Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / EliteMooks

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%% This page's examples section is sorted alphabetically. It would be lovely if you'd maintain this, thanks.
4%%
5%%
6%% Image selected per Image Pickin thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1483279732049937200
7%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
8%%
9[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arc_team_0.png]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:350:Valedictorians of the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy.]]
11%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion here:
12%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
13%%
14
15->''"These aren't outdated SWAT-bots either. They are the shadow-bots Delta and Gamma -- my personal vanguard."''
16-->-- '''Dr. Robotnik''', ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' Issue #74
17
18When the enemies are too easily taken down by the heroes and there is a need to increase the challenge, the easiest way to is to upgrade the {{Mooks}} into Elite Mooks. They may come with better weapons, more training, additional skills, or various powers the normal Mooks do not possess. The look of the Elite Mooks may be noted with various appearance changes from a simple PaletteSwap, adding SpikesOfVillainy, a fancier uniform and other cosmetic alterations that make them stand out from the crowd of regular Mooks. The {{Big Bad}}'s personal security detail may be a group of Elite Mooks.
19
20Any variety of Mooks can be upgraded to become an Elite Mook, which can yield a BossInMookClothing or SuperPoweredMooks. Mooks can be transformed into {{Cyborg}}s, Zombies or {{Elite Zombie}}s if they were already zombies, made into {{Super Soldier}}s, or upgraded in other various ways.
21
22In video games, Elite Mooks are very likely to be DemonicSpiders.
23
24Not to be confused with the generally solitary GiantMook, the HeavilyArmoredMook or the SurprisinglyEliteCannonFodder. Compare EliteArmy, which is what the Elite Mooks may make up. May overlap somewhat with DoomTroops if the Elite Mook is a different service or appearance from typical Mooks. Also compare MookCommander, which has a main purpose of buffing other mooks but usually fulfills this role as well. Compare the PraetorianGuard as well, which are variants that personally protect the king or other head of government, although those are not necessarily evil. Contrast the KingMook, which is a boss version of a typical Mook, and the MookLieutenant, which is a higher ranking mook, who doesn't need to be an Elite Mook to become one.
25
26[[noreallife]]
27----
28!!Examples:
29[[index]]
30* EliteMooks/VideoGames
31[[/index]]
32
33[[foldercontrol]]
34
35[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': Among the regular titans are "Abnormal Titans", who display radically different and often much smarter behavior. The decimation of Eren's squad at the Battle of Trost begins with an ambush by an abnormal who jumps out from behind a belltower. During the 57th Scouting Expedition, Sasha nearly gets run down by an abnormal who crawls on all fours like a spider.
37* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'':
38** Griffith's Apostle army, whose leaders serve as {{Mook Lieutenant}}s.
39** The Kushan Emperor Ganishka sends in the Daka, monstrous soldiers created through forbidden sorcery, to fight Griffith's Hawks after his human Mooks are quickly dispatched. While certainly ferocious they quickly suffer from TheWorfEffect to show off how strong Griffith's Apostles (and later Guts and his companions) have become, to the point where they hardly get any slaughtering in before being dispatched in droves.
40* Hotel Moscow in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' has the Desantniki (who are called the "Vysotoniki" by Dutch), Balalaika's personal bodyguard and inner circle made up of former USSR paratroopers who fought under her in Afghanistan.
41* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
42** [[QuirkyMinibossSquad The Espada]] all tend to have a few lesser Arrancar that they keep around to serve this purpose, called their Fraccion. And frankly, the BigBad considers ''all'' Arrancar to be this, at best.
43** Harribel's Fraccion fit this trope best of all. Why? They're by FAR the most effective of ANY Fraccion shown. While most of the Fraccion are defeated by, at best, the [[NumberTwo Number Twos]] of the various Gotei divisions, [[AmazonBrigade Harribel's trio]] manages to take out a grand total of ''FOUR'' Lieutenants (Matsumoto, Hinamori, Hisagi, and Iba--in that order, and Kira was ''next'') by summoning their pet GiantMook. It took the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking Commander General]] ''himself'' to get fed up and [[KillItWithFire take them out.]]
44* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
45** [[TheEmpire The Holy Britannian Empire]] has the ''Gloucester'' [[HumongousMecha Knightmare Frame]], a high-performance 5th Generation model designed for close quarters. More numerous among [[WarriorPrince Princess]] [[LadyOfWar Cornelia]]'s forces, they are considered superior to the stock ''Sutherland'' model and are usually piloted by Cornelia's top pilots or the Imperial Royal Guard.
46** ''R2'' diversifies by giving out two as [[SoLastSeason the Sutherlands and Gloucesters become outdated]].
47*** With the introduction of the brand-new ''Vincent Ward'' as a 7th Generation {{mook|s}} Knightmare, the ''Vincent Commander Model'' is introduced as an elite Knightmare for any notable pilot who isn't a Knight of the Round. They resemble the original ''Vincent'' model owned by [[TykeBomb Rolo Haliburton]], but lack some of the specs that made the ''Vincent'' such a high-performance model. To wit, they more or less replace the ''Gloucester'' as the elite Royal Guard [=KMF=], and many Commander Models [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience bear unique paintjobs to denote their status]].
48*** Later on in ''R2'', the ''Gareth'' is deployed; these are mass-production models of the ''Gawain'' from Season 1, created for unleashing intense firepower with their [[WaveMotionGun Hadron Cannons]].
49* Akuma of ''Manga/DGrayMan'' have levels, so that every time the exorcists get strong enough to RedShirt-ify the current strongest akuma, they can just introduce a new strongest type.
50* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}''
51** ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' has Angemon for Lord [=HolyAngemon=]'s army, Boltmon for Demon's forces and [=NeoDevimon=] for Neo's.
52** These generally act as a given MookLieutenant's trump card in the first arc of ''Anime/DigimonFusion''. The armies of the second arc's [[OlympusMons Death Generals]] are this relative to the rest of the [[TheEmpire Bagra Army]]. Subverted in most cases of the latter, however, as the heroes are much more powerful by this point and able to curb-stomp anyone who isn't a major villain.
53** Considering the semi-episodic MonsterOfTheWeek format used in ''Anime/DigimonGhostGame'', most, if not all hostile Digimon are going to be mooks. But it's the Ultimate/Mega-levels that can really call themselves this, being {{Physical God}}s capable of world-wide feats and are outright impervious to attacks from lower-level Digimon. There are also some ''truly nasty'' foes in that roster like Piemon, Lilithmon and even '''[=ZeedMillenniumon=]'''.
54* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
55** In King Cold and Frieza's universe-spanning empire, the Saiyans were this, being their strongest enslaved race based on quantity ''and'' quality. {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in that this trope is partly why Frieza decides to wipe them out in the first place: ''because'' they were apparently increasing in strength and numbers, the tyrant ([[CreateYourOwnHero correctly]]) assumed that they, or at least a ChosenOne, would eventually be able to challenge him.
56** According to supplementary material, a soldier with more than 1,000 is considered elite, although for the point that they are introduced they are basically fodder.
57* ''Manga/{{Guyver}}'' gives us several. Compared to the average Chronos foot soldiers, the Chronos aligned Zoanoids could count as this trope as they are usually much more than a match for any normal human task force. In terms of the enemies the Guyvers themselves fight, Zoanoids usually become the normal {{Mooks}} while the Hyper-Zoanoids take on as members of this trope
58* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has Yomazu and Kowazu. The dark guild, Grimoire Heart, is lead by Hades alongside the Seven Kin of Purgatory, established lesser bosses who oversee the many Mooks of the guild. Yomazu and Kowazu, however, are in between. They're strong enough to be classified higher than a Mook, even having established names, but not strong enough to be standing alongside the leaders. They beat up Gajeel and Levy before they are defeated by them. However, Gajeel is so injured that he's PutOnABus until Hades' defeat.
59* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has Solf J. Kimblee's four chimeras (humans who can transform into animalistic forms), who [[spoiler:all end up pulling [[HeelFaceTurn Heel-Face Turns]]]], as well as [[spoiler:the failed Fuhrer candidates]], who show up near the end under the command of the Gold-Toothed Doctor to force [[spoiler:Roy Mustang to become the final sacrifice for Father's Nationwide Transmutation Circle]].
60* The Type IV [[MechaMooks Gadget Drones]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', which guarded the path towards the engine of the [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Saint's Cradle]] and managed to critically injure two main characters over the course of the season.
61* The Metal Brikitons in the first season of the ''Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries'', who pilot Mashins instead attacking on foot.
62* Though a staple of the universe as a whole, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' begins with the unpopular and beleaguered [[TheFederation United Earth Sphere Alliance]] and its massive military. Within that exists the Special Mobile Suit Troops, with access to more modern equipment and better training, and their junior officers wearing a recolored version of the Alliance officer's uniform. As one might expect, they soon replace the whole Alliance in a long-planned [[TheCoup coup d'etat]].
63* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': The Eight Bullets of the [[{{Yakuza}} Shie Hassaikai]] are essentially this. They do not seem to occupy a place much higher than [[{{Mooks}} normal grunts]] in their structure, but they are definitely far stronger and much more dangerous since they don't care whether they live or die.
64* ANBU from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. [[InformedAbility Supposedly]], [[RedshirtArmy anyway]]. The Jonin are a better example.
65* The giant mecha in the festival arc of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' had their weaponry quietly upgraded to no longer fire mere [[ClothingDamage stripper rays]]. Apart from that they were indistuinguishable from their predecessors.
66* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
67** An odd example occurs in the movie. While the majority of the combats in the series make it look like a big boss rush, the final battle in the movie is against the MP ("Mass Produced) Evas, a group of nine identical Evangelion Knockoffs.
68** On the ground there's the JSSDF, [[BigBad Keel Lorenz]]'s shock troopers, sent to *ahem* "[[LeaveNoWitnesses clean up]]" NERV once Keel's plans start going awry.
69* ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' has two varieties -- the [[MalevolentMaskedMen masked Knights of Paris]] and the [[LadyOfWar Soldats high priestesses]]. Something of an InformedAbility in both cases, as basically everyone goes down in one shot in this series.
70* The red armoured Rublum forces of the Empire in ''Anime/TearsToTiara''. They hand the protagonists their first real defeat in episode 8, though that was due in part to Arthur's lack of strategy beyond "charge them and hope for the best". Well, they used logs too, but the Rublum soldiers just ''got back up'' after being hit by the logs.
71* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
72** Near the end of the Enies Lobby arc, 200 Marine Captains attack the Straw Hats at the Bridge of Hesitation. The Straw Hats had spent the rest of the arc taking out several thousand standard {{Mooks}}, as well as fighting the government's resident assassin team, [[PsychoForHire CP9]], so these Elite Mooks did pretty well against the worn out Straw Hats. Still got their butts handed to them, though. One of them, Shu, scored a victory for mooks everywhere when he actually managed to destroy one of Zoro's swords. Usopp ended up sniping him down, but his actions left Zoro unable to use his strongest techniques for most of the next arc.
73** The Pacifista Units became this after the TimeSkip. Before, the one that the Straw Hats defeated was a legitimate boss, but then they were hit with [[DegradedBoss degradation]] two years later. Justified as those were outdated models and it's stated that there are actually upgraded Pacifistas now[[note]]In ''One Piece'', unless a cyborg -such as the Pacifista- is modified, they cannot grow stronger[[/note]], meaning that there's now Elite ''Elite'' Mooks, [[spoiler:which are the Pacifista Mk. III deployed in Egghead. And that's after the Seraphims, newer and much more effective Pacifistas, are deployed...]]
