History Main / SuperpoweredMooks

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'';

** After the TimeSkip, we learn that Kaido, one of the Four Emperors is building an army empowered with the fake Devil Fruits Caesar Clown produces; It's already at the ''500'' mark. [[spoiler: From what we've seen on the flashback on Zou, these fake Fruits are technically Zoan-types, but don't follow the typical rules of a normal Zoan as they turn random parts of their users into random animal parts (like a wolf hand or an elephant head in chest) and very few are actually capable of changing their bodies at will, meaning most are permanently stuck that way. Later on, we see the drawbacks of these false fruits, as the powers they grant are incredibly random and inconsistent and capable of backfiring on the user (such as having an animal growing out of you that attacks you), and more often than not leave their users horrifically (or hilariously) deformed. Adding onto this, the chances of actually getting powers from them are just a mere 10%, with the other 90% not only failing to get powers, but also losing their ability to swim and get stuck as PerpetualSmilers. Even the successful ones are notably far less effective than the average Devil Fruit user, but they also aren't bound by the rule of 1 regular Devil Fruits follow, putting special emphasis on quantity over quality. '']]
* The Ple Clone Army from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'', hundreds of identical psychic girls piloting [[EmpathicWeapon telepathically controlled]] HumongousMecha.

Any way you cut it though, no matter how much firepower your mere mortal Mooks try to bring against them, they'll simply be completely outmatched, with the heroes often being a full class or higher than them in SuperWeight. Sure, you've got your QuirkyMiniBossSquad or ThePsychoRangers, who have powers of their own, but you have only five or six of them at most, and they can't be everywhere at once. What you need are Mooks with some sort of special abilities (preferably similar or identical to the hero's). Enter the Superpowered Mooks.

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' has the Space Pirates that have copied your beam weapon technology. Even though they had weapons basically equivalent to yours, they lack the slow rate of fire you have for most of them.

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' had the fire-shooting Hammer Brothers that [[UniqueEnemy only appeared twice]] in the entire game; as a pair on the World 2 map, and as singleton in a World 8 Hand Trap stage. And fire-spitting Nippers in one level of World 7.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' had Super Koopas--unshelled Koopa Troopas with Franchise/{{Superman}}-style capes that let them fly. One stomp made them lose the capes and revert to normal.

* The [[SecretPolice]] Dai Li, of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', are "The Secret Police" of Ba Sing Se and prove to be [[DemonicSpiders some of the most formidable advisaries]] the gaang has to contend with. In the ''"Lake Laogai"'' episode, not only were they able to hold their own versus the gaang and Jet's group, in ''"The Day of Black Sun pt.2"'', a lone pair of Dai Li agents were able to stall Aang, Sokka, and Toph, by themselves!

** During the Buster Call on Enies Lobby a horde of Captain-ranked Marines attack the Straw Hat pirates. Since AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, each one has their own superpowers, ranging from being a giant with an axe to the ability to rust metal with a touch. All are dispatched quickly despite the diversity of power.

* The [[EvilCounterpartRace Octolings]] in the ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' series have all the same abilities as an [[PlayerCharacter Inkling]], including the ability to wield ink weapons and subweapons and shapeshift into an octopus form. Later entries even let you be an Octoling yourself.

[[caption-width-right:350:Now ''that's'' a [[IncrediblyLamePun firing squad]].]]

So the heroes are [[FoeTossingCharge mowing through]] your legions of {{Mooks}} like they were nothing. Even your [[GiantMook Giant Mooks]] and EliteMooks barely slow them down for more than a couple seconds. You see, the heroes have an edge that not even your best EliteMooks can hope to match... not only are they better fighters, they're also fighting on a whole different level than your minions. Maybe they're [[Franchise/StarWars Jedi]] skilled in The Force, or [[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon they see the world in bullet-time]] and [[VideoGame/{{Crysis}} wear superpowered nanotech suits]]. Maybe they have a [[VideoGame/{{HalfLife}} gravity gun]], [[VideoGame/JustCause grappling hook pistol]], or some other special weapon your troops have no equivalent of. Perhaps your enemies are straight-up superheroes, or they could just be [[ActionSurvivor average guys]] who only win because your {{Mooks}} are [[EqualOpportunityEvil blind, deaf, mentally impaired or physically challenged]].

