Line #93 Main/MinorMajorCharacter


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4	A character who, though holding an important position within the world of the story, holds, at best, a minor role in the narrative and more usually a few lines of dialogue in a single scene. May turn out to be ChekhovsGunman or become an AscendedExtra in other works. {{Greater Scope Villain}}s and {{Greater Scope Paragon}}s usually qualify, as do most members of the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness and some occurrences of the SpecialGuest. Even the BigBad and BigGood can qualify in some works.
5
6	Compare HufflepuffHouse -- which is to groups what this trope is to individual characters.
7
8	To an extent, this is TruthInTelevision. How many of us personally know any world leaders, Fortune 500 [=CEOs=], power brokers or other members of the top echelons of business, government and military?
9
10	Unluckily, if one happens to be one of these characters, one may be the target of being BoardToDeath. You may also lose out on NominalImportance.
11
12	A minor character having a major impact in the story is covered by SmallRoleBigImpact. Depending on their role, they may be an EternalEmployee somewhere the main character frequent, like a hospital. Contrast with AscendedExtra, who starts off having a minor role, but is given a more meaningful one in later installments.
13
14	----
15	!!Examples:
16
17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
21	** The series provides an especially strange example. While the shinigami squad captains (the Soul Society's military) are characterized with enormous detail, the actual government they serve is given a single scene [[spoiler:in which all of them are shown to have been secretly murdered by TheMole]], and nothing was seen or spoken of it (except some flashbacks of Urahara's backstory and some of the second NonSerialMovie) until the end of the arc several years later in real-time, [[spoiler:reconstituted and passing judgement on that same BigBad [[TheMole Mole]]]].
22	** The Soul King qualifies as well. Apparently, Soul Society wouldn't even exist without him, and BigBad Aizen spends most of the series trying to usurp his position, and only now, in the very last arc of the series, does the reader get to see what he even looks like. [[spoiler:And before he can even do anything or exert power, Yhwach kills him.]]
23	** The Kidou Corps. Nominally, they are an independent group with several important duties. The flashback shows that they are roughly equivalent to a single Division, with two powerful named characters that are captain-level. However, even though they technically should maintain their importance in the present, instead they lack named characters at all.
24	* Prince Eugene of ''Manga/BokuraNoKiseki''. His presence pervades the story, as he was the husband of Veronica (who the main character is the reincarnation of) and possibly one of the only people in the castle who knew ''why'' Moswick was attacking its ally Zerestria, yet readers know almost nothing about him beyond that he was the Third Prince of Moswick.
25	* ''Anime/CodeGeass'':
26	** Many of the siblings of the Britannian Royal Family, the most powerful dynasty in the story's word. [[AntiHero Prince Lelouch]], [[DelicateAndSickly Princess Nunnally]], and [[WideEyedIdealist Princess Euphemia]] are major protagonists, [[TheStrategist Prince Schneizel]] and [[LadyOfWar Princess Cornelia]] are major antagonists, and the rest are fairly inconsequential. Prince Clovis is the StarterVillain and is killed in episode 2; Crown Prince Odysseus, the eldest, has a couple plot beats of mild importance but is never an active player in the story (to the point that it's mentioned in the series that he's regarded as something of a wimp next to his many impressive younger siblings); and Princesses Guinevere and Carine only get a couple cameos [[spoiler:before Lelouch wipes their minds with his Geass, along with Odysseus]]. It's implied there are many other unseen siblings as well.
27	** By the same token as the Royal Siblings are their sworn protectors, [[PraetorianGuard the Knights of the Round]]. Bismarck Waldstein (the leader and Knight of One), Gino Weinberg (Knight of Three) and Anya Alstreim (Six) have decent-sized parts, and TheRival Suzaku Kururugi gets himself appointed Knight of Seven, but the others are extremely minor and are killed shortly after their introductions. In addition, no Knights ranked Two, Five, Eight or Eleven appear at all, and it's never specified whether they're simply offscreen or if those positions are entirely vacant.
28	* In ''Manga/DeathNote'': The President of the United States appears briefly in the Mello arc and does exactly one thing of plot significance: [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled shooting himself to keep Kira from controlling his mind and ordering the launch of a nuclear missile]]. His intended noble sacrifice [[SenselessSacrifice backfires twice over]]: first, unbeknownst to him, the threat was empty, as a Death Note cannot be used to cause a mass-casualty incident like a nuclear strike, since its user must know the same and face of whomever he or she intends to kill. Second, the world subsequently believes that, rather than killing himself, he was killed for defying Kira, and thus all the world's governments decide to defer to him lest they meet the same fate.
29	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
30	** King Cold in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', despite being TheManBehindTheMan in Frieza's galaxy-wide empire and his existence a secret known only to his immediate family and a few soldiers, only appears to rescue his son and then get killed by Trunks on Earth. And [[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF unlike]] [[Anime/DragonBallSuper his son]], he never comes BackFromTheDead.
31	** Raditz. He's Goku's brother and the first Saiyan other than him to appear in the series, as well as [[HeroicSacrifice the cause of Goku's first death]]. But despite all that, he's really just used as a stepping stone to introduce the idea of Saiyans and other aliens to the franchise. He's killed off quickly with Vegeta replacing him as the ArcVillain and never appears again, despite the series' frequent use of DeathIsCheap and DefeatMeansFriendship on antagonists with far lesser connections to the hero. ''Anime/BardockTheFatherOfGoku'' initially ''forgot he existed'' even though Bardock is also his father as well, but [[ParentalFavoritism he favors Goku over him]] and neglects to think about Raditz ''in his own dying moments''. Subsequent re-releases had Bardock mention him in a throwaway line, but he still gets no screentime in a special specifically devoted to exploring Goku's family history.
32	* Parodied in the ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' anime, where ACROSS is secretly run by: That Man, That Man Over There, That Man Over Here, This Man, This Man Over Here, and This Man Over There. And other than [[BigBad That Man]], they all appear once, for less than a minute, before getting killed by Nabeshin.
33	* ''Manga/JujutsuKaisen'' has Master Tengen. An ancient, immortal Jujutsu sorcerer who maintains the barriers around the Jujutsu Schools. Without these barriers, the schools could not exist, as they would be under constant attack from Curses. Without these schools, training new Jujutsu sorcerers would be exponentially more difficult. So already his existence is massively important for the setting. Furthermore, he needs to merge with a special person called a Star Plasma Vessel every 500 years in order to continue on as he is. Failure to do so will likely cause him to [[AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence]], rendering him unable to maintain the barriers and potentially becoming an existential threat to humanity. In spite of this, he has never spoken nor has he appeared in-person, even during an arc that centered around delivering him a new vessel.
