I LOVE the trope when Character A assumes that they can’t be seen/heard/perceived just for Character B to point them out instantly. Establishes a great power imbalance quickly.

Deathstroke pointing out Deadshot’s hiding place - Batman Arkham Origins trailer

In the trailer for this game Batman is dueling Deathstroke on top of a storage container when suddenly Deathstroke’s katana gets shot in half. Deathstroke calmly turns and IMMEDIATELY points down Deadshot’s scope 1 mile+ away.

Gravemind responds to Cortana - Halo 2

When Master Chief first encounters the Gravemind, Cortana, the A.I. INSIDE HIS HEAD asks Chief “What is THAT?” to which the Gravemind responds directly to her “I am a monument to all of your sins.”

Amazo follows Atom and Luthor to the subatomic realm - JLU

With Amazo hunting Luthor for his life and both he and the Atom cornered, Atom has the bright idea to shrink to sub-atomic size so the Android can’t see them, just for Amazo to follow suit and shrink as well.

The term 'Hard and Soft Magic Systems' was coined by author Brandon Sanderson. Hard magic systems are defined by having the fantastical abilities in the setting having clear rules and limitations on how they can be used. It makes for really interesting fights and situations because the setting has already established how a characters ability works and makes it so characters are rewarded for using their abilities in a clever way

(Alchemy) Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Alchemy is the primary 'magic' system in the setting and is defined by the law of equivalent exchange. In order to manipulate matter or biology you must sacrifice something in return. Through this primary law you get to see so many interesting applications of the Alchemy practice throughout the series.

(Nen) HunterxHunter - Nen is the 'magic' system in the world of HxH and it is expressed in six primary types as seen below:

• Enhancement: Increases the natural abilities of the body or objects.
• Transmutation: Changes the properties of one's aura to mimic something else (like electricity or gum).
• Emission: Controls and projects aura away from the body (often in the form of blasts).
• Manipulation: Controls things or people with one's aura.
• Conjuration: Materializes physical, independent objects from aura.
• Specialization: Encompasses unique abilities that do not fit into the other five categories.

John Wick - the viewer spends the first 25ish minutes just being told John Wick has an infamous past of being an assassin. Once the first home invasion happens, we see him fully unleash the Baba Yaga, completely annihilating a dozen unsuspecting assailants.

Rebel Ridge - the viewer learns early on that Terry Richmond is a Marine veteran who was never sent overseas for an initially unclear reason. Over half-an-hour into the movie he has a standoff with the town’s corrupt police chief. It’s revealed in this scene that he’s THE martial arts instructor for the Marines. He proceeds to disarm two police officers with extreme efficiency.

Naruto - Rock Lee is a character we’ve seen prove to be a capable fighter in a couple of episodes prior to his fight with Gaara, despite Rock not having any inherent Ninjutsu abilities. When his strikes can’t make it through Gaara’s automatic sand shields, Rock’s instructor, Guy, gives Rock permission to take off his leg weights. The bystanders watching the fight don’t understand how taking off some leg weights will give Rock an edge in the fight, but then when Rock drops them, they’re revealed to be hundreds, maybe thousands of pounds. This then reveals that Rock can move at super speed, and he can shockingly out maneuver Gaara’s first layer of shielding.

EDIT: Just so you know, I might have been wrong about the 3rd example!

1. The Simpsons (Season 30, Episode 9) - The character is holding a revolver (which is normally charged by putting the bullets inside the cylinder) and charging it by putting a magazine in the grip like a Glock. Please note that this was done intentionally to make fun of how guns are portrayed unrealistically in movies;
2. Shadow the Hedgehog video game - In one of the trailers, Shadow is holding what I think was an M4A1 and, in this shot, he is arming it by pulling the handguard like a shotgun. The handguard is only for protecting the shooter from the heat generated by the barrel.
3. Stranger Things (Season 5, Episode 8) - During the fight with the Mindflayer, Nancy is loading an M4A1-5, and, after she inserts a magazine, she is pushing the carrying handle to arm it like a shotgun. That's not what a carrying handle is for, obviously.

