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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | |
| 7 | -> "No longer monsters of the week, these were simply monsters, routinely and soundly defeating our heroes, ones that shattered the 22-minute structure and planted their feet deep in the story, staying there for dozens and dozens of episodes, during which the entire plot would center solely around their existence.'' |
| 8 | -->-- '''WebVideo/SuperEyepatchWolf''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuvSwb5KM6Q "The Impact of Dragon Ball Z"]] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | The default expectation of an episodic story is that there is a MonsterOfTheWeek, each installment stands alone and must introduce a new enemy for the hero to confront. An Arc Villain expands beyond that, serving as the antagonist for a StoryArc. By the conclusion the collection of episodes can be wrapped up as the EvilPlan of this villain that is resolved by the end. After that, though, they're killed off, imprisoned, sent into a HumiliationConga, make a HeelFaceTurn, or are otherwise taken out of the picture, and the heroes continue their adventures to the next arc. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | The Arc Villain serves a purpose in expanding the scope and scale of the story, using these episodes to function as a type of self-contained movie with a beginning, middle and end (and may even be boxed together in compilation releases). At the top end they may be the BigBad, the central figure within the MythArc. On the low end they may be a FillerVillain, someone who causes trouble [[{{Filler}} for an otherwise irrelevant story]]. Among other versions include them being TheManBehindTheMan, a GreaterScopeVillain or secretly TheDragon of BigBad, but they can also stand alone. As the nature of arc based storytelling, they can still be the final antagonist of a series that serves as a cap to the heroes adventures. Especially within the use of a HalfArcSeason a number of Arc Villains can cause trouble over what appears to be individual episodes, but collectively ends up forming its' own [[SimultaneousArcs story arc in parallel with the others]]. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Generally speaking if their story intersects or parallels the plotting of another villain they would not be an Arc Villain, but either just a recurring antagonist or part of a BigBadDuumvirate. They can overlap with a BigBad but their actions would often be considered a lower tier threat in terms of the setting no matter how prevalent their impact is, even if a PostScriptSeason (or sequel) starts an entire new story. They are often used as middle rungs on the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil if surpassing them takes one or more {{Story Arc}}s and may also being used as a StarterVillain. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Compare BigBadWannabe. Contrast DiscOneFinalBoss and InterimVillain. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | ---- |
| 19 | !!Examples: |
| 20 | |
| 21 | [[index]] |
| 22 | * ArcVillain/AnimeAndManga |
| 23 | ** ''ArcVillain/DragonBall'' |
| 24 | ** ''ArcVillain/OnePiece'' |
| 25 | * ArcVillain/LiveActionTV |
| 26 | * ArcVillain/VideoGames |
| 27 | ** ''ArcVillain/CriminalCase'' |
| 28 | ** ''ArcVillain/FateGrandOrder'' |
| 29 | * ArcVillain/WesternAnimation |
| 30 | [[/index]] |
| 31 | |
| 32 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 35 | * ''Animation/CatchTeenieping'': Akdongping serves as one in the first half of Part 2, helping other Teenieping cause trouble. |
| 36 | * In Season 8 of ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', Big M. and Little M., the main villains of the show, get help from a wizard named Huo Haha to locate some magic staffs that are contained within a book his ancestor Xiao Haha wrote called ''A History of Magic''. Thus, Huo Haha has the closest connection to the season's plot, and he also does not appear in a major role in the show outside of this season until the spin-off season ''Happy Heroes and the Magical Lab''. |
| 37 | [[/folder]] |
| 38 | |
| 39 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 40 | * In most contemporary SuperHero comics, which are written with collected editions in mind, this has effectively replaced the older [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain-of-the-month]] trope. |
| 41 | * ''ComicBook/{{Animosity}}'' so far has the [[spoiler: Dragon]] for its synonymous arc, and the [[spoiler: Headmistress]] for the "Power" arc. |
| 42 | * ''ComicBook/AstonishingXMen'': |
| 43 | ** "Gifted:" Ord. |
| 44 | ** "Dangerous:" Danger. |
| 45 | ** "Torn": Cassandra Nova and the Hellfire Club. |
| 46 | ** "Unstoppable:" [[spoiler: Aghanne]]. |
| 47 | * ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' continues the precedent established by the show: |
| 48 | ** Season 8: [[GeniusLoci The Twilight Dimension.]] |
| 49 | ** Season 9: [[EvilCounterpart Simone.]] |
| 50 | ** Season 10: [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils D'Hoffryn.]] |
| 51 | ** Season 11: [[spoiler: [[CorruptPolitician White House Press Secretary Joanna Wise]]]]. |
| 52 | ** Season 12: [[ConquerorFromTheFuture Harth Fray]]. |
| 53 | * ''ComicBook/Elsewhere2017'': The first volume has the despot Lord Kragen whereas the second volume has [[spoiler:a scientist working for the United States Government.]] |
| 54 | * ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': |
| 55 | ** ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth'' |
| 56 | *** "Lightning Strikes Twice": Godspeed |
| 57 | *** "Speed of Darkness": The Shade |
| 58 | *** "Running Scared": Eobard Thawne (he pops up every once in a while) |
| 59 | *** "Perfect Storm": Lord Grodd and Black Hole |
| 60 | *** "ComicBook/FlashWar": Zoom |
| 61 | *** "Force Quest": Gemini |
| 62 | *** "The Greatest Trick of All": Jesse James/Trickster I |
| 63 | *** "The Price": Gotham Girl |
| 64 | *** "The Flash: Year One": The Turtle |
| 65 | *** "[[ComicBook/DCYearOfTheVillain Death and the Speed Force]]": Black Flash |
| 66 | *** "[[ComicBook/DCYearOfTheVillain Rogues Reign]]": King Cold |
| 67 | *** "The Flash Age": Paradox |
| 68 | *** "Finish Line": Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash [[spoiler: for the final time]] |
| 69 | *** "With This Ring": Doctor Alchemy |
| 70 | ** ''ComicBook/TheFlashInfiniteFrontier'' |
| 71 | *** "Blink of an Eye": Savitar |
| 72 | *** "Veangence is Mine": Eclipso |
| 73 | *** "[[ComicBook/DarkCrisis The Search For Barry Allen]]": [[spoiler: The Pariah]] |
| 74 | *** One Minute War: The Fraction |
| 75 | *** "Time Heist": Granny Goodness |
| 76 | * ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'': Unlike his Pre-Crisis era which mostly consisted of one-shot stories, his Post-Crisis portrayal gave him something to chew on. |
| 77 | ** ''Green Arrow (2001)'' |
| 78 | *** "ComicBook/{{Quiver}}": Stanley Dover |
| 79 | *** "Sounds of Violence" Onomatoepaeia |
| 80 | *** "Straight Shooter": Constantine Drakon |
| 81 | *** "City Walls": Albert Davis |
| 82 | *** "New Blood": Brick |
| 83 | *** "[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Heading Into The Light]]: Doctor Light |
| 84 | *** "The Away Game": Natas |
| 85 | *** "Seeing Red": Red Hood |
| 86 | ** ''[[ComicBook/GreenArrowJeffLemire Green Arrow (New 52)]]'': |
| 87 | *** "The Outsiders War": Simon Lacroix/Komodo |
| 88 | *** "Broken": The Longbow Hunters |
| 89 | *** "Kingdom": John King and Tommy Merlyn/Dark Archer II |
| 90 | ** ''ComicBook/GreenArrowRebirth'' |
| 91 | *** "The Life and Death of Oliver Queen": Cyrus Broderick |
| 92 | *** "Murder on the Empire Express": Eddie Fyers |
| 93 | *** "Emerald Outlaw": Malcolm Merlyn |
| 94 | *** "The Return of Roy Harper": Sheriff Graham Jones and the Wild Dog Malitia |
| 95 | *** "Trial of Two Cities": Moira Queen |
| 96 | *** "The Children of Vakhar": Nothing |
| 97 | *** "Better Than": Parasite |
| 98 | *** "Citizen's Arrest": Citizen |
| 99 | * ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' |
| 100 | ** ''ComicBook/GreenLanterns'' |
| 101 | *** "Rage Planet": The Red Lantern Corps (Atrocitus and Bleez more specifically) |
| 102 | *** "The Phantom Lantern": Volthoom and Frank Lewinsky/Phantom Lantern |
| 103 | *** "Polarity": Doctor Polarity |
| 104 | *** "Out of Time": Volthoom/First Lantern |
| 105 | *** "A World of Our Own": Red Dawn |
| 106 | *** "Superhuman Trafficking": Order of the Steed |
