History Main / TheEmperor

* The emperor of the [[BabylonFive Centauri Republic]] at the start of the series was a rather benevolent ruler, even apologizing to the Narn for his predecessor's atrocities. Unfortunately he died early in the second season and was replaced by [[TheCaligula Cartagia]], [[spoiler: who was assassinated and succeeded by Londo]].

* The BigBad {{Darwinist}} Emperor Charles di Britannia in ''CodeGeass'' presides over a WorldHalfEmpty, and does everything in his power to keep it that way.

**** Not so much. He was prepared to leave minor non-threatening races alone. As for him being a decent guy... well, he was always a ruthless bastard and had 38,000 years of [[XanatosGambit planning]] behind him when he first conquered Earth. Ask the semi-immortal John Grammaticus from ''Legion''- he was terrified of him when they briefly met.

* ''{{Tales of the Abyss}}'' has Emperor Peony IX, a complete subversion--this is the man that commissions battle costumes for the party and goes incognito to fight crime.

* Emperor Titus from the two DarkLordofDerkholm books by DianaWynnJones was a subversion in that he was the benevolent variety of emperor. He was shown in a very positive light, contrasted sharply with the senate, who were portrayed as corrupt politicians trying to undermine his authority and kill his sister for being of [[fantasticracism marsh-woman blood]].

TheEmperor is often distinct from the EvilOverlord in that he's much more likely to be the ruler of the world, or at least the ruler of the largest and most influential country in it, instead of simply being a Sauron/Kim-Il Jung PresidentEvil cackling it up over in Latveria[=/=]{{Mordor}}land. Besides being evil, you can often expect TheEmperor to be the BigBad, especially if you're in a Fantasy setting. They will frequently invoke AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, which can often make them the most dangerous man on the planet.

* TheEmpire in ''LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' is, naturally, ruled by TheEmperor, an inherited title of the ruling Goldenbaum family, whose dynasty has continued unbroken since the Empire's foundation. The emperor at the beginning of the series is Friedrich IV, an old peaceful man who never aspired to the throne due to being far down on the list of claimants in his youth. He's uninterested in ruling or the ongoing war with TheFederation and content with living in peace and enjoying the finer things in life, like his private rose garden, and lets his chief of staff and admirals run things. He's consequently quite impotent as an actual ruler, but reasonable and harmless.
** [[spoiler:His natural death of old age one third through the series kicks off an imperial civil war between the old noble houses who seek to keep the status quo, and a reformist faction of the military and lesser houses led by main character Reinhard von Lohengramm. Reinhard wins a crushing victory and takes effective control of the empire, eventually disposing of the Goldenbaum dynasty nonviolently and establishing the Lohengramm dynasty in its stead. Reinhart becomes a democratic reformer and rules as an enlightened and quite benevolent emperor, though he thinks nothing of using his imperial authority to force reforms through.]]

** Also, he's kind of the exception in-Universe too. A lot of Emperors in his geneaology ranged from AffablyEvil to CompleteMonsters, although the original Tiber Septim was (usually) nice enough. [[BerserkButton just as long as you didn't threaten his legacy, like Barenziah.]]

* TheEmpire in ''LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' is, naturally, ruled by an TheEmperor, an inherited title whose claimants always come from a member of the ruling Goldenbaum dynasty. The emperor at the beginning of the series is Friedrich IV, a peaceful man who never aspired to the throne due to being far down on the list of claimants in his youth. He's mostly uninterested in ruling or glory and content with living in peace and enjoying the finer things in life, like his private rose garden, and lets his chief of staff and admirals run things. He's consequently quite impotent as an actual ruler, but reasonable and harmless.

[[NapoleonBonaparte http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/napoleon-throne.jpg]]
[[caption-width:307:When just ruling [[UsefulNotes/{{France}} one country]] isn't enough.]]

[[caption-width:307:When just ruling one country isn't enough.]]

The ruler of an Empire, usually but not always TheEmpire. Historically, Emperors outranked Kings, so when you need an authority figure to convey the highest possible power and rank, you can't get any higher than making them TheEmperor (unless you go to ThePope, or into the speculative realms of CouncilOfAngels, DemonLordsAndArchdevils, and GalacticConqueror). The next steps down are GodSaveUsFromTheQueen, TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask, TheHighQueen, SheIsTheKing, and PresidentEvil.

