Authority Equals Asskicking: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:askick 4701.png|link=Captain America (comics)|frame| Not quite your standard [[Those Wacky Nazis|Nazi mook]].]]
{{quote|'''Jame:''' I'm not asking who'd win in a fight,[sic] I'm asking if the Czar outranks the mayor.
'''York:''' And you don't think those issues are related?
|''[[Terror Island]]''}}
{{quote|'''Stilgar:''' No man recognizes leadership without the challenge of combat.
|''[[Dune]]''}}
''[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The higher a character is in his hierarchy, the better he is in a fight.]] This goes double for non-protagonists.''
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The [[Almighty Janitor]] is an inversion, who is far more powerful than his lowly rank would imply. The [[Desk Jockey]] is a different inversion, who has been promoted out of the field into authority. Compare [[You Can Barely Stand]]. See also [[Large and In Charge]], [[Izchaks Wrath]], and [[Distribution of Ninjutsu]]. Not to be confused with [[Asskicking Equals Authority]], though it can explain this trope.
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* The leaders and other high-ranking dogs are always among the strongest fighters in ''[[Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin]]''. [[Justified Trope|Justified]] by this being how it tends to go in groups of wild animals in real life, too.
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*** To be fair, he's managed to do just fine on the Grand Line, something that would indicate at least a fair bit of ability. He also has a Devil Fruit that happens to be ''very'' powerful in many situations, as it makes swordsmen utterly helpless against him. While he may not be as powerful as some of the other authority-holders in the One Piece world, he certainly has something going for him.
** Subverted with Iceburg, the mayor and head of the Galley-La company. He is no fighter but he is possibly one of the best shipwrights in the world, which is why so many people respect him.
** Ahem, [[World's Strongest Man| Whitebeard]]. He may have a [[Badass Crew]] but he is the most Badass of them all. The guy simply bellows his name and the Marines run for cover!
* ''[[Bleach]]'' uses this quite heavily.
** The Gotei 13 is supposed to be ranked according to capability - the higher the rank, the more [[Badass]] the shinigami becomes. Captains are [[Nigh Invulnerable]], unranked foot soldiers are [[Cannon Fodder]]. It is possible to become a captain via [[Klingon Promotion]], but that's most likely to happen in the [[Blood Knight|11th Division]] and with only two mentioned examples, how common it is even for them is unknown. Even then, these captains have to be good enough to retain that rank. Although this works for the most part, the ranks really only confirm a shinigami's minimum power level as there are a couple of shinigami [[Almighty Janitor|at least vice-captain level in ability]] despite not being ranked as vice-captain ([[Bald of Awesome|Ikkaku]] and [[The Dandy|Yumichika]]).
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*** In King Bradley's case the above was true for [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|the 2003 anime version]]. But in Brotherhood all {{spoiler|being a homunculus did for him was give him the ultimate eye}}. His skill, strength, and everything else that made him [[Badass]] were things he worked to achieve.
* The Three Kings of Makai in ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''. Raizen, Mukuro, and Yomi control their own parts of Makai, along with vast armies of warriors, and major influence. Strength of the king is strength of the entire kingdom, meaning the kings are the only worthwhile fighters. It was explained at the end of the last season that a single S class fighter would be more that powerful enough to casually take over the Earth, and [[Informed Ability|possibly destroy it]]. Same goes for the afterlife as well. Guess what, each of the Three Kings makes a normal S class look [[Up to Eleven|tame]] in comparison. No wonder S class fights never happened on Earth.
* Members of the royalty and nobility in ''[[Crest of the Stars]]'' are obligated to service in the Imperial Navy. The higher one's rank, the greater one's responsibility; members of the royalty are at the top of the scale with many decades of required service.
* ''[[Code Geass]]'' subverts this trope and plays it straight. [[Humongous Mecha]] pilots in Britannia are called knights and those identified are always some level of nobility. Also there is [[Lady of War]] Princess Cornelia. Subverted however in that the ace pilots of the series (Kallen and Suzaku) hold only moderate rank and are not commanders in any sense.
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* The third season of ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'' shows us what many of the leaders can do once they get serious.
