History Main / BadassOnPaper

* The entire main party sans Kazuma in ''Literature/KonoSuba''. To most outside onlookers, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness who all are powerful advanced classes (and Aqua a literal [[PhysicalGod Physical Goddess]]) would constitute an extremely overpowered BattleHarem. With that being said, they all suffer from a horrible case of CripplingOverspecialization and nasty personality quirks that exaggerate their specializations: Aqua is borderline useless against anything that's not undead or demonic, leaving her main use being as a healer (usually to revive Kazuma after he dies), Megumin can only cast her [[StuffBlowingUp Explosion]] magic once a day and collapses immediately after using it (and refuses to learn any other spell because of her explosion obsession), and while Darkness has obscene durability, her accuracy with her attacks is awful, no doubt compounded by the fact that she's a [[TooKinkyToTorture masochist]]. It doesn't exactly help that Aqua has a bad tendency to act as a SpannerInTheWorks for the party's own plans, either due to her awful luck and low intelligence -- in fact, many of the problems she's gained a reputation for solving are ones that ''she caused to begin with'' -- most notably in regards to undead. With that being said, when push comes to shove, when working with [[CombatPragmatist Kazuma]] (who is an inversion of this trope, having a well-deserved reputation for being weak, lazy and perverted, but [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass proves to be extremely competent when the chips are down]]), they can pull off some genuinely amazing feats.

* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfTheDragons'', the player character is a relatively ordinary person who accomplishes his/her increasingly long list of heroic deeds with a lot of bravery, luck, and help from his/her TrueCompanions. The general populace starts to see him/her as a LivingLegend while the antagonistic dragons come to ''fear'' him/her. His/her closest companions are more realistic but still place him/her in very high regard. Being elevated like this is a little unnerving for the dragonrider.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', Sidney [=Debris=], a gangster wannabe, manages to frustrate Batman's attempts to catch him by being a bumbler. Then, during the tussle, Batman supposedly falls to his death. Within hours, the word's gotten out that he's [[RedBaron "The Man Who Killed The Bat"]]. It's technically true, but the title is loaded language: in truth, it was all based on pure luck. Now, because AsskickingLeadsToLeadership, every criminal in Gotham wants to take him out to prove they're tougher. (Well, except for ComicBook/TheJoker, who [[MortonsFork only wants him dead]] because [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou he took away his chance to kill Batman]].) However, through Batman's (offscreen) help, Sidney not only survives, but his legend grows because of the crooks he "beat". The story ends with him going to prison with all sorts of VillainCred: when he arrives in prison he's lauded as The Man Who ''Almost'' Killed the Bat (which is true), and the one who helped make the Joker look foolish (which is again true). It's Batman himself who points this out to make him feel better.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Samwise Gamgee is a bumbling gardener with a penchant for stepping in things he really shouldn't. Samwise Gamgee is also the man who sprung a prisoner from Cirith Ungol single-handed, and succeeded in something even the greatest heroes of the past didn't, namely wounding Shelob.

--->They were dealing with [[FamedInStory something far more dangerous than me]], [[HurtingHero Harry Dresden]], whose battered old Volkswagon was currently in the city impound. They were dealing with the [[TheDarkSide potential dark lord nightmare warlock]] they'd been busy fearing [[ThouShaltNotKill since I turned sixteen]]. They were dealing with the wizard who had faced the [[EvilSorcerer Heirs of Kemmler]] riding a zombie dinosaur, and emerged victorious from a fight that had flattened [[MagicKnight Morgan]] and [[FullContactMagic Captain Luccio]] before they had even reached it. They were dealing with the man who had [[RefugeInAudacity dropped a challenge to the entire Senior Council]], and who had then [[GodzillaThreshold actually showed,]] apparently willing to fight -- on the shores of an [[EldritchLocation entirely too creepy island]] in the middle of a freshwater sea.

* ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': Samwise Gamgee is a bumbling gardener with a penchant for stepping in things he really shouldn't. Samwise Gamgee is also the man who sprung a prisoner from Cirith Ungol single-handed, and succeeded in something even the greatest heroes of the past didn't, namely wounding Shelob.

