History Main / DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength

Compare AndCallHimGeorge, when it happens to (formerly) living things, and AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength. Related to PowerIncontinence. Could be called the inverse of GentleGiant. Can overlap with UnskilledButStrong. This also plays a part in ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex situations.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Hagrid from the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' series, being a half-giant, has superhuman strength. Unfortunately, he seems to forget this during physical displays of affection; his {{Bear Hug}}s almost always cause someone's bones to bruise, while a friendly pat on the back has the power to make someone fall down.
* Subverted in ''Literature/DragonBones'': GentleGiant Ward is ObfuscatingStupidity, so when a man attacks him in his own house, he throws the man into the next wall, and says "Yay, a wrestling match! I win!". However, Ward is well aware that the man didn't want to wrestle, but just wanted to hit the "harmless idiot", and he is also aware how much force he applied. However, his uncle (who believes him to be stupid) explains his behaviour with this trope, and warns the visitor that Ward is very well behaved as long as "no one lays a hand on him". Ward also likes to give a BearHug to anyone who does him a favour, as part of his pretending to be stupid. (One of his cousins mentions that he doesn't want to be nice to Ward, for fear of being rewarded with a BearHug.) As he's only pretending, Ward never actually hurts someone, he just applies enough strength to make people ''think'' that he has no idea how strong he is. His CuteMute younger sister Ciarra is shown to enjoy his hugs, apparently he's more careful with her than with older males ... and of course he doesn't have to deceive her, she's mute.
* This happens a lot to Mary Beth Layton in the book ''Superpowers''. She first discovers her super strength by breaking a door knob. And a door. And the refrigerator door handle. And a pitcher. And the phone. And the toilet, the TV remote, a broom and most of her plates and bowls. She also slips up and breaks her boyfriend's ribs during sex, and [[spoiler:beats a man to death by accident]].
* The trope is present in ''Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible'' as one of many background details. Doctor Impossible breaks the handle of a toilet, the cyborg Fatale's weight makes hardwood floors creak and cracks tiles, and she can't use normal furniture.
* ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'': Believe it or not, the titular character didn't initially intend to kill anybody, but when she accidentally did, she snapped and decided everyone deserved the same fate.
* Perhaps the {{Trope Maker|s}} is the protagonist from Philip Wylie's ''Literature/{{Gladiator}}'', the character credited with inspiring the Superman mythos. His superpower is basically superstrength, and it does him no good at all in this world. He accidentally kills a man playing football, gets fired from a manual labour job because he's making everyone else look bad, gets fired from a bank job because he saves someone from suffocating in the vault, and they want to know how he opened it... The entire novel is about what, realistically, it would be like to live with superstrength. A very modern look at a superhero [[UnbuiltTrope before there were superheroes]].
* Used in Creator/RichardScarry's books. Hilda, an anthropomorphic hippo child, accidentally rips a door off its hinges when she is told to open the door so the students can go out to play. Later, when the door is fixed, she ''rips out the door along with part of the wall'' when she attempts the same thing.
* Deconstructed in ''Literature/EndersGame'': Ender uses all his strength (including intelligence, reflexes, the environment, his own weight, his enemy's mistakes) to fight bullies, because he believes himself to be inept compared to the bullies around him, especially Peter. Then it turns out that [[spoiler:he used too much strength and accidentally killed two people, without realizing that they weren't just unconscious. The government hushed it up until Ender won the war; he didn't take the 'trial' well]].
* In ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', Edward mentions something to this effect...
-->'''Edward:''' You have no idea how ''delicate'' you are. I could reach out, meaning to touch your face, and crush your skull by mistake.
** It's not clear to what extent this is actually true and to what extent it's Edward trying to cover up his crippling intimacy issues, however.
** Bella gets this in the fourth book because brand new vampires are so damn strong. She hugs Edward and actually hurts him, something nearly impossible to do to Twilight vampires. Emmett, widely regarded as by far the strongest Cullen, is completely overpowered in the weeks immediately after Bella's transformation.
* In ''What Fire Cannot Burn'' by Creator/JohnRidley, {{Mutants}} with SuperStrength do their best to avert this, but they must concentrate to avoid applying a little too much force. "Your sweaty nightmare -- 'Hey, do you want to hold the baby?'"
* In ''Literature/{{Cyborg}}'' by Creator/MartinCaidin, the novel that inspired ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'', Steve Austin accidentally broke a man's wrist with his new bionic hand. Ironically, it was right after that man figured out that Austin's bionic hand had developed a feedback that ''would'' allow him to judge how much pressure he was exerting -- once he got used to it.
* Lennie from ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'' by Creator/JohnSteinbeck is a tragic {{Deconstruction}} of this trope, breaking the neck of a doggy by [[AndCallHimGeorge petting it too hard]].
** That's hardly the worst thing he (unintentionally) does. He also [[spoiler:accidentally breaks Curley's wife's neck]], leading to his [[spoiler:MercyKill at the hands of George]] and one ''hell'' of a DownerEnding.
** Curley picks a fight with Lennie; it doesn't end well for Curley. Lennie's scared to fight back, but once he does, all Lennie needs to do to stop Curley is squeeze his hand so hard that Lennie breaks his bones.
* Derek Souza in ''Literature/DarkestPowers'' is a werewolf with an incredible protective streak over the people he cares about, which leads him to do such things as throwing another boy into a wall and breaking his back, nearly tossing Chloe across a room while merely trying to keep her from stomping off, and breaking Liam's neck, killing him - and all of this completely by accident.
** Granted, nearly all of the main characters with the exception of Simon could probably fit under this trope, as their DNA has been tweaked, thus making their individual abilities much, much, ''much'' stronger than usual and leading to random outbursts of power. Most notably Chloe's accidentally raising the dead ''in her sleep'', Derek's already mentioned feats, and Liz's telekinetic tantrum [[spoiler: right before she is taken away and murdered because she cannot control her powers]].
* The magic version is used in the Literature/TortallUniverse. ''Most'' wizards can put out a candle by magic; if Numair tried it he'd just cause an explosion.
* A bit of a RunningGag in the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse'' whenever a character has to have a missing limb replaced with a "biosynthetic" prosthetic. One engineer manages to crush his communicator in his new hand, and remarks that at the moment he can punch a hole in a wall for a power coupling but holding an egg or shaking hands would be problematic.
* ''Literature/HaloTheFallOfReach'' explains that John (the future Master Chief) experienced this following his augmentation surgery, leading him to wonder if the artificial gravity in the gym where he was exercising had been reduced. Shortly afterwards he was forced into a spar against four veteran Helljumpers, with John accidentally killing two as a result of this trope (it's pretty much stated that the fight was deliberately set up to test the effectiveness of his augmentations; since then, there's been bad blood between the [=ODSTs=] and the Spartans).
* [[spoiler:Scarlet]] of the ''Literature/TheUltraViolets'', mostly thanks to her powers being [[spoiler:superhuman dancing skills]] before the super-strength kicked in.
* The Wagner family in ''Literature/TheLastSuperhero'' are prone to this. It forced Orville to give up superheroing due to also being TheKlutz, and his son, John Jr., casually mentions in the narrative that he's broken the limbs and ribs of his classmates occasionally by accident.
* In ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown,'' the hulking alien Paul knows how frail Indira will become as she ages, and he's terrified of accidentally hurting her.
--> He had imagined her in this state years before, when he feared that if his massive hand even touched her in this condition, she would break like a hollow eggshell.
* Even at only a few weeks old, Wiggle and his littermates from ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'' were showing signs of the strength they'd have as adults. During a play-fight, he bit Lucky (a grown dog) too hard because his adult fangs were growing in. When tussling, Lucky notes that it won't be long before Wiggle is the one who needs to hold back. This strength made others like Alpha and Sweet, who are [[FantasticRacism dislike Fierce Dogs]], wary of the triplets.
* ''Literature/SchooledInMagic'': A magical variation. Those with powerful magical talent (such as Emily) often have difficulty learning [[AlchemyIsMagic alchemy]], because using magic to control alchemical reactions requires a light touch.
* ''Literature/TheHauntingOfDrearcliffGrangeSchool'': Gillian Little is a GentleGiant, eleven years old and already over six feet tall and a foot wide at the shoulders. She's been known to get trapped in rooms after accidentally pulling the doorknob off.
* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' shortly after [[TheBerserker Daylen]] gets [[SwissArmySuperpower his powers]], he gives "[[PunchedAcrossTheRoom a good thump]]" to a local villager who accosts him, and ends up shattering most of his ribs. Thankfully, [[CombatMedic Ahrek]] is at hand to both [[HealingHands heal the man]] before he dies and to give Daylen [[WhatTheHellHero a well-deserved tongue-lashing]]. After this, Daylen admits how reckless he was and is a lot more careful about using his strength against people who don't have his kind of powers.
* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Lindon spent his entire life as a cripple weaker than everyone he knows. By the fourth book, he's only barely reached a level that his allies would consider "strong enough not to embarrass us," and he spends most of his time fighting people much stronger than he is. So when a random idiot picks a fight with him, he's still trying to form a battle plan when he wins in a single blow.
* ''Literature/MoongobbleAndMe'': As demonstrated in book 5, the Oggledy Nork seems to have this problem, which causes him to accidentally break things.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* This trope was [[Administrivia/RenamedTropes formerly named]] "Ace Lightning Syndrome", after the titular character in the CGI-animated TV program ''Series/AceLightning'', who had quite the tendency towards smashing his human sidekicks' household appliances when he arrived in the 'real world', super strength and all (not to mention his need to absorb energy in order to survive resulted in the destruction of much electrical equipment. And apparently Mark's family's electric bill was costing them a fortune).
* ''Series/AlteredCarbon''. Lieutenant Ortega doesn't even realise her arm has been replaced by an artificial limb until [[ArtificialLimbsAreStronger she bends a rail]] on the hospital gurney she's lying on.
* In ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Carpe Noctem" Angel's Vampire body is taken over by a DirtyOldMan Marcus who at one point while out on the town, gets into a fight and sends a dude flying [[SuperStrength with a single punch]] causing Marcus to yell "NICE!" in glee.
* ''Series/BionicWoman''. After discovering her MadScientist fiancee has turned her into a bionic woman, Jaime Sommers decides to stop looking for Mr Right and settle for Mr Right Now. At that moment a handsome stranger catches her eye; SmashCut to them making out in the toilet. Unfortunately Jaime accidentally breaks one of his ribs in her enthusiasm, [[MomentKiller putting an abrupt end to events]].
* There's an accidental version in ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "[[{{Recap/BlakesSevenS4E6Headhunter}} Headhunter]]", a character breaks off the teleport control handle when he grabs it violently. This is nothing unusual given the NoBudget sets, but he's later revealed to be an android disguised as a human, so this trope could be in play also.
* ''Series/{{Bonanza}}'': The Season 2 episode "The Ape" used this trope as its centerpiece: a lonely, mentally challenged man named Arnie desperately seeking both love and a chance at owning his own farm causing great physical harm to people who cruelly mock him. Hoss sees potential in Arnie and tries to mentor him, but his efforts are always thwarted by Arnie's desire to marry a barmaid, Shari, who wants nothing to do with him ... and Arnie's own temper and inability to realize that, due to his tremendous strength, he can kill a man rather easily. Hoss repeatedly tries to warn Arnie that he doesn't know his own strength. Before the episode ends, Arnie indeed kills at least two people: a Ponderosa ranch hand who had mocked his slow, awkward ways; and Shari, after he attempts to gift her with an expensive strand of pearls), who slaps the necklace away and tells him he's just a big old, dumb "ape" (Arnie grabs the much smaller Shari by the neck and shake her violently, until she dies). When Hoss realizes what Arnie has done, he tries to get Arnie to understand that he killed someone (and possibly a second person, too) and that he has to go to jail. Arnie then knocks down Hoss and tries to flee. When a sheriff's posse surrounds Arnie, he picks up a huge boulder and attempts to hurl it toward everybody, forcing them to gun him down.
* ''Series/TheBoys2019''. In "Get Some", Popclaw has sex with a man while high on [[SuperSerum Compound V]], and [[ComingAndGoing during orgasm]] she squeezes her thighs around his head so much she cracks his skull open. As the whole thing was CaughtOnTape, the Boys use this to blackmail her for information.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** Buffy has this problem quite often.
*** She accidentally [[RingRingCRUNCH smashes her alarm clock]] with her super strength, then sweep the pieces into a drawer of likewise broken alarm clocks.
*** In "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E7TheInitiative}} The Initiative]]" she accidentally tears the handle off a yogurt machine in the college cafeteria and makes a mess.
*** There are several occasions when Buffy hugs someone too hard and has to be told to let go. When she glomps the surgeon who tells her Joyce's operation was a success, his ribs creak ominously and he shouts in pain.
*** During the season one episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E3TheWitch Witch]]", she accidentally throws one of her classmates across the gym during cheerleading practice.
** In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E12ANewMan A New Man]]", Giles awakens one morning as a large and powerful demon after being cursed. He walks through his home and accidentally tears the banister off of his stairs, smashes a phone when he tries to call for help, rips through his favorite shirt, and breaks the front door off its hinges. The irony of course is that Giles is normally a mild-mannered British librarian.
** During her introduction in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E5NoPlaceLikeHome No Place Like Home]]", Glory causes the interior of a warehouse to cave in by merely stomping her foot in a hissy fit. For once this is a good thing, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain as she was chasing Buffy at the time]].
* In ''Series/{{Caprica}}'', this is how [[spoiler: Zoey Greystone killed her early {{Love Interest|s}} Philomon]]. Had some [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone terribly]] [[HeroicBSOD bad]] [[DrivenToSuicide consequences.]]
* Played with on ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' when a spell cast on their police buddy gave him Superman-like strength and invulnerability. Has him accidentally ripping the door off a police cruiser, but only mildly bruising the suspect.
* The unsub in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Damaged" turns out to be [[spoiler: a big and strong but mentally challenged man who [[ManChild was childlike]] and arguably did not intend to kill his victims]].
* In ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'', Karli accidentally punches Lemar Hoskins onto a pillar because of her SuperSerum-fueled strength, [[AccidentalMurder killing him.]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone She is horrified]] while sending John Walker onto an UnstoppableRage over his friend's death.
* ''Series/TheFlash2014''. While still getting used to his the A.T.O.M. suit, Ray Palmer does a ThreePointLanding and cracks the concrete.
* Eun Bi, an ex-high school delinquent, from ''Series/FlowerBoyRamyunShop'' says this after playfully hitting Ba Wool around the back of the head and he comments that it really hurts.
* Sometimes a problem for ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero''.
* Happens to Gilligan on ''Series/GilligansIsland'' in the episode where the castaways ate radioactive vegetables. Gilligan ate a lot of spinach, giving him super strength.
* An episode of ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' takes place in modern times and involves the creators of the show going on a retreat in order to improve the show. The star Creator/KevinSorbo also comes along, except that he's really Hercules (yes, a Greek demigod pretending to be an actor playing a Greek demigod). During a dinner outside, he gets over-excited and slams the long dinner table, breaking it in half. The host blames the rotten wood and laughs it off. Of course, it's revealed at the end of the episode that the host is, in fact, Ares in disguise.
* In [=UPN=] super-spy show ''Series/Jake20'', the main character mostly dodged this because his powers were mostly by activation; nevertheless, there was at least one occasion where his little brother pissed him off, resulting in him accidentally breaking off the handle to his car door. He also put a ton of holes in the walls of his apartment trying to gently tap in nails.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
** Hongo Takeshi from the original ''Series/KamenRider''. In fact, a recurring source of {{Angst}} in the earlier episodes was Hongo's fear that his [[BlessedWithSuck superhuman abilities would make it impossible for him to live a normal life]]. In one episode, he freaks out after accidentally injuring a child (by crushing his fingers) during a misguided attempt to comfort the boy.
** Early on, Kintaros from ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' suffered from this, or at least K-Ryotaro/K-Masaru(first possessee), breaking everything from park benches to lamp posts.
** ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'': Sougo Tokiwa. [[spoiler: What was intentionally considered to be Sougo [[DreamingOfThingsToCome seeing future events via dreaming]], it is in reality him unintentionally influencing and even outright shaping the future according to what he sees in those very dreams. In others words, ''Sougo is unconsciously creating new timelines simply by dreaming.'']]
* In ''Series/LoisAndClark'', after being exposed to red kryptonite, Clark's powers get boosted beyond his control. His strength gets boosted to the point that when he hugs Lois, it gives her bruises on her arms, turns their place into a mess after he sneezes and accidentally breaks a chair from getting up too quickly. Surprisingly, doesn't happen much in the episode where Clark gets LaserGuidedAmnesia and forgets who (and what) he is. His dad has to hit him with a baseball bat (the only time when a father saying "It'll hurt me more than you" while hitting his son is true) to prove it.
* ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'': Katie comes from a future of DesignerBabies, and possesses superhuman strength as a result. She's also fond of [[BearHug hugging her teammates]].
* ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'': On numerous occasions during the Bob Barker era, overly excited contestants who were Samoans would pick up Barker, bearhug him, and otherwise get very affectionate with him, causing him brief physical discomfort. Often, but not always, these instances occurred after the contestant won a pricing game. A running joke was that, every time a Samoan contestant appeared on the show, Barker would claim that a past Samoan contestant injured him (before playfully admonishing the new contestant to keep her distance). This gag was downplayed and eventually forgotten upon Drew Carey's appointment as host, and never came into play with either Dennis James or Tom Kennedy.
%% * For both ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' and ''Series/TheBionicWoman,'' this was a regular issue. In the third reunion movie ''Bionic Ever After,'' he attempted to help her with her misfunctioning right arm and the rotation caught him full in the chest.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** In "Blank", Clark has his memories removed, resulting in him ripping the door to his home from its hinges as he literally doesn't know his own strength.
** Chloe once winced when he grabbed her shoulders with unnecessary force. In "Persona", when Chloe admits she couldn't help with what he is doing, Clark grabbed her arm forcibly, only to let her go quickly. [[spoiler:[[OutOfCharacterAlert It tipped her off that he is actually Bizarro.]]]]
** In "Warrior", a newly empowered superhero accidentally crushes Chloe's hand.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'': In "Upgrades", Jack, Sam, and Daniel are all equipped with an alien wristband that enhances the wearer's speed and strength, if only for a limited amount of time. In the episode, Jack crushes a grip-meter and accidentally takes a chunk out of General Hammond's wall just by lazily kicking it. He also knocks Sgt. Siler off a balcony while trying to high-five him. In this case, said alien tech grants super strength and poor judgement. Siler was a genuine accident. The other two times were demonstrations of his strength, just poorly thought out.
** They also got into a bar fight, earning themselves a rebuke from General Hammond. After all, with their strength and speed, they could have easily killed those guys (especially since Jack is a ColonelBadass).
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E1AmokTime Amok Time]]", we get a look at how strong Vulcans really are when Spock loses control and manages to completely destroy his computer terminal. Other times when Spock loses control he becomes ''really'' scary because of it. In another episode when Kirk had to provoke Spock into a murderous fury to free his mind from an alien influence, he noted in his log that he might die before Spock comes back to his senses. He nearly does.
** A more humorous example occurs in ''Day of the Dove'' when Kang the Klingon sends Kirk staggering with a good-natured back slap.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
*** The holodeck malfunctions, replacing characters in a Wild West simulation with recreations of Data, with his approximate physical abilities as well. Some of the characters are weaselly cowards and otherwise unaware of their enhanced strength, but others are the BigBad of the story and also unaware of their strength.
*** In "Masks", an alien probe starts taking over the Enterprise, and Data, who gets possessed by it. At one point, Data grabs Picard's wrist and Picard visibly freaks out as he knows Data could easily crush it (and is possibly already holding it ''way too hard'').
** In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' Worf (yes, [[TheWorfBarrage that Worf]]) relates a story of when he was 13, playing soccer, and accidentally headbutted a player on the opposing team. Since Klingons are much stronger than humans and have ''ridged foreheads'', the other kid's neck was snapped and died of his injuries shortly after. He uses the incident to explain why he's not a BoisterousBruiser like other Klingons.
* Provides some of the fun when super-strong-ordinary-girl Do Bong-soon overdoes it in Korean drama "Strong Girl Bong-soon".
* ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}'':
** In "World's Finest", a crossover with ''Series/TheFlash2014'', Kara gives Barry a friendly slap on the back, causing him to wince in pain and her to say, "Sorry."
** In "Legion of Superheroes", Kara describes finding a stray cat shortly after arriving on Earth. She fed him, but was afraid to touch him at first for fear of accidentally hurting him. Finally, she was sufficiently sure of herself in that regard to pick him up and pet him, which helped her feel a bit more at home.
** In "Truth, Justice and the American Way", Kara Danvers claims she's not angry after meeting Siobhan. Barry then informs her that she's just broken the phone she's holding.
* ''Series/TheTick2001'': The live-action series has a gag where Arthur shakes hands with the Champion, and Arthur clutches his hand in pain, then the Tick shakes hands with the Champion and the ''Champion'' recoils in pain.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E93TheLittlePeople The Little People]]", one of the giant spacemen accidentally crushes Peter Craig to death when he picks him up to examine him. He feels guilty about it.
* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'':
** Number 1 aka Luther has this problem frequently as his [[TopHeavyGuy size]] and [[SuperStrength strength]] guarantees he’ll break something when indoors, at one point when fighting Diego he punches over a statue and later he rips a bar door off it hinges when in a hurry. Still that’s nothing compared to when he’s piss drunk and depressed as Luther casually shoves his brother Klaus, sending the latter flying across the room. In Season 2 after getting fired from his seedy club after losing a match during his DespairEventHorizon smacks the brickwork in his room in frustration making a big hole, to the amusement of his brother Five who’s waiting outside. Luther uses the new window he made, to [[FlippingTheBird flip Five off]].
** [[spoiler: PlayedForDrama with Number 7 aka Vanya once she inadvertently unlocks her [[PersonOfMassDestruction destructive powers]] (that were suppressed since childhood) she damages streetlights and cars while [[PsychoactivePowers angrily ranting]] and when she and her boyfriend Leonard get attacked by three drunk men she accidentally kills two of them. Worse still Vanya in a moment of rage slits her sister Allison’s throat with RazorWind by mistake, which is her StartOfDarkness to becoming a supervillain.]]

