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** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler:the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Subverted when they [[TheGlovesComeOff finally step into the battlefield]] and become major antagonists in the final saga.
to:
** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler:the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Subverted when they [[TheGlovesComeOff [[VillainNoLongerIdle finally step into the battlefield]] and become major antagonists in the final saga.
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** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler:the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
to:
** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler:the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Subverted when they [[TheGlovesComeOff finally step into the battlefield]] and become major antagonists in the final saga.
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* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Hestia is the goddess of the hearth, protector of family, the firstborn daughter of Cronus, one of the twelve Olympians (before being supplanted by Dionysus), sister of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter and Hades and in some places, she was so popular that she got offerings before the other gods. Her actual presence in the entire mythology, however, is almost nonexistent. All we know is that she swore to remain a virgin after turning down Poseidon and Apollo. Her Roman equivalent Vesta fares little better; the only story we have from Ovid is Priapus' attempt to rape her in her sleep. This ''might'' be justified by the fact that, due to being the deity of households and family, she naturally stayed home to tend to her domain and had no reason to get up to the same exploits that her siblings did.
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* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Hestia is the goddess of the hearth, hearth and home, protector of family, the firstborn daughter of Cronus, one of the twelve Olympians (before being supplanted by Dionysus), sister of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter and Hades and in some places, she was so popular that she got offerings before the other gods. Her actual presence in the entire mythology, however, is almost nonexistent. All we know is that she swore to remain a virgin after turning down Poseidon and Apollo. Her Roman equivalent Vesta fares little better; the only story we have from Ovid is Priapus' attempt to rape her in her sleep. This ''might'' be justified by the fact that, due to being the deity of households and family, she naturally stayed home to tend to her domain and had no reason to get up to the same exploits that her siblings did.
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* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has Pontiff Julius, the head of the Order of the Sacred Flame and the equivalent of the Pope. While Archbishop Josef is a major influence on his adopted daughter Ophilia, and Ophilia meets Bishop Bartolo and Bishop Donovan during her travels, she only sees the Pontiff once at the end of her journey.
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Spelling/grammar fix(es)
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* In ''Manga/DeathNote'': The President of the United States appears briefly in the Mello arc and does exactly one thing of plot significance: [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled shooting himself to keep Kira from controlling his mind and ordering the launch of a nuclear missile]]. His intended noble sacrifice [[SenselessSacrifice backfires twice over]]: first, unbeknownst to him, the threat was empty, as a Death Note cannot be used to cause a mass-casualty incident like a nuclear strike, since its user must know the same and face of whomever he or she intends to kill. Second, the worst subsequently believes that, rather than killing himself, he was killed for defying Kira, and thus all the world's governments decide to defer to him lest they meet the same fate.
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* In ''Manga/DeathNote'': The President of the United States appears briefly in the Mello arc and does exactly one thing of plot significance: [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled shooting himself to keep Kira from controlling his mind and ordering the launch of a nuclear missile]]. His intended noble sacrifice [[SenselessSacrifice backfires twice over]]: first, unbeknownst to him, the threat was empty, as a Death Note cannot be used to cause a mass-casualty incident like a nuclear strike, since its user must know the same and face of whomever he or she intends to kill. Second, the worst world subsequently believes that, rather than killing himself, he was killed for defying Kira, and thus all the world's governments decide to defer to him lest they meet the same fate.
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* In ''Manga/DeathNote'': The President of the United States appears briefly in the Mello arc and does exactly one thing of plot significance: [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled shooting himself to keep Kira from controlling his mind and ordering the launch of a nuclear missile]]. His intended noble sacrifice [[SenselessSacrifice backfires twice over]]: first, unbeknownst to him, the threat was empty, as a Death Note cannot be used to cause a mass-casualty incident like a nuclear strike, since its user must know the same and face of whomever he or she intends to kill. Second, the worst subsequently believes that, rather than killing himself, he was killed for defying Kira, and thus all the world's governments decide to defer to him lest they meet the same fate.
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* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
** Many of the siblings of the Britannian Royal Family, the most powerful dynasty in the story's word. [[AntiHero Prince Lelouch]], [[DelicateAndSickly Princess Nunnally]], and [[WideEyedIdealist Princess Euphemia]] are major protagonists, [[TheStrategist Prince Schneizel]] and [[LadyOfWar Princess Cornelia]] are major antagonists, and the rest are fairly inconsequential. Prince Clovis is the StarterVillain and is killed in episode 2; Crown Prince Odysseus, the eldest, has a couple plot beats of mild importance but is never an active player in the story (to the point that it's mentioned in the series that he's regarded as something of a wimp next to his many impressive younger siblings); and Princesses Guinevere and Carine only get a couple cameos [[spoiler:before Lelouch wipes their minds with his Geass, along with Odysseus]]. It's implied there are many other unseen siblings as well.
** By the same token as the Royal Siblings are their sworn protectors, [[PraetorianGuard the Knights of the Round]]. Bismarck Waldstein (the leader and Knight of One), Gino Weinberg (Knight of Three) and Anya Alstreim (Six) have decent-sized parts, and TheRival Suzaku Kururugi gets himself appointed Knight of Seven, but the others are extremely minor and are killed shortly after their introductions. In addition, no Knights ranked Two, Five, Eight or Eleven appear at all, and it's never specified whether they're simply offscreen or if those positions are entirely vacant.
** Many of the siblings of the Britannian Royal Family, the most powerful dynasty in the story's word. [[AntiHero Prince Lelouch]], [[DelicateAndSickly Princess Nunnally]], and [[WideEyedIdealist Princess Euphemia]] are major protagonists, [[TheStrategist Prince Schneizel]] and [[LadyOfWar Princess Cornelia]] are major antagonists, and the rest are fairly inconsequential. Prince Clovis is the StarterVillain and is killed in episode 2; Crown Prince Odysseus, the eldest, has a couple plot beats of mild importance but is never an active player in the story (to the point that it's mentioned in the series that he's regarded as something of a wimp next to his many impressive younger siblings); and Princesses Guinevere and Carine only get a couple cameos [[spoiler:before Lelouch wipes their minds with his Geass, along with Odysseus]]. It's implied there are many other unseen siblings as well.
** By the same token as the Royal Siblings are their sworn protectors, [[PraetorianGuard the Knights of the Round]]. Bismarck Waldstein (the leader and Knight of One), Gino Weinberg (Knight of Three) and Anya Alstreim (Six) have decent-sized parts, and TheRival Suzaku Kururugi gets himself appointed Knight of Seven, but the others are extremely minor and are killed shortly after their introductions. In addition, no Knights ranked Two, Five, Eight or Eleven appear at all, and it's never specified whether they're simply offscreen or if those positions are entirely vacant.
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There is no Prime Minister of "England".
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* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', the unnamed Prime Minister of England gets one scene to himself, but no mention afterwards. Also, after the end of the series, [[spoiler:Kingsley Shacklebolt, a minor but positive character, becomes Minister of Magic]].
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* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', the unnamed muggle Prime Minister of England the UK gets one scene to himself, but no mention afterwards. Also, after the end of the series, [[spoiler:Kingsley Shacklebolt, a minor but positive character, becomes Minister of Magic]].
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Alphabetizing example(s), Not enough context (ZCE), Fixing indentation, Removed circular links
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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' provides an especially strange example. While the shinigami squad captains (the Soul Society's military) are characterized with enormous detail, the actual government they serve is given a single scene [[spoiler:in which all of them are shown to have been secretly murdered by TheMole]], and nothing was seen or spoken of it (except some flashbacks of Urahara's backstory and some of the second NonSerialMovie) until the end of the arc several years later in real-time, [[spoiler:reconstituted and passing judgement on that same BigBad [[TheMole Mole]]]].
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* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** The series provides an especially strange example. While the shinigami squad captains (the Soul Society's military) are characterized with enormous detail, the actual government they serve is given a single scene [[spoiler:in which all of them are shown to have been secretly murdered by TheMole]], and nothing was seen or spoken of it (except some flashbacks of Urahara's backstory and some of the second NonSerialMovie) until the end of the arc several years later in real-time, [[spoiler:reconstituted and passing judgement on that same BigBad [[TheMole Mole]]]].
** The series provides an especially strange example. While the shinigami squad captains (the Soul Society's military) are characterized with enormous detail, the actual government they serve is given a single scene [[spoiler:in which all of them are shown to have been secretly murdered by TheMole]], and nothing was seen or spoken of it (except some flashbacks of Urahara's backstory and some of the second NonSerialMovie) until the end of the arc several years later in real-time, [[spoiler:reconstituted and passing judgement on that same BigBad [[TheMole Mole]]]].
