History Main / TyrantTakestheHelm

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'': The movie's main plot is set off when Scar "reluctantly" assumes the Pride Lands' throne after murdering Mufasa to get it, and begins his Nazi-esque hyena regime. Within the span of a few years, he [[FisherKing runs the Pride Lands into the ground]], and [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating even the hyenas who serve him agree that Mufasa was a much better king than Scar ever was]] -- though [[BerserkButton not within earshot of Scar]]. The [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 2019 remake]] also has Scar and the hyenas constantly over-hunting and slaughtering any animal species they can get their hold on to.

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', where after Elsa flees the kingdom in panic and Anna goes after her, Hans is given the authority to take care of the people in Arendelle. Despite Hans's status as an EvilPrince who later attempts regicide against the two girls, he proves himself to be competent at handling the frightened and confused citizens in the aftermath of the EndlessWinter Elsa unknowingly unleashed beforehand.
* Professor Rattigan's plan in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' is to take over British "[[MouseWorld Mousedom]]" and introduce hundreds of corrupt laws, including crushing taxes on the elderly, infirm, and children. The way he seeks to do it is a bit non-typical, though, as [[spoiler:rather than becoming king himself, he wants to replace the beloved Queen Mouse with a robot and become the official Royal Consort instead, with the robot Queen signing off all the laws for him.]]

* Inverted with Hans from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' where after Elsa flees the kingdom in panic and Anna goes after her, he is given the authority to take care of the people in Arendelle. Despite Hans's status as an EvilPrince who later attempts regicide against the two girls, he proved himself to be competent at handling the frightened and confused citizens in the aftermath of the EndlessWinter Elsa unknowingly unleashed beforehand.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'': Scar "reluctantly" assumes the throne (after murdering Mufasa to get it) and issues his Nazi-esque hyena regime. Within the span of a few years, he runs the Pride Lands into the ground, and [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating even the hyenas who serve him agree that Mufasa was a much better king than Scar ever was]] - though [[BerserkButton not within earshot of Scar]]. The [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 remake]] also has him and the hyenas constantly over-hunting and slaughtering any animal they can too.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': With Lotso being replaced with another version of himself, he bitterly and selfishly forces both Big Baby and Chuckles to leave Daisy with him and when the three fall off the Pizza Planet truck they're traveling on, they end up in front of Sunnyside Daycare with Lotso staring at it blankly and then limping his way toward it. This moment is also accompanied by LightningReveal and DramaticThunder too. Telling the story, Chuckles lays out that Lotso now has control of everything there, oppressing all the other toys and forcing many of them to either submit to his demands or be broken and thrown out--not even letting toys escape either.

* This is Professor Rattigan's plan ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' to take over British "[[MouseWorld Mousedom]]" and introduce hundreds of new laws including crushing taxes on the elderly, infirm, and children. Though the way he plans to do is a bit non-typical [[spoiler:rather than becoming king himself he wants to replace the beloved Queen Mouse with a robot and the become official Royal Consort and have the robot Queen just sign off all the laws for him.]]

* This is Professor Rattigan's plan ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' to take over British "[[MouseWorld Mousedom]]" and introduce hundreds of new laws including crushing taxes on the elderly, infirm, and children. Though the way he plans to do is a bit non-typical [[Spoiler:rather than becoming king himself he wants to replace the beloved Queen Mouse with a robot and the become official Royal Consort and have the robot Queen just sign off all the laws for him.]]

** The BigBadDuumvirate's EvilPlan sees them [[spoiler:take over the titular city through a FalseFlagOperation. Lord Gortash, [[TheAntichrist Chosen]] of the [[WarGod god of tyranny and strife]] Bane, gets himself named archduke by brainwashing the current duke (companion/PlayerCharacter Wyll's father) and uses the climate of fear created by his partners to justify turning the city into a nightmarish PoliceState with towering {{magitek}} MechaMooks patrolling the streets]].
* In ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'', after he's ConvictedByPublicOpinion over the SinsOfOurFathers, Bruce Wayne is ousted from the company ''that bears his namesake'' in favor of [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]].

* ''Literature/TheFireNeverDies'':
** After President Wilson suffered a stroke and the remainder of the US government considered surrendering to the Reds, General William J. Simmons, Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, took control of the White forces in a military coup, destroying not only any chance of a negotiated surrender but also any remaining legitimacy of the US government. Simmons fully intended to remake America in the KKK's white supremacist image if given the chance, but the Reds' imminent victory ensured it would never come to pass.
** A FlashForward in Update 100 revealed this happened to [[spoiler: Britain]] of all places years after the Second American Revolution, falling under a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Falangist]] regime headed by the likes of [[spoiler: Baron Garvagh, General Fuller, William Joyce]] and others.

* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Played with in the ''WebAnimation/CheatCommandos'' toon "2 Part Episode". [[OnlySaneMan Admiral Flashfight]] is unambiguously one of these, but under his command, the [[MildlyMilitary Cheat Commandos]] actually ''do'' something besides [[GoKartingWithBowser playing video games with Blue Laser]].

* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue''
** Simmons tries to implement discipline exercises to reinforce his new position of power in Red army when he replaces Sarge. The Red army doesn't respect Simmons enough for this to work, however, and the group as a whole soon works towards getting Sarge back (including Simmons).
** When Carolina decides to use the Reds and Blues to kill the Director, she imposes military-style discipline and no-challenge orders on them all. Given their normal MildlyMilitary style, and the feeling that she's using them as cannon fodder, the Reds and Blues become increasingly reluctant to follow her, and are puzzled by Washington's submissive attitude; Washington who has fallen into his Freelancer subordination to Carolina is also becoming increasingly frustrated with her behaviour. Eventually, the Reds and Blues mutiny against Carolina and abandon her, and Washington takes their side, telling Carolina to learn the difference between friends and enemies.
** Discussed trope when Washington takes over as Blue Leader after the ship crashes, Washington institutes standard military discipline, forcing the Blues to stick to a rigorous schedule every day. Although Simmons is thrilled with Washington's style, the Blues are not. Tucker accuses him of being tyrannical and compares it to Church's laid-back attitude. Wash eventually admits that he's never been in a position of command before; he's being harsh partially to hide his nerves, partially to hide his worry over their survival situation, and partially because he thinks Tucker has far more potential than Tucker's ever realised. It's made clear that, while it's tyrannical by the simm troopers standards, it's pretty normal drill sargent behaviour for the rest of the military.
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Sienna Khan wasn't exactly a saint, considering that she was the one who pushed to convert the White Fang into using violence in the first place, but she was still a WellIntentionedExtremist who legitimately cared about Faunus equality [[spoiler:and disapproved of [[Characters/RWBYAdamTaurus Adam Taurus]] participating in the attack on Vale and Beacon Academy]]. In Volume 5, Adam kills her and takes control, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName turning them into a full-fledged Faunus supremacist group]]. Sadly, Adam also proves to be a GeneralFailure, and [[spoiler:his hotheadedness and SanitySlippage lead him to make increasingly stupid decisions that ultimately run the White Fang into the ground.]]

* ''Literature/TheFireNeverDies'':
** After President Wilson suffered a stroke and the remainder of the US government considered surrendering to the Reds, General William J. Simmons, Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, took control of the White forces in a military coup, destroying not only any chance of a negotiated surrender but also any remaining legitimacy of the US government. Simmons fully intended to remake America in the KKK's white supremacist image if given the chance, but the Reds' imminent victory ensured it would never come to pass.
** A FlashForward in Update 100 revealed this happened to [[spoiler: Britain]] of all places years after the Second American Revolution, falling under a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Falangist]] regime headed by the likes of [[spoiler: Baron Garvagh, General Fuller, William Joyce]] and others.

%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_20230726_005039_youtube.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:1000:Yes our teeth and ambitions are bared...''be prepared.'']]

