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Sports Agent: " How many football players do you know who speak four languages, read philosophy, and run with the bulls at Pamplona?" Det. Lennie Briscoe: " Guy sounds brilliant. Except for the part about the bulls."
"Well, maybe Mr. T hacked the game and created a Mohawk class! Maybe Mr. T is pretty handy with computers! Did that ever occur to you, Mr. Condescending Director?"
"There comes a time when all men must—*carnage* Oh, you get the point!"'
— Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy alias Beast, X-Men : The Last Stand
A Big Guy who is also a geek or tech-head. Often coupled with Gentle Giant in a dual subversion (not to be confused with a Double Subversion).
The diametric opposite of Dumb Muscle. This guy has not only huge muscles and fists, but a very bright brain! There is, however, a difference between "especially smart" and "not a total moron"; Keep that in mind when adding examples. Here's a tip: A character who is strong but displays frankly average intelligence is simply not an idiot. But if they constantly spout technobabble and are considered an expert in some scientific field, that's especially smart.
Similarly, if they're especially smart, they must also be unusually strong to qualify. "Beats people up" or "very physically fit" don't exactly count.
The inversion is the Badass Bookworm. In general, a Genius Bruiser looks huge and powerfully muscled, then unexpectedly shows off an intellectual side, whereas a Badass Bookworm looks like a standard geek, but then displays a surprising amount of physical prowess.
In fantasy, a Genius Bruiser is often a Magic Knight or a Mighty Glacier.
Examples
Anime
- Jim Austin from Genesis Climber Mospeada (and his counterpart, "Lunk" from Robotech).
- Peace from Corrector Yui is a wise, cranky old man who just happens to have the ability to summon and use giant, really effective firearms.
- If we turn towards the Corruptors, Yagi fits the trope to a T.
- Juumonji of Eyeshield 21 is one of the three Hah-Hah brothers, a gang who look like idiots, but he happens to be one of the smartest people on the team, often figuring out things other players miss badly.
- The other two "brothers" count too; Kuroki is a master at video games and Togano is a very good artist.
- Not to mention all of the Amino Cyborgs.
- Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist is a genius alchemist who has seen the gate, and is also a soul trapped in a giant suit of armor. Alex Louis Armstrong is also a genius alchemist but not to the level of Al.
- Geronimo Jr. aka Cyborg 005 from Cyborg 009 is a huge, super strong and scarred man Made Of Iron, but also is a calm and gentle man with a deep love of nature and some degree of empathy. Come on, in the 2001 he battles the Spirit of the Earth aka one bad ass spectre panther who incarnates the anger of the earth at the whole global pollution and wins by smacking the "kitten" and talking it out.
- The Prince Of Tennis has several of those. Choutarou Ohtori is a very polite musician as well as a youth around 180 cms tall with an frighteningly powerful serve. Gin Ishida is a huge player form Shitenhouji who has developed the Hadokyuu, a tennis shot with 108 variations, two of them also used by his younger brother Tetsu and by Takashi Kawamura. Munehiro Kabaji is around 192 cms tall at the age of 13 (I Am Not Making This Up, I swear) and can copy almost any tennis style with ease. Both Sadaharu Inui and Renji Yanagi, the most famous Data Players, are both over 180 cms tall as well; in fact, Inui's serve is the second strongest one in the circuit, right after Ohtori's. Genichirou Sanada is a fearsome leader and player as well as a kendo practitioner... This Troper could go on and on and on.
- All the center players in Slam Dunk. Specially Takenori Akagi, who's 197 cms tall and is not only the Shohoku captain, but a straight A student (There's a quite funny scene where Kogure explains this to Sakuragi and both he and Rukawa imagine a gorilla in a school uniform).
- Kogarashi the Maid Guy in Kamen No Maid Guy reveals that he attended MIT (gives lectures, point of fact) and is quite intelligent, even if his idea of service tends to be a bit rough. Not quite what one would expect from his appearance as a musclebound man in a dress.
