If you’ve read Frank Herbert’s “Dune” or watched one of its movie or TV show adaptations, then you know that Paul Atreides is pretty much the most powerful person in the universe (at least until his son Leto II becomes, uh, bigger, but that’s not the topic today). Even without the absolutely bizarro powers that other characters gain in the later “Dune” books, Paul is a frighteningly strong person — enough to cultivate a galactic holy war in his name and lay claim to an entire empire.

That said, while Denis Villeneuve’s first two “Dune” films are fantastic, they gloss over some of the nitty gritty details of Paul’s powers. His status as the Kwisatz Haderach — the fabled superperson created by the Bene Gesserit’s 10,000-year breeding program — isn’t just the result of nun eugenicists and spice exposure on Arrakis. There are many pieces to Paul that yield his precognitive abilities, including his mother’s lifeline Bene Gesserit teachings, the advanced training regimen of House Atreides battlemasters Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck, and Paul’s secret conditioning as a mentat, aka a human computer.

All of these factors combine with the Bene Gesserit’s genetic plan and the mind-altering qualities of melange to give Paul the unique skillset of the Kwisatz Haderach. Let’s break down each category of his powers to better understand how and why he came to be so dangerous in “Dune.”

As seen from the very beginning of both Herbert’s first “Dune” novel and Villeneuve’s first “Dune” film, Paul was raised by his mother, Lady Jessica, to embrace certain Bene Gesserit techniques and beliefs. Some of these are more mental strategies than actual “powers,” such as the famous Litany Against Fear (a recitation designed to guard one’s mind in terrifying situations). The larger philosophy of mind-body control within the order, or “prana-bindu training,” is also meant to provide clarity and endurance. While this doesn’t exactly qualify as a bullet point on a list of superpowers, the philosophical training of the Bene Gesserit helps Paul out in many situations, such as surviving the Gom Jabbar test and enduring brutality in the wasteland of Arrakis.

The more notable “power” he gets from his Bene Gesserit training, however, is the Voice, a technique of cognitive control. By speaking with a precise pitch and tone, and by employing several other techniques that are never fully explained, someone using this technique can give simple commands to another person and force them to obey. Finally, Paul is able to use the Bene Gesserit technique of transmutating poison within his body, protecting himself from otherwise fatal substances. It’s only through this technique that Bene Gesserit Reverand Mothers are able to survive drinking the Water of Life and gain total genetic memory of the past — something Paul also must do to become the Kwisatz Haderach.

Of course, it’s worth noting that Paul was never supposed to have these Bene Gesserit powers. For starters, Lady Jessica was instructed to give birth to a girl, but she bore Paul instead because she believed he could fulfill the Kwisatz Haderach prophecy. Additionally, training in Bene Gesserit techniques is only supposed to be for women within the order. However, Lady Jessica ignores this and trains Paul anyway, trusting in his potential.

While Paul’s mother was teaching him Bene Gesserit techniques during his childhood, his father was secretly embuing him with a different set of special abilities — those of a mentat. Since “thinking machines,” or any technology that can mirror human thought, are outlawed in the “Dune” universe, advanced computations and statistical analyses are left to humans to figure out. To that end, certain people are selected from birth and given specific training to mold their minds into super-capable computers. This element of Paul’s upbringing isn’t really addressed in Villeneuve’s “Dune” movies, and mentats in general are kind of pushed to the background. House Atreides’ mentat Thufir Hawat was even cut out of “Dune: Part Two” entirely despite appearing in the back half of Herbert’s original novel.

In the books, Paul’s mentat training is nearly as important as his Bene Gesserit skills to his ultimate transformation into the Kwisatz Haderach. Mentats don’t just run numbers — they’re also incredibly perceptive and can parse exact probabilities and likely outcomes from huge swathes of data. It’s this conditioning of the mind that allows Paul to make sense of his futuresight once the spice on Arrakis awakens his visions. Without his mentat training, it’s unclear how effective he would’ve actually been.

Thanks to Paul’s genetic engineering and his Bene Gesserit training, he’s able to process the Water of Life and gain the powers of a Reverance Mother. That means full genetic memory through history, allowing him to see things as they were and draw on the knowledge of past generations. His unique status as a male, for sci-fi reasons, also allows him to see into the future. With both sides of time laid open before him, Paul becomes the fabled Kwisatz Haderach.

As previously stated, Paul’s mentat training is key to him actually utilizing these new powers effectively. When he sees the future, he sees many alternate futures at once — paths created by different decisions, and their consequences. He’s also able to analyze the probabilities of each future and sort this immense information in order to select the best path forward to victory.

With his futuresight, Paul is able to subdue the imperial occupation on Arrakis and claim the throne for himself. He does this knowing that countless lives will subsequently be slaughtered in his name. Herbert’s “Dune Messiah,” which Villeneuve is adapting next, deals with the fallout from that massacre and Paul’s feelings toward his own powers.