History Main / DemotedtoDragon

** In the final season, Tirek, Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis are brought together into a LegionOfDoom under [[AncientEvil Grogar]], all of them becoming his Dragons. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, they don't like that idea and begin [[TheStarscream plotting behind his back]]. Coupled with the twist that Grogar was actually [[TricksterMentor Discord]] in disguise as a part of a convoluted plan to boost Twilight's confidence, they end up taking back their BigBad status and become the true finall villains of the series]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS4E25TwilightsKingdomPart1 Twilight's Kingdom, Part 1]]", Discord ''thinks'' he and Tirek are a BigBadDuumvirate, but in actuality he's this trope and Tirek double crosses him as soon as he is no longer important.
** For the final season, Tirek, Cozy Glow, Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra all become Dragons to the series BigBad Grogar.

** Speaking of Geese, in the first ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' game, the main boss is an escrima using crime lord named Mr. Big. In II, it's established that Geese defeated Big and took control of the underground in South Town. It's also why Big appears on the Villains team in KOF'96 alongside Geese and Krauser.

* Slade from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' is demoted to Trigon's dragon when the latter tries to take over the world. An unusual case where the former BigBad is actually ''more'' of a threat to the heroes when he's serving as someone else's henchman, because Trigon gave him [[EmpoweredBadassNormal a truckload of powers in the bargain]].

->''"I see you stil believe that I'm the Dark Lord. [...] I am now supreme commander over Lord Vearn's armies! I am Hadlar, the Dark Commander!"''

* The Series/{{Arrowverse}}: Damien Darhk serves as the BigBad of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' Season 4. He then migrates to ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' and joins a BigBadDuumvirate in Season 2, playing second fiddle to Eobard Thawne and constantly spatting with his co-dragon Malcolm Merlyn. Come Season 3, he becomes merely the Dragon to the time demon Mallus, before [[HeroicSacrifice giving up his life]] to save his daughter.

->''"You know, I actually like working for someone else. It lets me be a little more... hands-on.''"
-->-- '''Slade''', ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''

-->-- '''Slade''', ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''

* ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' does this via plot expansion in an UpdatedReRelease. In the original DS version, Shadar the Dark Djin was the FinalBoss. The PS3 version, "Wrath of the White Witch", keeps his original arc but continues afterwards, making him a DiscOneFinalBoss, and adds cutscenes revealing him as TheDragon to the White Witch from the start.

'''Beware of spoilers.'''

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion,'' after [[spoiler:Homura [[DemonOfHumanOrigin becomes the devil]], Kyubey]] is forced into this role, turning from a potent and incomprehensible chessmaster to a lapdog whom she apparently {{Mind Rape}}s at the end.
* Played with for the Team Rocket trio in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' anime. Though they always served under Giovanni, they usually worked on their own accord and were individual villains. In the ''Best Wishes'' series however, they are promoted to {{Elite Mook}}s, either taking orders directly from Giovanni, or being supervised by the organisation's scientist Dr. Zagar.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Fray}}'', the vampire Icarus used to be the boss of all the vampires in Manhattan, (or Haddyn, as the FutureSlang of the world calls it) but willingly chose to give that up and become TheDragon to [[spoiler:VisionaryVillain and UndeadChild Harth]].

* In ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite Sonic the Hedgehog/Mega Man: Worlds Unite]]'', Doctors Eggman and Wily -- the main antagonists of their own series and the BigBadDuumvirate of the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide previous crossover]] -- are press-ganged into the service of [[AIIsACrapshoot Sigma]]. It doesn't take long for the two of them to go [[TheStarscream full Starscream]], either.
* During the events of the Phoenix Five and later [[spoiler:being refugees from the law]], Comicbook/{{Magneto}} recognized and submitted to Comicbook/{{Cyclops}}'s greater strategic genius.

* Carmen Cole, the BigBad of the novel ''Literature/{{Hottie}}'' by Jonathan Bernstein, becomes TheDragon to Emperor Vakudos in ''[[http://alaxr274.deviantart.com/gallery/37280372 Hottie 3: The Best Fan Fic in the World.]]''

* ''FanFic/ThePowersOfHarmony'': Eclipse [[spoiler: (formerly Nightmare Moon)]] ends up forced to serve [[BigBad Cetus]], her own creation. Naturally, she's [[TheStarscream not pleased with this]].

