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{{trope}}
▲[[File:rsz_stephen-hawkins_6917.jpg|link=Stephen Hawking|right]]
In the world of fiction, physical impairment = scientific credibility. The world is actually a [[RPG Mechanics Verse]], and when this [[Munchkin]] rolled up their character, they were [[Min
If you're stupid and in a wheelchair, man are you outta luck!
A form of [[Disability Superpower]]. Many of these are inspired at least partially by [[Stephen Hawking]], although the trope predates him. See also [[Evil Cripple]] for when a '''Genius Cripple''' turns out to be evil.
The "plus side" of being a [[Squishy Wizard]] when [[Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards]] applies. An athlete or a warrior who is crippled is pretty much screwed for life, but a genius or a wizard can keep on truckin'. The [[Blind Seer]] is another version of the archetype.
{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
* Mashiro from ''[[
* While not a genius on the level of her brother [[Magnificent Bastard|Lelouch]], blind and wheelchair-bound [[Code Geass|Nunnally vi Britannia]] joined {{spoiler|Schneizel, successfully convinced him to hand over the key to the F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads, and came up with a plan that was ''eerily'' similar to Lelouch's, focusing all the world's hatred on a single target (in this case, ''Damocles'')}}. Being a child of the Emperor, she was undoubtedly quite intelligent, and showed more insight than normally attributed to her by the end of the series. {{spoiler|And after the end of the series, she makes a pretty good Brittannian Empress...}}
** Subverted in that this was all part of {{spoiler|Schneizel's latest Xanatos Gambit, which he started off by [[I Lied|lying to Nunnally about Pendragon and his own motives]], and later on intended to abandon Damocles with her on it after setting it to self-destruct in order to thwart Lelouch, and later on build another fortress and stockpile even more [[Weapon of Mass Destruction|FLEIJAs]], this time, with no one else to stop him or claim sovereignity over Britannia}}. So Nunnally had basically become an [[Unwitting Pawn]]. {{spoiler|Though she ''does'' wise up and then becomes a decent Empress after the [[Grand Finale]].}}
* Sieglinde Sullivan, a [[Child Prodigy]] from ''[[Black Butler]]'', has crippled feet and can barely walk.
== Comics ==
* Wiz Kid and Professor Xavier from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''.
* Oracle from ''[[
** Arguably, she's done more good with a computer than she could have ''ever'' done as Batgirl.
*** Even in-universe, it's considered pretty much a given that she has.
*** She's arguably the poster girl for this trope, as she was presented as varying from ditzy to reasonably-but-not-exceptionally sharp (depending on the era's views on women) as Batgirl ... but once she became wheelchair-bound, she suddenly remembered she had an eidetic memory and world class hacking, strategic, and oganizational skills!
** Harold Allnut was a mute hunchback who served for years as Batman's mechanic and was a genius with gadgets and technology.
* Niles Caulder from ''[[
* Lionel Canter from ''[[The Surrogates (
* Josie Beller / Circuit Breaker from the ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' comics. After being paralyzed in a Decepticon attack, she built herself a suit of surprisingly clingy [[Powered Armor]] that allows her to fly and shoot lightning.
* Alistair Smythe, the inventor of many a [[Spider-Man|Spider-Slayer]], at least until he turned himself into a cyborg. Probably best remembered as the Kingpin's [[Disabled Snarker|snarky]], [[Super Wheelchair]]-driving second-in-command in ''[[Spider-Man:
* Roger Bochs from ''[[Alpha Flight]]'', who invented a robot called Box and controlled with a mental interface helmet; a later version allowed him to physically merge into it, making him a [[Genius Bruiser]].
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* ''[[Doctor Strangelove]]'', although he regained the ability to walk a second before the world ended.
* Mostly subverted with Eugene in ''Gattaca''. While he's intelligent enough to fit the trope, he's also a former Olympic-level swimmer and [[Designer Babies|genetically engineered]] "perfect" man, and whatever potential he might have isn't strong enough to withstand all his regrets and depression.
* [[Samuel L. Jackson]]'s character Elijah Price in the movie ''[[Unbreakable]]'' fits this rather well, {{spoiler|[[Evil Cripple|in the villain sense]]}}.
* Subverted in ''[[The Big Lebowski]]'', when the title character {{spoiler|spends most of the movie posing as a bad-tempered, handicapped disabled self-made millionaire ("I didn't blame anyone for the loss of my legs! Some Chinaman took them from me in Korea!"), and turns out to be a phony. Although, as Walter learns the hard way, he genuinely is crippled.}}
* Dr. Ashford of ''[[Resident Evil: Apocalypse
* Kuato in ''[[
* Dr. Leonard Gillespie, in the ''[[Doctor Kildare]]'' films.
