History Main / BaitAndSwitchTyrant

* Peisistratos was an Athenian tyrant after Solon, but only a tyrant in so much as he seized power by force, then becoming a benevolent ruler. Of course, Ancient Greece did not automatically assume the ''tyrannos'' to be a malevolent ruler.

* Dr. Nero spends the first book of the ''Literature/HIVESeries'' as what appears to be the villain, but it's soon made clear that he is really just a teacher who loves lasers and stylish overdoings. After the kids' initial wariness, they begin to trust him, to the point where Nero might be considered AFatherToHisMen.
* {{Literature/Sharpe}} does this occasionally, most notably in his first encounter with Cpt. Frederickson.
* In Creator/DanAbnett's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novel ''Honour Guard'', Commissar Viktor Hark is assigned to the Ghosts with the express purpose of seeing to Gaunt's removal from command and clashes with him repeatedly on matters of authority. He later proves himself to be a competent and charismatic leader, as well as a good shot with his plasma pistol[[note]]more important than it sounds - plasma guns are rare and expensive weapons designed to kill lightly-armoured vehicles[[/note]], and ends up joining the Ghosts at the end to serve as one of Gaunt's go-to people when there's a problem that needs to be deal with.
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', Vetinari is represented at first as a tyrant, but in the later books it is shown that he only has the well being of the city at heart (whether the city likes it or not is a different issue altogether). Note that this in no way prevents him from being a tyrant (and even referring to himself as one): he's a ruler with near-absolute power and everyone knows it. His [[VetinariJobSecurity job security]] lies mainly in the fact that he runs the city with such an iron fist that it'd fall apart in a week if he got assassinated. The only real overt abuse of his power is him throwing any and all mimes into the scorpion pit (which everyone in the city generally regards [[EveryoneHatesMimes as one of his better qualities]]).

* In ''Literature/WatershipDown'', the rabbits of Efrafa who like Woundwort (namely the officers and the other higher-ups) consider him one of these. The rank and file are either quietly sullen or too beaten down to care.
** Woundwort, [[spoiler:despite his defeat and unconfirmed death]], ends becoming a MemeticBadass to all the rabbit descendants in both warrens.
* Piers Anthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' series features "Evil Magician Trent" who, when he becomes the only [[spoiler:known]] possible choice for king, proves himself such a capable ruler he becomes known as "Good King Trent".
** It's also made fairly clear when he comes into focus that the "Evil Magician" title was a ''political'' one -- he was evil because he wasn't supporting the current ruler.
** Also happens when Magician Murphy temporarily takes the throne in ''Isle of View''. He ''was'' evil at one point, but is now TheAtoner (hence why he was put in charge), and the other characters are surprised that he does a good job.

* Severus Snape in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. While the Voldemort takeover of the magical world leads to a harsh regime (for the non-Slytherins, at least), the fact that muggleborns and "blood traitors" are there ''at all'' suggests he was able to protect them somewhat. [[spoiler:[[InvokedTrope Dumbledore actually made Snape promise to be this before his death.]]]]

* ''Videogame/ArcRiseFantasia'': Very downplayed, but Prince Weiss can count as this. He first shows up as TheEvilPrince, eager for world domination and not above killing his opposition. Turns out, he is actually the ''good'' option! [[spoiler:He triggered a genocide against a religious group, but said group ''was'' intending to cause the end of the world, even if unknowingly, he was never tyrannical against his own people, different than what Alf did when he rose to the throne. He also never harmed anyone in his own family, he loved his mother dearly and his attempt to save her causes others to curse him and his father, and despite the theories on the country, his father genuinely committed suicide, much against Weiss' will, he even attempts a peace treaty to end the war and join forces against the evil gods, but is killed by his brother by attempting that]]. He was extremely pragmatic and definitely crossed the MoralEventHorizon at some point, but he was never as evil as he initially seemed.

