History Main / ReasonableAuthorityFigure

* This is one way to describe the relationship between Franchise/{{Batman}} and Commissioner James Gordon, who, let's face it, is really sticking his neck out as a policeman and a city official by consistently trusting in a shadowy, anonymous vigilante who dresses up as a giant bat to beat up criminals. In Creator/FrankMiller's run, and ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'', this is {{justified|Trope}} as the rest of Gotham's police force are {{corrupt cop}}s.

* [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney's]] ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' had an Archdeacon to clean up the church's name after Judge Frollo's KickTheDog moment where he contemplates killing the deformed baby Quasimodo.

* Lord Capulet in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''. It depends on the adaptation.
** He doesn't take the feud as seriously, and when Romeo crashes a party, his response is to just shrug because Romeo has a good reputation. When his younger relatives are raving about how Romeo's crashing the party, Capulet tells them to just leave Romeo alone because he's not done anything wrong. Some play it like him trying to avoid trouble, seeing as the Prince's relatives are also at the party and the Prince made it clear that he wouldn't put up with any more feuding nonsense.
** The Prince is just about the only consistently reasonable figure across any adaptation. He doesn't want the feud to tear the city apart and is doing everything he can to keep the two sides from going too far.

Fully aware that MachiavelliWasWrong, he'll listen to those "[[RagtagBunchOfMisfits crazy kids]]" when they say there's a fugitive nearby, and logically consider their arguments instead discarding them out of hand. However, their openness to the heroes' ideas doesn't mean they'll follow AgentMulder's crazy ideas blindly. Often, they'll ask for [[WeNeedToGetProof proof]] and facts rather than follow baseless accusations, but even then, they'll usually humor the heroes and go check out their theories; whether it pans out or turns into a [[NotSoImaginaryFriend dead end]] depends on how far along the story is.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure/AnimeAndManga
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure/FanWorks

* {{ReasonableAuthorityFigure/Webcomics}}
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure/WebOriginal
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure/WesternAnimation

