History Main / ArmoredVillainsUnarmoredHeroes

* The heroes of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesZeroNoKiseki'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' don't wear any armor whatsoever while Arianrhod, the strongest member of [[AncientConspiracy Ouroboros]] wears a TwentyFourHourArmor. Duvalie from the same series is also a case of this trope on both ends of the spectrum where she's a villain when she has the armor on but [[spoiler:ends up joining the heroes in ''Cold Steel IV'', ditching the armor. She does wear it back in the finale but she's still on the heroes side.]]

** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': Steppenwolf wears a silvery collapsible armor covering his whole body, while the only one who's covered in armor is Cyborg.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' shows [[RealityEnsues why this is a bad idea]] in the first season, when the unarmoured MasterSwordsman Syrio Forel takes on the villainous Kingsguard Ser Meryn Trant. To quote the Hound: "Your friend's dead, and Meryn Trant's not, because Trant had armour. And a big fucking sword."

* The heroes of ''VideoGame/ZeroNoKiseki'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' don't wear any armor whatsoever while Arianrhod, the strongest member of [[AncientConspiracy Ouroboros]] wears a TwentyFourHourArmor. Duvalie from the same series is also a case of this trope on both ends of the spectrum where she's a villain when she has the armor on but [[spoiler:ends up joining the heroes in ''Cold Steel IV'', ditching the armor. She does wear it back in the finale but she's still on the heroes side.]]

** The [[LaResistance Rebel Alliance]] forces tend to have uniforms with with little more than flak armor, compared to the Empire's Stormtroopers who are armored head to toe. Even their pilots are FacelessMooks.

* Franchise/IronMan inverts this at time especially with foes like The Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom who don't wear armor.

* ''Anime/HanaukyoMaidTai La Verite''. In episode 11 Konoe Tsurugi's OneeSama wears a heavy armor suit in combat, while her opponents Konoe and Yashima don't.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': As Heathcliff, Akihiko is clad in the armor of the Knights of the Blood Oath, while Kirito wears a simple Badass Longcoat.

** While Tim Drake (ComicBook/{{Robin}}[=/=]ComicBook/RedRobin) always has body-armor in his suits they are generally flexible and cloth like overall while his recurring villain "Scarab" wears high-tech full body encasing PoweredArmor.

** [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Volume 2]]: Ares wears black and blue armor while Wonder Woman wears a {{Stripperiffic}} swimsuit--[[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 originally]] a strapless red shirt and pair of spangled shorts--modeled after the American Flag.

* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1987}}'': Ares wears black and blue armor while Wonder Woman wears a {{Stripperiffic}} swimsuit--[[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 originally]] a strapless red shirt and pair of spangled shorts--modeled after the American Flag.

* The author of ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'' posted [[https://www.deviantart.com/dragonrex1/art/Thanatos-The-God-of-Death-815130994 an image of Thanatos]] on his Deviant Art account. As seen, he wears complete armor all over his body, with no indication of what he looks like underneath, save for red eyes. The hero, on the another hand, wears normal clothes.

* ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': The Jealous Pacificus dons an armor when he decides to attack WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck.

* ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'' vs Takeshi Onimaru, after the latter is possessed by Fujin.

* Though the Seven Deadly Sins, the main protagonists of ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'', wore armor in the past, they don't wear such in the present. Instead they prefer to wear relatively casual clothes. In contrast, the antagonistic [[KnightTemplar Holy Knights]] are practically almost always seen in full armor.

* Doctor Doom, a TinTyrant, is the main adversary of the ComicBook/FantasticFour, who are all armorless.

** Back when the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ComicBook/LexLuthor was sometimes inclined to try brawling with Franchise/{{Superman}} in person, he had a fancy armored warsuit, and he has kept said suit for any battles ever since. Superman, the original FlyingBrick, of course, had no need for such toys.
** Though Lex is the most famous, he isn't the only one. Some versions of Metallo play his cyborg parts as a sort of "armored" look, and characters like ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, the Cyborg Superman, and the obscure Barrage have donned it to fight him. In GoodVersusGood fights, this also tends to fall to Batman. Part of the reason the New 52 redesign drew a lot of ire was that it attempted to add an "armor plating" look to Superman's outfit, which undermined the imagery.
* The [[ComicBook/XMen X-Men]] aren't big believers in armor, excepting those who come with it naturally through their power set, but they've faced a lot of armored enemies over the years.

