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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"My name is ''PRINCESS POWERFUL''!"''
|'''Molly Hayes''', ''[[Runaways]]''}}
Like the [[
▲{{quote|''"My name is ''PRINCESS POWERFUL''!"''|'''Molly Hayes''', ''[[Runaways (Comic Book)|Runaways]]''}}
▲Like the [[Old Master]], the Cute Bruiser is a living, breathing, frequently painful lesson in never judging a book by its cover.
The Cute Bruiser's [[Weapon of Choice]] will probably be [[Good Old Fisticuffs]], a [[Carry a Big Stick|club]], or [[I Know Karate|martial arts]] that focus on direct blows to your opponent instead of [[Waif Fu|pressure points or judo throws]]. They'll only rarely be using a bladed weapon or depending on projectile weapons, with the exception of [[Improvised Weapon|throwing]] [[Rock Beats Laser|heavy]] [[Car Fu|objects]]. When confronted with an obstacle, the obstacle gets smashed.
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This is usually [[The Big Guy]] in a [[Five-Man Band]], a common subversion of the usual traits associated with that character type. Almost always a [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]. Often a [[Badass Adorable]] or [[Little Miss Badass]]. Possibly a [[Super Strong Child]], in which case she may be a [[Glacier Waif]]. Tends to overlap with [[Small Girl, Big Gun]] when firearms are present.
Contrast with [[Boobs of Steel]], as this type of character will usually be [[Token
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
* [[Hyperspace Arsenal|Yuri Nakamura]] and [[Blade Below the Shoulder|Kanade Tachibana/Angel(Tenshi)]] from ''[[Angel Beats
▲== [[Anime]] ==
▲* [[Hyperspace Arsenal|Yuri Nakamura]] and [[Blade Below the Shoulder|Kanade Tachibana/Angel(Tenshi)]] from ''[[Angel Beats (Anime)|Angel Beats]]''
* Seras Victoria from ''[[Hellsing]]''. In a world of [[Black and Grey Morality]], she [[Stepford Smiler|seems to be]] the lone wide-eyed idealist in the series. She also possesses vampiric super strength and is more than capable of wielding guns far too large for any human to handle, taking out mooks with her bare hands, and grinding off the heads of those who piss her off.
* [[Badass Adorable|Elizabeth]] [[Deliberately Distressed Damsel|Middleford]] from ''[[
* Akane Tendo from ''[[Ranma
** [[Anime Chinese Girl]] Shampoo is strong enough that she can walk through walls (no, not phasing- simply smashing through concrete, wood, whatever with all the nonchalance of someone walking through an open door) and skilled enough that she can handle Akane Tendo with ease. In fact, her tendency to leave a trail of wreckage in her wake (walking in a straight line between points A and B, no matter how many walls or houses she has to plow through to get there, for example) might less be her [[Does Not Know His Own Strength|unable to fully control her strength]] and more her being a [[Jerkass]] who knows she's got [[Super Strength]] and wants to show it off.
** And then, of course, there's also female Ranma - a girl probably no taller than five feet, and yet has managed to obtain almost stupidly high levels of [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]...
*** Shampoo and Ranma's girl form are sometimes thought as [[Boobs of Steel]] overlapping with
* ''[[Bleach]]''
** The adorable, energetic Yachiru is the vice-captain of the [[Blood Knight|11th Division]] of Soul Society's thirteen court companies, capable of lifting her superior (himself a fairly large individual, a bit over twice her height and probably 8-10 times her weight) and leaping tall buildings with him in tow, apparently not affected in the least by the extra weight she's carrying over her head. She is also capable of emitting a frightening [[Battle Aura]] when angry. She has the appearance of about a 10-year-old girl.
** The meek Ururu Tsumugiya is strong enough to beat up Soul Reapers, and when she fought Ichigo (after asking him to wear large amounts of padding), she nearly punched him through a mountain. She even has a [[Let's Get Dangerous|danger mode]] where she enters a trance and seems to go into automatic pilot to kick hollow ass. Unfortunately, this trance doesn't seem to be able to respond quickly to fraccion [[One-Winged Angel|transformations]]. She also possesses a giant bazooka that's larger than she is.
** There is also Hiyori Sarugaki, Vaizard and erstwhile vice-captain to Shinji Hirako. She delights in hitting people with her sandal, kicking people in the face, and labeling her cohort and former CO a "dickhead". She's also about as high as your knee and has the appearance of a towheaded, foul tempered elementary schooler.
* While not a bruiser per se, Nia from ''[[
** As a kid, Simon is also implied on several occasions to be very strong, most notably in the [[Hot Springs Episode]] when he manages to lift six-feet-tall-or-so, muscle-bound [[Boisterous Bruiser]] Kamina on his shoulders without any trouble. This is despite his being ''two'' heads shorter than Kamina and a great deal skinnier. Though [[Rule of Funny]] applies to that scene as well.
*** Keep in mind that Simon used to spend most of his days digging around underground. He uses a large hand-operated drill to dig with and doing this surely requires tons of strength and stamina. Despite his appearance, it's possible that Simon is just as strong, if not stronger, than the muscular Kamina.
