History Main / PowerCreepPowerSeep

** ''Ultimate'' made the former JokeCharacter Pichu into an AdaptationalBadass, and outshines his evolved form Pikachu in certain categories. While he still [[CastFromHitPoints hurts himself from his attacks]], Pichu is more nimble, and his attacks have insane KO power for their weight. In the home games, and in all other media including ''Melee'', Pikachu has far superior stats across the board as the bigger and better version that all Pichus aspire to be.

*** ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' received much grousing from fans when it was initially announced, mainly because some people found the thought of characters like ComicBook/HarleyQuinn and Characters/{{Nightwing|DickGrayson}} being able to punch out Superman and Wonder Woman to be absurd. Of course, nobody really plays fighting games for the plot or realism, do they? It's handwaved in-game with Kryptonian nanotech compressed in pills that make the BadassNormal characters tough enough to go toe-to-toe with superpowered characters and in the comics is capable of making ''Alfred Pennyworth'' strong enough to give Superman a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.

*** ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' received much grousing from fans when it was initially announced, mainly because some people found the thought of characters like Characters/{{Harley Quinn|AndSupportingCharacters}} and Characters/{{Nightwing|DickGrayson}} being able to punch out Superman and Wonder Woman to be absurd. Of course, nobody really plays fighting games for the plot or realism, do they? It's handwaved in-game with Kryptonian nanotech compressed in pills that make the BadassNormal characters tough enough to go toe-to-toe with superpowered characters and in the comics is capable of making ''Alfred Pennyworth'' strong enough to give Superman a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.

** The killer robot was also given a realistic way to stand up to Superman: Characters/{{Harley Quinn|AndSupportingCharacters}} had [[BoundAndGagged gagged and duct-taped]] Luthor's {{bodyguard|Babes}} Mercy to the robot, [[HumanShield making it impossible for Superman to hit it without killing her too]].

** Pretty much all of the heroes and villains (including the Justice League) were noticeably weaker than their modern comic incarnations. WordOfGod from Creator/GregWeisman is that they're more in line with pre-Creep interpretations and that this made the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters huge amount of super-powered characters]] more manageable.

Occasionally this fiddling with power levels sticks, and you essentially have a pseudo-AlternateUniverse character. Sometimes characters will even get ''new'' powers just for balance, but once they go back to their own books these enhanced powers are quickly forgotten.

*** [[http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Shinku_Hadoken See this comparison]]. For example: In the ''Street Fighter'' games and ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]'', Ryu's Shinku Hadouken is just [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/streetfighter/images/3/33/RyuCFEShinkuuHadouken.gif/revision/latest?cb=20111127144720 a larger-than-normal Hadouken]]. In the ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' games, it's reimagined as a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/streetfighter/images/b/b4/Ryu-bigsuper.gif/revision/latest?cb=20100328045100 massive Kamehameha-style energy beam]]. There are other Capcom characters who benefit, such as [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Wesker]]'s superhuman speed and reflexes being interpreted as [[FlashStep outright teleportation]]. In fact, a very subtle example comes from [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Morrigan]], whose Soul Fist special move is actually the ES Special variant seen in her home series.

*** Anime/TekkamanBlade gets the short end of the trope. A guy who in his own series tanked a ''nuke''. Note that this feat is done at the beginning of the series before he even gets numerous amount of power ups and his SuperMode. Theoretically at least, the only Capcom fighter who could fight him on even terms is [[VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}} Morrigan]].

** A DoubleSubversion when Spider-Man crossed over into the original Marvel ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformers Transformers]]'' comics for an issue. He did succeed in wrapping Megatron in webbing... but it only lasted a few seconds before Megatron busted free and swatted him aside like, well, a bug.

* This trope is in full effect in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', and a few of the other Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films. ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', fitting the comics, is wildly inconsistent across the movies in terms of what he can take, which fits the nature of his character in that his strength is dependent on how angry and in control he is. In his first movie, he was knocked out by a tank round and was at least hurt by grenade rounds. The Hulk in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', on the other hand, shows only annoyance to being shot by aircraft-mounted cannon; it takes Thor to give him a serious challenge and only a concentrated barrage by over a dozen Chitauri aircraft are even able to give him a bloody nose. Even falling from the Helicarrier at terminal velocity only knocks him out and reverts him to Bruce Banner.

** While not ''as'' glaring, ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' features [[Characters/AvengersEnemies Ultron]]. That would be the guy known for having a nearly-indestructible body [[MadeOfIndestructium made of adamantium]] (or vibranium, depending on the story), yet he's able to get his ass kicked by everyone else in the cast.

** In the early days, Batman used to struggle against ''ComicBook/Deathstroke'', a Teen Titans villain. While Batman might be able to put up a good fight, Deathstroke's superhuman strength, combined with all his other enhanced attributes, were just far too much for Bruce. The only times he was able to defeat Deathstroke were the times he had backup or Slade was distracted/weakened somehow. Nowadays, particularly in the New 52/Rebirth era, Batman has gotten much better at fighting Deathstroke to the point where he's shown outright defeating or getting the upper hand over Slade multiple times despite only being a peak human while Deathstroke is at minimum a low level superhuman.

* This is a criticism of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''. Every new region seems to reset Pikachu's power to a lower level so Ash can have fair fights with newbie trainers, even though Pikachu has fought much stronger foes before. Whether they try to explain it or just handwave it aside depends on how serious the tone of the season is.

** Marvel have been countering this by making their heavyweights, such as ComicBook/TheMightyThor, who was already roughly equal to Superman at the time of ''Comicbook/JLAAvengers'', and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]] (who can now do things like pull [[Characters/XMen80sMembers Kitty Pryde]] out of planet destroying bullets from light years away and easily fly decommissioned aircraft carriers from San Diego to San Francisco, then drop them on human sized objects with pinpoint accuracy) even stronger. Moreover, they're making them smarter, in the case of the Green Scar personality of ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk. And they're creating new heavyweights (e.g. Characters/TheSentry, who puts even a souped-up Thor to shame and even while weakened, stalemated Green Scar), and [[Characters/XMen2010sMembers Hope Summers]], who, under the right circumstances, could take the entire JLA at full power.

