History Main / MonsterLord

[[caption-width-right:330:Even [[EvilIsSexy sexy]] {{vampires|AreSexGods}} realize the value of keeping [[LooksLikeOrlok uglier]] friends nearby.]]

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Adar is the commandant of the Orcs, but he kept many of his noble Elvish features.

[[folder:MythologyAndReligion]]

* Dragons in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' tend to follow Alphas who acquire their positions via AsskickingLeadsToLeadership. For example, in the first movie, the dragons [[spoiler:only attack the village to collect food for the Red Death, a far larger dragon who controls the whole nest]]. Similarly, in the [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon sequel]], Bewilderbeasts are massive ice-breathing dragons who can command smaller dragons and rule nests as the Alpha. The first one to appear is a good guy who protects his nest from dragon-trappers and gathers food for them. Unfortunately [[BigBad Drago Bludvist]] turns out to have a Bewilderbeast of his own, which under his command [[spoiler:kills the good Bewilderbeast and takes control of all the adult dragons. Fortunately Hiccup manages to help Toothless resist and defy him, causing all the dragons to recognize Toothless as their Alpha.]]

Frequently, the Monster Lord will be TheManBehindTheMonsters. Even though not human, they will look human-like because the process of climbing the EvolutionaryLevels ladder raised them higher up on the BishounenLine. Likewise, while their lesser kin may only be about as smart as an animal, the Monster Lord will typically have human-level or higher intelligence and be capable of speaking and understanding human speech ([[BlueAndOrangeMorality though not human morals]]). Of course, in some works the Monster Lord looks ''more'' monstrous than their brethren. And even in settings where the BishounenLine is in effect, if there's a rung above Monster Lord, it'll probably be a OneWingedAngel and make them monstrous again. Both types are likely to [[CrossMeltingAura repel]] what lesser monsters are weak to.

* [[BigBad The Shadowlord]] from ''VideoGame/NieR'' is a step above other Shades. He is much more powerful and looks [[BishounenLine more human]]. And according to the [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental material]] he also doubles as MonsterProgenitor. [[spoiler:His presence is also the only thing keeping the Shades from going insane and dying.]]

* {{Insect queen}}s are this by definition.

* ''Literature/PegasusMcKinley'': Rocs have a strange ability to command lesser monsters such as taralians and wyverns. Not only does their presence cause these monsters to tolerate each other instead of fighting over territory, but they are themselves smart enough to create strategic plans, and are able to make the lesser beasts follow those plans.

[[folder:Multiple Media]]
* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
** The two Bahrag {{hive queen}}s, Cahdok and Gahdok rule [[TheSwarm the Bohrok swarm]], their helpers, the Bohrok Va and the [[EliteMooks Bohrok-Kal]]. They also create [[{{Facehugger}} Krana]], organic creatures that [[PsychicLink mentally link them]] to each mechanical Bohrok. They are horrific and cruel, [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood but not evil, just doing their god-given job]].
** King Sidorak and his viceroy (and would-be bride) Roodaka ruled the [[GiantSpider Visorak]] horde, conquering many lands and destroying civilizations. Sidorak was appointed to the position by the Visorak's creators, the Brotherhood of Makuta, [[StealingTheCredit by claiming Roodaka's accomplishments as his own]]. Though unfit for the role, the Visorak were loyal to Sidorak because he was just as malicious as them and kept their appetite for destruction sated. Roodaka meanwhile was feared by the Visorak, following her commands only because [[FateWorseThanDeath the alternative was worse]]. Roodaka [[TheStarscream plotted to betray and kill]] Sidorak, placing her underling Vakama, a [[FaceHeelTurn hero-turned-villain]] into the puppet role of the new king. Fortunately, Vakama [[HeelFaceTurn came to his senses]] and disbanded the Visorak once in charge.
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* ''[[Literature/McKinleyPegasus Pegasus]]'': Rocs have a strange ability to command lesser monsters such as taralians and wyverns. Not only does their presence cause these monsters to tolerate each other instead of fighting over territory, but they are themselves smart enough to create strategic plans, and are able to make the lesser beasts follow those plans.
* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' [[OurWightsAreDifferent Greater and Lord Shade]] are significantly more powerful and intelligent versions of the mindless lesser Shade, with one of their unique abilities being able to use lesser Shade as vocal puppets through their HiveMind.

** The second was Ganon in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda.'' [[TropeMaker The others]] before ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' were Valarys in ''Hydlide Special,'' [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Azathoth]] in ''Jaseiken Necromancer,'' and Lucifer in ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei''.

