History Main / SicklyChildGrewUpStrong

* ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' shows this transition in detail. At the start of the story, its protagonist [[CloneJesus Vivio]] is a fragile 10-year-old girl who has a lot of passion for martial arts but is repeatedly told by genuinely concerned friends and relatives that pursuing that dream with her physique may be too dangerous for her health. Over the course of the series, however, Vivio slowly builds up her strength and develops her own fighting style to compensate for her inherent weaknesses. After several arcs, even her mother Nanoha (the overarching protagonist of the series and one of the most powerful combat mages of the series) [[WellDoneSonGuy acknowledges her progress]] by expressing readiness to spar with her at full power (again, that is -- although the last time they fought, Vivio was BrainwashedAndCrazy and amped up on GreenRocks).

* Franchise/{{Wolverine}} was very weak and sickly as a child. As an adult, he has a HealingFactor and is easily one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel-universe.

* A twofold example in ''Literature/TheGraceOfKings'' that functions as a {{deconstruction}} of TrainingFromHell in martial arts stories. Phin Zyndu started life as the happy, bookish younger son of a distinguished martial aristocratic family, but all that changed after the family was either slaughtered or sold into slavery after being betrayed and framed for treason. Phin hid during the slaughter and was found by enemy soldiers, and when he cried, they spared him, mocking him as being NotWorthKilling. After this, he fled with the other surviving member, his baby nephew, Mata, and toughened himself up and brought Mata up under this harsh regimen of physical training and little affection, which Phin convinced himself that his brother/Mata's father would have wanted, in part because he hated himself for his former "weakness". The end result is that the older Phin is a StrawMisogynist with his [[BecomingTheMask gentle side so suppressed between his macho "mask" as to be nonexistent]], and while Mata loves his uncle and is grateful for the upbringing that gave him a CharlesAtlasSuperpower, [[RealityEnsues he's deeply emotionally stunted and disturbingly dogmatic in his views as a result of his upbringing]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy," Zim uses time-travel to cause his arch-nemesis to turn him into a cripple during his childhood. It works in the past, but in the present, his nemesis has gained a house-sized robotic suit to (over-)compensate for his injuries.

* In most ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episodes taking place in the future, the scrawny and nerdy Millhouse becomes muscular as a teen and adult. According to "Barthood", he was sent to juvie and was muscular by the time he came out at 15.

* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Zoe's Reprise", the VillainOfTheWeek was often sick as a kid. He grows up to be a serial killer capable of strangling grown men with his bare hands, a feat the BAU profilers say is very difficult because of the amount of strength required over several minutes while restraining a resisting victim. The unsub is caught because he kisses his victims on the forehead, the same thing his mother used to do when he was a child to check for fever.
* In ''Series/That70sShow'', the gang gets a visit from an old schoolmate who had asthma and scoliosis but is now a healthy, handsome young man. Eric gets jealous when Donna takes a liking to him.

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKingsII'' babies can get born with the Sickly Infant trait. This does not prevent them from gaining the Brawny trait or from acquiring a high-level martial education when grown up.

* Gaara from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was born extremely small and premature. He grew up ostracized by his entire village and family due to being a ''jinchuriki''. After [[spoiler:his uncle (who was the only person who showed affection towards him)]] tried to kill him, he snapped and turned into an AxCrazy EnfantTerrible. After undergoing a HeelFaceTurn, Gaara becomes an AllLovingHero while still being [[TheAce as powerful as ever]], to the point where he became [[AChildShallLeadThem kazekage by fifteen]].

* Misugi of ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' was struck with an abnormal heart condition that left him with little stamina and occasional heart attacks, but he's still a clever soccer tactician despite that. Then, as he grows up, he gets his heart treated and he's finally healthy and resumes his soccer career.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Yhwach was born unable to see, hear, or even move. However, he was gifted with the ability to siphon life force from his people, [[ThrowingOffTheDisability which overcame his disabilities]]. Over time, he became the single most powerful being in the series and the antagonist of the final story arc.
* Yuki Sohma from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' suffered from severe respiratory problems when he was younger. As a teenager, he's largely recovered from his illnesses (though he'll occasionally have asthma attacks when under emotional stress) and is an even stronger martial artist than Kyo, who can never beat him despite being more passionate about martial arts than Yuki is.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': [[GreaterScopeParagon The original wielder of One for All]] was frail and sickly, [[{{Determinator}} yet that never deterred him]] from trying to stand up to his evil brother [[BigBad All for One]]. It turns out that when All for One decided to give his brother a minor power-stockpiling Quirk out of pity, it worked wonders to improve his health.

