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In a Speculative Fiction setting there are often a lot of people going on about how incredible and powerful the Phlebotinum is, which is why people who have it are the ones who move the plot rather than all the ordinary Muggles who need to be rescued. In some cases, it applies if and only if the Muggles are Crazy Prepared. A girl who freezes you at will can easily kill regular soldiers, but not if they have insulated suits specifically to fight her. Unrelated to Tropers Do It Without Notability. Examples:

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  • Muggles Do It Better
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  • In a Speculative Fiction setting there are often a lot of people going on about how incredible and powerful the Phlebotinum is, which is why people who have it are the ones who move the plot rather than all the ordinary Muggles who need to be rescued. In some cases, it applies if and only if the Muggles are Crazy Prepared. A girl who freezes you at will can easily kill regular soldiers, but not if they have insulated suits specifically to fight her. Unrelated to Tropers Do It Without Notability. Examples:
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  • In a Speculative Fiction setting there are often a lot of people going on about how incredible and powerful the Phlebotinum is, which is why people who have it are the ones who move the plot rather than all the ordinary Muggles who need to be rescued. Except, sometimes, the superhuman devices or abilities in the story aren't really all that earthshaking, at least not compared to the more mundane methods available. Sure, being able to create fire with your mind might be neat, but if it's not on a large enough scale, you might be better off with a handheld lighter. And a Trick Arrow that electrocutes people could be useful, but we do already have stun guns. And that guy saying he'll Take Over the World now that he's got skin as strong as steel? Yeah, apparently he's never heard of armor piercing bullets. Sometimes the usefulness of Muggle methods will be a big part of the story, like Van Helsing using modern scientific methods against vampires in Dracula. Other times supernatural abilities and Muggle abilities will be kept largely separate thanks to the Masquerade, but when they do intersect the superiority/equality of Muggle methods will be clear. And then there are some stories where it's clear the writers didn't really think about what ordinary people could contribute, or They Just Didn't Care, but the fans certainly will. In some cases, it applies if and only if the Muggles are Crazy Prepared. A girl who freezes you at will can easily kill regular soldiers, but not if they have insulated suits specifically to fight her. Related to, but distinct from, a Mundane Solution, which is where the Phlebotinum is given a specific weakness to some commonplace thing that it didn't necessarily have to have. See also Weaponized Weakness, when muggle methods are used to exploit an already dangerous Achilles Heel or Weaksauce Weakness. This trope is the main power and indeed the only hope of the Un-Sorcerer. Can also lead to The Magic Versus Technology War, with the Tech Level being that of the present day. Compare with Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better, which is when mundane weapons work better than fancy shiny phlebotinum-powered weapons. Compare Post-Modern Magik, which is when technology and magic intertwine. Also compare to Medieval Stasis, as this trope assumes the supernatural is locked in such while the muggles continue to advance. Unrelated to Tropers Do It Without Notability. Examples:
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