History Main / ArrogantGodVsRagingMonster

* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Gilgamesh makes a return appearance from ''Fate Zero'' (his first appearance, franchise-chronology speaking) and in ''Unlimited Blade Works'' gets in a climactic battle is once again the arrogant god to another Berserker, this time fellow demi-god Heracles. [[spoiler:Gilgamesh wins handily this time around, as a result of being the perfect counter to Heracles' AdaptiveAbility, directly targeting Ilya [[TakingTheBullet to force Heracles to defend her]], and having a tool on hand to immobilize divine beings that would not have affected the BlackKnight. Berserker still comes within inches of a MutualKill by simple dint of being too angry to die when he should have.]]

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Ichigo and Byakuya have this dynamic during the Soul Society arc. Ichigo is hot-blooded and a largely untrained Soul Reaper who relies primarily on his high spiritual power and brute strength, while lacking any skill in or knowledge of how to use kido magic. Byakuya is a refined, haughty elite and Soul Reaper captain with training in all forms of Soul Reaper combat. Despite attaining his Bankai, Ichigo would have lost their rematch had [[SuperPoweredEvilSide his Inner Hollow]] not interceded, injuring Byakuya enough for Ichigo to win.
** The haughty and nihilistic Arrancar Ulquiorra spends the majority of his final battle with Ichigo attempting to teach him despair via a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown before blowing a hole in his chest with a Cero Oscuras. Ulquiorra then turns his attention to brutalizing Ishida, and Orihime desperately begs Ichigo to get up and save them. Ichigo's Inner Hollow [[OneWingedAngel takes the wheel]] and returns the favor with interest -- easily no-selling and/or overpowering Ulquiorra's attacks before vaporizing the majority of his body with a massive point-blank Cero.

On the other hand, the berserker is practically considered a force of nature, not truly aligned to any faction. A raging juggernaut with an often monstrous appearance, that can plow through everything and everyone, [[TheDreaded earning such a fearsome reputation]] that anyone in their right mind would prefer to ''stay the hell out of their way''. They either aren't very intelligent, or are too blinded by rage to think properly, but may also show an unexpected degree of cunning given their behavior. Even so, their greatest assets are their monstrous brute strength, [[TheDeterminator sheer force of will]], and a knack for [[SuperToughness shrugging off nearly everything you can throw at them]], as well as making everyone tear their hair out and scream [[WhyWontYouDie "JUST DIE ALREADY!!!"]]

** The haughty and nihilistic Arrancar Ulquiorra spends the majority of his final battle with Ichigo attempting to teach him despair via a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown before blowing a hole in his chest with a Cero Oscuras. Ulquiorra then turns his attention to brutalizing Ishida, and Orihime desperately begs Ichigo to get up and save them. Ichigo's [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Inner Hollow]] takes the wheel and returns the favor with interest -- easily no-selling and/or overpowering Ulquiorra's attacks before vaporizing the majority of his body.
** This trope also applies to Ichigo and Byakuya's duel. Ichigo is a largely untrained Shinigami who relies primarily on his high spiritual power and brute strength, while lacking any skill in kido magic. Byakuya is a refined, haughty elite and Shinigami captain with training in all forms of Shinigami combat.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': The haughty and nihilistic Arrancar Ulquiorra spends the majority of his final battle with Ichigo attempting to teach him despair via a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown before blowing a hole in his chest with a Cero Oscuras. Ulquiorra then turns his attention to brutalizing Ishida, and Orihime desperately begs Ichigo to get up and save them. Ichigo's [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Inner Hollow]] takes the wheel and returns the favor with interest -- easily no-selling and/or overpowering Ulquiorra's attacks before vaporizing the majority of his body.

* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', Gilgamesh is by far the most powerful of the Servants invoked, and in general, of the whole Fate universe. Still, even if not capable of beating him, the anger-crazed Berserker is one of the few able to not only keep up with him, but of angering Gilgamesh enough to make him lose his cool, forcing him to open the Gate of Babylon almost entirely. Arriving to a point where Gilgamesh has to struggle to even land a hit on him, while Berserker struggles to even get near Gilgamesh.

