Line #40 Main/NerdActionHero


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3	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ddb65da1a31d7e2cb84e8ed209944bb3.jpg]]
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5	When a character is ''primarily'' a [[StereotypicalNerd nerd]] (or possibly {{Geek}}), but still manages to pull off feats of {{Action Hero}}ism, then they are a [[TitleDrop Nerd Action Hero]].
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7	Sometimes this is the result of CharacterDevelopment, where the character starts out as a nerd but over time develops heroic skills. In other cases, the character is a HiddenBadass.
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9	Sometimes a Nerd Action Hero may be paired with an ActionGirl in a StrongGirlSmartGuy duo, and the aforementioned CharacterDevelopment may occur as a result of their interaction.
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11	There is an overlap with BadassBookworm, but many of those are badass first and bookworm only as a bonus. There can also be an overlap with ScienceHero, but a Nerd Action Hero tends to do more ordinary ActionHero things (shooting, fighting, jumping, etc.) when the action starts.
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13	Compare the SuperLoser, an uncool superpowered being, and SuperZeroes, who are ineffective at heroism. For characters who generally take GuileHero or TheSmartGuy roles to the point where viewers might even forget they're devastatingly effective at getting physical, they might have MinoredInAssKicking. Can also be a WorkingClassHero if the nerdy hero is also from the lower working-class backgrounds. Compare PopCulturedBadass, who is often this trope.
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16	!!Examples:
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18	[[foldercontrol]]
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20	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
21	%%* Yomiko Readman of ''Anime/ReadOrDie''.
22	* Throughout the ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' series, due to all the strange things that happen to Kyon, he develops into this. However, after a while, he leaves things to Yuki. After the ''Disappearance (Vanishment)'' movie, though, Kyon has the ability to bargain with aliens that have godlike powers.
23	%%* Ishida Uryuu from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''.
24	* Izuku Midoriya from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is a hero {{Otaku}} to the nth degree, to the point that he memorizes the favorite foods and ''trees'' of the world's most famous heroes. After obtaining One For All, he eventually becomes a brawler who rushes into the middle of the fight to deal serious hurt and overpower his opponents with his SuperStrength, going so far as to [[HeroicRROD break a limb]] if he needs to use 100% of his new power. But his greatest strength is his nigh-encyclopedic hero knowledge and knack for strategy.
25	[[/folder]]
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27	[[folder:Comics]]
28	* Valierie from ''ComicBook/DangerGirl'' is a nerd first and an ActionGirl second, so she qualifies. Abbey, on the other hand, is an ActionGirl first and bookworm second. And third comes JC from [[VideoGame/DangerGirl the video game]] adaptation, who's more of a WrenchWench who can kick ass as nicely as she can defuse bombs.
29	%%* Mr. Fantastic of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' qualifies, DependingOnTheWriter.
30	[[/folder]]
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32	[[folder:Fan Works]]
33	* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy'', Izuku is surprised when Bakugou doesn't refer to him as a nerd once in the first ten minutes they're sitting next to each other at the U.A. Entrance Exam. It's immediately lampshaded how pathetic that sounds.
34	-->'''Izuku:''' Oh man, that just sounds sad...
35	[[/folder]]
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37	[[folder:Film]]
38	* The main protagonist in ''Film/TheLibrarian'' starts out as an overage student who doesn't know when it's time to stop accumulating degrees and get a job instead--quite nerdy. Then he gets a job which requires him to be the hero.
39	* Franchise/IndianaJones would probably appear as this to one of his students or neighbors, as college professor = nerd, but since we in the audience mostly get to see him in the field he probably doesn't qualify.
40	** His father from ''[[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade The Last Crusade]]'', though, is a more traditional archaeologist and not suited for the antics that Indiana finds himself in. He still manages a few brilliant feats.
41	* Milo Thatch in ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' starts out as an out-and-out nerd, but [[TookALevelInBadass mans up]] and leads the final assault on the bad guys.
42	* All the main characters from ''Film/TheLastLovecraftRelicOfCthulhu'' qualify, but top marks must go to Paul, who leads the bad guys away to save the two remaining heroes, gets knocked out, backflips out a window, and then runs across the desert with two broken arms, before asking for some dynamite be shoved down his pants so he doesn't feel left out.
43	* In ''Film/BrokenArrow1996'' Terry attacks one of Deakins's henchmen who she assumes is just a computer nerd, but finds out the hard way that he's a former Navy SEAL. Not enough is revealed about him to put him firmly in either this or the BadassBookworm camp.
44	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' has Spider-Man, who uses battle strategies from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' and ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. He also compliments Falcon and Winter Soldier on their tech ''while fighting them.''
45	[[/folder]]
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47	[[folder:Literature]]
48	* Creator/NealStephenson is fond of these:
49	** ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}'': Randy Waterhouse spends most of the book as a pretty ordinary computer programmer, even though the fact that much of his company's business is in the Philippines brings some travel. At the end however, [[spoiler:he gets thrown in prison for a while]], develops some badass, and comes out as a fully-capable action hero just in time for the FinalBattle.
