History Main / StrongGirlSmartGuy

If he is a BadassBookworm or MinoredInAsskicking, they might be a BattleCouple.

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[[folder:Literature]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Princess Star Butterfly has lots of magic power at her disposal, while her [[BadassNormal human]] best friend Marco is a safety-obsessed NeatFreak who tries his best to teach her about Earth culture.

* ''Film/TheKentuckyFriedMovie'' segment "Cleopatra Schwartz". The title character is a strong black ActionGirl who can beat up bad guys or shoot them dead. Her husband is a short Hasidic Jew who studies the Talmud at night. Together TheyFightCrime.

** [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Dr. Samberly]] is a MadScientist working for the SSR, who is constantly hitting on [[HiddenBadass Rose Roberts]], who has been charged with manning the SSR's talent agency front, as well as guarding the secret entrance to the agency itself. She isn't very fond of him, though.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': The original [[spoiler: Leonard and Allison Church]] were this, with the former being the Director of Project Freelancer, and the latter being a UNSC Marine who died fighting the Covenant. This carries over somewhat to [[spoiler: their AI counterparts, Church and Tex]] but in that case she is still much smarter than he.

* ''Series/{{Legion}}'': Kerry (the girl) has superhuman fighting abilities, while Cary (the guy) is a genius inventor. They sort of share the same body.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainSeekerOfCrocus'' has the GirlyBruiser Chloe Cerise and ChildProdigy Yuri Ichiro. Downplayed on Chloe's side as she is not an idiot and has extensive knowledge of demons and has a creative mind, but most of her achievements on the Infinity Train are her tackling everything head on with a pipe. Meanwhile, Yuri is known for his analytical mind and solving puzzles. This is best seen in the Boutique Street Car arc: while Chloe sets off to fight GentlemanThief Indigo, Yuri is the one trying to figure out his riddle through the CallingCard.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Alien {{Berserker}} Starfire, who hails from a planet of {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s and [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily adopted son of Batman]] ComicBook/{{Robin}}, who learned to fight crime from the world's greatest detective.

A SisterTrope to BrainsAndBrawn and SubTrope to BrainsVersusBrawn.

May coincide with SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl; MasculineGirlFeminineBoy; or ActionGirlfriend.

If a writer wants to give an ActionGirl a partner in asskicking or even a LoveInterest, but wants him to be more than just a SatelliteCharacter, he can be given a skill set that compliments her combat prowess, making him {{the smart guy}}. He needn't be a NonActionGuy, but he is defined far more by his intellect than his fighting abilities. In short, another take on TheSmartGuy and TheBigGuy ([[GenderInverted or in this case]], TheBigGal).

* Nanoha and Yuuno had this dynamic during the second half of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. Later seasons would see Yuuno be DemotedToExtra as MrExposition.

If a writer wants to give an ActionGirl a partner in asskicking or even a LoveInterest, but wants him to be more than just a SatelliteCharacter, he can be given a skill set that compliments her combat prowess, making him a TheSmartGuy. He needn't be a NonActionGuy, but he is defined far more by his intellect than his fighting abilities. In short, another take on TheSmartGuy and TheBigGuy.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'': Eleven and Mike. Eleven is a powerful LittleMissBadass with psychic powers but, due to her isolated upbringing, she can barely speak. Her love interest Mike is a smart, nerdy boy who teaches her some vocabulary.

* [[TheDon Bozzok]] and [[TheDragon Crystal]] from ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' are a dark take on this. Bozzok is a half-orc rogue and crime lord who relies primarily on his subordinates and his [[SmugSnake overestimated wits]] for his dirty work. Crystal is a[[AxCrazy hyperviolent]] assassin with more confirmed kills than brain cells and Haley's rival. Their dynamic is one of [[PragmaticVillainy convienience]] : she would not survive a week in [[WretchedHive Greysky City]] without his guidance and he sees her as a weapon or attackdog to point at people, [[spoiler: a literaly example when he has her revived... as a flesh golem (a Frankenstein's Monsteresque entity) and he notes how easier she is to control since she's not impeded by her petty bloodlust.]] This backfires when [[spoiler: Haley is able to point out this dynamic to get Crystal to attack Bozzok and then relying on Bozzok's ego to infuriate Crystal to finish him off. Crystal later dies a second time being tricked by Haley into a pit of molten metal.]]

* ''Manga/CaseClosed'': Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri. The former is a soccer ace, but is more well-known for his brilliant deductive abilities, the latter is a karateka who is able to punch through concrete.

* ''Manga/CaseClosed'': Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri have this general dynamic, especially once the former got [[FountainOfYouth turned into a six-year-old]]. Before that, Shinichi was in at least ''decent'' shape (having been the school's soccer ace for several years), but still far behind Ran, who could ''punch holes in stone pillars'' without blinking.

* The original [[spoiler: Leonard and Allison Church]] were this, with the former being the Director of Project Freelancer, and the latter being a UNSC Marine who died fighting the Covenant. This carries over somewhat to [[spoiler: their AI counterparts, Church and Tex]] but in that case she is still much smarter than he.

Virtually everyone loves badass female characters. Whether they are an AmazonianBeauty, a LadyOfWar, a GlacierWaif, or a KickChick, it's immense fun watching an ActionGirl at work. However, she can't be good at everything, as that would end up [[MarySue rather boring]].

If a writer wants to give an ActionGirl a partner in asskicking or even a LoveInterest, but wants him to be more than just a SatelliteCharacter, he can be given a skill set that compliments her combat prowess, making him a [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]]. He needn't be a NonActionGuy, but he is defined far more by his intellect than his fighting abilities. In short, another take on TheSmartGuy and TheBigGuy.

* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'': Shinichi Kudo and Ran Mouri have this general dynamic, especially once the former got [[FountainOfYouth turned into a six-year-old]]. Before that, Shinichi was in at least ''decent'' shape (having been the school's soccer ace for several years), but still far behind Ran, who could ''punch holes in stone pillars'' without blinking.

See also BrainsAndBrawn.