History Main / DrunkwithPower

* Subverted by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment Stanford prison experiment]] that helped solidify this trope in popular culture. Subjects acted as prisoners or guards and several of the "prisoners" ended up with emotional trauma from abuse inflicted by the "guards". The researchers concluded that the participants' behavior was influenced by their situation, but several critics found numerous problems with the study:
** First, the researchers pushed the "guards" into performing the roles the researchers expected, confirmation bias.
** Second, the experiment was made up of volunteers so the guards were all college students who were interested in roleplaying as prison guards, selection bias.
** Third, even with those biases only one-third of the guards showed sadistic tendencies, the majority of them did not exhibit any cruelty and in fact were often friendly and did favors for the prisoners.

-->-- '''Aldous Huxley''', ''Brave New World Revisited''

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In the episode "Francine Frensky, Superstar", Francine, who's had a history of getting bad parts in {{School Play}}s that often lead to physical abuse on stage, gets cast in the role of UsefulNotes/ThomasEdison in Mr. Ratburn's play about the inventor. But she begins to go on a power trip and start acting like she's running the show - with an iron fist.

* In the last episodes of ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', [[spoiler: {{Magnificent|Bastard}} ''and'' ManipulativeBastard Urube Ishikawa]] embodies this trope.

* In the last episodes of ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', [[spoiler: [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]] ''and'' ManipulativeBastard Urube Ishikawa]] embodies this trope.

* Tatsuhisa "Luke" Kamijo in ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS'' has an unfortunate tendency to do this. He knows he's expected to eventually helm his family's gear manufacturing company and loathes the idea, so he latches onto any notion of power that ''isn't'' that and lets it go to his head; when he believed he would be the new Student Council vice president he forced the student body to pain Goha 7th Elementary blue in celebration (having donned an all-blue uniform himself) and after [[spoiler:becoming the King of Duels]] he forces everyone he meets to say his name and title and dresses in the clothes he also won (white jeans, a paper crown, a guitar and small circular sunglasses). While his older sister Haruka "Tiger" Kamijo was able to stop him the first two times, it was a different situation when [[spoiler:Yuo Goha told Luke he was the sixth Goha sibling]]. Despite the claim being blatantly false, Luke goes along with it and acts the most arrogantly he ever has while Dueling [[spoiler:Roa Kirishima]], though he's quickly cowed again when faced with his sister.

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries''' "[[{{Prequel}} Origins]]" arc, [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination Havoc]]'s avatar was so fueled by the chaos of the Alicorn/Draconequi War that him/it [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity was driven insane]]. It got to the point that the avatar had [[BigBad Discord]] ''eat his own brother'' (something Havoc would ''never'' do, as his children's well being is something he genuinely cares about) before letting him/itself be devoured as well, all to increase Discord's power and ensure the spread of chaos.]]

* Londo Mollari from ''Series/BabylonFive'' can be quite accurately described as addicted to power. In his heart, he is not an evil man and simply longs for the good old times when things were easier and safe. But being from a species that has MagnificentBastard and ChronicBackstabbingDisorder as its [[PlanetOfHats hat]], he is too easily drawn to take part in conspiracies to increase the prestige of his species and himself. At several times he realizes that he has fallen in with the wrong crowds and he is helping them doing far more bad than good, but he simply can't live with the thought of losing the respect of his allies or the embarrassment for his species if the conspiracies are publically exposed. When confronted he gets violently angry and denies everything. One time he manages to break free and accept the ridicule he gets for being a cowardly man who abandons his position and duties, but then [[spoiler:his favorite concubine is murdered]], which instantly has him get in contact with his most powerful connections and promises them to do anything they want and abandon all his moral objections if they help him get his revenge. [[spoiler:It was actually the same people who had her murdered and anticipated that very reaction because Londo is just so easy to manipulate if offered with power and threatened with damaging his prestige.]]

** It doesn't show too often, but Tim at least privately sees himself as the dictator of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Tool Time]]''. Showcased with his constantly threatening to fire Al, his reactions anytime Binford sticks him with any kind of producer, and most evident in the final season when he lets Mark create a segment to show off his finished hotrod - "There's just three rules: My show. My show. My show.".

* Frank Burns from ''Series/{{MASH}}'' regularly got drunk with power: if the Colonel made the mistake of [[YouAreInCommandNow leaving him in charge]] for more than a day, he would create ridiculous rules and go through pseudo-military drills to prepare them for "the enemy".
** In one of the several instances of 'Frank in charge', there was a downplayed example when Frank decides that the medical staff is getting too alcohol-dependent, and declares the 4077 'dry'. He's a jerk about it, overbearing, and shows all the signs of the trope... ''but'' [[JerkassHasAPoint it becomes clear as it goes along that Frank is more-or-less]] ''[[JerkassHasAPoint right]]''. Hawkeye and Trapper even find themselves asking themselves in horror if Frank has a point after they almost tear into each other over something trivial from booze withdrawal.
** It reaches an extreme with Frank when after being left in command he brings Pierce up on mutiny charges (which is a capital offense). After all sides are heard, the court marshal board concludes that Frank should have never been left in command, and had he not been drafted as a doctor, he would have been assigned as a pastry chef.
** Frank's replacement, Charles Winchester, went another way: when presented with power, he didn't lord it over the camp. He mainly used it as an excuse to drink more and get extra time off his shift, and the rest of the camp ran as efficiently as ever. However, in one episode ("Tell It to the Marines"), Winchester assumes command in Potter's absence and turns Klinger into his personal valet.

* ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' features this a few times: Jim is put in charge of the office and attempts to turn all the birthday parties into one, which is met with disdain from the staff (who treat him as if he'd gone mad with power). Dwight is given the task of choosing the company's health plan, and quickly gets delusional about it. Jim notes that it's the smallest amount of power that has ever gotten to someone's head. Former temp Ryan is promoted to corporate and likewise goes mad with power, to the point of [[spoiler:conspiring to have Jim fired and committing fraud when it seems as if his groundbreaking new plan to revitalize the company won’t work.]]

* Once Regina in ''Series/OnceUponATime'' started on getting revenge on Snow, she slowly became more and more addicted to using magic. In season 2, [[spoiler: she decided to stop using it and is treating it like a drug addiction and seeing Archie for help to treat it.]]

* ''Series/RedDwarf'': In the episode "Officer Rimmer", eternal prat Arnold Judas Rimmer is promoted to officer after he weasels his way into a captain's good graces (in fact, he was trying to blow up the captain's ship, which accidentally saved him from an asteroid belt). He immediately starts instituting a blatant class system on the ship with the other crew members relegated to crappy service elevators and corridors while Rimmer opens an exclusive officer's lounge and reclines in luxury. Then he goes one step further by creates dozens of duplicates of himself to order around and sing his praises. By the end, he's forced to give up his promotion when he inadvertently creates a Rimmer-hybrid monster and has to beg the others for help.

* Parodied on a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' sketch concerning Al Gore paying a visit behind the scenes of ''Series/TheWestWing'' following his election defeat to George Bush. At one point, Gore good-humouredly asks he if can briefly sit behind the desk in the 'Oval Office'... and over the course of the skit becomes increasingly egomaniacal and tyrannical, and refuses to leave despite the cast's repeated insistence that it's just a mock-up of the Oval Office, and he doesn't actually have any more power at all.
* Johnny Sack from ''Series/TheSopranos'' was a pragmatist until he got an opportunity to become the boss of his crime family. The more power and influence he gained, the more he started behaving like an unreasonable, egotistical tyrant. It ended up one of the main causes of his downfall.

* In ''Radio/TheMenFromTheMinistry'', when Sir Gregory decides to go on an extended weekend he leaves Mr. Lamb in charge of a lot of minor jobs that have to be done. Lamb, however, misunderstands his instructions and thinks Sir Gregory is retiring and making him the new Permanent undersecretary. He immediately turns into a ruthless tyrant forcing all staff of General Assistance Department work 10+ hours a day and insults pretty much everyone within the Ministry within few days.

* Tucker Foley in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' goes on a power trip in a couple of episodes. First in "What You Want", when Desirée gives him ghost powers, and later in "King Tuck", when he gets a hold of a staff that belonged to an ancient Pharaoh.

** In one episode, Bart's newfound interest in law enforcement sees him team up with Principal Skinner to rapidly become a fascistic hall-monitor, at roughly the same time that Lisa, disillusioned after being told she'll never be a jazz musician, becomes the school rebel. In order to save Lisa from being expelled after she steals the teacher's copies of all the school textbooks, Bart reverts to his old ways.

** Russ Cargill - head of the E.P.A in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', is a textbook, if self-aware, example of this trope.

* Pity the poor soul who puts Eric Cartman of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' in a position of (as he calls it) "authorituh." The first time it happened was when he was deputized, and he quickly becomes a CowboyCop, patrolling the streets on his Big Wheel tricycle and bludgeoning anyone who looks at him funny. In a more extreme example, when he played Stonewall Jackson in a [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Civil War]] reenactment, he nearly succeeds in reestablishing the Confederacy. And then there's the time he formed a Mel Gibson fan club and nearly started another holocaust.

* In season 5 of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', Sister tells the Reds that she was sent to join their team because their leader is dead (Much to their confusion, as Sarge is still alive) and that one of the normal soldiers would be promoted. Simmons eagerly jumps at the opportunity and establishes himself as the new CO, leading to this exchange...[[note]]It's later cleared up that Sister was assigned to the Blue Team (the dead leader in question being Captain Flowers) and only joined the Reds because she was colorblind.[[/note]]

* ''Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'' has [[IdiotHero Mario]] go through this three times:

-->'''Iron Monger:''' For twenty years, I've been holding you up! ''I built this company from nothing!!!'' And now? ''Nothing is going to stand in my way.''