- Jotaro Kujo from Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure has a Stand which specializes purely in exceptional strength and speed, without any of the fancy tricks that other Stands have until he randomly gains time stopping powers at the end of his arc. According to his enemies, however, what makes him most dangerous is his ability to think on his feet and out-strategize the enemy.
- As well as every other "Jo Jo" from Part 1 through 4. Despite being hulking masses of muscle, or at least having their major fighting ability being pure fists, their wit and quick thinking are what get them out of otherwise fatal conundrums.
- The titular character from Cobra Space Adventure has superhuman levels of strength, agility and endurance, as well as a deadly Arm Cannon. But he's primarily a Gentleman Thief with numerous talents, from mechanic to art history, and he often beat his enemies by outwitting them rather than by brute force.
- Viede from Chrono Crusade is implied to be one of these—although he's the most physically imposing member of the Sinners, he's shown in a flash back playing chess with brainy Big Bad Aion, and he serves as a voice of reason to both Aion and Genai.
Comic Books
- Atomic Robo, a big, rough guy who fought in World War 2, battled giant crabs, giant ants and giant assholes. He's also a genius beyond compare, not least because he's well....a robot.
- Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy aka "The Beast" from X-Men. Blue, huge, furry, super-strong and agile, and Nobel-level intelligent. And played by Kelsey Grammer aka Dr. Frasier Crane in the movies.
- Victor "Vic" Stone aka Cyborg in Teen Titans. Well, less in the comics than in the series. In the comics, he was a suicidally depressed and constantly frustrated former athlete who didn't have a chance of making it into college after he was banned from sports because of his modifications.
- Despite his brute-force-related powers, rough personality, and crude speech patterns, Ben "The Thing" Grimm from the Fantastic Four is quite intelligent. Reed, the leader, just happens to be the world's biggest nerd and super-genius, so Ben's help is usually limited to the literal heavy lifting of Reed's projects. Ben is also a brilliant pilot... which is what got him in this mess in the first place.
- The Kingpin (usually a Spider-Man or Daredevil villain) is a criminal mastermind, but when he wants to get physical, he's also a massive bruiser. His bulk is famously described as "all muscle."
- The Incredible Hulk, in media featuring him with the mind of Bruce Banner. The comics treated him initially as a merged gestalt, but later revealed he was just another personality in Bruce Banner's head, calling him "The Professor".
- In Ultimate Marvel, once Bruce Banner "gets in touch with his inner sociopath," the Hulk isn't stupid any more. He just chooses to go on rampages and eat defeated enemies because it's fun.
- Hulk's cousin, She-Hulk, is both a super-strong superheroine and a practising lawyer. She's so smart, in fact, that she is even aware that she is a comic-book character.
- Fellow lawyer Augustus "Pug" Pugliese made his way through law school working as a bouncer, and is still a very powerful guy for a normal human.
- A second-tier hero of the Thing/Hulk type: Alpha Flight's Sasquatch, a brilliant scientist who's usually in full command of his mental faculties. Notably also a genius bruiser before developing superpowers (he was a football player —American, not soccer).
- Kilowog, a large alien Green Lantern.
- Caitlin Fairchild in Gen13
- A recent incarnation of Solomon Grundy in Justice League Of America fit this trope, retaining his usual strength but trading Hulk Speak for eloquence and cunning.
- Maul of the Wild C.A.T.S. is a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who gets dumber as he uses his powers to get larger and stronger. For a while, he was also able to make himself smarter by shrinking, but that turned out to have side effects.
- Batman. Though he's neither the strongest, nor fastest, nor toughest, nor even best fighter out there, he still has a heaping helping of all four (at least by normal human standards)—and then becomes one of the most feared superheroes in the DCU for being the guy with such a big brain that if you leave him alive he will find a way to stomp your ass.
