History Main / ColonelBadass

** A captain (from the navy, whose ranks Zeon uses for all branches of military service, which is equivalent to a colonel), Norris Packard of ''{{The 08th MS Team}}'' definitely counts. If taking on three Gundams, all piloted by the main characters, and three Guntanks, at the same time, alone, in an inferior machine, and winning doesn't qualify you for this then I don't know what does. And on top of all that he finds time to be a father figure to one of the main characters.

* Lt. Col. Frank Slade from ''ScentOfAWoman''. I mean, how much more BadAss can you be than doing the tango with a beautiful stranger who's waiting on her boyfriend, driving a Ferrari BLIND, and completely and utterly owning snobby schoolmasters? Plus, he's played by AlPacino, which totally doubles his badassitude.

* A very obscure Warhammer 40 000 example from ''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 (a very impressive feat, I assure you), 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''."

** I would say Maj. Richard Winters also counts, 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.

* Not only is he a Colonel, [[{{BlazBlue}} Relius Clover]] [[MemeticMutation IS A]] [[{{Gundam}} CHAR]].
* No one's mentioned Cpt. Keyes from {{Halo}} yet? Sure, in the games he only gives you your first gun, but in the books he's epic. He takes a soldier's pistol and blasts an invisible Elite in one shot right after escaping the locked-in-landing Pillar of Autumn, and manages to survive for a remarkable time on the Halo ring.
** Plus, Sgt. Johnson. Need I say more?

* 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, did I mention, he was the first Black general in the U.S. Air Force?

Also, ColonelBadass is commonly an OfficerAndAGentleman... or at least, tries to be one, as long as it doesn't hinder his badassness.

He wont break down over losses but nor will throw his men's lives away, if a GeneralRipper is his immediate superior the two will almost certainly clash in styles because not only is ColonelBadass a better leader but he's also more sane, more pragmatic and really doesn't give a crap about political concerns. He's an unstoppable force and an immovable object. He's loyalty incarnate the best friend anyone can have, he's also the embodiment of vengeance, screw him over and your life is forfeit. Even if he dies he lives on as an ideal.

He wont break down over losses but nor will throw his men's lives away, if a GeneralRipper is his immediate superior the two will almost certainly clash in styles because not only is ColonelBadass a better leader but he's also more sane, more pragmatic and really doesn't give a crap about political concerns. He's an unstoppable force and an immovable object.

This man in a professional, married to the job and mission accomplishment is the entire purpose of his existence. He's 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. When he's got a full command of hundreds or thousands of troops chances are he wont 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 wont 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.

* Colonel Rick Rescorla - Served in Africa with the British Army, joined the US army in the mid-1960's and served in Vietnam, one of the hero's of the Battle of Ia Drang (Although he was written out of the movie version of {{WeWereSoldiers}}...), 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) but succeeded in getting the other 2700 employees safely out (who he organized the evacuation of, and he stood around singing Men of Harlech over a megaphone while supervising the evacuation). Was a US Army Reserve Colonel on 9/11.

* Colonel Rick Rescorla - Served in Africa with the British Army, joined the US army in the mid-1960's and served in Vietnam, one of the hero's of the Battle of Ia Drang (Although he was written out of the movie version of {{Film/WeWereSoldiers}}...), 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) but succeeded in getting the other 2700 employees safely out (who he organized the evacuation of, and he stood around singing Men of Harlech over a megaphone while supervising the evacuation). Was a US Army Reserve Colonel on 9/11.

* Colonel Rick Rescorla - Served in Africa with the British Army, joined the US army in the mid-1960's and served in Vietnam, one of the hero's of the Battle of Ia Drang (Although he was written out of the movie version of {{Film/WeWereSoldiers...), 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) but succeeded in getting the other 2700 employees safely out (who he organized the evacuation of, and he stood around singing Men of Harlech over a megaphone while supervising the evacuation). Was a US Army Reserve Colonel on 9/11.

* Colonel Rick Rescorla - Served in Africa with the British Army, joined the US army in the mid-1960's and served in Vietnam, one of the hero's of the Battle of Ia Drang (Although he was written out of the movie version of We Were Solders...), 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) but succeeded in getting the other 2700 employees safely out (who he organized the evacuation of, and he stood around singing Men of Harlech over a megaphone while supervising the evacuation). Was a US Army Reserve Colonel on 9/11.

* The one atop this page, Colonel Miles Quaritch of ''{{Film/Avatar}}''. He's 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, especially compared to the [[OurElvesAreBetter Elf-ier than thou]] [[MarySue wonderfulness]] of the Na'vi.

Imagine TheCaptain without a CoolShip. Still the most [[{{badass}} kickass]] guy around, powerful leader, outranks everyone else in TheSquad, you know the type. Chances are, he is gonna be a colonel. It works the other way around, too: if someone is saluted "Colonel", expect badassitude en masse. Unless it's ColonelMakepeace, who is an entire different area altogether.[[hottip:* : If you have a ColonelMakepeace, then you already have ''one'' colonel. They can't both be badass.]]

