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Inadequate Inheritor: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|One of the strongest ''natural'' proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ''ass for a lion''.
|Thomas Paine
A successful bigwig, be it in business, politics, magic or even world conquest, is growing old, and in preparation for an eventual retirement/death looks to their children to see who among them can [[Take Up My Sword|take up]] [[Taking Up the Mantle|their mantle]]... and is faced with incompetence, disinterest, or a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] in the making. These are by no means an exhaustive list of possible shortcomings, indeed just about anything that can make a parent ask "[[Why Couldn't You Be Different?]]" is grounds for this trope. Special mention should go to times when the Inadequate Inheritor is not good/heroic enough, [[Evil Parents Want Good Kids|too evil]], or ''[[Minion with an F In Evil|not evil enough.]]''
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* Rudyard Kipling's poem [https://web.archive.org/web/20140113093230/http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_gloster.htm "The Mary Gloster"].
* In [[Neil Gaiman]]'s ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'', the king of Stormhold is highly disappointed his sons haven't all killed each other to reveal an heir before being on his deathbed. He throws the royal topaz (ruby in the film) and tells them whoever fetches it first is the new king.
* In [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[
* In ''[[Hero Series|Heroes Adrift]]'', the main characters are sent to look for a long-lost bastard descendant of the queen as an alternate heir. Both the queen and the heir end up hating this idea once they actually meet.
* This is the reason Samwell Tarly ends up joining the Night's Watch in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''. His dad wants a warrior and a lord for a heir, and Sam is soft-hearted boy of some obesity. When, after a long series of miscarriages and daughters, a second male heir is produced, his dad offers him a choice: join the Night's Watch, thereby forsaking all claims to land and heirs, or experience a "tragic hunting accident."
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