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  • The Beast from Beauty and the Beast, despite his monstrous appearance and short temper, apparently has his own personal private library.
  • Professor Padraic Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective is the rodent Captain Ersatz of Prof. Moriarty, plus being very physically imposing due to him being a rat... ahem, big mouse.
  • Lilo & Stitch: Stitch himself was designed to be this, being super strong (and Nigh Invulnerable) with a mind that can think faster than a supercomputer. Best exemplified with his prison escape (tricking the DNA-tracking blasters guarding him, for starters) and his rescue of Lilo (using a tanker truck full of gasoline on a volcano to propel himself into the air to reach and break into a spaceship, then throwing out its huge pilot). Similarly, Dr. Jumba Jookiba is an incredibly stout alien, yet he's the scientist who created Stitch, and able to fight Stitch toe-to-toe.
  • The Incredibles:
    • Not explicit, but Mr. Incredible must be very intelligent to master the subtle ins-and-outs of Insuricare in the first The Incredibles, which we see even before he outwits Syndrome's Omnidroid and goes for a delve in the computer network. Mr. Incredible is actually quite sharp, and when he's infiltrating Syndrome's base, this fact helps him just as often as his strength does. In the sequel, when Mr. Incredible had a hard time helping his son Dash with his math homework and although he never studied algebra before, he managed to learn and help Dash with his math homework after reading the algebra book overnight.
    • Speaking of the Omnidroid, it's a very powerful Humongous Mecha whose most dangerous ability is explicitly stated to be its intelligence and ability to learn.
  • Mulan: Shan Yu and his lieutenants are powerful warriors, some of them quite massive, but they're also Scarily Competent Trackers who display Awesomeness by Analysis. Together, they determine the location of the Imperial Army just by looking at a child's doll. They're also the only six Huns to survive the avalanche.
  • In Turning Red, Abby acts as a bouncer for her friends' red panda racket, and is capable of knocking down Mei with a single punch (She also wasn’t doing so in the middle of a fight, meaning she could be an even better fighter in a situation where she’s actually trying to hurt someone) but is acknowledged to be as bright as Mei (who is a straight-A student) by Ming, and Mei also counts in this category for being a straight A student and being a fearsome beast in her panda form. Aside of being emotionally smarter than her family in accepting is Ming's fault and helicopter parenting that gave her traumas than accepting she is growing up in her own terms.
  • In Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph himself is one of sorts. Though he doesn't exactly appear to be, Ralph actually proves to be quite intelligent, and uses his giant fists in creative ways. Like instantly coming up with a plan to erupt Diet Cola Mountain by knocking down the mentos stalactites with his fists after Calhoun says there's no way to stop the Cy-Bug invasion without a beacon.

Live-Action

  • James Bond:
    • James Bond himself is a master of multiple languages (across the film canon he has shown he speaks or understands French, German, Italian, Danish, Japanese and Russian and possibly others). He demonstrates excellent knowledge of sciences, often as much or even better than the Evil Genius villains he goes up against, everything from physics to marine biology. He can drive or pilot basically any vehicle, and can identify the make and model of basically any car on sight (even down to noticing phony license plates). He has great knowledge of history and master-level knowledge of international politics. He is a connoisseur of fine food and wine and a decent cook in his own right. And of course, he is a Royal Navy intelligence officer, soldier and commando, a master at hand-to-hand combat, and able to defeat entire armies of men armed with nothing but a handgun (though he has also shown proficiency with all manner of weapons ranging from swords to Machine Guns Akimbo).
    • Tee Hee Johnson from Live and Let Die is Dr. Kanaga’s imposing lackey with a claw-equipped prosthetic arm, who nearly overpowers Bond in a physical fight. He also has impressive knowledge about crocodiles, and displays strategical skills when he infiltrates Bond and Solitaire’s train, by disguising himself as a mailbag and sneaking into their compartment after short-circuiting the train’s lights.
