History Main / KickedUpstairs

** This is a [[{{Fanon}} popular theory]] as to why the, um, ''controversial'' Kathryn Janeway of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' is a vice admiral by ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''. Whereas the beloved [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean-Luc Picard]] is still a captain because he has refused promotion on multiple occasions, Starfleet Command reassigned Janeway to a desk to keep her from ever commanding a starship again. As we learn in ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'', this didn't work; not only does she get to command a starship again, it's the brand-new USS ''Dauntless'', equipped with a quantum slipstream drive that makes warp speed look like snail's pace. Still, she's only a ''vice'' admiral, as pointed out by Admiral Jellico, who gives her a direct order.
** Speaking of Star Trek, ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' features an [[InvertedTrope inversion]]. Kirk publicly violated orders in [[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock the previous film]], but now he's managed to save the world. Starfleet "[[{{Unishment}} punishs]]" him by taking away his cushy desk job and demoting him to a "mere" starship captain. So Starfleet gets what it wants (a public punishment to demonstrate they don't tolerate such behavior, not to mention their best captain back in the field) and Kirk gets what he wants (the ''Enterprise'').

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Barristan Selmy's dismissal is presented in this light by the new regime; a comfortable, well-earned retirement. Ser Barristan sees it as a blatant attempt to oust him for political reasons and quits on the spot.

** Creator/YujiNaka, creator of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'', was given this treatment at Creator/{{Sega}}, having been promoted to a managerial position that he absolutely hated. This, combined with burnout from the ''Sonic'' series, is what led to his departure from Sega in 2006, the formation of his own development house Prope, and his job at Creator/SquareEnix, which ended up crashing and burning after the failure of ''VideoGame/BalanWonderworld'', leading him to leave that company as well. Naka also claims that the failure of ''Balan'' has made him take a step back to reevaluate himself and pick up programming again, and he has since released a game, ''Shot 2048'', as an indie developer.

* Captain Goto in ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'', probably the smartest guy on the force and a pain in the neck for his superiors, got assigned to the ragtag Special Vehicles Unit, Second Division mainly because they had no prestige and their headquarters is on the city outskirts.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': This happened to Misty past the original series. She becomes the sole Gym Leader of Cerulean Gym and it is heavily implied that she has to lose to rookies quite a bit in order to be this in a manner that is very similar to Team Rocket. When she returns in ''Sun and Moon'', she laments that she's ''still'' stuck there and her sisters are off on ''another'' trip (though they do come back periodically, and are said to have filled in so she could visit Hoenn in the Advanced Generation season and Alola in ''Sun and Moon'').

* ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': A RunningGag is how hard Leon tries to either be demoted or keep his rank, yet his achievements for the Holtfort Kingdom constantly earn him promotions (case in point, he rose from the rank of Baron to Duke in about two years) that he wants to avoid because a higher rank means higher responsibilities that kill his chances for a peaceful life. Part of this is due to the mutual dislike between him and King Roland, who is very much aware of this and moves the strings to make him go up just to spite him.

* An alternate-universe Creator/MarvelComics series has ComicBook/NickFury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D. almost forced sideways, out of any real authority by a sniveling lackey with power. It ends ambiguously, with lots of people dead and the lackey with an eye put out by Nick Fury's cigar.
* Franchise/MarvelUniverse: Maria Hill was made ''Acting'' Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. initially, specifically because of her bias against superpowered beings, and because a bunch of Skrull infiltrators realized she'd be a good patsy. This bias led to her basically instigating the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', as she told Captain America to get on board with the plan to arrest any superhero who was not registered under the Superhuman Registration Act after it came into effect (Even if, as evidenced with Luke Cage, they merely sat at home and had done nothing to violate the newly enacted law) or surrender into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. After ''Civil War'', she was demoted and Tony Stark was given the job, which everyone seemed to be happier about (Hill included).

--> "After that, the Head's friends saw that the Head was no use as a Head, so they got her made an Inspector to interfere with other Heads. And when they found she wasn't much good even at that, [[AcceptablePoliticalTargets they got her into Parliament]] where she lived happily ever after."

