Riddick's Full Powers & Abilities Explained

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Starring Vin Diesel, The Chronicles of Riddick is streaming on Peacock TV now through July 31.
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Fast Healing

When it comes to stamina, Riddick is superhuman, healing from injuries and wounds that would kill anyone else. Beginning in Pitch Black, he's seen dislocating limbs without a fuss to get out of restraints or escape confinement. Not only can he contort his body, but he has an incredibly high pain threshold, meaning that he can take hits from enemy attackers, fall hundreds of feet with minimal damage, as well as evade enemies for long periods of time without needing to stop and rest. Any anger Riddick feels, he channels into aggression, used to fuel his own attacks.

With Riddick 4 confirmed, there's no telling what new powers and abilities Riddick could get. With a title like Riddick: Furya, it's entirely possible that when he finally reaches his home world, something will be awakened in him once again, and Shirah will reveal another power or ability that will help him stay alive in a tough galaxy. While it might seem strange to give him so many traits that feel like superpowers, it helps him stand out as a character against the swathe of similar gritty antiheroes and gives The Chronicles of Riddickfranchise its own flair.

Physical Prowess

Furyans are impressive specimens who are stronger, tougher, and faster than humans. Theories connecting Riddick with the Predator franchise have tried to explain and attribute his physical prowess and combat skills to training under a Yautja, and he shares many characteristics with the galaxy's deadliest hunter. Riddick can lift a fully grown man with one hand, break human bones with only one arm, and rip a bioraptors face in two without breaking a sweat. Riddick can also move at subsonic speeds, such as dodging rounds from an assault rifle in The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.

Furyans typically have stronger versions of human biological systems and organs, so it's not surprising that Riddick would be physically sound enough to fight the way that he does, as well as remain healthy despite questionable eating habits. To handle the kind of stylish action sequences hinted at with concept art from Riddick 4, it makes sense that he would need a stronger heart, and a more powerful brain, plus his body regulates extreme temperatures or changes in the environment without shutting down like a human. Finally, he had incredible lung capacity, and can hold his breath for long periods of time without tiring.

Intelligence

While Riddick is definitely physically impressive and powerful in combat, his robust appearance belies tactical genius. Riddick is quite intelligent and therefore easily able to adapt to any new environment or situation. With a quick scan of his surroundings, he can find the means to create tools and weapons out of seemingly implausible resources, and has the wherewithal to perform medical care on himself when he's injured. A forgotten Pitch Black prequel short film called Slam City went into even more detail about Riddick's past, and it was clear from the animated movie that Riddick might not have survived for so long if not for his brainpower.

Not only did he have the physical strength to break out of various correctional facilities and prisons, but he also had the mental acuity and fortitude to stay one step ahead of bounty hunters and mercenaries. Even on the sort of inhospitable planet in Riddick, he's able to forage for food, and use hot rocks as a means of cauterization. He knows that people underestimate his intelligence because of how he looks, which he uses to his advantage, often using his powers of deduction and observation to get the drop on his enemies before they realize that he's been carefully studying them.

Furyan Energy Wave

Along with Wrath of the Furyans, Riddick has the Furyan Energy Wave, which he uses in both Escape from Butcher Bay and the Director's Cut of The Chronicles of Riddick. In the former, he uses it in a deadly combination with the Wrath of the Furyans and sends a half dozen guards flying backward, and in the latter, he's able to utilize it on a band of Necromonger soldiers trying to capture him. Whenever he concentrates and unleashes it, it hits victims like a shockwave, causing them physical harm and hurtling them several feet away.

Riddick suppressed the memories of Furya's massacre until The Chronicles of Riddick introduced Karl Urban's character Vaaka and the rest of the Necromongers, after which he learned more about the tragic past of his home world and his family. Like Wrath of the Furyans, the Furyan Energy Wave is utilized during times of great distress or aggression. When he's pushed enough, he can wield energy projection with relative ease, though over time it will have a draining effect, even for an Alpha Furyan like Riddick.

Fight evil with evil. Stream Pitch Black, starring Vin Diesel, on Peacock TV now through July 31.
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Riddick returns to DVD with a complete movie collection and a new look! Spruce up the shelf with this great new Travel Poster look.
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Wrath Of The Furyans

The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay introduced an ability called "Wrath of the Furyans," often attributed to Riddick's almost savage strength and endurance. Every Chronicles of Riddick movie offers a new piece of lore, and the video game added to the overall world-building of the franchise and Riddick's character development. The ability is, like Riddick's eyes, awoken by Shirah, and by highlighting the reasoning behind some of his abilities, the game provided the necessary context for what made him seem so superhuman, or how he could take on multiple enemies at once while suffering very little damage.

In Escape from Butcher Bay, Riddick is able to use the Wrath of the Furyans against the head guard Abbott and his minions, and in The Chronicles of Riddick, he uses it on the Crematoria before he's knocked unconscious by The Purifier. It gets its name from the anguish of billion of Furyans slaughtered in the Necromonger purge, which seems to be channeled into him throughout the Riddick movies. It turns Riddick into a sort of spiritual warrior whether he wants it to or not, and on a narrative level, functions as a bit of a deus ex machina when he gets into impossibly difficult situations.

Happy birthday, Vin Diesel!

🎥: Riddick
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Night Vision

One of the most striking things about Riddick is his eyes, which have a luminescent quality and are sensitive enough that they must be protected by some kind of eyewear. According to his explanation in Pitch Black, a "surgical shine job" that he got during his imprisonment in Butcher's Bay, a triple-max security prison for the galaxy's worst criminals, is why Riddick's eyes shine in the unique way that they do. Along with making him look otherworldly and intimidating, they give him excellent night vision, and are one of the key reasons he survives the bioraptor attacks after dark in the film.

According to Shirah, a spiritual guide who periodically communicates with Riddick in his dreams, his night vision is a dormant Furyan trait that was awakened in Butcher's Bay when Pope Joe performed the surgery. It allows him to not only see enemies sneaking up on him in the dark, but sneak up on them as well. Riddick is only one of a handful of Furyans to be seen with a silver sheen to their eyes, and the ones who were noted on Furya became great warriors.