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Prime Minister Wong in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' is portrayed this way in his first appearances. Cheerful, friendly, applauding the hero's victories and inviting him to his penthouse for a drink, he's a stark counterpart to Master Asia. [[spoiler:And then it's revealed he's a villain and he rapidly stops applauding Domon and starts rigging the matches to get him killed.]]
* Detective Ooishi from ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' borderlines between this and AgentMulder. He's always searching for clues as to the cause of the string of murders and takes any useful information, but is considered too obsessive over the topic and has been urged to step off the case a few times.
** Dr. Irie might be a straighter example from the same series. Except for the whole, you know, paedophilia thing, and even that might be a joke. The problem is, once he figures out what's going on [[spoiler:it's not always to the benefit of the person telling him what's going on]].
*** Keiichi's father, Ichiro Maebara (who only really consistently appears in the manga) is this, to a much lesser extent than the above. He fully supports Keiichi's efforts in Satoko, regardless the fallout his family faces; on the other hand, he also makes sure to let Keiichi know that he should not resort to violence to save his friend and instead handle it the right way.
%%* Minamo Kurosawa, the P.E. teacher, from ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh''.
* The Time-Space Administration Bureau at the start of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' is a surprisingly understanding and helpful instance of TheFederation. They're perfectly willing to cooperate with the heroine even though she's JustAKid (it helps that Midchilda apparently lacks age of majority or child labor laws) and are quite understanding of the franchise's numerous [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]]. Lindy Harlaown is by far the most representative of this...some of the higher-ups, less so. Nanoha's {{Muggle}} parents are also quite understanding and helpful, for a MagicalGirl's parents.
** ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' is somewhat of a partially alternate universe, but even with that caveat, Nanoha's parents (and siblings.. and shop assistants..) are about as {{Muggle}} as a desert is wet. They just don't use magic the same way, if at all.
* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' has Konoemon Konoe, the principal of Mahora. All he needs is his granddaughter, a [[SchoolgirlLesbians lesbian]] [[WingedHumanoid half demon]] {{Samurai}}, and a [[WeaselMascot talking ermine]] to show up with a message from a ten-year-old that said ten-year-old's supergenius Chinese descendant from the future is going to use an army of robots to break TheMasquerade, and he sends out for a huge shipment of weapons from the Magic World, and helps organize the [[{{Muggle}} student body]] into a RedshirtArmy.
** It helps that he's at least an amateur [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] himself, and, being a mage in a CrazyAwesome universe, has probably seen weirder in his day.
* Bradley in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' seems to be one of these, but [[spoiler:like Palpatine, he's really a bad guy.]]
** Ling Yao appears to become this. To begin with he was already a Prince with the belief that the duty of a King is to serve his people and that a King is nothing without his subjects, but when he actually obtains what he needed to success to the throne, his first promise is to accept and protect each and every one of the rival clans within the Xing empire, which every generation up to then would war with each other over who will be next to inherit the throne.
** [[ColonelBadass Basque Grand]] is without a doubt one of these, doing his best to limit his men's casualties (often by leading the charge himself) and not only accepting the surrender of Ishval's head cleric (despite his own superior's orders to the contrary) but making sure that he gets to see [[PresidentEvil Fuhrer Bradley]], no matter what. It doesn't do a lot of good in the long-run, but given the circumstances Grand is being as reasonable as he can be.
%%* In ''Yuusha-Oh Anime/GaoGaiGar'', Koutarou Taiga, Yaginuma, and Rose Approval all count.
* Mr. Colbert from ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', eager to commit treason in order to help his students.
%%* Yuri Koigakubo from ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'', oh so much.
* ''OnePiece'' has former Fleet Admiral Sengoku. You'd think that, being in charge of the [[LawfulEvil Navy]], he would be one of the most evil characters in the series - but he genuinely puts the safety of the world first. His superiors in the World Government, as well as his successor, on the other hand...
** [[spoiler:Former]] [[AnIcePerson Admiral Aokiji]] and [[ThePatriarch Vice Admiral Garp]] are also examples. They're harsh on pirates but will go out of their way to protect civilians. Likewise for Vice-Admiral Smoker and Captain Tashigi, Captain Coby, and even more so with the brief character Commander Ripper from the Captain Morgan arc…really, despite the fact that many marines are LawfulEvil, there are some LawfulGood ones as well.
*** Smoker and Tashigi get to show just how much they are this trope during the Punk Hazard arc. Tashigi is even willing to ''beg'' Trafalgar Law, a pirate, to free her not for herself, but as she tell Smoker, because they cannot go help their comrades or the kidnapped children if they remain in chains. They then direct the rest of the Marines to work with the Straw Hats to evacuate the children before Caesar's gas kills them all.
** We are now introduced to [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Prince Fukaboshi]] of the Neptune Army. Most people would have freaked out if they heard that their father was being held hostage inside the palace and the kidnappers started making demands (especially since said kidnappers are prophesized to destroy Fishmen Island). Fukaboshi was very calm, agreed to the demands in return of the hostages and then passed on Jimbei's message for Luffy to Zoro as part of his duty to Jimbei, whereas most people would have been "screw that" to the kidnappers.
** [[spoiler: With Aokiji's leaving his post]] new Admiral Fujitora has stepped into this role in a ''big'' way. Upon realizing Dressrosa is full of New World Pirates due to a tourney its ruler Doflamingo is holding he instantly...calls in medical teams for the inevitable fallout, and gets a count of how many civilians are in Dressrosa so his men know who to protect. His goal as an Admiral? Demolish the broken Warlords system that allows scum like Doflamingo to get away with atrocities. Doflamino's crew is attacking everyone on the island now? Work alongside the good pirates to keep them safe. His superiors will want to twist the truth of what happened on Dressrosa, where pirates saved the day? Fujitora gets out the information of what really went on to neighboring islands before reporting in to them so they can't change the story, fully understanding that [[GeneralRipper Akainu]] will want his head for this.
* In ''Anime/DairuggerXV,'' Teles was the Reasonable Authority Figure in the [[TheEmpire Galbeston Empire]] who wanted to end the war with TheAlliance, but he didn't have the authority to do it.
* In ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'', the StudentCouncilPresident. How reasonable is he? Well, he thinks Sōsuke's way of disposing of an unknown item in his shoelocker (i.e. detonating the entrance hall with a high-yield plastic explosive) to be perfectly reasonable. After all, ''anything'' could have been in there.
** Though exactly how "reasonable" it is to automatically believe and trust in all of [[PersonOfMassDestruction Sousuke's]] [[ComedicSociopathy actions]] is debatable, ''especially'' among the other students.
*** In the light novels, it turns out he's actually figured out that Sousuke is a soldier for Mithril, so that could potentially have something to do with it.
* In ''Manga/{{Freezing}}'', among all the AxeCrazy of a BloodKnight third years, only the strongest among them, Chiffon Fairchild, is the one who isn't interested in beating Sattelizer into a messy pulp.
* Both the Third Hokage, Sarutobi and the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', have fulfilled this role over the course of the story.
** Another example is post-timeskip Gaara. Notably, he's the only one of the Five Kages apart from Tsunade, below, who pushes for cooperation between the ninja villages in response to the threat of Akatsuki.
** Tsunade appears to be this because of the way she's always generous to Naruto... but that's just it, she's ''always generous to Naruto''. She sends him up against the people who are after him, consistently allows him to go after Sasuke (as well as not actually seek to eliminate Sasuke, which would be standard procedure) and refuses to place restrictions on him that would better protect him (and the EldritchAbomination inside him) from his enemies. She chooses to do these things ''entirely'' based on her personal feelings and opinions of Naruto, which is realistically an unreasonable thing to do. [[spoiler: There is the fact that Naruto is TheHero of the story, is marked by a prophecy to become a MessianicArchetype, and has defeated powerful enemies that nobody else could and ruined some of the plans of the major antagonists (even if admittedly he has been in mortal peril and requiring help many times), so Tsunade's trust in him is not entirely unfounded.]]
** The Third Hokage is later on shown to be a deconstruction or subversion; He was ''too'' reasonable. A lot of problems in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'''s world are the result of [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Orochimaru]] and [[PoisonousFriend Danzo]] being allowed to do as they pleased, and they all could have been stopped had the Third learned to put his foot down.
* In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', despite the fact that White did forcibly draft Black into her talent agency by footing the enormous bill for the movie equipment he destroyed, she doesn't actually expect him to be able to [[WorkOffTheDebt pay off the entire thing]]. She acknowledges that he does have his own life and dreams to follow. That said, she still tries to get him to understand the world of showbiz and business a little better, and is quick to call him out whenever he ruins a potential job opportunity.
* In the undersea horror manga [[SixThousand 6000]], Wein, the director, is initially set up as a {{Jerkass}} ObstructiveBureaucrat who ignores his engineers' warnings that the instillation isn't ready for prime time; once he's convinced there's a real danger, though, he shows himself to be remarkably GenreSavvy, immediately arranging to evacuate the entire instillation at the first possible opportunity -- going so far as to avoid informing any higher-ups until everyone is safe (because they wouldn't recognize the danger fast enough and wouldn't approve an expensive complete evacuation), declaring his intention to personally take full responsibility for any objections they have to this course of action.
* The Roman Emperor from Anime/SoundOfTheSky is never shown in the anime and is only mentioned as the guy [[spoiler: Rio's older sister, Iliya refused to marry]] even if it would end the war. When episode twelve roles around [[spoiler: Rio appears right before the final confrontation and claims that due to her recent marriage to him, the war is now over and during the ending credits she returns to the Bastion and tells them that the emperor is a pretty reasonable guy and granted her any one wish because she ended the war.]]
* Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' are this. Unlike the Head Captain Yamamoto, (who follows Central 46 orders to the letter, and embodies blind obedience to tradition above all else), these two will take the time to listen to progressive mindsets from their subordinates and non-combatants give a fair audience to the accused, and even [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight defy tradition and law]] when the situation calls for it. Byakuya also becomes a variation of this after Ichigo helps him resolve an issue he had with two conflicting vows that was the reason he had been compelled to support Rukia's execution despite not wanting her to die. Captain Hitsugaya counts as well, since he realizes that something is amiss, and eventually sets out to find the Central 46 and stop the execution rather than see the Seireitei fall into chaos.
* Center-sensei from ''Anime/HisCooolSehaGirls'' is a fair teacher who tries to help the Sega Hard Girls whenever he can, but is not above withholding medals if he thinks the girls did not earn them (although [[ButtMonkey Sega Saturn]] seems to get the worst of it, in this regard). For example: in the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' lesson, Dreamcast and Mega Drive were given no medals because they each attacked an opponent before the round actually began; then in the ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5'' lesson, he awarded no medals to Sega Saturn because of complaints lodged by the [[MoralGuardians Space PTA]] concerning her flagrant use of [[FanService sex appeal]] to drive up ratings.
* Senzaemon Nakiri from ''Manga/ShokugekiNoSoma''. As the headmaster of the prestigious cooking school where the series takes place, he is revered and dreaded as the "Gastric Godfather" and "Food Demon". However when looking at his actions it's kind of difficult to see how he got that reputation. For example, he overrode his granddaughter's rejection of the protagonist's entrance application after having a single bite of his food and realising his granddaughter rejected the protagonist out of spite, and will always give a reasoned, well-balanced critique of any food he is asked to judge. He also has a track record of not playing favorites, not hesitating to call out even members of his own family when they don't perform well enough.
* Pretty much everyone in Judgment and Antiskill are this in the anime of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''. In ''Railgun'' it's not so surprising that Kuroko and Uiharu from Judgment (and by extension, their mentor) are reasonable authority figures since they're in the main cast, but Aiho and Tsuzuri from Antiskill count even for ''Railgun''. They're not major characters, and they'll stop the characters from doing things they shouldn't be, but when push comes to shove, they'll even [[spoiler:ignore orders from the conspiracy in order to act as TheCavalry]]. Antiskill in general, while often incapable of doing their job without the heroes, are savvy enough to help keep things clear for them, trusting that the middle and high schoolers will take care of things.
** Taken even further in the later volumes with the British Royal Family and the current president of the United States, Roberto Katze. They both are shown to have a deep love of their respective countries, and are willing to accept the bizarre explanations Touma and the others sometimes have to give them when magical forces are at work.
* Early in ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'', Aoi's mother comes to Kaoru's apartment determined to take Aoi home despite her insistence that she stay with Kaoru. However, she soon relents and even enables their SecretRelationship, provided they don't let it get out and cause a scandal. One reason for this is she notices that Aoi wanted to stay by Kaoru so much that she willfully defied her family for the first time in her life.
* Kotori Minami's mother, the director of Otonokizaka High School, in ''Franchise/LoveLive'', who allows μ's to perform in the opening campus on the condition that they pass their final exams.
* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'': Some militaries don't outright attack wild Digimon and observe them as long as the Digimon do nothing hostile. Special mention goes to the officer leading the Chinese army, who acknowledges that the strange creatures are intelligent and is willing to communicate with them, letting them pass through the country border, knowing that they won't cause any more trouble.
* The Japanese government in ''Anime/ReCreators'' treats the appearance of fictional characters in the real world in a very pragmatic way: instead of silencing everything, makes a special committee with these characters' creators working back to back with government agents, doesn't bother too much with TheMasquerade since it's almost impossible to control the net and every electronic device, and instructs its agents to learn about their country's popular culture. However, the show goes almost too far in the opposite direction, since at times the people in charge seems too eager to believe in the words of several costumed whackos who know nothing of the world they found themselves in.
* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'':
** Despite his rather...reserved attitude towards the insanity in Yokai Academy on a day to day basis, Headmaster Mikogami really supports Tsukune and friends, is a very fair individual (though not above bending the rules if it's harmless amusement) and is a true advocate for peace between monsters and humanity. [[spoiler:And he used magic to keep human deaths to a minimum when Fairy Tale's HQ fell onto a human city.]]
** Ms. Nekonome is one of the few teachers who isn't a {{Jerkass}} or horribly deranged and is actually helpful and non-prejudicial to her students. When [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Kuyou]] has Tsukune [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade scheduled for execution]] and Mikogami forbids her from intervening, Ms. Nekonome calls him out on it, reminding him that Yokai Academy is supposed to ''support'' human/monster co-existence.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic:
** ''Fanfic/FriendshipIsMagicalGirls'': When the Neighpon government starts to get an inkling of the SecretWar between the mahoushoujo and the Changelings, the Chrysanthium Empress advises her ministers to not take any drastic measures against the girls until such time as they know what's actually happening, so as to avoid complicating matters or harming innocents.
** ''Fanfic/TheStarsAscendant'' is about Celestia questioning whether she truly remains one after seemingly destroying Twilight Sparkle's confidence.
** ''FanFic/MirrorsImage'': Celestia, as in canon. However, as flashbacks and the Princesses' own testimony prove, she wasn't this when she was younger, punishing and banishing ponies for minor slights, or even just irritating her. And by punishing, she usually just turned ponies to stone. And that's before the FantasticRacism, the violence, or how she treated her old student, [[spoiler:Chrysalis.]]
** The ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' has many of them:
*** Celestia, as is to be expected, is this, generally acting in the absolute best interests of her subjects. Luna is a bit more harsh, but ultimately also this trope.
*** Cadence is very kind and polite, both to her subjects and to her guard detail.
*** Shining Armor is a firm Captain of the Harmony Guard, but is a kind and just one. His squad comes to consider him and each other TrueCompanions and are genuinely enraged when they discover [[spoiler:Chrysalis has brainwashed him into her slave, and if Cadence hadn't saved him, they were going to give it a shot.]]
*** Most of the rulers Shining and Cadence meet on their world tour count. [[spoiler:Including the ActualPacifist Mother Deer, the Deer's ''true'' ruler.]]
*** Queen Tiamat and King Bahamut, the [[GodEmperor Gods and Rulers of the Dragons]], view their entire species as their children, and are generally kind and good to their allies as well (of which Celestia and Luna are included). Though Queen Tiamat wasn't ''always'' this trope and needed to grow into it, while Bahamut always was.
*** The Pantheon in general are LawfulGood (the Alicorns) or ChaoticGood (the Draconequi) (with the exception of the [[EldritchAbomination Outer Concepts]], but even they aren't [[BlueAndOrangeMorality very evil]]) and just desire to make life in the universe thrive and when encountered by mortals generally act respectful and nice.
*** Havoc, the [[TopGod male Elder]] of the Draconequi, is relatively this. While he is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Fear itself and the Warden of Tartarus, he's generally polite, hears mortals out when he actually talks with them, and gives straight answers. [[spoiler:He's also the BigGood for the CMC's journey during the Rumors Arc, doing his best to help them stop Discord's endgame plan.]] His wife is much less reasonable, but she's also the personification of Endings, and thus normally doesn't do much of anything until the end of the universe where she ''eats'' what's left after Heat Death happens. Even then, she's also the End of Suffering and hates the concept of suffering without end.
*** The Alicorn Elders, Fauna Luster and the Father of All Alicorns, are the personifications of Empathy and Wisdom respectfully, with Fauna Luster literally being the mother of all creation and the Father being ''HEAVEN'', so both naturally are this. Both answer questions without complaint, treat beings they meet with respect and kindness, and generally are kind and benevolent.
** In ''FanFic/TheBridge'', quite a few of the higher ups in Equestria are this, by logic of they wouldn't be in power for a long term without it.
*** Princess Celestia might as well be this trope personified, having a millennia of experience and being forced to "grow up" very quickly after the Nightmare Moon incident. She managed to defuse an entire civil war from even happening with logic and comedy of all things as she knew force would only make things worse.
*** Princess Luna is less experienced than her sister and can be a bit quick to the trigger if the situation seems dire, but once she knows who's on the side of good she unfailingly helps them.
*** A good chunk of the elected officials like Mayor Mare and numerous nobles like Fancy Pants also keep a level had even with the chaos and confusion caused by the kaiju being revealed. Even Archduke Blueblood, while very haughty and smug, works to keep the situation as calm, rational, and clear as possible.
** ''FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'':
*** [[spoiler:Principal Celestia, who is not only willing to give the group information, but employment at the school while they try to figure things out.]]
*** In the sequel, ''Picking Up the Pieces'', Deputy Commissioner Iron Gates is far more reasonable about a comparatively minor violation of rules than her superior; she's more interested in taking down any actual ''corrupt'' Guards who were abusing their position.
** ''FanFic/EscapeFromTheMoon'': In the sequel ''The Mare From the Moon'', Princess Celestia is one, accepting Spliced's gesture of fixing her broken nose in the spirit that it was meant, and being willing to hear her out about her past. [[spoiler: However, upon hearing about her past, Celestia and Luna have a private conversation on their thoughts on Spliced, recognize the danger she poses and agree to handle her with extreme care.]]
* In the {{Fanfic/Uplifted}} series Erwin Rommel qualifies. As does Gerald Langer. Rommel is self explanatory, especially in regards to his real life actions, while Langer quite successfully manages the quarians and the first contact.
* ''FanFic/EnemyOfMyEnemy'' gives us two: Administrator Amanda Jennings and Shipmaster Vtan 'Arume. Helped by the fact that the latter saved the life of the former's young daughter.
* The Dragon Emperor Prometheus in [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7893756/1/The_Chronicles_of_Utopia_Volume_II The Chronicles of Utopia Volume II]] can always be counted on by the people around him to have a cool head on his shoulders and consider their words carefully before making a decision. Even when a major faction in his Empire seeks to stage a coup, he still considers things carefully and checks everything out before taking them on rather than flying off the handle in a rage.
* In ''FanFic/{{Fractured}}'', a ''MassEffect''[=/=]''StarWars''[=/=]''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover crossover]] we get the usual inversion of the [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Citadel Council]] alongside extra-galactic newcomers like Admiral Adam Grayson. The Local Cluster Council and Federated Cluster Union appear to be this compared to aforementioned Council because they recognize the Reapers as a legitimate threat as well. In the [[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins sequel]], Admiral Allison Nimitz replaces Grayson in the military version of the trope, while Grayson becomes a BigGood bureaucrat who tries to push the Council in a less HeadInTheSandManagement direction. Urnot Wrex remains one for his entire species--continually urging them away from pure BloodKnight tendencies. Wolf Schmidt offers plenty of assistance through advanced technology [[spoiler:but considering he works for the Republic Intelligence Service he may have an ulterior motive]].
* ''Fanfic/WhatAboutWitchQueen'' has one for each nation: queen Elsa of Arendelle tries to use diplomacy instead of trying to freeze the entire conflict and plunge her nation into very cold war, queen Lisa of Southern Isles is GenreSavvy enough to recognize EvilPrince when she sees one, and [[NoNameGiven scout captain]] appears to be the OnlySaneMan among Weselton officers.
* In the fanfic ''Fanfic/CoOpMode'', the coach at Winslow is an odd variant of this, as he's not actually a ''good'' coach, being more interested in self-gain and personal success than his actual job - the man asked [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength James]] if he would pass a [[SuperSerum Tinkertech drug test]] just in case he could enter the team for crying out loud - but as James is conducive to his goals, he ends up looking like this.
-->''Coach Shane'': “I’ll be honest here. [[DrugsAreBad I don’t approve of steroids.]] But with the girls’ track team bringing home medals, Blackwell wants the other teams to earn some trophies. If our football team doesn’t start winning games, she’s going to make me do weekend training for the guys. [[AdultsAreUseless And that would cut into my weekend plans.]] I think I can turn you into a decent running back or a passable lineman, but there’s no point if you’re going to get disqualified. So. Can you pass a drug test?”
* In ''FanFic/TheTaintedGrimoire'', Judgemaster Cid waits for proof of [[spoiler: Vaticus']] crimes before taking action against him.
* ''FanFic/QueenOfAllOni'': When [[AncientKeeper Nameless]] realizes that Jackie and the rest of the J-Team ''aren't'' evil, he quickly allies with them to stop the evils [[SealedEvilInACan sealed]] in the [[EldritchLocation Vault of Endless Night]] from escaping. Jackie lampshades that unlike the last {{MacGuffin Guardian}}s (the Three Sages), he's actually willing to listen to them and work together.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' crossover fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'' (part of ''FanFic/ProjectDarkJade'', like ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'' above), Himerish is willing to give Jade the benefit of the doubt rather than assume the prophecy he saw involving her was inevitable.
* In the ''Anime/MaiOtome'' fanfic, [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4112795/3/Oneesama Oneesama]], Miss Maria comes off as one. When Shizuru kicks off the plot by giving a SkinshipGrope to her prospective room attendant Natsuki, Miss Maria tells Shizuru that [[RealityEnsues she could expel her if she felt it necessary]], but she won't because she believes Shizuru is a better person than that. Her alternative punishment- not allowing Shizuru to select a room attendant until she gains Natsuki's forgiveness- is meant to humble Shizuru, teach her a lesson, and get her to approach Natsuki as herself, not under the persona she's adopted as top student of her grade.
* Surprisingly, in ''Fanfic/SoullessShell'', Leif is one. When a girl is accused of trying to kill one of his advisors, Councilman Arnold, whom she says raped her, he hears her out, tricks Arnold into confessing his guilt, and sentences him to death while exonerating her.
* Most of the Angel leaders in ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'', except for [[GeneralRipper Metatron]]. They don't want the Metarex war to escalate, and immediately realize that Dark Tails is the biggest threat to the galaxy.
* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', Governor Cochran and Governor Deacon, as well as President Henry, have helped and are helped by Mega Man at times.
* In the ''{{Manga/Saki}}'' doujin, ''[[http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/so_hold_my_hand_one_more_time#10 So Hold My Hand One More Time]]'', Masae Atago, coach of the Senriyama mahjong team, is this. In a flashback, she's understanding of Toki's decision to withdraw from the individuals because of [[IllGirl her health]], saying that it's common for school aces to not go on to the individuals. Masae then tells Toki that she's mistaken if she thinks herself weak, advising her to believe in her strength, a lesson Toki comes to realize over the course the doujin.
* In ''FanFic/OriginStory'', after Alex and Louise Harris are asked to leave a diner for picking a fight with a homophobic customer, the Sheriff's Deputy outside walks them to their car and advises them to get a hotel at the next exit so they won't have to deal with more bigots.
* Because GoodFeelsGood, Anko comes off as this instead of her usual BloodKnight portrayal in ''FanFic/ATeachersGlory''. As she says, she's charged with not just teaching her students ninja skills, but proper behavior as well.
* Ths US and Canadian governments get this portrayal in ''FanFic/{{Emergence}}''. After learning about the existence of [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} four superhuman teenage girls]] from another world, they aren't eager to [[StrappedToAnOperatingTable dissect them]], and are willing to help them find new identities and learn from them, even if one of them [[spoiler: butchered several NAVY Seals]].
* In ''Fanfic/TheKingNobodyWanted'', King Stannis tries to be this. How successful he is varies greatly depending on who you ask.
* The mayor of [[Manga/OnePiece Luffy's]] village in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10925103/1/A-Different-First-Crewmember A Different First Crewmember]]'' holds off on calling Garp when the Red Hair Pirates first show up and instead offer them all the village's money if they'll leave peacefully. Luckily, Shanks and the rest just want to unwind for a while and are even willing to pay for all the food and alcohol they consume.
* In ''Fanfic/CrystalGemAcademy'', Rose does not blame Steven's handler when the boy gets into a nearly fatal accident, and reassures her that she won't be punished.
* In the ''Worm'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Recoil}}'', Taylor has encountered few enough Reasonable Authority Figures in her own time. When she comes back to the past, she finds:
** Nina Veder, part-time ship's doctor and psychiatrist, who takes her under her wing and sees about trying to find out who she really is (not going to happen) and fitting her back into society.
** Principal Woodbine of Winslow High School, a direct contrast to [[HeadInTheSandManagement Principal Blackwell]] of her own time.
** Major (and then Lt Col) Brian Hamilton of PRT Intelligence, her boss and [[AFatherToHisMen father figure]].
* The Council in ''[[http://www.grandt.com/XanderZone/stories/read.php?story=TheZeppoInMind.html The Zeppo in Mind]]'' start generously paying the Slayers and the Scoobies once it's made clear that they're the reason the world hasn't ended yet and covers their various expenses so long as they keep fighting the good fight. As Giles put it, even the stuffiest of bureaucrats recognizes the need to help those who keep the world spinning and that it's hard to hold down a job when you also have to save the world regularly.
* ''FanFic/MythosEffect'':
** Primarch Quentius is literally the ''only'' [[Franchise/MassEffect Turian]] leader who realizes that trying to force the [[TabletopGame/CthulhuTech New Earth Federation]] to give up [[{{Magitek}} arcanotech]] (effectively gutting their military and technological bases) in favor of Element Zero technology and submitting to the Citadel Council as an associate race will not only cause a war, but that it's a war they can't win.
** Prior to that Captain Jorus asks his commanding officer why they simply didn't warn the humans not to open a dormant Mass Relay instead of blowing up their ships. He's further frustrated when ordered to invade Shanxi, stating it will only escalate the situation.
** The Council itself, other than Sparatus, likewise realize that going to war with the NEF is a bad idea, and when it breaks out, keep their people out of it, making it clear that it's the Turians' problem, not theirs.
* ''Fanfic/CyclesUponCycles'': [[Franchise/MassEffect Primarch Fedorian]] is this when [[VideoGame/StarCraft Kerrigan]] announces her plans to [[spoiler: absorb the Krogan into the Zerg and remove the genophage]]. While Matriarch Benezia is condescending about the whole thing and Dalatrass Lintron spends the whole meeting panicking, Fedorian is upset but realizes that the Koprulu Alliance has always kept their word, so they can be trusted here.
* ''Fanfic/PrincessOfTheBlacks'': Madam Marchbanks tries to do what's best for Hogwarts and it's students. Unlike Dumbledore, she harshly punishes students who horribly endanger others regardless of house, listens to the Head Boy and Girl's suggestions, and is willing to change policies if it's in Hogwarts best interest. Unfortunately for her, she's not Dumbledore so close to half the school is dead set against her. Such actions include giving Fred and George four weeks detention for a prank that left several students injured after they offer no defense beyond "It was funny." She also allows Snape to hire a couple 7th year students to teach 1st and 2nd year potions, something Dumbledore flat out refused to do.
** Luna's father tells Jen about how Bellatrix was a FalseFriend to him in school, causing Jen to assume he's trying to tell her to stay away from Luna. Xeno corrects Jen that he isn't holding her parentage against her; he's simply informing her that he doesn't trust her.
** Flitwick has been attempting to cultivate this image ever since Jen exposed the bullies in his House. He makes a point of no longer helping [=McGonagall=] with her duties as it kept him from helping his Ravenclaws.
*** Averted with [=McGonagall=] who (unlike every other Head of House) is actually shown to be ''less'' trusting of her prefects, frequently demanding they do more, such as set up a study session or supervise a club.
** Scrimgeour is willing to overlook a few misdemeanors Jen committed while [[spoiler:fighting Voldemort]], though he does note a colleague of his wouldn't.
** Amelia is willing to work with Dumbledore and has suspended his arrest warrant until Voldemort has been dealt with. Should he toe the line until then, she won't press charges. Otherwise, she'll arrest him in a heartbeat.
** Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody refuses to act against Jen when it's obvious he doesn't have all the relevant information, citing that if it doesn't put you at risk to get more information, only an idiot thinks he knows enough. Moody compares doing otherwise to "sticking [his] head into a room before knowing if something's going to chop it off".
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11962940/1/ A Brighter Dark]]'': Garon can count as one as, given his genuine affection for his children and his willingness to be up-front and honest to any and all questions. Despite many uncomfortable things about his actions, it is clear that he always has solid motivation for what he does.
** Note however that GoodIsNotSoft.
* In ''FanFic/RobbReturns'', Eddard Stark, upon learning about the incoming threat of the Others, is willing to make a deal with the Wildlings[=/=]Free Folk so that they can settle south of the Wall, even though he knows every of his northern bannermen have a great dislike (if not hate) of them.
** Similarly, Mance Rayder, who intended to bring his people south of the Wall in order to better defend it, is willing to ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness kneel]]'' to Eddard just so that he will help them.
* In ''FanFic/ThisBites'', Iceburg quotes the trope by name as part of why he worked with the World Government.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11568253/6/Supernova Supernova]]'', one of the Marine officers is notably reluctant to assign bounties to the Straw Hat crew given that so far they'd only gone after other pirates or horribly corrupt marines.
* Koharu and Homura in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8261994/1/The-Scorned-Son The Scorned Son]]'' (unlike most portrayals that paint them as corrupt and/or [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]]) calmly listen to Sasuke's well reasoned and thought out argument of why he shouldn't be teamed with certain people (Naruto, Sakura, and Ino chief among them) then investigate the academy themselves to see if his argument is valid. As a result, they not only change the planned team structures but also advise the Hokage to restructure the academy in general due to slipping standards.
* Joyce Summers in ''[[http://buffy.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600092175 Hurt Me]]'' is furious with Buffy and Xander for having unprotected sex and lays down some ground rules for their relationship. Most notably, they have to use protection from now on, stating that they're both sixteen and they ''really'' don't want to be parents at their age. Also, they can't have sex in the house while she's there. She's fully aware that a pair of teenagers will sneak off to have sex anyway so she's not going to waste her time trying to stop them.
* ''FanFic/RosarioVampireBrightestDarkness'':
** The elder angel who serves as Rason and Gabriel's superior is initially the only angel besides Rason willing to give monsters a chance, and arranges for Rason to attend Yokai Academy to prove his point.
** Hothorne Tamaka, the director of the HDA. Unlike most of the others, he actually does believe that some monsters can be good and meets with Moka and Akasha in Act VI to negotiate. This contrasts him with his predecessor Jenner Rythmore, a {{Jerkass}} GeneralRipper who [[GiveMeAReason came right out and said he was just waiting for any possible excuse he could use to declare open war on the monster world]].
* In ''Fanfic/TheOutside'', Aikuro (a tutor) slides between this and the closest thing that Ryuuko has to a ParentalSubstitute. He cares for her well-being and is worried about how much of an effect Satsuki's care has on her but does put his foot down when he feels need be, however, he did let plenty slide before that (i.e not reporting Satsuki to social services sooner).