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* Parodied in the ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' anime, where ACROSS is secretly run by: That Man, That Man Over There, That Man Over Here, This Man, This Man Over Here, and This Man Over There.
** And other than [[BigBad That Man]], they all appear once, for less than a minute, before getting killed by Nabeshin.
** And other than [[BigBad That Man]], they all appear once, for less than a minute, before getting killed by Nabeshin.
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* Parodied in the ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' anime, where ACROSS is secretly run by: That Man, That Man Over There, That Man Over Here, This Man, This Man Over Here, and This Man Over There.
**There. And other than [[BigBad That Man]], they all appear once, for less than a minute, before getting killed by Nabeshin.
**
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* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' you could count the Tailed Beasts and their hosts who aren't the One-, Eight-, and Nine-Tails and their specific hosts. They're a major part of the setting and the goal of main antagonist organization Akatsuki is to capture all of them, yet the Two-Tails and its host are killed in just a couple chapters, the Three-Tails was beaten off-screen and its host was already dead by then ([[spoiler:though he turned out to be a semi-important PosthumousCharacter]]), and the Four-Tailed host was shown once after being beaten entirely off-screen with the Four-Tails itself never shown, while the Five-, Six-, and Seven-Tails and their deceased hosts were initially relegated to supplementary materials (though the Six-Tailed host got an anime-only filler arc). Eventually, [[spoiler:all the dead hosts and their beasts finally appear in the series proper...as super-powered zombies, and though they give the heroes a tough fight, hand Naruto some important plot details and life lessons, and help him achieve his next power-up, the Four-Tails is the only one of them who gets a decent amount of characterization.]]
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* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** In''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' you the series, ou could count the Tailed Beasts and their hosts who aren't the One-, Eight-, and Nine-Tails and their specific hosts. They're a major part of the setting and the goal of main antagonist organization Akatsuki is to capture all of them, yet the Two-Tails and its host are killed in just a couple chapters, the Three-Tails was beaten off-screen and its host was already dead by then ([[spoiler:though he turned out to be a semi-important PosthumousCharacter]]), and the Four-Tailed host was shown once after being beaten entirely off-screen with the Four-Tails itself never shown, while the Five-, Six-, and Seven-Tails and their deceased hosts were initially relegated to supplementary materials (though the Six-Tailed host got an anime-only filler arc). Eventually, [[spoiler:all the dead hosts and their beasts finally appear in the series proper...as super-powered zombies, and though they give the heroes a tough fight, hand Naruto some important plot details and life lessons, and help him achieve his next power-up, the Four-Tails is the only one of them who gets a decent amount of characterization.]]
** In
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** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler: the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
to:
** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler: the [[spoiler:the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
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* ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'': Browning is one of two [[DeityOfHumanOrigin gods]] in the series, with the other being Mauser. However, while both have religious followings in their name, [[HeroWithBadPublicity Browning]] is nowhere near as significant to the plot [[BigGood as Mauser]] and only comes into the picture during the final 3 episodes, where his [[AMechByAnyOtherName Gigantes]] are used to [[spoiler: battle the Peacemakers]].
to:
* ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'': Browning is one of two [[DeityOfHumanOrigin gods]] in the series, with the other being Mauser. However, while both have religious followings in their name, [[HeroWithBadPublicity Browning]] is nowhere near as significant to the plot [[BigGood as Mauser]] and only comes into the picture during the final 3 episodes, where his [[AMechByAnyOtherName Gigantes]] are used to [[spoiler: battle [[spoiler:battle the Peacemakers]].
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* Hooded Justice in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' only appears in a flashback and is referenced a scant number of times, yet he's also the reason for the setting's AlternateHistory, since he was the first to truly take up the mantle of a superhero when he stopped a robbery in October 1938, just four months after the release of ''Action Comics #1.''
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* Hooded Justice in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' only appears in a flashback and is referenced a scant number of times, yet he's also the reason for the setting's AlternateHistory, since he was the first to truly take up the mantle of a superhero when he stopped a robbery in October 1938, just four months after the release of ''Action Comics #1.''#1''.
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* The mother and father are this in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/124263/1/songs-uncle-sings/sineva Songs Uncle Sings.]]
[[/folder]]
* The mother and father are this in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/124263/1/songs-uncle-sings/sineva Songs Uncle Sings.]]
[[/folder]]
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* In ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] is the main antagonist but he only has 10 minutes of screentime.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
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** In the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the leader of [[TheEmpire the First Order]], Snoke, seems this way at first, but is ultimately a subversion. He is given a few scenes, which are basically him berating his [[TheDragon dragon]] Kylo Ren for not being ruthless enough like Darth Vader in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. He is presented as the major BigBad, [[spoiler: only to get killed off by Kylo Ren who has his own plans in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', and the final film, ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' reveals that Emperor Palpatine was [[HiJackedByGanon still behind everything]] making him the example of this trope.]]
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
* In ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] is the main antagonist but he only has 10 minutes of screentime.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
* In ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] is the main antagonist but he only has 10 minutes of screentime.
to:
** In the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the leader of [[TheEmpire the First Order]], Snoke, seems this way at first, but is ultimately a subversion. He is given a few scenes, which are basically him berating his [[TheDragon dragon]] Kylo Ren for not being ruthless enough like Darth Vader in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. He is presented as the major BigBad, [[spoiler: only [[spoiler:only to get killed off by Kylo Ren Ren, who has his own plans in ''Film/TheLastJedi'', ''Film/TheLastJedi'']], and the final film, ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' reveals that Emperor [[spoiler:Emperor Palpatine was [[HiJackedByGanon still behind everything]] everything]], making him the example of this trope.]]
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
* In ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] is the main antagonist but he only has 10 minutes of screentime.]]
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
* In ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] is the main antagonist but he only has 10 minutes of screentime.
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* From ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' there's [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere The One]]. As the leader of the Yeerk remnants and the new BigBad, he ought to be important, but he shows up for a grand total of ''four pages'' and feels tacked on to the story as an afterthought.
to:
* From ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' there's [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere The One]]. ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
** As the leader of the Yeerk remnants and the new BigBad,he [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere The One]] ought to be important, but he shows up for a grand total of ''four pages'' and feels tacked on to the story as an afterthought.
** As the leader of the Yeerk remnants and the new BigBad,
Changed line(s) 80 (click to see context) from:
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince,'' the unnamed Prime Minister of England gets one scene to himself, but no mention afterwards. Also, after the end of the series, [[spoiler: Kingsley Shacklebolt, a minor but positive character, becomes Minister of Magic]].
to:
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince,'' ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', the unnamed Prime Minister of England gets one scene to himself, but no mention afterwards. Also, after the end of the series, [[spoiler: Kingsley [[spoiler:Kingsley Shacklebolt, a minor but positive character, becomes Minister of Magic]].
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* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' had this a fair bit. The New Republic's Chief Of State, almost always Leia Organa Solo, will be known, and Borsk Fey'lya and Admiral Ackbar might show up, and if the author is savvier than most Mon Mothma could come into play, but that's almost inevitably it, and the New Republic is ''always'' luckier in that regard than the Empire is. Unless the writer is Creator/TimothyZahn, of course. Stackpole's Literature/XWingSeries, having Council meetings as part of the narrative, also subverts this to a small extent. And in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', the ranking members of Luke's strike team get an unusual level of attention. Those are the exceptions.
to:
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' had this a fair bit. bit.
** The New Republic's Chief Of State, almost always Leia Organa Solo, will be known, and Borsk Fey'lya and Admiral Ackbar might show up, and if the author is savvier than most Mon Mothma could come into play, but that's almost inevitably it, and the New Republic is ''always'' luckier in that regard than the Empire is. Unless the writer is Creator/TimothyZahn, of course. Stackpole's Literature/XWingSeries, having Council meetings as part of the narrative, also subverts this to a small extent. And in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', the ranking members of Luke's strike team get an unusual level of attention. Those are the exceptions.
** The New Republic's Chief Of State, almost always Leia Organa Solo, will be known, and Borsk Fey'lya and Admiral Ackbar might show up, and if the author is savvier than most Mon Mothma could come into play, but that's almost inevitably it, and the New Republic is ''always'' luckier in that regard than the Empire is. Unless the writer is Creator/TimothyZahn, of course. Stackpole's Literature/XWingSeries, having Council meetings as part of the narrative, also subverts this to a small extent. And in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', the ranking members of Luke's strike team get an unusual level of attention. Those are the exceptions.
