History Main / ShowyInvincibleHero

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor]] rarely loses, and even when he does, odds are he'll repay the favor later. Of course, given the sort of things his enemies tend to get up to, the ripple effect, if not the plan itself, would probably change history such that the universe would end (or [[spoiler:never have existed]] as of the Season 5 finale). While he rarely loses and his companions rarely die, some seasons ''do'' leave the survival of any and all people introduced in the current episode up for grabs. In other seasons, not so much. It's DependingOnTheWriter.

* ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'': You don't see Tsubasa Ohzora lose a match (except his first match against Hyuuga), but you still enjoy him overcome hurdles in a match, with him either trying to outplay his tricky or tough opponents or having Tsubasa pull though despite a DramaPreservingHandicap. There's also a time where he [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomps]] a match practically on his own, just to showcase that he definitely belongs in the Primera División, not the Segunda.

** Gogeta has made three appearances in the franchise, and in each of them he was completely in control of the battle he was fighting. Against Janemba he effortlessly destroys him, but looks really cool while doing so. Against Omega Shenron he's so much more powerful that he spends most of the fight playing jokes and pranks, and only fails to kill the dragon because the fusion unexpectedly ran out early. [[spoiler:Against Broly, whenever Broly demonstrates a new level of power, Gogeta just powers up further himself. By the time he hits Super Saiyan Blue, Broly can't even touch him, and is overpowered both in skill and raw strength.]]

* ''Manga/{{Jormungand}}'': Koko's BadassCrew usually demolish their foes in clever ways, which only serves to make the two times they're genuinely challenged all the more stark.
* ''Anime/{{Kirby Right Back At Ya}}'': Kirby often got into many sticky situations do to being a SuperGullible KidHero [[BigEater with an appetite]] he just can't control and he would often get knocked around at the start of most fights. However, once [[PowerCopying he inhaled and copied a foe's powers]], his opponent was often '''''[[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass as good as DEAD.]]''''' Since this effectively made him a walking DeusExMachina, you could pretty much say that the fun from his fights came not from seeing if he'd win or not, but what ''ability'' he'd use to kick butt. And since he used over 20 abilities in that show, things never got stale.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' places the player in the shoes of space bounty hunter Samus Aran. Despite the opening cutscene beginning with her on the wrong side of a CurbstompBattle, the rest of the game features Samus at her ''absolute best''. In gameplay, Samus has an arsenal of abilities, weapons and counters that can allow the player to remain virtually untouched if they're good enough. In cutscenes, Samus shows no signs of panic or distress; when confronted with the towering Kraid, she stands unflinchingly as he struggles to bite and claw at her, counters his attacks and ''stands in his mouth'' firing missiles into it, and then [[NonchalantDodge calmly dodges]] his last-ditch desperation attack. There are rarely other moments in the game where she is any real trouble, but these moments typically result in her growing only more confident and powerful.

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* ''Manga/TimeStopBrave'': Kuzuno Sekai is perceived to be this by his peers because he is seemingly so fast that he can avoid any danger and defeat any enemy in an instant. In reality, [[PowerMisidentification he is not fast, he can freeze time]], and has to work for his victories without anyone to help him except for his golem Gankichi, the only one who can move with him when he freezes time. As the series progresses, he starts facing tougher situations and gets hurt even with his ability.

* ''Doctor-X'': Michiko Daimon's CatchPhrase is "I never fail", and she never does. The questions are instead how things degenerate to the point that she's needed to swoop in and save the patient when Teito's regular doctors have failed, what unorthodox method she uses, and how she'll inevitably butt heads with the hospital administration along the way.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' likes doing this from time to time. He becomes one more and more as the franchise goes on. At the beginning of the show, he already had 10 alien forms, each one with its own powers. Currently, he has reach over 70 different forms, and literally as many different ways he can kick his enemies' asses.

