History Main / SuperWeaponAverageJoe

* The VideoGame/MaxPayne series has only a few types of enemies (mobsters of various ethnicities, [=MIBs=], black ops and this is all) but they differ by the weapon they wield. So even a puny Mafia soldier becomes dangerous if he's equipped with a powerful weapon like a sniper rifle or an M79 grenade launcher.

* In VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising, [[spoiler:Dyntos makes Pit pass through three trials in order to test that he's worthy of wielding the Great Sacred Treasure, because such a powerful weapon in the wrong hands could be devastating. It's powerful enough to ''kill the god of the Underworld'', after all.]]

* In ''RoboCop'' the criminal gang working for the BigBad is easily neutralized and arrested by the titular cyborg. When they are later freed from jail, they are given military-grade anti-tank weapons and become a credible threat to the hero.

*** Captain America [[AvertedTrope tries to]] call this on Iron Man, suggesting that the later relies too heavily on his [[PowerArmor high-tech suit of armor]] (this after Stark says "everything 'super' about [the Captain] [[SuperSerum came out of a syringe]]"). Tony [[DeadpanSnarker immediately counters]] that he's still a [[GadgeteerGenius genius]] [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob billionaire playboy philanthropist]].

** In ''Film/TheAvengers'', Agent Phil Coulson, a non-powered special agent, grabs a {{BFG}} that had been built by reverse engineering from the Destroyer Armor in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and uses it against the BigBad. However, how "average" he is is [[BadassNormal up for grabs]], seeing as he works for {{SHIELD}}.

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* In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', in the midst of the jailbreak from the Hydra facility, Dernier picks up a tesseract-powered energy weapon dropped by a dead GasMaskMooks. Jim Morita asks him, "Do you know how to use that thing?" Dernier fires a wild shot, then proceeds to use the gun to begin decimating HYDRA troops.
* In ''Film/TheAvengers'', Agent Phil Coulson, a non-powered special agent, grabs a {{BFG}} that had been built from the Destroyer Armor in ''Film/{{Thor}}'' and uses it against the BigBad: an Asgardian god of evil!
** The "[[Film/MarvelOneShots Marvel One-Shot]]" short on the Blu-ray, ''Item 47'', features a young OutlawCouple that found an alien arm cannon left over from the movie's battle and started robbing banks with it.

** The "Marvel One-Shot" short on the DVD, ''Item 47'', features a young couple that found an alien arm cannon left over from the movie's battle and started robbing banks with it.

* The aged Altair pulls this off twice in ''AssassinsCreedRevelations''. First, he assassinates Abbas using his newly-fashioned hidden gun, and later on fends off a Mongol siege using the Apple of Eden.

* In ''The Two Swords'' by R.A. Salvatore a mundane orc comes to possess [[EmpathicWeapon Khazid'hea]] and goes on a killing spree. Up until he runs into Drizzt.

* In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', one of the POW's liberated from the HYDRA facility picks up a tesseract-powered energy weapon dropped by a dead GasMaskMooks. Jim Morita asks him, "Do you know how to use that thing?" The POW promptly fires a wild shot, then proceeds to use the gun to begin decimating HYDRA troops.

* In VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising, [[spoiler:Dyntos makes Pit pass through three trials in order to test that he's worthy of wielding the Great Sacred Treasure, because such a powerful weapon in the wrong hands could be devestating. It's powerful enough to ''kill the god of the Underworld'', after all.]]

* In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', one of the POW's liberated from the HYDRA facility picks up a tesseract-powered energy weapon dropped by a dead {{Gas Mask Mook}}s. Jim Morita asks him, "Do you know how to use that thing?" The POW promptly fires a wild shot, then proceeds to use the gun to begin decimating HYDRA troops.

* In ''CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', one of the POW's liberated from the HYDRA facility picks up a tesseract-powered energy weapon dropped by a dead [[GasMaskMooks GasMaskMook]]. Jim Morita asks him, "Do you know how to use that thing?" The POW promptly fires a wild shot, then proceeds to use the gun to begin decimating HYDRA troops.

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* The wielders of the cursed artifacts in ''Series:FridayThe13thTheSeries''.

* In CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger, one of the POW's liberated from the HYDRA facility picks up a tesseract-powered energy weapon dropped by a dead GasMaskMook. Jim Morita asks him, "Do you know how to use that thing?" The POW promptly fires a wild shot, then proceeds to use the gun to begin decimating HYDRA troops.

* ''Literature/SixthColumn'''s plot revolves around this trope - a group of six ordinary American soldiers and scientists manage to overthrow an Asian occupation by using recently invented horrendously powerful {{Doomsday Device|s}} that grant them near-omnipotence.

Some characters aren't really cut out to be dangerous combatants. Maybe they lost the SuperPowerLottery, or grew old and weak, or just were never intended to be more than {{Mook}}s in the first place.

* In CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger, one of the POW's liberated from the HYDRA facility picks up a tesseract-powered energy weapon dropped by a dead Mook. Jim Morita asks him, "Do you know how to use that thing?" The POW promptly fires a wild shot, then proceeds to use the gun to begin decimating HYDRA troops.

* One ''{{Transformers}}'' episode had [[BigBad Megatron]] getting locked in his alternate mode (as a gun) and being used by a random crook.

* Yukino Agoria from ''FairyTail'' is a stellar spirit mage, with two Golden Keys and [[spoiler: the legendary key of Ophiucus]], but without those three keys, she's completely harmless.

* A published ''{{Pathfinder}}'' adventure for levels 1-2 features as its final boss a level 2 cleric wielding a +2 flaming greataxe, which a PC could usually not hope to afford until at least 7th level.
* Early editions of ''DungeonsAndDragons''. More than one Dungeon Master lost control of his game when he let a low level wizard/mage {{PC}} obtain a powerful magic item such as a fully charged Wand of Lightning or Wand of Fire. The wizard/mage usually went on a killing spree, slaughtering all opponents the party met until the charges ran out.

* ''{{NetHack}}'' fans know this phenomenon as "The Gnome with the Wand of Death". Gnomes are early game pushover monsters, but like other humanoids and the player, they are smart enough to use wands - including the titular OneHitKill Wand of Death.

* ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'': Grunts. GasMaskMooks and eternal ButtMonkey species of the entire series. They turn incredibly deadly when equipped with the [[{{BFG}} Fuel Rod Gun]].

* In ''SuperPaperMario'', there's one [[{{Mook}} Koopa Troopa]] that realizes it can take the invincibility-granting starman powerup for itself. [[SubvertedTrope Unfortunately,]] the powered-up Troopa is still vulnerable to [[KryptoniteFactor certain attacks]], unlike a star-powered PlayerCharacter.

* An episode of ''BatmanBeyond'' had [[GangOfHats The Jokerz]] get hold of an experimental fighter aircraft. It was powered by an unstable reactor (which is why the pilots had to ditch it), meaning Terry had to get it back from them before it exploded.

* TheSandman: a very creepy character is gets the ability to manipulate dreams and people thanks to Dream's jewel. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain When he destroys it, all Dream's power goes rushing back into him.]]

* A published ''{{Pathfinder}}'' adventure for levels 1-2 features as its final boss a level 2 cleric wielding a 2 flaming greataxe, which a PC could usually not hope to afford until at least 7th level.