History Main / CommandingCoolness

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', we have [[TheStrategist Shikaku Nara]], the Jounin Commander of Konoha, who acts as a right-hand man to Tsunade.

* Batou's rank in his military days, long a subject of debate in the [=GitS=] fandom, was finally stated in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise'' to be Commander,[[note]]Yes, while [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary being a Ranger]].[[/note]] though how it translates into the franchise as a whole is unclear.

* The Director of SHIELD is referred to as Commander. ComicBook/NickFury, however, most often went by his prior Army rank of Colonel. [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Captain Steve Rogers]], a later director, went by Commander.

* Commander Dynamic of the book/comic book series ''ComicBook/LimekillerAtLarge''

* ''Franchise/StarWars''
** This is perhaps the most common rank. By ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', all the Imperial officers were commanders (even Admiral Piett) due to a costuming goof. Perhaps the most noteworthy individual one is Commander Jir in ''Film/ANewHope'' who acts an HonestAdvisor to Vader who apparently respects his opinion.
** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Poe Dameron is a commander of the Resistance, making him one of the highest ranking officers (after [[FourStarBadass General Leia Organa]] and the admirals).

* Jack Harper from ''Film/{{Oblivion 2013}}'' is this. [[spoiler: The real one, in any case. He was commander of the "Odyssey" mission.]] Beech takes some particular delight in saying "Welcome Back, Commander" when he decides to help them.
* Commander William Harper in ''Film/JackRyanShadowRecruit''. Given how proficient he is in a firefight, it's likely he was a Navy SEAL.
* The 2015 film adaption of [[Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015 The Man From U.N.C.L.E.]] mentions that (soon to be Chief of U.N.C.L.E.) Alexander Waverly is a Commander in British Naval Intelligence. This may be a direct ShoutOut to the ''Film/JamesBond'' movie series, since the [[Series/TheManFromUNCLE original TV series]] has described been described as "James Bond on television" by its lead actor, Robert Vaughn.
* In ''Film/MorningDeparture'', TheCaptain of the wrecked submarine ''HMS Trojan'' is the exceedingly cool under pressure Lieutenant Commander Peter Armstrong.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
** Luke Skywalker ends up a commander in the Rebellion not long after ''Film/ANewHope''.
** In most of the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', Rogue and Wraith Squadrons are headed by Commander Antilles. Then he accepts a promotion to General.
** The short story ''[[Literature/StarWarsBladeSquadron Blade Squadron]]'' has Rebel Wing Commander Adon Fox, leader of Blade Squadron.
* In the [[Literature/ThePentagonWar Human-Centauri Defense Force]], Commander is short for "Battle Commander", and is a temporary title bestowed on a spacecraft's C.O. for only as long as a RedAlert situation exists.
* Literature/JamesBond held the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy before he joined [=MI6=], as also noted in Film above.
** In ''Literature/WinLoseOrDie'' by Creator/JohnGardner, Bond returns is returned to active service in the Royal Navy as part of an assignment and [[RankUp promoted to Captain]]: a rank he retains for the rest of Gardner's novels.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' takes the coolness to the next level with the rank of ''Lord'' Commander, which seems to be the highest military rank in Westeros, as evidenced by the Kingsguard, the City Watch, and the Night Watch. (The commander of the Golden Company, widely regarded as the world's best mercenaries, goes by [[TheCaptain Captain]]-[[FourStarBadass General]], but part of the point of the Golden Company is that they tend to stay ''away'' from Westeros.)

* Lieutenant Jack Aubrey receiving his promotion to the rank of Master and Commander is very almost the first thing that happens in the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series. As the [[TheCaptain second type of Commander]] mentioned above, namely one with command of his own ship, he is always referred to as "Captain Aubrey" as with all officers who command naval vessels, but does not receive promotion to full Post-captain until later in the series, making him this trope to begin with.

* Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. in ''Series/{{JAG}}''.

* Commander Anubis Cruger, of ''Series/PowerRangersSPD''; head of Earth's branch of the SpacePolice. A later ReunionShow reveals that he eventually gets promoted to ''Supreme'' Commander of the entire organization.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** In season one Commander Sinclair is in charge of the station with Lt. Commander Ivanova as his NumberTwo.
** Ivanova is promoted to full Commander at the start of season two when Captain Sheridan takes over. This is probably because Sinclair was never in command of a ship. The most he ever flew was a Starfury during the Battle of the Line. Sheridan actually had his own ship by the time he was re-assigned to B5.
* Commander John Crichton of ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. "Commander" is apparently the rank he achieved as an astronaut for IASA (international expy of NASA); his crew members continue to use this title for him throughout the show. Even though it's not really a military rank, it sometimes comes in handy during their many, many encounters with hostile military forces.
* ''[[InsistentTerminology Supreme]]'' Commander Thor, leader of the Asgard in ''Series/StargateSG1''.
* In season two of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', Major John Sheppard is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. He is also the Commanding Military Officer throughout the majority of the series, apart from one episode where he doesn't receive the title until the end of the episode.
* ''Series/The100'' ''[[BuryYourGays had]]'' Commander Lexa, military leader and ruler of the twelve clans.
* John Koenig, Commander of Moonbase Alpha in ''Series/{{Space 1999}}''. Although, as Alpha is a civilian, scientific installation, it's not a military rank.

