History Main / MaleMightFemaleFinesse

* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' likes this trope a lot. Comparing the three lords of Blazing Blade, Lyndis is a FragileSpeedster, Hector is MightyGlaicer and Eliwood is somewhere in the middle. In Sacred Stones, the female lord Erika is quick but frail, while her brother Ephraim is a bit slower and much stronger and sturdier. Across the series, Pegasus Knights, a class with some of the best mobility in the game but poor defense, are almost exclusively female. On the flip side, slow, tough and mighty Armor Knights are usually men, and in some games all Armor Knights are male.

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' has bosses examples of this trope with the two Mantis tribes, but their respective leaders illustrate it the most: while [[FragileSpeedster the Mantis Lords / Sisters of Battle]] abuse {{Flash Step}}s to combo you, [[MightyGlacier the Traitor Lord]] is slower and bulkier, prefers to corner you in a small arena, and inflicts double damage.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the SuperSoldier Captain America is paired with the acrobatic spy Black Widow.

* In ''Film/PacificRim'' Hong Kong is attacked by a pair of {{Kaiju}}; Leatherback, a massive, hulking brawler, and Otachi, a more slender creature with faster attacks, and the ability to fly. Otachi is shown to be female when it turns out she's pregnant.

* The Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse has two examples, one on each side of the morality spectrum. Franchise/{{Superman}} and [[AntiVillain General Zod]] are super-strong heavy hitters, while their female allies Franchise/WonderWoman and [[DarkActionGirl Faora]] use speed and precision to get the job done. Somewhat downplayed as Wonder Woman and Faora themselves also demonstrate immense strength; the gender difference is more oriented towards speed versus agility.
** ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' offers a more traditional example with the villainous BrotherSisterTeam of [[BigBad Enchantress]] and [[TheDragon Incubus]]. Enchantress is a highly adept magic-user whose fighting style when she is forced to engage in melee combat consists primarily of teleporting around the room and keeping her enemies off-balance with quick strikes. While Incubus does possess some magical ability, he's a giant monster more than twice the size of a normal human who relies mostly on brute strength to act as the muscle backing up Enchantress.

* ''{{VideoGame/Yakuza 0}}'': Holy mother of inversions, Batman! The fast, boxing-influenced Rush-style is taught by middle-aged homeless guy Kamoji, and the acrobatic Breaker-style by tracksuit-wearing street entertainer Areshi. Meanwhile, the only female trainer, miss Tatsu, teaches Beast, a slow, hard-hitting style focused on using improvised weapons, big haymakers, [[TheWrestlerInAllOfUs throws, slams and joint locks]].

** Street Fighter plays with this a lot, actually. While there is plenty of variety among male fighters, nearly everyone who fits the {{Mighty Glacier}} archetype is a big, burly dude. Zangief, Hugo, T. Hawk, and Alex are all huge grapplers who can tank lots of damage and hit hard but have slow foot speed. Mika, the first female grappler of the series, is notably much weaker and quicker than her male wrestling peers.
** Also, around half of the female cast is defined by either speed or acrobatic ability. Chun Li, Cammy, and Elena are all {{Fragile Speedster}} acrobats of one stripe or another, though Cammy occasionally fills more of a melee-focused {{Lightning Bruiser}} role. Makoto is a peculiar example in that while [[MightyGlacier her walking speed is awful and she hits hard]], [[SubvertedTrope she attacks fast and lacks defense]], straddling the line between Speedster and {{Glass Cannon}}.

This portrayal and dynamic exists because of the MarsAndVenusGenderContrast; stereotypical men are strong and durable while stereotypical women are agile and flexible, and it's rare for them to mix both attributes. This sometimes extends to their temperaments; men would be either boisterous or stiff while women would be more cheerful, open-minded or sultry (though as they're ActionGirl they're definitely never "fragile girls"). Of course, expect [[GenderInvertedTrope inversions]] every once in a while. For their fighting style, expect [[ForceAndFinesse the man to be brawling with brute force while the female to be agile and graceful]], with the woman tending to exercise SheFu and/or WaifFu.

