Basic Trope: A superpower based more on wording than anything else.
- Straight:
- Chuck has the ability to "throw anything". In addition to what you would expect, he can flawlessly fake his death by "Throwing the fight," and become a champion boxer by "throwing a punch."
- Genso has the ability to enlighten. In addition to light powers he can trigger epiphanies in other people.
- Exaggerated:
- Chuck is omnipotent, so long as he can phrase his omnipotence in terms of throwing.
- Chuck can also use synonyms of the word throw for his powers...
- Downplayed: Chuck can throw intangible concepts because they are things, and he can throw "any thing."
- Justified:
- The powers were granted by a Literal Genie.
- The magic is based on words of power. The more meanings you can get out of one word, the more flexible the power.
- Inverted: Semantic weakness: Silversheen has powers based on becoming a reflection of his opponents. However, it's useless against the blind because they can't see their reflections and thus they are effectively non-existent for them.
- Subverted: It turns out that Chuck is just really good at faking his death, and it’s nothing someone who is similarly talented couldn’t do, and the same applies to his boxing skills.
- Double Subverted: However, he later turns out to be a Gravity Master, as he can "throw his weight around"
- Parodied: Chuck offers to use his power to throw his enemies off the trail... which he does by picking them up, and physically throwing them off the mountain trail he’s on.
- Zig Zagged: Chuck’s other powers are a secondary mutation… that ‘just happen’ to fit other idioms based on throwing.
- Averted: Powers all fall into more logical categories of generic superpowers
- Enforced: The writer needs to get himself out of a corner somehow, but wants to do so in a way that isn’t quite bringing in New Powers as the Plot Demands.
- Lampshaded: "I knew wording was important to these things, but that’s just stupid."
- Invoked: Chuck asks for powers based on a word, knowing he can abuse them to his own ends mercilessly.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: "Well, technically my powers are superhuman accuracy and massive amount of strength, rather than being able to "throw any thing". So, no, I can’t create "throw" pillows."
- Discussed: "I wounder if he has one of those powers based on wording?"
- Conversed: "So they just suddenly gave him the ability to play dead, and explained it away as him 'throwing the fight'?! And I thought the last writers were bad..."
- Played For Laughs: Among Chuck’s powers are the ability to flawlessly throw
any kind of competitive game.
Back to Semantic Superpower
