History Main / BaitAndSwitchTyrant

* ''[[VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysofEurope'':

** Albert Speer in Germany is another inversion. Compared to the doctrinaire conservative Martin Bormann, the reactionary [[BloodKnight warmonger]] Hermann Göring, and the fanatical SS chief UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich, Speer is seemingly the most benevolent of the four candidates to succeed UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, a reformer who realizes that the Nazi system is both morally bankrupt and falling apart at the seams and has built a coalition of liberal dissidents, disaffected students, and moderate NSDAP bureaucrats. However, anybody who knows the first thing about the real-life Speer, specifically how he whitewashed his reputation after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in order to portray himself as an apolitical technocrat who knew nothing of the Nazis' worst excesses (in truth, he exploited slave labor in [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust the concentration camps]] to achieve the Nazis' "production miracle"), can probably figure out that Speer's opposition to Nazism is hollow. [[spoiler:When he takes power, he only "reforms" Nazi Germany in the sense of fixing the most self-defeating elements of its economic and colonial systems, while doing nothing to liberalize its politics or culture, in a manner comparable to the real-life Deng Xiaoping's leadership of China. Genuine reform only comes if he gets sidelined by a clique of liberal advisors called the "Gang of Four" who actually do start dismantling Nazism. Some have described his path as the worst one for Germany, Europe, and the world, as while Bormann condemns the Reich to a slow death by stagnation while both Göring and Heydrich cause it to go down in flames, Speer can build a Reich whose more sustainable fascist system probably will actually last a thousand years and stands a good chance of ''winning'' the Cold War.]]

** Albert Speer in Germany is another inversion. Compared to the doctrinaire conservative Martin Bormann, the reactionary [[BloodKnight warmonger]] Hermann Göring, and the fanatical SS chief UsefulNotes/ReinhartHeydrich, Speer is seemingly the most benevolent of the four candidates to succeed UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, a reformer who realizes that the Nazi system is both morally bankrupt and falling apart at the seams and has built a coalition of liberal dissidents, disaffected students, and moderate NSDAP bureaucrats. However, anybody who knows the first thing about the real-life Speer, specifically how he whitewashed his reputation after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in order to portray himself as an apolitical technocrat who knew nothing of the Nazis' worst excesses (in truth, he exploited slave labor in [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust the concentration camps]] to achieve the Nazis' "production miracle"), can probably figure out that Speer's opposition to Nazism is hollow. [[spoiler:When he takes power, he only "reforms" Nazi Germany in the sense of fixing the most self-defeating elements of its economic and colonial systems, while doing nothing to liberalize its politics or culture, in a manner comparable to the real-life Deng Xiaoping's leadership of China. Genuine reform only comes if he gets sidelined by a clique of liberal advisors called the "Gang of Four" who actually do start dismantling Nazism. Some have described his path as the worst one for Germany, Europe, and the world, as while Bormann condemns the Reich to a slow death by stagnation while both Göring and Heydrich cause it to go down in flames, Speer can build a Reich whose more sustainable fascist system probably will actually last a thousand years and stands a good chance of ''winning'' the Cold War.]]

* The demos for ''[[VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope The New Order: Last Days of Europe]]'' had hyped up a man known only as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Father]], a mysterious minister who unites the tribes of northern Siberia under a religious regime. Before the full game came out, fans expected the worst from The Father, and predicted that he would be a SinisterMinister leading either a Russian Orthodox version of ISIS or perhaps something even worse. In the full game, however, it turned out that The Father is Alexander Men, a real-life GoodShepherd whose "Divine Mandate of Siberia" is a beacon of egalitarianism and religious tolerance in the post-apocalyptic Russian wasteland, and him reuniting Russia is considered one of the best possible endings.
** {{Inverted|Trope}} by Taboritsky of Komi. Initially a Despotist and an eccentric monarchist, he seems like the most moderate of the Passionaryy (Komi's right-wing assembly) in terms of ideological classifications (he is next to [[DaysOfFuturePast Gumilyov's Eurasian State]], [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Shafarevich's Free Republic]] and [[CommieNazis Serov's National Soviet Republic]]). Once Taboritsky wins power and actually cements it however, [[BewareTheSillyOnes it soon becomes clear]] that he is far more [[TheCaligula horrifically insane]] than any of his contenders as he adopts the [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans Burgundian System]], instantly becoming the most radical politician in Komi (and indeed all Russia) by a considerable margin.

* In the Anniversary (and final) episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', Mojo Jojo finally manages to TakeOverTheWorld, and immediately makes it a better place... only to leave out of boredom.

--->'''Homer''': Mr Burns' reign of terror is over! Now begins MY reign of terr...\\

* In ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'' episode ''Steam Lantern'', Hal is knocked into a universe where the [[BigBad Anti Monitor]] has destroyed all but one world which is ruled by a man who appears to be a stereotypical EvilOverlord. At the end of the episode, it's revealed the guy wasn't trying to be evil, he was trying to protect the people of the world and his robots had gone overboard in their duties. [[HeelRealization He realizes his mistake in the end, shuts down his robots, and helps bring his world into Hal's universe.]]

** The international community is very concerned about Teth Adom executing the government of Kahndaq and taking over as a demigod-king. Those who are close to him, however, know that not only is he a patriot to the core who wants to see Kahndaq prosper, but he actually tried very hard to ''avoid'' doing that and to ride his immense popularity to the top peacefully. Only [[spoiler: the mass slaughter of civilians by forces suspected to be affiliated with the corrupt government]] pushed him over the edge to violently take the reins. Once there, he encourages industry and education reform, does not seek self-aggrandisement, and has no tolerance for corruption of any kind.

