Angelus was so badass he was still badass when he had a soul.
And as a puppet.
He was so badass when he was a puppet, he FINALLY managed to beat up Spike. (OK, so it was because Spike couldn't stop laughing even as he got pummeled, but it counts.)
To Band of Brothers fans (and the rest of the cast members) it's James Madio — who played Frank Perconte. Most of the cast members tell the same story of James Madio allegedly starting a massive Bar Brawl in Soho, and somehow high-tailing it back to his hotel room before the police got there. This is in addition to other stories such as him biting Neal McDonough on the chest or defecating in everyone's trailers. The rest of the stories say he's quite the Nice Guy, merging this trope with All-Loving Hero it seems.
For a brief time, Billy Mays enjoyed a similar legacy:
Fact: Billy Mays attributes his pitching prowess to a PS/2 Caps Lock key he swallowed in his youth.
Fact: Chuck Norris once tried to roundhouse-kick Billy Mays in the face. Before his foot left the ground, he was already on his second of three easy payments of $29.95.
Seeley Booth in Bones. The original version of the official Bones forum had Chuck Norris jokes replaced with Seeley Booth jokes.
Brennan gets into it as well sometimes, as in, she will defeat you with her brain.
Buffy's plan in Season 7 involves becoming this. Results vary.
Buffy: They're trapped in here. Terrified. Meat for the beast, and there's nothing they can do but wait. That's all they've been doing for days. Waiting to be picked off. Having nightmares about monsters that can't be killed. But I don't believe in that. I always find a way. I'm the thing that monsters have nightmares about. And right now, you and me are gonna show 'em why. It's time. Welcome to Thunderdome.
Also, in a more unusual example, Xander. By any Real Life standards, Xander is badass simply by merit of the fact that he's still alive after seven years of fighting the Good Fight (or more, depending on whether you count the Season 8 comics as canon). In many a Fan Fic, this is taken up to eleven, and Xander effectively becomes the merciless god of his universe.
Michael Westen counts in-universe. Four armed members of a Russian Black Ops team will surrender because, "There are only four of us and he's Michael Westen."
"If the Devil had a name, it would be Chuck Finley."
God made Eve out of Adam's rib, because that was all that was left after John Casey was done with him.
In-universe Chuck Bartowski's "Charles Carmichael" alias has risen to Memetic Badass status within the CIA and even extending to his adversaries. In "reality" Chuck himself generally relies on his wits to accomplish missions, though post-Intersect 2.0 he can switch to Genius Bruiser mode if he has to.
Derek Morgan and Aaron Hotchner from Criminal Minds. The former is a door-kicking bald, Scary Black Man. The latter can bring down serial killers with a single well-placed observation. Oh, and he killed the murderer of his wife, one of the show's most vicious serial killers who also nearly killed Hotchner. Hotch did this by beating the bastard with his bare hands.
To put it bluntly, serial killers check under the bed before they go to sleep to make sure Aaron Hotchner's not there.
His own son swapped out his Halloween Spider-Man costume for a G-man suit because "Spider-man isn't a real superhero."
In-universe, Jason Gideon has this reputation.
As does Agent Rossi, who wrote books on behavioral analysis while in retirement and is somewhat of a celebrity in the criminology field. A few unsubs knew his name and reputation and seemed to relish matching wits with him as a Worthy Opponent.
Emily Prentiss has gained a reputation for being extremely hard-headed — literally — and be pretty much invincible due to sheer force of will.
Spencer Reid manages to be badass by not getting himself killed despite being a physical wimp who sucks with a gun. Repeatedly.
Two words: Penelope Garcia. That girl can get any information from any system. Even stuff that would never be on a computer. Never fails. And within seconds. Now that is Badass.
Even poison ivy knows not to mess with David Rossi.
The Daleks themselves in "The Stolen Earth". Considering everything every companion of the Doctor has faced. Jack faced the son of the Devil. The Daleks show up with one message: "EXTERMINATE". Everyone is near tears.
