repels anything that gets near him. That also includes ''air''. A few times his powers have gone out of control, he's suffocated himself.
*** It's actually how he was defeated in his first appearance. Beast created a device that would amplify mutant powers. When Unus found that ''anything'' he tried to touch was sent flying away from him, including food, he had no choice but to go back to the X-Men and surrender.
** Colossus once suffered an injury battling the X-Cutioner, trapping him in his steel form for a time. This didn't do wonders for his mental health as, soon after, his little sister Illyana died and it lead to his FaceHeelTurn soon after when he joined Magneto's Acolytes during ''ComicBook/FatalAttractions''. He does apologize for his actions once Excalibur is able to pull him out of that state.
** [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]] tended towards this when he was younger. Since [[RealityWarper reality warping]] is in his playbook, this worried more than a few people. Incidents when he loses control/is acting subconsciously include: influencing people around him, stopping time in a small area around him, rewriting reality in a limited area around himself, and subconsciously creating psychic constructs of people, including ones he'd ''never actually met'' (most notably, Maddie Pryor, the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' version of Gwen Stacy when he was on the bridge where 616 Gwen had died, and in ''ComicBook/AgeOfXMan'', [[spoiler: Dani Moonstar]]). It got to the point where Nate was terrified that one day, his nightmares would lead to him rewriting 616 into a new ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse''.
* In the original Secret Wars, Doctor Doom experienced this after draining the power of the Beyonder, finding that it's far too much power for him to handle, as if he isn't careful, every stray thought that enters his mind becomes reality. This makes it easy for the Beyonder to eventually trick him and steal the power back.

** ComicBook/KittyPryde became stuck in her intangible phase in the aftermath of an extended period spent hurtling through space [[PutOnABusToHell inside a giant, ever-hardening bullet]] that she had phased through the Earth. She was also stuck in intangible mode once after being hit with an energy harpoon during the Mutant Massacre, but was restored to normal with the help of Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom.

** ComicBook/{{Rogue}} drains the powers, memories, and life energy of anyone she touches, so she wears gloves and skin-concealing outfits to avoid accidental physical contact with others. Even worse, when she used this power on ComicBook/MsMarvel, it didn't wear off for a long time afterwards, absorbing Marvel's powers and memories seemingly permanently, leaving her with thoughts and feelings not her own and Carol a detached EmotionlessGirl disconnected from her own feelings (as well as depowered for quite some time.) Rogue lives in constant fear that this same thing might happen again to someone else she uses her power on. She was cured of this power incontinence by Professor X in ''X-Men: Legacy'' #224. [[StatusQuoIsGod It didn't last.]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', Dr. Manhattan [[spoiler:is tricked into thinking he has this problem, being convinced he's constantly radiating power and is a walking carcinogenic]].

** ComicBook/{{Jubilee}} can also lose control of her powers if she's angry. (In fact, she once [[BatmanGambit used this to her advantage]] when she and the rest of ComicBook/GenerationX were being held hostage by the mutant criminal Emplate. She insulted him to the point that he was so angry, he used his powers to drain a large portion of her life energy, gaining her powers in the process... which he could not control, because he was so angry. Suffice to say it turned the situation around.)

* In ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', Dr. Manhattan [[spoiler:is tricked into thinking he has this problem, being convinced he's constantly radiating power and is a walking carcinogenic]].

* ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'': During the Silver Age, [[Comicbook/AntMan Goliath]] went through a period where his SizeShifter powers malfunctioned and left him perpetually stuck at 10 feet tall, with a doctor saying that shrinking any further would kill him. He eventually got over this affliction, however.

* Comicbook/GhostRider originally suffered from this by automatically turn into the Spirit of Vengeance whenever he was in the proximity of evil whether he wanted to or not, but gained control over his powers eventually.
* ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk''

* Comicbook/Black Bolt of ComicBook/TheInhumans has vast energy powers, comparable to or exceeding a Herald of Galactus. Sadly, the region of the brain that controls them is the same one that controls his voice. The net effect: he can't open his mouth without unleashing devastation. (Which often gets mistaken for a sonic attack.)
* Comicbook/TheSentry has the problem that he is literally his own worst enemy. Due to a MindRape by the old Mastermind, Sentry is completely unbalanced, and displays any number of psychological problems on any given day. He also has some undefined psionic ability to periodically make everyone in the world forget he exists. His biggest problem is that every time he tries to do good with his vast power, he manifests his own arch-nemesis, The Void. The Void then proceeds to do as much evil as the Sentry does good. Which one is working with Norman Osborn?

