History Main / SeekingUltimateStrength

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'': Byrne has always been a formidable MagicKnight, but he betrayed the Lokomo tribe so that he could free Malladus in exchange for the power he craved. He ends up losing to Link and Zelda despite his best efforts and realizes too late that Malladus was never going to honor his end of the bargain.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWildGanondorf The Demon King Ganondorf]] cares about gaining power and nothing else. His ultimate dream is to be the most powerful being in existence, and is more than willing to make others suffer for it. Ganondorf will always try to seek out opponents and enjoys the thrill of victory, often sapping them away from their strength to make his own. When he is done, Ganondorf wants to plunge the world into darkness simply so that everyone knows who the strongest in all of Hyrule really is. Ganondorf is so powerful, in fact, that [[spoiler:a lot of it had to be expelled from his body. This is what ultimately created Malice, Gloom, and even [[DiskOneFinalBoss Calamity Ganon]].]]

* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', Impmon, who was shaped by the Digital World's 'Survival of the fittest' life and his own troubled past with humans, wanted to prove he could be the strongest without the need of a partner. After a brutal BreakTheHaughty experience against Indramon, he made [[ADealWithADevil a deal with Catsuramon]] to gain the ability to digivolve in exchange for destroying the Tamers, leading him to become Beelzemon. Finally gaining the power he always desired caused him to experience a PowerHigh, become intoxicated by it and desiring more, leading him down a destructive path as he sought [[VictorGainsLosersPowers to load as much data as he could]], culminating with him killing Jeri's partner Leomon. Upon being defeated by Gallantmon, he snapped out of it and realized just how much damage his thirst for power had caused.

* In ''Anime/DigimonTimers'', Impmon, who was shaped by the Digital World's 'Survival of the fittest' life and his own troubled past with humans, wanted to prove he could be the strongest without the need of a partner. After a brutal BreakTheHaughty experience against Indramon, he made [[DealWithADevil a deal with Catsuramon]] to gain the ability to digivolve in exchange for destroying the Tamers, leading him to become Beelzemon. Finally gaining the power he always desired caused him to experience a PowerHigh, become intoxicated by it and desiring more, leading him down a destructive path as he sought [[VictorGainsLosersPower to load as much data as he could]], culminating with him killing Jeri's partner Leomon. Upon being defeated by Gallantmon, he snapped out of it and realized just how much damage his thirst for power had caused.

Their reasoning can be that either [[MightMakesRight they'd be free to do whatever they want]] or [[NeverBeHurtAgain they'll avoid loss they've once experienced]]. What [[AndThenWhat happens after they get strong enough]] is not something they're concerned with. They don't have a concrete end-goal, aside of satisfying own {{Pride}} of knowing nobody can kick their ass, though there may be some hidden motives. May [[ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest eventually]] end up with [[FightMagnet being targeted by everyone]], [[LonelyAtTheTop loneliness]], [[VictoryIsBoring boredom]], [[TooMuchForManToHandle or meltdown from accumulated power]].

Closely related to a desire for authority, but this is more about personal strenth, physical or magical.

* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Strength puts you in position of authority.

* StrengthEqualsWorthiness: Earning someone's respect through challenge of combat.

* ''Anime/AfroSamurai'': In the setting, possessing the Number One Headband is considered to be one of the greatest thing one could ever accomplish, but it can only be obtained by the owner Number Two Headband challenging the current wielder of Number One in the duel to the death. Nobody actually knows what the Headband grants, and their wielders aren't known to do much afterward aside [[ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest waiting for the next challenger]].

* ''Manga/AstroBoy'': The iconic "The Strongest Robot in the World" arc focuses on a robot named Pluto that wishes to prove himself as the strongest by killing the other 7 robots in the world. [[spoiler:He temporarily succeeds in doing so, only to get struggle against a [[CameBackStrong revived Astro]] before suffering a MutualKill against a secret super robot named Bora]]. Unlike most examples of this trope, Pluto has no genuine desire to be the strongest robot on Earth or to kill other sentient machines, with his selfish master forcing him to prove his strength.