50	** ''Literature/SnowCrash'': Hiro Protagonist is a programmer who in real life is pretty close to broke (after having failed his pizza delivery job) and lives in a self-storage facility, although he also own a pretty large chunk of prime real-estate in cyberspace (think IP address block) on account of having been one of the guys who created it. As it happens, he is ''also'' the greatest swordfighter in the world (though he mostly gets to demonstrate it in cyberspace) and turns out to be good at other acts of {{Action Hero}}ism as well.
51	** ''Literature/{{Zodiac\|1988}}'': Sangamon Taylor is an analytical chemist who spends most of his time (most of the words in the book, anyway) looking for traces of compounds with covalent chlorine (and other toxins), and talking to people about these issues. He ''also'' engages in a lot of spy-like activities (covert intelligence gathering, sabotage, misdirection, etc.) ''before'' the action gets really hot.
52	%%* Professor William Race of ''Temple'' by Creator/MatthewReilly definitely qualifies.
53	* Although in his own narration, [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] portrays himself as a hardboiled detective, narration from his friends in side stories reveals [[UnreliableNarrator he's really more this trope]]. Karrin Murphy in particular makes note of how things like his height can be either "awkward" or "imposing" and his pop-culture knowledge can come off as clever quips or like a fact-checking nerd. She figures that being the kid who grew too tall before he got coordination is what made him such a stalwart defender of the weak: he's a BullyHunter at heart.
54	* ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'' has Nijel, a weedy kid who's taking a CorrespondenceCourse in heroism (of the [[HeroicFantasy barbarian variety]]) and [[TookALevelInBadass ends up being pretty good at it]]. Good enough to run off with Conina, daughter of the Disc's most famous hero.
55	* ''Literature/InCryptid'': Antimony is an ActionGirl, skilled in combat, and pretty socially adept (plus she has [[PlayingWithFire fire powers]]), and also a ''huge'' geek. Her first mission as leader was to a [[FanConvention comic convention]].
56	* The main premise of ''Literature/{{NERDS}}'' is that a bunch of nerds with braces, glasses and horrible fashion senses are secretly [[KidHero child superspies]] tasked with saving the world.
57	[[/folder]]
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60	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
61	%%* Series/{{Chuck}} is a textbook example. Complete with ActionGirl girlfriend.
62	* Daniel Jackson of ''Series/StargateSG1'' eventually developed into this. He started out as the bookish archaeologist / linguist of the team, usually wielding only a sidearm and having to be defended by others while he translated the inscriptions on whatever ruins they investigated. He continued [[TookALevelInBadass multiclassing into badass]] thorough the series, becoming as competent with weapons and military tactics as the soldiers on the team. This becomes extremely obvious in the season 8 two-parter finale [[Recap/StargateSG1S8E19MoebiusPart1 Moebius]] in which we get a peek into an alternate timeline where he didn't gain said badass levels and remained a meek nerd.
63	* Rodney [=McKay=] of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', who started out ejecting the clip from his gun while attempting to fire it to carrying and effectively wielding a P-90 and acting just as physically competent as Sheppard, the Lt. Colonel team leader.
64	* Harry Sullivan of ''Series/DoctorWho'' is mostly an awkwardly old-fashioned [[BoardingSchool ex-public school]] medical doctor, although with a military past. He is, however, mostly useful in his stories when he and the Doctor sneak up on two aliens and punch them in the back of the neck, and other such feats. (He was originally supposed to be a BadassBookworm to compliment a frail and elderly Doctor but Creator/TomBaker was unexpectedly cast instead, and CastSpeciation forced Harry into focusing primarily on his old-fashioned doctor traits while still providing backup for the Doctor in action scenes.)
65	* Creator/ScottWolter of ''Series/AmericaUnearthed'' fame is often described as a "real-life Indiana Jones", being a Forensic Geologist investigating archeological mysteries.
66	* Wesley's character development across ''Series/{{Angel}}'' tracks his development from pure book nerd to wannabe badass to actual badass... who is still happiest when buried in books.
67	* This trope is all over the place in ''Series/TheFlash2014'', especially in Team Flash. Cisco is a GadgeteerGenius who has some combat training (and picks up metahuman powers as well), [[spoiler: ''both'' versions of Harrison Wells are pretty badass]], and Patty Spivot is a dorky police detective who enjoys reading Barry's lab reports [[spoiler: and leaves to become a CSI herself]]. Barry Allen himself evenly splits the difference between being a nerd and an ActionHero -- he catches bad guys both as a CSI tech and as the Flash.
68	* Billy, the Blue Ranger of the ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. A walking stereotype of a nerd, complete with a {{Technobabble}} way of speaking, NerdGlasses, and overalls. Becoming a Ranger actually improves his nerd cred, since now he gets to tinker with the super-advanced technology of the Command Center and and thus is able to create a horde of impressive machines, as well help make minor upgrades to their Zords, that aid in their fight against the forces of evil. In subsequent seasons, he gets much less stereotypically nerdy, reducing his technobabble speech, and wearing less baggy clothes[[note]]subsequently revealing the actor's impressive physique that the overalls only mostly hid[[/note]], as a result of CharacterDevelopment and becoming a much more confident fighter.
