Kamijou Touma uses Imagine Breaker to nullify Misaka's Iron Sand Sword.
Summary
Power Nullification, or Negation, is the ability to nullify the powers and abilities of others, preventing or disabling their effects. The mechanisms by which this effect is accomplished and their restrictions vary from character to character, but the ability is often limited to a certain type of power, such as supernatural phenomena in general, or magic. In some cases, an ability can only be negated once it's been used or activated, but in others, powers can be nullified before they're even utilized. The effect may be temporary or permanent, and may be restricted by touch, or be something that the user can apply to any ability they see, or within a field that negates any powers within.
Some characters accomplish these effects through applications of other abilities rather than a standalone ability in itself, such as using Power Modification to render powers useless. In addition, there are characters who combine this ability with Power Mimicry to not just seal the abilities of others, but steal them for themselves; this is known as Power Absorption.
It would be a No Limits Fallacy to assume someone with this ability can nullify anything that falls within the phenomena their powers are made to counter. It is to be assumed that any negation power has its limitations based on the strongest thing it has nullified, and also that a character may be resistant to the ability, at least in one of its forms, preventing it from having its usual effects.
However, certain forms of Power Nullification may prevent the usage of powers through less direct methods, making resistance less useful and the strength of the ability less relevant.
Possible Uses
- Cancelling the effects of magic, colloquially known as anti-magic and/or counter-spelling.
- Causing an opponent's technology to malfunction.
- Stripping an opponent of their abilities entirely.
- "Locking" someone's powers so that their use of them is restricted to certain scenarios (only when ordered, against specific targets, etc.) or to a fraction of their full potential.
Users
- Asta (Black Clover)
- Mestarien Mestari (Noita)
- Scion (Parahumans)
- Osamu Dazai (Bungou Stray Dogs)
- Szeth (The Stormlight Archive)
- Khârn the Betrayer (Warhammer 40,000)
Resistance Negation
Edgar Roni Figaro's Debilitator inflicts new weaknesses against specific elements on targets, even if they'd be resistant to these otherwise.
Resistance Negation is the ability to remove an opponent's ability to resist the effects of other powers, allowing the user to then affect them with those abilities. In extreme cases, this ability can even override apparent immunity.
However, simply overwhelming something with hax stronger than what they can resist normally wouldn't qualify. Keep in mind, there are limits when it comes to this ability. Characters who do have Resistance Negation wouldn't be capable of negating all of their opponent's resistances unless there is more to their power than what has been shown.
Users
- Don't Touch Me (Lobotomy Corporation)
- Nicol Bolas (Magic: The Gathering)
- Nanashi (Megami Tensei)
- Basilisk (Warhammer Fantasy)
Discussions
| Discussion threads involving Power Nullification |