You think Rainbow Dash is underpowered in her universe

[RWB 229]

The quote system on this forum is horrid, it adds a ton of quotes on the end for no reason... So I'll just put my answers in bold in a single quote bubble... Sorry folks!

 

When has Dash ever been proven to be stronger than Applejack? Even with wings, Rainbow Dash is not stronger. That's why Dash couldn't even come close to stopping the carriage bus in Mysterious Mare Do Well when Applejack did.

1. That sequence was written by a completely new writer.
2. It didn't even make sense in the first place, as RD has dealt with similar weights before without issue.

MMDW is one of the worst episodes for several reasons, and continuity is one of those.

Not to mention the countless times AJ has pulled Dash back by the tail. If Dash was stronger, surely she would have been able to break free? The only time Dash has been shown to be stronger was the one time she beat AJ in a hoof wrassle, and in that same episode, AJ dominated Dash in other feats of strength.


Except once Wings were used, AJ was getting dominated with ease, and that tail pulling proves very little.


The other three are far from useless. Did you see how easily Fluttershy stomped all over Rainbow Dash in Dragon Quest?


Sucker Punching someone with a sudden rage? Yeah, my little brother can do that to me, and he's a gangly wimp with no physical training that weighs roughly half of what I do(I'm a stout 200 pound former hockey/rugby player).

Or the time she wrestled a bear?


You mean gave a bear a massage, because that's what actually happened?
 

Or the times where she showed great speed and flying prowess?


Which is never, thank you very much. She's the worst flier in Ponyville, while RD is arguably the best in Equestria.
 

She's not as weak as she seems, and she's handily dealt with more beastly creatures than any of the other Mane Six ponies. She has great power, she just doesn't show it unless she absolutely has to.


Except she doesn't. Her "handily dealing with" is her using a power she doesn't even really have control of.
 

Rarity doesn't have Twilight's magic, but she's probably a better fighter overall. In A Canterlot Wedding for example, while Twilight was defeating changelings with her magic, Rarity was simply using her hooves to punch them out. There are other episodes where she's shown she can fight in a sort of close combat style, so Dash isn't the only one who is a trained fighter.


Except the part where TS's magic is so UBER that RD's physical capacities look weak as heck next to them despite her super speed. Rarity being average or even great at close combat isn't really closing the gap. I admit to underrating Rarity's skill at physical combat, though.
 

This also applies for Applejack, who also showed a fighting stance while discorded in Return of Harmony part 2.


When? I know Rarity did... Not that that episode should be your go to episode for proving Applejack's combat skills, since:
1. Twilight outmaneuvered her AND Pinkie both at once in the fight in the episode.
2. AJ's reaction to Rarity going all martial arts on her? Backing off, frightened.

Rewatched the episode, no Apple Jack Fighting Stance.
 

Also, Apple Bloom knows Kung Fu, (she says so in The Show Stoppers) so we can infer that Applejack also knows some form of martial arts.

1. Who was the one trying to teach Apple Bloom Martial Arts, again? RD.
2. Applebloom never claims to know Kung Fu, but to like it(and from what we see, she's not particularly competent).
3. Even if you say "But it was Karate RD taught"- she did a lot of things of screen, and it's reasonable to assume that interest came from there, or even from the Karate itself.
4. RD has actually shown some of her Karate in other episodes, while AJ never, ever did anything Kung Fu style.

So no.
 

I just don't think it's fair to say that Rainbow Dash can deal with villains any better than the others just because she's a fast flier.


Supersonic Speed(or close to it)>>>>>>>Regular pony speed. Deal with it.
 

Her wings can easily be a nemesis to her anyway. She's used to being in the air, not the ground. So if she injures her wings, she'll have a much harder time than Applejack, who is stronger,


Not by a great amount, and she's more skilled in fighting(again, blackbelt), and more intellectual in physical challenges(winning hoofwrestling- armwrestling is mostly skill and technique).

There's also the fact that even if she suddenly loses her wings, she's still the third strongest mare shown on the show(AJ is second, and Pinkie when she wants to be is number one- also the fastest runner on ground by far), and the only one of the top three with known combat training.
 

or Rarity who has magic to assist her combat.


Rarity's magic is very unimpressive, and her physical combat is actually more impressive(and if certain sequences are to be believed, she's a more skilled fighter than AJ), but she's a bit on the weak side in physical strength.


The fact that you need to remove Rainbow Dash's most powerful muscles AND her speed just to put her on par with AJ and Rarity? Pretty dang telling, isn't it?

[DJRainbowDash 724]

In those types of situations, I would definitely say she's held back, and probably could stand side by side with Twilight in overall ability in these scenarios. 

 

But I also understand why they don't have her come out as stronger than the rest, and its because they don't want to elevate her compared to the others. They want us to see the mane 6 as being equals, even if this is clearly not the case. 