TheEmperor is often distinct from the EvilOverlord in that he's much more likely to be the ruler of the world, or at least the ruler of the largest and most influential country in it, instead of simply being a Sauron/Kim-Il Jung PresidentEvil cackling it up over in Latveria/[[{{Mordor}} Mordorland]]. Besides being evil, you can often expect TheEmperor to be the BigBad, especially if you're in a Fantasy setting. They will frequently invoke AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, which can often make them the most dangerous man on the planet.

In Western media, characters known as TheEmperor will almost inevitably be EvilOverlord [[BigBad Big Bads]]. Only in historic plotlines involving the leaders of the real-life Roman Empire will they get any sympathetic depiction at all, and even then they're usually portrayed unflatteringly. In contrast, in China and Japan Emperors actually served as legitimate rulers for most of recorded history, and thus Eastern media (particularly Chinese wuxia films, but also occasionally anime) do have the occasional non-evil Emperor. However, if the Emperor is legitimate and non-malevolent, his role in the plot is usually purely as a background character; plot-significant Emperors usually serve in the role of BigBad.

TheEmperor can be divided into four main types.
* The EvilOverlord, a very standard BigBad (often complete with SpikesOfVillainy and ShouldersOfDoom), is essentially a cliche bully who, despite having no real diplomatic or political skills, has attained his position through [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority strength or special combat skills]]; if this is seen as too oafish, a very powerful EvilSorcerer or EmperorScientist, who still lacks subtlety, will suffice. Expect him to abuse his followers, intimidate his subordinates, [[TinTyrant wear battle-armor all the time]], and be [[LargeAndInCharge built like a tank]]. The LegionsOfHell and most AlwaysChaoticEvil races are this guy's {{Mooks}}. A GeneralRipper, if significantly promoted, is a more intelligent derivative of this type.

* The [[TrueFinalBoss Shadow Emperor]] is an extremely powerful form of TheEmperor, who rules from [[ManBehindTheMan behind-the-scenes]] with much Machiavellian scheming, delegating much of his powers, and almost always has a HiddenAgenda. Though they are usually not as physical as {{Blood Knight}}s like the EvilOverlord, they will probably have hidden magic or PsychicPowers. [[StarWars Emperor Palpatine]] (who was originally President Charisma) and [[CodeGeass Charles zi Britannia]] are prime examples. Of all these types, the Shadow Emperor will be the most likely to try and obtain {{immortality}}. He's likely to be TheGhost for at least the first part of the story, usually operating through Mooks or TheDragon.

* The [[PresidentEvil President Charisma]], typically a leader of EagleLand, is a VillainWithGoodPublicity, who always puts on a good face for the public, but is probably a kniving ManipulativeBastard behind the scenes. A more [[TruthInTelevision realistic]] and politically-oriented emperor, he is often a TakeThat at the nation's current administration (or somebody else's). An EngineeredPublicConfession is one of his more common foes. Examples include most {{President Evil}}s, and virtually all fictional references to Richard Nixon. The [[VForVendetta Norsefire]] leader attempted to be this (though, [[AdaptationDecay in the movie]], he was more of an underpowered EvilOverlord who got lucky), and most other Hitler {{expy}}s will usually come off as one (in his own country, anyways).

** Roughly half of the [[AncientRome Roman Emperors]] depicted in fiction will be of this sort. The other half will be [[TheCaligula Caligulae]] to a man.

** [[spoiler:This appearance is actually a front for his plans to cause {{Instrumentality}}]].
*** [[spoiler: Lelouch later fulfills this role after becoming a SelfMadeOrphan, making himself the enemy of the entire world. It was part of his plan to become the SilentScapegoat so that after his death the world will be at peace.]]

* ''SamuraiSeven'' has the unnamed Emperor who kidnaps women from peasant villages and implants clones of himself within them to create a perfect line of successors. He apparently had a lot of such clones: [[spoiler: Ukyo, the series' true BigBad, is revealed to be his 49th clone. He promptly kills the old Emperor and takes his throne for the purpose of world domination.]]
* In ''{{Digimon}}'', Ken's villain persona "the Digimon Emperor" fits this trope as well as his name would suggest. A whip-weilding EvilOverlord with a Floating Base of Doom and a costume which includes gold shoulder pads and a cape, his goal is to enslave all Digimon and take over their world. All at the tender age of eleven, too.

