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Why is he holding that money bag so awkwardly? Oh...

"I love the kind of woman that can kick my ass."
Spike Spiegel, Cowboy Bebop

This is the guy who finds a lady attractive because of her Amazon-ness. For instance, the guy could be looking for a Violently Protective Girlfriend, the other half of his Battle Couple, or finds a woman who refuses to submit and challenges him very enticing, or is just entranced by her unbridled power. Nothing would thrill him like getting plucked off the ground in an Effortless Amazonian Lift and carried away by her.

She herself could be The Protagonist who needs a guy who can appreciate a girl who's stronger, tougher, faster, and more aggressive than himself. Or she could just be a Girl of the Week for The Hero who prefers this type. She can even be an antagonist while the hero falls in Love at First Punch, and the harder she pummels him the more he wants to romance her.

If the guy is simply attracted to her Heroic Build instead of her badass feats then he is not this trope. Instead he is an example of Has a Type (with the "type" being muscular girls). She may be an Amazonian Beauty, Statuesque Stunner (or Giant Woman), or Ms. Brawn (from Beauty, Brains, and Brawn trio), and all of these are considered attractive by many. But unless this guy is also attracted to her strength and prowess, he doesn't qualify.

The genderflips are Women Prefer Strong Men (a female who is attracted to strong men) and All Amazons Want Hercules (a strong woman is attracted to a man who's stronger than she is). The flip-side proper (and thus where all Aversions, Subversions, and Inversions go) is No Guy Wants an Amazon.

Not to be confused with an Amazon Brigade or Amazonian Beauty or the actual geographic location.

Her side of the relationship might be Weakness Turns Her On.

Remember, this is not solely about attractive Action Girls. This is about someone being attracted to action girls in-universe because they are action girls. (Though the Action Girl's attractiveness is, logically, not completely out of the question. It is just incidental or a bonus on atop of the fighting ability.)