* Thane, the son of Comicbook/{{Thanos}}, has two powers. His left hand can rewrite reality and his right hand can trap others in a state of "living death". He can't fully control the power of his left hand yet, so it just ends up killing everything around him. Despite this, he's ''already'' more powerful than his father. The moment Thane decided to stop running from Thanos and fight, he used the power of his right hand to imprison him in an instant.
* ComicBook/UltimateXMen

* ''ComicBook/XForce''

* Many Comicbook/XMen suffer from this:
** After the events of ''Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen'', Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, and other mutants who were close to the Phoenix Force all suffered problems with their powers in the aftermath. Magneto's magnetic powers fell back down to the Seep end of his perpetual PowerCreepPowerSeep, Cyclops' eyebeams became too strong even for his visor to contain (expounded on below), and Emma Frost's PsychicPowers went dormant (though she retained her secondary mutant ability to turn into diamond). Eventually, StatusQuoIsGod kicked in and their powers stabilized back to their normal levels.
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, without his trademark visor he wears as part of his costume, or a pair of ruby quartz glasses out of costume, would be firing his EyeBeams 24/7. (In fact, he ''is'' firing them 24/7, they're just being blocked.) [[spoiler:This limitation was eventually revealed to be a mental block, and was fixed by ComicBook/EmmaFrost. It used to be from having hit his head in the accident that killed his parents. There was a throwaway scene in one of the comics shortly after Wolverine lost his Adamantium (and briefly regressed to a neanderthallic state) where Cyclops hit his head in some kind of rune-covered pit, and a caption stated, "A subtle change is worked in an area of his brain damaged so long ago", so it's possible both explanations are correct.]] After the events of ''Comicbook/AvengersVsXMen'', the visor can't block his eyebeams anymore. The only thing that can are his own eyelids. Because of the fact that losing his visor and glasses turns him into a dangerous liability, Cyclops has trained himself to fight while blind and to perfectly retrace his steps in order to (when possible) retrieve his visor if it's knocked off.

** Strong Guy of ''Comicbook/XFactor'' has the power to absorb kinetic energy and redistribute it as super strength, but if he doesn't let it out soon enough, it has effects on his physiology (which is the reason for his... unique appearance, and [[SadClown also causes him permanent pain]]).

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog''.
** When Mina Mongoose first awakened her SuperSpeed, she had absolutely no idea how to control it, slamming into things at high speeds. She's forced to ask Sonic for help, though she also uses that time to show off her crush for him, too.
** When Knuckles accidentally awakens his Chaos Force powers following an attack by the Dark Legion that tossed everyone save Knuckles and a captive Julie-Su into another dimension, he ends up glowing green and accidentally unleashing a lot of power. When the echidnas in Abilon find out about this, they attempt to suck his powers out. All he does is blow up the machine and turn the poor sap at the controls into Doctor Finitevus.

*** Tt got worse in ''ComicBook/MrAndMrsX'', with her range increasing from just touch to an undefined distance around her. An earlier time it was amplified, the consequences of touching her became ''instant death'' and after her powers got reset back to their previous state, she tried to use them to kill Mystique, unaware that her powers had been reset, and ended up stuck with a copy of Mystique's mind in her head like what happened with Miss Marvel.

%%* In ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', Dr. Manhattan [[spoiler:is tricked into thinking he has this problem]].

** ''ComicBook/WonderGirl'' Vol. 1: When Cassie is upset for long periods it sometimes electrical storms, but she has no control over this and does not gain a method for channeling her ShockAndAwe powers for quite some time.

