History OvershadowedByAwesome / Literature

** A meta-example with ''Literature/TheHobbit'', a literary classic in its own right. But its sequel that gets frequently cited as the TropeCodifier for HighFantasy.

* In Creator/MadeleineLEngle's ''Kairos'' novels, focusing on the Murray-O'Keefe family, Meg is a mathematical genius and Charles Wallace is almost supernaturally intelligent. Their brothers, the twins Sandy and Dennys, are just your regular straight-A students who go on to become a doctor and a lawyer, respectively. Even the twins say their siblings are the special ones, though they mostly seem glad to be normal, given how difficult Meg and Charles's childhoods were.
* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' novels:
** One of the best bits of the 'Scouring of the Shire' segment is a version of this. While the hobbit characters are sometimes overshadowed in strength while traveling with the Nine, they command a lot of respect and sternness once they return and deal with the problems in their homeland. In general, hobbits subvert this trope, especially Bilbo, by being unexpectedly useful.
** ''Return of the King'' is basically one big subversion of this trope: Merry helps kill the Witch King, Pippin saves Faramir's life, and apparently Sam and Frodo did [[ItWasHisSled something cool]] too. Just to hammer the point home, when Frodo and Sam finally get back from Mordor, Aragorn himself kneels in honor of them.
** Played straight with Faramir. He's a fine commander and a dangerous warrior, but he's standing next to Boromir, Aragorn, and Eowyn.
** Also played straight with poor Celeborn. He's one of the oldest and wisest elves in Middle-earth, a mighty Elf-Lord and heroic warrior. All in all a pretty badass guy...But he happens to be married to ''Galadriel'', who Tolkien describes as being the mightiest elf in Middle-earth after the death of Gil-galad and the "greatest of elven women". She's also an immensely powerful sorceress who was tutored by none other than an angel (Melian) and the lower level Gods (Yavanna and Aulë) themselves. So yeah...poor Celeborn.
** A meta-example with ''Literature/TheHobbit'', a literary classic in its own right. But its sequel that gets frequently cited as the TropeCodifier for HighFantasy.
** ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': Everyone knows Fëanor had seven sons. Everyone knows Maedhros and Maglor, and most people know [[TokenEvilTeammate Celegorm and Curufin]]. The number of people who remember the twins (Amras and Amrod) is considerably lower. And if you asked the average Silm fan who Caranthir is, you'd get blank stares. If you're lucky, they might remember [[NeverLiveItDown his outburst at Angrod]], or his rescue of Haleth, or even the fact he died in the Second Kinslaying along with Celegorm and Curufin. In the fans' defense, the aforementioned incidents are really the only times Caranthir does anything note-worthy.
** Also from the ''Silm'', Orodreth. If fans remember him at all it's usually as one of the "canonical" candidates for Gil-Galad's father. It doesn't help that, like his half-cousin Caranthir, he doesn't do anything note-worthy (beyond [[TooDumbToLive listen to Túrin]], a decision that leads to his death). Some of Prof. Tolkien's later notes even demote him from Finarfin's son to his grandson.
** Beren, the SoleSurvivor of his father's people, conducted a one-man guerilla war against Morgoth and was so good at it that he failed to be a DeathSeeker ''and'' got a bounty on his head equivalent to the high king of the Noldor. Then he wandered into Doriath and met Lúthien, which takes him out of the realm of mortal Men and into the world of semi-divine or godlike immortal beings and it quickly gives the impression that he's in over his head thanks to Lúthien's dad setting an impossible EngagementChallenge in an unsuccessful attempt to make him go away. Beren ''does'' beat the sons of Fënor when they try interfering (knocking one of them from a horse with a leap that has ''never been matched'' by any mortal) and avenges his father-in-law's murder later on, but at the same time by Lúthien breaks him out of Sauron's fortress, puts Morgoth asleep with MagicMusic, and persuades the guardian of the underworld to let Beren out after he's killed.

