History AlwaysSomeoneBetter / ComicBooks

There's AlwaysSomeoneBetter in comic books.

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* One of [[Comicbook/AntMan Hank Pym]]'s biggest problems has always been that no matter how good he is in any given area, at least one of his fellow heroes is always better. When he was Giant-Man, he lacked the raw power of [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] or the Comicbook/IncredibleHulk, and as a scientist, he's not as well respected as ComicBook/IronMan or the above-mentioned Mister Fantastic. A {{Retcon}} in ''Comicbook/MightyAvengers'' established that many of his neuroses began after he discovered that Iron Man was actually the genius billionaire Tony Stark, which immediately caused Hank to feel inferior.
-->'''Comicbook/{{Cable}}''': I'm not saying you're not a genius, Hank...you were just unlucky enough to be a genius in a time of gods.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
** At different points, both [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason]] and [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] have felt this way about [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]. All three of them are highly skilled in different ways, but Jason and Tim lacked Dick's acrobatic talents, and Jason felt somewhat bitter about the fact that Dick was Bruce's favoured son. He was probably justified - when [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily the Joker beat Jason to death]], Bruce didn't break his [[ThouShaltNotKill No Kill rule]], but when Bruce ''[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis thought]]'' [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis someone had killed Dick]], [[BatmanGrabsAGun he grabbed a gun]]. Tim at least has never resented Dick for this, he just accepts it as the way things are.
** [[ComicBook/RedRobin Tim Drake]] believes that this is what motivates his successor Damian Wayne to act like a {{Jerkass}} to their sister [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]: Bruce [[ParentalFavoritism has always had more faith]] [[TheAce in her]]. Cassandra is definitely this to her best friend [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]], who is a more realistic BadassNormal rather than the WorldsBestWarrior like Cassandra.
** The Riddler is an EvilGenius whose dream is to become the WorldsSmartestMan, but that is a TragicDream because he lives in Gotham, home of the GreatDetective Batman. As long as Batman proves he is smarter than the Riddler, the Riddler will continue to treathen Gotham City with his CriminalMindGames and the SuperheroParadox.
*** [[AllThereInTheManual In the bible]] of the WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries, the Riddler claims that he is stuck in Gotham because [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction he will not debase himself enough to defy that]] [[Franchise/TheFlash Central City fool]].
** The Scarecrow is a PsychoPsychologist SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp whose dream is to become TheDreaded, but that is a TragicDream because he lives in Gotham, home of the TerrorHero Batman. As long as Batman proves he is scarier than the Scarecrow, the Scarecrow will continue to threaten Gotham City with the SuperheroParadox.

