History Main / ObstructiveZealot

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Dale from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is a humourous example.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'': Walter Peck, the bureaucrat who not only opposes everything the Ghostbusters do, but also obtains a court order allowing him to shut down the containment unit, releasing all the captured ghosts. He then [[NeverMyFault blames them]] for the consequences of his actions.

* Judicator Aldaris in ''VideoGame/{{StarCraft}}''. He is willing to engage in a [[CivilWarcraft civil war]] ''while his home planet is being invaded by the nigh-unstoppable Zerg'' just because he doesn't like the people that the player and Tassadar are consorting with. Naturally, this blows up in his face and he accepts the truth. What makes it kinda tragic is that the ''next'' time Aldaris started to become an ObstructiveZealot, he was 100% correct. He could see that Kerrigan had gained some influence over the Matriarch, but nobody would listen to him (except his loyal core of off-screen supporters). And then Kerrigan shows up to kill him off before [[PoorCommunicationKills he could explain his reasoning]] for starting another civil conflict.

** In ''[[VideoGame/MassEffect1 Mass Effect]]'', Saren fit this trope, though his intentions were fairly pragmatic: By helping the Reapers take over the galaxy, he hoped to show that organic life could be useful and would spare some of them. Of course, he was [[MoreThanMindControl indoctrinated]] and was going to justify doing exactly what they wanted him to one way or the other.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Reverend Darren England, of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. He's fought demons and aliens for decades, protecting the people of earth. Now he's trying to destroy a couple more inhuman things. They just happen to be some of the ''heroes''.

** Also from Literature/CiaphasCain, Sisters of Battle. Sure, they wear PowerArmor that allows them to withstand hits that'd kill a Guardsman three times over, and their unshakeable faith means they won't fall back in panic, but they're a nightmare to superior officers since they just keep moving forwards and eventually getting killed, leaving a great big hole in the line. Cain has to wise them up to this by reminding them that as glorious as it is to die for the Emperor, He won't appreciate it if it also means a temple full of civilians got slaughtered because the Sisters were too dead to protect them.

* Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. It takes seeing Voldemort with his own eyes in the Ministry of Magic to convince him that yes, Dumbledore and Harry ''have'' been telling the truth for the past year. Naturally, by this time Voldemort has had a year to prepare and bust his most loyal underlings out of prison, so fro the next year the Ministry's attempts at fighting the threat are sadly ineffective (although giving Fudge the boot didn't hurt).

* Special Agent Dammers from ''Film/TheFrighteners''.

** The Imperium of Mankind as a whole.

* Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series.

** Commissar Tomas Beije in ''The Traitor's Hand'', whom Literature/CiaphasCain makes the mistake of purposefully annoying because he expects not to have much dealings with him. Religious, zealous, and plain dumb, he sees Cain as a complete scoundrel, which ironically enough from the point of view of Cain's own narration is something of a CassandraTruth. Of course, when he finally starts getting properly obstructive, it's just when Cain is trying to save everyone (even if it is because that includes himself). [[spoiler: Although his attempts to get Cain punished backfire spectacularly thank to a combination of the fact Cain is [[HundredPercentHeroismRating HERO OF THE IMPERIUM]], was engaged in the aformentioned day-saving and is friends with the Lord General. The tribunal's verdict boiled down to; "Commissar Cain is acquitted of all charges. Commissar Beije is now charged with getting in his damn way!".]]

* Reverend Darren England, of the WhateleyUniverse. He's fought demons and aliens for decades, protecting the people of earth. Now he's trying to destroy a couple more inhuman things. They just happen to be some of the ''heroes''.

* In ''[[VideoGame/MassEffect1 Mass Effect]]'', Saren fit this trope, though his intentions were fairly pragmatic: By helping the Reapers take over the galaxy, he hoped to show that organic life could be useful and would spare some of them. Of course, he was [[MoreThanMindControl indoctrinated]] and was going to justify doing exactly what they wanted him to one way or the other.

