History Main / TheGeneralissimo

Note that generalissimo (Latin ''generalissimus'', the absolute superlative of "general") ''is'' a legitimate rank in some militaries, denoting a '''seven-star general'''.[[note]]In the United States, the equivalent is ''General of the Armies'', only held by John J. Pershing after World War I and posthumously to UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington, UsefulNotes/DouglasMacArthur was proposed to be promoted in preparation for the Invasion of Japan, as the invasion would involve enormous amounts of manpower and a would have a large command staff[[/note]] The trope namers come from many dictators who awarded themselves with this rank primarily due a big ego and bloated sense of self-importance, but you don't necessarily need to be a dictator or incompetent commander to be a Generalissimo -- many RealLife Generalissimos have been brilliant and competent field commanders. The first to bear the rank was Albrecht von Wallenstein, the Imperial commander-in-chief in the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar. A similar (theoretical) naval rank of ''admiralissimus'' exists; so far, only Haireddin Barbarossa of the Imperial Turkish Navy and Albrecht von Wallenstein have borne it.

* In the original ''VideoGame/BionicCommando,'' the evil dictator trying to re-activate the secret [[ThoseWackyNazis Imperial Army]] superweapon is named Generalissimo Killt in the American release of the game. He has the stereotypical dictatorial appearance, in that he dresses exactly like [[Franchise/StreetFighter M. Bison]] and looks like a slightly melted [[Series/{{Brookside}} Brian Regan]], and is characterized with the expected arrogance and military fervor. [[spoiler:He also kind of gets HijackedByGanon when he gets killed off by a revived Hitler.]]

-> ''Dear Lisa, as I write this, I am very sad. Our president has been overthrown and--''
->''[voice changes to that of a man]''
->'''''--replaced by the benevolent General Krull. All hail Krull and his glorious new regime! Sincerely, Little Girl.'''''

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': In "Allowance Day", General Chiquita, president of the aptly named BananaRepublic.

* ''Once Upon a Time... Space'' has General Pest, leader of Cassiopeia, who given the {{Expy}} of the RealLife Roman Republic with CrystalSpiresAndTogas that is that nation is closer to a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_dictator dictator in Roman sense]]. That changes near the end of the series, [[spoiler:when he organizes a coup d'état and becomes the ''de facto'' leader of Cassiopeia. He does not get much time to enjoy it, however.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraKuvira Kuvira]] is a rare female example, who, however, acts in a very masculine manner and otherwise fits most or all of the stereotypes (except smoking, which apparently doesn't exist in the ''Avatar'' universe).

* Colonel Allende in ''Videogame/RedDeadRedemption'', who perfectly fits the archetype of "Corrupt Mexican military leader" as befits the adherence of the game to various kinds of Western films. John Marston does some work for him in order to get to his target Bill Williamson [[spoiler:but eventually works completely against the government after Allende tries to have him executed (who turns out to be sheltering Bill)]].

* Fanfic/TarkinsFist'': Following his coronation as Emperor of the First Martian Empire, Aveo Yos eschews the robes of traditional Imperial nobility for the uniform of an Imperial Grand Admiral. [[spoiler:Even after democratizing the Empire Phasma tends to prefer her naval uniform as a second lieutenant over more traditional robes.]] On the Earth side Hugo Chavez II, the President of the Union of South American Nations, is said to have worn a General's uniform during the Americas War.

Usually dressed in [[BlingOfWar fancy military garb]], with a ChestOfMedals and a CommissarCap (often a comically large one), though if he's a Castro or Che imitation (particularly with characters who are part of the standard guerrilla subplot), he might wear plain olive drab fatigues and a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_cap Ridgeway cap]] or Che-style black beret instead. If he wants to project an image of holding legitimate authority beyond force, he may don an [[ManOfWealthAndTaste expensive suit]]. Common traits include [[BeardOfEvil facial hair]] of some sort, [[CigarChomper cigar smoking]], [[SinisterShades dark sunglasses]], [[DemocracyIsBad a hatred of democracy]], a [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard long list of]] [[TheMagnificent self-bestowed]] [[LargeHamTitle grandiose titles]], and [[{{Egopolis}} naming cities and monuments after himself]]. Because Generalissimos often have little political credibility but plentiful self-delusions of grandeur, they are often also called Tinpot Dictators (not to be confused with {{Tin Tyrant}}s).

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': [[PlanetBaron Olban]] of [[WingedHumanoid Planet]] [[SpaceRomans Baam]] organizes regular killings on his [[AngelicAliens own people]], who are already survivors of a [[CosmicHorrorStory genocide]]. To retain his position, he sends the true heir to the throne, Richter, off to war, [[spoiler:after managing to successfully frame the human race for the assassination that took his father]]. Olban also has the [[MayDecemberRomance hots]] for the [[spoiler: daughter of the man he assassinated and Richter's sister]], Erika, and seeks to marry her to legitimize his position. [[spoiler: In a dramatic turn of events, it turns out that while Erika agreed to marry him, she secretly planned to kill him as revenge for him killing her father. Later, her and Richter team up to have him disposed]].