* [[VillainProtagonist Walter White]] in ''Series/BreakingBad'' eliminates many powerful rivals, including [[TheChessmaster Gustavo Fring]], on his way to becoming a drug kingpin. But once he ''gets'' his drug empire, he can't hold onto it, as he doesn't have the influence or loyalty that Gus cultivated amongst his men, and his non-criminal relationships come together to ruin him.

* ''Franchise/DragonAge'': Hawke, the [[VideoGame/DragonAge2 second game's main character]], is supposed to be a huge badass. However, [[UnreliableNarrator Varric likes to exaggerate his stories]], meaning that Hawke's actions, while badass, aren't nearly as grandiloquent as [[VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins the Warden's]] or [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition the Inquisitor's]].

** Monkey D. Luffy is a world-class pirate with a bounty of 1.5 billion berries. His list of feats include defeating three of the powerful pirates known as the Seven Warlords of the Sea, declaring war on the World Government and, in the process, destroying the government base Enies Lobby, punching out a Celestial Dragon, a nobleman whose response to being offended is to sic a Marine Admiral on the offender, becoming the first man to ever break ''into'' [[TheAlcatraz Impel Down]] and causing its first ever mass-breakout when, previously, only one other person had gotten out ''ever'', and then entering the War of the Best at Marine HQ and causing havoc on the battlefield. He's also incredibly friendly, cheerful, and, to be quite honest, [[IdiotHero a dumbass]].

* Jacuzzi Splot from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''. He's the leader of a gang of bootleggers, destroyed 18 Russo Family speakeasies in a single night, survived the Pussyfoot Train incident including fighting unarmed with a single, tiny bomb against someone with a flamethrower, stood up to [[AxCrazy Ladd Russo]], willingly almost fought [[ShowyInvincibleHero Claire]], sacrificed himself to protect someone from being harmed, and has a sword tattoo on his face. He's also a timid shrinking violet who cries all the time, not the least bit physically intimidating, has no special skills, and one of the nicest characters in the entire cast. Even when he's shown robbing a mob-run store, shooting with his tommy-gun left and right he's bawling his eyes out.

* The entire main party sans Kazuma in ''LightNovel/KonoSuba''. To most outside onlookers, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness who all are powerful advanced classes (and Aqua a literal [[PhysicalGod Physical Goddess]]) would constitute an extremely overpowered BattleHarem. With that being said, they all suffer from a horrible case of CripplingOverspecialization and nasty personality quirks that exaggerate their specializations: Aqua is borderline useless against anything that's not undead or demonic, leaving her main use being as a healer (usually to revive Kazuma after he dies), Megumin can only cast her [[StuffBlowingUp Explosion]] magic once a day and collapses immediately after using it (and refuses to learn any other spell because of her explosion obsession), and while Darkness has obscene durability, her accuracy with her attacks is awful, no doubt compounded by the fact that she's a [[TooKinkyToTorture masochist]]. It doesn't exactly help that Aqua has a bad tendency to act as a SpannerInTheWorks for the party's own plans, either due to her awful luck and low intelligence -- in fact, many of the problems she's gained a reputation for solving are ones that ''she caused to begin with'' -- most notably in regards to undead. With that being said, when push comes to shove, when working with [[CombatPragmatist Kazuma]] (who is an inversion of this trope, having a well-deserved reputation for being weak, lazy and perverted, but [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass proves to be extremely competent when the chips are down]]), they can pull off some genuinely amazing feats.

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Between taking on an entire squadron of cannon insects and later 60 Yurata Scorpions single-handedly, Akira's combat record makes him sound like a OneManArmy. But he's quick to tell others that he barely escaped with his life on both occasions and that he's not nearly as strong as he sounds, given that much of his success is tied to Alpha. It gets to the point that he asks to have his combat record scrubbed so people will stop expecting so much of him.

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': There's Masayuki Honjou. An otherworlder who got the hero's skill series and they work together to manipulate events and perceptions to put him in a great light, so that's he's even thought to be a hero. In reality, partly because his skills causes the defeats of his enemies before he even has to do someting, he's barely able to hold a sword.

