“ | Feel that, Theo? That's the secret to taking power-- pain. Take their pain, take their life, take their power. It's all or nothing. You take until there's nothing more to give. That's where you find the spark of power, and then you take that as well. Pain. Life. Power. In that order and only in that order. | ” |
— Deucalion to Theo Raeken about how to steal power from a supernatural creature in The Beast of Beacon Hills
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Power Stealing is an ability possessed by certain supernatural and unnatural creatures to steal the powers of another, a process that is typically fatal, though surviving it is not impossible. This ability is most commonly utilized by Werewolves, as they traditionally become Alphas by stealing the power of another. When a supernatural creature steals the powers of another, their eyes usually glow even more brightly than normal to indicate the rush of power they have received; this can also be accompanied by a change in eye color to reflect a new status or species, such as a Beta Werewolf's eyes turning from gold or blue to red upon becoming an Alpha.
Beings with this ability[]
Chimera[]
Several Chimeras on the series have demonstrated an ability to steal supernatural powers. For example, the Werewolf/Garuda hybrid Belasko was given special talons that allowed him to steal the powers of others by impaling them into the torso of their target. He attempted to use these talons to take the powers of the Hellhound Jordan Parrish and the True Alpha Werewolf Scott McCall, though the transfer of power seemed to be incomplete; Belasko's normally-blue glowing eyes turned the same shade of orange as Parrish's own eyes, and his eyes did not change at all when he stabbed Scott with his talons. Whether this means that Belasko was unable to fully take all of their powers, if Belasko actually duplicated powers, or if the powers of a Hellhound and True Alpha are both impossible to completely steal remains unknown, though the latter theory appears to be the most likely given the supernatural rules regarding a True Alpha's power.
It is also possible that Belasko would have been able to steal the powers of the Beast of Gevaudan, given Deucalion's comments about the power they possessed. Additionally the talons can be used to steal powers even separated from Belasko's body, as Malia Tate affixed them to her own claws and used them to steal her mother Corinne's Werecoyote powers.
Additionally, the Werewolf-Werecoyote Chimera, Theo Raeken, was taught by the Augmented Alpha Werewolf Deucalion how to steal the powers of others by first taking their pain, then taking their lives, and then finally taking their power. Theo used this knowledge to steal the electromagnetokinesis possessed by unknown Chimera Josh Diaz and the Kanima venom powers possessed by Werewolf-Kanima Chimera Tracy Stewart. Though this gave Theo the powers of two Chimeras on top of his own, augmenting his abilities to a higher level, Theo ultimately lost these powers during his time in his underground prison.
Löwenmensch[]
Garrett Douglas, a Löwenmensch, or a lion-like shapeshifter, possessed the same ability to steal powers as his Werewolf counterpart, as evidenced by the fact that he rose to Alpha status, likely by killing an Alpha and taking their power for himself. In addition to this, Garrett healed his damaged lungs and increased his power by eating the pineal glands of the humans he killed in order to gain power, as the pineal gland is said to be where the soul is located in the body; he ended this string of murders by killing a Ghost Rider and eating their pineal gland, stealing some of its power, such as the ability to use their whips and guns to erase people from existence and to control the Hellhound. After doing so, Garrett's supernatural eyes changed from the bright red of an Alpha to the greenish-blue color of the Ghost Riders' energy.
Werewolf[]
Werewolves naturally possess the power to steal powers from others through the transfer of the Alpha spark; when a Beta or Omega Werewolf kills an Alpha, they take that Alpha's power and become an Alpha themselves. A lesser known aspect of this ability was discovered by an Alpha, Deucalion, who killed one of his Betas who challenged his status and learned that he could steal his Betas' powers and take it for his own; it is unknown how this aspect was unknown to much of the supernatural community, considering the likelihood of Alphas having to kill Beta or Omega challengers to their status. It can be assumed that Werewolves, like Chimeras, can steal powers from others through taking their pain and lives, as it was Deucalion who taught Theo how to do it, suggesting that he has done it himself.
Werecoyote[]
Female Werecoyotes sometimes inherit/steal a portion of their mother's power during childbirth, though the exact circumstances required for this to occur are unknown. It is possible for the mother to steal that power back by killing their daughter on the full moon. Malia Tate took part of her mother Corinne's powers in childbirth, which Corinne attempted to take back on several occasions throughout Malia's life. Malia then was able to use Belasko's talons to steal the rest of Corinne's powers to keep her from killing her or anyone else, presumably making Corinne human.