* Emperor Hotohori or Saihitei from ''{{Fushigi Yuugi}}'' is another example of a [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Benevolent Emperor]] who genuinely cares and works for the improvement of his nation. [[spoiler: When he first visited Tamahome's house, he was surprised by the poverty he found there and is seen making a mental resolution to do something about the problem, although Tamahome was his rival in love.]] He also went to war for his country and died fighting.

[[AC: ComicBooks]]

** [[LargeHam UNLIMITED]] '''[[LargeHam POWER!!!!!]]'''

* ''The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' features the Emperor of China (who knows Kung Fu and has superpowers) as the main villain.

* ''{{Film/Gladiator}}'' shows Marcus Aurelius as a Benevolent Emperor, and his son [[KlingonPromotion and successor]] Commodus, [[TheCaligula not so benevolent]]

* In the ''ChroniclesOfNarnia'', Aslan's father was known as the [[{{God}} Emperor-Across-the-Sea]]. Also, when the Pevensie children are made rulers of Narnia, one of Peter's titles as High King is ''Emperor of the Lone Islands.''

*** But all his [[XanatosGambit machinations]] ended up getting [[TheKingdom Barrayar]] more or less on the right track, as well as putting grandson [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Gregor]] on the throne as opposed to his son [[TheEvilPrince Prince]] [[TheCaligula Serg]], so it was definitely a case of [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Doing What He Had To Do]].

* David Eddings likes this trope. In the Tamuli, Emperor Sarabian is personally charming, intelligent and one of the few people at court who isn't corrupt. Bizarrely, [[spoiler: his eventual coup which overthrows the quasi-democratic government and institutes an absolute monarchy under martial law is something of a [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning Moment of Awesome]]]].
* In N. Perumov's "Diamond Sword, Wooden Sword", we have a '''good''' emperor, fighting agains the [[TheMagocracy evil Magocracy]], which turns out not so evil (and by fighting them he [[NiceJobBreakingItHero actually helps the true baddies]], though he understands this in time to help ruin their plans). He is ruthless enough (when needed), however, to be a realistic emperor portrayal.

* IClaudius, across its truly epic span, takes in [[BrianBlessed Augustus]] (who only avoids looking evil by comparison to what comes after him), his scheming MagnificentBastard of a wife [[TheManBehindTheMan Livia]], her son Tiberius (a colossal pervert and largely useless as a ruler), the original [[TheCaligula Caligua]] (for more detail, consult his page), the titular Claudius (unwillingly thrust onto the throne, but proves rather good at it - except for his complete blindness to the machinations of his ''own'' scheming first wife), and, in its last moments, Nero. Anyone who comes away from a complete viewing without at least ''some'' republican (in the original sense) sentiment brewing in their breast should be barred from ever holding any kind of political office.
* The emperor of the [[{{Babylon5}} Centauri Republic]] at the start of the series was a rather benevolent ruler, even apologizing to the Narn for his predecessor's atrocities. Unfortunately he died early in the second season and was replaced by [[TheCaligula Cartagia]], [[spoiler: who was assassinated and succeeded by Londo]].

*** Not to mention despite the fascist religious fervour which is encouraged in the Imperium, Chaos is still a problem running amok, so even if the Emperor let religion be preached freely, it'd still be pretty bad because it's unlikely their faith would of come close to what it is now.
* The Other {{Warhammer}} has tons, all of them run on Authority Equals Asskicking. Here's a list

* The Empress in {{Exalted}} cultivates an appearance of moral ambivalence: while responsible for saving the world, and running one of the most stable nations she also ruthlessly pursued war, and deliberately made her government so that it would fall apart with out her and raised her children to fight among themselves for her favor. In ''actuality'', she originally gained control of the Imperial Defense Grid via human sacrifice, and just recently sacrificed her youngest daughter (just 12 years old!) to one of the rulers of Hell in a failed attempt to gain immortality...and at least in the first case, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo saved Creation by doing so]]. The setting goes out of its way to make the Empress' morality as grey as possible.