    • Jaws from The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker is mostly known for his brute strength, steel dentures, and ability to survive anything thrown at him. However, he is far from stupid, as he pulls some clever and effective ambushes in both films. And in the latter film, he realizes that there would be no place for him or his girlfriend in Drax' "perfect world", so he pulls a Heel–Face Turn and survives.
    • In interviews for Spectre, Dave Bautista said that on his way to becoming part of the movie, he asked the director if his villainous character Mr. Hinx was badass (he was) and if he was intelligent (yes, "very intelligent"). At least once he joked that compared to his somewhat confused character Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy, Mr. Hinx "knows what a metaphor is".
  • A Man Called Dagger: Richard Kiel, known for his role as Jaws in the James Bond films, appeared in a similar role in this Bond rip-off film. At one point his Big Bad employer asks rhetorically why Hitler lost World War II, and Kiel's character considers for a moment, then starts to give a complex and erudite answer before being cut off.
  • John Candy also played with this a little bit. Stripes, for example, has Ox.
  • The musclebound Luther Stickell in the Mission: Impossible Film Series and video games is also one of the world's foremost computer experts.
  • Killjoy in The Ice Pirates, played by the late John "Sloth" Matuszak, is not only the biggest of the pirates, but also the smartest.
  • Star Wars:
    • Chewbacca is an enormous Wookiee who has the strength to tear your limbs off if you get him angry enough. He's also quite the engineer, able to keep the Millennium Falcon running, chart hyperspace routes, and repair C-3P0 from virtual scrap. In Revenge of the Sith, Chewie is a high-ranking commander of the Wookiee forces, so he must be skilled at strategy and military tactics. He also plays Dejarak (the Star Wars equivalent of Chess), although he's apparently less skilled than R2-D2.
    • Darth Vader is a huge guy with extensive cybernetic implants. Although he usually kills people with his lightsaber or Force Choke, he is also capable of crushing a man's throat with his bare hands. He also built C-3PO as a child and modified his star fighter extensively. In addition, the entire plot of The Empire Strikes Back was his own very cunning Batman Gambit to draw Luke to him.
  • Julius Benedict from Twins (1988) was a result of an experiment of producing an advanced human being by combining sperm from six fathers who are athletes and scholars. Being raised by a doctor, he's physically strong, spiritually pure, excels in history, science, mathematics, literature, and can speak twelve languages.
  • A dock worker in Eraser hints at being a Genius Bruiser while he and his colleagues are observing an arms deal between the bad guys and some men from the former Soviet Union.
    Boss: Damn Commies.
    Bruiser: Actually, Sir, they're not Communists anymore. They're a federation of independent, liberated states.
  • Spider-Man Trilogy:
    • Just like in the comics, Norman Osborn a.k.a. the Green Goblin from Spider-Man, the creator of the Goblin Glider and other Oscorp weapons, is something of a Genius Bruiser himself. Even after taking the Psycho Serum, which gave him superpowers at the cost of an Ax-Crazy Split Personality, he's still diabolically intelligent and crafty, using his gadgets to get the jump on his nemesis Spider-Man multiple times and would've killed him in their final fight by playing innocent and remote controlling the Glider to skewer Peter, if not for the latter's Spider-Sense. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Norman adapts to the technology of the MCU terrifyingly fast and is able to get the jump on even the likes of Doctor Strange by planting a Pumpkin Bomb in the spell cube, as well as overpower multiple Spider-Men.
    • Doctor Otto Octavius a.k.a. Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2, already a brilliant scientist able to build a device capable of replicating The Power of the Sun, he gets four powerful mechanical arms allowing him to give the superhuman Spider-Man a helluva fight several times. It's especially highlighted when fighting Spidey; Otto will happily exploit any advantage, even attempting a sneak attack with his blade arm when Spidey is leaping at him — foiled by Aunt May's Handbag of Hurt. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Otto can match the Iron Spider Suit (immediately recognizing the nanotechnology), and after his Heel–Face Turn, he fools Electro before depowering him by removing the Arc-Reactor from his chest and saving the other two Spider-Men from getting fried to death.
