History Main / ForceAndFinesse

[[folder:Film]]

--->'''Roy:''' THAT'S how I use my Intelligence score in combat, DUMBASS!!

* ''Manga/DragonBallSuper'': Goku's Ultra Instinct and Vegeta's Ultra Ego fit this dynamic very well that suits their users as Ultra Instinct is about dodging, countering, and anticipating attacks while Ultra Ego is about getting more strength from absorbing hits.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} and Franchise/{{Batman}} have this dynamic when they team up. The former is one of the most powerful flying bricks in Franchise/TheDCU while the latter is a BadassNormal [[ActionHero martial artist]], [[ScienceHero scientist]], [[GuileHero detective]] and StealthExpert. Their respective [[DistaffCounterpart distaff counterparts]] ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} also have this dynamic when they team up as do ComicBook/PowerGirl and ComicBook/{{Huntress}}.
* ''ComicBook/{{Flash}}'': Although they're both incredibly powerful speedsters, traditionally [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]] has been the finesse and ComicBook/WallyWest has been the force. Wally is faster than Barry and has a unique connection to the [[BackgroundMagicField Speed Force]] which allows him to instinctively do things that other speedsters either can't do easily or can't do at all. Meanwhile, although Barry is slower he's a highly intelligent man who supplements his powers with [[ScienceHero scientific brilliance]].

* The classic Marvel team of [[ComicBook/LukeCage Power Man]] and ComicBook/IronFist. Power Man -- or Luke Cage, as he now prefers -- is a superhumanly strong brawler with unbreakable skin; his crimefighting partner Iron Fist is one of the most skilled martial artists on the planet.
* ComicBook/SuperSons follows the adventures of Superboy (Jon Kent) and Robin (Damian Wayne). Given they are the sons of Superman and Batman respectively, they also repeat this dynamic with the superpowered Jon serving as the force while the sly and cunning but very human Damian serves as the finesse.

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* This is a rather important key trait to all fighters in ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple''.There are two types of fighters, "Sei" fighters who rely on wit, clear minds, and talent to fight. And "Dou" fighters who use aggressive emotions to fuel their attacks. Some fighters however can be both types.

* ''Anime/{{Scryed}}'' has Kazuma and Ryuhou. Kazuma's Alter gives him a big metal fist while Ryuhou has a stand with precision blades.

* ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'' has Issei and Kiba. Issei fights with the Dragon Arm, while Kiba fights with swords.
** On the girls' side, Rias fights with destructive energy manipulation while Akeno fights with lightning manipulation.
* ''{{Manga/Claymore}}'' has "Muscular Sophia" and "Stormwind Noel", the No. 4 and 5 of Teresa and Priscilla's generation. As their title implies, Sophia relies on her brute strength to fight, while Noel relies on acrobatics. The two are apparently rivals, and would frequently mock each other's fighting style.

* Chris and Leon in ''Anime/ResidentEvilVendetta''. The large and musclebound Chris is a grappler specializing in jiu-jutsu while Leon is more acrobatic and employs more kicks in close quarters combat.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' this is a very prominent theme, used throughout the series. Usually the Force characters are the extroverted [[BoisterousBruiser hard-hitters]] (Naruto, Sakura, Guy etc), contrasting the more introverted [[RenaissanceMan skill-refiners]] (Sasuke, Hinata, Kakashi etc) who serve as the opposing Finesse. Ultimately, neither factor prevails, which is especially highlighted in the final battle between [[spoiler: Naruto and Sasuke]]. Instead, both serves a purpose [[FireForgedFriends mutually in combat]].

* The classic Marvel team of [[ComicBook/LukeCage Power Man]] and ComicBook/IronFist. Power Man -- or Luke Cage, as he now prefers -- is a superhumanly strong brawler with unbreakable skin; his crimefighting partner Iron Fist is one of the most skilled martial artists on the planet.

* ComicBook/SuperSons follows the adventures of Superboy (Jon Kent) and Robin (Damian Wayne). Given they are the sons of Superman and Batman respectively, they also repeat this dynamic with the superpowered Jon serving as the force while the sly and cunning but very human Damian serves as the finesse.

