History Main / DavidVersusGoliath

* The entire ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' trilogy, including its prequel ''Literature/TheHobbit'', is one long series of David (the Hobbits, and the small groups they accompany) vs. Goliath (trolls, masses of orcs/goblins, Smaug the Dragon, and of course Sauron and his armies) plots. And in both cases the little guys win with one well aimed surprise blow.

* ''Theatre/Antigone'' begins after Creon, the new king of Thebes after an unsuccessful attempt by Polinices and others to conquer it, declares that the bodies of the coup leaders be left to rot rather than be buried. Polinices' sister, Antigone, insists upon burying him to honor custom and divine law, challenging the secular laws of the city. Creon has all the apparent power behind him, while Antigone seems weak and defenseless, but when he imprisons her he sets in motion a train of events, doubtless orchestrated by the gods, which destroy his family and his rule, so Antigone's resistance prevails in the end.

[[folder:Pinballs]]
* In ''VideoGame/ThePinballOfTheDead'', the "Cemetery" table has Ricky, a massive zombie who reaches up from underneath the playfield.

[[folder:Pinballs]]
* In ''VideoGame/ThePinballOfTheDead'', the "Cemetery" table has Ricky, a massive zombie who reaches up from underneath the playfield.
[[/folder]]

Broadly speaking, this trope is any climactic combat or competition where the hero is the underdog. More specifically, it refers to conflicts where the hero is of much smaller physical stature than the villain. The hero will usually win if he's WeakButSkilled in contrast to the UnskilledButStrong foe, or otherwise ''very'' good at DeadlyDodging. If the villain is ''much'' larger, the hero may attempt a ColossusClimb.

-->-- '''[[Literature/BooksOfSamuel 1 Samuel 17:49]]''', ''Literature/TheBible'' (NLT)

* In ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonRed'', one of the attempts at the battle with Lance included a one-on-one match between Red's Venomoth, ATV, and Lance's notoriously powerful Dragonite twenty-six levels higher than it. ATV poisoned Dragonite, and proceeded to [[DeathOfAThousandCuts take it down]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu without suffering so much as a scratch.]] It did not end up being the winning run, but ATV had suddenly earned a lot of respect by the mob.

* [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]] versus [[MeaningfulName The Rhino]]. Taken [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] in two instances where he fought an enemy outside his RoguesGallery. One with Fire Lord, a [[PersonOfMassDestruction Herald of Galactus]]. For the most part, he [[NoSell tanks]] everything Spider-Man throws at him and Spider-Man only wins at the end through PopularityPower allowing him to KO Fire Lord even though it didn't make any sense. The hardest case of it being played straight was when he fought the Characters/{{Juggernaut}}, a villain who has fought the ComicBook/XMen's entire lineup single-handedly and proven too strong for them to take head even for their strongest members. Naturally, their first fight ends with Spider-Man flattened and Juggernaut only stops because kidnapping his target would require taking her off life support. Spider-Man's second attempt fares no better and only wins by getting Juggernaut to walk into a pit of cement.

* Uniquely for a depiction of the famously disadvantaged David, this is an AvertedTrope in Michelangelo's ''Art/{{David}}''. we get no sculpture of Goliath for reference, but David is certainly larger here than any man could expect to be. There is no attempt here to portray David as an underdog or less physically endowed. The implication of Goliath remains, however, in David's expression of disquiet and concern--his brow is furrowed, his glance is sidelong and slightly raised towards something above than him, and there is a slight downturn to his lips.

* The Creator/MarvelComics storyline ''ComicBook/ActsOfVengeance'' worked in this manner as a team of villains gathered together to pit heroes against foes they likely never faced before. This saw oddball match ups such as ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} against [[Characters/MarvelComicsUltron Ultron]], ComicBook/AlphaFlight against [[Characters/MarvelComicsMacGargan the Scorpion]], ComicBook/PowerPack against [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Typhoid Mary]] and more.

* There have been times where [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]] is in the David position. Of course, he's usually still the stronger one.

* Franchise/SpiderMan versus [[MeaningfulName The Rhino]]. Taken [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] in two instances where he fought an enemy outside his RoguesGallery. One with Fire Lord, a [[PersonOfMassDestruction Herald of Galactus]]. For the most part, he [[NoSell tanks]] everything Spider-Man throws at him and Spider-Man only wins at the end through PopularityPower allowing him to KO Fire Lord even though it didn't make any sense. The hardest case of it being played straight was when he fought the ComicBook/{{Juggernaut|MarvelComics}}, a villain who has fought the ComicBook/XMen's entire lineup single-handedly and proven too strong for them to take head even for their strongest members. Naturally, their first fight ends with Spider-Man flattened and Juggernaut only stops because kidnapping his target would require taking her off life support. Spider-Man's second attempt fares no better and only wins by getting Juggernaut to walk into a pit of cement.
* Unintentional evocation of this trope is the reason it's hard to write good Franchise/{{Superman}} villains. Unless you make them even more powerful than Superman (which gets boring after a while) or have them regularly exploit one of his weaknesses (The Kryptonite Man, Metallo, Ruin, etc.), many of Supes' villains [[VillainousValour end up looking better by simply being able to go up against him]] -- most notably normal humans like the Prankster, Toyman, and of course [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Luthor]]. Prankster and Toyman are generally in it for the laughs (the Prankster has been seen complaining to ComicBook/BlackCanary that she hit him harder than Superman ever does). Lex has been accurately described as "a man fighting God".

* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} pings this trope quite often, especially when fighting alongside the X-Men. He is considerably shorter than average and while he is very hard to effectively damage due to his regeneration and unbreakable bones all he has going for him offensively are the blades in his arms, literal InvulnerableKnuckles, very low-end SuperStrength, and lots of experience. His successor Comicbook/{{X 23}} is in a similar situation, only she has less than two decades of experience and is vastly more delicate[[note]](while she does heal faster due to retaining most of her original skeleton, limbs take time to grow back and severe head trauma leaves her helpless for several minutes)[[/note]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Juxtapose}}'': All it takes for Izuku to take out a giant Zero-pointer robot in the Sports Festival is to [[spoiler: PortalCut its AI cord within its internal circuits, thanks to Kensei's [[{{Psychometry}} scanning]] and Megumi's [[TouchTelepathy telepathy]].]]

** The Elysian navy versus the People's Navy and StateSec task force sent against [[spoiler:Hades]]. The remnants and captures from a few squadrons of battlecruisers, plus a bunch of formidable but immobile orbital defenses that weren't even in range at the time, against an entire major Naval task group. [[spoiler:Unconventional, extremely risky tactics for the win. And stupidly predictable StateSec flight patterns for the lose.]]

* The entire ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' trilogy, including its prequel ''Literature/TheHobbit'', is one long series of David (the Hobbits, and the small groups they accompany) vs. Goliath (trolls, masses of orcs/goblins, Smaug the Dragon, and of course Sauron and his armies) plots. And in both cases the little guys win with one well aimed surprise blow.

* In H.G. Well's ''Literature/WarOfTheWorlds'', the advanced Martians with their massive three-legged walking tanks and heat rays threaten to destroy civilization until they are killed off by the "humblest" of creatures--Earth's bacteria.

** The attempted invasion of Alshain by rogue Draconis Combine units canonically featured a 100-ton ''[[MightyGlacier Atlas]]'' defeated by a single Elemental. While an Elemental already quite fearsome to a normal person--being a [[DesignerBabies genetically engineered]] SuperSoldier [[TheSpartanWay raised to be a warrior from birth]] wearing a literal ton of Mech-grade PowerArmor--a single Elemental is normally no match for an ''Atlas''. However, this Elemental, Jake Kabrinski, would use his agility to close inside the ''Atlas''' own movement arcs, becoming too nimble to accurately hit at close range and tricking the ''Atlas'' into overextending and falling off balance, crushing its side and allowing him to climb up to the cockpit to kill the pilot.

VillainousUnderdog is when the ''villain'' that's the underdog instead of the hero. If a monster is underestimated, see KillerRabbit. [[TheBrute Brutes]] easily lend themselves to being Goliaths, but they're disqualified from this trope if they're also LargeAndInCharge. When Goliath's superiority is in the numbers, a one-off victory for David against individually formidable opponents is ConservationOfNinjutsu, while systematic victories against any number of opponents makes David a OneManArmy. NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight is when Goliath's superiority is having a weapon against the unarmed David. A [[SmugSuper sufficiently confident Goliath]] may see fit to start JustToyingWithThem.

VillainousUnderdog is when the ''villain'' that's the underdog instead of the hero. If a monster is underestimated, see KillerRabbit. [[TheBrute Brutes]] easily lend themselves to being Goliaths, but they're disqualified from this trope if they're also LargeAndInCharge. When Goliath's superiority is in the numbers, a one-off victory for David may be ConservationOfNinjutsu, while a systematic repetition thereof makes David a OneManArmy. NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight is when Goliath's superiority is having a weapon against the unarmed David. A [[SmugSuper sufficiently confident Goliath]] may see fit to start JustToyingWithThem.

VillainousUnderdog is when the ''villain'' that's the underdog instead of the hero. If a monster is underestimated, see KillerRabbit. [[TheBrute Brutes]] easily lend themselves to being Goliaths, but they're disqualified from this trope if they're also LargeAndInCharge. ConservationOfNinjutsu or OneManArmy is when Goliath's superiority is in the numbers, while NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight is when Goliath's superiority is having a weapon against the unarmed David. A [[SmugSuper sufficiently confident Goliath]] may see fit to start JustToyingWithThem.

VillainousUnderdog is when the ''villain'' that's the underdog instead of the hero. If a monster is underestimated, see KillerRabbit. [[TheBrute Brutes]] easily lend themselves to being Goliaths, but they're disqualified from this trope if they're also LargeAndInCharge. ConservationOfNinjutsu is when Goliath's superiority is in the numbers, while NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight is when Goliath's superiority is having a weapon against the unarmed David. A [[SmugSuper sufficiently confident Goliath]] may see fit to start JustToyingWithThem.

Sometimes, it's the ''villain'' that's the [[VillainousUnderdog underdog]]. If a monster is underestimated, see KillerRabbit. [[TheBrute Brutes]] easily lend themselves to being Goliaths, but they're disqualified from this trope if they're also LargeAndInCharge. ConservationOfNinjutsu is when Goliath's superiority is in the numbers, while NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight is when Goliath's superiority is having a weapon against the unarmed David. A [[SmugSuper sufficiently confident Goliath]] may see fit to start JustToyingWithThem.

