History Main / ChallengingTheChief

A community with such a cultural tradition is usually portrayed as as {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s where AsskickingEqualsAuthority. They will also frequently approve of certain methods of attaining a KlingonPromotion. This trope might justify DingDongTheWitchIsDead.

* Used in ''TheOrderOfTheStick''. When they encounter a band of thieves in the forest, Haley challenges their leader - an eighteen-year-old sorceress - for control of the gang. [[spoiler: She fails miserably. In fact, she [[EpicFail fails epicly]]. ]]
** Subverted in [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0149.html this strip]] of ''OrderOfTheStick''.

* Played with in {{Curvy}}, after the girls are rescued/trapped by a pirate ship, and one of them tries to challenge the leader under "the universal pirate code". ''"There is no universal pirate code. Try getting caught by a different romanized version of a criminal organization next."''

* Played for laughs in [[http://nonadventures.com/2007/01/06/various-aged-regular-ninja-persons/ this]] ''Wonderella'' strip.

* Parodied in an episode of ''{{Futurama}}'', with Fry challenging the leader of a post-apocalyptic society of children to what is essentially a skateboard race. [[spoiler: His victory over a small child is deigrated further by the revelation that the society is in fact a LA creche.]]

* ''Film/{{Hellboy}} II'' had the, "challenge the leader to stop the army" version down to a pat.

* The Sabbat of ''VampireTheMasquerade'' had this in place for certain positions in their power structure. The Storyteller was encouraged add whatever arcane stipulations or requirements he saw fit, in order to emphasize how unorganized the Sabbat was (the sample: "You can't challenge the Archbishop now - it's not the third night after the new moon!").

* ''{{Dune}}'' also subverts the trope. [[spoiler:Paul Atreides refuses to face Stilgar, the chief of the Fremen sietch Paul belonged to, in ritual combat because they both knew Paul would win and Paul wanted Stilgar to remain chief of the sietch as Paul went to war for the whole planet Arrakis.]]

* Garou society in ''WerewolfTheApocalypse'' works like this. Their code of laws states that "any leader may be challenged in a state of peace" but that "no leader may be challenged in a time of war." Naturally, many leaders try to declare a perpetual state of war after defeating their predecessor.

* ''TheAdventuresOfDoctorMcNinja'' villain Frans Rayner at one point intends to "kill the President, thereby ''becoming'' the President." He doesn't seem to care that it doesn't actually work that way, stating that he'll convince people that it does.
** It works if he's already the Vice-President. In fact, if he's just Secretary of Agriculture, he only has to kill about 30 people and he's there. Keep in mind that the founding fathers were fine with 'pistols at dawn', and an infamous Vice-President did challenge a cabinet member to a duel and *ahem*...won. Murder charges didn't stop him being Vice-President either, so had he duelled Thomas Jefferson, who knows?

* In the ''DoctorWho'' story "Ghost Light", the villainous Josiah plans to murder Queen Victoria under the delusion that the British monarchy works like this.

* The easiest way to get a [[CoolSword Shardblade]] in ''TheStormlightArchive'' is to DuelToTheDeath for it. And since Shardblades are so valuable, most Shardbearers are the people in charge.

* In ''RatchetAndClank Future'' [[spoiler:Ratchet inadvertently becomes the new Space Pirate Captain after defeating Captain Slag. However, at the end of the game, it is hinted Rachet then gave the title to Captain Qwark.]]
** The trope made an earlier appearance in RatchetAndClank: Up Your Arsenal, where Ratchet battled an amnesiac [[spoiler:Captain Qwark]], who had somehow become a tribal chief on a jungle planet.

* In ''{{Bleach}}'', Kenpachi Zaraki gained his position as Captain of Squad 11 by walking in and killing the last captain; Shinigami rule states that this works if done in front of 200 witnesses (Kenpachi is the only one to ever become captain by this method).

[[AC: {{Manga}} & {{Anime}}]]
* In ''{{Bleach}}'', Kenpachi Zaraki gained his position as Captain of Squad 11 by walking in and killing the last captain; Shinigami rule states that this works if done in front of 200 witnesses (Kenpachi is the only one to ever become captain by this method).
** One wonders what would've happened if even one of those two hundred people ''ran away and hid'' while Kenpachi did this. Then again, that would just subvert Kenpachi's insane luck/insane planning. How often do two hundred ''weak'' shinigami get together with just one captain?
*** It was likely an official challenge so they couldn't not show up to witness it without abandoning their duties.
*** He'd still become a captain. Would ''you'' want to explain to [[BadAss Ke]][[BloodKnight np]][[AxCrazy ac]][[HeroicSociopath hi]] that he was one witness short?
** Quite possibly if they didn't let him do it, he would've went off and found himself another Captain to murder. Best to cut their losses and give him the BadassLongcoat the first time.

* In Steve Perry's ''Matador'' series, this is how succession in the Musashi Flex (a sort of ongoing loosely-organized martial arts tournament) works. Anyone in the top ten of the rankings can challenge the top-ranked person, and if they win, they automatically become number one, regardless of their previous ranking.

A community with such a cultural tradition is usually portrayed as as {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s where AsskickingEqualsAuthority. They will also frequently approve of certain methods of attaining a KlingonPromotion.

* Played with in the Marvel ''{{Transformers}}'' comic. Shockwave retains leadership of the Decepticons by kicking Megatron's ass; however, Shockwave clearly didn't want to fight, because he's all about logic (which to him is "whatever will achieve the best outcome") and the Decepticons were at the time under danger from the outnumbered and wounded Autobots [[hottip:*:because a human had poisoned the Decepticons' fuel]].

* Played with in the Marvel ''{{Transformers}}'' comic. Shockwave becomes leader of the decepticons by kicking Megatron's ass, however Shockwave clearly didn't want to fight, because he's all about logic (which to him is "whatever will achieve the best outcome") and the Decepticon was badly defeated by the outnumbered (and badly wounded) Autobots, because a human (Sparkplug) poisoned the Decepticon's fuel.

* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', episode ''Tacking Into The Wind'', where the new Chancellor from TNG ''Reunion'', Gowron, is screwing things up during the Dominion War, mismanaging the Klingon battle efforts. Worf decides to challenge Gowron. [[spoiler:He wins, becomes the next Chancellor, but almost immediately passes the torch to his friend and mentor, General Martok]].

* In [[BabylonFive Babylon 5]], the Narn appear to use this, with G'Kar periodically having to fend off threats to his authority over the Narns on the station. The Minbari have their own version, with a twist: [[spoiler: the challenge is to stand in an increasingly lethal energy beam; the winner is the one who ''dies''.]]
** It can work that way, I suppose, but I read the episode as being [[spoiler:the one who leaves the beam second.]]

* In ''{{Nation}}'' this is how the cannibalistic Raiders work. The villain of the piece ends up in charge of them via the "outsider becomes chief" route and since it's a AlternateHistory 1870's setting, he feels like it's a natural result of being MightyWhitey. However this then bites him in the butt when the hero uses the rule for the "fight the leader, stop the horde" method.

* In ''KevinAndKell'', Frank Mangle challenges R.J. as CEO of Herdthinners Inc. Then Kell breaks the fight up before someone gets killed, and this is interpreted as her defeating ''both'' of them, [[DarkHorseWinner so she gets made CEO]].