History Main / YoungConqueror

* Azula in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', through a very intelligent plan, [[spoiler:manages to infiltrate Ba Sing Se, become leader of the Dai Li based only on the strength of her will and charisma, and conquer the city]], something that the Fire Nation had never been able to achieve in 100 years -- and all that at only 14 years old.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Lelouch vi Britannia, insofar as wanting to take down the Holy Britannian Empire. [[spoiler:He succeeds.]]
* ''Manga/DeathNote'': All of the four main characters have the mental qualifications to be this, but only Light is idealistic and ruthless enough to follow this route.

%% Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions89
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.

In some cases, they may obtain or be born with some [[SuperpowerLottery special power]] to help them achieve their goal. Whether they do or not, the key difference between the Young Conqueror and TheHero is that instead of fighting crime on a case-by-case basis or having to face an already existing BigBad, they have a much bigger vision and will try to TakeOverTheWorld in a belief that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. However, if these ideas are already a quick way for ''adult'' characters to go merrily JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, being a young, frustrated rebel, complete with the standard [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb emotional immaturity and sometimes flat-out childish fantasies]] you would expect out of someone this age only makes things worse. Consequently, they often end up as a WellIntentionedExtremist type of AntiHero, or even a(n) ([[AntiVillain Anti]])VillainProtagonist.

In addition to differing from the typical hero in vision - or ends - they will also differ in the means used. In contrast to the IdiotHero, the Young Conqueror will have a strong dose of IntelligenceEqualsIsolation, which may cause them to be [[InsufferableGenius quite prideful]]. And instead of a typical hero who reacts to the EvilPlan of the BigBad and fights with brawn, they are a GuileHero who uses brains to come up with their own schemes, often being either TheChessmaster, ManipulativeBastard, MagnificentBastard, MaryTzu, or all of the above, capable of cooking up ThePlan just as good as or possibly ''better'' than your standard BigBad. As such, they are often examples of HeroesActVillainsHinder, which is one of the main reasons why these characters are so unique and interesting.

* ''Manga/DeathNote'': all of the four main characters have the mental qualifications to be this, but only Light is idealistic and ruthless enough to follow this route.
* ''Franchise/CodeGeass'': Lelouch vi Britannia, insofar as wanting to take down the Holy Britannian Empire. [[spoiler:He succeeds.]]

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': Garma Zabi is only 20 years old, yet is already the commander of Zeon's Earth Attack Force mostly thanks to [[{{Nepotism}} being the son of the Sovereign]]. His older sister Kycilia is similarly only 24 but is in charge of the Zeon Mobile Assault Force, although unlike Garma she has the skills and qualifications to back up her placement in the role.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWingEndlessWaltz'': Mariemaia Khushrenada helms the Mariemaia Army and comes close to taking over Earth... even though she's only 7. Although she's really just a figurehead for her scheming grandfather.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'': Orga Itsuka is 17 during the first season, which sees him lead a successful offensive against the dominant military power in the solar system, and is 19 in the second season, in which he becomes poised to become the "King of Mars" after making several deals.
* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': a story where the main villain, Johan, has all the qualifications, but rather than changing the world, wants to destroy it, just because he can. Unlike ForTheEvulz types who want to watch the world burn, he doesn't seem to get much satisfaction out of the horrible things he does: ''he'' just wants to set it on fire. And is ''very'' good at it.

* ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'': Reinhard von Lohengramm is a textbook example, becoming the Emperor and uniting the known galaxy before the age of 25. Luckily he has Kircheis to watch his back, both physically and morally.
* ''Manga/{{Akumetsu}}''. He acts like a goofy IdiotHero, but he is actually ''very'' cunning and resourceful. He is also much more physical than other examples of this trope.
* The protagonist of ''Manga/LostBrain''.