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'', the BigBadDuumvirate's EvilPlan sees them [[spoiler:take over the titular city through a FalseFlagOperation. Lord Gortash, [[TheAntichrist Chosen]] of the [[WarGod god of tyranny and strife]] Bane, gets himself named archduke by brainwashing the current duke (companion/PlayerCharacter Wyll's father) and uses the climate of fear created by his partners to justify turning the city into a nightmarish PoliceState with towering {{magitek}} MechaMooks patrolling the streets]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Sienna Khan wasn't exactly a saint, considering that she was the one who pushed to convert the White Fang into using violence in the first place, but she was still a WellIntentionedExtremist who legitimately cared about Faunus equality [[spoiler:and disapproved of Adam Taurus participating in the attack on Vale and Beacon Academy]]. In Volume 5, Adam kills her and takes control, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName turning them into a full-fledged Faunus supremacist group]]. Sadly, Adam also proves to be a GeneralFailure, and [[spoiler:his hotheadedness and SanitySlippage lead him to make increasingly stupid decisions that ultimately run the White Fang into the ground.]]

* This trope could almost be called The Snyder, after Armin Shimerman's role on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Snyder replaced Principal Flutie after Flutie was eaten by students possessed by hyenas. While he openly despised pretty much all teenagers, he targeted Buffy and the Scoobie Gang; it was theorized in Season Two that he was working for Mayor Wilkins, but by Season Three [[AbortedArc he turned out to be as much in the dark]] [[WeirdnessCensor as the rest of the adult population of Sunnydale]].

%% Images removed per Image Pickin' threads:
%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1483321279003779500
%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1614481544036444700
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to discuss a new image.

%%* ''Series/{{Nightingales}}'': "All at Sea" features the new inspector who rules with an iron fist. Mutiny is in the air.
* ''Series/{{Vikings}}'': In season 5 Ragnar's [[TokenEvilTeammate unhinged son]] [[spoiler: Ivar]] takes over Kattegat and quickly becomes [[PuttingOnTheReich Viking-Hitler]].
* ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'': Near the end of Season 4, [[BigBad Madeline Burke]] manages to frame Jane's team for her own crimes while making it look like ''they'' framed ''her''. She then uses the [[WoundedGazelleGambit public sympathy for her "suffering"]] as leverage to get herself appointed to a position of civilian oversight over the FBI; she proceeds to use their resources throughout Season 5 to further her own goals while hiring mercenaries to run the Bureau's offices like mini-{{Police State}}s in order to repress dissent.
* In season 2 of ''Series/MonsterWarriors'', ObstructiveBureaucrat and TeenHater Superintendent [=McClellan=] is elected mayor and attempts to shut the Monster Warriors down: putting Capital City at the mercy of the monsters. He eventually resigns and goes back to being superintendent.
* ''Series/{{Oz}}'': Played with when Martin Querns takes over Em City after Tim [=McManus=] is fired. He's far more lenient with the prisoners than [=McManus=] was and turns a blind eye to everything except violence, but he runs Em City with an iron fist, replacing all the [=COs=] with ones of his choice and brooking no disagreement with his policies.
* ''Series/SisterBonifaceMysteries'': In "Crimes and Miss Demeanours", Detective Chief Inspector Winner is sent from Scotland Yard to oversee the investigation and immediately rubs everyone in Great Slaughter up the wrong way with his abrasive attitude.

* Valtome from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' is a tyrant of the SmugSnake variety, and a bit of an odd example given the fact that the old leader is still there; he just was forced to [[AmbiguouslyGay follow Valtome's orders]]. Which includes, among other things, sending a significant number of his men into a deathtrap to hunt for corpses. Oh, and [[MoralEventHorizon sending his personal army to attack Queen Elincia, who had just achieved a ceasefire by willingly disarming herself]].
* In ''VideoGame/FableIII'', if you're an evil player this is what happens when you usurp your older brother Logan as King. You can be just as bad or even worse of a tyrant than him.
* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' provides Arcturus Mengsk, who fills this role as the Emperor of the Dominion. The point is not that Mengsk is worse than the government he overthrew, but that he is just as bad: that the only thing changed between the Confederacy and the Dominion was the label. Well, and he has a [[ItsPersonal personal grudge against Raynor]]. As of ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm Heart of the Swarm]]'', [[spoiler: he has finally been deposed. His son, Valerian, who inherited his position, is way more benevolent as a ruler.]]
* His dad was certainly not a charmer, but Rufus Shinra of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' made it quite clear from his NewEraSpeech ('The old man ruled through money, I'll rule through fear') that he was going to be worse. Although [[spoiler: President Shinra destroyed an entire sector of his city, killing untold numbers, just to wipe out a terrorist hideout. Rufus 'died' defending the same city from WEAPON and then resurfaced alive and repentant, if still manipulative, in ''Advent Children'']].

* Hideyoshi in ''VideoGame/OnimushaDawnOfDreams''. While Nobunaga was an all-powerful man who sold his soul to the genma for his ambitions, you at least had the feeling that he had no ill will towards his enemies and was lost in his ambition, not trying to be a genma puppet or cause suffering to the people he wanted to rule. Hideyoshi, on the other hand, pretty much tries to turn the entire country and possibly the world into mind-controlled monsters and has people used to make [[spoiler:Genma trees]] that will allow his plans to work. He's ultimately a pawn, but he went to lengths willingly that Nobunaga might actually be disgusted with.

* During a Space Route scenario in ''VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars'', the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Londo Bell]] rescues [[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Fonse Kagatie]] from imprisonment. He relates how the alien attack and [[TheStarscream Tassilo Vago's treachery]] brought about the end of the Zanscare Empire (just as [[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Lupe Cineau]] had said), ending in Tassilo bringing him here a prisoner. When the party tells him that Zanscare is still active, Fonse realizes that [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Char Aznable]] must have taken control. [[AdaptationalHeroism Increasingly panicked, he tells the party they must stop Char before he achieves his misguided goal of robbing all mankind of its emotions, creating obedient soldiers as the aliens want]].
* Garrosh Hellscream from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' embodies this trope to its fullest. When the Cataclysm wreaks havoc upon Azeroth, Thrall abandons his position as Warchief of the Horde to fulfill his shamanistic duties to the elements and leaves Garrosh in his stead. While his humble acceptance of the position looks at first to be promising, it does not take long for the power to get to his head. His radical beliefs of orc supremacy and disregard for other races- even those allied to the Horde- force him to be the primary antagonist of ''Mists of Pandaria'' and a minor antagonist of the next expansion, ''Warlords of Draenor''.
** And with ''Battle for Azeroth'', [[spoiler:the Forsaken leader Sylvanas Windrunner]] assumes the title of Warchief and promptly takes the uneasy cold war which has been going so far and tosses it into the fire. [[OhCrap OhCrap]].
** [[spoiler:After Sylvanas is ousted from the position, the Horde comes to the conclusion that the Warchief position itself enables tyrants. They instead form a council to lead the Horde to ensure this doesn't happen again.]]
* After the revelations of Tsukiji Hongwanji and Reverse Hills, the prentice Samurai in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' are urgently summoned back home, where they find the entire court has been deposed and exiled. And nobody bothers to wonder where they went. The Monastery's {{Witch Hunt}}s are steadily growing in ferocity and frequency. The populace is being slowly subsumed into a haze, with dreams of a shining light that commands all to obey the Monastery. [[spoiler:The Four Archangels are back in town, steadily and gently [[MindRape Mind Raping]] everybody to consolidate their rule.]]
* Throughout the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series, Neo Arcadia has a quick succession of rulers. The first was X (hero of the predecessor ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series), who establishes the city as a safe haven for humans and Reploids alike. After he disappears, he's replaced by a vastly inferior clone, Copy-X; he's still benevolent to humans, but he decided that because of an energy crisis, the Reploids are demoted to 2nd-class citizens, branding them Mavericks and unjustly persecuting them. After Copy-X's death, he was briefly replaced by NobleTopEnforcer Harpuia, who tries to keep the issues with [[LaResistance the rebellion]] as cordial as he could manage. He gets usurped from the position when Copy-X returned to power, who was much worse than before he was killed. And he was merely an UnwittingPawn for Dr. Weil, who orchestrates Copy-X's second (and permanent) death to position himself as the new leader of Neo Arcadia, setting him above his predecessors as truly the worst of the lot.