* On ''Series/SiliconValley'', Hooli CEO Gavin Belson believes in this philosophy, having picked it up from studying Japanese management techniques. He implements it with the company's worst performers, technically promoting them but removing all their responsibilities, believing they will become ashamed of how little they are contributing to the company. The problem, though, is that he does not employ Japanese [[{{Salaryman}} salarymen]], but rather Silicon Valley programmers who are all too happy to get paid to come to work and do absolutely nothing. Big Head has this happen to him; he finds a whole group of people like him just playing hackeysack on the building's roof. [[spoiler:And eventually, after too many conflicts with the Hooli board, Gavin winds up joining them.]]

* This happened to Jacques Gaillot, the Red Cleric, former bishop of Évreux in France. When his left-wing activism pissed off the wrong people in the Church, he was made Titular Bishop of Partenia, which is a ruined city in Algeria, meaning although it is technically not a demotion, he now has no duties and no congregation.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' prequel novel the Valiant, a young Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard learns from USS ''Stargazer'' Captain Daithan Ruhalter that Ruhaltar intends to do this with his first officer Stephen Leach and promote Picard to take his place. When the ''Stargazer'' was attacked and crippled by the Nuyyad, Ruhaltar was killed and Leach was seriously injured, forcing Picard to take temporary command. After the immediate crisis is solved the ''Stargazer'' returns to Earth where Admiral Mehdi kicks Leach upstairs while also promoting Picard to be the permanent Captain of the ''Stargazer''.

** This is a [[{{Fanon}} popular theory]] as to why the, um, ''controversial'' Kathryn Janeway of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' is a vice admiral by ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''. Whereas the beloved [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Jean-Luc Picard]] is still a captain because he has refused promotion on multiple occasions, Starfleet Command reassigned Janeway to a desk to keep her from ever commanding a starship again.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer gets his job as a safety inspector in the Nuclear Plant this way: after initially being fired for incompetence, he goes on a safety campaign that leads him to challenge his old bosses. But rather than fight him, Mr. Burns [[EstablishingCharacterMoment manipulates the situation]] by offering him a new place where he won’t be in a position to dissent.

** In ''TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragonsFirstEdition'', druids who advanced to the "hierophant" levels ceased to play any part in the official druidic hierarchy, becoming freelance troubleshooters for Nature and/or philosophical recluses.

** In "Rightful Heir", Kahless the Unforgettable, founder of the Klingon Empire, [[CloneDegeneration "returns"]] and is seen as a political threat by Chancellor Gowron. After Gowron proves clone-Kahless is not [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority the strongest warrior of them all]], the spiritual rebirth sparked by his return is still seen as a political threat. Instead of killing clone-Kahless and making him a martyr to his followers, Worf suggests installing him in the currently empty ceremonial but politically powerless seat of Emperor, as the "true heir" to Kahless.

** Speaking of Star Trek, ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' features an [[InvertedTrope inversion]]. Kirk has violated orders to save the world. They "[[{{Unishment}} punish]]" him by taking away his cushy desk job and demoting him to a "mere" starship captain. So Starfleet gets what it wants (a public punishment to demonstrate they don't tolerate such behavior, not to mention their best captain back in the field) and Kirk gets what he wants (the ''Enterprise'').

*** That doesn't seem to be the case, as Kirk was in his 40s in TMP (50s in the other TOS films) and plenty of other Starfleet captains continued captaining well into that age. Picard was Captain till near 70 and only accepted promotion to Admiral and stepped out of command in order to take up a special humanitarian taskforce. It was implied Kirk simply accepted promotion to Admiral as as soon as it was offered because he was following the "correct" promotion path and figured that was just the way to do things. It was only afterwards that he started regretting it and realized he was truely happiest captaining a ship and exploring.

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', Visser Three is so ruthless and quick to kill his underlings that no one ''wants'' to be promoted to a higher Sub-Visser (like a lieutenant) or Visser (like a general) position. Other Yeerks will sometimes get promoted just because the position above theirs was recently vacated by a "[[YouFool fool]]".

