Line #84 Main/MaterialMimicry


1	[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2262715_carl_creel__earth_80920.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:]]
3	->''"What, you're gonna stop me by tossin' concrete? So congratulations. Now I'm concrete. ''Now'' what?"''
4	-->-- '''The Absorbing Man''', ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse''
5
6	A character or object can change itself into a material simply by touching that material. Most often seen with metal and stone, but sometimes seen with rubber, wood, or other materials.
7
8	Characters with this ability need to be careful what they choose to use their powers on. Sure, pummeling your enemy with stone fists is great, but if you accidentally turn into paper or ice, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard you're going to have a bad time]]. Their foes might try and use this to their advantage and induce AssimilationBackfire. It also requires some ability to think on one's feet to find a useful substance to turn into. Alternatively, maybe they carry around small objects so they always have useful transformations available.
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10	Just like ChameleonCamouflage, this can be done for camouflage purposes.
11
12	Related tropes include CannibalismSuperpower, TheAssimilator and PowerCopying which are about absorbing the powers of other characters rather than materials. See also ElementalArmor, where the character is only encased by the substance without transforming. Contrast TheMagicTouch, where touching causes the object to change as well as TakenForGranite, where the transformation is against the victim's will and freezes them.
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14	SubTrope of VoluntaryShapeshifting. See also ElementalShapeshifter.
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16	----
17
18	!!Examples:
19
20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Comic Books]]
23	* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
24	** ''ComicBook/AllStarSquadron'': William Markus fought crime under the name 'Amazing Man' after an accident involving the Ultra-Humanite gave him the power to copy the properties of materials he touched. [[LegacyCharacter His two grandsons]], William Markus III and Markus Clay, took up the mantle after he died, though Clay's transformations only affected his skin.
25	** In ''ComicBook/{{Outsiders\|2003}}'', Shift was originally an accidental clone of ComicBook/{{Metamorpho}} (he was a part of the original that had split off and developed his own personality), but eventually, he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution, gaining the ability to absorb and mimic almost any substance he touched, whereas the original Metamorpho could only mimic elements found within the human body.
26	** ComicBook/{{Firestorm\|DCComics}} had a StalkerWithACrush named Casey Krinsky with substance-copying abilities. She is defeated when Firestorm's transmuting abilities interact oddly with hers and accidentally [[TakenForGranite petrify]] her.
27	** Percival "Grunge" Chang from ''ComicBook/Gen13'' started with the power to take on the properties of anything he touches by molecularly bonding to it. After [[ContinuityReboot Worldstorm]], his powers were expanded to PowerCopying.
28	** ComicBook/{{Superman}} has an enemy called Anomaly, a clone of a gangster who can take the properties of what he touches.
29	* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
30	** [[TheAdjectivalMan The Absorbing Man]], a longtime opponent of ComicBook/TheMightyThor and the ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk, can absorb the properties of anything that touches him, including solid objects, and energy. This extends to inanimate substances like steel and concrete, nuclear and magical energies, or even other people like ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules. ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'' sees him learn to absorb the properties of entire objects like rockets. Stonewall, his biological son, has also [[SuperpowerfulGenetics inherited this power]].
31	*** Not being the sharpest knife in the drawer, he is often depicted as never being able to catch on that [[AssimilationBackfire absorbing the physical characteristics of something means getting the weaknesses that come with it]]. Thor once defeated him by having him come into contact with hydrogen gas, which then harmlessly dissipated. In a battle with the Hulk on top of a skyscraper under construction, the roof collapsed and both fell hundreds of feet to the ground. Sneering at the Hulk, he said all he had to do to survive the fall was to reach out and grab a piece of falling debris, absorbing its properties. Unfortunately, he grabbed a shard of glass, [[LiterallyShatteredLives and didn't have time to grab something else before hitting the ground]]...
32	** ''ComicBook/GenerationX'': Mondo's power is to copy the properties of substances.
33	** ''ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers2018'': Kate Bishop's boyfriend Johnny Watts, a.k.a. Fuse, has this superpower, transforming successfully from steel to brick to rubber to even water. He wears Vibranium piercings for transformations into that element, but staying in that form too long cuts into his intelligence so he saves it for emergencies. [[spoiler:His sister Ramone has a similar power, but in her case the transformation into Vibranium is mostly permanent.]]
34	* The parody comic ''ComicBook/CaptainBiceps'' has him defeat the Absorbing Man ersatz by throwing a stale baguette at him, making him much easier to punch than water or brick. An inconvenient side of Absorbing Man's power is also seen when he steps in a dog turd.
35	* ''ComicBook/{{Madman}}'': It Girl, member of the Atomics, has the ability to copy the genetic traits of anything or anyone she touches. Not only can she copy abilities from others, such as her teammate [[RubberMan Mr. Gum]], she can also take on the features of materials or objects and change her body to them.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Fan Works]]
39	* ''Fanfic/ThievesCanBeHeroes'': Makoto's Quirk, "Absorption", lets her change her body into substances she touches, though only if she touched it with her right hand. She can also reshape transformed parts of her body.
40	* ''Fanfic/VanishingAct'': Ez-E's Stand allows his body to absorb nearby matter into himself as armour.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Film]]
44	* David Banner in ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' gets this power after injecting himself with Bruce's DNA, [[CompositeCharacter taking elements from the Absorbing Man]]. In the climax, he goes through electrical, rock, and water-based forms in quick succession.
45	* In the director's cut of ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', after the T-1000 gets frozen and shattered, he exhibits some malfunctions with his morphing ability. When he touches a steel railing in the factory, his hands take on the texture and painted warning stripes of the material.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Literature}}]]
49	* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': Animal morphs are "acquired" by physical contact. The process puts them in a slight trance, useful for the more dangerous morphs like sharks and tigers.