- One of Batman's villains, Bane, also practically embodies this trope—in a fight, he's several hundred pounds of drug-fueled killing power, with strength enough to severely cripple Batman by breaking him over his knee. But he's also a master criminal, employing genius schemes to bring down his target's guard.
- Unfortunately, ever since the Batman & Robin movie, Bane has been increasingly relegated to the role of the Big Dumb Fighter. His original position in the DCU has since been taken by Prometheus, and then by Hush.
- Wolverine of the X-Men, in addition to being a killing machine in terms of fighting ability and durability, has been shown to know many languages (fluent in half a dozen, with a passing knowledge of a few others) and to be very well-acquainted with numerous foreign (and some nearly extinct) cultures; He speaks seventeen languages, including Blackfoot. He is also a skilled pilot and an accomplished spy (including undercover work). Part of this is just the result of a hundred years of experience (and possibly additional knowledge imparted via memory implants). However, during a training session when his mental and physical states were being monitored, they were described as "equivalent of an Olympic-level gymnast performing a gold medal routine while simultaneously beating four chess computers in his head", though this is a few steps beyond any common portrayal.
- Tom Strong - Who is usually portrayed as a cross between Reed Richards, Doc Savage, and Hercules.
- Dr. Leonard Samson - A Marvel character who is the hero population's go-to psychotherapist. Also strong enough to trade blows with an enraged Hulk.
- Karla Sofen (Metorite of The Thunderbolts) could be considered Dr. Samson's evil counterpart. (Also a superpowered psychologist).
- Thunderball, aka Dr. Eliot Franklin, of the Marvel villain team the Wrecking Crew. Thunderball's intelligence is made all the more obvious by the fact that the rest of his team are rather dim-witted mooks.
- Spider-Man - brilliant student and inventor, with the proportionate strength of a spider.
Even becomes a science teacher Oh, God dammit.
- The Silver Age Superman was one of these, also. The Post-Crisis revamp, while smart, doesn't quite make it all the way to "genius".
- A Golden Age Captain Marvel villain called King Kull (not related to the Robert E. Howard character), a muscular, club-wielding, loincloth-wearing protohuman who nonetheless invents Sufficiently Advanced technology and was the scientific rival of Mad Scientist Dr. Sivana.
- Another Golden Age Captain Marvel villain was a criminal who went to prison for over 70 years and spent the entire time reading and working out until he was the smartest, most physically capable 100-year old man around.
- Numerous Golden Age characters fit this trope. Mister Terrific, Bulletman, Doctor Mid-Nite, Captain Battle, The Challenger, the second Marvel Boy, Mastermind Excello, Moonman, Red Torpedo, Dr. Destine, Tom Strange, Captain Future, Dynaman, The Comet, the Blue Tracer, etc, etc, etc...
- Lobo, despite his biker persona is apparently smart enough to have created the plague that wiped out the rest of his own species.
- Captain America is described as the perfect soldier. Slightly above human maximum strength, speed, and endurance...and a tactical mind that allows this not-quite-normal Bad Ass to lead the likes of Thor.
- Invincible has the Mauler Twins, a villainous pair of hulking omnidisciplinary geniuses. They're apparently the world's leading experts on cloning, and in all other fields are tied for 2nd smartest character in the book.
- The Modern Age Mister Terrific matches up quite well with his Golden Age inspiration. He's described in-universe as the third-smartest man on the planet (he once performed open-heart surgery after reading a textbook on the subject and having no previous surgical training), and has studied such obscure and esoteric fields as kicking your ass and taking your name.
- Since we've got Batman mentioned, this troper is almost shocked no one's mentioned Ted Kord - the second incarnation of the Blue Beetle. Fandom has often described the character as a bizarre combination of Spider-Man and Batman, though it's worth noting that the character was often Flanderized into a parody character when paired with Booster Gold.
- Particularly in the two 'Superbuddies' miniseries.
