| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1551711320027875400 |
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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheDeathOfStalin https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zhukov_jason_isaacs_mod.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:''[[BadassBoast "I fucked Germany. I think I can take a fleshlump in a fucking waistcoat."]]'']] |
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| 7 | %% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion here: |
| 8 | %% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900 |
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| 10 | |
| 11 | ->'''Soldier:''' Where ya goin', General?\ |
| 12 | '''Patton:''' Berlin. I'm going to personally shoot that [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler paper-hangin' sonofabitch!]] |
| 13 | -->-- ''Film/{{Patton}}'' |
| 14 | |
| 15 | The Four-Star Badass is a badass in a military hierarchy who also happens to be a flag officer. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | The ColonelBadass page explains that a Colonel is usually more badass than a General because although a General has the higher rank (and may even be a certifiable badass himself) they're usually relegated to desk duty and administrative tasks. This is also the reason why TheCaptain will always be the star of the show even if they don't have the same clout as a Commodore or Admiral. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | However, some fiction writers don't subscribe to this notion. They believe that [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership in order to have reached a four-star rank you had to have done some]] ''[[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership serious]]'' [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership asskicking once upon a time]]. While some writers feel Badassery is a muscle that [[BadassDecay grows weak]] with disuse, the writers who subscribe to this trope feel it's more like riding a bike; you never forget how to do it. Even after years of sitting behind a desk, filing reports, cashing fat checks, and being saluted by ''everybody''. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | The important characteristic of Four-Star Badass is the BADASS. It's not enough for them to be TheBrigadier or a BenevolentBoss (although they tend to share some of the same characteristics, like never saying "WeHaveReserves" and being [[AFatherToHisMen A Father To Their Men]]). They have to actually ''[[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething do]]'' something to earn the title. This usually involves rolling up their sleeves, ditching the desk ([[ImprovisedWeapon heh]]), and mixing it up. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | This is [[FrontlineGeneral a man who will fight alongside his men while co-ordinating the campaign]], and is not afraid of getting his own hands dirty in general terms. They will often have been non-commissioned officers for quite some time before being made a General, and as a result of that, fieldwork comes naturally and is more instinctive for them than others. As one on one fighters, they will generally also be superb, with an unusually strong, generalised knowledge of tactics. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | This happens in a number of ways: |
| 26 | * '''The Four-Star Badass is the star''' - TheHero of the story also happens to be a General or Admiral, ensuring that they have to get involved in the story's conflicts and adventures. |
| 27 | * '''AwesomeMomentOfCrowning, Business As Usual''' - TheCaptain or ColonelBadass gets promoted. But they're TheHero so they continue to be badass. |
| 28 | * '''The FutureBadass route''' - If its a SpeculativeFiction series, we may get an episode glimpse in which a protagonist, usually TheCaptain, is promoted, probably TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. |
| 29 | * '''Ten Minute Promotion''' - They're promoted for a moment, but events (or themselves) conspire to demote them right back into a position where they're back in the field. |
| 30 | * '''DaChief To The Rescue''' - The CowboyCop or MilitaryMaverick has gotten themselves in a ''real'' jam. DaChief takes it upon themselves to personally get involved in order to rescue their subordinate. They might say something like ''"Sure X is a loose cannon, but dammit, they're MY loose cannon and I'm gonna get them."'' |
| 31 | * '''[[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs Your Base Is Under Attack, Commander]]''' - Enemy troops assault or infiltrate headquarters in a surprise attack, giving the commander an opportunity to shine on his home turf. May or may not involve a LastStand atop a pile of enemy corpses. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | Many examples of this trope will probably turn out to be [[FrontlineGeneral Frontline Generals]], and sometimes {{Cool Old Guy}}s and [[CoolOldLady Cool Old Ladies]]. Often a contemporary of the OldSoldier. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | While the Four-star thing is in the title, this applies to any character holding any level of [[UsefulNotes/CommonRanks General or Admiral rank, including Commodores]]. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | Contrast GeneralRipper[[note]]Though sometimes this guy may be badass enough to qualify, especially if his obsession came from leading the fight from the front and snapped after seeing the Enemy's atrocities firsthand.[[/note]] and GeneralFailure. May have a ChestOfMedals. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease''' With thousands of years of recorded history, '''there are enough of them to crash the entire wiki'''. Given the fact that being Badass is a requirement, every general in history, [[ModernMajorGeneral excepting]] those in militaries where money or [[BlueBlood family]] connections are considered more important than ability, is an example. [[noreallife]] |
| 40 | ---- |
| 41 | !!Examples: |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 46 | * Reinhard von Lohengramm is the main character of ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' and the Imperial equivalent of a FourStarBadass at the start of the series, becoming a Five-Star Badass very shortly after. Most of the main characters of the series are flag officers as well. |
| 47 | * General Lawrence, [[spoiler: AKA ''Mr. X'']] in ''Anime/ArgentoSoma''. He's more of a ManipulativeBastard, true, but hanging the outcome of his {{plan}} on ''himself'' and dancing through a GambitPileup (engaging in a serious XanatosSpeedChess along the way) basically unscathed takes serious balls. |
| 48 | * The Generals of the Black Order in ''Manga/DGrayMan'', thanks to AsskickingLeadsToLeadership- they're required to have a greater than 100% synchronization rate to get the post. |
| 49 | * ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'''s Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong, who once single-handedly took on the superhuman [[OurHomunculiAreDifferent Sloth]] armed only with a sword. |
| 50 | ** Plus [[PuttingOnTheReich Führer]] King Bradley. |
| 51 | ** [[TheBrigadier Brigadier General]] Roy Mustang. By the end of the [[Manga/FullMetalAlchemist manga]], he becomes a full-on general. |
| 52 | %%* Nakago in ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' |
| 53 | * Admiral Dozle Zabi of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', a seven-foot tall GeniusBruiser whose LastStand in the Big Zam killed thousands of Federation troops and bought his men time to escape. |
| 54 | * By the time ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny'' rolls around, both Kira Yamato and Cagalli Yula Atha count as this. The former is an Orb Admiral, while Cagalli is Commander-in-Chief of Orb's forces, though Kira rarely ever uses his position of authority instead having Murrue (A Captain) lead the Archangel. |
| 55 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 56 | ** The Third Hokage is an old war veteran who generally comes off as a grandfatherly figure, but in the Chunin Exam Arc, he shows how he earned his title "The God of Shinobi" by fighting against both of his [[OurZombiesAreDifferent resurrected predecessors]] plus the most talented of his three legendary students, all at the same time, [[spoiler:successfully defeating them at the cost of his own life.]] |
| 57 | ** ''Every'' Kage of one of the five major ninja villages is expected to embody this trope. Candidates need to be one of the strongest ninjas in their village just to be even considered for the position. This requirement seems to hold for minor village leaders and samurai generals as well, if Hanzo and Mifune are any indication. |
| 58 | ** The Fifth Kazekage and the Fourth Raikage take this trope to the next level when they're respectively voted in as the Regimental Commander and Supreme Leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces, giving them operational authority over the ''other Kages''. |
| 59 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': The Admirals get their position for being the toughest bastards on the planet, sometimes being tasked with taking down entire crews of pirates...if the Pirates are strong enough to warrant such a beatdown. |
| 60 | * Field Marshal Tenpou and General Kenren from ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}} Gaiden''. |
| 61 | * ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'': Breetai is an imperious commander Zentradi fleet, and proves formidable in hand-to-hand combat against humans piloting Valkyries. |
| 62 | [[/folder]] |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 65 | * General ComicBook/NickFury of S.H.I.E.L.D. His appearance in the Ultimate universe is inspired by [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Samuel L. Mutha*** Jackson]].[[note]]Mainstream Fury is still ColonelBadass.[[/note]] |
| 66 | * ''Archangel Michael'' in ''ComicBook/BattlePope''. |
| 67 | * ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': [[ComicBook/RedHulk General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross]]. |
| 68 | * During his service in World War II, Steve Rogers, aka "ComicBook/CaptainAmerica" was in fact a captain. But when he formally retired from the Army after he returned to the modern world, he was promoted to Brigadier General. |
| 69 | * General Louise Cale is presented as an effective if ruthless military administrator through most of ''ComicBook/{{Revival}}''. She takes to the battlefield in the finale and goes toe-to-toe with a ninja assassin. |
| 70 | * ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Ever since her introduction in ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' Philippus has acted as the stoic incredibly capable captain of the Amazon guard, which is the equivalent to the military in a society that has largly sworn off ever killing again and has certainly sworn off anything resembling war save for in defence of their home. She shows a more soft side when in private with her queen and love Hippolyta and their children but is very no nonsense with her guardswomen and is always ready to defend herself. The Amazons do not use the title "General", but Philippus fills this role and is sometimes called a general by outsiders. |
| 71 | ** In ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfWonderWoman2016'' an entire contingent of traitor Amazons are easily defeated by Philippus on her own, with it taking two priestesses channeling the power of Hades and Ares to take her down which still doesn't kill her and nearly didn't work. |
| 72 | * ''ComicBook/OzCaliber'': General Jinjur (originally from ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'') is one of the most dangerous combatants in [[LaResistance the Freedom Fighters of Oz]]. |
| 73 | [[/folder]] |
| 74 | |
| 75 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 76 | * ''FanFic/ABriefHistoryOfEquestria'' has several examples: Hurricane, [[GeniusBruiser Wind Whistler]], [[GeneralRipper Sullamander]], and [[HeroicBastard Lady Cripps the Pink]]. |
| 77 | * General Hugo Pelwicz from ''FanFic/FriendshipIsOptimalAlwaysSayNo'' is an undisputed Badass, surviving constant assassination attempts by men much younger than him, having amazing strength for a man of his age, and barely being fazed when [[AnArmAndALeg his hand is blown off]] by a sniper. |
| 78 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': |
| 79 | ** For the villains, Baron Zemo is HYDRA's chief military commander. He's also a SuperSoldier of some kind who took out an entire US Army patrol in Grenada with a ''sword'', killed T'Chaka, a Black Pather with physical stats equal to his own without taking more than a few scratches and when T'Challa immediately tries to avenge his father, Zemo effortlessly disables him, and in their rematch, holds him at bay while dispensing a few {{Combat Compliment}}s - it takes {{ComicBook/Wolverine}} ''stabbing him in the back'' to make him perform a tactical retreat. |
| 80 | ** Nick Fury and Peter Wisdom a.k.a. [[spoiler: Regulus Black]] both take the FrontlineGeneral approach. Fury goes toe to toe with Baron von Strucker and is mentioned to have previously killed the Red Guardian, a SuperSoldier. Wisdom, like his mentor, fights on the frontlines, such as at the Battle of the M4, and is one of the few people known to have gone toe to toe with [[TheDreaded the Winter Soldier]] and survived. |