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': [[PlanetBaron Olban]] of [[WingedHumanoid Planet]] [[SpaceRomans Baam]] organizes regular killings on his [[AngelicAliens own people]], who are already survivors of a [[CosmicHorrorStory genocide]], and to retain his position, sends the true heir to the throne, Richter, off to war, [[spoiler:managing to successfully frame the human race for the assassination that took his father]]. Meanwhile, he has the [[MayDecemberRomance hots]] for the [[spoiler: daughter of the man he assassinated]], Erika, and seeks to marry her to legitimize his position. [[spoiler: In a dramatic turn of events, it turns out that while Erika agreed to marry him, she secretly planned to kill him as revenge for him killing her father. Later, her and Richter team up to have him disposed]].

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': [[PlanetBaron Olban]] of [[WingedHumanoid Planet]] [[SpaceRomans Baam]] organizes regular killings on his [[AngelicAliens own people]], who are already survivors of a [[CosmicHorrorStory genocide]], and to retain his position, sends the true heir to the throne, Richter, off to war, [[spoiler:managing to successfully frame the human race for the assassination that took his father]]. Meanwhile, he has the [[MayDecemberRomance hots]] for the [[spoikler: daughter of the man he assassinated]], Erika, and seeks to marry her to legitimize his position. [[spoiler: In a dramatic turn of events, it turns out that while Erika agreed to marry him, she secretly planned to kill him as revenge for him killing her father. Later, her and Richter team up to have him disposed]].

His reign tends to be characterised by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, [[KangarooCourt judicial killings]], extrajudicial killings, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections nepotism]], corruption (particularly embezzlement and bribery), and [[ThePurge frequent purges of any subordinates he finds suspicious]]. His political viewpoints ([[StrawmanPolitical if he even has any]]) usually veer towards [[DirtyCommunists Communism]], [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Fascism]], [[CommieNazis some combination of the worst aspects of both]], or just no-frills authoritarianism. Of course, none of this will stop him from [[GloriousLeader proclaiming himself "The People's Liberator"]] or otherwise [[FakeUltimateHero billing himself as a great hero]]. On occasion, another person may be the official head of state, but they'll be just a [[PuppetKing figurehead]] for him to rule through, if not [[AuthorityInNameOnly sidelined entirely]].

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'''s William H. Kraft is a DesignatedHero example, being the leader of the "good guy" faction in the book's heavily dystopian post-apocalyptic setting. Otherwise, he still fits every detail of the stereotype.

* ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany Battlefield: Bad Company 1]]'' has Zavomir Serdar, dictator of the fictional country Serdaristan. His role is mostly comic relief and TheLoad to B Company.

* In ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIronII'', Resigned Generalissimo is one of the possible trait for the Head of State.

* In the original ''VideoGame/BionicCommando,'' the evil dictator trying to re-activate the secret [[ThoseWackyNazis Imperial Army]] superweapon is named Generalissimo Killt in the American release of the game. He has the stereotypical dictatorial appearance, in that he dresses exactly like the aforementioned M. Bison and looks like a slightly melted [[Series/{{Brookside}} Brian Regan]], and is characterized with the expected arrogance and military fervor. [[spoiler:He also kind of gets HijackedByGanon when he gets killed off by a revived Hitler.]]

A SubTrope of EvilOverlord, as well as TheCaligula in some cases. The military dictator of a [[FictionalCountry fictional third world state or nation]] (often located in [[BananaRepublic Latin America]], [[{{Ruritania}} Central or Eastern Europe]], [[{{Bulungi}} sub-Saharan Africa]], or [[{{Qurac}} the Middle East/North Africa]]). Almost invariably rules a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny or a BananaRepublic, though other flavors of [[TheDictatorship dictatorship]] are not unheard of. The most popular setting is a banana republic on a picturesque tropical island, but regardless of setting, the general's residence is always steeped in wealth and luxury while his subjects live in utter poverty. Almost AlwaysMale, and often either LargeAndInCharge or TheNapoleon[=/=]MisterBig. If they do have families, they will naturally be ThePatriarch as a parent, and their children are spoiled, sadistic hedonists that treat the nation as their personal playground. They typically have a wife and several mistresses, or a harem of trophy wives, and their views on women often lean towards the [[StayInTheKitchen chauvinistic]]. In the field, they're usually a GeneralRipper and ultimately a GeneralFailure to show that they're all swagger, no substance.

He may have attended a prestigious UsefulNotes/IvyLeague or {{UsefulNotes/Oxbridge}} university in his youth, where he MajoredInWesternHypocrisy. He may have also studied at an institution run by a [[SinisterSpyAgency sketchy foreign intelligence agency]], [[ColdBloodedTorture getting trained in the art]] of [[DeadlyEuphemism "dealing with difficult citizens"]]. He is often the target of American assassination attempts and rebel groups, who may or may not be figments of his own paranoia. A common subplot is to have a (frequently [[DirtyCommunists communist]]) Cuba-style guerrilla movement training to overthrow him, with a hammy Castro or Che {{Expy}} as their fearless leader. Once their revolution happens, the general goes into hiding to train [[FormerRegimePersonnel his own insurgents]] to overthrow the new revolutionary government, [[FullCircleRevolution that is just as repressive as the old one]]. A common twist is to make him a StrawHypocrite: he doesn't really care for his stated ideology at all, but uses it to cement his hold on power. He also has a tendency to make [[WindbagPolitician extremely long and winding speeches]] in public or over the national airwaves.

