History Main / StuckInTheirShadow

* An in-movie example occurs as a running gag in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc''. Whenever Mike appears in the media he is always covered up by something, like the barcode of a magazine or the company logo in a commercial, or in the [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity prequel]] where his student ID photo cut off at his forehead. (Meanwhile, Sulley is always front and center.) Whenever this happens, Mike initially appears shocked but then talks excitedly about being in print/on TV/being a college student, never even noticing the unfortunate circumstances.

[[folder:Film]]
* Creator/MarxBrothers: Groucho and Harpo Marx have always been the most prominent names in the group. If you're lucky, they may remember Chico too. The one that everyone forgets is Zeppo; granted he only appeared in their movies until ''Film/DuckSoup'' (1933) and was usually the straight man. Gummo, who quit around World War I, is more like ThePeteBest.
* ''Film/WaynesWorld'' is named after Wayne, however, Garth is no less important in the scheme of things, gets about equal screen time, and provides just as many memorable lines.

* Modern-day fans of ''Film/TheThreeStooges'' tend to view Shemp in this manner (and the less said about Joe Besser the better), in comparison to the massively popular Curly. Ironically, back when the shorts were filmed, Shemp was the only Stooge who had a singles career but agreed to join the act after Curly got sick so Moe and Larry wouldn't be out on the street.
* In both the book and film versions of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', the story focuses less on Roger and more on the human detective, Eddie Valiant. In the book, Roger was Eddie's shifty client, and although he was pivotal to the story, the focus was clearly on Eddie and his investigations. In the movie, Roger gets the plot rolling, but after that, his job consists mostly of hanging around with Eddie and acting goofy. Even in his cartoons in-universe, Roger gets second billing behind Baby Herman, even though (like Wile E.) he gets the lion's share of the laughs. Never more blatant than when he ''saves Eddie's life'' (if only momentarily) at the Gag Factory, then drops right back down to "goofy" again without so much as a thank-you on Eddie's part - although his wife, Jessica, whom he also saved, at least gives him some of the respect he's desperately been trying to earn.

** But come 2013, Nintendo is giving him some recognition, dubbing this year Advertising/TheYearOfLuigi, specifically releasing 3 games (''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', ''VideoGame/NewSuperLuigiU'', and ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'') that give him ADayInTheLimelight, putting Luigi-themed content in ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing New Leaf'' and ''VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza'', re-releasing his first 4 games (''VideoGame/MarioBros'', ''VideoGame/WreckingCrew'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'') on the UsefulNotes/WiiU's UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, and making him playable from the get-go in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' (previous 3D ''Mario'' games required you to unlock him after playing through as Mario).

* In TheSixties three men created titles that were the foundation for Franchise/MarvelUniverse and Creator/MarvelComics as we know and love - Creator/StanLee with artists Creator/JackKirby and Creator/SteveDitko. However, while Lee had a much lesser role than many believe, often providing just general plot outline or the idea and writing dialogue on the already finished pages, he also had a much greater media presence and popularity among the fans, overshadowing the latter two even in the mainstream eyes. This, combined with their increasing mistreatment ended with both of them leaving the company, a move that for many was the beginning of UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks.

** Patrick Leahy of Vermont was the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate from the 2012 death of UsefulNotes/DanielInouye until his own retirement after the 2022 elections. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country — except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: UsefulNotes/BernieSanders.

* Alex Lifeson of Music/{{Rush}} is as talented at Neil Peart and [[LeadBassist Geddy Lee]] but still gets this. A rare example of the lead guitarist being less memorable than the drummer and bassist.

** To a lesser extent, Knuckles too. While he doesn't have anywhere near as much of a hang up about it as Tails, a large source of Sonic and Knuckles' rivalry is built on the fact the latter is jealous of the former's lifestyle, being able to WalkTheEarth and go where he pleases, whereas Knuckles is stuck guarding the Master Emerald on Angel Island all of the time. Also Knuckles is something of a ButtMonkey at times whereas Sonic is LovedByAll.

