History Main / BaitAndSwitchTyrant

** Subverted on ''{{Scrubs}}'' with Dr. Maddox, Kelso's replacement. At first the team hopes she will be like Kelso, tough on the outside because she has to be in order to run the hospital efficiently. It becomes clear pretty quick that she truly [[CompleteMonster enjoys being evil.]]

* Piers Anthony's ''{{Xanth}}'' series features "Evil Magician Trent" who, when he becomes the only [[spoiler: known]] possible choice for king, proves himself such a capable ruler he becomes known as "Good King Trent".

* Bhelen from DragonAge: Origins qualifies for this trope, at least to a degree. Bhelen's rise to power is typical of TheEvilPrince: in the Dwarf Noble origin, he successfully arranges to have one sibling killed and the other sent off to the Deep Roads. When his father dies from grief, Bhelen attempts to bring the Assembly in line with blackmail and fraud. If actually put on the throne, he extends greater freedom to the [[FantasticCasteSystem casteless]] and opens Orzammar up to trade. He isn't completely benevolent, however: his first act as king is to eliminate all of his political rivals, including having one entire house (potentially dozens of people) killed off for opposing him.

* Lynn [=McGill=] in the fifth season of ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''; nobody at CTU likes him at first for his strictness, but starting at around the point when he was the only one to recognize Jack Bauer's duress code "Flank-Two Position". He eventually becomes such a tyrant, the cast remove him from command. Ultimately he [[spoiler:sacrifices his own life to re-secure the CTU facility after it had been contaminated by the Sentox VX nerve gas. Though it should be noted, it was his fault the CTU facility was attacked in the first place]].

* Danzo from ''NarutoShippuden'' - he starts out as one of the worst cases of TyrantTakesTheHelm ''ever''. He hates the Third Hokage with a passion and seems to only use his position as a grab for power. [[spoiler:By the time he dies, you learn that a) he didn't hate the Third Hokage, and b) he truly loved Konoha]].

* ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', when Captain Edward Jellico is given command of the Enterprise while Picard and some of the senior staff are sent on a Black Op. This starts out looking like a TyrantTakesTheHelm plot when he immediately starts to change everyone's duty roster until they can barely see straight, tells Troi to put on a uniform instead of parading around in her [[{{Fanservice}} lavender bunny suit]], tells off Riker when he tries to speak for the crew, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking demands that someone "get rid of the damned fish" in Picard's office]]. But Jellico then goes on to prove himself to be just a good as Picard when he sees through several layers of Cardassian deception, tricks the Cardassian fleet into a minefield, and gets Picard out of a prison camp in exchange for letting the fleet go. By the time he does go back to his old ship, half the crew wonders if they might want to go with him. (And Troi [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore never wears her old costume again]] for the rest of the series.)

** A uniquely interesting example is Richard Woolsey, an ObstructiveBureaucrat who was first seen on StargateSG1; he waltzes in with his rulebook and starts annoying the hell out of everyone. But repeated brushes with Senator Kinsey show him that something is seriously wrong with his own presence at Cheyenne Mountain - he eventually leaves of his own accord, giving [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure General Hammond]] a MagicFloppyDisk full of {{Blackmail}} material as a parting gift. His departing speech to Hammond is that he believes that rules and people like him that enforce them can make things better, but that he won't be a party to using them to harm people. "Try to remember that in the end, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight I'm just trying to do the right thing.]]"
*** He eventually shows up again in ''StargateAtlantis'' - still trying to push his rulebook for the greater good. He starts annoying people again almost immediately, even making ridiculous proposals such as killing Prior Daniel, despite generally having good intentions. When he replaced Carter as the leader, this turned into awkwardness, because the crew was not used to someone so "bureaucrat-like". He soon learned to not only trust rules, however. While still being uptight, he shows a heart of gold on multiple occasions and even gets his own badass moment, when negotiating with replicators.

* Lynn [=McGill=] in the fifth season of ''[[TwentyFour 24]]''; nobody at CTU likes him at first for his strictness, but starting at around the point when he was the only one to recognize Jack Bauer's duress code "Flank-Two Position", he steadily becomes more tolerated by the main cast, up to the point where he [[spoiler:sacrifices his own life to re-secure the CTU facility after it had been contaminated by the Sentox VX nerve gas]].