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* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' there's the [[EldritchAbomination Abaddon entity]], a member of the same race as [[spoiler:Zion and Eden]]. It shows up in a single chapter set ''long'' before the events of the story and only interacts with one character, yet its actions [[spoiler:lead directly to Eden's death, which abort the entities' centuries long plan as Zion can't plan on his own]]. In short, it's only because of Abaddon's actions that the story happens at all [[spoiler:and leaves anyone alive by the end of it all]].
to:
* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', there's the [[EldritchAbomination Abaddon entity]], a member of the same race as [[spoiler:Zion and Eden]]. It shows up in a single chapter set ''long'' before the events of the story and only interacts with one character, yet its actions [[spoiler:lead directly to Eden's death, which abort the entities' centuries long plan as Zion can't plan on his own]]. In short, it's only because of Abaddon's actions that the story happens at all [[spoiler:and leaves anyone alive by the end of it all]].
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** In season [[spoiler:5, Graem Bauer's associates seem to be influencial personalities, powerful enough even to scare PresidentEvil Charles Logan, yet never show up again.]]
** In season [[spoiler:7, every single member of Alan Wilson's cabal save Wilson himself qualifies. Though, it's possible they may appear in more major roles in season 8.]]
** In season [[spoiler:7, every single member of Alan Wilson's cabal save Wilson himself qualifies. Though, it's possible they may appear in more major roles in season 8.]]
to:
** In season Season [[spoiler:5, Graem Bauer's associates seem to be influencial influential personalities, powerful enough even to scare PresidentEvil Charles Logan, yet never show up again.]]
** Inseason Season [[spoiler:7, every single member of Alan Wilson's cabal save Wilson himself qualifies. Though, it's possible they may appear in more major roles in season 8.]]
** In
Changed line(s) 96 (click to see context) from:
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. All the vampires look up to Dracula. Buffy readies herself for an epic confrontation...and after that episode, he's never seen or spoken of again. Lampshaded early in the episode when Spike thinks he's just better at self-promotion than most thanks to using "gypsy tricks", but everyone else writes that off as sour grapes.
to:
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. All the vampires look up to Dracula. Buffy readies herself for an epic confrontation... and after that episode, he's never seen or spoken of again. Lampshaded early in the episode when Spike thinks he's just better at self-promotion than most thanks to using "gypsy tricks", but everyone else writes that off as sour grapes.
Changed line(s) 98 (click to see context) from:
** Ser Kevan Lannister, a senior office and younger brother to the wealthiest and most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, has a rather minor role, as Tywin employs him all over the kingdom. He is even AdaptedOut in season 3, when his sons are killed. Late in Season 5, he is appointed Hand of the King, despite having barely appeared since Season 1, except from two episodes at the start of the season.
to:
** Ser Kevan Lannister, a senior office and younger brother to the wealthiest and most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, has a rather minor role, as Tywin employs him all over the kingdom. He is even AdaptedOut in season Season 3, when his sons are killed. Late in Season 5, he is appointed Hand of the King, despite having barely appeared since Season 1, except from two episodes at the start of the season.
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** The whole story can be traced back to the [[{{Precursors}} Great Beings]] and their attempts to study the silvery liquid [[{{Phlebotinum}} Energized Protodermis]], which unknown to them was [[SentientPhlebotinum sentient and malicious]]. The Great Beings were alluded to be all powerful "gods" in early media, later story revealed they were actually former rulers who turned to a life of science, unable to stop the Energized Protodermis' unstable power from splitting their home planet Spherus Magna apart. They created the Matoran Universe, the setting of the story's first 8 years and almost all who lived there, but only a few Great Beings showed up in the story and they rarely interacted with others as they went into hiding after being blamed for the planet's disasters. Though they were part of the franchise's core concept since the start, Toys/{{LEGO}} [[ExecutiveMeddling specifically ordered]] them to be [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen featured as little as possible]]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen They were meant to be]] explored fully had the franchise continued. [[spoiler:The villager Velika [[WordOfGod was revealed by the writer]] to be a [[GodInHumanForm GB in disguise]] after the cancellation, but the story never reached this twist.]]
to:
** The whole story can be traced back to the [[{{Precursors}} Great Beings]] and their attempts to study the silvery liquid [[{{Phlebotinum}} Energized Protodermis]], which unknown to them was [[SentientPhlebotinum sentient and malicious]]. The Great Beings were alluded to be all powerful "gods" in early media, media; later story revealed they were actually former rulers who turned to a life of science, unable to stop the Energized Protodermis' unstable power from splitting their home planet Spherus Magna apart. They created the Matoran Universe, the setting of the story's first 8 years and almost all who lived there, but only a few Great Beings showed up in the story and they rarely interacted with others as they went into hiding after being blamed for the planet's disasters. Though they were part of the franchise's core concept since the start, Toys/{{LEGO}} [[ExecutiveMeddling specifically ordered]] them to be [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen featured as little as possible]]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen They were meant to be]] explored fully had the franchise continued. [[spoiler:The villager Velika [[WordOfGod was revealed by the writer]] to be a [[GodInHumanForm GB in disguise]] after the cancellation, but the story never reached this twist.]]
Changed line(s) 127,132 (click to see context) from:
* The cover character of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' at first seems like a generic knight, but a deeper investigation reveals that it's an in-game character called Vyke. Lore-wise he's pretty important, being the Tarnished that got the closest out of anyone to becoming Elden Lord, was an implied lover of an ancient dragon, and was then tempted by the [[GodOfChaos Frenzied Flame]] into becoming the [[TheAntichrist Lord of Chaos]], but failed in that as well. In the game itself however he has a grand total of 0 lines and he's only present in the form of two optional bosses (once in his corrupted Frenzied form and once way later uncorrupted).
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
* The Philosophers and the Wiseman's Committee in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' - neither are important as anything other than motivation for the more plot-important characters, and the last lot [[spoiler: were dead ''for a hundred years'' (if they existed at all)]]. Also, [[spoiler: Parker and Gardner]], or "Anonymous", from ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', who never actually appear in person but drive the events of the whole plot.
* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role at the party in Rajan's "ancestral palace", his second consists of hearing his voice while Jean Bison talks to him over a speakerphone, while his third and [[spoiler:final appearance is a scene near the end of the game, where he reveals his master plan to hypnotize Paris using hypnotic lights devised by the Contessa and powered by Jean Bison's Northern Lights battery to send a Paris addled by spice sold by Dimitri, delivered by Jean Bison and produced by Rajan into a hate frenzy, in order to make himself immortal and able to fly using the Clockwerk frame. However, he is betrayed by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Neyla]], and (apparently) dies soon afterwards.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
* The Philosophers and the Wiseman's Committee in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' - neither are important as anything other than motivation for the more plot-important characters, and the last lot [[spoiler: were dead ''for a hundred years'' (if they existed at all)]]. Also, [[spoiler: Parker and Gardner]], or "Anonymous", from ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', who never actually appear in person but drive the events of the whole plot.
* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role at the party in Rajan's "ancestral palace", his second consists of hearing his voice while Jean Bison talks to him over a speakerphone, while his third and [[spoiler:final appearance is a scene near the end of the game, where he reveals his master plan to hypnotize Paris using hypnotic lights devised by the Contessa and powered by Jean Bison's Northern Lights battery to send a Paris addled by spice sold by Dimitri, delivered by Jean Bison and produced by Rajan into a hate frenzy, in order to make himself immortal and able to fly using the Clockwerk frame. However, he is betrayed by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Neyla]], and (apparently) dies soon afterwards.]]
to:
* The cover character of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' at first seems like a generic knight, but a deeper investigation reveals that it's an in-game character called Vyke. Lore-wise he's pretty important, Despite being the Tarnished that got the closest out of anyone to becoming Elden Lord, was an implied lover of an ancient dragon, and was then tempted by the [[GodOfChaos Frenzied Flame]] into becoming the [[TheAntichrist Lord of Chaos]], but failed in that as well. In the game itself however he has a grand total of 0 lines and he's only present in the form of two optional bosses (once in his corrupted Frenzied form and once way later uncorrupted).
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
* The Philosopherspowerful CO and the Wiseman's Committee possible leader of Orange Star, Nell doesn't really do much in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' - neither are important as anything other than motivation for the more plot-important characters, ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars''. She hasn't had a single on screen battle, and the last lot [[spoiler: were dead ''for a hundred years'' (if they existed stays at all)]]. Also, [[spoiler: Parker and Gardner]], or "Anonymous", from ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', who never actually appear home in person but drive the ''Dual Strike''. This maybe because her [[BornLucky luck ability]] makes it hard to design missions around her.
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' eventsof chiefly revolve around Yuka, Tamao, and Reimi, as they try to put an end to Miranda's schemes. Whereas Yuka's [[ChildhoodFriend best friend]][[FriendlyRivalry /rival]], Satomi, is simply [[OnlyInItForTheMoney trying to win the whole plot.
* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role attournament's prize money]] [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment]]. In Part II, she looked after Yuka during her HeroicBSOD, but had little else to do with the party in Rajan's "ancestral palace", his second consists of hearing his voice while Jean Bison talks to him over a speakerphone, while his third and [[spoiler:final appearance is a scene near the end of the game, where he reveals his master plan to hypnotize Paris using hypnotic lights devised by the Contessa and powered by Jean Bison's Northern Lights battery to send a Paris addled by spice sold by Dimitri, delivered by Jean Bison and produced by Rajan into a hate frenzy, in order to make himself immortal and able to fly using the Clockwerk frame. However, he is betrayed by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Neyla]], and (apparently) dies soon afterwards.]]plot.
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
* The Philosophers
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' events
* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role at
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* In ''[[VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh Tron 2.0]]'', fCon's CEO is never named (for some reason, he even signs his e-mails as "CEO"), is never shown (his underlings interact with him via a camera with a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling), and only has two or three scenes despite being the person behind the whole evil plot. His three lackeys ([[AmoralAttorney Seth Crown]], [[TheCracker Esmond Baza]] and [[TheBaroness Eva Popoff]]) have much more screen time and can be considered the ''de facto'' antagonists of the game.
** Note: while the CEO remains unnamed, one of his e-mails not too subtly hints that he is actually [[spoiler: [[HijackedByGanon Ed Dillinger, the human antagonist of the first film.]] This is supported by the ''Killer App'' sequel, where a shadowy human figure causing trouble for Encom is voiced by Creator/CoreyBurton, doing the same Creator/DavidWarner impression he later used in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'']].
* Despite being a powerful CO and the possible leader of Orange Star, Nell doesn't really do much in ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars''. She hasn't had a single on screen battle, and stays at home in ''Dual Strike''. This maybe because her [[BornLucky luck ability]] makes it hard to design missions around her.
* The Council in the first ''Franchise/MassEffect''. You report to them at the end of your mission, and that's it. The player can even invoke this by cutting them off.
** Provided they survive the first game, they get a total of ''one scene'' in the sequel.
** They finally get to have a much bigger role in the third game, but even then, it's mainly the non-Council leaders who are taking the lead in the war against [[spoiler:the Reapers]].
** Elanos Haliat, the crime lord responsible for the Skyllian Blitz, a devastating raid that plays a part in several of Shepard's backstories (killing Colonist Shepard's family, the Blitz itself for War Hero Shepard, and the Alliance's attack on Torfan for Ruthless Shepard), and the setting as a whole. He only appears in one quest, where he gets gunned down like a punk and is never mentioned again.
* Before getting [[VideoGame/CrisisCore his own spin-off game]], Zack Fair was very much this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Zack only appears in two scenes in the 40+ hour game both as part of main characters backstory. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler: after losing his memories, Cloud adapted Zack's past and character as his new identity and assumed it to be the truth.]]
** Minerva is the goddess of the planet (or at least a very powerful summon) and, for all intents and purposes, Jenova's equal and opposite. The only thing she does in the entire compilation is serve as a {{superboss}} in ''Crisis Core''.
** Note: while the CEO remains unnamed, one of his e-mails not too subtly hints that he is actually [[spoiler: [[HijackedByGanon Ed Dillinger, the human antagonist of the first film.]] This is supported by the ''Killer App'' sequel, where a shadowy human figure causing trouble for Encom is voiced by Creator/CoreyBurton, doing the same Creator/DavidWarner impression he later used in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'']].
* Despite being a powerful CO and the possible leader of Orange Star, Nell doesn't really do much in ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars''. She hasn't had a single on screen battle, and stays at home in ''Dual Strike''. This maybe because her [[BornLucky luck ability]] makes it hard to design missions around her.
* The Council in the first ''Franchise/MassEffect''. You report to them at the end of your mission, and that's it. The player can even invoke this by cutting them off.
** Provided they survive the first game, they get a total of ''one scene'' in the sequel.
** They finally get to have a much bigger role in the third game, but even then, it's mainly the non-Council leaders who are taking the lead in the war against [[spoiler:the Reapers]].
** Elanos Haliat, the crime lord responsible for the Skyllian Blitz, a devastating raid that plays a part in several of Shepard's backstories (killing Colonist Shepard's family, the Blitz itself for War Hero Shepard, and the Alliance's attack on Torfan for Ruthless Shepard), and the setting as a whole. He only appears in one quest, where he gets gunned down like a punk and is never mentioned again.
* Before getting [[VideoGame/CrisisCore his own spin-off game]], Zack Fair was very much this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Zack only appears in two scenes in the 40+ hour game both as part of main characters backstory. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler: after losing his memories, Cloud adapted Zack's past and character as his new identity and assumed it to be the truth.]]
** Minerva is the goddess of the planet (or at least a very powerful summon) and, for all intents and purposes, Jenova's equal and opposite. The only thing she does in the entire compilation is serve as a {{superboss}} in ''Crisis Core''.
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** Provost Willem would qualify as the game's GreaterScopeVillain if he was more malicious. His institution discovered the Old Blood that would eventually lead to the plague of beasts, and the foundation of the Healing Church. He's first seen in a flashback to the most important moment in the game's lore, but when you finally meet him you don't even get a bossfight. He's just an old man in a wheelchair, unable to do anything but point to the sea, and ceases to have any impact on the plot after that.
* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': Hayate is the Muugen Tenshin Clan's leader, a close friend of [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], and a pivotal character in each of the DOATEC tournaments. At least, [[AllThereInTheManual that's what the canon says. But...]]
* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': Hayate is the Muugen Tenshin Clan's leader, a close friend of [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], and a pivotal character in each of the DOATEC tournaments. At least, [[AllThereInTheManual that's what the canon says. But...]]
to:
** Provost Willem would qualify as the game's GreaterScopeVillain if he was were more malicious. His institution discovered the Old Blood that would eventually lead to the plague of beasts, and the foundation of the Healing Church. He's first seen in a flashback to the most important moment in the game's lore, but when you finally meet him you don't even get a bossfight.boss-fight. He's just an old man in a wheelchair, unable to do anything but point to the sea, and ceases to have any impact on the plot after that.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': Hayate is the Muugen Tenshin Clan's leader, a close friend of [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], and a pivotal character in each of the DOATEC tournaments. At least, [[AllThereInTheManual that's what the canonsays.says]]. But...]]
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': Hayate is the Muugen Tenshin Clan's leader, a close friend of [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], and a pivotal character in each of the DOATEC tournaments. At least, [[AllThereInTheManual that's what the canon
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* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Ken Masters's only significance to the plot was being Ryu's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] [[FriendlyRivalry and]] [[TheRival sparring partner]]. Aside from that, his role in the series was inconsequential until VideoGame/StreetFighter6 made him TheProtagonist. (Luke was hyped as the protagonist, but the plot in all modes make him a DecoyProtagonist.)
** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is something of a LivingMacGuffin and SupportingProtagonist, he is at the center of many major plot relevant events and has either fought, defeated, or been targeted by several major villain. Sagat strives to reclaim his former glory by defeating him, [[BigBad Bison]] wants to enslave him, [[TheDreaded Akuma]] is determined to make Ryu [[SuperpoweredEvilSide succumb]] to the [[KillingIntent Satsui no Hado]], and (by the time of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SFIII]]'') Oro takes a shine to him and decides to make Ryu his student. Meanwhile, Ken gets stuck dealing with [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] like Sean and Rufus.
** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out--you guessed it--Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', it's [[spoiler:a BackForTheDead Charlie who weakens Bison just enough for Ryu to finally rid the world of the dictator's presence]], and it's Karin who's presented as the BigGood responsible for gathering all the heroes to confront Shadaloo in the first place. Ken, yet again, gets squat.
** However, Ryu himself becomes a MinorMajorCharacter in all of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' games, with Alex becoming TheProtagonist in those games. Ryu continues being a MinorMajorCharacter in VideoGame/StreetFighter6, the ''III'' series's direct sequel, with either Ken or a player avatar becoming TheProtagonist depending on the game mode.
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' events chiefly revolve around Yuka, Tamao, and Reimi, as they try to put an end to Miranda's schemes. Whereas Yuka's [[ChildhoodFriend best friend]][[FriendlyRivalry /rival]], Satomi, is simply [[OnlyInItForTheMoney trying to win the tournament's prize money]] [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment]]. In Part II, she looked after Yuka during her HeroicBSOD, but had little else to do with the plot.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays an important role in the first half of the storyline in Los Santos. [[spoiler: After his betrayal, CJ only talks about Big Smoke betraying the gang and completely ignores Ryder until it's time to kill him, in which the latter's death was so unceremonious it was tantamount to killing a typical target in a vigilante side mission, making him seem more like a minor character. It also doesn't help that other members of Grove Street, such as Sweet, never even ask about Ryder, as if he never even existed in the game to begin with]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character for the first half of the game, with Michael's debt to him essentially kicking off the entire plot. Despite this, he only appears in three relatively short scenes and completely disappears for the second half of the game.
