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The Leader

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Come with me.
Gert: Okay, Alex, what's the plan?
Molly: Yeah, Alex?
Chase: Why does everyone assume Alex has a plan? Someone else might have a plan.
Alex: Great. Let's hear it.
Chase: ...I was just speaking hypothetically.
— Runaways (2017)

Every team needs a leader. Be it the Five-Man Band, the Caper Crew, the Badass Crew, the Badass Army, to the Ragtag Bunch of Misfits, they all have one.

When push comes to shove, there's gotta be someone that stands up, takes charge, and makes a decision. Even if it goes unsaid, it's usually obvious to everyone who's calling the shots. The de facto leader does it out of necessity or their personality type. The de jure leader is officially agreed upon, and may hold the title or rank.

Leaders in fiction typically come in four flavors, with of course some leeway and overlap:

See also The Chains of Commanding, the Sliding Scale of Leadership Responsibility, Still the Leader, Ordered Apology, and Standardized Leader. Compare The Captain, Only Sane Man, and both the Big Good and Evil Counterpart Big Bad. Contrast Leader Wannabe. Usually The Hero is The Leader, but not always. Similarly, the Leader is not always, nor always interested in being, The Hero.

Note: While the Incredible Hulk villain The Leader certainly fits this Trope, much more detailed information can be found about him on this page here.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 
  • In Attack on Titan Erwin Smith is a Mastermind, as he is perfectly willing to sacrifice his men to combat the Titans. Jean Kirschstein on the other hand seems to be developing slowly into a levelheaded leader.
  • Griffith of Berserk was a mastermind and a charismatic leader to the Band of the Hawks before Guts left them. His top lieutenant Casca was more of a mix of levelheaded and headstrong leader in Griffith's absence before the horrible shit that happened to her during the Eclipse.
  • In Captain Earth, Daichi Manatsu's Captain Earth, the cool-headed and humble leader of the Midsummer's Knights.
  • In Chiisana Kyojin Microman, Arthur acts as the leader of the Microman team.
  • From Captain Tsubasa:
  • Miria of Claymore is a levelheaded leader with just a few mastermind traits, namely her ability to come up with strategies that can turn hopeless battles into victories and her vast knowledge of the Organization's secrets. She gives enormous importance to the life of her subordinates, so much that when she decides to bring down the Organization without hurting even one of her comrades still loyal to it the other Claymores are so impressed by Miria's clemency and ability that they refuse to use an opportunity to kill her and rather join en masse with her rebellion. Also, because this is Claymore and thus Asskicking Leads to Leadership then by the end of the manga Miria is also one of the most powerful Claymores alive, if not the most powerful with only Clare being a possible contender to the title.
  • Lelouch of Code Geass is a hybrid of mastermind and charismatic leader for the Black Knights. Physically, he is the weakest member of the group, but it's both his intelligence and his charismatic leadership that holds the team together.
  • Jet Black is a levelheaded leader among the crew of the Bebop, although his authority is frequently ignored.
  • Almost all the Goggle-boys from Digimon are headstrong leaders, although Takato is usually a levelheaded leader, and Taichi and Daisuke both show elements of charismatic leaders.
    • Taichi and Takuya manage to go from a headstrong leader to a levelheaded leader.
    • There is also Taiki who usually shows signs of being a mastermind leader as well.
  • Dragon Ball:
    • Goku is the charismatic leader of the Z-Fighters, having recruited most of the gang via Defeat Means Friendship and just generally being an All-Loving Hero. Everyone else feels more confident knowing he's in the fight.
    • During DBZ when Goku is dead or off training, Piccolo tends to step up as a levelheaded leader. He's stronger than the other earthlings, and among the saiyans that outclass him he's more collaborative than the arrogant Vegeta, more cool headed than Future Trunks who is prone to overreacting, and more confident than Gohan who isn't a fighter at his core. After merging with Kami he also becomes the Team Dad as the wisest member, and he holds the honor of mentoring/babysitting everyone's kids.
    • In Dragon Ball Super, Gohan is appointed leader of Team Universe 7. He acts as a levelheaded mastermind for the earthlings on the team, trying to get them into formations to to cover each others backs and use their techniques strategically. However the stronger loose canons like Vegeta, Frieza, and even his own father Goku immediately ignore his orders and go off to do whatever they want as there's no use even trying to rein them in.
  • Eyeshield 21: Each team has one of these, typically in the form of their captain (although sometimes another player will fill the role):
    • Deimon Devil-Bats — Team Captain & Quarterback, Youichi Hiruma (Mastermind/charismatic leader).
    • Ojou White Knights — Team Captain & Quarterback Takami (Mastermind/levelheaded leader)
    • Zokugaku Chameleons — Team Captain & Linebacker Rui Habashira (headstrong leader)
    • Taiyou Sphinx — Lineman Banba (levelheaded leader)
    • Amino Cyborgs — Team Captain & Linebacker Munkata (charismatic leader)
    • Kyoshin Poseidon — Linebacker Kakei (levelheaded leader)
    • Bando Spiders — Team Captain & Tight End Akaba (levelheaded leader)
    • Seibu Wild Gunmen — Quarterback Kid (levelheaded leader)
    • Shinryuuji Naga — Team Captain & Quarterback Unsui Kongo (levelheaded leader); his brother Agon (charismatic leader) does his best to upstage him.
    • Hakushuu Dinosaurs — Team Captain & Quarterback/Safety Marco Reiji (mastermind)
    • Teikoku Alexanders — Runningback Takeru Yamamoto (charismatic leader)
    • The Pentagram — Big Bad Duumvirate variant; Team Captain & Centre Mr. Don (headstrong/charismatic leader) and Quarterback Clifford D. Louis (mastermind)
  • In Fairy Tail, the Guild has many charismatic leaders; Makarov is the revered, if indulgent, father figure who loves his subordinates as if they were his own children. Erza leads Natsu's team as a combination of a levelheaded leader and a charismatic leader. More than a matter of sheer combat prowess, Erza is in charge because she's generally mature, sensible and level-headed. Also Lucy respects her greatly while Natsu and Grey are scared shitless of her. Laxus is a charismatic leader to his Raijinshuu, Guildarts is both a headstrong and charismatic leader, judging from how Makarov spoke of Purehito he too was a charismatic leader when he was Guildmaster and the founding Guildmaster Mavis is also apparently a charismatic leader. The only one closer to a levelheaded leader other than Erza is Macao.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • Roy Mustang is very much a charismatic leader for his military unit in He overlaps with the other three types as well, to varying degrees; but for those who serve most closely under his command, it's made very clear that their loyalty is primarily driven by the fact that he is A Father to His Men.
    • Oliva Armstrong is also a charismatic leader; her men have a reverential fear of her and refer to her as 'Our Ice Queen'. While she would never admit it, she also A Father to His Men.
  • Haruhi Suzumiya is a headstrong/charismatic example. However, despite her desires and delusions, Kyon is the real leader of the Brigade (level-headed variant). This is most obvious when comparing both of their interactions with Yuki. While Yuki follows Haruhi's orders, she makes no attempt to hide the fact that she considers Kyon a higher authority; he has explicitly countermanded Haruhi's orders a few times. She also tends to (silently) ask him for permission whenever an odd situation arises.
    Haruhi: Okay, Yuki, wreck her with your magic!
    Yuki: ... [looks over at Kyon]
    Kyon: [narrating] No. No. No. I shouldn't even have to tell you that.
  • In Hellsing, despite Maxwell being the official head of Iscariot, Father Anderson is far more charismatic and morally right, so most Iscariots tend to follow his word as opposed to that of Maxwell.
  • In High School D×D, Rias Gremory is a mastermind style leader, who has gathered all of her servants via chess pieces.
  • In Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, both Ryouzanpaku and the One Shadow Nine Fists lead in the same manner. They are generally collaborations rather than an out-and-out hierarchy but Furinji Hayato and the One Shadow Furinji Saiga have the final say because they stand head and shoulders above their comrades in power.
  • Gihren Zabi of Mobile Suit Gundam is a charismatic personality with a mastermind style of leadership.
  • Daigo Shigeno of Major 2nd grows into a mixture of charismatic and levelheaded when he's named Captain of the Fuurin baseball team in middle school. He knows he's not the most skilled member but has learned how to use the abilities of his teammates to the max to make up for it, and tends to keep his cool even when things get awry. Interestingly, this heavily contrasts with his father Goro, who in the original Major series was more of a headstrong type when he led the Seisshu High team, and managed to pull the weight of the team through his own sheer ability.
  • Quatre of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing is the leader of the Maganac Corps and later takes the closest thing to a leadership role among the 5 Gundam Pilots. He is a levelheaded leader because he's the only one of them with his head on straight. That said he also falls quite neatly into the charismatic role, as he is absolutely the public face of the Gundams (the others are all too stoic or arrogant to really inspire much good PR), and his tendency toward grand speeches is legendary in-universe.
  • Sumeragi is a Mastermind as The Captain of Ptolemy in Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Among the Meisters Lockon in season 1 is a levelheaded leader as the most normal member of the team. Setsuna in season 2 is more of a charismatic leader.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny: Lacus Clyne is a charismatic leader to the Three Ships Alliance, Terminal, and much of the planet, through sheer force of personality. On a smaller (and eviler) scale, Sting Oakley is this to the Extended team, being a surprising example of a levelheaded leader on a team of Axe-Crazy Tykebombs.
  • Midoriya from My Hero Academia is an unique example who possesses traits from all four types. Like the Mastermind, he's adept at analyzing the situation, his opponents, and his allies and formulating plans to allow his teammates to use their abilities to the fullest. He also has aspects of the Levelheaded, being able to keep his cool and avoid panicking, even during the most dire circumstances. But he also has aspects of the Headstrong type, particularly when it comes to using his own quirk, as he's completely willing to bust his own arms and keep going. Finally, he's also the Charismatic type, despite his somewhat introverted nature, as his heroic drive and willingness to give his all, even if that means trashing his body to an unbelievable extent, for the sake of his classmates inspires them to give their all when it comes to supporting him.
  • Naruto:
    • Shikamaru as a heroic mastermind during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc and as a general for the ninja alliance.
    • Sasuke is a mastermind and charismatic leader when he assembles Hebi.
    • The Jounin Team Captains and the village Kages are all Levelheaded, even if they have wildly different personalities.
    • The villains, Tobi, Orochimaru, and Pain are all hybrids of mastermind and charismatic leader, both of which are the types most likely to treat their followers as pawns (though Тobi more pragmatic in this regard than Orochimaru and Pain more levelheaded than mastermind type).
    • In the absence of the Jounin Captains, during the Chunin Exam Arc, Sasuke and Neji stepped up as levelheaded leaders of their three man squad, while Ino and Kiba became headstrong leaders for theirs.
    • Naruto seems to be developing into a headstrong/charismatic leader hybrid during the war. He's not officially in command, but he's easily the most important ninja in the war (on the Alliance side) to the point where Madara says the Alliance would fall apart without him.
    • Even though his students outclass him strength-wise during the fourth great ninja war, Kakashi remains their leader (both type Mastermind and Levelheaded). Sasuke tries to take over, but his strategies against Kaguya fail miserably. Kakashi comes up with an alternative plan in minutes, making use of his students' skills as well as his own, and it instantly succeeds. Afterwards, even the Sage of Six Paths compliments his leadership ability. Unsurprisingly, Kakashi ends up becoming sixth Hokage.
  • One Piece: Monkey D. Luffy is VERY much a headstrong leader/charismatic leader hybrid as captain of the Straw Hat pirates. Very rarely he shows hidden levelheaded leader traits, but only when the situation is serious enough to call for it. Its not just his own crew, either. He has a knack for rallying and inspiring allies towards a goal, even former foes at times.
  • Pokémon Adventures:
    • Red is a charismatic/levelheaded leader hybrid for the Kanto Trainers and the Dex holders as a whole. And Professor Oak can be seen as a Mastermind since he's the closest thing the series has to a Big Good.
    • Trainer Gold is a headstrong leader for Johto.
    • Sinnoh has Platinum as a charismatic leader, since the others work as her body guards, but Pearl's take charge personality sometimes has him as a more dominant headstrong leader.
    • White seems to lead Black as a mastermind and charismatic leader. Black is something of a headstrong leader with Cheren and Bianca.
    • Among the Kalos group, Y serves as the levelheaded/headstrong leader.
  • Ryo of Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (Ronin Warriors) is a headstrong and charismatic leader being The Determinator while Touma (Rowen) and Seiji (Sage) are evenly split as the most levelheaded. Ryo also sometimes serves as The Heart of the team when Shin (Cye) isn't around.
  • The headstrong Minako Aino/Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon is the Charismatic, as her leadership was determined by destiny, with the most magical power of the Senshi to boot. Beneath the Mask, she's also the Levelheaded from having the most combat experience out of the Senshi, being extremely dedicated to the Senshi's mission, and suffering from The Chains of Commanding, to the point where she sees her life as worthless if she cannot transform into Sailor Venus.
  • In Saint Beast, Judas is appointed leader of the Saint Beasts, and already was by default before that, being the charismatic, brave and passionate hero of the story (headstrong and charismatic leader).
  • Ken Washio from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman starts out as a stoic and clever leader with nerves of tempered steel, but he becomes more reckles and unhinged as the series progresses and personal losses pile up on him.
  • Maka Albarn from Soul Eater is the official leader of her Chain Resonance team and elected as such by their teacher, Stein.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Both as Yami Yugi and the Pharaoh, Atem combines all the leader traits, being headstrong, displaying mastermind tendencies when playing games, being charismatic through his strength and levelheaded through his ancient experience, uniting his group and his priests around a common cause.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds:
    • Yusei Fudo is a Type I, II, and IV leader for Team 5D's. Being the smartest member, he often advises his teammates how they have to play, he's levelheaded and very charismatic. He also shows some signs of Type III.
    • Jean from Team Unicorn is a Type I. He founded a team to give every teammate a good reason to win: for camaraderie. He knows how to combine the strengths of Andore and Breo with his strategy, resulting a near loss for Team 5D's.
    • Taro is a type III for Team Taiyo. His headstrong approach convinces his teammates to go for higher goals, even though all of them are overall weak duelists. Indeed, his believe in teamwork manages to write a legend into dueling history.
    • Harald from Team Ragnarok is a type I, with a bit of type IV. He gathered Dragan and Brave for the purpose to fight evil, and their decks are perfectly build for each other. Their team is the closest to have a Xanatos Gambit strategy.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: Reiji Akaba leads the Lancers, and he gathered them for the purpose of saving dimensions from Academia. However, he rarely ever inaugurates someone into his plans, which causes often some confusion for his teammates.
  • In Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Akira takes the role of de facto leader of his travelling companions as they journey across Japan to complete their bucket lists. He combines the headstrong and competent aspects, jumping into new situations to have fun even if it means putting his life at risk but also having the ingenuity and spontaneity to get him and his friends out of sticky situations.

