Line #73 Main/TheGroup


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6	Basically, a sub-trope of NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast that applies specifically to a group or organization, as well as the SuperTrope under which several others fall (such as AncientConspiracy and GovernmentAgencyOfFiction).
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8	The Group does not have any proper nouns in its name. This is meant to convey just how ancient, mysterious, clannish, secretive, powerful, and connected it is. It is not "The Silford Group". It is simply...''The'' Group. The Group is typically some form of Ancient Conspiracy, [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Government Agency]], or [[TheSyndicate Very Powerful Crime Syndicate]]. Even more likely, The Group will be some combination of some or all of the above, such as an ancient and extremely highly-trained order that traces its origins back to the time when it was an [[AncientEgypt Egyptian mystery religion]], today [[MurderInc has deadly assassins]] and TheMenInBlack counted among its many agents, is technically an ancillary [[TheGovernment part of the United States government]] and, oh yeah, manages [[TheSyndicate a large underground criminal empire as well]].
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10	If there's a {{Masquerade}} going on in your world, The Group is, ''de rigueur'', the first ones in and the last ones out to deal with anything related to it. If it gets [[BrokenMasquerade broken]], that's on them. Even if The Group is evil, which they may well be, they may often try to cover up TheMasquerade in an attempt to utilize whatever it is for their own ends, and thus do the world some good by keeping it ignorant and safe. Whether it is [[FunctionalMagic mystical, supernatural, or horrific beings, creatures, phenomena]] or {{MacGuffin}}s, [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum things of alien origin]], [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual superhumans and related paraphernalia]], [[AppliedPhlebotinum examples of advanced technology]], [[TimeTravel time travelers and the difficulties they create]], [[MonsterOfTheWeek various types of monsters, demons]], or whatever other GreenRocks or {{Weirdness Magnet}}s may be around in a world, you can be assured The Group will be there to either [[HunterOfMonsters hunt and destroy them]], try to [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate and use them]], or [[TheWatcher simply watch and contain them]]. Oh, and it should go without saying that if anyone is in charge of The Group, yes, it will be an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness.
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12	It's also entirely possible to have ''two'' Groups in the world. Often, they will be fighting a war in the shadows, this will be the basis for an {{Arc}} (story or myth), typically with one fighting behind the scenes to protect the world, and the other secretly trying to destroy or corrupt it. The Group may be several decades old (for example, formed around UsefulNotes/WorldWarII or the UsefulNotes/ColdWar), several hundred years old (for example, dating from around the time of the [[{{Steampunk}} Industrial Revolution]] and the [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution French Revolutions]]), several thousand years old (originating in AncientRome, UsefulNotes/AncientGreece, or AncientEgypt), as old as human civilization itself (as soon as one cavemen invented fire, two others got together on the other side of the cave and whispered to each other that they had better keep an eye on this, and thus The Group was born), or [[TimeAbyss older than time itself]] (humans may serve The Group, but some very definitely ''[[EldritchAbomination non-humans]]'' founded, and control, it).
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14	----
15	!!Examples:
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17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' has The Syndicate, a group of Mars-base Chinese [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Triads]] which employed series protagonist Spike Spiegel as a hit man and also employed BigBad Vicious [[spoiler:up until the point that he took over the organization and turned it into his own personal army to satisfy his BloodKnight appetites]].
21	%%* ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' also has The Syndicate.
22	* Les Soldats from ''Anime/{{Noir}}'' technically counts, since it's just [[GratuitousFrench French]] for "The Soldiers". It's also a textbook AncientConspiracy.
23	[[/folder]]
24
25	[[folder:Comic Books]]
26	* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'', with the titular superhero group.
27	* The Council in ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 Bronze Age comics]], a villainous super-secret organization based in Chicago and dedicated to controlling the world's exchange of information. Some of their operatives were a super-villain team known as The Gang.
28	* The Enclave: A group of criminal scientists in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
29	** The Committee: A criminal organisation from the same.
30	** The Conclave: ComicBook/TheAvengers foes. A shadow cabinet made up of members of every U.S. government organization.
31	** The Corporation: Nationwide business-like criminal organization. Foes of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and the [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]], amongst others.
32	** The Cabal, a group of several powerful supervillains and antiheroes, and EvilCounterpart to The Illuminati.