* ''Film/ThePrincessBride'' has master fencer Inigo Montoya and rock throwing wrestler Fezzik (played by Wrestling/AndreTheGiant).

* ''Film/{{Push}}'' has [[UnskilledButStrong Nick]] go up against the more experienced Mover Victor. In their first fight, a telekinetic gunfight, Victor easily gains the upper hand. The same thing almost happens again, until it turns into a force-assisted blow battle, where Nick's raw strength wins out.

* Kikuchiyo (force) and Kyuzo (finesse) are the logical extremes in ''Film/SevenSamurai''.
* The eponomyous fight in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] (force) is a slow, lumbering brute with the mind of a child, who relies on his SuperStrength and SuperToughness. Meanwhile, because the fight takes place in the real world [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] (finesse) can't use his DreamWeaver powers, and is nowhere near as strong or resilient as Jason, but he's smarter, faster and more agile.
* ''Film/GoFigure'': The conflict between hockey and figure skating, as the two skating sports are very different: hockey is a brawny team sport, figure skating is a graceful individual sport. Katelin initially has trouble balancing the two but later manages to integrate them.

* The ElvesVsDwarves dynamic in Tolkien's novels is full of this. The straightforward dwarves tend to use axes and hammers while the more graceful elves opt for bows and daggers.

* The two warrior heroes included in the base Second Edition of ''TabletopGame/DescentJourneysInTheDark'' are Grisban, a brutal dwarven berserker with a giant axe, and Syndrael, a knightly elven LadyOfWar who fights with a sword and a shield.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' gives us Ornstein and Smough, who are finesse and force respectively. Ornstein uses speed, Lightning, and a spear. Smough just uses a really, really big hammer.
** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls2'' also gives us the Throne Defender and Throne Watcher, who fill force and finesse respectively.
*** The final boss of the first DLC for ''VideoGame/DarkSouls3'' has this [[spoiler: in phase 2. Father Ariandel is big, strong, and slow; Sister Friede is normal-sized, less strong(though not to be taken lightly), and fast]].

** Ragna the Bloodedge and Jin Kisaragi share a similar contrast in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'': Ragna's got his {{BFS}} while Jin has his [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]].
** The third game, ''VideoGame/BlazblueChronoPhantasma'' adds the more beatdown-oriented Yuuki Terumi and Hazama, who fights with a stylish chain/butterfly knives combo. An unusual example in that they're technically the same character.
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': An InformedAttribute for two NPC fighters going to Colosso, Sean and Ouranos. Ouranos is described as huge by another man, while MindReading Sean reveals "[he] has speed and Ouranos has strength". Unfortunately the ship arrives too late for the tryouts so this is never shown.

* Melee styles of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' protagonists reflect this. Musclebound Chris uses simple but powerful punches and kicks which [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom throw people around]] (and [[MemeticMutation dislodge giant boulders]]), while slender and comparatively small Sheva fights with a lot of [[SheFu leaps, sommersaults and roundhouse kicks]].
* Fu Xi and Nu Wa in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors.'' Fu Xi carries a [[{{BFS}} greatsword]] while Nu wa has [[RoyalRapier a rapier and shield]]. Fu Xi is powerful, slow, and hits like several trucks tied together. He can wipe out entire teams of enemies with a single swing, but his windups are so long that they can be avoided or interrupted by faster officers and even faster enemy {{Mook}}s. Nu Wa's attacks are precise, quick stabs, individually weaker than Fu Xi but extremely good at dueling officers, who are often hit so quickly that they cannot counterattack or interrupt her, but leaves her open to being swarmed by multiple foes.
** This dynamic applies as well in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' with the two ''Ocarina of Time'' representatives: Darunia is big, strong and attacks with a fire-elemental hammer that hits like a truck. On the other hand, Ruto is more delicate and mobile and attacks by summoning water and trapping enemies in whirlpools. On the villainous side, we have Girahim, who uses a sword and throwing blades with precision and graceful moves, while in contrast, Zant attacks with very physical moves and, despite summoning magic, he uses it in a very brutal and mindless way; his style is often described as resembling a temper tantrum more than fighting.
** Generally speaking, this system can be applied to nearly every character in all of the ''Warriors'' games; force types are the characters who hit the hardest and have the widest arcs of attack which allow them to be exceptional at crowd clearing but suffer in one-on-one officer fights due to lack of precision options, while the more nimble finesse types can dominate the duels with focused combos but have more difficulty controlling crowds thanks to attacks that strike in straight lines.

* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' featured a pair of villain archetypes that exemplified this. The Brutes were focused on Force. They were tanks whose attack strength increased the longer they were in battle. The Finesse side of things was handled by the Stalker, whose description emphasized this difference. Stalkers were the assassins. They had extremely high attack power, but were also more fragile than Brutes, instead relying on the ability to hide from enemies and deflect their aggression.
* Seen in the beginning of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' with Hawke's younger twin siblings. Warrior Carver is Force, mage Bethany is Finesse. Both are extremely skilled, [[spoiler:but only one survives.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' gives the two builder characters Torbjorn and Symmetra this dynamic. Torbjorn builds hard armor and a rough, heavily armed turret while Symmetra constructs light shields and sleeker mini laser turrets. Symmetra finds Torbjorn's methods crude and outdated, while Torbjorn takes a jab at her cleanliness.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' has Ibuki, who is the only character with ammo having a limited number of usable kunai. She is usually paired with stronger characters like R. Mika and Makoto, who both fight physically with no powers and both are in contention for the physically strongest female in the game, and Birdie. Birdie is a giant brute who's strength rival's Zangief's and can smash an opponent down a concrete floor.
** Balrog and Dudley, the two prominent boxers in the series, emphasize this contrast. Balrog is known for his brute force while Dudley has a more refined technique.
* Anderson and North from ''VideoGame/ThreeTheHardWay'' are respective practitioners of the Minami and Kita arts, two branches of fictional martial arts that are distinguishable by their force vs. finesse fighting style. In terms of gameplay, Anderson is TheBigGuy with a greater attack, defense and health point stats than North, but his special skills aren't really useful, and they need to be CastFromHitPoints. Meanwhile, North isn't as capable as a tanker as Anderson, but his special attacks (that uses MP) have a better applicability in battles. The two characters don't actually interact much in-game, although they can discuss the differences between their martial arts school with a random NPC.
* In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', Souma and Adonis are contrasted this way, made most obvious in ''Athletics'' - both are extremely physically fit and often train together, but Souma specialises in the finesse arts of sword-fighting and dancing, while Adonis is more suited to sheer strength and long distance running.
* ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterz'': Young Gohan focuses more on raw power, but lacks proper technique, whereas Adult Gohan has far superior technique to compensate for his initial lack of brute strength.
* In the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series, Sonic and Knuckles end up within this pairing. Sonic being the speedy, clever DanceBattler and Knuckles being the powerful, linear thinking BarefistedMonk.
** Sonic and Shadow tend to get this kind of balance when they aren't being treated as a MirrorBoss, though rarely along the same lines twice in a row. Sonic's more straightforward combat abilities and harder hitting Spindash techniques makes up his Force while his superior utilization of his raw speed and creative usage of his abilities can also make him more of a Finesse character. On Shadow's side, his access to destructive Chaos powers and more brutal rushdown fighting style is given focus when he's set up as a Force while his utilization of more complex [[FlashStep Chaos Control]] based combos, enhanced mobility and air control through the use of his Air Shoes and tendancy to [[GlassCannon be a bit squishier than Sonic is]] gets played up when he's treated as a Finesse based character.
* In the 'Isle of Armor' DLC of ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', [[KungFuKid Kubfu]]'s evolution into Urshifu has it learn from either of these philosophies depending on which tower you train it through. Raising it through the Tower of Darkness makes its evolution take on the Dark-typed Single Strike Style, while the Tower of Waters confers the Water-typed Rapid Strike Style. This influences the signature move that the Urshifu learns upon evolution; either a strong single blow or a flurry of rapid weaker blows respectively.
* ''VideoGame/NeonWhite'' has Neon Yellow and Neon White as Force and Finesse respectively. Yellow is more brash and gung-ho, while White is more straightforward and precise.

