History Main / TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse

** Thessaly is a powerful and ''enormously'' vengeful witch who is [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld at least several millennia old]], can travel between different planes of existence, and will [[RevengeBeforeReason obsessively]] hunt down and murder or [[FacialHorror cut off the face]] of anyone who has slighted her. Her physical description is something along the lines of a slightly shorter than average woman with light brown hair somewhere in her mid 20s to early 30s, wears large eyeglasses, and strikes people as kinda pretty and also kinda plain at the same time. If you saw her and tried to guess her job you'd probably find yourself assuming she was a librarian.

* Jigsaw in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' movies. Extra points because [[spoiler:he's dying of brain cancer]].

* In ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'', unlike the later hulking hockey-masked figure that Jason would later be known to be, [[spoiler: Pamela Voorhees, the StrangerBehindTheMask, is a completely normal looking middle-aged lady, dressed in jeans and a sweater. No creepy mask, scars, chainsaw, or anything.]]
* Virtually all of the people Creator/BruceWillis' character has [[TouchTelepathy psychic flashes]] about in ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'' are seemingly ordinary people who have done or are looking to do bad things. [[spoiler:The biggest case being a janitor who is a rapist and a SerialKiller.]]

* In the comedy film ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooLittle'', the main character (Bill Murray) thinks he's in a TuxedoAndMartini simulation game and, when informed about TheBaroness, thinks that she is this elderly woman dressed as a dominatrix ("It was our anniversary!"). TheBaroness is a real person, a TortureTechnician / MadDoctor. She is a middle-aged woman of average appearance, maybe even pretty, and she acts completely calm and normal. The film sends the message that unlike in the world of ''Film/JamesBond'', villains in the real world aren't always ObviouslyEvil with a convenient RedRightHand.

* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': In stark contrast to the [[TheBeautifulElite Molina twins]] who could [[VampiresAreSexGods easily stand out among the crowd]], their vampire rivals on the other hand look completely mundane due to having mingled with humanity ages ago and taken positions of influence among society. They could be fat, old or completely plain, but deep down they are all depraved monsters that delight in abusing humans. This trope is usually not a problem for the twins, since they have managed to elude their enemies for centuries, but it certainly is for normal characters like Benito and Vicky, since they don't know who to trust as the conspiracy has [[WeAreEverywhere infiltrated the police, politics, the church, etc]]. Even [[spoiler:Vicky's own family is revealed to be part of it]].

** Yoshikage Kira, the BigBad of ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'', stands out among the series' major villains by how much he ''doesn't'' stand out; he makes an active effort to be as normal and unremarkable as possible, living a quiet and peaceful life while also regularly murdering women and taking their hands as trophies/"girlfriends". Resemblance to Creator/DavidBowie aside, his appearance is nothing special, which makes for a chilling moment when, [[spoiler: after he forces another Stand user to swap his appearance with another ordinary man he killed]], the heroes lose him in a crowd and realize that he could be ''any'' of the people wandering in the street. And indeed, he ''is'' present in the crowd shot ([[EarlyBirdCameo alongside other characters who would properly debut later]]) establishing this; he's the guy with the black hair, white jacket, and pink pants facing away from the camera over to the right. [[HidingInPlainSight The heroes had him in their sights all along, but never realized who they were looking at.]]

* Part of what makes ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'''s Coachman character so terrifying by Disney villain standards is that he basically looks like a normal, grandfatherly old man. There's no clear visual indication of his evil until he makes his NightmareFace. His only other tell is easy to miss: he has FourFingeredHands as opposed to every other human having five.
* [[spoiler: Prince Hans]] from ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' is a normal looking gentleman, as opposed to the {{Gonk}} Duke of Weselton, [[spoiler: who turns out to be a RedHerring]].
* Commander Rourke of ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' is an unassuming, outwardly friendly middle-aged man compared to the more eccentric members of his team. It makes the part where he has Milo and Kida cornered with a jovial smile on his face all the creepier, especially when he casually decides to leave an entire civilization to die.

