History Main / SorcerousOverlord

* ''Film/KullTheConqueror'': Queen Akivasha is an ancient witch queen who once ruled over Valusia and is resurrected by the bad guys to remove Kull the Barbarian from the throne. Though her plan is apparently to bring HellOnEarth, the way she came to power by marrying Kull and then arranging his death (he escaped) means she can't really be upfront that she's evil to her subjects and has to be a VillainWithGoodPublicity.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'': The Queen of the Crown.

** Apocalypse started out as this - or more accurately, he started out ThePoorlyChosenOne, being [[spoiler: Doctor Strange's first apprentice, who he genuinely believed would be the one to stop Thanos]], and deposed Kang the Conqueror in Stone Age Egypt. Unfortunately, he wasn't content to guide and protect from the shadows, instead demanding the right to rule. Given that he was an immensely powerful mage-mutant, StrongAndSkilled enough to put [[TheArchmage Doctor Strange]] on the run, no one argued too much. He than rapidly expanded his power to become a fully-fledged GodEmperor, believing that his role of saving the world meant ruling it and preparing it for battle via his insane SocialDarwinist philosophy. He conquered most of the planet, killing the Winter and Summer Queens, as well as a number of other {{Physical God}}s. Unfortunately for him, betraying Doctor Strange is a terrible, ''terrible'' idea, and Strange masterminded his downfall, then chose to [[MakeAnExampleOfThem make an example of him]].

* Merlock in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTalesTheMovieTreasureOfTheLostLamp''. It's not stated explicitly what possessions he ruled over, but he's an EvilSorceror who used Genie to spread terror and fear wherever he wanted. His dark floating fortress at the end wouldn't look out of place as [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]]'s residential palace.
* Maleficent in ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', who's either an EvilSorceress or one of TheFairFolk. She seems to rule over a dark land adjacent to the human kingdoms from her ominous castle, populated only by her monstrous and incredibly dumb minions.
* The Horned King in ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'', although his magical powers are fairly limited and require complex rituals to realize. This tyrant is a [[HornedHumanoid horned]], robed member of the undead, probably a [[OurLichesAreDifferent lich]]. He plots to take over the world from his fortress by acquiring an army of skeletal warriors known as the Cauldron Born.
* Jafar in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' manages to work his way up to the trope full-time for the last act of the film. He is already a talented wizard at the start and hypnotizes the Sultan, being an EvilChancellor, but once he gets the Genie's magic lamp, he wishes himself Sultan, and then wishes himself the most powerful sorcerer, IN THE WORLD!!! His third wish, however, turns him into a Genie himself after he's goaded by Aladdin, which traps him in a lamp.
* Ommadon in ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'' is one of four wizards, each one of them representing an aspect of the magical world they live in ("water and sky", "light, air, peace, and transcendence", "earth and nature", and evil). He is the evil one out of the bunch, naturally. He reigns over a {{Mordor}}-like desolated kingdom and his powers include MindControl over dragons and various other creatures to serve his deeds, teleportation and summoning dragon heads from his body.
* Blackwolf in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' turns a bunch of mutants and demons into an [[PuttingOnTheReich expy of Nazi Germany]], intentionally. His good brother Avatar could be a king but seems to be too lazy to be more than just a powerful wizard.