- Tambi Baker is a Genius Bruiser; her twin sister is just a Bruiser.
Film
- Pretty much the entire cast of The Thing. They don't send the other kind of scientist to Antarctica.
- Considering it's Antarctica - one of the most brutal regions for man to work in, even with technology? They have to be this type, or Badass Bookworms to survive.
- The actor Richard Kiel has played with this trope more than once; his James Bond villain Jaws is far from stupid, although he only gets one line of dialogue to truly reveal this. Years earlier, he appeared in a similar role in a Bond rip-off film titled A Man Called Dagger. At one point his Big Bad employer asks rhetorically why Hitler lost World War II, and Keil's character considers for a moment, then starts to give a complex and erudite answer before being cut off.
- Bud White in LA Confidential, who despite a reputation as mere muscle, is the first one to figure out that the Nite Owl murders were a frame job.
- In the novel it is made clear he isn't particularly bright, however successfully passed criminology course and a vengeance kick allow him to put together a case that even super-genius Ed Exley is amazed by.
Mythology
- Prince Theseus of Greek mythology; his use of brains as well as brawn to pass tests, defeat opponents, and slay monsters distinguished him from his cousin, Hercules.
- King Odysseus of Ithaca did the same, to the point of being the greatest conman in Greece, and a damn fine warrior and Straight Arrow, as well. How did he prove his identity to his wife Penelope and all of the leeches courting her, after being gone for 20 years? By managing to use a really BADASS longbow that none of them could handle, kinda the Greek version of a BFG.
- That still didn't totally convince her at first, though. What really convinced her was when he told her their bed had been moved. He quickly refuted the notion, reminding her that he carved the headboard of their bed himself, out of the giant tree growing up through the middle of his palace.
- Some of Heracles' Twelve Labours required quick thinking and wits aside of strength, like cleaning up the grossly huge and NEVER cleaned before Augean stables in a single day by re-routing two rivers to wash out the filth. He wasn't Theseus-level, but he was no slouch either.
- The old Christian martyrology has several cases of Genius Bruisers who were high-ranked Roman soldiers before their conversions, facing the cruelest tortures and martyrdom with much badassery. Some of the more popular examples are:
- Saint George
 . According to his legend, this secret Christian and Roman captain was so charismatic and badass that, after he slaying a dragon and saving the local Barrier Maiden, he managed to convince everyone in her kingdom to convert to Christianity.
- Saint Sebastian. This ex-captain of the prestigious Praetorian Guard was actually martyred twice (first by arrow shooting, later by flogging).
- Saint Christopher. A man over 7 ft. tall who started out as an arrogant Genius Bruiser, then became a Gentle Giant after his conversion and his meeting with Jesus Christ (as Baby Jesus), and remained a Badass Preacher as he was tortured and killed by the Romans.
Literature
- Anastasius in Dave Duncan and Eric Flint's Belisarius series is a huge and ugly brute of a soldier, who wields an enormous longbow which only someone as hugely strong as him can pull, and yet is immensely fond of deep, philosophical musings.
- Chumley in Robert Asprin's Myth series, a giant troll with the mind of a college professor. However, he generally plays dumb so that he can get work as a mercenary. (It's heavily implied this is not uncommon among his species.)
- Human.. sorry, Klahdish, bodyguards Guido and Nunzio are also quite bright, despite appearing to be big dumb goons.
- Joe Miller in Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld books is an 800-lb prehistoric "titanthrop" who is the most fearsome warrior in the series. He is also capable of matching wits with his best friend Samuel Clemens and with Cyrano de Bergerac.
- Trolls in Discworld fit this... but only when their brains are cooled to subzero temperatures.
- A dangerous example that doesn't need the air conditioning is Chrysoprase, respectable businessman with—and this is important—no connections whatsoever to the Breccia, which of course does not exist. Other trolls cover their mouths when he's around, since he tends to wear diamond jewelry. Diamond, it should be noted, is what troll teeth are made of, and he's not known to operate any mines... For those who don't get it, that means he wears the teeth of other trolls as jewelry.