* ''FanFic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'' has this happen to [[spoiler: Chrysalis]] in relation to the titular VillainProtagonist. However, due to a combination of MadLove and being genuinely impressed by him repeatedly, she doesn't mind much.
* ''Fanfic/PersonaEG'': The dark persona user Eris, AKA [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalVillainy Fluttershy]]]] seems to be the main enemy of ZIT, but it is eventually revealed she is working for the far more powerful and dangerous Mephistopheles, AKA [[spoiler:Sunset Shimmer]].
** [[spoiler:Though she had already been trying to perform a HeelFaceTurn by the time it was revealed, Sunset herself was later revealed to have been an UnwittingPawn to the Zodiac Shadows and it seems that the real BigBad the whole time was actually Juan the Janitor, AKA Red Flag.]]

* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'' features an example where TheDragon of one villain is demoted to being TheDragon of ''another'', [[TheManBehindTheMan nominally lower-ranked villain.]] Due to Cornelia continuously failing to defeat the Autobots or Black Knights without the assistance of the Decepticons, [[spoiler:her father decides to make her Megatron's subordinate in all conflicts with the Autobots or Black Knights (she still retains her privileges as Viceroy in all other matters]]. Cornelia is ''enraged'' by this, but has no real way to go against the decision.

* James [=McCullen=] spends most of ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' as the BigBad. Then [[spoiler: his MadScientist revealed himself as Cobra Commander, Turning [=McCullen=] into his Dragon Destro in the process.]]

* ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' has the Orc Leader Azog as the main villain, pursuing Thorin and Company. However in ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'' the Necromancer [[spoiler:Sauron]] tells him to stop hunting Thorin so he can lead his troops. This means Azog sends his son and Dragon Bolg to continue the hunt.
** Bolg himself also suffers from this. In the book, Bolg was the commander of the goblin army during the Battle of Five Armies, since Azog was already dead before the events of ''The Hobbit''. But since Azog was SparedByTheAdaptation long enough to participate in the Battle of Five Armies, Bolg only serves as the leader of the reinforcements from Mount Gundabad, as well as being an opponent for Legolas to fight.

* While Shredder is TheHeavy of ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesOutOfTheShadows'', he's Kraang's chief enforcer and is carrying out his agenda. [[UnwittingPawn Shredder]] isn't ''aware'' of this, however, believing they're equals. [[spoiler:Kraang shows at the climax [[EvilerThanThou how wrong he is]] once he actually makes it to our dimension.]]
* In the first Michael Bay ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie, Megatron is the BigBad. In [[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen the sequel]], he's resurrected, but the BigBad is The Fallen.
** Megatron actually suffers through this throughout the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'', with two of the remaining films having him in this role; In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' while initially appearing to be the one in control Megatron is soon ousted from the role of BigBad to [[spoiler: [[FaceHeelTurn Sentinel Prime]]]] after briefly presuming to be equal partners [[note]]it is ultimately realizing this that pushes Megatron to betray Sentinel, leading to both of them being killed by Optimus[[/note]]. Meanwhile in Film/TransformersTheLastKnight it initially appears that Megatron is in a BigBadEnsemble with Quintessa, before it is later revealed that he is working for her, taking he role of Dragon after [[spoiler: Nemesis Prime overcomes Quintessa's brainwashing and becomes Optimus again.]] Even in Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction where Megatron, [[MeaningfulRename or rather Galvatron]], is working towards his own agenda, it is simply as the less of the BigBadEnsemble, ultimately fleeing in the final battle while the Autobots fight Lockdown, the main BigBad.

** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': In a Meta-sense; serving as the BigBad in two movies, William Stryker is Dr. Bolivar Trask's second-in-command in 1973. In-Universe, it’s more of a DragonAscendant.

* The Series/{{Arrowverse}}: Damien Darhk serves as the BigBad of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' Season 4. He then migrates to ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' and joins a BigBadDuumvirate in Season 2, playing second fiddle to Eobard Thawne and constantly spatting with his co-dragon Malcolm Merlyn. Come Season 3, he becomes merely the Dragon to the time demon Mallus, before [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice giving up his life]] to save his daughter]].

** Also subverted when the Mayor attempted to do this to Angelus. Angelus initially goes along with it (in a very openly-[[TheStarscream Starscreamish]] way) but [[spoiler: it turns out the Mayor failed to actually take Angel's soul, and he was just [[TheMole playing along to get information from Faith]].]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]], [[spoiler:Davros, creator of the Daleks and who had served as the BigBad of most of the Dalek stories in the classic series since his introduction]], has clearly been demoted to being a minion of [[spoiler:the Supreme Dalek]].

