History BadassBookworm / LiveActionFilms

* Professor Chang the Feng Shui philosopher from ''Film/BuryMeHigh'' spends most of his screentime providing exposition and Feng Shui-related mumbo-jumbo, right up until the final battle when the heroes have to have to battle General Ruan's army. At which point Chang reveals he probably have a doctorate in kicking ass as he grabs an AK-47 and began taking names, and later fights one of the MookLieutenant enemies hand-to-hand.

** Tony Edward Stark from the ''Film/IronMan'' films doesn’t have years of [[TrainingFromHell combat training]] only a few [[BoxingLessonsforSuperman boxing lessons from Happy]] but Tony still used his technical genius to build a suit that gives him the powers of a superhero. It is through the combination of skill and technology that actually allowed him to be the first person to draw blood from [[HeroKiller Thanos]] (the dude who kicked the Hulk’s ass) which earned him the Titan's [[VillainRespect respect]].

** Peter Quill aka Starlord & Rocket Racoon from the ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' are [[GadgeteerGenius tech geniuses]] having equipment suitable enough to fight armies, gods and living planets. Despite Starlord and Rocket distinctly lacking the SuperStrength, [[KnifeNut blade]] [[MasterSwordsman skill]] and [[PlantPerson plant power]] of their comrades, also they're the two Guardians who actually pilot The Milano spaceship.

* ''Franchise/Sherlock Holmes'':

* Jor-El from ''Film/ManOfSteel''. Krypton's chief scientist. Rides a dinosaur through a starship warzone. Goes toe-to-toe with a general bred since birth to fight. And sent Superman to earth a couple of days ''''before'''' Krypton exploded.
** Jor-El's computer clone. Manages to come up with the plan to defeat General Zod within mere moments of being briefed on the situation. While taking complete control of Zod's ship. He then deftly frees Lois and Clark both from Zod's custody, and gives Zod a BadassBoast on his son's behalf, followed by a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
* Dr. Van Helsing in ''Film/HorrorOfDracula'': vampire hunter and has Dracula running by the end of the film.
* Robert Redford's character Joe Turner in ''Film/ThreeDaysOfTheCondor'', about a CIA employed bookworm who accidentally uncovers the usual Sinister Plot and spends the rest of the film using everything he's learned from his books to evade capture/death/assorted bad things.

* Lt. Ring becomes one in the Film/HeartbreakRidge.

* Quorra from ''Film/TronLegacy.'' When she's not derezzing Clu's mooks, she usually reads books from Kevin Flynn's library, which includes everything from Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky to Buddhist scriptures and Creator/JulesVerne.
* Ram from ''Film/{{Tron}}'' crosses this with BadassNormal and BadassUnintentional. He wasn't designed as a fighter - he was actuarial software for an insurance company. Still, he'd been able to hold his own on the Game Grid against Sark's warriors for nearly the equivalent of a ''year.'' He's also [[spoiler: the only one who figures out what Flynn is without being told.]]
* ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'': Abe Sapien's hobbies include classical music, reading, swimming in demon-infested waters, and kicking trolls in the face. Sure, he doesn't look like much of a badass compared to his partner, but his partner is ''Hellboy''.
* ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.
** The title character, when he's not fighting Nazis and retrieving lost artifacts from booby-trapped temples, Indy earns a paycheck as a respected professor of archaeology.
** Likewise, though not to the same extent, [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade his father]]. The lesser display of badassery seems to be his father's gentler nature and distaste for violence, although he manages to bring down a fighter plane with nothing more than his umbrella and some conveniently located birds.
* Creator/WillSmith's character in ''Film/IAmLegend''. A brilliant research scientist who also kicks zombie ass. Handwaved by the fact he's also [[ColonelBadass an Army Lieutenant Colonel]].
* Jijii from ''Manga/IchiTheKiller''. A little old [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]], Jijii manipulates the underworld from the shadows until he's confronted by a Yakuza enforcer, forcing him to [[spoiler: whip off his clothes to reveal his impossibly muscular frame, then break every bone in an enforcer's body]].

* ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension'': Buckaroo Banzai: adventurer, surgeon, scientist, rock star.
* Donatello of the Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles is a geek who loves to invent stuff. Given reason, he can also decapitate bad guys with his bo staff.
* Jack Ryan, a former Marine, from ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober''. He knows tons of naval minutiae. He is not intimidated by senior officers. He can solve a world crisis. He can guess the moves of a renegade Russian sub captain with almost telepathic intuition. He can even jump out of a helicopter into the freezing North Atlantic. And after all this he remembers to bring his daughter a teddy bear when he returns home.
* [[MadScientist Doc Brown]] in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' [[BigDamnHeroes comes to Marty's rescue]] with what looks to be an improvised SniperRifle and claims to be able to "shoot a flea off a dog's back at 500 yards." Knowing him, ''it probably can''.
* ''Sherlock Holmes''
** [[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 Sherlock Holmes]] fits this to a T, being a detective extraordinaire, an accomplished fighter, and a violinist. Doctor Watson does fine all on his own, both a doctor and an ex-soldier.
** Ditto (naturally) for Professor Moriarty in ''Film/SherlockHolmesAGameOfShadows''; he was a boxing champion at Oxford and more than a match for Holmes. He would have won if he hadn't discounted the possibility that Holmes was willing to sacrifice himself to stop him.
* ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' - They're a bunch of disgraced professors [[TokenMinority (and one blue-collar joe)]] sending demons, malicious ghosts, evil sorcerers, and other supernatural baddies packing on a regular basis!

%%* Captain Nemo is exactly this in ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''.

* In ''Film/CrimsonTide'', Denzel Washington plays an academy-trained bookworm who Gene Hackman's seasoned submarine commander deems 'not hard enough'. Denzel proceeds to launch a mutiny, weather a counter-mutiny, and launch his own ''counter-counter-mutiny'', all while battling a Russian sub and trying to avert nuclear holocaust.
* Nadia from ''Film/{{Pandorum}}'' is a biologist who knows some martial arts.

* In ''Literature/TheThirteenthWarrior'', Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan ("Ibn") is a poet sent into exile as an "ambassador." He's the only foreigner of fighting age in the tent when the witch says the thirteenth warrior has to be an outlander. Then a sequence of events show he's not the soft intellectual he seems to be, having expert riding skills, the ability to figure out a language just by listening to it, and, with some modifications to the design, a deft hand with a sword. And he's one of a few left standing at the end.
* In the 2011 film ''Film/{{Warrior}}'': Brendan's physics students see him this way when they find out about his MMA moonlighting. This one's based on the real-life history of UFC middleweight Rich Franklin, a math teacher before his fighting days.
* ''Film/TheLibrarian'' starring Noah Wyle as a librarian who protects a secret collection of artifacts.
* Lady Jaye from ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''.
* General Henry Knox in ''Film/TheCrossing''. Glover (and Washington at one point) mocks him for being fat, and he ran a bookshop before the war. He's also a superb artillery officer whose skill is instrumental in winning the Battle of Trenton.

** Hank [=McCoy=] earned his [=PhD=] (presumably in engineering and a biology-related field) from Harvard at the age of 15, as established in ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. When he's in his blue, furry Beast form, he's blessed with SuperStrength, and in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', he's capable of defeating Magneto--not even an adamantium-less Wolverine was able to lay a single scratch on the metal-manipulating mutant.

* ''Film/VictorFrankenstein'': As demonstrated by Victor's confrontations with the attackers at the circus and with Inspector Turpin (who is habituated to dealing with hardened criminals), Frankenstein can defend himself in a pinch even though he's a scientist, not a combatant.
* ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'':
** Heavily implied with Roxy. She is [[BrainyBrunette very smart]] and was able to survive from drowning by understanding that [[ItMakesSenseInContext putting shower heads in the toilets]] would make breathing easier.
** Merlin is primarily Kingsman's MissionControl as well as the one in charge of overseeing the training of new recruits. He's still more than able to hold his own against quite a few of Valentine's mooks.
* [[BigBad Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious]] from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Palpatine is a very intelligent man, oftentimes getting through conflict simply by manipulating others rather than taking action himself. But when he does take action, things aren't pretty. He's also extremely well versed in the lore of the Dark Side.
* Louden Trott from ''Film/WhosThatGirl'' is a tax attorney with fencing skills, which he uses twice in the film -- once against a murderous criminal by [[ImprovisedWeapon using a car antenna as a fencing weapon]], and another time against the BigBad Simon Worthington by using a saber.
* BallOfFire has a group of scholars writing a new set of encyclopedias square off against mob thugs to rescue a gangster's moll. One professor even reads a book on boxing moments before the brawl, and after correcting for practical experience vs. theory, mops the floor with his opponent.
* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': Etta is a very capable secretary for a major wartime office. She might be gentle to a fault, but she isn't opposed to "a bit of fisticuff should the occasion arise" as she points out, if that can help secure women rightsnote . And she actually makes good on those claims to resort to violence when necessary, when she stops the leader of Ludendorff's agents with Diana's sword as his attempt at an ambush goes south for instance, or in the home video stinger, where she uses a beer bottle then a chair to kick the ass of the pub bruiser who came back at Charlie with a gun.