- A less villainous example, but still someone you shouldn't mess with, is Diamond, King of the Trolls, a troll born completely composed of, well, diamond. The diamond refracts light and allows his brain to remain exceptionally cold all the time.
- Yet another Discworld example is the Librarian of Unseen university, a wizard transformed into an orangutan who is one of the most intelligent and sensible wizards despite the fact he only communicates by saying Ook or Eek (and is usually understandable to other characters).
- Another, very specialised Discworld example might be Mr. Tulip, who really is a big dumb bruiser who's not even smart enough to be a proper drug addict - except in the field of art history, where he proves to have both astonishing depth of knowledge and natural instinct...as well of glimmers of humanity and emotion beyond rage.
- How can no one have hit on Doc Savage yet? One of the classic pulp heroes of the same era as The Shadow, Doc Savage was repeatedly described as a bronzed adonis, and that Doctorate wasn't an honorary. Not to mention his brilliant but simian looking lieutenant 'Monk' Mayfair and the gigantic 'Renny' Renwick. The other three of the 'Fabulous Five' fit the Badass Bookworm trope.
- Leland Hobie Hobart from Michael Flynn's Firestar tetralogy.
- Shadow, the main character of Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Described in the first paragraph as being big enough that his main problem in prison was passing the time, and his size is continually harped on by other characters, he is also extremely well-read and insightful. And he does coin tricks.
- Its mentioned later in the book that when he was young he was short and read a lot, but he entered puberty he got big. After which he became disillusioned by literature and dropped the habit.
- At the Super Hero School Whateley Academy in the Whateley Universe, there are plenty of examples. Pyrs is a huge, brutish mutant 'with a brow ridge you could camp under', but obviously knows just what people think of him. We see him at the Whateley Weapons Fair (don't ask), looking for holdouts because he knows everyone assumes he wouldn't use anything other than a fist.
- Maybe a better example: Montana, who looks like a huge blond Sasquatch. But his real power is a genius-level ability with small electronic gadgets.
- Honorverse is positively in love with this trope. The examples start just from its title character, Honor Harrington, who, in addition to her military genius, is also a very big and strong woman with a 7'th degree black belt in coup de vitesse. There are also Anton Zilvicky (the genius hacker and intelligence officer built like a brick outhouse and a three times Greco-Roman wrestling champion in Manticoran Games) and Sir Horace Harkness, another brilliant hacker and engineer who fights with SpaceMarines just for fun. A number of marines themselves qualify too — like General Kevin Usher, the chief Havenite cop, who once affected a persona of a dumb Marine, or Brigadier Thomas Santiago Ramirez, who, being heavyworlder, is much bigger and stronger than most of the cast, or Major Thandi Palane, Victor Cachat's girlfriend... And many, many others.
- Colonel-Commisar Ibram Gaunt. Two meters twenty (That's 7' 4") of solid muscle and capable of going head to head with a Space Marine, but also a tactical genius with the undying support of his men.
- The original Frankensteins Monster, surprisingly. "The creature" is actually, or at least became, a well-read and philosophical being, in addition to an eight-foot-tall brute.
- In Temeraire, dragons in general can be bruisers, but Maximus—possibly the biggest, strongest dragon seen yet in the series—has little problem working out mathematical problems with Temeraire, who's smarter than almost any other character.
Live Action TV
- Mr. T's character B.A. on The A Team chiefly served as the team's muscle and high-speed driver, but some episodes also featured his skills as an electronics and gadgetry whiz. He also had a Gentle Giant side, in which his fear of flying forced the others to hypnotise him whenever they needed to get him on a plane.
