Superpowers are the single most defining trait of a superhero. There are tons of superheroes who don’t have superpowers, of course, but nothing screams “I save the world” like optic blasts. We read comics because we want to see these people with incredible gifts that go beyond our imagination. We want to be wowed by someone who can lift a car or fly around the world. These things astound us and amaze us. That’s what comics are all about, after all: astonishing the readers. So, what happens when those superheroes stop astonishing us? What happens when they lose those powers that make them so super? If you’re an active comic book reader, you know that characters lose their powers all of the time. Usually, these characters stay depowered for maybe one or two issues or, sometimes, an entire series. The term “losing powers” might not be right, since we’re talking about depowered characters. When a character becomes depowered, that just means their normal powers have been reduced -- sometimes completely. Very rarely, a character will stay depowered for years or, even rarer, indefinitely.

Comic writers like to depower characters solely because those powers are so important and, in turn, they like to return those powers swiftly. In the 21st century, depowered characters have become increasingly popular, partly to keep up the sensational style of comics. What happens to a character who’s had everything happen to them? They lose their powers, of course. To help you keep track of who’s been depowered and who’s not in the world of Marvel Comics, CBR is counting down 20 characters who’ve had their powers reduced in the last 18 years.

20 DR. STRANGE

Dr. Strange Depowered

Magic in the Marvel Universe is a tenuous thing, that can sometimes be very strong and can sometimes be very underwhelming. During the 2016 “Last Days of Magic” arc in Doctor Strange, we see the latter. Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme and master magic user, goes up against the antithesis of magic: a science-worshipping group called Empirikul. Their goal to swipe out all the magic in the universe brings them to Earth, where they nearly completely drain the planet of all its magic.

During this time, Doctor Strange’s powers are significantly reduced. He relies on the magic around him to power his spells, so when that magic disappeared, so did all of his powers. In the arc, he uses very rudimentary spells and weapons instead of his typical complex mystic arts.

19 CABLE

Cable Depowered

Cable’s powers are complicated -- even for a mutant. Technically, he’s one of the strongest mutants in the world. However, because of his Techno-Organic virus he rarely has the ability to perform amazing feats. He’s also frequently depowered completely, forcing him to rely solely on his myriad of futuristic guns.

Most recently, Cable lost his telepathic and telekinetic powers in the 2015 series Deadpool & Cable: Split Second. After Deadpool created a future inconsistency in the timeline of reality, Cable began to lose his mutant powers. Once Wade mended the timeline, Cable’s powers (along with her cybernetic arm and eye) returned in full.

18 SCARLET WITCH

Depowered Scarlet Witch

Since Scarlet Witch is inarguably one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, her presence on this list might seem a little surprising. After all, it’s been her insane reality-warping powers that have spurred a lot of recent events in Marvel comics. If anything, her powers seem to have grown since her introduction in 1964... for the most part.

During the 2016 series Scarlet Witch, Wanda tries to find out who “broke” magic. As she goes deeper and deeper into the world of magic, she begins to realize that her many years of using magic have begun to affect her -- physically and mentally. Her magic is depleting her of life. Throughout the series, the toll magic takes on Wanda visibly weakens her until she is barely reminiscent of her former self.

17 CAPTAIN AMERICA

Captain America Depowered

If Steve Rogers’ body hadn’t become frozen post-WWII (and if the Super Soldier Serum hadn’t kept him alive), he would physically be over 90 years old. In 2014, Marvel writer Rick Remember played a little game of “What If?” by having the Iron Nail neutralize the Super Soldier Serum in Captain America’s body mid-fight. This causes Steve to age and lose his powers.

You would think this would cause Steve to take a break from superheroing and hang up the stars and stripes get up for a while. Though he didn’t do a lot of field work at his old age, Steve worked as the Chief of Civilian Oversight for S.H.I.E.L.D. during this brief era. Before anyone really missed the young version of Steve, he was back -- shield and all.

16 SPIDER-MAN

Spiderman Depowered

Although a superhero losing their powers shouldn’t be taken lightly, some characters, like Spider-Man, seem to lose their famous abilities whenever a particular writer feels moved to do so. In the 2011 Amazing Spider-Man arc “Revenge of the Spider-Slayer,” villain Alistair Smythe uses an army of precognitive cyborgs to attack New York City. Spider-Man and the New Avengers give it their all, but the cyborgs’ ability to predict their moves gives them a notable edge.

The only way Spider-Man can stop them is to shut down their precognition. He creates a device that can disrupt their special senses and sets it off. The invention works, but at the cost of Peter’s own Spidey Sense.

15  MEDUSA

Medusa Depowered

Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans, is famous for one thing: her long red hair. Her exposure to the Terrigen Mist gave her trichokinesis -- or the ability to control the movement of her hair. This particular trait is her biggest identifier -- Medusa’s hair undoubtedly makes her character.

