History Main / TheGeneralissimo

* In both ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' and [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 its 2019 remake]], Scar murders his way to power by killing his brother Mufasa, [[EvilUncle tries to kill his nephew Simba]], crushes all dissent, and annihilates his land's natural resources. [[ItsAllAboutMe "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want"]] sums his rule up. Scar's rule over Pride Lands [[TheCaligula proves to be disastrous]] mainly because of his incompetence and laziness. A JustifiedTrope, as he wasn't properly raised to be king, so he [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome doesn't realize]] that there's more to this than just openly threatening others whenever they complain about his reign. Because of this, he refuses to acknowledge his disastrous rule, [[BerserkButton openly threatens]] those that complain, and earns a ZeroPercentApprovalRating from all animals for his tyranny, including his hyena lackeys, who secretly think Mufasa was a better king than Scar could ever be.

** Al tasked with killing two of these types in his ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-CG5w4YwOI Party in the C.I.A]]'' video. [[spoiler:But after he botches an assassination one of them ends up abducting and killing him.]]

* General Gilmore from ''Anime/DoraemonNobitasLittleSpaceWar'' overthrew the ruling party of Planet Pirika, establishing himself as their new leader as he enforces a ruthless dictatorship on it's citizens. The ex-President, Papi, was saved by the LaResistance and forced to flee to Earth, unintentionally stumbling into Nobita and friends, with the rest of the movie revolving around the gang trying to restore Papi's rule and bring back peace to the planet.

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': [[PlanetBaron Olban]] of [[WingedHumanoid Planet]] [[SpaceRomans Baam]] organizes regular killings on his [[AngelicAliens own people]], who are already survivors of a [[CosmicHorrorStory genocide]]. To retain his position, he sends the true heir to the throne, [[AlienPrince Richter]], off to war, [[spoiler:after managing to successfully frame the human race for the assassination that took his father]]. Olban also has the [[MayDecemberRomance hots]] for the [[spoiler: daughter of the man he assassinated, [[PrincessClassic Erika]], and seeks to marry her to legitimize his position. [[spoiler: In a dramatic turn of events, it turns out that while Erika agreed to marry him, she secretly planned to kill him as revenge for him killing her father. Later, her and Richter team up to have him disposed]].

