Leader Appearance Chart

[clapyourhands]

Some posters here noticed that there was a lack of a chart detailing the games in which the various leaders appeared, so I decided to go ahead and create one. As a side effect it's also a chart of each civ per game (though it's not organized as one), since the inclusion of each leader indirectly includes each civ. If a leader appears in any version of a mainline title, whether SNES, Chinese, etc, he or she was included in the respective box of the chart. The civilizations are organized by debut order, and the leaders within each civ are organized by frequency of appearance. The leader that has appeared most for that civ is highlighted in green, with a darker shade of green indicating more total appearances. As this is a main game chart, the Rev games aren't included. (Native Americans were folded into Sioux since they only appeared once and share a leader; Vikings were left separate since they had multiple appearances and distinct leaders).

The chart can be found here.

For fun/statistics I compiled a list of "awards" for various benchmarks.

Honors and Distinctions

Callbacks: Leads his or her civilization in 2 iterations of the game.

George Washington (America), Montezuma I (Aztecs), Wu Zetian (China), Taizong (China), Qin Shi Huang (China), Victoria (England), Jeanne d'Arc (France), Charles de Gaulle (France), Frederick the Great (Germany), Frederick Barbarossa (Germany), Pericles (Greece), Augustus Caesar (Rome), Josef Stalin (Russia), Peter the Great (Russia), Dido (Carthage), Brennus (Celts), Xerxes (Persia), Cyrus the Great (Persia), Darius the Great (Persia), Ragnar Lobrok (Vikings), Saladin (Arabia), Theodora (Byzantium), Pachacuti (Inca), Hiawatha (Iroquois), Wang Kon (Korea), Pacal II (Maya), Suleiman (Ottomans), Pedro II (Brazil), Maria Theresa (Germany, Austria).

Perennial Favorite: Leads his or her civilization in 3 iterations of the game.

Cleopatra VII (Egypt), Napoleon Bonaparte (France), Boudicca (Celts), Otto von Bismarck (Germany), Hannibal (Carthage), William of Orange (Netherlands), Gilgamesh (Sumeria).

Civ Veteran: Leads his or her civilization in 4 iterations of the game.

Abraham Lincoln (America), Montezuma II (Aztecs), Hammurabi (Babylon), Mao Zedong (China), Ramses II (Egypt), Tokugawa Ieyasu (Japan), Julius Caesar (Rome), Catherine the Great (Russia), Isabella (Spain).

Civ Staple: Leads his or her civilization in 5 iterations of the game.

Elizabeth I (England)

Civ Icon: Leads his or her civilization in 6 iterations of the game.

Alexander the Great (Greece, Macedon), Mahatma Gandhi (India), Genghis Khan (Mongolia), Shaka Zulu (Zulus).

____________________________________________________________________________

Multifaceted: Civilization with the most number of leaders over the course of the series.

1st: America (5; Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt), France (5; Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis XIV, Jeanne d'Arc, Charles de Gaulle, Catherine de Medici)
2nd: China, Germany, England, Greece, India, Japan, Rome, Russia, Persia (4)

Playing Catch-Up: Leader from a Civ not in the original Civ I with the most appearances.

1st: Isabella (Spain, 4)
2nd: Boudicca (Celts, 3), Hannibal (Carthage, 3), William of Orange (Netherlands, 3), Gilgamesh (Sumeria, 3)

Familiar Face: Leader that has been the sole leader of his or her civ over multiple iterations.

1st: Gilgamesh (Sumeria, 3; III, IV, VI)
2nd: Hiawatha (Iroquois, 2), Pedro II (Brazil, 2)
Honorary: Shaka Zulu excluding Shakala (Zulus), Sitting Bull excluding Sacagawea (Sioux)

Revolving Door: Civ that has the fewest number of returning leaders relative to its number of appearances

1st: Portugal (no recurring leaders over 3 appearances; Henry the Navigator in III, Joao II in IV, Maria I in V)
2nd: Arabia, Korea (Only 1 recurring leader over 4 appearances, Saladin for Arabia and Wang Kon for Korea)

Balancing Act: Civilization that has the most evenly spread distribution of leader appearances (the most leaders with more than one appearance).

