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4[[quoteright:275:[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_freddy_collection_6480.jpg]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:275:"One, two, Freddy's coming for you"... again, and again, and again...]]
6
7->''"If you continue with the villain as the center of the story, which is certainly the ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Nightmare]]'' paradigm, you simply have to introduce a new set of victims every time. And after a while that becomes quite repetitive when you have no real story continuity except the villain. So then you sort of have to continue to concoct things like Freddy's youth or Freddy's this or that...but I think it gets stretched thinner and thinner."''
8-->-- '''Creator/WesCraven''', discussing the potential pitfalls of this trope.
9
10A franchise linked by a recurring villain. The heroes and the locations may change or be dropped, but the central link remains the villain. The villain is frequently the BigBad of the franchise and most or all of its installments, though this doesn't have to be the case to qualify for the trope.
11
12This is not the same as a franchise with a VillainProtagonist, which may introduce a whole new set of heroes with each installment, but usually keeps the villain as the protagonist.
13
14This trope is very popular with the SlasherMovie genre, probably because the heroes can die off in the end without ruining the series. Often though, the villain will appear to die at the end, to allow closure to the series if another one is not made. TheEndOrIsIt ending optional. Naturally, JokerImmunity is in full force. There are a few iconic horror ''heroes'', like [[Literature/{{Dracula}} Dr. Van Helsing]], but they're usually a lot less prominent and iconic than their respective villains. [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]] may be the only real exception. This is also a guaranted trope of the MascotHorror genre in VideoGames.
15
16The trope's idea started with Pulp novels and villains like Literature/FuManchu or Literature/{{Fantomas}}.
17
18If the franchise is named after the villain, do not confuse this with AntagonistTitle. If the villain themselves appears as a mascot, they are a MascotVillain. While the recurring villain in a Villain-Based Franchise usually features as the VillainAntagonist in the individual installments rather than as an outright VillainProtagonist, they are still the overarching main character in the series ''as a whole'', disqualifying them from this trope.
19
20----
21!!Examples:
22
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26* The ''Anime/TimeBokan'' series has the most focus on the villains than the heroes. The Doronbo Gang from ''Anime/{{Yatterman}}'' in particular serve as the mascots for the whole franchise.
27* Although most of the ''Franchise/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' spin-off works have at least something to do with the protagonists of the main show, this is not always the case. For those works, the presence of [[spoiler:the Incubator HiveMind aka Kyubey]] is by necessity what links them together, as [[spoiler:they have to be there to make the characters {{Magical Girl}}s and [[DespairGambit manipulate them into falling to despair]], which is the focus of the franchise]].
28* ''Kichikujima'' has the family of cannibal mutant Cultists the most prominent being Kaoru,his father Yoshikazu,and his sister Mari appearing in the prequel series Zoumotsujima and other spin-offs.
29* The plot of ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' is driven by its [[AntagonistTitle titular]] BigBad, Johann Liebert, for whom said nickname is ''[[TheDreaded very]]'' [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast well-earned]].
30* ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' does have recurring heroes and side characters with their own story arcs, but the show never focuses ''solely'' on one of them, while every single episode focuses at least somewhat on Li'l Slugger/Shonen Bat, the serial assaulter. (As well as [[ShowWithinAShow fictional character]] Maromi, [[spoiler:because it's eventually revealed that they are basically the same thing, or at least connected phenomena]].)
31* ''Manga/{{Tomie}}'', by Creator/JunjiIto, is this kind of series. The only truly recurring character across the various story arcs is Tomie herself, a seemingly demonic teenage girl whose very presence causes other people to fall madly in love with her and eventually kill her, over and over again.
32[[/folder]]
33
34[[folder:Comic Books]]
35* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': ComicBook/TheJoker had a short comics series of his own in the 1970s.
36* ''Franchise/DoctorWho'': The BBC attempted to give the evil Daleks their own spinoff in TheSixties, but all it ended up amounting to were a few Dalek comic books, including the comic strip ''ComicStrip/TheDalekChronicles'' in the ''TV Century 21'' magazine.
37* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': The series took a stab at this after a storyline in which ComicBook/DoctorOctopus [[spoiler:successfully pulled a GrandTheftMe on Peter Parker]], resulting in the book being retooled into ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan''. As with Lex above, the [[StatusQuoIsGod reset button]] was eventually pushed on this, but Marvel milked a couple of years worth of stories and plenty of outrage sales out of the stunt.
38* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': Following ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'', the Superman[=-=]based title ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' was retooled to star Superman's ArchEnemy ComicBook/LexLuthor, even being billed as ''Lex Luthor's'' Action Comics. This lasted about a year and followed Luthor's quest at godhood, which culminated in him [[spoiler:actually getting it only to lose it when a condition of the godhood was that he couldn't use his new power to harm Superman]].
39* ''Comicbook/TheTombOfDracula'': The series stars {{Dracula}}, of course.
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
43* ''Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon'':
44** Franchise/DisneyVillains.
45** When ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' failed, the Horned King became the only character from the film to ever appear in the merchandise.
46** Although ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' did fine at the box office, this has definitely happened with Cruella de Vil. Since the original release of the animated film, she's become a BreakoutCharacter of [[Franchise/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians the franchise]]. When [[Film/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians1996 the 1996 live-action film]] came along, Cruella de Vil was treated as the starring role and the central character, with Creator/GlennClose's name written in big letters on all the posters, and the 2021 prequel was outright titled ''Film/{{Cruella}}''. There's also a Broadway musical, and again Cruella (played by Creator/RachelYork) was treated as the starring role.
