10 Great Fictional Bosses Power Grid By The Mary Sue StaffNov 15th, 2011, 12:33 pm You are seeing this message because you have javascript disabled. To use our slideshows you need to enable javascript. There's no cross domain hackery or tracking voodoo, it's just some sweet jQuery animations. Please, think of the animations. In the meantime, enjoy the html version below. I guess. If that's your thing. Allow Us to Explain What is there to explain about this one? There are good bosses, and bad bosses. In fact, we've taken a look at a number of bad bosses in our list of places you shouldn't take your daughter for Take Your Daughter to Work Day. But while fiction loves the comedy and drama of a bad boss, fiction also needs leaders and administrators who actually inspire. (This grid was suggested by tipster Esther! Thanks!) Captain Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a man others would die for. Have died for. Can you say that about your boss? No, I didn’t think so. Captain Picard was a marked change as leader of the Enterprise following Captain Kirk. This was a Captain obsessed with Shakespeare, archaeology and classical music rather than green-skinned women and he constantly inspired others to greatness. He takes his job very seriously and although we’ve seen a few alternate paths he might have taken in his life, seemed born for the job of starship Captain. Although it goes against Starfleet regulation, Picard has taken point on more than a few dangerous away missions putting his own life in jeopardy to save his crew. And not just Starfleet officers either. In the two-parter “Time’s Arrow” he’s willing to get stranded on 1800s Earth for the remainder of his life to make sure the Enterprise’s bartender, Guinan, is safe. He’s even gone to bat for the human race several times over proving their worth to creatures far more powerful and advanced than them like Q. Picard was even able to help his crew and resist while assimilated by the Borg, something no other species had so far been seen to do. Captain Picard isn’t just the leader of his crew, he’s their friend as well. Over the course of his time serving on the Enterprise he’s taken the time to get to know what seems like each and every person on the ship. He only joined the senior staff’s weekly poker game once in seven years but that too is a sign of a great leader. Familiarity breeds contempt after all. Even if you can’t get drunk in the 24th century. Chief The best part about working for the woman who chases Carmen Sandiego for a living is your exposure to a very good geography education. This is great, if you're a geography nerd, and if you're not a geography nerd, you probably wouldn't even apply for the job in the first place. If we're referring to the Chiefs played by and resembling the late Lynne Thigpen, then you don't have to be too concerned about her flying off the handle while tracking down the globe-trotting criminal. In fact, it's really only when Ms. Sandiego hacks into ACME's communications that Chief gets really riled up. However, if we're talking about the Chief who looks like the disembodied head of Egon Spengler, then watch out -- he might get a little sentimental, because he is actually rather fond of Carmen Sandiego. But get your passports ready and charge your GPS, gumshoes. This job involves a lot of travel. Hector Barbossa I've said it before, but I don't get tired of doing so: Jack Sparrow is a terrible captain. A great pirate, perhaps, but as a leader of men, a figure that inspires loyalty and confidence... well lets just say he couldn't lead his way out of a wet paper bag. He's great at leading himself out of trouble, at the expense of anyone around him who it would be advantageous to betray or use, so, he's at least got that going for him. No, if we had to pick a crew to join in Pirates of the Caribbean it would hands down have to be any crew of Hector Barbossa. Why? Because he kept a crew of known mutineers together. Known mutineers with nothing to lose. Known mutineers who are cursed with insatiable hunger, unquenchable thirst, and unslakeable lust. Known mutineers who cannot feel pain or be killed in course of pirate discipline. Granted, all of those mutineers had to stick together or they'd never lift the curse, but that doesn't mean that they had to keep Barbossa as their leader. As the guy who'd been in charge when they found the cursed gold in the first place, you'd think his head would have been first on the chopping block, but no. There it is, still firmly attached to his shoulders. Okay, we can probably chalk that up to a little Aztec curse, again, but I think his achievement is still pretty damn impressive. Dr. Grace Augustine If you like your bosses very well-informed and incredibly no-nonsense, and you have a great appreciation for the environment and primitive alien cultures, then you will want to send your C.V. to Dr. Grace