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]]:
** Herakles/Hercules got very annoyed with his music teacher, Linus, for telling him he was playing music wrong. So Heracles slugged Linus with his lyre, or with a stool... and killed him. Oops. The first evidence of this story is in vase-paintings of the 5th century BC, making this one OlderThanFeudalism. In another version, Linus slugged Hercules first. When Hercules was on trial, he was acquitted on the grounds that "everybody has a right to return a slug".
** Hera would taunt him with visions to make him angry enough to smash his wife/kids/best friends/cities and then feel so guilty about it he'd go on a near-suicidal adventure in order to [[TheAtoner atone for it]]. The gods and goddesses of Greek myth wobbled back and forth from being actual {{physical god}}s and being [[AnthropomorphicPersonification embodiments of abstract ideas]], depending on who you asked. So there's a thin line between an artificial wrath brought on by Hera's mind control and a natural wrath that gets associated with Hera because Hera, goddess of marriage who is married to the biggest [[TheCasanova Casanova]] in the Greek pantheon, is [[ClingyJealousGirl the living embodiment of jealous rage]].
* Ilia Muromets, one of Russian legendary heroes, was super-strong, and sometimes hurt people by things like hugging. It didn't help that he just didn't bother to get up until age 32, so he hadn't practiced social interaction much.
** Another hero, Svyatogor, was literally so strong the earth refused to hold him and was thus confined to a mountain range which was somewhat less finicky.
*** Some variations of the Muromets story have him receive super strength, and immediately having half of it drained away so that he won't end up like Svyatogor.
** Vasiliy Buslaev, a hero of the Novgorod epic cycle, is a young ne'er-do-well who doesn't realize his insane strength. This leads to people's arms and legs being casually ripped off.
* In the Finnish epic ''Literature/TheKalevala,'' this trope is Kullervo's shtick. For every task he is given to do, he always does it "according to his strength," not according to what the task requires, so he ruins whatever he attempts. Tell him to fell trees, and he magics the whole forest into a wasteland where nothing grows. Tell him to build a fence, and he builds a sky-high and airtight one. Later his father takes him fishing but he completely wastes the boat rowing and kills every fish in the lake trying to set the nets.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* Played for laughs in ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' episode starring Creator/ChristopherReeve (way before his accident). The guest star is explaining to Miss Piggy that he wasn't at all chosen for the role of Film/{{Superman|TheMovie}} on account of his strength... while accidentally tearing apart a cupboard door. Miss Piggy's reaction: "Yeah, right..."

