History Main / DiscOneFinalBoss

*** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': Randall Boggs is the film's most active antagonist, being Mike and Sulley's rival who would go through terrifying lengths just to prove himself as superior. He's revealed to be working alongside Monsters Inc. CEO, Henry J. Waternoose III, and as such, the latter is still kicking as a threat after Mike, Sulley, and Boo defeat the former.

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** Jango Fett in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', who faces off against Obi-Wan several times, but ultimately turns out to be just one of Count Dooku's minions, and gets unceremoniously killed off early in the climax.
** Count Dooku and General Grievous are this for the first half of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', with the former being killed in the first 20 minutes.
** [[Film/ANewHope Tarkin]] is the first major bad guy killed in the classic trilogy. Darth Vader (the other half of the CoDragons) becomes the main threat for the next two movies.

** In a genuinely shocking BaitAndSwitch, [[spoiler:Supreme Leader Snoke]] is not the BigBad of ''Film/TheLastJedi''. Instead, [[spoiler:[[KlingonPromotion he's killed and usurped towards the end of the second act by Kylo Ren]], using Anakin's lightsaber to telekinetically bisect him with a good helping of ambiguity to completely sidestep the telepathy that Snoke thinks makes him invincible.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLilithClawthorne Lilith Clawthorne]] was the primary antagonist for the first season before getting succeeded by Emperor Belos, who seeks to destroy all wild magic forever through his Day of Unity scheme, becoming the series' true BigBad. [[spoiler:Until [[Characters/TheOwlHouseTheCollector The Collector]] is freed at the end of season two and [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains easily gets rid of him]]... until Belos returns in season three and distracts the Collector while furthering his own plans, making the Collector the actual disc-one final boss.]]

** [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Prince Zuko]] was the main enemy to the group. Zhao just turned out to be even worse. After Zhao's defeat, the ''far'' more dangerous [[HeroKiller Princess Azula]] took his place, but the TrueFinalBoss was always [[GreaterScopeVillain Fire Lord Ozai]], no matter who he sent after the group. Somewhat [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]], though, since the final fight with Azula takes place at the same time as the final fight with Ozai and she's considered to be a threat comparable to the man himself.

* The focus of ''WesternAnimation/Zootopia'' is on Judy and Nick's investigation of the 14 missing predators, and they find and arrest the culprit for this, Mayor Lionheart. He's only a pawn, though, in the actual BigBad's plot to take over the city.

* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'', has Megatron. As the leader of the Decepticons and true power behind Emperor Charles zi Britannia, Megatron presented himself as the most powerful and feared threat for the first two parts of the story before meeting his demise at the hands of Lelouch in ''R2'' finale, ''One Shall Fall''. [[spoiler:Of course, his death and the fall of the Decepticon Empire opens a way for the other villains for the final season, such as the [[RisingEmpire Kingdom of Zilkhistan]], [[TheJuggernaut Predaking]], and finally, [[FinalBoss Unicron]].]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** In ''Suzaku of the Counterattack'', this happens [[spoiler:twice]]. The viewer expects Lelouch to be the villain, but Emperor Charles Zi Britannia is soon introduced as a potential BigBad, [[spoiler:only for Schneizel to assassinate him]].

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** Santana from ''Manga/BattleTendency'' is initially believed to be the creator of the [[MacGuffin Stone Masks]] and BigBad of the Part. However, he's defeated early on by [[TheHero Joseph]], and it's revealed he's actually a minion for Kars, the true creator of the Stone Masks and real BigBad of the Part.
** While Dio Brando can be seen as the BigBad of the entire series, [[spoiler:he's defeated and killed at the end of ''Manga/StardustCrusaders'', and while his [[GreaterScopeVillain influence can be felt throughout the later Parts]], the rest of the series focuses on {{Big Bad}}s who have no relation to him (with the exception of ''Manga/StoneOcean'''s Enrico Pucci)]].
** ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' has two of these. The Part initially focuses on tracking down a [[FightingSpirit Stand]]-granting [[MacGuffin arrow]]. This leads the heroes into conflict with the current owner of the arrow, Keicho Nijimura, whose use of the arrow results in the creation of a large number of Stand Users in the Part's first half. However, [[spoiler:he's defeated by [[TheHero Josuke]] early on and killed soon afterwards by the Stand, Red Hot Chili Pepper]], who then steals the arrow. This leads to a hunt against the User of Red Hot Chili Pepper, Akira Otoishi. Once he ''is'' introduced, he is defeated rather quickly compared to the usual {{Big Bad}}s up to that point. Say hello to [[SerialKiller Yoshikage Kira]], instead!
** La Squadra from ''Manga/GoldenWind'' are made out to be the main antagonistic faction of the Part, but once most of them are defeated, the true main antagonist is revealed in the form of [[spoiler:the boss of Passione]].
** In ''Manga/{{JoJolion}}'', [[spoiler:Tamaki Damo is the leader of the Rokakaka smuggling ring and cause behind Kira and Josefumi's deaths, but the appearance of more Rock Humans indicates he's actually a small part of a larger network]].

