A Lot Stronger Than I Look You Know

So you encounter this character. He looks weak somehow. He's either pocket-size and scrawny, or meek, peace-loving and/or gentle, not heavily armed, lazy or untrained, frail and/or sickly, or unassuming. Either mode, everything that you meet well-nigh him doesn't strike yous as "potent".

But then, said then-called "weak" guy starts lifting something many times his size/weight or breaking something difficult without much effort.

This "character" may sometimes not be a person; an creature tin be this too. Good chance of being in a Mugging the Monster scenario.

Related to Hidden Badass. See too Badass Bookworm ^note which contrasts with the Genius Bruiser, a big, potent guy, Pintsized Powerhouse, Strong Ants, Killer Rabbit, Cute Bruiser and Glacier Waif for the subtropes of this. (Note, examples that fit in the subtropes would exist listed at that place rather than here.)

Compare Badass on Newspaper, Muscles Are Meaningless and Lightning Bruiser. Contrast Muscles Are Meaningful.

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Examples:

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    Anime & Manga

• The whole premise of I-Dial Man is how the protagonist Saitama, a skinny, apparently-faced, baldheaded human being in a lame costume, can kill anything with one dial. In-Universe almost everyone thinks Saitama is a weak pretender, and the Hero Association ranks him equally a B-Cass hero; merely a handful of people learn of Saitama's true, unimaginable strength, oftentimes but before they are one-punched into bloody smithereens.
  • Inverted with King, Saitama's counterpart who looks very threatening, and is intimidating enough to brand a villain melt with pure fear. However, Rex himself is a complete Non-Action Guy who became an S-Class hero thank you to taking credit for Saitama's victories. When not "in character", King is a wussy nerd.

• In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Gyutaro had a very scrawny body when he was human nonetheless he apparently was very strong, he himself seems surprised past this fact, once Gyutaro became proficient with a sickle he played with by himself, he could overpower men bigger than him to collect debts; every bit a demon Gyutaro got big muscular arms but his trunk remained extremely sparse.
• Dragon Ball Every Saiyan and one-half-Saiyan as a kid, also as characters similar smaller characters like Krillin pack a massive corporeality of forcefulness and power. Until he was a late teen Goku, for example, was a short messy-haired kid with a tail who in his beginning appearance lifted a machine. Which itself is nothing compared to the amount of times he effortlessly defeats much larger opponents in tournaments or battles many of whom such as Pamput severely underestimated him due to his stature and age. In spite of his deceiving size, Goku as a preteen and young teen defeated the entire Cerise Ribbon Army by himself, almost won two globe tournaments and killed the infamous King Piccolo whom not fifty-fifty Roshi could defeat.
  • His and Vegeta's sons brand his application of this trope wait similar nothing. Gohan his first son at kickoff glance appears to be nothing simply a normal gentle, cheerful, peaceful young boy with none of his father's strength or ferocity until you get him aroused by threatening those he loves. At 4 he was stiff enough through pure rage to wound Raditz, a feat Goku and Piccolo the strongest fighters on Earth had to team up to practice. At but age 11 Gohan had grown and then powerful he had completely surpassed Goku who in turn placed all his hopes in Gohan to defeat Cell. Like before, at first Gohan acts meek and holds dorsum confounded past having to fight, just later Jail cell'south cruelty awakened his inner rage and forcefulness in the course of Super Saiyan 2 Gohan near sadistically, brutally and easily overwhelmed Prison cell who Goku had no gamble of beating and somewhen defeated him.
  • Much like Gohan, Goten and Trunks are prodigies at a young age. Achieving the once only mythical Super Saiyan land at ages 7 and eight respectively and were stronger than Frieza. Once more, in spite of being cheerful, playful kids who were prone to bouts of immaturity.
  • This trope is hilariously showcased equally well in the world tournament during the Buu Saga. Krillin's first opponent is a much larger fighter who relentlessly mocks his size and strength even saying he'd go the get-go shot. Seconds later he regretted this decision when Krillin with a bored facial expression immediately rendered him unconscious.
• Fairy Tail:
  • Natsu. He's agile, potent, practically Fabricated of Iron, and uses a very rare and powerful type of Fire Magic taught to him past a Dragon. Young man Dragon Slayer Gajeel also qualifies, and he'due south literally Made of Iron at times, being the Iron Dragon Slayer.
  • Both Dragon Slayers are particularly notable for being extremely powerful with or without magic, as near all other magic users are physically weak, and virtually all other fighter types can't employ magic. Some exceptions would be Erza, Mirajane, the bogus dragon slayers and Zero of Oración Seis.
• Eclair from Kiddy Grade, who tin take and defeat guard robots and gainsay cyborgs twice her size. Fittingly enough her name means "lightning bolt" in French.
• One Piece:
  • Luffy from certainly doesn't look like he is very potent and resilient. Thinking that has been the mistake of almost every Large Bad of the series. Mooks to this 24-hour interval yet mock Luffy for existence a shrimp even subsequently he'south stood upward to Kaido whose the Globe's Strongest Human being.
  • Sanji likewise. Lean and swift on his feet... with enough leg-power to casually kick aside massive beasts, giants, and buildings. Though Sanji is actually more buff underneath his Clark Kent Outfit.
  • Zoro, besides. He looks only slightly more vitrify than Sanji. He overpowered muscle-jump Miss Monday. Twice, he shoved huge hunks of droppings off of himself. And he routinely practices his sword swings using huge barbells most equally big every bit himself.
    • In that location'due south a skilful reason all three, in spite of appearances are known collectively as the Monster Trio.
• Rurouni Kenshin:
  • Sanosuke. Though, his speed has generally been downplayed due to it beingness a specialty of the main graphic symbol. From the kickoff of the manga, he'southward been noted to be very quick, even with a massive zanbatou. Afterwards abandoning that weapon, he's been able to trade blows with fellow Lightning Bruiser Anji and block gunfire with a well timed Futae no Kiwami.
  • Kenshin himself is every bit the difficult-hitting speedster. While he's taken to striking with the blunt edge of his blade, he still manages to cause knockouts and cleaved bones. He's also managed to go on fighting despite suffering grave injuries.