| 81 | ** Alison Carter, former Deputy Director of SHIELD and a mentor of Nick Fury, casually describes [[ComicBook/BlackWidow Natasha]] as a "sparring partner" in "the bad old days", led a rescue mission during the Gulf War to extract her son, a certain Jack O'Neill, at the age of 45 and even into her sixties is more than capable of going up against major supernatural monsters. [[spoiler: Being a SuperSoldier by heredity helps.]] |
| 82 | *** O'Neill, by now a Brigardier, also qualifies, as he gets to demonstrate in the sequel. |
| 83 | * ''Fanfic/TheImmortalGame'': |
| 84 | ** Rarity's father, [[TheDragon General Esteem]]. A monster, yes, but undeniably a badass one. He is TheDreaded to the [[LaResistance Loyalists]], and in the end it takes [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle becoming a {{Physical God}}dess]] in order to take him down. |
| 85 | ** Initially subverted but ultimately played straight with Twilight. While Luna appoints her "General of the Armies of Equestria" about halfway through the story, she's still so traumatized by her time as [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nihilus]] that she's become an ActualPacifist, leaving all the fighting to the rest of the Mane Cast and Luna. However, after her [[HesBack She's Back]] moment, the badass part definitely comes into play as she [[spoiler: as mentioned above, becomes a {{Physical God}}dess]] and starts kicking ass all over the place. Oh, and she starts her badass streak by demanding (not asking, ''demanding'') that Luna grant her the title of "Master General". |
| 86 | * ''Fanfic/NightOfTheShy'': [[TheBrigadier General Spur]], head of the Royal Guard (in Canterlot, at least) and Twilight's personal combat instructor. When [[BigBad Nightmare's]] armies [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs attack Canterlot]], he personally leads the defense, and when the city falls he is the last to retreat. This unfortunately causes him to be captured and he ends up [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] for information... during which he continues to mock Nightmare to her face. And after he's rescued and hospitalized, Twilight has to ''order'' him to stay in bed and heal. |
| 87 | * In ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', The Good Hunter is a OneManArmy who gets to lead his MenOfSherwood as a result of AsskickingLeadsToLeadership, from minor skirmishes to major battles. Despite his [[IntroversionTropes introversion]], he demonstrates a [[AmbiguouslyTrained remarkable talent as a military commander]], able to cooperate with the sergeants and the troops to achieve strategic victory. |
| 88 | * The ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' has another villainous example in [[GeneralRipper General-Admiral Makarov]], the BigBad of Shining Armor's side story and one of the [[RankScalesWithAsskicking strongest fighters]] in the series. [[spoiler: Though he kind of cheats by being an [[HumanoidAbomination Equineoid Abomination]]]]. |
| 89 | * ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has Lance and Clair's grandfather Javelin Wataru, a military officer who is explicitly a Four-Star General. He was the former Blackthorn Gym Leader, [[FrontlineGeneral and even fought alongside his men]] to bring down the infamous criminal Twenty Gyarados Bill. |
| 90 | [[/folder]] |
| 91 | |
| 92 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 93 | * General Rogard from ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''. He displays his badassness while being chased by [[spoiler:a berserk, gun covered giant]]. While [[DirtyCoward Mansley]] panics, Rogard turns around and shoots at it with a pistol. He remained completely in control throughout the battle and never even looked afraid, unlike many of his subordinates. |
| 94 | ** Another memorable scene: [[spoiler: the giant]] is blowing up tanks only a few yards away from him. Rather than panic or run away, his response is to snatch a nearby radio from a soldier and angrily deliver this line: |
| 95 | -->'''General Rogard:''' All battleships fire at the robot! ''[Ground shakes as tanks explode nearby]'' Now! ''[[PrecisionFStrike Now, damn it, now!]]'' |
| 96 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSteamEnginesOfOz'': When the lions and the munchkins take on Oz's army, the Tin Man's general Sir Blackburn charges Magnus, the leader of the lions, wielding an [[ShockStick elctro-sword]] in [[DualWielding each hand]]. |
| 97 | [[/folder]] |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 100 | * In ''Film/AnAmericanCarol'' we are treated to a scene where General George S. Patton is gunning down zombie ACLU lawyers with a non-automatic rifle. Despite being played for humor, it's pretty badass. |
| 101 | * In ''Film/BehindEnemyLines'', Rear Admiral Leslie Riegart disobeys orders to abandon one of his stranded pilots and personally leads a force of Marines and Navy attack helicopters to rescue him, destroying a small Serbian army in the process. As he's played by Gene Hackman, Badassness must be expected. |
| 102 | * General George S. Patton in ''Film/BrassTarget''. When the conspirators learn that Patton is investigating their conspiracy, it panics them so much they hire an assassin to kill him. |
| 103 | * ''Film/ABridgeTooFar'' depicts both General James Gavin and General Roy Urquhart shooting German soldiers; in the latter case this is historical. Also, as depicted in the film, both Gavin and General Maxwell Taylor parachuted into battle, this being the normal practice for U.S. airborne division commanders; paratroopers and the World War II glider forces were badass to begin with. |
| 104 | * General Oreius, the centaur commander of Aslan's forces in the first ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' movie ''The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'' is particularly badass, as can be seen in the final battle. |
| 105 | * ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin'': It's only Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov who led the Red Army to victory against the Nazis and won't let anyone forget it. His high position makes him virtually untouchable, a blessing for Khrushchev once it's clear Zhukov is on his side in his power struggle with Beria. |
| 106 | -->'''Marshal Zhukov:''' I fucked Germany. I think I can take a flesh lump in a waistcoat. |
| 107 | ** Zhukov, AK-47 in hand, leads a group of Red Army officers in arresting Beria in the middle of a Communist Party Central Committee meeting and personally subdues him [[TalkToTheFist with two big punches]] that leave the NKVD head bloodied and stunned. To get a better idea of what Zhukov with an AK-47 looks like, scroll back up. |
| 108 | * Brigadier General John Buford in ''Film/{{Gettysburg}}'', whose single division of dismounted cavalry held off Henry Heth's forces on the first day of battle until the main Union force could arrive, and whose tactical foresight in battleground selection was a vital factor in the Union's victory. |
| 109 | -->'''John Buford:''' Got one brigade in position and that's all. We got the best damn ground around and they're hitting me with one brigade... lovely. Lovely! |
| 110 | %%* General Hawk in ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra''. |
| 111 | * General Maximus in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'', a FrontlineGeneral who later not only survives an AssassinationAttempt and time as a gladiator intended to die in the arena, but manages to organize a conspiracy to overthrow Commodus [[spoiler: and ultimately kills him in personal combat]]. But then, he is Creator/RussellCrowe. |
| 112 | * Admiral Greer in ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'', played by Creator/JamesEarlJones. Although Ryan, Cmdr. Mancuso, and Capt. Ramius do the heavy lifting, his willingness to gamble and let Ryan do his job ([[spoiler:and personally intervening during a tense standoff during the climax]]) resulted in a nuclear war being averted. |
| 113 | * General Grey, played by Robert Loggia - ''Film/IndependenceDay''. He's the only person in the government who manages to keep a cool head throughout the crisis, besides President Whitmore, who himself is a badass from the UsefulNotes/GulfWar. It's really no surprise that in the movie's second act--by which point the Vice President has been killed off-screen by the alien invaders--General Grey becomes the President's de facto second-in-command and closest adviser. It's likely that in the movie's universe, General Grey emerges from the crisis with a Patton or [[UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower Eisenhower]]-like level of respect, and [[WildMassGuessing it's likely that he's either going to be Whitmore's new VP or Secretary of Defense...and the most likely candidate to be Whitmore's immediate successor once his term of office is up]]. |
| 114 | ** ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'' Reveals that he ''was'' in fact Whitmore's successor as President; and both of them are LegendaryInTheSequel. |
| 115 | * ''Film/IpMan'' has the Japanese General Miura, who is an honourable, honest-to-goodness ass-kicking pugilist. He is contrasted with the SmugSnake Colonel Sato who can't make the cut for ColonelBadass. |
| 116 | * The original M, played by Bernard Lee in the ''Film/JamesBond'' films, holds the rank of rear admiral in the Royal Navy as well as being the head of [=MI6=]. |
| 117 | * ''Film/LegendOfTheFist'': The Japanese general is the leader of the occupying forces in China as well as the most powerful martial artist in their military. |
| 118 | * General [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast W.R Monger]] in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens''. |
| 119 | * Marshall Pentecost in ''Film/PacificRim'' is a former Jaeger pilot and ''very'' badass. [[spoiler:He doesn't flinch at the prospect of suffering fatal radiation poisoning, or even of setting off a nuke strapped to the back of his mecha]]. |
| 120 | * General George ''Film/{{Patton}}'' who is a TropeCodifier if there ever was one. Apparently, he felt he was so badass he could shoot down warplanes ''with a pistol''. But then again he did lead an American army first into Italy and then in France so maybe he ''was'' pretty badass after all. |
| 121 | * Commodore Norrington, especially in the [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl first]] ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' movie. Complete with badass sword skills. |
| 122 | * Kurogane, in ''Film/{{Ran}}'', Akira Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear''. Kurogane is the general serving Jiro, second son the old warlord Hidetora. He [[spoiler: assassinates the eldest brother Taro during the battle with Hidetora's forces. He refuses Jiro's order to kill his wife Lady Sue after he's been seduced by Taro's widow, the vengeful Lady Kaede who's been orchestrating the destruction of Hidetora's clan. At the end. when all her schemes have come to fruition and she has Lady Sue killed, Kurogane beheads in her in spectacular fashion]]. See OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank. |
| 123 | * Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel, Marines Force Recon from ''Film/TheRock''. |
| 124 | * Rear Admiral James T. Kirk in the first four ''Franchise/StarTrek'' movies, and his TOS crew know it. When a new ensign protests Kirk's last minute command orders in ''The Motion Picture'', Uhura coolly and effectively shuts him down with one sentence: |
| 125 | -->'''Lt. Cmdr. Uhura:''' Ensign. The possibilities of our returning from this mission in one piece may have just doubled. |
| 126 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'' has a bunch: |
| 127 | ** The best known film examples are two Generals who were heroes at the Battle of Endor. You know them popularly as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. Han [[Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia resigned later]]; Lando left the service but retained the rank, because as everyone knows, "General Calrissian" just sounds awesome. |
| 128 | ** Also from the battle of Endor, Admiral Ackbar. |
| 129 | ** General Maximilian Veers in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', who personally leads the Imperial Forces in their successful attack on the Rebel base at Hoth. And not merely in the sense that he hangs around in orbit looking at holographic displays; he actually dons an officer's combat uniform and rides an AT-AT into battle. This is an unusual ethos in a military full of [[MilesGloriosus Miles Gloriosi]]. |
| 130 | ** In the Clone Wars, Jedi Knights, while not soldiers by trade are all commissioned as Generals. Masters are High Jedi Generals or Senior Jedi Generals depending on the size of their Command. Padawans were all made Jedi Commanders, outranking the Clone Commanders. |
| 131 | ** He's a villain, yes. But there's no doubt that General Grievous was also a badass. Consider, when the man's cloak holds at ''least'' a dozen lightsabers; his souvenirs from ''slain Jedi''. Think about that.... |
| 132 | ** Poe Dameron from the Sequel Trilogy eventually becomes a General. He personally destroyed Starkiller Base before, while as a General he led the charge against multiple planet-busters. |
| 133 | * ''Film/StreetFighter'': General M. Bison not only commands a BadassArmy, he gets up in front to kick ass directly. In LargeHam fashion, of course. |
