List of fictional revolutions and coups

This is a list of fictional coups d'état and revolutions in various media: instances that are mentioned or described in fictional works but have not occurred in reality.

Books

• Animal Farm by George Orwell
  • In this satirical allegory, farm animals representing Bolshevik revolutionaries successfully execute a coup d'état (which they call 'The Rebellion'), ousting the cruel farmer Mr Jones (representing Tsar Nicholas II).
• Cat Among the Pigeons by Dame Agatha Christie
  • The outbreak of revolution in the Middle Eastern kingdom of Ramat prompts Prince Ali Yusuf to send a fortune in jewels into safe keeping. The jewels disappear and several interested parties set out to track them down.
• Strike Force by Dale Brown
  • General Hesarek al-Buzhazi, former Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Internal Defense Forces (Basij) commander, disgraced due to previous failures, turns to the Americans and former nemesis General Patrick McLanahan to support him in a coup to overthrow the Islamic theocracy and restore civil rights in Iran (later renamed the Democratic Republic of Persia).
• Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy
  • Colonel General Pavel Alekseyev, aware that the Politburo was considering using tactical nuclear weapons, stages a successful coup d'état with Energy Minister Mikhail Sergetov and the Chairman of the KGB to replace the Politburo with a 'Troika' and cease war between the USSR and NATO.
• The Bear and the Dragon by Tom Clancy
  • After badly losing against a Russo-American alliance that liberated Siberia, and China's attempted launches of nuclear weapons against both countries, Chinese protesters invade a Politburo meeting, whence Politburocrat Fang Gan assumes control of the government, arrests the leaders of the military invasion, and withdraws Chinese forces from Russia.
• A Very British Coup a 1982 novel by Chris Mullin
  • Features a successful coup d'état against Harry Perkins, a left-wing Labour Prime Minister. In the television version of the story, the result is different (cf. below).
• O Senhor Embaixador by Érico Veríssimo
  • First Sacramenteña Revolution - Liberal Revolution against a corrupt democratic government in the Caribbean Republic of Sacramento. Led by António Chamorro, it installed him as Dictator and his wife as the true Commander.
  • Second Sacramenteña Revolution - Liberal Revolution against the dictatorship of António Chamorro in the Republic of Sacramento. Led by Juventino Carrera and Gabriel Heliodoro, it installed Carrera as Dictator.
  • Dr. Júlio Moreno overthrow - coup d'état in the Republic of Sacramento against the leftist, democratically elected Moreno government. Led by ex-president Juventino Carrera to reinstall him as Dictator.
  • 1959 Revolución Socialista Sacramenteña - Socialist revolution in the Republic of Sacramento against the dictatorship of Juventino Carrera. Led by Manuel Barrios, it installs a communist government.
• Seven Days in May by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
  • A group of American generals and senators unsatisfied with President Jordan Lyman's ratification of a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union develop the ECOMCON (Emergency Communications and Control) and plan to divert the country's communications media and infrastructure to prevent the treaty's ratification.
• The Man Who Held the Queen to Ransom and Sent Parliament Packing
  • British Army Captain Richard Wyatt leads the kidnap of the Queen, dismisses Parliament, and installs a revolutionary government.
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
  • The plotting and execution of a prisoners' revolt against Earth rule in the Lunar penal colony, establishing a political system combining anarchism, libertarianism, and socialism.
• The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
  • Describes a coup d'état organized by right wing conservatives to overthrow the popular, newly elected socialist government. While the book is technically fiction it is strongly based on the overthrow of the government of the author's cousin Salvador Allende and the dictatorship of General Pinochet
• The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth
  • Describes a coup d'état in the small African republic of Zangaro, organized by mercenaries hired by British industrialist James Manson, who uncovered a very rich platinum source in the republic.
• Night Watch by Terry Pratchett
  • Revolutionaries provoked by the over-paranoid, evil methods of the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Homicidal Lord Winder, organize a rebellion against him, wherein Samuel Vimes finds himself, for the second time, after a magical accident sends him back in time.
• Settling Accounts: In at the Death by Harry Turtledove
  • Confederate Army officers led by chief of staff Nathan Bedford Forrest III attempt to overthrow Confederate President Jake Featherston in the dying days of the Second Great War in 1944. General Forrest confronts Featherston in the latter's bunker in Richmond, Virginia and attempts to talk the president into surrendering power while waiting for backup from his soldiers. Featherston figures out what Forrest is up to and secretly alerts his own loyalists, who intercept Forrest's followers and break into the meeting between Forrest and Featherston. Forrest is taken away for execution, his coup having failed and thus the one attempt for the CSA to get a negotiated peace with the United States goes with him.
• Wicked by Gregory Maguire
  • The Wizard stages a bloodless coup d'état to arrest the Ozma Regent and have Ozma imprisoned. The adult Elphaba and the resistance also plan a counter-coup d'état to kill the Wizard and the high authorities, but it fails.
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  • Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters successfully lead a coup and gain control of the Ministry of Magic.
• It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
  • The fascist President Berzelius Windrip, just a few days after his inauguration, arrests most of the congress and subsequently dismisses it ultimately becoming a dictator.
• U.S.S.A. by Tom De Haven, S.N. Lewitt, S.C. Sykes
  • A military overthrow of the United States government and President Patrick Cudahy results in General Sawchuk and a junta of other high-ranking military officers taking control, confining the President to a ranch in Oregon, near Nevada. The name of the country is changed to United Secure States of America.
• The Turner Diaries
  • A white supremacist organization overthrows the US federal government and eventually takes over the world.
• Red Phoenix by Larry Bond
  • A rogue South Korean Army general, Chang Jae-kyu, plans a coup d'etat codenamed "Operation Purify" to take advantage of a planned US withdrawal from South Korea in light of political instability in the country using one infantry division based near the DMZ to seize Seoul. One of his accomplices, a general in the Defense Security Command, works to arrest his own superiors by charging them of plotting a coup. However, a US Forces Korea commander's strict orders against deployments of South Korean troops away from the DMZ without his explicit approval results in the interception of Chang's coup force as it reaches the outskirts of Seoul. A sniper kills Chang before he could rally more soldiers to his cause and the coup force is slaughtered. The fallout of the incident results in further destabilization of the South Korean military by arresting hundreds of suspected coup plotters who are eventually brought back in action with the North Korean invasion almost three weeks later. Near the end of the novel, elements of the North Korean military dissatisfied with the war arrest Kim Jong-il and ask China to help facilitate a cease-fire. It is implied that the North Korean renegades killed Kim.
• 1945 by Robert Conroy
  • The Kyūjō Incident is successful when Emperor Hirohito's own protective detail is shown to be part of the coup forces, capturing him after he is spirited to his emergency bunker. As a result, the Gyokuon-hōsō recording is never aired and the war continues.