Examples

    open/close all folders 

    Comic Books 
  • The DCU and Justice League: Scott "Mister Miracle" Free and his wife, Action Girl Big Barda. Barda is a beautiful 7-foot-tall bruiser who towers over her husband, but that doesn't bother the super escape artist in the least. In fact, they are Happily Married, and he is so secure in his own skills and abilities that he gladly defers any heavy lifting or fighting to his wife, who is eager to smash the bad guys when appropriate. In a bit of meta-commentary, Barda's personality is based on their creator Jack Kirby's beloved wife Roz to whom he was married for over fifty years before his death in 1994.
  • Though at first they only had a fun time together, The Incredible Hercules falls in love with Namora (cousin of the Sub-Mariner) after he witnesses she's as much of a dirty fighter as him.
  • The Mighty Thor: Sif is introduced fighting a monster. Thor is instantly smitten. He outright states her strength and bravery are the reasons why.
  • Red Sonja. In the comics, many men are explicitly attracted to her because she is a woman who knows how to fight.
  • Steve Trevor, beau and eventual husband of Wonder Woman, a literal Amazon, is an Ur-Example of this trope. In the pre-Crisis DCU, he rarely showed concern about being overpowered. Post-Crisis, Wonder Woman generally doesn't get into romance either way—she just doesn't have time and Steve was paired off with Etta instead—but it's joked that small-time crooks will gladly get manhandled by her. She and Steve are back to their original relationship in Wonder Woman (Rebirth).
    • In Wonder Woman Vol 1, Marya is an eight foot tall well muscled young Mexican woman who has no shortage of admirers.
    • In the New 52, Superman certainly appreciates her strength and fighting skill. Their first meeting during Darkseid's invasion has him reacting to her cutting a swathe through parademons with an impressed, "You're strong" and her responding with a confident smirk, "I know.". The exchange is loosely adapted in Justice League: War. Sure enough, they end up together.
  • Sabretooth actually fits. He shows attraction to Jean Grey after she brutalizes him. When Mystique & Leisl are pissed & talk about their plans of vengeance, he admits to being turned on. Finally, his most recent love interest was Monet St. Croix, a woman dubbed the perfect mutant due to winning the Super Power Lottery. He admitted on one occasion that she was stronger than he was.
  • Gambit is definitely this especially towards his Action Girlfriend and now wife Rogue who far eclipses him in strength but he doesn't seem to mind at all. In fact whenever he spars with Rogue in the Danger Room, Gambit enjoys it immensely and nor is he put off by her being a Power Parasite, believing her touch no matter how deadly to be Worth It (much to Rogue's exasperation). In Mr. and Mrs. X, it's revealed Gambit first fell for Rogue when she punched him so hard that he went flying into a tree.
  • Pictured above: Marvel Comics' Jennifer Walters. For the most part, the super-powered men of the Marvel universe can't get enough of her seven-foot, green alter ego. Her experiences with mundane men are rather well-documented, too, usually with the implication Jen in her She-Hulk forms is much more outgoing and confident.
  • X-Men character Quentin Quire is attracted to muscular warrior women and not at all shy to express it.
    • Case in point: He's willing to become Lyra the Savage She-Hulk's "love slave".
  • Another X-Men example in Hellion. When he realizes he has a crush on Shark-Girl during Spider-Man and the X-Men, Hellion remarks on his tendency to be attracted to savage Action Girls (his previous romantic interest having been X-23).
    • While helping comfort Armor after Wolverine's death, she breaks his nose for making an insulting comment about Logan. Moments later, he casually suggests they hook up. And while Hisako might not seem to fit this trope, she's one of the few people who'd pick a fight with Wolverine just to make him feel better. And her method of comfort before Hellion shows up was a simulated Bar Brawl in the danger room.
  • It doesn't come up in dialogue much, but pretty much every woman Cyclops has been involved with is an Action Girl. His two major love interests are Jean Grey, who even without her immense psychic powers is tall, toned yet muscular and one hell of a fighter; and Emma Frost, who has Super-Strength and is also more than capable when forced to get her hands dirty. In alternate universes he's been involved with Storm, Carol Danvers and Frenzy. You could argue it's because he almost exclusively dates superheroines/reformed villainesses, but the one Muggle he was with was a tough-as-nails ship's captain turned interdimensional adventurer.
  • Tim Drake seems to pick this trope up in Red Robin. He fails to stop a fight between his new ally, Pru, and Stephanie Brown, because he's too busy gawping at how much better Steph has gotten at fighting (and how good she looks in her costume).
  • Disney Ducks Comic Universe:
    • Donald Duck seems to be one, going by his love interests and Ship Teases: Daisy packs a powerful punch and, in certain stories, is a spy on the side (and Donald knows), Paperinika is a superhero (and Daisy's alter ego), Lyla Lay is a Time Police droid capable with enormous physical strength, Xadhoom once swore to exterminate the Evronians for destroying her homeworld and has more than enough firepower to do it, and Kay K is another spy. The only exception would be Reginella, an alien queen noted to be petite, kind and all-around nice... Except she can be far more terrifying than Daisy, Lyla and Kay K put together thanks to her immense psychic powers allowing her to unleash a terrifying Mind Rape, she's just a near-Actual Pacifist who'd prefer simple psychic dissuasion or, at worst, unleashing Donald.
    • Urk got a crush for Lyla after seeing her immense physical strength, and the one woman to attract his attention back home was also the only person in the world who could beat him in combat.
    • Paperinik New Adventures had Angus fall for a Brought Down to Normal Xadhoom after she punched him out.
    • Groft Van Moore, also from PKNA, is the owner of a mercenary droid army and the warship Dama Elenthari with the name of Colonel Neopard. His girlfriend Dama Elenthari Lleyr Dalagh is best known as the Commander Alyonesse, and she's his main competitor.