34	* ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia2017'' has the Nine Witches, the founders of Luna Nova Academy and some of the most powerful magic users ever. Only two of them are named and are involved in the plot to varying degrees, but nothing is known about the other seven (except for, of all things, their hats).
35	* The three Admirals of the [[TheFederation Time-Space Administration Bureau]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. Very important in the setting, but not important enough to even have names or more than one line of dialogue.
36	* ''Manga/ShimejiSimulation'': [[spoiler:Chito and Yuuri, the main protagonists of ''Manga/GirlsLastTour'', only make a minor appearance in the manga's [[Recap/ShimejiSimulationChapter48 Chapter 48]]. However, they are a significant WalkingSpoiler that even their minor appearance is a semi-important.]]
37	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
38	** In the series, you could count the Tailed Beasts and their hosts who aren't the One-, Eight-, and Nine-Tails and their specific hosts. They're a major part of the setting and the goal of main antagonist organization Akatsuki is to capture all of them, yet the Two-Tails and its host are killed in just a couple chapters, the Three-Tails was beaten off-screen and its host was already dead by then ([[spoiler:though he turned out to be a semi-important PosthumousCharacter]]), and the Four-Tailed host was shown once after being beaten entirely off-screen with the Four-Tails itself never shown, while the Five-, Six-, and Seven-Tails and their deceased hosts were initially relegated to supplementary materials (though the Six-Tailed host got an anime-only filler arc). Eventually, [[spoiler:all the dead hosts and their beasts finally appear in the series proper...as super-powered zombies, and though they give the heroes a tough fight, hand Naruto some important plot details and life lessons, and help him achieve his next power-up, the Four-Tails is the only one of them who gets a decent amount of characterization.]]
39	** To a lesser extent is Zō, the white-robed ANBU captain with the cat mask. He's the ''leader'' of Konoha's [[EliteMooks ANBU Black Ops]], yet only appears three times (during the Sound invasion, [[spoiler:the Third Hokage's funeral]], and [[spoiler:Pain's destruction of Konoha]]) and is of no importance to the story. Even his ''[[NominalImportance name]]'' [[AllThereInTheManual is only revealed in a databook]]. The only things in the story itself to hint that he's more than just an ordinary ANBU are the white captain's robe (ordinary ANBU wear black robes) and the fact that he's among the few masked ANBU who doesn't [[TheWorfEffect die to show how dangerous a villain is]].
40	* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness The SEELE Committee]] seem to basically run the world, but we only see a few of their faces, and only their leader, Keel Lorenz, even has a name.
41	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
42	** The Five Elder Stars are a council of five men who sit at the very top of the government. They appear whenever there is a huge change in the world, such as Luffy defeating Crocodile and [[spoiler:the death of Whitebeard]], but they aren't shown physically doing much or even been named until hundreds of chapters later and yet they decide almost anything related to the Marines, the World Government and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Subverted when they [[VillainNoLongerIdle finally step into the battlefield]] and become major antagonists in the final saga.
43	** Just below them in rank is Commander-in-Chief Kong. He has power over the entire military of the World Government, which includes the Marines, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, ''and'' all the branches of Cipher Pol. He has had two appearance so far, one of which was canon but not part of the manga proper.
44	* In ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'', despite his central role in events and character motivations, Red's face is mostly obscured, he never speaks, his name is never said out loud and his onscreen appearances mostly have him in the background. While he is responsible for the downfall of Team Rocket, Looker and the police don't appear to even know who he is.
45	* ''Literature/ScrappedPrincess'': Browning is one of two [[DeityOfHumanOrigin gods]] in the series, with the other being Mauser. However, while both have religious followings in their name, [[HeroWithBadPublicity Browning]] is nowhere near as significant to the plot [[BigGood as Mauser]] and only comes into the picture during the final 3 episodes, where his [[AMechByAnyOtherName Gigantes]] are used to [[spoiler:battle the Peacemakers]].
46	* Gyuriedistodiez in ''Literature/SoImASpiderSoWhat'' is the sole active god of the world, Administrator for the System which governs the skills used by all of its residents, and is undoubtedly the most powerful being in terms of raw strength. Despite this, his indecisiveness and self-recrimination has left him all but inactive both in story and in terms of the world itself. His greatest role is in reacting to the actions of far more important characters such as Kumoko and Shiro.
47	* ''Manga/SpyXFamily'':
48	** Franky Franklin is a minor character appearing quite often to assist Twilight as a knowledge broker, trusted companion, and convenient babysitter for Anya or dogsitter for Bond. However, the chapters detailing Twilight's past reveal that Franky was an Ostanian soldier that had deserted the army when he stumbled across Westalian soldier Twilight. And it was his own realization that the war was pointless because both sides could merely feed information to the masses to get them to rally for the war that ultimately led to Twilight having a similar epiphany and leaving the army to become a spy for WISE. Franky basically caused the creation of Westalis' best spy Twilight, along with the entire series.
49	** Donovan Desmond has a similar treatment in terms of his role in the story. He is ''the'' target of Operation Strix, the mission that causes the entire series to begin, but very little is ever shown of this guy. Explained in-universe by his being rather paranoid because of his standing in the National Unity Party, so he keeps his public appearances and social circle incredibly small. It takes quite a while for him to appear in person, being previously only shown in information documents or rather caricatured in Anya's [[ImagineSpot imagine spots]].
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Comic Books]]
53	* The ''entire'' membership of the Creator/MarvelComics group named ''Those Who Sit Above in Shadow''.
54	* The minor members of Clan Akkaba, in both [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/6179/339166-47065-clan-akkaba.jpg the 19th Century]] and [[http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/6179/339156-81779-clan-akkaba.jpg the present]]. The Slade and Starsmore families have names (as does a random GiantMook called Kabar Brashir for some reason), but the others, despite unique designs and ties to one of the biggest villains in the setting, have virtually nothing known about them, not even being named in the ''ComicBook/OfficialHandbookOfTheMarvelUniverse''.
55	* Hooded Justice in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' only appears in a flashback and is referenced a scant number of times, yet he's also the reason for the setting's AlternateHistory, since he was the first to truly take up the mantle of a superhero when he stopped a robbery in October 1938, just four months after the release of ''Action Comics #1''.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	%%[[folder:Fan Works]]
59	%%* The mother and father are this in [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/124263/1/songs-uncle-sings/sineva Songs Uncle Sings.]]
60	%%[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
63	* In ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'', [[spoiler:Noah Cross]] is the main antagonist but he only has 10 minutes of screentime.
64	* ''Film/JamesBond'':
65	** The unnamed executives of the NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE, in the film version of ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', one of which gets [[BoardToDeath electrocuted]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan Ernst Stavro Blofeld]].
