History Main / StrongerThanTheyLook

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Agent Texas and Carolina. Downplayed; like most freelancers, they just look like normal soldiers (albeit in armour) but are exceptionally fast and hard-hitting, even amongst their fellows.

** Luffy from certainly doesn't look like he is very strong and resilient. Thinking that has been the mistake of almost every BigBad of the series. {{Mooks}} to this day still mock Luffy for being a shrimp even after he's stood up to Kaido whose the WorldsStrongestMan.

%%* In Capcom beat-em-ups where there are four playable characters, one of these is usually a hard-hitting speedster, such as [[VideoGame/ArmoredWarriors Fordy]], [[FinalFight Lucia Morgan]], [[ComicBook/XenozoicTales Mustapha Cairo]], and [[VideoGame/AlienVsPredatorCapcom Predator Hunter]].

** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} isn't exactly scrawny, however, this trope still comes into effect because of his HealingFactor. One side effect is that it increases the density of both his muscles and bones, allowing them to exert more force than would be possible for an ordinary human being without tearing them off their ligaments, breaking their own bones, or ''liquefying'' their muscles from over-exertion. His unbreakable adamantium skeleton effectively takes this UpToEleven, by removing one of the key limits to the amount of muscle power a normal human can exert.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': Applejack looks as slight as the other girls, yet has moments demonstrating she's the strongest of the group. In the first movie, two jocks help Twilight lift a nearby table, then stop and look on slack-jawed as Applejack passes by easily carrying a similar-sized table under one arm. In ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks Rainbow Rocks]]'', she effortlessly [[PunchCatch catches a random punch]] from Rainbow Dash. It gets pushed UpToEleven in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree Legend of Everfree]]'' where her magic develops into genuine SuperStrength, and she start showing off superhero levels of physical power.

* Vaan from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', even if he may look scrawny, by virtue of him [[TheAce excelling in all stats]].

%%* Lightning from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' can become this. Her final stats and abilities make her the JackOfAllStats by default, and her strength is surpassed only by MightyGlacier Fang. However, Lightning is one of three characters (the others being [[TheRedMage Sazh]] and [[GlassCannon Hope]]) who can equip five pieces of equipment (one weapon and four accessories) that have a set bonus that increases ATB recovery rate, meaning she can attack more frequently. Furthermore, the weapon she equips as part of this set, the Axis/Enkindler, increases her ATB gauge with each attack. Slap on a Haste buff on her and she will easily live up to her name.

%%* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Not explicitly obvious in the original game due to game mechanics, but the other entries in the Compilation show that many, if not all, of the [[BioAugmentation bioaugmented]] [[SuperSoldier super soldiers]] or test subjects in the series tend to fall into this category.
%%** This is obvious in ''VideoGame/AdventChildren'' with Cloud, Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, and Sephiroth. Cloud is ridiculously fast both on and off that oversized motorcycle of his, and is easily capable of carrying [[TheBigGuy Barret]] with one hand ''without slowing down.'' As for hitting power, he has quite an array of ImplausibleFencingPowers, including the ability to slice apart huge chunks of rubble and smack down a giant monster out of the sky.
%%*** Loz is strong enough to break and throw almost anything around (his "Dual Hound" weapon sometimes assisting), yet he also can [[FlashStep speed between locations]] so rapidly that he has virtual teleportation. If he were only a bit smarter and ruthless...
%%** ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' shows that Sephiroth, Genesis, and [=SOLDIERs=] like Zack are not only brutally hard-hitting and insanely durable, but in some cases, [[DodgeTheBullet bullet-dodgingly]] fast. The same with Vincent (at least in the {{cutscene|PowerToTheMax}}s) in ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus''.
%%** In the OVA Last Order, Zack is shown easily dodging machine gun fire from multiple shooters and causing the shooters to hit each other.

* The junction system in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' allows the player to boost any character's Strength, Stamina, and Speed dramatically by linking the stats to the right kinds of magic, but [[PintSizedPowerhouse Zell]] deserves particular mention; his stat growth is naturally designed to make him hit fast and hard. At higher levels and with good junctions, his ATB speed becomes noticeably faster than the rest of the party's.

* Defying the common expectations of his job class, [[TheHero Zidane Tribal]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' is a surprisingly hard hitter and has good HP, only balanced by his lack of heavy armor (of which only two characters in the game use anyway). And then he becomes a straight-up nuker in his SuperMode.