If the ''villain'' is the underdog, you may be looking at VillainousValour. If a monster is underestimated, see KillerRabbit. [[TheBrute Brutes]] easily lend themselves to being Goliaths, but they're disqualified from this trope if they're also LargeAndInCharge. ConservationOfNinjutsu is when Goliath's superiority is in the numbers, while NeverBringAKnifeToAFistFight is when Goliath's superiority is having a weapon against the unarmed David. A [[SmugSuper sufficiently confident Goliath]] may see fit to start JustToyingWithThem.

* Uniquely for a depiction of the famously disadvantaged David, this is an AvertedTrope in Michelangelo's ''Art/{{David}}''. we get no sculpture of Goliath for reference, but David is certainly larger here than any man could expect to be. There is no attempt here to portray David as an underdog or less physically endowed.

* Unintentional evocation of this trope is the reason it's hard to write good Franchise/{{Superman}} villains. Unless you make them even more powerful than Superman (which gets boring after a while) or have them regularly exploit one of his weaknesses (The Kryptonite Man, Metallo, Ruin, etc.), many of Supes' villains [[VillainousValour end up looking better by simply being able to go up against him]] -- most notably normal humans like the Prankster, Toyman, and of course [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Luthor]]. Prankster and Toyman are generally in it for the laughs (the Prankster has been seen complaining to Characters/{{Black Canary|TheBlackCanary}} that she hit him harder than Superman ever does). Lex has been accurately described as "a man fighting God".

* The Creator/MarvelComics storyline ''ComicBook/ActsOfVengeance'' worked in this manner as a team of villains gathered together to pit heroes against foes they likely never faced before. This saw oddball match ups such as ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} against [[Characters/AvengersEnemies Ultron]], ComicBook/AlphaFlight against [[Characters/MarvelComicsMacGargan the Scorpion]], ComicBook/PowerPack against [[Characters/DaredevilCentralRoguesGallery Typhoid Mary]] and more.