| 134 | * William Stryker. First a Colonel in ''Film/X2XMenUnited'', then a Major in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'' and ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 138 | * Patrick [=McLanahan=] from the books of Creator/DaleBrown. Various other characters get promoted to stars without much loss in badassery too. To be honest, though, while he is still a good bomber crew member and [[PoweredArmor Tin Man]] user if needs must, he now spends more time as MissionControl and fighting off politicians or other generals so that the lower ranks can do their job. |
| 139 | ** In the earlier books in the series, Patrick's mentor, Lieutenant General Brad Elliott, is no slouch himself, sometimes personally taking his experimental planes into combat. His deputy, Brigadier General John Ormack, is seen in the cockpit even more frequently, and even took part in a commando raid at one point. |
| 140 | * General Doubleday in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. Though, as Jake notes, his rank isn't very intimidating to any of the Animorphs; "After you've stared down the likes of Ellimist and Crayak, you don't quiver just because some guy has stars on his shoulder." |
| 141 | * While of course also a real life one, Belisarius goes over the top in the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries''. As does his wife, Antonina and Rao but the Four-Star Badass amongst 6 novels worth of Four-Star Badasses is Rana Sanga: a general so good he worries Belisarius on the battlefield (and comes the closest to killing him, even with Aide boosting Belisarius's reflexes and senses to superhuman levels), a swordsman so good that Valentinian swears he'll surrender immediately before ever facing him again in sword fight following a three hour battle, and the man that went a full day in a fight with Rao (regarded as the greatest assassin in India), ending only when the two men were too exhausted to move. And then continued by debating philosophy until everyone else declared a draw. |
| 142 | * ''Literature/BlackFleetCrisis'': |
| 143 | ** Etahn A'baht, the newly appointed leader of the Fifth Fleet. Even Admiral Ackbar admits A'baht is a better strategist at conventional warfare than he is, as most Rebel commanders were used to guerrilla tactics, but A'baht was used to ''fighting''. |
| 144 | ** A'baht's backstory involves him being in charge of around 80 ships defending his home system's independence against the Imperial Navy. [[DavidVersusGoliath He managed to hold the Empire at bay without assistance while being heavily outgunned and outnumbered.]] |
| 145 | ** Then there's a small scene where A'baht, waiting for court martial, whiles away time by doing extremely difficult calisthenics in his quarters. |
| 146 | * In the ''Literature/BlackTideRising'' series, one of the survivors retrieved from the Caribbean is retired military, but when it all drops into the crapper on the London mission at the climactic battle of ''Islands of Rage and Hope'' he reveals himself as a Special Forces Lt. General who was operating incognito for the sake of not winding up outranking Captain Smith, whose command of Wolf Squadron is more based on personal loyalties than formal chains of command. [[spoiler:His actions when being swarmed by zombies ensure that every last Marine on the mission return safely and bring back enough material to make vaccines for all of the submarine crews]]. |
| 147 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s Sam Vimes, Commander of the City Watch and one of the wealthiest if not ''the'' wealthiest man in the city (by marriage) by the end of ''Literature/MenAtArms'', His Grace, the Duke of Ankh by the end of ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', and still giving the criminal element a [[GroinAttack good kick in the nadgers]] when he isn't fighting off quasi-demonic forces, foiling dastardly political conspiracies, or reading to his son, Sam Vimes Jr. |
| 148 | * ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'''s Sethra Lavode is probably the best example. She's not just a general, she's one of the greatest military minds in history, and she's not just a Badass, she's a [[TimeAbyss 450,000-year-old]] vampire sorceress powerful enough to order gods around. [[CaptainObvious Do not mess with Sethra]]. |
| 149 | * In the ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' novels the elven princess Laurana is originally appointed a general for political reasons and isn't expected to be anything more than a pretty little figurehead. Instead she proves to be a brilliant tactician and fearless warrior and becomes known as the [[RedBaron Golden General]]. |
| 150 | * Morgan and Luccio in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Morgan may be a complete [[JerkAss dick]] but he there is no denying he is a badass. And Warden Commander [[CoolOldLady Luccio]] taught him all he knows. Even resident badass wizard Harry Dresden is slightly scared of them. |
| 151 | ** Technically now that he is a [[spoiler: regional Warden commander]] and [[spoiler: Winter Knight]] Harry is one as well. |
| 152 | ** (General) Toot-Toot is quite the Five Star Badass; first, he is the leader of the Za-Lord's Guard. Secondly in a true Crowning Moment of Awesome he survived fighting an Eldrich Abomination so nasty and powerful that it took a Member of the Senior Council to scare off. He did this after said Eldrich Abomination had wiped the floor with Harry for the second time. Toot-Toot is a six inch tall Dew Drop Fairy, and was armed with a box cutter and armour made out of garbage scraps and Harry is one of greatest combat focused wizards on the entire White Council of Wizards. Let that sink in for a moment: a fairy with no real magical (or physical for that matter) power came to the rescue of one the greatest wizards in direct combat, who was at the time having was being beaten with in an inch of his life. Toot-Toot was swatted away but only after being a Mosquito from hell for several minutes. He most likely is the physically least threatening person on this page but he is Badass through and through. |
| 153 | * Raj Whitehall, the titular General from ''Literature/TheGeneralSeries'', does his own scouting when he can get away with it and is deadly with a sword, an excellent rifleman, and a fair pistoleer. When Center is helping him, his skills at all of the above reach absurd levels. |
| 154 | * Most of the leaders in ''Literature/GrentsFall'', but especially King Osbert Grent and [[spoiler:the Bladecleaver]]. |
| 155 | * In Creator/DavidDrake's ''Literature/HammersSlammers'' series, the sixth book ''The Sharp End'' has a minor character: "Hellfire Hank Tedeschi had no manners and no patience. He successfully completed campaigns in minimal time and with minimal casualties among his own troops, because there was absolutely nothing else in the universe that mattered to him. He would cashier an officer in a heartbeat, and he was rumored to have knocked down underlings who didn't jump fast enough to suit him. Tedeschi believed in leading from the front. He'd killed people with his pistol, his knife, and his bare hands." |
| 156 | * Admiral ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' and a fair number of Admirals in the Honorverse. |
| 157 | ** Harrington starts the series as a space-naval Commander and, much like her inspiration Horatio Hornblower, [[spoiler:gets promoted through the ranks until she is the supreme field commander of her nation's space navy, as well as one of its dozen or so most powerful citizens]]. Throughout her military career, she commands her battles from the lead ship. She also has a black belt in a fictional martial art that was proven effective when she killed a group of assassins with her bare hands, and skilled shooter who personally killed 2 people responsible for [[spoiler:her boyfriend's death]] in a duel. |
| 158 | ** Other examples that are major or supporting characters include Admirals White Haven, Courvosier, Cortez, D'Orville, Kuzak, Hemphill, and Truman, all high ranking by the late installments (some from the start) for Manticore, as well as (sometimes Citizen-) Admirals Giscard, Parnell, Theisman, and, especially, Tourville (who purposely cultivates this image, in addition to actually being badass) for Haven. |
| 159 | * ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' spends the last three volumes of his series as one of these: |
| 160 | ** In ''Commodore Hornblower'', he leads a British squadron into the Baltic, where he destroys a French privateer, [[spoiler:personally saves the Czar of All the Russias from an assassin, and saves the Russian city of Riga by leading a critical counterattack against a besieging French army]]. |
| 161 | ** In ''Lord Hornblower'', he recaptures a mutinous British brig (a small ship of war) and personally executes the leader of the mutineers, then plays a minor role in the final collapse of the French Empire. |
| 162 | ** In ''Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies'', Hornblower organizes the capture of a Spanish slave-runner ship, commands several small fights against petty pirates, and [spoiler:knowingly sacrifices his honor to foil an attempt to rescue Napoleon from his prison on St. Helena, and again renew the French Empire]]. |
| 163 | * Sir Thursday from ''Literature/TheKeysToTheKingdom'' was insanely badass, as well as having a fiery temper. His own soldiers were terrified of him. |
| 164 | * ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Lydia is the general of Baalaria's army and she makes a point of always leading from the front. |
| 165 | * General Serpilin from Konstantin Simonov's WWII epic ''The Living and the Dead'', especially in the first book, when his troops escape being surrounded by Nazis. |
| 166 | * Dujek Onearm, Whiskeyjack and Dasseem Ultor from the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' all qualify in spades. |
| 167 | * Colonel-General Pavel Alekseyev[[note]]Colonel-General being equivalent to three-star general in NATO[[/note]] of ''Literature/RedStormRising'', the main Soviet viewpoint character, qualifies. A good tactician and strategist, he survives artillery barrages, being shot down, and a NATO fuel-air bombing, while at one point taking a temporary "demotion" to divisional commander in order to ensure that a crucial attack would succeed (much to his boss's displeasure, since he esteemed Alekseyev too highly for him to run around on the field). As a result of {{Field Promotion}}s and attrition, he climbs the ladder from Deputy CINC-Southwest, a sideshow to the actual fighting, to CINC-West, the entirety of the European Front. [[spoiler:He ends the war as Deputy Minister of Defense, having personally carried out a Kremlin coup and negotiated ceasefire talks with his NATO counterpart]]. |
| 168 | * Drauglir, the Calvarian general in command of the Arcasian campaign in ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'' certainly qualifies. He doesn't always get his hands dirty, but when he does . . . |
| 169 | * Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu of the Romulan Imperial Fleet in the ''Literature/{{Rihannsu}}'' series holds the rank of ''khre'riov'' ("commander-general"), which is the equivalent of a commodore. During a joint operation with Jim Kirk their BoardingParty gets into hand-to-hand with the defenders and she very much holds her own. |
| 170 | * Generals in ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' typically lead from the front, [[JustifiedTrope as troops were mainly peasant conscripts with little training and less morale]]. So Four-Star Badasses abound. |
| 171 | ** Lu Bu is known as the mightiest warrior of his day but not very bright when it came to actually leading an army. |
| 172 | ** Xiahou Dun [[spoiler: [[EyeScream ripped out his own eye and ate it]] after getting shot in the eye with an arrow. He felt it would be wrong to abandon his eye, since it came from his parents. And then killed the guy who shot him]]. He was forced to withdraw after that, though. |
| 173 | ** Guan Yu, who would eventually become a god of war and loyalty. |
| 174 | ** Zhao Yun. His resume includes fighting through Cao Cao's entire army (using one of Cao Cao's own swords for much of the fight after killing the weapon bearer) to rescue his lord's child. |
| 175 | * A fair few in the ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'' series. Major-General David Baird in the early ones, based on the real life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_David_Baird,_1st_Baronet British general of the same name]]. The man personally leads the assault on Seringapatam with a ''[[CoolSword claymore]]''. By the end he is so covered in enemy blood his men don't recognize him. |
| 176 | ** Sharpe sometimes steps into this role, usually when he either manipulates ineffective superiors into taking the action he wants or when he simply decides the superior in question isn't up to the job and "promotes" himself. |
| 177 | ** General Harris didn't let losing ''part of his skull'' at Bunker Hill stop him crushing the Tipoo Sultan. |
| 178 | ** The Tipoo Sultan himself qualifies. |
| 179 | ** General Jean-Baptiste Calvet of the Imperial Guard is badass personified. Here are some of his better quotes: |
| 180 | --->'''Calvet:''' In Russia, I ate my own corporal. |
| 181 | --->'''Calvet:''' Human flesh tastes like skate. Did you know that, Ducos? [[HoYay Roast buttock of corporal]], nicely peppered. Next time you eat skate, remember that. |