66	** General Chang in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' is [[BigBad Elliot Carver]]'s inside man in the Chinese government and is referred to throughout the film as plotting with Carver to become President of China via eliminating everyone ahead of him in a nuclear strike on Beijing; in exchange for supplying said nuke, Carver would gain exclusive control of China's media once Chang took over. Their relationship is suggested to be a BigBadDuumvirate... except Chang is only in one scene, where he's seen leaving a meeting with Carver to finalize the plot. This may be down to Chang being a [[HeroOfAnotherStory villain of another story]]; Bond meets his LoveInterest, Chinese Intelligence agent Wai Lin, as he works Carver's case and she works Chang's, and they team up upon discovering they're WorkingTheSameCase.
67	** Several of the senior members of the Quantum [[TheSyndicate syndicate]] spotted at the opera house in Lake Constance, Austria, by James Bond during ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'', namely [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Guy_Haines Guy Haines]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Gregor_Karikoff Gregor Karikoff]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_James_Bond_henchmen_in_Quantum_of_Solace#Moishe_Saroff Moishe Saroff]].
68	* In ''Film/KnivesOut'', Marta's mother shows up in a few scenes and briefly interacts with her daughters, but her status as an illegal immigrant drives many of the decisions of Marta and the Thrombey family.
69	* Thanos in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse can be seen as this, built up as the BigBad of the franchise, though his only appearance for a long time (that wasn't a [[TheStinger stinger]]) was in a brief pair of scenes in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'', the movie most detached from the MCU at large. This is finally averted in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', where he has a very prominent role and is clearly the central villain of the film.
70	* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'':
71	** ''Film/SawV'' introduces the [[NoNameGiven unnamed]] chief of the Metropolitan Police Department at the time of the first seven films. It should go without saying that he must have given particular attention to the notorious Jigsaw killers, especially once they rack a good body count and show themselves to be competent enough to outsmart the police many times. However, he's only seen at the ceremony held to announce the supposed end of their killing spree in that film, not even returning in later installments once further games pop up or Hoffman is exposed as the killer who's been holding the games since that moment.
72	** Averted with Marcus Banks, another chief of the department, in ''Film/Spiral2021''. While he's retired at the time of the film's events, his acts back during his tenure are responsible for much of the plot's roots, and he gets a major role in the movie's late half.
73	* ''Franchise/StarWars'' provides plenty of examples, among them being:
74	** The Separatist Council's cinematically minor members, namely [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wat_Tambor Wat Tambor]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/San_Hill San Hill]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Shu_Mai Shu Mai]],[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Passel_Argente Passel Argente]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Po_Nudo Po Nudo]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tikkes Tikkes]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Rogwa_Wodrata Rogwa Wodrata]] and [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Miraj_Scintel Miraj Scintel]].
75	** The cinematically minor characters present at the Death Star conference room, namely [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cassio_Tagge Cassio Tagge]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Admiral_Motti Antonio Motti]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Moradmin_Bast Moradmin Bast]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wullf_Yularen Wullf Yularen]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cass Cass]], [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tajis_Durmin Tajis Durmin]] and [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Nova_Stihl Nova Stihl]], as well as two other unidentified attendees. Expanded on in the novel ''Literature/DeathStar''.
76	** [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mon_Mothma Mon Mothma]] is the official leader of the Rebel Alliance and later goes on the be the first chancellor of the New Republic. Despite arguably being the BigGood of the original trilogy, she gets all of 60 seconds worth of screen time in Return of the Jedi. Her role was later expanded in Rogue One however, and she even appeared in a Revenge of the Sith deleted scene.
77	** In the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the leader of [[TheEmpire the First Order]], Snoke, seems this way at first, but is ultimately a subversion. He is given a few scenes, which are basically him berating his [[TheDragon dragon]] Kylo Ren for not being ruthless enough like Darth Vader in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. He is presented as the major BigBad, [[spoiler:only to get killed off by Kylo Ren, who has his own plans in ''Film/TheLastJedi'']], and the final film, ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' reveals that [[spoiler:Emperor Palpatine was [[HiJackedByGanon still behind everything]], making him the example of this trope.]]
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Literature]]
81	* Some of the members of [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Scorpia]] in ''Literature/AlexRider'', namely Mikato and [[http://alexrider.wikia.com/wiki/Levi_Kroll Levi Kroll]] often appear at board meetings but do little.
82	* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
83	** As the leader of the Yeerk remnants and the new BigBad, [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere The One]] ought to be important, but he shows up for a grand total of ''four pages'' and feels tacked on to the story as an afterthought.
84	** Visser Two is another example. He doesn't show up until the near the end of the series, despite being the second highest ranking Yeerk general. Instead Vissers Three and One take charge of the conquest of Earth. And if you buy into a certain prominent [[EpilepticTrees fan theory]], the Visser Two we see may not have actually even been Visser Two until that book![[note]]The theory goes that the Visser Two of that book is actually a promoted Visser Four, as the Visser Two we see is a fanatical sycophant to Visser Three (newly promoted to One) and it's highly unlikely in the ambition-laden Yeerk culture for a Yeerk so long above Visser Three on the totem pole to suddenly become his enthusiastic lackey. Meanwhile, Visser Four was known to be a "friend" of Visser Three.[[/note]]
85	** There's also the Council of Thirteen, and among them the Yeerk Emperor, who are the actual leaders of Yeerk society and the ones who perpetuate the war and give orders to the Vissers. They are mentioned only briefly, and their only actual appearance is in a VillainEpisode. Further, the Emperor is never even ''identified'', though this one at least is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] (no one knows who the Emperor is other than the Council themselves, as an anti-assassination measure).
86	* Another Creator/KAApplegate example is [[GodOfEvil Ka Anor]] of ''Literature/{{Everworld}}''. Every other god in Everworld fears him, his Hetwan minions are everywhere, but ol' Ka himself only shows up in one book, and then, only for one chapter. Even there he's less a character and more an EldritchAbomination.
87	* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', the unnamed muggle Prime Minister of the UK gets one scene to himself, but no mention afterwards. Also, after the end of the series, [[spoiler:Kingsley Shacklebolt, a minor but positive character, becomes Minister of Magic]].
88	* ''Literature/JohnPutnamThatcher'': Francis Devane is a partner at a bank which frequently partners with the Sloan for plot-relevant business deals, but his partner and polar opposite Tom Robichaux is always the one to interact with Thatcher and relay Devane's opinions about business deals or suspects in their social circle. The only book Devane physically appears in is ''Death Shall Overcome'', where he attends the party where the murder takes place. Even then, he doesn't talk with any of the main characters.
89	* Duke Claes in ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' is the main character's father and one of the most important nobles in the kingdom, but has maybe ten or twenty lines throughout the first two novels.