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the crux of the game's narrative. But he's only seen briefly at the beginning, while he and his family are vacationing on Hyda. They get separated during the Vendeeni attack, and Robert isn't seen again until halfway through the game, just long enough to pull a HeroicSacrifice and share a few [[LastWords parting words]] with his son.
* In both the "Dead Man's Switch" and "Dragonfall" campaigns for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', a representative of [[MegaCorp Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries]] named Hans Braukhaus makes an appearance. He doesn't do much aside from provide some exposition in both cases, but it's strongly implied that [[spoiler:he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, CEO of S-K and one of the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the Sixth World.]]
** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is something of a LivingMacGuffin and SupportingProtagonist, he is at the center of many major plot relevant events and has either fought, defeated, or been targeted by several major villain. Sagat strives to reclaim his former glory by defeating him, [[BigBad Bison]] wants to enslave him, [[TheDreaded Akuma]] is determined to make Ryu [[SuperpoweredEvilSide succumb]] to the [[KillingIntent Satsui no Hado]], and (by the time of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SFIII]]'') Oro takes a shine to him and decides to make Ryu his student. Meanwhile, Ken gets stuck dealing with [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] like Sean and Rufus.
** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out--you guessed it--Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', it's [[spoiler:a BackForTheDead Charlie who weakens Bison just enough for Ryu to finally rid the world of the dictator's presence]], and it's Karin who's presented as the BigGood responsible for gathering all the heroes to confront Shadaloo in the first place. Ken, yet again, gets squat.
** However, Ryu himself becomes a MinorMajorCharacter in all of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' games, with Alex becoming TheProtagonist in those games. Ryu continues being a MinorMajorCharacter in VideoGame/StreetFighter6, the ''III'' series's direct sequel, with either Ken or a player avatar becoming TheProtagonist depending on the game mode.
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' events chiefly revolve around Yuka, Tamao, and Reimi, as they try to put an end to Miranda's schemes. Whereas Yuka's [[ChildhoodFriend best friend]][[FriendlyRivalry /rival]], Satomi, is simply [[OnlyInItForTheMoney trying to win the tournament's prize money]] [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment]]. In Part II, she looked after Yuka during her HeroicBSOD, but had little else to do with the plot.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays an important role in the first half of the storyline in Los Santos. [[spoiler: After his betrayal, CJ only talks about Big Smoke betraying the gang and completely ignores Ryder until it's time to kill him, in which the latter's death was so unceremonious it was tantamount to killing a typical target in a vigilante side mission, making him seem more like a minor character. It also doesn't help that other members of Grove Street, such as Sweet, never even ask about Ryder, as if he never even existed in the game to begin with]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character for the first half of the game, with Michael's debt to him essentially kicking off the entire plot. Despite this, he only appears in three relatively short scenes and completely disappears for the second half of the game.
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the crux of the game's narrative. But he's only seen briefly at the beginning, while he and his family are vacationing on Hyda. They get separated during the Vendeeni attack, and Robert isn't seen again until halfway through the game, just long enough to pull a HeroicSacrifice and share a few [[LastWords parting words]] with his son.
* In both the "Dead Man's Switch" and "Dragonfall" campaigns for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', a representative of [[MegaCorp Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries]] named Hans Braukhaus makes an appearance. He doesn't do much aside from provide some exposition in both cases, but it's strongly implied that [[spoiler:he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, CEO of S-K and one of the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the Sixth World.]]
to:
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Ken Masters's ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'':
** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes onlysignificance to a couple of brief appearances, and in ''The City Beneath'' we see that he is easily swayed by his advisors and knows nothing of the plot was being Ryu's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] [[FriendlyRivalry and]] [[TheRival sparring partner]]. Aside from that, world-shaking events going on beneath his role in the series was inconsequential until VideoGame/StreetFighter6 made him TheProtagonist. (Luke was hyped kingdom.
** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as theprotagonist, but the plot in all modes make him a DecoyProtagonist.)
** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is somethingFinalBoss of a LivingMacGuffin and SupportingProtagonist, ''King Dugan's Dungeon''; after his defeat he is at the center of many major plot relevant events and has either fought, defeated, or been targeted by several major villain. Sagat strives to reclaim his former glory by defeating him, [[BigBad Bison]] wants to enslave him, [[TheDreaded Akuma]] is determined to make Ryu [[SuperpoweredEvilSide succumb]] to the [[KillingIntent Satsui no Hado]], and (by the time of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SFIII]]'') Oro takes a shine to him and decides to make Ryu his student. Meanwhile, Ken gets stuck dealing with [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] like Sean and Rufus.
** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out--you guessed it--Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'',never mentioned again. But it's [[spoiler:a BackForTheDead Charlie who weakens Bison just enough for Ryu to finally rid the world of the dictator's presence]], and it's Karin who's presented as the BigGood responsible for gathering all the heroes to confront Shadaloo in the first place. Ken, yet again, gets squat.
** However, Ryu himself becomesrevealed that he was a MinorMajorCharacter in all of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' games, with Alex becoming TheProtagonist in those games. Ryu continues being a MinorMajorCharacter in VideoGame/StreetFighter6, the ''III'' series's direct sequel, with either Ken or a player avatar becoming TheProtagonist depending on the game mode.
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' events chiefly revolve around Yuka, Tamao, and Reimi, as they try to put an end to Miranda's schemes. Whereas Yuka's [[ChildhoodFriend best friend]][[FriendlyRivalry /rival]], Satomi, is simply [[OnlyInItForTheMoney trying to win the tournament's prize money]] [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment]]. In Part II, she looked after Yuka during her HeroicBSOD, but had little else to do with the plot.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays anmore important role person than Beethro ever realised, namely [[spoiler:King Dugan's long-lost brother]].
** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in thefirst half of King's name, the storyline in Los Santos. [[spoiler: After his betrayal, CJ only talks about Big Smoke betraying the gang and completely ignores Ryder until it's time to kill him, in which the latter's death was so unceremonious it was tantamount to killing a typical target in a vigilante side mission, making him seem more like a minor character. It also court are firmly pursuing their own agenda.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
** King James doesn'thelp get much screen time, but the mission he sends Pankraz on ends up killing him off and throwing his son Harry and the Hero into slavery. His death during the timeskip also causes the power struggle that other members sparks one of Grove Street, such as Sweet, never even ask about Ryder, as if he never even existed in the game to begin with]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character forthe first half of the game, with Michael's debt to him essentially kicking off the entire plot. Despite this, he only appears in three relatively short scenes and completely disappears for the second half of the game.
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the cruxmajor plots of the game's narrative. But second act.
** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
* The cover character of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' at first seems like a generic knight, but a deeper investigation reveals that it's an in-game character called Vyke. Lore-wise, he's pretty important, being the Tarnished that got the closest out of anyone to becoming Elden Lord, was an implied lover of an ancient dragon, and was then tempted by the [[GodOfChaos Frenzied Flame]] into becoming the [[TheAntichrist Lord of Chaos]], but failed in that as well. In the game itself, however, he has a grand total of 0 lines, and he's onlyseen briefly at the beginning, while he and his family are vacationing on Hyda. They get separated during the Vendeeni attack, and Robert isn't seen again until halfway through the game, just long enough to pull a HeroicSacrifice and share a few [[LastWords parting words]] with his son.
* In both the "Dead Man's Switch" and "Dragonfall" campaigns for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', a representative of [[MegaCorp Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries]] named Hans Braukhaus makes an appearance. He doesn't do much aside from provide some exposition in both cases, but it's strongly implied that [[spoiler:he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, CEO of S-K and one of the wealthiest and most powerful entitiespresent in the Sixth World.]]form of two optional bosses (once in his corrupted Frenzied form and once way later uncorrupted).
** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes only
** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as the
** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is something
** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out--you guessed it--Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'',
** However, Ryu himself becomes
* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' events chiefly revolve around Yuka, Tamao, and Reimi, as they try to put an end to Miranda's schemes. Whereas Yuka's [[ChildhoodFriend best friend]][[FriendlyRivalry /rival]], Satomi, is simply [[OnlyInItForTheMoney trying to win the tournament's prize money]] [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment]]. In Part II, she looked after Yuka during her HeroicBSOD, but had little else to do with the plot.
