History Main / CommandingCoolness

* Batou's rank in his military days, long a subject of debate in the [=GitS=] fandom, was finally stated in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise'' to be Commander,[[note]]Yes, while [[ArtisticLicenseMilitary being a Ranger]].[[/note]] though how it translates into the franchise as a whole is unclear.

** Even more so in the ''Film/{{Casino Royale|2006}}''-[=initiated=]] continuity. In the original, he was a member of the Royal Navy Reserve. Creator/DanielCraig's Bond was a member of the Special Boat Service, which is the British equivalent of the Navy [=SEALs=]. Though Bond's [[AllThereInTheManual service record]] has him being one of those occasional Royal Navy officers who are deployed as Swimmer Canoeists.
* The 2015 film adaption of [[Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015 The Man From U.N.C.L.E.]] mentions that (soon to be Chief of U.N.C.L.E.) Alexander Waverly is a Commander in British Naval Intelligence. This may be a direct ShoutOut to the ''Film/JamesBond'' movie series, since the [[Series/TheManFromUNCLE original TV series]] has described been described as "James Bond on television" by its lead actor, Robert Vaughn.

** Even more so in the ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' continuity. In the original, he was a member of the Royal Navy Reserve. Daniel Craig's Bond was a member of the Special Boat Service, which is the British equivalent of the Navy [=SEALs=]. Though Bond's [[AllThereInTheManual service record]] has him being one of those occasional Royal Navy officers who are deployed as Swimmer Canoeists.

* Commander Straker in ''Series/{{UFO}}''. This seems, on the surface, an odd rank for him to have as, although SHADO is actually a military organisation, with Captains, Lieutenants and the like, it does not have a naval structure. The explanation may be that Straker was a Colonel in his Air Force days, but he has at least two Colonels as subordinates and a General, the next rank up, in (nominal) command of him so the title may be a way of emphasising his unique position as the man in absolute charge of Earth's defences.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* [[BigBad Cobra Commander]] in ComicBook/GIJoe.

* ''[[Comicbook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]'': Commander Grey is a cheerful and highly loyal badass commander to Depa, who is the only known individual to [[spoiler: go against Order 66 without having his control chip removed, though he did kill Depa before overcoming the chip]]. He calmly commits a HeroicSuicide in order to [[RedemptionEqualsDeath make up for what he did for the Emperor]] and protect Kanan.

[[folder:Fan Fic]]
* Rainbow Dash's CO in ''[[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/Legionnaire Legionnaire]]'' is not only one cool [=SoB=], but he's also clever enough to keep up with masterminds like Diplomatic Incident and Prophet.
* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'':
** The changelings' military leaders and hive second-in-commands are referred to as "Commander", with Pharynx being the most prominent one seen in-story.
** Princess Luna is Commander in Chief of all branches of the Equestrian Military and out-ranks ''everyone'' in them as a result. This also puts her in functional control of the country while they're at war, with everyone (even Celestia) referring to her as "Commander" for the duration, as happens when a declaration of war is made against the Storm King and his armies in chapter 5 of the second story.

[[folder:Film]]

* Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch in Literature/{{Discworld}} - promoted from Captain at the end of ''Literature/MenAtArms''.

* In the [[Literature/ThePentagonWar Human-Centauri Defense Force]], Commander is short for "Battle Commander", and is a temporary title bestowed on a spacecraft's C.O. for only as long as a RedAlert situation exists.

* TabletopGame/BattleTech, the rank Galaxy Commander is very high rank among the Clans, its should be the equivalent of General in the Inner Sphere, as they command an entire regiment called a galaxy, and they have a big say in the Clans policies and decisions. One of the prerequisites of the rank is to be a real badass mechwarrior.

* Seal Team Six Commander and [[LikeFatherLikeSon son]] of [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Alex Mason]], [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII David Mason]] has to apply from what we've seen of him.

* ''Fanfic/ChroniclesOfTheSirenWar'': The kansen generally refer to Commander Thorson by whatever variation of the title they use in their respective home nations.

* Commander Straker in ''Series/{{UFO}}''. This seems, on the surface, an odd rank for him to have as, although SHADO is actually a military organisation, with Captains, Lieutenants and the like, it does not appear to have a naval structure. The explanation may be that Straker was a Colonel in his Air Force days, but he has at least two Colonels as subordinates and a General, the next rank up, in (nominal) command of him so the title may be a way of emphasising his unique position as the man in absolute charge of Earth's defences.

** This is perhaps the most common rank. By ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', all the Imperial officers were commanders (even Admiral Piett) due to a costuming goof. Perhaps the most noteworthy individual one is Commander Jir in ''Film/ANewHope'' who acts an HonestAdvisor to Vader who apparently respects his opinion.

* Commander Straker in ''Series/UFO''. This seems, on the surface, an odd rank for him to have as, although SHADO is actually a military organisation, with Captains, Lieutenants and the like, it does not appear to have a naval structure. The explanation may be that Straker was a Colonel in his Air Force days, but he has at least two Colonels as subordinates and a General, the next rank up, in (nominal) command of him so the title may be a way of emphasising his unique position as the man in absolute charge of Earth's defences.

* As stated above, ''Franchise/MassEffect'''s protagonist, Commander Shepard, fits this trope.
** In VideoGame/MassEffect2, during Tali's loyalty mission, the quarians refer to Shepard as "Captain". A dialogue option is available to give Shepard's actual rank, but the quarians (mostly) stick with Captain, as it accurately reflects the cultural role the character is taking by speaking up for Tali, as well as being Commanding Officer of the ''Normandy'', meaning Shepard ''is'' TheCaptain in all-but-name.