* Franchise/{{Wolverine}} was very weak and sickly as a child. As an adult, he has a HealingFactor and is easily one of the most powerful superheroes in the Marvel-universe.
* In ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'', Superman tells Piotr that contrary to popular belief, he was not born with his full powers, and was in fact quite sickly for most of his childhood.

* ''Fanfic/PokemonNovaAndAntica'': Winter as a child held no special talents of note, wasn't a good talker, had a weak body, and suffers from an AmbiguousDisorder. Nowadays, while remnants still linger, she nevertheless grew up to be a respectable LadyOfWar with strong Pokemon and a penchant for battling.
* Michelle Aimi Ketchum (sometimes called "Shelly" by family and close friends), the daughter of Ash and Misty in Pokémon-fanfiction stories by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2086119/nyislandersgirl nyislandersgirl]], was very weak and sickly as a baby (she was born with severely underdeveloped lungs, which led to breathing problems), but ultimately got better and grew up to be perfectly normal as she got older.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon''-franchise by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation, Hiccup (the main protagonist) is a scrawny BlackSheep in the first film and in the second film, it's mentioned by Valka (Hiccup's long-lost mother) that he was apparently born premature and she was worried that Hiccup wouldn't make it. However, by the end of the first film, Hiccup becomes the first known Viking to actually tame a dragon (and a ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Night Fury]]'' at that, which are widely considered to be the '''the''' most dangerous species of dragon out there) and becomes the best inventor in his village. [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 And in the sequel]], Hiccup's grown more into himself and eventually becomes the chief of his village.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** In a prequel, it is revealed that Tigerclaw, the massive, strong BigBad of the series, was the runt of his litter: he was too weak even to feed, and wasn't expected to survive his first night. His mother chose the name Tigerkit in the hope that he'd become strong.
** Scourge, Firestar's half-brother through his father, was born a kittypet runt who was named "Tiny". His siblings often teased him due to his size. After being told that twolegs drown kittens that no one wants, Scourge [[TheRunaway ran away]] and became a rogue. As an adult Scourge becomes the feared and fearsome AxCrazy leader of [=BloodClan=], though he is still a small cat.
* In ''Literature/TheShepherdsCrown'', Geoffrey's {{familiar}} Mephistopheles is a goat who was abandoned by its mother for being too sickly; Geoffrey carefully nursed it back to health, whereupon it became a strong and ferocious yet extremely loyal goat, and also intelligent enough to learn human speech and such tricks as being able to count.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Ghost the [[WhiteWolvesAreSpecial albino]] [[DireBeast direwolf]] was the [[TheRuntAtTheEnd runt]] of his siblings and only given to Jon because the healthier ones have been claimed but when he becomes an adult, he is the largest of his litter and in the TV adaptation, he [[spoiler:is one of only two survivors out of the litter]].

* Pamela Cox's continuation of Creator/EnidBlyton 's 'Malory Towers' series featured Bonnie Meadows, a small sickly girl who proves to be extremely smart, talented, and determined. Her character is one of the strongest of the main cast, which causes trouble as people often underestimate her.
* Rowley from ''Literature/TheColdMoons'' was born a runt and is the smallest cub in the group. As he grows, he turns into the [[BigFun fattest]] of all the badgers, being a [[GenerationXerox younger version]] of his [[HappilyAdopted adopted father]] Eldon.
* ''Literature/DarkShores'': Marcus was a sickly child, plagued by fits, and nobody really thought that he would survive in the legions. He grew up to be an accomplished warrior and military leader, highly respected by his legion, although his fits return from time to time (they seem to be partly allergic and partly triggered by emotions).

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings 2'' babies can get born with the Sickly Infant trait. This does not prevent them from gaining the Brawny trait or from acquiring a high-level martial education when grown up.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'': According to [[OldSoldier Drack]], his granddaughter Nakmor Kesh was tiny and sickly when she was an infant, when she grew up she would become head engineer of the Nexus and while we never see her fight, it's implied she is more than capable of holding her own.
* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'': [[BigBad Ghaul]] has this as his backstory. As a child, he was outcast from Cabal society due to being a runt and albino. In the present day, he towers over the (already very large) other members of his species and rules their society after killing his way to the top. However, it's implied that he still suffers from an InferioritySuperiorityComplex, hence his insistence on earning the Traveler's approval rather than just taking its power by force (which he has the technology to do).

* Adonis of ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' was quite weak and sickly as a child but grew up to become very physically strong. Due to understanding what it's like to be vulnerable, he has a strong desire to protect the weak and often encourages others to exercise more and eat more meat so they will become stronger, too.

* ''Webcomic/{{Scurry}}'': [[AllThereInTheManual According to the website character page]] [[CatsAreMean Titan]] was weak and sickly as a kitten but as he grew older he began to fight the other cats for dominance (and he has the [[CoveredInScars scars to show for it]]) and is now the [[LargeAndInCharge largest and strongest]] of his "herd" which he now leads with an iron fist.

