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* In ''Literature/TheGirlFromTheMiraclesDistrict'', the true villains are Ernest and Irena. They're both responsible for Ture's and Nikita's psychological instability - and, by extension, his crusade against Nikita - and Irena has been manipulating Nikita from the start to be her perfect little weapon.
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* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...maybe. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. For example, how much power and influence does he have? And is he a single person, a LegacyCharacter, or just the Party's fictional mascot?
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* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] {{Big Brother|IsWatching}} from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...maybe. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. For example, how much power and influence does he have? powerful is he, really? And is he a single person, a LegacyCharacter, or just the Party's fictional mascot?
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* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...maybe. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. George Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. How much power and influence does he have? Is he a single person or a LegacyCharacter? Does he even exist, or is he just the Party's fictional mascot?
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* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...maybe. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. George Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. How For example, how much power and influence does he have? Is And is he a single person person, a LegacyCharacter, or a LegacyCharacter? Does he even exist, or is he just the Party's fictional mascot?
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* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...[[RiddleForTheAges maybe]]. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. George Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. How much power and influence does BB have? Has there only been one BB, or has the title been passed on from person to person over time? Does he even exist, or is he just the Party's fictional mascot?
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* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...[[RiddleForTheAges maybe]].maybe. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. George Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. How much power and influence does BB he have? Has there only been one BB, or has the title been passed on from Is he a single person to person over time? or a LegacyCharacter? Does he even exist, or is he just the Party's fictional mascot?
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** In the ''New Jedi Order'' series itself, it's revealed by [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch the repentant Yuuhzhan Vong priest Harrar]] that his people became ScaryDogmaticAliens after their home planet was laid waste to by a race "more technological than animate." [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental materials]] would establish that this was the Abominor, an entire species of {{Mechanical Abomination}}s out to [[YouWillBeAssimilated assimilate]] everything they come across.
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* ''The Brethren'', by JohnGrisham, makes reference early on to one Natli Chenkov, a Russian politician and Communist hardliner who is suspected of planning to stage a coup and start a war the director of the CIA doubts America can win. The main action of the book involves three former judges (the titular Brethren) who run a blackmail scheme from prison and unwittingly hook the congressman whom said CIA director hopes to install as President to beef up the military and block Chenkov's ambitions, bringing down the CIA's wrath on them. Whether this makes Teddy Maynard (the CIA director) the BigBad (albeit a WellIntentionedExtremist) or the Brethren [[VillainProtagonist Villain Protagonists]] (albeit sympathetic ones) is arguable, but Chenkov is hardly mentioned after the initial explanation.
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* ''The Brethren'', by JohnGrisham, Creator/JohnGrisham, makes reference early on to one Natli Chenkov, a Russian politician and Communist hardliner who is suspected of planning to stage a coup and start a war the director of the CIA doubts America can win. The main action of the book involves three former judges (the titular Brethren) who run a blackmail scheme from prison and unwittingly hook the congressman whom said CIA director hopes to install as President to beef up the military and block Chenkov's ambitions, bringing down the CIA's wrath on them. Whether this makes Teddy Maynard (the CIA director) the BigBad (albeit a WellIntentionedExtremist) or the Brethren [[VillainProtagonist Villain Protagonists]] (albeit sympathetic ones) is arguable, but Chenkov is hardly mentioned after the initial explanation.
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* Several of Creator/TadWilliams' works feature an entity called Unbeing or Old Night, which is the representation of entropy and ultimate decay. It's never any of the {{Big Bad}}s, but is portrayed as being tied to their actions, and at least one (Hellebore of TheWarOfTheFlowers) planned to deliberately unleash it.
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* Several of Creator/TadWilliams' works feature an entity called Unbeing or Old Night, which is the representation of entropy and ultimate decay. It's never any of the {{Big Bad}}s, but is portrayed as being tied to their actions, and at least one (Hellebore of TheWarOfTheFlowers) Literature/TheWarOfTheFlowers) planned to deliberately unleash it.
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* Salocin, the evil entity from ''Literature/SpectralShadows'', is basically responsible for all the evils in Ra's Universe. If there's something evil or something corrupt, chances are it can be traced back to him in ''some'' fashion.
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* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a BigBadEnsemble with Littlefinger, the Lannisters, the [[spoiler: Boltons and Freys]] (although they're working, sort of, for the Lannisters),and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] [[spoiler: Varys]] and Melisandre. Overshadowing them all, however, are [[MonstrousHumanoid the Others]]. Not to mention the general threat of myth and[[TheMagicComesBack magic coming back]] in other dangerous, if somewhat less maliciously deadly, shapes to complicate ''everything''.
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* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a BigBadEnsemble with Littlefinger, the Lannisters, the [[spoiler: Boltons and Freys]] (although they're working, sort of, for the Lannisters),and Lannisters), and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] [[spoiler: Varys]] and Melisandre. Overshadowing them all, all by many degrees, however, are [[MonstrousHumanoid the Others]]. Not to mention the general generalized threat of myth and[[TheMagicComesBack "myth" and [[TheMagicComesBack magic coming back]] in other dangerous, if somewhat less maliciously deadly, shapes to complicate ''everything''.''everything'' they also represent.
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* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a BigBadEnsemble with Littlefinger, the Lannisters, the [[spoiler: Boltons and Freys]] although they're working, sort of, for the Lannisters,and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] [[spoiler: Varys]] and Melisandre. Overshadowing them all, are [[MonstrousHumanoid the Others]].
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* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a BigBadEnsemble with Littlefinger, the Lannisters, the [[spoiler: Boltons and Freys]] although (although they're working, sort of, for the Lannisters,and Lannisters),and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] [[spoiler: Varys]] and Melisandre. Overshadowing them all, however, are [[MonstrousHumanoid the Others]].Others]]. Not to mention the general threat of myth and[[TheMagicComesBack magic coming back]] in other dangerous, if somewhat less maliciously deadly, shapes to complicate ''everything''.
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* The Sacred Ancestor in ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' is the vampire-kind progenitor, the most powerful and ancient of his kind and responsible for the current state of the world - [[AfterTheEnd a post-apocalyptic hellhole]] where vampires were the dominant species and humans are their playthings (well, at least it used to be like this, but things are slowly changing). He is heavily implied to be {{Dracula}} himself and is the titular protagonist's father, whom is searching for him so he can kill him himself. However, the Ancestor is never seen or interacted with directly in the novels and D faces mostly individual faces individual threats in each entry.
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* The Sacred Ancestor [[GodEmperor Sacred]] [[MadScientist Ancestor]] in ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' is the vampire-kind vampire progenitor, the most powerful and ancient of his kind and responsible for the current state of the world - [[AfterTheEnd a post-apocalyptic hellhole]] where vampires were the dominant species and humans are their playthings (well, at least it used to be like this, but things are slowly changing). He is heavily implied to be {{Dracula}} himself and is the titular protagonist's father, whom is searching for him so he can kill him himself. However, the Ancestor is never seen or interacted with directly in any of the novels and D faces mostly individual faces individual threats in each entry.
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* The Sacred Ancestor in ''LightNovel/VampireHunterD'' is the vampire-kind progenitor, the most powerful and ancient of his kind and responsible for the current state of the world - [[AfterTheEnd a post-apocalyptic hellhole]] where vampires were the dominant species and humans are their playthings (well, at least it used to be like this, but things are slowly changing). He is heavily implied to be {{Dracula}} himself and is the titular protagonist's father, whom is searching for him so he can kill him himself. However, the Ancestor is never seen or interacted with directly in the novels and D faces mostly individual faces individual threats in each entry.
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* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels often have the Soviet Union sponsoring some or all the activities of a novel's main villain. Notably, ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'' reveals that SMERSH was behind the events of ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'', ''Literature/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Literature/{{Moonraker}}''
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* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels often have the Soviet Union sponsoring some or all the activities of a novel's main villain. Notably, ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'' reveals that SMERSH was behind the events of ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'', ''Literature/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Literature/{{Moonraker}}''''Literature/{{Moonraker}}''.
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* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels often have the Soviet Union sponsoring some or all the activities of a novel's main villain.
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* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels often have the Soviet Union sponsoring some or all the activities of a novel's main villain. Notably, ''Literature/FromRussiaWithLove'' reveals that SMERSH was behind the events of ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'', ''Literature/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Literature/{{Moonraker}}''
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* Asmodeus is too busy overseeing the destruction of entire worlds to get involved in day-to-day evildoing. Until his son [[spoiler:Magnus]] summons him in ''Literature/CityOfHeavenlyFire'', at which point he briefly appears in humanoid form and acts as a DeusExMachina before returning to his more cosmic interests.
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* In ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'', Asmodeus is too busy overseeing the destruction of entire worlds to get involved in day-to-day evildoing. Until his son [[spoiler:Magnus]] summons him in ''Literature/CityOfHeavenlyFire'', ''City of Heavenly Fire'', at which point he briefly appears in humanoid form and acts as a DeusExMachina before returning to his more cosmic interests.interests. This is standard for all of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Princes of Hell]], most especially [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. While they can be summoned (or at least avatars of them can) they do not dirty their hands with normal villainy, instead focusing on warfare against {{God}} across TheMultiverse.