Comic books

• The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books, by Hergé
  • 1937 - A coup d'état installs General Alcazar as dictator of San Theodoros while Tintin solves the mystery of The Broken Ear.
  • 1939 - A coup d'état in Syldavia is attempted against King Muskar XII, engineered by secret agents of Borduria and Syldavian traitors to steal King Ottokar's Sceptre—the traditional, empowering royal device. Thanks to Tintin, the theft and the coup fail.
  • 1948 - General Tapioca deposes General Alcazar to become dictator of San Theodoros, prior to the events in The Seven Crystal Balls.
  • 1950 - The Governor of Khemed, the Emir Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab, is overthrown in a coup d'état sponsored by Sheikh Bab El Ehr in a slave trade scheme. Aided by Tintin, the Emir Ezab resumes power (Land of Black Gold).
  • 1976 - General Alcazar deposes General Tapioca, dictator of San Theodoros, in a bloodless, non-violent coup d'état during carnival (Tintin and the Picaros).
• Fullmetal Alchemist, a Japanese comic (or manga) series, by Hiromu Arakawa
  • Towards the end of the series Roy Mustang, along with the soldiers under his command and that of Olivier Mira Armstrong's, launches a revolution in the capital city of Central.
• V for Vendetta, a masked anarchist named V leads a successful non-violent revolution against a fascist regime in a futuristic Britain.

