Kiai optional, but encouraged.
As the power flows through your body and your hair glows and your Battle Aura burns brightly, how are you gonna react physically? Usually doing this classic pose, body arched back, arms at sides at an angle facing outwards, legs at full extension about 20 degrees from each other.
If the power-up is making you float, you may as well point those toes. Hands in fists or curled are optional, as is screaming at the top of the lungs. It is highly recommended to make use of this trope to add that extra layer of badass to any transformation and it's shorter than a full Transformation Sequence too. This trope often serves as a visual indicator of someone entering their Super Mode, or pulling out the stops.
Compare Meditation Power Up which is a more sedate posture that serves the same purpose. If a Dangerous Forbidden Technique is used, expect the pose to look painful in turn.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Dragon Ball Z:
- From the Kaio-Ken technique to the Super Saiyan, this pose is done all the time.
- Ultra Instinct, possibly Goku's final transformation, notably doesn't do this. Rather eerily Goku simply stands, making his extreme calmness in the face of more power than ever before striking.
- Used often in Mobile Fighter G Gundam whenever someone entered their Super Mode.
- When Ash's Infernape used his Blaze Ability in Pokémon: The Series, he did this as he powered up. And yes, Super Saiyan jokes have been done.
- Years later, both Ash and his Greninja do this in sync with each other when they finally perfect their Bond Phenomenon transformation.
- All over in Transformers: Robots in Disguise, being a Transformers anime.
- In My Hero Academia Midoriya does this pose on top of a pile of rubbish once he has finished cleaning a polluted beach. He gains 'One for All' a few minutes later, and him striking the pose symbolized him completing the training that allowed him to receive All Might's power. Mostly averted when Midoriya actually activates his powers, though he is still early in his development and this might change as he can access more of his abilities.
Comic Books
- Superman usually adopts a pose like this when he flies into the upper atmosphere to supercharge on solar energy. Probably helps the surface area for better absorption.
- Several times when The Mighty Thor brings down a powerful storm he's done this.
- Asterix usually adopts a version of this pose when he drinks the magic potion. He glows and rises off the ground, his back is arched and the arm that does not hold the gourd of potion is either fully extended or has a slight bend at the elbow; in either case, the fist is clenched. A unique aspect of this pose is that his feet are depicted as flapping violently — maybe that's why he's off the ground?
Film
- When Thanos completes the Infinity Gauntlet in Avengers: Infinity War, the power influx makes him assume this pose, albeit with fists pointed downwards.
- In Pixar's Turning Red, Meilin Lee strikes this pose during her fight with her mother Ming's kaiju-panda form. It's a bit unusual in that she isn't "powering up" in the conventional sense, but it does indicate the moment when she stops trying to annoy her mother and starts actively fighting her.
Live-Action TV
- Often used in many Sentai works during the Transformation Sequence.
- Doctor Who: Used for practically all the times we've seen Time Lords or partial Time Lords regenerate on-screen since 2005.
- Some demons on Supernatural do this when the black smoke which is their essence leaves the meat suit they're currently wearing.
Literature
- The cover of the Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms Spellfire novel Crown of Fire shows the main character Shandril Shessair using the title ability. See it here
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Video Games
- inFAMOUS, inFAMOUS 2, and In Famous Second Son Cole and Delsin Rowe do this really awkward pose when he absorbs a Blast Core (in the case with Cole) or a new power (in the case with Delsin).
- Dante in Devil May Cry entering his Super Mode tends to strike a pose like this.
- God of War: Kratos adopts this pose when he uses his Poseidon's Rage spell.
- Mega Man
- X's teleporting animation at the start of every stage in the X4 through X6 games has him adopt briefly this pose, as he powers up with his currently equipped armor.
- If Zero becomes "Awakened" in X5, he adopts this pose along with a red glowing aura.
- Vent and Aile are briefly shown in this pose when they use the Biometals Model X and Model Z together. In the sequel, Vent also does it, complete with a Kiai.
- Advanced V.G. II: Used as a special attack and as a victory pose for The Material Twins, during which, they levitate and flare their psychic-kinetic energy around their bodies. Miranda Jahana has the same ability but on a far greater scale. Material's version is seen at 7:13-7:16, while Miranda's is seen at 7:29.
- Shana and Dart do this in The Legend of Dragoon during their Transformation Sequence.
- Several animations in MS Saga: A New Dawn use this, most notably the physical weapon lines.
- Asura adopts this pose in Asura's Wrath when entering Unlimited form and other forms.
- The usual pose done whenever a Ground based Devastator is performed in [PROTOTYPE].
- Gene does this during several of his Limit Breaks in God Hand.