90	* [[EvilOverlord Big Brother]] in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''. Though the effects of his dictatorship are seen and felt throughout the entirety of the story, the man himself never makes an appearance, as the narrative focuses solely on just some [[TheEveryman average guy]]. There's also the fact that Big Brother could just be a vehicle for The Party and may or may not even exist- or have ''ever'' existed, for that matter. There's also Emmanuel Goldstein, the supposed leader of a rebel faction known as "The Brotherhood" who, again, may or may not actually exist.
91	* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' gives us Count Olaf's superiors in the arsonists' side of VFD, identified only as The Man With A Beard But No Hair and The Woman With Hair But No Beard. They ''do'' get a bit of development later on, when it's revealed that [[spoiler:they're the other two judges on the kindly Justice Strauss's High Court]] but shortly after this revelation [[spoiler:they themselves [[KarmicDeath are left to die in a burning building]], leaving Olaf as the sole BigBad in the finale]].
92	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Westeros is a huge country, and only part of an even huger world. All of this world is shaped by the various ambitions of the rich and powerful seeking greater wealth and greater power, for [[{{Pride}} many]], [[{{Greed}} many]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist many]] ''[[HiddenAgendaVIllain MANY]]'' reasons. Plenty of these people [[PosthumousCharacter are long dead]], and plenty more would rather [[TheChessmaster wait at a distance]], [[ObfuscatingStupidity feign harmlessness]] or both. Basically, for every supposed power-figure in the realm, you can usually assume there's at least one other, far-less-obvious character who had (and often ''has'') a vital role in their lives or which said figure may or may not be aware.
93	* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' had this a fair bit.
94	** The New Republic's Chief Of State, almost always Leia Organa Solo, will be known, and Borsk Fey'lya and Admiral Ackbar might show up, and if the author is savvier than most Mon Mothma could come into play, but that's almost inevitably it, and the New Republic is ''always'' luckier in that regard than the Empire is. Unless the writer is Creator/TimothyZahn, of course. Stackpole's Literature/XWingSeries, having Council meetings as part of the narrative, also subverts this to a small extent. And in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', the ranking members of Luke's strike team get an unusual level of attention. Those are the exceptions.
95	** Sort of lampshaded in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wraith Squadron]]''. A pilot would like to be at least somewhat known. Who remembers the name of the head gunner on Ackbar's flagship, ''Home One''? [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Wedge Antilles]] says ''he'' does. And lampshaded even before that in ''Rogue Squadron'', when a freighter captain complains to Wedge about how everyone works but all the fame and glory stays on a few figures - from who gets remembered, you'd think that the Clone Wars were won by a handful of Jedi and a dozen pilots.
96	* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', there's the [[EldritchAbomination Abaddon entity]], a member of the same race as [[spoiler:Zion and Eden]]. It shows up in a single chapter set ''long'' before the events of the story and only interacts with one character, yet its actions [[spoiler:lead directly to Eden's death, which abort the entities' centuries long plan as Zion can't plan on his own]]. In short, it's only because of Abaddon's actions that the story happens at all [[spoiler:and leaves anyone alive by the end of it all]].
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
100	* ''Series/TwentyFour'' provides two examples, both of TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness variety;
101	** In Season [[spoiler:5, Graem Bauer's associates seem to be influential personalities, powerful enough even to scare PresidentEvil Charles Logan, yet never show up again.]]
102	** In Season [[spoiler:7, every single member of Alan Wilson's cabal save Wilson himself qualifies. Though, it's possible they may appear in more major roles in season 8.]]
103	* The councils that head the Alliance of Twelve and Prophet Five on ''Series/{{Alias}}''. Between them, they're the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of half the series, but most are never named and [[TheHeavy the heroes' main foes]] are "middle management" like Arvin Sloane, [[spoiler:who ends up taking out both groups anyway]].
104	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. All the vampires look up to Dracula. Buffy readies herself for an epic confrontation... and after that episode, he's never seen or spoken of again. Lampshaded early in the episode when Spike thinks he's just better at self-promotion than most thanks to using "gypsy tricks", but everyone else writes that off as sour grapes.
105	* In part due to its nature as an adaptation requiring a lot of characters to be DemotedToExtra, this is rather common in ''Series/GameOfThrones''.
106	** Ser Kevan Lannister, a senior office and younger brother to the wealthiest and most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms, has a rather minor role, as Tywin employs him all over the kingdom. He is even AdaptedOut in Season 3, when his sons are killed. Late in Season 5, he is appointed Hand of the King, despite having barely appeared since Season 1, except from two episodes at the start of the season.
107	** Various lords and ladies of significant importance. For example, Northern families like the Glovers, the Umbers, the Mormonts still in Bear Island, the Cerwyns, and the Manderlys are AdaptedOut or DemotedToExtra.
108	** Aside from Selmy, Jaime Lannister, and Meryn Trant, the Kingsguard as a whole.
109	** Aeron Greyjoy is very slim on screentime, but he's actually a vital cog in Ironborn politics. It is he who calls the Kingsmoot, he who conducts it, and it is he who legitimizes Euron as king (via drowning). As unofficial leader of the Drowned Men, he's basically the nearest thing the Ironborn have to a pope.
110	* [[spoiler:Jesse]] in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. You mean he's [[spoiler:the Antichrist]] and super powerful? Wow, he's got to be important. Wait, what do you mean he's only in one episode that doesn't affect the rest of the series?
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
114	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
115	** The whole story can be traced back to the [[{{Precursors}} Great Beings]] and their attempts to study the silvery liquid [[{{Phlebotinum}} Energized Protodermis]], which unknown to them was [[SentientPhlebotinum sentient and malicious]]. The Great Beings were alluded to be all powerful "gods" in early media; later story revealed they were actually former rulers who turned to a life of science, unable to stop the Energized Protodermis' unstable power from splitting their home planet Spherus Magna apart. They created the Matoran Universe, the setting of the story's first 8 years and almost all who lived there, but only a few Great Beings showed up in the story and they rarely interacted with others as they went into hiding after being blamed for the planet's disasters. Though they were part of the franchise's core concept since the start, Toys/{{LEGO}} [[ExecutiveMeddling specifically ordered]] them to be [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen featured as little as possible]]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen They were meant to be]] explored fully had the franchise continued. [[spoiler:The villager Velika [[WordOfGod was revealed by the writer]] to be a [[GodInHumanForm GB in disguise]] after the cancellation, but the story never reached this twist.]]
116	** Despite Energized Protodermis and its powers being a constant presence in the plot, essentially being one of the absolute most crucial driving forces of the whole story, the EP Entity itself is a minor FillerVillain at best, mostly [[AllPowerfulBystander observing the goings-on]] and only revealing itself to a handful of characters before disappearing. It never plays a conscious role in any of the main plots (the closest was willingly assisting in the creation of some beasts) and is arguably one of the franchise's most obscure characters.
