| rdfs:comment | - The strength of a madman is proverbial, and with good reason. Madness allows people to brush aside the instinctive and conscientious inhibitions that stop the rest of us using our full potential, and perform feats of great strength. Unfortunately, this is also very likely to throw the person right into the prison or the cemetery. Obviously, the same principle will work for supernatural powers. The mad can break through all those barriers meant to keep humans safe, and access their true potential, which would be nice if they weren't stark raving bonkers.
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| abstract | - The strength of a madman is proverbial, and with good reason. Madness allows people to brush aside the instinctive and conscientious inhibitions that stop the rest of us using our full potential, and perform feats of great strength. Unfortunately, this is also very likely to throw the person right into the prison or the cemetery. Obviously, the same principle will work for supernatural powers. The mad can break through all those barriers meant to keep humans safe, and access their true potential, which would be nice if they weren't stark raving bonkers. Particularly common forms of this include:
* Mad Genius - Somehow no longer seeing the world as others has unlocked a brilliance that is far beyond what a sane mind can achieve. Until you apply it to those few select areas at least.
* Science-Related Memetic Disorder-- Mad Scientists can apply the laws of nature in ways sane scientists could never dream of.
* Mad Oracle - Unfooled by the illusion of linear time, these prophets see all eternity at once -- and maybe can't do a thing about it.
* Fourth Wall Observer - Their perception altered to see beyond the borders of their fictional world, these characters have become Dangerously Genre Savvy.
* It's got to be especially maddening if they realize that they don't exist, but are figments of someone else's imagination. It's a little better if they realize that they are nothing more than a representation inside a massive computer.
* Reality Warper - They force reality itself to reflect their madness, often unconsciously. With mild madness, this can actually be beneficial, but if they are truly deranged reality starts to crumble, and eldritch abominations flock round.
* Mad God - What happens when a being with godlike power has no concept of limits and unfettered creativity? Anything.
* Insanity Immunity - The minds of the mad are so alien and incoherent, Mind Control and mind-breaking spells and psychic powers targeted at conventional human minds simply slide off, letting them see through the Masquerade and shrug off would-be puppeteers.
* Unstoppable Rage - Violent mania grants inhuman strength and endurance. When used for humour, these characters simply live a few notches lower on the realism scale than the world around them. One form of Deadly Upgrade and sometimes Charles Atlas Superpower. Compare With Great Power Comes Great Insanity (the sister trope), where the power came first, the madness later. Contrast Enlightenment Superpowers, where it's a sanity/morality uplifting epiphany that grants power. Do not confuse with Crazy Awesome. Examples of Power Born of Madness include:
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