* ComicBook/CaptainAtom is this for the entire [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]]. Whenever there is a threat that Franchise/{{Superman}} can't handle for one reason or another, a threat that will spank Franchise/GreenLantern and utterly humble [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]... it almost always falls to Captain Atom to take care of, because there are no real limits to his powers because he is a PhysicalGod to end all {{Physical God}}s. In ''Captain Atom: Armageddon'', he shows up in the ''Wildstorm'' universe and plays this role to ''Comicbook/TheAuthority''. By which we mean the ''whole team'' combined. Captain Atom has more powers but he admits that he's just a C- grade superhero as he always a step too slow or too navel-gazing to be the first to save the day.
* ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'':
** In many ways, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) is better than his arch-nemesis ComicBook/DoctorDoom, with regards to science at least; one of Doom's key driving motivations is to prove himself superior to Richards, who has always demonstrated that he's just that little bit smarter and better than Doom. In this case, the rivalry is far from unnoticed, although it's always Doom who actively plans and attempts to humiliate and subdue Reed, who is less interested in proving himself superior to Doom and in fact considers it a waste that Doom expends his still-impressive intellect on what amounts to little more than petty jealousy. It is worth noting, however, that Doom is an equally-powerful sorcerer, and is in fact more powerful than Richards in this respect. However, he still meets the basic nature of the trope, as he is obsessed with besting Richards entirely on his own terms, i.e. with science, and when he uses his formidable skills in sorcery against Richards, Richards nevertheless manages to find some way to outwit him and win. In ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'', [[spoiler:Reed finally gets Doom to admit that Reed can do something better than him -- saving the multiverse. This convinces the Molecule Man to take away Doom's powers and give them to Reed so he can do just that]].
** ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange'': Doctor Strange is this to Doom in magic, proving that Doom just can't win. You think he'd be happy being second in two fields to the world's best, but no. It has been stated in "Unthinkable" that if Doom had chosen sorcery over science, he would be Doctor Strange's superior. Strange also had the advantage of being tutored by the world's Sorcerer Supreme, while Doom had only a monastery of mystic monks to teach him.
** Reed is this to The Wizard, who has actually given up on beating him with science and just wants him dead so he can be the best, resulting in a whole lot of Frightful Fours, one of which had five members. Reed is surprisingly calm about this, except when it's actually happening; he never sits around worrying about what the Wizard's going to do next.
** The Mad Thinker is similarly jealous of Reed's accomplishments, but when Reed actually called on the Thinker to check his math during ''Comicbook/CivilWar,'' the Thinker was bowled over by what Reed had accomplished and finally conceded that Reed was simply smarter than he was; but then he needled Reed that for all his intellectual accomplishments, Reed lacked the [[SimplemindedWisdom common sense]] to see that his chosen course in the Civil War would cost him everything he loved.
** Dr. Strange is this to Baron Mordo (the ''other'' former disciple of the Ancient One) rather than Doom; Doom certainly obsesses less about Strange in particular than the not-so-good Baron does.
** While Richards lends his name to the ReedRichardsIsUseless trope for a good reason, Doom actually uses his incredible intellect to make Latveria, the nation he rules, into a high-technology utopia. However, Reed's technology is still usually superior to Doom's efforts. Doom also gets away with actively using his technological prowess on Latveria because it's a fictional, highly isolationist country and so not subject to the general StatusQuoIsGod effect that applies to the more "realistic" areas of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
** Ironically, in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel, Reed Richards gets to experience it himself, claiming that he feels inferior to his universe's incarnation of [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]].

* Comicbook/IncredibleHulk: Bruce Banner has been shown to resent Tony Stark because of how beloved and successful Tony's inventions have made him, while Bruce's invention turned him into an out of control freak.
** Meanwhile the Hulk serves as this to Ben Grimm, the ever lovin blue eyed Thing. Ben is an accomplished fighter and one of ''the'' physically strongest heroes on Earth but the Hulk is just plain stronger and tougher than Ben ever is at his best. The Thing can put up a good fight through a WeakButSkilled approach that takes advantage of his skill as a fighter rather than his power but most of their battles are usually in Hulk's favor by the end and any clear cut victories on Ben's end come from drastically different circumstances than they normally work under, such as one instance when Ben had received a significant power boost and the Hulk was locked into his weaker Grey Hulk form.

* ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} has an interesting case in that it is someone who he ''very'' rarely meets, in stories that for the most part weren't canon even when they were written: Franchise/TheFlash. Whenever DC and Marvel has crossovers were both feature, the Flash is much, ''much'' faster, and thanks to the Speed Force, have a lot more tricks up his sleeve, which Quicksilver understandably tends to feel inadequate in the face of. Quicksilver does have ''one'' advantage, though -- ''his'' SuperSpeed comes purely from himself, so it works perfectly fine in ''both'' universes, while the Flash gets slowed down or even outright depowered when over in the Marvel universe since there's no Speed Force over there.