Film and television

• Akira
  • Colonel Shikishima, upon hearing the civilian government trying to arrest him, orders the military to overthrow the government.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender
  • Azula of the Fire Nation infiltrates Ba Sing Se and is able to take over the Dai Li who then proceed to, once again, take over the Earth Kingdom capital and later Final Book, Book 3 took few months to finally annexed Earth Kingdom into Fire Nation's territory as result of Coup.
• The Legend of Korra
  • The Book 1's antagonist Amon has making an attempt-successful revolution entitled "Anti-bending revolution"; At Republic city and United Republic of Nations, put quickly failed by lost brother foiled the plan and leaving the revolution was over in season finale.
  • In Book 3, The antagonists, a group named 'The Red Lotus' as a radical version of 'The White Lotus' attempt to create a World-Wide Anarchist Revolutions by assassinating world Leaders, such as the Earth Queen and the Avatar herself.
  • Final Book, Book 4 majority focuses on both successful Coup to overthrow their New Earth Monarch Wu and later Uprising of againist Earth Monarchy due lack trust of Earth Monarch for political failures in past and later formed their new Nation under banner 'Earth Empire' led by former security guard from Zafou and Final Book antagonist Kuvira.
• A Very British Coup, a 1988 British television adaptation of the 1982 novel by Chris Mullin
  • Features an unsuccessful coup against Harry Perkins a left-wing Labour Prime Minister and in that way differs from Chris Mullin's book, however the ending is left open as to whether the coup happened anyway, just at the beginning of his second term.
• Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
  • At the end of Season One, President Laura Roslin interferes with Commander Adama's authority over his own people, convincing Starbuck to hijack a captured Cylon spacecraft and return to Caprica. As a result, Adama stages a military coup and assumes total authority. This results in unrest, rebellion, and ultimately the break-up of the fleet. Later, martial law is imposed ("Fragged") by then-commanding officer Colonel Saul Tigh following an assassination attempt against Adama. The military coup and martial law are finally resolved by "Home, Part 2", as Roslin and her followers continue their search for the Tomb of Athena on Kobol as Adama travels there to reunite the fleet. All return to Galactica and Adama reinstates Roslin as President.
  • In the Season 4 episode "The Oath", Tom Zarek and Lt Felix Gaeta spearhead a revolt against Adama and Roslin. The duo plus a mix of civilians and Marines take over the Galactica's CIC and put Adama on trial for trumped-up charges while rounding up some of the other characters. Roslin helps turn the tide in the continuing episode "Blood on the Scales" and Adama personally oversees Gaeta and Zarek's execution by firing squad after retaking the ship without firing a shot by storming the command center. Gaeta admits that he's fine with how things turned out however.
• Code Geass
  • Lelouch manages to successfully overthrow his father the Emperor and establish himself as the ruler of Britannia, after spending the series leading the revolutionary group the Black Knights.
• Curse of the Golden Flower
  • Throughout the film, the plot revolves around the Empress planning to overthrow her husband, the Emperor, as it is revealed that the Empress' health has deteriorated severely due to constant poisoning by the imperial doctor. Prince Jai, the second son and General of the royal family, joins the plot and leads soldiers loyal to the Empress under the symbol of the golden chrysanthemum, woven by the Empress herself. However, the coup fails after a bloody battle and under the condition that Prince Jai is spared, the Emperor forces him to serve the same poison to the Empress everyday. Rather than see his mother suffer, Prince Jai commits suicide after apologizing for his failure.
• Doctor Who
  • In The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe, the revelation that the Valeyard was an evil future incarnation of the Doctor, and mistakes were made by the Time Lord High Council that led to the near destruction of Earth, just to hide a few secrets, Gallifreyans rebelled against the High Council, and overthrew it.
  • In Planet of the Ood, the Ood are a servant race controlled by the Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Their second brain is lobotomised to ensure complete obedience to humanity, and their controlling 'Ood Brain' is captured by humans to ensure it doesn't dominate Ood thoughts. Eventually, due to interference from an pro-Ood emancipation activist in Ood Corporation, the Ood Brain is successful in ensuring the Ood regain their individuality and gain their freedom from human slavery.
  • In Hell Bent, after the Doctor is imprisoned and tortured in his confession dial for 4.5 billion years, he emerges on Gallifrey, where he is successful in removing Lord President of Gallifrey, Rassilon, the founder of Time Lord society, who he blames for the Time War, from office, with assistance from the Gallifreyan military. The Doctor subsequently becomes Lord President.
• Eureka Seven
  • During the entire series The Gekkostate, an anti-government militia and counterculture collective led by Holland, attempt to take control of the Government though rebellious means. When control of the United Federation Forces gets transferred (in a coup, see below) to Dewey Novak, they become more determined to defeat him and take control of the government.
  • In episode 38, Dewey Novak, a high-ranking Colonel in the U.F. Forces (and primary antagonist of Eureka Seven), leads a coup to overthrow the Sage Council (the main authority in the U.F.). After invading the Capital he ascends the space elevator linking the city to the original colony ship in high orbit where the Sages rule. He manages to get to the level the Sages are on and kills Braya and Kuzemi. The remaining Sage, Koda, who had ironically underwrote Dewey's release from prison then hands power over to him. It is unknown what happens to her afterwards.
• Kung Mawawala Ka (If You're Gone)