* Modern era ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' games like ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', and ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' turn Sonic into this, seeing as how much of the fun comes from running through the levels almost nonstop and looking awesome doing so. ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' deconstructs a lot of this in the cutscenes as it shows what happens when Sonic pulls this trope without thinking.

* ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn2021'' turns the Squadron Supreme into a whole team of these ([[DesignatedHero for a certain definition of hero]]). Whether it's EldritchAbomination{{s}} and CosmicEntities or upgraded super-villains, there's no one the Squadron can't beat and with a lot of flash. From Doctor Spectrum conjuring the ''Cancerverse'' on Rocket Raccoon before holding him into a supernova to Power Princess summoning her gauntlet painfully out of All-Gog's belly, expect the Squadron to win in style.

** Goku for most of the Red Ribbon Army Saga. Outside of a couple of close calls with General Blue and Mercenary Tao, Goku dominated almost every foe he came across. It wasn't a question if Goku was going to win, but how much humiliation he was going to heap upon his opponent before he kicked them to the curb.

*** It's averted in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' though, since Vegeto is facing an opponent actually worth his effort this time around, and he's aware he has a time limit of an hour ''at most''. He still holds the upper hand throughout the battle.
** Gotenks is a subversion. He's similar in power to Vegito, but spends ''so'' much time showing off that his FusionDance inevitably wears off before he can get serious. This flaw continues into ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''.

* At least canonically, the titular protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' seems to be this [[CutscenePowerToTheMax when not under the player's control]], with only [[spoiler:Father Balder and Aesir]] ever really worrying her. The game itself is NintendoHard, but a competent player will [[CatharsisFactor certainly feel like the invincible, unshakable dominatrix that Bayonetta is]] when they [[DifficultButAwesome master it]].

->''"No, really! That was an awesome attack! I could have been killed."''\\
''*beat*''
->''"Well, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. I could have at least gotten a bruise or maybe a small scratch..."''

* The number of things that can threaten vector-manipulating Accelerator from ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' in a physical contest are few and far in-between, at least as far as anything that's not magic is concerned ([[WrongContextMagic due to the fact that the vectors of magic spells are alien to his scientific calculations and require more work to analyze and reflect]]). Similar to the [[Manga/{{Hellsing}} Alucard]] and [[LightNovel/{{Overlord}} Momonga]] examples, however, a big part of his appeal is how awesome he is at countering and brutally crushing his foes in combat, and uniquely Accelerator's conflict is more about his [[TheAtoner own personal one towards his inner demons and struggles to become a better person after his heinous acts near the beginning of the series.]]

* Momonga and all of his strongest followers are a VillainProtagonist version in ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}''. They are overpowered enough compared to the setting that their victory comes as a foregone conclusion, but nevertheless it's always awesome. It helps that Momonga knows over 700 spells, so he handily averts a BoringYetPractical LimitedMoveArsenal.

* The ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9605098/1/To-Ascend To Ascend]]'', where Touma Kamijou starts the original series at his maximum potential, allowing him to curb-stomp anyone and solve almost any problem without breaking a sweat.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Acceleration}}'', Taylor Triggers with [[LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex Accelerator's]] powers. As a result, she stands heads and shoulders above almost everyone; apart from a PowerNullifier character, a grand total of one opponent can beat her in a direct fight. The question isn't will she lose, but how does she pull off the win, and what the consequences will be for herself and those around her.

** Vegeto. He effortlessly dominates Buu even when turned into a piece of candy, and mocks him the entire time. It does help that Buu had been quite an InvincibleVillain until that point, making someone beating him at every turn extremely satisfying. The only reason he doesn't just destroy Buu as soon as he can is part of a plan to free everyone Buu has absorbed by this point.

-->-- '''Vegeto''', ''Anime/DragonBallZ''

* Many Tool-Assisted {{Speed Run}}s. If a player dies in one, it was certainly just to save time.