* TabletopGame/BattleTech, the rank Galaxy Commander is very high rank among the Clans, its should be the equivalent of General in the Inner Sphere, as they command an entire regiment called a galaxy, and they have a big say in the Clans policies and decisions. One of the prerequisites of the rank is to be a real badass mechwarrior.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''' expansion, Warlords of Draenor, this is the title given to the player character when they takes command of their garrison.
* As stated above, ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s protagonist, Commander Shepard, fits this trope.
** In VideoGame/MassEffect2, during Tali's loyalty mission, the quarians refer to Shepard as "Captain". A dialogue option is available to give Shepard's actual rank, but the quarians (mostly) stick with Captain, as it accurately reflects the cultural role the character is taking by speaking up for Tali, as well as being Commanding Officer of the ''Normandy'', meaning Shepard ''is'' TheCaptain in all-but-name.
** In the Russian version of the game, Shepard is referred to as "Captain". This has to do with the fact that Russian Navy equivalent of a "Commander" is a "Captain, 2nd Rank", the short form of which is just "Captain" (similar to the short form of "Lt. Commander" being "Commander").
** In the third game, assuming she survives the first, Ashley Williams will be promoted to Lieutenant Commander.

* The Space Marine's leader in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' of the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe is called Force Commander. 'Force Commander' actually refers to the senior Space Marine officer in charge of a campaign, regardless of how many Chapters are present. For example: Davian Thule is the Captain of the 4th Company, but in Dark Crusade, he was the Commander of the strike force, having authority over the other companies and their captains present.
* In the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' games, [[NonEntityGeneral the player]] is called a "Commander" by subordinates and superiors alike. There are exceptions: in the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' incarnations, the player holds the title of "General", while in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries Red Alert]]'''s USSR faction, the player is a "Comrade-General".
** Throughout the Soviet campaign in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert 1]]'', you are referred to as "Commander"... right until the very last sentence spoken, which calls you [[spoiler: Comrade Chairman]].
** The ending of ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'''s Soviet campaign implies that the player character is ''[[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep literally called 'Commander']]'' with the proposal to rename New York in your honor naming the city as 'Kommandersgrad'. How cool is that?!

* Seal Team Six Commander and [[LikeFatherLikeSon son]] of [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Alex Mason]], [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII David Mason]] has to apply from what we've seen of him.

* When Squall in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' is [[YouAreInCommandNow summarily put in charge]] of [[PrivateMilitaryContractors SeeD]], an official title for the position doesn't actually exist, Balamb Garden having operated more as a school than a military organization up to that point. Squall's friends sit down without him and decide on "Commander," presumably on the basis that it sounds appropriately martial and cool.

* Although the three members of ''VideoGame/DetectivesUnited'' are all of equal rank and don't have a defined leader, their AlternateDimension counterpart organization is apparently run by "Commander Brown," according to a document found in the third game.

* Commander Heroic in ''EvilInc'' may be geriatric, but he's [[OldSuperhero still in the superhero business]]. He certainly ''used'' to be hot stuff.
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-05-31 Commander Jaguar]].
* Clearly this trope is why ''Webcomic/CommanderKitty'' chose that as his [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]]. Of course, [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2009/07/12/just-us-spacers/ he hasn't exactly worked out the coolness part yet]].

* Cobra Commander in ''WesternAnimation/GIJoe''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', there's Commander Bumi of the United Forces, Tenzin's brother.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', Ultra Magnus is ''Supreme'' Commander of the Autobots at large, with the Prime rank closer to TheCaptain. In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', he's again subordinate to Optimus but still referred to as "Commander".
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' Leo, a TheMole and RebelLeader for LaResistance, is the Lieutenant Commander for an EvilOverlord who holds the rank of Commander himself. Leo and his allies are plotting a revolution to overthrow him.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' Leo, a ReverseMole and RebelLeader for LaResistance, is the Lieutenant Commander for an EvilOverlord who holds the rank of Commander himself. Leo and his allies are plotting a revolution to overthrow him.

* ''Series/The100'' ''[[BuryYourGays had]]'' ''[[BadassGay Commander Lexa]]'', military leader and ruler of the twelve clans.

* Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in Literature/{{Discworld}} - promoted from Captain at the end of ''Discworld/MenAtArms''.

* Batou's rank in his military days, long a subject of debate in the [=GitS=] fandom, was finally stated in the Manga/GhostInTheShellArise to be Commander,[[note]]Yes, while [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary being a Ranger]].[[/note]] though how it translates into the franchise as a whole is unclear.

* Although the three members of VideoGame/DetectivesUnited are all of equal rank and don't have a defined leader, their AlternateDimension counterpart organization is apparently run by "Commander Brown," according to a document found in the third game.

* Commander Rourke in ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire''.

