EnergyMajor
No. 028
Force Fields
Raise invisible barriers that stop attacks cold, trap enemies or carry you through the air.
10 Holders · 5 Medialistofsuperpowers.com
Force Fields.
Also called Barrier Creation · Shields · Energy Barriers · Kekkai · Bubble Shield · Force Field Generation
Raise invisible barriers that stop attacks cold, trap enemies or carry you through the air.
At a glanceMajorEnergy10 Holders · 5 Media
- Best known
- Invisible WomanFantastic Four (Marvel Comics)Violet ParrThe IncrediblesSteven UniverseSteven Universe
- Main Drawback
- Every field needs the user's focus; if their attention slips, the barrier disappears.
- Main Weakness
- Enough raw force will overload any field; a strong enough enemy simply keeps hitting until it breaks.
What is Force Fields?
A force field is a wall made of nothing. The user throws up a barrier of energy, light, magic or will, and bullets, fire and fists stop where it begins. The small version is a shield in front of one hand. The big version is a dome over a whole city block, or a bubble that keeps a falling building off a crowd.
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It looks like a purely defensive power, but writers keep finding new jobs for it. A field can be pushed outward as a battering ram, shrunk around an enemy as a cage, laid down as a ramp to walk on, or wrapped around a friend who cannot protect themselves. That range is why so many team stories give it to the person who holds the group together.
The recurring theme is protection, and what protection costs. Violet Parr's shields grow from a shy girl's urge to hide, Steven Universe's bubble comes from wanting to keep the people he loves safe, and the Invisible Woman's fields shatter when something too strong hits them. If your character can block anything, the story is about what they choose to stand in front of, and what happens when the wall finally cracks.
Variants · 6
Personal Shield. A flat or curved barrier held in front of the user, like an invisible riot shield. Simple to write, and it forces the user to face the danger head on.
Bubble or Dome. A sphere that wraps the user or a whole group. Great for protecting other characters, but everyone inside is stuck until the bubble drops.
Projected Barrier. A shield placed around someone else at a distance. It turns the user into a guardian who reads the fight and decides who gets saved.
Containment Field. Turning the barrier inward to trap an enemy, box in an explosion or seal off a monster. Some users then shrink the box to crush what is inside.
Force Constructs. Hard shapes made of the same energy: ramps, platforms, battering rams, even steps to climb into the sky. The power stops being only a wall.
Automatic Guard. A barrier that rises on its own whenever danger comes close, even when the user is asleep or caught by surprise. Hard to hit, and hard to live a normal life with.
Drawbacks & Weaknesses
Drawback = the price the Holder pays. Weakness = what stops it from outside.
Drawbacks
Every field needs the user's focus; if their attention slips, the barrier disappears.
Seen in Invisible Woman (Sue Storm) (Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics))
A barrier that takes a hit too big for it can break with a backlash that knocks the user out.
Seen in Invisible Woman (Sue Storm) (Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics))
Holding up the shield slows the user down, so defending and moving fast pull against each other.
Seen in Reinhardt (Overwatch)
The barrier only lasts a short time before it fades and needs to recharge, so timing matters more than raw strength.
Seen in Zarya (Overwatch)
Weaknesses
Enough raw force will overload any field; a strong enough enemy simply keeps hitting until it breaks.
Anything already inside the barrier, like a poison gas or an enemy who slipped in, is trapped in there with the user.
A shield usually faces one way, so attacks from behind, from below or from several sides at once can get around it.
Seen in Reinhardt (Overwatch)
Distracting, startling or exhausting the user can drop the field, since it lasts only while they keep it up.
Characters with force fields
10 Holders across Game, Film, TV Series, Comics, Anime & Manga. The same character in another Work is listed separately, because the rules can change.
Showing 10 of 10 Holders · tap a Holder for details
How the rules differ
Pick a question to see how different Works answer it.
- Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)Cosmic rays, psionic energy
- RavenHer own soul, projected outward
- Gwen TennysonMana from alien heritage
- GaaraSand that moves by itself
- ZaryaParticle tech in her weapon
- ReinhardtThe whole team behind him
- ZaryaHerself or one ally at a time
- Steven UniverseHimself and friends in a bubble
- Violet ParrHerself, then her family
- Yoshimori SumimuraHis town, by caging demons
- Violet ParrEnough to shield a kid
- ReinhardtA wall in front of a squad
- Sue StormStrong, but outmatched by Doom
- RavenAbsorbs energy and matter
- Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)Domes several miles across
Writing your own force fields character
- 1Decide what the field can stop and what slips through. Does it block light, sound, air, poison or magic? A shield that stops bullets but not gas gives the villain a plan.
- 2Give the barrier a shape and a feel. A pink bubble, a hexagon grid, cold glass or humming static tells the reader a lot about the character before any fight starts.
- 3Tie the strain to concentration. If the field drops when the user sleeps, panics or gets hit from behind, every tense scene has a built-in clock.
- 4To avoid reading as an Invisible Woman or Violet Parr copy, drop the invisibility pairing. Try a paramedic whose shield only forms around other people, or a shy hacker who can wall off a room but not herself.
- 5Use it outside combat too. A force field can be a stretcher, an umbrella, a soundproof booth for secrets or a cage for a friend who has lost control.
FAQ
What is the power to make force fields called?
It is usually called force field generation or barrier creation. Fans also say shields or energy barriers, and anime often uses the Japanese word kekkai (barrier). Making solid shapes out of energy is a close cousin called construct creation.
What is the difference between a force field and telekinesis?
Telekinesis moves objects with the mind, while a force field creates a barrier that blocks things. Many stories blur the line, and some telekinetics build shields out of pushed air or debris, but a true force field user makes the wall itself instead of moving something into the way.
Who has the strongest force fields in comics?
There is no official ranking, but the Invisible Woman from the Fantastic Four is the usual answer. Her fields can cover several miles, act as weapons and carry her through the air, though even they have been smashed by the Hulk.
Which Incredibles character has force fields?
Violet Parr, the oldest child in the family. She can turn invisible and create force fields, powers her director chose to match a shy, defensive teenager.
Are force fields real?
Not the kind that stop bullets. Real-world research on plasma and magnetic shielding can deflect charged particles, such as protecting spacecraft from radiation, but nothing yet can make a solid invisible wall out of energy.
Use Force Fields in a generator
- JoJo Stand GeneratorRoll a Stand that may get force fields as its ability, with six stats on a hexagon.
- My Hero Academia Quirk GeneratorRoll a Quirk that may get force fields as its effect, with a Drawback and a Weakness.
- Superpower GeneratorRoll any Power on our list with its own Drawback and Weakness.
Sources and how this page was written Updated October 23, 2026 +
Each Holder links to a page that confirms the Power in that Work. The descriptions, comparisons and writing tips are our own; we drafted them with AI assistance and checked every Holder by hand. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.