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That is a case of V Illainous Legacy, plus the villains operate on a similar level to Thrawn.
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** All the villains of the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology have motivations that revolve around Thrawn, who has been dead for over a decade.
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* Several of TadWilliams' works feature an entity called Unbeing or Old Night, which is the representation of entropy and ultimate decay. It's never any of the {{Big Bad}}s, but is portrayed as being tied to their actions, and at least one (Hellebore of TheWarOfTheFlowers) planned to deliberately unleash it.
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* Several of TadWilliams' Creator/TadWilliams' works feature an entity called Unbeing or Old Night, which is the representation of entropy and ultimate decay. It's never any of the {{Big Bad}}s, but is portrayed as being tied to their actions, and at least one (Hellebore of TheWarOfTheFlowers) planned to deliberately unleash it.
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* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': Though it might be nitpicking quite a bit, but all things in this universe, including the BigBad [[spoiler: Gaea]] can all ultimately trace ancestry to [[PrimordialChaos Chaos]], the void beneath [[{{Hell}} Tartarus]] where everything that falls down would dissolve into nothingness. But well, all things are all things; the good guys wouldn't exist without Chaos either, so it's like saying that the Abrahamic God is the GreaterScopeVillain because everything is ultimately His creations. It only really counts as this because [[spoiler: Akhlys]] refers to it as "my father"; whether she means it literally or metaphorically is anyone's guess.
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* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'':
** Though it might be nitpicking quite a bit, but all things in this universe, including the BigBad[[spoiler: Gaea]] [[spoiler:Gaea]] can all ultimately trace ancestry to [[PrimordialChaos Chaos]], the void beneath [[{{Hell}} Tartarus]] where everything that falls down would dissolve into nothingness. But well, all things are all things; the good guys wouldn't exist without Chaos either, so it's like saying that the Abrahamic God is the GreaterScopeVillain this because everything is ultimately His creations. It only really counts as this because [[spoiler: Akhlys]] refers to it as "my father"; whether she means it literally or metaphorically is anyone's guess.
** Though it might be nitpicking quite a bit, but all things in this universe, including the BigBad
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* ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'': Set is the BigBad of the first novel, but at the end, it is revealed that he is ultimately manipulated by [[spoiler: Apophis, the Serpent of Evil who seeks to annihilate Ma'at, the essence of order. He]] takes up the BigBad spot in the next two books.
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* ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'': ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'':
** Set is the BigBad of the first novel, but at the end, it is revealed that he is ultimately manipulated by [[spoiler: Apophis, the Serpent of Evil who seeks to annihilate Ma'at, the essence of order. He]] takes up the BigBad spot in the next two books.
** Set is the BigBad of the first novel, but at the end, it is revealed that he is ultimately manipulated by [[spoiler: Apophis, the Serpent of Evil who seeks to annihilate Ma'at, the essence of order. He]] takes up the BigBad spot in the next two books.
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* ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'': In ''Allegiant'', it's revealed that Jeanine Matthews, the BigBad of the first two books, obtained the serums used for execution and mind controlling Dauntless members from [[spoiler: the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, the mastermind behind the experiment in Chicago and several other metropolitan cities for more than eight generations.]]
** In the same book, it's also revealed that [[spoiler: the experiment was done to produce genetically pure children from the genetically damaged, who were the subjects of an earlier experiment to "correct" human genes of their "imperfections". So, ultimately, the GreaterScopeVillain of the series is whoever had the insane idea to do the "correction" in the first place.]]
** In the same book, it's also revealed that [[spoiler: the experiment was done to produce genetically pure children from the genetically damaged, who were the subjects of an earlier experiment to "correct" human genes of their "imperfections". So, ultimately, the GreaterScopeVillain of the series is whoever had the insane idea to do the "correction" in the first place.]]
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* ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'': In ''Allegiant'', it's ''Literature/{{Allegiant}}'':
** It's revealed that Jeanine Matthews, the BigBad of the first two books, obtained the serums used for execution and mind controlling Dauntless members from[[spoiler: the [[spoiler:the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, the mastermind behind the experiment in Chicago and several other metropolitan cities for more than eight generations.]]
generations]].
**In the same book, it's It's also revealed that [[spoiler: the [[spoiler:the experiment was done to produce genetically pure children from the genetically damaged, who were the subjects of an earlier experiment to "correct" human genes of their "imperfections". So, ultimately, the GreaterScopeVillain of the series is whoever had the insane idea to do the "correction" in the first place.]]place is this]].
** It's revealed that Jeanine Matthews, the BigBad of the first two books, obtained the serums used for execution and mind controlling Dauntless members from
**
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* In ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', Lamia wove the spell that allows monsters to detect demigods, three thousand years ago. That one act has shaped everything that happened since.
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* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': Though it might be nitpicking quite a bit, but all things in this universe, including the BigBad [[spoiler: Gaea]] can all ultimately trace ancestry to [[PrimordialChaos Chaos]], the void beneath [[{{Hell}} Tartarus]] where everything that falls down would dissolve into nothingness. But well, all things are all things; the good guys wouldn't exist without Chaos either, so it's like saying that the Abrahamic God is the GreaterScopeVillain because everything is ultimately His creations. It only really counts as this because [[spoiler: Akhlys]] refers to it as "my father"; whether she means it literally or metaphorically is anyone's guess.
** In one of the short stories included in ''The Demigod Diaries'', it's revealed that all of the demigods' deaths due to monsters throughout the history can be attributed to [[spoiler: Lamia, a queen who had [[JerkassGods her children killed by Hera because she had a relationship with Zeus]], who had [[RevengeByProxy woven a spell that caused all demigods from then on to possess a certain smell that attracts the attention of monsters]]. Notably, Lamia herself is [[KarmaHoudini still alive and kicking]], as she is protected by her mother, [[MamaBear Hecate]] (even though, y'know, Hecate's ''own demigod children'' might have been the victims of Lamia's spell as well).]]
* ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'': Set is the BigBad of the first novel, but at the end, it is revealed that he is ultimately manipulated by [[spoiler: Apophis, the Serpent of Evil who seeks to annihilate Ma'at, the essence of order. He]] takes up the BigBad spot in the next two books.
** Again, like the Chaos example above, ''The Kane Chronicles'' also has its own nitpicky example: the Sea of Chaos (named Nu in the real-life mythology), located deep below Duat. It is the ultimate origin of everything in the universe. The sea attracts everyone who comes closer and would dissolve them if they touch it.
* ''Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard'': Like the real-life mythology, Loki is presumably set up as the BigBad of the series, but the first book focuses more on his son, Fenris Wolf, and the fire giant Surt, while he is relegated to appearing in Magnus' dreams.
** In one of the short stories included in ''The Demigod Diaries'', it's revealed that all of the demigods' deaths due to monsters throughout the history can be attributed to [[spoiler: Lamia, a queen who had [[JerkassGods her children killed by Hera because she had a relationship with Zeus]], who had [[RevengeByProxy woven a spell that caused all demigods from then on to possess a certain smell that attracts the attention of monsters]]. Notably, Lamia herself is [[KarmaHoudini still alive and kicking]], as she is protected by her mother, [[MamaBear Hecate]] (even though, y'know, Hecate's ''own demigod children'' might have been the victims of Lamia's spell as well).]]
* ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'': Set is the BigBad of the first novel, but at the end, it is revealed that he is ultimately manipulated by [[spoiler: Apophis, the Serpent of Evil who seeks to annihilate Ma'at, the essence of order. He]] takes up the BigBad spot in the next two books.
** Again, like the Chaos example above, ''The Kane Chronicles'' also has its own nitpicky example: the Sea of Chaos (named Nu in the real-life mythology), located deep below Duat. It is the ultimate origin of everything in the universe. The sea attracts everyone who comes closer and would dissolve them if they touch it.
* ''Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard'': Like the real-life mythology, Loki is presumably set up as the BigBad of the series, but the first book focuses more on his son, Fenris Wolf, and the fire giant Surt, while he is relegated to appearing in Magnus' dreams.
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* ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'': In ''Allegiant'', it's revealed that Jeanine Matthews, the BigBad of the first two books, obtained the serums used for execution and mind controlling Dauntless members from [[spoiler: the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, the mastermind behind the experiment in Chicago and several other metropolitan cities for more than eight generations.]]
** In the same book, it's also revealed that [[spoiler: the experiment was done to produce genetically pure children from the genetically damaged, who were the subjects of an earlier experiment to "correct" human genes of their "imperfections". So, ultimately, the GreaterScopeVillain of the series is whoever had the insane idea to do the "correction" in the first place.]]
** In the same book, it's also revealed that [[spoiler: the experiment was done to produce genetically pure children from the genetically damaged, who were the subjects of an earlier experiment to "correct" human genes of their "imperfections". So, ultimately, the GreaterScopeVillain of the series is whoever had the insane idea to do the "correction" in the first place.]]