[[folder:Radio]]
* Joshua Oliphant in ''Radio/RevoltingPeople'', who tears the house to bits by accident, and wrestles ''bears'' to death while trying to make friends with them. PlayedForLaughs, obviously.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Alfred, the Bison construction worker from ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'', possesses extreme strength. Most of the time he is in control of it but if he is angry then things tend to get destroyed. For instance, he crushed a piece of concrete that he was planning to use as an ImprovisedWeapon. A more extreme example was when he started pounding on Aisha's door and leaves the door looking like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. And he accidentally knocked over a vending machine while trying to free a stuck snack.
* In ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'', Daigo isn't immediately aware that his superpower grants him enhanced strength. He only finds out when he accidentally crushes a street lamp, and then a man's arm when he prevents him from beating up his girlfriend.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/TheDresdenFiles'' RPG, near the write-up for the [[SuperStrength Supernatural Strength]] power, Harry writes in the margins that it's really easy to accidentally kill someone with a simple punch at this power level.
** Although ironically this is one of the games where the rules don't really back that statement up. If you take an opponent out of a conflict in the Fate system (which ''The Dresden Files'' uses), ''you'' decide -- within reason -- just how exactly that happens, and thus settling for a "mere" knockout blow is just about always an option unless you're dealing with a [[KillerGameMaster particularly bloodthirsty GM]]. (On the third hand, nothing whatsoever prevents a character regardless of their "technical" strength level from being created with a relevant ''aspect'' -- which could even literally be "Does Not Know His/Her Own Strength", they're freeform that way -- and playing the trope dead straight to earn fate points, be that in combat, outside it, or both.)
* ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}} 2020'' has an inset in the section about Cyberware which features Ripperjack having a bad night due to his cyberware punching through cheap concrete and crushing the big pipe he tried to grab to keep from falling into a metal pretzel.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* While just about everyone in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' has ridiculous [[Anime/DragonballZ DBZ]]-levels of SuperStrength, only Flonne's shown some difficulty in controlling it: [[VisualNovel/DisgaeaInfinite at one point]], she hastily shoves Laharl away (to prevent him from performing PercussiveMaintenance on poor Mr. DVD Player) and ends up [[BlownAcrossTheRoom rocketing him across the room]].
** The Vita port of ''VideoGame/Disgaea3'' brings us Rutile, a [[HalfHumanHybrid halfling]] [[CatGirl Nekomata]] whom transfers to Evil Academy to get a better hold of her demonic strength. It becomes a little hard to make friends when a casual handshake can break people's arms.
* A trailer for ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'' has Jensen accidentally cracking a glass as he tries to hold it with one of his new cybernetic arms.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': This tends to be a problem with Gorons, being rock people that could give human bodybuilders a run for their money.
** In ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', After clearing the Dodongo's Cavern, Darunia the Goron decides that he and Link are now sworn brothers, and gives him a hearty pat on the shoulder. It goes about as well as you'd expect, especially when all of the Gorons decide it's time for a GroupHug, which causes Link to run away [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl screaming at the top of his lungs.]]
** A similar thing happens in ''[[Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', when Daruk gives Link a playful pat on the back that nearly breaks the poor Hylian's spine.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'':
** Flandre Scarlet of the possesses extreme physical strength and the ability to destroy absolutely anything at will... except she does not know how to control this power. In fact, she was locked away in a basement for 495 years as a result of her unstable and potential destructibility. According to fandom, those she "[[AndCallHimGeorge plays with]]" do not last long...
** Entirely averted with the oni Yuugi Hoshiguma, the physically strongest of the entire cast, whose self-control is such that just getting her to spill a drop of the sake she holds in one hand in a wide bowl [[ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask while fighting]] is considered the only plausible way of winning against her.
* It's not raw physical strength, but Nadia Grell of ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' is the only known Force-Sensitive of her species. Unfortunately, her powers grew with no one to train her. No worries about her getting DrunkOnTheDarkSide (she's entirely too sweet for that), but rocks and trees do have a tendency to [[StuffBlowingUp explode]] if she gets too excited.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Devil May Cry 3|DantesAwakening}}'' after Dante is defeated by Vergil and unlocks his [[SuperMode Devil Trigger]] he staggers over to a pillar and [[https://gfycat.com/ethicalwindyboto smacks it in frustration, the pillar shudders and then breaks apart]]. Dante looks at his hand excited, the [[ThemeMusicPowerUp music kicks in]] and he gets a HeroicSecondWind worth nothing Dante had SuperStrength before then but it seems his [=DT=] has boosted it to point he has it unconsciously.
* CPU Yellow Heart and her spoiler-to-name non-HDD self in ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaVictory'', who is capable of knocking enemies over the horizon without trying. Demonstrated in one of her team-up skills where she punts an enemy at a teammate, expected them to hit it back, but puts so much force into it the enemy just cleans them up on the way through.
* ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'': Guan Yinping beats down stone walls for training, and it shows, as she has a tendency to accidentally rip bricks out of masonry and nearly dislocates people's shoulders when helping them up. Her issue isn't that she doesn't know how strong she is, but rather being raised in her BadassFamily means her frame of reference is slightly off.
* ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur III & IV]]'': That'd be Sophitia's younger sister, Cassandra, who has a bad habit of breaking her sister's swords, due to how roughly she handles them.
** Her brother-in-law, Rothion, repaired them the first time, after Cassandra returned from her first journey (''SC II''). However, her next outting concluded with her shattering her sword again. Only this time, Sophitia put her foot down and marched her down to the smithy [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H-OdS0K_0c to fix it, herself.]]
** But in ''SC IV'', she finally put that muscle to good use, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6EnMrOfZx8 by breaking Soul Calibur]] as payback for all the hell it had put Sophitia through.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' has Bewear, the Strong Arm Pokemon, a big cuddly bear that is BearyFriendly and loves to give hugs to its Trainer to show its affection. However, its immense strength means that said Trainer is unfortunately crushed to death, unless they have taught it how to ease up.
* In ''Videogame/HectorBadgeOfCarnage'', Hector is [[StoutStrength shockingly strong for a fat man]], but is incapable of holding back his strength. This becomes a problem where the player needs to "[[Videogame/MonkeyIsland Fight like a cow]]" which Hector can't do since the softest hit he can do is still a swift jab to the face, thus requiring his partner Lambert (a scrawny weakling) to fill in.
* ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'': The assassin Vorici gives players missions that can involve killing a target but not all of his guards, all of his guards but not the target, or reducing the target to low life but leaving him alive. This can be difficult for characters who are built to obliterate half the screen with a wave of their hand, and can require some awkward workarounds like removing almost all their supports, or repeatedly using a movement skill that deals almost no damage to wear them down.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem:''
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses,'' the crown prince of the Kingdom of Faerghus, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, has incredible physical strength, but has trouble keeping it from interfering with more dexterous tasks. He asks his friend [[NiceGirl Mercedes]] to teach him needlework in their support chain, and somehow manages to accidentally bend a pair of ''scissors'' with his physical strength alone, and sits out of participating in a fishing contest for fear that he’d accidentally snap his fishing rod in half. It's been a problem for years: His {{Childhood Friend|s}} Felix won't let him live down the fact that he used to accidentally snap swords in half as a child.
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening,'' prince Chrom of the Halidom of Ylisse is remarkably strong, but clumsy enough with it that he [[RunningGag regularly destroys training dummies]] during his sword training, and handles mundane objects so hard that he breaks them, much to his chagrin.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'' has a [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] example with Cloud and Tifa. Late in the game after Section 7 has been completely destroyed by Shinra, Tifa [[BreakTheCutie breaks down completely]] at losing her home for a second time and cries on her [[ChildhoodFriendRomance childhood friend]]’s [[CryIntoChest chest]]. Cloud who up until that point had been [[StoicWoobie very hesitant to open up to those close to him]], finally gives into his feelings and hugs Tifa tightly in response but being a [[SuperSerum Mako]]-powered SuperSoldier, his strong embrace actually hurts her slightly.
* Charme of ''VideoGame/MaglamLord'' constantly suffers outside of combat because of her super strength, a part of her Heroic blessing. She can't cook properly because she keeps accidentally crushing ingredients just trying to pick them up and several characters end up being strangled and unable to breath if she tries to hug them.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'': Leilusa and Hyperion sometimes forget that they are PhysicalGods from another realm of existence who are much stronger than the mortals who work for them. [[PlayedForLaughs Thankfully]] it just leads to occasional {{Slapstick}} humor.
* ''Webcomic/LolaAndMrWrinkles'': Hugo, a St. Bernard, leaves Mr. Wrinkles feeling bulldozed after a hug.
* A common flaw in ''[[Webcomic/{{Magellan}} Magellan Academy]]'', since most of the students are superpowered and in training. A particularly noteworthy case would be the superstrong but not invulnerable Justine Kef, strong enough to lift massive weights but with normal human bone structure. She can break ''herself'' if she uses too much strength outside of her super suit.
* In [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=980117 this]] ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' strip, while Aylee's getting used to being Torg's secretary, she tends to accidentally drive her fingers right through the computer keyboard.
* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', when Bob briefly gains SuperStrength, he manages to stop a bank robbery... but accidentally destroys the bank in the process.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the Monster In The Darkness DOES know it's super strong, it just still can't control its strength as demonstrated [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0374.html here.]]
* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', this happens as an one off joke when Quentyn reunites with his friend, Kestral at her engineering school. She gives him a big hug and inadvertently hurts him because her vigorous studies having increased her strength considerably and she is not yet fully in control of it.
%%* Sidney Burns of ''Webcomic/MobTies'' displays this occasionally.
* Summer Mighty of ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'' has trouble controlling her [[PubertySuperpower new-found strength]], resulting in a [[http://eheroes.smackjeeves.com/comics/1891177/chain-of-events/ kitchen remodel]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'': Not as bad as most, but Heather's still getting used to her new strength, as well as having six arms, as seen when she [[http://www.spinnyverse.com/comic/03-29-2010 bear hugs Sahira.]]
* The first time Walky and Joyce have sex in ''Webcomic/ItsWalky'', they wreck most of the furniture in their hotel room. As one of the hotel employees says, "Man of steel, woman of steel, '''bed''' of Kleenex."
* Equius of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' would ''like'' to use bows and arrows as his WeaponOfChoice, but can't actually wield them without the bow snapping like a twig when he draws it. The only safe outlet for him to let off his frustration is through beating the shit out of robots in cage matches.
** He also loves drinking milk. It's too bad he can't pick up a glass of it without shattering it in his hand.
* ''Webcomic/KarinDou4koma'': Tamaryu, a SuperStrongChild thanks to being a dragon:
** Her attempt at bowling sends her ball into orbit.
** Her attempt at [[SmashingWatermelons smashing a watermelon]] rends it into a fine pink spray.
** Her attempt at filling up an inflatable pool causes a blast that knocks Kinka out. Seren makes a note to not teach her CPR until she's learned to take it easy.
** After Kinka explains her token attempts at PercussiveMaintenance on a fan that just stopped working, Tamaryu decides to help out with a "light chop" that splits the fan in half.
* ZigZaggingTrope with the title character from ''Webcomic/PoppyOPossum''; she's very much aware of her own strength, and treats it like no big deal (to the incredulity of those around her). However, she occasionally misjudges how much strength is needed for a given situation, such as when she opens the iron gates to Eggton when the guards refuse to let her in - resulting in one of the doors becoming unhinged and being sent flying off into the nearby countryside.
* ''Webcomic/OnceStung'': In short order after getting her super powers, Cynthia breaks [[AlphaBitch Jessica's]] finger, winds a football player by throwing the ball back to him and busting hole in her bedroom wall.
* ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'': [[MilitarySuperhero Colonel]] [[FlyingBrick Maxima]] sometimes forgets things have ''[[http://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/1768 weight]]''. The FlavorText at the bottom of the comic also mentions that she "forgets things can be [[NighInvulnerability hot, sharp or fast]]" as well.
* ''Webcomic/{{PS238}}'' shows [[http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/2015-10-23/ the result of Julie "84" hugging Moon Shadow]] in his Revenant-provided jet: He's uninjured, but she wrapped the pilot seat around him.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Superline}}'', after [[spoiler:Logan]] develops super strength, he has difficulty handling things gently and breaks just about everything he touches, even after barely picking it up.
* ''WebComic/PrincessPrincess'': The Ogre was just trying to express himself through dance, but his size and clumsiness unwittingly caused a lot of destruction to a village in the process.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In a WebVideo/JonTron video Regis Philbin's Epic Workout when he's asked to get a stapler from a drawer he pulls out the whole desk with his arm impressed that his workout routine is working.
* Common problem in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': Phase can change her density from intangible to super-dense. When she first manifested, she smashed her bathroom, bent her tub, and then went light and couldn't stop sinking through the floor. One of the things [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] teaches is control of powers. The [[FlyingBrick bricks]] routinely have assignments like carrying a raw egg around to learn control.
** Probably a better example than Phase (who for all her worrying has remarkable fine control over her powers already) would be Compiler, a girl who used her mutant gift for nanotechnology to give herself the superhuman strength and speed her mutation itself failed to provide and that she hasn't quite learned to keep from activating purely by accident yet.
** Another good example is Diz Aster, who is a Brick along the same lines as Lancer - except that her telekinetic field can't produce anything ''less'' than 7 tons of force. This also means that she can't even ''feel'' anything, since her shields extend to a few millimetres past her skin; by the time Chaka starts helping out, it's been a year since anyone's been able to touch Diz -- or since she's been able to touch anyone else.
** An equally good example might be Tennyo -- whose powers include the ability to throw around beams of energy that flood the area around her with radiation. Since Tennyo herself is immune to the effects of her powers, she's rarely aware of what's happening until it's too late. This got Lampshaded in a chapter of ''The Great Shoulder Angel Conspiracy'', where the instructors for Team Tactics pointed out that Tennyo can't just throw radiation-heavy energy around wildly without noticing if she wants the rescue mission to be a success...[[spoiler: so they gave her a belt-attachable radiation detector, so that she can keep an eye on the levels she's putting out.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* The ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' webseries and comic show Gologotha to having friendly gestures towards Gaea that seem to genuinely hurt her, both in-game and in real life. Gaea comments about "almost getting killed by Gologotha's greeting" at some point in the comic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* WesternAnimation/TheTick had a tendency to leave crumbling footprints embedded in the roofs of buildings whenever he went RoofHopping. The Tick has done the door thing, too. And generally causes massive amounts of collateral damage. It isn't that he is unused to his strength so much as that he's clumsy, insane and not very bright. And {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le, so he doesn't necessarily notice if he bangs his head on a doorframe hard enough to put a hole in the wall.
* This problem can sometimes happen with Benders in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' especially inexperienced ones.
** Katara breaks an iceberg by unconsciously Water Bending while fuming and giving TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to her brother Sokka, she also freezes Sokka by accident later.
** Aang having more training with his airbending has less trouble, though he still goes flying several stories into the air ''by sneezing'', more hijinks occur when Aang unintentionally defeating foes and causing damage his powers. Though this is ''not'' PlayedForLaughs when he first uses Firebending and burns Katara when he can't control it.
*** In a similar vein Zuko accidentally burns Toph when she startles Zuko by waking him up.
** In the sequel series the titular heroine [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Korra]] sometimes forgets her SuperStrength as when she gives [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3c/c8/85/3cc88510682ce667172a95f18de80048.jpg a heartwarming (but overly vigorous) bear hug to Tenzin and kids and later lifts a man along with the chair he was tied to unconsciously]]. Not to be outdone, Bolin a BoisterousBruiser lifted an [[https://i.imgur.com/zwsrJGS.gif?1 Asami off the ground in one big hug]] and another time lifted [[https://25.media.tumblr.com/9993f3bb9009519d720a3a8fc5830c65/tumblr_mwbni0Sh2h1rdfsmyo2_500.gif Korra, Asami and his older brother Mako]] in a even bigger hug.
* On the more realistic side of things, Bill Dauterive in ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' has a surprisingly high amount of strength despite what his age and body-type would imply. Back in his football days, he was known as the "Billdozer" for his uncanny ability to just keep pushing through an opposing team's entire defensive line to make a goal. Even at his current age, he's able to pull off similar feats if the situation is dire enough, and the reason he rarely does is because he has so little self-confidence that he never really tries.
* Shujaa the gorilla in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' keeps causing damage because of this. Scar gets his minions to pick fights with the guard to get Shujaa to cause more damage. Beshte, the hippo who’s the guard’s strongest, teaches him how to slow down and think before he acts. Interestingly, Beshte himself has this happen at the Tree of Life when he is trying to meet new animals. They think he’s attacking and have to be re introduced to see he’s not a bad guy.
* Bulkhead of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has this problem fairly often, in no small part to being the biggest Autobot and in a world much too small for him. In [[http://www.hasbro.com/monkeybartv/default.cfm?page=Entertainment/Videos/VideoSelect&aid=3656 an online short]], he's shown causing gale-force winds to blow away a park full of people just by applauding.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime,'' Bulkhead says that the Autobots know both when to use force and how much to use... and breaks some of Ratchet's equipment by way of demonstration.[[note]] "[[PhraseCatcher Bulkhead,]] [[CatchPhrase I NEEDED that!]]"[[/note]] Unlike ''Animated'' Bulkhead, this version isn't clumsy but it's implied that he still heavily restrains himself because even among Cybertronians he is an abnormally big and powerful bot. Part of his relationship with Miko is her encouraging him to unleash his strength when necessary.
* Mr. Strong on ''WesternAnimation/TheMrMenShow''. His CatchPhrase always comes up after an incident involving his strength: "Aw, I ''barely touched it.''"
* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E5And6OnlyADream Only a Dream]]" referenced this trope. When Dr. Destiny traps Superman in his worst nightmare, said nightmare involves Superman losing control of his strength and accidentally crushing ComicBook/JimmyOlsen to death when he tries to hug him. Of course, Superman's NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech in the grand finale mentions that he's constantly holding himself back, for fear of hurting those around him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' in "The Super-Batman of Planet X" when Green Arrow arrives on Zur-En-Arrh to retrieve Batman, he unknowingly becomes a FlyingBrick in the alien atmosphere. Ollie is very surprised when he indents the rocket with his hand, then quickly becomes gleeful as he starts flying around, then Batman ever the killjoy comes in and removes Green Arrow's superpowers much to the latter’s disappointment.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' episode "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesBaitAndSwitch Bait And Switch]]," Reed experiences this as a result of having switched powers with Ben.
* The infant Bamm-Bamm on ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones''. Later spinoffs (that feature Bamm-Bamm as a child, teenager or adult) usually show him as fully aware of/in control of his strength. [[Music/WeirdAlYankovic "He's the strongest toddler in the whole land, tear your arm off it he shakes your hand..."]]
* George Jetson becomes this in ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' when he gains super strength from a thinking device which breaks down causing him to be stuck in this form. He breaks everything at the slightest touch.
* WesternAnimation/KimPossible had a few of these moments when she briefly ended up with the SuperStrength of Hego, a SupermanSubstitute. For most of those moments, though, she hadn't yet realized what had happened, making it a ''literal'' case of not knowing her own strength.
* ''WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries'' focuses on Herc's teen years and has this as a running gag.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'''s ComicBook/{{Starfire}} is an [[HumanAliens alien]] from a planet where ''everybody'' has superstrength, resulting, when she comes to Earth, in a world-of-cardboard effect as Superman described it (not the trope). Particularly unfortunate as she fond of [[TheGlomp hugging her friends]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** In "Luna Eclipsed", Princess Luna renders Fluttershy unconscious by hugging her. She also makes cracks in the ground with her footsteps a few times.
** Derpy Hooves. She's also TheKlutz. Needless to say, it's a recipe for disaster.
** In "A Canterlot Wedding," [[spoiler: [[VileVillainSaccharineShow Queen Chrysalis]] is shocked to find that consuming the love between Princess Cadance and Shining Armor has given her enough power to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu defeat]] [[BigGood Princess]] [[PhysicalGod Celestia]] in a one-on-one WizardDuel]].
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom Part 2]]", Twilight has trouble performing even the most basic magic after the power transfer, blowing up the door to the Golden Oaks Library simply by trying to open it and briefly [[TeleportSpam teleporting to random spots all across Equestria]]. It isn't until Tirek comes after her that she gets a handle on her power, if only because she's no longer trying to hold it back.
** In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E21ARockhoofAndAHardPlace A Rockhoof and a Hard Place]]", Rockhoof starts a new job as a teacher at the School of Friendship, and immediately starts breaking things due to being careless with his raw strength. (presumably, Equestria 1000 years ago didn't have as many breakable things)
** Baby ponies are shown to have this issue, with the Cakes being warned their newborn twins Pound and Pumpkin will have this issue by Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. They're right, and Pinkie Pie finds this out [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter the hard way]]. Princess Flurry Heart is a baby ''Alicorn'' and a large part of the damage she causes is because she has no idea how powerful she actually is.
* Nanny of ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' suffered from this, causing many instances of ThereWasADoor and WeHaveTheKeys.
* In ''Franchise/Ben10'', Ben has a [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum rarely-unlocked]] form called Way Big. He's a nod to the heroes of the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' and is cosmically-powered, so his strength is not simply what his size implies if you ignore the SquareCubeLaw. The race's native environment is ''inside cosmic storms'' and they really aren't born to live in a world with anyone or anything that's breakable. A ''great deal'' of real estate can be obliterated with little effort if Ben doesn't keep himself in check, as witnessed once in a story taking place in the future: A villain made the ''grave'' error of [[PapaBear hurting Ben's son]]. When Ben [[CurbStompBattle flattened him with one punch]], a decent chunk of the city got [[DestructiveSavior flattened as well]].
* ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'': Bullwinkle invokes the line on himself in a bumper of his show after pulling a wild animal out of his hat instead of his intended rabbit.
* Really Really Big Man, the resident superhero of ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'', suffers from this problem, especially in his day job as a mild-mannered (female) reporter, as he cheerfully walks into the office, ripping off doors and smashing holes in the floorboards with each step. Even as his heroic self, he seems somewhat unaware of just how potentially destructive he can be, as those lovable little Poots find out to their cost...
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' has several characters such as Ed, Sarah and Rolf showing feats of superstrength, and sometimes (mostly Ed) causing collateral damage because of it. In "Eds-aggerate", Rolf even hangs a lampshade when he pulls some of the kids out of a pipe, they get sent flying and land on a wheelbarrow full of dirt, catapulting the contents right onto himself.
-->'''Rolf''': Rolf is too strong for his own good.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', a nebbish archaelogist discovers how to transfer the power of TheJuggernaut from Cain Marko to himself. Immediately after becoming Juggernaut he accidentally tears off the door from his fridge.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'':
** Bad Kaeloo has SuperStrength, but sometimes forgets about it. In one episode, she hugs her friends [[YourHeadAsplode and their heads explode.]]
** In one episode, Eugly gives Stumpy a high-five which sends him flying into the air and crashing into a nearby tree.
* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' has a parody of ''Film/ManOfSteel'' in which Pa Kent suffers a heart attack. Clark attempts to provide CPR, but his super breath inflates and deflates Pa like a balloon until his hands and feet pop off. Then he tries chest compressions and collapses Pa's chest while sending his head flying.
* ''WesternAnimation/ZekesPad'': In "Art is Bigger Than Life", Zeke's drawing accidentally turns him into an eight-foot-tall massive muscle bound freak. Not knowing his own strength, Zeke breaks things, rips off doors, and is generally misunderstood.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* There's a nervous system disorder that prevents people from telling quite how much pressure they're applying to something -- though unless they're ridiculously strong, it's rarely ever a problem. Or unless they're handling something light and delicate, like paper or a neurosurgical operation. Children with this condition can have serious problems when it comes to things like pencils and crayons- they can't accurately gauge how hard they're holding them so they regularly snap them. This can also cause severe difficulty in learning how to write- holding the pencil or pen too hard makes writing neatly difficult and causes significant strain on the writer's hand.
* Inverted (cruelly) with leprosy. It's not that they injure others, but that they injure themselves since their sense of touch is severely reduced. Couple that with a high rate of infections leading to gangrene and disfigurement. Thankfully [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy#Treatment there is a cure]].
** Far, far more prevalent is diabetes, where neuropathy (damage to nerves) combined with poor circulation lead to this, eventually resulting in a terrifying amount of preventable amputations. It's also much harder to reverse diabetes than eliminate leprosy. There are other causes of neuropathy as well.
* Though nowhere near as extreme in fiction, can happen with some people devoid of any nervous disorders. Common with young men who are just realizing that they've suddenly gained a bunch of muscle mass.
* And athletes. It's not uncommon for water polo players to under-estimate their strength and over-estimate the other player's strength, and dunk someone/give them a nosebleed/really hurt someone without realizing it.
* Wrestling/AndreTheGiant was this way. He was extremely careful in the ring because of it. Unless you pissed him off.
* An example of how this can be an ACTUAL thing: Wrestling/JimCornette once did an interview, where he related the story of a wrestler who once got jumped by a ringside fan. Cornette (never known for his physical prowess) claimed the fan was so small HE could have beaten the guy up; the wrestler the fan jumped was "Wrestling/HerculesHernandez". Being part of the pre-litigious era, the man was restrained and held backstage, and after returning from the match, Hercules slapped the fan so hard he knocked the guy off his feet, into the wall, and onto the ground unconscious. [[Wrestling/TheMidnightExpress Cornette's group]] was the next scheduled match, they walked over the poor fellow, had the match, returned back and he was ''still out cold''. Cornette asked Hercules why, if he was THAT angry, didn't he just punch the guy? The response: "Oh Jimmy, if you punch a guy you might hurt him!"
* [[Wrestling/LisaMarieVaron Victoria]] slapped Wrestling/BethPhoenix in 2006... breaking Beth's jaw in the process.
* At Over The Limit 2010, [[Wrestling/RonKillings R-Truth]] slapped Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr so hard ''that he got a concussion.''
* Basketball player Charles Barkley once hugged a teammate into the emergency room. WHOOPS!
** Even non-athletes can hug hard enough to seriously restrict breathing, especially if two people hug someone at the same time.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1uVC0VlqwY Beyonslay]] may fit this trope. Look at what she did to Rice Rocket!
* People who hit their [[HugeSchoolgirl growth period]] before their peers can exhibit this. Sometimes it sticks, particularly for those who end up ''very'' large. It can be hard to estimate just how much damage you can do when you don't work out but are still 6+ feet.
* Scientists are currently working on robots that are made of soft materials, because hard ones are not equipped to handle delicate objects. There are also efforts to measure exactly how much power it takes for a robot arm to injure people, so they can fine tune the limiters. One step in this process involved [[http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/robot-punches-humans-name-scientific-progress building a robot arm that hits people]] and asking them to rate their pain on a scale.
* Sadly, lots of small children learn this the hard way with their first pet, especially if they mistakenly try to ride a dog or a cat like a horse, which can cause serious back injuries to the pet. And on the flipside, many pets don't always realize that their humans aren't as tough as they are, causing incidents when an excited large dog knocks a child over or an energetic horse gives a playful buck that dislodges his rider.
* Individuals with frequent seizures can be abnormally strong, which is why you either get a half dozen people to help sedate one who is out of control or you have one try to gentle calm them down. This is not so much "abnormally strong" as that they don't have the natural limiters on using their strength and are instead flailing about uncontrollably. A normal person knows not to hit something that won't move, like a wall, with their full strength. A person having a seizure doesn't have that option.
* In a similar vein, many martial arts involve training yourself to shut out those limiters on cue, not unlike the effect of an adrenaline rush. A karate novice can't chop a pile of wooden boards with their bare hand because they're subconsciously holding back, which ironically is likely to result in an injured hand if they try, whereas a skilled practitioner can do it with no ill effects.
* In athletics in general someone may see their physical strength improve with regards to one specific area (like weight training) only to not realize how it translates into another sport. Thus you start playing basketball and suddenly shoot the ball over the backboard. Or a friend starts to playfully wrestle with you and you lift them off the ground.
* Bionic limbs. It is technologically challenging to generate realistic feedback of how a real arm is supposed to feel, so it is possible for someone with a bionic arm to apply too much force because they can't feel the pressure themselves.
[[/folder]]