* In Act 3 of the Imperial Agent storyline of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', the AncientConspiracy manipulates TheEmpire's Dark Council into dissolving Imperial Intelligence and all the agents are reassigned to various Sith Lords for the war effort. The PlayerCharacter is handed over to Lord Razer, a psychotic [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Kaleesh]] Sith who's more concerned with satisfying his BloodKnight urges than [[GeneralFailure actual strategy]].

* ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries''
** [[ArcVillain Colonel Alan Richard]] attempts one in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Trails in the Sky FC]]'', trying to subtly dethrone [[TheHighQueen the Queen of Liberl]] and place her rather dull-witted nephew Duke Dunan as a puppet king. The endgame is dedicated to making sure that ''does not'' happen.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Trails of Cold Steel III]]'''s final chapter, the Emperor of Erebonia, a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, gets shot in an attempted assassination by [[spoiler: Ash Carbide]]. He's not dead, but while hospitalized, his power still transfers over to his young son [[SmugSnake Cedric]]. He's not the tyrant, however, as Cedric immediately transfers power over to [[EvilChancellor Chancellor Osborne]], who then proceeds to [[RabbleRouser whip up the populace into a frenzy]] by claiming that the assassin was from the Republic of Calvard (which he knows isn't true, considering he was ''there when it happened'') and starts a nation-wide universal conscription into the army for the imminent war. And that's not even talking about what [[WhamEpisode happens AFTER]] this series of events...

* The back half of ''VideoGame/TheCaseOfTheGoldenIdol'' revolves around VillainProtagonist Lazarus Herst and his rise to power in a FantasyCounterpartCulture of 18th-century England. To wit:
** Lazarus infiltrates [[BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats the Brotherhood of Masks]], and uses the eponymous Idol (an ArtifactOfDoom with vast alchemical powers) to [[FalseProphet convince the Brotherhood that he's their Chosen One]] and eliminate any dissenters in the process.
** Lazarus runs for office in Parliament and forms a new political faction. With the Brotherhood's connections in high society and government, his New Order Party wins a plurality of seats, and his co-conspirators prevent a coalition from rising against him by [[spoiler:mudering one of the coalition leaders and framing the other for the deed.]]
** Within a few years, the Order Party has "freed the country from the chaos of multi-party government" by installing a totalitarian regime, and forces its citizens to live under a set of strict Virtues. Citizens who violate the Virtues ([[AllCrimesAreEqual even something as innocuous as wearing a silly hat in public or listening to "vulgar" music]]) are judged to lose a certain number of "merits" and punished by [[spoiler:using the Idol's powers to [[CastFromLifespan take years off of their lifespan]], which are then redistributed to more virtuous citizens and Order Party sycophants.]] Lazarus intends to lead an army to depose the monarchy and secure his rule indefinitely, up until [[spoiler:an error in judgement and a SpannerInTheWorks causes his death and the Idol's destruction, and the Order Party collapses almost overnight.]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'': Anabella Rosfield "reluctantly" assumes the throne (after murdering her husband Elwin to get it) and issues her Nazi-esque regime alongside her second husband, the Emperor of Sanbreque. Within the span of a few years, she runs Valisthea into the ground, and [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating even some of her subjects agree that Elwin was a much better ruler than Anabella ever was]] - though not within earshot of her.

* The beginning of the Capture the Flag five parter of WesternAnimation/CraigOfTheCreek deals with Xavier, king of the other side of the creek, winning over the other kids and convincing them to make him their king by being their only source of snacks. However, he quickly proves to be a [[TheCaligula petty and petulant]] dictator, banning any games he’s not good at, and generally treating everyone just like he does on his side (i.e. [[BadBoss not very well.]]) It’s up to Craig and friends to fight back against his tyranny and [[LaResistance take back the creek.]]

* Admiral Cain from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' is a serious-as-cancer tyrant. [[spoiler:Her concept of pragmatism involves a lot more "execution of un-useful civilians" than Adama's. Fortunately she's taken down before she gets to try this out with her newfound fleet. There's also the matter of her sanctioning the long and brutal torture of a Cylon captive who was once her girlfriend]].
* At the end of season 7 of ''Series/{{Psych}}'', police consultant Harris Trout evaluates the Santa Barbara police department and suspends chief Vick, taking over as interim chief. His first act is to fire [=McNab=] for taking a side job as a male stripper, demote Lassiter, and refuse to hire Shawn and Gus for any more cases. In the 4th episode of season 8 there's a hostage situation in the station and when it's over Trout takes out his frustration by firing Lassiter, Juliet, and the newly rehired Shawn and Gus for "not being loyal to him", then receives a call from his own superiors informing him that he has just been terminated for his ham-fisted bungling of the situation.