Any way you cut it though, no matter how much firepower your mere mortal Mooks try to bring against them, they'll simply be completely outmatched, with the heroes often being a full class or more higher than them in SuperWeight. Sure, you've got your QuirkyMiniBossSquad or ThePsychoRangers, who have powers of their own, but you have only five or six of them at most, and they can't be everywhere at once. What you need are Mooks with some sort of special abilities (preferably similar or identical to the hero's). Enter the Superpowered Mooks.

These guys are equipped with the same or similar powers as the heroes, but produced in large enough numbers that you can use them as elite infantry and field several at once, rather than (as with a QuirkyMiniBossSquad member) merely tossing one out as an end-of-level Boss encounter. This allows you to outnumber the heroes while simultaneously fighting them with their own tricks! [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong There's no way it can possibly fail!]] Unless, of course, that pesky Law Of ConservationOfNinjitsu pops up... and let's not even ''think'' about the inevitable drop in quality of these {{Evil Knockoff}}s due to [[SuperPrototype mass production]], or the effect it will have on their [[PowerDegeneration physical]] and [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil mental]] stability.

** During the Buster Call on Enies Lobby a horde of Captain-ranked Marines attack the Straw Hat pirates. Since AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, each one has their own super powers, ranging from being a giant with an axe to the ability to rust metal with a touch. All are dispatched quickly despite the diversity of power.
** After the TimeSkip, we learn that Kaido, one of the Four Emperors is building an army empowered with the fake Devil Fruits Caesar Clown produces; It's already at the ''500'' mark. [[spoiler: From what we've seen on the flashback on Zou, these fake Fruits are technically Zoan-types, but don't follow the typical rules of a normal Zoan as they turn random parts of their users into random animal parts (like a wolf hand or an elephant head in chest) and very few are actually capable of changing their bodies at will, meaning most are permanently stuck that way. Later on we see the drawbacks of these false fruits, as the powers they grant are incredibly random and inconsistent and capable of backfiring on the user (such as having a an animal growing out of you that attacks you), and more often then not leave their users horrifically (or hilariously) deformed. Adding onto this, the chances of actually getting powers from them are just a mere 10%, with the other 90% not only failing to get powers, but also losing their ability to swim and get stuck as PerpetualSmilers. Even the successful ones are notably far less effective then the average Devil Fruit user, but they also aren't bound by the rule of 1 regular Devil Fruits follow, putting special emphasis on quantity over quality. '']]

* Near the end of the first season of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'', the newly-formed UN-alliance between the three power blocks starts fielding the GN-X mobile suit. Said mobile suit has the mass-produced engine of the Gundams, enabling them to go toe-to-toe with the Thrones and actually defeat the protagonists in the final battle. Of course, [[SoLastSeason by the next season they are obsolete against the new Gundams]]; even the newer GN-XIII is merely a {{mook}}.

* Source material notwithstanding, the ending part of the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Necropolis'' sees Gaunt and his Ghosts fight non-Codex daemons known as Darkwatchers that could teleport.

* The Dragon-Blooded in ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' are essentially meant to be this. They are the weakest of the Exalted, but can pass down their powers to their children (unlike the Celestial Exalted, who exist in fixed numbers and go through {{Reincarnation}}).
* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'' has a semi-heroic example in the form of the Stormwracked, normal humans recruited ''en masse'' by the Queen of Storms to fight under her Princesses in the endless war against the Darkness, and given access to the same Invocation and Practical Magic as Princesses of Storms.

** ''Jedi Academy'' also featured ''elite'' superpowered mooks called Reborn Masters -- as the name indicates, the elite among the New Reborn, and easily about as powerful as real Jedi Masters in the game. There were only a handful and they would have counted as bosses if they weren't nameless and placed at only somewhat critical junctures. They had seemingly been designed to be as difficult to beat as possible, possessing every Force power at highest level except for those limited to the player, superior lightsaber skills, and AI that made the other enemies look like idiots -- you wouldn't catch a master trying to fry you with Force lightning while you were protected against it, nor would they let you [[GoombaStomp jump on their heads Mario-style]] without retaliating, although at least they couldn't slice off three of your limbs in one go like in [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith that one movie]].

