History Main / ArtificialLimbsAreStronger

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** Rhys is not a particularly strong man who is incapable of choking out a normal bandit (who are typically bottom-barrel mooks in the Borderlands series) but in episode four [[VirtualGhost Jack]] points out that cybernetic arm is a lot stronger than his real one and therefore good for throwing a solid punch, which he does with a Psycho not long after. He comments on this when [[spoiler:he and Sasha are hanging from a collapsed bridge and he attempts to pull them both up. When his human arm begins to give out, he winces about how much weaker it is than his artificial one.]]

** Rhys is not a particularly strong man who is incapable of choking out a normal bandit (who are typically bottom-barrel mooks in the Borderlands series) but in episode four [[VirtualGhost Jack]] reminds him that his cybernetic arm is a lot stronger than his real one and therefore good for throwing a solid punch.
** Rhys himself comments on this when [[spoiler:he and Sasha are hanging from a collapsed bridge, and he attempts to pull them both up. When his human arm begins to give out, he winces about how much weaker it is than his artificial one.]]

* ''Literature/CityOfNoEnd'': Precisely because simply replacing limbs would be insufficient for enhancing strength, the Men of Iron must replace most of their bodies with augmentations to fully become [[MoreMachineThanMan cybernetic]] [[SuperSoldier Super Soldiers.]]

[[quoteright:970:[[ComicBook/HeroesForHire https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misty_knight_heroes_for_hire__7_2.png]]]]

* In ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', Rhys is not a particularly strong man who is incapable of choking out a normal bandit (who are typically bottom-barrel mooks in the Borderlands series) but in episode four [[VirtualGhost Jack]] reminds him that his cybernetic arm is a lot stronger than his real one and therefore good for throwing a solid punch.

* In ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', Jet's cybernetic left arm seems marginally stronger than his own right one, although not to the point of SuperStrength.
* Rudol von Stroheim, the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi ally]] in part two of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure,'' has much of his body replaced with mechanical prosthetics after [[WeCanRebuildHim barely surviving a grenade explosion.]] His augmented limbs are able to grip objects with a force of 1,950 kg/cm2, well over double the [[MadeOfIron tested durability of the Pillar Men.]]

* Misty Knight was a private detective in the 1970s. She was brought back in 2006 in the ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy'' (in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe) and then in ''ComicBook/DaughtersOfTheDragon'' (in the mainstream universe). In both incarnations, she has a bionic arm designed by Tony Stark, that grants her several super powers including super strength, various Iron Man-based repulsor weaponry and, due to being made of Antarctic Vibranium, the ability to liquefy metal.

* The main villain of the kung-fu film, ''Film/TheBattleWizard'', simply called the Yellow Robed Monster, had both legs seared off in the opening fight. After a 20-year TimeSkip, he returns as a vengeance-crazed fighter with a pair of metal raven-like legs in place, which allows him to leap all over the place and even impale his enemies.
* Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier (Creator/SebastianStan) from the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' is a SuperSoldier enhanced with a knockoff of Captain America's SuperSerum, but he's not as strong as the Cap. However his left arm is a bulletproof prosthetic that can punch through solid concrete, and close-ups show that he has metal reaching into his shoulder and ribs to help reinforce it. After it gets destroyed by Iron Man's ChestBlaster at the end of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', he receives a new one made of Vibranium (the strongest known metal on Earth) in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' courtesy of Wakandans.
* In ''Film/IRobot'' Spooner's fight with an NS-5 noticeably turns around after his prosthetic arm is revealed. He first uses it to block an attack with a broken pipe, tearing the fake skin off, then starts punching holes in concrete. In this case, not only is his arm prosthetic, but he has significant reinforcement going all the way to his rib cage so he can support it.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The second scene of Darth Vader aboard the rebel starship shows Vader doing a NeckLift on Captain Antilles. It's not until further in the series that it's revealed that Vader is a cyborg: "He's more machine now than man; twisted and evil."
** In ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' Vader reflects that his prosthetic arms are strong enough to lift a humanoid clear off the deck without using the Force.
* Gazelle in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' has two prosthetic legs from the knees down, which don't make her physically ''stronger'', but allow her to do acrobatic feats and she has blades in them sharp enough to [[SingleStrokeBattle cleave a man in two]].
** Charlie Hesketh has become TheDragon to Poppy in ''Film/KingsmanTheGoldenCircle''. He lost his arm when his subdermal chip exploded in the first film, and Poppy provided him with robotic arms. He demonstrates the strength of his second robotic arm by destroying the wall of Poppy's bowling hall with a bowling ball he threw with it.