- In Guilty Gear, Sol Badguy does this pose whenever he does his Dragon Install. His past self, Order Sol, does it too whenever he charges up his powers due him being younger and less experienced.
- The Guardian of the Balance assumes this pose (but with his legs together) upon ascending to the top of the Tower of the Balance in The Longest Journey and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.
- Hazama of BlazBlue does this whenever he activates his Azure Grimoire.
- Collector Mooks in Mass Effect 2 enter this pose when Harbinger assumes direct control over them, complete with Battle Aura from their skin lighting on fire. Naturally, should you be of that bent, this is a great time to nail them with sniper fire.
- The player characters in DC Universe Online do this briefly whenever they get a Character Level.
- Mega Evolution, introduced in Pokémon X and Y, will have many of the Mons strike a pose similar to this while they transform.
- The titular Prince has a similar pose in Prince of Persia: Warrior Within when he uses a time portal (which often gives him new abilities) or gets his health bar extended.
- In Sengoku Basara 4 Sumeragi, if playable character Ashikaga Yoshiteru successfully targets an enemy with "Muken no Tobira" skill (lit. "Infernal Gateway"), that enemy gets stuck in a moment for a bit, as Ashikaga warps behind the target to deliver massive damage with a Diagonal Cut, taking time to dramatically sheath the blade afterwards.
- Kingdom Hearts:
- At the climax of Terra's story in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Terra strikes this pose while embracing The Power of Hate, complete with a Battle Aura of raging black fire.
- Footage from Kingdom Hearts III shows Sora striking this pose when he enters a Drive Form.
- Whenever Kirby gains a copy ability, be it by inhaling an enemy or through a copy pedestal, he always faces the screen and sticks one hand in the air while lifting one foot of the ground.
- The /powerup purchasable emote in Final Fantasy XIV causes the player to briefly float off the ground, back arched and arms out, a Battle Aura surrounding them.
- Fujiwara no Mokou of Touhou Project does the iconic pose whenever she uses any of her self-immolating abilities in Urban Legend in Limbo.
- In Yakuza Kiwami 2, some important bosses will be stunned when they have a tiny bit of health left, then Kiryu goes into this pose to charge up his Heat meter (by mashing X) to perform a Coup de Grâce Cutscene.
- Sonic the Hedgehog usually does this when he turns into Super Sonic. In games where transforming in the middle of a level is allowed, this trope has been used consistently. Averted in games where the transformation is only seen in a cutscene, with a few exceptions.
- In Shadow the Hedgehog he does this pose as he uses his Chaos Blast. The intro shows him doing this animated to boot.
- Final Fantasy VII Remake: Tifa takes the pose when powering up her chi to level 3 in her Unbridled Might move.
- Metroid
- Samus often takes a variant when she acquires a new suit upgrade like the Varia and Gravity suits. In the fully 2D entries she just stands and looks at the camera. The Prime sub-series has her T-pose. The Mercury Steam games play this straight.
- Her Evil Knockoff Dark Samus regularly does this when using its phazon powers.
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption When empowered by the rush of Phazon after Leviathan bosses Samus takes a more and more painful looking variation of the pose. It really sells that she is turning into a copy of Dark Samus, especially when she floats in this pose to expel the supercharge of Phazon at Leviathan seeds.
- Metroid: Samus Returns Samus does the stock pose after acquiring new Aeion abilities.
- Richter Belmont of Castlevania fame is often seen in this pose when activating item crashes, super powered attacks unique to whatever subweapon he has equipped.
Web Animation
- Appears in Super Mario Bros. Z befitting to the inspiration source. Notable in that in Mario's characters case it involved modified sprites from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga to achieve this pose.
- RWBY: Deconstructed. During Volumes 1-3, Yang often activates her Semblance by entering the power-up pose to wrist-activate her gauntlet-guns, and then charging at her opponents. In Volume 4, her father points out this style of activation is just a temper tantrum designed to fix her problems, and it made her predictable to her opponents. He teaches her to fight smarter instead of harder and to only use her Semblance as a last resort; from then on, she stops relying on her Semblance, no longer broadcasting when she's about to use it.
Web Comics
- In El Goonish Shive, Greg tries to invoke a Super Mode transformation a la Dragon Ball Z by striking this pose. Unfortunately for him, the rules of magic in his verse don't quite work that way.
Web Videos
- Parodied like many other tropes in College Saga.
Western Animation
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
- This pose is adopted by some of the mane six when they use the power of the Elements of Harmony.
- When Twilight was transformed into an Alicorn she took this pose when the power entered her.
- In Birdman (1967) cartoons, the title character adopts this pose when he recharges his solar energy by bathing in sunlight.