* In a ComicBook/BlackPanther story from the 1970s, Jakarra, T'challa's cousin, staged a coup and declared himself the absolute leader of Wakanda and first guardian of the panther cult, planning to use his superior technology to {{take over the world}}, becoming - briefly- in this trope.
* ComicBook/{{Tintin}} has encountered several of these, notably General Alcazar (although he becomes [[BlackAndGreyMorality relatively]] more heroic later) and General Tapioca. Notably, Alcazar's men in ''Tintin and the Picaros'' are modeled after Cuban revolutionaries, and Alcazar himself dresses like Fidel Castro while sporting Che's sideburns and facial hair.
* ''ComicBook/BenoitBrisefer'', a French comic, has one such island BananaRepublic with three generals (army, navy and air), who are constantly taking and retaking the palace from each other and declaring themselves Arch-Generalissimo or other inflated titles. Meanwhile, the dirt-poor inhabitants have grown used to all this nonsense and carry on life as usual (it helps that the soldiers are all remarkably inept, employing ATeamFiring to the fullest).
* In ''ComicBook/TexWiller'' one of their antagonists in a mini arc set in Mexico is basically aiming at this position, but his plans are thwarted and eventually comes back for revenge in another arc.
* ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio: In the stories ''QRN sur Bretzelburg'' and ''Le dictateur et le Champignon'' dictators embodied by this trope are a source of comedy.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Nero}}'': The series poked fun at both real-life dictators such as UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, UsefulNotes/JosefStalin, UsefulNotes/IdiAmin, UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein, UsefulNotes/FidelCastro, as well as self-created ones, like Daris, a Mexican dictator introduced in ''De Man Zonder Gezicht''.
* ComicBook/DeKiekeboes: Bibi Pralin Gaga, a parody of UsefulNotes/IdiAmin, is a recurring villain in the series. Sstoeffer is a Hitleresque dictator of a BananaRepublic in South America, while King Sacha is the equivalent in a {{Bulungi}} country. Tzervostuhr is an Eastern European dictator in ''De Roze Rolls'', an album that introduces many other former dictators who have fled to a political asylum. In ''De Eén Zijn Dood'' president Rhottzaq is another Eastern European dictator.
* In one of the [[ComicBook/WilqSuperbohater Wilq]] stories, a beautiful woman asks the superhero to find her dad - who happens to be a leader of a military junta, a part-time tyrant, and an aficionado of torture and corruption, as she proudly declares.
* In the volume 19 of Malaysian comic book ''Profession'' ('''Chinese:''' 职业人气王 ''Zhíyè rénqì wáng),'' General Damon was this. When the ruler of the W-country were fallen ill, he take control of the country and trying to eradicating those who were oppose him, and he was the cause of the disappearances of a few officers, and teamed up with terrorist to cause the country in the midst of civil unrest, destroying (almost) any communications stations in the country, and blaming the innocent peoples of W-country for the terrorist attacks. (Look at [[https://imgur.com/nHWAhvc this]] double-page if you're interested) When the main character Ivan (the reporter) and his friends travel to the country to aid the residents of the W-country, [[spoiler:they get Attap (known as Yata in the original Chinese version), the leader of an neighborhooding country, to overthrow Damon and stopped the terrorist attack in the final chapter.]]
* ''[[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]]'' is a rare example of a tinpot dictator who is personally powerful to back up all of his threats and boasts. While [[{{Ruritania}} Latveria]] is a small backwater country that he brutally oppresses, the populace are generally well taken care of and Doom uses his scientific genius to raise the otherwise insignificant country to a world power capable of destroying the world several times over.

* In the Chilean comic ''Zombies en la Moneda'', after a ''second'' {{zombie apocalypse}}, the president of the country ends up being an [[spoiler: UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet zombie... ]]... something like that, it's a bit confusing. None other than one of the real life inspirations for this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' and [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 its 2019 remake]]: Scar murders his way to power by killing his brother Mufasa, [[EvilUncle tries to kill his nephew Simba]], crushes all dissent, and annihilates his land's natural resources. [[ItsAllAboutMe "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want"]] sums his rule up. Scar's rule over Pride Lands [[TheCaligula proves to be disastrous]] mainly because of his incompetence and laziness. A JustifiedTrope, as he wasn't properly raised to be king, so he [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome doesn't realize]] that there's more to this than just openly threatening others whenever they complain about his reign. Because of this, he refuses to acknowledge his disastrous rule, [[BerserkButton openly threatens]] those that complain, and earns a ZeroPercentApprovalRating from all animals for his tyranny, including his hyena lackeys, who secretly think Mufasa was a better king than Scar could ever be.

* The main villain of ''Film/SpecialForces'' is General Hasib Rafendek, a general who seized power from the Moldonian President who is a mere [[PuppetKing puppet]] under his control. As a dictator, Rafendek had no qualms legalizing ethnic cleansing on a regular basis and denying education to lower-class citizens.