* A [[Quotes/AlwaysSomeoneBetter quote]] from ''Comicbook/SheHulk'', where the titular heroine fills this role for Titania and is the subject of her husband the Absorbing Man's lecture. She just can't beat her and it just drives her insane. Titania also has this with Spider-Man. When she first appeared, she beat just about everyone she went up against... until she encountered Spider-Man. Her confidence and arrogance evaporated quickly because her strength was useless against Spider-Man's speed and agility. He ran rings around her while effortlessly beating her into the ground. To add insult to injury, afterwards her villainous comrades were not the least bit surprised that Spider-Man kicked her ass...
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** The ComicBook/HumanTorch played this role in early stories. No one character plays the role now. Torch and Spidey eventually switched the roles for awhile. Peter was smart enough that he could keep up with Reed's scientific lectures, developed a friendly rapport with Sue and Ben, and was even good with watching Franklin. There was a period where Johnny resented the fact that Peter was practically more of a member of his own family than ''he'' was. They eventually worked this out, though, and became best buddies, until ''Comicbook/OneMoreDay'' caused an identity reset. While they're friends again, sort of, now that Peter's again revealed his identity to the Four, they aren't near as close as they once were.
** The symbiotes appear to have this as a biological rule, as each symbiote inherits the powers of it's parent to a greater degree. Comicbook/{{Venom}} is outclassed by his spawn, Comicbook/{{Carnage}}, who in turn is outclassed by ''his'' spawn, Toxin. This element was downplayed and eventually phased out completely as the comics continue, however: While Toxin was PutOnABus, Venom acquired several Superhuman hosts and mutations, while Carnage repeatedly tampered with Multiversal (well, microversal...) energy and Chtonic magic to power himself. Nowadays, whenever the Symbiotes brawl there never seems to be a "definitive" stronger one.
* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** In the Silver and Bronze Ages, Supergirl was this to her best friend Barbara Gordon, the original Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}. Babs envied Kara because she was a [[BadassNormal baseline, non-powered human]], whereas her friend was virtually a PhysicalGod. Several times Barbara thought that Kara was very lucky because she could do almost anything. However she complained about it loudly once, and Supergirl told her that having powers isn't what defines a hero.
** ComicBook/PostCrisis Supergirl is this to her friend Stephanie Brown, [[NeverBeAHero who always failed to measure up to other superheroes and was constantly told to stop trying]], [[TookALevelInBadass improved in almost all areas of crimefighting]] after [[LegacyCharacter she assumed the mantle of]] Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} from [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl2000}} Cassandra Cain]] (Who had been this trope to her as well for some time, which resulted in some good-natured teasing between the two). However, in one issue of [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl2009}} her own ongoing series]] Kara stops by for a night together and outshines Stephanie ''in every way''. Not only does she have natural superpowers, but she is also able to understand the TechnoBabble explanation for why they are fighting {{Dracula}}, and in their civilian identities Supergirl has a much greater zeal for college life than Stephanie did. Stephanie, however, never resented Supergirl for any of this, and liked her ''even more'' because of how awesome she was.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** This motivation is attributed to ComicBook/LexLuthor's hatred of Franchise/{{Superman}}, starting with Creator/JohnByrne's reboot in the 1980s. Lex Luthor was the most powerful man in Metropolis, with even politicians and law enforcement afraid to cross him, until Superman arrived in town and not only showed Lex up but emboldened the police and mayor to stand up to Lex as well. In John Byrne's version of the first meeting between Lex and Superman, Lex tried to hire Superman as one more obedient employee, and he has never forgiven Superman for being the first person in Metropolis ever to dare to say "no" to him. This is further compounded by the fact that, over the years, Superman's increasing popularity has drastically overshadowed Lex. The obvious factor that Superman has a whole load of awesome super powers and Lex doesn't, which Lex is rather bitter about. Luthor has actually justified his hatred of Superman by claiming he is this to ''the human race'', and all human achievement pales when compared to the things "the alien" can do ''effortlessly''. Lex has even gone so far as to tell Superman that as soon as he's out of the picture, he will solve all of humanity's problems himself, thus proving his superiority to all. However, this is proven as a petty lie after the events of ComicBook/FiftyTwo, when Superman was out of commission for a year and Luthor did nothing but be his scheming evil self. Superman taunts him for this: "Where's the cancer cure, Lex?"
--->'''Luthor:''' I could have saved the world if it wasn't for you!\\
'''Superman:''' [[CutLexLuthorACheck You could have saved the world years ago if it mattered to you, Luthor]].
** In [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comics, this was Vartox's shtick. Vartox was the superhero protector of a distant planet. He had been superheroing longer than Supes and had an even wider array of powers than he did. Fortunately, Vartox was a hero, and the two were nominally friends. ''Un''fortunately, Vartox frequently showed signs of emotional instability, and seemed to get mind-controlled or otherwise manipulated every time he showed up, so the two ''always'' got in a fight. Supes couldn't out-muscle him, so he always had to win by using his head.
*** The Pre-Crisis Brainiac also had a similar brief rivalry with another alien supervillain known as [[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/grax/4005-33673/ Grax]]. Where Brainiac prided himself on his twelfth-level intellect, Grax was claimed to possess a staggering ''twentieth''-level intellect. Their rivalry was understandably quite fierce—Grax would often steal and modify Brainiac's technology for his own use, while Brainiac more than once acted to sabotage Grax's plans to destroy Superman out of a combination of jealousy and vengeance.
** In Bronze Age story ''Comicbook/WarWorld'' Superman runs into Comicbook/TheSpectre, the embodiment of the Wrath of God in Franchise/TheDCU, and they have a short-lived... fight, if you can call him that because The Spectre is inconceivably more powerful than Superman. Clark cannot outfight him and definitely cannot outrun him.
** In the [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse He-Man]] crossover "From Eternia - With Death!", it is shown that Superman is stronger than He-Man. Superman may be weak to magic, but if he can dodge magical attacks, then he can easily defeat even the likes of Skeletor.
* Like Wolverine below, ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}} is ''supposed'' to be this for the Franchise/MarvelUniverse mercenaries. Like ComicBook/RichardDragon of DC, he's the one who "trains the best." DC stops Dragon from suffering from TheWorfEffect or BadassDecay by not having him around when he's not teaching. Taskmaster gets his butt kicked all over.
** Taskmaster actually told ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} that ''Deadpool'' is really the best mercenary and possibly the best fighter on Earth. It's just that Deadpool's messed-up in the head, making him so crazy that no-one will hire him.
---> '''Taskmaster:''' Truth is, you're that good. You've ''always'' been that good. Which won't even get you a cup of coffee until you can figure out how to be a ''professional...''

