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->'''Rory Williams:''' I have a message and a question: a message from the Doctor and a question from me. '''''Where. Is. My. Wife?''''' ''[the Cybermen do not respond]'' Oh, don't give me those blank looks. The Twelfth Cyber Legion monitors this entire quadrant. You hear ''everything''. So you tell me what I need to know, you tell me now, and I'll be on my way.\\
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: '''Cyber-Leader:''' What is the Doctor's message? ]]
\\
''[the Cybermen's spaceships explode in the window behind Rory]''\\
'''Rory Williams:''' ''Would you like me to repeat the question?''
-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]"
----
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Gunn is the epitome of the Badass Normal in the first four seasons. He's the only one who's received no special training and isn't a centuries-old demon or magically empowered in some other way. He's been fighting vampires since he was fourteen and, in the fourth season episode "Players", he took out six Asian warrior monk-types without getting hit once. Gunn and the street-gang members he used to lead also fought vampires with more success and less casualties ''using improvised melee weapons'' than the US government's secret black-ops demon-fighting organization was able to manage even using chemically-augmented super-soldiers and energy weapons. Admittedly, the government wasn't just hunting, but studying. In the spin-off comics, Angel states outright that Gunn could have beaten him in a fight if he ever got angry enough. He's probably the toughest character ''without'' supernatural powers in Buffyverse canon.
** Halfway into Season 2 (exhibiting signs as early as the Season 1 episode "The Ring") [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap Wesley started to evoke some measure of usefulness]] besides being TheSmartGuy and hit his [[TookALevelInBadass stride in Season 3]] while growing a PermaStubble. Wesley may have had special Watcher training, but he apparently wasn't good at it, or whoever trained him sucked. It's a pretty big achievement to go from being the male DamselInDistress to being a BadassNormal. By Season 5, he would shrug off almost anything short of Angel's level.
*** Until the series finale, when he suffered a mild case of [[spoiler:being stabbed to death]].
*** And at that point he [[EmpoweredBadassNormal wasn't really normal anymore]], as he had acquired enough skill with magic to create fireballs at will.
** Fred, who, in the later years of her short life, was very adept with a flamethrower (despite being a good ol' Southern girl). Cordelia could also qualify as this before her demonization; she could corner Angel without much of an effort after a couple of training sessions.
** The show also gives us Holtz and Justine. Holtz has managed to capture Angelus/Angel more than once, though he generally had a posse helping him. He is considered the best non-Slayer vampire hunter in history, and he did it without any supernatural help.
* In ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'', The MC Bat Commander is the only member without any actual superpowers. And as often as he's the butt of jokes, it's not uncommon for him to be the one to solve a problem confounding the rest of the team. There's a reason he's the leader, and it's not just because he's a good vocalist.
* Lori Baxter from ''Series/BigWolfOnCampus'' kicks just as much ass as TheHero of the show, Tommy Dawkins.
* ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}'': With the exception of The Female, none of The Boys have superpowers themselves and also don't even have the official CIA backing they had in the comics. Instead, they have to rely on their own smarts, skills, and willingness to play to dirty to gain an edge on the Supes. [[spoiler: Averted with Billy Butcher and Hughie in Season 3 as they both get superpowers.]]
* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Xander Harris occasionally laments how all his friends and allies have superpowers -- Slayers, witches, werewolf, Super Soldier, vampires -- and that he's just the guy fixing the windows. Nevertheless, he is the only one to fight the good fight for more than eight years without ever straying from the path. He intimidated a centuries-old vampire into backing off, used a wrecking ball to corner-shot a god through a brick wall, and devised the plan to put an utterly unstoppable, unkillable demon in the ground -- and it ''worked''. But his crowning achievement was talking a magic-addicted, grief-stricken [[spoiler:Willow Rosenberg]] down when she decided to [[spoiler:[[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery destroy the earth]], [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower relying on nothing more than his love for her and their long history as friends]].]]
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' has Phoebe, who relied on martial arts before she got "active" powers on par with her sisters.
* Susi from ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' is at the end of the first season on the border between [[ActionSurvivor Action Survivor]] and Badass Normal.
* Logan of ''Series/DarkAngel'' manages to come to the rescue of the genetically engineered protagonist more than once despite not only lacking superhuman abilities, he's also in a wheelchair.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': While the Doctor is not quite normal, many of their companions fall into this category, particularly Leela, Jamie, Barbara, Ian, Martha and Jack (at least before the whole "immortal" thing).