• Gatomon from Digimon Adventure may be tiny and cute, likewise every bit fast as ane would look. Only she'southward really a Champion Digimon and extremely strong.

• Bleach:
  • Soifon is the main instance of the serial. She'southward a tiny woman but is one of the fastest captains in the Gotei 13. Her attacks are based on her exceptional speed and employ information technology to full advantage. On height of that, however, the Official Homemade confirms that her strongest ability is actually her physical forcefulness rather than her speed. As a issue, she'southward the unarmed combat expert of the captains, something that allows her to apply her two strongest abilities together and to their maximum potential. In the manga, her great physical strength manifests in bankai course. Equally a nuke.
  • Yoruichi is Soifon's mentor and idol. Soifon has spent a century try to surpass Yoruichi in both speed and strength but hasn't fabricated information technology however. Yoruichi's reliance on her force and speed together is so great that, different fifty-fifty Soifon, she doesn't even carp to use her zanpakutou in battle.
• Naruto- Many of the top tier Naruto shinobi motility insanely fast & yet can hit deceptively potent. Some prominent examples would be Minato, Maito Gai, Rock Lee etc.
• Fullmetal Alchemist's King Bradley is a lean one-time man who moves with Olympic athlete level speed, evades bullets with ease, and hits hard plenty to completely amputate a person in seconds.
• Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma ½
  • Ranma himself, since he is capable of throwing hundreds of punches in the space of a second, and each one of those punches is likely capable of shattering multi-ton boulders. Ranma seems to have an average teenager build, and can fifty-fifty turn into a daughter, yet "her" strength remains unchanged.
  • "Lost Boy" Hibiki Ryoga carries an umbrella with him that he uses equally a truncheon, a javelin or as cutting disc. A minor graphic symbol in one case tried to lift it, simply failed despite using both hands. Ryoga, however, retrieves it with 1 mitt effortlessly, though he looks like an otherwise normal boy his historic period.

• Masataka Takayanagi from Tenjou Tenge, it looks like an average student and the weaker brother compared with Mitsuomi, merely results he'south a powerful fighter that represents the Natsumi Dojo existence Maya'south all-time student, also has a subconscious power when he gets mad. When he tried to take the school, Soichiro Nagi taste of kickoff paw the (hidden) power of Masataka, being defeated by him and later joining to Maya's side to get stronger and defeat all the ones stronger than him, Masataka included.
• Durarara!!: Shizuo Heiwajima looks like a pretty ordinary guy, admitting dressed upwardly similar a bartender. But people apace acquire not to cantankerous him because this guy routinely rips vending machines out of the physical and heaves them at people he doesn't like. He can literally leave people Punched Across the Room.
• Inuyasha has the titular hero, who does not expect very muscular, but he is 1 of the strongest characters in the anime. Generally this is true for a lot of hanyou, every bit well every bit youkai that can shapeshift into homo-looking forms.
• Alloy-South:
  • Hideri is a very convincing male-to-female transvestite and is considered short for a girl his age. Yet he has caught a falling Akizuki and later pushes Dino with enough strength to brand him autumn towards the wall: this despite those two are adults of at least normal build. Justified as his family runs a subcontract, so he's used to physical labor.
• Kaguya-sama: Honey Is War: Despite Kaguya'due south delicate-looking trunk (not to mention the fact that she's at adventure for heart disease), her years of practicing archery have resulted in her having a bully deal of arm strength. Ishigami wasn't able to so much as make her budge when they arm wrestled in affiliate 117 and her adult older brother Unyo was sent tumbling to the ground with a single punch in chapter 185.
• In Sailor Moon, all the Crewman Soldiers have Super Strength, and even in civilian class are superior to normal humans, but Minako shows it the all-time, existence rather short and known to effortlessly crush upward three or four people larger than she is before getting whatsoever ability (said people were her male classmates, and were terrified when they realized what she was well-nigh to do).
• A Certain Magical Index: Touma Kamijou may await similar a scrawny teenager, but he is shown to have punched people across varying distances, with varying degrees of ability, and in one case used his unnatural strength to knock away a large metal cross that looked like it would've weighed several tons. Using his completely normal human left manus.
• Nadeshiko in Laid-Back Campsite looks like a normal loftier-school girl, nonetheless having the highest muscle forcefulness of the entire cast. For instance, during the 4th episode, Chiaki and Aoi are surprised of her running around with the camping supplies when the ii are starting to get wearied. The 2 even talk over having her carry their gear for them. The internal justification is also the reason why she is Formerly Fat—lots of do.
• Musuko ga Kawaikute Shikataganai Mazoku no Hahaoya:
  • Played for Laughs when Minami tries to carry Gospel and nearly drops him considering of how heavy he is. Being an babe demon, and having scaly wings at his waist and a tail considering of that, Gospel weighs in at most 40 pounds. Chiharu, on the other mitt, has no trouble holding Gospel as if he weighed no more than and then any other baby.
  • Garon mentions Lizette possesses incredible physical strength for a child demon. When she was five years onetime, she was able to easily suspension through metal bars intended to contain her.
• Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa UraBoss desu ga Maou de wa arimasen: Many people refuse to believe Yumiela being Level 99, due to that level being manner above annihilation heard of before and her frail physical appearance. The Second Prince even tried to go her expelled by claiming she was lying. It isn't until she demonstrates how powerful she is that people beginning to accept that she's telling the truth.