Compare and contrast with ForceAndFinesse, WeakButSkilled, and UnskilledButStrong; in this case, the warrior is the weaker one that relies on trickery and skill, while the berserker is the stronger one that relies purely on brute force. See also SoldierVsWarrior, TechnicianVsPerformer, TigerVersusDragon, and ChevalierVsRogue for other martial matchups that use the same theme.

* ''VideoGame/MegamanX4'' reveals that [[spoiler:Sigma and Zero fought before the former went mad and became the series BigBad and the latter becoming a Maverick Hunter. Before X1, Sigma was the noble commander of the Maverick Hunters and the most powerful Reploid built at the time. Once he learned of a "Red Maverick" wrecking havoc and killing Reploids, he voluntarily set out to take care of him on his own to prevent more lives being lost. Zero, the [[TheBerserker Red Maverick]] who was built by Dr. Wily a century prior, had a program error in his brain that made him violent to anything that moved, thus he showed no fear or hesitation as he charged at the more experienced Sigma in a blind rage. Sigma, instead of finishing Zero off from the start with his LaserBlade, chose to fight hand to hand, waiting until Zero had an improvised weapons before drawing his own. For a while, they were even matched, with Sigma having a slight edge, until Zero gained the upper hand and savagely beat Sigma until his arm was ripped off, and half his was torn. Had the Wily symbol, which acted a fail-safe, not caused Zero enough pain to make him stop, Sigma would have lost his life. Though he won the fight by knocking him out, this event led to Sigma being infected by the Maverick Virus due to being in close proximity to Zero.]]
* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' is one instance of this trope after another, with the titular Asura, [[Irony a god himself]], opposing the Seven Deities and their armies of lesser deities armed with nothing but his [[AttackAttackAttack sheer, unyielding rage.]] Even killing him isn't enough to put him down, his wrath is so great that he just breaks out of hell to continue his rampage on no less than '''three''' separate occasions.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': This trope describes the rivalry between main hero and leader of the titular Order, Roy, and his evil half-orc counterpart from the Linear Guild, Thog. Roy is an extremely skillful and intelligent warrior, having trained at "Fighter College" for years and also being an experienced and savvy adventurer. He is designed as a subversion of the typical DumbMuscle fighter PlayerCharacter which has {{Min Max}}ed all brute strength and no Intelligence while Thog is the ''embodiment'' of that stereotype. Roy ''despises'' Thog for this as well for being a monstrous individual who kills when bored. Thog meanwhile is really too dumb to hate Roy, calling him "talky man." During a colosseum match between the two, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0791.html Roy brags about having Intelligence on his side]] and Thog runs down the list of the potential advantages Roy could gain from Intelligence, but doesn't (prestige class, damage rolls, armor class, saving rolls) before chiding him that Thog is smarter for his approach. Additionally, after Roy breaks his tusk, Thog enters into an UnstoppableRage that he beats Roy almost motionless and only continues to beat him for "talking" when Roy tries to surrender. If not for the intervention of his teammates, Roy would have been killed. Fortunately for him, however, the battle spills into the lower levels of the Colosseum, where Roy uses his intelligence to trick Thog into damaging the pillars supporting the ceiling, which then crumble and crush Thog. Exhausted and bruised, but victorious, Roy screams at his fallen adversary: "THAT'S how I use my Intelligence score in combat, DUMBASS!"

* ''VideoGame/MegamanX4'' reveals that [[spoiler:Sigma and Zero fought before the former went mad and became the series BigBad and the latter becoming a Maverick Hunter. Before X1, Sigma was the noble commander of the Maverick Hunters and the most powerful Reploid built at the time. Once he learned of a "Red Maverick" wrecking havoc and killing Reploids, he voluntarily set out to take care of him on his own to prevent more lives being lost. Zero, the [[TheBerserker Red Maverick]] who was built by Dr. Wily a century prior, had a program error in his brain that made him violent to anything that moved, thus he showed no fear or hesitation as he charged at the more experienced Sigma in a blind rage. Sigma, instead of finishing Zero off from the start with his LaserBlade, choice to fight hand to hand, waiting until Zero had an improvised weapons before drawing his own. For a while, they were even matched, with Sigma having a slight edge, until Zero gained the upper hand and savagely beat Sigma until his arm was ripped off, and half his was torn. Had the Wily symbol, which acted a fail-safe, not caused Zero enough pain to make him stop, Sigma would have lost his life. Though he won the fight, this event led to Sigma being infected by the Maverick Virus due to being in close proximity to Zero.]]