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** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. If you consider each Horcrux as a separate person, the main portion of Voldemort's soul (residing in the disembodied Voldemort himself) was a Greater Scope Villain in this book. Tom Riddle was more a manifestation of Voldemort's will, and in any way acted independent from him (although in his interests).
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** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. If you consider each Horcrux as a separate person, the main portion of Voldemort's soul (residing in the disembodied Voldemort himself) was a Greater Scope Villain in this book. Tom Riddle was more a manifestation of Voldemort's will, and in any way acted independent independently from him (although in his interests).
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* From ''Literature/TheNeverEndingStory'' we have the mysterious beings who created the Nothing and sent G'Mork to kill Arteyu. They are mentioned once by G'Mork and never play any role in the story after the Nothing is defeated. If they're even sentient creatures is up for debate.
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* Chancellor Paige from ''[[Literature/TheMazeRunner The Maze Runner Trilogy]]'', the head of all the mess that is WICKED. [[spoiler: Eventually, though, the cruelty of that position gets to her and she decides to cut their losses and stop torturing people for a cure that might never come.]]
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* Chancellor Paige from ''[[Literature/TheMazeRunner The Maze Runner Trilogy]]'', Trilogy]]'':
** Chancellor Paige, the head of all the mess that is WICKED.[[spoiler: Eventually, [[spoiler:Eventually, though, the cruelty of that position gets to her and she decides to cut their losses and stop torturing people for a cure that might never come.]]come]]. Notable in that she is [[TheGhost never seen]] in the series, barring TheFilmOfTheBook.
** Then there's Katie [=McVoy=], a bit character who is only mentioned in two short letters published in ''The Maze Runner Files'' whose [[SmallRoleBigImpact not-so-small role]] involves [[spoiler:suggesting the method to kill half of the world population using the V C321xb 47 virus AKA the Flare virus, which mutated unpredictably, as in, ''setting off all this mess in the first place'']]. By the events of ''The Maze Runner'', however, [[spoiler:she is already long dead due to catching the virus and committing suicide to prevent it spreading over as her last act of redemption]].
** Chancellor Paige, the head of all the mess that is WICKED.
** Then there's Katie [=McVoy=], a bit character who is only mentioned in two short letters published in ''The Maze Runner Files'' whose [[SmallRoleBigImpact not-so-small role]] involves [[spoiler:suggesting the method to kill half of the world population using the V C321xb 47 virus AKA the Flare virus, which mutated unpredictably, as in, ''setting off all this mess in the first place'']]. By the events of ''The Maze Runner'', however, [[spoiler:she is already long dead due to catching the virus and committing suicide to prevent it spreading over as her last act of redemption]].
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\\ Book Eight. There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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* \\ Book Eight. There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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\\ Book Eight. There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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* \\ Book Eight. There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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** Book Eight. There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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What\'s so hard about indenting properly?
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* The ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' series seems to like this trope. The first two BigBad characters ([[VillainWithGoodPublicity Nefarian Serpine]] and [[GeneralRipper Baron Vengeous]]) were only the men they were because of their now-dead master [[SorcerousOverlord Mevolent]]. Mevolent was considered the BigBad of the setting prior to his death before the beginning of the series, but ''he'' wouldn't have gotten there without ''his'' master, the so-termed '[[UltimateEvil Nameless One]]'. Furthermore, Mevolent, along with Serpine, Vengeous, [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad the Diablerie]] (whose [[IJustWantToBeSpecial leader]] is the BigBad of book three), [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Dreylan Scarab]] (BigBad of book four) and [[MagnificentBastard Eliza Scorn]] (who is yet to be a BigBad but is still a significant threat in later books) were all primarily motivated by their [[ReligionOfEvil worship]] of the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]], evil gods who were themselves worshipped ([[EvenEvilHasStandards albeit also eventually banished]]) by the long-dead [[AbusivePrecursors Ancients]]. Meanwhile, possibly the most powerful magician in the setting is Mevolent's one surviving lieutenant, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Lord Vile]], who [[DragonWithAnAgenda wasn't actually loyal to Mevolent]] in the first place, simply wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything]], but has yet to significantly impede the heroes as he is usually kept mostly subdued on account of being [[spoiler: Skulduggery's SuperPoweredEvilSide]]. And on the subject of [[spoiler: {{SuperPowered Evil Side}}s]], there are all these prophecies about how [[ApocalypseMaiden Darquesse]] [[spoiler: AKA Valkyrie Cain]] is destined to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but seven books in she's still yet to come to the fore.
** Book Eight is full of this: There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
** Book Eight is full of this: There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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* The ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' series seems to like this trope. ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'':
** The first two BigBad characters ([[VillainWithGoodPublicity Nefarian Serpine]] and [[GeneralRipper Baron Vengeous]]) were only the men they were because of their now-dead master [[SorcerousOverlord Mevolent]]. Mevolent was considered the BigBad of the setting prior to his death before the beginning of the series, but ''he'' wouldn't have gotten there without ''his'' master, the so-termed '[[UltimateEvil Nameless One]]'. Furthermore, Mevolent, along with Serpine, Vengeous, [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad the Diablerie]] (whose [[IJustWantToBeSpecial leader]] is the BigBad of book three), [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Dreylan Scarab]] (BigBad of book four) and [[MagnificentBastard Eliza Scorn]] (who is yet to be a BigBad but is still a significant threat in later books) were all primarily motivated by their [[ReligionOfEvil worship]] of the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]], evil gods who were themselves worshipped ([[EvenEvilHasStandards albeit also eventually banished]]) by the long-dead [[AbusivePrecursors Ancients]]. Meanwhile, possibly the most powerful magician in the setting is Mevolent's one surviving lieutenant, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Lord Vile]], who [[DragonWithAnAgenda wasn't actually loyal to Mevolent]] in the first place, simply wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything]], but has yet to significantly impede the heroes as he is usually kept mostly subdued on account of being [[spoiler: Skulduggery's SuperPoweredEvilSide]]. And on the subject of [[spoiler: {{SuperPowered Evil Side}}s]], there are all these prophecies about how [[ApocalypseMaiden Darquesse]] [[spoiler: AKA Valkyrie Cain]] is destined to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but seven books in she's still yet to come to the fore.
** BookEight is full of this: Eight. There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
** The first two BigBad characters ([[VillainWithGoodPublicity Nefarian Serpine]] and [[GeneralRipper Baron Vengeous]]) were only the men they were because of their now-dead master [[SorcerousOverlord Mevolent]]. Mevolent was considered the BigBad of the setting prior to his death before the beginning of the series, but ''he'' wouldn't have gotten there without ''his'' master, the so-termed '[[UltimateEvil Nameless One]]'. Furthermore, Mevolent, along with Serpine, Vengeous, [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad the Diablerie]] (whose [[IJustWantToBeSpecial leader]] is the BigBad of book three), [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Dreylan Scarab]] (BigBad of book four) and [[MagnificentBastard Eliza Scorn]] (who is yet to be a BigBad but is still a significant threat in later books) were all primarily motivated by their [[ReligionOfEvil worship]] of the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]], evil gods who were themselves worshipped ([[EvenEvilHasStandards albeit also eventually banished]]) by the long-dead [[AbusivePrecursors Ancients]]. Meanwhile, possibly the most powerful magician in the setting is Mevolent's one surviving lieutenant, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Lord Vile]], who [[DragonWithAnAgenda wasn't actually loyal to Mevolent]] in the first place, simply wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything]], but has yet to significantly impede the heroes as he is usually kept mostly subdued on account of being [[spoiler: Skulduggery's SuperPoweredEvilSide]]. And on the subject of [[spoiler: {{SuperPowered Evil Side}}s]], there are all these prophecies about how [[ApocalypseMaiden Darquesse]] [[spoiler: AKA Valkyrie Cain]] is destined to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but seven books in she's still yet to come to the fore.
** Book
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** Book Eight is full of this: There is a full-blown world wide war between the Sanctuaries, so the other side in the war is this towards most non-war-related threats to single Sanctuaries. Then there are some sorcerer supremacists working in the background who are the Greater Scope Evil to the Sides, and the Warlocks who are a Greater Scope Evil to them. Towards the end of the book, Darquesse comes to fore, and she is of course the Greatest Scope Villain. Probably.
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* Throughout the first few volumes of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry fights standalone monsters of the book, but eventually begins to suspect that there may have been a single guiding hand behind all of them. His suspicions are partly confirmed in ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'', when his mentor Ebenezar [=McCoy=] agrees that the circumstances are too much to be just a coincidence, and the two of them dub this hypothetical group "Black Council". Later, in ''Literature/ColdDays'', Harry arrives at a conclusion that the AncientConspiracy he envisioned may not be what he thinks it is, but rather something right out of the CosmicHorrorGenre, and he dubs it "Nemesis". That said, even the most knowledgeable beings in the series so far only theorize about what the Nemesis is, as its influence is only ever felt indirectly, through its many, many (often unwitting) agents.