* [[TheWatson Doctor Watson]], friend and helper of Literature/SherlockHolmes, is a skilled medical practitioner, a former soldier, and is quite probably a good bit smarter and more insightful than your average man. When it comes to criminal investigations however, he is constantly struck silent by Holmes' deductive powers and his [[BuffySpeak all round big-brainyness]]. Because of this, Watson is so often {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed into a bumbling idiot in adaptations of Sir Arthur's works.
* One of the many [[DeconstructorFleet tropes that are deconstructed]] in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Robert's Rebellion was led by the PowerTrio of [[BoisterousBruiser Robert Baratheon]], [[ThePaladin Eddard Stark]], and [[TheChessmaster Jon Arryn]], and as a consequence people tended to forget about Robert's younger brother Stannis, whose main accomplishment during the war was successfully defending the Baratheon stronghold of Storm's End during a long siege. While certainly not as flashy as any of Robert's battlefield victories, holding Storm's End for so long meant that Stannis kept a significant part of the loyalist forces too busy to actually fight Robert in the field, indirectly contributing to the success of the Rebellion. It's mentioned that Stannis's successful defense of Storm's End was nothing short of miraculous: the stronghold was woefully underprepared for the siege when it started, and it was only through a combination of strong leadership and the fortuitous arrival of loyal smuggler Davos Seaworth and his supplies that they even survived at all. But the lack of recognition and respect causes Stannis to grow bitter and resentful, [[spoiler: and after Robert's death Stannis allies himself with darker forces in an obsession to prove himself the rightful King]].

* Lots of non-channelers in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', since [[FunctionalMagic the One Power]] is so powerful that there really isn't any way for them to compete, with the exception of Mat Cauthon, who has an AntiMagic medallion. Also, [[WaifProphet Min]], who is pretty good with her knives but is laughably out of her league compared with every single character in the series, realizes this in the later books and decides to become [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Girl]] instead by relentlessly studying the Prophecies of the Dragon. On a related note, when Mat protests that he's a lesser ''[[RealityWarper ta'veren]]'' compared to [[TheChosenOne Rand]], Verin tells him that in any other time, Mat and Perrin would be the strongest ''ta'veren'' in the world.

* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', many of the students in Lander's [[SuperheroSchool Hero Certification Program]] come from small towns and were often the only Supers around, so they were popular and powerful back home. In the HCP, they're suddenly not so powerful, and pretty much every single student in the current year is upstaged by Chad (even later no one in the class seriously considers that Chad could ever lose: "It's fucking Chad!"). Alex, a not-quite-telepath/telekinetic admits that he never had trouble getting girls in high school because he was the only Super in his class, but now his natural shyness and nerdiness (plus his insistence that he's a Jedi) makes him a social outcast. His abilities are also upstaged by Mary's raw telepathic and telekinetic power, and he has no hope of ever catching up to her. That said, he, quite cleverly, decides to focus on improving his focus and other aspects of his abilities that are unique to him.
** This is also brought up in the ''Literature/{{Corpies}}'' spin-off by the dean of Sizemore Tech's HCP. He complains that his program's students are pretty good in their own right, but Lander is all everyone is talking about.
* ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'': Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing are both formidable fighters in their own right, but they rarely get the chance to display it because they're so overshadowed by Sun Wukong, a NighInvulnerable RealityWarper who once [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu fought all 10,000 of the Chinese gods by himself and won.]] Bajie and Wujing's main role in the story is to [[TheWorfEffect get their asses handed to them by various demons in order to emphasize how impressive Wukong's victories against the demons are]].
* ''Literature/TheVillainessLivesAgain'': A major factor in Laurence's InferioritySuperiorityComplex is the fact that he's perfectly aware of how painfully average he is compared to everyone else around him. Laurence isn't an idiot and, when not guided by his ego or his impulses, is actually reasonably competent. But he doesn't really ''excel'' at anything. He's not a master schemer and political mastermind like his sister, nor a genius military strategist and accomplished soldier like Cedric. He doesn't even have his uncle Roygar's strong business sense. If it weren't for his heritage and Gregor's favor, he'd just be another bastard noble child, and he's well aware of it, which just feeds into his insecurities and resentment for those that are more accomplished than him.
* At the SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', there are mutants who just don't have the best powers.
** Aquerna possesses the spirit of the squirrel. She can do a 25-foot standing broad jump. She's far stronger and quicker than any normal human her size. She has super-senses. She can talk to and command squirrels. And she's regarded as one of the biggest losers on campus.
** For that matter, Phase is a good example. Phase has pounded Matterhorn, fought an interdimensional demon to a standstill, one-punched Fantastico, and still thinks of himself as being in the bottom half of his team. He's probably right, given who's on his team.
** Gadgeteers often find themselves falling into this. They don't tend to have flashy powers - though their mechanical advantage, so to speak, can be utterly devastating. They don't usually have the Exemplar package, or magic, or super strength, or the like... so it's easy to underestimate them. One does so at one's own peril.