* In ''Series/{{Porridge}}'' (episode ''Disturbing the Peace''), Mackay is sent away, only to be replaced by the sadistic Napper Wainwright.
* Subverted briefly in ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' with Kim Greylek who informs Cragen that she'll be present at crime scenes. The captain, [[ContinuityNod finding this a very familiar scene]], cuts her down immediately.
-->"That won't last."
* ''Series/{{ER}}'' had chief nurse Eve Peyton, who [[MoralEventHorizon forced Sam to fire]] long-time nurse [[FakeGuestStar Haleh]].
** Also [[DrJerk Dr. Romano]] upon becoming chief of the ER, although it was somewhat [[LoveToHate different]].
* In the ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' episode "Meet Jane Doe" (2x07), [[spoiler:after losing Echo,]] Adele is replaced by Harding, who humiliates her by installing her as his puppet/maid and creates a Research and Development department presumably to begin building the technology [[spoiler:responsible for the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt collapse of civilization]] we see in [[AfterTheEnd "Epitaph One" (1x13)]]]]. She is only able to regain her position of power by [[spoiler:delivering said technology right into Harding's hands,]] a move made out of desperation and perhaps qualitatively [[MoralEventHorizon worse than anything she has done on the show before]]. Of course, she's spurred on by this bit of inspirational wisdom from Boyd after they learn that [[DarkestHour Harding plans to send a number of the actives to a new house in Dubai]]:
-->'''Boyd:''' You need to take this house back.
-->'''Adele:''' And how am I supposed to do that?
-->'''Boyd:''' ...The Adele I knew would never ask me that question.
** Of course, given TheReveal later on that [[spoiler:Boyd is the ultimate BigBad running the corporation]], this entire chain of events may have been orchestrated.
* The secretary Miss Harbottle from ''Series/{{All Creatures Great And Small|1978}}''. She rules the accounts with an iron fist and equates taking money from the cashbox to pay for petty expenses with [[AllCrimesAreEqual embezzlement]]. No wonder she didn't last long.
* Roger Gaffney in ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet''. He is an incompetent detective who is promoted over Giardello for purely political reasons. He gives his "things are going to change around here" speech while Giardello trashes a room in a fit of rage.
* Steve Fleming in ''Series/TheThickOfIt''. At first his colleagues are happy to see the back of [[MagnificentBastard Malcolm Tucker]] but when they realize how creepy, charmless, and bad-tempered his replacement is, they decide [[WeWantOurJerkBack they want their jerk to come back]] from his TenMinuteRetirement.
** Also [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Cal "The Fucker" Richards]], who replaces Stewart Pearson as Opposition campaign manager in the Season Three finale. His openly psychotic demeanor terrifies ''everyone'', even the usually unflappable Peter Mannion. Fortunately Cal's [[OneSceneWonder only around for one episode]], but things can't have been pleasant.
* John Gilbert for a while in Season 1 of ''Series/TheVampireDiaries''.
** While admittedly already a KnightTemplar, John crosses the MoralEventHorizon when he knocks out Sheriff Forbes so she couldn't interfere with his mad plan to use the entire town as bait for the tomb vampires. Killing Anna was within his already established moral framework.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': Keith Mars when he [[spoiler:regains the position of sheriff]]. While generally a good guy, his response to underage drinking was way out of proportion to the actual problem. The deputies subsequently make no effort to enforce the law in this regard and pointedly ignore Keith's orders.
* Mr Howard and Ms. Briggs from ''Series/ICarly'' turn the school into something out of [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]] in ''iHaveMyPrincipals''.
* This trope could almost be called The Snyder, after Armin Shimerman's role on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Snyder replaced Principal Flutie after Flutie was eaten by students possessed by hyenas. While he openly despised pretty much all teenagers, he targeted Buffy and the Scoobie Gang; it was theorized in Season Two that he was working for Mayor Wilkins, but by Season Three [[AbortedArc he turned out to be as much in the dark]] [[WeirdnessCensor as the rest of the adult population of Sunnydale]].
* In the ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode "Picture of Innocence'', Barnaby is taken off a case when he becomes one of the suspects and is replaced by the pencil-pushing bureaucrat Martin Spellman, much to Jones' disgust.
* On ''Series/NYPDBlue'', the first time Lt. Fancy leaves, his replacement definitely fits the trope. Fancy sees what's going on, and arranges to get her removed and comes back. Subverted when he leaves again--everyone (especially Andy) is expecting another tyrant, but the new guy turns out to be OK.
* While DCI Jim Keats doesn't outright take leadership of CID, and while he's a lot subtler than your typical Tyrant, his role in ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' is that of an authority figure who tries to implement some serious changes, going against the grain and established protocol in an effort to - hopefully - usurp the current leader. [[spoiler: Not only does he fail, he reveals his [[{{Satan}} true nature]]. There have been theories that he's tried to take over before, in the guise of Frank Morgan in ''Life on Mars''.]]
* The replacement Kosh on ''Series/BabylonFive'', to the point that eventually [[spoiler:Sheridan and Delenn actually have him murdered.]]
** Also Emperor Cartagia, who turns out to be batshit insane and kills most of his advisers for trivial reasons (and keeps their heads to talk to them). His final plan? To become a god by [[spoiler:letting the Vorlons destroy Centauri Prime]]. The worst part is that Londo helped put him in power, as he and Lord Refa believed they could control him. Boy, did that plan backfire.
*** In "The Lost Tales", Sheridan meets Cartagia's son Dius Vintari, whom Galen predicts will become the next tyrant after Vir's death. His hatred for humanity would grow over the years and he would eventually stage a surprise attack on Earth. Galen's plan is to stage an "accident" with Sheridan as the trigger-man. But Sheridan backs out at the last moment and realizes that the real problem is Vintari's presence in the DecadentCourt of Centauri Prime, so he takes the prince regent to live with him and Delenn on Minbar. Galen then admits that this was his real plan all along.
** Colonel Ari ben Zayn in the episode "Eyes" falls into this category when he trumps up charges against Sinclair and takes over the station [[spoiler: to the point that ''his own aide'' helps discredit him. It turns out that not only did ben Zayn have a personal grudge against Sinclair (who was promoted ahead of him to command the station), he was probably mentally unstable to begin with and ended up aiding a larger conspiracy within [=EarthGov=] to further his personal agenda.]]
* [[Series/IClaudius Claudius]] plans to use this gambit by naming Nero his successor; the intent being to let Rome see how dreadful an Emperor can be. Strangely, they all seem to have forgotten how bad things were under Tiberius and Caligula, who preceded Claudius. Once Nero has ruined everything, Claudius's ''true'' chosen successor is to return to reinstate the Republic. [[ForegoneConclusion Needless to say,]] this does not work out.
* In one episode of ''Series/EvenStevens'', Principal Wexler leaves to pursue a modeling career and is replaced by incompetent pushover Vice Principal Landau. After the school descends into anarchy, [[TeachersPet Ren]] gives him a pep talk and tells him to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero be more assertive]]. He takes it to heart, and a few days later the school has turned into ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' ([[ResetButton things get better in the end, of course]]).
* An episode of ''Series/{{Primeval}}'' had the imperious Christine Johnson take control of the ARC and force the team into hiding. She was removed from her post by the end of the episode though.
** After the return of Abby and Connor after their 1-year hiatus in the past, they find out that things have changed in the ARC. While James Lester (who is much more caring than he pretends to be) is still formally in charge of day-to-day activities, it's now partly a privately-funded operation with a tycoon named Philip Burton having a lot of say. While he's not exactly a tyrant, he's much more concerned with the anomalies themselves than protecting the people from all the creatures that come through. After he nearly dies thanks to Rex escaping his cage, he orders that all creatures in the ARC be put down, no exceptions. Lester has to blackmail him to reverse the order.
* In ''Series/JackOfAllTrades'', Governor Croque once goes to prison and his wife takes over for the duration. She decides to start executing villagers to force the Dragoon to reveal himself. In another episode, Jack and Emily have to aid Croque in looking good in front of his superiors since otherwise he might be replaced by someone who is actually a threat.
** Any episode where Croque's brother Napoleon shows up, he immediately takes over (being TheEmperor and all), forcing Dragoon to try to get him off the island as fast as possible.
* On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', Chris after he becomes acting City Manager. He institutes a number of changes, including the UST-inducing ban on workplace dating, in addition to shaking up the Parks Department by giving everyone new assignments that they're unsuited for. However, Chris is quite a nice guy; he's simply oblivious to the fact that not everyone is as efficient, cheerful, and professional as he is.
** Ron [[LampshadeHanging discusses]] the tendency for new city managers to shake things up and insist on doing things their own way. He loves this period ''because'' all of the changes are inevitably terrible and nothing gets done, giving him a chance to relax and eat doughnuts.
* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** In ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'', when Alex arrives to the present, his first actions are to take Wes' powers and assume leadership of the team. While he genuinely wants to save the future, he spends more time berating and ordering the other Rangers around, which doesn't earn them any sympathy from them. It takes the others finally giving him a WhatTheHellHero straight to his face that if he cared about the future, he wouldn't have tried to replace Wes.
** In ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'', Supreme Commander Birdie fires Cruger in one episode due to Cruger's unwillingness to follow Birdie's ideas on strategy. Birdie gets the Rangers, and later ''himself'', into trouble very quickly due to his pride and his "split up the team regardless of circumstances" strategies.
* In one episode of ''Series/TheSlammer'', the Governor is arrested and replaced by a new governor, Mr Beltsem. Beltsem is a tyrant who mistreats both the prisoners and the guards, and suffers from 'show biz phobia'.
* Happened a few times in ''Series/SevenDays'', and always cancelled with the series' built-in ResetButton.
* Deputy Commissioner Doherty on ''Series/ColdCase'', new boss and [[TheRival arch-rival]] to [[BigGood Lt. Stillman]], on ''Series/ColdCase''. Interestingly, the actual ''reason'' he enjoys making Stillman's life hell is a bit of a twist: at first we're led to believe it's Stillman's contempt for [[SleazyPolitician Doherty's sleazeball City Council allies]], then because Stillman locked up Doherty's junkie son, but it's eventually revealed that Doherty is actually envious of Stillman because the son's stay in prison had legitimately straightened him out, and thus Doherty resents Stillman for accomplishing something he never could. [[spoiler:In the series finale, it's implied Doherty will be sent to prison or at least lose his job, as it turns out his son also committed ''manslaughter'', which Doherty had fudged police records to cover up]].
* ''Series/DeathInParadise'': Sergeant Angela Young, who takes over the station when Poole is laid in bed with a fever and Camille is in Paris on a training course in "An Unhelpful Aid".
* ''Series/HouseOfSaddam'': According to Iraqi President Al-Bakr, thanks to his rule - with Saddam Hussein as deputy - Iraq has schools and food for all of the people, for the first time in history. He is deposed upon Saddam's coup d'etat of the Ba'ath Party and Saddam's regime is quickly driven by megalomania and tyranny.
* The major ongoing plot in the third season of ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'' involves Chief Superintendent Munro taking over from Lawson and trying to drive Lucien out of the position of Police Surgeon.
* During the robot revolution of ''Series/OtherSpace'', the robots turn to the coffeemaker for his laser firepower. He quickly uses it to take over the ship.
* ''Series/{{The 100}}'':
** Marcus Kane starts the series as next in line for the position of Chancellor on the Ark, and when it looks as though he will succeed Jaha Abby fears he would be disastrous for the people. [[SubvertedTrope However, despite several near-deaths on Jaha's part, Kane never succeeds him during the first season.]] [[DeconstructedTrope By the time Kane does become Chancellor in season two he has undergone enough character development where he is no longer even a potential Tyrant]].
** Charles Pike came down to Earth from Farm Station, which landed away from the location of Camp Jaha and never took part in the Ark/Grounder truce of the second season. Because he witnessed Grounder slaughtering more than a hundred of his people he has a fanatical hatred of them and believes that coexistence is impossible, and is nominated for Chancellor after trying to carry out a preemptive strike on a Grounder army that Lexa had sent to protect Arkadia. He wins the election and is appointed Chancellor, and immediately orders the launch of preemptive strike.
* ''Series/TheMrPotatoHeadShow'': The western episode-[[ShowWithinAShow episode]] sees the TV bosses giving Mr. Potato Head a literally impossible task. When he calls them out on its impossibility, they put an [[SarcasmMode oh-so-subtly-named]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Bully-Boy McPherson]] in charge of his show, and give him a contract that allows him to cancel the show if he's not satisfied with the cast's work, which repeatedly threatens to use!
* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': Elektra Natchios, after she abruptly kills Alexandra, declares to the remaining Fingers of the Hand that they answer to her. But whereas Alexandra actually listened to the other Fingers and appreciated their advice, Elektra flat-out doesn't care what they think and even threatens to have them killed if they get in her way.
* The first season finale of ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' is about a tyrannical new manager who takes over from the more easy-going Booker at the Wellman Plastics factory where Roseanne, Jackie, and their other friends all work. After toying with Roseanne and making her suck up to him in exchange for lower quotas, he thinks he's broken her and [[ILied raises the quotas back up to impossible levels]], prompting all the women to quit.

