Fearless Leader is the main antagonist in the 1959–1964 animated television series ''

Rocky and His Friends ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC tele ...

'' and '' The Bullwinkle Show'', both shows often collectively referred to as ''

The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show ''The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends'' (commonly referred to as simply ''Rocky and Bullwinkle'') is an American animated television series that originally aired from November 19, 1959, to June 27, 1964, on the ABC and NBC te ...

''. He is the employer of fellow primary

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

Boris Badenov Boris Badenov is an antagonist of the 1959–1964 animated cartoons ''Rocky and His Friends'' and ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, The Bullwinkle Show'', collectively referred to as ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' for short. He was originall ...

and

Natasha Fatale Boris Badenov is an antagonist of the 1959–1964 animated cartoons ''Rocky and His Friends'' and ''The Bullwinkle Show'', collectively referred to as ''The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show'' for short. He was originally voiced by Paul Frees. Badenov ...

, serving as an overarching antagonist in some episodes of the series. He was originally voiced by Bill Scott.

Character overview

Fearless Leader is a dictator from the

fictional country A fictional country is a country that is made up for fictional stories, and does not exist in real life, or one that people believe in without proof. Sailors have always mistaken low clouds for land masses, and in later times this was given ...

Pottsylvania, and the employer of the inept

mobsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization a ...

and

. He could always be found in his underground hideout, "Central Control." However, it seems evident that he did answer to one man himself: the diminutive Mr. Big. Mr. Big appears in two storylines of the series, "Upsidaisium" and "Metal Munching Moon Mice." Fearless Leader has a notable face scar (possibly a dueling scar), much like the Nazi

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

, who may have been the inspiration for the character. As expected from his given position and name, Fearless Leader is a strict, ruthless character, and often harshly criticizes the incompetence of his main minion Gerald. He is usually shown with a long scar on his cheek and a

monocle A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...

, both associated with German military officers in the first half of the 20th century, and he is sometimes shown to possess sharp carnivorous teeth. He is distrustful of his own employees, and is known to carry the Pottsylvania treasury with him wherever he goes. Although Pottsylvania's chief spies are given

ersatz An ersatz good () is a substitute good, especially one that is considered inferior to the good it replaces. It has particular connotations of wartime usage. Etymology ''Ersatz'' is a German word literally meaning ''substitute'' or ''replaceme ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

accents, Fearless Leader's accent seems more in keeping with the Prussian militarist

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

stereotype. His monocle and sharply-angled features closely resemble Erich von Stroheim and characters from a 1942 anti-Nazi propaganda poster circulated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He uses some German such as "Achtung" and "schweinhund," typical of German stereotypes in film and TV.

In other media

* Fearless Leader appears in live-action in two films: he is portrayed by

Christopher Neame Christopher Neame (born 12 September 1947, London) is an English actor now living in the United States. UK career Neame's UK film credits include appearances in two Hammer Horror films: '' Lust for a Vampire'' (1971) and ''Dracula AD 1972'' ...

in '' Boris and Natasha: The Movie'' (1992) and by Robert De Niro in '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2000). * Fearless Leader was also the background picture seen hanging on the wall in the old newspaper cartoon, "

Grin and Bear It ''Grin and Bear It'' is a former daily comic panel created by George Lichtenstein under the pen name George Lichty. Lichty created ''Grin and Bear it'' in 1932 and it ran 83 years until 2015, making it the 10th-longest-running comic strip in Ame ...

" by Lichty, whenever the Kremlin or politburo was being lampooned. * Fearless Leader appears in the short film ''Rocky & Bullwinkle'', which was released with '' Mr. Peabody & Sherman'' on Blu-ray 3D on October 14, 2014, in which he was voiced by

Thomas Lennon Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series ''Reno 911!'' Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major st ...

who also wrote the short along with

Robert Ben Garant Robert Ben Garant (born September 14, 1970), credited earlier in his career as Ben Garant, is an American screenwriter, producer, director, actor and comedian. He has a long professional relationship with Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Silve ...

. * In the

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

series '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' Fearless Leader is voiced by Piotr Michael. He is the main antagonist in the new series.

References

;Footnotes ;Sources Rocky and Bullwinkle characters Comedy film characters Television characters introduced in 1959 Fictional characters with disfigurements Fictional characters without a name Fictional dictators Fictional Eastern European people Fictional warlords Fictional crime bosses Fictional gangsters Fictional gamblers Fictional thieves Fictional con artists Villains in animated television series Male characters in animation Male film villains Fictional Soviet people Animated characters introduced in 1959 {{animation-char-stub