* [[spoiler:Lordgenome]] in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' turns out to be this [[spoiler:once the Anti-Spirals show up]].

* In season 1 of ''Anime/ImGonnaBeAnAngel,'' Dispell seems to be the BigBad. It turns out, however, that he is a puppet of [[spoiler:his [[TheManInFrontOfTheMan "sidekick"]], Silky]].
* One can actually make a case for Kaiba being this in the ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga. His second appearance (his first is as just a MonsterOfTheWeek) has him a far greater threat than any opponent Yugi and his friends had faced so far -- previous enemies were (with some exceptions) just school bullies, while Kaiba actually tries ''to kill'' Yugi and his friends, and for [[DisproportionateRetribution an incredibly petty reason]] to boot. His climactic showdown with Yugi has a ton of buildup, the heroes get some CharacterDevelopment for the first time, and at the end, Yugi learns of the existence of his other self, at a point in the story where nothing suggests that said other self is anything more than a SplitPersonality. Millenium Items other than the Puzzle had been revealed before this point, but not how many there are or any hint that Yugi must eventually acquire them all. The arc has enough of a denouement that a reader completely unfamiliar with the franchise could probably believe that Death-T is the final arc... only to discover that the series lasted for another 33 volumes.
* In the Dark Signer of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', the leader Rudger Godwin is defeated before the two female members. The TrueFinalBoss is [[spoiler:his younger brother Rex Godwin]].

* All For One from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. Interestingly, he is by far the most powerful villain in the story so far and is the BigGood's ArchEnemy, but he is defeated and imprisoned not even 100 chapters into the story. That's because he wants his protege, Shigaraki, to take over in his stead. His defeat also has big ramifications on the story from that point onward, [[spoiler:namely the revelation that Shigaraki is the grandson of All Might's late mentor, and defeating All For One cost All Might the remainder of his powers, which effectively writes him out as an active part of the story and the world has to deal with the absence of its biggest symbol.]]
** [[spoiler:Subverted when All For One later breaks out of prison and reassumes the BigBad position. While Shigaraki is now even stronger than his mentor, he gets implanted with a copy of All For One's mind, and largely acts as a secondary body for the main villain.]]

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' has the [[TheDreaded Gun Devil]], the embodiment of the fear of firearms. It wiped out several thousand people all over the world in seconds, and various arcs serve to get closer to it. [[spoiler: It's then revealed by Makima that the Gun Devil is mostly contained, and uses her power as the Control Devil to bring the rest of it out, damage it enough that it runs into the body of Aki, so that [[KillTheHostBody Denji can kill it inside his best friend's body]]. After Denji succumbs to the despair of killing Aki, he chooses to be subservient to Makima, only for her to kill his other best friend Power and basically break him through talking, fully setting in that Makima is the true BigBad.]]
** Then, [[spoiler:in a literal example, Makima herself is defeated by Denji and consumed over several weeks, marking the end of Part 1.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{Glitchtale}}'': [[spoiler: [[TheHeavy Chara]] is merely being controlled and [[ThePowerOfHate having his negative emotions amplified by]] [[EldritchAbomination HATE]]. Season 1 ends with Asriel purifying him of HATE, causing the latter to disappear. Season 2 then has [[TheHeavy Bête]] [[HumanoidAbomination Noire]] end up being obliterated in the penultimate episode, with HATE pulling a HijackedByGanon and absorbing her magic for itself in order to gain physical form.]]

** Kaido and Big Mom, two of the Four Emperors, are this for the entire story as a whole. They have both been longstanding GreaterScopeVillain throughout the series, pre and post TimeSkip, with multiple villains and major characters connected to them in some way. Their influence is felt throughout the series as prime representatives and physical embodiments of the status quo; old veterans who desperately clinging to power and refuse to step aside when the new generation starts making waves. Once they're both finally defeated at Wano, only then does the series begin its final saga; their loss marks the EndOfAnAge and the corresponding DawnOfAnEra where younger pirates finally can reach the mountaintop.

