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[[quoteright:320:[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/320x240_4668.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Complete with CoolChair]]
->''"Why is it that when a black man shaves his head he looks like a super hero, but when a white man does it he looks like a serial killer?"''
-->-- '''Creator/ChrisRock'''
In a show that deals with the police, military, or some other armed force of peacekeeping, there's a very good chance that TheLeader of the outfit -- or at least the one everybody respects -- will be a bald black man. Apparently, there is something about being both bald and black which makes a leader popular enough to be appointed, and that something doesn't work when you only have one of the two. It might be that the image invokes strong masculinity, a no-nonsense "get it done" attitude that lends itself well to the setting. This can also apply to leaders of other sorts of groups as well, as long as those groups are "good."
Possibly a form of a TokenMinority, if he's the only person of color present. The writers might be hoping to avoid the usual problems of tokenism by making the one black character someone in a position of authority and respect who's essential to the plot every week, but the biggest drawback is that [[SupportingLeader he still isn't the]] ''[[SupportingLeader lead]]''; it's not his story being told and there's no guarantee that he will grow and evolve as a character over the course of the series. Of course there are exceptions, with ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' standing out by making the Bald Black Leader Guy also the lead role.
His (usually) significantly less bald DistaffCounterpart is the BlackBossLady. May overlap with ScaryBlackMan if he's also intimidating. There is also the optional BBBBB (Ball-Busting Bald Black Boss.) Many examples of this primarily televisual archetype may or may not qualify for all 5 'B' points - but can still embody many of them. Before adding examples, please make sure the character is actually bald when you post him. The buzz cut is quite popular among black men and is not the same thing as having no hair at all, and thus UsefulNotes/BarackObama as U.S. President (for example) would not count. There's a lot of space between "bald" and "[[AfroAsskicker afro]]".
Subtrope to BaldOfAuthority.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Joker in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' is bald, black, huge, and the leader of the motorcycle gang known as The Clowns. It's not exactly a democracy, but it still works.
* Dutch in ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. Also a ScaryBlackMan.
* Basque Grand of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He's not the leader of the country, but he is a high-ranking officer (a Brigadier-General at the time of his death) and during his time as a ColonelBadass was Roy Mustang's immediate superior during the Ishvalan Civil War, although the "black" part is [[AmbiguouslyBrown debatable]].
* Agil is tall, bald, black and has a goatee. He's one of Kirito's trusted friends while trapped in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', and fights as well as he looks with a large battleaxe. In real-life, he owns a bar. He was once the the de-facto leader of a group of tank players who fought on the fronts lines separate from the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade, in the earlier days of SAO.
* Lordgenome from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', although he leans a little closer to AmbiguouslyBrown and started out white and blond.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Card Games]]
* Teferi, from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. His baldness only becomes clear during Time Spiral; previously, his hairstyle was unknown due to his NiceHat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the comic series ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'', [[BaldOfEvil bald white guy]] Henry Bendix is technically the leader, but for the most part, field commander and bald black guy Jackson King (Battalion) calls the shots. He takes over for Bendix as Weatherman, too.
* Patriot from ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers''.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'': Ultimate ComicBook/NickFury, who was explicitly based off of Creator/SamuelLJackson with his permission, and played by him in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. (Fury is white and has hair in mainstream continuity, although a version of Samuel L. Jackson's Fury was later introduced as his son.) Fittingly, the artists [[ArtEvolution started depicting him with a shaved head]] around the same time that he became the leader of ComicBook/TheUltimates; in his first appearance in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', when he was still a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent, he had a fade haircut.[[note]] Surprisingly enough, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness he wasn't always modeled after Samuel L. Jackson]][[/note]]
* From Marvel's ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' series, an (evil) example: Geoffrey Wilder, leader of The Pride.
* ComicBook/LukeCage, in his current bald incarnation, is the leader of the [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Mighty Avengers]], and in the past was the leader of both the Comicbook/NewAvengers and the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}.
* Still from Marvel, [[http://marvel.com/universe/Lieutenant_Stone Lieutenant Stone]], leader of the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops team [[http://marvel.com/universe/Code:_Blue Code: Blue.]]
* For a non-superhero example, Reverend Harland Pepper of ''ComicBook/StuckRubberBaby''.
* ''ComicBook/BattleChasers'': The Maestro, leader of the Marshal Paladins (which Garrison used to be a legendary member of.)
* In ''ComicBook/PowerCompany'', there is Josiah Power, who has facial hair, but a bald head.
* ''Franchise/TheDCU'': Director Bones of the D.E.O. may look like a walking skeleton, but he's actually an African American with transparent flesh. He wears body paint and make-up to go out in public without causing a scene which makes his ethnicity quite clear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* The government agent Cobra Bubbles in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch''. Lampshaded near the end of the movie, when [[spoiler:the Grand Councilwoman]] reminisces about a past meeting and comments, "You had hair then."
%%* The president of New Africa in ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Kenneth (played by Creator/VingRhames) in the 2004 remake of ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'' is one of the main characters in a large cast and, being a police officer and former Marine, as well as one of the few calm and reasonable people in the mall, assumes something akin to a leadership position with in the group.
* Seen in ''Film/TheFifthElement'', where the President of the Federated Territories is both bald and black (played by former wrestler Tom 'Tiny' Lister).
* Shade, the squad leader from ''Film/ResidentEvil2002''.
* Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan does a lot of this.
** The crime lord Kingpin in the ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie. In the comics, he's white.
** The rebel leader in ''Film/TheScorpionKing''. Although that film IS a ClicheStorm.
** The leader of the pit crew in ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'', which is someone that even the drivers have to defer judgement to, but [[TooDumbToLive this is Ricky Bobby we're talking about.]]
* Almost any time Creator/SamuelLJackson is in anything. (Except ''Film/PulpFiction'', in which he has ''glorious'' hair, and the trope is instead covered by Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace.)
** Mace Windu in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels was the leader of the Jedi Council (while Yoda was the Grand Master of the Jedi Order) until he stepped down to concentrate on kicking ass in the Clone Wars.
** His stipulation for his likeness being used for Ultimate Nick Fury (see the comics section) was that he get first dibs on playing the character in any movies. Marvel Studios kept their promise, and Jackson plays Nick Fury in the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''. His performance is so iconic that the main comics have started adopting it for themselves.
* Creator/LaurenceFishburne as Morpheus in ''Film/TheMatrix''. (most of his other roles have him with a buzz cut)
* In ''Film/LandOfTheDead'', a big, bald, black zombie leads the other zombies to march on Fiddler's Green.
* The trope is briefly discussed in ''Film/FacingTheGiants'' when the token minority teacher suggests that the coach may be getting hair plugs since the only white guy who is bald and looks cool is Series/{{Kojak}}.
* Avery Brooks in ''Film/AmericanHistoryX''. Yes, there's a theme going here.
* USS ''Kelvin's'' commander, Captain Robau in ''Film/StarTrek2009''. His ethnicity isn't given in the movie (the actor is Faran Tahir, a Pakistani-American). WordOfGod has it that Robau was born in Cuba. Notable in that the character appears for less than 10 minutes and speaks maybe two paragraphs of dialogue, and yet is a full-fledged MemeticBadass.
* Dillon in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''. Granted, he's merely a leader of a small group of all-male convicts turned religious zealots, (and they all shave their heads to avoid problems with parasites), but still.
* Louis Gosset, Jr. as President Gerald Fitzhugh in ''[[Film/LeftBehind2000 Left Behind: World At War]]'', and as his military roles in ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'' and the entire ''Film/IronEagle'' franchise.
%% * Alby is the leader of the Gladers in ''Film/{{The Maze Runner|2014}}''.
* Comicbook/{{Deadshot}}, played by Creator/WillSmith, in ''Film/SuicideSquad2016''.
* In the film series of ''Film/TheHungerGames'', more specifically ''Mockingjay'', Commander Boggs is portrayed this way as the second-in-command with the "District 13" rebels. Katniss comes to genuinely trust him and see him as a friend. [[spoiler:There is actually evidence -- he's one of the ones to figure out -- that like several other characters, District 13's President Alma Coin wanted him and the rest of the "Star Squad" out of the picture, being popular figures she couldn't expect to reliably side with her... which in turn suggests that Coin [[UriahGambit placing him where she did]] was out of fear if Boggs lived through the last stages of the war, he'd become a peacetime case of this.]]
* Supervising Marshal John Ringer, played by [=LaMont=] Garrett, is the black bald leader of an elite USMarshal team, escorting an extremely high-risk prisoner back to the U.S. in ''Film/{{Primal}}''. He has a 'take no shit' attitude and immediately clashes with GreatWhiteHunter Frank Walsh; a civilian who refuses to respect his authority.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/JanetAsimov's ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'': Admiral Boris Yobo is head of Space Command, which puts him in charge of Space Academy, where SpaceCadet Jeff Wells is in training. Initially it appeared that Fargo had left the service, but the first book reveals that he'd actually become a secret agent working with Yobo to discover the secret identity of the first book's villain. So aside from being the highest-ranked person that we meet in the Solar Federation, he takes a personal interest in the Wells family and is directly responsible for Jeff having [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture enough credits to purchase Norby]] in the first place. The novels tend to describe him as the descendant of African kings, emphasizing his skin-tone and leadership skills at the same time. His baldness is emphasized in ''Literature/NorbyAndTheCourtJester'' because the planet Izz insists on everyone wearing braids, and since his natural baldness prevents him from having any other hair, he has to grow a mustache and braid that instead.
%%* It seems to be the case in ''Literature/BoneStreetRumba'' that ''nobody'' respects the higher ups in the Council of the Dead. Riley, however, is a Soulcatcher Prime, and Carlos' partner, and one of those who does have respect in the hierarchy. %%where is the context for black/bald? Leader is reasonably established
%%* ''{{Literature/Fablehaven}}'' series: Trask %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts''' ''Blood Pact'': [[ThePoliticalOfficer Commissar]] Usain Edur, a ScaryBlackMan (actually a pretty cool guy who is also a DeadpanSnarker) has been assigned to their regiment as an extra commissar. [[spoiler:[[BlackDudediesfirst Unsurprisingly, he is also the first named character to die in the next book.]] While also being [[TakingYouWithMe awesome]], so there is that.]] %%where is the context for bald? Is it age, does he shave, is it natural?
%%* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt becomes the leader of [[LaResistance the Order of the Phoenix]] after [[spoiler: Dumbledore and Moody's deaths]]. After Voldemort's defeat, he even becomes Minister for Magic.%%Leader context! Bald context? Black context?
%%* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'''s ''Eragon'': Ajihad is the leader of the rebel group. %%Leader context! Bald context? Black context?
%%* ''Literature/PrayersForTheAssassin'': Major/General Kidd %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
* ''{{Literature/Spaceforce}}'' series: Spaceforce's Commander Tobias Judd %%where is the context for black/bald/leader? Leader is kinds there... How big is the spaceforce?
%%* ''Literature/TheWalrusAndTheWarwolf'': Jon Arabin, or The Warwolf %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Principal Robin Wood in the final season of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer.'' Also, when he leads a Slayer squad in Cleveland.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Gunn, at least in his first few appearances.