*** Post-time skip Simon is notably ''much'' tougher, able to throw a punch that leaves {{spoiler|Rossiu}} with a swollen cheek. It's a throwback to a punch he once took from {{spoiler|Kamina.}}
** Yoko easily qualifies as this. She knows how to beat foes down as fast as they come at her. On top of that, when she gets captured in a [[Humongous Mecha|Gunmen]] disguised as said hot spring with Kittan's sisters, A kitsune Beastman displays her captives on a projection- censored with pixelation. Kamina, [[Covert Pervert|having tried to sneak a peak at the girls thus far]] jumps at the chance for the Beastman to [[Chivalrous Pervert|remove thr mosaic filter on everyone's precious cargo]] by coming out of Gurren Lagann. Turns out it was a trap- they had towels on. Gurren is whisked away, forcing Kamina to go back in the hot spring Gunmen for a rescue, while the girls manage to break out and go on the attack. Anger flaring beyond measure, Yoko, with a terrifying [[Death Glare]] glued to her face, ''immediately'' clobbers Kamina on sight with an ultra-sharp knuckle to the face and howls at him with disgust. Kamina is also disappointed to learn the towels, which were also rigged to ensnare the girls, hid skimpy swimsuits underneath and not the real deal. {{spoiler|However... Yoko's jumpy excitement upon their defeat of the Beastman causes her buxom bust to jiggle off her bra... and Kamina ''and'' Simon see the melons underneath. Poor Yoko is left running off in total embarrassment at light speed, screaming in tears.}}
* Apricot Sakuraba from ''[[Galaxy Angel (
* Compared to the many [[Hot Amazon
** And on the male side, we have the lead character himself, his friend Kotaro the wolf boy, and (though "cute" may not be the right term) the apparent [[Big Bad]] [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Fate Averruncus]] {{spoiler|aka "Tertium" the Third}}. Each is an [[Adorably Precocious Child]], and they are some of the best fighters seen in the series so far.
** Robotic character Chachamaru is a [[Huge Schoolgirl]] normally, but she has two body types that are much more lolirific in design without losing the [[Super Strength]].
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* [[Birdy the Mighty]] has already been known as a [[Badass]] [[Action Girl]], but what's surprising is that she has been that even at such a young age. The second episode of the second season has a flashback of her confronting an evil monster and ''tearing off its arm!'' During her '''childhood!'''
* Pan in ''[[Dragonball Z|Dragonball Z/GT]]''. She was cuter in ''DBZ'', but [[Buffy-Speak|bruisier]] in ''GT''.
** Her grandma, ChiChi, in the original ''[[
** The child versions of Goku and Krillin from the original ''[[
*** Then we have to add Gohan, Goten and Chibi Trunks. And maybe even Gotenks?
** Really, it pretty much runs in the Son family.
* Post-timeskip Sakura from ''[[
* Vita of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. A [[Little Miss Badass]] [[Drop the Hammer|with a hammer]] that can grow really, really, ''really'' big.
** The series also gives us Subaru. As her [[Fan Nickname]] of [[
*** Early in the series manga, she picks up her partner, throws her ''over'' a wall, and runs and jumps fast enough to catch her on the other side. Exasperated teachers (this was supposed to be a lesson in teamwork) made her do it over. We thought this super power was just the [[Rule of Funny]]. It was actually [[Foreshadowing]].
** Einhart Stratos is this in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
*** Rio, from the same manga, is also one, simply by the fact that she's the most petite of all the characters and can smash a [[Giant Robot|Golem]] in one hit.
* Nuriko in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]''. A slender, effeminate crossdresser, whose particular ability happens to be ridiculous wall-smashing superstrength. Halfway through the series he gets an upgrade in the form of magic gauntlets that make him even ''more'' powerful.
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* Biscuit Krueger from ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]''. Invoked on her part because {{spoiler|her true form is extremely muscular and... well... not cute, which is why she keeps herself in her "cute" form most of the time}}.
* Hifumi from ''[[Koi Koi 7]]''. She's perhaps the most childish of the team, yet packs the cyborg ability of super strength.
* Excel Excel of ''[[Excel Saga (
** Also Ropponmatsu #2, a robot girl designed to look like an adorable and sweet young girl because of her creator's... um... [[Lolicon|preferences]]. She's a cute cat girl yet she can punch a cyborg through a brick wall.
* Mikoto from ''[[
* Bu-ling Hwang/Mew Pudding from ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', although she leans more toward the acrobatic side. Then again, she can also rend the earth with her [[Improbable Weapon User|tambourines]].
* [[Suzumiya Haruhi|Yuki Nagato]], though even if you're aware of ''this'' trope, [[Badass Bookworm|you wouldn't know it to look at her]].
** Not to mention that in season 2, she bent a fence without any effort.
* Allenby from ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam
** And Sai Saici is 16, looks around 12, and is just as much of an asskicker as Allenby and the older, more experienced Shuffle Alliance members.
* Funnily enough, Alita/Gally from ''[[Gunnm|Battle Angel Alita]]'' has always been quite the shorty... and [http://rocketfuel.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/gnm_alita042.jpg yet...]{{Dead link}}
** They even draw attention to it: [[The Rival|Sechs]],after a body swap, thinks "How could I have been defeated by someone so short?". Sechs himself is capable beating up full grown cyborgs in a small 6-inch-tall doll body as well as taking out an entire squad of heavily armed hobby soldiers, with a small handgun bigger than said body.
* Brock's Happiny from ''[[Pokémon (
** She's now lifted an entire frozen lake and chucked it into an abyss. No really.
** In the games, Happiny is tied with its evolution, Chansey, for having the lowest physical strength of all Pokémon. Talk about [[Did Not Do the Research|irony]].
** Maybe it's just something about that particular Happiny. [[Rule of Funny|Or maybe they just thought it would be funny (which it is).]]
** And then, there's a whole different matter with [[Pokémon Special|Sapphire]], who is a true Badass [[Action Girl]].
*** Hareta from ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure]]'' is similar, though genderswapped.
** A lot of Pokemon are like this, mostly the little ones that are also really strong.
* ''[[Project
* Solty/Dike from ''[[Solty Rei]]''.
* The "Power" and the "Fight" card in ''[[
** Also, [[Badass Normal]] Li Meiling. And heck, Shaoran counts as a male version, and there's ''Sakura'' as well when she uses "The Power"...
