Asskicking Equals Authority: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Usually, the base culture or organization is of the [[Social Darwinist]] and [[Chaotic Evil]] variety, though other less evil alignments are possible; like the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]. They will benefit from great strength and martial ability, but don't expect them to put much value on teamwork. Their main problem will usually be that they place such importance on ''[[Ambition Is Evil|personal]]'' power that they eschew not just [[The Power of Friendship]] but tactical cooperation in favor of individual glory. This often plays to the heroes' advantage, since the relatively weaker heroes will usually be far better coordinated.

 

{{examples}}

* The Shinobi Villages in ''[[Naruto]]'' are led by the Kage, who is supposed to be the "strongest" one in the village. However, it's not entirely clear if "strongest" is intended to be an entirely physical attribute, or if it includes spiritual or psychological strength. The Raikage makes it very clear this trope is in full force with him.

** As ninja rank up, they are given more leadership responsibilities. While the Chunin exam ends with a tournament, it begins with a near impossible written exam {{spoiler|to anyone, who isn't smart enough to cheat and not get caught. At the end it is reavealed that the answers to the questions didn't matter and this whole exam was a test on how well the testees can "gather information" (cheat) without getting caught and the final question was not about knowledge, but about cojones (The guy who lead this exam claimed, that this question was very hard and anyone who would fail it would be never able to move up in ranks. This was a ruse, because anyone who took the risk passed, since that was the purpose of this "question"). The idea was that to advance as ninja, they have to be willing to accept even the most suicidal of missions without being intimidated by the risks involved; somebody who's scared by the prospect of merely not being able to advance in rank clearly isn't ready}}. And even the tournament is more a [[Secret Test of Character]] seeing as how the decision of who ranks up is not based on who wins, because the whole idea is that they can lead a successful ''mission,'' not necessarily just win a fight.

* Due to general [[Feudal Future]] feel in ''[[The Five Star Stories]]'', this trope is at full power there. Only [[Super Soldier|Headdliners]] could manage the [[Humongous Mecha]] of their world, and because of this all who exhibit such abilities generally happen to become nobility. All in all, given the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|general belligerence]] of the Joker society, it is to be expected.

** As an example, after that fateful dust-off with [[Action Girl|Lachesis]], [[Psycho for Hire|Bugle]] [[Heroic Sociopath|de'Leiser]] immediately bowed to her authority even though he was initially [[Fantastic Racism|ideologically]] opposed to it. It also counts as [[Defeat Means Friendship]], as he later was genuinely friendly to her, despite ''[[Karma Houdini|trying]]'' ''[[Attempted Rape|to rape her]]'' before getting his ass kicked to the next Friday.

* Specifically invoked in ''[[Saiunkoku Monogatari]]'' when Rou Ensei explains how he ended up as the Governor of an entire province even though he hadn't passed any of the examinations normally required to qualify for government office: the [[Big Screwed-Up Family|Sa clan]] was causing so much trouble in the province that the Imperial court needed to appoint a governor who'd be able to survive their ''repeated assassination attempts''. Ensei was their guy.

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' has North Academy, where new students have to duel through a forty-man gauntlet to find out their rank. Chazz fights his way to the top and is immediately crowned head of the freshman class.

* ''[[One Piece]]'' has Baroque Works, where one's spot in the organization is determined by how much ass you can kick. If lower-ranked members can [[Klingon Promotion|eliminate]] higher-ranked ones, they can move up in the ranks. Most of the top ranks are Devil Fruit users.

* [[Claymore]] has this. The organization that Claymores work for only has forty-seven Claymores active at any one time. If a Claymore dies, all the Claymores below her are automatically promoted one rank - and if a new Claymore is powerful enough to take a higher rank than #47, all the Claymores weaker than her are automatically demoted.

* Invoked by the (probable) [[Big Bad]] Naosada Washizu from ''[[Gamaran]]'': He has about thirty sons and rules over a region famous for martial arts and full of powerful warriors. His plan? Each of his sons will hire a Ryuu (martial art school), and those Ryuu will fight in the great Unabara Tournament: the heir with the strongest Ryuu will become the new Daimyo, with the members as his vassals.