* Logan from ''VideoGame/FableIII'' qualifies for this. After you spend a significant portion of the game preparing to revolt against his tyranny, [[spoiler:you find out that he did what he did in an attempt to protect Albion from the attack of the Crawler.]] While this still does not make him a good guy by any means, it makes his actions far more understandable.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'' has Queen Elizant II. It's made clear from the beginning of the game that she is not a very popular ruler, with even main party member Leif openly disliking her. Her actions also don't paint her in a good light as she has strained her kingdom's relationships with its allies. Her appearance also doesn't paint her in a good light, with her WhiteMaskOfDoom and stern tone. Even her castle's music doesn't paint her in a good light. She's actually a RedHerring for the game's true BigBad, the Wasp King and once he manages to steal the artifacts to the Everlasting Sapling, her façade cracks, revealing that she is actually a heroic queen who just wants to keep her kingdom safe.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wandersong}}'' has [[spoiler:the Baron who runs the factory in Chismest]]. The game builds him up to be a BadBoss, but once the Bard meets him, [[spoiler:he has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when he [[HeelRealization realizes he's done more harm than good for Chismest]], and he shuts down the factory for good.]]

* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', Elder merchant Gilder begins as a bad tempered and seemingly petty leader -- but was revealed later to be a character sincerely looking out for the best interests of his home village.
** To a lesser degree, the local merchant is a grasping opportunist selling questionable goods with a unrepentant smile, but when he pulls Quentyn over for a chat, he has some honestly good advice about how the hero should bargain for the items he is undertaking his grand quest for. Mind you, he's doing this to sell a ton of cheap magic items as "trade goods," but Quentyn concedes his general counsel is on the money.

* Norma, the new manager of the titular ''{{Webcomic/Multiplex}}'', turns out to be less unsympathetic than she originally comes across.

* Turns out to be the case with WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic in the Chick's ''{{Franchise/Transformers}}''-''{{Franchise/Bratz}}'' arc. He tranquilizes her and locks her in his basement to make her watch the latter movie, but it transpires that he just wanted her to be proud of herself for being able to sit through it. Aww? Aww.

''The crowd gasps''\\

--->"All right, you little ''punks''. Pick up your freakin' ''ears''... because I'm only going to say this ''once.'' From now on, things are gonna be ''very, very different'' around here -- with your new principal, Ned Flanders!" ("[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E19SweetSeymourSkinnersBaadasssssSong Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]")\\
"All right, you listen up, you little FREAKS. The ''fun stops here''. You are gonna SHUT your stinkin' traps and ''behave,'' DAMMIT! This is one substitute you're not gonna ''SCREWWWW WITH!!'' ...''Marge Simpson!"'' ("[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E21ThePTADisbands The PTA Disbands]]")
* In ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Steam Lantern", Hal is knocked into a universe where the [[BigBad Anti-Monitor]] has destroyed all but one world which is ruled by a man who appears to be a stereotypical EvilOverlord. At the end of the episode, it's revealed the guy wasn't trying to be evil, he was trying to protect the people of the world and his robots had gone overboard in their duties. [[HeelRealization He realizes his mistake in the end, shuts down his robots, and helps bring his world into Hal's universe.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "The Coach", Coach Russo appeared to be a DrillSergeantNasty, exhausting everyone in class, possibly making up for her accomplishments and overly favoring [[TheBully Jamie]]. However, halfway into the episode she stops Jamie from bullying Gumball and manages to ''make her apologize'', to everyone's astonishment. After that point, she's treated as a regular gym coach and not a tyrannical EvilTeacher.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E5GauntletOfFire Gauntlet of Fire]]", after Torch admits that his daughter, Ember, will make a good Dragon Lord, Ember turns to the dragons watching them and shouts "AGREE WITH HIM!", causing all the dragons to look at each other in shock and confusion. Ember quickly clarifies to them she's just kidding and isn't going to make that her thing like Torch did. Torch lets out a [[ActuallyPrettyFunny loud laugh]] at the display.
* ''WesternAnimation/KampKoral'': Zigzagged in "Deep Sea Despot". A delirious Mr. Krabs appoints Squidward the temporary camp master. The other campers insult Squidward and wreck the camp, until they are forced to relent and ask for his leadership. Squidward orders them around and they fix up the camp in a day, making it better than ever, and everyone thinks his leadership might not be bad after all... but the next day, he takes so much pleasure in having proved them wrong that he submits them to grueling work just to serve himself.