  • The Philippine military successfully launches a coup against the regime of President Leandro Montemayor. His daughter, Ernestina, and some members of the president's inner circle are the masterminds. The military leadership installs their own leader, but the true power lay with AFP chief Gen Romeo Gonzalo. Splinter factions in the military and a rebel group restore democratic rule at the series finale.
• Naruto
  • In Naruto, a coup d'état against Konoha was planned by the Uchiha Clan before their massacre due to their oppression from the village's elders and Hokages. This had occurred due to the battle at the Valley Of The End's outcome between Madara Uchiha and the Senjuu's leader, who eventually became the First Hokage.
• Sonic the Hedgehog, a cartoon series, by DIC Entertainment
  • 1993 - Loosely based by the video game franchise of the same name, Dr. Robotnik takes over the city of Mobotropilis with his political power and army of formerly government robots in a coup d'état. This plotline/concept was also used in the still running comic book series by Archie Comics.
• Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG
  • Section 9 tackles revolutionary Hideo Kuze, the leader of refugees in Dejima who are trying to gain independence.
• Gin Tama
  • In Gin Tama, the character Shinsuki Takasugi, plans on using a destructive coup d'état to destroy Edo. This is shown when he takes advantage of a mechanic to use robots, again when he forms the Kiheitai and even by joining an alliance with a traitor of the Shinsengumi police force.
• School Rumble
  • In fall of 2005, a most astounding battle took place in Yagami High that would remain in history as the most 'unprofessional' war in history. In a seemingly quiet town, 37 students of Class 2-C took arms and initiated what historians would dub 'the most desperate battle for survival to date'. Fighting for an ideal that holds neither political nor economical gains, the students engaged and killed their own classmates for the grand prize of their choice of 'program' for the cultural festival. The Battle of Yagami High is also known as the School Rumble Battle Royale and the Yagami High Civil War. It was shown in episodes 2-3 of School Rumble: Second Term.
• The Office
  • In the episode, "The Coup", Angela prods Dwight to meet Jan and propose taking over the branch. After the meeting, Jan calls Michael and demands he get his branch under control. Michael leads Dwight to believe that he has been given control of the branch before revealing the ruse.
• Power Play: A National Film Board of Canada film based on the book by Edward Luttwak. Army officers in an unnamed country plan to overthrow the President and restore civilian government. To do so, they must have the cooperation of an armored regiment. The coup is successful, but the armored regiment commander, (Peter O'Toole), assumes power instead of the plotters.
• Patlabor: The Movie 2
  • A group calling itself the National Defense Family stages a series of terrorist attacks in Tokyo, including a bombing of the Rainbow Bridge with military aircraft and tricking the JASDF into dog fighting over the city, meant to appear to the civilians like a military coup. The attacks escalate tensions between civilian government, who arrest military officers believed to be involved in the attacks, and the military, who declare martial law. Intelligence officer Tsuge, an operative of the National Defense Family, takes this opportunity to attack Tokyo with JSDF-marked helicopters and disrupt outside communications, completing the illusion of a military takeover.
• Konpeki no Kantai
  • Imperial Japanese Navy Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, having been given a chance to relive the events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack and the government's blunders at the time under Hideki Tojo, marshals his forces from the Navy ranks to launch his own coup. The coup forces take control five days after the Pearl Harbor strike force leaves Hitokappu Bay, allowing Yamamoto and Otaka more space to properly sever the negotiations with the US and proceed with the attack (preventing the inflammation of American sentiment over the "unprovoked sneak attack" as it happened in real life).
• The Salamander
  • Policeman Dante Matucci investigates a series of murders involving people in prominent positions. Left behind at each murder scene is a drawing of a salamander. As the body count grows he sees a pattern that might point to a conspiracy to take over the Italian government.
  • Seven Days in May John Frankenheimer adaptation of the novel by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey. Remade and updated as "The Enemy Within" in 1994.
• The Simpsons
  • "Cape Feare"
    • Lisa Simpson receives pen-pal's letter informing her that the pen-pal's country has been overthrown by "the benevolent General Krull".
  • "Bart vs. Australia"
    • As Bart Simpson conducts a series of telephone inqueries to a variety of southern hemisphere locales about the which way does the water turn in their toilet, he calls the presidential palace of a Latin American dictator. When an aide mistranslates Bart's question to el Presidente as "The tide is turning", the dictator panics and, thinking it's a signal from the rebels, flees the capital.
  • "Simpson Safari"
    • When the Simpson family travels to the African country of New Zanzibar, their guide Ktengi informs them that President Muntu "took over in a bloodless coup - all smothering". At the end of the episode, President Ktengi has ousted Muntu, who works as a flight attendant on the Simpsons' flight home.
• Stargate Atlantis
  • "Coup D'etat"
    • Ladon Radim, a member of the Genii strike force, contacts Atlantis with the prospects of a new ZPM in exchange for weapons to orchestrate a rebellion and overthrow Cowen, the current leader of the Genii.
  • "Enemy at the Gate"
    • The Wraith Kenny overthrows Todd and takes control of the ZPM-powered Hive Ship, very nearly leading to the destruction of Earth before Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard kills him and destroys the ship with a nuclear weapon.
• Stargate Universe
  • "Divided"
    • The civilian crew of the Destiny mutinies against the military members of the crew to try to take the ship. It's bloodless and an attempt to force the military to submit to civilian control, but it fails when the military manages to retake control.
• V
  • Reptilians from another planet successfully take control of the Earth, leading humans to stage a revolution.