* In ''[[Medaka Box]]'', Medaka is the president of the 99th Student Council and one of the most powerful characters in the series. {{spoiler|Inverted by the 100th Student Council. Student Council president Zenkichi claims he is the ''weakest'' member of the council. The General Secretary is the strongest one.}}
* The board-game ''[[Stratego]]'' exemplifies this, as applied to an army: When two pieces meet, the highest-ranking piece wins. The Field-Marshal is basically unstoppable, unless he runs into [[The Mole|The Spy]]... or steps on a [[Death Trap|mine]], of course.▼
** To be specific, the Field-Marshal can only be killed 3 ways: Attacking another Field-Marshal (draw, both die), ''DEFENDING'' against a spy (Spy wins - it's the only time that the spy can attack someone and NOT die), or encountering a mine (obvious). Suffice it to say, if the Field-Marshal attacks a piece, the piece it attacks WILL be removed guaranteed.▼
* Both subverted and played straight in chess: The King, the most important piece on the board, is capable of little more than the pawn, but the Queen ([[The Man Behind the Man|The Woman Behind The Man]], as it were) is the most powerful piece on the board.▼
** In <s>the original Chess</s> older versions the Queen was even more useless than the King. She could only move one space and only DIAGONALLY. When they gave the Queen unlimited distance in all directions they called it "Madness Chess" because the woman was most powerful.▼
* In Yaquinto's ''[[Beachhead]]'', a single Japanese commander has four times the firepower of a 10-man squad.▼
== Comic Books ==
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*** These days, anyway. When first introduced, and right through the Golden and Silver Ages up until he came up with his first purple-and-green combat outfit, Luthor was overweight. Similarly, in his initial post-Crisis appearances, Lex was suffering the ravages of an over-lavish lifestyle. In both cases, after having his backside repeatedly kicked (literally and figuratively) by [[Superman]], he wised up and shaped up.
* In a recent [[Captain America (comics)]] issue, Cap is sent to a German concentration camp run by an SS Colonel nicknamed "The Butcher", a man missing half his face due to an encounter with a bear when he was thirteen - an encounter which ended with him ''breaking the bear's neck''. He even gives ol' Cap a good run for his money.
* Not sure what the context on this one is, which may render it inapplicable, but standing by itself [
** Context is that the "Reagan" getting shot is actually the [[Martian Manhunter]]. The real Ronnie enters in the last panel.
** Played... extremely bizarrely in one [[Captain America (comics)]] storyline, in which Cap takes on Reagan. Of course, Reagan has been turned into a lizard-monster.
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* In ''[[The Dark Knight Saga|Batman Begins]]'', Batman utterly owns everyone he fights pretty much instantly, including (leading up to the final fight) 4 ninjas in full body armor who presumably have the same training and skills as he does. However, Ra's al-Ghul, the [[Leader]] of the League of Shadows and Batman's [[Broken Pedestal]] mentor, is able to match Batman blow-for-blow and ultimately "wins" the fight, despite Batman wearing a high-tech suit of hardened combat armor, and Ra's [[Badass in a Nice Suit|wearing what's essentially very nice formal wear]].
* ''[[Quantum of Solace]]'' ends with [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] and {{spoiler|Dominic Greene battling on a collapsing catwalk inside an exploding building which is also [[Incendiary Exponent|ON FIRE]]!}} Greene doesn't exactly do ''well'', but he puts up a much longer and involving fight than you'd expect a 5-foot tall, physically unimpressive corporate suit to do so against the world's most famous British murder machine, especially considering how Bond dispatches mean-looking, highly-trained professional killers ''much'' more quickly on several occasions earlier in the film.
* ''[[Ip Man]]'':
** General Miura
** Frank from the third film is much more trouble than the thugs working for him, to the point that Ip's confrontation with him isn't even about winning but merely holding out for an agreed amount of time.
** The fourth film's Gunnery Sergeant Geddes is the highest-ranking fighting man and an even better fighter than the designated karate instructor under him. He easily defeats a roomful of admittedly already injured and tired masters, knocks Master Wan out despite the other man managing to throw him a few times, and ultimately is Ip's final opponent.
* In ''[[Scanners]]'', Revok is not only the leader of the evil scanner underground, but also one of the two most powerful scanners in the world - which is, of course, how he started the underground in the first place.
* At the climax of ''[[Cliffhanger]]'', effete villain John Lithgow (!) proves to be a match for musclebound Sly Stallone.