* Thulsa Doom in the first ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' movie. He's obviously magical what with the turning into a snake, the snake arrows, and the MindControl, but sometimes you get the feeling that he's really best defined by being the opposition to the sword wielding BarbarianHero.
* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', [[TheEmperor Palpatine]] and several [[DarkLord Dark Lords of the Sith]] are this trope, only InSpace! Despite the science fiction setting, Palpatine lives and breathes this trope to the point of going around in public wearing a black robe. The [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] takes this a lot further, often depicting Sith Lords even more explicitly as dark wizards doubling as [[GalacticConqueror galactic conquerors]].
* In ''Film/TheMummyTombOfTheDragonEmperor'', the Dragon Emperor qualifies, not only is he a good fighter, he has control over magic as well, and plans to gain immortality.
* Matai Shang in ''[[Film/JohnCarter John Carter]]'', a Sorcerous Overlord [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]
* Queen Ravenna from ''Film/SnowWhiteAndTheHuntsman'' is a powerful VainSorceress who has usurped the throne.
** Her sister Freya in the [[Film/TheHuntsmanWintersWar sequel]].
* In ''Film/InTheNameOfTheKing'', this is how Gallian is able to retain his magical abilities, while not actually serving a king (this appears to be a requirement for all magi). He explains that he uplifted the mindless Krug and made himself their king. Thus, by serving himself, he became this trope. His eventual goal is to crush all opposition and rule the world. Of course, it's stated that only Gallian's twisted mind could make this work. Naturally, he is primarily opposed by {{Muggles}}, specifically [[Creator/JasonStatham Farmer]], who has no powers of his own but still kicks plenty of ass. His good counterpart is Merick, the magus serving the King of Ehb.
* ''Film/KullTheConqueror'': Queen Akivasha is an ancient witch queen who once ruled over Valusia and is resurrected by the bad guys to remove Kull the Barbarian from the throne. Though her plan is apparently to bring HellOnEarth, the way she came to power by marrying Kull and then arranging his death (he escaped) means she can't really be upfront that she's evil to her subjects and has to be a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* ''{{Film/Willow}}'': Queen Bavmorda, who's not only a conquering ruler but also a powerful sorceress.
* ''Film/KingArthurLegendOfTheSword'': Vortigern becomes this after seizing power due to a pact with some eldritch creatures.
* ''Film/HowlingIIStirbaWerewolfBitch'': Stirba operates like this in Transylvania. She rules over a cult of werewolves from her castle, while possessing explicit magical powers. Yes, a werewolf witch-queen.
* ''{{Film/Sorceress}}'': {{Evil sorcerer}} Traigon rules over a domain where from what little we see executions and torture of his citizens are ubiquitous. He plans to gain further power by sacrificing his firstborn child.

* ''Film/MirrorMirror'': The Queen, who's a sorceress and usurped the crown from her husband, then his daughter.
* ''Film/{{Deathstalker}}'': Immortal Wizard Munkar has ruled ever since overthrowing the old king.
* From ''Film/{{Amazons}}'', King Kalungo. He wants to conquer the whole world, has magical ability, and even a shape shifting lioness that can be used as a spy
-->"I paid a high price for my power, and... I intend to use it."

