Chrollo from ‘Hunter x Hunter’

I was thinking about ability thieves and the different methods that appear in fiction.  Some are more malevolent than others.  I think a few categories might be argued aren’t actual thieves, but I’ll up them in for those who associate them with the concept.  In fact, I’ll start with the big one.

Mimic

This is more of a general superpower.  One could say that ability thieves branch off them and I can see why.  A mimic is able to copy another person completely, which can include powers.  There’s an X-Man named Mimic who can copy other abilities without transforming.  This can be different from shape-shifters because those only take the forms without the powers.  A lot of gray area in this category, which is why I’m putting it first and leaving at as the basics.

Physical Touch Borrow

This is Rogue.  For those who don’t know of the character, Rogue can steal abilities from others through skin-to-skin contact.  The powers are taken along with energy and psyche, so there is a downside.  A character like this only gets the stolen powers for a little bit unless an accident happens.  For example, holding on for too long and causing a permanent adoption.  The original holder tends to be left powerless or out of commission as well.  A more villainous example would be All-for-One in ‘My Hero Academia’, who can also bestow stolen powers on others.

Visual Copy/Theft

A character like this will see a superpower being used and be able to use it on their own.  It might not be on the same level, but they only have to see it in action.  You see it more commonly with fighting styles or spells.  It doesn’t usually remove the power from the source either.  Various restrictions are on this power such as only able to hold a few at a time or severe reduction in potency.  There is a downside here where the person might not know all of the dangers.  For example, Rando in ‘Yu Yu Hakusho’ is a demon who steals the abilities of people and then kills them.  He gets the abilities by seeing them in action, so he’s quick to learn and eliminate the source.  This means, he doesn’t always know the dangers of what he’s using.  A small issue in specific situations could mean he gets himself killed.

Surgical Theft

This would be Sylar from ‘Heroes’.  This villain steal powers and appears to have no limit to the amount he can hold.  This is done through doing some kind of surgery and taking part of the source’s body into himself.  Been a long time, so I don’t remember exactly.  I’ve seen this happen in comics too where a new character has been given powers by having surgery.  Pretty sure there’s a long line of ‘surgically implanted Wolverine healing factor’ characters out there.

Secret Collector

Not sure what else to call this, but it would be Chrollo from the manga ‘Hunter x Hunter’.  He has a ‘magical’ book that contains all of the abilities he has stolen, but I believe all of the owner are alive.  He loses a power if the person dies.  The theft doesn’t leave any damage on the target either.  Within an hour, he needs to see the power, ask about it with answers, and get the target to put their hand on his book.  They won’t know the power is stolen, which makes him more dangerous than other categories.  This means there is no telling what powers he has because there’s no trail.

I thought I had more, but suddenly lost track of my thoughts.  Hopefully, I can think of more examples and categories before this post goes live.  Anyway, enjoy and share other ideas in the comments in you can think of any.