** ComicBook/{{Rogue}} drains the powers and life energy of anyone she touches, so she wears gloves and skin-concealing outfits to avoid accidental physical contact with others. Even worse, when she used this power on ComicBook/MsMarvel, it didn't wear off for a long time afterwards, absorbing Marvel's powers and memories seemingly permanently, leaving her with thoughts and feelings not her own and Carol a detached EmotionlessGirl disconnected from her own feelings (as well as depowered for quite some time.) Rogue lives in constant fear that this same thing might happen again to someone else she uses her power on. She was cured of this power incontinence by Professor X in ''X-Men: Legacy'' #224. [[StatusQuoIsGod It didn't last.]]
*** Recently, it got worse in ''ComicBook/MrAndMrsX'', with her range increasing from just touch to an undefined distance around her. Another time it was amplified, the consequences of touching her became ''instant death.''

* Black Bolt of ComicBook/TheInhumans has vast energy powers, comparable to or exceeding a Herald of Galactus. Sadly, the region of the brain that controls them is the same one that controls his voice. The net effect: he can't open his mouth without unleashing devastation. (Which often gets mistaken for a sonic attack.)

** Chamber of ''ComicBook/GenerationX'' is what happens when a mutant ''isn't'' [[RequiredSecondaryPowers immune to his or her own powers]]. He is a "[[MeaningfulName chamber]]" of psionic energy, a power that is always on, and is so powerful that it destroyed half his face and some of his internal organs (heart and lungs) when he first used it. Though it has been established that the fire is actually his true form and his human body is more of a "shell" (or, one might say, a 'chamber') that he doesn't really need, so no real harm done (at least, physically; ''half your face being missing'' tends to put a cramp in one's social life).

** ComicBook/{{Rogue}} drains the powers of anyone she touches, so she wears gloves and skin-concealing outfits to avoid accidental physical contact with others. Even worse, when she used this power on ComicBook/MsMarvel, it didn't wear off for a long time afterwards, absorbing Marvel's powers and memories seemingly permanently. Rogue lives in constant fear that this same thing might happen again to someone else she uses her power on. She was cured of this power incontinence by Professor X in ''X-Men: Legacy'' #224. [[StatusQuoIsGod It didn't last.]]
*** Recently, it got worse in ''ComicBook/MrAndMrsX'', with her range increasing from just touch to an undefined distance around her.

** One of the Morlocks from ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' is Leech, a deformed but innocent young boy with a mutant power which acts as a PowerNullifier to any other mutant abilities. Said power is always on, whether or not Leech wants it to be.

** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} villain Omega Red shows even bad guys suffer from this, as he had to drain people's life energy to survive and temporarily had to release the death spores his body built up or they would kill him. Even after he found a cure that allowed him to survive without other people's life, he stole it anyway and would probably do the same with his death spores.

* Happened a few times in ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog''.

** Ben Grimm is the only member of the Four who cannot turn off his powers without the use of occasional one-off phlebotinum. He's ''always'' in his rock-man form.
* Firestar, former member of ComicBook/TheNewWarriors, Franchise/TheAvengers, and current ComicBook/XMen member has the power of controlling microwave energy. However, due to her inexperience with controlling her powers, one of the bad side effects of this was developing ''breast cancer''.
%%* Comicbook/GhostRider originally suffered from this, but gained control over his powers eventually.

** Bruce Banner transforms into the Hulk whenever someone makes him too angry, and once he's in that form, he has no control over his actions.

* The Human Bomb, a character created by Quality Comics and later bought by DC, had the uncontrollable ability to create explosions with a touch. Most versions of the character need a containment suit to prevent him destroying everything he touches, and/or medication to keep him from spontaneously combusting.

** Minor villain Unus the Untouchable has a powerful psyonic barrier that repels anything that gets near him. That also includes ''air''. A few times his powers have gone out of control, he's suffocated himself.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' Mayfly's speed is not fully under her control by the design of those who granted it to her. This leads to her death when she can't stop and runs into a gate while trying to escape prison.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'' Dio has a bit of an issue in that just being around him makes people's inhibitions go right out the window. He can control it if he's trying to but he normally isn't, if his sclerae are black it's not safe for mortals to be near him.