History Main / ColonelBadass

* WesternAnimation/StarComTheUSSpaceForce: Dash, Slim, and Crowbar are all colonels, and they're all pretty badass, but it's actually subverted because this trope is more about being a badass ''commander,'' while the main trio are rarely seen commanding lower-ranked personnel.

This is probably because "Colonel" is the highest military rank deployable in the field, the highest rank unlikely to be noticed and AuthorityEqualsAsskicking on TV. Theoretically, GeneralRipper and TheBrigadier should have more PowerLevels than ColonelBadass but star ranks are for [[DeskJockey pen-pushers and quill-drivers]]. That's why the colonel always wins (unless you have a FourStarBadass lurking around). The fact that an Army, Marine, or Air Force colonel and a Navy captain are [[UsefulNotes/CommonRanks technically the same rank]] may also have something to do with it, or it may just be coincidental.

A universal trope, just like Colonel is a universal rank (Lieutenant Colonels are included, as are full commanders, the naval rank equivalent to Lieutenant Colonels in most western militaries). A subtrope of AuthorityEqualsAsskicking. In terms of AuthorityTropes, MajorlyAwesome and CommandingCoolness are just a notch lower while TheCaptain is its equal in naval terms, while the next step up is FourStarBadass.

This man is a professional, MarriedToTheJob, and mission accomplishment is the entire purpose of his existence. He tends to be fairly young for a colonel, likely because he climbed the ranks rapidly after an outstanding performance in an earlier war or campaign as junior officer. When he's got full command of hundreds or thousands of troops, chances are he won't do much fighting himself on a day to day basis, because he's too busy managing the battlefield with a level of competence that prevents the enemy from ever gaining the initiative in the first place. If it ever comes down to it, though, his personal weapon will likely be a high caliber handgun — and while it won't be drawn often, it'll rarely miss when it is. Many have tried to kill this man, many of them extremely deadly in their own right, all of them have failed.

!!Examples:

* Col. Roy Mustang from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', as seen on the page image above. He BURNS HIS OWN WOUNDS SHUT and by the end of the series, he manages to personally take down [[spoiler:two of the seven Homunculi]], which is REALLY impressive in that universe. He also plays several of the defining bits of the trope incredibly straight - he's only thirty years old, rose through the ranks incredibly fast (partly due to being a State Alchemist, which automatically starts you off at the rank of Major), he's extremely high-minded and has tremendous ideals for the country, and he will throw himself into danger in a heartbeat rather than risk losing one of his comrades, particularly [[AFatherToHisMen his five dearest and most loyal subordinates]].
** In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', he even beats the [[spoiler:[[PuttingOnTheReich Führer]], another example of him taking down a Homunculus]].
** Credit must also be given to his best friend, Lt. Col. Maes Hughes, who, [[BadassNormal despite not being an alchemist]], is an [[GreatDetective investigative genius]] who also knows how to kick ass with throwing knives. He even gets ''double promoted'' to [[TheBrigadier Brigadier General]] for [[spoiler:dying in the line of duty, though that ''was'' in part to cover up the conspiracy]].
** Basque Grand. He's AFatherToHisMen who leads from the front, transmutes entire buildings into weapons while delivering [[LargeHam hamtastic lines]], accepts the surrender of Ishval's high clerics and shoots Brigadier Fiessler (an ''actual'' GeneralRipper) when the latter orders the troops to kill the cleric and continue the genocide. Also has one of the best mustaches known to man.
*** What makes it more impressive is that he had been firmly entrenched in the minds of the fans as a GeneralRipper by the 2003 anime's portrayal.
** While Major Armstrong is never promoted due to his compassion for the enemy, in the 2003 anime version he eventually gets promoted to Lt. Col.
** Also in the 2003 anime, Lt. Col. Frank Archer thinks he's one of these; whether he counts is really up to the viewer. While he is quite cool and collected under fire, he's also a sociopathic SmugSnake and GeneralRipper.
* Standartenführer Rudol von Stroheim from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'', after [[spoiler: he was resurrected from the dead and brought back to life as a [[WeCanRebuildHim cyborg]].]] While initially introduced as callous and cruel, he reveals a powerful sense of bravery when the going gets tough, even going as far as [[spoiler: cutting off his leg and blowing himself up with a grenade in order to bring Santana out to the light]]. His new [[spoiler: body]] lets him stand against the Pillar Man, Kars, and he even pulls a BigDamnHeroes near the end of the arc. His nationalism and military strength show for the rest of his life [[spoiler: before finally falling in 1943 at the battle of Stalingrad]].
* Lt.Col. [[PersonOfMassDestruction Hayate Yagami]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. This is in sharp contrast, for example, to the local GeneralRipper who fails to qualify even as a BadassNormal and the three [[TheBrigadier Admirals]] who only appear on TV screens. Possibly the only Colonel MagicalGirl ever.
** To make the point clear: the few times she takes the field and uses her powers, everyone on her side is told to evacuate and get the hell out of there. Even Nanoha gets out of the way.
* Col. Richard Burton in ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' single-handedly prevented a worldwide supernatural catastrophe despite having no supernatural powers himself.
* Col. Sanders is the preferred nickname of one of the most powerful fighters in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' that we've seen so far.
** That's ''[[WritingAroundTrademarks Ku:Nel]]'' Sanders thank you.
* Great General of Darkness/Ankoku Daishogun from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' and ''Anime/GreatMazinger'', TheDragon of the Emperor of Darkness and commander of the seven armies of the Mykene Empire. He wields a BFS, sports a BadassCape and a ManlyFacialHair, and he can kick the butt of nearly any HumongousMecha invented by Creator/GoNagai. He led the army of Mykene Empire, personally or delegating on his generals, and he was AFatherToHisMen considered unforgivable default intelligence costed the lives of his troops. He fought Great Mazinger because he knew he could win, slicing it with his blade mercilessly as he laughed its attacks off. And he fought ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'' quite evenly.
* Col. Shikishima from ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' has several traits of a GeneralRipper but remains a BadassNormal to the very end.
* The commander of the Umibozu, a Navy special forces team that goes up against Section Nine at the end of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'''s first season, is addressed as ''Taisa'': Colonel, though since he's Navy, his rank proper would be Captain. (In Japan, the same word is used to refer to both Colonel (Army) and Captain (Navy).
* Col. Dewey Novak is not only the BigBad of ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' but he also pulls off a fully functional [[spoiler:MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning scheme triggered by ''shooting himself in the head'']]. What's more badass than that?
* ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'': Oscar de Jarjeyes holds the rank of colonel as commander of the Royal Guards.
* Franchise/{{Gundam}} saga has a few:
** Col. Sergei Smirnov from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', a BadassNormal AcePilot. He is able to, despite having woefully inferior equipment, nearly bag two Gundams in a single battle through sheer cunning and guile the like of which makes CB's own resident strategic genius honestly afraid. The show also contains Colonel Kati Mannequin, who is more TheStrategist than a bloodletter, but has gone into battle alongside the troops, directly in harms way, and her strategies have scored her several Moments Of Awesome, the capstone of which was [[spoiler:her epic screwjob on the ALAWS in Episode 22]].
** A captain (from the navy, whose ranks Zeon uses for all branches of military service, which is equivalent to a colonel), Norris Packard of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam'' definitely counts. He takes on three Gundams, all piloted by the main characters, and three Guntanks, at the same time, alone, in an inferior machine, and wins. And on top of all that he finds time to be a father figure to one of the main characters.
*** Inferior mech? This is no Zaku boy, ''No Zaku!''
** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' all notable officers in OZ save Noin are colonels, Treize in particular seems aware of this, maintaining the rank of colonel even after conquering the Earth [[spoiler:twice]].
*** ''Wing'' uses an unorthodox rank structure based more around courtly titles than military rank. [[TheChessmaster Treize]] is actually comparable to a Major General; [[SergeantRock Lady Une]] is a Colonel, as is [[TheRival Zechs]] [[CharClone Merquise]] after he earns his two-rank promotion for his actions in Operation Nova, OZ's coup d'état to overthrow [[TheFederation the Earth Sphere Alliance]].
** Naturally, most of these guys all have the ColonelBadass-in name Ramba Ral to thank for all of this. Only a lieutenant, he was still awesome and has often been paired with Norris as a dynamic duo of doom.
* Col. [[spoiler:Paya]] Livingston from ''Anime/MagicalWitchPuniechan''. Boy, is he badass.
* The Colonel, head of God's Army, in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''. His weapon of choice is a PrecisionGuidedBoomerang, controlled with PsychicPowers. He manages to be a threat to Kenshiro ''without'' some form of superpowerful martial arts.
* Col. Todou of ''Anime/CodeGeass''. He's one of the higher-ranked members of the Japanese Liberation Front, ''and'' leader of their most elite squad, the Four Heavenly Swords. Later, he joins the Black Knights and becomes Zero's third-in-command.
** Also Todou is (based on ratings made by C.C, so take them with salt) the highest rated Black Knight, and second only to the [[AcePilot Ace Pilots]] of the series in his combat abilities.
* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'':
** Well, not ColonelBadass but more Major Badass, Major Misato Katsuragi. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZIvjQxqrm0#t=5m20s Especially]] in ''End of Evangelion''.
** She's referred to as Lt. Col. Katsuragi in ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'', however. So this trope qualifies.
*** This particular differentiation between Major and Lieutenant Colonel is significant in the [[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Rebuild]] continuity. Unlike the Misato in the original series, [[spoiler:who is only ranked as a major and is therefore frequently excluded from the confidential intel available to the highest personnel (Gendo, Ritsuko, and Fuyutsuki),]] the Rebuild Misato is [[spoiler:considerably more informed due to her higher rank.]] As opposed to how series!Misato [[spoiler:searches futilely for answers and only later is revealed the truth about Lilith along with Shinji,]] the Rebuild makes this change in order to allow Misato herself to [[spoiler:try to convince Shinji to pilot the Eva by showing him the top-secret Lilith]].
* ''Manga/MaidenRose'': Taki's high rank combined with his general military badassness puts him squarely in this trope.
* Captain Smoker from ''Manga/OnePiece''. He is stationed at some crappy station outside the grand line and considering his [[ElementalShapeshifter logia]] [[SuperSmoke power]] he is ranked to low in the marines. He also cares deeply for Tashgi and his marine subordinates. Furthermore [[SmokingIsCool he smokes and uses the smoke power]].
** It's highly implied that Smoker's been offered promotions before, but turned them down. Either that or the higher ups considered him too much of a loose cannon to risk on the Grand Line. Then Smoker met Luffy and started to chase after him INTO the Grand Line. [[spoiler:Post-TimeSkip, Smoker is now a Vice-Admiral, the third highest rank of the entire organization, and is still chasing after Luffy, this time in the New World, the second half of the Grand Line and the most dangerous sea in the world.]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* There is a Russian movie named ''The Apocalypse Code'', one of the better Russian action movies, actually, whose protagonist is an ActionGirl serving in the Russian special forces. Obviously, she is a colonel. Which is revealed just before she gets ''serious'', [[RuleOfCool topping all her previous stunts]].
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' features two Colonel Badasses. The first is Colonel Kurtz, who had the credentials to be a general but chose a life in the shit. While fighting in Vietnam, he goes kill-crazy and creates an army of zealots who worship him like a god. The other is [[ColonelKilgore Lt.Col. Bill Kilgore]], a bulletproof badass who surfs in warzones and enjoys the aroma of napalm like a nice cup of joe. In the Redux edition, however, he's taken down a peg after his surfboard is stolen and he broadcasts messages begging for it back.
* ''Film/Armageddon1998'':
** Colonel Willie Sharp, pilot of the space shuttle. [[ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics Can disarm nine-foot-long nuclear weapons with only 20 seconds and minimal assistance]]. Also the only guy trusted with a firearm on the whole vessel (making him the only one badass enough to bring a gun onto a spaceship), and the only guy with enough balls to disobey a ''Presidential order'' for the greater good of the planet.
** Colonel Lev Andropov (Creator/PeterStormare) also qualifies: not only does he save AJ (Creator/BenAffleck) when the space station blows, he also [[PercussiveMaintenance restarts a FREAKIN' space shuttle]]. He also gets most of the best lines in the movie:
--->'''Lev:''' I AM THE ONLY CERTIFIED ASTRONAUT HERE, AND I AM SAVING YOUR AMERICAN ASS!!!
* Colonel Miles Motherfucking Quaritch of ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. He's [[DesignatedVillain obviously]] the [[GeneralRipper villain]], but that doesn't stop him from modding his [[AMechByAnyOtherName AMP suit]] with a gigantic ''combat knife'', or running out into Pandora's toxic atmosphere, guns blazing, without bothering to put a gas mask on. In one instance, it takes him about 11 seconds to react to the fact that he is, in fact, ''on fire''. Quaritch is in fact, so badass he inspires major RootingForTheEmpire.
** So badass that [[spoiler: James Cameron has promised that Quaritch is coming BackFromTheDead to reappear in all the sequels]].
* Lieutenant Colonel Danny [=McKnight=] in ''Film/BlackHawkDown''. He casually walks from a convoy of Humvees to a building, through the open, while Rangers all around him are diving for cover and flinching. He ignores a gunshot wound to his throat that would have opened his carotid artery if it had been a millimeter to the right. After that injury, one of the Rangers tells him he doesn't need to go back out to save the rest of his men. He just smokes his cigar, looks at the guy like he's an idiot, then rides out with the 10th Mountain Division to get the rest of his men.
* Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's character John Matrix takes this trope to an utter extreme in the movie ''Film/{{Commando}}''. Although his character is a retired Special Forces colonel, Arnie still manages to kick enough ass for several movies.
* Colonel Nicholas Alexander, played by Creator/LeeMarvin in his final performance, was the only man who could possibly give Creator/ChuckNorris' Major Scott [=McCoy=] orders in ''Film/TheDeltaForce''.
%%* Col. Stewart in ''Film/DieHard2''.
* He may have been a PsychoForHire, but Col. Koobus of ''Film/{{District 9}}'' was also incredibly badass. He was consistently shown to be a supremely competent leader of his men, never lost his cool in the heat of battle ([[spoiler:though he did start to lose it when he was bragging to Wikus about killing him]]), showed bravery even in the face of overpowering alien weaponry, and when he [[spoiler:was surrounded by all sides by Prawns, who were going to tear him apart regardless, he ''still'' went down fighting.]]
* Thoroughly averted in ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Group Captain (RAF for Colonel) Mandrake is a bit of a wimp and fails to properly stand up for himself when around other domineering American officers, while US Army Colonel "Bat" Guano does not even understand his own mission, and is instead obsessed with eliminating "preverts."
* Colonel Günther Reza of ''Film/DuckYouSucker'' a SilentAntagonist and ImplacableMan who survives having a bridge dropped on him, a train explosion, and having half a machinegun clip emptied into him before finally going down.
* ''Film/EveOfDestruction'': Colonel Jim [=McQuade=] to a realistic degree. An army veteran, expert marksman and counter-terrorism expert, he's the guy the government calls in to take down a rogue killer android, but he does get pretty banged up over the course of the film.
%%* Col. Nathan R. Jessup, as played by Creator/JackNicholson in ''Film/AFewGoodMen''.
%%-->"You want me on that trope. You ''need'' me on that trope!"
* Colonel Douglas Mortimer in ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'', a former Confederate Army colonel who carries a veritable arsenal with him wherever he goes, and has a personal score with BigBad El Indio.
%%* Lt. Col. Barnsby (played by Creator/HarrisonFord) in ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''.
* Col. Thursday in ''Film/FortApache''... well, sort of... [[spoiler:at least until he orders the infamous Thursday's Charge, which results in the [[SuicidalOverConfidence utter destruction of half the regiment]].]]Thursday is an Expy of George Armstrong Custer, a real-life Colonel Badass, who would be remembered as a great cavalry leader except for one mistake...
* In the movie ''Film/{{Glory}}'', Matthew Broderick plays a RealLife ColonelBadass; in this case Col. Robert Gould Shaw the son of Boston abolitionists who commanded the Union Army's first black troops in the Civil War.
* Col. Andrea Stavros in ''Film/TheGunsOfNavarone'' movie adaptation, the best hand-to-hand fighter in the group.
* In ''Film/IAmLegend'' Will Smith's character is Lieutenant Colonel Robert Neville. A brilliant scientist who also managed to survive being badly outnumbered by cannibalistic hordes. It wasn't because he was a punk...
* Col. Hans Landa, a.k.a. the Jew Hunter, from ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''. The epitome of both MagnificentBastard and WickedCultured.
** He does [[spoiler:end UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by helping the Basterds kill the German High Command]].
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' we learn Indy attained the rank of colonel during World War II while working as an agent for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA). Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko most definitely counts too.
* Averted in ''Film/IpMan'', where Japanese Colonel Sato is a SmugSnake who only hits people when they're in no position to fight back. Preferably from safe up high behind a gun.
%%* Film/JamesBond holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy.
* Col. [[MeaningfulName Hardy]] from ''Film/ManOfSteel'' possibly outdoes Quaritch in terms of sheer badassitude, taking on a Kryptonian enemy with a combat knife --and ''no robot suit''-- and managing to [[spoiler:pull a no-score draw, losing his life but banishing the villain back to the Phantom Zone in the process]].
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Lt. Col. (full Colonel as of ''Film/IronMan3'') James Rhodes, who has [[ComicBook/WarMachine a suit of powered armor]].
** Col. Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD and architect of the Avengers. Extra badass props for Fury being portrayed throughout the Marvel Cineverse by none other than Creator/SamuelLJackson.
** Col. Chester Philips, who lead the Strategic Scientific Reserve in WWII, the precursor to SHIELD, and commanded Captain America.
* Colonel James Braddock, from the ''Film/MissingInAction'' film series. Played by none other than Creator/ChuckNorris, it's a given he's able to kick as much [[DirtyCommunists Viet Cong]] butt as he does.
* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandExpedition Colonel Packard]] has been through it in Vietnam, and he goes through much worse on the island and still survives for quite a while through the film. Unfortunately, he also becomes a GeneralRipper due to his Vietnam-instilled ColonelKilgore.
** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Colonel Diane Foster]] leads Monarch's military force the G-Team, at one point getting into a firefight with the [[EcoTerrorist eco-terrorists]] looking to release Ghidorah and killing Asher, Jonah's second-in-command. Had she not prioritized Asher because of his advance on Mark, she could have killed Jonah there and then.
* Colonel [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Vincent "Killer" Kane]] in ''Film/TheNinthConfiguration'' is a legendary soldier during the Vietnam War. Before the film starts, he suffers a breakdown after chopping a ChildSoldiers [[OffWithHisHead head off]] with a wire garrote. He dedicates himself to healing instead of harming, but ultimately a bar full of bikers learn that it's still not a good idea to [[BullyingADragon bully his patients]].
* Colonel Dax in ''Film/PathsOfGlory''. Try not flinching when enemy shells are exploding randomly less than 20 yards away from you. Go on, try. We'll wait.
* Col. Benjamin Martin in ''Film/ThePatriot''. Single-handedly killed a platoon of Redcoats, including at least three with a tomahawk. Colonel Tavington is an EvilBrit version, kicking the butts of Creator/MelGibson's ragtag Rebel militia.
** You gotta give it up for Tavington when his troops are caught with their pants down by a bunch of angry rebels, his soldiers are getting shot all around him. He just stands there, calmly reloading his pistol (which takes a good 20 seconds) and shooting one rebel after another.
* Colonel Graham from ''Film/{{Posse}}'' is the evil version. Losing an eye just makes him more determined than ever to hunt down the heroes and retrieve his gold.
* Col. Sam Trautman, the former trainer and commander of none other than John Franchise/{{Rambo}}. He's more of the mentor in the movies than ColonelBadass, but he gets this status because of his line in [[Film/FirstBlood the first movie]]:
-->'''Sheriff Will Teasle:''' Where in God's name did this Rambo come from...
-->'''Col. Trautman:''' ''God'' didn't make Rambo. ''I'' made him.
-->''(Cut to a shot of the tent's entrance. A silhouette of a bereted and {{Badass LongCoat}}ed individual is standing there.)''
* Colonel Pembroke (Creator/JamesCoburn) in ''Film/AReasonToLiveAReasonToDie''. He escapes from a Confederate POWCamp and makes his way back into Union territory, despite being branded a coward and wanted as a traitor. He then [[GetIntoJailFree gets himself arrested]] to be taken into a Union fort commanded by an old friend of his. He then assembles his own team of {{Boxed Crook}}s to undertake a SuicideMission to [[StormingtheCastle retake the impregnable fort he surrendered]], and [[ItsPersonal kill the major he surrendered to]].
* Colonel Cord [=McNally=] in the first quarter or so of Creator/JohnWayne movie ''Film/RioLobo'' is introduced as a seasoned officer, who personally leads the pursuit for a band of confederate train robberies, tracks them for miles cross country and doesn't' hesitate to go riding after about a dozen men alone as his command is gradually forced to [[LetsSplitUpGang split up]]. After being captured he still manages to turn the tables on his captors. In the post-war sections of the movie, he has left the army to track down the men who betrayed him during the war, and shows signs of becoming a fairly competent gunslinger.
%%* Commander Anderson, United States Navy [=SEALs=], played by Creator/MichaelBiehn, in ''Film/TheRock''.
* Lt. Col. Frank Slade from ''Film/ScentOfAWoman''. He does the tango with a beautiful stranger who's waiting on her boyfriend, drives a Ferrari BLIND, and completely and utterly owns snobby schoolmasters. Plus, he's played by Creator/AlPacino, which doubles his badassitude.
* ''Completely'' averted (as to be expected) in the film ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', in the figure of Colonel [[PunnyName Sandurz]]. Whassa matter, Colonel Sandurz ...CHICKEN?!
** Considering that he's [[Film/ANewHope Grand Moff Tarkin]] if Tarkin were stupid rather than evil, this is to be expected.
* Colonel Rhumbus in ''Film/SpiesLikeUs''. He knocks out his own squad of [[ConservationOfNinjutsu elite ninja soldiers]] and then takes our heroes through [[TrainingFromHell accelerated GLG20 training]]. His salutes are so snappy that you can ''hear'' his gloved hand [[AudibleSharpness cutting through the air]].
%%* Johny Rico is a Colonel in ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder'' (he was a Lt. by end of [[Film/StarshipTroopers the first one]]).
* In the film adaptation of ''Film/StreetFighter'', Guile has the Colonel rank (he is a Major in the games' continuity), and goes against the Allied Nations' orders to lead a strike team and raid Bison's base to rescue kidnapped AN troopers and relief workers. He's also the one to take on Bison himself, beating him even after he starts using his PsychoElectro powers. This also holds true to the [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter cartoon]], which is a direct sequence of the film.
* Colonel Min Se-hoon, the InspectorJavert character in the Korean film ''Film/TheSuspect''. His introductory scene involves him dropping one of his men out of a plane without a parachute in order to save another man's life, then coolly picking up a spare chute, diving after the falling guy, catching him in mid-air, slapping him back to life when they hit the ground, then swaggering away [[SmokingIsCool smoking a cigarette]]. He then puts on a leather jacket and shades and spends the rest of the film ripping apart a secret government conspiracy while simultaneously hunting down a North Korean master assassin.
* In ''Film/TopGun'' the soft-spoken, gruffly avuncular Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, cigar-chomping Commander Tom "Stinger" Jordan provide contrasting, but equally classic, examples of this trope.
* Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Does he sit behind and command his troops from the command post? Fuck no! He takes on the Film/{{Transformers}} with them head-on!
** Though he's not a Colonel until the third film.
* Colonel Stryker in ''Film/X2XMenUnited''.
-->'''Stryker''': I was pilotin' Black Ops missions in the jungles of North Vietnam while you were suckin' on your mama's tit at Woodstock, Kelly. Don't lecture me about war. This already is a war.