** Kaido and Big Mom, two of the Four Emperors, have both been longstanding GreaterScopeVillain throughout the series, pre and post TimeSkip, with multiple villains and major characters connected to them in some way. Their influence is felt throughout the series as prime representatives and physical embodiments of the status quo; old veterans who desperately clinging to power and refuse to step aside when the new generation starts making waves. Once they're both finally defeated at Wano, only then does the series begin its final saga; their loss marks the EndOfAnAge and the corresponding DawnOfAnEra where younger pirates finally can reach the mountaintop.

There are many ways this can be pulled off. Perhaps they’re merely a subordinate, and the real villain, TheManBehindTheMan, will show up later. Or maybe TheStarscream[=/=]DragonAscendant will seize control and become the new threat. Or a GreaterScopeVillain may become directly involved in the plot (such as a SealedEvilInACan that [[EvilIsNotAToy turns on]] the Disc One Final Boss for freeing it). Or the defeated villain will take a break to get your guard down, then come back and go all OneWingedAngel on you pitiful, mortal fools. Or, perhaps, they were a [[BigBadWannabe lesser villain]] or even a ''[[GoodAllAlong good guy]]'' fighting against a [[EvilerThanThou greater evil]]; in which case it may even turn out that a TreacherousAdvisor manipulated the heroes into believing that someone else was the villain. Or a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere shows up and takes out the villain, becoming a surprise final boss.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'': In tune with Literature/TheBible, it seems like Seti I will be the pharaoh Moses must step up against to free the Hebrews. However, he dies offscreen halfway through the film and his son Rameses inherits the throne.

* Verushka in ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'' ''Too! Hood vs Evil'', as Hansel and Gretel are the true villains of the story.

* The Hydra in ''WesternAnimation/HerculesPureMagic''. Hercules' initial goal is to kill him to stop the prophecy that otherwise guarantees Deianira's death, but after winning the battle, he learns that Deianira has been taken away, leading to the true final battle on Mount Olympus.
* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': Puss' final confrontation with the Wolf is this. Shortly after he yields to Puss and leaves the scene, Jack Horner (who was seemingly dispatched off earlier) resurfaces one last time to battle the heroes, cementing his role as the film's BigBad.

* In the ''Liveship Traders'' trilogy by Creator/RobinHobb, this is ultimately Kyle Haven's role, as he is responsible for much of the conflicts of the first book - he becomes the captain of Vivacia instead of Althea, who was promised the ship as a girl by her father, prompting Althea to storm off, with the intent of leaving Bingtown to earn proof of her sailing capabilities to make Kyle recognise she is a legitimate choice instead of it being {{Nepotism}}, and it is also Kyle who forces his oldest son Wintrow to leave the monastery he grew up in to live aboard the ship (as Kyle is technically not blood family to Vivacia and therefore can't properly form a mental link with her), despite Wintrow's objections as he wanted to become a priest and Kyle grows more abusive towards Wintrow as time goes on, and he leaves his wife Keffria woefully unprepared to manage the household while he's on his sea voyage as he never let her make any decisions during their marriage. However, after Kennit manages to wrest Vivacia away from him in the second book, [[LaserGuidedKarma Kyle ends up thrown into the hold where he was keeping slaves]] and, seeing Kyle was doing nothing but causing agony for Wintrow and sowing dissent among the former slaves, dumps a chained, starved and beaten Kyle off on an island somewhere and takes over as the lead antagonist for the remainder of the trilogy. When Althea is reunited by Kyle by coincidence, she's stunned at the shell of a man he has become [[spoiler: and he's promptly killed off with very little fanfare, the only person still concerned for his welfare being his daughter, Malta, who was oblivious to the abuse he put his older brother Wintrow through.]]

* ''Literature/{{Unsong}}'' initially looks like it's going to be about [[LaResistance the heroic singers]] fighting against the oppressive bureaucracy of UNSONG and its AmbiguouslyHuman leader Malia Ngo. The fact that the story is literally named after it doesn't do anything to offset that impression. However, after the first quarter or so of the story, the stakes rise considerably higher than intellectual property rights and UNSONG fades into the background, to be replaced by the likes of [[{{Satan}} Thamiel]], the [[EvilOverlord Other King]] and the [[HiveMind Drug Lord]]. [[spoiler: And in the end, UNSONG turns out to be NecessarilyEvil and run by a NobleDemon.]]

* ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' has [[spoiler:the Red Dragon. Just because Team Touden have tracked down and killed it doesn't mean their adventure is close to being over, as it’s master, the [[RealAfterAll Lunatic]] [[EvilSorcerer Magician]], shows up and makes the rescue mission even harder]].