* ''WebComic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'' protagonist, Commander Badass, and his [[ArtificialHuman "brother"]] Ace pull this off, as seen [[http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/compatible-in-their-own-way here]]. Seeing as they're respectively designed to be a RatedMForManly gritty action hero and a TuxedoAndMartini type, it just comes with the territory.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Zuko begins the series as the Force to both Aang and his sister Azula's Finesse. Toward the end of the series, as he completes a HeelFaceTurn and is taught true firebending instead of the rage-filled bursts, he becomes the Finesse as Azula undergoes serious SanitySlippage and becomes much more reliant on Force.
** Iroh, also a practitioner of true firebending, serves as the Finesse to his brother Ozai's Force. Iroh became an introspective, spiritual, and patient man after the death of his son Lu Ten (and even before, he earned his position as a brilliant general and even more-skilled firebender). In fact, a lot of his influence is what guides Zuko down his path of redemption. Ozai, on the other hand, is a firm SocialDarwinist who rose through the ranks through Agni Kais against other firebenders. Their Sozin's Comet strategies are even mirrors of each other. Ozai wants to burn all opposition to the ground, whereas Iroh unites members of all four nations to liberate a major city from Fire Nation influence.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' this is the reason why [[PhysicalGod Kwamis]] take [[PowerLimiter Holders]]. Bad, bad things happen when a God unleashes their full power.

* [[BigBad Xykon]] from ''WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' was a powerful sorcerer even before he became a {{lich}}, but was constantly looked down on by wizards, who deem their magic to be superior.[[note]]To clarify, in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', which this series is based on, wizards operate off a VancianMagic system, where they must prepare their spells in advance, and attain their power through study and experimentation. Sorcerers, on the other hand, are born with magic in them, and so don't need to prepare the spells they know in order to use them.[[/note]] Xykon himself is somewhat lazy and has a fairly short attention span, and so was dismissed as being unintelligent by the more studious wizards. However, the sheer overwhelming force of Xykon's magic ends up being more than a match for the wizard [[spoiler:Dorukan]], which he delights in reveling in.

* ''ComicBook/{{Flash}}'': Although they're both incredibly powerful speedsters, traditionally [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]] has been the finesse and ComicBook/WallyWest has been the force. Wally is faster than Barry and has a unique connection to the [[BackgroundMagicField Speed Force]] which allows him to instinctively do things that other speedsters either can't do easily or can't do at all. Meanwhile, although Barry is slower he's highly intelligent man who supplements his powers with [[ScienceHero scientific brilliance]].

** The West twins initially shared a connection to the Speed Force which made their powers manifest in strange ways, Irey (finesse) had the power to [[{{Intangibility}} walk though walls]] while Jai (force) had SuperStrength. In ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth'', Irey got the full suite of speedster powers (force) and Jai lost his powers altogether (finesse). Post-''ComicBook/InfiniteFrontier'' Jai has his strength back (force), while Irey has kept her speed (finesse).

* ''ComicBook/{{Flash}}'': Although they're both incredibly powerful speedsters, traditional ComicBook/BarryAllen has been the finesse and ComicBook/WallyWest has been the force. Wally is faster than Barry and has a unique connection to the [[BackgroundMagicField Speed Force]] which allows him to instinctively do things that other speedsters either can't do easily or can't do at all. Meanwhile, although Barry is slower he's highly intelligent man who supplements his powers with [[ScienceHero scientific brilliance]].
** The West twins initially shared a connection to the Speed Force which made their powers manifest in strange ways, Irey (finesse) had the power to [[{{Intangibility}} walk though walls]] while Jai (force) had SuperStrength. In ''ComicBook/FlashRebirth'', Irey got the full suite of speedster powers (force) and Jai lost his powers altogether (finesse). Post-''ComicBook/InfiniteFrontier'' Jai has his strength back (force), while Irey has kept her speed (finesse).

