History Main / EnigmaticMinion

* Dante in ''ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''. While at first just doing his job to hunt you, he eventually realizes there's something fishy going on...

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': Garak, whose trademark is his enigmatic nature. Although he ''seems'' to be on the good side, episodes like "The Die is Cast" prove that he can certainly play the role of the villain when it suits him. Like other Enigmatic Minions, he never reveals his motives, he's involved with a mysterious organization (The Obsidian Order), he is an EnsembleDarkhorse (he was originally just supposed to be a guest character), and he always knows more than he's letting on. And good luck getting any [[CrypticConversation useful information]] out of him.

The EnigmaticMinion is a strange, specific type of villain. Put simply, it is a non-BigBad antagonist whose agenda, motivations [[AmbiguouslyEvil and villain cred]] itself remains highly ambiguous for much of the story. Whether as a MonsterOfTheWeek or as a [[RecurringBoss long-term villain]], an Enigmatic Minion is defined by its ambiguous nature and the suspicion it evokes, both in the heroes and in the audience. There is certainly something altogether 'not right' about this character, but it is difficult to say how or why it acts the way it does.

* Kaworu in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is one of the most well-known examples of this character archetype. [[spoiler:He had been send, if not created by [=SEELE=] to infiltrate [=NERV=], but being the most human-like of the Angels he does have his own views and opinions. During his [[OneEpisodeWonder short appearance]] is still trying to make sense of the situation and figure out what stance he wants to take in the struggle for the future of humankind.]]

** Gin Ichimaru was a Dragon for Aizen, but was trusted by neither shinigami nor arrancar. Aizen himself acted like he didn't entirely trust Gin, and Gin often engaged in odd actions that made his purpose for following Aizen questionable. [[spoiler: Turns out that Gin wasn't just with Aizen for the purpose of betraying him but Aizen knew this and kept him around out of curiosity to see how Gin would betray him.]]
** Haschwalth is a Dragon to Yhwach, but his true beliefs are a mystery. His attitude towards killing the 13th division soldiers is ambivalent. His attitude towards the way Yhwach handles Ichigo is concerned... for Ichigo, that is. His men think he's Yhwach's rightful successor, but whether he cares is ambiguous. [[spoiler: His attitude towards Uryuu Ishida becoming Yhwach's UnexpectedSuccessor is downright enigmatic. It's strongly implied that he sympathises with Uryuu's KickedUpstairs status because he himself would like to betray Yhwach but doesn't know how to.]]

* Tarantula also plays the enigmatic cackler in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Even at the end of the series it's not completely clear whose side he's on, though there's good money he's only on Team Tarantula. His MultipleChoicePast muddies things even further.

** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Mastema is no longer the SmugSnake asshole he was in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''. In fact, he has the Four Archangels' plan to eradicate Tokyo smashed, and imprisons three of them in Kagome Tower, only allowing Gabriel to escape. Thus, he saves Tokyo... and then collaborates with Tayama's scheme to produce Red Pills, ditching him in due time... To further mudden the waters, he's implied to be the only angel left who can actually ''hear'' God's voice, ''and'' despite being the fricking ''Angel of Hostility'', he's surprisingly cool with you taking the Chaos Path, saying that stryaing from the Lord is one way to learn about Him as well.

** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Mastema is no longer the SmugSnake asshole he was in ''Strange Journey''. In fact, he has the Four Archangels' plan to eradicate Tokyo smashed, and imprisons three of them in Kagome Tower, only allowing Gabriel to escape. Thus, he saves Tokyo... and then collaborates with Tayama's scheme to produce Red Pills, ditching him in due time... To further mudden the waters, he's implied to be the only angel left who can actually ''hear'' God's voice.

** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Mastema is no longer the SmugSnake asshole he was in ''Strange Journey''. In fact, he has the Four Archangels' plan to eradicate Tokyo smashed, and imprisons three in Kagome Tower, only allowing Gabriel to escape. Thus, he saves Tokyo... and then collaborates with Tayama's scheme to produce Red Pills, ditching him in due time...

** Richard Alpert seems to have become one of these, despite being on the side of the resident villains. He's mysterious, kind and friendly, polite even when taking weapons off the heroes, and is the only Other to openly defy [[MagnificentBastard Ben]]. His true motives are very mysterious like every other thing on the show.
** That, and he looks exactly the same in all timelines. Even the main cast members openly wonder why he doesn't age at all.
*** However, [[spoiler:a recent episode, "Ab Aeterno"]] has revealed some more facets of his character and bits and pieces of information about him.
*** It didn't reveal everything, however. It never is explained how he can just ignore security--including the completely impenetrable sonic fences.
*** Maybe it was because [[spoiler:he couldn't die, and the sonic fences were set to lethal, so that made him immune to them?]]