  • X-Men Film Series
    • In X-Men: First Class, Hank goes from being a Badass Bookworm at the beginning to being a Genius Bruiser toward the end. This is because he injected himself with something that utterly transformed his appearance. By X-Men: The Last Stand, he's a scientist/diplomat who can kick lots of ass.
    • The Wolverine: Implied with Viper since she's a scientist. Shingen Yashida makes a brief mention to the fact he graduated in biology, and is as well a very competent businessman. Ichirō Yashida served in the military in World War II, and later founded a highly successful technology conglomerate.
  • El Santo, the famous Masked Luchador hero of Mexico, was always portrayed as highly intelligent and cultured, and often as a true genius. To take just one example, in Santo en El Tesoro de Drácula, Santo invents a working time machine all by himself!
  • Gunnar Jensen in The Expendables 2 is revealed to have a Fulbright scholarship and a degree in chemical engineering... just like Dolph Lundgren, who plays him.
  • In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane looks like a gorilla wearing a Darth Vader costume. But he's a match for Batman tactically as much as physically. He's also highly cultured and well-spoken, he even holds the front of his coat like he's giving a speech like Winston Churchill. And one line even indicates that he has a good working knowledge of nuclear physics.
  • In The Amazing Spider-Man, the Lizard stands 7'6" tall and is capable of punching through inch-thick steel emergency doors. When he and Peter fight in a chemistry classroom, he takes note of the vials standing around and mixes the contents of two of them together to create a bomb. It makes it clear Connors' intellect is still there under the scales. In a Deleted Scene he convinces himself he doesn't have to be afraid of Spider-Man because he is bigger, faster and stronger than he is, has teeth and claws and an Empire State University degree. It's also evident in Spider-Man: No Way Home as Lizard is able to deduce and speak intelligently to the shock of those who assumed he was just a dumb animal, and even get under people's skins with words alone Hannibal Lecter-style. He even wounds Doctor Strange, off-screen.
  • Roadblock from G.I. Joe: Retaliation he's not only strong, but he's also pretty smart and good at coming up with strategies.
  • In Broken Arrow (1996), Terry nearly bites off more than she can chew by trying to sneak-attack a mook in Nerd Glasses and a lab coat.
    "You probably thought I was some science nerd! I was a Navy SEAL, lady! You should see what I can do with just my thumb!"
  • Warrior: Brendan is a physics teacher, and a badass MMA fighter. This is even lampshaded by his trainer.
  • In Frankenstein: The College Years, the Frankenstein's Monster (nicknamed "Frank") starts out as the typical lumbering moron of other film adaptations since the process to resurrect him is incomplete. The protagonists eventually figure out the secret to saving Frank, namely sugar, since the anti-rejection serum that keeps Frank's organs working together causes glucose deficiency. This explains Frank's Sweet Tooth throughout the movie. After his brain fully recovers, Frank is able to speak for the first time in the movie and he claims that he's fluent in multiple languages.
  • Jason Bourne from The Bourne Series. Extremely good at lateral thinking and finding highly creative ways to stay one step ahead of the people hunting him, but when the chips are down, can annihilate anyone who goes up against him in a fight.
  • Cady, the villain in the 1991 remake of Cape Fear, is both in exceptionally good shape and terrifyingly smart. He studied law in prison, becoming a lawyer, even acting as his own defense during his appeals.
  • In Godzilla (2014), Godzilla is rather crafty for a giant reptile. After seeing how his atomic breath only had a minor effect on the female Muto, he switched to grabbing her head and firing it down her throat until it decapitated her. As for the male Muto, Godzilla was having difficulty dealing with the male constantly resorting to hit and run attacks from the air. So Godzilla suckered the male into attacking him from behind by pretending that he didn't know it was there, then giving him a tail attack that knocked the male out of the air into a protruding beam, impaling it. In Godzilla vs. Kong we just see how devastatingly crafty Goji is as he while fighting Kong in the ocean. He purposely destroys the Aircraft Carriers his primate rival is standing on, knowing Kong will fall into the ocean, where he has Home Field Advantage (and apes aren’t great swimmers anyway).