 

* In ''[[Judge Dredd]]'', in the aftermath of the Apocalypse War, group of robots set up an independent city in the ruins of Mega-City One, with a wrestler droid as king. The law is that anybody who wants to change the way things are run must beat the king in a wrestling match.

 

 

* Almost every single action movie hero takes charge of whatever situation they deal with, precisely because they're kicking the most ass and usually there is nobody who wants to challenge them.

* The tribe of not-so-friendly neighborhood cannibals in ''[[Doomsday]]'' uses this trope. {{spoiler|At the end, the protagonist [[You Kill It, You Bought It|takes control of it by delivering them the head of their former leader]].}}

* In ''[[The Quick and the Dead]]'', Herod is the mayor of a small town because he has the most hired muscle on his side and he is nigh unbeatable in a gunfight.

* In ''[[Avatar (film)|Avatar]]'', Jake Sully proves himself the leader of the Na'vi by taking, as his personal mount, the biggest, baddest beast in the sky.

 

* Rehvenge in the ''[[Black Dagger Brotherhood]]'' series by J R Ward becomes the supreme ruler of the ''sympaths'' by essentially killing the ones in authority.

* Gaining rank in the [[Star Wars]] universe has a lot to do with asskicking. Both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are given senior officer status in the Rebel Alliance just based on the fact that they are awesome. Somewhat justified in that a rebel insurgency doesn't have the luxury of OCS and a career advancement system, but still odd that any random smuggler can become an instant General.

** [[All There in the Manual|Han did have some officer training]], before [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|he started smuggling for a living.]]

* In [[The Dresden Files]] the main character and narrator reflects that you don't get to become The Merlin, chief wizard on the planet, by collecting bottle caps. Since he is referring to someone who held off an entire [[Badass Army]] of [[Eldritch Abominations]] with one hasty ward, he may have a point.

** On a less malevolent scale, the Mandalorians also have a tradition of following their leaders based upon this trope. Whenever Mandalore dies (given the nature of their culture, this usually happens in battle), the strongest remaining warrior becomes the new Mandalore. This has been happening for over twenty thousand years.

*** They fixed that. Now either the current Mandalore chooses a successor (the person he or she feels is best fit to lead), or it's the guy who can get the most people the follow him. The second one happens if the Mandalore fails to name a successor before he dies.

* The ''[[Lensman]]'' series by [[E. E. "Doc" Smith]] had multiple cultures which followed this method (though this is usually explained by the fact that all of the subject cultures consciously patterned themselves after the primary culture). The Eddorians, the Ploor, the Eich, possibly the Delgonians, and the entire Council of Boskone, fit this trope perfectly. Kim Kinnison even uses this to take over the entire bad guy's empire and become the Overlord of Thrale by assassinating the previous Overlord of Thrale, which was the accepted way of moving up in the world. It was stated that all of these cultures were fairly stable, in that underlings would not try for promotion until they were fairly certain that they could succeed, and in the meantime they had to produce for their superiors or they would be replaced, either by their superiors for not producing or by their own underlings for failure to protect themselves.

** Another example would be the Aes Sedai, whose internal ranking depends partly on how strongly they can wield magic.

* The wizards of the ''[[Discworld]]'' were originally like this, with wizards rising through the ranks at the Unseen University by filling the recently vacated pointy shoes of their higher-ups. This state of affairs ended when the wizards ended up appointing Mustrum Ridcully to the post of Arch-Chancellor; not only did he come down like a ton of bricks on anyone trying it in his faculty, but he was also nigh impossible to kill. The wizards mellowed down shortly after.

** One other one for some of them to advance is a trial of manhood passage where they go and kill a dangerous animal bare handed. We hear from one chieftain (who is larger 8-foot tall sub-species called a kull, take note), that he's the chief because during the passage he went killed a "cave bear" while everyone else went after wolves. He also states that a cave bear was larger than an adult kull, and when we see one later we find he wasn't exaggerating.

** The problem here is not so much a lack of teamwork or strategy, as that Robert Baratheon has no aptitude or interest in actually running Westeros. That, and he's surrounded by about four [[Manipulative Bastard]] wannabes.