| 107 | *** "Ghosts of the Past": Singularity Jain |
| 108 | *** "Evil's Might": Cyborg Superman/Phantom Lantern II |
| 109 | * ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' |
| 110 | ** ''Hawkman (2003)'' |
| 111 | *** The eponymous [[Characters/TeenTitansOriginalTeenTitans Golden Eagle]] acts at the villain for the storyline "The Rise of the Golden Eagle" |
| 112 | ** ''ComicBook/Hawkman2018'' |
| 113 | *** "Awakening": The Deathbringers and Moz-Ga |
| 114 | *** "Cataclysm": Idamm |
| 115 | *** "[[ComicBook/DCYearOfTheVillain Darkness Within]]": Shadow Thief |
| 116 | *** "[[ComicBook/DCYearOfTheVillain Tyrant Reborn]]" and "Death's Doorway": Sky Tyrant (and by extension, The Batman Who Laughs) |
| 117 | *** "Hawks Eternal": Lord Beyond the Void |
| 118 | *** "Final Justice": Anton Hastur/Hath-Set |
| 119 | * ''ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics'' got many, such as EvilSorcerer Mirengue in the ''Millennium Orbs'' arc. |
| 120 | * ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'': As different writers take runs on the title, they each give Constantine a Arc Villain to tend with: |
| 121 | ** Jamie Delano: Nergal. |
| 122 | ** Creator/GarthEnnis: The First of the Fallen. |
| 123 | ** Paul Jenkins: God. |
| 124 | ** Creator/WarrenEllis: Joshua Wight. |
| 125 | ** Brian Azzarello: S. W. Manor. |
| 126 | ** Mike Carey: Rosacarnis. |
| 127 | * ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'': While the [[EldritchAbomination Ogdru Jahad]] serves as the greatest threat to Hellboy's world, and there are a fair share of recurring baddies running around, most individual stories have their villains: |
| 128 | ** ''The Wolves of St. August'': William Grennier, the last member of a werewolf family out to destroy the town that killed his kin. |
| 129 | ** ''Almost Colossus:'' The Colossus |
| 130 | ** ''Box Full of Evil'': Igor Bromhead |
| 131 | ** ''Conqueror Worm'': Herman von Klempt |
| 132 | ** ''The Third Wish'': The Bog Roosh |
| 133 | ** ''The Island'': The Book |
| 134 | ** ''Darkness Calls'': Baba Yaga |
| 135 | ** ''The Wild Hunt'' and ''The Storm and the Fury'': Nimue the Queen of Blood |
| 136 | * Most issues of the ''ComicBook/InvaderZimOni'' comic series are standalone, with any antagonists (other than [[VillainProtagonist Zim himself]]) likewise not lasting more than one issue. However, there are a few multipart stories with their own prominent antagonists: |
| 137 | ** Virooz Arc (Issues 22-25): The [[HiddenVillain mysterious figure]] known as Virooz who [[BrainwashedAndCrazy infects GIR with a virus that makes him attack Zim]]. |
| 138 | ** Dark Poop Arc (Issues 29-30): [[EvilSorcerer Nightnubs]], who intends to use a bottle of Dark Poop flavor cola to summon an EldritchAbomination and destroy the world (ItMakesSenseInContext... mostly). |
| 139 | ** Battle Void Arc (Issues 46-49): Number 1 [[spoiler: aka Zib]], the EvilOverlord of the PocketDimension that Zim and Dib find themselves trapped in. |
| 140 | * ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaRebirth'''s first arc has the JLA going up against Lord Havok and the Extremists, who want to impose their own brand of law on Earth. |
| 141 | * ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark'' |
| 142 | ** ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueDark2018'' |
| 143 | *** "The Last Age of Magic" and "The Shadow Pact": Nabu/Doctor Fate |
| 144 | *** "The Witching Hour": Hecate and the Witch-Marked (Manitou Raven, Black Orchid and Witchfire) |
| 145 | *** "The Lords of Order": The Lords of Order (Brother Pattern, Count Control, Doctor Fate, Lord Structure and Sister Symmetry) |
| 146 | *** "The Witching War": Circe and the Injustice League Dark |
| 147 | *** "The Parliaments of Life": Anton Arcane and The Fluoronic Man |
| 148 | *** "A Costly Trick of Magic": The Upside-Down Man |
| 149 | *** "The Great Wickedness": Merlin |
| 150 | * ''ComicBook/LamentOfTheLostMoors'' has the usurper king of the land of Eruin Dulea and sorcerer Bedlam in the first two books. Lady Gerfaut in the last two. |
| 151 | * Franchise/MonsterVerse: In the ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' prequel graphic novel ''Kingdom Kong'', the bat-like Titan [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju Camazotz]] is the main threat. Though he hasn't appeared outside in the novel and is swiftly defeated, he is revealed to be partly responsible for [[spoiler:the PerpetualStorm system closing in on and consuming Skull Island by the time of ''Godzilla vs. Kong'']]. |
| 152 | * The longer, four-issue story arcs of ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' each have their own villain: |
| 153 | ** The "Return of Queen Chrysalis" arc (issues 1-4) has the titular Changeling Queen. |
| 154 | ** The "Nightmare Forces" arc (issues 5-8) has the new Nightmare Moon, [[spoiler: [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Rarity]]]]. |
| 155 | ** The "Reflections" arc (issues 17-20) has the MirrorUniverse versions of Celestia and Luna. |
| 156 | ** The "Siege of the Crystal Empire" arc (issues 34-37) was entirely engineered by Sombra's mother Rabia in order to free the [[SealedEvilInACan Umbrum]]. |
| 157 | * ''ComicBook/StarWarsRepublic'': individual arcs have their own antagonists. |
| 158 | ** "Prelude to Rebellion": Jabba the Hutt |
| 159 | ** "Outlander": An BigBadEnsemble between Jabba and Gardulla the Hutt, who are in an EnemyCivilWar. Aurra Sing is TheHeavy. [[spoiler: Sing has been hired by Gardulla to assassinate Sharad Hett, but is later revealed to be an informant for Jabba.]] |
| 160 | ** "Emissaries to Malastare": Myk'chur Finux Zug [[spoiler: for the fist part of the arc, in the second part of the arc, is was Gargonn the Hutt.]] |
| 161 | ** "Twilight": [[spoiler: [[CorruptPolitician Chom Frey Kaa]].]] |
| 162 | ** "Infinity's End": [[WickedWitch Zalem]] |
| 163 | ** "The Hunt for Aurra Sing": [[BountyHunter Aurra Sing]]. Although she has been hired to kill a senator by Tallet and Lekket, Aurra Sing is clearly TheHeavy of the arc, and is the ones that the Jedi spend arc trying to capture, as indicated in the arc's very title, even before Tallet and Lekket hire her. Tallet and Lekket only appear in a single issue to hire Sing, and even then, Sing only accepts because the mission will also ger her an opportunity to kill her mentor, the Dark Woman. |
| 164 | ** "Darkness": [[EvilSorceror Volfe Karkko]] |
| 165 | ** "The Stark Hyperspace War": Iaco Stark |
| 166 | ** "Honor and Duty": Venco Autem |
| 167 | ** "The Defense of Kamino": [[CorruptPolitician Passel Argente]] is the mastermind of the attack on the cloning facilities on Kamino, with Commander Merai as TheHeavy leading troops into battle. In a larger sense, Argente is TheStarscream to Count Dooku, hoping that a successful attack will allow him to supplant Dooku as the leader of the Speratists. However, Sidious and Dooku caught on to his plans, and ensure his plans are leaked to the Republic in order to sabatoge the invasion and discredit him after the Separatists are defeated. |
| 168 | ** "The New Face of War": [[DarkActionGirl Asajj Ventress]] and [[PsychoForHire Durge]] |
| 169 | ** "The Battle of Jabiim": Alto Stratus |
| 170 | ** "Show of Force": Kh'aris Fenn is responsible for putting bounties on Jedi, although Mika is TheHeavy, as the leader of the bounty hunters trying to collect the bounty. |
| 171 | ** "Dreadnaughts of Rendili": Asajj Ventress and Mallor Yago |
| 172 | ** "Siege of Saleucami": Sora Bulq is TheHeavy directly at the battle. However, Bulq's master, Count Dooku, does appear via hologram in attempt to turn Vos over to the dark side. |
| 173 | ** "Into the Unknown": Clone Commander Vill, who is hunting Jedi Dass Jennir after the activation of [[ThePurge Order 66]]. |
| 174 | ** "Hidden Enemy": Clone Commander Faie, who is hunting the Jedi Quinlan Vos after receiving [[ThePurge Order 66]] directly from Palpatine himself. |
| 175 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': |
| 176 | ** During Creator/GeoffJohns' run, every arc had a different villain: Lex Luthor in ''ComicBook/SupermanUpUpAndAway''; General Zod in ''ComicBook/LastSon''; Earth-man and his xenophobic so-called "Justice League" in ''ComicBook/SupermanAndTheLegionOfSuperHeroes''; Brainiac in ''ComicBook/SupermanBrainiac''; General Sam Lane in ''ComicBook/NewKrypton''. |
| 177 | ** Supergirl (2006) has Reactron for most of the ongoing's run. |