Star Trek

• Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Conspiracy"
  • In 2364, the crew of the starship Enterprise-D exposes a conspiracy and averts an infiltration of Starfleet Command by "superior" symbiotic creatures, who clandestinely attempt to control key sectors of Federation territory and facilitate their introduction. After rendezvousing with similarly suspicious colleagues at Dytallix B (some of whom are mysteriously killed), the Enterprise-D travels to Earth; Captain Picard and Commander Riker expose and sequester the compromised officers, and kill the alien mother creature/host ... after it sends a homing signal to whereabouts unknown.
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
  • Rebel factions within the Klingon Empire and Federation Starfleet conspire with each other in 2293 to assassinate the leadership of each nation and undermine peace negotiations between the two, maintaining a combative state (the Romulan Star Empire plays a minor role). To prevent the empire's imminent decline in the late 23rd century, Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (on his starship Kronos One) initiates peace overtures and rendezvouses with Captain Kirk and crew of the Enterprise-A; Gorkon is then assassinated on his ship, Kirk and Dr. McCoy are charged with murder, held and tried by the Klingons. The Enterprise-A crew is successful in exposing the seditious plots, freeing Kirk and McCoy, and in averting the assassination of the Federation President during negotiations for the Khitomer Accords.
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
  • "The Homecoming", "The Circle", "The Siege"
    • In 2370, a Bajoran xenophobic extremist group, called The Circle, tries to overthrow the Provisional Government of Bajor to rid themselves of the Federation who have been helping the Bajorans after the Cardassians had occupied the planet for over 80 years. The weapons making this coup possible were provided by the Crusari, but unbeknownst to the Circle they were provided by the Cardassians themselves in hopes of making sure the Federation would leave and then the Bajorans would be defenseless for another Cardassian occupation. Security Chief Odo provided evidence of Cardassian involvement and the Circle was broken.
  • "Paradise Lost", "Homefront"
    • In 2372, Starfleet Admiral Leyton and other officers attempt a coup against Federation President Jaresh-Inyo to contend with Changeling infiltration and paranoia. A disruption of Earth's power grid, believed caused by Changeling sabotage, prompts a transfer of emergency powers from Jaresh-Inyo to Starfleet Command. Captain Sisko, who was recalled to Earth by Leyton to serve as head of Starfleet Security, uncovers the outage (and numerous discreet officer transfers throughout Starfleet) as a ruse by Leyton to consolidate support and stage a coup; Sisko exposes this and later forces Leyton's resignation.
• Star Trek Nemesis
  • Shinzon, a human clone of Captain Picard aligned with the Remans, overthrows and ascends to becoming Praetor of the Romulan government in 2379 during his quest to recoup vitality from Picard (without which Shinzon would die) and to exact revenge upon his forsaken Earth. Picard ends up impaling him on the Scimitar, Shinzon's starship, to prevent the use of a biogenic weapon against the Enterprise-E (upon which Shinzon inflicts significant damages in combat) and before doing so to Earth.

Star Wars

• Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace through Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
• Senator Palpatine of Naboo, also known as Darth Sidious, who is a Sith Lord and, thus, secretly an avowed enemy of the Jedi, plays both sides against each other. Starting by using the issue of high tax charges on shipping the Trade Federation, which holds a prominent franchise in the region, is persuaded by Darth Sidious into creating a trade blockade around his representative homeworld of Naboo, which eventually leads to a full-scale invasion. As a show of force to the Republic's Senate that the Trade Federation is a force to be reckoned with. Attempts to a diplomatic dialogue are dashed as Darth Sidious recommends to the Trade Federation that the Jedis sent would short change them. The news of the blockade eventually leads to the Senate, the Viceroy counter argue that there is no proof of an occupation and is debated whilst the invasion is commencing, the bureaucratic central government is shown up to be ineffective. Using the sympathy portrayed by the majority of the senate, Queen Amidala is forced to call for a vote of 'No Confidence' in the present leadership. The Jedi play little part here as they watch the new leadership of the senate elected. With this opportunity Senator Palpatine runs for leadership and is subsequently elected as a more effective leader, becoming Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic in Episode I. The invasion is stopped shortly as the Viceroy are arrested on Naboo, when the droid army they use is destroyed also they fail to secure any legal claim. (Around this time Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas places a secret order on behalf of the Jedi, without their knowledge, for a clone army based on a bounty hunter. Shortly after Sifo-Dyas is killed in mysterious circumstances).
• In Episode II, the climax begins that will eventually plunge the Republic into a civil war (the Clone Wars). The original Trade Federation joins with many systems such as Techno Union and InterGalactic Banking Clan that wish to leave the Republic and form their own government and becomes the Confederacy of Independent Systems (or, more commonly, the Separatists movement). As Chancellor Palpatine really controls both sides, as Palpatine on the Republic side through the Senate, and as Sidious on the Separatist Side, through his apprentice, Count Dooku/Darth Tyranus. The Situation grows worse that will tear the Republic in two, the Chancellor is informed that the Jedi would not be able to cope if it becomes a full-scale war. Soon Obi-Wan Kenobi who was chasing a bounty hunter throughout the galaxy learns of the Clone Army. Palpatine is informed, knowing the senate would not allow clones to be used. Palpatine uses the Separatist crisis to retain control longer and persuade the Senate to grant him emergency powers, which he then uses to officially commission an army to counter the increasing threat poised by the separatists. This makes the official conception of the clones and unleashes a massive clone army on the galaxy, which Palpatine himself secretly ordered and retains controls of. The Jedi are promoted to the ranks of General, to lead the newly formed Clone Army, mistakenly believe they control it. Subsequently, the Clone Wars begin.
• Clone Wars, Palpatine begins to drive the Republic into crippling debt by escalating the war and creating more clones, which in turn leads to more Jedi leading troops leaving for the front lines and thus leaving the central Jedi Order increasingly vulnerable. With the Jedi becoming the generals of the clone armies, Palpatine succeeds in corrupting public opinion about the Jedi, painting them as the war hungry fanatics behind the war. Palpatine derails peace negotiations by first assassinating the Separatist Senator who suggested them and then allowing Separatists to bomb Coruscant to make the whole peace negotiation look like a ruse meant to lower Republic defenses. And as the war continues to escalate, driven by the fear, that Palpatine so masterfully creates, the Senate allows Palpatine to centralize more power through his office until he controls the entire Republican military. Every move he makes and every interaction he has with the senate is specifically designed to make him look like an honest man of the people, a simple politician who was thrust into a situation beyond his control. He plays his role so masterfully, no one even suspects him to be the creator of a plot.^[1]
• In Episode III, Palpatine has been captured by Dooku and General Grievous (who is unknowingly on orders from Sidious/Palpatine himself), in a daring plan. He is eventually rescued by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin having killed Dooku at Palpatine's urging in the process. However, Grievous escapes, and Palpatine assures Mace Windu that the senate will vote to continue the war as long as Grievous is still at large. Subsequently, Palpatine begins voicing to Anakin his doubts about the Jedi Council's allegiance to the Republic, and starts influencing Anakin to share them. Palpatine eventually reveals to Anakin that he, in fact, is Darth Sidious, and tempts him with the power to save Anakin's secret wife, Padmé Amidala, from her death as Anakin had foreseen it in his nightmares. In fact, Palpatine wants Padmé dead, though, somehow, Anakin doesn't realise this. It is also revealed that Palptine has been gathering even more emergency powers and has become a virtual dictator. Anakin tells Mace Windu that Palpatine is Sidious. The Jedi move quickly to arrest Palpatine. Palpatine kills all four Jedi who come to arrest him, except Mace Windu. Windu appears to have beaten Palpatine when Anakin arrives. Palpatine tells Anakin of a Jedi coup on the Senate and tempts Anakin again that he is the only one who can help Anakin save Padmé. Anakin asks Windu to arrest Darth Sidious but Windu argues back, claiming Darth Sidious has too much power as Chancellor of the Senate and the courts. Windu, not listening to Anakin's reasons, tries to finish off Darth Sidious when Anakin sides with Palpatine and disables Windu, allowing Palpatine to kill Windu, and becomes Palpatine's new apprentice. Palpatine then tells the newly rechristened Darth Vader to lead an attack on the Jedi Temple, and then go to the Mustafar System and eliminate the Separatist leaders warning otherwise there will be civil war without end. Meanwhile, Sidious issues Order 66, which forces the clones to turn on their Jedi generals, killing most of them. Palpatine then declares the "Jedi Rebellion" and the Separatists, with Grievous's destruction to have been crushed, announces that the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire for the sake of security, and that the Clone Wars are over, and then subsequently successfully manipulates Anakin/Vader into seriously injuring Padmé, although Sidious does not realize that her unborn children were saved. However, he fails to anticipate Anakin/Vader's failure to defeat Obi-Wan - which results in the reconstructed Vader not being entirely what Sidious bargained for.

