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M*A*S*H pothole
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{{trope}}
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The rank of Major is one often overlooked in works of fiction. It is neither quite as cool as '[[Colonel Badass|Colonel]]', nor does it have the same ring as '[[The Captain|Captain]]', and so for the most part is an ignored rank. But occasionally a character comes along, who happens to hold that rank, and do so while being a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|major]] [[Badass]]. This trope covers those people.
Major is the junior-most field rank there is. This means that, while a Major can be bossed around by higher-ranked officers, they also have the most room to grow. This makes them ideal protagonists. Among field officers, a [[Colonel Badass]] may be more of a leader and authority figure, but it's the Major who gets his hands dirty, shows what he's really made of, faces the music head
▲The rank of Major is one often overlooked in works of fiction. It is neither quite as cool as '[[Colonel Badass|Colonel]]', nor does it have the same ring as '[[The Captain|Captain]]', and so for the most part is an ignored rank. But occasionally a character comes along, who happens to hold that rank, and do so while being a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|major]] [[Badass]]. This trope covers those people.
Therefore, while a certain amount of [[Badass]] is almost expected from higher ranks (that's why they got promoted, after all), Majors will likely take levels as the plot moves along, paving the way with [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Moments Of Awesome]], and becoming leaders in their own right.
▲Major is the junior-most field rank there is. This means that, while a Major can be bossed around by higher-ranked officers, they also have the most room to grow. This makes them ideal protagonists. Among field officers, a [[Colonel Badass]] may be more of a leader and authority figure, but it's the Major who gets his hands dirty, shows what he's really made of, faces the music head on -- and is affected by the consequences.
More likely than not they will be a [[Blue Blood]] though oft times they will be [[An Officer and
▲Therefore, while a certain amount of [[Badass]] is almost expected from higher ranks (that's why they got promoted, after all), Majors will likely take levels as the plot moves along, paving the way with [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Moments Of Awesome]], and becoming leaders in their own right.
If we're talking about naval officers, the equivalent in rank and awesomeness would be a [[Common Ranks|Lieutenant Commander]]. For [[Authority Tropes]] in general, the next step down is arguably [[Dean Bitterman]]. The next step up is [[Colonel Badass]].
▲More likely than not they will be a [[Blue Blood]] though oft times they will be [[An Officer and A Gentleman]].
▲If we're talking about naval officers, the equivalent in rank and awesomeness would be a [[Common Ranks|Lieutenant Commander]]. For [[Authority Tropes]] in general, the next step down is arguably [[Dean Bitterman]]. The next step up is [[Colonel Badass]].
In various Japanese media involving pilots or an air wing, invariably the senior pilot will be a Major or a Lieutenant Commander; due to the IJN's heavy reliance on enlisted pilots, it was common for a carrier's air wing to be commanded by a Lieutenant Commander, as opposed to a full-bird Captain in the US Navy.
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{{examples
== Anime and Manga ==
* Majors Elric and Armstrong in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''.
** Anybody who qualifies as a State Alchemist in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' starts at the rank of Major. [[Colonel Badass]] Mustang used to be this, and everybody's favourite [[Mad Bomber]] Kimblee was also this.
* Major Motoko Kusanagi from ''[[Ghost in
* The Major from ''[[Hellsing]]''.
** An interesting case in that, while he is not physically imposing or even skilled at combat, he becomes awesome through his sheer tactical brilliance, awesome speeches, and [[Magnificent Bastard]] status. For that reason, he's one of the most memorable things about the series!
* Major (formerly Captain) Misato Katsuragi from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is pretty badass when she isn't [[The Alcoholic|drowning her sorrows]].
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== Film - Live Action ==
* Major [[Meaningful Name|Chip]] [[
* ''[[Major Payne]]'', though in this case his [[Badass]] status is [[Played for Laughs]].
* Major "Dutch" Schaeffer of ''[[Predator]]''.
* [[Chuck Norris]]' character in the first ''Delta Force'' movie.
* Major Reisman in ''[[The Dirty Dozen]]''(pictured above).
* T.E. Lawrence is promoted from lieutenant to major in charge of leading the Arab guerilla forces against the Turks after successfully taking Turkish-held Aqaba in ''[[Lawrence of Arabia]]''.