33	** Magento's organization was just called The Brotherhood for a while. After it abandoned [[ObviouslyEvil The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants]].
34	* The Fraternity from ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}''; while the movie has an organization of AntiHero JerkAss assassins, the original comicbook has full on amoral supervillains.
35	* ''ComicBook/SinCity'' has "The Guild", a group of assassins who also deal in the Black Market.
36	* The ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse has a few such organizations:
37	** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has a crime syndicate named the Organization, though their leaders don't see it as a proper name:
38	--->"Names are needed to distinguish things, Paperinik. We have no need of them. We are ''unique''!"
39	** ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' has ''four'': the secret services known as the Agency (for short, the full name being "[[LampshadeHanging Agency So Secret It Doesn't Even Have a Name]]") and the Direction, and the crime syndicates known as the Organization (distinct from the PKNA one, and [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope its namesake]], though only the original founders were aware of it]]]]) and the Direction.
40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Fan Works]]
43	* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''/''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/TheVampireOfSteel'', Linda Danvers mentions one of her enemies is a criminal society known as The Council.
44	* The ''Fanfic/CoreLine'' setting has The Foundation, which is the result of both [[Series/KnightRider The Foundation For Law And Government]] and [[Series/MacGyver1985 the Phoenix Foundation]] pooling their resources (and getting assistance from people like [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Optimus Prime]], now the Governor For Life of the State of Michigan) because individually they were too under-powered and under-gunned to make any change on the titular WorldGoneMad. While many other organizations in the setting have the name "[Something] Foundation", the moment you hear "'''[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The]]'''" Foundation is out to get you, you should ''seriously'' think about pulling stakes and running.
45	* ''Fanfic/LittleHnadsBigAttitude'': The ThievesGuild named just "The Guild" is the most mysterious organization in the fic, even moreso than [[GovernmentConspiracy GUN]]. They somehow know about top secret military projects, adopted an alien for the sake of putting her to work, move bases every few months, refer to each other by codes, and nobody really knows who they are. The military doesn't even know they ''exist''.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
49	* The Division in ''Film/{{Push}}'', who are a MutantDraftBoard looking to harness all of the powered people of the setting as human super weapons.
50	* The Order from ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'' are a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of the Freemasons as they were commonly thought of in Victorian times, being a shadowy group of influential men at the highest reaches of power engaging in mysterious, weird rituals. It's gradually taken over by a powerful and charismatic DarkMessiah who has returned from the dead and is demonstrating his power to such an extent that almost the entire country is utterly terrified of him. However, it's ultimately a complete deconstruction, as the Order is largely presented as a bunch of superstitious and largely ineffectual old men who are utterly caught up in their own mythology [[spoiler:to the extent that they'll let the so-called DarkMessiah, in fact a complete charlatan, seduce them with a theatrical manner and some admittedly pretty clever conjuring tricks. Hey, this is ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes''; as if he wasn't going to be DoingInTheWizard]]. It's also an excuse for them to have orgies, apparently.
51	* The "Human Project" in ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'' are a group of scientists dedicated to curing infertility, supposedly based in the Azores. They are secretive to the point of being a myth.
52	* The Group from ''Film/{{Munich}}'' and ''Sword of Gideon'', an all-pervasive criminal organisation whose basic role is that of TheFixer. What they do is pay ordinary people a lot more money to do their job for an illegal purpose. Got a body in a hotel room that needs to be disposed of? The hotel staff will carry it out in a cleaning trolley, then pass it on to an undertaker who'll bury it in one of his graves.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Literature]]
56	* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' has The Party. (It also has The Brotherhood, but they're not working against the protagonist.)
57	* In the Creator/AnneRice books, it's The Talamasca. "We watch, and we are always there."
58	* Creator/BentleyLittle has a whole slew of novels like this. The Store, The Association, etc. They are all horror.
59	%%* The Organization from ''Literature/{{Fearless}}''.
60	* The Majestic 12 from ''[[Creator/MatthewReilly Scarecrow]]'', the 12 richest men who secretly run the world for their own profit.
61	** An earlier Creator/MatthewReilly book ''Area 7'' had Die Organisasie (The Organisation in Afrikaans), a group of South African leftovers from Apartheid.