| 182 | *** His other achievements include getting his corps out of Russia intact (a feat in itself, though he just told us how), and [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impaling two Cossacks]]. ''At the same time''. |
| 183 | * Admiral Rybakov in ''Literature/TheSixthBattle'' subverts this: [[spoiler: He decides to lead his remaining carrier airwing into its last battle. However, he's shot down and can't even take out an AAA gun when he crashes]]. |
| 184 | * In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' all the major houses have at least one of these. Jon Snow and Dany Targaryen are also both shaping up to become this as well. |
| 185 | * While the command structure in ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' can be defined as RankScalesWithAsskicking, the Sky Marshal takes the cake. In order to get that promotion, one needs to go through the command structures of both the Navy and the Mobile Infantry, starting from the bottom. Also note that Generals lead from the front. In the book, General Diennes, who planned the disastrous Battle of Klendathu, died there leading a diversionary attack to allow evacuation of the rest of the army. In the movie, he just resigned, being a REMF (Rear Echelon Mother Fucker). Also, neither the MI or the Navy have "commissioned officers", a requirement for the officer academy is going through basic training and surviving multiple combat missions. |
| 186 | * Dalinar from ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' starts reminding people exactly who he is near the end of ''The Way of Kings''. Right after [[spoiler: laying a beatdown on his nephew who just happens to be king. And this is ''after'' giving up his [[CoolSword Magical Sword]] to fulfill an oath to a slave]]. |
| 187 | * Richard Hannay in ''Literature/MrStandfast'' is promoted quickly to Major-General once his determined badassery becomes apparent. Promotion dulls neither his skills nor his insane perseverance. |
| 188 | * The Literature/TortallUniverse's Lord Sir Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, Commander of the King's Own, most prominently in ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall''. Notorious for finding excuses to stay in the field, even when ordered otherwise by the king. Nicknamed 'Giantkiller' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin for a reason]]. A desk knight, he ain't. |
| 189 | * ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': |
| 190 | ** Admiral Miles Naismith of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, especially since he's really only a lieutenant in his "real" military identity. |
| 191 | ** Apparently, this runs in the family; his father is the bad-ass Admiral Aral Vorkosigan (the [[{{Cincinnatus}} Lord Regent]] turned Prime Minister of Barrayar), whilst his grandfather was the great anti-Cetagandan military leader General Piotr Vorkosigan. |
| 192 | * General Antonio Vega of Creator/LarryBond's ''Literature/{{Vortex}}'' is the commander of the Cuban Expeditionary Force in Angola. A brilliant commander who leads from the front, he defeats the South Africans and outmanouveres the Americans using second-line and older equipment, and nearly beats the USA to Pretoria. He [[KnowWhenToFoldEm Knows When To Fold 'Em]], cares about his men's lives, braves [[NukeEm nuclear attacks]] when the South Africans truly lose their minds, and is one of the most memorable characters in the book. Being a DeadpanSnarker who'll stand up to Castro himself doesn't hurt either. |
| 193 | * Mat Cauthon from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''. He becomes a general by ending up in charge of a small group of soldiers, despite being a civilian, and using them to slaughter thousands of the best warriors in the world, and killing the head of the opposing army in single combat ''while trying only to run away so that his band of inexperienced soldiers doesn't get decimated''. His solders know it too. In a later book: |
| 194 | --->'''Reimon:''' If I know Mat, he's planning us a battle. The Band of the Red Hand rides to battle again. It's been too long, if you ask me.\ |
| 195 | '''Tuon:''' A battle won't get you out of Altara.\ |
| 196 | '''Talmanes:''' In that case, he's planning us a war.\ |
| 197 | The other three nodded in agreement as if that were the most normal thing in the world.\ |
| 198 | --''Knife of Dreams'' |
| 199 | ** In general, the Great Captains are this trope when they get to show their stuff, especially Gareth Bryne and Rodel Ituralde, who are both [[MasterSwordsman blademasters]] as well. Ituralde is practically TheGhost for most of the series while the other great generals have appeared, until ''The Gathering Storm'' where he holds his own with a ragtag, unsupplied army against the Seanchan, who have greater numbers, [[GiantFlyer air forces]], and ''[[FunctionalMagic damane]]''. And Bryne raised an army to besiege the greatest city in the world out of raw recruits. Shame [[VelvetRevolution he didn't get to use it]]]. |
| 200 | ** Demandred is an evil version- he's universally regarded as the best general on the side of [[DarkIsEvil the Shadow]], and in the last book he proves himself a terror in person on the battlefield as well. |
| 201 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': |
| 202 | ** The ''Literature/XWingSeries'''s Wedge Antilles [[LimitedAdvancementOpportunities put off promotion]] for as long as he could, preferring to be a commander, but eventually Ackbar talked him around. It did come with deskwork, unfortunately, but he still got to fly. His track record, before and after getting that rank, is nothing short of spectacular. During the Literature/NewJediOrder he tried to [[ObfuscatingStupidity lose a battle]] so that he'd have a poor Vong commander to deal with, only to very much ''[[SpringtimeForHitler not]]'' lose. Then he ended up facing a very good Vong commander, and still managed to very much not lose. |
| 203 | --->'''Tycho:''' We'll put that in your biography. General Antilles was so good he couldn't fail when he tried to. |
| 204 | ** General Luke Skywalker in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor''--the youngest general in his impressively-sized taskforce. The second-youngest is five years older than Han Solo. He's not bothered by the age gap. He's bothered by how the others assume that since he's a Jedi he automatically knows better, and people are afraid to question his plans. |
| 205 | ** In ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was the mysterious alien Grand Admiral who, five years after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', returned from the Unknown Regions to breathe life back into the flagging Empire, and listing off all the things that make him awesome would take a while, but there's a reason why he was one of the (many, many, many) pictures on the MagnificentBastard page. |
| 206 | *** To further emphasize just how awesome Thrawn is, note that the Galactic Empire is a xenophobic society. That an alien was even in the Imperial Navy is remarkable. That he was promoted to the service's highest rank, a rank only a dozen humans held, is unheard of. |
| 207 | ** Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon in ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'': "Supreme Commander" is just about the highest military rank in the Empire. This was Vader's rank, back when the Emperor lived. Pellaeon earned it. A dedicated naval officer and [[CommanderContrarian the best second-in-command anyone could hope for]], Pellaeon started service when he was fifteen and died in service when he was in his nineties, having seen the start of the Clone Wars, the rise and fall of the Empire, the subsequent rise of the New Republic and all that that entailed, the Vong invasion, and the unpleasantness that followed. He was the one who was always there to pick up the pieces when the head Imperial died, which happened worryingly often, and he got his rank by being quietly competent, [[KnowWhenToFoldEm knowing when to retreat]], and [[YouAreInCommandNow outliving everyone else who was in charge]]. Pellaeon picked up on some of the tactical skill of his Grand Admiral, and when the time came he pushed for [[PeaceConference peace]] with the New Republic. |
| 208 | ** The new canon also reveals that Admiral Ar'alani is also pretty good in a fight, often borrowing innovative tactics from Thrawn. Unlike Thrawn, though, she's fairly savvy in matters of politics and is able to bring that knowledge to devastating effect. Also, Thrawn once orchestrates an entire battle and then leaves it to his captain to implement according to his instructions, while spending the battle on the enemy's bridge. |
| 209 | * Mike Stearns from ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' goes from being the Prime Minister of the United States of Europe to being appointed Brigadier General in charge of the Third Division. While at first he is dismissed as a rank amateur, he goes on to [[CurbStompBattle win several battles in such an overwhelming way]] against not only superior forces, but superior commanders who have decades of experience under their belt. It eventually gets to the point that the mere threat of his entering a field of battle will prevent others from attacking. |
| 210 | * ''Literature/TheMachineriesOfEmpire'': |
| 211 | ** Shuos Jedao was an assassin and master spy spy turned general who has ''never'' lost a battle - or a shootout. |
| 212 | ** Kel Inesser has been an acclaimed general since [[OldSoldier before many soldiers' grandparents were born]], is the only general in Hexarchate history to have a capital ship named after her, and is [[LovedByAll so well regarded]] that the ''possibility'' of facing her in battle is a serious morale drain. [[spoiler:Fortunately she's also a ReasonableAuthorityFigure who comes to support LaResistance.]] |
| 213 | * ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' has the incredibly badass General Raj-Singh of the Indian Army. It is he who devises many brilliant anti-zombie tactics emphasising mobility and sharpshooters that are copied by other world powers including the United States. His grand plan to cleanse India of every single zombie by having two lines of men ''the width of the entire continent'' marching north and south, up and down the country, is a resounding success. Sadly he does not survive the war: he performs a HeroicSacrifice to save a group of refugees by detonating a nuclear device by hand. |
| 214 | * ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'': Jane Roland is a veteran DragonRider, ActionMom, and tactical genius who defies institutional sexism in the 19[[superscript:th]]-century British Admiralty to become Admiral of the Aerial Corps, after which she remains an [[FrontLineGeneral active combatant]]. She doubles as HeroOfAnotherStory, winning entire fronts in the Napoleonic Wars offscreen. |
| 215 | * ''Literature/TheLostFleet'': While John "Black Jack" Geary spends most of the main series as a captain, he does so in command of an entire fleet. And he is later given the rank of Fleet Admiral, although he insists on being demoted back to captain after the mission is over. Which doesn't stop Fleet HQ from re-promoting him to regular admiral almost immediately afterwards. So he's a full admiral during the spin-off series. While early on he's more like a NormalFishInATinyPond, later novels do show that he's a capable fleet commander and just hadn't been given the chance to shine before the war came. |
| 216 | * In ''Literature/LineOfDelirium'', Admiral Karl Lemak is a veteran of two large-scale interstellar conflicts (the [[TheGreatOffscreenWar Vague War]] and the Tukai Conflict) and is over a century old. He also doesn't shy away from putting himself in harm's way in order to achieve a mission objective (although it helps that he has [[ResurrectiveImmortality aTan]]). In the second novel, [[spoiler:when his flagship ends up exiting hyperspace at a relativistic speed, he chooses to stay aboard the ship rather than abandon his men to a one-way trip into the future]]. |
| 217 | * ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Upon arriving on the Eigo continent, General Kreegsbrok utterly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] the armies of thee Kraheenian nobility, taking control of the entire country in no time. He is also the ''only'' Padmasan general in the series who [[spoiler:managed to defeat the Argonathi forces in a major engagement (or, depending on the point of view, make their victory very, ''very'' costly and ultimately pointless), namely the battle at Tog Utbek -- though admittedly, it was less due to his strategic skills and more thanks to the [[SuperweaponSurprise superweapon he deployed]]]]. |
| 218 | * ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Clan leaders and their deputies are expected to be this, leading from the front whether they're going into battle or a [[TruceZone Gathering]]. Anything less would be cowardice. |
| 219 | [[/folder]] |
| 220 | |
| 221 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 222 | * ''Series/TwentyFour'': |
| 223 | ** General Benjamin Juma is so badass he decides to lead a raid on the freakin' White House '''himself''' and even slaps the President. It's too bad he's a villain. |
| 224 | ** Turns out President Omar Hassan is a retired General in the Kamistani Revolutionary Guard. It explains a lot of the badassitude we see from him as Day 8 wears on. |
