History Main / DragonInChief

See also HypercompetentSidekick. Compare / Contrast DeceptiveDisciple.

* AvatarTheLastAirbender's Princess Azula is this. Played with in that the BigBad([[DaddysLittleVillain her father]]), is not incompetent in any of the normal ways. [[OrcusOnHisThrone He just can't go around chasing the Avatar across the globe.]] [[JustifiedTrope Because he's, y'know, in charge of ruling a nation?]]
** That said, Ozai is clearly more dangerous than Azula, if only because he is a much stronger Firebender and a bit less subtle. He also benefits from the fact that Azula is so devoted to him that she'll do anything he asks [[spoiler: regardless of how hurtful it is to her.]]
*** Then she's not a DragonInChief at all. Ozai is still clearly the main villain.
*** In Book 3, perhaps. However, he [[TheFaceless really does]] do nothing noteworthy personally in the first two.
**** Thats because he's the BigBad.
*** Whether Ozai was actually more powerful than Azula is less than clear. The only time Aang fights Ozai is when he's vastly powered up by Sozin's Comet. He never fights Azula when she's got that powerup. Not to mention that Azula had [[VillainousBreakdown ceased to be her usual hypercompetent self]] by that point. Given that Azula is the only Firebender capable of producing the hotter blue flame (even Sozin himself couldn't in the flashbacks, and even Comet-enhanced Ozai can't manage it), it's very possible that she's more powerful than her father.
** If you listen to the music, you can gain some additional insight. Azula's leitmotif is a dark variation of Aang's, while Ozai's is similar to the Fire Nation's theme. Making Azula the enemy of the Gaang, but Ozai the enemy of the planet.

* ''OrderOfTheStick'': Within the Empire of Blood, General Tarquin holds this position: the Empress (an actual dragon) is more concerned about where her next meal is coming from. Redcloak, dragon to the comic's actual BigBad, is a debatable example - he has the loyalty of the goblin army, but his [[CompleteMonster boss]] is anything ''but'' "manageable".

** What stops her is that Drakken is a significant threat in his own right, and still drives the plot of most of their stories. Withouther around he's somewhat less competent, but thats just as likely to make him even more dangerous as his plans are more likely to GoHorribyWrong (case in point, creating advanced killer robots that end up turning on him). He ''is'' smarter than Shego- she just has a lot more common sense. [[/folder]]

* Bill "The Butcher" Cutting from ''GangsOfNewYork'' works as TheDragon for Tammany Hall's [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Boss Tweed]], but that doesn't mean their views don't clash. The Butcher doesn't much like that Tweed keeps wanting to bring in these "foreign hordes" of Irish workers, while Tweed thinks Cutting's semi-racist views are outdated. But wile Tweed might be the Mayor, it is Cutting who runs the gangs and therefore Cutting who has the monopoly on violence. As [[TheHero Hero]] Amsterdam is on a mission of vengeance against the Butcher and since Tweed is merely corrupt, and not murderous, Cutting serves as the main villain of the story. The cagey Tweed manages to outlive him and survives the film.

*** That doesn't make Vader a Dragon in chief, it makes the Emperor a BiggerBad. Regardless of their appearances, the power difference between them is clearly established.

[[folder:RealLife]]
* In the Second Punic War, Hannibal Barca was this to Rome. Nominally a servant of Carthage, Hannibal inspired far greater dread on his own than the rival city-state ever did.
[[/folder]]

* In the Second Punic War, Hannibal Barca was this to Rome. Nominally a servant of Carthage Hannibal inspired far greater dread on his own than the rival city-state ever did.

* You as Aldo Trapani in ''TheGodfather'' sit on the line between TheDragon-normal and this. While you're undeniably loyal to Michael and he's the one with the plan, he's no active gunfighter like Sonny. Since [=~It's Up To You~=], his plans would surely fall apart without you to help pull triggers as needed.

The DragonInChief serves as the ''de-facto'' BigBad of the story. Though he's nominally subordinate to the "real" Big Bad, he's just so much smarter, stronger or skillful (and almost always scarier) that it's clear who's really the bigger menace. He tends to have almost no respect for the Big Bad due to their comparative lack of vision, courage or common sense. The BigBad, for his part, either seriously or fatally overestimates TheDragon's loyalty, or is just too afraid of him to be able to do much. In a nutshell, the DragonInChief is the main vilainous driving force behind the plot, even if he or she did not initiate it.

* Bill "The Butcher" Cutting from ''GangsOfNewYork'' works as TheDragon for Mayor Boss Tweed, but that doesn't mean their views don't clash. The Butcher doesn't much like that Tweed keeps wanting to bring in these "foreign hordes" of Irish workers, while Tweed thinks Cutting's semi-racist views are outdated. But wile Tweed might be the Mayor, it is Cutting who runs the gangs and therefore Cutting who has the monopoly on violence. As [[TheHero Hero]] Amsterdam is on a mission of vengeance against the Butcher and since Tweed is merely corrupt, and not murderous, Cutting serves as the main villain of the story. The cagey Tweed manages to outlive him and survives the film.

* The ogre [[MagnificentBastard Grand Lord Golgren]] from the ''{{Dragonlance}}'' Minotaur Wars and Ogre Titans trilogies is this to the Ogre Grand Khan, being much smarter and more charismatic than his boss and being capable of overthrowing him at any time, only keeping him around because he likes the perks his current job has. [[spoiler: And then he decies he wants his boss's job too. The Grand Khan is dead in hours]].

*In Season Five of ''TwentyFour'', [[spoiler:Christopher Henderson]] plays the DragonInChief to [[spoiler:corrupt U.S. President Charles Logan]]. By no means does the superior underestimate his Dragon's capabilities or overestimates his loyalty; he respects the Dragon's capabilities at getting the job done, but also recognizes that he's a loose end that needs to be taken out when the conspiracy ends. TheDragon obeys [[spoiler:Logan]] as his direct superior, but otherwise recognizes he isn't the most exceptional of bosses.
** Not really an example though, as both characters are henchmen to [[spoiler:: Graeme Bauer and his co-conspirators]].