This is a common subversion of TyrantTakesTheHelm. It occurs when a character who at first appeared to be a tyrant actually turns out to be a pretty decent person or at the very least [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold someone with a few good qualities]]. In this case, the other characters will eventually quit rebelling against their new leader and try to adapt to the new management style. When the Tyrant's methods really are as onerous as they seem at first but get ''results'' that the underlings love, expect them to make satisfying the hardass a point of pride, and brag about it to those with less rigid leaders.

This is a common subversion of TyrantTakesTheHelm. It occurs when a character who at first appeared to be a tyrant actually turns out to be a pretty decent person or at the very least [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold someone with a few good qualities]]. In this case, the other characters will eventually quit rebelling against their new leader and try to adapt to the new management style. When the Tyrant's methods really are as onerous as they seem at first- but get ''results'' that the underlings love- expect them to make satisfying the hardass a point of pride, and brag about it to those with less rigid leaders.

* In the StarshipTroopers movie, Lt. Raschak has a reputation for being a "real nutbuster" among troops outside his unit, but Raschak's Roughnecks are fiercely loyal to their commander. He comes across as stern and demanding, not hesitant to [[MercyKill shoot]] one of his own troopers to save the poor ape from a FamilyUnfriendlyDeath (being eaten alive by a nest of bugs), and says he'd expect anyone in his unit to do the same for him. But then we see that he understands the importance of soldier morale by ordering his troops have a party while they're in a safe zone, and even allowing Rico and Dizzy to [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean finish up their R&R in the tent.]]

* [[SportsNight Sam Donovan.]] As the new ratings consultant, he arrives suddenly and makes changes to the show while seeming to have no respect for the producers and on-air talent. But he quickly redeems himself when he shows his fanatical devotion to [[CoolOldGuy Isaac]] [[BaldBlackLeaderGuy Jaffe]] and makes it clear that his no-nonsense tactics are about making the show better, not abusing his own power.

* Dr. Mildred Finch on ''{{NUMB3RS}}''. At first Charlie resents the changes she makes, but she generally has good reasons. She can be pushy, but she's a decent person and a competent administrator.

* In DanAbnett's ''{{Warhammer 40000}}: ''[[=~Gaunt's Ghosts~=]'' novel ''Honour Guard'', Commissar Viktor Hark is assigned to the Ghosts with the express purpose of seeing to Gaunt's removal from command and clashes with him repeatedly on matters of authority. He later proves himself to be a competent and charismatic leader, as well as a good shot with his plasma pistol, and ends up joining the Ghosts at the end to serve as one of Gaunt's go-to people when there's a problem that needs to be deal with.

* Several attendings on medical shows like ''{{ER}}'', ''{{Scrubs}}'' or even ''{{Grey'sAnatomy}}''. Examples include Perry Cox (though in his case there's already a slight "reveal" on the pilot), Kerry Weaver (although YMMV on how friendly she becomes with the staff ''before'' she gets demoted), Robert Romano (who never becomes a friend of his subordinates anyway), Bob Kelso, etc.

* Several attendings on medical shows like ''{{ER}}'', ''{{Scrubs}}'' or even ''{{Grey's Anatomy}}''. Examples include Perry Cox (though in his case there's already a slight "reveal" on the pilot), Kerry Weaver (although YMMV on how friendly she becomes with the staff ''before'' she gets demoted), Robert Romano (who never becomes a friend of his subordinates anyway), Bob Kelso, etc.

** A more recent example is Richard Woolsey as the new leader in ''StargateAtlantis''. Previously he was being presented as [[ObstructiveBureaucrat extremely strict with rules, annoying the SGC whenever he could]] and making ridiculous proposals such as killing Prior Daniel, despite generally having good intentions. When he replaced Carter as the leader, this turned into awkwardness, because the crew was not used to someone so "bureaucrat-like". He soon learned to not only trust rules, however. While still being uptight, he shows a heart of gold on multiple occasions and even gets his own badass moment, when negotiating with replicators.

Note this only applies to characters who redeem themselves while in power. If their redemption occurs once they are no longer in power, it's BreakTheHaughty.