*** Two crossover battles shown between [[Characters/Avengers60sMembers Quicksilver]] and Franchise/TheFlash were played for the jokes that they were. The only times Quicksilver was able to land a punch were when The Flash [[DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp turned his back to help innocents]] (in ''Comicbook/MarvelVersusDC'') and, in the later crossover, when The Flash encountered Quicksilver in the Marvel universe (which apparently has no Speed Force) and a gleeful Quicksilver thrashed him (in ''[=JLA/Avengers=]''). Sadly, if they had just done the first fight a few years sooner or a few years later, it might have been a more even match (Wally's speed was dropped to Quicksilver level in the years immediately following ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', and during ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'', Quicksilver was outrunning radio signals, meaning that he was going FTL).
*** There was actually a ShoutOut to the enormous disparity in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Quasar}}''. A cosmic entity had gathered Earth's super-speedsters for a race from Earth to the Moon. At the last minute, ''all'' the contestants got blown past by [[Franchise/TheFlash an amnesiac man in a tattered red-and-yellow costume]] whose garbled name is given as 'Buried Alien'. It was, all in all, a rather sweet tribute to Barry - though [[TheRival Marvel being Marvel]], they also snuck in a jab at DC's then new Post-Crisis continuity with 'Buried Alien' saying that he didn't really like what little he remembered of what was going on in his own world. (This was back when Barry Allen was still dead, after the ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.)
** One notorious example of this happened in the ''Comicbook/MarvelVersusDC'' crossover, where [[PopularityPower based on a fan poll]], ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} beat ComicBook/{{Lobo}}. As Wolverine had bone claws at the time while Lobo is as powerful as Superman, this should have been impossible. The comic sidestepped the problems by [[TakeOurWordForIt not showing the battle]] -- in fact the whole thing was less than a page, from the introduction of Lobo to Wolvie standing and dusting off his hands. And all the fighting happened ''behind a bar''. It was later [[HandWave implied]] in Lobo's own comic that the Main Man was paid under the table to throw the fight.
** ''Marvel vs. DC'' also had [[Characters/MarvelComicsStorm Storm]] besting Franchise/WonderWoman. Storm admittedly has the power to control the weather on an epic scale, so her defeating Wonder Woman honestly wouldn't have been the most outlandish stretch, if they hadn't actually shown [[SquishyWizard her]] shrugging off a punch from [[PhysicalGod Wonder Woman]]. (For reference, Storm's pretty toned for what is essentially a baseline human, while Wonder Woman is more on par with planet-punchers like Superman.)
** ''ComicBook/JLAAvengers'', to fix the imbalance between the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and the generally less powerful [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]], establishes that some characters have different power levels depending on which universe they're in. So in Franchise/TheDCU, the higher levels of "chaos magic" make second-tier Avenger Characters/ScarletWitch powerful enough to take down the whole Justice League, while in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the lack of a "speed force" makes the Flash nothing more than an ordinary human.

* On comic boards this trope is often colloquially referred to as "Spider-Man vs. Firelord", as in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #270, Franchise/SpiderMan, who's among the strongest street-level characters in canon (lifts fifty tons at his peak), but still not considered one of the big hitters of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu physically beats]] the ''cosmically'' powerful Firelord in a hand to hand duel, with the cosmic alien not even able to land a blow on Spidey. Sure, Spidey often holds back, but the fact that he's able to ''damage'' Firelord should make him strong enough to crack New York State in half - suffice to say no Spider-Man story has ever portrayed his strength as on that level. Bonus points for Firelord somehow being knocked around by a gas explosion - in general, the story seems to think he's a fire guy who's merely a fair bit stronger than Spidey, rather than a fire guy who can casually fly through stars or conquer and destroy worlds with even the slightest effort.

** The same can be said for the likes of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} or ComicBook/CaptainAmerica as well. Sometimes, WolverinePublicity does that with characters who are popular but not very powerful.

** This happened again during the Transformers' crossover with the ComicBook/NewAvengers. Heroes like ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and [[Characters/CaptainAmericaHeroes The Falcon]] were regulated to distractions or rescue work, while ComicBook/IronMan used a HumongousMecha, to just blast Megatron with his normal repulsors after his Mecha got destroyed.

** One panel shows a quick gag of DC's [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] and Marvel's [[Characters/MarvelComicsMarvels Captain Mar-Vell]] switching off against their respective adversary, with Marvel punching out Ronan the Accuser while Mar-Vell punches out ComicBook/BlackAdam. Captain Marvel taking down Ronan is pretty believable, but Mar-Vell's level of super strength is nowhere near on par with the Big Red Cheese, and while he has other powers, he was only punching in that panel, while Black Adam is one of the strongest villains in the DCU, having taken down Superman-level characters. Then again, RuleOfFunny.

* Franchise/{{Batman}} has appeared for decades simultaneously both in his own magazine, struggling against fairly normal muggers and crooks, and in ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', battling cosmic foes like [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]]. This has been dealt with in various ways over the years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The default [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] solution seemed to be using the [[CrazyPrepared/{{Batman}} Bat-Anti-Cosmically-Powered-Villain Spray]], while the default [[UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks Modern Age]] solution tends toward emphasizing his willpower and intelligence, often in a MissionControl role.

* This is particularly bad in comics where ComicBook/ThePunisher is the central character, especially as of lately. A ComicBook/WhatIf was even written where Punisher managed to take out people like Magneto and ComicBook/TheMightyThor.

* An interesting example is [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Hank McCoy]], aka The Beast. If you pick up a comic in which he is in the ComicBook/XMen, the writers tend to focus mostly on his intellect while his actual powers are secondary. When he was a member of ComicBook/TheAvengers, his strength and agility were the main focus and his intellect was rarely brought up. This was because the Avengers had plenty of geniuses: [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], ComicBook/IronMan, [[Characters/Avengers60sMembers The Vision]], ComicBook/BlackPanther, etc. and didn't need another. [=McCoy=] was a LightningBruiser so his abilities were bumped up to the point where he was nearly as strong as ComicBook/IronMan and could move so fast that ComicBook/CaptainAmerica had trouble following him. When he went back to the X-Men, there were already a couple strongmen ([[Characters/XMen70sMembers Colossus]] and [[Characters/XMen80sMembers Rogue]]) and agile people ([[Characters/XMen70sMembers Nightcrawler]], [[Characters/XMen90sMembers Gambit]], [[Characters/XMenMojoverse Longshot]], etc.). Even his animalistic nature was covered by ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. They didn't have any geniuses, though, so Beast became TheSmartGuy nearly on the level of [[Characters/FantasticFourTheFantasticFour Reed Richards]].

* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' antagonist [[Characters/BatmanDeathstroke Deathstroke]] also suffers from this. He can be portrayed as someone who can hold his own against members of the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, and be able to knock out the Flash, but also struggle against someone like ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}.