!!Examples

* In ''Literature/Overlord2012'', [[OurLichesAreDifferent Ainz]] quickly proves to be this after he takes over the city of E-Rantel and founds his [[TheNecrocracy Sorcerer Kingdom.]] Virtually everyone, from his new subjects to every other nation in the New World, expects the Undead King to demand massive sacrifices in his name for some evil ritual or another, or launch a genocidal campaign against any who do not submit to his rule. Instead, they are visibly surprised when he brings stability and peace: everyone has enough food to eat, jobs are readily available or created, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the undead handle all the paperwork]] and [[EqualOpportunityEvil all races are able to coexist as equals.]] His neighbors still take issue with a country ruled by an undead, of course, but are hardly in a position to remove [[PhysicalGod Ainz]] from power.

* ''ComicBook/{{Democracy}}'': While Peisistratus started as a tyrant (which is truth, as the RealLife entry above states), he cared about his people, tried to help them in any way, by giving money even to his enemies, creating new trading roads and an effective police consisting of Scythian archers, being a general and beautifying the city with squares. Even some people call the days he ruled an "Age of Gold".

[[folder:FanWorks]]

---> '''Grayven''': Are you a racist, Mr Kipling?

* ''Film/RedRockWest'': Deputy Greytack initially seems to be accusing Michael of a crime he didn't commit, but once his boss shows up, it's made clear that he recognizes that the signs point to Michael's innocence and is just confused by the whole affair.

-->'''Krauss''': ''"Dr. Manning, suck my ectoplasmic schwanzstucker!"''
** Even Manning comes across as this, to a lesser degree, in the first movie; at first he's a whiny, self-important ObstructiveBureaucrat, but, when worst comes to worst, he has the guts to throw a big metal cog into [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Ruprecht]] [[StupidJetpackHitler Kroenen's]] face, saving the Big Red's tail in doing so.
* Gregory Peck's character in ''Film/TwelveOClockHigh'' takes over a B-17 bomber group, formerly led by the ineffective Colonel Davenport. His efforts to instill discipline and order on the group are not well-received initially, but the men eventually recognize his competence, and the improvements in success rate and morale are evident.
** In this case, an InvokedTrope. His orders were to essentially be a DrillSergeantNasty in order to whip the demoralized unit into shape, knowing full-well that they would probably hate him for it.

* In ''[[Film/TheMightyDucks D3: The Mighty Ducks]]'', the Ducks are accepted to a prestigious academy. However, their new coach, Ted Orion, initially makes many changes to the team roster and traditions to the point where the entire team loathed him. However, their previous coach manages to convince them that Orion isn't such a terrible coach, but just has a stricter coaching style than the Ducks are used to. The Ducks eventually accept Orion as their coach and Orion in turn eases up on his restrictions on them.
** It should be noted that many of the changes he instigated, such as moving Goldberg from goalie to defenseman, proved to improve the team as a whole.
* Rollo Lee in ''Film/FierceCreatures'' is a former cop who shows up to take over the zoo. One of his policies is the "Fierce Creatures" policy, in where any creature that isn't violent, dangerous, and basically interesting will be rid of. As the situation escalates and the workers keep trying to argue some of the tamer animals are fierce, [[spoiler:he then pretends to shoot a group of the tame animals in his office.]] After Willa shows up and relieves him of his post, he proves to be a nice guy who didn't, in fact, [[spoiler:kill the animals]], and wants to do his best by the zoo. He ends up gaining the workers' trust as he tries to argue for them and the zoo as it threatens to close.
** Willa herself quickly learns to love the zoo, and helps them keep it open when their boss wants it shut down.
* In the first few minutes of ''Film/TheProposition'', Stanley seems to be a brute presenting the protagonist with a SadisticChoice. He turns out to be one of the most decent people in the film.