* Sideways plays one of these in ''TransformersArmada''. He does so many sneaky evil laughs and sinister remarks while still being casually friendly with everyone that it's obvious he's TheMole...you're just not sure for who.
** [[spoiler: Unicron, as it turns out.]]
** And Sideways in ''TransformersCybertron'' (different individual, same name) does the same thing, even claiming to be an Autobot at one point for absolutely no clear reason. He is enigmatically joined by Soundwave about two thirds of the way through the series, who doesn't appear to be on anyone's side at all.
*** In fact, he is the same guy. It's AllThereInTheManual or rather in the Collectors' Club Comic.
* Tarantulas also plays the enigmatic cackler in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Even at the end of the series it's not completely clear whose side he's on.
** His own. There had been hints that he was going to be an agent for Unicron or something along the lines.
** He's a descendant of the Fallen which is why blowing up the Ark wouldn't effect him.
*** The character of The Fallen had not been created at that point. WordOfGod offers two origins for Tarantulas: either that he was descended from Transformers created by Unicron; or that his ancestors were part of the Cybertronian Empire lead by Jhiaxus, which left cybertron before the Autobots and Decepticons existed. [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Tarantulas#Notes It's complicated.]]

* Nioi in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''.
** By now, it looks like she [[spoiler:searches for a way to backstab gen. Shade Tail (SubordinateExcuse vs. PoisonousFriend court intrigue)]] when not on her proper job [[spoiler:(artifacts research)]] or fixing minor problems like Kaoli's abnormal status.

* ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Villain Lokar. He's technically a recurring Monster of the Week, but he only appears during multi-part episodes, always teleports away before defeat, and seems to be more of a peer than a servant to the Big Bad.

* Mikage, and especially Mamiya, in ''ShoujoKakumeiUtena''.

** Haschwalth is a Dragon to Yhwach, but his true beliefs are a mystery. His attitude towards killing the 13th division soldiers is ambivalent. His attitude towards the way Yhwach handles Ichigo is concerned... for Ichigo, that is. His men think he's Yhwach's rightful successor, but he himself doesn't seem to act like he cares about such a thing. [[spoiler: His attitude towards Uryuu Ishida becoming Yhwach's UnexpectedSuccessor is downright ambiguous. It's strongly implied that he not only sympathises with Uryuu's KickedUpstairs status but that he would like to betray Yhwach himself but doesn't know how to.]]

* Gin Ichimaru from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' seems to fit this trope. His reasons for siding with the Big Bad are never explicitly stated, and the other minions seem highly suspicious of him.
** [[spoiler: He had been trying to kill Aizen the entire time. Aizen himself was aware of this, but wouldn't get rid of Gin due to sheer curiosity.]]

* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Tom Neville. As the first season goes on, you start wondering why he's working for Sebastian Monroe, and what sort of agenda he has. [[spoiler: The [[Recap/RevolutionS1E20TheDarkTower first season finale]] reveals that he simply out to benefit himself by taking over the Monroe Republic, make sure the power never gets turned back on, and to take over the entire continent for himself]].

* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Tom Neville. As the first season goes on, you start wondering why he's working for Sebastian Monroe, and what sort of agenda he has. [[spoiler: The first season finale reveals that he simply out to benefit himself by taking over the Monroe Republic, make sure the power never gets turned back on, and to take over the entire continent for himself]].

* The purportedly mute Haitian of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': working for the hidden higher power, [[spoiler:Angela Petrelli]], and looking damn enigmatic while doing it.

* Richard Alpert in ''{{Lost}}'' seems to have become one of these, despite being on the side of the resident villains. He's mysterious, kind and friendly, polite even when taking weapons off the heroes, and is the only Other to openly defy [[MagnificentBastard Ben]]. His true motives are very mysterious like every other thing on the show.

*** Maybe it was because [[spoiler:he couldn't die, and the sonic fences were set to lethal, so that made him inmune to them?]]
* Ian Nottingham in the TV adaptation of ''Series/{{Witchblade}}'' starts out this way. Throughout the first season, he swings closer and closer to a HeelFaceTurn, eventually [[spoiler: sacrificing his life for Sarah.]]
* ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' villain Lokar. He's technically a recurring Monster of the Week, but he only appears during multi-part episodes, always teleports away before defeat, and seems to be more of a peer than a servant to the Big Bad.
* Garak of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', whose trademark is his enigmatic nature. Although he ''seems'' to be on the good side, episodes like "The Die is Cast" prove that he can certainly play the role of the villain when it suits him. Like other Enigmatic Minions, he never reveals his motives, he's involved with a mysterious organization (The Obsidian Order), he is an EnsembleDarkhorse (he was originally just supposed to be a guest character), and he always knows more than he's letting on. And good luck getting any [[CrypticConversation useful information]] out of him.
* Captain Harper of ''Series/{{Awake}}''. The second episode reveals that she is in contact with the people who caused Britten's accident, and that she's conducting a cover-up. On the other hand, she seems to have moral objections to the murder.
* ''{{Continuum}}'' is in love with this trope.

* Miyabi from ''RosarioToVampire'' is one to [[BigBad Gyokuro]]; he's very AmbiguouslyEvil, to the point that even the main characters don't seem to know what to make of him, but he and Gyokuro don't seem to trust each other, [[spoiler:he is really [[TheManBehindTheMan The Masked King]] and the [[EldritchAbomination Shinso Vampire]] [[BigBad Alucard]].

* Miyabi from ''RosarioToVampire'' is one to [[BigBad Gyokuro]]; he's very AmbiguouslyEvil, to the point that even the main characters don't seem to know what to make of him, but he and Gyokuro don't seem to trust each other.

* Manute in ''SinCity'' is one of the few bad guys that have popped up in multiple stories and is as enigmatic as they get.

* Gamzee Makara of {{Homestuck}} definitely fits the wild card aspect of this. He's clearly an antagonist, but somehow he has retained relationships with some of the protagonists.