History WeaksauceWeakness / ComicBooks

** In old comics, the King of the Sea himself, as with other Atlanteans in general, for all his prowess in the ocean, could not be out of the water for more than an hour or he'd dry out and die. He probably got this from Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner, whom he was initially a CaptainErsatz of. Aqualad has a less-extreme version of this weakness in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'' animated series. There isn't any set time limit, but he succumbs to exhaustion and dehydration far quicker than his teammates after they get lost in the desert. This weakness kind of came and went over the years largely based on plot convenience, especially by the time Geoff Johns took over during Blackest Night and stewarded the character into the New 52 series, mandating that Aquaman could be out of the water indefinitely with no ill effects, presumably because Arthur Curry dying if he didn't regularly go underwater yet also growing up on land unaware of his Atlantean heritage was kind of a plot hole. Other prominent Atlanteans also had their deprivation weakness removed. Early New 52 issues lampshaded this with policeman and criminal alike mocking both Arthur and Mera before [[UnderestimatingBadassery having to eat their words]]. That said, Arthur almost died of thirst in the desert once, but, well, wouldn't you?

* The short-lived hero Gunfire had the power to turn anything into a gun by charging it with explosive energy. ''Anything'' (except, oddly enough, an actual gun). Enter the ''ComicBook/{{Hitman}}'' story where Tommy defeats a future version of Gunfire by causing him to turn his own ass into a living grenade. [[HilarityEnsues Good times were had by all]].

** ComicBook/{{Storm}} has complete control of the weather: in practice it gives her flight, superspeed, and the command of electricity, water, cold, and wind. So what's her weakness? {{Claustrophobia}}. If a writer wants to take her out of a battle, all they need to do is drop some rubble on her -- and sometimes not even that much. In her early years, she had a HeroicBSOD when a villain only mentioned a word that made her ''think'' of enclosed spaces. (These days, trying to stick her in an enclosed space just makes her [[UnstoppableRage mad.]])

** Almost every Green Lantern from UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks onward had the color yellow as his main weakness. Any criminal could waltz past him by wearing a yellow suit and stealing only gold, and shoot yellow painted bullets from gold plated guns. That being said, a clever person could find a way around it. Such as using the ring to pick up something not made of yellow, and hitting the criminal with it. There have been various explanations such as programming bugs or a deliberately-induced FantasticFragility, but the currently-accepted explanation is a combination of yellow representing fear, the enemy of the HeroicWillpower energy the Lanterns wield, and the fact that a yellow fear monster had been imprisoned in the Central Battery, tainting the power source. The weakness can now be recognized and overcome, and adaptations tend to downplay it into almost nothing.

*** The yellow weakness was especially weaksauce in UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks because of the fact that [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere every other villain seemed to emit some kind of "infra-yellow radiation", contain a "yellow compound", be surrounded by "invisible yellow" or have some other completely ridiculous piece of pseudoscience in place to stop Green Lantern destroying them in five seconds flat.]] For those curious: "infra-yellow", in a sane world, translates as ''[[spoiler: orange]]''.

*** It didn't hurt that wood, while very common when Alan Scott first hit the scene, had become rarer in civilization by the time UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks hit. Villains in Franchise/TheDCU tend to decorate in metal, plastic, and ZeeRust by then, which means even less to block that strange ring with.

** ComicBook/PostCrisis it's a self-imposed weakness. In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} and [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]], it was a natural aspect of fifth dimensional beings that saying their own names backwards sent them home. In UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}}, ''anyone'' (human or imp) who said Mxyztplk's name backwards would end up in the Fifth Dimension... or the Fifth Dimension attached to Earth-2, anyway.

* In ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/TheAttackOfTheAnnihilator'', ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} realizes the Annihilator has evolved further every time he was exposed to great heat, so she reasons that extreme cold might reverse his transformation. Hence, she swiftly douses him in water, Supergirl freezes him, and he gets turned back to non-powered human.

* ''Comicbook/TheDarkness'', phenomenal [[EldritchAbomination cosmic/demonic power]]. But can't operate under a 60 Watt light bulb.
* ''Marvel Universe'''s Valkyrie, in her early [[Comicbook/TheDefenders Defender]] years, was unable to fight against any foe that was feminine, even if she was alien or a robot. The Enchantress specifically places this in her as a failsafe if she turned against her.

* Franchise/TheDCU also had Comicbook/{{Firestorm|DCComics}}, whose weakness is organic materials. ''All'' of them. He can't affect them with his power, or he'll suffer painful consequences. So...he could be foiled by a stick. Or a leather wallet.

* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' is infamous for having silly weaknesses:

*** This actually becomes a problem for him in the {{Elseworld}}s story ''ComicBook/KingdomCome''. Like most of the other original heroes, Franchise/GreenLantern Alan Scott's powers have progressed to a ludicrous level - he keeps watch over the Earth in a massive emerald SpaceStation, constructed himself a suit of impressive armor, and carries around a sword made out of pure energy - all from his power ring. None of it helps very much against Comicbook/GreenArrow in the final battle, since this Oliver Queen's arrows are made out of wood.
*** This was the main reason that [[Characters/GreenLantern1941 Solomon Grundy]] was such a threat to Alan. Being drowned, soaked in and resurrected in a swamp, his body was filled and covered with plant matter, rendering the ring all but useless in directly affecting Grundy (Comicbook/SwampThing even explained that Solomon Grundy was now a plant-based elemental of sorts like he was).

* ComicBook/TheInhumans, genetic superhumans who have advanced technology and a civilization predating ''regular'' humans' by millennia, are done in by... pollution and germs. This weakness started off halfway between PutOnABus and PutOnABusToHell. It was introduced just after Inhumans creator Creator/JackKirby left Marvel for DC, and the main aim was transparently to knock Crystal out of her role as almost-full-time member of the Comicbook/FantasticFour.

* ''ComicBook/MartianManhunter'': J'onn J'onzz and Miss Martian have a ridiculous amount of powers, yet they had a weakness to fire, making it quite easy to disable them. In the case of the older hero, this is because he saw his entire family -- and species as a whole -- die in a psychic plague that manifested itself as fire. He then buried the bodies of everyone on the planet. This makes his pyrophobia a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The first attempt to remove this weakness accidentally unlocked his SuperpoweredEvilSide. Though technically, it's not a weakness of fire, it's a fear of fire. In ''Comicbook/WarWorld'', Superman ignites the ground around J'onn and him to finish their brawl.

* Billy Batson/Captain Marvel says "Comicbook/{{Shazam}}!", the name of the wizard who granted him his powers, to [[HenshinHero change between his hero and civilian forms]]. This isn't really that bad, but his friend Freddy Freeman/Captain Marvel Jr. has to say "Captain Marvel!" to transform--meaning that he not only has to be careful talking to Billy, but he can't even tell people ''his own code name'' without becoming powerless. He started going by "[=CM3=]" to fix this. In the first Titans Tomorrow storyline (which featured evil future versions of the Teen Titans), [=CM3=] can also be depowered when a recording of his voice says "Captain Marvel!". This is played dead straight, as Batman (Tim Drake) uses a recording of [=CM3=] revealing his secret identity to Tim to shut him down before [=CM3=] can beat him into the ground.
* The greater the power, the weaker the sauce! Marvel's latest and most prominent Superman [[CaptainErsatz pastiche]] is ComicBook/TheSentry, a "golden guardian of good" who's as powerful as he lets himself be. However, he's also agoraphobic -- he can't stand being outside. If you also so much as ''remind him'' of his little DarkSide problem, he'll fly off to Saturn and cry. Or revert to human form. Or, if he's ''really'' unlucky, let the Void out -- and suddenly things will look a whole lot better for the bad guys. One fancomic actually has him carrying around his entire living room whenever he wants to go anywhere. Comicbook/IronMan once defeated him by forwarding his mail, more or less.

* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** ComicBook/{{Venom}}. Weaknesses? Fire and loud noise. At one point, he's defeated with nothing more than a ''lighter'' (which raises the question of why Franchise/SpiderMan doesn't just carry a $1.98 Bic lighter with him at all times). This varies DependingOnTheWriter. ComicBook/{{Carnage}} shares some of the same weaknesses.

** Perhaps in response to claims of how silly his weaknesses are, the Comicbook/{{Ultimate|Marvel}} version of Venom lacks the vulnerability to fire and sound. Instead, the only real threat to him is electrocution.

* Comicbook/{{Static}}:
** Comicbook/{{Static}}'s nemesis Hot-Streak had the ability to conjure powerful fireballs which he could hurl at his opponents. The catch? His powers were friction-based, so he could only use them after running around (albeit at super-speed, which he possessed in his first appearance) and building up heat energy from his feet. Once Static realized this, he simply attacked from behind and immobilized Hot-Streak with metal fixtures from a playground, rendering him completely helpless. He was a much bigger threat in the [[WesternAnimation/StaticShock cartoon adaptation]] precisely because the writers ditched the friction weakness.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* The first story of the 2011 relaunch of ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' features a kid villain named William Arcane. William's connection to the forces of Death (or The Rot) allow him to control all dead or decaying matter. This gives him immense power. The only problem is his fatal allergy to ''[[KryptoniteIsEverywhere chlorophyll]]''.

* Perun from ''Comicbook/TheUltimates'' is essentially a [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] wannabe... without the superhuman strength most Asgardians possess. Despite having a powerful hammer similar to Mjölnir, Perun is killed after an enemy sneaks up on him and quietly snaps his neck.