[[folder:Literature]]
* in Terry Mancour's ''Literature/TheSpellmongerSeries'', Bold Asgus, Commander of the Orohan's band. He oozes command and confidence. Proficient with almost all weapons, he is a one man wave of death on the field of battle. The man launched himself onto a troll and killed it with one hit. Then he dismounted into a double decapitation of nearby Mooks.
* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s Sam Vimes may be the Commander of the City Watch and even a Duke, but despite the protests of both his wife and the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, refuses to delegate the street jobs to his subordinates, being happiest when walking the streets in cardboard-soled boots in the rain or chasing a dangerous criminal. He abhors the politics he's forced to participate in, and still basically sees the world like a beat copper.
* Col. Fedmahn Kassad of Creator/DanSimmons' ''Literature/HyperionCantos'' fights his way through the exploding wreckage of an enemy fleet, plummets down onto a planet and then fights the soldiers there. Later, he gets into hand-to-hand combat with [[spoiler:the Shrike, a giant, indestructible EldritchAbomination covered in spikes. Did we mention it can move faster than light?]] He is explicitly stated to be the greatest soldier in history [[spoiler:which is why godlike AIs use his consciousness to create the Shrike]].
* OlderThanRadio: Max Piccolomini, colonel of a cuirassier regiment, in Friedrich Schiller's ''Theatre/{{Wallenstein}}'' trilogy (1798-1799). Which unsurprisingly features a number of war-hardened colonels.
* In his 1884 ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', Creator/MarkTwain gave us Col. Sherburn who shoots a drunk who only annoyed him and gets away with it by ''scaring the lynch mob away'' with a BreakingSpeech.
* Colonel Sebastian Moran in the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' stories. In addition to being Professor Moriarty's [[TheDragon right-hand man]] [[ColdSniper and top assassin]], he's a decorated war hero and celebrated big game hunter who once ''crawled down a sewer drain after a wounded man-eating tiger.''
* While not Colonel, Major Greer from ''Literature/ThePassage'' qualifies.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' novels:
** Two in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: Literature/GauntsGhosts'': Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt and his subordinate, Col. Colm Corbec. Gaunt has a head-start in that he's already a BadassLongcoat, but Corbec makes a rather good accounting of himself as well.
*** [[spoiler: As of his promotion, Col. Elim Rawne also neatly fits the trope.]]
** Col. Shaeffer of ''Literature/TheLastChancers''. He can stroll up and down a battlefield filled with Orks and Tyranids like he was on parade, decapitating Carnifexes and seeing the whole battle through without a scratch. At the same time, the hardened criminals of the 13th Penal Legion absolutely fear him more than those same Orks and Tyranids.
** ''Let the Galaxy Burn'': Commisar von Klas. He's kidnapped and enslaved by a kabal of dark eldar, kills an eldar wych in one-on-one close combat, kills his torturer with his own weapons, then organises a break out which dooms the entire kabal to be defeated by a rival faction. The story ends with him telling his former master "They will cut my throat like some common animal. I suspect, however, ''you will take much longer to die''."
** Col. Regina Kasteen of the [[Literature/CiaphasCain Valhallan 597th]] is more noteworthy for her [[TheStrategist strategic and tactical skill]] than her record at personal combat, but she's no slouch at the latter. In fact, during ''The Traitor's Hand'', she's positively ''glad'' to have a chance to get stuck in, potting traitors with her bolt pistol as they storm her headquarters. Of course, her backstory -- that she attained her command [[YouAreInCommandNow by default]], being the most senior member of her regiment who was ''not'' eaten by Tyranids -- attests to impressive badass credentials all by itself.
* Count Dokhturov in ''Literature/WarAndPeace''. Calm, methodical, the perfect man to have fighting for you. Tolstoy devotes most of a page describing why people like Dokhturov are never considered heroes despite the fact that battles would be lost without them.
* Admiral Jane Roland and [[spoiler: eventually Laurence himself after his promotion to admiral in the final book]] in ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}''. Jane casually breaks swords in people's chests, wins massive air battles on the back of her ''acid-spitting dragon'' and generally impresses everyone she meets. Technically, Temeraire himself also counts in book 5.
* Lt.Col. Du Bois in Robert Heinlein's ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''. He taught the main character's History and Moral Philosophy class, and the character was startled that the old man had been both a Lt.Col. in the infantry and a classmate of his DrillSergeantNasty, Sergeant Zim.
* Col. 'Lizard' Tirelli (from ''Literature/TheWarAgainstTheChtorr'' sci-fi series by David Gerrold) is so badass she single-handedly flies jet-assisted helicopter gunships in her spare time.
* Mostly inverted in the Literature/{{Sharpe}} series, except when Sharpe himself attains the rank. Much of the conflict in the series is driven by various UpperClassTwit officers. While not technically a colonel, Sharpe often fulfills a Colonel's duties as his regiment tends to go through colonels like disposable cups.
* There are few colonels in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, but several Commanders.
** Commander [[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge Antilles]]: A fighter pilot who flew against both Death Stars and rose to become the leader of Rogue Squadron, the Alliance's best fighter squadron. Instrumental in the retaking of Coruscant from the Empire, the negotiating of a cure for the Krytos disease, the taking of Thyferra, the capture of a Super Star Destroyer, the death of Ysanne Isard (twice!), and the campaign against Warlord Zsinj. Then he finally accepted promotion to [[FourStarBadass General]]. (Weirdly, he was never a colonel, even though, depending on the source, colonel is a half-notch above commander.)
** Commander [[Literature/OutboundFlight Mitth'raw'nuruodo]]: A member of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, Thrawn was born a commoner and gained status through military service, becoming a merit adoptive of the Eight Ruling Family and further becoming a trial-born. He was the youngest ever Force Commander in the Expansionary Fleet, using brilliant and undeniably effective but underhanded tactics, often involving preemptive strikes, that were seen as [[MartialPacifist morally bankrupt to his people]]. Sometime after the events of ''Outbound Flight'' he was exiled and wound up in Imperial service, where he ''very'' quickly rose through the ranks until becoming one of the thirteen secret Grand Admirals.
** ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'': Supreme Commander Gilad Pellaeon: "Supreme Commander" is actually the highest military rank in the Empire, so this properly belongs in FourStarBadass. But "Commander" is part of the rank, so he gets a mention here. He also was a captain for a while, which is roughly equivalent to a colonel.
** There ''was'' at least one colonel. When Wedge's [[WingMan wingmate]] Tycho Celchu took command of Rogue Squadron, he took this rank.
** Before he [[DefectorFromDecadence defected]] to the Rebel Alliance, Soontir Fel was a Baron-Colonel. His badassery is unquestionable; after Vader's death, Baron Soontir Fel was perceived as the best pilot in the Empire, bar none (and without Vader around, rumors started spreading that Vader's only edge was in his [[AceCustom expensive custom starfighters]]). He lost that rank when he joined Rogue Squadron, but it may be assumed that he got it back, [[EasilyForgiven and more]], in the Empire of the Hand after Thrawn had him kidnapped and brought there.
** Other real colonels (okay, lieutenant colonels are among them) would be Jaina Solo ([[spoiler:being a member of Rogue Squadron at the age of sixteen, seriously kicking around numerous Yuuzhan Vong, later on being in command of Rogue Squadron just to be court-martialed by her own twin brother whom she later on kills in a duel after he turned out to have become a Sith]]), her brother Jacen Solo ([[spoiler:became head of the secret police of the Galactic Alliance, tortured Boba Fett's daghter to death, became a Sith Lord, made himself joined head of state and later on sole head of state of the Galactic Alliance, set half of Kashyyyk on fire, killed his aunt Mara, etc. until his sister finally got him]]), and Jagged Fel ([[spoiler:who (nearly) manages to keep up with Jaina Solo and Kyp Durron, two extremely talented Jedi pilots using a battle meld, and displays various feats of general badassery until he finally becomes the Imperial head of state]]).
* Colonel Jesse Wood, from the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series arguably qualifies, being the very first pilot in the new timeline created by the Ring of Fire. Because of that and his service in the uptime US Air Force, he's appointed head of downtime's new Air Force.
* Patrick [=McLanahan=] from Creator/DaleBrown's books spends some time as this in earlier books, before receiving his [[FourStarBadass stars]] [[spoiler: at the end of ''Fatal Terrain'']]. He's not the only character in the books to go through this phase, though.
* Colonel Rosa Klebb of the Soviet SMERSH in Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove''. In [[Film/FromRussiaWithLove the film version]] she defects to the terrorist organization SPECTRE and fails to kill James Bond with a poison-tipped dart in her shoe but [[spoiler: she is still a Russian agent and succeeds in poisoning Bond and almost killing him with the shoe dart at the end of the book.]]
* Colonel Christopher Williams in ''Literature/{{Tranquilium}}''. He starts out as a charming ReasonableAuthorityFigure the main character meets in Port Elizabeth, then quickly proves his badass credentials by showing that yes he ''can'' [[YouCantThwartStageOne thwart stage one]] by rallying the militia to defeat the KGB-led rebellion in the town and so saving the main characters from the rebels in the process. It is subsequently revealed that he is [[spoiler:(was, as of Part Two)]] also an AlmightyJanitor to the Merryland government and a former [[spoiler:FBI agent who was a literal Mulder who eventually became fed up with his superiors' adamant refusal to notice Tranquilum and Soviet shenanigans therein and went native to fight a one-man-war]]. He's also firmly an antihero, and an awesomely ruthless one at that, going about and taking out Soviet spies with his crack squad of Forbidders and using [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] to bring down a huge part of their information network. [[spoiler:He is also scarily good at one-shotting would-be-prominent-villains on the Soviet side, sometimes ''across dimensions''.]]
* ''Literature/CodexAlera'': While Aleran Legions are commanded by [[TheCaptain Captains]], they don't use modern military ranks and their role tends to fit this trope better. As usual, the most badass of the lot is Captain Rufus Scipio (a.k.a. [[TheHero Tavi]]) a BadassNormal capable of taking on [[ElementalPowers Knights]] and [[{{Wolfman}} Canim]] by himself.
* In the ''Literature/LegacyOfTheAldenata'', there's Colonel Cutprice, a rejuvenated Medal of Honor winner and one of the most decorated UsefulNotes/KoreanWar veterans. Later, he's leader of the Ten Thousand, an elite fighting group arguably more badass than the ACS as a whole, as the Ten Thousand fight without the benefit of PoweredArmor. It's explicitly stated that he refuses promotion above the rank of Colonel.
* From Creator/TomClancy's ''Literature/RedStormRising'':
** There's an unnamed Soviet colonel who only shows up in a single scene, in charge of a tank division [[FieldPromotion after his general was killed in an air attack]]. Although his narrative role is to [[MrExposition provide the perspective of a Soviet mid-ranking officer]] (the POV character, Alekseyev, is a FourStarBadass, through whom we see the big picture), the colonel proves to be extremely competent at commanding his division, nearly forcing a breakthrough and stymied only by the NATO defenders' resilience and [[ExecutiveMeddling Soviet high command's insistence that only Moscow can move the strategic reserves]]. He is last seen as the survivor of an artillery barrage on his headquarters, surrounded by the wounded, and ''still calmly giving orders to his division.''
** The also unnamed KGB colonel who set the Kremlin bomb - he later goes on to [[spoiler: set ''another'' Kremlin bomb]] and kills four men with his silenced automatic. Bonus points for being a BadassLongcoat too.
** Colonel Douglas "Duke" Ellington, the [[CoolPlane F-19 Ghostrider]] pilot who provided the main point of view character for the central front air war in Germany and the Soviet colonel commanding the [=MiG=]-29 regiment at Keflavik both also qualify (both demonstrate their AcePilot skills numerous times, the [=MiG=]-29 regiment CO survives leading his pilots in a battle against two full squadrons of F-14 Tomcats at one point, while Ellington also gets to demonstrate his all-around badassery by managing to successfully escape and evade after being shot down over hostile territory late in the war).
* Colonel Sir Nigel Loring of the Literature/{{Emberverse}} (also late of the Blues and Royals). In a universe where much technology (including guns) suddenly ceases to function, he helps rescue the Queen and the Royal Family, trains his troops in the "new" fighting methods, [[AFatherToHisMen makes sure his soldiers' families are safe]], makes a daring escape from captivity, comes to the aid of the Crown Prince in battle, ''and'' outwits the [[BigBad Lord Protector of Portland]]. Only ''then'', does he hook up with the main plotline!
* The Colonel (technically, Lieutenant-Colonel) in Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's ''Literature/McAuslan'' stories, based on a real commander of the 2nd Gordon Highlanders. He is quiet, unassuming, looks like a vulture, and walks with a limp (his leg having been broken by the Japanese as a [=PoW=]). He's over retirement age and has served with the battalion since 1914, wounded at Passchendaele and captured at Singapore. But he is highly respected, a FatherToHisMen, [[DefiantToTheEnd "looked the Japanese in the eye on the Moulmein Railway and said 'no'"]], and at eighty went into the streets of Belfast with a patrol from his old regiment, just to see what things were like for the new generation.
* ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' is promoted to Commander at the end of ''Lieutenant Hornblower'', only to be demoted back to Lieutenant and put on half-pay when the French and English declare an armistice. He is promoted back to Commander at the start of ''Hornblower and the Hotspur'', where his exploits eventually earn him a promotion to [[TheCaptain Captain.]] In a later book, he is appointed as a Colonel of Marines, a sinecure position granting him extra pay with no extra responsibilities, as an indicator that the Crown is pleased with his performance.
* [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Lieutenant-Colonel Munro]] of the 60th Foot (Royal American Regiment) in ''Literature/TheLastOfTheMohicans''.
* D'Artagnan in ''Literature/TheVicomteDeBragelonne'' -- as a lieutenant and captain of the king's Musketeers he becomes the equivalent of a colonel and major-general of the regular army.
* William H. Kraft of ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' is an [[BunnyEarsLawyer eccentric]] example, since he considers himself a subject of the German Emperor and leads his armored battalion through the campaign to defend New York dressed in a blue, late 19th-century Prussian greatcoat and Pickelhaube. Notwithstanding, he is both a savvy political operator and an absolutely terrifying enemy.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* The seventh season of ''Series/TwentyFour'' features the villainous African, Colonel Ike Dubaku of Sangala. Also a ScaryBlackMan.
* Col. John "Hannibal" Smith from ''Series/TheATeam''. "Hannibal", in this case, has nothing to do with the SerialKiller, but the Carthaginian general who almost brought down the Roman Republic. This Hannibal is that good. "I love it when a plan comes together."
** After the failure of the crappy, bumbling Major sent to hunt the A-Team down, the Army gets serious and brings in Colonel Decker, an unconventional badass in his own right who's very nearly as good as Hannibal. From then on, it goes from pratfall laughs as the Army is outwitted to hair-raising near-misses where the team's celebrations at beating the bad guy of the week are cut short as Decker closes relentlessly in. Decker's first appearance has him chatting with his superiors as he fires off every infantry weapon in the army one by one. Hard-friggin-core.
* Colonel Tigh of the ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. Whether leading a resistance group on New Caprica or [[GunsAkimbo wielding two automatic rifles]] while fighting mutineers, the guy is BADASS. Bonus: he rocks the EyepatchOfPower.
* Colonel Wilma Deering in ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury'', who was not only a badass but '''H.''' '''O.''' '''T'''. Gotta love a woman who can be a ColonelBadass while '''rocking''' a spandex catsuit.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in his [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear first serial]] before he was promoted to [[TheBrigadier Brigadier]].
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E4TheSontaranStratagem "The Sontaran Stratagem"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E5ThePoisonSky "The Poison Sky"]]: Col. Mace. ''[[HeyYouHaymaker "You will]] '''[[HeyYouHaymaker face]]''' [[HeyYouHaymaker me, sir!"]]''
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E4TheTimeOfAngels "The Time of Angels"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E5FleshAndStone "Flesh and Stone"]]: [[ChurchMilitant Bishop]] Octavian.
* In ''Series/EdgeOfDarkness'', all the spooks seem to be colonels.
* One episode of ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' indicates that Sam Braddock's father literally earned the moniker "Colonel Badass", though he had been promoted to General by the time this was revealed.
* Averted by Col. Wilhelm Klink in ''Series/HogansHeroes'', although his rank might just be a foil to that of good guy group leader, Col. ''Hogan'', who plays this trope more or less straight.
** Perhaps ironically, in the German version of the show (''Ein Käfig voller Helden'') Klink gets his proper German rank of Oberst, but Hogan, as an American, is still called ''Colonel'' Hogan by everybody... thus playing the trope completely straight.
* Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb Jr. in ''Series/{{JAG}}''. Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie would also qualify.
** Thai Colonel Patano in "Déjà Vu". It's made clear that the only reason Harm isn't dead is that Patano never had the intention to kill him.
* Subverted in ''Series/{{MASH}}'' with ineffectual Lt. Col. Henry Blake, then played somewhat straight with his replacement, Col. Sherman T. Potter, who had massive cred as a leader of soldiers as a former enlisted man and veteran of earlier wars.