117	** Artakha is a mythical force of good and the bearer of the [[MaskOfPower Mask of Creation]], one of the three Legendary Masks in existence, two of which played pivotal roles in the creation of the Matoran Universe. He also created the six Toa Mata, the series' main protagonists, and the Mask of Light, an important ArtifactOfPower. Artakha and his homeland's folk were isolated from the rest of the Matoran Universe but would occasionally teleport items or people to wherever they were needed to progress the plot. In person, Artakha only showed up in one scene in a side story that was LeftHanging when the series ended. Similar to the Energized Protodermis Entity, Artakha was invented on the fly as a {{filler}} character and [[ToylessToylineCharacter was never sold as a toy]], which explains their meager story presence.
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
121	* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Hestia is the goddess of the hearth and home, protector of family, the firstborn daughter of Cronus, one of the twelve Olympians (before being supplanted by Dionysus), sister of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter and Hades and in some places, she was so popular that she got offerings before the other gods. Her actual presence in the entire mythology, however, is almost nonexistent. All we know is that she swore to remain a virgin after turning down Poseidon and Apollo. Her Roman equivalent Vesta fares little better; the only story we have from Ovid is Priapus' attempt to rape her in her sleep. This ''might'' be justified by the fact that, due to being the deity of households and family, she naturally stayed home to tend to her domain and had no reason to get up to the same exploits that her siblings did.
122	* Myth/EgyptianMythology: Nekhbet and Wadjet were the patron goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively, and were such prominent symbols of the lands that they were depicted as decorations on the Pharaohs' crowns (forming a combined Uraeus, with vulture and cobra heads) and their shared epithet, the Two Ladies, was used in one of the several royal titles for the Pharaoh to evoke their protection. In terms of actual ''myths'', though, they rarely--if ever--appeared as characters, in contrast to equally important gods like Ra, Horus, and Isis.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
126	* In ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' the tendency for most of the factions is that AsskickingLeadsToLeadership holds true and the in-lore faction leaders for each faction is usually a fieldable special character (or, in the case of divided factions like the Greenskins, the most powerful living leaders are fieldable). The High Elves, one of the lorewise most powerful and united factions, avert this. Their faction's leader, Phoenix King Finubar the Seafarer, is not a playable character and never has been for any of the game's editions. The Wood Elves also play this straight in later editions as Ariel, the immortal queen of Athel Loren, stopped being a fieldable character after the sixth edition.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Theatre]]
130	* Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's ''Theatre/{{Iolanthe}}''. The House of Peers is the male chorus. The joke is they ''know'' they're minor characters -- in British government.
131	* The Prince in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''. He's the ruler of the city, but he only has three brief appearances: one at the beginning of the play to forbid further fighting between the FeudingFamilies, one around the middle to pass judgment after the edict is inevitably broken, and one at the end.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Video Games]]
135	* Despite being a powerful CO and the possible leader of Orange Star, Nell doesn't really do much in ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars''. She hasn't had a single on screen battle, and stays at home in ''Dual Strike''. This maybe because her [[BornLucky luck ability]] makes it hard to design missions around her.
136	* ''VideoGame/AdvancedVariableGeo'': The series' events chiefly revolve around Yuka, Tamao, and Reimi, as they try to put an end to Miranda's schemes. Whereas Yuka's [[ChildhoodFriend best friend]][[FriendlyRivalry /rival]], Satomi, is simply [[OnlyInItForTheMoney trying to win the tournament's prize money]] [[HealthcareMotivation to pay for her kid brother's medical treatment]]. In Part II, she looked after Yuka during her HeroicBSOD, but had little else to do with the plot.
137	* Bang Shishigami from ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', up till ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]]'' he was just a funny background guy who just didn't seem to fit in the major scope of things, ridiculed by many, ignored by others, respected by just a few; to the more perceptive, however, Bang was being built up with strong connections to grand events since ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger Calamity Trigger]]'', starting with Rachel noticing he had an inactive Nox Nyctores, just an easy to miss mention of what would be brought up in-story with much greater importance at the climax of Bang's story in ''CS''. As of ''CS''[='s=] end, Bang is now directly and indirectly connected to many plot threads leading to ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma Chronophantasma]]'' and even to what may happen in the future. This culminates in Bang having a big moment during the climax of ''CP'' (thanks in part to said Nox Nyctores he was entrusted by his late master, [[spoiler:the rightful ruler of the NOL]])... and then eventually Subverted, as he is back to his usual level of importance (read: nothing more than a funny background guy) in ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCentralFiction Central Fiction]]''.
138	* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' is in an interesting position where the lore and backstory of the game is very character-driven, but the game itself has only a few characters of any importance, and is mostly setting-driven.
139	** Vicar Amelia is the biggest example. In the lore, she's the leader of the entire healing church and the direct successor to Laurence, but in the game she is fought as a boss once (plus once in the DLC if you believe the theory that the white nun in the Hunter's Nightmare is her) and isn't mentioned outside of that.
140	** Provost Willem would qualify as the game's GreaterScopeVillain if he were more malicious. His institution discovered the Old Blood that would eventually lead to the plague of beasts, and the foundation of the Healing Church. He's first seen in a flashback to the most important moment in the game's lore, but when you finally meet him you don't even get a boss-fight. He's just an old man in a wheelchair, unable to do anything but point to the sea, and ceases to have any impact on the plot after that.
141	* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': Even though Zaryant is the queen's bodyguard and one of her strongest soldiers, she barely has any presence in the story. For the most part she just hangs around the throne room, even when Elizant leaves the castle and travels to far more dangerous locales.
142	* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': Hayate is the Muugen Tenshin Clan's leader, a close friend of [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]], and a pivotal character in each of the DOATEC tournaments. At least, [[AllThereInTheManual that's what the canon says]]. But...
143	** The fact is, he's had little to do with the actual narrative, since [[SpotlightStealingSquad both his younger sisters and his friend have more plot relevance]] than he does and have each won a tournament. Hayate's the only one in their group who hasn't.
144	** Likewise, he's the only one of their group who hasn't been a playable character in ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'', nor does he even get to so much as [[TheCameo make an appearance]] in a single cutscene. Instead, [[OutOfFocus he only gets a brief mention]] by his sister, Kasumi.
145	* ''VideoGame/DeadlyRoomsOfDeath'':
146	** King Dugan, the ruler of Beethro's homeland, makes only a couple of brief appearances, and in ''The City Beneath'' we see that he is easily swayed by his advisors and knows nothing of the world-shaking events going on beneath his kingdom.
147	** The 'Neather makes only one appearance, as the FinalBoss of ''King Dugan's Dungeon''; after his defeat he is never mentioned again. But it's revealed that he was a more important person than Beethro ever realised, namely [[spoiler:King Dugan's long-lost brother]].