50	* In ''[[Literature/LorienLegacies The Fall of Five]]'', Number Five has this ability -- he constantly carries a rubber ball and a steel bearing so that he can fight at will whenever necessary, though it does seem to be a choice response as he doesn't become cotton when wearing clothes and is able to roll the balls over his fingers when nervous.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
54	* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': The Absorbing Man shows up in the "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E1Shadows Shadows]]" and "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E2HeavyIsTheHead Heavy is the Head]]" , working for [[spoiler:HYDRA]]. He is never actually [[ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames called Absorbing Man as a name, only as a descriptor]], instead going by [[AlliterativeName Carl Creel]] (his real name from the comics). Creel enjoys absorbing things so much that he keeps a collection of unique materials to use and [[spoiler:HYDRA]] rewards him with new additions to the collection for completing missions.
55	* ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'': Syd, the Pink Ranger, can transform her fist into any material she touches. One of her favorite moves is to turn it into metal or stone before smashing her target to pieces.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
59	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The zorbo is a [[YowiesAndBunyipsAndDropBearsOhMy malevolent koala-like creature]] whose skin takes on the properties of the material it stands on, becoming increasingly more durable if it's on wood, stone, and metal.
60	* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Tyvar Kell, a Planeswalker from Kaldheim, has both this power and TheMagicTouch with natural materials. Examples of his capabilities include giving himself armor made of stone or growing thorns to get out of grapples.
61	* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': In Second Edition, striking a sea dragon with a weapon made out of metal or with a spell that uses metal will turn many of the dragon's scales into metal of the kind used, increasing their armor for the duration of the fight.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Toys]]
65	* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'': A type of Rahi, called the Tunneler, has the ability to take the physical properties of a material used to strike it, like rock, crystal, or fire. In the novels, Vakama and Onewa defeat it by causing to absorb glass, which forces it to remain still. Since it was around twice the size its species is normally [[AssimilationBackfire it would crack if it moved]].
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Video Games]]
69	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Kecleon's [[SecretArt Ability Color Change]], while presented as ChameleonCamouflage, functions closer to this trope. Its type changes to that of the last attack that hit it.
70	* ''VideoGame/YookaLaylee''. The title character has the Slurp State, an unlockable move that allows Yooka to take on the properties of certain objects by licking them. For example, a beehive makes him sticky like honey, a cannonball makes him heavy, and a bonfire makes him warm.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Webcomics]]
74	* In ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', Minmax found a sword that can do this, although it had protections against copying excessively weak materials (like, say, the flesh it cuts). [[spoiler: Shortly thereafter, Minmax cluelessly touched it to an [[NegativeSpaceWedgie oblivion hole]]. This removed the sword's copying ability, but it [[AchievementsInIgnorance may well have been the most powerful thing he could possibly have replicated with it]], as the resulting [[PowerOfTheVoid "nonexistent"]] sword was ''utterly immovable'' by any force except Minmax himself.]]
75	* ''Webcomic/M9Girls'': Pato/Purple Space (The "matter" element of the M9 Girls) can absorb the properties of any material she touches.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Western Animation]]
79	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'': Carl "Crusher" Creel, a.k.a. the Absorbing Man, can absorb the qualities of anything he touches. This ability makes him a dangerous opponent, but it also means he often [[AssimilationBackfire absorbs the weaknesses of whatever he's touched]] and most of his defeats come from heroes who exploit this. Thor shows him why taking on Mjölnir's properties was a bad idea in the "[[Recap/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroesS1E13GammaWorldPart2 Gamma World Part 2]]" episode.
80	-->'''Absorbing Man:''' [[WhyIsntItAttacking Fight back!]]\
81	'''Thor:''' I cannot... for I am concentrating...\
82	''[Absorbing Man rushes him, only to freeze in his tracks]''\
83	'''Absorbing Man:''' I -- I can't move! What's goin' on?!\
84	'''Thor:''' [[TranquilFury You were foolish to take on the essence of Mjölnir's, mortal]]. The [[ThunderHammer hammer's]] power is not yours to control. ''[[OnlyTheChosenMayWield It is mine!]]''\
85	''[Thor proceeds to use [[GrievousHarmWithABody Absorbing Man as a hammer]] against the Leader's robot suit]''
86	* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. Kevin E. Levin has this power. He has EnergyAbsorption too, but using it [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity drives him insane]] and turns him into a self-described "monster". In the "Kevin's Big Score" episode, Vulkanus captures Kevin and forces him to absorb a precious gem called Taydenite. Vulkanus then proceeds to painfully harvest the Taydenite crystals that grow from Kevin's body.
87	* ''WesternAnimation/BureauOfAlienDetectors'': [[TheBigGuy Moose Tengauneau]], after having his genes messed with during an alien abduction, has the power to take the properties of inanimate objects he touches, a move he calls the "Elemental Morph." In practice, he usually just absorbs the power of steel, though once he used rubber.
88	* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'': The Titans fight a villain with this superpower, called the White Monster, in the DenouementEpisode "[[Recap/TeenTitansS5E13ThingsChange Things Change]]". The White Monster actually gets tougher when it absorbs a liquid like oil since it can then reform like [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay the T-1000]].
89	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'': The [[OurGeniesAreDifferent absorbent genie]] from [[Recap/WakfuS1E9RuelsBag "Le sac de Ruel" ("Ruel's Bag")]] takes on the properties of whatever he eats and since he has been feasting on Kamas (coins), the other characters cannot even scratch him. [[spoiler: Ruel defeats him by tricking him into eating some chocolate coins and he starts to melt.]]
90	[[/folder]]

Context Main / MaterialMimicry