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* [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength/AnimeAndManga Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** Played straight when Clark is depicted as a child who realistically doesn't know his own strength as seen in ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1'' ([[http://www.comicbookreligion.com/img/_num/18000/18225.jpg here]]). After the 1986 reboot, some writers declared that he only developed his powers at a late age to avoid it.
** An excellent 1960s issue of ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' dealt with a villain tricking young Supes into thinking he had accidentally killed Comicbook/LanaLang with a careless display of strength. Grief-stricken, Superboy turns himself in to the police and sits brooding in a jail cell, giving the villain and his mooks a free window of opportunity to commit crimes unopposed. Naturally, it's all a ruse, and Lana turns out to have been merely kidnapped and is totally unharmed.
** One story from the '90s saw Supes' strength start increasing exponentially. This trope definitely came into play then.
** Some versions of ComicBook/KryptoTheSuperdog apply this trope. Being just a dog, he really doesn't know his own strength.
** Many, many times in various Superman comics other people would gain Superman's strength. This trope almost always applies.
** In ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'' Superman accidentally rips a door off its hinges right after recovering his powers.
** One Bronze Age story had Superman's strength seeming to increase beyond his ability to control, and he resorted to a super sunscreen to block his absorption of the sun's rays. It turned out to be a trick by [[PowersAsPrograms the Parasite,]] who was specifically leeching Superman's ''ability to control his strength,'' making his strength seem like it was increasing, while the sunscreen was in fact rendering him weaker and weaker. At the climax, as he's realized too late what was happening and is plummeting to his death because he can't fly any more, he removes his ''boots'' because he hadn't put any sunscreen on his feet, and absorbs just enough sunlight mojo while falling to survive the impact.
** In ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', ''ComicBook/SuperboyPrime'' attacks Conner Kent, beating him badly whilst causing a huge amount of damage to the town of Smallville, until a (fairly large) group(s) of other heroes arrive as back-up. When a heroine named Pantha calls him a "stupid kid" and attacks him in which Superboy retaliates by smacking her across the face... He ends up taking her head off and killing her, he is completely shocked when he notices the blood on his hand and has a mini breakdown.
** In ''Superman Annual #8'', Pounder, one of a far-future League of Supermen who have each been genetically engineered to have ''one'' of Superman's powers, has support staff who have to do ''everything'' for him, because it's not safe for him to touch things. (The whole League is BlessedWithSuck, in fact.)
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin'', a teenage Clark Kent, whose powers were just beginning to emerge, really had no idea how strong he was. It caused problems when he tried to play football with his friends and accidentally broke Pete Ross's arm.
** On the other hand, ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' does this on occasion, for example in one of Redan's ''Batman and Superman'' comic strips. Then again, she was still learning to control her powers. One of the explicit differences between Superman and Supergirl is that Superman has mental blocks he imposed on himself so there's an upper limit to how much power he'll use, while Supergirl has no such blocks, allowing her to at times be ''stronger'' than her cousin.
** In the 1970 story "Supergirl's Lost Uniform", Supergirl while in her Linda Danvers identity lifted what she thought was a fake 500-lb weight and twirled it like a baton. The fake was the one next to it. Oops.
** During one of her first fights against Reactron in the ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Post-Crisis title]]'', she pulls a man out of a building at super-speed and accidentally breaks his arm in three different places.
** In ''[[Comicbook/Supergirl2011 Supergirl Volume 6]]'' #27--the beginning of the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline--Supergirl kicks ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'' so hard that she--apparently--kills him. Kara is so upset that she swears she didn't want to kill him and she cries she doesn't know her own strength.
--->'''Supergirl:''' I don't even know my own strength!
** ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'': As she is wandering naked around Gotham City's docks, Kara is harassed by a man. Kara grabs his hand, intending to shove it away, and she accidentally crushes his fingers.
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'', as Kara is learning how to drive, she puts her foot on the brake... and through the bottom of the car. When it happens, her foster mother cries out "Again?".
** ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'': In the first chapter, Kara breaks her desk when she puts her hand on it. And in the second chapter she puts her hand through the wall when she is writing on a chalkboard.
** In ''ComicBook/LastDaughterOfKrypton'', Supergirl is not aware of her massive stregnth when her rocket crashes on Earth and she wakes up from her artificial sleep. So, she is downright shocked when she punches a robot -in reality, a soldier in PoweredArmor- beyond the horizon.
** ''ComicBook/StrangersAtTheHeartsCore'': Wanting to increase her physical strength, Shyla Kor-Onn did set up a strength-leeching machine on the top of a building. Unfortunately, she forgot about her new magnified strength when she went to turn the machine off; she pushed it off the ledge, and accidentally crushed an innocent bystander.
** In ''ComicBook/Supergirl1984'', Kara emerges out of her pod after landing on Earth and starts exploring her surroundings. Feeling marveled by world's nature, she picks a rock, unaware of her newly-gained super-strength, and gets shocked when the stone unexpectedly shatters into a million bits.
--->'''Supergirl:''' ''"It's so hard...So rough to the touch! I wonder if...I--I broke it! But...I was never that strong before!"''
** ''ComicBook/GirlPower'': As saving the Air Force One, Kara rips one wing off because she has not yet achieved complete control of her SuperStrength.
** ComicBook/PowerGirl has a long history of breaking or outright destroying things when she loses her temper. Fortunately, this usually results in getting it back under control.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
** When Peter Parker first got his powers, he [[https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-780e185b1c9e4d88191097336d2eb81b-c accidentally crushed a steel pipe]] "like it was paper".
** Later Spidey gets into a boxing match with JerkJock Flash Thompson, knowing he could seriously injure Flash if he didn't pull his punches, Peter puts a fraction of his strength into a love tap punch. ''Not gentle enough however'', [[https://static4.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11125/111256920/5549483-4785072468-asm8-.jpg as Flash goes flying out of the ring]] of course most of Peter's classmates think it's a fluke.
** Similar occurrence happens in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' when Peter first got his powers, he tried to avoid Flash's attacks during a school fight, and managed to [[PunchCatch stop his fist]]. But, by doing so, he broke his hand. Uncle Ben and Aunt May [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome were sued for hospital bills by Flash's parents]].
** When ComicBook/DoctorOctopus took [[GrandTheftMe over Peter's body]], he was unaccustomed to Spider-man's strength and was surprised when he punched Scorpion in the face that [[OneHitKill he tore his jaw off and nearly killed him]]. It was quite the FridgeHorror for the Octavius as he realized Spidey was [[IamNotLeftHanded holding back all the time]] and could've killed half his RoguesGallery but Peter was [[AfraidofTheirOwnStrength was always careful]] of hurting his foes as well his loved ones.
** When rebounding with the TheSymbiote Spidey to fight Red Goblin, Spidey gets enraged when Flash is mortally wounded and with a single punch sends Norman flying through two skyscrapers. Interestingly it's Flash who calms Peter down knowing Spider-Man will break his ThouShaltNotKill if he continues in that state.
* Jack in the comic book ''ComicBook/NextMen'' cannot control his super-strength and has to be guided places so he does not break objects by accidentally brushing up against them.
* ''Franchise/XMen'':
** When ComicBook/{{Colossus}} is [[ShapeshifterModeLock stuck in transformed form]] he gets angsty about people seeing him as a monster. He then proceeds to try and call his team from a phonebooth but since he is frustrated, trying to dial the number causes his fingers to punch right through the phone.
** ComicBook/{{Rogue}} accidentally snaps Grim Reaper's neck with a single punch after she absorbed Wonder Man's powers. [[IamNotLeftHanded She was holding back]].
** In a ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'' series, there is a grown-up mutant with super strength but the intelligence of an infant. A horse tries to kick him and he punches it, then he gets upset because he can't put the horse's head back on.
** Wolverine himself in his OriginStory permanently disfigured his brother Dog when he slapped him in the face... not knowing he'd just [[WolverineClaws gained some claws]] at the time.
* Done tragically in Franchise/TheDCU {{Elseworld}} story "Created Equal". The second issue of the two-parter starts InMediasRes [[spoiler:a five-year-old Alex Kent has accidentally killed his mother, Lois, by hugging her]].
* In ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'', the narration mentions that the Captain once knocked a man's lungs out of his chest by patting him on the back... but in his defense, he was drunk.
* The titular character in ''ComicBook/{{Concrete}}'' is very much BlessedWithSuck in this regard, being a half-ton stone man who doesn't dare try to hold anything breakable.
* The titular character in ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'' suffers because of this. Since she's only 6, it leads to really funny situations (although not so funny for her parents, who have to pay for the broken stuff). Jimmy Five and Smudgy feel in their skins what her inhuman strength causes, most often in the form of physical retribution for their infallible plans to "defeat" her, though she's been known to throw around the comic's Superman {{expy}}. It's all in AmusingInjuries territory.
* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' villain The Russian squeezed a mook to death with a one armed hug... ''accidentally''. He was genuinely trying to be friendly!
* The [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]] introduced Citizen Steel, who ''literally'' doesn't know his own strength -- the accident that gave him his powers also deadened his sense of touch, meaning he can't feel how much force he's exerting. He walks around in a costume he was ''cast into'' so that he can control it.
* Obelix from ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' does seem to know his strength... he is just apparently unaware that not everyone possesses that strength, hence his failure to understand the difference between "knock on the door" and "smash the door" and why no-one around him is able to carry tiny menhirs.
* In the last issue of the Marvel MAX ''Barracuda'' miniseries, Barracuda pats the young hemophiliac he had been charged with turning into a cold blooded killer on the back... killing him. To be fair, Barracuda is a fucking beast of a man, but that's... dang, son.
* In ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', being a god-empowered superbeing stopped being fun for Osiris after he killed his sister Isis' attacker, the Persuader, by flying into him too hard.
* A lot of humour stemmed from the use of this trope in the 1970s comic strip ''Wee Ben Nevis'' which featured in ''ComicBook/TheBeano''. This trope is also frequently used in ''ComicBook/TheDandy'''s most famous strip ''Desperate Dan''.
* The title character from ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' also fits this trope. Basically a Superman expy, in one scene where he visits one of the many sets of foster parents he had as a child, we see him feeding their severely disabled (adult) biological son. Turns out he was there the day that Jr. came home from the hospital with Mum...he just wanted to give his new baby brother a hug...
* Present all over in ''ComicBook/SavageDragon'': Smasher taking the head off her husband with a single punch, Dragon killing Solar Man when the latter lost his powers in midfight, both resulting in messy YourHeadAsplode moments. Those are just two of many examples.
* ComicBook/SheHulk, who provides the page image, is usually not an example. However there's a storyline where she works out like crazy to beat a much stronger opponent (she intelligently uses a quirk of her physiology which increases greatly, in her Hulk form, the effects of workout in her "normal" form). This increases her strength to the point that she breaks nearly everything she touches, until she gets a PowerLimiter suit.
* One ComicBook/LuckyLuke story had a pathetically wimpy guy (he has to carry lead weights so the wind doesn't blow him away) turn into a musclebound human nearly overnight with Luke's help. However, he has difficulty adapting, and crushes glasses he's trying to pick up and rips the saloon's doors off.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' upon developing his [[FlyingBrick Viltrumite powers]] Mark accidentally [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/imagecomics/images/b/b0/Invincible_Vol_1_1_001.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150310155932 throws a garbage bag into orbit]] while taking out the trash. He becomes a superhero soon after. Similarly at his graduation Mark accidentally [[https://2.bp.blogspot.com/7Voqoy-uVFZecV2y3News8MBits-gBlITu68AgZHYw1hiYLL0YB9CA_U4lJmlhVJFV8KOMSen59t=s1600 throws his square academic cap into orbit]]. PlayedForDrama later as a horrified Mark nearly kills and permanently disfigures Angstorm Levy, since Mark assumes Levy has the SuperToughness to take a [[ExtremeMeleeRevenge rage-filled beating]] from him. He doesn't.
* Becomes a source of angst for The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of ''Comicbook/{{Superboy|New52}}'' when he realizes that he can't be around ordinary people without killing them.
* A telekinesis version in the case of Hellion of the [[Comicbook/NewXMenAcademyX New X-Men]]: After the battle against Nimrod when he asks Emma Frost to unlock his powers' full potential so he can get Comicbook/{{X 23}} back to Elixir to save her life, he suddenly loses all fine control of his powers. When Beast asks him to move a ''paperclip'' he instead blows out ''an entire wall''.
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': When Tim has [[PsychoSerum Aramilla]] forced into his system and ends up fighting ComicBook/LadyShiva he accidentally kills her due to his lack of control and temporary powers. He's able to revive her, but it transfers some of the drug into Shiva's system allowing her to kill everyone else in the room in a whirlwind attack to Tim's horror.
* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'':
** In ''ComicBook/ShazamTheNewBeginning'', Billy Batson as Captain Marvel does have some problems with handling his super-strength, as he lands on the roof of his Uncle Dudley's apartment building and makes a hole in the roof while doing so, or tries to open up a locked door and breaks off the handle by accident.
** In the ComicBook/New52 [[https://bookhound.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/shazam-vol-1-03.jpg Billy nearly kills a mugger by smacking him into a car]] when the latter accosted a woman.
* ''ComicBook/Transformers2019'':
** Road Rage attempts to tackle a terrorist but forgets that organic beings are a lot squishier than Cybertronians and accidentally crushes him into pulp rather than capturing him alive as she'd intended.
** The Constructicons are so strong that Hook inadvertently kills an unlucky worker with a TapOnTheHead.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': In [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie]]'s first fight after having her powers unlocked she's quite suprised at being able to toss ComicBook/{{Artemis}} down the street. Unlike most examples she's also ''delighted'', because not only can Artemis take it she also jumped into the fight--which she likely wouldn't have survived without powers--without knowing for sure what they were.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
[[AC:Series/{{Arrowverse}}]]
* In the beginning of ''Series/Supergirl2015'' story ''Fanfic/{{Survivors}}'', [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] isn't conscious of her tremendous strength. Then she crushes a supposedly unbreakable baby's bottle… and later she accidentally bruises her cousin's arm when she holds him… so she compels herself to be careful.
-->She had figured out as the day wore on that she had to hold Kal very lightly. She had squeezed a bit too hard and he cried earlier. She didn't think she had squeezed hard at all but there was a small bruise on his arm. Kara was becoming stronger and everything seemed to become softer, more brittle. It was like living in a world of delicate glass.