* In ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', Mr. Greer willingly and ''happily'' demotes himself to the role of TheDragon after succeeding in his two-season mission to install [[spoiler:Samaritan, an ArtificialIntelligence unfettered by morality,]] as the show's new BigBad. [[spoiler:His goal is to put ''all of humanity'' in the control of AIs, believing them to be logical, incorruptible and superior to human leaders in every way.]]

* Done briefly in ''Series/StargateSG1''. Initial BigBad Apophis is hunted down by replacement BigBad Sokar and dies while hiding on Earth. In a later episode, [[spoiler:one of the lesser Goa'ulds serving Sokar has a First Prime named Na'onak who turns out to be a regenerated Apophis in disguise. However, Apophis rapidly pulls a [[TheStarscream Starscream]] on both and reclaims the BigBad throne.]]
** Later on, the new BigBad Anubis is defeated by [[spoiler:O'Neill controlling the Ancient super-weapon]]. He is presumed dead, and Ba'al, whose rise to power is previously facilitated by SG-1 to counterbalance Anubis becomes their number 1 threat. Near the end of the Goa'uld rule, though, it's revealed that Ba'al has since become this trope after Anubis manages to come back and retake his empire. After the fall of the Goa'uld, Ba'al is the only real Goa'uld threat remaining.

* Wrestling/TheUndertaker, as the leader of the Ministry of Darkness, was clearly seen as the biggest threat in the Wrestling/{{W|orldWrestlingFederation}}WF at the time, to the point where it seemed even Wrestling/VinceMcMahon was getting face cheers over him and was being portrayed somewhat sympathetically. However, Taker began making references to a "Higher Power", and when it was time for the reveal, [[spoiler:it was none other than [=McMahon=] himself who had been pulling the strings all along. The Ministry merged with The Corporation to form the Corporate Ministry, and Undertaker immediately became [=McMahon=]'s dragon.]]

* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', the seemingly BigBad FinalBoss called Sin turned out to only be an ''armor'' used by Yu Yevon, the center of the world's only religion and pretty much their god. From the moment the cast learns this, Sin is technically Demoted to Dragon, because the player had expected that Sin would be the BigBad.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'':
** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky]]'' actually took this literally with [[spoiler:[[DiscOneFinalBoss Primal Dialga.]]]]
** ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity Gates to Infinity]]'' does it again, still literally, with [[spoiler:Kyurem]].
* [[GorgeousGorgon Medusa]], the villain of the first ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' game, is actually reduced to this in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. Though in what may have been an AuthorsSavingThrow in case this wasn't well-received, it's revealed that the Medusa in ''Uprising'' [[spoiler:isn't actually Medusa, just a whole bunch of random souls Hades put together in a Medusa-shaped container.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', Darth Sion starts out as one half of a BigBadDuumvirate with Darth Nihilus. During the events of the endgame, in which [[spoiler:Nihilus dies and Kreia reclaims her identity as Darth Traya]], he becomes the sole BigBad for a time, only to be forcibly demoted upon Traya's return.

* Also happens to Geese Howard in ''[[VideoGame/FatalFury Fatal Fury Special]]'', where he is the last opponent the player must face before facing Geese's half-brother Wolfgang Krauser. In ''Real Bout Special'', it happens the other way around.

* As of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]'', [[spoiler:Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas, the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the first and second game, respectively, have ''both'' been Demoted To Dragon under Master Xehanort (either that, or Master Xehanort was playing [[TheManBehindTheMan the Man Behind The Men]] the entire time) For the record, these are all different incarnations / versions of the exact same guy.]]

* ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny'' has former BigBad Lord Dearche becoming the subordinate of the Unbreakable Darkness, the true master of the Materials. [[spoiler:At least, that was the plan. Then it gets subverted when the Unbreakable Darkness [[PowerIncontinence turned out to be more unstable than expected]] and unintentionally [[FightingAShadow destroys the physical bodies of the Materials in her introductory scene]], [[EnemyMine forcing the Materials to join forces with the heroes]] to stop/save her. Lord Dearche does eventually become the subordinate of the Unbreakable Darkness, but only after a HeelFaceTurn for everyone involved]].