* ''Comicbook/XMen'':
** Comicbook/{{Storm}} has complete control of the weather: in practice it gives her flight, superspeed, and the command of electricity, water, cold, and wind. So what's her weakness? {{Claustrophobia}}. If a writer wants to take her out of a battle, all they need to do is drop some rubble on her -- and sometimes not even that much. In her early years, she had a HeroicBSOD when a villain only mentioned a word that made her ''think'' of enclosed spaces. (These days, trying to stick her in an enclosed space just makes her [[UnstoppableRage mad.]])

* The third Comicbook/WonderGirl Cassie Sandsmark consistently ''lacks'' whatever weaknesses apply to Comicbook/WonderWoman in whichever continuity they happen to be sharing. But she loses all her powers if one of her parents decide to deny her use of them. She's literally weak to being told "YouAreGrounded"

** Occasionally, a story will tie both the yellow and wood weaknesses together somehow (or at least {{Lampshade|Hanging}} both at once:

** In old comics, the King of the Sea himself, as with other Atlanteans in general, for all his prowess in the ocean, could not be out of the water for more than an hour or he'd dry out and die. He probably got this from Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner, whom he was initially a CaptainErsatz of. Aqualad has a less-extreme version of this weakness in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. There isn't any set time limit, but he succumbs to exhaustion and dehydration far quicker than his teammates after they get lost in the desert. This weakness kind of came and went over the years largely based on plot convenience, especially by the time Geoff Johns took over during Blackest Night and stewarded the character into the New 52 series, mandating that Aquaman could be out of the water indefinitely with no ill effects, presumably because Arthur Curry dying if he didn’t regularly go underwater yet also growing up on land unaware of his Atlantean heritage was kind of a plot hole. Other prominent Atlanteans also had their deprivation weakness removed. Early New 52 issues lampshaded this with policeman and criminal alike mocking both Arthur and Mera before [[UnderestimatingBadassery having to eat their words]]. That said, Arthur almost died of thirst in the desert once, but, well, wouldn't you?

* The greater the power, the weaker the sauce! Marvel's latest and most prominent Superman [[CaptainErsatz pastiche]] is Comicbook/TheSentry, a "golden guardian of good" who's as powerful as he lets himself be. However, he's also agoraphobic -- he can't stand being outside. If you also so much as ''remind him'' of his little DarkSide problem, he'll fly off to Saturn and cry. Or revert to human form. Or, if he's ''really'' unlucky, let the Void out -- and suddenly things will look a whole lot better for the bad guys. One fancomic actually has him carrying around his entire living room whenever he wants to go anywhere. Comicbook/IronMan once defeated him by forwarding his mail, more or less.

** Mr. Mxyzptlk is [[RealityWarper so powerful]] that he has no natural weaknesses. To make his fights with Superman more challenging, [[SelfImposedChallenge he gives himself one]]: Saying his own name backwards.

** In this setting, trolls are near-unstoppable hulking brutes with SuperStrength. Their weakness? A crippling fear of water and getting wet. Since trolls are covered in coarse hair where live whole colonies of insects, and pride themselves of their flies, their stench and how dirty they are, the concept of getting clean terrify them. A mere drizzle will make them run like headless chickens in search of a shelter. Waha, the protagonist of the ''ComicBook/TrollDeTroy'' spin-off, is a human reared by trolls and thus share this water phobia.
** In the animated adaptation of ''Troll de Troy'', there is also a flower whose smell instantly put trolls to sleep.

* Pick someone, hero, villain, or somewhere in between with electricity based powers, chances are their weaknesses are, among other things, rubber and [[KillItWithWater water]].

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** The [[ComicBook/GreenLantern1941 original Green Lantern]], Alan Scott, was almost as bad -- his weakness was wood. In practice this usually meant a bunch of hoods would gang up on him and one would get in a blow to the head with a chair leg or club. Since so few people knew it as later Green Lanterns became famous, however, he in many cases seemed ''more'' powerful than the new Green Lanterns because, for example, the Sinestro Corps yellow power rings couldn't even make him flinch.

** The [[ComicBook/GreenLantern1941 original Green Lantern]], Alan Scott, was almost as bad -- his weakness was wood. Since so few people knew it as later Green Lanterns became famous, however, he in many cases seemed ''more'' powerful than the new Green Lanterns because, for example, the Sinestro Corps yellow power rings couldn't even make him flinch.

** In the 90's, ComicBook/PowerGirl went through a single-issue DorkAge where she could be hurt by any "natural, unprocessed material", including the proverbial sticks and stones. This for a character who's on par with Superman and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. The negative reaction from readers caused it to [[CanonDisContinuity never appear again]]. It was just that weak. During her ''Justice League Europe'' days she was also allergic to diet soda, causing fits of anger.

