History Main / MasterApprenticeChain

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': The Fatui Harbinger Arlecchino (aka "The Knave") grew up in the House of the Hearth, raised by the Director at the time to act as a sleeper agent. At some point, she confronted the [[EvilOrphanageLady Director]], and is [[KlingonPromotion heavily implied to have killed her]], taking over her Harbinger title and position. She herself is training [[spoiler:another House orphan, Lyney,]] to succeed her in turn.

** The entire Jedi Order trains students in this way. No Master is allowed more than one Padawan at a time, no one can become a Jedi Knight without having been taken as a student by a Master, and (almost) no Knight can become a Master without first training a Padawan to completion ([[AllThereInTheManual Saesee Tiin was an exception]] in the Franchise/StarWarsLegends continuity). From the prequel trilogy we learn that the main lineage goes: Yoda → Count Dooku → Qui-Gon Jinn → Obi-Wan Kenobi → Anakin Skywalker → Ahsoka Tano. This directly contributed to Anakin's StartOfDarkness, as Ahsoka was pressured into leaving the Order before officially being promoted to Knight which led to Anakin's PassedOverPromotion feeding his InferioritySuperiorityComplex and causing him to resent TheOrder.
*** The reboot series ''Series/{{Ahsoka}}'' adds Sabine Wren as the latest link to the chain.
*** In ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'', the Master-Apprentice line above actually goes Master Unskette → Thame Cerulian → Dooku → Qui-Gon → Obi-Wan → Anakin → Ahsoka. Yoda mentored Dooku, but was not officially his Master. By contrast, ''AudioPlay/DookuJediLost'' establishes Yoda as Dooku's Master in the reboot canon.

*** The [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] bends the Rule of Two, with Sidious, Tyranus, and Vader each having other students, but none of them being "true" Sith apprentices. It also fills in several of the missing links in the chain between Bane and Plagueis. There have also been cases of Sith masters taking multiple apprentices (as with Darth Sidious training both Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus simultaneously and hiding them from each other), or Sith apprentices taking apprentices of their own. Violations of the RuleOfTwo are generally self-correcting; when an apprentice takes an apprentice, they're plotting to [[KlingonPromotion replace their master]], and when a master takes a second apprentice, they're usually planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness dispose of the first one]]. In the case of Darth Bane and Darth Zannah, ''both'' had taken apprentices, and Darth Bane's second apprentice, Cognus, ended up serving Zannah.

** The entire Jedi Order trains students in this way. No Master is allowed more than one Padawan at a time, no one can become a Jedi Knight without having been taken as a student by a Master, and no Knight can become a Master without first training a Padawan to completion. From the prequel trilogy we learn that the main lineage goes: Yoda → Count Dooku → Qui-Gon Jinn → Obi-Wan Kenobi → Anakin Skywalker → Ahsoka Tano. This directly contributed to Anakin's StartOfDarkness, as Ahsoka was pressured into leaving the Order before officially being promoted to Knight which led to Anakin's PassedOverPromotion feeding his InferioritySuperiorityComplex and causing him to resent TheOrder.

* In ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' Master Izo was one of the Hand's founders and a teacher of Stick, who was Matt Murdock's master. ''ComicBook/DaredevilCharlesSoule'' adds a new link to the chain with Matt's own student, Sam Chung.
* "O-Sensei" → ComicBook/RichardDragon (Richard Drakunovski) → Franchise/{{Batman}} (Bruce Wayne) → ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} (Dick Grayson) → Robin ([[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim Drake]]) → Spoiler ([[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]]) [[note]](Steph and Dick both cheated the chain a little since Dick got a little training straight from Dragon and Steph was getting training from Tim then Bruce, and was part of another chain leading back to O-Sensei)[[/note]]

*** "O-Sensei" → ComicBook/RichardDragon → Franchise/{{Batman}} (Bruce) → ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} (Dick) → ComicBook/{{Robin}} (Damian)

*** "O-Sensei" → Richard Dragon → [[ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey Oracle]] ([[Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon]])

* ComicBook/TheFlash: Barry Allen is the teacher to Wally West, who would later have Barry's grandson Bart briefly under his wing.
* Ancient One had taught two students - ComicBook/DoctorStrange and [[RivalTurnedEvil Baron Mordo]]. Strange would later go and take on apprentices his later wife, Clea and alien Rintrah, while Mordo would pass his knowledge to his daughter, Astrid.

* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' has an unnamed LegacyTeam that always consists of two avian-themed super-heroines, a "bird of light" and a "bird of shadow". When the elder partner retires, the younger one chooses a new apprentice. Members shown have included Nightflyer, Sunshrike, Nightingale, and Sunbird.

** Duke trainer Apollo, and both later trained Rocky after [[spoiler:Mickey's death]].

* Several of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s leading lights have such a chain. Creator/GunpeiYokoi, creator of the UsefulNotes/GameBoy and several respected franchises, was a mentor to Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto, who is now in charge of nearly all of Nintendo's first-party titles. Miyamoto, in turn, mentored Creator/MasahiroSakurai, creator of ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', and Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''.

** In ''Film/{{Creed}}'', Rocky trains Adonis Johnson, the son of his friend/rival Apollo Creed.

*** ''Series/{{Ahsoka}}'' adds Sabine Wren as the latest link to the chain.
*** In ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'', the Master-Apprentice line above actually goes Master Unskette → Thame Cerulian → Dooku → Qui-Gon → Obi-Wan → Anakin → Ahsoka. Yoda mentored Dooku, but was not officially his Master. By contrast, ''AudioPlay/DookuJediLost'' re-establishes Yoda as Dooku's Master in the official Canon.

** Darth Bane codifies this as the RuleOfTwo for the Sith, and they stick to it for over a millennium: Darth Bane → Darth Zannah → (lone Sith lords) → Darth Plagueis → Darth Sidious → Darths Maul, Tyranus, and Vader.

*** The [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] bends the Rule of Two, with Sidious, Tyranus, and Vader each having other students, but none of them being "true" Sith apprentices. It also fills in several of the missing links in the chain between Bane and Plagueis. There have also been cases of Sith masters taking multiple apprentices (as with Darth Sidious training both Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus simultaneously and hiding them from each other), or Sith apprentices taking apprentices of their own. Violations of the RuleOfTwo are generally self-correcting; when an apprentice takes an apprentice, they're plotting to [[KlingonPromotion replace their master]], and when a master takes a second apprentice, they're usually planning to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness dispose of the first one]]. In the case of Darth Bane and Darth Zannah, ''both'' had taken apprentices, and Darth Bane's second apprentice ended up serving Zannah.

* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'':

* [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater Big Boss]] was trained by the legendary soldier known only as the Boss. In turn, he trained Grey Fox, who tutored [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]]. After Snake also learned from Big Boss directly [[spoiler: and defeated both his mentors when they go rogue]], he passes his knowledge onto [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty Raiden.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Ezra Bridger is being taught by Kanan Jarrus, who was taught by Depa Billaba, who was taught by Mace Windu, who was taught by Cyslin Myr (new canon) and/or T'ra Saa (legends). Also, Garro → Yoda → Obi-Wan → Anakin → Ahsoka Tano.