1st: Persia (Xerxes, Darius the Great, Cyrus the Great all with 2 appearances; Scheherazade with 1 appearance)
2nd: China (Mao Zedong with 4 appearances; Wu Zetian, Taizong, Qin Shi Huang with 2 appearances)
3rd: Germany (Otto von Bismarck with 3 appearances; Frederick Barbarossa, Frederick the Great with 2 appearances; Maria Theresa with 1 appearance)

I'll update the chart as new leaders are revealed, but hopefully this'll be a good reference for future use.

BONUS: Every civ per game chart from my returning civ analysis

 

[Heinage]

I like what you've done here. Cool awards too

 

[Stringer1313]

I wholeheartedly approve of this nerdiness

 

[conorbebe]

Love it!

 

[The Kingmaker]

I whole-heartedly approve of your efforts. Very well-done.

Two things I would mention:

You might want to put an asterisk by Taizong since he has only been featured in Chinese versions of the game thus far, except for CivRev2 (yuck).

And while the German leader in Civ2, who was only listed as "Frederick" in-game, is often supposed to be Barbarossa... if you look at the leader art in game and compare it to actual medieval artwork online, you'll see that it's actually Frederick II Stupor Mundi.

My suspicion is that someone in the Microprose art dept. was told that the German leader would be Frederick II just like in Civ1, but they somehow got their wires crossed and gave us the HRE Fred II instead of the Prussian one. Not that I'm complaining -- it makes for some good variety.

Anyway, keep up the good work! I'll be following with great interest.

 

[Rob Airdrie]

This is a nice trip down memory lane. I seem to remember FDR in Civ IV for America too. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[The Kingmaker]

This is a nice trip down memory lane. I seem to remember FDR in Civ IV for America too. Thank you for sharing it.

This is correct. Civ4 had 3 USA leaders.

 

[Thormodr]

Good ol' Chinggis Khaan, the Civ Icon.

 

[BenZL43]

A little typo, if I may correct. It's Gajah Mada. (Not Gaja Mada)

 

[clapyourhands]

This is a nice trip down memory lane. I seem to remember FDR in Civ IV for America too. Thank you for sharing it.

Thanks for pointing that out. I added FDR, which ties America with France for most leaders total (with 5).

Incidentally it also gives America the most leaders who share the same name/surname. There's Montezuma I/Montezuma II, Mahatma/Indira Ghandhi, Julius/Augustus Caesar, the German Fredericks, but Eleanor, Franklin, and Theodore Roosevelt. Totally pointless trivia, but there you go.

A little typo, if I may correct. It's Gajah Mada. (Not Gaja Mada)

Also fixed!

 

[The Kingmaker]

Artwork for the sake of comparison.

"Frederick" in Civ2

Medieval Depiction of Frederick II

Medieval Depiction of Frederick I

I think that makes it pretty clear. The pose and even the clothing are all Fred II.

 

[clapyourhands]

Artwork for the sake of comparison.

"Frederick" in Civ2

Medieval Depiction of Frederick II

Medieval Depiction of Frederick I

I think that makes it pretty clear. The pose and even the clothing are all Fred II.

Yeah, I see it. I went ahead and asterisked it along with the Chinese and SNES specific content to note the discrepancy. I erred on the conservative side when maintaining the chart, though, since even though the designers may have had a mix up with the Fredericks Civ II has been out for so long that every website/guide/video has him listed as 'Barbarossa'.

 

[The Kingmaker]

Yeah, I see it. I went ahead and asterisked it along with the Chinese and SNES specific content to note the discrepancy. I erred on the conservative side when maintaining the chart, though, since even though the designers may have had a mix up with the Fredericks Civ II has been out for so long that every website/guide/video has him listed as 'Barbarossa'.

I did observe your note there, and I hate to quibble, but the Frederick depicted is not Frederick the Great as you noted. That Frederick was in Civ1 and 4.

The artwork in Civ2 depicts Frederick II Stupor Mundi of the HRE, and the in-game info says "Frederick" only, with no epithet or regnal number. The various blogs and wikis since then have only assumed it was Barbarossa. (Which doesn't make sense anyway, since the leader art is beardless.) I have half a mind to post what I shared with you on the Wikipedia discussion page to get them to correct it.