[[folder:Comics]]

** Another variation happens courtesy of the journalist "Big News" Morgans and his newspaper company. [[spoiler: Reading Morgans' news report on Luffy's conflict with Big Mom, you'd think that Luffy was a MagnificentBastard and PersonOfMassDestruction who orchestrated a full scale invasion and assassination attempt on Big Mom's territory, beat up her commanders, destroyed her country, and left alive. While a lot of that is technically true, the reality of the situation is that Luffy was trying to ''sneak in and leave undetected'', got caught, suffered through some ''grueling'' battles for it, and nearly died several times while just ''barely'' escaping Big Mom in the end. He also had nothing to do with planning the assassination (though he and his crew are why it got as far as it did); that was all Bege. Finally, a lot of the real damage to Big Mom's islands was either collateral damage or Big Mom herself on a mindless rampage. As a result of Morgans' sensationalizing of the above events, Luffy is now considered by the media to be the "Fifth Emperor of the Sea", on par with the Four Emperors and officially one of the five most powerful pirates in the world, with his bounty increasing by a staggering ''one billion berries'' -- despite being, again, [[TheDitz Luffy]]]].

* ''{{Manga/Trigun}}'': Vash The Stampede, AKA [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Humanoid Typhoon]]. A legendary force of destruction, leaving nothing but rubble in his wake and sporting the world's highest bounty (60 billion double dollars). Then you meet him... a goofy, spiky-haired nitwit, with a great love of donuts. Most of the destruction comes from the many, many, ''many'' people constantly trying to kill him. ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes Most]]'' [[PersonOfMassDestruction of it]]. [[spoiler: That said, much of the act is ObfuscatingStupidity. Piss him off enough, and you learn firsthand about GlowingEyesOfDoom.]]

* [[ComicBook/RatMan1989 Rat-Man]] is a superhero whose achievements include defeating [[HeroKiller an apparently invincible robot designed to kill superheroes]] and [[EldritchAbomination the Shadow]]. He's also too stupid to operate a car's seatbelt.

* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' has Nite Owl. He's an incredibly skilled martial artist (good enough to take out entire gangs even while out of practice) who invented a physics-defying airship and a ton of crazy gadgets. But in a world where the only thing to use this stuff on is gangs and drug-pushers, he's just some rich fool playing hero because it's the only way he can [[TheLoinsSleepTonight get it up]].

** Saul Goodman is also an example of this trope. The man is considered to be the AmoralAttorney in New Mexico with his feats not only include being able to convincingly sway the jury easily, but he got Lalo Salamanca out of jail, managed to talk down [[AxeCrazy Tuco Salamanca]] from killing two hapless scammers and he helped build Walt's meth empire using his connections and criminal tactics. However, most of his accomplishments involved a lot of outside factors and luck, and when Saul is faced up against an actual physical threat to his safety, he's quick to cower and beg for mercy.

** Buggy the Clown is an early villain who admittedly TookALevelInBadass... but not as much as others in-universe ''think'' he took. A lot of his reputation is from being a member of Gold Roger's crew like Shanks, one of the top pirates in the world... where they were both cabin boys. A lot of his power post-time skip comes from the fact that he commands a crew of badasses, not that he is one himself, becoming a noticeable aversion to AsskickingEqualsAuthority for the series. It also helps that he was seen worldwide yelling at TheDreaded Red-Haired Shanks... whose only reaction to the other pirate's temper-tantrum was to laugh and [[VitriolicBestBuds tell Buggy how much he missed him.]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', Sidney [=Debris=], a gangster wannabe, manages to frustrate Batman's attempts to catch him by being a bumbler. Then, during the tussle, Batman supposedly falls to his death. Within hours, the word's gotten out that he's [[RedBaron "The Man Who Killed The Bat"]]. It's technically true, but the title is loaded language: in truth, it was all based on pure luck. Now, because AsskickingEqualsAuthority, every criminal in Gotham wants to take him out to prove they're tougher. (Well, except for ComicBook/TheJoker, who [[MortonsFork only wants him dead]] because [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou he took away his chance to kill Batman]].) However, through Batman's (offscreen) help, Sidney not only survives, but his legend grows because of the crooks he "beat". The story ends with him going to prison with all sorts of VillainCred: when he arrives in prison he's lauded as The Man Who ''Almost'' Killed the Bat (which is true), and the one who helped make the Joker look foolish (which is again true). It's Batman himself who points this out to make him feel better.