| 178 | ** During the ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 New 52]]'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} faced a different villain every story arc: Reign in ''Last Daughter of Krypton'', Cyborg Superman in ''Be Careful What You Wish For'', Worldkiller-1 in ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' and Professor Korstus in ''Crucible''. |
| 179 | * ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'': |
| 180 | ** ''ComicBook/NewTeenTitans'' |
| 181 | *** ComicBook/TitansHunt: The Wildebeest Society |
| 182 | *** ComicBook/TotalChaos: Lord Chaos |
| 183 | *** ComicBook/TheDarkening: Dark Raven |
| 184 | ** ComicBook/TeenTitans1996 |
| 185 | *** "Titan's Children": Jugular |
| 186 | *** "Coming Out": The Veil |
| 187 | *** "Dark Nemesis": Dark Nemesis |
| 188 | *** "The Lost World of Skartaris": Motalla |
| 189 | *** "Then & Now": Jarrod Jupiter/Haze |
| 190 | *** "Titans Hunt": Pylon |
| 191 | * ''ComicBook/YoungJustice2019'': |
| 192 | ** "Seven Crises": Dark Opal |
| 193 | ** "Warlords": Doctor Glory |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 197 | * ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnon Alan Jonah]] serves as the primary/most visible villain for the first six chapters' StoryArc, when San and Vivienne Graham reborn as Monster X are in their crippled first form and are imprisoned by Jonah. |
| 198 | * ''Fanfic/PerfectionIsOverrated'' |
| 199 | ** Chapter 1-4: Hitomi |
| 200 | ** Chapter 6-7: Toki |
| 201 | ** Chapter 8-10: Shizune |
| 202 | ** Chapter 14-15: Sekai |
| 203 | ** Chapter 17-19: [[spoiler:Bachiko and Meiko, as well as Ishigami]] |
| 204 | * ''Fanfic/{{Ancienverse}}'': Both Zinnia and Dalton serve as this for "Teamwork" and "Turbulence", respectively. Lusamine, as per the games, is this for the entire "Alola Trilogy". |
| 205 | * ''Fanfic/BecomingATrueInvader'': While the Employer is the overall BigBad of the story, there's a couple of lesser yet important villains who are unconnected to him. |
| 206 | ** Pel is the main antagonist of the heroes' misadventures on Heboad, whose cult threatens all of them while they’re stuck on the planet. |
| 207 | ** Invader Togan is the Irken in charge of the armory planet Oberox, whom the heroes have to fight in order to steal the weapons they need for their campaign against the Tallest (as they're not even aware of the Employer yet at this point). |
| 208 | * In ''Fanfic/TheBridgeMLP'', while the story has a central BigBad, each story arc has a defined villain after the status quo is established. |
| 209 | ** Everfree and Canterlot Attacks: Gyaos Horde, specifically the Albino Hyper Gyaos in the Everfree attack and the Alpha Super Gyaos standing in for her in the Canterlot attack. |
| 210 | ** Crystal Empire Arc: King Sombra |
| 211 | ** Human World Arc: Enjin |
| 212 | ** The Jeog, Ki Seong's ArchEnemy, becomes one upon arriving in Ponyville. |
| 213 | ** King of Terror arc: Grand King Ghidorah. |
| 214 | ** Winter War arc: The Windigoes Three, [[TheBrute Boreas]], [[TheLeader Zephyrus]], and [[EvilGenius Notus]]. [[spoiler:[[EvilIsBigger Eurus]] ends up as the FinalBoss]]. |
| 215 | ** Queen Beryl for ''"Gojira tai Chibi-Tsuki - Furīkī Furaidē"'' omakes. |
| 216 | * An interesting case in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'': though the fic generally is episodic, the fourth season had [[{{Foreshadowing}} a shadowy figure always showing up at the end of an episode.]] Then, the two-part SeasonFinale "Our Solemn Hour" reveals that [[ArcWelding a decent amount of the season's plots were caused by]] [[spoiler:Holographic Retro]], who Calvin then proceeds to fight. [[spoiler:It ends in a {{Cliffhanger}} where ''both'' characters [[TakingYouWithMe try to take the other with them into the lava]]]], and the fifth season premiere reveals [[spoiler:Holographic Retro was KilledOffForReal.]] |
| 217 | * ''Fanfic/EarthsAlienHistory'' has a few examples, mostly from its various {{War Arc}}s but also elsewhere: |
| 218 | ** [[ComicStrip/DanDare The Mekon]] for the Mekon War. |
| 219 | ** Voss Ratarau for the [[WebComic/DriveDaveKellett Tesskan]] War. |
| 220 | ** [[Franchise/MassEffect The Reapers]] for the Reaper War. |
| 221 | ** [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Scorponok]] for the Revenant Crisis. |
| 222 | ** [[AssInAmbassador Ambassador Rentuv]] for the portion of the "Conflicts in Diplomacy" arc taking place on [[Franchise/StarTrek Trillius]]. |
| 223 | ** The [[EvilReactionary Syrannites]] led by [[spoiler: the [[Series/StargateSG1 Goa'uld]] Seth]] are the threat in the "Trouble on Vulcan" arc. |
| 224 | * ''Fanfic/TheEquestrianWindMage'' has Ganondorf in Season 2. While he's the BigBad of the season, his presence in Equestria was (unknown to the heroes or even himself) engineered by [[GreaterScopeVillain Majora]] and [[TheDragon Dethl]], in order to a) keep his presence in Hyrule from messing up their own plans, and b) hopefully allow Vaati and the Mane Six to eliminate him for them. |
| 225 | * This is generally averted in ''Fanfic/ForumOfThrones'', as most villains hold significance for more than one storyline and over a longer period of time. However, there are some minor exceptions. |
| 226 | ** Maya's storyline in Book 1 Chapter 3 features Lord Trymon Brune, head of House Brune and lord of the Dyre Den. He is killed at the end of the same chapter and held overall little importance for her plot, other than to introduce Aldrik Wolver to her group. |
| 227 | ** After some minor encounters as an Arc Villain for Maya and John Gutten, Rodrik Stone becomes this to Samantha and the people that surround her in Chapter 7 and 8 of Book 1. |
| 228 | ** Rayden, Clayton's ArchEnemy is the Arc Villain for a very short time in Kersea's storyline, during chapters 6 and 7. |
| 229 | * [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3025869/1/The-Grim-EDventures-of-Ed-Edd-n-Eddy The Grim EDventures of Ed Edd n Eddy]] has Eris the BigBad... for the first 47 chapters, after which she is replaced by Pandora. |
| 230 | * ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': In "Hellsister", [[EvilSorcerer Mordru]] intends to seize the ultimate source of black magic and simultaneously destroy the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes; In "The Apokolips Agenda", ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} intends to learn and speak the Anti-Life Equation to eliminate Free Will; In "Hellspawn", Nemesis intends to kill ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} in revenge for his mother's death [[EnemyWithout Satan Girl]]. |
| 231 | * ''Fanfic/HighschoolDragon'': The villains for the original fic are mostly comprise of members from the Legion of Doom: |
| 232 | ** Chapters 1 to 17 has Nightmare Moon and her CoDragons, Trixie and Descent. |
| 233 | ** 19 to 20 has a lamia named Camille. |
| 234 | ** 21 to 27 has Queen Chrysalis with a brainwashed Sunset Shimmer serving as her [[TheHeavy Heavy]]. |
| 235 | ** 31 to 33 has [[spoiler:Nightmare Rarity]]. |
| 236 | ** 34 to 46 has King Sombra. |
| 237 | ** From 47 to the rest of the story has Lord Tirek and his CoDragons, Grogar and Katrina. |
| 238 | ** So far in the sequel, ''Harem Legion'', only the Storm King and his [[TheDragon commander]], Tempest Shadow, has appeared. But it is heavily implied that there are other villains lying and waiting. |
| 239 | * ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainKnightOfTheOrangeLily'': the two most prominent villains that White Gestalt face off are Mad Ben in the Desert Racetrack Car and [[spoiler:Alex Shepherd/Pyramid Head]] in the Fog Car. |
| 240 | * ''Fanfic/InkopolisChaos'': Each installment has a different main villain: Scarlet in ''1'', the Octobusters' leader in ''2'', and Lieutenant Obsidian in ''3''. |
| 241 | * ''Fanfic/KaijuRevolution'': |
| 242 | ** The entries from the Mothra larvae through Mothra has Jyarumu. |
| 243 | ** The entries from Skull Island through Godzuki have the Vagnosaurs in the past and Godzilla in the present. |
| 244 | ** The entries from Varan to Kumonga have Kumonga. |
| 245 | ** The entries from Mu through Titanosaurus actually have the UN, whose decisions risk destroying Mu though the Atragon's crew is the DragonInChief. However, [[Main/HijackedByGanon Godzilla takes over]] in the arc's final stages. |
| 246 | ** The entries from [[spoiler:the Morlocks]] through to [[spoiler:Biollante's combat forms]] have [[spoiler:the Morlocks]]. |
| 247 | ** [[spoiler: Gaw is the overarching antagonist for Kong's return to Skull Island]]. |
