Self-Sustenance

Self-Sustenance
Neil Cuddahy (Mutant X) has the ability to go without sleep while maintaining optimal mental faculties and health.
Power/Ability to:	Reduce/remove the need for bodily necessities.

"He does not breath or eat. He has no internal organs and minimal fluids. He is almost solid throughout, nourished by solar energy he can store for a millennia if necessary."

― Bertron describing Doomsday (DC Comics)

The power to reduce or fully remove one's basic needs for survival. Not to be confused with Self-Sufficiency.

Also Called

• Self-Subsistence
• Self-Containment/Suppression/Sustainment
• Self-Deprivation
• Sustenance/Need Repression/Suppression

Capabilities

The user's physical, metabolic needs are drastically reduced or completely eliminated. These needs encompass breathing (air/oxygen), water, nutritional sustenance, bodily evacuations (waste excretion), rest (sleep and relaxation), heat/warmth, clothing and shelter (i.e., protection from environmental conditions/forces like cold, dryness/wetness, pressure extremes, etc.). This may permit a user to survive in or travel through normally inhospitable (e.g. anaerobic) environments, like underwater or the void of space.

Additionally, the user has no need for routine physical activity, able to remain immobile indefinitely without experiencing the usual atrophic side-effects. Advanced users' bodies may also be able to self-sanitize, providing excellent health and immunity to any kind of disease/infection.

Finally, psychological, cognitive, and emotional needs may be suppressed as well: such as for reproduction, safety, love, companionship, self-actualization, etc.

Applications

• Absolute Stamina
• Digestive Expulsion Independence
• Hungerlessness
• Hydro Independence
• Oxygen Independence
• Peak Human/Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Lung Capacity
• Perpetual Nourishment
• Sanitizing/Sanitized Metabolism
• Sleeplessness
• Temperature Immunity

Variations

• Alternative Sustenance
• Redundant Physiology
• Self-Contained Existence

Associations

• Bionic Physiology
  • Artificial Physiology
  • Android Physiology
• Discomfort Immunity
• Dependency Transcendence
• Divine Empowerment
• Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Condition
  • Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Endurance
  • Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Stamina
  • Enhanced/Supernatural/Absolute Survivability
• Environmental Adaptation
• Greco-Roman Mysticism
• Hibernation
• Immortality
• Invulnerability
• Self-Sufficiency
• Superior Human Physiology

Limitations

• May only be able to disregard some needs.
• May have limited time period available.
• Even user may not suffer from any physical effects, they may feel the psychological effects of hunger.
• Disregarding some needs may cause certain capacities to degrade, regardless of maintaining stable health. Eg: Forgoing eating may lead to muscular dystrophy, etc.

Known Users

See Also: The Needless and Perpetual Motion Monster.

Literature

• Invisible dragons (Invisible Dragon)
  • Invisible Dragon
  • Invisivisible Dragon
• Colbob (Invisible Dragon)
• Sally Sandwich (Sweet Story)
• Timmy Taco (Sweet Story)

Movies/Television

• Hypercognitive Alphas (Alphas)
  • Stanton Parish (​Alphas)
• Adam (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
• Davros (Doctor Who)
• The Golden Army (Hellboy II)
• Immortals (Highlander)
• Neil Cuddahy (Mutant X)
• Gods (New Legends Of Monkey)
• Changelings (Star Trek)
  • Odo
  • Female Changeling
• Borg drones (Star Trek); only when connected to the Collective
• Data (Star Trek)
• Jem'Hadar (Star Trek); only when supplied with Ketracel White
• Angels (Supernatural)
• Terminators (Terminator Series)
• Death Angels (A Quiet Place)
• Daggon/Cole Hauser (Tracker)
• Hybrids (Twilight Saga)
• Various Supernatural Beings (The Vampire Diaries/The Originals/Legacies)
• Sheldon Sampson/Utopian (Jupiter’s Legacy)
• Walter Sampson/Brainwave (Jupiter’s Legacy)
• Grace Kennedy Sampson/Lady Liberty (Jupiter’s Legacy)
• George Hutchence/Skyfox (Jupiter’s Legacy)
• Brandon Sampson/Paragon (Jupiter’s Legacy)

Cartoons

• Kevin Levin (Ben 10); in his Ultimate form
• Professor Paradox (Ben 10: Alien Force)
• Ghosts and Half-Ghosts (Danny Phantom)
  • Vlad Masters/Plasmius
• Emotions (Inside Out)
• Aku (Samurai Jack)
• The Guardian (Samurai Jack)
• Gems (Steven Universe)