The Doctor qualifies too, as an in-universe example. The aforementioned memetic badass Dalek is from a race who tells legends about him. His true name is the question that must not be answered but it supposedly has 38 syllables.
Doctor: Everyone has nightmares. Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares. Don't you, monster?
Doctor: Do you know what they call me, in the ancient legends of the Dalek homeworld? The Oncoming Storm.
According to the books, The Daleks — the most dangerous evil thing in the known universe, the thing that humanity until the end of time itself considers worse than the Devil — call the Doctor "The Bringer of Darkness" and "The Oncoming Storm," while their progenitor names him "Destroyer of Worlds."
From "Forest of the Dead":
Doctor: I'm The Doctor and you're in the biggest library in the Universe. Look me up.
He says this while facing a living shadow that could strip the flesh off his bones in a few seconds. But when they find out who he is, they run.
From "The Family of Blood":
Tim Latimer: "He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful."
From "The Pandorica Opens":
Doctor: There was a goblin, or a trickster... Or a warrior... A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. And nothing could stop it or hold it, or reason with it. One day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world.
Also from "The Pandorica Opens":
Doctor: Look at me! No plan, no backup, no weapons worth a damn. Oh, and something else I don't have. Anything. To. Lose! So, if you're sitting up there in your silly little spaceship with all your silly little guns, and you've got any plans on taking the Pandorica tonight, just remember who's standing in your way. Remember every black day I ever stopped you, and then, AND THEN...do the smart thing. Let somebody else try first. (The Enemy Armada retreats)
From "The Wedding of River Song":
Doctor: Imagine you were dying and a long way from home and in terrible pain. And just when you think it couldn't get any worse, you look up and see the face of the devil himself. [Beat] Hello, Dalek.
The baseball was enhanced by the power of Rassilon. She beat it up because it called her small.
Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. A man so awesome that no-one even needs to use his name, because all lesser brigadiers have bowed down before him. "I just do the best I can," he said. Then he blew a demon back to hell. With a revolver.
He also doesn't let little things like death and having his body taken over by Cybermen keep him from saving his daughter and the world.
Captain America may have punched Hitler in the face...but the Brigadier punched The Master in the face. (No, really. He did.)
Rory Williams: The Last Centurion.
Remember that 'nameless, terrible thing soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies'? Rory Williams punched it in the face. He also scared a bunch of Cybermen by just uttering one question.
The best part is, Steven Moffat himself has partaken of the Rory Williams Facts.
"Let's Kill Hitler" shows that the writers are well aware of Rory's badass status. Not satisfied to have him punch Hitler in the face without hesitating and then punch a robot in the face WITHOUT EVEN NOTICING, this exchange confirms that Rory can simply do whatever the hell he wants: "Can you ride a motorbike?" "I expect so. It's that sort of day."
In "God Complex," there is a hotel where a room exists containing the fear of every being who sets foot in it. It shows Rory the exit.
Let's make this clear: Even THE DOCTOR is shown something he fears. Rory has no fear... but rather than show him nothing the hotel shows him the exit. Rory isn't merely fearless... he scared the damn hotel so much it wants him to LEAVE. He is making fear itself afraid!
The trend continues in the IDW licensed Doctor Who comic book. The Doctor and Rory (who was wearing a tuxedo at the time) wound up in London on The Home Front, and saved the life of Ian Fleming. Rory thus inspired the creation of James Bond.
Amy: You think you'll just come back to life?
Rory: When don't I?
An up-and-coming example is baby Alfie from Closing Time (that's Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All to you peasants.)
