History Main / BreakOutVillain

** Frieza's brother Cooler and the Legendary Super Saiyan Broly are Breakout ''Movie'' Villains who appear more than once in the ''DBZ'' movies and are the first to appear in the video games. Especially Broly, who appears more often in video games than any other movie villain, [[AdaptationalBadass gaining more super forms that any villain in the series.]] He is so popular, that ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' decided to make a [[{{Expy}} character based on him]], [[RuleSixtyThree only female]], thus making his transformation sorta canon. ''Super'' later went a step further by making Broly himself a CanonImmigrant in the ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'' movie. Cooler got a consolation prize starring as one of the main characters in the ''Super Dragon Ball Heroes'' promotional anime, getting his own Golden Form.

* In Anime/HigurashiWhenTheyCry, though she's not a villain for most of the series, [[spoiler:Shion]] is an iconic and often referenced antagonist character, making it on a lot of "top anime villain" lists too. It helps that the arc that focuses on her as a villain, in a series that's notoriously gory, is notorious for being the goriest storyline.

** Liquid Snake, the final boss from the first ''Metal Gear Solid'' game was so popular that his right arm was chosen as a replacement for Ocelot's instead of a robotic one. This in turn gives Liquid control over Ocelot's mind, eventually becoming Liquid Ocelot. He also appears as a child in ''Metal gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain''

* SHODAN was so much of a standout villain in the first ''VideoGame/SystemShock'', that she was brought back for the second, where she became one of the most legendary villains in gaming history.

* Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}:

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* [[MadScientist Wilhelm]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Deathshead"]] [[RetCon Strauss/Strasse]] of the [[{{Ghostapo}} SS Paranormal Division]] returns as the eventual BigBad in ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'', mainly due to his status as being the sole surviving Nazi of any prominence in ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'' besides [[DoomedByCanon Himmler]]. He's even more prominent in ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'', being the primary source of the Nazis' [[StupidJetpackHitler mechs and other super science]].

** The devs of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' intended for Zenos Yae Galvus, the primary antagonist of the ''Stormblood'' expansion to be completely unlikable. However, they failed miserably as he gained quite the following. Perhaps it was the fact that he is the first character in the story to completely outclass and knock the Warrior of Light on their ass. Perhaps players felt sympathy for the fact that his father [[spoiler:showed [[NoSympathy zero concern or sympathy]] upon learning of his apparent demise, making the players wonder if his father had ever really tried to raise him to be a better person]]. It ''definitely'' helped his popularity when [[spoiler:his (at first apparently) FamousFinalWords call the Warrior of Light his very {{first friend}}.]] Regardless, he gained quite the following, ending up as the first Villain rep for ''FFXIV'' in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy2015''. And whether it was due to his popularity or just the plan all along, [[spoiler:he is revealed to have survived his death. He then becomes a reccuring villain, notably playing up his infatuation with the Warrior of Light and using him as a MetaGuy for the devs to lampshade and directly address why so many players loved (or hated) him.]]

* The ''Videogame/{{Borderlands}}'' series has Handsome Jack, who after his debut in ''Videogame/Borderlands2'' managed to gain enough popularity to be the focus of [[Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel the Pre-Sequel]] that details his rise to power (along with a BodyDouble as a DLC playable character) as well as being a major character in the form of a VirtualGhost in ''Videogame/TalesFromTheBorderlands''. While his role in the base game of ''Videogame/Borderlands3'' was mostly just a sidequest detailing his past, his presence became the focus of the "Handsome Jackpot" DLC (which brought back the previously-mentioned Body Double as a major NPC). He's so associated with the series that a collection that includes 2 and the Pre-Sequel was known as "The Handsome Collection".

** In the original ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'', there's [[InsectoidAliens Baltan]], [[AntlionMonster Antlar]], [[DumbMuscle Red King]], [[{{Shapeshifter}} Zarab]], [[ThisIsADrill Gubira]], [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Gomora]], [[TheChessmaster Mephilas]], and [[HeroKiller Zetton]].