    Comic Books

• The Flash, whenever the writers don't forget how much it sucks to be punched past someone going that fast. ◊ This has varied over the years, and nonetheless varies with the writer. In Wally West'south starting time hundred issues or and so, he could normally hitting no harder than a typical athlete — his aureola absorbed most of the energy. Every bit the editor pointed out, Wally would break his easily with every punch otherwise. When the Speed Force was introduced, information technology quickly became a catch-all answer to physics gripes; thus Wally'due south been delivering super-punches again, apparently using the Speed Forcefulness to sneak around Newton's tertiary.

• Spider-Human being has enhanced forcefulness, reflexes, and agility. Despite that, as Peter Parker he'south has been known as "Puny Parker" and treated equally a skinny nerd. Almost villains and even some heroes write off Spidey as a lightweight to their cost. During Secret Wars (1984) Spider-Man at 1 betoken dropped Bulldozer of the Wrecking Crew with a single dial right in front of the Absorbing Man (whose thought bubble acknowledges the "squirt" is trouble) and quickly absorbs some alien steel before he even tries fighting Spidey.
• The Enchantress is, to all appearances, simply a alpine, impossibly-bonny woman, usually wearing either expensive, designer outfits in the style of Midgard, or ornate and revealing costumes suitable for the most corrupt assemblage of courtly nobility. In neither instance is she conveying whatsoever sort of weapon, and her bearing is one of elegantly-graceful poise and sensuality, not anything that implies physical danger or even dangerous athleticism. However, she is Asgardian, which means the alpine slim woman you and your mugger friends but cornered on that darkened street is significantly stronger than Spider-Man, and has the speed and endurance to chase you down and destroy y'all with her bare hands, all without even bothering to utilize her immense array of magical abilities (and besides while wearing vi-inch stiletto heels)
• Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja has been trained equally a ninja for most of his life and the deadliest killer on World. Though strong, he commonly relies on his speed, agility, and expertise to defeat his enemies, preferring more subtle methods.

• Asterix:
  • Asterix, a small human who withal is superstrong afterward having boozer the magic potion.
  • While Obelix is a very large human being, he's also very fat and non noticeably muscled. Nevertheless, he's permanently superstrong due to falling into the cauldron of potion when he was a baby.
• Early issues of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four take Susan Richards equally the Invisible Girl, routinely hiding from adversaries and shielding the squad when necessary. During John Byrne'southward run on the serial, Susan Took a Level in Badass, and was able to demolish as many Doombots as Ben Grimm. In fact, while she'd been Brainwashed and Crazy past the Hatemonger, she nearly wiped the pavement with her iii teammates.
  • In recent years, villains who know them are wary of Reed's intellect, Johnny's fire abilities, and Ben's strength and concrete toughness. They are utterly terrified of Susan.
• The eponymous atomic number 82 of Jessica Jones is a short, slender adult female, admittedly unimposing and unintimidating, and capable of throwing grown men twice her size across the room with one arm.
• Ten-Men:
  • Wolverine isn't exactly scrawny, however, this trope still comes into effect because of his Healing Factor. 1 side effect is that it increases the density of both his muscles and bones, allowing them to exert more force than would be possible for an ordinary homo without violent them off their ligaments, breaking their own basic, or liquefying their muscles from over-exertion. His unbreakable adamantium skeleton finer takes this Upwards to Eleven, by removing 1 of the key limits to the corporeality of muscle power a normal homo can exert.
  • X-23 for much the same reasons, though not to the same extent since her basic aren't bonded. Yet, in her instance, it's much more exaggerated since rather than a short but heavily-muscled man, she's a brusk, slight, pretty teenage girl.
  • Nightcrawler is skinny as Spider-Man, yet he can lift an unabridged adult female above his head 1-handed and has even given Sabretooth a run for his money in a close-quarters fight.
  • Storm is a willowy African woman, who tin pull Stonewall (who apparently weighs over a ton) 1-handed out of a swamp, even he couldn't believe it.
  • The showtime guardian of the One thousand'kraan Crystal seen during the original Phoenix saga in the X-men looks similar a small and fairly weak dwarf, Wolverine speedily learns otherwise after mocking him every bit with one punch he sent Wolverine into space at escape velocity.
  • Rogue is a slim lady, well-nigh X-Men tower over her and Rogue's Love Involvement (now married man) Gambit is much more than muscly than her. Of course, Rogue is actually far stronger than him and most X-Men to boot being a Flying Brick able to go toe to toe with the freaking Juggernaut.
• Guess Dredd: Judge Death is an armored skeletal Judge who weighs a mere 67 kilos, simply is strong enough to throw boulders into the air.