  • Nathan from Ex Machina is a muscular fitness nut who practices boxing and works out constantly. At the same time, he wrote the code for the world's most-used search engine when he was thirteen, built up a multi-billion dollar corporation around that product, and designed a ground-breaking artificially intelligent robot all by himself.
  • DMX's character in Exit Wounds. Besides looking like a typical thug and being able to fight Steven Seagal to a draw, he turns out to be a tech whiz who got rich during the Dot Com boom and who is using high-tech equipment to try to expose Dirty Cops. In addition, Big Bad is in charge of a large drug smuggling operation and can kick some ass to boot. No one suspects him of even being involved.
  • DMX in Cradle 2 the Grave plays a tough guy who can also plan out bank heists and execute them flawlessly.
  • The Operative from Serenity is an exceptionally dangerous hand-to-hand fighter and a lethal swordsman as well as ruthless and cunning planner. He proves incredibly adept at predicting the actions of Serenity's crew and forces Mal to resort to an Indy Ploy.
  • DC Extended Universe:
    • Man of Steel:
      • Superman himself, in line with his comic book counterpart. He's shown reading philosophy texts as a teenager, and demonstrates a good working knowledge of medicine (when he treats Lois' wounds) as well as physics, and also displays more creative use of his powers than most adaptations. He also uses a fair level of skill in hand-to-hand combat despite lacking any combat training whatsoever, as opposed to relying on strength alone.
      • Jor-El might have been Krypton's greatest scientist, but he still dishes out a severe beating to Zod while buying time to launch Kal-El's ship.
      • Zod himself is a genetically bred and trained Super-Soldier who modified Jor-El's Phantom Zone drive into a working Warp Drive for interstellar travel.
    • Wonder Woman (2017): Wonder Woman is powerful enough to punch through solid brick walls and lift a 29 tonne tank while also being an Omniglot and master tactician thanks to her Amazon upbringing. Word of God states that she is the best fighter in the entire DCEU.
    • Aquaman (2018): Aquaman is a self-identified "blunt instrument" who "... [solves] my problems with my fists and rage"... but also speaks at least five languages (English, Italian, Atlantean, Icelandic and Russian), knows enough history to identify who Roman statues are meant to portray and rattle off a list of their accomplishments without pausing, and quotes German 18th-century poetry.
    • The Suicide Squad has quite a few. Polka-Dot Man engineered gauntlets to utilize his Having a Blast polka dot power, Bloodsport built a transforming gun and has other Batman-esque gimzos, and Peacemaker (played by the hulking John Cena) is shown to be extremely well read, formidably tactical and has as many gadgets and murder tools as Bloodsport.
  • The apes in Rise of the Planet of the Apes are this trope mixed with It Can Think. They've had their intelligence boosted as a side-effect of the experimental drug ALZ-112. They're able to speak (in Hulk Speak, though it's a Justified Trope as they communicate in ASL, a simplified language with implied conjunctions), use wrought-iron fence posts and manhole covers as Improvised Weapons, and trick SWAT troopers into a Curb-Stomp Battle — and, of course, they're apes. In the sequel, they can vocalise, use firearms and engage in Gunboat Diplomacy.
  • While on the topic of apes, King Kong from the MonsterVerse is very much this unlike his previous incarnations who were mostly Dumb Muscle. In both Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong makes full use his sapien intelligence to craft makeshift tools and weapons to use against the other monsters he fights which frequently gives him the edge in fights where he’d otherwise be killed. His intelligence helped him get the jump on the aforementioned Godzilla, who’s relatively more straightforward than his hairy rival.
  • Olga Kurylenko plays one in Momentum (2015). Besides being a very capable Action Girl skilled in martial arts, firearms and whatever comes to hand, she's adept at Xanatos Speed Chess and outsmarts the intelligent bad guys on more than one occasion.
  • Shot Caller: The highest-ranking members of the Aryan Brotherhood are incredibly cunning in addition to brutal fighters. Their leader, the Beast, reads psychology books and political treatises in his spare time, and loans Jacob some of them to hone his skills.