* Any given CrisisCrossover will be rife with this. The need to use as many characters as possible often leads to some [[CListFodder crowd filler]] being far stronger than the main villain. The original ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', for instance, has the [[SuperpowerLottery theoretically-omnipotent]] elemental transmuter ComicBook/{{Firestorm|DCComics}} being forced to a stalemate by [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]]'s trick umbrella, or the obscure cosmic villain Maaldor the Darklord, who created universes and once held his own against the entire Franchise/GreenLantern Corps, getting killed in one hit by Krona. The strength of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons generally hits the exact amount needed to give their opponent a tough fight in swarms, whether it's [[PhysicalGod Alan Scott]] or [[BadassNormal Oliver Queen.]]
* The effectiveness of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s HealingFactor has been subject to this. Originally, severe enough injuries could still put him out of action for a couple days or weeks, but he still healed faster than anyone. Now, he can bounce back from being practically burned down to his skeleton within a matter of hours (if not ''minutes''), and it's been established that his healing factor extends to slowing down his aging, allowing him to live well past the age of 150. Then again, ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast'' (written [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness back in 1980]]) showed him aging realistically, and even being killed in a future WhatIf scenario after taking a laser beam to the face from a Sentinel. His solo book once tried to rectify the inconsistencies by establishing that his rate of healing can be affected by the seriousness of his injuries; if he suffers too many injuries, it slows down accordingly. Part of this was due to a storyline where the toxic adamantium was stripped from his bones, meaning that for a couple years, his healing was now uninhibited and he could regenerate pretty much anything, at the cost of his invincible bones and [[AbsurdlySharpBlade cut-anything claws]]. Then [[StatusQuoIsGod the adamantium was added back in]], but by that point writers had gotten used to writing him healing at that level and didn't adjust it back down.
* The nature of ComicBook/{{X 23}}'s [[BerserkButton trigger scent]] has become subject to this. As a child, Laura was conditioned (read: tortured) into entering a [[UnstoppableRage berserk rage]] whenever she smelled a particular scent, which would make her black out and tear apart whatever was marked with it. It served two purposes: Not only did it allow her creators a measure of control over her in the event she attempted to refuse to kill a target, but her berserk state also made her an even ''more'' deadly fighter. Usually it was reserved for high-value targets or otherwise special (such as the gangster Fade). By the time of ''ComicBook/AvengersArena'', the scent is now driving her into a state in which she'll kill ''everything around her'', whether they're specifically marked or not.

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica subjects his opponents to this trope a lot. Supposedly, he's "barely superhuman". As in, his superhuman abilities are the peak of non-superhuman potential, but all at once. This should make him just an extra-competent BadassNormal in theory, in practice, however, not so much. He's been written as being able go far beyond what any normal person, peak or no, should be able to do, and that includes defeating people who are far above his weight class. Not only have full-on superhumans such as Spider-Man, Wolverine, Beast and Gambit lost to him, but he's even given heavyweights such as [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], Hulk and even ''Thor'' a run for their money, ''still'' coming out on top in the end. [[PopularityPower Being loved by the writers can do wonders]].

* In ''Fanfic/InfinityCrisis'', [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]] soon observes upon arriving in Earth-199999 that his and Wally’s connection to the Speed Force is down to around three-quarters of his usual full potential; they're still fast, but they won't be able to travel in time.

*** As for Superman, remember that most of the ''Mortal Kombat'' cast are either inherently or powered by or using magic -- and Superman is basically a mundane when it comes to magic (which he remarks after receiving a ''normal kick'' from Scorpion in the story). Only Sonya Blade, Kano and Jax as well as the other DC characters barring Franchise/WonderWoman and [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] are non-magical, so only they really need the HandWave above to face off effectively against the Man of Steel. This is even addressed in Superman's arcade ending, in which he asks Captain Marvel for training to make him as strong against magic as he is against everything else.
*** ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' received much grousing from fans when it was initially announced, mainly because some people found the thought of characters like ComicBook/HarleyQuinn and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} being able to punch out Superman and Wonder Woman to be absurd. Of course, nobody really plays fighting games for the plot or realism, do they? It's handwaved in-game with Kryptonian nanotech compressed in pills that make the BadassNormal characters tough enough to go toe-to-toe with superpowered characters and in the comics is capable of making ''Alfred Pennyworth'' strong enough to give Superman a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.

*** ''Injustice 2'' is just as much, if not more, guilty about this. Unlike before, the story doesn't reference the infamous pills. It also features the signature unique intros carried over from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', and it's kind of funny seeing Harley Quinn take on ComicBook/BlackAdam and having the intro act like they're equals.

** [[WesternAnimation/BeautyandtheBeast Beast]] also qualifies for this trope. In his movie, he fought against Gaston, a BadassNormal villain. But in the Kingdom Hearts series, he's able to take on more powerful and supernatural villains like [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] and Organization XIII's Xaldin. It must be pointed out that the Beast ''was'' supernaturally strong in his own movie: Gaston was straight-up made of CharlesAtlasSuperpower (although a mild version) and completely helpless against him. The trope it's still in action, just not too heavily.

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'', Amazing Spider-Man takes out the ComicBook/{{Juggernaut|MarvelComics}} in a fistfight. Granted, Spidey ''[[OlderThanTheyThink has]]'' defeated Juggernaut in the comics, but he did so by forcing him to the ground with his might and trapping him in cement. Here, it's {{handwave}}d by suggesting that [[spoiler:the power of the [[MacGuffin Tablet Fragment]] is messing with Juggy's Gem of Cyttorak-given power]].

** The killer robot was also given a realistic way to stand up to Superman: Comicbook/HarleyQuinn had [[BoundAndGagged gagged and duct-taped]] Luthor's {{bodyguard|Babes}} Mercy to the robot, [[HumanShield making it impossible for Superman to hit it without killing her too]].

** This is {{handwave}}d by some heroes: specifically Franchise/TheFlash and Superman. Flash ''intentionally'' seeps speed in races, as in the comics, because "those were for charity". Superman meanwhile takes hits "so the others don't have to." Basically, ''they aren't trying'', even though failure might mean somebody '''dies'''. The other heroes, *cough* Comicbook/MartianManhunter *cough*, have no such excuse.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

* In a crossover between ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', this is highlighted in a scene where Spidey winds up fighting Danger Room Sentinels.
-->'''Storm:''' Power of Lightning, strike again!
-->'''Spider-Man:''' Uh... Power of Webshooters! Get... real sticky!