** Ace can arguably lead the pack of the companions, being of a quick temper and always carrying with her a backpack full of homemade explosive charges that she's not afraid to use. The woman ''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome took out a Dalek with a powered-up baseball bat]]''. And dispatched another with a rocket launcher.
--->'''The Doctor:''' You killed it!\\
'''Ace:''' I aimed for the [[AttackItsWeakpoint eyepiece]].
** Martha Jones, in the series 3 finale, saving the Earth by [[WalkingTheEarth travelling across it]] for a year, ''after'' it had been conquered by the Master and his army of malevolent cyborgs.
** Donna Noble, while "just" a temp (a substitute worker who's hired on a daily basis to cover for sick employees), repeatedly proves herself remarkably smart, capable, and clever without any tricks or gimmicky technology. Her highlight reel includes pulling a ShutUpHannibal that impresses even the Doctor ("Planet of the Ood"); using BadassBureaucrat skills to expose an evil company's cloning operation ("The Sontaran Stratagem"); being one of the only people able to [[WhatTheHellHero call the Doctor out]] when he goes too far ("The Fires of Pompeii"); and infiltrating an alien-backed company and learning the truth about it [[BavarianFireDrill just by acting like she's supposed to be there]] ("Partners in Crime"). [[spoiler: When she's [[EmpoweredBadassNormal empowered with the Doctor's mind]], she's able to ''save all of reality'' with just her typing skills!]]
** Rory Williams. Think he's just a nurse? ''You're wrong.'' It turns out that ''he'', and not the Doctor, is the "good man" mentioned in the widely quoted saying, "Demons run when a good man goes to war." [[spoiler:While physically human, he "lived" for 2000 years as a plastic centurion, alone, to keep Amy safe. He infiltrated a Cyber-Ship demanding his wife, he withstood [[EldritchAbomination House]] and the Minotaur's MindRape, fought off the Headless Monks at Demon's Run, encountered more of the Silence over the course of three months than any of the other characters, and punched [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]].]]
--->I'm here to kiss my wife or kick your ass. ''And I don't see my wife.''
** Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. Many of the examples on this wiki have a CharlesAtlasSuperpower, centuries of experience, or are a GeniusBruiser. He's got none of those, just the good old-fashioned British stiff upper lip. He's faced down "Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Zygons, and all manner of space thuggery," is the TropeNamer for TheBrigadier, [[HandicappedBadass carries a cane that doubles as a gun,]] and is one of a handful of people in the entire universe who can actually (somewhat) boss the Doctor around. He is such a MemeticBadass that, even ''after'' his death, his daughter can make invaders pause when she invokes his name. Oh, and he punched out the Master once.
** A lot of the one-or-two-episode-based companions serve as this in comparison to the more seasoned TARDIS travelers.
*** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E14TheNextDoctor The Next Doctor]]": [[spoiler:Jackson Lake. An amnesiac Victorian gentleman who believes himself to be the Doctor and does very well, to the point of saving the real Doctor from Cybermen with a hastily improvised weapon at least twice.]]
*** In series six, there's Canton Everett Delaware III, who tells off the ''President of the United States'' from the get-go, runs into the TARDIS without a second thought to keep on top of the Doctor, [[spoiler:pulls off lying to the FBI for three straight months while presumably keeping Rory, Amy, and River out of their cross-hairs, shoots down a Silent, tricks said Silent into dooming his race, works future technology to send the message of the Silent to the Doctor and Apollo 11 and to top it all off, ''comes out to President Nixon in the Oval Office''.]]
* Cal Burns, her family, and by extension all monster hunters in ''Series/FirstKill''. While they use some witchcraft to protect their homes and bases, in the field it's just them and their combat skills - and the ones we see are good enough to take down ghouls, vampires, wraiths, and assorted demons with relative ease.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Meera is not a giant wolf like Summer, doesn't have SuperStrength like Hodor, and doesn't have supernatural abilities like Bran or Benjen, but one-shotting a ''White Walker'' definitely makes you one.
* ''Series/GenseishinJustiriser'': [[BodyguardBabes Reika Motomiya]] isn't a Justiriser, but her bodyguard training has given her quick reflexes and skills in martial arts that make her just as adept at fighting [[{{Mooks}} Zakoal]] as the Justirisers. In the FinalBattle she's even able to keep up with Demon Knight.
