History Main / BaldHeadOfToughness

--->'''Darius:''' I dunno, I feel like that's more easily pulled off by white men that are assumed to be dangerous, right. Like Creator/JasonStatham, Creator/BruceWillis, [[Creator/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]...Same reason why [[ScaryBlackMan black dudes]] can do it as well..."

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': Kratos is a bald Spartan warrior who has taken on gods and monsters, and won.

*** Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' and up until ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides the other CharlesAtlasSuperpower series protaganist, Kiryu, able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way. In ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', he also once fought Kiryu outside of Morning Glory Orphanage, and he actually managed to give The Dragon Of Dojima a run for his money. The two clashed once more in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' on a helipad but it's up to the player on who falls. Like with Futoshi Shimano, Taiga also has a Tiger Irezumi.

* ''Film/Solo1996''. Creator/MarioVanPeebles shaves his head to play the title character, an android SuperSoldier. This is show not only his toughness but to [[Deceptively Human Robot give him a slightly uncanny appearance]]. The [[UpgradeVsPrototypeFight ostensibly superior Mark II android sent to kill Solo]] has hair.

*** On a much smaller scale, there is Yahata, [[TheDragon the captain of the Yagasawa Clan]]. He's bald, a considerably violent thug, and has a large stroke of being a BoxingBattler, even if he gets knocked down by Kiryu in a SingleStrokeBattle (To be fair, Yahata was considerably injured at the time).

** This trope is subverted later in the [[Franchise/TheMatrix franchise]], when we see that many people with long hair do in fact exist outside The Matrix. They are those that were [[spoiler:born free in Zion and not hooked into the machines]]. They do not have the plug holes and thus likely aren't concerned about their hair getting in the way.

%%* ''Film/Solo1996''. Creator/MarioVanPeebles haves his head to play the title character, an android SuperSoldier. This is show not only his toughness but to [[Deceptively Human Robot give him a slightly uncanny appearance]]. The [[UpgradeVsPrototypeFight ostensibly superior Mark II android sent to kill Solo]] has hair.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': The show follows Walter White who after being diagnosed with cancer, becomes a drug dealer to ensure there is enough money for his family after he dies. In the sixth episode of the series, Walter's hair starts falling out from chemotherapy. He [[ImportantHaircut shaves it all off]] later on in the episode right before [[TookALevelInBadass Taking a Level In Badass]] by adopting the hardened, ruthless drug kingpin persona he names "Heisenberg", who he'd slowly [[BecomingTheMask morph into]] over the course of the show. Lampshaded by his son who reacts to seeing his dad's new look with "Badass, dad!"

*** Wen Hai Lee, the owner of Hogushi Kaikan, who acts as an acupuncturist and masseur. He was formerly a Pro Assassin, which helps his masseur and acupuncturist job considering that he knows pressure points (In the first fight with Majima, he threatens to break the cyclops' left arm with a thumb. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkXy8JvfxQA&t=50s Miss the QTE in time, and you're treated to this sight...]]), and despite his massive HeroicBuild, uses Wing-Chun instead of a more strength based fighting style. He's also huge enough to be humorously titled by the game as '''[[GiantMook MASSIVE MAN]]'''. With the Parka, he also looks like ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' & ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' protagonist, [[TheBigGuy Taiga Saejima]], shaved head and all.

*** Wen Hai Lee, the owner of Hogushi Kaikan, who acts as an acupuncturist and masseur. He was formerly a Pro Assassin, which helps his masseur and acupuncturist job considering that he knows pressure points (In the first fight with Majima, he threatens to break the cyclops' left arm with a thumb. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkXy8JvfxQA&t=50s Miss the QTE in time, and you're treated to this sight...]]), and despite his massive HeroicBuild, uses Wing-Chun instead of a more strength based fighting style. He's also huge enough to be humorously titled by the game as '''[[GiantMook MASSIVE MAN]]'''. With the Parka, he also looks like ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' & ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' protag, [[TheBigGuy Taiga Saejima]], shaved head and all.

* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'': Halfway through the game, Max shaves his head to disguise himself when going into the favela. This coincides with him kicking his drinking habit.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza3'' has [[FatBastard Tsuyoshi]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty Kanda]], who's completely bald, and UnskilledButStrong, the strong part being that he's capable of ripping out decorations installed into the walls and lifting up heavy objects easily, and the unskilled part being that [[spoiler:before his death, he lunged at Mine but gets overpowered fairly quickly]]. Like his predecessor [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Koji Shindo]], he's a lustful man who only took to the Nishikiyama throne only for the purpose of getting laid, though he did use quite a lot of brute force, contrasting with the other two cold and calculating Lieutenants [[BadassBookworm Yoshitaka Mine]] and [[GeniusBruiser Goh Hamazaki]]. [[spoiler:[[BigBad Mine]] takes him out, though.]]

*** Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' and through ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides the other CharlesAtlasSuperpower series protaganist, Kiryu, able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way. In ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', he also once fought Kiryu outside of Morning Glory Orphanage, and he actually managed to give The Dragon Of Dojima a run for his money. The two clashed once more in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' on a helipad but it's up to the player on who falls. Like with Futoshi Shimano, Taiga also has a Tiger Irezumi.

* ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': The titular protagonist, Saitama, did originally have hair when he was an ordinary person. His baldness came as a consequence of gaining his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of SuperStrength and SuperToughness after doing simple exercises every day. Now he is so strong that he can wipe the floor with most opponents with, well, a single punch. That said, given that the comic is a parody of the superhero genre, Saitama does express BaldnessAngst and his lack of hair is often PlayedForLaughs.

*** There's also MightyGlacier Kenji Oe, one of the huge "Mr. Shakedown" guys, whose sole purpose of fighting Majima is out of [[BaldnessAngst jealousy]] of Majima's long hair. This is also why he shakes down people: for the money to pay for an extremely expensive treatment to grow hair, which Majima attempts to convince is a fraud, and albeit initially successful, [[BerserkButton angers Kenji by saying]] [[BerserkButton ''"Scalp"'']].

[[caption-width-right:350: Big, bald, and busting through bricks.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Doomfist is the bald leader of the villainous group Talon and one of the principal [[BaldOfEvil antagonists]] of the larger Overwatch universe. Standing at an impressive 7ft tall, his close combat playstyle is oriented around his [[{{Cyborg}} cybernetic enabled]] SuperStrength that, paired with his range abilities, makes him into a LightningBruiser capable of 1 v 3-ing Tracer, Genji, and [[KillerGorilla Winston]] with [[CurbStompBattle little issue]], that is, until Winston enters his UnstoppableRage form. In-universe he is treated as TheDreaded.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Big bald burly badass busting bricks brilliantly.]]]]

*** Wen Hai Lee, the owner of Hogushi Kaikan, who acts as an acupuncturist and masseur. He was formerly a Pro Assassin, which helps his masseur and acupuncturist job considering that he knows pressure points (In the first fight with Majima, he threatens to break the cyclops' left arm with a thumb. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkXy8JvfxQA&t=50s Miss the QTE in time and you're treated to this...]]). He's also huge enough to be humorously titled by the game as '''[[GiantMook MASSIVE MAN]]'''. With the Parka, he also looks like ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' & ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' protag, [[TheBigGuy Taiga Saejima]], shaved head and all.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza1'': There's Futoshi Shimano, who, despite being a much weaker Mr. Shakedown, makes up for it in sheer dominance, brutality, and power, along with a few cases of cunning strategy, with the Irezumi on his back being a Tiger, and according to the Japanese saying: ''"Ryuko Aitatsu"'', the Tiger is the Dragon's equal. In the VideoGameRemake ''Kiwami'', this trope is further stressed as he is given an absurd amount of health, emphasizing his high durability. Unlike a lot of the Patriarchs, Shimano's completely bald.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Big bald badass busting bricks brilliantly.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Big, bald, and busting through bricks.]]

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': Kaliyo Djannis is basically an {{Expy}} of Jack from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', so naturally she is similarly characterized as a bald, [[TheSociopath sociopathic]], TokenEvilTeammate, BloodKnight, and DarkActionGirl. Unlike Jack however, she is also originally a GlacierWaif who could equip heavy armor and a personal shield protector in order to tank damage.

*** There's also MightyGlacier Kenji Oe, one of the huge "Mr. Shakedown" guys, whose sole purpose of fighting Majima is out of [[BaldnessAngst jealousy]] of Majima's long hair. This is also why he shakes down people: for the money to pay for an extremely expensive treatment to grow hair, which Majima attempts to convince is a fraud, and albeit initially successful, angers Kenji by saying ''"Scalp"''.

*** Wen Hai Lee, the owner of Hogushi Kaikan, who acts as an acupuncturist and masseur. He was formerly a Pro Assassin, which helps his masseur and acupuncturist job considering that he knows pressure points (In the first fight with Majima, he threatens to break the cyclop's left arm with a thumb. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkXy8JvfxQA&t=50s Miss the QTE in time and you're treated to this...]]). He's also huge enough to be humorously titled by the game as '''[[GiantMook MASSIVE MAN]]'''. With the Parka, he also looks like ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' & ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' protag, [[TheBigGuy Taiga Saejima]], shaved head and all.