** ''Literature/StarTrekExMachina'' explains that this is why Kirk was an admiral in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture''. After a particularly controversial violation of the Prime Directive (for the purposes of saving a civilization from destruction), Kirk became a household name. His career was dissected in the media to the point where his reputation -- as both a [[HeroWithBadPublicity hero and a troublemaker]] - was blown out of all proportion. Half of Starfleet Command wanted him dismissed from the service, the other half idolized him. Admiral Nogura eventually solved the problem by promoting Kirk, acknowledging the good of his actions while keeping him behind a desk, and so out of trouble. It seemed the safest compromise.

** Commander Wedge Antilles turned down a number of promotions up until just after ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', preferring to remain as a Commander so he could remain in the cockpit of an X-wing blasting TIE fighters away. Shortly after Thrawn's death Antilles finally accepts a promotion to General when Admiral Ackbar tells him that the other members of Rogue Squadron were also refusing promotions and were remaining at lower ranks while they should have much higher ranks due to their experience and time in service.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. At the start of Season 2, Kira Nerys risks war with Cardassia to rescue legendary Bajoran freedom fighter Li Nalas. Minister Jaro informs her she is being removed from her position as Bajoran liaison officer to Deep Space Nine, reassigned to the capital and replaced with the man she rescued. When Commander Sisko protests, Jaro informs him that she's not being punished; this is in fact a promotion in recognition for her heroic act, even if no-one else sees it that way. Turns out it's actually Li Nalas who's being KickedUpstairs, as Jaro is planning TheCoup and wants to make sure this potential rival leader is well away from the capital.

*** In one episode, Hacker asks a friend what its like to have moved from the Commons to the Lords, to which the friend sardonically replies "[It's] like moving from the animals to the vegetables."

** Gabe is initially he is only there to oversee the merging of regional offices, but afterwards is asked by Jo to stick around and supervise for her. His only real job is letting her know what's going on at that branch, but he has no authority whatsoever. He cannot hire people, fire people, or even perform disciplinary action. He's literally a snitch without anything resembling power.

** In "Hollow Pursuits", Commander Rikers suspect that Lt. Barclay's glowing performance reviews from his previous ship were issued as a way to foist him on the ''Enterprise''. It turns out he really is a good engineer under the right conditions, i.e. when he isn't paralyzed by his social anxiety.

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Sisko's assignment to the station is implied to be because of this mixed with ReassignedToAntarctica. After losing his wife when his ship was destroyed in battle against the Borg at [[ContinuityNod Wolf 359]], Sisko was burnt out and wanted a quiet, out-of-the-way command where he could finish up his tenure and retire from Starfleet. However, the Prophets decided that he was their new [[MessianicArchetype messiah]] (a long story that's actually far more complicated than that) and the whole thing turned into a ReassignmentBackfire against ''himself''.

** In the three-part Season 2 opener, a Bajoran war hero was assigned as Sisko's new liaison officer to keep him off Bajor--so he couldn't interfere with a xenophobic plot to get rid of TheFederation.

** This happens, in a way, to Optimus Prime. After the unfortunate loss of Elita-1, which he took responsibility for, he was kicked out of the Elite Guard then promoted by Ultra Magnus to Prime and given command of a starship... assigned to the fringes of space repairing space bridges. Even though the promotion was technically a favor, it still served to stick Optimus far from any worthwhile command. However, the starship included in the deal was also the (apparent) corpse of the ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction most powerful Transformer in existence]].'' Whether or not this was a bonus or an insult depends on the Autobot morals concerning such things.

** After the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope]] Francis Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke was removed from his posting as the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (aka the [[UsefulNotes/VaticanCity Vatican]] [[ThereIsNoHigherCourt Supreme Court]]) along with the group that recommended priests for promotion to Bishop to the Pope. Burke was reassigned to be the head of Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - a largely ceremonial post. While he eventually was appointed back to the Apostolic Signatura, it was as a member of the court and not its leader.