    Audio Play 

    Comic Books 
  • In A-Force, She-Hulk is the headstrong leader of the team.
  • Batman is a mastermind when he works with Robin or the extended Bat Family, but most of his proteges also lead groups of their own:
    • Dick Grayson acted as a mastermind during his early days on the Teen Titans. As he matured, he became more of a charismatic leader. Occasionally, when he enters a Darker and Edgier phase, he's a levelheaded leader but eventually comes around back to a charismatic leader again. DC officially considers him to be the most capable leader in the whole DC Universe.
    • The second Robin and Red Hood (Jason Todd) eventually grew into being a headstrong leader.
    • The third Robin and Red Robin (Tim Drake), is a mastermind and levelheaded leader; of note, as one of the three founding members of Young Justice, he was considered the level-headed "superego" to Superboy's "ego" and Impulse's "id" in a Freudian Trio. Tim actually hates being the leader, and prefers to act as the right hand man or co-leader for Cassie.
    • Barbara Gordon is also a mastermind when leading the Birds of Prey, and as Lian points out Oracle has led the JLA from the shadows as well.
  • Bucky O'Hare and the Toad Wars! has Bucky O'Hare, who is of the mastermind kind of ship captain.
  • In Catstronauts, the leader of the titular team is Captain Meowser, who seems to be the levelheaded.
  • Giant Robot Warrior Maintenance Crew: Jeb serves this role for the maintenance crew, always trying to keep a cool head in even the most stressful of situations.
  • Captain America of The Avengers is a mixture of levelheaded leader and charismatic leader. Much as with Superman over at DC, any group of Marvel superheroes that includes Cap will see most of them instinctively deferring to him.
  • Paulie from Circles is a levelheaded leader and, much like Papa Smurf, is the oldest and most mature of the group, as well as being the wisest due to his age and experience.
  • Il Grande Blek: Blek is this for the community of fur trappers he lives in.
  • Grim Jack describes the lead of Starslayer as a charismatic leader.
    Grim Jack: There are many kinds of leaders. Some are elected, some are selected, some are imposed, but in the end there is only one true leader. The one that others choose to follow. Torin MacQuillon is a leader.
  • Martian Manhunter is a levelheaded leader
  • Papa Smurf of The Smurfs in all forms of media is a levelheaded leader.
  • During the Spider-Verse storyline, the Superior Spider-Man quickly asserted his authority over the other Spider-people as a Mastermind with a distinctly Insufferable Genius flavor. There was a very good reason for this, as the Superior Spider-Man was actually Doctor Octopus, a character with a long history of leading archetypal Spidey villain group the Sinister Six as the equally archetypal villainous Mastermind type.
  • Albeit usually a solo fighter, Supergirl has led teams like the Legion of Super-Heroes in several continuities -including the Smallville comics- from time to time, proving she can be level-headed and make good decisions when it's required. In Good-Looking Corpse story arc she quickly puts together a team to take down a villain who is targetting young heroes, and although she doubts her leadership skills, her team thinks she did just fine. She also led the Justice League 3000 after her cousin's death.
  • Superman:
    • Superman is also a mixture of levelheaded leader and charismatic leader when he's the leader of the Justice League of America. Because he's a very strong charismatic leader, he tends to become the Leader of any team-up or group he's with. Frequently played with in that he shares the role as part of the trinity that includes Batman, who is typically the mastermind superhero, and Wonder Woman, who usually fills the headstrong leader role. When the three of them show up to a fight, the other good guys immediately defer to their leadership and the bad guys collectively wet themselves.
    • Post-Crisis Superman. When all the heroes start to gather on Telos in Convergence #6, everyone defers to him. There's no jockeying for position or assertion of authority. Superman just starts speaking and making suggestions, and everyone else carries them out.
  • Wonder Woman:
    • Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark became the level headed leader of Young Justice after Tim Drake stepped down due to the stress of the position and the distrust his teammates cast on him due to Batman's actions. Cassie was much better at gaining trust and suited to deal with the stress, and Tim was much more useful and comfortable as a tactician instead.
    • Wonder Woman (1942): Etta Candy is the leader of the Holliday Girls, a group of young women usually numbering at least 30 who hunt down and fight Nazi spies and aliens and look for missing persons when they're not busy with school or work.
    • In Wonder Woman (1987) Artemis and Philippus became the trusted and charismatic co-leaders of Themyscira, with Artemis' quick temper offset by Philippus' level head.
    • In Wonder Woman and the Star Riders Wonder Woman is the leader and her decisions are differed to without question by the Star Riders outside of group meetings, and Dolphine jumping into action on her own when directed to stay with the group.
    • Justice League Dark: Diana serves as the leader of the team in the 2018 run by James Tynion. While something of an outsider among the magical community despite being a creature of magic, Diana's morality, charisma, courage and kindness makes her the best choice to lead the team.
  • X-Men:
    • Professor X is a benevolent Mastermind.
    • Cyclops, the field leader, starts as a Levelheaded leader, but transitions into Mastermind as the series progresses (particularly a cold Mastermind in the vein of Magneto, which is noted and commented upon near-endlessly both in and out of story). The other main X-leader, Storm, is a consistently Levelheaded type.
    • Among the leaders of the villainous Brotherhood, Magneto is a cold Mastermind to contrast with his rival Professor X, with a Charismatic subtype (something he and Chuck have in common). His successor Mystique is a straight Mastermind who leads primarily by appealing to the greed of her followers, while his Dragon Exodus is a Headstrong type who shares his Charismatic subtype.

    Fan Works 
  • Ace Combat: The Equestrian War. Most pegasi leaders are levelheaded leaders, while griffin leaders are usually either mastermind archetypes or charismatic leaders.
  • Calvin is headstrong leader in Calvin & Hobbes: The Series.
  • Child of the Storm has Steve, primarily levelheaded but with a way about him that says charisma, Thor, charismatic and headstrong, tempered by level headedness, and Harry, charismatic and Hot-Blooded.
  • In the Dangerverse, Lupin is a levelheaded and charismatic leader.
  • Donut from Dusk's Dawn leads the group throughout the castle and calls himself a "royal guard."
  • Jaune provides an example of both a charismatic and levelheaded leader in Forged Destiny. He does so by both inspiring his comrades and maintaining a clear head in the life-threatening situations they find themselves in, often with a plan that allows them to seize victory.
  • Fortune Favors the Brave: Alya is the Headstrong sort, being far more gung-ho about becoming a superhero than her partner is. Unfortunately, this spurs her to treat Red Beatle condescendingly, labeling him her 'sidekick' and seriously considering replacing him when they've both only been active for a few days.
  • Tomoe Chiba from Graduate Meeting of Mutual Killing was labeled as the leader not by general agreement, but by her own word. However, she indeed is trying her best to be a levelheaded leader, with varying grades of success
  • Mortality: Watson is a Levelheaded Mastermind, and he was also The Medic, up until his friend is captured.
  • Hikigaya Hachiman is a Charismatic/Mastermind variant to the rest of Class 1-A in My Hero School Adventure Is All Wrong As Expected. Hachiman's (unintentionally) inspiring speeches and sharp wit have allowed him to earn the respect of his entire class, and this combined with his ability to create detailed plans and analyses given enough prep time has allowed him to lead Class 1-A to great success on multiple occasions.
  • Naru-Hina Chronicles: Unless Kakashi is involved, Sakura serves as the leader of Team 7, presumably because she has more years of experience as a Chunin in comparison to Naruto and Sasuke. This makes her a levelheaded one.
  • The Night Unfurls:
  • Dolly is sort of shoehorned into the role of a levelheaded and headstrong leader in A Posse Ad Esse.
  • Drew Luczynski is the stubborn and courageous leader of the rescue team in both Prehistoric Earth and its later Continuity Reboot Prehistoric Park Reimagined.
  • Jazz in Transformers Meta is a levelheaded leader and, to an extent, a charismatic leader as well.
  • In Twitch Plays Pokémon, the trainer is often a sort of Big Good that is acting as a conduit for mysterious voices so The Leader naturally falls to a member of the party.
    • In Red Version it was Bird Jesus the Pidgeot, a mix of level headed and charismatic being the one who carried the team through the toughest battles after the starter was released and eventually became a symbol of hope that spawned a religion.
    • In Crystal Lazor Gator the Feraligatr a level headed type who looked out for his friends first and foremost even as the world turned against him
    • In Emerald M4 the Azumarill headstrong and charismatic, who started as a rival to the starter until they were again released and then took up the burden of leadership in their stead, raising herself to maximum power to look out for the rest of the team until they caught up.
  • White Sheep (RWBY): The teams are different from canon; Team WJRP (Weiss, Jaune, Ruby, Pyrrha) is led by Weiss, and Team RYBN (Ren, Yang, Blake, Nora) is led by Ren. Weiss tries to act as a Charismatic leader but quickly discovers the force of her personality and position simply isn't enough; she soon settles into a Mastermind role. Ren, on the other hand, never has any trouble being the Levelheaded leader, and solves every problem by calmly and reasonably explaining to his team what they have done wrong and how they can fix it.