*** It does seems possible that he was technically the closest non-Targaryen in the line of succession, as the Baratheon's, youngest of the Great Houses, were founded by a Targaryen bastard. That being said, it doesn't appear to have played a part in the consideration of who would take the throne (though it is opined that even Eddard Stark, as first of the rebel lords in Kings Landing, could have made himself king if he wanted), as three Lords of equal prominence led the rebellion - Ed Stark, Robert Baratheon and Jon Arran - and Robert was undeniably the leading warrior among them and principle driving force of the fight and thus the obvious choice.

*** Bron deserves a point all to himself. Here is a man who rises from a [[Rags to Riches|common sellsword to a Lord and Knight]], far rarer than most people believe in medieval settings, simply because he's '''really''' good at fighting. He even states he could maybe, probably beat Gregor Clegane, one of the most deadly men in Westeros.

* The Segueleh in the ''[[Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'' have their social hierarchy based entirely on martial skill. They were founded by an army of the First Empire after the Empire was destroyed.

* [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] in ''[[Dune]]''. Early on, Paul earns credibility among the Fremen by reluctantly killing one who challenged him to combat. The Fremen, like the Bedouin culture they loosely parallel, have a culture that values "honor," defended through bloodshed. Also, they expect their leaders to succeed by killing their predecessors. Though the Fremen take him for a Messiah and see his leadership as inevitable, he refuses to take the place of the tribe leader Stilgar by killing him. He takes power instead after an impassioned speech deploring the idea of sacrificing a loyal and talented soldier to such a brutal custom. This compels Stilgar to step down, and the Fremen accept Paul's leadership.

* In''[[The Stormlight Archive]]'', anyone who wins a [[Cool Sword|Shardblade]] becomes a noble, regardless of birth. In fact, its possible that that's how the noble houses came about in the first place.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Kull]]/[[Bran Mak Morn]] story "Kings of the Night", Wulfhere insists that Kull fight him for the leadership. Kull, though not knowing his language, deduced it before being told.

* In ''[[Codex Alera]]'', Citizenship requires winning a witnessed duel with an existing Citizen, marrying an existing Citizen, or being granted Citizenship by the First Lord, generally for doing something completely awesome. It's largely hereditary, but that's because furycrafting power is largely hereditary.

** Neatly subverted in that said Chief Rabbit is actually smaller, has a permanent leg injury, and just generally less prone to asskicking than Bigwig. Not that most of the Efrafan Owslafa stuck around to find this out.

* The [[Proud Warrior Race|Minotaur]] [[The Empire|Empire]] in ''[[Dragonlance]]'' is all about this trope; anyone can become Emperor so long as they defeat the previous Emperor in a ceremonial (but very real and lethal) duel, and social and legal conflicts are also often solved in the arena. This becomes a plot point in the ''Minotaur Wars'' trilogy where a new Emperor comes to power after a coup, and even though he is a much better leader sizeable chunks of the population won't follow him because he dishonorably assassinated his predecessor rather than formally duelling him.

 

* In an episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', "Mirror Mirror", Kirk and a few of his bridge crew swap places with their counterparts in an alternate dimension where promotions are earned by killing your commanding officer. It's a wonder they managed to keep their Enterprise crewed by anything but a huge pile of corpses.

** The Klingons would've been right at home in that universe, as they actually ''want'' their worthy successors to prove their mettle by [[Klingon Promotion|killing them to take their place]].

* An example of the good kind of this trope, in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' both Colonel Jack O'Neill and Colonel Sam Carter both got promotions as a reward for the many times they owned the bad guys and saved the Earth.

** The Goa'uld, however, play it deadly straight, since the only way to become Supreme System Lord is to amass enough power to tell all the others to sit down and shut up. Since O'Neil(l) dealt Ra a nuclear sucker punch back in ''[[Stargate (film)|Stargate]]'' the other System Lords have been [[Enemy Civil War|squabbling]] over who gets to fill his gold-plated shoes; whenever one seems to be getting close it's generally regarded as [[Big Bad|a bad thing]].