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* The man with a beard but no hair, and the woman with hair but no beard for Daniel Handler's ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
* UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte for two Creator/PaulFeval novels ''Literature/JohnDevil'' (1862) and [[Literature/GentlemenOfTheNight ''The Mysteries of London'']] (1843-44) adapted for the stage as ''Gentlemen of the Night''. The BigBad of each claims to have met Napoleon on St. Helena in about 1815-1816. Both have their own reasons for the Wars against England however, and Henri Belcamp in ''John Devil'' could have actually benefited Napoleon (Since the other's main narrative is set after he died), and Henri even more so is really about his own Ambition, he really wants to be the next Napoleon, freeing the first is merely for a PassingTheTorch moment. O'Brean in ''Gentlemen of the Night'' [[WellIntentionedExtremist is motivated by liberating and avenging Ireland]]. Both are [[BatFamilyCrossover made in continuity with each other]] via Literature/TheBlackCoats.
* Another Féval story, ''Literature/TheVampireCountess'', uses Napoleon as the BigGood. The Greater Scope Villain of that story is [[VampireMonarch Count Szandor]] who [[FemmeFatale the title character]] is in love with.
* The unseen Evil priest in ''Literature/VampireCity''.
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** Morgoth was always the ultimate evil presence in Middle-Earth, but after his defeat and imprisonment at the end of ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Sauron took over the role of the active BigBad, overlapping with DragonAscendant. Morgoth was not destroyed, however, and Tolkien's writings indicate he will free himself in time to command the forces of darkness once again at the Last Battle.
** Sauron himself as the Necromancer during ''Literature/TheHobbit'' - he definitely exists and will later be revealed as the canonical ultimate evil, but has no direct role in the story's plot, except as a device to give Gandalf a reason to leave the group for chapters at a time to go get information on him.
* In the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'', the ultimate enemy is Perimal Darkling (think TheCorruption on a cosmic scale), which appears to be largely mindless and is in no sense a "person", nor does it seem to have desires beyond consuming the whole universe. [[ImmortalityImmorality Master Gerridon]], nominally TheDragon, generally serves as the primary antagonist.
* [[TheFairFolk The Lords of Norsunder]] are the ultimate malevolent force in the ''Inda'' books, but during the timeline of the series are largely uninterested in human affairs. [[EvilSorcerer Erkric]], the BigBad, came up with his schemes on his own but bargained with one of them for his powers, but when he failed to live up to his end [[EvilIsNotAToy she killed him]] and then departed.
* Several of TadWilliams' works feature an entity called Unbeing or Old Night, which is the representation of entropy and ultimate decay. It's never any of the {{Big Bad}}s, but is portrayed as being tied to their actions, and at least one (Hellebore of TheWarOfTheFlowers) planned to deliberately unleash it.
* In The ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'' and ''TheMalloreon'', the King of Hell is mentioned several times as a demon god SealedEvilInACan who controls the [[TheLegionsOfHell single nastiest faction in existence]], but because he isn't part of the conflict between the Light and Dark Prophecies, he to all practical intents and purposes sits the series out. A couple of his top minions ''do'' show up in supporting villain roles, but were likely acting independently.
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** The Council of Thirteen are the political heads of the Yeerk Empire, but only appear in one book, a VillainEpisode where they're more focused on judging Vissers One and Three than the conquest of Earth per se. Visser Three is the commander of operations on Earth and consequently functions as the BigBad. The main plotline ends with his defeat.
** Crayak is a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien who plays TheChessmaster throughout the galaxy to encourage mass genocides of entire species for no reason; in a series full of shades of grey he's one of only a handful of characters who qualify as pure evil. However, he only becomes directly involved in the story a handful of times and isn't terribly invested in it. The implication is that he and his [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]], the Ellimist will continue their long "game" millennia after the Animorphs' series has ended.
* The Black Thing in ''AWrinkleInTime''. IT is the BigBad, and the Man with the Red Eyes may be [=ITs=] [[TheDragon Dragon]], while the Black Thing is more a manifestation of Evil as a concept. On the other hand TheMovie states that the Black Thing was created by IT, making IT the biggest villain of that adaptation.
* Azathoth in the whole of Franchise/CthulhuMythos, a manifestation of perfect amoral chaos who creates and destroys, kept asleep by the Lesser Outer Gods with 'pipes and drums' so his awakening doesn't ''destroy the universe'', but never does anything except listening to music. Most of the other powerful {{Eldritch Abomination}}s (Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth) also take a very distant role in most of Lovecraft's stories, a notable exception being "The Call of Cthulhu". Nyarlathotep is a bit more hands-on, and August Derleth's Mythos stories frequently feature the likes of Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth about to personally emerge everywhere before being halted by a DeusExMachina or [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu explosives]].
* The Crimson King was presented as the central evil in Creator/StephenKing's metaverse; however, in an example of TheDevilIsALoser, when he's finally confronted in the GrandFinale of ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series he's revealed to be nothing more than an insane old man armed with nothing except [[Literature/HarryPotter suspiciously]] [[ShoutOut familiar]] flying grenades, who is promptly defeated in one of the most ignoble manners possible. It's later revealed he had relied on ancient technology to give him most of his seemingly multiverse-spanning omnipotent powers, and when he lost that through the efforts of various heroes on various realities he was reduced to the pathetic wretch confronted by Roland.
* ''Literature/TheRiftWarCycle'': Nalar, Raymond E. Feist's God of Evil, is slowly revealed to fill this role, and being imprisoned in another dimension, can do little more than be the influence for the various Big Bads in his books [[spoiler: and the ''true'' BigBad, the Dread, has nothing to do with him]]. Leso Varen, his minion, fills this role as well (making Nalar a GreaterScopeVillain).
* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels often have the Soviet Union sponsoring some or all the activities of a novel's main villain.
* In ''Literature/{{Gone}}'', Caine is the BigBad, the counterpart to the hero, and the one who usually drives the plot. The Gaiaphage is an EldritchAbomination that arrived via meteorite, crashed into a nuclear power plant, {{Mind Rape}}s several main characters including Caine, and looks at the whole situation as a game, but rarely shows up and is usually just a vague threat in the background.
* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain'':
** Arawn Death-Lord who played the role of the BigBad for ''The Book of Three'' and ''The Black Cauldron'', is this for ''The Castle of Llyr'' and ''Taran Wanderer''. By ''The High King'', he's the BigBad again.
** There's also Gwyn the Hunter's unnamed lord. Even Gwydion doesn't know his name or identity, but believes that he's greater in power than Arawn - although not necessarily evil, since Gwyn's function (basically a GrimReaper figure) is a necessary one.
* In ''Literature/TheLastBattle'', [[spoiler:Tash, the chief Calormene god,]] is revealed to have been this all along throughout ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia''.
* In ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'', the evil deities frequently play this role in the novels, such as Hiddukel in the Taladas Trilogy, or Takhisis in Chronicles. There is also [[spoiler: Morgion]] in the Minotaur Wars Trilogy.
* [[UltimateEvil The Void]] of ''Literature/TheWordAndTheVoid'' is the Greater Scope Villain to each of the trilogy's respective villains. Due to its status as an AllPowerfulBystander it never intervenes in the plot, and as such, has little impact beyond merely existing. CanonWelding by the author makes the Void the Greater Scope Villain of the [[LongRunner long running]] ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' series as well, where it has ''less'' of a direct role.
* [[spoiler:The Warren of Chaos]] in ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', chiefly opposed by Anomander Rake and [[DarkIsNotEvil the Warren of Darkness]]. The actual BigBad, or the closest thing to one, is the Crippled God.
* Set, in Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' and ''Literature/{{Kull}}'' stories.
* The Bellon-Tockland Institute in Creator/DeanKoontz's ''Literature/FalseMemory'', a semi-fascistic psychology think tank. The main villain of the book, [[MeaningfulName Mark Ahriman]], is a psychologist who develops a form of mind control and employs it both on behalf of the Institute and for his own deviant amusement; the trouble he causes for the main characters stems from [[spoiler:his grudge against the stepfather of two of them, another academic who spammed Amazon with with negative reviews of Ahriman's work, as well as a previous affair with the wife/mother which ended badly]]. Although we do see Ahriman manipulate a patient into [[spoiler:biting off the nose of the U.S. President]] as a "message", and the Institute's connections are used in the BackStory to explain how he has escaped any accountability for his murderous pastime, the Institute's plans have no direct bearing on the novel's events and [[VillainWithGoodPublicity they are ultimately cleared]] [[KarmaHoudini of any connection to Ahriman]] after [[spoiler:the protagonists break his control on them and another one of his unstable pawns randomly kills him]].
* The Otherness from the ''Literature/RepairmanJack'' series, a vast, impersonal cosmic force locked in an endless war to conquer the multiverse. In our world, its goals are carried out by the immortal [[BigBad Rasalom]] and his disciples.