"A Good Man Goes To War" shows the down side of this. Having such a terrifying reputation is convenient for scaring off overzealous Space Police who threaten your favourite planet, but it can also drive your enemies to do terrible things just to get the slightest advantage over you — such as stealing a child conceived on the TARDIS and experimenting on it to create a Time Lord of their own. When the Doctor asks why they'd go to such lengths to create their own Time Lord, Vastra simply replies "They've seen you," which doesn't do wonders for his mood. If that wasn't a big enough kick in the teeth, the Doctor's deeds have become so well-known that the word 'Doctor' means 'warrior' instead of 'healer' on some planets. Just to counter this somewhat from "The Wedding of River Song", even with all of time and space unravelling, the reply to a distress beacon sent by River saying that 'the Doctor is dying, please help', is basically 'yes of course we'll help'.
That "Yes, of course we'll help." is sent by not just one person, alien, planet or group. But by a trillion, trillion separate entities, all willing to do anything to save The Doctor. The number of responses is so large that it causes sunspots.
Barbara Wright is fairly badass in the TV episodes, but fandom often has her as an unstoppable stone killer in pumps and a turtleneck.
Her response to a swarm of Daleks on the road in front of her was to drive through them in a truck.
River Song is an in-universe example: the psychopath who was raised to kill the Doctor and married him instead, the daughter of the Last Centurion and Amelia Pond, who comes and goes from the most secure prison in the universe as she pleases. The Daleks may fear the Doctor, but they beg for the mercy of River Song.
For an out-of-universe example, the fandom has latched onto Sue from Catering, even though she only appears for four seconds in the Doctor Who 500 Miles Cast & Crew special. Here come the drums!
In universe on Farscape as there are lots of (VERY exaggerated) stories about Crichton & Co's exploits floating around.
Borlik: You know, I heard he destroyed a Peacekeeper Gammak Base, murdered an entire Nebari battalion, even laid waste to a Shadow Depository. The guy was a devil: he raped and pillaged, he popped eyeballs-
Crichton: Whoa-whoa! Where do they get these stories? Let's set the facts straight. First off, there was no raping, very little pillaging, and Frau Blucher popped all the eyeballs.
Nathan Fillion is Made Of Awesome, just check out his Tropes page!
The Flash (2014): After HR saved Iris from Savitar by switching places with and posing as her with a hologram, fans began declaring that he’s the greatest actor in the multiverse and could defeat any villain by switching places with something. Amusingly, prior to this he was considered a total loser and just barely a step above a Red Shirt, only for opinions to do a complete 180 after the above event.
In-universe: Frasier's aunt Zora is a violent person feared by all, said to have joined the WWII Greek Partisans just so she could strangle Nazis. Since she was about 5 at the time, they say she did it with a jumping rope.
Sue Sylvester doesn't breathe, she holds air hostage.
There is no 'ctrl' button on Sue Sylvester's computer, Sue Sylvester is always in control. Why would Sue Sylvester want to type in lower case? HER FORCEFUL VOICE RINGS STRONG THROUGHOUT THE INTERNET!
Sue Sylvester does not go 'hunting'. That kind of terminology implies the possibility of failure. Sue Sylvester goes killing.
Sue Sylvester once had a bet with Chuck Norris over who was the bigger badass. The loser had to star in "Walker, Texas Ranger".
And then during Season 11 for a winner's return service, pretty much every chef remaining were terrified once Dave showed up. Not only that, but he now had two working arms. Cyndi probably put it best.
The Red Ranger of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger is increasingly becoming more badass. He started off as a badass when we only knew his name. Captain MARVELOUS!!!!!!
His teammate Joe, the Blue Ranger, is capable of fighting with five swords at once.
Kazumi Sawatari/Kamen Rider Grease in Kamen Rider Build is seen as one of the most badass characters in the show for his fierce fighting style and awesome dying moment against Evolt's genetic mimics. Him being an obsessive Loony Fan of resident internet idol Mii-Tan doesn't at all mitigate his badassery in fans eyes, and in fact increases it since he eventually earns Misora's affections at the end of his V-Cinema movie.
Conan O'Brien's near-nightly Walker, Texas Ranger skits on the former Late Night, where he would pull the "Walker Texas Ranger Lever," causing a clip of Chuck Norris to play doing something suitably badass... usually culminating in a roundhouse kick.