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'', Amazing Spider-Man takes out the Characters/{{Juggernaut}} in a fistfight. Granted, Spidey ''[[OlderThanTheyThink has]]'' defeated Juggernaut in the comics, but he did so by forcing him to the ground with his might and trapping him in cement. Here, it's {{handwave}}d by suggesting that [[spoiler:the power of the [[MacGuffin Tablet Fragment]] is messing with Juggy's Gem of Cyttorak-given power]].

** One panel shows a quick gag of DC's [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] and Marvel's [[Characters/MarvelComicsMarvels Captain Mar-Vell]] switching off against their respective adversary, with Marvel punching out Ronan the Accuser while Mar-Vell punches out [[Characters/ShazamBlackAdam Black Adam]]. Captain Marvel taking down Ronan is pretty believable, but Mar-Vell's level of super strength is nowhere near on par with the Big Red Cheese, and while he has other powers, he was only punching in that panel, while Black Adam is one of the strongest villains in the DCU, having taken down Superman-level characters. Then again, RuleOfFunny.

*** ''Injustice 2'' is just as much, if not more, guilty about this. Unlike before, the story doesn't reference the infamous pills. It also features the signature unique intros carried over from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', and it's kind of funny seeing Harley Quinn take on [[Characters/ShazamBlackAdam Black Adam]] and having the intro act like they're equals.

* ''Anime/SaintSeiyaSoulOfGold'' is a very unusual In-Universe example. The Gold Saints have long been established to be the most powerful non-god members of any army, being stronger than Poseidon's Generals and the other God Warriors, and being matched only by Hades' Judges, and even they get curb-stomped by the Golds stronger members. And, in a series where the Golds get God Cloths, the only ones who could possibly be a threat to them, power-wise, would be GODS. Hence, the series is constantly changing the power balance to give it a genuine sense of tension, first [[spoiler: giving the God Warriors a HomeFieldAdvantage that both makes them stronger AND drains the Golds' Cosmos, making the God Cloth a necessity for victory]], and, when that is taken care of, [[spoiler: giving the God Warriors an AmplifierArtifact]].
* From ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', Knuckles the Echidna. In his [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles first game appearance]], Knuckles had pretty weak jump height, but could glide through the air. In this OVA, he can jump ridiculously high and hover in mid-air; at times he appears to be flying outright.

* [[Characters/Earth2GreenLantern Solomon Grundy]] suffers from this a lot. In some comics, he is able to knock Superman around, while in other comics, Batman is able to defeat him. This is written into his character, where he has ResurrectiveImmortality, and his level of strength and intelligence is pretty much random in between his rebirths.

** The Wolf is a HeroKiller with the power to goad a specific enemy into attacking without benefit of bodyguards or tactical sense, his longship can teleport and fly and carry several dozen Norscan warriors, he has a sorcerer able to use OutsideContextMagic, and that's without getting into his SuperStrength and years of experience fighting similar monsters and fighters from the Warhammer world. As a result, he steamrolls through anything Westeros can throw at him, at least up until he meets the Night King. The only ones able to match him in a fight are [[spoiler:the Night king, a supernaturally long-lived undead warrior, and Drogon, who is a dragon (although Wulfrik mentions that, compared to the dragon from his world, Drogon isn't even ''that'' powerful]]. Buuuuut...

* Any given CrisisCrossover will be rife with this. The need to use as many characters as possible often leads to some [[CListFodder crowd filler]] being far stronger than the main villain. The original ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', for instance, has the [[SuperpowerLottery theoretically-omnipotent]] elemental transmuter ComicBook/{{Firestorm}} being forced to a stalemate by [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]]'s trick umbrella, or the obscure cosmic villain Maaldor the Darklord, who created universes and once held his own against the entire Franchise/GreenLantern Corps, getting killed in one hit by Krona. The strength of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons generally hits the exact amount needed to give their opponent a tough fight in swarms, whether it's [[PhysicalGod Alan Scott]] or [[BadassNormal Oliver Queen.]]

* In an extreme example, minor ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' villain Mano has an origin story in which he uses his disintegrating touch to destroy his entire homeworld and everyone on it simply by placing his hand on the planet's surface. However, he was never even remotely that powerful in any of his actual appearances, where plenty of characters can survive zaps from his hand. He's actually one of the ''weaker'' members of [[LegionOfDoom the Fatal Five]].

** [[WesternAnimation/BeautyandtheBeast Beast]] also qualifies for this trope. In his movie, he fought against Gaston, a BadassNormal villain. But in the Kingdom Hearts series, he's able to take on more powerful and supernatural villains like [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] and Organization XIII's Xaldin.

** Lobo is possibly a justified trope. He's generally depicted as being an incredibly powerful not-particularly-skilled brawler who rages easily. Often weaker foes can run circles around Lobo if they have honed martial skills and a good grasp of tactics.

** One notorious example of this happened in the ''Comicbook/MarvelVersusDC'' crossover, where [[PopularityPower based on a fan poll]], ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} beat SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}. As Wolverine had bone claws at the time while Lobo is as powerful as Superman, this should have been impossible. The comic sidestepped the problems by [[TakeOurWordForIt not showing the battle]] -- in fact the whole thing was less than a page, from the introduction of Lobo to Wolvie standing and dusting off his hands. And all the fighting happened ''behind a bar''. It was later [[HandWave implied]] in Lobo's own comic that the Main Man was paid under the table to throw the fight.

*** But when it's [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] fighting toe to toe with Deathstroke now this trope is in full effect, especially since Lex OrcusOnHisThrone dislikes physically fighting his foes and treats it as a last resort.

** Marvel have been countering this by making their heavyweights, such as ComicBook/TheMightyThor, who was already roughly equal to Superman at the time of ''Comicbook/JLAAvengers'', and ComicBook/{{Magneto}} (who can now do things like pull ComicBook/KittyPryde out of planet destroying bullets from light years away and easily fly decommissioned aircraft carriers from San Diego to San Francisco, then drop them on human sized objects with pinpoint accuracy) even stronger. Moreover, they're making them smarter, in the case of the Green Scar personality of the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. And they're creating new heavyweights (e.g. ComicBook/TheSentry, who puts even a souped-up Thor to shame and even while weakened, stalemated Green Scar), and ComicBook/HopeSummers, who, under the right circumstances, could take the entire JLA at full power.
*** Ironically, the much less popular ComicBook/DoctorStrange in his classic days could've wiped the floor with Superman and most other DC characters at full power. Strange was so powerful Marvel had to {{Nerf}} him in the comics as he had the power to destroy dimensions and even knock ComicBook/{{Galactus}} on his ass. Though even when he's not as strong as he used to be, Strange is still ridiculously powerful, like in ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' where he gives the titular jolly green giant a run for his money.
** Another appropriate point is that most of Marvel's hyperweight characters tend to be in their cosmic stable, which usually stays a long way away from Earth, meaning they don't get involved in intercontinuity crossovers, or tend to be psychics (who are particularly vulnerable to this trope). In other words while DC may have the Kryptonians, Marvel has heavy cosmic hitters like ComicBook/SilverSurfer, ComicBook/{{Thanos}} and of course ComicBook/{{Galactus}} to boot.