    The Beast: A warrior's greatest weapon is his mind.
  • Predator:
    • In The Predator, Olivia Munn plays a scientist who turns out to also be a tough-as-nails Action Girl, proficient with firearms and Combat Parkour. It's a Predator film, so World of Badass, natch.
    • Not to mention the titular Predators, or Yautja as they are officially known. These seven-foot-tall reptilian giants are able to lift a grown man from the neck, jump three times their own height and punch through solid concrete; larger specimens have been seen to rip humans in half with their bare hands. Yet they can also adapt hunting tactics to changing situations and manipulate outside-context events to their advantage (for example, hunting during an escalating gang war in Los Angeles so their ritualised killings do not attract suspicion from local authorities).
  • Roy Batty, the leader of the rogue Replicants and the Anti-Villain of Blade Runner. Roy is a combat Replicant with rank A in both Physical and Mental Level, helps another replicant checkmate his creator in only two moves, and can easily lift a fully grown man with one arm. Pretty poetic and philosophical, too.
  • Road House (1989): Dalton has developed a very sophisticated strategy to keep the peace in the bars where he works, rather than just relying on his formidable combat skills to throw out troublemakers. It's also revealed that he has a degree in Philosophy from NYU.
  • Michael Myers, the Serial Killer Big Bad from Halloween. On the one hand, killing is all he does, and he does it very well. On the other, he's very resourceful about killing: learning as much as he can about his prey by stalking them before killing, creates traps, frightens potential victims with other corpses, and he can drive a car despite never being behind the wheel in his life.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Just like the comics, Tony Stark in the Iron Man Films is a Gadgeteer Genius who learns thermonuclear astrophysics and invents Time Travel overnight. He's also a powerful bruiser in Powered Armor who's fought Thor, Hulk and Thanos, some of the strongest beings in The 'Verse. Even outside his metal suit, he's held his own against the Winter Soldier with a transforming watch-gauntlet and Wing-Chun in Captain America: Civil War.
    • Thanos from Avengers: Infinity War is a brilliant tactician and strategist and is strong enough to fight the Hulk in one-on-one combat. Thanos's true genius bruisery is shown in one example in Avengers: Endgame when Captain Marvel manages to put him on the ropes whilst he was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet. Not wasting a second, he removes the Power Stone from the Gauntlet and blasts her in the face with it, taking her completely off-guard.
    • In Avengers: Endgame, Bruce Banner merges with the Hulk, allowing him to combine the Hulk's brawn with Dr. Banner's brain. Even before the merging with Banner, Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok is smart enough to effectively dual wield weapons like a pro and trick Thor into walking into a force field.
    • Thor himself can be quite the Genius Bruiser when he wants. Despite his brutish moments, Thor can fly several high-tech spaceships with ease, speak multiple languages (including Groot) and by the time of his third movie, Thor is able to effortlessly foil and trick his Trickster God brother Loki, who made of the mistake of thinking his bro hadn’t learned anything from their previous conflicts. He’s also strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk, and almost killed Thanos.
    • Ivan Vanko in Iron Man 2. He's able to reproduce Tony Stark's Arc Reactor technology, bash through Hammer's secure firewalls with ease, as well as improve Hammer's rather pathetic Powered Armor designs into genuinely viable weapons. During the prison-break sequence, he kills two men unarmed — one of them a burly prisoner and the other a guard who was grabbing him. Later, we see the aftermath when Hammer tries to lock him up — Vanko kills two security guards entirely unarmed and strings up their corpses for no readily apparent reason except that it was amusing.
    • Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy are both genius gadget and weaponry experts who are extremely resourceful fighters when they aren't letting their immaturity get the better of them. Gamora and Drax are also quite handy with gizmos and high-tech weapons despite being both melee fighters; during a fight with her sister Nebula, Gamora is able to turn a ship's cannon into a BFG just by fiddling with some wires. Speaking of Nebula, she's also a skilled fighter who's constantly repairing and upgrading herself as a Cyborg.
