Tropes again: "Badass Normal"

[krait]

gramarye1971 suggested the "Badass Normal" trope, where an unenhanced character holds their own against superpowered or supernatural competition.

This is another trope that I really don't think about as a thing in itself, but I definitely have a number of canons where it features!


Okay, first: Fullmetal Alchemist is full of these! In a world where alchemists can burn people to death at a hundred yards by snapping their fingers or opening a rift in the ground, and manmade 'people' who can be ripped apart and knit themselves together, we also have a bunch of characters who keep up with them without alchemy. Olivier Armstrong is an incredible swordswoman and commands one of the hardest garrisons in Amestris. Hawkeye is a crack marksman and has saved the life of her alchemist commander multiple times. Prince Ling is possessed by a centuries-old alchemical entity, and repeatedly takes back control from it; not to mention he's a superb martial artist.

Second: Commander Vimes of the Discworld Night Watch has gone up against dragons, mad golems, political conspiracies, a violent rebellion, manhunting fascist werewolves, an entire war, and a millennia-old supernatural entity of vengeance. He's a former alcoholic from a poor family whose preferred weapons are a badge, a truncheon, a pair of cheap boots, and a set of brass knuckles in reserve in a back pocket. Toward the end of the series, we find out that the Assassin's Guild no longer accepts contracts on him, but they send their students out on mock missions against him as a test. So far none have passed.

Third: Homestuck has several of these! Most notable might be Karkat Vantas - he's surrounded on one side by low-caste trolls with phenomenal psychic powers, and on the other with high-caste trolls who have super-strength, psychic invulnerability, and near-immortality. Karkat has none of the advantages of either group, and on top of that he's a mutant in a culture that culls mutants. (Actually, this brings up a question! Does a character like this count toward the Badass Normal trope, or does it fall into a separate category? Being a mutant means Karkat's not just disadvantaged compared to the more powerful characters, he's disadvantaged compared to everyone, which feels like it might disqualify him for the "Normal" part of the trope...?)

Nepeta Leijon is in a similar position, minus the mutant bit; a relatively low-caste troll with no psionic abilities, Nepeta hunts and kills deadly wild animals with clawed gloves. (Okay, her 'mom' is an enormous alien feline, which probably helps with learning great hunting skills, but still. By contrast, highblooded Eridan hunts with an energy rifle.) It takes an actually immortal high-caste troll with psychic fear powers to kill her, and she's distracted by having just watched her friends die. Of Gamzee's six (I think) victims, she's also the only one who manages to land a blow on him; she slashes his face with her claws, which means she was still fighting while in arm's reach of a larger, stronger, fear-projecting murderous highblood.

Oh, and I thought of a fourth example! I ultimately disliked the series and gave up on it after eight books, but Karrin Murphy from the Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher qualifies. Harry Dresden is a wizard; he tangles with elves, werewolves, vampires, and evil magicians. Karrin's a cop and a martial artist, but she holds her own with Harry and the various entities they encounter.


More arguable examples would include:
* Vladimir Taltos, who has magical talents (common to every citizen of the Empire) but is shorter, weaker, and with a fraction of the lifespan of the Empire's other citizens, not to mention a second-class citizen on account of his race. He powers up over the course of the books, though.
*Mei Changsu, who had incredible martial arts skills and noble status, but after his illness is no longer able to fight and is presumed dead. By dint of persuasion, manipulation, and sheer stubbornness he manages to overthrow two princes and overrule an Emperor.


Since I'm not accustomed to thinking about this trope as a distinct thing, I'm very interested in hearing your thoughts and recs. What characters do you consider prime examples? Where do you draw the line for "normal," especially for characters who have long-running arcs that lead to significant increases in power/skill?

Comments

[krait]

Saten Ruiko sounds like an absolutely delightful character! I have always had a fondness for characters who don't hesitate to apply a blunt instrument to a high-tech problem. :D

It reminds me of the bit in Going Postal with the inspector who went in and beat the eldritch Sorter to death:

The machine couldn't be stopped and certainly shouldn't be destroyed, the wizard said. Destroying the machine might well cause this universe to stop existing, instantly.

On the other hand, the Post Office was filling up, so one day Chief Postal Inspector Rumbelow had gone into the room with a crowbar, had ordered all the wizards out, and belted the machine until things stopped whirring.

The letters ceased, at least. This came as a huge relief, but nevertheless, the Post Office had its Regulations, and so the chief postal inspector was brought before Postmaster Cowerby and asked why he had decided to risk destroying the whole universe in one go.

According to Post Office legend, Mr. Rumbelow had replied: 'Firstly, sir, I reasoned that if I destroyed the universe all in one go, no one would know; secondly, when I walloped the thing the first time, the wizards ran away, so I surmised that unless they has another universe to run to they weren't really certain; and lastly, sir, the bloody thing was getting on my nerves. Never could stand machinery, sir.'

Pratchett is good at this kind of character, even as a background detail. <3