* In ''Film/TheGreatDictator'' the head of Bacteria - being an {{expy}} of [[UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini Mussolini]] - was portrayed like this.
* In Film/TheThreeStooges' shorts making fun of Hitler ''et al.'' ("Film/YouNaztySpy" and a sequel or two), Field Marshal Curly was like this.
* Film/JamesBond:
** ''Film/LicenceToKill'', [[http://www.universalexports.net/Movies/license-cast.shtml Hector Lopez]], the President of Isthmus. He is portrayed as more PunchClockVillain than dictator, as his country is effectively a [[PuppetKing puppet]] of TheSyndicate.
--> '''Franz Sanchez:''' You were very quiet when I was arrested. Remember, you're only president... [[ImpliedDeathThreat for life]].
** General Medrano from ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' is a much more straight example, but is still a BigBadWannabe considering that he'll still be a puppet of Quantum once in power.
* [[http://dune.wikia.com/wiki/Shaddam_Corrino_IV Emperor Shaddam IV]] (Jose Ferrer) in ''Film/Dune1984''. (The Emperor in the novel was actually a [[ModestRoyalty Modest]] [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Royal Who Actually Did Something]], who happened to be on the wrong side of history.)
* The BigBad's main goal in ''Film/DieHard2'' was to free a dethroned one for money.
* Creator/SachaBaronCohen's character [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard Admiral General Colonel Doctor Shabazz Aladeen, Democratic President-For-Life, Invincible and All-Triumphant Commander, Chief Ophthalmologist, Brilliant Genius of Humanity, Excellent Swimmer Including Butterfly, and Beloved Oppressor and Ruthless Protector of the Precious and Expendable People of Wadiya]] from ''Film/TheDictator'' is a outrageously over the top example that makes every other example on this page look downright subtle and nuanced, [[http://www.republicofwadiya.com/biography.php as made clear in his biography]]. A few of these are [[GeniusBonus direct references to historical dictators]], including Bashar al-Assad of Syria (an actual ophthalmologist) and UsefulNotes/JosefStalin (who was in fact called "Brilliant Genius of Humanity").
* General Emilio M. Vargas from Creator/WoodyAllen's ''Film/{{Bananas}}'', who, at the beginning of the movie, has the previous president assassinated, then takes over. He is himself later overthrown by Esposito, a Fidel Castro {{Expy}}, who literally [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity goes mad with power]] right after victory and has to be replaced.

* In Latin America there's a whole genre of books dealing with this trope called the "dictator novel". Like the name implies, they tend to focus more on the man with the power rather than the country itself. These are often centered around fictional or past dictators in Latin American nations, and the writer [[TakeThat indirectly criticizes]] contemporary Latin American dictators through the plot. A famous example is ''Literature/TheAutumnOfThePatriarch'' with the dictator (unnamed) as its protagonist.

** In ''The Compleat Discworld Atlas'' Istanzia, following the collapse of the Omnian Empire, is ruled by a military junta, the leader of which has [[{{Egopolis}} named the capital city Georginople after himself]].
* "Mad Dog" Branzillo of ''Literature/ASwiftlyTiltingPlanet'' rules the fictional South American country Vespugia. The plot revolves around going back in time and changing events so that Branzillo becomes a benevolent ruler instead.

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'''s William H. Kraft is a DesignatedHero example, being the leader of the "good guy" faction in the book's heavily {{dystopia}}n post-apocalyptic setting. Otherwise, he still fits every detail of the stereotype.

* Parodied in an episode of ''Series/ThirtyRock''. Elisa's (Creator/SalmaHayek) grandmother hates Jack because he bears a [[ActingForTwo striking resemblance]] to the Generalissimo, the villain of her favorite soap opera. Jack (being the President of NBC) acquires Telemundo and attempts to have the Generalissimo killed off. Unfortunately, since the show is apparently broadcast live, the actor playing the Generalissimo goes OffTheRails when the female protagonist attempts to shoot him.
-->''[subtitled in Spanish]'' -->"Ha! You missed! You missed again! "And now, this potion's gonna make me live forever!"
* In ''Series/MissionImpossible'', the IMF would occasionally be tasked with dealing with these. In the pilot episode, the team has to retrieve nuclear warheads being held in the hotel the Generalissimo uses as his party headquarters.
* ''Series/VagrantQueen'': When [[BigBad Lazaro]] [[TheCoup takes over]] the Republic [[spoiler:through use of the [[MindControlDevice Steerzad]]]], he dubs himself the "Grand Supreme Leader" and puts his face on the national flag.

