History Main / PintSizedPowerhouse

See also ApronMatron, for when small old ladies do this, and MiniMook. CuteBruiser, for when they're young, or [[OlderThanTheyLook at least very young-looking]]. It's also a common trait of the MentorInSourArmor. KillerRabbit covers "harmless" animals. See WeakButSkilled for a common explanation behind this. WaifFu and GlacierWaif are subtropes. This Trope is often - but not always - associated with a DavidVersusGoliath fight. Subtrope of TheBigGuy; They are TheTeam's Class 4.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Rhere are a number of students at the SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy who would qualify, but the most notable is a petite middle-schooler named Desiderata Lopez. She can strike with a force of over eight tons with ''a fingertip''. However, as is often the case in this series, [[BlessedWithSuck that power comes at a terrible price]]: in her case, it is PowerIncontinence, which means that she ''always'' applies 8 tons of force to anything she does, whether she wants to or not. Her room looks like it was designed to hold the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], her computer is built so it takes 8 tons and 1 ounce of force to press the keys, otherwise she either couldn't press them ''at all'' or would demolish them. Her code name is Diz Aster. Poor kid.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': there are a number of students at the SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy who would qualify, but the most notable is a petite middle-schooler named Desiderata Lopez. She can strike with a force of over eight tons with ''a fingertip''. However, as is often the case in this series, [[BlessedWithSuck that power comes at a terrible price]]: in her case, it is PowerIncontinence, which means that she ''always'' applies 8 tons of force to anything she does, whether she wants to or not. her room looks like it was designed to hold the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], Her computer is built so it takes 8 tons and 1 ounce of force to press the keys, otherwise she either couldn't press them ''at all'' or would demolish them. Her code name is Diz Aster. Poor kid.

See also ApronMatron, for when small old ladies do this, and MiniMook. CuteBruiser, for when they're young, or [[OlderThanTheyLook at least very young-looking]]. It's also a common trait of the MentorInSourArmor. KillerRabbit covers "harmless" animals. See WeakButSkilled for a common explanation behind this. WaifFu and GlacierWaif are subtropes. This Trope is often - but not always - associated with a DavidVersusGoliath fight. Subtrope of TheBigGuy; They are TheTeam's Class 5.

See also ApronMatron, for when small old ladies do this, and MiniMook. CuteBruiser, for when they're young, or [[OlderThanTheyLook at least very young-looking]]. It's also a common trait of the MentorInSourArmor. KillerRabbit covers "harmless" animals. See WeakButSkilled for a common explanation behind this. WaifFu and GlacierWaif are subtropes. This Trope is often - but not always - associated with a DavidVersusGoliath fight.

** Miles and Gwen are super strong despite their [[TeensAreShort stature]].

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'':
** There is Mantis, a praying mantis, being strong enough to throw around Po by himself. During the battle with Tai Lung he is able to hold the ropes of the broken rope bridge while the leopard and ''three'' of the other Furious Five are fighting on it (though clearly straining himself in the act).

->'''Yoda:''' Proof, you are, that size matters not!\\
'''Mickey:''' Right back at ya, pal!
-->-- ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'', "[[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]] vs. [[Franchise/KingdomHearts King Mickey]]"

* Zig-zagged with Dash in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''. He can utilize physics to generate power due to his super speed (i.e. Force=Mass*Acceleration). However, as a child, he doesn't have much mass. When he tries his RapidFireFisticuffs against a mook, it's largely ineffective due to his small mass and the short distance of his punches not allowing for much acceleration time. However, when he later speeds directly into the mook trying to shoot Violet, he's able to knock him completely off his feet and send him flying.

%%* Most of [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments the experiments]] in the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise follow this trope, especially Stitch himself.

* Most of [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments the experiments]] in the ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch'' franchise follow this trope, especially Stitch himself.
* Puss in Boots in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', and later in [[WesternAnimation/PussInBoots his own film]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}}'' Virtual [=YouTuber=] Amane Kanata stands at 149 cm, but has an impressive grip strength of 50 kg, she can open jars and remove shower heads with almost no effort.