148	** The King in ''Gunthro and the Epic Blunder'' makes only one appearance: his murder, which sets off the main conflict of that episode. And despite acting in the King's name, the court are firmly pursuing their own agenda.
149	* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'':
150	** King James doesn't get much screen time, but the mission he sends Pankraz on ends up killing him off and throwing his son Harry and the Hero into slavery. His death during the timeskip also causes the power struggle that sparks one of the first major plots of the game's second act.
151	** Despite being the head of the organization responsible for literally every problem in the game, the main character only meets King Korol and Queen Ferz once, shortly before their deaths, after which their entire presence becomes overshadowed by [[TheDragon Ladja]]'s.
152	* The cover character of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' at first seems like a generic knight, but a deeper investigation reveals that it's an in-game character called Vyke. Lore-wise, he's pretty important, being the Tarnished that got the closest out of anyone to becoming Elden Lord, was an implied lover of an ancient dragon, and was then tempted by the [[GodOfChaos Frenzied Flame]] into becoming the [[TheAntichrist Lord of Chaos]], but failed in that as well. In the game itself, however, he has a grand total of 0 lines, and he's only present in the form of two optional bosses (once in his corrupted Frenzied form and once way later uncorrupted).
153	* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' main series of games, the Emperor of Tamriel, despite being the ruler of the continent on which all of the games take place, only has a very minor role in each. To note:
154	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'', Emperor Uriel Septim VII has been imprisoned in Oblivion and usurped by BigBad EvilSorcerer Jagar Tharn. The goal of the main quest is to free him, and your only interaction with him takes place at the end once you've done so.
155	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', the Emperor's only direct involvement takes place in the opening cut scene, sending the PlayerCharacter (his agent) to the eponymous city to investigate its haunting by its deceased former king.
156	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', he [[TheGhost doesn't appear at all]]. According to in-game documents, it is on his orders that the PlayerCharacter has been freed from prison with the explicit instruction that he/she be sent to the eponymous province.
157	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' involves Uriel VII's lengthiest appearance, but even then, he is assassinated barely 10 minutes into the tutorial. The main quest involves finding his HiddenBackupPrince bastard son, who plays a much bigger role (though is never technically crowned Emperor).
158	** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' takes place after a 200 year TimeSkip following the events of ''Oblivion'', where Titus Mede II (grandson of a Colovian warlord who seized the Imperial Throne in the wake of the chaos follow the Oblivion Crisis) is now the Emperor of the (very much [[VestigialEmpire vestigial]]) Empire. He will only appear in the game if you complete the [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] faction questionline, at the end of which [[spoiler:you assassinate him]].
159	* ''VideoGame/EldritchLandsTheWitchQueensEternalWar'':
160	** Anastasia Nitshe, [[TheProtagonist Sofia's]] daughter. She has an entry on the Lore screen, is the one the tutorial is being told to, is frequently mentioned on many of the game's favor texts, and, according to Sofia, will be the one to truly bring peace and order to the world, but Anastasia has no speaking parts or any sort of direct role in the game's events. Justified as she is still a small child during the game's events.
161	** Moriko Alarie, Ruler of the elves, is an even more direct example. She also gets an entry on the Lore screen, and is one of the two rulers that hasn't been crushed under the necroshroom hordes, but doesn't do anything at all during the game's events and is only mentioned a handful of times outside of her lore entry.
162	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
163	** Before getting [[VideoGame/CrisisCore his own spin-off game]], Zack Fair was very much this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Zack only appears in two scenes in the 40+ hour game both as part of main characters backstory. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:after losing his memories, Cloud adapted Zack's past and character as his new identity and assumed it to be the truth.]]
164	** Minerva is the goddess of the planet (or at least a very powerful summon) and, for all intents and purposes, Jenova's equal and opposite. The only thing she does in the entire compilation is serve as a {{superboss}} in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''.
165	* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
166	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Liza, [[TheHero Marth's]] mother and Queen of Altea. In the original, she's named in the very same line that reveals she was KilledOffscreen by a [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-shot chapter boss.]] Even in the remake, she only gets a few mentions in the Prologue, stating she went missing during Altea's invasion and Marth's sister is searching for her.
167	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has the Hierarch, a high-ranking official in Ylisse who helped Emmeryn during the latter's early years as Exalt. He only appears in one chapter, in which he [[spoiler:betrays Emmeryn to Plegia and gets RewardedAsATraitorDeserves]].
168	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
169	** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': Ryder is one of the main members of the Grove Street Families gang and one of CJ's childhood friends who plays an important role in the first half of the storyline in Los Santos. [[spoiler:After his betrayal, CJ only talks about Big Smoke betraying the gang and completely ignores Ryder until it's time to kill him, in which the latter's death was so unceremonious it was tantamount to killing a typical target in a vigilante side mission, making him seem more like a minor character. It also doesn't help that other members of Grove Street, such as Sweet, never even ask about Ryder, as if he never even existed in the game to begin with]].
170	** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Martin Madrazo is an important character for the first half of the game, with Michael's debt to him essentially kicking off the entire plot. Despite this, he only appears in three relatively short scenes and completely disappears for the second half of the game.
171	* The Princess of Hearts in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are maidens whose hearts are completely devoid of light which makes them vital for the villains plan and as revealed in ''Dream Drop Distance'', hold the 7 pieces of the X-Blade vital for Xehanort to start the Keyblade War. However aside from Kairi, the Princess themselves makes very sparse appearances, especially after the first game where they only appear in their own respective worlds. This is especially true for the New Seven Hearts of ''III'' where even though they are potential backups should the heroes fail to gather the Guardians of Light, said concept was quietly abandoned by the FinalBattle and even after Xehanort's defeat, ended up knowing none the wiser about their status.
172	* In the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' retroactively makes Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword, this for the whole series. Despite her going to slumber at the end of the aforementioned game, the rest of the series establishes that the Master Sword has [[LivingWeapon a mind of its own]], strongly implied to be Fi herself. Fi most directly plays the minor major role in [[spoiler:''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', where in the final memory, Fi telepathically contacts Zelda from within the Master Sword, telling the latter that Link is OnlyMostlyDead.]]
173	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
174	** The Council in the first game. You report to them at the end of your mission, and that's it. The player can even invoke this by cutting them off. Even then, provided they survive the first game, they get a total of ''one scene'' in the sequel. They finally get to have a much bigger role in the third game, but even then, it's mainly the non-Council leaders who are taking the lead in the war against [[spoiler:the Reapers]].