* In the Franchise/MonsterVerse, [[Characters/MonsterVerseGodzilla Godzilla]] is the default King of the Monsters, who considers the Earth's entire surface -- sans Skull Island, which is under King Kong's rule -- to be his territory which he must defend and keep the balance of, often saving humanity from far, far more destructive monsters by proxy. In ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', Godzilla is taken out of action by the Oxygen Destroyer striking him, and without him around to fight anymore, his ArchEnemy [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingGhidorah Ghidorah]] immediately steals his kingship. Ghidorah instantly sets about engulfing the globe in massive storms, rampant Titans, and other disasters which threaten to cause planet-wide extinction. The humans' main theory is that Ghidorah is [[HostileTerraforming violently xenoforming]] the planet in his own image, but the novelization briefly suggests that maybe Ghidorah ''really'' just wants every other living thing dead.
* Manipulating the titular characters so they lose their capacity to inherit a company in an attempt to ''become'' this is the plan of the BigBad on both ''Film/MrDeeds'' and ''Film/BillyMadison''.

* Dolores Umbridge of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' is the former TropeNamer. She came to Hogwarts as a teacher imposed by the Ministry of Magic, becomes High Inquisitor, fires Trelawney, tries to subdue Hagrid like he's a wild beast with a team of Stunners due to her hatred of {{Half Human Hybrid}}s [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain and treats any "filthy half-breed" like a stupider, lesser being]], dictates stupid rules aimed at abolishing the students' civil liberties, ''literally'' [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]] students during detention, and finally [[spoiler:deposes Dumbledore and becomes Headmistress.]] Her "things will be different around here" speech was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Hermione. She's so bad that she actually [[spoiler:''sides with Voldemort'' after she's run out of Hogwarts.[[note]]Possibly unknowingly, but she so heartily embraced his evil policies that it hardly even matters whether she knew who was behind them.[[/note]]]] Most readers reserve more hate for Umbridge than for Voldemort, the actual BigBad of the series. Creator/StephenKing has noted that Umbridge is the strongest of ''Literature/HarryPotter'''s villains because she's the kind of character who you just ''love'' to hate, whereas you hate Voldemort simply because the book wants you to and because he's ObviouslyEvil. Also, most people know someone who's bitterly racist/homophobic/bigoted-in-general ControlFreak-type, but genocidal overlords are in short supply (thankfully), therefore Umbridge also exemplifies JerksAreWorseThanVillains in the eyes of many.
%%* When Saruman and Lotho take charge in the "Scourging of the Shire" chapter of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
%%** Then it ends up being just Saruman since he had Wormtongue murder Lotho. He even insinuates that Lotho became [[ImAHumanitarian Wormtongue's dinner]].
* In Paul Robinson's ''In The Matter of: Literature/InstrumentOfGod'', Marilyn, the Deputy Administrator of the Welcoming Department, becomes appointed to Administrator when the former administrator decides to go back to earth. Her new rules are so disliked that the entire supervisory staff of the department quit in protest - all except for one supervisor so that she can't appoint anyone in their place.
* The evil governess Miss Slighcarp in ''Literature/TheWolvesOfWilloughbyChase'' by JoanAiken does this the minute Bonnie's parents leave the house.

* This happens when Prince John usurps [[UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart King Richard's]] throne in many versions of the ''RobinHood'' story.

* In the third book of the ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' series, Queen Etheldredda the Awful attempts to pull this. She's a ghost, so her ability to do things is somewhat... limited, but she attempts to influence the Princess and her family to various effect. [[spoiler:Those she doesn't like get infected with a dangerous disease via her ugly pet.]]
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': When beloved centaur mentor Chiron is temporarily relieved of his duties in the second Percy Jackson book, ''The Sea of Monsters'', somebody unaccountably decided that the best person to replace him as activities coordinator at Camp Half-Blood would be notorious child-murderer Tantalus.

* Brother Leon, in ''Literature/TheChocolateWar''. He becomes acting headmaster of Trinity High School when the regular headmaster falls ill, makes a DealWithTheDevil to try and secure the job permanently, and eventually winds up JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.
* This was part of Baron Harkonnen's plan for ''Literature/{{Dune}}'': first have his evil mentat Piter de Vries take control of Arrakis and squeeze every ounce of worth and water out of the people, then have his nephew Feyd swoop in as a big damn hero and win everyone's love and affection. Alas, Piter came down with a bad case of death before he could be put in charge, so the Baron sent his other nephew, the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Beast]]" Rabban.
* The plot of ''Gay from China at the Literature/ChaletSchool'' revolves around this trope. When Miss Bubb, the tyrant in question, takes over as temporary headmistress after Miss Wilson, Miss Annersley, and others are injured in a car crash, her fixation on exam results and crackdowns on the girls' free time and privileges makes her very unpopular, to the point where Joey writes a letter begging Miss Wilson to come back. Things come to a head when she forbids Gay Lambert - who has broken rules on more than one occasion - to see her older brother before he is stationed in Asia, which leads to Gay running away and culminates in Miss Bubb having to resign, to everyone's relief.
* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' short story ''A Ship Named Francis'', after [[ItMakesSenseInContext the captain ends up in a coma because of a potato sack race]], his psychotic XO takes over. He declares that he's going to increase discipline onboard ship and starts out by holding summary court martials in which he sentences a quarter of the crew to death - within one day of taking command. Since they were four days away from their homeport, the crew figured that at his current rate the XO would end up killing everyone by the time the ship made it back, and they hastily devised a plan to subvert his insanity (Note that the ''Francis S Mueller'' was [[ReassignedToAntarctica the duty posting for everyone the Navy didn't want at an important posting but hadn't screwed up enough to be thrown out... yet]]).