** TruthInTelevision for Potter's history giving respect. People who go from NCO to officer are called "Mustangs", and enjoy great respect from enlisted personnel.
** And Hotlips' overhyped hubby Lt. Col. Penobscot is likely a parody of this type.
** Colonel Flagg fits this role as is evidenced in the episode where he breaks his own arm so he can infiltrate the hospital as a patient.
*** Double bonus badass: When an X-ray shows that his arm has healed sufficiently for him to be released, he ''pulls the X-ray camera down on his cast'', shattering it and re-breaking his arm.
*** Col. Flagg would come to squander his badass credibility in later episodes, though. (Sometimes edging towards ColonelKilgore, occasionally, at least mentally.) His behavior in later appearances became more and more erratic and paranoid; culminating in complete disgrace in his final appearance.
* The British Army Colonel character played by Creator/GrahamChapman on ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''. He can come in and put a stop to a sketch when he thinks it's getting too silly or out of control!
* Colonel Carrillo in ''Series/{{Narcos}}'', a highly competent and honest - if somewhat brutal - military officer and the only guy that Escobar was afraid of.
* Col. Mason Truman of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' You definitely going to need a ColonelBadass to be in charge of the last remaining humans on Earth. His appearance in the first episode says it all: Explosions reflect in his shades. He just stands there watching over his soldiers as all hell breaks loose. When Corporal Hicks tells him they're all screwed, he just tells him to "go shoot at something."
* At the end of the final episode of ''Series/{{Raumpatrouille}}'', Major [=McLane=] is promoted to Colonel for once again saving Earth.
* Otto von Stirlitz (real name: Maxim Isaev) from ''Series/SeventeenMomentsOfSpring'', the pinnacle of a Soviet SpyFiction, is a [[UsefulNotes/CommonRanks Standartenführer]] ([[ThoseWackyNazis SS]] equivalent of colonel) ...and in his real life as a Russian spy, a NKVD colonel. He was so badass back in his days, that he experienced a MemeticMutation in recent times and ended up being a MemeticBadass, as well ([[RussianHumour no, seriously]]).
* Colonel T.C. [=McQueen=] from ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond''. He's the sole survivor of the battle between the Earth's best squadron and the Chigs. Like his last fight with "Chiggie Von Richtoffen," and his "I don't think 'our Lord' wants to hear from me right now," speech.
** He's also an "[[GattacaBabies In Vitro]]", who were genetically-engineered to fight the [[AIIsACrapshoot Silicates]], after the latter TurnedAgainstTheirMasters.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' features Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter, and Cameron Mitchell.
** In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', there's at least four colonels and lieutenant colonels, and possibly more. One episode had all of 'em arrive in the same room at once, [[DoctorDoctorDoctor with]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geNY3YyDR-A predictable results]].
*** That scene is a reference to a scene in the SG-1 episode "Frozen", except the overused title in that one was "Doctor".
** Colonel Everett Young in ''Series/StargateUniverse'' would be this, if he didn't frak it up with some truly dumb-ass decisions. [[FourStarBadass General]] O'Neill had to personally let him know that he was screwing up the mantle with his actions in "Incursion", part 1.
*** Once he gets his act together though, he quickly regains this status.
** There's also Colonel David Telford (played by Creator/LouDiamondPhillips).
* Kira Nerys becomes one of these in the final season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', but she was a badass since the pilot episode.
** Usually the heroes in ''Franchise/StarTrek'' tend to be [[TheCaptain Captains]], but the Commander rank can't be overlooked. The first, and in some cases second officers, of the ships hold this rank. Any Starfleet officer that's a Captain or higher was one. Ben Sisko of Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine was a Commander even though he was TheCaptain.
*** Some of the lower-ranking characters are SergeantRock, as well.
*** Especially Kirk could verge on this trope: a naval Captain does have an equivalent NATO officer code of OF-5 (the same as a Colonel), and Kirk repeatedly went down to planets himself and got into dangerous situations (it's a rare TheCaptain who can solve problems by ''punching them'').
* ''Series/StrikeBack'' has Colonel Grant who normally commands the team from the command center but when a things go to hell she goes into the field and saved the day herself. She even commandeers an arms dealer's team of mercenaries to go and rescue a member of her team trapped in southern Sudan.
** Her successor Rachel Dalton, while not actually a Colonel (Captain upon introduction, promoted to Major at the end of the episode), displays some serious badass cred in the season two opener, using an anti-tank rocket to blast through a Somali blockade about midway through the episode and generally keeping up effortlessly with Scott and Stonebridge on the battlefield until their extraction arrives. As a bonus, she initially appears to be little more than a junior bureaucrat until she finds said rocket launcher in the enemy's weapons cache.
*** From Shadow Warfare onward, Colonel Philip Locke takes the reigns of leadership from Dalton after she has made questionable decisions during the course of the season and becomes the official leader after her untimely death. Colonel Phillip Locke is a 30 year veteran of the British Army and served in every conflict Britain was involved in during that time. Stonebridge is clearly impressed that Locke is involved in their mission. Locke then proves his reputation correct when he singlehandedly saves Major Dalton from a hitman. When the team is ambushed at an airport, Locke's response is to go on the offensive and kill everything (until getting attacked from behind). Later, when forced to dig his own grave, he instead kills the men guarding him, and nearly escaped on his own. And even while wounded and being tortured, and offered the name of the man who killed his son, he still won't give up NATO secrets.
** Colonel Alexander Coltrane of ''Revolution'' and ''Vendetta'' kicks ass in every action sequence he's in, either physically, with a gun, or with both.
* Nate Taylor from ''Series/TerraNova'', played by none other than Stephen Lang. Due to strange time dilations, he had to spend 118 days alone in the Cretaceous Period and doesn't even have any visible scars. And he still goes toe to toe with carnivorous dinosaurs to protect his people.
* Col. Ed Straker in ''Series/{{UFO}}''. In one episode, he shoots an opponent who can travel through time and downs a UFO with a rocket launcher.
** By that time, Straker was a "Commander" with colonels and naval Captains as subordinates. This Commander-is-the-boss idea occurs in many of the Gerry Anderson series.
* On ''Series/UltimateForce'', Colonel Aidan Dempsey reliably kicks a lot of arse when called upon, most notably in the episodes 'Dead Is Forever', 'Never Go Back' and - particularly - 'Charlie Bravo'. In the latter, he strides through a gunfight, casually taking one-handed potshots at rebels, while exhorting his local counterpart to "Pretend you're an officer and get your men in order!"
* Sergeant Major Jonas Blane from ''Series/TheUnit'', even though he's not a ''colonel''. The show's resident colonel, Tom Ryan, is more DaChief.
** Sergeant Major (or his battalion staff equivalent, the Command Sergeant Major) is the ColonelBadass of Army [=NCOs=]. Any officer who doesn't give their advice careful consideration is [[TooDumbToLive extremely foolish]].
* Colonel Cedric Daniels in ''Series/TheWire''. He starts as a Lieutenant, and becomes MajorlyAwesome, ColonelBadass, and finally DaChief, before realizing he doesn't want to be at the head of such a flawed police department. [[spoiler: the fact that he immediately starts getting blackmailed doesn't help. He quits and becomes a lawyer.]]
* Steve Trevor in the ''Series/WonderWoman'' TV series. He gets knocked in the head with a blunt object about once per episode, but he always wakes up with no ill effects and never complains. In early episodes, he even wears military ribbons that weren't even issued until after the war ended.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Elite Agent Rotor in ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG''. In addition to taking command whenever the team takes to the skies, he also happens to be an AcePilot, has a taste for classical music, and let's just say you don't want to be on the wrong side when you start hearing that classical music. His second-in-command Elite Agent Cabin is quite tough as well.
* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', [[BunnyEarsLawyer Nobuo Iwasaki]] and [[HonorBeforeReason Samachi Nomura]] are very competent colonels although the former doesn't show it unless he's forced to act.
* [[PuttingOnTheReich Standartenführer]] Rhianna von [[MeaningfulName Adolph]] from ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' is a [[StepfordSmiler constantly smiling]] knife nut who is in charge of the special operations division of Sirene's intelligence agency. She is also TheCaptain of ''two'' ships.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''{{TabletopGame/Rifts}}'' has Col. Buck Murphy, a hotshot SAMAS (flying PoweredArmor) Pilot who has an impressive combat record, and is AFatherToHisMen.
* In order to make it to colonel in the Imperial Guard of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', hefty portions of this trope are required.
** Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken, Commander of the 2nd Catachan Infantry Regiment. He was badass enough to begin with, being from the DeathWorld of Catachan, known for producing some of the toughest soldiers in the Imperium. Then he was attacked by a Miral land shark that tore off his arm. Instead of dying like a lesser man would, he killed the beast with his "fang"-pattern combat knife and walked 30 miles to safety(some sources claim he tore the beast's throat out ''with his teeth'', but that may be exaggeration). He then had his arm replaced with a bionic one and continued commanding his men. Since then he's survived multiple life-threatening injuries and his body is riddled with bionics, making him as much a machine as a man. He's as tough as a space marine and can destroy tanks with his bare hands (mechanical hands, but still, that's impressive).
*** And all this goes ''Quintuple'' for Space Marines, whose equivalent, Captain, is fully capable of going face-to-face with a ''genetically engineered, 18 foot-tall alien killing machine'' and '''winning'''.
*** And their equivalent among the Grey Knights, who are designed to eat thirty-foot suspiciously-balrog-like incarnations of the Chaos God of slaughter for lunch. Though until the Daemonhunters codex is updated, this is an example of GameplayAndStorySegregation as GK Brother-Captains technically have a Weapon Skill of 5 vs. 6 for normal SM Captains.
*** The Canonesses, leaders of the Sisters of Battle, arguably one-up the Space Marine captains because they do the same things -- only they aren't genetically modified, hormonally modified, chemically modified, all-powerful superhumans... they're just biologically ordinary humans (one of the weakest races in the galaxy) females who happen to be that damn good essentially through skill alone.
** The Tau Empire's Shas'o (lit. "Commander") are this to a man ([[GenderIsNoObject or woman]]). Even ignoring the named characters such as [[TheConqueror Farsight]] or [[TheSneakyGuy Shadowsun]], the rank structure of the Tau requires every Fire Caste soldier begin as a lowly shas'la. After four years of service, they earn the right to take on a Trial of Fire which, depending upon their sept, may be a live-action training mission of some description, a highly realistic simulation, or a real-life mission of vital importance. If the soldier is successful, he graduates to shas'ui ([[SergeantRock sergeant]]). After another four years, and another, more difficult Trial of Fire, he may attain the rank of shas'vre (lieutenant); then another four years of service and another Trial to become a shas'el or "sub-commander". Shas'el may lead Hunter Cadres, but to become shas'o he has to complete the cycle one more time. Every single shas'o has ''at minimum'' 16 years experience, in everything from footslogging to battlesuit combat; he has passed four of the nastiest, most realistic tests his superiors can imagine; he is equipped with [[MiniMecha a Crisis battlesuit]] and the best technology the Empire can provide; and as if that isn't enough he is [[BodyguardingABadass accompanied by a squad of handpicked shas'vre]].
* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', this is one of the requirement for a Star Colonel in the Clans, in which they have plenty fighting experiences, or they take it by Trial of Position from another Star Colonel.
* In the wargame ''The 20th Maine'' (later renamed [[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1694/little-round-top ''Little Round Top'']]), each of the regimental commanders (a colonel) is represented by a named piece. While they are present primarily for command and control rules, the highest ratings go to Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the 20th Maine (see under Real Life).
* In ''TabletopGame/SquadLeader'' and ''TabletopGame/AdvancedSquadLeader'' the leaders with the highest morale and biggest bonus to various die/dice rolls (10 -3) are given the rank of colonel. A few historical leaders who were not colonels at the time also get these ratings.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Col. Sawyer from ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict''. While we never see him in the field, in that scene where he is shot by [[ColdSniper sniper]] (who misses by a few inches), he is just too [[TheStoic stoic]]. And he is fluent in French, too.
** And the ExpansionPack gives us Soviet [[UsefulNotes/CommonRanks Polkovnik]] Orlovsky.
* The lieutenant colonels in the second ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' were {{Ace Pilot}}s, without exceptions. Colonel Halcyon, however, acts more as a commander rather than a pilot.
** There's Colonel Blair himself, from [=WC3=] and [=WC4=]. Having killed the most "ace" [[MegaNeko Kilrathi]] pilots in the entire three-decade war, and defeating [[TheDragon Prince Thrakhath]], ''twice'' (the second time when Blair's fighter is weighed down with the [[EarthShatteringKaboom Temblor Device]], which also halved his missile loadout), is one way of earning badass points. He later gets promoted to FourStarBadass
* Col. Corazon Santiago from ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': military genius, knows how to run a police state properly, and hot to boot.
** Also leader of a faction, and if played right, the entire world. Still, [[JustTheFirstCitizen never promotes herself above colonel]].
** In the first of the novelizations by Michael Ely (one of the writers for the game), Santiago personally leads an elite unit of her Myrmidons to storm the UN Headquarters (the Peacekeepers' home base), which has been under Spartan siege for days. Not only does this seal the base's fate, but she also ends up personally [[spoiler:killing Pravin Lal's son in revenge for him killing her son]].
* Colonel from ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' and his Net Navi counterpart in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' are both pretty awesome.
** It's required for the former, seeing as his {{Rival}} is the resident badass...
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':
** Colonel Burton, the U.S.' [[RPGElements hero unit]] in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Generals]]'' and ''Zero Hour'' kills enemy soldiers (and aircraft [[GoodBadBugs due to a bug in earlier versions]]) stealthily with his knife, sets demolition charges - he can destroy a base at once with remotes, one at a time with timed ones, and in one case, destroyed a chemical lab with one without even getting close by creating an avalanche -, [[InvisibilityCloak is hard to see]], and totes '''the''' most powerful bullet-based weapon of the game, able to kill ''even tanks''.
** Though he was only a captain during ''Renegade'', Nick "Havoc" Parker was ultimately promoted to colonel before his retirement, in spite of his antics on the battlefield.
* Col. Jade Curtiss from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. He starts out approximately 45 levels ahead of the other characters, is far stronger physically than most other black mages, and is 35 years old. In a JRPG. Still kicks the ass of a God-General after getting sealed down to the level of the rest of your party.
** Even when Jade gets hit with a Fon Slot Seal, he doesn't lose any of his awesomeness. In fact, it's by traveling with the party that he can learn the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Meteor Storm]] spell. And Indignation.
** He's also the ultimate DeadpanSnarker, and almost completely unflappable, something shown time and time again as a contrast to the other characters. His badassery isn't just in fighting, it's also in the fact that he can stand in the middle of a raging volcano and appears not to sweat. Although that could just be the ConvectionSchmonvection in effect.
* [[PsychoElectro Col. Volgin]] of the GRU from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''. Yes, he's evil. Doesn't detract one bit from his badassitude.
** Also from ''VideoGame/MetalGear'', we have Col. Roy Campbell. Even when he [[RetiredBadass retires]], Snake not only continues to respect him, he even refers to him as "Colonel"... over Campbell's explicit objections. And in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''? He gave ''orders'' to Solid Snake.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' has Heidern. He's only appeared in four of the games, and he's a freaking ''god.'' Imagine what happens when you give a character similar to [[Franchise/StreetFighter Guile]] absurd priority in attacks, the ability suck the life out of his opponents and give it to himself, and [[BadassNormal has no "magical" justification for his abilities]]. SNK developers worried people might think he was an alien or a wizard. His adopted daughter Leona takes after him quite well (and replaces him after '95). He clearly takes a few cues from the Colonel from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''.
** Technically, Ralf (who's under his command) holds the rank of Colonel as well.
* Rolento from ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' (who later appears in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'') is quite badass, and also inspired by the Colonel from ''Fist of the North Star''.
* Col. Hoffman from ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'', at least in the sequel. Prior to that, he was more of a GeneralRipper type, at least toward Marcus, until Marcus redeemed himself.
** Colonel Loomis from the prequel game ''Judgment'' is not a great leader, [[BadBoss opting to conduct a show trial in the middle of a pitched battle]], however, when the Locust invade the courthouse, he's more than willing to head to the front himself, even fighting alongside the trial's defendants against a GiantSpider.
* Maybe to appeal to players' potential {{Munchkin}} desires and knowledge of this trope - you are referred to as 'Colonel' for your military rank in ''VideoGame/EndWar''.
* ''VideoGame/XCom''