* From ''Cyborg'', by Creator/MartinCaidin, better known through its TV adaptation ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan''.
-->''"Your arm should have on the order of [[TheStrengthOfTenMen ten times the gripping and handling strength]] you once had. The same applies, of course, to your fingers. Objects you could never dent with your natural fingers before, well, now you should be able to crush them like an eggshell."''
* In Samuel Delany's ''Literature/{{Nova}}'', [[TheHeavy Prince Red]] was born without right arm and with a neurological defect that made grafting a cloned one impossible, so he was given a mechanical prosthetic. His grip strength is positively insane - at one point he sticks his hand into sand and clenches his fist hard enough to compress some sand into a lump of hot glass, and later he squeezes the same glass into quartz crystal. The actual amount of reinforcements of his body isn't shown, but he also can do a one-armed pull-up fast enough to make the air whiz, shatter unbreakable glass with a punch and throw stones (including aforementioned crystals) with the force and precision of bullets.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Lord Voldemort grants Peter Pettigrew a silver hand after he sacrifices his right hand to aid in his resurrection. He quickly tests it by crushing a twig into dust, showing that it's much stronger than a normal human hand. {{Justified|Trope}} by being [[AWizardDidIt of magical nature]] as opposed to mechanical like most examples of this trope.

* The UrExample is ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan''. Steve Austin's bionic legs give him SuperSpeed and super jumping powers, while his bionic right arm gives him partial SuperStrength. [[AdaptationalBadass This is a step up from the book the show is based on]], where the bionic parts' abilities were limited by the human body they were put on.
* ''Series/TheBionicWoman'' was a follow-up series to ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'', which has ActionGirl Jamie Sommers rebuilt after a skydiving accident with bionic legs and a bionic right arm. Her strength and abilities are much beyond human norms, and comparable to Colonel Austin's bionics.

* In ''Bleeding Edge'' replacing both arms or legs with prosthetics increases Str by 1 and decreases Dex 1, replacing a single arm or leg just diminishes Dex.
* In ''TabletopGame/Cyberpunk2020'' cyberlimb attacks deal more damage than regular limbs, and certain upgrades can increase this further.

* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'': during the prologue, Adam Jensen is a normal, non-augmented human, and has no melee attack available. Then he gets his arms and legs replaced with metal ones and can break bones with ease, deliver instant-KO {{Hey You Haymaker}}s, and if he unlocks his software with Praxis kits, punch through walls and jump 3 meters high. However, his spine is also augmented, and it's unclear if people with just limbs augmented are any stronger.
** His cybernetic arms also have [[BladeBelowTheShoulder retractable blades]], but that's beside the point.
* In ''VideoGame/DeusExMankindDivided'', Adam Jensen's artificial limbs are so strong, that his signature move is to punch through a wall to a guy to snap his neck.
* In the ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' expansion ''Enemy Within'', MEC Troopers are a soldier class blur the line between {{Cyborg}} and MiniMecha, created by replacing a soldier's limbs with {{artificial|Limbs}} ones. Their [[RocketPunch Kinetic Strike Module]] is ''the'' strongest attack available to the player[[note]]with a certain gameplay option ("Absolutely Critical") enabled, a punch with it can deal a hilarious '''''27''''' damage, able to one-shot ''all but one'' regular alien in the enemy roster[[/note]], and mounting it on the MEC suit passively grants an extra 3 mobility. An operative with 14 mobility (the maximum possible) that's augmented into a MEC trooper and saddled with the KSM, after a Foundry upgrade, can run through the battlefield at a speed matching a skittering [[BigCreepyCrawlies Chryssalid]].
* After the second game and his first appearance, ''Franchise/MortalKombat'''s Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs wears a pair of bionic armor-plating that covers and protects both of his arms from ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' and onwards. It is not known whether his arms were replaced or upgraded in the original storyline. However, it is possible that he may have used bionic implants until the events of ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception Deception]]'', where he may have willingly had his own arms removed in favor of mechanical replacements.
* ''Videogame/KillerInstinct'''s TJ Combo was once the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world for five years straight. He was stripped of his title for his use of cybernetic enhancements in his arms, he fights to regain his lost fame and fortune (his metallic arms are shown in the {{sequel}}, in which he has to fight for his life). Subverted in the 2013 ContinuityReboot in which the story is almost the same, but instead, determined to prove himself and regain glory, TJ rips out his cybernetics and returns to the fight.
* The player character of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' has a robotic arm which he can use to deliver a devastating punch that instantly knocks out enemies, something no fully-limbed soldier can replicate.
* ''VideoGame/NewLegends'' have you losing your left arm halfway through (in an unskippable cutscene), and after spending one whole stage sans an arm, you gain a magical stone hand which deals more damage on enemies when executing melee attacks.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Shatterhand}}'', Steve Herman gets robotic hands, and can just them to punch robots, and walls, until they explode.
* Doomfist of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' lost his right arm during the Omnic Crisis. The cybernetic replacement is leagues stronger than his original arm. Best displayed when he uses it to punch his way out of his concrete prison cell. Notably, one of the factors in his StartOfDarkness was the fact that having an artificial arm disqualified him from his previous career as a professional boxer (because of the unfair advantage it would have given him).
* Justified in ''VideoGame/{{Hob}}'', as the protagonist's replacement left arm comes from a GentleGiant robot more than twice their size.
* In ''Videogame/{{Rimworld}}'', bionic limbs are superior to normal human limbs, Bionic arms give superior melee damage and increased manipulation, which improves combat and most crafting and manual skills. Bionic legs increase movement speed. Archotech limbs, which are engineered by [[DeusEstMachina god-like planet-scale artificial intelligences]], are ''vastly'' superior to even bionic replacements.

* ''VideoGame/SpiderTheVideoGame'' have artificial metal limbs you can collect and upgrade yourselves with, allowing you to move faster and jump higher. Your onscreen character's appendages also turns metallic each time you have them equipped.
* In ''Videogame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'', Rhys is not a particularly strong man who is incapable of choking out a normal bandit (who are typically bottom-barrel mooks in the Borderlands series) but in episode four [[VirtualGhost Jack]] reminds him that his cybernetic arm is a lot stronger than his real one and therefore good for throwing a solid punch.
* Aruni from ''VideoGame/RainbowSixSiege'' has prosthetics replacing the limbs she lost to a bomb. While other operators use knives and butt stocks for melee, Aruni uses her robo-fist instead, leaving head-sized holes in soft surfaces and one-hitting barricades (other operators require three hits to break a barricade and only make small holes). Her prosthetic leg, however, doesn't make her any faster but comes with a built-in knife sheath.

* The character known only as [[spoiler:"Demo Man"]] from the ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' Freelancer saga. A member of the Insurrection, he [[spoiler:took a MAC round fired from orbit to the face]] and came back only missing his left arm. When the Freelancers face the Insurrection again in Season 10, he uses his robot arm to fire a shotgun one handed, knock down Agent Carolina in a hand to hand fight, and even catch a grenade fired by Agent Maine's Brute Shot and throw it back.

* ZigZagged with Zachary Foxx of ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers''. While his cybernetic arm and leg are far stronger than human norms, and the arm can double as an ArmCannon, the cyberware is still experimental and prone to {{Plot Driven Breakdown}}s, tampering ("Rogue Arm"), and malfunctions.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'', Bunny Rabbot suffered an UnwillingRobotization but the process was interrupted halfway through, leaving her with metal left arm and both legs. These appendages grant her enough strength to rip out armored doors.