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* ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'' plays this trope fairly straight. While the mooks Sydney/Vaughn/other agent fights are easily deterred, usually the Big Bad/episode mini-Bad has some freaking sweet skills.
** And in the later seasons, when Jack became {{spoiler|head of APO}}, the trope took effect. Check out the episode "Nightingale".
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica
* On ''[[Ultimate Force]]'', Colonel Aidan Dempsey reliably kicks a lot of arse when called upon, most notably in the episodes "Dead Is Forever", "Never Go Back" and - particularly - "Charlie Bravo". In the latter, he strides through a gunfight, casually taking one-handed potshots at rebels, while exhorting his local counterpart to "Pretend you're an officer and get your men in order!"
* WWE chairman Vince McMahon is frequently booked as a fairly strong wrestler, and is usually the favorite in matches featuring him against anyone below main-event level. Partially [[Justified Trope|justified]] by the fact that McMahon is actually a very muscular person in real life.
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* In ''[[Castle]]'', Captain Roy Montgomery is usually seen in his office calling the shots, but in the season 3 finale, he kicks all kinds of ass. He manages to {{spoiler|kill three hitmen with precision before they can even get their weapons out. Although Lockwood manages to fatally wound him, Montgomery is still able to kill the last hitman with a hidden gun in his sleeve}}.
* Darken Rahl in ''[[Legend of the Seeker]]'' is a skilled swordsman and a sorcerer. He is also the ruler of the most poweful [[The Empire|empire]] in the world (as far as he knows, at least; the series was cancelled before the discovery of the Imperium) Admittedly, he is not as skilled in magic as [[Badass Grandpa|Zedd]], but he is able to beat Richard the first time they meet in battle. In another episode, he effortlessly kills several Sisters of the Dark, despite them being [[Elite Mooks]] (in the books, at least). Averted with most other rulers.
* In most cases in the ''[[Power Rangers]]'' franchise, the character who acts as the heroes' mentor is a [[Non-Action Guy]] (or girl). The exception is Anubis "Doggie" Cruger from ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'', aka the Shadow Ranger. Exactly how he gets [[Beast Man| his dog-like muzzle]] to fit in his helmet is a mystery, but he's a powerful member of the actual team.
== Mythology ==
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** Although whether they're ''physically'' powerful or not, most leaders do have extremely powerful abilities.
** Let's also not forget [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=78594 Lord Konda], who can become bigger than the average dragon, and can't be killed no matter how much damage he takes.
▲* The board-game ''[[Stratego]]'' exemplifies this, as applied to an army: When two pieces meet, the highest-ranking piece wins. The Field-Marshal is basically unstoppable, unless he runs into [[The Mole|The Spy]]... or steps on a [[Death Trap|mine]], of course.
▲** To be specific, the Field-Marshal can only be killed 3 ways: Attacking another Field-Marshal (draw, both die), ''DEFENDING'' against a spy (Spy wins - it's the only time that the spy can attack someone and NOT die), or encountering a mine (obvious). Suffice it to say, if the Field-Marshal attacks a piece, the piece it attacks WILL be removed guaranteed.
▲* Both subverted and played straight in chess: The King, the most important piece on the board, is capable of little more than the pawn, but the Queen ([[The Man Behind the Man|The Woman Behind The Man]], as it were) is the most powerful piece on the board.
▲** In <s>the original Chess</s> older versions the Queen was even more useless than the King. She could only move one space and only
▲* In Yaquinto's ''[[Beachhead]]'', a single Japanese commander has four times the firepower of a 10-man squad.
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* In the classic [[FPS]] ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'', several of the final bosses take advantage of this, including Dr. Schabbs (one of the rare examples of a [[Mad Scientist]] using this trope), at least one Nazi General, and of course, [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Adolf Hitler]], who naturally takes this to extremes: Not only has he [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|somehow acquired]] [[Powered Armor|an armored battle-suit]] mounted with [[Guns Akimbo|quadruple]] [[Gatling Good|gatling-guns]], once you've blasted it enough, he pops out -- [[Sequential Boss|and continues to fight]], with [[Gatling Good|Gatling]] [[Guns Akimbo]], while [[Made of Iron|ignoring the hail of bullets you're throwing at him]].