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Shinobu Sensui, [[EvilCounterpart in contrast to]] [[IdiotHero Yusuke Urameshi]]. Is a pretty brutal KnightTemplar as a Spirit Detective and wants to KillAllHumans as a villain - seeing as his idealistic [[BlackAndWhiteMorality black-and-white worldview]] did a 180 since he was on the side of good (pre-FaceHeelTurn, he thought all humans were good and all demons were evil; as the BigBad, he thinks [[MisanthropeSupreme the opposite]]).
* There seem to be [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil a few]] [[BrokenAce characters]] in ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' who seem to fit this... but not the eponymous Utena, who is just rebellious on a personal level.
* ''Anime/StarDriver'' has the Glittering Crux as an organization led by these, though for now the only one to have shown definitive proof of belonging here is Kanako, a teenager who plays the Stock Market like a fiddle (and who is an Olympic level boxer... as well as a ''[[TheTease damn hot chick]]'').
* Griffith from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' in the Golden Age arc, before he became a [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils demonic god]].
* Katsuhiko Jinnai of ''Anime/ElHazardTheMagnificentWorld''. A zany LargeHam who borders on LaughingMad, but under his command the Bugrom steam-rolled the kingdoms of El-Hazard and were only stopped when the heroes got their own superweapon working and subverting the superweapon that Jinnai had acquired. His later performances are less impressive, but by this point, the Bugrom army has been more or less reduced to a squad of seven.
* Prince Arslan of ''Literature/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'' is literally this, raising an army to retake his kingdom's capital city at the age of 14.

* Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias from ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' who is an Alexander fanboy that wants to conquer the evils of mankind, he also built a business empire from scratch and pushed his body and mind to perfection.
* Tony Stark before becoming ''ComicBook/IronMan'' was a business version of this; he was also a drunken playboy. In ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' he gets back on the conquering horse.
* [[{{Characters/Cable}} Stryfe]] desperately wants to be this as a teenager, but was hamstrung by his chronic arrogance/underestimation of his enemies, and the facts that he was facing off against {{ComicBook/Cable}} and that his grand schemes, Legacy Virus excepted, [[EvilIsPetty tended to begin and end with "I will be as big a dick to Cable as I possibly can."]]
* Hunter Rose aka ''ComicBook/{{Grendel}}'', genius writer by day and hitman by night, takes control of a criminal empire spanning from Atlanta to Montreal with NYC at the center.

* ''Fanfic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40K'' elevates Shinji to this trope.
* The protagonist Prometheus in [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7893756/1/The_Chronicles_of_Utopia_Volume_II The Chronicles of Utopia Volume II]] is an idealistic conqueror who liberates the lands ruled by the Mad Overking Ivid before creating his own enlightened empire based on more light-driven principles.
* In ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'', Harry is very much this trope, and can't really understand why no one's tried to take over the magical world with a working knowledge of scientific principles in the past.
* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Harry has all the hallmarks of this, with various characters noting that he could either be the next [[TheHero Captain America]] or the next [[WellIntentionedExtremist Magneto]], with more than enough motivation to turn into the latter. In Chapter 61, he recognises this after a MotiveRant and is prevented from tipping over the edge by his friends. When he cools down, he finds that his potential to be this trope absolutely terrifying. Fears of this get even greater after the brief, though admittedly justified, [[spoiler: Dark Phoenix]] rampage in the sequel, and the demonstrations of his capacity to leave even apparently invincible empires (HYDRA and the Red Room) or opponents (Chthon) in ruins, albeit usually at high personal cost.
** Lionel Luthor wants [[ComicBook/LexLuthor his son]] to be this trope. Lex... is not so sure.
* In ''Fanfic/ADovahkiinSpreadsHisWings'', Jon Whitewolf was only fourteen years old when he was acknowledged as the Last Dragonborn. He then proceeded to win the CivilWar for the Empire, foiled the Apocalypse ''twice'', and is currently thinking about definitely wipe the Thalmor from existence. In a bit of a subversion, he's not interested in ruling in spite of High Queen Elisif offering to adopt him as her heir or his bloodline entitling him to the Iron Throne.