* In ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'', [[BigBad Zophar]] resurrects Magic Emperor [[spoiler:Ghaleon]], the BigBad of ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar'', to serve as his Dragon. [[spoiler:In the end, this backfires spectacularly. It turns out that being dead for a thousand years gave Ghaleon plenty of time to think about what he did wrong in his previous life, causing him to act as a StealthMentor to the heroes. Zophar had been quite prepared for the possibility of [[TheStarscream a straightforward betrayal]] and revived Ghaleon in such a way that he could simply withdraw his power and cause Ghaleon to instantly die. But it never occurred to him that Ghaleon would pull a HeelFaceTurn and [[HeroicSacrifice be entirely willing to die to stop him]].]]
* [[spoiler: Delekhan]] from ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'', though supposedly in charge, ends up the whole time to be working under the direction of [[spoiler: Makala and The Six]], which the player doesn't figure out until at least Chapter 6 (if not later) and the party doesn't figure out until Chapter 8 (of 9).
* In ''{{Videogame/Bayonetta 2}}'' the BigBad of this game, [[spoiler:Loptr/Aesir tricks Balder, the big bad of the first ''{{Videogame/Bayonetta}}'' game, into serving him by making him think Loki, Loptr's good half, was the one who killed his wife. However, the Balder in the sequel was brought to the present via TimeTravel, and is not the same Father Balder from the first game, at least not until the end of the second game.]]
* In the first ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' game, Shang Tsung appears as the Big Bad, with Goro as his Dragon. Starting with the second game, Shao Kahn overtakes his Big Bad status, where Shang Tsung becomes his one of his CoDragons, alongside Kintaro and later on, Goro.

* Gideon was the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' in Season 1, but becomes [[SatanicArchetype Bill Cipher]]'s enforcer in Season 2 after [[spoiler:Bill regains his full power and brings the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]].

** They do cross paths again in the finale movie. [[spoiler:He still doesn't become Unicron's dragon. Megatron's dead body is hijacked by Unicron, and Unicron proceeds to torture Megatron whenever he speaks out of turn.]]
* The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'', Steeljaw, has this happen to him not once, not twice but ''three'' times. First time happens when he gets recruited by [[GreaterScopeVillain Megatronus Prime]] to [[spoiler:free him and bring him to Earth]]. Then, in the second season, Steeljaw winds up joining Glowstrike's crew of Decepticon criminals and working under her, though [[spoiler:he later [[TheStarscream usurps her]] and takes control of her crew.]] Later, in the third season, Steeljaw gets freed by a group of [[MysteriousEmployer mysterious benefactors]] and winds up working under them, though they remain [[GreaterScopeVillain distant]] enough from the plot that Steeljaw could still be considered a BigBad.

* Played with for the Team Rocket trio in the ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' anime. Though they always served under Giovanni, they usually worked on their own accord and were individual villains. In the ''Best Wishes'' series however, they are promoted to {{Elite Mook}}s, either taking orders directly from Giovanni, or being supervised by the organisation's scientist Dr Zagar.

* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'' features an example where TheDragon of one villain is demoted to being TheDragon of ''another'', [[TheManBehindTheMan nominally lower ranked villain.]] Due to Cornelia continuously failing to defeat the Autobots or Black Knights without assistance of the Decepticons, [[spoiler:her father decides to make her Megatron's subordinate in all conflicts with the Autobots or Black Knights (she still retains her privileges as Viceroy in all other matters]]. Cornelia is ''enraged'' by this, but has no real way to go against the decision.

* ''Literature/TheMentalState'' is essentially a story of a SciopathicHero contending with a series of [[ArcVillain Ard Villains]]. Most of them end up as underlings for the story's [[HiddenVillain true Big Bad]]. One of them even becomes TheDragon to TheHero!

* Darken Rahl is the BigBad of the first season of ''Series/LegendOfTheSeeker''. Then he's killed in the season finale. Come season 2, the [[TheDevil Keeper]] has become the new BigBad, seeking to kill every living thing, with the Rahl's soul being his Dragon. Not only that, but he reveals that he has ''always'' served the Keeper after making a DealWithTheDevil for more power, and all his murders and slaughters were partly to appease his master. Then again, Rahl is a dick either way and really enjoyr killing. Of course, he turns out to be a DragonWithAnAgenda and betrays his master by the end. Additionally, in the episode where Zedd's spell goes awry and rewrites history, Rahl becomes Richard's willing assistant, after Richard brainwashes him. Then the spell is broken, and Rahl is back to his old self. By the end of season 2, Rahl finds a way to return to the world of the living and turns his back on the Keeper.