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** ''ComicBook/SpiderMen'': Peter is annoyed that ComicBook/MilesMorales, a new and younger Spider-Man, has a costume way cooler than his. In ''ComicBook/SpiderMenII'' this extends to Miles having great extra powers that he doesn't.
** ''ComicBook/TheUltimates''
*** Played with. The Liberators were certainly trying for this. The Abomination was the Hulk with brains. Swarm summons armies of wasps. Crimson Dynamo has a bigger suit no doubt intended to be higher powered. etc. But the Ultimates counter by revealing upgrades or levels taken in badass. And in the case of the Abomination, being an intellectual isn't very useful when your best assets are your rage and your fists.
*** "Well, let's see how many super soldiers you create wich don't involve getting big, getting small or telling ants what to do through a helmet, jackass! Bruce Banner was twice the geneman you'll always be and you know it, mister!"
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': The big problem of Sabertooth. Wolverine has his same powers, and will always be the better one. Even Wraith says so, even when Wolverine escaped and left him with that big facial scar, and Sabertooth ''volunteers'' to work in Weapon X.
* Franchise/{{Wolverine}} has often claimed to be the best there is at what he does. Perhaps no enemy of his has presented more conclusive evidence against this than Tomi Shido - the Gorgon. Faster, stronger, smarter, more agile, more silent, more skillful, all despite his mutant powers having nothing to do with any of these things. Many of Wolvie's enemies are in some way an equal match for him, but the Gorgon is, simply put, ''too much'' for ''Wolverine'', even according to the man himself. It took using his own TakenForGranite powers against him to put him away... but sometimes [[BackFromTheDead you just can't keep a bad man down]].
** See also Mr. X, thought by many to be the most perfect killing machine the world has ever known. After the Gorgon, nobody's taken Wolvie to school quite like he has. And before you dismiss his CombatClairvoyance as cheap, it's hard to argue with a guy who can kill you with both hands behind his back.
*** However, Quicksilver is this to Mr. X, as while his limited clairvoyance may give him the edge against normal or enhanced humans, it doesn't mean shit when you're going up against someone who can hit you a thousand times before you've even managed to clench your fists. It's notable that Mr. X always makes every effort to stay in or close to his weight class when picking opponents, as anyone with more than Wolverine's power level is simply out of his league.
** Franchise/{{Wolverine}} and ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' have fought a couple of times, and every single time, ''Spider-Man'' has basically handed Wolverine his ass. Of course, this could always be chalked up to Wolverine simply not fighting in the same weight-class as ''Spider-Man''.
** While other writers would abandon the idea, Creator/ChrisClaremont has stated that he intended ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} to be Logan's someone better. Creed would regularly track him down on his birthday, every year, ambush him, and defeat him every single time (Logan would have been dead, if it wasn't for his HealingFactor). Claremont explained their relationship in an interview as;
--->'''Claremont: '''Father and son. That's why Sabretooth always considered Logan "sloppy seconds" to his "original" / "real deal." The other critical element in my presentation of their relationship was that, in their whole life, Logan has never defeated Sabretooth in a knock-down, drag-out, kill-or-be-killed berserker fight. By the same token, on every one of his birthdays, Sabretooth has always managed to find him, no matter where Logan was or what he was doing, and come within an inch of killing him. For no other reason than to remind him that he could.
** This is weirdly inconsistent with Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett) and Sabretooth (Victor Creed). Sometimes, it's made clear that Wolverine will always be better than Sabretooth and that's why Creed hates Logan. Other times, Creed us better than Logan and this is why he's such a big threat despite his really low ambitions. It's wildly inconsistent and depends on what story you're reading, but is inexplicably constantly brought up. For what it's worth, it was retconned years down the line that Sabretooth was Charles Xavier's first choice for the X-Men, but after finding out he wasn't willing to change his ways, he reneged on that.
%% ** ...and then ComicBook/SquirrelGirl came along.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': Mala is the Amazon who traditionally comes in second behind Diana in all Amazon competions of agility, fighting skills and strength, and once ComicBook/{{Artemis}} was introduced she was pushed even further back in the field. Unlike most of the examples Mala does not resent Diana, or Artemis, in the slightest and sees their skill levels and abilities as something to strive towards instead hoping to one day surpass or reach them but okay with the fact that she is unlikely to do so.