Augustine. A legendary xenobotanist for the Avatar Project, Dr. Augustine is not about to let anyone -- even her own bosses, in fact, does she even have a boss? -- harm the Na'vi with which she's worked so hard to gain their trust. The main thing you need to know about Dr. Augustine is that she is devoted to her cause. Her cause is beyond a part of her life -- it is her life. Not only does she immerse herself in an entire culture, she hands herself over to it completely. And she would expect nothing less from you. That is, when she doesn't expect anything from you. True, she has her doubts about co-workers until they've proven themselves just as faithful to the job as she is. But take Jake Sully, for example. It must have been a blow to her anthopologist pride to watch him gain more ground with the Na'avi in a few months than she had done in years of study. But instead of resenting his progress, she respected the difference in backgrounds that gave him the perspective and instincts to interact with them; he was her golden boy. She didn't go about this selfishly; she wanted the best for the Na'vi. But much like any strong leader would be, Dr. Augustine is not shy about expressing her displeasure with the higher-ups. And if you really want to get in good with her, bring her cigarettes, and have a lighter ready. James Gordon Who doesn’t like Commissioner Gordon? Well, besides supervillains I guess, though they stress themselves out more over Batman than someone named James Worthington Gordon, Sr. He’s a pretty swell guy and an even better boss. That is, unless you’re a crooked cop. In which case, you better watch out because Jim Gordon doesn’t like the taste of crooked cops. Working as a cop in Gotham City comes along with a lot of environmental hazards (earthquakes, bank robberies, holiday killers) but Jim Gordon does his utmost to keep his officers safe. He makes sure he has the best information he can get before sending his men and women into any given situation and part of that is dealing with the Dark Knight on a regular basis -- something other cops are loath to do. Batman is great but if Batman were real, I’d send my boss fruit baskets so I didn’t have to deal with him. But what really makes Gordon such an amazing person to work for is his integrity. Much like Batman, Gordon has had plenty of chances to take vengeance out on the criminals in Gotham, including the one who paralyzed his daughter and murdered his wife, but chooses the ethical high-road instead, setting an excellent example for his employees. He may bend the rules at times (any good boss will), but he won’t break them. Jenny Sparks Jenny Sparks is ninety-nine years old, but you'd never know it to look at her. She's a superhero with a talent for immeasurably powerful electrokenesis, but, again, she spends most of her time not shooting lightning from her fingertips or creating hundred-foot-high light sculptures of her face in order to chew out an opposing army. In fact, for almost the whole first story arc of The Authority a reader might be excused for assuming that her utility to the team lies in the fact that she's British, chain smokes, and is exasperated with everything around her. But Jenny isn't just another member of The Authority. She's their fearless leader, facing everything from sliding Albion's blue-skinned invaders to her own preordained death to god itself with a look of determination and a cigarette pinched between two fingers. Jenny is a particularly effective leader because of her intimate knowledge of the exact limits of her team members. Which is particularly difficult, considering that she works with some of the least limited superheroes around. Characters like the Doctor (not that Doctor), who simply has the ability to transmute matter with his mind; the Engineer, whose nine pints of nanotechnological blood can be used to form any kind of machine at will; and Jack Hawksmoor, known only as the God of Cities. (Yes, I'm talking about the Wildstorm Authority, even though many of these characters now appear in some form in the New 52 series Stormwatch. There just isn't enough canon there to talk about it with confidence.) But when Jenny says to Apollo: "Go sterilize the moon," he doesn't argue. He just does it. "Can you do that?" asks the Engineer. "Dunno," he says. "Never tried." Jenny knows. Mal Reynolds To call Mal Reynolds a pirate would be to get the genre all wrong: he's actually a cowboy. But it is a useful label for our purposes because it allows me to call back to Hector Barbossa, and his ability to keep a crew of bloodthirsty reprobates with nothing to lose together and accomplishing work. Which is not to say that Mal's crew is full of bloodthirsty reprobates (on the contrary, there's only one of those), but rather to say that his crew is motley would be an understatement. The fact that he manages to keep two lawful good characters not