** He's tasked with killing two of these types in his ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-CG5w4YwOI Party in the C.I.A]]'' video. [[spoiler:But after he botches an assassination one of them ends up abducting and killing him.]]

* Liv Jagrell, the singer for Swedish heavy-metal band Sister Sin, dresses as a rare female version of this trope for the music video of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDjOlhqWuy0 Chaos Royale]] (a song about how accepting her as dictator of the entire world will be much better than the current system).

* Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE was less about the title belts, {{tournament|arc}}s and [[ItsPersonal grudge matches]] usually associated with pro wrestling as the invading [[PowerStable Monster Army]], lead by [[Wrestling/NobuhikoTakada Generalissimo Takada]], usually took center stage. Unlike most examples, Takada actually did have supernatural powers to go with his grand self given titles(hence ''[[WrestlingMonster Monster]]'' Army) but despite these, and enough money to buy the HUSTLE promotion, he was frequently defeated.

* You can play as one of these in ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}}''. One of the backgrounds, one of the outfits, and one of the hats are all called "Generalissimo", with the background having you take power in a military dictatorship, and the outfit and hat being a military officer's uniform with a big general's hat. To top it all off, you can put a beard on or mustache on your avatar as well. It's up to you how far you actually take this, however.
** If you don't want to make your own avatar, you can just pick a pre-made one, with predetermined traits, backgrounds, appearances, and outfits. These include real world caudillos such as UsefulNotes/FidelCastro of Cuba, UsefulNotes/JuanDomingoPeron of Argentina, and Manuel Noriega of Panama.
** In the early missions of ''Tropico 4'', "Generalissimo Santana" teaches you the finer points in running a country. [[spoiler:Eventually he reveals himself to be a TreacherousAdvisor and frames you for the assassination of the US president so he can take over Tropico.]]
* ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany Battlefield: Bad Company 1]]'' has Zavomir Serdar, dictator of the fictional country [[{{Countrystan}} Serdaristan]]. His role is mostly comic relief and TheLoad to B Company.
* General Viper in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', who rules El Nido with his Acacia Dragoons. [[spoiler:He's actually a rare [[BenevolentDictator heroic example]]; he might be authoritarian, but he's a good ruler and was only after Serge because he was being manipulated by Lynx]].
* In ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronII'', Resigned Generalissimo is one of the possible traits for the Head of State.
* Queen-for-Life Deidranna in ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance 2'' splits the difference between this trope and GodSaveUsFromTheQueen, as the little Central American state of Arulco was a constitutional monarchy before she deposed her husband, got him arrested and imprisoned on trumped-up charges and turned the place into a {{Troperiffic}} BananaRepublic. Luckily for everyone who didn't hastily set about exploiting this state of affairs for personal gain, King Enrique escaped overseas with the help of the nascent LaResistance and spent several years scraping up the money to hire mercenaries to bolster their ranks.
* In the original ''VideoGame/BionicCommando1988,'' the evil dictator trying to re-activate the secret [[ThoseWackyNazis Imperial Army]] superweapon is named Generalissimo Killt in the American release of the game. He has the stereotypical dictatorial appearance, in that he dresses exactly like [[Franchise/StreetFighter M. Bison]] and looks like a slightly melted [[Series/{{Brookside}} Brian Regan]], and is characterized with the expected arrogance and military fervor. [[spoiler:He also kind of gets HijackedByGanon when he gets killed off by a revived Hitler.]]
* General Shimada from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'', the Japanese commander overseeing the military activities in Taipei during the Japanese occupation in the 1900s, who quickly turns the city into a hellhole with his ruthless dictatorship.
* Colonel Allende in ''Videogame/RedDeadRedemption'', who perfectly fits the archetype of "Corrupt Mexican military leader" as befits the adherence of the game to various kinds of Western films. John Marston does some work for him in order to get to his target Bill Williamson [[spoiler:but eventually turns completely against the government after Allende tries to have him executed (and is revealed to have been sheltering Bill all along)]].
* General Raul Grasiento, who appears in ''VideoGame/BrokenSwordIITheSmokingMirror'', who has a crush on Nicole (much to her dismay), and George notes that he had all the medals in the wrong side of the chest. In a variation of the trope, he isn't the leader of his country, Quaramonte. That position belongs to his mother. [[spoiler:And in an even odder variant, he pulls a HeelFaceTurn towards the end, and helps the heroes save the day]].