* Mister Satan/[[DubNameChange Hercule]]/[[TakeAThirdOption Hercule Satan]] from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' really is an incredible martial artist, strong enough to pull four tour buses in his introduction, and perfectly capable of pulling off a FlashStep. He's won the World Martial Arts tournament legitimately several times, and was instrumental in the defeats of Cell and Majin Buu (and he's the ''only'' person to [[ActionSurvivor survive fighting both]]), both of whom are capable of causing an EarthShatteringKaboom. However, he's a completely normal fighter in the world of ''Dragon Ball Z'', where even the mooks can destroy mountains with ki. He never actually won a fight against any of the real villains: with Cell he helped provoke Gohan into going Super Saiyan 2, and with Majin Buu he befriended him as Fat Buu and convinced the people of Earth to lend energy for the final spirit bomb against Kid Buu.

* [[VillainProtagonist Walter White]] in ''Series/BreakingBad'' eliminates many powerful rivals, including [[TheChessmaster Gus Fring]], on his way to becoming a drug kingpin. But once he ''gets'' his drug empire, he can't hold onto it, as he doesn't have the influence or loyalty that Gus cultivated amongst his men, and his non-criminal relationships come together to ruin him.

* [[VillainProtagonist Walter White]] in Series/BreakingBad eliminates many powerful rivals, including [[TheChessmaster Gus Fring]], on his way to becoming a drug kingpin. But once he ''gets'' his drug empire, he can't hold onto it, as he doesn't have the influence or loyalty that Gus cultivated amongst his men, and his non-criminal relationships come together to ruin him.

* In the [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E01TheHomecoming Season 2 opener]] of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', we meet Li Nalas, who is revered all across Bajor as one of the great heroes of the resistance, especially known for a mission where he snuck in and assassinated a particularly cruel Cardassian leader. As it turns out, two of them just happened to run into each other in the woods as the Cardassian leader was taking a bath in a lake -- he just walked out of the water in his underwear and Li Nalas shot him. The story [[UrbanLegends kept getting exaggerated]] as it spread.

The question of how they did it can be answered in different ways. It could be [[AccidentalHero luck]], the hero could have specific [[BunnyEarsLawyer talent]] that continuously saves the day or an ability to make his flaws work for him. Often the answer to DudeWheresMyRespect because frankly, achievements or not, these guys just don’t seem to deserve it. In short, the character has a '''reputation''' of being a straight badass, but upon meeting the character in person, they're actually a HiddenBadass.

* ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'': Samwise Gamgee is a bumbling gardener with a penchant for stepping in things he really shouldn't. Samwise Gamgee is also the man who fought a spider-shaped demigod to a standstill and sprung a prisoner from Cirith Ungol single-handed.

* Lancelot (yes, ''[[Myth/KingArthur that]]'' [[Myth/KingArthur Lancelot]]) from ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'' has a major case of this. According to the protagonist, Lancelot is a self-absorbed narcissist whose greatest skill is not showing up until the battle is nearly over, getting a cloak torn or putting a little mud on his face, then paying bards an inordinate amount to spread the tales of his heroics far and wide. This crosses over to full blown FakeUltimateHero by the second book, and then goes into [[spoiler:VillainWithGoodPublicity when he starts actively trying to overthrow Arthur.]] Keep in mind however that Lancelot is the narrator's [[TheRival hated rival]], and the narrator does admit to [[UnreliableNarrator bending the truth of the story on a few occasions]]...

* [[VillainProtagonist Walter White]] in Series/BreakingBad establishes eliminates many powerful rivals, including [[TheChessmaster Gus Fring]], on his way to becoming a drug kingpin. But once he ''gets'' his drug empire, he can't hold onto it, as he doesn't have the influence or loyalty that Gus cultivated amongst his men, and his non-criminal relationships come together to ruin him.

* Pretty much every protagonist from ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon''. Each of them collects all eight badges from their region (16 for the Johto characters and 20 for the fan-made region characters) and defeats the Elite Four and Champion, they all defeat some form of crime syndicate, and some have even traveled to other dimensions and realities. They also get lost inside one-room buildings, black out to weak 'mons and can struggle for hours to pass trivial obstacles.

* ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'': Yang Wenli's enemies fear him for his legendary martial victories despite overwhelming odds against him, his superiors are so terrified that he could take over the country they often actively ''handicap'' him, and a good deal of his subordinates actually would support him as a dictator -- but he's actually one of the [[NiceGuy nicest, least intimidating guys]] you could ever wish to meet -- a gentle and humble man with a few [[CharacterTics eccentric habits]], poor combat skills, and absolutely zero aspirations besides early retirement.

* [[ComicBook/RatMan1989 Rat-Man]] is a superhero whose achievements include defeating [[HeroKiller an apparently invincible robot designed to kill superheroes]], a [[Anime/DragonballZ Goku]] {{Expy}} and [[EldritchAbomination the Shadow]]. He's also too stupid to operate a car's seatbelt.

* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfTheDragons'', the player character is a relatively ordinary person who accomplishes his/her increasingly long list of heroic deeds with a lot of bravery, luck, and help from his/her TrueCompanions. The general populace starts to see him/her as a LivingLegend on par with the expy of ''Hercules'' while the antagonistic dragons come to ''fear'' him/her. His/her closest companions are more realistic but still place him/her in very high regard. Being elevated like this is a little unnerving for the dragonrider.

* For a lot of the series, Literature/HarryPotter views himself as one of these. The event that made him famous happened when he was a baby and when, in ''Order of the Phoenix,'' he gets asked to teach a Defense Against the Dark Arts club, he argues that all his other achievements have been either through luck or from getting a lot of help. He begins to grow out of this in the seventh book, as he is now the one taking the fight to Voldemort, and his previous experiences fighting against the Dark Arts help him realize what has to be done.
** The page quote is Harry making it clear that his best friend Ron also fits the trope. He's certainly a case of RedheadsAreUncool who manages to be TheUnfavorite of both his family (his older brothers were successful and/or popular in Hogwarts, and got great jobs afterwards) and the series' PowerTrio (it's hard for Ron to be compared to the FamedInStory Harry and the BrainyBrunette Hermione), but is very accomplished otherwise, helping Harry in many of the misadventures he's gotten himself into, becoming the Keeper of a successful Quidditch team, and being a crucial part of the [[SoulJar Horcrux]] hunt that happens in the seventh book.

* In ''Literature/FredtheVampireAccountant'' the main character, is exactly what he says he is, just a normal accountant who happens to be a [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire vampire]]. He really has NO ambition to do things like accumulate power or challenge the social order of the modern parahuman community, but he gets either dragged in chaotic situations by his girlfriend or unwittingly makes connections with powerful people in the community through just normal social or business related networking (accountants in the parahuman community are rare). After a few books, the rumors have propped him up so much that when other vampires do come around they're looking specifically for this very impressive vampire, one of them even meets him in person and claims that he should aspire to be like him.

* In [[Literature/FredtheVampireAccountant Fred the Vampire Accountant]] the main character, is exactly what he says he is, just a normal accountant who happens to be a [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire vampire]]. He really has NO ambition to do things like accumulate power or challenge the social order of the modern parahuman community, but he gets either dragged in chaotic situations by his girlfriend or unwittingly makes connections with powerful people community through just normal social or business related networking (accountants in the parahuman community are rare). After a few books, the rumors have propped him up so much that when other vampires do come around they're looking specifically for this very impressive vampire, one of them even meets him in person and claims that he should aspire to be like him.

* Literature/CiaphasCain claims that all his achievements were down to luck or the result of him trying to save his own skin ([[HumbleHero if you're willing to take his word for it, of course]]). Make no mistake though, the fact that he's a genuine badass is indisputable. He's fit, very well trained in marksmanship and swordplay, and knows the ins and outs of manipulating people to a T. In the TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} universe, however, this is basically the [[CrapsackWorld bare minimum of what is required]]. The debate is over his attitude (modest hero or lucky coward) and how much more of a badass he may be. The fact that he likes to point out how he plays the HumbleHero card to improve his in-universe reputation doesn't help. An example: in one adventure he runs away from a losing fight and runs smack into the enemy leader, making it look to his companions like he changed him intentionally but the narration claims he was fleeing in terror. None of which changes the fact that he proceeded to hand an ''Ork Warboss'' a ludicrously one-sided beatdown in single combat, which thanks to Ork KeystoneArmy tendencies effectively won a world-spanning war in a stroke.