The decision of Mace Windu and the other Jedi Council members to take matters into their own hands and arrest Palpatine themselves, then rule the Republic until the Senate can re-establish democracy.

• The Empire Strikes Back
  • Following the defeat of first Death Star the emperor focuses on capturing the young rebel and unleashes the military to take down all rebel hideouts, in his search for Luke Skywalker. Driven by his feelings for his friends he searches them out on Cloud city, were an entrapment attempt is made by a waiting Darth Vader. Luke barely escapes having lost a limb in a dual with Darth Vader.
• Return of the Jedi
  • The revolutionaries of the Rebel Alliance, led by Princess Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, and Garm Bel Iblis, defeat the Galactic Empire led by Palpatine, destroy the second Death Star. Subsequently, the New Republic is established a month later.

Tron - Legacy

• Kevin Flynn, creator of the a virtual world called 'The Grid' creates CLU, a virtual clone, he instructs him to create the perfect system and to change the world. Whilst they are creating the grid and its programs, a new life form is discovered, named as ISO, they form as conditions were right for life to begin on its own. Flynn recognizing these as miracles hoped for answers that would help mankind. Clu immediately distrusts the ISO as they were free thinking programs and cannot be manipulated.
• Tensions soon rise and threaten to become riots onto the Grid, as the ISO try to integrate into the grid society and are rebuffed by other programs. During this time Clu confronts Flynn and Tron, system security program and reaffirms if he is tasked to create the perfect system, Flynn agrees, out of context. Clu takes his purpose to create the perfect system literally and immediately begins a coup for self-rule. Military personnel are sent to arrest Flynn and kill Tron, as Clu believes they have become corrupted. Flynn escapes the ambush but Clu just really wanted Tron removed, as without him he can rule unopposed. Flynns escape route out of the virtual system is cutoff and becomes trapped in the Grid.
• Tron is not killed off at first but damaged beyond repair. At this time we are not sure if Tron is released to lead Clu to Flynn. As all regions of the Grid now have large military units deployed its citizens are told to round up all ISOs, with Clu beginning a purge to kill all ISO in a mass genocide. Some ISO programs were then subjected to torture in the games, which entertains the masses. Soon propaganda is used to support this mass action against the ISO's that they had infected the user Flynn and program Tron by a rogue virus leading to their deaths. This only further fuels hatred against ISOs. (This then change to just hatred of all Users).
• Tron, damaged beyond his ability to fight Clu, (and unsure if Flynn is alive), recruits a young program to rebel against Clu rule. By undertaking missions which sabotage and undermine his authority naturally leads to rumors of Tron Lives. Clu classifies him as a renegade and tasks other security programs to bring order to the Grid by capturing him. We are unsure when/how Tron is captured and rectified into Rizler, a new security program at Clu side.
• Flynn, was taken in by the ISO, as they see him as their only hope of salvation. He goes into hiding in its most remote parts when most ISO have been killed, and refuses to comply with Clu games/taunts to lure him out. The arrival of Flynns son soon changes the status quo.

