Basic Trope: Most Russians in fiction are invariably big and strong.
- Straight: One of hero's friends is Nikolai: a six-foot-three, very muscular, yet none too bright man sporting a tough beard (though a bald head and a rocket launcher.
- Exaggerated:
- Nikolai is a 10' tall Super-Soldier able to throw cars at helicopters and yet he is dwarfed by Russians who are actually big (he's a Large Runt by comparison).
- ALL Russians are portrayed like this... And yes, that includes the women.
- Downplayed: Nikolai is not bigger or stronger than his American friends, but he's more serious and knows how to fight.
- Justified:
- Nikolai has been training all his life to become so large and muscular.
- Otherwise, Nikolai is a Country Mouse from Siberia and became so strong because of hard work and inhospitable climate.
- Inverted:
- Nikolai is incredibly weak and impotent, and measures in at a puny 5'2". He is, however, quite smart.
- Nick Barnes from Eagleland is a six-foot-three, imposing, yet none too bright man carrying a King James Version of the Bible with lots of bookmarks in one hand and a Magnum revolver in the other.
- Noriosuke Bando from Osaka is a six-foot-three, powerfully built, yet none too bright man wearing a huge pompadour and a Nodachi twice his size.
- Gender Inverted: Svetlana is a six-foot-three and very muscular woman and the brawn of her group.
- Subverted:
- The heroes first meet Nikolai when visiting Russia in January. Later it's revealed that under the huge Badass Longcoat, he's not really impressive.
- A subversion of "Dumb Muscle" stereotype: Nikolai turns out to be a Genius Bruiser.
- Nikolai may look Russian, but he's actually Belarusian or Ukrainian.
- Double Subverted:
- It turns out, despite his feeble looks, that Nikolai is a Master of Sports in sambo. note
- Nikolai is only competent in obscure fields that don't help him much in everyday life.
- He became more "Russian" due to assimilation while living in Russia.
- Parodied: Nikolai makes Saxton Hale look feminine. He is known far and wide for punching out Cthulhu. The secret behind his strength? Bear wrestling ("Am trying to find bigger bears, but bears have started to run from me!") and radioactive vodka. ("Some days, is not enough vodka to go around, so I just drink plutonium without chaser!")
- Zig Zagged: Nikolai is only able to temporarily turn into a muscle-bound war machine, and he cannot control the mechanism that enables this transformation, so he randomly shifts from feeble Russian scientist to super-strong meat head.
- Averted: Nikolai is a Perfectly Average Dude nearly indistinguishable from the American average dudes.
- Enforced: The good old USSR is putting out this film, and they would like to portray their soldiers as impressively as possible
- Lampshaded: "The new guy reminds me of bears... he has to be Russian".
- Invoked: As a kid, Nikolai is impressed by the achievements of the Soviet athletes and decides to start training himself.
- Exploited: Whenever the heroes are on the adventure, Nikolai always takes point, because he's the strongest guy in the party.
- Defied: Nikolai was never predisposed to physical strength, so he chose to go with the flow and pursue a scientific career instead.
- Discussed: "Okay, there is no way every man in Russia can bench press 400 pounds..".
- Conversed: "Why are Russian people always portrayed on TV as huge and brutish?" "From exagerrating the facts and to Red Scare, there are a lot of reasons".
- Deconstructed: Because of his outrageous size, Nikolai beings to develop several health issues, including high blood pressure and heart palpitations. Before too long, he cannot even stand on his own and is completely bed-ridden.
- Reconstructed: Nikolai undergoes special treatment to prepare his body for being so large and muscular, which is able to prevent all of the adverse size-effects.
- Played For Laughs: When Nikolai gets drunk he Does Not Know His Own Strength, and Hilarity Ensues.
- Played For Drama: Nikolai's fighting skills, perpetual frown, and alcoholism are all caused by the fact that he suffers most.
Back to Husky Russkie, for the Glory of the Motherland!