175	** Elanos Haliat, the crime lord responsible for the Skyllian Blitz, a devastating raid that plays a part in several of Shepard's backstories (killing Colonist Shepard's family, the Blitz itself for War Hero Shepard, and the Alliance's attack on Torfan for Ruthless Shepard), and the setting as a whole. He only appears in one quest, where he gets gunned down like a punk and is never mentioned again.
176	* The Philosophers and the Wiseman's Committee in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' -- neither are important as anything other than motivation for the more plot-important characters, and the last lot [[spoiler:were dead ''for a hundred years'' (if they existed at all)]]. Also, [[spoiler:Parker and Gardner]], or "Anonymous", from ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', who never actually appear in person but drive the events of the whole plot.
177	* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has Pontiff Julius, the head of the Order of the Sacred Flame and the equivalent of the Pope. While Archbishop Josef is a major influence on his adopted daughter Ophilia, and Ophilia meets Bishop Bartolo and Bishop Donovan during her travels, she only sees the Pontiff once at the end of her journey.
178	* ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}'':
179	** The unnammed [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Glukkons]] in the Rupture Farms boardroom in the beginning and climax of ''Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee''.
180	** Also the unnamed Mudokons that go with you to save Necrum Mines (and you have to save afterwards from a Soulstorm Brew overdose) in ''Abe's Exoddus''.
181	* ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'': When speaking to the Branch Coral, it makes a point of introducing the three great creatures called the oldest, the wisest and the favorite, a trio of beings whose existences predate Headspace itself. The information seems important, but it never ends up coming into play and it's just a bunch of extraneous lore. [[spoiler:The oldest is Humphrey, who is an important character but he hardly matters to the plot, the wisest is Abbi, an OptionalBoss who was banished from Headspace before the game began, and the favorite is the Big Yellow Cat in the Neighbor's Room, who is ''literally just a piece of scenery''.]]
182	* ''VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand'' has Seth, the counterpart of [[BigGood Ursula]] that [[BigBad Hector]] intends to unseal in order to [[spoiler:[[FusionDance fuse with her]] [[GodhoodSeeker and become a god]]]]. When she's finally unsealed, she only has [[WeHardlyKnewYe one scene and line of dialogue]] before [[spoiler:Hector fuses with her to become the FinalBoss, Seth-Rah]].
183	* In both the "Dead Man's Switch" and "Dragonfall" campaigns for ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'', a representative of [[MegaCorp Saeder-Krupp Heavy Industries]] named Hans Braukhaus makes an appearance. He doesn't do much aside from provide some exposition in both cases, but it's strongly implied that [[spoiler:he's actually the Great Dragon Lofwyr, CEO of S-K and one of the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the Sixth World.]]
184	* Arpeggio of ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''. His initial appearance is a non-speaking role at the party in Rajan's "ancestral palace", his second consists of hearing his voice while Jean Bison talks to him over a speakerphone, while his third and [[spoiler:final appearance is a scene near the end of the game, where he reveals his master plan to hypnotize Paris using hypnotic lights devised by the Contessa and powered by Jean Bison's Northern Lights battery to send a Paris addled by spice sold by Dimitri, delivered by Jean Bison and produced by Rajan into a hate frenzy, in order to make himself immortal and able to fly using the Clockwerk frame. However, he is betrayed by [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Neyla]], and (apparently) dies soon afterwards.]]
185	* ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'': To say Robert Leingod's such an important figure, you see very little of him. It was his research into [[spoiler:the Time Gate]] that initiates the plot and serves as the crux of the game's narrative. But he's only seen briefly at the beginning, while he and his family are vacationing on Hyda. They get separated during the Vendeeni attack, and Robert isn't seen again until halfway through the game, just long enough to pull a HeroicSacrifice and share a few [[LastWords parting words]] with his son.
186	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': Ken Masters's only significance to the plot was being Ryu's [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] [[FriendlyRivalry and]] [[TheRival sparring partner]]. Aside from that, his role in the series was inconsequential until VideoGame/StreetFighter6 made him TheProtagonist. (Luke was hyped as the protagonist, but the plot in all modes make him a DecoyProtagonist.)
187	** By contrast, while [[TheProtagonist Ryu]] is something of a LivingMacGuffin and SupportingProtagonist, he is at the center of many major plot relevant events and has either fought, defeated, or been targeted by several major villain. Sagat strives to reclaim his former glory by defeating him, [[BigBad Bison]] wants to enslave him, [[TheDreaded Akuma]] is determined to make Ryu [[SuperpoweredEvilSide succumb]] to the [[KillingIntent Satsui no Hado]], and (by the time of ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII SFIII]]'') Oro takes a shine to him and decides to make Ryu his student. Meanwhile, Ken gets stuck dealing with [[JokeCharacter joke characters]] like Sean and Rufus.
188	** It's a telling sign when even characters such as Chun-Li, Guile, Cammy, and Rose, who each debuted as secondary characters, have all risen to prominence in the series canon. They're always directly involved in investigating Shadaloo and are frequent targets of [[BigBad M. Bison]], whereas Ken isn't even a blip on Bison's radar. The only connection Ken has with Bison is a tangential one: ''[[Anime/StreetFighterIVTheTiesThatBind The Ties That Bind]]'' sees Seth, one of Bison's backup bodies, order C. Viper to [[IHaveYourWife abduct Eliza]] in order to lure out -- you guessed it -- Ryu. Even the fact that Ken taps into the Power of Nothingness more commonly associated with Gouken and Ryu seems to go completely unnoticed.
189	** Stranger still, Rose's victory quote against Ken in ''SSFIV'' implies he'd actually play a role in the impending final battle against Bison, but come ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', it's [[spoiler:a BackForTheDead Charlie who weakens Bison just enough for Ryu to finally rid the world of the dictator's presence]], and it's Karin who's presented as the BigGood responsible for gathering all the heroes to confront Shadaloo in the first place. Ken, yet again, gets squat.
190	** However, Ryu himself becomes this trope in all of the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' games, with Alex becoming TheProtagonist in those games; he continues being this in VideoGame/StreetFighter6, the ''III'' series's direct sequel, with either Ken or a player avatar becoming TheProtagonist depending on the game mode.
191	* In ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'', fCon's CEO is never named (for some reason, he even signs his e-mails as "CEO"), is never shown (his underlings interact with him via a camera with a loudspeaker mounted on the ceiling), and only has two or three scenes despite being the person behind the whole evil plot. His three lackeys ([[AmoralAttorney Seth Crown]], [[TheCracker Esmond Baza]] and [[TheBaroness Eva Popoff]]) have much more screen time and can be considered the ''de facto'' antagonists of the game. However, note that while the CEO remains unnamed, one of his e-mails not too subtly hints that he is actually [[spoiler:[[HijackedByGanon Ed Dillinger, the human antagonist of the first film]]. This is supported by the ''Killer App'' sequel, where a shadowy human figure causing trouble for Encom is voiced by Creator/CoreyBurton, doing the same Creator/DavidWarner impression he later used in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'']].