* Chouhi (Zhang Fei), Ukitsu (Yu Ji), and Kyocho Chuukou (Xu Chu, who mixes this with [[Huge Schoolgirl]]) in ''[[Ikki Tousen]]''. Though, this being a voluptuous schoolgirl version of ''[[
** Then again the closest things to a "cute" bruiser in ''[[Ikki Tousen]]'' is Hakufu, but even she's hot.
* "D'aaaaw, [[One Piece
** There's another non-female example in ''[[
** And Kuina, the straightforward female example of this trope.
** Luffy, Ace and Sabo as children. Well, {{spoiler|Sabo never got a chance to be anything more than a
** There's also Alabasta's Kung Fu Dugongs: They're powerful enough to beat the shit out of humans twice their size, and cute enough to make Nami and Vivi almost experience [[Cuteness Overload]].
* The best example from ''[[Shikabane Hime]]'' is Saki - 10 years old, [[Genki Girl|energetic]], and [[Little Miss Snarker|insufferably mischievous]]. Wields a massive [[Drop the Hammer|hammer]] (or, in the manga, a similarly oversized [[An Axe to Grind|axe]]) and can chuck cars around.
* Kagura from ''[[
* Yuuna from ''[[Stitch!]]'' doesn't need superpowers, just
* Ran from ''[[
* Emily Adachi from ''[[
* Another male example: Kintarou "Kin-chan" Touyama from ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]''. Tiny, not very bright, cheerful, adorable, friendly... and with an absurd degree of [[Super Strength]].
** Though he is supposed to be some sort of [[It Makes Sense in Context|urban-yet-wild young Tarzan]], and if anyone remembers the movie, Tarzan was insanely cute (and bruiserious) as a kid, too.
* And ''another'' male one: while [[Baccano
* Hungary from ''[[
** Arguably, child!Prussia and child!Switzerland are other male examples.
** Finland also qualifies. Until the Winter War, you'd think his fighting skills were just an [[Informed Ability]]...
** China [[Took a Level
** Definitely Chibimerica, the two-year-old who can swing a bison by its front hooves. And he never really grows out of it. It being a [[Moe]] anime, and all. I mean, come on, cheerfully dragging a car over to its owner to ask if he can borrow it? Cute bruiser.
* ''[[Claymore]]'''s {{spoiler|Priscilla post time skip, is more powerful than the abyssal ones}}. Just to put that into perspective, the {{spoiler|Abyssal ones}} are the manga's equivalent of ''[[Physical God|physical gods]]''
* One of Mamoru's classmates in ''[[
* Mio from ''[[
* Gouriki Banchou from ''[[Kongou Banchou]]'', although quite small in comparison to everyone else (except the little kids), has a "hyperion constitution", which basically gives her superstrength and a super defense - she carries around two iron balls on sticks that are far larger than she is as her weapons, and {{spoiler|when she lands on spikes sharp enough to pierce her weapons, they ''bend'', leaving her unharmed}}.
* Eve from ''[[Black Cat (
* Just about every girl in ''[[Kenichi:
** Subverted by Kenichi's little sister Honoka. Being so utterly cute and adorable that no one could ever even THINK of wanting to attack you is pretty badass.
*** What she lacks in physical power, she's a VERY smart girl who is able to regularly beat all the master of Ryouzanpaku in Othello, and she's so sweet she's able to get a complete [[Jerkass]] like Tanimoto to do her bidding.
* A male example is Astro/Atom from ''[[Astro Boy (
** Slightly subverted in that his sister Uran, despite being smaller and female, is ''less'' powerful - though one might argue that she still qualifies.
* Lirin from ''[[Saiyuki]]'' is a prime example, where even though she's a young teen with the ability to punch a hole through the gut of a 3-story giant monster crab, the main heroes still underestimate her repeatedly due to her cutesy personality.
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* ''[[School Rumble]]'''s Karen Ichijou is a pure [[Rule of Funny]] example. She looks like any other girl, but in her hands, pianos and sofas look like they weigh almost nothing, chopsticks can stop a fork from stabbing someone and apples can be juiced.
* Pai from the almost forgotten ''[[Sazan Eeyes|3x3 Eyes]]'' is a classic anime example of the girl who's happy being a cute, innocent little waif one moment, while running around and dispatching/vaporizing demons with her bare hands (granted, that petite little frame houses overwhelming mystical powers, not to mention {{spoiler|a split personality}}) and behaving in a totally cynical, badass manner the next.
* Shiratori from ''[[Pani Poni Dash!]]'' is a bit taller than the average cute bruiser but she is cute - and has a hand chop that has an impossible amount of power behind it. In one episode she applies a "wake up chop" to a sleeping Himeko and imprints her face into the metal plate at the bottom of the desk.
* The bubbly, super cute, pink-haired vampire Moka Akashiya from ''[[Rosario
** There's also her [[Moe Moe]] younger sister Kokoa, who can easily wield metal clubs, hammers, etc. over twice her size as if they were blowup squeaky-hammers.
* [[Fullmetal Alchemist|Katherine Armstrong]] is the only member of her family who isn't ripped with muscles and interested in fighting. Instead, she's good on the piano. [[Super Strength|Or, in her words, "Under the piano."]]
* [[Toradora
** She's known by the nickname "Palmtop Tiger", a name that means "Small, but vicious". Like Ryuuji says during said meeting, it fits her perfectly.
* Wendy from ''[[Fairy Tail]]'', especially during the Edolas arc.
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** Although she 'fights' (read 'Groin Attacks while his back was turned') Black Star only after thoroughly beating the whole of the rest of her class, excluding Maka (who is the only one Ox judges as ''possibly'' better than her). And Kid counts, even though at his most bruising he is more creepy than cute.
* Arale from ''[[Dr. Slump]]''.
* The only flat chested character in ''[[
** The Angel Nanael can go either way between incompetent [[Dojikko]] or [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]. Highly Moe [[Plucky Comic Relief]], but sometimes the [[Lethal Joke Character]] of the show.
* The lovely lady in the page image above is Ookami Ryouko of ''[[Ookami-
* ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]'' is a rare male example.
* Any of the [[Magical Girl
* Mio Naganohara of ''[[Nichijou]]''. While she is generally a nice person, whatever you do, DO NOT piss her off, or bad things WILL happen.
