Trope Talk: The Bigger Fish

The “Bigger Fish” Trope

The video examines a familiar pattern in continuing adventures: after the heroes defeat a dangerous foe, an even greater threat appears.

It opens with Dragon Ball, whose power levels helped popularize numerical rankings of strength. At first, though, those numbers are often a joke at the villains’ expense. They underestimate Earth’s fighters because their readings are low, only to find that technique, teamwork, and tactics can upend their assumptions. Vegeta’s defeat is the ultimate embarrassment: he has the highest number, yet Goku and the others still bring him down.

Escalation and Its Pitfalls

Escalation can be useful in serial storytelling. Once the heroes have beaten a villain, facing the same one again can feel like a retread. Introducing a completely different kind of problem can also be difficult if the story still needs to work as an action adventure. The easy answer is to make the next villain stronger—though, as the narrator jokes, a sequel after defeating God might require “TurboGod,” God’s beefier older brother.

But bigger numbers bring their own problems. If the heroes defeat each new enemy with the same ultimate move, the fights can become repetitive. If the heroes keep gaining power to keep up, the story risks power creep.

The video contrasts a linear “bigger number wins” model with a tactical, rock-paper-scissors model in which strengths come with vulnerabilities. A nearly invulnerable tank might be slow, a devastating fighter might be fragile, and a fast opponent might not hit very hard. A threat can feel new because it resists the heroes’ old strategies—not simply because it can destroy something larger.

Tactical Threats in Avatar: The Last Airbender

The narrator applies this idea to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aang’s Avatar State makes him a potential trump card, but he is vulnerable to lightning while entering it. Being struck nearly costs him the ability to use the State, leaving the heroes without their emergency “ripcord” for much of the final season. As a result, the story has to emphasize tactical matchups instead.

When the Hero Becomes the Bigger Fish

The trope can also create a problem when a hero becomes the bigger fish. A newly powered-up protagonist—or an ancient, highly experienced ally—may become so capable that everyone else feels irrelevant. Writers can keep these characters from overshadowing the rest of the cast by giving them a specific weakness or turning a raw-power clash into a tactical problem.

Not every new threat is truly a bigger fish. By definition, a bigger fish should be able to overwhelm the previous major threat, but it does not have to do so through sheer force. It might be difficult to damage, exploit a vulnerability, call on an even greater power, or even be persuaded to change sides. These approaches keep escalation from becoming a contest of ever-larger explosions.

A Threat That Isn’t the Biggest in the Story

The narrator also discusses a major threat in their comic. It makes earlier antagonists seem less important and gives the heroes a new challenge, but it is not the most dangerous force in the story overall. The goal was to create a serious, distinct problem without declaring it the biggest thing in the universe.

Beerus and the Limits of Power

The video closes with Dragon Ball and Beerus, a god of destruction capable of wiping out planets. He dwarfs the earlier villains. Goku gets a new power-up but still cannot truly match him—and Beerus does not simply destroy Earth. After enjoying its desserts, he becomes attached enough to postpone finishing the job.

The joke captures the video’s central point: characters are more interesting than their biggest number. A bigger threat can have quirks and motives beyond being something the heroes must overpower.

Personality Appearing

• Red — narrator and presenter