History Main / TheAllegedBoss

* In ''Series/BlakesSeven'', Roj Blake]] tried to be TheCaptain and succeeded for the most part. Although he appeared to be type 3 in his interaction with Avon, it should be noted that Blake was a very skilled psychological manipulator and understood Avon better than Avon understood himself. After Blake's departure, Avon, on the other hand, aimed to be type 3, since he had realistically low expectations of himself as a rebel leader (a job he didn't want and for which he lacked the neccesary leadership skills) and of the others as followers (especially newcomers Tarrant, Dayna, and Soolin). but as time went on, he deteriorated into type 1 due to paranoia and obsessive behavior regarding Servalan/Sleer. Avon had to deal with newcomer Tarrant in a similar manner that Blake used to have to deal with Avon, though not anywhere near as successfully.

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'': Michael Scott. Over Michael's head, there's David Wallace and Jan... no wonder [[spoiler:Dunder Mifflin goes bankrupt.]] Charles Miner seems to be the only person they ever hired who's capable of exercising actual authority. Karen does a decent job of holding down the Utica branch as of Season 4.

* In ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', Takatora is a mix of the "clueless" and "powerless" types, as he acts properly boss-like but is oblivious as his team is conspires against him behind his back. For his part, he thinks he's the fourth type and considers his co-workers his close friends. That said, they make sure to ''keep'' their activities hidden from him because they know that if they slip up and he catches on, he'll assert his authority and come down on them like a ton of bricks.

* [[BlakesSeven Roj Blake]] tried to be TheCaptain and succeeded for the most part. Although he appeared to be type 3 in his interaction with Avon, it should be noted that Blake was a very skilled psychological manipulator and understood Avon better than Avon understood himself. After Blake's departure, Avon, on the other hand, aimed to be type 3, since he had realistically low expectations of himself as a rebel leader (a job he didn't want and for which he lacked the neccesary leadership skills) and of the others as followers (especially newcomers Tarrant, Dayna, and Soolin). but as time went on, he deteriorated into type 1 due to paranoia and obsesssive behavior regarding Servalan/Sleer. Avon had to deal with newcomer Tarrant in a similar manner that Blake used to have to deal with Avon, though not anywhere near as successfully.

Maybe he is [[PointyHairedBoss hopelessly incompetent]]. Maybe he was set up as a leader in early episodes, but CharacterizationMarchesOn. Maybe he's an ObstructiveBureaucrat that presides over a band of {{Bunny Ears Lawyer}}s who've long ago seized control. Maybe his second in command is HyperCompetentSidekick, and has been pulling the strings for years. Regardless of the reason, this trope is about bosses who just don't act like ''bosses.''

* A mild example is Colonel Mitchell in the last two seasons of ''Series/StargateSG1''. While he's nominally the team leader, as he points out to General Landry Daniel and Teal'c are civilians and Carter's the same rank as him, while he's the new guy on a team of living legends, so getting them to do something they don't want to is a little tricky. Type 4.

* Col. Henry Blake from ''Series/{{MASH}}'' was supposed to be in charge of the 4077th but outside of the Operating Room most of his time was spent boozing, recreating, or philandering. His HyperCompetentSidekick was well understood to be the person actually running the camp. Also the dueling doctor factions who were supposed to be Henrys subordinates were frequently overstepping or walking all over him in order to carry out their zany schemes. Blake's replacement, Col. Potter, was able to command a lot more respect and thus appear more in charge.

* DependingOnTheWriter, era, and/or medium [[''ComicBooks/Batman'' Bruce Wayne]] is actually or is feigning any of the four types.

* DependingOnTheWriter, era, and/or medium [[''Comics/Batman'' Bruce Wayne]] is actually or is feigning any of the four types.

* DependingOnTheWriter, era, and/or medium [[Comics/Batman Bruce Wayne]] is actually or is feigning any of the four types.

* The [[DoctorWho Fifth Doctor]] has shades of Type 3 and 4. He has an unfair reputation in fandom of being a doormat. This may be due to the presence of Tegan, who is regarded as one of the most difficult companions.The Ninth Doctor has shades of 2 and 4. He is often described as an "enabler", preferring others to act for themselves than giving direct orders. He also treated his companions more like members of a team with himself as just another team member. But he did come down hard on those who misuse his trust, such as Adam Mitchell.

[[folder:Anime]]

* In ''Film/IronMan'', Tony Stark is a serious type 2-- he's the ''head'' of Stark Industries, but he doesn't ''run'' it. That honor belongs to the queen of [[HypercompetentSidekick Hypercompetent Sidekicks]], Pepper Potts. A couple sequels in, he recognizes this reality and makes her the ''official'' boss.

* In ''Film/IronMan'', Tony Stark is the ''head'' of Stark Industries, but he's not in ''charge''. That honor belongs to the queen of HypercompetentSidekicks, Pepper Potts. A couple sequels in, he recognizes this reality and makes her the ''official'' boss.

* Mustrum Ridcully, Archchancellor of Unseen University in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels actually zig-zags between two and three. Usually he's a loud, informal authoritarian who replaced his desk with a pool table and thinks any problem can be solved by shouting at people. And the wizards know where they stand with this, even if it's as far away as possible. Occasionally, however, he starts worrying about management styles and dynamic leadership qualities, which triggers mild rebellion among the faculty.

* ''Series/TheWire'', episode [[Recap/TheWireS04E01BoysOfSummer "Boys Of Summer"]]: Asher, though he does suit Lester's purposes just fine.

* In ''Comicbook/FuryMyWarGoneBy'', the character Barracuda is in charge of his outfit despite only being a sergeant and having two officers above him. This is what makes Nick Fury suspect corruption.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Karl is apparently Homer's supervisor. He mentions this only once to get him to stop insulting him and for the rest of the series acts as Homer's drinking buddy and even joins in on some of his antics.

* At the beginning of ''Literature/BrothersInArms'', Miles [[VorkosiganSaga Vorkosigan]] faux-modestly claims to be this, saying that he just plays the part of the Admiral while Commodore Tung does the real work. This isn't complete rubbish - originally Miles relied on Tung's experience a lot - but it's not the whole truth, and Elli immediately calls him out on it.