The Big Guy

Shown with The Lancer for scale.
"Less talking, more hitting!"
—Hawkgirl, Justice League

The Big Guy is essentially the powerhouse of the Five-Man Band. They are usually incredibly and unflinchingly loyal, and often they are the largest member and even more effective in combat than The Hero or The Lancer. They will often be the point man, they cause a disturbance and hold off the Mooks while The Hero challenges the Big Bad. Of course, against stronger enemies they might end up suffering The Worf Effect; getting trounced to set up the villain as a credible threat for The Hero.

Usually what holds them back from leadership is being Dumb Muscle, they know how to knock heads together but don't do much in the way of strategy. While The Hero and The Lancer fight side-by-side, The Big Guy is a One-Man Army.

The Big Guy on the Five-Man Band can be subdivided into five classes:

Powers and skills common to the big guy are:

This bandmate is rarely a woman, unless the whole team is women. The Big Girl can be classified into three subspecies:

  • The Cute Bruiser: she who packs a surprising amount of punch. Traditionally a little girl, but can be stretched to any woman who is not obviously of amazonian stature. May be a martial artist or some other form of athlete. In cases of truly ridiculous strength, she may be a cyborg, Robot Girl, mutant, alien, possess Charles Atlas Superpower, or have some other justification for unusual power. Usually just as cute and/or pretty as more typical female characters. Male versions of a cute bruiser exist too.
  • Alternatively and more unusually, she's a Giantess, and thus plainly strong. She's rarely masculine but rarely conventionally attractive. (There's also nothing stopping her from being a robot, mutant, alien, etc. It's just that the surprise is gone.)
  • Somewhat more rare is the Amazon: She's big, she's strong, she's hot, and drooled over by men (and sometimes Even the Girls Want Her. On the romance level, she often either is admired AND feared because of her strength or only be willing to yield to a a really powerful male who is able to beat her in battle.

An exuberant Big Girl is either a Boisterous Bruiser or Genki Girl. If she's instead a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, her softer side is often a secret cache of feminine traits or one particularly girlish habit, which may make her embarrassed when found out.

Besides gender, the most common way to subvert the trope is when the Big Guy is actually physically short, slim, or unimposing - and yet his strength comes with raw determination or intensity. (Or possibly supernatural means)

The Five-Bad Band's Evil Counterpart is The Brute. Not to be confused with that other Big Guy.

Can have some overlap with Scary Black Man and the Proud Warrior Race Guy.

Often a victim of Big Guy Fatality Syndrome.

Examples of The Big Guy include:

Anime and Manga

  • Android Sixteen of Dragonball Z falls into the Gentle Giant category, as while previously enjoying nature and taking on the role of a Friendly Enemy he does a Heel Face Turn and subsequently attempts to destroy Cell, who is threatening the peace of the planet.
  • Slayers: Idiot Hero Gourry Gabriev fits this trope to a T, being a powerful swordsman with no magical abilities.
  • Kugayama from Genshiken, who's a Gentle Giant.
  • Hap from Eureka Seven.
    • Hap is more of a Smart Guy who just happens to be big. He's almost completely non action, for example, and mostly serves as Gekko-gou navigator and Holland's administrative assistant.
  • Donny,from Baccano!!
    • Sometimes he isn't SO gentle...
  • Mori from Ouran High School Host Club.
  • Akira has a rare female example in Chiyoko—she's well over six feet tall and carries a heavy machine gun just about everywhere. When she runs out of bullets, she'll happily bludgeon her enemies to death with a bazooka rocket. No bazooka, mind--just the rocket, used as a club.
  • Sanji from One Piece is the big guy for the Strawhat Pirates.
    • You could also argue that he's The Lancer and Zoro is The Big Guy.
    • Chopper in his human form, but it seems to be officially Franky now.
  • Chad from Bleach.
    • Chad is a class 2 Big Guy, while Tessai is a class five. The latter is equally proficent with 90 level kido as with his fists.
  • Kuwabara in Yu Yu Hakusho is a subversion; despite being the most physically imposing of his team, he's actually the weakest member. Of course, his sheer determination and willpower by far overshadows the rest of his team combined.
    • Alternatively, Hiei could be seen as the big guy, with Kuwabara as more The Lancer, despite Hiei's size.
  • Arale from Dr. Slump is a textbook example of a Super Powered Robot Meter Maid.
  • Kagura from Gintama.
  • Ghost in the Shell has Batou. Large, strong and gruff, with a long military history. Tougasa's nickname for him is Big Guy.
  • Chouji Akimichi from Naruto is a Class 2 example.
  • Black☆Star from Soul Eater, while not exactly big in size,DOES rely on force and his ego IS big,so . . .
  • Millie Thompson from Trigun is an example of the "Giantess" version of the Big Girl.
  • A female example who's not at all feminine: Jeanie of Rune Soldier Louie, who towers over her teammates and could be mistaken for a guy if not for the sports-bra-like top. (Of course, opinions vary.)
  • From Beet the Vandel Buster: Bluezam, the wielder of the Boltic Axe in the hunting group 'The Zenon Warriors'. His status as 'the big guy' is emphasized when Beet is seen wielding the Boltic Axe for the first time. The weapon is so large and unwieldy (for the small Beet) that misses in combat tend to destroy walls, rocks and any teammates who might be nearby.
  • Aisha from Outlaw Star is a rare example of a female Big Guy outside of an Amazon Brigade.
  • Takashi "Jumbo" Takeda from Yotsuba&!, probably in an attempt to make the cute protagonist look even cuter.
  • In Suzumiya Haruhi, Yuki Nagato's true 'position' (Haruhi sees her as The Smart Guy) is most likely a form of the Cute Bruiser. Compare Superpower Lottery - She can do just about anything. But when she can't do something (Haruhi's powers at full action, Snow Mountain Syndrome chapter) you know it means trouble, which is The Worf Effect in a distorted way.
    • And of course subverted with Koizumi, whom Haruhi believes to be The Big Guy, but really isn't.
      • Alternate wisdom suggests that Kyon is the The Big Guy, with Itsuki being The Lancer
  • Thorkell of Vinland Saga goes by the epitaph 'The Tall'. He's a seven feet tall Axe Crazy Blood Knight Boisterous Bruiser who isn't above a little Kick the Dog action. His men believe he's the Avatar of Thor.
  • Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop is a textbook Class 3 Big Guy. He is also Class 5, filling in as The Smart Guy before Ed came along.
  • Sweden from Axis Powers Hetalia is a Class 3 Big Guy. Russia looks like a Class 2, but is violently unstable and feared by many of the other characters.
    • Alternatively, if you see the Nordics as a Five-Man Band Sweden switches to The Lancer to Finland's Hero, with Denmark becoming The Big Guy.
    • Or if Denmark is The Hero, Sweden remains The Big Guy or can be seen as The Lancer.
    • South Korea is class 4.
    • While Thailand's height is not revealed and his physical appearance is more on the middle ground, his personality make him definately class 2.
  • Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon fits the second form of The Big Girl.
  • Utu and Coopa from The Tower of Druaga.
  • If anyone from Gunsmith Cats fit this trope, it'd be Bean. He leans towards a Class 2, given his soft spot for children.
  • Briareos of Appleseed probably fits into Class 3.
  • Guts, the protagonist of Berserk, is a Class 1 Big Guy who is very much The Berserker, particularly after the Eclipse. Pippin from the Band of the Hawk during the Golden Age arc was a Class 2.
  • Randel Oland of Pumpkin Scissors. In fact, Oreldo even calls him that.
  • Satella in Chrono Crusade serves this role in the team (although Chrono probably would if his powers weren't normally sealed). Combining Class 1 with the Hot Amazon, Satella is the most powerful of the team because she's the most experienced, and a "jewel witch" that uses gems to summon servants to fight for her—including a large, knight-shaped crystal golem.
  • Kurogane from Tsubasa Chronicle, tallest and physically strongest of the Five-Man Band, who carries a big sword. Starts out as a Class 1, but is revealed to be more of a Class 3.
  • G-5 - Ryu "the Owl" Nakanishi from Gatchaman. Of the Class 2 variety. Though he actually isn't very tall, he is quite bulky and very strong (but not inhumanly so). He regularly employs sumo-like techniques in his fighting style.
  • Kiddy Phenil of Silent Moebius is a Class 4 girl, a Hollywood Cyborg who relies on strength and a Hand Cannon to bring down demons. Tends to get beat up a lot.
  • Kurita Ryokan of Eyeshield 21 is this for the Deimon Devilbats as well as a very Gentle Giant.
  • Pete from Murder Princess is a Gentle Giant who won't hesitate to crush a few skulls for his partners and friends.
  • In Fairy Tail Erza fits this role as an Action Girl and a Lady of War.
  • Mahou Sensei Negima has several, due to having Loads and Loads of Characters- Kaede, Ku Fei, Mana, Chachamaru, and occasionally Asuna and Kotaro when they're not being The Lancer.
  • Psyren has Genius Bruiser Hiryu, and Boisterous Bruiser Kyle for the Elmore kids.
  • Darker than Black has several, generally one in each of its various organizations. On Hei's team, Huang is a quite good Class 3 example, being a gruff ex-cop who is a skilled sniper. On the Japanese police, Kirihara's second-in-command Saitou, who is a friendly, kind of bumbling guy who occasionally shows an impressive skills with firearms. Amagiri, Amber's Dragon has a Class 3 personality, being a generally pretty quiet guy who doesn't hurt people when he doesn't have to. When he does though, he can crush a person like an egg with his concussive force powers. Genma in the second season seems like a Class 4 at first, but he's really The Brute and a total psycho.
  • Gain from Doraemon takes this role in the movies where he isn't a local Jerk Jock.
  • Sango from Inuyasha fills this role in the group despite being neither big nor a guy by being the strongest member just after Inuyasha, able to throw that giant boomerang of hers like it's a toy.
  • With the arrival of Saito in the Kyoto Arc, Sanosuke from Rurouni Kenshin becomes this. He's still considered Kenshin's partner in battle, but is a lot more power based than either Kenshin or Saito.
  • G Gundam has Argo Gulskii, a Class 5. He pilots the Bolt Gundam, a heavily armored machine employing brute strength, but uses that strength creatively and in one episode immediately sees through the enemy's diversion.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's has Crow Hogan, the second Turbo Duelist on Yusei's team.
    • The original Yu-Gi-Oh! has Tristan Taylor. On a team full of people who save the world through card games, he'll just punch you in the face.
  • Goh of Saint Beast can contend with Judas for strength. His first plan when he became an adult angel was to go and punch down some trees.


