History Main / ArcVillain

** The PUZZLEVISION Arc -- [[DealWithTheDevil Mr. Puzzles]]. In addition, the first three parts focus on a different character as TheHeavy.
*** ''Part 1: [=SMG4]]'s Perfect Video'': The [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain Completely Regular Keyboard]]
*** ''Part 2: Meggy's Perfect Idol'': [[spoiler:[[TheRival One-Shot Wren]]]]
*** ''Part 3: SMG3's Sussy Notebook of Secrets'': [[{{Greed}} Marty]]

** The PUZZLEVISION Arc -- [[DealWithTheDevil Mr. Puzzles]]

** ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth''

*** One Minute War: The Fraction

** ComicBook/TitansHunt: The Wildebeest Society
** ComicBook/TotalChaos: Lord Chaos

** ''HorrorLand'': The Horrors who run the titular AmusementParkOfDoom. Depending on the continuity, the one behind them is either [[PsychopathicManchild Madison Storm]] or [[NightmareFetishist Karloff Mennis]].

*** OneMinuteWar: The Fraction

*** "OneMinuteWar": The Fraction

** ''GreenArrow (2001)''

*** "The Lords of Order": The Lords of Order (Brother Pattern, Count Control, Doctor Fate, Lord Structure and
Sister Symmetry)

** ''Supergirl (2006)'' has Reactron for most of the ongoing's run.

*** "ComicBook/OneMinuteWar": The Fraction

** ''ComicBook/GreenArrow2001''

** ''ComicBook/Hawkman2003''

** ''ComicBook/Supergirl2006'' has Reactron for most of the ongoing's run.

*** "Darkness Within": Shadow Thief
*** "Tyrant Reborn" and "Death's Doorway": Sky Tyrant (and by extension, The Batman Who Laughs)

* ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'' has a major overarching villain who becomes a threat throughout the season, usually being set up in the previous season.
** Season 1 plays with this, as while Jschlatt was the villain throughout the season once the elections were over, it was ''Wilbur'' who ultimately became the main antagonist after [[DiscOneFinalBoss Jschlatt died suddenly]], having resolved to blow up L'Manburg in an attempt to off himself while Technoblade [[TheHeavy helped clean up the remaining mess with Withers]]. Wilbur's case is played with, however, as he ''saw'' himself as a VillainProtagonist as a result of an arc-long mental breakdown and while he ''is'' an antagonist, he's closer to an AntiHero than a villain proper.
** Season 2 plays this straight with Dream, being an active threat throughout Season 1 before he took a backseat to Jschlatt, coming back in full force by horrifically abusing and {{gaslighting}} Tommy and being responsible for both his exile and the permanent destruction of L'Manburg. He even has a FinalBattle with Tommy at the very end, and overall seems to act as the BigBad.
** Season 3 initially has the Eggpire, a cult worshipping a BotanicalAbomination that had its start in Season 2 but became a major threat in Season 3. Though Dream was in prison during the season, he still managed to exert a significant amount of control over the server and generally played a BigBadEnsemble with the Crimson, the aforementioned BotanicalAbomination.
*** Later in the season, the Las Nevadas arc muddies the waters a lot more--post-DespairEventHorizon, Quackity acts as a somewhat antagonistic force [[spoiler:(he gets better by the end of the volume)]], but pales in comparison to Techno, who gets broken out of prison by Philza and eventually ''breaks Dream out of prison'' in the season finale, allowing Dream to act as the ReturningBigBad in Season 4.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'': The eponymous [[Characters/TeenTitansOriginalTeenTitans Golden Eagle]] acts at the villain for the storyline "The Rise of the Golden Eagle"

*** "[[ComicBook/OneMinuteWar]]": The Fraction

* Each arc of Creator/JossWhedon's ''Astonishing Franchise/XMen'' had one:

* ''ComicBook/TheFlash''

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* ComicBook/TeenTitans

* ComicBook/YoungJustice2019

The SuperTrope to FillerVillain, an Arc Villain serves as the antagonist for one StoryArc, having an EvilPlan to threaten the heroes. After that, though, they're killed off, imprisoned, sent into a HumiliationConga, make a HeelFaceTurn, or are otherwise taken out of the picture, and the heroes continue their adventures to the next arc.

The Arc Villain serves as the most visible opponent for a story arc, and with their defeat contributing to the resolution of that arc. They serve a purpose between a BigBad and a MonsterOfTheWeek as they do not cause the end of the story or the hero's character development but are still seen as a milestone in the greater storyline. There may be TheManBehindTheMan involved or a GreaterScopeVillain, or they can be a minion of the BigBad from the start, but they can also stand alone. They often tend to stand as a seasonal BigBad driving the MythArc side of the HalfArcSeason, but someone new can take over the position for the following season. As the nature of arc based storytelling, they can still be the final antagonist of a series that serves as a cap to the heroes adventures.