** But way before them was [[SatanicArchetype Melkor]]/[[GodOfEvil Morgoth]]. While most of the other [[EvilOverlord Evil Overlords]] of Middle-Earth are mortals or Fallen Maiar, Melkor is a Vala of great might. Maiar are extraordinarily powerful. Valar are more powerful than Maiar. Melkor was more powerful than ''all of the other Valar combined.'' He demonstrates this by using his magical powers to destroy and twist matter into his liking, [[MindRape mind raping people]], and being a generally ManipulativeBastard.
*** Here's how powerful Melkor is/was: Sauron poured his essence into the One Ring to stay alive. Melkor poured his essence into Arda itself. That's right. Nothing short of TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt can kill him.
* In ''Literature/{{Masques}}'', the ae'Magi is one of those. He has entire towns of people do his bidding, because he has charmed them to love and admire him so much that even saying something negative about him will get you beheaded by the next random passer-by.
* Creator/ClarkAshtonSmith liked this one:
** Maal Dweb, by virtue of his magic, is the absolute ruler of a solar system with six planets. He spends most of his time [[OrcusOnHisThrone alone in his fortress]] with a harem of [[TakenForGranite petrified]] women, collecting tributes and getting [[LonelyAtTheTop rather bored]].
** Malygris is the preeminent {{Necromancer}} on a remnant of {{Atlantis}}. Although he isn't a formal leader, he's so [[TheDreaded feared]] that he's offered a tithe of the island's trade as a matter of course, as the "overlord of all kings and sorcerers." [[spoiler:Being dead has barely slowed him down.]]
** Ossaru was this for the realm of Zothique, ruling half the continent with the blessing of a GodOfEvil even before an EldritchAbomination arrived to tutor him in the arcane. He's introduced as a [[ShroudedInMyth legend]] in "The Tomb-Spawn" [[spoiler:and has merged with said abomination to form the titular beast.]].
* Galbatorix from the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' is a powerful magic user and also the ruler of the Broddring Empire.
* The Shadow Lord from Emily Rodda's Literature/DeltoraQuest series. He arrived as a mere EvilSorcerer, now he rules the shadowlands [[spoiler:formerly known as Piria]] with designs on adding it neighboring land of Deltora to his domain, which has the ports he can use to spead his evil to other lands.
* The Warlock Lord, Brona, from ''The Sword of Literature/{{Shannara}}''.
* Emperor Ariakas from ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' was a MagicKnight flavor of this: challenge him, and he can best you in a duel, char you to a crisp, or some combination thereof.
* Emperor Otha of Zemoch from Literature/TheElenium, also head of the local ReligionOfEvil. He's also completely sedentary and dumb as a post, but he makes up for it with his magical power and being the head of the single most powerful nation in the world. He's still answerable to [[GodOfEvil his god]]...
* ''Literature/TheBlackCompany'' series by Creator/GlenCook is chock full of these guys and gals, with the most prominent being the Lady (in the present day) and the Dominator (in the backstory). There're also some former Sorcerous Overlords--specifically, most of the Taken seem to be this--who were enslaved by the more powerful ones. AlwaysABiggerFish, indeed.
* Emperor Ma'elKoth from ''Literature/TheActsOfCaine'' books fits this to a tee.
* [[Literature/TheElricSaga Elric of Melnibone]]. He's ''somewhat'' less evil than is usual for the trope.
* The Shadowlord from Creator/TanyaHuff's ''Literature/SmokeAndShadows''.
* Ozorne, the title character of ''[[Literature/TortallUniverse Emperor Mage]]''. He has a [[TheGoodKing good counterpart]] in Jonathan, the king of Tortall.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Voldemort's long-term goal was to become one of these, being an immortal dark wizard who would rule over a fascist magocracy. However, for most of the series he's more of an underground terrorist against the current rulers. Even after usurping control of the Ministry of Magic in the last book, he elected to control it behind the scenes through a puppet minister, as basically crowning himself would have been too blatant a move for the wizarding world to ignore.
* ''Literature/TheElminsterSeries'':
** In ''Elminster: The Making of a Mage'', a country was taken over by a [[EvilSorcerer cruel]] [[TheArchmage archmage]]. He's known as "[[TheCaligula the Mad Mage]]" because torturing people is his pastime. Elminster tries to defeat him, but almost gets killed and has to be rescued by Mystra.
** Elminster himself consciously averts this at the end of the same novel: after overthrowing the Magelords, he ''could'' legitimately claim the throne for himself by right of descent (and having the witnesses to confirm that he really is who he says, too), but decides that he's not really rulership material and that the kingdom likely has had its fill of being governed by wizards for a good long while.
** One of Elminster's friends is a more ambiguous version: she's a very powerful mage and also queen of her country. Though not cruel, she's feared by her subjects due to being reckless and unstable.
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': Darken Rahl, lord of the D'Haran Empire. Later Emperor Jagang, head of the Imperial Order. Both have powerful magic and rule as brutal despots.[[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Some might also see]] Richard as this later on, despite him officially being the [[DesignatedHero hero]], since he becomes ruler of the D Empire and uses more than a little brutality.

* The ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' game books have no shortage of these. Chief among them are the Demonic Three, {{Card Carrying Villain}}s who studied the black arts together before going their separate ways to pursue world domination:
** Zagor, ruler of monsters in the [[ElaborateUndergroundBase vast cavern network]] beneath Firetop Mountain, who first [[CameBackWrong Comes Back Wrong]] to terrorize the countryside, then [[CameBackStrong returns again from death as a powerful demon]] to threaten the entire world.
** Balthus Dire, formidable MagicKnight, third in a line of thoroughly [[AristocratsAreEvil malevolent warlords]] ruling the local {{Mordor}}; evil enough to have a debilitating [[WeakenedByTheLight sunlight allergy]] normally only suffered by TheUndead.
** Zharradan Marr, master of inflicting PowerUpgradingDeformation; began his career with relatively PragmaticVillainy, developing gold mines to recruit his forces and expand his territory, then unleashed them on the world to pursue lost secrets of arcane power.
* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'': Sourcerers essentially become these by virtue of being sources of magic, which is why wizards are forbidden to have children. Their power is so potent that they enhance the powers of the wizards around them and multiply their ambition to rule over everyone else. In fact, sourcerers were around during the early days of the disc and began the "Mage Wars" which nearly led to its destruction, due to the [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] nature of unleashing [[FantasticNuke raw weaponized magic]] which devastates everything.
* In ''Literature/{{Imajica}}'', the Autarch of Yzordderrex rules three AlternateUniverse[=s=], mainly by virtue of his unmatched magical prowess and utter ruthlessness.
* ''Literature/TheCrimsonShadow'': King Greensparrow is a cruel wizard who rules Avon, Eriador and the islands nearby.
* ''{{Literature/Tigana}}'': The Peninsula of the Palm is ruled by not one but '''two''' sorcerer conquerors, Alberico and Brandin.