* ''Literature/PeterAndTheStarchers'': Leonard Aster is part of an AncientOrderOfProtectors, and shows a lot of bravery and quick thinking against both The Others and Captain Hook. Still, his accomplishments generally pale next to Peter and Molly's KidHero accomplishments, especially once Peter gets the power to fly.

* Carrot in {{Literature/Discworld}}, he was originally meant to be the main character in ''Literature/GuardsGuards'', but that role eventually went to Vimes.

* Lots of non-channelers in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', since [[FunctionalMagic the One Power]] is so powerful that there really isn't any way for them to compete, with the exception of Mat Cauthon, who has an AntiMagic medallion. Also, [[WaifProphet Min]], who is [[KnifeNut pretty good with her knives]] but is laughably out of her league compared with every single character in the series, realizes this in the later books and decides to become [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Girl]] instead by relentlessly studying the Prophecies of the Dragon. On a related note, when Mat protests that he's a lesser ''[[RealityWarper ta'veren]]'' compared to [[TheChosenOne Rand]], Verin tells him that in any other time, Mat and Perrin would be the strongest ''ta'veren'' in the world.

** On an institutional level, "those other two houses" of Hogwarts, House Hufflepuff and House Ravenclaw, fall into this. Theoretically all four houses are supposed to occupy equal standing in Hogwarts, but the cast of characters is leans disproportionately towards Gryffindors and Slytherins. House Hufflepuff has it especially bad -- Ravenclaw can at least claim the title of "the House for smart kids" but thanks to a line about "taking the rest" in their house motto Hufflepuff is mostly known as the dumping House for kids who aren't [[HeroicSpirit spirited]] enough for Gryffindor, [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitious]] enough for Slytherin, or smart enough for Ravenclaw.

** Beren, the SoleSurvivor of his father's people, conducted a one-man guerilla war against Morgoth and was so good at it that he failed to be a DeathSeeker ''and'' got a bounty on his head equivalent to the high king of the Noldor. Then he wandered into Doriath and met Lúthien, which takes him out of the realm of mortal Men and into the world of semi-divine or godlike immortal beings and it quickly gives the impression that he's in over his head. Beren's efforts to fulfill the EngagementChallenge Lúthien's father sets. Beren ''does'' beat the sons of Fënor when they try interfering (knocking one of them from a horse with a leap that has ''never been matched'' by any mortal) and avenges his father-in-law's murder later on, but at the same time by Lúthien breaks him out of Sauron's fortress, puts Morgoth asleep with MagicMusic, and persuades the guardian of the underworld to let Beren out after he's killed.

** Also from the ''Silm'', Orodreth. If fans remember him at all it's usually as one of the "canonical" candidates for Gil-Galad's father. It doesn't help that, like his half-cousin Caranthir, he doesn't do anything note-worthy (beyond [[TooDumbToLive listen to Túrin]], a decision that leads to his death).

* Deconstructed with Peter Pettigrew in ''Literature/HarryPotter''. In his backstory, he was friends with Harry's father James at Hogwarts and was part of a group whose members were all popular and brilliant. Despite Pettigrew being intelligent and talented himself, he was seen by others, including his own friends, as the TagalongKid and an ExtremeDoormat. It's been pointed out that Peter was only loyal to "the biggest bullies in the playground" and after graduating, his desire to be in the spotlight for once led him to join Voldemort and betray Harry's parents, leading to their deaths.

* Carrot in {{Literature/Discworld}}, he was originally meant to be the main character in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'', but that role eventually went to Vimes.