| 225 | * ''Series/TheATeam'': General Stockwell of the 5th season is shown to be a excellent marksman and hand-to-hand combatant as well as fluent in Chinese and always two steps ahead of everyone else. Of course, he ''is'' played by [[Series/TheManFromUncle Robert Vaughn]].... |
| 226 | * ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': |
| 227 | ** Due to the weird system of Colonial rank, Commander Adama is most likely equivalent to a Commodore. And he is certainly a Badass. And he becomes an even bigger badass when the President promotes him to Admiral. |
| 228 | ** Admiral Helena Cain was certainly a [[GeneralRipper Ripper]] but she was undoubtedly badass. |
| 229 | * ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'': Colonel General Vladimir Pikalov, commander of the Soviet Army's Chemical Troops sent to contain the fire at the plant, who [[TheMenFirst personally volunteers himself]] to drive a truck fitted with radiation sensors to get an accurate reading at the site of Reactor 4. The sensor ends up recording over ''15,000 roentgen'', which would have been enough to kill him, had the vehicle not been lined with lead. Pikalov survived the aftermath of Chernobyl, became a Hero of the Soviet Union, and died peacefully in 2003 aged 78. |
| 230 | * ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': Brigadier General Beckman is aiming this way. In the later seasons, she seems to be somewhat succeeding. |
| 231 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[TheBrigadier Brigadier]] Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart of the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (later renamed the Unified Intelligence Taskforce). |
| 232 | ** In his final appearance in the main series, he is face to face with a world destroying demon. This doesn't seem to bother him at all. In the same story, one enemy tells another "Beware this one, he is steeped in blood". |
| 233 | ** The only thing that ever bothered him, and he only expressed mild annoyance at, was how often everything he came up against was ImmuneToBullets. When it turned out that an enemy wasn't, it ended badly for them. |
| 234 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 235 | ** Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark were considered some of the best warriors in Westeros and led the rebelling forces against the Targaryens. |
| 236 | ** Dothraki are always led by the mightiest warrior. Drogo commands the largest khalasar in the Dothraki Sea, is undefeated in battle and a peerless warrior. |
| 237 | ** Before hitting his twenties, Robb Stark wins his battles by leading his own BadassArmy of Northmen from the front. |
| 238 | ** Jaime Lannister was this until his army was ambushed. Even then he killed a dozen Stark men before being captured. |
| 239 | ** The Battle of Blackwater features no less than four: King Stannis who leads the assault from the very front, and is well-known for being a competent soldier and commander, something he again shows at the Battle of the Wall, Tyrion Lannister, who leads the desperate counterattack against him and proves himself to be quite the strategist and a capable commander, Loras Tyrell, and Tywin Lannister who combine their respective armies into a massive cavalry charge to save the city. Tywin has never lost a war, as he proudly remarks to Arya and is a cunning and gifted military strategist. He is also a FrontlineGeneral unlike his book counterpart. |
| 240 | ** Jorah to Daenerys as her commander-in-chief. |
| 241 | * ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Daemon Targaryen's prowess as a warrior and FrontlineGeneral was definitely in display in the war of the Stepstones against the Crabfeeder's forces, and by the end of Season 1 he leads the forces of the Black faction. His unequaled expertise with the use of dragons at war also counts. |
| 242 | * ''Series/{{JAG}}'': |
| 243 | ** Rear Admiral A. J. Chegwidden, an ex-SEAL and Vietnam veteran, fits the trope to a tee, save for the minor fact that he's merely a two star flag officer. Given he's the boss of all the Naval lawyers and 2-stars is the ''maximum'' rank any soldier can hold '''permanently''' in peacetime (higher ranks are usually a fleet command, White House Military Office, Chief of Naval Operations or Navy Chief of Staff), it's neligible (the first half of the series IS in peacetime, and the JAG office is not very big). |
| 244 | ** Even on his spare-time this Badass directly challenges Italian mafiosos. |
| 245 | -->Chegwidden: Signor Amati, many people have tried to kill me one time or another. They're mostly dead. So there's a good chance that your brother-in-law will join them if he does come after me.... Does he have other sons? |
| 246 | -->'''Enrico Amati:''' Uno. |
| 247 | -->'''Chegwidden:''' When he comes... I'll regrettably kill him too.... And after him? |
| 248 | -->'''Amati:''' My sister will expect me to uphold the honor of ''mi famiglia''. |
| 249 | -->'''Chegwidden:''' Then I'll have to kill you. I don't want to have to do that. |
| 250 | -->'''Amati:''' [in Italian] You're either a very *bold* man, or crazy! |
| 251 | -->'''Chegwidden:''' [In Italian] Not crazy. Practical. |
| 252 | ** Well what do you expect? Before he became a lawyer he was a Navy SEAL and earned a Navy Cross (the second-highest decoration in the U.S. Navy, behind the Medal Of Honor) in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. |
| 253 | -->'''Chegwidden:''' My name is Admiral Chegwidden. I am the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy. Before I leave this hangar I will know the why and the how of Lieutenant Douglas Marion's death or Commander Rabb, here, is gonna have your ass...and I'm gonna own your soul. |
| 254 | * ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Galadriel became known over centuries as the Scourge of the Orcs, Commander of the Northern Armies and Warrior of the Wastelands, for her martial abilities. |
| 255 | * ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': [[spoiler: Miles]] and Monroe, as shown in [[Recap/RevolutionS1E3NoQuarter episode 3]]. |
| 256 | * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': He may start out as a [[MajorlyAwesome Major Badass]], but [[MagnificentBastard Major]] [[KneelBeforeZod Zod]], the BigBad of Season 9 [[ForegoneConclusion eventually]] promotes himself to General as he and his BadassArmy proceed to take control of Earth. |
| 257 | * ''Series/StargateSG1'': |
| 258 | ** Jack O'Neill was promoted from ColonelBadass to Four-Star Badass. |
| 259 | ** General Hammond put on fatigues every now and then and was never afraid to leave the desk when a more ''"personal"'' touch was needed. Also, Sam Carter's dad General Jacob Carter became one of the leaders of the Tok'ra resistance. |
| 260 | *** The writers were even kind enough to give Gen. Hammond a Badass SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. One episode found him serving as gunner in a Goa'uld vessel piloted by Teal'c. After a successful strafing run against the bad guys, Hammond yelled out a good-ol' Texas "Yee-haw!" |
| 261 | ** Also worth mentioning, the [[{{Abandonware}} defunct]] ThirdPersonShooter ''Stargate Resistance'' had Samantha Carter get promoted to general and given command of the SGC. |
| 262 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 263 | ** In the final episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Commander Riker becomes Admiral TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, but he's lost some of his badassness. He gets it back, though. |
| 264 | ** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': |
| 265 | *** General Martok of the Imperial Klingon Defense Forces, who survived for at least a year and a half in a Dominion POWCamp while being used as a Jem'Hadar punching bag the whole time, and gave as good as he got. He's also able to give the much younger (and still possessing both eyes) Worf a good fight in "Soldiers of the Empire" (although [[TheWorfEffect Worf gets beat up by everybody]]). |
| 266 | *** Vice Admiral William Ross who leads the Starfleet forces during the Dominion War. He gets props for being both a FrontlineGeneral and BadassBureaucrat, knowing when to lead advances himself and when to delegate command to Captain Sisko while he works behind the scenes to ensure the continued stability of the Federation-Klingon-Romulan alliance. |
| 267 | ** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' showed that Captain Janeway became FAR more badass when she became a Vice Admiral in the future. We later see her as an actual Vice Admiral in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' and ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy''. ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' states she later went on to become a full four star Admiral as well. |
| 268 | ** ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': |
| 269 | *** Jean-Luc Picard now holds the rank of Admiral, and although he is retired from Starfleet now, he is no less badass than he was in his active duty life. |
| 270 | *** Geordi La Forge is now a Commodore and curator for the Federation's Fleet Museum at Athan Prime. |
| 271 | *** Beverly Crusher as well now holds the rank of Admiral, being re-instated after a 20 year absence from Starfleet. |
| 272 | [[/folder]] |
| 273 | |
| 274 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 275 | * In ''Roleplay/TheSydneyScroungers'', Marshall Rachel Zhu of the Sydney Shatterdome makes her first appearance by [[spoiler: calling in a Jaeger]] and dropping on to the main character's CoolShip from a helicopter. She's also a former Jaeger pilot herself, much like Marshall Stacker Pentecost from Film/PacificRim, the game's source material. |
| 276 | [[/folder]] |
| 277 | |
| 278 | [[folder:Mythology & Religion]] |
| 279 | * [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRifles Russian Imperial Navy]] Admiral Fyodor Ushakov evades the [[{{Pun}} full broadside]] of [[Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease the ban on Real Life examples]] by being the [[OddJobGods patron saint]] of the [[UsefulNotes/RussiansWithRustingRockets Russian Navy]]. Yes, seriously. What else to do with a FatherToHisMen who never lost a battle nor a ship, and normally achieved [[CurbStompBattle a casualty ratio of 1 to 100]] at [[WoodenShipsAndIronMen a time]] when there was no meaningful difference in technology to exploit? His secret? He [[LetsSplitUpGang used combat subunits]] instead of [[HollywoodTactics a solid line of battle]], and he [[CombatPragmatist maneuvered]]. |
| 280 | * ArchangelMichael, the commander-in-chief of God's forces in Christian and Jewish mythology. BilingualBonus applies on his name. |
| 281 | [[/folder]] |
| 282 | |
| 283 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 284 | * ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': |
| 285 | ** Most of those with the rank of general (ranging from leftenant general all the way up to Marshal of the Armies) does so by being quite good at warfare, and indeed, most such officers are expected to take the fight to the enemy personally if needed--it's no surprise that an entire niche of HumongousMecha has cropped up called 'command 'Mechs,' generally something huge, well armed, heavily armored, and usually boasting improved command, control, and communication gear. The setting universally holds fighting generals in far higher regard than their non-fighting 'armchair general' counterparts. |
| 286 | ** In [[ProudWarriorRace the Clans]], you are obligated to be a Four Star Badass if you want to make it to the top ranks of the Clan hierarchy, namely Galaxy Commander (equivalent to a general) or Khan (a combination of General of the Armies and Chief Executive). If you haven't fought your way to the top, you are not worthy of the rank you hold in the eyes of the Clans. An officer must be able to hold their position in defiance of all challengers and actively face those challengers in any form of combat deemed necessary--this goes double for the dozen or so elite officers at the top of a Clan's chain of command. |
| 287 | * In the ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' RPG, this is the norm. A few examples; |
| 288 | ** Leviathan is one of the favourites; a Lunar Exalt from the First Age, where he was the Admiral of the West, responsible for most of the Navy of First Age. His spirit form is an Orca, which only grew larger as he grew older - he currently considers most "giants of the deep" food, if not bite-sized food. His weapon is a giant trident, so heavy that you would need three or four mammoths to lift it - the name "Islebreaker" says it all. He is also, thanks to a custom shapeshifting Knack, ''his own military unit''. |
| 289 | ** We also have the Bull of the North, the First And Forsaken Lion, the Mask Of Winters, the Roseblack, Ma-Ha-Suchi... Every Exalt who opts to lead an army automatically qualifies; the Celestial Exalted, in particular Dawn and Zenith caste Solars, were made to be this for armies of Exalts. |
| 290 | * ''Great Battles of the American Civil War'': |
| 291 | ** Every general in each game of the series has a counter (and can be captured or killed), as well as some colonels and the occasional major. As with most such games, their purpose is for command and control of the units under them, though most can influence melee combat if present. The more badass the general was historically, usually the better his ratings. (In the larger battles, overall commanders like Robert E. Lee are there for historical purposes and have no ratings.) |
