Basic Trope: A character who looks like The Big Guy reveals himself to be exceptionally intelligent as well.
- Straight: Pike wears armor, fights skillfully with a polearm, and towers over his fellow peers, but prefers to read philosophy and learn about science when he's off the battlefield.
- Exaggerated: Pike is a 20-foot-tall stone golem, and also the nation's leading expert in microbiology.
- Downplayed:
- Pike isn't well-educated, and maybe even Book Dumb, but he is still cunning and clever, especially in terms of strategy and tactics in battle. He often outsmarts his opponents by playing dumb and managing to keep himself hidden.
- Pike is a scholarly warrior who's skilled in both academics and fighting, however he's not extraordinarily muscular or strong.
- Justified:
- Pike's family was determined to raise him a scholar, and he probably would've been The Smart Guy had he not inherited his gladiator great-grandfather's height and build.
- Pike was born seeming naturally ultra-masculine: Tall, muscled, very strong, possibly other traits that suggest more rash and impulsiveness, such as visible veins. Deciding to break people's first assumption, Pike becomes very scholarly, but still makes good use of his natural advantage by becoming a very strong combatant.
- Pike went through a brutal and complex form of Training from Hell where he built up his physical strength and combat skills while also educating him on various fields of more intellentual skills (such as military tactics or mechanics), to go with it. (Truth in Television for a Military Academy.)
- Pike was an average-build Mad Scientist who invented a super-steroid and tried it on himself. It made him grow enormous muscles without affecting his scientific knowledge.
- Pike is a scientist who takes martial arts or some other physically intensive activity as a hobby.
- Pike paid for his schooling by either serving in the armed forces or by doing heavy labor.
- Inverted:
- Pike looks like your typical skinny nerd, but turns out to be a decent fighter as well.
- Pike is both weak and stupid, which makes him next-to-useless in the conflict.
- Pike is solid muscle but is about as bright as a rock.
- Subverted:
- Once the gang realizes Pike is a Know-Nothing Know-It-All, they regard him as Dumb Muscle.
- Or alternatively, the muscles are gained from a potion, once it wears off Pike is as thin a a beanstalk.
- Double Subverted:
- 1a) Until Pike's field of expertise is needed and his intelligence saves the day.
- 1b) Or he was only pretending to act idiotic.
- 2) That is, but Pike is a chemist and he can brew these super-strength potions en masse
- Parodied: Pike is an eight-foot-tall wall of muscle, as well as an expert in several fields including ballet, wine tasting, and interior decorating.
- Zig Zagged: Pike's level of intelligence is portrayed inconsistently Depending on the Writer. In some episodes, he can fix a downed spaceship in a Cave. WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS. In others, he punches down doors because he can't figure out the handle.
- Averted:
- Dumb Muscle
- Wimp with brains.
- Alternatively: Pike has his talents, but he's neither very smart nor particularly strong.
- Enforced:
- "We need a Smart Guy and a Big Guy, but we only want four team members, instead of dropping one, let's put the two together!"
- "We want our villain to be a credible threat, so he should be tough and cunning."
- Lampshaded: Pike keeps tossing his opponent through walls, then stops. "Next one's about where I'd put a load-bearing wall if I built this place. You wanna give up, or you want me to bring the house down?"
- Invoked: Naturally big and tough, Pike never had to exercise much to stay in shape, so he decided to hit the books so he'd have brains and brawn going for him.
- Exploited: Pike has used his immense brainpower to figure out that Dracone is The Mole, but Dracone counters, "Are you really gonna listen to a big meathead like that?"Andrew: Yes. Yes I am.
- Defied: Pike realizes his immense strength and stature can be intimidating to many, so he downplays his physique and emphasizes his intelligence whenever people need his help.
- Discussed: "Well, Pike, I didn't realize you knew anything about the Southern Continent! You're just so, uh, big!"
- Conversed: "So the big galoot that we unlocked earlier is actually the town's expert on diplomacy? Huh."
- Implied:
- A doctor's license can be seen in Pike's training area.
- Pike is never actually seen in a fight, but he is very muscular and has no trouble moving heavy lab equipment unassisted.
- Pike is on break at his construction job and is seen reading a scientific journal.
- Deconstructed: Pike spends so much time training his mind and body that he has no friends and is too busy to really aid the heroes or significantly affect the events.
- Reconstructed: Until he realizes that using his talents to help others is as good, builds an Impossibly Cool Weapon, and joins the True Companions.
- Played For Laughs: Pike is an Absent-Minded Professor who Does Not Know His Own Strength. Needless to say, his attempts at a Small Hadron Collider turn out poorly.
- Played For Drama:
- Pike is the Big Bad. His brilliance and strength are matched only by his ruthlessness. If you're not intimidated, you're probably in denial.
- Pike develops a superiority complex from trying too hard to keep up his physique and intellect.
- Played For Horror:
- See the first part of Played For Drama.
- Pike is an unnaturally strong serial killer who uses his brains to use everything around him as an advantage.
Now that we know you're The Smart Guy too, use your brains and brawn to go Back to Genius Bruiser.
