History Main / PlotIrrelevantVillain

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has Mao, who merely serves to distract Lelouch from the first season’s real BigBad, his sister Princess Cornelia, for a few episodes, and to provide a bit of exposition (even in this he doesn't actually explain anything himself, but his actions cause others to explain things). In this case, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]], especially as Mao became an EnsembleDarkhorse. However, he's still left out of the {{Compilation Movie}}s.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPGLegendOfTheSevenStars'': Punchinello comes out of nowhere. He has zero relevance to the plot and the only reason he even attacks Mario's party is to get himself fame and attention. Even Mallow outright says he's never heard of the guy.

* The [[TheReveal big twist]] in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox'' is that Professor Zoom is basically this. He reveals in a particularly memorable WhamLine that [[spoiler:he's not the one who made the timeline go bad -- Barry Allen is, because his going back in time to save his mother from being killed ended up creating a TimeCrash that caused [[ForWantOfANail the backstories of sundry heroes and villains to happen differently]], which is ultimately what lead to the events of the comic/movie.]] Zoom is there to provide a BatmanColdOpen and complications in the final battle, but that is it. This is a big difference from the original ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' story because the writers AdaptedOut (or at least made highly ambiguous) the plot point [[spoiler:that Zoom ''was'' responsible for Barry's mother's death, so the animation makes it look much more like it was Barry's actual selfish desire that made everything go wrong, rather than a decision to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong that didn't nullify an attempt to MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight [[DiabolusExMachina because the plot said so]].]]

* ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' is about Kirk and Picard joining forces to stop the MadScientist Dr. Soran from destroying a star so that he can rejoin the Nexus, a LotusEaterMachine where he can see his family again. Along the way, the recurring villains from ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' the Duras sisters show up randomly as hired guns for Soran. They could have been replaced by any random thugs.

* The title antagonist in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' is a downplayed example. The "conspiracy thriller" half of the plot would work just as well if you swapped him with any other ultra-competent assassin - being brainwashed, he's not in a position to do much beyond follow orders. Cap's own emotional arc is another matter.

This trope can possibly go in line with DesignatedVillain. If he's there to provide someone to boo because the main antagonist is too [[EvilIsCool cool]]/[[AntiVillain sympathetic]] to hate or a morally neutral/intangible problem (a runaway train, an earthquake, the main protagonist simply making bad decisions), he's also a HateSink. Compare with BreakoutVillain, FillerVillain, and OrcusOnHisThrone. Often overlaps with GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere in the case of video games. Occasionally it's an example of a VillainOfAnotherStory. When it's an entire unwholesome class of characters who don't seem to do any of the dirty deeds of their profession, it's ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything. Contrast VillainsActHeroesReact (where the plot only exists because it was created by the villain), and OutsideGenreFoe where the villain is a legitimate threat because [[OutsideContextProblem no one would expect them to appear in the setting]], who may or may not be plot essential. If there are both types of villains in the same narrative, it is most likely that they will become a BigBadEnsemble.

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* In the ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' game, Shocker qualifies [[VideoGame/SpiderMan2 again]]! Almost every other villain has an important role in the story to some extent. Shocker is just there to get his ass whupped and foreshadow The Demons.

* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The snow-troll from Forodwaith and the Wyrm from the Sundering Seas have nothing to do with the main plot. They are both just antagonistic solitary creatures that exists solely for the EstablishingCharacterMoment of important characters.

The problem? Bob isn't actually essential to the narrative. He might KickTheDog to inspire an emotional reaction, but this guy barely manages to contribute anything to the story. He'll dash onscreen every so often, twirl his moustache in a {{Jerkass}} manner, and then leave with little fanfare. In other words, Bob is a villain who doesn't have anything essential to do with the main plot.Be wary, though, some characters are capable of pulling this while crossing the MoralEventHorizon at the same time doing something with real weight...

The problem? Bob isn't actually essential to the narrative. He might KickTheDog to inspire an emotional reaction, but this guy barely manages to contribute anything to the story. He'll dash onscreen every so often, twirl his moustache in a {{Jerkass}} manner, and then leave with little fanfare. Be wary, though, some characters are capable of pulling this while crossing the MoralEventHorizon at the same time doing something with real weight.

In other words, Bob is a villain who doesn't do anything essential to the main plot.

** Since ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs'' doesn't turn into a ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' documentary, the focus on the predatory dinosaurs like Rudy the Baryonyx, the Quetzalcoatles and the Guanlong is limited to their attempts to prey on the Herd during their journey through their territory.

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'': The whole Pelegosto tribe eating people alive sequence qualifies; they've got absolutely nothing to do with Davy Jones or the East India Trading Company, and they never appear again once Jack and company escape their island. The Prison Dog is left stranded on the island, however, and is last seen being chased into the distance by the entire tribe... only to somehow appear unscathed in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', apparently with the help of "sea turtles."

* ''Film/EscapeFromLA'': Snake is sent into L.A. to find the President's daughter (who has the key to a DoomsdayDevice) as WorldWarIII looms in the background. Along the way, he's captured by the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills, who wants to harvest him and his female ally for their organs. Despite the threat the Surgeon General faces to Snake and Taslima, he has nothing to do with the main conflict between the PresidentEvil and the Shining Path terrorists. He's content to rule his own little corner of LA Island so he can conduct his experiments and the protagonists just happened to wander into his territory.

* Apart from briefly hindering the protagonists' attempts to return to the present, the villains from ''Dino Time'' are largely incidental to the plot.

-->-- '''[[ComicBook/EobardThawne Professor Zoom]]''', ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''

* The bear in ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'' is just there to give the movie a big sinister thing to fight forr the film's climax. The movie is otherwise about the strained friendship between the titular duo.

* The main antagonists, Duchess and Terrence, from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', were important in the pilot and pretty well ignored since. Most episodes of the series proper have NoAntagonist, the most frequent source of conflict being [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Bloo's]] selfishness or idiocy.

* From ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Gary Oak in the first season. He's a {{Jerkass}} antagonist to Ash for absolutely no reason, and continually antagonizes him in ways that never add anything to the story. In his defense, the anime was originally only going to last through this first season before the franchise became such a phenomenon, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen and the original ending had Ash vs. Gary as the final battle]], so had that happened, his previous antagonism would have actually been building the rivalry up so that the story's climax was more satisfying. Incidentally, this ends up happening in the Johto season, but by that time, he had already lost most of his Jerkass tendencies.

* The Cartel in ''VideoGame/Cyberia'' serve no role in the plot at all, and only exist to be enemies in the rail-shooting sequences of the game. Seeing as how these are universally considered the weakest part of the game and could easily be removed without any bearing on the plot, the Cartel themselves thus could also be completely eliminated.