Comics

• Practitioners of the Hercules Method (The Strange Talent of Luther Strode)
• Kryptonians (DC Comics); under a yellow or blue sun
• Doomsday (DC Comics)
• Firestorm (DC Comics)
• Martians (DC Comics)
• Various Metahumans (DC Comics)
• Captain Atom (DC Comics)
• Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (DC Comics)
• Dr. Manhattan (DC Comics)
• Amazons of Themyscira (DC Comics)
  • Hippolyta
• Midnighter (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
• Mr. Majestic (Wildstorm/DC Comics)
• Supreme (Image Comics)
• Various Mutants (Marvel Comics)
• Emma Frost (Marvel Comics); in diamond form
• Stepford Cuckoos (Marvel Comics); in diamond form
• Piotr Rasputin/Colossus (Marvel Comics); via Steel Mimicry
• Cain Marko/Juggernaut (Marvel Comics)
• Original Xorn (Marvel Comics)
• Sprite/Jia Jing (Marvel Comics)
• Hulk (Marvel Comics)
• A-Bomb (Marvel Comics)
• Skaar (Marvel Comics)
• Adam Warlock (Marvel Comics)
• Adam Brashear/Blue Marvel (Marvel Comics)
• Adam Destine (Marvel Comics)
• Dead Girl (Marvel Comics)
• Heralds of Galactus (Marvel Comics)
• Asgardians (Marvel Comics)
  • Thor Odinson
• Olympians (Marvel Comics)
  • Hercules Panhellenios
• Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
• Emery Schaub/Butterball (Marvel Comics)
• Sentry (Marvel Comics)
• Sunspot (Marvel Comics)
• Hyperion (Marvel Comics)
• Chamber (Marvel Comics)
• Leonard Williams/Tyrone Cash (Ultimate Marvel)
• Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic (Ultimate Marvel)

Anime/Manga/Manhwa

• Empty Cans (Akikan!)
• Titans (Attack on Titan); only need sunlight to stay active
• Immortals (Baccano)
• Pseudomonas (Cells At Work)
• Klaxo-Sapiens and Klaxo-Sapien Hybrids (Darling In The FranXX)
• Shinigami (Death Note)
• Asato Tsuzuki (Descendants Of Darkness)
• Artificial Humans (Dragon Ball series)
• Namekians (Dragon Ball series); only require water
• Majin Buu (Dragon Ball series)
• Angels (Dragon Ball Super)
• Dragon (Fire Force)
• Agni (Fire Punch)
• Kang Han Soo (Is This Hero For Real?)
• Immortals (Highlander: The Search for Vengeance)
  • Colin Macleod
  • Kyala
  • Marcus Octavius
• Isaac Netero (Hunter X Hunter)
• Obito Uchiha (Naruto)
• Black Zetsu (Naruto)
• White Zetsu clones (Naruto)
• Genos (One-Punch Man)
• Demon Lord (Sekai Maou)
• Ban (Seven Deadly Sins)
• Ryoko Hakubi (Tenchi Muyo)
• Ladylee Tangleroad (Toaru Majutsu no Index)
• Tsukasa Tsukuyomi (Tonikaku Kawaii)
• Andy (Undead Unluck)
• Victor (Undead Unluck)

Video Games

• Skeletons (Crypt of the NecroDancer)
• Necromorphs (Dead Space)
  • The Brethren Moons
• Darkspawn (Dragon Age)
• Ghouls (Fallout)
• Herrscher of the Void (Honkai Impact 3rd)
• Reapers (Mass Effect)
• Porygon, Porygon2, & Porygon-Z (Pokémon)
• Androids (Detroit: Become human)

Tabletop Games

• Vampires (Vampire the Masquerade); only need blood to stay conscious
• Warforged (Dungeons & Dragons)

Web Comic/Series/Original

• Jones/Wandering Eye (Gunnerkrigg Court)
• Various SCPs (SCP Foundation)
  • Monica Pinkston
  • SCP-0001 - Meta Ike's Proposal - The Solution
  • SCP-008 - Zombie Plague
  • SCP-014 - The Concrete Man
  • SCP-017 - Shadow Person
  • SCP-029 - Daughter of Shadows
  • SCP-049 - Plague Doctor
  • SCP-083-D - Duke
  • SCP-096 - The "Shy Guy"
  • SCP-122-1 - No More Monsters
  • SCP-149-DE
  • SCP-280 - Eyes in the Dark
  • SCP-723-D - Unkillable D-Class
  • SCP-956 - The Child-Breaker
  • SCP-2872 - A Fast Horse
  • SCP-4043 - Gaia
  • SCP-4233 - The Dreadnought
  • SCP-4335 - A Welt In The Crucible
  • SCP-5909 - The Endless Shrimp
• Jeff the Killer (Creepypasta)