* Tama-chan from [[Bamboo Blade]]. The smallest (and [[Badass Adorable|cutest]]) member of her school's Kendo team (at least of the girls) she also packs an incredible punch despite her tiny stature. Her throat strike is considered a [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]] because with it she's capable of knocking opponents taller than she is off their feet and flying backwards. On her team only [[Huge Schoolgirl]] Saya hits with anything like the same amount of power and she's nearly twice Tama's height.
* In ''[[Saint Beast]]'', Gai is younger and more immature than the other Saint Beasts, but his earth elemental is very strong and he has no end of energy.
* Mana Eimiya from [[Super Dreadnought Girl 4946]] is both adorably cute and a physical powerhouse... though she is also... [[Attack of the 50
* In [[Infinite Stratos]], both Houki and Rin have melee-oriented [[Powered Armor|IS suits]]. Additionally, Houki trained in kendo.
* Hinako from ''[[Ultimate Teacher]]'' has had the strength and skills to kick anyone's ass since she was a kid and is also the boss of the high school.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
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* Scrap from ''Dynamo 5'' is the most delicate of her teammates, but possesses superstrength and invulnerability.
* Gully from ''[[Battle Chasers]]'', who gained [[Super Strength]] from her [[Disappeared Dad]]'s magic gloves.
* ''[[
** The [[
**
** The other is
* "The Female" from Garth Ennis's ''[[The Boys]]'' comic. A petite, vaguely Asian young woman who, when first introduced, takes out a whole house full of mobsters armed to the teeth while alone and unarmed. Her teammate, "The Frenchman", may also qualify, being only slightly larger than her and just as fearsome, although he's male.
** Calling the Frenchman "Cute" might be pushing it. He's sweet when he's around the Female, but cute? Not so much. More a case of [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]] really. Who would believe the guy who talks to coffee cups, plays games of reverse strip poker and generally acts like a friendly guy is actually an ultra violent and brutal individual who, along with "The Female", is considered the muscle of the team?
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** In Jeff Smith's "Monster Society of Evil" mini-series, Mary Marvel's physical body remains the same age when she transforms, and definitely qualifies as a Cute Bruiser.
*** Mary has almost always looked pretty much the same when transformed, right back to the 40s. It's a wonder that she has ever been able to maintain a [[Secret Identity]] at all.
* In ''[[
* In the later chapters of ''[[Bone]]'', Thorn gains super strength among her powers as the Awakened One. She demonstrates this by picking up and throwing a large
* Considering that, at least in [[Pre Crisis]] continuity, [[Superman|Superboy]] first donned his costume at the age of eight, he could count as a male version. And he had his powers ''before'' that. One "superbaby" story did involve l'il toddler Clark accidentally almost [[Earthshattering Kaboom|destroying the world.]]
* Cassandra Cain ([[Batgirl]]) is a 5'5", 115 pound, pretty, rather quiet Asian girl. And she could (and often does) take out ''anyone'' without breaking a sweat, due to her ability to read body language.
* Hisako Ichiki ('''Armor''') from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' is a 5'4", 112 pound, cute and quippy Japanese girl. Her power is Psionic Exo-Armor that can take a hit from anything short of Wolverine's claws, and can lift (with a little assistance) a Skrull Tank.
* ''[[Kick
* Max from ''[[Sam and Max]]'' is an adorable rabbity [[Cartoon Creature]] whose role in the Freelance Police is the [[Good Cop, Bad Cop|Bad Cop]]/thug. He's shown to not be physically as strong as Sam, but who needs strength when you have a huge gun and [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|no morals or conscience]]?
== Fan Works ==
* Paul of ''[[
** He's not much of a bruiser, since [[Actual Pacifist|he won't actually hit anything that's alive]].
*** Though he came close once.
* [[All There in the Manual|In the]] [[Expanded Universe]] of ''[[The Incredibles]]'', one of the late Supers, Stratogale, was specified as having the powers of [[Flight]], [[Super Strength]], [[Animal Talk|and the ability to speak to birds.]] ''[[
* The development of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s female Assassins, who in the canon are at the moment nothing more than names, descriptions and cameo appearances. In [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5318396/1/Nature_Studies Nature Studies], regard the slight, freckled and girlish Johanna Smith-Rhodes, who has a winning way with animals. To wit, the sort of venomous and generally dangerous fauna that would get her fan-mail from Steve Irwin. She also has a direct way of dealing with obstructive Palace Guards blocking her way to Vetinari. She teaches Natural Sciences, Zoology aand Animal Management to student Assassins and has the capacity to organise some ''really'' interesting nature trails for her pupils, in which they learn that Nature is a thing to have wonder and respect for.
* Elsewhere, the characters of assassins Miss Alice Band, Jocasta Wiggs, and Madame Deux-Epées are similarly expanded upon in the works of A.A. Pessimal.
== Film ==
* Another princess is Cindy Collins in ''[[Zoom (film)|Zoom]]''.
** Bonus points given that at one point she actually wanted to where a pink princess outfit, with pointed hat with tassel included, as her combat uniform.
* ''[[Last Action Hero]]'', where Jack Slater's teenage daughter subdues a mook in her bedroom with her bare hands and hardly breaking a sweat, all the time faking sounds of anguish and pain.
** "Faking"? It sound like she's genuinely screaming in terror, even though she has little reason for it, as the poor mook discovers.
* Jason Lane from ''[[Superman Returns]]'' manages to throw a piano when Lois is under imminent threat.
* Raven in ''[[Cecil B. Demented]]''. She's one of very few sprocket holes who escapes the police alive at the end, and in the beginning she punches a guy out.
* [[Monica Keena]], in a number of roles. She's cute, she's sweet, and she's definitely petite, but piss her off, and you're going down. Just ask [[Freddy
* [[Zoe Bell]]. Described in the script for ''[[Grindhouse|Death Proof]]'' as "Cute-as-a-bug's-ear [[
* Gogo from ''[[Kill Bill]] Vol. I''...