* Being stuck in the shadow of his father [[MagnificentBastard Cao Cao]] has been Cao Pi's story path since his debut in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 5''; he doesn't get a break even in the [[VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi crossover game]], as the warriors of Wei are still more loyal to Cao Cao (who is outright ''presumed dead'' until near the end of the plot) than to him in the first game, and he has to share an uneasy spotlight with his father in the sequel (though in the final battle Cao Cao does officially hand the baton over). By the fourth [[Video/WarriorsOrochi Orochi game]] he finally has a more prominent role than his father. Unfortunately it's as a lieutenant to a secondary villain.

** Ever since UsefulNotes/DanielInouye died in 2012, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy became the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country -- except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: UsefulNotes/BernieSanders.

* Ask any person about who was in Music/{{Nirvana}} and they will pretty much forget Krist Novoselic. While Kurt Cobain is easily the band's most famous member (DeadArtistsAreBetter may have had something to do with it), Dave Grohl formed Music/FooFighters and escaped what would have otherwise been a fade into obscurity.

* Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert of Music/NewOrder. Not as well known as front-man Bernard Sumner or Bassist Peter Hook, they even called their spin-off band "The Other Two."

** Electronic producers like David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Music/{{Avicii}}, and Music/{{Zedd}} have largely averted this by being credited on all of their hits. Avicii in particular has avoided high profile guest vocalists, to the point of not even crediting the vocalists he does work with.

* Nearly everyone who's performed with Music/EricClapton. Ginger Baker of Music/{{Cream}} has somewhat escaped this, and Steve Winwood and [[Music/TheAllmanBrothersBand Duane Allman]] are famous for other projects as well, but most of the others are mostly known for performing with Clapton, despite often being quite talented in their own right. (Ironically, Jack Bruce of Cream was better known than Clapton during the band's initial period of activity, but Clapton had a massive BreakupBreakout).
* To an extent, Music/{{Pantera}} bassist Rex Brown is often forgotten among his former band-mates, becoming especially obscure after the break-up of Pantera, as he did not side with either Phil Anselmo nor Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul in their feud.
* Music/{{Rage Against The Machine}} has an excellent, almost jazzy rhythm section in Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk; however, they are both largely overshadowed by Zack de la Rocha, who in turn is overshadowed by Tom Morello, primarily due to Morello's incredibly innovative guitar playing style and remaining in the spotlight through Music/{{Audioslave}} whereas de la Rocha faded into obscurity.

* Mark Ronson is a very successful producer in the UK, but never had a hit in the US until 2014/15 with "Uptown Funk!". Unfortunately, outside the UK he was completely stuck in the shadow of its featured vocalist, global pop superstar Music/BrunoMars, and it's almost universally seen as Mars' song rather than Ronson's. His name is literally a footnote, and even the music video put all attention on Mars with Ronson only making cameos. As a result, Ronson himself had so little momentum coming out of the song that it failed to translate into any sales for its parent album ''Uptown Special'' outside the UK and, aside from a credit on an A$AP Rocky song that scraped the bottom of the charts for one week, Ronson [[OneHitWonder never set foot on a non-British singles chart again]]. (A similar situation has happened with the Music/{{Amy Winehouse}}-sung "Valerie", although it was nowhere near as bad as with "Uptown Funk!")

* The other bloke out of Wham, who at the start had equal billing in a two-boy BoyBand with a then-starting-out Creator/GeorgeMichael. George's career went stellar. The other bloke's [[note]]Andrew Ridgeley. Andrew ''who''? Exactly. [[/note]] ''didn't''.

* For many people outside of the fans, the Music/PetShopBoys are Neil Tennant and... that guy who wears the sunglasses and stands at the back playing the synths (a.k.a Chris Lowe). Though this one is in part intentional, since Lowe is also apparently rather shy and introverted, and prefers maintaining a low public profile.
* K-Pop is huge back home in South Korea and has quite a big following with the Asian diaspora. But, for a long time, only one artist from the genre was widely-known around the world to the public at large: Music/{{PSY}}. Ironically, back in Korea PSY is seen as a B-lister at best, his only real standout quality there being "the guy who had that worldwide megahit a few years back". Nowadays there is only one K-pop who has achieved global megastardom -- Music/{{BTS}}, easily the most popular boy band of the 2010s not named One Direction. Although other groups (Music/BlackPink et al.) have been getting more Western exposure in their own rights over the course of TheNewTwenties, BTS is still by far the most recognizable one to the general public.