** The Scarecrow is a PsychoPsychologist SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp whose dream is to become TheDreaded, but that is a TragicDream because he lives in Gotham, home of the TerrorHero Batman. As long as Batman proves he is scarier than the Scarecrow, the Scarecrow will continue to treathen Gotham City with the SuperheroParadox.

* In the ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' Marvel comic series, before the actual events of the comic, Snake-Eyes became this for Storm Shadow, with some judicious manipulation from Firefly.
* In the ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries Transformers]]'' series from IDW, Sixshot seems to be this for ''every'' Decepticon ... or he would be, if anyone but Megatron weren't so afraid of him they strip gears at the mention of his name.
* ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'':
** In many ways, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) is better than his arch-nemesis ComicBook/DoctorDoom, with regards to science at least; one of Doom's key driving motivations is to prove himself superior to Richards, who has always demonstrated that he's just that little bit smarter and better than Doom. In this case, the rivalry is far from unnoticed, although it's always Doom who actively plans and attempts to humiliate and subdue Reed, who is less interested in proving himself superior to Doom and in fact considers it a waste that Doom expends his still-impressive intellect on what amounts to little more than petty jealousy. It is worth noting, however, that Doom is an equally-powerful sorcerer, and is in fact more powerful than Richards in this respect. However, he still meets the basic nature of the trope, as he is obsessed with besting Richards entirely on his own terms, i.e. with science, and when he uses his formidable skills in sorcery against Richards, Richards nevertheless manages to find some way to outwit him and win. In ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'', [[spoiler:Reed finally gets Doom to admit that Reed can do something better than him -- saving the multiverse. This convinces the Molecule Man to take away Doom's powers and give them to Reed so he can do just that]].
** ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange'': Doctor Strange is this to Doom in magic, proving that Doom just can't win. You think he'd be happy being second in two fields to the world's best, but no. It has been stated in "Unthinkable" that if Doom had chosen sorcery over science, he would be Doctor Strange's superior. Strange also had the advantage of being tutored by the world's Sorcerer Supreme, while Doom had only a monastery of mystic monks to teach him.
** Reed is this to The Wizard, who has actually given up on beating him with science and just wants him dead so he can be the best, resulting in a whole lot of Frightful Fours, one of which had five members. Reed is surprisingly calm about this, except when it's actually happening; he never sits around worrying about what the Wizard's going to do next.
** The Mad Thinker is similarly jealous of Reed's accomplishments, but when Reed actually called on the Thinker to check his math during ''Comicbook/CivilWar,'' the Thinker was bowled over by what Reed had accomplished and finally conceded that Reed was simply smarter than he was; but then he needled Reed that for all his intellectual accomplishments, Reed lacked the [[SimplemindedWisdom common sense]] to see that his chosen course in the Civil War would cost him everything he loved.
** Dr. Strange is this to Baron Mordo (the ''other'' former disciple of the Ancient One) rather than Doom; Doom certainly obsesses less about Strange in particular than the not-so-good Baron does.
** While Richards lends his name to the ReedRichardsIsUseless trope for a good reason, Doom actually uses his incredible intellect to make Latveria, the nation he rules, into a high-technology utopia. However, Reed's technology is still usually superior to Doom's efforts. Doom also gets away with actively using his technological prowess on Latveria because it's a fictional, highly isolationist country and so not subject to the general StatusQuoIsGod effect that applies to the more "realistic" areas of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
** Ironically, in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel, Reed Richards gets to experience it himself, claiming that he feels inferior to his universe's incarnation of [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]].