* Maruti in ''[[The Return of Hanuman]]'' is a little boy who is very strong and able to lift a house. It's justified since as the title of the film suggests, Maruti is the reincarnation of Hanuman, a Hindu god.
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo|Lisbeth Salander]]. Described as being five feet tall and weighing ninety pounds, and at one point she beats up two bikers.
* Sally Kimball of the ''[[
* Juliet of ''[[
* Arya Stark at the start of ''[[
* Karrin Murphy from ''[[
** The Denarian Tessa fits this
*** Absolutely, Tessa. Also, the junior Faerie Queens are pretty, young women that pack a BIG punch.
**** Well, Lily probably qualifies as cute, but Maeve...
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* In the ''[[Mistborn]]'' trilogy, Vin, who is barely over five feet tall is one of the most powerful of the titular Mistborn, including the use of pewter which gives her super stamina and strength. This is often used to her advantage, as her opponents are less likely to see her as a threat.
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Cameron from ''[[Terminator]]: [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]''
* Rommie, the Andromeda Ascendant's [[Robot Girl|android avatar]] from ''[[Andromeda|Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda]]'': A petite brunette shown capable of taking on multiple super-strong Nietzscheans.
* Jo McCormick from ''[[Big Bad Beetleborgs]]'' fits this perfectly (especially since she's a pre-adolescent girl).
* River Tam of ''[[
** This is most obvious in [[The Movie]], ''[[
** Let's just say anyone played by [[Summer Glau]] qualifies.
* [[Buffy]]. Her, and every other Slayer. This trope was the very concept behind the show.
** And every non-slayer chick in the Buffyverse after [[Took a Level
* Djaq from the 2006 BBC version of ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]''.
* Jenny, "She-Force" from IPTV's ''[[No Heroics]].''
* While not a superheroine/villainess Sam Puckett in ''[[
** As for the cute part, she's still a preteen and when she cleans up is quite easy on the eyes. However, asking her out may result in having your thumb broken...just ask [[The Woobie|Gibby]]
** Shelby. My word Shelby. Described by one male character as ''smoking hot'', yet still somehow adorably cute, and by a female character by something along the lines of, "I'm sure your butt is super cute." And she's a world class mixed martial arts fighter.
* Macy Misa on ''[[Jonas]]'' is very cute and petite and acts very girly but she also plays for every sport the school has (basketball, football, hockey, baseball, ''bowling'') and has enough brute strength to be considered [[The Big Guy]] in their [[Five-Man Band]].
* Male Example: Wyatt Halliwell from ''[[
** And the one time we see him fight as a young man he looks like one of the Backstreet Boys but is the destined {{spoiler|wielder of Excalibur}} and wipes out an entire room full of upper level demons just by raising his hands.
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' has an episode revolving around an actual, working wishing well. One of the wishers was a small boy who was being bullied. He got super-strength, along with [[Be Careful What You Wish For|a bad temper]].
* ''[[Kamen Rider Den
* ''[[Smallville]]'''s Tess Mercer is a [[Dark Action Girl]] who does not believe in [[Waif Fu]]. Most other girls on the show dance around their opponents and use a lot of kicks. Tess prefers to just punch you in the face.
* Do Bong-soon, title character of the South Korean series ''[[Strong Girl Bong-soon]]'', is a petite (5'2"), slightly built woman who looks at least ten years younger than her actual age of 27, and is the latest recipient of a gift of supernatural strength that is passed down through her family. Despite initially having no training in hand-to-hand combat, she is shown effortlessly defeating groups of men much larger than her, and in one episode deliberately walks into an ambush set for her to demolish every man in an entire criminal organization.
* In [[Tarot Motifs]], Strength is often depicted as a young girl holding up a beast.▼
== Music ==
* Noodle of the band [[
== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* Several of the comedy-based wrestling promotions in Japan feature [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RseGEw0sY1w Kaicho Ramu], whose gimmick is that she is a little girl, possessed by a demon, and strong enough to casually suplex and chokeslam adults. She actually started when she was 6 years old and (as of 2009) is 8 or 9 years old.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJksFd5AfI&feature=related Riho] of the Ice Ribbon promotion has a similar gimmick, minus the possessed by a demon thing. She started when she was 8 years old and (as of 2011) is 13.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In the both ''[[
* In the ''[[
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Strength from ''[[Magical Drop]] 3''.
* May from ''[[Guilty Gear]]'', a cute little pirate girl who fights with an anchor as big as she is.
* Platinum the Trinity from ''[[
* Presea Combatir from ''[[
** In another cutscene, the frail-looking Colette lifts Regal with one hand after Zelos couldn't lift him. This leads Raine to call all men useless.
*** And before that, when the party first meets [[The Casanova|Zelos]], she grabs him and throws him with one arm when he approaches her with lecherous intent. {{spoiler|Granted, she had lost her soul and heart at that point and could not control herself, but wow.}}
** Hermana Larmo of ''[[
** Karol Capel of ''[[
** This is further emphasized in the coliseum (in the [[
** Sophie of ''[[
** Anise Tatlin of ''[[
* Hinako Shijo from ''[[
** Team Psycho Soldier has had a few cute bruisers on its roster in the later games. ''2001'' saw Bao, cute little boy and powerful psychic (and, to ''many'' fans, [[The Scrappy]]). ''XI'' replaces him with Momoko, a cute little [[Genki Girl]] that can perform ridiculously long attack chains.
* Apricot Sakuraba from ''[[Galaxy Angel (
* Marcy of ''[[
** Marcy is [[Loads and Loads of Characters|also a playable character]].
* Prolific in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', thanks to [[Purely Aesthetic Gender]] and the lack of substantial stat differences between races. You're just as likely to be beaten senseless by a two-foot tall gnome girl with pink pigtails as you are by a nine-foot minotaur warrior with a [[BFS|weapon larger than you are]]. Sometimes more likely, since the Gnomes are harder to click on in a crowded battlefield where tab-targeting is impractical.