* ''Series/{{Grimm}}'':
** Most characters in the show end having special powers one way or another, however, Hank Griffin qualifies 100%. Mere minutes after learning about the existence of Wesen, he was able to handle a fight with a particularly tough one, and continues to be a very tough combatant during the whole run of the series with no enhance abilities at all.
** Main character Nick starts as such, he has the ability to see creatures for what they really are, and gets expert-level fight skills he sometimes doesn't know he has. As the series progresses it is discovered that Grimms do have especial abilities like better sense of hearing, healing easier, and some level of super-strength.
** Most astonishingly, Nick's fiancée Juliette, even before she became a Hexenbiest. When knowing ''nothing'' she saved Nick's ass from a nonhuman opponent via FryingPanOfDoom, but that was just a harbinger of things to come: when protecting a friend from an abusive boyfriend, Nick was surprised and knocked out when the guy first came in the door, leaving just Juliette. She kicked his ass. Then he went OneWingedAngel. Juliette nonchalantly said "Not impressed" and kicked his ass ''even more.'' When Nick was finally in fighting condition again, all that was left for him to do was put some handcuffs on him. When he recognized Nick for a Grimm and went into oh-god-don't-kill-me mode, Nick said that he should worry more about Juliette.
** Later in the series, Sergeant Wu joins this trope, being able to fight Wesen, especially since he typically comes armed to the teeth. But he also uses his intelligence to great advantage in the fight. He ends up losing the "normal" part of this label when he's infected with a Wesen virus and gains the ability to change into a stronger but more primitive version of himself, but not voluntarily.
** There is also Meisner, a key member of LaResistance, who is most definitely not a Grimm, but has killed many highly-trained and dangerous Wesen, including members of the [[PraetorianGuard Verrat]]. The episode where Nick finally meets Meisner has them fighting back-to-back. Meisner also casually walks up to a dangerous Wesen unarmed in an elevator. The doors then close, and all we hear is signs of fighting. You can guess who wins (hint: it's not the Wesen). You could almost imagine a [[HeroOfAnotherStory spin-off focused on the character]].
** On the evil side, there's Prince Kenneth, although it's not clear if Royals are regular humans or a strange type of Wesen. He is shown to be incredibly strong, able to knock Sean Renard (Zauberbiest/Royal hybrid) [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom halfway across the room]].
* Iolaus from ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'', which shares a verse with Xena, qualifies too. The man hangs out with Hercules and regularly aids him in combat, and saves his ass more than a couple times.
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** Noah Bennet. He has defeated superpowered people simply by knowing how they work and going around them. He thought in Japanese to counteract telepath Matt Parkman's mind reading, arranged an escape from a prison meant to contain superpowered people, and kept an electrically-powered super under control by soaking her in water. In one of the online comics available, he defeats a man who can destroy things with his hand by grabbing him by the wrist and beating him unconscious with a baseball bat. Why not shoot him? [[CombatPragmatist It was inconvenient to figure out a way to go get his gun which was near his family]]. In "The Butterfly Effect" (Season 3 Episode 2), Bennet is being held in a Level 5 cell. Level 5 is normally only for the most dangerous superpowered people, but Bennet is so badass without powers that the Company feels the need to keep him in Level 5. During the two-parter "Eclipse" coupling, he became the most powerful character in the show after all the others lost their powers. Suffice to say quick wits, extensive knowledge of powered individuals and a handgun are all he needs! And a box cutter. Season 5 seems to be topping the sundae that is Bennet's badassness. [[spoiler:Gut sliced up by speedster assassin? Silly Edgar, you can't kill Noah Bennet.]] Bennet's up and walking again by the end of the week. He gets his revenge in "Let It Bleed", [[spoiler:locking Edgar in an industrial freezer for an indefinite amount of time, then tying him to a chair and spending several hours practicing the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique on him.]]
** The Bennet family is pretty badass (even Claire, but she is superpowered), considering Sandra goes with her daughter on a rescue mission to save Meredith and Lyle goes after Ted with a baseball bat and throws a bucket of water on Elle, in the style of dear old dad.
** Ando, Hiro's best friend and somewhat-sidekick with absolutely no powers whatsoever. [[spoiler:In the first 3 volumes at least.]] "Somewhat-sidekick" because Ando's common sense and steadfast loyalty to his geeky, IdiotBall carrying buddy has a tendency to save the day more often than any superpower.