* Professor Slughorn in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12511998/14/Wind-Shear Wind Shear]]'' shows a great deal of levelheadedness and understanding, especially in comparison to Professor [=McGonagall=], when it comes to Harry Potter. Harry's first lesson for his 7th year students in Defense Against the Dark Arts is to have them attempt to escape a trio of earthen constructs which he charmed to inflict no damage. Slughorn calmly discusses the matter with Dumbledore and admits that, given the current brewing war and that none of the students were injured, he's only bringing up the students' concerns while withholding his own judgment for now. [=McGonagall=] first storms into Harry's office to shout at him for his actions, then goes to Dumbledore (still shouting) about it when Harry dismisses her arguments.
* Haruka in ''Fanfic/LoveHinaLikeItCouldHaveBeen'' initially tells Kitsune that she'll be evicted if she doesn't have her rent paid by the end of the month, including the three months back rent she owes, but when the due date comes and Kitsune is only a little short, she gives the younger woman an extra month to pay it off, knowing she'd been working her ass off.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10312091/chapters/26757933#workskin Tony's Girl]]'', Isiah Bradley (Ross' replacement on the Sokovia Accords Central Committee) asks Tony Stark to hold Wanda at the Avengers Compound, despite Tony's misgivings, because the last time Wanda was imprisoned, her rampage upon getting loose left nearly thirty guards permanently traumatized and one of them later committed suicide. While Bradley agrees that the compound isn't a prison nor meant to be one, the Avengers are the only ones who can currently handle Wanda if she breaks loose, and he's only asking Tony to keep her there temporarily until the UN can find a more permanent solution.
* Despite how they treated him, Tony Stark in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/9681983/chapters/21862259 Enough Rope]]'' does his best to help out most of the rogue Avengers. In particular, once Clint calls him, Tony first apologizes for not keeping him appraised of things regarding the Accords then offers his help to get Clint a plea deal and makes sure he knows what Clint wants out of it, such as whether Clint wants to retire again or if he wants to be an international or United States only hero.
* After taking over leadership of the Avengers in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1033283 What If]]'', Colonel Rhodes refuses to play favorites (Steve notices that Rhodes tends to get angrier with Tony than anyone else despite being his friend) and spends some time trying to make Steve is second in command until Steve determine he's not actually suited for military life. Unlike Rhodey, Steve can't diplomatically speak with police or handle criticism from the UN who weren't present during a given mission. During the events of ''Spider-man: Homecoming'', rather than continue to chew him out for screwing up, Rhodes takes the time to explain to Peter why the older Avengers insist on keeping him out of combat situations and is the reason Tony explains the "Training Wheels" protocol to him.
* King T'Challa in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/7684219 Don't Come Crawling Back to Me]]'' turns in the rogue Avengers after videos are leaked of both the Starks' murder and of Steve and Bucky fighting Tony in Siberia. When Sam argues that being king means T'Challa doesn't have to listen to his subjects demands, T'Challa corrects him that being king means he is the first servant of his people and as such is obligated to listen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'''s Mayor Chuck Goodrich ''will'' listen to you if you have some kind of WorldOfWeirdness related problem. This is because [[spoiler: as a time traveler who has to solve the problems of every parallel universe, he's probably heard it before.]]
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'':
** Mikkel ''tries'' to be this in , slowly shaping up to be RareMaleExample of TeamMom, but [[LeeroyJenkins Sigrun]] just keeps on overruling him.
** While Sigrun seems like an inversion in the beginning (Absolutely Unreasonable Authority Figure), she proves surprisingly fitting to this trope after the team crosses [[PointOfNoReturn Oresund Bridge]].
* Mr. Verres of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' is far more reasonable than one would expect from the head of an organization that essentially acts as TheMenInBlack. He has a reputation for resolving situations in a manner that tends to favor the well-being of those involved over preserving secrets, and he has earned so much respect from those serving under him, that they still often secretly report to him even when he is no longer their boss. Most dangerous plotlines occur when he is impossible to reach.
** His replacement, Arthur, is likewise quite reasonable, despite being initially antagonistic. While he's positioned as an opposing force initially, it turns out to be due to working from incomplete information - and once he and Tedd get the full story, he immediately agrees that Tedd was correct and offers support and funding.
* The mayor in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' is not initially an example, but her intern ''is''. Up to and including risking his employment to protect sapient robots [[spoiler:from the Gardener in the Dark program]], going directly against the mayor's decisions to do so.
** Both Mr. Raibert and the Police chief also count.
** The Mayor eventually accepts that the artificial intelligences she'd been dismissing really are sapient, because [[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2400/fv02386.htm mounting evidence caused her to rethink the issue]]. [[spoiler:Later, she resigns, because she feels her trouble with seeing AI as genuinely sapient means she ''can't'' be a Reasonable Authority Figure.]]
*** The Mayor also tried to give [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Kornada]] a fair trial after the news about "Gardener in the Dark" broke. Especially notable since there was only one other judge on the planet, and that one literally wanted him to burn.
* An abbot early in ''Webcomic/GetMedieval'' establishes the comic's lack of MedievalMorons. He shelters, clothes and feeds two marooned HumanAliens because they're in need. When a paranoid monk points out that one of them has slept in for morning mass, the abbot notes that the one who attended paid more attention than half the brothers.
* Baron Wulfenbach of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' runs a ruthless dictatorship. He allows his subjects to parody or even mock him in the press, and generally he only uses lethal force when the need for it becomes blatantly obvious - even a full-fledged French Revolution-style ''uprising'' is put down with StunGuns. A very reasonable dictator.
** He has two rules: The (''[[SealedEvilInACan apocalyptic]]'') devices of the [[BigBad Other]] must immediately be turned over to him for study, and nations/city-states are not allowed to go to war with each other (in fact, the motto for his ''[[http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Pax_Transylvania Pax Transylvania]]'' is "Don't make me come over there"). Also, aside of keeping crack troops to uphold the peace; he builds and maintain roads, schools, and hospitals; provides support to cities and even has firefighting and emergency communication forces. On top of ''that'', his tax policies are ''so'' reasonable that the only time they're mentioned is [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090225#.VWvGY-cUpug when Gil defends the Wulfenreich]] - people have so little problem with being taxed they simply '''don't consider it worth mentioning.'''
** When he took hostages from the royal families to ensure that they didn't go to war with their neighbors, he didn't ignore them or abuse them. Instead he got the best nanny he could and proceeded to educate them out of being potential {{Royal Brat}}s and into RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething, [[KingIncognito his own son]] being among them. Tarvek mentions that being released from his hostage status was "[[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090918#.U7Wfs3xOVdg the worst punishment ever."]] Also the novelization mentions that he passed an equivalent of a Civil Rights act, forbidding discrimination against [[ArtificialHuman constructs.]]
** Klaus managed to keep power in most of Europe (mainly excluding England and the city state of Paris) in a ''world ruled by {{mad scientist}}s''. He accepts aid from AxCrazy ex-pirate queen Bangladesh Dupree and former servants of his enemies -- having them under his control is more effective and helps keep the peace, so he not only assimilated armies as casually as UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan, but made it a standard procedure. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071207 He made sure it's well-known]] that he also offers surrendering soldiers the opportunity to join his army or take generous severance packages. He also keeps a reasonable base of young [[MadScientist sparks]] and royals loyal to him (or at least completely awed and understanding it's the best place they could find), many becoming good friends with his heir, so that war won't break out once he's gone. It still did the moment he landed in a hospital, but at least with a few clear-cut factions and even possibility to salvage his empire, instead of the open-for-all war he stopped.
* Princess Voluptua in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is viceroy of Earth's solar system, and (apparently unlike a lot of Nemesite aristocrats) takes her job seriously and responsibly. Even Zippobic, who hates the Nemesites in general, has conceded that he respects and trusts her. When Bob reported that Earth was being attacked by lobster aliens, she promptly sent help because it was a "legitimate police call." However, when he needed her help to find a home for a baby giant, she again helped, but this time with the warning that he shouldn't count on her to help him out of messes that she and her government have nothing to do with.
* ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'' plays with this slightly with White Noise, Captain of the Executioners... which makes him in charge of ''a band of criminals''.
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''
** General Tarquin, despite being, you know, a LawfulEvil [[TheManBehindTheMan man behind the man]] who by genre conventions should be holding at least one of them hostage and assuming they're trying to manipulate him. He recognizes that the heroic party is probably fighting a global scale threat that is as much a danger to him as to anybody else, and aids them unconditionally regardless of the philosophical differences... Until the trope is [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] when he double-cross the protagonists later on because it turns out Tarquin only sees the main plot as a "side quest" and believes the party's ''real'' quest is an epic about Elan [[spoiler: aka his son]] bringing him down in spectacular, myth-making fashion. As soon as it's made clear that ''he'' is the side quest, not the other way around, the facade shatters entirely.
** Lord Shojo, who was quite a capable ruler of Azure City, even when he needed to [[ObfuscatingStupidity fake senility]] to stave off assassination by ambitious rivals, and recruited the Order of the Stick behind the backs of his paladins because he realized that with their hidebound code, they could not both keep their oath and save the other gates.
** For that matter, Shojo's nephew Hinjo, who is quite reasonable for a paladin, often taking the advice of our heroes and accepting the fact that he cannot do everything himself. Then again, no paladin is bad compared to [[KnightTemplar Miko]]...
* A ''PvP'' arc had Brent being stalked and bullied by a bike cop after he got on the latter's wrong side. When Brent and Francis go complain to the cop's supervisor, we see that he's a nice, down-to-earth and reasonable person, who promises to look into the matter. Problem solved, right? Well...not quite. Unfortunately for Brent, Francis finds the fact that said supervisor is a midget very (and offensively) amusing...
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has Thurl, whom even Tagon recognize as [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2009-03-28 the prime source of advice]]. Elf was promoted after leading a rescue mission, after which she designed a communication device that impressed the local MadScientist without being taught such things (or much of anything), but [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2009-04-15 when wondering why Thurl is so effective]]:
--> '''[[EnsignNewbie Elf]]''': Thurl, why did she give you a "yessir?" She won't even listen to ''me'' but she outranks ''you''!\\
'''Thurl''': That's the difference between personal authority and position authority.\\
'''Elf''': I don't get it.\\
'''Thurl''': I know. That's why you're in charge, but you're taking orders from me at the moment.
** Captain Tagon also has his moments; [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-02-26 one noteworthy meeting]] not only saw him ask Lieutenant Pibald about a plan[[note]]"The doctor informs me each week on exactly how crazy you are. I want your '''''favorite'''''."[[/note]] to take over a base as part of a BatmanGambit to get their client to renegotiate a contract, but have Kevyn provide an estimate on how valuable the site was.
--> "I gave you an order with loopholes in it."
* The U.S. military from the [[AlternateUniverse alternate]] wraith universe in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''. Torg, who's somewhat GenreSavvy, is surprised to discover that a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] world can have a very friendly and helpful military-industrial complex.
** The Prime counterpart of their Secretary of Defense also qualifies.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Cheer}}'', Mr. Madison is considered nice and well-liked by his students. He's the one the girls go to for help when they find that the class president was chained up in the Student Council room, and when we see him teaching, he tries to make obscure math formulas interesting before admitting that the students can forget them after the test.
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' has '''Palpatine''' as one of these. Instead of him corrupting Anakin (like in the films), [[spoiler: it's the other way around.]]
-->'''Jar Jar''': Dis meaning war, wesa needs to have a stronger leader! Mesa suggests Chancellor Palpatine gets emergency powers!\\
'''Palpatine''': What?!
-->'''Palpatine''': In the wrong hands, such a thing[[note]]The Peace Moon (aka The Death Star)[[/note]] could be... disastrous.\\
'''Anakin''': But in the right hands?\\
'''Palpatine''': There ''are'' no right hands!
** However it does remain somewhat ambiguous just how much is truly Anakin's influence. [[spoiler: Palpatine ''does'' very promptly put a RestrainingBolt on Anakin once he's forced to don the armor, so at least everything from the end of Episode III on may indeed be Palpatine's doing.]] Of course, it turns out [[spoiler: he actually put it on '''Padme''' after Anakin died. And then it turns out that Anakin's vengeful ghost has been haunting him and driving him to madness.]]
* Lero-Ro, a Ranker from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''.
* ''Webcomic/{{Godslave}}'' has Sobek, who takes one good look at Anpu and decides (correctly) that the fennec-shaped god has no qualifications to take care of Edith by himself. He then sets up an account for her to solve her money problems while she's PlotCoupon-hunting, and tells her to come to him for aid anytime. The problem is, of course, that he's supposed to be working for Heru, Anpu's enemy.
* ''Webcomic/{{Sparklecare}}'': Most of the nurses seem to be genuinely caring, especially Nurse Kills, who defends and tries to comfort Barry.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The "Denazra" plot line produced by ''WebVideo/NatOneProductions' invokes this trope frequently. While there's a fair amount of [[VastBureaucracy inefficiency and dithering]], the Coalition generally seems to be a benevolent organization trying to get a bunch of different species to join together and fight against a [[RobotWar common foe]]. Unfortunately, they're still losing.
* Both the headmistress and the head of Security at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. The headmistress turns out to be one of the great superheroines of the 20th century, and the head of security turns out to be a highly trained ex-special Forces military expert. So maybe the people who hired these guys count too.
* Explored in the short story "The Big Bitch" http://strangestoriesaboutsadpeople.blogspot.com/2010/08/big-bitch.html
* The Lord of the Supreme Council in ''Literature/TheQuestportChronicles''.
* In ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'', the Emperor himself. Bitter and caustic as he may be, he's genuinely upset at what has become of the Imperium and is slowly trying to put it back the way it was before the Horus Heresy, even considering letting the aliens join his nation.
** The Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard tries to be this to a very minor extent among his fellow High Lords. He tries to impede them from weakening the Imperial Guard, by keeping laxatives and air legal.
** Ecclesiarch Descius, despite his organization being disbanded by Imperial order, still tries to fulfill this role and [[spoiler:stop Karamazov from killing the Custodes]].
* A large part of the reason that Skitter became a VillainProtagonist in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' was because none of the authority figures she ever encountered were reasonable. That said, Miss Militia, a superhero in [[TheCity Brockton Bay]] promoted to lead the local superhero team after her predecessor's retirement, is unquestionably evenhanded and responsible.
* His Honor, Edward Dyer, Mayor of a fictionalized Orlando in the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' setting. Are you a superior coming to him to report an alien invasion? He'll listen and even take your advice on how to defend the city. Zombies? He'll listen. Supervillains infiltrating the mayor's office. He'll even listen to you if he's your prime suspect. Of course, if you're wrong, he'll read you the riot act for wasting his time.
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The Beacon staff all seem to be very tolerant of extra-curricular activities and approachable mentor figures. Professor Ozpin in particular is very perceptive about things the heroes want to keep hidden, such as Team RWBY investigating the White Fang and Torchwick, as well as Blake being a faunus. He is mostly willing to overlook rule breaking and even borderline-criminal activities if the student in question truly has good reason for doing so. He is also very kindly and is always prepared to offer advice to his students, even in personal matters a teacher need not necessarily pay attention to.
** On the other hand, Ozpin's behaviour may actually not be entirely benevolent, making him a subversion. He has had pupils die on his watch in the past, and Raven implies that this may be due to them being manipulated by him into doing his bidding when they think they're acting of their own free will. She even goes so far as to hint that he has a tendency to take an unhealthy interest in one or two particularly good teams in a given intake and bend the rules for them so they can operate as off-the-book agents for him, even though the students in question may not realise that it's even happening. Cinder describes him as arrogant, a description apparently given to him by Salem
* Arthéon from ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' seems to be this. Notably, he and his RagtagBunchOfMisfits guild ended up involved in the second novel's plot because he was willing to follow a lead given by a random player nobody else was believing.
* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'': [[spoiler:In "Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney", when the two devolve into childish insults, UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln interrupts and reroutes the debate back to the actual issues at hand, then accurately assesses the faults of both sides while also acknowledging the valid points they make.]] In general, of the authority figures shown in the series, Lincoln is the one portrayed most sympathetically and the one who seems most fit to be in charge. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he refuses to make fun of a show without watching it first.]]
* ''Literature/HeroesSaveTheWorld'': Several of the Children have approached adults about what is happening. While they were met with disbelief, this gave way to acceptance after receiving proof of superpowers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Commander Joseph Walsh, DaChief from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers''. He's a BenevolentBoss who does his best to protect the Rangers from the political pressure inflicted by ObstructiveBureaucrat Senator Whiner.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'':
** Principal Brown is often petty and frivolous, but in "The Apology" he refuses to punish Gumball or Darwin unless he's given solid evidence that they're causing trouble, and he threatens to fire Miss Simian if she keeps trying to frame them, in spite of his personal feelings for her.
** While the Doughnut Sheriff is often reckless and the embodiment of PoliceAreUseless, has his moments of being this, such as in "The Car"; when the Robinsons demand he arrest the Wattersons for destroying their car, he refuses to do so without a warrant, gives the Robinsons multiple warnings to calm down, and ultimately subdues and arrests them once they smash the Wattersons' own car and attack him in a fit of rage.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** The Earth King, he even had an EvilChancellor, Long Feng, who tried to discredit Aang and co. (among other unpleasantness). He listens to Aang and co. even though they fight their way into his throne room, and is eminently reasonable and rational when deciding their case. He eventually agrees to help plan an invasion of the Fire Nation and arrest Long Feng. It's averted in ''[[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePromise the Promise]]'' comics: the Earth King refuses to [[spoiler:have an audience with Zuko after the latter withdraws his support of the Harmony Restoration Movement, instead choosing to go to war with the Fire Nation over the colonies.]]
%%** Chief Hakoda probably qualifies also.
%%** General Iroh could qualify as well [[spoiler: especially after he lost his son and had no more lust for conquest. He spent the remainder of his life trying to be the voice of reason for Zuko and aimed to influence his nephew from the path of darkness Iroh's evil brother and niece were on.]]
%%** Monk Gyatso is another canidate as he always looked out for Aang's well-being as a boy while the other elder monks, fearful of a coming war, saw Aang as a small Avatar and wanted to force him to train rather then let Aang mature to be able to handle the responsibility.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** Katara has become this, the prime example being that unlike the other White Lotus members, who would stop Korra from going to Republic City, she gives her her blessing to go there, remembering how she went on her journey in the original series. That, and she decides to let her son Tenzin train Korra in Airbending.
** Lin Beifong may look like a hardhearted lady who continually sticks to the law, but once you get to know her, she's a good ally and will listen well if you have a crime to tell her about.
** Fire Lord Izumi firmly establishes herself as one. She readily agrees to lend resources to defend and retaliate against Kuvira, but she is under no illusions about the Fire Nation's reputation and the political fallout of being party to a preemptive strike.
* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor:'' Numbuh 362 is the Supreme Leader of the KND, and even though she often has to play parent to "eleventy-billion operatives with short attention spans", the safety and wellbeing of her fellow operatives is always her top priority.
* ''WesternAnimation/DanVs''. Normally, the universe hates Dan, and Dan reciprocates, but sometimes the universe throws Dan a bone in the form of this trope.
** In "Dan Vs. Traffic", Dan is having a PottyEmergency while stuck in traffic, and breaks several laws in his haste to get home. A cop pulls him over as he's driving on the sidewalk. Dan explains how badly he has to use the bathroom, and the cop simply lets him leave.
** In "Dan Vs. Baseball", Dan and Chris go to ludicrous lengths to kidnap the Commissioner of Baseball. However, when Dan actually stops to explain his grievances against baseball (namely that it broke his car's mirror, and it pre-empted his favorite show), the Commissioner immediately gives Dan the money to fix the mirror and promises to make sure the show never gets pre-empted again. (Turns out the Commissioner is also a fan of that show.) So the kidnapping was completely unnecessary.
** Jeremiah Burger in "Dan Vs. Burgerphile" understands that customer service is supposed to be about the customer, and chastises Jeff for forgetting the first rule of their trade: the customer is always right. Earlier in the same episode, when Jeff tries to get the police to arrest Dan, they recognize that he's exercising his right to protest, so instead of using force they just ask him politely to leave and then go away once they find a more important issue to deal with.
* WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'s lawyer mother Helen is more or less this, at least compared to the other adults. She's very competent at work (if quite {{workaholic}}), is more emotionally stable than her borderline ManChild husband Jake (though not without her share of problems) and attempts to be a good mom to both Daria and Quinn.
* Principal Geraldine Waxelplax from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''. Sometimes played for laughs, [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes not]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Mr. Weed, Peter's deceased former boss. From what we saw, he was a pretty fair employer [[BunnyEarsLawyer in spite of his comical perversions off duty]]. Despite Peter's stupidity causing him problems [[note]]Telling an inappropriate joke to a female coworker, sleeping on the job, injuring a baseball player hired to win a softball game [[/note]], he still gave Peter plenty of chances to fix his mistakes, while making perfectly clear he ''will'' fire him if he doesn't clean up his act (in at least one instance he does stick to that threat, but of course StatusQuoIsGod). In his last appearance, he gave Peter a big promotion all because he was treated to a good dinner... [[YankTheDogsChain just before he choked to death on a dinner roll]].
* The head of the monastery from ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' episode "Expedition to Khumbu". When the villains try to frame the boys for stealing an artifact from the monastery, he is ready to give them the benefit of doubt, despite the evidence against them. He then immediately turns the table on the bad guys by asking them one sensible question which they fail to answer.
* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012''
** Mrs. Twombly, the littlest pet shop owner, helping out Blythe Baxter on certain situations[[note]]At least, when she's not being a CloudCuckooLander, which is most of the time.[[/note]].
** Fisher Biskit is this to his daughters [[DependingOnTheWriter most of the time]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Princess Celestia, who in addition to being a kind, gentle pony (willing to forgive her formerly insanely evil sister after Luna tearfully apologized), is also a ruler that isn't as stuffy and proper as one would think, as she once pulled a light-hearted prank on the Cakes to get them to loosen up during a visit from her. Two episodes in particular highlight this trait for the Princess:
*** "A Bird in the Hoof", in which her reaction to Fluttershy's well-intentioned bird-napping of her pet to nurse it back to health is primarily to chide Fluttershy for not asking about the bird, [[spoiler:a phoenix on the tail end of its rebirth/death cycle]], in a CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot, in addition to having said [[spoiler: phoenix]] apologize to Fluttershy for intentionally making her life difficult when the pegasus was only trying to care for it.
*** "Lesson Zero" has Twilight Sparkle having a monumental FreakOut because she hadn't written her weekly [[AnAesop aesop]] report to Celestia. The princess shows up after Twilight's attempts to rectify the situation have wreaked chaos upon Ponyville, and is implied to given Twilight a well-earned, offscreen lecture before starting to reassure her. When her friends burst in begging Celestia to forgive Twilight, citing ''their'' not taking her feelings seriously as the cause of the problems, she takes the chance to drive the lesson home ''and'' lighten Twilight's (perceived) workload by having the others join in the reporting ''only'' when there's something to report.
*** In "The Crystal Empire," Celestia gives Twilight very specific instructions for how to resolve the episode's crisis... which Twilight then throws out once the situation [[GodzillaThreshold gets truly bad.]] Although Celestia is seemingly disappointed that things didn't go the way she wanted them to, she praises Twilight for having the good sense to recognize the severity of the situation and make an appropriate judgement call, instead of blindly following orders.
** Rarity is this for Sweetie Belle in "Ponyville Confidential." Rarity confronts Sweetie Belle upon learning that her little sister is one-third of the new local gossip columnist. Despite her anger (since a recent story had been excerpts from Rarity's diary), Rarity scolds her, uses her own [[HypocrisyNod going through Sweetie Belle's stuff for proof]] to drive home the point about personal privacy, and finish it up by questioning whether Sweetie Belle wants writing hurtful gossip to be her destiny-declaring Cutie Mark. Everypony else was either so angry they sent the fillies away rather than risk [[MomentOfWeakness an out of line outburst]] or just shunned them outright.
** In the episode "Sweet and Elite" we have Fancypants, a wealthy and influential unicorn that befriends Rarity. Unlike many other high society ponies, he's humble, kind, and by the end of the episode establishes himself as both a NiceGuy and UnclePennybags when he stands up for Rarity and her friends in front of what is basically the cream of Canterlot high society.
** Twilight herself is this for Spike, being the main adult figure in his life. She pulls him back when he starts to go out of line.
* From the children's TV series ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', we have Principal Prickly, who, although tough on disobedience and often somewhat at odds with the main characters, has joined many an EnemyMine or cut them a very generous amount of slack when he felt their hearts were in the right place.
** Not to mention King Bob, the "ruler of the playground".
** Don't forget the kids' teacher, Mrs. Grotke. Probably the antithesis of the SadistTeacher trope.
** Although playground monitor Ms. Finster is generally shown as a stern authority figure, she is usually portrayed as unfailingly fair and given several humanizing episodes.
** Really, most of the adults in Recess are portrayed this way, with the exception of SmugSnake Mayor Fitzhugh. Substitute teacher Mr. E is another textbook example.
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'': Mayor Nettles in season two who, unlike the previous mayor and most of the adults in general, is generally supportive of Mystery Inc.'s actions. In fact she actively worked to get the group back together in the season two premiere.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has plenty of unreasonable authority figures (strangulation is a running gag), but some are this, including of all things the Commandant of the military school in The Secret War of Lisa Simpson. When the Simpson family observes a group of cadets standing at attention, Homer mocks them by throwing stones and the Commandant seems to be genuine shocked: "They're just children, Mr. Simpson!"
** Judge Roy Snyder is also this. Although he has his quirks (the clown on his desk) he is actually one of the few authority figures in Springfield who can't be bribed and is pretty lenient in his punishments.
** Seymour Skinner. DependingOnTheWriter, he can either be an ObstructiveBureaucrat, but he is usually a well-meaning (if nerdy) principal constrained by excessive budget cuts and apathetic teachers.
*** When he's not yelling at Skinner, Superintendent Chalmers can be fairly reasonable and was perhaps the only teacher able to reach out to Bart.
** Played with in "Homer Goes to College" where Homer is made to enter a college nuclear physics course to be eligible to work in the power plant. He imagines the dean to be a severe authoritarian like the ''Film/AnimalHouse'' parodies he's watched, and never seems to realise the dean is really a friendly and fair-minded person.
* Of the four rulers in ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders,'' King Cryos of Ice is far and away the most sensible. It's a lucky thing that he's the first one Graveheart and Tekla have to deal with.
* Cortes in ''WesternAnimation/{{Skyland}}'', though he often wonders why he listens to kids.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' had Chef (until they killed him off). It wasn't so much that nobody else would believe the kids, so much as he was often the only vaguely competent and intelligent adult in the entire town. It tends to be a town full of Mulders, with the kids usually playing Scully. Also, Principal Victoria and President Bush, as he was the only one in "Cartoon Wars Part 2" who defended the Family Guy writers rights to free speech instead of having them arrested like many people were recommending.
** The Governor of Colorado in Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000, who was willing to pardon Cartman after the boys pointed out the hypocrisy of charging him with a hate crime.
* King Kenric is the only authority figure in ''WesternAnimation/Super4'' who actually plays the trope straight, while Dr X has too much of an ego to listen opinions, the Fairy Queen exiled Twinkle due to mistakenly turning her into a frog, and Captain Sharkbeard is outright antagonistic.
* Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs from ''WesternAnimation/SWATKats''. Unlike the LovableCoward Mayor and InspectorJavert-ish police chief, she realizes that Megakat City needs the titular vigilantes and serves as TheCommissionerGordon.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'', Splinter is this. It's highlit in the season one episode "It Came From The Depths", where he professes that Michelangelo is right when he says that the Turtles owe it to Leatherhead to give him a chance, but also agrees that Leatherhead must be reasonably restrained, since he is a super-strong giant gator-man prone to sporadic bursts of violent fury.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' has Ultra Magnus from Cybertron (who unfortunately has [[{{Jerkass}} Sentinel Prime]] as his primary advisor), and Captain Fanzone from Earth. Later in the series, when Ultra Magnus is [[KingOnHisDeathbed out of action]] and Sentinel Prime takes over, Alpha Trion fills this role.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has Special Agent William Fowler. While he does get frustrated with the Autobots from time to time, he lets them do their thing as long as no one gets injured ([[WhatMeasureIsAMook besides Decepticons and MECH]]). And when the Autobots need something only a human can provide, Fowler will cooperate if he's available.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' there's Able, the boss of Able's Garage. He stands up to the Occupation whenever they harass his employees, and lets Beck get away with having so many breaks and being absent so often [[spoiler:due to Able knowing that Beck is The Renegade.]]
* Faragonda, the headmistress of Alfea in ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub''. She is generally kind to her students, though she is willing to put up with no nonsense from them, and will discipline them as she sees fit. As well, she does not take kindly from students from other schools causing trouble at Alfea either and will take action if necessary.
* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "Hawk and Dove," the North Kasnian leader might qualify. Both sides of the civil war are being manipulated by Ares, who just gets a kick out of seeing people kill each other, and to this end supplies the North Kasnians with a superweapon called the Annihilator. Ares is furious when the North Kasnian leader calls off his troops once they drive the South Kasnians off their land since he doesn't ''want'' to run the country, he just doesn't want his people to be oppressed. When Ares insists that he use the Annihilator to wipe his enemies off the face of the earth, insulting him in the process, the North Kasnian leader immediately breaks off their agreement and tells him to bugger off and take the Annihilator with him. Unfortunately, Ares kills him right after and impersonates him to lead the attack himself.
* Melanie Baker from ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}'' is the most (and possibly only) reasonable faculty member at Clarence's school.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': In "Jack Remembers The Past", Jack recalls bullies picking on him and refusing to give him his ball. When he tells his father, his father is sympathetic, but he says he cannot interfere with the bullying because he did not want to abuse his power. In the end, he trusts his son to learn how to handle them...which he does.
[[/folder]]