- Angelus, Angel's soulless self from the Buffyverse is more of a Magnificent Bastard, but the fact remains he's got vampiric strength, speed, and endurance, and a knack for fiendishly cunning and cruel plans.
- In Eureka even the "jock" looking students at its school are nerds. This is justified by the fact that it is a town full of geniuses.
- Arguably, John Sheppard of Stargate Atlantis. He is the lead member of the show's offworld team, and head of security of Atlantis, for good reason. In addition, he was shown in "The Brotherhood" as solving a puzzle that even McKay couldn't solve, after which he casually mentions that it was on the Mensa entrance exam.
- Unfortunately they Did Not Do The Research, as that puzzle does not work that way and has several other possible solutions. But it still applies.
- Mohinder as of Heroes season three.
- His track record for making bone-headed decisions suggests he doesn't really qualify for the 'genius' part, but he's not alone in that on this particular show.
Tabletop Games
- In Necromunda, the Warhammer40000 spinoff set in the Underhive of the planet of the same name, the Heavy has to have both copious amounts of brawn to carry the massive squad-support weapons they use, and just as much technical skill to maintain them.
- This it taken to an extreme (As usual) in the standard game with the Techmarines of the Space Marines. By definition they are the field mechanics and combat engineers of the Space Marines, but with all the custom high-tech weaponry and dangerous tools they have on hand, they are also among the most formidable individuals the Space Marines can field!
Video Games
- Forte, in the Galaxy Angel Gameverse; the anime version showed less of her "genius" side.
- Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid could kill anything bare-handed and is possibly the biggest badass on the planet. He also has an IQ of one hundred and eighty, supposedly speaks six languages fluently, and is very well-versed in philosophy, history, biology, and obscure literary and mythology references. Alternate Continuity also establishes him as having a photographic memory. In fact, one alternate storyline concerns him having once been a genius scientist - although this later turns out to be a bundle of lies told as part of a Xanatos Roulette, the fact that he's knowledgeable enough about science for the lie to be convincing is mentioned a few times.
- Gordon Freeman, bespectacled genius physicist from Half Life. Despite his academic qualification, we only see him shoot (and in some cases, beat up with a crowbar) everything ranging from innocent storage boxes to murderous aliens to whole battalions of elite soldiers. Lampshades hung liberally in Half Life 2. Arguably more of a Badass Bookworm, seeing as he was a scientist first, but then again nobody expected the lead of a FPS to sit in a lab waiting for a headcrab to turn him into a mook. The reverse, not so much.
- Alyx Vance from the same series probably fits the trope a bit better. She's initially introduced as a simple Action Girl, but we later learn that she built a robot with dog-like intelligence(actually called "Dog") out of scrap, assisted in the design and development of a teleporter, and is capable of hacking into alien supercomputers.
- Regal Bryant from Tales Of Symphonia, while not necessarily a genius, is one of the more intelligent characters in the game, and is actually the president of his own company, this despite the fact that what you see when meeting him is a six-foot-three musclebound convict.
- Almost all the members of the Knight/General/Great Knight classes in Fire Emblem fit here. They're all slow and powerful lance (and axes, after promotion) users with great defense, but at the same time they're so smart and dedicated to their mission that they're usually the right hands of the Lords... if they're not the lords, themselves. Notable examples are:
- Hannibal from FE4;
- Bors, Barth, Wendy (a female and quite a Cute Bruiser), Fighting General Douglas and Liutenant Murdock from FE6;
- Oswin, Lord Uther and Hector (one of the three main Lords) from FE7;
- Emperor Vigarde of Grado, Gilliam and Obsidian Duessel from FE8;
- Tauroneo in FE10.