[[folder: Manga & Anime]]
* Col. Roy Mustang from ''FullmetalAlchemist'' is the MostTriumphantExample. He beats even the [[spoiler:[[PuttingOnTheReich Führer]]]], in the first anime. In the manga/Brotherhood he BURNS HIS OWN WOUNDS SHUT and by the end of the series, he managed to take down [[spoiler:two out of seven Homunculus]], which is [[{{Badass}} REALLY impressive]] in that universe.
** Not to mention 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]]. [[spoiler:He even gets ''double promoted'' to [[TheBrigadier Brigadier General]] for dying in the line of duty.]]
** Major Armstrong eventually gets promoted to Lt. Col. in the first anime (in the manga, it's stated he's never promoted due to his compassion for the enemy).
** Basque. Grand. Manga version. What makes it more impressive is that he had been firmly entrenched in the minds of the fans as a complete monster by the first anime's portrayal. But then in the manga, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome he shoots his superior officer...]]
* Lt.Col. [[PersonOfMassDestruction Hayate Yagami]] in the third season of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. 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.
** One of those three admirals, Mizetto, may be an AA-rank mage who single-handedly defeated the then AAA-ranked Nanoha and Fate around the time they first joined, but as she isn't shown kicking ass and taking names in the field she doesn't properly qualify for FourStarBadass.
* Col. Richard Burton in ''{{Madlax}}''.
* Col. Sanders is the preferred nickname of one of the most powerful fighters in ''MahouSenseiNegima'' that we've seen so far.
** That's ''[[WritingAroundTrademarks Ku:Nel]]'' Sanders thank you.
* Col. Shikishima from ''{{Akira}}'' has several traits of a GeneralRipper but remains a BadassNormal to the very end.
* Though she's lacking a couple of ranks, Major Kusanagi from ''GhostInTheShell'' is not only a [[ColonelBadass Major Badass]] but also a ''major badass''! She fits the trope perfectly as she can [[OfficerAndAGentleman behave like a lady]] if she wants to, but usually rather disables tanks with her bare hands or fight of several cyborgs in her dress uniform, complete with skirt and high heels.
* Col. Dewey Novak is not only the BigBad of ''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?
* [[RoseOfVersailles Oscar de Jarjeyes]] holds the rank of colonel as commander of the Royal Guards.
* {{Gundam}} saga has a few:
** Col. Sergei Smirnov from ''{{Gundam 00}}'', 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 [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Crowning 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 ''{{The 08th MS Team}}'' definitely counts. If taking on three Gundams, all piloted by the main characters, and three Guntanks, at the same time, alone, in an inferior machine, and winning doesn't qualify you for this then I don't know what does. 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 ''GundamWing'' all notable officers in OZ save Noin are colonels, Treize in particular seems GenreSavvy about this, maintaining the rank of colonel even after conquering the Earth [[spoiler:twice]].
** Naturally, most of these guys all have the ColonelBadass-in name Ramba Ral to thank for all of this. Only a leiutenant, he was still awesome and has often been paired with Norris as a dynamic duo of doom.
* Col. [[spoiler:Paya]] Livingston from ''DaiMahouTouge''. Boy, is he badass.
* The Colonel, head of God's Army, in ''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 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. [[spoiler: Later, he joins the Black Knights and becomes Zero's third-in-command.]]
* Well, not ColonelBadass but more Major Badass, [[NeonGenesisEvangelion Major Misato Katsuragi]]. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZIvjQxqrm0#t=5m20s Especially]] in End of Evangelion.
** She's referred to as Lt. Col. Katsuragi in Rebuild of Evangelion, however. So this trope qualifies.
* [[HyakujitsuNoBara Taki's]] high rank combined with his general military badassness puts him squarely in this trope.
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[[folder: Board Games]]
* Colonal Mustard from Clue he's either a murderer or among a group of people who caught one. Then of course there is his BadassBeard.
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* 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 CrowningMomentOfAwesome 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 penitrate German lines and sieze the south end of the bridge where he held out against an entire 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 had Arnhem Bridge renamed in his honor.

* Colonel Nicholas Alexander, played by LEE MARVIN in his final perfomrance, the only man who could possibly give Chuck Norris's Major Scott McCoy orders in ''TheDeltaForce''.

* {{Discworld}}'s {{Commander Samuel Vimes}}?

* Colonel T.C. McQueen from ''SpaceAboveAndBeyond''. He's the sole survivor of the battle between the Earth's best squadron and the Chigs. Of particular note are his last fight with "Chiggie Von Richtoffen," and his "I don't think 'our Lord' wants to hear from me right now," speech.

** Col. Sergei Smirnov from ''{{Gundam 00}}'', 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 CMOAs, the capstone of which was [[spoiler: her epic screwjob on the ALAWS in Episode 22]].

*** You forgot CiaphasCain, HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!

** 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 Stom]] spell. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome And Indignation]].

[[Film/{{Avatar}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Colonel_Badass.jpg]]
[[caption-width:234:Colonel Miles Quaritch, Asskicker Extraordinaire]]

-> I am Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. I am known as a fair man, unless I am pushed. ''[[YouHaveFailedMe You have just pushed me.]]''
-->-- ''' [[GauntsGhosts Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt]]''', ''{{Warhammer 40000}}''

* Colonel David Randolph Scott, seventh man on the moon and the only Air Force pilot to make a moon landing.

* [[{{Sharpe}} Lieutenant Colonel Richard Sharpe]].

* Lieutenant Colonel [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_U._D._Page]], an artillery officer who served in the Korean War and recieved 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 acting as the tank's machine gunner, performed an aerial attack in a light 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.

* In the ''PosleenWarSeries'', there's Colonel Cutprice, a rejuvenated Medal of Honor winner and one of the most decorated KoreanWar veterans, later a leader of The Ten Thousand, an elite fighting group arguably more badass than the ACS units as a whole, as they fight without the benefit of PoweredArmor. It's explicitly stated that he refuses promotion above the rank of Colonel.