** The abilities of soldiers in the Creator/MicroProse games generally improve as they survive more missions, as does their rank depending on the number of soldiers. The rank of colonel is the second-highest in ''[[VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense UFO Defense]]'', next to the commander, which you can only get one of at any time. The rank is mostly tied to morale boosts (and losses if a high-ranking soldier gets killed), but to reach Colonel rank, a soldier has to have been through a truckload of missions where they've acted and most likely improved their skills.
** In the reboot, ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', soldiers are promoted based on their experience gain, and gain stat boosts and abilities unlocked as they do so. Colonel is ''the'' highest rank attainable, and marks an operative with the highest stats and most abilities within their class. Hell, Colonel-level abilities alone are only not game-breaking because it takes so long to get to them. And unlike in the older games, promotions aren't restricted by a hierarchy system, so [[BadassArmy all 70 spots of your barracks can be occupied by Colonels]].
* Subverted by Captain Price from ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'', who displays the amount of sheer badassitude commonly seen only in colonels, yet is still inexplicably a "mere" captain. [[spoiler:Had he not been held prisoner by the Russians for five years, though, he may have well been promoted to colonel by ''MW 2''.]]
* Colonel Hyuga from the original ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' is playable only briefly, but manages to annihilate a squadron of thugs due to his souped-up stats. He then proceeds to save an old man and befriend a child.
* Another chance for the player to pick up this trope: if you play as the United Earth Federation officer in ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander Forged Alliance'', you're referred to only as the colonel, having been promoted from Major in between the original game and the expansion. The more informal Cybrans only have two ranks that anyone ever hears about, so their player is always just commander, and the Aeon player is either Knight of the Illuminate or the Champion of the Princess, depending on where they are in the storyline. Both Cybran and Aeon players remain every bit as badass as their UEF counterpart, though.
* Colonel Augustus Autumn, ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. Autumn is not a particularly strong opponent (he is only slightly more durable than the average human, and his only armor is his ''trench coat''), and he doesn't often appear during the game. This would make you think he doesn't qualify for this trope... until you realize that the troops under his command -- which form the power-armored, plasma-rifle-wielding striking arm of the Enclave -- were so loyal to him that they, to a man, ''defected with him'' when he mutinied against the President. The. President. ''The leader of the Enclave.'' Either Autumn either has some very impressive leadership skills or everyone ''really'' hates bureaucrats.
** Additionally, he somehow survives a dose of radiation that [[spoiler:kills you no matter how many anti-rad meds you take.]]
*** Just before [[spoiler:he falls on the floor, you can see him injecting something into his arm]], maybe it's some kind of super-duper high-tech Enclave Rad-X?
* Colonel Cassandra Moore in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''. She's the commander of the garrison at Hoover Dam, within spitting distance of a massive enemy troop buildup on the east side of the dam. GeneralRipper-esque, ball-busting, credentials in the form of four campaigns against the Brotherhood of Steel during the NCR's war with them.
** She's also an ex-{{Ranger}} for added badass points.
* Col. Randall Moore from ''VideoGame/UniverseAtWar: Earth Assault'', although he gets promoted to General by the second mission. It takes a lot of badass to be a powerful hero unit when everyone else in your species is CannonFodder or, even worse, resources for the alien invaders.
* ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'': Colonel Tendon Cobar and Colonel Mael Radec are with the bad guys, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking but they're both badass enough to show you how they've earned their ranks]]. Templar, while promoted to colonel in ''Killzone 2'', doesn't quite make the cut.
* [[DragonInChief Sergei Vladimir]] from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles'', [[FormerRegimePersonnel former Soviet]] colonel and head of Umbrella Corporation's field-oriented Red Umbrella Division. Strangely, he's somewhat AffablyEvil and usually lets his bodyguards do most of the actual fighting, but even that doesn't diminish his badassery. The man pulls a gun on [[BigBad Wesker]] without flinching, transforms into a monster to try and save his employer's company, and has so much [[LargeHam presence]] that his badass status is ''never'' in doubt. No one does UndyingLoyalty quite like Sergei.
* In ''VideoGame/JustCause2'', you get to take down various colonels who carry good firepower and are MadeOfIron enough to shrug off bullets to anywhere except [[BoomHeadshot the face]].
* ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'' gives us a USAF Colonel for the protagonist and a Russian Colonel for the antagonist.
* Colonel Relius Clover of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''. Puppeteer extraordinary and is one of the people that is quite possibly the closest one that can be said to be Hazama's superior other than the Imperator. And he's a gigantic scum.
** ''Chronophantasma'' includes Colonel Kagura Mutsuki, who's not only the leader of the highest clan amongst the NOL Duodecim... but also a surprisingly pleasant dude. To fill in the badass part, he {{Curb Stomp|Battle}}s Ragna and fights Noel/Mu-12 on equal terms.
* Colonel Sanger Zonvolt of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' fame. Pilot of a giant mech, a German samurai and all-round badass. What's not to like about this guy?
* Lt. Colonel Burns of ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'' is a massive dude with cybernetics up the wazoo touting a big ol' minigun as his main weapon.
* The BigBad of ''{{VideoGame/Contra}} Hard Corps'', Colonel Bahamut is a [[FallenHero Disgraced war hero]] who plans to take over the world by using Alien DNA. Perhaps the best example of the Colonel's badassness is the [[MultipleEndings path]] where he fights the player while wearing a [[RightHandOfDoom gigantic claw arm]].
** A younger version of him is the star of the prequel ''VideoGame/HardCorpsUprising''.
* Jax from the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series fits this trope to a tee, despite being a Major.
* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', the rank of "Legate" fills a niche that resembles Colonel (in the regard of "highest ranked line officer"). Legate Rikke fits the bill of [[ColonelBadass Legate Badass]], and if you side with the Empire in the civil war, you eventually are promoted to Legate as well.
* Pit, as of ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' is the Captain of the Guard for Palutena, and he leads the charge against all of her enemies (and he even points out at one point that he's an officer, not just an enlisted man). The sheer number of foes he rips through (including the top generals of the Forces of Nature and [[spoiler: [[EveryoneHatesHades Hades, the god of the underworld himself]]]]) cements his badass credentials as well.
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', Elma was a Colonel of the [[OneWorldOrder Coalition]] forces prior to Earth's destruction. Her combat prowess is nigh-legendary, and the [=BLADEs=] that served under her back then still address her by the title out of respect.
* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesIII'' has Kurt Irving, leader of the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Nameless Squadron]].
** He also ends up becoming the highest ranking soldier in ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' where he leads the party in one stage.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel III'' has Colonel Neithardt, who was promoted between ''II'' and ''III'' and is the TheAce of the strongest army of the empire, the [[BadassArmy Fourth Armored Division]].
* Colonel Moscardó, a major character in ''VideoGame/COD2SpanishCivilWarMod''. Defiantly refuses to surrender the Alcazar despite the enemy having an overwhelming advantage and threatening to murder his son held in their captivity.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Zephyr Crow of ''Webcomic/TheWanderingOnes'' Definitely qualifies for this trope; she is [[SuperSoldier faster and stronger]] than the Special Forces men she trains[[spoiler:, and before that, she and her husband single-handedly killed the leaders of over 35 Kilabyker gangs]].
* ''Webcomic/AirForceBlues'': Col Alvis "Minnie" Gunnar and Lt. Col. Mike "Deadlock" Rowland.
* Commander Badass of ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'' was literally created by the [[BuffySpeak space future]] military to be this, hence the name.
* Maxima of ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'' is a Colonel in the US Air Force, [[HeroesRUs Arc-SWAT's]] field commander, and the strongest (heroic) superhuman in the setting.
%%* Colonel Thomas Knowlton in ''Webcomic/TheDreamer''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'' has Colonel Arthur Clarke, commanding officer of the Raptors, an elite military unit tasked with chasing down and arresting (or killing) draft-dodging Werewolves and Mages, as well as other secret operations. His successor, Colonel Andrea Treschi, is quite the badass himself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Colonel Blitzer, Head of Warfare in ''WebVideo/CoyleCommand''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Lt. J.T. Marsh in ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' gets promoted to Wing Commander around the time he becomes acknowledged as the single best AcePilot of the Solar System. Wg.Cdr. is the air force equivalent of infantry's Lt.Col.
* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill's'' Cotton Hill. The guy took ''fiddy'' bullets to the back while lost at sea, managed to survive an ambush by an island full of Japanese troops, then proceeded to kill all of them with a piece of one of his deceased friends even though both his shins were blown off by machine-gun fire; thus completes his famous deed of having killed ''fiddy'' men during WWII.
** The time he took out a Japanese machine-gun nest by hiding in a barrel of sake, holding his breath until the guards got drunk, then leaping out and 'hibachi-ing' the entire group by blowing sake out over his zippo.
** Cotton is more of a subversion. True, he lost his shins, but his story...just ''doesn't'' add up. He mentioned Fatty was killed by sharks...yet he then mentions he used Fatty to beat the life out of the Japanese. Also, he claims to have fought in both Munich and Okinawa in just mere days of each other. He's more a SmallNameBigEgo than anything.
*** As Hank pointed out to Peggy, even though Cotton is fond of exaggerating his accomplishments he is ''still'' the greatest war hero Arlen had ever seen. Cotton was awarded a Medal of Honor, after all, and we know he was in the 77th Division which fought in Guam, Okinawa and the Philippines, all of which have been cited by Cotton as locations he fought at.
*** All that needs to be said: When he came back from the war, his ''shins were gone''. Colonel Badass through and through.
* WesternAnimation/StarComTheUSSpaceForce: Dash, Slim, and Crowbar are all colonels, and they're all pretty badass, but it's actually subverted because this trope is more about being a badass ''commander,'' while the main trio are rarely seen commanding lower-ranked personnel.
* ''WesternAnimation/TennesseeTuxedoAndHisTales'': If any of Commander [=McBragg=]'s tales are true (which is highly debatable), he would definitely qualify.
* Just about all of the Clone Commanders in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', but perhaps with emphasis on Captain CT-7567 'Rex', especially since he would go on to become an officer in the Phoenix Squadron Rebel Cell for [[LaResistance The Rebel Alliance]].
* Colonel K, the superior to WesternAnimation/DangerMouse, has many accomplishments to his credit (piano throwing, climbing Mt. Everest on a pogo stick, etc.), and his mission orders are ironclad. It gets subverted sometimes as he can be as addled as DM's assistant Penfold.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The little-advertised fact about Vladimir Putin is that he is a colonel of the reserve. And he's a black belt in judo.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Skorzeny Otto Skorzeny]]. Played in [[ThoseWackyNazis Team Evil]], but remained badass until his death.
** His badassitude is even greater in Creator/HarryTurtledove's ''Literature/{{Worldwar}}'' books, merrily going up against a superior alien foe. During one battle, when a [[LizardFolk Race]] [[CoolTank landcruiser]] is blasting everything and everyone in the vicinity, he waltzes up to it and throws a satchel charge in-between the turret and the chassis. He also ends up liberating Mussolini right from under the lizards' snouts. And yes, the lizards speak his name as a curse.
** Possibly averted and based on good publicity; most of Skorzeny's missions were failures, and the famous rescue of Mussolini's was largely someone else's plan which Skorzeny got credit for (and apparently got in the way rather than helping during the actual operation).
* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington was a colonel during his time fighting for the British during the French and Indian War, and his badass exploits earned him enough distinction to be appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolution, which in turn helped get him elected as the first President of the United States.
* Washington's protege UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton became a colonel during the revolution. His contemporaries (including his mistress) referred to him as Colonel Hamilton throughout his civilian career. He didn't do many badass things during the war, but his life included such highlights as founding America's first bank, building the treasury department, creating the Coast Guard, and helping suppress the Whiskey Rebellion.
* Lt. Col. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill Jack Churchill]]. The man who fought the Nazis with a bow, arrows, and a claymore. The Germans eventually captured him by killing his entire commando squad with mortar fire; when they finally moved in, they found him sitting there, alone, playing the bagpipes. He got sent to two different concentration camps:[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachsenhausen_concentration_camp#Notable_inmates_and_victims_during_German_period Sachsenhausen]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp Dachau]], and escaping both times. When he returned to Britain ready to go back to the battlefield, the war ended, and that pissed him off.
* Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Son of the first Black general in the U.S. Armed Forces, he led a WWII fighter plane group known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The baddest fighter pilots in damn near any war. Oh, and he was the first Black general in the U.S. Air Force. Coming from military roots, his dad was the first US black general, period -- and he started as a private.
* Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonatan_Netanyahu Jonathan Netanyahu]][[note]]yes, ''[[UsefulNotes/BenjaminNetanyahu that]]'' Netanyahu's brother[[/note]] of the [[UsefulNotes/IsraelisWithInfraredMissiles Israeli Defense Forces]], who, among other things, led the ground team during the Entebbe Airport Raid to rescue the hostages of an Air France flight. He [[HeroicSacrifice died in the attempt]] (and was the ''only'' military Israeli fatality of the raid) and is a national hero in Israel.
* Colonel Avi Peled commander of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golani_Brigade Golani Infantry brigade]], who after having a building collapse on top of him and 20 of his soldiers after a tank shell hit it by accident, took over the evacuation process of all of his injured soldiers despite being wounded himself, was the last one evacuated to a hospital, and then returned to the battlefield ''the very next day''.
* Colonel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_von_Stauffenberg Claus von Stauffenberg]] was a decorated war hero before he masterminded the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot July 20, 1944 plot]]. Also a HandicappedBadass, though this handicap is thought to have been one factor in the plot's ultimate failure.
* The famous Special Operations division Delta Force was founded by Colonel Charles Beckwith. He was badass enough to take a .50 cal round through the torso and survive with only basic medical aid (as the doctors couldn't waste time on someone who was "clearly" going to die).
* Lt. Colonel James Doolittle of the famous Doolittle Raids.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_D._Gregory Colonel Frederick Drew Gregory]], USAF, retired. The first Black man to pilot the space shuttle, and the first to command a space shuttle mission. This makes him TheCaptain, an AcePilot, and a ColonelBadass, all in one.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller Chesty Puller]] of the US Marine Corps and namesake of the Corps' bulldog mascot. He's also the most decorated Marine in the history of the Corps, with a long history that has achieved MemeticMutation level amongst Marines.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Smith_(Australian_soldier) Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith]], Australian Army. Known for his real-life ConservationOfNinjutsu at the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Tan Battle of Long Tan]] in the Vietnam War.
* [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/reusser.html Ken Reusser]], a USMC fighter pilot in three different wars (UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, UsefulNotes/{{Korea|nWar}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Vietnam|War}}), who retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel. Probably one of the most badass feats he performed was downing a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft that was reporting on US positions for Kamikaze attacks, flying about 1000 feet above the theoretical ceiling of its pursuers. Him and his wingman both had their guns malfunction, so they used the props of their [=F4U=] Corsairs to chew up the Japanese aircraft's tail to take it down.
* Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, A.K.A. ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia''.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hackworth Colonel David Hackworth]] (retired, deceased), also known as the most decorated US Army Officer of the 20th century. He was awarded 110 separate medals, of which the following were for heroism: ''eight'' Purple Hearts, ''two'' Distinguished Service Crosses, ''ten'' Silver Stars, ''seven'' Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Valorous Unit Award. He served in 12 separate wars, from the end of World War II right through to conflict in Yugoslavia. His initial request to be deployed in the Vietnam War was turned down because he had ''too much'' combat experience.
* Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain commanded the 20th Maine during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar and was in charge of the Union left flank at the Battle of Gettysburg, day two. He is best known for calling "BAYONETS!" and ordering a charge downhill into the Confederate lines when his men ran out of ammo. It worked. The Union won. Later [[RankUp promoted to Brigadier General]] in recognition of his competence and badassery--[[FourStarBadass which he persisted in nevertheless]].