* This is certainly the view of the Recon Platoon in regards to Gunny Highway taking over their training in ''Film/HeartbreakRidge''. It's actually a bit more accurate to say that they'd been allowed to slack off prior to his taking over.
* ''Film/AmericanRenegades'': Admiral Levine enjoys beginning conversations where he's about to congratulate or reward the team by sounding stern and listing things they did wrong first.
* ''Film/{{Croc}}'': Evelyn is first seen sternly taking note of some violations while inspecting Jack's farm, and shrugs off his claims of sabotage by the Konsongs. During her briefing, however, she does not recommend shutting the farm down, stating that the violations were minor, easily fixed ones. This causes the Konsongs to get her fired.
* ''Film/{{Python}}'': Deputy Greg is introduced glaring around at John as he bikes around town, and later seeming a bit pleased at the prospect of questioning him over Lisa's murder but is fairly restrained when actually questioning John (especially compared to his overeager partner), doesn't really think he's guilty and eventually makes peace with John.
* Zig-zagged in ''Principal Takes a Holiday'', but only because the main characters find out that the substitute principal has been delayed and decide to hire a bum to take his place. The staff expects the real Dr. Baxter to be extremely strict and is shocked when Fitz turns the school into a laid-back place where students are actually having fun (in addition to learning). When the real Baxter finally arrives and sees all the positive changes Fitz has made, he vehemently approves, much to the chagrin of the usual principal.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'': Boris Scherbina is introduced as ObstructiveBureaucrat dismissing Legasov (the scientist telling him the core exploded), but when Legasov is quickly vindicated on all points and he realizes that Bryukhanov and Fomin are lying to him, he immediately becomes a BadassBureaucrat.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
** When Captain Edward Jellico is given command of the Enterprise, it looks a lot like a TyrantTakesTheHelm plot when he starts making rapid and aggressive changes, tells Troi to put on an actual uniform [[note]] To the absolute DELIGHT of the actress, if not the character, especially since that innovation turned out to be permanent[[/note]], clashes with Riker (ultimately removing him from duty), and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking demands that someone "get rid of the damned fish" in Picard's office]]. But Jellico proves to be a very effective commander when he sees through several layers of Cardassian deception, traps the Cardassian fleet, secures Picard's release from a prison camp, and helps avert a potential war.
** Picard himself seemed like this very briefly, especially compared to the more rough and tumble style of command favored by Kirk. He downright frightened Riker, demanding that he perform a needlessly difficult maneuver and raising questions about insubordination before the audience discovers that he was actually [[SecretTest testing Riker's competence]] and [[SecretTestOfCharacter character]]--and Riker had passed with flying colors.
%%* Assistant Director Skinner on ''Series/TheXFiles''.
* Jack Donaghy on ''[[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]''. He starts off changing the name of Liz's show and drastically "[[ExecutiveMeddling retooling]]" it to increase its demographic appeal. It's arguable how much he's "improved" since then, but he seems to have grown on the other characters somewhat. (Also, the show seemed to have run out of TyrantTakesTheHelm plots for him after the first couple of episodes.) In later seasons his mentoring seems to be the only thing keeping Liz sane and thus keeping the cast and writers from going off the deep end. He actually states outright in the first episode that some of the changes are just for the sake of establishing dominance by putting "his mark" on things, which is TruthInTelevision for many new managers.
* Dr. Mildred Finch on ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}''. At first Charlie resents the changes she makes, but she generally has good reasons. She can be pushy, but she's a decent person and a competent administrator. And when she turns her supposed "pushiness" against people who are trying to take advantage or hurt Charlie, it turns into a moment of awesome, every time. It doesn't hurt that once she starts getting comfortable, she lets up a bit on some of the ultimatums she had laid down at the beginning.
* ''Franchise/StargateVerse'':