[An Old Head 4,816]

I think it's a realisation on the writers' part. You see, while each character in the Mane 6 has a unique skill that sets them apart from others, Rainbow Dash seems to have too much going for her. I would like Rainbow Dash a lot more if she weren't a pony to vessel any explosions or fights that the writers want in the story. It also means that people become fans of her purely for the feats she does - "I like Rainbow Dash because she's awesome and can do Sonic Rainbooms, that's 20% cooler! La la la." Honestly, it obscures the whole point of her character; a pony that puts on an act because she values her image. I like her for that, not because she can fly super fast.

[Kitty Cat Moonshire 629]

No, I think they did an excellent job. The show revolves the characters being imperfect  and having to work together, as friends, to improve. If dashie was superman, what purpose would she have?

[ManiacForPonies 27]

Well it´s just like one of those things (like Twilight´s ability to teleport) that would just break the plot of some episodes. Instead of going through some adventure to get out of some place, she just flies away. I actually thing that the writers have handled this nicely, but it can be a bit distracting some times. 

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,091]

What about the time she clipped her wing flying with Lightning Dust? Why did that even phase her?

 

Because cartoon, that's why. Character physics change according to what the plot demands. 

 

Yes, I understand that's what the plot demands, but I'd hate to take away an awesome power like that and just throw it away as a gag. Clipping her wing is relatively minor, while nuking a barn and annihilating it is a huge event.

Edited May 12, 2013 by Rainblow Hash

[Lux Klonoa 18]

...Underpowered? Hmm, nah, she has just about the right amount of power to make her stand out in the least, in terms of, well, awesomeness. =P

 

And that right amount is enough for me to do something even more awesome with her. I'll let you figure that out on your own.

 

Btw, a question for you all. You say that it would ruin the themes of this show if Dash were to save the world all by herself. Well, what if she did for once and just once in the show? And in addition to that, what if the Magic of Friendship was required for her to do the saving job? Would a simple "we're with you always, Rainbow Dash!" shoutout from her friends would suffice?

 

If you can guess what I'm trying to say, well, good for you, then. =P

[Godspeed Edge 34]

I would love to see RD be seen as stronger, almost exclusively because she's the reason I became a brony, the comparisons everyone made to her and Sonic peaked my interest in FIM. But we also have to take in consideration that everypony has to be equal for the show to be good. If RD was overpowered and fearless like Sonic she's become a Mary Sue/Goku. We even see this in Sonic's series, he used to be on par with his friends but since the 3D era he's become a god slaying, fearless, cocky, infinitely powered badass for the most part. I get off on that kinda stuff because I'm Sonic fanboy, but most fans wish he was normalized again. 

RD needs to have some flaws to make her character realistic, otherwise the power-trip will become really old really fast.

I have always had a dream of seeing Super Rainbow Dash though, I mean there's six Elements of Harmony and six Chaos Emeralds in the original games. I thought it would be cool to see her harness the power of all the Elements and go super and kick some monster's ass if only just as a giant tribute to the Sonic series. But that's ridiculous.

Yet, so cool...

I'd imagine her body more gold than white though. But it may take from the yellow in her rainbow mane.

Also has anyone thought of what Hyper Rainbow Dash would be like? Or is that too much? XD

Edited May 13, 2013 by Godspeed Edge

[Lux Klonoa 18]

If RD was overpowered and fearless like Sonic she's become a Mary Sue/Goku

 

Well, something like Goku, yes, but not a Mary Sue. Definitely not. There's a reason that this is on my DA page:

 

Super forms are not perfect and never are. As the laws of fiction have consistently shown, there could always be a higher power that outclasses whatever transformation that a character is in. It doesn't always mean that you're invincible, and it definitely isn't something that will instantly fix a character's flaws in both personality and in the relationships around him/her. In fact, given the circumstance, it could make the character worse in one or both of those areas.

 

By the latter, well, imagine a stronger case of what happened in "Mare Do Well." Dash would be even more arrogant than before if she had a Super form. But considering that she's learned her lesson, I doubt she would be.

 

I'd imagine her body more gold than white though.

Designing her gold was one of my choices when I was concepting her, yes, but I ended up coloring her like the dude in my avatar a.k.a. my other concept of Super Klonoa. That, and white as a Super form color is way more unique than choosing to go the Super Saiyan/Super Sonic route. =)

Edited May 13, 2013 by Super Klonoa

[Anadu Kune 668]

Lets see here.

1.) has complete control over weather. This includes creating lightning, rain, wind/tornados, snow, and rainbows. She can even stand on clouds. She also has the ability to create explosive weather effect such as the sonic rainboom and that other trick.

2.) She is incredibly fast and agile. Able to go at least the speed of sound and most probably beyond, and be very mobile while doing so. 

3.) Combat skills. It was hinted at the she is a black belt. This seems likely as she is very quick to strike a combat pose in a confrontation. 

4.) the ability to use her body as a wrecking ball. 

Yeah shes pretty darn powerful. Don't mess with Rainbow Dash