| 248 | * ''Fanfic/KaraOfRokyn'': In "The Early Stories", Blackflame manipulates people behind of the scenes in order to get Kara killed off; In "Zoners", Faora Hu-Ul and the remainder {{Phantom Zone}}rs try to take over planet Rokyn; finally, in "Last Waltz with Luthor", ComicBook/LexLuthor attempts to murder Franchise/{{Superman}} and steal his powers to take over the world. |
| 249 | * ''Fanfic/AMinorMiscalculation'': [[spoiler: Mataro Mankanshoku]] becomes TheRival to Ryuko after his introduction and battles her on even ground for a few chapters, [[spoiler: until Nui shows up and reasserts her status by brutally murdering him.]] |
| 250 | * ''FanFic/{{Neomorphs}}'': [[TheStarscream Mersa]] is a significant individual threat for several books before being dealt with. |
| 251 | * The original version of ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'' takes a step-by-step approach in dealing with the main conflict, the war against the [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Black Dogs]], by splitting the story into many [[StoryArc Story Arcs]] (the first arc is an outlier that happens before the main conflict). Progress is made by hunting down the antagonist responsible for the conflict in an arc. |
| 252 | ** Olga Discordia is the main obstacle of the first StoryArc, the ''Assault of the Black Fortress Arc'' (Chapters 1-3 of the original version). Kyril and co. are tasked to head to the North, capture her, bring her back to the South, and end the longtime war that's plaguing the lands. |
| 253 | ** Prime Minister Beasley is the antagonist who kicks off the ''Feoh and Ur Arc'' (Chapters 6-8 of the original version). Wanting a personal fiefdom among the [[SexSlave Sex]] Empire, he starts the conflict by taking measures to secure Feoh and Ur for the Black Dogs. Due to his actions, there is an increase in monster incursions at the two strongholds, with no army defending said incursions (because they are held back) and no message from the one in charge, Alicia (because she is subdued). In order to prevent Beasley from welcoming the Black Dogs into the fortress, Kyril and co. head there to investigate, fight the {{mooks}}, and free the captives. Beasley's death resolves the arc. |
| 254 | ** Although Michelle Pantielle isn't the only antagonist of the ''Ansur Arc'' (Chapters 9-11 of the original version), the arc is resolved not only by stopping the Black Dogs from taking over Ansur, but also by tracking his whereabouts (which points towards where Maia is living), arresting him, and killing him. |
| 255 | ** Shamuhaza is responsible for starting the conflict of the ''Rad Arc'' (Chapters 14-16 of the original version) by breeding EliteMooks and other monstrosities to bolster the Black Dogs' power. Due to his actions, Kyril and co. have to contend with a threat bigger than usual. His retreat and hence Rad being denied to the Black Dogs resolves the arc. |
| 256 | ** {{Subverted}} for Morgan. He is set up as the main obstacle of the ''Hunt for Leaping Lizards Arc'' (Chapters 17-22 of the original version). Kyril and co. set off to Scathlocke Province to hunt down the Leaping Lizards, including the leader Morgan, for a number of reasons (to provide closure for Grace, to find out any connections the slaver has, to root out traitors). However, Shamuhaza later takes over his place as the main obstacle and is finally defeated in the end, while Morgan doesn't even get a proper introduction and is implied to have died off-screen due to Shamuhaza's machinations. |
| 257 | ** The head of the Church, Archbishop Grishom, kicks off the conflict of the ''Rebellion in Ken Arc'' (Chapters 23-26 of the original version), being the one leading the uprising in the eastern district of Ken, rallying the supporters of the Black Dogs and publicly denouncing [[TheHighQueen Celestine]]'s rule. The arc is resolved via his imprisonment and the end of the rebellion. |
| 258 | ** Sir John Mandeville is the antagonist who kicks off the ''Hunt for Mandeville Arc'' (Chapters 27-30 of the original version) by kidnapping Chloe when she was following a lead into his location, prompting Kyril and co. to go find them. He is revealed to be one of the major players in sponsoring the rebellion and the Black Dogs' cause. Hunting him down is key to the arc's resolution. |
| 259 | * ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATimeNyame'': |
| 260 | ** Lady Shiva for the first flashback arc [[spoiler:and Stephanie's introduction arc]]. |
| 261 | ** The Court of Owls for the gala arc, though they're more of a background presence. |
| 262 | ** [[spoiler:The Joker for the post-gala arc]]. |
| 263 | ** [[spoiler:Future Tim]] for the second flashback arc. |
| 264 | * ''Fanfic/RubyAndNora'' has the first four {{BigBad}}s, who have nothing to do with Salem. There is also an InterimVillain after the Fall of Beacon. |
| 265 | * ''FanFic/RWBYDestinyOfRemnant'': |
| 266 | ** ''The Haven Arc'' has Cinder Fall, who Team RNJR seek to bring to justice after everything she did at the Battle of Beacon. [[spoiler:When the confrontation leads to Ruby and Jaune's capture, their friends need to band together with every huntsman and huntress they met to rescue the two of them]]. |
| 267 | ** ''The White Arc'' has Adam Taurus, whose brutal regime of the White Fang causes the members of Team Beacon to go on a mission to put a stop to him and free the founder and original leader Claudandus Pirinci. |
| 268 | * ''Fanfic/TalesOfTheUndiscoveredSwords'': Ishida Sadamune, the series' first true BigBad who only appears in one entry, story #4. |
| 269 | * ''Fanfic/TFAKaleidoscope'' has a few standalone villains on top of the more prominent antagonists: |
| 270 | ** The CMX Police drone functions as this for the "Who Polices the Police Drones?" arc, functioning as the StarterVillain for the Orion crew. |
| 271 | ** Pyro Goblin in the "Fire Convoy" arc, serving as a StarterVillain for Optimus and Sari. |
| 272 | ** The Beast Pretenders in the "Beasts of Burden" arc, with Prometheus Black as the GreaterScopeVillain. |
| 273 | * The ''[[Fanfic/AManOfIron A Song of Metal and Marvels]]'' series is a crossover between ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' and Creator/MarvelComics, thus merging the former's complex BigBadEnsemble with the latter's vast RoguesGallery. As such, each book has standalone plots and antagonists that are notably distinct from the series' main conflicts: |
| 274 | ** ''A Man of Iron'': While the main plot plays out, The Mountain becomes the [[TheHeavy most prominent foe]] of Tony and Jon's storyline, as he becomes obsessed with defeating Iron Man, and later Centurion. |
| 275 | ** ''A Crack of Thunder'' has multiple storylines that are more fully fleshed out, each with its own villain: |
| 276 | *** Tony and Jon: Ivan Vanko, who is on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the lords of Westeros. |
| 277 | *** Robb: Asha Greyjoy eventually emerges as Robb's main antagonist, as she launches an attack on Winterfell. |
| 278 | *** Jane and Thor: Melisandre, who eventually turns out to be [[spoiler: Amora the Enchantress]], and is manipulating Stannis to her own ends. |
| 279 | *** Tyrion: The Night's Queen, who is possessing [[spoiler: Sansa Stark]] and competing with Tyrion for influence on King's Landing. |
| 280 | *** Daenerys: The Warlocks of Qarth, who try to take over the city and enslave Dany's dragons. |
| 281 | ** ''A Shield of Man'' continues the previous book's mechanics of having multiple storylines with their own antagonists, though they're more intertwined here: |
| 282 | *** King's Landing (mostly those of Jon, Natasha, and the Spiders), has Ser Adrian of the Tombs/the Vulture King, who is on a crime spree in and around the city. Meanwhile, there's also still the looming threat of the Night's Queen, while [[spoiler: the Tyrells]] and Qyburn/Sinister are also looming the wings. |
| 283 | *** The North (specifically Robb, the Guardians, and Shireen) has Euron Greyjoy, who is nominally rampaging on behalf of the Others, but is also seeking greater power to betray and overthrow them. |
| 284 | *** North of the Wall (Jeor and Steve) has the Commander of the Others/Red Skull, who is spearheading the Others' plans to gather their power and assault the Wall. |
| 285 | *** Braavos (Tony, Arya, Theon and Brienne) has the Mandarin, who is plotting to take over the city as part of a larger agenda. |
| 286 | *** Slaver's Bay (Daenerys) has the Juggernaut, who is hired by the Great Masters to stop Daenerys' liberation campaign, only to turn on them to take the city for himself. |