** The Right, a hate group, attacked X-Factor and their associates with creepy PoweredArmor that had evil smiley faces painted on.

* Also inverted by Franchise/{{Batman}}, whose suit contains Kevlar body-armor (how much this is emphasized visually depends on the artist), but armor is worn by almost none of his enemies. Mr. Freeze is one of the few exceptions, but most of the threats that face Gotham wear elaborate costumes made from normal cloth.
* While Tim Drake (ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}[=/=]ComicBook/RedRobin) always has body-armor in his suits they are generally flexible and cloth like overall while his recurring villain "Scarab" wears high-tech full body encasing PoweredArmor.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' Link faces foes dressed only in a tunic and pants, while his armored enemies range from stone statues to ten-foot-tall knights in full plate. Localizations of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link To The Past]]'' address this by calling the upgraded tunics "mail", and games from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' onwards would add a thin chain or scale mail shirt under the tunic. In the latter, he can also get a full set of armor that renders him invincible at the cost of constantly draining his rupees.

* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1987}}'': Ares wears black and blue armor while Wonder Woman wears a {{Stripperiffic}} swimsuit modeled after the American Flag.

* For most of ''Series/Daredevil2015'''s first season, Matt Murdock wears black CivvieSpandex while Wilson Fisk wears suits lined with knife-proof material. Matt eventually manages to get his iconic red devil costume tailored by the guy who tailors Fisk's suits.

** Though Lex is the most famous, he isn't the only one. Some versions of Metallo play his cyborg parts as a sort of "armored" look, and characters like ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, the Cyborg Superman, and the obscure Barrage have donned it to fight him. In GoodVsGood fights, this also tends to fall to Batman. Part of the reason the New 52 redesign drew a lot of ire was that it attempted to add an "armor plating" look to Superman's outfit, which undermined the imagery.

** Though Lex is the most famous, he isn't the only one. Some versions of Metallo play his cyborg parts as a sort of "armored" look, and characters like Brainiac, the Cyborg Superman, and the obscure Barrage have donned it to fight him. In GoodVsGood fights, this also tends to fall to Batman. Part of the reason the New 52 redesign drew a lot of ire was that it attempted to add an "armor plating" look to Superman's outfit, which undermined the imagery.

** Though Lex is the most famous, he isn't the only one. Some versions of Metallo play his cyborg parts as a sort of "armored" look, and characters like Brainiac, the Cyborg Superman, and the obscure Barrage have donned it to fight him. In HeroVsHero fights, this also tends to fall to Batman. Part of the reason the New 52 redesign drew a lot of ire was that it attempted to add an "armor plating" look to Superman's outfit, which undermined the imagery.

* Back when the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ComicBook/LexLuthor was sometimes inclined to try brawling with Franchise/{{Superman}} in person, he had a fancy armored warsuit, and he has kept said suit for any battles ever since. Superman, the original FlyingBrick, of course, had no need for such toys.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Doctor and his companions are always wearing normal Earthly clothing, while monsters like the Daleks and the [[TinTyrant Cybermen]] are heavily armored.

* Inverted with the armored conscripts that defend Imperial China from the armorless Hun horde in Walt Disney Pictures' ''Disney/{{Mulan}}''.

* Present in almost every telling of the RobinHood legend -- Robin and his Merry Men wear tunics of lincoln green (or, in more modern adaptations, homespun shirts) while battling the Sheriff's guards, who wear chainmail and helmets. Which are, of course, wholly ineffective.

* Played with in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', with the inverions being played with Saber being the armored hero and most of the antagonistic servents like, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Caster, and Assassin[[spoiler: As well as True Assassin]] being Unarmored Villains, but gets adverted with Saber and [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]] who both wear armor but gets played straight in the final of Heavens Feel [[spoiler:with Saber Alter and Rider]].