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{{short description|American animated television character}}
{{use American English|date=January 2020}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Fearless Leader
| series = [[The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show|Rocky and Bullwinkle]]
| image = Fearless Leader.png
| caption = 
| first = Jet Fuel Formula (1959)
| creator = {{ubl|[[Jay Ward]]|[[Alex Anderson (cartoonist)|Alex Anderson]]|[[Bill Scott (voice actor)|Bill Scott]]}}
| portrayer = {{ubl|[[Christopher Neame]] (1992 film)|[[Robert De Niro]] (2000 film)}}
| voice = {{plainlist|
* [[Bill Scott (voice actor)|Bill Scott]] (1959-1964)
* [[Keith Scott (voice actor)|Keith Scott]] (1998–2000)<ref name="btva">{{cite web | title=Voice Of Fearless Leader - Rocky and Bullwinkle | url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Rocky-and-Bullwinkle/Fearless-Leader/ | work=Behind The Voice Actors | access-date=September 6, 2017| postscript=. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Lennon]] (2014)
* [[Piotr Michael]] (2018–present)
}}
| nickname = F.L.
}}

'''Fearless Leader''' is the main [[antagonist]] in the 1959–1964 [[animated television series]] ''[[The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show|Rocky and His Friends]]'' and ''[[The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show|The Bullwinkle Show]]'', both shows often collectively referred to as ''[[The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show]]''.  He is the employer of fellow primary [[villain]]s [[Boris Badenov]] and [[Natasha Fatale]], serving as an overarching antagonist in some episodes of the series.  He was originally voiced by [[Bill Scott (voice actor)|Bill Scott]].

==Character overview==
Fearless Leader is a dictator from the [[fictional country]] [[Pottsylvania]], and the employer of the inept [[mobsters]] [[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."

Fearless Leader has a notable [[Dueling scar|face scar (possibly a dueling scar)]], much like the Nazi [[Otto Skorzeny]], who may have been the inspiration for the character.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} 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]], both associated with German military officers in the first half of the 20th century, and he is sometimes shown to possess sharp [[carnivore|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]] [[Russian language|Russian]] accents, Fearless Leader's accent seems more in keeping with the Prussian militarist [[German people|German]] [[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]].{{efn|''cf:'' {{cite web|title=Winning Entry in War Poster Competition|url=http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/this-is-the-enemy-by-karl-koehler-and-victor-ancona-of-new-news-photo/517732664#this-is-the-enemy-by-karl-koehler-and-victor-ancona-of-new-york-city-picture-id517732664|website=Getty Images|access-date=23 February 2017}} }} 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]] in ''[[Boris and Natasha: The Movie]]'' (1992) and by [[Robert De Niro]] in ''[[The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (film)|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 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 (actor)|Thomas Lennon]] who also wrote the short along with [[Robert Ben Garant]].<ref>{{cite magazine| url= http://www.ew.com/article/2014/10/02/rocky-and-bullwinkle-mr-peabody-sherman| title=Rocky and Bullwinkle return in new short on 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' 3-D Blu-ray|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>
* In the [[Amazon Video]] series ''[[The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (TV series)|The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'', Fearless Leader is voiced by Piotr Michael. In the series, he has more participation that in the original, as he usually decides to carry on his plans by himself after Boris and Natasha are outsmarted by Rocky and Bullwinkle. He is given a more comical and accident-prone personality.

==References==
;Footnotes
{{notelist}}
;Sources
{{reflist}}

{{The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends}}

[[Category:Rocky and Bullwinkle characters]]
[[Category:Comedy film characters]]
[[Category:Television characters introduced in 1959]]
[[Category:Fictional characters with disfigurements]]
[[Category:Fictional dictators]]
[[Category:Fictional warlords]]
[[Category:Fictional crime bosses]]
[[Category:Fictional gangsters]]
[[Category:Fictional gamblers]]
[[Category:Fictional thieves]]
[[Category:Fictional con artists]]
[[Category:Villains in animated television series]]
[[Category:Male characters in animation]]
[[Category:Male film villains]]
[[Category:Fictional Soviet people]]
[[Category:People from fictional European countries]]
[[Category:Animated characters introduced in 1959]]

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