Today X, Tomorrow the World! - Television Tropes & Idioms

A resident Mad Scientist, Dark Lord or Evil Sorcerer is seeking World Domination, but first he has to practice small scale. How about his hometown? Or maybe the nearest city? Some of the times most of the plot happens in his small-scale practice, making him an insignificant, yet amusing, force. Sometimes he succeeds and becomes a very serious threat to the world.

Can result in a Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot situation for the good guys.

Trope Namer might have been none other than Adolf Hitler: "Heute Europa, Morgen Die Welt". Today Europe, tomorrow the world.

Examples:

Advertising

An ad by Stan Freberg for Sunsweet Pitted Prunes. "Today the pits, tomorrow the wrinkles!"

Anime & Manga

In Excel Saga, Il Palazzo wants to conquer the city today, the Earth tomorrow!

Film

The villain in Tomorrow Never Dies says, "The front pages today, tomorrow the world!"
The Pink Panther Strikes Again: After Dreyfus destroys the U.N. building:
Charles Dreyfus: Today, the U.N. building. Tomorrow, who knows?
Mr. Freeze said this ("First... Gotham... then... the world!") in Batman & Robin.
In The Rocketeer, the possible Trope Namer appears at the end of a Nazi propaganda film demonstrating their plans for the rocket pack. (Oddly enough, it depicts an invasion of America, not Europe...)
In the Veggie Tales movie "The Rumor Weed", the titular weed says, "Today Bumblyburg, tomorrow the world," but she's attributing it to Alfred, whom she's rumoring about.
Tag Line for the 1972 movie Frogs: "Today the Pond... Tomorrow the World!"
Yellow Submarine: A variation on this is spoken by the Chief Blue Meanie: "Let us not forget that heaven is blue... TOMORROW THE WORLD!!!"
In Jetsons: The Movie, Mr. Spacely says, "Today Spacely Sprockets, tomorrow the universe!"
In The Borrowers, Ocious Potter sets his sights awfully high for a lawyer.

Literature

One of The Illuminati's creeds in the Illuminatus! trilogy is "Heute die Welt, Morgens das Sonnensystem" (today the world, tomorrow the solar system).
A character in Secret Valley once exclaimed "Today Secret Valley, tomorrow the world!"
When the wizards get Drunk with Power in Sourcery, one of them shouts, "Today the city, tomorrow the world!" Carding then calculates that this means "on Friday the universe!" and Speltzer reflects that this will leave the weekend free.
The Tag Line for Bunnicula was, "Today, vegetables... tomorrow, the world!"

Live-Action TV

Doctor Who, "The Green Death": "Today Llanfairfach, tomorrow the world."
- In "Mind Warp" we have BRIAN BLESSED exclaim, "Today prudence shall be our watch word, tomorrow we shall soak the land in blood!"
The Goodies: Played chillingly straight by Graeme in "Radio Goodies", after he went Drunk with Power.
Graeme: Today...the post office...tomorrow...the worrrld.
A character in Secret Valley once exclaimed, "Today Secret Valley, tomorrow, the world!"
Done in the too good to still exist British Sketch Comedy show Broaden Your Mind. A scientist on TV is describing a disease.
Scientist: Turgonitis is just another of the new and exciting diseases developed here at the British institute of Applied Science and Technology and Not Germ Warfare. Today, turgonitis...tomorrow, the world!

Music

The Ramones' song "Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World"
Appears in the Dire Straits song Ride across the river: Today in the mountains, tomorrow the world.

Newspaper Comics

In Peanuts, Linus once spent a morning building a crowd of snowmen so that he could declare from an upstairs window, "Today, the neighborhood, tomorrow the world!"

Radio

Incredibly Lame Pun version on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, upon learning that Adolf Hitler spent part of his childhood in Liverpool:
"Today Liverpool, tomorrow the Wirral!"

Theatre

In The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, which is a roman à clef about Hitler's rise to power, but set in Gangsterland Chicago, Ui (Hitler) gives a New Era Speech at the end that alludes to the Hitler quote. It's all about how he's now "protecting" Chicago and Cicero (Germany and Austria) and now he plans to "protect" other cities across the country as well Take Over the World). One translation/adaptation of the speech actually concludes something like "Philadelphia (one of the cities on his list) today, the world tomorrow!"

Video Games

Parodied in Evil Genius : "Today your PC, tomorrow the world !"
The Rat King in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time says, "Today the sewers..."

Web Original

The Nostalgia Critic:
- The Nostalgia Critic says something to this effect while listing the reasons for invading Molassia in Kickassia.
- On his "Top 11 Villain Songs" review, as he compares the goose-stepping hyenas in "Be Prepared" to a Nuremberg rally, a film clip of Adolf Hitler appears with the subtitle "Today: Pride Rock; tomorrow: the world!"

Western Animation

Superman: The Animated Series: The Daily Planet crew is watching Livewire on TV, bragging about how she controls all the media like TV, phones, Internet, radio...
Perry White: Typical. Today the airwaves...
Lois Lane: ...Tomorrow the world.
Voltar from League of Super Evil has said, "Today the neighborhood, tomorrow the world!", at least in the episode "Full Throttle."
Dr. Doofinshmertz from Phineas and Ferb sometimes says, "Today the Tri-State Area, tomorrow the world!"
Duke Inghorn in the very first episode of Adventures of the Gummi Bears: "Today Dunwyn, tomorrow the world!", just before realizing that the Gummi Berry Juice gives super strength to a human for just one minute.
Negaduck from Darkwing Duck: "Today St. Canard, tomorrow the world! I Always Wanted to Say That."
Mojo Jojo when he was the host in Cartoon Cartoon Fridays: "Today, Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, tomorrow, the world!"