* In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUEFxSOVd6A very first episode]] of ''WebVideo/CauseOfDeath'', the protagonist battles a ''much'' larger man than he. [[spoiler: He wins. With help from a granola bar.]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Physics act ''just'' the way they do in the biblical story. A sling stone has as much kinetic energy as a pistol bullet, and a skilled slinger can achieve uncanny accuracy. (That said, the slung stone was not the last blow; having felled Goliath, David decapitated him with his own sword. Likely because of the giant helmet he was wearing.) Creator/AgathaChristie traveled in the Middle East during the 1930s; after seeing shepherds at this time still protecting their folds against predators with deadly precision slingshots, she just remarked that the actual Aesop of David and Goliath story seemed to her like the ancient version of 'NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight'.
* Humans. During the Ice Age and the time after, in which Humans first started diverging from their arboreal ancestors, were specialized to hunt large prey, such as mammoths, giant sloths, and similar, through a combination of throwing weapons, large numbers, and traps allowed humans to hunt down megafauna that relied on their size and bulk for protection with devastating effect. Outside of African species like the elephant, rhino, and hippo, which had evolved alongside humans, whenever humans migrated to a new area, that area's megafauna quickly became extinct. (Indeed, Mammoths survived all the way to 2000 BC on islands with no humans, until said hairless apes arrived, disproving the claim that these animals died out as a result of Climate Change).
* UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. No matter how many casualties the Allies inflicted on them, the Communists just [[{{Determinator}} would not give up.]] Most of Vietnamese history is like this when it comes to foreign invaders and occupiers. Despite Vietnam being occupied and invaded by several powerful empires and countries in the past that include the Mongols, the Ming Dynasty, the French empire, the Japanese Empire, and even the United States during the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese manage to successfully repel the invaders or kick the occupiers out despite the fact that many invaders and occupiers often have superior military equipment than the Vietnamese. One of the major factors to this is because of the Vietnamese geography of dense forests, high mountains, and cliffs makes it relatively easy to the Vietnamese to utilize HitAndRunTactics and makes it incredibly difficult for empires to maintain control of the region.
* Afghanistan has a similar reputation to Vietnam, having earned the nickname "The Graveyard of Empires" for the number of times it has been invaded and tossed said invaders out (a short list includes Persia, the Greeks, the Mongols, the Mughals, the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and the United States).
* [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_general_election,_2009 In its 2009 general election]], Japan had the reigning Liberal Democratic Party (in power since the Fifties!) as Goliath versus the 13-year-old Democratic Party of Japan. Despite the LDP's clout, they were still beaten by the smaller and younger DPJ. [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_general_election,_2012 Then subverted in 2012]] when the DPJ's perceived inexperience (and possibly also the Fukushima nuclear disaster) allowed the LDP to be voted back into power.
* [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]] vs. [[DirtyCommunists the Soviet Union]]... both in the size of the countries AND the number of people in said countries. The Soviet Union being the Goliath in the size of the country and the David in the population of the country.[[note]]Most of the USSR was empty and everything east of the Urals may as well have been nonexistent for the European war effort.[[/note]]
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#Industrial_output In fact]], it was the Soviets who were the David in this circumstance, at least for the first couple of years. So said the other wiki: "Germany had far greater resources than did the USSR, and dwarfed its production in every matrix except for oil, having over five times the USSR's coal production, over three times its iron production, three times its steel production, twice its electricity production, and about 2/3 of its oil production." From the initiation of hostilities it also had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_production_during_World_War_II#GDP over three times the USSR's GDP]]. The Soviets did have a larger population than Germany, but that was a minor advantage at best (just ask China), and the disparity wasn't as big as is often thought.[[note]]In fact, adding together Greater Germany, its allies and co-belligerents, and the anti-Soviet areas of the USSR (e.g. the Baltic states, Moldova, West Ukraine, most ethnic German communities), the USSR only had a twenty five percent population advantage.[[/note]]
** Not only were they much weaker on paper, but the Soviets' reputation was far worse than that of the Germans' and no one seriously expected them to hold out. In the year just prior to Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany had overwhelmed France in a mere six weeks. France had, in World War I, held off most of the might of Imperial Germany and taken a lead role in defeating it. Germany also occupied or subverted pretty much the whole rest of Europe over the last two years. Meanwhile, Russia's last world war performance (in the first one) was comparatively pathetic, as the Germans and Austro-Hungarians were able to totally defeat them with the lesser part of their power. The last two decades hadn't done them any favors either: the fragile new Soviet Union had lost wars to minor powers like Poland, the Baltic states, and most famously, Finland. The embarrassing latter incident had only happened a few months prior to Barbarossa. Suffice to say, there was good ''reason'' for these reputations.
** Yet, despite all of the above, the Soviets took on the brunt of the German war machine for two years, and while they suffered grievous losses and lost much of their territory, they eventually halted the German offensive at Moscow, rolled it back somewhat at Rzhev, and stumped their second strategic offensive at Stalingrad. Starting around the time of Kursk, in 1943, the Americans and British intensified their [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_the_Reich air]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Atlantic naval]] campaigns and opened up the first ground front in western Europe (Italy, to be followed the next year by France and the Low Countries). This resulted in the bulk of the German air force and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Front_(World_War_II)#Forces 40% of the German army]] being redirected to fronts other than the Eastern Front. Faced with only half (roughly) of the German war effort, and invigorated further by American Lend-Lease aid, the Soviets were no longer the David, and with their allies collectively constituted the Goliath. Germany wasn't as successful as the David and were crushed by the Allies within the next year and a half.
* On a national scale, there was the Winter War of 1940 between Finland (a relatively small Nordic nation) and the Soviet Union (a colossal nation with one of the world's largest militaries, 30 times as many planes, and 100 times as many tanks). Thanks in no small part to exceptionally cold (even for Russians) winter and extremely well-entrenched defense line judged later to be impenetrable sans for with nuclear weapons, Finland was able to hold off the Soviets for far longer than anyone expected.
