History Main / AlmightyJanitor

* The backstory of the nameless SpaceMarine in the original ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' is [[AllThereInTheManual explained in the game's README file]]. He assaulted a superior officer after being ordered to fire upon civilians, and was transferred to duty on Mars as punishment. This is why he's just a lowly grunt soldier despite being so BadAss that he was able to kill all of TheLegionsOfHell singlehandedly.

* In one of the ''VideoGames/{{Touhou}}'', you fight [[TheJudge Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu]]. As Cirno, the [[RuleOfCool ICE FAIRY]]. Even Eiki comments on how strong she is, despite being only a fairy.

* In one of the ''VideoGames/{{Touhou}}'', you fight Shikieiki Yamaxanadu, the Yama. As Cirno, the [[RuleOfCool ICE FAIRY]]. Even Shikieiki comments on how strong she is, despite being only a fairy.

* [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Kurt Cobain]] worked at several places as a janitor and started his own cleaning business (which, ironically, failed miserably while his career as the most successful and iconic rock star of TheNineties took off).
** Similarly, Jack White has his own one-man upholstery business, Third Man Upholstery before he started TheWhiteStripes with his then-wife. The business failed, but he used the Third Man name later for his record label and record store.

* Sir Humphrey Appleby of ''[[YesMinister Yes (Prime) Minister]]'', despite being anonymous to the population at large and describing himself as a "humble functionary", is effectively running the country from behind the scenes by the end of the series. - President of Buranda: "I've always thought that Permanant Under-Secretary is such a demeaning title... makes you sound like an assistant typist or something, whereas you're really in charge of everything aren't you?"

** MemeticMutation to some degree-- this is why head of communist parties that have some kind of Stalinist heritage are called general secretaries.
** Is this actually true? Many very senior people are "secretaries" far outside the Communist ambit: witness Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary of the UK, currently the highest ranking civil servant in Her Majesty's Government, or Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State of the [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates United States of America]]. For a fictional example, see [[YesMinister Sir Humphrey Appleby]], permanent under-secretary at the Department of Administrative Affairs (i.e. the highest ranking civil servant in, and effective in-charge of, that department).
** The title "President" actually means "Presiding Secretary"
*** 'Secretary' is indeed a common administrative title outside of the Soviet system, but Stalin's example is why every post-Stalin Soviet leader in Russia (and several other communist nations) made sure to seize the title 'General Secretary of the Communist Party' as soon as they took power. Image is everything.
** Stalin isn't a full example of the trope, however- he was on the [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Politburo]] from virtually 1917 until his death; from the start, he was one of the most powerful people in the USSR. Then again, you can always get outvoted 6-1 if the other guys on the Politburo are ''not'' your cronies...

** [[{{Hotblooded}} Ikkaku]] [[BaldOfAwesome Madarame]] is a third seat who commands the respect of the [[NumberTwo lieutenants]]. He even possesses [[IAmNotLeftHanded bankai]] (something only four non-captains possess (if [[MainCharacter Ichigo]] is included)). If he revealed it, he would be pressured into developing to be a captain but all he wants is to remain [[BloodKnight Kenpachi's]] [[SubmissiveBadass subordinate]] until the day he dies. [[spoiler:It turns out that [[TheNotSecret everybody that matters in Soul Society already knew]].]]

* ASongOfIceAndFire has Varys. He may just be a fat eunuch that, although is referred to as Lord, it's only in name and he holds no lands, has no incomes and no supporters or army. Yet he is one of the most influential people in the universe and can manipulate events into working out his way (most of the time). He is also the master of disguises, controls the dungeons, knows all the secret passages in King's Landing, and everything about you and your enemies. Yet he is just a eunuch that poses no threat, seemingly.

* ''TheGunsOfNavarone'' has Andrea, Captain Mallory's trusty second-in-command. The reader finds out at the end that [[spoiler: Andrea is actually a Colonel, and significantly outranks the Captain. He just doesn't like giving orders.]]

-->-- '''Creator/PatrickMcManus''', ''The Good Samaritan Strikes Again''

-->-- '''PatrickMcManus''', ''The Good Samaritan Strikes Again''

* RatchetAndClank has an odd example of this. The plumber appears in almost every series, giving little tips and the like to help Ratchet along. However, occasionally he appears to know WAY more than he's letting on, such as when, in one game, he says "See you next year," alluding to his appearance in the next game, and telling Clank that [[spoiler: "I wouldn't risk any more than six minutes," right before Ratchet dies, and Clank must face himself with the choice of saving his best friend, or letting him die and avoid potentially harming time and space. He remembers the advice, goes back five minutes, and no disasters occurred. Who knew a plumber knew so much about time and space?]] or that Clank would need to know the information anyway?