* ''[[Comicbook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]'': Commander Grey is a cheerful and highly loyal badass commander to Depa, who is the only known individual to [[spoiler: go against Order 66 without having his contronl chip removed, though he did kill Depa before overcoming the chip]]. He calmly commits a HeroicSuicide in order to [[RedemptionEqualsDeath make up for what he did for the Emperor]] and protect Kanan.

** The highest-ranking Grey Warden in a nation is known as the Warden-Commander, their only superior being the "First Warden", who manages the order from Weisshaupt Fortress in the [[{{Mordor}} Anderfels]]. The first game's PlayerCharacter becomes Warden-Commander of Ferelden in the ''[[VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening Awakening]]'' expansion (their predecessor Duncan also held this title, although he was never actually referred to as such.)

** Your companion Sten is an Infantry Platoon Commander of the Qunari. Too bad he doesn't have his men with him any more. [[spoiler:Or his sword.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' games, [[NonEntityGeneral the player]] is referred to as a "Commander" by subordinates and superiors alike. There are exceptions: in the ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]]'' incarnations, the player holds the title of "General", while in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlertSeries Red Alert]]'''s USSR faction, the player is a "Comrade-General".

* Clearly why ''Webcomic/CommanderKitty'' chose that as his [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname nickname]]. Of course, [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2009/07/12/just-us-spacers/ he hasn't exactly worked out the coolness part yet]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', [[SmugSnake Zhao]] is initially greeted as Captain Zhao by [[CoolOldGuy Iroh]], but smugly corrects him by pointing out he's been promoted to Commander (presumably promoted; "Captain" usually outranks "Commander" in the Navy, but he was definitely acting like it was a promotion...it's probably because [[RuleOfCool "Commander" sounds cooler]], plus that way there's a close equivalence in Fire Navy and Army ranks, with Lieutenants and Captains in both, Colonels and Generals in the Army, and Commanders and Admirals (of which Zhao becomes one of a few appearances later) in the Navy.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', many clone officers including Commander Cody. Jedi Padawans like Ahsoka Tano are also referred to as "Commander" by the clones, while fully-fledged Jedi are referred to as [[GeneralBadass "General"]].

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* Lieutenant Jack Aubrey receiving his promotion to the rank of Master and Commander is very almost the first thing that happens in the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series , shortly after his first encounter with Stephen Maturin, the series Main/Deuteragonist. As the second type of Commander mentioned above, namely one with command of his own ship, he is always referred to as "Captain Aubrey" as with all officers who command naval vessels, but does not receive promotion to full Post-captain until later in the series, making him this trope to begin with.

** In VideoGame/MassEffect2, during Tali's loyalty mission, the Quarians refer to Shepard as "Captain". A dialogue option is available to give Shepard's actual rank, but the Quarians (mostly) stick with Captain, as it accurately reflects the cultural role the character is taking by speaking up for Tali, as well as being Commanding Officer of the ''Normandy'', meaning Shepard ''is'' TheCaptain in all-but-name.

** This is perhaps the most common rank. By ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', all the Imperial officers were commanders (even Admiral Piett) due to a costuming goof. Perhaps the most noteworthy individual one is Commander Jr in ''Film/ANewHope'' who acts an HonestAdvisor to Vader who apparently respects his opinion.

** This is perhaps the most common rank. By ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', all the Imperial officers were commanders (even Admiral Piett) due to a costuming goof.

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[[folder:{{Fanfic}}]]
* Rainbow Dash's CO in ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/Legionnaire Legionnaire]]'' is not only one cool SoB, but he's also clever enough to keep up with masterminds like Diplomatic Incident and Prophet.

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[[folder:{{Literature}}]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

[[folder:{{Music}}]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* [[BigBad Cobra Commander]] in GIJoe.

* Cobra Commander in ''Franchise/GIJoe''.

* Literature/JamesBond held the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy before he joined MI6, as also noted in Film above.

But you'll never be better than [[Franchise/MassEffect Commander Shepard]]!"''
-->-- '''Music/MiracleOfSound''', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiRDJLcYua0 Commander Shepard]]", .

->''"You can fight like a krogan...''
->''Run like a leopard...''
->''But you'll never be better than Commander Shepard!"''
-->-- '''Music/MiracleOfSound''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiRDJLcYua0 referring to]] the PlayerCharacter of ''Franchise/MassEffect''.

->''You can fight like a krogan...''

->''But you'll never be better than Commander Shepard!''

->''"You can fight like a krogan...''

->''But you'll never be better than Commander Shepard!"''

** Similarly, the highest-ranking Templar in any one place is the local Knight-Commander. Kirkwall's Knight-Commander [[IronLady Meredith]] is one of the major players in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''. She does not officially order around the lord of the city, but nor does he dare do anything that would go against her wishes, making her the actual most powerful person.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'''s latest expansion, Warlords of Draenor, this is the title given to the player character when he takes command of his garrison.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', many clone officers including Commander Cody.

* Seal Team Six Commander and [[LikeFatherLikeSon son]] of [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Alex Mason]], [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2 David Mason]] has to apply from what we've seen of him.

* Commander Heroic in ''EvilInc'' may be geriatric, but he's [[BadassGrandpa still in the superhero business]]. He certainly ''used'' to be hot stuff.