Tends to be based on one or more real-life military dictators ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed living]] or [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed dead]]), and particularly Latin American ones, who experienced ''so many'' of these guys that they created their own term to describe such leaders, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo caudillo]][[note]]Caudillo can also be an affectionate term used to describe especially popular statesmen or military leaders that have positive reputations in their home countries, such as UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar, Uruguay's Jorge Batlle y Ordonez, and Colombia's Jorge Elicier Gaitan[[/note]]. See [[Analysis/TheGeneralissimo the analysis page]] for more information.

Tends to be based on one or more real-life military dictators ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed living]] or [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed dead]]), and particularly Latin American ones, who experienced ''so many'' of these guys that they created their own term to describe such leaders, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo caudillo]][[note]]Caudillo can also be an affectionate term used to describe especially popular statesmen or military leaders that have positive reputations in their home countries, such as UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar, Uruguay's Jorge Batlle y Ordonez, and Colombia's Jorge Elicier Gaitan[[/note]]. The TropeCodifier is likely [[UsefulNotes/DominicanRepublic Rafael Trujillo]], who had the chest of medals, megalomania, {{Egopolis}}, brutality, corruption and Caribbean island to match; he was and is still considered one of the cruelest and outright tyrannical of all ''caudillos'' for his fascistic ruling style, and even funded terrorist activities in neighboring nations, including the United States[[note]]Where a Dominican exile and U.S. citizen named Jesus Galindez was kidnapped in broad daylight and killed by Trujillo's secret police, the infamous SIM (''Servicio de Inteligencia Militar''), operating in ''New York City''[[/note]]. His image as this was cemented once and for all in ''Literature/TheFeastOfTheGoat'' and ''Literature/InTheTimeOfTheButterflies''.

Aside from Trujillo, common inspirations include UsefulNotes/FidelCastro[[note]]The TropeMaker for the guerrilla subplot and who likely inspired the WindbagPolitician part of this trope, being one himself[[/note]], UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista, [[UsefulNotes/{{Grenada}} Hudson Austin]], UsefulNotes/JuanDomingoPeron, [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Juan Manuel de Rosas]], UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet, [[UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} Francisco Solano Lopez, Alfredo Stroessner]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} Juan Velasco Alvarado]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}} Antonio López de Santa Anna]], [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution Porfirio Diaz, Victoriano Huerta]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} Paul Magloire]], [[UsefulNotes/ElSalvador Maximiliano Hernández Martínez]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}} the Somoza dynasty]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Honduras}} Jorge Ubico Castenada]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Panama}} Manuel Noriega]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} Juan Vicente Gomez, Marcos Perez Jimenez]], and UsefulNotes/HugoChavez. The many generals that led the [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine]] and [[UsefulNotes/BrazilianMilitaryRegime Brazilian]] military regimes are also favorites.

While traditionally Latin American, this type of villain can be based around any nation, particularly those of various developing and/or third-world regions across the globe. This trope is often used to make an {{Anvilicious}} point about [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical said real-life dictator's policies]].

The Middle East and North Africa is another favourite location in fiction for these types of rulers to thrive, especially in more contemporary works set after UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar or during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. Dictators such as these used to be contrasted with more traditional MENA governments, but now they're more likely to be contrasted with [[TheFundamentalist radical Islamists]]. The most popular are UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein for the Middle East and UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi for North Africa (even after their deaths), but other objects of satire are Hafez and UsefulNotes/BasharAlAssad, [[UsefulNotes/{{Yemen}} Ali Abdullah Saleh]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Iraq}} Abd al-Karim Qasim]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}} Omar al-Bashir]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} Houari Boumédiène]] and [[UsefulNotes/ModernEgypt Hosni Mubarak]].

If East or Southeast Asian, expect them to be an {{Expy}} of [[UsefulNotes/NoMoreEmperors Yuan Shikai]], UsefulNotes/ChiangKaiShek, UsefulNotes/HidekiTojo, [[UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}} Khorloogiin Choibalsan]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}} Suharto]], UsefulNotes/FerdinandMarcos, [[UsefulNotes/SouthKorea Park Chung-hee (and his successor Chun Doo-hwan)]][[note]]Who ''are'' this trope in South Korean media even today[[/note]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Lon Nol, Hun Sen]], [[UsefulNotes/ThatSouthEastAsianCountry Ne Win, Than Shwe]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Laos}} Souphanouvong, Phoumi Nosavan]] or [[UsefulNotes/{{Thailand}} Plaek Phibunsongkhram]]. But the most popular examples by far are naturally UsefulNotes/TheRulersOfNorthKorea.