62	* The Shop, from Creator/StephenKing's CanonWelding crossover-verse which ties all of his fiction into Franchise/TheDarkTower [[TheVerse universe]].
63	* The villainous secret organisation from the Literature/MediochreQSethSeries is known only as The Organisation Which I Represent.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
67	%%* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' has both The Others and the Dharma Initiative.
68	%%* The Committee from ''VR5''.
69	* ''The Dominion'' from ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' has the right sort of name (although, so does ''The Federation'', come to think of it), and they were definitely a mysterious powerful organization in the first few seasons. ''Section 31'' is the clandestine intelligence agency in the Federation that has been around from the beginning. ''The Circle'' was a short-lived Bajoran political party/terrorist organization/Cardassian front. Not to mention the Obsidian Order of the Cardassians, and Romulan Tal Shiar.
70	%%* The Centre, of ''Series/ThePretender''.
71	%%* ''Series/WildPalms'': The Fathers.
72	%%* ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. The Company.
73	%%* ''Series/TheXFiles''. The Syndicate.
74	* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
75	** The N.I.D. According to [[AllThereInTheManual the RPG sourcebook]] it stands for National Intelligence Department.
76	** And later, the Trust, a group of incredibly powerful industrialists [[spoiler:that was taken over by the Goa'uld]].
77	* Bureau Thirteen in ''Series/BabylonFive''. Heard of once in the episode ''Spider In The Web'', then never heard from again.
78	%%* ''Series/{{Alias}}'' had the Alliance and later the Covenant.
79	* Parodied by the Agency from the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] series ''Series/TheInvisibleMan''. It's a secret government agency that [[OddlySmallOrganization consists of about five (visible on-screen) people]], and because of this is prone to being transferred around between various departments of the US Government, as well as suffering from budget cuts. About the only thing they have going for them is that the titular invisible man works for them.
80	%%* The Ring from ''Series/{{Chuck}}''.
81	%%* DSD (Defense Security Division)/Bradenhurst Corporation in ''Series/{{JAG}}''.
82	* Anthony Perish and Tony Mokbel refer to their criminal organisations as The Company in Underbelly: Badness and Fat Tony & Co, respectively.
83	* "The House" from ''Series/ThePlayer''.
84	* ''Series/TheOrder''. Sure, it's The Order of the Blue Rose, but... The Order.
85	* The Kray brothers' Firm is parodied by ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' with the equally vicious but none-too-bright Piranha brothers, who start a racket called the Operation. It takes them three tries to figure out that they should threaten ''to'' beat up victims if the victims ''don't'' pay protection money, leading to the Other Other Operation.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
89	* Compared to The Second City Saints ("honorable" wrestlers who watched each others backs), The Prophecy (destroy Wrestling/RingOfHonor and [[InTheirOwnImage remake it in the image]] of Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels), Special K (do as many drugs and get as many other people hooked on them as possible), The Christopher Street Connection (get the tag team titles on Mace and Buff E, and be really gay while doing it), "The Group" stood out not only for their simplistic name but also their simplistic purpose, [[OnlyInItForTheMoney to take ROH's money]]. Whether or not they were worse than anyone else is a matter of debate, except for The Prophecy, who proved EvilerThanThou and forced The Group to disband after it took two of its members.[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
92	%%* The Agency in ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}''.
93	* The Directive, a shadowy intelligence organisation from the ''TabletopGame/{{Aberrant}}'' role playing game.
94	* ''SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'' has the organized crime group The Organization, run by the archvillain simply known as The Chairman. In a game that has you fighting mad scientists, killer robots, alien warlords and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking little girls]], he's one of the hardest enemies.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Video Games]]
98	* The Cabal in ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}''. Known more properly as the Cult of Tchernobog, but more often called just Cabal.
99	%%* ''VideoGame/TheClub''.
100	%%* ''VideoGame/TheConduit'' has The Trust.
101	%%* The Enclave from ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''
102	* The Exchange from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', [[TheSyndicate an interstellar criminal organization]], although in at least one incident in ''The Sith Lords'' they work under a [[PaperThinDisguise non-too-subtle]] cover organization called "The Bumani Exchange".
103	* The Order in ''VideoGame/{{Freelancer}}''. [[spoiler:Subverted in that they're actually the good guys, fighting off a race of shapeshifting aliens called the Nomads.]]