* LegendoftheFiveRings has had several emperors over three dynasties. As the game is based on East Asian myths, the emperors are usually the benevolent variety, but at least one was the EvilOverlord variety, and another was a mix of that and the Shadow Emperor style after a DemonicPossession.

* ''FinalFantasyII'' was the first {{JRPG}} to play with this trope in detail, though it's since become genre standard fare. Emperor Mateus starts out as a typical Big Bad who commands [[TheLegionsOfHell monsters from hell]] and wants to [[TakeOverTheWorld conquer the world]], well, just because. Then the heroes kill him, which has [[NiceJobBreakingItHero unforeseen]] [[ItGotWorse consequences]]: [[spoiler: his spirit goes to Hell, takes over, and comes back stronger than before.]] The GBA remake adds a sidestory where we learn that [[spoiler: his soul was actually split in half at death, and his 'good' side has not only gone to Heaven, but taken over ''there'' as well.]] Light Is Not Good, indeed.

* Emperor Solarius of ''{{Overlord}} II'' is of the Shadow Emperor variety, having risen from power by taking advantage of the people's fear of magic due to the plague [[spoiler:which he himself unintentionally caused]] by presenting himself as something of a DarkMessiah out to exterminate magical beings. He's never seen personally addressing his people, a duty he leaves for his ProfessionalButtKisser Marius and constantly hides behind a mask to hid the fact that [[spoiler: he's an Elf]]. His true plan however is to [[spoiler:collect all the magic from the lands to prepare for his [[AGodAmI ascension to Godhood]].]]
* Emperor Geldoblame of ''{{Baten Kaitos}}'' is an obvious EvilOverlord. He eventually [[spoiler:gets decieved and betrayed by [[TheManBehindTheMan Melodia]]]], but that's not to say he totally didn't have it coming.

* Averted in ''AvatarTheLastAirbender''. When the BigBad, Fire Nation's Fire Lord Ozai decides to promote himself to ruler of the entire world, the title he comes up with is simply "Phoenix King", even though there is already an "Earth King" (and several lesser Earth Kingdom Kings, like King Bumi). This was probably done because "Phoenix Emperor" is way too many syllables to be practical.
* Emperor Kuzco, the antihero of ''[[{{Disney/ptitle3if599v0}} The Emperor's New Groove]]'', is a rare example of an Emperor who is neither old, evil, powerful, or particularly impressive at all. At the end, after he's [[AnAesop learned his lesson]], he starts edging into Benevolent Emperor territory.

* In ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Princess Voluptua's dad is the Emperor of the local space empire (which includes Earth, though humanity is unaware of it). She clearly has some issues with him, as do his subjects the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons of planet Butane,]] but there have been no indications that he is actually evil.

* Prior to the 19th century, Emperor was a fairly rare title only given to very powerful rulers of very large realms: aside from Rome and Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire (Germany), the Russian Empire or other lands such as Ethiopia, China and Japan who haved used Emperor for a very long time. Then Napoleon came along and suddenly it became fashionable for the rulers of everywhere from Mexico to Central Africa to start unilaterally declaring themselves Emperor.

*** In the Dark and Middle ages, European rulers calling themselves "emperor" were also, specifically, invoking the Roman Empire. The 'Byzantines' were a continuation of the Roman state so their claim was obvious, the 'Holy Roman Empire' laid claim to the former Roman empire in the West which (initially) they contested with Constantinople. It was only later that "emperor" became a title in aristocracy removed from ancient Rome.

* [[CatchPhrase The Emperor protects!]]... Ok, well, The God Emperor of Man in ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment both Emperor and God of the Imperium of Man]], the series' human faction. The GEOM is an immortal being with superhuman abilities and genuinely god-like psionic powers, whose desire for humanity to expand and conquer is the direct cause of the Imperium's current status as a CompleteMonster of an [[TheEmpire Empire]].

* Emperor Kuzco, the antihero of ''TheEmperorsNewGroove'', is a rare example of an Emperor who is neither old, evil, powerful, or particularly impressive at all. At the end, after he's [[AnAesop learned his lesson]], he starts edging into Benevolent Emperor territory.

** When does he fight crime? This Troper thinks you confused him and Natalia as the Star of Malkuth.

* In ''TheSongOfRoland'', there are the good ''and'' the bad kind, Charlemagne and Baligant. Naturally, they end up in a personal life-and-death clash of civilizations.