If European, one can usually expect them to be based on fascist dictators such as UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, [[UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}} Ante Pavelić]], and [[UsefulNotes/{{Austria}} Engelbert Dollfuss]]; or communists, such as UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev, [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Nicolae Ceausescu]] and UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito if Eastern. Other prototypes include UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco[[note]]Who gave himself the official title of caudillo[[/note]], UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar[[note]]Who started off as part of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditadura_Nacional military junta]] that he later succeeded[[/note]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} Ioannis Metaxas, Georgios Papadopoulos]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} Miklós Horthy]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Ion Antonescu]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}} Alexander Lukashenko]], [[UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars Ramzan Kadyrov (and his father Akhmad)]], and UsefulNotes/SlobodanMilosevic. Mussolini and Franco were popular inspirations for this trope during their lifetime and for some time after they died, but Milosevic and Lukashenko have replaced them in pop culture for the 21st century.

Sub-Saharan Africa is another common location. Usually, generalissimos from this region are based on UsefulNotes/IdiAmin and [[UsefulNotes/{{Liberia}} Charles Taylor]]. Amin embodied the thuggish and arrogant military officer that was common during the Cold War, but has been overtaken in popularity by the present day by Taylor, who embodied the stereotypical [[AfricanTerrorists African warlord]] that has become the face of this trope for African settings. Other examples are [[UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}} Siad Barre]], [[UsefulNotes/DemocraticRepublicOfTheCongo Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent-Desire Kabila]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Rwanda}} Juvénal Habyarimana]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} Yakubu Gowon, Sani Abacha]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Togo}} Gnassingbé Eyadéma]], [[UsefulNotes/BurkinaFaso Thomas Sankara, Blaise Compaoré]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Liberia}} Samuel Doe]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Niger}} Seyni Kountché]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Mali}} Moussa Traoré]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Robert Mugabe]], [[UsefulNotes/CentralAfricanRepublic Jean-Bedel Bokassa]], [[UsefulNotes/EquatorialGuinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Uganda}} Yoweri Museveni]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Ethiopia}} Mengistu Haile Mariam]], and [[UsefulNotes/{{Chad}} Hissene Habre]]. Since postcolonial Africa is infamously unstable, examples of this type frequently come to power by staging a MilitaryCoup or winning a CivilWar, but ones who take over through less overtly violent means are also fairly common.

[[GodwinsLaw Surprisingly]], UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is rarely parodied in this manner, perhaps because he himself is enough of an [[AcceptableTargets acceptable target]] (although one of his henchmen, Hermann Goering, did famously dress this way). UsefulNotes/JosephStalin is sometimes parodied in this way and has influenced the communist variant of this trope, but, like Hitler, he is uniquely infamous enough to represent a specific archetype of his own. Like Stalin, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong sometimes gets parodied like this and has influenced fictional examples (especially East Asian communist ones), but also like Stalin, he's iconic enough to be a stand-alone archetype. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] gets this treatment on occasion, but fictional portrayals are more likely to focus on the sheer madness and depravity of his rule. While never an actual head of state, UsefulNotes/CheGuevara is sometimes parodied in such a manner as well, as is fellow beret-wearing rebel [[UsefulNotes/{{Angola}} Jonas Savimbi]], although Savimbi was an anti-communist and the polar opposite of Che politically. In the Middle East, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor Khameini]] are frequently parodied in a similar manner to this trope, but often combined with TheTheocracy, CorruptChurch, or MiddleEasternTerrorists. UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser has influenced the MENA variant of this trope, but he himself is generally not portrayed as being like this; instead, he's often portrayed as a ''positive'' example of an Arab military leader compared to Gaddafi, who styled himself during his lifetime as the heir to Nasser's legacy. Likewise, [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Józef Piłsudski]] styled himself in a manner similar to this trope and has influenced some takes on the European variant, but he's generally depicted in a more positive and respectable light than the archetype. Those rare military dictators who [[{{Cincinnatus}} voluntarily give up their power]] (such as [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} Olusegun Obasanjo]] and [[UsefulNotes/{{Ghana}} Jerry Rawlings]]) are, as a general rule of thumb, unlikely to be portrayed in this light.

** ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' has BigBad Anton Castillo (played by Creator/GiancarloEsposito) as a straighter example. He is the military leader of the definitely-not-Cuba island nation of Yara, and is clearly modeled after two famous Cuban leaders given the setting; Fidel Castro by espousing words of strength while holding an iron grip on the populace, and Fulgencio Batista by wearing a well-tailored suit adorned with a few medals, statues of him all around, and having the military in his hand. All the while, he eagerly grooms his son Diego to become his successor, unpinning a grenade in his hand and giving him a SadisticChoice of either letting go and killing himself, or throwing it at protesters clearly furious with the current regime.