During the 2017 series Royals, Medusa suddenly lost her hair. While not permanent, the loss completely changed Medusa’s character. It made her rethink who she is and how people view her. In the one-shot, Inhumans: Judgment Day, Medusa uses a small sample of the Terrigen-like substance called “Primagen” to restore her signature long locks.

14 THOR ODINSON

The only way Jane Foster was able to gain god-like powers was for Thor Odinson to lose them. In 2014, Thor proved to be unworthy of Mjolnir and thus unworthy of the title of Thor. As Odinson, the depowered hero tried to pick up the pieces and move on in the series Unworthy Thor.

Without Mjolnir, Odinson was significantly less powerful, but he still had some control over the weather. Since he’s the God of Thunder, he’ll always be able to manipulate lightning. Mjolnir just makes his control better and his strikes stronger. This year, Odinson regained the title of Thor but did not regain Mjolnir, which was destroyed during Mangog’s attack on Asgardia.

13 QUICKSILVER

Quicksilver Depowered

A lot of Marvel fans blame Scarlet Witch for the M-Day catastrophe, but really they should blame her brother, Quicksilver. Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, was the one who prompted his sister to create the altered reality seen in House of M. It was his dishonesty that ultimately led to Scarlet Witch uttering those fateful words: “No more mutants.”

Without his speedster powers, Pietro was a mess. Life as a normal human disgusted him and he craved the ability he once took for granted. Eventually, after a lot of sneaking around, he was able to use the Inhumans’ Terrigen Mists to restore his power.

12 JUBILEE

Depowered Jubilee

Many of the characters on our list lost their powers (or a portion of their powers) but regained them fairly soon after. In comics, so-called “big changes” rarely turn out to be big changes. However, in the case of Jubilee, losing her powers during M-Day turns out to be a surprisingly permanent turn. Shortly thereafter, Jubilee became a vampire, and for the next decade she lived as an immortal member of the undead.

In just the last few months, during the Generation X series, Quentin Quire used his last remaining “Phoenix Spark” to transform Jubilee back into a mutant in a turn of events that we weren’t expecting. Jubilee did get her powers back eventually, but it took Marvel 13 years, which is practically a record.

11 JEAN GREY

Jean Grey Depowered

For more than a few decades, Jean Grey and the Phoenix were irrevocably linked. By the early 21st century, Jean and Phoenix were more like one being rather than two. They shared everything, from thoughts to powers to motives. Jean Grey was the Phoenix.

When the 2017 miniseries Phoenix Resurrection, most readers were prepared for the same close bond between Jean and the cosmic bird. However, writer Matthew Rosenberg surprised audiences by separating the two permanently. In the final pages of the last issue, Jean bids goodbye to the Phoenix and all of the powers it gave her. She’s still an Omega-level telepath and telekinetic, but the absence of the Phoenix reduces those powers.

10 SPIDER-GWEN

Spidergwen Depowered

Spider-Woman (as she’s called in her reality) was bitten by a genetically engineered radioactive spider and gained powers similar to Earth-616 Peter Parker. After the bite, she was able to climb on walls and had increased strength and speed. For a while, she worked as a masked vigilante, using those powers for the betterment of the city.

But, eventually, the origin of the radioactive spider caught up with Gwen. This reality’s version of Cindy Moon created the spider that bit Gwen. Once Gwen tries to stop Cindy’s villainous plans in typical superhero fashion, Cindy injects her with an antidote to the spider’s venom, thus removing all of her powers. Not long after, Gwen merges with a symbiote, which gives her similar powers to the ones she had before.

9 JANE FOSTER

Depowered Jane Foster

In 2014, Thor Odinson’s longtime love interest, Jane Foster, picked up Mjolnir and became the Goddess of Thunder. Her sudden transformation into a new version of Thor stunned readers, but over the course of four years, her character became a regular on the Marvel Comics scene.

Still, in today’s world, a female version of Thor cannot last forever. Marvel wanted to bring back the old, male version of Thor so they had to depower Jane and force her out of the coveted spot. Jane lost Mjolnir in a moment of selfless sacrifice and returned to her life as a cancer patient, completely powerless.

8 MOONSTAR

During the 2005 Decimation series, readers saw the effects of the Scarlet Witch’s reality-warping spell of “No More Mutants.” All over the world, thousands of mutants lost their powers, resulting in a dramatically different world for the X-Men. Longterm X-Men member Danielle Moonstar had the power to create telepathic illusions for many years, but she lost that power after M-Day.