* ''Franchise/{{Aladdin}}'': [[BigBad Jafar]], in both [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} the animated]] and [[Film/Aladdin2019 live-action films]], is ''obsessed'' with gaining power for himself, and this obsession proves to be his FatalFlaw. Despite already being in a position of authority as the [[EvilChancellor vizier]] to the Sultan of Agrabah, he schemes to get his hands on the Genie's lamp and wish to become Sultan himself. But when that isn't enough, Jafar takes the next step and wishes to be the most powerful [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer]] in the world. And even then, when Aladdin deliberately bruises his ego by pointing out that [[AlwaysSecondBest the Genie is the one who made him so powerful in the first place,]] and could just as easily take his power away, Jafar decides to surpass even ''that'' and wish to [[BecomingTheGenie become an all-powerful genie]]- only to discover that [[PowerfulAndHelpless for all his god-like power, now he's a prisoner and slave to whoever holds his lamp]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'': Tai Lung was Master Shifu's previous apprentice trained to be the Dragon Warrior, until [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil his arrogance got better of him]]. When his training was canceled, he went on a rampage and had to be imprisoned. In the present, he escapes the Chorh-Gom Prison and aims again for the Dragon Scroll, believing it can teach him "limitless power", but is stopped by Po after learning that [[spoiler:the scroll is just [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong a symbolic mirror]]]].

* ''Film/FantasticFour2005'': Victor Von Doom states that he has always wanted power and after being mutated by the same cosmic storm that affected the heroes, stating he has it in "unlimited supply".

* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Accelerator is considered the 1st ranked Level 5 Esper, and he participates in the Level 6 Shift project in order to become the first Level 6 Esper, a state theorized to transcend humanity and be closer to [[AGodAmI God]]. The reason Accelerator participates in the project is because due to his ranking and his AttackReflector ability, [[ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest he is constantly being challenged]] by other Espers [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable seeking to be the first one to defeat him]] or take his place as most strongest Esper in Academy City. As a result, he seeks to be a Level 6 so that everyone else would be too scared to fight him, meaning he would no longer need to fight anymore. After Touma defeats him to stop him killing the Misaka Sisters for training, he has [[HeelFaceTurn lost this ambition]].

* ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'': Ymper Trymon is a 7th level wizard of Unseen University who eventually climbs up to the rank of Archchancellor through a series of literally [[KlingonPromotion filling dead predecessor's pointy shoes]] (which was actually legal at the time). However, he got even more unfettered after learning about TomeOfEldritchLore Octavo, and tried to obtain the "greatest concentration of magic on the Disc" for himself. It's not clear what plans he had aside learning spells nobody before him ever had.
* ''Literature/OldKingdom'': [[BlackMagic Free Magic]] sorcerers inevitably get {{addict|iveMagic}}ed to the experience of forcing magic and other creatures to obey their will. Best exemplified with Kerrigor, who, not content with being [[spoiler:[[TheEvilPrince Crown Prince]]]], mastered Free Magic, transformed himself into an UndeadAbomination, [[LoveSacrificedForPower made human sacrifices of his family]], and tried to tear apart the Kingdom so he could rule over a [[TheNecrocracy Necrocracy]] of his thralls.

* ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'': Kaito Kumon, aka Kamen Rider Baron, is obsessed with "survival of the fittest", which he sees as the most important thing in life after his father's company got taken down by Yggdrasill Corporation. He believes a life is as valuable as one's ambition to get stronger, which ironically maintains his [[MoralityPet moral connection]] with other Beat Riders. He views strength not as a right for oppression, but as a symbol to strife for, eventually trying to [[spoiler:become the Adam of the new world by becoming the Overlord]].
* ''Series/KamenRiderSaber'': Ren Akamichi is the immature upstart among the seasoned warriors that make up the Sword Of Logos. Compared to his fellow Riders (who want to protect people), Ren is a BloodKnight only focused on gaining power; being unconcerned with civilians caught in the crossfire of his clashes and his single-minded pettiness towards Touma during the latter's FrameUp preventing him from being savvy to [[spoiler: Issac and Reika's manipulation]]. He spends all of the show's second act picking fights while being egged on by the psuedo-Megid Desast, who enables his BloodKnight tendencies. This causes him no end of grief and loss as everyone else's priorities go beyond power-grabs while he socially stagnates; [[spoiler: Kento (the man Ren looked up to like a big brother) even sealing his Seiken during his own single-minded crusade to prevent a BadFuture]]. He ''does'' eventually get better.

