History Main / EliteMooks

* ''VideoGame/LordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers'' and ''Return of the King'' tie-in games had Uruk-Hai as the general Elite Mooks to weaker Orcs. They had the heavily armored variants, the crossbowmen (which dealt much greater damage at range than Orc archers and could throw fire bombs) and the Berserkers. Those dealt plenty of damage, had greater attack range than the player because of their scythes and could block most of your attacks and rapidly counter-attack. Orcs themselves also have the [[ShieldBearingMook shield-bearing variants]], which were immune to damage until the shield was broken, and the rapidly attacking DualWielding orcs.

** The shows sometimes have a multiple tier grunt system, such as normal Kelzaks and their red PaletteSwap, [[Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm Kelzak Furies]], followed by Styxoids, [[TheDragon Koragg's]] badder (and speech-capable!) versions of the [[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Hidiacs]]. [[Series/PowerRangersSPD Blueheads]] started out as {{Giant Mook}}s who led regular Mooks, but started being sent in small groups themselves on occasion. Then [[SoLastSeason gold, spiky]] ones, imaginatively named Orangeheads by the Rangers, arrived and were even ''more'' elite (that first one gave them a ''lot'' of trouble, being stronger than MonsterOfTheWeek level) until the same LoweredMonsterDifficulty problem that affected the blue ones set in.

** In ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017'', players who accumulate enough points can spawn as either an Enforcer class or (depending on the map) an Infiltrator class trooper. Enforcers have more than double the health of Assault and have heavy weapons that can harm even Hero units.
** ''VideoGame/StarWarsJediFallenOrder'' has Purge Troopers who serve alongside the Inquisitors. While they lack force powers, they are still deadlier than the average stormtrooper thanks to their lightsaber-resistant armor, electrostaffs and heavy blasters.

* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront2015'', "Honor Guard" or "Royal Guard" serve as this for the Rebels or the Empire, respectively. These units have increased health and spawn with rocket launchers normally reserved for on-site pick-ups, with the only cost being that they can only spawn when Leia or the Emperor in play, and even then only two can spawn at a time.

** ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' uses the Knights of Ren in this role.

* The SS battalion in ''Film/{{Fury}}'' that show up at the movie's climax. Whereas other Wehrmacht in the movie were disorganized, fairly weak forces that quickly surrendered, these guys are boldly marching to combat, singing, fully armed, and when they come across Fury and find that she's operational, they make it their top priority to get rid of it.

* [[spoiler: The Shadow Priests]] from Series/MortalKombatConquest. They are skilled in both [[KungFuWizard martial arts and magic]], [[NoSell can deflect or counter any attack with a mere wave of their hand, can outfight anyone and [[spoiler: kill every single cast member except Raiden.]] [[spoiler: Makes you wonder why Shao Kahn never used them prior to the series finale.]]

* The Bohrok-Kal in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''. The ordinary Bohrok rely heavily on ZergRush to overwhelm their foes. But there are only six Bohrok-Kal, who have unique powers, are intelligent enough to speak, and cunning enough to [[spoiler:steal the icon that is the source of the Toa Nuva's powers in order to render them inert.]]
** The original six Rahkshi were this as well, being powerful enough to fight the Toa Nuva on equal terms and get the better of them at multiple times, while latter Rahkshi could be dispatched by the dozens due to regular Toa. This was {{justified}} in that Rahkshi and their kraata controllers have different power levels, with the implication being those first six were made and piloted by high-quality kraata while latter were mass-produced weaker versions.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' has, among other things, Aztechnology's Leopard Guards, Ares Firewatch Teams, and Renraku's Red Samurai.

* ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Of Frollo's soldiers, the ones who have visored sallet helmets are portrayed as this. Compared to the rank-and-file guards wearing kettle hats, they suffer almost no slapstick at all and have no incompetent moments. In fact, their presence helps to accentuate the edginess of the situation at hand almost as much as that of [[BigBad Frollo]].
* ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'' has a set of five Huns that stand apart from the rest. They are the first over the wall in the opening, weed out Imperial scouts, participate in the AwesomenessByAnalysis where Shan-Yu ascertains the location of the Chinese Army, [[spoiler:weather the avalanche that buries most of the Hun army]], and help Shan-Yu's raid on the palace that forms the climax.

* ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'': Of Frollo's soldiers, the ones who have visored sallet helmets are portrayed as this. Compared to the rank-and-file guards wearing kettle hats, they suffer almost no slapstick at all and have no incompetent moments. In fact, their presence helps to accentuate the edginess of the situation at hand almost as much as that of [[KnightOfCerebus Frollo]].

** The Super Battle Droids in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', which are more heavily armored and agressive than the regular droids.

*** The Fire Nation had the Yu Yan Archers, who combined ImprobableAimingSkills with ninja-like speed and agility. Oddly, they were only used in one episode (where they handle the Avatar) and [[ItOnlyWorksOnce are never seen again]]. One of them shows up as a member of the "Rough Rhinos" that reappears a few times in the series. However, [[SubvertedTrope he was actually booted out]] of the Yu-Yan for failing a critical mission. The General from "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlueSpirit The Blue Spirit]]" implies that the Yu Yan archers are used only for certain tasks.