[[GodwinsLaw Surprisingly]], UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is rarely parodied in this manner, perhaps because he himself is enough of an [[AcceptableTargets acceptable target]] (although one of his henchmen, Hermann Goering, did famously dress this way). UsefulNotes/JosephStalin is sometimes parodied in this way and has influenced the communist variant of this trope, but, like Hitler, he is uniquely infamous enough to represent a specific archetype of his own. Like Stalin, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong sometimes gets parodied like this and has influenced fictional examples (especially East Asian communist ones), but also like Stalin, he's iconic enough to be a stand-alone archetype. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] gets this treatment on occasion, but fictional portrayals are more likely to focus on the sheer madness and depravity of his rule. While never an actual head of state, UsefulNotes/CheGuevara is sometimes parodied in such a manner as well, as is fellow beret-wearing rebel [[UsefulNotes/{{Angola}} Jonas Savimbi]], although Savimbi was an anti-communist and the polar opposite of Che politically. In the Middle East, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor Khameini]] are frequently parodied in a similar manner to this trope, but often combined with TheTheocracy, CorruptChurch, or MiddleEasternTerrorists. UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser has influenced the MENA variant of this trope, but he himself is generally not portrayed as being like this; instead, he's often portrayed as a ''positive'' example of an Arab military leader compared to Gaddafi, who styled himself during his lifetime as the heir to Nasser's legacy. Likewise, [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Józef Piłsudski]] styled himself in a manner similar to this trope and has influenced some takes on the European variant, but he's generally depicted in a more positive and respectable light than the archetype. Those rare military dictators who [[{{Cincinnatus}} voluntarily give up their power]] (such as [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} Olusegun Obasanjo]] and [[UsefulNotes/{{Ghana]] Jerry Rawlings]]) are, as a general rule of thumb, unlikely to be portrayed in this light.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' and [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 its 2019 remake]]: Scar murders his way to power by killing his brother Mufasa, tries to kill his nephew Simba, crushes all dissent, and annihilates his land's natural resources. [[ItsAllAboutMe "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want"]] sums his rule up. Scar's rule over Pride Lands [[TheCaligula proves to be disastrous]] mainly because of his incompetence and laziness. A JustifiedTrope, as he wasn't properly raised to be king, so he [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome doesn't realize]] that there's more to this than just openly threatening others whenever they complain about his reign. Because of this, he refuses to acknowledge his disastrous rule, [[BerserkButton openly threatens]] those that complain, and earns a ZeroPercentApprovalRating from all animals for his tyranny, including his hyena lackeys, who secretly think Mufasa was a better king than Scar could ever be.

[[GodwinsLaw Surprisingly]], UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is rarely parodied in this manner, perhaps because he himself is enough of an [[AcceptableTargets acceptable target]] (although one of his henchmen, Hermann Goering, did famously dress this way). UsefulNotes/JosephStalin is sometimes parodied in this way and has influenced the communist variant of this trope, but, like Hitler, he is uniquely infamous enough to represent a specific archetype of his own. Like Stalin, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong sometimes gets parodied like this and has influenced fictional examples (especially East Asian communist ones), but also like Stalin, he's iconic enough to be a stand-alone archetype. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] gets this treatment on occasion, but fictional portrayals are more likely to focus on the sheer madness and depravity of his rule. While never an actual head of state, UsefulNotes/CheGuevara is sometimes parodied in such a manner as well, as is fellow beret-wearing rebel [[UsefulNotes/{{Angola}} Jonas Savimbi]], although Savimbi was an anti-communist and the polar opposite of Che politically. In the Middle East, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor Khameini]] are frequently parodied in a similar manner to this trope, but often combined with TheTheocracy, CorruptChurch, or MiddleEasternTerrorists. UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser has influenced the MENA variant of this trope, but he himself is generally not portrayed as being like this; instead, he's often portrayed as a ''positive'' example of an Arab military leader compared to Gaddafi, who styled himself during his lifetime as the heir to Nasser's legacy. Likewise, [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Józef Piłsudski]] styled himself in a manner similar to this trope and has influenced some takes on the European variant, but he's generally depicted in a more positive and respectable light than the archetype.

* In a ComicBook/BlackPanther story from the 1970s, Jakarra, T'challa's cousin, staged a coup and declared himself the absolute leader of Wakanda and first guardian of the panther cult, planning to use his superior technology to take over the world, becoming - briefly- in this trope.

* In the Chilean comic ''Zombies en la Moneda'', after a ''second'' zombie apocalypse, the president of the country ends up being an [[spoiler: UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet zombie… ]]... something like that, it's a bit confusing. None other than one of the real life inspirations for this trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' and [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 remake]]: Scar murders his way to power by killing his brother Mufasa, tries to kill his nephew Simba, crushes all dissent, and annihilates his land's natural resources. [[ItsAllAboutMe "I'm the king, I can do whatever I want"]] sums his rule up. Scar's rule over Pride Lands [[TheCaligula proves to be disastrous]] mainly because of his incompetence and laziness. A JustifiedTrope, as he wasn't properly raised to be king, so he [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome doesn't realize]] that there's more to this than just openly threatening others whenever they complain about his reign. Because of this, he refuses to acknowledge his disastrous rule, [[BerserkButton openly threatens]] those that complain, and earns a ZeroPercentApprovalRating from all animals for his tyranny, including his hyena lackeys, who secretly think Mufasa was a better king than Scar could ever be.