* The Narns of ''[[Babylon 5]]'' evidently follow this trope to some degree; if a Narn is ''really'' pissed off at a higher-up, said Narn can challenge him/her (OK, him) to single combat for the position. G'Kar was challenged by a young hothead leading attacks on Centauri on the station; despite the underhanded tactics (e.g. having one of his lieutenants try to get G'Kar with a poisoned dart), G'Kar wins and manages to get something of a handle on B5's Narn population.

** Drazi "elections" work this way. Every so often, the population is randomly split evenly into the purple and green factions. [[Silly Reason for War|These factions, whose only difference is which colour they're wearing, then fight]]. The side with the most victories forms the ruling body until the next election.

* In the seventh season of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', when the group temporarily turns away from Buffy as their leader, they place Faith, who as the other Slayer is the team's second strongest member, in that role instead. This is in spite of the fact that Faith has no leadership experience whatsoever, and virtually every other character has a better claim to the leadership. Willow and Giles are smarter, and Xander is the only member of the group with actual management experience.

* In ''[[Kamen Rider Kuuga]]'', the Grongi's Gegeru game revolves around killing humans, each rank taking their turn and getting progressively stronger with rank. The winner of each tribe gets promoted to the next level, the winner of the Gegeru earns the privilege to fight the Grongi King for control of the tribe. To add to it, the king himself kills off 152 Grongi he decides are too weak to engage in the Gegeru.

 

** Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the greatest of all Ork warlords, has a head the size of a human torso, and arms thicker than a literal tree trunk. He's actually closer to the size of a large Killa Kan or small Dreadnaught than a typical ork. Nothing more needs to be said about his strength, or his love of all things dakka.

** Other such societies in the two settings include, but is not limited to, Norsca, Chaos warbands (especially Beastmen), Skaven, Ogres, Dark Elves and Dark Eldar.

** Subverted in a very subtle fashion, rarely explicitly stated. The Clan system selects leaders based on their martial skills in single combat. It ''does not'' select on unit-level tactics, administrative skills, or leadership ability. When the Clans have fought in large-scale operations against comparable opponents (Tukkayid, Operations Bulldog and Serpent, Operation Reckless) they typically get their asses kicked.

*** Not entirely played straight however. The ''Blood of Kerensky'' novels make it clear that Khans (who are elected by the Clan Council) have to be able to play politics as well. Furthermore one has to be nominated (requiring connections) to be able to fight for a Bloodname (generally required to serve beyond the age of 35 and rise above the rank of Star Captain). The less successful Clans ([[Killed Off for Real|Smoke Jaguar]], [[Too Dumb to Live|Ice Hellion]]) tend to play this trope straight. The more powerful and thriving ones including; the Wolves, Jade Falcons, Diamond Sharks, and Star Adders for example, select leaders based off both combat ability and political prowess.

** Also the drow that follow the spider goddess Lolth, which includes a great majority of the entire race. There are lots of rules in their society that demand severe punishments for betrayal and murder, but only the victims or their immediate families can bring a case before the high priestesses. Thus the only way to power is to kill everyone in your way and intimidate everyone who could make your deeds publicly known. Everything is legitimate, as long as you can get away with it.

*** Applies to the system as a whole. Since all abilities, from ability to fight to ability to ''weave baskets'', are based on level, anyone that is exceptionally good at something, even a purely non violent profession or trade, is liable to be able to take at least a small army on by themselves... and win. As there is no shortage of ambition and predators - literal and figurative - those who keep a position of authority are those with enough personal power to ''kick the ass of anyone who wants to take their place''. Often ends up being recursive with Authority equals Asskicking, both in that getting to the position in the first place is liable to improve your combat abilities (even if you do not fight your way there) and that it is often necessary to be proactive in order to maintain your position.

{{quote|'''Giogioni Wyvernspur''': Is that a prerequisite for your job?

'''Samtavan Sudacar''': Got to make a name for yourself at court. Slew a frost giant that was terrorizing merchants in [[I Don't Like the Sound of That Place|Gnoll Pass]]. That's how I got into politics--a service like that has to be recognized officially. }}

 

* In ''[[Halo]]'', the Elite hierarchy is simple enough: the more you kill, the higher your rank.