* Smegin in ''Literature/TheGreatGodsWar'' was, for most of his reign, both the hereditary King of Amika and a [[ShockAndAwe Magister of lightning.]] He was also quite horrible and prone to using his powers to electrocute people [[YouHaveFailedMe who had failed him,]] all while being dead set on conquering the neighbouring kingdom Belleger even though the endless war had already driven both kingdoms to the brink of ruin.
* ''Literature/SecondApocalypse'': In ''Aspect-Emperor'' series, Kellhus has become the most powerful sorcerer in the world (perhaps of all time) as well as the Aspect-Emperor of the Kellian Empire, in which he is also worshiped as an aspect of the God. He's a cross between this and a BenevolentMageRuler. His rule is brutal, but entirely focused on the one goal of saving the world from an AncientConspiracy.
* A more contemporary version shows up in ''Literature/AnnoDracula'' novel ''One Thousand Monsters'', Lord Majin - a SwordAndGun wielding, HumongousMecha riding sorcerer, has magic that lets him generate earthquakes, create a NighInvulnerable magical barrier and give him [[TheAgeless eternal youth]]. The source of his magic is that he takes Japan's undesirables for punishment by feeding them to the yokai of Yokai Town. From the agony of the victims and the blood frenzy of the yokai, he draws in that negative energy. He's the de-facto ruler of Yokai Town (the Emperor and the Black Ocean society don't care what he does behind its walls, while Yuki-Onna is sleeping on her role as yokai queen) with his aim to eventually take over the whole of Japan.
* ''Literature/TheMagicians'' ultimately reveals that the Beast [[spoiler: AKA Martin Chatwin]] is the unofficial ruler of Fillory in all but name and an incredibly powerful hedge-wizard; in between massacres, the Beast has been trying to gain access to the high king's crown so he can make his rule official. [[spoiler: To that end, he gives the main characters (via a minion) an enchanted horn that can summon him, tricks them into going on a quest to retrieve the crown from the magical defenses surrounding it, and then letting the group's own self-destructive behavior do the rest.]]
* ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'': Ma'ar, Mage of the Black Fire and BigBad of the Mage Wars Trilogy was both a phenomenally powerful Adept and the leader of an expansionist country that has conquered much of the kingdom. Dealing with him was actually difficult because apparently before him, mages seeking martial over mystical power was a bizarre oddity.
* ''Literature/TheBeyonders'': Emperor Maldor not only rules the world, but is also the last Edomic Adept (wizard) to exist (excluding Rachel who comes from Beyond and Orruck who has been mutated beyond recognition).
* Downplayed with Magister Scacz in Creator/PaoloBacigalupi and Creator/TobiasBuckell's ''The Tangled Lands'', Scacz has effectively absolute power as the last great Magister in the city of Khaim and will do things like rape women who capture his fancy or experiment on poor schmucks as well as create a palace in the sky for himself. However he's so addicted to using magic that he's growing less involved with the city and he's partners in crime with the Mayor who does the real work of rulership (so status and political power-wise they're essentially the same). Additionally it's only because the world is in a state of AfterTheEnd, that Scacz is considered a great Magister. In the old days, he'd only be a step above journeyman compared to the legendary Magisters that came before him.
* Most of the Adepts of Piers Anthony's ''Literature/ApprenticeAdept'' series fit the description fairly well, being feudal lords with great magical power who live in formidable fortresses and oppress the masses to maintain their monopoly on power. The only exceptions are Blue, and later Red and Brown, with the other Adepts becoming known as "the Adverse Adepts" in contrast to the good-guy faction. They differ from the typical BigBad version of the trope in that [[BigBadEnsemble there are too many of them to be a unified evil army]], and their agenda for the world is less a CardCarryingVillain goal than [[ADarkerShadeOfGray a bad way of dealing with ecological problems]] like a shortage of magical energy.
* ''Literature/SoThisIsEverAfter'': The Vile One ruled Chickpea after usurping its throne and he was a powerful mage. He persecuted other mages and had oppressed the population generally.

* ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker'': Darken Rahl, an evil sorcerer who's ruler of the D'Haran Empire. Richard also becomes this briefly when possessed of the power of Orden in an alternate reality. With its magic he can make everyone obey his word. He quickly turns evil with its influence, ordering people to kill each other ([[spoiler:unless the power is tempered by the touch of a Confessor]]), before the Boxes are again separated, and this restores him to normal.

* ''Music/{{Gloryhammer}}'''s EvilSorcerer Zargothrax is this in ''Tales from the Kingdom of Fife'' where he conquers titular kingdom, and then again in the alternate universe from ''Tales from Beyond the Galactic Terrorvortex''. As his ImageSong reveals, one of his titles even is Wizard King.

* Queen Himiko in Myth/JapaneseMythology had a dash of this. She was a shaman-queen of Yamataikoku, the land that would become Japan. Legend says she ruled her people with magical mind-control, or something to that effect.
* In Literature/TheBible, King Manasseh of Judah is said to have practiced sorcery[[note]]II Chronicles 33:6[[/note]], and he is depicted in the Bible as perhaps the most evil ruler in Judah's history.

** Gex and Nex named the countries they founded [[{{Egopolis}} after themselves]] and their spells against each other scarred the land, creating a desolate region region between their countries named the Mana Wastes. Both were immortal, but Nex disappeared after one of Geb's attacks, resulting in an obsessed Geb eventually killing himself but lingering as a ghost due to his uncertainty over Nex's fate, [[TheNecrocracy and he still rules]].
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' the dark elves are ruled over by Malekith the Witch-King, a TinTyrant who requires a magical suit of armor to give him strength after an encounter with holy fire.

** Any Tzeentch-aligned Chaos Lord also counts, though any Chaos warbands, worlds, or other entities lead by a Sorceror counts as well.

** In any other setting, The God-Emperor of Mankind would have been one back when he could actually move. He was the greatest psyker in human history, led a Grand Crusade to conquer the scattered lost colonies of man, eradicated multiple species and religions, and trillions have died over the millennia as a result of his actions. But in the [[CrapsackWorld Grim Darkness of the Far Future]], he qualified as a BenevolentMageRuler.
* The Lich-King of ''TabletopGame/ThirteenthAge'' was like this back when he was simply the Wizard King. Following his death and resurrection, he wants to start doing it again, but as one of possibly the least popular figures in the world with the other power players, it's not going to be an easy row to hoe.
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'':
** ''GURPS Wizards'' has "Overlord" as one of the templates. However, while it suggests the template is good for creating powerful villains, only one of the worked examples comes across as one: Count Boris Czesko, a Carpathian nobleman for ''GURPS Horror'' who is paranoid, ruthless, and prone to trusting his zombies more than his subjects. (The others are two potentially-antagonistic-but-not-actually-evil characters, and one BenevolentMageRuler.)
** ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer'': Maria Hawker, President of the Magiocracy of Surinam, is probably as close as you can get to a modern version of the trope: a tinpot dictator whose rule is backed not so much by her own necromantic powers as by the wealth and influence of a magic MegaCorp.

* ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'': Blackberry's goal in reviving the ancient wizard Diamond Mine is under the belief that he his magical rulership over the world would be [[BenevolentMageRuler the best form of governance]]. Zophy and his companions oppose her believing that he would be a SorcerousOverlord instead, given the immense power that the world's most incredible wizard in history possessed. Given that his followers in ancient times had sealed him inside a diamond, they might be onto something. In ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce Attack of Darkforce]]'', she misses out on the window to fully revive Diamond Mine and instead performs a ritual to become the second generation Diamond Mine - Diamond Black. It remains to be seen whether she becomes the BenevolentMageRuler she imagines or a SorcerousOverlord for Zophy to bring down.
* ''VideoGame/RedEarth'': Main antagonist Scion is the emperor of Varuda, a tyranny responsible for awakening malevolent monsters all over the land. He is also an accomplished sorcerer with the ability to channel numerous powerful applications of magic through his staff.
* ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'':
** The VillainProtagonist, eventually. You start off as an [[TinTyrant armour plated warrior]] but to advance and gain more power and to fit more stereotypically into the EvilOverlord mode you can gain magic powers.
** [[spoiler:The Old Overlord, possessing the Gandalf stereotype wizard who killed him,]] is a more straight example.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** Arthas Menethil, the Lich King. Combination of one of the most powerful necromancers and death knights? The world is screwed (if he can get up from his throne, that is...).
** Queen Azshara, once queen of the night elves, described as the most powerful mortal mage to ever live. [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Her people loved her]], but the only person she considered worthy of her was the leader of the Burning Legion whom she attempted to bring to Azeroth. Now she rules over the naga, plotting her revenge.
* Magus from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', [[spoiler:until his HeelFaceTurn.]]