*** Two crossover battles shown between ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and Franchise/TheFlash were played for the jokes that they were. The only times Quicksilver was able to land a punch were when The Flash [[DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp turned his back to help innocents]] (in ''Comicbook/MarvelVersusDC'') and, in the later crossover, when The Flash encountered Quicksilver in the Marvel universe (which apparently has no Speed Force) and a gleeful Quicksilver thrashed him (in ''[=JLA/Avengers=]''). Sadly, if they had just done the first fight a few years sooner or a few years later, it might have been a more even match (Wally's speed was dropped to Quicksilver level in the years immediately following ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', and during ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'', Quicksilver was outrunning radio signals, meaning that he was going FTL).

** ''Marvel vs. DC'' also had ComicBook/{{Storm}} besting Franchise/WonderWoman. Storm admittedly has the power to control the weather on an epic scale, so her defeating Wonder Woman honestly wouldn't have been the most outlandish stretch, if they hadn't actually shown [[SquishyWizard her]] shrugging off a punch from [[PhysicalGod Wonder Woman]]. (For reference, Storm's pretty toned for what is essentially a baseline human, while Wonder Woman is more on par with planet-punchers like Superman.)
** ''ComicBook/JLAAvengers'', to fix the imbalance between the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and the generally less powerful [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]], establishes that some characters have different power levels depending on which universe they're in. So in Franchise/TheDCU, the higher levels of "chaos magic" make second-tier Avenger ComicBook/ScarletWitch powerful enough to take down the whole Justice League, while in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the lack of a "speed force" makes the Flash nothing more than an ordinary human.

** Then again, when Spider-Man fights the ComicBook/SilverSurfer, he tends to smack him around pretty well; he often fights beyond his limits - unless he is ''Cosmic Spider-Man'', in which he had no limits.

* What some consider a modern example of the above is the fight between ComicBook/MilesMorales and Blackheart. For reference, Blackheart is in the same league as the likes of Firelord, being the son of ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} himself (basically {{Satan}} of the Marvel Universe). Earlier in that fight, Blackheart effortlessly beat the Avengers offscreen, including powerhouses like ComicBook/TheVision, ComicBook/ScarletWitch, Iron Man, ComicBook/SheHulk and freaking ''Thor'' (the [[ComicBook/Thor2014 Jane Foster]] version, but still) with only the Sam Wilson Captain America left standing (how he managed to outlast such powerhouses against Blackheart could be another example). With only Miles left standing, he uses his Venom Blast to achieve victory, hitting him so hard that Blackheart can no longer fight and falls unconscious. Even in-universe, Miles regards this as a fluke win, as if to [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] on it. Granted, at least unlike the Spidey vs. Firelord fight, Miles ''did'' take some hits and had to use Cap's invulnerable shield to protect himself, so there's that.
* ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'' had ComicBook/LexLuthor shoot Spidey with a "red-sun energy boost", making Big Blue vulnerable to his touch, i.e., Spidey being able to beat Supes like a beach ball. However once the energy wears off, it’s clear who has the upper hand.
*** The follow up crossover with Superman and Spider-Man is more realistic. Superman brushes off Spider-Man's offers of assistance at first believing that Spidey would just get in the way. Spidey is about to leave, also believing he wouldn't be any help to Superman until he remembers that Superman might be flying into a trap and follows after to warn him.
** This happens a lot to Spider-Man. In preparation for ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', he had "''The Other''" story arc, which tied his powers to a mystical spider-totem. This gave him a major attribute boost and several new powers, ranging from enough speed and strength to catch bullets to spike weapons which protruded from his arms. [[spoiler:This was done so that when he became a fugitive at the end of ''Civil War'', he could feasibly fight off (and beat) more powerful heroes like Iron Man.]] Unfortunately, nobody bothered using Spider-Man's upgrades from "''The Other''" except Creator/PeterDavid (and Chris Yost during his ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' run), so the storyline might as well not have happened. The only aspect of the story that anyone else bothered using was the Iron Spider suit.

** This happened again during the Transformers' crossover with the ComicBook/NewAvengers. Heroes like ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/TheFalcon were regulated to distractions or rescue work, while ComicBook/IronMan used a HumongousMecha, to just blast Megatron with his normal repulsors after his Mecha got destroyed.

*** Marvel did it right in the first story arc of ''ComicBook/NewAvengers'' when SupermanSubstitute ComicBook/TheSentry, tore the even more powerful ComicBook/{{Carnage}} in two with his bare hands [[ThouShaltNotKill though Superman would have never acted to this extreme.]]

** Despite the subversions with Spider-Man, his two biggest interactions with ''ComicBook/{{Thanos}}'' (a villain who is much, much stronger than Firelord or Megatron) have involved: webbing his eyes and kicking his face in ''ComicBook/TheInfinityWar'' and in a later comic, Spidey slugs Thanos right in front of [[TheGrimReaper Death]] and he ''mostly'' gets away with it. Spider-Man even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it when he complains to Mary Jane about a simple mugger having the guts to attack him.

** One panel shows a quick gag of DC's [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] and Marvel's ComicBook/CaptainMarVell switching off against their respective adversary, with Marvel punching out Ronan the Accuser while Mar-Vell punches out ComicBook/BlackAdam. Captain Marvel taking down Ronan is pretty believable, but Mar-Vell's level of super strength is nowhere near on par with the Big Red Cheese, and while he has other powers, he was only punching in that panel, while Black Adam is one of the strongest villains in the DCU, having taken down Superman-level characters. Then again, RuleOfFunny.