** Also an example of [[Written
* Dr. Arliss Loveless in the film version of ''[[Wild Wild West (
* ''[[
== Literature ==
* Eli Glinn in the ''Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child'' novels.
* In Dan Brown's novels ''[[Angels and Demons]]'' and ''[[The Da Vinci Code]]'', both had characters with disabilities and were also highly respected professors. The guy in the wheelchair was probably a reference to Stephen Hawking.
* Doran Martell from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' fits this to a tee. {{spoiler|Arguably, also Bran Stark.}} And dwarf Tyrion Lannister is at least the second most intelligent person in the series.
* [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]'s [[Vorkosigan Saga|Miles Vorkosigan]]: Stunted, hunchbacked, with brittle bones that break at the drop of a hat, but always comes out on top by being the smartest guy on the planet. ''[[Marty Stu|Any planet]]''.
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* Quadriplegic forensics expert Lincoln Rhyme from the novels of Jeffrey Deaver.
* Waldo Farthingwaite-Jones of the [[Robert A. Heinlein|Heinlein]] novella ''[[Waldo]]''. He might be the inspiration for most of the later versions. He was a super-genius with myasthenia gravis that left him 1/10 as strong as an average human. He invented many incredible devices and is best known for the actual devices known as Waldos and named for the invention of the book.
* In the ''[[Halo]]'' prequel novel, ''The Fall of Reach'', John (the Master Chief) notes that the SPARTAN-II candidates who don't make it through the dangerous physical augmentation processes fully intact (some die, others are blinded, and a few are wheelchair-bound) will fulfill such a role in the UNSC as strategists and the like, as the candidates for the program were selected for their intelligence and instructed in history, science, math, and tactics in order to be both physically perfect soldiers and brilliant field strategists.
* While not a ''scientific'' genius, Lady Emily Alexander, {{spoiler|senior}} wife and political advisor of Lord Hamish Alexander, 13th Earl of White Haven and First Lord of the Admiralty, from David Weber's ''[[
** Less obvious is Honor's own treecat partner Nimitz. Due to an injury sustained in ''In Enemy Hands'', Nimitz was rendered telepathically mute. He could hear other treecats telepathically, and his empathic sense was fine, but he could not communicate beyond that. However, with a bit of help he was instrumental in adapting human sign language for 'cat use.
* Hile Troy, from ''[[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant|The Illearth War]]'', was a congenitally blind genius at military strategy who gained his sight after being transported to The Land.
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* Garrett's partner in the ''Garrett, P.I.'' novels might qualify, in that he's a physically-immobile genius who could out-think most people in his sleep. Unusual in that he's not just paralyzed, but ''dead'' and haunting his own corpse.
* Melody Brooks from ''[[Out of My Mind]]'' is a girl who has cerebral palsy. As she says, it's not her brain that doesn't work, but her body. She has a photographic memory and is like a living encyclopedia (though her weak point is [[Everybody Hates Mathematics|math]]). She is even called her school's own Stephen Hawking.
* Beldin in ''[[The Belgariad]]'' is a disfigured hunchback. He also has the sharpest mind in the whole series and Belgarath readily acknowledges that Beldin is much more clever than him.
* Over the course of his career as an Auror, Alastor "[[Mad
* Ivar the Boneless from ''[[
* The ''[[Inheritance Cycle]]'' has the High Priest [[Ambiguous Gender|(Priestess?)]] of Helgrind. He/she possesses incredible magical skills and [[Psychic Powers]], and very nearly out-magicked four skilled magicians in a mental battle. Did I mention he/she is missing both legs, both arms, and [[Tongue Trauma|part of his/her tongue?]] He/she also qualifies as an [[Evil Cripple]] because let's face it, leading a [[Religion of Evil]] that practices ritual mutilation <ref>which is how he/she lost all those body parts</ref> and [[Human Sacrifice]] kind of makes you a dick.
== Live
* Stevie from ''[[Malcolm in
* Brutally subverted in ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'', in which a [[Jerk Jock]] ends up in a wheelchair after a car accident and discovers that he now has no useful skills whatsoever.
* Former Superman Christopher Reeve guest-starred on ''[[Smallville]]'' as genius scientist Dr. Virgil Swann.
** In Season 8 [[Evil Genius]] {{spoiler|[[Lex Luthor]]}} becomes one of these, courtesy of horrific injuries sustained earlier in show.
* The recurring villain Davros from ''[[
** Doctor Judson, the wheelchair-bound computer scientist in ''The Curse of Fenric''. Who gets very grumpy about his medical assistant treating him as helpless:
{{quote|
'''Doctor Judson:''' I'm not an invalid, I'm a cripple. I'm also a genius, so shut up, the pair of you! }}
** ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' featured a brilliant, but crippled scientist named Dortmund.
** The Cybus Industries Cybermen were created by John Lumic, also an [[Evil Cripple]].
* Miguelito Loveless in ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'', and Arliss Loveless in [[Wild Wild West (
* [[House (TV series)|House]] is a crippled genius, but that injury more often hurts his genius rather than enables or is neutral to it. On the other hand, to the extent this trope extends to the ''emotionally'' crippled...