74* Witches from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' command several armies of familiars each, but all of them are generally measly {{Red Shirt}}s compared to the witches or magical girls who fight them. That is, until we get to ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion'', where the primary witch in the story possesses not just the typical armies of familiars, but fourteen elite familiars, each of which is at least as strong as a magical girl.
75* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
76** The Dark Kingdom arc: The DD Girls are a squad of five female Youma, but they're far more dangerous than any Youma that preceded them. Despite only showing up in one episode, their teamwork and illusionary powers make them effective {{Hero Killer}}s, killing four of the five Sailor Senshi in the penultimate episode of the first season.
77** The Dead Moon Circus arc: Mr. Magic Pierrot is a MonsterOfTheWeek sent by the Amazon Quartet to deal with the Amazon Trio. Not only does he beat them easily and mortally wounds Hawk's Eye, but he also manages to temporarily kill the main character by destroying her Dream Mirror.
78* From ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', the three masked Punisher-carrying members of the Eye of Michael, who seem to act as Chapel's elite mooks. [[spoiler:Then it turns out they are actually Razlo's elite mooks, and their Punishers are meant for him. And they keep helping him even after he [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill utterly annihilates]] one of them with his triple Punishers [[ForTheEvulz just for the heck of it]].]] Overall, they put up a better fight than many of the mooks in the story, and in the end, [[spoiler:they willingly take a deadly body-enhancing drug to keep Vash busy while Razlo recovers from his wounds, in a sort of villainous heroic sacrifice]].
79* ''Anime/UsagichanDeCue'': Dekao is an "admonisher" (assassin) brought in when regular mooks don't get the job done.
80* In ''Manga/VinlandSaga'', the viking kings call upon the Jomsvikings, a mercenary band for hire made up of war veterans, for elite muscle. Outside of fighting named characters with CharacterShields, they're pretty much unstoppable and manage to combine an unusual mix of being [[BloodKnight bloodthirsty warriors]] and [[ConsummateProfessional super disciplined]] demonstrated by them hacking a larger peasant militia to threads while laughing with joy while maintaining an ordered formation.
81* In ''Manga/WorldTrigger'', the Rabbits are bipedal Trion Soldiers packing thick armor, enhanced combat prowess, and enough strength in its punch to send a Border agent flying through several blocks worth of houses. Compared to the garden variety Marmods and Bamsters, these beasts pose a challenge even for the most skilled A-Rank agents.
82* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'' has both [[spoiler:the Fusion Dimension's Obelisk Force and the Synchro Dimension's Security]]. They're all duelists with definitive skill, defeating several characters and always putting up a fight, and [[spoiler:Security]] Don't even duel after that fails the first few times and just outright arrest their targets.
83[[/folder]]
84
85[[folder:Comic Books]]
86* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
87** Both [[TheMafia Intergang]] and [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Secret Society of Super-Villains]] were secretly organized by [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]] to act as his elite mooks on Earth in various 1970s comics, with the latter intended to replace the former. The Secret Society was reformed by Darkseid's pawn Libra for this reason in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' [[ContinuityNod as well]]. Darkseid also has his own Elite on Apokolips, who stand above and beyond his Dog Soldiers and Parademons, though they're more of a QuirkyMinibossSquad.
88** Intergang itself sometimes has elite mook squads of its own, like the "Wall Crawler" assassins seen in some ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' stories.
89** ''ComicBook/SimonDark'': While most Geo Populous members can be killed just as easily as the humans they've replaced the higher up in the ranks they are the more likely they are to be bullet resistant and Vincent, one of the boss's two personal enforcers recovers from having his arms ripped off in about a day and seems mostly inconvenienced and angry when Rachel splits him in half from the top of his head to his navel, and Simon has to kill him by dragging the thing possessing him back to the plane it originated from.
90* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
91** The original Power Broker's business involved selling super-strength upgrades, often to villains looking to assemble Elite Mook units. The Broker himself employed a squad of such called the Sweat Shop.
92** Another Marvel subversive group, Advanced Idea Mechanics, started as the Elite Mooks of HYDRA (aka THEM), being its super-science division; AIM itself mass-produced synthetic soldiers like its "chemical androids" and Adaptoids. [[Characters/MarvelComicsHydra HYDRA]] itself developed robotic soldiers called Dreadnoughts for this purpose, and in some continuities HYDRA itself started out as or becomes the Elite Mook organization working for the [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]].
93** For more conventional criminals like [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Spider-Man]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMattMurdock Daredevil]] archfoe [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin The Kingpin]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheHand the Hand]] frequently serves as a group of killers and enforcers a cut above the average mob wiseguy. The Hand usually [[HiddenAgendaVillain has its own plans]], though. Unsurprisingly, the Hand and HYDRA share a history and have alternately served as elite mooks for one another on separate occasions.
94** After years of BadassDecay, this has been done on a cosmic scale to the Celestials. Unlike other CosmicEntity types, Celestials are not unique so that's one notch against them and they can suffer from HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic or FacelessGoons tropes (sometimes they congregate in a massive herd and outside a named few like Arishem the Judge, they kinda have no identity except being a big Creator/JackKirby-style metal space giant). If you need to show a menace is a threat to the universe, chances are it'll get to kill a Celestial (such as the Many-Angled Ones slaughtering Celestials in ComicBook/{{Annihilation}}). It's gotten to the point where [[Characters/MarvelComicsThorOdinson Thor]] kills an extra-powerful Celestial named Exetar the Executioner with nothing more than a cursed axe.
95* ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'':
96** The slavers. Not only did they use squad tactics and didn't panic during the first few seconds of The Punisher's attack, they even forced him to retreat. [[GangstaStyle And they held their guns right]].
97** Later, a group of generals sends a special forces squad after Frank precisely because they're the Army's elite.
98* Manute from ''ComicBook/SinCity'' had a squad of mobsters under his command but he sent a group of former IRA mercs to fight Dwight and the Old Town girls. They did a good job of it due to a lot of firepower and one managed to briefly catch [[{{Ninja}} Miho]] off-guard but they were all eventually defeated.
99* Though the original was introduced as an individual case of AIIsACrapshoot and eventually transformed into the recurring villain Bastion, later ''ComicBook/XMen'' stories have made the Nimrod type of Sentinels this in relation to the usual versions.
100* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'': Establishes the Terrorcons as one of the more powerful Decepticon fighting forces, able to take on Megatron, albeit [[WorfHadTheFlu weakened]]. In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersWindblade'' three of them go against Windblade's posse and come out victorious, Rippersnapper takes down Slug (a veteran Dinobot, which was one of the most powerful Autobot groups), Sinnertwin takes down both Blurr (another Autobot veteran) and Waspinator, and Cuthroat keeps Tankor (veteran Decepticon) and Windblade (above average fencer) on their toes, even with an impaled wing he's still fighting.
101* ''ComicBook/TheTenSeconders'': The Disciples, humans whom the Gods have experimented on. While they have their own powers, they're nothing compared to the actual Gods.
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Fan Works]]
105* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonTitansAndOtherCreatures MaNi/Elder Brother]] is described by WordOfGod as a "weird combat form" amongst the Many which serve [[spoiler:Keizer Ghidorah]]. Unlike other Many {{Mind Hive}}s, [=MaNi=] has a [[BreathWeapon Gravity Beam]], and instead of being driven by a [[HorrorHunger hunger to devour and assimilate biomass endlessly]], he's driven by by an utterly AxCrazy [[BloodKnight bloodlust for fighting]].
106* ''Fanfic/BadFutureCrusaders'' has [[TheDreaded Captain Rumble's]] Stormfront Unit, which is described as the best soldiers in all of the [[TheEmpire Equestrian]] military.
107* ''Fanfic/TheButcherBird'' has two levels: The [[VillainProtagonist Nightmare Pirates]] rank and file serve as this relative to those of other pirate crews, and inside the crew itself there are several elite formations who typically attach themselves to specific officers, such as the [[HornyVikings Huscarls]] to [[TheBigGuy Herman]], the [[GhastlyGhost Ghosts]] to [[MoreDakka Lauren]], and the [[BrainInAJar Immortals]] to [[OnlySaneMan Gin]].
108* ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' uses the [[Series/DoctorWho Cybermen]] during [[Recap/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeriesS3TVM1TheFiveCalvins "The Five Calvins"]], a WholePlotReference to [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]].
109* The Moon Rabbit soldiers in ''Fanfic/{{FREAKINGENSOKYO}}''.
110* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'': The sequel ''Diplomat at Large'' introduces the White Changelings, top trained changelings with high degree mastery in most magic spells, who wear pure white outfits to hide what hive they belong to and ensure no single hive can gain control over the entire order. It's noted that several squads of them are being used to guard Chrysalis in her prison, and that Chrysalis herself never contributed any members.
111* In ''Fanfic/EquestriaAcrossTheMultiverse'', the mainline Storm King is aware of the Hegemony would be a problem for him, so he gets some help from Ispita and recruits some AdaptationalBadass versions of the G1 Troggles and powers them up further to become equal to Warhammer Orks specifically to counter them.
112* ''Fanfic/FriendshipIsMagicalGirls'' has the Royal Changelings, who are more humanoid, and ''much'' more powerful, than the normal ones.
113* ''Fanfic/TheGodEmpressOfPonykind'':
114** Crystal Kingdom Shock Troopers; they can outmaneuver and defeat a fully armored Legionnaire with ease, [[FragileSpeedster but once pinned or otherwise unable to move, they die easily]].
115** The Shadowbolts (formerly the Black Ravens) serve as this to Nightmare Moon.
116* ''Fanfic/TheImmortalGame'' has the Unicorn puppets, which, due to their magic, are greater threats than the Earth pony and Pegasus puppets.
117* ''Fanfic/InnerDemons'' has [[BigBad Queen!]][[FaceHeelTurn Twilight Sparkle]] learning how to magically create undead pony soldiers who serve as this for her, compared to the brainwashed Royal Guards she otherwise uses. By the FinalBattle, while the heroes are fighting through the [[TheLegionsOfHell hordes of Tartarus]] now at her command, these are the ones who she uses to [[PraetorianGuard guard her throne room]], and the ones she sends en masse to slip past the heroes and attack defenseless Ponyville (though they get [[YouShallNotPass bogged down]] fighting the [[TheCavalry Royal Guard]]).
118* In ''Fanfic/{{Kokuten}}'', it's said (and shown) that thanks to the Sharingan, one regular Uchiha shinobi can take on three regular Konoha chunin. Essentially, the Uchiha Clan has [[ExaggeratedTrope an entire army]] of elite mooks at its disposal -- any less would get them absolutely butchered by Konoha's both superior numbers and diversified abilities.
119* ''Fanfic/MyLittleDenarians'': After battling through various less capable mooks, including [[spoiler:Discorded Royal Guards and Stormtroopers]], Harry and co. end up fighting the Denarian cultists, who ambush and flank, deploy from armoured vehicles, use grenades, heavy weapons and snipers, and generally act like a competent, well-trained paramilitary force. Harry thinks they're almost too competent to be willingly working for the Denarians.
120* ''Fanfic/HarmonyTheory'':
121** Max Cash, one of the two [[BigBadEnsemble Big Bads]], had been mostly relying on hired--and occasionally brainwashed--thugs to do his bidding, sans his [[TheDragon Dragon]] and personal bodyguard. But when it's time to raid the estate of a politician with a lot of security, he brings out a small army of top dollar mercenaries [[spoiler:(who are brainwashed into being completely loyal and willing to die for him)]] with him. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for him, a now fully grown Spike makes sure they never get to show their true ability.]]