| 292 | * ''TabletopGame/LegendOfTheFiveRings'' provides multiple examples: a number of Clan Champions, Emerald Champions and Family Daimyo, as well as Toturi Tsudao, General of the Imperial Legions, The Shogun Akodo Kaneka, and even the Splendid Emperor Toturi I himself all fit in here. |
| 293 | * In the board game ''TabletopGame/TheNapoleonicWars'', one of the cards you can play is "Before I Was A General, I Was A Grenadier." It does ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin; your general wades into the thick of combat (quite effectively!), but has a chance of getting killed. |
| 294 | * In the Roleplaying game ''TabletopGame/RogueTrader'' you begin as one, and gets to chose how you became one. |
| 295 | * In the ''Squad Leader'' module ''Crescendo of Doom'', one scenario featured the British counterattack at Arras (1940). Leading the attack is General Gifford [=LeQ=]. Martel, who is included as a named armor leader with the highest possible ratings. In contrast, in another scenario Erwin Rommel is represented by one of the 10-3 leader counters already provided in the game and does not receive his own named counter, though the French automatically win the scenario if he is killed. When these scenarios reappeared in ''TabletopGames/AdvancedSquadLeader'' the Martel counter was not reprinted, and an equivalent leader counter substituted. |
| 296 | ** Also subverted in both games: leader counters with the rank of general printed on them usually have the lowest possible ratings and are often as much a hindrance as a help. |
| 297 | * Admiral Albadawi of the Terran Confederation in ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}''. |
| 298 | * Used in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' as well, where every race gets more powerful characters the higher in rank they are. This is explained with some like Chaos and Orcs, where brute strength does take you to that position (and is required to keep it), but not for Elves and Dwarfs that inherit their positions as leaders, but still are far superior to the best elites of their armies. The Empire makes a single exception to this with the general choice which only excels the captain in leadership and is otherwise equal to a captain. |
| 299 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'': |
| 300 | ** For Imperial forces: |
| 301 | *** Generals are among the most powerful units in their respective armies. This is especially true with the Imperial Guard. The rank-and-file are little more than cannon fodder who don't stand a chance in melee combat, while generals wield power swords, plasma pistols, and armour themselves with carapace armour and refractor fields. |
| 302 | *** Doubly true of the Space Marines. Promotions up through the ranks from basic footsoldier (Scout) to Brother-Marine, Brother-Sergeant, and Brother-Captain to Chapter Master. They can dual-wield most power weapons (the picture in the Codex shows one dual-wielding ''Thunder Hammers''), call down orbital bombardments, and take to the field in Terminator armour, the best protection around. |
| 303 | *** The founders of the Space Marine legions, the Primarchs. Apart from being so freaking badass that they all basically took over the planet they grew up on. Sanguinius apparently broke the back of a Greater Daemon of Khorne (AKA "Bloodthirster") over his knee in the Siege of Terra. |
| 304 | ** Subverted with Planetary Defense Forces higher-ups, the vast majority are incompetent (much like their troops, especially on relatively peaceful worlds) and/or inbred nitwits who were put there via relations and serve only to get in the Imperial Guard's way. |
| 305 | ** For the Eldar: |
| 306 | *** Farseers can bend fate to bless their own units and doom their enemies, eldritch storms and literal mind rape as a psychic attack, spears that return like boomerangs once thrown while capable of piercing even the heaviest tanks in the game... This while running around on the field of battle, in spite of being several thousand years old. |
| 307 | *** Autarchs have to master not just one, but several (preferably all) of the eight different Warrior Paths. They lead from the frontlines, where they enjoy the benefits of personal forceshields and plasma grenades, in addition to their pick from an inventory which includes personal teleport generator, wings, psychic amplifiers for their battlecry, a hand-held directed fusion beam gun, a monofilament web-thrower, and a rapid-fire AP rocket launcher. |
| 308 | *** Greater still are the Phoenix Lords. You know how Autarchs have to master several martial paths to train? These guys ''made'' the paths they train in. They're all legendary, immortal and ridiculously Badass Eldar heroes who travel the galaxy, occasionally jumping in to aid and lead the Eldar in times of need. Maugan Ra once took out an entire Tyranid splinter fleet which included a ''[[{{Kaiju}} Bio-titan]]'' single-handedly, Fuegan is known for {{Curb Stomp|Battle}}ing Greater Daemons and carrying a burning axe that lets him fight like a monstrous creature, Jain Zar can dodge and block bolter shells and [[Literature/NightLords make murderously psychotic super soldiers flee in terror]], Karandras is the ultimate StealthExpert with [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]] that can penetrate Terminator armor, Baharroth can take on fighter aircraft with ''grenades'', the oldest and greatest Phoenix Lord Asurmen is currently strolling through the Eye of Terror kicking Chaos ass... Yeah. |
| 309 | ** Da Warboss of da Orks is da Warboss kuz e's da biggest, da stompiest, da choppiest, da shootiest...in short, 'e's da Orkiest Ork in da whol damn WAAAGHHH, an' 'e stomps anyone wuz sez diff'rnt. |
| 310 | ** The Tau Shas'Os. In Tau culture, there are only two ways to retire from the field: Ascending to become a Shas'O and remaining in the rank for four years...or going to the grave. The Shas'Os lead entire armies of fire warriors from the frontlines, with a minimum of 12 years of constant fighting required to ascend to the rank, and so every single Tau who manages to ascend to that rank is a Four-Star Badass by design. The fact that they get [[PowerArmor the coolest armor]] and [[{{BFG}} the biggest guns]] helps. |
| 311 | ** Any Chaos Lord ever. Chaos Space Marines are superhuman genetically-engineered warriors with centuries (or even ''millennia'') of fighting experience and daemonic blessings to make them even more badass than loyalist Space Marines, and many of them are also murderously insane. They do ''not'' abide weak leaders and any Lord who loses the respect of the warband and/or the favour of the dark gods ''will'' wind up dead at the hands of someone who thinks they can do a better job. Abbadon the Despoiler is the Warmaster of all Chaos, commander of the Black Crusades and one of the most dangerous and powerful beings in the entire galaxy - on the tabletop he's a horrific close-combat beatstick capable of munching through entire squads on his own without being scratched and easily killing just about any other character in the game 1v1. |
| 312 | ** In-game, any model that is designated as a Lord of War in that army's codex is a leader of nigh-legendary renown in the fluff and is a very powerful figure in an army. |
| 313 | [[/folder]] |
| 314 | |
| 315 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 316 | * General Shepherd from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'', who barehandedly defeats even [[spoiler:Captain Price, who is ''de facto'' the resident ColonelBadass]]. |
| 317 | * ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' has Lord of War: Hro'dtohz, the Rikti general in command of the homeworld forces invading Earth. He [[LargeAndInCharge towers over his subordinates]], wields a [[{{BFS}} massive sword-gun]] that's about as long as he is tall, and he's classified as an Archvillain, meaning he's capable of taking on groups of super-powered heroes or villains. |
| 318 | * General-turned-Governor-Militant Lukas Alexander of the 1st Kronus Liberators in ''[[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Dawn of War: Dark Crusade]]''. He's the supreme commander of all the Imperial Guard forces on Kronus, as well as political leader of Victory Bay and its provinces. But he fights on the front line in '''every''' conflict on the planet. Of course, you could say the same for most/all of the leaders (see the Warhammer 40,000 entry under Tabletop Games), but Imperial Guard merit and leadership systems best emulate real life ones, so Alexander fits this trope best. |
| 319 | ** Vance Stubbs finds himself in the same situation. While {{Fanon}} believed him to be the victor of the campaign of ''[[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Dawn of War: Soulstorm]]'', come ''Dawn of War III'' it was revealed Gorgutz was the winner. Manly tears were shed by many, |
| 320 | * The Admiral of [[VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients DotA All Stars]] and his ''VideoGame/{{Dota2}}'' incarnation, Kunkka. |
| 321 | * Legate Lanius in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''. Averted pathetically with General Lee "Wait-and-See" Oliver. |
| 322 | ** The previous Legate Joshua Graham, also known as the Burned Man, was also horrifically terrifying in battle, though his poor understanding of warfare leads him to be more of a General Ripper, or even a General Failure (part of the point of the character's backstory seems to be a deconstruction of this trope: being a badass in person and leading from the front does not itself make you good at tactics and ''especially'' not at operational art). |
| 323 | ** Potentially played straight by the Player Character, should they side with House and [[spoiler:lead an army of the most dangerous robots in the series against both the NCR and Caesar's Legion ''at the same time'']]. |
| 324 | *** Even moreso if the Player decides to go completely independent, commanding the [[spoiler:same robot army, along with the Brotherhood of Steel, Khans, Boomers, and a squad of Enclave soldiers]] as what could qualify as the largest RagtagBandOfMisfits in gaming history. |
| 325 | * The Player in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' can become General of the Minutemen barely 20 minutes into the game, though how much weight that title carries depends on how much asskicking you do on Minutemen behalf. Doubly so for the male player, who served in the US Army during the reclamation of Alaska in the pre-war world. |
| 326 | * ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has [[LadyOfWar General Beatrix from Alexandria]], whom you never beat during the game. You fight her ''[[HopelessBossFight three times]]''. |
| 327 | * ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'': |
| 328 | ** Somewhat unusually, General is the name of a playable class: likely due to the fact that Generals are very commonly lategame bosses, and therefore, aren't necessarily commanders themselves. Their distinguishing traits are a MightyGlacier statline, use of multiple weapon types, and the ability Great Shield, which lets them simply ignore damage every so often. |
| 329 | ** On another note, Ike from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'' is given the title of General. He ''certainly'' qualifies. |
| 330 | ** Zelgius is the commander of Bengion's largest armies, and he's also a supreme badass in a fight. For most of ''Radiant Dawn'', your army attempts to avoid fighting him by any means necessary, [[TheDreaded his reputation is THAT terrifying.]] [[spoiler: Oh, and he's also the Black Knight, one of the strongest bosses in the series. (Only being barely beatable in the previous game, and even then only if you get lucky)]] |
| 331 | ** Subverted with Micaiah. She is the Vice-General of the Daein Liberation Army, and later Supreme Commander of the Daein Royal Army, but she has no actual military experience and is only made the leader because she's the figurehead for the Daein forces in their rebellion against Begnion. Her actual strategies rely heavily on her ability to see the future and even then, leave a lot to be desired. |
| 332 | ** Wallace from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]]'' is [[FamedInStory regarded as one in-story]], [[CharacterTiers though it's not quite reflected in his stats]]. Still, in spite of his [[NoSenseOfDirection tendancy to lose his bearings,]] he's shown to be AFatherToHisMen, and acknowledges that doing what's right sometimes means going against one's orders while still accepting imprisonment for his insubordination. Oh, and he [[spoiler:'''''killed off the Taliver Bandits to save Lyn from a life of revenge!''''']] |
| 333 | * ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': |
| 334 | ** The Elites are promoted based on kill count - one needs to personally slaughter thousands in order to be promoted to a Field Marshal or Fleet Master. In particular, Thel 'Vadam (the Arbiter) was formerly Supreme Commander in charge of the massive fleet that attacked Reach, and his skills in combat are on par with [[SuperSoldier the Master Chief]]. |
| 335 | ** Admiral Cole. Considered by many in-universe to be the sole reason the Covenant took more than a couple of years to wipe out humanity, his absolute greatest moment had to be taking on a Covenant fleet of hundreds with a ''single ship'', badmouthing their religion and triggering their HonorBeforeReason mentality with his taunts, luring them closer, firing '''hundreds of nuclear missiles into a nearby gas giant''', which '''''ignited the planet and turned it into a small star''''', wiping out the entire Covenant fleet. [[NeverFoundTheBody And he might still be alive]]. |