* Quinn Dexter is the BigBad of ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy''; behind him and threatening [[ApocalypseHow the entire universe]] is [[spoiler: the Dark Continuum.]]
* [[spoiler: Florence de Peyser]] in Peter Straub's ''Ghost Story''.
* [[spoiler: The Shard Odium]] is shaping up to be the most powerful evil in Creator/BrandonSanderson's [[TheVerse universe]] Franchise/TheCosmere, though some WordOfGod indicates that something more subtle but even more dangerous ''may'' be out there. [[spoiler: Odium takes the role of BigBad proper]] in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive.''
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', the Dark Forest serve this role during the ''Power of Three'' arc. They are recruiting an army to destroy the Clans, and are made up of the most powerful villains the heroes have ever faced. However, this is mostly going on in the background, as the main driving point of the arc is uncovering the secrets of the past and defeating the villain Sol, who is trying to make the Clans destroy each other.
* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...[[RiddleForTheAges maybe]]. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. George Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. How much power and influence does BB have? Has there only been one BB, or has the title been passed on from person to person over time? Does he even exist, or is he just the Party's fictional mascot?
* [[EldritchAbomination The Nameless]] in the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy''. He/she/it/they (it's complicated) is far and away the most powerful evil in the series, but while it features prominently in the backstory of [[VillainProtagonist Gerald Tarrant]], the bad guy actually responsible for the conflict is [[TheCorrupter Calesta]]. The Nameless's only real role in the present-day story is to [[spoiler: punish Tarrant for apparently backing out on the DealWithTheDevil they made]].
* ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'' gives us the ''first'' Marquis de Saint-Evremonde. By the time the story begins, he's already dead, but it's revealed in a flashback that he was the linchpin for everything bad that happened when he [[spoiler: raped [[BigBad Madame Defarge]]'s sister, causing the good Madame to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge swear revenge and mark the Marquis' entire family and anyone who would help them for death]]]]. Unfortunately, this includes the completely innocent main characters.
* Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse:
** The first six books of the ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' series have [[MadScientist Borborygmus Gog]] as the BigBad. He's got a very long leash and a lot of discretion, but ultimately is employed by TheEmperor. Palpatine only appears once, in a call to the scientist.
--> He [Gog] could order the deaths of hundreds if he wished. With his terrible knowledge he could engineer nightmares. But as powerful as the scientist was, the Emperor could snuff him out with little more than a thought.
** The works set between ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' (including ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', the ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'', and the ''ComicBook/XWingSeries'') feature an array of villains of varying threat levels and goals, but almost all of them serve the Empire, [[VestigialEmpire even if in name only]], and would not have their power if it weren't for the Emperor, despite him being long dead at this point. The exception is ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'', where the Emperor is BackFromTheDead and serving as the Big Bad.
** All the villains of the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology have motivations that revolve around Thrawn, who has been dead for over a decade.
* In the ''Fever'' series by Karen Marie Moning, [[spoiler: the Unseelie King is the ultimate evil force but makes no obvious appearance until the end of book five where he saves the day. Seemingly still evil since he is still technically the originator of all the evil things going on because he created all the Unseelie.]].
* The planet Mesa and Manpower Inc. was eventually revealed in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series to be ultimately responsible for the long and bloody war between Manticore and Haven. When their role was revealed, ''then'' it was discovered they were merely a front for the secretive Mesan Alignment organization. Manticore and Haven were.... less than impressed to find out just who was responsible for their long, bloody conflict. [[TheAlliance So they decided to do something about it.]]
* The ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' series seems to like this trope. The first two BigBad characters ([[VillainWithGoodPublicity Nefarian Serpine]] and [[GeneralRipper Baron Vengeous]]) were only the men they were because of their now-dead master [[SorcerousOverlord Mevolent]]. Mevolent was considered the BigBad of the setting prior to his death before the beginning of the series, but ''he'' wouldn't have gotten there without ''his'' master, the so-termed '[[UltimateEvil Nameless One]]'. Furthermore, Mevolent, along with Serpine, Vengeous, [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad the Diablerie]] (whose [[IJustWantToBeSpecial leader]] is the BigBad of book three), [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Dreylan Scarab]] (BigBad of book four) and [[MagnificentBastard Eliza Scorn]] (who is yet to be a BigBad but is still a significant threat in later books) were all primarily motivated by their [[ReligionOfEvil worship]] of the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]], evil gods who were themselves worshipped ([[EvenEvilHasStandards albeit also eventually banished]]) by the long-dead [[AbusivePrecursors Ancients]]. Meanwhile, possibly the most powerful magician in the setting is Mevolent's one surviving lieutenant, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Lord Vile]], who [[DragonWithAnAgenda wasn't actually loyal to Mevolent]] in the first place, simply wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything]], but has yet to significantly impede the heroes as he is usually kept mostly subdued on account of being [[spoiler: Skulduggery's SuperPoweredEvilSide]]. And on the subject of [[spoiler: {{SuperPowered Evil Side}}s]], there are all these prophecies about how [[ApocalypseMaiden Darquesse]] [[spoiler: AKA Valkyrie Cain]] is destined to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but seven books in she's still yet to come to the fore.
* ''The Brethren'', by JohnGrisham, makes reference early on to one Natli Chenkov, a Russian politician and Communist hardliner who is suspected of planning to stage a coup and start a war the director of the CIA doubts America can win. The main action of the book involves three former judges (the titular Brethren) who run a blackmail scheme from prison and unwittingly hook the congressman whom said CIA director hopes to install as President to beef up the military and block Chenkov's ambitions, bringing down the CIA's wrath on them. Whether this makes Teddy Maynard (the CIA director) the BigBad (albeit a WellIntentionedExtremist) or the Brethren [[VillainProtagonist Villain Protagonists]] (albeit sympathetic ones) is arguable, but Chenkov is hardly mentioned after the initial explanation.
* Similar to King's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', all the horror novelist Brian Keene's works are connected by the Labyrinth, in which dwell the Thirteen, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that existed in the PrimordialChaos before the birth of the universe. Among them, the Thirteenth is the most powerful and feared.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Kthonia is the most powerful villain in this story but she is neither involved, [[spoiler: aware of, or inclinded to assist with]] Jihadain's EvilPlan. [[spoiler: When Kalak kills Jihadain, however, she becomes the TrueFinalBoss.]]
* Lord Voldemort, the official BigBad of ''Literature/HarryPotter'', is in this role instead sometimes:
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. If you consider each Horcrux as a separate person, the main portion of Voldemort's soul (residing in the disembodied Voldemort himself) was a Greater Scope Villain in this book. Tom Riddle was more a manifestation of Voldemort's will, and in any way acted independent from him (although in his interests).
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban''. He wasn't directly involved in that book's events at all, although the villain does work for him.
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' doesn't feature Voldemort at all, and all his actions take place outside the main events of the plot. The BigBad of the book eventually turns out to be [[spoiler:Severus Snape, who kills Dumbledore and set most of the events in motion to further himself in Voldemort's eyes.]] Although the next book [[spoiler: reveals that Snape was actually a deep-cover double agent for the good guys.]]
* In ''Literature/TheChathrandVoyages'', it's established early on that [[EvilSorcerer Arunis]] (most dangerous individual member of TheBigBadShuffle the series has going on) worships entities called the Night Gods. These gods later turn out to be very real, and Arunis doesn't just worship them, he [[AGodAmI wants to be one]]. They've set him a task to complete before they'll accept him into their ranks- namely, scouring Alifros, the world where the books are set, of life- but otherwise take no direct part and Arunis (and the other villains) stand and fall by their own merits.
* In Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Empire of the East'', the eponymous evil [[TheEmpire empire]] is ruled by mortal men, particularly by Emperor John Ominor, the BigBad. It was founded, however, by Orcus, the king of all demons, whom Ominor overthrew in a coup and imprisoned. It will probably not surprise anyone to learn that Orcus eventually escapes.
* DaleBrown's books have portrayed the Chinese presidents and high commands that tacitly condone the generals' and admirals' actions as this, in contrast to the Russian presidents who have directly been {{Big Bad}}s.
* The Ix from [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]]. They trump Gwilanna hands down.
* Charles "Trout" Walker in ''Literature/{{Holes}}'', the even worse deceased grandfather to the BigBad. The entire plot ultimately stems from his [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racially-motivated murder]] of Sam the Onion Man, which caused Green Lake to dry up and Sam's lover Kate Barlow to cross the DespairEventHorizon and become an outlaw, ultimately burying treasure in the desolate lakebed. Trout became obsessed with finding the treasure, even forcing his granddaughter to help him dig, [[FreudianExcuse which is why she forces other children to dig in the present]].
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a BigBadEnsemble with Littlefinger, the Lannisters, the [[spoiler: Boltons and Freys]] although they're working, sort of, for the Lannisters,and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] [[spoiler: Varys]] and Melisandre. Overshadowing them all, are [[MonstrousHumanoid the Others]].