* Ling Ling Fat in ''Forbidden City Cop''. A member of the Emperor's personal guard due to family heritage, LLF is actually an inventor and practicing gynecologist by trade, but in the end he uses his cunning and remarkable inventions to outfight the villains.

** [[Film/DoctorStrange2016 Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange]] M.D started out "humbly" graduating with a PH.D, photographic memory and successful career neurosurgery with his only real shortcoming being his [[AwesomeEgo arrogant ego]]. Which swiftly bites him the ass, as Strange gets his [[LaserGuidedKarma hands crushed in a car accident and crippled for life]]. Thankfully this leads to Strange putting his intelligence for better use studying magic under the Ancient One, becoming Sorcerer Supreme and saving Earth from an EldritchAbomination named Dormammu. His bookworm skills were an important part of his ascent, as his incredible eidetic memory allows him to read and absorb information, medical or magical, in short order. Also if being a KungFuWizard physician weren’t enough, Doctor Strange is the only person besides Iron Man to actually [[{{Determinator}} hold out]] against Thanos in Infinity War while the likes of Hulk, Thor, and Captain America were taken out quickly.

** Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow, can not only mow through dozens of Hammer security in a whirlwind of acrobatic martial arts in the time it takes Hogan to finally beat down one guy, but she also speaks several languages--including Latin, which there's no practical reason to know how to speak it--and can easily hack through Ivan Vanko's re-programming job on the Hammeroids in minutes, shutting them down without breaking a sweat. In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' she truly flexes her brain power by not only providing tech support to Cap but also unlocking a decades old SHIELD base with her smart phone.

** [[Film/DoctorStrange2016 Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange]] M.D started out "humbly" graduating with a PH.D, photographic memory and successful career neurosurgery with his only real shortcoming being his [[AwesomeEgo arrogant ego]]. Which swiftly bites him the ass, as Strange gets his [[LaserGuidedKarma hands crushed in a car accident and crippled for life]]. Thankfully this leads to Strange putting his intelligence for better use studying magic under the Ancient One, becoming Sorcerer Supreme and saving Earth from an EldritchAbomination named Dormammu. Also if being a KungFuWizard physician weren’t enough, Doctor Strange is the only person besides Iron Man to actually [[{{Determinator}} hold out]] against Thanos in Infinity War while the likes of Hulk, Thor, and Captain America were taken out quickly.

*** While they fell to wayside Jane, Darcy, Selvig and Ian count considering they fender off an alien Dark Elf attack using nothing but portal technology and a car.

* [[BigBad Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious]] from ''Film/StarWars''. Palpatine is a very intelligent man, oftentimes getting through conflict simply by manipulating others rather than taking action himself. But when he does take action, things aren't pretty. He's also extremely well versed in the lore of the Dark Side.

* ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'': Abe Sapien's hobbies include classical music, reading, swimming in demon-infested waters, and kicking trolls in the face. Sure, he doesn't look like much of a badass compared to his partner, but his partner is ''Hellboy''.

** Rivaling Tony in Badass Science there is Robert Bruce Banner who is M.D who specialises in Nuclear Physics, Biochemistry obtaining seven Ph.Ds... oh and he can also turn into a [[ComicBook/TheHulk massive green rage monster]] and beat the shit of gods and aliens. Hell Bruce being NonActionGuy when not Hulked out is up for debate as he [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron overpowered a telekinetic witch with just a headlock]], [[Film/ThorRagnarok flew a spaceship]] and [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar killed an alien monster]] “without changing a shade”.

*** While they fell to wayside Jane, Darcy, Selvig and Ian count considering they fender off a alien Dark Elf attack using nothing but portal technology and a car.

*** Exceeding Red Skull in scientific evil there is Arnim Zola, who was only a meek assistant to Schmidt in his first appearance but thanks to being integrated into SHIELD managed to do 70 years worth of damage to the Earth by planting the seeds of HYDRA within SHIELD. Not to mention Zola effectively turned Bucky Barnes into The Winter Soldier who ruined hundreds lives as an assassin, and to add the cherry on top Zola lived to 2014 by uploading his brain conscious to a computer in 1972.

** [[Film/DoctorStrange2016 Dr Stephen Vincent Strange]] M.D started out "humbly" graduating with a PH.D, photographic memory and successful career neurosurgery with his only real shortcoming being his [[AwesomeEgo arrogant ego]]. Which swiftly bites him the ass, as Strange gets his [[LaserGuidedKarma hands crushed in a car accident and crippled for life]]. Thankfully this leads to Strange putting his intelligence for better use studying magic under the Ancient One, becoming Sorcerer Supreme and saving Earth from an EldritchAbomination named Dormammu. Also if being a KungFuWizard physician weren’t enough, Doctor Strange is the only person besides Iron Man to actually [[{{Determinator}} hold out]] against Thanos in Infinity War while the likes of Hulk, Thor and Captain America were taken out quickly.
*** Wong deserves mention being a true BadassBookworm as the Librarian of the magic arts, but it gets better as [[WordOfGod according to Scott Derrickson]] Wong is far more powerful than Strange and serves as his MentorArchetype which is a welcome change from the comics where Wong is glorified sidekick. Wong proves his badassery in Infinity War where he pulls a PortalCut against [[TheBrute Obsidian Cull]] successfully dis-arming the alien monster.