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': Shao Kahn, to the point of being the EvilCounterpart to [[BigGood Raiden]], who is a ''god''. Shinnok also has shades of this, though he is a fallen Elder God who just seems to have a bit of a sorcerous theme going on. [[TheStarscream Shang Tsung]] also falls into this when he's ruling the titular tournament as an old, decrepit man, and is a textbook example since his personal nemesis both in this form and later is Liu Kang, a Wushu practitioner who was one of the main protagonists for most of the series.
%%* ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'': The Magic Emperor.
%%* ''VideoGame/MagicSword'': Evil Lord Drokmar.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' has King Godwyn, ruler of the Gittish Empire. [[spoiler:He experimented with draining the magic power of Celestrians as power]], and he is an extremely competent mage. Even his normal attack seems to have at least some sort of magical element to it.
* Manannan from ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIII'' rules over Llewdor, but more like a bully than a king who rules outright, keeping the population in fear and maintaining a watchful (and paranoid!) eye over them from his telescope.
* In ''Videogame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Cartman plays the role of the [[MeaningfulName Grand Wizard]] of the King of Kupa Keep and leader of the human faction. He's not an actual wizard however, just playing the role of one.
* ''VideoGame/DisneysMagicalQuest'': Emperor Pete, the BigBad, is a Dark Lord with vast magical powers ruling from an imposing fortress.
* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', [[TheEmpire Noxus]]' head of state is Swain, the Grand General. While he functionally acts like a military leader whose threat mostly comes in the form of [[TheChessmaster making power moves to expand the empire]], he himself contains immense magical power that [[HijackingCthulhu he claimed from slaying a demon of secrets]]. Said power is [[LovecraftianSuperpower "eldritch" in nature]], highly destructive, and most importantly [[IngestingKnowledge allows him to absorb the secrets of those he kills]], making him even more of an intellectual threat.
* A 4X video game called ''VideoGame/MasterOfMagic'' involves 14 wizards with various affinities towards particular magics (Life, Nature, Sorcery, Chaos and Death).

* Kyros the Overlord from ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}''. Kyros' calendar begins on the day they spoke their first Edict, a powerful magic that [[RealityWarper makes Kyros' proclamations physical reality]]. Although currently in possession of a giant empire and massive armies, the Edicts are a magic unique to Kyros and makes long-term resistance against them infeasible. [[spoiler:The PlayerCharacter later unlocks the ability to analyse Kyros' Edicts and replicate them, setting them up as the first real challenge to the Overlord in centuries.]]
* Valder from ''VideoGame/{{Wargroove}}'', being the last in a long line of mortal necromancers to wield the Fell Gauntlet.

* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': {{Subverted}} with the magician Coriakin from ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'' who governs an island inhabited by [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dim-witted dwarves known as the Duffers]]. The Duffers see him as this because he forces them to work in his garden [[TricksterMentor with the use of tricks and magical spells]], but in reality, he is a BenevolentMageRuler who has to do it because the Duffers are TooDumbToLive, and would not survive without his oversight (this is an obvious metaphor for the relationship between God and humanity, and, in particular, for "working in God's vineyard").

* The White Witch in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' pulled this off twice. In ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'', she is found in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]] on the dying world of Charn, where she murdered the planet's population with a FantasticNuke rather than allow her rival sister to defeat her. She escapes to Narnia, where she is able to rule for a century of EndlessWinter and wanton [[TakenForGranite petrifications]] before getting eaten by CrystalDragonJesus in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''.

Take an EvilSorcerer, mix with EvilOverlord, place against one incredibly physical and muscular protagonist and leave to stew in a realm of CreepyCrows, [[SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands palantirs]] and monstrous minions.

** Fire Lord Ozai, as well as the Fire Lords before him since Sozin. [[PlayingWithFire Firebending]] isn't unique to the royal family, but it does show up with unusual consistency when it's usually completely random, and they're often much stronger than average.