  • In Kunskapens Korridorer, Jörgen falls in love with the athletic  tomboy Tove.
  • Spider-Man:
    • Most of the women Peter Parker has shown interest in are strong, independent, opinionated and not afraid to speak up. His two major love interests are Mary Jane Watson and Black Cat, both of whom fit these categories. Other women he has dated or shown an interest in include Carol Danvers, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Shanna the She-Devil and Mockingbird. Spidey has also flirted with She-Hulk; indeed, when he first met her in the Team-Up Series, he explicitly thought Jen was a “babe” instead of monstrous like everyone else up to that point and was very impressed with her strength. There was also the second crossover with Superman when Spidey briefly encountered Wonder Woman. After convincing her he wasn't an enemy, he quickly quips, "Is it too early in our relationship to propose marriage?" Bonus points for Wondy being a literal Amazon.
    • Many of Miles Morales' love interests are superheroines who can kick butt.
  • Discussed in Alias. Carol Danvers accuses Luke Cage behind his back of having a fetish for superpowered women, telling protagonist Jessica Jones that Luke has had a string of short relationships and one-night stands with everybody from Jessica Drew to She-Hulk. Cage counters when Jones questions him on it later that most of the women he knows are supers—"If I was a lawyer, I'd probably mostly date lawyers"—and points out that when they slept together in the first issue, she had come on to him.
  • From Legion of Super-Heroes, Lightning Lad and his twin sister Lightning Lass seem to be attracted to the same kind of woman, and that's "no-nonsense hardass who can and will kick the crap out of anyone that pisses them off." For Lightning Lad, that's Saturn Girl (who is called "Iron Butt Imra" for a reason), and for Lightning Lass that's Shrinking Violet (who Took a Level in Badass after she was held captive for several weeks). Interestingly, both of these women aren't exactly muscular and they don't have super strength, but they're repeatedly shown capable of taking down anyone that gets on their bad side and will not tolerate anyone's shit.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • Daredevil (2003): Both Matt and Bullseye are already attracted to Elektra Natchios, her fighting prowess only increased that attractiveness.
  • DC Extended Universe:
    • Wonder Woman (2017): Sameer is "both frightened... and aroused" upon seeing Diana take down the goon that nearly shoots Charlie at the bar.
    • Justice League (2017): While touching the Lasso of Truth, Aquaman says he's attracted to Wonder Woman because she is "gorgeous, fierce, and strong". Naturally, in Aquaman (2018), his eventual love interest Mera also has these qualities.
  • Ever After: Prince Henry is fascinated by the way "Nicole" climbs trees, swims alone, and is strong enough to hoist him over her shoulders.
  • Zig-zagged in Girlfight. Adrian is quickly attracted to tomboy and female boxer Diana, but he gets embarrassed when he's beaten by her, fearing that Diana won't respect him as a result (she actually does).
  • Surprisingly averted with Hundra's romantic interest in the eponymous film. He has no sexual interest in her until she gets a makeover. In fact, his lack of sexual interest is all that saves him from rape at her hands.
  • Jurassic World has Owen planting The Big Damn Kiss on Claire after she saves him from some raptors.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Thor is a big one, as he fully supported Sif's Lady of War status among the Asgardian Warriors and in Thor: Ragnarok he gushed upon learning Brunnhilde was part of the Valkyries.
      Thor: My God, you're a Valkyrie... You know, I used to want to be a Valkyries when I was younger, until I found out you were all women. There's nothing wrong with women, of course, I like women. Sometimes a little too much. Not in a creepy way, just more like a respectful appreciation. I think it's great, an elite force of women warriors. It's about time."
      • In Avengers: Endgame, Thor's reaction to Carol Danvers not even flinching when he summons his Star-Forged axe past her head is simply "I like this one".
    • Loki has shades of this throughout the Thor movies: charged moments in the first two with Sif (and the music composer for Loki (2021) says they slept together before he cut off part of her hair as a prank), he's amused that Jane has the gall to slap him in the second movie, and he's thrilled to find out that he fighting against an actual Valkyrie in the third.
    • Iron Man 3: Downplayed, but Tony's reaction to Pepper saving his life and blowing up Big Bad Killian falls under this.
    • In The Avengers (2012), Agent Coulson enjoys listening Black Widow kicking ass over the phone.
    • In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Big Bad Xu Wenwu aka The Mandarin to invade Ta Lo fights the beautiful gatekeeper Ying Li. As they duel their fight soon becomes like a dance and after she defeats him, Xu Wenwu is completely smitten. He returns later and they marry and she gives birth the eponymous protagonist Shang-Chi and his sister Xu Xialing.
  • Lorna Cole in Lethal Weapon 3 has absolutely no problem matching Martin Riggs in the ass-kicking department, a quality that contributes greatly to their eventual romance.
  • Two characters in Pixels:
    • Eddie expresses his wish to sleep with professional tennis player Serena Williams.
    • For over twenty years, Ludlow's been in love with Lady Lisa, a character clearly inspired by main characters of Kill Bill and Tomb Raider.
  • Callahan from the Police Academy films. Her first combat demonstration ends with her asking for a volunteer and every man present jumping to his feet.
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Finn has a look of awe after he sees Rey take down a couple of thieves by herself. He has a transparent crush on her for the rest of the film.
  • We Are the Night:
    • Tom is more turned on than hurt by the fact that Lena kicks him in the nuts to escape arrest at his hands. Over the rest of the film, he chases her, and at the end they go on the run.
    • Louise, similarly, is visibly entranced by the fact that Lena threw her off after she'd been bitten to run away. She later gets Lena into her group, with clearly amorous intentions.