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** This is made even more extreme by the fact that the size scale can be adjusted from 12 feet tall to a mere 3 feet in height. Tiny heroes able to floor giant men made of rock, or withstand constant barrages of machine gun fire are so popular that the game picked up a fan-term for them: Microheroes.
* Exelica and Crueltear from ''[[Triggerheart Exelica]]''. One main feature of the game is that they use their [[Grappling Hook Pistol|grappling hook howitzers]] to grab and throw enemies hundreds of times their size.
* Mazzy Fentan of ''[[
* Alena, the [[Rebellious Princess]] from ''[[
* [[Spell My Name
* While 10-year old Relm Arrowny may not be a great physical fighter, many believe she is the most powerful pure mage in ''[[
* As a counterpart to the [[Stripperific|supposedly]] [[Lady of War|elegant, graceful and druidic]] Viera, ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics
** The Moogle Knight class is a male example - sword-wielding brawlers of a [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|cute fuzzy race]] whose other classes tend towards the [[Fragile Speedster]] and [[Squishy Wizard]] archetypes.
* [[Final Fantasy Type-0|Cinque]] is a cute flower of a girl carrying a ''humongous'' mace around, and takes pleasure in swinging it all around without a care.
* In ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy
* Kaen from ''[[Kakurenbo Battle Monster Tactics]]'' is a confident female monster hunter whose element is fire.
* There are a lot of characters in ''[[
** She's [[Sizeshifter|not always]] [[Attack of the 50
** [http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s56/Retro7/Faved%20Stuff/Touhou/1176524612644.jpg Indeed].
** Another good example is Suwako Moriya, who is not only an EX-Boss, but has the most damaging melee combo of any other character in the fighting spinoff, Hisotensoku.
** Cirno is also a prime example. She's treated as relatively weak in-setting, but that's only because Touhou is full of extremely broken characters. From a normal human's (or even a weak youkai's) viewpoint, however, she's perfectly capable of freezing her opponents, the building they are in, and a good chunk of the surroundings while monkeying around. She IS right when she calls herself the strongest Ice Fairy; for her race's standards, she is enormously powerful.
* Laharl, Etna, Yukimaru, and just about half of the units of ''[[Disgaea]].'' It's not difficult to create an attacking force consisting entirely of [[BFS]]-wielding lolitas if you feel the urge to.
* Amaterasu in ''[[
** In ''[[
* She may not have super strength, but Emilia of ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' otherwise fits the trope perfectly. The younger sister of the [[Big Bad]], she frequently appears at the worst possible times, outdone in this respect only by Aegina {{spoiler|and Luciana}}, and is one of the most difficult recurring bosses in the series... and she's only 14. Granted, the game's art style makes everyone look about 10 years younger than they really are...
* [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Amy Rose]], a girly pink hedgehog who has actually fully utilized her [[Hyperspace Mallet]] as her [[Weapon of Choice]]. Even in ''[[Sonic Chronicles]]'' she's classified as a support character, but has enough damage output to put the [[An Adventurer Is You|designated heavy hitters]] to shame. Her [[Sidekick]] Cream the Rabbit is a Cute Bruiser by proxy, letting Cheese, her [[Mon|Chao partner]] do the heavy hitting. (though in ''Chronicles'' she becomes the [[Game Breaker|best]] [[White Magician Girl|White Mage]] ''[[Game Breaker|ever]]'')
* Most female weapon-users in the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series are [[Fragile Speedster
** Jill from ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'' ([[She
** Meg from ''Radiant Dawn'' is yet another possible future General.
** Nono from ''[[Fire Emblem: Awakening]]'' can become one if she class changes into a Dragon Knight, as she's easily the youngest looking character out of the entire cast, yet potentially just as capable of handling a huge battle axe or lance.
*** In addition, any of the female children that are born can become a General and/or Dragon Knight as long as either their mother or father had access to the class.
* Saki from the ''[[Oneechanbara]]'' series. She's 16, and looks even younger. She is a fairly solid swordsman... and her alternate combat style is fighting bare-handed and/or using throws, in which case she shows the ability to ''tear zombies' arms off with her bare hands'' or ''suplex them so hard their heads fall off''. Yeah.
* In ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne]]'', if you keep Pixie with you during the whole game, you can eventually turn her into this through a sidequest.
** This carries over to ''Digital Devil Saga'', ''[[
** Speaking of ''[[
*** This doesn't begin to describe the unmitigated cuteness that Chie represents. Especially at higher levels and with proper equipment, her agility can get very high, to the point where she's quite difficult to hit. The cute part? When she dodges, she goes "Noink!" ''It doesn't stop being adorable''.
** And before Chie, there was ''[[Persona 2]]'''s Lisa Silverman.
* Wild Flower in ''[[Jade Empire]]'' is a nice little girl... except the fact that she's possessed by ''two'' demons who are battling for control of her.
* MOMO of the ''[[
* [[Luminous Arc 2|Pop]] the 12 year old Verdere Witch, considered to be a prodigy for being chosen as one at her age, use her Earth Magic to augmented her strength.
* Cinnamon from ''[[
* [[Street Fighter|Chun-Li]].
** [[Street Fighter Alpha
* [[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* Fairy Leviathan from ''[[Mega Man Zero]]''.
* The [[Hello, Insert Name Here|nameable]] Yoshi partner in ''[[Paper Mario:
* B(aby) B(onnie) Hood aka Bulleta from ''[[
** To drive the point home, if you are a muscular man that can put The Governator to shame and defeat a whole army of marines, you stand a chance at surviving an encounter with a C-class Darkstalker. A and S-class Darkstalkers (the highest there are) are outright terrified of Bulleta.
** Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei fits this trope as well perfectly. A cute and apparently harmless Chinese zombie girl, she can hold a wholesome set of weapons of all kinds of sizes and shapes in her sleeves. Not to mention she has strength enough to throw a character bigger than her into air.