** Peter Hale murders his niece in order to steal her Alpha spark, then begins biting teenagers in an attempt to gain the power boost of having multiple betas. His ultimate goal is to be strong enough to take on the family of hunters that killed his pack.
** Gerard Argent schemes to not only to be turned into a werewolf, but also plans to then immediately kill Derek, so that he'll be the Alpha in control of the Beacon Hills territory. He would then be the ultimate hunter, strong as a supernatural creature with the skill of a trained soldier.

** The Alpha pack goes around convincing werewolves to slaughter their whole pack. When a werewolf slaughters an Alpha they become the Alpha, an immense power up. If they then kill all the pack betas, they gain the power of those betas. The Alphas then become a pack, strengthening each other through pack bonds. Deucalion, the Alpha of Alphas, also kills Ennis, a member of the Alpha pack, granting him all of Ennis' stored powered. The average Alpha would struggle against a member of the Alpha pack. The average beta doesn't stand a chance.
* ''Series/ThunderboltFantasy'': Mie Tian Hai is the EvilOverlord and a necromancer of Xuan Gui Zong sect. He is already an acknowledged MasterSwordsman, but he seeks the divine Heaven's Retribution Sword, Tian Xing Jian, out of simple desire to aim higher and the narcissism of possessing the most powerful sword. [[spoiler:When Lin Xue Ya proves himself to be a more talented swordsman, Mie Tian Hai commits SpitefulSuicide and releases SealedEvilInACan just to avoid humiliation.]]

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': Vergil, the twin brother of Dante, has an unhealthy obsession with getting more power. Unlike Dante, who is more easy-going in life, Vergil is affected by the loss of their mother, going to questionable means to become unstoppable, such as following Arkham to obtain Force Edge for himself, and [[spoiler:[[LiteralSplitPersonality splitting himself in two]] and becoming V and demon lord Urizen]]. He is notably chivalrous, and often lets Dante recover to fight him on equal ground.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'': Byrne has always been a formidable MagicKnight, but he betrayed the Lokomo tribe so that he could free Malladus in exchange for the power he craved. He ends up losing to Link and Zelda despite his best efforts, and realizes too late that Malladus was never going to honor his end of the bargain.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': [[Characters/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWildGanondorf The Demon King Ganondorf]] cares about gaining power and nothing else. His ultimate dream is to be the most powerful being in existence, and is more than willing to make others suffer for it. Ganondorf will always try seek out opponents and enjoys the thrill of victory, often sapping them away from their strength to make his own. When he is done, Ganondorf wants to plunge the world into darkness simply so that everyone knows who the strongest in all of Hyrule really is. Ganondorf is so powerful, in fact, that [[spoiler:a lot of it had to be expelled from his body. This is what ultimately created Malice, Gloom and even [[DiskOneFinalBoss Calamity Ganon]].]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'': Kars is the leader of Pillar Men, ancient supervampires, as well as [[GreaterScopeVillain the creator]] of the Stone Mask. Despite being confident in his superiority, he seeks Red Stone of Aja to reach further evolution and become the [[UltimateLifeform Ultimate Thing]] for the sake of remaining "at the top".

* ''Franchise/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency]]'': Kars is the leader of Pillar Men, ancient supervampires, as well as [[GreaterScopeVillain the creator]] of the Stone Mask. Despite being confident in his superiority, he seeks Red Stone of Aja to reach further evolution and become the [[UltimateLifeform Ultimate Thing]] for the sake of remaining "at the top".

* ''Manga/FoodWars'': Asahi Nakiri is a prideful chef with an ability "Cross Knives", which he uses to [[VictorGainsLosersPowers assimilate cooking abilities of other chefs]] by collecting their knives, seeking more, so he would never lose to anyone in duels.