== Literature ==
* Nobody knows the first name of [[Catch
** Subverted by Major Major Major Major, in the same book, who is fairly incompetent and was promoted to major because a machine thought it would be funny that someone whose name was "Major Major Major" be ranked as a Major.
* Major Rawne from ''[[
** Major Broklaw from ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'', the 2IC of the Valhallan 597th. He quickly develops into the gruff, responsible [[Blue Oni]] of the command staff and once called an Administratum meeting to order ''with his bolt pistol''.
*
* Anytime a Long Patrol major shows up in [[Redwall]].
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|The Major]] from ''[[Daemon]]'' may be a [[Complete Monster]] but he is objectively pretty badass.
* [[Hand of Thrawn|Major Grodin Tierce]] spends most of his on-page time strategizing and trying to make the [[Big Bad Duumvirate|Big Bad Triumvirate]] hold together, but he does have a few very memorable action moments - and some of that strategy was damned impressive, too.
* In ''[[Rats, Bats, and Vats
== Live-Action TV ==
* Major John Casey for Season 1 and most of Season 2 of ''[[Chuck]]''. He was promoted to colonel in the episode "Chuck vs. the Colonel".
* Major Hochstetter from ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'', at least from the bad guys' POV. Klink (Colonel) and Burkhalter (General) both outrank Hochstetter but act completely subservient to the man. But then Hochstetter was SS and those two were regular German army.
* ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|M*A*S*H]]'':
** Major Charles Emerson Winchester III
** Major Margaret Houlihan
* Major Kira Nerys on ''[[Star Trek
* Major Briggs from ''[[Twin Peaks]]''.
* Samantha Carter is a Major for most of her time on ''[[Stargate SG
* Major John Sheppard in Season 1 of ''[[
* Major Zod, [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Smallville]]'''s 9th Season.
** Though he does promote himself to [[Four
== Videogames ==
* [[
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'' has Major Ocelot.
* Major Jackson "Jax" Briggs from ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''.
* Major Burrows from ''[[
* The Agressors from Super Robot Wars Original Generation. They were the guys who ''invented'' mecha combat in that universe:
** Sanger Zomvolt, the '''[[
** Elzam von Branstein, a genius pilot always hits, never misses and whose theme overrides all;
** Gilliam Jaeger, a dimension-hopping Intelligence Officer;
** And last but not least, Kai Kitamura, a [[Badass Normal]] [[Team Dad]] with an awesome 'stach, who regularly punches out Cthulhu using a mass-production mecha.
* Lieutenant Commander Shepard of the [[Space Navy|Systems Alliance Navy]] from [[
** As of ''[[
** {{spoiler|Ashley Williams}} is also a Lieutenant Commander by game 3.
** Also promoted to Major as of ''[[
** Remember "Big Ben" from the third game's first trailer? He turns up during the endgame as one of Anderson's right-hand soldiers, where we learn his name is Major Coates.
* Majors Strickland and Laurence Barnes from ''[[Crysis (
* Rosch from ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Major Glory of the [[
* Major [[Ms. Marvel|Carol Danvers]] in ''[[
* Major Monogram from ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]''.
== Real Life ==
* Major Smedley Darlington Butler was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor '''''twice''''': once in 1914 during the Vera Cruz expedition, and once in 1915 during the Haitian rebellion. He later retired from the US Marine Corps as a Major General.
** He also have the distinction of being the only [[Badass]] in history to be named "Smedley". Did we mention that this man had a huge tattoo of the Marine Corps "eagle, globe, and anchor" symbol on his chest, starting at his throat and extending to his belly-button?
* Commandant Pat Quinlan (the Irish Army uses 'commandant' instead of 'major' for the rank) who commanded the Irish regiment at the [
* Invoked by Nikita Khrushchev upon [[Yuri Gagarin]], who was just a First Lieutenant when he was being hurled into space. Khrushchev decided that that rank was not awesome enough for the first man in space, so he forced an immediate promotion to Major against all military regulations by the time Gagarin landed.
* [
== Other ==
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[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]
[[Category:Badass]]
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