* Andy Gibb had several hit singles in the US but was always an afterthought compared to his three older brothers Barry, Robin and Maurice aka Music/TheBeeGees. This affected him personally as it seemed to have left him being very insecure since he was mostly considered to just be "the baby brother of the Bee Gees". This probably played a part in him developing the drug addiction that led to his death aged just 30.

* Sodom and Gomorrha were in for it together for evilness, and a miffed God [[BoltOfDivineRetribution nuked them from orbit.]] Thus, "sodomy" entered our language...but have you ever been accused of gomorrhy? [[note]]Fun fact: There is some Mr. Cain Gomorrhy listed on IMDB, again he only played the second violin, being assistant director under the legendary Walerian Borowczyk.[[/note]]

* Wrestling/PedroMorales is one of the biggest stars of his era and the first Latin American to win a "recognized" World title. Unfortunately, Wrestling/BrunoSammartino was also in his era and Morales was never truly accepted as a worthy successor by the Wrestling/WorldWrestlingFederation fans. This wasn't such a big deal at the time, but as the WWF systematically destroyed every other territory it could, it retroactively made Pedro being in Bruno's shadow in one territory have more impact on his image.

* As a singles wrestler, Kyle O'Reilly's Wrestling/RingOfHonor career has often been derisively compared to his former TagTeam partners Davey Richards and Wrestling/AdamCole. As a TagTeam wrestler, however, he's found much more success with Bobby Fish as reDRagon than he ever did riding either of their coattails. In 2015, O'Reilly started to find more success as a singles wrestler only to be thwarted in every title match he earned by Adam Cole, who [[InvokedTrope wanted to keep O'Reilly in his shadow]]. Kyle finally broke out after beating Cole, who was in his second reign as ROH Champion, at the 2016 ''Final Battle'', finally starting his first singles title run...only for Cole to be given a rematch by Wrestling/{{New Japan|ProWrestling}}'s officials at ''Wrestle Kingdom 11'' and [[YankTheDogsChain win the belt back]], becoming ROH's first three-time world champion, before ROH itself could even book O'Reilly any title matches.

* Stu Hart had twelve children, all of whom were involved in the wrestling business, but only two of them are particularly well-known: [[Wrestling/BretHart Bret]] and [[Wrestling/OwenHart Owen]].
* The best-known members of the Guerrero family are easily [[Wrestling/EddieGuerrero Eddie]] and [[Wrestling/VickieGuerrero Vickie]]. The only other member most people will be able to name is [[Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr Chavo Jr.]] Unless you're in Mexico, where Gori, Mando, Hector, and Chavo Sr are also well known. Chavo Sr was fairly popular in the NWA territorial system, it's just that WWF systematically destroyed that.
* Lanny Poffo, brother of Wrestling/RandySavage, is often considered the prime example for a wrestler being stuck in his sibling's shadow. Their father, Angelo Poffo, has also been overshadowed by Randy.

* The Knight wrestling family: Britani Knight, a.k.a WWE's Wrestling/{{Paige}} is by far its most famous member, with the only other well-known one, at least in America, being her mother, Saraya Knight.
* Wrestling/RicFlair has four children, the best known of which is his younger daughter, Wrestling/{{Charlotte}}. While not nearly as well known, his two sons David and Reid have their own notoriety: the former for his infamous flop of a career and [[MemeticMutation memetic entrance video]], the latter for dying tragically at the age of 25 and for his death being tastelessly referenced by WWE in a Paige/Charlotte angle. His older daughter, Megan, on the other hand, is virtually unknown, even being overshadowed by her husband Conrad Thompson, a well-known wrestling podcaster.
* Wrestling/MattHardy is far from unknown, but still not nearly as recognized as his younger brother [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Jeff]]. However, his "Broken" Wrestling/{{TNA}} run in 2016 helped remedy that...to a degree.