Comic Books

  • In the Dynamo 5, this role is shared by Scrap and Scatterbrain. Scrap is a Cute Bruiser, while Scatterbrain has sheer size on his side (he's a star football player.)
  • "Gothic Lolita" from Adam Warren's short-lived Livewires miniseries is a textbook Cute Bruiser.
  • Jerom, from Suske en Wiske (Spike and Suzy), would be a typical example of a Class 2 character, save for the fact that he's a bit stocky.
  • Ben aka The Thing of the Fantastic Four.
    • She-Hulk when she was with the team as well
  • Piotr aka Colossus of the X-Men is the poster child for Class 2, who replaced Class 5 Genius Bruiser Hank McCoy / The Beast when he first appeared. Sometimes they're both on the team together...at which point the bad guys should generally start running.
  • "Strong Guy" of X-Factor, whose name came from him explicitly Lampshade Hanging this trope during a press conference.
  • Atom Smasher (formerly Nuklon) was the Big Guy and Gentle Giant for the original Infinity, Inc., an incarnation of the Justice League of America and much of the Justice Society of America, until he did a Face Heel Turn (he later turned back). His godbrother Damage has more or less taken up this role in the current JSA, who until Gog repaired his face was definitely a Class 1. Atom Smasher is presumably a reserve member and still drops in on occasion, usually when the team takes on Black Adam.
  • Vlad in Hack Slash is a classic Class 3.
  • Whenever the Hulk teams up with other heroes, he generally fulfills this role.
    • The exception being the Warbound, where Hulk is the Leader and Korg is the Big Guy.
  • Molly from Runaways is a very typical Cute Bruiser.
  • Channon Yarrow of Transmetropolitan is a relatively subtle Big Girl—to be fair, being physically imposing by comparison with Spider Jerusalem isn't that hard. Still, she doesn't easily fit into any of the subtropes.
  • Apollo of The Authority, the team's calm, cheerful Flying Brick.
  • Hulkling in Young Avengers is a Class 2.
  • Marv was designed to be one of these. In Frank Miller's words: "Conan in a trenchcoat". He's seven feet tall, hes at least four feet wide, he's big and boisterous and strong. When he teams up with Dwight in "A Dame To Kill For" it's especially apparent.
  • Bully, a non-nazi skinhead from German comic Rudi.
  • Kilowog is this among the Green Lantern Corps.
  • Though only three-apples tall, The Smurfs have Hefty in the comics and the cartoon show and Gutsy in the live-action movie.


Film


Literature

  • Where else but Discworld?
    • In the Guards storylines, initially Carrot is a Class 2, verging on (in a very strange way) Class 5.
    • Later, Detritus the troll gets in as a Class 1, Class 5 if you get him cold enough, followed up by Reginald Shoe as a Class 4 and then the golem, Dorfl.
    • In the Witches storyline it's either Jason Ogg or Greebo.
    • For the Wizards it's the Librarian or Ridcully.
  • Tazendra from Steven Brust's Khaavren trilogy. She's considered very attractive. In the trilogy's homage to The Three Musketeers, she fills Porthos' role among the four Phoenix Guards.
  • Bear from Genesis of Shannara Armageddon's Children. He is described as the biggest and strongest member of the Ghosts.
  • Victor Cachat from Honor Harrington is a Class 2 with both subversions: he's a Cute Bruiser and Genius Bruiser at the same time, his Sue'ness notwithstanding.
    • He's also the almost invariably the most physically unassuming man in any gathering. Which only serves to make him more dangerous.
    • His longtime buddy Anton Zilwicki is a Class 1 (his daughter called him Daddy Dour on occasion), while being only a Genius Bruiser all along.
    • And then there's Honor herself, who at her 188 cm and 90 kg of solid muscle is definitely a Hot Amazon, and was explicitly said to have been a Huge Schoolgirl in her youth. Is a combination of Class 1 and Class Type 2 with a Class 5 and a good dose of The Fettered and Heroic Sociopath mixed in for further confusion.
  • Brion Stoutarm in the novelization of Magic: The Gathering's Lorwyn cycle, who is a literal 30-foot giant. He's also a Boisterous Bruiser. His brother Kiel is even bigger, but doesn't fight as much.
  • Subversion: "Try Again" Bragg of Warhammer 40,000: GauntsGhosts Gaunt's Ghosts. Looks like a Class 2 at first to everyone who meets him, but actually quite intelligent. The plot point of one of the stories in the second novel revolves around Gaunt choosing him for a mission because everyone assumes that he must be dumb because he's big. Also played with in Ezrah, who is very tall but is lanky rather than brutish.
  • Bigwig from Watership Down.
    • Also Silver, Holly, Blackavar and Buckthorn.
  • Glen Cook's Garrett, P.I. novels have several of these, most notably Waldo "Saucerhead" Tharpe and female Boisterous Bruiser Winger.
  • Chumley from the Myth Adventures series is a class 3, with a moderate dose of class 5 also. Moreover, as Trolls like him have long found that acting like Dumb Muscle gets them more jobs, his entire race (or at least the male half of it) consists of class 3 Big Guys.
  • Rachel of Animorphs, despite having more feminine tastes than Cassie, is most definitely this.
    • It's by preference at first, and later because the team has become so settled into their respective roles that it becomes impossible for Rachel to escape hers, despite her growing discomfort with it. A fact that she blatantly points out (while simultaneously ripping all of our hearts out) in a later book:

Cassie: What are you going to do with him?
Rachel: There's only one thing I can do. I'm going to take him back to the island and abandon him there again. And this time I'm going to make sure that he never comes back.
Cassie: You can't.
Rachel: I have to. You don't have to stay.
Cassie: Rachel, I don't think you'll be able to do this a second time.
Rachel: (Snapping) You know what, Cassie? I don't think so, either. So will you do it for me?
Cassie: (Taken aback) I...
Rachel: (After a long pause) I didn't think so.