Universal Century Gundam

• Mobile Suit Gundam
  • About 20 years prior to the One Year War, in UC0058, Zeon Zum Deikun leads the Side 3 colonies to break away from the Earth Federation, forming the Republic of Zeon. In UC0068, Zeon Zum Deikun dies under mysterious circumstances and is succeeded by his chief of staff Degwin Sodo Zabi, who renames the country the Principality of Zeon. A blood purge of Deikun loyalists soon follows.
• Gundam F91
  • Meitzer Ronah and his private army, the Crossbone Vanguard, attack and take over the Frontier I colonies from Federation, in efforts to establish his ideal nation of "Cosmo Bablyonia".

Video games

• Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
  • While North Korean leader Choi Kim is in a conference with the South Korean leader, his son, General Choi Song, kills President Kim and takes over North Korea.
• Mercenaries 2: World In Flames
  • Venezuelan technocrat Ramon Solano leads a militaristic coup to take over Venezuela. After the coup, Solano takes control as dictator and seizes the country's oil.
• Republic: The Revolution
  • Novistrana is finally liberated from the clutches of evil ex-Soviet Secret Police Chief, President Vasily Karasov. The game can end in one of three ways: a coup d'état is launched and Karasov is shot via a firing squad; a peaceful resignation occurs, only for Karasov to be shot by police officers; and the people revolt and force their way into the official residence. Karasov is pulled from his car while attempting to escape and is beaten to death by the revolutionaries.
• Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War
  • Factions of several countries' governments form a coup, later named "A World With No Boundaries." They believe in a borderless world and attempt to use a V2 Tactical Nuclear Missile to send the world into a chaotic bliss in which everyone would need to work together to survive.
• Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
  • Fifteen years after their defeat (and the events of Ace Combat Zero), Belkan Aces that have infiltrated the Osean and Yuktobanian Air Forces' in an attempt to weaken both sides' military. Their mission is simple: take revenge on those that defeated them before to show the "true strength" of Belka. Part of their plan is to kidnap the Yuktobanian prime minister Nikanor and the president of Osea, Harling, leaving the country in the hands of war mongers.
• Ace Combat: Assault Horizon
  • Two dozen divisions of the Russian armed forces go rogue and join Russian criminal organization Blatnoi in a coup that overthrows the Russian government in hours. The coup forces, called the New Russian Federation and led by Russian Air Force general Ivan Stagleishov and former colonel turned mercenary Andrei Markov, are the main antagonists of the second and third parts of the game.
• Empire Earth
  • In 2018, the Russian Federation is overthrown by the illegal, radicalist Ushi Party in a full-blown revolution. The party establishes a totalitarian regime under the name Novaya Russia, using their secret police to brutally suppress dissident ideas, before proceeding to overthrow governments in Europe as well as those of China, Cuba, and ultimately the United States. They suffer several rebellions, but none of them succeed. The situation is finally resolved through a time paradox when the party's leader and mastermind, Grigor Stoyanovich, is assassinated in 2018 after a massive battle involving 22nd century technology, erasing Novaya Russia's existence from history.
• Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
  • A Mexican rebellion organization in the game declares a coup after it has stolen American-built tanks, with the main mission of the Ghosts to end the coup.
  • In the sequel, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, the Ghosts are brought back to destroy Soviet-era nukes in the hands of the rebels from the first game.
• Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi
  • During the Bern Invasion in Elibe, Roartz, the royal advisor of the king of Etruria, and Arcard, governor of the Western Isles, plan a strike against the king, who is in a depression because of his son's death. They succeed taking control over Etruria and the Western Islands. With this strike, the Etrurian Coup d´etat handed over the fragile government of Etruria to The Kingdom Of Bern. General Cecilia of Etruria created the Etrurian Anti Coup d´etat Army, looking reinstate the king and recover Etruria. The Etrurian Anti Coup d´etat army was decimated by the superior forces of the Bern Dispatch (Commanded by the King Zephiel himself and the Dragon General Narshen), and the Etrurian Coup d´etat army. General Cecilia was defeated by King Zephiel in single combat at a castle in the island of Missur. General Cecilia was rescued by Roy and the Lycian Alliance Army. The Anti Coup de'etat army eventually reaches the Etrurian capital of Aquelia, where Narshen was defeated and Etruria was reclaimed.
• Half-Life 2
  • Led by the messianic freedom fighter Dr Gordon Freeman, the revolution of humanity (known as the Resistance Fighters) against an alien race known as the Combine takes place over the course of Half-Life 2 and the episodic sequels.
• Homefront
  • The Greater Korean Republic has invaded the United States, through the Pacific coastline. The Korean People's Army conquers a major portion of the Midwestern United States. In Colorado, former U.S. Marine Robert Jacobs joins the American Resistance to fight against the North Koreans.
• Homefront: The Revolution
  • The sequel to Homefront features the GKR being pushed out of the Western United States but secures eastern U.S. cities like Philadelphia. Ethan Brady joins a Resistance gang to fight back.