* ''TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful'': Cataphractoi are called "The Generals Of The Darkness" for a reason. They always have access to the Subsumed By Another Shadow Umbra (which allows them to enthrall any Darkspawn in their range), have access to both [[PowerUpgradingDeformation Umbrae]] and [[BlackMagic Calignes]], and can assume a very powerful "false transformation" form in emergencies. Worse, they retain the knowledge of the humans in whose image they were made, and possess both intelligence and some level of self-control, allowing them to use complex tactics and long-term planning.

* The {{Youkai}} in ''Manga/InuYasha'' fit this; specifically [=InuYasha=]'s father was a Lord of all the Inu-Youkai and had non-Inu Youkai vassals.

* Played with in ''{{LightNovel/Slayers}}'': while all Mazoku are formed from concentrated negative human emotion, the five Mazoku Lords are distinct in that they were literally created from the [[BigBad Dark Lord's]] (who represents the sum entirety of said negative emotion) own substance.

Some monster or non-human species have [[SupernaturalElite aristocracies]] with {{Blue Blood}}s that just so happen to actually have [[AlienBlood blue blood.]] And rarely, lowborn monsters (frequently [[ViralTransformation former humans]]) can aspire to earn such titles with "heroic" deeds, political savvy, or by dint of AsskickingEqualsAuthority. Beyond that though, some Monster Lords are physiologically different from rank and file {{Mook}}s. Maybe the species as a whole has a FantasticCasteSystem, and over time the leaders have become a different "[[OurMonstersAreDifferent race]]" that is more powerful by nature. Other monster races may have a life cycle where old or "mature" mooks become lords if they grow really powerful, use a magic ritual, or they have a ''really'' [[TheDeterminator strong willpower]]. Likely to be the BigBad, or at least a major villain, [[DarkIsNotEvil though this may not necessarily be the case]].

* Dragons in ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' tend to follow Alphas who acquire their positions via AsskickingEqualsAuthority. For example, in the first movie, the dragons [[spoiler:only attack the village to collect food for the Red Death, a far larger dragon who controls the whole nest]]. Similarly, in the [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon sequel]], Bewilderbeasts are massive ice-breathing dragons who can command smaller dragons and rule nests as the Alpha. The first one to appear is a good guy who protects his nest from dragon-trappers and gathers food for them. Unfortunately [[BigBad Drago Bludvist]] turns out to have a Bewilderbeast of his own, which under his command [[spoiler:kills the good Bewilderbeast and takes control of all the adult dragons. Fortunately Hiccup manages to help Toothless resist and defy him, causing all the dragons to recognize Toothless as their Alpha.]]

* {{Dracula}} is a count, and the other vampires mentioned in [[Literature/{{Dracula}} the book]] clearly view him as superior... but this may be less to do with his title and more to do with the fact he's implied to be their husband and/or father and also happens to be a [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority badass]].

** The Daemonic Heralds are more or less the rank-and-file daemons you can normally choose to fill out your armies, but have special perks to them (called Locus/Loci as of the latest edition) as well as heightened attributes (differs depending on the kind of daemon, as Khornate Daemons just have better statistics while Tzeentchan Heralds are more powerful wizards). The fluff itself implies that all daemons of the same alignment are the same, it's just that the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority higher ranked ones are just way more powerful versions of it's underlings]]. The Chaos Gods themselves are implied to be the most powerful Daemons of their alignments (although this is by a wide margin, as even Khorne's greatest champion is but a mere insect compared to him), and it's outright stated that there are many, many lesser gods that are just not as influential as the big 4.

* In ''Monster Girl Quest'' this trope is used by its very name. Technically it's the title awarded to the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority most powerful monster in the world]], though in practice, every Monster Lord has been part of the bloodline of Alipheese Fateburn, [[MonsterProgenitor the original creator of monsters]] and considered the opposite of [[{{God}} Ilias]]. The current (16th) Monster Lord and BigBad of the game happens to be [[spoiler:[[TheHero Luka's]] traveling companion and LoveInterest Alice]], while the 8th Monster Lord [[spoiler:[[AliceAllusion Black Alice]] is a minion of the '''[[TreacherousAdvisor true]]''' [[HiddenVillain mastermind behind everything]], [[BitchInSheepsClothing Ilias]]]].