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** In the Silver and Bronze Ages, Supergirl was this to her best friend Barbara Gordon, the original Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}. Babs envied Kara because she was a [[BadassNormal baseline, non-powered human]], whereas her friend was virtually a PhysicalGod. Several times Barbara thought that Kara was very lucky because she could do almost anything. However she complained about it loudly once, and Supergirl told her that having powers isn't what defines a hero.
** ComicBook/PostCrisis Supergirl is this to her friend Stephanie Brown, [[NeverBeAHero who always failed to measure up to other superheroes and was constantly told to stop trying]], [[TookALevelInBadass improved in almost all areas of crimefighting]] after [[LegacyCharacter she assumed the mantle of]] Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} from [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl2000}} Cassandra Cain]] (Who had been this trope to her as well for some time, which resulted in some good-natured teasing between the two). However, in one issue of [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl2009}} her own ongoing series]] Kara stops by for a night together and outshines Stephanie ''in every way''. Not only does she have natural superpowers, but she is also able to understand the TechnoBabble explanation for why they are fighting {{Dracula}}, and in their civilian identities Supergirl has a much greater zeal for college life than Stephanie did. Stephanie, however, never resented Supergirl for any of this, and liked her ''even more'' because of how awesome she was.
* ComicBook/CaptainAtom is this for the entire [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]]. Whenever there is a threat that Franchise/{{Superman}} can't handle for one reason or another, a threat that will spank Franchise/GreenLantern and utterly humble [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]... it almost always falls to Captain Atom to take care of, because there are no real limits to his powers because he is a PhysicalGod to end all {{Physical God}}s. In ''Captain Atom: Armageddon'', he shows up in the ''Wildstorm'' universe and plays this role to ''Comicbook/TheAuthority''. By which we mean the ''whole team'' combined. Captain Atom has more powers but he admits that he's just a C- grade superhero as he always a step too slow or too navel-gazing to be the first to save the day.
* A lot of [[BritishComics British children's comics]], such as ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' and ''ComicBook/TheDandy'', characters have fallen victim to this, because many of them consist of groups of friends/sports teams/classes etc. where each character is centred around a particular attribute - clever, fat, short-sighted, whatever - and a common plot is to introduce them to an even more exaggerated version of themselves.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** The ComicBook/HumanTorch played this role in early stories. No one character plays the role now. Torch and Spidey eventually switched the roles for awhile. Peter was smart enough that he could keep up with Reed's scientific lectures, developed a friendly rapport with Sue and Ben, and was even good with watching Franklin. There was a period where Johnny resented the fact that Peter was practically more of a member of his own family than ''he'' was. They eventually worked this out, though, and became best buddies, until ''Comicbook/OneMoreDay'' caused an identity reset. While they're friends again, sort of, now that Peter's again revealed his identity to the Four, they aren't near as close as they once were.
** The symbiotes appear to have this as a biological rule, as each symbiote inherits the powers of it's parent to a greater degree. Comicbook/{{Venom}} is outclassed by his spawn, Comicbook/{{Carnage}}, who in turn is outclassed by ''his'' spawn, Toxin. This element was downplayed and eventually phased out completely as the comics continue, however: While Toxin was PutOnABus, Venom acquired several Superhuman hosts and mutations, while Carnage repeatedly tampered with Multiversal (well, microversal...) energy and Chtonic magic to power himself. Nowadays, whenever the Symbiotes brawl there never seems to be a "definitive" stronger one.
* A [[Quotes/AlwaysSomeoneBetter quote]] from ''Comicbook/SheHulk'', where the titular heroine fills this role for Titania and is the subject of her husband the Absorbing Man's lecture. She just can't beat her and it just drives her insane. Titania also has this with Spider-Man. When she first appeared, she beat just about everyone she went up against... until she encountered Spider-Man. Her confidence and arrogance evaporated quickly because her strength was useless against Spider-Man's speed and agility. He ran rings around her while effortlessly beating her into the ground. To add insult to injury, afterwards her villainous comrades were not the least bit surprised that Spider-Man kicked her ass...
* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
** At different points, both [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason]] and [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim]] have felt this way about [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]]. All three of them are highly skilled in different ways, but Jason and Tim lacked Dick's acrobatic talents, and Jason felt somewhat bitter about the fact that Dick was Bruce's favoured son. He was probably justified - when [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily the Joker beat Jason to death]], Bruce didn't break his [[ThouShaltNotKill No Kill rule]], but when Bruce ''[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis thought]]'' [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis someone had killed Dick]], [[BatmanGrabsAGun he grabbed a gun]]. Tim at least has never resented Dick for this, he just accepts it as the way things are.
** [[ComicBook/RedRobin Tim Drake]] believes that this is what motivates his successor Damian Wayne to act like a {{Jerkass}} to their sister [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]: Bruce [[ParentalFavoritism has always had more faith]] [[TheAce in her]]. Cassandra is definitely this to her best friend [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]], who is a more realistic BadassNormal rather than the WorldsBestWarrior like Cassandra.
** The Riddler is an EvilGenius whose dream is to become the WorldsSmartestMan, but that is a TragicDream because he lives in Gotham, home of the GreatDetective Batman. As long as Batman proves he is smarter than the Riddler, the Riddler will continue to treathen Gotham City with his CriminalMindGames and the SuperheroParadox.
*** [[AllThereInTheManual In the bible]] of the WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries, the Riddler claims that he is stuck in Gotham because [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction he will not debase himself enough to defy that]] [[Franchise/TheFlash Central City fool]].
** The Scarecrow is a PsychoPsychologist SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp whose dream is to become TheDreaded, but that is a TragicDream because he lives in Gotham, home of the TerrorHero Batman. As long as Batman proves he is scarier than the Scarecrow, the Scarecrow will continue to treathen Gotham City with the SuperheroParadox.
* Franchise/{{Wolverine}} has often claimed to be the best there is at what he does. Perhaps no enemy of his has presented more conclusive evidence against this than Tomi Shido - the Gorgon. Faster, stronger, smarter, more agile, more silent, more skillful, all despite his mutant powers having nothing to do with any of these things. Many of Wolvie's enemies are in some way an equal match for him, but the Gorgon is, simply put, ''too much'' for ''Wolverine'', even according to the man himself. It took using his own TakenForGranite powers against him to put him away... but sometimes [[BackFromTheDead you just can't keep a bad man down]].
** See also Mr. X, thought by many to be the most perfect killing machine the world has ever known. After the Gorgon, nobody's taken Wolvie to school quite like he has. And before you dismiss his CombatClairvoyance as cheap, it's hard to argue with a guy who can kill you with both hands behind his back.
*** However, Quicksilver is this to Mr. X, as while his limited clairvoyance may give him the edge against normal or enhanced humans, it doesn't mean shit when you're going up against someone who can hit you a thousand times before you've even managed to clench your fists. It's notable that Mr. X always makes every effort to stay in or close to his weight class when picking opponents, as anyone with more than Wolverine's power level is simply out of his league.
** Franchise/{{Wolverine}} and ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' have fought a couple of times, and every single time, ''Spider-Man'' has basically handed Wolverine his ass. Of course, this could always be chalked up to Wolverine simply not fighting in the same weight-class as ''Spider-Man''.
** While other writers would abandon the idea, Creator/ChrisClaremont has stated that he intended ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} to be Logan's someone better. Creed would regularly track him down on his birthday, every year, ambush him, and defeat him every single time (Logan would have been dead, if it wasn't for his HealingFactor). Claremont explained their relationship in an interview as;
--->'''Claremont: '''Father and son. That's why Sabretooth always considered Logan "sloppy seconds" to his "original" / "real deal." The other critical element in my presentation of their relationship was that, in their whole life, Logan has never defeated Sabretooth in a knock-down, drag-out, kill-or-be-killed berserker fight. By the same token, on every one of his birthdays, Sabretooth has always managed to find him, no matter where Logan was or what he was doing, and come within an inch of killing him. For no other reason than to remind him that he could.
** This is weirdly inconsistent with Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett) and Sabretooth (Victor Creed). Sometimes, it's made clear that Wolverine will always be better than Sabretooth and that's why Creed hates Logan. Other times, Creed us better than Logan and this is why he's such a big threat despite his really low ambitions. It's wildly inconsistent and depends on what story you're reading, but is inexplicably constantly brought up. For what it's worth, it was retconned years down the line that Sabretooth was Charles Xavier's first choice for the X-Men, but after finding out he wasn't willing to change his ways, he reneged on that.
%% ** ...and then ComicBook/SquirrelGirl came along.
* Like Wolverine above, ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}} is ''supposed'' to be this for the Franchise/MarvelUniverse mercenaries. Like ComicBook/RichardDragon of DC, he's the one who "trains the best." DC stops Dragon from suffering from TheWorfEffect or BadassDecay by not having him around when he's not teaching. Taskmaster gets his butt kicked all over.