** Back in the [[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} original game]], we have the Nightkin, a variant of the super mutants, that served as the elite wing of The Master's army, were smarter than the other supermutants, and were trained to use stealth boys to [[StealthyMook cloak themselves and ambush their enemies]]. They return in New Vegas, but have been reduced to scattered bands and their prolonged use of stealth boys, has taken a toll on their minds, destroying the intelligence vantage they may of had, but they are still very deadly.

** Also from the New Vegas are the Powder Ganger bodyguards, who protect Eddie, their leader. Unlike other Powder Gangers, who are only armed with dynamite, pistols, single-barrel shotguns, and bolt action rifles and occasionally wear guard armor, these guys all wear armor and are armed with laser pistols and sub-machine guns, making them very deadly to early players in close quarters. The West Vegas Powder Gangers defending a pair of homesteads are likewise armed with [[FrickinLaserBeams energy weapons]] and are statistically similar to the bodyguards, [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind but will probably be vastly outmatched by the time they're encountered]].
** Depending on the players actions [[spoiler: The Mojave Chapter of The Brotherhood of Steel, [[TheRemnant The Enclave Remnants]], The Boomers, and the Great Khans]] can all become this to either the NCR or Caesar's Legion during the climax of the game.

** There's also the Sentry Bot. While similar in appearance to the ones from [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas New Vegas]] (which on their own were no pushover) these take "overkill" to a new level. Standing taller than a human in [[PoweredArmor Power Armor]], they can be armed with dual [[GatlingGood Miniguns]], [[BeamSpam Gatling Lasers]], [[MacrossMissileMassacre Missle Launchers]] or even [[ThrowDownTheBomblet Bomb Mortars]]. They start out with "only" 850 health (more than five times that of a super mutant), but bulk up to having over 1300 health, making them by far the toughest robotic enemy in the game. They're also heavily armored (to the point of surviving a ''mini nuke blast''), [[LightningBruiser can outrun the player]], and have a self - destruct. Their only "weakness" is they have to stop every thirty seconds to cool down (guns produce a lot of heat), exposing their [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak point]] - but surviving to that point is a challenge. The only reliable way to take one of these down is either to snipe at it from a distance, or shoot it point - blank with a Gatling Laser. Then run - they explode after being killed, as one more giant "screw you" to whoever brought the thing down. There's a reason the loading screen hint describes it as "The most dangerous robot ever created."

* Creator/DCComics:

* Creator/MarvelComics:

** Krushas in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1''. Donkey Kong is the only one who can defeat them. Diddy can't do anything to them. ''Grey'' Krushas, however, can't be beaten without Barrels.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'': The Darknuts. Based on an enemy appearing in the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda original game]] that could not be attacked from the front, this version is fully armored, with a [[BigFreakingSword huge flamberge]] and in some cases a shield, so they are very difficult to take in a head-on fight, and they hit like a truck. Parrying their attacks will cut off parts of their armor, but even without that it takes nearly twice as many hits as other types of mobs (and that's ''with'' a fully empowered Master Sword) to put them down for good. But what ''really'' puts them above the others is when they are disarmed; where other enemies will stand their ground when you come at them, Darknuts will actually ''evade''. If you come at them, they will jump back and out of range. Out of all the enemies you face short of bosses, darknuts are clearly the most heavily armed and armored as well as the most skilled.

* The second-to-last level in ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'' ended with Sam up against Shetland's personal bodyguards, about 8 elite Displace Mercenaries equipped with facemasks and thermal goggles. These used to be the only enemies in the entire series who could see you in the dark (some enemies in the series, i.e. the Georgian Special Forces from the final mission in ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'', wear night-vision goggles, but still couldn't see you in the dark unless you move or are very close). Then came ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellConviction Conviction]]'' and [[spoiler: the enemy Splinter Cells]], who had sonar goggles that let them see Sam's Last Known Position through darkness and cover. ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellBlacklist Blacklist]]'' only ran with it.

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* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'': [[spoiler:At the end of ''MK9'', many of the fallen Earthrealm heroes have been [[ReforgedIntoAMinion transformed]] [[CameBackWrong into brainwashed revenants]] by Quan Chi and Shinnok, making them the Netherealm's PraetorianGuard so they'll be used in their invasion of Earthrealm in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''. Liu Kang and Kitana voluntarily choose to become the CoDragons for Shinnok due to their intense hatred of a certain thunder god for condemning them to their FateWorseThanDeath.]]

-->-- '''Dr. Robotnik''', from ''[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Sonic Issue #74.]]''

* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' has several different types. The most straightforward type are the "Enhanced" machines, who are colored black and red and have better overall specs then the standard models. Then there's the "Rampaging" machines, who appear after [[spoiler: Eve goes berserk, and starts causing other machines in the network to go berserk as well]] and look more broken and zombie-like, having an extra attack where they generate an electric field around themselves that causes contact damage. Finally, there's EMP attack units, who appear during Route C and can use EMP blasts to [[InterfaceScrew interfere with the player's HUD.]]

* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' has several different types. The most straightforward type are the "Enhanced" machines, who are colored black and red and have better overall specs then the standard models. Then there's the "Rampaging" machines, who appear after [[spoiler: Eve goes berserk, and starts causing other machines in the network to go berserk as well]] and look more broken and zombie-like, having an extra attack where they generate an electric field around themselves that causes contact damage. Finally, there's EMP attack units, who appear during Route C and can use EMP blasts to [[InterfaceScrew interfere with the player's HUD.]]