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Another explanation is that though the boy has powers of his own, and is more than a badass normal, he isn't the [[Chosen One]], or lacks the local monster-killing [[MacGuffin]], which the girl noticeably has.
When this trope is played straight, it is used to denote [[You Go, Girl!|Girl Power]]. This trope is a necessity due to the fact that the girls are the ones that are supposed to have the spotlight and be the heroines, as most of this shows are primarily intended for girls.
Compare to [[Worf Effect|The Worf Effect,]] where a [[Badass]] character is taken out easily to show how tough the new villain is. The difference between a Useless Boyfriend and the Worf Effect is the setting and how frequently the [[Badass]] in question is beaten down. The Worf Effect will overlap with Useless Boyfriend, but the Boyfriend is characterized by his uselessness. Though he may also serve a similar purpose, the "Worf" will be actually effective against a wide variety of enemies, and will gain victories for their side, whereas the Boyfriend serves as a punching bag until his girlfriend shows up.
See [[You Go, Girl!|Girl Power]], [[Action Girl]], [[Informed Ability]], [[Magical Girl]], or [[Distressed Dude]]. Also look at [[Badass Decay]]. Contrast [[Faux Action Girl]], which is a part of the [[Distaff Counterpart]].
{{examples}}
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== [[Live Action Television]] ==
* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'s boyfriend in seasons 4-5, Riley, was a [[Badass Normal]] who was completely and utterly outclassed by [[Super Strength|Buffy.]] The show even [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructs the trope,]] with all the [[Unfortunate Implications]] that come along with it. Riley eventually feels useless (in combat and even emotionally because Buffy refuses to really open up to or rely on him when she needs help) and weak compared to Buffy and leaves her. Later it turns out that he marries a different, and less [[Super Empowering|empowered]] [[Action Girl]] with whom he can form a more equal [[Battle Couple]].
* In ''[[
* Played straight with Mickey of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' at first, then subverted.
** What about Rory Pond (''also'' subverted later on)?
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[
* In ''[[WITCH (
** Matt Olsen, Will's boyfriend, subverts this trope. When he finds out of Will's second life, he decides that he isn't going to let Will get hurt with him around. He takes copious amounts of [[Taking a Level In Badass]] {{spoiler|after his successful [[Battle in
*** The comic was also good at subverting it. When Matt learns about [[The Masquerade]], he helps the girls hiding it from their parents. Next story arc, he is a [[Distressed Dude]], but at then end he manages to save the day. {{spoiler|Then we learn he was a [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]] secret protector.}}
* The wielders of the Forest Stones from ''[[Princess Gwenevere and
* In ''[[Kim Possible]]'', [[Sidekick|Ron Stoppable]] is this for Kim. Despite the act that he has "mystical king Fu powers" he is unable to beat Shego nor any villain of the week. Most of the time Kim does all the work. He becomes aware of this trope at the last episode and feels outclassed compared to Kim. Even in the last episode when he was allowed to {{spoiler|awaken his powers and beat the [[Big Bad|BigBads]] by himself, he was unable to use his powers until the last moment and when Kim was knocked out.}}
** Ron really is more of a subversion however. He is, in fact an attempt at lampshading this trope. The main difference is that Ron hasn't made any claims to be badass, he knows he isn't badass.
** The other thing is that it's Kim's show, so she's usually the hero with Ron as loyal support, though he has a number of [[All Up to You]] moments. <ref> Some fans thought there were too many of these, but that's a debate we don't want to re-open.</ref>
* Lampshaded and... Parodied?... with Steve Trevor, love interest of [[Wonder Woman]] in his appearance at ''[[Batman:
{{quote| '''Steve Trevor:''' ''Have to say, being a secret agent is a cinch when you have a super-powered girlfriend.''
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