- Sol Badguy from the Guilty Gear series is one of the most well-muscled characters (probably not normally noticed because of the first-place entry, Potemkin), and is apparently strong enough to lift and slam even Potemkin on the ground using only one hand. He also happens to be a talented scientist and engineer , being one of the researchers for the original Gear Project as well as the designer of the Gear Cell Control headband he wears and the anti-Gear magical weapon, the Outrage, of which his sword, the Fireseal, is part, and is skilled enough with manipulating fire magic to be considered one of the world's foremost experts in the field. Furthermore, his attack strategies (barring the infamous Dust and Sidewinder Loops) display a surprising degree of misdirection and tactical acumen.
- Lexaeus (Kingdom Hearts) is an example of this trope (if he got more than a few lines of characterization before his death), as he's the musclebound big guy earth elemental guy of Organization XII as well as being one of Ansem's former apprentices, who were genius scientists, not to mention he's usually seen pondering or holding even conversations with Zexion. Now, if only the fandom would realize this...
- Demon King Odin from Odin Sphere is a gargantuan mountain of muscle whose weapon of choice is a ball and chain larger than most playable characters. More importantly to the plot, he is also a wise and cunning schemer, as befitting the king of a nation. His subordinate General Brigan shows similar traits at times, though with less "genius" and more "bruiser".
- Dante from Devil May Cry. While he may not seem it at all, there are a lot of odd quirks that seem to imply he is much more knowledgeable than he'd like people to know, such as in the fourth game Nero comments how he would never have guessed Dante for a bookworm when he comes across a library with half the books left open everywhere by Dante. This is actually practical to the gameplay, as there are many tricky puzzles in the mission levels.
- Don't let his ridiculous getup fool you: Birdie, from Street Fighter, is pretty on the ball, and has designs on Shadowloo. T. Hawk and Dudley may also qualify.
- The Practical Incarnation, from Planescape Torment, is best described as "a basher...but a smart basher".
- Bentley the yeti from Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon is a mountain dweller with a huge ice club, but speaks in Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness and comes up with a variety of barely pronounceable insults for Moneybags.
- In Jagged Alliance has among other examples "Steroid" Gontarski has a quite a nack for locks, electronics, and repairs, while being an acknowledged brute.
Webcomics
- Roy Greenhilt, the greatsword-wielding fighter from Order Of The Stick, actually has better mental abilities overall than any of his teammates. And given that one of his teammates is a brilliant elven wizard, that's fairly impressive.
- While primarily known for their brains, sparks in the world of Girl Genius are surprisingly physical and hands-on when it comes to violence. Klaus, Gilgamesh, and Othar are prime examples. Klaus and Othar, for instance, having gotten into a rip-roaring brawl from one end of Castle Wulfenbach to another busting through walls as they did so, and Gilgamesh handily and casually defeats a horde of assassins that obviously stunned the psychopathic mass-murdering Dupree.
- Several flashbacks have shown Klaus in thin-to-normal physical condition, but still handy in a fight. Now he is a fairly huge and opposing figure. When we can see his body, it is covered in stitches, and his skin is in patches of varying shades. Klaus is so badass, he reconstructed himself! That's the guy you want ruling the civilized world.
- Also, the constructs known as Punch and Judy are pretty big and tough. A member of one of the "traveling Heterodyne shows" based on the adventures of the previous generation cheerfully plays Punch as the big, slow and stupid type that folklore would have him... until he meets someone who knows what he was ''really'' like.
- Fighter of 8-Bit Theater shows glimpses of this occasionally, but this is usually subject to the Rule of Funny, and generally this is undermined anyway by the fact that virtually everyone in the comic is Too Dumb To Live.
- Berserker fits the trope very well, he's easily the most literate and refined one around.
- In Looking For Group, Krunch Bloodrage, the
Tauren minotaur-like member of the main group is known to be part of two brothers, one a scholar and one a warrior. While he is confirmed to be the scholar and is generally the most knowledgeable of the party, he often relies on pure brute strength in battle and to solve other problems.
- And despite being 'the scholar', he has been shown to be capable of taking down a dragon and killing it without much effort.