* In ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' [[spoiler:Upon seeing the sheer power Twilight possesses, Chrysalis immediately declares she wants Twilight to be ''her'' apprentice. Though Twilight is quick to point out while she can gather all the power in the world, unlike Twilight, she doesn't know how to really use it]].
* ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} has an interesting case in that it is someone who he ''very'' rarely meets, in stories that for the most part weren't canon even when they were written: Franchise/TheFlash. Whenever DC and Marvel has crossovers were both feature, the Flash is much, ''much'' faster, and thanks to the Speed Force, have a lot more tricks up his sleeve, which Quicksilver understandably tends to feel inadequate in the face of. Quicksilver does have ''one'' advantage, though -- ''his'' SuperSpeed comes purely from himself, so it works perfectly fine in ''both'' universes, while the Flash gets slowed down or even outright depowered when over in the Marvel universe since there's no Speed Force over there.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': Mala is the Amazon who traditionally comes in second behind Diana in all Amazon competions of agility, fighting skills and strength, and once ComicBook/{{Artemis}} was introduced she was pushed even further back in the field. Unlike most of the examples Mala does not resent Diana, or Artemis, in the slightest and sees their skill levels and abilities as something to strive towards instead hoping to one day surpass or reach them but okay with the fact that she is unlikely to do so.