My recommendation is to just put "Frederick" as the leader for Civ II and then state in your note that although some have assumed it to be Frederick I Barbarossa, the artwork depicts Frederick II Stupor Mundi.

While we're at it, I might also mention that the Swedish leader in Civ5 is supposed to be Gustavus Adolphus, but the leader art was accidentally based on Eric XIV. Firaxis was very embarrassed when they discovered the mixup.

Again, great work. Keep it up!

 

[clapyourhands]

I did observe your note there, and I hate to quibble, but the Frederick depicted is not Frederick the Great as you noted. That Frederick was in Civ1 and 4.

The artwork in Civ2 depicts Frederick II Stupor Mundi of the HRE, and the in-game info says "Frederick" only, with no epithet or regnal number. The various blogs and wikis since then have only assumed it was Barbarossa. (Which doesn't make sense anyway, since the leader art is beardless.) I have half a mind to post what I shared with you on the Wikipedia discussion page to get them to correct it.

My recommendation is to just put "Frederick" as the leader for Civ II and then state in your note that although some have assumed it to be Frederick I Barbarossa, the artwork depicts Frederick II Stupor Mundi.

While we're at it, I might also mention that the Swedish leader in Civ5 is supposed to be Gustavus Adolphus, but the leader art was accidentally based on Eric XIV. Firaxis was very embarrassed when they discovered the mixup.

Again, great work. Keep it up!

It's not quibbling, just addressing an inaccuracy. I read your post wrong at first, my bad. The Gustavus mix-up makes sense, haha. The civilopedia and other info definitely matches up for the rest of it, though, so I think we're in the clear with Sweden for that.

 

[Greywulf]

Good work compiling all of that info!

They really should have had Sacagawea as a Shoshone leader, as well...she was Shoshone. Ah well, nothing major.

Now I must vent something...
The amount of times Mao Zedong appears in this game series makes me feel sick, and also makes me wonder why Adolf Hitler was never included, who didn't kill nearly as many people. They did have Josef Stalin, but only a couple of times in earlier versions of the game, certainly not as often as the man who killed more people than anybody else ever. I guess this means that the door is open for other leaders like Pol Pot (Cambodia), Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam), Suharto (Indonesia), Hideki Tojo (Japan), Kim Il Sung (North Korea), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia), Ismail Enver Pasha (Ottoman Empire), Saddam Hussein (Iraq), Mullah Omar (Afganistan), Yahya Khan (Pakistan), Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia), Leopold II of Belgium (Colonial Congo), Yakubu Gowon (Nigeria), Jean Kambanda (Rwanda), Idi Amin (Uganda), Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire and Congo), Charles Taylor (Liberia), Foday Sankoh (Sierra Leone), and many others...And why not? Mao Zedong and Josef Stalin get a place in the game series, so there's really no reason why we can't have all the rest of these mass murdering dictators. Why shouldn't we include a leader who is merely responsible for some 70 million deaths?
I've said it before...I won't buy the game if they add Mao Zedong again.

 

[SnowKomodo]

Good work compiling all of that info!

They really should have had Sacagawea as a Shoshone leader, as well...she was Shoshone. Ah well, nothing major.

Now I must vent something...
The amount of times Mao Zedong appears in this game series makes me feel sick, and also makes me wonder why Adolf Hitler was never included, who didn't kill nearly as many people. They did have Josef Stalin, but only a couple of times in earlier versions of the game, certainly not as often as the man who killed more people than anybody else ever. I guess this means that the door is open for other leaders like Pol Pot (Cambodia), Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam), Sukarno (Indonesia), Hideki Tojo (Japan), Kim Il Sung (North Korea), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia), Ismail Enver Pasha (Ottoman Empire), Saddam Hussein (Iraq), Mullah Omar (Afganistan), Yahya Khan (Pakistan), Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia), Leopold II of Belgium (Colonial Congo), Yakubu Gowon (Nigeria), Jean Kambanda (Rwanda), Idi Amin (Uganda), Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire and Congo), Charles Taylor (Liberia), Foday Sankoh (Sierra Leone), and many others...And why not? Mao Zedong and Josef Stalin get a place in the game series, so there's really no reason why we can't have all the rest of these mass murdering dictators. Why shouldn't we include a leader who is merely responsible for some 70 million deaths?
I've said it before...I won't buy the game if they add Mao Zedong again.