69	[[/folder]]
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71	[[folder:Video Games]]
72	%%* Filia from ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}''.
73	* Gaige in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' is a Nerd Action AntiHero who is just as capable of running around [[DeathWorld Pandora]] with a huge Torgue rocket launcher or shotgun as Krieg (who's nearly a foot taller than her, with washboard abs that are [[WalkingShirtlessScene permanently on display]]). Of her three skill trees, Ordered Chaos is the most Action Hero-y, with a focus on hurling inaccurate but devastatingly powerful bullets at people, and science is mostly applied for the purpose of making the traditional violence more effective (such as using digistruct technology to create claws with which to rip people's faces off).
74	* Gordon Freeman from the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series. He's a theoretical physicist who, in the course of an experiment, accidentally opens a portal through which aliens start pouring out, devastating the laboratory he's stuck in. He quickly becomes an ActionSurvivor, fighting his way through the aliens and the human military sent there as a cover-up operation.
75	* In ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', protagonist Geo Stelar is a 10-year-old astronomy nerd who dreams of being able to venture into outer space one day. Then he meets Omega-Xis and becomes the HenshinHero Mega Man, defending Earth from extraterrestrial invasion, LostTechnology from an ancient civilization, and supernatural terrorist attacks.
76	%%* Both Lloyd and Jeff from the ''Videogame/{{MOTHER}}'' series are perfectly capable of taking out the bad guys despite not having any Psychic powers like their companions.
77	* Judging by their quotes (such as Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt), Taser [[EliteMooks Specials]] from ''VideoGame/{{PAYDAY 2}}'' are a mix between this, NominalHero, and HeroAntagonist.
78	%%* Ernie Eaglebeak of ''VideoGame/TheSpellcastingSeries''. He's got an atomic dragon and a sea monster on his tally, plus, you know, saving the world a few times.
79	* The two playable characters from ''Videogame/WolfensteinYoungblood'' fit in this category. Despite being trained early on to fight if needed, they really just start out as nerds without actual combat experience, owing their combat prowesses entirely to a pair of powersuits. Their rooms are what you'd expect: posters, personal computers, toys, books, all with the [[Main/TheEighties 80's atmosphere]] the game is known for. Their banter and attitude, if a little questionnable, also reflects the tone as well.
80	[[/folder]]
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82	[[folder:Webcomics]]
83	* In ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', there is Sydney, the comic-book store owner with a nerd's physique and outlook on life, who becomes one of Maxima's team of superheroines.
84	* John from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' is quite the geek through and through (mostly about [[TheMovieBuff terrible movies]], but also generally) and is generally something of TheFool, but as the comic evolves, he manages some pretty damn badass stuff.
85	** Then there's his [[spoiler:ectobiological father]], Jake English, who ''thinks'' he's a HollywoodActionHero but is let down by such traits as his massive enthusiasm for every movie that has ever been made and his bizarre fusion of AntiquatedLinguistics and [[SophisticatedAsHell random profanity]].
86	* Space Dread from ''Webcomic/ValAndIsaac'' is the most famous mercenary in the galaxy, a shapeshifting [[BlackMagic black mage]], expert knife thrower, and the one responsible for most of the comic's unironic action sequences (and she's a mercenary in the "only targets serious criminals" school, so she does count as a hero). She ''also'' wears a {{Cosplay}} costume as her work attire, has a non-work wardrobe made up entirely of Music/LemonDemon [[FunTShirt Fun T-Shirts]], does jobs to get graphics cards for her [=MMOs=] or [=DVDs=] of obscure cartoons, and became a mercenary by complete accident due to misunderstanding [[MurderInc what sort of guild]] she was in; she originally wanted to be a ''juggler''.
87	[[/folder]]
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89	[[folder:Web Original]]
90	* WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd may be a stereotypical geek, but when he has to deal with entities that threaten his life, he sure knows how to use a light gun.
91	* Jericho of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse is BlackAndNerdy. He's an inventor at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]]. He's working on power armor designed to help firemen and emergency medical technicians in combat areas. But he's also on a training team with Eldritch, Diamondback and Razorback. This training team is widely felt to be the scariest team on campus.
92	[[/folder]]
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94	[[folder:Western Animation]]
95	* Dexter in ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has his moments in the show, being a super scientist with an assortment of cool [[GiantMecha robots]] and [[GadgeteerGenius gadgets]], but it really becomes true for his FutureBadass version seen in ''[[TheMovie Ego Trip]]''.
96	%%* Pretty much the entire cast of ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', but ''especially'' Hiro Hamada.
97	* [[Characters/RickAndMortyRickSanchez Rick Sanchez]] from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' is the smartest being in existence and is capable of all kinds of action whenever needed. Although he acts too cool to care most of the time, at heart he's a ManChild that mainly applies his super intellect to making awesome fictional things like Voltron mechs real.
98	[[/folder]]

Context Main / NerdActionHero