** It only applies to enemies in battle. Played even straighter with brutes- you kill the current chieftain of a tribe, and you get to be the new one. If you're a brute of course.

** Also, the now-abolished honor ranking system lived and breathed this trope: The Grand Marshal and High Warlord ranks were awarded to characters who week after week were the most lethal among their respective factions. In practice, this required [[Bladder of Steel|nearly nonstop combat for several months]].

** The tribal Horde races (orcs, tauren and trolls) all seem to be this. It's been stated many times that the leaders of tribes are the most powerful warriors in the tribe (or, in the case of trolls, most powerful witch doctors).

* The Zuul from ''[[Sword of the Stars]]'' operate on this mentality. They are a [[Hive Mind]], so the strongest personality directs the collective... Until it shows weakness, at which point all the ones who can challenge it will do so.

** ''Anyone'' can become a demon Overlord if he or she kicks enough ass. This (canonically!) happens to Prier from ''[[La Pucelle Tactics]]'' after she defeats too many demons in the Netherworld. The demons pledge their loyalty to her and declare her to be a Demon Overlord, much to her dismay.

* The Reason of Yosuga in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne]]''.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' mentions in ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius|Path of Radiance]]'' that the shapeshifting Laguz pick their kings based solely on physical strength.

* In the third ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' game, there's a [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Proud Warrior City]] run by Damas, who is the one who pulled all the misfits together and got them to build the damn city in the first place. The whole "leader = [[Jerkass]] or [[Big Bad]]" thing is averted though because King Damas is, [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|deep down, a good guy]].

* During the 65 Million B.C. section in ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', Ayla (chief of the Ioka tribe) explains that whoever's strongest is the chief. She makes sure Kino, the second-strongest person in the tribe, is out of danger whenever she's about to do something heroic, just to make sure the line of succession is undamaged. (Well, that and she loves him.)

* In ''[[The Godfather (video game)|The Godfather]]'' game, you progress up the ranks of the Corleone family by completing missions for them and gain Respect levels mostly by killing a lot. [[One-Man Army|A real lot.]]

* In the ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]:[[Mask Of The Betrayer]]'' expansion pack, the player can {{spoiler|become the Jarl, or leader, of a tribe of Frost Giants by competing in a trial of strength, namely that whoever's the last man standing and holding the crown, they become the head. The player can even take this to extreme lengths by throwing all the Frost Giants out of the tribe and exiling them.}}

* There's a damn good reason [[Metroid|Ridley]] is the leader of the Space Pirates.

* In ''[[Tropico]]'' when you decide how your character became El Presidente, a military coupe is an option.

* ''[[Dragon Age]]''. In Origins, if Sten is in your party when you enter a specific village, he becomes annoyed with your behavior and challenges you to a fight. Beating him increases his respect for your leadership.

** This only happens if his approval is below a certain level. If he already has a high approval of you, he simply expresses his concerns, but does not fight you.

* In ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', Squall is made Commander of [[Private Military Contractors|SeeD]] specifically due to his front-line combat experience and ability (helped along by a dose of [[You Can't Fight Fate]]). This marks Balamb Garden's change from [[Mildly Military|vaguely military-themed]] [[Elaborate University High]] under Headmaster Cid into an active fighting force.

* In ''[[Star Wars: The Old Republic]]'' [[Big Bad|The Sith Emperor]] is in every way deserving in his position, being a being with such connection the dark side his power is near godly. {{spoiler|So much so he single-handedly captured Revan and killed the Jedi Exile, two godly force users in their own right.}}

* In ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' we have Hawke, a former-refugee from Ferelden who became the Champion of Kirkwall after defeating the Arishok in single-combat. This is even more apt when the ''Mage'' Hawke has even Knight-Commander Meredith of the Templar Order, who hunts ''illegal mages'' having to tip-toe around Hawke with kid-gloves. Even a non-Mage Hawke is implied to have enough authority that the Templars purposefully choose to ignore Anders and Merrill, two of Hawke's well-known Mage friends because of this.

