Shapeshifting

"This is not me. This is merely a form I must take to converse with you insignificant mortals."

- Ether, The Book of Deacon

"As amazing as it seems, he can manipulate his body on the genetic level. The changes are instantaneous: everything, even the clothing is imitated. Tissue differentiated and transformed - on the fly. I want it on a slab. I need to know what makes it tick."

- Director McMullan on Alex Mercer, (PROTOTYPE)

The power to transform and reshape one's body.

Also Called

 * Biological Alteration
 * Biomorphism
 * Changing
 * Copying
 * Inclinkinesis
 * Megamorphing
 * Metamorphing
 * Metamorphosis
 * Morphing
 * Morphological Being
 * Nanomorphing
 * Omni-Mimicry
 * Polymorphing
 * Self-Transmogrification/Transmutation
 * Shape-Changing
 * Shape-Shifting

Capabilities
The user can shapeshift their form, transforming and reshaping themselves potentially down to their genetic and cellular structure. They can impersonate others or enhance their own body for combat, either by turning into animals, monsters or by making the body stronger. Users with particularly flexible abilities can manipulate their form at will, combining abilities, traits, etc, even being able to form limbs into weapons and reforming after being blown apart by explosives.

Techniques

 * Shapeshifting Combat
 * Transformation
 * Partial Transformation

Variations

 * Adaptive Appearance: Transform based on adaptations.
 * Biomorphing: Transform into any living thing.
 * Animal Morphing: Transform into animals.
 * Plant Morphing: Transform into plants.
 * Body Manipulation: Manipulate any aspect of one's body.
 * Appendage Generation: Shifting entirely new extremities out of oneself.
 * Natural Weaponry: Form one's body into weapons.
 * Unraveling: Transform into threads\ribbons.
 * Desire Form: Take the form of others greatest desire.
 * Digestive Shapeshifting: Take the appearance of other creatures by eating/consuming a part of them.
 * Doppelgänger Morphing: Take the appearance of other beings.
 * Perfect Doppelgänger: Take the powers, capabilities, memories, life-force, and personality of other beings.
 * Disguise Mastery: Put on various numbers of disguises.
 * Elasticity: Stretch, deform, expand, or contract one's body into any form imaginable.
 * Limb Extension: Lengthen appendages.
 * Empathic Shapeshifting: Shapeshift in response to one's emotions.
 * Environmental Transformation: Transform based on the environment.
 * Dimensional Transformation: Transform based on the dimensions.
 * Temporal Transformation: Transform based on points in history.
 * Evolution: Enhance oneself permanently via accelerated evolution.
 * Gender Transformation: Alter one's gender.
 * God Morphing: To be able to morph into the deity.
 * Inorganic Mimicry: Transform physically into an inorganic form.
 * Inorganic Shapeshifting: Manipulate one's inorganic body.
 * Inanimate Object Physiology: Transform into any objects.
 * Malleable Anatomy: Rearrange the physiological features of oneself.
 * Matter State Shift: Alter material state.
 * Mechanical Morphing: Morph and change by mechanical means.
 * Mimicry Form: Mimic appearance and powers of other beings.
 * Mythic Physiology: Transform into mythical beings.
 * Nemesis Form: Take the form of others worst fear.
 * Object Morphing: Take the form of objects.
 * Organic Mimicry: Transform physically into an organic form.
 * Organic Shapeshifting: Manipulate one's organic body.
 * Possessive Transformation: Transform the body of whoever the user is possessing.
 * Post-Mortem Shapeshifting: Transform into anyone the user has killed.
 * Power-Shifting: Transform into power.
 * Reactive Adaptation: Develop adaptation to combat threats or changes.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Shape one's body/cells to their optimal state, healing rapidly from any physical injury, and even maintain eternal youth.
 * Self-Particle Manipulation: Manipulate one's own particle structure.
 * Self-Subatomic Manipulation: Manipulate one's own subatomic structure.
 * Self-Atomic Manipulation: Manipulate one's own atomic structure.
 * Self-Molecular Manipulation: Manipulate one's own molecular structure.
 * Size Manipulation: Change the size of oneself or select parts.
 * Limb Expansion: Enlarge limbs size.
 * Soul Shapeshifting: Shapeshift one's soul into that of another.
 * Species-Shifting: Transform into different species.
 * Vehicle Morphing: Transform into vehicles.

Associations

 * Amalgamorphing
 * Amorphous Physiology
 * Biological Manipulation
 * Body Part Switching
 * Capability Retention
 * Camouflage
 * Feign Damage
 * Formlessness
 * Mass Manipulation
 * Morphamerge
 * Multi-Shapeshifting
 * Omnifarious
 * Organic Constructs
 * Organic Manipulation
 * Scattering/Reforming
 * Shapeshifting Inducement
 * Shiftmorphing
 * Transformation Energy Manipulation
 * Transmutation