* The title character of the film ''Film/CharlieBartlett''.

* Not that young (he's supposed to be 30, but Creator/AlPacino was actually quite a bit older as well) but Tony Montana from ''Film/Scarface1983'' climbs to the top of the drug-dealing community almost as fast. [[spoiler:He falls.]]
* Howard Hughes in ''Film/TheAviator'' conquers the film and aviation industries, world aviation records, Creator/CateBlanchett and Creator/KateBeckinsale but never his fear of germs.

%%* ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'': [[MessianicArchetype Kwisatz Haderachs]] Paul Atreides and GodEmperor [[DarkMessiah Leto Atreides]]. Probably TropeCodifier.

%%* Jorg in ''Literature/ThePrinceOfThorns'' series fits this trope well.
%%--> [[spoiler:"Fifteen! I'd hardly be fifteen and rousting villages. By the time fifteen came around, I'd be King."]]
* Peter Wiggin in ''Literature/EndersGame''. The ''Literature/EndersShadow'' series details his rise to power as Hegemon of Earth.
%%* Thomas Cale in the ''Literature/LeftHandOfGod'' seems to be evolving into one of these.
* The ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' series has had a few of these, many of them {{Deconstruction}}s, fitting [[DeconstructorFleet the nature of the series]].
** Aegon the Conqueror was no older than 30 when he united the Seven Kingdoms except Dorne.
** One such figure that a number of characters admire is a past Targaryen King, Daeron I, who is known by the moniker "The Young Dragon" and managed to do what all the Targaryens (even those with huge dragons at their disposal) had failed to do: conquer the Kingdom of Dorne. [[CynicalMentor An older and more cynical character]] points out that trying to actually hold Dorne, however, took up an ungodly amount of resources and resulted in many casualties, since the Dornish ''prefer'' insurgency anyway. The Dornish killed the governor Daeron had installed and a rebellion started almost instantly. The Young Dragon died along with 40,000 men trying to quash it. A later Daeron peacefully brought Dorne into the kingdom through political marriage, and it's kept there largely by leaving them to govern their own affairs whenever possible.
** Daenerys Targaryen shows herself rather adept at conquest, completely destroying [[spoiler: Slaver's Bay and the slave trade. However, she quickly learns that while she may have a knack for conquest, actually ruling these places whose societies she upended is a far greater challenge.]]
** [[spoiler:Robb Stark emerges as an excellent general who wins every battle that he fights but loses the war due partially to a lack of political skill and partially to letting idealism and HonorBeforeReason get in the way.]]

* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'', Luigi Vampa, a celebrated bandit, is analogized to one of these, because he's achieved power and celebrity and is not yet 30. Vampa may be aware of the comparison since he likes to read Julius Caesar for fun.

* An example is noted in the backstory of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' - the Sunmaker, a semi-legendary [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Alethi]] king who began his conquests in his late teens and became one of the most revered leaders in Alethkar's history.
* The titular character in ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'' is UsefulNotes/EdwardIV, who takes up his deceased father's claim to the throne during the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses and is crowned king. He returns home to greet his mother and younger brothers George and [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII Richard]] in triumph, dazzling the crowds. His mother observes him and is proud, but she is also unnerved at the adulation that she fears could go to her son's head.

* The title character in the Korean serial [[TheEpic epic]] ''Jumong''.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Battletech}}'' has a few examples due to being set in a FeudalFuture; nobles are trained from childhood in strategy and conquest, and occasionally an early succession will lead to someone young in charge who immediately sets out to conquer.

** [[VideoGame/{{Battletech}} Kamea Arano]] went from First-Lady-in-Exile to reconquering all 23 worlds of the Aurigan Coalition in about a year, at the age of 25.
** The Clans, interestingly, tend to avert this. Despite a ruthless ProudWarriorRace culture that runs on AsskickingLeadsToLeadership where anyone over thirty without a [[MeaningfulRename Bloodname]] is considered a wash-out, very few warriors get to Khan status before they're in their forties. This is because, in a system that runs on merit, it takes time to cultivate the necessary status and contacts needed to be accepted as leader of a Clan.

* ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars'': Andy is only a teenager, yet he's a commanding officer in the Orange Star army. His fellow [=COs=] in ''Dual Strike'', Jake and Rachel, aren't that old either yet are the commanders of the Orange Star forces in that game, with Rachel even being the one who heads the Allied Nations in their offensive against Black Hole. There's also Colin, a Blue Moon CO who's much younger than any of them.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': Revan was a Jedi prodigy whose peerless strategy won the Mandalorian War for the Republic, and nearly won the Jedi Civil War [[FaceHeelTurn for the Sith]]. They built up quite the EvilEmpire before being betrayed in the traditional Sith manner and is respected and/or feared throughout the Galaxy. All of this [[spoiler: judging by their unmasked appearance in the game]] before about twenty-five to thirty. The fact that Revan was [[spoiler: young enough to be accepted into the Academy post-mind-wipe]] supports that he/she is fairly young, too. While the Sith do have something like a PhilosophersStone, even their non-Jedi contemporaries speaking of past campaigns generally fall into the same age category.
%%* ''VideoGame/OverlordII'': The PlayerCharacter is a very dark version of this trope.
* ''VideoGame/FableIII'': The PlayerCharacter can be played as a Young Conqueror, following in the footsteps of their same-gender parent (the Player Character of ''VideoGame/FableII'') who rose from a broke orphan raised by Gypsies to become Monarch of Albion, largely through shrewd Real Estate purchases.

* ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'': Masamune Date tends to play this role - young, brash, respectless, immensely talented, and ambitious. Interestingly, [[UsefulNotes/DateMasamune the historical Masamune Date]] was both closer to, and further from, this ideal.
* In ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', Masamune plays much the same role, only he's actually got the charisma to make taking over the country achievable. Ieyasu is a more humble and idealistic example who's more interested in making the country a better place than just lording it over everyone else.

** The Courier has the option of going this route, with the help of Yes Man. There's no 'Emperor' period after since you've freed New Vegas from ''any'' overall ruler except for a peacekeeping robot army
* Gulcasa in ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion'' and ''VideoGame/BlazeUnion'', though rather than having the standard prideful {{Ubermensch}} personality he's a MessianicArchetype driven by [[BrokenHero PTSD]]. He becomes emperor of Bronquia at age 17, deems continental conquest to be the most efficient way to destroy societal prejudice, and [[CuttingOffTheBranches in the canon end of the games]] dies at age 20 after ruining his health and losing all of his loved ones to his own wars. In ''VideoGame/YggdraUnison'', where it's possible for him to succeed, he settles down as a benevolent world leader [[TheExtremistWasRight after making his ideals reality]].
* Prince Maximilian from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'', an ambitious 29-year-old imperial general.
* Lincoln Clay, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/MafiaIII''. Lincoln is a Vietnam veteran who uses his Special Forces training to destroy a criminal empire and take over an entire city at the age of 23. He has three fairly powerful lieutenants backing him up, but he does most of the work himself.
* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'', the Third Tamriellic Empire was founded by Tiber Septim ([[IHaveManyNames formerly Talos Stormcrown, aka Hjalti Early-Beard]]) who was a mere 26 years old when he claimed the long-vacant Ruby Throne of Cyrodiil. Septim would go on to become the first person to conquer all of Tamriel and, following his death, would [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascend]] (possibly [[MergerOfSouls with others]]) as the "[[OurGodsAreDifferent Ninth Divine]]'', [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Talos]].