* [[JakAndDaxter Count Veger]], with emphasis on the ''zealot''. And "emphasis on the ''zealot''" means "inscribe ZEALOT on him in ten-foot letters made out of solid gold".

* Judicator Aldaris in ''{{StarCraft}}''. He is willing to engage in a [[CivilWarcraft civil war]] ''while his home planet is being invaded by the nigh-unstoppable Zerg'' just because he doesn't like the people that the player and Tassadar are consorting with. Naturally, this blows up in his face and he accepts the truth. What makes it kinda tragic is that the ''next'' time Aldaris started to become an ObstructiveZealot, he was 100% correct. He could see that Kerrigan had gained some influence over the Matriarch, but nobody would listen to him (except his loyal core of off-screen supporters). And then Kerrigan shows up to kill him off before [[PoorCommunicationKills he could explain his reasoning]] for starting another civil conflict.

* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'': Walter Peck, the bureaucrat who not only opposes everything the Ghostbusters do, but also obtains a court order allowing him to shut down the containment unit, releasing all the captured ghosts. And then blames them for the consequences of his actions.

* Qing-jao (sp?) of [[EndersGame Xenocide]]. She's seen as a brilliant individual who's easily the pinnacle of everything her home world of Path is about. Naturally, she's the one put in charge of a formal investigation into Demosthenes' identity, and actually winds up learning a great deal. But then it's revealed that [[spoiler:the "godspoken" of her home world that ultimately guide everything are in fact genetically altered by humanity's governing body to act as hyperintelligent servants to fight against Demosthenes and anyone else that would dare to undermine them so thoroughly. The gods talking to them and their pathological obsessions to engage in demanding, menial activities are actually the results of genetically enforced OCD that keep them under control and unable to resist the call of their superiors.]] When Qing-jao is confronted with the truth, she defies it constantly, and even when [[spoiler:it's cured in the end]], she still insists the "gods" have a plan for her, and refuses to listen to any reason except her own.

* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters}}'': Walter Peck, the bureaucrat who not only opposes everything the Ghostbusters do, but also obtains a court order allowing him to shut down the containment unit, releasing all the captured ghosts. And then blames them for the consequences of his actions.

* Miko Miyazaki from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick,'' more so over time.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* Cavaldi from ''{{Film/The Brothers Grimm}}''
* ''{{Film/Ghostbusters}}'': Walter Peck, the bureaucrat who not only opposes everything the Ghostbusters do, but also obtains a court order allowing him to shut down the containment unit, releasing all the captured ghosts. And then blames them for the consequences of his actions.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:{{Live-Action TV}}]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} The Imperium of Mankind as a whole]].

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

----

* Dale from ''KingOfTheHill'' is a humourous example.

* The Masters (formerly The Bloodguard) in ''[[ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'' are an entire race of Obstructive Zealots. They've set themselves up as the rulers of The Land - denying the people of The Land proper knowledge of Earthpower for starters - all for the purposes of being the only ones capable of defeating Lord Foul. Though it's obvious to anyone not one of The Masters that they don't have the numbers to wage war against Foul, let alone win.

* ''{{Film/Ghostbusters}}'': Walter Peck, the bureaucrat who not only opposes everything the Ghostbusters do, but also obtains a court order allowing him to shut down the containment unit, releasing all the captured ghosts.

** Also from CiaphasCain, Sisters of Battle. Sure, they wear PowerArmor that allows them to withstand hits that'd kill a Guardsman three times over, and their unshakeable faith means they won't fall back in panic, but they're a nightmare to superior officers since they just keep moving forwards and eventually getting killed, leaving a great big hole in the line. Cain has to wise them up to this by reminding them that as glorious as it is to die for the Emperor, He won't appreciate it if it also means a temple full of civilians got slaughtered because the Sisters were too dead to protect them.

* Cavaldi from ''Film/The Brothers Grimm''
* ''Film/Ghostbusters'': Walter Peck, the bureaucrat who not only opposes everything the Ghostbusters do, but also obtains a court order allowing him to shut down the containment unit, releasing all the captured ghosts.