* Wheelchair-bound physicist Dr. Ernst Longbore in the final season of ''[[Lexx]]''.
* Sebastian from ''[[Dark Angel]]'' can barely move and requires a computer to talk. Yeah, he's pretty much
** Logan would probably qualify as well.
* Dr. John Ballard from ''[[Seven Days]]''.
* The eminently forgettable failed-series-pilot ''[[Exo Man]]'' featured a scientist who permanently lost the use of his legs, and so built a super-powered robotic exoskeleton for himself to make up for it.
* In ''[[
* Perhaps most notably of all, Stephen Hawking is the only person to ever play himself (or at least a hologram of himself) in any ''[[
** Especially since he's playing poker with Data, Newton and Einstein. And beats everyone.
*** [[Fridge Brilliance|Well how could you tell if he's bluffing? His tone of voice?]]
* Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside, in ''[[
* CSI:NY used to have a wheelchair bound forensics expert in the early seasons.
** Doc Robbins, the medical examiner on the original ''CSI'', is (and is played by) a double amputee.
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== Music ==
* Billy, a character in former [[Pink Floyd]] frontman Roger Waters' [[Concept Album]] "Radio KAOS", is a Welsh boy in a wheelchair speaking via a speech computer, who hears radio waves in his head. He learns to use a cordless phone stolen by his big brother, an unemployed miner, to broadcast his voice around the world. His brother is mistakenly arrested for allegedly kicking a stone from a bridge to a car during a miner's strike, killing the driver; the stone fell from a different bridge than one he and Billy were standing on. Upset by the loss of his family environment after he is sent to live with his uncle in L.A., the corporate greed that left his brother unemployed, his brother's false incarceration and the state of the world in general, he {{spoiler|befriends a renegade, freeform DJ (played by Jim Ladd), then hacks his way through the cordless phone into Defense Department computers. Billy programs the computers to simulate a nuclear attack, then make it impossible for missile silos to deter the "attack". The DJ (and the world) believe it has only four minutes left until the end of the world. The world is [[scared Straight]] into becoming a nicer, happier, and more peaceful and compassionate as a result.}}
== Myths & Religion ==
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: Hephaestus, the ancient Greek god of the forge (counterpart to the Roman Vulcan), is
== Tabletop Games ==
* Any game with a point-buy character creation system can produce Genius Cripples. An old joke amongst ''[[GURPS]]'' players is that if the GM introduces a non-player character who is blind, deaf, and quadriplegic, start worrying about how the GM spent the bonus points from all those disadvantages.
== Video Games ==
* Professor von Kripplespac from ''[[
* Bentley of the ''[[Sly Cooper]]'' games becomes this in the third game after he was crippled at the end of the second. This does not hinder him from making a wheelchair fitted with gadgets as well as making him a [[Handicapped Badass|better fighter than he was before]].
* Kenny Kawaguchi of ''[[Backyard Sports]]''.
* ''[[Touhou Project]]'': Although Patchouli Knowledge has no specific disabilities, she is depicted to have a very fragile constitution. "It seems that she's capable of very powerful magic of all kinds, [[Elemental Powers|using many elements in a single spell]], but due to asthma and general poor health she's often unable to recite her spells."([http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Patchouli_Knowledge TouhouWiki]) A popular fan observation is that she doesn't get nearly enough vitamin D.
* Jasper Gunz of ''[[House of the Dead]]: Overkill'' is a deliberately over-the-top example of this trope.
* Dr. Sellers of the ''[[
* STEVEN from ''[[Shin Megami Tensei I]]'' is a pretty blatant example.
* Hugh Darrow from ''[[Deus Ex: Human Revolution
== Web Comics ==
* In the webcomic ''[[
* Mecha Maid from the series [[Spinnerette]] qualifies, as she designed the nerve stimulator that gives her super strength and enables her to move around. Without it, she is confined to a wheelchair and has trouble even speaking due to her ALS.
* ''[[xkcd]]'' noted [https://xkcd.com/799/ how] the press tend to handle this (i.e. fail to meaningfully communicate with Hawking and just use him as a living [[Magic 8-Ball]] instead).
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* The ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' has several examples, including Juryrig and Kludge, both deviser/gadgeteers in extremely souped-up wheelchairs that fly and such. Kludge is also working on an "Iron Man" suit of power armor so he can walk again.