** At Angel Investigations he's more like "Bald Black Big Guy". Subverted when he grows his hair out in the fifth season.
--->'''Gunn:''' Heh, what'd you think, I was PrematurelyBald? ''[beat]'' I wasn't.
** He becomes one again in the comic-book continuation, ''After the Fall''. [[spoiler:Albeit an evil, vampire version]].
* Dr. Alan Deaton, on MTV's ''Series/TeenWolf''. He helps the main characters out all the time, comes up with answers and/or plans, and always knows what to do. He is just one badass dude.
* Walter Steele of Series/{{Arrow}} is a secondary character, but the CEO of Queen Industries. (Worth noting is that his actor played Shade in ''Resident Evil'', mentioned above.)
* Aglaine the Druid Leader in ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' though he was killed off pretty quickly. Helios was a villainous example.
%%* Mr. Moesby from ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody''.
* Uncle Phil from ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''. In the second half of the show, he's a district judge. Also, in the final season, the Republican Party recruits him to run for another political position, though he decides to drop out of the election. Besides these, Uncle Phil is definitely a strong leader within his family and becomes Will's father figure.
* Robert Sullivan from ''Series/Station19''. Brought in a Captain of the station house at the beginning of Season Two, he was then promoted to Battalion Chief in Season Three.
* Creator/AveryBrooks as Hawk in ''Series/SpenserForHire'', from 1985 to 1988, and the spin-off ''A Man Called Hawk'', in 1989.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had Captain Sisko, also played by Avery Brooks, [[ExecutiveMeddling be clean-shaven with a full head of hair to avoid comparisons to Hawk]]. In the Season 3 premiere "The Search, Part 1" he'd grown back the goatee and had shaved his head in the Season 4 premiere "The Way of the Warrior" once there was a noticeable characterization difference between Sisko and Hawk. (Mainly, ''Spenser'' had a series of post-script movies, so Brooks was playing Hawk again; he kept his Hawk look in [=DS9=]. When production commenced on Season 4, [=DS9=] producers expected Paramount executives to complain, but to their surprise executives had no problems with the new look).
* The President of Great Britain in a ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[AnotherDimension Parallel Universe]].
* TJ, the Red Ranger during the second half of ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo''. Also, more in the spirit of the trope, Colonel Mason Truman in ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''.
* In addition to being a [[TeamDad surrogate dad]], Series/SesameStreet's Gordon will step up during a crisis.
* President Wayne Palmer in ''Series/TwentyFour''.
* Many Jaffa leaders from ''Series/StargateSG1'', exemplified by Teal'c, who was bald until Season 8, when he grew hair.
* [[MeaningfulName Onyx Blackman]] in ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'' is a Bald Black Despotic Tyrant Guy.
* Ted Shaw, commander of the ''Antares'' in ''Defying Gravity''
* Principal Steven Harper in ''Series/BostonPublic''.
* Admiral Fitzwallace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on ''Series/TheWestWing''.
* Sergeant Major Jonas Blaine, field commander of ''Series/TheUnit'', is forced to go bald in a few episodes.
* The President in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is black and bald. He is played by Creator/MichaelDorn.
* Special Agent/[[ColonelBadass Colonel]] Broyles in ''Series/{{Fringe}}''
* In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSinbad'''s second season, Rongar, who had been bald and black all along, was revealed to be a prince (technically, exiled ex-prince) in his home realm.
* Cedric Daniels and Major "Bunny" Colvin (and later, Ellis Carver) on ''Series/TheWire''.
* Captain Roy Montgomery from ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is this and very much a BenevolentBoss. Also, very awesome.
* [[spoiler:Oenomaus]]/Doctore in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''.
* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', "Big Mike" Tucker is the bald, black manager of the Buy More—though he's really more of a figurehead as he's about as interested in doing any work as the rest of the staff (i.e. not very) and so it's Chuck who ends up doing most of the actual leading, in between saving the world, or the series of evil assistant managers.
* In season 5 of ''Series/CriminalMinds'', when [[TheLeader Hotch]] temporarily steps down, [[BigBrotherInstinct Morgan]] was briefly the team leader because [[spoiler:The Reaper was back to hunt down Hotch]].
* Lt. Malcom Barker in season 4 of ''Series/NewYorkUndercover''.
* Captain Marcus Chaplin, commanding officer of the United States Ballistic Missile submarine ''Colorado'' in ''Series/LastResort''.
* A man whose alias is known as Peter Collier on ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' acts as the leader of "Vigilance", a group of organized anti-Government-surveillance [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]].
* ''Series/{{Crisis|2014}}'' has UsefulNotes/{{FBI}} Director Olsen, played by Michael Beach.
* Played with on ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'':
** [[Creator/AndreBraugher Captain Holt]] is not quite bald, but he has a very short-buzz cut and possesses the standard personality of this character (authoritative, serious, commanding, etc.) By season three, he practically is bald.
** On the other hand, [[Creator/TerryCrews Sgt. Jeffords]] has been bald from the start, but is less imposing and authoritative personality-wise and is a bit more neurotic than the standard example of the trope. However, he often plays the OnlySaneMan amongst the other squad members outside of Holt, [[spoiler: and he gets promoted to captain by the end of the series, playing the trope more straight.]]
* ''Series/MondayMornings'': Dr. Jorge Villanueva, mostly known by his {{InSeries Nickname}}s "El Gato" or "Big Cat", is a version of this trope from a MedicalDrama. He's a legendary trauma surgeon and an excellent diagnostician. He's really a leader of his team and other younger doctors who look up to him. He's sometimes downright fatherly and PapaBear on people who would mess with his "cubs".
* Captain Trunk, ''Series/SledgeHammer'''s long suffering boss, is something of an aversion, ticking all the boxes except for his moderate Afro. Even so, [[AxCrazy Sledge]] [[CowboyCop Hammer]] is the sort of subordinate who could cause stress-alopecia in ''anyone''...
* ''Series/TotalRecall2070'': [[DaChief Martin Ehrenthal]], both bald and black, is the head of the local division of the CPB. He's an incredibly competent administrator, not afraid to stand up to any [[MegaCorp Consortium]] representative or someone from the [[JurisdictionFriction Assessor's Office]] trying to browbeat him or his agents to back away from their investigations.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie (whose comic counterpart [[RaceLift is white]]) briefly takes charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. midway through season three, and manages to take out a major Hydra asset. Mack later takes the role as Director for good at the end of season five, as [[spoiler:Coulson is terminally ill and Daisy (his handpicked replacement) doesn't consider herself worthy of the position.]] Mack is consistently a firm but fair leader, although he struggles under TheChainsOfCommanding at times.
* ''Series/{{Corporate}}'': Lance Reddick plays Christian Deville, the CEO of the EvilCorp and a thoroughly BadBoss.
* ''Series/VigilBBC'' has Paterson Joseph’s Commander Newsome, captain of the titular HMS Vigil.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* In the 1970s and 80s, the bald, black "EvilGenius" Lightning Hernandez was the unofficial leader of all the {{rudo}}s on the Dominican Republic television program "International Wrestling". For the record, the unofficial leader of the {{tecnico}}s, Jack Veneno, was also black but not bald, making this overlap with BaldOfEvil.
* Wrestling/AhmedJohnson
* Former Interim Raw GM Jonathan Coachman
* Former Smackdown GM Teddy Long
* Wrestling/TheRock after his 2011 return. The supposed leader of "Team Bring It".
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Tu'Shan, Chapter Master of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s Salamanders Space Marine chapter. Very bald and very, ''[[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation very]]'' black.
** Vulkan, the Primarch of the Salamanders is black and bald.
** Ahzek Ahriman, Arch-Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons, is a rarer evil example of this trope, judging by his [[https://i.redd.it/qs45n45lyhq51.jpg depiction]] in the ''Fury of Magnus'' book.
* ''{{TabletopGame/Pathfinder}}'' has the Supreme Elect of Andoran, Codwin I of Augustana, who fits this description.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* Jameson Locke is the leader of Team Osiris in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.
* Casper [[spoiler:Orillion]] from ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}''. [[spoiler:He founded The Order, the so-called "terrorist group" that ultimately saved all humans in the Sirius Sector from a certain Nomad cleansing.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' games, "Representative Helmer", the leader of Second Miltia, is both bald and black.
* "Sarge" Redford in ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' has an unknown level of baldness (He wears a hat, but some hair can be seen otherwise, so he's at least not ''entirely'' bald for sure), but leads the rather bumbling squad, sometimes serving as the OnlySaneMan alongside Marlowe. Earlier teasers showed him as bald, though.
* Roland in the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' games. By ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', he became a leader to the the Crimson Raiders resistance.
* The sort-of-leader of the IRIS [[LaResistance rebel network]] in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'', Hahn, is an extremely large, sort-of-black and sort-of-Asian man. (The ''actual'' leader, DaChief, is...elsewhere.)
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' has Zach Hammond, security officer and leader of your party. Hints are dropped that he might know more than he lets on...[[spoiler:until it's shown that it's Kendra who's actually the Mole. Hammond is just as much in the dark as you are.]]
* ''VideoGame/SecondSight'' gives us one of these as the head of the paramilitary organization you're allied with.
* Possibly subverted by DHS agent Brad in ''VideoGame/DeadRising''. He doesn't seem to have any authority over anyone besides his partner Jessie, and while he may be the one allegedly supplying food and essentials to the growing survivor population in the sealed Security Room, he doesn't hold a candle to Frank, who, blessed with incredible charisma, can lead large posses of frightened people through throngs of the undead.
* Michael Chain of ''VideoGame/FZero-GX'', leader of the Bloody Chain gang.
* Prophet of ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' is your squad leader, spending the entire game giving out orders using the radio.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the player meets the Hidden Bek gang on Taris, led by one of these. The player and the Bald Black Leader Guy (depending on player choices) can end up helping each other out for mutual benefit. It counts because the Beks are more about security and brotherhood, while their rivals are just trying to take over the under-city.
** Also, Jolee Bindo. Not quite the leader, but as the oldest member of your party, he offers a lot of guidance and still kicks ass.
* In ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'' Doomfist is a leader of the terrorist group Talon. He is not only bald and charismatic, but is a dedicated brawler.
* Chris Jacobs from ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}''.
* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', there's Icybyrd Slim, mayor of New Leaf City. While he doesn't seem to be much of an ActionPolitician, he does seem to be the brains behind every project in the city, which is populated by {{Bounty Hunter}}s, {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s and {{Ditzy Genius}}es.
* Irving Lambert for most of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series...Yet he managed to get it back in Double Agent.
* Commander Gore from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* Your commanding officer, General Claibourne, in the ''VideoGame/JauntTrooper'' series.
* Josh, the leader of the BSAA Delta team from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' gives us Reddas, the Pirate King of Balfonheim, [[spoiler:and ex-Judge Magister under the name of Foris Zecht]]. He's a bit on the AmbiguouslyBrown side, but completely bald except for a fluffy white beard.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 3'' adds the character of Griffin, an energy-magnate-turned-post-apocalyptic-warlord living in the ruins of a city hit with a KillSat some ten years previous. Hypermasculine indeed.
* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-Horace_Warfield_SC2_Head1_134.jpg General Horace Warfield]] from ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' may or may not be bald (it's hard to tell under the PowerArmor), but he is every inch a FourStarBadass.
* Coach from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' usually acts as the leader of the game's four man ensemble.
* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'''s [[spoiler:[[BigGood Tyrael]] is one after he voluntarily fell from grace to help humanity]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' (2012) has Kris Delaney of the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised Subverters.]]
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': Basilio is initially the ruling khan of the militant country of Ferox. Though after you beat his champion Marth in Chapter 4, DarkSkinnedBlond Flavia takes his throne.
* Admiral Briggs from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' is a four-star admiral in charge of SEAL Team Six, who spends much of the game giving you orders over the radio and chewing you out if you fail the optional strike force missions.
* Subverted with Frank Tenpenny in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': he's bald, he's black, and he's a leader...of an evil band of {{Dirty Cop}}s.
* The Admiral in ''VideoGame/{{Sunless Sea}}''. A particularly important figure in London's admiralty, and the closest thing to a boss you'll have for a good chunk of the game, possibly all of it if you'd rather bring London to greatness than certain other factions.
* Captain Fowler from ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' is the captain of the DPD, and an old friend of Hank's even though he has very little patience for his uncooperative behavior.
* USMC Commandant Dolph from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''.
* Victor "Zane" Metiko, a ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'' multiplayer operator, the co-founder and leader of African "terrorist group" called the Jackals.
* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' has Michael Edwards, one of the 12 playable characters. He used to lead his firefighting squad before all of them were killed.
* Principal Wells in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' (and its prequel ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm''), the principal of Blackwell High School.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Roy in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is black in a family of bald men and the leader of his team, although he's a bit [[LargeHam more hammy]] and ''much'' [[DeadpanSnarker more snarky]] than usual examples of this trope. The King of Nowhere also qualifies, from what we see of him in a flashback panel (which is among the reasons Roy was confused with him at one point).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Ismail is a bald, black man who becomes the captain of the Black Guard of Vanna.
* ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'' has Abdul Johnson, Chairman of the Grand Council, and Rashid King, head of Internal Security and the power behind the throne. Both are Black Muslims, although their hairstyle is never quite made explicit.
* The fan-made ''Franchise/StarTrek'' video ''WebVideo/PreludeToAxanar'' has Admiral Marcus Ramirez, Chief of Starfleet. He's bald, black, and fearless against the Klingon Empire.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "Tag Sale - You're It!" begins with such a guy leading a squad of OSI agents. They're careful not to anger him, perhaps out of fear that he'll make them wear frilly dresses, which he seems quite intent on doing.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': After a galaxy-rocking (literally) breakup with Shayera at the end of season two, Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart shaved his head in time for "Unlimited". The first episode of the revamp put him in leading a small team of greener heroes, and his status as founding member frequently made him a go-to guy in a crisis.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodies this in "Ass Burgers", which [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the frequency of the trope:
-->'''Leader:''' The world around us has turned completely to shit, but [[Film/TheyLive aliens are putting out a brainwave]] that keeps most people seeing a false reality.\\
'''Stan:''' Aliens?\\
'''Leader:''' [[Franchise/TheMatrix ...or robots from the future.]] Whatever.\\
''[later]''\\
'''Leader:''' ''[firing shotgun]'' [[Film/{{Blade}} You vampire sons-of-bitches!]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel'': Jefferson Smith, Josh [=McGrath=]/Max Steel's adoptive father, fills this role for most of the original continuity. He does get replaced as the BigGood by Jet Ferrus starting with ''Bio-Crisis'', but he's still the one running the show in N-Tek even when he's not present anymore.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', OldSoldier and FourStarBadass Panthro takes on this role in his debut. Having singlehandedly rescued the rest of the [=ThunderCats=] from a tight spot, he's incredulous at their lack of "adult supervision" and young king Lion-O's impulsiveness, in particular. Panthro demands they defer to him on a shared mission and refuses to acknowledge Lion-O as his liege until [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Lion-O proves himself in battle]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
%%
%Do not add Barack Obama as an Aversion%
%This is an admin request%
%%
* UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, is black and bald and was the uncontested leader of his team, his league, and, well, his sport's history. And after retiring (the second time), he became a team president with the Washington Wizards, ended up making ''another'' comeback with his new team, then later became first a minority owner and then the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, who coincidentally made the playoffs for the first time in their brief team history the year that he became majority owner. So yeah, he probably qualifies.
* Other top NBA players who fit the trope include Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett. Kobe Bryant comes pretty close, but he usually has at least a little fuzz going on. (Basketball would seem to have an edge over other team sports for this trope due to the lack of headgear.)
* Some leaders of African countries who fit this trope:
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Pierre_Nkurunziza_-_World_Economic_Forum_on_Africa_2008.jpg Pierre Nkurunziza]] of Burundi (President from 2005 to 2020).
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Yoweri_Kaguta_Museveni.jpg Yoweri Museveni]] of Uganda (President since 1986).
** [[http://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/12-king-letsie-lesotho.jpg King Letsie III]] of Lesotho (ruling since 1996).
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Jacob_Zuma_2010_%28cropped%29.jpg Jacob Zuma]] of South Africa (President from 2009 to 2018).
** [[http://connectafrica.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/senegal-21.jpg Abdoulaye Wade]] of Senegal (Presient from 2000 to 2012).
* Howard Jones, best known for his tenure as lead singer of Music/KillswitchEngage.
* As seen above, Ving Rhames, Tommy Lister Jr, Lance Reddick, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan made their careers playing this archetype.
* Of all places, ''ice hockey'' gives us an example; Calgary Flames right winger Jarome Iginla. One of the NHL's true black superstar players, he's a six-time all-star, and in 2003 was named [[TheCaptain team captain]] of the Flames, the first black team captain of a major hockey team. At the time of his appointment, he had an Obama-like close buzz cut; now he has something more akin to a clean scalp.
** Winnipeg star Evander Kane may also count, though he isn't a captain, he is the team's offensive leader.
* New York Knicks former head coach Mike Woodson.
* Former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey and current U.S. Senator from UsefulNotes/NewJersey (and, after an especially RousingSpeech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, one of ''the'' national rising stars of the Democratic Party) Cory Booker. He backs it up with some real-life heroics, too; most famously, while Mayor of Newark, he stopped his car on his way to work to save a woman from a house fire, suffering smoke inhalation and second-degree burns on his hands.
* UsefulNotes/SouthCarolina Senator Tim Scott.
* A number of black film directors are this, among them Keenen Ivory Wayans, John Singleton, and Antoine Fuqua.
* Music/DariusRucker, lead singer of Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish.
* Kelvin Swaby, lead singer of British indie rock band Music/TheHeavy.
* Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall.
* Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has become the "Bald Black Boss Lady" variant since revealing she has alopecia and going without her wig.
%%
%Do not add Barack Obama as an Aversion%
%This is an admin request%
%%
[[/folder]]
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%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1306467495008480100
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[[quoteright:320:[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/320x240_4668.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Complete with CoolChair]]
->''"Why is it that when a black man shaves his head he looks like a super hero, but when a white man does it he looks like a serial killer?"''
-->-- '''Creator/ChrisRock'''
In a show that deals with the police, military, or some other armed force of peacekeeping, there's a very good chance that TheLeader of the outfit -- or at least the one everybody respects -- will be a bald black man. Apparently, there is something about being both bald and black which makes a leader popular enough to be appointed, and that something doesn't work when you only have one of the two. It might be that the image invokes strong masculinity, a no-nonsense "get it done" attitude that lends itself well to the setting. This can also apply to leaders of other sorts of groups as well, as long as those groups are "good."
Possibly a form of a TokenMinority, if he's the only person of color present. The writers might be hoping to avoid the usual problems of tokenism by making the one black character someone in a position of authority and respect who's essential to the plot every week, but the biggest drawback is that [[SupportingLeader he still isn't the]] ''[[SupportingLeader lead]]''; it's not his story being told and there's no guarantee that he will grow and evolve as a character over the course of the series. Of course there are exceptions, with ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' standing out by making the Bald Black Leader Guy also the lead role.
His (usually) significantly less bald DistaffCounterpart is the BlackBossLady. May overlap with ScaryBlackMan if he's also intimidating. There is also the optional BBBBB (Ball-Busting Bald Black Boss.) Many examples of this primarily televisual archetype may or may not qualify for all 5 'B' points - but can still embody many of them. Before adding examples, please make sure the character is actually bald when you post him. The buzz cut is quite popular among black men and is not the same thing as having no hair at all, and thus UsefulNotes/BarackObama as U.S. President (for example) would not count. There's a lot of space between "bald" and "[[AfroAsskicker afro]]".
Subtrope to BaldOfAuthority.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Joker in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' is bald, black, huge, and the leader of the motorcycle gang known as The Clowns. It's not exactly a democracy, but it still works.
* Dutch in ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. Also a ScaryBlackMan.
* Basque Grand of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He's not the leader of the country, but he is a high-ranking officer (a Brigadier-General at the time of his death) and during his time as a ColonelBadass was Roy Mustang's immediate superior during the Ishvalan Civil War, although the "black" part is [[AmbiguouslyBrown debatable]].
* Agil is tall, bald, black and has a goatee. He's one of Kirito's trusted friends while trapped in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', and fights as well as he looks with a large battleaxe. In real-life, he owns a bar. He was once the the de-facto leader of a group of tank players who fought on the fronts lines separate from the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade, in the earlier days of SAO.
* Lordgenome from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', although he leans a little closer to AmbiguouslyBrown and started out white and blond.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Card Games]]
* Teferi, from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. His baldness only becomes clear during Time Spiral; previously, his hairstyle was unknown due to his NiceHat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the comic series ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'', [[BaldOfEvil bald white guy]] Henry Bendix is technically the leader, but for the most part, field commander and bald black guy Jackson King (Battalion) calls the shots. He takes over for Bendix as Weatherman, too.
* Patriot from ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers''.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'': Ultimate ComicBook/NickFury, who was explicitly based off of Creator/SamuelLJackson with his permission, and played by him in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. (Fury is white and has hair in mainstream continuity, although a version of Samuel L. Jackson's Fury was later introduced as his son.) Fittingly, the artists [[ArtEvolution started depicting him with a shaved head]] around the same time that he became the leader of ComicBook/TheUltimates; in his first appearance in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', when he was still a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent, he had a fade haircut.[[note]] Surprisingly enough, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness he wasn't always modeled after Samuel L. Jackson]][[/note]]
* From Marvel's ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' series, an (evil) example: Geoffrey Wilder, leader of The Pride.
* ComicBook/LukeCage, in his current bald incarnation, is the leader of the [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Mighty Avengers]], and in the past was the leader of both the Comicbook/NewAvengers and the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}.
* Still from Marvel, [[http://marvel.com/universe/Lieutenant_Stone Lieutenant Stone]], leader of the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops team [[http://marvel.com/universe/Code:_Blue Code: Blue.]]
* For a non-superhero example, Reverend Harland Pepper of ''ComicBook/StuckRubberBaby''.
* ''ComicBook/BattleChasers'': The Maestro, leader of the Marshal Paladins (which Garrison used to be a legendary member of.)
