History Main / MisterBig

* George "Babyface" Nelson in ''Film/OBrotherWhereArtThou'' is portrayed as a loner, compared to the real life historical figure he's based on, but is notably bullies the film's heroes into becoming his impromptu accomplices to his bankrobbery that they go along with it out of fear of being demoted from accomplices to victims if they don't. Nelson is notably shorter than the trio and unusual for this trope, is actually rather calm and polite during the whole robbery (his polite request for assistence is how the heroes get into the mess in the first place). While a bank customer's remarks about his physical features does set off his BerserkButton, the customer is only identifying Nelson as "Babyface" Nelson from the newspaper. Nelson hates the name because he thinks it's not intimidating and doesn't care that he earned it for his notably youthful and innocent looking appearance or his short stature (also true of the real life Nelson). It should be pointed out that calling someone "Babyface" is more remarking on adult man's notably young looking facial features, not his height and can be applied to both short and tall men equally (in fact tall men often get this label as tall guys are often very skinny even in adulthood and can look like teenage boys more than others closer to their age. Men's bodies typically fill out in their early 20s). Nelsons height is never commented on in film, and the only other thing that earns the characters anger is a cow. He really hates cows.

Since AsskickingLeadsToLeadership and AuthorityGrantsAsskicking, your average BigBad tends to be (appropriately enough) ''[[LargeAndInCharge big]]'' -- however, a frequent subversion of this is for the big cheese to be a [[{{Pun}} half-pint]]. Generally this will be taken to an extreme degree, and may be [[{{Foil}} accentuated]] by giving him two GiantMook bodyguards.

Contrast LargeAndInCharge. Compare KillerRabbit, PintsizedPowerhouse, and DepravedDwarf (and indeed, this trope often overlaps with those ones). [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do with]] rock band Music/MrBig or the [[Film/LiveAndLetDie James Bond adversary]] or the [[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Southtown kingpin]] or the final boss of ''VideoGame/{{NARC}}'' or the character from ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. ...Or the Canadian candy bar.

Since AsskickingEqualsAuthority and AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, your average BigBad tends to be (appropriately enough) ''[[LargeAndInCharge big]]'' -- however, a frequent subversion of this is for the big cheese to be a [[{{Pun}} half-pint]]. Generally this will be taken to an extreme degree, and may be [[{{Foil}} accentuated]] by giving him two GiantMook bodyguards.

** A kind of strange version in [[NoPronunciationGuide Paezhar zo Myraq]], better known as 'The Little Pigeon', is a slave owner and general in the Yunkish army. He is only five feet tall, and has his slaves specially bred for height, and wear stilts into battle, making them 8 feet plus. Most of the other regiments in Yunkai have similarly elaborate and impractical gimmicks, since the only fighting they've done for years is mock battles against each other.

** Small Fry, a diminutive crime boss who made his only appearance in one issue of ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman Incorporated]]'', shadowed by his lumbering mook Bully. (Visually based on the title characters of ''ComicBook/TheDandy'' strip ''Bully Beef and Chips'').

* The ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series has Sohei Dojima, patriach of the Dojima family. In a setting where characters in position of authority tend to be tall, he stands out for being short and rather fat. However, he's also a serious character, a dangerous strategist and a cruel asshole.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

--> '''Cop Morty''': Not so big now, are ya?
--> '''Big Morty''': I never was! It was figurative!

* The "Mr. Big" of ''[[VideoGame/KunioKun Target: Renegade]]''. Not only is he short, he also has his own miniature bathroom as seen in the background.

* Jasper Batt Jr. from ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'' starts this way, but ends up growing bigger for the second phase of the fight. And for the third phase, he gets '''really''' big.
* Salazar from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. He fits the mold spectacularly, being a Napoleon-inspired short guy with two large bodyguards, [[spoiler:who are genetically engineered monsters, no less]], flanking him. Oddly he breaks a tradition of sorts in video games by sending one after you at once and then fighting alongside the second (as opposed to watching on the sidelines and having both double team the player).
* The "Mr. Big" of ''[[VideoGame/KunioKun Target: Renegade]]''. Not only is he short, he also has his own miniature bathroom as seen in the background.
* In ''VideoGame/MouseHunt'' for Facebook, the Nerg Chieftain Mouse is the smallest mouse in the tribe. It's also the most difficult one to catch in the Nerg Plains.
* ''VideoGame/LegoPiratesOfTheCaribbean'' emphasizes Beckett's shortness by making him hobbit-sized.