** At age 18, [[spoiler: Edelgard von Hresvelg ascends to the throne of the Adrestian Empire and launches her war against the Church of Seiros mere weeks later. In the Crimson Flower route, she successfully destroys the Church, the Leicester Alliance, and the Kingdom of Faehrgus in five years, and by the time she is 23, she is the undisputed [[SheIsTheKing Emperor]] of all Fódlan.]]
** On the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, Byleth ends up [[spoiler: conquering the Empire, and with the Kingdom and Alliance in no state to govern themselves and desiring Byleth's leadership, ends up uniting all of Fódlan under their rule. Special mention goes to the Verdant Wind route, where Byleth and Claude eventually plan to unite Fódlan with neighboring countries; should you achieve S-rank support with Claude, he even returns to save Fódlan from a resurgence of Imperial and Agarthan remnants and apparently marries Byleth, effectively uniting the two regions as one.]]
* ''{{VideoGame/Brigandine}}'': Vaynard the White Wolf of Norgard is highly known and feared as a powerful warrior and an intelligent strategist before he even became King. Once he ascends the throne, many characters acknowledge Norgard as one of the nations who threatens to conquer Forsena (the other is [[TheEmpire Esgares Empire]].) And he will if he is chosen by the Player.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* ''WebOriginal/TheInnocent'' [[PlayedForHorror plays this for horror instead of idealism]]. The children use [[spoiler: lots of DeathFromAbove, UrbanWarfare, [[TechnoWizard cyber attacks]] and even [[MadeASlave turn every adult alive into their own servants, forced to do whatever the children tell them.]]]] They can certainly be summarized into the characteristics of a CreepyChild. Hence the way the story is told, through a series of {{Emergency Broadcast}}s.
[[/folder]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'': Played for laughs when a little princess is given an army for her birthday, which she then uses to go on a campaign of conquest against a candy factory. Then her army is besieged by the forces belonging to a different princess, and she starts wishing for an assassin on her next birthday.

* Azula in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', through a very intelligent plan, [[spoiler: managed to infiltrate Ba Sing Se, become leader of the Dai Li based only on the strength of her will and charisma, and conquer the city]], something that the Fire Nation had never been able to achieve in 100 years. And all that at only 14 years old.

* In general this was much more common in ancient times when the sons of aristocracy would often receive their military training through [[ChildSoldier direct battlefield experience at ages younger than what we would consider the norm for adulthood.]] This often went hand-in-hand with AsskickingLeadsToLeadership.

* During the Three Kingdoms Era of China, Sun Ce - founder of the Kingdom of Wu - fits this trope. He was known as the 'Little Conqueror' because of it - taking control of the prestigious Sun family after the death of his famed father, Sun Jian, when he was barely out of his teens - and with skill and courage, seizing vast quantities of land. (Sadly, at the age of 25, he died young as well. So it goes...) His "Little Conqueror" nickname was something of a tribute to Xiang Yu (who also died young, although Xiang Yu was ''also'' famous for being a giant with great strength.)

In some cases, he/she may obtain or be born with some [[SuperpowerLottery special power]] to help them achieve their goal. Whether they do or not, the key difference between the Young Conqueror and TheHero is that instead of fighting crime on a case-by-case basis or having to face an already existing BigBad, they have a much bigger vision and will try to TakeOverTheWorld in a belief that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. However, if these ideas are already a quick way for ''adult'' characters to go merrily JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, being a young, frustrated rebel, complete with the standard [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb emotional immaturity and sometimes flat-out childish fantasies]] you would expect out of someone this age only makes things worse. Consequently, they often end up as a WellIntentionedExtremist type of AntiHero, or even a(n) ([[AntiVillain Anti]])VillainProtagonist.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': Revan was a Jedi prodigy whose peerless strategy won the Mandalorian War for the Republic, and nearly won the Jedi Civil War [[FaceHeelTurn for the Sith]]. S/he built up quite the EvilEmpire before being betrayed in the traditional Sith manner and is respected and/or feared throughout the Galaxy. All of this [[spoiler: judging by his/her unmasked appearance in the game]] before about twenty-five to thirty. The fact that Revan was [[spoiler: young enough to be accepted into the Academy post-mind-wipe]] supports that he/she is fairly young, too. While the Sith do have something like a PhilosophersStone, even his/her non-Jedi contemporaries speaking of past campaigns generally fall into the same age category.