| 287 | * ''Fanfic/LaterTraitor'': Just like its source material, all of the mental levels usually have an antagonist for the level. |
| 288 | ** Dogen's mind has Bonfear, the representation of Dogen's PowerIncontinence anxieties made manifest. |
| 289 | ** Freezie, an evil living ice sculpture of Frazie, is this for the latter half of Phoebe's mind. |
| 290 | ** The "boss" of Clem's mind is a giant KillerGorilla representing Clem's abusive father. |
| 291 | ** Just like in the real world, Mikhail is Maloof's bodyguard inside the mafia kid's head... except since he sees Mikhail as [[NighInvulnerable unstoppable]], his mental version IS. |
| 292 | ** Chloe has a giant robot that works as the brain's natural defense against internal tampering when Frazie tries to bring her out-of-control telepathy to a more reasonable level. |
| 293 | ** The Drag-on symbolizes Vernon's [[MotorMouth long-winded]] storytelling in the form of a dragon that's equally as long. That is to say... very. |
| 294 | ** The new patients created for the fic also have their own antagonists. Pepper's is [[spoiler: Salty Sally, Pepper's [[CompanionCube handmade puppet]] that serves as [[ReplacementGoldfish an unhealthy replacement for her deceased daughter.]]]] |
| 295 | ** The Night-Mare is the trauma and guilt from Jakob's past that haunts his dreams and inflicts him with debilitating insomnia. |
| 296 | |
| 297 | * Dagur the Deranged takes over as the antagonist of the "Dagur Arc" in ''Fanfic/DragonsButterfliesAndWhoKnowsWhatElse'', being the first fully-evil antagonist introduced in the series. |
| 298 | [[/folder]] |
| 299 | |
| 300 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 301 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 302 | ** Grand Moff Tarkin for ''Film/ANewHope''. He commands the Death Star, and [[spoiler:dies as it is destroyed]]. |
| 303 | ** ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'': The [[ChekhovsGunman often mentioned]] Jabba the Hutt is the Arc Villain of the first act of the film, being an independent threat from the Empire and having little connection to Darth Vader and the Emperor. |
| 304 | ** From ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' to ''Film/TheLastJedi'' Captain Phasma serves as this to Finn's character arc from stormtrooper to [[spoiler: icon to the Resistance.]] |
| 305 | * Due to the V/H/S franchise being an {{Anthology}} series, each vignette has it's own main antagonist |
| 306 | ** ''Film/{{VHS}}'' |
| 307 | *** ''Amateur Night'': [[spoiler:[[HotAsHell Lily]]]]. |
| 308 | *** ''Second Honeymood'': [[spoiler:[[PsychoLesbian Stephanie and her Girlfriend]]]]. |
| 309 | *** ''Tuesday the 17th'': The Glitch |
| 310 | *** ''The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger'': [[spoiler:[[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong The Aliens]], with [[BitchInSheepsClothing James]] as TheDragon]]. |
| 311 | *** ''10/31/98'': [[spoiler:[[DemonicPossession The demon possessing The Girl]]]] |
| 312 | ** ''Film/VHS2'' |
| 313 | *** ''Phase I Clinical Trials'': [[OurGhostsAreDifferent The Ghost]] of Clarissa's CreepyUncle. |
| 314 | *** ''A Ride in the Park'': [[OurZombiesAreDifferent The Zombiefied]] [[VillainProtagonist Mike Sullivan]]. |
| 315 | *** ''[[IronicNickname Save Haven]]'': A Unnamed Demon[[note]]Implied to be [[spoiler:[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet Baphomet]]]][[/note]], with Madame, the leader of the cult worshipping it, as TheHeavy. |
| 316 | *** ''Slumber Party Alien Abduction'': [[AlienAbduction The titular aliens]]. |
| 317 | ** ''Film/VHSViral'' |
| 318 | *** ''Dante the Great'': [[SerialKiller John McMullen]]/[[AntagonistTitle Dante the Great]] [[spoiler:serves as the UnwittingPawn for the cloak]]. |
| 319 | *** ''Parralel Monsters'': [[spoiler:The [[AlternateSelf parallel versions]] of [[VaginaDentata Marta and Alfonso]]]]. |
| 320 | *** ''Bonestorm'': [[spoiler: The [[EldritchAbomination demon]] that the Skull Faces worship]]. |
| 321 | ** ''Film/VHS94'' |
| 322 | *** ''Storm Drain'': [[spoiler:[[EldritchAbomination Raatma]] and his cult]]. |
| 323 | *** ''The Empty Wake'': [[spoiler:[[OurZombiesAreDifferent Zombie Andrew]] and Gustav]]. |
| 324 | *** ''The Subject'': [[MadScientist Dr. Suhendra]] and the [[KillerCop SWAT Commander]]. |
| 325 | *** ''Terror'': [[OurVampiresAreDifferent The Milita's Superweapon]], with the Milita themselves as the VillainProtagonist. |
| 326 | ** ''Film/VHS99'' |
| 327 | *** ''Shredding'': [=R.A.C.K.=], with [[RottenRockAndRoll Bitch Cat]] as [[TheHeavy antagonists]] |
| 328 | *** ''Suicide Bid'': [[AlphaBitch Beta Sigma Eta]] |
| 329 | *** ''Ozzy's Dungeon'': [[StageMom Debra]] |
| 330 | *** ''The Gawkers'': [[AllMenArePerverts Dylan and his friends]] |
| 331 | *** ''To Hell and Back'': The [[BlackMagic Witches]] and Ferkus |
| 332 | [[/folder]] |
| 333 | |
| 334 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 335 | * The ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' series has one every second book. There's Artemis himself in the first book, John Spiro in book 3, Leo Abbot in book 5, and Turnball Root in book 7. Opal Koboi is a recurring villain in the other books, though she's part of a BigBadDuumvirate with Briar Cudgeon in book 2. |
| 336 | * Literature/TheBrightestShadow: [[spoiler:Aryabaus]] is not a general or major leader, but serves as the main antagonist (even if sometimes in the background) for the first book. |
| 337 | * ''Literature/ChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'' has a different Soul-Eater as the main villain of books 2 ([[spoiler:Tenris]]), 4 (Seshru), 5 (Thiazzi), and 6 (Eostra). The first book's villain, the demon bear, was created by the second one's, and book 3 has the four remaining Soul-Eaters working together. From her introduction in book 3, Eostra is the GreaterScopeVillain until book 6. |
| 338 | * [[EvilSorcerer Kasreyn of the Gyre]] is the main villain of the Bhrathairealm sequence in ''The One Tree'', fifth book overall in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant.'' His subplot is noteworthy for being largely self-contained (events Kasreyn sets in motion play key roles later on; Kasreyn himself does not) and for the fact that Kasreyn is the only major villain in the series who has nothing to do with its overall BigBad, [[GodOfEvil Lord Foul]]. |
| 339 | * Master Nine [[spoiler:aka Daniel Tucker]] in ''Literature/TheDreamsideRoad'' serves this role for the early [[AttackOfTheTownFestival Wintertide Festival]] arcs. He enables [[TheRemnant the Liberty Corps]] [[ScoobyDooHoax plan]] and poses the biggest local threat. [[spoiler:But after his defeat,]] the Liberty Corps reveals itself as a much more widespread problem. |
| 340 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Nicodemus is the antagonist of ''Literature/DeathMasks'', ''Literature/SmallFavor'', and ''Literature/SkinGame'', and one of the few villains who has so far remained unconnected with the [[BigBad Black Council]]. |
| 341 | * Several books in ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' get sequels with returning villains in both the original and spin-offs(The Mummy and Deep Trouble books avert this by having returning heroes who [[MonsterOfTheWeek have different fantastical adventures each sequel]]). |
| 342 | ** ''Monster Blood'': The Monster Blood itself, with [[WickedWitch Sarabeth]] as the GreaterScopeVillain. |
| 343 | ** ''Night Of The Living Dummy'': [[DemonicDummy Slappy]], although Mr. Wood is the villain of the first entry. |
| 344 | ** ''Say Cheese And Die'': [[ArtifactOfDoom The Camera]], which brings suffering and misery to everyone who uses it. |
| 345 | ** ''The Haunted Mask'': [[EvilMask The Unloved]], [[PuppeteerParasite parasitic Halloween masks]] who gradually fuse to their hosts and turn them into monsters. |
| 346 | ** ''Horror Land'': The Horrors who run the titular AmusementParkOfDoom. Depending on the continuity, the one behind them is either [[PsychopathicManchild Madison Storm]] or [[NightmareFetishist Karloff Mennis]]. |
| 347 | ** ''Terror Tower'': [[TheCaligula King Robert]] and [[DragonInChief the Lord High Executioner]]. |
| 348 | ** ''Body Squeezers'': The titular Body Squeezers are monstrous aliens who forcefully take over human bodies through hugging, and menace humanity over the course of three books. |
