Recessive Genetics

Recessive Genetics
Peculiars (Peculiar Children series) obtain their abilities via a recessive gene in their family's bloodlines.
Power/Ability to:	Have genetic traits that can be overridden and either erased from or passed unknowingly down bloodlines.

"Peculiar traits often skip a generation or ten. Peculiar children are not always, or even usually, born to peculiar parents and peculiar parents do not always, or even usually, bear peculiar children."

― Alma Peregrine explaining the unlikelihood of two straight generations of peculiars in a family to Jake Portman (Peculiar Children series).

The ability to have genetic traits that can be overridden and either erased from a bloodline or passed down through generations before manifesting again. Variation of Genetics. Opposite of Dominant Genetics.

Also Called

• Powers via Dormant/Latent Genes

Capabilities

Users are given or have recessive genetic codes which can easily be overridden by the genes of another. It can be split into three categories, affected, carrier, and unaffected:

Affected: The individual gets their powers from a grandparent or ancestor. If the individual in question possesses powers, then their children will, more often than not receive the powers of their respective parent if their other parent has no powers. However, if the individual in question has children with a fellow power user, then the children will most likely receive their parents' powers. Despite the likelihood of powers skipping a generation, there is still a slim chance of an individual passing their powers on to their children if their partner does not have powers.

Carrier: The individual does not possess powers. In contrast to the aforementioned, those offspring who do not receive powers can carry the genetic potential for their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc., to inherit their ancestor's abilities. Usually if said individual's partner is also a carrier of the gene.

Unaffected: The individual does not have powers like the aforementioned. However, unlike the aforementioned if the individual is unaffected, they do not revive a copy of the gene that grants powers and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, etc. will not receive powers of their ancestors unless they receive the gene via their other parent.

Applications

• Power Source
• Power via Genetic Mutation

Variations

• Ancestor Inheritance: To inherit powers from one’s ancestors.
• Genetics: Genetically exclusive traits.

Associations

• Cursed Physiology (Hereditary curses only)
  • Double-Edged Power
• Gender-Restricted Powers (for those born a gender that either carries the gene or is unaffected)
• Normal Folk (Carriers and Unaffected)
• Power Inheritance
• Supernatural Cells
• Supernatural Genetics

Limitations

• Must reproduce with someone who also has powers or a dormant gene to pass abilities on to offspring.
• Powers can manifest in random descendants without warning or knowledge, causing confusion and panic.
• Genes that cause powers could also inflict a negative secondary outcome (ex: powers could be derived from a curse.)
• Powers may be linked to certain chromosomes, either the X chromosome or the Y chromosome, resulting in powers that are gender exclusive with the other gender being carries or unaffected.

Known Users

See also: Muggle Born of Mages, Mage Born of Muggles, and Recessive Super Genes

Anime/Manga

• Meiling Li (Cardcaptor Sakura); Unaffected
• Syaoran's sisters (Cardcaptor Sakura); Unaffected
• Akiho Shinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card); Unaffected
• Certain Quirkless Individuals (My Hero Academia); Carriers or Unaffected
  • Izuku Midoriya
  • Melissa Shield
• Kimimaro (Naruto); Affected
• Various Demon Weapons (Soul Eater)
  • Soul “Eater” Evans; Affected
  • Wes Evans; Carrier or Unaffected
• Half-Humans (Tokyo Ghoul); Unaffected

Cartoons/Comics

• Haley Long (American Dragon: Jake Long); Affected
• Jake Long (American Dragon: Jake Long); Affected
• Susan Luong-Long (American Dragon: Jake Long); Carrier
• Ben Tennyson (Ben 10 Original series); Carrier or Unaffected
• Carl Tennyson (Ben 10 Original series); Carrier or Unaffected
• Frank Tennyson (Ben 10 Alien Force); Carrier
• Gwen Tennyson (Ben 10 Original series); Affected
• Various Metahumans (DC Comics); Affected
• Skywing Elves born with wings (The Dragon Prince); Affected
• Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto); Carrier or Unaffected
• Cathy Lambert (Huntic: Secrets and Seekers); Carrier or Unaffected
• Terra Grayson (Invincible); Unaffected
• Various Mutants (Marvel Comics)
  • Active X-Gene Carriers; Affected
  • Dormant X-Gene Carriers; Carrier
• Graydon Creed (Marvel Comics); Carrier of Unaffected
• Females born into the Murphy family (Milo Murphy's Law); Unaffected
• Members and descendants of the Prenderghast family (Paranorman)
  • Agatha Prenderghast; Affected
  • Courtney Babcock; Carrier or Unaffected
  • Mr. Prenderghast; Affected
  • Norman Babcock; Affected
  • Sandra Babcock; Carrier