** General Hammond on ''Series/StargateSG1''. One of his first acts was to try to blow up an inhabited planet and throw the JustFollowingOrders excuse, before tossing Jack O'Neill in a holding cell for creatively interpreting his orders in ''Film/{{Stargate}}''.[[note]]Jack had been ordered to nuke any potential threat to Earth on his first trip through the gate, which turned out to be the Goa'uld Supreme System Lord Ra. Jack did so; however he lied in his report that Ra's mothership had been on the ground when the bomb went off and that the bomb had also destroyed the TransplantedHuman civilization on Abydos (along with Daniel Jackson, who had fallen in love with a local woman and stayed behind).[[/note]] However, he shortly after rethinks this and asks Jack for alternatives, setting up the series. It wasn't long before he would almost unquestioningly approve virtually any CrazyEnoughToWork plan SG-1 ever came up with. At one point, when SG-1 has been captured by Hathor, he personally flies second seat in a special Goa'uld Death Glider to free them.
** Although not a leader, Rodney [=McKay=] is an interesting example: he never develops beyond {{Jerkass}} in his first appearance, but gets CharacterDevelopment in his second and eventually became a heroic figure on ''Series/StargateAtlantis''.
** A uniquely interesting example is Richard Woolsey, an ObstructiveBureaucrat who was first seen on ''SG-1''; he waltzes in with his rulebook and starts annoying the hell out of everyone. But repeated brushes with Senator Kinsey show him that something is seriously wrong with the Senator. He then visits [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure General Hammond]] and takes MagicFloppyDisk full of {{Blackmail}} material on Senator Kinsey. He then gives the disk to The President, who uses it to fire Kinsey. His departing speech to The President is: "I also hope history one day shows that I tried to do the right thing." He is essentially, the one who finally brought Kinsey down.\\
He eventually shows up again in ''Atlantis'' - still trying to push his rulebook for the greater good. He starts annoying people again almost immediately, despite generally having good intentions. When he replaced Carter as the leader, this turned into awkwardness, because the crew was not used to someone so "bureaucrat-like". He soon learned to not only trust rules, however. While still being uptight, he shows a heart of gold on multiple occasions and even gets his own badass moments.
* Kevin "Ug" Lee on ''Series/SaluteYourShorts''. Though his initial speech to the campers makes it clear that he's trying to be a hard-ass, it quickly becomes apparent that the guy is just trying to keep his job by enforcing rather reasonable rules (albeit with hilariously draconian punishments).
* Colonel Sherman T. Potter on ''Series/{{MASH}}''. He was significantly more strict than his predecessor Henry Blake, but he loosened up as the series went along.
** His first episode has Hawkeye and B.J. worried about how bad he'll be, and hard-nosed hypocrite Frank Burns absent for other reasons. Colonel Potter does many things they'd feared, including making Klinger change out of his normal cross-dressing attire into an actual uniform. By the time Burns comes back, eager to see a hard-nosed military man like he'd heard about, Potter is drinking in the Swamp and complimenting Klinger on his fashion sense. It's been theorized that Potter wanted to establish his authority first before showing his CoolOldGuy credentials.
---> '''Potter''': "When I was on Guam, I had a still. One night it blew up! [leans close to the boys] That's how I got my Purple Heart."
** Oddly enough, arrogant Boston Brahmin Maj. Charles Winchester ends up being one of these in general during his one outing as acting CO of the unit. Winchester actually does act with the unit's best interests in mind and gets all the work done, though he does end up wimping out of standing up to a {{Jerkass}} Marine colonel throwing his weight around and obstructing the compassionate discharge of a Marine private at the camp.[[note]] He had joined sides with Hawkeye and BJ in keeping the private from the wrath of the colonel, until the Marine MP sent to do the colonel's will pointed out that Winchester, as CO, could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice if he officially intervened.[[/note]] In fact, far from being a tyrant, his ''major'' duties seem to be listening to Wagner and looking impressive behind Potter's desk.
* Speaker of the House Glenallen Walken on ''Series/TheWestWing''. When [[spoiler:Bartlet's daughter Zoey was kidnapped]] the president removes himself from power, with no vice president, meaning Walken, one of his chief political rivals, ends up as Acting President. Walken is introduced in a very foreboding shot, and immediately establishes himself as having a much harsher and more hawkish style than Bartlett. The West Wing staff are sure that he'll try to push his political agenda while he has control of the office. Walken, however, proves himself to be entirely competent in his role, and both his attitude and his actions are appropriate given the national crisis they're in. He also makes clear that he has zero intention of hijacking Bartlett's presidency (pointing out that, in addition to being morally repugnant, it would be political suicide). And he immediately surrenders the office once the crisis is resolved.