* In UsefulNotes/IceHockey, the Chicago Blackhawks did this to general manager Dale Tallon during the 2009 offseason. After some poor salary cap management and a paperwork snafu, he was made "senior advisor" and replaced as general manager by Stan Bowman. That season, Tallon left to become general manager of the Florida Panthers. (The fact that Chicago won UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup in 2010 leads to debates as to which GM deserves credit for building that team.)//
//
Tallon would later go through a subversion with the Panthers, being promoted out of the GM position in 2016 due to a combination of factors, including an ownership group that wanted to put greater emphasis on speed and analytics over the more physically imposing team structure that he had built, as well as a playoff appearance that fell short of internal expectations[[note]]they failed to advance past the first round in a controversial series that included multiple missed obstruction penalties with the team possessing the puck in the New York Islanders' zone late in regulation of game six, while the opposing goalie was sitting on the bench and the Panthers were leading the game 1-0 but trailing the series 3-2; the Islanders eventually scored to tie the game, then won the series in double overtime[[/note]] despite the fact that just making it there has been a rare feat for the team in its history.[[note]]after three appearances between 1996 and 2000, the Panthers wouldn't qualify again until 2012, and after that wouldn't make it again until the 2016 squad with Tallon's fingerprints all over it[[/note]] He was then "demoted" back to the GM position after his replacement, former Assistant GM/Analytics Tom Rowe, made such a mess of the roster that they immediately nosedived back to the bottom of the league. (Rowe himself was moved laterally into an advisory post under Tallon.) Tallon would continue to hold the GM position until 2020, when he was simply fired outright from the Panthers organization.

* In UsefulNotes/IceHockey, the Chicago Blackhawks did this to general manager Dale Tallon during the 2009 offseason. After some poor salary cap management and a paperwork snafu, he was made "senior advisor" and replaced as general manager by Stan Bowman. That season, Tallon left to become general manager of the Florida Panthers. (The fact that Chicago won UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup in 2010 leads to debates as to which GM deserves credit for building that team.)

** Also, within the Church Dioceses that are no longer active are giving the status of Titular Sees as a way of honoring the memory of these defunct Dioceses. Assistant Bishops or those Bishops who don't acutally oversee a Diocese are named the leaders of the Titular Sees. From time to time, controversial clergy are kicked upstairs from overseeing active Dioceses to heading Titular Sees as a way of sidlining them.

** After the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope]] Francis Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke was removed from his posting as the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (aka the [[UsefulNotes/VaticanCity Vatican]] [[ThereIsNoHigherCourt Supreme Court]] and reassigned to be the head of Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - a largely ceremonial post. While he eventually was appointed back to the Apostolic Signatura, it was as a member of the court and not its leader.

* After the fallout of the Catholic Church's [[PedophilePriest sex abuse scandal]], Cardinal Bernard Law, the Archbishop of Boston, was "promoted" from his prior office to the Roman Curia in Vatican City, where he served on several committees and held a few offices with no real authority.

* When the Pixies take over Fairy World in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', they figure that they need a fairy in an important-sounding but useless position to keep dissension down. Therefore, Cosmo is given the position Rice President (not a typo; he is given power over rice, which mostly seems to consist of Pixies bringing him random objects to be identified as rice or not). He specifically was chosen because the Pixies were sure he'd be too stupid to use the position to pose a threat against them. Then one of his decisions as Rice President indirectly [[ReassignmentBackfire led to the Pixies losing Fairy World back to the fairies]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Fire Lord Ozai rewards Azula for her loyal service by naming her the new Fire Lord... moments before he makes the position irrelevant by crowning himself Phoenix King. Azula knows exactly what's happening to her and doesn't take it well ("You can't treat me like [[TheUnfavorite Zuko]]!") and it's one of the contributing factors to her VillainousBreakdown.

** Hideo Baba' producer of ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'', saw such a backlash for it (which [[SmallNameBigEgo he totally refused to address in public]]) that he was promoted to a new role that did essentially nothing. He quit Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment six months later and joined Creator/SquareEnix.

** VideoGame/{{Yakuza}} creator Toshihiro Nagoshi became the latest casualty of Sega's habit of kicking people it deems past their prime upstairs. Nagoshi was "promoted" to the position of "Creative Director" after the completion of ''VideoGame/LostJudgment'' in April 2021, and has chosen to leave Sega for Chinese firm [=NetEase=] due to the fact.