If European, one can usually expect them to be based on fascist dictators such as UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, [[UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}} Ante Pavelić]], and [[UsefulNotes/{{Austria}} Engelbert Dollfuss]]; or communists, such as UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev, [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Nicolae Ceausescu]] and UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito if Eastern. Other prototypes include UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco[[note]]Who gave himself the official title of caudillo[[/note]], UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar[[note]]Who started off as part of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditadura_Nacional military junta]] that he later succeeded[[/note]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} Ioannis Metaxas, Georgios Papadopoulos]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} Miklós Horthy]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Ion Antonescu]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}} Alexander Lukashenko]], [[UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars Ramzan Kadyrov (and his father Akhmad)]], and UsefulNotes/SlobodanMilosevic. Franco was a popular inspiration for this trope during his lifetime and for some time after he died, but Milosevic and Lukashenko have replaced him in pop culture for the 21st century.

Tends to be based on one or more real-life military dictators ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed living]] or [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed dead]]), and particularly Latin American ones, who experienced ''so many'' of these guys that they created their own term to describe such leaders, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo caudillo]][[note]]Caudillo can also be an affectionate term used to describe especially popular statesmen or military leaders that have positive reputations in their home countries, such as UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar, Uruguay's Jorge Batlle y Ordonez, and Colombia's Jorge Elicier Gaitan[[/note]]. The TropeCodifier is likely [[UsefulNotes/DominicanRepublic Rafael Trujillo]], who had the chest of medals, megalomania, {{Egopolis}}, brutality, corruption and Caribbean island to match; he was and is still considered one of the cruelest and outright tyrannical of all ''caudillos'', and even funded terrorist activities in neighboring nations, including the United States[[note]]Where a Dominican exile and U.S. citizen named Jesus Galindez was kidnapped in broad daylight and killed by Trujillo's secret police, the infamous SIM (''Servicio de Inteligencia Militar''), operating in ''New York City''[[/note]]. His image as this was cemented once and for all in ''Literature/TheFeastOfTheGoat'' and ''Literature/InTheTimeOfTheButterflies''.

His reign tends to be characterised by human rights abuses, political repression, ethnic persecution, [[KangarooCourt judicial killings]], extrajudicial killings, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections nepotism]], corruption (particularly embezzlement and bribery), and [[ThePurge frequent purges of any subordinates he finds suspicious]]. His political viewpoints ([[StrawmanPolitical if he even has any]]) usually veer towards [[DirtyCommunists Communism]], [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Fascism]], [[CommieNazis some combination of the worst aspects of both]], or just no-frills authoritarianism. Of course, none of this will stop him from [[GloriousLeader proclaiming himself "The People's Liberator"]] or otherwise [[FakeUltimateHero billing himself as a great hero]].

Tends to be based on one or more real-life military dictators ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed living]] or [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed dead]]), and particularly Latin American ones, who experienced ''so many'' of these guys that they created their own term to describe such leaders, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo caudillo]][[note]]Caudillo can also be an affectionate term used to describe especially popular statesmen or military leaders that have positive reputations in their home countries, such as UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar, Uruguay's Jorge Batlle y Ordonez, and Colombia's Jorge Elicier Gaitan[[/note]]. The TropeCodifier is likely [[UsefulNotes/DominicanRepublic Rafael Trujillo]], who had the chest of medals, megalomania, {{Egopolis}}, brutality, corruption and Caribbean island to match; he was and is still considered one of the cruelest and outright tyrannical of all ''caudillos'', and even funded terrorist activities in neighboring nations, including the United States[[note]]Where a Dominican exile and U.S. citizen named Jesus Galindez was kidnapped in broad daylight and killed by Trujillo's secret police, the infamous SIM (''Servicio de Inteligencia Militar''), operating in ''New York City''[[/note]]. His image as this was cemented once and for all in ''Literature/TheFeastOfTheGoat''.

* ComicBook/DeKiekeboes: Bibi Pralin Gaga, a parody of UsefulNotes/IdiAmin, is a recurring villain in the series. Sstoeffer, is a Hitleresque dictator of a BananaRepublic in South America, while King Sacha is the equivalent in a {{Bulungi}} country. Tzervostuhr is an Eastern European dictator in ''De Roze Rolls'', an album that introduces many other former dictators who have fled to a political asylum. In ''De Eén Zijn Dood'' president Rhottzaq is another Eastern European dictator.

* The main villain of ''Film/SpecialForces'' is General Hasib Rafendek, a general who seized power from the Moldonian President who is a mere [[PuppetKing puppet]] under his control. As a dictator Rafendek had no qualms legalizing ethnic cleansing on a regular basis and denying education to lower-class citizens.

The Middle East and North Africa is another favourite location in fiction for these types of rulers to thrive, especially in more contemporary works set after UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar or during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. Dictators such as these used to be contrasted with more traditional MENA governments, but now they're more likely to be contrasted with [[TheFundamentalist radical Islamists]]. The most popular are UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein for the Middle East and UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi for North Africa (even after their deaths), but other objects of satire are UsefulNotes/BasharAlAssad (and his father Hafez), [[UsefulNotes/{{Yemen}} Ali Abdullah Saleh]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Iraq}} Abd al-Karim Qasim]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}} Omar al-Bashir]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} Houari Boumédiène]] and [[UsefulNotes/ModernEgypt Hosni Mubarak]].