    Music 
  • Kevin Welch: In "Hill Country Girl", the singer extensively describes how his woman is huge, strong and fierce.
    My woman's a fire eater
    My woman's 'bout six feet tall
    She comes from down in Texas
    She's got my number, y'all
    Yeah, she's a flash of lightning
    Yeah, she's got x-ray eyes
    Man, she can see right through you
    Don't trouble with your disguise
  • The Men That Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing: In "Goggles", the Men sing the praises of women who can win fistfights and strip engines.
  • "Lovely Wii Fit Trainer" is about a boy who has fallen in love with the Wii Fit Trainer and is ecstatic to learn that she's a new playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He gushes over her fighting style, dreams of receiving a compliment from her about his physical fitness, and even fantasizes about her beating up Mega Man.

    Myths & Religion 

    Professional Wrestling 
  • Jim Cornette, although he would deny it for most of his career, insisting such women were "awful" and "ugly", even though his actions were contrary to his words (though this was as much him being a Manchild sissy villain as it was not liking powerful women in general). Since working in the LPWA and becoming an owner of OVW for a time, Jim has admitted to finding women who can compete on par with men attractive. He maintains that he still sees no appeal in female body builders, though, and still hates breast implants.
  • Larry Sweeney, while not usually an active pursuer, would pay compliments and offer job opportunities to women such as Sara Del Rey.
  • One of OVW's Gorgeous Georges, Paradyse, has admitted he likes women, but only mannish ones (even though CJ Lane really isn't by wrestler standards, she at least dresses the part).
  • Also, OVW's White Kryptonite Eddie Diamond, who showed this in his pursuits of Epiphany and Lei'D Tapa. Epiphany reciprocated his feelings, Tapa did not, the two were going to fight when Tapa insulted the couple but Diamond wanted to make peace and loving.
  • This trope partially makes up the gimmick of Stalker Ichikawa from IWRG, Dragon Gate, Pro Wrestling ZERO1, Pro Wrestling Noah, Pro Wrestling Guerilla, the NWA and others. (Good luck escaping, ladies.)
  • Tazz notably supported and admitted attraction to the giant dominatrix Shaniqua on Smackdown and the Ax-Crazy Daffney Unger on TNA when his broadcast partners were less than enthused by them; though he questioned his own tastes in the latter case, he still stuck by them.
  • Beth Phoenix known as 'The Glamazon' attracted the affections of Santino Marella after she defeated him easily in a match. Matt Striker also claimed once, on commentary during a match of hers, that he may be in love upon seeing Beth thrash a jobber.
  • Daniel Bryan admitted he was turned on when he saw his kayfabe girlfriend Gail Kim knock someone out with a guillotine choke.
  • In All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling the singer in Takako Inoue's theme, "She is a Knockout", sings about how he's fallen for her because she can kick his ass.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Talislanta: The setting is home to the Danuvians, a near-human folk in which the women are Proud Warrior Race Gals, while the men are delicate and housebound. Polyandry is common, as many Danuvians keep both a beautiful Danuvian husband to father their children (no Half-Danuvian Hybrids here), and a husky non-Danuvian warrior husband, whose physical prowess and military background give them something in common to talk about. Thus, these warrior-women fulfill both sides of this trope simultaneously, where tastes in men are concerned.
  • Pathfinder: In the "Wrath of the Righteous" adventure path and the video game adaptation, Anevia recounts that this was how she fell for her eventual wife, the tall and strong half-orc Irabeth. When Anevia was captured by the evil Zon-Kuthon's cultists and about to be sacrificed, Irabeth stormed in and defeated the villains in a great display of strength and heroism. Anevia described it as Love at First Sight.