| 336 | ** The Didact, who was the leader of the entire Forerunner military, and a super soldier even more powerful than the Chief. His rival Forthenco, ancient humanity's Lord of Admirals, was one too, managing to hold off the Forerunners from humanity's capital for several years and earning the Didact's respect in the process. |
| 337 | * Colonel Buster Monroe from ''VideoGame/{{Harvester}}''. The bastard got his entire lower body shot off during WWII, so what did he do? He crawled all the way from Germany to England, stopping every few miles to wind his intestines back in. |
| 338 | * Generals are [[http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=392948 surprisingly good]] at fighting in ''Hearts of Iron''. |
| 339 | * Komato General Tor from ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' is the FinalBoss of the game for a reason. For starters, he is equipped with the [[WaveMotionGun Phantom Hammer]], a weapon designed for use in ''spaceship combat''. |
| 340 | * General Armin Metrac of ''VideoGame/KillzoneLiberation'' is one of these. Most high-ranking Helghast Generals don't initiate in combat with normal soldiers. Most Generals don't sling around chainguns with under-slung rocket launchers with relative ease, either. |
| 341 | * In the ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', The Man is several times more powerful in every way than any other Frat Army soldier, and his opposite number The Dude is similarly stronger than the rest of the Hippie Army. |
| 342 | * The Jedi Exile from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. While she probably doesn't hold an actual star rank in the Republic Fleet, she held a position of such authority within Revan's army that she is commonly referred to as "General". Needless to say, she is a [[MagicKnight Jedi]], too, promoting her to instant badass. |
| 343 | ** Ditto with Admiral Onasi and Mandalore the Preserver (formerly: [[spoiler: Canderous Ordo]]). Remember how badass they were in the first game? There was also the little matter of your PlayerCharacter from [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic that first game]] who said Exile was ''reporting to''... |
| 344 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has Admiral Hackett, who is mostly a MemeticBadass rather than an actual one, since you never get to see him in action but his cool voice will give you missions from time to time and is the commanding officer of the Alliance 5th fleet during the defense of the Citadel. There is also Captain Anderson, who will be promoted to Admiral if you choose Udina as the Councilor, who may punch his way into a high security platform and hack a computer after being shot, and surrendering only after making sure the Normandy is no longer ashore. |
| 345 | ** In the "Arrival" DLC, we finally get a look at Admiral Hackett, and it is quite clear from the number of scars on his face that he has '''earned''' his rank. |
| 346 | ** According to the codex of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Hackett started off as just an Enlisted before the First Contact War, and worked his way up the rank ladder, earning a commission, then earning a ''flag'' commission, and then becoming the top admiral in the Alliance Navy. His climb is the stuff of legends... [[AllThereInTheManual according to the Codex]]. |
| 347 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Admiral Anderson and Shepard fight their way through the Reaper invasion of Earth, and then Anderson stays behind to lead the Resistance personally. Seeing that he was one of the first graduates [[note]] Alec Ryder may have preceded him [[/note]] of the N7 commando program in the Alliance Marines, he definitely qualifies once he gets his admiral's stars. |
| 348 | ** If Shepard has the Spacer Background, their mother, Captain Hannah Shepard is mentioned in the second game as having ''turned down'' several promotions to Admiral, preferring to remain serving with [[TheMenFirst the people under her command]]. However with the Reaper invasion causing the death of most of the upper echelons of the Alliance military, she's been rapidly promoted to Rear-Admiral. |
| 349 | ** Admirals Han'Gerrel and Rael'Zorah definitely have badass aspects to their character. Depending on the viewpoint of the player though they might be tragically misguided. |
| 350 | ** [[ExpandedUniverse The Cerberus Daily News]] brought turian General Partinax to the fore, who dueled [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Facinus]] leader Kihilix Tanus. His record is surviving seven duels, 5 to first blood and 2 to the death. |
| 351 | ** The Codex also references Admiral Coronati, who defeats the Reapers in an engagement over Pavalen with an ingenious tactic that involved using the sheer size of the Reaper combat ships against them; by making a daring jump right in the midst of the Reaper force, his relatively primitive dreadnoughts were able to destroy several of them with concentrated fire while they struggled to turn about and engage. |
| 352 | ** General Septimus was apparently this before his HeroicBSOD. Shepard can pull him out of it. |
| 353 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', Shepard is this is all but name. While s/he still technically holds the rank of Commander, s/he still stands toe-to-toe with admirals of other races and is essentially, along with Hackett, the leader of the allied forces in the war against the Reapers. [[BigGood Certainly the reason they are united and who they look to.]] In the end, Hackett ends up commanding the entirety of the space fleet and Anderson commands the allied ground forces. |
| 354 | ** Some of Shepard's surviving squad throughout the trilogy qualify as well by the end: |
| 355 | *** Garrus had his vigilante squad on Omega that was similarly slaughtered, but is later the de-facto second-in-command of the entire Turian military. |
| 356 | *** Tali takes her father's place on the Admiralty Board. |
| 357 | *** Wrex is the leader of the entire Krogan race. |
| 358 | *** Legion is largely only an interface between the squad and the rest of the Geth collective consciousness, but if it successfully disperses the Reaper upgrades to the rest of the Geth, Legion essentially ''becomes'' the Geth, who then pledge their considerable navy to the war effort (along with the Quarians, if a peaceful solution is achieved). |
| 359 | * General Donald Morden, the main antagonist of the ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' series, certainly qualifies. Before [[FaceHeelTurn he defected to the rebel army]] he was one of the most influential commanders in the Regular Army. Upon going nuts over the death of his son due to military incompetence, he then got a [[EyepatchOfPower badass eyepatch]] (and a mustache) and defected to the Rebel Army. As a boss he fights from massive tanks and aircrafts, blasting away his opponents with his BFG. |
| 360 | * General Guy from ''VideoGame/PaperMario'', a Shy Guy who fights Mario in his specially-designed tank, which would've given Mario a great deal of trouble had he not found [[PlotTailoredToTheParty Watt earlier, who can tear through the tank's defenses like they're nothing]]. He is also the only major boss that is shown to be a BadassNormal; while the other bosses have either been beefed up thanks to the Star Rod, or have access to several magical powers or special techniques, all General Guy has is his army and tank. |
| 361 | * General Horace Warfield, the Terran Dominion's answer to the Zerg invasion in ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftII Starcraft II: Wings Of Liberty]]''. Previous examples of four-or-better-stars in the series were impressive, but lacking true badassery. Warfield, however, [[spoiler: holds the line on the ground in a suit of Marine armor on Char itself with his men, not from the bridge of a battlecruiser]]. He bayonets a zergling, only to get spined by a hydralisk--then punches the hydralisk right the hell out when it subsequently pounces on him. In the end, he needed rescue from Raynor with a {{BFG}} and a few Banshees, but the fact remains--''he knocked out a hydralisk''. Later, he's complaining that the medics wouldn't cut his arm off to halt the spread of the hydralisk's poison. Still later, he shows up...with [[ArmCannon a mechanical arm that can change into a gun]]. |
| 362 | * In ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'', the PlayerCharacter becomes this upon reaching Grade 40 for every faction but Jem'Hadar[[note]]Jem'Hadar start at level 60, but leaving that aside their actual promotions in the rank system stop at the canonical highest Jem'Hadar rank First, very roughly equivalent to a Starfleet ''commander'' (although STO puts it at 30, along with Starfleet captains, in line with the Jem'Hadar PC being allowed to command a starship autonomously instead of passing on orders from a Vorta commander), instead appending adjectives indicating respect for your competence and experience[[/note]] - Starfleet Rear Admiral, Lower Half, Klingon [[TheBrigadier Brigadier]] General or Romulan Subadmiral I. This only improves at grades 45 and 50: Rear Adm. Upper Half, Major General and Subadmiral II, then [[BadassLongcoat Vice Admiral]] (for both Starfleet and the Romulans) and Lieutenant General. Becomes outright ridiculous with ''Delta Rising'', where the level cap is moved up to 60: Starfleet and Romulan characters end up as ''Fleet'' Admirals, while the Klingons stop actually promoting you at General (level 55, where the other two become full Admirals)... because the final level 60 promotion is instead you being declared a ''Dahar Master'', a title which boils down to 'You're so badass a warrior that you've reached [[LivingLegend legendary status]] amongst Klingon warriors'. |
| 363 | * Generals Oka (''Anime/VoltesV'') and Igor (''Anime/{{Dancougar}}'') in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha Gaiden''. They were quite willing to risk being shot to make damn sure the Titans were screwed over from trying to jack Anime/GreatMazinger. Kinda helps that Oka was an honest to God ninja. |
| 364 | * The bodyguard units of your Generals and Princes (which includes the Generals) in the ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' games are some of the best cavalry units in the game. They are '''''very''''' good fighters. |
| 365 | ** Somewhat averted in ''[[VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar Empire]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/NapoleonTotalWar Napoleon]]''; they're the numerically smallest cavalry unit at full strength, and due to the fundamental shift in field warfare they're more of a (valuable) support unit. |
| 366 | * In ''[[VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} Warcraft III]]: The Frozen Throne'', Subverted. While the game introduce [[FantasticRacism Grand Marshal Garithos]], who leads the last remnants of the Alliance of Lordaeron, and can fight Balnazzar, the most powerful Demon currently in the area to a standstill. It's heavily implied he rise to the rank of Grand Marshal not necessary because of his own abilities, but his father's reputation and title, and he happen to be the only highest-ranking survivor of Lordaeron military after the Scourge's rampage across the land. While he has many success in driving the Scourge out of Lordaeron, it's not without the aid from Ironforge and the ruined Quel'Thalas, and later he attempted to purge the Blood Elves from his ranks. His campaign was met with nothing but obstacles and failure, Garithos and his entire forces was enslaved by the dreadlords Detheroc and Balnazzar, becoming a mere pawn for some time until the ''real'' four-star badass, former ranger-general Sylvanas Windrunner, steps in. |
| 367 | * As probably isn't surprising for a former ColonelBadass, Commodore Blair, in ''VideoGame/WingCommander Prophecy'', qualifies. He even goes out on a mission with [[PlayerCharacter Lance Casey]] at one point, even though he's aboard the TCS ''Midway'' only as an observer on the ship's shake-down cruise. |
| 368 | * One of the possible Council missions you can be offered in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' is rescuing General Peter Van Doorn after his convoy is attacked on a bridge. Of the Council missions where you [[EscortMission escort a comparitive weakling]] back to the Skyranger, he's the only one who actively itches for payback against the aliens. The reason he's stranded? [[TheMenFirst Because he tried to rescue a soldier who was left behind]]. While he failed at that part, actually surviving running out of ammo while being surrounded by aliens is a feat in itself. ''VideoGame/XCOMLongWar'' actually has him join your troops when you accomplish this mission. |
| 369 | * In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series backstory, Tiber Septim, the [[FounderOfTheKingdom founder]] of the Third Tamriellic Empire who [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended after his death]] as [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Talos]], the Ninth Divine, was a peerless General. He commanded the [[BadassArmy Imperial Legions]] into forging the first truly pan-Tamriellic Empire. He crossed over with FrontlineGeneral (and RiskingTheKing, naturally), at least early in his campaigns, though this was justified as he could use the Thu'um, a very powerful weapon. |