-->''[subtitled in Spanish]'' "Ha! You missed! Now I shall drink this magic potion that will allow me to live forever!"

Tends to be based on one or more real-life military dictators ([[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed living]] or [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed dead]]), and particularly Latin American ones, who experienced ''so many'' of these guys that they created their own term to describe such leaders, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caudillo caudillo]][[note]]Caudillo can also be an affectionate term used to describe especially popular statesmen or military leaders that have positive reputations in their home countries, such as UsefulNotes/SimonBolivar, Uruguay's Jorge Batlle y Ordonez, and Colombia's Jorge Elicier Gaitan[[/note]]. The TropeCodifier is likely [[UsefulNotes/DominicanRepublic Rafael Trujillo]], who had the chest of medals, megalomania, {{Egopolis}}, brutality, corruption and Caribbean island to match; he was and is still considered one of the cruelest and outright tyrannical of all Latin American ''caudillos'', and even funded terrorist activities in neighboring nations, including the United States[[note]]Where a Dominican exile and U.S. citizen named Jesus Galindez was kidnapped in broad daylight and killed by Trujillo's secret police, the infamous SIM (''Servicio de Inteligencia Militar''), operating in ''New York City''[[/note]]. His image as this was cemented once and for all in ''Literature/TheFeastOfTheGoat''.

A SubTrope of EvilOverlord, as well as TheCaligula in some cases. The military dictator of a [[FictionalCountry fictional third world state or nation]] (often located in [[BananaRepublic Latin America]], [[{{Ruritania}} Central or Eastern Europe]], [[{{Bulungi}} sub-Saharan Africa]], or [[{{Qurac}} the Middle East/North Africa]]). Almost invariably rules a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny or a BananaRepublic, though other flavors of [[TheDictatorship dictatorship]] are not unheard of. The most popular setting is a banana republic on a picturesque tropical island, but regardless of setting, the general's residence is always steeped in wealth and luxury while his subjects live in utter poverty. Almost AlwaysMale, and often either LargeAndInCharge or TheNapoleon[=/=]MisterBig. If they do have families, they will naturally be ThePatriarch as a parent, and their children are spoiled, sadistic hedonists that treat the nation as their personal playground. They typically have a wife and several mistresses, or a harem of trophy wives, and their views on women often lean towards the [[StayInTheKitchen chauvinistic]]. In the field, they're always a GeneralRipper and ultimately a GeneralFailure to show that they're all swagger, no substance.

Aside from Trujillo, common inspirations include UsefulNotes/FidelCastro[[note]]The TropeMaker for the guerrilla subplot and who likely inspired the WindbagPolitician part of this trope, being one himself[[/note]], UsefulNotes/FulgencioBatista, [[UsefulNotes/{{Grenada}} Hudson Austin]], UsefulNotes/JuanDomingoPeron, [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Juan Manuel de Rosas]], UsefulNotes/AugustoPinochet, [[UsefulNotes/{{Paraguay}} Francisco Solano Lopez, Alfredo Stroessner]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} Juan Velasco Alvarado]], [[UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution Porfirio Diaz, Victoriano Huerta]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Haiti}} Paul Magloire]], [[UsefulNotes/ElSalvador Maximiliano Hernández Martínez]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Nicaragua}} the Somoza dynasty]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Honduras}} Jorge Ubico Castenada]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Panama}} Manuel Noriega]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} Juan Vicente Gomez, Marcos Perez Jimenez]], and UsefulNotes/HugoChavez. The many generals that led the [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine]] and [[UsefulNotes/BrazilianMilitaryRegime Brazilian]] military regimes are also favorites.

Sub-Saharan Africa is another common location. Usually, generalissimos from this region are based on UsefulNotes/IdiAmin and [[UsefulNotes/{{Liberia}} Charles Taylor]]. Amin embodied the thuggish and arrogant military officer that was common during the Cold War, but has been overtaken in popularity by the present day by Taylor, who embodied the stereotypical [[AfricanTerrorists African warlord]] that has become the face of this trope for African settings. Other examples are [[UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}} Siad Barre]], [[UsefulNotes/DemocraticRepublicOfTheCongo Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent-Desire Kabila]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}} Yakubu Gowon, Sani Abacha]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Togo}} Gnassingbé Eyadéma]], [[UsefulNotes/BurkinaFaso Thomas Sankara, Blaise Compaoré]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Liberia}} Samuel Doe]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Mali}} Moussa Traoré]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Robert Mugabe]], [[UsefulNotes/CentralAfricanRepublic Jean-Bedel Bokassa]], [[UsefulNotes/EquatorialGuinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Uganda}} Yoweri Museveni]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Ethiopia}} Mengistu Haile Mariam]], and [[UsefulNotes/{{Chad}} Hissene Habre]]. Since postcolonial Africa is infamously unstable, examples of this type frequently come to power by staging a MilitaryCoup or winning a CivilWar, but ones who take over through less overtly violent means are also fairly common.