** Throughout history, the monsters have intermittently been ruled by a Demon Lord who organizes them to attack humanity and lower its numbers. Previous Demon Lords were [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority those monsters who were able to beat all other contenders in their era]], but the current Demon Lord is a succubus who somehow gained the position and has used it to alter all monsters in body and mind. This is why present-day monsters are {{Cute Monster Girl}}s who now want to interact with humanity via sex.

* Wolf packs were previously thought to follow strict social hierarchies led by an "{{alpha|AndBetaWolves}}" male and female who rose to their positions via AsskickingEqualsAuthority. Subsequent research has revealed that this mainly happens in zoos. In the wild, as with the gorillas mentioned above, "alphas" are just the parents while subordinate "betas" and "omegas" are their offspring (though siblings within a pack will jockey for status among themselves, so AsskickingEqualsAuthority does indeed apply). Unlike gorillas, though, wolf parents don't display any distinctive physical features to separate them from the rest of the pack (like an adult male gorilla's patch of silver fur). Moreover, wolves are typically monogamous, so both parents share equal alpha status -- unlike in gorilla troops, where the presence of multiple females prevents any of them from becoming a singular alpha female in the way that a silverback is the alpha male.

* Vampires in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' can become "Lords" if they live long enough... usually, this results in their GameFace getting stuck on.

* The officer caste Martian Ice Warriors in ''Series/DoctorWho'' are very different in appearance from the usual ones (slimmer and much less heavily-armoured), although contrary to fanon the name "Ice Lord" is never used on-screen. Daleks and Cybermen also have hierarchies, respectively led by a Dalek Emperor and a Cyber-Controller.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' introduces [[spoiler:[[GreaterScopeVillain the Night's King]]]] as this to [[spoiler:the White Walkers]].

* The Old Ones in ''Series/BeingHumanUK'', centuries-old vampires who live in isolated castles in Central Europe. They largely don’t care about the outside world and leave the rest of the vampires to their own devices, but when they do venture out, everyone bows and scrapes. They’re immune to typical weaknesses like holy symbols and not being able to enter homes uninvited, and are extremely old, wealthy and politically powerful in a world where the majority of vampires don’t live to see triple digits and barely scrape by. The undisputed supreme ruler of all vampires, Mr Snow, is rumoured to be the first ever vampire who sold his soul to the devil for immortality, and all vampires are genetically programmed to obey him. [[spoiler: This is later debunked when it's revealed that the devil created vampires when two asian brothers made a deal with him for immortality; he also created werewolves, and ghosts.]]]
* ''Series/TidelandsNetflix'': Adrielle is the tyrannical queen of the Tidelanders, siren-human hybrids.

** And below the Lilims are powerful monsters who rule over other monsters of their type, an example being High Orcs. These aren't just orcs with darker skin and [[AnAxeToGrind a mean axe]]: High Orcs are immensely strong and can bowl over even heavily armored knights and have the wits to command war parties. Their very presence emboldens the often cowardly orcs into rampaging marauders and their body odor drives them into a sexual frenzy. However, if a man actually ''beats'' a High Orc, the orcs immediately collapse onto the floor and beg for mercy. The High Orc herself also has a 180 in personality, going from a belligerent warlord to soft, loving, and devoted wife to the man.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' from the eponymous series have their own social hierarchy and aristocracy in Makai. The weakest members in the S and A Class noble families in Makai (from which [[HornyDevils Morrigan]] and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Demitri]] hail from) are borderline {{Physical God}}s, while C Class comprises livestock, slaves and ''humans'', and D Class are monstrous/inhuman beasts.

* Popularized by the TropeCodifier ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'', medieval [[JapaneseRPG j-RPGs]] often have their BigBad played by a "Maoh," a loose term often translated as [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils "Demon King"]]. It has become the series tradition for a BigBad since the [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIII third installment]] in 1988. Whatever species they actually are, they tend to rule over the local monsters and command some kind of [[BlackMagic dark magic]]. Unless it's just a [[VideoGame/OdinSphere negative title]].

** Alien Empera, first introduced in ''Series/UltramanTaro'' and later appearing in ''Series/UltramanMebius'', definitely has a claim to this. When you're leader of an army of the most powerful {{kaiju}} in the galaxy, with even {{Eldritch Abomination}}s serving you, you've definitely earned the title.

** ''Film/MegaMonsterBattleUltraGalaxyLegendsTheMovie'' had [[FallenHero Ultraman Belial]] revive a whole bunch of kaiju to form a "100 Monster Army" to defeat the Ultras.