| 349 | * The first five ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books have these, although four of them are affiliated with the series-wide BigBad, Lord Voldemort, who takes his rightful place as the BigBad from book six onwards. |
| 350 | ** [[spoiler:Professor Quirrell]] from ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone''. |
| 351 | ** The "Heir of Slytherin," his monster, and [[spoiler:Lucius Malfoy]] from ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets''. |
| 352 | ** [[spoiler:Peter Pettigrew]] from ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban''. |
| 353 | ** Mad-Eye Moody/[[spoiler:Barty Crouch Jr.]] from ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''. |
| 354 | ** Dolores Umbridge from ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix''. |
| 355 | * ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'': |
| 356 | ** In ''Feed'' it was [[spoiler: Gov. David Tate]] |
| 357 | ** In ''Deadline'' it was [[spoiler: Dr. Joseph Wynne]]. |
| 358 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': The ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' has several of these, which makes sense when one considers that the series is largely composed of linked duologies and trilogies that together tell a MythArc. The most prominent are [[KnightTemplar Shedao Shai]] from the ''Dark Tide'' duology, [[HumanoidAbomination Lord Nyax]] and [[OldSoldier Czulkang Lah]] from the ''Enemy Lines'' duology (each holding down their own half of the story arc), and [[GeneralFailure B'Shith Vorrik]] from the ''Force Heretic'' trilogy. |
| 359 | * ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': The ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'' has Bronau as the main antagonist for the first book. His recklessness first indirectly endangers the Balitangs (and makes their exile among the raka less easy thanks to his flagrant racism), then through his [[SmugSnake smugly inept]] plan to seize the throne through Sarai. Book two is about the wider rebellion throughout the Isles. |
| 360 | * ''Literature/TheWitchOfKnightcharm'': Lily Rutherford is the main enemy during the orientation arc, which features all the rookie witches trying to survive a lethal obstacle course that their evil WizardingSchool requires them to run. Lily is introduced at the arc's start and, along with her clique, immediately picks fights with the protagonist Emily. She remains a thorn in Emily's side through the arc until they have their final fight during Emily's last orientation run, resulting in Lily finally being defeated. |
| 361 | * In the second book of ''Literature/TheWitchlands'', the main villain is not the BigBad, but one of his mooks trying to deliver the heroes' country into his boss' hands. |
| 362 | [[/folder]] |
| 363 | |
| 364 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 365 | * The ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'' (Season 1 of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZone'') features a different villain for each story arc, usually powered by or seeking one of the [[ArtifactOfPower Grand Relics]]. |
| 366 | ** "Here There Be Gerblins": [[StarterVillain Magic Brian/The Black Spider]] |
| 367 | ** "Murder on the Rockport Limited": [[spoiler:[[TheButlerDidIt Jenkins]]]] |
| 368 | ** "Petals to the Metal": [[DatingCatwoman The Raven/Sloan]] |
| 369 | ** "The Crystal Kingdom": [[spoiler:[[ManySpiritsInsideOfOne Maureen Miller]], [[IAmLegion Legion]]]] |
| 370 | ** "The Eleventh Hour": [[spoiler:[[TheFatalist Isaac]], the [[MamaBear Purple Worm]]]] |
| 371 | ** "The Suffering Game": [[TagTeamTwins Edward & Lydia]] |
| 372 | ** "The Stolen Century" & "Story and Song": [[EldritchLocation The Hunger]]/[[BigBadFriend John]] |
| 373 | * The first three seasons of ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' are structured this way, with one Avatar menacing the heroes for an entire season then being destroyed by the season's end -- [[TheWormThatWalks Jane Prentiss]] in Season 1, [[spoiler:[[{{Doppelganger}} Not!Sasha]]]] in Season 2, and [[MurderousMannequin Nikola Orsinov]] in Season 3. Season 4 strays from this trope into a format closer to MonsterOfTheWeek, with the protagonists fighting multiple avatars over the course of the season (though [[TheCaptain Peter Lukas]] is the closest thing to a season-long villain) and [[spoiler:Jonah Magnus being revealed as the BigBad of the entire series at the season's end]]. |
| 374 | * Each arc of ''Podcast/{{Sequinox}}'' has the team fighting the stars of one constellation, with the constellation attacking them once they've defeated the other stars. The first arc has them face Antares, Sargas, Shaula, and their leader Scorpius. |
| 375 | [[/folder]] |
| 376 | |
| 377 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 378 | * [[spoiler:Delphi Diggory[=/=]The Augury]] serves this purpose in ''Theatre/HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild.'' |
| 379 | [[/folder]] |
| 380 | |
| 381 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 382 | * ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'' has Makuta Teridax as the BigBad, but there are many arc villains that turn him into the GreaterScopeVillain. Teridax himself is the BigBad for story years 2001, 2003 (second half), 2004, 2007 ([[BigBadEnsemble shared with the Barraki; not as a]] BigBadDuumvirate), and 2010. All other years feature one or more villains affiliated with or manipulated by Teridax except 2009 which took place in another world. |
| 383 | [[/folder]] |
| 384 | |
| 385 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 386 | * ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'' mostly composes of one-off threats - either for [[VillainOfTheWeek shorter]] or [[FillerVillain longer]] episodes - that rarely appear more than once. However, these three villains (treated by fans as the series' "big three" due to being the most iconic and dangerous antagonists) are the central threats of story arcs that span several episodes: |
| 387 | ** ''Animator vs. Animation V''[[note]]Was originally a four-episode series called the ''[=AvA=] Shorts''[[/note]]: [[OmnicidalManiac The Dark Lord]], one of the Animator's former creations, creates an army of [[ComputerVirus ViraBots]] with the intentions of killing as many creatures in the Internet as possible. |
| 388 | ** Season 3 of the ''[=AvM=] Shorts'': [[TheSpook King Orange]] wants to steal the ''Minecraft'' Game Icon from the Stick Gang's home so he can [[spoiler:destroy all of ''Minecraft'' with a black hole]]. [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Purple]] serves as TheDragon [[spoiler:until he is betrayed by his master]] and there are additionally several minor threats. |
| 389 | ** ''Animator vs. Animation VI''[[note]]Also known as ''[=AvA=] Shorts'' Season 2[[/note]]: [[spoiler:[[CorruptCorporateExecutive Victim]] was the Animator's very first creation, returning 17 years after his presumed death to take revenge on his creator]]. Four HiredGuns serve as the CoDragons who directly assist their boss in everything. |
| 390 | * ''WebAnimation/LoboWebseries'': Sunny Jim serves as the main antagonist in the first five episodes, while the last four episodes have the gluttonous Snake as the main threat due to eating Lobo's current bounty Mudboy. |
| 391 | * ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' features [[MonsterClown Tricky the Clown]], who serves as the main villain of the [[AntagonistTitle Tricky the Clown Saga]] lasting from ''Depredation'' to ''Consternation''. Before him was the Sheriff, who serves as this for the earlier episodes, and after Tricky was [[RealityWarper the Auditor]] in the Auditor Saga, though as the {{Interquel}}s show, [[BigBad the Auditor]]'s influence extends far beyond his arc. |
| 392 | * In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheRecollection'', The Meta serves as the overarching antagonist -- first as the sole BigBad of ''Reconstruction'', then as part of a BigBadEnsemble in ''Recreation'', and then finally as half of the BigBadDuumvirate of ''Revelation'' (Before betraying his partner, [[HeelFaceTurn Washington]], and serving as the sole BigBad for the last few episodes, as well as the FinalBoss). |
| 393 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Each Volume has a particular villain that the heroes have to overcome. Even with the overarching villains popping in and out to give the heroes hell, there's at least one villain who is only an active threat for one arc before they go away. |