** The Finesse fighter is much more cool-headed and strategic in combat. They'll often use a {{katana|s Are Just Better}} or an equally elegant weapon to slice through their opponents with deadly precision; if unarmed, they'll likely employ the use of karate chops, kicks, and/or precision strikes. They're much faster than their hotheaded partner and likely weaker in terms of power, which emphasizes their WeakButSkilled status. Tropes that may apply:

* The Force fighter is blunt, straightforward, and relies on sheer power to get through their battles. More often than not, they'll either use their [[GoodOldFisticuffs bare fists]] or a [[{{BFS}} really big sword]] to get the job done. They're probably on the slow side, but that doesn't make them any less dangerous. Expect them to be UnskilledButStrong, at least relative to everyone else.
[[folder:Common tropes applying to the Force]]
* {{BFS}}
* GoodOldFisticuffs
* MightyGlacier
* TheBigGuy
[[/folder]]
* The Finesse fighter is much more cool-headed and strategic in combat. They'll often use a {{katana|s Are Just Better}} or an equally elegant weapon to slice through their opponents with deadly precision; if unarmed, they'll likely employ the use of karate chops, kicks, and/or precision strikes. They're much faster than their hotheaded partner and likely weaker in terms of power, which emphasizes their WeakButSkilled status.
[[folder:Common tropes applying to the Finesse]]
* FragileSpeedster
* KatanasAreJustBetter
* LadyOfWar
* SheFu
* WaifFu
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': In "A Landmark Story'', Holmes and Watson deal with two [[ProfessionalKiller hitmen]] working for Moriarty. Sebastian Moran uses a brutal, bloody method to kill his victims and is a {{Football Hooligan|s}} during his downtime. By contrast, Daniel Gottlieb specialises in MakeItLookLikeAnAccident with elaborate schemes and manipulations to obscure how his victims actually died. Holmes notes the difference in their methods after discovering how Gottlieb operates.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': The Lance Sisters, Laurel and Sara, have this dynamic. Laurel's fighting style as Black Canary features a harder more brutal form of fighting, focused on slugs and smashmouth-style techniques, while Sara's fighting style is far more graceful and focused on precision and fluid strikes (Justified as Sara was trained by the League of Assassins while Laurel's combat instructor was a former boxer).

* ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'' has the Danvers sisters, Kara/Supergirl and Alex. Even though they trained together, they have different fighting styles. Kara's fighting style as Supergirl is relying on her superpowers and brute force, while Alex's fighting style as a DEO agent is using precision and careful martial art skills.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'': When Yang and Neo fight, Neo whimsically dances and somersaults all around Yang, whose hard, physical, fist-fighting style struggles to make contact with the tiny, athletic Neo. Even when Yang does appear to make contact, Neo somehow manages to flow with the blows, elegantly escaping injury by redirecting them using a lace parasol that turns Yang's own strength against her. Neo's silent, mocking smiles keep egging on Yang, who is short-tempered at the best of times, until Neo is able to curbstomp Yang into unconsciousness. Neo keeps a concealed blade sheathed in the stem and handle of the parasol, but she only pulls it out when she sees a chance to kill the comatose Yang.
[[/folder]]

* The eponomyous fight in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] is a slow, lumbering brute with the mind of a child, who relies on his SuperStrength and SuperToughness. Meanwhile, because the fight takes place in the real world [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] can't use his DreamWeaver powers, and is nowhere near as strong or resilient as Jason, but he's smarter, faster and more agile.

* Shows up in the eponomyous fight in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] is a slow, lumbering brute with the mind of a child, who relies on his SuperStrength and SuperToughness; meanwhile, because the fight takes place in the real world [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] can't use his DreamWeaver powers, and is nowhere near as strong or resilient as Jason, but he's smarter, faster and more agile.

* Shows up in the eponomyous fight in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] is a slow, lumbering brute with the mind of a child, who relies on his SuperStrength and SuperToughness; meanwhile, because the fight takes place in the real world [[Franchise/NightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] can't use his DreamWeaver powers, and is nowhere near as strong or resilient as Jason, but he's smarter, faster and more agile.

-->''"[[TemptingFate What fool would willingly face them at the same time]]? Today it seemed they would find out."''

* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'': Chapter 13 of the remastered version reveals that Alicia and Maia attempted to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope during the TrialByCombat against Kyril as showcased in the previous chapter. The strategy is that Alicia, [[MightyGlacier in battle armour, would focus on durability and support]] while wielding [[CoolSword a longsword]]. Maia, [[FragileSpeedster in light leather armour, would focus on speed and agility]] while wielding [[DualWielding twin short swords]]. [[CurbStompBattle Alas]], their opponent is [[LightningBruiser the Good]] [[WorldsStrongestMan Hunter]].