| “ | Are you talking to me? Are you talking to me? And who else you be talking to? ...And I'm the only one here. So you must be talking to me? | „ |
| ~ Fearless Leader in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. |
Fearless Leader is the Bigger Bad/recurring antagonist from the animated TV series The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show and the main antagonist of the 2000 film, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
He is the leader of a criminal group, and is also the boss of Boris and Natasha. Fearless Leader wears a monocle and bears a large scar on his left cheek.
He was voiced by Bill Scott in the TV series and portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Biography
Fearless Leader is the dictator of the fictional European nation of Pottsylvania, and the employer of the inept spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale. 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."
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 Boris. He is distrustful of his own government employees, and is known to carry the Pottsylvania treasury with him wherever he goes. Although Pottsylvania's chief spies are given ersatz Russian accents, Fearless Leader's accent, monocle, uniform, and schlager scar seem more in keeping with the German stereotype. In fact, his sharply-angled features were taken directly from an anti-Nazi propaganda poster that had circulated during World War II. He even speaks some German such as "Achtung" and "Schweinhund."
In other media
- Fearless Leader appears in two live-action films: he is portrayed by Christopher Neame 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" by Lichty, whenever the Kremlin or politburo was being lampooned.
- Fearless Leader wears a uniform that is vaguely similar to the field uniforms that were worn by the Waffen SS. However, their double-breasted cut with piping is closer to the style of uniforms worn by officers of Prussian dragoon regiments in World War I.
- In Jamie Gilson's book 4B Goes Wild, the strict, no-nonsense headmistress of the elementary school is called that behind her back. When the protagonist, Hobie Hanson, wins a lunch date with the headmistress in a raffle, his friends tease him as to "When are you going to eat with Fearless Leader?"
Gallery
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