* ''VideoGame/MegamanX4'' reveals that [[spoiler:Sigma and Zero fought before the former went mad and became the series BigBad and the latter becoming a Maverick Hunter. Before X1, Sigma was the noble commander of the Maverick Hunters and the most powerful Reploid built at the time. Once he learned of a "Red Maverick" wrecking havoc and killing Reploids, he voluntarily set out to take care of him on his own to prevent more lives being lost. Zero, the [[TheBerserker Red Maverick]] who was built by Dr. Wily centuries prior, had a program error in his brain that make him violent to anything that moved, thus he showed no fear or hesitation as he charged at the more experienced Sigma in a blind rage. For a while, they were even matched, with Sigma having a slight edge, until Zero gained the upper hand and savagely beat Sigma until his arm was ripped off, and half his was torn. Had the Wily symbol, which acted a fail-safe, not caused Zero enough pain to make him stop, Sigma would have lost his life. Though he won the fight, this event led to Sigma being infected by the Maverick Virus due to being close proximity to Zero.]]

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': Almost an EnforcedTrope. [[ManaDrain Divine Dividing]] is the "Arrogant God", capable of stealing half the opponent's power to fuel the wielder's technical skills. [[GatheringSteam Boosted Gear]] is the "Raging Monster", doubling the holder's power every ten seconds to obvious effect. It's further reinforced in the current generation, where Divine Dividing is held by [[TheRival Vali Lucifer]], a BornWinner with enough Devil-power to fuel usually suicidal abilities with no drawback and plenty of experience as a SpiritedCompetitor[=/=]BloodKnight. Meanwhile Boosted Gear belongs to [[TheHero Issei Hyoudou]], a completely unremarkable human who couldn't even manifest his Sacred Gear until after his FirstEpisodeResurrection.

* ''VideoGame/MegamanX4'' reveals that [[spoiler:Sigma and Zero fought before the former went mad and became the series BigBad and the latter becoming a Maverick Hunter. Before X1, Sigma was the noble commander of the Maverick Hunters and the most powerful Reploid built at the time. Once he learned of a "Red Maverick" wrecking havoc and killing Reploids, he voluntarily set out to take care of him on his own to prevent more lives being lost. Zero, the [[TheBerserker Red Maverick]] had a program error in his brain that make him violent to anything that moved, thus he showed no fear or hesitation as he charged at the more experienced Sigma in a blind rage. For a while, they were even matched until Zero gained the upper hand and savagely beat Sigma until his arm was ripped off, and half his was torn. Had that Wily symbol not caused Zero enough pain to make him stop, Sigma would have lost his life. Though he won the fight, this event led to Sigma being infected by the Maverick Virus due to being close proximity to Zero.]]

* ''Videogame/BlazBlue:'' The third game introduces Azrael, a fighter with such [[SuperStrength phenomenal strength]], [[SuperToughness endurance]], and [[BloodKnight battle-lust]] that he can fight without any semblance of technique and still knock down virtually anyone who faces him - and that's with his PowerLimiter active so that he wouldn't knock his foes out too quickly. Hakumen, a strong and skilled legendary warrior himself, chooses to not engage him in a fight. Later, Azrael runs to Kagura, an ace fighter and Colonel of the NOL; when the two fights, Kagura can get around him with his skill but he can blow through Kagura's defenses with his strength. Kagura only defeats him by [[SheatheYourSword exploiting the fact that Azrael is under a geas that stops him from hurting anyone who isn't attacking him]], allowing Kokonoe to teleport him into her special prison. In the fourth game, Azrael frees himself and he and Kagura faces off each other again; this time the latter puts a better showing, forcing Azrael to unlock more of his limiters. Thankfully Jin comes and freezes him with his sword before he can go further.

