Power Is Sexy
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"Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac."
—Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State 1973-1977
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What is it about power that can make someone weak in the knees? Perhaps it's the control issues, to be dominated by someone that's just more than you, or is it something that just brings out our primal lust?
Naturally, the Super-Trope of many dominant/subordinate relationship based tropes. Also related is Evil Is Sexy, seeing as how evil is often simply a means of attaining power.
No real life examples, please; we'd be here all day.
Anime and Manga
- In One Piece Boa Hancock's love towards Luffy has this overlap with I Love You Because I Can't Control You and All Girls Want Bad Boys, sort of. The first quality about Luffy that made Boa fall in love with him is his ability to resist her charms, making him impervious to her Devil Fruit power. The second thing was his willingness to stand up to a World Noble and give him a sound thrashing, something all the Nobles deserve but nobody - up to that point - was brave enough to give them.
Fan Works
- It's common in fan fiction for a character to gain a Story-Breaker Power and Bam! Tenchi Solution.
- Naruto is the main offender of this trope.[context?][please verify]
Film
- Parodied in Spaceballs, as Dark Helmet play this very straight in his pathetic and very private Show Within a Show: He's playing with dolls, and the doll representing the princess falls for the doll representing himself on the basis of him being so powerful.
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Dark Helmet (as Vespa): Oh no! I hate you I hate you I hate you! Leave me alone! And yet, I find you strangely attractive. |
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- In Captain America: The First Avenger, this appears to be the reason why the blond secretary flirted with Steve. During the debriefing scene with Colonel Phillips, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. And later, when Steve asked to speak with Howard Stark, she wasn't even about to give him the time of the day until she recognized him. When she did, she was all over him.
Literature
- In Slave World, one of the main reasons Jenny falls in love with Lady Isobel is seeing her power over other people. An even greater aphrodisiac is that her discreetly forceful attitude makes it clear that she's used to having people bend to her will.
Live Action TV
- A good example is found in Francis Urquhart, the scheming Tory politician, in House of Cards. To assist his bid for political power, he has an affair with a young and attractive journalist. At an early stage in this process, she comments on his attractiveness and one of her colleagues mentions the charismatic effect of power.
- In an episode of Night Court, Christine has to deal with a rude and misogynistic Polynesian Royal Brat; she is unimpressed by his station and sternly tells him to shut it. The Prince has clearly never been spoken to that way, and discovers he actually finds her attractive as a result. The rest of the episode, his reaction towards her is gushing, fawning, and eventually trying to bribe her into being his wife; she declines.
Video Games
- In Dragon Age, a female Warden can make a remark to this effect when Alistair reveals his heritage.
Web Comics
- In The Order of the Stick, Evil Overlord Tarquin has had many wives, and the women still like him.
Web Original
- Discussed in this Cracked article.
Western Animation
- In Family Guy, Peter and the guys play "who would you do?"
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Peter: Hey, you guys, here's one for you. Let's say none of us were married, all right? If you could have any woman in the world, who would it be? |
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- In The Incredibles, Bob Parr (as Mr. Incredible) meets Mirage in a volcano and asks why the operation is situated in such a place. She responds, "[My boss] is attracted to power... so am I."