* PlayedWith in the ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' episode ''[=DedmosRebuilt=].fla'', while Deimos is a normal sized character, he's this trope from the perspective of the [[GiantMook giant mooks]] he faces in the episode as he easily beats them to death with his bare hands thanks to a new stronger form.

* One scene from ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGahoole'' has the great gray owl Twilight pitted against an elf owl (the smallest species of owl) during combat practice. Twilight gets his tail handed to him.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': there are a number of students at the SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy who would qualify, but the most notable is a petite middle-schooler named Desiderata Lopez. She can strike with a force of over eight tons with ''a fingertip''. However, as is often the case in this series, [[BlessedWithSuck that power comes at a terrible price]]: in her case, it is PowerIncontinence, which means that she ''always'' applies 8 tons of force to anything she does, whether she wants to or not. her room looks like it was designed to hold the Comicbook/IncredibleHulk, Her computer is built so it takes 8 tons and 1 ounce of force to press the keys, otherwise she either couldn't press them ''at all'' or would demolish them. Her code name is Diz Aster. Poor kid.

** It's entirely possible in the 4th edition ''D&D'' to start as a [[SquareRaceRoundClass Pixie Fighter]] [[UpToEleven with a 13 in Strength]], meaning the creature that's no more than 4 pounds and a foot tall in, and is the only player race in the tiny size category, [[SuperStrength can carry 130 pounds without penalty]], while making every fight [[DavidVersusGoliath a match against much larger-sized foes.]]

* Glassy in ''WebAnimation/{{Animated Inanimate Battle}}'' may seem cute in first sight, yet she's 6 stars of pure evil. She tries to bite Candle's face off after being kicked by Jelly
** Teardrop sends Woody flying through the air in the first episode of ''WebAnimation/{{Battle For Dream Island}}''.

* John Silver of the northeastern American indies is as strong as he is short, and he is ''very'' short.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1295068198059759100
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'': Rapunzel, who is able to lift Mother Gothel up and down the tower every day using her hair and her hands. She makes it look pretty much effortless. Also, she manages to knock Flynn Rider out several times with a frying pan, and later helps him escape some guards by letting him swing on her hair.

* Reiko Ishida of ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' v4 is 4'9, which has been noted to technically make her a dwarf. However, she was a successful athlete before the island, having had a fair amount of recognition as a figure skater. On the island she manages to receive a fairly high body count; one death has her manage to beat a HugeSchoolgirl to death.

* ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl'' has one of these in the form of the Goblin Fanatic. In a world that has trolls, ogres, daemonic beasts, treemen and dwarven warmachines -- the unit with the highest physical strength is a tiny goblin who's 'roid raged on weird mushroom potions and rapidly swinging a solid steel ball and chain that's three times as big as he is.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'':
** The Clans fielded technology so beyond the Inner Sphere's that any Clan 'mech during the Invasion Era is generally speaking the equivalent of an Inner Sphere 'mech 20 tonnes heavier. One of the perhaps best known (and feared) examples is the 35-ton ''Adder'' light 'mech, whose twin Clantech ER [=PPCs=] provides it with firepower equivalent to the 80-ton Inner Sphere ''Awesome'' assault 'mech.
** The Terran Hegemony was this in the lore's backstory. It possessed a meagre 95 worlds compared to the five Great Houses' hundreds of worlds each and therefore appeared as a tiny dot in the middle of five large realms on maps of the Inner Sphere. However, the Hegemony's worlds were the ones first colonised by humanity as opposed to the much-later colonised ones held by the Great Houses, giving the Hegemony a population and industrial base equal to several of the Great Houses combined and the best universities and development labs in the Inner Sphere. The Hegemony would leverage their technological and industrial might to serve as mediator between the Great Houses, eventually leading to the formation of [[HegemonicEmpire Star League]] under the Hegemony's control.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** Nora Valkyrie is the smallest of the main eight protagonists at 5'1". That said, she is strong enough to wield a hammer bigger than her own body, and claims she can lift five times her own weight. When her [[FeedItWithFire Semblance]] is activated, her blows can render boulders into ash and break a stadium designed to take insane amounts of punishment.
** [[TheDragon Neopolitan]] is 4'10" in heels, one of the smallest characters in the series, and one of its best fighters. Unlike Nora, she tends to use her agility and small size to her advantage as opposed to raw strength, although she's no slouch in the department either. Ironically, the only person to ever best her in physical combat is [[spoiler:[[NeverMessWithGranny Maria Calavera]]]], who is even smaller than she is.

