Basic Trope: The Dragon acts more like the Big Bad than the actual Big Bad (who's either a Big Bad Wannabe or a Non-Action Big Bad), and ends up as just that.
- Straight:
- General Drake works for Emperor Evulz despite the fact that he's smarter and stronger than his master. Evulz is unable to control his dangerous underling who treats him like a powerless figurehead or Puppet King. Halfway through the story, Drake betrays Evulz and makes it clear he is the real main villain.
- General Drake is the murderous Arch-Enemy of The Hero and It's Personal between them; Emperor Evulz is a pragmatic villain who prefers using non-evil methods to get what he wants. Evulz plots with The Hero against Drake to rid himself of a violent and dangerous minion, and once they win, the two are able to broker a peace deal or otherwise come to an agreement.
- General Drake is actually Emperor Evulz' top candidate in case Emperor Evulz dies. He does, and General Drake takes over, before ruling The Empire with an Iron Fist, something that Emperor Evulz wished he could do but couldn't.
- Exaggerated:
- Drake is a god-like Eldritch Abomination and Invincible Villain with grandiose plans for world domination, while Evulz couldn't conquer a flower garden. Despite this, Drake still supposedly works for Evulz. He is also having an affair with Evulz's wife that is public knowledge.
- Evil Is Not a Toy
- Evulz is The Alleged Boss who is a combination of types 1, 2, and 4 and not only has no real power over Drake but none of his subordinates. Even his own Mooks boss him around. His name is merely on the deed to his evil lair.
- Complete power inversion, Drake has the real power over Evulz, his official third-in-command, Lady Scarlett has the real power over Drake, her official fourth-in-command, Jason Bloodspiller has the real power over Lady Scarlett, and the lowest ranking Mook (though he's more of a Giant Smash Mook by the perception of just about everyone else), Claidheamh the Left Handed Brute (The Rival of Sir Robert, and who also just got hired), is a literal example of Almighty Janitor.
- Evulz CLAIMS to be emperor and Drake's boss but he's actually an Elite Mook who takes orders from Lady Scarlett, who he's delusional enough to think he's in a relationship with (Scarlett has him friend-zoned at best). Likewise, Lady Scarlett thinks lustfully of Jason Bloodspiller, considering him her personal servant, but really, Jason's in control, and he doesn't even give a single damn about her. However, Jason has eyes for Drake, the real mastermind behind it all, who's too focused on getting the job done, though Drake has an interest in Claidheamh, the only person he can rely on to actually do the job, even if he'd rather spend his days clobbering people in the bar and cleaving enemies on the battlefield...
- Downplayed:
- Evulz is a big threat because of his competence as a leader and a villain, meanwhile Drake is a bigger threat because of his skill and power.
- Drake and Evulz are a de-facto Big Bad Duumvirate- Drake is not more powerful, but equally so, and they have an equal role in controlling things.
- Though Drake is clearly the greater threat, and could overthrow Evulz, he is The Creon instead, for which Evulz is duly grateful.
- A combination of The Star Scream and More Despicable Minion.
- Drake effectively runs things and always gets his way with Evulz as a figurehead, but Evulz is the greater PHYSICAL threat and won't hesitate to let Drake know when he's stepped over a line.
- While Drake is very, very obviously more capable and competent than Evulz, it appears the two have some sort of... Twisted Lover and Beloved dynamic in which Evulz is the Lover and Drake is the Beloved. Drake might be more capable and competent, but he's completely under Evulz' thumb and seeks his master's approval by being at his every beck and call. And don't get us started on what they do in the bedroom.
- Justified:
- Evulz is sickly and can't even move, so Drake kills him hijacks his scheme for himself.
- Drake knows the Big Bad is the one the hero will target, so pretends to be the the Dragon who often escapes to fight another day.
- Evulz is a figurehead, whereas Drake is the one making decisions and taking an active role in leadership.
- Drake is a Kaiju or other type of supernatural being under Evulz's control, and is the only reason Evulz is a threat.
- The Rule of Two, Gone Horribly Right.
- Evulz is getting old, and Drake is patient enough to wait for him to retire or die of natural causes so that he can take charge as the clear successor without being labeled a backstabber, Evulz in turn lets Drake increasingly take more power so that he can comfortable retire or at least die peacefully on his own terms.
- Drake is perfectly satisfied with his position, since it grants him actual power without having to deal with ceremonies and other official matters he would have to deal with if he were in Evulz's place.
- Drake is older and wiser than the young and inexperienced Evulz and has become a surrogate father figure, causing this trope to develop organically. Drake remains loyal to Evulz for that reason, even though Evulz is mostly a figurehead.
- Drake started as The Brute, but wanted to take over, and worked rigorously, catching the eye of Evulz, who promotes him to being The Dragon. Drake trains to the point where he's infinitely more powerful than Evulz, but still doesn't know how his empire works. Evulz spends the last of his years as Emperor to teach Drake how to rule the empire before the inevitable happens.
