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1->''"The world's first bionic super humans, they're stronger than us. Faster. Smarter."''
2-->-- '''Series/LabRats''', Title Sequence
3
4For a FightingSeries, the way characters fight can be rounded down to 3 general styles: One who fights with brute force (the Strength), one who fights by swift attacks and moving quickly (the Speed), and one who fights with his wits and intelligence (the Smarts). Individually, they're TheBigGuy, TheSneakyGuy, and TheSmartGuy.
5
6For a RolePlayingGame especially (though this can be found in other games, naturally), this can form a common ThreeStatSystem, where characters/[[JobSystem jobs]] will specialize in one of the three.
7
8These characters will often form a BigThinShortTrio, in which the big one is almost invariably the strength.
9
10Compare with FighterMageThief, which may overlap with this (The fighter uses strength, the mage uses smarts and the thief uses speed). Compare ForceAndFinesse, where Force represent Brawn while Finesse can mean either Speed or Brains. Compare also CombatDiplomacyStealth, where the three qualities of this trope are used in not just combat situations. Compate BeautyBrainsAndBrawn, which is basically this trope but with beauty instead of speed, and BalanceSpeedStrengthTrio.
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12----
13
14!Examples
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16[[foldercontrol]]
17
18[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
19* ''Manga/Eyeshield21'':
20** There's the key players in Hakushuu Dinosaurs: Marco (the captain) as the brains, and his two trusted friends, Kisiragi (the speed; specializing in snatching the ball away and running) and Gaoh (the brawn; among the best linemen in Japan, often called a "dinosaur").
21** The core three members of the Deimon Devil Bats at the start of the story, Sena, Hiruma, and Kurita, embody Speed, Smarts, and Strength respectively. Sena is an absurdly gifted runner who can keep up with top-level NFL players, but is so small and scrawny that he struggles to tackle or shrug off being tackled. Hiruma is the smartest person on the Devil Bats and formulates all of their strategies as the quarterback. Kurita is a massive and powerful linebacker, but his frame makes him slow and lumbering and he leaves all the thinking to Hiruma.
22* The main PowerTrio of ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven GO'' consists of: Tenma, whose speed is incorporated in most of his special techniques, Tsurugi, the hard-hitting Ace Striker, and Shindou, the strategic game maker.
23* In ''Literature/LogHorizon'', the protagonist Shiroe is TheStrategist and brains, his BromanticFoil Naotsugu is TheTank and thus brawn, and their new friend Akatsuki is a {{Ninja}} and thus speed.
24* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has Ranma, Ryōga and Mousse. Ranma is the fastest of the group and usually wins his fights by avoiding their more dangerous attacks and getting in more hits than the other guy. Ryōga is the strongest of the group and usually wins his fights by soaking most of the damage and dealing out large scaled powerful techniques. Mousse is the smartest of the group and usually wins his fights by planning them out in advance and fighting dirty.
25* ''Manga/OnePiece'' follows this dynamic within the Monster Trio, with Luffy being the Speed, Zoro is the Strength, and Sanji is the Smarts.
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27[[/folder]]
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29[[folder:Comic Books]]
30* ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'': The original Young Justice team consisted of ComicBook/{{Impulse}} who is part of ComicBook/TheFlash family and has SuperSpeed, [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Robin (Tim Drake)]] who is part of the ComicBook/{{Batman}} family and exceptionally smart and [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Superboy (Conner Kent)]], who is a clone of ComicBook/{{Superman}} and thus super-strong. The three also formed a FreudianTrio as noted by Red Tornado in the very first issue of the series.
31* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': The ComicBook/New52 series introduces more dimensions like the Speed Force that power different powersets. First is the Strength Force, which makes channelers hulk out, granting super strength, [[DishingOutDirt control over earth]], gravity powers and density powers. The other is the Sage Force, which grants super intelligence and a wide variety of telepathic powers.
32* ''ComicBook/{{Bamse}}'': Bamse is well-known for being the strongest bear in the world. Lille Skutt has speed as his greatest skill. Skalman is very smart and wise and a gifted inventor.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
36* ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBirdsMovie'': Red, who is the most sensible and the one who comes up with the plans, is the smarts; Chuck, who can run incredibly fast, is the speed; and Bomb, who is TheBigGuy and can make explosions, is the strength.