Literature

• Some Legacies (Camp Half-Blood Chronicles); Affected or Carriers
  • Bryce Lawrence
  • Claudia
  • Octavian
• Certain Descendants of the Garadrdex Clan (Demonata); Carriers of Affected
  • Grubbs Grady; Affected
  • Bill-E Spleen; Affected
  • Cal Grady; Carrier
  • Dervish Grady; Carrier or Unaffected
• Certain Muggles (Harry Potter); Carriers
  • Petunia Dursley
• Descendants of those affected by a blood malediction (Harry Potter)
  • Daphne Greengrass; Carrier or Unaffected
  • Astoria Malfoy; Affected
  • Nagini; Affected
  • Scorpius Malfoy; Carrier or Unaffected
• Dudley Dursley (Harry Potter); Unaffected
• Muggle-Borns (Harry Potter); Affected
  • Hermione Granger
  • Lily Potter (neé Evans)
• Squibs (Harry Potter); Carriers
  • Argus Filch
  • Marius Black
• Certain descendants of Akhenaten (Kane Chronicles)
  • Walt Stone; Affected
  • Walt Stone's father; Affected
• Certain Coerlfolc/Normals (Peculiar Children series)
  • Franklin Portman; Carrier
  • Susan Portman; Carrier or Unaffected
• Syndreghasti/Peculiars (Peculiar Children series); Affected
  • Abe Portman
  • Alma LaFay Peregrine
  • Emma Bloon
  • Enoch O'Connor
  • Jake Portman
  • Noor Pradesh
• Abuelo Santiago (Storm Runner Trilogy/Shadow Bruja Duology); Carrier
• Mr. Santiago (Storm Runner Trilogy/Shadow Bruja Duology); Carrier
• Ren Santiago (Storm Runner Trilogy/Shadow Bruja Duology); Affected

Live Action Films/Television

• Booker Baxter Carter (That's So Raven/Raven's Home); Affected
• Cory Baxter (That's So Raven/Raven's Home); Carrier or Unaffected
• Nia Baxter-Carter (That's So Raven/Raven's Home); Carrier or Unaffected
• Raven Baxter (That's So Raven/Raven's Home); Affected
• Tanya Baxter (That's So Raven/Raven's Home); Carrier
• Carriers of the Corvinus Strain (Underworld); Affected
  • Alexander Corvinus
  • Marcus Corvinus
  • William Corvinus
  • Selene
  • Eve
• Michael Corvin (Underworld); Carrier of the Corvinus Strain
• Scott Marshall (Up, Up, and Away); Carrier or Unaffected
• Werewolves (Werewolves: The Dark Survivors);Carriers or Affected
  • Steve Mullens; Affected
  • Drew Mullens; Affected

Video Games

• Iris (Ace Attorney); Carrier of Unaffected
• Humans (Assassin's Creed); Carriers
• Humans (Destroy All Humans); Carriers
• Ben Cooper (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mysteries); Affected
• Unnamed Muggle-Born Protagonist (Harry Potter: Magic Awakened); Affected

Others

• Male offspring of witches (Bibi Blocksberg); Unaffected

Gallery

Anime/Manga/Manhwa

Despite having magical blood in her family, Meiling Li (Cardcaptor Sakura) possesses no magical powers of her own...

...nor do Syaoran Li's elder sisters, despite Syaoran himself and their mother Yelan having them.

Though born into the oldest magician clan in Europe, Akiho Shinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card) is the only descendant who was born with no magical abilities.