* In ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'', it's heavily implied that this is what happened to Dauntless. Dauntless's original MO was to train its members to be strong and courageous, yet to remain rational and use their strength solely for keeping the peace. As Erudite became more entrenched in its plot to overthrow Abnegation as the primary governing faction of Chicago, it started slipping in its own members into Dauntless leadership. The new leadership, by changing the rules of initiation, would eventually wipe any semblance of honor from Dauntless and turn its members from honorable, courageous soldiers into merciless killing machines. After a few years of this, Erudite would finally have the perfect army with which to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy control via simulation serum]] and then use to utterly destroy Abnegation.

* ''Literature/SpySchool'': For all of his incompetence, Alexander is more fatherly towards Ben and the others, listening to their input and trying to keep them well-protected. Once his father takes over, Cyrus is more inclined to risk their lives gratuitously, insults them, and ignores their input on almost everything, while still tending to be just as easily OutGambitted by Spyder as his son.
* ''Literature/{{Mouseheart}}'': Pinkie after taking control of the Mūs village, quickly turning it into a PoliceState, ordering every able-bodied mouse be conscripted into her military, and refusing to allow Atlantian refugees be allowed to seek shelter. [[spoiler:Luckily, Dodger manages to get her to come to her senses.]]
* In the ''Literature/JuniperSawfeather'' novel ''Echo of the Cliffs'', [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Mr. Mains]] is suspended from his position as principal of West Olympia High for missing work to talk to June during her tree-sit. His successor, former Vice Principal Mrs. Slater, is highly unpopular with both students and teachers for her tyrannical behavior, which includes fining teachers whose students are caught using cell phones in class, even though the school is short on computers and some kids have to use their phones to do their assignments. The only people who like her are [[AlphaBitch Regina]] and the rest of the [[GirlPosse Student Council]], who get to spend most of their time patrolling the halls and reporting people for cell phone violations. Haley becomes the leader of the school resistence movement and plans a walk-out during class. [[spoiler:The afternoon of the planned walk-out, Mrs. Slater and Regina try to prevent it by barring all the doors. Mrs. Slater is fired for violating the fire code, Regina is suspended, and Mr. Mains is reinstated.]]
* In ''Literature/BadMermaids Make Waves'', the mermaid queen Arabella Cod is fishnapped and imprisoned in a tank on land. Hidden Lagoon is taken over by a mysterious mermaid named The Swan who keeps everyone under lockdown and forces them to spend all their time making [[SeashellBra shell tops]]. The only mermaids who can do what they want are the rich mermaids of Oysterdale, who are allowed to loot the other cities. [[spoiler:The Swan turns out to be a puppet of her "henchman" Ommy Pike, who plans to force everyone to wear shell tops so he can mind control them using the Ruster Shells, a magic shell top that only works on people who are dressed the same. He allowed the looting because he wants to live in Oysterdale, and theft is an easy way to have all the nice things moved from the other cities to Oysterdale.]]

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series Three finale, [[spoiler: The Master becomes Prime Minister]]
* The ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "Chain Reaction" is a typical Tyrant Takes The Helm episode. The beloved leader of the SGC, General Hammond, is blackmailed into retiring and is replaced by a General Bauer. Bauer proceeds to break up SG-1, dedicate all the SGC's resources to building a big bomb, and privately delivers the "things will be different around here" speech to O'Neill. O'Neill then sets out to get Hammond back and he is, of course, successful by the end of the episode.
** Bauer also screwed up so badly in the episode ([[spoiler:blowing up an uninhabited planet which very nearly meant irradiating the ''entire state'']]) that he probably would have resigned even if Hammond hadn't returned.

* "[[EvilTwin Evil Dick]]" of ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun'' is a humorous version. His first "drastic change" was to move a gnome from a coffee table to a dresser.

* Edward Vogler from ''Series/{{House}}''. Of course, there wasn't really a "regular" leader he was replacing, but Vogler did manage to pretty much take over the hospital and force them to run it his way. House, of course, opposed him at every turn and the rest of the main cast eventually came around as well.
* The BritCom ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'', 1976 season, episode "Forward Mr. Grainger": The lovable head of the Men's Department Mr Grainger gets a temporary promotion and instantly becomes a complete tyrant, even going as far as to fire one of the regulars. Then the real manager returns ahead of schedule and takes back his job, sends Grainger back to his, and Grainger realizes that he's dug his own grave.
* ''Series/CrossingJordan'' had multiple instances, one with Dr. Jack Slocum and another with Special Prosecutor William Ivers. The latter somewhat redeems himself in a later episode.
* Private Frazer in ''Series/DadsArmy'' yearns to do this, angling for increased power and responsibility at every opportunity. Ironically, the one time he was temporarily put in charge he proved himself a much more effective leader than Captain Mainwaring. However, in following with the trope, the [[DrunkWithPower power goes to his head]] enough and he becomes enough of a bullying tyrant so that when the positions are returned to normal, no one really minds.
* A curious example appears in ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'' in the form of DCI Frank Morgan, who temporarily replaces Gene Hunt when the latter is accused of murder. Contrary to the usual Tyrant, Morgan is -- compared to his fellow 1973 officers, at any rate -- a progressive, thoughtful, and thoroughly competent administrator who only becomes a tyrant in that he's unwilling to put up with the sloppiness and ethically questionable conduct that Hunt encouraged. Sam Tyler, himself a progressive officer (with the excuse that he [to his knowledge] comes from 2007) finds himself actually admiring Morgan's methods even whilst he's trying to clear Hunt's name of murder. [[spoiler:Later in the season, Morgan does reveal a bastard side, however, in that he's [[KnightTemplar willing to go to any lengths]] -- including letting the rest of the team die in a botched undercover job -- so as to discredit Hunt and allow himself to take over and reform the department.]]
* Matt Webber in the ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' episode "Early Retirement".
* Erin Strauss on ''Series/CriminalMinds'' However she tries to remove Hotch from his position as Unit Chief (and Hotch later says to Prentiss that, if Prentiss had told Strauss some of the things the team has done, he ''would'' have gotten fired), but later on tells former agent newly joining the team David Rossi that the team is ''Hotch's''. And, instead of finding a way to get rid of Hotch after [[spoiler:he beats George Foyet to death]], she feeds the team and Hotch lines to ensure that all testimony makes it obvious that Hotch had no choice.
* Acting DA Van Dyke on ''Series/{{Medium}}''.
* Played with several times in the U.S. version of ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', most notably in the episode "The Job". Michael, assuming he will be promoted, names as his replacement Dwight, who immediately starts making odd changes.
** This is also the crux of the Charles Miner story arc when Michael quits.
** Happened yet again with Dwight when Creator/SteveCarell left the show. This time, Dwight went on an utterly insane power trip, which is probably more a tribute to how much he had {{Flanderized}} than anything. After one episode, he was fired for ''firing a gun in the office'', though he [[UltimateJobSecurity of course]] retained his old job.
** Subverted in the show's final episodes where Jim manages to put a BatmanGambit in effect where through a bit of InsaneTrollLogic all of Dwight's crazy tyrannical policies are delegated back to Dwight to deal with. Forced to be his own OnlySaneEmployee, Dwight mellows out a lot and after a few months [[spoiler: becomes the best manager the company ever had]].
* Two examples from ''Series/FoylesWar'':
** The first takes over when Foyle is suspended under suspicion of having committed sedition; he initially seems like a BaitAndSwitchTyrant, if a bit of a strict one [[spoiler:until it's revealed that he framed Foyle for sedition in order to get his job so that he could murder a junior civil servant hiding out in a 'funk hole' hotel nearby whose incompetence he blames for the deaths of his mother and sister in an air-raid]].
** The second takes over when Foyle resigns and is disliked by everyone because he seems disinterested and incompetent at the job -- it's later revealed he's like this because he doesn't care about anything since the deaths of his two sons in the war. [[spoiler:He ends up accidentally getting shot by someone gunning for Milner, thus prompting Foyle's return.]]
* ''Series/{{Greek}}'': Lizzie, the national representative watching over Zeta Beta Zeta, is a passive-aggressive Tyrant, promising any "slip-ups" being reported to Nationals. She's somewhat ineffective, though, and eventually shows signs of a BaitAndSwitchTyrant.
* This happens at least once a season in ''Series/TwentyFour''. Usually at some point the competent head of CTU is either punished for not "playing by the book" or somehow incapacitated, and "Division" sends over a replacement, who is ''always'' an arrogant jerk who annoys everybody by being more concerned with strict guidelines and power trips than with doing whatever it takes to stop the terrorist threat at hand. Usually, this person is either re-replaced or finally comes to see the error of his or her ways, usually when they make things worse.
** Special mention must go to Lynn [=McGill=], who is such a tyrant that they eventually just declare him unfit for command and arrest him.