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays an
** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in the
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
** King James doesn't
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character for
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the crux
** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
* The cover character of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' at first seems like a generic knight, but a deeper investigation reveals that it's an in-game character called Vyke. Lore-wise, he's pretty important, being the Tarnished that got the closest out of anyone to becoming Elden Lord, was an implied lover of an ancient dragon, and was then tempted by the [[GodOfChaos Frenzied Flame]] into becoming the [[TheAntichrist Lord of Chaos]], but failed in that as well. In the game itself, however, he has a grand total of 0 lines, and he's only
* In both the "Dead Man's Switch" and "Dragonfall" campaigns for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', a representative of [[MegaCorp Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries]] named Hans Braukhaus makes an appearance. He doesn't do much aside from provide some exposition in both cases, but it's strongly implied that [[spoiler:he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, CEO of S-K and one of the wealthiest and most powerful entities
Changed line(s) 165,172 (click to see context) from:
* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' retroactively makes Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, this for the whole series. Despite her going to slumber at the end of the aforementioned game, the rest of the series establishes that the Master Sword has [[LivingWeapon a mind of its own]], strongly implied to be Fi herself. Fi most directly plays the minor major role in [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', where in the final memory, Fi telepathically contacts Zelda from within the Master Sword, telling the latter that Link is OnlyMostlyDead.]]
* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
** King James doesn't get much screen time, but the mission he sends Pankraz on ends up killing him off and throwing his son Harry and the Hero into slavery. His death during the timeskip also causes the power struggle that sparks one of the first major plots of the game's second act.
** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
* ''VideoGame/EldritchLandsTheWitchQueensEternalWar''
* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
** King James doesn't get much screen time, but the mission he sends Pankraz on ends up killing him off and throwing his son Harry and the Hero into slavery. His death during the timeskip also causes the power struggle that sparks one of the first major plots of the game's second act.
** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
* ''VideoGame/EldritchLandsTheWitchQueensEternalWar''
to:
* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' retroactively makes Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, this for the whole series. Despite her going to slumber at the end of the aforementioned game, the rest of the series establishes that the Master Sword has [[LivingWeapon a mind of its own]], strongly implied to be Fi herself. Fi most directly plays the minor major role in [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', where in the final memory, Fi telepathically contacts Zelda from within the Master Sword, telling the latter that Link is OnlyMostlyDead.]]
* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
** King James doesn't get much screen time, but the mission he sends Pankraz on ends up killing him off and throwing his son Harry and the Hero into slavery. His death during the timeskip also causes the power struggle that sparks one of the first major plots of the game's second act.
** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
* ''VideoGame/EldritchLandsTheWitchQueensEternalWar''''VideoGame/EldritchLandsTheWitchQueensEternalWar'':
* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
** King James doesn't get much screen time, but the mission he sends Pankraz on ends up killing him off and throwing his son Harry and the Hero into slavery. His death during the timeskip also causes the power struggle that sparks one of the first major plots of the game's second act.
** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
* ''VideoGame/EldritchLandsTheWitchQueensEternalWar''
Changed line(s) 175,182 (click to see context) from:
* ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'': When speaking to the Branch Coral, it makes a point of introducing the three great creatures called the oldest, the wisest and the favorite, a trio of beings whose existences predate Headspace itself. The information seems important, but it never ends up coming into play and it's just a bunch of extraneous lore. [[spoiler:The oldest is Humphrey, who is an important character but he hardly matters to the plot, the wisest is Abbi, an OptionalBoss who was banished from Headspace before the game began, and the favorite is the Big Yellow Cat in the Neighbor's Room, who is ''literally just a piece of scenery.'']]
* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'':
** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes only a couple of brief appearances, and in ''The City Beneath'' we see that he is easily swayed by his advisors and knows nothing of the world-shaking events going on beneath his kingdom.
** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as the FinalBoss of ''King Dugan's Dungeon''; after his defeat he is never mentioned again. But it's revealed that he was a more important person than Beethro ever realised, namely [[spoiler:King Dugan's long-lost brother]].
** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in the King's name, the court are firmly pursuing their own agenda.
* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'':
** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes only a couple of brief appearances, and in ''The City Beneath'' we see that he is easily swayed by his advisors and knows nothing of the world-shaking events going on beneath his kingdom.
** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as the FinalBoss of ''King Dugan's Dungeon''; after his defeat he is never mentioned again. But it's revealed that he was a more important person than Beethro ever realised, namely [[spoiler:King Dugan's long-lost brother]].
** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in the King's name, the court are firmly pursuing their own agenda.
to:
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** Before getting [[VideoGame/CrisisCore his own spin-off game]], Zack Fair was very much this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Zack only appears in two scenes in the 40+ hour game both as part of main characters backstory. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:after losing his memories, Cloud adapted Zack's past and character as his new identity and assumed it to be the truth.]]
** Minerva is the goddess of the planet (or at least a very powerful summon) and, for all intents and purposes, Jenova's equal and opposite. The only thing she does in the entire compilation is serve as a {{superboss}} in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays an important role in the first half of the storyline in Los Santos. [[spoiler:After his betrayal, CJ only talks about Big Smoke betraying the gang and completely ignores Ryder until it's time to kill him, in which the latter's death was so unceremonious it was tantamount to killing a typical target in a vigilante side mission, making him seem more like a minor character. It also doesn't help that other members of Grove Street, such as Sweet, never even ask about Ryder, as if he never even existed in the game to begin with]].
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character for the first half of the game, with Michael's debt to him essentially kicking off the entire plot. Despite this, he only appears in three relatively short scenes and completely disappears for the second half of the game.
* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' retroactively makes Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, this for the whole series. Despite her going to slumber at the end of the aforementioned game, the rest of the series establishes that the Master Sword has [[LivingWeapon a mind of its own]], strongly implied to be Fi herself. Fi most directly plays the minor major role in [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', where in the final memory, Fi telepathically contacts Zelda from within the Master Sword, telling the latter that Link is OnlyMostlyDead.]]
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** The Council in the first game. You report to them at the end of your mission, and that's it. The player can even invoke this by cutting them off. Even then, provided they survive the first game, they get a total of ''one scene'' in the sequel. They finally get to have a much bigger role in the third game, but even then, it's mainly the non-Council leaders who are taking the lead in the war against [[spoiler:the Reapers]].
** Elanos Haliat, the crime lord responsible for the Skyllian Blitz, a devastating raid that plays a part in several of Shepard's backstories (killing Colonist Shepard's family, the Blitz itself for War Hero Shepard, and the Alliance's attack on Torfan for Ruthless Shepard), and the setting as a whole. He only appears in one quest, where he gets gunned down like a punk and is never mentioned again.
* The Philosophers and the Wiseman's Committee in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' -- neither are important as anything other than motivation for the more plot-important characters, and the last lot [[spoiler:were dead ''for a hundred years'' (if they existed at all)]]. Also, [[spoiler:Parker and Gardner]], or "Anonymous", from ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', who never actually appear in person but drive the events of the whole plot.
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
* ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'': When speaking to the Branch Coral, it makes a point of introducing the three great creatures called the oldest, the wisest and the favorite, a trio of beings whose existences predate Headspace itself. The information seems important, but it never ends up coming into play and it's just a bunch of extraneous lore. [[spoiler:The oldest is Humphrey, who is an important character but he hardly matters to the plot, the wisest is Abbi, an OptionalBoss who was banished from Headspace before the game began, and the favorite is the Big Yellow Cat in the Neighbor's Room, who is ''literally just a piece ofscenery.'']]
* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'':
** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes only a couple of brief appearances, and in ''The City Beneath'' we see that he is easily swayed by his advisors and knows nothing of the world-shaking events going on beneath his kingdom.
** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as the FinalBoss of ''King Dugan's Dungeon''; after his defeat he is never mentioned again. But it's revealed that he was a more important person than Beethro ever realised, namely [[spoiler:King Dugan's long-lost brother]].
** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in the King's name, the court are firmly pursuing their own agenda.scenery''.]]
** Before getting [[VideoGame/CrisisCore his own spin-off game]], Zack Fair was very much this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Zack only appears in two scenes in the 40+ hour game both as part of main characters backstory. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:after losing his memories, Cloud adapted Zack's past and character as his new identity and assumed it to be the truth.]]
** Minerva is the goddess of the planet (or at least a very powerful summon) and, for all intents and purposes, Jenova's equal and opposite. The only thing she does in the entire compilation is serve as a {{superboss}} in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays an important role in the first half of the storyline in Los Santos. [[spoiler:After his betrayal, CJ only talks about Big Smoke betraying the gang and completely ignores Ryder until it's time to kill him, in which the latter's death was so unceremonious it was tantamount to killing a typical target in a vigilante side mission, making him seem more like a minor character. It also doesn't help that other members of Grove Street, such as Sweet, never even ask about Ryder, as if he never even existed in the game to begin with]].
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character for the first half of the game, with Michael's debt to him essentially kicking off the entire plot. Despite this, he only appears in three relatively short scenes and completely disappears for the second half of the game.
* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' retroactively makes Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, this for the whole series. Despite her going to slumber at the end of the aforementioned game, the rest of the series establishes that the Master Sword has [[LivingWeapon a mind of its own]], strongly implied to be Fi herself. Fi most directly plays the minor major role in [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', where in the final memory, Fi telepathically contacts Zelda from within the Master Sword, telling the latter that Link is OnlyMostlyDead.]]
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** The Council in the first game. You report to them at the end of your mission, and that's it. The player can even invoke this by cutting them off. Even then, provided they survive the first game, they get a total of ''one scene'' in the sequel. They finally get to have a much bigger role in the third game, but even then, it's mainly the non-Council leaders who are taking the lead in the war against [[spoiler:the Reapers]].
** Elanos Haliat, the crime lord responsible for the Skyllian Blitz, a devastating raid that plays a part in several of Shepard's backstories (killing Colonist Shepard's family, the Blitz itself for War Hero Shepard, and the Alliance's attack on Torfan for Ruthless Shepard), and the setting as a whole. He only appears in one quest, where he gets gunned down like a punk and is never mentioned again.
* The Philosophers and the Wiseman's Committee in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' -- neither are important as anything other than motivation for the more plot-important characters, and the last lot [[spoiler:were dead ''for a hundred years'' (if they existed at all)]]. Also, [[spoiler:Parker and Gardner]], or "Anonymous", from ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', who never actually appear in person but drive the events of the whole plot.
* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
* ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'': When speaking to the Branch Coral, it makes a point of introducing the three great creatures called the oldest, the wisest and the favorite, a trio of beings whose existences predate Headspace itself. The information seems important, but it never ends up coming into play and it's just a bunch of extraneous lore. [[spoiler:The oldest is Humphrey, who is an important character but he hardly matters to the plot, the wisest is Abbi, an OptionalBoss who was banished from Headspace before the game began, and the favorite is the Big Yellow Cat in the Neighbor's Room, who is ''literally just a piece of
* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'':
** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes only a couple of brief appearances, and in ''The City Beneath'' we see that he is easily swayed by his advisors and knows nothing of the world-shaking events going on beneath his kingdom.
** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as the FinalBoss of ''King Dugan's Dungeon''; after his defeat he is never mentioned again. But it's revealed that he was a more important person than Beethro ever realised, namely [[spoiler:King Dugan's long-lost brother]].
** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in the King's name, the court are firmly pursuing their own agenda.
* In both the "Dead Man's Switch" and "Dragonfall" campaigns for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', a representative of [[MegaCorp Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries]] named Hans Braukhaus makes an appearance. He doesn't do much aside from provide some exposition in both cases, but it's strongly implied that [[spoiler:he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, CEO of S-K and one of the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the Sixth World.]]
* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role at the party in Rajan's "ancestral palace", his second consists of hearing his voice while Jean Bison talks to him over a speakerphone, while his third and [[spoiler:final appearance is a scene near the end of the game, where he reveals his master plan to hypnotize Paris using hypnotic lights devised by the Contessa and powered by Jean Bison's Northern Lights battery to send a Paris addled by spice sold by Dimitri, delivered by Jean Bison and produced by Rajan into a hate frenzy, in order to make himself immortal and able to fly using the Clockwerk frame. However, he is betrayed by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Neyla]], and (apparently) dies soon afterwards.]]
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the crux of the game's narrative. But he's only seen briefly at the beginning, while he and his family are vacationing on Hyda. They get separated during the Vendeeni attack, and Robert isn't seen again until halfway through the game, just long enough to pull a HeroicSacrifice and share a few [[LastWords parting words]] with his son.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Ken Masters's only significance to the plot was being Ryu's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] [[FriendlyRivalry and]] [[TheRival sparring partner]]. Aside from that, his role in the series was inconsequential until VideoGame/StreetFighter6 made him TheProtagonist. (Luke was hyped as the protagonist, but the plot in all modes make him a DecoyProtagonist.)
** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is something of a LivingMacGuffin and SupportingProtagonist, he is at the center of many major plot relevant events and has either fought, defeated, or been targeted by several major villain. Sagat strives to reclaim his former glory by defeating him, [[BigBad Bison]] wants to enslave him, [[TheDreaded Akuma]] is determined to make Ryu [[SuperpoweredEvilSide succumb]] to the [[KillingIntent Satsui no Hado]], and (by the time of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SFIII]]'') Oro takes a shine to him and decides to make Ryu his student. Meanwhile, Ken gets stuck dealing with [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] like Sean and Rufus.
** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out -- you guessed it -- Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', it's [[spoiler:a BackForTheDead Charlie who weakens Bison just enough for Ryu to finally rid the world of the dictator's presence]], and it's Karin who's presented as the BigGood responsible for gathering all the heroes to confront Shadaloo in the first place. Ken, yet again, gets squat.
** However, Ryu himself becomes this trope in all of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' games, with Alex becoming TheProtagonist in those games; he continues being this in VideoGame/StreetFighter6, the ''III'' series's direct sequel, with either Ken or a player avatar becoming TheProtagonist depending on the game mode.
* In ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'', fCon's CEO is never named (for some reason, he even signs his e-mails as "CEO"), is never shown (his underlings interact with him via a camera with a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling), and only has two or three scenes despite being the person behind the whole evil plot. His three lackeys ([[AmoralAttorney Seth Crown]], [[TheCracker Esmond Baza]] and [[TheBaroness Eva Popoff]]) have much more screen time and can be considered the ''de facto'' antagonists of the game. However, note that while the CEO remains unnamed, one of his e-mails not too subtly hints that he is actually [[spoiler:[[HijackedByGanon Ed Dillinger, the human antagonist of the first film]]. This is supported by the ''Killer App'' sequel, where a shadowy human figure causing trouble for Encom is voiced by Creator/CoreyBurton, doing the same Creator/DavidWarner impression he later used in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'']].
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role at the party in Rajan's "ancestral palace", his second consists of hearing his voice while Jean Bison talks to him over a speakerphone, while his third and [[spoiler:final appearance is a scene near the end of the game, where he reveals his master plan to hypnotize Paris using hypnotic lights devised by the Contessa and powered by Jean Bison's Northern Lights battery to send a Paris addled by spice sold by Dimitri, delivered by Jean Bison and produced by Rajan into a hate frenzy, in order to make himself immortal and able to fly using the Clockwerk frame. However, he is betrayed by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Neyla]], and (apparently) dies soon afterwards.]]
* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the crux of the game's narrative. But he's only seen briefly at the beginning, while he and his family are vacationing on Hyda. They get separated during the Vendeeni attack, and Robert isn't seen again until halfway through the game, just long enough to pull a HeroicSacrifice and share a few [[LastWords parting words]] with his son.
* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Ken Masters's only significance to the plot was being Ryu's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] [[FriendlyRivalry and]] [[TheRival sparring partner]]. Aside from that, his role in the series was inconsequential until VideoGame/StreetFighter6 made him TheProtagonist. (Luke was hyped as the protagonist, but the plot in all modes make him a DecoyProtagonist.)
** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is something of a LivingMacGuffin and SupportingProtagonist, he is at the center of many major plot relevant events and has either fought, defeated, or been targeted by several major villain. Sagat strives to reclaim his former glory by defeating him, [[BigBad Bison]] wants to enslave him, [[TheDreaded Akuma]] is determined to make Ryu [[SuperpoweredEvilSide succumb]] to the [[KillingIntent Satsui no Hado]], and (by the time of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SFIII]]'') Oro takes a shine to him and decides to make Ryu his student. Meanwhile, Ken gets stuck dealing with [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] like Sean and Rufus.
** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out -- you guessed it -- Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', it's [[spoiler:a BackForTheDead Charlie who weakens Bison just enough for Ryu to finally rid the world of the dictator's presence]], and it's Karin who's presented as the BigGood responsible for gathering all the heroes to confront Shadaloo in the first place. Ken, yet again, gets squat.
** However, Ryu himself becomes this trope in all of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' games, with Alex becoming TheProtagonist in those games; he continues being this in VideoGame/StreetFighter6, the ''III'' series's direct sequel, with either Ken or a player avatar becoming TheProtagonist depending on the game mode.
* In ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'', fCon's CEO is never named (for some reason, he even signs his e-mails as "CEO"), is never shown (his underlings interact with him via a camera with a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling), and only has two or three scenes despite being the person behind the whole evil plot. His three lackeys ([[AmoralAttorney Seth Crown]], [[TheCracker Esmond Baza]] and [[TheBaroness Eva Popoff]]) have much more screen time and can be considered the ''de facto'' antagonists of the game. However, note that while the CEO remains unnamed, one of his e-mails not too subtly hints that he is actually [[spoiler:[[HijackedByGanon Ed Dillinger, the human antagonist of the first film]]. This is supported by the ''Killer App'' sequel, where a shadowy human figure causing trouble for Encom is voiced by Creator/CoreyBurton, doing the same Creator/DavidWarner impression he later used in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'']].