    Fan Works

• In Not Erstwhile, Alone or Done For, Wendy is surprised by Peter'southward strength. He's only twelve just she tin can't get out of his grasp even as an adult.

    Films — Animation

• The first indication that Hercules is abnormally strong comes while Hercules is a mere infant, and his proud parents are showing him off to the other gods on Olympus. Male parent Zeus strokes the infant with one finger and all of a sudden finds himself lifted overhead by his newborn son. "Ooh, and he's potent, like his Dad."
• My Niggling Pony: Equestria Girls: Applejack looks as slight equally the other girls, still has moments demonstrating she'south the strongest of the group. In the first movie, 2 jocks help Twilight lift a nearby table, then stop and wait on slack-jawed as Applejack passes by easily carrying a similar-sized table under one arm. In Rainbow Rocks, she effortlessly catches a random punch from Rainbow Nuance. It gets pushed Upwards to Eleven in Legend of Everfree where her magic develops into genuine Super Strength, and she kickoff showing off superhero levels of physical power.
• How to Train Your Dragon has the Night Fury, Toothless, hands the fastest dragon in flight, and with one of the most powerful fire blasts. Too, despite being comparatively small, he easily survives hitting the ground any fourth dimension he gets shot downwardly or loses control of his flight.
• Spider-Ham from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse looks a harmless cartoon but equally Scorpion learned to his cost, this little piggy is badass with a Hyperspace Mallet.
  • Also Miles Morles, Gwen Stacy and Penni Parker are ridiculously potent for their size.
  • The offset warning sign about the lanky geeky scientist Olivia Octavius is how she effortlessly pushes Peter Parker across half the room and into a chair with a slight move of her palm.

    Films — Live-Activity

• MCU Spider-Man stands a slim five'eight existence a teenager and well-nigh other Avengers tower over him, however he yet wiped the flooring with Bucky Barnes and The Falcon (two experienced veterans), helped bring downwards Behemothic-Homo, got Obsidian Cull killed and held his ain against Thanos in close quarters and he's still learning.
• The Fauna of Kung Fu Hustle is an extremely unimpressive niggling old balding man with a potbelly, but he's got immense ability in his blows and is Fabricated of Atomic number 26 to kicking.
• Serenity: River Tam is a fairly petite and slender daughter who has been subjected to experiments that allow her to unleash some surprisingly powerful Waif-Fu.

  Launder: Start with the part where Jayne gets knocked out by a 90-pound girl, 'cause... I don't retrieve that'south always getting old.

• Alien: Resurrection - The version of Ripley in this film has alien DNA in her genetic code - this translates into enhanced strength, reflexes, agility and endurance than her advent would propose. She effortlessly knocks a big man flying with a backhand in one scene for example.

    Literature

• Sherlock Holmes counts, making this trope Older Than Television. Holmes is a tall, lanky man who is too a skilled martial artist and much stronger than he looks. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band, a murder suspect tries to intimidate him by bending a fire poker out of shape, just Holmes is not impressed and rather casually bends information technology straight again afterwards the man leaves.
• The Vord Queen in the Codex Alera books is terrifyingly powerful. While she looks a bit like a Cute Monster Daughter (or at to the lowest degree tries), she'southward faster and stronger than Aleran crafters using Bullet Time and Super Strength, crafts better than pretty much anyone anyway, can sew walls and ceilings, and is more often than not able to slice you to little pieces. Oh, and balest bolts bounce off her skin. To make matters worse, she's a bright commander with a massive, Hive Minded army consisting in large part of lesser Lightning Bruisers.
• Max the Silent from Andrew Vachss's Burke books, despite non looking very powerful at starting time glance, is expiry in close quarters. In the consequence that someone manages to land a accident on him, it becomes apparent that he tin can shrug off should-be-painful stuff like multiple human knee strikes from Muay Thai opponents.