** In old comics, the King of the Sea himself, for all his prowess in the ocean, could not be out of the water for more than an hour or he'd dry out and die. He probably got this from Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner, whom he was initially a CaptainErsatz of. Aqualad has a less-extreme version of this weakness in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. There isn't any set time limit, but he succumbs to exhaustion and dehydration far quicker than his teammates after they get lost in the desert. This weakness kind of came and went over the years largely based on plot convenience. In the New 52 series, DC mandated that Aquaman could be out of the water indefinitely with no ill effects, presumably because editorial realised that Arthur Curry dying if he didn’t regularly go underwater yet also growing up on land unaware of his Atlantean heritage was kind of a plot hole. He almost died of thirst in the desert once, but, well, wouldn't you?

* One ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' strip feature an alien race who can hypnotize people at will, but immediately dissolves when in contact with mustard.

*** The {{Elseworld}}s story ''Comicbook/SupermanAndBatmanGenerations'' {{Handwave}}s the odd Green Lantern weaknesses by having the Guardians explain that all weaknesses are mentally-imposed. Alan was weak to wood because a thug surprised him with a baseball bat and he ''assumed'' the ring didn't work against wood, while Hal was told that the rings were ineffective against yellow and thus added the weakness himself. Kyle, who gets his ring without hearing the explanation, lacks any weaknesses. (This is not, to be clear, how it actually works in continuity.)

* Comicbook/TheInhumans, genetic superhumans who have advanced technology and a civilization predating ''regular'' humans' by millennia, are done in by... pollution and germs. This weakness started off halfway between PutOnABus and PutOnABusToHell. It was introduced just after Inhumans creator Creator/JackKirby left Marvel for DC, and the main aim was transparently to knock Crystal out of her role as almost-full-time member of the Comicbook/FantasticFour.

** When he first appeared, ComicBook/{{Loki}} had one--he couldn't use his powers when wet/in contact with water. Against Thor, who could easily make it rain. No wonder this is ignored now.

* In a story published on the Italian Disney's magazine [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topolino Topolino]], Gyro Gearloose built a strongbox for Scrooge Mc Duck that was made with invulnerable materials. Nothing could damage it, nor even the strongest acids, lasers, or diamond drills. Problem was that Scrooge forgot the code to open the strongbox and absolutely needed an important document inside that was virtually inaccessible. Everything was solved when it turned out that Gyro used all his budget to develop the invulnerable material, being forced to put a cheap discount lock that could be lockpicked with an hair clip.

* In a story published on the Italian Disney's magazine [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topolino Topolino]], Gyro Gearloose built a strongbox for Scrooge McDuck that was made with invulnerable materials. Nothing could damage it, nor even the strongest acids, lasers, or diamond drills. Problem was that Scrooge forgot the code to open the strongbox and absolutely needed an important document inside that was virtually inaccessible. Everything was solved when it turned out that Gyro used all his budget to develop the invulnerable material, being forced to put a cheap discount lock that could be lockpicked with an hair clip.

*** In an Elseworlds story, Batman gets the ring near the beginning of his crimefighting career. When criminals release a rather toxic yellow dust Batman... makes a giant vacuum to gather it up. The crooks were just lucky this was pre-hyperintelligent Batman.

* In a likely reference to J'onn, semi-obscure ''Marvel Universe'' character Captain Ultra has a mess of ComboPlatterPowers, but was introduced with pyrophobia so bad that he fainted at the sight of a cigarette lighter. He first appeared in a tryout for the Frightful Four, a group of ComicBook/FantasticFour antagonists, which prompted a trapped [[PlayingWithFire Johnny Storm]] to advise them to keep him on--after all, [[SarcasmMode when would they ever end up fighting someone with fire powers]]? Later appearances by him suggest he worked past it with therapy, leaving his main weakness to be that he's kind of an idiot.

** The [[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers G1 comic]] introduced the Scraplets, a race of small, mechanical pests that corroded any Transformers they infected. They can be defeated only by the "rare and legendary fluid" called water (which admittedly, ''was'' extremely rare on Cybertron - and they show up on Earth in the middle of the desert). This is also a case of ScienceMarchesOn: at the time of the comic’s writing, water was thought to be very rare in the universe at large.

** The [[AffirmativeActionLegacy second]] Firestorm was once beaten because [[WhatAnIdiot he published a scientific paper on how his own powers worked]]. And ComicBook/LexLuthor read it. "Oh no" indeed.

*** This was the main reason that ComicBook/SolomonGrundy was such a threat to Alan. Being drowned, soaked in and resurrected in a swamp, his body was filled and covered with plant matter, rendering the ring all but useless in directly affecting Grundy (Comicbook/SwampThing even explained that Solomon Grundy was now a plant-based elemental of sorts like he was).