* In ''ComicBook/PowerCompany'', there is Josiah Power, who has facial hair, but a bald head.
* ''Franchise/TheDCU'': Director Bones of the D.E.O. may look like a walking skeleton, but he's actually an African American with transparent flesh. He wears body paint and make-up to go out in public without causing a scene which makes his ethnicity quite clear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* The government agent Cobra Bubbles in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch''. Lampshaded near the end of the movie, when [[spoiler:the Grand Councilwoman]] reminisces about a past meeting and comments, "You had hair then."
%%* The president of New Africa in ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Kenneth (played by Creator/VingRhames) in the 2004 remake of ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'' is one of the main characters in a large cast and, being a police officer and former Marine, as well as one of the few calm and reasonable people in the mall, assumes something akin to a leadership position with in the group.
* Seen in ''Film/TheFifthElement'', where the President of the Federated Territories is both bald and black (played by former wrestler Tom 'Tiny' Lister).
* Shade, the squad leader from ''Film/ResidentEvil2002''.
* Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan does a lot of this.
** The crime lord Kingpin in the ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie. In the comics, he's white.
** The rebel leader in ''Film/TheScorpionKing''. Although that film IS a ClicheStorm.
** The leader of the pit crew in ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'', which is someone that even the drivers have to defer judgement to, but [[TooDumbToLive this is Ricky Bobby we're talking about.]]
* Almost any time Creator/SamuelLJackson is in anything. (Except ''Film/PulpFiction'', in which he has ''glorious'' hair, and the trope is instead covered by Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace.)
** Mace Windu in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels was the leader of the Jedi Council (while Yoda was the Grand Master of the Jedi Order) until he stepped down to concentrate on kicking ass in the Clone Wars.
** His stipulation for his likeness being used for Ultimate Nick Fury (see the comics section) was that he get first dibs on playing the character in any movies. Marvel Studios kept their promise, and Jackson plays Nick Fury in the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''. His performance is so iconic that the main comics have started adopting it for themselves.
* Creator/LaurenceFishburne as Morpheus in ''Film/TheMatrix''. (most of his other roles have him with a buzz cut)
* In ''Film/LandOfTheDead'', a big, bald, black zombie leads the other zombies to march on Fiddler's Green.
* The trope is briefly discussed in ''Film/FacingTheGiants'' when the token minority teacher suggests that the coach may be getting hair plugs since the only white guy who is bald and looks cool is Series/{{Kojak}}.
* Avery Brooks in ''Film/AmericanHistoryX''. Yes, there's a theme going here.
* USS ''Kelvin's'' commander, Captain Robau in ''Film/StarTrek2009''. His ethnicity isn't given in the movie (the actor is Faran Tahir, a Pakistani-American). WordOfGod has it that Robau was born in Cuba. Notable in that the character appears for less than 10 minutes and speaks maybe two paragraphs of dialogue, and yet is a full-fledged MemeticBadass.
* Dillon in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''. Granted, he's merely a leader of a small group of all-male convicts turned religious zealots, (and they all shave their heads to avoid problems with parasites), but still.
* Louis Gosset, Jr. as President Gerald Fitzhugh in ''[[Film/LeftBehind2000 Left Behind: World At War]]'', and as his military roles in ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'' and the entire ''Film/IronEagle'' franchise.
%% * Alby is the leader of the Gladers in ''Film/{{The Maze Runner|2014}}''.
* Comicbook/{{Deadshot}}, played by Creator/WillSmith, in ''Film/SuicideSquad2016''.
* In the film series of ''Film/TheHungerGames'', more specifically ''Mockingjay'', Commander Boggs is portrayed this way as the second-in-command with the "District 13" rebels. Katniss comes to genuinely trust him and see him as a friend. [[spoiler:There is actually evidence -- he's one of the ones to figure out -- that like several other characters, District 13's President Alma Coin wanted him and the rest of the "Star Squad" out of the picture, being popular figures she couldn't expect to reliably side with her... which in turn suggests that Coin [[UriahGambit placing him where she did]] was out of fear if Boggs lived through the last stages of the war, he'd become a peacetime case of this.]]
* Supervising Marshal John Ringer, played by [=LaMont=] Garrett, is the black bald leader of an elite USMarshal team, escorting an extremely high-risk prisoner back to the U.S. in ''Film/{{Primal}}''. He has a 'take no shit' attitude and immediately clashes with GreatWhiteHunter Frank Walsh; a civilian who refuses to respect his authority.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/JanetAsimov's ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'': Admiral Boris Yobo is head of Space Command, which puts him in charge of Space Academy, where SpaceCadet Jeff Wells is in training. Initially it appeared that Fargo had left the service, but the first book reveals that he'd actually become a secret agent working with Yobo to discover the secret identity of the first book's villain. So aside from being the highest-ranked person that we meet in the Solar Federation, he takes a personal interest in the Wells family and is directly responsible for Jeff having [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture enough credits to purchase Norby]] in the first place. The novels tend to describe him as the descendant of African kings, emphasizing his skin-tone and leadership skills at the same time. His baldness is emphasized in ''Literature/NorbyAndTheCourtJester'' because the planet Izz insists on everyone wearing braids, and since his natural baldness prevents him from having any other hair, he has to grow a mustache and braid that instead.
%%* It seems to be the case in ''Literature/BoneStreetRumba'' that ''nobody'' respects the higher ups in the Council of the Dead. Riley, however, is a Soulcatcher Prime, and Carlos' partner, and one of those who does have respect in the hierarchy. %%where is the context for black/bald? Leader is reasonably established
%%* ''{{Literature/Fablehaven}}'' series: Trask %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts''' ''Blood Pact'': [[ThePoliticalOfficer Commissar]] Usain Edur, a ScaryBlackMan (actually a pretty cool guy who is also a DeadpanSnarker) has been assigned to their regiment as an extra commissar. [[spoiler:[[BlackDudediesfirst Unsurprisingly, he is also the first named character to die in the next book.]] While also being [[TakingYouWithMe awesome]], so there is that.]] %%where is the context for bald? Is it age, does he shave, is it natural?
%%* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt becomes the leader of [[LaResistance the Order of the Phoenix]] after [[spoiler: Dumbledore and Moody's deaths]]. After Voldemort's defeat, he even becomes Minister for Magic.%%Leader context! Bald context? Black context?
%%* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'''s ''Eragon'': Ajihad is the leader of the rebel group. %%Leader context! Bald context? Black context?
%%* ''Literature/PrayersForTheAssassin'': Major/General Kidd %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
* ''{{Literature/Spaceforce}}'' series: Spaceforce's Commander Tobias Judd %%where is the context for black/bald/leader? Leader is kinds there... How big is the spaceforce?
%%* ''Literature/TheWalrusAndTheWarwolf'': Jon Arabin, or The Warwolf %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Principal Robin Wood in the final season of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer.'' Also, when he leads a Slayer squad in Cleveland.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Gunn, at least in his first few appearances.
** At Angel Investigations he's more like "Bald Black Big Guy". Subverted when he grows his hair out in the fifth season.
--->'''Gunn:''' Heh, what'd you think, I was PrematurelyBald? ''[beat]'' I wasn't.
** He becomes one again in the comic-book continuation, ''After the Fall''. [[spoiler:Albeit an evil, vampire version]].
* Dr. Alan Deaton, on MTV's ''Series/TeenWolf''. He helps the main characters out all the time, comes up with answers and/or plans, and always knows what to do. He is just one badass dude.
* Walter Steele of Series/{{Arrow}} is a secondary character, but the CEO of Queen Industries. (Worth noting is that his actor played Shade in ''Resident Evil'', mentioned above.)
* Aglaine the Druid Leader in ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' though he was killed off pretty quickly. Helios was a villainous example.
%%* Mr. Moesby from ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody''.
* Uncle Phil from ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''. In the second half of the show, he's a district judge. Also, in the final season, the Republican Party recruits him to run for another political position, though he decides to drop out of the election. Besides these, Uncle Phil is definitely a strong leader within his family and becomes Will's father figure.
* Robert Sullivan from ''Series/Station19''. Brought in a Captain of the station house at the beginning of Season Two, he was then promoted to Battalion Chief in Season Three.
* Creator/AveryBrooks as Hawk in ''Series/SpenserForHire'', from 1985 to 1988, and the spin-off ''A Man Called Hawk'', in 1989.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had Captain Sisko, also played by Avery Brooks, [[ExecutiveMeddling be clean-shaven with a full head of hair to avoid comparisons to Hawk]]. In the Season 3 premiere "The Search, Part 1" he'd grown back the goatee and had shaved his head in the Season 4 premiere "The Way of the Warrior" once there was a noticeable characterization difference between Sisko and Hawk. (Mainly, ''Spenser'' had a series of post-script movies, so Brooks was playing Hawk again; he kept his Hawk look in [=DS9=]. When production commenced on Season 4, [=DS9=] producers expected Paramount executives to complain, but to their surprise executives had no problems with the new look).
* The President of Great Britain in a ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[AnotherDimension Parallel Universe]].
* TJ, the Red Ranger during the second half of ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo''. Also, more in the spirit of the trope, Colonel Mason Truman in ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''.
* In addition to being a [[TeamDad surrogate dad]], Series/SesameStreet's Gordon will step up during a crisis.
* President Wayne Palmer in ''Series/TwentyFour''.
* Many Jaffa leaders from ''Series/StargateSG1'', exemplified by Teal'c, who was bald until Season 8, when he grew hair.
* [[MeaningfulName Onyx Blackman]] in ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'' is a Bald Black Despotic Tyrant Guy.
* Ted Shaw, commander of the ''Antares'' in ''Defying Gravity''
* Principal Steven Harper in ''Series/BostonPublic''.
* Admiral Fitzwallace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on ''Series/TheWestWing''.
* Sergeant Major Jonas Blaine, field commander of ''Series/TheUnit'', is forced to go bald in a few episodes.
* The President in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is black and bald. He is played by Creator/MichaelDorn.
* Special Agent/[[ColonelBadass Colonel]] Broyles in ''Series/{{Fringe}}''
* In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSinbad'''s second season, Rongar, who had been bald and black all along, was revealed to be a prince (technically, exiled ex-prince) in his home realm.
* Cedric Daniels and Major "Bunny" Colvin (and later, Ellis Carver) on ''Series/TheWire''.
* Captain Roy Montgomery from ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is this and very much a BenevolentBoss. Also, very awesome.
* [[spoiler:Oenomaus]]/Doctore in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''.
* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', "Big Mike" Tucker is the bald, black manager of the Buy More—though he's really more of a figurehead as he's about as interested in doing any work as the rest of the staff (i.e. not very) and so it's Chuck who ends up doing most of the actual leading, in between saving the world, or the series of evil assistant managers.
* In season 5 of ''Series/CriminalMinds'', when [[TheLeader Hotch]] temporarily steps down, [[BigBrotherInstinct Morgan]] was briefly the team leader because [[spoiler:The Reaper was back to hunt down Hotch]].
* Lt. Malcom Barker in season 4 of ''Series/NewYorkUndercover''.
* Captain Marcus Chaplin, commanding officer of the United States Ballistic Missile submarine ''Colorado'' in ''Series/LastResort''.