37* In ''WesternAnimation/PussInBoots'', Humpty Dumpty's DreamTeam for the Cloud Castle heist consists of himself (brains), Puss (brawn), and Kitty (skill). Technically, both Kitty and Puss are great fighters but Kitty is consistently shown to be a tick faster.
38[[/folder]]
39
40[[folder:Literature]]
41* In ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'', the core trio has Lief as the strategic leader who uses his mind, Barda as the brute strength, and Jasmine as the most agile and nimble member.
42* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'': The trio of baddies who kidnap Buttercup is initially comprised of Vizzini (the mastermind, representing Smarts), Fezzik (a giant strongman, representing Strength), and Inigo (a master fencer, representing Speed).
43[[/folder]]
44
45[[folder:Live Action — TV]]
46* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'': The Trinity is comprised of this:
47** Barry Allen/The Flash is the resident [[SuperSpeed speedster]] who serves as Speed.
48** Oliver Queen/Green Arrow who is the BadassNormal tactician serves as Smarts.
49** Kara Danvers/Supergirl is a FlyingBrick who serves as Strength.
50* ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'': Drive's three primary forms specialize in these.
51** Type Speed is, as the name suggests, specialized in high-speed combat.
52** Type Wild is the strong form, sacrificing speed for higher physical strength and better defenses.
53** Type Technic is the smart form, giving Shinnosuke AwesomenessByAnalysis as well as the power to see things behind him.
54* ''Series/{{Lab Rats}}'': The Lab Rats is also comprised of this:
55** Adam Davenport is the Super Strong one of the siblings and despite being the oldest he is not the most bright of them on most occasions.
56** Bree Davenport is the Super Fast one of the siblings. She is also the middle child and only girl who is in between smart and dumb.
57** Chase Davenport is the Super Intelligent of the siblings, the youngest and the most arrogant of them.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:Video Games]]
61* The Cheetahmen from ''VideoGame/Action52'' have this dynamic. As their [[ComicBook/TheCheetahmen comic book]] would go into more detail on, Aries is the smallest and most nimble, Apollo spent much of his upbringing reading books and learning all about the ways of the world, and Hercules has the most raw strength.
62* ''Videogame/BlazBlue:'' Among the "3 Stooges of Torifune", Noel emphasizes speedy attacks and unpredictability, Tsubaki the book smart uses her special tome "Izayoi" to store power, and Makoto uses her sheer strength to deliver hard punches.
63* In ''VideoGame/BluePortJSummerSkyPrelude'', the three girls you control will either start with or gain abilities based on this dynamic. Honomi's skill is dolphin kicking for faster swimming, Chie's skill is pushing heavy underwater blocks for puzzle-solving, and Kokono's skill is ItemCrafting. [[spoiler:Near the end of the game, Kokono also gains the ability to see invisible numbers scattered throughout the island, numbers that can be used on the final big level puzzle in the game.]]
64* Out of the main bandicoot trio in the ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot'' series, Crash is generally depicted as the most dexterous and agile, while Coco is the tech genius, and Crunch is the powerhouse.
65* In ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'', the characters are grouped based on one of the three stats they're focusing on: Strength, Intelligence or Agility.
66* In the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', the FinalBoss will ask the player which of these qualities they would favour the most, then assumes a different form based on their response.
67* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': The 3 attack card types go like this - Quick are weak but speedy attacks that drop a lot of CriticalHit stars (which are required for scoring crits), Arts are controlled, medium-powered attacks that help charge the [[LimitBreak Noble Phantasm]] gauge, and Buster attacks are strong attacks that deal high raw damage but only drop few critical stars and do not fill the NP gauge at all. Thusly, characters who focus on Quick attacks (especially Assassin-class) are the speedy attacker types, those who focus on Arts attacks (especially Caster-class) are brainy/skilled types, and those who focus on Buster attacks (especially Berserker-class) are brawny/brutish types.
68* ''VideoGame/HeroesEvolved'': After a majority of MOBA games opted to follow the model set by ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', this game instead followed the model set by ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'', once again categorizing their heroes with their three main stats: Strength, Intelligence and Agility.
69* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': The three protagonists play like this - Ventus relies on high speed movements and moving around the enemy attacks, Aqua is the intelligent mage that attacks with wide area magic, and Terra conquers oppositions with his sheer strength.
70* ''VideoGame/KirbySqueakSquad'': Beyond Daroach, TheLeader of [[QuirkyMinibossSquad the Squeaks]], there's Spinni, the fast and agile {{Ninja}}, Storo, the huge DumbMuscle, and Doc, the Squeaks' brainy GadgeteerGenius.