** Peter Quill aka Starlord & Rocket Racoon from the ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' are [[GadgeteerGenius tech geniuses]] having equipment suitable enough to fight armies, gods and living planets. Despite Starlord and Rocket distinctly lacking the SuperStrength, [[KnifeNut blade]] [[MasterSwordsman skill]] and [[PlantPerson plant power]] of their comrades, also they’re the two Guardians who actually pilot The Milano spaceship.
** [[Film/DoctorStrange Dr Stephen Vincent Strange]] M.D started out “humbly” graduating with a PH.D, photographic memory and successful career neurosurgery with his only real shortcoming being his [[AwesomeEgo arrogant ego]]. Which swiftly bites him the ass, as Strange gets his [[LaserGuidedKarma hands crushed in a car accident and crippled for life]]. Thankfully this leads to Strange putting his intelligence for better use studying magic under the Ancient One, becoming Sorcerer Supreme and saving Earth from an EldritchAbomination named Dormammu. Also if being a KungFuWizard physician weren’t enough, Doctor Strange is the only person besides Iron Man to actually [[{{Determinator}} hold out]] against Thanos in Infinity War while the likes of Hulk, Thor and Captain America were taken out quickly.

* Tony Edward Stark from the ''Film/IronMan'' films doesn’t have years of [[TrainingFromHell combat training]] only a few [[BoxingLessonsforSuperman boxing lessons from Happy]] but Tony still used his technical genius to build a suit that gives him the powers of a superhero. It is through the combination of skill and technology that actually allowed him to be the first person to draw blood from [[HeroKiller Thanos]] (the dude who kicked the Hulk’s ass) which earned him the Titan's [[VillainRespect respect]].

** Rivaling Tony in Badass Science there is Robert Bruce Banner who is M.D who specialises in Nuclear Physics, Biochemistry obtaining seven Ph.Ds... oh and he can also turn into a [[ComicBook/TheHulk massive green rage monster]] and beat the shit of gods and aliens. Hell Bruce being NonActionGuy when not Hulked out is up for debate as he [[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron overpowered a telekinetic witch with just a headlock]], [[Film/ThorRagnarok flew a spaceship]] and [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar killed an alien monster]] “without changing a shade”.

* Tony Stark from the ''Film/IronMan'' films has no combat training, but he uses his technical genius to build a suit that gives him the powers of a superhero. It is through the combination of skill and technology that actually allowed him to be the first person to draw blood from Thanos which earned him the Titan's respect.
** Also [[spoiler:Black Widow, who can not only mow through dozens of Hammer security in a whirlwind of acrobatic martial arts in the time it takes Hogan to finally beat down one guy, but she also speaks several languages--including Latin, which there's no practical reason to know how to speak it--and can easily hack through Ivan Vanko's re-programming job on the Hammeroids in minutes, shutting them down without breaking a sweat.]]

** [[Characters/XMenFilmSeriesProfessorCharlesXavier Charles Xavier]] is an Oxford graduate as shown in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', with a doctorate in genetics. He single-handedly prevents the Third World War with some quick thinking and telepathy; he blows up the vessel which was commandeered by the Hellfire Club through a Soviet officer on another warship. Later, he [[spoiler:holds a telepathic link in order to immobilise Shaw while Magneto pushes a coin through Sebastian's skull. Charles feels ''everything'', but he doesn't let go of the connection despite the agony he experiences.]]

* Tony Stark from the ''Film/IronMan'' films has no combat training, but he uses his technical genius to build a suit that gives him the powers of a superhero.

* Film/SherlockHolmes fits this to a T, being a detective extraordinaire, an accomplished fighter, and a violinist. Doctor Watson does fine all on his own, both a doctor and an ex-soldier.

** Charles Xavier is an Oxford graduate as shown in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', with a doctorate in genetics. He single-handedly prevents the Third World War with some quick thinking and telepathy; he blows up the vessel which was commandeered by the Hellfire Club through a Soviet officer on another warship. Later, he [[spoiler:holds a telepathic link in order to immobilise Shaw while Magneto pushes a coin through Sebastian's skull. Charles feels ''everything'', but he doesn't let go of the connection despite the agony he experiences.]]