%%* [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Squall]] in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. His attacks come out fast and he moves pretty quick too. His Bravery combos are very strong, hitting multiple times and can instantly drain the opponent's Bravery. It gets even worse in [[SuperMode EX Mode]], where ''all'' of his Bravery attacks deal twice as many hits, instantly doubling his damage output, and ''then'' take into account that EX Mode raises the probability of landing a critical hit. Add in other critical hit-chance boosting abilities, and you realize about the only thing that keeps him from being a top-tier character is his slow HP attacks.
%%** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX Zidane]] is normally speedy but not too powerful, his Bravery attacks not doing much damage but being very fast. However, Zidane has the impressive ability to cancel out his attacks and chain them into new ones in a variety of different ways, and a skilled Zidane player can produce combo attacks this variety rivaling the likes of Jecht and Golbez as detailed above. He also has the advantage of having equally fast HP attacks, such as Free Energy which takes InstantRunes to the literal extreme (almost ''literally'' instantaneous in execution), and many of his Bravery attacks can chain into HP attacks.

** ComicBook/{{Storm}} is a willowy African woman, who can pull Stonewall (who apparently weighs over a ton) one-handed out of a swamp, even he couldn't believe it.

%%** Hell, a lot of the [[FanNickname Nerima Wrecking Crew]] count: Mousse can land some strong kicks, zips around like a fly and can take a considerable pounding before going down. Ryoga can easily charge around like a bull and is only a MightyGlacier compared to Ranma and Mousse. He even lampshades this himself when fighting Lime, a super-strong character (even by ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' standards) who is less than super-fast, which makes Ryoga realize that all those fights with Ranma have made ''him'' very very fast in turn.

%%** Marisa [[GoodBadBugs B]] aka [[FanNickname Marisa Bugged]], aka [[FanNickname Marisa Broken]] from ''Mountain Of Faith'' (and even ''Subterranean Animism'', though to a lesser extent, which makes one wonder whether the bug may have been intended) takes this to ridiculous extremes. The game contains a bug that causes Marisa to dish out simply ludicrous amounts of damage as long as her energy remains between 3 and 3.95. Marisa Broken is powerful enough to cut long spellcards to a fraction of their length, and to end non-spellcard attacks before the first bullets fired even reach her.

** The [[FanNickname Doomguy]] in the old games also qualifies. He carries an alarming number of heavy weapons and runs at something approaching highway speeds.

** A unique RealLife example too, knowing that Creator/BronsonPinchot usually just exhibited his own strength in these moments with no help from special effects or stunt actors.

%%* Ginei Morioka from ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'' is a werewolf, supposedly the fastest monster of all, but that alone wouldn't be enough for him to take out an entire building full of mooks. Actually, he took out only half of them, but it's clear that he's capable of getting in some good hits (and that he can take a few, to boot).

* Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao, at this point the most famous boxer to come from Philippines. He started his career at a thin and wiry 106 pounds, has advanced all the way to 147 (almost unheard of in Boxing). And his KO percentage has risen, while he retains the same blinding handspeed he had at lower weights. Many a fighter in his heyday would find out just how dangerous such a combo can be, be it a [[CurbStompBattle withering nonstop onslaught]] that wears out the likes of David Diaz, or a OneHitKO just right that ends the night right there for Ricky Hatton. While not as sharp as he once was, his domination of Lucas Matthysse shows he still has a good chunk of that legendary power.

%%* Arch-Viles in the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' series are fast, can take tons of damage, are resistant to flinching, attack with a deadly line-of-sight fire spell, and can revive or summon enemies.

** Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} isn't exactly scrawny, however, this trope still comes into effect because of his HealingFactor. One side effect is that it increases the density of both his muscles and bones, allowing them to exert more force than would be possible for an ordinary human being without tearing them off their ligaments, breaking their own bones, or ''liquefying'' their muscles from over-exertion. His unbreakable adamantium skeleton effectively takes this UpToEleven, by removing one of the key limits to the amount of muscle power a normal human can exert.
** Comicbook/{{X 23}} for much the same reasons, though not to the same extent since her bones aren't bonded. However, in her case, it's ''much'' more exaggerated since rather than a short but heavily-muscled man, she's a short, slight, pretty teenage girl.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek''

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* Yuuto and Etrangers in general function as this in ''VisualNovel/EienNoAselia'' which is why they are valued so highly. While Yuuto has basically no skill in combat to start, he's still a match for all but the most skilled and powerful of spirits. [[spoiler:Also, Eternals.]]