  • Perrin from The Wheel of Time fills this role as a type 2 with occasional 1. He is physically strong since he was a blacksmith, wields an axe and a hammer and is slow-thinking although by no means unintelligent. There's also the Ogier Loial, who fits perfectly into class 2.
    • You've also got Birgitte as an Amazon.
  • In Eragon, When they are on the "good" side, the urgals and Kull fulfill this role to the Varden, and Nar Garzhvog temporarily serves as Eragon's bodyguard bruiser.
  • Karrin Murphy of The Dresden Files is The Big Guy despite being tiny and female. She may be five foot nothing and look like a cheerleader, but she will kick your ass. As Sanya puts it, "Tiny, but fierce!"
    • What, The Fist of God Micheal Carpenter doesn't count?
      • Karrin counts when it comes to violence of the non-magical kind, being an expert-shot and Aikido-expert who regularly tosses around cops two or three times her size in her martial arts classes.
    • Harry Dresden himself is extremely tall (for a human), and among wizards he is considered extremely powerful, if somewhat clumsy in the stuff requiring fine control. Thus he frequently calls himself a "magical thug." Considering his compulsive smart-ass attitude, though, he is definitely a Class 5.
  • Also by Jim Butcher, Doroga from the Codex Alera. His chala is a giant badger, more or less; it goes with the territory. Tavi's uncle Bernard is also a big guy, but not so much The Big Guy.
  • Porthos, from The Three Musketeers, a rather Hot-Blooded braggart who is only a little less competent than he claims to be. When he's not posing and showing off, anyway.
  • Lord Goldry Bluszco from E.R. Eddison's The Worm Ouroboros.
  • Johanna is a Class 1 from Catching Fire which tells you a lot about the team
  • Sinai from Black Dogs fits Class 1 to a T. After she leaves, Gunnar takes her place as The Big Guy, who is more of a Class 2.
  • The Guns of Navarone. Andrea Stavros is described as a giant.
  • Charlene from Kingdom Keepers was selected to be a DHI because she was very athletic, making her a Rare Female Example of this trope.
  • Jack Reacher is class five, as he uses his brain when he uses his muscles. His brother comes across as a Class Two, but he really can't fight period.
  • Butler from the Artemis Fowl series. Definitely not dumb muscle, but he certainly qualifies for this trope by taking out an entire first class LEPrecon team on his own and bringing down a bull troll with not much more than his bare hands. He probably fall somewhere around Class 2 to 3.
  • French Sci Fi novel Malevil has Peyssou: big, rowdy, lewd, and uneducated.
  • In Death: David Baxter or Peabody could be placed in this category.
  • In Septimus Heap, Nicko is type 2, being rather strong from his work at a boatyard but also often carrying the Idiot Ball.
  • Ham in Mistborn is a Pewterarm, which means he can burn pewter to make himself stronger and increase his endurance. He also happens to enjoy debating philosophy, making him a Class Five. While Vin and Kelsier can also burn pewter, they also have access to all the other metals, while being the big guy is Ham's only power.
  • Tonk Fah from Warbreaker is this trope, especially in the literal sense. Returned gods also tend to have much bigger builds that also make them stronger.
  • The Belgariad has a Five-Man Band within the Five-Man Band made up of Big Guys. Barak, an enormous Cherek who turns into a bear and fights with an axe in one hand and a sword in the other is The Hero, Hettar, a fast moving cavalryman acts as his Lancer, archer Lelldorin is the Big Chick, religious fanatic Relg is their Smart Guy, and Knight in Shining Armour Sir Mandorallen of Vo Mandor, who kills lions with his bare hands and threatens armies by himself is Big Squared.
  • Ulath in The Elenium is a type 1


