History Main / ReasonableAuthorityFigure

* 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, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight and even defy tradition and law when the situation calls for it]]. Byakuya also becomes a variation of this after CharacterDevelopment.

* Every layer of the US government in the classic mutant-ant movie ''{{Them}}''.
* Evenlyn Salt's superior Ted Winter in ''{{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 ''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.

** Other examples would be the Konoha counselors Homura and Koharu, as well as post timeskip Gaara.

* In {{Italy}}, many people view the [[{{UsefulNotes/Culture of Italy}} President of the Republic]][[note]] who is, in fact, nearly powerless [[/note]] as the {{only sane man}} in a country where politics are [[{{World Gone Mad}} ridiculous]] in the very best cases. [[/folder]]

** [[PeterWeller Admiral Marcus]], Carol's father and the chief of Starfleet Command. [[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]].

* 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 partially[[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.

* The CEO of ''{{Robocop}}'''s O.C.P. seems a kindly and reasonable man, if a bit "out of it" (think RonaldReagan). 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 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 ''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.]]

* It was common in the past for ''all'' authority figures in the pro wrestling business to be depicted this way when they showed up on television, acting as a {{Foil}} for the antics of the heels and the zanier faces. Jack Tunney is a good example.

* In Italy, many people view the [[{{UsefulNotes/Culture of Italy}} President of the Republic]][[note]] who is, in fact, nearly powerless [[/note]] as the {{only sane man}} in a country where politics are [[{{World Gone Mad}} ridiculous]] in the very best cases. [[/folder]]

** In Italy, many people view the [[{{UsefulNotes/Culture of Italy}} President of the Republic]][[note]] who is, in fact, nearly powerless [[/note]] as the {{only sane man}} in a country where politics are [[{{World Gone Mad}} ridiculous]] in the very best cases. [[/folder]]

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar Akbar]] The Great, the 3rd Mughal Emperor. Notable for establishing an organized system of government and treating conquered territories as equal partners in his empire, rather than imposing unjust taxes on them or treating the conquered populace as second-class citizens as his predecessors had done. He also made a slew of governmental, religious and taxation reforms in order to ensure fair treatment of ''all'' of his subjects. In fact, he was vieved so much of a {{Reasonable Authority Figure}} that several neighbouring regions ''voluntarily'' joined his empire. [[/folder]]
** In Italy, many people view the [[{{UsefulNotes/Culture of Italy}} President of the Republic]][[note]] who is, in fact, nearly powerless [[/note]] as the {{only sane man}} in a country where politics are [[{{World Gone Mad}} ridiculous]] in the very best cases.

* In ''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.
* Judi Dench's portrayal of M in the 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.

* ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo: Katsuichi is the biggest example, being a respected swordsman and fair, if stern, teacher. Inspector Ishida is a kind and pleasant old policeman, and Usagi's firm friend, never once falling under InspectorJavert. This trope is usually played with in the many towns Usagi visits, often meeting the masgriate or other headman. Sometimes the result is friendly, where one masgriate and the police force sided behind Usagi against a team of bandits. Sometimes they're corrupt, like Masgriate Oda, who taxed people heavily and killed several who oppose him. Sometimes they just don't like the main character, but are otherwise not villainous.

* ''MassEffect'' has Captain Anderson (who might not really count since he only slightly outranks the main character, though in the sequel he is [[spoiler: either an admiral or the human Citadel Councilor, and, in either case, by far the biggest help you will get on that front]]), who always supports Shepard in his/her quest, even at the risk of his own reputation or career. Admiral Hackett is also one of these.

** In the Lair of the Shadow Broker {{DLC}} [[spoiler: 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.]]
--->[[spoiler: '''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."]]

** Garrus's 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.

* ''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.

* [[EccentricMentor Dumbledore]] of ''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 ''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).

* The president in the ''TheDayAfterTomorrow'' became convinced of the meteorologists' prediction of impending doom and ordered the evacuation of the southern United States.

** 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. But after he dies, [[TookALevelInJerkass Onestar]] (who takes over [=WindClan=] averts this trope when he's in a foul mood.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': Admiral AJ Chegwidden qualifies with honors. He almost always backs up his subordinates, unless they’ve committed some {{Egregious}} act. His successor, General Cresswell, would also qualify but to a lesser extent. The [=SecNavs=] do also, at various points throughout the series come across like this, albait on very rare occasions.