History Quotes / TheManBehindTheMan

->'''Pit:''' Who's Hades?\\
'''Palutena:''' The true master of the Underworld.\\
'''Hades:''' [[IronicEcho Sorry to keep you waiting]]. But now that I'm here, let's get this party started.
-->-- ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''

'''Hades:''' Sorry to keep you waiting. But now that I'm here, let's get this party started.

->''"You've done well, [[DiscOneFinalBoss Kuroto]], or should I say, "[[{{Dehumanization}} Dangerous Zombie]]"... and "[[UnwittingPawn Perfect Knock-Out]]", I have to thank you for doing such a good job while I was in prison... of completing my "[[TheMostDangerousVideoGame Kamen Rider Chronicle". Kuroto's talents and the power of the Bugsters are no more than tools that make products for Genm Corporation. I was the one who built Genm Corporation. You are not its boss, Kuroto, and most certainly not [[PluckyComicRelief you]] either. '''I''' am [[BigBad the president]]."''

->'''Sam:''' He's on every local political board with an extra chair. He's a big deal down at the docks. I guess he even owns part of this golf club. He's a sorry excuse for a man, but he's got a lot of friends. The guy that worries me, though -- he's at the bar. Gray suit. That's his brother Quinn. He built this little empire. He does all the heavy lifting, but none of it means anything without Erik's pretty face and clean record. So, he's a little protective.\\

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

->'''Hot Shot''': You're saying Sideways is out there?\\
'''Optimus Prime''': I am, Hot Shot. But that's not who the Mini-Cons are warning us about. Our real enemy lies even further beyond Sideways; and that's why they want to protect us."
-->--''Anime/TransformersArmada'', "Uprising"

[[AC:Audio Plays]]

->"Sometimes, he's only a shadow, but he's in ''all'' of them. Always, dark robes just behind the new president, as if he's whispering in the president's ear."
-->--''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' "Auld Mortality"

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
->'''Lesla-Lar:''' "But I did not die! Instead, I evolved into a new life-form-- of pure energy! I still sought your destruction by mentally influencing others... until I became trapped in a ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Robot!"\\
'''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}:''' "So it was you in all those battles... YOU!"

[[AC:Fanfiction]]
->"Dream rules [[LetsPlay/DreamSMP the SMP]] and [[PuppetKing the King is there for appearances and for passing down messages]]. He himself prefers being a faceless type of leader – Gives the people someone else to get mad at."
-->--'''Eret''', ''[[Fanfic/BetweenDreamsAndMemoriesUniverse Between Heroes and Villains]]''

[[AC:{{Film}} -- Live-Action]]

->"We all work for someone."
-->--'''Lockdown''', ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction''

-->--''Film/TheAvengers2012''

->''"As I looked out over that city - nobody knew I was there, nobody could see me, no one was even looking - I had a thought that would guide me for years. Anonymity, Tony. Thanks to you, it's been my mantra ever since. Right? You simply rule from behind the scenes. Because the second you give evil a face - a bin Laden, a Gaddafi, a Mandarin - you hand the people a target."''
-->--'''Aldrich Killian''', ''Film/IronMan3''

-->--'''ComicBook/DraxTheDestroyer''', ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy''

->'''Blofeld''': You came across me so many times and yet you never saw me. [[Film/CasinoRoyale2006 Le Chiffre]], [[Film/QuantumOfSolace Greene]], [[Film/{{Skyfall}} Silva]]...\\

->''"Tattaglia is a pimp. He never could have outfought Santino. But I didn't know until this day that it was Barzini all along."''
-->--'''Vito Corleone''', ''Film/TheGodfather''

[[AC:Literature]]

->''And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known \\
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone) \\

-->-- ''Literature/OldPossumsBookOfPracticalCats'': "Macavity, the Mystery Cat"

[[AC:Live-action TV]]

->"We all have our keepers, you see."
-->--'''Emperor Mollari''', ''Series/BabylonFive'' ("War Without End Pt. 2")

->"It's like I said: I'm just one, small part in a great machine."
-->--'''Knox''', ''Series/{{Angel}}'' ("A Hole in the World")

->"You get to the top and then you find out that it's only the middle."
-->-- '''Prime Minister Dawkins''', ''Series/SecretState''