Live Action TV

  • Caroline from the Vampire Diaries. She even knocks Damon around like a ragdoll when she gets pissed enough.
  • Teal'c from Stargate SG-1 is a Class 2 with occasional Class 1 leanings.
  • Ronon Dex from Stargate Atlantis is a Class 1. His nickname is even "Chewie".
    • One of the best scenes is Teal'c (who is, at this point, over 100 years old) and Ronon going at each other, while everyone else is making bets. Too bad Carter had to stop the fight.
  • Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Malcolm Reed from "Star Trek: Enterprise" is a Class 5 example as he uses his brains and technical know-how almost as often as his phase pistol.
    • He does engage in a no-holds-barred brawl with the leader of the MACOs.
  • Gunn and Connor from Angel. Gunn tended to get called "the muscle" a lot, and the fear that this meant dumb muscle was a big part of his character arc. Connor was something of a subverted Big Guy, his slight, boyish appearance contrasting with his incredible strength and ferocity.
  • Jayne Cobb from Firefly.
  • Dean Winchester from Supernatural is also a subverted Big Guy. He's tiny compared to Sam and looks girly and vulnerable (those pouty lips, the general pretty-boyness and the huge Bambi eyes) but is an incredibly brutal fighter.
    • And the subversion is kind of unfair in that Jensen Ackles is actually pretty tall. It's just that Jared Padalecki is ridiculously tall.
  • Cameron of The Sarah Connor Chronicles fills in this role, which is ironic, as she is easily the smallest and most waifish person in the entire cast.
  • B.A Baracus from The A-Team.
  • Gan from the first season of Blakes Seven is an interesting variation on the trope; he would count as a classic Class 2 by dint of his backstory, having sought out and killed his wife's murderer -with his bare hands according to Fanon- but he was subsequently implanted with a 'limiter chip' that restricts his aggression. Also a mild subversion on account of being the Big Guy in a series where Gareth Thomas is playing the Hero.
    • Though, to be fair, he is a pretty nice guy anyway (At least compared to some of the others on the show. * coughAvoncough!* )
  • Kelly from Misfits is far more violent and confrontational than any of the males in the group, and was the only one to take decisive action when they were attacked by their Ax Crazy probation worker, killing him single-handedly by knocking him to the floor and kicking his head in, although he was about twice her size. She isn't phsycially large (she's about average height and build) or notably "butch", and does actually have quite a caring and sensitive personality. But she can often seem imposing due to her anger management issues and will blithely maul anyone who insults her - in fact, due to her power of Telepathy, she will occasionally attack people just for thinking something that offends her in some way.
  • Ninjor from the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is a Class 2 Big Guy.
    • Katie from Time Force, who has Super Strength even when she's not morphed thanks to 31st century genetic augmentation. Flynn McAllister from RPM is a Class 2.
      • Adam Park is considered by many to be The Big Guy during his seasons, due to his quietness and all around badassitude. In fact in his Power Rangers Zeo aritcle, he's listed as The Big Guy.
      • Other Power Rangers Big Guys include Kai Chen (Blue Galaxy Ranger), Chad Lee (Blue Lightspeed Ranger), Danny Delgado (Black Bison Ranger), Dustin Brooks (Yellow Wind Ranger), Tommy Oliver (Black Dino Ranger), and Kevin (Blue Samurai Ranger).
  • D'Argo from Farscape.
  • The aptly named Big Guy from Sanctuary.
  • Buffer, and even more so his replacement Dutchy in season 4 of Sea Patrol.
  • Noah's Arc: Alex is a class 4, being outspoken, boisterous and dramatic. Though kind, he is the most aggressive and confrontational of the group when threatened. He is also an Emotional Bruiser.
  • Prison Break: Linc
  • Eliot Spencer from Leverage is a perfect example of this trope, and they make no efforts to hide it either. His label in the show is "The Hitter" (sometimes the The Retrieval Specialist but it all adds up to the same thing), and he handles both the heavy lifting and the violence, to the point where he verges on The Brute on occasion. Interestingly, he is the shortest of the main guys, and than the girls(when in they're in heels).
  • For a twist, it's "Big Gal" for NCIS, with Caitlin Todd the former Secret Service agent, and then currently Ziva David, the former Mossad operative. Both are/were the designated asskickers (though that doesn't prevent the others in the Five-Man Band from doing so).
    • Especially not Abby Sciuto.
  • John Casey from Chuck is also a great example, though Sarah and Chuck function this way to some degree as well. It's really Casey mainly- the guy communicates mostly through grunting.
  • CSI often it's been either Nick or Warrick.
  • CSI: NY usually Don Flack, with occasional Danny Messer as well


Myth

  • Heracles takes on this role when part of an ensemble.


Tabletop Games

  • The special character Nork Deddog in Imperial Guard Codex of Warhammer 40,000 is definitely a Class 2. While he is proud of his many shiny buttons and is a genius in Ogryn terms (N is for Nork), he remains in the Guard because of the content feeling fighting alongside his fellow troopers gives him.


