"...To be the Man, you gotta beat the Man, and I'm sayin' — WOOOOO! — right here, in Nashville Tennessee pal, I'm... the... Man."
"Assassination in Antiva is a tradition. It is more efficient than an election; as we say, 'Politics and death go together like kisses and love-making.'"
— Zevran, Dragon Age: Origins
"Asok, the company isn't growing and no one is quitting in this economy. Your only hope of promotion is if a senior engineer dies."
"In any new job, there's always friction with your co-workers. They are wondering if the boss likes the new guy better, if he's going to make them look bad. In some jobs that can get you a dark look in the Break Room; in other jobs, that can get you a bullet in the back of the head."
— Burn Notice, "Broken Rules"
"You did this to me just to be captain of a heap of junk."
— Tricky, Doctor Who, "Journey to the Center of the TARDIS"
"To be king, Numsgil did in Blog, who did in Unkful, who did in Viddle, who did in Loll, who did in Alrok..."
Vintari: As third from the throne, I am something of a target in a small, confined space.
Sheridan: A target? For whom??
Vintari: [shrugs] Numbers 4, 5, 6 and 7, I'd imagine.
Sheridan: A target? For whom??
Vintari: [shrugs] Numbers 4, 5, 6 and 7, I'd imagine.
— Babylon 5, "The Lost Tales"
"The new head of Sam's old company, who intends to become president by killing the old one because that's how politics work..."
— Yahtzee, reviewing Splinter Cell: Conviction
"Crime code 143: Killing a person outside of the Unseen University using magic. (Inside the UU, this is known as promotion.)"
Fortack, Lord High Researcher of Clan Urdnot: My predecessor said no one would understand the true worth of my work. As I pulled my blade from his chest, I knew he was telling the truth.
Commander Shepard: Not exactly what I would call effective academic peer review.
Commander Shepard: Not exactly what I would call effective academic peer review.
"There will be no promotion unless somebody dies, and even then only if we can't bring them back as a zombie."
— Hermes Conrad, Futurama
Maj. Samantha Carter: Well, you are gathering an army.
K'tano: And I lead, but there is no warrior among us who cannot claim joma secu.
Daniel Jackson: "Challenge of leadership."
Teal'c: To determine the worthiness of the victor, and his right to lead.
Col. Jack O'Neill: To the death, I suppose.
K'tano: Of course.
Jack: Of course. [Beat] Yeah, well, where I come from, we do things... a little differently.
K'tano: And I lead, but there is no warrior among us who cannot claim joma secu.
Daniel Jackson: "Challenge of leadership."
Teal'c: To determine the worthiness of the victor, and his right to lead.
Col. Jack O'Neill: To the death, I suppose.
K'tano: Of course.
Jack: Of course. [Beat] Yeah, well, where I come from, we do things... a little differently.
— Stargate SG-1, "The Warrior"
"By the hand of the Prince, the Prophet dies."
— Ben Hawkins in Carnivàle, stating one of the rules of the series' universe
"So you die, Captain, and we all move up in rank. No one will question the assassination of a Captain who has disobeyed Prime Orders from The Empire."
"Hail Worf, leader of the Empire!"
— General Martok, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "Tacking into the Wind", after Worf kills Chancellor Gowron
"Take two possible methods of advancement: work long and hard for personal recognition and hope that it pays off in the form of an eventual promotion; or, create an opening and place yourself in it. Confronted with a pyramid stacked with monolithic elders who can never die naturally and never leave, many Tremere quickly come to the inevitable conclusion that loyalty alone won't be enough."
— Vampire: The Masquerade - Clanbook: Tremere (Revised)
Brainiac's metallic hand was already raised. "The decision for leader is mine," said the robotic being. "But you are correct. We do not need two—"
That was as far as Brainiac got.
A blinding bolt of light shot through his chair and body, melting a great hole in his midsection. The lights in his eye-pieces sputtered and died. His upper section toppled over, banging onto his feet and rolling to a stop. His lower torso and feet remained seated.
Both Luthors gaped. So did most of the people in the room.
A newcomer had arrived. Many of them recognized him.
"He was incorrect," said the new arrival. "We did not need him. Now you have me."
Luthor of Earth-One swallowed. He couldn't force a smile, but he did try to be casual as he said, "Pleasure to have you back."
The new leader began to address his troops.
That was as far as Brainiac got.
A blinding bolt of light shot through his chair and body, melting a great hole in his midsection. The lights in his eye-pieces sputtered and died. His upper section toppled over, banging onto his feet and rolling to a stop. His lower torso and feet remained seated.
Both Luthors gaped. So did most of the people in the room.
A newcomer had arrived. Many of them recognized him.
"He was incorrect," said the new arrival. "We did not need him. Now you have me."
Luthor of Earth-One swallowed. He couldn't force a smile, but he did try to be casual as he said, "Pleasure to have you back."
The new leader began to address his troops.
"He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power — which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself."