* After taking over leadership of the Avengers in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1033283 What If]]'', Colonel Rhodes refuses to play favorites (Steve notices that Rhodes tends to get angrier with Tony than anyone else despite being his friend) and spends some time trying to make Steve is second in command until Steve determine he's not actually suited for military life. Unlike Rhodey, Steve can't diplomatically speak with police or handle criticism from the UN who weren't present during a given mission.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Mr. Weed, Peter's deceased former boss. From what we saw, he was a pretty fair employer. Despite Peter's stupidity causing him problems [[note]]Telling an inappropriate joke to a female coworker, injuring a baseball player hired to win a softball game [[/note]], he still gave Peter plenty of chances to fix his mistakes. In his last appearance, he gave Peter a big promotion all because he was treated to a good dinner... [[YankTheDogsChain just before he choked to death on a dinner roll]].

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Ned Stark does his best to keep this ideal, though the effectiveness of his rule is debatable. This is Robert's reason for wanting Ned as Hand of the King. In fact, if he had it his way, he'd let Ned rule the Seven Kingdoms with him.
** For all his faults, Lord Tywin was this as Hand to the Mad King, whose reign only fell off the rails after Tywin resigned. He'll push through his ultimate decision at the end of every dispute, but he's willing to listen to reason if it genuinely suits his purposes.
*** He is instrumental in stabilizing Joffrey's reign after the Battle of Blackwater.
*** Despite his relationships with his children, he continues to practice PragmaticVillainy with them. While he ''loathes'' Tyrion, he trusts him as Hand until Tywin himself arrives to fill the role, and preludes a brutal TheReasonYouSuckSpeech in Season 3 by telling Tyrion he will be given quarters and a position more suitable for his talents and standing, and keeps his word by naming him Master of Coin. Cersei, on the other hand, is told outright that she is "not as clever as she thinks she is" and kept out of important decisions to the best of his ability.
*** He is disgusted by Loras Tyrell's homosexuality, but still respects the young man's fighting skills and wishes to use them — Tywin did allow Loras to command the vanguard at the Battle of Blackwater, after all, and even to do so wearing his late lover's armor.
*** He thinks Ser Gregor's torture of prisoners is a waste of time and stops it.
*** He recognizes Arya as a girl very quickly. Later, he deduces (correctly) that she is i) a Northerner and ii) highborn, but realises that she is alone in the world and her actions are to protect herself.
*** Despite his behavior before Joffrey, he ''is'' fully aware that Daenaerys will eventually bring her three dragons to Westeros; Tywin knows Dorne was the only country to withstand Aegon I and his dragons, so he is willing to bargain with Oberyn Martell.
** Daenerys likes to see herself as this and decides to stay in Slaver's Bay to practice it.
** Robb will not be a dick to his subjects, is merciful to enemy combatants and will hear them out. He also follows Ned's example that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.
** Most of Lyanna Mormont's decisions are taken with advice of her maester and sentinel but she also knows when it's her call. Even though she is loyal to the Starks she won't throw her men in battle without convincing arguments and does not ask any large compensation from the Starks when she sides with them as they are her liege.
** Kevan Lannister:
*** In "Fire and Blood", Kevan is willing to make peace with the Starks since the Lannisters only went to war with the Starks and Tullys because Catelyn humiliated Tywin by kidnapping Tyrion, which pales in comparison to their bigger problem of Robert's brothers challenging Joffrey's claim to the throne. As Tyrion explains, the peace deal would have worked if Joffrey hadn't killed Ned, destroying any chance of Robb stopping his war efforts.
*** In Season 2, he advises Tywin to tell Joffrey and Cersei to flee King's Landing before Stannis attacks, and regroup at Casterly Rock. Tywin completely rejects this idea, and while it would be politically disastrous for the Lannister family if they fled, it is clear that his refusal is largely because of his own pride.
*** In Season 5, he's the only person to speak out against Cersei, pointing out that she is stacking the council with her own sycophants, and refuses to act as her puppet. He states he is loyal to the King, but ''only'' to the King, not his mother.
*** In Season 6, he purposefully locks Cersei out of Small Council meetings. Considering Cersei's scheming is the sole cause of the entire Sparrow crisis and one of the primary causes ''this entire war'' is occuring, one can see why that'd be a wise move.
** Varys is a poignant, competent advisor and not a particularly wicked schemer by the standards of the Court. His vocal concern for the realm seems genuine enough.
** In "The Kingsroad", Robert stops drinking for long enough to point out that children fighting is normal and not something that requires royal intervention, though this may be because it was impossible to take any action that wouldn't upset either his wife or his best friend. The rest of the time? Not so much.
** Stannis shows signs of this when he arrives at the Wall, such as by allowing Jon to choose whether to spare Mance Rayder, and then adhering to his decision to do so. When Jon points out that the Night's Watch can't keep feeding his army, Stannis acknowledges this and says he'll move his troops out as soon as possible.
** Renly is this towards Ned, and generally has a much better grasp on the situation in the country than does his brother who is ruling it. Robb correctly believes Renly would be more open-minded about his demands for an independent North than Stannis. Despite the Young Wolf's opinion in Season 1 that Stannis is the rightful king after Robert's death, he decides to negotiate with Renly in Season 2 for an alliance against the Lannisters.
* Agent Cabe Gallows on ''Series/{{Scorpion}}'', despite being an archetypal, tough-nose government agent, is quick to trust his socially awkward genius subordinates, often following up on their theories with little to no arguing, and often even brings his own brand of crime-fighting to back them up. The fact that he's also played by Creator/RobertPatrick is just a plus.
* In ''Series/AuctionKings'', Paul is very level-headed and tends to take Jon's screw-ups in stride. Cindy tends to be more hot-headed.
* Jack [=McCoy=] from ''Series/LawAndOrder'' is the very definition of tough but fair; while he usually dishes out harsh punishments, they are proportional to the crime. It is only after the opposition attempts some shifty defense that he goes all gung ho. For example [=McCoy=] once prosecuted a an unrepented drunk driver for killing three pedestrians. [=McCoy=] went KnightTemplar to convict this driver, hiding witnesses, hide evidence; it is only when [=McCoy=] sees that the driver truly regrets his actions that [=McCoy=] changes his mind and submits the flight attendant's statement at trial, prompting a plea bargain. Furthermore his underlying motivation is a sincere desire to see justice done. To that end he looks at the fact meticulously, there have been a number of innocent defendants who only had their word to back up their claim. If it wasn’t for [=McCoy=] they would be in Jail.
** This came back to bite [=McCoy=] in the butt later on in the series once his name got into the text books. GenreSavvy defense attorneys knew something was up if a plea was too lenient.
* ''{{Series/MASH}}'': Col. Potter's decisions are always the right ones, and he's not afraid to yell at the DesignatedHero when he happens to be in the wrong.
* Assistant Director Skinner from ''Series/TheXFiles'' really does listen to Mulder & Scully if they can back it up.
* In ''{{Series/Sherlock}}'' Detective Inspector LeStrade is usually willing to let Sherlock do what he must to solve the mystery at hand, often against his own better judgement.
* Pope in ''Series/PrisonBreak'' treats the inmates with a degree of respect. He doesn't talk about them in a demeaning way, as the guards tend to; seems genuinely sorry whenever he has to deliver bad news; and takes abuses of authority seriously. An interesting example because even though viewers are expected to have some sympathy for the protagonists, Pope--understandably--never supports their goal of escape. [[spoiler:At least in the first season, since he doesn't have much authority outside the prison.]]
* President Henry Hayes in ''Series/StargateSG1'', with a prejudiced/misguided Evil Vice President (Kinsey).
** Generals Hammond, O'Neill and Landry too.
--->''[Dr. Jackson has just finished giving intel about the Jaffa to SG-1 and Gen. Hammond, based on a dream]''
--->'''Dr. Jackson:''' ''[surprised]'' So, you believe me, too?
--->'''Gen. Hammond:''' The things I've heard sitting in this chair…
*** The episode "Sight Unseen" has a great example where Jonas Quinn (still sort of the new guy) claims to see something no one else can (a large bug crawling around). Hammond immediately orders a lockdown and investigation into the matter.
** It's especially evident once the President finds out about everything Kinsey has done, he shuts him up in order to listen to Dr. Weir and fires him in the same breath. In fact, the President tells him that with so much compromising evidence against him, Kinsey's lucky he's not getting shot for treason.
** Colonel Caldwell from ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' also fits this trope, [[spoiler:especially after they get that Goa'uld out of his head]].
** Richard Woolsey was introduced to the franchise as an ObstructiveBureaucrat, and everyone was worried when he took command of ''Atlantis'' in the final season. While he remains an unapologetic bureaucrat, Woolsey does prove himself to be fairly reasonable, and he's willing to bend the rules here and there in exceptional circumstances.
** The InvisiblePresident who was in office before Henry Hayes. Whenever he's mentioned, it's usually because he's signing off on some ridiculous plan that SG-1 has come up with.
* Sheriff Andy Taylor of ''Series/TheAndyGriffithShow'' is both a subversion where the hero IS the authority figure, and one of the most thoroughly detailed depictions of this trope. Over the seasons, there have been a vast number of events, ranging from minor NarrativeFiligree to entire episode A-plots, depicting Andy's dedication to adapting his approach to crime based on the particular case and person at hand, and his goal of defusing tensions and trouble to prevent crime and strife from arising in the first place rather than being focused on punishing violators.
* President Bartlet of ''Series/TheWestWing'' is a mild version of one of these, in that he actually listens to practical and moral reasons for his actions, rather than scheming and ignoring the facts for political gain.
* Ultimately played for laughs (just like everything else) in ''Series/ICarly''. Principal Franklin, the principal of Carly's school, is not strict at all, once getting Carly and her friends out of detention, and even giving Carly a reprieve when her friend hacked into the school's computer to change her grades. In the end however, this is at least [[HandWave partially explained]] by the fact that the principal is a big fan of Carly's webshow, and she wouldn't be able to do the show if she were spending all her time in detention.
** It seems that he is more than aware of how [[SadistTeacher sadistic the teachers]] are at his school, which sets him up as the one ray of hope in an otherwise miserable environment.
* Admiral Forrest, Starfleet's CINC on ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' is just about the only instance of a consistently supportive admiral in the franchise; the standard is more like Admiral Nechayev from TNG.
* ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space 9]]''
** Admiral Ross also had a tendency to be fairly reasonable... In fact, he tended to be the voice of reason when Sisko began to [[ChewingTheScenery chew scenery]].
** Speaking of [=DS9=], Martok is among a handful of reasonable Klingon leaders seen on screen. Though this becomes a problem when Chancellor Gowron (a thoroughly political GloryHound) thinks that Martok's victories will eventually allow him to challenge Gowron's position (something Martok, a career soldier of the Empire, has no intention of doing). Indeed, Gowron's paranoia ends up becoming a SelfFulfillingProphecy; Worf, furious over Gowron's treatment of Martok, [[KlingonPromotion challenges him in combat and wins]], then passes the mantle to Martok.
** Zek, Grand Nagus of the Ferengi, is a greedy capitalist, always looking for the best deal to make money and power. However, as the Nagus, his job is to be the standard-bearer of greed and moral limits. He cannot be the type of man who would tank the entire Ferengi economy as a means to gain personal power. He also won't play favor for Quark because [[spoiler:he is dating and in love with Quark's mom]] because Quarkk's problems come from the [=FCA=] and while it is in his power to pardon Quark, it wouldn't be good business.
* Admiral Paris from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' is also fairly reasonable, being willing to try out Reg Barclay's [[CrazyEnoughToWork highly theoretical]] way to contact ''Voyager'' from across the galaxy and then congratulating him when it works. Then again, to tolerate [[CloudCuckoolander Barclay]] for any length of time, he'd ''have'' to be patient.
* Chief Karen Vick in ''Series/{{Psych}}'', as well as being DaChief, also demonstrates these traits; she puts up with Shawn's antics with a remarkable amount of restraint, considering, and treats him and his "psychic" abilities reasonably and respectfully, although certainly not blindly.
** In later seasons, Head Detective Carlton Lassiter also applies. While still outwardly rude and disbelieving of Shawn, he sees that Shawn gets results and lets more and more of his childishness by.
* Camille Saroyan from ''Series/{{Bones}}'', also DaChief, is very reasonable (albeit exasperated) with her team of squints. While she feels like the OnlySaneWoman, she respects the work her colleagues do and assists them accordingly.
** From earlier seasons, Dr. Goodman is an example as well. While he was often tired of his team's antics, he treated them well.
* Captain Stottlemeyer of ''Series/{{Monk}}'' qualifies: he is Adrian Monk's closest friend, he rarely doubts Monk's intuition ("He's the guy."), and he even orders his officers to accommodate Monk's obsessions (one time he has officers pop all the bubbles on a piece of bubble wrap, so Monk can get on with solving the case).
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': While Principal Snyder skirted on the edge of being TheDragon to the season three BigBad (despite having shown up two seasons earlier), Sunnydale High's other two principals were both {{Reasonable Authority Figure}}s. Principal Flutie meant well and tried to reach out to the students [[spoiler: (and was ''eaten'' for his pains)]], and Principal Wood comes close to joining Buffy's BandOfBrothers [[spoiler:and does in the end.]]
** There's also Giles who was reasonable as a Watcher when compared to Wesley (and the rest of the Watchers' Council). He understandably often tries to get Buffy to take her studies more seriously, but he's also one of the few Watchers who doesn't feel the need to prevent her from having friends or a life outside of slaying.
** Faith and Kennedy become this in the comics. The former was leading a squad of slayers in England until they left her over Angel, while the latter formed an agency of former slayers turned BodyguardBabes and showed how reasonable she had become when Buffy worked for her, royally screws up, plans to skip, and attacked her. [[spoiler: The ending to ''Angel & Faith'' suggests the two will be working together.]]
* Principal Larritate in ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''. Yes, he comes down hard on Alex but only because he feels she ''needs'' it more. Harper on the other hand gets off with a wrist slap because she's not really a problem, or another trouble maker he let's off lightly because he knows he won't get though to him. He also offers Alex an alternate to being suspended even though she may find the cure worse than the disease.
** Jerry usually qualifies.
* Bill Buchanan in ''Series/TwentyFour'', a rare boss who understands that Jack [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what he has to do]].
** President David Palmer was all over this trope long before Buchanan.
** President Allison Taylor was this as well, excluding a few episodes near the end of the series.
** On Day 3, Ryan Chappelle was evolving from an ObstructiveBureaucrat into this, [[spoiler:even performing a HeroicSacrfice to help save the day]].
* Visitors from the corporate headquarters in New York tend to be this in the US version of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}''. David Wallace in particular is willing to take both business and human considerations into his decisions (e.g. his willingness to not go through with Jim's plan in "The Meeting").
** As reasonable as they are, they also managed to run the company into the ground.
* Principal Lasseter of ''Series/LifeWithDerek'' is a disciplinarian, but is willing to consider more important things, such as the effect expelling Derek would have on school morale.
* [[TheGrimReaper Death]] on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. Not that he's there to in any way help the Winchesters, or anyone for that matter, but he values order, and is in charge of keeping the cycle of life and death continuing so the chaos doesn't destroy the universe. He is incredibly fair-handed in doing this, allows completely for the events of free will to be followed to their natural conclusion, and doesn't use "destiny" as an excuse to fuck people around. This means that all the Angels and Demons out there who play havoc with the natural order, arrogantly declaring that they can do whatever they want REALLY pisses him off (particularly considering how insignificant they are in comparison to him). As a result, if the Winchesters' aims coincide with his own, he ''will'' help them out. He is also the ''only'' entity in the whole of existence who Dean actually respects. And considering his exposure to both God and the Devil, that is saying something.
* Principal Figgins of Series/{{Glee}} qualifies. Although irrational at times (seriously, vampires?) and a occasionally a coward under Sue, He often gives rational statements over the feud between Sue and Will.
* Cedric Daniels from ''Series/TheWire''. Although [[CowboyCop McNulty]] sometimes sees him as an ObstructiveBureaucrat, he is a very competent and reasonable officer dedicated to quality police work.
** For such a deathly [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynical]] series, ''Series/TheWire'' contains a surprising amount of these, from Howard "Bunny" Colvin, Tommy Carcetti [[spoiler:at first]], Gus Haynes, and [[spoiler:Roland Pryzbylewski]] when the latter becomes a teacher.
* Captain Roy Montgomery in ''Series/{{Castle}}'' is incredibly tolerant of Richard Castle's presence in the unit and remarkably willing to accommodate his theories and viewpoints on the cases he and Detective Kate Beckett investigate; this is partially because of pressure from higher-ups regarding the positive press that comes from having a bestselling mystery writer base a character on one of his police detectives, but he also appears to genuinely respect Castle's abilities and like the man personally. He also acts as a [[FatherToHisMen father figure]] to his detectives, particularly Beckett.
* District Attorney Devalos on ''Series/{{Medium}}'' always listens to Allison and thinks about what she says. Though frequently he doesn't immediately do anything with the information, it's not because he doesn't trust her. It's because he knows that there are only certain things he can use in court, and her visions aren't among them.
* The Mexican police chief in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles''. A couple of American kids get in a fight in a bar, he's ready to let them off with a warning provided they call their parents. Too bad one of the kids is a wanted fugitive.
* The last episode of ''Series/{{Titus}}'', "The Protector", has Christopher and the gang confront [[spoiler:the man who molested Erin's niece]] in the high school washroom with intentions of [[PaedoHunt "discussing"]] the issue with him. [[DeanBitterman Principal Wells]], upon hearing the evidence, proclaims he'll call the police himself...[[TorchesAndPitchforks but he'll give them 15 minutes first]]. Admittedly, more of a Sympathetic Authority Figure than a strictly Reasonable one.
* When the governor in the new ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' comes to [=McGarrett=]'s office to rip him a new one for harassing her old friend. He tells her that one of her old friends, campaign supporter, and well-respected local business tycoon is the head of the local yakuza. Upon hearing the (fairly scanty and mostly circumstantial) evidence, she immediately believes him.
** Which later gets averted in TheReveal that she actually is corrupt and already knew the information and in bed (metaphorically) with BigBad Wo Fat.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]'', Goth insists on trying the Doctor quickly, rather than posing the next President with the choice being forgoing the usual pardon that accompanies his installment, or releasing the murderer of a beloved President -- he would, no doubt, find it hard. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], as [[TheDragon Goth]] is actually trying to get the Doctor executed for [[BigBad the Master]].]]
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E1TheMasqueOfMandragora The Masque Of Mandragora]]'', the late duke.
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace Frontier in Space]]'', both the emperor and the president.
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E2VengeanceOnVaros Vengeance on Varos]]'' the Governor, who is ruling a BreadAndCircuses society and trying to get the best prices for his people from a CorruptCorporateExecutive despite the risk to his life.
** The Doctor himself counts as one of these, though if he '''''IS''''' tearing the crap out of you, then you definitely deserve it *cough*Adam, General Cobb*cough* and only a few people - River being one and Susan being another - can possibly calm him down.
** Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (as well as his daughter Kate) is a supportive and trusting ally of the Doctor, but he's also a PragmaticHero and a bit of an AgentScully who needs the facts before he can act. These traits occasionally [[AllLovingHero have him]] [[TheWonka at odds]] with [[BunnyEarsLawyer the Doctor]], though there ''is'' a reason that he's the TropeNamer for TheBrigadier.
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace Spearhead from Space]]'', the Brigadier's immediate superior is rather dubious of his claims when he talks to him on the phone, but agrees that it sounds serious and will give the Brigadier his full support. [[spoiler: Then he puts down the phone and answers the door...]]
* ''Series/{{Roswell}}'' has Sheriff Jim Valenti, once he evolves from SecretChaser. He's willing to give [[TheHero Max]] and company the benefit of the doubt when they can't fully explain something, and actively protects them from less [[GovernmentConspiracy well meaning]] public servants.
* [[StraightMan Peter]] from ''Series/WhiteCollar'' is this, giving a nice contrast to the other main character Neal's rather [[GentlemanThief looser]] [[GuileHero morals]].
* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' Lieutenant (promoted to Captain) [[EnsembleDarkhorse Patrick Bonano]] often fills this role. Despite the fact that he knows what Nate and his crew [[JustLikeRobinHood are really doing]], he is willing to help them and let them get away with it as much as he can, often using their assistance to solve his own cases.
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'':
** Admiral AJ Chegwidden qualifies with honors. He almost always backs up his subordinates, unless they’ve committed some JustForFun/{{Egregious}} act. Sometimes when he's hit his limit over his people's eccentricities he'll go into a tirade.
** His successor, General Cresswell, would also qualify but to a much lesser extent.
** The [=SecNavs=] do also, at various points throughout the series come across like this, albait on very rare occasions.
* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': President Fitzgerald Grant.
* ''Series/TheFlipsideOfDominickHide'': Caleb, Dominick's boss in both installments, despite seeming a bit sinister, is secretly helping Dominick due to the StableTimeLoop and arranges for Dominick to be KickedUpstairs rather than fired for his transgressions.
* Senator Hidoshi from Season One of ''Series/BabylonFive'' is willing to run interference against an increasingly corrupt Earth government on behalf of Sinclair and the station, but not without telling the commander his RulesLawyer games are making things more difficult. [[spoiler: Once President Clark takes power in Season Two Hidoshi and any other voice of reasonableness on the part of [=EarthGov=] disappears completely.]]
* Major Richter, the commander of the German occupation forces in ''Series/EnemyAtTheDoor'', prefers to maintain cordial relations with the locals, wishes to see justice done without discrimination along national lines, and resists tendencies by some of his underlings (particularly the SS officer Reinicke) in a more tyrannical direction. Even so, his ideas of what is reasonable don't always accord with those of the occupied population.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
** Sgt. Brett Mahoney is the only cop Matt and Foggy trust. He's the cop they turn Hoffman over to when Hoffman snitches on Wilson Fisk, and in season 2 he gets into a reluctant partnership with Matt.
** Blake Tower becomes an ally in the district attorney's office for Nelson & Murdock when the firm begins to come in conflict with Samantha Reyes.
* Detective ''Series/{{Bosch}}'' has an adversarial relationship with Internal Affairs, but IA Captain Irving becomes more than just a straight up antagonist when he and Bosch are united by a common cause.
* Gideon Reeves of ''Series/{{APB}}'' qualifies. He actively encourages subordinates to question him and make him explain his reasoning so flaws can be found, and chooses Murphy as a primary adviser in large part ''because'' she's so up-front about telling him what she thinks he ''needs'' to hear, even if it's not what he'd ''like'' to hear.
* ''Series/IronFist2017'': Once he confirms Danny is who he's claiming and not delusional, Edmonds says he'll release him. However, Danny makes him think he's got other delusions talking about being in Kun'Lun, which he says is a part of Heaven and only appears periodically.
* ''Series/PoliticalAnimals'':
** President Garcetti and his Secretary of State Elaine often have an antagonistic relationship, but he is usually willing to listen to Elaine's arguments and be convinced to do what's right.
** Oddly enough, considering he's sleeping with some of his employees, Susan's editor, Alex, otherwise tries to stand up for the journalistic standards of the newspaper. He objects when he suspects Susan's connections with the Hammonds may be biasing her journalism, and later, [[spoiler:refuses to let Susan take the fall for him when another reporter retaliates over his refusal to publish Elaine's resignation letter]].
* Captain Holt in ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', although a fairly strict ByTheBookCop, is still very understanding of his presinct's concerns and will often do whatever can to alleviate them.
* ''Series/{{Harrow}}'': Detective Senior Sergeant Bryan Nichols is a grumpy old cuss who doesn't like Harrow (or anyone else) very much. He still stops everyone and everything from interfering with Harrow's investigations.
[[/folder]]