* Aided by his father, a former Wisconsin governor and current Wisconsin court judge, Arthur [=MacArthur=] managed to secure himself an officer's commission in the Union Army in 1862 at the age of 17. He quickly proved he deserved it, as he went on to see action at Chickamauga, Stones River, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Franklin. During the Chattanooga Campaign, [=MacArthur=] inspired his regiment by seizing and planting the regimental flag on the crest of Missionary Ridge at a particularly critical moment, shouting "On Wisconsin." For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor and a promotion to Colonel at the age of 19, earning himself the nickname "the boy Colonel". He went on to survive being severely wounded by a rebel officer's pistol at the battle of Franklin, and would spend a total of 47 years in the army, retiring in 1909 at the rank of Lt. General. Yet despite all this, he was largely overshadowed by his son UsefulNotes/{{Douglas|MacArthur}}, who commanded U.S. Army forces in the Pacific during World War 2.
* Colonel John S. Mosby of the Confederate Army earned the nickname "The Gray Ghost" for his ability to conduct daring cavalry raids deep behind Union lines and then simply melt away into the civilian population. Even as the war dragged on and much of Northern Virginia fell into Union hands, that area would still be known as "Mosby's Confederacy" as he would continue to conduct operations there with near-complete impunity. Despite being seriously wounded twice, Mosby survived the war and lived until 1916 at the age of 82.
* Colonel Hiram Berdan joined the Union Army in 1861. A highly skilled marksman and engineer before the war, Berdan immediately went to work recruiting the best shooters he could find for a new elite sniper unit, the 1st United States Sharpshooters (nicknamed Berdan's sharpshooters). Forced to pass rigorous marksmanship tests to gain entry, Berdan's sharpshooters were given distinctive green uniforms and equipped with high tech (for the time) rifles, such as the Colt Revolving Rifle and the Sharps rifle, often equipped with telescopic sights. Berdan's sharpshooters quickly became feared and respected as one of the most elite units in the Union army throughout the war.
* Confederate Colonel John B Gordon, who joined the army with no prior military experience, earned himself a promotion to General for his actions at the 1862 Battle of Antietam, where he continued to lead his men after suffering two shots to his leg, one shot to the arm, and one in the shoulder before finally going down when a bullet passed through his cheek and exited out his jaw. Not only did Gordon survive all these wounds, but he was back in action just a few months later. Despite all these injuries and an additional head wound in 1864, Gordon managed to serve on for the entire duration of the war.
* Colonel John T. Wilder. Wilder joined the Union Army as a Captain in 1861 and saw his first major action when commanding a small garrison at Munfordville, Kentucky during the Confederate invasion of the state. When faced with an attack from a much larger Confederate Army, Wilder initially rejected their surrender demands, telling Confederate General James Chalmers "I think we'll fight for a while." The following day, Wilder's garrison repulsed the Confederate attack, inflicting 283 casualties with a loss of 37. Eventually forced to surrender to overwhelming numbers, Wilder was released in a prisoner exchange and went on to form the "Lightning Brigade", an elite unit of mounted infantry armed with state of the art 7-shot Spencer repeating rifles, which would go on to achieve great success and glory during the Chickamauga campaign.
* Colonels Leonard Wood and UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry ("Rough Riders"). Badasses both.
* Colonel Rick Rescorla - Served in Africa with the British Army, joined the US army in the mid-1960s and served in Vietnam, one of the hero's of the Battle of Ia Drang. He led the evacuations of both World Trade Center attacks and was killed on 9/11 going back in with three subordinates to attempt to save the last 2 missing employees of Morgan Stanley, for whom he was the Head of Security at the World Trade Center. He succeeded in getting the other 2700 employees safely out, singing "Men of Harlech" over a megaphone in the process.
* Lt. Colonel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dutton_Frost John Frost]] was the British Army's go-to guy for impossible airborne missions. After proving himself by stealing a German radar station from occupied France, Frost went on to perform similarly daring missions in North Africa and Sicily. However, his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome came during the Battle of Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden where he was tasked with securing the Arnhem Bridge. Although ultimately doomed by the poorly conceived operation, John Frost and a small force of some 400 lightly armed paratroopers managed to penetrate German lines and seize the north end of the bridge where he held out against a German SS Panzer division for 4 days until finally being forced to surrender due to lack of ammunition. Lt. Col. Frost was later depicted in a movie and Arnhem Bridge was renamed in his honor. He finished his military career as a Field-Marshal and commander-in-chief of British armed forces.
* Lieutenant Commander [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dalzel-Job Patrick Dalzel-Job]]. His rank equates closer to Major, but nevertheless his Naval Intelligence Commando unit (British Navy [=SEALs=]) stormed German targets four days after D-Day and disabled a German destroyer at port (with its whole crew compliment) and then captured the town of Bremen. His boss was Creator/IanFleming, and many consider him one of the models for Literature/JamesBond.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Tye Titus Cornelius]] was a former Black slave who fought in the American Revolution for the British. Although the British did not allow Blacks to be officers, let alone reach the rank of Colonel, he nevertheless was known and referred to as Colonel Tye. His guerilla-tactics were legendarily effective, even so far as helping hold off [[FourStarBadass George Washington]] troops in their first siege of New York. Most historians agree that had he been white (and, y'know, not fought for the British) he'd have been far more famous today. There is a rumor that his name inspired a certain other ColonelBadass from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_L._Burke Lloyd L. Burke]] received the Medal of Honor in the Korean war for his actions at Hill 200. He was on his way home when he heard his platoon was pinned down so he went back to them. After assessing the situation he stormed a Chinese trench with a pistol and a hand grenade. After using those up, he got out and grabbed a Browning 1919, ignored the shrapnel that shredded his hand, wrapped his jacket around the hot barrel, wrapped the ammunition belt around his body, lifted the 31-pound machine gun (normally used on a tripod), and proceeded to storm the trench again. He was only a Lieutenant at the time, but he achieved the rank of Colonel before he retired, so he counts.
* Many of [[https://www.badassoftheweek.com/ataturk Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's]] claims to badassitude occurred when he was a Colonel in the reserves, in particular defending the key pass whose loss would have probably made the Gallipoli campaign in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI succeed. Even after the Ottoman Empire ultimately lost, he continued being a badass as a soldier and then the founder of modern Turkey, until he died.
* Colonel David Randolph Scott, seventh man on the moon and the only Air Force pilot to actually pilot a moon landing (the rest of the Apollo commanders were Navy men).
** Also survived the near-loss of Gemini 8 with Neil Armstrong due to steel nerves and badass piloting. On the other hand, he got in trouble for trying to profit off Apollo 15 by selling souvenirs.
* Lieutenant Colonel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_U._D._Page John U. D. Page]], an artillery officer who served in the Korean War and received the Medal of Honor for his actions. In just 12 days of combat service, he singlehandedly took out an enemy MG nest, commanded tanks while also acting as a tank machine gunner , performed an aerial attack with hand grenades in an unarmed observation plane, and saved an ambushed logistics regiment from their Chinese attackers. In this last action, he was eventually killed, but not before taking at least 16 enemy soldiers with him.
* Colonel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin Buzz Aldrin]] (USAF), the second man to land on the Moon (but not the highest-ranked officer to ever walk on the Moon - that's Alan Shepard or Charles Duke), and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUFO8AGMwic effective silencer of Moon landing hoax advocates]]. Other Colonels who've landed on the Moon include David Scott and James Irwin - the rest are divided between Navy Captains and civilians.
* Lt. Colonel [[https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B4%D1%8C,_%D0%90%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%92%D1%8F%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 Anatoly Lebed']]. 29 years of service, first as a [[ItsRainingMen paratrooper]] in Afghanistan, then entered an officers school, flew a helicopter there, first as a tech, then as a pilot until his retirement. But as he couldn't imagine himself as anyone but soldier, when Chechen war started he literally [[TenMinuteRetirement reenlisted himself]] (flying into Chechnya on his own with his own gear), was accepted, then served again as a paratrooper officer and got a reputation as FatherToHisMen there. Then he got blown on a mine, had his foot amputated, but returned to duty in just one year [[HandicappedBadass on a prosthesis]]. Then, to up the ante, when his patrol got ambushed, he reportedly covered a wounded soldier with his body, [[MadeOfIron suffering a shrapnel wound]], proceeding to [[ImplacableMan completely ignore it]] until his unit got back to safety. The guy's also an accomplished engineer, [[MrFixit designing and building]] a lot of his unit[[note]]The legendary 45'th ORP [=SpN=] VDV, which is as close to Russian Army admitting the unit being the part of the feared GRU Spetsnaz as it gets[[/note]] equipment and gear, like the combat buggies and such. Like Lawrence of Arabia, Lebed' died far from the battlefield, in a high-speed motorcycle crash in 2012.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Jones Lt. Colonel Herbert Jones]] VC OBE. During the Falklands War, his battalion was stalled under heavy small-arms fire from entrenched positions and being further pinned by increasing artillery fire. Realizing that he couldn't afford to lose momentum, Lt. Colonel H. Jones charged the fortified enemy position under concentrated fire, getting knocked back once, but continuing [[HeroicSacrifice until he died]] feet from the enemy. His men later charged, galvanized by his sacrifice. The enemy surrendered due to the heroics he displayed personally and simultaneously inspired in his men.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh]], a colonel in the Army Air Force, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic, and combat veteran of World War II (even though at that point he was a civilian).
* Colonel Dave Belote, base commander of Nellis AFB and five-time ''Jeopardy!'' champion.
* Lieutenant Colonel Danny [=McKnight=] of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He was deployed to Somalia and participated in the infamous Battle of Mogadishu, in which seventeen American Soldiers died and hundreds of Somali militia were killed. LTC [=McKnight=] was famous for not taking cover when he got shot at, figuring that if he got killed, God wanted him in heaven. Also in the movie.
* Claire Lee Chennault, commander of the [[EagleSquadron Flying Tigers]] held the rank of Colonel in the US Army Air Force, then the Chinese Air Force, and then again in the USAAF before he was promoted to Brigadier General in 1942.
* [[http://www.militarymuseum.org/Ortiz.html Colonel Peter Julien Ortiz, USMC]]. Though he didn't get promoted to Colonel until after UsefulNotes/WW2, Ortiz had an enormous amount of combat experience and badassitude, too much to list here so this entry will be restricted to one notable incident. He was operating with an OSS team in France over a year before the Normandy invasion and would openly wear his USMC uniform in rural areas and in towns, a fact which cheered the French but drew the attention of the occupying German forces. One particular incident involves some German soldiers at a café in a French town boasting about what they were going to do to him when they found him. Ortiz strolled into the cafe, wearing a freaking cape, whereby he threw the cape back to reveal his US Marine uniform and a .45 pistol in each hand. He took out the enemy soldiers and was long gone by the time any reinforcements showed up.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wintle Lt.Col. Alfred Wintle]]. Talked a dying soldier out of a scarlet fever-induced coma, was arrested for trying to steal a plane ''and signed his own arrest warrant'', was captured by Vichy French whereupon he informed his captors it was his duty to escape...and did.
* Subverted with UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi. Though [[PropagandaMachine state media]] made him out to be this, as is common of a dictatorship, in practice he went down rather quickly once [[LaResistance the rebels]] got their hands on him.
** Admittedly, by then he was 69 years old. However, he didn't really do anything particularly badass even when he was younger. In fact, he lost pretty much every war he participated in...
** Also, his rank was a self-granted promotion after he led a coup and installed himself as dictator...[[DoubleSubverted the highest rank he had legitimately held in the Libyan Army before the coup was Captain]].
* In an aversion, "colonel" was for a long time simply the "constitutional monarch" (so to speak) of a given regiment (originally meaning mercenary unit on permanent contract to TheGovernment from the Latin ''regimentum''). He, or she on rare occasions, might indeed be a badass, but their badassery and their colonelcy were unrelated. That is because, in several armies, a regiment was a ceremonial and administrative unit rather than a tactical unit, and the highest rank to go into battle specifically as a member of a given regiment was Lt Colonel. General officers in the British army often retained colonelcies for much of their career, but this was a ceremonial position. For instance, General Killalot might also be Colonel of the Duke of Earl's own fusiliers, but his only relation would be to pay for the band or the silverware or whatnot.
* US Air Force Colonel [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stapp John Stapp]], hands down. In the interest of science, he [[ProfessorGuineaPig strapped himself]] to a rocket sled and ended up subjecting himself to a force '''46.2 times the force of gravity and lived'''. At the time, it was believed that 18 G was fatal. Basically, his work showed that as long as the human body is properly restrained, it can take a lot more Gs than first expected. He also felt that it was possible to go higher if the person was facing backwards (the 46.2G run was forwards). He ended up applying his rocket sled research to cars and lobbying to make seat belts mandatory in all vehicles, saving countless lives.
* Colonel Colin Mitchell, who ignored direct orders and restored British prestige by recapturing the city of Aden in 1968, in the counter-insurgency war prior to Aden's independence from the British Empire. Communist rebels had previously disregarded British forces as weak and ineffectual. Most of this perception was down to flawed orders from an out-of-touch government keen to avoid conflict and appease the natives. "Mad Mitch" Mitchell's aggressive action changed all this and his show of force scared the rebels and insurgents into relative quiet.
* Yugoslav partisan Colonel Sava Kovačević had a reputation for great personal courage. Highlights include single-handedly capturing an Italian tankette without using any anti-tank weapon, leading an infantry assault that destroyed another three Italian tankettes by leaping onto them and attaching explosives and making daring raids behind enemy lines. His career was cut short when he was gunned down during the partisan breakthrough from German encirclement at the Sutjeska River, June 1943.
* The late, great, Marine Col. John Glenn, who was an {{ace pilot}} before becoming the first American in orbit and much later, the oldest man in space.
* While commanding the 8th Fighter Wing in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]], Col. UsefulNotes/RobinOlds gained far more fame for his hard-charging leadership style and innovative tactics than he had as a [[AcePilot double ace with 12 aerial victories in]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (he shot down another 4 [=MiGs=] in Vietnam). Olds later retired as a [[FourStarBadass Brigadier General]], but is still best remembered for his command of the 8th Wing...and for the mustache he sported during that time.
* Although Cândido Mariano [[MeaningfulName da Silva]] Rondon ultimately reached the rank of marshal in the Brazilian Army, he carried out his most badass achievements while still a colonel. To wit:
** He led the construction of over 5,000 km of telegraph lines through southern and western Brazil, including what was then TheWildWest, but also many areas that no "civilized" Brazilian had been before (or at least, had not returned from).
** He established peaceful relations with tribes such as the Nambikwara and Bororo (following the motto [[BadassPacifist "Die if necessary, but never kill"]]), and remained a lifelong advocate for protecting natives' rights and cultures.
** Along with UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt, he led an expedition down the then-unknown "River of Doubt" (''Rio da Dúvida'') in 1914. Although the expedition had been poorly planned from the standpoint of equipment and logistics, Rondon's wilderness expertise--and his decision to have another officer come upriver from the Amazon as far as possible, just in case--ended up making the difference between life and death for most of the men.
* Agustín de Iturbide of México. Nicknamed El Dragón de Hierro, or the Iron Dragoon, he never lost a battle in four years of the Mexican War of Independence, often defeated greater forces than his own, once repelled the entry of 500 foot soldiers with just 34 of his dragoons, and with just his dragoons by his side dealt defeat to the greatest enemy general, José María Morelos, thought to be almost invincible at the time. As a royalist dragoon, he climbed the ranks but was most attached to his rank of Colonel of the Celaya Regiment. He would go on to liberate México almost single-handedly, acquiring the ranks of General, Admiral, and Generalissimo along the way, and even being elected as Emperor, but always wore his Colonel uniform, even to his crowning.
* Some Civil War historians credit the early success of the South in the American Civil War to superior leadership. In support of this trope, the North managed to collect every single pre-war general bar one (Joseph E. Johnston), leaving the South almost no one higher than Colonel including their eventual supreme commander, Robert E. Lee.
* Kentucky has a program for honoring civilians with the title of Colonel, and yes that is how Harland Sander's of KFC fame got the title. Many of the Kentucky Colonel titles are given to military veterans as well as a recognition for their service. Frontiersman Daniel Boone is another historic holder of a Kentucky Colonel title, and probably the most famous Kentucky Colonel besides the fried chicken guy. However, the badassery of the title of Colonel has lost some of its luster in present day Kentucky with the state having awarded at least ''85,000'' titles to various citizens, with the joke being Colonels are a dime a dozen in the state.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'':