** Nelgel of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX''. After the game's first release on August 2nd 2012, he was the main villain responsible for the destruction of Tenton, [[note]] At the time, though it's revealed he was on orders from [[TheManBehindTheMan Maldragora]] to do so [[/note]] forcing the game's Hero to reincarnate as one of the 5 races to stop him and avenge their hometown. Despite his defeat, however, he became pretty popular with fans of the series, culminating in him receiving appearances in spinoff games, such as the 3DS remake of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters 2'', and was represented by Nelgelas, one of the Past Masters of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI''. Hell, his game even has a side story from the 10th anniversary where the bad guys are trying to [[ResurrectTheVillain revive him with the Dark Key Emblems]], despite the fact the Hero defeated him.

** The minor boss, Nightmare, from ''Fusion'' was clearly popular enough to get a second [[note]] Chronologically [[/note]] first appearance in ''Other M''.

** VideoGame/{{Wario|Land}}. The ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' games felt like {{Gaiden Game}}s to the main franchise, and then part 2 featured this fellow, and the next one starred him, and he turned AntiHero. Since then he's been a mainstay of the Mario franchise.

** Nelgel of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX''. After the game's first release on August 2nd 2012, he was the main villain responsible for the destruction of Tenton, [[note]] At the time, though it's revealed he was on orders from [[TheManBehindTheMan Maldragora]] to do so [[/note]] forcing the game's Hero to reincarnate as one of the 5 races to stop him and avenge their hometown. Despite his defeat, however, he became pretty popular with fans of the series, culminating in him receiving appearances in spinoff games, such as the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest Monsters 2, and was represented by Nelgelas, one of the Past Masters of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI''. Hell, his game even has a side story from the 10th anniversary where the bad guys are trying to [[ResurrectTheVillain revive him with the Dark Key Emblems]], despite the fact the Hero defeated him.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Oersted’s whole story and significance to the game’s overarching plot became ''the'' main attraction of the title in the opinion of many fans, due the extreme tragic nature of his character and what drove him into villainy; indeed it is as Oersted is the reference of choice in ''Final Fantasy Legends'' and ''Theatrhythm Final Fantasy'' for smartphones to celebrate Live A Live’s 20th anniversary, a boss fight against him is the feature in Legends and a stage featuring Oesrted in the background in Theatrhythm with 2 songs from the game, Odio’s themes. It even culminated in him getting equal billing with the seven heroes when the 2022 remake for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch had been announced.

* [[spoiler: Adachi]] from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' was just yet another antagonist in the series, but his AffablyEvil personality and some memetic lines resonated with fans and he ended up slowly but surely making his way to major character status. First he was given a social link and his own ending in the games remake, then he was given a major role in the ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' sequel [[spoiler:and played an explicit role in defeating the main villain.]] He may not leave the Persona 4 verse, but he has gotten the most attention out of perhaps any other villain in the series.

** Another example is Akuma. He instantly made a huge impression on gamers with his debut, not only being the one to kill Bison in the first place but also for the shock and mystery he brought as one of the first hidden bosses in fighting game history. In his initial appearance, his portrait was covered in shadow and he didn't even have his name displayed. He returned in the VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha series, where he would eventually make his first playable appearance in a toned down form. Since then, Akuma has become a massively popular character both for his mysterious, dark aura and for his DifficultButAwesome fighting style that puts a homicidal new twist on Ryu and Ken's classic style, and of course for introducing the world to the Raging Demon, one of the most famous attacks in all of gaming. Akuma has since appeared in every single Street Fighter series to date where he almost always has a super-powered boss form as a hidden opponent, and you can count the amount of Capcom crossovers he's missed on two fingers. [[note]]That would be ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' and ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone''.[[/note]]