** Subverted on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' with Dr. Maddox, Kelso's replacement. At first the team hopes she will be like Kelso, tough on the outside because she has to be in order to run the hospital efficiently. It becomes clear pretty quick that she truly [[{{Jerkass}} enjoys being evil.]]

* In the second season of ''Series/SheSpies'', a type of ''Series/CharliesAngels'' modern ripoff, the new boss presents himself as [[TyrantTakesTheHelm A Tryant Taking The Helm]], claiming the girl's previous boss, the charismatic Jack, was too soft on them.
* In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' Season Two, Haresh Chandra is introduced in this manner to suggest that he will be the show's [[SadistTeacher equivalent of Principal Snyder]] in [[Series/BuffytheVampireSlayer Buffy]] or maybe even the MonsterOfTheWeek in human form. But he's actually just [[spoiler:the new regular character's dad]].
* Director Leon Vance from ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' first came in to [[spoiler:oversee an internal affairs investigation against]] the previous director, Jenny Shepard, and later took over after [[spoiler:Shepard's death]]. For starters he [[spoiler:broke up Gibbs' team, sending them all to different locations]] which made him seem like a regular dictatorial manager. Later episodes, however, suggested ulterior (better) motives for his actions and that he, while more strict than his predecessors, is basically an okay guy.
** Gibbs himself may come across as a hard-lining nutbuster to outsiders, the audience, or even members of his team sometimes, but then we see that he truly cares about his team, and accepts nothing but the best from them because he believes them to ''be'' the best.
* Charles Miner in ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' is an unusual case, as for all intents and purposes he fills the usual [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Tyrant Taking The Helm]] role. However, it's actually just because he's a competent and no-nonsense manager, and the Dunder-Mifflin staff aren't used to having a boss who expects them to do their jobs responsibly after working for the spineless Michael Scott for years.
** It doesn't help that Jim and Michael are basically the main viewpoint characters and they're generally treated very poorly by Miner.
** This is a copy of the original Office, where Neil from Swindon becomes the new boss and is essentially a hard working yet fun loving guy, who Brent resents because he is everything he would like to be.
** A minor example when Michael leaves, and Deangelo Vickers (very briefly) takes over the office. He calls a very nervous staff in for a meeting where he very sternly lays out his policies for the office, which include everyone leaving by five o'clock, and not brooking any complaints about the flavors available on Ice Cream Fridays.
* Lizzi in ''{{Series/Greek}}''...but only to Casey, whom she steers towards a way to return Frannie to the house and thus eliminate her.
* Inverted with Lynn [=McGill=] in the fifth season of ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''; nobody at CTU likes him at first for his strictness, but he wasn't necessarily a tyrant. They began to like him starting at around the point when he was the only one to recognize Jack Bauer's duress code "Flank-Two Position". He eventually becomes such a tyrant however, the cast remove him from command. Ultimately he [[spoiler:sacrifices his own life to re-secure the CTU facility after it had been contaminated by the Sentox VX nerve gas. Though it should be noted, it was his fault the CTU facility was attacked in the first place]].
* Inspector Thatcher from ''Series/DueSouth'', introduced in season two as Fraser's new boss with an inexplicable hatred for him, who even ([[SnapBack briefly, apparently]]) fires him when he makes a well-reasoned defense of his uniform choices. However, she eventually starts getting wrapped up in Fraser's cases herself and gets a few BigDamnHeroes moments as well as a scorching hot WillTheyOrWontThey with Fraser.
* Scott Sherwood on ''Remember WENN''.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Captain John Sheridan in the first few episodes of season 2: The alien ambassadors don't like him, many of the crew doesn't trust him, the Minbari ''hate'' him, but about half a season later, he has earned their trust so much that some of them would even die for him. This is partially a matter of narrative convenience; Sheridan is taking over for [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Captain Sinclair, whose actor was forced to leave the series to deal with schizophrenia]], so stories that relied on the crew's loyalty to Sinclair had to be reworked to accommodate Sheridan. {{Invoked}}:
---> '''General Hague''': "(President Santiago) knew that if anything ever happened to him, President Clark would appoint some hard-nosed jarhead to run this place. Well, we both know you're not that, but from your record, you look like that. If Clark and his friends think you're one of them, they'll leave you alone, which is what we need."
** Just before Sheridan's arrival, Ivanova's CaptainsLog gives us the impression that she has been this to the various alien officials who were accustomed to Commander Sinclair's soft-spoken approach, with an elevator full of shouting officials being cowed into silence when Ivanova loses her temper.
** It also helps that Ivanova at least has worked with Sheridan before and trusts him. And one of the first things Sheridan does aboard the station is to help save Garibaldi's life and find who tried to kill him.
** Done again in Season 5 with the introduction of Captain Lochley. Just as was mentioned in the description, one of the first things she does upon taking command is to criticize Sheridan's apparently "sloppy" management of the station. Of course, it's later revealed that she still has some personal issues with Sheridan, namely that [[spoiler:she was his first wife for all of 3 months]].
* Colonel Butts from ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'', who takes over the squad for a classified mission in the fifth episode. He initially comes off as a nasty man and picks fights with almost everyone, but once the squad reaches their destination, he confesses that, while he had always been somewhat cruel, the SurvivorsGuilt from watching his own team get wiped out had been a large part of why he acted the way he did. He ultimately sacrifices himself to take out enemy units that were able to pass dangerously close to a black hole before they could strike.
* A good majority of ''{{Series/CSI}}'' fans cringed when Conrad Ecklie, day shift supervisor and [[SmugSnake smug]] [[TheRival rival]] to Gil Grissom, was promoted to Assistant Director in Season 5. Politically-inclined, more interested in his own advancement than on the actual cases, he enjoyed a brief season as a true [[TyrantTakesTheHelm tyrant]] when he split the graveyard shift team and demoted his own investigator, Sophia Curtis, to work under Grissom. But at the end of season, he rallied his efforts to help Grissom rescue Nick Stokes from a kidnapper, and from that point on he became a trustworthy and dependable, if not quite friendly, ally. Several seasons and another promotion later, and he comes off as more of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, while a Retcon explained the shift in character by revealing that he was gradually recovering from a drinking problem and a nasty divorce.