** An example in ''VideoGame/Yakuza3'' has [[FatBastard Tsuyoshi]] [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty Kanda]], who's completely bald, and UnskilledButStrong, the strong part being that he's capable of ripping out decorations installed into the walls and lifting up heavy objects easily, and the unskilled part being that [[spoiler:before his death, he lunged at Mine but gets overpowered fairly quickly]]. Like his predecessor [[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Koji Shindo]], he's a lustful man who only took to the Nishikiyama throne only for the purpose of getting laid, though he did use quite a lot of brute force, contrasting with the other two cold and calculating Lieutenants [[BadassBookworm Yoshitaka Mine]] and [[GeniusBruiser Goh Hamazaki]]. [[spoiler:[[BigBad Mine]] takes him out, though.]]

*** On a much smaller scale, there is Yahata, [[TheDragon the captain of the Yagasawa Clan]]. He's bald, a considerably violent thug, and has a large stroke of being a BoxingBattler, even if he gets knocked down by Kiryu in a SingleStrokeBattle (Though, to be fair, Yahata was considerably injured at the time).

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Main melee combatant Roy is a bald, black, BadassNormal who is unusually tough and strong even before obtaining the Belt of Giant Strength and gains SuperStrength when wearing it. He also shaves his head completely bald. In a prequel volume, it's shown that Roy started shaving his head in college, and his father lampshades the trope during a visit, specifically noting that the shaved head made Roy look tough.

* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'': Joker is the BaldBlackLeaderGuy of "The Clowns", a biker gang composed of addicts and junkies. He's also MadeOfIron: in the movie he shrugs off a 100+ kilometer per hour crash and in the manga, he takes a bike tire to the face that's spinning so fast ''it leaves a skid mark'' with little visible damage.

* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'': Dr. Diane Foster is a bald, black, no-nonsense, ColonelBadass and FrontLineGeneral who is handy with a [[ColdSniper sniper rifle]]. Overlaps with BaldBlackLeaderGuy, but a female version of the typically male-only trope.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Captain Sisko shaved his hair at the start of Season 4 and became a BaldBlackLeaderGuy. At the same time, in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E01E02TheWayOfTheWarrior The Way of the Warrior]]", he begins to transition into a wartime commander as the Klingons turn hostile, starting with him fighting to defend Ops against a BoardingParty along with his crew. In general, Sisko demonstrates greater willingness to get down and dirty in the trenches when compared to [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Picard]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'': Doomfist is a BaldBlackLeaderGuy for the villainous group Talon and one of the principal [[BaldOfEvil antagonists]] of the larger Overwatch universe. Standing at an impressive 7ft tall, his close combat playstyle is oriented around his [[{{Cyborg}} cybernetic enabled]] SuperStrength that, paired with his range abilities, makes him into a LightningBruiser capable of 1 v 3-ing Tracer, Genji, and [[KillerGorilla Winston]] with [[CurbStompBattle little issue]], that is, until Winston enters his UnstoppableRage form. In-universe he is treated as TheDreaded.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Main melee combatant and BaldBlackLeaderGuy Roy is a BadassNormal who is unusually tough and strong even before obtaining the Belt of Giant Strength and gains SuperStrength when wearing it. He also shaves his head completely bald. In a prequel volume, it's shown that Roy started shaving his head in college, and his father lampshades the trope during a visit, specifically noting that the shaved head made Roy look tough.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza6'' has a minor villain named "Ed" from the Saio Triad, who's completely bald save for his goatee, He's an absolute {{Determinator}} and knows how to use karambits.

** ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'': Taiga Saejima has a buzz cut in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' and through ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', after returning from prison. Out of all of the protagonists in the series, he is the strongest in terms of raw physical strength, having developed his CharlesAtlasSuperpower of immense strength and durability in jail. Notably, he is the only protagonist besides the other CharlesAtlasSuperpower series protaganist, Kiryu, able to pick up motorcycles and in one cut scene, stops a moving car ''with his bare hands'' before moving out of the way. In ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'', he also once fought Kiryu outside of Morning Glory Orphanage, and he actually managed to give The Dragon Of Dojima a run for his money. The two clashed once more in ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' on a helipad but it's up to the player on who falls. Like with Futoshi Shimano, Taiga also has a Tiger Irezumi.