122** The Griffons and the Changelings serve as this, to the Solar Empire and Lunar Republic respectively, The Lunar Republic uses the changelings, as both spies and shock troops, and The Solar Empire uses the Griffons as bodyguards and trackers/hunters. Naturally, this makes them [[ArchEnemy natural enemies.]]
123* This is one of the many things {{parodied|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/TwilightSparklesAwesomeAdventure'', with [[CardCarryingVillain Queen Celestia's]] Elite ''Elite'' Guards; Who are '''Alicorns''' in ScaryImpracticalArmor. They don't seem to be any more effective, than the regular elite guards.
124* In the ''Fanfic/TamersForeverSeries'', Armaggedemon, Diaboramon, Infermon, [=LadyDevimon=] and [=SkullSatamon=] all serve this role in [[spoiler:Daemon]]'s army.
125* ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'':
126** Vulcan eventually gains a second group of minions in the form of the Crimson Guard, [[spoiler:a group of Changelings recruited from Chrysalis]], who are far more powerful (and competent) than his standard Diamond Dog soldiers.
127** Later on, even they get one-upped by the thestrals who defect to Vulcan's horde -- as they no longer have to suppress their carnivorism, as they've had to in "polite" Equestrian society, they're able to properly feed and access their full strength as the {{Super Soldier}}s Luna designed their race as, putting their full power at Vulcan's disposal.
128* The Assault Troopers from ''Fanfic/TheTSABActurusWar'', who are both mages and conventionally-trained special forces. We see only four named ones on-screen, but they do fairly well considering they end up fighting Nanoha, Fate, Vita and Signum.
129* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' fanfics, especially those under the FanFic/ProjectDarkJade banner, tend to present the Samurai Khan in this role, as opposed to the FakeUltimateMook status they had in canon. Usually, it's explained that since their Mask didn't properly bond with Finn in that episode, their power and effectiveness was hindered, which isn't the case in these stories.
130* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'':
131** The Shields of Torus Filney serve as this to Viscount Servantis. They are a group of heavily armed and armored knights, all highly skilled in combat beyond the abilities of the average Phobos soldier.
132** The Samurai Khan, as usual in JCA fics. They have the ability to resist offensive magic, and show a disturbing level of intelligence and an ability to adapt to the fighting style of their foes.
133** [[OneManArmy Archduchess Sebille's]] personal cadre of swordsmen from Blackrock Island. Will notes that while other Meridian warriors train only enough to have a worthwhile skill, this group has dedicated their lives to combat.
134* The CIA agents in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' fic ''Fanfic/FallOfLiberty''.
135* In ''Fanfic/EarthsAlienHistory'', the Reapers eventually make particularly effective Husks out of captured Pokemon, and on an even grander level, [[spoiler:a group of Kryptonians (nicknamed Kryptohusks)]].
136* ''Fanfic/TheUnabridgedMemoirsOfDarthPlagueisTheWise'' has the Thunderclap Commandos serving as this for the [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Rim Liberation Front]], being clones created from [[spoiler:Yuuzhan Vong DNA]] in order to serve as {{Hero Killer}}s against Jedi.
137* ''Fanfic/LinkedInLifeAndLove'': Roman mentions that while most of the White Fang are stupid kids who just have guns and unlocked [[SoulPower Auras]], there are quite a few who have Huntsmen-level training, and even a few Academy graduates. Due to their identical uniforms and masks, [[BossInMookClothing there is no way to tell the difference before a fight breaks out]].
138* ''Fanfic/{{Neomorphs}}'' has the Apostates, whose Ssri'Kai hosts are among the most dangerous species in the series, and who are also trained to have fanatical UndyingLoyalty to [[BigBad the Visser]].
139* ''Fanfic/InvaderZimABadThingNeverEnds'': In Chapter 15, Lex creates a group of upgraded [[MechaMooks DIRs]] ([[CannonFodder Disposable]] Information Retrieval units) called [=SADIRs=] (Specialized Appliance Disposable Information Retrieval units), which are four times the size, much more durable, and specifically designed to be able to fight even Minimoose evenly.
140[[/folder]]
141
142[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
143* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ark}}'', EvilChancellor Baramanda has a platoon of human-sized CyberCyclops who's far more dangerous than regular Storrian soldiers, due to being vulnerable only to a MoeGreeneSpecial.
144* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'': Of Frollo's soldiers, the ones who have visored sallet helmets are portrayed as this. Compared to the rank-and-file guards wearing kettle hats, they suffer almost no slapstick at all and have no incompetent moments. In fact, their presence helps to accentuate the edginess of the situation at hand almost as much as that of [[BigBad Frollo]].
145* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', Syndrome doesn't simply hire DumbMuscle for his armed guards. Many are trained to handle a super threat or potential ones. When seeing two stranded kids on the island, the guards attempt to hold them at gunpoint and detain them, rightly suspecting they're not here for a vacation. A few just won't give up on chasing Dash all over the terrain, even as he accumulates a body count. Violet attempts to take one on with a stick and her invisibility powers, but he forces her to retreat into the nearby lake and tracks her location using dirt to shoot her. The family has to team up to stand a fighting chance against them.
146* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' has a set of five Huns that stand apart from the rest. They are the first over the wall in the opening, weed out Imperial scouts, participate in the AwesomenessByAnalysis where Shan-Yu ascertains the location of the Chinese Army, [[spoiler:weather the avalanche that buries most of the Hun army]], and help Shan-Yu's raid on the palace that forms the climax.
147* In ''WesternAnimation/StrangeMagic'', there appears to be [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent several subspecies of goblins]], one of which is significantly bigger and brawnier than the others. They are used whenever the fairy protagonists need a serious threat.
148[[/folder]]
149
150[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
151* ''Film/ThreeHundred'' applied Action Movie tropes to historical events, including making the Persian 10,000 Immortals Elite Mooks.
152* Shabal's terrorists in ''Film/ActOfValor'' are this, when compared with the cartel gunmen. The cartel thugs are mostly just {{Mooks}}, save the one who managed to shoot Mikey (by sheer luck while firing blind through a wall), while every one of Shabal's suicide troops puts up some degree of serious resistance. Most notable is the one who is crazy enough to use a rocket-propelled grenade as a close-combat weapon.
153* The common Bregnan soldiers in ''Film/AeonFlux'' wears black uniforms with red markings, and helmets that exposes their eyes. The Special Forces, however, are clad in armour, wears face-concealing masks, are armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry and explosives and ''knows'' how to use them, inflicting a near-mortal injury on Trevor. Even Aeon has a hard time when fighting these guys.
154* Near the end of ''Film/BatmanBegins'', [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]] sends 4 serious-looking ninjas in full metal body armor to fight Batman. They do marginally better than everyone else who's tried to fight Batman up to this point until they pushed him into a mob.
155* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': has the heavy-weapons HYDRA soldiers, who unlike the rank and file troops, actually manage to at the very least back the heroes into a corner every time they appear.
156* In ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' we have the [[spoiler:four dirty Judges]] hired by Ma-Ma late in the film, who prove to be a lot more dangerous than the assorted thugs faced thus far.
157* ''Film/TheDevilsMirror'' features the Bloody Ghould Clan, whose higher-ranked mooks fights bare-chested and can be identified by their long, red hair.
158* In ''Film/Dune2021'' we have the Sardaukar, who show themselves to be far more skills than the rank-and-file House Harkonnen troops. A small phalanx of Atreides soldiers are able to hold against an entire Harkonnen unit before the Sardaukar arrive and effortlessly mow them down. [[spoiler:They are also able to kill two major characters: Dr. Kynes and Duncan Idaho. They later meet their match in the Fremen, who are able to ambush and fight them ''without shields''.]]
159* Both ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' and ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'' feature the hero battling a group of several unique-looking Mooks armed with katanas, just before the final fight with the BigBad. These guys are either Elite Mooks, or complete idiots, for fighting only with swords in a world where everyone is equipped with automatic weapons. In any case they don't do noticeably better against the hero than all the previous Mooks...i.e. they all get killed in about 6 or 7 seconds.
160* In ''Film/TheExpendables'', there is General Garza's special forces, identified by their red berets, jungle camouflage, and green-and-yellow facepaint. They actually live up to their reputation as well, forcing the Expendables to seriously work to kill them, unlike the regular soldiers who they mow down with regularity.
161* The SS battalion in ''Film/Fury2014'' that show up at the movie's climax. Whereas the Wehrmacht forces in the movie were disorganized, demoralized and undersupplied already, and many of them quickly surrendered, these guys are boldly marching to combat, singing, fully armed, and when they come across [[TankGoodness Fury]] and find that she's operational, they make it their top priority to get rid of it and refuse to give up, even after taking heavy casualties.
162* The nanite-enhanced Neo-Vipers from ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra''. They are ''really'' hard to kill.
163* Zull and Vinz Clortho from ''Film/Ghostbusters1984'' . They are intimidating and frightening by themselves, but ultimately they are not the the main villain.
164* Averted in Creator/JohnWoo's ''Film/HeroesShedNoTears''. The so-called Black Squadron are the personal guard of the general responsible for the region's drug trade and are all dressed in black instead of regular military uniforms. However, they're the ''first'' mooks fought and are actually less competent than the regular Vietnamese soldiers, who put up ''slightly'' more of a fight before going down.
165* Near the climax of ''Film/TheHeroicOnes'', when Li Chun-Hsiao and his army are winning the penultimate battle, the enemy forces parts way for the Bladesman Unit - twenty highly-trained halberd-wielding experts, who puts up a far more competent fight than the regular soldiers. They manage to kill many of Li's men until Li takes on the twenty in an extended spear-vs-halberd duel.
166* In ''Film/{{Inception}}'', this is the difference between an untrained mind's projections and a trained one. Normally, a mind's subconscious projections take on the form of waves of mindless civilians that swarm intruders in the dreamworlds, while if a mind has been trained to resist intrusion, the projections are armed with heavy weaponry and attack in coordinated groups.
167* ''Franchise/JohnWick'':
168** In ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'', at the end when John is closing in on Santino, [[TheDragon Ares]] shows up with a quartet of well-trained elite bodyguards. [[OneManArmy Unlike the dozens of mooks John mowed through earlier]], they have armor, assault rifles, and move and fight as a well-coordinated team that John has to use careful tactics to take down.
169** ''Film/JohnWickChapter3Parabellum'' has the High Table soldiers that [[TheHeavy the Adjudicator]] sends to [[spoiler:assault the Continental]] at the climax. They are [[HeavilyArmoredMook covered head-to-toe in heavy body armor]], making it near impossible to take them down with Wick's usual GunFu, and which enable them to [[CurbStompBattle slaughter]] [[spoiler:the [[RedShirtArmy Continental security]]]].
170** ''Film/JohnWickChapter4'' has [[BigBad the Marquis de Gramont's]] personal minions, headed by [[TheDragon Chedi]], who wear bulletproof suits like Wick's and are skilled in the same GunFu. Notably, in the Osaka Continental fight sequence, they fight alongside the same kind of High Table soldiers mentioned above, and prove to be more of a threat to Wick than they do.
171* The Einsatzkommando from ''Film/TheKeep''. Just as in [[Literature/TheAdversaryCycle the novel]], however, they're "elite" in name only, and are no more effective against Molasar than their regular German army counterparts. In fact, as Woermann points out, the only thing these "elite" troops do effectively is slaughter large numbers of unarmed civilians (which in real life ''was'' the Einsatzkommando's entire reason for existing -- they were mobile death squads).