Despite Quirks being a dominant trait, some individuals, such as Izuku Midoriya and Melissa Shield (My Hero Academia), do not inherit either of their parents' Quirks, rather they have genetics of their ancestors who existed before the dawn of Quirks.

Kimimaro (Naruto) was one of the few members of the Kaguya clan to inherit their kekkai genkai, Macabre Bone Pulse/Shikotsumyaku.

Soul “Eater” Evans (Soul Eater) is the first Demon Weapon born into his family in generations.

While inherited some of the enhanced condition of their ghoul parent, half-humans (Tokyo Ghoul) do not inherit their ghoul parent's kagune and kakugan.

Cartoons/Comics

Despite having dragon blood in her family, Susan Luong-Long (American Dragon: Jake Long) does not possess the same abilities to turn into one...

...while her father and children do.

Gwen Tennyson (Ben 10 original) inherited her mana controlling abilities from her paternal grandmother, while her father, paternal uncle, and paternal cousin do not share this ability.

Despite her parents and brother having seeker powers, Cathy Lambert (Huntik: Secrets & Seekers) does not possess these powers.

Due to the dominant genetics of her viltrumite-human hybrid father, Terra Grayson (Invincible) did not inherit her mother’s Matter Manipulation abilities.

Despite being the son of mutants Sabertooth and Mystique, Graydon Creed (Marvel Comics/X-Men) does not possess an active X-Gene.

Norman Babcock (Paranorman), inherited his mediumship abilities from an unknown maternal ancestor, while his mother Sandra did not manifest the ability, but carried the genes, as well as possibly his older sister Courtney.

Unlike the rest of her family Mirabel Madrigal (Encanto) does not have magical abilities like the rest of her family.

Literature

Legacies, like Octavian (Camp Half-Blood Chronicles), sometimes inherit the powers of their godly ancestors, but the more they reproduce with humans, the more diluted the divine blood becomes and the legacies are less likely to display these abilities.

Squibs like Argus Filch (Harry Potter) were born to at least one magical parent but did not inherit magic themselves, however if they had children with muggles, their descendants have a chance of manifesting magical abilities, known as Muggle-Borns...

... much like Hermione Granger, who inherit their magical abilities from a distant squib ancestor.

Due to his father’s genetics being able to override any lingering magical heritage, Dudley Dursley (Harry Potter) can never produce a child with magical abilities despite having at least one magical ancestor.

Grimms (Grimm) is a clan of humans with the supernatural ability to see Wesen, an ability that has been passed on genetically...

...Nick Burkhardt is the latest descendant of Grimm alongside many others hidden in the world.

As a descendant of Akhenaten, Walt Stone (Kane Chronicles) is an inheritor of a curse that shortens his lifespan if he practices magic, with the curse itself skipping generations.

Jake Portman (Peculiar Children series)...

...and his paternal grandfather Abe both have the ability to see, sense, and control hollowghasts...

...something that Jake's father and Abe's son Franklin did not inherit but carried the potential for his children to have.

Ren Santiago (Storm Runner Trilogy/Shadow Bruja Douology) inherited her Shadow Magic from an unknown ancestor, while her father and his father were carriers of the ability.

Live Action Films

Werewolves (Werewolves: The Dark Survivors) if born with lycanthropy, will likely not pass on their condition if they breed with a human.

Michael Corvin (Underworld) inherited the Corvinus Strain from his ancestor Alexander Corvinus, which enabled him to become the first Lycan-Vampire Hybrid.

Video Games

Despite being the daughter of Morgan Fey and a descendant of the Fey clan of mediums, Iris (Ace Attorney) has no spiritual powers of her own.

As a result of the Isu interbreeding with them in ancient times, all humans (Assassin's Creed) possess recessive Isu genes and the potential to develop Eagle Vision.

As a result of Furons interbreeding with them in ancient times, all humans (Destroy All Humans!) possess recessive Furon genes in their DNA...

...which Majestic was able to locate and awaken to create PSI Mutants, humans with psychic powers.

Videos

Naruto, Rock Lee and Gaara vs Kimimaro-2