- Arguably subverted when we see what Krunch's brother, a proper warrior, actually looks like. Suffice to say Kruch finds it amusing that other races could mistake him for a warrior.
- Riff from Sluggy Freelance is a cool, well-built guy who almost always wears a trenchcoat, absolutely always wears sunglasses, knows how to handle all kinds of guns and explosives, and is always ready to confront the various inhuman forces of the Sluggy universe head on. He also happens to be a certifiable genius, designing pieces of technology centuries ahead of their time, where even the parts he considers "no-brainers" stump the top scientists of the world. Albeit there's usually a quirk or two with most of his inventions.
- Dr. Mc Ninja, of the webcomic that bears his name, is this trope with a gigantic lampshade hung on it.
Web Original
- In Survival Of The Fittest, professional boxer Bobby Jacks stands at 6'3" and weighs in at 205 pounds. He's also shown to be very intelligent, capable of trickery, fighting very tactically, and being able to quote Shakespeare (relevantly) purely from memory.
Western Animation
Real Life
- The Wonderlic Personnel Test is an intelligence test frequently given to NFL pre-draft prospects. The highest scorers tend to be offensive linemen (generally some of the biggest, strongest guys on the field). The quarterback, often regarded as the smartest on the team—often described as a team's "field general"—averages third, behind the offensive tackle and center, respectively. The running backs and wide receivers average dead last.
- Scott Levy, better known to Professional Wrestling fans as Raven, has an I.Q. of about 160.
- Similarly, pro wrestler John "Bradshaw" Layfield, who's about six-foot-six and 290 pounds, has made millions with his keen stock market acumen, makes frequent appearances on financial programs to dole out advice, and is a Senior Vice President with Northeast Securities. And you thought the whole Screw The Rules I Have Money thing was all an act...
- Though not much of a bruiser, Bill Moody, aka the Undertaker's longtime manager Paul Bearer, actually runs a funeral home.
- Dolph Lundgren, the well-muscled actor famous for playing Ivan Drago in Rocky IV and He-Man in the live-action Masters Of The Universe, has a master's degree in chemical engineering. He also received the Fulbright Scholarship to MIT, though he quit when he pursued an acting career. Also fluent in three languages and can get by in two others.
- Back on the brawn side, besides his generally muscly action hero persona a la Rocky and Masters of the Universe and impressive build, he's a black belt who's won a variety of martial arts competitions. He's a pretty cool guy for someone who's been sort of written off as an 80s big haired fool.
- And let's not forget about Carlo Pedersoli, better known as "Bud Spencer" of spaghetti western fame. 193cm of pure muscle and fat, a pilot, a degree in law, holder of several patents...
- Mr T is actually a very bright guy. See page quote.
- Ice hockey players Douglas Murray and George Parros are both the epitome of a stereotypical hockey player (large, heavy hitters who are not afraid to get physical during a game), yet they're also both Ivy League grads - Murray from Cornell, Parros from Princeton. Murray even runs his own business, Uber Tap, that produces a three-spout beer keg tap.
- This troper is a burnt-out physics graduate student who's 6'3 and 290 and used to play football as a lineman.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ex-bodybuilder and action-movies star who proved many times he was quite intelligent, notably by making a fortune, not just as an actor but also by smart placements of his money. And he finally got elected governor of California. Say what you like, but complete idiots do not make it into the big chairs.
- Chess boxing is a sport designed for genius bruisers. The players alternate between rounds of boxing and rounds of speed chess. You can win by a knockout, a checkmate, judges' decision or by your opponent running out of time in the chess game. I Am Not Making This Up.
- Recently retired Mexican boxer Marco Antonio Barrera is a qualified lawyer.
- Heavyweight boxing champions Wladmir and Vitali Klitschko both possess Ph.D.s.
- Sylvester Stallone has a lot going against him with his garbled speech, but is actually a very sly businessman, and the more intimately involved with a film's production he is the better-quality film it usually turns out to be.
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