* Franchise/{{Batman}} has appeared for decades simultaneously both in his own magazine, struggling against fairly normal muggers and crooks, and in ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', battling cosmic foes like ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}. This has been dealt with in various ways over the years, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. The default [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] solution seemed to be using the [[CrazyPrepared/{{Batman}} Bat-Anti-Cosmically-Powered-Villain Spray]], while the default [[UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks Modern Age]] solution tends toward emphasizing his willpower and intelligence, often in a MissionControl role.
** In 2002, it was announced that there was a ''Batman vs. Superman'' film in the works (like most Superman-related projects, it ultimately ended up in DevelopmentHell and was abandoned... though [[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice another project eventually emerged with the Dark Knight vs. the Man of Steel]].), which provoked great uproar in the fan community about the inherently one-sided nature of such a conflict. Conan O'Brien put it best, saying "Superman is, well, ''Superman''. He can fly, lift cars, shoot lasers from his eyes, go back in time, all that. Batman... Batman works out a lot." Though in that script, Batman used his CrazyPrepared-ness intelligently, with Kryptonite armor and arrows, and a sonic whistle to paralyze Superman due to the latter's super-hearing. Though in the ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'' storyline, Batman DOES wind up fighting the Man of Steel, who is under ComicBook/PoisonIvy's control due to kryptonite added to her mind-control lipstick. He still might have little chance in a straight fight (and states that his hand would break before Superman's jaw did), but in that story, he does manage to fight off Superman long enough to break him out of the trance. At one point, Batman states that he would have long been dead if Superman hadn't been resisting Ivy's control.

* ComicBook/SolomonGrundy suffers from this a lot. In some comics, he is able to knock Superman around, while in other comics, Batman is able to defeat him. This is written into his character, where he has ResurrectiveImmortality, and his level of strength and intelligence is pretty much random in between his rebirths.
* An interesting example is [[ComicBook/BeastMarvelComics Hank McCoy]], aka The Beast. If you pick up a comic in which he is in the ComicBook/XMen, the writers tend to focus mostly on his intellect while his actual powers are secondary. When he was a member of ComicBook/TheAvengers, his strength and agility were the main focus and his intellect was rarely brought up. This was because the Avengers had plenty of geniuses: [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], ComicBook/IronMan, ComicBook/TheVision, ComicBook/BlackPanther, etc. and didn't need another. [=McCoy=] was a LightningBruiser so his abilities were bumped up to the point where he was nearly as strong as ComicBook/IronMan and could move so fast that ComicBook/CaptainAmerica had trouble following him. When he went back to the X-Men, there were already a couple strongmen (ComicBook/{{Colossus}} and ComicBook/{{Rogue}}) and agile people (ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, ComicBook/{{Gambit}}, ComicBook/{{Longshot}}, etc.). Even his animalistic nature was covered by ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. They didn't have any geniuses, though, so Beast became TheSmartGuy nearly on the level of [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]].

* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' antagonist ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} also suffers from this. He can be portrayed as someone who can hold his own against members of the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, and be able to knock out the Flash, but also struggle against someone like ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}.

*** But when it's ComicBook/LexLuthor fighting toe to toe with Deathstroke now this trope is in full effect, especially since Lex dislikes physically fighting his foes and treats it as a last resort.

* Any given CrisisCrossover will be rife with this. The need to use as many characters as possible often leads to some [[CListFodder crowd filler]] being far stronger than the main villain. The original ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', for instance, has the [[SuperpowerLottery theoretically-omnipotent]] elemental transmuter ComicBook/{{Firestorm}} being forced to a stalemate by ComicBook/ThePenguin's trick umbrella, or the obscure cosmic villain Maaldor the Darklord, who created universes and once held his own against the entire Franchise/GreenLantern Corps, getting killed in one hit by Krona. The strength of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons generally hits the exact amount needed to give their opponent a tough fight in swarms, whether it's [[PhysicalGod Alan Scott]] or [[BadassNormal Oliver Queen.]]

** A notable example of this occurs in the above-mentioned ''ComicBook/JLA/Avengers'' crossover, in which Cap effortlessly [=KOs=] JLA villain Prometheus. Prometheus, for the uninitiated, is basically an EvilCounterpart BloodKnight Batman who had managed to defeat ''the entire JLA'' in his debut appearance, yet somehow Cap alone could handle him. Interestingly, this kicked off a long slide into VillainDecay for Prometheus which was eventually retconned away as being his inferior protege running around impersonating him.
* ComicBook/{{Magneto}} gets hit with this depending on what side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor he's on. If he's evil, Magneto will be written as one of the most terrifying villains who ever lived, bordering on outright invincible. [[RedemptionDemotion If he's good, Magneto's abilities get scaled back a lot for the sake of drama]]. However, there is a canonical reason for this, as excessive use of his abilities makes him bipolar - if he's using that much power, it's making him unstable, which he'd otherwise want to avoid. That being said, he's become much more consistent at the high end following his settling on the borderline of AntiVillain and AntiHero (codified in ''Magneto: Not A Hero'' in 2011 with the line "The thing that ''none'' of you will ''ever'' understand is that there are no sides. There's no ''heroes'' or ''villains''. There's just ''what I want'' and ''how I'll get it.''"). He specifically warns against assuming this in ''Not A Hero'':

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar'' like the comic it was based on rather heavily avoids this trope as when Batman and Green Lantern meet Superman and ''it's complete a humiliation'' with Superman just [[SmugSuper toying with them]] and shrugging off all of Batman's gadgets with only the supersonic annoying him slightly. The movie also skips the moment where Flash comes in and knocks Superman down a peg, so the power-scaling is very lopsided in the movie. Played straight earlier on where Batman not only steals the ring from Green Lantern but pushes him against the wall despite Hal Jordan having enough power to crush him. It's both a case of lavishing Batman and ripping into Green Lantern.

* Notably, this trend continued in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''. Kong was about 30 meters tall in ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': certainly a Titan, and one of the largest King Kongs in film history, but Godzilla had been well-established as being four times as tall and broader in build, thus [[SquareCubeLaw dozens if not hundreds of times as massive]]. In his own film, Godzilla also showed no reaction to being shot with cruise missiles and was only knocked out by being hit with a ''15 megaton nuke'' (he was a good distance from ground zero, but still; the other kaiju he was fighting at the time in the prequel comic was instantly incincerated by the same energy despite being nealy as big of him and similarly resistant to conventional weaponry). For comparison, Kong in ''his'' movie was nearly killed by a handful of soldiers with [=C4=] and napalm and was cut by both heavy machine gun fire and the rotor blades of a helicopter. Consequently, the film gave Kong an upscale and a proportional boost to durability and strength, with the justification that he's been growing (and tellingly, he's still the shorter of the two by a good ways). It's never explained why he got dozens of times bigger in just a few decades when the rest of his species, including his own parents, were around the same size as he was in ''Skull Island'' (as indicated by their skeletons), despite many presumably being much older than him. His archenemies that exterminated his entire species, the Skullcrawlers, were even smaller (including their leader Ramarak).