* A man whose alias is known as Peter Collier on ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' acts as the leader of "Vigilance", a group of organized anti-Government-surveillance [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]].
* ''Series/{{Crisis|2014}}'' has UsefulNotes/{{FBI}} Director Olsen, played by Michael Beach.
* Played with on ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'':
** [[Creator/AndreBraugher Captain Holt]] is not quite bald, but he has a very short-buzz cut and possesses the standard personality of this character (authoritative, serious, commanding, etc.) By season three, he practically is bald.
** On the other hand, [[Creator/TerryCrews Sgt. Jeffords]] has been bald from the start, but is less imposing and authoritative personality-wise and is a bit more neurotic than the standard example of the trope. However, he often plays the OnlySaneMan amongst the other squad members outside of Holt, [[spoiler: and he gets promoted to captain by the end of the series, playing the trope more straight.]]
* ''Series/MondayMornings'': Dr. Jorge Villanueva, mostly known by his {{InSeries Nickname}}s "El Gato" or "Big Cat", is a version of this trope from a MedicalDrama. He's a legendary trauma surgeon and an excellent diagnostician. He's really a leader of his team and other younger doctors who look up to him. He's sometimes downright fatherly and PapaBear on people who would mess with his "cubs".
* Captain Trunk, ''Series/SledgeHammer'''s long suffering boss, is something of an aversion, ticking all the boxes except for his moderate Afro. Even so, [[AxCrazy Sledge]] [[CowboyCop Hammer]] is the sort of subordinate who could cause stress-alopecia in ''anyone''...
* ''Series/TotalRecall2070'': [[DaChief Martin Ehrenthal]], both bald and black, is the head of the local division of the CPB. He's an incredibly competent administrator, not afraid to stand up to any [[MegaCorp Consortium]] representative or someone from the [[JurisdictionFriction Assessor's Office]] trying to browbeat him or his agents to back away from their investigations.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie (whose comic counterpart [[RaceLift is white]]) briefly takes charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. midway through season three, and manages to take out a major Hydra asset. Mack later takes the role as Director for good at the end of season five, as [[spoiler:Coulson is terminally ill and Daisy (his handpicked replacement) doesn't consider herself worthy of the position.]] Mack is consistently a firm but fair leader, although he struggles under TheChainsOfCommanding at times.
* ''Series/{{Corporate}}'': Lance Reddick plays Christian Deville, the CEO of the EvilCorp and a thoroughly BadBoss.
* ''Series/VigilBBC'' has Paterson Joseph’s Commander Newsome, captain of the titular HMS Vigil.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* In the 1970s and 80s, the bald, black "EvilGenius" Lightning Hernandez was the unofficial leader of all the {{rudo}}s on the Dominican Republic television program "International Wrestling". For the record, the unofficial leader of the {{tecnico}}s, Jack Veneno, was also black but not bald, making this overlap with BaldOfEvil.
* Wrestling/AhmedJohnson
* Former Interim Raw GM Jonathan Coachman
* Former Smackdown GM Teddy Long
* Wrestling/TheRock after his 2011 return. The supposed leader of "Team Bring It".
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Tu'Shan, Chapter Master of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s Salamanders Space Marine chapter. Very bald and very, ''[[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation very]]'' black.
** Vulkan, the Primarch of the Salamanders is black and bald.
** Ahzek Ahriman, Arch-Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons, is a rarer evil example of this trope, judging by his [[https://i.redd.it/qs45n45lyhq51.jpg depiction]] in the ''Fury of Magnus'' book.
* ''{{TabletopGame/Pathfinder}}'' has the Supreme Elect of Andoran, Codwin I of Augustana, who fits this description.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* Jameson Locke is the leader of Team Osiris in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.
* Casper [[spoiler:Orillion]] from ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}''. [[spoiler:He founded The Order, the so-called "terrorist group" that ultimately saved all humans in the Sirius Sector from a certain Nomad cleansing.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' games, "Representative Helmer", the leader of Second Miltia, is both bald and black.
* "Sarge" Redford in ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' has an unknown level of baldness (He wears a hat, but some hair can be seen otherwise, so he's at least not ''entirely'' bald for sure), but leads the rather bumbling squad, sometimes serving as the OnlySaneMan alongside Marlowe. Earlier teasers showed him as bald, though.
* Roland in the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' games. By ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', he became a leader to the the Crimson Raiders resistance.
* The sort-of-leader of the IRIS [[LaResistance rebel network]] in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'', Hahn, is an extremely large, sort-of-black and sort-of-Asian man. (The ''actual'' leader, DaChief, is...elsewhere.)
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' has Zach Hammond, security officer and leader of your party. Hints are dropped that he might know more than he lets on...[[spoiler:until it's shown that it's Kendra who's actually the Mole. Hammond is just as much in the dark as you are.]]
* ''VideoGame/SecondSight'' gives us one of these as the head of the paramilitary organization you're allied with.
* Possibly subverted by DHS agent Brad in ''VideoGame/DeadRising''. He doesn't seem to have any authority over anyone besides his partner Jessie, and while he may be the one allegedly supplying food and essentials to the growing survivor population in the sealed Security Room, he doesn't hold a candle to Frank, who, blessed with incredible charisma, can lead large posses of frightened people through throngs of the undead.
* Michael Chain of ''VideoGame/FZero-GX'', leader of the Bloody Chain gang.
* Prophet of ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' is your squad leader, spending the entire game giving out orders using the radio.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the player meets the Hidden Bek gang on Taris, led by one of these. The player and the Bald Black Leader Guy (depending on player choices) can end up helping each other out for mutual benefit. It counts because the Beks are more about security and brotherhood, while their rivals are just trying to take over the under-city.
** Also, Jolee Bindo. Not quite the leader, but as the oldest member of your party, he offers a lot of guidance and still kicks ass.
* In ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'' Doomfist is a leader of the terrorist group Talon. He is not only bald and charismatic, but is a dedicated brawler.
* Chris Jacobs from ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}''.
* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', there's Icybyrd Slim, mayor of New Leaf City. While he doesn't seem to be much of an ActionPolitician, he does seem to be the brains behind every project in the city, which is populated by {{Bounty Hunter}}s, {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s and {{Ditzy Genius}}es.
* Irving Lambert for most of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series...Yet he managed to get it back in Double Agent.
* Commander Gore from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* Your commanding officer, General Claibourne, in the ''VideoGame/JauntTrooper'' series.
* Josh, the leader of the BSAA Delta team from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' gives us Reddas, the Pirate King of Balfonheim, [[spoiler:and ex-Judge Magister under the name of Foris Zecht]]. He's a bit on the AmbiguouslyBrown side, but completely bald except for a fluffy white beard.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 3'' adds the character of Griffin, an energy-magnate-turned-post-apocalyptic-warlord living in the ruins of a city hit with a KillSat some ten years previous. Hypermasculine indeed.
* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-Horace_Warfield_SC2_Head1_134.jpg General Horace Warfield]] from ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' may or may not be bald (it's hard to tell under the PowerArmor), but he is every inch a FourStarBadass.
* Coach from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' usually acts as the leader of the game's four man ensemble.
* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'''s [[spoiler:[[BigGood Tyrael]] is one after he voluntarily fell from grace to help humanity]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' (2012) has Kris Delaney of the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised Subverters.]]
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': Basilio is initially the ruling khan of the militant country of Ferox. Though after you beat his champion Marth in Chapter 4, DarkSkinnedBlond Flavia takes his throne.
* Admiral Briggs from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' is a four-star admiral in charge of SEAL Team Six, who spends much of the game giving you orders over the radio and chewing you out if you fail the optional strike force missions.
* Subverted with Frank Tenpenny in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': he's bald, he's black, and he's a leader...of an evil band of {{Dirty Cop}}s.
* The Admiral in ''VideoGame/{{Sunless Sea}}''. A particularly important figure in London's admiralty, and the closest thing to a boss you'll have for a good chunk of the game, possibly all of it if you'd rather bring London to greatness than certain other factions.
* Captain Fowler from ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' is the captain of the DPD, and an old friend of Hank's even though he has very little patience for his uncooperative behavior.
* USMC Commandant Dolph from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''.
* Victor "Zane" Metiko, a ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'' multiplayer operator, the co-founder and leader of African "terrorist group" called the Jackals.
* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' has Michael Edwards, one of the 12 playable characters. He used to lead his firefighting squad before all of them were killed.
* Principal Wells in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' (and its prequel ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm''), the principal of Blackwell High School.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Roy in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is black in a family of bald men and the leader of his team, although he's a bit [[LargeHam more hammy]] and ''much'' [[DeadpanSnarker more snarky]] than usual examples of this trope. The King of Nowhere also qualifies, from what we see of him in a flashback panel (which is among the reasons Roy was confused with him at one point).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Ismail is a bald, black man who becomes the captain of the Black Guard of Vanna.
* ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'' has Abdul Johnson, Chairman of the Grand Council, and Rashid King, head of Internal Security and the power behind the throne. Both are Black Muslims, although their hairstyle is never quite made explicit.
* The fan-made ''Franchise/StarTrek'' video ''WebVideo/PreludeToAxanar'' has Admiral Marcus Ramirez, Chief of Starfleet. He's bald, black, and fearless against the Klingon Empire.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "Tag Sale - You're It!" begins with such a guy leading a squad of OSI agents. They're careful not to anger him, perhaps out of fear that he'll make them wear frilly dresses, which he seems quite intent on doing.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': After a galaxy-rocking (literally) breakup with Shayera at the end of season two, Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart shaved his head in time for "Unlimited". The first episode of the revamp put him in leading a small team of greener heroes, and his status as founding member frequently made him a go-to guy in a crisis.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodies this in "Ass Burgers", which [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the frequency of the trope:
-->'''Leader:''' The world around us has turned completely to shit, but [[Film/TheyLive aliens are putting out a brainwave]] that keeps most people seeing a false reality.\\
'''Stan:''' Aliens?\\
'''Leader:''' [[Franchise/TheMatrix ...or robots from the future.]] Whatever.\\
''[later]''\\
'''Leader:''' ''[firing shotgun]'' [[Film/{{Blade}} You vampire sons-of-bitches!]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel'': Jefferson Smith, Josh [=McGrath=]/Max Steel's adoptive father, fills this role for most of the original continuity. He does get replaced as the BigGood by Jet Ferrus starting with ''Bio-Crisis'', but he's still the one running the show in N-Tek even when he's not present anymore.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', OldSoldier and FourStarBadass Panthro takes on this role in his debut. Having singlehandedly rescued the rest of the [=ThunderCats=] from a tight spot, he's incredulous at their lack of "adult supervision" and young king Lion-O's impulsiveness, in particular. Panthro demands they defer to him on a shared mission and refuses to acknowledge Lion-O as his liege until [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Lion-O proves himself in battle]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
%%
%Do not add Barack Obama as an Aversion%
%This is an admin request%
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* UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, is black and bald and was the uncontested leader of his team, his league, and, well, his sport's history. And after retiring (the second time), he became a team president with the Washington Wizards, ended up making ''another'' comeback with his new team, then later became first a minority owner and then the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, who coincidentally made the playoffs for the first time in their brief team history the year that he became majority owner. So yeah, he probably qualifies.