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' has Heidern. He's only appeared in four of the games, and he's a freaking ''god.'' Imagine what happens when you give a character similar to [[StreetFighter Guile]] absurd priority in attacks, the ability suck the life out of his opponents and give it to himself, and [[BadassNormal has no "magical" justification for his abilities]]. SNK developers worried people might think he was an alien or a wizard. His adopted daughter Leona takes after him quite well (and replaces him after '95). He clearly takes a few cues from the Colonel from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''.

** In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]], he even beats the [[spoiler:[[PuttingOnTheReich Führer]], another example of him taking down a Homunculus]].

* in Terry Mancour's ''Literature/TheSpellmongerSeries'', Bold Asgus, Commander of the Orohan's band. He oozes command and confidence. Proficient with almost all weapons, he is a one man wave of death on the field of battle. The man launched himself onto a troll and killed it with one hit. [[UpToEleven then he dismounted into a double decapitation of nearby Mooks]]

* Taken UpToEleven in the BBC ''Series/EdgeOfDarkness'', where all the spooks seem to be colonels.

* Colonel [[BaldBlackLeaderGuy Cedric Daniels]] in ''Series/TheWire''. He starts as a Lieutenant, and becomes MajorlyAwesome, ColonelBadass, and finally DaChief, before realizing he doesn't want to be at the head of such a flawed police department. [[spoiler: the fact that he immediately starts getting blackmailed doesn't help. He quits and becomes a lawyer.]]

* There is a Russian movie named ''The Apocalypse Code'', one of the better Russian action movies, actually, whose protagonist is an ActionGirl (bordering ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl) serving in the Russian special forces. Obviously, she is a colonel. Which is revealed just before she gets ''serious'', [[RuleOfCool topping all her previous stunts]].

* Commander Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. in ''Series/{{JAG}}''. Lieutenant Colonel Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie would also qualify.

* The British Army Colonel character played by Graham Chapman on ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''. He can come in and put a stop to a sketch when he thinks it's getting too silly or out of control!

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skorzeny Otto Skorzeny]]. Played in [[ThoseWackyNazis Team Evil]], but remained badass until his death.