Woah, hold your horses there. Sukarno was a great leader. One of the greatest in Indonesian history. Maybe you are thinking of Suharto?

 

[Greywulf]

Woah, hold your horses there. Sukarno was a great leader. One of the greatest in Indonesian history. Maybe you are thinking of Suharto?

Ok, please educate me. ~ Indonesian history is not my strongest point. (I removed him from the list until I know for sure which one it was...I don't want to get it wrong.)

 

[Krajzen]

Good work compiling all of that info!

They really should have had Sacagawea as a Shoshone leader, as well...she was Shoshone. Ah well, nothing major.

Now I must vent something...
The amount of times Mao Zedong appears in this game series makes me feel sick, and also makes me wonder why Adolf Hitler was never included, who didn't kill nearly as many people. They did have Josef Stalin, but only a couple of times in earlier versions of the game, certainly not as often as the man who killed more people than anybody else ever. I guess this means that the door is open for other leaders like Pol Pot (Cambodia), Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam), Hideki Tojo (Japan), Kim Il Sung (North Korea), Benito Mussolini (Italy), Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia), Ismail Enver Pasha (Ottoman Empire), Saddam Hussein (Iraq), Mullah Omar (Afganistan), Yahya Khan (Pakistan), Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia), Leopold II of Belgium (Colonial Congo), Yakubu Gowon (Nigeria), Jean Kambanda (Rwanda), Idi Amin (Uganda), Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire and Congo), Charles Taylor (Liberia), Foday Sankoh (Sierra Leone), and many others...And why not? Mao Zedong and Josef Stalin get a place in the game series, so there's really no reason why we can't have all the rest of these mass murdering dictators. Why shouldn't we include a leader who is merely responsible for some 70 million deaths?
I've said it before...I won't buy the game if they add Mao Zedong again.

I wholeheartedly agree.

It's insane how Mao and Stalin were in the game because

>WeLl ThEY KiLLeD mILlIoNS BuT

while Hitler was Something Else Entirely.

Same mass murderers.

Although even more absurd is their apologetics OHHH WELL GENGHIS KHAN ALSO KILLED MANY PEOPLE
(btw this "statistic" in the web saying he killed 40m people is super idiotic)

Well,
1) Genghis Khan lived in the barbaric times as the leader of, well, half barbaric empire - meanwhile every 20th century leader should be held to modern moral standards
2) Genghis Khan's victims don't have relatives living today

I'd actually issue an apology if I were somehow connected to the abomination of putting Mao and Stalin in the game. But maybe that's why I couldn't be CEO, I am "that guy" in such moral concerns (I'd put Tibet and Armenia in the game with factual civilopedias, irregardless of particular regimes being offended).

 

[Greywulf]

I wholeheartedly agree.

It's insane how Mao and Stalin were in the game because

>WeLl ThEY KiLLeD mILlIoNS BuT

while Hitler was Something Else Entirely.

Same mass murderers.

Although even more absurd is their apologetics OHHH WELL GENGHIS KHAN ALSO KILLED MANY PEOPLE
(btw this "statistic" in the web saying he killed 40m people is super idiotic)

Well,
1) Genghis Khan lived in the barbaric times as the leader of, well, half barbaric empire - meanwhile every 20th century leader should be held to modern moral standards
2) Genghis Khan's victims don't have relatives living today

I'd actually issue an apology if I were somehow connected to the abomination of putting Mao and Stalin in the game. But maybe that's why I couldn't be CEO, I am "that guy" in such moral concerns (I'd put Tibet and Armenia in the game with factual civilopedias, irregardless of particular regimes being offended).

*High fives*
Yeah, they should allow CEO's to have a heart, but anyway, that's not the way the world works..

Genghis Khan is indeed one of those mass murderers of history, although it does help that it happened so long ago, and now we are kind of disconnected from it as if it happened on some other planet. I can let that one slide (and maybe we shouldn't, but we generally do with Genghis), but I cannot accept Mao.

 

[Browd]

Moderator Action: Please leave Hitler out of this discussion (even as a contrast/comparison to Mao, Stalin, etc.). It invariable brings out the trolls, and is not relevant to what leaders actually have been in the various iterations of the game, which is the topic of this thread.