** The movies take all this UpToEleven: Even if we leave aside the Decade half of ''Movie Wars 2010'' and consider "Decade Fury" a completely new and all-powerful form capable of OneHitKO-ing all other Riders and say he can't normally do that even if he sure ''looks'' like normal Decade, there's still Shadow Moon. In ''Series/KamenRiderBlack,'' Shadow Moon was evenly matched with the series' one Rider However, in ''All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker'', Shadow Moon was ''so'' powerful the combined might of Rising Ultimate Kuuga[[note]]A ''Decade''-original SuperMode ''on top of'' the normal SuperMode of ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'' that was considered ''too powerful'' in its own series, where Kuuga was having to hold himself back to avoid being a DestructiveSaviour when he got the form ''before'' standard Ultimate. If you told anyone in ''Kuuga'' proper, including the hero himself, that a "Rising Ultimate Kuuga" was ''possible,'' [[BringMyBrownPants a change of pants would be involved]].[[/note]] and Decade[[note]]Himself Power Creep'd in the movie, having won over every other Rider in the tournament at the beginning, even beating ''three at once'' fairly easily. He can't do that in the show.[[/note]] couldn't scratch him. Then ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' easily beats him. This should rightfully make Double ''literally'' strong enough to destroy the world with one Rider Kick ''in his base form''. Needless to say... he isn't.

* Happens in crossover titles in video games as well, as evidenced in [[VideoGame/CapcomVs Capcom crossover games]]. This is something of a necessity; how else could you expect [[Franchise/StreetFighter Dan Hibiki or Sakura]] to fight, say, the [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] or ComicBook/DoctorDoom without having a serious upgrade in strength? (Dan, of course, doesn't have a chance even with the upgrade, but he's a JokeCharacter anyway.) The concept was (lovingly) mocked in a segment on ''Series/XPlay'' where Blair Butler took a look back at the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' series, noting in each game the number of fighters, adding that "none of them would stand a chance against the Hulk"; while not completely true, it gets the point across.
** It's even worse in the earlier games in the series, where freakin' ''ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' were the final bosses, and yet the likes of Chun-Li and Ryu were able to take them down. Of course, ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' ups the ante further with the Final Boss being ''ComicBook/{{Galactus}}''.
** While not ''as'' glaring, ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' features ComicBook/{{Ultron}}. That would be the guy known for having a nearly-indestructible body [[MadeOfIndestructium made of adamantium]] (or vibranium, depending on the story), yet he's able to get his ass kicked by everyone else in the cast.

** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' is interesting about this, because it brings up the question of who is really getting the creeps and seeps respectively, since there's Superman on the DC side, a god (Raiden) and a supernatural undead (Scorpion) on the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' side, and a range of less powerful superheroes and flat-out humans scattered across both. The final explanation is that the merging of the two universes causes powers to fluctuate, strengthening some and weakening others. It gets lampshaded when, after ComicBook/TheJoker defeats Sonya, ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} asks in bewilderment, "Since when can ''you'' beat anybody?!" (The Joker promptly trashes him afterwards and then decides to use his newfound strength to defeat Batman. He does but then [[VillainBall forgot]] the Bat's [[CrazyPrepared defining characteristic]] and got knocked out by a taser.)

*** ''Injustice 2'' is just as much, if not more, guilty about this. Unlike before, the story doesn't reference the infamous pills. It also features the signature unique intros carried over from ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', and it's kind of funny seeing Harley Quinn take on ComicBook/BlackAdam and having the intro act like they're equals.

** Continuing the trend for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'''s {{Guest Fighter}}s, we have the [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} T-800]], the aforementioned ComicBook/TheJoker, and ComicBook/{{Spawn}}. The T-800 is a superhuman time travelling cyborg and, while feasible that he can take on more human characters like Sonya Blade or Johnny Cage, it becomes head tilting when he does so with {{physical god}}s like Raiden or Kronika, who should reasonably be able to reduce him to scrap metal with ease. Same goes for the Joker, who's a base-line human and naturally lacks the means to hurt or kill the upper echelons of the ''MK'' roster and doesn't have the excuse of [[VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse power fluctuations caused by merging universes]] to explain how he can fight these stronger opponents. Spawn is practically the opposite of the former two, as his winning of the SuperpowerLottery and having a wide array of abilities and weapons that have let him take on and even kill the hierarchy of Heaven and Hell should put him on the same level as, if not above, {{physical god}}s such as Raiden. However, for the sake of gameplay purposes, they can get beaten down by anyone and beat them down in kind.

** ''Melee'' brings [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Ganondorf]] and the VideoGame/{{Ice Climber}}s. The former, due to time constraints in development, was made as a Captain Falcon [[MovesetClone clone]], thus replaces his powerful sorcery with punches and kicks; powerful punches and kicks, sure, but nothing like what he demonstrated in the ''Zelda'' series. The latter, originally just a hammer-wielding duo, got cool [[AnIcePerson ice]] powers just because they were in a crossover.

** ''Brawl'' brings [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]]. He can't even jump during gameplay in his own series, but here he can easily jump three times his height and fly with the assistance of a summoned Cypher (his enemies in his games), perform elegant suplexes, and is so flexible he can bend his spine almost all the way back. Also, the swimming/drowning mechanics the game introduced are nearly the same for everyone, even for characters who can't swim (Sonic and Charizard), characters who can't drown (Squirtle in ''Brawl'' and Greninja in ''Wii U/3DS''), or characters who ''dissolve'' in water (the Inklings in ''Ultimate''). Varia Samus and Zero Suit Samus highlight this as well. In [[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission their original appearance,]] Zero Suit Samus was part of a NoGearLevel, lacking any offensive capabilities whatsoever outside of a temporary stun. In ''Smash Bros'', she's significantly faster and more agile than her armored counterpart (in the original, she was, if anything, slower), and actually places higher on most CharacterTiers.
** ''Wii U/3DS'' brings [[VideoGame/PunchOut Little Mac]], while also kicking it up a notch by bringing two {{Physical God}}esses as playable characters: [[VideoGame/KidIcarus Palutena]], the Goddess of Light, and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Rosalina]], Mother of the Stars. With Little Mac, he's turned from a relatively weak but [[{{Determinator}} very determinate]] boxer, to a powerful BoxingBattler beast when fighting on the ground. Meanwhile, Palutena and Rosalina bring some impressive {{light|EmUp}} and [[SpaceMaster cosmic]] attacks to the fray, but [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu they can be beaten by any other character, no problem]]. The DLC adds VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]], both of whom have beaten enemies that wrecked solar systems.
** In [=WiiU=]/3DS, in some kind of reverse example from the Sword of Seals, Robin's [[StarterEquipment Bronze Sword]] is as strong as legendary weapons wielded by his fellow Fire Emblem reps, and can now use dark magic. On the other hand, he is the slowest character in the game despite having utterly overpowered GameBreaker stats in Awakening.