* ''Videogame/BlazBlue:'' The third game introduces Azrael, a fighter with such [[SuperStrength phenomenal strength]], [[SuperToughness endurance]], and [[BloodKnight battle-lust]] that he can fight without any semblamce of technique and still knock down virtually anyone who faces him - and that's with his PowerLimiter active so that he wouldn't knock his foes out too quickly. Hakumen, a strong and skilled legendary warrior himself, chooses to not engage him in a fight. Later, Azrael runs to Kagura, an ace fighter and Colonel of the NOL; when the two fights, Kagura can get around him with his skill but he can blow through Kagura's defenses with his strength. Kagura only defeats him by [[SheatheYourSword exploiting the fact that Azrael is under a geas that stops him from hurting anyone who isn't attacking him]], allowing Kokonoe to teleport him into her special prison. In the fourth game, Azrael frees himself and he and Kagura faces off each other again; this time the latter puts a better showing, forcing Azrael to unlock more of his limiters. Thankfully Jin comes and freezes him with his sword before he can go further.

A recurring rivalry where [[TheAce an almost unbeatable warrior]] who has more than enough years of battle experience up their sleeve is pitted against [[TheBerserker a contender probably too angry to know who they are dealing with]], yet possessing enough power to give the former a run for their money.

*** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] depending on what version of the Hulk is fighting. As Bruce Banner has DDI and many alters, each Hulk has different traits. Joe Fixit is WeakButSkilled compared to the other hulk as he's a cunning and dirty fighter, The Professor is a JackOfAllStats while [[GeniusBruiser retaining Bruce's intellect]], World Breaker Hulk is easily strong enough to best most gods but his power tends to be uncontrollable and dangerous to everyone around him, of course then there's...The Devil/Immortal Hulk. The Immortal Hulk is more like a god or a demon in that he has explicitly mystical qualities, has resurrective immortality, can be dismembered and still move his bits and pieces which will rejoin if free and close together, can see into souls and smell the lies on people, and is so strong he can crack Thor's skull and beat him with one punch. Then again it may not be a SubvertedTrope in the immortal Hulk's case as he is very intelligent and enjoys BreakThemByTalking along with being a SoftSpokenSadist to his enemies.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': This trope describes the rivalry between main hero and leader of the titular Order, Roy, and his evil half-orc counterpart from the Linear Guild, Thog. Roy is an extremely skillful and intelligent warrior, having trained at "Fighter College" for years and also being an experienced and savvy adventurer. He is designed as a subversion of the typical DumbMuscle fighter PlayerCharacter which has {{Min Max}}ed all brute strength and no Intelligence while Thog is the ''embodiment'' of that stereotype. Roy ''despises'' Thog for this as well for being a monsterous individual who kills when bored. Thog meanwhile is really too dumb to hate Roy, calling him "talky man." During a colosseum match between the two, [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0791.html Roy brags about having Intelligence on his side]] and Thog runs down the list of the potential advantages Roy could gain from Intelligence, but doesn't (prestige class, damage rolls, armor class, saving rolls) before chiding him that Thog is smarter for his approach. Additionally, after Roy breaks his tusk, Thog enters into an UnstoppableRage that he beats Roy almost motionless and only continues to beat him for "talking" when Roy tries to surrender. If not for the intervention of his teammates, Roy would have been killed. Fortunately for him, however, the battle spills into the lower levels of the Colosseum, where Roy uses his intelligence to trick Thog into damaging the pillars supporting the ceiling, which then crumble and crush Thog. Exhausted and bruised, but victorious, Roy screams at his fallen adversary: "THAT'S how I use my Intelligence score in combat, DUMBASS!"