** The NeglectfulPrecursors of the current Lords and Ladies offer a different - and possible straighter - example. Martin goes out of his way to show that one VERY big reason that Westeros is such a CrapsackWorld - almost on par with the {{Realpolitik}} - is that [[CycleOfRevenge no one ever forgets their grudges]] [[SinsOfTheFather even when the people responsible are long dead]]. Oaths broken, wars fought, people killed - the actions of the past shape the ways the nobility interacts in the present [[InherentInTheSystem and will continue doing so well into the future]]. Tyrion sadly lampshades how each generation puppets the generation that comes after from beyond the grave.
* ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' "Alien Bodies" has the Enemy and the [[YouCannotKillAnIdea Celestis]] in this role. The Doctor does encounter them, though in his future.
* Chancellor Paige from ''[[Literature/TheMazeRunner The Maze Runner Trilogy]]'', the head of all the mess that is WICKED. [[spoiler: Eventually, though, the cruelty of that position gets to her and she decides to cut their losses and stop torturing people for a cure that might never come.]]
* In [[Literature/NewSeriesAdventures "Prisoner of the Daleks"]] Dalek X (the Dalek Inquisitor-General) serves as the main villain. However it is mentioned he answers to the Supreme Dalek.
* In the ''Literature/{{Nightrunner}}'' series, the GodOfEvil Seriamaius seems to encourage his followers, especially necromancers, (and others) in villainous actions, but never appears as an actual character except in prophetic dreams. Granted, none of the more benign gods put in personal appearances either.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
** In the first book, Katniss is only interested in surviving the Hunger Games and not in taking down the government, so the main antagonists are the other Tributes. However, the other tributes are also just trying to survive; [[PresidentEvil President Snow]] is the only truly evil character. He is downgraded to BigBad in later books.
** Snow implies that [[spoiler:District 13]] caused the Dark Days in an attempt to rise to power, only to back down when the Capitol defeated them and the rebelling Districts, causing the rise of the Hunger Games. [[spoiler:He says this when he realizes that Alma Coin was playing this trope from the beginning for that exact same reason. Thankfully, Katniss decides to bump her down to the BigBad and off her afterwards]].
* Since the first three ''Literature/AgeOfFire'' novels all take place at roughly the same time, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Wrymmaster]] -- the BigBad of the first book -- is this for the latter two. It's his minions and allies that set the events of the series in motion, scattering the three sibling protagonists and sending them all on their own individual storylines. And while he only shows up in the first book, his presence is still felt in the other two to varying degrees.
* Asmodeus is too busy overseeing the destruction of entire worlds to get involved in day-to-day evildoing. Until his son [[spoiler:Magnus]] summons him in ''Literature/CityOfHeavenlyFire'', at which point he briefly appears in humanoid form and acts as a DeusExMachina before returning to his more cosmic interests.
* Derek Leech, who appears in the background of various stories by Creator/KimNewman, is a monstrous hybrid of Richard Branson and Rupert Murdoch, and also TheAntichrist. He is clearly plotting some kind of evil Tory apocalypse, but has been known to help sympathetic characters fight other evil types whose preferred apocalypses would [[EvilVersusOblivion clash with his own]].
* In ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', Lamia wove the spell that allows monsters to detect demigods, three thousand years ago. That one act has shaped everything that happened since.
* In ''Literature/AlexRider'', Zeljan Kurst is the leader of SCORPIA, and the one who orders the [[BigBad BigBads]] of ''Snakehead'' and ''Scorpia Rising'' to carry out their plots, though he never comes face to face with Alex.
* ''Literature/TheZombieKnight'' has Dozer and Morgunov, the BigBadDuumvirate of [[ReligionOfEvil Abolish]]. They are the co-leaders of a group that controls at least a third of the known world and [[OmnicidalManiac whose ultimate goal is the extinction of humanity]], and even their [[TheDragon Dragons]] are [[PersonOfMassDestruction strong enough to take on entire countries]] if they can be spared to do so.
* The Widow (a.k.a. Indira Gandhi) in ''Literature/MidnightsChildren''. The fate that Saleem suffers in the climax is performed at her orders, but Saleem never encounters her directly, only her subordinates.
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': The BigBad of the first two books is [[spoiler:Luke Castellan]], and the third has [[spoiler:Atlas]]. However, both are only servants of the Kronos, who [[spoiler:steps down to BigBad for the last two books in the series after being freed [[SealedEvilInACan from Tartarus]]]].
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* UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte for two Creator/PaulFeval novels ''Literature/JohnDevil'' (1862) and [[Literature/GentlemenOfTheNight ''The Mysteries of London'']] (1843-44) adapted for the stage as ''Gentlemen of the Night''. The BigBad of each claims to have met Napoleon on St. Helena in about 1815-1816. Both have their own reasons for the Wars against England however, and Henri Belcamp in ''John Devil'' could have actually benefited Napoleon (Since the other's main narrative is set after he died), and Henri even more so is really about his own Ambition, he really wants to be the next Napoleon, freeing the first is merely for a PassingTheTorch moment. O'Brean in ''Gentlemen of the Night'' [[WellIntentionedExtremist is motivated by liberating and avenging Ireland]]. Both are [[BatFamilyCrossover made in continuity with each other]] via Literature/TheBlackCoats.
* Another Féval story, ''Literature/TheVampireCountess'', uses Napoleon as the BigGood. The Greater Scope Villain of that story is [[VampireMonarch Count Szandor]] who [[FemmeFatale the title character]] is in love with.
* The unseen Evil priest in ''Literature/VampireCity''.
* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
** Morgoth was always the ultimate evil presence in Middle-Earth, but after his defeat and imprisonment at the end of ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', Sauron took over the role of the active BigBad, overlapping with DragonAscendant. Morgoth was not destroyed, however, and Tolkien's writings indicate he will free himself in time to command the forces of darkness once again at the Last Battle.
** Sauron himself as the Necromancer during ''Literature/TheHobbit'' - he definitely exists and will later be revealed as the canonical ultimate evil, but has no direct role in the story's plot, except as a device to give Gandalf a reason to leave the group for chapters at a time to go get information on him.
* In the ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'', the ultimate enemy is Perimal Darkling (think TheCorruption on a cosmic scale), which appears to be largely mindless and is in no sense a "person", nor does it seem to have desires beyond consuming the whole universe. [[ImmortalityImmorality Master Gerridon]], nominally TheDragon, generally serves as the primary antagonist.
* [[TheFairFolk The Lords of Norsunder]] are the ultimate malevolent force in the ''Inda'' books, but during the timeline of the series are largely uninterested in human affairs. [[EvilSorcerer Erkric]], the BigBad, came up with his schemes on his own but bargained with one of them for his powers, but when he failed to live up to his end [[EvilIsNotAToy she killed him]] and then departed.
* Several of TadWilliams' works feature an entity called Unbeing or Old Night, which is the representation of entropy and ultimate decay. It's never any of the {{Big Bad}}s, but is portrayed as being tied to their actions, and at least one (Hellebore of TheWarOfTheFlowers) planned to deliberately unleash it.
* In The ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'' and ''TheMalloreon'', the King of Hell is mentioned several times as a demon god SealedEvilInACan who controls the [[TheLegionsOfHell single nastiest faction in existence]], but because he isn't part of the conflict between the Light and Dark Prophecies, he to all practical intents and purposes sits the series out. A couple of his top minions ''do'' show up in supporting villain roles, but were likely acting independently.
* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** The Council of Thirteen are the political heads of the Yeerk Empire, but only appear in one book, a VillainEpisode where they're more focused on judging Vissers One and Three than the conquest of Earth per se. Visser Three is the commander of operations on Earth and consequently functions as the BigBad. The main plotline ends with his defeat.
** Crayak is a SufficientlyAdvancedAlien who plays TheChessmaster throughout the galaxy to encourage mass genocides of entire species for no reason; in a series full of shades of grey he's one of only a handful of characters who qualify as pure evil. However, he only becomes directly involved in the story a handful of times and isn't terribly invested in it. The implication is that he and his [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]], the Ellimist will continue their long "game" millennia after the Animorphs' series has ended.
* The Black Thing in ''AWrinkleInTime''. IT is the BigBad, and the Man with the Red Eyes may be [=ITs=] [[TheDragon Dragon]], while the Black Thing is more a manifestation of Evil as a concept. On the other hand TheMovie states that the Black Thing was created by IT, making IT the biggest villain of that adaptation.
* Azathoth in the whole of Franchise/CthulhuMythos, a manifestation of perfect amoral chaos who creates and destroys, kept asleep by the Lesser Outer Gods with 'pipes and drums' so his awakening doesn't ''destroy the universe'', but never does anything except listening to music. Most of the other powerful {{Eldritch Abomination}}s (Shub-Niggurath, Yog-Sothoth) also take a very distant role in most of Lovecraft's stories, a notable exception being "The Call of Cthulhu". Nyarlathotep is a bit more hands-on, and August Derleth's Mythos stories frequently feature the likes of Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth about to personally emerge everywhere before being halted by a DeusExMachina or [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu explosives]].
