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The space between Genius Bruiser and Badass Bookworm

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TMH-Sir-Iron-Vomit The clown of STEEL from Ichnusa Since: Mar, 2024
The clown of STEEL
#1: Aug 14th 2024 at 11:45:23 AM

Genius Bruiser and Badass Bookworm. Two tropes that, on the surface, seem pretty much identical, but they actually have a valid, and fairly intuitive difference: a Genius Bruiser is obviously strong and then reveals themselves to be intelligent as well; a Badass Bookworm looks like an average nerd and is a surprisingly proficient fighter.

But what happens when the line is blurred?

Let's imagine a character that: has an Heroic Build, is a very skilled melee fighter, and finds it engaging, but also worked as an astronaut, with an expertise in physics and chemistry, studies linguistics as an hobby, and reflects upon the meaning of conflict as well.
Would it count as a Genius Bruiser, or a Badass Bookworm?

He's probably too brawly to count for the latter, so he might fit better as the former... even if he isn't as broad as three wardrobes and weigh like a small house?

Oo oo ah ah
EmeraldSource Since: Jan, 2021
#2: Aug 14th 2024 at 7:38:07 PM

They are not necessarily exclusive, it's just a matter of what a work wants to emphasize in the moment. You see a character in a boxing match, then you learn they have a masters degree in chemistry. Next episode shows them in a cardigan reading a science journal and suddenly has to defend themselves from a ninja attack. Beast from X-Men is a great example of a character who can embody both elements.

Comics are just words and pictures. You can do anything with words and pictures.
KnightofLsama Since: Sep, 2010
#3: Aug 15th 2024 at 4:59:15 PM

I would argue that Genius Bruiser is a sub-trope of Badass Bookworm where the emphasis is specifically on their physicality.

You can have other types who depending on their presentation might count as a Badass Bookworm for their learning but fall more into the Squishy Wizard or Glass Cannon archetype where they can't really mix-it up in a close-up fight.

Sid-Starkiller Since: Jan, 2021
#4: Aug 16th 2024 at 7:13:22 AM

[up]Pretty much this, I don't think I could word it any better

Aquillion Since: Jan, 2001
#5: Aug 18th 2024 at 6:42:19 PM

I dunno. Saying that Genius Bruiser is a subtrope of Badass Bookworm means that you're asserting there are no Genius Bruisers who are not also Badass Bookworms. I don't think that's true at all - in fact, I think most genius bruisers aren't.

A Badass Bookworm has to be, well, a bookworm. They are not simply smart; they have particular aspects and signifiers of Hollywood intelligence as core parts of their character. They're geeky - non-geeky characters don't fall under that trope, so if the character doesn't pursue stereotypical geeky / bookworm pursuits or have geeky / bookworm signifiers, then Badass Bookworm will never apply, no matter how smart they are.

Conversely, a Genius Bruiser is often defined by lacking those signifiers - they're often someone you would mistake for Dumb Muscle at first but who are nonetheless very intelligent.

As an example, Jagganoth, from Kill Six Billion Demons, is a 30-foot-tall physically invulnerable tyrant who is perhaps the strongest physical being in the setting; he's also incredibly intelligent and this is a major part of his character, so he's a Genius Bruiser. But at no point is he ever portrayed as a bookworm; in fact, anyone who saw his appearance would immediately understand his physical power but would probably assume he's Dumb Muscle. It's always his intelligence that is surprising, never his strength.

They're distinct tropes with that intersect, not subtropes.

And if I had to make one a subtrope of the other, I would say that Badass Bookworm is a subtrope of Genius Bruiser, not the other way around. The initial perception of someone as a bookworm, who turns out to be unexpectedly strong, is central to Badass Bookworm, whereas I do think it's possible to be a Genius Bruiser just by being strong and smart, without any other considerations.

But I don't think Badass Bookworm could be the supertrope - no way. It's too narrow for that; there are unquestionably a lot of Genius Bruiser characters that aren't even in the same area code as being a Badass Bookworm.

Edited by Aquillion on Aug 18th 2024 at 6:46:27 AM

SharkToast Since: Mar, 2013
#6: Sep 2nd 2024 at 12:59:11 PM

I feel like part of the issue is that Badass is a trope that attracts frequent misuse and is used very nebulously, often not even referring to physical ability. Like, a character who is able to defeat their enemies by tricking them into fighting each other might be described as Badass. The thing is, in that scenario, it isn't unexpected for an intelligent character to outwit their opponents.

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