Toys

Video Games

  • Kanna Kirishima from Sakura Taisen, a rare female Big Guy—who is an amazonian musclebound type with rough-hewn manners, but also a cheerful and smiling attitude.
  • The Heavy Weapons Guy of Team Fortress 2 carries a minigun weighing over three hundred pounds which costs $400,000 to fire for twelve seconds and that he cackles insanely while using it in battle. He's most likely to be the Boisterous Bruiser, but if his presence is bigger than his physical size, think how big his presence must be.
    • With the reveals from Poker Night At the Inventory, we can mix type 5 into that... he has a Ph. D. in Russian Literature!
    • While not nearly as massive, the Soldier and Demoman also qualify, as Class-4s.
  • The Sly Cooper series has Murray; the team's strongman and getaway driver. He was more a burden than anything else in the first game, but really came into his own in the 2nd and 3rd games, wherein he was shown singlehandedly knocking the stuffing out of entire armies of mooks, all while chewing the scenery like no one else.
  • Dekao from Rockman.EXE (known as Dex in the American dub).
  • Bowser in Super Mario RPG and Super Paper Mario. He's also the Id in Super Paper Mario's Power Trio. He ping-pongs between being Class 1 and Class 4 -- he's technically a bad guy, and he won't hesitate to remind you of this fact, but he mostly just comes off as obnoxious as opposed to downright evil.
  • Double H in Beyond Good and Evil. He's largely a Class 3 --while he acts quite tough, especially when it gets down to brass tacks, he's quite affable and fun-loving beneath it all.
  • Brick from Borderlands is literally this trope to a Class 1 Berserker tee. Though his motives may wander into Class 2 or 3...
  • Halo Reach's Noble Team heavy weapons trooper Jorge-052. As an older Spartan-II, Jorge is the physically largest Spartan in Noble team standing at 7'4, 320 pounds. He's a Type-2, a Gentle Giant who is markedly more stable than most of his team-mates and has a wide sentimental streak.
    • It should be pointed out that, thanks to their bio-modifications (such as skeletal grafts) and their Powered Armor (those who have it, anyway), all Spartans can count as this. It's just that, compared to Elites, Brutes, and Hunters, they're average at best.
  • Gan Isurugi from Rival Schools, who's a card-carrying Class 3. Ditto school principal Raizo Imawano.
  • Largo Potter from Valkyria Chronicles is a Class 4, whose presence becomes even larger whenever vegetables become concerned. And for bonus, he uses an Anti-Tank Lance.
  • Captain Gordon in Disgaea, Taro (subverted as he's a Meat Shield) in Disgaea2, and Mr. Champloo in Disgaea3. Sapphire has elements of this though she's The Chick.
  • Drachma of Skies of Arcadia is an intelligent variation of this trope.
  • Big the Cat and Omega in Sonic Chronicles. Their Fastball Special move is 'Wrecking Ball'.
    • Amy, like Sapphire above has elements of big guy.
  • Kanji from Persona 4 is a textbook Class 3 (Jerk with a Heart of Gold). Chie is a Cute Bruiser type.
  • Minsc from the Baldur's Gate series is a Chaotic Good Boisterous Bruiser type. He enjoys watching squirrels play, long walks in the forest, and beating the crap out of villains with a really big sword.
  • Kimahri from Final Fantasy X is good example of this, being a Ronso and holding off Seymour Natus on the Bevelle Highbridge while Yuna and co. escape.
  • Fran in Final Fantasy XII. Obviously the most noticeable, being a Viera, and thus having bunny ears, tends to go on berserker rages, and also literally as she towers over the rest of the party(even without the ears).
  • And in Final Fantasy XIII, Snow Villiers is the tallest human player character yet, with an inch on everyone's favorite Scary Black Man Barret Wallace.
    • Though Fang also counts. Like Snow, one of her two main paradigm skills is Sentinel. She's also a bit of a Blood Knight.
  • Sabin from Final Fantasy VI definitely qualifies.
  • Zaalbar and Hanharr from the Knights of the Old Republic series. Zaalbar is a quiet, shy fellow who lets Mission do the talking. (She even describes him as a "Big ol' softie") Definitely a Class 2; piss him off (or threaten Mission), and he will carve you up. Hanharr is recruit-able only by Dark Side Exiles, and is an Ax Crazy Omnicidal Maniac who you gain influence with by ridiculing - definitely Class 1. Both of them are utter damage sponges, especially if you equip them with vibroblades.
  • Also by Bioware is Jade Empire with Black Whirlwind. He is an unrepentant Class 4 who just shrugs with a "Meh" whenever he's told his most recent story is the dumbest thing ever told. While an effective fighter, he is far more memorable for his many colorful and incredibly violent stories.
    • You actually get to control him at one point to hold off an entire army.
  • Each different colour of Pikmin have different attributes in terms of strengths and weakness. The purple ones, being ten times as strong and heavy as those of any other colour, quite clearly slot into 'Big Guy' status.
  • Eddie Riggs from Brutal Legend could be Class 5. A big guy, who is smart enough to put together cars in seconds (albeit easily made cars) and supposedly able to fix anything, and build anything. In many ways he fulfills the roles of The Big Guy, The Smart Guy and The Lancer, seeing himself mostly as the Roadie to Lars' front-man.
  • The Breath of Fire series include one of these among the chosen heroes: Ox in I, Rand in II, Garr in III and Cray in IV.
  • In Dragon Age: Origins, Sten serves as a Class 3, being a solid stoic who nonetheless has a definite soft side (enjoys art, kittens and has a Sweet Tooth). Oghren is a Class 4, a seemingly perpetually drunken Boisterous Bruiser.
    • In Dragon Age II, Fenris takes this role despite being a scrawny elf. A scrawny elf that has Lyrium laced through his entire body and specializes in BFSes, that is. Whether he proves to be a Class 3 or a Class 1 mostly depends on whether Hawke pursues a friendship or a rivalry with him.
    • Aveline also fills this role, being the heavily armoured, sword and board guardswoman who acts as the protector and tank of the group. She is likely a Class 3, because she talks tough, but is also the Team Mom.
  • Mass Effect Wrex falls neatly into class 1, although some of his dialogue hints that he may originally have been a class 5. In the sequel, the Tank-Grown krogan Grunt is a class IV while the ruthless mercenary Zaeed is a Class I, with Jack serving as a Dark Action Girl example.
    • If Wrex survives, he becomes a clean Class 5 in the sequel. When you find him, he's on the way to re-uniting his people, a feat no one would ever believe possible.
      • Not only re-uniting, but doing so in a way which itself should be impossible from what we've heard of the krogan race - he's taken the ever-so-important krogan traditions that have been around for longer than the human race has been vaguely civilized, beaten them until they can't stand, kicked them in the side a couple of times for good measure, and then started jumping up and down on them. At least if you believe his opponents and detractors.
      • It should be noted that those very same Krogan traditions would enthusiastically agree with that approach. Beating things senseless is pretty much what the Krogan are there for.
    • Mass Effect 3 has James Vega: he's easily the beefiest human character thus far, and is built more around survivability than other characters. There's a reason he shares two of his powers with Grunt.
      • Whenever you find him in the Normandy's shuttle bay, he's usually shown to be doing pull-ups in his down time.
    • Ashley is a female Class 4.
  • Sophie in Tales of Graces, a Rare Female Example. Even though she is small, she has the personality and fighting capabilities.
  • Tales of Symphonia has a few over the course of the game. Kratos is this to start with; after he leaves the party, the role is taken over by Cute Bruiser Presea, later joined by Regal, who is a rather more classic example, as well as the Huge Guy of their Huge Guy, Tiny Girl dynamic.
  • Judith counts as a female example, Tales of Vesperia, being a Stripperific Blood Knight. Karol also counts, despite being a little kid, because he wields a huge (compared to him) two-handed weapon.
  • BIT.TRIP RUNNER gives us Radbot, CommanderVideo's Robot Buddy.
  • Sweetwater in Battlefield: Bad Company is a Class 5 Genius Bruiser/Smart Guy and a rare "not larger than the others" version. As the squad's SAW gunner, he does carry a larger weapon, and he's not afraid to use it. When a Russian soldier surprises him by running up to the roof just as the squad is hopping off their Blackhawk and onto it, Sweetwater, without breaking stride, hits the poor bastard clear off the roof with his SAW.
  • Tychus Findlay fills this role in StarCraft II. Even without his enormous Power Armor, which he's always wearing, he's a physically imposing guy, and comes complete with a deep but easy on the ears voice. Too bad he experiences a case of Big Guy Fatality Syndrome...
  • Bud Bison (Gonta Ushijima) in Mega Man Star Force.
  • Fear Effect. Jacob "Deke" DeCourt is big and powerful.
  • Seth fills this role in Lost Odyssey. As well as being The Lancer to Kaim, she is also the toughest melee fighter other than him.
  • Argo is a Class Two in Magna Carta 2. He's very level-headed and kind.
  • Augustus Cole is the team's big guy in Gears of War.
  • Hannah/Hammer in Fable 2 is a Giantess type


