History Main / MyCountryRightOrWrong

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Gladiator, of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, has explicitly stated that his loyalty is to the Imperium itself, regardless of who's holding the throne (ultimately, he turned out to be very right to support Deathbird: she turned out to be a very capable majestrix. [[OmnicidalManiac The mad emperor D'Ken]], on the other hand...), going as far as serving [[TheCaligula Vulcan]] while showing distaste for having to fight Lilandra, the previous majestrix, and his long-time BodyguardCrush. Eventually, however, Vulcan finally pushes Gladiator a bridge too far (capturing Lilandra and preparing to have her executed), leading Gladiator to defy this trope for the first (and almost certainly last) time. By the end of the ComicBook/WarOfKings event, [[spoiler:Gladiator is the one holding the Throne, what with everyone else in charge either being dead or MIA]].
* Eric Finch, Chief of New Scotland Yard in the ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' graphic novel. Helping to keep his country afloat in its hour of need, he tells the BigBad his disdain for the fascist Norsefire Coalition right to the man's face. The Leader replies that it's a measure of his respect for Finch's craft that he's still alive to say that. [[spoiler:In the end, Finch decides that upholding such a regime isn't worth the price.]]

* Hans von Hammer, protagonist of DC's ''Comicbook/EnemyAce'' feature and WWI pilot for Germany, especially in Garth Ennis' ''War In Heaven'' (WWII) version. However, when he discovered the Nazi death camps of the Final Solution in the final days of the war, that was the last straw for him and he led a mutiny with his unit.
* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'':
** Subverted in the Dave Gibbons/Will Simpson re-imagining of ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper''. The Genetic Infantry are shown to be an elite band of highly-motivated, unshakable soldiers, but they show no interest in the cause which they serve. Their motivation is drawn from genetic and psychology conditioning and a fierce bond of brotherhood.
** ''ComicBook/FiendsOfTheEasternFront'': The German soldiers are depicted as regular conscripts, with no mention of any Nazi affinities.
* The Creator/GarthEnnis Vertigo incarnation ''ComicBook/UnknownSoldier'', a bandaged character from DC Comics. The long-lived soldier snapped upon seeing a mass of emaciated corpses at a newly-liberated Nazi concentration camp. He decided that since the USA fought against something this horrible, whatever they fight against is the right thing to oppose. This conviction is only shaken [[spoiler:nearly 50 years later, when a dying general confesses there was a failed plot to relocate top Nazis, including Hitler himself, to Colombia in exchange for Germany's surrender and scientific research.]]
** In the original run, the Unknown Soldier went up against a German soldier who disagreed with the ideals of Nazism, but still fought against the allies, not because he was loyal to the Nazis, but because he was loyal to Germany.

* Happens with DC's ComicBook/CaptainAtom from time to time, most memorably during the period of time when Lex Luthor was elected President. In ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies'', Luthor forced Atom by executive order to hunt down Superman and Batman, an act Atom clearly found distasteful.

** Superman doesn't believe in unconditional loyalty when it comes to governments, he will usually follow the wishes of the American people, even if he doesn't agree with them. For example, in ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies'', he says:

* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'': Sir Talbot, a loyalist Lord cheerfully tells Prince George that he doesn't care that the Prince is an utter buffoon, or that his royal father is a senile, inbred madman, as far as Talbot is concerned, they were anointed by God, and have his unquestioning loyalty in opposing the anti-royal sentiments in Parliament. Unfortunately, he dies of old age a few seconds after making that speech, forcing Blackadder to come up with a new plan.

* Music/MidnightOil [[TitleDrop title drops]] this trope in their song ''My Country'', though it is more a critique of PatrioticFervor than this trope specifically.

** This trope is Gul Dukat's explanation for switching his allegiance to the new, democratic Cardassian government in an earlier season. In a rare moment of direct honesty, he admits that this quasi-HeelFaceTurn took place shortly after it became obvious that the old regime was going to lose.

** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', Percy Weasley advocates this trope but unknowingly subverts in the process. He pushes for Ron be to loyal to Hogwarts itself rather than Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster, whom many think is going senile due to his instance of Lord Voldermort's rebirth. Yet at the time, Percy is so blinded by his rising power within the Ministry - and buying into their smear campaign against Dumbledore (which is pushing the senility angle in the first place) - that his words come off as nothing but grandiose posturing. Ron is immediately disgusted and makes a clear show of shredding and burning Percy's letter.

* Bunchu, from ''Manga/HoshinEngi'' has this as his main flaw and his main motivation: he has been attached to the kingdom of Yin since his early adulthood and promised his former love interest to do anything to protect it. As a Sennin, he spent centuries tutoring the imperial family and fighting threats, and while the heroes know that the only solution is to have Zhou liberate Yin and defeat Dakki, he's adamant that Yin will recover just by defeating Dakki. Genshi Tenson even gives him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech based on Bunchu's obsession with Yin.