    Films — Animated 
  • Mulan is a combination of levelheaded leader and headstrong leader but does not realize it until halfway through the first film. She is able to rally the soldiers to break into the palace and save the Emperor, perhaps a little recklessly but ultimately for the greater good. Her quick thinking and resourcefulness makes her more effective than The Captain Shang.
  • Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon is the level headed, thinking type. His cool-headed, analytical thinking leads to his victory over the Green Death and it's useful in the Dragon Training Academy.
  • The Land Before Time: Littlefoot is a charismatic type given that he led his small mismatched herd to The Great Valley on little more than instinct/faith.
  • Monsters vs. Aliens has two:
    • Gen Monger is a Mastermind.
    • Susan is little bit of both Charismatic and Headstrong.
  • Toy Story: Woody is the Mastermind type, owing to his quick wits and strategic planning.
  • In Turning Red, Mei is a combination of Mastermind and Headstrong.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • 6 Underground: "One" is a combination of Mastermind and Charismatic; he's The Strategist who creates the plans the Ghosts use (Mastermind) and personally recruits team members, persuading them to fake their deaths and join up for the prospect of doing good in the world (Charismatic).
  • Assassin's Creed (2016): While he was imprisoned at the Abstergo facility in Madrid, Moussa gained the trust of a number of other assassins, becoming their leader and planning their escape. Whenever newcomers arrived at the facility, Moussa was the one to welcome them.
  • DC Extended Universe:
    • Amanda Waller is the leader of the Suicide Squad and is definitely The Mastermind. Rick Flagg is officially the field leader, being the Levelheaded type, albeit in the "sense of duty" type since he doesn't care much for the team. However, when Waller is believed to be killed and the Squad learn that Flagg is emotionally compromised because the Big Bad is possessing his girlfriend, Deadshot becomes the de facto leader, again of the levelheaded type.
    • Batman is the leader of the Justice League, being the Mastermind. Played with as he actually wants Wonder Woman to step up and become leader, since she's both the Levelheaded and Charismatic type that can hold the team together better than him. Eventually, after Superman is resurrected the three of them, much like in the comics, naturally assume a joint leadership position, since Superman's a naturally Charismatic leader.
    • In Aquaman, King Orm is the Mastermind, although as a seemingly Univerally Beloved Leader amongst his subjects (those who don't know him personally) shows there are some elements of the Charismatic. Arthur, however, is mostly the Charismatic type (being The Chosen One helps). There's a bit of the Headstrong type, since he is the Justice League's resident Boisterous Bruiser and as Mera puts it:
    "You do your best thinking when you're not thinking at all".
  • Gleahan and the Knaves of Industry: Gleahan, hands down. He's the only one with a sword, after all!
  • By the time of Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Ishirō Serizawa is the spearhead and leader of Monarch, as it's him to whom Mark Russell gives advice about how to deal with an imminent Titan, and it's him who issues orders to the other scientific top brass and Colonel Foster, and to other branches of the organization when he puts the outposts on high alert.
  • The Hangover: Phil assumes to role of leader during the Wolfpack's mission to find Doug, helping keep the others focused on the task at hand and keeping a clear head even when things take a turn for the absurd. Considering that he's an elementary school teacher with kids of his own, it makes sense since he's probably used to taking charge in these kinds of situations.
  • In The Hobbit, Thorin Oakenshield is this to his Company of dwarves and all of Durin's Folk since he's also the rightful King Under the Mountain. He's a Type IV, according to Balin, though with some shades of a Type I.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe
    • The Avengers:
      • Nick Fury, as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., is The Mastermind behind the Avengers Initiative and the Tesseract Project.
      • In the Avengers themselves, Captain America is the leader, overlapping all four types. He's level-headed but also inspiring and capable of pushing a plan through opposition.
    • Peter Quill assumes leadership of the Guardians. "Assumes" occasionally being the operative word, especially during Avengers: Infinity War.
    • Thor: Ragnarok:
      • Thor gathers a new team of Revengers to take down Hela and acts as their leader.
      • Armed with nothing but his charm, Loki effortlessly assumes command of Korg's rebels, which makes him the Charismatic type. It's not shown onscreen, but he must have been extremely persuasive if the ex-gladiators agreed to help him defend Asgard from Hela; as none of them are Asgardian, Loki would have to convince them to risk their lives for people they don't know.
  • In The Mighty Ducks, coach Gordon Bombay names Charlie captain because he's an emotional leader. In the second film, he helps his team win a championship by serving as an assistant coach. In the third film, he's so upset at not having Gordon for a coach that he reverts to running on sheer emotion. New coach Orion demotes Charlie until he balances his charisma with levelheadedness.
  • Ben from the remake of Night of the Living Dead (1990) is a wannabe headstrong leader. The trope is played with in that, his decisions are followed because he acts with the most authority but they're actually horrible ideas and he really should have listened to the others.
  • Caesar from Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a Mastermind, being the smartest ape.
  • Babydoll from Sucker Punch combines all types. She assertively organizes a plan for her and her gal pals to escape the cabaret/asylum, but at the same time does it in a low key way.
  • Tickles the Clown: Princess Kali Divine is stated to be the leader of the human resistance against The Illuminati.
  • The World's End: Gary King was a charismatic leader in his youth, as the coolest guy at school; during the movie proper he's a mastermind, having assembled his friends to complete a pub crawl. He also has headstrong features, as he is determined to see the plan through no matter what insanity the group encounters, and keeps the rest going through sheer force of will.
  • X-Men Film Series
    • Professor Charles Xavier is primarily the Charismatic type. He's The Heart of the X-Men; the love, admiration and respect that his students and friends feel for him are what mainly holds the team together.
    • X-Men: Apocalypse:
      • Bryan Singer has said many times that Apocalypse's greatest non-superpower skill is persuasion, so he falls under the Charismatic category.
      • Mystique is a reluctant field leader of the X-Men because she's used to working on her own, and she's of the Headstrong variety. She's outspoken, determined and courageous. She also fits the Charismatic type, because all the young mutants look up to her. In fact, Mystique is Storm's idol.
      • Scott takes the initiative when he, Jean and Kurt decide that they should try to save Hank, Raven, Peter and Moira from Stryker. Cyclops is the Levelheaded type because he's always thinking about the best strategy to circumvent whatever obstacles they encounter.