Web Comics

  • In Order of the Stick, Roy is repeatedly recognized as being both The Big Guy and The Smart Guy as well as the "No Respect" Guy.
    • Although in most Five-Man Band allocations, Roy tends to be The Hero. The role of The Big Guy goes to either Durkon, who while being a dwarf manages to make his presence felt (and his signature spell involves growing to great size), or Belkar, the Heroic Sociopath at least as effective as Roy in battle. Both fit the 'small guy, big influence' variant as well.
  • In The Sins, The original Envy was The Big Guy of the Gentle Giant kind. Since his departure this role has been filled by Anger, the new Envy filling a very different trope.
  • Bun-Bun from Sluggy Freelance is one of these, despite being the smallest (and arguably cutest) member of the cast. He's the Killer Rabbit trope cranked up to eleven and given a Hammerspace switchblade and glock.
  • Krunch Bloodrage of Looking for Group is a Genius Bruiser example.
  • Yeager from Nodwick. Class 4.
  • Mr. Mighty from Everyday Heroes, at least in his current team. He could be either Class 2 or Class 5; in practice bouts with his teammates, he wins by strategy rather than pure strength. Has often fought solo in the past, and has learned to outsmart opponents.
  • Reginald from Parallel Dementia. Class 2: Gentle Giant and Class 5: Genius Bruiser
  • Eddie from Emergency Exit. Definitely Class 4: The Boisterous Bruiser
    • Alternatively, Bob while in Nefarious form. Not sure which class he'd be though...
  • Pauline from Our Little Adventure is a female Class 4, and Lenny is a male Class 2.
  • Marlene of Jet Dream is a Class 5 Big Girl, both a genius scientist and T-Girl strongwoman after her sex change.
  • Rumors of War has Illyra, a Class 5, who uses her feminine wiles to manipulate and her destructive magic to dominate.
  • Iratu in Slightly Damned is the biggest demon so far in the comic.
  • Homestuck's Equius Zahhak is somewhere between a Type 3 and Type 5.
  • The Water Phoenix King doesn't have a standard Five-Man Band, more an Ensemble Cast with shifting/shared roles, but Commander Corva has proven to be this this, having the size, the strength, the Axe To Grind, the hick accent, but at once the Gentle Giant—usually quiet, almost unprovokable outside of battle with a MAJOR loyalty-to-friends loophole—a Lightning Bruiser in combat, and a Genius Bruiser -- Deadpan Snarker and the leader of her own group, in her own right, with limited but real Theurgy powers as a priestess of the storm god making her practically a Paladin on top of it all. Definitely someone you want on your side and not the other! If it were a Five-Man Band setup she'd take turns with Anthem being The Lancer to Gilgam (except when he's being The Lancer to Anthem) but since it isn't and she's also a Hot Amazon without this being at all controversial it's unsurprising that they've ended up the Battle Couple now. More Meet Cutes should involve KillerRobots.

Corva: Who yelled? What's the trouble? Who needs a hatchet in 'em?


Web Original

  • Torq, the Half-Orc fighter from the Critical Hit Podcast, is a bit of #4, though he's not always Boisterous. He is almost a Cloudcuckoolander normally, but becomes a whirling, athletic menace in combat. His player, Matthew, specifically statted him this way.
  • Ultra-Man, a stalwart member of the Global Guardians is a bit of a mix between the Gentle Giant and the Genius Bruiser. Regardlesss, he is the moral compass of the team.
  • Evan of Everyman HYBRID, who is actually smaller than Jeff and Vince but knows martial arts, is always carrying a weapon, and is by far the most intimidating. Subverted, however, in that the only time the group has been antagonized by a human instead of an Eldritch Abomination, he got stuck holding the camera while Jeff tackled the security guard.
  • Sura Verandis of Ilivais X. Even his Avespia is heavier and more melee-oriented than the others.
  • Lancer of Team Kimba in the Whateley Universe. He's the Flying Brick with no magical or psychic powers. He's the strongest and toughest team member and the one most likely to step in front of an attack to protect someone else.