172* The wuxia movie ''Film/KillersFive'' have the main villain's PraetorianGuard units, a legion of his personal bodyguards who despite being unnamed, can put up a far better fight than regular mooks. The last one of them notably gives the ActionGirl heroine a rough time in a one-on-one duel while the hero takes on the BigBad.
173* The Uruk-Hai in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' movies, though after their introduction they don't seem to pose much of a problem.
174* The Zaror supersoldiers cloned by Voz in ''Film/MacheteKills''.
175* ''Film/MarsAttacks'': The Martian Girl is a skilled assassin who seems to be one of the Martian leader's best troops.
176* Agents of the East India Co. in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest''. We only see one of them (Mercer) but Jack "vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company" and this is listed as an impressive feat.
177* In ''Film/RedDawn1984'', the town of Columette, Colorado is quickly taken over by a crack unit of [[ItsRainingMen Red Army para-troopers]] in a vicious battle. However, once the front lines of WorldWarIII stabilize, the town is relegated as a back water outpost, and patroled by rear echelon Red Army troops, supplemented by units of the Cuban and Nicaraguan armies. However, once [[LaResistance The Wolverines]] carry out a successful guerrilla campaign, and after summary executions don't get the Soviets closer to capturing the Wolverines, Col. Strelnikov and his elite Spetnaz unit is brought in. Strelnikov's first act is to ask General Bratchenko to stop the executions, [[AttackBackfire as they only show weakness and desperation]] and [[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry encourages the conquered population to aid the rebellion]]. Second, rather than sending out soldiers to be inevitably ambushed, Strelnikov carries out more proactive counter insurgency operations, such as [[spoiler:making one of the teens [[UnwittingPawn swallow a homing device]] in order to track down the Wolverines' hiding place, and then forcing them out of hiding by tempting them with food]]. In the end, these tactics do [[spoiler:end the Wolverines' guerilla campaign, but both Strelnikov and Bratchenko are killed during a SuicideMission]].
178* ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' has Rotti's shotgun-wielding henchgirls, and the faceless Repo Men.
179* ''Film/TheRescue1971'': The Mongol sergeants fills this role, being experts with halberds, identifiable by their yellow tunics exposing their bare chests, and managing to kill several members of the RedshirtArmy.
180* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
181** The destroyer droids (droidekas) in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', which aren't humanoid like the regular mooks but spider-like bots equipped with shields. As proof of their effectiveness, they are the only droids to not only survive an encounter with the Jedi, but send ''them running'' in their first appearance.
182** The Super Battle Droids in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', which are more heavily armored and aggressive than the regular droids.
183** General Grievous' Magna Guards from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', non-Jedi droids who are able to fight against Jedi in melee combat and do relatively well (i.e. live longer than about 6 or 7 seconds).
184** The Royal Guard, the guys in red, are supposed to ''look'' like elite mooks, at least. They don't do anything in the original series and get [[CurbStompBattle curb stomped]] by Yoda in the prequels.
185** Despite their prominence in the original trilogy, stormtroopers are this for the Empire. Otherwise they use regular Imperial Army troopers (the dudes with the funny hats in the Death Star prison block). Oddly enough, many works in the ''Star Wars'' 'verse (including but not limited to video games) depict stormtroopers as the rank-and-file soldiers instead, with no mention of the actual troopers.
186** The [[DoomTroops Death Troopers]] in ''Film/RogueOne'' is essentially what would happen if a Stormtrooper retained their brutal efficiency and avert ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy. They are the elite mooks among the Stormtroopers themselves, and they have scored ''numerous'' kills of the rebels on screen, including several [[AnyoneCanDie main characters.]]
187** The Elite Praetorian Guards of Snoke in ''Film/TheLastJedi''. Clearly based on the Royal Guards from the original and prequel trilogy, [[spoiler:except they are actually trained to deal with Force users and give Rey and Kylo a run for their money. One of them even held their own and manages to get a couple hits in while fighting Rey one-on-one, while another comes surprisingly close to killing Kylo]].
188** ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' has the Knights of Ren [[FakeUltimateMook supposedly fulfill this role.]] They manage to temporarily capture [[spoiler:Chewie]] with little difficulty, and beat the tar out of [[spoiler:their former leader Ben Solo]] in the climax, [[spoiler:until he gets hold of a lightsaber and slaughters them]].
189* The Cardinal's Guard in ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1973'' version. Although the novel depicts them as more or less equal to the king's musketeers in training and prestige--and in the first fight sequence the musketeers hesitate before taking them on at 1-2 odds--by the final fight sequences, the heroes are dispatching them by the dozen.
190* The Black Demon Ninjas from ''Film/ViolentShit III: Infantry of Doom''.
191[[/folder]]
192
193[[folder:Gamebooks]]
194* ''Literature/LoneWolf'':
195** The [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Giaks]] are the lowly mooks of the Darklords, while the Drakkarim, black-armored warriors wearing [[RageHelm death masks]], are the elite. Further in the series, the ante is upped with the elite of Drakkarim, the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Death Knights]].
196** After having deal with many Vassagonian brigands in the previous book, in ''Shadow on the Sand'' Lone Wolf is confronted with Sharnazim, the elite warriors of Vassagonia, during a trip to their capital.
197* For ''Literature/FightingFantasy'', your adventurers will be killing hordes of goblins, trolls and orcs that make up the forces of the Dark Gods. Their [[PowerLevels skill score]] runs around 6 or 7, the minimum. Adventurers often get some variety in bloodletting by shanking tougher skill 8 or 9 monsters. But whenever an enemy with skill in the double digits shows up, like Chaos Warriors, Chaos Knights, Greater Demons or Spectres, you can expect some of the hardest fights in the book outside of the story's FinalBoss. Some are even mightier than plot-relevant villains!
198[[/folder]]
199
200[[folder:Literature]]
201* The Blue Band Hork-Bajir introduced late in the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' books are this, and various books focus on attempts by the Yeerks to ''create'' these such as the weaponized hammerhead sharks in ''The Escape'' and the failed attempt to create aquatic Hork-Bajir from ''The Mutation''.
202* The [[FacelessGoons Social Police]] in ''[[Literature/TheActsOfCaine Blade of Tyshalle]]'' could nail scouts between the eyes as said scouts were peeking through window slats at them. "Say what you like about Soapy, but [[ImprobableAimingSkills those bastards can shoot]]."
203* In ''Literature/{{Cerberon}}'' Wizard Royal Elect Tmneal Kravat has a group of half-hackal warriors called the Nine Fangs explicitly described as elite soldiers. Their eliteness seems more like an InformedAbility when Aladavan fries them with a massive ball of lightning, and decapitates the blinded and severely burned survivors who are still trying to achieve their objective despite their fatal injuries.
204* [[BigBad Arawn]] employs two main varieties in the ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'', each with their own particular twist. The Cauldron-Born are undead, [[ImplacableMan implacable]], and virtually impervious to injury, but they're also progressively weakened the further they get from [[{{Mordor}} Annuvin]], making them more useful as elite guards than as an assault force. The Huntsmen of Annuvin, in contrast, are mortal men, but are magically bound to have UndyingLoyalty to Arawn and also have the ConservationOfNinjutsu as a superpower, with every surviving Huntsman becoming stronger whenever one is killed. They're more often used as fast moving strike forces and skirmishers.
205* The ur-viles from the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' are an interesting example. They're no stronger than the stock {{mooks}}, [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Cavewights]] (who are physically powerful but weak-willed), but are far more dangerous because they're smarter (Cavewights will just ZergRush the enemy; ur-viles always fight in disciplined formations) and possess potent magic (ur-vile loremasters, their primary magic-users, can cause even experienced warriors to freak when they show up).
206* ''Literature/ChrysalisRinoZ'': The entire Colony essentially becomes the elite version of an ant swarm. They don't breed ''quite'' as fast as regular ant monsters, and their base stats are lower, but they're a lot smarter. Smart enough to train all their hatchlings up to tier three or four before they even see real combat, which more than offsets their lower base stats. Smart enough to replace regular ants' ZergRush tactics with far more advanced and coordinated strategies; ranged HitAndRunTactics, assaulting supply lines, setting traps, building fortifications, and casting all kinds of magic. Smart enough to launch their own industrial revolution and heavy industry, building gates and armour and magical communication items and a hundred other things. Regular ant colonies are dangerous, but are priority targets, to kill them before [[ExplosiveBreeder exponential growth]] kicks in; when it comes to the Colony, on the other hand, the expert recommendation on how to assault an anthill is, Don't.
207--> Establish ranged superiority and throw stuff at it until it crumbles into dust, then burn the dust until nothing remains but a puddle of molten rock. It takes a long time, requires a massive concentration of valuable assets, but it's the only way that works.
208* ''Literature/TheCrimsonShadow'': The Praetorian Guard, who serve not only as Greensparrow's bodyguards, but his most elite troops.
209* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The modern Watch is often viewed this way by people opposing them. Criminals and cons trying their usual tricks on "stupid guards" tend to be surprised by the smart tactics Vimes has instilled in his troops.
210* The Sardaukar from ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' are hyped up to be the most dangerous warriors in existence... but they never get a chance to show off before they're [[TheWorfEffect getting slaughtered wholesale]] to show just how badass the Fremen are.
211* Source material notwithstanding, the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}: Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novels after Necropolis had them fighting the Blood Pact, the retinue of the Chaos warlord they were fighting against, who were supposedly better than the generic heretics and zealots that came before. ''The Guns of Tanith'' also introduced Loxatl mercenaries that could take lots of lasfire.
212* In ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict'', the calligraphomancer (writing witch) in the ArcVillain's employ is the only one of his {{mooks}} to survive more than one encounter with Nikita, and the only one who manages to take down her bodyguards.
213* The Iron Guard and Shadow Guard in ''Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles'' books are born superhuman, given TrainingFromHell and ''then'' enhanced even more.
214* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'', not that the Death Eaters in general aren't a force to be reckoned with, but every once in awhile we meet one who proves to be more dangerous to the heroes and takes more to defeat. Examples include Antonin Dolohov, Thorfinn Rowle, and Bellatrix Lestrange (though she's closer to being TheDragon).
215* The ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' has the Kull, elite [[OurOrcsAreDifferent urgals]] that are about ten feet in height.
216* In ''Literature/TheIronTeeth'', [[SuperPoweredMooks Mages and Vessels]] serve this function in militaries. The former can fire off magic crystals to create devastating attacks or utility effects, while the latter use a difficult-to-master SuperSerum to fight with unmatched speed and strength. And they're treated like elites, too, leading Herad to correctly conclude that Basghus and Mehedium had deserted for reasons other than mere discontent.
217* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
218** The main series has the Uruk-hai, elite orcs who are significantly bigger and stronger than their lesser kin, with those of Isengard able to endure sunlight. There's also the Olog-hai, elite [[GiantMook trolls]] who are more intelligent and able to operate in sunlight.
219** Remember the Balrog from Moria? In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' we learn that its kin not only acted as [[BigBad Morgoth]]'s elite troops, they're as powerful as Sauron himself.
220* ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'':
221** The Steel Inquisitors. A little more elite than most Elite Mooks; in the first book only [[BadassBookworm Sazed]] and [[MagnificentBastard Kelsier]] can take them on and live, and it's still not very advisable. [[spoiler:Kelsier killing one is treated like him snatching the sun out of the sky: everybody around falls still and can't believe their eyes.]] Oh, and they have literal SpikesOfVillainy...[[EyeScream through both of their eyes]].