    Visual Novels 
  • Hatoful Boyfriend: Hiyoko Tousaka is the protagonist of an otome game. Her love interests are birds, and she's capable of throwing two out a window at once. She's also a Contemporary Cavewoman, seen as a barbarian, and has more emphasis on the hunter part of hunter-gatherer. Nobirdie is discomfited by this and several love interests have positive comments on her stature and strength, though most of the "romances" seem more like "forging close personal friendships".
  • Little Busters!: In Kurugaya's route, Riki, who himself is a Moe Non-Action Guy, is mainly attracted to her because of how cool she is. The other male childhood friends find this inexplicable, as to them she's just terrifying.
  • Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2: A very downplayed example occurs with Hikami. Go touring with him on your second-year field trip and he'll attempt to lift a giant staff to fulfill the superstition that any man who can do so will have great success in life. The heroine suggests she should try, too, but Hikami tells her the superstition is Different for Girls: a woman who manages to lift the staff will be high-strung and dominate her husband. Hikami then muses to himself that things would certainly be interesting if the two of you were together, then quickly blushes and tells you that he didn't say anything and to forget it. This is especially surprising because Hikami is a bespectacled Lovable Nerd who constantly enforces school rules, and he's normally attracted to your high Study stat instead.
  • Shall We Date?: Ninja Shadow: The Player Character Saori/"Kaname" is a bifauxnen Action Survivor who must go from a Naïve Newcomer to an Action Girl. Her potential boyfriends are all very skilled fighters and, in one way or another, will love to see the MC take levels in badass. The ones that fit the most here are Toru Nakagawa (who is actually an Anti-Villain and falls for Saori because he's impressed by her pluck) and Hijikata, who perfectly defines his type in the following words:
    "I like women who are bold!"