• Not "scrawny", but Durnik from The Belgariad is of medium build and much stronger than he appears. (Working equally a blacksmith does that.)
• Big Trouble: Puggy is presented every bit this, he doesn't look that impressive, only has carried heavy loads for about of his life, every bit seen in the climax when he removes 3 weightlifters from someone without visible exertion.
• Pippi Longstocking: The titular character is this, existence a Super-Strong Child.
• Astra from Wearing the Greatcoat looks like a teenage girl (she'south actually just a petite adult) only is classified every bit one of the strongest Flying Brick Breakthroughs in the globe.
• Jace, Isabelle, Alec and Clary from The Mortal Instruments are shadowhunters. They are also teenagers, and do not look very strong, but each of them is superhuman strong and hunts demons. Simon, who is a vampire, besides qualifies for it. Actually, it applies to virtually vampires, werewolves, fairies, and nephilim. Sometimes, however, one is underneath, who looks quite muscular.
• The demigods in Percy Jackson and the Olympians wait like ordinary teenagers. However, each of them is superhuman stiff. An exception might exist the children of Ares and Hephaestus, who tin can look very muscular.

    Live-Action Tv set

• Star Trek:
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation. Data is a Ridiculously Human Robot who looks closer to normal Globe humans than the more imposing Nausicaans and Klingons. However, he bent a rod of par steel with a tensile strength of 40 kilobars (stronger than kevlar) with minimal endeavour in one episode using his bare hands. He also lifted a full size metal anvil effortlessly in some other. In 1 episode, a Klingon tried to headbutt him. Data didn't budge.
  • A lot of Vulcans (including Spock, the original) wait like slender geeks. While they prefer to use their intellect, they are quite a chip stronger than humans.
• Babylon 5: Similarly to Vulcans, the Minbari (outside the Warrior caste) don't look that imposing, but Delenn snaps a thick wooden staff with her bare hands, and her rather runty banana Lenier lifts a grown man by the neck.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
  • Buffy looks like an ordinary teenage daughter but has Super Strength. The same goes for nearly of the vampires, though some of those actually do expect pretty strong.
  • Caleb (the "priest") is besides much stronger than his appearance would suggest being able to throw a Slayer effectually similar a rag doll.
  • That probably applies to nearly all slayers. They are young girls who accept the physical powers of demons.
  • Yous also run across iii half-demons in Angel, Doyle, Connor and Billy Blim. Each of them does non look very strong or even muscled, even so each of them is superhumanly strong. There'south also a half-demon named Groosalugg who looks muscular, merely as a half-demon, he'due south much stronger than he looks.
  • An opponent of Buffy, the Hell Goddess Glory, had the appearance of a young woman, but was actually one of the strongest persons in the series.
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Cosmic Whiz Kid". Toman the assassin is from a high gravity planet. He looks rather weak but has superhuman strength in World-type environments, making him a formidable opponent.
• The artless and innocent Balki from Perfect Strangers is this. He is sometimes seen lifting heavy things and conveying people around (ofttimes his Cousin Larry) with seemingly no effort at all. When asked once most how he got his force, he said "lifting sheep, I suppose."
  • A unique Real Life case too, knowing that Bronson Pinchot usually but exhibited his ain strength in these moments without any assist from special effects or stunt actors.
• On Supernatural, Castiel looks like a bookish tax accountant who'd do poorly in a fight, especially when compared to the more patently muscled Winchesters. Ane graphic symbol even comments upon meeting him that Cas is scrawnier than he expected. Castiel tin easily elevator several hundred pounds and punching him is more likely to pause the attacker's mitt than hurt him. This trope applies pretty much universally to all angels and demons in homo bodies, as well as whatever monsters with outwardly human appearances, such equally vampires or shapeshifters.
• Wonder Woman: Every Amazon on Paradise Isle looks like a model, but tin demote press a car. And that doesn't get into a fraction of what Wonder Woman does during the series.

    Pro Wrestling

• Masato Yoshino from Dragon Gate is a Fragile Speedster minus the frail. He's the second smallest guy on the roster, but he can press guys his own size over his head, and knock guys much bigger than himself flying across the ring with a dropkick.
• AJ Styles, while looking like an average-sized man, is not simply lightning fast and agile, simply tin can casually lift and tackle behemoths similar Samoa Joe and Completeness, and can stand up and carry someone who is using a jujigatame (crucifix armbar) on him.

    Sports

• Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao, at this signal the near famous boxer to come from Philippines. He started his career at a thin and wiry 106 pounds, has advanced all the style to 147 (virtually unheard of in Boxing). And his KO percentage has risen, while he retains the aforementioned blinding manus speed he had at lower weights. Many a fighter in his heyday would detect out just how dangerous such a combo can be, be it a withering nonstop onslaught that wears out the likes of David Diaz, or a One-Hit KO just right that ends the night correct at that place for Ricky Hatton. While non as abrupt as he once was, his domination of Lucas Matthysse shows he still has a expert chunk of that legendary power.
• Marker Recchi is small for a hockey player who plays a physical style (5'10, 180 pounds) simply early in his career was nicknamed "The Wrecking Brawl" for his propensity to crash into opponents, many larger than himself. Pat Verbeek, also qualifies, earning the astonishing nickname "The Little Brawl of Hate". Dissimilar Recchi, he was also known for fighting.
• Mixed Martial Arts
  • UFC Featherweight champ Jose Aldo fights at 145 lbs and is known for his amazing knockout power in his hands, feet and knees.
  • UFC Middleweight gnaw Anderson "The Spider" Silva is a tall, skinny fighter at 185 lbs and is known for his one-punch knockout ability too equally his effortless evasion on the anxiety. He's broken UFC records for winning streaks and title defenses.

