Image:boris_natasha_fearless.jpg, Natasha_Fatale, and Fearless Leader.]] '''Fearless Leader''' was a Villain on the 1960s Cartoon series ''Rocky and His Friends'' and ''The Bullwinkle Show'', both shows often collectively referred to as ''Rocky and Bullwinkle''. Fearless Leader's true name was never given during the show's run. Fearless Leader was the Dictator of the fictional nation of Pottsylvania, and the employer of the inept spies Boris_Badenov and Natasha_Fatale. However, it seems evident that he did answer to one man himself: the diminutive Mr. Big. Mr. Big appeared in two storylines of the series, "Upsidaisium" and "Metal Munching Moon Mice." As expected from his given position and name, Fearless Leader was a strict, ruthless character, and often harshly criticized the incompetence of his main minion Boris. Although Pottsylvania's chief spies were given ersatz Russian accents, Fearless Leader's accent seemed 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. During the series' original run, Fearless Leader was usually a fairly minor character, but in the 2000 live-action/animated feature ''The_Adventures_of_Rocky_and_Bullwinkle'', he was played by Robert_DeNiro and given a larger role than he had previously. "Fearless Leader" also is sometimes used sarcasticly for a person in a leadership or command position. For example, in the Animated_series ''Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles'', Raphael often sarcastically calls Leonardo "Fearless Leader." The phrase may also be a takeoff on, or a parallel to, the expression "Peerless Leader", which was applied to people such as the early 20th_century Baseball_Hall_of_Famer Frank_Chance. ==See also== * List_of_fictional_rulers Category:The_Rocky_and_Bullwinkle_Show Category:Fictional_secret_agents_and_spies Category:Animation_villains