* Frank James, Jesse James's brother, has become relatively obscure in modern culture and exists largely in Jesse's shadow, even though the two were equally infamous in the old West and committed their criminal acts as a pair. It turns out an alliterative name counts for a lot.
* Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels penned ''The Communist Manifesto'' together, but Marx is the only one directly associated with it (with Marxism being another name for communism), while Engels is unknown to many who don't study Marxism.
** Engels is somewhat better known in the UK for his seminal work ''On The Condition Of The Working Classes In England'', which was the first serious academic survey of urban living conditions in the age of industrialization. It took forty years for anyone to get around to an English translation, but it was still relevant enough to influence a lot of British political and economic reformists well into the 1920s.

* Ever heard of Christian Friedrich Henrici (aka Picander, his pseudonym), the lyricist for Johann Sebastian Bach's {{cantatas}}? Chances are even those who are into Bach's music haven't heard of him. Picander (as he is known on Website/TheOtherWiki) wrote the lyrics for many of Bach's religious and secular cantatas, yet he is obscure to all but the most learned Bach scholars. Part of the reason why he is so unknown is that it is general practice to attribute a classical work to the one who has composed the music; hence, Picander is unknown while Bach is always in the spotlight.

* Most fans of UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball agree that this happened with Peyton and Eli Manning, two brothers who played quarterback for different teams in the NFL. It's just a question of who was stuck in whose shadow that tends to start a few arguments. Peyton was clearly the better of the two players, having had to carry multiple teams by himself in a few big games, but he had a reputation as a choke artist in the playoffs, making it to the UsefulNotes/SuperBowl four times and only winning twice. On the other hand, Eli was far less accurate in throwing and had multiple losing seasons, yet showed flashes of real brilliance, winning the Super Bowl both times he appeared, including against [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable the at-the-time undefeated New England Patriots]]. It comes down to a debate over whether "consistently good" or "subpar with occasional streaks of excellence" is better.

* The 2012 United States Olympic Women's Gymnastics team. Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, and Kyla Ross did not gain nearly as much publicity as Gabby Douglas and [=McKayla=] Maroney (the former for her actual gymnastic accomplishments and the latter because of an internet meme.)

** For 2020, Biles was not only unquestionably the face of the U.S. Gymnastics team, but with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt retired, arguably the face of the entire 2020 Olympics.

* Male American professional soccer players are hit by this ''hard''. On the home front, they're almost completely overshadowed by the women, especially following their victory in the 2015 World Cup. When it's strictly men's soccer being discussed, the American players are barely a blip on the radar compared to some of the South American and European superstars like David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi. In fact, while most people, American or not, who aren't die-hard soccer fans will be hard-pressed to name even ''one'' male soccer star from the States, there are inversely little-to-no well known U.S.-known international soccer stars on the female side.[[note]]The only arguable exceptions are Brazil's Marta, Canada's Christine Sinclair, and Australia's Sam Kerr—all of whom have played much of their club careers in the US, with Sinclair having played for Portland's team in the National Women's Soccer League since that league started up in 2013.[[/note]] This lack of American male success is probably why soccer is generally considered to be "[[AmericansHateTingle hated]]" [[SoccerHatingAmericans in America]].

* Wrestling/RicFlair has four children, the best known of which is his younger daughter, Wrestling/{{Charlotte}}. While not nearly as well known, his two sons David and Reid have their own notoriety: the former for his infamous flop of a career and [[MemeticMutation memetic entrance video]], the latter for dying tragically at the age of 25 and for his death being tastelessly referenced by WWE in a Paige/Charlotte angle. His older daughter, Megan, on the other hand, is virtually unknown, even being overshadowed by her current husband Conrad Thompson, a well-known wrestling podcaster.

* Dave Stewart is acclaimed for his writing and producing, but his Music/Eurythmics partner, vocalist Annie Lennox, is much better known to the general public.

