History Main / FeelingTheirAge

* Creator/{{Frank Miller}}'s ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' portrays {{Franchise/Batman}} like this. He starts as a RetiredBadass but soon returns to crime-fighting. Throughout the story, Batman keeps on lamenting how slow he's become, culminating in the fight between him and the leader of a mutant gang, who is, like Batman himself states, "in his physical prime". [[spoiler: Batman loses, but only because he "tried to fight like a young man". Later he beats the mutant leader with some CombatPragmatist moves.]]

** Shown with Quarrel II, Crackerjack, and on the villain side, Steeljack. Quarrel II and Crackerjack deal with being BadassNormal and having to deal with age beginning to dull their skills and slowing their recovery when they get injured (they're both in their 50s by this point) in contrast to their superpowered allies such as Black Rapier whose aging slowed to a crawl thanks to a SuperSoldierSerum.

* Hanako from''Manga/DinosaurSanctuary'' is elderly by ''Tyrannosaurus'' standards at 36 years old. She is no longer as active, or has as strong a bite, as she did in her younger days.

* Hiruzen Sarutobi of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was once known as [[TheDreaded The God of Shinobi]] for being the greatest ninja of his generation (and considering the other powerhouses we know existed at the time, this is no small feat). That was multiple decades ago, and while he fully retains his mental faculties (his knowledge of every single ninja jutsu and [[AwesomenessByAnalysis his ability to almost instantly deduce the mechanics of a new technique by seeing]] the HandSeals composing it earned him the nickname of "The Professor"), he is now forced to rely [[WeakButSkilled more on his knowledge and strategy than his strength]]. Fittingly, he dies not because he doesn't actually know how to counter his [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil former student]], but because his body cannot actually keep up, forcing him to attempt a TakingYouWithMe that fails, but successfully cripple Orochimaru's hands for ''years'' (and Orochimaru himself is a MadScientist, that he was succesfully weakaened for so long is quite the feat).

* In ''Videogame/DevilMayCry5'', if Dante dies in-game one of the lines he might say is "Man, I'm old".

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Tracey Sketchit's Scyther is undoubtedly a powerhouse, able to hold its own against all of Team Rocket's Pokémon by itself, but is noted to be elderly and often gets fatigued during long fights.

* ''Film/LethalWeapon'' series. Murtaugh's CatchPhrase was "I'm getting too old for this", appropriate for an older family man who had to deal with a wild card younger partner in Riggs. Nevertheless, he continued to say it through all the movies and it eventually came around to Riggs in ''Film/LethalWeapon4'', as he started to feel his age too.

* Hiruzen Sarutobi of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was once known as [[TheDreaded The God of Shinobi]] for being the greatest ninja of his generation. That was multiple decades ago, and while he fully retains his mental faculties (his knowledge of every single ninja jutsu and [[AwesomenessByAnalysis his ability to almost instantly deduce the mechanics of a new technique by seeing the HandSeals composing it]] earned him the nickname of "The Professor"), he is now forced to rely [[WeakButSkilled more on his knowledge and strategy than his strength]].

* Whitebeard from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is renowned as the WorldsStrongestMan [[spoiler: prior to his death]]. He is an extremely powerful man with a ridiculously earthquake based Devil Fruit powers who has proved more than enough that he is worthy of his title in the Marineford arc. However, the moment he starts coughing up blood in the middle of battle, it's made clear that the man is no longer in his prime and that old age hasn't been kind to him. Based on his remaining strength though, it's less that he's significantly weaker, and more like that the monstrously strong old man was even more of a monster in the past. He even once stated, "I may be a monster... but I'm not gonna be the strongest forever!" His first appearance on-panel showcases both his monstrous strength (he's a huge muscular giant of a man) and his declining health (he's hooked up to life support while being monitored by nurses).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': While Mr. Incredible is still a formidable superhero after 15 years of retirement, it's nonetheless shown that time, inaction, and age have gotten the better of him; he's [[FormerlyFit gained a lot of weight]], and while fighting the first Omnidroid, he ends up [[CrackOhMyBack throwing his back out]]. Averted with Elastigirl and Frozone despite being around the same age and having changed from their prime both are able to get back into the fight with relative ease compared to Bob. Helen's elastic powers presumably fend off the pains of older age (although she's notably gained a more "motherly" figure to her slight annoyance) while Lucius has not only kept himself in notably better shape than Bob but his powers involve energy blasts of ice and are not as reliant on his physique like Bob's super strength so all he needs to do is keep his balance and aim steady and let his power do most of the strain.

** In season 3 one of the first things that [[spoiler:Data]] does upon fully reviving is seemingly note a soreness in the neck because while the synthetic body technically is new it was [[OlderThanTheyLook deliberately created with an aged appearance]].

* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': Thanks to future medicine, Jean-Luc Picard is in excellent health and his mind is still sharp, but he's still 94 years old. Whenever he does any strenuous activity like running or fighting, he has to stop to catch his breath while his younger comrades can keep going.

* In the "Inheritance" chapter of ''Videogame/LiveALive'', the initial protagonist is an OldMaster of Earthen Heart Kung Fu. He's still pretty badass but he's getting old and he knows it. The beginning of the chapter has him practicing his routine, ending with him trying to [[BrickBreak break a boulder]]...and fails. He takes this as a sign that it's time for him to pass on his art to the next generation. This is reflected in gameplay: he starts out strong at level 10 with a full set of techniques, but he cannot gain experience or increase his stats.

* In the "Inheritance" chapter of ''Videogame/LiveALive'', the initial protagonist is an OldMaster of Xin Shan Quan. He's still pretty badass but he's getting old and he knows it. The beginning of the chapter has him practicing his routine, ending with him trying to [[BrickBreak break a boulder]]...and fails. He takes this as a sign that it's time for him to pass on his art to the next generation. This is reflected in gameplay: he starts out strong at level 10 with a full set of techniques, but he cannot gain experience or increase his stats.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' "The Last Battle," Ezra notes that the Clone Wars-era droids they're fighting are beginning to break down; clone trooper Rex, now an old man, says it's not just the droids.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': While Mr. Incredible is still a formidable superhero after 15 years of retirement, it's nonetheless shown that time, inaction, and age have gotten the better of him; he's [[FormerlyFit gained a lot of weight]], and while fighting the first Omnidroid, he ends up [[CrackOhMyBack throwing his back out]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' has an episode where Miss Finster sprains her ankle and has to hop around on crutches. After trying and failing to keep order on the playground like she usually does, she laments to Randall that when she was a young woman, she would just have walked off this kind of injury but she's too old and decrepit to just bounce back now. It gets to the point that the main cast feel too guilty to take advantage of Finster's injury and talk the other kids into behaving until she's back on her feet.

* ''Film/JusticeLeague2017'' uses this both physically and metaphorically in regards to Franchise/{{Batman}}. BadassNormal or not, Batman is in what appears to be the later years of his career and, despite his skills and accomplishments, he's still a human among demigods. Over the course of the film, Batman deals with things way above his weight class and suffers severe injuries that do not heal properly, if they heal at all. Not only that, he and Alfred believe the age and legacy of Batman are coming to an end and will soon become irrelevant in a world of actual superhumans. This conversation sums it up best.