* Erika Furudo in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', to a completely murderously sadistic extent, attempts to [[NoFourthWall steal the role of detective protagonist]] from Battler, and proceeds to act completely obnoxiously to the other characters and generally be a massive ParodySue.
* Makoto Isshiki in ''Anime/RahXephon'', who later becomes an UnwittingPawn.
* One episode of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' had Tatewaki Kuno taking over his father's role as school principal. Needless to say, many preferred his father.

* ''Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight'' had the Cerulean Knights taking over after Balmug is fired from System Administration. They ruthlessly hunt down gamers even remotely accused of hacking or of minor offenses (changing the color of the avatar's clothes etc)

* One episode of ''Manga/SgtFrog'' has Tamama being promoted to squad leader, and quickly going mad with power. He ends up [[LonelyAtTheTop bitter and alone]] after he ends up throwing all his squad-mates, along with Fuyuki, Natsumi, and Angol Mois, in the brig.

* Gouda, the BigBad of the second season of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is a pretty good example of this, coming in and working to undermine Section 9 and turn them into his lackeys.

* ''Manga/FoodWars'' has the banished Nakiri [[spoiler:(actually Nakamura)]] Azami returning to Totsuki, taking over from his own father[[spoiler:-in-law]], and unleashing his own brand of "culinary supremacism" by shutting down all attempts at creativity in the kitchen and centralising all culinary thought under his command (via a single organisation literally and fittingly, if unimaginatively, named "Central").
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': The [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil Student Police]] started out as a good, necessary institution. Then Kuyou, an [[KnightTemplar anti-human extremist]] [[spoiler:and TheMole for [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Fairy]] [[FarEastAsianTerrorists Tale]]]], took over, and under him, the group devolved into a band of {{yakuza}}-esque thugs that abuse their authority to make everyone at Yokai Academy miserable ForTheEvulz.

* ''[[ComicBook/TheSmurfs King Smurf]]'' gets himself elected to replace the temporarily absent Papa Smurf, then proceeds to declare himself king, hire a PraetorianGuard, and rule by decree. His overt despotism results in civil war.
** A different form of despotism takes place in "The Finance Smurf", where the title character controls all aspects of Smurf life through the use of money.
* In ''Franchise/SpiderMan'', ComicBook/NormanOsborn, in the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' arc, becomes this for the entire MarvelUniverse.
* Another Marvel example is Henry Gyrich, who becomes this for S.W.O.R.D. He had the same effect on the Avengers years earlier, although he wasn't actually leading the team.
* This happened twice to the ComicBook/NewMutants during their original run. The first was when Magneto took over Xavier's School - somewhat subverted in that Mags was honestly trying to do the right thing, but the kids never trusted him at all and assumed this trope. The second was when Cable assumed leadership of the team and reformed them into a [[ComicBook/XForce military strike force]]. Reception was mixed, especially since Cable had ''killed'' the fathers of two team members. [[spoiler: He was framed in both cases.]]

* Ambassador Rolf Heimlich becomes this to the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeague JLI]] for the first part of the "Breakdowns" arc due to Maxwell Lord being in a coma. Ultimately, it turns out [[spoiler:he's a mole planted by Queen Bee]].

* {{Averted}} by captain Ben Daimio from ''{{ComicBook/BPRD}}'': when he arrives to take up the position of field team commander, he specifically states: "Don't want anybody to worry about my changing things around here. You guys have a system, it works. Stick to that". And indeed he doesn't try to make any radical changes. Except for making [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent Roger]] [[MonsterModesty put some friggin' pants on]]. And later he changes his mind about that, too.

* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'': Boyd, through a series of petty revenge hijinks and luck, ends up thwarting her older sister's plans to strengthen her island dictatorship, by bringing her second-in-command's archenemy to a fight that she is obligated by duty to participate in - and curbstomp via science. Boyd proceeds to address her family Tropicano by considering that she could be a nice ruler, and then instantly screams that she doesn't want to and to "fire up those industrial machines" in her petty yet overstocked attempts to surpass the US navy.
* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': The post of Chief Judge has been usurped by would-be tyrants at least twice.
** Judge Cal was the corrupt chief of the [[InternalAffairs Special Judicial Squad]] who assassinated his predecessor Chief Judge Goodman to take over his position. He quickly becomes TheCaligula during his tenure as Chief Judge, passing ridiculous decrees like outlawing happiness, making his goldfish Deputy Chief, and trying to execute the whole city twice.
** Judge Sinfield, while much more sane than Cal, was an [[AmbitionIsEvil unscrupulous careerist]] who [[spoiler:resorted to brainwashing his direct superior]] while he was deputy to become the new Chief Judge by default. His hardline stance on the mutant issue and general corruption brought him in conflict with Dredd, who eventually decided to run against Sinfield as a candidate.

* One ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comic has Homer becoming a MajorityShareDictator at Duff Brewery when the owner of the brewery, Sam Duff, leaves him 51% of the shares in his will. He promptly upsets the other board members by releasing a new flavor of beer (designed to taste good when paired with donuts) without consulting them, and when he overturns a veto preventing the brewery from being operated by {{Job Stealing Robot}}s, the entire staff of the brewery go on strike.
* ''ComicBook/CombatKellyAndHisDeadlyDozen'': In a {{Crossover}} with ''ComicBook/SgtFuryAndHisHowlingCommandos'', Captain Conner, the martinet son of a general, is given command of both the Deadly Dozen and the Howling Commandos. He proves to TheNeidermeyer who cracks under the strain of facing real combat for the first, and his indecision nearly gets both the Dozen and the Howlers killed, forcing Fury to relieve him of command. Succumbing to paranoia, Conner attempts to execute Fury and Kelly for mutiny before being shot by 'Bullseye' Miller.

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'': After Prince Jewelius usurps the princesses as Equestria's ruler, he [[MadeASlave sentences them as well as Twilight's friends and brother to slavery after legalizing it]], [[spoiler:[[ThePurge wipes out all the Royal Guards who remain loyal to the dismantled princesses]], replaces them with bribed convicts]], raises Ponyville's taxes, bans any trading with the town, and tries to make the public falsely believe that he has the situation with the [[spoiler:escaped Changelings]] under his control.
* In ''Fanfic/WinterWar'', Aizen conquers Seireitei. He doesn't seem to have any actual use for the city, but he does have a Dragon undergoing a serious VillainousBreakdown, who might mess up Aizen's current projects if kept around. So he [[KickedUpstairs turns the city over to Gin]] to get him out of the way. Gin proceeds to rule using torture and gruesome public execution to keep himself in charge and using the [[LesCollaborateurs members of the Gotei 13]] who didn't join LaResistance to enforce his reign of terror rather than allowing them to do their actual job as {{Psychopomp}}s.
** It's worth noting Gin's rule differs from the Central 46 and Yamamoto only for the fact that the abuses are more public and obvious. New Boss very much the same as the Old Boss.
* ''Fanfic/GleeTheVirtualSeasonFour'' has an episode where Sue takes over New Directions and forces the club into a theme week they hate.