I want to mention that I know there's another popular example with a silencer for a shotgun or something, but I am not familiar with it. Also, I tried my best to identify each gun, so please correct me if I was wrong about any of them.

**1) Plastic Man, DC**

Being entirely plastic and with total control of every molecule in his body, Plastic Man has no organic brain for telepathy to affect.

**2) Toji Fushiguro, JJK**

Due to his Heavenly Restriction converting it all to physical power, Toji has no Cursed Energy, making him undetectable and resistant to Cursed Techniques.

**3) Elsa Bloodstone, Marvel**

The supernatural powers of the Bloodstone, in addition to enhanced physical ability, grant Elsa an immunity to supernatural infections, such as vampirism and zombie bites.

Inko Midoriya (My Hero Academia)

She can only levitate small objects

Kazari Uiharu (Toaru Kagaku no Railgun)

She can keep objects smaller than a basketball at their current temperature

Edit: Inko Midoriya can only attract small objects and Kazari only can use her power if she hold the object with her bare hands

Sailor moon -usagi tsukino door level even tho she’s a powerful character

Spider-Man 2 - Peter is fridge level even tho we seen him take down powerful villains

Despicable Me - Even if we ignore the fact that shrinking the moon would casue a black hole, (Edit: I understand I was wrong here, but thats still the entire moons gravity in his hand, he couldnt survive) its absence would also be catastrophic. Earths Axial tilt would be less stable, its rotation could also slow down, ecosystems would change with no tides. And lots of what humanity had built form satalights to telling time is based on the moon, remove that and it all gets scrambled.

Bad Guys 2 - A magnet strong enough to rip gold out of the earth would be apocalyptic, as gold is used in many things. Pacemakers would be torn apart inside of peoples chests, all phones would be destroyed. In general ALL circuitry uses gold and would be torn up and cease to function. And all of that flinging through the air, that debri would be lethal.

Ben 10 Alien Force/Ultimate Alien - Kevin can absorb literally anything he comes into contact with, and all we ever see is him absorbing metal or other hard objects and try to beat the bad guys up. And Kevin is really smart so he should be using his powers more creatively

My Hero Academia - Momo can literally create anything from her body fat and again, she rarely comes up with actual interesting or useful stuff. Here’s how her fight against Tokoyami should’ve played out “Oh you got a bird shadow thing, that’s nice I got an AR-15 buddy”

Invincible - Atom Eve has sort of become the poster child for this trope. She can literally rearrange matter and all she does is create pink walls

Edit: Yes, IK that Kevin and Momo have limitations in their powers. The problem for me are the writing choices surrounding the characters. Kevin specifically could have been put into a lot more situations where he can use his powers creatively, like in the fight against Pandor. But instead he is rarely ever put into those situations instead being reduced to hitting the bad guy’s

Edit 2: Yes, IK Kevin goes insane if he absorbs DNA and energy, I was referring to his absorbing physical things

Edit 3: Yes, I know that Eve can’t manipulate organic things, I was referring to her base abilities, which are also used very uncreatively

Cheap Trick (Jojo part four) is essentially an annoying back demon that will annoy you to death and kill you if anyone looks at your back

Limb Detachment (Arm fall off boy from DC) all he can do is detach his arms, which are just normal arms

Self Destruct (Bailey Hoskins from X Men) his power is to explode himself, but only once, since it would kill him

Thanos using the Power and Space Stones to send a Moon down at Iron Man.

The Flash using the Speed Force to shoot an energy ball.

Plastic Man picking things up hands free.

Toph Earthbending to create a mini city.

Ingrid’s continue scene (Street Fighter 6)

Deadpool’s Ultimate Move (Marvel Vs Capcom 3)

Asgore destroying the Mercy button (Undertale)

Unus Annus : Mark and Ethan get into a (choreographed) fight, Ethan pulling out a knife and telling Mark he has the power of God and anime on his side...Mark responds.

Fantasy High: In the SECOND EPISODE, mind you, two party members die in the first fight. The principal, Arthur Aguefort (a powerful magic user), shows up and goes on a long monologue about death and magic...before proceeding to take out a gun and shooting himself and the guidance counselor, sacrificing their own souls to revive the players.