| 394 | ** Cinder Fall is the leader of the villains who are active in Vale for the first three volumes. Roman Torchwick is the StarterVillain, who is the villain the heroes know about, and through which get sucked into the main plot. However, Cinder is in charge of him, and is herself carrying out the orders of the BigBad, who is introduced at the end of the third volume once Cinder completes the mission. |
| 395 | ** The Nuckelavee Grimm is the overarching antagonist of the RNJR part of Volume 4, with its presence foreshadowed throughout the volume in destroyed villages across Anima, and its mere existence and memory of its attack deeply affecting Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. The volume's last quarter features the monster itself quite prominently, and it serves as the [[FinalBoss final antagonist]] in the last episode of the volume. |
| 396 | ** Volume 5 has two main arcs that intersect at the climax of the volume. Adam Taurus is the focus of the Menagerie storyline, and the reason why the Faunus intervene to help save Haven Academy. Hazel Rainart is Adam's overseer for the BigBad to coordinate Adam's plans with Salem's. The main thrust of Salem's plan is led by Cinder, whose job it is to obtain the Relic of Knowledge. [[spoiler:Character flaws in all three of these villains ensures that the heroes emerge victorious from a conflict they otherwise could not have won.]] |
| 397 | ** Though Volume 6 doesn't have an overarching villain, it has two mini-arc villains for the last few episodes of the volume. The heroes are unable to get to Atlas, since their route's blocked by Special Operative Caroline Cordovin; the conflict between her and the heroes is affected by the conclusion of Adam's story as an ArcVillain and personal nemesis of both Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. However, the volume's final threat is neither Cordovin nor Adam, and ultimately requires the heroes and Cordovin to work together to defeat. |
| 398 | ** Volume 7 focuses on Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows carrying out Salem's plan to turn Atlas and Mantle against each other, while the heroes struggle to counter them and resolve Weiss Schnee's personal storyline involving Jacques's own villainy. [[spoiler:Just as the heroes think they're getting on top of everything and have captured the pair, Cinder makes her presence known by pressing the TraumaButton of James Ironwood, who has already been pushed to breaking point by the other villains and learning the AwfulTruth about Salem. This transforms him into a villain by the end of the volume, and the next volume sees him become the ArcVillain when Oscar Pine temporarily indisposes Salem.]] |
| 399 | ** Volume 9 focuses it's main conflict on Team RWBY and Jaune Arc dealing with the aftermath of what happened in the previous volume and resolving their own personal issues in the Ever After as Ruby struggles to deal with her own while Neopolitan uses the Jabberwalker to hunt down Ruby in revenge for Roman's death. [[spoiler:While Neopolitan actually succeeds and causes Ruby to be DrivenToSuicide, she begins to realize that VengeanceFeelsEmpty and that she didn't have anything else left to live for. At that point, [[CuriosityIsACrapshoot The Curious Cat]] also reveals that they are EvilAllAlong and have been trying to break Ruby in order to [[GrandTheftMe possess her]]; they feel it's the only way to escape to Remnant and learn why their creators abandoned the Ever After. When Ruby "ascends", however, they possess Neopolitan, whose EmptyShell state makes her an even better vessel than Ruby was.]] |
| 400 | * ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'', It started to upload arcs starting from the Waluigi Arc |
| 401 | ** The Waluigi Arc -- [[JerkassWoobie Waluigi]] |
| 402 | ** The Rapper Bob Arc -- [[{{Jerkass}} Bob]] |
| 403 | ** The Anime Arc -- [[WellIntentionedExtremist Peach]] for the first half, [[EvilNerd Francis]] for the second half |
| 404 | ** The [=YouTube=] Arc -- [[BigBad SMG3]] and [[EvilCounterpart Snitch Productions]]. |
| 405 | ** The Genesis Arc -- [[EldritchAbomination Zero]] |
| 406 | ** The Revelations Arc -- A BigBad Ensemble between the [[CargoCult Box Club Leader]] and [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong Niles]], with the latter being TheManBehindTheMan to [[HijackedByGanon Zero]]]] |
| 407 | ** The Lawsuit Arc -- Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto, with [[FantasticRacism Lawyer Kong]] as the DragonInChief |
| 408 | [[/folder]] |
| 409 | |
| 410 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 411 | * ''Webcomic/{{Deities}}'' has had two Arc Villains. In the Evil Rising arc there is Lucifer and in the Flood arc there is Mother Nature. |
| 412 | * Damien in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', followed by Magus. [[spoiler: After their respective arcs ended, things have shifted into a BigBadEnsemble.]] |
| 413 | * Sam Sanders in ''Webcomic/{{Endtown}}'' is a mixture of this and FillerVillain. Once the arc is completed, he is never mentioned again, and when Al and Gustine ''do'' reappear, they don't mention him. He is also one of the examples in which he had no minions or a dragon -- he operated completely by himself. |
| 414 | * ''Webcomic/{{Inverloch}}'' has Berard for the main antagonist for the first three volumes. He has nothing to do with Kayn'dar, but he stalks the party while they look for clues about Kayn'dar. After he kidnaps Acheron for a ForcedPrizeFight, [[spoiler:Varden kills him]] and the story turns completely to Kayn'dar. |
| 415 | * ''Webcomic/KirbyAdventure'': several segments have their own independent villains. |
| 416 | ** ''The First Mission'' has King Dedede, though he surrenders before Division A can even fight him. |
| 417 | ** ''To The Tower'' has Fusion Kirby, the leader of a gang of thieves residing in the Old Tower. |
| 418 | ** ''Tear In The Fabric'' has [[SdrawkcabName Ybrick Etamitlu]], the EvilTwin of the AuthorAvatar, Ultimate Kirby. |
| 419 | ** ''Master Of Puppets'' has [[spoiler:Master Green]], an enemy from Kirby's past who creates clones of Kirby and the other members of Division A in order to get revenge on Kirby. |
| 420 | ** ''Technical Difficulties'' has Captain Stitch, ''another'' enemy from Kirby's past who hijacks the Halberd as part of his plot to get revenge on Kirby. |
| 421 | ** ''C Central'' has Chef Freeze, a Chilly chef who speaks in GratuitousFrench and who wants to cook the members of Division C for his recipe. |
| 422 | * ''Webcomic/LsEmpire'' has had three, with each arc (referred to as sagas in the comic) named after them: Dark Star, Phala (the Pixl Queen), and Sergeant Smacka. |
| 423 | * In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the main villain is Xykon the sorceror, but there are several lesser antagonists: |
| 424 | ** Daimyo Kubota is a villain in Azure City (and in exile) in the ''No Cure for the Paladin Blues'' and ''Don't Split the Party'' story arcs. |
| 425 | ** Bozzok is the leader of the Greysky City Thieves' Guild and the villain from Haley, Celia, and Belkar's perspectives in ''Don't Split the Party''. |
| 426 | ** General Tarquin is only an Arc Villain in the Empire of Blood story, but he ''thinks'' he's the BigBad and his son is TheHero. It kind of makes him more dangerous, since he has the power to try to force the story go his way with extreme prejudice. |
| 427 | ** [[spoiler: Vampire!Durkon, the goddess Hel, and the vampire formerly known as Gontor Hammerfell]] are the Arc Villains in Book 6. |
| 428 | * ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': "Sleipnope" was the main threat to the crew for the second part of Adventure I, but was ultimately dealt with before that story arc ended. |
| 429 | * LoanShark Kim Lurker from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' in the first "episode"[[note]]that's how the different arcs in Season 2 are called[[/note]] of Season 2. |
| 430 | * A regular feature of ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'', starting with Lord Tool in the "Angels With Dirty Fur" arc. |
| 431 | [[/folder]] |
| 432 | |
| 433 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 434 | * In ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'', there usually is one major villain per story arc: |
| 435 | ** Mechakara in "His Heart is Steel". |
| 436 | ** Dr. Linksano in "The Other Insano". |
| 437 | ** Lord Vyce in "All That He Sees, He Conquers". |
| 438 | ** The Entity in "A Piece of the World is Missing". |