---> '''Ecklie''': "I'll have our public information officer contact his counterpart at the station. We'll also call Judge Anderson and get a warrant for the memory card, any copies, and the name of their source."
---> '''Catherine''': ''(surprised)'' "Thank you, Conrad."
---> '''Ecklie''': "It's my job."
* Lane Pryce of ''Series/MadMen'' comes in at the beginning of Season 3 as the hated representative of Sterling Cooper's new British overlords, Putnam, Powell, and Lowe. PPL's vision for Sterling Cooper clashes at times with that of Roger Sterling and Don Draper, and in any case Pryce is responsible for making painful cutbacks and changes. He is naturally not very popular at first. By the end of Season 3, he's realized that he'll be sidelined by PPL (who are selling Sterling Cooper to advertising MegaCorp [=McCann=] Erickson[[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCann_Erickson real firm]], by the way[[/note]]) and joins Sterling, Cooper, and Draper in starting an entirely new agency: Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Pryce is extremely competent in managing the firm's finances and curbing the excesses of the executives. Since the other partners are staunch capitalists they quickly appreciate how much money he is saving them. When business gets bad he is the one who keeps the firm afloat and everyone realizes this. When [[spoiler:Lane's personal financial troubles (involving [[IntimidatingRevenueService the Inland Revenue]]) drive him to embezzlement and then [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], both the characters and the fans were sincerely saddened.]]
* Sam Donovan on ''Series/SportsNight''. As the new ratings consultant, he arrives suddenly and makes changes to the show while seeming to have no respect for the producers and on-air talent. But he quickly proves that his no-nonsense tactics are about making the show better, not abusing his own power. Then, when he succeeds, the network execs offer him [[CoolOldGuy Isaac Jaffe]]'s job and he not only turns them down flat but warns in no uncertain terms never to disrespect Isaac again.
* Cam Saroyan on ''Series/{{Bones}}'' began this way, threatening to fire Brennan for the first few episodes after she was introduced whenever Brennan would get upset about the new rules. However, she found middle ground over time and became a valued member of the team without letting the team forget that she is still in charge.