* [
* Annie from ''[[League of Legends]]''. To clarify, Annie is an eight-year-old girl, with [[Kill It
* In ''[[
* Talim from ''[[Soul Series|Soul Calibur]]'' certainly counts. She's the smallest human character, and quite possibly the lightest character. Yet despite her diminutive size of four foot nine, she can easily take down the biggest and baddest of the roster.
** Expect hilarity to ensue if its [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl|Talim versus Astaroth.]] Talim may well win too.
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* Pop the Verdure Witch from ''[[Luminous Arc 2]]''.
** Actually, almost all of the witches from the [[Luminous Arc]] serie are this.
* A '''large''' number of [[
** A human example of this trope is Maylene from ''[[
** Whitney and her team from '"[[
** Iris is easily the [[Token
* Itsuki from ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' is an [[Token
* Ceille from ''[[Arc Rise Fantasia]]'' is only 12, but her punches can send people flying.
* {{spoiler|Zelkova}} from ''[[.hack GU Games|.hack//G.U.]]'', who is a [[Sinister Scythe|Flick Reaper]].
* From the game ''[[Star Ocean: Till the End of Time]]'' we have the character [[Dark-Skinned Blond|Peppita Rosetti]], whom, if you take the time to train her a lot, can become stronger than characters like Cliff or Fayt.
** There's also [[Bratty Half
* Irene from ''[[Shining Force III]]''. A tiny woman with girlish pigtails, big doe eyes and a fancy Chinese-style dress, who doesn't speak the local language well for extra vulnerability points. Her method of fighting, in a game where most humanoid characters carry big ol' swords, axes, lances and the like? One oversized boxing glove and her feet. Oh, and she's a monk.
* Veronica of ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' is a cheerful, slightly snarky girl voiced by [[Felicia Day]] whose main ambition is owning a dress (and she will [[Squee]] if you give her the right kind). She is also quite capable, with the right tools, of punching the head off of something. And she bubbles with eagerness to do so.
* [[Hot Scientist|Liara]] in the ''[[Mass Effect]]'' series is a sweet, innocent young archaeologist who, at least out of combat, looks like a pretty standard [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|pretty blue alien woman]] in a labcoat. In combat, she will start [[Power Glows|glowing blue]], breaking peoples' necks by gesturing at them, and summon small-scale black holes to mess with enemy positions.
** Depending on whether or not we'll ever see her face, Tali may count as one, too. Though she starts out relatively weak with great tech skills, upgrade her armament to Shotguns and give her the Spectre shotgun and watch her mow through some geth like nothing. And then she takes a level in badass between the first game and the sequel(especially)...
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* Cecille in ''[[Suikoden]] III''. Cute as a button teen girl who's shorter than even Thomas (and Thomas is a shrimp, by his own admission). She also patrols Budehuc Castle all day ''in full plate armor'', wielding a spear ''larger than she is'' and a buckler, and trains every morning by ''running two miles'' in said plate armor. Her exclusive War Horse rune is also one of the most damaging attacks in the game, although it has low accuracy.
=== [[Visual Novels]] ===▼
* Tomoyo Sakagami of ''[[Clannad (
▲== [[Visual Novels]] ==
▲* Tomoyo Sakagami of ''[[Clannad (Visual Novel)|Clannad]]'' is a quiet, somewhat soft-spoken young lady who aims to be student council president. She also used to (and still can) beat up gangs of delinquents with her bare hands and can deliver upwards of 500 kicks in a matter of two to three seconds with enough force to lift her targets off the ground and keep them there.
* Shikikargura from [[Visual Novel]] ''[[Princess Waltz]]'' is about half the height of the other princesses and carries no weapon. Don't think that makes her weak.
== [[Web Animation]] ==
* [
== [[Web Comics]] ==
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** Later, Yuki starts ''[http://www.megatokyo.com/strip/1051 throwing appliances]'' at zombies.
** Ping is a [[Ridiculously Human Robot]] who is designed emulate the girls in a [[Dating Sim]] (but only the [[Bleached Underpants|pure versions]]). She also casually bats away a [[Gamera]] [[Expy]] with a [http://www.megatokyo.com/strip/369 telephone pole].
*** Telephone poles have [http://megatokyo.com/strip/1168 numerous violent applications.]
** Yuki's mother Meimi, a [[Hot Mom]] / [[Magical Girl]] who gets introduced in the act of "accidentally" stealing a set of huge kitchen knives but doesn't even need them to effortlessly defeat a ninja, definitely qualifies.
* [[Lampshaded]] in [http://www.superstupor.com/sust04092008.shtml this comic].
* Elf from ''[[
* Several examples in ''[[
* Tehmel from ''[[Earthsong]]''.
* ''[[Errant Story]]'' has Sara Amraphel. The cute younger sister of gunslinging hitman John, she's also a warrior-monk with time-control magic and a magical [[
** The Paedagogusi also qualify, based on Kawaii's recollection of a little [https://web.archive.org/web/20150509052222/http://www.errantstory.com/2005-10-05/423 encounter with a troll]. Of course, there's considerably [[Our Angels Are Different|more]] to the Paedagogusi than meets the eye. Later one poor Battlemage [https://web.archive.org/web/20150919172128/http://www.errantstory.com/2010-05-10/4771 tried to stop Nookie] using two battle golems... which mildly annoyed her.
* Nikol in [https://web.archive.org/web/20131105124341/http://70-seas.com/ 70-Seas] is a thirteen-year-old ninja with a habit of kicking people in the face.
* [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=72716 Summer] from ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'' is fourteen. Her power is mainly held in check by the fact that she hates being different from her classmates, and rarely uses her abilities.
* ''[[The Cyantian Chronicles]]'': See Action Girl above, except Celina, who is more intimidating than cute.