    Literature 
  • In Michael C. Bailey's Action Figures — Issue One: Secret Origins, Carrie. Ends up with some resentment because Matt, whose idea the team was, gets sidelined by it.
  • In Poul Anderson's After Doomsday, Donnan. When they are first confronted with Earth's destruction, he gets the captain to get a grip on himself. Later, after the disintegrating situation kills the captain and the first officer, the second officer can't control matters, and he takes command.
  • Jake of Animorphs is a levelheaded leader.
    "Jake's the type. If a group of people were trapped in a burning building, he's the person they'd automatically turn to and ask what to do. And he'd have an answer, too."
  • In Jeramey Kraatz's The Cloak Society, Lone Star. At one point, a character observes that it's easy to see how he ended up in charge after the battle ten years earlier that killed most of the Rangers.
  • Dinoverse's first set has Janine as the Levelheaded during the first part of the book. She's more practical and pragmatic than the rest and is very hard to panic, but she also doesn't feel like taking charge and responsibility. Halfway through she leaves, and even when she comes back the group is basically leaderless.
    • During the second set Patience is leader. Her personality is forceful and kind of intense. The others give suggestions, and she may follow them, but it's largely her say.
  • Sparhawk of The Elenium trilogy is a levelheaded leader. His leadership of his group is mostly due to the fact that he's the Queen's Champion, and their primary mission is to save her life. But make no mistake, he is an excellent leader.
  • In Carol Kendall's The Gammage Cup, after their first day as outlaws, Muggles takes charge and being level-headed, directs all their tasks.
  • McKinley from The Good Dog is the leader and "top dog" of his town's dog pack, the Steamboat pack. He's a brave and heroic Alaskan malamute.
  • In The Heroes of Olympus, Annabeth and Percy both take on leadership of the seven heroes. Annabeth is the mastermind type as a brilliant tactician/teen genius and levelheaded type thanks to her years of battle training at Camp Half-Blood. Percy is a charismatic leader, with elements of headstrong leader. However he also overlaps with The Heart as Hera states that she chose him as part of the seven because of his ability to inspire loyalty and hold people together. When talking about them Hazel refers to Annabeth as the driving force, de-facto leader with all the answers and Percy as their backbone.
  • In John Hemry's Paul Sinclair novel A Just Determination, Herdez talks to Sinclair about how such a leader makes it easy to follow. It's when the superior is not competent that obedience becomes a trick.
  • Kings of the Wyld: Played with. Everyone knows that Golden Gabe is the charismatic leader of the legendary mercenary band Saga. However, when the band comes out of retirement, Clay Cooper (who initially appeared to be The Lancer) mentions that Gabe is the leader, and Gabe laughs in his face. Everyone in Saga (except Clay) always knew that Clay was the real leader of the band, with his level-headed dependability keeping everyone else in line. Sure Gabe was usually the one who came up with the ideas, but Clay was the one who decided if the band would act on them.
  • In The Leonard Regime, Nick is the de facto but usually unquestioned leader of the team.
  • Aragorn from the fall of Gandalf the Grey in The Lord of the Rings, even though Frodo is The Hero of the series. Thoroughly charismatic, Aragorn may act because of his own individual drive but the reason he is followed is due to the respect he inspires in others and, to a lesser extent but particularly for the men of Gondor, the fact he is also the last true king of Gondor.
  • John Geary of John Hemry's The Lost Fleet.
  • A Mage's Power: Basilard is both the sergenant and mentor for Dragon's Lair Team Four. He stays calm even when a pack of Xethras are attacking.
  • The title character of the Mediochre Q Seth Series is primarily a mastermind — the reason people defer to him is because he's the best at coming up with plans. However, he also fits under headstrong and charismatic leader due to his over-the-top personality.
  • North from Of Fear and Faith is a levelheaded leader, being by far the most levelheaded and mentally stable member of the group, and helping keep The Team from getting sidetracked or fighting with one another. Except Phenix, but they handle their arguments rather civilly. He is also the person the others usually go to for advice and wisdom, and he makes the group's safety his top priority.
  • Peter Pan:
    • Peter is a headstrong leader among the Lost Boys.
    • Wendy is a levelheaded leader of her siblings.
  • Dawn in The Radiant Dawn takes on this function mostly by being the heir to the Solari power.
  • In River of Teeth, Houndstooth is the head of the Caper Crew not only because he is the one to assemble it on behalf of the federal agent, but also because he's a charismatic Anti-Hero who's the actual Fastest Gun in the West and the other crew members either fear or respect him.
  • In Survivor Dogs, dog and wolf packs are led by an alpha. The alpha is the strongest member of the pack. They're usually referred to by their title, "Alpha", instead of their name. Alpha's also have a second-in-command called the beta. Betas are often mates towards their alpha and are the runner-up to being alpha.
  • In Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note, Wakatake is officially designated as the leader of the Detective Team KZ. He certainly belongs to the headstrong type: being very Hot-Blooded and occasionally let his mood intervene in his performance too much.
  • From the Tortall Universe:
    • Alanna is more of a lone wolf (or rather, lioness), but when she does lead she's the headstrong type. She's the biggest personality in any group that doesn't involve royalty.
    • Keladry is a naturally born leader and commander. When a group of pages were attacked by spider monsters, they panicked but she pulled them together. Her knightmaster Raoul cultivates her talent into an excellent Levelheaded type.
    • Aly is Mastermind Type, as befits a spymaster.
    • King Jonathon is a mixture of Mastermind, Charismatic and Levelheaded; the king is the ultimate authority in the realm and so he has to be both inspiring and calm to steer his country out of trouble. His Queen, Thayet, is similar.
  • Trapped on Draconica
    • Daniar is a levelheaded type for Team Good; she has her head on straight and guides her teammates who are either too cowardly, too bloodthirsty or too kind to otherwise hold together.
    • Kazem is the leader of the Eastern Alliance. He believes himself to be Charismatic Type but he's actually a Headstrong Type because his soldiers are more scared of him and Gothon than believe his honor propaganda. It's implied he doesn't either and just wants revenge.
  • Janine Hathaway from Vampire Academy, amongst duardians, she leads during missions. She is "a voice of reason, a reminder that they had to stay focused and fully assess the situation. Her composure calmed everybody; her strong manner inspired them."
  • Watership Down: Hazel is clearly a levelheaded leader.
  • Warhammer 40,000 novels:
    • The title character from the Ciaphas Cain note  series is definitely a leader of some sort. His men see him as a charismatic leader; a bold and charismatic man of action who cares about each and every one of them. Cain himself would say he's the opposite but invokes this so they will protect him.
    • Commissar Ibram Gaunt from the Gaunt's Ghosts series holds the role of both Commissars and Colonel. Gaunt combins a high level of tactical skill and a willingness to personally lead his men into battle that has led him to become A Father to His Men.
  • Wolf Pack: Of the four werewolves, Noble is the leader, being the most level-headed of them. This is why Argus, the biggest of the wolves who could beat him in a fight to be their leader if he wanted to, doesn't.
  • In the X-Wing Series, Wedge Antilles is a mix of mastermind and levelheaded leader, with some charisma and a trace of headstrong leader for flavor. He's highly intelligent and calculates right from the start, but he's well able to adjust on the fly and incorporate new elements. The most experienced and highly decorated pilot in either squadron of the series, he can be either harsh or supportive to and cares deeply for the pilots under his command.
  • All the clans in Warrior Cats have a leader. They can be identified by their 'star' suffix and they have nine lives presented to them by StarClan. Each of them have to have been deputy selected by the leader in order to be next in line to be leader.
  • Lasse the goose from The Wonderful Adventures of Nils Akka, the elderly female goose, is the leader of the flock that Mårten and Nils join.