222** Hazekillers (who are warriors specially trained to kill [[FunctionalMagic allomancers]]), and [[OurOrcsAreDifferent koloss]] are Elite Mooks who are more powerful than regular {{Mooks}}, but less powerful than Inquisitors.
223* Necromancers in the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' typically use [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Dead Hands]], fairly basic (albeit [[BodyHorror mutated]]) shambling zombies created by pulling a spirit out of Death and binding it to a body. ''Abhorsen'', however, displays the more dangerous Shadow Hands, where the spirit remains incorporeal and thus cannot be harmed by standard weapons, or even Charter marks -- but can still drain the life out of anyone it touches, to fuel its ongoing presence in the world of the living. Only the necromantic bells can banish Shadow Hands back into Death.
224* Wardens from ''Literature/ThePowderMageTrilogy'' serve as this for the Kez army. They are ordinary people warped with sorcery into nigh- invulnerable juggernauts of destruction which can take on entire squads of infantry and are designed specifically to combat the titular Powder Mages. They are however not very intelligent and can still be taken down by a lucky shot to the eye or just by being swarmed and stabbed to death. The later books also give us black wardens, who were instead created from Powder Mages and possess much of their abilities, making them even deadlier.
225* ''Literature/{{Skyward}}'': The lifebuster bombers and their escort flyers are faster and more reactive than regular Krell interceptors. [[spoiler:They are also the only ships Spensa can't "hear", suggesting that they are piloted by actual Krell rather than by cytonic remote-control.]]
226* ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'':
227** Darth Vader's 501st Legion (named after the fan club), who are [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy stormtroopers that can actually shoot straight]]. Justified further in the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' continuity, where the Legion remains composed purely of relatively elite clone troopers and not ordinary recruits.
228** In something of an aversion to most of ''Star Wars'' Creator/TimothyZahn makes a point of describing even run-of-the-mill Stormtroopers as competent professionals who are not to be trifled with.
229** The Stormtroopers are actually the Elite Mooks of the Empire; the Imperial Army (which the Corps are not a part of) is actually the mook component, though the movies would have you believe otherwise.
230** In the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' series, Lando Calrissian and his wife Tendra start a weapons company that manufactures the Yuuzhan Vong Hunter battle droid, which has self-healing armor, blaster cannons that can down a starfighter, and a sensor package that can detect disguised Yuuzhan Vong. It's far too expensive to replace organic soldiers but the New Republic/Galactic Alliance uses them in critical tactical roles on several occasions.
231* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' has the Regals, singers who have bonded with a Voidspren and possess limited supernatural powers. While not anywhere near as dangerous as the [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Fused]] (who possess Surgebinding nearly as effective as that of the [[ThePaladin Knights Radiant]] and millennia of combat experience from their repeated resurrections), their limited powers still make them far more dangerous than regular singer soldiers.
232* The ''Literature/{{Tunnels}}'' series has the Limiters, an elite regiment of [[HumanAliens Styx]] soldiers who patrol the Deeps and conduct covert operations Topsoil. They differ from the [[{{Mooks}} Styx Division]] by wearing khaki and brown [[BadassLongcoat trenchcoats]] instead of green and gray, but are presented as much more fearsome. It is commonly believed that [[ImAHumanitarian they are cannibals]], although that only occurs if they run out of supplies [[spoiler:and the point is moot because they are not human. Later in the series they are superseded by the [[StarfishAliens Armagi]], shape-shifting monsters produced by the Phase.]]
233* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' has the Myrddraal, also known as the Eyeless. They use spirit vision of a sort to transcend being physically blind and their melee skills are implied to be in part due to being "out of sync with time".
234[[/folder]]
235
236[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
237* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
238** Season 1 has The Three, Luke and Darla.
239** Season 7 has elite vampires called Turok-han. The first one to make an appearance is actually incredibly dangerous, but subverted once a whole army of them are released at once, they [[FakeUltimateMook go down easily.]]
240* ''Series/{{Colony}}'' has several levels of increasingly Elite Mooks:
241** The Special Operations Team aka Red Berets, who, unlike regular Red Hats, do not have face coverings and carry out important roles, like protecting the Proxy, leading the arrest of insurgents and overseeing the Gate Ways between Blocs.
242** Whatever Will Bowman's unit is called, which appears to carry out prolonged investigations.
243** The Grey Hats, who protect the Hosts and serve as the muscle for the Global Authority.
244** The [[StateSec Intelligence Directorate]] (aka "Blackjacks") which reports directly to the Global Authority and is able to operate outside the Colony and can call down strikes by the Drones [[spoiler:and oversees the [[FinalSolution total rendition]] of the Colony]].
245* ''Series/CobraKai'': The "Way of the Fist" Tang Soo Do senseis hired by Terry Silver in season 5 are this, led by Kim Da-Eun, the granddaughter of master Kim Sun-Yung, the same master that trained Kreese, Silver himself, and their CO during Vietnam War Captain Turner with his fighting style. They are much more powerful senseis that are at on par with Silver's level, so much so that they gave Johnny Lawrence, Chozen Toguchi, and Mike Barnes a hard time during the season finale.
246* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': A couple of Wilson Fisk's henchmen seem to fill this role, particularly the ones that are able to pose a challenge to Matt. Rance in the first episode of season 1 (the assassin sent to kill Karen in her apartment) is a martial artist. John Healy in "Rabbit in a Snowstorm" similarly gives Matt a run for his money. The standout one is Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter in season 3, who is responsible for both of season 3's major character deaths (Father Lantom and Ray Nadeem), as well as a large number of minor character killings or hospitalizations (Ellison, Jasper Evans, etc) and whom manages to best Matt in combat twice.
247* Red Series in ''Series/DarkAngel''.
248* In ''Series/DoctorWho'':
249** The Dalek command hierarchy has a couple of ranks that could qualify as this:
250*** The black-domed Daleks that serve as the elites in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks Power of the Daleks]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays The Parting of the Ways]]".
251*** Perhaps the best-known and easily most distinctive of the Dalek elite mooks is the Special Weapons Dalek, which appeared in the serial "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]". How good are they? ''Good enough to vaporize normal Daleks.''
252** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar A Good Man Goes to War]]", the Headless Monks are the ChurchMilitant's equivalent of special forces.
253** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E10TheTimelessChildren "The Timeless Children"]], The Master gets his hands on some Cyberman conversion tech and uses it to resurrect the corpses of some Gallifreyans. The resulting Cybermen, dubbed "Cyber-Masters", combine the threat posed by regular Cybermen with a Time-Lord's ability to regenerate from fatal damage.
254* ''Series/{{Dominion}}'' has the Powers, the Higher Angels that have joined [[BigBad Gabriel]]'s campaign of extermination against humanity. Not only are they vastly more powerful than the Lesser Angels, the fact that they have bodies of their own and don't need to [[DemonicPossession possess human hosts]] means that they can slip right past the human defenses designed to detect angelic infiltration.
255%%* ''Series/FallingSkies'': The "Mega Mechs" .
256* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
257** The Leo Zodiarts in ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' has the ability to summon the Leo Dustards, which are modified versions of the regular ninja mooks wearing Kabuki wigs. Since he only summons two at a time instead of dozens, ConservationOfNinjutsu is in full effect.
258** About halfway through ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'', Nanba Heavy Industries, who until this point have been selling their [[MechaMooks Guardians]] to the highest bidder, unveils their own war-ready Hard Guardians, which are green, have twin machine gun hands and are powerful enough to give the heroes a hard time (at the power level they were at when they were introduced).
259** ''Series/KamenRiderRevice'': Giff Juniors serve as the lowest tier of demonic mook, with Gifftarians serving as the higher-ranking version. Gifftarians themselves have a stronger yellow version, and then an even stronger red version made by fusing several of the lesser ones together.
260** ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'': Around the end of the first quarter, the ever-evolving Pawn Jyamato learn to use the same TransformationTrinket that the heroes use, allowing them to become Jyamato Riders if they can get their hands on one. Uniquely compared to previous examples, any other Pawn can immediately pick up the Driver and use it if the previous user falls, allowing the lesser mooks to promote themselves to elite on demand.
261* ''Series/Kingdom2019'': Yeong-shin used to be one. The Crown Prince is told that the only people who shoot on the level of Yeong-shin are the Chakho, a special unit of soldiers used for hunting down wild tigers.
262* ''Series/TheMandalorian'':
263** In episodes 7 and 8, [[spoiler:[[Film/RogueOne Death Troopers]]]] fulfill this role again, gunning down [[spoiler:The Client]] and his men in seconds and giving the title character of the show much more difficulty than the rank-and-file goons. As a visual lampshading of sorts, in wide shots they're clearly shown ''[[EvilIsBigger towering]]'' over the rest of the stormtroopers.
264** The later half of season 2 introduces the [[MechaMook Dark Troopers]], just one of which is nearly enough to defeat the titular Mandalorian. [[spoiler:Luke Skywalker defeating a whole bunch of them just show what's the difference between a Master Jedi and normal soldiers.]]
265* ''Series/MaskedRider'' has the Maggots (comic relief stooge villains, used for jobs like distraction and MacGuffin theft) and the Commandoids (used to fight.) ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'' has three stages of grunt evolution (red normal {{Mooks}}, white stronger Elite Mooks, blue flying super-Mooks.)
266* [[spoiler:The Shadow Priests]] from ''Series/MortalKombatConquest''. They are skilled in both [[KungFuWizard martial arts and magic]], [[NoSell can deflect or counter any attack with a mere wave of their hand]], can outfight anyone and [[spoiler:[[HeroKiller kill every single cast member except Raiden.]] Makes you wonder why Shao Kahn never used them prior to the series finale]].
267* ''Series/MotherlandFortSalem'': Witch soldiers seem to be this for the US government, since it's mentioned the military still has conventional (presumably {{muggle|s}}) forces as well.
268* ''Series/{{Nikita}}'': Division has several ascending levels of Elite Mooks:
269** The Cleaners, described by Owen as being stronger and faster than regular agents, and who "clean up" after Division's missions.
270** The Reapers, Cleaners trained to deal with other Division agents.
271** And the best of the best are chosen to act as Guardians (like Owen), who protect Percy's black boxes.
272* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
273** The shows sometimes have a multiple tier grunt system, such as normal Kelzaks and their red PaletteSwap, [[Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm Kelzak Furies]], followed by Styxoids, [[TheDragon Koragg's]] badder (and speech-capable!) versions of the [[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Hidiacs]]. [[Series/PowerRangersSPD Blueheads]] started out as {{Giant Mook}}s who led regular Mooks, but started being sent in small groups themselves on occasion. Then [[SoLastSeason gold, spiky]] ones, imaginatively named Orangeheads by the Rangers, arrived and were even ''more'' elite (that first one gave them a ''lot'' of trouble, being stronger than MonsterOfTheWeek level) until the same MonsterThreatExpiration problem that affected the blue ones set in.
274** The "Zordon Era" of ''Power Rangers'', lasting from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' to ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'', did this regularly, with SoLastSeason existing before the changing-teams-every-year phenomenon, with each set of {{Mooks}} being considered "elite" as compared to the last, until reaching the standard Mook success rate about five episodes in. Z-putties are elite until the Rangers find out they can just hit the ''big giant Lord Zedd Z symbol'' on their chests and the Putties will lose power and shatter (though the fights still last a while because it has to be a hard direct hit). Then Tengas were elite until...they weren't. Series/PowerRangersZeo's MechaMooks, the Cogs, were equally hyped and actually tougher than Putties or Tengas...but that just meant the Rangers had to actually suit up to fight them. Rita also had a short-lived line of Super Putties who were tougher, stronger, and would pull a starfish and regenerate into two Super Putties if smashed, which forced the Rangers to retrieve special blasters in order to break them. These were not used again because Rita had only so much of the special clay used to make them.