* George Washington in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}''. The other Founding Fathers? Not so much.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' Jerin's mothers and eldest sister are this. Naturally, they are away, selling horses in a neighbouring city and visiting relatives, respectively, when the plot needs to get going. Also, Ren, who despite her reasonableness [[spoiler: thinks that she can finish her important business in peace before talking to Jerin as he requested per messenger. Well, she is wrong, and later has a lot of guilt about this.]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'''s Lord Vetinari is one deep down, though for his own reasons he hides it well. Vimes also fits the trope; his incorruptibility is so famous that suggestions to bribe him are taken as jokes.
** Most of the Watch are personally loyal to Vimes. A fair number follow him when he [[spoiler:turns in his badge]] in ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}''. As one officer says, when your back's against the wall, Mister Vimes is right behind you.
** The Assassin's Guild refuses to take contracts on either Vetinari or Vimes, as eliminating either of them would be too disruptive to the social order. Sometimes Guild assassins are sent after Vimes, but these are usually the cocky students who need to be taken down a peg or two rather than serious attempts.
* The governor from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' #51 is incredibly level-headed and good at rolling with the punches - see the page quote.
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', Ward's uncle Duraugh, who is to rule Hurog in Ward's place until Ward is of age, is quite reasonable, sometimes too much so. He would, for example, put the fierce stallion Ward inherited to death. (Ward sees that the horse is only frightened, and trains it to become a CoolHorse, eventually). When, after some adventures, the young generation returns to castle Hurog and tells Duraugh to evacuate the place, he listens and decides that explanations can wait until later.
* Sam, Astrid and Edilio from ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' as the Mayors of Perdido Beach.
* [[EccentricMentor Dumbledore]] of ''Literature/HarryPotter'' fame is perhaps too easygoing when it comes to Harry, but considering the trouble he tends to attract, it pays to listen when Harry says basilisks/death eaters/trolls/whatever are mucking about. He's one of the few authority figures in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' universe who is consistently not evil ''and'' [[TheChessmaster on the ball]] as far as what's going on, and therefore knows well enough to trust the heroes (and occasionally bail them out of school trouble when it's convenient).
** Professor [=McGonagall=] qualifies too [[spoiler:(appropriately, since she's Dumbledore's replacement)]]. By the end of ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows The Deathly Hallows]]'', all she needs from Harry is a vague assurance that he's doing something important before she's entirely willing to stage a massive battle just to give Harry the time he needs. On the flip side, if she's chewing you out over something it's usually a pretty safe bet you've done something to ''earn'' it.
** Kingsley Shacklebolt, head of the Auror department at the Ministry ''and'' the de facto leader of the Order of the Phoenix, is so reasonable he even gets along with the Dursleys. Too bad the less reasonable Ministers (Fudge, later Scrimgeour) outrank him until [[spoiler: he becomes the new Minister of Magic after the war ends]].
** It's been hinted that Amelia Bones, the Director of Magical Law Enforcement, falling into this category (as shown during Harry's trial in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'') was a major reason for her possibly becoming Minister... [[spoiler: and why Voldemort had her killed.]]
** Professors Slughorn, Flitwick, and Sprout all also seem like this.
** In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Professor Lupin]] becomes the first Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Harry's had with a level head. This is exemplified when he rescues Harry from Snape's wrath and covers for him with regards to the Marauder's Map. He then [[DisappointedInYou chewed Harry]] [[WhatTheHellHero out himself]] when out of Snape's earshot, because Harry's actions had genuinely been foolish and careless.
** Even Snape can be this... but only if you're a Slytherin. It seems to be a trend among Heads of House.
* Lord Capulet in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''. It depends on the adaptation.
** He doesn't take the feud as seriously, and when Romeo crashes a party, his response is to just shrug because Romeo has a good reputation. When his younger relatives are raving about how Romeo's crashing the party, Capulet tells them to just leave Romeo alone because he's not done anything wrong. Some play it like him trying to avoid trouble, seeing as the Prince's relatives are also at the party and the Prince made it clear that he wouldn't put up with any more feuding nonsense.
** The Prince is just about the only consistently reasonable figure across any adaptation. He doesn't want the feud to tear the city apart and is doing everything he can to keep the two sides from going too far.
* ''Literature/WatershipDown''. 'The Threarah', the Chief Rabbit of the Sandleford warren, who appears to be the ObstructiveBureaucrat-type when he dismisses [[WaifProphet Fiver's]] warning out of hand. Holly (himself a reasonable authority figure) later reveals that his reasoning was actually quite logical -- most prophets are frauds, and even if they're genuine the warren would have lost more rabbits from a mass evacuation than a flood or from hunters. Tragically, the oncoming disaster is more massive than The Threarah could imagine or Fiver could explain coherently, which leaves the Threarah as an ObstructiveBureaucrat who ''tries'' to be this trope.
** Hazel gradually becomes a pretty exemplary one of these once he becomes Chief Rabbit of the Watership Down warren. His particular skill is in recognizing and helping to develop the specific talents of the other rabbits around him, and with everyone feeling valued, they all prove unswervingly loyal. By this point, he's also grown to appreciate Fiver's prophetic abilities, and developed more-or-less absolute faith in the little guy.
** Efrafra, despite being a horribly oppressive police state, has one of these in [[WorthyOpponent Captain Campion]], and even their cruel Chief Rabbit, General Woundwort, has moments of reason, despite ultimately being a pretty bad guy. [[PosthumousCharacter Captain Mallow]] was implied to have been one of these, too.
* Chief Wyatt Porter in the ''Literature/OddThomas'' novels knows quite well about Odd's psychic gifts, and consults him whenever he can (i.e. as long as he eventually has enough evidence to back him up in courts and whatnot).
* From the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse:
** The ''Literature/XWingSeries'' gives us an example in Wedge Antilles. When Myn Donos had a HeroicBSOD, he helped cover it up. Later, when Myn [[spoiler: fired on Lara for the destruction of Talon Squadron, and shot a torpedo at another pilot]], he was taken off duty, but not actually written up, though there was a testing period while Wedge decided whether or not to do so. And when Myn realized that the fighters were going into a trap, Wedge called them off, even though he couldn't see how and they lost two in doing so.
** [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Grand Admiral Thrawn]] is one of the bad guys (although [[AffablyEvil not strictly evil]]) and [[YouHaveFailedMe executed a tractor beam operator]] for failing to catch Luke's ship, and then lying to Thrawn about not having performed training that could have kept the tractor beam emitter from eating a torpedo, and attempted to shift the blame to another -- but in a later book he promoted a new tractor beam operator who had failed to catch another ship Luke was on because although the guy had failed, he'd tried a new method and accepted responsibility when the tactic didn't work. He also treated his second-in-command and occasional CommanderContrarian with respect.
** Pellaeon surely counts by the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology, when he's basically got Thrawn's old rank, albeit commanding the forces of a [[VestigialEmpire much smaller Empire]]. He happens to KnowWhenToFoldEm, is protective of his people, and treats his own CommanderContrarian the way Thrawn treated him. Oh, and he's trying to make peace with the New Republic, and sees efforts by various Imperial elements to make it look like the New Republic has refused as what they are: [[FalseFlagOperation a trick]]. ...Really, by that point he's not remotely one of the bad guys.
** In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear: The Doomsday Ship'', the captain of a luxury cruise starship knows it's a surly employee's fault when the systems go down, rather than Zak's, and lets Zak have access to some records he wants to see. When things start going wrong he proves to feel great responsibility for his men and the crew.
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''Nightbringer'', the governor. Although things have gone badly under her, Barzano preempts a vote of no confidence because she seems to be the best. And she faces the troubles with equanimity and an effort to fix things.
** The Governor of Tarsis Ultra in the second ''Ultramarines'' book is also one of these - initially more concerned with pomp and ceremony than defences, he is immediately put in his place by the Astartes and Imperial Guard commanders. Rather than (some might say predictably) becoming a sulking villian, he swallows his pride and does what he can to help, becoming a vital administrator of the supply lines, and [[spoiler:dies, bravely fighting in a battle he wasn't trained for to set an example to the people.]]
** The Ultramarines themselves are this, ruling a mini Empire, Ultramar its one of the best places to live in the Imperium, minus the whole Tyranid invasion a few hundred years ago.
** In ''Dead Sky Black Sun'', [[spoiler:the Lord of the Unfleshed. True, he's a cannibalistic monster with the mind of a little child who strongly considers eating Uriel and his companions, but he's leading the Unfleshed in horrible circumstances, and has no experience with good people who are not the Unfleshed. Once Uriel persuades him, he throws all his forces into a desperate attack.]]
** In ''The Killing Grounds'', [[spoiler:the Grey Knight Leodegarius. Despite his suspicion and insistence on the ordeals to test Uriel and Pasanius, he is willing to clear them -- even acting in a more conciliatory manner after he knows if they are tainted, it was not with their knowledge -- and deals with the planet in a straightforward and just manner.]]
* CiaphasCain falls under this trope. Despite Commissars technically being outside of the chain of command, he has the authority to execute Colonels and Generals who would otherwise outrank him, if he has good reason to do so. Unlike many of his breed, however, Cain instead prefers to foster friendships and inspire his troops via camaraderie rather than instilling them with fear of his retribution, to the extent that some of them perceive him to be their inspirational father figure.
** In ''The Traitor's Hand'', Cain winds up dealing with a jealous ObstructiveBureaucrat who ultimately accuses him of attempting to desert during a battle. In a particular bizarre invocation of this trope, the ''Commissariat'' of all organizations investigates the claim.... and then not only dismisses it as utterly frivolous, but opens an investigation to determine whether or not said bureaucrat's obstructionism endangered the course of the entire battle by interfering with Cain's activities.
** Oddly enough most Governors end up as this trope, all but one named Governor in the Cain books wasn't this [[spoiler: because that one was a genestealer]]. Guess the bad ones tend to be killed off.
*** One of the Cain books actually had a short blurb that implied incompetent Governors are quickly dealt with by the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Officio Assassinorum]].
*** Chris Roberson's ''Dawn of War II'' has a wonderfully incompetent governor.
* In the second book of Creator/HilariBell's ''Literature/KnightAndRogue'' series, Michael and Fisk are surprised to find the local sheriff is willing to get their side of the story before summarily running them out of town on the say-so of an important official. [[spoiler:Though he still makes them leave once the book's over.]]
* In Sophie Kinsella's ''The Undomestic Goddess'', Ketterman comes off as cold, severe and off-putting at first, but he is the only one to listen to Samantha and investigate [[spoiler:the fraud perpetrated by Arnold Saville.]]
* Each book in ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' tends to have exactly one character in this position. They usually don't last very long.
** A definite example would be Montgomery Montgomery from "The Reptile Room". The later books tend to lack this character, or have one offscreen.
* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars Thuvia, Maid of Mars]]'', Thuvia refuses to have a prince who laid hands on her arrested, despite the gravity of the crime, because it would mean war.
** Later, the Great Jed, U-Thor. He gives Tara advice on defending herself against charges, valiantly defends his stepson A-Kor against A-Kor's own father, the jeddak, and [[spoiler:in the end is instrumental in replacing the jeddak with A-Kor]].
* In ''[[Literature/TheBlackCompany Annals of the Black Company]]'', the Lady [[InformedVillainy may be evil]], but she also fits this trope nicely. Admittedly, she does get [[FateWorseThanDeath somewhat cross]] with underlings who work against her, but she'll forgive (what's left of) them if she learns that the accusations were false.
* In Creator/CharlesStross's ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'', Angleton may count, despite being the scariest person in the Laundry. Exercising his authority frequently falls afoul of obstacle #4, above. Oh so much.
* Bluestar from ''Literature/WarriorCats'', but [[ZigzaggingTrope only sometimes]]. Given the information she had, she almost always made the best decision, once asking an [[KidHero apprentice]] to track down a friendly fugitive that GeneralRipper was definitely going to execute. Unfortunately the general was also the EvilChancellor, so she was [[EtTuBrute quite blind]] to his motives, despite repeat warnings from the hero.
** Firestar too after he becomes the leader.
** In fact, plenty of leaders can be this on a good day at least. Several examples include Blackstar, but the ultimate one would have to be Tallstar, who's very friendly to Firestar and his Clan (this is explained in ''Tallstar's Revenge''). But after he dies, [[TookALevelInJerkass Onestar]] (who takes over [=WindClan=] after him) averts this trope when he's in a foul mood.
** Harestar shows to be this in ''A Vision Of Shadows'', even before he becomes leader. He gives herbs to a very sick [=ShadowClan=] even after Onestar refused, saying that he won't let innocent cats die. After he becomes the new leader of [=WindClan=], he reminds everyone that Rowanstar doesn't need all the blame for Darktail invading the Clans, saying that the ones who are to blame are Onestar (who ends up redeeming himself by killing Darktail) and Darktail himself. He also lets Jayfeather and Alderheart takes some herbs after [=ThunderClan=] suffers from a rockslide.
* Supreme Affluent Greene Reid of ''[[Literature/AssassinFantastic A Touch of Poison]]'', who deals with a tricky situation with remarkable calm, given the circumstances (mainly, that [[spoiler: the Widow Baker nearly poisoned him, but chooses not to, comes to him with proof of the poisoning and a full confession as to how and why she attempted such a thing in the first place]]).
* King-Emperor John IV, from S. M. Stirling's novel, ''Literature/ThePeshawarLancers''. The cannibalistic Satanist Russian Empire has bred a lineage of seeresses who can see the consequences of any possible action? Your evidence is pretty convincing. Maybe you hero-types should go do something about it.
* The Literature/BelisariusSeries features Malwa noble Damodara, who starts off reasonable in actually listening to Rana Sanga's concern that they're being played by Belisarius, and then covers up the Rajput king's failure in capturing Belisarius because he accepts that anyone would have fallen for the BatmanGambit which was used.
* KingArthur.
* In Creator/JosephaSherman's ''Literature/TheShiningFalcon'', Finist. So frustrating to Ljuba.
* Faramir counts in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings.'' He provides assistance to Frodo and Sam once he learns of their quest (after making them sweat a bit) and shows mercy to Gollum when Frodo vouches for him (though Gollum doesn't realize it).
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'':
** Duke Gareth in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' was one, being strict and authoritative but at the same time, understanding and kind. Despite giving Alanna a stern lecture for beating up a boy who had ruthlessly bullied her (even breaking her arm at one point), he had supported her (even telling her privately that Ralon deserved to be thrashed) and was secretly pleased that she managed to do it on her own.
** In that same universe, Jonathan, as king, is considered a fair and benevolent ruler. He (technically) lifts the ban on female knights. His queen, Thayet, is an ActionGirl that starts her own band of "Riders" to serve the country.
** It's the same way with his father, for the most part. He's known as Roald the Peacemaker, but he takes it a ''bit'' far [[spoiler:when he allows a resurrected Duke Roger back into court]]. Conté's king and queen are generally examples of this trope.
** Lord Gershom of Haryse in ''Literature/ProvostsDog'', who is also DaChief of Tortall's police force. He can't investigate every case because there are just too many, but he gives Beka all the support he can when he can. It's only because of his political enemies that he has to employ {{Torture Technician}}s in the jails rather than actual truth spells.
* The Literature/HisFairAssassin trilogy has Duchess Anne, the young but extraordinarily level-headed royal served by the protagonist leads.
* [[HeroOfAnotherStory Sheriff Pangborn]] from Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheDarkHalf.'' After the villain George Stark leaves a bloody fingerprint at a crime scene that perfectly matches local writer Thad Beaumont, Pangborn arrives to arrest Thad. But when Thad produces an ironclad alibi, Pangborn believes him and does all he can to help catch Stark. Pangborn later gets to be TheHero in ''Literature/NeedfulThings.''
* Special Agent Tilly from ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles: Literature/{{Changes}}''. He turns off the recording tape during his interrogation of Harry, at Harry's request, and is willing to listen to and calmly evaluate what Harry says to him about the supernatural. He also handles himself very well during the [[spoiler: Red Court attack]]. Having a latent, unconscious magical talent making him a LivingLieDetector helps.
** Warden Captain Anastasia Luccio is perfectly willing to listen to Harry when he reports a threat that the White Council has otherwise missed.
* Leonard Stecyk in ''Literature/ThePaleKing''.
* Artemis Butler of the web-novel ''Literature/{{Domina}}'', despite being a gang lord.
-->'''Butler:''' I swear that all I want is to safeguard ''everyone''. But this city is all I can control.
* Marcia Overstrand, [=ExtraOrdinary=] Wizard, in ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' zig-zags this trope, varying from a Reasonable Authority Figure in e.g ''Darke'' where she immediately comes to the Palace with the other Wizards when alerted to the presence of a Darke Domaine to NotNowKiddo in ''Flyte'', when she refuses to believe that [[spoiler: Jenna has been kidnapped by her elder brother Simon Heap.]]
* Bishop Peregrino in ''Literature/SpeakerForTheDead'' first seems like a Bible-thumping fanatic dead-set on kicking the "infidel" Speaker out of Lusitania as soon as possible, including declaring Ender to be TheDevil himself. He still has plenty of reservations, but the events of the book have Peregrino mellowing and developing a level of respect for Ender, even if he doesn't agree with his methods (such as revealing embarassing personal information to everyone instead of just to the bishop and God in confession). Additionally, Ender revealing that he was baptised as a child helps the bishop accept him into their Catholic community. He also agrees to [[spoiler:rebel against the Starways Congress]] in order to save [[spoiler:Miro]].
** He does slip up in the following book ''Literature/{{Xenocide}}'', even though he is older and wiser (the book takes place 30 years later). After [[spoiler:Quim]]'s death at the "hands" of [[spoiler:Warmaker]], Valentine warns the bishop and the mayor of the impending riot the likes of which they've never seen, only for both of them to dismiss her advice. Bishop claims that his people are all good Catholics who'd never do something like that. The events of that night make him realize how wrong he'd been, and he makes all of his churchgoers build a new chapel to commemorate all those who died.
* In ''Literature/TheLongEarth'', Jansson becomes a renowned authority on "stepping" and generally does a good job preventing negative repercussions of the sudden discovery of parallel Earths.
* In the Conan story "Literature/TheGodInTheBowl", the Inspector, Demetrius, comes across as one. Despite advocating the more brutal methods that the guards have, he gives Conan a fair chance to explain himself, easily seeing past Conan's lies, and investigates instead of arresting him on the spot (partly because they couldn't take Conan, but also because he suspected it wasn't Conan). Near the end, when the nobleman who hired Conan to steal something in the citadel is found, Demetrius easily deduces that he hired Conan, and sincerely said that, if given the word, he would let Conan go, and cover this whole incident up to protect the nobleman's reputation, explaining that debt (the motive) is nothing to be ashamed of. The AristocratsAreEvil trope is in effect, and the man denies all the allegations, causing Conan to fly into a murderous rage, Demetrius still makes it out with a wounded leg, and when the real murder culprit is revealed, the titular god, the narration makes it clear that Demetrius would have stayed to investigate it, but wounded and bleeding badly, he opts to run with the rest of the guards.
** Conan himself counts during his time as King of Aquilonia. Taxes are lower than anywhere else in Hyboria; noblemen may not abuse peasants; and Conan proposes breaking up the larger estates of the nobility rather than push farther into Pictish territory for more farmland (notable because Conan isn't exactly a fan of the Picts in the first place). Of course, he ends up having to fight off multiple attempts on his life by [[AristocratsAreEvil scheming nobles]].
* In ''Literature/{{Bisclavret}}'', the king. When Bisclavret, in wolf form, paws at his stirrup as a petitioner, the king grants him his life, since he petitioned for it.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Jago does an admirable job managing his city. To demonstrate: he refuses to let the civilians of others cities die or mutate but can't take in too many or they'll all starve. Also, he insists on protocol when letting anyone in or out of Final Shield.
* ''Literature/TheExilesViolin'':
** King Shaun II of Kenesta doesn't squash civil unrest with a heavy hand. Instead, he asks them to select [[TheFace a spokesman]] to send to an audience with him the next day so he can address their concerns. In the audience itself it crossses into OnlySaneMan because he is the only one that recognizes the stupidity in declaring war against a country that they just lost against to reclaim land that never wanted to be part of them.
** General Colborough is calm, rational and Jacquie notes that [[spoiler: when he initates his coup]] that he is not doing it out of ego or warmongering but because he believes it is the best course of action. When one of his subordinates claims that Jacquie and Clay are spies from another country simply because of a family squable, he says the idea is ridiculous but still wants them questioned because they shouldn'nt have been in a meeting that was arranged solely for locals.
** Admiral [=LeBlanc=] isn't keen on listing to a strange detective saying treanous and unlikely things, but, given to the strange circumstances and other things that Jacquie points out, she is willing to listen.
* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/IceCrown'', Princess Ludorica conceeds that her grandfather is right to use her as a tool for their kingdom's safety.
* In ''[[Literature/EnchantedForestChronicles Dealing with Dragons]]'', [[spoiler:Kazul]] becomes one of these. [[spoiler:She knows that Cimorene is a level-headed person, so when Cimorene goes to Kazul - newly crowned as King of Dragons - saying that wizards tried to sabotage the coronation trials and the dragon Warog was behind it, Kazul is more than happy to listen. When Warog repeatedly tries to discredit Cimorene by insisting that her story is preposterous, Kazul calmly points out that he hasn't pointed out a single thing to back up that statement.]]
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'':
** Dalinar Kholin is one of the few generals in charge of the Vengeance Pact that will actually listen to his troops. It's one of the things that made him so formidable as The Blackthorn, because he works very well with any of his subordinates.
** Kaladin is this to a lesser extent, only because he takes charge of Bridge Four. Unlike his commanding officers, who often neglect the bridgemen as arrow fodder, Kaladin considers each and every person's strength. He even makes the man who disagrees with him most his second-in-command to keep himself in line.
** The Assassin in White is flying around the world, killing leaders. Every time we see what the leaders are up to, it's nothing but civil war and anarchy. Then we come to the Azish, who are sitting quietly around a table, struggling to elect their next leader.
* Vikus from ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'', though he's such a NiceGuy Gregor and others [[AdultsAreUseless don't feel they can always confide in him.]]
* Alberta Petrov, Captain of the St. Vladimir's Academy's Guardians from ''Literature/VampireAcademy''. She works well with Rose and convinces to resume her studies and graduate.
* ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'': Monsieur Bouc[=/=]Signor Bianchi, the manager of the train. He immediately calls upon Poirot to solve the murder of Ratchet, and in the book and the 1974 and 2010 versions, [[spoiler: he was the one who suggested letting the passengers off the hook, since their victim was truly deserving]].
* In the second book of ''Literature/ApparatusInfernum'', the local commander for House Magnus is uncharacteristically reasonable, within certain limits. He's arrogant, and is primarily concerned with advancing House Magnus interests (and himself with them), but he gives the protagonists a fair hearing despite having both the legal and military power to ignore them, and realises that the threat in question is serious enough to warrant direct action even though it could drag House Magnus into a war.
* Darius from ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' was the only Peacekeeper in the series who seemed to have an actual moral compass.
* In the CrapsackWorld of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', there are very few leaders like this. However, their survival rate is rarely high due to [[AnyoneCanDie the nature of the series]]:
** Eddard Stark did his best during his tenure as Hand of the King. [[spoiler:However, his honor became a weakness which led to his death]].
** Tyrion Lannister did a good job as Hand of the King while keeping tabs on [[TheCaligula his nephew]]'s brattiness. He was one who managed to keep King's Landing from falling into the hands of Stannis Baratheon during the Battle of Blackwater. Of course it is ambiguous how heroic this is, considering that Stannis is the rightful King and Joffrey is a tyrannical usurper.
** Regardless of all his flaws, Tywin Lannister is this when he's serving as Hand (not so much as a battle commander). His steady hand is able to balance out the psychopathy of both Aerys and Joffrey, which is largely the reason the Mad King's reign is remembered as a time of peace and prosperity until the very end (after Tywin had already been replaced). However this is up for interpretation. Some more analytical fans have pointed out Tywin has a tendency to take part in [[RapePillageAndBurn needlessly brutal actions]] (ordering the Riverlands burnt even though he intends them to be ruled by his family), meaning that his plans don't long [[spoiler:outlast his death]].
** Kevan Lannister is a decent ruler and leader, who takes into account the problems of the realm and is more of a people person than his brother. [[spoiler:This is also the reason why Varys killed him at the end of ''Literature/ADanceWithDragons'' when Kevan was just starting to fix all the problems that his niece had made]].
** Jeor Mormont is one of these too since he knew very well that [[ZombieApocalypse the Others had returned and are a bigger threat to Westeros]]. He even reminded Jon Snow that it doesn't matter on whoever wins the Iron Throne because [[ArcWords winter is coming]] and the victor had to bear the long winter night.
** Stannis Baratheon first looks like a PrinciplesZealot, however he is really TheDutifulSon of the Baratheon family. He undergoes CharacterDevelopment after the Blackwater, appointing the lowborn Davos Seaworth as his Hand over the nobles of his court, and is the only one who answers the Night's Watch's call for help.
* In ''Literature/ThisImmortal'', Tatram Yshtigo, Cort Myshtigo's grandfather, is -- according to Phil -- 'an altruistic administrator of services to the public' and very much aware of the problems with Earth's dependency on the Vegan Combine. [[spoiler:He hatches the plan of sending Cort Myshtigo to Earth to survey whether it could possibly govern itself, then arranges things thus that Conrad Nomikos ends up in charge -- reasoning that with someone as long-lived and honourable as Conrad there's a good chance that Earth will become habitable again in the long run.]]
* Grumble, the god of the minions in ''Literature/SpellsSwordsAndStealth'' is fairly casual, as gods go. He does demand Thistle at least ''appear'' to offer proper platitudes when they speak. He ''is'' a god after all. At the same time, he is perfectly willing to accept a bit of snark. He also takes the time to explain to Thistle why he can't just tell his paladin what's going on in ''Split the Party'' and has to rely on vague visions to hint at his goals. In ''Going Rogue'', he explains to Thistle that he and the god of rogues, Tristan, are in conflict over a claim on Eric's soul and explicitly orders Thistle ''not'' to try to influence Eric on the matter since, as a matter of faith, the decision must be wholly Eric's own.
* ''Literature/WeAreLegionWeAreBob'':
** Dr. Landen, the first person Bob meets when he is awakened. While he works for [[{{Theocracy}} FAITH]], he's not a theocrat. He empathizes with Bob's plight, and warns him about the loyalty switches and kill triggers hidden in his code.
** After Minister Cranston's attempts to control Riker fail, he puts forth a reasonable plan to help other survivors in exchange for special consideration--which is not so much special consideration as it is perfectly fair. It's implied that Homer suggested it, but either way it's a real turn around.
** Although Butterworth and Riker often butt heads, he has a pretty strong bargaining position. He provided the plans for the colony ships, so his people should be the first to go. His biggest problem is that he gets mad about anything that seems to delay construction. Homer goes behind Riker's back to make a deal to delay the ships slightly so that the Spitsbergen ship can be built faster.
* ''Literature/TheMartian'': Every authority figure at every level is a reasonable authority figure. While the various authority figures do clash over certain decisions, everyone remains calm, rational, and level-headed, arguing based on the facts and weighing each decision carefully. Each has a different set of responsibilities to balance, and each knows when to push an issue and when to give in. The professionalism exhibited by every authority figure is one of the strengths of the book.
* ''Literature/SmallerAndSmallerCircles'': The Director of the NBI actually sees the killings as a serious threat, and even chews out Atty. Arcinas for screwing up the investigation. Councillor Mariano as well, who lends his own time and resources (in this case, the free dental services he sponsors for street urchins) to help identify the murder victims.
** Present only in the expanded edition, NBI Deputy Director Jake Valdes, who like Director Lastimosa and Ading Rustia actually considers the Payatas murders a serious concern.
* ''Literature/RangersApprentice'' has several, but stand-out examples include King Duncan and Ranger [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Corps Commandment Crowley]]. While Duncan can be rather rigid sometimes and stands on his dignity, he's also willing to listen to others and admits that he keeps the Rangers around partially because they can stop him from thinking that he always knows best.
** Crowley, despite being head of an elite force, is shown as always being willing to hear out his subordinate's ideas and opinions, and good-naturedly puts up with [[CowboyCop Halt's]] antics and Gilan's SarcasticDevotee nature.
** Erak Starfollower is this in both ''Rangers Apprentice'' and the sister series, ''Literature/{{Brotherband}}.'' He helps [[WorthyOpponent Will and Cassandra]] escape from slavery, works with Halt to put into place a strategy to defeat the [[spoiler: Temujai]] in Book 4 rather than relying on the Skandian's usual AttackAttackAttack, shortly after becoming [[spoiler: Oberjarl]] uses a bit of LoopholeAbuse to help Duncan and Halt out of a sticky situation, and in ''Brotherband,'' he is shown to have a soft spot for Hal, the protagonist, stops bullying whenever he can, and though he's very harsh on the Herons for [[spoiler: allowing the Andomal to be stolen]], he also gives them a chance to bring it back, and shows no resentment or anger when they do-indeed, he chooses them for several missions afterwards.
* Prince Gwydion of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' is primarily [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething a man of war]], but he shows HiddenDepths, wisdom, and compassion, becoming an excellent role model for Taran and often entrusting him with important jobs.
** King Smoit listens to Taran's advice, and after Book 2, notes that he's shut up his dungeons and tries his hand at talking out problems rather than smashing people's heads together.
** It's heavily implied that Taran will be one himself after the end of Book 5, as [[spoiler: High King]].
* ''Literature/{{Skyward}}'': Although she never shows up on screen, Dr. Thior spends the entire book fighting to get the cadets in general, and Spensa specifically, proper care. While she doesn't always read the situation correctly (she gives Skyward Flight a week of medical leave when they want to work hard and keep busy), no one doubts she has everyone's best interests at hear. She even forces the admiral to let Spensa have proper access to the dorms and other base facilities.
* ''Literature/{{DFZ}}'':
** Empty Wind, the Spirit of the Forgotten Dead, helps Opal and Nik once Opal explains the situation to him. She apologizes for not just asking for his help in the first place.
** The Peacemaker, the Dragon of Detroit, is one of the few real authority figures in the DFZ. He has a list of banned substances and items; while they're not technically illegal, ''no one'' will go against the Peacemaker by trading them. Much of the plot kicks off because cockatrices are on his list, and Dr. Lyle invented a ritual to make cockatrice eggs. [[spoiler:In the end, Opal calls the Peacemaker to save the cockatrice chicks]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Brian Midcrid from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars Original Generation'' series, sees how important the good guys are even though they are a bunch of {{Bunny Ears Lawyer}}s, and usually tries to be helpful. Since that would be boring he is secretly overthrown by a bunch of {{jerkass}}es who hate your characters.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has Mizuho's Vice-Chief Tiga. Sheena returns to the village having failed to assassinate the Chosen, gets sent to watch the party's movements, then brings them all to Mizuho, against all their customs, after the party has been declared traitors. Tiga hears her out in private, questions the party on what they intend to do, then formally allies Mizuho with them.
* VideoGame/CommandAndConquer: Tiberium Wars' General Granger, who still actually takes Nod seriously in the beginning, tries to prevent Boyle from annihilating an entire Yellow Zone by Ion-Cannoning Temple and tries (it could or could not be successfully, depending on player choice) to convince the player to not use the liquid T bomb of the same variety that caused the aforementioned yellow zone cessation of existence.