->''"The only person with whom I felt any kinship died three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Alexander of Macedonia, or Alexander the Great, as you know him. His vision of a united world... well, it was unprecedented. I wanted...'' needed ''to match his accomplishments, and so I resolved to apply antiquity's teaching to our world,'' today. ''And so began my path to conquest. Conquest not of men, but of the evils that beset them."''

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory King of Egypt]] (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser[=/=]EmperorScientist who was intellectually fascinated by geography, nature, and exotic cultures, and gave serious consideration to just governance when he wasn't fighting. One of his most famous monuments is his "botanical garden", a chamber in the innermost sanctum of his addition to the temple of Karnak, decorated with detailed and remarkably true-to-life (for Egyptian art) depictions of the flora and fauna of the lands he had conquered; he is also recorded to have paid close attention to fairness and merit in appointing officials. On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest, replaced many of his father's old officials chosen on merit with what amounted to his old schoolmates chosen for their personal loyalty to him, and was mostly interested in foreign land for the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign (he was actually on campaign when Thutmose passed) and ruthlessly used force to maintain the empire he had inherited.

* UsefulNotes/EdwardIV of England. Affable, handsome and an absolute terror on the battlefield, the teenage Edward took up his deceased father's claim to the throne after his father was killed in battle and younger brother Edmund murdered shortly thereafter. Edward deposed Henry VI (see above) and brought stability to England, but he also alienated allies by [[MarryForLove marrying for love]] and ran a DecadentCourt.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'': Andy is only a teenager, yet he's a commanding officer in the Orange Star army. His fellow [=COs=] in ''Dual Strike'', Jake and Rachel, aren't that old either yet are the commanders of the Orange Star forces in that game, with Rachel even being the one who heads the Allied Nations in their offensive against Black Hole. There's also Colin, a Blue Moon CO who's much younger than any of them.
* Darth Revan in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Revan was a Jedi prodigy whose peerless strategy won the Mandalorian War for the Republic, and nearly won the Jedi Civil War [[FaceHeelTurn for the Sith]]. S/he built up quite the EvilEmpire before being betrayed in the traditional Sith manner and is respected and/or feared throughout the Galaxy. All of this [[spoiler: judging by his/her unmasked appearance in the game]] before about twenty-five to thirty. The fact that Revan was [[spoiler: young enough to be accepted into the Academy post-mind-wipe]] supports that he/she is fairly young, too. While the Sith do have something like a PhilosophersStone, even his/her non-Jedi contemporaries speaking of past campaigns generally fall into the same age category.
* The PlayerCharacter in ''VideoGame/OverlordII'' is a very dark version of this trope.
* The PlayerCharacter in ''VideoGame/FableIII'' can be played as a Young Conqueror, following in the footsteps of their same-gender parent (the PlayerCharacter of ''VideoGame/FableII'') who rose from a broke orphan raised by Gypsies to become Monarch of Albion, largely through shrewd Real Estate purchases.
* In the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' game, Sun Ce always plays this trope to the hilt. His personal campaign usually details how, if he had avoided his historic early death, he would have gone on to unite China himself.
* In ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', Masamune Date tends to play this role - young, brash, respectless, immensely talented, and ambitious. Interestingly, [[UsefulNotes/DateMasamune the historical Masamune Date]] was both closer to, and further from, this ideal.