* At the end of level 28 in ''VideoGame/NewYankeeInKingArthursCourt'' the "Dark Lord" was uncloaked only to reveal a midget on stilts. Destroying his fortress during it earns you the "Napoleon" achievement.
* Bosc the Terrible, the main antagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Blasto}}'', commands an army of alien invaders, but is comically short.

* [=ClockUp=]'s ''Euphoria'': [[spoiler:Kanae Hokari is the ''true'' EvilGenius BigBad who has been feeding you FalseMemories and kidnaps Nemu for as she sees that [[CloningBlues clone]] as an interesting specimen so that she could rise to the top of her company... and she's a mere 153 cm tall (5'0") woman that makes up for her short height with a big bust.]]
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] is the 155 cm tall (5'1") BigBad of the third game; she even took advantage of a 190 cm tall (6'2") DumbMuscle named [[spoiler:Terry Fawles]]!
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' DLC level "Bootleg Boogie," the villains are an insect organized crime gang, featuring a giant spider and a terrifyingly huge anteater, but led by a tiny snail who is the weakest member of the gang.

* The mobile game ''VideoGame/StarWarsUprising'' has an organization known as the Trade Spine League. Its leader, Shortpaw, is a Chadra-Fan, meaning [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/f/ff/Shortpaw_with_bodyguards.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160221221755 nearly everybody towers over him.]] Of course, this helps with his cover, where he disguises himself as an ordinary junk dealer to wave off suspicion.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}} DLC level "Bootleg Boogie," the villains are an insect organized crime gang, featuring a giant spider and a terrifyingly huge anteater, but led by a tiny snail who is the weakest member of the gang.

* Plankton in ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' is the shows most notable antagonist and by dint of the fact that he is literally a Plankton, he is downright tiny compared to the rest of the cast. Many jokes about his size are made throughout the series, though for a plankton in the series, he's pretty average height as the one episode where we meet his extended family, there's a diverse range of sizes (all of whom are still shorter than the rest of the cast and any height differences aren't notable from their perspective).

* Wangury from ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'' is the shortest of the Pirategurys, but also their leader. He instead wears a [[NiceHat large, swanky hat]] to signal his leadership.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': The much-discussed Gem ruler Pink Diamond is revealed in "Jungle Moon" to be completely towed over by the other Diamonds. Granted, she's still [[LargeRunt something like twelve feet tall]].

''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'': The Ant Hill Mob are all vertically-challenged gangsters, yet their boss Clyde still manages to be the shortest one of them all.

* Clyde from the Ant Hill Mob in ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces''. Slightly subverted in that his henchmen are just as vertically challenged as him.

* Creator/RoaldDahl's ''Literature/TheWitches'' describes the [[MonsterLord Grand High Witch]] as shorter than the rest of her WitchSpecies.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'': Ratbat is a small robotic bat who transforms into a cassette and ends up in charge of the Decepticons in various continuities.

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* Wangury from ''Animation/NoonboryAndTheSuper7'' is the shortest of the Pirategurys, but also their leader. He instead wears a [[NiceHat large, swanky hat]] to signal his leadership.
[[/folder]]

* Mr. Big, the main villain from the pilot episode of ''Series/GetSmart''. As with ''For Your Height Only'' he actually has dwarfism, which is only revealed when Smart and Mr Big are in the same room.

''RevealShot of Max towering over Mr. Big.''

* ''VideoGame/LEGOPiratesOfTheCaribbean'' emphasizes Beckett's shortness by making him hobbit-sized.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

%%* Bigtime Beagle from ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987''.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Capone 'Gang' Bege fits this. Former mafia don who became one of the most infamous pirates of the era, and only 5'5.5 tall. Not all ''that'' short, but we are talking about a world where people with giant's blood aren't particularly rare.

** Batman villain, ComicBook/ThePenguin, has always been depicted as a small man, sometimes comically so. He is, however, shown to have a good deal of StoutStrength when fighting, and his {{Mooks}}, while almost always taller, are often no more physically intimidating than he is. (Exaggerated in the later episodes of [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries the animated series]], when the Penguin ran a nightclub and employed a number of leggy dames in snowbunny costumes, he was about the size of a tall child, and even the women looked like titans next to him!)