-->-- ''Series/BurnNotice'', "Shot in the Dark", discussing the two [[VillainOfTheWeek Villains of the Week]]

->'''Zek:''' [[SecretTestOfCharacter It was a test]], to see if you were ready to take my place. And you failed...''miserably!''
->'''Krax:''' But father, I am ready! I am ready! ''(MilkingTheGiantCow)'' You saw for yourself. [[KlingonPromotion I was about to grab power!]]
->'''Zek:''' You don't ''grab'' power. You accumulate it, quietly without anyone noticing.
->'''Krax:''' But...but I don't understand.
->'''Zek:''' The bar, you fool! That was the key. [[BarFullOfAliens All those visitors stopping by on their way to and from the wormhole.]] You could have sat there quietly at your leisure and gathered up all the information you needed about the Gamma Quadrant.
->'''Krax:''' But what about him? ''(indicates Quark)''
->'''Zek:''' You could have let him [[StaffOfAuthority hold the scepter]] while you controlled everything from the shadows. And then, when everything was running smoothly, only ''then'' would you take over.
-->-- ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "The Nagus"


[[AC:Music]]

->''"You're just a microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan\\
Designed and directed by his RedRightHand"''
-->-- '''Music/NickCave''', ''Red Right Hand''

[[AC:Tabletop games]]

-->--''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade - Clanbook: Malkavian (Revised)''

-->--''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}: Ogre Kingdoms Army Book (6th edition)''

->''We want to'' control ''the world [rather than rule it]. A fine distinction. Let someone else rule...or appear to. Meanwhile, we make certain that everything works to benefit the Lodge. The rewards of power, without the drawbacks.''
-->--A member of the Black Lodge, ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''

[[AC:Video games]]

->"No, wait. I was just doin' what I was told. ''Couldn't'' refuse. She's someone high up, {{government|Conspiracy}}, maybe, I don't know...No! I told him him nothi--!"
-->--'''Don Punchinello''' [[HisNameIs moments before being shot]], ''VideoGame/MaxPayne''

->''"You thought you were using me? ME?! Buddy, I was playing you like a bat fiddle!"''
-->-- '''Bowser''' to '''Antasma''', ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''

->"Politicians and law enforcement think they rule society. They cannot see [[PuppetKing their own puppet holes]] or the desiccated hands jammed inside. Civic planning, excavation rights, gambling, prostitution, black market trade - all of these belong to [[TheNecrocracy the Kingdom]], and they offer access to it for the right price."
-->--'''The Buzzing''', ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld''

->''That giant you killed, the one we call the 'Butcher'? He was actually one of our test subjects and was so close to becoming a full-fledged demon himself. Yet you had to seize the demonic ax from S-003's own facility and use the very weapon we were developing to put an end to his life.''
-->--'''[[spoiler:Oliver]]''', ''[[VideoGame/PurgatoryRPGMaker Purgatory 2]]''

->Unbeknownst to its own citizens, this society is actually manipulated from behind the scenes by a secretive shadow council. Appearances must be kept, but the tyranny of the majority should also be guarded against. After all, what if the fools vote for the wrong candidate?
-->--Flavor text for '''Shadow Council,''' ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}''

->"Despite Basil the Bat Lord seeming like the obvious leader of the terrifying Fright Knights, Willa is the real minifigure behind the curtain in Bricksylvania, pulling on everyone's puppet strings."
-->--Willa the Witch's description in ''VideoGame/LegoLegacyHeroesUnboxed''

->''"Hoyt Volker. Stay away from him, Jason. You think '''Vaas''' is crazy? All the evil on the island, it comes from Hoyt. [[BrainwashedAndCrazy He took Vaas's mind away from him]]. It is he who pulls the strings."''
-->-- '''Dennis Rogers''', ''VideoGame/FarCry3''

[[AC:Visual novels]]

->''From the very beginning, you had been at my side like a shadow; staying ever a step behind, always pushing me into the limelight. But who was the true conductor of this opera, I ask? 'Tis a foolish question that needs no answering.''
-->--'''Reinhard Heydrich''', ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae''

[[AC:Web animation]]

-->--'''The Overseer's bio''' in ''WebAnimation/XionicMadness 3''