A cross between a RedHerring and TheDragon, with a little bit of YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle thrown in. It takes its name from the video game trope of a FinalBoss,[[note]]and more specifically, it references certain classic UsefulNotes/PlayStation1 & UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 era titles - especially [=JRPGs=] - which would come in multiple discs instead of just one due to memory limitations[[/note]] not a management figurehead - as much fun as it'd be to find your boss's boss is bringing about the Apocalypse. See also DiscOneFinalDungeon, wherein this character is likely to reside. Compare DecoyProtagonist and SacrificialLion. Likely to also be a ClimaxBoss. If the real final boss is a previously defeated villain, this may lead to the plot being HijackedByGanon. This can also demonstrate that YouCantThwartStageOne.

** Something similar happens during the Buu Saga. The first main villain of the Saga is Babidi, an alien sorcerer who seeks to release his father Bibidi's creation Majin Buu so that he can use him for his own purposes. Not long after [[YouCantThwartStageOne Buu's release]], though, Buu turns on Babadi and murders him, then strikes out on his own. For the rest of the Saga, the main threat is some variation of Buu, up until Majin Buu makes a HeelFaceTurn.

** Jabba the Hutt in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', [[ConquerorFromTheFuture Imperiex]] is the BigBad for most of the second season. In a possible nod to the ''Our Worlds At War'' storyline, in the comics [[spoiler:he is usurped by Brainiac.]]

** [[AntiVillain Prince Zuko]] was the main enemy to the group. Zhao just turned out to be even worse. After Zhao's defeat, the ''far'' more dangerous [[HeroKiller Princess Azula]] took his place, but the TrueFinalBoss was always [[GreaterScopeVillain Fire Lord Ozai]], no matter who he sent after the group. Somewhat [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]], though, since the final fight with Azula takes place at the same time as the final fight with Ozai and she's considered to be a threat comparable to the man himself.

** Queen Chrysalis is this for Season 8, appearing in the midseason finale to carry out her revenge on Starlight as promised in the finale of Season 6, yet the Mane 6 and Starlight never face her nor do they get to even see her. Her appearance sets up the actual ArcVillain for the season: [[spoiler:[[BitchInSheepsClothing Cozy Glow]].]]
** King Sombra for the two-part final season opener "The Beginning of the End". He's the first villain the Mane 6 face before they meet the series' FinalBoss for the three-part GrandFinale... which has another one of these, as [[spoiler: Grogar is revealed to have been Discord all along]] making [[spoiler: Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow]] the real FinalBoss.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Lilith was the primary antagonist for the first season before getting succeeded by Emperor Belos, who seeks to destroy all wild magic forever through his Day of Unity scheme, becoming the series' true BigBad. [[spoiler:Until [[RealityWarper the Collector]] is freed at the end of season two and [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains easily gets rid of him]]... until Belos returns in season three and distracts the Collector while furthering his own plans, making the Collector the actual disc-one final boss.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Toffee was the main villain for the first two seasons as well as the Season 3 premiere, [[spoiler:but was defeated in the premiere allowing Heinous/Meteora to be the main villain in Season 3. And at the end of season 4, Star's mom, Moon, outs herself as a villain, but when Star calling her out causes her to change her mind, Mina and her group of magically empowered SuperSoldiers backstab Moon and become the FinalBoss of the series.]]

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' has the [[TheDreaded Gun Devil]], the embodiement of the fear of firearms. It wiped out several thousand people all over the world in seconds, and various arcs serve to get closer to it. [[spoiler: It's then revealed by Makima that the Gun Devil is mostly contained, and uses her power as the Control Devil to bring the rest of it out, damage it enough that it runs into the body of Aki, so that Denji can kill it inside his best friend's body. After Denji succumbs to the despair of killing Aki, he chooses to be subservient to Makima, only for her to kill his other best friend Power and basically break him through talking, fully setting in that Makima is the true BigBad.]]

* [[spoiler:Bar-Kooda]] in a [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Boba Fett]] miniseries released in 1998 (later collected in [=TPB=] format as ''ComicBook/DeathLiesAndTreachery''. The real villain is [[spoiler:his older brother, Ry-Kooda]].

* The marketing of ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'' appears to set up the supervillain Screenslaver as the main antagonist, but he is fought much earlier in the film by Elastigirl, who then realizes too late that he was only merely a decoy set up by the film's real antagonist: the super-hating Evelyn Deavor who brainwashes the supers with mind-control goggles to sabotage their efforts in regaining the public's trust!