* Bunchuu, from ''Manga/SoulHunter'' has this as his main flaw and his main motivation: he has been attached to the country of Yin since his early adulthood, and promised his former love interest to do anything to protect it. As a Sennin, he spent centuries tutoring the Imperial family and fighting threats, and while the heroes know that currently the only solution is to have Shu liberate Yin and defeat Dakki, he's adamant that Yin will recover just by defeating Dakki. Genshi Tenson even gives him a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech based on Bunchu's obsession with Yin.

* Used to justify the HeelFaceTurn of Jack Swagger, through his manager, Zeb Coulter, in a feud against ForeignWrestlingHeel Alexander Rusev and Lana. Despite Zeb's heel gimmick being borderline (ahem) racist, very right-wing politically (including criticizing Obama), and being particularly chilly towards illegal immigrants (i.e. Mexicans, documented or otherwise), Coulter managed to get a decent portion of the crowd on the side of him and Swagger with the help of a CrowdChant CatchPhrase ("We the People!") and by pointing out that, yes, they had their issues with the President's policies, but he is still ''America's'' president, and it's for Americans to work out among themselves, not for arrogant foreigners to criticize.

* ''Film/BlackPanther'': Okoye, as general of the Dora Milaje, is bound to serve whoever sits on the throne of Wakanda, even when she visibly disagrees with the policies of the king. That said, when she has a choice between following either [[spoiler:T'Challa or Killmonger]], who at this point both have equal claims to the throne, she doesn't hesitate to choose the leader she feels is right for her country.

* Many members of the Terran Dominion in ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' feel this way when it comes to serving Emperor Mengsk. The trope itself is even referenced when playing Mengsk in Co-op mode. His basic unit in Co-op is the Dominion Trooper/Laborer and whenever a new one is made, [[StopPokingMe one of lines they can say is]] "My Dominion, right or wrong".

** Subverted in ''Film/{{T34}}''. Although Klaus, a Wehrmacht panzer commander, regards himself as a ConsummateProfessional, the film pointedly avoids the "Clean Wehrmacht" myth and shows that the UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons were perfectly willing to work with the SS. Klaus even threatens to execute a concentration camp prisoner on his own initiative to get Nikolay to cooperate with the Germans' training exercises.

** In the episode "Endgame", General Lefcourt leads the ships loyal to the Clark regime. As he puts it, "I'm from the old school: a soldier doesn't take up arms against his own government, no matter how justified you feel doing it." That said, when [[spoiler:President Clark sets up Earth's defense grid to scorch the planet rather than let Sheridan win, Lefcourt destroys the last orbital defense platform that Sheridan's fleet couldn't reach.]] He only did so after [[spoiler:Clark was dead, and thus no longer President; given Luchenko's rise to Presidency, presumably Earthgov has an analogue of the TwentyFifthAmendment.]] It turns out that many members of Earthforce had that same mindset, including [[spoiler:Babylon 5's later CO, Captain Elizabeth Lochley]]. [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/086.html]], [[http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/guide/093.html]]

** A complex version occurs in an episode where a high-ranking Cardassian officer guilty of terrible war crimes is captured, and proudly justifies his crimes as being necessary for the good of Cardassia. [[spoiler: Turns out, the war criminal was already dead. Their captive had been horrified by the war crimes and assumed his identity so there could be a public trial and punishment. The kicker was that he was ''still'' entirely loyal to Cardassia, and considered the public reckoning to be part of setting his society right.]]

* A variation of this is spoken of by [[TheCaptain Jonathan Archer]] in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' in the MirrorUniverse episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", where he claims that Starfleet officers are loyal to the Terran Emperor, but don't really care who that is. All one has to do is to successfully overthrow the government and name oneself Emperor, and the military will support him or her.

** ''Film/GoldenEye'', where even though Bond admits that the British betrayal of the Lienz Cossacks to Stalin after World War II is a black mark on the country's history he still pursues the BigBad who had been wronged as a result of it and using it as a FreudianExcuse to pursue devastating vengeance upon the United Kingdom. Bond is also derided as "Her Majesty's Loyal Terrier" for it.

** ''Film/GoldenEye'', where even though Bond admits that [[spoiler: the British betrayal of the Lienz Cossacks to Stalin after World War II]] is a black mark on the country's history he still pursues the BigBad who had been wronged as a result of it and using it as a FreudianExcuse to pursue devastating vengeance upon the United Kingdom. Bond is also derided as "Her Majesty's Loyal Terrier" for it.