* In the two Disney ''{{WesternAnimation/Bambi}}'' [[WesternAnimation/BambiII films]], Bambi is portrayed as very meek and slow to adapt compared to other fawns such as Faline, and gains a [[TraumaButton form of PTSD]] from the death of his mother by hunters. Under the care and tutoring of the Great Prince, however, he starts proving more exceptionally athletic and wilful, becoming the only of the young animals able to stand up to [[TheBully Ronno]] and even overcome his TraumaButton to protect a doe from hunting dogs. By the time he is a young buck, he is a full-grown badass (if still an {{Adorkable}} one), and takes his place as the next Great Prince of the Forest.

* Misugi of ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' was struck with an abnormal heart condition that left him with little stamina and occasional heart attacks, but he's still a clever soccer tactician despite that. Then, as he grows up, he gets his heart treated and he's finally healthy, and resumes his soccer career.

* ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'': [[TheBigBadWolf Bigby Wolf]] was the [[TheRuntAtTheEnd tiny runt]] of his litter and [[BigBrotherBully his brothers]] called him The Big Bad Wolf [[IronicNickname to mock him]]. After his mother died and his brothers dispersed, he was unable to protect his mother's body from scavengers, so he made a vow that each thing he killed would be bigger than the last. This eventually caused him to grow into an [[CanisMajor elephant sized wolf]] that went on to kill hundreds and he even took his brothers' insulting name [[AppropriatedAppellation as his own]].

* In the two Disney ''{{WesternAnimation/Bambi}}'' [[WesternAnimation/BambiII films]], Bambi is portrayed as very meek and slow to adapt compared to other fawns such as Faline, and gains a [[TraumaButton form of PTSD]] from the death of his mother by hunters. Under the care and tutoring of the Great Prince however, he starts proving more exceptionally athletic and wilful, becoming the only of the young animals able to stand up to [[TheBully Ronno]] and even overcome his TraumaButton to protect a doe from hunting dogs. By the time he is a young buck, he is a full grown badass (if still an {{Adorkable}} one), and takes his place as the next Great Prince of the Forest.

* The Mountain Man from ''Film/ColdPrey'' is said to have been born stillborn. As a grown up though, he became an ImplacableMan, capable of surviving alone in the Norwegian mountains and easily performing neck twists on his victims.

* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Martha described Clark as a sickly child who was weak and struggled so hard to breath they were constantly afraid he was on the brink of death when they put him down at night to sleep. They kept him inside for fear of what he might contract in the outside world. It wasn't until they had exhausted all their ideas that they gambled on taking him outside and letting him sit, hoping the country air would strengthen his constitution. Per ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' lore, he draws strength from the Earth's sun and gradually grew strong enough for his powers to start activating.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Ghost the [[WhiteWolvesAreSpecial albino]] [[DireBeast direwolf]] was the [[TheRuntAtTheEnd runt]] of his siblings and only given to Jon because the the healthier ones have been claimed but when he becomes an adult he is the largest of his litter and in the tv adaptation he [[spoiler:is one of only two survivors out of the litter]].

* Pamela Cox's continuation of Creator/EnidBlyton 's 'Malory Towers' series featured Bonnie Meadows, a small sickly girl who proves to be extremely smart, talented and determined. Her character is one of the strongest of the main cast, which causes trouble as people often underestimate her.

* In ''Series/That70sShow'', the gang gets a visit from an old schoolmate who had asthma and scoliosis, but is now a healthy, handsome young man. Eric gets jealous when Donna takes a liking to him.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Gorgers are weak and sickly [[OurOgresAreHungrier ogre]] infants thrown into tunnels beneath the mountains because the tribe dosen't want them, eventually they grow into aggressive scavengers that eat anything in their path and some ogres even utilize them in warfare.

* In ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings 2'' babies can get born with the Sickly Infant trait. This does not prevent them from gaining the Brawny trait or from acquiring a high level martial education when grown up.

* ''VideoGame/Destiny2'': [[BigBad Ghaul]] has this as his backstory. As a child, he was outcast from Cabal society due to being a runt and albino. In the present day, he towers over the (already very large) other members of his species, and rules their society after killing his way to the top. However, it's implied that he still suffers from an InferioritySuperiorityComplex, hence his insistence on earning the Traveler's approval rather than just taking its power by force (which he has the technology to do).

* Adonis of ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' was quite weak and sickly as a child but grew up to become very physically strong. Due to understanding what it's like to be vulnerable he has a strong desire to protect the weak, and often encourages others to exercise more and eat more meat so they will become stronger, too.