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' produced not one but ''two'' of these. In the game itself, BigBad Exdeath was seen as a fairly flat character in comparison to his outstandingly [[LargeHam hammy]] [[TheDragon Dragon]], Gilgamesh, who as a result ended up traveling the Void and winding up in various other Final Fantasy games. And then came ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'', where thanks to the power of incomprehensible battle quotes and [[LargeHam hickory-smoked lines]], Exdeath became a [[FountainOfMemes Sealed Meme In A Tree]] and went from one of the most-overlooked villains in the series to one who gave longstanding fan-faves like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse a run for their money]]. It's unknown how attentive Square Enix was to his overnight surge in popularity, but given that [[PowerOfTheVoid VOID!]] jokes [[AscendedMeme run abundant]] in ''Duodecim'', it's a safe bet that they knew. On top of this, [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMonsters his control of the]] [[{{Golem}} manikins]] led to the ''[[KilledOffForReal permanent deaths]]'' of every newcomer ''not'' named Gilgamesh or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Prishe]], as well as [[TheBadGuyWins Team Chaos' victory in the 12th cycle]].]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' gives us the Black Knight, and his true identity [[spoiler: Zelgius]]. He is often considered the most popular villain in the entire series, with his only competition being [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Lyon]] and [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Arvis]]. Not only did he get to return in the sequel, he made it into ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'' before many other iconic antagonists (and he even got a variant of his true identity), and is usually considered the UrExample for the series on how to judge a villain's overall quality. This even landed him on the role of Assist Trophy in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''. For reference, in ''Fire Emblem Heroes'' "Choose Your Legends" event, he has consistently ranked among the highest characters in the series, and after his four different entry slots had their votes combined into two based on his true identity and his Black Knight appearance (previously they weren't so he ranked lower), he has since ranked among the top sixity, even getting into the top twenty 25.

* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'' debuted King K. Rool, who would become Donkey Kong's own ArchEnemy and the BigBad of the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series as a whole, to the point where [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate he was brought back by sheer fan demand after a long 10 year absence.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'': Malefor, the trilogy's BigBad, became one of the most memorable parts of the game and proved popular enough to make his way into the franchise's future continuities, appearing in supplemental materials of ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}} and having a major role in ''WesternAnimation/SkylandersAcademy''.

** [[EvilTwin Nale]] was the only member of [[ThePsychoRangers the Linear Guild]] originally slated to escape from the first battle with the heroes. However, fans really liked [[PsychopathicManchild Thog]], so Burlew decided to spare him and, while he was at it, [[HornyDevils Sabine]] as well, developing her and Nale's relationship into a case of UnholyMatrimony.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** Roman Torchwick was originally just a small-time villain for the main characters to cut their teeth on, to the point that his first major scene had him running away from a fight rather than trying to take down the heroine. His classiness, his sarcastic wit, and his ''Literature/AClockworkOrange''-inspired character design lead to him becoming unexpectedly popular among the fans, so he TookALevelInBadass and became a recurring threat over the next couple of seasons, though still subordinate to the ArcVillain and BigBad. His sidekick, Neo, who is based on a gender-flipped cosplay of him, also became extremely popular. They eventually got their own [[Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday expanded universe novel]] where they take the VillainProtagonist roles.

** Bowser. Before ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', the portly plumber tangled with a lot of nasty foes. VideoGame/DonkeyKong, Foreman Spike, and random unorganized critters (though some did look similar to Koopas). But once ''Super Mario Bros.'' hit the scene, it was Mario's defining moment, and from that day forth, the Koopa Troop and its fearless leader would be his most prominent nemesis. This seems even more dramatic in America, where Bowser was in fact absent for [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 a game]] before making a triumphant reappearance in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''. In this case, it was the unforeseen popularity of the game that caused Bowser to become a Breakout Villain. The Koopa King has also got an increasing number of playable appearances; from being a party member in some of the [=RPG=]s; as the main character of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' and the Bowser-centric ''Bowser Party'' in ''VideoGame/MarioParty 10''; and finally, [[spoiler:to being a playable Capture enemy in the last segment of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', marking the first time he's playable in a main series title.]]

* Bishop Ladja of ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV''. In the original SNES game, while he did have some presence in the plot, he was ultimately a minor villain who showed only a mild evil and [[spoiler:dies less then halfway through the game]]. The DS remake propels him into this, giving him a unique appearance, replacing King Korol with him as TheDragon, giving him much more screentime.