*** [[RealityWarper Discord]] served as this during [[TheDarkTimes Equestria's early history]] before [[BigGood Princesses]] [[TheHighQueen Celestia]] and [[TheSacredDarkness Luna]] [[SealedEvilInACan defeated him]]. The Royal Sisters in question both serve as the unambiguously ''good'' version this for Equestria most of the time, using their magic to [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows raise the sun and moon]], and generally make life good for their subjects.
*** Shortly prior to Luna's fall into darkness, [[EvilOverlord King Sombra]] imposed [[TheDarkTimes an evil reign]] upon [[ShiningCity the Crystal Empire]], based around [[SlaveRace the enslavement]] [[SugarApocalypse of its entire population]], by becoming immensely powerful through the use of BlackMagic. The traps in [[OrcusOnHisThrone the castle he once occupied]] still hold great potency one thousand years later, and when he attempts to return, his evil magic has so consumed his nature that he takes the form of an [[AdvancingWallOfDoom advancing, disembodied force]] [[MadeOfEvil of malevolence]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Aku is a shapeshifting EldritchAbomination who conquered the world after flinging the titular samurai far into the future. Aku rules Earth and a few planets beyond with an iron fist, and is more than eager to smite any fool that dares rise up against him.

* Subverted in ''Fanfic/TheDifferenceOneManCanMake''. Sure, the Witch-King-Beyond-the-Wall ''seems'' to be this: he uses mystic powers, he rules over the cold and dreary [[GrimUpNorth Land beyond the Wall]], the [[BarbarianTribe wildlings]] bow to him and his reaching to Essos and the Seven Kingdoms implies he nurtures the ambition to go south of the Wall as many of his predecessors... Except that the Witch-King is actually [[Franchise/HarryPotter Harry Potter]], NiceGuy to the finest who only seeks to improve the Free Folk's lot and has no wish to involve himself or his people in the game of thrones.

* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': The King of Hybern knows a lot of powerful magic, rules over Hybern with an iron fist and tried to TakeOverTheWorld in the past. He spends the series plotting to do so again, biding his time and gathering allies.

** ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'': Every single city-state in the DeathWorld of Athas is ruled by a Sorcerous Overlord. And they are horribly evil, every single one of them[[note]]with, in some editions, ''[[TheAtoner one]]'' exception, and even he has to keep up the façade of still being one to avoid the others ganging up on him and his people.[[/note]]: they got to be where they are now because they sucked all magic out of the world in the past to fuel their bloody campaigns, turning it into a blasted wasteland. Indeed, each has ascended into a dragon-like monstrous entity by virtue of committing ''genocide'' and consuming the souls of ''entire species''. This is why Athas has no trolls, orcs, gnomes, pixies...

* In ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'', the planet Shenanig has been ruled by those for several hundred years — specifically, a dynasty known as the Dark Lords of Shenanig, Wielders of the Legacy of the [[PredecessorVillain Nameless Overlord]]. The Queen of the Black Market is also a mild example, using the wraiths at her command to maintain her youth and "keep the peace" in her pocket dimension, even if she's not depicted as villainous past her debut, and her domain is not really a self-sufficient realm.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The Queen of the Crown in ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers''.
* Mozenrath in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' is the perfect example of this. He is the ruler of the land of the black sand, he has powerful magic, and his schemes usually involve conquest or becoming more powerful in some way to facilitate said conquest. Aladdin fits the role of the muscle bound protagonist with his, as Iago put it, "two fisted ways." In this particular example, the sorcerous overlord and the musclebound protagonist sort of form a yin yang. Mozenrath is not completely incapable of defending himself in a physical confrontation, and Aladdin has the Genie and his magic to help him. The reason for this might be due to WordOfGod stating that the original plot of the third Aladdin movie was to reveal that Mozenrath was Aladdin's brother.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** [[RealityWarper Discord]] served as this during [[TheDarkTimes Equestria's early history]] before [[BigGood Princesses]] [[TheHighQueen Celestia]] and [[TheSacredDarkness Luna]] [[SealedEvilInACan defeated him]]. The Royal Sisters in question both serve as the unambiguously ''good'' version this for Equestria most of the time, using their magic to [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows raise the sun and moon]], and generally make life good for their subjects.
** Shortly prior to [[FallenAngel Luna's fall into darkness]], [[EvilOverlord King Sombra]] imposed [[TheDarkTimes an evil reign]] upon [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas the Crystal]] [[ShiningCity Empire]], based around [[SlaveRace the enslavement]] [[SugarApocalypse of its entire population]], by becoming immensely powerful through the use of BlackMagic. The traps in [[OrcusOnHisThrone the castle he once occupied]] still hold great potency one thousand years later, and when he attempts to return, his evil magic has so consumed his nature that he takes the form of an [[AdvancingWallOfDoom advancing, disembodied force]] [[MadeOfEvil of malevolence]].
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': Skeletor, similar setup to Thulsa Doom: big guy with loincloth and sword fights weird villain with powers that vary DependingOnTheWriter.

* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is a shapeshifting EldritchAbomination who conquered the world after flinging the titular samurai far into the future. Aku rules Earth and a few planets beyond with an iron fist, and is more than eager to smite any fool that dares rise up against him.
* Every villain in ''WesternAnimation/ThundarrTheBarbarian''. As if a character with [[BarbarianHero that]] epithet was going to face anything else.
* Prince Phobos from ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}''. Unlike many of these examples, though, his primary opponents are ''also'' magic-users.
* Master Cyclonis from ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks''. She's the empress of the [[EvilEmpire Cyclonian Empire]] and an unmatched master of using and harnessing the power of [[AppliedPhlebotinum crystals]] as weapons. Her weapon of choice is even a staff tipped with said crystals to channel their powers in the heat of combat.
* The [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon Sorcerer clan]] from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', mixes with DemonLordsAndArchdevils, and a textbook example of the trope.
* The archvillain of ''WesternAnimation/LittleWizards'' is Renvick, an EvilSorcerer who usurped the throne with his magic upon the death of TheGoodKing. Interestingly, the crown prince, Dexter, is himself undergoing training in magic so he can defeat Renvick in a WizardDuel and take his place a BenevolentMageRuler.

-->-- '''Olive''', ''Wyvern's Spur'' ([[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Finder's Stone Trilogy]])

* Prince Phobos from WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}. Unlike many of these examples, though, his primary opponents are ''also'' magic-users.

* The Adepts of Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series fit the description fairly well, being feudal lords with great magical power who live in formidable fortresses and oppress the masses to maintain their monopoly on power. They differ from the typical BigBad version of the trope in that [[BigBadEnsemble there are too many of them to be a unified evil army]], and their agenda for the world is less a CardCarryingVillain goal than [[ADarkerShadeOfGray a bad way of dealing with ecological problems]] like a shortage of magical energy.

* In the light novel, anime and manga ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'', VillainProtagonist Ainz is a very, very rare example of a protagonist being this trope. Even more so once the territories of the New World that he takes over are officially recognized as a sovereign nation, with him being granted the title of "Sorcerer King".

* Master Cyclonis from ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks''. She's the empress of the [[EvilEmpire Cyclonian Empire]] and an unmatched master of using and harnessing the power of [[AppliedPhlebotinum crystals]] as weapons. Her WeaponOfChoice is even a staff tipped with said crystals to channel their powers in the heat of combat.

See also TheMagocracy. If the magical overlord is also a [[OurLichesAreDifferent Lich]] then their realm doubles as TheNecrocracy, a domain ruled by the undead. Contrast BenevolentMageRuler where a magic-user [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rules benevolently]], and CourtMage, where a magic-user is a ruler's advisor rather than the ruler themselves. For a smaller-scale version, when the magical overlord is the master of only one or a few ordinary humans, see MuggleInMageCustody. Compare EmperorScientist, who has science instead of magic. (However, Sorcerous Overlord and EmperorScientist are known to [[SufficientlyAnalyzedMagic overlap]] quite often.)

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The BigBad Sorceress Ultimecia rules over an uncertain future, can possess sorceresses in the past (which is when the game takes place), can create monsters and corrupt [=GFs=], and said GF is one of eight monster guardians in her castle whose job it is to stop the opposing [=SeeDs=] from being able to put up much of a fight against her in the FinalBoss fight of the game. Oh, and she can create [=GFs=] and spells herself. Her goal: compress time into a single singularity, apparently so she can be the sole living being in existence.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The BigBad Sorceress Ultimecia rules over an uncertain future, can possess sorceresses in the past (which is when the game takes place), can create monsters and corrupt [=GFs=], and said GF is one of eight monster guardians in her castle whose job it is to stop the opposing [=SeeDs=] from being able to put up much of a fight against her in the FinalBoss fight of the game. Oh, and she can create [=GFs=] and spells herself. Her goal: compress time into a single singularity, though it's never clearly stated why she wants this.