* ''FanFic/GogglesAndTheTears'', set just after the events of ''System Shock 2'', deals with the godhood-hungry [[AIIsACrapshoot SHODAN]] looking to exploit the usage of tears in time and space, using [[VideoGame/BioshockInfinite Elizabeth]] to do so, and usurp control of Columbia from Zachary Comstock by pretending to be his prophesied archangel. Fortunately, because of those same tears, [[VideoGame/SystemShock Goggles]], Booker [=DeWitt=], [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 Gordon Freeman]], [[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Mjolnir Recon #54 and Durandal]] notice this and immediately get involved as a result.
* ''Fanfic/AQUATheFirstStep'': Dr. Polendina, a FatherlyScientist, is initially the director of the Jaeger Program. But after one of the girls sees the horrors at a drug kingpin's house and commits suicide, unable to cope, he's replaced with Commander Vasilyevich, a GeneralRipper who devotes his time and effort to having them kill Faunus and Faunus sympathizers. Eventually, Alexander and the remaining kids rebel and kill him.
* ''Fanfic/TheFlashSentryChronicles'': In ''Jakhowls Rising'', when peace talks between the ponies of Equestria and the jakhowls of Aurarora seem to be going smoothly, Razor Fang, unwilling to see the ponies as anything but his enemies, murders Sirius for seeing him as "weak" for making this alliance. He then [[FrameUp frames]] Springer and his pony friends for Sirius' murder while declaring himself the new chief, imprisoning the other elders so they can't question his leadership, and prepares the rest of Aurarora to go to war against Equestria, too blind to understand that would wipe out the entire Jakhowl race. [[spoiler:After Mirage and the elders escape during the night, they inform Springer the only true way to stop Razor Fang is for him to challenge Razor to a kyosongsai, a one on one battle to determine the chief of a tribe, and beat him. Ultimately, Springer not only defeats Razor, he exposes him as the true murderer.]]
* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': Hollyleaf becomes the tyrannical leader of the ancient Lake cats, believing that she can save them from environmental destruction with her laws and Clan morality.

[[folder:Films — Animated]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* Manipulating the titular characters so they lose their capacity to inherit a company in an attempt to ''become'' this is the plan of the BigBad on both ''Film/MrDeeds'' and ''Film/BillyMadison''.
* In ''[[Film/FortApache Fort Apache, The Bronx]]'', the new police captain is determined to run things "by the book". Protagonist Officer Murphy predicts things will go to hell.
** As indeed, Colonel Thursday does in the original ''Film/FortApache''.

%% * Sergeant Mauser from ''Film/PoliceAcademy''. %% (ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE) Please expand this example before deleting the percent signs. %%

* Near the beginning of ''Film/HorribleBosses'', one of the aforementioned horrible bosses takes over his dead father's company and purposely drives it into the ground solely for personal gain.
* This happens in ''Film/OutCold'' when a rich skiing tycoon takes over Bull Mountain and attempts to transform it into another Vail.
* In ''Film/{{Heavyweights}}'', Camp Hope is taken over by Tony Perkus, a fitness fanatic who systematically removes everything fun about the camp and runs the campers ragged with unreasonably harsh exercise programs.

* In the ''Film/RichieRich'' film, Laurence Van Dough arranges for Richie's parents to be killed so he can take over their estate. He's temporarily foiled by Richie taking over with Cadbury as his proxy, but then frames Cadbury for the Richs' murder. Don't worry, the Riches got better.
* This is pretty much what the Emperor does in ''Franchise/StarWars''. He claims that the current chancellor is unable to handle the crisis at hand and becomes his replacement. He then starts to restructure the Republic into an Empire, for the good of the people and peace in the galaxy. The important difference is that he was the one who created the crisis in the first place.

* In ''Film/{{Bananas}}'', Woody Allen joins a group of freedom fighters in a Latin American country, San Marcos. They eventually depose the military dictator, but the new president, Esposito, [[FullCircleRevolution quickly reveals himself to be equally tyrannical]] and [[LoonyLaws comically deranged]]. Esposito is then deposed and replaced by Fielding Mellish (Woody).
* Toy Santa in ''Film/TheSantaClause 2''. At first, he's supposed to simply fill in for Santa on basic tasks like checking in on the elves' work and the high-rank elves in the know have little problem passing him off as Santa ([[SpottingTheThread who had some work done]]), but with time he gains more autonomy and decides he needs to check the list twice, at which point he discovers all of the kids in the world should be on the naughty list ([[DisproportionateRetribution by his "there exists" argument of naughtiness]]) and the high-rank elves start arguing with him. Soon, he builds an army of toy soldiers, insists no more toys are built, and puts the highest-ranking official around under house arrest for exposing him as a fraud. It's later shown that he imprisoned many more of the elves and he even ties up the real Santa when he returns.

* Manipulating the titular characters so they lose their capacity to inherit a company in an attempt to ''become'' this is the plan of the BigBad on both ''Film/MrDeeds'' and ''Film/BillyMadison''.

* ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' ends with [[SociopathicSoldier Animal Mother]] in charge of Lusthog Squad after Crazy Earl and Cowboy are killed in combat.

* [[TheCoup General Zod attempts this]] at the beginning of ''Film/ManOfSteel'', when after Jor-El fails to sway the [[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering Kryptonian high council,]] Zod blasts his way in, declares the council disbanded, and names himself supreme leader. His rule is brief as his forces are soon defeated, he and his closest accomplices are arrested and sent into the Phantom Zone.
* ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'': Captain Rhodes, after his superior officer Major Cooper dies. While Cooper is implied to have not been very pleasant himself, Rhodes takes it to a whole new level when he threatens to have Sarah killed, after which he makes it clear that any person in the facility who questions his authority will be executed following a [[KangarooCourt court martial]]. Fisher himself states that while Cooper was an asshole, he was still "a sweetheart" compared to Rhodes.

* ''Film/BuffaloSoldiers'': Elwood apparently had an "arrangement" with his first CO, but when Sergeant Lee takes over the unit he immediately becomes a thorn in Elwood's side because for him the Army is SeriousBusiness. That said, Elwood isn't just lazy or in possession of some contraband but a genuine criminal, making Lee's crusade against Elwood and his associates pretty reasonable.
* ''Film/SupermanII'' features one of the few moments in the DC franchise where General Zod succeeds in removing the President of the United States from power and taking over the planet. However, thanks to Superman, his rule is short lived.

* In ''Film/{{Bananas}}'', Woody Allen joins a group of freedom fighters in a Latin American country, San Marcos. They eventually depose the military dictator, but the new president, Esposito, [[FullCircleRevolution quickly reveals himself to be equally tyrannical]]. Esposito is then deposed and replaced by Fielding Mellish (Woody).

%%* One of these is basically the major plot motivator in ''Literature/TheCaineMutiny''

* In the ''Literature/JuniperSawfeather'' novel ''Echo of the Cliffs'', [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Mr. Mains'' is suspended from his position as principal of West Olympia High for missing work to talk to June during her tree-sit. His successor, former Vice Principal Mrs. Slater, is highly unpopular with both students and teachers for her tyrannical behavior, which includes fining teachers whose students are caught using cell phones in class, even though the school is short on computers and some kids have to use their phones to do their assignments. The only people who like her are [[AlphaBitch Regina]] and the rest of the [[GirlPosse Student Council]], who get to spend most of their time patrolling the halls and reporting people for cell phone violations. Haley becomes the leader of the school resistence movement and plans a walk-out during class. [[spoiler:The afternoon of the planned walk-out, Mrs. Slater and Regina try to prevent it by barring all the doors. Mrs. Slater is fired for violating the fire code, Regina is suspended, and Mr. Mains is reinstated.]]

* When Saruman and Lotho take charge in the "Scourging of the Shire" chapter of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
** Then it ends up being just Saruman since he had Wormtongue murder Lotho. He even insinuates that Lotho became [[ImAHumanitarian Wormtongue's dinner]].

* One of these is basically the major plot motivator in ''Literature/TheCaineMutiny''