** Ranma has a curse which turns him into a girl. While his male half is still pretty fast, his female form allows him even greater speed and agility, but at the cost of being smaller and weaker than his male form.

* Yoshimori and Tokine from ''Manga/{{Kekkaishi}}''. Yoshimori possesses a much greater raw power to build large kekkais, but it lacks precision and form. Tokine lacks Yoshimori's sheer force, but has more skill and accuracy in forming the barriers.

* Marvel Comics' duo ''ComicBook/CloakAndDagger'' are composed of Cloak, a MightyGlacier type hero paired with Dagger, a FragileSpeedster type with SheFu. Cloak enfolds villains and mooks in the darkness of his cloak, wherein they come face-to-face with their own wickedness. Baddies emerge quivering, terrified wrecks. Dagger is an angelic young woman who has had ballet and dance lessons, and can fling "light-knives" that can cause villainous [=BSOD=], or "cure" substance addiction.
* ''Creator/DCComics'': The 90's version of the team Hawk and Dove featured a male Hawk whose strategy usually consisted of wading in and punching his opponent as hard as possible, and a female Dove who was weaker but more agile and much more subtle in her strategy.

* The Duo of Stargirl (AKA Courtney Whitmore) and S.T.R.I.P.E. (Pat Dugan) from DC comics have this dynamic. The former relies on a combination of speed and agility (along with her Cosmic staff to shoot) while the later fights using PoweredArmor that gives him greater strength to make for its slower speed.
* Big Barda and Mr Miracle of ''ComicBook/NewGods'' are a rare inversion. Mr Miracle is quick, sneaky, acrobatic and rarely even fights. Barda is a superstrong, trained warrior with little use for subtlety.

* Franchise/SpiderMan and ComicBook/BlackCat. Spidey is a LightningBruiser (albeit not on the same level as Superman or Thor) with little formal training while Black Cat DependingOnTheWriter is a BadassNormal thief who relies on her martial arts, acrobatics, stealth and sex appeal or has the ability to [[WindsOfDestinyChange affect probability]].

* ComicBook/{{Quasar}}: Inverted with Wendell Vaughn and his female successor Phyla-Vell. Both possessed the Quantum Bands which were basically the Marvel Universe's answer to the ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' power ring but their approach to using these weapons was very different. While Wendell was versatile and creative with his constructs, Phyla's use was mostly limited to energy blasts and [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation forming swords]]. This was a reflection of their backgrounds and personalities - Wendell was a [[ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} S.H.I.E.L.D.]] Academy graduate who was deemed unfit for field work due to [[ThouShaltNotKill his refusal to use lethal force]] and he followed a standard operating procedure of "contain, drain and attack". Phyla by contrast was a trained Kree soldier who had no problems with lethal force but lacked Wendell's versatility and imagination.

* {{Inverted}} in ''Film/{{Godzilla|2014}}'' with the [[BigCreepyCrawlies MUTOs]]: the male is an agile GiantFlyer, while the female is larger, land-based and relatively slower-moving (which is also TruthInTelevision for many insect species that inspired these creatures).

** Inverted with the four person team in the next generation of fighters introduced in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. The team's two female members, Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs (the daughters of the aforementioned Sonya and Jax respectively), are the more physical brawlers while their two male teammates, Takeda (a ninja personally trained by Scorpion) and Kung Jin (the successor of Liu Kang and Kung Lao as a Shaolin martial artist), rely more on speed and skill.