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' of the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, Big Boss is this.
* Giorgio Zott from ''[[VideoGame/TimeCrisis Time Crisis 3]]''.
* The villains of the ''Videogame/JustCause'' series are all tin pot dictators of island nations who Rico Rodriguez (a "Dictator Removal Specialist") must topple through destruction of property and creative uses of grappling hooks.
* El Jefe of ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' is a Fidel Castro parody whose actual occupation is a mercenary warlord who hires out his talents for conquering small nations.
* ''Franchise/FarCry:''
** Pagan Min of ''VideoGame/FarCry4'' is the military dictator of the nation of Kyrat, having started off as a [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triad gangster]] who ingrained himself within the royal family before overthrowing them and taking over in a bloody civil war. He uses his position to take his anger out on the Kyrati populace while also cultivating a CultOfPersonality. Interestingly, while certainly a military dictator, Pagan doesn't dress like one, preferring a [[RealMenWearPink pink suit]] instead.
** ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' has BigBad Anton Castillo (played by Creator/GiancarloEsposito) as a straighter example. He is the military leader of the definitely-not-Cuba island nation of Yara, and is clearly modeled after two infamous Cuban leaders given the setting; Fidel Castro by espousing words of strength while holding an iron grip on the populace, and Fulgencio Batista by wearing a well-tailored suit adorned with a few medals, statues of him all around, and having the military in his hand. All the while, he eagerly grooms his son Diego to [[HereditaryRepublic become his successor]], unpinning a grenade in his hand and giving him a SadisticChoice of either letting go and killing himself, or throwing it at protesters clearly furious with the current regime.
* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' features a corporate version in the form of Handsome Jack. While Jack lacks the military background or chest full of medals, he regularly bills himself as a hero and claims to be civilizing Pandora, a miserable DeathWorld, throughout the game. Jack rules over the planet with an iron fist, suppresses dissent by sending his army to destroy any resistance, cultivates a cult of personality from both Hyperion workers and Pandoras, and puts up statues and posters of himself everywhere. His ideal city for Pandora is also a massive Egopolis dedicated to himself and telling everyone what a great hero he is. The final episode of ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' also hints that he regularly kills his own employees, with [[spoiler:AI Jack interrogating his workers to find Rhys's location, and casually gunning them down with a turret if they can't answer immediately]].
* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}''[='=]s DJ Octavio was a military commander during [[GreatOffscreenWar the Great Turf War]], and is the military leader of the Octarians in the present day. Given how much Octarian society has been driven by military needs ever since the war ended over a century prior -- helped by a steady flow of propaganda intended to keep anger towards Inklings as high as possible -- this makes him one of the main leaders of their society as well (assuming there even are any other major political leaders). He's also seen in a positive light by his soldiers, as even defectors like Agent 8 and Marina don't give his command as a reason for leaving.

* In ''Videogame/EvilGenius2'', Red Ivan was given [[ShinyNewAustralia a country of his own]] after his stint as a Henchman in the first game that he called "Ivania". Unfortunately, he's been ousted via a democratic election by the time of the game and his goal is to eventually reconquer his nation and rule the world.
* The setting of ''Videogame/{{Brigador}}'' is the city of Solo Nobre, which was ruled by a man who is literally known as Great Leader. Great Leader rose to power through a revolution that chased the corporations that previously owned the city offworld, and his government was a corrupt dictatorship that enforced its rule through martial law. The game begins a few hours after Great Leader's sudden death, with the city erupting into widespread violence as various political factions try to gain power.
* ''VideoGame/AMCSquad'' has Prokhor Vilmos, the leader of the fascist political movement known as the Imperial Union and the ruler of Russia after his cronies take over the government. Wearing a Tsarist-style uniform with a gaudy shako, his reign of terror is so bloody that it prompts Highwire, then a high-ranking officer in the Earth Defense Force, to go AWOL and lead a rebellion against Vilmos and the Union, with the help of his longtime friend James Stanfield.