* In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'', while everyone else is busy dying horribly, Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore and Malfurion Stormrage save their respective factions and team up in order to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** Captain Anderson always supports Shepard in his/her quest, even at the risk of his own reputation or career. In the sequels he gains even more power and always tries to act responsibly. Come the third game and he's holding together the resistance on planet Earth and is regarded as a figure of hope second only to Shepard and co.
** Admiral Hackett is also one of these. He has to direct the Alliance's space forces against an ever increasingly crazy galaxy but holds it all together somehow.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Wrex becomes one, if he survives the events of the first game, as he is now the leader of Clan Urdnot, one of the most powerful krogan clans, with his goal being the eventual unity and reformation of all of the krogan clans. [[GoodIsNotSoft He's not soft, planning to drag them to this goal whether they like it or not,]] but he is fair and restrains himself as much as possible.
** In the Lair of the Shadow Broker {{DLC}} it's revealed that Admiral Hackett is the only person keeping Alliance intelligence (among others) from arresting Shepard following his/her reappearance. He's also the one who gave Commander Shepard's dogtags to Liara for her to return to the Commander, although she only reveals this if you haven't romanced her.
--->'''Liara''': "Do you remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me, so I could return them to you. He sends his best, and hopes you're okay."
** ''Arrival'' pretty much solidifies Hackett as this. [[spoiler: (Note: This is in response to Shepard ''blowing up an entire star system by wrecking a Mass Relay.'')]]
--->[[spoiler: '''Hackett:''' [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments I don't need to read the report to know you did the right thing.]]]]
** In the third game, Hackett allows Shepard to take the lead in assembling the forces necessary to retake Earth, and supports the decisions s/he makes along the way, even if it costs resources that might be needed.
** Also in the third game, the quarian Admiralty Board members [[spoiler: aside from Tali]] include one who is supportive of Shepard's attempts to broker peace with the geth, one is who is hesitant but willing to listen, one who is strongly opposed, and one who is batshit insane.
** Garrus' father, apparently. Speaking to Garrus in ''Mass Effect 3'' reveals that in between games, Garrus got ''really'' desperate to find anyone in the Turian Hierarchy to listen to him about the Reapers' imminent arrival, so he went to his father, with whom he has... never seen eye-to-eye, to put it mildly. Still, his father is a logical person and, after hearing Garrus' testimony, uses his own not-insignificant clout in the Hierarchy to force some of the other leaders to pay attention.
** Commander Shepard him/herself if Paragon who will listen to everything his/her crew has to say and make sure everyone is treated fairly.
** The Citadel Council is ''trying'' to be one of these, but whether they are or aren't depends on the game and how Shepard approaches them, with Councilor Tevos generally being the most reasonable and Councilor Sparatus being the most unreasonable, and a Paragon Shepard being responded to most favorably and a Renegade Shepard being considered a dangerous loose cannon. This gets flipped by the events of ''Mass Effect 3'': With the Reapers invading, Councilor Sparatus throws any hint of FantasticRacism toward humanity aside and puts everything he can spare behind Shepard and the Crucible project, Councilor Velarn gives full support to curing the [[DepopulationBomb krogan genophage]] so the [[ProudWarriorRace krogan armies]] will join the fight, and Councilor Tevos even declassifies and gives Shepard the location of the asari's top-secret [[spoiler: Prothean Beacon]] on the off-chance it might have something they can use to win the war.
** ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' has a few, with varying levels of reasonableness:
*** Paaran Shie, governor of the angaran world of Aya. It's her decision that stops the resistance from just shooting Ryder on sight (due to the dramatic circumstances of Ryder's arrival). She generally remains calm and level-headed, though she might give Ryder a WhatTheHellHero depending on the choices made in Jaal's loyalty mission.
*** The Nexus leadership, by and large (with a few blips here and there). Tann tries, despite his blatant racism toward krogan, and fondness for being an ObstructiveBureaucrat, but he does put his support behind Ryder. Foster Addison grumpily supports Ryder, in-between occasional colossal fuck-ups such as trusting her blatantly useless and stupid assistant Spender, but she doesn't care ''how'' Ryder gets results just so long as they do (and if it pisses off Tann, it's a bonus). Tiran Kandros is relatively benign, but a little too willing to use force to break up protests. Nakmor Kesh is the most reasonable of the four, but also has the least actual authority, being the head engineer.
* Sheriff Sarah Breaker from ''VideoGame/AlanWake'', an ordinary, level-headed, small-town sheriff who is not only explicitly against the [[CowboyCop FBI Agent Nightingale's]] hot-headed "shoot first, ask questions later" approach, but reasons that Alan Wake could not be (technically) behind everything weird happening with the town.
-->'''Nightingale:''' Sheriff Breaker, this is Agent Nightingale. I've lost contact with most of the men you assigned me. It's Wake's doing!\\
'''Breaker:''' Wait, are you seriously telling me that geek writer just took out my deputies?! Are you kidding? I mean, have you seen this guy? He wears a tweed jacket! Over.\\
'''Nightingale:''' He's the guy we're chasing! If it's not him, who, then? Bigfoot? Over.\\
'''Breaker:''' I don't know yet, but I'm not in the habit of jumping to conclusions. That tends to come back and bite you in the ass. Out.
* There are seveal ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' examples, since in any given game, there’s a good bet that there’ll be a reasonable monarch somewhere willing to listen to the heroes and lend them a few troops:
** Lord Uther in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' is not only Hector's brother [[PromotionToParent and father figure]], but the most reliable of the Lycian leaders.
** King Hayden and Pontifex Mansel in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' do what they can to support Eirika and Ephraim's quests.
** Empress Sanaki (for Begnion) and King Caineghis (for Gallia) in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius the Tellius games]] are wise rulers who do their best for their countries and want for beorc and laguz to live together in peace. [[spoiler: In the end Micaiah becomes Queen of Daein and Elincia confirms her authority as Queen of Crimea, and both reign very well.]]
** Chrom's sister Emmeryn in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is the wise Exalt of Ylisse and she both [[PromotionToParent finished raising Chrom and Lissa]], but rebuilt the nation from zero after the wars with Plegia. [[spoiler: After her death (or retirement, if she's recruited via Spot-Pass), Chrom takes over and reigns just as well.]]
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has Mikoto, the kind and gentle Queen of Hoshido, [[spoiler: though she dies early in the story.]] [[spoiler: At the end of the games Xander (''Conquest'' and ''Revelation''), Ryoma (''Birthright'' and ''Revelation'') and the Avatar (''Revelation'' only) become the very wise and prosper rulers of Nohr, Hoshido and Valla, respectively.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'', the Royal Magister of Shang Tu is portrayed as wise and cautious, and far more reasonable than the other kingdom leaders, Prince Dail of Shuigang (who's BrainwashedAndCrazy and hell-bent on {{Revenge}}) and Mayor Zao of Shang Mu (a {{Greed}}-driven [[TheNapoleon Napoleon]]).
* In the original ''VideoGame/{{Assassins Creed|I}}'', [[spoiler:[[UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart King Richard]] turns out to be one of these when [[PlayerCharacter Altaïr]] meets him at the end of the game and confronts him with Robert de Sable's plot to take over the Holy Land. Rather than having the Assassin killed out of hand, he listens to Altaïr's words (including his commentary that all of Richard's "best men" were working against him, to which he concedes) considers Robert's response evenly (hey, the Assassins ''are'' killing Crusader soldiers), and, confronted with two men who obviously hate each other and don't have enough proof of either of their claims, decides to let them [[TrialByCombat hash out their differences with the sword]]. Once Altaïr wins, King Richard has an amiable chat with the Assassin, offers him a bit of advice, talks kindly of Saladin (who is busy fighting his army at that very moment) and then lets Altaïr go.]]
** In the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII second game]], both of [[PlayerCharacter Ezio Auditore's]] parents are pretty cool, and it's obvious they love each other, as well as their children. After Ezio gets involved in a street brawl and then goes to his girlfriend's house, only to get caught in her bed by her dad, the morning after, Giovanni (Ezio's father) starts off telling his son to stop being so immature and get it together... only to find himself chuckling at the fact that Ezio reminds him of himself at that age, and brushes it off. As for Ezio's mother, she's a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and goes out of her way to be kind to the lower classes. She also isn't fooled by Ezio's supposed denials of his troublemaking the night before, leading to an amusing conversation about Ezio [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments needing to rethink his outlets]].
** Lorenzo de' Medici as well. Ezio's father has always been his friend, and Lorenzo is determined to help in any way he can to stop his city (and all of Italy) from falling into Templar hands.
* General Leo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', who is a good guy at heart, working for the wrong people. He stands out for being able to make decisions on his own: refusing genetic experimentation on his body, refusing to poison Doma, and fighting Kefka without hesitation. He never quite gets a chance to really talk with the heroes, though, essentially skipping the Reasonable Authority Figure phase because he's one step ahead of them when it matters.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' has Ramuh, a primal worshiped by the Sylph tribe. While most other primals are [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal Maniacs]] interested in little more than slaughtering mankind, Ramuh is a sage guardian of the Sylph who desires little more than to protect the Sylph and the Twelveswood. While conflict with Ramuh is inevitable, he does so not to kill the adventurers that challenge him, but to test them to see if they and their kin are worthy of protecting the Twelveswood.
* Lord Harrowmont from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. This is part of what contributes to GrayAndGreyMorality, considering that as the dwarf noble, he asks you say, to his face, that you did not kill your brother. If you say "yes", then he says, "I believe you." It's also likely that [[spoiler:He actually ''wouldn't'' have had Bhelen arrested if he was crowned; he does kill Bhelen if he's crowned but Bhelen attacks ''first''. Even ''if'' Bhelen's crowned, he kneels before him and accepts defeat.]]
** [[spoiler:Subverted when he becomes king, where he proves to be a [[UnfitForGreatness poor and ineffectual ruler]] bogged down by his bigotry of the Casteless and his adherence to the crippling traditions of the dwarves. Bhelen becomes a mix of this and WellIntentionedExtremist dragging the dwarves into the future kicking and screaming once he's king though.]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'':
** Viscount Marlowe Dumar is a rare stabilizing figure in the otherwise unstable political climate of Kirkwall focused on making sure things ''don't'' go to hell. While [[AuthorityInNameOnly his authority is severely limited]] by the influence of Meredith, he does try to get Hawke to stem the tide. [[spoiler:Eventually, he's killed by the Arishok in his takeover of the city.]]
** Grand Cleric Elthina tries to present herself as this, arguing for peace whenever tensions in Kirkwall escalate. Problem is, that's as far as it goes - she does nothing to address the actual causes of those tensions, whether it's Templars abusing mages or one of her own priests backing anti-Qunari zealots. [[spoiler: In both cases, her lack of action leads to open war.]]
** Ser Thrask leads the moderate Templars in a secret opposition to Meredith and actively protects runaway mages from his overzealous colleagues' mistreatment. [[spoiler:Which is why he has to be killed by a mage who requests his protection and abuses his trust to get back at Hawke.]]
** First Enchanter Orsino also, at least in comparison to the zealous Meredith and [[spoiler: until the player learns that he dabbled in dark magic and protected a SerialKiller necromancer so Meredith wouldn't use his actions as a pretext.]] His main concern is protecting his students and subordinates, and he'll allow Hawke to take the lead or speak their piece much more readily than Meredith will.
* In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'', the younger Sub-Zero becomes this when he becomes Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, reforming the band of assassins into a force of good. This is exemplified in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', when he allies with the Special Forces and helps to train Cassie Cage and her team. [[spoiler:He also extends an olive branch to Scorpion once he learns of the circumstances surrounding the Lin Kuei's extermination of the Shirai Ryu. Even when Frost tries to jump Scorpion, and Scorpion subsequently tries to kill him, he keeps cool until he's able to get through to Scorpion.]]
* ''VideoGame/InfiniteSpace'' has a few, but Kendrick Coyle of [[TheEmpire Lugovalos]] stands out the most for not approving Desmond's poor treatment toward non-Lugovalian-born citizens. His appearance arguably gives more positive light for Lugovalos, since before he appears in the story, Lugovalos is introduced as nothing but a tyrannical enemy.
* Dr. Crabblesnitch from ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'' can be this when he's not a DeanBitterman. For example, upon having full proof of their misdeeds, he immediately fires [[spoiler:Mr. Hattrick, Mr. Burton]] and expels [[spoiler:Gary Smith]] while reinstating [[spoiler:Jimmy and Zoe]] to the school after they've been falsely accused.
* Ryotaro Dojima from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', the protagonist's {{d|aChief}}etective uncle, probably counts. He's able to figure out a lot of details behind the murders and kidnappings around the same time the Investigation Team does, and the only reason he isn't able to help is because A) he's LockedOutOfTheLoop on all of the supernatural aspects of the case, B) Even if he knew, he can't enter the TV world, so he still wouldn't be able to help much, and C) [[spoiler: his partner is the culprit.]] In various nighttime conversations, it's revealed that he also stood up for Kanji and Naoto, when the former was being unfairly suspected because of his history as a {{Delinquent}}, and the latter made a suggestion that none of the other detectives were willing to consider.
* Officer Kurosawa from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' could count. As a humble police officer, he realizes something bad is happening he can't control, but where did he get all those weapons? And why was a match of the swimsuits the gang wore at Yakushima in the armor section?
** From his "allies" (most likely the military or mercenaries meaning he must be a very trusted person for them).
* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}''
** Despite being the public prosecutor responsible for interrogating the protagonist after his arrest, Makoto's sister Sae Nijima disapproves of [[PoliceBrutality the cruel treatment the police have visited upon him]], and is actually willing to listen to his story, farfetched as it may seem. Convincing her of the truth is essential to success, as [[spoiler:she helps the Protagonist fake his death when an assassin from the conspiracy targets him, and she prosecutes the BigBad once the game is over]].
** The Protagonist and Futaba's ParentalSubstitute, Soujirou Sakura, counts as a more down-to-Earth version. He takes Joker in after their arrangement, lets him and his friends hang out in his coffee shop, and generally tries to look out for him and Futaba despite their eccentricities. [[spoiler: He also supports the Thieves once he learns about them, after a long serious talk with Futaba and Joker. By the time of the final Palace, ''Leblanc'' goes from being the group' hideout in secret to "openly" being so, with the team commandeering the first floor for meetings, with Sojiro's approval.]]
* ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'''s Norman Jayden acts as this to Ethan Mars as he is the only one who thinks he's not the Origami Killer. Even though the evidence matches, he finds his psychological profile and geolocalization doesn't match up.
** [[spoiler:If Ethan is arrested in "Under Arrest", Norman would free him]].
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' has Commander Thomas Lasky, the first officer of the ''Infinity''. In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', he sees first-hand how much of an incompetent {{Jerkass}} his boss Captain Del Rio is, to the point where Lasky allows Master Chief to escape arrest for not surrendering Cortana's chip to Del Rio, and even gives him a fully-loaded Pelican to carry on his mission. [[spoiler: Lasky's later rewarded when Del Rio is relieved/stripped of his command by FLEETCOM, becoming captain of the ''Infinity'' himself.]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Emperor Peony IX of Malkuth, a nice guy who genuinely wants peace between the two major nations and is willing to make concessions to get there, although his power is sometimes restricted by an offscreen NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering. It seems to help that he was raised outside the royal court - due to political intrigues, he was sent away from the capital as a child to live incognito, and there he managed to frequently sneak away from his guards and play with the commoner children, including one of your party members.
** There's also Ion, the leader of the Order of Lorelei, who, like His Imperial Majesty, wants peace between Kimlasca and Malkuth, and actively seeks to reform the Order back to being a religion of life. He acts as a mediator between the two countries.
* The King of ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' serves as this, being totally devoted to helping out Freeside and willing to cooperate with the NCR if certain choices are made, though his friend Pacer is secretly sabotaging any effort at peace.
** Each faction in-game (excepting the Legion) has at least one member in a position of authority who is ''not'' a complete dick. Colonel James Hsu and Ambassador Crocker for the NCR, Mother Pearl for the Boomers, [=McNamara=] for the Brotherhood of Steel, Regis for the Khans, Marcus for the Super Mutants, Jason Bright of the Bright Brotherhood, and the list goes on.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' has Lord Nasher, the ruler of Neverwinter. He saves you from [[KangarooCourt Luskan "justice"]] even if you initially chose to undermine law enforcement in the city, later gives you a keep of your own to command, and eventually admits you into knighthood.
* The ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' series has a few, but Duke Eltan, and his right-hand man Scar, of the Flaming Fist - the de facto police force of the eponymous city - stand out, as much of the second half of the game consists of fleshing out their initial suspicions about the Iron Throne and trying to find them the evidence they need to justify bringing the law down on them. The leadership of the [[TheOrder Order of the Radiant Heart]] are this in the second game, offering support to good-aligned or very persuasive player characters at several points of the game and notably responding to the party being tricked into murdering several of their knights by demanding that they hunt down those responsible for the deception. Inspector Brega clearly has a trace of this, but his role, while expanded by third party mods, is undermined by the over-the-top corruptness of the Amnish government (Magistrate Bylanna, by contrast, clearly considers herself this but flirts with the LawfulStupid and ObstructiveBureaucrat tropes far too much to qualify). Melissan presents herself as this, and the game forces the player to go along with it even though they're unlikely to have been fooled.
* Quaestor Verus from ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins'', who serves as the BigGood of the story and works to help Sagi stop Baelheit's plans for promachination. [[spoiler:Subverted; Verus is actually an unrepentantly evil [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] who reveals himself as soon as Baelheit is dead.]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** Throughout the series (at least until their deaths), [[TheEmperor Emperor]] [[TheGoodKing Uriel Septim VII]] and [[TheGoodChancellor High Chancellor]] Ocato serve in this role. It's especially notable for Ocato, given that his predecessor, Jagar Tharn, was the [[EvilChancellor exact opposite]]. When the Emperor dies in the intro of ''Oblivion'', Ocato does his very best to hold the Empire together. One of the first acts of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]], in an attempt to destabilize the Empire, is to assassinate him.
** Azura, a [[OurGodsAredifferent Daedric Prince]], often seems like this but may [[SubvertedTrope Subvert]] it depending on how one interprets her actions. Her goals ''usually'' align with the best interests of mortals, making her seem very reasonable (especially compared to the other, more malevolent Daedric Princes), but she typically has some very self-serving and often petty motives as well. For example, in the main quest of ''Morrowind'', she guides [[PlayerCharacter the Nerevarine]] in defeating [[BigBad Dagoth]] [[PhysicalGod Ur]], preventing Dagoth from taking over the world and warping it into his twisted vision. However, defeating him involves destroying the source of his godly powers, which is where the Dunmeri [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Tribunal]] ''also'' draw their divine powers. The Tribunal went against her wishes in using the power source thousands of years ago, [[TheRashomon possibly]] killing her beloved champion in the process, and she has had a grudge against them ever since. She qualifies as GoodIsNotNice at the very least; defy her, and she can become as mercilessly vindictive as any other Daedric Prince.
** Zenithar, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Aedric Divine]] God of Work and Commerce, is one. He is said to be the deity most in touch with the mortal world and preaches the benefits of being a HonestCorporateExecutive. He is also described as a "[[WarGod warrior god]]'', but "one who is reserved and restrained in times of peace". His followers call him "the god who will always win" as he [[XanatosGambit stands to gain from any action]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'':
*** In the main quest, [[PhysicalGod Vivec]] serves as one (and is at least ''mostly'' reasonable). He is the only member of the Tribunal who still actively opposes [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] instead of angsting over his waning godhood (Almalexia) or retreating into complete solitude (Sotha Sil), and once you fulfill enough prophecies to convince him that you ''are'' [[TheChosenOne the Nerevarine]], he gives you a detailed and succinct explanation on how to defeat Dagoth Ur and instructs everyone else on Vvardenfell to assist you however they can, while he holds the magical fort for you, so to speak.
*** Most of the guilds and Great Houses have at least one such leader. In factions where the majority of the leaders are corrupt (such as the Fighters' Guild and House Telvanni), they are that much more important. Subverted by the ultimate leader of any faction that requires (or even allows) ChallengingTheChief; the Chief in question is ''never'' reasonable.
*** In the {{Backstory}}, Lord Indoril Nerevar was one. He mostly went around trying to stop people from killing each other. First he united the disjointed Chimer people, and then {{Enemy Mine}}d with the [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] in order to repulse the invading [[HornyVikings Nords]]. His time as leader of Resdayn (later Morrowind) was considered one of the most peaceful and prosperous times in the history of the Chimer/Dunmer people. His PlotTriggeringDeath and prophesied {{Reincarnation}} fuel the game's main quest.
*** Likewise, the leader of the Dwemer, Dumac Dwarfking, was also said to be one. He supported the alliance with the Chimer even when other Dwemer clans, such as the Rourken clan, exiled themselves as a result. He attended Nerevar's wedding as well as the coronation of Emperor Gorieus, showing a willingness previously unseen by the Dwemer to engage in the affairs of the other races of Tamriel. [[PoorCommunicationKills Had Kagrenac told Dumac]] what he was planning to do with the [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]], its entirely possible that Dumac would have stopped him, averting [[RiddleForTheAges whatever it was]] that caused the Dwemer to disappear.
** In both ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', [[MadGod Sheogorath, The Prince of Madness]], of all people, is one. In the ''Shivering Isles'' expansion of ''Oblivion'', he gets you to try and stop [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End of His Realm as He Knows It]]. In ''Skyrim'', he has you do therapy on the series' equivalent of [[TheCaligula Caligula]], former Emperor Pelagius the Mad. Though strict and utterly insane, he has a twisted but clear love of his people and will reward any mortal that does what he says to the letter. Which for a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Daedric]] [[BlueAndOrangeMorality Prince]], means quite a lot. Also in the ''Shivering Isles'', the Mazken (aka Dark Seducers) are much more reasonable and willing to work with mortals than Sheogorath's other servants, the Aureal (aka Golden Saints), who are proud, arrogant, and who [[PunyEarthlings despise mortals]].
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** One of the first tasks is to go to Balgruuf, the local Jarl (leader of the region), to warn him about the rampaging dragon. Now, dragons have seemingly been extinct for hundreds of years. Most people don't think they exist any more. But upon hearing the firsthand account of the dragon attack (on top of multiple other reports), Balgruuf immediately accepts it, sends soldiers to reinforce undefended towns, and puts his guards on alert. And when it's revealed that the player is Dovahkiin, he instantly recognizes their importance and endeavors to help you in any way possible. Late in the primary storyline, if you backed him up during the civil war and protected Whiterun, he will only be ''slightly'' reluctant to agree to [[spoiler: risk his castle and city by deliberately luring Odahviing into his castle to trap it.]]
*** Emperor Titus Mede II is surprisingly reasonable when you meet him [[spoiler: at the conclusion of the Dark Brotherhood assassination quest. He even noted to his own captain of the guard that to dissuade the Dark Brotherhood from an assassination, no matter how unlikely, is pointless, and accepts his death with the grace and dignity befitting his station. Everyone else in the quest appears like squabbling children by comparison.]]
*** Tsun, the old Nordic god of "trials against adversity" and [[BodyguardingABadass shield-thane]] of [[TopGod Shor]], is met in [[spoiler:[[WarriorHeaven Sovngarde]]]] and qualifies. According to Kodlak Whitemane's journals, in his dreams he saw Tsun turn his back and refuse to let any Harbinger of the Companions enter Sovngarde after they chose to embrace Lycanthrophy, instead letting the Daedric Prince Hircine drag their souls off to his realm. However, when it came Kodlak's turn, Tsun came down from his post to watch the Dragonborn fight alongside Kodlak's spirit to cleanse it of the curse, before gladly accepting him into Sovngarde as a true Nord. Likewise, Tsun will still give you [[DuelBoss a chance to prove yourself in combat]] even if you earn his disgust and hatred by declaring yourself [[PhantomThief Nightingale]] or [[MouthOfSauron Listener]].
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', Gym Leaders frequently assist with taking down Team Plasma's criminal activities throughout the plot, culminating in them helping you [[spoiler: StormingTheCastle, and [[BigDamnHeroes keeping the Sages at bay]] while you hunt down N]].
** Ghetsis presents himself as the face of Team Plasma and seems to take a more moderate stance on the issue than the Team's [[WellIntentionedExtremist more extreme members]]. He asks only for a moment of your time to listen to his speech in Accumula Town, and even helps Bianca recover her Munna when Plasma agents steal it in Castelia City. [[spoiler: He turns out to be TheManBehindTheMan, N's TreacherousAdvisor, and not above {{abusi|veParents}}ng (or [[WildMassGuessing possibly even]] [[OffingTheOffspring murdering]]) his own son in his pursuit of power.]]
* President Dylan Paradine of Strahta in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces''. He travels his country in plainclothes to gather information personally, takes the party's word over one of the more influential members of Strahta's society, and does whatever he can to help out (as long as it's within reason).
* As far as ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' community leaders go, it would be easier to count those that ''don't'' cooperate unhesitatingly with the heroes or demonstrate good reasons for doing otherwise.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' has several leaders who are willing to listen and aid the heroes without first seeing drastic evidence there's a problem beyond the average monster infestation.
** ''Prophecies'' has King Jalis Ironhammer, who is happy to aid the Ascalonian exodus even in the middle of a civil war.
** ''Factions'' has Emperor Kizu, though his support is somewhat undermined by the squabbling of the Luxons and Kurzicks.
** ''Nightfall'' has the Istani Elders, who accept the evidence and act on it within reason, and Prince Ahmtur, the only Vabbian noble who doesn't immediately run and hide.
** ''Eye of the North'' sees the return of King Jalis Ironhammer, who brings an army just on Ogden's word. Captain Langmar also shows this to a degree, aiding against the Destroyers and accepting Gwen despite initial mistrust.
* Princess Zelda tends to be this in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games, at least when her personality is fleshed out. Usually she's blocked from actually doing much, either by her EvilChancellor or her unsuspecting father, so she asks whichever generation of Link that just stumbled into the castle to help her out.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', the tribe chiefs are very willing to give the amnesiac Link a chance and work against their peoples' prejudices to help save the world. Particularly the [[LadyLand Gerudo]] chief, who susses out Link's [[DisguisedInDrag crossdressing disguise]] almost immediately, but stops her bodyguard kicking their only hope against the Divine Beast out of the city; but by the same token, she agrees to assign him a trial to make sure Link's claims are legit.
* Every authority figure in ''[[VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan]]'' is one, having nothing except the best interests at heart for their land and its residents, as well as its neighbors. [[spoiler:However, Prince Baldur lost it in the face of the threat of his empire being completely destroyed, [[WellIntentionedExtremist resorting to more extreme measures]]. After the party foils his plan and he is rescued by the Medium, even he [[HeelFaceTurn settles back into this role]], [[GuestStarPartyMember aiding you]] in fighting the [[BonusBoss Great Dragon]] when it threatens his people.]]
** [[spoiler:Visil]] is one in ''[[VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl]]'', though it's not obvious until [[spoiler:after you're forced to kill him]].
* [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness The Council of Nations]] in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown''. The financial backers of the XCOM project, consisting of representatives from [[TheAlliance 16 member nations]], they absolutely recognise you as mankind's only hope against the extraterrestrial invaders, and are generally supportive of you even if you don't always do put forward an amazing monthly report. However, they're also relying on XCOM to protect them: if XCOM shows that it is unable or unwilling to protect a particular nation, then the nation erupts into full scale panic riots. If XCOM doesn't assist in reducing the panic levels, the nation will withdraw from the project in order to focus their limited resources on keeping their country from tearing itself apart. And if 8 or more leave, XCOM is shut down and then it's GameOver, for both you, ''[[ApocalypseHow and]]'' the human race.
* ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'' features Inquisitor Drogan who, [[spoiler: despite eventually turning out to be TheMole]], acts with rationality and respect towards the player and his allies even though his authority pretty much allows him to ignore the opinions and orders of anyone else in the solar system.
** Captain Titus, the player avatar, is similarly respectful and considerate of the human troops that he encounters. As a Space Marine he is only required to complete his mission by any means, but he goes out of his way to save Guardsman and protect the resources of the Forgeworld and orders his men to do the same.
* The [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Ur-Quan Kzer-Za]] from ''VideoGame/StarControl2'', while out to enslave every other races, is shown to be this, especially in comparison to their [[OmnicidalManiac genocidal brothers, the Kohr-Ah]]. While their punishment is more often than not death, they are willing to take into account of ''not knowing'' of an order. In the case of [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe the Syreens]] who lost their homeworld, they gave them a new, ''even better'' homeworld before imprisoning them there. And when you tell them of [[spoiler: the Dnyarri threat]], they commended you for a service well done, promised to abolish all punishment, and will speed up their war efforts agains the Kohr-Ah. Pity it's not that simple...
* Samus's AI minder, Adam, turns out to be one in ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. [[spoiler:Though the Federation has assigned him to be an ObstructiveBureaucrat and prevent Samus from discovering their secret projects on the BSL station, he turns against them and aids Samus when it becomes clear how much of a threat the X parasites are.]]
* Baraas, the [[PowersThatBe Elder Power]] of Society and Cooperation in ''VideoGame/NexusClash'', is this. He creates systems to keep people working together, teaches a downright sensible ideology in a setting full of zealots of one kind or another, and keeps the CouncilOfAngels that he's a part of intact. Subverted somewhat in that even ''he'' is too [[GodIsFlawed flawed]] to create a perfect world and so end the ViciousCycle of universal death and rebirth that drives the series. In the latest world that he shaped, humanity was so cooperative and structured that it consolidated into two opposing networks of tightly-held alliances that wound up destroying the world in a nuclear war.
* In ''Videogame/{{Destiny}}'', Commander Zavala, the military leader of the Guardians' Vanguard, is one of these. He's very much a by-the-book soldier who emphasizes maintaining control over the battlefield and keeping proper records and getting authorization before carrying out missions. When Oryx invades the system and begins launching large scale [[DemonicPossession Takings]] of the various alien forces in the system, Zavala orders everyone into a defensive posture and starts collecting intelligence to figure out what they should do, while the more [[LovableRogue freewheeling Cayde-6]] pulls the player aside for an unauthorized high-risk mission to board Oryx's flagship and to disable its weapon and set up a PortalNetwork to allow the Guardians to invade the ship. When Zavala finds out, he is initially shocked and angry, but then congratulates the player and Cayde on their foresight, saying that "Any victory, no matter how unorthodox, is still a ''victory''." Though right after he pulls Cayde aside for a two-plus hour chat about the stunt he pulled....
* The Elder Kettle in ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' is pretty much of a MentorArchetype. Despite the fact that he's disappointed that Cuphead and Mugman gambled in the Devil's Casino, he also helps them by offering a magic potion which will allow them to fight the debtors for their contracts. He also hopes that if they get powerful enough, they can take on the Devil and free their souls.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