* Athlete and double leg amputee Oscar Pistorius was temporarily banned from running in the Olympics because the IAAF determined that his "Cheetah Blades" used for running offered an unfair mechanical advantage - and they do, but only when running in a straight line at full speed. (The testers forgot to include the slowdown he faces at the beginning of the race before reaching top speed.) The decision was eventually overturned.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'': Joseph Joestar's prosthetic hand, unlike Stroheim's more extensive modifications, is not any stronger than the original. In fact, it is frequently smashed, cut, severed and otherwise destroyed, usually by enemy Stand users to [[TheWorfEffect demonstrate how dangerous they are]] on a target which can [[GoodThingYouCanHeal be easily replaced by Joseph's vast network of resources.]]

* Inverted in ''Film/ExMachina'', where Nathan easily smashes off the RobotGirl Ava's arm [[spoiler:and Kyoko's jaw]] with a single swing of his baton, [[spoiler:and they are only able to beat him because [[InTheBack Kyoko snuck up on him]]. We also see a video of Jade, one of Nathan's earlier robot models, smashing her arms off as she [[FreakOut helplessly bangs on the door]] trying to get out.]]

* ''Literature/HammersSlammers'' front-line personnel who receive prosthetics are either retired or rotated to desk jobs, one of the reasons being that prosthetic limbs need to be periodically recalibrated by a powerful computer.
* In Creator/MartinCaidin's ''Cyborg'', the basis for ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'', Steve Austin's bionic limbs were stronger than his natural ones, but their abilities were limited by his human body. He couldn't lift enormous weight or run super faster, but he ''did'' have a super-strong grip and could sprint for an indefinitely long period.
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': Honor's prosthetic arm is treated realistically, with the arm being decidedly stronger than natural, but limited by her mostly original shoulder.
* The protagonist of ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' has several artificial limbs with micromachine tools that he swops around for various tasks, but in one scene he rejects the idea of handling a {{BFG}} laser drill because a prosthetic limb doesn't substitute for actual muscle power.
* The protagonist of ''And A Star to Steer Her By'', a 1954 RaygunGothic novel by Lee Correy (G. Harry Stine), is a [[RetroRocket jetman]] who has lost a hand; at one point he has to build extra tools for leverage to help him carry out repair work because he hasn't sufficient strength in his artificial hand to tighten things.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/RedDwarf''. After [[AnArmAndALeg losing his right arm]], Kryten builds Lister a prosthetic arm as a replacement. Unfortunately, it's a complete failure; In its default setting, it takes Lister so much effort to perform the simple act of picking up a ball that he claims that he'll have to take the morning off every time he does so. With the impulse valve adjusted to increase sensitivity, the arm taps into Lister's subconscious and instead of picking up the ball, punches Kryten in the face.

* In ''TabletopGame/HcSvntDracones'' Body stat boosts are BioAugmentation, artificial limbs have no advantages other than hiding small items. A reinforced prosthesis won't increase lifting strength but can make an effective bludgeoning weapon or shield.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': When Ray is rendered paraplegic, he gets mechanical implants to walk again. Unlike full-body cyborgs like Barry, Ray is no stronger than he was before because the rest of his body limits what they can do. The one time Ray tried to use them for a feat of strength (lifting a car out of mud), he threw out his back.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'', [[spoiler:James Burns]] sustains heavy injuries during the battle to liberate Venus, forcing the doctors to replace AnArmAndALeg with robotic prostheses. These replacements are notably clumsier and weaker than his original limbs, effectively ending his days as a soldier and causing him considerable distress.

* In ''Videogame/{{Rimworld}}'', bionic limbs are superior to normal human limbs, Bionic arms give superior melee damage and increased manipulation, which improves combat and most crafting and manual skills. Bionic legs increase movement speed. Archotech arms, which are engineered by [[DeusEstMachina god-like planet-scale artificial intelligences]], are ''vastly'' superior to even bionic replacements.