* Kevin from ''ComicBook/SinCity'' is just a guy in a sweater and glasses. You wouldn't believe that he is a martial arts master, to say nothing of his knack for eating people. For extra uncanny points, it's a Charlie Brown sweater. Ratcheted up by casting Creator/ElijahWood in the film.
* Most ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villains, even if they start out as relatively normal criminals, wind up disfigured and/or embracing some kind of super-villain gimmick. Not so with [[ComicBook/BatmanTheBlackMirror James Gordon Jr.]], an ordinary, bookish-looking lad who happens to also be a [[TheSociopath sociopath]] and SerialKiller.
%%** Mr. Fun from the 2002 mini-series ''ComicBook/BatmanFamily2002''.%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample
* Kevin Thorn from ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' looks like a completely ordinary guy, but is, in fact, the personification of storytelling, whose goal in "The Great Fables Crossover" was to erase the Fables universe from existence and start from scratch.
* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': In stark contrast to the [[TheBeautifulElite Molina twins]] who could [[VampiresAreSexGods easily stand out among the crowd]], their vampire rivals on the other hand look completely mundane due to having mingled with humanity ages ago and taken positions of influence among society. They could be fat, old or completely plain, but deep down they are all depraved monsters that delight in abusing humans. This trope is usually not a problem for the twins, since they have managed to elude their enemies for centuries, but it certainly is for normal characters like Benito and Vicky, since they don't know who to trust as the conspiracy has [[WeAreEverywhere infiltrated the police, politics, the church, etc]]. Even [[spoiler:Vicky's own family is revealed to be part of it]].

* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', Light Yagami being the smart, charming, supposedly kindhearted honor-student son of the Chief of Police makes it difficult for many of the characters to take L's accusations seriously. L seems to be the only one who ''really'' believes that Light is Kira until very close to the series' end.

* All for One in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' doesn't fit this currently, but from flashbacks ([[FaceFramedInShadow insomuch as we can see him]]) it seems that he looked fairly normal before All Might [[FacialHorror punched his face off]] and made him a DarkLordOnLifeSupport.

** Amon, whose creepy mask, unexplained AntiMagic powers and mysterious backstory made for a truly terrifying villain. Under the mask [[spoiler:and scar makeup, he looks like a completely normal Water Tribe man in his thirties]].

** Season 5 introduces a unicorn named Starlight Glimmer, whose appearance, voice and name are so ordinary that it seems like she was taken from a database of background ponies and thrust into the role of an arc villain on a whim. This is very intentional as her entire philosophy is based on [[IndividualityIsIllegal conformity and not standing out]], and it serves to make her [[JustTheFirstCitizen hypocrisy]] and [[TotalitarianUtilitarian insanity]] all the more striking.
** Season 8 introduces [[spoiler:Cozy Glow, a pegasus [[EnfantTerrible filly]] who [[BitchInSheepsClothing looks and acts as intimidating as a kitten]], but in reality is a power-hungry child who conspired with ''[[SatanicArchetype Tirek]]'' to drain all the magic out of Equestria and makes friendships specifically to try and abuse ThePowerOfFriendship for her own gain. And unlike [[HeelFaceTurn Starlight Glimmer]], she [[RedemptionRejection refuses to accept she was wrong]]]].
* Emperor Belos from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' is seen without his mask for the first time in "Eclipse Lake", and his face, aside from the streak of rot going down one side, is perfectly ordinary. He looks more like someone's grandfather or uncle than any sort of tyrant or evil mastermind.
** The Golden Guard, the second-in-command of Emperor Belos. Luz even expresses surprise when she sees him without his mask, noting that he looks like he could be one of her classmates at Hexside. This works against him when he tries ordering around some Coven scouts after being attacked by Kikimora.... just to have them laugh him off because without his mask or staff, he just looks like a regular teenager.