— Palpatine, Revenge of the Sith
"You killed Sa'luk. The code of the Forty Thieves is very clear on this point...you're in!"
— Cassim to Aladdin, Aladdin and the King of Thieves
"I will bond you. I will bond you as my apprentice, and I will teach you everything I know. I will teach you every spell I have. You will become more powerful than any other person in the world, in history."
His beautiful face lit up, greedy and covetous.
But," I said, "I will not teach you this final spell. I will not teach you how to live forever. That spell you must take from me." I cocked my head and studied his face. "You want? You bleed."
His tiny, beautiful face hardened, and I knew. I knew he would kill me someday, as any good urtuku — apprentice — would.
His beautiful face lit up, greedy and covetous.
But," I said, "I will not teach you this final spell. I will not teach you how to live forever. That spell you must take from me." I cocked my head and studied his face. "You want? You bleed."
His tiny, beautiful face hardened, and I knew. I knew he would kill me someday, as any good urtuku — apprentice — would.
— Nigsu Ga Tesgu, by Jeff Somers
"My crown was won with blood, and if I cannot find one worthy, it shall be taken from me with blood alone."
Servalan: Section Leader Grose, what happened to Colonel Astrid?
Grose: Colonel Astrid — uh, he met with an accident.
Servalan: And his second in command?
Grose: He met with an accident, too.
Lector: Yeah, it was a very bad time for accidents.
Servalan: I see. And you assumed full command.
Grose: Of course — the demands of duty. I was next in line.
Servalan: You were just a section leader aboard a flagship, serving under two pilot captains and a brigade commander. Did they all meet with accidents too?
Grose: Colonel Astrid — uh, he met with an accident.
Servalan: And his second in command?
Grose: He met with an accident, too.
Lector: Yeah, it was a very bad time for accidents.
Servalan: I see. And you assumed full command.
Grose: Of course — the demands of duty. I was next in line.
Servalan: You were just a section leader aboard a flagship, serving under two pilot captains and a brigade commander. Did they all meet with accidents too?
Since Haemonculi have a habit of overcoming death, the only way that a new aspirant can ascend to join the Twelve is to dispose of a current incumbent in a manner so thorough that even a master Haemonculus cannot undo it. Shegmeth Kro was pushed into a mirror dimension the size of a coffin too small for his frame. Khaebrys Xulfur was posed an impossible riddle that, with each wrong answer, turned more of his body into bone until finally he was nothing more than an osseous statue. Zakrodevia was rendered into a sentient soup using acids from captured Tyranids and then imbibed by his peers at a banquet.
— Warhammer 40,000: Haemonculus Covens
"One throne, nine sisters. Nine tragic accidents waiting to happen."
— Qiyana, League of Legends
"He killed the best chess player in Antarctica and became the best chess player in Antarctica"
I wanna be Santa Claus
So I'm gonna kill Santa Claus
When I hear those reindeer paws
I'm gonna break the law
So I'm gonna kill Santa Claus
When I hear those reindeer paws
I'm gonna break the law
— Danny Gonzalez's "I'm Gonna Kill Santa Claus"
Kor: Most impressive.
Finney: Her challenge left me no alternative, commander.
Kor: And you rose to the occasion, Lieutenant, like a Klingon. I salute you. Of course you realize your victory entitles you to assume Khadri's status and position aboard the Revenge.
Finney: Commander! That really isn't necessary—!
Kor: Oh, but it is. In fact, I insist, as a means of binding our regrettably ad hoc alliance more closely together.
Finney: Her challenge left me no alternative, commander.
Kor: And you rose to the occasion, Lieutenant, like a Klingon. I salute you. Of course you realize your victory entitles you to assume Khadri's status and position aboard the Revenge.
Finney: Commander! That really isn't necessary—!
Kor: Oh, but it is. In fact, I insist, as a means of binding our regrettably ad hoc alliance more closely together.
Dru-Zod: This council has been disbanded.
Ro-Zar: [outraged] On whose authority?
[Zod guns the Council leader down]
Dru-Zod: [seething] My own.
Ro-Zar: [outraged] On whose authority?
[Zod guns the Council leader down]
Dru-Zod: [seething] My own.
"Krell is head of the science division. He is good at killing people. This is Vorek, head of urban planning. He is also good at killing people. He is Urik, chief florist. He is also good at killing people."
— Terrible Writing Advice, "Worldbuilding cultures", deconstructing this trope
"The Boss was the boss 'till he weren't. Cause I killed him. Now I'm the boss.'"
— 'Spiker' Krugrug, Forge Tyrant of the Fire Sons, House Goliath, Necromunda
"Being a king is something like giving birth: you've got to know when to push."
— King Pelops of Elis, after winning the crown in a lethal chariot race, The Cartoon History of the Universe
"If you kill him, you might become him. And that's a very clear path to promotion. It's not a great path to promotion, but it is a clear one."
— Brian David Gilbert, on the Soul of Cinder, Unraveled