only coexisting but working in tandem with a whole gamut of chaotic and neutral aligned characters is a testament to his leadership skills. And just when you think that he's let the chaotic neutral barbarian get out of control, it turns out he knows exactly whats going down and exactly how much to tighten the leash. But more than his leadership skills, there's his dedication to his crew. It's clear that he'd give his life for any one of them (okay, maybe not for Jayne, and in any case he'd grumble about it), and what's more, he'd probably give his life just to keep the crew together. Because it's his family (although he would never admit it except under the influence of powerful painkillers and blood loss). And all you need to do to become a part of that family is to work his ship Serenity and do no harm to it or its people. Should you betray him, he'll kill you when you're awake, facing him, and armed, so that's a kindness. M Not much is known about the current M of MI6, played by Judi Dench. She doesn't even have a canonical name (in the current continuity, that is). We know from offhand grumbling that she's been doing espionage for the United Kingdom since the Cold War, and, from certain scenes, that she is married. But other than that, we've just got her personality to go on, that of a no-nonsense administrator with England and Northern Ireland's best interests at heart, and very little patience for anything that gets in the way with that, including sloppy work. Sure, she might threaten to have you killed, but only if you're a showboating reckless fop of an agent like a certain double-0 we all know, and you, you know, break into her home and let on that you've figured out her real name. Which is a good example of M's true professionalism: she never lets her strong personal dislike for an agent and his actions (who shall remain nameless) keep anyone from doing their jobs for Queen and country. William Adama Bill, William, Husker, Captain Adama, Commander Adama or Admiral Adama - no matter what you call him, no matter who you are, you have to respect this man. Adama thought his years of service in the Colonial Fleet were done. He was ready, albeit not looking forward to, a life of retirement. Then the Cylons attacked the Twelve Colonies and his old ship, Galactica, was one of the few to survive the massacre. Without so much as a breathe, Adama went immediately into war mode and lead the remaining military and civilians to relative safety. And did all he could to keep them that way during their travels to Earth. Besides working his way through the ranks of the military, he was in the same boat as everyone else in the fleet after the war and therefor could relate to the officers he was in command of. That went a long way towards keeping their hopes up. Adama also knows how and when to take advice. The people serving around him are there for a reason and he listens when he needs to. But he didn’t make it to Admiral on his good looks, he’s also intelligent in his own right, especially when it comes to tactical decisions. He’s definitely someone you’d want leading you into a fight. He’s also extremely determined and breeds loyalty and devotion in others. When this man leads the chant, “So say we all,” no one is left uninspired. Minerva McGonagall Besides the respect she commands as a long-time professor at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall seems to be not only nurturing and supportive but has a no-tolerance rule for bullies. And while she won't hesitate to defend the bullied party, she won't let them get away with anything if they're breaking the rules, either. Indeed, Professor McGonagall subscribes to tough love. She also believes in loyalty and is extremely trustworthy -- perhaps a little bit too trustworthy. Let's be honest, she probably wanted to rebel against Severus Snape a million times over, but as long as Dumbledore trusted him, he had to be okay. Until he murdered Dumbledore, which made him look pretty darn suspicious. So yeah, McGonagall doesn't take any guff, and when the Voldemort-controlled Ministry of Magic took over Hogwarts and Snape used his position as headmaster -- after murdering the previous headmaster -- to allow the total infiltration of the school, she took charge. She called in the big guns. But only because it was the absolute last resort. It got that bad. Like, "call in the army of gargoyles" bad. Does she fly off the handle, though? Hell, no. Probably a very level-headed boss if you show up late, but understandably peeved if you allow an evil cult of madmen into work. Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com Filed Under: AvatarBatman (character)Battlestar GalacticaFireflyHarry Potter (franchise)James BondPirates of the CaribbeanStar Trek (franchise)The AuthorityWhere in the World is Carmen Sandiego Follow The Mary Sue: Previous PostNext Post Previous PostNext Post