* Other top NBA players who fit the trope include Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett. Kobe Bryant comes pretty close, but he usually has at least a little fuzz going on. (Basketball would seem to have an edge over other team sports for this trope due to the lack of headgear.)
* Some leaders of African countries who fit this trope:
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Pierre_Nkurunziza_-_World_Economic_Forum_on_Africa_2008.jpg Pierre Nkurunziza]] of Burundi (President from 2005 to 2020).
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Yoweri_Kaguta_Museveni.jpg Yoweri Museveni]] of Uganda (President since 1986).
** [[http://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/12-king-letsie-lesotho.jpg King Letsie III]] of Lesotho (ruling since 1996).
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Jacob_Zuma_2010_%28cropped%29.jpg Jacob Zuma]] of South Africa (President from 2009 to 2018).
** [[http://connectafrica.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/senegal-21.jpg Abdoulaye Wade]] of Senegal (Presient from 2000 to 2012).
* Howard Jones, best known for his tenure as lead singer of Music/KillswitchEngage.
* As seen above, Ving Rhames, Tommy Lister Jr, Lance Reddick, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan made their careers playing this archetype.
* Of all places, ''ice hockey'' gives us an example; Calgary Flames right winger Jarome Iginla. One of the NHL's true black superstar players, he's a six-time all-star, and in 2003 was named [[TheCaptain team captain]] of the Flames, the first black team captain of a major hockey team. At the time of his appointment, he had an Obama-like close buzz cut; now he has something more akin to a clean scalp.
** Winnipeg star Evander Kane may also count, though he isn't a captain, he is the team's offensive leader.
* New York Knicks former head coach Mike Woodson.
* Former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey and current U.S. Senator from UsefulNotes/NewJersey (and, after an especially RousingSpeech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, one of ''the'' national rising stars of the Democratic Party) Cory Booker. He backs it up with some real-life heroics, too; most famously, while Mayor of Newark, he stopped his car on his way to work to save a woman from a house fire, suffering smoke inhalation and second-degree burns on his hands.
* UsefulNotes/SouthCarolina Senator Tim Scott.
* A number of black film directors are this, among them Keenen Ivory Wayans, John Singleton, and Antoine Fuqua.
* Music/DariusRucker, lead singer of Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish.
* Kelvin Swaby, lead singer of British indie rock band Music/TheHeavy.
* Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall.
* Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has become the "Bald Black Boss Lady" variant since revealing she has alopecia and going without her wig.
%%
%Do not add Barack Obama as an Aversion%
%This is an admin request%
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[[/folder]]
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%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1306467495008480100
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[[quoteright:320:[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/320x240_4668.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:Complete with CoolChair]]
->''"Why is it that when a black man shaves his head he looks like a super hero, but when a white man does it he looks like a serial killer?"''
-->-- '''Creator/ChrisRock'''
In a show that deals with the police, military, or some other armed force of peacekeeping, there's a very good chance that TheLeader of the outfit -- or at least the one everybody respects -- will be a bald black man. Apparently, there is something about being both bald and black which makes a leader popular enough to be appointed, and that something doesn't work when you only have one of the two. It might be that the image invokes strong masculinity, a no-nonsense "get it done" attitude that lends itself well to the setting. This can also apply to leaders of other sorts of groups as well, as long as those groups are "good."
Possibly a form of a TokenMinority, if he's the only person of color present. The writers might be hoping to avoid the usual problems of tokenism by making the one black character someone in a position of authority and respect who's essential to the plot every week, but the biggest drawback is that [[SupportingLeader he still isn't the]] ''[[SupportingLeader lead]]''; it's not his story being told and there's no guarantee that he will grow and evolve as a character over the course of the series. Of course there are exceptions, with ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' standing out by making the Bald Black Leader Guy also the lead role.
His (usually) significantly less bald DistaffCounterpart is the BlackBossLady. May overlap with ScaryBlackMan if he's also intimidating. There is also the optional BBBBB (Ball-Busting Bald Black Boss.) Many examples of this primarily televisual archetype may or may not qualify for all 5 'B' points - but can still embody many of them. Before adding examples, please make sure the character is actually bald when you post him. The buzz cut is quite popular among black men and is not the same thing as having no hair at all, and thus UsefulNotes/BarackObama as U.S. President (for example) would not count. There's a lot of space between "bald" and "[[AfroAsskicker afro]]".
Subtrope to BaldOfAuthority.
----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Joker in ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' is bald, black, huge, and the leader of the motorcycle gang known as The Clowns. It's not exactly a democracy, but it still works.
* Dutch in ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. Also a ScaryBlackMan.
* Basque Grand of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He's not the leader of the country, but he is a high-ranking officer (a Brigadier-General at the time of his death) and during his time as a ColonelBadass was Roy Mustang's immediate superior during the Ishvalan Civil War, although the "black" part is [[AmbiguouslyBrown debatable]].
* Agil is tall, bald, black and has a goatee. He's one of Kirito's trusted friends while trapped in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', and fights as well as he looks with a large battleaxe. In real-life, he owns a bar. He was once the the de-facto leader of a group of tank players who fought on the fronts lines separate from the Aincrad Liberation Squad and Dragon Knights Brigade, in the earlier days of SAO.
* Lordgenome from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', although he leans a little closer to AmbiguouslyBrown and started out white and blond.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Card Games]]
* Teferi, from ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. His baldness only becomes clear during Time Spiral; previously, his hairstyle was unknown due to his NiceHat.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In the comic series ''ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}}'', [[BaldOfEvil bald white guy]] Henry Bendix is technically the leader, but for the most part, field commander and bald black guy Jackson King (Battalion) calls the shots. He takes over for Bendix as Weatherman, too.
* Patriot from ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers''.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'': Ultimate ComicBook/NickFury, who was explicitly based off of Creator/SamuelLJackson with his permission, and played by him in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. (Fury is white and has hair in mainstream continuity, although a version of Samuel L. Jackson's Fury was later introduced as his son.) Fittingly, the artists [[ArtEvolution started depicting him with a shaved head]] around the same time that he became the leader of ComicBook/TheUltimates; in his first appearance in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', when he was still a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent, he had a fade haircut.[[note]] Surprisingly enough, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness he wasn't always modeled after Samuel L. Jackson]][[/note]]
* From Marvel's ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' series, an (evil) example: Geoffrey Wilder, leader of The Pride.
* ComicBook/LukeCage, in his current bald incarnation, is the leader of the [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Mighty Avengers]], and in the past was the leader of both the Comicbook/NewAvengers and the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}.
* Still from Marvel, [[http://marvel.com/universe/Lieutenant_Stone Lieutenant Stone]], leader of the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops team [[http://marvel.com/universe/Code:_Blue Code: Blue.]]
* For a non-superhero example, Reverend Harland Pepper of ''ComicBook/StuckRubberBaby''.
* ''ComicBook/BattleChasers'': The Maestro, leader of the Marshal Paladins (which Garrison used to be a legendary member of.)
* In ''ComicBook/PowerCompany'', there is Josiah Power, who has facial hair, but a bald head.
* ''Franchise/TheDCU'': Director Bones of the D.E.O. may look like a walking skeleton, but he's actually an African American with transparent flesh. He wears body paint and make-up to go out in public without causing a scene which makes his ethnicity quite clear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* The government agent Cobra Bubbles in ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch''. Lampshaded near the end of the movie, when [[spoiler:the Grand Councilwoman]] reminisces about a past meeting and comments, "You had hair then."
%%* The president of New Africa in ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Kenneth (played by Creator/VingRhames) in the 2004 remake of ''Film/DawnOfTheDead2004'' is one of the main characters in a large cast and, being a police officer and former Marine, as well as one of the few calm and reasonable people in the mall, assumes something akin to a leadership position with in the group.
* Seen in ''Film/TheFifthElement'', where the President of the Federated Territories is both bald and black (played by former wrestler Tom 'Tiny' Lister).
* Shade, the squad leader from ''Film/ResidentEvil2002''.
* Creator/MichaelClarkeDuncan does a lot of this.
** The crime lord Kingpin in the ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie. In the comics, he's white.
** The rebel leader in ''Film/TheScorpionKing''. Although that film IS a ClicheStorm.
** The leader of the pit crew in ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'', which is someone that even the drivers have to defer judgement to, but [[TooDumbToLive this is Ricky Bobby we're talking about.]]
* Almost any time Creator/SamuelLJackson is in anything. (Except ''Film/PulpFiction'', in which he has ''glorious'' hair, and the trope is instead covered by Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace.)
** Mace Windu in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels was the leader of the Jedi Council (while Yoda was the Grand Master of the Jedi Order) until he stepped down to concentrate on kicking ass in the Clone Wars.
** His stipulation for his likeness being used for Ultimate Nick Fury (see the comics section) was that he get first dibs on playing the character in any movies. Marvel Studios kept their promise, and Jackson plays Nick Fury in the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse''. His performance is so iconic that the main comics have started adopting it for themselves.
* Creator/LaurenceFishburne as Morpheus in ''Film/TheMatrix''. (most of his other roles have him with a buzz cut)
* In ''Film/LandOfTheDead'', a big, bald, black zombie leads the other zombies to march on Fiddler's Green.
* The trope is briefly discussed in ''Film/FacingTheGiants'' when the token minority teacher suggests that the coach may be getting hair plugs since the only white guy who is bald and looks cool is Series/{{Kojak}}.
* Avery Brooks in ''Film/AmericanHistoryX''. Yes, there's a theme going here.
* USS ''Kelvin's'' commander, Captain Robau in ''Film/StarTrek2009''. His ethnicity isn't given in the movie (the actor is Faran Tahir, a Pakistani-American). WordOfGod has it that Robau was born in Cuba. Notable in that the character appears for less than 10 minutes and speaks maybe two paragraphs of dialogue, and yet is a full-fledged MemeticBadass.
* Dillon in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''. Granted, he's merely a leader of a small group of all-male convicts turned religious zealots, (and they all shave their heads to avoid problems with parasites), but still.
* Louis Gosset, Jr. as President Gerald Fitzhugh in ''[[Film/LeftBehind2000 Left Behind: World At War]]'', and as his military roles in ''Film/AnOfficerAndAGentleman'' and the entire ''Film/IronEagle'' franchise.
%% * Alby is the leader of the Gladers in ''Film/{{The Maze Runner|2014}}''.
* Comicbook/{{Deadshot}}, played by Creator/WillSmith, in ''Film/SuicideSquad2016''.
* In the film series of ''Film/TheHungerGames'', more specifically ''Mockingjay'', Commander Boggs is portrayed this way as the second-in-command with the "District 13" rebels. Katniss comes to genuinely trust him and see him as a friend. [[spoiler:There is actually evidence -- he's one of the ones to figure out -- that like several other characters, District 13's President Alma Coin wanted him and the rest of the "Star Squad" out of the picture, being popular figures she couldn't expect to reliably side with her... which in turn suggests that Coin [[UriahGambit placing him where she did]] was out of fear if Boggs lived through the last stages of the war, he'd become a peacetime case of this.]]