[[AC:Crossover]]
* ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'' (''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' & ''Franchise/SpiderMan''): Izuku first discovers his SuperStrength when he destroys his desk by gripping it too hard while trying to dodge one of Bakugou's explosions. When Kamui Woods comes to retrieve Izuku, who has since crawled up the side of a building, he puts the Hero's hand in a death grip until he's asked to ease up. The day after that, Izuku accidentally shoves Bakugou all the way down the hallway and struggles to avoid snapping his pencils in half.
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'':
** Godzilla is turned into a Unicorn, but retains a great deal of his power. When he tries to punch a punching bag, it bursts. In this case it's less he's unused to his power and more he's unused to everything around him that's of a similar size being that fragile.
** While visiting an injured Xenilla in the hospital, Destroyah tries to give him a friendly nudge, but presses too hard on his ribs. He barely stops himself from screaming.
* ''Fanfic/FateKill'' (''Manga/AkameGaKill'' & ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''): It is mentioned that the Heiwa tribe doesn't normally use weapons because they are so strong that any weapon they try to use breaks. Shirou provides them with many of his traced weapons, which are more durable than the regular kind and can survive being used by them, making them very grateful.
* ''Fanfic/FatesCollide'' (Franchise/FateSeries & ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''):
** Chloe von Einzbern pulls a rope that rings the von Einzbern mansion's doorbell too hard and it breaks. Archer fixes it.
** Iskandar tends to squeeze too hard when he hugs people.
* ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'' (''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' & Website/TVTropes; author DiedDuringProduction): Kyon.
** Because of the nature of his training he knows martial arts but he doesn't remember any experience with them, including the specific effects of his attacks on opponents. After the fight on chapter 12, Iyouji was surprised when he had to ask how bad were the injuries he made on the Mooks.
** In a later chapter, a FictionalDocument reminded that while getting new powers were good, one should also learn to be careful with them.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11948484/1/MagicTale MagicTale]]'' (''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' & ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''): Played with given that [[Videogame/{{Undertale}} Undyne]] knows how strong she is, but is used to everything being made out of stone or metal, resulting in her frequently breaking wooden objects. Though in the case of one door, she simply wasn't aware which way it opened, causing her to knock it off its hinges. Likewise, she's not quite aware of how fragile humans are. A friendly pat on a cook's back dislocated his shoulders.

[[AC:Franchise/TheDCU]]
* ''Fanfic/SupermanAndMan'': A third party magically makes Creator/ChristopherReeve exchange bodies unwillingly with Franchise/{{Superman}}. Reeve realizes what has happened when he accidentally crushes a nightstand clock.

[[AC:FusionFic]]
* ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'' (Franchise/TheDCU & ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''): Izuku had no idea just how strong he was after his Kryptonian SuperStrength manifested at the age of four, tearing a door right off his hinges by accident after being diagnosed as Quirkless and literally bouncing off the walls in his excitement. He became keenly aware of how dangerous it makes him when he accidentally threw Katsuki Bakugou across a park, past a road, and straight through a stone wall while imitating All Might, horrifying him into [[AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength the opposite of this trope.]]

[[AC:''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' / ''Franchise/KingKong'' / Franchise/MonsterVerse]]
* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonMonsterX Dr. Vivienne Graham]] has an eviscerating variation of this when she first awakens reborn as a {{Kaiju}}: when she grabs a man while trying to ask him for help, she accidentally ''cuts him in half'' due to her new strength and claws.

[[AC:''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'']]
* ''Fanfic/TheMoreThingsChangeSeries'': Following the events of the GrandFinale, with his Mystical Monkey Power now fully accessible, Ron has had moments of this, such as throwing Kim too hard, breaking a force gauge machine, and smashing a hole in a wall.

[[AC:Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse]]
* The ''Captain America'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21073415 Grateful]]'' has post-SuperSerum Steve snap his pencil in half after attempting to draw.

[[AC:''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'']]
* ''Fanfic/AGreenDragonsHoard'': Izuku is ''ridiculously'' strong, using weights of up to ten metric tons with ease. Besides referenced instances like accidentally uprooting a tree, the wind generated from Izuku casually waving his hand almost knocks Manami over.

[[AC:''Franchise/MyLittlePony'']]
* In ''Fanfic/ItTakesAVillage'', after his growth spurt, Spike finds himself much stronger than he is used to, as well as being physically larger. This results in him breaking things by applying to much force, and banging into stuff when he moves like he did when he was smaller.
* ''Fanfic/TheStarsAscendant'': Twilight is unaware of the fact that her fight with Tirek has revealed that she is as powerful as every non-alicorn in Equestria combined. Celestia feels guilty, both for underestimating Twilight Sparkle and for putting all of Equestria in danger unnecessarily by not trusting Twilight to be strong enough to win.

[[AC:''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'']]
** ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8649007/1/Kitsune-s-Power Kitsune's Power]]'': Naruto ends up becoming inhumanly strong, except Naruto's only five at the time. As he grows older, he spars with Rock Lee under Maito Gai's direction, resulting in Lee becoming even faster and stronger than in canon. Butterflies ensue and Naruto becomes Anko's apprentice.

[[AC:''Franchise/NeonGenesisEvangelion'']]
* ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'':
** During a conversation with [[spoiler:Kaji]] in the chapter 3 of the original version, Shinji admits he does not know what the limits of ''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} his super-strength and his other powers]]'' are and he is still trying figuring it out. The older man reminds him that he has to be careful to not hurt other people.
** In chapter 2 Shinji tried to straighten a falling plane by taking hold of the tail and pulling, but he miscalculated his strength and torn the tail off the plane.
* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Naturally, Asuka has no clue how strong she is once she starts developing her powers. Her first attempt to find out ends in fire and destruction. And that's before she gets heat vision.

[[AC:''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'']]
* ''Fanfic/{{Emergence|RWBY}}'': Yang Xiao Long wakes up in the real world in Syria and is attacked by ISIS terrorists. Her super strong punches end up tearing through them and making them explode. After getting over the initial shock, she finds it difficult to not do this, frustrating her as she wants to take one alive for questioning. Later, when her half-sister Ruby Rose passes a basketball at a boy, it knocks the wind out of him and almost floors him.




[[AC:Dormant/Dead/Unsorted]]
* In chapter 19 of ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo'', Jonathan accidentally snaps a chopstick in two while trying to hold it properly.
* In ''Fanfic/JusticeLeagueOfEquestria'', Rainbow Dash first learns of her newly acquired super strength when she kicks a tree and makes it explode into splinters.
* In ''Fanfic/HarmonyTheory'', Rainbow Dash's power level didn't change, but she's in the distant future where the ponies have become a lot weaker and more fragile than the ponies of her time. She sometimes forgets to check her strength and speed.
* In ''Fanfic/ImaginarySeas'', Percy knows that he has new powers as a Servant that he never had when he was alive, but he doesn't know just how exceptional he is until Chiron shows shock at just how many Noble Phantasms he has, using five without thinking about it even while holding back. It's also played more conventionally when Percy suffers the effects of forcibly taking on Zeus' Klironomia. His body starts spasming so badly that when he tries to grip a tree for support, he ends up ripping it out of the ground and pulls it apart while trying to let go of it.
* Carly and Sam from ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8532906/1/iFightCrimeWithVictorious iFight Crime With Victorious]]'', particularly Sam. When Sam first receives her power, unknowingly, she tosses a soda can at Freddie that knocks him off his feet. Carly, more level-minded, runs into this problem less often, but using it is still a very volatile process.
* In ''Fanfic/CoOpMode'', James almost ends up outing himself as a parahuman when he starts lifting weights several times heavier than what he used to lift inside the school gym. Luckily, the gym coach just mistakes him for having taken [[SuperSerum Tinkertech drugs]].
* Paul, in spades, in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''. Compounded by his having two levels of strength, “low” (where he can lift about 8 tons) and “high” (where he can lift at least 90 tons). After practicing day and night (literally) for several weeks he can act relatively normal at “low” strength (though he still breaks things if he doesn't take care); however, at “high” strength, which he tries not to use unless practicing, he can just barely function in the real world. He is continually conscious of his strength, so that in proximity to other people, he hardly moves, and he never makes sudden gestures.
* In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'' we learn that after Paul returned to Earth, though he was back to normal, he had a tough time readjusting and couldn't easily relate to his family. In particular, fears of what he might do to Linda during sex made him avoid relations with her, which hurt her deeply. He was rather ambivalent about being brought back to C'hou just after he had started to return to normal, though (as was his general wont) he hid this feeling from the others under a mask of brisk competence and cheer. But nearly all the ground he gained with practice in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' disappeared.
* Comes up frequently in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fanfics, particularly those depicting newly-activated Slayers. This is usually how they prove to others that something weird has happened to them.
** In ''[[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-28404-110/DianeCastle%2bXendra.htm Xendra]]'', Buffy has a rough time at a contracting job due to her tendency to destroy things she's working on, and sometimes the tools. Her boss (who knows she's the Slayer) is dumbfounded that she destroyed a wrench that you could run a truck over without bending it.
* [[spoiler:Kallen Kozuki]] in ''Fanfic/JusticeSocietyOfJapan'', to the point that even reaching for a glass of milk without breaking it becomes difficult. On the plus side, she did enjoy her newfound ability to [[NotQuiteFlight leap tall buildings in a single bound]].
* The premise of ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4595834/1/Oops Oops!]]'' is Naruto accidentally distracting the Kyuubi when the latter was enhancing Naruto's body. Naruto ends up [[InsistentTerminology 113]] times stronger than naturally possible, which results in things like leaving fingerprints in brass doorknobs and being unable to feed himself. When Naruto tries to eat some ramen, he shatters the bowl by picking it up. When Shizune feeds him, Naruto bites off the ends of chopsticks without noticing. In the end, Gai has to train Naruto to manage his SuperStrength.
* In ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'', when Asuka started to mutate, her strength increased exponentially... but gradually, so she spent several days breaking things accidentally until she figured out that her physical strength was growing.
* After being magically transformed into Superman in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9356520/3/New-Guard New Guard]]'', Xander has a lot of trouble with his new strength. When encouraged to break out of handcuffs, he's shocked that he actually can and later when he goes to the bathroom, he breaks the urinal.
* ''Fanfic/EquestriaAcrossTheMultiverse'': At the end of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTales'' StoryArc, the Mane Six accidentally discover they [[SuperEmpowering grant others in different worlds Rainbow Powers]] so long as that world didn't already have a set of Elements (and only to a max of seven ponies are once) when they do so to the Tales Seven. In addition to the new SuperMode, all seven get awakened Earth Pony Magic and the SuperStrength that comes with it. Naturally, they have no idea how to control it and end up accidentally breaking things around them. Applejack teaches them how to control it afterwards.
* Mostly played for laughs when Lucy becomes Kryptonian in the ''Series/Supergirl2015'' fanfic ''Fanfic/FutureShock''. First she dopeslaps Kara who can now definitely feel it, and a few chapters later she almost goes nuclear trying to show off for a girl.
* Bakugo in ''Fanfic/TheUndeadSchoolgirlDeadPulse'' doesn't realize how powerful his explosions were because his mind is wired to see them as minor things[[labelnote:*]]A pro hero mentions that it's so Bakugo isn't afraid of his own Quirk and can use it to it's full potential[[/labelnote]]. His mind automatically filters out the noise so they only sound like small pops and what he thought was only enough heat to cause a first degree burn at worst was actually enough to sear and blister flesh even through clothing.
* In ''Fanfic/BuckyBarnesGetsHisGrooveBackAndOtherInternationalIncidents'', Steve Rogers has had some issues on and off with forgetting just how strong he is post-SuperSerum. These days, it seems to happen only when he's either not paying attention or deeply emotionally compromised. Not long after the procedure, he tried drawing again and accidentally snapped his art pencil in two, causing him to [[ClusterFBomb swear up a storm]], and Clint Barton's seen him leave fingerprints in a lead pipe while on an op. Clint also mentions that [[EvenTheGuysWantHim he would totally have a one-night stand with Steve just on account of how attractive he is]], if he were sure Steve wouldn't get too far into the moment and [[ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex accidentally break Clint's pelvis]].
* ''Fanfic/MyIdealAcademia'': Shirou defeats Sasori with an elbow strike that he assumes just knocked him out, but is later informed the strike broke his skull and hospitalized him. Shirou realizes he got too used to fighting Servants who are many times stronger and tougher than humans.
* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': Kryptonian SuperStrength is actually quite user-friendly, with fine control being very achievable, but Kara Zor-El still has an adjustment period when she arrives on Earth. Paul helps her practise by creating a construct punching bag and vase of flowers; she has to punch the bag as hard as possible, then take a flower without breaking it. It's hard to get right.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13526309/20/I-am-Bitch-the-Shield-Hero-s-Slut I am Bitch, the Shield Hero's Slut!]]'': Malty knew she was just over level 40 but it didn't occur to her exactly what that meant until fighting in her first Wave. Monsters in their 30s are cut down with absurd ease and when the captain of a company of knights angers her, she [[AccidentalMurder attacks him in a rage only to cut him in thirds, not realizing how much weaker he was than her]].
* ''Fanfic/AFlowersTouch'': Aerith is wholly unprepared for the strength that comes with Mako enhancements. She's tasked with picking up drinking glasses until she can do so without shattering them just from holding them.
* In ''Fanfic/TheAwakeningOfAMagus'', Harry, thanks to his transformation, becomes much stronger than a regular human, but doesn't even realize it at first. People taking Polyjuice for the sake of IdentityImpersonator take on some of that strength, and need to be careful not to break anything.
[[/folder]]

* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': Hercules is unaware of his heritage as a demi-god with SuperStrength until he's a teenager; his lack of knowledge ''and'' control of his strength made him TheKlutz and [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer shunned by the local villagers]]. Until he learns the truth, goes off to search for Philoctetes and starts [[TookALevelInBadass taking levels in badass]] through his TrainingFromHell...