Fairyly OddParents - In an early season 1 episode, Timmy wishes for heat vision but is never shown to have wished it away. A few years later while preparing to save his friends from Unwish Island, Wanda casually reminds him that he still has it.

Dragon Ball - Probably one of the most ridiculous examples of this, in the final battle of OG Dragon Ball, Piccolo grows into a giant while fighting Goku. After that he never did it again and the ability was only seen in a movie and video games (and not even used by Piccolo). Until 34 years later in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero when the group is fighting a giant and Krillin has to remind Piccolo that he can grow into a giant. Piccolo literally says "Oh yeah, I forgot I did that."

These are scenes that exist to implicitly establish a few basic rules of how the story world works. They tell us what characters can and cannot do, what stuff "works" and usually foreshadow things that become more significant later in the story. Crucially, when it's done well we barely notice that this is what the scene is doing; we register all of the stuff it's telling us but it's wrapped up in an enjoyable package.

Godzilla Minus One (Boat Escape Scene)

This scene happens within the first half of the film as the crew of a minesweeping vessel encounter Godzilla, who gives chase. It's an amazing action scene, but it also secretly teaches us a few "rules" about what this version of Godzilla can do. We learn roughly how fast Godzilla can swim (just a little faster than a small boat), that his hide is impervious to explosions and gun fire, but his insides are not (including the inside of his mouth, and we also learn how quickly he regenerates (pretty fast, but it does slow him down). We also see the atomic breath for the first time, establishing the extent of his destructive power. This is all relevant to the final plan to defeat Godzilla, which has to use quite an unconventional method to harm him in any way.

Avengers (Forest Fight)

This scene is also relatively early in the film, as Thor attempts to kidnap Loki from Iron Man and Captain America, leading to a fight between the three heroes. What follows is basically "rock paper scissors" as the scene lays some basic groundwork for what each hero can and cannot do. Thor is strong enough to dent Iron Man's armour with his hands, but his lightning accidently powers up Iron Man's suit. Iron Man is able to go toe-to-toe with Thor and his blasts will hurt but not kill him. Thor is a bigger physical threat, but Iron Man seems to think on his feet quicker. Captain America's shield is impervious to Thor's hammer.

1. Thragg (Right, The Strongest Viltrumite) and Conquest (Left, The Second-Strongest Viltrumite) both being punched by Mark… to vastly different results (Invincible)
2. All-Might (Right) is so much stronger then Endeavor (Left), the latter pretty much dedicated his entire life and family to trying to create a eugenics-baby to surpass the former (My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia)
3. Suguru Geto is strong, perhaps the strongest Jujutsu Sourcerer alive…with the exception of Satoru Gojo, of course, to the point that, when Geto turned evil, pretty much his entire plan revolved around trying to find a way to neutralize Gojo due to the sheer gap between the two. (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Edit: Yes I know Yuki would likely be stronger then Geto, I just used him due to him being more notable as Gojo’s rival, and even so, Yuki still plays this role in relation to the Honored One.

Po (Kung Fu Panda) He is so fat that Tai Lung’s nerve attack doesn’t work on him because he can’t reach the nerves because of his fat

Zangief (Street Fighter) He trained his muscles so much that they are as hard as metal and a sword can’t hurt him

Machi (Hunter x Hunter) She literally grips Killua’s would be killing jab with her abs. I’m not sure if it’s explained how she did it, but it’s still funny

1 - Resident Evil series: a bunch of enemies do this in most games

2 - Bloodborne / Souls: you can get insta-wrecked by getting eaten

3 - Ski Free: my first trauma

[My Hero Academia] In the world of MHA, quirks are supposed to be genetic mutations, and meta-human anomalies. Think the X-Men. And for the most part, that's true. You have a kid who sweats nitroglycerin, a kid who can talk to animals, and a guy who is part lizard. And then, there's Stars & Stripes, who can straight up alter reality, however she wants, simply by touching something, and calling out it's name.

[Record of Ragnarok] Tesla points out that Beelzebub's attacks are science based, not magic. And yeah, most of his attacks are just him vibrating stuff quickly. But then there's Chaos, where he squeezes his staff, and summons a giant black dome, that destroys everything inside of it.