** Volume 4 gives us Emile Danko, a veteran soldier who, while he does occasionally need some help from the likes of Noah or [[spoiler:Sylar]] due to his inexperience at dealing with superpowered people, proves to be a very dangerous adversary due simply to his cunning and creativity (like framing a hero as a suicide bomber). You can call him the Anti-Bennet, due to having the same amount of badassness, but far looser moral standards.
** Peter Petrelli in Season 3 when he [[spoiler:lost his powers]]. He still managed to [[spoiler:get into Pinehearst, and would have killed his TooPowerfulToLive father.]]
* ''Franchise/KamenRider''
** Kazuya Taki in the first ''Series/KamenRider'' is the TropeCodifier for the franchise. He's not as strong as Kamen Rider himself, but he's a skilled FBIAgent capable of taking on multiple [[{{Mooks}} Shocker Combatmen]], who are stated to be much stronger than your average human.
** Riderman from ''Series/KamenRiderV3''. Unlike other Showa Riders who was a cyborg, Riderman was just an ordinary human with an artificial arm as enhancement. Doesn't stop him from being pretty awesome, though. His [[{{Determinator}} will and determination]] along with his own [[BadassBookworm smarts and resourcefulness]] is more than enough to close the power gap.
** [[spoiler:[[BigBad Isaac]]]] in ''Series/KamenRiderSaber'' is stronger than any of the [[TheOrder Sword of Logos]] Kamen Riders, even though he himself isn't a Rider at all. When he fights Saber and Calibur in episode 33, he's able to handle duel wield the [[ShockAndAwe Ikazuchi]] and [[DishingOutDirt Gekido]] blades against them and defeat both of them at once. [[spoiler:And then [[EmpoweredBadassNormal he obtains]] the [[RealityWarper Omniforce]] and becomes [[OhCrap Kamen Rider Solomon]].]]
* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': Jennsen's just a shepherd girl, but proves herself quite brave and resourceful though she has no special skills or magic. Given that she has both [[EvilOverlord Rahl]] and [[TheArchmage Zorrander]] heritage, it's probably not surprising (her brother is also [[TheChosenOne the Seeker of Truth]]).
* Kenzi from ''Series/LostGirl'', who uses her wits and pure grit to keep up with the FantasyKitchenSink of magical powers. Also, the ScienceHero Lauren has her badass moments.
* ''Series/TheMandalorian'':
** The eponymous Mando himself, a.k.a. Din Djarin, may possibly be the most badass non-Force-Sensitive character in canon, and would likely even give a few from the expanded universe a run for their money as well. He's able to take on armies of opponents, rip the limbs off droids, charge through MoreDakka blaster fire, slay {{Kaiju}}[=-sized=] alien monsters, destroy one of the Dark Troopers and even hold his own against Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi Knight, and block her dual lightsaber slashes with the beskar armour on his wrists. By the time of ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'', Din can wield the Darksaber in combat as [[MookHorrorShow effectively]] as the Force Users who have previous wielded it in the past like Darth Maul. Of course, this is less surprising considering that Mandalorians generally have {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s and are seen as {{Worthy Opponent}}s to the Jedi, having had wars with them in the past, but even by Mandalorian standards, Din is most impressive.
** Mando's TrueCompanions Greef Karga and Carla Dune aren't too shabby themselves, being able to take on scores of Imperials, with the latter being able to go hand to hand against alien opponents (including a Zabrak, one of Darth Maul's race). In Chapter 12: "The Siege", they have a ChaseFight with a bunch of Imperials and survive long enough for Mando to come in at the last second to save them with his CoolStarship.
** Fenneic Shand certainly counts; she's a ColdSniper with martial arts skill who could've killed Mando (twice) if not for his protective beskar armour and returns later in the series to take on an army of Stormtroopers, at one point dislodging a boulder to crush them all. Given that she's played by Creator/MingNaWen of [[Film/StreetFighter Chun-Li]] and WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} fame, it's to be expected.
** Mayfeld qualifies; he's the only human out of the team of rogues in Chapter: 6 "The Prisoner", but still goes GunsAkimbo on a load of security droids. Taken even further in Chapter 15: "The Believer"; when confronted with his former Imperial boss, [[spoiler:Mayfeld snaps and kills of the son of a bitch and every other Imperial in his way before blowing up the entire base]].