* The [[UrExample earliest inarguable example of whom we have any record]][[note]][[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargon_of_Akkad Sargon the Great of Akkad]] may have qualified, but he is so far back in history (the ''24th'' century BCE) we cannot determine with any certainty how old he was when he conquered his empire other than saying he was at least young-ish.[[/note]] is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_III Thutmose III]], [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory King of Egypt]] (reigned [[OlderThanDirt 1479 BCE-1425 BCE]]), ran the Egyptian Army during his joint reign with his stepmother/aunt Hatshepsut as soon as he was of age (some time in his mid-teens, apparently). After Hatshepsut died, the Canaanite city-state of Kadesh tried to take advantage of the transition and the new Pharaoh's youth (Thutmose was only 21) to swipe some territory they had lost to Egypt; instead, Thutmose crushed them, and then began a massive campaign of conquest that saw Egypt build an empire stretching from Syria to Nubia. During his campaigns, Thutmose proved himself a tactical and strategic genius, and modern military historians often compare him to UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte. Unlike many young conquerors, however, Thutmose lived long enough to enjoy the conquest; he lived to the age of 55 (which was not remarkably old even in those days [[note]]UsefulNotes/RamsesII, Thutmose's successor a mere 150 years later, and probably the pharaoh most like Thutmose in temperament, lived to be about 90[[/note]] but was still old enough back then) and had more or less full control of the country for over thirty of them. His son and heir, Amenhotep II, was similar; if anything a ''more'' martial spirit than his father,[[note]]Thutmose gives every impression of being a bit of a GeniusBruiser[=/=]EmperorScientist who was intellectually fascinated by geography, nature, and exotic cultures, and gave serious consideration to just governance when he wasn't fighting. One of his most famous monuments is his "botanical garden", a chamber in the innermost sanctum of his addition to the temple of Karnak, decorated with detailed and remarkably true-to-life (for Egyptian art) depictions of the flora and fauna of the lands he had conquered; he is also recorded to have paid close attention to fairness and merit in appointing officials. On the other hand, Amenhotep was a straight-up jock who started his reign by rowing in the Nile and holding an archery contest, appointed his officials mostly based on their personal loyalty to him, and was mostly interested in foreign land for the plunder he could take.[[/note]] he inherited the throne as a teenager, and though he couldn't conquer as much (his father having conquered pretty much everything Egypt realistically could), he did have some successful campaigns early in his reign (he was actually on campaign when Thutmose passed) and ruthlessly used force to maintain the empire he had inherited.

** The Clans, interestingly, tend to avert this. Despite a ruthless ProudWarriorRace culture that runs on AsskickingEqualsAuthority where anyone over thirty without a [[MeaningfulRename Bloodname]] is considered a wash-out, very few warriors get to Khan status before they're in their forties. This is because, in a system that runs on merit, it takes time to cultivate the necessary status and contacts needed to be accepted as leader of a Clan.

* In general this was much more common in ancient times when the sons of aristocracy would often receive their military training through [[ChildSoldier direct battlefield experience at ages younger than what we would consider the norm for adulthood.]] This often went hand-in-hand with AsskickingEqualsAuthority.

In some cases, he/she may obtain or be born with some [[SuperpowerLottery special power]] to help them achieve their goal. Whether they do or not, the key difference between the Young Conqueror and TheHero is that instead of [[TheyFightCrime fighting crime]] on a case-by-case basis or having to face an already existing BigBad, they have a much bigger vision and will try to TakeOverTheWorld in a belief that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. However, if these ideas are already a quick way for ''adult'' characters to go merrily JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, being a young, frustrated rebel, complete with the standard [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb emotional immaturity and sometimes flat-out childish fantasies]] you would expect out of someone this age only makes things worse. Consequently, they often end up as a WellIntentionedExtremist type of AntiHero, or even a(n) ([[AntiVillain Anti]])VillainProtagonist.

* UsefulNotes/IsmailI of Persia made his first victory in battle when he was 14 years old when he conquered Shirvan and in the very next year, he founded the Safavid Empire. He gained a fearsome reputation until he was defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Chaldiran, his legacy is still felt in modern times: he reasserted Iranian identity after 800 centuries of outsider occupation since the Islamic conquest of Persia and established Shia Islam as the main religion, which most Iranians adhere to this very day.

* EvaristeGalois... for the world of mathematics at least.