* In ''VideoGame/TimeShift'', the player has the ability to slow down or stop time (while continuing to move at normal speeds themselves), allowing them to slaughter basic Mooks left and right. The enemy army's trump card were the Quantum Guards, cyborg soldiers equipped with similar time-bending abilities as the player (Flash Guards could slow time and thus move at super-speeds, and Warp Guards could teleport around by stopping time. Storm Guards are the only Quantum Guards without actual superpowers; they instead use impenetrable, riot-gear-like energy shields that are rather reminiscent of those used by the Jackals from ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'').

* The [[{{Ninja}} Dai Li]], of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', are "The Secret Police" of Ba Sing Se and prove to be [[DemonicSpiders some of the most formidable advisaries]] the gaang has to contend with. In the ''"Lake Laogai"'' episode, not only were they able to hold their own versus the gaang and Jet's group, in ''"The Day of Black Sun pt.2"'', a lone pair of Dai Li agents were able to stall Aang, Sokka, and Toph, by themselves!

* The Bohrok in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''. They're an army of MechaMooks that come in six types, each wielding a different [[ElementalPowers elemental power]].

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' had Super Koopas--unshelled Koopa Troopas with {{Superman}}-style capes that let them fly. One stomp made them lose the capes and revert to normal.

* The [[EvilCounterpartRace Octolings]] in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' have all the same abilities as an [[PlayerCharacter Inkling]], including the ability to wield ink weapons and subweapons and shapeshift into an octopus form.

* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' has many arguable cases, but a clear example are [[MegaCorp Crey's]] Paragon Protectors, who are [[spoiler:clones of dead heroes]].

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'', the Space Pirates that copied your beam weapon technology could be considered this. Especially since, even though they had weapons basically equivalent to yours, they lack the slow rate of fire you had for most of them.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':

** All of fourth season BigBad Trigon's mooks are also superpowered demons. These die fairly easily, all told--too bad there's a literally endless supply of them...

* In the ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' episode "Alpha Male", the Brain uses [[SuperSerum Kobra-Venom]] infused animals to guard his base. These include elephants, crocodiles, vultures, monkeys, and wolves injected with a serum that makes them larger and gives them SuperStrength. Fortunately the Team learns that destroying their inhibitor collars frees them of the Brain's mind control and renders them neutral.

* Cell Jrs. They can use their father's techniques, and individually they were as strong as Vegeta or Trunks.

* The Metal Coolers in ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' : The Return of Cooler. Unusually for this trope, a single Metal Cooler is much stronger than any of the protagonists, dealing out curb stomp battles to a Super Namek and two Super Saiyans. In fact, depending on when this movie is supposed to be set, a single Metal Cooler is on par with the first or second forms of [[BigBad Cell.]]

-->-- '''Nomad''', commenting on [[UsefulNotes/NorthKoreansWithNodongs enemy]] [[PoweredArmor Nanosuit]] soldiers in ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}''

* ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'' had [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual conduits]], EliteMooks armed with powers similar to whichever boss they happen to work under. The Reapers can teleport and create a traveling explosion. The Dust Men are either heavily armored guys who [[MookMaker spawn]] [[GoddamnedBats ankle-biters]] while launching rockets at you or guys who can telekinetically build a [[BossinMookClothing giant mecha suit out of debris]]. The [[AncientConspiracy First Sons]] have cloaking or the ability to project a giant ghostly figure around themselves.

** The absolute best example in the series has to be Banshees. They can [[PowerFloats levitate]], [[TeleportSpam teleport,]] [[SuperToughness soak up more damage than an Atlas heavy mech]], [[SuperStrength pick up and impale a thousand pound krogan with one hand,]] throw out [[EnergyBall energy balls]] that [[LifeDrain drain half your health in one hit,]] and pack a very strong ([[HealingFactor and rapidly regenerating]]) [[DeflectorShields biotic]] [[BarrierWarrior barrier.]]

** In "Hearts and Minds", Despero empowers his soldiers using the Flame of Pytar that also gave him power. These soldiers are far from cannon fodder -- they are introduced [[CurbStompBattle curbstomping]] [[TheWorfEffect a bunch of Green Lanterns]]. [[spoiler:The heroes only win by channeling the Pytar itself, who actually doesn't approve of what Despero is doing with its power, but couldn't stop him until now.]]