[[folder: Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* Two films from director Creator/RolandEmmerich show such characters.
** The president in the ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'' became convinced of the meteorologists' prediction of impending doom and ordered the evacuation of the southern United States. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he is killed in the storm, allowing his disagreeable Vice President to come to power. But the Vice President seems to have been [[BreakTheHaughty humbled]] by what he witnessed]].
** In ''Film/IndependenceDay'', General Grey trusts his friend, the President, but is all too aware of his TechnicalPacifist nature that slows his decision making and [[spoiler:almost dooms his command staff in the White House when the aliens attack]]. He is quick to defend the President and advise him, and attacks the inept security adviser that made a bad situation worse. When the President decides to join [[spoiler:the other pilots at the climax of the film]], Grey realized that his friend couldn't be talked down from the idea, and settles into leading the command center himself [[spoiler:for the final battle]].
* Colonel Wayne from ''Film/{{Gargantua}}'' apparently didn't read the manual on how to be the head military figure in a monster movie. Not only does he unfailingly listen to the experts on hand and follow their advice, but after hearing that the titular creatures could be the last of their kind; he immediately agrees that they shouldn't be killed, solely because he doesn't want to wipe out a species. He only orders his forces to fire upon one of the monsters after it had killed several of his men and was putting the rest at risk.
* The doctor from ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', while bearing in mind that he's dealing with a load of crazy people, is very kind and agreeable with them.
* Professor Kirk from ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' is an interesting variation. Peter and Susan, since they disbelieve in Lucy's stories about visiting the world of Narnia, are beginning to worry about her sanity. They bring their concerns to the Professor, and he surprises them by taking the AgentMulder position and arguing that the story may be true. The more usual dynamic is for TheProtagonist to be playing Mulder and the authority figure to be Scully, but this dynamic is {{Inverted|Trope}} here. [[spoiler:It's because the Professor once visited Narnia himself (''The Magician's Nephew'')]].
** One clever thing the movie adds, that wasn't in the book, is that for the early part of the conversation, Kirk takes a indulgent, kids-will-be-kids attitude. It's only when he hears that Lucy's magical world is in the ''[[ContinuityNod wardrobe]]'' that he begins to suggest she's telling the truth.
* Samuel Gerard and his team of US Marshals in ''Film/TheFugitive''. Their goal from the start is to bring Richard in alive (as opposed to the Chicago cops, who try to shoot him down), and they refuse to take the cops' word that he's guilty, choosing to conduct their own investigation instead.
* The general in ''Film/GoodMorningVietnam,'' as opposed to the ObstructiveBureaucrat Sergeant Major Dickerson.
--> '''Gen. Taylor:''' Dick, I've covered for you a lot of times 'cause I thought you were a little crazy. But you're not crazy, you're mean. And this is just radio.
* Every authority figure in ''Film/NightOfTheLepus'' accepts that monsters are rampaging without question, and all immediately spring into action. Which is rather unreasonable in and of itself - not a single person ever stops and says "Giant Man Eating Rabbits? You can't be serious!?"
* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' and ''Film/GhostbustersII,'' the mayor is willing to listen to the characters about the bizarre events in his city. In the first one, Venkman gets his cooperation by appealing to his political ambition ("If we can stop this thing, ''you'' will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters"). In the sequel, when he realizes the eponymous characters have been thrown into the loony bin by his EvilChancellor he immediately has them released and him fired respectively.
* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}}'': The mayor and his assistant immediately recruit the Ghostbusters when they realize the supernatural events are real. Unfortunately, they also want to prevent mass panic, so while they provide support privately, publicly they denounce the Ghostbusters as attention-seeking nutjobs. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, the coverup has fallen apart. While the mayor is publicly still making a token effort to keep it going, privately his assistant thanks the Ghostbusters for going along with it (even though it didn't work), and offers them whatever they want as thanks for saving the city]].
* Senator Palpatine of ''Franchise/StarWars'' is a villainous subversion of an eminently Reasonable Authority Figure. He's on the ball in terms of Senate politics in ''Episode I'' and [[TreacherousAdvisor advises]] Queen Amidala on how to shake up the Senate to help Naboo. In ''Episode II'' he's [[TheChessmaster clued in enough]] to send Senator Amidala to safety, and in ''III'' he's [[EvilMentor very supportive]] of Anakin's [[AmbitionIsEvil ambitions]], all while helping lead [[TheFederation the Republic]] in a war [[RightHandVersusLeftHand against the clearly evil]] Confederacy. It's thanks to his [[ManipulativeBastard timely wisdom]] that the [[HeroWithBadPublicity treacherous]] Jedi rebellion was put down so easily, and in reward [[GullibleLemmings the Senate]] made him the first emperor of [[TheEmpire the Galactic Empire]].
** This is largely undercut when you remember that we're not even that far into ''Episode III'' before Anakin figures out that Palpatine is most definitely a Sith Lord and clearly no stranger to the Dark Side. He even sees Palpatine openly firing bolts of Force lightning at Mace Windu, an unambiguous Sith characteristic (though it could be argued that this was self-defense). For Anakin this could all be a case of AtLeastIAdmitIt.
** The web comic ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' seem to be playing this trope straighter (or at least more NeutralGood) than Star Wars did. He's actually shocked and a little horrified by Jar-Jar's suggestion for him to assume emergency powers. [[spoiler:Even Palpatine's killing of Mace Windu and order to wipe out the Jedi are due to him trying to ''protect'' the Republic while being manipulated by Anakin.]]
** PlayedForLaughs in the ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' sketches, where Palpatine is astonishingly lenient with his troops in spite of his underlying stress with their incompetence. He barks and whines at Vader only for his genuine botches, otherwise having something of VillainousFriendship with him, and at one point tries to get bounty hunters to assist with things (even offering his secretary's husband a first audition despite his skepticism). Given the parody tone of course, he's still a PointyHairedBoss.
** Although he had very little screen time, Captain Needa appears unusually reasonable for an Imperial officer, even willing to accept the blame for losing the ''Falcon'' after Han carries out a desperate attack on the Star Destroyer ''Avenger'', and chooses to apologize to Vader ''personally'' for the ''Falcon's'' escape. [[YouHaveFailedMe Not that it helped his case...]]
* The detective in ''Film/BunnyLakeIsMissing'' embodies this trope. Despite the fact that every piece of evidence suggests that Ann Lake never really had a daughter, he continues to investigate zealously because after all, if she's not crazy then a four-year-old girl is missing. And thanks to this behavior [[spoiler: he gets possibly the most understated, British BigDamnHeroes moment in cinematic history]].
* In ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'', when most local authority figures don't take them seriously, one of the cast sends a note written in crayon to the army asking for help against the monster invasion. The army responds by sending in tanks and infantry at the end of the film, in an extended BrickJoke.
* Judi Dench's portrayal of M in the ''Film/JamesBond'' films, especially with the Creator/DanielCraig reboot. She might have problems with his methods, but once he proves himself she'll back him up.
** In ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'', Gareth Mallory becomes a Reasonable Authority Figure after being swayed by M's defence of "the old ways", and helps Q and Tanner with their off-the-books plan to help Bond and M. [[spoiler:By the end of the film, he succeeds Judi Dench's character and becomes the new M.]]
* ''Film/EightLeggedFreaks''. Nobody quite believed the stories of rampaging man-eating spiders in the far-off, isolated town. But the authorities [[spoiler:sent in backup to investigate the screaming that resulted when a giant spider attacked the crowded radio station]].
* The CEO of the MegaCorp OCP in ''Film/RoboCop1987'' seems a kindly and reasonable man, if a bit "out of it". However, one of his assistants is a treacherous villain. Once the CEO realizes the evil of what's going on, he does what he can to stop it (to great effect in medio).
** And kept up in [[Series/RoboCopTheSeries the series]], where he has both intent and capability to fix a lot of bad situations... as long as he finds out about it in the first place, something his cadre of corrupt execs prevents as much as possible. Diane even convinces him at one point to sneak out and see the city for himself. On the other hand, just about anyone in a position immediately below him seems to have their basic human morality surgically removed.
* Frank Butterman, Chief of Police in ''Film/HotFuzz''. Whenever Sergent Angel suggests that an accident might have been a murder, the rest of the squad mocks the notion, however Butterman calmly listens to Angel's suspicions, and then orders the squad to treat the situation according to Angel's theory. [[spoiler:Subverted in that Butterman is actually behind the rash of murders, with the backing of most of the town elders and leaders, and he merely goes along with Angel in order to try to make him seem irrational and less credible.]]
* ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'':
** In ''Film/{{Transformers}}'', the Secretary of Defense, when he's informed of what is happening, quite reasonably backs up the soldiers who have actually fought (and beat, let alone survived) a Decepticon attack and the teenage kid who obviously has a handle on what is happening. Earlier in the movie, he demonstrates how such a figure can be authoritative while still being reasonable: when a young civilian contractor intrudes on his emergency meeting with some high-ranking officers, all the while making wild conjectures about extraterrestrial computer viruses, he ushers her out quickly and with no undue fuss, saying that he'd be glad to listen if she finds any proof, but that she needs to learn some manners if she wants to work at this level. Later, when proof is presented, he not only listens but appoints her as his advisor.
** In ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'', the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Morshower, is presented as being 100 percent supportive of his combined team of Autobots and military operatives. That doesn't stop the ObstructiveBureaucrat from messing things up, though.
** In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', the new head of NEST points out, correctly, that Sam is a civilian, and bars him from entering the base all willy-nilly like he used to. [[spoiler:Then when he investigates what's going on and is proven right, she calmly admits she was wrong about him, without any sort of coercion or request. In fact, it's the very first thing she says to him when they meet.]]
* Every layer of the US government in the classic mutant-ant movie ''Film/{{Them}}''.
* Evenlyn Salt's superior Ted Winter in ''Film/{{Salt}}'' was at least trying to understand why Salt was acting the way she was and acted more calmly, in contast to the more rash, frantic Peabody. [[spoiler: Winter was in fact a Russian spy, so he took Salt's side because he wanted her succeed. And in the end, when Salt was arrested, Peabody, after receiving certain information to get him to trust Salt, he lets her escape.]]
* The prosecutor in ''Film/MyCousinVinny'' is a good-natured, by-the-book, down-home country lawyer. He's dead set on getting the kids convicted and executed, but the evidence does look pretty damning. When Vinny succeeds in knocking a big hole in the case, he immediately moves to have the case dismissed and congratulates Vinny on doing such a good job. To be fair, there was no way for him to win the case at that point (the evidence exonerated the defendants). Having the case dismissed was his best move.
** He does skirt the rules at one point, by refusing to let Vinny know ahead of time that he's bringing in an expert witness (the prosecution must disclose all witnesses and evidence to the defense). Vinny comes up with a convincing and proper objection (the judge praises him for that), but it get overruled.
** Judge Haller. It is very frustrated with Vinny's ignorance of basic courtroom procedure, but when Vinny shapes up, he proves to be very impartial.
* Harvey Dent in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' fits the trope by leading the crusade against corruption in Gotham. He styles himself as the 'white knight' to contrast the viligantee 'Dark Knight' Batman. [[spoiler: This changes as soon as he becomes Two Face.]]
** James Gordon plays this as straight as it gets. John Blake in ''Rises'' could also qualify, though he starts at a low rank.
* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'':
** Odin and (in a rare villainous example) Laufey in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. Odin wants to avoid war with the Frost Giants and preserve their peace. Laufey was prepared to let Thor and his friends go for violating the truce and invading their nation.
--> '''Laufey''': "You have no idea what you would unleash. (''{{Beat}}''). [[WarIsHell I do.]]"
** Nick Fury throughout the entire series, but especially in ''Film/TheAvengers2012'', shows a good instinct of when to reign in his RagtagBunchOfMisfits, and when to stand back and let them do their jobs.
** Colonel Phillips in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is a pragmatic man who sticks to the reality that a scrawny, asthmatic man isn't a good soldier until he sees the scientist's transformation of Steve Rogers. But Phillips doesn't believe a single SuperSoldier like Steve Rogers is enough to win the war until Steve rescues 400 men single-handedly. When Steve presents himself for disciplinary action, Phillips is convinced of Steve's place and brings him into the military fold, with his full trust.
** Rhomann Dey in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is a Nova Corps officer who has had a few antagonistic run-ins with protagonist (and petty thief) Peter Quill. Nonetheless, he is never an outright jerk to Quill and [[spoiler: before the climax affirms, without reservation, his belief in the sincerity of Quill's message warning of an impending invasion by the BigBad, resulting in the Nova Corps giving Quill's team much-needed backup.]]
*** Likewise, Nova Prime. She listens to Rhomann Dey's story over his superior's objection and acts on his judgement of the situation. Even Garthan Saal is fairly reasonable. He has perfectly good reasons not to trust Quill and simply states his opinion to Nova Prime. He never tries to stop her from hearing the message, is fully willing to follow orders once she's made a decision, and develops respect for the Guardians during the battle.
* The police chief in ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' who, after arresting Edward, seems genuinely concerned for his wellbeing and later tries to protect him from the mob.
* The Attorney-General in ''Film/{{Shooter}}''. [[spoiler:He agrees to talk to the guy who everybody "knows" tried to kill the President on the request of a junior FBI agent, releases him instantly when confronted with evidence exonerating him, and then basically tells him to go murder the rogue intelligence operative who set the whole thing up.]]
* General Berringer in ''Film/WarGames'', who not only turned out to be right on every significant point, but was one of the very few people in the movie who had a rational, well-thought out reason for every decision he made (even the incorrect ones).
** [=McKittrick=] isn't too far off this trope either. He doesn't seem to buy the FBI profiler's assertion that David was turned by the Soviets, and tries chatting with David to find out what's going on. His only problem is that [[CassandraTruth he can't buy David's story that WOPR is running a game of its own]]. He's willing to go a ways down the path with David... until David tries to contact the WOPR while he's alone to find out if it's really playing the game so he can avert the catastrophe if possible —- this "suspicious" behavior is what pushes [=McKittrick=] over the edge as far as trusting David.
* In ''Film/SuckerPunch'', Mrs. Gorski really does want to help the girls at the asylum recover, and even in the brothel fantasies tries to protect and care for them. Exactly how authoritative she is is difficult to pinpoint. In the brothel fantasy, she is the dance instructor, but Blue makes it clear that she doesn't have the power to challenge him. [[spoiler:In the final scenes, after Babydoll was lobotomized, Mrs. Gorski is clearly ''much'' higher in authority than the orderly Blue, bringing in the police to arrest him when she learns about his crimes.]]
* Captain Gordon Stacy is a borderline example in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. He ''is'' antagonistic toward the hero, contrary to most examples, but he has good reason ([[spoiler:Spider-Man screwed up a police investigation of an auto theft ring]]). He is established as an actual example when [[spoiler:Peter rushes into the police department with [[YouHaveToBelieveMe wild and unsubstantiated accusations]] that Dr. Curt Connors is a giant lizard monster who is responsible for recent violence in the city. Stacy is dismissive but, as soon as Parker leaves, he orders his men to check on Dr. Connors just to be sure.]]
* The King from ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'' he's a good leader who handles himself well, deals with his subjects fairly, [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and isn't above hard labor right alongside the common soldiers]] when necessary. He also shows remarkable restraint when dealing with Jack, refraining from [[CleaningThisGun trying to intimidate him]] once it's clear there's some chemistry between him and the Princess. Not to mention he insists on fighting alongside the guards when the Giants attack, and gives Elmont a "Hell no!" when asked to leave.
** Also Elmont, the captain of the Guardians. He'll put a good scare in Jack for not kneeling when he's supposed to--but when the Princess goes missing, Elmont remembers that Jack was the peasant who'd stand up to bullies to protect a strange girl whom he didn't even ''know'' was the princess. He vouches for Jack with the King when it counts.
* General Hawk from ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra''. Also Sergeant Stone who surprisingly seems much more pleasant than most iterations of the Joe's Drill Sergeant.
* ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' - the police officer played by Ed Platt. He lets Jim know that he's there to talk to when things are driving him crazy (and things ''are'' driving him crazy).
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' reboot films (Kelvinverse):
** Captain Pike in ''Film/StarTrek2009'' is surprisingly reasonable and willing to listen. It helps that he has a soft spot for Kirk.
** [[Creator/PeterWeller Admiral Marcus]], Carol's father and the chief of Starfleet Command, in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness''. [[spoiler:He's really [[BigBadEnsemble evil]], and attempts to destroy the ''Enterprise'' to cover up Section 31's actions and start a war with the Klingons. As a few of the crew try to convince Kirk, even the "reasonable" parts are major crimes and massively immoral]].
** Commodore Paris from ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' is understanding of Kirk's temporary uncertainty about sitting in the big chair, and isn't surprised when the events of the film help Kirk rediscover himself and his love for exploration.
* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': President Patel is considerably less reactionary than Delacourt.
* ''Film/TheTenCommandments'' gives us Pharaoh Seti, who, when presented with a dilemma, always listens to both sides of the argument, gives praise to Moses when his unconventional tactics conquer Ethiopia near bloodlessly, welcomes the Ethiopian King with open arms, and build a city in record time. [[spoiler: Even when Moses is revealed to be a Hebrew, he remarks that he will believe Moses if he promises not to raise the slaves in revolt.]] He also is unafraid to verbally smack down priests and his own son.
--> '''Seti:''' The one best suited to rule Egypt shall follow me. I owe that to my fathers. Not to my sons.
* ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'':
** While Admiral Stenz treats Godzilla as a threat for a good reason, he doesn't go out of his way like many military characters in these type of movies would and is always open to suggestions from civilian experts. Also, related to the above plan of using a nuke, he points out that they are pretty much out of other options and have to do all they can to protect the civilians on the coast, and despite that genuinely empathizes with Serizawa's perspective on the matter.
** Serizawa himself is one. When he first sees Joe Brody being interrogated, at first he thinks the guy's a loony. But then he looks at the papers Joe had on him, and notices the patterns perfectly match the ones they're seeing now. When the US Navy picks him up, he also has them bring both Brody's along. He realizes too late that Joe had indeed predicted that something wasn't right about those readings he was examining for the last 15 years. And though his son Ford didn't have the same knowledge, he did provide enough of a clue for Serizawa to figure out that Godzilla may not be quite the bad guy as he's seen as.
* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': The Man in Black; for a G-Man, he's quite a NiceGuy.
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'':
*** The head Congressman who's against Trask's Sentinel project. The [[WhoShotJFK incident from ten years ago]] notwithstanding, mutants are a very small portion of the population and haven't been causing trouble.
*** Richard Nixon himself gets this treatment, [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade unlike most examples]]. While he does go along with the Sentinel Program, it's out of a desire to protect the nation from super powered beings than any genuine malice. [[spoiler:When Mystique saves his life from Magneto, it's implied he gave her a pardon and jailed Trask for trying to sell secrets to America's enemies.]]
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'':
*** The Polish cops who try to arrest Erik early in the film are genuine peace keepers, not bigots with badges. They target Erik simply because he's an internationally wanted man, and not out of anti-mutant prejudice or hysteria. Moreover, they do not wish to harm his family and simply want to take him in alive. When [[spoiler:one of them accidentally kills Erik's wife and daughter]] they are all horrified and remorseful at what they'd done in the brief moments before [[spoiler:Erik kills them]].
*** ''Stryker'' of all people is presented as one compared to his previous depictions in the franchise. He only abducts Raven, Peter, Moira and Hank so that he could question them about a cataclysmic psychic event that seemingly originated from the X-Mansion, and leaves behind the innocent students of the school (unlike his visit in ''X2''). [[spoiler:Then again, he did torture and brainwash Logan into becoming Weapon X in this continuity as well.]]
* ''Film/LockUp'': The Captain of the Guard is a much more reasonable figure than the sadistic Warden. He'll follow his orders and treat the prisoners as roughly as he thinks is necessary, but he does not believe in punishing someone beyond their sentence. [[spoiler:When Frank ultimately takes Drumgoole hostage and exposes his corruption, he orders his men to arrest the Warden and makes sure Frank will be able to sit out the rest of his sentence in peace.]]
* Chief Martin Brody in ''{{Film/Jaws}}''. As soon as he learns the likely cause of death for a swimmer was a shark attack, he drops everything and tries to close the beaches. Even as the town business owners and especially the Mayor try to keep the beaches open, Brody's the only one who continues to take the threat seriously. In fact, Mr. Quint addresses Brody directly when giving his price to kill the shark because he's this.
* O-Ren from ''Film/KillBill'' has no problem with her subordinates questioning her logic or pointing out flaws in her plan, so long as they're respectful about it. Hell, she actively encourages it! Just don't insult her heritage. [[OffWithHisHead Seriously,]] ''[[BerserkButton don't]]''.
* Dr. Paul Dreyfus in ''Film/DantesPeak''. He's skeptical of Dr. Dalton's claims that the volcano is going to erupt, not because he's a SuitWithVestedInterests or because he thinks there's a MillionToOneChance, but because he wants absolute proof as a scientist and he's seen how premature warnings can cause unnecessary panic and cause people to disregard real warnings. But as soon as Dr. Dalton has real proof, he agrees to issue a warning and helps plan an evacuation. Of course [[spoiler: he still ends up being a DoomedContrarian.]]
* Lord Humungus from ''Film/MadMax2TheRoadWarrior'' is a villainous example. Unlike every other villain up to that point, he is only after the oil rig and is perfectly willing to let the tribe leave peacefully instead of massacring them.
** He tells his underling "The gasoline will be ours. Then, you shall have your revenge." implying that he plans on betraying and massacring the tribe the second they leave their defenses.
* Michelle Bradley from ''Film/{{Chappie}}''. Not only does she treat her employees decently, she also has legitimate reasons for cutting funding for Moore's Moose project (the police aren't willing to pay for such an overpowered and unweildly mech, and adding more features isn't going to help), and not allowing Dion to experiment with Scout 22 (there's an incredible amount of red tape involved, plus Tetravaal is, y'know, ''a weapons manufacturer'', so a smart AI that can for example, paint, isn't really useful to their interests).
* President Tom Beck in ''Film/DeepImpact''. When MSNBC reporter Jenny Lerner stumbles onto the story about the impending comet impact, which she actually thinks is an extramarital affair, he moves forward with informing the public, as it could only be a matter of time before other networks report on it. He also freezes all wages and prices, to prevent a sudden rise in profiteering, once news of the comet has been released, and is very open and honest with the public even when he has to do reluctant things like declare martial law as society begins to break down.
* Mejor Fedotov in ''Film/WhiteTiger'' pays close attention to what Naydenov (a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who believes tanks talk to him) says, unlike everyone else who dismisses him as insane.
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': President [[MeaningfulName Merkin Muffley]] acts like a wimp, but isn't gung ho about nuclear annihilation, keeps a level head in spite of the event that spiraled out of his control, and tries to be as diplomatic as possible.
* ''Film/HussarBallad'': Field Marshal Kutuzov makes a bad decision, blinded by common prejudices of that time, but is quick to admit his mistake and correct it. All the time nobody is willing to violate his orders, as this guy commands too much respect.
** General Balmashov as well. He is willing to throw all his considerable weight to make Kutuzov reconsider.
* ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'': President Dwayne Camacho. Despite being as crass as the average citizen of 2505, when he learns about Joe's (relatively) phenomenal intelligence, he's willing to pardon him if [[spoiler: he can solve the famine crisis. When Joe is able to get a garden growing again, Camacho picks Joe as his successor]]. Plus, the guy is pretty captivating. ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' goes even further with [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-3-fictional-presidents-we-could-use-right-now_p2/ how exceptional the Camacho is]].
--> President Camacho. Former pro wrestler turned porn star turned president. He dresses in American flag pants, he addresses the nation by dancing, singing, and firing a gun into the air and rallying them with his aggressively patriotic (if completely empty) rhetoric. He's energetic, likable, and absolutely captivating...it's not just President Camacho's patriotism that makes him a great leader. Eventually, Joe is brought to the attention of President Camacho. This weird-talking time traveler with his fancy ideas made it all the way to the White House, because an IQ test claimed he was the smartest man alive. And when that happened, President Camacho did a remarkable thing. He recognized that Joe was smarter, and he bowed to his wisdom. Everyone -- everyone -- in the world of Idiocracy resented Joe, because he talked differently and because his ideas, to them, sounded crazy. They turned against him out of their fear, their pride, and their inability to understand him. Everyone else, when faced with Joe's unconventional ideas, immediately went on the defensive and resented Joe. He didn't fit in with their weird hive mind of delusion and idiocy. Yet for all of his pomposity and ridiculousness, Camacho had the clarity of mind to look beyond all that. What he saw was a man who was smarter than himself, and he had no problem humbling himself and saying "Let's trust the smart guy."
* Senator June Finch in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. While she has concerns both about Comicbook/{{Superman}}'s [[FlyingBrick power]] and that he doesn't answer to any authority besides his own, she's reasonable and rational, bluntly refusing to buy [[Comicbook/LexLuthor Lex's]] lies about Kryptonite weapons being just a "deterrent". Also, while she has Superman HauledBeforeASenateSubCommittee regarding the destruction caused during Superman's [[Film/ManOfSteel fight with Zod]], it's about finding the truth of what happened, rather than being just a [[FantasticRacism witchhunt]].
* In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'', Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Vukovich take the situation seriously, and do their best to save Sarah Connor when they realize she's the "Phone Book Killer's" most likely next target. Face-to-face with our protagonists, they're not so apt to believe Kyle Reese's wild descriptions of a "Terminator" in human flesh sent back to their time from AfterTheEnd, but -- more than the unfortunately sneering condescension of Dr. Silberman -- recognize a situation bad enough to rattle anyone and make a very respectable go at DoingInTheWizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is ''right.'' In a deleted scene, Vulkovich even gives Reese a gun when the terminator comes back.
* ''Film/OnlyTheBrave'': Though he seems dubious about the feasibility of basing a Hotshot crew in the city of Prescott, AZ, the mayor gives them the time they need to prove themselves and get certified.
* In ''Film/{{Blockers}}'', Kayla's mother Marcie berates the other parents for not trusting their daughters to make their own decisions, and points out the double standard of their actions compared to if their girls were boys.
* ''Film/ReformSchoolGirls'': Psychologist Dr. Norton seems to be the only authority figure at the school who is not a megalomaniac or a sadist. When she gets proof of what is going on at the school, she goes straight to the board to expose it. At the end of the film--after Edna has been killed and Sutter removed--she is shown as the new warden.
[[/folder]]