* George Washington was a colonel during his time fighting for the British during the French and Indian War, and his badass exploits earned him enough distinction to be appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolution, which in turn helped get him elected as the first President of the United States.
* Washington's protege Alexander Hamilton became a colonel during the revolution. His contemporaries (including his mistress) referred to him as Colonel Hamilton throughout his civilian career. He didn't do many badass things during the war, but his life included such highlights as founding America's first bank, building the treasury department, creating the Coast Guard, and helping suppress the Whiskey Rebellion.
* Lt.Col [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Churchill Jack Churchill]]. The man who fought the Nazis with a bow, arrows, and a claymore. The Germans eventually captured him by killing his entire commando squad with mortar fire; when they finally moved in, they found him sitting there, alone, playing the bagpipes. He got sent to two different concentration camps:[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachsenhausen_concentration_camp#Notable_inmates_and_victims_during_German_period Sachsenhausen]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachau_concentration_camp Dachau]], and escaping both times. When he returned to Britain ready to go back to the battlefield, the war ended, and that pissed him off.
* Lt.Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Son of the first Black general in the U.S. Armed Forces, he led a WWII fighter plane group known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The baddest fighter pilots in damn near any war. Oh, and he was the first Black general in the U.S. Air Force. Coming from military roots, his dad was the first US black general, period -- and he started as a private.
* Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonatan_Netanyahu Jonathan Netanyahu]] of the Israeli Defense Forces, who, among other things, led the ground team during the Entebbe Airport Raid to rescue the hostages of an Air France flight. He [[HeroicSacrifice died in the attempt]] (and was the ''only'' military Israeli fatality of the raid) and is a national hero in Israel.
* Colonel Avi Peled commander of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golani_Brigade Golani Infantry brigade]], who after having a building collapse on top of him and 20 of his soldiers after a tank shell hit it by accident, took over the evacuation process of all of his injured soldiers despite being wounded himself, was the last one evacuated to a hospital, and then returned to the battlefield ''the very next day''.
* Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_von_Stauffenberg Claus von Stauffenberg]] was a decorated war hero before he masterminded the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_20_Plot July 20, 1944 plot]]. Also a HandicappedBadass, though this handicap is thought to have been one factor in the plot's ultimate failure.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_D._Gregory Colonel Frederick Drew Gregory]], USAF, retired. The first Black man to pilot the space shuttle, and the first to command a space shuttle mission. This makes him TheCaptain, an AcePilot, and a ColonelBadass, all in one.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesty_Puller Chesty Puller]] of the US Marine Corps and namesake of the Corps' bulldog mascot. He's also the most decorated Marine in the history of the Corps, with a long history that has achieved MemeticMutation level amongst Marines.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Smith_(Australian_soldier) Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith]], Australian Army. Known for his real-life ConservationOfNinjutsu at the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Long_Tan Battle of Long Tan]] in the Vietnam War.
* [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/reusser.html Ken Reusser]], a USMC fighter pilot in three different wars (UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, UsefulNotes/KoreanWar, and UsefulNotes/VietnamWar), who retired from the Marine Corps as a colonel. Probably one of the most badass feats he performed was downing a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft that was reporting on US positions for Kamikaze attacks, flying about 1000 feet above the theoretical ceiling of its pursuers. Him and his wingman both had their guns malfunction, so they used the props of their [=F4U=] Corsairs to chew up the Japanese aircraft's tail to take it down.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hackworth Colonel David Hackworth]] (retired, deceased), also known as the most decorated US Army Officer of the 20th century. He was awarded 110 separate medals, of which the following were for heroism: ''eight'' Purple Hearts, ''two'' Distinguished Service Crosses, ''ten'' Silver Stars, ''seven'' Bronze Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Valorous Unit Award. He served in 12 separate wars, from the end of World War II right through to conflict in Yugoslavia. His initial request to be deployed in the Vietnam War was turned down because he had ''too much'' combat experience.

* Aided by his father, a former Wisconsin governor and current Wisconsin court judge, Arthur [=MacArthur=] managed to secure himself an officer's commission in the Union Army in 1862 at the age of 17. He quickly proved he deserved it, as he went on to see action at Chickamauga, Stones River, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Franklin. During the Chattanooga Campaign, [=MacArthur=] inspired his regiment by seizing and planting the regimental flag on the crest of Missionary Ridge at a particularly critical moment, shouting "On Wisconsin." For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor and a promotion to Colonel at the age of 19, earning himself the nickname "the boy Colonel". He went on to survive being severely wounded by a rebel officer's pistol at the battle of Franklin, and would spend a total of 47 years in the army, retiring in 1909 at the rank of Lt. General. Yet despite all this, he was largely overshadowed by his son Douglas, who commanded U. S. Army forces in the Pacific during World War 2.

* Colonels Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry ("Rough Riders"). Badasses both.
* Colonel Rick Rescorla - Served in Africa with the British Army, joined the US army in the mid-1960s and served in Vietnam, one of the hero's of the Battle of Ia Drang. He led the evacuations of both World Trade Center attacks and was killed on 9/11 going back in with three subordinates to attempt to save the last 2 missing employees of Morgan Stanley, for whom he was the Head of Security at the World Trade Centre. He succeeded in getting the other 2700 employees safely out, singing "Men of Harlech" over a megaphone in the process.
* Lt. Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dutton_Frost John Frost]] was the British Army's go-to guy for impossible airborne missions. After proving himself by stealing a German radar station from occupied France, Frost went on to perform similarly daring missions in North Africa and Sicily. However, his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome came during the Battle of Arnhem as part of Operation Market Garden where he was tasked with securing the Arnhem Bridge. Although ultimately doomed by the poorly conceived operation, John Frost and a small force of some 400 lightly armed paratroopers managed to penetrate German lines and seize the north end of the bridge where he held out against a German SS Panzer division for 4 days until finally being forced to surrender due to lack of ammunition. Lt. Col. Frost was later depicted in a movie and Arnhem Bridge was renamed in his honor. He finished his military career as a Field-Marshal and commander-in-chief of British armed forces.
* Lieutenant Commander [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dalzel-Job Patrick Dalzel-Job]]. His rank equates closer to Major, but nevertheless his Naval Intelligence Commando unit (British Navy [=SEALs=]) stormed German targets four days after D-Day and disabled a German destroyer at port (with its whole crew compliment) and then captured the town of Bremen. His boss was Creator/IanFleming, and many consider him one of the models for Literature/JamesBond.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonel_Tye Titus Cornelius]] was a former Black slave who fought in the American Revolution for the British. Although the British did not allow Blacks to be officers, let alone reach the rank of Colonel, he nevertheless was known and referred to as Colonel Tye. His guerilla-tactics were legendarily effective, even so far as helping hold off [[FourStarBadass George Washington]] troops in their first siege of New York. Most historians agree that had he been white (and, y'know, not fought for the British) he'd have been far more famous today. There is a rumor that his name inspired a certain other ColonelBadass from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_L._Burke Lloyd L. Burke]] received the Medal of Honor in the Korean war for his actions at Hill 200. He was on his way home when he heard his platoon was pinned down so he went back to them. After assessing the situation he stormed a Chinese trench with a pistol and a hand grenade. After using those up, he got out and grabbed a Browning 1919, ignored the shrapnel that shredded his hand, wrapped his jacket around the hot barrel, wrapped the ammunition belt around his body, lifted the 31-pound machine gun (normally used on a tripod), and proceeded to storm the trench again. He was only a Lieutenant at the time, but he achieved the rank of Colonel before he retired, so he counts.

* Lieutenant Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_U._D._Page John U. D. Page]], an artillery officer who served in the Korean War and received the Medal of Honor for his actions. In just 12 days of combat service, he singlehandedly took out an enemy MG nest, commanded tanks while also acting as a tank machine gunner , performed an aerial attack with hand grenades in an unarmed observation plane, and saved an ambushed logistics regiment from their Chinese attackers. In this last action, he was eventually killed, but not before taking at least 16 enemy soldiers with him.
* Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin Buzz Aldrin]] (USAF), the second man to land on the Moon (but not the highest-ranked officer to ever walk on the Moon - that's Alan Shepard or Charles Duke), and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUFO8AGMwic effective silencer of Moon landing hoax advocates]]. Other Colonels who've landed on the Moon include David Scott and James Irwin - the rest are divided between Navy Captains and civilians.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Jones Lt. Colonel Herbert Jones]] VC OBE. During the Falklands War, his battalion was stalled under heavy small-arms fire from entrenched positions and being further pinned by increasing artillery fire. Realizing that he couldn't afford to lose momentum, Lt. Colonel H. Jones charged the fortified enemy position under concentrated fire, getting knocked back once, but continuing [[HeroicSacrifice until he died]] feet from the enemy. His men later charged, galvanized by his sacrifice. The enemy surrendered due to the heroics he displayed personally and simultaneously inspired in his men.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh]], a colonel in the Army Air Force, the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic, and combat veteran of World War II (even though at that point he was a civilian).

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wintle Lt.Col. Alfred Wintle]]. Talked a dying soldier out of a scarlet fever-induced coma, was arrested for trying to steal a plane ''and signed his own arrest warrant'', was captured by Vichy French whereupon he informed his captors it was his duty to escape...and did.

* US Air Force Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stapp John Stapp]], hands down. In the interest of science, he [[ProfessorGuineaPig strapped himself]] to a rocket sled and ended up subjecting himself to a force '''46.2 times the force of gravity and lived'''. At the time, it was believed that 18 G was fatal. Basically, his work showed that as long as the human body is properly restrained, it can take a lot more Gs than first expected. He also felt that it was possible to go higher if the person was facing backwards (the 46.2G run was forwards). He ended up applying his rocket sled research to cars and lobbying to make seat belts mandatory in all vehicles, saving countless lives.

* The late, great, Marine Col. John Glenn, who was an [[AcePilot ace pilot]] before becoming the first American in orbit and much later, the oldest man in space.
* While commanding the 8th Fighter Wing in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Olds Col. Robin Olds]] gained far more fame for his hard-charging leadership style and innovative tactics than he had as a [[AcePilot double ace with 12 aerial victories in]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (he shot down another 4 [=MiGs=] in Vietnam). Olds later retired as a [[FourStarBadass Brigadier General]], but is still best remembered for his command of the 8th Wing...and for the mustache he sported during that time.

* Agustin de Iturbide of México. Nicknamed El Dragón de Hierro, or the Iron Dragoon, he never lost a battle in four years of the Mexican War of Independence, often defeated greater forces than his own, once repelled the entry of 500 foot soldiers with just 34 of his dragoons, and with just his dragoons by his side dealt defeat to the greatest enemy general, José María Morelos, thought to be almost invincible at the time. As a royalist dragoon, he climbed the ranks but was most attached to his rank of Colonel of the Celaya Regiment. He would go on to liberate México almost single-handedly, acquiring the ranks of General, Admiral, and Generalissimo along the way, and even being elected as Emperor, but always wore his Colonel uniform, even to his crowning.
* Some civil war historians credit the early success of the South in the American Civil War to superior leadership. In support of this trope, the North managed to collect every single pre-war general bar one (Joseph E. Johnston), leaving the South almost no one higher than Colonel including their eventual supreme commander, Robert E. Lee.

** Credit must also be given to his best friend, Lt. Col. Maes Hughes, who, [[BadassNormal despite not being an alchemist]], is an [[GreatDetective investigative genius]] who also knows how to kick ass [[KnifeNut with throwing knives]]. He even gets ''double promoted'' to [[TheBrigadier Brigadier General]] for [[spoiler:dying in the line of duty, though that ''was'' in part to cover up the conspiracy]].

* [[PuttingOnTheReich Standartenführer]] Rhianna von [[MeaningfulName Adolph]] from ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' is a [[StepfordSmiler constantly smiling]] KnifeNut who is in charge of the special operations division of Sirene's intelligence agency. She is also TheCaptain of ''two'' ships.

* Great General of Darkness/Ankoku Daishogun from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' and ''Anime/GreatMazinger'', TheDragon of the Emperor of Darkness and commander of the seven armies of the Mykene Empire. He wields a BFS, sports a BadassCape and a BadassBeard, and he can kick the butt of nearly any HumongousMecha invented by Creator/GoNagai. He led the army of Mykene Empire, personally or delegating on his generals, and he was AFatherToHisMen considered unforgivable default intelligence costed the lives of his troops. He fought Great Mazinger because he knew he could win, slicing it with his blade mercilessly as he laughed its attacks off. And he fought ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'' quite evenly.

* Colonel Mustard from ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}'': he's either a murderer or among a group of people who caught one. Then there is his BadassBeard.

** Basque Grand. He's AFatherToHisMen who leads from the front, transmutes entire buildings into weapons while delivering [[LargeHam hamtastic lines]], accepts the surrender of Ishval's high clerics and shoots Brigadier Fiessler (an ''actual'' GeneralRipper) when the latter orders the troops to kill the cleric and continue the genocide. Also has one of the most {{Badass Mustache}}s known to man.

** Colonel Everett Young in ''Series/StargateUniverse'' would be this, if he didn't frak it up with some truly dumb-ass decisions. [[FourStarBadass General]] O'Neill had to personally let him know that he was screwing up the ColonelBadass mantle with his actions in "Incursion", part 1.
*** Once he gets his act together though, he quickly regains the ColonelBadass status.

* While commanding the 8th Fighter Wing in [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Olds Col. Robin Olds]] gained far more fame for his hard-charging leadership style and innovative tactics than he had as a [[AcePilot double ace with 12 aerial victories in]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (he shot down another 4 [=MiGs=] in Vietnam). Olds later retired as a [[FourStarBadass Brigadier General]], but is still best remembered for his command of the 8th Wing...and for the BadassMustache he sported during that time.

* ''Franchise/MonsterVerse:
** ''Film/KongSkullIsland'': [[ Colonel Packard]] has been through it in Vietnam, and he goes through much worse on the island and still survives for quite a while through the film. Unfortunately, he also becomes a GeneralRipper due to his Vietnam-instilled ColonelKilgore.

* Col. [[MeaningfulName Hardy]] from ''Film/ManOfSteel'' possibly outdoes Quaritch in terms of sheer badassitude, taking on a Kryptonian enemy with a combat knife --and ''no robot suit''-- and managing to [[spoiler:pull a no-score draw, losing his life but banishing the villain back to the Phantom Zone in the process]].
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** Lt. Col. (full Colonel as of ''Film/IronMan3'') James Rhodes, who has [[ComicBook/WarMachine a suit of powered armor]].
** Col. Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD and architect of the Avengers. Extra badass props for Fury being portrayed throughout the Marvel Cineverse by none other than Creator/SamuelLJackson.
** Col. Chester Philips, who lead the Strategic Scientific Reserve in WWII, the precursor to SHIELD, and commanded Captain America.

* Lt. Colonel William Lennox. Does he sit behind and command his troops from the command post? Fuck no! He takes on the Film/{{Transformers}} with them head-on!
** Though he's not a Colonel until the third film.
* There is a Russian movie named ''The Apocalypse Code'', one of the better Russian action movies, actually, whose protagonist is an ActionGirl (bordering ExtraordinarilyEmpoweredGirl) serving in the Russian special forces. Obviously, she is a colonel. Which is revealed just before she gets ''serious'', [[RuleOfCool topping all her previous stunts]].

* Col. Benjamin Martin in ''Film/ThePatriot''. Single-handedly killed a platoon of Redcoats, including at least three with a tomahawk. Colonel Tavington is an EvilBrit version, kicking the butts of Creator/MelGibson's ragtag Rebel militia.
** You gotta give it up for Tavington when his troops are caught with their pants down by a bunch of angry rebels, his soldiers are getting shot all around him. He just stands there, calmly reloading his pistol (which takes a good 20 seconds) and shooting one rebel after another.
* Col. Thursday in ''Film/FortApache''... well, sort of... [[spoiler:at least until he orders the infamous Thursday's Charge, which results in the [[SuicidalOverConfidence utter destruction of half the regiment]].]]Thursday is an Expy of George Armstrong Custer, a real-life Colonel Badass, who would be remembered as a great cavalry leader except for one mistake...