* [[TheDragon Tsavo]] from ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' was [[http://hyenafu.tumblr.com/post/157694646799/i-usually-try-to-avoid-answering-questions-about a weak child]] who was frequently beaten by the other young orphaned demons but he eventually grew into one of the most dangerous and highly ranked members of [[LegionsOfHell hell's army]] who's work is integral to [[spoiler:capturing living angels [[HumanSacrifice to use]] to bring more demons to Medius]].

* Famed American college football coach Bobby Bowden contracted rheumatic fever as a boy. He was bedridden for roughly ''a year,'' and was told he would never participate in sports again. He refused to accept the first diagnosis, and went on to play not only football, but also baseball and track at the collegiate level, earning "Little All American" honors as quarterback.

* UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, who was sickly and asthmatic as a child and who embraced a strenuous lifestyle to overcome this, becoming a MemeticBadass in the process.

* [[TheProtagonist Marcus]] from ''Literature/DarkShores'' was a sickly child, plagued by fits, and nobody really thought that he would survive in the legions. He grew up to be an accomplished warrior and military leader, highly respected by his legion, although his fits return from time to time (they seem to be partly allergic and partly triggered by emotions).

* In ''Discworld/TheShepherdsCrown'', Geoffrey's {{familiar}} Mephistopheles is a goat who was abandoned by its mother for being too sickly; Geoffrey carefully nursed it back to health, whereupon it became a strong and ferocious yet extremely loyal goat, and also intelligent enough to learn human speech and such tricks as being able to count.

* In ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' Lucky apparently dies shortly after birth and only a strange bit of spur-of-the-moment first aid from Roger brings him back. After recovering he becomes the most wilful and adventurous of the 15 original puppies.
* In the two Disney ''{{Disney/Bambi}}'' [[Disney/{{Bambi II}} films]], Bambi is portrayed as very meek and slow to adapt compared to other fawns such as Faline, and gains a [[TraumaButton form of PTSD]] from the death of his mother by hunters. Under the care and tutoring of the Great Prince however, he starts proving more exceptionally athletic and wilful, becoming the only of the young animals able to stand up to [[TheBully Ronno]] and even overcome his TraumaButton to protect a doe from hunting dogs. By the time he is a young buck, he is a full grown badass (if still an {{Adorkable}} one), and takes his place as the next Great Prince of the Forest.

* In the ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' film, Lucky was a CompositeCharacter of Lucky from the books and an AdaptedOut female named "Cadpig", with Cadpig being the runt who was nearly born stillborn in the book. Lucky was made into a DecompositeCharacter in ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatiansTheSeries'' when Cadpig was brought back. Cadpig is a small puppy but is a SuperStrongChild.

Not every badass starts out that way. This trope is when a powerful character is shown to have been an [[IllGirl Ill Child]] growing up. It often serves to make the character seem even more impressive -- since they've had to overcome adversity, thus demonstrating their willpower and drive -- and also more sympathetic -- since they were, at least at one point, an underdog.

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* ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'': [[TheBigBadWolf Bigby Wolf]] was the [[TheRuntAtTheEnd tiny runt]] of his litter and [[BigBrotherBully his brothers]] called him The Big Bad Wolf [[IronicNickname to mock him]]. After his mother died and his brothers dispersed he was unable to protect his mother's body from scavengers so he made a vow that each thing he killed would be bigger than the last, this eventually caused him to grow into an [[CanisMajor elephant sized wolf]] that went on the kill hundreds and he even took his brothers insulting name [[AppropriatedAppellation as his own]].

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* ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'': One of the earliest characters you are introduced to in the game is Wally, a sickly boy, who is implied to have breathing issues, most likely asthma. He is going to live with his uncle and aunt in Verdanturf Town and you accompany him as he catches his first Pokémon, a Ralts, to be his companion. Later on, you meet him and he's doing better and he attempts to challenge the Mauville Gym (with only his Ralts) but you defeat him before he gets the chance. The next time you encounter him, he managed to make it to Victory Road and he has nearly a full team of strong Pokémon, effectively replacing Brendan/May as the main rival character. In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', by the end he has one of the strongest team of Pokémon in the game and appears in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'''s Battle Tree alongside other very strong trainers like Red and Cynthia.

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* Yuki Sohma from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' suffered from severe respiratory problems when he was younger (and he'll occasionally have asthma attacks when under emotional stress). As a teenager, he's largely recovered from his illnesses and is an even stronger martial artist than Kyo, who can never beat him despite being more passionate about martial arts than Yuki is.

* Adonis of ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' grew up rather weak and sickly but grew up to become very physically strong. Due to understanding what it's like to be vulnerable he has a strong desire to protect the weak, and often encourages others to exercise more and eat more meat so they will become stronger, too.