104	%%* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes / Villains'' has The Family.
105	%%** And the Council, the Cabal, the Banished Pantheon, the Lost, the Minions of Igneous and the Midnight Squad.
106	* The ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' video games have the International Contract Agency, which is usually known as just The Agency. Although they're the organization the protagonist works for, they're morally ambiguous enough to count. A competing group from ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'' is The Franchise. In [[{{Film/Hitman}} the first movie]] the group is called The Organization.
107	* The Organization from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', a strange, powerful cult that has produced the superhuman Gill, is never really given a name in the Japanese, though it is sometimes referred to as the Illuminati in English.
108	* The Agency from the ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' series of games, which served under The Consortium. After [[spoiler:the protagonist becomes the new leader at the end of the [[VideoGame/SyphonFilter3 third game]]]], it gets [[ConspiracyRedemption reorganized]] into the International Presidential Consulting Agency... which still doesn't have any proper nouns.
109	* The Foundation in ''VideoGame/TheSufferingTiesThatBind'', which seems to be a paramilitary organization hell-bent on [[spoiler:capturing Malefactors and supposedly researching them]]. They also have an unhealthy interest in [[AntiHero Torque]], [[spoiler:because they work for [[EnemyWithin Blackmore]]]].
110	* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'', before their true scope and motives were revealed, [[StandardEvilOrganizationSquad Organization XIII]] were simply referred to as "the Organization".
111	* The [[SpaceX Star]] Cabal in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', a shadowy organization that butts heads with the Imperial Agent throughout their storyline. The Cabal is revealed to have been manipulating events since not long after the Great Hyperspace War (ca. 1200 years before the game) and several characters from other class missions have cameos among their ranks, [[ParanoiaFuel leaving it ambiguous how much they actually did]] in the interest of their long-term goals.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Web Originals]]
115	* ''WebVideo/ArbyNTheChief'': [[BigBad Eugene]] states his ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' clan has no name to keep them from attracting attention. Doesn't stop them from wielding [[MilkmanConspiracy an exorbitant amount of influence]] though.
116	%%* ''WebVideo/TheGuild''.
117	* In the Website/SCPFoundation universe, the titular globe-spanning supernatural containment organization is often referred to as simply "The Foundation." The full name is rarely used, both within and without the organization.
118	** One of the supernatural groups of interests is called The Factory. They make supernatural and often commercial objects on an industrial and global scale, yet their activity has never been directly observed, only indirectly found. It is not known by any other name.
119	* Subverted in the ([[AudienceAlienatingEra much maligned]]) second installment of Literature/{{Zoofights}}, where the team of contestants known simply as The Institution was among the most noble and heroic teams.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Web Video]]
123	* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}'' in their ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'' episode:
124	-->'''Graham Stark:''' The more generic the name of the department, the scarier it is.
125	-->'''Paul Saunders:''' If it was just "The Department", you just run.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Western Animation]]
129	* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'', the Forever Knights were originally called The Organization.
130	* ''WesternAnimation/HuntikSecretsAndSeekers'': The main villainous faction of the first season is known simply as "The Organization".
131	* The Centre from ''WesternAnimation/MartinMystery'' is a clear cut [[HeroesRUs heroic example]].
132	* In early episodes of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the organization Perry the Platypus works for is known simply as The Agency. In later episodes it's officially known as O.W.C.A., the [[FunWithAcronyms Organization Without a Cool Acronym]].
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Real Life]]
136	* The Company (referring to the CIA) and The Bureau (referring to the FBI). Of course, it's only used when their motives are ''secret''...
137	** The Farm is where the Company trains its agents.
138	* Israel's famous intelligence agency, the Mossad, simply means "the Institute" in Hebrew.
139	* The highly secretive US special forces known as formerly known as the [[UsefulNotes/TheModernDayRambo Intelligence Support Activity]] is often called simply The Activity.
140	* "The Hansa" was a trading conglomerate that dominated trade in northern Europe in the late Middle Ages. The word "hansa" is Old High German and means something like "group", "band", "association" or "entourage".
141	* "The Firm" was the name of the gang led by the twin brothers Ronnie and Reggie Kray, the most powerful and brutal [[LondonGangster London gangsters]] of the 1960s.
142	[[/folder]]
143

Context Main / TheGroup