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsLegendOfEverfree'': The first time Applejack's SuperStrength manifests, she accidentally pulls Rarity to the rock-climbing wall's top with no real effort. Later, she becomes very wary of a repeat incident while working on the dock, wielding her hammer very carefully. She later learns to control it much better, but has a relapse in the Webisode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsOverpowered Overpowered]]", the result of her power getting boosted. She accidentally tears the door off her locker, then crumples it while trying to shove it back in place.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Jason Voorhees has this happen to him in ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives'', when he throws Bert into a tree and, much to his surprise, tears his victim's arm off in the process.
* ''Film/{{Sky High|2005}}'':
** The Commander keep a couple of those mobile landlines in a drawer in case he breaks one on a rant.
** Also, once [[spoiler:Will gets his super strength, he accidentally rips his front door off its hinges by opening it]].
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** In ''Film/SpiderMan1'' Peter is ecstatic when he sends JerkJock Flash Thompson flying with one punch, only this gets subverted as he sees the horror and fear of classmates including MJ. Of course only Harry Osborn is excited at seeing his best friend’s SuperStrength.
** The best bits of humor in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' was Peter struggling with his strength in regular activities e.g. turning off his arm [[RingRingCrunch alarm clock]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=healhFuFq9o brushing his teeth]].
** ''Mostly'' averted with MCU Spider-Man; see below.
* Played with in ''Film/UpUpAndAway''. The protagonist is born into a family of superheroes, but was born without a power. In order to convince his family that he's not a loser, he rigs certain things to fall apart as he uses them, such as taking the screws off the door hinges to make it appear he ripped it off. Played straight with a NoodleIncident for his father, who apparently did quite some damage to his house's foundation. Interestingly, this convinces everyone but his grandfather, who saw right through the ruse.
* ''Film/{{Hancock}}''. Though in his case, it's more a case of him simply not bothering to check his superstrength.
* In ''Film/FantasticFour2005'', ComicBook/TheThing is prone to doing this with drinkwear, though it could also be related to reduced sensation with his new skin making it hard to tell how much he's squeezing. His jaw muscles also increased in strength with the rest of him, as he's seen accidentally biting through the tines of a fork. Also, few chairs support his weight any more, but he doesn't always remember this.
* In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse this sometimes comes up:
** Played most straight in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' after Steve gets the SuperSerum and is [[https://youtu.be/FRWNieb1O58?t=111 surprised to see]] what his body can now do.
** Pepper Potts goes through this twice in ''Film/IronMan3'' first when she uses iconic PoweredArmor and blows herself over trying to get the [[HandBlast repulsor]] working, [[spoiler:in the FinalBattle when injected with the Extremis Virus she was bit shocked after she brutally killed the BigBad Killian]].
--->'''Pepper''' That was really violent.
*** Film/IronMan himself occasionally forgets he is armored plated WalkingArmory as when he took his first joyride in Mark 2 and when he tried to land safely on the roof of his mansion he fell two stories into his workshop... completely overlooking how heavy he was.
** Film/{{Thor}}, despite being BroughtDownToNormal, still had SuperStrength by Earth standards as seen he shoved a doctor off him... sending the doctor flying and causing a riot within the hospital. Much later in ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', the God of Thunder truly [[ShockAndAwe realized]] his namesake and sent the Hulk flying off him with a punch, Thor then stared at electricity flowing on his arms with interest.
** The titular antagonist of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' accidentally slices Klaw's arm when the latter enraged him by comparing him to his creator Tony Stark. He apologizes meekly and half-heartedly as Klaw starts bleeding and gasping in pain and shock.
*** In the same movie Scarlet Witch unconsciously disintegrates three Ultron bots into dust in a moment of despair [[spoiler: after she [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling senses]] that her brother Pietro has died TakingTheBullet]].
** In ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', it's said that Peter Parker has had his powers for six months and is more-or-less used to them. He knows his strength well enough to [[IamNotLeftHanded consciously]] [[ExtremityExtremist hold back]]. Though there shades of this trope like when Spidey does a PunchCatch to Bucky's [[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic arm]] and just geeks over it not knowing how deadly that arm was to everyone else before then. In ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', Spidey simply pushes a mook over and sends him flying into another mook showing how strength is behind he's simplest movements. However, at a few points in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', he slips up when he's stressed, like accidentally knocking his classmate Flash Thompson unconscious with a lovetap or ''snapping a seat belt'' that won't fasten.
** Hulk plays this very straight in ''[[Film/ThorRagnarok Ragnarok]]'' as unlike the previous movies he's just chilling around and not on a UnstoppableRage, at one point he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPC7GYvfYTg unintentionally destroys a whole Quinjet]] just trying to reach his new best friend Thor.
* In the fantasy-''wuxia'' film, ''Film/NaCha'' ''the Great'', the titular hero gains super strength after eating an enchanted fruit his father forbids him from touching. Suddenly feeling himself surging with energy, Na Cha decides to test his strength by punching a nearby tree - and end up splitting said tree into half, splitting all the way to the ground, and for the floor to break apart as well, inadvertantly leading to a mini-earthquake. Cue OhCrap from Na Cha when his father who is caught in the quake finds out what he did.
* The Autobots of the ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie basically destroys Sam's backyard. Part of it may have been scale issues (although Cybertronians are somewhat varied in size, very few shown in the movies are anything near human-sized), but the majority was the fact that Earth construction is considerably more fragile than Cybertronian construction. They were pretty good about not damaging animal life forms, at least.
* In ''Film/SupermanReturns'', Clark accidentally breaks the glass in the picture frame he's holding when Jimmy surprises him with the information that "Lois is a mommy". Also while playing fetch with his mother's dog, Clark accidentally throws the ball a bit ''too'' hard, and it ''sails into such a far distance'', that the dog doesn't even attempt to run and retrieve it just letting out a whine.
* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
** In ''Film/ManOfSteel'' while being bullied in a FlashBack, Clark grips a fence poll to stable his anger. When Pa Kent scares the bully away, it's shown Clark has mangled the metal with his bare hand.
** In ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'' Diana is getting knocked around during her TrainingFromHell and she uses her bracelets to defend herself... and nearly kills her sparring partner with the [[AttackReflector blow back]] scaring the fellow amazons and herself. Done more positively later as Diana is climbing tower but to her horror loses her handhold and falls down but then [[https://youtu.be/qPJHB4EXwgw?t=57 discovers]] she can just dig her hand into the stone with SuperStrength and climb up the fun way.
** ''Film/WonderWoman1984''. Barbara uses the Dreamstone to MakeAWish to be just like Diana Prince, whom she admires for being beautiful and confident, but she has no idea that Diana has superpowers as well. Her first hint is when Barbara goes to open her refrigerator and rips the door off its hinges.
** Downplayed with Barry Allen/the Flash in ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' but he's still surprised that he can [[https://i.makeagif.com/media/3-17-2018/fnPd4q.gif reduce Parademons to mush]] with his SuperSpeed, there'a little FridgeHorror if you consider he could've done to normal humans if wasn't careful.
*** Completely averted in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''. Barry knows the effects of his SuperSpeed on humans, and makes minimal use of it to move people around such as when he saves Iris West from a car accident with extreme care. He also saves a bunch of people in the tunnels battle, but not by moving them unlike the theatrical version, rather by preventing debris from falling on them.
** Invoked a lot in ''Film/Shazam2019'', Billy is ecstatic at being able to punch through concrete but runs into trouble like ripping open his school bag and nearly killing a mugger accidentally. Billy also has trouble with his ShockAndAwe powers not only does he destroy one man's phone while charging it but he nearly gets a bus people filled with people killed with one careless lightning bolt.
* Music/ElvisPresley's boxing movie, ''Kid Galahad''.
* In ''Film/KamenRiderTheFirst'', Hongo Takeshi runs afoul of this trope in a non-comedic manner, trying to save a little girl from being hit by a truck. He scoops her up a little too forcefully, and while he does save her life, she has to be hospitalized anyway due to the pressure he put on her body.
* At the end of ''Film/YoungFrankenstein'', the Monster accidentally rips off Inspector Kemp's wooden arm while shaking hands. Understandable, as the brain hasn't been attached to that body for very long..
* In the [[AllThereInTheManual background material]] for ''Film/TheOne'', [[Creator/JetLi Yulaw]] was first revealed as an interdimensional offender by a fellow agent who long suspected him. He did it by asking him to carry a case upstairs and then revealing that the case was, in fact, loaded with extremely heavy weights and cannot be lifted by a normal person. Yulaw picked up the case and carried it with ease, likely thinking it was full of books. When the agent (a multiple black belts) confronted him, he ended up getting thrown down the stairs and paralyzed from the waist down. It also happens in the film with Gabe Law, who is starting to discover his newfound strength (by accidentally breaking a rifle in half).
* ''Film/{{Moonraker}}''. Jaws tries to pull the ripcord on his parachute... it comes off in his hand. Later on he's chasing Bond in a speedboat, realizes he's heading for an InevitableWaterfall and tries to jerk the steering wheel to the side; it also comes off in his hand. Being MadeOfIron, he survives both OhCrap-[=worthy=] moments unscathed.
[[/folder]]

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', a nebbish archaelogist discovers how to transfer the power of TheJuggernaut from Cain Marko to himself. Immediately after becoming Juggernaut he accidentally tears off the door from his fridge.

* ''ComicStrip/TwistedToyfareTheatre'': The [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] encounters [[Franchise/StarWars Ewoks]]. "Hulk pet fuzzy too hard! Fuzzy pop!" Also the time he petted the bunny too hard. And then did the same with ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}.

* ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'' (''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' & Wiki/TVTropes; author DiedDuringProduction): Kyon.

* Happy S. from ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' doesn't realize just how strong he is sometimes. One episode in particular focused on this - he had to be able to hold some tofu without it crumbling in order for him to be allowed to get a dinosaur egg. He decided to start easy, but found that he couldn't even hold a boulder without it cracking...

** In ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth'', as Kara is learning how to drive, she puts her foot on the brake... and through the bottom of the car. When it happens, her foster mother cries out "Again?".

Compare AndCallHimGeorge, when it happens to (formerly) living things. Related to PowerIncontinence. Could be called the inverse of GentleGiant. Can overlap with UnskilledButStrong. This also plays a part in ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex situations.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Played straight when Supes is depicted as a child who realistically doesn't know his own strength as seen in ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber1'' ([[http://www.comicbookreligion.com/img/_num/18000/18225.jpg here]]). After the 1986 reboot, some writers declared that he only developed his powers at a late age to avoid it.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

** ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'': Cranked UpToEleven, with Sougo Tokiwa. [[spoiler: What was intentionally considered to be Sougo [[DreamingOfThingsToCome seeing future events via dreaming]], it is in reality him unintentionally influencing and even outright shaping the future according to what he sees in those very dreams. In others words, ''Sougo is unconsciously creating new timelines simply by dreaming.'']]

%% * For both ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' and ''Series/TheBionicWoman,'' this was a regular issue. Taken UpToEleven in the third reunion movie ''Bionic Ever After,'' when he attempted to help her with her misfunctioning right arm and the rotation caught him full in the chest.

** Baby ponies are shown to have this issue, with the Cakes being warned their newborn twins Pound and Pumpkin will have this issue by Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. They're right, and Pinkie Pie finds this out [[BadlyBatteredBabysitter the hard way]]. Taken UpToEleven with Princess Flurry Heart, who is a baby ''Alicorn'' and a large part of the damage she causes is because she has no idea how powerful she actually is.

** In ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E26TwilightsKingdomPart2 Twilight's Kingdom Part 2]]'', Twilight has trouble performing even the most basic magic after the power transfer, blowing up the door to the Golden Oaks Library simply by trying to open it and briefly [[TeleportSpam teleporting to random spots all across Equestria]]. It isn't until Tirek comes after her that she gets a handle on her power, if only because she's no longer trying to hold it back.
** In ''[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E21ARockhoofAndAHardPlace A Rockhoof and a Hard Place]]'', Rockhoof starts a new job as a teacher at the School of Friendship, and immediately starts breaking things due to being careless with his raw strength. (presumably, Equestria 1000 years ago didn't have as many breakable things)

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}},'' Ben has a [[HoldingBackThePhlebotinum rarely-unlocked]] form called Way Big. He's a nod to the heroes of the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' and is cosmically-powered, so his strength is not simply what his size implies if you ignore the SquareCubeLaw. The race's native environment is ''inside cosmic storms'' and they really aren't born to live in a world with anyone or anything that's breakable. A ''great deal'' of real estate can be obliterated with little effort if Ben doesn't keep himself in check, as witnessed once in a story taking place in the future: A villain made the ''grave'' error of [[PapaBear hurting Ben's son]]. When Ben [[CurbStompBattle flattened him with one punch]], a decent chunk of the city got [[DestructiveSavior flattened as well]].

* Much like the above example, the ''Captain America'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21073415 Grateful]]'' has post-SuperSerum Steve snap his pencil in half after attempting to draw.
* ''Fanfic/FateKill'': It is mentioned that the Heiwa tribe doesn't normally use weapons because they are so strong that any weapon they try to use breaks. Shirou provides them with many of his traced weapons, which are more durable than the regular kind and can survive being used by them, making them very grateful.

* In ''Fanfic/AGreenDragonsHoard'', Izuku is ''ridiculously'' strong, using weights of up to ten metric tons with ease. Besides referenced instances like accidentally uprooting a tree, the wind generated from Izuku casually waving his hand almost knocks Manami over.

* In chapter 19 of ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo'', Jonathan accidentally snaps a chopstick in two while trying to hold it properly.
* In ''Fanfic/JusticeLeagueOfEquestria'', Rainbow Dash first learns of her newly acquired super strength when she kicks a tree and makes it explode into splinters.
* In ''Fanfic/TheStarsAscendant'', Twilight is unaware of the fact that her fight with Tirek has revealed that she is as powerful as every non-alicorn in Equestria combined. Celestia feels guilty, both for underestimating Twilight Sparkle and for putting all of Equestria in danger unnecessarily by not trusting Twilight to be strong enough to win.
* In ''Fanfic/SupermanAndMan'', a third party magically makes Creator/ChristopherReeve exchange bodies unwillingly with Franchise/{{Superman}}. Reeve realizes what has happened when he accidentally crushes a nightstand clock.
* In ''Fanfic/ItTakesAVillage'', after his growth spurt, Spike finds himself much stronger than he is used to, as well as being physically larger. This results in him breaking things by applying to much force, and banging into stuff when he moves like he did when he was smaller.
* In ''Fanfic/HarmonyTheory'', Rainbow Dash's power level didn't change, but she's in the distant future where the ponies have become a lot weaker and more fragile than the ponies of her time. She sometimes forgets to check her strength and speed.
* In ''Fanfic/ImaginarySeas'', Percy knows that he has new powers as a Servant that he never had when he was alive, but he doesn't know just how exceptional he is until Chiron shows shock at just how many Noble Phantasms he has, using five without thinking about it even while holding back. It's also played more conventionally when Percy suffers the effects of forcibly taking on Zeus' Klironomia. His body starts spasming so badly that when he tries to grip a tree for support, he ends up ripping it out of the ground and pulls it apart while trying to let go of it.
* Carly and Sam from ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8532906/1/iFightCrimeWithVictorious iFight Crime With Victorious]]'', particularly Sam. When Sam first receives her power, unknowingly, she tosses a soda can at Freddie that knocks him off his feet. Carly, more level-minded, runs into this problem less often, but using it is still a very volatile process.
* In ''Fanfic/CoOpMode'', James almost ends up outing himself as a parahuman when he starts lifting weights several times heavier than what he used to lift inside the school gym. Luckily, the gym coach just mistakes him for having taken [[SuperSerum Tinkertech drugs]].
* Kyon from ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero''.
** Because of the nature of his training he knows martial arts but he doesn't remember any experience with them, including the specific effects of his attacks on opponents. After the fight on chapter 12, Iyouji was surprised when he had to ask how bad were the injuries he made on the Mooks.
** In a later chapter, a FictionalDocument reminded that while getting new powers were good, one should also learn to be careful with them.
* ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'':
** During a conversation with [[spoiler:Kaji]] in the chapter 3 of the original version, Shinji admits he does not know what the limits of ''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} his super-strength and his other powers]]'' are and he is still trying figuring it out. The older man reminds him that he has to be careful to not hurt other people.
** In chapter 2 Shinji tried to straighten a falling plane by taking hold of the tail and pulling, but he miscalculated his strength and torn the tail off the plane.
* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Naturally, Asuka has no clue how strong she is once she starts developing her powers. Her first attempt to find out ends in fire and destruction. And that's before she gets heat vision.