- Evulz is old and wants to retire, but he wants the transition to go as seamless as possible, so he spends his last few years as emperor grooming Drake to be the next emperor, slowly giving him more and more responsibilities until during the last year or so when Drake's actually running things and Evulz is effectively rubber-stamping all of Drake's decisions. Evulz will remain as an advisor after retiring because he still has the wisdom of experience, and Drake knows this. Eventually once Evulz retires and announces General Drake as his successor, things continue to run smoothly and most minions don't even notice a difference, allowing a seamless transition of power.
- Inverted:
- Vile Villain, Laughable Lackey: Evulz is smarter, stronger, and overall more dangerous and deadly than Drake, who is a Harmless Villain and Number Two for Brains.
- Sir Robert, the supposed "hero" of the story is at most, a Decoy Protagonist, setting up for the real protagonist of the story, his Hypercompetent Sidekick Lance to take center stage.
- Aireport's second-in-command, Sir Robert, is the more dangerous threat to evil than the said Big Good.
- Complete power inversion on the Hero's side: Sir Robert has the power over Aireport the Big Good, Lance has power over Sir Robert, Diane has power over Lance, Marcy has power over Diane, all the way to the lowest Red Shirt, who's a literal example of Almighty Janitor.
- Above, but the underling has unrequited feelings for the person above them.
- Subverted:
- Drake is ridiculously powerful, scary, and commanding, so everyone thinks he is the real power behind the empire while Evulz is little more than a feeble Puppet King. In truth, Evulz is an Apparently Powerless Puppetmaster who manipulates Drake's strength and intelligence to further his own plans, but really is the one in control.
- Drake seems like the real power behind the empire, but he really is loyal to Evulz.
- Drake is a literally mindless puppet that Evulz controls.
- Drake decides he is tired of pretending to serve Evulz and betrays him, preparing to kill him. In response, Evulz effortlessly puts him down and pulls a Devour the Dragon.
- Double Subverted:
- Drake realizes this and kills Evulz anyway.
- Drake was just pretending he was worse than Evulz yet loyal to him because he didn't want him to feel bad about losing, or so he won't suspect that one day Drake will over-throw him or at least try to. Drake is such an important part of Evulz's scheme that once Drake is defeated, the plan completely falls apart and Evulz is no longer a threat in any capacity.
- Or so it seems, but it is actually the other way around- Evulz is the literal lifeless puppet/is Dead All Along and Drake was acting in his name, controlling his image so Evulz would be the target for any assassins.
- Drake pulls an Assimilation Backfire and possesses Evulz instead, as a result becoming the real threat.
- Parodied: Evulz constantly tries to back out of the villainy game, but Drake forces him to keep at it for the sake of his own agenda.
- Zig Zagged: Evulz and Drake are constantly trying to outplay each other. Each has their own Evil Plan that must be stopped, and at different points either could be considered the main villain.
- Averted:
- Evulz is the Big Bad; Drake is The Dragon. Evulz is the main threat throughout the story.
- Drake isn't stronger or smarter than Evulz.
- Drake & Evulz have a Brains and Brawn type of dynamic (Evulz is the Brains, Drake is the Brawn) and are portrayed as equals who make up for each other's flaws.
- Drake is a Dragon Wannabe, who pretends to work for Evulz, and antagonizes our heroes. Jason Bloodspiller or Lady Scarlett would actually be better Dragons (or possibly Co-Dragons) than Drake.
- Enforced: The author wants to make Drake's betrayal and take over more realistic by making him smarter and more powerful and evil than Evulz.
- Lampshaded: "Why would someone that powerful work for someone weaker than them?"
- Invoked: Drake chose to work for Evulz specifically because Evulz is dumber and weaker than him. It is a ploy to use his resources or set him up as a patsy.
- Exploited:
- To further his Evil Plan, Evulz hires Drake, a dangerous and ambitious henchman who is clearly the more evil and threatening of the two. This forces The Hero to join forces with Evulz to defeat Drake, because Evulz is the lesser of two evils, just as Evulz planned from the start.
- Evulz hires Drake to become his successor due to how much more competent Drake is.
- Defied: Evulz murders Drake because he is too dangerous and competent an underling.
- Discussed: "We're not here for you Evulz, we're here for Drake. Next to him, you are nothing but a nuisance."
- Conversed: "What I find interesting about the dynamic between Evulz and Drake is that, even though Evulz is the Emperor and so technically the one in charge, the other characters treat Drake like the real threat, and Drake himself is often seen bullying Evulz into letting him do whatever he wants."
- Played For Laughs: Evulz doesn't really think his plans through and Drake has more realistic ideas and is seen as the Only Sane Man in the organization. Unlike being played straight, Drake wouldn't be the villain but his ideas would be ignored, and when they aren't, Evulz takes the credit.
Back to Dragon-in-Chief.