| 439 | ** [[spoiler: Lord Vyce again]] in "His Blue Soul". |
| 440 | ** The "Guns and Sorcery" story arc is where the main villain is harder to place. Holokara serves as the main antagonist for the first half of the arc, the Gunslinger is the major antagonist for most of the story and [[spoiler: Dr. Insano just steals the show by the end of the story arc]]. |
| 441 | ** [[spoiler: Lord Vyce for a third time]] in "Ghost of the Machine". |
| 442 | ** The King of Worms in "The Machinations of Worms". |
| 443 | ** [[spoiler: Mechakara]] in "The Atop the Fourth Wall Movie". |
| 444 | ** [[spoiler: The Entity returns]] in "The Sleepwalker", with [[spoiler: Lord Vyce being the final threat in the story after its death]]. |
| 445 | * ''Script/C0DA'' has a segment where the "Pseudo-6th-House" (essentially a superhero style team of {{Physical God}}s) battles "The Intellective", "a bionic despot of a parallel reality" who attempting to invade the reality of the work. Meanwhile, the [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] HumongousMecha Numidium serves as the actual BigBad of the work. |
| 446 | * ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'' has one for most of its story arcs across campaigns. |
| 447 | ** From Campaign 1: |
| 448 | *** Kraghammer Arc: K'Varn, a powerful Beholder creating BodyHorror abominations below the Dwarven city. |
| 449 | *** Vasselheim Arc: The party is split into two groups, each taking on one. The first has Rimefang, a White Dragon. The second has Hotis, a Rakshasa from the Nine Hells who had infiltrated the city. [[spoiler: Hotis went on to become a recurring antagonist later in the campaign, as Rakshasas are vengeful and don't permanently die unless killed in the Nine Hells]]. |
| 450 | *** Briarwoods Arc: Lord Sylas Briarwood and Lady Delilah Briarwood, an UnholyMatrimony couple of a vampire and a sorceress, [[ItsPersonal responsible for the death of one party member's entire family.]] |
| 451 | *** Chroma Conclave Arc: Four Ancient Chromatic Dragons: Thordak, Raishan, Umbrasyl and Vorugal. Thordak, being the leader of the Conclave, serves as the primary antagonist. [[spoiler: Until Raishan is revealed as TheStarscream and becomes the final opponent.]] This arc went on for so long that several mini-arcs occurred in between dragon fights, some of which had their own arc villains -- The Feywild Arc with Saundor, a corrupted Archfey; The Ank'Harel Arc with Anna Ripley, former follower of the Briarwoods; and The City of Brass Arc with Ghurrix, a Pit Fiend. |
| 452 | *** The final arc has Vecna, an ancient lich who seeks to become a god. He was also TheManBehindTheMan for the Briarwoods arc. |
| 453 | ** From Campaign 2: |
| 454 | *** The Iron Shepherds mini-arc: The Iron Shepherds and their leader Lorenzo, a band of slavers who abduct Fjord, Jester and Yasha. |
| 455 | *** The Bad Guys arc: Captain Avantika, a fellow follower of Fjord's evil patron Uk'otoa, who plans to unleash him onto the world. |
| 456 | *** The Bright Queen's Favor arc: Obann, a devil from the Abyss and worshiper of the Angel of Irons, who has been opening mysterious rifts that unleash hellish creatures all over Wildemount. |
| 457 | *** Swords and Angels arc: Obann again, although this time he is mind-controlling Yasha, and assembles an increasingly terrifying BigBadEnsemble over the course of the arc. [[spoiler:Mid-way through, the Mighty Nein learn that the Angel of Irons is a false identity used by Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion, in order to trick people into freeing him.]] |
| 458 | *** Family Ties arc: Vokodo, a powerful psychic being living in the volcano of Rumblecusp, who erases the memories of all who live there and forces them to worship him as a god. |
| 459 | *** Weird Magic arc: [[spoiler:Lucien/The Nonagon, previously known to the Nein as Mollymauk, and the Tomb Takers. Lucien's goal is to travel to the Astral Sea, merge with the living, screaming, eternally hungry city of Cognouza, and unleash it on the Material Plane.]] |
| 460 | * ''WebVideo/DreamSMP'' has one (or more) major overarching villains or main antagonists who becomes a threat throughout the season, usually being set up in the previous season. |
| 461 | ** Season 1 plays with this, as while Jschlatt was the villain throughout the season once the elections were over, it was ''Wilbur'' who ultimately became the main antagonist after [[DiscOneFinalBoss Jschlatt died suddenly]], having resolved to blow up L'Manburg in an attempt to kill himself while Technoblade [[TheHeavy helped clean up the remaining mess with Withers]]. Wilbur's case is played with, however, as he ''saw'' himself as a VillainProtagonist as a result of an arc-long mental breakdown and while he ''is'' an antagonist, he's closer to an AntiHero than a villain proper. |
| 462 | ** Season 2 plays this straight with Dream, being an active threat throughout Season 1 for the L'Manburg War for Independence before he took a backseat to Jschlatt, coming back in full force by horrifically abusing and {{gaslighting}} Tommy and being responsible for both his exile and the permanent destruction of L'Manburg. He even has a FinalBattle with Tommy at the very end, and overall seems to act as the BigBad. |
| 463 | ** Season 3 initially has the Eggpire, a cult worshipping a BotanicalAbomination that had its start in Season 2 but became a major threat in Season 3. Though Dream was in prison during the season, he still managed to exert a significant amount of control over the server and generally played a BigBadEnsemble with the Crimson, the aforementioned BotanicalAbomination. Later in the season, the Las Nevadas arc muddies the waters a lot more -- post-DespairEventHorizon Quackity acts as a somewhat antagonistic force [[spoiler:(he gets better by the end of the volume)]], but pales in comparison to Techno, who gets broken out of prison by Philza and eventually ''breaks Dream out of prison'' in the season finale, allowing Dream to act as the ReturningBigBad in Season 4. |
| 464 | ** In Season 4, however, even with Dream and his threats looming on the horizon, the Crimson starts to make a comeback to the lore after being dormant for about ten months in real-life time... |
| 465 | * ''Literature/PinotNoir'' mostly has the eponymous assassin taking out gang leaders one by one throughout the story, with him targeting a new gang in each chapter. |
| 466 | * ''Literature/TailsOfTheBountyHunter'' has Cale Tomlik taking out the FiveManBand of the Quintuple Cartel one at a time until he eventually takes out the BigBad. |
| 467 | ** Chapters 5 and 6 has the [[DarkActionGirl Milz "The Assassin" Dillvor]]. |
| 468 | ** Chapters 7 and 8 has [[MadScientist Dr. Vogar "The Chemist" Oblingor]]. |
| 469 | ** Chapters 10, 11, and 12 has [[TheBrute Gobor "The Terrorist" Grizzer]]. |
| 470 | ** Chapters 15 and 16 has [[TheDragon Kolson "The Mule" Arcornoc]]. |
| 471 | * In the roleplay ''Roleplay/TamrielicAdventures'', the "Escape from Vvardenfell" had no real antagonist, but the "Threads in Windhelm" arc had Malvirian Linvail, a Dunmer pirate lord. |
| 472 | * ''Fanfic/TotalPokemon'' has A LOT: |
| 473 | ** Lightning, Jo and Topher play the role of the Begubbubg arc's main antagonists, but it switches just to Lightning and Jo in the second arc when Topher is apparently killed off via [=McArthur=]'s truck exploding and incinerating him in the last episode of said arc. |
| 474 | ** Starting with the Diamond Days arc, Alejandro becomes the main antagonist for a LONG time. Topher also comes back (he apparently survived being incinerated in the explosion). However, once again, Topher is removed from the main antagonist role. |
| 475 | ** In the Ho-Oh arc, a Ho-Oh (which is just Ezekiel when he performed a FusionDance with his Fearow) is the main antagonist. |
| 476 | ** The Frozen Wasteland arc has Jacques and Josee take over as the main antagonists. |
| 477 | ** Evil clones of Cameron and DJ take over as the antagonists in the Nova arc. |
| 478 | ** The final time Alejandro takes over as main antagonist is in the Hellbent arc, where he is killed off at the end. Topher also comes back AGAIN. Arcs are planned beyond that point, but they don't have planned villains yet. |
| 479 | * ''WebVideo/UnwantedHouseguest'' has the Shadow Demon. [[spoiler: It later turns out the Demon was summoned by a GreaterScopeVillain, but DoctorWolfula doesn't get the chance to elaborate.]] |
| 480 | [[/folder]] |
| 481 |
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