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'': Almost an EnforcedTrope. [[ManaDrain Divine Dividing]] is the "Arrogant God", capable of stealing half the opponent's power to fuel the wielder's technical skills. [[GatheringSteam Boosted Gear]] is the "Raging Monster", doubling the holder's power every ten seconds to obvious effect. It's further reinforced in the current generation, where Divine Dividing is held by [[TheRival Vali Lucifer]], a BornWinner with enough Devil-power to fuel usually suicidal abilities with no drawback and plenty of experience as a SpiritedCompetitor[=/=]BloodKnight. Meanwhile Boosted Gear belongs to [[TheHero Issei Hyoudou]], a completely unremarkable human who couldn't even manifest his Sacred Gear until after his FirstEpisodeResurrection. \\
As the plot wears on, the trope gets examined further. In particular, their fights make Issei realize that having SuccessThroughInsanity is only going to get him out alive so many times, and as soon as he's trained enough brute strength to avoid a HeroicRROD the first thing he does is start including more technique in his regimen. This makes him [[BoxingLessonsForSuperman exactly as dangerous as it sounds]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hulk_vs_thor_6.jpg]]

** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] depending on what version of the Hulk is fighting. As Bruce Banner has DDI and many alters, each Hulk has different traits. Joe Fixit is WeakButSkilled compared to the other hulk as he's a cunning and dirty fighter, The Professor is a JackOfAllStats while [[GeniusBruiser retaining Bruce's intellect]], World Breaker Hulk is easily strong enough to best most gods but his power tends to be uncontrollable and dangerous to everyone around him, of course then there's...The Devil/Immortal Hulk. The Immortal Hulk is more like a god or a demon in that he has explicitly mystical qualities, has resurrective immortality, can be dismembered and still move his bits and pieces which will rejoin if free and close together, can see into souls and smell the lies on people, and is so strong he can crack Thor's skull and beat him with one punch. Then again it may not be a SubvertedTrope in the immortal Hulk's case as he is very intelligent and enjoys BreakThemByTalking along with being a SoftSpokenSadist to his enemies.

It should be noted that in the story of Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh, the proud demigod king Gilgamesh found a WorthyOpponent and eventual friend in the beastman Enkidu by brawling with him, making this dynamic is actually very much OlderThanDirt. Some things just never change.

As the plot wears on, the trope gets examined further. In particular, their fights make Issei realize that having SuccessThroughInsanity is only going to get him out alive so many times, and as soon as he's trained enough brute strength to avoid a HeroicRROD the first thing he does is start including more technique in his regimen. This makes him exactly as dangerous as it sounds.

As the plot wears on, the trope gets examined further. In particular, their fights make Issei realize that being CrazyAwesome is only going to get him out alive so many times, and as soon as he's trained enough brute strength to avoid a HeroicRROD the first thing he does is start including more technique in his regimen. This makes him exactly as dangerous as it sounds.

The main characteristic of this type of matchup is the contrast between these two opponents. The warrior often has an aura of nobility around them, and has earned the respect and fear of both enemies and friends alike. They easily surpass all others on the setting of the work -- with many comparing them to a Main/PhysicalGod if they already aren't one -- using not just their own strength, but also their intelligence and wit to gain the upper hand in a fight. The warrior knows this, and can often be [[SmugSuper quite smug about their skills]]. If in spite of their power they show to be humble, expect them to be [[TheParagon a virtuous and exemplary heroic figure]], that simply talks down to their enemies because [[DontMakeMeDestroyYou they don't want to hurt them]].

On the other hand, the berserker is practically considered a force of nature, not truly aligned to any faction. A raging juggernaut with an often monstrous appearance, that can plow through everything and everyone, [[TheDreaded earning such a fearsome reputation]] that anyone in their right mind would prefer to ''stay the hell out of their way''. They either aren't very intelligent, or are too blinded by rage to think properly, but may also show an unexpected degree of cunning given their behavior. Even so, their greatest assets are their monstrous brute strength, [[TheDeterminator sheer force of will]], and a knack for [[SuperToughness shrugging off nearly everything you can throw at them]] as well as making everyone scream [[WhyWontYouDie "JUST DIE ALREADY!!!"]]