body power
Intangibility
Also called Phasing, Ghosting, Permeability
Intangibility is the ability to pass through solid matter. Its real cost is almost always breathing and momentum: a character phased into a wall cannot inhale, and one phasing through a moving floor still has the planet's velocity to account for.
How it works
Intangibility divides on what the user does with the matter they pass through. Passive phasers simply do not interact — they fall through the floor unless they concentrate. Disruptive phasers can leave a hand solid inside something, which is lethal and is why Kitty Pryde is written as far more dangerous than her power sounds.
The second axis is what else phases. Clothing, carried objects and other people are all separate problems, and settings differ on whether the user can take a passenger.
Almost every system charges for it. Vision's density control is a continuum, not a switch; the Martian Manhunter's phasing is one expression of a shapeshifting physiology rather than a discrete power.
How it scales
- Self only
The user passes through matter; nothing else does.
- Carried
Clothing, equipment and passengers phase too.
- Disruptive
The user can solidify inside matter — lethal.
- Density control
Intangibility and super-density as one continuum.
Who has intangibility
Across 3 universes. This list crosses publishers — something no single wiki can do, because every franchise keeps its own separate database.
| Character | Universe | Franchise | Feats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloak | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 2 |
| Kitty Pryde | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 1 |
| Vision | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 4 |
| Martian Manhunter | DC | DC Comics | 1 |
| Obsidian | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Reverse-Flash | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Sand | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Shadow Thief | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| The Atom | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| The Flash | DC | DC Comics | 2 |
| Crocodile | Anime & Manga | One Piece | 2 |
| Juvia Lockser | Anime & Manga | Fairy Tail | 2 |
| Obito Uchiha | Anime & Manga | Naruto | 3 |
| Portgas D. Ace | Anime & Manga | One Piece | 3 |
| Trafalgar D. Water Law | Anime & Manga | One Piece | 2 |
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.
Kitty Pryde — Phases her hand into a machine and solidifies, destroying it from inside
Vision — Shifts from intangible to diamond-hard density as one continuous control, not two separate powers
Obito Uchiha — Phases his body into a pocket dimension, and can only maintain it for a limited window before he must become solid to attack
Martian Manhunter — Passes through solid matter using the same Martian physiology that governs his shapeshifting
The Flash — Vibrates his molecules to pass through solid matter
The Flash — Phases another person through matter along with himself
Vision — Controls his density to pass through solid matter
Vision — Increases density instead, becoming nearly immovable
Vision — Phases a hand into a body and solidifies — the ability's lethal use, stated explicitly
Crocodile — Physical attacks pass through his sand body without landing
Crocodile — Water restores his solidity, which is the stated and only reliable counter
Obsidian — In shadow form he cannot be struck by physical attack
Obsidian — Light disperses the shadow form, the standing counter to him
Sand — In silicon form he takes no injury from conventional weapons
Sand — The transformation began as an accident he could not reverse, which is the character's origin
Obito Uchiha — Kamui lets attacks pass through him entirely, his primary defence
Obito Uchiha — He must become solid to attack, which is the stated window to hit him
Cloak — Physical attacks pass through him while he is in shadow form
Cloak — Dagger's light is what stabilises him, which is why the pair are inseparable
Shadow Thief — In shadow form he passes through solid matter untouched
Shadow Thief — He must solidify to take anything, which is the window Hawkman uses
Shadow Thief — Moves through a sealed vault without opening it
Juvia Lockser — Her body IS water, so physical attacks pass through without landing
Juvia Lockser — Ice defeats her, since freezing the water body makes it solid and strikeable
The Atom — Travels through telephone lines by riding the current at reduced size
The Atom — Passes between molecules of a solid object
Trafalgar D. Water Law — Cuts a person apart without killing or wounding them
Trafalgar D. Water Law — Performs surgery that grants immortality at the cost of his own life
Portgas D. Ace — Physical attacks pass through his flame body without landing
Portgas D. Ace — Haki and magma both bypass the Logia defence, the stated counters
Portgas D. Ace — Magma is stated to be superior to fire, which is why Akainu kills him
Reverse-Flash — Vibrates through solid matter, including through a person
Reverse-Flash — Kills by phasing a hand into a body and solidifying
Limits
- A phased character usually cannot breathe inside solid matter.
- Momentum does not stop — phasing through a floor means falling.
- Many phasers cannot interact with anything while phased, including attacking.
- Electrical and energy attacks frequently still connect.
Counters
- Energy, psychic and sonic attacks that ignore solidity.
- Sealing the user inside matter and waiting for breath to run out.
- Forcing them solid — most systems have a trigger.
Questions
Can an intangible character be hit at all?
Usually yes. Phasing defeats physical contact, not energy, psychic or sonic attack, and most settings write the user as unable to breathe while inside solid matter — which is a timer, not a defence.
Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version