Trope:The Emperor


 * No world shall be beyond my rule. No enemy shall be beyond my wrath.

-The Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind, Warhammer 40,000

The ruler of an Empire, usually but not always The Empire. Historically, Emperors outranked Kings, so when you need an authority figure to convey the highest possible power and rank, you can't get any higher than making them The Emperor(unless you go to The Pope, or into the speculative realms ofCelestial Paragons and Archangels, Demon Lords and Archdevils, and Galactic Conqueror and at the most accepted highest tier, God Emperor). The next steps down are God Save Us from the Queen!, The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask, The High Queen, She Is the King, The Good King andPresident Evil.

If a ruler is known as The Emperor, it's almost a sure sign that he's an Evil Overlord. Kings, Lords, and Presidents are as likely to be good as they are to be bad, but somehow The Emperor is almost always the story's heavy. This is probably for the same reasons as Good Republic, Evil Empire.

The Emperor is often distinct from the Evil Overlord in that he's much more likely to be the ruler of the world, or at least the ruler of the largest and most influential country in it, instead of simply being a Sauron/Kim Jong-Il President Evilcackling it up over in Latveria/Mordorland. Besides being evil, you can often expect The Emperor to be the Big Bad, especially if you're in a Fantasy setting. They will frequently invoke Authority Equals Asskicking, which can often make them the most dangerous man on the planet.

In Western media, characters known as The Emperor will almost inevitably be Evil Overlord Big Bads. Only in historic plotlines involving the leaders of the real-life Roman Empire will they get any sympathetic depiction at all, and even then they're usually portrayed unflatteringly. In contrast, in China and Japan Emperors actually served as legitimate rulers for most of recorded history, and thus Eastern media (particularly Chinese wuxia films, but also occasionally anime) do have the occasional non-evil Emperor. However, if the Emperor is legitimate and non-malevolent, his role in the plot is usually purely as a background character; plot-significant Emperors usually serve in the role of Big Bad.

The Emperor might be:


 * The Evil Overlord, a very standard Big Bad (often complete with Spikes of Villainy and Shoulders of Doom), is essentially a cliche bully who, despite having no real diplomatic or political skills, has attained his position through strength or special combat skills; if this is seen as too oafish, a very powerful Evil Sorcerer orEmperor Scientist, who still lacks subtlety, will suffice. Expect him to abuse his followers, intimidate his subordinates, wear battle-armor all the time, and be built like a tank. The Legions of Hell and most Always Chaotic Evil races are this guy's mooks. A General Ripper, if significantly promoted, is a more intelligent derivative of this type.

The Shadow Emperor is an extremely powerful form ofThe Emperor, who rules from behind-the-scenes with much Machiavellian scheming, delegating much of his powers, and almost always has a hidden agenda. Though they are usually not as physical as Blood Knightslike the Evil Overlord, they will probably have hidden magic or Psychic Powers. Emperor Palpatine (who was originally President Charisma) and Charles zi Britanniaare prime examples. Of all these types, the Shadow Emperor will be the most likely to try and obtainimmortality. He's likely to be The Ghost for at least the first part of the story, usually operating through Mooksor The Dragon. The President Charisma, typically a leader of Eagle Land, is a Villain with Good Publicity, who always puts on a good face for the public, but is probably a connivingManipulative Bastard behind the scenes. A more realisticand politically-oriented emperor, he is often a Take Thatat the nation's current administration (or somebody else's). An Engineered Public Confession is one of his more common foes. Examples include most President Evils, and virtually all fictional references to Richard Nixon. The Norsefire leader attempted to be this, and most other Hitler expies will usually come off as one (in his own country, anyways). The Benevolent Emperor. Usually located in East-Asia (or an equivalent), the wise king is a benevolent (if usually distant from the heroes and their struggle) leader, who sides with the heroes when he finally shows up, and acts more as a promoted spiritual guide or priest than pure authority. The few western examples will just be an expansion of the wise Royal Blood 'True King'. The Emperors of Mulan's China, Lord Shojo, andThe Last Samurai's Japan are prime examples. A President Charisma may be confused for this before The Reveal.

A common derivative is a once-great benevolent Emperor who has grown senile and surrounded by corruption. A Knight Templar Emperor tries to be this, but usually ends up becoming one of the above. Messiah-Emperors usually qualify as one of these, though like all benevolent leaders (some cases in particular) may use heavy amounts of Necessary Evil. Roughly half of the Roman Emperors depicted in fiction will be of this sort. The other half will beCaligulae to a man.

This trope isn't necessarily related to God Emperor, but it may.

<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">See also Just the First Citizen. Do Not Confuse With the Black Metal band Emperor.

<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">Of course, just because the trope is titled "The Emperor" doesn't preclude the existence of actual Empresses, as some of the examples in both fiction and Real Life illustrate. An Empress is likely to be depicted more sympathetically than an Emperor, often incorporating ele <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">ments of The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask (if mature) or the less-frivolous Princess tropes (if youthful).

<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">Examples

 * <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">The Directian Emperor's all fit this title honestly


 * <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">​Which basically consists of Linyoa Kannan and...
 * <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">Keita Kannan
 * <span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-family:arial;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">​The Soleilian Empire's Emperor's also count