* The Crimson King was presented as the central evil in Creator/StephenKing's metaverse; however, in an example of TheDevilIsALoser, when he's finally confronted in the GrandFinale of ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series he's revealed to be nothing more than an insane old man armed with nothing except [[Literature/HarryPotter suspiciously]] [[ShoutOut familiar]] flying grenades, who is promptly defeated in one of the most ignoble manners possible. It's later revealed he had relied on ancient technology to give him most of his seemingly multiverse-spanning omnipotent powers, and when he lost that through the efforts of various heroes on various realities he was reduced to the pathetic wretch confronted by Roland.
* ''Literature/TheRiftWarCycle'': Nalar, Raymond E. Feist's God of Evil, is slowly revealed to fill this role, and being imprisoned in another dimension, can do little more than be the influence for the various Big Bads in his books [[spoiler: and the ''true'' BigBad, the Dread, has nothing to do with him]]. Leso Varen, his minion, fills this role as well (making Nalar a GreaterScopeVillain).
* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/JamesBond'' novels often have the Soviet Union sponsoring some or all the activities of a novel's main villain.
* In ''Literature/{{Gone}}'', Caine is the BigBad, the counterpart to the hero, and the one who usually drives the plot. The Gaiaphage is an EldritchAbomination that arrived via meteorite, crashed into a nuclear power plant, {{Mind Rape}}s several main characters including Caine, and looks at the whole situation as a game, but rarely shows up and is usually just a vague threat in the background.
* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfPrydain'':
** Arawn Death-Lord who played the role of the BigBad for ''The Book of Three'' and ''The Black Cauldron'', is this for ''The Castle of Llyr'' and ''Taran Wanderer''. By ''The High King'', he's the BigBad again.
** There's also Gwyn the Hunter's unnamed lord. Even Gwydion doesn't know his name or identity, but believes that he's greater in power than Arawn - although not necessarily evil, since Gwyn's function (basically a GrimReaper figure) is a necessary one.
* In ''Literature/TheLastBattle'', [[spoiler:Tash, the chief Calormene god,]] is revealed to have been this all along throughout ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia''.
* In ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'', the evil deities frequently play this role in the novels, such as Hiddukel in the Taladas Trilogy, or Takhisis in Chronicles. There is also [[spoiler: Morgion]] in the Minotaur Wars Trilogy.
* [[UltimateEvil The Void]] of ''Literature/TheWordAndTheVoid'' is the Greater Scope Villain to each of the trilogy's respective villains. Due to its status as an AllPowerfulBystander it never intervenes in the plot, and as such, has little impact beyond merely existing. CanonWelding by the author makes the Void the Greater Scope Villain of the [[LongRunner long running]] ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' series as well, where it has ''less'' of a direct role.
* [[spoiler:The Warren of Chaos]] in ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', chiefly opposed by Anomander Rake and [[DarkIsNotEvil the Warren of Darkness]]. The actual BigBad, or the closest thing to one, is the Crippled God.
* Set, in Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' and ''Literature/{{Kull}}'' stories.
* The Bellon-Tockland Institute in Creator/DeanKoontz's ''Literature/FalseMemory'', a semi-fascistic psychology think tank. The main villain of the book, [[MeaningfulName Mark Ahriman]], is a psychologist who develops a form of mind control and employs it both on behalf of the Institute and for his own deviant amusement; the trouble he causes for the main characters stems from [[spoiler:his grudge against the stepfather of two of them, another academic who spammed Amazon with with negative reviews of Ahriman's work, as well as a previous affair with the wife/mother which ended badly]]. Although we do see Ahriman manipulate a patient into [[spoiler:biting off the nose of the U.S. President]] as a "message", and the Institute's connections are used in the BackStory to explain how he has escaped any accountability for his murderous pastime, the Institute's plans have no direct bearing on the novel's events and [[VillainWithGoodPublicity they are ultimately cleared]] [[KarmaHoudini of any connection to Ahriman]] after [[spoiler:the protagonists break his control on them and another one of his unstable pawns randomly kills him]].
* The Otherness from the ''Literature/RepairmanJack'' series, a vast, impersonal cosmic force locked in an endless war to conquer the multiverse. In our world, its goals are carried out by the immortal [[BigBad Rasalom]] and his disciples.
* Quinn Dexter is the BigBad of ''Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy''; behind him and threatening [[ApocalypseHow the entire universe]] is [[spoiler: the Dark Continuum.]]
* [[spoiler: Florence de Peyser]] in Peter Straub's ''Ghost Story''.
* [[spoiler: The Shard Odium]] is shaping up to be the most powerful evil in Creator/BrandonSanderson's [[TheVerse universe]] Franchise/TheCosmere, though some WordOfGod indicates that something more subtle but even more dangerous ''may'' be out there. [[spoiler: Odium takes the role of BigBad proper]] in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive.''
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', the Dark Forest serve this role during the ''Power of Three'' arc. They are recruiting an army to destroy the Clans, and are made up of the most powerful villains the heroes have ever faced. However, this is mostly going on in the background, as the main driving point of the arc is uncovering the secrets of the past and defeating the villain Sol, who is trying to make the Clans destroy each other.
* [[BigBrotherIsWatching Big Brother]] from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''...[[RiddleForTheAges maybe]]. He never actually enters the story, and the major Party officials (like [[spoiler:O'Brien]]) do most of the villainy. George Orwell intentionally leaves lots of questions about Big Brother unanswered. How much power and influence does BB have? Has there only been one BB, or has the title been passed on from person to person over time? Does he even exist, or is he just the Party's fictional mascot?
* [[EldritchAbomination The Nameless]] in the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy''. He/she/it/they (it's complicated) is far and away the most powerful evil in the series, but while it features prominently in the backstory of [[VillainProtagonist Gerald Tarrant]], the bad guy actually responsible for the conflict is [[TheCorrupter Calesta]]. The Nameless's only real role in the present-day story is to [[spoiler: punish Tarrant for apparently backing out on the DealWithTheDevil they made]].
* ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'' gives us the ''first'' Marquis de Saint-Evremonde. By the time the story begins, he's already dead, but it's revealed in a flashback that he was the linchpin for everything bad that happened when he [[spoiler: raped [[BigBad Madame Defarge]]'s sister, causing the good Madame to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge swear revenge and mark the Marquis' entire family and anyone who would help them for death]]]]. Unfortunately, this includes the completely innocent main characters.
* Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse:
** The first six books of the ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' series have [[MadScientist Borborygmus Gog]] as the BigBad. He's got a very long leash and a lot of discretion, but ultimately is employed by TheEmperor. Palpatine only appears once, in a call to the scientist.
--> He [Gog] could order the deaths of hundreds if he wished. With his terrible knowledge he could engineer nightmares. But as powerful as the scientist was, the Emperor could snuff him out with little more than a thought.
** The works set between ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' and ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' (including ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', the ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'', and the ''ComicBook/XWingSeries'') feature an array of villains of varying threat levels and goals, but almost all of them serve the Empire, [[VestigialEmpire even if in name only]], and would not have their power if it weren't for the Emperor, despite him being long dead at this point. The exception is ''ComicBook/DarkEmpire'', where the Emperor is BackFromTheDead and serving as the Big Bad.
** All the villains of the ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology have motivations that revolve around Thrawn, who has been dead for over a decade.
* In the ''Fever'' series by Karen Marie Moning, [[spoiler: the Unseelie King is the ultimate evil force but makes no obvious appearance until the end of book five where he saves the day. Seemingly still evil since he is still technically the originator of all the evil things going on because he created all the Unseelie.]].
* The planet Mesa and Manpower Inc. was eventually revealed in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series to be ultimately responsible for the long and bloody war between Manticore and Haven. When their role was revealed, ''then'' it was discovered they were merely a front for the secretive Mesan Alignment organization. Manticore and Haven were.... less than impressed to find out just who was responsible for their long, bloody conflict. [[TheAlliance So they decided to do something about it.]]
* The ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' series seems to like this trope. The first two BigBad characters ([[VillainWithGoodPublicity Nefarian Serpine]] and [[GeneralRipper Baron Vengeous]]) were only the men they were because of their now-dead master [[SorcerousOverlord Mevolent]]. Mevolent was considered the BigBad of the setting prior to his death before the beginning of the series, but ''he'' wouldn't have gotten there without ''his'' master, the so-termed '[[UltimateEvil Nameless One]]'. Furthermore, Mevolent, along with Serpine, Vengeous, [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad the Diablerie]] (whose [[IJustWantToBeSpecial leader]] is the BigBad of book three), [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Dreylan Scarab]] (BigBad of book four) and [[MagnificentBastard Eliza Scorn]] (who is yet to be a BigBad but is still a significant threat in later books) were all primarily motivated by their [[ReligionOfEvil worship]] of the [[EldritchAbomination Faceless Ones]], evil gods who were themselves worshipped ([[EvenEvilHasStandards albeit also eventually banished]]) by the long-dead [[AbusivePrecursors Ancients]]. Meanwhile, possibly the most powerful magician in the setting is Mevolent's one surviving lieutenant, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Lord Vile]], who [[DragonWithAnAgenda wasn't actually loyal to Mevolent]] in the first place, simply wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac kill everything]], but has yet to significantly impede the heroes as he is usually kept mostly subdued on account of being [[spoiler: Skulduggery's SuperPoweredEvilSide]]. And on the subject of [[spoiler: {{SuperPowered Evil Side}}s]], there are all these prophecies about how [[ApocalypseMaiden Darquesse]] [[spoiler: AKA Valkyrie Cain]] is destined to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, but seven books in she's still yet to come to the fore.