LazyTown: Robbie Rotten is Number One, and cancer gets Robbie Rotten sickness. He'll even save the day from anything that kids shouldn't be watching.
Remember that world-destroying Beast Planet from Shadow Raiders, which the heroes could never defeat by any means? Robbie actually stops said Beast Planet...with only a curtain.
Eliot Spencer is very nearly this in universe in Leverage.
Richard Alpert. Most cite his "beginning in badassery" to the episode "LaFleur", where Richard simply walks into the DHARMA Barracks compound, holding a torch, which he then slams into the ground and sits on a bench as if he owns the place. Not to mention the sonic death fence that surrounds the Barracks, which apparently doesn't harm him. Because he's Richard Alpert.
The television forum on GameFAQs has taken this meme a step further by actually developing a fake episode called "Wrestling With Angels," which is a four hour long episode in which Richard does everything from sword duel with Jacob over a volcano to having a threesome with Kate and Juliet. There even exists a Youtube video in which the chateau fight scene from The Matrix Reloaded is edited to feature Richard fighting off various Lost characters.
Macgyver from... well MacGyver. He's crafty, alright, but as far as the internet's concerned, he can make a nuke out of a paperclip, some gum, and a pencil.
When in doubt, just ask yourself: "What would Don Draper do?"
Don wrote a guide on how to pick up women. Rule 1: Be Don Draper. There are no other rules.
And when that fails, do what Joan Holloway would do.
Married... with Children Al Bundy. Paragon of all that is man, and general God to the abused minimum wage workers of the world.
Jamie Hyneman, thanks mostly in part to his mythologically complex past and Adam's enthusiasm with it's comic potential.
Applies black paint wearing a white shirt. That is fearless.
On Nash Bridges, an accountant for a Chinese triad (Barry Chen) tries to paint his boss (Bobby Wu) as one of these to the gangsters robbing him.
Barry: You don't wanna mess with Bobby Wu. I'm telling you, man. I once saw him take a guy's cajones and make Dim Sum out of them. I'm telling you, man. I once saw him take a guy's intestines and pull them out through his nostrils. I'm telling you, man.
Gangster: Shut up.
NCIS Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Gibbs is an example in-universe: Abby is fairly certain he could take Godzilla in a fight. She also believes he would defeat Mothra and all the Terminators at the same time. The only fight she thinks would actually be a fight would be Gibbs vs. Gibbs. She's not sure whether the second Gibbs would be a clone or Evil Twin.
The very idea is scary on a fundamental level. One would assume that fire and brimstone would come into play before the first punches are thrown?
In all fairness, the Gibbs v. Gibbs battle is a rip-off of SNL's Bill Swerski's Superfans' "Ditka/Bears/Bulls vs. x." Based on their answer, the UN would step in before such a battle could occur, to prevent the space-time continuum from being destroyed. Maybe it's more of an "unstoppable force vs. immovable object" type thing.
Tony once compared Gibbs arresting God to The Thing arresting The Hulk. On another occasion, he stated that a silver bullet wouldn't kill Gibbs, although it would make him mad.
Lets just say that there's a very good reason Gibbs is the subject of THE quote for this trope. But only Gibbs knows what it is.
Ziva is a less emphasized example of the trope.
Agent: Did Agent David bring a weapon?
Gibbs: She is a weapon.
Ben invokes this with his dad in Outnumbered... some of the time.
The original Green Power Ranger was the best Ranger ever. If something threatens this planet in the Power Rangers universe, and Tommy is nearby, he will immediately develop Ranger Powers. No exceptions. This has led to parts of the fandom converting to the Church of Oliver. "And the Lord said, 'Aww, man!'" Jeebus be praised!
Jason Lee Scott, the original Red Power Ranger, also qualifies. He's beaten Tommy at least once in canon (the first person to actually do so, in fact) and was leader of the team before Tommy, with many fans to this day holding Jason as the gold standard for all Red Rangers and leaders. It's often said that if Tommy can't handle a problem, Jason can.