* In ''[[Disgaea]]'' this is pretty much how the Netherworld works, power is the only things that demons respect. Whoever defeats the current Overlord/Dean/President becomes the new one or they can appoint someone of their choice.

{{quote|"There is one law in Valhalla. The weak shall serve the strong."}}

 

* In ''[[Supernormal Step]]'', Cavan Henderson was voted dictator of the United States because he single-handedly defeated Hitler...who was a [[Acceptable Targets|little green gremlin]].

* In ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]'' one villain has a plan to take over the presidency by convincing Americans that it works this way. The arc ends with the good doctor pointing out all the many flaws in the plan.

** There's also the quicker way to become the [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0149.html supreme leader] of a rather large army.

* In ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'', this is the basis for most Creatures' system of (ahem) ethics. On the brighter side, it means revenge is pretty rare, since, by such logic, if you were defeated, you ''deserved'' to be.

 

* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance]]'', the strongest and/or most cunning demons end up in leadership positions in the hordes. Anyone can challenge the current leader of any tier, and if the previous holder of the title is defeated, the victor takes the title.

* The Yamani Empire from ''[[Open Blue]]''.

 

* Junko in ''[[Storm Hawks]]'' grew [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|disappointed]] [[Subverted Trope|not that]] [[Planet of Hats|his people were obsessed with being strong]], but that the leader of his people sided with the evil Cyclonians because he interpreted their mantra of "the strongest rule because strength brings power" into one that the Wallops should ally with the strongest faction out there rather than fight it. This was either [[Genre Savvy]] with how close the finale was, or pretty dumb considering the Storm Hawks consistently thwart them. Junko [[Calling the Old Man Out|calls him on it]] twice, accusing him of being afraid of Cyclonia, and later denouncing that Strength without [[With Great Power|the will to use it for good]] is worthless.

* The Predacons in ''[[Beast Wars]]'' seem to operate on this principle - when Optimus Primal is kidnapped by the Vok, [[Turncoat]] Dinobot insists that he should lead the Maximals because he's the strongest. Unfortunately for his ambitions, Maximals [[Good Republic, Evil Empire|elect their leaders by secret ballot]].

** Their ancestors (the normal evil faction), the Decepticons, make this policy very explicit. Since the entire faction is made up of vicious murderers, the only leader who'll survive is one strong and smart enough to terrify them into submission.

* ''[[Powerpuff Girls|The Powerpuff Girls]]'' episode "Impeach Fuzz" has the [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|Mayor]] ousted from office by Fuzzy Lumpkins. He beats him in a wrestling match to regain control.

 

* To say that this is [[Truth in Television]] for a major part of human history is practically an understatement: Many leaders came into power by kicking out the region's current leader, then doing the same to anyone who might try to challenge them later. (Although it's usually the army doing the asskicking rather than the individual leader.)

** It is said that when Alexander the Great was asked to whom the succession would go, he replied "to the strongest." Of course no one ever figured out who was the strongest until the Romans came along and showed everyone, thus becoming [[The Empire]].

** Along the Scottish Border that was pretty much how the clans worked too. [[The Steel Bonnets]]

* Pick any animal species organized by packs or herds, and their social order will generally be ranked accordingly, with the strongest male exerting the most influence, both with regards to the pack as a whole, and with regards to the available females.

** The term "pecking order", in fact, originates from hens. Yes, even female ''chickens'' will fight to establish dominance.

* Democratic Elections are a more civilized form of this. [[Sleazy Politician|Well sort of]]. When you think about it they are a non-violent [[Combat by Champion]] involving an exchange of insults until the one whose reputation has been least destroyed gets the privilege of taking office and being blamed for all the evils of the world for his entire term. In any case it is about giving power to the one who was victorious in a contest.

* This trope is a nice summation of the fascist worldview. In the 1930s and '40s, when it was also sometimes referred to as "Realism" in relation to foreign policy, Orwell summed it up with a supposed quote from Germany's "Iron Chancellor" Bismark: when asked if a failure in foreign policy had been caused by being too harsh to a defeated enemy, Bismark was supposed to have replied "No, it was clearly caused because we ''weren't harsh enough''".

 

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