* ''ComicBook/RickAndMortyOni'': Jerry J19ζ7, a.k.a. "Doofus Jerry", is this for every other version of himself. In the same vein that Doofus Rick is looked down upon by other Ricks for being a genuinely nice person and possibly not as intelligent as the others, Doofus Jerry is the exact opposite of a normal Jerry. He's an evil, cunning, always-successful ManipulativeBastard whose business savvy and ambition make him a masterful tactician capable of single-handedly taking down the Council of Ricks.

** ''ComicBook/SpiderMen'': Peter is annoyed that ComicBook/MilesMorales, a new and younger Spider-Man, has a costume way cooler than his.

** Taskmaster actually told SelfDemonstrating/{{Deadpool}} that ''Deadpool'' is really the best mercenary and possibly the best fighter on Earth. It's just that Deadpool's messed-up in the head, making him so crazy that no-one will hire him.

* Peter is annoyed that ComicBook/MilesMorales, a new and younger Spider-Man, has a costume way cooler than his.
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Played with. The Liberators were certainly trying for this. The Abomination was the Hulk with brains. Swarm summons armies of wasps. Crimson Dynamo has a bigger suit no doubt intended to be higher powered. etc. But the Ultimates counter by revealing upgrades or levels taken in badass. And in the case of the Abomination, being an intellectual isn't very useful when your best assets are your rage and your fists.

* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': "Well, let's see how many super soldiers you create wich don't involve getting big, getting small or telling ants what to do through a helmet, jackass! Bruce Banner was twice the geneman you'll always be and you know it, mister!"

*** In the bible of the BatmanTheAnimatedSeries, the Riddler claims that he is stuck in Gotham because [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction he will not debase himself enough to defy that]] [[Franchise/TheFlash Central City fool]].

** The Riddler is an EvilGenius whose dream is to become the WorldsSmartestMan, but that is a TragicDream because he lives in Gotham, home of the GreatDetective Batman. As long as Batman proves he is smarter than the Riddler, the Riddler will continue to treathen Gotham City with his CriminalMindGame and the SuperheroParadox. In the bible of the Batman Animated Series, the Riddler claims that he is stuck in Gotham because he will not debase himself enough to defy that Central City fool.