    Live-Action TV 
  • The 100: At the beginning of the series, Bellamy immediately tries establishing himself as the headstrong and charismatic leader of the 100, but, though Clarke never makes an explicit bid for power, by the end of the first season everyone's listening to her over Bellamy, with her combination of levelheaded and headstrong leadership.
  • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Phil Coulson is a mix of mastermind and levelheaded leader. He's also The Heart.
  • Arrow: At his best, the titular hero usually combines all four types.
  • The A-Team: Hannibal Smith is the mastermind leader who "loves it when a plan comes together."
  • The Boys (2019): Billy Butcher is the headstrong/mastermind leader with certain charisma.
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
    • Buffy is the indisputable leader of series. She's a Charismatic leader with a traits of a level-headed one as the series progresses.
    • Giles is also one, more so in the earlier seasons. He's an undeniable level-headed leader and has been since day one.
    • When Buffy is forced out by the potentials and the Scoobies, Faith is seen as more reasonable and takes up the leadership role, only to relinquish it when a mission ends in disaster.
  • Chouseishin Series:
    • Chouseishin Gransazer: While each Tribe has its own leader, Tenma is this for all 12 Gransazers. He's the one who most often rallies them together and gives directions, something even Makoto eventually acknowledges.
    • Genseishin Justiriser: Although the Justirisers don't have an official leader, it's Shouta who leads them into battle.
    • Chousei Kantai Sazer X: Although Takuto is The Hero he's not this, with Commander Shark being Sazer-X's official leader, and Ad being the acting leader for the first part of the series when Shark is not present.
  • Community: Jeff (charismatic, manipulative) is a charismatic leader, with elements of levelheaded leader fading in and out depending on the occasion. Troy (kind-hearted, responsible) occasionally takes over the position, and is a levelheaded leader.
    • Played in season 5 and 6, despite the fact that Jeff is the nominal leader, Annie seems to be the actual leader of the group.
  • CSI: Both Grissom and D.B. are levelheaded/headstrong leader mixes.
  • CSI: Miami: Same thing with Horatio, levelheaded/headstrong leader.
  • CSI NY: Mac is also a mix of a levelheaded and a headstrong leader.
  • Doctor Who: The Doctor is both a charismatic and levelheaded leader, and occasionally a mastermind.
  • Falling Skies: Tom is a mix of mastermind and charismatic leader.
  • Firefly: Captain Malcolm Reynolds is a headstrong leader.
  • The Flash (2014):
    • The titular hero is a headstrong and charismatic leader. At his best, he is also levelheaded and even a mastermind.
    • Dr. Harrison Wells, or rather Eobard Thawne, is a mastermind and levelheaded leader. He is charismatic, but becomes a pariah after his Particle Accelerator exploded which causes an unwanted Mass Super-Empowering Event.
    • The real Harrison Wells' Earth-2 counterpart is a mastermind, levelheaded and headstrong leader.
  • Game of Thrones:
    • Ned Stark is a charismatic and levelheaded Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
    • Robert Baratheon is a charismatic and headstrong leader, though he proves much better at leading in war than governance.
    • Tywin Lannister is a mastermind.
    • Robb Stark is leader of the Northern cause. He is a mastermind.
    • King Renly Baratheon is a charismatic leader. His charismatic personality wins him the support of the Tyrells and their bannermen, giving him the largest army. He commands the combined army strength of the Reach and the Stormlands, which numbers around 100,000. Renly also uses diplomacy to defuse the tension between Catelyn Stark and his two overprotective Kingsguards. He almost manages to convince Catelyn to have Robb swear fealty to him and be King in the North in only a symbolic sense (meaning no truly independent North or Riverlands) by appealing to the traditionally close relations between their respective houses, and the Starks' pressing need to bring justice to the Lannisters. However, considering the Tyrells later support the monstrously cruel Joffrey (who Loras used as a reason why Renly should usurp rule) due to the agreement Margaery will marry him, the idea that they're just supporting Renly because of his charisma is suspect.
    • During the Defense of King's Landing arc of Season 2, Tyrion Lannister is a mastermind leader of the defences with his own crew with Bronn as his Number Two and The Lancer and Varys serving as The Smart Guy. He manages to add elements of charismatic leader later on, such as in the Battle of Blackwater, where he is Big Good when he leads the armies in battle against Stannis giving them a Rousing Speech that unleashes a Heroic Second Wind.
    • King Stannis Baratheon, while not as charismatic as his younger brother Renly, is able to inspire a lot of loyalty among men who know him, such as Ser Davos Seaworth. He is the one of the most levelheaded and straightforward leaders and often relies on his advisors, Melisandre and Davos, for council.
    • Queen Daenerys Targaryen is headstrong and charismatic, cutting a conquering swath through Essos often with only blind ambition and the loyalty of her advisers propelling her. It certainly helps that her three dragons, thought to be extinct, seem to show she she may be The Chosen One (though what kind we've yet to see) and her slave liberation inspires followers. The team's goals are her goals. In season five, she begins learning how to rule a city and starts taking a more level-headed approach to ruling, but it's an uncomfortable fit to say the least.
    • As the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon Snow is a levelheaded, progressive and headstrong ruler, having the wildlings pass through the Wall in an effort to save humanity from the oncoming Zombie Apocalypse, despite the dismay of a faction of the Watch as the Watchmen and wildlings are traditionally enemies. Jon wishes to save the wildling people for humanitarian reasons, since he recognizes they are human beings who also deserve the protection of the Wall, in addition to practical reasons, since any living being who dies north of the Wall becomes part of the undead army that is coming for them all — and Jon would like to prevent this. He also has charisma and is crowned the King in the North by the Northern Lords after the Battle for Winterfell as he is the best one to lead them in the wars to come. This occurs after his resurrection, whereupon he leaves the Night's Watch.
    • Lord Jeor Mormont is a levelheaded and charismatic leader.
    • Jorah Mormont is the leader of Daenerys' Queensguard.
  • Giant Saver: Related to Super Sentai above, in the Chinese Sentai Show Giant Saver, Fire Guard Hong Dakong is the leader (very, very much the headstrong type) whenever they're out fighting monsters. Outside of his role as combat leader and general face of the group, he usually quickly falls to Butt-Monkey status.
  • Hawaii Five-0: Steve McGarrett started off as a charismatic leader with traits of headstrong leader, because he was the founding member of the newly formed Five-0 task force. As the series goes on, his headstrong leadership becomes less pronounced.
  • Hogan's Heroes: Colonel Hogan is a mastermind leader.
  • House: House is the Dean of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine. A headstrong type in that he bullies, goads, and Breaking Speeches his way to an objective.
  • House of Anubis: Nina Martin, the charismatic type.
    • Eddie in the second season, being a bit more headstrong than Nina was before.
  • It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Sunny subverts this Trobe by having every member of the gang think that they're the leader and insist so on multiple occasions. When they aren't arguing over who concocted a plan or who's 'the brains' Dennis is usually considered the charismatic leader.
  • Jackass: Johnny Knoxville to the entire Jackass crew.
  • Legends of Tomorrow:
    • In the first season, Captain Rip Hunter is the leader of the Legends (Headstrong with a dash of Mastermind), as he is the one who recruited them all for the mission of stopping Vandal Savage. Subverted in that he's actually a pretty terrible leader; he's an excellent adventurer, but he's too aloof and impatient to properly channel the difficult personalities on the ship.
    • In the second season, after Rip goes missing, Sara Lance steps up as captain (Levelheaded with a bit of Charismatic) and does a much better job of it. She is more friendly and patient with the Legends, allowing her to forge them into a real team instead of just a group of people pointed vaguely in the same direction. It's to the point that when Rip returns, he soon leaves again because he knows she doesn't need him around disrupting the new group dynamic.
  • Leverage: Former insurance investigator Nathan Ford is the mastermind leader of Leverage Consulting and Associates. The show even refers to him as "The Mastermind".
  • Lost: Jack Shepherd, levelheaded leader among the survivors. Usually. Ben Linus is mastermind for the Others.
  • Merlin: King Arthur Pendragon. Best categorized as a headstrong and charismatic leader.
  • NCIS: Gibbs is the levelheaded leader of his team. Part of this is keeping his agents on task when they start going off on tangents.
  • NCIS: Los Angeles: Callen is a levelheaded leader of the field agents, Hetty is a mastermind leader of the entire group.
  • Odd Squad:
    • Oprah, known to her employees as "Ms. O" and later on as "[The] Big O", is the leader of Precinct 13579 and has been leading it since 1983, later becoming the leader of Odd Squad as an organization. She is a mix of all four types, being a mastermind, charismatic, headstrong and levelheaded leader whom everyone looks up to and obeys with nary a complaint.
    • While Olive displays some mastermind, levelheaded and charismatic leader traits throughout Season 1, she doesn't get a chance to be in an official leadership role until the season finale "O is Not For Over", where she is promoted to the Management position and becomes a Director like Oprah.
    • Otto also gets a chance to be in a leadership role in "O is Not For Over", where he is promoted to the Management position alongside Olive. He is a charismatic leader, slipping into mastermind at times.
    • Oscar is also promoted to a leadership role in "Oscar Strikes Back", where he becomes the President of the Scientists following Obbs' firing. He is a levelheaded and charismatic leader whom everyone looks up to and admires, being the one who had the Science department created in his honor by Oprah.
    • A villainous example occurs with Odd Todd, who seems to serve as a mastermind leader for the villains in town if episodes like "Undercover Olive" are any indication. In Season 2, the Shapeshifter, who appeared to serve as The Dragon to Odd Todd, becomes a Dragon Ascendant and takes over leadership, becoming another mastermind leader.
    • In Season 3, Opal is established as being the headstrong and charismatic leader of the newly-formed Mobile Unit, having a drive to see it succeed and make it as perfect as it can be. However, the episode "Odd Squad in the Shadows" deconstructs the trope, with North Carolina Ms. O asking the group who the leader is, only for all four agents to be undecided on the issue. Oswald, Orla and Opal all pass around leadership duties to each other as they help North Carolina Ms. O fight oddness in her state, while Omar departs from the group temporarily and ends up inadvertently becoming the mastermind leader of the Shadow League, a group of agents who make shadows, taking over the position from Odin, the previous leader. Each agent has different leadership styles — Orla is a headstrong leader who is very demanding and believes her solutions are always right, Oswald is a mastermind leader who is knowledgeable about shapes and teaches his teammates about them, Opal is a headstrong, charismatic and mastermind leader whose personality keeps the team going, Omar is a mastermind leader who knows a lot about shadows and uses it to his advantage, and Odin was a charismatic leader who had a passion for shadows and had a goal in mind for the Shadow League, but had little knowledge on shadows themselves. Eventually, Mr. Sides, the owner of a local restaurant, tells the Mobile Unit that there is no determined leader. Despite this, however, Opal continued to be the leader throughout the rest of the season.
  • Orphan Black:
    • Sarah Manning is a headstrong and charismatic leader for the Clone Club.
    • Sarah's predecessor, the late Elizabeth "Beth" Childs, was both a mastermind and charismatic leader. Beth also tried being a levelheaded leader, but she was already suffering from Sanity Slippage to make it work.
    • Rachel Duncan is a mastermind and charismatic leader for DYAD, contrasting Sarah's headstrong nature.
  • Person of Interest: Harold Finch is a mastermind leader of the POI team. In the field however, Mr Reese is a levelheaded leader.
  • Revolution: Miles Matheson is definitely levelheaded leader, along with streaks of mastermind and charismatic leader.
  • Scandal: Olivia Pope is a mastermind.
  • The titular Sherlock, who takes the lead in the cases he solves, while the others (be they his friends, relatives, the police, or the forensics team) follow his direction (not all of them willingly). Though he has been prone to It's Personal if it involves his best friend.
  • Smallville: Clark Kent aka Superman. He's a combo of levelheaded leader and charismatic leader.
  • Spartacus: Blood and Sand: Spartacus fits all types except headstrong leader. While he is also headstrong, his bullheadedness is something of a Wild Card trait for him, furnishing much of his success and failure in the first half of the first season, though regaining some of it back near the end of first season is when he really only becomes dangerous.
    Batiatus: Spartacus! Are you well?
    Spartacus: Yes, Dominus. I am myself again.
    • As for the other three Rebel Leaders, Crixus is both a headstrong and charismatic leader, Agron is both a mastermind and headstrong leader, and Gannicus is both a levelheaded and charismatic leader.
    • Spartacus' Arch-Enemy, Gais Claudius Glaber, is a headstrong leader who thinks he's also charismatic and a mastermind.
    • Quintus Lentulus Batiatus, is an absolute mastermind and headstrong leader. It could be argued that he's also charismatic, but his popularity is only because of his champions Gannicus and Spartacus. During the times when Gannicus left and Spartacus is yet to arrive, he had a hard time swaying higher officials to put him in matches, even though his then champion Crixus is very popular with the crowd.
    • As of the third/final season of the series, War of the Damned, Spartacuss ultimate nemesis, Marcus Crassus, fits as the same types as him.
  • Star Trek's The Captains:
    • The original Captain James T. Kirk was a headstrong leader with some traits of a charismatic leader. A common plot was him upturning some aspect of a planet's society (headstrong leader) and then convincing them why it was necessary, as a charismatic leader would. He also had elements of a levelheaded leader, often asking his senior officers for their input on a problem, then trying to combine the various strength of their advice into an optimal solution.
    • Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a levelheaded and charismatic leader. He's an excellent diplomat who weighs his options before jumping into a situation. Heck, he's so charismatic there's a whole trope about it.
    • Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko is also a levelheaded and charismatic leader, but with a heavy dose of headstrong leader. He's able to bring together a disparate community on DS9 and hold it together against internal and external threats, serves as an Admiral Ross's adjutant at one point, but he's also prone to It's Personal from time to time.
    • Captain Kathryn Janeway embodies all of them at one point, given the necessity of flexibility to get her crew through the Delta Quadrant. She's most strongly a headstrong leader in her determination to get the crew home and the confrontations she has with hostile governments who impede her, but she had to be quite a levelheaded leader in order to get her crew working efficiently. She later became a charismatic leader after her crew had molded together.
    • Captain Jonathan Archer is very much a headstrong leader especially when it comes to the Xindi. He also has a lot of trouble taking advice sometimes and will stubbornly stick to a course of action until he's got no alternative.
    • Star Trek: Picard: Jean-Luc Picard is the Charismatic type who relies on being a Magnetic Hero to band together a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits to assist him on his mission.
  • Supernatural: Dean Winchester. He's a headstrong leader, with traits of levelheaded leader and charismatic leader thrown in.
  • Super Sentai and Power Rangers: Generally, it's the Red one. Though there are exceptions, more often in Super Sentai. The only one who took over both team AND field leadership was Big One. And he did it again in Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, this time knocking Red Falcon out of the Leader role. AND he did it again (though this time he did it with Akarenger, an actual Red) in the Legend War. Guess what Big One became?
  • Teen Wolf: Scott McCall is a potent combination of Charismatic and Headstrong leader types. His headstrong traits are expressed in a refusal to back down in the face of powerful and intimating foes, with an equally strong need to save people and going to any moral length to do so. His charismatic leadership comes from his generous heart (the boy deeply loves anyone in his group), sweet and bright personality (that smile could melt anyone), emotional expressiveness and outright blatant sex appeal; especially after his ascent to an Alpha Wolf as told by Stiles "...You're [now] the hot girl that everyone wants to sleep with.". Most members of his pack seem to be at least moderately attracted to him, and get into his personal space with great frequency (which he doesn't seem to mind in the least).
  • The Vampire Diaries: Stefan Salvatore. Apart from being the hero, he also often takes the lead in most of the plans and missions, despite Elena being the heroine. He's a mixture of Mastermind, levelheaded leader and charismatic leader.
  • During Hot Topics, the job of the moderator on The View (and other Panel Shows of that nature) is to start conversations, make sure the panel covers as many planned topics as possible, and periodically interrupt the other panelists to throw to commercial. It's usually Whoopi Goldberg, whose combination of levelheadedness and charisma is well reputed, but on Fridays, Joy Behar, who can hold her own and is the most experienced panelist, leads in her absence.
  • The Walking Dead (2010):
    • Rick Grimes is a levelheaded leader. By season 3 onward, he starts to develop the other three types.
    • During Shane's tenure as the group leader, he is a headstrong leader.
    • The Governor combines all types.
  • The West Wing: President Bartlet is a charismatic leader (with a large C), with shades of mastermind and levelheaded leader.

    Pinballs 
  • Appropriately enough, Captain America in Zen Studios' The Avengers. Not only does he give instructions to the player, but using his ball increases the Ball Saver duration, to represent improved morale.

    Tabletop Games 
  • The Warlord from Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition matches the Leader perfectly. Its four types match the four leadership types quite well.
    • The Tactical Warlord is a Mastermind
    • The Resourceful Warlord is Levelheaded
    • The Bravura Warlord is Headstrong
    • The Inspiring Warlord is Charismatic
  • In Warhammer 40,000, an Aeldari who walks the Path of the Warrior multiple times as a member of different Aspect Shrines gains a deeper insight into the myriad ways of war than any other member of their race. Such Aeldari are then able to walk the Path of the Leader to become an Autarch who is able to wield the military might of a Craftworld with the ease and skill that a regular warrior can wield a blade.
    • Lets look at the Primarchs. All of them (minus Angron) are charismatic in some way, but some more than others.
      • Lion el'Jonson is a combination of mastermind and headstrong.
      • Fulgrim is charismatic.
      • Perturabo is a mastermind and headstrong.
      • Jaghatai Khan is levelheaded.
      • Leman Russ is charismatic and headstrong.
      • Rogal Dorn is primarily headstrong, but also levelheaded.
      • Konrad Curze is the dark side of charismatic, as he is especially feared.
      • Sanguinius is especially charismatic, but also headstrong.
      • Ferrus Manus is headstrong.
      • Angron is headstrong.
      • Roboute Guilliman is primarily a mastermind, but also levelheaded and charismatic.
      • Mortarion is headstrong.
      • Magnus the Red is charismatic.
      • Horus Lupercal is all 4, but especially charismatic.
      • Lorgar Aurelian is charismatic and becomes more and more of a mastermind as time goes on.
      • Vulkan is charismatic and levelheaded.
      • Corvus Corax is levelheaded.
      • Alpharius is a mastermind.