** The minor boss, Nightmare, from ''Fusion'' was clearly popular enough to get a second appearance in ''Other M''.

** Professor James Moriarty, created by Sir Creator/ArthurConanDoyle to be a one-time opponent of Holmes, and to bring about Holmes' demise. Though Doyle indeed wrote him as Holmes's EvilCounterpart, WorthyOpponent, MirrorCharacter, and ArchEnemy for that one story, he came out of nowhere and got more than a passing mention only ''three times'' in Doyle's work -- the story where he appeared, and apparently killed Holmes; and the following story, which brought Holmes BackFromTheDead, and in this it's only Moriarty's men; a third story, written much later but set earlier, uses him as a GreaterScopeVillain. ''Every'' author, director, fan, etc. afterwards, though, has made Moriarty ''the'' villain of Sherlock Holmes, lifting him to the point of mythical status among literary characters; to the modern viewer, it's inconceivable to have an original Holmes movie or television series with original Holmes mysteries without having Moriarty as the central, most important villain.

** Another "villain" to become central to the Holmes Universe (i.e. original canon ''and'' adaptations), despite her one appearance, is Irene Adler, who is the ''only'' woman to ''ever'' outwit Holmes. In Doyle's stories, he does make a few fleeting mentions of her as one of the few people whom Holmes never beat -- though hardly as many as one might be led to expect by adaptations.

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' has [[ClassicalMovieVampire Myotismon/Vamdemon]], who invaded the Real World in order to kill the Eighth Chosen Child. His story arc is generally seen as the best one of the series and is also the longest, taking up over a third of the show's length. Myotismon himself is the fan favorite villain from the Adventure continuity for being a MagnificentBastard who WouldHurtAChild, his treatment of [[SixthRanger Gatomon/Tailmon]] and for generally being way stronger than any other villain seen so far: it took the combined efforts of ''Seven'' Ultimate level digimon [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Angemon]] to finally finish him off. His popularity lead to him being brought BackFromTheDead ''twice'': Once as [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever VenomMyotismon]] after his initial defeat which required [[OurDragonsAreDifferent WarGreymon]] and [[RobotDog MetalGarurumon]] to take him down, [[spoiler: then again as [=MaloMyotismon=] who [[DemonicPossession possessed Yukio Oikawa]] and ended up being the BigBad of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. His defeat required the combined efforts of ''every digimon and Chosen Child in the world''.]] Myotismon keeps making appearances in assorted media and even received a new evolution; [[OurVampiresAreDifferent NeoMyotismon]].

* SHAME, a sapient virus and the ArcVillain of ''VideoGame/UKSightReadingTournament 8'', started out as a loose {{expy}} of the GUILT pathogen in [[WholePlotReference a storyline based on]] the ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter'' series. Despite a cure being developed at the end of the story, effectively neutralising her as a threat, she proved to be a huge fan favourite, and come the first release of the [=NotITG=] engine she was [[https://youtu.be/Q1y2UjCjicA chosen to be the mascot]]. Later modcharts would frequently include references to her and her boss stages too, and she even managed to appear in later ''UKSRT'' installments, albeit as [[TheImp a harmless hallucination]].

* The ''Franchise/KamenRider'' franchise has two peculiar inversions whose situations are virtually identical. Ankh from ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'' and Black Woz from ''Series/KamenRiderZiO'' were the TokenEvilTeammate of the heroes and both were intended to become the final BigBad of their respective seasons in the original plans for those shows, but their chemistry with the main cast and popularity with the audience led to them remaining on the heroes’ side by the end rather than making a full HeelFaceTurn. Examples that are played straight are [[Series/KamenRiderBLACK Nobuhiko Akizuki/Shadow Moon]] and [[Series/KamenRiderRyuki Takeshi Asakura/Kamen Rider Ouja]], who have gone on to make multiple appearances after their own seasons ended. Asakura in particular was the TropeCodifier for evil Riders.

