Super Strength: Difference between revisions

Very common power from [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]]. Usually does not [[I Know Karate|know Kung Fu]]. Usually, this is the linchpin power of a [[Flying Brick]]. Characters with [[Combo-Platter Powers|a wide variety of Superpowers]] will very frequently include this as a baseline ability. Characters with super strength may demonstrate it with a [[Neck Lift]]. A must for [[The Big Guy]]. This is also the most common [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]. It's often revealed to other characters via a [[Bare-Handed Truck Stop]].

 

 

{{examples}}

* In ''[[Ranma ½]]'', most of the martial artists seem to have some level of greater-than-human strength, implicitly ''because'' of the fact [[Supernatural Martial Arts|they practice martial arts]]. Akane Tendo, [[Overshadowed by Awesome|generally considered the least skilled of the group]], can carry a refrigerator up and down a flight of stairs in her arms, single-handed and at a jogging pace. Mousse, who generally prefers fighting with weapons to bare hands, is capable of splitting a huge temple bell with one punch. Ranma Saotome himself is generally considered [[Weak but Skilled]] because he prefers agility and technique to brute force, as opposed to [[The Rival|Ryoga Hibiki]], who [[Does Not Know His Own Strength|tends to break things around him without meaning to]], but is still capable of feats like lifting multiple tons, smashing through solid rock and wood with his bare hands, bending steel and leaping multiple stories.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'', we have a lot of examples.

*** {{spoiler|She's even stronger than A, and can smash Susano'o on her own!}}

** The second example is Tsunade's student, Sakura Haruno. She can now shatter boulders, launch Naruto over 300 meters (over 1000 feet) away with a single punch, and break the highly defensive Hiruko puppet's defense with ease.

* ''[[Savage Dragon]]'' and thus, many of his villains, have super strength as well.

 

* Paul in ''[[With Strings Attached]]''. Two levels: “low,” where he can lift about 15,000 lbs., and “high,” whose upper limit is unknown, but greater than 90 tons. Both levels give him proportional [[Power Incontinence]]. He doesn't find a whole lot of use for his strength, since he's an [[Actual Pacifist]].

* Sarah Squall, aka Stratogale, from ''[[Rise of the Galeforces]]'', practically rivals ''[[The Incredibles|Mr. Incredible]]'' in terms of physical strength. [[All There in the Manual|Note that this power was one of her abilities in canon, at least according to her official NSA profile.]]

* In ''[[Renegade (fanfic)|Renegade]]'', Kaidan Alenko has superhuman strength thanks to being a Tiberium mutant in this timeline, to the point that he can chuck a two-ton [[Mini-Mecha]] with a bit of help from his biotics.

 

== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[The Adventures of Captain Marvel]]'' film serial of 1941 showcases one of the earliest film examples (which makes sense, given its the first superhero film of all time) with the titular [[Shazam|Captain Marvel]]. Throughout the 12 episode serial, the Captain lifts enormous stone columns, large fallen trees, elevator cars, and other feats of strength, to the point where he ends some of his fist fights with criminals by ''casually slapping them''.

* The [[Golem]] in the silent movie classic ''[[The Golem]]'' is arguably super-strong, [[Load-Bearing Hero|single-handedly supporting]] [[Descending Ceiling|the ceiling]] of the Emperor's palace at one point.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* [[Dishing Out Dirt|Earthcrafters]] in ''[[Codex Alera]]'' can give themselves super strength by using their furies. Particularly powerful ones tend to wade into battle wielding ''huge'' [[BFS]]s and warhammers to get the most out of this ability.

* Fezzik in ''[[The Princess Bride (novel)|The Princess Bride]]''.

* Wrestling Matt in ''[[Of Snail Slime]]''.

 

* One of the basic abilities of a Slayer in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''.

** Vampires also have super strength, though it's unclear whether they have it to the same degree.

* Brutally subverted in ''[[The 4400]]'', when a guy gets super strength, and uses it to kick the drug dealers and hoodlums out of his neighbourhood park. Then one stabs him. Fortunately, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|his death inspires the people of the neighbourhood]].

* This is the central device of the Korean series ''[[Strong Girl Bong-soon]]''. Bong-soon is the latest recipient of a mystic gift of profound strength, which has been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. The strength comes with [[Kryptonite Factor|a catch]] -- if it's misused, it will desert the recipient. Her mother misused her strength and lost it, so Bong-soon is ''very'' cautious about using hers -- but when she does, she can send large men flying hundreds of feet with a single blow.

 

== [[Mythology]] ==

* [[Classical Mythology|Hercules]], [[The Bible|Samson]], [[The Epic of Gilgamesh|Gilgamesh]], and a host of other heroes from [[Oral Tradition|legend and myth]] have all had it. Likewise for virtually every ancient myth's [[Physical God|gods]].