** Teardrop sends Woody flying through the air in the first episode of ''WebAnimation/{{Battle For Dream Island}}''
* PlayedWith in the ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' episode ''[=DedmosRebuilt=].fla'', while Deimos is a normal sized character, he's this trope from the perspective of the [[GiantMook giant mooks]] he faces in the episode as he easily beats them to death with his bare hands thanks to a new stronger form.

* In ''Literature/TheJenkinsverse'', Humans are the strongest and toughest sapient race in the known universe. We are also one of the shortest.
* The protagonist in ''[[https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/wiki/series/humans_dont_make_good_pets Humans Don't Make Good Pets]]'' is a reasonable height of 175cm (5'9") but is a full meter shorter than even the children of the alien family that "adopts" him. Despite this, being kicked by the father feels like a young teen punched him on the arm and he can send said father flying with a shove. Later, he even breaks through a metal door on a space ship using a tub to batter it off it's hinges. Once things heat up, the human protagonist can basically ignore anything that isn't an anti-tank gun and can leap several meters at a time due to the lower gravity.

* In ''WebVideo/TheCultOfScratchwood'', Bren initially scoffs at the idea that the literally pint-sized Dalek Danny could harm him. Only, his laser gun isn't any less powerful than the other Daleks'…

* In Greek Mythology, Heracles is rarely depicted as "pint-sized". However, he certainly was on the day he was born, and on that day, Hera made her first strike against him, sending two venomous serpents to kill him while he slept in his cradle. He simply grabbed them both and crushed them, one in each hand.

-->''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'', "[[Franchise/StarWars Yoda]] vs. [[Franchise/KingdomHearts King Mickey]]"

* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', Fix-it Felix Jr. qualifies as this. Although half [[ActionGirl Calhoun's]] height, he can lift her with one arm while holding onto a rope with the other.

* Puss in Boots in ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', and later in [[WesternAnimation/PussInBoots his own film]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': Anna, who is able to sucker punch [[spoiler:Prince Hans (who is several inches taller than her, and noticeably better built)]] into the fjord at the end of the film effortlessly. She is shown running around the castle LeParkour style earlier, so she may be small in stature but incredibly strong, like a ballerina.
* In the climax of ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', the small, thin Maria managed to [[spoiler:flip-kick Chakal, a strong and muscular man]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', Hiro's bot that he uses for bot-fighting is small and toy-like, but easily beats a much larger bot because of its maneuverability and ability to disassemble/reassemble itself.

* A "World Midgets Title" was established in 1949 by the Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance. Though it did not have much longevity, the midgets proved strong enough to lift non midget wrestlers(There is one story of such a wrestler picking Wrestling/GorillaMonsoon (who weighed 400 lbs) in a fireman's carry and carrying him around a ring). In 2009, Octagoncito won the newly established World Minis title, but it didn't get much use before becoming a strictly PWR title.

* Inaugural NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate is quite small compared to many hard hitters in the UK Indie scene, yet is able to pick up two guys around his weight ''at the same time'' for airplane spins or giant swings. While wrestlers being able to lift double their weight isn't anything new, keep in mind that Bate is barely older than a teenager, thus making his feats of strength all the more impressive.
** His Wrestling/BritishStrongStyle stablemate Pete Dunne is no slouch either, as they don't call him [[RedBaron The Bruiserweight]] for nothing. He's about Bate's size, yet uses suplexes and throws to mess around with his opponents on a regular basis, no matter how big or small.

* One scene from ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGaHoole'' has the great gray owl Twilight pitted against an elf owl (the smallest species of owl) during combat practice. Twilight gets his tail handed to him.

Glassy in ''WebAnimation/{{Animated Inanimate Battle}}'' may seem cute in first sight, yet she's 6 stars of pure evil. She tries to bite Candle's face off after being kicked by Jelly
** Teardrop sends Woody flying through the air in the first episode of ''WebAnimation/{{Battle For Dream Island}}''