Adam, who seems to be working his way up. That's because he has achieved Bankai, possesses Geass, and is capable of summoning a Persona, among other things. Perhaps the power of kissing developed into several handy powers.
And you'd better smoke him a smegging kipper, cause he WILL be back for breakfast!
Shiba Takeru, the famous lord of the Shiba clan in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. After quite a period of screaming Hot-BloodedRookie Red Ranger who have to train their way to the top, Takeru was introduced taking down a shitload of Mooks on his own and did so very awesomely. Most of the series show him being the mentor to his fellow Rangers and the one they depend on in critical moments, which makes him very memetic as a badass.
Saturday Night Live had a series of sketches where everyone was talking about how awesome Bill Brasky was. He usually never actually appeared, but many of the things said about him were eventually relegated into Chuck Norris facts.
When a new Bill Brasky sketch appeared on a 2013 episode, someone made this comment on a popular TV message board:
I didn't realize this had been a recurring sketch before, I just thought it sounded like the writers had googled a bunch of Chuck Norris jokes and changed the name.
Count von Count from Sesame Street was thrust into internet heroism when Donald Trump called on his supporters to "Stop the Count!" But you can't stop the Count! He will count every vote!
Mary as well. Former CIA assassin, and pregnant. You really shouldn't mess with her.
South Beach Tow: Nothing in the universe can stop Bernice. To quote Diamondbolt after he watched the show:
"More or less, what I got from all of that is that Bernice would absolutely destroyGoku in a fight and none of us mortals stand a chance."
Spitting Image does this in-universe with Doctor David Owen. Not only does he have a smooth voice, and run the Liberal-SDP Alliance by himself, but the guy can run an entire commons debate by himself (playing people on both benches, and the speaker) and even '''breakdance'''.
Stargate SG-1: SG-1 is this in-universe. It's acknowledged by pretty much everyone that if you need the world saved, make sure Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, Daniel Jackson or Teal'c is around.
That's Teal'c, with an apostrophe.
Stargate Atlantis's main team is this as well. Specifically, Rodney McKay. Yes. Meredith Rodney McKay. Smartest man in the universe. Saviour of the world. Canadian. He's the guy people look at when things go bad. To the point that Sam Carter, the previous holder of the Smartest Person in the Universe title, has started looking to McKay for solutions.
John Sheppard became this in-universe as of the second episode. One of the first things we learned about the Athosians is their version of tag, wherein one kid wears a Wraith mask and hunts the other. After the Athosians moved to Atlantis, the game is now "Major Sheppard hunts the Wraith".
Ronon Dex has an infinite supply of knives.
In "Midway", Ronon and Teal'c meet. They proceed to have a no-holds-barred fight that lasts for over an hour before Carter breaks it up, before teaming up to take down the entire army of Wraith that have taken over the SGC and Midway Station. While it was the supposedly the self-destruct that caused Midway Station to explode, it's more likely it simply couldn't contain that amount of sheer awesome in such a confined space.
Star Trek: Of course, it makes sense James T. Kirk had the know-how to create gunpowder, put together a bazooka, and use it to severely injure the Gorn. That's why he's the goddamn Captain.
How great is Kirk? He ignored the rules of chemistry to build a cannon that the MythBusters proved wouldn't work.
Klingons in general. They are a proud warrior race and you can actually buy real batliths at specialty stores. They're so badass that according to their legends, they killed their own gods. To quote Worf, "they were more trouble than they were worth."
In First Contact, Worf tells Picard "If you were any other man I would kill you where you stand." According to Niners, Worf meant to add "...Except Sisko."
In-universe, nobody is exactly sure what Garak (plain, simple Garak) can accomplish. They end up deciding he can do anything and coming to him with every problem. It always works.
