How would you pit your character against someone who is unbelievably strong?

[realSean_Murphy]

Like say your character who was a average person was put up against a person as powerful as Thor for example.
(Man.. when I think about it, it feels as though my character is the ant going up against the boot.)
So the question is how could the main character win against a antagonist say as powerful as our Thor for example?
When I place myself in this characters shoes.. I'm not sure what I would do? I feel really screwed..

[AnnaLandin]

Outsmart them.

Everyone has to have a weak point - it's up to your underpowered protagonist to find it. Thor is strong, but he's a lot less of a threat without his hammer, for example. Superman is super-powerful, but you can best him with a bit of kryptonite, and so on.

Figure out what your super-powered character's weak point is, and then work out a way for your underpowered character to exploit that weakness.

[scythe]

Lex Luther constantly beat Superman by forcing him to make impossible choices. Like making the choice between saving one of two cities (he can't save both at the same time) Why not set up a situation where either way, your character wins?

[jmhenry]

I guess it depends on how you want to handle the encounter. If you're looking to showcase this enemy's strength and maybe have the main character lose on the first go, it's pretty easy. Maybe they outclass the MC in almost every aspect of combat, or if they have similar skills/fighting style, they're more experienced/ creative with it.

If you're looking to have the MC win, go with outsmarting them. Maybe things get a bit rough at first trying to figure the enemy out, and then they use what skills they have to turn the fight around. Maybe this big, powerful enemy has an Achilles Heel they're hiding somewhere? It's all about what you wanna show the reader, I guess.

[Jabbage]

Another vote for outsmarting them, here!

The main character of Breaking the Lore is a tiny old lady. Everyone knows that in all good stories,tiny old ladies can bring down giants and monsters with their wit and wisdom, and perhaps the occassional use of a knitting needle, broom or other common household item.

[Silerna]

My main character is myself, and well I'm pretty weak...so I would go brain over brawns tactics. Poke the eyes, stand on toes with stilleto's , run away as fast as you can, yell in ears until deaf, pretending to be dead etc xD.

[zerofruits]

Outsmart them by a clever battle strategy or have other characters join them, so it's a team vs one overpowered character (you could emphasize on teamwork/friendship).

[L4213]

you put them into a 3 arc long story which involves the main character undergoing large character development while meeting new friends, rivals and experiences along the way to strengthen themselves for the ultimate fight against this person at the last arc of your story!

[DeadAccount]

How strong are we talking?
Because I'm pretty sure our protagonist could be tackled by a 5-year-old.
His usual strategy is giving up, so, uh, that's probably what would happen.

[shazzbaa]

You don't go toe-to-toe into a fight with that person. You can look for a Kryptonite-type weakness, but outsmarting him can mean other things, too. Trick him into thinking you're someone else and escape. Lead him into a trap -- get him to follow you into some place where he's at a disadvantage, or into a dangerous situation. Stay out of reach and frustrate him into making a dumb mistake that will get him killed. Work against him mentally -- if you have information about this guy, talk to him, get him to feel insecure about his decisions, make him doubt he's doing the right thing by attacking you. Or lie, and bluff him into thinking he needs to let you live. Or just genuinely talk him down, find some way to emotionally reach out to him and soften his approach. "Find their weakness" can be psychological, too.

Ultimately it depends on what you want here as the author. If you want an awesome epic fight, you probably want to find a Kryptonite. If you want to emphasise the feeling of your character as the ant fighting the boot, you'll probably want something more risky and scary, like running away and leading him into a trap.

[dsandoval3]

XD make em stronger than everyone u got the control mane!

[mg78]

i would love to set my main chara (grunk) vs saitama (from "onepunch-man" comic)(the strongest character from the comic world XD). of course saitama (for obvious reasons) couldnt kill grunk, but there would be enough good situation.
for saitama, ofc.
lol.

[Thesleepypencil]

This happens alot with my characters i love the little guy vs big guy concept. And I've got maybe 4 different ways.

1. Like other said outsmart them. (Example Miraculous Ladybug. She doesn't have a good super power and the villians she is up again have crazy good almost godly powers. But she beats them every time because she keeps track of her assets and uses them smart)
2. Sheer will power ( ever seen the fight between Green lanter and atrositus in Green lantern: the animated series? He won because he wouldn't go down. And he got his but handed to him
   3: underhanded tricks: I never said my characters are all good people. Sometime when up against a big villian yiu need to chuck some dirt in a eye.
   4: If my character isn't ready to fight such a character yet. I'll legit just have them run away. Lets them live and prepare to fight again

This is what i do.

[Choosybeggar]

Make friends out of them! If it's at all possible, anyway. I've heard the saying, "I destroy my enemy by making him my friend." So many big bads could be influenced for good if they just had a few supporters. NOT supporters of their deeds, but supporters of them as human beings/sentient blobs. This isn't always the best way to resolve conflict, and it's not the easiest, but it can be done in some cases. Very underrepresented in fiction.

[monotone_ink]

Jean would give up at first sight and convince him to have a nice conversation over some tea.

[AshKetchup]

Let's say your character is pretty average but pretty intelligent or fast. Against an opponent much stronger than them, I would let the protagonist dodge most of the opponent's moves (not all of them, of course) until the protagonist spots a weak point and exploits that weakness when the time is right. The weakness could be anything, whether it would be an opening, a short break between attacks (basically an opening...) or, if you want some comedy and the opponent is a guy, a straight kick in their kingdom!

If your character isn't that intelligent then I would make them retreat until he/she is able to either find some allies to fight alongside them or get stronger.

Another tip is basically what I do, just completely immerse yourself in your world (best when trying to sleep) and imagine the fight, if something seems off, replay it again with something different. Then in the end decide what to choose.

[maelstrom51210]

When in doubt, giant robot suit.

[carloswebcomic]

Kick him in the nuts. Problem solved.

[VermillionWorks]

Kinda/sorta off topic but I don't see stories where the protagonist wins the big battles with the use of tactics or sheer will power (or a mix of both) near often enough. Way too often fights are won when the protagonist discovers some hidden power, often brought on by sheer rage, despair or even LURVE.

If a character uses the power of love, then things probably shouldn't be resolved with a battle IMO, as that kind of ruins the point of love/peace/ect. winning the day. I mean, how can love physically hurt someone-

-___-

[sadlittlespook]

Oh man its questions like these that I love!

There's a multitude of ways that the underdog can get the upperhand. But really a lot of it boils down to how they would be able to handle the situation. Like for example, one of my main protags, Lunar, doesn't do well in quick thinking. Panic often is her downfall but what she lacks in quick planning, she can make up for in speed and brute force.

Not all characters are battle masterminds and some will even just run away. Sure it seems pretty dull to do but it can also turn into an interesting twist if done right.