%%* Johny Rico is a Colonel in ''Film/StarshipTroopers3Marauder'' (he was a Lt. by end of [[Film/StarshipTroopers the first one]]).
* In the movie ''Film/{{Glory}}'', Matthew Broderick plays a RealLife ColonelBadass; in this case Col. Robert Gould Shaw the son of Boston abolitionists who commanded the Union Army's first black troops in the Civil War.
* ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' features two Colonel Badasses. The first is Colonel Kurtz, who had the credentials to be a general but chose a life in the shit. While fighting in Vietnam, he goes kill-crazy and creates an army of zealots who worship him like a god. The other is [[ColonelKilgore Lt.Col. Bill Kilgore]], a bulletproof badass who surfs in warzones and enjoys the aroma of napalm like a nice cup of joe. In the Redux edition, however, he's taken down a peg after his surfboard is stolen and he broadcasts messages begging for it back.
* Lt. Col. Frank Slade from ''Film/ScentOfAWoman''. He does the tango with a beautiful stranger who's waiting on her boyfriend, drives a Ferrari BLIND, and completely and utterly owns snobby schoolmasters. Plus, he's played by Creator/AlPacino, which doubles his badassitude.
%%* Col. Nathan R. Jessup, as played by Creator/JackNicholson in ''Film/AFewGoodMen''.
%%-->"You want me on that trope. You ''need'' me on that trope!"
* Thoroughly averted in ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Group Captain (RAF for Colonel) Mandrake is a bit of a wimp and fails to properly stand up for himself when around other domineering American officers, while US Army Colonel "Bat" Guano does not even understand his own mission, and is instead obsessed with eliminating "preverts."

%%* Lt. Col. Barnsby (played by Creator/HarrisonFord) in ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''.
* ''Completely'' averted (as to be expected) in the film ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'', in the figure of Colonel [[PunnyName Sandurz]]. Whassa matter, Colonel Sandurz ...CHICKEN?!
** Considering that he's [[Film/ANewHope Grand Moff Tarkin]] if Tarkin were stupid rather than evil, this is to be expected.
* Col. Sam Trautman, the former trainer and commander of none other than John Franchise/{{Rambo}}. He's more of the mentor in the movies than ColonelBadass, but he gets this status because of his line in [[Film/FirstBlood the first movie]]:
-->'''Sheriff Will Teasle:''' Where in God's name did this Rambo come from...
-->'''Col. Trautman:''' ''God'' didn't make Rambo. ''I'' made him.
-->''(Cut to a shot of the tent's entrance. A silhouette of a bereted and {{Badass LongCoat}}ed individual is standing there.)''

* ''Film/{{Armageddon}}'':
** Colonel Willie Sharp, pilot of the space shuttle. [[ArtisticLicenseNuclearPhysics Can disarm nine-foot-long nuclear weapons with only 20 seconds and minimal assistance]]. Also the only guy trusted with a firearm on the whole vessel (making him the only one badass enough to bring a gun onto a spaceship), and the only guy with enough balls to disobey a ''Presidential order'' for the greater good of the planet.
** Colonel Lev Andropov (Creator/PeterStormare) also qualifies: not only does he save AJ (Creator/BenAffleck) when the space station blows, he also [[PercussiveMaintenance restarts a FREAKIN' space shuttle]]. He also gets most of the best lines in the movie:
--->'''Lev:''' I AM THE ONLY CERTIFIED ASTRONAUT HERE, AND I AM SAVING YOUR AMERICAN ASS!!!
* He may have been a PsychoForHire, but Col. Koobus of ''Film/{{District 9}}'' was also incredibly badass. He was consistently shown to be a supremely competent leader of his men, never lost his cool in the heat of battle ([[spoiler:though he did start to lose it when he was bragging to Wikus about killing him]]), showed bravery even in the face of overpowering alien weaponry, and when he [[spoiler:was surrounded by all sides by Prawns, who were going to tear him apart regardless, he ''still'' went down fighting.]]
* Col. Hans Landa, a.k.a. the Jew Hunter, from ''Film/InglouriousBasterds''. The epitome of both MagnificentBastard and WickedCultured.
** He does [[spoiler:end UsefulNotes/WorldWarII by helping the Basterds kill the German High Command]].
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' we learn Indy attained the rank of colonel during World War II while working as an agent for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA). Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko most definitely counts too.
* Colonel Douglas Mortimer in ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'', a former Confederate Army colonel who carries a veritable arsenal with him wherever he goes, and has a personal score with BigBad El Indio.
* Colonel Günther Reza of ''Film/DuckYouSucker'' a SilentAntagonist and ImplacableMan who survives having a bridge dropped on him, a train explosion, and having half a machinegun clip emptied into him before finally going down.
* Colonel Nicholas Alexander, played by Creator/LeeMarvin in his final performance, was the only man who could possibly give Creator/ChuckNorris' Major Scott [=McCoy=] orders in ''Film/TheDeltaForce''.
* Colonel Rhumbus in ''Film/SpiesLikeUs''. He knocks out his own squad of [[ConservationOfNinjutsu elite ninja soldiers]] and then takes our heroes through [[TrainingFromHell accelerated GLG20 training]]. His salutes are so snappy that you can ''hear'' his gloved hand [[AudibleSharpness cutting through the air]].
* Averted in ''Film/IpMan'', where Japanese Colonel Sato is a SmugSnake who only hits people when they're in no position to fight back. Preferably from safe up high behind a gun.
%%* Commander Anderson, United States Navy [=SEALs=], played by Creator/MichaelBiehn, in ''Film/TheRock''.
* In ''Film/TopGun'' the soft-spoken, gruffly avuncular Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf and the foul-mouthed, quick-tempered, cigar-chomping Commander Tom "Stinger" Jordan provide contrasting, but equally classic, examples of this trope.
* Colonel Stryker in ''Film/X2XMenUnited''.
-->'''Stryker''': I was pilotin' Black Ops missions in the jungles of North Vietnam while you were suckin' on your mama's tit at Woodstock, Kelly. Don't lecture me about war. This already is a war.

* Lieutenant Colonel Danny [=McKnight=] in ''Film/BlackHawkDown''. He casually walks from a convoy of Humvees to a building, through the open, while Rangers all around him are diving for cover and flinching. He ignores a gunshot wound to his throat that would have opened his carotid artery if it had been a millimeter to the right. After that injury, one of the Rangers tells him he doesn't need to go back out to save the rest of his men. He just smokes his cigar, looks at the guy like he's an idiot, then rides out with the 10th Mountain Division to get the rest of his men.

* Colonel Min Se-hoon, the InspectorJavert character in the Korean film ''Film/TheSuspect''. His introductory scene involves him dropping one of his men out of a plane without a parachute in order to save another man's life, then coolly picking up a spare chute, diving after the falling guy, catching him in mid-air, slapping him back to life when they hit the ground, then swaggering away [[SmokingIsCool smoking a cigarette]]. He then puts on a leather jacket and shades and spends the rest of the film ripping apart a secret government conspiracy while simultaneously hunting down a North Korean master assassin.
* ''Film/EveOfDestruction'': Colonel Jim [=McQuade=] to a realistic degree. An army veteran, expert marksman and counter-terrorism expert, he's the guy the government calls in to take down a rogue killer android, but he does get pretty banged up over the course of the film.
* In the film adaptation of ''Film/StreetFighter'', Guile has the Colonel rank (he is a Major in the games' continuity), and goes against the Allied Nations' orders to lead a strike team and raid Bison's base to rescue kidnapped AN troopers and relief workers. He's also the one to take on Bison himself, beating him even after he starts using his PsychoElectro powers. This also holds true to the [[WesternAnimation/StreetFighter cartoon]], which is a direct sequence of the film.
* Colonel James Braddock, from the ''Film/MissingInAction'' film series. Played by none other than Creator/ChuckNorris, it's a given he's able to kick as much [[DirtyCommunists Viet Cong]] butt as he does.

* Many of [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/ataturk.html Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's]] claims to badassitude occurred when he was a Colonel in the reserves, in particular defending the key pass whose loss would have probably made the Gallipoli campaign in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI succeed. Even after the Ottoman Empire ultimately lost, he continued being a badass as a soldier and then the founder of modern Turkey, until he died.

* Jax from the ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' series fits this trope to a tee, despite being a Major.

** Colonel (and later Lord Commissar) [[Characters/Warhammer40000ImperialGuard Sebastian Yarrick]] fits the trope like a glove. Although a mere Colonel-Commissar (which, in comparison to the highest military ranks of the Imperial Guard, isn't much of a big deal), he was tasked with leading the defense of the Forge World Armageddon against what was possibly the largest Ork horde ever assembled by Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka. Fighting two separate, consecutive wars for the planet, Yarrick went from Colonel-Commissar to ''supreme commander of the entire planet'', with even the most senior of Imperial Guard generals deferring entirely to his command. His ruthlessness, [[OldSoldier grizzled appearance, huge amount of experience]], his sheer motivational abilities, strategic abilities, and a [[FrontlineGeneral penchant for slaughtering Orks alongside his men]] made him the most famous Commissar in the history of the Imperium of Man.

* Col. Sanders is the preferred nickname of one of the most powerful fighters in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' that we've seen so far.

* The commander of the Umibozu, a Navy special forces team that goes up against Section Nine at the end of Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex's first season, is addressed as ''Taisa'': Colonel, though since he's Navy, his rank proper would be Captain. (In Japan, the same word is used to refer to both Colonel (Army) and Captain (Navy).

* Col. [[spoiler:Paya]] Livingston from ''Anime/DaiMahouTouge''. Boy, is he badass.

* Col. Todou of Anime/CodeGeass. He's one of the higher-ranked members of the Japanese Liberation Front, ''and'' leader of their most elite squad, the Four Heavenly Swords. Later, he joins the Black Knights and becomes Zero's third-in-command.

* Well, not ColonelBadass but more Major Badass, [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Major Misato Katsuragi]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZIvjQxqrm0#t=5m20s Especially]] in ''End of Evangelion''.

* [[Manga/MaidenRose Taki's]] high rank combined with his general military badassness puts him squarely in this trope.

* In the 'WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}' FanFic series 'Legion of Lawndale Heroes', there are ''two'' ColonelBadass types - Colonel Kyle Armalin, and Colonel Franklin Davers. The latter's an Army Special Forces type, the former a Marine aviator with a LOT of covert paramilitary experience from shooting things all over the world. Just to cement his badass cred, first look at the first initials of his full name - '''K'''yleton '''I'''saiah '''A'''rmalin... and then, also consider that he was given his middle name in honor of ''Isaiah Bradley - the FIRST Captain America'', and an 'old-school' badass if EVER there was one.
* [[FanFic/TiberiumWars Colonel Nick Parker]] may be [[RetiredBadass "retired"]], but that doesn't stop him from organizing and waging a guerrilla war ''inside of twenty-four hours of the Nod invasion'', which comes complete with hunting down and destroying Avatar warmechs, blowing up a Nod general using his own artillery, and [[spoiler:''recapturing the White House'']]. There's a ''reason'' he's called "Havoc."

* In the Narnia fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7364661/1/King-Edmund-s-Crusade King Edmund's Crusade]] the Colonels are not only the badass fighters of the armies but also the field commanders and the leaders of the elite bodyguard units. The senior commanders (below the Four Pevensie Monarchs themselves) are the Marshals - but two of them are explicitly more administrators than fighters. Col Elikolani (a sarcastic, flirtatious black panther) is a brutal fighter far more suited for war than Marshal Altaica (a rather effeminate and cowardly tiger). Marshal Nicodemus of the wolves is no slouch, but Col Rapine is a walking legend.
* The ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10489971/1/Aegis Aegis]] has Wing Commander Nicolai "Nick" Betancourt. Although he doesn't do anything particularly badass in the story, he is tapped to fly an experimental Justice Department combined platform of a hypersonic air superiority fighter and giant airship. Given the resources the Judges are throwing at this mission, he has to be the best pilot available. Later stories begin to reveal his background as a particularly famous pilot and commander and "the Hero of Pingpongyang".

* 'VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'':

* Colonel [[BaldBlackLeaderGuy Cedric Daniels]] in ''Series/TheWire''. He starts as a Lieutenant, and becomes MajorlAwesome, ColonelBadass, and finally DaChief, before realizing he doesn't want to be at the head of such a flawed police department. [[spoiler: the fact that he immediately starts getting blackmailed doesn't help. He quits and becomes a lawyer.]]

* ''Webcomic/AirForceBlues'': Col Alvis "Minnie" Gunnar and LtCol Mike "Deadlock" Rowland.

* Aided by his father, a former Wisconsin governor and current Wisconsin court judge, Arthur MacArthur managed to secure himself an officer's commission in the Union Army in 1862 at the age of 17. He quickly proved he deserved it, as he went on to see action at Chickamauga, Stones River, Chattanooga, the Atlanta Campaign, and Franklin. During the Chattanooga Campaign, MacArthur inspired his regiment by seizing and planting the regimental flag on the crest of Missionary Ridge at a particularly critical moment, shouting "On Wisconsin." For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor and a promotion to Colonel at the age of 19, earning himself the nickname "the boy Colonel". He went on to survive being severely wounded by a rebel officer's pistol at the battle of Franklin, and would spend a total of 47 years in the army, retiring in 1909 at the rank of Lt. General. Yet despite all this, he was largely overshadowed by his son Douglas, who commanded U. S. Army forces in the Pacific during World War 2.

* Lieutenant Colonel Danny Mcknight of the 75th Ranger Regiment. He was deployed to Somalia and participated in the infamous Battle of Mogadishu, in which seventeen American Soldiers died and hundreds of Somali militia were killed. LTC McKnight was famous for not taking cover when he got shot at, figuring that if he got killed, God wanted him in heaven. Also in the movie.

** Col. Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD and architect of TheAvengers. Extra badass props for Fury being portrayed throughout the Marvel Cineverse by none other than Creator/SamuelLJackson.

* Despite being known as "Captain Marvel", ComicBook/CarolDanvers officially has the rank of Major in the United States Air Force.

* From the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, we have Lt. Col. (full Colonel as of ''Film/IronMan3'') James Rhodes, who has [[ComicBook/WarMachine a suit of powered armor]], Col. Chester "Let's Go Find Two More" Philips, who commands ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, and most of all, SHIELD Director Col. Nick Fury. Extra badass props for Fury being portrayed throughout the Marvel Cineverse by none other than Creator/SamuelLJackson.

* Captain Ronald Speirs filled this role in ''Series/BandOfBrothers''. He wasn't a colonel, but as an officer, he was viewed this way by the enlisted men because of the things he said and did.
** Maj. Richard Winters, possibly even more than Speirs since while Speirs gained respect mainly through being terrifyingly badass, Winters was more like awe-inspiringly badass. And OfficerAndAGentleman to a T, plus greatly admired and loved by his men.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Daenerys' commander Grey Worm is chosen by the Unsullied officers as their commander because of his badassery.
** Daario Naharis to both the Second Sons and Daenerys' army in general since his extremely badass KlingonPromotion.
** Greatjon Umber, Robb's right hand in Season 1 is a formidable and proud bannerman of House Stark, who fought for Robb in the War of the Five Kings. Despite sometimes standing up against Robb when disagreeing with his decisions, he is fiercely loyal to the Starks of Winterfell and is in fact the first lord to propose crowning Robb the King of the North.
** Jon is a great warrior who develops into a very complete and able commander.

* Shepard from ''Franchise/MassEffect'' started off as a very badass [[MajorlyAwesome Lieutenant Commander]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1''. The character quickly receives command of the CoolShip becoming the Normandy's [[TheCaptain commanding officer]]. By ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' s/he was most likely posthumously promoted to Staff Commander (the equivalent rank of a Lieutenant Colonel) after his death. He was brought back to life by Cerberus and [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu pissed off a fleet of Mecha-Cthulhu]] [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu by being directly or indirectly responsible for the destruction of a few of them]]. By the [[VideoGame/MassEffect third game]], the Alliance has reinstated Shepard back to his/her Staff Commander rank.
** If Kaidan Alenko is still alive ''by VideoGame/MassEffect3'', he will be Major who now heads the Special Operations Biotics Division at the Alliance Warfare Center. A Major in the Systems Alliance is the same rank as a Naval Captain and a Colonel. Kaidan now basically outranks Shepard.