| abstract
| - So, your character's Power Level is Over Nine Thousand. That's just swell! Too bad it doesn't actually mean anything. Therefore, we here at TV Tropes (having nothing but free time and a whole lot of boredom at work/school) have created a "scale" to measure a character's power. The Super Weight scale doesn't quantify power by Random Power Ranking using arbitrary numbers, but qualifies the relative power level into seven broad categories based on what a given character can do. It's not uncommon to see characters all over this scale in a setting; or for them to change Weight Class during the course of a story, up or down. Brute force isn't everything either; a Guile Hero or antagonists can beat an opponent that's more powerful than them with clever tactics and forethought. Thus, defeating somebody does NOT mean that you're a higher Weight Class than your victim, although the higher up the victim is on the scale, the more the defeat qualifies as an example of Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?. However, in cases where BOTH opponents use brute force, the one with the higher weight will usually be the winner. Also, there can be large variations in power within the same class, so there is no such thing as "class two-and-a-half", "two-plus", "two-three", or something like that. The scale is currently weighted such that Muggles are the base standard, so attempting to apply it to works and settings where everyone is weaker or where Everyone Is a Super will create skewed results. This is because adjusting the scale to account for the power of the "average" denizen of a given work will make it cease to correspond with the scale below. Also often ill-suited for games with a Class and Level System where classes without actual supernatural powers can reach level 99 and beat up gods as well as anyone. When editing the page, remember that power levels only take into account actual power and abilities, what the character is literally capable of. While characters such as Batman and The Doctor can take on gods, they do this through intellect, not brute force, and thus remain relatively low on the list compared to their defeated opponents. Also, power control plays a part when How Do I Shot Web? is played straight. Characters who have great power but are unaware of it or only use it subconsciously still rank highly; but power that they can't use whenever they want to (whether conscious or unconscious) and can only be used in specific circumstances beyond their control, or that they can't control at all to the point of not being able to make use of it doesn't count to the character's ranking. Also note that this isn't Gushing About Characters You Like; when adding examples, make realistic assessments of their power level according to the scale and in terms of the setting.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)