* Severus Snape in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. While the Voldemort takeover of the magical world leads to a harsh regime (for the non-Slytherins, at least), the fact that muggleborns and “blood traitors” are there ''at all'' suggests he was able to protect them somewhat. [[spoiler:[[InvokedTrope Dumbeldore actually made Snape promise to be this before his death.]]]]

* ''Series/LondonsBurning'': Station Officer Nick Georgiadis, who takes over from the well-loved Station Officer Tate, initially comes off as a hardass and doesn't endear himself to Blue Watch. But while his leadership style is rather different and more stand-offish, he proves himself to be a ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[NotSoAboveItAll with a well-hidden sense of humour]] and a good leader; when a rescue plan involves desperate improvisation that violates several Brigade safety rules and involves great personal risk, he insists on undertaking it himself.

* In the Anniversary (and final) episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', Mojo Jojo finally manages to TakeOverTheWorld, and immediately makes it a better place...only to leave out of boredom.
* In the bible stories episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' - David (Bart) kills Goliath II (Nelson) but his triumph is short lived when it turns out the people really liked Goliath, who built schools and roads. David is arrested.

* This happens in real life, too. Managers are often under a lot of pressure from their superiors to prove themselves when they first start a new assignment, plus a little bit of performance anxiety with an untested group of underlings they've never met before can make "[[ByTheBookCop by the book]]" pretty appealing. As they become more comfortable with the job and the people around them they loosen up because then they know what to expect and who they are working with.
** As a matter of fact, many people get concerned when a manager seems ''too'' nice on the first day as this might mean AWolfInSheepsClothing.

* Severus Snape in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. While the Voldemort takeover of the magical world leads to a harsh regime (for the non-Slytherins, at least), the fact that Mudbloods and Mugglelovers are there ''at all'' suggests he was able to protect them somewhat. [[spoiler:[[InvokedTrope Dumbeldore actually made Snape promise to be this before his death.]]]]

* In the first ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novel "For The Emperor" Kasteen, Brocklaw, and the rest of the 296/301st imagine and fear that Ciaphas is going to be the typical tyrannical Commissar[[note]]with the mass executions and the like[[/note]]. They quickly take to him though when they realise he isn't.

* In ''Fanfic/ThePeaceNotPromised'', Lily and the Marauders are thoroughly scared when Slytherin House unites around Severus Snape, who decrees that the House must all support and protect each other, and who is known to be affiliated with the prospective Death Eaters. Even within Slytherin, Sebastian Urquart is unhappy about Severus driving all of the outcast or vulnerable members of the House into the Death Eaters' arms. When Severus very publicly declares that he will ''not'' become a Death Eater or follow them, everyone around is shocked. Lily, in particularly, doesn't know whether to believe her ears, but really wants to.

** His first episode has Hawkeye and B.J. worried about how bad he'll be, and hard-nosed hypocrite Frank Burns absent for other reasons. Colonel Potter does many things they'd feared, including making Klinger change out of his normal cross-dressing attire into an actual uniform. By the time Burns comes back, eager to see a hard-nosed military man like he'd heard about, Potter is drinking in the Swamp and complimenting Klinger on his fashion sense.

-->'''Krauss''': ''"Dr. Manning, suck my ectoplasmic schwanzstucker! "''

* Jack Donaghy on ''[[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]''. He starts off changing the name of Liz's show and drastically "[[ExecutiveMeddling retooling]]" it to increase its demographic appeal. It's arguable how much he's "improved" since then, but he seems to have grown on the other characters somewhat. (Also, the show seemed to have run out of TyrantTakesTheHelm plots for him after the first couple of episodes.) In later seasons his mentoring seems to be the only thing keeping Liz sane and thus keeping the cast and writers from going off the deep end.
** He actually states outright in the first episode that some of the changes are just for the sake of establishing dominance by putting "his mark" on things.
* Dr. Mildred Finch on ''Series/{{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. And when she turns her supposed "pushiness" against people who are trying to take advantage or hurt Charlie, it turns into a moment of awesome, every time.
** It doesn't hurt that once she starts getting comfortable, she lets up a bit on some of the ultimatums she had laid down at the beginning.

** Oddly enough, arrogant Boston Brahmin Maj. Charles Winchester ends up being one of these in general during his one outing as acting CO of the unit. Winchester actually does act with the unit's best interests in mind and gets all the work done, though he does end up wimping out of standing up to a {{Jerkass}} Marine colonel throwing his weight around and obstructing the compassionate discharge of a Marine private at the camp.[[note]] He had joined sides with Hawkeye and BJ in keeping the private from the wrath of the colonel, until the Marine MP sent to do the colonel's will pointed out that Winchester, as CO, could be prosecuted for obstruction of justice if he officially intervened.[[/note]] In fact, far from being a tyrant, his [[IncrediblyLamePun major]] duties seem to be listening to Wagner and looking impressive behind Potter's desk.

** Dennis Abbot is introduced shutting down the main characters office, insinuating that their all tainted by corruption and even being prepared to arrest them (all while his own honesty remains uncertain to the viewer) but, very gradually, shows an {{Adorkable}} side to his personality, and turns into a FatherToHisMen, and ShipperOnDeck for Jane and Lisbon.