** Morgan Elsbeth from Chapter 13: "The Jedi" earns her BadassNormal credentials when she engages in a duel with the aforementioned Ashoka using a beskar spear and actually gives her genuine fight. Granted, it's strongly inferred that Ahsoka is being a good sport by not using the Force, but just being able to knock one of her lightsabers out of her hand is definitely nothing to scoff at. Subverted in ''Series/{{Ahsoka}}'' which [[{{Retcon}} retroactively]] reveals Elsbeth is actually descended from the Witches of Dathomir and knows Force Magick, perhaps better justifying why she could give Ahsoka any trouble in Episode 13 of ''The Mandalorian''.
** The series BigBad Moff Gideon is one of the few BadassNormal antagonists in ''Star War'' and is very intimidating in his own right. Not only is he a ruthless CombatPragmatist who almost kills Mando [[ShootTheFuelTank by shooting a nearby generator]] which blows up in Mando’s face (rather than wasting his shot by shooting uselessly at his armour like every other foe) but he proves to be effective enough with the Darksaber to put Mando on the defensive when Gideon surprise attacks him. By the finale of Season 3 he’s given himself Vader-esque Beskar PoweredArmour and is more than able to take on both Din and Bo-Katan at the same time.
* Every character in ''Series/Merlin1998'' who doesn't have magic is this. King Vortigern rips through a platoon of enemy soldiers, has dealings with the queen of TheFairFolk, and unflinchingly faces a powerful wizard in single combat. Frik manages to take down numerous opponents, survive a war, and work against Mab even after [[spoiler:he lost all of his magic]]. Ambrosia regularly acts unimpressed by magical beings such as Mab, insults them to their faces, and declares that one point that, magic or no magic, [[MamaBear if Mab harms Merlin in any way, "I'll have her guts for my bootlaces."]]
%%* On ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
* Kung Lao, Siro, and Taja, the protagonists of ''Franchise/MortalKombat: Conquest'', are all ordinary human beings who regularly face off against supernatural opponents who can shoot ice, throw fire, teleport, devour souls, re-animate the dead, etc. Not only do they stand toe to toe against these enemies but they usually win. In one episode Shang Tsung, Kung Lao's primary rival, destroys a military encampment with his powers because he was just that pissed. Had he thought of doing that when he faced Kung Lao in ''Mortal Kombat'', Earth Realm would have been doomed before the series even began.
** When Quan Chi and Kung Lao first fought, Quan Chi tried to use his sorcery but was immediately stopped by Raiden in the name of "a fair fight."
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]], PrinceCharming and [[Literature/PeterPan Captain Hook]] are all normal people who take on dragons, sorcerers and literal gods armed with nothing but swords and bows, and come out on top. Emma was this until she unlocked her Saviour powers and became an EmpoweredBadassNormal.
** In Season 8; Henry, Literature/{{Cinderella}} and [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog Tiana]] have no magic of their own but manage to defeat two of the most powerful magicians in all the realms.
* In ''Series/{{Powers}}'', pretty much everyone in Powers Division, as they are normal humans who investigate superhuman crimes.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** Semi-[[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' for the series' 15th anniversary ReunionShow. Four recent Rangers with civilian form-only extra powers were teamed up with Adam from Season 2. After a straight martial arts fight scene where the others used their powers, Adam commented on his unpowered martial arts skills, "It may be old school, but it gets the job done." Considering how the fandom has complained about civilian powers and the fact that the actor's face was always visible (to assure the audience that no stunt double was being used), probably overlaps with {{Fanservice}}.
** Most every Ranger has some badassitude without their powers, showing them fight the {{Mook}}s of the season is supposed to help the transition to the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' costume footage.
** [[Series/PowerRangersRPM Dr. K]] took down her season's [[TheDragon Dragon]] by [[MusicalAssassin playing the violin]]. '''Twice'''.
** [[Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge Kendall Morgan]] proves to have fighting abilities not much farther below that of the Ranger team she's MissionControl for. [[spoiler: It's probably {{Foreshadowing}} for her eventually becoming a Ranger herself.]]
* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
** Dave Lister, a [[ThePigPen slob]] he may be, is actually quite the space hero in own right. Having taken on and defeated on Simulants, genetically engineered monsters and even outwitted TheDreaded Inquistor who had survived to the end of time and had a Thanos-esque [[TrickedOutGloves Tricked-Out Glove]]. This espeically impressive considering the rest of the Dwarfers are: a humanoid cat person with SuperReflexes, a Mechanoid with [[TheSmartGuy immese intellect]] and [[SwissArmyAppendage Swiss Army Appendages]] and a Hologram made of HardLight, Lister manages to be pretty smegging badass for a vending machine repairman. Lampshaded by a few kids on a bus and Lister himself in ''Back to Earth'': "I'm pretty cool, I don't take any smeg, and even though I'm disgusting, sometimes I can be quite brave".