* ''The Brethren'', by JohnGrisham, makes reference early on to one Natli Chenkov, a Russian politician and Communist hardliner who is suspected of planning to stage a coup and start a war the director of the CIA doubts America can win. The main action of the book involves three former judges (the titular Brethren) who run a blackmail scheme from prison and unwittingly hook the congressman whom said CIA director hopes to install as President to beef up the military and block Chenkov's ambitions, bringing down the CIA's wrath on them. Whether this makes Teddy Maynard (the CIA director) the BigBad (albeit a WellIntentionedExtremist) or the Brethren [[VillainProtagonist Villain Protagonists]] (albeit sympathetic ones) is arguable, but Chenkov is hardly mentioned after the initial explanation.
* Similar to King's ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', all the horror novelist Brian Keene's works are connected by the Labyrinth, in which dwell the Thirteen, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that existed in the PrimordialChaos before the birth of the universe. Among them, the Thirteenth is the most powerful and feared.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Kthonia is the most powerful villain in this story but she is neither involved, [[spoiler: aware of, or inclinded to assist with]] Jihadain's EvilPlan. [[spoiler: When Kalak kills Jihadain, however, she becomes the TrueFinalBoss.]]
* Lord Voldemort, the official BigBad of ''Literature/HarryPotter'', is in this role instead sometimes:
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. If you consider each Horcrux as a separate person, the main portion of Voldemort's soul (residing in the disembodied Voldemort himself) was a Greater Scope Villain in this book. Tom Riddle was more a manifestation of Voldemort's will, and in any way acted independent from him (although in his interests).
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban''. He wasn't directly involved in that book's events at all, although the villain does work for him.
** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'' doesn't feature Voldemort at all, and all his actions take place outside the main events of the plot. The BigBad of the book eventually turns out to be [[spoiler:Severus Snape, who kills Dumbledore and set most of the events in motion to further himself in Voldemort's eyes.]] Although the next book [[spoiler: reveals that Snape was actually a deep-cover double agent for the good guys.]]
* In ''Literature/TheChathrandVoyages'', it's established early on that [[EvilSorcerer Arunis]] (most dangerous individual member of TheBigBadShuffle the series has going on) worships entities called the Night Gods. These gods later turn out to be very real, and Arunis doesn't just worship them, he [[AGodAmI wants to be one]]. They've set him a task to complete before they'll accept him into their ranks- namely, scouring Alifros, the world where the books are set, of life- but otherwise take no direct part and Arunis (and the other villains) stand and fall by their own merits.
* In Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Empire of the East'', the eponymous evil [[TheEmpire empire]] is ruled by mortal men, particularly by Emperor John Ominor, the BigBad. It was founded, however, by Orcus, the king of all demons, whom Ominor overthrew in a coup and imprisoned. It will probably not surprise anyone to learn that Orcus eventually escapes.
* DaleBrown's books have portrayed the Chinese presidents and high commands that tacitly condone the generals' and admirals' actions as this, in contrast to the Russian presidents who have directly been {{Big Bad}}s.
* The Ix from [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]]. They trump Gwilanna hands down.
* Charles "Trout" Walker in ''Literature/{{Holes}}'', the even worse deceased grandfather to the BigBad. The entire plot ultimately stems from his [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racially-motivated murder]] of Sam the Onion Man, which caused Green Lake to dry up and Sam's lover Kate Barlow to cross the DespairEventHorizon and become an outlaw, ultimately burying treasure in the desolate lakebed. Trout became obsessed with finding the treasure, even forcing his granddaughter to help him dig, [[FreudianExcuse which is why she forces other children to dig in the present]].
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has a BigBadEnsemble with Littlefinger, the Lannisters, the [[spoiler: Boltons and Freys]] although they're working, sort of, for the Lannisters,and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] [[spoiler: Varys]] and Melisandre. Overshadowing them all, are [[MonstrousHumanoid the Others]].
** The NeglectfulPrecursors of the current Lords and Ladies offer a different - and possible straighter - example. Martin goes out of his way to show that one VERY big reason that Westeros is such a CrapsackWorld - almost on par with the {{Realpolitik}} - is that [[CycleOfRevenge no one ever forgets their grudges]] [[SinsOfTheFather even when the people responsible are long dead]]. Oaths broken, wars fought, people killed - the actions of the past shape the ways the nobility interacts in the present [[InherentInTheSystem and will continue doing so well into the future]]. Tyrion sadly lampshades how each generation puppets the generation that comes after from beyond the grave.
* ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' "Alien Bodies" has the Enemy and the [[YouCannotKillAnIdea Celestis]] in this role. The Doctor does encounter them, though in his future.
* Chancellor Paige from ''[[Literature/TheMazeRunner The Maze Runner Trilogy]]'', the head of all the mess that is WICKED. [[spoiler: Eventually, though, the cruelty of that position gets to her and she decides to cut their losses and stop torturing people for a cure that might never come.]]
* In [[Literature/NewSeriesAdventures "Prisoner of the Daleks"]] Dalek X (the Dalek Inquisitor-General) serves as the main villain. However it is mentioned he answers to the Supreme Dalek.
* In the ''Literature/{{Nightrunner}}'' series, the GodOfEvil Seriamaius seems to encourage his followers, especially necromancers, (and others) in villainous actions, but never appears as an actual character except in prophetic dreams. Granted, none of the more benign gods put in personal appearances either.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'':
** In the first book, Katniss is only interested in surviving the Hunger Games and not in taking down the government, so the main antagonists are the other Tributes. However, the other tributes are also just trying to survive; [[PresidentEvil President Snow]] is the only truly evil character. He is downgraded to BigBad in later books.
** Snow implies that [[spoiler:District 13]] caused the Dark Days in an attempt to rise to power, only to back down when the Capitol defeated them and the rebelling Districts, causing the rise of the Hunger Games. [[spoiler:He says this when he realizes that Alma Coin was playing this trope from the beginning for that exact same reason. Thankfully, Katniss decides to bump her down to the BigBad and off her afterwards]].
* Since the first three ''Literature/AgeOfFire'' novels all take place at roughly the same time, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Wrymmaster]] -- the BigBad of the first book -- is this for the latter two. It's his minions and allies that set the events of the series in motion, scattering the three sibling protagonists and sending them all on their own individual storylines. And while he only shows up in the first book, his presence is still felt in the other two to varying degrees.
* Asmodeus is too busy overseeing the destruction of entire worlds to get involved in day-to-day evildoing. Until his son [[spoiler:Magnus]] summons him in ''Literature/CityOfHeavenlyFire'', at which point he briefly appears in humanoid form and acts as a DeusExMachina before returning to his more cosmic interests.
* Derek Leech, who appears in the background of various stories by Creator/KimNewman, is a monstrous hybrid of Richard Branson and Rupert Murdoch, and also TheAntichrist. He is clearly plotting some kind of evil Tory apocalypse, but has been known to help sympathetic characters fight other evil types whose preferred apocalypses would [[EvilVersusOblivion clash with his own]].
* In ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', Lamia wove the spell that allows monsters to detect demigods, three thousand years ago. That one act has shaped everything that happened since.
* In ''Literature/AlexRider'', Zeljan Kurst is the leader of SCORPIA, and the one who orders the [[BigBad BigBads]] of ''Snakehead'' and ''Scorpia Rising'' to carry out their plots, though he never comes face to face with Alex.
* ''Literature/TheZombieKnight'' has Dozer and Morgunov, the BigBadDuumvirate of [[ReligionOfEvil Abolish]]. They are the co-leaders of a group that controls at least a third of the known world and [[OmnicidalManiac whose ultimate goal is the extinction of humanity]], and even their [[TheDragon Dragons]] are [[PersonOfMassDestruction strong enough to take on entire countries]] if they can be spared to do so.
* The Widow (a.k.a. Indira Gandhi) in ''Literature/MidnightsChildren''. The fate that Saleem suffers in the climax is performed at her orders, but Saleem never encounters her directly, only her subordinates.
* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': The BigBad of the first two books is [[spoiler:Luke Castellan]], and the third has [[spoiler:Atlas]]. However, both are only servants of the Kronos, who [[spoiler:steps down to BigBad for the last two books in the series after being freed [[SealedEvilInACan from Tartarus]]]].
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