* Lululu Lopez from [[Platypus Comix]]'s ''Electric Wonderland'' always has to travel in some type of wheeled object because of her mermaid tail, but she does know a lot about bombs.
* As ''[[The Onion]]'' pointed out, Stephen Hawking [https://web.archive.org/web/20100308044239/http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39133 built himself a robotic exoskeleton] to replace his wheelchair.
== Western Animation ==
* Dr. Wang from ''[[Minoriteam]]'', who was a [[Badass Normal]] before he was paralyzed. The only person comparable to him in intelligence is Dr. Genius, who can only move one of his fingers.
* ''[[The Fairly
* Berto from ''[[Max Steel]]''.
* ''[[Alpha Teens On Machines
* Chip Chase from ''[[Transformers]] G1''.
** But he has courage!
* Carlos's younger brother from ''[[The Magic School Bus]]'' has a wheelchair with a parachute, an emergency raft, a crowbar, and various other useful things, and is a lot smarter than his brother or his brother's classmates.
* ''[[
** And in a subversion, he's not actually disabled, just too lazy to walk. Once he comes under the influence of DeeDee, he sheds his jet-bird-shell-thing and takes up interpretive dance.
* Hawking appeared as a cartoon version of himself on several episodes of ''[[The Simpsons (
** He also presented a BAFTA for ''[[The Simpsons (
* In ''[[
** In other episodes, Hawking shows up in a "way cool rocket" equipped with lasers. Oh, and he's at a huge science convention.
*** And apparently has lasers in his eyes. Even he didn't know he was that awesome.
* Hawking showed up on the ''[[Dilbert (
* Garret was the name of a wheelchaired bound [[Extreme Ghostbusters
** He was sort of an unusual subversion, though, in that he was a jock, not a brain. And not in the "realizes he has no useful skills when he loses the use of his legs" sense, in the "the guy in the wheelchair is the most physically fit one" [[Murderball]] sense.
* The {{spoiler|future Joker}} in the ''[[Batman:
* Felix, Ron's friend in ''[[
** Ummm... where did you get your information? Felix's ''mom'' built his wheelchair; Felix himself, while clever, is more in line with the [[Extreme Ghostbusters
* In ''[[Zorro
* The subject of the ''[[G.I. Joe]]: A Real American Hero'' episode, "My Brother's Keeper". Sgt. Slaughter and Sci-Fi must rescue a handicapped (and frankly, [[Insufferable Genius|pretty dickish]]) scientist named Dr. Jeremy Pinser.
== Real Life ==
* [[Older Than They Think|Leonhard Euler]]: 18th century mathematician, and one of the most prolific of all time. He went blind in one eye at the age of 21; and blind in the other when he was about forty. After this, he kept turning out papers by dictating them to his secretaries. In addition to many fundamental results, Euler innovated much of current mathematical notation. Euler was able to juggle the symbols and numbers of the most difficult problems of his day entirely in his head; at one point during his blindness, he even managed to ''prove that a 10-digit number was prime''. Around this time, he was publishing papers at the average rate of one per week.
* The [[Trope Maker|inspiration for many of these entries]]: the late [[Stephen Hawking]], perhaps one of the most famous scientists in the world
** Hawking may also
* Another real life example: Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was left with his left eyelid as his only functional body part after a stroke. Using a system of blinking that eyelid, he was able to dictate an entire book about his life with Locked In Syndrome, during which he had to keep the entire book in his memory and edit the whole thing before giving instructions to his typist.
* Irish writer and artist [
* Christopher Nolan ([[I Thought It Meant|no, not]] '''[[Name's the Same|THAT]]''' [[
* US President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Confined to a wheelchair by Guillain-Barré syndrome (The Polio diagnosis was incorrect) he still managed to become one of the greatest presidents America ever had. Of course, the general public didn't know that he was crippled. That's the benefit of a respectful press and a nice combination of leg braces and sheer willpower for those occasions that mandated standing up.
* Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, The Emperor Claudius, became Emperor by surviving, faking [[Obfuscating Insanity|mental illness]] and [[Obfuscating Stupidity|idiocy]], and suffered lameness in his legs (as well as [
* Arab Syrian poet Al-Ma'arri lost his eyesight at the age of four. It didn't prevent him from becoming one of the greatest poets and philosophers of his age.
* [[Jorge Luis Borges]], one of the most renowned writers of the 20th century, wrote many of his works when he was blind.
* According to tradition, [[Homer]], author of ''[[
* Alexander Pope suffered from a form of tuberculosis that deformed his body, stunted his growth to about four and a half feet, and caused a whole slew of other health problems. He's also renowned as one of history's greatest poets.
* Louis Braille, creator of the Braille alphabet, was blind.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Disability Superpower]]
[[Category:Disability Tropes]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
[[Category:
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