    Video Games 
  • Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia: Leard is the governor Platina and his conflict with Lyner is based on him wanting his son to succeed him when Lyner doesn't want to. Over the course of the game, Lyner becomes this for his group. The father is a levelheaded/headstrong leader for being grumpy and aggressive yet still looking for the best solution; the son becomes a charismatic leader once he matures enough that his earnest heroism comes off as noble instead of naive.
    • There is a point in the game where Lyner realizes that he has become the highest authority in Platina because Shurelia has been hacked by Mir and used by her to abduct Leard. Radolf discusses with Aurica that he isn't used to giving orders instead of taking them.
  • BlazBlue: Hakumen is acknowledged as the leader of the Six Heroes by virtually everyone. He had the greatest sense of justice and the power that was necessary to slay the Black Beast.
  • Bomb Club: Officially, the club is a "horizontal organization" and has no leader. In practice, Ian writes the club rules, punishes misbehaving members, and the other generally follow his directives. Even the whole "every member is equal" part of the club's motto was originally his idea.
  • In Disgaea 4, Valvatorez straddles the line between being a headstrong or charismatic leader, being principled, commanding, and charismatic, but also stubborn, hotblooded, and a bit dim.
  • The Warden is this in Dragon Age: Origins, although exactly which type depends entirely on how the player chooses to have the character behave.
    • Inquisition divide the roles: Josephine Montilyet is the levelheaded leader, being the Inquisition chief diplomat, the military commander Cullen Rutherford is the headstrong one, and Leliana acts as the mastermind, being the Spymaster. When the three fail to agree on how to proceed after the battle of Haven, they bring in the Player Character and make him the charismatic face (and final arbitrator) of the Inquisition.
  • William Cabot of Evolve is this of the Levelheaded and Charismatic variety.
  • Given the leader swapping issue in Final Fantasy VII, Barrret is a self-proclaimed headstrong leader, but the rest agree that Cloud is more suitable as the leader, being both a level-headed and charismatic leader. However, when Cloud is out of commission and Tifa is staying with him, Barret actually decides that Cid is a lot better leader than him.
  • Galaxy Angel:
    • Tact Mayers, the commander of the Elsior, is primarily a charismatic leader while not on duty, as he pretty much allows the ship to run itself while keeping a casual atmosphere. In battle, however, he's a mastermind, as he's a superb tactician able to device plans and come out victorious in situations where the odds are heavily stacked against him. This carries over to the Galaxy Angel II trilogy when he's put in charge of the Luxiole.
    • Within the Moon Angel Wing, Forte is a levelheaded-type leader, owing to be the most mature and experienced among the five pilots. Her route in Eternal Lovers shows that she also has a dash of charismatic, as she's able to inspire the others to fight from the bridge alongside Tact when she's unable to pilot her own Emblem Frame.
    • Kazuya Shiranami is early on appointed as the field leader for the Rune Angel Wing at the start of Zettai Ryouiki no Tobira. He's primarily a levelheaded leader with a dash of charismatic or headstrong, depending on the route chosen.
    • When Coco succeeds Tact as the Luxiole's new commander, she employs a similar leadership style, although she leans more into the levelheaded territory than Tact, especially when she handles the administrative duties (that Tact would often shirk and dump on others).
  • Golden Sun
    • A disconnect happened wherein Isaac was hinted at, and described as being a levelheaded leader, but when he started speaking in the sequel he came off as more of a headstrong leader.
    • Matthew is held by fandom to be a levelheaded leader, though with the emote "dialogue" it's certainly possible to play him as a headstrong leader (to say nothing of his reaction to Arcanus in the American version). Three guesses who his father is...
  • Endou Mamoru and Matsukaze Tenma of the Inazuma Eleven fame are straight up headstrong leader & charismatic leader because of their overwhelming determination and idealism.
  • Kingdom Hearts:
    • Of the Destiny Islands trio (Sora, Riku, Kairi) Riku is The Leader, somewhere between a levelheaded and a headstrong leader as he's older and more responsible, but he's also the most ambitious.
    • Of the original main trio (Sora, Donald, Goofy) Donald was initially a headstrong leader because of his overbearing personality and since Sora was just a means to an end on his and Goofy's mission of finding a Key Blade Wielder. Later Sora evolved into a charismatic leader, being The Heart and The Chosen One and Donald and Goofy both started becoming background characters. When Riku rejoins the team he becomes Number Two and The Lancer to Sora.
    • Mickey Mouse is also a charismatic leader and interestingly enough mastermind of the Disney trio, since he usually works in secret and knows more about all the master plans going on behind the scenes.
  • Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series is all four types: s/he does the planning, keeps the Dysfunction Junction together, and makes hard choices. However, dialogue from quite a few NPCs suggest that the charismatic archetype is the most dominating factor.
    Miranda Lawson: I don't have what you do. That fire that makes someone willing to follow you into hell itself.
  • Ciel, Leader of La Résistance On Mega Man Zero 1, 3 and 4, is a charismatic leader, as most people agree with her, she's The Heart and even Neo Arcadia's Government seems to have some respect to her, however she's also a levelheaded leader, as she sometimes tries to prevent Zero from rushing to battle, still tries to maintain open communication channels with Neo Arcadia, and (after Z1) she almost was able to reach a pacific solution with Neo Arcadia's Government (until Weil arrived).
    • In Zero 2, Ciel's Group joined with another group, and we got Elpizo as the new leader, apparently chosen by popular vote. Tried to Act as a mastermind at first, organizing Guerrilla operations and data retrieval and a good battle plan in general. In battle he demonstrated that he was a headstrong leader rushing in without having too much of a backup plan. Also apparently he was highly charismatic, as after his death, most of his soldiers deserted Ciel's group.
  • Metal Gear series:
    • Big Boss combines all types. He is an excellent strategist, very determined, rarely loses his cool and wildly respected. The same can be said for his mentor, The Boss.
    • Big Boss' sons/clones, Solid and Liquid Snake, also fits all types. It wasn't until Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty when Solid becomes a mastermind, though. His third son/clone, Solidus, fits most criteria except charismatic.
  • PAYDAY 2 has Bain as the mastermind for the Payday crew, as he's the one who runs Crime.NET, manages communication between the contractors and the crew, and uses his technical wizardry to keep tabs on police activity and assist the crew in the field. Dallas also fits the mastermind role for the heisters, and is explicitly referred to as such. He manages to be strong levelheaded leader as well.
  • Silver Falls Gaiden: Deathly Delusion Destroyers And Ruby River has Analise Henceforth. She's been gradually taking over her dad's role as the town's event planner, and has also taken over a few failing business ventures and turned them into massive successes. All this experience comes in handy when the main character's husband goes missing in the surrounding Lovecraft Country, and she steps in to spearhead the search. She's mastered enough Easy Logistics to keep a couple dozen people fed, supplied, communicating, and safe as they search and fight their way through a forest infested with monsters. One random comment reveals that she even had a portable toilet hauled in to the campsite headquarters just for the sake of people's privacy.
  • Vyse from Skies of Arcadia is a cross between a headstrong and charismatic leader, being both immensely charismatic (to the point that it's one of the titles he can acquire throughout the game), and also known for his incredible determination. You'll hear the phrase "Never give up!" a lot.
  • Sonic The Hedgehog:
    • Sonic tends to be a Level-headed, Headstrong, and Charismatic type all at once. That not only makes him the de facto leader among his own small team between him and his partners, Tails and Knuckles, but among the entire recurring cast as well. If there's a crisis, almost everyone defers to Sonic by default. He has Nerves of Steel despite the constant danger he faces, combined with a bullheaded attitude to rush at a problem head on regardless of the consequences, and his upbeat and confident personality helps inspire others. The only thing he lacks is the Mastermind part, which he generally leaves to the more intellectual members of the cast.
    • In Sonic Forces Knuckles is the commander of the Resistance against the Eggman Empire. Due to the nature of his position, Knuckles is forced to use parts of all 4 styles of leadership; known for his daring plans and inspiring speeches, yet much prefers to be out in field.
  • Fox of the Star Fox team, levelheaded leader.
  • Tales Series:
    • In Tales of the Abyss Jade Curtiss, despite not being The Hero, is a mastermind for the protagonists. Van Grants is a mastermind and charismatic leader for the God-Generals, Emperor Peony is levelheaded leader for the Malkuth Empire, King Ingobert tries to be a charismatic leader for Kimlasca and fails spectacularly (later on Princess Natalia takes the helm as the real charismatic leader) and Grand Maestro Mohs is a Mastermind for the Order of Lorelei.
      • The Hero, Luke fon Fabre, also manages to be the Charismatic leader in a subtle way post Important Haircut. While Jade does most of the brain power and planning, Luke tends to be the one making the important decisions in the end. Somewhat disturbingly so as he's seven and yet he's the one that everyone ultimately looks to as to what to do next.
    • In Tales of Symphonia Raine is initially a mastermind for the heroes. As Lloyd undergoes Character Development he gradually replaces her as a charismatic leader. Yggdrasill is a mastermind/charismatic leader hybrid for the baddies, Yuan is also a mastermind/charismatic leader hybrid for the Renegades, and Vice-Chief Tiga is a levelheaded leader for Mizuho.
    • Tales of Vesperia has Yuri as a levelheaded leader. By the end of the game he's starting to grow into a charismatic leader as well.
    • Tales of Phantasia has Klarth/Claus as a mastermind for the heroes.
  • Hamil in Tears to Tiara 2. A mastermind, leveheaded, charismatic and sometimes headstrong leader. Really when your character is based on Hannibal Barca, there's no way you're not one.
  • The Walking Dead (Telltale):
    • Season 1 has Lilly, who is a deconstruction of the headstrong leader. She takes her headstrong nature too far and comes across as overly bossy, arrogant and overall The Neidermeyer, making her unpopular with the group. When Lee's group meet with Lilly's group in the drug store in Macon, Kenny seems to naturally fall into a levelheaded leader role, which isn't surprising considering before the outbreak, he was The Captain of a fishing vessel. The only person who seems to respect Lilly as a leader and openly disapproves of Kenny's leadership is Lilly's father, Larry. This causes an issue in Episode 2, where Lilly and Kenny battle for control of the group, and Lee must decide to support one or the other, or try his best to stay neutral. Later, the camp at the motor inn is attacked by bandits and walkers, resulting in Kenny's son being bitten and his wife committing suicide soon after, causing Kenny to slip over the Despair Event Horizon, and Lilly murders either Doug or Carley and is either left behind or abandons the group herself, causing Lee to fit more into The Leader role.
    • Lee drifts into this at a speed dependant on the player's responses. Carley in particular seems supportive of this option, and mentions that the group often looks to him in a crisis. By the end of Episode 3, Lee's position of the leader seems to be confirmed, and we get to see him start giving the orders by Episodes 4 and 5 (which means his choices have more consequence then ever, naturally). Which type of leader he is depends really on the player's dialogue choices, as Lee can potentially fit into any of the classic leader archetypes.
    • Crawford Oberson led a community in Savannah bearing his first name, which had overly harsh rules such as kicking out children, the elderly and the sick. Vernon secretly led a small group of cancer survivors out of Savannah, and holed up in a nearby morgue underneath a hospital.
    • Vince is the leader of the 400 Days survivors, as seen in the epilogue.
    • Roman is the leader of the group Shel and Becca are with, which includes some of the group Vernon led in Season 1.
    • Pete and Carlos are the leaders of the cabin survivors, until Pete dies. Luke seems to replace Pete to co-lead with Carlos. Kenny can be considered the leader of the group from Episode 3 onwards, though in Episode 4, Clem is forced to step up due to everyone else being occupied with other matters.
    • William Carver is the dictatorial leader of a community who reside at a Howe's Hardware franchise. The cabin survivors flee from his community due to his methods, but are captured, along with Clem, Kenny and Sarita. He used several methods of torture to keep his people in line, but is ultimately defeated and killed at the end of Episode 3.
    • In the Walking Dead: Michonne miniseries, Pete is the captain of The Companion, while Norma is the leader of a floating settlement named Monroe, with her brother Randall as her lancer.
    • Javier is this to his family after David left them, and becomes one to the group throughout A New Frontier, that is, except when his older brother David is around, who tends to be bossy to the group.
    • Tripp is the de facto leader of Prescott, until the settlement is destroyed in Season 3 Episode 2.
    • The New Frontier in the eponymous season is led by a four-person council. Joan oversees diplomatic relations with other communities, Clint runs food production, David controls security matters and Dr. Paul Lingard is the head of medicine. Later on in the season, Joan takes full control with Clint as a lancer of sorts, since Dr. Lingard is either high on his only supply or dead, and David is removed from power and sentenced to death by hanging for 'betraying' the community. She is overthrown by Javier and his group, and Javi can assume leadership at the end of the season if the player chooses so.
    • Marlon is the leader of what is left of the Ericson's boarding school in The Final Season, until he is killed by AJ at the end of Episode 1. Violet steps up to be the leader, until Clem comes back, who becomes leader for the rest of the season with Violet as her lancer. This fulfils a prophecy made by Carver back in Season 2, who idealized Clem as a future leader.
    • Long after being kicked out or abandoning the group in Season 1, Lilly finds the Delta, and becomes the leader of an outpost whose objective is to recruit Child Soldiers to fight a war with another community. At the end of Episode 4, she is either killed or spared by AJ, on Clem's orders. If she was spared, she escapes the scene to go back the Delta HQ empty-handed.
  • The Halo series has several of the levelheaded variety.
    • Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 stands out as he is the series’ main protagonist. Early in his training, John learned that his team is crucial to success. When the then fourteen year old Spartans were dropped into the wilderness, each with a piece of a map to a nearby transport and the instructions that the last one to make it got left behind, John formulated a plan to ambush the trainers and steal the transport themselves. They were successful, and John insisted on being the last one to board, ensuring that if anyone was left behind it would be him. This is what lead the brains of the Spartan program, Dr. Halsey and instructor Chief Mendez to promote John ahead of his peers and make him the first spartan leader. Even as the Covenant War raged on and other Spartans were promoted ahead of John, they still deferred to his command. Lieutenant Commander Fred-104 of Blue Team is a prime example.
    • Sergeant Avery Jr. Johnson was one for the entirety of the war. Assigned to train a squad of the planet Harvest’s colonial militia shortly before first contact, Johnson was able to escape the planet with a handful of his militiamen before the covenant glassed it, with the soldiers under his command, notably one Wallace Jenkins, enlisting in the UNSC Marine Corps. Twenty Seven years later, Jenkins would still be in Johnson’s squad when the UNSC Pillar of Autumn crashed on the first Halo installation, and the two would once again make first contact with another deadly alien. See Nightmare Fuel/Halo for more details.
    • Sergeant Buck from Halo 3: ODST also qualifies, as when his team is diverted from their objective at the last minute by the Office Of Naval Intelligence without any explanation, Buck’s first order of business once their ONI handler Captain Dare disappears is to find the rest of his squad and get out of the city, only to turn back once he realized what Dare’s mission was. After the Rookie is killed in action by a Human insurrectionist, Buck is offered the chance to become a Spartan-IV, and is the only known person to refuse, as he couldn’t bring himself to leave his squad. Only when the offer is extended to the rest of his squad does he accept.