Real Life Examples

• Tardigrada

Known Objects

• Cure-All Elixir (Baccano)
• Grand Panacea (Baccano)
• Eternal Atoms (Bastard!!)
• Oxy-Chew (Ducktales)
• Mayan Sun Amulet (Gargoyles)
• Ring of Sustenance (Overlord)
• Ambrosia (Toaru Majutsu no Index)
• Hourai Elixir (Tonikaku Kawaii)
• Perfected Hulk Serum Pill (Ultimate Marvel Comics)

Gallery

Due to the effects of yellow sun radiation, Superman (DC Comics) has no need for food or sleep, though he tends to eat and sleep out of habit.

As long as the Amazons (DC Comics) stay on Themyscira, they don't require food, water or any other form of nourishment to maintain their health and vitality.

Olympians (DC Comics)

Shinigami (Death Note) have no need to eat nor sleep, but do so to enjoy the sensation and laziness. They do, however, need to use the Death Note to extend their lifespan.

Artificial Humans (Dragon Ball) like #16, #17, and #18 have an infinite energy reservoir, and thus, no need to sleep or eat.

Namekians like Dende (Dragon Ball series) do not need food to survive; they can subsist solely on water.

Majin Buu (Dragon Ball series) has no need to breathe, sleep, or eat and has limitless stamina. While he does greatly enjoy eating, he only requires to hibernate on occasion.

Angels (Dragon Ball Super) do not need to sleep, eat, or breathe, and are effectively immortal.

Ultimate Mr. Fantastic's (Marvel Comics) organs have been replaced with a "bacterial stack"; as a result, he has no need for food, water, or even oxygen.

Hashirama Senju's DNA cells allowed Obito Uchiha (Naruto) to survive without food or water.

Zetsu (Naruto) was self-sustained, although, he liked devouring corpses to dispose of evidence.

Because Timmy Taco wished that he and Sally Sandwich (Sweet Story) would be "married forever", it made it so that neither could ever die - including immunity to the effects of starvation or thirst - the wish making sure that their marriage does not end through death do [they] part.

Gems (Steven Universe) are an alien race of functionally-immortal polymorphic Gemstones. They do not need to eat, drink, sleep or breath, and can recede into their gems should their bodies be mortally wounded to heal.

Ultimate Kevin (Ben 10 Ultimate Alien)

Herrscher of the Void (Honkai Impact 3rd)

Olympians (Marvel Comics)

Through methods not understood by other races, Reapers (Mass Effect) perpetually generate nigh-limitless amounts of energy, making a war of attrition against them impossible. A single Reaper can live for millions of years without needing any kind of fuel or sustenance.

As a human-vampire hybrid, Renesmee Cullen (Twilight) has a beating heart that pumps blood in her system, making her independent of blood.

When Vlad (Danny Phantom) went into space the second time he is shown to breathe in space without the use of an oxygen tank or a helmet, showing he is capable of surviving in low-pressure, low-temperature environments.

Due to Ban (Seven Deadly Sins) drinking the fountain of youth he does not need to eat or drink.

Mayan Sun Amulet (Gargoyles)

The Guardian (Samurai Jack)

Adam Brashear/Blue Marvel (Marvel Comics)

Aku (Samurai Jack)

Thanks to his Blessing from the Outsider God, Kang Han Soo (Is This Hero For Real?) is a perpetual magically powered superhuman that doesn't require sleep, food, or rest

Videos

SCP-017 Shadow Person (SCP Animation) -Shorts

SCP-017 - Shadow Person (SCP Orientation)

SCP-029 - Daughter of Shadows (SCP Orientation)

SCP-049 illustrated (The Plague Doctor) Updated ft. TheVolgun, Site-42, Dr Cimmerian & Dr Viewless

SCP-122 - No More Monsters (SCP Orientation)-2

SCP-280 Eyes In The Dark

SCP-5151 - The Black Knight (SCP Animation)

Analysis and Discussion

A Profile of The Ghoul- How Betrayal Can Shatter a Good Man