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Third Edition just uses Enhanced Strength (Limited to lifting), due to the greatly accelerated progression of carrying capacity.

* Represented in the old ''Marvel Super Heroes'' RPG with a good roll for your Strength stat...if you were playing a character type with access to the upper echelons, that is. (Incredible is about Spider-Man strength. Monstrous or...whatever the level after that was...lets you hit people with ''oil tankers''.)

* The Potence discipline in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' gives vampires super strength. Clan Brujah is most known for it, but it's generally relatively common among vampires. Even some ghouls eventually learn lower levels of it.

** Ghouls get the first level of Potence from the very beginning.

** In ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', Potence is replaced with Vigor, which does pretty much the same thing.

 

== [[Toys]] ==

* ''[[Bionicle]]'': granted by the [[Mask of Power|Mask of Strength]]

** Different Kinds of Toa have a degree of it ingrained naturally. The Makuta all posses it. Some Characters with impressive strength include Nocturn, Takutanuva, Tren Krom, and especially Mata Nui.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** Mario and Luigi are capable of [[Super Mario World (video game)|lifting a castle and throwing it to the side]].

** Wario can [[Wario Land Shake It|cause earthquakes with his punch]].

** In another combination technique with [[An Ice Person|Marle]], Ayla hits the enemy with a chunk of ice that is at least five times her own size.

* Byakuren Hijiri from [[Touhou|Touhou Project]] specializes herself in magic that augments her own physical abilities, which allegedly grants her super strength, among other useful powers such as [[Super Speed]]. One of her spellcards is aptly named 'Superhuman "Byakuren Hijiri"'.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* A few characters in ''[[Homestuck]]'' possess MANGRIT, which is basically Super Strength but manlier and grittier. John's Dad is strong enough to bend jail cell bars and throw around safes. The troll Equius also possesses considerable MANGRIT—too much in fact. He injures his Lusus with grateful pats on the head which are done as gently as possible—made even more impressive by said Lusus being one of the strongest on the ''planet'' and the only one that could survive raising Equius. Every time he tries to enjoy a glass of milk the glass breaks and he spills it. He wants to be an archer but has to settle for being a fistfighter because he always breaks the bows. John eventually develops enough MANGRIT to [[Dual Wield]] ''sledgehammers''.

* Demon Lord Horribus from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' was treated as an [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] for years, until his demons finally got their own major story in "That Which Redeems". When he finally confronts [[Arch Enemy|Torg]] in the climactic ending, the gloves really come off. Though it has already been hinted that a Demon Lord is very powerful, his true power is revealed when he attacks the heroes by knocking down stone buildings, picking them up and using them as projectile weapons.

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'': This is one of [[Smug Super]] Captain Hammer's powers, along with [[Nigh Invulnerability]].

* This is one of the side effects of becoming [[Demonic Possession|in]][[Everyman HYBRID|HABIT]][[Fan Nickname|ed]], although you probably won't enjoy [[People Puppets|the front row seats to what he makes your body do with it]].

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Lisa Simpson had this power in a ''[[Halloween Episode|Treehouse of Horror]]'' episode of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''.

* From ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'', Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy (depending on form; his gorilla form is the go-to for feats of strength), Pantha, and believe it or not, Aqualad. (Hey, '''YOU''' try breaking down the doors to Titans Tower with your bare hands!)

** Rolf and Sarah are also shown to be incredibly strong.

*** It's justified differently in-universe for each of them: Ed is too dumb to know he can't be that strong, Sarah's a product of her extreme temper, and Rolf gets it from backbreaking farm work.

* Jenny frequently used hers on ''[[My Life as a Teenage Robot]]''; her [[Bragging Theme Tune]] claims she has "the strength of a million-and-seventy men."

* [[I Love Nuclear Power|Radioactive waste]] in ''[[Family Guy]]'' gave Lois this power.

 

* The protein [[wikipedia:Myostatin|myostatin]] limits muscle growth in people and other mammals. Rare mutations can suppress the production of myostatin, or reduce the body's sensitivity to it, resulting in heightened muscle development. Scientists bred this condition into "[[Mighty Mouse|mighty mice]]", and at least one German child was born with the condition, resulting in double the normal amount of muscle mass. The obvious drawback to this condition is that subjects would starve to death much more quickly than normal because they could not catabolize their muscle mass properly.

* A normal human being has the capability to lift over a ton in emergency situations, and only emergency situations. It shuts down the immune system and digestive system when it happens, however (not permanently, of course), and doesn't last more than a minute.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Index of Exact Trope Titles]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]

[[Category:Stock Super Powers]]

[[Category:Super Title Index]]