History Main / TheNapoleon

* The ultimate example might be Plankton from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', who is miniscule compared to the rest of the characters, whose height is typically less than 10 inches.

The name comes from "Napoleon complex" (popularly known as "short-man syndrome"), an inferiority complex said to be suffered by short people. Aggressive or dangerous people who are short are often labeled as such to mock them. This was most famously done to the legendary French emperor, NapoleonBonaparte. Although Napoleon was of average height for his nationality and time period, a number of different factors created the widely held urban legend that he was quite short. English propaganda of the time seized on the perception and portrayed him as comically short to deflate his image.

* Aliera e'Kieron from the ''{{Dragaera}}'' series. She goes as far as levitating to appear taller, which provides a [[BloodKnight handy excuse for a duel]] when someone points it out. She seems to have dropped the practice later in the series's timeline.
* The idea that Napoleon was '''extremely''' short is a plot point in HarryStephenKeeler's ''X. Jones of Scotland Yard''. Midget-hating tycoon Andre Marceau is found strangled to death in the middle of a freshly rolled croquet lawn. The only footprints, other than Marceau's own, are some tiny, baby-sized footprints. These do not lead out to the body but merely describe a small arc around it. The police suspect a Flying Stranger-Baby. X. Jones is called in to help crack the case! [[spoiler:The culprit is Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon seduced an ancestor of the victim and passed on a gene that causes people to die suddenly with symptoms that cannot be distinguished from strangulation. The same gene also causes hallucinations -- in the victim's case, of a demonic baby.]] That was not an unusual plot for Mr. Keeler, either.
* Lessa in the ''DragonridersOfPern'' series is ''tiny'' but fearsome, made all the worse by her massive, jet plane-sized dragon Ramoth.

* The Legionnaire who goes by the name of "Super Gnat" in RobertAsprin's ''PhulesCompany'' books. She's a wee little thing with an explosive temper about anything that even hints that someone is calling her "short." Once she's partnered with Tusk-anini (a 7.5 foot tall, warthog-looking alien who is also a really peaceful type), she starts to develop some self-control and get less touchy about her height.

** Petyr Baelish in is called "Littlefinger" in part because of his short stature. He's half Napoleon and half [[TheGreatGatsby Gatsby]], having grown power-mad as a result of the humiliation he received as a pint-sized and poor noble's son.

* LuckyStarr's sidekick John [[IronicNickname Bigman]] Jones.
* Musket from LloydAlexander's ''Literature/{{Westmark}}'' trilogy suffers from dwarfism, yet is one of the fiercest fighters and most forceful personalities in the series.

* Percy Wetmore, the main villain from ''TheGreenMile'', is described as being very cruel, very sadistic and very short.
* Base from ''StarTrekMillennium'', the galaxy's shortest and most angrily homicidal Ferengi.
* In IanFleming's original novel of ''[[Literature/JamesBond Goldfinger]]'', the title character is depicted as one of these.

* ''Sisterhood'' series by FernMichaels: Many times, a short male character will pop up and the author or one of the characters will say that the guy probably has a Napoleon Complex. This sort of character is portrayed as a {{Jerkass}} at best by the author. At times this seems to go into the territory of UnfortunateImplications.
* Horace Rangoon, the villain in ''The Rio Hondo Kid'' by JTEdson.

** Vegeta of ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. It's ''extremely'' noticable during his first appearance, and not only because he's [[GiantMook standing next to Nappa]]. Vegeta seems to grow in comparison to the other characters as the series moves on, though this can be attributed more to added muscle mass and aging rather than physically growing taller. He consistently remains one of the shorter fighters in the show.

** Switzerland would be a straighter example. Though his height is never directly addressed, he's shorter than Italy, has a HairTriggerTemper and quickly resorts to shooting. He's very much a {{Jerkass}} except for when it comes to his adoptive sister Liechtenstein and ''sometimes'' Austria. To boot, he's voiced by Creator/RomiPark.

* HarlanEllison is of short stature and is known for his forceful personality. In the documentary ''Dreams With Sharp Teeth'' he describes himself during his days in the military as a "mean little dog" who, though "86 pounds soaking wet," refused to give up and never collapsed during training. Contrary to the trope, he avoided confrontations with the other soldiers by [[PlayingCyrano volunteering to help them write letters to their girlfriends]].

** Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is infamous for his attempts to hide his short height. While ex-president Bush is 15 cm (6 inches) taller than him, they appear the same size on [[http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5358/sarkozypetitsaufavecdieuuh7.jpg the rightmost photo]]. But what is the guy on the right [[ScullyBox looking at]]? There are also [[http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/7854/sarkozypointedespiedsdsjy0.jpg some official pictures of French governments]] where he can be seen on the tips of his feet in order to seem taller. Some people actually make a comparison with Napoleon for this reason. One of his nickname among his opponent is "Naboleon" (Midgetoleon). Ironically, few people would care about his height if he didn't go to such embarrassing lengths to conceal it: many recent world leaders (Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Medvedev, Hu Jintao, and his successor and main political rival (François Hollande) are about as short or even shorter than him and their height is almost never commented upon. In fact, his temper about his height is so famous that '''songs''' have been written about it. [[FrenchPoliticalSystem This page]] has a few examples.

** Switzerland would be a straighter example. Though his height is never directly addressed, he's shorter than Italy, has a HairTriggerTemper and quickly resorts to shooting. He's very much a {{Jerkass}} except for when it comes to his adoptive sister Liechtenstein and ''sometimes'' Austria. To boot, he's voiced by RomiPark.

* The TropeNamer is summoned as an Archer-class Servant in ''Fanfic/NerveDamage''. He points out that [[ShownTheirWork 5'2" is historically inaccurate]]. Sadly, Heroic Spirits appear according to their legend rather than historical accuracy, so as a Servant he is that short, and his Noble Phantasm is... well, ''Napoleonic Complex''.

** Switzerland would be a straighter example, he's shorter than Italy and very much a {{Jerkass}}...except for when it comes to his adoptive sister Liechtenstein.

* Kadaj from ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'', while not espescially short, is noticeably shorter than his two brothers, as well as Cloud and Sephiroth, and out of all of them tends to act the [[PsychopathicManChild most]] [[LargeHam over-the-top]].

** Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy is infamous for his attempts to hide his short height. While ex-president Bush is 15 cm (6 inches) taller than him, they appear the same size on [[http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5358/sarkozypetitsaufavecdieuuh7.jpg the rightmost photo]]. But what is the guy on the right [[ScullyBox looking at]]? There are also [[http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/7854/sarkozypointedespiedsdsjy0.jpg some official pictures of French governments]] where he can be seen on the tips of his feet in order to seem taller. Some people actually make a comparison with Napoleon for this reason. One of his nickname among his opponent is "Naboleon" (Midgetoleon). Ironically, few people would care about his height if he didn't go to such embarrassing lengths to conceal it: many recent world leaders (Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Medvedev, Hu Jintao, and his succesor and main politica rival (François Hollande) are about as short or even shorter than him and their height is almost never commented upon. In fact, his temper about his height is so famous that '''songs''' have been written about it. [[FrenchPoliticalSystem This page]] has a few examples.

* Creator/MonicaGilbeyBieber, a FanFic writer, {{GIRL}}, and retired internet {{Troll}} is 4'10. He plays [[PintsizedPowerhouse 4 different sports]] and [[GeniusBruiser aced trigonometry.]] He is a NiceGuy, but when any of his {{Berserk Button}}s get pressed, he very well embodies the trope BewareTheNiceOnes.

* Musket from LloydAlexander's ''{{Westmark}}'' trilogy suffers from dwarfism, yet is one of the fiercest fighters and most forceful personalities in the series.

* While Valkron from ''Fanfic//WarriorsOfTheWorld'' is not the shortest person in his party, he is certainly the shortest when standing next to any of the other men. He's the most aggressive and short-tempered in the party, and bringing up his height in any context whatsoever [[BerserkButton provokes him into making threats of violence]] for pointing it out.

** Yosemite Sam and Rocky the Gangster (both sport hats nearly as tall as they are!).

* ''Manga/DragonBall''
** Commander Red. He had plans to ask Shenron to ''make him taller''. Which, when his right hand man finds out, gets him shot in the face (Red earlier led Black and his army to believe that they'd use the Dragon Balls to conquer the planet).
** Vegeta. It's ''extremely'' noticable during his first appearance, and not only because he's [[GiantMook standing next to Nappa]]. Vegeta seems to grow in comparison to the other characters as the series moves on, though this can be attributed more to added muscle mass and aging rather than physically growing taller. He consistently remains one of the shorter fighters in the show.

* Tom Thumb in ''SupremePower'' is about six inches tall, and ridiculously irritable. It's virtually impossible to have a conversation with him in which he doesn't repeatedly threaten you.

* ''SouthPark''

** [[BiggerBad Shelly Marsh]] is even worse.

* Creator/MonicaGilbeyBieber, a FanFic writer, {{GIRL}}, and retired internet {{Troll}} is 4'10. He plays [[PintsizedPowerhouse 4 different sports]] and [[GeniusBruiser aced trigonometry.]] He is a NiceGuy, but when any of his BerserkButtons get pressed, he very well embodies the trope BewareTheNiceOnes.