* Supervising Marshal John Ringer, played by [=LaMont=] Garrett, is the black bald leader of an elite USMarshal team, escorting an extremely high-risk prisoner back to the U.S. in ''Film/{{Primal}}''. He has a 'take no shit' attitude and immediately clashes with GreatWhiteHunter Frank Walsh; a civilian who refuses to respect his authority.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Creator/IsaacAsimov and Creator/JanetAsimov's ''Literature/TheNorbyChronicles'': Admiral Boris Yobo is head of Space Command, which puts him in charge of Space Academy, where SpaceCadet Jeff Wells is in training. Initially it appeared that Fargo had left the service, but the first book reveals that he'd actually become a secret agent working with Yobo to discover the secret identity of the first book's villain. So aside from being the highest-ranked person that we meet in the Solar Federation, he takes a personal interest in the Wells family and is directly responsible for Jeff having [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture enough credits to purchase Norby]] in the first place. The novels tend to describe him as the descendant of African kings, emphasizing his skin-tone and leadership skills at the same time. His baldness is emphasized in ''Literature/NorbyAndTheCourtJester'' because the planet Izz insists on everyone wearing braids, and since his natural baldness prevents him from having any other hair, he has to grow a mustache and braid that instead.
%%* It seems to be the case in ''Literature/BoneStreetRumba'' that ''nobody'' respects the higher ups in the Council of the Dead. Riley, however, is a Soulcatcher Prime, and Carlos' partner, and one of those who does have respect in the hierarchy. %%where is the context for black/bald? Leader is reasonably established
%%* ''{{Literature/Fablehaven}}'' series: Trask %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts''' ''Blood Pact'': [[ThePoliticalOfficer Commissar]] Usain Edur, a ScaryBlackMan (actually a pretty cool guy who is also a DeadpanSnarker) has been assigned to their regiment as an extra commissar. [[spoiler:[[BlackDudediesfirst Unsurprisingly, he is also the first named character to die in the next book.]] While also being [[TakingYouWithMe awesome]], so there is that.]] %%where is the context for bald? Is it age, does he shave, is it natural?
%%* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt becomes the leader of [[LaResistance the Order of the Phoenix]] after [[spoiler: Dumbledore and Moody's deaths]]. After Voldemort's defeat, he even becomes Minister for Magic.%%Leader context! Bald context? Black context?
%%* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'''s ''Eragon'': Ajihad is the leader of the rebel group. %%Leader context! Bald context? Black context?
%%* ''Literature/PrayersForTheAssassin'': Major/General Kidd %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
* ''{{Literature/Spaceforce}}'' series: Spaceforce's Commander Tobias Judd %%where is the context for black/bald/leader? Leader is kinds there... How big is the spaceforce?
%%* ''Literature/TheWalrusAndTheWarwolf'': Jon Arabin, or The Warwolf %%where is the context for black/bald/leader?
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Principal Robin Wood in the final season of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer.'' Also, when he leads a Slayer squad in Cleveland.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Gunn, at least in his first few appearances.
** At Angel Investigations he's more like "Bald Black Big Guy". Subverted when he grows his hair out in the fifth season.
--->'''Gunn:''' Heh, what'd you think, I was PrematurelyBald? ''[beat]'' I wasn't.
** He becomes one again in the comic-book continuation, ''After the Fall''. [[spoiler:Albeit an evil, vampire version]].
* Dr. Alan Deaton, on MTV's ''Series/TeenWolf''. He helps the main characters out all the time, comes up with answers and/or plans, and always knows what to do. He is just one badass dude.
* Walter Steele of Series/{{Arrow}} is a secondary character, but the CEO of Queen Industries. (Worth noting is that his actor played Shade in ''Resident Evil'', mentioned above.)
* Aglaine the Druid Leader in ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' though he was killed off pretty quickly. Helios was a villainous example.
%%* Mr. Moesby from ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody''.
* Uncle Phil from ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''. In the second half of the show, he's a district judge. Also, in the final season, the Republican Party recruits him to run for another political position, though he decides to drop out of the election. Besides these, Uncle Phil is definitely a strong leader within his family and becomes Will's father figure.
* Robert Sullivan from ''Series/Station19''. Brought in a Captain of the station house at the beginning of Season Two, he was then promoted to Battalion Chief in Season Three.
* Creator/AveryBrooks as Hawk in ''Series/SpenserForHire'', from 1985 to 1988, and the spin-off ''A Man Called Hawk'', in 1989.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had Captain Sisko, also played by Avery Brooks, [[ExecutiveMeddling be clean-shaven with a full head of hair to avoid comparisons to Hawk]]. In the Season 3 premiere "The Search, Part 1" he'd grown back the goatee and had shaved his head in the Season 4 premiere "The Way of the Warrior" once there was a noticeable characterization difference between Sisko and Hawk. (Mainly, ''Spenser'' had a series of post-script movies, so Brooks was playing Hawk again; he kept his Hawk look in [=DS9=]. When production commenced on Season 4, [=DS9=] producers expected Paramount executives to complain, but to their surprise executives had no problems with the new look).
* The President of Great Britain in a ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[AnotherDimension Parallel Universe]].
* TJ, the Red Ranger during the second half of ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo''. Also, more in the spirit of the trope, Colonel Mason Truman in ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''.
* In addition to being a [[TeamDad surrogate dad]], Series/SesameStreet's Gordon will step up during a crisis.
* President Wayne Palmer in ''Series/TwentyFour''.
* Many Jaffa leaders from ''Series/StargateSG1'', exemplified by Teal'c, who was bald until Season 8, when he grew hair.
* [[MeaningfulName Onyx Blackman]] in ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'' is a Bald Black Despotic Tyrant Guy.
* Ted Shaw, commander of the ''Antares'' in ''Defying Gravity''
* Principal Steven Harper in ''Series/BostonPublic''.
* Admiral Fitzwallace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on ''Series/TheWestWing''.
* Sergeant Major Jonas Blaine, field commander of ''Series/TheUnit'', is forced to go bald in a few episodes.
* The President in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is black and bald. He is played by Creator/MichaelDorn.
* Special Agent/[[ColonelBadass Colonel]] Broyles in ''Series/{{Fringe}}''
* In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSinbad'''s second season, Rongar, who had been bald and black all along, was revealed to be a prince (technically, exiled ex-prince) in his home realm.
* Cedric Daniels and Major "Bunny" Colvin (and later, Ellis Carver) on ''Series/TheWire''.
* Captain Roy Montgomery from ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is this and very much a BenevolentBoss. Also, very awesome.
* [[spoiler:Oenomaus]]/Doctore in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''.
* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', "Big Mike" Tucker is the bald, black manager of the Buy More—though he's really more of a figurehead as he's about as interested in doing any work as the rest of the staff (i.e. not very) and so it's Chuck who ends up doing most of the actual leading, in between saving the world, or the series of evil assistant managers.
* In season 5 of ''Series/CriminalMinds'', when [[TheLeader Hotch]] temporarily steps down, [[BigBrotherInstinct Morgan]] was briefly the team leader because [[spoiler:The Reaper was back to hunt down Hotch]].
* Lt. Malcom Barker in season 4 of ''Series/NewYorkUndercover''.
* Captain Marcus Chaplin, commanding officer of the United States Ballistic Missile submarine ''Colorado'' in ''Series/LastResort''.
* A man whose alias is known as Peter Collier on ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' acts as the leader of "Vigilance", a group of organized anti-Government-surveillance [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]].
* ''Series/{{Crisis|2014}}'' has UsefulNotes/{{FBI}} Director Olsen, played by Michael Beach.
* Played with on ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'':
** [[Creator/AndreBraugher Captain Holt]] is not quite bald, but he has a very short-buzz cut and possesses the standard personality of this character (authoritative, serious, commanding, etc.) By season three, he practically is bald.
** On the other hand, [[Creator/TerryCrews Sgt. Jeffords]] has been bald from the start, but is less imposing and authoritative personality-wise and is a bit more neurotic than the standard example of the trope. However, he often plays the OnlySaneMan amongst the other squad members outside of Holt, [[spoiler: and he gets promoted to captain by the end of the series, playing the trope more straight.]]
* ''Series/MondayMornings'': Dr. Jorge Villanueva, mostly known by his {{InSeries Nickname}}s "El Gato" or "Big Cat", is a version of this trope from a MedicalDrama. He's a legendary trauma surgeon and an excellent diagnostician. He's really a leader of his team and other younger doctors who look up to him. He's sometimes downright fatherly and PapaBear on people who would mess with his "cubs".
* Captain Trunk, ''Series/SledgeHammer'''s long suffering boss, is something of an aversion, ticking all the boxes except for his moderate Afro. Even so, [[AxCrazy Sledge]] [[CowboyCop Hammer]] is the sort of subordinate who could cause stress-alopecia in ''anyone''...
* ''Series/TotalRecall2070'': [[DaChief Martin Ehrenthal]], both bald and black, is the head of the local division of the CPB. He's an incredibly competent administrator, not afraid to stand up to any [[MegaCorp Consortium]] representative or someone from the [[JurisdictionFriction Assessor's Office]] trying to browbeat him or his agents to back away from their investigations.
* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie (whose comic counterpart [[RaceLift is white]]) briefly takes charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. midway through season three, and manages to take out a major Hydra asset. Mack later takes the role as Director for good at the end of season five, as [[spoiler:Coulson is terminally ill and Daisy (his handpicked replacement) doesn't consider herself worthy of the position.]] Mack is consistently a firm but fair leader, although he struggles under TheChainsOfCommanding at times.
* ''Series/{{Corporate}}'': Lance Reddick plays Christian Deville, the CEO of the EvilCorp and a thoroughly BadBoss.
* ''Series/VigilBBC'' has Paterson Joseph’s Commander Newsome, captain of the titular HMS Vigil.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* In the 1970s and 80s, the bald, black "EvilGenius" Lightning Hernandez was the unofficial leader of all the {{rudo}}s on the Dominican Republic television program "International Wrestling". For the record, the unofficial leader of the {{tecnico}}s, Jack Veneno, was also black but not bald, making this overlap with BaldOfEvil.
* Wrestling/AhmedJohnson
* Former Interim Raw GM Jonathan Coachman
* Former Smackdown GM Teddy Long
* Wrestling/TheRock after his 2011 return. The supposed leader of "Team Bring It".
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* Tu'Shan, Chapter Master of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'''s Salamanders Space Marine chapter. Very bald and very, ''[[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation very]]'' black.
** Vulkan, the Primarch of the Salamanders is black and bald.
** Ahzek Ahriman, Arch-Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons, is a rarer evil example of this trope, judging by his [[https://i.redd.it/qs45n45lyhq51.jpg depiction]] in the ''Fury of Magnus'' book.
* ''{{TabletopGame/Pathfinder}}'' has the Supreme Elect of Andoran, Codwin I of Augustana, who fits this description.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* Jameson Locke is the leader of Team Osiris in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''.
* Casper [[spoiler:Orillion]] from ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}''. [[spoiler:He founded The Order, the so-called "terrorist group" that ultimately saved all humans in the Sirius Sector from a certain Nomad cleansing.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' games, "Representative Helmer", the leader of Second Miltia, is both bald and black.