275* ''Series/SevenStarFightingGodGuyferd'' has an interesting example where a set of {{Mooks}} retroactively become this. The Guyborgs were originally [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Crown]]'s sole Mook force, and are actually show to be able to put up a decent fight agaisnt Guyferd. After the develop of the Fangs, which are less strong than Guyborgs but easier to mass produce, the Guyborgs begin being used as elite units, with one even acting as the MonsterOfTheWeek in an episode.
276* The Kull Warriors in ''Series/StargateSG1'' are -- watch this -- Anubis' [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Frankenstein's symbiotically enhanced super-zombie cyborg]] [[ImplacableMan Implacable Men]]. One episode of ''SG-1'' also showed that some of the Jaffa under Anubis were elite Ninja Jaffa. For some reason, they never showed up again after that episode. Sokar had the Red Guard, who were more heavily armored and fewer in number than the usual grunts. Apophis used them after knocking off Sokar and taking over his territory.
277* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' plays with this concerning the Borg. The Borg start out as chump Mooks. The problem is... once you knock off a few of the chump Mooks, ALL of them become Elite Mooks, or at least elite enough that they can kick ''your'' ass. New foe, wash, rinse, repeat.
278* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Season 8 reveals the existence of the Knights of Hell, demonic super soldiers that served as [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]'s chief enforcers. By the present, the Archangels have managed to wipe out all of them, [[LastOfHisKind save for]] [[FemmeFatale Abaddon]]. Season 9 reveals more about the Knights, including that they were founded, trained, and led by Cain (yes, ''[[Literature/TheBible that]]'' Cain) [[spoiler:until he -- not the Archangels, as it turns out -- killed them all for killing his wife, whose [[LoveRedeems love had redeemed him]]]].
279* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' has multiple instances of this trope:
280** Towards the end of ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'', the Black Cross Army developed the Black Cross Ninja Team, comprised of elite Zolders trained in ninjitsu. They can walk through walls and teleport and are much more skilled in combat, so the Gorangers struggle a lot more when fighting them. Earlier in the series, Zolders dressed in officer uniforms would often be seen alongside the generals, but they were never actually fought. After the appearance of Golden Mask, the officer Zolders never appeared again and were replaced with Egyptian-themed Zolders that carry big axes, although they don't last very long when they finally fight in the last episode and end up hitting each other with their axes.
281** The villain Doctor Ashura from ''Series/ChoujuuSentaiLiveman'' modified his own body, allowing him to generate three clones of himself, called the Shurer Three. These more or less fill the role of Elite Mook.
282** The villains in ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' have the aptly named Golem Soldiers as their standard set of Mooks, which get upgraded midway into the much stronger Dokiita Golem Soldiers, who are capable of self replication.
283** The role of elite mooks in ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'' is filled by the Hana Kunoinchi Gumi, five cats that were turned into women and give powers similar to the Kakurangers. They are not quite as powerful as the Kakurangers but are tough enough that they occasionally are able to get the upper hand against them and even end up surviving until the very last episode, long after their creator was killed.
284** ''Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger'' has both this and a GiantMook in the same episode -- Boss Kunekune is the MonsterOfTheWeek, and in lieu of the standard giganification has a bunch of Kunekune cover it to form King Kunekune.
285** ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'' has three tiers of Mooks. The Anaroids, which are the standard mooks. The [=BatsuRoids=] are the {{Mook Lieutenant}}s and the Igaroids fill this trope. In their first appearance they managed to almost defeat the Rangers.
286** Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger has the High Zobiru, which are much stronger versions of the standard [[NightOfTheLivingMooks Zobiru]]. [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental material]] reveals that the first [[TheDragon Dragon]] is actually a mechanically modified version of aforementioned Elite Mook.
287** ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'' manages to combine this trope with MonsterOfTheWeek. Elite Mooks are created when numerous regular Mooks fight against each other. The strongest one survives the fight and gets upgraded into an Elite Mook. Whenever the Elite Mook in question receives enough negative energy by causing fear in innocent people, they get the power to change themselves into a MonsterOfTheWeek.
288** ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' has the Sugormin, officers in chunky blue armor who are stronger than Gormin and lead them into battle. They can [[MakeMyMonsterGrow go giant along with the monster]] as well as [[TransformingMecha turn into plane-like vehicles]]. They get a red PaletteSwap called the Dogormin, even stronger variants used only by the king and his court.
289** ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' has the Zorima as the standard Mooks. But it does not take long for the villains to introduce the much stronger Cambrima, who is claimed to be as strong as 100 Zorima
290** ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger'' has Tsuyoindavers, which actually have little resemblance to the normal Mooks called Indavers. A few Tsuyoindavers can grow giant like monsters of the week can and several of the monsters of the week actually were unique Tsuyoindaver variants. Indavers themselves may have one of four different colors of stripes on their uniforms which may indicate different ranks (with the less common purple ones being commanders) but there seems to be very little or no difference in strength between them. One episode had a unique Indaver with a red uniform instead of a black one who lead a Sentai-like team of Indavers including one of each normal stripe color, but he and his team turned out to be no stronger than normal and were easily beaten.
291** In ''Series/KaitouSentaiLupinrangerVsKeisatsuSentaiPatranger'', the MonstersOfTheWeek have safes built into them that allow them to harness the power of the Lupin Collection piece contained within. The Lupinrangers, who are collecting the Collection pieces, can open these safes with their [[TransformationTrinket Dial Fighter]]. Stronger variations can have two safes, allowing them to harness two powers, or have a gold safe, which requires two Dial Fighters in order to open. The lieutenants all have gold safes, and two of them have two gold safes. The BigBad has a special gold safe surrounded with chains which is not only indestructible and unopenable by anyone except himself, but also [[spoiler:contains an entire pocket dimension that stores multiple Lupin Collection pieces, allowing him to use multiple powers.]]
292** In ''Series/MashinSentaiKiramager'', the small-size MonstersOfTheWeek are mooks that were upgraded by being given a MaskOfPower. In the last episode the BigBad calls up his own royal guard mooks who are tougher than the regular ones.
293* In ''Series/VRTroopers'', there were Skugs and eventually the stronger Ultra Skugs. (Ultra Skugs have the same WeaksauceWeakness, though: if two touch, both disintegrate.)
294[[/folder]]
295
296[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
297* Wrestling/KaijuBigBattel's evil surgeon Dr. Cube has been known for experimenting on his minions, resulting in some of them being more dangerous than the others.
298* In [[Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada Generalissimo Takada]]'s monster army of Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE, the Flying Vampires fill this role. Tougher to beat than most minions but still minions for more important monsters and army members.
299[[/folder]]
300
301[[folder:Roleplay]]
302* ''Roleplay/DestroyTheGodmodder'': Sometimes, usually when someone [[SummonMagic summons an army]], one particular group of minions will be a cut above the rest. More generally, there are entities that are not boss level but are still important to game progression and wield unusual powers, or are even just particularly powerful player summons.
303* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', the Blessed are the Master's most fearsome Totenkopf minions who have the authority to command lower-ranked Totenkopfs. The Coalition's ''S-Class'' Mullencamp are an even deadlier group of regular Mullencamp who are efficient warriors and mages surpassed only by the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Vulfsatz]] in effectiveness. Demons of Hoch class, particularly the Black Death squad, are surpassed only by the Dreadlords and the archdemons in raw power and cunning.
304* Sirene's ''[[PuttingOnTheReich Stormtroopers]]''[=/=]''[[GratuitousGerman Sturmtruppen]]'' from ''Roleplay/OpenBlue''. Lacking actual dedicated special forces, [[TheEmpire Avelia]] has its PraetorianGuard take double duty and handle this department.
305[[/folder]]
306
307[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
308* ''TabletopGame/ThirteenthAge'': The various kinds of elite monsters (which are counted as 1.5 normal monsters of the same level when a GM builds an encounter), double-strength or large monsters (counted as two) and triple-strength or huge monsters (counted as three).
309* ''TabletopGame/ArcadiaQuest'':
310** In the base game, Orc Captains are slightly more powerful than Orc Marauders, and have a +2 Reroll ability, but are still classed as "Minor Minions". The base game also has the Hammer Beastman and Spear Beastman, along with the Sister of Pain and Sister of Pleasure, which are "Major Minions".
311** In the ''Beyond the Grave'' expansion, the Necromancer fulfills this role as a "Major Minion".
312** In Inferno, the Demon Captain and Demoness Captain are still much stronger than most other minions, but are still only "Major Minions".
313* ''TabletopGame/BossMonster'': The Epic Heroes, from the point of view of the player-controlled monsters. They only come out once all of the normal Hero cards have been used up, but have roughly double the hit points of the regular guys and deal an extra wound if they manage to bypass your entire dungeon.
314* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'':
315** Most common monster races for mooks have an elite mook variant. Gnolls have the flail-wielding flinds, goblins have the militaristic hobgoblins and bullying bugbears, lizardfolk have the fiendish Lizard Kings, and orcs have numerous variations.
316** Beholders are already very strong monsters so most of the beholder variants are actually weaker than standard ones. So in a hive of beholders the standard ones will be the elite mooks with the weaker variants below them. Above them will be the tougher Elder orbs. And even higher will be Overseers, and the rulers are the Hive Mothers. Both of those last two have the ability to control other beholders.
317** Occasionally, displacer beasts give birth to freakishly large and strong offspring. Besides being much stronger and more dangerous than typical displacer beasts, these creatures often take control of displacer packs, hence their common moniker of displacer beast pack lords.
318** Ghasts are a more powerful and [[ItCanThink intelligent]] variant of ghoul whose touch can paralyze even elves, who are normally immune to ghoul paralysis.
319** Monastic flumphs are a rare variation of flumph characterized by greater intelligence and the ability to cast cleric spells.
320** Any mooks that don't have prebuilt variations can just be made into Elite Mooks by the DM by adding class levels or templates, seasoned to taste.
321** 4E breaks monsters down into tiers of elite-ness. Minions are minor mooks, being just like regular monsters, but die in one hit. Elites are monsters that are somewhat harder than their baseline versions, usually lending to using them as leaders. Solos are double-dose Elite Mooks designed to stand on their own against a whole team of players.
322** 5E has Tasha's, which has the Sidekick rules. Basically, a CR 1/2, or lower, monster, NPC, animal, or whatever, can take levels in Expert, which is rogue-like with a bit of Bard thrown in, a Spellcaster, who can become a Mage with the Wizard's spell-list, a Healer with the Cleric and Druid spell-lists, or a Prodigy with the Bard and Warlock spell-lists, and finally the Warrior, which is similar to a Champion Fighter with a bit of Barbarian thrown in. While not as fancy as the options a player gets, they can be useful to give parties appropriate foes in settings where a fancy counterpart wouldn't fit, like using leveled up guards and scouts to fight a party instead of using reskinned Knights and Archers. Alternatively, the DMG also has a section for applying class levels to monsters, the example being applying barbarian levels to a werewolf, and how to calculate the CR there.
323** ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'': Strahd's personal brand of skeletons and zombies have a number of advantages over the typical kind, namely a HealingFactor that makes them ''extremely'' hard to kill.
324* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
325** Due to the template system that easily allows you to add additional features and abilities to a monster, it's fairly easy to make various types of elite mooks by selecting a monster and adding a few. The most common is the Advanced template that increases all ability scores by 4 and adds 2 natural armor to the AC, but there are dozens of different templates to choose from.
326** Class levels are another popular way to advance monsters. Add enough and even a CR 1/4 foe can become an elite mook against level 20 players.
327** Seugathi savants are an elite variant of the common seugathi, with slightly more comprehension of their neothelid masters' plans and some extra psychic powers.
328** Ghasts are a more powerful variant of ghoul whose touch can paralyze even elves, who are normally immune to ghoul paralysis. They are often found leading bands of common ghouls.
329* ''TabletopGame/RPGStuck'': Carapacians, Undead, Alternian, and Grimdark enemies all come with a warning to the DM that they are tougher than the average enemy of the same tier.
330* ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'':
331** The Vengeful Five's decks feature nemeses of some heroes in the role of mooks. Most are much stronger than the minions in the other decks.
332** To a lesser extent with Citizen Dawn's Citizens of the Sun. Each is unique and they tend to have higher HP than the nameless, interchangeable mooks in other decks, and the ones who share a naming scheme support one another, making them an extra challenge when they can team up.
333** The Chairman's unique underbosses in his tiered mook system. The underbosses summon their own Thugs out of the trash, have much higher HP and can be brought back with Jailbreak. Also, the only way he flips is by putting underbosses in the trash.
334* ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'' splits all enemies into three categories. Brutes are regular {{Mooks}} and don't have a full character sheet. Villains are equal to the players, but with powerful Arcana unavailable to players. Henchmen are in the middle, and are this trope. They're typically made with fewer Hero Points than what players have and are essentially abbreviated Villains meant to have complex abilities like Swordsman Schools, but are less competent than Villains.
335%%* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has, among other things, Tir Ghosts, Aztechnology's Leopard Guards, Ares Firewatch Teams, and Renraku's Red Samurai.%%Which are examples why?
336* ''TabletopGame/TailsOfEquestria'': The greater ooze is essentially just a stronger, tougher version of the lesser ooze.
337* ''Franchise/{{Warhammer}}'':
338** ''TabletopGame/AssassinorumExecutionForce'': Chaos Space Marines. In addition to being tougher and more powerful than cultists, they also possess two points of Stamina (the same as an Assassin). This means that, barring very specific circumstances, it is impossible for a lone Assassin to finish off a Chaos Space Marine in a single turn.
339** ''TabletopGame/BattlefleetGothic'': Space Marines and their Chaos counterparts, as putting them on a ship gives it a better leadership rating as well as boarding and hit-and-run attack ratings. Among them there are also Terminator marines, which improve hit-and-run attacks even further.
340** ''TabletopGame/HeroQuest'': Fimirs (elite greenskins), mummies (elite undead) and Chaos warriors (just plain elite) are considerably tougher than most monsters, and there are fewer of them. Chaos Warriors are especially elite in the US version, with four dice to attack and defend, and three hitpoints and they look the part with their armor and horned helmets.
341** ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
342*** Elite choices vary between specialized units tailored for a specific purpose and simply better-armed and more expensive versions of the army's [[JackOfAllStats core troops]]. Space Marines have Veterans (who sometimes get the almost invulnerable Terminator Armor), Imperial Guard have their own Veterans, Chaos Space Marines have Chosen, Orks have Nobz, Eldar have Dire Avengers (elite guardians), Dark Eldar have Trueborn (elite raiders), Necrons have Immortals (elite warriors), and so on and so on. All the Chaos Gods have daemons like this.
343*** From a fluff perspective, all Space Marines qualify compared to the Imperial Guardsmen and PDF Forces who do the bulk of the Imperium's fighting. The Eldar Aspect Warriors also perform similar roles for their people.
344** ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000KillTeam'': The Doom Squad[[note]]not to be confused with the DoomTroops trope[[/note]] upgrade for Brute squads in the 4th Edition version represents enemy troops who have been specially trained for close combat, making them more powerful than your average Mook. In-game these powerful troops have superior close combat stats to other Brute squads.
345** ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
346*** Special and Rare choices. Every army has at least one unit that is effectively one unit of normal infantry, just better trained, better equipped, less likely to run, SpikesOfVillainy for the evil races, and with a [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast badass sounding name]]. Compare Chosen to "normal" [[HeavilyArmoredMook Chaos Warriors]], Stormvermin to bog-standard Clanrats, High Elf Coast Guard to the High Elf Spearmen... etc. The more intimidating the name, the faster you have to run away from them.
347*** High Elf Phoenix Guard are special order of warriors who guard the Shrine of Asuryan, each one has been personally blessed by the god and granted knowledge of how and when they're going to die, making them utterly fearless in battle. They also take up a vow of silence to never reveal any of the secret knowledge stored deep within the shrine.
348*** Strength and fighting ability varies among Orcs, and the bigger Orcs tend to gather into units of Big 'Uns to bash more heads together. One unit of Orcs in any given army can become Big 'Uns, receiving a bonus to Weapon Skill and Strength to signify that they are tougher and stronger than the average boyz. Beyond that there are the Black Orcs, the toughest and hardest-hitting line infantry in the Orc roster.
349*** Stormvermin are the fighting elite of any Skaven army. The Skaven leadership may have [[WeHaveReserves little care for the well-being of their underlings]] but even they recognize the need for having at least a handful of professional soldiers they can count on. Thus, Skaven born with black fur are recruited at an early age for the Stormvermin, fed very well, given extensive training, clad in heavy armor and equipped with quality weaponry. All of this creates larger, stronger, more disciplined guards with superior equipment, and who are usually fairly loyal (by Skaven standards).
350[[/folder]]
351
352[[folder:Theme Parks]]
353* When the evil Supreme Leader sees ''Film/CaptainEO'' changing her zombie guards into [[EightiesHair '80s dancers]] with his music, she sends in her Whip Warriors, scary robots with electric whips who are immune to his music and the [[EverythingsBetterWithRainbows rainbows]] he shoots out of his hands.
354[[/folder]]
355
356[[folder:Toys]]
357* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
358** The Bohrok-Kal. The ordinary Bohrok rely heavily on ZergRush to overwhelm their foes. But there are only six Bohrok-Kal, who have unique powers, are intelligent enough to speak, and cunning enough to [[spoiler:steal the icon that is the source of the Toa Nuva's powers in order to render them inert]].
359** The original six Rahkshi were this as well, being powerful enough to fight the Toa Nuva on equal terms and get the better of them at multiple times, while latter Rahkshi could be dispatched by the dozens due to regular Toa. This was {{justified|Trope}} in that Rahkshi and their kraata controllers have different power levels, with the implication being those first six were made and piloted by high-quality kraata while latter were mass-produced weaker versions. Indeed, the comics and movie showed they were in fact piloted by Shadow Kraata, the absolute highest and strongest form.
360[[/folder]]
361
362[[folder:Visual Novels]]
363* ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}'' has the aptly-named PACT Elites. They have more than twice as much health as the regular PACT Mooks, more armor, better flak and better evasion. They also carry improved versions of the Mook’s laser[[note]]it actually does more damage than the lasers of a PACT Cruiser, a ''capital ship''[[/note]] and submachinegun as well as missile launchers and a [[LaserBlade beam saber]] for melee combat with other [[AMechByAnyOtherName Ryders]].
364[[/folder]]
365
366[[folder:Web Animation]]
367* The ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' series features the Agents, starting in the fourth one, where he manages to stall the protagonist... for a few extra seconds. He gets his revenge, however, later in the episode, when he's resurrected as a zombie, and manages to shoot the protagonist. In the fifth through seventh ones, however, they become as common place as regular mooks, until ''another'' elite group takes their place as as Elite Mooks. The three appear in the sixth and are quickly killed, and in the seventh, they're highly commonplace.
368* Likewise, the ''WebAnimation/BunnyKill'' series features two ninja rabbits as Elite Mooks in the first installment (and are actually challenging), bunny 'agents' in the second (the first two are challenging, but then about ten are cut down easily in a display of KatanasAreJustBetter), and the dark-grey (mercenary) and brown (techie) rabbits in the third installment (the techs provided extra challenge, the mercs not so much).
369* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' features members of an elite squad among the Insurrection.
370** In the ninth season, a flamethrower-wielding soldier manages to give a couple of the top Freelancers a tough fight. Lampshaded by Wash when he first appears: "What the fuck is with this guy?" The flamethrower equipped soldier, referred to as Sharkface because of the decorations on his armor, returns in Season 13, having [[NotQuiteDead survived]] his initial encounter with the Freelancers, and [[ItsPersonal seeking revenge for the death of his squad]]. He joins Felix and Locus in the BigBadDuumvirate in the final season of the Chorus Trilogy, but unlike the other two he’s still more of an Elite Mook, as he wears the same armor as the rest of the space pirates, but with red trim.
371** In the Sarcophagus mission, a few jetpack-equipped soldiers prove a challenge. Other elite Insurrectionists appear in seasons nine and ten, and include TheLeader, who uses a pair of collapsible tomahawks that he can use hand to hand, or accurately throw great distances; [[TheBrute the sleeveless soldier]], who physically can match any of the freelancers but [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Maine]]; Demo Man, who holds a grudge against the freelancers for causing him to lose an arm the first time they meet face to face; Girlie, who wields knives and is a rival to Carolina; the sniper; and Chain Guy and Chain Girl, two creepy, mostly silent soldiers that carry [[GatlingGood miniguns]].
372* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': While The Hound is still a Creature of Grimm, it gives the heroes a harder time than any of the Grimm that they had faced up to that point in the beginning of Volume 8 due to it being much more intelligent than other Grimm and is only defeated over halfway through the volume. [[spoiler:Right before it is killed however, the heroes learn that it's increased intelligence and ability to talk were because it had a [[WasOnceAMan Silver-Eyed Faunus]] as it's core.]]
373[[/folder]]
374
375[[folder:Webcomics]]
376* ''Webcomic/ABeginnersGuideToTheEndOfTheUniverse'': The clockwork knight is this to the clockwork halberdiers; the latter are clumsy, weak and easily dispatched, while the knight is a much swifter and more formidable foe.
377* ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'': The seven Disaster Masters who serve directly under the [[BigBad Nightmare Knight]] are each stationed in one of the seven kingdoms of Dreamside, causing havoc for the heroes. Each one is more stronger than the one before, and their powers are corruptions of the theme of the kingdom they're based in, from the first, a giant monstrous [[GiantSquid squid]] [[DumbMuscle Splashmaster]] of the Ripple Kingdom, to the seventh, the [[KnightOfCerebus eldritch and ominous]] [[AIIsACrapShoot Glitchmaster]] of the Space Kingdom.
378* ''Webcomic/DICETheCubeThatChangesEverything'': The Brotherhood, after losing all priests, calls for backup the hooded priests with crossbows. Mooyoung [[TheWorfEffect beats them offscreen]] though.
379* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Sburb, the reality-warping game into which the characters are drawn, populates its Lands with a variety of enemies for players to battle. Imps are the weakest and most common of these, and the characters usually mow through them by the dozens -- until Jade meets an Uranium Imp that has gained RealityWarper powers from Jade's godlike guardian Bequerel being added into the pool of traits that Sburb's enemies can be given. The resulting enemy constantly pulses and flickers with power and easily battles Jade to a standstill, but is quickly defeated when Bequerel steps in himself.
380%%* ''Webcomic/{{Sarilho}}'': We're told as early as chapter one that Nikita, a soldier, is very good at leading a team.%%Not the trope.
