Line #12 Main/BigBad


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12	->''"I've learned that, in every story, there is a big, bad something. An evil force that, no matter the size, corrupts the world of the story, and tries its best to destroy the hero."''
13	-->-- ''{{Literature/Lullaby}}''
14
15	A cause of many or most of the bad happenings in a story, and often the main cause of most or all of them. A Big Bad could be a character with {{Evil Plan}}s or it could be an omnipresent situation, such as a comet heading towards the Earth. In a serial story, the Big Bad exerts an effect across a number of episodes, even an entire season. Known as the Shadow in TheHerosJourney.
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17	This trope is not a catch-all term for the biggest, ugliest villain of any given story. In fact, it doesn't have to be a villain at all, as stated earlier. If it is a villain, though, it should be identified correctly; the badass leader of the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad outlaw gang]] that causes the most personal trouble is ''not'' the Big Bad. The [[CorruptCorporateExecutive railroad tycoon]] who is ''using'' the gang as muscle is the Big Bad. TheManBehindTheMan is very common for this trope, leaving the reveal of the big bad as TheChessmaster behind it all and proving themselves far more clever and resourceful than the VillainOfTheWeek. Sometimes the Big Bad is the grand enemy of an entire franchise. At other times, the Big Bad is an ArcVillain who causes trouble for a period of time only to be replaced by another Big Bad.
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19	In its most general form, a Big Bad will be at the center of the MythArc rather than just any StoryArc, but this doesn't always have to be the case; when you look at a season-long story or a major StoryArc and you can identify one problem being the cause of everything, that is the Big Bad.
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21	The term "Big Bad" was popularized in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. It was characteristic of Buffy's seasonal Big Bads for their identity or nature, or even the fact that they were the Big Bad at all, to remain unclear for a considerable time. Occasionally, characters would even refer to themselves as "the Big Bad" -- whether they were a true Big Bad or just a BigBadWannabe is another matter. The structure of Buffy placed the Big Bad as being crucial to the HalfArcSeason, half the episodes are {{filler}} dealing with unrelated enemies while the other half involved the ongoing MythArc with the Big Bad. Each season can easily be defined by who the Big Bad was.
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23	If a show has a series of Big Bad jeopardies, they can function like a series of [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]] that take more than one week to finish off. If there is a LegionOfDoom, you can expect the Big Bad to be involved somehow. They're probably sorted by power, with the strongest for last, following the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil.
24
25	In tabletop gaming circles, the Big Bad is often referred to as the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy).
26
27	EvilOverlord, DiabolicalMastermind, TheChessmaster, ArchEnemy, TheManBehindTheMan, and often ManipulativeBastard are specific types of villains who are liable to show up as Big Bads. If they're a MagnificentBastard or HeroKiller, the good guys are in ''big'' trouble. The heroic counterpart of this character is the BigGood, who will very often be the focus of this character's attention over TheHero at the beginning of a series. If a work of fiction is conspicuously lacking a Big Bad, it may be a case of NoAntagonist.
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29	See also BigBadDuumvirate for two (or more) Big Bads working together. Sometimes a Big Bad will get their start as a servant to another villain -- if that's the case, they're a DragonAscendant. If the character who fills the role of Big Bad in most meaningful ways is nominally subordinate to someone else (someone significantly less menacing by comparison), they are a DragonInChief. If the story has many Big Bads at once who ''[[EvilVersusEvil don't]]'' work together, see BigBadEnsemble. TheBigBadShuffle occurs when there are multiple candidates for the Big Bad position. If the Big Bad doesn't start out as bad but develops over the course of the story, it's BigBadSlippage. If the Big Bad of one section of a work doesn't die on being defeated and stays around as a character in a different plot role (reformed or not), that's ExBigBad. Some may require you to HitThemInThePocketbook.
30
31	The Big Bad of a story is not always the most powerful or oldest existing evil force. Perhaps an evil presence along the lines of an EldritchAbomination overshadows the work's setting, but is mainly divorced from the story's events -- that would be the GreaterScopeVillain.
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33	It is one of the most well-known tropes on the Website/TVTropes community, being the first to have over [[OverdosedTropes sixty thousand wicks]], and is currently the [[StealthPun most wicked trope]] on the site. This is probably because it's incredibly common.
34	----
35	!!Examples:
36	[[index]]
37	* BigBad/AnimeAndManga
38	* BigBad/ComicBooks
39	* BigBad/FanWorks
40	* [[BigBad/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
41	* [[BigBad/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
42	* {{BigBad/Literature}}
43	* BigBad/LiveActionTV
44	* BigBad/ProWrestling
45	* BigBad/TabletopGames
46	* BigBad/VideoGames
47	* BigBad/VisualNovels
48	* BigBad/{{Webcomics}}
49	* BigBad/WebOriginal
50	* BigBad/WesternAnimation
51	* BigBad/OtherMedia
52	[[/index]]
53	----
54	!!Related tropes:
55	[[index]]
56	* ArcVillain: The Big Bad of a StoryArc, but not of the story as a whole. They may or may not be working for the overall Big Bad.
57	* ArchEnemy: The main villain of the story is usually (though not necessarily always) the primary nemesis of the main hero.
58	* BigBadDuumvirate: There's two Big Bads working together! They might not get along, though.
59	* BigBadEnsemble: Multiple Big Bads in the same story, but not necessarily on the same side. They still might not get along.
60	* BigBadFriend: The Big Bad was once such good friends with one of the main characters.
61	* TheBigBadShuffle: Villains are working for other villains.
62	* BigBadSlippage: The Big Bad slowly becomes ever more evil.
63	* BigBadWannabe: The villain isn't as big of a threat as they seem or try to be.
64	* TheBigBadWolf: The TropeNamer of "Big Bad" is the evil Wolf from classic {{Fairy Tale}}s, such as ''Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs'' and ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood''.
65	* DemotedToDragon: The current Big Bad being revealed as the Dragon to a [[TheManBehindTheMan bigger threat]].
66	* ExBigBad: You either [[RedemptionEqualsDeath die a hero]] or live long enough to see yourself [[HeelFaceTurn stop being]] [[RetiredMonster the (main) villain]].
67	* EvilOverlord: The classic Big Bad for many works of HighFantasy and similar adventure tales is an evil dictator/emperor/warlord who runs TheEvilEmpire.
68	* FinalBoss: The main villain also tends to be the final enemy for the heroes to defeat in the story's climax. In the context of video games (where the term comes from), then the Big Bad is usually the last (and most likely the toughest) BossBattle for players to beat.
69	* TheHeavy: This is usually the role played by TheDragon but there had been a couple times where the Big Bad plays this role.
70	* GreaterScopeVillain: A Bigger Bad who's (in)directly responsible for most of the story's conflict, but their role isn't quite as prominent as the actual main antagonist.
71	* NonActionBigBad: A Big Bad who doesn't fight directly, instead relying on their underlings to do their dirty work.
72	* ReturningBigBad: After a period of absence, a previous Big Bad returns to the story and acts as the main villain again.
73	* VileVillainLaughableLackey: A duo consisting of a [[KnightOfCerebus serious villain]] with a [[LaughablyEvil humorous]] [[TheDragon subordinate]].
74	* VillainousFriendship: When the Big Bad is good friends with TheDragon.
75	* WeakBossStrongUnderlings: When the Big Bad is actually less physically powerful than their EvilMinions and {{Mooks}} are.
76	[[/index]]
77	----
78	->[[NoAntagonist Here's some comfort]].

Context Main / BigBad