* Special Agent Dammers from ''TheFrighteners''.
* Cavaldi from ''The Brothers Grimm''

* [[{{Warhammer 40000}} The Imperium of Mankind as a whole]].
** Commissar Tomas Beije in ''The Traitor's Hand'', whom CiaphasCain makes the mistake of purposefully annoying because he expects not to have much dealings with him. Religious, zealous, and plain dumb, he sees Cain as a complete scoundrel, which ironically enough from the point of view of Cain's own narration is something of a CassandraTruth. Of course, when he finally starts getting properly obstructive, it's just when Cain is trying to save everyone (even if it is because that includes himself). [[spoiler: Although his attempts to get Cain punished backfire spectacularly thank to a combination of the fact Cain is [[HundredPercentHeroismRating HERO OF THE IMPERIUM]], was engaged in the aformentioned day-saving and is friends with the Lord General. The tribunal's verdict boiled down to; "Commissar Cain is aquitted of all charges. Commissar Beije is now charged with getting in his damn way!".]]

* Qing-jao (sp?) of [[EndersGame Xenocide]]. She's seen as a brilliant individual who's easily the pinnacle of everything her home world of Path is about. Naturally, she's the one put in charge of a formal investigation into Demosthenes' identity, and actually winds up learning a great deal. But then it's revealed that [[spoiler:the "godspoken" of her home world that ultimately guide everything are in fact genetically altered by humanity's governing body to act as hyperintelligent servants to fight against Demosthenes and anyone else that would dare to undermine them so thoroughly. The gods talking to them and their pathological obsessions to engage in demanding, menial activities are actually the results of genetically enforced OCD that keep them under control and unable to resist the call of their superiors.]] When Qing-jao is confronted with the truth, she defies it constantly, and even when [[spoiler:it's cured in the end]], she still insists the "gods" have a plan for her, and refuses to listen to any reason except her own. This troper was strongly reminded of Qing-jao when [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Miko Miyazaki]] [[spoiler:finally fell]].

* Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic in the ''HarryPotter'' series.
* Special Agent Dammers from ''The Frighteners''
* Miko Miyazaki from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick,'' more so over time.
* Dale from ''KingOfTheHill'' is a humourous example.

* Judicator Aldaris in StarCraft. He is willing to engage in a [[CivilWarcraft civil war]] ''while his home planet is being invaded by the nigh-unstoppable Zerg'' just because he doesn't like the people that the player and Tassadar are consorting with. Naturally, this blows up in his face and he accepts the truth. What makes it kinda tragic is that the ''next'' time Aldaris started to become an ObstructiveZealot, he was 100% correct. He could see that Kerrigan had gained some influence over the Matriarch, but nobody would listen to him (except his loyal core of off-screen supporters). And then Kerrigan shows up to kill him off before [[PoorCommunicationKills he could explain his reasoning]] for starting another civil conflict.
* Yevonites in FinalFantasyX; they'll irritate you with scripture, feed you lies, and take issue with a certain member of your party. That's all before they brand TheHero a heretic and try to kill you. Doesn't help that one member of your party is a pretty strict Yevonite. D'oh.
* Reverend Darren England, of the WhateleyUniverse. He's fought demons and aliens for decades, protecting the people of earth. Now he's trying to destroy a couple more inhuman things. They just happen to be some of the ''heroes''.
* [[JakAndDaxter Count Veger]], with emphasis on the ''zealot''. And "emphasis on the ''zealot''" means "inscribe ZEALOT on him in ten-foot letters made out of solid gold".

* Donald Morgan of ''TheDresdenFiles'', who firmly believes that Harry is a walking BlackMagic time bomb who should have been executed years ago. Any attempts on Harry's part to defend himself are generally ignored. He eventually backs down a little from his InspectorJavert attitude, but he's still an obstructive jerk.

----