    Visual Novels 
  • Halloween Otome: Emma serves this role, elected into position by The Count and supported by Mr. Wolf. Can be levelheaded or headstrong depending on the player’s choices.
  • Little Busters!: Kyousuke is a charismatic leader for the Little Busters. While he's definitely very capable, it's outright stated that the reason the others follow him without question is because he has such an intense aura of a caring big brother, not to mention that he's so charming anything he says sounds persuasive no matter how ridiculous it is.

    Web Animation 
  • Observer, the gray-skinned creature in The Dark Days, has the power to summon and command the ranks of zombies and parasites, just as Jericho leads the place of survivors in the desert.
  • RWBY
    • Ozpin is revealed to be the leader of a secret group of individuals protecting the world of Remnant from an Ancient Evil named Salem and he is a very charismatic leader in that group.
    • Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc are appointed leaders by Ozpin of Teams RWBY and JNPR respectively; after he warns Ruby to perform at her best to give people a reason to follow her, she supports Jaune's leadership struggles by passing on her interpretation of that message. Jaune is naturally good at strategy and tactics, but follows Ruby's lead because he believes she gives others the courage to follow her. She puts others' needs before her own, explains her decisions, encourages people to do their best and inspires others even in the darkest times. By Volume 4, she becomes the de facto leader of the investigation into the Secret War, and replaces Ozpin who was The Chosen One two volumes later as the de facto leader of the fight against Salem.

    Webcomics 
  • In American Barbarian, the leader is a Non-Action Guy but still brave enough to speak to Two Tanks Omen.
  • In Blue Yonder, Yuri is the level-headed leader of the Apartments when needed.
  • El Goonish Shive
    • The central cast has Elliot as the de facto Leader. He's actually appointed The Leader by Mr. Verres once or twice because he has all the necessary characteristics of a levelheaded leader.
    • Mr. Verres himself is a healthy mixture of a mastermind and a levelheaded leader.
  • In Girl Genius, all Sparks are naturally the charismatic type, with a mishmash of everything but level-headed to go with it. Moloch von Zinzer is very annoyed to find out that as Agatha's chief minion, he's the de-facto leader of every minion in Mechanicsburg. He outranks several minor Sparks. Definitely the level-headed variant.
  • Homestuck has a running theme about good leadership being synonymous with The Power of Friendship:
    • John tells Rose that he would rather be a friend than a leader, and she tells him that that is exactly why he is their leader.
    • Karkat bullies his way into leadership of the beta trolls because he views himself as an ambitious dictator-in-training; however, it turns out that he's not nearly as ruthless as he pretends to be, and that what truly makes him a successful leader is his ability to make friends out of enemies and persuade his recalcitrant teammates to put aside their various feuds and rivalries and work together.
    • In the alpha session, Dirk initially names Jane the leader "in spirit" while claiming that he will be in charge of all actual planning and strategizing; however, he later admits that he was wrong, and that the real leader all along was Roxy — the one who had always worked the hardest at making the whole team get along and cooperate with each other despite all the conflicts and teen drama that plagued their session.
  • In Impure Blood, Dara (levelheaded leader) is able to seize command when there's a fight, and even after to prevent dithering. Much to Caspian's displeasure. (You'd think his being the master and her the slave would prevent this.) Faced with a burning city, she snaps out the orders.
  • In morphE Billy Thatcher displays traits of all four types with an emphasis on Mastermind. He only takes on the role of leader because he is convinced the other four seedlings are too damn stupid to survive without him.
  • In No Rest for the Wicked, November as Mastermind. She specifically recruited Perrault so that he could make the plans, but the motivation and overall plan are hers.
  • The Order of the Stick Roy Greenhilt is a mastermind/headstrong leader hybrid. His second in command and temporary replacement Haley Starshine is a levelheaded leader.
    • Subverted somewhat with Haley as a leader. Though Haley was in her element when she organized a resistance she struggles with leading personalities that conflict with her's, namely Belkar and -Celia.
  • In Our Little Adventure, Julie's mainly a charismatic leader but is also levelheaded.
  • Paranatural:
    • Mr. Spender is a Levelheaded leader... technically. He's a Kid Hero All Grown-Up who clearly has no idea how to actually lead anyone, and is regularly shown to be less competent than the pre-teen children he leads. He is most competent when he is able to act alone, meaning he tends to order the kids to stay somewhere safe while he tries to handle everything on his own.
    • Spender's boss, Boss Leader, is a classic Mastermind, orchestrating all her minions like puppets on strings and doling out information as she sees fit. Also, she's a horrible Troll who varies between doing things solely for her own amusement and looking like she's doing things solely for her own amusement so that people don't realize she's fishing for information.
    • Isabel is the leader of the kids, Spender's obvious second in command, and a Headstrong leader. She's been a Child Soldier since she was six, so she's far more experienced, but also far more brash, and always leads from the front. She bears the brunt of some of Spender's less than stellar decisions (such as keeping Isaac Locked Out of the Loop) simply because she's closer and easier to blame. Eventually, she suffers a Broken Pedestal with Spender and decides to step up as the real leader of the club—starting with letting Isaac in on the secrets that have been kept from him. Pity Spender never told her why Isaac was supposed to be kept in the dark.
  • Ciro in Project 0 is a headstrong leader for the Saboteurs, with a devil may care lovable rogue attitude.
  • In Rusty and Co., despite the title, it's Mimic, a charismatic leader, so to speak. Then his big advantage is that the Cube is The Speechless, and Rusty says nothing but "Eat ____?"
  • Sleepless Domain: Tessa is the leader of Team Alchemical, so appointed because she's the most powerful. She's the one who comes up with a battle plan for her teammates, and who her teammates rely on to finish off especially strong monsters. She can be a bit controlling at times, however, which can put her at odds with her teammates, particularly Sally.