* [[GorgeousGorgon Medusa]], the villain of the first ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' game, is actually reduced to this in ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. Though in what may have been an AuthorsSavingThrow in case this wasn't well received, it's revealed that the Medusa in ''Uprising'' [[spoiler:isn't actually Medusa, just a whole bunch of random souls Hades put together in a Medusa-shaped container.]]

* The Magician reappears in ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead 2'' as the penultimate boss before the final stage. He isn't any easier to beat, though. Probably doesn't count though, since he isn't related the the bad guy's plan at all. He's a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere.

** Megatron actually suffers through this throughout the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'', with two of the remaining films having him in this role; In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' while initially appearing to be the one in control Megatron is soon ousted from the role of BigBad to [[spoiler: [[FaceHeelTurn Sentinel Prime]]]] after briefly presuming to be equal partners [[note]]it is ultimately realizing this that pushes Megatron to betray Sentinel, leading to both of them being killed by Optimus[[/note]]. Meanwhile in Film/TransformersTheLastKnight it initially appears that Megatron is in a BigBadEnsemble with Quintessa, before it is later revealed that he is working for her, taking he role of Dragon after [[spoiler: Nemesis Prime overcomes Quintessa's brainwashing and becomes Optimus again.]] Even in Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction where Megatron, [[MeaningfulRename or rather Galvatron]], is working towards his own agenda, it is simply as the less of the BigBadEnsemble , ultimately fleeing in the final battle while the Autobots fight Lockdown, the main BigBad and in Film/Bumblebee he serves asthe GreaterScopeVillain, never actually appearing.

** Megatron actually suffers through this throughout the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'', with two of the remaining films having him in this role; In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' while initially appearing to be the one in control Megatron is soon ousted from the role of BigBad to [[spoiler: [[FaceHeelTurn Sentinel Prime]]]] after briefly presuming to be equal partners [[note]]it is ultimately realizing this that pushes Megatron to betray Sentinel, leading to both of them being killed by Optimus[[/note]]. Meanwhile in Film/TransformersTheLastKnight it initially appears that Megatron is in a BigBadEnsemble with Quintessa, before it is later revealed that he is working for her, taking he role of Dragon after [[spoiler: Nemesis Prime overcomes Quintessa's brainwashing and becomes Optimus again.]] Even in Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction where Megatron, [[MeaningfulRename or rather Galvatron]], is working towards his own agenda, it is simply as the less of the BigBadEnseble, ultimately fleeing in the final battle while the Autobots fight Lockdown, the main BigBad and in Film/Bumblebee he serves asthe GreaterScopeVillain, never actually appearing.

** Megatron actually suffers through this throughout the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'', with two of the remaining films having him in this role; In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' while initially appearing to be the one in control Megatron is soon ousted from the role of BigBad to [[spoiler: [[FaceHeelTurn Sentinel Prime]]]] after briefly presuming to be equal partners [[note]]it is ultimately realizing this that pushes Megatron to betray Sentinel, leading to both of them being killed by Optimus[[/note]]. Meanwhile in Film/TransformersTheLastKnight it initially appears that Megatron is in a BigBadEnsemble with Quintessa, before it is later revealed that he is working for her, taking he role of Dragon after [[spoiler: Nemesis Prime overcomes Quintessa's brainwashing and becomes Optimus again.]] Even in Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction where Megatron, [[or rather MeaningfulRename Galvatron]], is working towards his own agenda, it is simply as the less of the BigBadEnseble, ultimately fleeing in the final battle while the Autobots fight Lockdown, the main BigBad and in Film/Bumblebee he serves asthe GreaterScopeVillain, never actually appearing.