* RatchetAndClank has an odd example of this. The plumber appears in almost every series, giving little tips and the like to help Ratchet along. However, occasionally he appears to know WAY more than he's letting on, such as when, in one game, he says "See you next year," alluding to his appearance in the next game, and telling Clank that [[spoiler: "Five minutes should do," right before Ratchet dies, and Clank must face himself with the choice of saving his best friend, or letting him die and avoid potentially harming time and space. He remembers the advice, goes back five minutes, and no disasters occurred. Who knew a plumber knew so much about time and space?]] or that Clank would need to know the information anyway?

* I wonder if ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' qualifies. Terry is, after all, officially (and de facto) Wayne's errand boy.
** If Terry doesn't, Alfred most certainly does...

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Naruto is very nearly at the bottom of the command structure throughout the series, never even managing to become a chunin. However, he is prone to ignoring any rules or orders that he doesn't like and gets away with it by virtue of sheer power and personal connections with the brass.
** One {{filler}} episode features an old man nicknamed "The Ten-Thousand Year Genin", who has been a Genin for half a century despite being as skilled as a jonin because his guilt over causing the death of his comrades has lead him to refuse promotion.

(The idea that Mario and Luigi are plumbers has persisted since their first game, ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', even though [[InformedAbility they no longer do much plumbing]]. They encounter [[TubeTravel warp pipes]] in many games, and actually fixed plumbing in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga''.)

* ''SuperMarioBros'': Mario. Plumber. Has managed to, among other things, defeat a powerful mechanical overlord and his second-in-command, slay a thousand-year old demon and her three pet dragons, [[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun kill the sun]], and repel the forces of a powerful nation about a hundred times.

*** Captain Smoker's CowboyCop tendencies are implied to be the reason he had the rank he did at the start of the series, considering he's a massively skilled combatant with [[NighInvulnerability Logia powers]](Notably, the only other Logia users shown in the Marines are ''Admirals''). This is even pointed in the Enies Lobby arc, when several Marine Captains are sent after the exhausted Straw Hats; despite it being pointed out that they share the same rank as Smoker, they go down like {{Mook}}s, not posing even a fraction of the difficulty Smoker does. However, averting one of the conventions of this trope listed above, Smoker actually has been gaining promotions as the story progresses, first to Commodore after his second major appearance, and [[spoiler: becoming a Vice-Admiral after the TimeSkip]].

* Up until Michael A. Stackpole's StarWarsExpandedUniverse novel ''[[XWingSeries Isard's Revenge]]'', five years after [[ReturnOfTheJedi Endor]], [[AcePilot Wedge Antilles]], the only pilot in the universe to have flown against both Death Stars, still held the rank of ''commander''. Which he still held because he had refused all previous attempts to promote him, preferring to stay in an X-Wing cockpit and dreading the thought of a DeskJob. And the only reason he finally accepts the promotion, to ''general'', is because another officer points out that his subordinates were following suit to stay under him. And because he was about to go on a mission where he'd need rank to pull. Within about a year, he goes from a mere X-Wing pilot to the commanding officer of the Super Star Destroyer ''Lusankya''.

* ''FanboyAndChumChum'' has Janitor Poopatine, who as you may have guessed is a parody of [[StarWars Emperor Palpatine]].

* Corporal Walter [[HypercompetentSidekick "Radar"]] O'Reilly practically ran [[Series/{{MASH}} the 4077th M* A* S* H]].

* In ''Manga/DragonBall Z'', this is the very basis of Vegeta's rivalry with Goku. Goku not only surpasses Vegeta in every way after the Namek Saga, but is the very first Saiyan to reach Super Saiyan Status in over 1,000 years and defeats their long time oppressor, Frieza. While Vegeta is still very powerful and usually second only to Goku in strength, the catch here is that Goku is a third class saiyan warrior while Vegeta is the prince of all saiyans.

* The Dudes from ToddAndTheBookOfPureEvil are 3 young adult stoners who live in a car outside of Crowley High. They also have extensive knowledge regarding the titular Book, encourage Todd to become the Pure Evil One and are implied to have [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld experienced a lot of history.]]
** A more straightforward example is Jimmy the janitor. He's a lazy janitor who grows weed, aids delinquent kids and should probably be fired for some of the stuff he pulls. Yet he seems unfazed by any of the Book's weekly surprises, has better people skills than he lets on and occasionally antagonizes the Dudes. And just as the Dudes seem to go everywhere besides Crowley High, Jimmy is never seen outside the school...[[/folder]]

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** Tony-Tony Chopper is the Strawhat Crew's [[TheMedic doctor,]] but has the ridiculously low bounty of 50 berries while his teammates are all in the tens- or hundreds-of-millions. This is because he has been mistaken by the Marines as the Strawhat Crew's [[TeamPet mascot.]] In truth, he is [[PersonOfMassDestruction monstrously powerful]] and a vital member of the team.

* Dr. Krogshøj from ''{{Riget}}'' is, despite his status as a low ranking doctor, one of the most powerful people on the Kingdom Hospital thanks to the effort he puts into digging up dirt on every other employee. Thankfully, he only does it so JusticeWillPrevail.