    Web Original 
  • DSBT InsaniT: Shawn is the leader over a squad that has yet to be seen, other than his bodyguard, Kerry.
  • PATRICK from The Last Stage by Nat One Productions write up the mission briefs and gives the orders in the field for the other members of The Detachment.
  • Matt Santoro is this in his web series. He makes all of the videos, and is in charge of all of his clones.
  • Among the Guild Masters from Noob, Heimdäl and Amaras fit the trope best. Heimdäl is also The Strategist, making him more of the mastermind while Amaras is also The Ace of his faction, putting him in a more headstrong category. Both have shown ability to be level-headed. The other leaders seen in the franchise fall in Reluctant Ruler (Arthéon), Bad Boss (Relic Hunter Guild Master) and mastermind (Gaea as of the first movie).
  • Whateley Universe: Team Kimba has all four types, and different ones take the lead at different times. Phase is definitely a mastermind, taking the roles of The Smart Guy and The Strategist outside of actual fighting. Lancer is a levelheaded leader, taking the lead in battles and training. Chaka is a headstrong leader, being the one most likely to lead everyone into trouble... and get them out again. Generator is a charismatic leader.

    Western Animation 
  • Gnu from Animal Crackers is the leader of a local gnu heard. However, he's not that good at it, causing his heard to often try getting him off their backs.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender:
    • Sokka tries to be a mastermind/levelheaded leader hybrid to varying degrees of success and becomes more competent at it as the series goes on. Somewhat lampshaded in one episode when Katara says Aang should be leader because he's the Avatar, which would make him a charismatic leader if he cared to be. Solidified in Season 3 when Hakoda appoints Sokka to lead the Invasion after getting wounded, The Boiling Rock when Chit-Sang refers to him as The Mastermind, and the Finale when Toph gives him a trusting aye-aye Captain when things hit their worst point.
    • Azula is a mastermind among her group, Suki and Iroh both come across as a levelheaded leader in their respective teams.
    • Fire Lord Ozai is a combined headstrong and charismatic leader. He was also a mastermind in the backstory but doesn't display those characteristics much anymore. Admiral Zhao tries to be a mastermind... and fails consistently.
  • Beast Wars has:
    • Optimus Primal as the leader of the heroic Maximals. Optimus makes a pretty good example of a levelheaded leader: He was the leader of the expedition that the crew was on before the show started, he sometimes succumbs to The Chains of Commanding, and (in season one, at least) is often questioned by Dinobot and Rattrap. He is willing to lead his troops into battle, or hang back and direct commands if need be. And while he definitely prefers to have a plan, he is certainly capable of improvising and reacting quickly.
    • His villainous counterpart, Megatron, is a mastermind and a charismatic leader. He came up with the plan to steal the Golden Disc, and has the strongest personality of the group. While he's not the smartest or most tech savvy of the Predacons, Megatron is very good at finding ways to turn a situation into his advantage, and playing others into accomplishing his goals. Megatron definitely has the most firepower of any Predacon, and this seems to be the chief reason to why he leads. In fact, many of the other Predacons conspire to overthrow him at some point, and the only reason they don't seem MORE eager to dispose of him is because he's so much more powerful than the rest of them (as well as more cunning and ambitious than all of them, with the possible exception of Evil Genius Tarantulas, who Megatron still outfoxes).
  • Code Lyoko's Jeremie is a mastermind, as he orchestrates everything from the supercomputer, requiring genius-level intellect. He also shows tactical prowess on many occasions. He is also headstrong, as he is quite brave and determined to the point of workaholism.
  • How to Train Your Dragon:
    • Stoick is a levelheaded leader for the village: a reasonable guy who tries to do what's best for everyone. He definitely feels The Chains of Command.
    • His son, Hiccup, is a charismatic leader for the Dragon Training Academy: his authority rests on the villager's belief that he can solve whatever dragon-related problem they're having. He's also The Face because he's the one that has to listen to their problems and convince them that he can solve them.
  • Eddy of Ed, Edd n Eddy is somewhere between a mastermind and a headstrong leader.
  • Corey Riffin of Grojband is the leader and frontman of the eponymous band, mixing the Mastermind, Headstrong, and Charismatic types with his determination to make Grojband the greatest musicians ever, his confident and energetic personality, and his ability to concoct Zany Schemes.
  • Maurice The (penguin who thinks he's a) Tiger in The Jungle Bunch is the leader of the titular team.
  • Superman of the Justice League is a charismatic leader. Though, while Superman is the public face of the League, Word of God is that there is no official leader and decisions are usually made through majority consensus.
  • Kaeloo: When the main four get into trouble, Mr. Cat takes charge of the situation and tells the others what to do in order to solve the problem.
  • Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Yumyan Hammerpaw is leader of the Timbercats, and seems extremely reliable and loved by all of his subjects, who look up to him to the level of almost worship.
  • In Legend of Korra, Mako is a levelheaded and charismatic leader as the leader of the Fire Ferrets, but towards the end of the season, Korra becomes established as the leader of "the new Team Avatar". She's a headstrong and charismatic leader. However, Korra is the face of her team, which means that if she leaves or dies, the team dies with her.
  • Mixels:
    • Each Mixel tribe has a leader. They take command of the actions of the group, as well as control their Max as well. The 2015 cousin extensions of the three tribes that have them (bringing their highlighted member amount to six rather than three like other tribes), rather than having their own leader, follow the leader of their cousins' branch as well. Flain, the leader of the Infernites also acts as a catch-all leader to all the Mixel tribes as well. Even further, some Mixel leaders are only branch leaders, such as the MCPD and MCFD, who have de facto chief leaders that are their own superiors.
    • For the Nixels, King Nixel acts as their leader.
  • Molly of Denali: Molly is the leader of her friendship group and falls into the headstrong category. She is lively, outgoing, and determined but doesn't always think her plans through.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • Twilight Sparkle generally serves as a mastermind and levelheaded leader among her group of friends, and serves this role for the whole town at times (such as during "Winter Wrap Up" and "Dragonshy").
    • Princess Celestia is a mastermind, levelheaded and charismatic leader for all of Equestria.
    • Apple Bloom usually leads the Cutie Mark Crusaders as a charismatic leader, but Scootaloo can sometimes step up as a headstrong leader.
    • Rainbow Dash is somewhere between a headstrong and charismatic leader to her weather team, Fluttershy, and prospective pets. In "Wonderbolt Academy" she displays levelheaded leader traits.
    • Diamond Tiara eventually reveals her special talent is to influence and lead others.
  • Phineas and Ferb:
    • Phineas is typically considered the leader of his group of friends, which include Isabella, Buford, Baljeet, occasionally Irving and Django, and his best friend and inseparable stepbrother Ferb, of course.
    • Isabella is the leader of the Fireside Girls girl scouts.
  • Blossom of The Powerpuff Girls is a mastermind as she's the smartest, but her dominant and somewhat self-absorbed personality sometimes makes her come off as a headstrong leader.
  • Rainbow Brite is the levelheaded leader of the Color Kids. She's the most powerful, saved Rainbow Land, and is the only Color Kid with multiple colors as her theme.
  • In Ready Jet Go!, Jet is the leader of his group of friends, and is the headstrong type. He's an optimistic Determinator, but his tendencies to leap before looking tend to land him and his friends in hot water on occasion.
  • T.J. Detweiler from Recess is between a headstrong and charismatic leader.
  • Tommy Pickles of Rugrats is a headstrong leader. He's more along the lines of a charismatic leader in All Grown Up!.
  • South Park: Stan Marsh is a levelheaded leader.
  • Garnet of Steven Universe, being the levelheaded type. She took over after the previous leader, Rose (the Charismatic and ideological founder of the rebellion she used to follow) sacrificed her existence to have a Half-Human Hybrid son. In "Made of Honor", Bismuth argues that Steven is the leader of the Crystal Gems, not Garnet, since he's what is keeping them together, especially once the truth about Rose Quartz being Pink Diamond in disguise came to light.
  • Most incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have Leonardo as the turtles' leader, either explicitly or de facto, but all share in common being the levelheaded type, by virtue of being the oldest brother, as well as the most disciplined out of the four. The sole exception is Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where the (self-appointed) leader is Raphael (who is the oldest in this continuity) since none of the other turtles are interested in the position. Played with by the fact that Raph tends to rely on brute force for anything and isn't particularly good at making decisions, and Leo often is the one who organizes things during battles without usurping his position.
  • Robin of Teen Titans (2003), depending on the situation, is either a levelheaded leader or headstrong leader.
  • ThunderCats (1985):
    • Lion-O is mainly a charismatic leader by default, since he's appointed Lord of the ThunderCats.
    • Tygra serves as a levelheaded leader until Lion-O gets his feet on the ground and becomes a headstrong leader, shading into charismatic leader as time progresses.
  • Thunder Cats 2011:
    • Lion-O is a charismatic leader as The Chosen One and Lord of the ThunderCats, but rapidly develops a headstrong leader dimension as he becomes more Hot-Blooded and gets farther out of his depth (much to his brother Tygra's chagrin, since he presumes himself more suited for the job).
    • In the episode "Old Friends," correctly reading Lion-O as a headstrong leader, Sixth Ranger and Old Soldier Panthro demands Lion-O's deference, and serves as a levelheaded leader until Lion-O proves himself in combat enough to earn Panthro's respect.
  • The Transformers:
    • Optimus Prime is both a charismatic and levelheaded leader. He was chosen by the Matrix of Leadership and has the unquestioned loyalty of his troops. He has more experience than most of his team (but is definitely not the most experienced Autobot) and the wisdom granted to him by the aforementioned Matrix.
    • Optimus' successor, Rodimus Prime, is as charismatic as his predecessor, but much more headstrong, per his Hot-Blooded nature. He also feels burdened by The Chains of Commanding in trying to live up to the legacy of the previous Prime.
  • Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: "I Am George Washington" is about this trope. Yadina is picked to lead the Nature Troop, but proves to be a bad leader. The kids turn to the Secret Museum for help, and meet George Washington, who shows Yadina how to be a great leader. Generally speaking though, Xavier is the leader of the trio.
  • Young Justice (2010).
    • Among the Team, Aqualad is appointed as a levelheaded leader, as the eldest, most responsible, and clearest communicator among the teens. At the time Batman is the leader of the Justice League in Young Justice. Word of God claims he is not the original leader; the League holds periodic elections and this happens to be his term. He's the Mastermind that puts the Team together in the first place.
    • In Young Justice: Invasion, Nightwing is a mastermind, working with Aqualad on his deep cover mission while trying to manage all the new recruits.
    • In Outsiders Miss Martian is the charismatic leader of the team, acting as sort of a Team Mom among the newer even younger heroes. Nightwing becomes the levelheaded leader of his own splinter faction, trying to rein in the personalities of less experienced heroes that don't have any other mentor figure before they graduate to the team proper if they choose to. Beast Boy later leads the public facing squad of the Team as a charismatic internet celebrity. Aqualad has since promoted to Aquaman and is the co-leader of the Justice League, trying to maintain their good image on earth while Wonder Woman leads the League in space. Batman also splinters into another sect that he coordinates as a mastermind with Miss Martian, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman working together in the shadows.

 
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Cap Calls the Play

When the time comes for a plan against the Chitauri, the Avengers turn to Captain America.

Trope Talk: The...

Sly Cooper

Alternative Title(s): Leader

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Cap Calls the Play

When the time comes for a plan against the Chitauri, the Avengers turn to Captain America.

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Cap Calls the Play

Trope Talk: The...

Sly Cooper