** Street Fighter plays with this a lot, actually. While there is plenty of variety among male fighters, nearly everyone who fits the {{Mighty Glacier}} archetype is a big, burly dude. Zangief, Hugo, T. Hawk and Alex are all huge grapplers who can tank lots of damage and hit hard, but have slow foot speed. Mika, the first female grappler of the series, is notably much weaker and quicker than her male wrestling peers.
** Also, around half of the female cast is defined by either speed or acrobatic ability. Chun Li, Cammy and Elena are all {{Fragile Speedster}} acrobats of one stripe or another, though Cammy occasionally fills more of a melee-focused {{Lightning Bruiser}} role. Makoto is a peculiar example in that while [[MightyGlacier her walking speed is awful and she hits hard]], [[SubvertedTrope she attacks fast and lacks defense]], straddling the line between Speedster and {{Glass Cannon}}.

* This is Chie and Kanji's dynamic as the party's two physical attackers in ''VideoGame/Persona4''. Kanji is a traditional MightyGlacier with high HP, Strength and Endurance and average-to-low stats elsewhere. Chie's Strength is comparatively low (it's just below Yosuke's, who's not a physical specialist) but she has higher Agility, learns more multi-target and multi-hitting moves and [[CriticalHitClass has skills that raise her critical hit rate]]. Interestingly, Chie is a {{Tomboy}} while Kanji has [[RealMenWearPink stereotypically feminise interests.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibleHulk1996'': The Hulk's fighting style relies primarily on punches, grapples and throws. She-Hulk is more acrobatic and uses her legs more than her cousin.

* The Duo of Stargirl (AKA Courtney Whitmore) and S.T.R.I.P.E. (Pat Dugan) from DC comics have this dynamic. The relies on a combination of speed and agility (along with her Cosmic staff to shoot) while the later fights using PoweredArmor that gives him greater strength to make for its slower speed.

* In ''VideoGame/ObsCure II'',

* Franchise/{{Superman}} and Franchise/WonderWoman when they team up. Both are very powerful [[FlyingBrick flying bricks]]. However, Superman is a mostly self-taught fighter with little to no formal training and is often shown to have an edge in strength over Wonder Woman. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman is a LadyOfWar who has been taught armed and unarmed combat since she was a child and fights either with her iconic magical [[KnowsTheRopes Lasso of Truth]] or [[CoolSword atom-shaving sword]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibleHulk'': The Hulk's fighting style relies primarily on punches, grapples and throws. She-Hulk is more acrobatic and uses her legs more than her cousin.

* [[Anime/FatePrototype Arthur]] and [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Artoria Pendragon]] from ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''. Arthur's attack animations consist of an array of powerful strikes while Artoria's consist of relatively more graceful swordplay. This also extends to their Noble Phantasms both in-lore[[note]]Arthur's Excalibur is an EX-rank ''Anti-World'' Noble Phantasm with at least half of its 13 seals are unlocked, while Artoria's is an A++ (A in-game).[[/note]] and in-game[[note]]Arthur's hits three times and its animations show off the pure destructive power of an EX-ranked Anti-World Noble Phantasm, while Artoria's hits only once but its animations show off a visually impressive PillarOfLight.[[/note]]

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': Originally all the male members of the team had powers that were geared towards direct combat - [[RubberMan elasticity]], [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]] and SuperStrength. By contrast, [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Sue]] originally only had the power to [[{{Invisibility}} turn invisible]]. She later [[ShapingYourAttacks acquired the power to create a form of matter that she could shape into any form]] and her invisibility powers were expanded into turning other people and objects invisible. She easily has the most versatile power set of the FF while the men are largely geared towards brute force in comparison.

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': Originally all the male members of the team had powers that were geared towards direct combat - [[RubberMan elasticity]], [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]] and SuperStrength. By contrast, [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Sue]] originally only had the power to [[{{Invisibility} turn invisible]]. She later [[ShapingYourAttacks acquired the power to create a form of matter that she could shape into any form]] and her invisibility powers were expanded into turning other people and objects invisible. She easily has the most versatile power set of the FF while the men are largely geared towards brute force in comparison.

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': Originally all the male members of the team had powers that were geared towards direct combat - [[RubberMan elasticity]], [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]] and SuperStrength. By contrast, [[TheSmurfettePrinciple Sue]] originally only had the power to turn invisible. She later acquired the power to generate and manipulate a form of matter that she could shape into any form and her inivisbility powers were expanded into turning other people and objects invisible.