    Web Animation 

    Webcomics 
  • Big Break (2019): Troy, being a Chick Magnet, sometimes attracts women who are muscular, athletic and tall. Then again, he doesn't actively look for them, but he does accept their attention nonetheless. His roommates Kris and Miko, an ex-MMA fighter and martial arts instructor respectively, both desire Troy and often sleep with him.
  • Chitra: Although Tyrex is totally loyal to his summoner and happily calls her his "Master", he's still attracted to certain features traditionally consider more masculine. In a humorous Imagine Spot in Chapter 44, he fantasizes about the delicate, feminine Chitra becoming taller and more muscular (...and more interested in having an intimate relationship with him):
    Tyrex: There'll be a day when our Master will need to use her stamina. It'd be nice if she used it on me. It'd be so wonderful if our Master could grow to be two meters tall with a six-pack and still have lots of energy after going a few rounds a day~
  • Coming To The Lavender: The main character Aaron developes a crush on the 8 foot tall bug creature Myfawny after she saves his life. He finds her bizarre, monsterous appearance and Violently Protective Girlfriend leanings very attractictive and comforting.
  • Bronze Skin Inc.: The plot revolves around a company that specializes in tanning giant women, with Julia, a fanatic fan of those giantesses.
  • Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures: It's kind of a Running Gag that Daniel Ti'fiona has a thing for Amazons, but never gets the chance to score with one. Considering his father's first wife (his half-sister's mother) was an actual Amazon it's probably hereditary.
  • Daughter of the Lilies: Lyra meets her eventual girlfriend when the woman faces a rampaging demon in single combat, sustains a serious injury, and shrugs off medical help to order Lyra to finish the job, provoking a magnificent Crush Blush.
  • Dominic Deegan see Bort's reaction when the girl he's had his eye on grows spikes and starts slaughtering the guys trying to capture them.
  • El Goonish Shive: Susan aka "the angry feminist chick" looks more than fine, but Matt, the president of student council, evidently got a crush on her due to being impressed by her roaring at him and the principal over the new dress code. He eventually asks her out, but she turns him down. It's implied that this is more due to her intimacy issues rather than any particular problem with Matt himself.
  • Girl Genius:
    • Agatha and Gil are turned on by each other's Sparky inventions, which usually consist of large weapons they use in combat. At one point, Gil confides with Wooster that he'd always dreamed of meeting a girl who was a Spark of his caliber.
    • All the Jaegers take this to a new level — their idea of flirting is the woman in question beating them up.
      Andre: [wistfully] She iz zo sharp... zo dangerous, like a pudding-bag full of knives!
    • Higgs is possibly another example — his first impression of Zeetha is when they're in a barfight, and most of the time they spend together right up until he admits his feelings involve them fighting various enemies.
      Zeetha: Just what are you implying?
      Higgs: Miss, you look so extraordinarily dangerous, I wouldn't think of implying anything.
    • Which makes sense, since it's been confirmed that Higgs is actually a very human-looking, very old Jaegergeneral. His tastes are more civilized than usual, of course.
  • Gunnerkrigg Court: Andrew Smith ends up in a happy relationship with Parley, a Lad-Ette Magic Knight trainee who's One Head Taller than him. When she returns from training with Charles Atlas Superpowers and a muscular body to match, he's... quite enthusiastic.
  • The Heroes of Crash: Titanium Maiden, an amazon, is used to being treated badly because of her looks. Belt Boy however, is instantly smitten.
  • The Noordegraaf Files: Theo has a major crush on resident Action Girl Katrina after seeing her practice sparring. Although, given Kat has had at least thirty different boyfriends, this might not be an uncommon trait in the comic's universe.
  • The Order of the Stick has a female paladin named Miko Miyazaki. After some initial gender confusion Roy is attracted to her and repeatedly asks her out until he realizes that she's fanatically Lawful and more than a little overzealous.
  • Sluggy Freelance: Zoë gets a moment of this in this strip.
    Zoë: I've destroyed a vampire queen, crushed a demon under my foot, I'm the goddam Storm Breaker and you will not treat me like some porcelain doll who can't take the truth!
    Torg: You're so hot right now.
  • Val and Isaac: A female example with Sila, who falls for Val after a bout in a virtual reality gym.
    Sila: Whoa! You actually look like that?!
    Val: Yeah? What was I supposed to look like?
    Sila: I dunno, I thought you were using some video game avatar or something!
    Beat
    Sila: Please tell me your abs are real too.
  • Tomboy GF: Shion, the titular character, has a boyfriend who loves muscular women, with a particular predilection toward rock-hard abs. The best way to get him energized is when Shion exposes her own to him.
  • Wapsi Square: Owen likes this type as shown here.

    Websites 
  • Serina: In Silly Little Things, a male flutterfox takes it into his head to court a female moonbeast, a much larger specimen of an unrelated lineage of flying tribbetheres. She's over twice his size and a predator of creatures very similar to himself, but he manages to approach her safely by day due to moonbeasts hunting only at night, and eventually igratiates himself into her tolerance through habit and offerings of food.

    Web Videos 
  • Broken Bonds: Although P'mis will serve a strong master of any gender, he seems particularly interested in women.
  • Critical Role: Grog the goliath barbarian enjoys women of any kind (usually in those places where you can pay for lady favours), but his interest is particularly piqued when a woman can kick ass. Two in particular have drawn his eye on screen, namely The Siren (a red-headed pit fighter) and Lady Kima (a halfling paladin of Bahamut).
  • The Nostalgia Critic: The Critic, to the point where he'd let the women from "Cell Block Tango" snuff him, and he hires Tamara because she tortured him and views go up when he's hurting. And when his show become more of an Ensemble Cast, most of his male characters have this Author Appeal too.
  • TB Skyen: Skyen has been known to openly thirst over very muscular female character designs such as Illaoi or post-rework Akali from League of Legends.


 
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Saiyan's choice in women

Ever wondered why both Goku and Vegeta willingly stay with their sometimes aggressive wives? Well, an aggressive female is a turn on for them.

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