* Emperor Palpatine is probably the archtypical example, being an EvilOverlord, the series' main BigBad, and an incredibly powerful Sith Lord famous for blasting people with lightning.

* The EvilOverlord, a very standard BigBad (often complete with SpikesOfVillainy and ShouldersOfDoom), is essentially a cliche bully who, despite having no real diplomatic or political skills, has attained his position through [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority strength or special combat skills]]; if this is seen as too oafish, a very powerful EvilSorcerer or EmperorScientist, who still lack subtlety, will suffice. Expect him to abuse his followers, intimidate his subordinates, [[TinTyrant wear battle-armor all the time]], and be [[LargeAndInCharge built like a tank]]. The LegionsOfHell and most AlwaysChaoticEvil races are this guy's {{Mooks}}. A GeneralRipper, if significantly promoted, is a more intelligent derivative of this type.

* The [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Benevolent Emperor]]. Usually located in East-Asia ([[FantasyCounterpartCulture or an equivelent]]), the wise king is a benevolent (if usually distant from the heroes and their struggle) leader, who sides with the heroes when he finally shows up, and acts more as a promoted spiritual guide or priest than pure authority. The few western examples will just be an expansion of the wise RoyalBlood 'True King'. The Emperors of [[{{Mulan}} Mulan's China]], [[OrderOfTheStick Lord Shojo]], and [[TheLastSamurai The Last Samurai's Japan]] are prime example. A President Charisma may be confused for this before TheReveal.

* The [[PresidentEvil President Charisma]], typically a leader of EagleLand, is a VillainWithGoodPublicity, who always puts on a good face for the public, but is probably a kniving ManipulativeBastard behind the scenes. A more [[TruthInTelevision realistic]] and politically-oriented emperor, he often a TakeThat at the nation's current administration (or somebody else's). An EngineeredPublicConfession is one of his more common foes. Examples include most {{President Evil}}s, and virtually all fictional references to Richard Nixon. The [[VForVendetta Norsefire]] leader attempted to be this (though, [[AdaptationDecay in the movie]], he was of an underpowered EvilOverlord who got lucky), and most other Hitler {{expy}}s will usually come off as one (in his own country, anyways).

The ruler of an Empire, usually but not always TheEmpire. Historically, Emperors outranked Kings, so when you need an authority figure to convey the highest possible power and rank, you can't get any higher than making them TheEmperor, unless you go to ThePope, or into the speculative realms of CouncilOfAngels, DemonLordsAndArchdevils, and GalacticConqueror. The next steps down are GodSaveUsFromTheQueen, TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask, TheHighQueen, SheIsTheKing, and PresidentEvil.

In Western media, characters known as TheEmperor will almost inevitably be EvilOverlord [[BigBad Big Bads]]. Only in historic plotlines involving the leaders of the real-life Roman Empire will they get any sympathic depiction at all, and even then they're usually portrayed unflatteringly. In contrast, in China and Japan Emperors actually served as legitimate rulers for most of recorded history, and thus Eastern media (particularly Chinese wuxia films, but also occasionally anime) do have the occasional non-evil Emperor. However, if the Emperor is legitimate and non-malevolent, his role in the plot is usually purely as a background character; plot-significant Emperors usually serve in the role of BigBad.

*The EvilOverlord, a very standard BigBad, often complete with SpikesOfVillainy and ShouldersOfDoom, is essentially a cliche bully who, despite having no real diplomatic or political skills, has attained his position through [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority strength or special combat skills]], though if this is seen as too oafish, a very powerful EvilSorcerer or EmperorScientist, who still lack subtly, will suffice. Expect him to abuse his followers, intimidate his subordinates, [[TinTyrant wear battle-armor all the time]], and be [[LargeAndInCharge built like a tank]]. The LegionsOfHell, and most AlwaysChaoticEvil races are this guy's {{Mooks}}. A GeneralRipper, if significantly promoted, is a more intelligent derivative of this type.

* The emperor of the [[{{Babylon5}}Centauri Republic]] at the start of the series was a rather benevolent ruler, even apologizing to the Narn for his predecessor's atrocities. Unfortunately he died early in the second season and was replaced by [[TheCaligula Cartagia]], [[spoiler: who was assassinated and succeeded by Londo]].