** Ace Rimmer as seen in "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonIVDimensionJump Dimension Jump]]" is this to MemeticBadass-levels... in stark contrast to DirtyCoward Rimmer of [[AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome the main universe]]. Ace in his debut episode saves the crew after they crashed onto a ocean moon, repairing the ship (while hanging upside down to fix the starboard engine) in the middle of storm ''with a broken arm'' and knocked Kryten the aforementioned Mechanoid out when the latter tried to stop him due to said injury. By his next appearance in "[[Recap/RedDwarfSeasonVIIStokeMeAClipper Stoke Me A Clipper]]", he's surfing crocodiles, killing Nazis, shrugging off shots to the chest and saving beautiful princesses without so much as breaking a sweat [[spoiler:subverted though as it turns out he's a HardLight Hologram and not actually the same Ace that the crew met in "Dimension Jump".]] Even non-dead Rimmer has managed once in a blue moon to be this, like in Series VIII when he knees TheGrimReaper [[GroinAttack in the nuts]] and gets away with it, "Only the good die young" indeed.
* ''Series/ShadowAndBone'' is set in a world where mages like Grisha are the combat elite. However, some of the characters are so martially competent despite not having Grisha, they can take on the mages and survive.
** PlayedWith in Jesper, a quick-draw gunslinger with ImprobableAimingSkills. It's mentioned that firearms are slowly making Grisha outdated, but the tech level of the setting isn't ''quite'' at the point where manipulating materials and the human body is useless. However, Jesper's incredible skill with a gun lets him take out not only Grisha, but also volcra, monstrous creatures of darkness that even the Grisha have trouble fighting against. However, Season 2 [[spoiler:reveals that Jesper ''is'' secretly Grisha himself and has been applying his Durast control over solid matter to his gunfights.]]
** Inej is just as great in a fight vs. Grisha and volcra as Jesper with her throwing knives, with apparently only incredible aim and a background in acrobatics to account for it.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** James T. Kirk from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''. What else do you call a regular human who can defeat a [[BioAugmentation "superman"]] with his fists and a wrench and survive two fights with a Vulcan?
** Captain [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Sisko]] has Kirk beat in spades. In his time, he is able to fell [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Klingons]] and [[SuperSoldier Jem'Hadar]] by the dozens in ''melee'' combat despite both races being many times stronger than humans, and even [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punched Q in the face]] and lived to tell about it. That said, Kirk did slap Trelane (in the most humiliating way possible) about a century before.
** Miles O'Brien. Started as an enlistee without all the fancy Academy training the commissioned officers get. Worked his way up to become Trek's most notable noncom. Decorated 15 times, has been on six starships in 235 different tactical scenarios, and is considered an expert on ship-to-ship combat. He's not bitter that he's still only a Senior Chief Petty Officer and not a full commissioned officer despite everything, though. First, he already has ''de facto'' commander rank by virtue of being the chief engineer on Terok Nor, and second, he wouldn't enjoy those officer dinners anyway. Too many forks.
** The human species as a whole when compared to all the aggressive species they meet. The humans have the drive and spirit to hold their own and always somehow manage.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Dean Winchester. When the guys [[spoiler:he stops the Apocalypse with]] include an angel, an archangel, a demon bigwig, a much more experienced hunter, and his brother [[spoiler:who can exorcise demons with his mind]] and you're STILL the most awesome, you're pretty badass.
** Bobby Singer could also be included as this, especially [[spoiler:after he ends up in a wheelchair]].
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
** Honourable mention go to [[TheAce Eiji Takaoka]] from ''Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger''. Before he becomes [[SixthRanger BoukenSilver]], he is so badass that in his human form he can beat up two Ashu demons, whom the five other Boukengers together, in their Ranger form, were unable to defeat.
** ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'': Arashi Busujima. His debut episode features him biting a strong MonsterOfTheWeek and turning it and its minions into his new gang. Also, in addition to not having special powers, the man is an idiot among geniuses. Sure, next episode he's turned into a genius, but [[spoiler: he eventually is reverted back into his old self. At which point he make a suicide run into what was arguably the strongest Monster Of The Week in the season and succeeds.]]