** Phoenix qualifies as
** Again, the high percentage of self-defense training mentioned in Action Girl contributes heavily here as well.
* Tristan from ''[[Angel Moxie]]'' is a combination of this trope and [[Dark Action Girl]].
* Kieri of ''[[Slightly Damned]]'' may be unassuming and socially awkward, but that sword [http://www.sdamned.com/2006/09/09162006/ isn't just for show].
* Bridget the zombie girl from ''[[Far Out There]]'' qualifies, as demonstrated [https://web.archive.org/web/20160826020223/http://faroutthere.smackjeeves.com/comics/1072504/page-256-pwnage/ here].
* "Wreck Lass" from [https://web.archive.org/web/20170925025149/http://newhavencomics.com/ Zero`s Heroes]
* Nova from ''[[Overlord Academy]]''.
* ''[[Bittersweet Candy Bowl]]'', Lucy can kick a whole lot more ass than is apparent.
* Claw-fighting Nepeta from ''[[
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
* Little Sappho from ''[[The Adventures of Gyno Star]]'' is adorably cute, but can be extremely strong and violent when she uses her power of [http://www.gynostar.com/archives/824/ Righteous Lesbian Rage].
== [[Web Original]] ==
* Heart Girl from the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]''. Imagine Superman as a nine-year-old blonde girl with pigtails.
** Nicholas Chandler also. A fourteen year old boy who is perhaps the only "monster slayer" on the planet more feared than Charles Carr. At age eight he used a baseball bat to kill a menacing spirit he still thinks of (at the grand old age of eleven) as "the Boogeyman". Considered the "creepy little kid" in his neighborhood, and is distrusted by parents and children alike... until the children come to him telling stories of strange things bumping around their windows at night. Lives with his parents, naturally.
* There are plenty of
* Dark Rose of Blood, the leader of [[Less Than Three Comics|LessThanThree Comics']] Teen Dream Team, is a cute teen gothic lolita who packs one hell of a punch. A particularly egregious example of her fitting this trope is her second fight against Tarantula.
* Though several characters of this type exist in ''[[Fate Nuovo Guerra]]'', the clearest cut one would Kosviel von Einzbern, a Justica model homunoculus who cosplays as her favorite visual novel character regularly... and can kill you like that character does.
* [[Shadow Unit]]'s Nikki Lau may well qualify as this.
* Saga of ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Spinelli from ''[[Recess]]'' fits this trope to a T.
* All three of ''[[
** Next to them, you have (had) the Rowdyruff Boys, their [[Spear Counterpart
* Toph Beifong from ''[[
** Which was hilariously spoofed in "The Ember Island Players," with a big muscular guy playing as Toph. While most of the characters overwhelmingly hate their character depictions, [[The Big Guy|Toph, in fact, loves hers.]]
** In [[Sequel Series]] ''[[
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (
** 8-year-old Bobby. Neither a little girl nor quite possessing super strength, but giving the squeaky-voiced little brother of the group a magic caveman club that causes earthquakes on impact has much the same "gotcha" effect.
** His friend Diana the Acrobat, a 14-year-old [[She Fu|gymnastics expert]] who has an extendable staff as her [[Weapon of Choice]].
* An early (male) example is Bamm-Bamm Rubble from ''[[The Flintstones]]'', though his [[Super Strength]] was mostly done for laughs.
* ''[[Teen Titans (
** Starfire, an unusual tall example.
** Terra isn't physically powerful, but her powers are more suited to blunt force than subtlety.
* Dave's sister Fang in ''[[Dave the Barbarian]]''. She might be more of a [[Parody]] of the trope, though.
* Sandy Cheeks of ''[[
* Danielle in ''[[Danny Phantom]]''. Being a [[Opposite
** She can kick with her butt?
*** Well, she -can- shoot <s>laser</s> Ecto Rays out of her feet.
* Shayera/Hawkgirl in ''[[Justice League]].'' While she is an adult, she is easily the tiniest (and most smash-happy) member of the Original Seven. ''[[Heroes Unlimited|Justice League Unlimited]]'' also throws in examples like Supergirl, Stargirl, and Black Canary.
* Lisa Simpson in the ''[[The Simpsons (
* Panini from ''[[Chowder]]'' - She gives a beating to Gazpacho and Gorgonzola in ''The Bruised Bluenana'' and ''Hey Hey It's Knishmas'' respectively.
** In one instance she threatens Chowder into holding her hand while walking home.
* In ''[[
* Bunnie Rabbot from ''[[Sonic
* June from ''[[
** And Jetcat.
* ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'': Heloise is easily the smallest member of the cast. She's also the one you [[Enfant Terrible|wouldn't want to piss off]]. Only slightly second to her is [[Cute Monster Girl|Saffi]].
* Jungle Boy from ''[[Johnny Bravo]]''
* Molly Cunningham from ''[[
* [[Kim Possible]], anyone?
** Heck, what about Ron's adopted little sister, Hana?
* One word: [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** Well, [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
== Other Media ==
▲* In [[Tarot Motifs]], Strength is often depicted as a young girl holding up a beast.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Given that the [http://libarynth.org/_media/power.jpg Hybrid Assistive Limb] suit can so far{{when}} only fit shorter people, it's a very good way of giving little women super-lifting powers.
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/6253878/Worlds-youngest-female-karate-black-belt-arrives-in-UK.html Varsha Vinod, 5-year-old black belt].
* Giuliano Stroe. Just because he's about six doesn't mean he can't kick you ass.
* Kid bodybuilder Richard Sandark.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120604071938/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20070530/strong_toddler_070530
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/10-old-naomi-kutin-sets-women-world-lifting-145919498.html Naomi Kutin] record holding weightlifter, elementary school student, [[TV Tropes]] example.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:More Than Meets the Eye]]
[[Category:Youngsters]]
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[[Category:Stock Characters]]
[[Category:Magical Girl Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Action Girl/Sandbox]]
[[Category:Video Game Characters]]
[[Category:Badass]]
[[Category:
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