* ''Myth/KingArthur'': Mordred. In the early mentions of King Arthur in Welsh mythology, Arthur was slain by Medraut, later to be known as Mordred. However, Medraut's importance in the mythos as a whole was almost non-existent, save for that he killed King Arthur. Other villains had come and gone, and it seemed that Mordred was intended to just be another, though the only one who finally got lucky (although Arthur slew him in the same action, so his luck is debatable). Ask anyone in modern times, however, who is ''the'' villain of the story of King Arthur, and the answer you will get is "Mordred" almost all the time (though Morgan Le Fay is another name that also comes up quite frequently, and is, coincidentally, another example of this trope). Mordred has become so integrated into the mythos of Arthur that it is unheard of to ''not'' include him in any story involving Camelot.

** The only appearances of {{Satan}} in the Jewish Bible are in the ''Literature/BookOfJob'' and ''Literature/1Chronicles'' in which he's simply a gadfly to {{God}} and tempts David respectively. Then in the New Testement he takes on a larger villainous role. Even here he only has a major role in the book of Revelation (which seems to call him the serpent). At some point, though, he came to be regarded as God's ArchEnemy, and the same entity as the Serpent from ''Literature/BookOfGenesis''.

** The only appearances of {{Satan}} in the Jewish Bible are in the ''Literature/BookOfJob'' and ''Literature/1Chronicles'' in which he's simply a gadfly to {{God}} and a temptation to David. Then in the New Testement he takes on a larger villainous role. Even here he only has a major role in the book of Revelation (which seems to call him the serpent). At some point, though, he came to be regarded as God's ArchEnemy, and the same entity as the Serpent from ''Literature/BookOfGenesis''.

** The only appearances of {{Satan}} in the Jewish Bible is in the ''Literature/BookOfJob'' and ''Literature/1Chronicles'' in which he's simply a gadfly to {{God}} and a temptation to David. Then in the New Testement he takes on a larger villainous role. Even here he only has a major role in the book of Revelation (which seems to call him the serpent). At some point, though, he came to be regarded as God's ArchEnemy, and the same entity as the Serpent from ''Literature/BookOfGenesis''.

** The only appearance of {{Satan}} in the Jewish Bible is in the ''Literature/BookOfJob'', in which he's simply a gadfly to {{God}}. Then in the new Testament he takes on a larger villainous role. Even here he only has a major role in the book of Revelation (which seems to call him the serpent). At some point, though, he came to be regarded as God's ArchEnemy, and the same entity as the Serpent from ''Literature/BookOfGenesis''.

Not every hero has an ArchEnemy... initially. Sometimes, though, a villain will be introduced who ends up being a BreakoutCharacter in his/her own right, and thus a [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain of the Week]] becomes the villain of the series.

** The only appearance of {{Satan}} in the Jewish Bible is in the ''Literature/BookOfJob'', in which he's simply a gadfly to {{God}}. At some point, though, he was regarded God's ArchEnemy, and the same entity as the Serpent from ''Literature/BookOfGenesis''.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Oersted’s whole story and significance to the game’s overarching plot became ''the'' main attraction of the title in the opinion of many fans, due the extreme tragic nature of his character and what drove him into villainy; indeed it is as Oersted is the reference of choice in ''Final Fantasy Legends'' and ''Theatrhythm Final Fantasy'' for smartphones to celebrate Live A Live’s 20th anniversary, a boss fight against him is the feature in Legends and a stage featuring Oesrted in the background in Theatrhythm with 2 songs from the game, Odio’s themes. It even culminated in him getting equal billing with the seven heroes when the remake for the 2022 UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch had been announced.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'': Oersted’s whole story and significance to the game’s overarching plot became ''the'' main attraction of the title in the opinion of many fans, due the extreme tragic nature of his character and what drove him into villainy; indeed it is as Oersted is the reference of choice in ''Final Fantasy Legends'' and ''Theatrhythm Final Fantasy'' for smartphones to celebrate Live A Live’s 20th anniversary, a boss fight against him is the feature in Legends and a stage featuring Oesrted in the background in Theatrhythm with 2 songs from the game, Odio’s themes.