192	* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The expansion's orc campaign plays out more like an RPG, with up to two extra characters for the first act (and one of them is entirely optional). The only one with any narrative significance is Rexxar, Rokhan having a grand total of two lines while Chen Stormstout gets none (fortunately he gets a lot more screentime in later games, including kicking an orc and a human's asses simultaneously in the Mists of Pandaria trailer).
193	* Several of the Moebius Consuls from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' had roles in the setup of the setting's ForeverWar that are not reflected in the screentime they wind up getting in the game itself. The most significant would be Consuls [[DarkActionGirl X]] and [[MadScientist Y]], who, alongside [[BigBad Z]], were the original three Moebius. Little is known as to their origins; it's unclear as to whether they were humans who became Moebius like the rest of the Consuls, or if they were [[spoiler:manifestations of human desire like Z]]. The two were instrumental in establishing the systems that would come to govern the lives of the Kevesi and Agnian colonies; the former presumably devised the colony ranking system [[spoiler:by which those colonies that do manage to reach the top Gold rank are basically slaughtered in a harvest of their life force, under [[FalseReassurance the promise that their soldiers would never need to fight anymore]]]], while the latter created the Flame Clocks. However, neither of them are given a dedicated cutscene after you do put them down; they're treated as mere obstacles that you can just walk right past as they say their last words. Additionally, X in particular [[OptionalBoss only shows up in the endgame at all]] if you already fought her as part of Eunie's Ascension Quest, meaning that it's possible to complete the game without ever even fighting her.
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
197	* At the yacht party in ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', the ship is controlled by a fake "sea captain" who memorably refuses to return to port because of "International Sea Law." His reappearance later in the story as a "bus driver" (with the same uniform!) is significant, as it points to Dennis's involvement in what the protagonist is trying to do (specifically, he's trying to stop the protagonist from reaching Barbarossa).
198	[[/folder]]
199
200	[[folder:Webcomics]]
201	* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', Baaleth the Demon of Greed. He serves to empower some Infernomancers who play a more driving role in the plot, shows up at the end of the arc to declare victory in the war, and then gets killed when Karnak blows him up with the very thing he was after.
202	* Lord Tedd from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive''. A member of his entourage is responsible for Ellen's existence, he's a presumably-EvilOverlord alternate universe version of one of the main characters, and Tedd has shown worrying signs that parallel him. He's only spoken in a few strips and hasn't been seen in years.
203	* The Headmaster from ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''. He's shown up in ''two'' chapters, and his last name was only revealed (indirectly, at that) ten chapters after the first appearance. His first name wasn't revealed until ch. 40.
204	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has Dr. Todd Lazkowicz. He was the Toughs' doctor before he died and they hired Dr. Bunnigus. It is revealed later that [[spoiler:he was working on a top-secret nanite-based SuperSoldier experiment]], which saved the Toughs on numerous occasions and helped them become recognized throughout the galaxy.
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder:Web Original]]
208	* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', Charles-Antoine Donteuil, the creator of the fictional {{MMORPG}} in which the story is set, is one of the seldom seen characters.
209	[[/folder]]
210
211	[[folder:Western Animation]]
212	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
213	** The past avatars, with only four of their names being revealed in the original show. Working backwards from Aang: it's Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen. The one before Yangchen was given the name Szeto in ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi''. ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' also namedrops one named Salai, who is apparently well-regarded by Kyoshi's friends, but no details about which nation they're from, how long ago they were active, or why they would be well-regarded are given.
214	** Many important military officers have been shown in the original, but are rarely given lines let alone names. The most prime example is during the flashback of Zuko speaking out in a war meeting which consisted of about ten high-ranking Fire Nation officers planning a battle, none of them are named nor are they seen again.
215	** In ''Korra'', Fire Lord Izumi is both the only world leader ''and'' the only one of the original series characters' SpinOffspring not to be a prominent character. Her son, General Iroh, and her father, ''[=ATLA=]'' deuteragonist Zuko, both mention her when she's relevant, but she is neither seen nor named until the final season. She and Zuko make a silent cameo at Wu's coronation, and she speaks (and is addressed by name) in a meeting several episodes later. The InUniverse reason given is that she is disinclined to be the aggressor in international affairs, given the wounds of the 100 year war are still fresh in living memory, but the real world reason is that the story didn't have room for her or the Fire Nation. The Book Four artbook states that she was originally intended to have a larger role, but that it was cut for time constraints.
216	* The Tripredacus Council in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' are the leaders of the Predacons as a whole, as opposed to the small band that serve Megatron as the show's antagonist. Their only tangible role is in Megatron and [[spoiler:[[EnigmaticMinion Tarantulas']]]] backstories, and sending one agent after Megatron in the second season finale.
217	* ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'' has the Board of Shadowy Figures, the powerful group of men secretly in charge of the school's cloning program, and who constantly have to keep Principal Scudworth in line.
218	* The Franchise/{{Transformers}}' PhysicalGod [[GodOfGood Primus]], when he appears at all, is usually a minor character, despite being responsible for keeping the universe in balance and all of that jazz. He usually doesn't intervene directly, but through objects like the [[MacGuffin Matrix of Leadership]]. [[OmnicidalManiac Unicron]], his EvilCounterpart, generally takes a more active role by comparison.
219	* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' has the BigBadDuumvirate play this role. The main plot is about [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], a single Irken agent trying to destroy/conquer Earth; his rulers, the Almighty Tallest, generally only show up when Zim calls them to brag about his "progress". They mostly just [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] and [[TheCaligula stuff their faces]], though sometimes they'll set up the plot of an episode in their attempts to [[BadBoss hurt Zim for fun]].
220	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
221	** Princess Luna in the first season. She was the BigBad of the pilot episode as [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]] and after being defeated returned to her position of co-ruler of Equestria with her older sister [[BigGood Princess Celestia]]. As Luna she got two lines and wasn't even mentioned again until the next season. She did get a focus episode in Season 2 and small parts after Season 1. She also got a rather large part in a Season 3 episode.
222	** Princess Celestia. A ruler of the whole setting, a chief BigGood and primary source on Equestrian nemeses (since she was there to personally fight them throughout the history), the premise of the show began from the moment she took on Twilight Sparkle as her student and their relationship.
223	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': While all nine of the Coven Heads have unique designs, only five of them any real characterization. The other four (Construction Head Mason, Healing Head Hettie Cutburn, Oracle Head Osran, and Potions Head Vitmir) aren't given any characterization, have no lines, and were only named through WordOfGod. Presumably, they would have all gotten focus episodes had the show not been CutShort.
224	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / MinorMajorCharacter