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', Baaleth the Demon of Greed. He serves to empower some Infernomancers who play a more driving role in the plot, shows up at the end of the arc to declare victory in the war, and then gets killed when Karnak blows him up with the very thing he was after.
Deleted line(s) 193 (click to see context) :
* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', Baaleth the Demon of Greed. He serves to empower some Infernomancers who play a more driving role in the plot, shows up at the end of the arc to declare victory in the war, and then gets killed when Karnak blows him up with the very thing he was after.
Changed line(s) 202 (click to see context) from:
* The Franchise/{{Transformers}}' PhysicalGod [[GodOfGood Primus]], when he appears at all, is usually a minor character, despite being responsible for keeping the universe in balance and all of that jazz. He usually doesn't intervene directly, but through objects like the [[MacGuffin Matrix of Leadership]]. [[OmnicidalManiac Unicron]], his EvilCounterpart, generally takes a more active role by comparison.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** TheFranchise/{{Transformers}}' PhysicalGod [[GodOfGood Primus]], when he appears at all, is usually a minor character, despite past avatars, with only four of their names being responsible for keeping revealed in the universe in balance original show. Working backwards from Aang: it's Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and all Yangchen. The one before Yangchen was given the name Szeto in ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi''. ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' also namedrops one named Salai, who is apparently well-regarded by Kyoshi's friends, but no details about which nation they're from, how long ago they were active, or why they would be well-regarded are given.
** Many important military officers have been shown in the original, but are rarely given lines let alone names. The most prime example is during the flashback of Zuko speaking out in a war meeting which consisted of about ten high-ranking Fire Nation officers planning a battle, none of them are named nor are they seen again.
** In ''Korra'', Fire Lord Izumi is both the only world leader ''and'' the only one of the original series characters' SpinOffspring not to be a prominent character. Her son, General Iroh, and her father, ''[=ATLA=]'' deuteragonist Zuko, both mention her when she's relevant, but she is neither seen nor named until the final season. She and Zuko make a silent cameo at Wu's coronation, and she speaks (and is addressed by name) in a meeting several episodes later. The InUniverse reason given is thatjazz. He usually doesn't intervene directly, she is disinclined to be the aggressor in international affairs, given the wounds of the 100 year war are still fresh in living memory, but through objects like the [[MacGuffin Matrix of Leadership]]. [[OmnicidalManiac Unicron]], his EvilCounterpart, generally takes real world reason is that the story didn't have room for her or the Fire Nation. The Book Four artbook states that she was originally intended to have a more active role by comparison.larger role, but that it was cut for time constraints.
** The
** Many important military officers have been shown in the original, but are rarely given lines let alone names. The most prime example is during the flashback of Zuko speaking out in a war meeting which consisted of about ten high-ranking Fire Nation officers planning a battle, none of them are named nor are they seen again.
** In ''Korra'', Fire Lord Izumi is both the only world leader ''and'' the only one of the original series characters' SpinOffspring not to be a prominent character. Her son, General Iroh, and her father, ''[=ATLA=]'' deuteragonist Zuko, both mention her when she's relevant, but she is neither seen nor named until the final season. She and Zuko make a silent cameo at Wu's coronation, and she speaks (and is addressed by name) in a meeting several episodes later. The InUniverse reason given is that
Changed line(s) 205 (click to see context) from:
* Princess Luna of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' in the first season. She was the BigBad of the pilot episode as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]] and after being defeated returned to her position of co-ruler of Equestria with her older sister [[BigGood Princess Celestia]]. As Luna she got two lines and wasn't even mentioned again until the next season. She did get a focus episode in Season 2 and small parts after Season 1. She also got a rather large part in a Season 3 episode.
to:
* The Franchise/{{Transformers}}' PhysicalGod [[GodOfGood Primus]], when he appears at all, is usually a minor character, despite being responsible for keeping the universe in balance and all of that jazz. He usually doesn't intervene directly, but through objects like the [[MacGuffin Matrix of Leadership]]. [[OmnicidalManiac Unicron]], his EvilCounterpart, generally takes a more active role by comparison.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has the BigBadDuumvirate play this role. The main plot is about [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], a single Irken agent trying to destroy/conquer Earth; his rulers, the Almighty Tallest, generally only show up when Zim calls them to brag about his "progress". They mostly just [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] and [[TheCaligula stuff their faces]], though sometimes they'll set up the plot of an episode in their attempts to [[BadBoss hurt Zim for fun]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Princess Lunaof ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' in the first season. She was the BigBad of the pilot episode as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]] and after being defeated returned to her position of co-ruler of Equestria with her older sister [[BigGood Princess Celestia]]. As Luna she got two lines and wasn't even mentioned again until the next season. She did get a focus episode in Season 2 and small parts after Season 1. She also got a rather large part in a Season 3 episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has the BigBadDuumvirate play this role. The main plot is about [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], a single Irken agent trying to destroy/conquer Earth; his rulers, the Almighty Tallest, generally only show up when Zim calls them to brag about his "progress". They mostly just [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] and [[TheCaligula stuff their faces]], though sometimes they'll set up the plot of an episode in their attempts to [[BadBoss hurt Zim for fun]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Princess Luna
Deleted line(s) 207,211 (click to see context) :
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' :
** The past avatars, with only four of their names being revealed in the original show. Working backwards from Aang: it’s Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen. The one before Yangchen was given the name Szeto in ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi''. ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' also namedrops one named Salai, who is apparently well-regarded by Kyoshi's friends, but no details about which nation they're from, how long ago they were active, or why they would be well-regarded are given.
** Many important military officers have been shown in the original, but are rarely given lines let alone names. The most prime example is during the flashback of Zuko speaking out in a war meeting which consisted of about ten high-ranking Fire Nation officers planning a battle, none of them are named nor are they seen again.
** In ''Korra'', Fire Lord Izumi is both the only world leader ''and'' the only one of the original series characters' SpinOffspring not to be a prominent character. Her son, General Iroh, and her father, ''[=ATLA=]'' deuteragonist Zuko, both mention her when she's relevant, but she is neither seen nor named until the final season. She and Zuko make a silent cameo at Wu's coronation, and she speaks (and is addressed by name) in a meeting several episodes later. The InUniverse reason given is that she is disinclined to be the aggressor in international affairs, given the wounds of the 100 year war are still fresh in living memory, but the real world reason is that the story didn't have room for her or the Fire Nation. The Book Four artbook states that she was originally intended to have a larger role, but that it was cut for time constraints.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has the BigBadDuumvirate play this role. The main plot is about [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], a single Irken agent trying to destroy/conquer Earth; his rulers, the Almighty Tallest, generally only show up when Zim calls them to brag about his "progress." They mostly just [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] and [[TheCaligula stuff their faces]], though sometimes they'll set up the plot of an episode in their attempts to [[BadBoss hurt Zim for fun]].
** The past avatars, with only four of their names being revealed in the original show. Working backwards from Aang: it’s Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen. The one before Yangchen was given the name Szeto in ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi''. ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' also namedrops one named Salai, who is apparently well-regarded by Kyoshi's friends, but no details about which nation they're from, how long ago they were active, or why they would be well-regarded are given.
** Many important military officers have been shown in the original, but are rarely given lines let alone names. The most prime example is during the flashback of Zuko speaking out in a war meeting which consisted of about ten high-ranking Fire Nation officers planning a battle, none of them are named nor are they seen again.
** In ''Korra'', Fire Lord Izumi is both the only world leader ''and'' the only one of the original series characters' SpinOffspring not to be a prominent character. Her son, General Iroh, and her father, ''[=ATLA=]'' deuteragonist Zuko, both mention her when she's relevant, but she is neither seen nor named until the final season. She and Zuko make a silent cameo at Wu's coronation, and she speaks (and is addressed by name) in a meeting several episodes later. The InUniverse reason given is that she is disinclined to be the aggressor in international affairs, given the wounds of the 100 year war are still fresh in living memory, but the real world reason is that the story didn't have room for her or the Fire Nation. The Book Four artbook states that she was originally intended to have a larger role, but that it was cut for time constraints.
* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has the BigBadDuumvirate play this role. The main plot is about [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], a single Irken agent trying to destroy/conquer Earth; his rulers, the Almighty Tallest, generally only show up when Zim calls them to brag about his "progress." They mostly just [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] and [[TheCaligula stuff their faces]], though sometimes they'll set up the plot of an episode in their attempts to [[BadBoss hurt Zim for fun]].