381[[/folder]]
382%%
383%%[[folder:Web Videos]]
384%%* Shadows in ''WebVideo/Lonelygirl15''.
385%%* ''WebVideo/TribeTwelve'': The Collective.
386%%[[/folder]]
387
388[[folder:Western Animation]]
389* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
390** The original ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
391*** The [[DishingOutDirt Dai Li]] are the highly-trained SecretPolice of the Earth Kingdom, with their leader being the true power behind the throne. They are the rare recurring villains of the series, and are one of the heroes' most dangerous opponents, possibly second only to [[TheDragon Azula]].
392*** The Fire Nation had the Yu Yan Archers, who combined ImprobableAimingSkills with ninja-like speed and agility, and proved too much for [[TheHero Aang]] to handle. Oddly, they were only used in one episode (where they handle the Avatar) and [[ItOnlyWorksOnce are never seen again]]. One of them shows up as a member of the "Rough Rhinos" that reappears a few times in the series. However, [[SubvertedTrope he was actually booted out]] of the Yu-Yan for failing a critical mission. The General from "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlueSpirit The Blue Spirit]]" implies that the Yu Yan archers are used only for certain tasks.
393*** The Fire Nation also had the Royal Procession, a group of elite Firebenders who accompanied Azula in order to capture Zuko and Iroh. Unfortunately for them, their only chance to prove themselves was against Iroh, who took out all 12-15 of them without breaking a sweat. Furthermore, Azula soon decided that this group allowed no element of surprise, and instead formed a smaller more elite group with Mai and Ty Lee.
394** SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has its fair share of these too:
395*** In Book 1, the [[AntiMagicalFaction Equalists]] appear to consist purely of these, despite the fact that [[BadassNormal none of them are benders]]. A few trainees and hangers-on have gone down easily enough, but the uniformed members are usually able to give even the main characters a good fight. In their first appearance they actually beat the heroes in even odds!
396*** In Book 2, [[spoiler:the Dark Spirits are eventually revealed to be this, working for Vaatu and therefore for Unalaq, who uses them as secondary troops when his waterbending human soldiers are defeated]].
397*** In Book 3, the Dai Li are actually loyal to their monarch this time. It just so happens that she's an evil tyrant.
398*** In Book 4, the metalbenders and mecha suit pilots of Kuvira's Earth Empire are able to hold their own against the heroes even when the numbers on both sides are the same. A flashback shows Kuvira referring to the Zhao Fu metalbenders as "Some of the best fighters in the world," when she urged Suyin to use them to stabilize the Earth Kingdom following [[spoiler:the Earth Queen's death and the disintegration of the Kingdom]]. Years of fighting and battle hardening didn't do anything to lessen their skills, so they form a challenge for anyone who faces them.
399* Regular Neosapien mooks in ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' were gradually reinforced with more powerful [[HalfHumanHybrid Neo Warriors]] and [[SuperSoldier Neo Lords]] in the second season. Not that any of them had a real chance to harm a recurring character...
400* Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' features the "Black Pawns," elite soldiers brought in by Black Knight after she takes over Providence. They wear all-black versions of the standard Providence uniform, and are far more skilled at hand-to-hand combat than regular mooks, even giving [[BadassNormal Six]] a run for his money. Later episodes imply that they're now the field commanders for Providence operations, even getting their own custom vehicles.
401* ''Franchise/GIJoe'':
402** Cobra Commander has his Crimson Guards, who were supposed to be of significantly higher quality than Cobra's basic blue-shirt mooks, but who (at least in [[WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero the '80s cartoon]] version) generally proved as ineffective against G.I. Joe's named character squads as the lesser mooks. At least one or two Crimson Guardsmen got a minor SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome (i.e. the one who fights his way out of a top secret lab in one episode), but would usually screw it up at the last moment with a cringeworthy mistake (the aforementioned Siegie accidentally dropped the chemical he was stealing, creating a giant amoeba that ate him and half the county he was in... Cobra's experiments had a funny way of unexpectedly doing wacky stuff like that.)
403** The [[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel comics]] considered the Siegies too elite for typical combat, as they were more valuable infiltrating society and making money for Cobra through good ol' capitalism. Guardsmen were required to have a degree in either law or accounting (if not both), or be highly skilled in a technical or scientific field, and uniformed Siegies rarely saw conflict beyond [[EnemyCivilWar internal power struggles]].
404** The toyline also had the Crimson Guard Immortals, the elite of the Crimson Guard. Possibly a {{Shoutout}} to the Persian Immortals.
405* The Fourth Mask shadowkhan from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' could be considered Elite, as they nearly had super-strength and were almost impossible to beat without the strength talisman, or similar.
406* [[LouisCypher Lucius]] on ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' has a supply of [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent Minotaur]]-like enforcers, which are powerful enough to subdue even [[EnfantTerrible Heloise]].
407* During one episode of ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' [[BigBad Dr. Drakken]] discovers [[SurroundedByIdiots how worthless his Mooks are]] so he sends [[TheDragon Shego]] to steal strength-enhancing rings that transform the wearer to peak physical condition. However, even with the rings they were still pretty inept and easily defeated by Kim, leaving Shego to do most of the real fighting.
408* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' has the Ultra Bots, from [[Recap/SamuraiJackS2E5JackAndTheUltraRobots the episode of the same name]], who unlike Aku's regular MechaMooks which Jack regularly slices through with ease, are designed to be so tough, Jack is physically incapable of even scratching, even with his magic sword, were programmed with knowledge of all of Jack's combat moves, and each equipped with their own unique weapons and abilities, forcing Jack to find outside help from their creator and later ''DivineIntervention'' to put them down.
409* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', BigBad Tombstone has a cadre of personal bodyguards, all of whom are [[ScaryBlackMan Scary Black Men]] with [[FamilyFriendlyFirearms taser guns]]. The irony is that he doesn't particularly ''need'' them, considering his SuperStrength. Though being a mega-philanthropist in his [[VillainWithGoodPublicity civilian identity]], he probably has to keep up appearances.
410* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'':
411** The show introduced the counterpart for the clones, the Advanced Recon Commandos (ARC) Troopers (Pictured above). They starred in a few episodes, showing that a team of them could do what even Jedi would struggle to accomplish. (They notably force General Grievous to retreat in his first appearance, after he's taken out an entire team of Jedi solo.) ARC troopers would later feature in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', where some of the recurring clone characters underwent ARC training and became commandos.
412** The clone troopers as a whole are this to their later stormtrooper replacements, at least those few that remained in commission. If you happen to see an Imperial agent wearing Phase 2 clone trooper armor post-Battle of Yavin, ''run''.
413* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' introduced the BX-series commando droids, the Elite Mook version of the standard battle droids. They had enhanced armor, nearly General Grievous-level agility, and a number of neat tricks such as magnetized feet to resist Force pushes (at least when there's a metal floor to attach to). They were a decent threat to clones, but still no match for the Jedi (although they were at least able to put up some resistance). In addition to enabling their enhanced agility, the more compact frames and smaller heads that lack the standard B1 battle droid's distinctive "snout" allows BX commando droids to [[MuggedForDisguise wear clone trooper armor]] for infiltration purposes. Though this is hindered by their retaining the tendency to finish conversations with [[VerbalTic "Roger Roger"]]. Also hindered by the fact that they [[FridgeLogic only have three fingers per hand]]. That’s probably why they stop doing this in later seasons.
414* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'':
415** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with the Elite Squad, as despite the name, they’re never really shown doing anything impressive. They’re simply a squad of non-clones to follow Crosshair around now that he’s been promoted to squad leader, as well as a reminder that eventually the Empire will stop using clones altogether. In actual combat, especially against the titular squad, they don’t fare much better than their clone counterparts.
416** Towards the end of the first season, it’s revealed Clone Commandos are training first generation stormtroopers en-masse in a hidden imperial base. These commandos thwarted Gregor’s initial escape attempt and [[VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando one commando in particular]] even managed to knock Tech to his knees and blast Gregor in the chest before tanking a whopping ''[[MadeOfIron five]]'' stun rounds before being incapacitated himself. And he’s back on his feet minutes later to capture Hunter when the latter fails to get aboard the ''Havoc Marauder''.
417* In ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'', the Nightcrawlers are an elite group of assassins that answer directly to [[EvilOverlord Master Cyclonis]] and are considered part of her personal guard. Unlike the normal Talon soldiers, they are [[UndyingLoyalty fanatically loyal]] to her, possess their own personal vehicles, and are extremely skilled in both armed and hand-to-hand combat. The Storm Hawks usually struggle harder to beat them any normal soldier, and in the finale Cyclonis upgrades them with even more tech to stand up to the Sky Knight army that attacks their base.
418* After realizing that his regular mooks just weren't cutting it, ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' Season Three BigBad [[DiabolicalMastermind Brother Blood]] replaced them with completely mechanical copies of Titans member Cyborg. The Titans still managed to take them down, but it took a lot of strategizing and improvising where ordinary mooks would have just been effortlessly blasted through.
419* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'':
420** In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'', the Foot Clan has Elite Foot Ninjas (the guys in the red robes and conical hats). Unlike many Elite Mooks, these guys actually ''were'' demonstrably better than the standard cannon fodder Mooks, able to fight evenly against the turtles and almost killing them in their first appearance. A big contributor to the Foot Elite always posing a threat would be that there's [[ConservationOfNinjutsu only four of them.]]
421** Before them we had the Foot Tech Ninjas, who were augmented to be inhumanly strong and agile, and could turn invisible.
422** "Robots 2.0" and the mutant army from ''WesternAnimation/TurtlesForever''.
423* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'':
424** The [[BigCreepyCrawlies Insecticons]] are massive, vicious, bestial Decepticons vastly superior to the general [[MechaMooks Vehicon troops]]. One on one, they can give even the strongest of the main cast a run for their money. Fortunately for the Autobots, [[ConservationOfNinjutsu they go down much more easily in groups than as individuals]]. And even then, when they're at larger numbers, they're usually in their more vulnerable beetle-like forms (which canonically have lighter armour). Insecticons in this series ''are'' subject to ConservationOfNinjutsu, but not to the same jarring degree as most mook squads. When they're at their most dangerous, they tend to fight in smaller squads and provide relatively tough opposition to the Autobots.
425** The Predacon army that Shockwave was cloning would have likely made the Insecticons look like houseflies by comparison, if the few that eventually surfaced are anything to go by. However, after seeing how fully the first specimen exceeded expectations, Megatron pulled the plug on the project out of fear they'd eventually wind up threatening the Decepticons as well. [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal This information got out at exactly the wrong time.]]
426* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'':
427** The Monarch briefly employed Black Guards, who appear much more menacing than his regular henchmen (but {{subverted|Trope}} as the Black Guards all used to be regular henchmen; even typical non-action villainess Dr. Girlfriend handles several in a fight without issue).
428** Henchman 1, another Monarch follower, appears to be one; he's better-equipped and notably more skilled than the other henchmen. 21 and 24, {{Mauve Shirt}}s and savvy to this trope, immediately agree he's going to get taken down. Ironically, 21 himself would graduate to elite mook status once he TookALevelInBadass [[spoiler:after 24's death and eventually became the Monarch's new Dragon]].
429** Also the "Strangers", the team of soldiers used by the Guild, all appear to be Elite Mooks. Brock even seemed to be wary of them the first time they were shown. They have been seen freezing a room of people solid and then administering memory wipes in the event that [[HeKnowsTooMuch somebody is about to give away a crucial piece of information.]]
430[[/folder]]

Top