• "Fable III"
  • After four years of living under the tyrannical rule of Albion's new monarch, King Logan, his sibling is inspired to lead a revolution against their brother after witnessing the king brutally put down protestors. Uniting a disparate group of oppressed peoples including elements of the military, local resistance groups, mercenaries, and the people of a nearby continent, the Hero in question overthrows King Logan and assumes both his crown and his responsibilities, quickly learning what pushed their brother to become a tyrant and having to defend Albion against the same threat.
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
  • In the mission 'Coup De Tat`', Imran Zakhaev and his ally, Kahled Al-Asad, execute President Yasir Al-Fulani and assume position over an unknown middle-eastern country (possibly Saudi Arabia, due to brief map glimpses and references to a democratic revolution). The coup prompts the U.S. military to intervene.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  • A Group of Heroes fights against Tabuu, a possibly digital, humanoid creature that is trying to envelop the planet in subspace. Tabuu's three playable minions gradually join the Heroes and the Ancient minister who is a R.O.B joins. Once Tabuu is destroyed, the subspace goes away but you can still play subspace levels.
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
  • Varimathras with his demon brethren and his forsaken servants successfully wrest control of the Undercity from the Horde. He is soon defeated and the Undercity once again becomes a Horde bastion.
• Red Faction
  • The entire game is set about a miners rebellion against the fictional Ultor corporation on Mars, in which the playable character becomes one of the rebellion's best soldiers.
• Just Cause 2
  • The game takes place after a successful coup on a tropical island called Panau and the player fights a revolution afterwards against the government.
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
  • In the game's storyline, Skyrim, a province in the world of Tamriel, is engulfed in a civil war when a resistance faction known as Stormcloaks leads a revolt against the weakened Imperial Empire's control of the land. The player character has the choice to join the revolt or quell it.
• "Starcraft"
  • Arcturus Mengsk successfully orchestrates a genocidal coup again the Terran Confederation, luring the ravenous Zerg to the capital planet of Tarsonis. Mengsk then forms the Terran Dominion with himself as Emperor.
  • The Protoss Executor Tassadar and his supporters are forced to battle against his people's ruling council, the Conclave, in an effort to preserve an illegal alliance with the Protoss' "fallen" counterparts, the Dark Templar, an alliance they see as the only salvation from the ongoing Zerg invasion of the Protoss homeworld of Aiur. The Conclave orders Tassadar's arrest but the patriotic renegades fight back, culminating with the rebellion successfully penetrating the heart of the capital's defenses and laying waste to much of the city. However, with the Conclave on the brink of defeat Tassadar suddenly surrenders, grief-stricken that the Protoss are fighting a civil war while the Zerg infestation of Aiur threatens the extinction of all.
• BioShock: Infinite
  • In the flying city of Columbia, members of a militant far-left organization known as the Vox Populi violently rise against the Founders, consisting of the city's leaders and citizens, as well as destroying most of Columbia. The Vox Populi succeed in eliminating the city's prominent leaders in the uprising and take control of most of Columbia but is severely hindered by the protagonist, Booker Dewitt, who is recognized a "martyr" to the organization but is betrayed by the leader, Daisy Fitzroy.
• Dishonored
  • The City of Dunwall, located in the fictional nation of Gristol, is ruled by Empress Jessamine Kaldwin, who looks to eradicate a growing plague pandemic destroying the city's inhabitants; but before any progress can be made, she is assassinated by an unknown man and her death is framed on the royal bodyguard and protatgonist, Corvo Attano. Hiram Burrows, the spymaster of the Empress, reveals he is responsible, along with an cadre of elite politicians and nobles, for the coup that caused the death of the Empress and needed someone to become a scapegoat. Inevitably, Burrows gains power, only to rule the city with oppressive measures.
  • After Burrows' rise to power, a small group of "loyalists" create a plot to start a second coup, only with the intentions to instill the next heir of throne to the Empress, her daughter.
  • By the end of the game, the loyalists turn on each other, attempting to create a coup with their own loyal groups of soldiers due to a power vacuum created because of the death of Lord Regent Burrows.
• Far Cry 3
  • In an uncharted, fictional island, known as "Rook Islands", Jason Brody, and his friends, are blown off course after skydiving while on vacation and are captured by a brutal pirate lord named Vaas Montenegro. Although Jason's sole purpose is to rescue his friends, he is rescued and assisted by the island's native tribe called the Rakyat, who are rebelling against Vaas' control over the islands and his brutality towards the native villagers.
  • Simultaneously, the tribe is also attempting to overthrow Vaas' partner, Hoyt Volker, who controls one part of the islands with mercenaries and also massacres civilians.
• Mass Effect 3
  • Councillor Udina attempts to overthrow the rest of the council from the inside using cerberus as a cover but is eventually stopped by Shepard after he catches up to the council

See also

References