* "Sarge" Redford in ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' has an unknown level of baldness (He wears a hat, but some hair can be seen otherwise, so he's at least not ''entirely'' bald for sure), but leads the rather bumbling squad, sometimes serving as the OnlySaneMan alongside Marlowe. Earlier teasers showed him as bald, though.
* Roland in the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' games. By ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', he became a leader to the the Crimson Raiders resistance.
* The sort-of-leader of the IRIS [[LaResistance rebel network]] in ''VideoGame/BeyondGoodAndEvil'', Hahn, is an extremely large, sort-of-black and sort-of-Asian man. (The ''actual'' leader, DaChief, is...elsewhere.)
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' has Zach Hammond, security officer and leader of your party. Hints are dropped that he might know more than he lets on...[[spoiler:until it's shown that it's Kendra who's actually the Mole. Hammond is just as much in the dark as you are.]]
* ''VideoGame/SecondSight'' gives us one of these as the head of the paramilitary organization you're allied with.
* Possibly subverted by DHS agent Brad in ''VideoGame/DeadRising''. He doesn't seem to have any authority over anyone besides his partner Jessie, and while he may be the one allegedly supplying food and essentials to the growing survivor population in the sealed Security Room, he doesn't hold a candle to Frank, who, blessed with incredible charisma, can lead large posses of frightened people through throngs of the undead.
* Michael Chain of ''VideoGame/FZero-GX'', leader of the Bloody Chain gang.
* Prophet of ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' is your squad leader, spending the entire game giving out orders using the radio.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the player meets the Hidden Bek gang on Taris, led by one of these. The player and the Bald Black Leader Guy (depending on player choices) can end up helping each other out for mutual benefit. It counts because the Beks are more about security and brotherhood, while their rivals are just trying to take over the under-city.
** Also, Jolee Bindo. Not quite the leader, but as the oldest member of your party, he offers a lot of guidance and still kicks ass.
* In ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'' Doomfist is a leader of the terrorist group Talon. He is not only bald and charismatic, but is a dedicated brawler.
* Chris Jacobs from ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}''.
* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', there's Icybyrd Slim, mayor of New Leaf City. While he doesn't seem to be much of an ActionPolitician, he does seem to be the brains behind every project in the city, which is populated by {{Bounty Hunter}}s, {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s and {{Ditzy Genius}}es.
* Irving Lambert for most of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series...Yet he managed to get it back in Double Agent.
* Commander Gore from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* Your commanding officer, General Claibourne, in the ''VideoGame/JauntTrooper'' series.
* Josh, the leader of the BSAA Delta team from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' gives us Reddas, the Pirate King of Balfonheim, [[spoiler:and ex-Judge Magister under the name of Foris Zecht]]. He's a bit on the AmbiguouslyBrown side, but completely bald except for a fluffy white beard.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 3'' adds the character of Griffin, an energy-magnate-turned-post-apocalyptic-warlord living in the ruins of a city hit with a KillSat some ten years previous. Hypermasculine indeed.
* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/200px-Horace_Warfield_SC2_Head1_134.jpg General Horace Warfield]] from ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' may or may not be bald (it's hard to tell under the PowerArmor), but he is every inch a FourStarBadass.
* Coach from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' usually acts as the leader of the game's four man ensemble.
* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'''s [[spoiler:[[BigGood Tyrael]] is one after he voluntarily fell from grace to help humanity]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' (2012) has Kris Delaney of the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilised Subverters.]]
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': Basilio is initially the ruling khan of the militant country of Ferox. Though after you beat his champion Marth in Chapter 4, DarkSkinnedBlond Flavia takes his throne.
* Admiral Briggs from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' is a four-star admiral in charge of SEAL Team Six, who spends much of the game giving you orders over the radio and chewing you out if you fail the optional strike force missions.
* Subverted with Frank Tenpenny in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': he's bald, he's black, and he's a leader...of an evil band of {{Dirty Cop}}s.
* The Admiral in ''VideoGame/{{Sunless Sea}}''. A particularly important figure in London's admiralty, and the closest thing to a boss you'll have for a good chunk of the game, possibly all of it if you'd rather bring London to greatness than certain other factions.
* Captain Fowler from ''VideoGame/DetroitBecomeHuman'' is the captain of the DPD, and an old friend of Hank's even though he has very little patience for his uncooperative behavior.
* USMC Commandant Dolph from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''.
* Victor "Zane" Metiko, a ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'' multiplayer operator, the co-founder and leader of African "terrorist group" called the Jackals.
* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'' has Michael Edwards, one of the 12 playable characters. He used to lead his firefighting squad before all of them were killed.
* Principal Wells in ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' (and its prequel ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm''), the principal of Blackwell High School.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Roy in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' is black in a family of bald men and the leader of his team, although he's a bit [[LargeHam more hammy]] and ''much'' [[DeadpanSnarker more snarky]] than usual examples of this trope. The King of Nowhere also qualifies, from what we see of him in a flashback panel (which is among the reasons Roy was confused with him at one point).
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Ismail is a bald, black man who becomes the captain of the Black Guard of Vanna.
* ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'' has Abdul Johnson, Chairman of the Grand Council, and Rashid King, head of Internal Security and the power behind the throne. Both are Black Muslims, although their hairstyle is never quite made explicit.
* The fan-made ''Franchise/StarTrek'' video ''WebVideo/PreludeToAxanar'' has Admiral Marcus Ramirez, Chief of Starfleet. He's bald, black, and fearless against the Klingon Empire.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' episode "Tag Sale - You're It!" begins with such a guy leading a squad of OSI agents. They're careful not to anger him, perhaps out of fear that he'll make them wear frilly dresses, which he seems quite intent on doing.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': After a galaxy-rocking (literally) breakup with Shayera at the end of season two, Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart shaved his head in time for "Unlimited". The first episode of the revamp put him in leading a small team of greener heroes, and his status as founding member frequently made him a go-to guy in a crisis.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' parodies this in "Ass Burgers", which [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the frequency of the trope:
-->'''Leader:''' The world around us has turned completely to shit, but [[Film/TheyLive aliens are putting out a brainwave]] that keeps most people seeing a false reality.\\
'''Stan:''' Aliens?\\
'''Leader:''' [[Franchise/TheMatrix ...or robots from the future.]] Whatever.\\
''[later]''\\
'''Leader:''' ''[firing shotgun]'' [[Film/{{Blade}} You vampire sons-of-bitches!]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MaxSteel'': Jefferson Smith, Josh [=McGrath=]/Max Steel's adoptive father, fills this role for most of the original continuity. He does get replaced as the BigGood by Jet Ferrus starting with ''Bio-Crisis'', but he's still the one running the show in N-Tek even when he's not present anymore.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'', OldSoldier and FourStarBadass Panthro takes on this role in his debut. Having singlehandedly rescued the rest of the [=ThunderCats=] from a tight spot, he's incredulous at their lack of "adult supervision" and young king Lion-O's impulsiveness, in particular. Panthro demands they defer to him on a shared mission and refuses to acknowledge Lion-O as his liege until [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Lion-O proves himself in battle]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
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* UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan, is black and bald and was the uncontested leader of his team, his league, and, well, his sport's history. And after retiring (the second time), he became a team president with the Washington Wizards, ended up making ''another'' comeback with his new team, then later became first a minority owner and then the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, who coincidentally made the playoffs for the first time in their brief team history the year that he became majority owner. So yeah, he probably qualifies.
* Other top NBA players who fit the trope include Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kevin Garnett. Kobe Bryant comes pretty close, but he usually has at least a little fuzz going on. (Basketball would seem to have an edge over other team sports for this trope due to the lack of headgear.)
* Some leaders of African countries who fit this trope:
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Pierre_Nkurunziza_-_World_Economic_Forum_on_Africa_2008.jpg Pierre Nkurunziza]] of Burundi (President from 2005 to 2020).
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Yoweri_Kaguta_Museveni.jpg Yoweri Museveni]] of Uganda (President since 1986).
** [[http://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/12-king-letsie-lesotho.jpg King Letsie III]] of Lesotho (ruling since 1996).
** [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Jacob_Zuma_2010_%28cropped%29.jpg Jacob Zuma]] of South Africa (President from 2009 to 2018).
** [[http://connectafrica.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/senegal-21.jpg Abdoulaye Wade]] of Senegal (Presient from 2000 to 2012).
* Howard Jones, best known for his tenure as lead singer of Music/KillswitchEngage.
* As seen above, Ving Rhames, Tommy Lister Jr, Lance Reddick, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan made their careers playing this archetype.
* Of all places, ''ice hockey'' gives us an example; Calgary Flames right winger Jarome Iginla. One of the NHL's true black superstar players, he's a six-time all-star, and in 2003 was named [[TheCaptain team captain]] of the Flames, the first black team captain of a major hockey team. At the time of his appointment, he had an Obama-like close buzz cut; now he has something more akin to a clean scalp.
** Winnipeg star Evander Kane may also count, though he isn't a captain, he is the team's offensive leader.
* New York Knicks former head coach Mike Woodson.
* Former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey and current U.S. Senator from UsefulNotes/NewJersey (and, after an especially RousingSpeech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, one of ''the'' national rising stars of the Democratic Party) Cory Booker. He backs it up with some real-life heroics, too; most famously, while Mayor of Newark, he stopped his car on his way to work to save a woman from a house fire, suffering smoke inhalation and second-degree burns on his hands.
* UsefulNotes/SouthCarolina Senator Tim Scott.
* A number of black film directors are this, among them Keenen Ivory Wayans, John Singleton, and Antoine Fuqua.
* Music/DariusRucker, lead singer of Music/HootieAndTheBlowfish.
* Kelvin Swaby, lead singer of British indie rock band Music/TheHeavy.
* Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall.
* Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley has become the "Bald Black Boss Lady" variant since revealing she has alopecia and going without her wig.
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[[/folder]]
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* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', there's [[AwesomeMcCoolname Icybyrd Slim]], mayor of New Leaf City. While he doesn't seem to be much of an ActionPolitician, he does seem to be the brains behind every project in the city, which is populated by {{Bounty Hunter}}s, {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s and {{Ditzy Genius}}es.
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* In ''VideoGame/MapleStory'', there's [[AwesomeMcCoolname Icybyrd Slim]], Slim, mayor of New Leaf City. While he doesn't seem to be much of an ActionPolitician, he does seem to be the brains behind every project in the city, which is populated by {{Bounty Hunter}}s, {{Adventurer Archaeologist}}s and {{Ditzy Genius}}es.
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[[WMG:[[center:[[AC:This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1654399103025214500 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.]]]]]]
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** On the other hand, [[Creator/TerryCrews Sgt. Jeffords]] has been bald from the start, but is less imposing and authoritative personality-wise and is a bit more neurotic than the standard example of the trope.
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** On the other hand, [[Creator/TerryCrews Sgt. Jeffords]] has been bald from the start, but is less imposing and authoritative personality-wise and is a bit more neurotic than the standard example of the trope. However, he often plays the OnlySaneMan amongst the other squad members outside of Holt, [[spoiler: and he gets promoted to captain by the end of the series, playing the trope more straight.]]
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* USMC Commandant Dolph from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''.
to:
* USMC Commandant Dolph from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''.''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''.