* ''Anime/ProblemChildrenAreComingFromAnotherWorldArentThey'': Sakamaki Izayoi. The only subversion happens when, [[spoiler: after winning a fight against a InvincibleVillain with powers similar to his own, he holds back an EldritchAbomination alone until reinforcements arrive and he finally retreats to tend to his wounds]].

* Rimuru Tempest from ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime''. Thanks to his absurdly large pool of skills and magical abilities, he outclasses almost everyone else in his world in terms of raw power, and even with the few he doesn't (like [[WorldsStrongestWoman Milim Nava]]) he usually finds a clever workaround to get them on his side (such as exploiting Milim's goofball and childish nature to make her more interested in eating delicious food than fighting to the death). Interestingly, being a NiceGuy who prefers diplomacy to fighting wherever possible he sometimes goes out of his way to invoke this trope by demonstrating just how overpowered he is in the hopes of getting his opponent to back down and talk things out. Most of the story is spent on him trying to forge a prosperous nation and trade hub throughout the world to advance the cause of human-monster coexistence, a situation where he has to use his brainpower (and the helpful aid of [[BenevolentAI Great Sage/Raphael]]) and his still-strong-but-more-vulnerable subordinates more often than his own god-like power directly to achieve his goals since he's not interested in being seen publicly as a tyrant throwing his weight around.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' has Tex devolving into this in the later seasons. She was always the best of the characters but her skills have been hyped to the level where there is not one single competent threat she can face. Combined with her Jerkass personality it's hard to see why the series creators want the audience to be rooting for her. Subverted in that [[spoiler:she ultimately always loses and/or dies in the end. The memory she's based upon is of Alison losing and dying, so it's hardcoded into the original Tex A.I. and Epsilon Tex to always fail in the end.]]
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* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has Tex devolving into this in the later seasons. She was always the best of the characters but her skills have been hyped to the level where there is not one single competent threat she can face. Combined with her Jerkass personality it's hard to see why the series creators want the audience to be rooting for her. Subverted in that [[spoiler:she ultimately always loses and/or dies in the end. The memory she's based upon is of Alison losing and dying, so it's hardcoded into the original Tex A.I. and Epsilon Tex to always fail in the end.]]

* Wario is like this in his adventure games (''VideoGame/WarioLand'', ''VideoGame/WarioWorld'' and ''VideoGame/WarioMasterOfDisguise''). It's obviously from the start he will win; the guy is either literally invincible or so damn tough he may as well be. But the appeal is watching him beat up hordes of monsters near effortlessly or use his invincibility and the comical reactions he can receive from enemy attacks to navigate the levels.

* ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'' fits. Due to the way it's narrated and the fact that it's a {{prequel}} to another story, ''Manga/{{Ten|Manga}}'', where Akagi already is a legend, you are ''supposed'' to know that Akagi always wins. The story is about ''how'' he became a legend. And looking badass while doing it.

Contrast FailureHero, compare EscapistCharacter, TheAce.

* Many superhero comics run on this principle, but in different ways.
** In early DC [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] comics, there wasn't any doubt that the hero would survive and save the day, the question was what bit of clever logic (or AssPull, depending on the writer) they would use to overcome the villains (who themselves were often [[ComplexityAddiction pretty showy]]). This basic idea would eventually evolve into the SuperDickery UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks is better known for.
** In modern times, superhero comics usually make the inevitability of the hero's victory interesting by shifting tension away from winning or losing, and focusing on other problems. Creator/{{DC|Comics}} heroes tend to get a lot of suspense and drama out of whether or not they will manage to save ''everyone'' in the villain's path (they often don't succeed, which leads to angst), while Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} heroes often have personal beefs with their villains and the drama stems more from their relationship with the villain and the emotional issues that get brought up during the fight.

** Vegeto. He effortlessly dominates Buu even when turned into a piece of candy, and mocks him the entire time. It does help that Buu had been quite an InvincibleVillain until that point, making someone beating him up even more satisfying. The only reason he doesn't just destroy Buu as soon as he can is part of a plan to free everyone Buu has absorbed by this point.