** Megatron actually suffers through this throughout the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries'', with two of the remaining films having him in this role; In ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' while initially appearing to be the one in control Megatron is soon ousted from the role of BigBad to [[spoiler: [[FaceHeelTurn Sentinel Prime]]]] after briefly presuming to be equal partners [[note]]it is ultimately realizing this that pushes Megatron to betray Sentinel, leading to both of them being killed by Optimus[[/note]].
Meanwhile in Film/TransformersTheLastKnight it initially appears that Megatron is in a BigBadEnsemble with Quintessa, before it is later revealed that he is working for her, taking he role of Dragon after [[spoiler: Nemesis Prime overcomes Quintessa's brainwashing and becomes Optimus again.]]
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* In the ''Film/WrongTurn'' series, Three Finger is the default leader of the cannibal hillbillies. But in the [[Film/WrongTurn5Bloodlines fifth]] and [[Film/WrongTurn6LastResort sixth]] films, he takes orders from other members of the family -- [[EvilOldFolks Maynard]] in the former, and [[BrotherSisterIncest Jackson and Sally]] in the latter. In the first case, he actually seems [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority intimidated into service]], while in the second it's more a case of TeethClenchedTeamwork.

** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': After serving as the BigBad in two movies, William Stryker is Dr. Bolivar Trask's second-in-command in 1973.

* Sagat was the final boss in the original ''VideoGame/StreetFighter''. In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', he's simply the last fighter the player must face before M. Bison.

Demoted Big Bads will almost always become TheStarscream or a DragonWithAnAgenda, especially if the only reason they were demoted was because the other BigBad happened to have an advantage and the alternative would mean certain death. Better to lay low and wait for the right moment...

Although, some dragons will do the opposite: [[TheCreon They will happily accept the new position]], be actually loyal to the new BigBad and have a trustworthy relationship, often because the dragon will realize that he works better and more efficiently by working for someone else, and the dragon may actually become a much bigger threat than when he was the main villain thanks to the help and resources of the new one; effectively an inversion of ThePeterPrinciple. However, that good relationship might not last, and it may be the BigBad [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness that betrays him instead]].

* ''Fanfic/CodePrimeR1Rebellion'' features an example where TheDragon of one villain is demoted to being TheDragon of ''another'', [[TheManBehindTheMan nominally lower ranked villain.]] Due to Cornelia continuously failing to defeat the Autobots or Black Knights without assistance of the Decepticons, [[spoiler:her father decides to make her Megatron's subordinate in all conflicts with the Autobots or Black Knights (she still retains her privileges as Viceroy in all other matters]]. Cornelia is ''enraged'' by this, but has no real way to go against the decision.

* During the events of the Phoenix Five and later [[spoiler:being refugees from the law]], Comicbook/{{Magneto}} recognized and submitted to Comicbook/{{Cyclops}}'s greater strategic genius. Subverted because Cyke normally isn't considered a BigBad, but during this he was.

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion,'' after [[spoiler:Homura [[AGodAmI becomes the devil]], Kyubey]] is forced into this role, turning from a potent and incomprehensible chessmaster to a lapdog whom she apparently {{Mind Rape}}s at the end.

* In the first ''Videogame/MortalKombat'' game, Shang Tsung appears as the Big Bad, with Goro as his Dragon. Starting with the second game, Shao Kahn overtakes his Big Bad status, where Shang Tsung becomes his one of his CoDragons, alongside Kintaro and later on, Goro.

* In the first Michael Bay ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie, Megatron is the BigBad. In [[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen the sequel]], he's resurrected, but the BigBad is The Fallen.
* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', the previous film's BigBad Davy Jones is demoted to being TheDragon for Cutler Beckett. Justified by Beckett possessing [[SoulJar the heart of Davy Jones]], and therefore being quite capable of having Jones killed and [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt replaced]] if he doesn't obey Beckett's orders. And in the climax, Davy Jones regains control of his heart, going into full DragonInChief mode.

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'':
** ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'': After serving as the BigBad in two movies, William Stryker is Dr. Bolivar Trask's second-in-command in 1973.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'': Magneto ''isn't'' the leader of the supervillain team; this time around, he plays second fiddle to Apocalypse.

* While Darth Vader was DragonAscendant in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' sees him not only taking orders from the Emperor, but losing his role as TheHeavy too.

** Also subverted when the Mayor attempted to do this to Angelus. Angelus initially goes along with it (in a very openly-[[TheStarscream Starscreamish]] way) but [[spoiler: it turns out the Mayor failed to actually take Angel's soul, and he was just [[ReverseMole playing along to get information from Faith]].]]

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Pain, thought to be the BigBad, is eventually revealed to have been the DragonWithAnAgenda to Tobi. [[spoiler:And Tobi was the same to Madara Uchiha...until he [[TheStarscream hijacked Madara's scheme for himself]].]]