* A one-shot story by Jim Starlin saw ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} and ComicBook/BlackWidow go up against a serial killer named Rose and her brutish sidekick named Charlie. Rose was a telepath who could mind control people and used [[KnifeNut knives for torture and killing]] while Charlie was large [[TheBrute brute]] who attacked Matt with an axe and had [[StoutStrength solid muscle beneath his portly-looking physique]]. Matt and Natasha could also be argued to have this dynamic as well with Matt being a martial artist who [[BoxingBattler incorporates boxing into his fighting style]] while Natasha is a Russian spy FemmeFatale whose signature weapon is her "[[StunGun Widow's Bite]]" and who is trained in ballet.

* ComicBook/{{Quasar}}: Inverted with Wendell Vaughn and his female successor Phyla-Vell. Both possessed the Quantum Bands which were basically the Marvel Universe's answer to the Franchise/Green Lantern power ring but their approach to using these weapons was very different. While Wendell tended to be versatile and creative with his constructs, Phyla's use was mostly limited to energy blasts and [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation forming swords]]. This was a reflection of their backgrounds and personalities; Wendell was [[ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} S.H.I.E.L.D.]] Academy graduate who was deemed unfit for field work due to [[ThouShaltNotKill his refusal to use lethal force]] and he followed a standard operating procedure of "contain, drain and attack". Phyla by contrast was a trained Kree soldier who had no problems with lethal force but lacked Wendell's versatility and imagination.

* ''ComicBook/{{Quasar}}: Inverted with Wendell Vaughn and his female successor Phyla-Vell. Both possessed the Quantum Bands which were basically the Marvel Universe's answer to the Franchise/Green Lantern power ring but their approach to using these weapons was very different. While Wendell tended to be versatile and creative with his constructs, Phyla's use was mostly limited to energy blasts and [[SpontaneousWeaponCreation forming swords]]. This was a reflection of their backgrounds and personalities; Wendell was [[ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} S.H.I.E.L.D.]] Academy graduate who was deemed unfit for field work due to [[ThouShaltNotKill his refusal to use lethal force]] and he followed a standard operating procedure of "contain, drain and attack". Phyla by contrast was a trained Kree soldier who had no problems with lethal force but lacked Wendell's versatility.

* A one-shot story by Jim Starlin saw ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} and ComicBook/BlackWidow go up against a serial killer named Rose and her brutish sidekick named Charlie. Rose was a telepath who could mind control people and used [[KnifeNut knives for torture and killing]] while Charlie was large [[TheBrute brute]] who attacked Matt with an axe and had [[StoutStrength solid muscle beneath his portly-looking physique]]. Matt and Natasha could also be argued to have this dynamic as well with Matt being a martial artist who [[BoxingBattler incorporates boxing into his fighting style]] while Natasha is a Russian spy FemmeFatale whose signature weapon is her "[[StunGun Widow's Bite]]".

* Franchise/{{Superman}} and Franchise/WonderWoman when they team up. Both are very powerful [[FlyingBrick flying bricks]]. However, Superman is a mostly self-taught fighter with little to no formal training and is often shown to have an edge in strength over Wonder Woman. Meanwhile Wonder Woman is a LadyOfWar who has been taught armed and unarmed combat since she was a child and fights either with her iconic magical [[KnowsTheRopes Lasso of Truth]] or [[CoolSword atom-shaving sword]].

** ''Film/SuicideSquad'' offers a more traditional example with the villainous BrotherSisterTeam of [[BigBad Enchantress]] and [[TheDragon Incubus]]. Enchantress is a highly adept magic-user whose fighting style when she is forced to engage in melee combat consists primarily of teleporting around the room and keeping her enemies off-balance with quick strikes. While Incubus does possess some magical ability, he's a giant monster more than twice the size of a normal human who relies mostly on brute strength to act as the muscle backing up Enchantress.