    Tabletop Games

• Dungeons & Dragons:
  • Monks were intended to be this. They were meant to take loftier motility speed and hit very often. Unfortunately, the 3.v version is oft considered to be quite lacking at high levels of optimization. The 4e version does somewhat amend as a relatively effective striker.
  • Anyone who is naturally weak simply possesses or uses a magic/psionic item that grants increased forcefulness. Examples include drinking a Potion of Giant Strength or wearing a Girdle of Giant Forcefulness.
• Old World of Darkness: Vampires grow stronger every bit they age, and their physical strength is no longer continued to their appearance. An ancient vampire, or one with high level of Potence, might look like a slender adult female, an sometime man, or a child and notwithstanding accept the strength to rip a human being's head off.
• The nature of the New World of Darkness character-edifice system dictates these — damage is determined by Strength + skill, and speed is determined by Force + Dexterity + five. If yous take high strength, you're quick and powerful.
• Exalted: since there'south goose egg any preventing you lot from ownership, say, Melee, Athletics and Resistance (for Solars), Dexterity and Stamina (for Lunars), or Malfeas and Adorjan (for Infernals), these tend to emerge quite rapidly. A Malfean soak/damage build using Adorjani run-like-the-wind and hurricane flurry magic is something you practise not want to meet in a dark aisle - her ridiculously high Soak and Hardness mean all merely the most barbarous attacks will simply bounce off, and she's probable able to outrun a Bugatti Veyron and rip off enormous rains of radioactive blows. Solars are just as unpleasant, albeit more focused on technical skill and proficiency than weird Primordial ability.

    Video Games

• Dragon Historic period: Origins: For a mage with an Arcane Warrior specialization, their spellpower becomes a limiting factor for available armor and weapons instead of physical strength. Therefore your PC could exist a fragile elven maiden in total adamantium plate swinging a zweihander that is longer than she is tall. As well, since the other go-to magical specialization is Blood Magic which requires a ton of HP to cast spells from, said maiden will most likely be secretly beefier than the resident beefcakes like Ogren or Sten.
• Vaan from Final Fantasy XII, even if he may look scrawny, by virtue of him excelling in all stats.

• Fire Keepsake:
  • Tellius (ninth and tenth) installments
    • Ike is a pretty straightforward example of this. In Path of Radiance, he starts out a Delicate Speedster, but about halfway through, he becomes almost every bit stiff and well armored as the Mighty Glaciers, but likewise retains his initial speed advantage. He starts out this way in Radiant Dawn, and merely gets better (disallowment slight speed issues).
    • As is Sety (who actually has the possibility of getting enemies a 0% chance to hitting him) and the swordmaster class.
    • Pretty much Whatever Second Generation FE 4 character. Except for poor Corpul. Even those who'd announced to be Squishy Wizards , like Yuria, for example (Yuria's notable, her Physical Defense sucks, similar a typical Squishy Wizard— but due to the fact that she's known for "vamping" via the Resire/Nosfetaru spell, are fully capable of taking fifty-fifty the hardest of hits and shrugging them off like they were zero) are examples of this.
  • Many "Mercenary/Hero" class characters gain smashing speed and strength gains. And are strong plenty to wield the heavier swords myrmidons cannot.
  • In Fire Keepsake: The Sacred Stones, you could do this easily with Amelia, who had excellent speed growths and, if promoted into a Knight, access to the mighty General form.
  • Trueblades, the class that Swordmasters plow into after level 20 in Radiant Dawn, could too count, especially Mia. They take a ridiculous evasion rate, hit their target almost of the fourth dimension, and between all of their offensive stats you'd be difficult-pressed to find annihilation curt of a mini-boss or boss that can survive more than a single round with one; usually they'll stop up getting killed past critical hits or their Astra ability.
• Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • Duke is the strongest character in the Sonic universe, even if he's as small as Sonic or Tails.
  • In Sonic Chronicles, Sonic is the Jack-of-All-Stats except for being the fastest character in the game. In the usual gaming fare, he's a Delicate Speedster and somewhat of a Glass Cannon merely it really just depends on whether yous can hold on to a single ring. In Sonic Unleashed, he does indeed play this straight, every bit he is able to move fast, destroy tough enemies, and lose simply 20 rings per hitting. Sonic's "Sonic boost" power also contributes.
• Image:
  • Alex Mercer of just seems like a guy in a hoodie and jacket. But he tin can run fast plenty to scale buildings and outrun helicopters. And can elevator cars above his head, dropkick people to send them flying a block abroad. And let's not even become into his blades, tentacles, claws, clubs, or shapeshifting powers. It helps that he has a ton of mass hidden beneath that lanky physique, to the betoken where a four-foot drop to the footing volition event in cracked pavement and simply standing on a tank will noticeably dull it downwards; definitely a hard-hit speedster.
  • The sequel [PROTOTYPE 2] gives protagonist James Heller similar powers, and a comparison between the two reveals that Mercer is stronger, but Heller is much faster.
• Several characters in Resident Evil.
  • Jill Valentine stands at a slim 5'5 and weighs at ‎50.four kg yet Jill tin still push heavy stone blocks around, overpower numerous foes with She-Fu and in RE3 she'due south strong enough to shove the hulking Nemesis off a bridge. In RE5 Jill becomes outright superhuman thanks to Bio-Augmentation.
  • Claire Redfield clearly isn't equally bulky every bit her brother being 5'half-dozen tall and weighing merely 52.4 kg. Regardless Claire is still strong enough to kicking zombies effectually, grapple with monsters and in the RE2make Claire wields the Minigun (the average Minigun weighs over 85 lbs btw).
  • Helena Harper from RE6 looks as petite as other RE heroines, but she's strong enough to wrestle zombies and monsters, easily climb a vertical cable wire hand-over-hand and help Leon push a boulder.
  • Albert Wesker is a male instance, especially Resident Evil 5. He tin movement faster than a human center could perceive, yet is able to dial through a metal wall (not mentioning a ribcage and spine), lift and hurl a missile like a dart, and has a Healing Factor on the verge of immortality. He oft hides information technology backside a normal concern arrange, a labcoat, or a blackness longcoat. Maybe the most laconic summation of all his Lightning Bruiser features in ane move: he can take hold of a rocket fired at him and agree it still; said rocket and so exploding in his hands but dazes him.
  • Leon Scott Kennedy in most games is pretty skinny and looks similar a real pusheover, however Leon has strength to kick heads off with one Roundhouse Kick, suplex villains so hard their skulls explode, hold open the jaws of mutated shark, push button a boulder over, stagger a Monstrous Humanoid with an ax kick to the head and back up the weight of a grown woman and her massively mutated blood brother while danlging from a metal bar. Even as a rookie Leon walks off getting shot and when he's professional agent, he tank tank straight hits from Tyrants.

