Four-Star Badass: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"There's [[There Are Two Kinds of People in the World|two kinds of generals]] in the service. Some are dumber than a box of inbred chickens and get their job through political connections, and not actual battlefield skills. I'm the other kind. Learn the difference."''|'''General Lumberdon''', ''[[Antihero for Hire]]'' [http://www.antiheroforhire.com/d/20090406.html 2009-04-06]}}

 

'''Patton:''' "Berlin. I'm going to personally shoot [[Adolf Hitler|that paper-hangin' sonofabitch]]!"|''[[Patton]]''}}

 

* Admiral James T. Kirk in the first four ''[[Star Trek]]'' movies. Naturally.

** And his TOS crew is [[Genre Savvy]] enough to know it. When a new ensign protests Kirk's last minute command orders in ''The Motion Picture'', Uhura coolly and effectively shuts him down with one sentence:

* ''[[Star Wars]]'' has a bunch but the best examples are two Generals who were heroes at the Battle of Endor. You know them popularly as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Han [[The Courtship of Princess Leia|resigned later]]; Lando left the service but retained the rank, because as everyone knows, "General Calrissian" just sounds awesome.

** Also from the battle of Endor, Admiral Ackbar.

* The original M, played by Bernard Lee in the [[James Bond]] films, holds the rank of rear admiral in the Royal Navy as well as being the head of [[MI 6]].

* Brigadier General John Buford in ''[[Gettysburg]],'' whose single division of dismounted cavalry held off Henry Heth's forces on the first day of battle until the main Union force could arrive, and whose tactical foresight in battleground selection was a vital factor in the Union's victory.

* ''[[Ip Man]]'' has the Japanese General Miura, who is an honourable, honest-to-goodness ass-kicking pugilist. He is contrasted with the [[Smug Snake]] Colonel Sato who can't make the cut for [[Colonel Badass]].

* [[Awesome McCoolname|Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel]], Marines Force Recon from ''[[The Rock]]''.

* Dalinar from [[The Stormlight Archive]] starts reminding people exactly who he is near the end of ''The Way Of Kings''. Right after {{spoiler|laying a beatdown on his nephew who just happens to be king. And this is ''after'' giving up his [[Cool Sword|Magical Sword]] to fulfill an oath to a slave.}}

* The ''[[X Wing Series]]''' Wedge Antilles [[Limited Advancement Opportunities|put off promotion]] for as long as he could, preferring to be a commander, but eventually Ackbar talked him around. It did come with deskwork, unfortunately, but he still got to fly. His track record, before and after getting that rank, is nothing short of spectacular. During the New Jedi Order he tried to [[Obfuscating Stupidity|lose a battle]] so that he'd have a poor Vong commander to deal with, only to very much ''[[Springtime for Hitler|not]]'' lose. Then he ended up facing a very good Vong commander, and still managed to very much not lose.

** There are actually a fair number of these in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], and a lot of them did start as Commanders.

** General Luke Skywalker in [[Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor]]--the youngest general in his impressively-sized taskforce. The second-youngest is five years older than Han Solo. He's not bothered by the age gap. He's bothered by how the others assume that since he's a Jedi he automatically knows better, and people are afraid to question his plans.

* ''[[Dragaera]]'''s Sethra Lavode is probably the best example. She's not just a general, she's one of the greatest military minds in history, and she's not just a [[Badass]], she's a [[Time Abyss|450,000-year-old]] vampire sorceress powerful enough to order gods around. [[Captain Obvious|Do not mess with Sethra.]]

* Mat Cauthon from the ''[[Wheel of Time]]''. He becomes a general by ending up in charge of a small group of soldiers, despite being a civilian, and using them to slaughter thousands of the best warriors in the world, and killing the head of the opposing army in single combat ''while trying only to run away so that his band of inexperienced soldiers doesn't get decimated''. His solders know it too. In a later book:

The other three nodded in agreement as if that were the most normal thing in the world.|''Knife of Dreams''}}

** In general, the Great Captains are this trope when they get to show their stuff, especially Gareth Bryne and Rodel Ituralde, who are both [[Master Swordsman|blademasters]] as well. Ituralde is practically [[The Ghost]] for most of the series while the other great generals have appeared, until ''The Gathering Storm'' where he holds his own with a ragtag, unsupplied army against the Seanchan, who have greater numbers, [[Giant Flyer|air forces]], and ''[[Functional Magic|damane]]''. And Bryne raised an army to besiege the greatest city in the world out of raw recruits. Shame [[Velvet Revolution|he didn't get to use it]]].

** The Tipoo Sultan himself qualifies.

** General Jean-Baptiste Calvet of the Imperial Guard is badass personified. Here are some of his better quotes:

'''Calvet''': Human flesh tastes like skate. Did you know that, Ducos? [[Ho Yay|Roast buttock of corporal]], nicely peppered. Next time you eat skate, remember that. }}

*** His other achievements include getting his corps out of Russia intact (a feat in itself, though he just told us how), and [[Impaled with Extreme Prejudice|impaling two Cossacks]]. ''At the same time''.

* Brigadier General Beckman from ''[[Chuck]]'' is trying to be this. In the later seasons she seems to be somewhat succeeding.

* Rear Admiral Chegwidden in ''[[JAG]]'' fits the trope to a tee.

Chegwidden: [In Italian] Not crazy. Practical. }}

** Well what do you expect? Before he was a lawyer he was a Navy SEAL.

* He may start out as a [[Majorly Awesome|Major Badass]], but [[Magnificent Bastard|Major]] [[Kneel Before Zod|Zod]], the [[Big Bad]] of [[Smallville]] Season 9 [[Foregone Conclusion|eventually]] promotes himself to General as he and his [[Badass Army]] proceed to take control of Earth.

* General Stockwell of the 5th season of ''[[The A-Team]]'' is shown to be a excellent marksman and hand-to-hand combatant as well as fluent in Chinese and always two steps ahead of everyone else. Of course, he ''is'' played by [[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.|Robert Vaughn]]...