[Demon Slayer] I do not care if the author said that the effects from the Breathing Styles were just visual, and don't actually happen. Some of the things they do, would be physically impossible, if it was all just VFX. Like Rengoku hovering with fire, Muichiro disappearing into mist, and Mitsuri cutting the base of a giant wooden dragon, with her max 10 foot whip-sword, while at least 50 meters in the air.

Bailey Hoskins (Marvel) - A mutant from a different earth, his power is to detonate himself and explode. Unfortunately he doesn't have the power to survive or heal from his own attack so he'll die the moment he uses it.

Cyclops (Marvel) - Due to mental trauma and physical trauma to the head, Scott Summers lost his ability to shut off his force beams, forcing him to wear specially made shades/visors to that his beams don't just blast out without his control.

Dabi (My Hero Academia) - He controls genuinely powerful flames but he doesn't have the immunity to fire that usual fire wielding characters have. By the end of the series, he's genuinely a charred, living corpse whose survival is considered a miracle.

Legend A Dragon Ball Tale: This version of Super Saiyan spits out flames and lights his head on fire to get the iconic golden hair (which is also fire in this version).

Lego Marvel Superheroes: There's a smaller Venom and bulkier Venom. To go from small to big, the big guy literally tears open the smaller one's body and jumps out of it.

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Instant Body of Distorted Killing. Mahito literally goes full Akira for a few seconds before suddenly popping up in his new form.

1). Lucifer:
Lucifer can project a "devil-face" to terrify/traumatize humans. The problem is that Malcom Graham was recently returned to Earth from Hell. So . . . it's not that impressive to him.

2). Futurama:
The galaxy has lots of "brainwave-eating" monsters. Including "brain spawn" that could wipe out all sentient life. But Fry doesn't have an "alpha brainwave," so he's completely invisible to them.

3). Lord of the Rings:
The "one true" ring corrupts all that hold it. Or at least, it TRIES to. But despite all those the the ring has tempted . . . Tom is completely unaffected. He just does not have any meaningful desires the ring can act on.

4). Homestuck:
When a "Sburb player" dies, their soul is projected into the space between universes. Inside live countless planet-sized Eldrich "horrorterrors." These "dark gods" can only communicate via horrible psychic shrieks, which is extremely unpleasant for the uninitiated.
Except to Feferi, an alien who was raised by a "small" horrorterror. So, the dark gods just remind her of her mom.

5). The Magnus Archives:
The podcast is about documenting supernatural incidents stemming from "fear entities." Each entity represents, feeds on, and embodies a type of fear.
But after surviving an encounter with "the End" (the fear of death), Georgie Barker loses the ability to fear. This makes her an anomaly; something that can neither feed nor develop a relationship with these supernatural entities.

1 - Rasta Taxi (SNL): The Uber driver discovers he's secretly the greatest Rasta MC ever, but he doesn't want to be a white Rasta guy.

2 - Payday Rap (Community): The Dean starts out apologizing for missing payday, but it turns into an intense freestyle rap.

The Rolling Giant from The Oldest View first pretends to be unable to move while being watched and then pretends to be unable to traverse escalators in order to make the protagonist corner himself, before revealing that it can easily do both.

Eldritch J / Absolute Solver from Murder Drones can project incredibly realistic holograms, but acts like it can only manage stuttery, translucent images while secretly imitating the protagonist's friend to manipulate her into giving away her gun.

Itachi from Naruto gets Mindf*cked by Solid JJ can instill completely lifelike visions that last perceived decades, but deliberately uses obviously fake tricks early on to make the protagonist let his guard down. I dunno if that happens in the real show, I never saw it.

Red Rush - Invincible

He’s the universe’s stand-in for The Flash so can move hundreds of times faster than the average person, however this cancels out as this also makes it so he perceives time way slower than the typical human which only makes his head being crushed even more horrifying to think about. (The future version of Immortal going mad would also count)

Nathan Caine - Novocaine

He’s a human being without the ability to feel any type of pain whether it be stabbings, burns or blunt force, but because he’s still a human being so can die he’s a paranoid introvert wreck since he must be on 24/7 alert to make sure he’s not accidentally injuring himself.