* General Viper in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', who rules El Nido with his Acacia Dragoons. [[spoiler:He's actually a rare [{BenevolentDictator heroic example]]; he might be authoritarian, but he's a good ruler and was only after Serge because he was being manipulated by Lynx]].

The Middle East and North Africa is the other favourite location in fiction for these types of rulers to thrive, especially in more contemporary works set after UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar or during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. Dictators such as these used to be contrasted with more traditional MENA governments, but now they're more likely to be contrasted with [[TheFundamentalist radical Islamists]]. The most popular are UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein for the Middle East and UsefulNotes/MuammarGaddafi for North Africa (even after their deaths), but other objects of satire are UsefulNotes/BasharAlAssad (and his father Hafez), [[UsefulNotes/{{Yemen}} Ali Abdullah Saleh]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Iraq}} Abd al-Karim Qasim]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}} Omar al-Bashir]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Algeria}} Houari Boumédiène]] and [[UsefulNotes/ModernEgypt Hosni Mubarak]].

If European, usually expect them to be based on fascist dictators such as UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini, [[UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}} Ante Pavelić]], and [[UsefulNotes/{{Austria}} Engelbert Dollfuss]]; or communists, such as UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev, [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Nicolae Ceausescu]] and UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito if Eastern. Other prototypes include UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco[[note]]Who gave himself the official title of caudillo[[/note]], UsefulNotes/AntonioDeOliveiraSalazar[[note]]Who started off as part of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditadura_Nacional military junta]] that he later succeeded[[/note]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Greece}} Ioannis Metaxas, Georgios Papadopoulos]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} Miklós Horthy]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} Ion Antonescu]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}} Alexander Lukashenko]], [[UsefulNotes/TheChechnyaWars Ramzan Kadyrov (and his father Akhmad)]], and UsefulNotes/SlobodanMilosevic. Franco was a popular inspiration for this trope during his lifetime and for some time after he died, but Milosevic and Lukashenko have replaced him in pop culture for the 21st century.

[[GodwinsLaw Surprisingly]], UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is rarely parodied in this manner, perhaps because he himself is enough of an [[AcceptableTargets acceptable target]] (although one of his henchmen, Hermann Goering, did famously dress this way). UsefulNotes/JosephStalin is sometimes parodied in this way and has influenced the communist variant of this trope, but, like Hitler, he is uniquely infamous enough to represent a specific archetype of his own. Like Stalin, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong sometimes gets parodied like this and has influenced fictional examples (especially East Asian communist ones), but also like Stalin, he's iconic enough to be a stand-alone archetype. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] gets this treatment on occasion, but fictional portrayals are more likely to focus on the sheer madness and depravity of his rule. While never an actual head of state, UsefulNotes/CheGuevara is sometimes parodied in such a manner as well, as is fellow beret-wearing rebel [[UsefulNotes/{{Angola}} Jonas Savimbi]], although Savimbi was an anti-communist and the polar opposite of Che politically. In the Middle East, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor Khameini]] are frequently parodied in a similar manner to this trope, but often combined with TheTheocracy, CorruptChurch, or MiddleEasternTerrorists. UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser has influenced the MENA variant of this trope, but he himself is generally not portrayed as being like this; instead, he's often portrayed as a ''positive'' example of an Arab military leader compared to Gaddafi, who styled himself during his lifetime as the heir to Nasser's legacy. Likewise, [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Józef Piłsudski]] styled himself in a manner similar to this trope and has influenced some takes on the European variant, but he's generally depicted in a positive and respectable light than the archetype.

[[GodwinsLaw Surprisingly]], UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is rarely parodied in this manner, perhaps because he himself is enough of an [[AcceptableTargets acceptable target]] (although one of his henchmen, Hermann Goering, did famously dress this way). UsefulNotes/JosephStalin is sometimes parodied in this way and has influenced the communist variant of this trope, but, like Hitler, he is uniquely infamous enough to represent a specific archetype of his own. Like Stalin, UsefulNotes/MaoZedong sometimes gets parodied like this and has influenced fictional examples (especially East Asian communist ones), but also like Stalin, he's iconic enough to be a stand-alone archetype. [[UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} Pol Pot]] gets this treatment on occasion, but fictional portrayals are more likely to focus on the sheer madness and depravity of his rule. While never an actual head of state, UsefulNotes/CheGuevara is sometimes parodied in such a manner as well, as is fellow beret-wearing rebel [[UsefulNotes/{{Angola}} Jonas Savimbi]], although Savimbi was an anti-communist and the polar opposite of Che politically. In the Middle East, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Ayatollah Khomeini and his successor Khameini]] are frequently parodied in a similar manner to this trope, but often combined with TheTheocracy, CorruptChurch, or MiddleEasternTerrorists. UsefulNotes/GamalAbdelNasser has influenced the MENA variant of this trope, but he himself is generally not portrayed as being like this; instead, he's often portrayed as a ''positive'' example of an Arab military leader compared to Gaddafi, who styled himself during his lifetime as the heir to Nasser's legacy. Likewise, [[UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} Józef Piłsudski]] styled himself in a manner similar to this trope and has influenced some takes on the European variant, but he's generally depicted in a more respectable light than the archetype.