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* The Venezuelan NewsParody ''[[Blog/ElChiguireBipolar Chigüire Bipolar]]'' will sometimes show off this trope's traits on presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, but it most notably comes up in the entry [[http://www.elchiguirebipolar.net/14-02-2014/maduro-me-llamaran-dictador-pero-voy-a-hacer-todo-lo-que-hace-un-dictador/ Maduro: "They'll call me a dictator, but I'm going to do everything a dictator does."]]
* The WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier uses this persona when running VideoGame/SimCity (and while he doesn't dress as Hitler, he does go through a WebVideo/HitlerRants). You can imagine the kind of WretchedHive the city becomes under his iron-fisted rule.
** On the other hand, their take on El Presidente of ''VideoGame/{{Tropico}}'' is a subversion. Despite his status as a blatant parody of Fidel Castro, the man is extremely friendly, a competent ruler in a strange GeniusDitz way, and would rather be mixing smoothies or writing terrible spy fiction than oppressing his people. It's telling that while he's still the leader of a communist dictatorship, he doesn't even need to strongarm or rig elections to be PresidentForLife [[spoiler:and ends up turning a captured CIA operative into his best friend just by being that damn nice]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' has General Chiquita, president of the aptly named BananaRepublic in "[[Recap/DuckTalesAllowanceDay Allowance Day]]".
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** All hail Krull and his glorious new regime!
** Another example had Bart call one up to find out if his toilet flushes in the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere to the northern. El Presidenté's translator's English isn't the best and [[MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels he ends up telling El Presidenté that the rebels will win]], causing him to jump out the window.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' had [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Abdul_Fakkadi_(G1) Abdul Fakkadi]], Supreme Military Commander, President-for-Life, and King of Kings of the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Socialist Democratic Federated Republic]] of [[{{Qurac}} Carbombya]], pictured above. He is a not-so-subtle TakeThat at UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi (with his [[TheMagnificent long list of titles]] a probable reference to UsefulNotes/IdiAmin). (Which makes him the ''least'' racist thing about the episodes set there). Regardless, it was enough to make Creator/CaseyKasem (the voice of Cliffjumper, who had survived [[AnyoneCanDie the crucible]] that was [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie the 1986 film]]) quit the series out of disgust.
* ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois... l'Espace'' has General Pest, leader of Cassiopeia, who given the {{Expy}} of the RealLife Roman Republic with CrystalSpiresAndTogas that is that nation is closer to a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dictator dictator in Roman sense]]. That changes near the end of the series, [[spoiler:when he organizes a coup d'état and becomes the ''de facto'' leader of Cassiopeia. He does not get much time to enjoy it, however.]]
* Towards the end of the ''Vice'' arc in ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', the cartel travels to San Marcos to meet "El Presidente" Gustavo Calderon, who's been at war with the rebels in his country. Thanks to Archer's typical bungling, a rebel attack and several other events (including his infatuation with Cherlene's country music), he ends up deposed by ''[[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Cyril]]'', of all people- when he, Archer and Cherlene attempt to escape, he ends up getting mauled by a tiger. (Cyril ends up having to flee with everyone else when US Marines invade the place.)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraKuvira Kuvira]] is a rare female example, who, however, acts in a very masculine manner and otherwise fits most or all of the stereotypes (except smoking, which apparently doesn't exist in the ''Franchise/{{Avatar|TheLastAirbender}}'' universe).