** ''FanFic/MirrorsImage'': Celestia, as in cannon. However, as flashbacks and the Princesses' own testimony prove, she wasn't this when she was younger, punishing and banishing ponies for minor slights, or even just irritating her. And by punishing, she usually just turned ponies to stone. And that's before the FantasticRacism, the violence, or how she treated her old student, [[spoiler:Chrysalis.]]

* ''Film/StarTrek'' reboot:
** Captain Pike of the 2009 ''Film/StarTrek'' reboot is surprisingly reasonable and willing to listen. It helps that he has a soft spot for Kirk.

Heroes like the IgnoredExpert have a hard enough time dealing with idiotic peasants, but their deepest problems invariably come from the antagonistic local authorities, who are dead set on ignoring their warnings and running them out of town because it's politically expedient. This makes the existence of the Reasonable Authority Figure all the more important.

Heroes like the IgnoredExpert have a hard enough time dealing with idiotic peasants, but their deepest problems invariably come from the antagonistic local authorities, who are dead set on ignoring their warnings and running them out of town because it's politically expedient. This makes the existence of the Reasonable Authority Figure all the rarer.

** [[spoiler:Former]] [[AnIcePerson Admiral Aokiji]] and [[BadassGrandpa Vice Admiral Garp]] are also examples. They're harsh on pirates but will go out of their way to protect civilians. Likewise for Vice-Admiral Smoker and Captain Tashigi, Captain Coby, and even more so with the brief character Commander Ripper from the Captain Morgan arc…really, despite the fact that many marines are LawfulEvil, there are some LawfulGood ones as well.

* In ''Film/{{Terminator}}'', Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Vukovich take the situation seriously, and do their best to save Sarah Connor when they realize she's the "Phone Book Killer's" most likely next target. Face-to-face with our protagonists, they're not so apt to believe Kyle Reese's wild descriptions of a "Terminator" in human flesh sent back to their time from AfterTheEnd, but -- more than the unfortunately sneering condescension of Dr. Silberman -- recognize a situation bad enough to rattle anyone and make a very respectable go at DoingInTheWizard, except, unfortunately, they live in a world where their wild-eyed hobo with a shotgun is ''right.''

* ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 2016}}'': The m ayor and his assistant immediately recruit the Ghostbusters when they realize the supernatural events are real. Unfortunately, they also want to prevent mass panic, so while they provide support privately, publicly they denounce the Ghostbusters as attention-seeking nutjobs. [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, the coverup has fallen apart. While the mayor is publicly still making a token effort to keep it going, privately his assistant thanks the Ghostbusters for going along with it (even though it didn't work), and offers them whatever they want as thanks for saving the city]].

** In the [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII second game]], both of [[PlayerCharacter Ezio Auditore's]] parents are pretty cool, and it's obvious they love each other, as well as their children. After Ezio gets involved in a street brawl and then goes to his girlfriend's house, only to get caught in her bed by her dad, the morning after, Giovanni (Ezio's father) starts off telling his son to stop being so immature and get it together... only to find himself chuckling at the fact that Ezio reminds him of himself at that age, and brushes it off. As for Ezio's mother, she's a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and goes out of her way to be kind to the lower classes. She also isn't fooled by Ezio's supposed denials of his troublemaking the night before, leading to an amusing conversation about Ezio [[CrowningMomentOfFunny needing to rethink his outlets]].