Instances of Power Stealing[]
There have been numerous examples of Power Stealing throughout the series, which will be listed below. Excluded from this list are instances of characters inheriting power through the death of a parent/family member (such as Laura Hale inheriting her mother Talia's Alpha powers) or being voluntarily given powers by others (such as when Derek Hale donated his Alpha spark to his younger sister Cora in order to save her life from mistletoe poisoning), as this power transfer is more of a donation than a theft.
- Garrett Douglas, a Löwenmensch, presumably killed an Alpha at some point prior to the battle between the Anenherbe and the Ghost Riders in the Röhr Valley of Germany in 1943. ("Blitzkrieg")
- Satomi Ito presumably killed an Alpha and stole their power at some point between 1943 and 2012. ("Weaponized")
- Werecoyote Malia Tate stole a portion of Corinne's power in childbirth in 1995. ("The Sword and the Spirit")
- Deucalion stole the powers of his Beta, Marco, before then doing the same to the rest of his Betas in the early 2000s. ("Unleashed"), ("Visionary")
- Kali stole the powers of her Betas in the early 2000s. ("Unleashed"), ("The Overlooked")
- Ennis stole the powers of his Betas and Emissary in the early 2000s. ("Unleashed")
- Ethan and Aiden killed their Alpha while in their merged form and stole his power, becoming Alphas themselves sometime prior to the start of the series. ("The Girl Who Knew Too Much")
- Peter Hale killed his niece, Laura Hale, and stole her Alpha power to become an Alpha himself. ("Wolf Moon")
- Derek Hale killed his uncle Peter and stole his Alpha power. ("Code Breaker")
- Derek Hale indirectly killed one of his Betas, Vernon Boyd due to the machinations of Kali, Ethan and Aiden, and stole his power.
- Belasko used his talons to steal the power of the Hellhound Jordan Parrish and the True Alpha Werewolf Scott McCall, though this power theft was incomplete and ultimately unsuccessful. ("Creatures of the Night")
- Theo Raeken killed Josh Diaz, a Chimera of unknown species, and stole his power of electromagnetokinesis in hopes of using it to wear the Dread Doctors Mask and steal the Beast of Gevaudan's power. ("The Beast of Beacon Hills")
- Theo Raeken killed Tracy Stewart and stole her power of Kanima venom production in hopes of using it to steal the Beast of Gevaudan's power as well. ("Apotheosis")
- Malia Tate affixed Belasko's talons to her own claws and impaled them in her mother Corinne's stomach in order to steal the rest of her Werecoyote powers, taking them for herself and making her able to easily defeat her. ("Apotheosis")
- Garrett Douglas ate the pineal gland of a Ghost Rider and stole some of its power, specifically the power to wield their weapons, erase people from reality, and control the Hellhound. ("Heartless")
In addition to these instances of power theft, there have also been a few unsuccessful attempts by supernatural creatures to steal the powers of another:
- Peter Hale attempted to steal the powers of True Alpha Scott McCall by having him killed in hopes that his bitten Beta Liam Dunbar would inherit the power, allowing him to kill Liam in order to become an Alpha himself. ("Smoke and Mirrors")
- Theo Raeken intended to become an Alpha and a real Werewolf by manipulating Liam Dunbar, who was then the only bitten Beta of True Alpha Scott McCall, into killing Scott and stealing his power, which would then allow Theo to kill Liam and steal the Alpha power from him. ("Status Asthmaticus")
- Corinne attempted to kill her daughter Malia Tate in order to steal back the power that Malia stole from her in childbirth, but was stopped when Alan Deaton reminded her that the theft wouldn't work unless it was a Full Moon, and when the Beast of Gevaudan arrived and threatened everyone's lives. ("The Sword and the Spirit")
- Theo Raeken attempted to steal the Beast of Gevaudan's power by using his newly-stolen electromagnetokinesis and Kanima venom production to paralyze and weaken him, though these powers ultimately had no effect whatsoever on him. ("Status Asthmaticus")
Trivia[]
- Its unknown if what Deucalion taught Theo Raeken is a retcon of what he and the others in the Alpha Pack did to their original packs, or if what he described was a new method of power theft altogether; one could assume that there would be more Augmented Alphas in the world as a result of being forced to kill any of their Betas who challenged their status, and if this were the case, then the concept of stealing power in this manner would be more well-known.