* In ''VideoGame/FarCry Instincts: Evolution'', you face off against native Feral Warriors, who possess the same Feral powers as the player (which mostly involve enhanced jumping ability, enhanced speed, and a really mean melee attack).

So the heroes are [[FoeTossingCharge mowing through]] your legions of {{Mooks}} like they were nothing. Even your [[GiantMook Giant Mooks]] and EliteMooks barely slow them down for more than a couple seconds. You see, the heroes have an edge that not even your best EliteMooks can hope to match... not only are they better fighters, they're also fighting on a whole different level than your minions. Maybe they're [[StarWars Jedi]] skilled in The Force, or [[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon they see the world in bullet-time]] and [[VideoGame/{{Crysis}} wear superpowered nanotech suits]]. Maybe they have a [[VideoGame/{{HalfLife}} gravity gun]], [[VideoGame/JustCause grappling hook pistol]], or some other special weapon your troops have no equivalent of. Perhaps your enemies are straight-up superheroes, or they could just be [[ActionSurvivor average guys]] who only win because your {{Mooks}} are [[EqualOpportunityEvil blind, deaf, mentally impaired or physically challenged]].

** In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' the Fused are this for the Voidbringers. Each one is actually [[spoiler:a long dead Singer the god Odium can repeatedly resurrect]], so they are numerous and incredibly difficult to actually kill. They have a variety of magic which seems to be very similar to the Surgebinding abilities that the [[MagicKnight Knight's Radiant]] used, meaning they can do things like Manipulate gravity or create illusions.

* Oddly, this is both used and averted in ''VideoGame/{{BioShock|1}}''. While the background fluff describes Splicers using the same Plasmid abilities that the player can use (e.g., Incinerate! to set people on fire), in the actual game many Splicers are mostly limited to normal weapons, such as clubs, guns, and makeshift grenades. Early exceptions include the Spider Splicers, who seem to have some form of enhanced speed and agility, then Houdini Splicers, who can throw fireballs and teleport. Later chapters include Thuggish (melee) splicers acquiring a passive version of your electric attack, Houdini splicers occasionally employing a version of your Winter Blast plasmid, and the final boss (who throws various ElementalPowers projectiles).

* In Creator/SergeyLukyanenko and Creator/NickPerumov's ''Literature/WrongTimeForDragons'', the first major threat that Victor encounters in the Middle World are the Punishers, squads operated by the [[ElementalMagic Water Clan]] to kill those whom the higher-up Water mages want dead. They are usually composed of dedicated battle mages of lower ranks lead by a third-rank mage. They are quite adept at using [[MakingASplash water whips]] with deadly precision, frequently slicing people in half. The third-rank mage can summon a [[{{Golem}} Water Spirit]], which is invincible to normal weapons (unless you kill the mage controlling it). In fact, any steel weapon that passes through the Water Spirit instantly rusts and crumbles. [[spoiler:It turns out that the Punishers are only there to secretly initiate Victor with Water magic on his path to becoming TheDragonslayer]].

** After the TimeSkip, we learn that Kaido, one of the Four Emperors is building an army empowered with the fake Devil Fruits Caesar Clown produces; It's already at the ''500'' mark. [[spoiler: From what we've seen on the flashback on Zou, these fake Fruits are technically Zoan-types, but turn the ''hands'' into ''animal heads!'']]

* The upcoming game ''VideoGame/QuantumBreak'' features enemies who can continue to move around while time is frozen and use several time-based powers of their own, such as moving at incredible speeds.

* The five "Special Infected" super-zombies from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''. More than the usual "berserk feral ex-human trying to tear your face off", they get extensive mutations that give them long razor-claws, a tongue like a flying-catching lizard, a bladder of disorienting bile, or muscles that make them the size of a car.

** Lifeless armies in ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'',

* Some [[AristocratsAreEvil noble houses]] in ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' have enough [[FunctionalMagic allomancers]] to field entire strike teams of them. Though they're almost all [[MasterOfOneMagic Mistings]] rather than full Mistborn, they're still much more dangerous than ordinary humans would be in their place. [[EvilOverlord The Lord Ruler]] also keeps armies of Koloss (orc-like nonhumans which are superhumanly strong and durable) but rarely uses them because while they're incredibly effective in battle, they also have a tendency to go into uncontrollable killing rages, even against allies, which makes them a weapon of last resort.