In-universe, the Federation's engineers are, according to Keevan (a Vorta-of-the-week) capable of turning rocks into replicators.
Amusingly, in the TNG episode "Relics," Scotty admits to forcing this meme himself by routinely overestimating his repair times so he could reliably get the work done ahead of schedule. Kirk, to his credit, did call him on it a couple of times in the TOS-era, but Scotty blatantly admits it to fellow engineer Geordie LaForge. He also, apparently, wrote tighter-than-necessary safety standards for starship equipment; presumably for similar reasons. Actual engineers do extend their work-time estimates beyond what is strictly needed for a task for very good reasons: If something unexpected happens, you have time to cover it; and if it goes well you'll be praised for getting the task done before your timeline.
And who can forget the most important man in Federation history: Chief Petty Officer Miles Edward O'Brien.
SF Debris does this up to eleven with Ben Sisko. The list of reasons he's awesome is so long, the only surface big enough to write it on is his dick. Not to mention that unlike all of the other examples on this page, Sisko actually can legitimately call himself a god.
And by extension, the USS Defiant, which was designed by Sisko, and is basically a set of guns strapped to an engine. Defiant was Sisko's second choice, as Starfleet wouldn't let him name it the USS Ben Sisko's Mother-Fuckin' Pimp Hand.
Obi-Wan Kenobi resulted in Owen and Beru Lars to become memetic badasses when they take on Reva, an Inquisitor (albeit a wounded one) in order to protectLuke from her. This has led to fans interpreting their death in A New Hope not as a result of the Empire cruelly murdering two harmless farmers, but rather as Owen and Beru going out guns blazing. And then, there is the joke theory that the two charred bodies from the Lars farm aren't Owen and Beru, but rather all that remains of the stormtroopers that were sent to arrest them.
Supernatural's Dean Winchester once visited the Virgin Islands. Now they're just the Islands.
The only reason monsters still exist in the Supernatural universe is that Dean hasn't gotten around to killing them yet.
Misha Collins had a day on twitter dedicated to reiterating such facts as "The healing powers of Misha Collins' fine ass will save the economy". This was largely organised by people from Mishaland.
Castiel is an ANGEL of the motherfucking LORD.
He stood up to the Devil, called God a son of a bitch, molotov'd the Archangel Michael with holy fire, lied to other archangels, made Raphael his little bitch, and is now the new God, bitches.
Let us not forget that he has died three times and is still going strong.
No machine is safe from Cameron. She would have crushed Skynet singlehandedly, but she wants the humans to feel relevant.
George Laszlo gets this treatment in-universe after Cromartie (having stolen his identity) killed off an entire FBI team in the Season 1 finale.
A kid with a crush on Veronica Mars once hired her to find his allegedly runaway father. He neglected to mention his father died years ago, so she'd never solve the case and she'd have to keep coming back to him. Veronica found the kid's dad, alive with a new name, 2 days later.
An in-universe example from The Wire: "Omar comin'!" A man so memetically badass that when he walks by stash-houses unarmed, the dealers are so scared they surrender the drugs without a fight or even a threat. So legendary is Omar that when he dies, the story of his murder inflates to a death-squad of mobsters with AK-47s because no one can believe Omar was killed by a little kid with a pistol.
In the actual series, Badger and Skinny Pete are just a pair of junkies (although surprisingly street-smart in the latter's case). To the fandom, thanks to the scene in the finale when Walt pay them to pretend to be snipers, they are known as the "two best hitmen west of the Mississippi" as Walt calls them as a bluff.
Huell, one of Saul's "A-Team". You better make sure he's reasonably happy.
Lyle from the spin-off Better Call Saul is just a meek fast-food restaurant assistant manager, but the fandom insists that he is The Man Behind the Man of Gus' drug operation and more ruthless than Gus himself. Some on the other hand claims that Lyle is geniunely loyal to Los Pollos Hermanos, and is so dedicated that he would go to work on time tomorrow even if the restaurant got blown up with him inside.