Western Animation

  • Hawkgirl, Justice League Unlimited.
  • Rhinox of Beast Wars is the very definition of Class 5.
  • Bulkhead of Transformers Animated is a Class 2 and 5. He's got the clumsiness and the slightly oafish voice, but is a Gentle Giant as well as quite intelligent, especially in battle (like how he countered Lugnut's Rocket Punch). He's even revealed to be an expert in space-bridge technology, firmly putting him in Genius Bruiser territory.
    • The Transformers Prime team has their own Bulkhead.
    • Not to mention in the original Transformers, Ironhide fits this quite well for a group much larger than 5, although there's certainly a group that's considered more central than others. Also a good example of this trope from the original would be Brawn, who despite actually being SMALLER than most of the autobots, otherwise fits this trope extremely well.
    • Autobot gestalts, such as Superion, typically fall into this role by default.
  • Bunnie from SatAM Sonic the Hedgehog is a female example by virtue of her being a Hollywood Cyborg and her girliness being outweighed by Antoine's qualifications as a male Chick.
  • Gordon from Thomas the Tank Engine. He is the largest and strongest engine on Sodor after all.
  • The biggest Big Guy of all is, believe or not, Godzilla, in Godzilla: The Series. He's even nicknamed as such.
  • Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender is a Cute Bruiser variety. Her first episode had her taking on five skilled earthbenders and taking them all out sequentially. Her Disability Superpower certainly helps in that regard; her opponents underestimate her and she kicks up a cloud of dust that doesn't affect the way she "sees."
  • Matrix of ReBoot.
  • Split between Hawkgirl and Superman (plus the Martian Manhunter when the writers remember that he can do more than just phase) in Justice League.
  • The show King Arthur and the Knights of Justice was an interesting example, because it starred a team of football players temporarily taking the place of the Knights of the Round Table, it was unique in having about five big guys (Lineman) who were essentially interchangeable from one story to the next.
  • The Mighty Ducks has Grin—a massive musclebound giant who fights with his bare hands, but also an ardent follower of Zen philosophy, who never uses more force than needed.
  • Numbuh Four in 'Western Animation/'Codename: Kids Next Door is the rare Cute Bruiser and Dumb Muscle type, who has a random chance of being afflicted with The Worf Effect.
  • Gor-illa of Captain Simian and The Space Monkeys fulfills Class 2 and 5. Due to events in the origin story, Gor-illa is a very intelligent, pacifist gorilla who goes into One-Winged Angel mode when angered into a berserker rage.
  • Binky Barnes from Arthur is a Class 3.
  • Nathan Explosion of Metalocalypse is a Class 3 if there ever was one- his growling voice, immense size, and general reputation of brutality hides the fact that, at heart, he's something of a marshmallow. Who loves kitties. And his father. And Disneyland.
  • Buck Tuddrussel of Time Squad punches first and asks questions later. Could even be categorized at some points as Dumb Muscle.
  • Shane Gooseman, the Super Soldier from Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. He towers over the other three (and, at 19, is probably not finished growing, either!), and can easily take the most damage. Definitely a Class 3, as he comments in "One Million Emotions" that his kind can only get "angry and mad," but was seen in "Supertroopers" being the only one of his kind that questioned his role as a Super Soldier.
    • Another Galaxy Rangers example: Buzzwang. While he may not be programed for combat, it is possible that he, being a robot, is stronger then the average human.
  • The Bionic Six's Genius Bruiser, J.D., is not only strong, but may be taller then the rest of the family.
  • Sgt. Mace from COPS, probably for his usage of heavy weapons.
  • An example of a Big Guy who's also The Hero - The Tick (animation).
  • The male half of the Silverhawks' Steel Twins, William "Steelwill" Hart, is a good example.
  • Panthro from Thundercats and ThunderCats (2011). Definitely a Class 5, as he has the most pronounced skill in technology of all of them. He's built like a tank...and built the damn tank! In the 2011 version, he also doubles as a highly intimidating type 1, a gruff Old Soldier who's Covered with Scars and unwilling to accept the young Lion-O as his leader and liege until the boy proves his worth in battle.
  • Ookla the Mokk is Thundarr the Barbarian's Expy to Chewbacca.
  • Diana the Acrobat, Being the most athletic of the heroes in the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon.
  • Brock Samson from The Venture Brothers is a Class 3. He's got a hard exterior but he genuinely cares for Hank and Dean.
    • Kano from the "original" Team Venture.
  • Beezy on Jimmy Two-Shoes.
  • Buford from Phineas and Ferb. He'd probably like to be regarded as The Brute, but he's actually too nice for that.
  • In Futurama when muscle or a degree of inhuman dexterity is required, Bender can be counted as a Class 5 Genius Bruiser, although he's more cunning than clever.
  • Easy to miss since he's one of the few Big Guys who is incredibly slim (understandably), but when you compare him to his surroundings, Jack Skellington of The Nightmare Before Christmas has got to be seven to eight feet tall.
  • Cyborg from Teen Titans fits #5 to a tee.
    • Beast Boy also fits this as a Class 4; while his jokes are groan-worthy, he's a general nice guy... who relies on brute force in the form of animal forms.
  • In The Penguins of Madagascar Rico is their Big Guy of a perfect Class 1 - he's even got the scar.
  • June from KaBlam!, not in terms of size, but she's definetly the toughest character.
    • Mr. Foot. That is all.
  • Jake from Adventure Time.
  • Applejack from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. Not necessarily the biggest of the Mane Cast, but always the strongest, only outdone by her older brother Big Mac, who can pull a house across town.
  • Hank Hill from King of the Hill. According to his driver's license he is 6'2 and he does indeed tower over all the other characters in the show. Not to mention that before he lost his shins, Cotton was said to be 6'4.
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