* ''Literature/{{Limbo}}'' by Bernard Wolfe is about a post-World War Three future where people voluntarily amputate their limbs as a moral equivalent to fighting wars, a case of literal disarmament. However, scientists then develop nuclear-powered prosthesis enabling great feats of strength and agility. This leads to war breaking out again over the rare metal needed to build them.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', Lord Voldemort grants Peter Pettigrew a silver hand after he sacrifices his right hand to aid in his resurrection. He quickly tests it by crushing a twig into dust, showing that it's much stronger than a normal human hand. {{Justified}} by being [[AWizardDidIt of magical nature]] as opposed to mechanical like most examples of this trope.

* ''Series/AlteredCarbon''. After Kirstin Ortega is badly wounded by the Ghostwalker and loses an arm, Takeshi Kovacs pays for the most expensive artificial limb available to replace it. Ortega doesn't even realise her arm has been replaced [[DoesNotKnowHerOwnStrength until she bends the railing on her bed]] while arguing with Kovacs. The arm comes in handy for her next round with the Ghostwalker in the final episode.

** Averted afterwards with Joseph Joestar's prosthetic hand, which is frequently smashed, cut, severed and otherwise destroyed, usually by enemy Stand users to [[TheWorfEffect demonstrate how dangerous they are]] on a target which can [[GoodThingYouCanHeal be easily replaced by Joseph's vast network of resources.]]

* In ''Videogame/{{Rimworld}}'', bionic limbs are superior to normal human limbs, giving superior melee damage and increased manipulation, which improves combat and most crafting and manual skills. Archotech arms, which are engineered by [[DeusEstMachina god-like planet-scale artificial intelligences]], are ''vastly'' superior to even bionic replacements.

* ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' plays this trope realistically- a prosthetic arm can be stronger than an organic human arm, but if it isn't attached to an equally-durable prosthetic body then it's likely to hurt the user. This is demonstrated with an ImagineSpot of Batou trying to lift an extremely heavy weight with his prosthetic arm only for it to instead be torn out of his shoulder.

* From ''Literature/{{Cyborg}}'', by Creator/MartinCaidin, better known through its TV adaptation ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan''.

* ''Literature/{{Honor Harrington}}'s'' prosthetic arm is treated realistically, with the arm being decidedly stronger than natural, but limited by her mostly-original shoulder.

* The protagonist of ''And A Star To Steer Her By'', a 1954 RaygunGothic by Lee Correy (G. Harry Stine), is a [[RetroRocket jetman]] who has lost a hand; at one point he has to build extra tools for leverage to help him carry out repair work because he hasn't sufficient strength in his artificial hand to tighten things.
* In ''Literature/CChute'' by Creator/IsaacAsimov, John Stuart had mangled his hands irreparably, but alien surgeons [[CloningBodyParts grew him artificial hands out of artiplasm]] instead. The new hands are weaker than the originals, and require delicate care.

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* ''Limbo'' by Bernard Wolfe is about a post-World War Three future where people voluntarily amputate their limbs as a moral equivalent to fighting wars, a case of literal disarmament. However scientists then develop nuclear-powered prosthesis enabling great feats of strength and agility. This leads to war breaking out again over the rare metal needed to build them.
* From ''Cyborg'', by Martin Caidin, better known through its TV adaptation ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan''.
-->"Your arm should have on the order of [[TheStrengthOfTenMen ten times the gripping and handling strength]] you once had. The same applies, of course, to your fingers. Objects you could never dent with your natural fingers before, well, now you should be able to crush them like an eggshell."

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* In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' Annie made Anakin's bionic hand [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0436.html weaker but more dextrous]] than the normal one.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** [[spoiler:Mercury Black]] has robotic legs as his WeaponOfChoice and is one of the strongest and fastest fighters in his generation because of them.

* The character known only as [[spoiler:"Demo Man"]] from the ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' Freelancer saga. A member of the Insurrection, he [[spoiler:took a MAC round fired from orbit to the face]] and came back only missing his left arm. When the Freelancers face the Insurrection again in Season 10, he uses his robot arm to fire a shotgun one handed, knock down Agent Carolina in a hand to hand fight, and even catch a grenade fired by Agent Maine's Brute Shot and throw it back.