Unlike a lot of the depowered mutants, Dani never got her powers back. No one ever revoked her position as an X-Men member, partly because of her long history as a New Mutant and her extensive magical abilities. On numerous occasions, Dani has become an Asgardian Valkyrie, capable of impressive mystical feats.

7 RED HULK

Red Hulk Depowered

The world of Hulks is seemingly never-ending, but we’re pretty sure most Marvel fans are familiar with Red Hulk, aka Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. As the archenemy of the original Hulk, he gets a fair bit of panel time -- or at least, he did, before he lost his powers.

In 2015, during “The Ω Hulk” arc, the version of Bruce Banner known as “Doc Green” attempts to erase every Hulk on earth. He gets through most of them pretty easily, but Red Hulk doesn’t go down without a fight. Eventually, though, Doc Green was able to inject Thaddeus with the gamma-ray cure, thus permanently transforming him back into his human form. Since then, he’s been doing time for the long list of crimes he racked up as Red Hulk.

6 EMMA FROST

Emma Frost, leader and notable member of the X-Men, was not depowered during M-Day. However, she did suffer a bit of a telepathic block right after the events in Avengers vs. X-Men.

During the 2012 series, Emma and four other X-Men members became possessed by the famous Phoenix Force. Emma’s time as the Phoenix lasted longer than most of the other “Phoenix Five” members, but it didn’t last forever. When the Phoenix finally left her, Emma found herself unable to use her powerful telepathic abilities. For whatever reason, the Phoenix force damaged that part of her mutation but left her secondary mutation (diamond skin) untouched. With some concentration and training, Emma’s telepathy gradually returned and is now as strong as ever.

5 SKAAR

Skaar Depowered

Marvel introduced Skaar in 2008 as Bruce Banner’s son. Part-Shadow People and part-human, Skaar had the ability to control rock (thanks to his powerful mother) as well as turn into a version of the Hulk. Skaar and Bruce Banner never really had a normal father-son relationship since Skaar didn’t grow up on Earth among his father’s customs. Still, Skaar’s powers were intensely reminiscent of his green-skinned father... that is until a version of Bruce took them away.

Like Red Hulk, Skaar lost his powers after Doc Green injected him with a gamma ray cure. After he depowered Skaar, Doc Green teleported his son to Paris with a bag full of money in order to start a new life.

4 CALLISTO

As a young girl, Callisto was very beautiful but after being blinded in one eye, she became disgusted with her looks. She retreated underground where she met another mutant who disfigured her even further, transforming her arms into tentacles. She continued her life underground, learning to control her mutant gift of regenerative healing and enhanced senses. During that time she also founded a group of mutant outcasts called the Morlocks.

Being a mutant was incredibly important to Callisto, which is why M-Day was so devastating for her. She lost all of her powers, including her tentacle arms. She would go on to use Terrigen Mist in an attempt to regain her old powers, but would ultimately be unsuccessful.

3 BLOB

Blob Depowered

Obesity may not seem like much of a superpower, but to the mutant known as “The Blob”, it most certainly was. His incredibly large body afforded him an impressive amount of durability, strength, and fame. After he lost his powers during M-Day, Blob was left with a body covered in giant folds of skin. After being so big for so long, Blob’s skin was severely stretched -- so much so that it hindered him from doing normal things and he quickly fell into a deep depression.

Over time, however, he was able to (presumably) surgically remove that excess skin. For a brief time he was a reality TV star before Magneto (somehow) restored his powers.

2 ELECTRO

Electro Depowered

Before being depowered, the famous Spider-Man villain known as Electro posed a serious threat. With the ability to create and control electricity in practically any form, Max Dillion, aka Electro, was a seriously dangerous foe. Strangely enough, his eventual downfall wasn’t because of Spider-Man, but because of his one-time ally Black Cat.

During the 2016 Amazing Spider-Man run, Peter Parker made a device that could, supposedly, short circuit Electro’s powers. Mob boss Black Cat, who had employed Electro, infiltrated the Parker Industries facility. When Spider-Man arrived, ready to attack, Black Cat changed her original plans. Instead of stealing the device, she used it to destroy the facility. In the explosion, Electro was completely depowered.

1 MAGNETO

Depowered Magneto

Magneto is another one of those characters who is defined by his mutant power. Perhaps more than anyone else on this list, being a mutant and having the powers he has, make Magneto the person he is. For hundreds of issues, Magneto’s praised Homo superior and demeaned the “lowly” Homo sapien. Being a mutant gives Magneto’s life meaning. But, what happens when he’s stripped of that title?

Magneto lost his powers after M-Day. He became the very thing he had always hated: a human. Honestly, this period of time was healthy for Magneto. He learned how to live life without constantly obsessing over the state of mutantkind. Eventually, the High Evolutionary returned his powers, making him mutant once more.