** Also helped by the fact that Stalin [[ThePurge purged]] (read: fired, imprisoned or killed) [[VillainBall most of his competent officers prior to the invasion]].
*** And helped by UsefulNotes/SimoHayha, aka the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast White Death]], aka [[FluffyTheTerrible Sugar]]. Current record holder for the deadliest sniper alive with 505 confirmed kills by sniper rifle and 200 odd kills via machine gun in just 100 days. At 5'3" (1.60 m), could be considered a David.
* During UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, the Union [[NavalBlockade blockaded]] the entire Confederate coastline. To counter this, they posted a bounty to anyone who could break the blockade. The most popular method to try were small torpedo boats that sat low in the water called, wait for it... [[InvokedTrope Davids]]. [[LateArrivalSpoiler No, they never managed to break the blockade.]]
* The Battle of Rorke's Drift, during which a platoon of around 150 men -- a considerable proportion of which were ill -- successfully stood off between 3 and 4,000 veteran Zulu warriors for over twelve hours with few casualties... after an army of British veterans had been massacred almost to a man (barely 50 of over 1700 troops) by the army of which said Zulu warriors were but a detachment (one that hadn't seen action) earlier the same day at the Battle of Isandlhwana.
* Taffy 3. If there was ever a naval battle that fits the description of David vs Goliath, it is the Battle Off Samar. 6 Escort Carriers, 3 Destroyers and 4 Destroyer Escorts against 4 Battleships,[[note]]including the ''Yamato'', the [[BigBad largest Battleship]] ever built itself weighing more then all of Taffy-3 put together(Its main turrets weighed more then any of the individual Destroyers all by themselves)[[/note]], 6 Heavy Cruisers, 2 Light Cruisers and 11 Destroyers. [[DefeatingtheUndefeatable The flagship of the attacking fleet weighed more then the entirety of Taffy 3]]. Ironically, the ''[[PaperTiger Yamato]]'' played almost no part in the battle with most of the damage inflicted on Taffy 3 coming from the battleship ''Kongo.'' Not only did the ''Kongo'' sink the ''Roberts'' but it also is the ship that damaged the ''Johnston's'' engines as well. The smaller American force [[AttackAttackAttack fought so tenaciously]] that the Japanese force [[VictoryByEndurance ended up retreating.]] The unit received the Presidential Unit Citation as a result of their heroics in this action.
** Robert Lundgren in his work ''The World Wonder'd'' actually makes the point that it was ''Yamato'', not ''Kongo'' that scored the majority of the hits on Taffy 3's ships, including a hit on USS White Plains that overpenetrated and detonated under her keel, crippling her. This was the longest range naval gunnery hit ever.
** Captain Ernest E. Evans and the USS ''Johnston''. [[LeeroyJenkins On his own initiative]], Captain Evans turned his ship and charged into the attacking Japanese ships, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu torpedoing]] [[OneHitKill one Japanese Heavy Cruiser blowing the bow off]][[note]]causing another heavy cruiser to retire to assist it(he torpedoed that one too)[[/note]] and caused enough confusion to allow the Destroyer Escort ''Samuel B Roberts'' to close for its own attack run. [[ICanStillFight After retreating under heavy damage]] [[HeroicWillpower (with Captain Evans steering the ship heavily wounded)]], the ''Johnston'' [[TheGlovesComeOff engaged a Japanese Heavy Cruiser and several Destroyers]] that were [[IGotYouCovered attacking one of the escort carriers.]] This ended up spoiling the Japanese torpedo run, in [[HeroicSacrifice return for the ''Johnston'' being sunk.]] The ''Johnston'' fought so hard that the Japanese reported that they had sunk a [[PintsizedPowerhouse South Dakota]]-class ''battleship'' in their logs. Ernest E. Evans abandoned ship with the rest of the crew but was not rescued. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
*** The Destroyer Escort ''Samuel B. Roberts'' made its own attack run, passing the now heavily damaged USS ''Johnston'' as it was retiring from the action. After expending its 3 torpedoes damaging one Heavy Cruiser, ''Samuel B. Roberts'' [[RefugeInAudacity maneuvered so close]] [[CrazyEnoughToWork to a Japanese heavy cruiser that]] [[PersonalSpaceInvader the Japanese crew could not depress their guns low enough to return fire]], leading to considerable damage to the Japanese cruiser. The ''Samuel B. Roberts'' was eventually crippled in the exchange, and while retreating, was hit and sunk by the Battleship ''Kongo''. It was said of the ship that it was the [[PintsizedPowerhouse Destroyer Escort that fought like a Battleship]]. [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130607204130/http://www.badassoftheweek.com/index.cgi?id=52657811114 Badass of the Week, Battle at Samar.]]
* Wolverines are said to be able to kill a moose, and have been reported to take on polar bears.
* Torpedo Boats (and later on, attack aircraft) versus battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. These small craft were very fragile, and their targets [[MoreDakka very heavily armed]], but they could deal out catastrophic damage with a successful attack. [[ZergRush Swarm tactics were heavily favored in hopes of overwhelming the defenders.]] By the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the list of warships that fell due to these small attackers would include ''[[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Arizona, Oklahoma, Bismark, Repulse, Prince of Wales, Yamato, Musashi, Akagi, Lexington, Yorktown]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Szent István]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar Knyaz Suvorov]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Housatonic]]'', and many others. The capabilities of anti-ship missiles [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar in the modern age]] allowed [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets the Soviets]] to fit them even on small corvettes / large torpedo boats, turning them into gnats with boxers' fists, able to strike down the largest warships if caught off guard.
* Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa in an SBD Dauntless dive bomber (not built for dogfights) against three Japanese Zero fighters (which were created for the express purpose of being pinpoint [[TheAce superiority fighters]]). He engaged them in a maneuvering fight, rendering his tail gunner useless, and still managed to take down all three on his own, the last one by ripping its wing off with his own aircraft's wing when they made a close head-on pass. How? [[{{Determinator}} Sheer raw guts]], surviving twenty minutes of constant nine-G turns (which would have ripped the wings off the more lightly-constructed Zero and would have [[MadeOfIron knocked a normal man unconscious]] after one turn), until he could finally get some shots off. It certainly helped that the Dauntless carried a pair of nose-mounted M2 .50 caliber machine guns, a respectable if not overwhelming amount of firepower. Vejtasa later transferred to fighter piloting and became one of the Goliaths, shooting down seven Japanese aircraft in one day during his first engagement, making him one of the rare "Ace in a Day" candidates.