** Another good show of this comes from two newcomers to ''Ultimate''. On one hand, you have the [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} Inklings]], humanoid squid kids who in their home series only fight with weapons that shoot ink in what basically amounts to a professional sport. The other one is Ridley, Samus' nemesis, a feared space pirate who also happens to be a huge space dragon/pterodactyl hybrid that can shrug off dozens of missiles to the face. He still can be beaten by the aforementioned squid kids. Additionally, one of the first [[MovesetClone Echo Fighters]] revealed was Dark Samus, who loses most of the crazy Phazon-powered tricks she demonstrated in her home series and instead ends up with the usual array of lasers and missiles that Samus favors.

* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'', Amazing Spider-Man takes out the ComicBook/{{Juggernaut|MarvelComics}} in a fistfight. Granted, Spidey ''[[OlderThanTheyThink has]]'' defeated Juggernaut in the comics, but he did so by forcing him to the ground with his might and trapping him in cement. Here, it's {{handwave}}d by suggesting that [[spoiler:the power of the [[MacGuffin Tablet Fragment]] is messing with Juggy's Gem of Cyttorak-given power]].

* ''VideoGame/DengekiBunkoFightingClimax'': Even though [[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Akira Yuki]] is a powerful character in his home series, he would be in a huge disadvantage fighting characters from other franchises who wield magical powers.

* VideoGame/OnePiecePirateWarriors'': As is traditional with these types of combat games that take place in worlds with large power-scales, you can defeat the strongest characters in ''Manga/OnePiece'''s canon with any of the weakest if you so choose. Wanna use pre-timeskip Usopp to take down Akainu, Whitebeard, and Doflamingo in one level? Feel free. Nami even lampshades this whenever she beats very strong characters:
-->'''Nami:''' No way... I won?

** Mostly averted in the Batman/Superman crossover episode [[Recap/SupermanTheAnimatedSeriesS2E16To18WorldsFinest "World's Finest"]]. ComicBook/TheJoker sets up a kryptonite-filled death trap for Supes and Batman has to race over there to rescue him. Later, Comicbook/LexLuthor sends a KillerRobot after Bats and all he can do is stall for time until Superman stomps it. Generally Superman used more brute strength while Batman used tactics and gadgets to survive.

*** When Comicbook/LexLuthor [[FreakyFridayFlip got control of]] Flash, he wiped the ''floor'' with basically the entire [=WatchTower=], showing powers the Flash never did. Of course, we learn why the [[IncorruptiblePurePureness Flash]] would never use them, since they could easily result in people dying.

** A good example comes from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsJudgment'' in term of the casts. On one end, you got things like ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'', ''Anime/BlueCometSPTLayzner'', ''Anime/BrainPowered'', and ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico''. On the other side, you got things like Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}, ''Manga/{{Zeorymer}}'', and Anime/TekkamanBlade(yes, this guy again). The latter part of the cast makes the infamous scene from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'' [[spoiler:where Mwu is killed]] pretty awkward because they can simply tank the attack and really likely to survive. And even in the midst of battle, both Zeorymer and Blade has more than enough speed to arrive on time.

** Notably, this trend continued in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong''. Kong was about 30 meters tall in ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': certainly a titan, and one of the largest King Kongs in film history, but Godzilla had been well-established as about three or four times that size. Consequently, the film gave Kong an upscale, with the justification that he's been growing (and tellingly, he's still the shorter of the two by a good ways).

*** Even ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighter Dan Hibiki]]'', the poster child for JokeCharacter, of all people, is victim of this. He's the weakest spirit in the game, a 1-Star with the lowest spirit power and giving the player 30% damage with no benefit. However, it is a fact that Dan can at least fight a bit. The 1-Star spirit that is 2nd place to him in terms of weakness is [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Alm & Celica]]... as children. When they were barely able to pick a weapon. And give no negative effects when equipped. They can also be [[MagikarpPower Enhanced]]. Knowing Dan, however, this is likely intentional.

* ''VideoGame/Tekken7'': In an example of FollowTheLeader from the [[Creator/NetherRealmStudios Mortal Kombat]] series, the game has started adding a few GuestFighter from different video game companies. The thing is: you have powerhouse characters like [[VideoGame/StreetFighter Akuma]], [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese]] [[VideoGame/TheKingofFighters Howard]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Noctis]] being easily defeated by someone like Kuma. On the other hand, you have experienced fighters like Kazuya, Heihachi and Jin being taken out by non-fighters like [[Series/TheWalkingDead Negan]].

** ''Film/KamenRiderXSuperSentaiSuperHeroTaisen'' remedies this by A. giving the villains a titanic mecha that outright dwarfs ''Sentai'' mecha in size and B. making the Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters' mecha [=Go-BusterOh=] somehow compatible with [[Series/KamenRiderFourze the Astro Switches]] to give it a fighting chance. This happens again in ''Film/KamenRiderXSuperSentaiXSpaceSheriffSuperHeroTaisenZ'' by making the Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger's mecha Kyoryuzen compatible with Series/KamenRiderWizard's Flame Dragon and giving the three Space Sheriffs a once-in-a-lifetime combination attack. It also happens again in ''Film/HeiseiRiderVsShowaRiderKamenRiderWarsFeaturingSuperSentai'' by turning Kyoryu Red's mecha into a Ressha and allowing the [[Series/ResshaSentaiTokkyuger Ressha Sentai ToQger]]'s mecha [=To-QOh=] to combine with it and [[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-Liner]].
* Spoofed in Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger, where a MonsterOfTheWeek who had previously been delivering a CurbStompBattle, before setting off an EventFlag which signifies his downfall. As [[TheHero Akagi]] states, consistent power levels do not exist in Sentai.

->''"Hands down, [[PhysicalGod Kronika]] was the toughest enemy I ever faced. All my tactics, my training, meant nothing to a god like her. In the end, it was a battle of wills."''