Tropes about characters getting rank increases.
Tropes:
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: If you are badass, people promote you.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Story ends with character being crowned ruler of the land they just saved.
- The Chain of Command: Shows just how big a deal a promotion is by showing their position within the command structure (e.g. being promoted from lieutenant directly to colonel jumps several ranks, making it seem much more impressive).
- Deathbed Promotion: A soldier at or near the point of death is honored by being formally elevated in rank.
- Declining Promotion: Character gets offered a promotion, but turns it down.
- Depending Upon the Undependable: Characters get promoted even though their hiring person knows (or should know) of their egregious incompetence.
- Disappointing Promotion: Receiving a long anticipated promotion only to discover it's not as fulfilling as you imagined it would be.
- The Dilbert Principle: Incompetent characters are promoted first.
- A Doormat to His Men: Despite his high rank, this character is too nice to exercise the necessary authority.
- Easily Elected: A position of power is easily obtained by random people, who may or may not even want the authority, with no screening process or proper protocol
- Earned Stripes: A character's appearance changes as they rank up.
- Field Promotion: Character receives a promotion by order of a superior without going through committee.
- Kicked Upstairs: Promoting someone into an unimportant post to prevent their incompetence from messing everything up.
- Klingon Promotion: Kill your superior and get his job.
- Limited Advancement Opportunities: Characters that should be promoted but aren't, because it would break up the cast.
- More Senior Subordinate: A senior member voluntarily lets their junior get the promotion.
- Nepotism: Easy promotion due to close ties with whoever's in charge.
- Non-Promotion: More authority and responsibility without the perks.
- Passed-Over Promotion: Averted trope, in which a much hoped-for promotion is not given.
- The Peter Principle: A character's promotion is based on skills that aren't needed, making them incompetent at their job.
- Promoted to Scapegoat: An unqualified character is put into a high position as part of a scheme.
- Promotion, Not Punishment: Character is promoted for their transgressions instead of punished.
- Rank Up: Character is promoted in-show.
- Redemption Promotion: After turning good, previously incompetent bad guys become good at their jobs.
- Sleeping Their Way to the Top: Character uses seduction and sex appeal to get a promotion.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Sometimes, at least, when the new boss was already part of the setup.
- Up Through the Ranks: Veteran enlisted soldier becomes an officer.
- Usurping Santa: Character takes the place of a holiday mascot.
- You Are in Command Now: Character underranked for a position ends up with it because his superiors are unavailable (usually by being dead).