• Devil May Cry:
  • Dante looks like any other human, as many of the bosses assume. However, his devil heritage gives him both the Healing Gene to shrug off humanly-fatal wounds and the ability and speed to tear enemies a new ane with ease. At least in cutscenes.
  • Trish, unlike Dante is willowly yet she tin can all the same lift a mototbike higher up her caput and throw it at Dante.
  • Arkham from Devil May Cry iii: Dante's Enkindling doesn't look that physically imposing at all, yet he'southward strong enough to flip-throw a solid wooden desk at Dante with ane hand and later on on is able to transport Lady, Dante, and Vergil all flying with one proficient boot (granted Dante and Vergil were both worn out from fighting each other).

• Neku and Joshua from The World Ends with You are both cases of this. They are rather scrawny and small in stature simply the former has a massive Super Power Lottery array of Psychic Powers at his disposal, ranging from Psychokinesis, to Pyrokinesis and more, and is hands the most powerful Actor in the story while the latter can summon holy beams of light to rain down on his foes, as well being revealed to be a Physical God.

• The Big Sisters in BioShock 2 are much faster and more active than the Big Daddies, and able to dish out a surprising corporeality of hurt. They are also probably the most terrifying enemy you lot face in the game...and this is RAPTURE we're talking about.
• The junction system in Final Fantasy VIII allows the actor to boost whatever graphic symbol's Strength, Stamina, and Speed dramatically by linking the stats to the right kinds of magic, merely Zell deserves particular mention; his stat growth is naturally designed to brand him hit fast and hard. At higher levels and with skilful junctions, his ATB speed becomes noticeably faster than the rest of the party'due south.
• Wild Artillery 2 has the protagonist Ashley Winchester who fits this trope like a glove. Even though his build is average, he'southward got a pretty expert HP, can insanely be fast fifty-fifty without his Accelerator Force Activity, can deal expert damage, and yet wields a bayonet that looks like a BFS. And that's not even getting into his Superpowered Evil Side.
• Curvation-Viles in the Doom series are fast, can accept tons of damage, are resistant to flinching, attack with a mortiferous line-of-sight fire spell, and tin can revive or summon enemies.
  • The Doomguy in the onetime games also qualifies. He carries an alarming number of heavy weapons and runs at something approaching highway speeds.
• Shadow Man the robot ninja in Mega Man three is similar to Quick Man from Mega Man 2, but faster and tougher, and has the aforementioned sliding ability as Mega Human being. Catch is, if you know the right sequence, you lot tin employ this against him. ^Explanation He's weak to Pinnacle Spin, meaning you want him to get close. Plus he has a pretty predictable attack pattern yous can exploit.
• Defying the common expectations of his job class, Zidane Tribal of Final Fantasy IX is a surprisingly hard hitter and has skilful HP, but counterbalanced by his lack of heavy armor (of which only two characters in the game utilize anyway). So he becomes a directly-up nuker in his Super Fashion.

