Just the First Citizen: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Blake's 7]]'': First Citizen Hower of planet Obsidian.

** He also uses this to rub everyone's noses in the fact that yes, they're princes and dukes and whatnot, but a minor house was the one that finally fixed everything. As Martellus [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20141031 noted], this "obvious contempt" to the whole system was one of the main reasons why the nobility didn't get along with Klaus.

** The von Mekkans are seneschals of Heterodyne Lords, and this responsibility includes running the city. Since Wulfenbach conquered Mechanicsburg, they are heads of the shadow government, holding the title of ''ringers of the Doom Bell''. The joke being that {{spoiler|the Doom Bell is rung only to greet a new Heterodyne. By a dedicated Castle-controlled mechanical monster which stands on top of the belltower (in plain sight). Using the special hammer about the size of a lamp post (it certainly can be ''dragged'' by most adult humans, and really strong ones should be able to ''lift'' it, but intended use requires much more force than that)}}.

* [[Josef Stalin]] [[Zig Zagged Trope|zig-zags]] this by playing it straight and averting it at the same time. For all his power, all the control, all the spy networks and the state he built, he was simply the General Secretary of the Communist Party; his rivals during his rise to power jokingly called him "Comrade Card-Index", as the official role of the General Secretary in the early party was keeping the membership rolls.<ref>Because of Stalin's use of this trope, the de facto leader during the history of the U.S.S.R. was always the person filling this post, regardless of whether or not that person was also the Premier.</ref> Someone stated that a title that would reflect his ''real'' power would have to be something like "Pope of the Communist church; Czar of Russia; CEO of Soviet Inc." In addition, he also allowed himself to be called simply "Vozhd" (leader/boss) after his fiftieth birthday celebration in 1929, and was given the title "Generalissimus" (the highest possible military rank), although he never wore the insignia. On the other hand, years before becoming General Secretary he did change his birth name from Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili to the Russian equivalent of [[Awesome McCoolname|Joe Steel]]. During his [[Cult of Personality|personality cult]] he also accepted an immense number of grandiose titles, including "Coryphaeus of Science", "Father of Nations", "Brilliant Genius of Humanity", "Great Architect of Communism", "Gardener of Human Happiness", and many more.

* The title of "Führer", which [[Adolf Hitler]] adopted when he became leader of the Nazi Party and elevated to a government title when they took power in Germany can be simply translated to "guide", although it is generally translated as "leader", which is more in line with fascist philosophy. Although not even nearly as ubiquitously used as Führer, Hitler also awarded himself a number of bombastic titles over the years designed specifically to invoke this trope, including "First Soldier of the German Reich", "First Worker of the New Germany", and "Supreme Judge of the German People". In something of an overlap with [[Modest Royalty]], Hitler's ceremonial uniform was also much more staid than you would expect from a man in the process of conquering the world. He wore a plain uniform with only the awards that he earned in [[World War OneI]], which looks funny in contrast to, say, Goering, who swanked it up with silks and furs and every medal he could lay his fat hands on.