* During the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Battle of the Bulge]] an American [[FragileSpeedster M8 Armored Car]] was hidden alongside a road near St. Vith, Belgium, when a German [[MightyGlacier King Tiger]] rumbled up. Waiting until the tank passed, the M8 then charged at it from behind and fired three 37mm armor-piercing rounds [[AttackItsWeakPoint into the Tiger's engine bay from 25 yards]], causing it to explode. They almost didn't make it, as the Tiger's commander spotted them coming and ordered the turret to swing around, but it wasn't quite fast enough. If it had, the [[{{BFG}} 88mm high velocity gun]] would have [[OneHitKill blasted the M8 into confetti]].
* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' cites some cases.
** [[https://www.cracked.com/article_93_the-7-most-badass-man-vs.-beast-showdowns.html The 7 Most Badass Man vs. Beast Showdowns]] includes a man driving a bear away by kicking it in the face and a women driving away a hippo by hitting in the head with a stick.
** [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19565_9-old-timey-animal-photos-you-wont-believe-are-real.html 9 Old Timey Animal Photos You Won't Believe Are Real]] has another case with man named Gus Waldorf going into a boxing match against a bear, and as they put it "[[WorfHadTheFlu Since they followed boxing protocol as opposed to the bear's preferred combat style of straight up mauling everyone, its teeth and claws were restricted with a muzzle and boxing gloves. And even though the bear went into the ring severely handicapped,]] [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Waldorf still lost the fight]] [[PunyHumans due to the handicap of not being a bear]]."
** [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20468_the-6-most-mismatched-battles-ever-won-by-underdogs.html The 6 Most Mismatched Battles Ever Won by Underdogs]] relates victories by severely outnumbered forces in Persia, the Ottomans, Korea, Hungary, and the Mongols.
* Five-year-old girl with lemonade stand is challenged by the Westboro Baptist Church. [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/westboro-baptist-church-responds-lemonade_n_3455642.html Church loses.]]
* During the Falklands War of 1982, Royal Marine Commandos as good as sunk an Argentinian Navy frigate that came close to shore in South Georgia by shooting at it with anti-tank bazookas. The Marines hit it repeatedly under the waterline with Carl Gustav weapons, from such a close range that very few weapons on the frigate could be brought to bear on them. In any case, individual Marines are a hard target for a warship's weapons systems to target. The Argentinian ship was deliberately run aground by its captain to prevent it from sinking, and surrendered later to the Royal Navy.
* In a nutshell, Battle of Okehazama in the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod. UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga's forces of 2500 men, against Imagawa Yoshimoto's forces of 25000 to 40000 men. The Oda forces took advantage of the rainstorm to launch an ambush straight to Yoshimoto's head, killing him and sending his other men to chaos and not only did the Oda scored their greatest victory, but the Imagawa fell to ruin, and the name 'Oda Nobunaga' became known as one of the most fearsome warlords in the era, instead of just 'The Fool of Owari'.
* Wolves can take on large animals such as bears and moose, but the victors in such conflicts are always hard to determine.
* The Chilean corvette Esmeralda was something of a David. She was a little bright green fully rigged sailing ship, which even in 1855 looked quaint. She did have two smoke stacks: few observers could have guessed however that she had four boilers, letting her achieve a speed of 8 knots. She had a history of capturing or at least giving a tough time to ships much larger than her. She notably captured a schooner, a ship almost a fourth larger, called the Virgen de Covadonga (of Spain). This was during the Chincha Islands war in 1864-66. Ultimately though, she was sunk by the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar. Only however because Esmeralda's captain Arturo Pratt let honor (or perhaps frustration) get the better of him. For 3 hours, Huáscar bombarded Esmeralda with her 300lb Armstrong gun to no effect. Captain Pratt's fatal error was putting Esmeralda in boarding range of Huáscar.[[note]]The objective of Captain Prat was to carry out the combat aboard the battleship Huascar, because the Esmeralda was not in conditions for combat or defensive maneuvers since its boilers were under repair and the guns could not pierce the armor of the Peruvian ship. The determining factor to change position was the attack of 4 Blakely guns by the Peruvian forces from the ground. By the time of the spur, the corvette was already sinking and the boilers exploded. The boarding did not work because the bugle that the instruction had to touch had died beheaded seconds before, if the plan had worked, a ship would have been lost in bad combat conditions, but with the capture of the most powerful ship in Peru.[[/note]] He and his boarding party were killed by Huáscar's Gatling gun, while the ironclad proceeded to ram Esmeralda repeatedly until she sank.
* The First Italo-Ethiopian War saw Ethiopia, a country of allegedly backwards and uncivilized black people, defeat Italy, a European country with a modern military and economy. The twist in this case was that [[TheChessmaster Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II]] had used diplomacy with Italy's European rivals (specifically, France and Russia) to acquire an arsenal of modern weapons. The Ethiopians were arguably better-armed than the Italians, who were equipped with [[YouGetWhatYouPayFor outdated weapons and ammunition that they were trying to use up]]. The Italians also suffered from poor morale and inaccurate maps, while the Ethiopians knew the terrain well and forced the Italians to fight on terrain of their choosing.
* Israel in the [[UsefulNotes/ArabIsraeliConflict 1948 War of Independence]]. Surrounded by hostile Arab states with much larger populations and armies, the fledgling state also had to deal with arms embargoes imposed by the British up until the moment they left, while the already-independent Arab states of Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, etc. could buy arms freely. They got official diplomatic recognition by the United States and the Soviet Union within days of declaring independence, but in practice this didn't change much, as neither superpower offered any significant material or troop support. By the end of the war, 1% of the entire Israeli population (of 600,000) had been killed in the war.