| 370 | * ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': The [[CrapsackWorld wrecked setting]] is the result of a world-rending civil war known as the Shattering, where [[PhysicalGod demigodly]] princes and princesses led their armies against one another in an attempt to claim the throne. While they were all implicitly renowned fighters and leaders prior to the Shattering, four of them were particularly notable for their deeds during it: |
| 371 | ** [[Characters/EldenRingGodfrey Elden Lord Godfrey]] lead Marika's armies during the empire's brutal period of expansion early in the Age of the Erdtree, and as far as we see his martial accomplishments are pretty much unrivalled. He conquered more or less the entire continent for his queen, wiping the dreaded Fire Giants out almost to a man and breaking the power of the dragons. Godfrey was at the forefront of all these fights, earning the title "Lord of the Battlefield". He was such a god-tier badass that Radahn spent his whole life trying to follow in Godfrey's footsteps rather than his own birth father's. His achievements apparently didn't end when he left his throne behind; the Long March of the Tarnished he led is implied to be a saga in its own right, with him leading his exiled army to victory in countless brutal battles. |
| 372 | ** Infamous and known throughout the land as the Red Lion General, [[Characters/EldenRingRadahn Starscourge Radahn]] was an extremely talented commander, being a master tactician on top of being one of the strongest warriors the land has seen. His leadership and charisma were such that even after the disastrous Battle of Aeonia, his Redmanes are still organized and disciplined enough to simultaneously contain the spread of Scarlet Rot to Caelid in a brutal Forever War and host the Radahn Festival to give the good general the honorable death he was denied against Malenia. |
| 373 | ** [[Characters/EldenRingMalenia Malenia, Blade of Miquella]] had the weakest conventional starting position of any of the demigods; her fief of the Haligtree is a small kingdom located in the remote far north, greatly removed from any location of strategic relevance. It's mostly populated by [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits exiles and outcasts from the rest of the continent]] and was founded fairly recently. Yet her army is both [[MagneticHero totally devoted to her]] and [[BadassArmy utterly elite.]] Malenia marched her host from the Haligtree all the way down the length of the ''entire continent'' with [[EasyLogistics no noted]] [[UndyingLoyalty difficulties]], fighting through Liurnia, Limgrave, and Caelid in the process, and only facing heavy resistance when facing the after-mentioned General Radahn's Redmanes, said to be an elite army that "knew no weakness", and held the upper hand till the two armies destroyed themselves during the Battle of Aeonia. On a personal level, Malenia is a WorldsStrongestMan contender who stands head and shoulders above practically anyone else in the setting in both [[StrongAndSkilled strength and skill]] despite being [[HandicappedBadass a blind triple amputee]], with only [[MagicKnight General]] [[TheJuggernaut Radahn]] capable of stalemating her in a duel (and even then, [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind only so long as she]] [[WillfullyWeak holds back the Outer God of Scarlet Rot]]). She's the game's SuperBoss for a very good reason. |
| 374 | ** [[Characters/EldenRingMorgott Morgott of the Golden Order]] inherited command of the main royal army in the capital region of Altus-Leyndell after his parents disappeared, and commanded it to victory after victory in the Shattering despite most of the other claimants targeting him by default. He repulsed campaigns against the capital by both Radahn and Godrick in decisive triumphs. His offensive against Rykard's fief of Mount Gelmir was not totally successful and had him taking heavy losses, but by the time of the of the game he has still basically totally neutered Rykard's faction and pushed them back to a single fortress, arguably making him the victor of their conflict. While not up to par with Malenia or Radahn, Morgott is also an amazing warrior. During the Shattering he took to the field [[KingIncognito disguised as a common Omen soldier]] and "stacked high the corpses of heroes." It's no wonder that he serves as both the WakeUpCallBoss ([[WorfHadTheFlu when limited to projecting his power from far away]]) and the game's main ClimaxBoss. |
| 375 | [[/folder]] |
| 376 | |
| 377 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 378 | * ''WebAnimation/BattlefieldFriends'' features Colonel 100, who does things like routinely taking down attack helicopters [[CherryTapping with a knife]]. He's so badass that he can [[TheDreaded paralyze opponents in fear at the mere sight of him]], has never once been depicted wielding a gun in a game built around them, and hasn't been killed by anything [[spoiler:other than pure chance, not even under normally instant-death circumstances]]. |
| 379 | * After two seasons of handling things from the backseat as a proper general, [[Characters/RWBYJamesIronwood James Ironwood]] from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' shows that he is more than capable of throwing down with the rest of them. To show how much of a badass he is, he is able to solo an Alpha Beowulf with his personal sidearm [[CurbstompBattle without much effort]]. [[spoiler: It helps that he's also a {{Cyborg}}.]] |
| 380 | [[/folder]] |
| 381 | |
| 382 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 383 | * The Jager Generals in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' each qualify, on account of surviving in the service of the Heterodynes for some 600-700 years. And there are currently seven. |
| 384 | ** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120523 Case]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120525 in]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20120528 point]] |
| 385 | * General Tarquin from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' -- when he first arrived on the Western Continent, he conquered eleven different nations over the course of eight months, and was only deposed through the combined efforts of ''twenty-six'' others. And if [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0851.html this page]] is anything to go by, he's still got it even in his later years. [[spoiler:Subverted. Tarquin is in fact a deranged psychopath with DelusionsOfGrandeur who is at best a capable fighter with some talent for scheming, but has no real military experience, and most of his empire's military talent came from elsewhere in his party. Rich Burlew confirmed all this [[http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=318550&page=4 in the forum]]]]. |
| 386 | * From ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': |
| 387 | ** Captain Kaff Tagon and his father, General Karl Tagon. The former has his own mercenary company, which has played a pivotal role in almost every modern (for the comic) conflict. The latter is retired, pushing 70, and still remains in fighting condition, even when reduced to a head in a jar (as seen in Massively Parallel Part V). Karl was pivotal during the Celeschul Terraforming Wars (the same conflict that gained him his rank), to the point that many historians claim that the rebels lost the war the moment their brutal first strike failed to kill him. [[BrokenAce Karl Tagon does not agree with this assessment]]. |
| 388 | ** Admiral Breya Andreyasn's badassery isn't mostly of the physical type (though she ''can'' handle herself in a fight), but it's not some average person off the street that can string together a massive fleet from multiple interstellar-capable races for the sake of fighting a galaxy-threatening menace. |
| 389 | * ''Webcomic/LegostarGalactica'' has General[=/=]Admiral Graves, Captain Smith's direct superior. He usually does DeskJockey duties, but when he has to knuckle down and fight, such as when he's part of [[TheChessmaster Robin's]] CaperCrew in "Cunningham's Eleven", he can be found DualWielding {{Cool Sword}}s on the front lines. |
| 390 | ** In the episodes where Belinda and the Doctor visit the planet Devlin fifty years in the relative future, the FutureBadass versions of most of the main cast are either Admirals [[spoiler:(Skip, Robin, Red, possibly TAG although it isn't confirmed)]], Generals [[spoiler:(Shauna, possibly 46 although that isn't confirmed either)]], retired [[spoiler:(Johnny, Alice)]], a ghost [[spoiler:(Marty)]], or conspicuously absent [[spoiler:(Bob, Belinda herself)]]. |
| 391 | [[/folder]] |
| 392 | |
| 393 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 394 | * ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' has at least two of these, Vice Admiral Royche, an NPC [[TheMenInBlack Man in Black]] who knows Kung Fu, and High Executor Altara SigrdrÃfa, a historical figure, who personally led the {{Precursors}}' PraetorianGuard in battle. Starting in v4, Admiral Flota Vladimir Ilyavich Tokarev, '''HERO OF THE TRIBES''', now joins this list. |
| 395 | * In ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'', the fictional version of the aforementioned David Petraeus (the point of divergence being January 2008) led the combined human forces (albeit operationally only the US military) against the legions of Hell, leading to [[CurbStompBattle some of the most lopsided battles in human history]]. They've since been [[RageAgainstTheHeavens aimed at Heaven]]. Oh, and he has release authority over ''multiple'' nations' nuclear, biological and chemical arsenals (in Heaven anyway). |
| 396 | * ''Literature/TheRuinsOfAnAmericanPartySystem'' has Grand Marshal Tukhachevsky, the head of the Soviet Union's military, who is capable of personally and singlehandedly fighting off and killing an entire German hit squad sent to assassinate him. |
| 397 | [[/folder]] |
| 398 | |
| 399 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 400 | * Joseph Walsh of ''[[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers Galaxy Rangers]]''. The rank is technically "Commander," but considering he is in ''command'' of BETA and much of Earth's defenses... |
| 401 | * Although [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderGeneralIroh General Iroh]] of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is [[RetiredBadass retired]], he was once the Fire Nation's most fearsome general. By the time we meet him, he has dedicated his life to drinking tea, eating, shopping, playing pai sho, and making sure Zuko grows up right... but is still the only person besides Aang who has any chance of matching [[BigBad Ozai's]] combat prowess |
| 402 | ** While we're at it: General Iroh II of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', his namesake's great-great-nephew. He manages to burn through the Equalist forces while the rest of his army gets decimated. |
| 403 | * Hawk from ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero''. To a somewhat lesser extent, Flagg. Their naval counterpart is Keel-Haul, an admiral who still sometimes gets behind the stick of a fighter jet. |
| 404 | * In ''WesternAnimation/StarshipTroopersInvasion'' General Johnny Rico eventually decides to join the fight himself in a MiniMecha with chainsaws, rocket packs, gatling guns, and missile pods. Then, in a mad dash for the Bug Queen he starts stripping out of his armor as his weapons run out of ammo and Bugs grab onto him [[spoiler: and then kills the Queen with a combat knife wearing nothing but his jumpsuit]]. |
| 405 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': |
| 406 | ** General Treister is apparently an example of this. He prefers a hands on approach to warfare, and continually exercises despite having had eight heart attacks. |
| 407 | ** At the end of season 4, Treister hands command of The OSI over to Col. Hunter Gathers -- a man who was inspired by Creator/HunterSThompson. It's a given that he'll embody this trope. |
| 408 | * Sky Marshal Wade in ''WesternAnimation/VoltronForce'' is a villainous example, as he confronts the Voltron Force personally a few times. |
| 409 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'': Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway returns, having last been seen in ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''. She has taken personal command of the Federation-built U.S.S. ''Dauntless'' NCC-80816 to track down the U.S.S. ''Protostar'' and proves to be a formidable, albeit unintentional adversary to Dal, Gwynn and the other kids. [[spoiler:She later becomes a valuable ally once the truth of their situation is revealed]]. |
| 410 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': [[Characters/StarVsTheForcesOfEvilToffee Toffee of Septarsis]] is a former general who led the monster army against Mewni, but his last confrontation with Moon badly wounded his pride (and his finger), forcing him to hang up his chevrons and take up roles that involve brains rather than fighting. |
| 411 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Grand Admiral Thrawn. Just like in [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends the source material]], Thrawn is a military genius second to none. He also demonstrates his Chiss combat skills by taking [[spoiler:[[TheMole Kallus]]]] in a one-on-one fight. |
| 412 | [[/folder]] |
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