** To a lesser extent, Knuckles too. While he doesn't have anywhere near as much of a hang up about it as Tails, a large source of Sonic and Knuckles' rivalry is built on the fact the latter is jealous of the former's lifestyle, being able to WalkTheEarth and go where he pleases, whereas Knuckles is stuck guarding the Master Emerald on Angel Island all of the time.

* NuMetal was often seen as the most commercially profitable genre of metal during its prime, with numerous acts gaining massive commercial success. In reality, this only applied to a handful of bands. Namely Music/{{Korn}}, Music/{{Deftones}}, Music/LimpBizkit, Music/{{Slipknot}}, Music/{{Disturbed}}, Music/{{Godsmack}}, Music/LinkinPark, Music/PapaRoach, and Music/{{Evanescence}} (and Music/SystemOfADown, if you consider them nu metal). Music/{{Sevendust}}, Trapt, Saliva, Music/{{POD}}, and Music/DrowningPool also had success, but not to the same extent. Compare this to the glut of acts who failed to have that same success such as Music/CoalChamber, Music/ThirtySixCrazyfists, Music/AlienAntFarm, Martyr AD, Music/GuanoApes, Crazy Town, Stereomud, Ultraspank, Spineshank, Systematic, Injected, Skrape, Primer 55, Unloco, Orgy, Presence, Hot Action Cop, Music/DemonHunter, Nonpoint, Mushroomhead, Shuvel, Twisted Method, Music/{{Skindred}}, Music/StaticX, Flaw, Music/{{Cold}}, Dry Kill Logic, Kittie, Music/MachineHead, hed (p.e.), Ra, Lifer, Music/{{Otep}}...

* The {{Abandonware}} game ''Lion'' is objectively better than ''VideoGame/{{Wolf}}'' in terms of gameplay, graphics, and overall implementation, with ''wolf's'' only advantages being a possibly more popular animal choice and coming out first, but ''Lion'' is strongly overshadowed by the latter on {{Abandonware}} websites (it's never even gotten a page on here!) Though, OverlyNarrowSuperlative is in effect here for ''VideoGame/{{Wolf}}'', as both games are very, very old and very obscure outside of their tiny {{Abandonware}} niche.

* John Deacon of Music/{{Queen}} is usually thought of as "the other one" compared to the more outgoing, LargeHam members of the band. Actually, in almost any other band he would have been LeadBassist (Type A), but as it happened he worked with people who just wouldn't be outdone. Still, he penned several of their big hits, and contributed enormously to the songs he didn't write: Music/BrianMay says that after his retirement, Queen lacks a kind of magic that Deacon used to bring.

* Guitarist Andy Summers and, to a lesser extent, drummer Stewart Copeland of Music/ThePolice were largely overshadowed by bassist/singer/songwriter Sting. Oddly enough, whilst they didn't receive the same individual credit, the band as a whole was far more popular than Sting's solo career.

* PowerMetal[=/=]SpeedMetal band Music/DragonForce has a FaceOfTheBand with the guitarist Herman Li, who is well-known for his insanely technical guitar solos and has reached a level of MemeticBadass within the community. For some, it might be easy to forget that they have ''another'' guitarist with Sam Totman, who's been around since the beginning alongside Li, as the band had been started based around their dual-shred guitars. Despite being just as skilled at his instrument, engaging in similarly technical solos, and (unlike Li), taking a big part in the main songwriting process, he is nowhere near as well-known as Li. Being a TokenMinority in metal alongside having a very distinct appearance can definitely help with sticking out from the rest.

* Music/LacunaCoil tried to avert the standard "[[FaceOfTheBand female lead singer overshadows male backup band]]" stigma by pairing Cristina Scabbia with male singer Andrea Ferro. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the latter from ultimately languishing in the former's shadow.

*** The tables have turned slightly: two silver medals and a team gold later, Raisman got a lot more media attention (alongside Biles) than Douglas this time around. Douglas's only medal has been the team gold. Aside from being replaced by Biles as the FaceOfTheBand, Douglas only got attention for not placing her hand on her heart during the medal ceremony.