* ''ComicStrip/TwistedToyfareTheatre'' -- The [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] encounters [[Franchise/StarWars Ewoks]]. "Hulk pet fuzzy too hard! Fuzzy pop!" Also the time he petted the bunny too hard. And then did the same with ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}.
* Paul, in spades, in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached''. Compounded by his having two levels of strength, “low” (where he can lift about 8 tons) and “high” (where he can lift at least 90 tons). After practicing day and night (literally) for several weeks he can act relatively normal at “low” strength (though he still breaks things if he doesn't take care); however, at “high” strength, which he tries not to use unless practicing, he can just barely function in the real world. He is continually conscious of his strength, so that in proximity to other people, he hardly moves, and he never makes sudden gestures.
* In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'' we learn that after Paul returned to Earth, though he was back to normal, he had a tough time readjusting and couldn't easily relate to his family. In particular, fears of what he might do to Linda during sex made him avoid relations with her, which hurt her deeply. He was rather ambivalent about being brought back to C'hou just after he had started to return to normal, though (as was his general wont) he hid this feeling from the others under a mask of brisk competence and cheer. But nearly all the ground he gained with practice in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'' disappeared.
* Comes up frequently in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' fanfics, particularly those depicting newly-activated Slayers. This is usually how they prove to others that something weird has happened to them.
** In ''[[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-28404-110/DianeCastle%2bXendra.htm Xendra]]'', Buffy has a rough time at a contracting job due to her tendency to destroy things she's working on, and sometimes the tools. Her boss (who knows she's the Slayer) is dumbfounded that she destroyed a wrench that you could run a truck over without bending it.
* [[spoiler:Kallen Kozuki]] in ''Fanfic/JusticeSocietyOfJapan'', to the point that even reaching for a glass of milk without breaking it becomes difficult. On the plus side, she did enjoy her newfound ability to [[NotQuiteFlight leap tall buildings in a single bound]].
* In ''Fanfic/{{Emergence|RWBY}}'', Yang Xiao Long of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' wakes up in the real world in Syria and is attacked by ISIS terrorists. Her super strong punches end up tearing through them and making them explode. After getting over the initial shock, she finds it difficult to not do this, frustrating her as she wants to take one alive for questioning. Later, when her half-sister Ruby Rose passes a basketball at a boy, it knocks the wind out of him and almost floors him.
* The premise of ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4595834/1/Oops Oops!]]'' is Naruto accidentally distracting the Kyuubi when the latter was enhancing Naruto's body. Naruto ends up [[InsistentTerminology 113]] times stronger than naturally possible, which results in things like leaving fingerprints in brass doorknobs and being unable to feed himself. When Naruto tries to eat some ramen, he shatters the bowl by picking it up. When Shizune feeds him, Naruto bites off the ends of chopsticks without noticing. In the end, Gai has to train Naruto to manage his SuperStrength.
** A similar story, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8649007/1/Kitsune-s-Power Kitsune's Power]] has a similar incident and result, except Naruto's only five at the time. As he grows older, he spars with Rock Lee under Maito Gai's direction, resulting in Lee becoming even faster and stronger than in canon. Butterflies ensue and Naruto becomes Anko's apprentice.

* In ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'', when Asuka started to mutate, her strength increased exponentially... but gradually, so she spent several days breaking things accidentally until she figured out that her physical strength was growing.
* Played with in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11948484/1/MagicTale MagicTale]]'' given that [[Videogame/{{Undertale}} Undyne]] knows how strong she is, but is used to everything being made out of stone or metal, resulting in her frequently breaking wooden objects. Though in the case of one door, she simply wasn't aware which way it opened, causing her to knock it off its hinges. Likewise, she's not quite aware of how fragile humans are. A friendly pat on a cook's back dislocated his shoulders.
* In ''Fanfic/TheMoreThingsChangeSeries'' following the events of the GrandFinale, with his Mystical Monkey Power now fully accessible, Ron has had moments of this, such as throwing Kim too hard, breaking a force gauge machine, and smashing a hole in a wall.
* After being magically transformed into Superman in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9356520/3/New-Guard New Guard]]'', Xander has a lot of trouble with his new strength. When encouraged to break out of handcuffs, he's shocked that he actually can and later when he goes to the bathroom, he breaks the urinal.
* ''Fanfic/FatesCollide'':

* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku had no idea just how strong he was after his Kryptonian SuperStrength manifested at the age of four, tearing a door right off his hinges by accident after being diagnosed as Quirkless and literally bouncing off the walls in his excitement. He became keenly aware of how dangerous it makes him when he accidentally threw Katsuki Bakugou across a park, past a road, and straight through a stone wall while imitating All Might, horrifying him into [[AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength the opposite of this trope.]]
* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Izuku first discovers his SuperStrength when he destroys his desk by gripping it too hard while trying to dodge one of Bakugou's explosions. When Kamui Woods comes to retrieve Izuku, who has since crawled up the side of a building, he puts the Hero's hand in a death grip until he's asked to ease up. The day after that, Izuku accidentally shoves Bakugou all the way down the hallway and struggles to avoid snapping his pencils in half.

!!Examples:

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/AstroBoy'': This was a major issue Astro had when Tenma was forcing him to be a replacement for his deceased son Tobio. Being a RobotKid, Astro couldn't act like a normal child and broke things ''very'' easily. Eventually he learned to control himself better.
* In ''Manga/{{Aruosumente}}'', the Sage comments on how Legna has great abilities as an Oracle but lacks the knowledge and refinement to use them fully.
* The Rogue Titan in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' tends to hit so hard that it wrecks its own body along with whatever it's hitting. Fortunately, its HealingFactor helps to make up for that.
* ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'':
** A common occurrence with PassionateSportsGirl Kagura, who oftentimes ends up hurting people when she's really just playing around. As an example, her attempt to smack out [[HiccupHijinks Osaka's hiccups]] resulted in Osaka doubling over, and later caused her to crumple to the ground after she hits her solar plexus. She realizes this later on when her roughhousing causes her to accidentally knock down a tent other girls were setting up, which leads her to [[TenderTears break down crying]]. Thankfully, she makes up for it.
** In a more comedic instance, [[BigFriendlyDog Tadakichi-san]] tries to imitate [[CuteKitten Maya]] after seeing him jump into Sakaki's arms, and ends up body-slamming poor Chiyo.
* ''Anime/{{Basquash}}'': Iceman, especially in episode 8, when Dan constantly chews him out for his "DESTROY!!!" fever, but he simply cannot grasp that being a complete barbarian during games is bad. In the end, it is revealed that his infamous "destroy balls" are nothing but mere passes. Iceman is simply incapable of NOT throwing them.
* Finny from ''Manga/BlackButler'' tends to do this, the result being lots of broken things and [[spoiler: a crowning moment of awesome [[LetsGetDangerous when he gets to use this to his advantage]]]].
* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' when Femto aka [[spoiler: Griffith]] first uses his new [[PhysicalGod god powers]] to stop [[DemBones The Skull Knight]] saving Guts and Casca, he holds out his hand and makes a [[GravityMaster gravity well]] that misses the knight but crushes a group of Apostles into chunks. Femto then looks down at his hand, amazed. When Guts attacks him years later, Femto doesn't even uses his hands and just blows Guts away from him using [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], showing how much he has mastered his powers.
** KillerGorilla Apostle Wyald has a moment he where he picks up Casca like a doll and in doing so hurts her, because he doesn't know his own strength at least when applied to less violent actions.
** Heroic example comes from Guts when he's fighting a roaming Apostle and using an ornate CoolSword that Godot gave him, when fighting the monster Guts swings the blade so hard [[WreckedWeapon it snaps in two]] against the Apostle's hide. Guts then finds his iconic {{BFS}} and "neatly" slices the Apostle in two, this scene not only shows the level of weaponry you need to slay a demonic being, but it also shows Guts's SuperStrength is so high that any blade smaller than a greatsword is ill suited for him.
* A more tragic example occurs in ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty''. In one episode, a serial killer is hunting and murdering young women with short brunette hair and glasses. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a rogue [[RobotGirl Marionette]] that escaped and is seeking the women because they have similar traits to her creator, who imprinted her with childlike affection, and she ended up killing her "Mama" and the other women by hugging them until their insides ruptured.]]
* In ''{{Manga/Bleach}}'', after [[spoiler:Nel Tu temporarily returns to her true age]], she hugs the living crap out of Ichigo, who had previously been badly wounded while she was watching. However, what she fails to realize is that she's so strong in that form that she actually comes close to choking him. By the time Orihime makes her realize it, he passed out, causing her to worry and hug him ''even harder''.
* ''LightNovel/DateALive'': During a car ride, Tohka gets so frustrated by seeing Shido give affection to Yoshino that she stomps her foot. Her foot punches through the car's floor and then destroys the bridge they were driving on. At least no one was hurt.
* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'': Before he became a Demon Slayer, Gyomei lived a peaceful life as a priest free of conflict. However, when a demon attacked and killed several of the orphans at his temple, Gyomei retaliated with a ferocity and strength that he did not know he had in him, beating the demon's head to a bloody pulp over and over until the sun rose. He states that if it weren't for that moment, he would have lived his entire life without realizing that he possessed such incredible strength and resolve.
* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
** The very first time this trope was in effect was during the preliminary matches of the 21st tournament. Goku playfully tapped his opponent (a big, muscular man) in the back of his leg, causing the man to fall out of the ring in pain. Goku quickly told Krillin to be careful from then on. It had been a while since Goku and Krillin had fought somebody who didn't have super-strength on par with their own, after all.
** During the {{filler}} episodes leading up to the Cell Games in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Goku and Gohan had this problem as Super Saiyans. Needless to say, Chi-Chi wasn't amused. The viewers were, though. This made sense, because they'd never gone through everyday, non-combat life in [[SuperMode Super Saiyan form]] before.
** In filler late in the Cell Saga, Goku crumbles the wooden house King Kai built as soon as he lays his hand on it.
** During one of the tournaments, contestants are qualified to participate in the fight by punching a machine that registers the force delivered. Goku and his friends have to concentrate really hard to hit the machine without breaking it. Vegeta doesn't hold back.
** Before that, when Goku wants to train Gohan in preparation for the Androids, while Goku attempts to calm his wife Chi-Chi down he pats her on the back, causing her to fly through a wall and a tree. Goku was very apologetic and helped Gohan patch her up.
** An earlier filler example happens when Goku recovers from his heart illness, and he and Chi-Chi do the "happily toss into the air" bit when they reunite. Goku, momentarily(?) forgetting his own strength, accidentally tosses Chi-Chi too far (as in, too high to see). She didn't really seem to mind, probably since he [[FallingIntoHisArms caught her]] and the action reaffirms his aforementioned recovery.
** His youngest son, Goten, unknowingly achieves Super Saiyan for the first time while training with Chi-Chi. He promptly kicks her, assuming she'll still be faster than him and dodge. She's not, and flies about twenty feet into a tree. She's perfectly fine, and not the slightest bit angry, just upset that her youngest son is already an alien killing machine.
** Even Chi-Chi herself gets in on the action. In an early episode, while waiting longer than usual for Goku to return home ([[DeathIsCheap he may have been dead at the time]]), she decides to wash the dishes. About every other dish gets squeezed so hard it cracks, then dropped into a convenient garbage bin. While Chi-Chi has a much lesser level of SuperStrength than the main characters, it's still more than enough for her to shatter glass in her bare hands if she's too angry to restrain herself.
** Gohan humorously has a few moment like this during his High School days when he tries to act normal, like when playing baseball not only does he jump [[InAsingleBound 25 feet in the air]] to catch a home run but [[https://youtu.be/_FWCQwAERgM?t=108 when he throws the ball]] (as lightly as he can) to kid on third base he knocks the dude straight over. Another time Gohan created [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQAPIz2Y2Xo a goddamn earthquke]] in his classroom by tapping his foot impatiently allowing Gohan to get out of class.
** For all his embarrassing defeats in ''Z'', Yamcha's still strong enough to wreck an ordinary weight machine with one tug. Also when Yamcha gives Beerus a simple SmackOnTheBack in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' he makes the PhysicalGod of Destruction '''stagger forward in surprise'''. This shows despite how lesser Yamcha's power is he still has enough SuperStrength to nearly knock over a god who wasn't expecting it from a mere mortal.
* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'''s Shizuo Heiwajima is prone to this, ''especially'' [[TheBerserker when angry]]. At one point the Yakuza even deduce Shizuo's recent presence in an apartment complex simply by the state of the stairway's guardrails -- which is not very difficult, as Shizuo managed to ''utterly destroy'' them on his way out.
* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'':
** While Gaou ''knows'' how strong he is, he doesn't understand the very ''idea'' of "holding back", and is thus completely unable to do so in any situation. The same can be said for HuskyRusskie Rodchenko.
** Kurita, on the other hand, is too strong and too friendly for his own good, meaning big, painful hugs all around.
** Shin also does this from time to time, [[WalkingTechbane usually with electronic devices]].
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** [[spoiler: Roy Mustang]] suffers from this in chapter 107.
--->[[spoiler: '''Roy''']]: Without my vision I can't limit the blast properly!\\
[[spoiler: '''Hawkeye''']]: Don't limit it at all!
** Major Armstrong is feared because of this. He hugs others and causes minor-to-severe injury while doing so. When seeing Edward injured and in the hospital, he was so emotional that he hugged him to the point Edward needed a full body cast.
* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' has Nuriko, completely unaware just how strong his super strength is. Wanting to cheer Tamahome up, he gives him a tiny poke on the back of the guy's head with his index finger and promptly sends Tamahome's face into the table.
-->'''Nuriko:''' I only gave you a poke.\\
'''Tamahome:''' You call ''that'' a poke!?
* In ''Manga/GetBackers'', one of the repeating causes of the main characters' crushing debt is the fact that Ban can't seem to control his strength when he is in a bad mood. As a result, he and Ginji frequently find themselves having to pay for damages to the Honky Tonk as a result of Ban breaking everything from coffee-cups to plates, tables, bars, doors, windows, and even walls.
* During her early life in a highly enhanced prosthetic body, the Major of ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' had some major (no pun intended) difficulties controlling the prosthetics' strength. She mentions (and it is shown in the opening credits) that she once smashed a doll by being unable to control her own limbs.
* The few countries in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' with SuperStrength are very prone to this. [[LoveFreak America]] in particular. Usually at either [[FishOutOfWater Japan]] or [[{{Tsundere}} England's]] expense.
* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'':
** One of the first steps in Issei's development is the harsh realization that he's a pretty worthless Devil and his [[AmplifierArtifact Sacred Gear]] is far more valuable them him. Over time, and with a lot of TrainingFromHell (no HardWorkHardlyWorks here), he's able to keep a level playing field with increasingly powerful opponents that constantly push him to the limit. While this doesn't affect his daily life, it does result in Issei completely forgetting how to fight against normal enemies, rather than dragons and gods.
** During his Mid-Rank Devil exam, for the combat portion, Issei is [[HeroicSelfDeprecation so certain he'll barely scrape through this phase as well]] he put all his strength into the fight, resulting in his opponent being sent through the wall in a single blow.[[note]]In fairness, it's implied Issei's strong enough to pass the High-Rank combat exam with one arm behind his back, but lacks in other areas.[[/note]]
** Issei regularly spars with Kiba, who is repeatedly described as the only technique-type on a team of power idiots. Kiba reveals he can't take this sort of training lightly, as Issei could ''kill'' him if a blow got through without being properly mitigated. Issei is horrified - he'd already been holding back.
* ''Manga/HitomiChanIsShyWithStrangers'': When [[TinyGuyHugeGirl Yuu and Hitomi]] do the cart curling game with Yuu in the cart, Yuu tells Hitomi to use her full strength to push the cart because it seems heavy. She does...and sends the cart so fast that it rams into a wall and flips Yuu out of it.
* ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'':
** Ais Wallenstein is so strong that she injures her sparring partners even when she tries to hold back, and she needed to get a MadeOfIndestructium sword because all other weapons break when she uses them.
** Lyu Lyon also finds it hard to hold back when sparring.
* As she undergoes her first full transformation into [[{{Kaiju}} Harugon]] in the first chapter of ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'', Kuroe Akaishi runs away from Arata Minami and catches her breath at a bridge. She absentmindedly grips one of the railings with a transformed hand, crushing it and tumbling into the river below.
* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'':
** Muay Thay God of Death Apachai Hopachai. Also a GentleGiant on his own right, he is really kind to all living things, being even able to speak with animals. Unfortunately, due to the TrainingFromHell he went through during his childhood (and the fact that he was thrown in life-or-death battles even as a kid) he's incapable of sparring with Kenichi without delivering several blows that would have killed anyone less resilient. It gets to a point when Kenichi loses the memory of being hit due to a concussion. He's actually killed Kenichi at least once. The other masters are able to revive the poor kid, and it's been mostly played for laughs. He thankfully grows out of this in time.
** Kenichi himself gets into this early on. One of the more humorous examples has him giving a "light" slapping to [[{{Jerkass}} Niijima]], and manages to knock him out instead.
** Played more tragically during Kenichi's fight against the Tirawit Koukin trained Karate club. While they received training in attacking and were pretty good at it they received none in defending. That's why when Kenichi used his normal strength against them, one blow was enough to send them to the hospital. Tirawit points out how Kenichi doesn't even realize how much stronger he is than average humans.
* ''VideoGame/LapisReLights'' has Salsa of IV KLORE. She is a werewolf with supernatural strength and speed but is so excitable and wild that she oftentimes breaks things like doors.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Being [[spoiler: a combat {{Cyborg}}]] blessed with SuperStrength, Subaru mentions her fear of performing this trope during a flashback. Also illustrated in the ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' [[ComicBookAdaptation manga]] during a wall-climbing exercise, when a Teana that just met her asked her to put a little more strength in boosting her up, causing the now terrified girl to achieve her dream of taking to the skies a lot earlier than she expected.
** Since she received her powers by fusing with a GreatBigBookOfEverything containing the strongest spells in the multiverse, Hayate ''literally cannot'' use low-power magic. As a result, the TSAB normally treat her [[PersonOfMassDestruction similarly to a tactical nuke]], only calling her in to cast a single spell in certain situations (and after evacuation orders have been given). Which is odd, given that Rein Eins' usage of spells like [[FlechetteStorm Bloody Dagger]] show that Hayate should, at least in theory, be able to fight at the anti-personnel level.
** In a [[AllThereInTheManual sound stage]] of ''A's'', after Shamal forgot to heat up the water for bathing Vita asks [[PlayingWithFire Signum use her magic]]. She answers that she lacks finesse for smaller tasks.
** A physical strength example occurs in ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'', when Miura Rinaldi, one of Zafira's students in martial arts, accidentally breaks the wookden pole she uses for training soon after it was fixed.
* It's a RunningGag in ''Manga/MassuguNiIkou'' that BigFriendlyDog Hanako jumps up on people and knocks them down.
* During an arm wrestling competition in ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'', Ilulu ends up [[AmusingInjuries snapping Makoto's wrist like a twig]].
* In ''Manga/MonsterMusume'', Kimihito's CuteMonsterGirl harem, with the exception of Rachnera and Lala, have difficulty holding their strength back, which often results in Kimihito being injured. When {{Lunacy}} strikes Miia, Papi, ''and'' Centorea at the same time, they all suffer from this, thus leaving Kimihito facing a very real risk of [[spoiler:[[OutWithABang literally getting killed during intercourse]] if the temporarily lust-crazed girls manage to capture him long enough to have their way with him.]]
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', Masayuki Hori is more used to performing rugged physical labor than performing delicate tasks. When he tries to add screentone to a drawing, he tears through the paper.
* ''LightNovel/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation'': Prince Zenoba was born with a rare gift of SuperStrength which was discovered when at the age of three, he accidently snapped his baby brother Julius' neck in front of a whole birthday party. It's a RunningGag how Zenoba breaks things, or does a NeckLift or CeilingSmash by accident.
* ''Manga/MusukoGaKawaikuteShikataganaiMazokuNoHahaoya'': Lorem's overwhelming brute strength is great for dealing with enemies... not such much for fine household chores. Her attempts to cook a simple food dish for Gospel go awry after she keeps destroying all the food and appliances. By the time Merii comes over, the kitchen is a complete mess and Lorem only has a barely edible carrot paste to show for it.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Sakura Haruno, while training with Tsunade during the time skip of the original series, acquires the same herculean strength that she has. But of course, whenever Naruto does anything Sakura thinks is stupid, she gets the urge to pound the tar out of him and sends him flying with just one punch.
** PlayedForLaughs when [[spoiler: Naruto gains Biju Mode and accidentally hit one of the Bijudama into one of the Alliance formations, indirectly wiping it out because he couldn't control his strength]].
** Earlier, when Naruto and Sasuke are fighting on hospital roof and use their new jutsus (Rasengan and Chidori) on each other, Sakura gets in the way and to both boy's panic they literally can't stop before Kakashi knocks their asses into two water tanks. Sasuke is pleased to see his chidori [[UnderestimatingBadassery seemly]] did more damage to water tank than his rival's attack until he looks behind Naruto's tank and sees what the Rasengan did. This clearly wasn't Naruto's intention therefore Kakashi is concerned Naruto learned such a powerful attack at a young age.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Jack Rakan does this on occasion. Such as the time he accidentally blew up a mountain. Normally he causes this kind of destruction on purpose.
** Also Negi's use of 'Weapon Stripping' after gaining a huge amount of power, Nodoka even tries to stop him...[[spoiler: Everyone's [[ClothingDamage clothes in the immediate vicinity are completely vaporized]],]] he is surprised at this.
** There was also the early RunningGag of Negi sneezing so hard the resulting magical gust of wind would [[PantyShot lift up the skirts of every girl in the immediate vicinity]] (or sometimes just flat out [[ClothingDamage destroy their clothes.]])
* Happens a few times in ''Manga/OnePiece'' especially when people get their Devil Fruit Abilities for the first time: Luffy for instance as a child couldn't control his RubberMan powers and would end up punching his own face with attempted stretchy punches, not until he was a teenager could use his powers better; though Crocodile still dubbed him UnskilledButStrong. Kaku also had this problem despite being grown adult and ProfessionalKiller, when he first activates his [[BeastMan Zoan]]-Devil Fruit he falls through the floor and his attacks are now strong enough to unintentionally slice the building he was standing inside in half.
** Luffy still invokes this trope with his other actions as everything from a SmackOnTheBack, TheGlomp or BalloonBelly can cause AmusingInjuries, property damage or worse if Luffy isn't careful. In [[Anime/TheGiantMechanicalSoldierofKarakuriCastle Movie 7]] Luffy discovers [[SuperMode Second Gear]] by [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JL2Uj56z8I complete accident]] and is amazed when he sends a HumongousMecha flying out of nowhere.
** Zoro was plagued by this trope in his early bounty hunter days (shown in {{Filler}}) where he'd constantly [[WreckedWeapon break his other katanas]] by using too much SuperStrength, so much of his early training was focusing on using the required force and nothing more. When Zoro told Mihawk about the times where he'd chip his blades, Mihawk outright told Zoro a ruined sword is MasterSwordsmen's greatest shame so Zoro strove to learn [[KiManipulation Armament Haki]] to protect his katanas from harm.
*** Even when being careful Zoro risks killing normal dudes with his strength as when he used the flat side of his blades to knock out the Galley La Foremen and Nami warned him that's still enough to cause serious injury. Earlier on [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/65/2a/e7/652ae749add53495db67f21593fd6d02.jpg Zoro split the Going Merry's mast in half while simply drawing the sails]], though in this case it's more showing the poor condition the ship was in that it couldn't handle its superhuman occupants rather than Zoro's strength.
** Sanji gets a [[https://youtu.be/6-EI5G4FWVw?t=36 variation]] in Skypeia when Gan Fall teaches him about the [[AttackReflector Impact Dial]], Gan Fall instructs him to put the dial on a barrel and then smack it with all his strength [[DropTheHammer using a huge hammer]] Sanji does so and [[NoSell nothing happens]] leaving Usopp whose watching [[UnderestimatingBadassery underwhelmed]]. Sanji understands the Dial absorbed the damage from his blow and Gan Fall told him to press the Dial to the barrel and see what happens... ''the barrel explodes into smithereens'', if Sanji had swung the hammer normally without the Dial being there he would've put a hole in the Merry's deck.
*** Sanji plays this straighter at other times like when he accidentally broke Nami’s Logpost by kicking Luffy into it, or when Sanji was on board the Sea Train and after learning what [[SecretPolice CP9]] have done to Robin, he gets so enraged that [[AGlassInTheHand he crushes a Transponder Snail's receiver in his bare hand]].
** This trope comes up again in Punk Hazard thanks to Trafalgar Law putting half the crew in a FreakyFridayFlip situation, the first case is when Nami in Franky's {{Cyborg}} body goes to [[PervertRevengeMode punch out]] Sanji who’s in Nami's own weaker ''sexy'' body and [[ManIFeelLikeAWoman loving it]]... which results in Nami nearly killing Sanji/herself. The second time is when Franky decides to use Chopper's ability to transform into stronger forms [[PhlebotinumPills through pills]]. Unfortunately, Franky doesn't have any of Chopper's medical expertise and goes on a UnstoppableRage in Monster Point which he can't control.
** As shown in a FlashBack Charlotte Linlin aka Big Mom suffered from this problem immensely, when she was just five years old, she was strong enough to kill a large bear instantly with a single smack, merely intending to scold the animal. She also broke several of [[OurGiantsAreBigger giant]]'s bones by slapping a mosquito on his back, hell even as a 68 year old woman she just ''walked through an iron bound door'' unconsciously. It's likely because she was EasilyForgiven for her accidents as a child by Mother Caramel that Big Mom cares little for the catastrophic damage she causes later in life.
* In ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash's Dragonite tends to hug its human allies a bit too hard. Pokemon allies on the other hand enjoy the cuddles from this GentleGiant.
* Ever since they switched to a multi-man team, the Pink heroine in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series will always discover how powerful she is when she takes off into the sky in a panic.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Whenever Ryoga's emotions get too much, or his mind wanders, everything he touches tends to crumble around him. Combine this with the fact he gained the ability to shatter inanimate matter with a finger jab early in the series, and you've got a man who has as much trouble ''not'' destroying Tokyo as he does [[NoSenseOfDirection navigating it]].
** There is also a storyline in which Akane gains SuperStrength due to accidentally eating food called Super Soba, and briefly falls into this trope. She first discovers her newfound strength when she casually sets her bowl down, and promptly smashes the table and the floor '''below the table'''. She would also regularly pat other characters (usually Ranma) with what was supposed to be a light touch on the head or shoulder, and instead sent them flying.
** During a mid-manga story, Ranma is weakened by a vengeful Happousai. The cure involves a painful-looking [[PressurePoint moxibustion technique]] applied on his back -- out of reflex, he tries to swat Cologne off his back, only to find himself smashing a ''solid concrete roller'' (the kind used to flatten sports fields) purely by accident.
** It's played up more in the manga version, but Shampoo often destroys things around her, [[ThereWasADoor tearing through walls rather than going for the door]] or shattering doors when she does use them. It's debatable whether she counts for this, though, as it's just as likely that she just likes to show off that she's a CuteBruiser. Though when given a hypnotic suggestion to "go home ''peacefully''" she ''still'' smashes through a wall as she leaves.
* In ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'', Shizuka warns Akira to not crush the trigger of his guns by accident while getting a handle on the SuperStrength his [[PoweredArmor augmented suit]] provides. When training with it at first, he punches and kicks holes in the ground and accidentally flings himself around. His VirtualSidekick Alpha reprograms it to make up for its cheap PowerLimiter capabilities.
* [[HugeSchoolgirl Makoto]] [[GentleGiant Kino]] from ''Anime/SailorMoon''. By accident, she had choked Mamoru unconscious while trying to interrogate him and smacked Ami while trying to give her a friendly pat on the back. These instances are PlayedForLaughs, of course.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration: [[AnimeOfTheGame The Inspector]]'', [[RobotGirl Lamia]] listens to a rather heartwarming speech from Kai to Ryusei and Bullet about trying to get the captured Arado to make a HeelFaceTurn of his own will. As the speech finishes, Excellen cheerfully points out to Lamia that she's accidentally twisted the handles of the exercise machine she had been using into a pretzel.
* In ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'', protagonist Seina Yamada has to spend several episodes learning to control this after being given enhanced [[SuperStrength strength]] and [[SuperSpeed speed]]. Of course, this turns out to be a lovely excuse to set up some InnocentCohabitation...
* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', it's implied that [[TheHero Kotetsu]] had this problem back when was a child ("I'm not supposed to touch anyone when I'm like this. I'll hurt people."), which was why he was ashamed of his NEXT abilities up until he encountered Mr. Legend.
** After the seventeenth episode, [[spoiler:Kaede]] develops the ability to [[PowerCopying copy the powers of the last NEXT she's touched]]. The last NEXT she's touched? Kotetsu. She destroys the kitchen simply trying to drink tea.
* ''Manga/TomoChanIsAGirl'': A childhood flashback indicates that Tomo suffered from this a bit in childhood (i.e snapping Jun's handheld video game in two while trying to play it when they first met). As a high-school student she has mostly grown out of it aside from... well she is a SpiritedCompetitor who considers it disrespectful to treat opponents with kid gloves, which would not be a problem if it were not for how when her blood is up her ability to properly gauge the capabilities of others goes ''way'' down.
* ''Manga/TorakoAnmariKowashichaDameDaYo'' centers on a soft-spoken, insecure, [[SuperStrength impossibly strong]] {{gentle giant}}ess [[NewTransferStudent transferred to]] a school filled with the most fearsome and notorious delinquents in Japan because she suffers from this; damaging doors constantly and breaking a classmate's arm by flinging her out of the path of an oncoming truck along with past acts of carnage she frantically downplays.
* Monkey king Bambina from ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' can't find a suitable opponent [[spoiler:or a dance partner]], because almost everybody he comes across ends up ripped to shreds in seconds, when he tries to fight [[spoiler:or dance]] with them, due to his incredible strength. Even [[spoiler:powerful regenerating demon, capable of singlehandedly killing and eating almost every creature on planet]] managed to survive only for a couple of seconds.
* Karna, the protagonist of ''Manga/TheRiseOfTheUnemployedWiseMan'' has no clue how insanely overpowered he is, even when he learns that he has ''several gods as pets'' as his only frame of reference is the legendary heroes of humanity who '''were even more powerful''' and would look at his exploits as "the basics."
[[/folder]]

* In ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' episode "[[Recap/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldierEpisode4TheWorldIsWatching The Whole World Is Watching]]", Karli accidentally punches Lemar Hoskins onto a pillar because of her SuperSerum-fueled strength, [[AccidentalMurder killing him.]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone She is horrified]] while sending John Walker onto an UnstoppableRage over his friend's death.

* In ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' episode "[[Recap/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldierE4TheWorldIsWatching The Whole World Is Watching]]", Karli accidentally punches Lemar Hoskins onto a pillar because of her SuperSerum-fueled strength, [[AccidentalMurder killing him.]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone She is horrified]] while sending John Walker onto an UnstoppableRage over his friend's death.

* In ''Series/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldier'' episode "[[Recap/TheFalconAndTheWinterSoldierS1E4TheWorldIsWatching The Whole World Is Watching]]", Karli accidentally punches Lemar Hoskins onto a pillar because of her SuperSerum-fueled strength, [[AccidentalMurder killing him.]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone She is horrified]] while sending John Walker onto an UnstoppableRage over his friend's death.

* Happens a few times in ''Anime/OnePiece'' especially when people get their Devil Fruit Abilities for the first time: Luffy for instance as a child couldn't control his RubberMan powers and would end up punching his own face with attempted stretchy punches, not until he was a teenager could use his powers better; though Crocodile still dubbed him UnskilledButStrong. Kaku also had this problem despite being grown adult and ProfessionalKiller, when he first activates his [[BeastMan Zoan]]-Devil Fruit he falls through the floor and his attacks are now strong enough to unintentionally slice the building he was standing inside in half.

** A common occurrence with PassionateSportsGirl Kagura, who oftentimes ends up hurting people when she's really just playing around. As an example, her attempt to smack out [[HiccupHijinks Osaka's hiccups]] resulted in Osaka doubling over, and later causing her to crumple to the ground after she hits her solar plexus. She realizes this later on when her roughhousing causes her to accidentally knock down a tent other girls were setting up, which leads her to [[TenderTears break down crying]]. Thankfully, she makes up for it.

** A common occurrence with PassionateSportsGirl Kagura, who oftentimes ends up hurting people when she's really just playing around. As an example, her attempt to smack out [[HiccupsEpisode Osaka's hiccups]] resulted in Osaka doubling over, and later causing her to crumple to the ground after she hits her solar plexus. She realizes this later on when her roughhousing causes her to accidentally knock down a tent other girls were setting up, which leads her to [[TenderTears break down crying]]. Thankfully, she makes up for it.