71* ''VideoGame/MegaManX2'': The X-Hunters are a TerribleTrio consisting of Serges, the smart professor-like robot, Agile the lean speedy robot, and Violen, the huge, strong robot.
72* In ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'', the three core attributes are Dexterity, Intelligence, and Strength, so a PlayerParty consisting of a Ranger, a Witch, and a Marauder (classes associated primarily with those respective attributes) fills in all three roles nicely.
73* ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': The fully-evolved starters mix this trope with FighterMageThief. The Water/Dark-type Greninja is Speed, the Fire/Psychic-type Delphox is Smarts and the Grass/Fighting-type Chesnaught is Strength.
74* The ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'' series makes use of this in combination with FighterMageThief. While each class can {{Stat Grind|ing}} all of their abilities and skills to the maximum level for that game, each class has one main stat that gets focused on, and is easier to level up, than the others. For the Fighter and Paladin it's Strength, the Thief has Agility, and the Magic User has Intelligence. This is also reflected in the gameplay for the solution to many puzzles: The Fighter primarily uses brute force and feats of strength, the Thief relies on his speed and agility, and the Magic User a clever application of spells, (for example to break into the Brigand Fortress in the first game, the Fighter simply bashes the door down, the Thief climbs over the wall, and the Magic User casts a spell) with many of the solutions set specifically based on class.
75* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'': Sly is the agile thief, Bentley is the Main/GadgeteerGenius, and Murray is the Main/BoisterousBruiser.
76* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
77** Appears with the three main characters - Sonic the fastest, Tails the GadgeteerGenius and Knuckles the strongest. Made the core game mechanic of ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', with "Flight" replacing "Smarts."
78** The Babylon Rogues from ''VideoGame/SonicRiders'' consist of Jet, the speed-obsessed leader, Wave, the tech-savvy genius, and Storm, the DumbMuscle.
79* ''Videogame/WarcraftIII'': The game uses three stats for its heroes, which increase damage if it's the main one: Strength (increases health and regeneration), Agility (increases armor and attack speed), and Intelligence (increases mana and regeneration). They don't affect the damage of the heroes' spells, but most custom maps do so in order to increase their usefulness. While only one of the four factions (the Horde) has all three types, the expansion allows the hiring of mercenary heroes to round it out.
80* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', the three starting Warframes: Volt, Mag, and Excalibur have this dynamic. Volt is Speed, ramping up his speed dramatically to BulletTime and strikes first thanks to his ability to produce massive bursts of ChainLightning. Mag is Smarts, manipulating enemy positioning and stripping them of their armor before turning their own weapons against them. Excalibur is Strength, being the melee-oriented MasterSwordsman who can produce a sword made of energy that can fire {{Sword Beam}}s.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Webcomics]]
84* In ''Webcomic/DemonFist'', Shaise, Crag and Dither (the three [[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]] that [[HeroicHost live in Rory's arm]]) fit this to a T. Shaise is blindingly fast, Crag is huge and can hit extremely hard, and Dither is easily the smartest and most thoughtful of the four.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
88* ''WesternAnimation/TheBackyardigans'' episode "The Legend of the Volcano Sisters" gives us the Luau brothers Tyrone the Strong, Pablo the Swift, and Austin the Smart.
89* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' has Bubbles as the fastest (particularly proven during her race with E-Male in the episode, "Members Only"), Blossom as the ChildProdigy, and Buttercup as the toughest fighter.
90* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' has it’s titular trio, Eddy is speed, Double D is Smarts & Ed is [[DumbMuscle strength.]]
91* ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack:'' When Huey, Dewey, and Louie get superpowers in the first episode they become The Really Incredibly Fast Guy (SuperSpeed), Brain-Boy (super intelligence and psychic powers), and Captain Muscle (SuperStrength) respectively. Invoked in their theme song The T-Squad has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E0fQVXKZ_w 'muscles, brains, and speed to spare']]
92* The PowerTrio of Creator/{{Filmation}}'s series ''WesternAnimation/SpaceSentinels'' are composed of Hercules, a Nordic blond male with tremendous strength; Mercury, an Asian male with phenomenal speed; and Astrea, and African female with pleomorphic powers. Since Astrea, in most of her forms, is still the most vulnerable of the three, she's also an excellent tactician.
93* ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' features a villainous version in Thrust (smarts), Jetstorm (speed), and Tankor (strength)

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