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Codex / Powers / Energy Absorption

energy power

Energy Absorption

Also called Power Absorption, Kinetic Absorption, Energy Siphoning

Energy absorption converts incoming attack into fuel. It inverts the usual logic of a fight: hitting the user makes them stronger, so the only sound tactics are restraint, misdirection, or exceeding whatever they can hold.

13 known users 3 universes 30 sourced feats
How it worksScalingUsersFeatsLimitsCountersRelatedFAQ

How it works

Redirection users take energy and throw it back. Simple and effective.

Conversion users turn absorbed energy into something else — strength, speed, healing. Sebastian Shaw punching harder the more he is struck is the archetype.

Storage users bank it for later, which makes them dangerous long after the fight that charged them.

Every version needs a capacity limit or the character cannot lose. The well-written ones state it: overload, and the absorber is the one who takes the damage. That single rule is what keeps the power from being an automatic win.

How it scales

  1. Redirection

    Returns absorbed energy immediately.

  2. Conversion

    Turns energy into strength, speed or healing.

  3. Storage

    Banks energy for later release.

  4. Adaptive

    Gains resistance to whatever was absorbed.

Who has energy absorption

Across 3 universes. This list crosses publishers — something no single wiki can do, because every franchise keeps its own separate database.

CharacterUniverseFranchiseFeats
BishopMarvelMarvel Comics1
GalactusMarvelMarvel Comics3
RogueMarvelMarvel Comics1
Sebastian ShawMarvelMarvel Comics3
Killer FrostDCDC Comics2
ParasiteDCDC Comics3
All For OneAnime & MangaMy Hero Academia3
CellAnime & MangaDragon Ball4
Gray FullbusterAnime & MangaFairy Tail2
Kisame HoshigakiAnime & MangaNaruto2
Laxus DreyarAnime & MangaFairy Tail2
Majin BuuAnime & MangaDragon Ball2
Natsu DragneelAnime & MangaFairy Tail2

The feat ledger

Every entry cites the work it comes from. Feat means it was shown in the work; Statement means a character or narrator said it. Nothing here is a fan estimate unless it is tagged Calc.

Bishop — Absorbs an energy attack and redirects it, with a stated capacity beyond which he is the one damaged

Statement Uncanny X-Men · Earth-616

Sebastian Shaw — Converts absorbed kinetic energy into strength, so striking him harder makes him stronger

Feat Uncanny X-Men · Earth-616shown, no figure stated

Cell — Absorbs opponents whole to reach successive forms, rather than merely draining energy

Feat Dragon Ball · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

Rogue — Absorbs power and memory on contact, which is absorption rather than mimicry — she takes it away from the source

Feat Avengers Annual (1981) · Earth-616shown, no figure stated

Parasite — Drains energy and ability by touch, with the stolen power decaying rather than persisting

Statement Action Comics (1966) · Post-Crisis DCfigure stated in the work

Majin Buu — Absorbs opponents bodily and gains their abilities and intelligence

Feat Dragon Ball · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

Majin Buu — Absorbing a fighter grants their abilities and their intelligence

Feat Dragon Ball Z · Anime canonshown, no figure stated

Cell — Absorbs humans whole through his tail to increase his own power

Feat Dragon Ball Z · Anime canonshown, no figure stated

Cell — Inherits techniques from the fighters whose cells compose him

Statement Dragon Ball · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Cell — Drains a human completely in seconds through the tail

Feat Dragon Ball Z · Anime canonshown, no figure stated

Parasite — Drains life energy by touch, weakening the victim as he strengthens

Feat Action Comics · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Parasite — Also absorbs memory and knowledge alongside power

Feat Action Comics · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Sebastian Shaw — Absorbs kinetic energy directed at him and stores it

Feat Uncanny X-Men · Earth-616shown, no figure stated

Sebastian Shaw — Absorbs energy attacks as readily as physical ones

Feat Uncanny X-Men · Earth-616shown, no figure stated

Killer Frost — Absorbs heat from her surroundings — the cold is a by-product of taking energy, not of making it

Statement Firestorm the Nuclear Man Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCfigure stated in the work

Killer Frost — Drains body heat from a person, which is how she kills

Feat Firestorm the Nuclear Man Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Natsu Dragneel — Eats fire to restore his own strength — consuming the element is how he refuels

Statement Fairy Tail · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Natsu Dragneel — Consumes another type of flame and gains its properties

Feat Fairy Tail · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

Kisame Hoshigaki — Samehada absorbs chakra from opponents and transfers it to him

Statement Naruto · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Kisame Hoshigaki — His reserves are stated to be beast-like in scale, which is why the absorption matters

Statement Naruto · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Laxus Dreyar — Eats lightning to restore his own reserves

Statement Fairy Tail · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Laxus Dreyar — Consuming a different element damages him, the stated cost

Statement Fairy Tail · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Gray Fullbuster — Devil Slayer magic lets him consume ice to restore himself

Statement Fairy Tail · Manga canonfigure stated in the work

Gray Fullbuster — Consumes an opposing ice attack to restore his own reserves

Feat Fairy Tail · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

Galactus — Consumes a planet's entire life energy to sustain himself

Feat Fantastic Four Volume 1 (1966) · Earth-616shown, no figure stated

Galactus — He starves without feeding, which is why he is written as necessity rather than malice

Statement Fantastic Four Volume 1 · Earth-616figure stated in the work

Galactus — The Ultimate Nullifier is the only stated weapon he fears

Statement Fantastic Four Volume 1 (1966) · Earth-616figure stated in the work

All For One — Stockpiles dozens of quirks and uses them in combination

Feat My Hero Academia · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

All For One — Grants quirks to followers, which is how the League exists at all

Feat My Hero Academia · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

All For One — Directs the war from imprisonment through a successor

Feat My Hero Academia · Manga canonshown, no figure stated

Limits

  • Every good version has a stated capacity — exceed it and the absorber takes the damage.
  • Most only absorb specific energy types, not all of them.
  • Absorption usually requires contact or line of sight.
  • Physical restraint bypasses the power entirely.

Counters

  • Overloading the stated capacity.
  • Attacks of a type the user cannot absorb.
  • Restraint, immobilisation and non-energy tactics.

Questions

How do you beat a character who absorbs energy?

Not by hitting them harder — that is the trap. The reliable answers are restraint, an energy type they do not absorb, or deliberately exceeding their stated capacity so the stored energy damages them.

Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version