** Not to mention the fake Hitlers you meet before you face him, which have a unique weapon: Flamethrowers. [[Man On Fire|Nasty, nasty, nasty...]]
* The bizarre Japan-
* In the ''[[Halo]]'' series, Covenant Sangheili (aka Elites) "Zealot" Ship Masters and "Ultra" Spec Ops Commanders have shielding so powerful that Legendary-difficulty ones can withstand a Plasma Pistol charged shot, which instantly destroys the shields of any lesser Elite. They usually also pack one-hit-kill Energy Swords. This is [[Justified]] as Elite promotions are based almost entirely on how many foes they killed and, by extension, how much experience they have on the battlefield, and by the fact that the only thing getting better is their equipment. And supporting mooks (Grunts following the Spec Op Elites) have this nasty tendency to carry around [[BFG|fuel rod cannons]]).
** Brutes work the same way, but just more [[Just for Pun|brutal]]; never mind the kill score, if they topple the pack chief, they get his seat and shiny helmet along with tough shielding (the Elites still stay on top in that aspect), rounded off with a hammer. Yes, a gigantic more-often-than-not OHKO hammer. On higher difficulties, even being licked by its impact shockwave hurts like crap.
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* The reboot of ''[[Syndicate]]'' seems to follow this pattern. Sergeants are [[Elite Mooks]], the Lieutenant shown in trailers is a miniboss at least and the Colonel in the co-op demo is a boss.
* Pinnacle from [[Dead to Rights]], the corrupt mayor of Grant City who's like a cross between [[Marvel Comics|The Kingpin]] and an evil version of [[Final Fight|Mike Haggar.]] In their [[Let's Play]], [[Slowbeef]] and Diabetus ponder why he even needs a security force when he's a "shaved bear in a pinstriped suit."
* ''[[Honkai Impact 3rd]]'': The leaders of the three main anti-Honkai organisations conform to this. Anti-Entropy's Sovereign Welt Yang is the Herrscher of Reason, able to conjure legions of war machines from thin air, create and survive near a black hole, and hold his own against the Herrscher of the Void. Schicksal Overseer Otto Apocalypse has replicas of some powerful [[Lost Technology]] weapons. World Serpent Sire {{spoiler|Kevin Kaslana is the [[World's Strongest Man]], a [[Super Prototype]] [[Super Soldier]] of the Previous Era with a [[Flaming Sword]] that creates blasts visible from orbit and whose [[An Ice Person|ice powers]] by themselves can not only freeze said sword and let him kill the Previous Era's Herrscher of Flame who burned down Australia, but a clone with a mere 1% of his power stalemated the Current Era's strongest S-rank Valkyrie Durandal.}}
== Web Comics ==
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* Used in the Sonic fanfiction ''[[The Mobius Chronicles]]''. The higher in rank Amadeus gets the more ass kicking he does, also the Overlander second in command is one of their most talented fighters.
* ''[[Open Blue]]'''s [[Backstory]] had the Caesars of the [[Precursors|Iormunean Imperium]], who had access to an elixer that boosted their lifespan, physical abilities, and [[Healing Factor]], making them fearsome warriors in battle. Second to them was the [[Four-Star Badass|High Executor]], leader of the [[Praetorian Guard]], who was armed with an [[Ancestral Weapon|ancestral sword]] that could double as a ''[[Wave Motion Gun]]''.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120215134142/http://sendables.jibjab.com/originals/hes_barack_obama He's Barack Obama.]
* Xandus, the most powerful villain in the [[Avatar Adventures]] universe, doubles as the Prime Minister of Canada.
* It is revealed in [[Kickassia]] that {{spoiler|Kevin Baugh could teleport and use a sword.}}
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* ''[[wikipedia:Super President|Super President]]''.
* In ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' this holds true with Thundera's King Claudus and his two [[Four-Star Badass|best generals]] Panthro and Grune, all of whom sport [[Heroic Build]]s and illustrate the ability to mow down multiple foes in one blow, and in Grune's case, defeat a monster many times his own size.
* From ''[[Family Guy]]'': While most of the comedy in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9XbscpuXzY this clip] is meant to mock [[Donald Trump]], he sure does manage to put up a decent fight against Peter.
== Real Life ==
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