The Peter Principle / Western Animation

• Transformers: Prime:
  • Airachnid is a lethal hunter, and masterful solo operative. Her skills however do not translate well into command, and she has proven to be rather incompetent when placed in charge. The only instance where she does show competency in authority is with the Insecticons, and even then it was only because she had them under Mind Control.
  • Starscream, on the few rare occasions when he does manage to achieve leadership of the Decepticons. While not completely incompetent (he actually does a pretty good job), he's nowhere near as diabolical or cruel as Megatron. Prime's Starscream is only interested in the glory of command, not the responsibility. He's only out for command to stroke his own ego, whereas Prime's Megatron does his damnedest to keep the Decepticons a unified force.
  • Smokescreen was a newcomer to the team in late season two. His character arc was believing himself to destined for great things but always being denied that opportunity. He later found himself in a position to take the Matrix of Leadership from Optimus Prime as he lies near death and become the next Prime. He chose instead to use the remaining power of the Forge of Solus Prime to bring Optimus back. In season three he expresses disappointment that he gave up that opportunity, but came to recognize that random chance and initiative didn't mean he was the right person for the job.
• Family Guy plays with this trope.
  • In the episode "Trading Places", Chris and Meg switch places with Peter and Lois. While the latter two struggle with the pains of high school life, Chris excels at the job, being better than Peter ever was. However, after downsizing, Chris ends up having to pick up the work and it begins crushing him, making him more aggressive, taking up drinking and even getting a stress-induced heart attack. Status Quo Is God and everyone goes to their place, but it's interesting to think about since Peter likely wouldn't have been given the extra work because he wouldn't be seen as capable (and Peter hasn't been fired yet.)
  • This was parodied in a Cutaway Gag in "Meg Stinks" with a (non-sentient) gumball machine traffic warden, when this has predictable results one cop said to another that he was a great gumball machine, they just shouldn't have promoted him.
• A memorable Rocko's Modern Life episode featured Ed Bighead being asked to make a corporate decision, which he does...with help from a Magic Meatball. (Kind of like a Magic 8 Ball...only it's a meatball.) He does this more and more, quite literally rising through the ranks until he gets an office in space and his old supervisor becomes his Yes-Man. He then has a nervous breakdown once his Meatball accidentally breaks, and is demoted back to his old position.
• The Simpsons: Lisa Simpson is definitely smarter than the average 8-year-old, yet any episode that deals with her rising above her peers (such as being promoted to the 3rd grade or going to a private school) also exposes her intellectual flaws. Namely, she prefers being a Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond.
• In Star Trek: Lower Decks, Brad Boimler is the hardest working, most efficient Ensign on the USS Ceritos, a ship specialising in following up first contacts after other ships have Boldly Gone. When the captain briefly forces the entire crew on strict schedules, he's the only crewmember whose able to do his work on time and doesn't go crazy from stress in a week. However, when he's promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade and transferred to the USS Titan, he's quickly overwhelmed by the greater responsibility and more dangerous missions. Then subverted; being on the Titan just has a harsh learning curve, but after a few weeks he eventually manages to adjust to his new role and win the respect of his crewmates and captain. When circumstances force him to re-join the Ceritos, it's clear that he's now overqualified for his old job and doesn't appreciate everyone still treating him like an inexperienced new recruit.
  • Inverted by Mariner. She has been a higher rank but was demoted and transferred off a number of other ships, family connections were the only thing that kept her from being kicked out. This is not because she was incompetent, she could easily handle the kind of stuff a senior officer would do in a typical episode of Star Trek, but can't stand the bureaucracy and paperwork they also have to do. That said, being overqualified and settling for a position way beneath her abilities carries its own issues, namely she is too obsessed with keeping up the Military Maverick image that people treat her like her rank suggests and ignore her expertise or see her as wanting the power of command but none of the responsibility. They're forced to crack the whip and make her shape up otherwise she'll get drummed out of Starfleet. The end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4 sees this to its logical conclusion: a series of mistakes sees Mariner quit Starfleet, but return with a better view of the organization while Commander Ransom sees the potential in Mariner and convinces her to stop self-sabotaging herself.
• In G.I. Joe, one of Cobra's plots to break their military stalemate with the Joes is to hack into their database and send through promotion orders for the soldiers least suited for command. Their choices are: Lifeline, a highly skilled medic and rescue trooper whose extreme pacifism makes him a completely ineffective commander in a combat situation; Dial-Tone, a fussy telecommunications expert whose perfectionism and constantly tinkering with things that aren't broken sabotages his troops; and Shipwreck, an eminently qualified gunner's mate who has no tactical sense and is too much of a meathead to be suited for any position that doesn't involve shooting things. Obviously as part of a highly selective and elite military organization, they're very good at what they do, but as commanding officers are disastrously ineffective, leading to a Near-Villain Victory until their general shows up to bail them out.
• Played with somewhat with Catra in She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Almost as soon as the series starts she proves herself an excellent fighter and a capable tactician in small scale roles, which gets her promoted from a foot soldier to an officer after Adora (who had been groomed for the position), defects from the Horde and joins the resistance. In this position, she averts falling victim to this trope by proving capable enough as an officer that, by the end of Season 1, she comes tantalizingly close to leading The Horde to victory and capturing Brightmoon, which is the main base of operations for the heroes and the heart of the resistance. Unfortunately, this trope is finally played straight for Catra in Season 2 and beyond once Hordak rewards her by promoting her to his Number Two, at which point the flaws in her abilities quickly begin to show, including that she has no interest in or knowledge of the administrative side of the job (so for example she has no clue how to keep Horde troops properly supplied), she lacks the social skills needed to manage people or avoid alienating others, and her psychological issues and fear of being displaced in the Horde's hierarchy make her unable to seek help with these problems. Granted, she still does well enough in some areas, like battle tactics, getting the Genius Ditz Entrapta to turn out useful inventions for the Horde, and occasionally giving the reclusive Hordak a much needed kick in the butt to make him take an active hand in the war, so she's not a complete disaster. But it's clear nonetheless that she's in over her head and that under her leadership, the Horde would have lost the war at the end of Season 4, if not for some bad choices by Glimmer and the arrival of Greater-Scope Villain Horde Prime. In the end Catra is probably the best fighter the Horde has after Adora's desertion, and as a field officer operating below a capable second-in-command she is a force to be reckoned with, but when she takes over as second-in-command she is a mixed bag at best, ranging from very capable in some areas to shaky or outright incompetent in others.