** ''Series/MiraiSentaiTimeranger'': Among the vast numbers of superpowerful {{Big Bad}}s in the franchise, the mastermind behind the events of this season is [[spoiler:the perfectly normal Captain Ryuya, who simply did a few things to destroy a good chunk of the past all to save his own life. While he is associated with both the Time Red and Time Fire powers, he's not the primary user of either]].
* ''Series/TeenWolf'':
** Deaton, the veterinarian. COMPLETELY UNFLINCHING in the face of the Big Bad Wolf, even after getting a chair thrown at him. "We. Are. Closed."
** The Argents and werewolf hunters in general make a freaking point of being this, using wolfsbane-laden arrows and bullets to take down wolves.
** Stiles, who is able to fight monsters and save his supernatural friends with only a baseball bat is pretty impressive for someone who's only human. [[spoiler:Usually.]]
* Many of the recurring non-supernatural characters in ''Series/TrueBlood'', but particularly Jason Stackhouse (less so in Season 1); he [[spoiler:defeats [[FantasticRacism Steve Newlin]] with a paintball gun, chucks Bill out of his house when he starts getting uppity, and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome saves Tara]] from an insane {{Yandere}} vampire]].
* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' has multiple examples like Hazel, Cha-Cha[[note]] though it's implied they may be enhanced [[/note]], Lila, the Swedes, The Handler but Diego and Allsion deserve a special mention as even when not using their specific superpowers (which often aren't as immediately as impressive as Luther's SuperStrength or Five's TeleportSpam) have the hand to hand skill to kick plenty of ass. Diego in particular was the TheCowl long before his powers evolved from mere ImprobableAimingSkills to BulletDodgesYou MindOverMatter power. There's also Reginald Hargreeves who despite being a older man, matches Diego in a one one fight, shanking him the torso and doing the UnflinchingWalk away [[spoiler:subverted when it turns out he's a alien.]]
* ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'': Gomora is nothing more than an extraordinarily large Earth dinosaur, and its only special ability is tunneling through the ground (which it doesn't use in combat), yet it is the only monster to fight Ultraman to a draw.
* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'':
** Elena Gilbert is one of an increasingly dwindling number of major characters who don't have superpowers, but she shows herself to be able to hold her own and gain control of situations where she is physically the underdog on numerous occasions.
** Alaric Saltzman is a much better example, until he [[spoiler:he gets turned into a vampire in Season 3]]
%%** Bill and Jeremy also fall under this category.
%%** Meredith, Matt.
* ''Series/TheWitcher2019'':
** In a world full of sorcerers and empowered mutants like Geralt, BlackKnight Cahir is just one skilled warrior who is able to fight a Doppler and royally kick the ass of Vilgefortz a MagicKnight with little diffculty. Downplayed in Season 2 though as it's shown while effective in a pure melee he's pretty much helpless againist magic users such as Tissaia and Fringilla.
** Queen Calanthe in a case of RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething, is a warrior queen and BloodKnight who actively particates on the battlefield, slaying multiple Nilfgaard soldiers before being overrun. In a flash back episode, she even matches blades with Geralt himself.
** Renfri, as seen in the climax of the first episode is such a [[MasterSwordsman Master Swordswoman]] she can hold her own againist Geralt in a sword fight being one of the very few human characters to give him any trouble at all.
** Jaskier although more a ActionSurvivor has proved espeically in Season 2 to be a GuileHero who's survived being a room full of Witcher munching Basilisks and a PersonOfMassDestruction without getting a single scratch on him.
** Yennefer in Season 2 when BroughtDownToNormal. She manages free Cahir in a room full of sorcerers, survives getting pulled underwater by a octopus monster and saves Jaskier from Rience aka "[[PlayingWithFire Fire Fucker]]" by playing drunk and spitting alcohol at the right moment, permanently [[FacialHorror scarring]] the fire mage.
* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'':
** Autolycus and Gabrielle. Autolycus is the King of Thieves and Gabs TookALevelInBadass from being a village girl who dreams of adventure to [[spoiler:taking Xena's place]] in the series finale, with no suspect ancestry.
** Xena herself wanders in and out of this trope. It's ''possible'' that she doesn't apply at all, because it's implied but never confirmed that she's Ares' daughter. The standard assumption in-universe is that she's 100% mortal, and she can kick ass and take names with the best of them but it can verge on CharlesAtlasSuperpower at times.
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