    • Vision from Avengers: Age of Ultron, naturally. As a Benevolent A.I. who was created by infusing the remains of J.A.R.V.I.S with a powerful Vibranium body, he is a Genius Bruiser Flying Brick who can outsmart and demolish even Killer Robot Ultron. This trope is epitomized during Vis's spin-off show WandaVision when after Air Jousting with his Evil Counterpart, he engages in a Battle of Wits against White Vision and makes his twin regain his humanity without using violence.
    • Henry Pym from the Ant-Man movies. With brains rivaling Howard Stark and his son, Hank invented shrinking particles and worked as a SHIELD agent for decades, kicking bad guy ass before retiring. His daughter Hope takes after him with her own shrinking and flying suit, as well his successor Scott Lang, who was a Playful Hacker and Gentleman Thief before becoming Ant-Man.
    • T'Challa a.k.a. Black Panther, besides being an acrobatic, Vibranium-coated martial artist with enhanced abilities, is an extremely skilled strategist with impressive degree of tech at his disposal. Wakandans in general are extremely skilled in both combat and techno wizardry. Shuri in particular is the Word of God smartest person in the universe and has great proficiency with her Vibranium Gauntlets.
    • Unsurprisingly, Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man is a super smart bruiser. Besides being strong enough to overpower super-soldiers, lift a roof of concrete off himself and fight Thanos, Peter can unlock a vault door while hanging upside down and come up with plans to defeat intergalactic Elite Mooks on the fly. Naturally, he’s the perfect choice to be the successor to his mentor, the aforementioned Tony Stark.
      • Both of Spidey's first two villains in the MCU: Vulture and Mysterio are extremely intelligent and deadly foes, who have managed to outwit Stark Industries and SHIELD. Vulture in particular was able to overpower his younger and inexperienced opponent several times and make deadly weapons out of broken Chitauri tech.
      • In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spidey's Genius Bruiser status is put on grand display, not only when he overpowers Strange in the Mirror Dimension using geometry but also when two alternate universe versions of him join him in the lab to create cures for the Green Goblin, Electro, Lizard, and Sandman. Then when all three put their brains, brawn and Spider Senses together for the climax, they quickly turn the tide of battle.
    • In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers was able to draw HYDRA bases on a map from memory, after getting only a quick glance at a different map while he was evacuating a collapsing building. Additionally, his strategic and artistic abilities hint toward him being this trope.
    • Also in Captain America: The First Avenger, Big Bad Red Skull, a Mad Scientist, is able to give Steve quite the fight thanks to his enhanced abilities.
    • Black Widow has her moments, especially in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Besides her She-Fu antics, she's an extremely talent hacker, and is also multilingual and Crazy-Prepared. She's also just as much a strategist as her buddies Stark and Rogers, being skilled enough to survive several dire situations.
    • Speaking of the Winter Soldier, Bucky himself like his best friend Steve is highly adaptive and resourceful. Bucky is multilingual, can effortlessly fly a hijacked Quinjet, and has plenty of gadgets like ball-mines and a custom-made disc grenade launcher, both of which he uses against the heroes. He's also strong enough to fight Captain America and Iron Man and break concrete.
    • Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon (now Captain America). While not on the intellectual level of Tony, Bruce and Shuri, he is still incredibly smart, being able to create mechanical jet-powered wings and a flying robot buddy with few resources. His spin-off show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows Sam tinkering with his wings in his downtime.
  • Enter the Dragon has Bruce Lee playing a Shaolin monk who is a skilled martial artist (enough to take out dozens of mooks within minutes) and a philosopher. Since Bruce Lee himself was a martial artist par excellence who wrote his own beliefs into the movie, it was practically Bruce Lee As Himself.
  • The Chronicles of Riddick: Richard B. Riddick may be built like a human tank, but don't ever let that fool you into thinking he is nothing more than dumb muscle. There is a calculating, discerning, and highly-creative brain under that bald dome and it allows Riddick to be an absolutely lethal force even when tied to a chair.

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