* One episode of ‘’Series/TheAndyGriffithShow’’ has Barney placed in charge while Andy is away. Barney manages to arrest the entire town, including the mayor, for various minor offenses.

* ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' features this a few times: Jim is put in charge of the office and attempts to turn all the birthday parties into one, which is met with disdain from the staff (who treat him as if he'd gone mad with power). Dwight is given the task of choosing the company's health plan, and quickly gets delusional about it. Jim notes that it's the smallest amount of power that has ever gotten to someone's head. Former temp Ryan is promoted to corporate and likewise goes mad with power, to the point of [[spoiler:conspiring to have Jim fired and committing fraud when it seems as if his groundbreaking new plan to revitalize the company, won't.]]

* ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'': Dwight is given the task of choosing the company's health plan, and quickly gets delusional about it. Jim notes that it's the smallest amount of power that has ever gotten to someone's head.

** The fourth season of the US version features this a few times: Jim is put in charge of the office and attempts to turn all the birthday parties into one, which is met with disdain from the staff (who treat him as if he'd gone mad with power). Former temp Ryan is promoted to corporate and likewise goes mad with power, to the point of [[spoiler:conspiring to have Jim fired and committing fraud when it seems as if his groundbreaking new plan to revitalize the company, won't.]]

If this is applied to a lot of people (mostly humans) and in a longer state, then this trope often became the greatest justifications that HumansAreBastards or HumansAreTheRealMonsters, since men often fall in to their darker natures and it is so tempting to just indulge in their newfound power at cost of everything else without them caring, justifying aliens or whatever non-human species (regardless if they were also bastards or not) to declare war against humans, as they are so prone of getting destructively DrunkWithPower.

* In ''Manga/{{Beastars}}'', [[spoiler:bears must take a FantasticDrug and honey in order to suppress their bodies from HulkingOut, at which point they become DrunkWithPower and become violent enough to go feral. Riz from the Drama Club has too much strength while calmed down, but if he goes over the limit, he becomes a beast.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Touch}}'': Downplayed but the end of the series shows [[spoiler:Allison getting Cooper's powers]] and commenting that they need to renegotiate their partnership.

* In an episode of ''Series/BarneyMiller'' where the precinct gets new flack jackets, Wojo comments that he feels invincible while wearing them, and does ''not'' think that's a good thing. He starts to be afraid that wearing a vest might make him overconfident and take a risk that would hurt himself or someone else. (This is, of course, one of many {{Funny Aneurysm Moment}}s for the show, seeing as a Kevlar vest is standard equipment for police these days.)

* A variant is used in Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/{{Bananas}}''. After overthrowing the government, the rebel leader begins to make absurd demands, such as changing the nation's language to Swedish and having all underwear worn on the outside. One of his underlings observes, "[[IncrediblyLamePun He's gone mad with power]]!"

** Creator/GeorgeOrwell:

** Second, the experiment was volunteer so the guards were all college students who were interested in roleplaying as prison guards, selection bias.

* This trope turns out to be correct, as papers [[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/07/power-causes-brain-damage/528711/ have revealed]] that power can cause LackOfEmpathy, people to become less risk-aware, and can cause more impulsive behaviour. Which we knew from fiction.

* This is [[TheChessmaster Aizen's]] downfall in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Already many times more powerful than all but the strongest Captains in Soul Society, the [[AmplifierArtifact Hogyoku]] giving him even more power and various {{Super Mode}}s eventually makes him careless and thinking he can just brute force everything in front of him, which causes him to let his ego get the better of him and neglecting using his tactical genius and MasterOfIllusion powers in battle. Thus, when Ichigo shows up from his most recent TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential moment, Aizen gets his ass handed to him when he realizes too late Ichigo really is more powerful than him raw-power-wise and those other abilities might have helped him turn the tide.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron'': Jimmy becomes this when he becomes a hall monitor.

** Napoleon from Literature/AnimalFarm. The pigs in general started as the lead of the revolution on Manor Farm, turning it into Animal Farm. However, they end up abusing their positions and making life jus as bad for the other animals as it was when the farm was still Manor Farm.

* The Inner Party from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' even states that their purpose [[ForTheEvulz is simply this]].

Often found in the WorkCom. WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity and AGodAmI are this to the extreme. See DrunkOnTheDarkSide for the superpower equivalent. When it occurs due to elevated expectations and wedding-related stress, see {{Bridezilla}}. Compare AcquiredSituationalNarcissism, NewAbilityAddiction, AmbitionIsEvil, ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney See ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem for when someone tries to justify their actions even when their position ''does not'' give them authority to do so. Contrast with ComesGreatResponsibility, where a person strives to handle their newfound power with responsibility instead of getting intoxicated with it.

** Thirdly in ''Mario Gets Woke'', he gets hold of the Youtube Remote that can bend the target to the user's will. It doesn't bode well and caused a lot of chaos, [[UpToEleven barely after getting his hands on it]].