** In later wars, the Israeli leadership tried to exploit this to gain international support, but it was less effective after the Six-Day War, and especially after the Yom Kippur War, when Israel's conflicts shifted from being against numerically superior foreign armies to against Palestinian militants. Some Israeli politicians and foreign supporters have framed Israel's conflict with Iran this way.
* It is the early 1980s. The UsefulNotes/NeutralAustriansWithNoNavy are looking for a replacement for the antiquated Walther [=P38=]. Steyr and their new GB pistol are favorites to win and going up against Beretta, Sig-Sauer, Heckler & Koch, and Fabrique Nationale. Then in 1982 comes this no-name firm from Deutsch-Wagram who specializes in polymers. Its founder had invented sixteen things beforehand, none of which were firearms. [[CoolGuns/HandgunsAToL This new pistol, his seventeenth invention]] developed from scratch with no prior experience with guns, was submitted... [[ItWillNeverCatchOn a polymer frame?! Surely Herr Glock jests. Who does this plastic-making bum think he is, John Browning?]] To Steyr's dismay and embarrassment and the shock of everyone else, the Glock 17 won and the Austrian Army awarded Glock the contract in 1983. Police and military adoption of the pistol spread like wildfire throughout the 90s and it made polymer-frame pistols mainstream. The GB, meanwhile, was primarily fielded by Lebanese and Pakistani cops and largely forgotten after Beretta won a contract from the US Army and Steyr discontinued the pistol.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Creator/HannaBarbera has what must have been the two tiniest heroes -- [[WesternAnimation/TheAtomAntShow Atom Ant]] and WesternAnimation/InchHighPrivateEye. While Atom Ant had atomic superpowers, Inch High used his wits, ascribing to the adage "the bigger they are, the harder they fall."
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has few cases of this, though interestingly, the Goliath usually ends up winning.
** In "The King of Omashu", Aang's third trial to save his friends is to do one of these opponents. The king presents two musclebound men and tells Aang to choose his opponent. Aang [[TakeAThirdOption chooses the king himself]]...which is exactly what the king planned; he comes off as a crazy old man—and he ''is''—[[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass but he's also one of the most powerful earth benders in the world with the muscles to match]]. And while Aang is [[ChildProdigy a legitimate master of airbending]], he's still mentally and physically 12, going against someone with a literal century's worth of additional experience, not to mention the polar opposite of his own bending. The king outmaneuvers him...but Aang puts up enough of a fight to pass the trial.
** In "The Waterbending Master", Katara gets angry with [[OldMaster Pakku]]'s sexist belief in not teaching women [[MakingASplash waterbending]] meant for fighting and challenges him. As Katara is still learning waterbending herself and has had no formal training and is going up against a master, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it ends as well you'd expect]] although making Pakku exert himself ''at all'' before witnesses proves Katara's point even before recognizing her necklace reminds Pakku of what his sexism drove away decades ago.
** In "Sokka's Master", Sokka can't take hiding from the Fire Nation MasterSwordsmen Piandao that he's from the Water Tribe, leading to Piando challenging him to a duel. Sokka, only having a day of training with the sword and was never that good at in the first place, goes up against the man regarded as the best swordsmen in the history of the Fire Nation. While he ultimately loses (and Piando spares him, having always known where he was from and not caring), he manages to hold out for surprisingly long period by blinding Piandao and using his quick thinking to stay away from him.
** Both fights in the GrandFinale "Sozin's Comet." As Zuko is taken out his fight with [[TheDragon Azula]] thanks to [[TakingTheBullet diving in front of lightning attack aimed at Katara]], Katara is left to fight Azula while Sozin's Comet has greatly enhanced her [[PlayingWithFire firebending]] to the point where Katara can barely block a single strike from her. But thanks to Azula's overconfidence and mental instability, Katara manages to lure her over grate over water and restrain her, barely stopping her.
** The FinalBattle between Aang and [[BigBad Ozai]], which also combines a KidHero facing a LargeAndInCharge villain. While Aang has learned to use all four elements, Sozin's Comet made Ozai so powerful that even though Aang has learned firebending, he can barely slow him down, with the closest thing he gets to winning being able redirect Ozai's lightning attack, which thanks to Aang's refusal to kill, he blows. Of course, all of this is because his ability to enter [[SuperMode the Avatar State]] was locked at the end of Season 2. [[spoiler:[[NiceJobFixingItVillain Then one of Ozai's attacks broke the lock, and he lost any chance of winning]].]]
* Often occurs in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' when Batman has take a superpowered enemy without the help of the guest hero. Despite the show's RefugeInAudacity, he has often ended losing, notable instances being against Professor Zoom, a temporarily evil Superman, and [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], which ended with a flat CurbStompBattle against him.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'': The final fight against Mad Ben goes south when he turns into [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Way Big]], forcing Ben 10 as Rath and Ben 23 as Lightning Volt to retreat. Rather than attempt a Way Big vs Way Big battle, Ben opts to turn into [[IncredibleShrinkingMan Nanomech]] and fry Mad Way Big from inside his ear.
* One fight featured in ''WesternAnimation/CelebrityDeathmatch'' was ''quite literally'' a David vs. Goliath match: ''Creator/{{David|Spade}}'' [[Creator/DavidSpade Spade]] vs. Creator/StevenSeagal (a ''Goliath'' compared to him). The "literal" aspect even applies to the killing move: Spade using an improvised slingshot.
%%* WesternAnimation/{{Droopy}} versus his opponents.
* [[AcePilot JT Marsh]] vs [[SuperSoldier Emperor Phaeton]] at the end of Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad''. Marsh's jet-type frame is completely outclassed by the unit Phaeton is using. It shrugged off his missiles. It survived being dipped in lava. Marsh only won through a clever gambit and superior piloting.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy regularly contends with TheBully Francis. The episode "Kung Timmy" has them actually fight.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', the leader of the New York gargoyles is named Goliath and their first major antagonist is [[FauxSymbolism David Xanatos]].
** Something of an inversion, though, at least in the beginning. David Xanatos is the one with the resources and the smarts, while the Gargoyles hardly have anything besides their natural abilities. On a purely physical level, it's played straight.
*** Also inverted in that you are expected to be rooting for Goliath.
*** This fits perfectly into the show's FishOutOfWater premise. Much like in the biblical story, Goliath is a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warrior who fights with brute strength]], while "David" survives by his charisma and smarts. Goliath comes from the Middle Ages, where the stronger warrior always triumphs...but he finds out that in the Twentieth century, the Goliath, not the David, is always the underdog.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Jimmy was a wrestler in one episode, often in this situation. It was a CurbStompBattle until Heloise stepped in.
* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', the sidekick Ron Stoppable had this moment when he took down two alien invaders three times bigger than himself. In retrospect, [[HilariousInHindsight this concept is amusing]] when you consider Ron's Jewish heritage.
* WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse versus any foe he may come across, be it WesternAnimation/{{Pete}}, Willy the Giant, or someone else entirely.
* A week after Atom Ant premiered, Hal Seeger's ''Fearless Fly'' surfaced on ABC's ''WesternAnimation/MiltonTheMonster'' show.
* Many of the foes that ''WesternAnimation/MrBogus'' faced off against were all three times bigger than he was.
%%* WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}: Popeye versus Bluto/Brutus.
* Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls vs. just about anybody and any monster, but most notably the mega-Mojo Jojo in [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirlsMovie the movie]].
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot''. During the start of the third season its Enzo as David and Megabyte as Goliath, and Enzo completely fails to beat him. Megabyte could kill Enzo anytime he wants to, and there's nothing Enzo can do about it. Enzo needs a TimeSkip just to reach Megabyte's level, which renders them the same size.
%%* WesternAnimation/TheRoadRunner versus Wile E. Coyote.
* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'':
** The confrontation between She-Ra and Catra in the first season finale has very heavy overtones of this. While Catra has her own share of SuperStrength she would have no chance of winning an extended exchange of blows; so she relies on speed, agility, [[WeUsedToBeFriends a talent for getting into her oldest friend's head]], and [[DrawAggro superior tactical acumen]] to gain an advantage in the greater battle for Bright Moon. The visual element is also present, with She-Ra being a broad shouldered giantess who looms over most of the cast while Catra is a wiry {{catgirl}} of middling-for-humans height at best.
** The fight between Catra and [[spoiler:Hordak]] at the end of Season 4 has elements of this. [[spoiler:Hordak is twice her size, endowed with SuperStrength due to his cybernetic exoskeleton, armed with a laser cannon, and ''enraged''. At first, Hordak has Catra on the run through the Fright Zone, but she subdued him through a combination of superior agility and exploitation of his AchillesHeel (ripping out the First Ones crystal powering his cybernetic armor).]]
* In an episode from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Smurfs|1981}}'', Clockwork Smurf becomes the proverbial David to the Goliath that is Gargamel and Balthazar's wrecking machine giant that they use against King Gerard's castle. Clockwork attempts to fell this machine giant with just a rock and sling. It bounces off the machine with no effect. The two wizards use the machine to pound Clockwork to a pulp. Fortunately, Bigmouth the ogre, whom Clockwork befriended in the episode, comes and picks up the machine giant, tosses it, and destroys it in one throw, sending Gargamel and Balthazar swimming away in fear.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "Temporal Edict", Commander Jack Ransom is dwarfed by the humongous Vindor, but the former defeats the latter during the TrialByCombat.
* During the climax of the Season 3 finale of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' Ahsoka had to fight Garnac, the trandoshan leader. The guy was 2 meters tall, weighted 178 kilograms, had a very thick reptilian hide, and was armed with an axe and a knife in addition to his claws, not to mention his species are on the same scale of physical strength as Wookies. Ahsoka is an average height and a bit skinny teenager, and all she had were her Waif-Fu and Force-skills.
%%* WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry: Jerry versus Tom.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Revenge of the Island'': The final two contestants are [[BlackAndNerdy Cameron]], a boy who lived in a bubble until recently, and [[DumbMuscle Lightning]], who became a JerkJock over the course of the season. The finale itself is a colosseum duel between the finalists, and unsurprisingly, everyone thinks Lightning is going to eat Cameron alive... and then Cameron breaks out the PoweredArmor.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'':
** Any fight against [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Predaking]] turns into this ([[spoiler: except for [[EldrtichAbomination Unicron]]'s fight with him in "Predacons Rising" where he gets flattened)]], since while Predaking isn't stupid, he has no experience fighting having been a recently created entity, thus he gets by through his raw power and ability to NoSell everything, while whoever is fighting him, mostly the Autobots, tries to get by through quick thinking and team work, which, is never enough to stop him. The closest to a subversion is his fight with Optimus Prime since Optimus is closer to his power, and size, than everyone else is, but Optimus still loses regardless. Subject to VillainDecay and the show's well-known inconsistent depictions of strength (e.g. Insecticons dying
** Megatron is, of course, one of the biggest, toughest, and nastiest bad guys in the Franchise. [[spoiler:Who finally does him in? [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Bumblebee, the smallest of them all]].]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has this at its core, as the RagtagBunchOfMisfits, outmatched by even a single Decepticon, must fight together with their unique powers (e.g. Ratchet's EMP + Bumblebee's stingers = weapon), grit and determination to prevail. In particular, the series itself opened and each season closed with one-on-one fights between Optimus Prime's David and Megatron's Goliath.
%%* WesternAnimation/TweetyAndSylvester: Sylvester versus Tweety.
* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' at the start of the show's third season when the X-Men go to stop TheJuggernaut, who in their previous fight, the most they could do was remove his helmet and allow Xavier to use his PsychicPowers to telepathically knock him, which they only were able to pull off with the Brotherhood's help. Now they were on their own, with no help, and despite their teamwork, the most they can do is avoid dying till [[Characters/XMen80sMembers Rogue]] manages to use her PowerParasite ability to knock him out.
[[/folder]]

** [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]] vs. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Gundam RX-78-2]] had the Gundam being a lot larger than Optimus by 2-3 times (the exact amount varying [[YourSizeMayVary thanks to Optimus' inconsistent size]]). [[spoiler:Optimus destroys the Gundam and was noted to have defeated far larger opponents before, like Devastator.]]

* Several examples in ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'':

** [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]] vs. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam Gundam RX-78-2]] had the Gundam being a lot larger than Optimus by 2-3 times (the exact amount varying [[YourSizeMayVary thanks to Optimus' inconsistent size]]). [[spoiler:Optimus destroys the Gundam and was noted to have defeated far larger opponents before like Devastator.]]