* The whole premise of ''WebComic/OnePunchMan'' is how the protagonist Saitama, a skinny, plain-faced, bald man in a lame costume, can kill ''anything'' '''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with one punch]]'''. InUniverse almost everyone thinks Saitama is a weak pretender, and the Hero Association ranks him as a B-Cass hero; only a handful of people learn of Saitama's true, unimaginable strength, often just before they are one-punched into bloody smithereens.

%%* Negi of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': When he finally perfects his Thousand Bolts spell, he uses BlackMagic to absorb it, [[spoiler: briefly turn himself into lightning, and beat the crap out of Jack Rakan.]]

* ''Manga/FairyTail''

* ''Manga/OnePiece''

* ''Anime/RurouniKenshin''

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''

* Comicbook/TheEnchantress is, to all appearances, simply a tall, [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman impossibly-attractive]] woman, usually wearing either expensive, designer outfits in the style of Midgard, or ornate and revealing costumes suitable for the most decadent assemblage of courtly nobility. In neither case is she carrying any sort of weapon, and her bearing is one of elegantly-graceful poise and sensuality, ''not'' anything that implies physical danger or even dangerous athleticism. However, she is ''Asgardian'', which means the tall slim woman you and your mugger friends just cornered on that darkened street is significantly stronger than ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and has the speed and endurance to chase you down and destroy you with her bare hands, all without even bothering to use her immense array of magical abilities (and also while wearing [[CombatStilettos 6-inch stiletto heels]])
* Comicbook/NthManTheUltimateNinja has been trained as a ninja for most of his life and the deadliest killer on Earth. Though strong, he usually relies on his speed, agility, and expertise to defeat his enemies, preferring more subtle methods.

* ''ComicBook/XMen''

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem''

* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}''

** The sequel ''VideoGame/{{Prototype2}}'' gives protagonist James Heller similar powers, and a comparison between the two reveals that Mercer is stronger, but Heller is ''much'' faster.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''

%%* Marisa Kirisame of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}''. Her bullets fire mainly in front of her, dishing out narrow but concentrated damage, and she moves faster than Reimu, who in many games is the only other playable character.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Hideri is a ''very'' convincing male-to-female [[WholesomeCrossdresser transvestite]] and is considered short for a ''girl'' his age. Yet he has catched a falling Akizuki and later pushes Dino with enough strength to make him fall towards the wall: this despite those two are adults of at least normal build. Justified as his family runs a farm, so he's used to physical labor.

* Nadeshiko in ''Manga/LaidBackCamp'' looks like a normal high-school girl, yet having the highest muscle strength of the entire cast. For example, during the fourth episode, Chiaki and Aoi are surprised of her running around with the camping supplies when the two are starting to get exhausted. The two even discuss having her carry their gear for them. The internal {{justifi|edtrope}}cation is also the reason who she is FormerlyFat--lots of exercise.

%%* Shin and Yamato from ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' apply. Both of them are fast enough to keep up with Sena, but also have the immense upper body strength to go with it.

* [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] [[Film/SpiderManHomecoming Spider-Man]] stands a slim 5'8 being a teenager and most other Avengers tower over him, yet he still wiped the floor with Bucky Barnes and The Falcon (two experienced veterans), helped bring down Giant-Man, got Obsidian Cull killed and held his own against Thanos in close quarters ''[[StrongButUnskilled and he's still learning]]''.

* Dante from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' looks like any other human, as many of the bosses assume. However, his devil heritage gives him both the HealingFactor to shrug off humanly-fatal wounds and the power and speed to tear enemies a new one with ease. [[CutscenePowerToTheMax At least in cutscenes]].
** Trish, unlike Dante is willowly yet she can still lift a mototbike above her head and throw it at Dante.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'' has the titular hero, who does not look very muscular, but he is one of the strongest characters in the anime. Generally this is true for a lot of [[{{Youkai}} youkai]] and [[HalfHumanHybrid hanyou]].

%%* Mukhtar from the ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' series.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''.

%%* Ulrich of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' is a [[SuperSpeed speedster]], but also the heaviest hitter of the group and has an excellent defense with his katana.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'', easily Sonic. Though in the games he is usually much more a FragileSpeedster, here he can punch and kick robots (kicking makes sense...), and when already running, throw things multiple times his size with his momentum. He is also the only Freedom Fighter to have broken security cameras by ''throwing junk at them...with ONE hand''...

* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': Despite Kaguya's delicate-looking body (not to mention the fact that she's at risk for heart disease), her years of practicing archery have resulted in her having a great deal of arm strength (Ishigami wasn't able to so much as make her budge when they arm wrestled in chapter 117).