• Yuuto and Etrangers in general function as this in Aselia the Eternal - The Spirit of Eternity Sword which is why they are valued so highly. While Yuuto has basically no skill in gainsay to start, he'southward notwithstanding a lucifer for all only the near skilled and powerful of spirits. Too, Eternals.

• P.N.03's Vanessa Z. Schneider. Just looks like your boilerplate female adult protagonist, but with Blackbird adapt, unlocked on a New Game+, she has all stats maxed out, making Vanessa one of these. To a lesser extent in that location'southward the Ultra Fusion, arguably the best not-secret suit.

• In Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (specifically, Ultimate), Phoenix Wright becomes this in Turnabout Style. Notwithstanding a normal lawyer through and through, only with all evidences ready, he tin can admission the mode and able to spam highly damaging Finger Poke of Doom, too equally performing the 2nd strongest ^notation Vergil's own is only slightly stronger Level 3 Hyper Combo in the game.

• In Buriki One, there're Takato Saionji and Song Xuandao, a skinny young boy and an old homo, respectively. Both fighters managed martial arts that specialize in easily defeat fighters more muscular and taller than them by using their strenght against them. Takato uses Aikido and Song uses Tai Chi Chuan, and both manage their martial arts very well, necessary in a game full of Muscles Are Meaningful.
• The titular Problems from Bug! appears to look like a small dark-green bug that's decidedly not muscular, and relies on a stinger tail for a physical assail. Notwithstanding, he'south capable of pushing blocks that are larger than him — the manual fifty-fifty tells you he's stronger than he looks, by virtue of being an insect.

  Game manual: Many insects can elevator over vii times their trunk weight. Apply that muscle! Push blocks to build gangways to out-of-achieve areas.

    Webcomics

    Web Original

• Scarlet vs. Blueish: Agent Texas and Carolina. Downplayed; similar nearly freelancers, they only look like normal soldiers (admitting in armour) just are exceptionally fast and difficult-hitting, fifty-fifty amidst their fellows.

• Kanata Amane of hololive, despite her young age, reportedly below-average size, and a history of underlying health problems, has a reputation of being the physically strongest member of the bureau, revealing during a Ring Fit Adventure livestream that she has a grip strength of 50 kg (for reference, the boilerplate grip strength for women is around 25-35 kg). Fellow hololive member and real-world roommate Coco Kiryu has repeatedly affirmed Kanata's inexplicable strength and how useful it is around the house, and even her doctor was confused past it relative to her lack of musculus mass.

    Western Animation

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Multiple:
  • Both of the Fire siblings. They may be young merely they're very talented firebenders, especially Azula who can curve lightning.
  • The same serial also gives united states Toph and Aang. Although you would expect Aang to be more than of a Fragile Speedster, mastering all the elements other than just air really helps him with the bruisin'.

• Droopy: Puny dog who has surprised many of his opponents past beating the shit out of them when you make him mad.
• When The Flintstones neighbors, the Rubbles, decided to adopt a Doorstop Infant, Barney reached out a finger to stroke the beautiful male child. The baby responded by gripping Barney's finger, and promptly demonstrated Metronomic Homo Mashing with him. Barney, glad to have a salubrious son, took this well.

• My Trivial Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
• Candace from Phineas and Ferb has demonstrated remarkable forcefulness on few occasions despite beingness a teenager. These occasions include when was able to cripple an alligator with her bare easily ("Fireside Daughter Jamboree") and when she subdued a behemothic video game boss Buford by smacking him beyond the face with her in-game life bar ("Gaming the Organization"). She can perform one-handed push-ups ("I Was a Centre Aged Robot") and she has also been shown to exist able to elevator and carry her mother with no apparent difficulty.
• The Simpsons: Ned Flanders has been shown as quite muscled underneath his wearing apparel.
• Female vampire Carmilla in Castlevania is physically petite and still she nevertheless kicked the muscly Godbrand downwardly a staircase similar a soccer brawl.
• In Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), hands Sonic. Though in the games he is unremarkably much more a Delicate Speedster, hither he can dial and kick robots (kicking makes sense...), and when already running, throw things multiple times his size with his momentum. He is also the only Freedom Fighter to have broken security cameras by throwing junk at them...with ONE hand...
• Teen Titans: In the showtime episode when Cinderblock grabs her, Starfire (an otherwise scrawny looking teenage conflicting) outright states the trope before she gives him a mighty kick to the face that sends him flight back.
• Tom and Jerry: Jerry is able to beat up Tom with a force incommunicable for someone his size. He has besides lifted up other things like golfclubs and the like. Muscles, Jerry's cousin, takes this to an fifty-fifty more extreme degree, existence much stronger and tin can easily defeat cats much bigger than he is.

    Real Life

• Bruce Lee. At five'vii", 140 pounds, he was the paradigm of the Pint-Sized Powerhouse. Fable has it that he could hit a leather punching bag then difficult that information technology would tear a hole in it and so fast that a 24-frame-per-second video camera would have trouble following him every bit annihilation but a blur.

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Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StrongerThanTheyLook

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