* The team on ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'' gets placed under the supervision of an NCIS assistant director, Granger, after they collectively defy orders to save Hetty. He starts out acting like an ObstructiveBureaucrat but soon reveals he cares for them in his own way and is a former spook himself.
* Oleg on ''Series/TheAmericans'' is the middle-management version. He's introduced in season two as a fool who only got his job in the KGB due to nepotism, and is a threat to DoubleAgent Nina's honeypot on FBI agent Stan. Then, over the course of the season, he's revealed to be genuinely smart, good at his job, and when he uses his family influence to get in on Nina's work, he follows up by helping her start to turn Stan.
* Sue Sylvester on ''Series/{{Glee}}'' during her short-lived tenure as Principal. Normally an unrepentant {{Jerkass}}, she proves a surprisingly fair-minded principal who protects Kurt from Karofsky's bullying and [[spoiler:resigns when Karofsky's allowed back in school.]]

* The second season of ''Series/EnemyAtTheDoor'' introduces a new commanding officer of the German occupying forces, Generalmajor Müller. His arrival is preceded by rumours about him being a hardline by-the-book leader, in contrast to Major Richter's preferred style of trying to get on with the locals even if it means occasionally turning a blind eye, but he turns out to be not as bad as his reputation suggested.

* This happens every now and again in the ''Series/LawAndOrder'' franchise, across all major shows. A new captain will either temporary, or permanently take over the department, and the detectives will assume the person is not as open to them as their previous captain and is a puppet for internal affairs or the FBI. Only for them to learn the new captain is on their side, they just have a different way of doing things from the previous one. Even Munch when he was made captain for a brief time on SVU didn't escape from this, being accused of selling out by the other detectives.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]

** In the first novel "For The Emperor" Kasteen, Brocklaw, and the rest of the 296/301st imagine and fear that Ciaphas is going to be the typical tyrannical Commissar[[note]]with the mass executions and the like[[/note]]. They quickly take to him though when they realise he isn't.
** Cain tries to avoid the martinet stereotype so common across the galaxy when sent to a new regiment, as they tend to die [[{{Fragging}} heroic deaths unusually far away from the enemy]]. The only time he's seen executing his own men is a MercyKill after they're implanted by genestealers.

* ''[[Creator/TimDorsey Serge A. Storms]]'': In ''Shark Skin Suite'', Judge Kennesaw Montgomery Boone is introduced as a rabidly pro-corporate judge and the last person {{Crusading Lawyer}}s Brook and Shelby want presiding over their case against corrupt bankers. However, their brilliance, the blatant stupidity and criminality of the other side, and some of Serge's trivia gradually win Boone over into an extremely ReasonableAuthorityFigure who enjoys watching the collapse of the corrupt defense team.