History HandicappedBadass / Literature

** Averted painfully with [[spoiler: Jaime Lannister]]: he loses his sword hand, which more or less [[BreakTheHaughty breaks him.]] He's suicidal for some time afterward, though he does pick up a bundle of GuileHero and/or BattleOfWits tendencies later on (ambiguity, yay). He becomes obsessed with recovering his skill -- apparently not realising that fighting left-handed is a ''new'' skill he needs to learn from scratch -- and terrified of someone finding out that he can't fight anymore.
** Tyrion Lannister, who doesn't let being born a dwarf stop him from personally leading charges in ill-fitting, last-minute armor and chopping down men twice his size. In one case, he forces his reluctant men to attack because they would look like total wimps if they were outmanned by someone they usually enjoy mocking. See also BattleOfWits. And GuileHero. Lannisters; underestimating them rarely goes well...

* ''Literature/NowhereStars'': Irida Deveraux, the Silver King, one of the most powerful and badass [[MagicalGirl Keepers]] in the setting, is in fact paralyzed from the waste down, even in her transformed state. It doesn't stop her much, as her main source of power is being a MinionMaster, commanding a host of spectral soldiers she controls with her shogi board, while she rides in on a magical palanquin.

* ''Literature/MobyDick'': Captain Ahab.

** Lord Vetinari suffered a crippling injury in ''Literature/MenAtArms''. A gun was invented, and the person who stole it shot Vetinari. They were aiming for his chest, but he stood up just in time that his thigh was hit instead. His reaction was to let Vimes carry him, not back to the palace but ''to Vimes's wedding'', say things like "It's OnlyAFleshWound" and "I seem to be losing a lot of blood" while wizards look at him, and make sure everyone in Ankh-Morpork knows damn well he's still alive. He now walks with a cane and is well known for being easily winded and lacking physical strength. You still wouldn't want to try anything on him because he isn't just absolute ruler of Ankh-Morpork. He's also a master assassin who killed own predecessor as Patrician by walking up to him and ''talking to him''. (On the other hand, in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' he's described as "skipping" when in disguise and the cane is not mentioned, leading to speculation among readers that he isn't as frail as he appears.)

* Kaz Brekker from ''Literature/SixOfCrows'' is this trope. He walks with a cane, but he's also the second in command of one of the most dangerous gangs in the city. And he ''earned'' that spot. Plus, his cane is specially-made to be weighted just right to shatter bones.

* Maedhros from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' was a strong elf warrior who was captured by [[BigBad Morgoth]] and hung by his right hand halfway up a cliff. He was [[LifeOrLimbDecision only rescued by having his right hand cut off]] -- and when he'd recovered from his imprisonment, he went on to be a more badass warrior with his left hand than he was with his right, despite being right-handed.
** Beren ''Erchamion'''s right hand was bitten off by a giant wolf... after he'd accomplished most, but not all, of the deeds for which he became famous. ("Erchamion" means "one-handed.")
* Literature/SirAproposOfNothing has been lame of the leg since he was born and requires a staff to hobble about. And this has not at all stopped him from kicking a great deal of ass. Especially impressive considering that he doesn't ''want'' to kick ass.

* In John French’s ''Literature/ThousandSons'' novels, Kadin loses all four of his limbs during a disastrous mission and has them replaced with low-quality, poorly-fitting prosthetics. Since Kadin is a Space Marine, this does not stop him from kicking ass with a bolter or chainsword, and he can hold his own against healthy Space Marines without difficulty.

** In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', Miles Vorkosigan, whose brittle bones and stunted growth enhance his badassitude. His mother implies that if he had grown up normally and been treated like anyone else, he would have been an intelligent and valued military officer; due to his disabilities and his society's extreme phobia of mutations, he has to work harder to overcome their expectations and ends up overshooting them by miles. Like all Barrayaran military officers, Miles trained extensively in hand-to-hand. He notes once that three-quarters of the moves are barred to him in a real fight due to his brittle bones, but the one-quarter remaining is still more than sufficient for him to grab a large and healthy man by the throat and toss him around a bit during ''Literature/ACivilCampaign''.

** From the same series, The Limper takes this trope UpToEleven. While initially handicapped [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as his name suggests]], he just gets more and more damaged as the series continues, without ever really slowing down. At his first appearance, he walks with a pronounced limp and his face is described as "ruined." In the second book, Croaker injures him to the point that would have killed a normal man, including severing his right arm and planting a seed of evil on his body. The third book reveals that the Lady had to hurt him even more to pry said seed out of him; his injuries aren't detailed, but he is described as a "wreck of humanity" and is bolted to a magical construct that allows him to float a few feet off the ground as he would otherwise be immobile. At the end of this book, he is beheaded and his remaining body parts burned--only for his severed head to return in ''The Silver Spike'' and go on a campaign of terror the likes of which haven't before been seen in the series. At the climax of ''The Silver Spike,'' he is referred to as the most powerful single being still in the North and regarded as a threat to the entire city of Orr--despite having lost his army and approaching the city with nothing but his prosthetic body. Even so, he is a match for the no fewer than five other wizards and is only narrowly defeated.