->''Someone has been pulling the strings from behind the entire time. Even the Overseer ended up being just a puppet.''
-->--'''Xero''', ''WebAnimation/XionicMadness 4 Part 3''

[[AC:Web original]]

->'''Fortune''': Speaking of manipulation, it's time for me to steal Arsenal since I've been manipulating you from the start!\\
'''Solidus''': Actually, I tricked Ocelot into manipulating you into manipulating me!\\
'''Ocelot''': [[YouFOOL Fools!]] I've been manipulating everything from behind the scenes!\\
'''Magic Hand''': But actually, I've been manipulating you!\\
'''Raiden''': Alright, this has officially become a load of crap.
-->-- ''[[http://www.gamespite.net/toastywiki/index.php/Site/ThumbnailMetalGearSolid2-05 Thumbnail Threatre: Metal Gear Solid 2: Part 5]]''

[[AC:Webcomics]]

->''Every single time I think I have killed the person responsible for usurping my command, I find there's someone else higher up, still fighting me.''

->"Tavros, at this point it should 8e o8vious. I am the unseen hand 8ehind every major event in their session, and to some extent, their whole lives. At least those events not happening 8y the volition of their own natural incompetence! Don't you think this is how it should 8e? Shouldn't the greatest player leave her fingerprints on every step of the rise to power of her ultim8 nemesis?"
-->-- '''[[Characters/HomestuckTrollsTwo Vriska Serket]]''', ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''

->"For a little while, I thought he was the supreme menace, and I would have to face him in a final showdown. 8ut it turned out that was just a 8it of standard misdirection. He was just another step up in a typical pattern of escal8tion involving increasingly 'insurmounta8le' threats, which legendary heroes like us have to overcome to achieve total victory over everything."
-->-- '''[[Characters/HomestuckTrollsTwo Vriska Serket]]''', [[ExaggeratedTrope much later in]] ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''

[[AC:Western animation]]

->"Hyperion was a hammer. I am an architect."
-->--'''Nighthawk''', ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' ("Nighthawk")

->'''Ruff:''' You got us. We did send the ransom letter and we did break in here to kidnap Edmée, but it weren't our idea. We was workin' for someone else.\\

'''Ruff:''' Well now, don't judge us. We got the idea from... from well... '''the Bog Lady.'''\\
''(Ruff and Stucky shudder)''\\

-->--''WesternAnimation/IHeartArlo'', "The Uncondemning"

-->''WesternAnimation/IHeartArlo'', "The Uncondemning"

->"Eventually the curtains get pulled 8ack, and you find out who was 8ehind every terri8le thing that happened all along. Someone who is invaria8ly stronger than all other adversaries 8y a wide margin. The supreme villain!"

->[[color:#004183:"Tavros, at this point it should 8e o8vious. I am the unseen hand 8ehind every major event in their session, and to some extent, their whole lives. At least those events not happening 8y the volition of their own natural incompetence! Don't you think this is how it should 8e? Shouldn't the greatest player leave her fingerprints on every step of the rise to power of her ultim8 nemesis?"]]
-->-- '''[[Characters/HomestuckTrollsFour Vriska Serket]]''', ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''

-->-- '''[[spoiler: Damon Ricotello]]''', ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII''

->'''Zek:''' [[FakingTheDead It was a test]], to see [[SecretTestOfCharacter if you were ready to take my place]]. And you failed...''miserably!''

->'''Zek:''' [[FakingTheDead It was a test]] to see [[SecretTestOfCharacter if you were ready to take my place]]. And you failed, ''miserably!''
->'''Krax:''' But father, I am ready! I am ready! You saw for yourself. [[KlingonPromotion I was about to grab power!]]
->'''Zek:''' You don't grab power. You accumulate it, quietly without anyone noticing.
->'''Krax:''' But, but, I don't understand...

[[AC:{{Film}} -- Live-action]]

-->-- ''Film/TheAvengers2012''

->''Why rule openly, when one can direct the lords with [[MadOracle whispers and riddles]] and even [[TheJester jests]]?''

[[AC:Anime and manga]]

[[AC:Audio plays]]

[[AC:Film -- Live-action]]

'''Blofeld''' Yeah, that's right. A nice pattern developed, you interfered in my world, I destroyed yours.

-->-- [[spoiler:'''Bowser''']] to [[spoiler:'''Antasma''']], ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''