Limitations

 * Due to shapeshifters favoring certain forms for certain activities (e.g. bird-flying, fish-swimming), shapeshifters may be trapped and contained in places where only certain forms are feasible.
 * May revert back to original form when unconscious or asleep.
 * May require visual or genetic source material for a copy to be made.
 * May be limited on how long transformation can last.
 * May be unable to add/reduce mass, thus maintaining the physical capabilities of its original form.
 * May have to stay near their own size.
 * May have trouble with returning to original form.
 * May be limited to humanoid shapes (human, werebeasts, etc).
 * May be limited to organic lifeforms (animals, humans, etc.).
 * May be unable to transform into complex machinery (vehicles, projectile weapons, etc.), being limited to only simple tools and melee weapons.
 * May retain characteristics of their original form in their new shape (i.e., color scheme, markings, voice, smell, etc.).
 * May only be able to partially imitate personality traits, thus people acquainted with the person being impersonated may get suspicious.
 * May not be able to change genetic coding (meaning blood type, gender, and DNA coding), though this does not limit the user from changing into an animal, liquid form, and such.
 * May be able to change DNA coding only partially.
 * Staying extended periods in single form may start affecting the users' behavior or even make them forget their true self.
 * Some users may be able to change forms (categorized as humans, cats, weapons, a body of water, etc.), but cannot shape that form into their own customization; instead, it must match their original form's shape.
 * Such shape that cannot be altered include genetic coding (gender, hair color, blood type), physical appearance (such as a girl cannot change her facial or body structure to resemble another girl's, and while she can change into a cat her fur pattern is based on her own form) and design (such as the girl changing her body into a sword but cannot customize its design for decorative effects).
 * This may not include the user's age, as it is an aspect of their original form.
 * Users of Shapeshifting Awareness will see their real forms.
 * Users of Shapeshifting Negation may forcefully revert the user to their real form.
 * Users of Mind Reading may read the user's mind and know who they truly are.
 * The process may be painful.
 * May be involuntary; the user has no control over their transformations.
 * Unless the user can absorb/modify their clothing during the transformation, they have to deal with it afterward.
 * Clothing may be damaged during transformation unless it is part of the wearer's body or made of durable material.

Known Users
See Also: ShapeShifting and Voluntary Shapeshifting.

Movies
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 * Genie (Aladdin)
 * Jafar (Aladdin)
 * Red (All Dogs Go To Heaven 2)
 * Enchantress (Beauty and the Beast)
 * Serleena Xath (Men in Black II)
 * Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice)
 * La Muerte (The Book of Life)
 * Xibalba (The Book of Life)
 * Other Mother (Coraline)
 * Dracula (Dracula)
 * Harvey (Harvey)
 * Pain and Panic (Hercules)
 * Beorn (The Hobbit Trilogy)
 * Jack-Jack (The Incredibles)
 * Zartan (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra/G.I. Joe: Retaliation)
 * Jareth, the Goblin King (Labyrinth)
 * Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
 * Mystique (X-Men Movies)
 * Ego (The Guardians Of Galaxy vol.2)
 * Loki Laufeyson (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
 * Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (The Lego movie 2)
 * Unnamed Protagonist (Lifechanger)
 * Max Steel (Max Steel)
 * Barron (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children)
 * Maui (Moana); via his Fishhook
 * Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street)
 * Cleopatra VII (Paradox Saga)
 * Khan (Paradox Saga)
 * Various Head Archangels (Paradox Saga)
 * The Tall Man (Phantasm)
 * Blue Fairy (Pinocchio)
 * Reverend Henry Kane/The Beast (Poltergeist series)
 * Principal Powers (Sky High); only into a comet of astral energy
 * Carbon Copy Kid (Sky High)
 * Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)
 * Clawdites (Star Wars)
 * Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)
 * Merlin (The Sword in the Stone)
 * T-1000 (Terminator 2)
 * T-X (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
 * The Thing (The Thing)
 * Morph (Treasure Planet)
 * Reptilian Shapeshifters (Wolfcop)

Tabletop Games

 * Doppelgangers (Dungeons & Dragons)
 * Creatures with the subtype: ShapeShifter (Magic The Gathering)

Web Original

 * Nobody (The Fear Mythos)
 * The Unnamed Child (The Fear Mythos)
 * Red (NES Godzilla Creepypsta)
 * SCP-1384 - Taker of Turns (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP-959- The Bogeyman (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP-1848 - ACCESS DENIED (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP 953 - Polymorpher Humanoid (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP-2006 - Too Spooky (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP-2301 - Slayer's Song (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP-2670-1 - Somebody Else's God (SCP Foundation)
 * SCP-4007-5 - Kagemusha (SCP Foundation)

Other

 * Bluehog (Bluehog Gaming Studio)
 * Matau (Bionicle); via Mask of Shapeshifting
 * Chunt (Hello from the Magic Tavern)
 * Josh Davis (Heroes History: Slow Burn)
 * Púca (Irish Folklore)
 * Vampires (Various Media)
 * Thriller (Michael Jackson's Thriller)
 * Melona (Queen's Blade)
 * Jib Janeen (Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars)
 * Night (Worm); Transforms into an abomination when not seen.}}

Known Objects

 * ID Mask (Ben 10)
 * Omnitrixes/Ultimatrixes (Ben 10); alien forms only
 * Polyjuice Potion (Harry Potter)
 * Shift Stone (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness)
 * Cyber- Cloak/Mask (Lab Rats)
 * Ghost ÄRMs (Marchen Awakens Romance)
 * Maui's fishhook (Moana)
 * Trickster's Glass (League of Legends)
 * SCP-342 - A Ticket to Ride (SCP Foundation); limited to transforming into a transit ticket.
 * Amulet of Avalor (Sofia the First)
 * Moby Morpher (Xiaolin Showdown)