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
50* ''Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes'' and its sequel, ''Film/DrPhibesRisesAgain''. Each gives the eponymous abominable doctor played by Creator/VincentPrice a new nemesis, with the only other recurring characters being [[ThoseTwoGuys a pair of ineffectual detectives]].
51* The ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise are all linked by the titular alien species that serves as the villains. While the original film series all featured Ellen Ripley as the protagonist, the introduction of the prequels, without Ripley, turned it into a villain-based franchise. The aliens also provide the villains in the ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' series since the Predators are the LesserOfTwoEvils between them--as murderous as they are, they can at least potentially be reasoned with.
52* Film/ArtTheClown is a character created by Damien Leone as the villain of the short films ''The 9th Circle'' and ''Terrifier'', later compiled into the GenreAnthology film ''Film/AllHallowsEve'', followed by the feature film ''Film/{{Terrifier}}'' and [[Film/Terrifier2 its sequel]]. Played by Mike Gianelli in the short films and David Howard Thornton in the feature films, Art is a MonsterClown slasher villain characterized by BlackComedy, the brutality of his kills, and his MonsterMisogyny.
53* The ''Franchise/ChildsPlay'' series featuring Chucky, a KillerDoll possessed by the spirit of the SerialKiller Charles Lee Ray. Like with Freddy Krueger in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'', Chucky has been voiced by Creator/BradDourif in every film barring the [[Film/ChildsPlay2019 2019 remake]], which cast Creator/MarkHamill. Notably, the series itself calls them "Chucky movies"; every film after ''Film/ChildsPlay3'' has been titled some variation of "''[blank] of Chucky''", and the TV series is titled simply ''Series/{{Chucky}}'', largely due to a [[https://screenrant.com/chucky-childs-play-movie-rights-mgm-universal-mancini/ complicated legal tangle.]][[note]]Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer owns the rights to [[Film/ChildsPlay1988 the first movie]] and the ''Child's Play'' title, but Don Mancini owns the rights to the sequels and the franchise. This is why the [[Film/ChildsPlay2019 2019 remake]] had to heavily alter Chucky's backstory, as using the one from the films would have run up against Mancini's property.[[/note]] The later films ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' and ''Film/SeedOfChucky'' added a secondary villain in Chucky's lover Tiffany, voiced by Creator/JenniferTilly. The first three movies featured a central hero, Andy Barclay, but after the commercial failure of the third movie it was decided to retool the franchise into this (though Andy has returned in the more recent films as an adult after being PutOnABus through the 2000s).
54* The ''Film/DoctorMabuse'' series is one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook, starting before talkies.
55* The ''Film/FinalDestination'' series, where the recurring villain is Fate or Death itself. There are only two recurring characters: William Bludworth, who functions primarily as a creepy MrExposition for the doomed heroes in each film, and [[Film/FinalDestination1 the first film]]'s FinalGirl Clear Rivers, [[spoiler:who [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome gets killed off]] in [[Film/FinalDestination2 the second film]]]].
56* Music/RobZombie's "Firefly Trilogy" of ''Film/HouseOf1000Corpses'', ''Film/TheDevilsRejects'', and ''Film/ThreeFromHell'' has the Firefly family, a family of [[HillbillyHorrors backwoods]] {{serial killer}}s based on the Sawyers from the below-mentioned ''Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre''. Notably, it's a franchise in which they were elevated to outright {{Villain Protagonist}}s by the second movie.
57* The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' series featuring Jason Voorhees. [[Film/FridayThe13th1980 The first movie]] did not have Jason as the killer, but his [[AxCrazy crazy]] [[MamaBear mom]] instead, while [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning the fifth movie]] features a JackTheRipoff killer imitating the dead Jason. Even so, however, Jason is so deeply associated with the series that the titles of the last ''three'' films before it was [[Film/FridayThe13th2009 remade]] (''Film/JasonGoesToHellTheFinalFriday'', ''Film/JasonX'', and ''Film/FreddyVsJason'') don't even have the full title of the series in them -- but ''do'' prominently feature Jason's name, such that the series as a whole is often called simply "the Jason movies" without any confusion as to what the person using the term is talking about. Otherwise, the closest thing the series had to a recurring protagonist was Tommy Jarvis from the [[Film/FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter fourth]], [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVANewBeginning fifth]], and [[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIJasonLives sixth]] films.
58* ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'', on the occasions that he's a villain.
59* The ''Film/{{Hatchet}}'' films have Victor Crowley, who is notably played by Creator/KaneHodder, the most famous of the various actors/stuntmen to play the aforementioned Jason Voorhees. While the first three films do have a recurring [[FinalGirl heroine]] in Marybeth Dunston, she was [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] in the second film (with Creator/DanielleHarris replacing Creator/TamaraFeldman) and is outright gone from the fourth film [[spoiler:outside TheStinger]], while Hodder played Crowley through all four films. The fourth film, in fact, is simply titled ''[[AntagonistTitle Victor Crowley]]''.
60* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' trended this way with the later films, with the dinosaurs, particularly carnivores like the ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'', as the iconic villains. The series does have recurring characters like Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, Ian Malcolm, Owen Grady, and Claire Dearing, but they don't appear in every film.
61* The titular [[ZombieApocalypse Living Dead]] are the only common link in the Film/LivingDeadSeries by Creator/GeorgeARomero and John Russo, as well as ''Film/TheReturnOfTheLivingDead'' by Russo (a spinoff that takes the original ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' as a form of FictionAsCoverUp) and ''Film/{{Zombi 2}}'' by Creator/LucioFulci (an independent film that was marketed as an unofficial sequel to ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978'', which was [[MarketBasedTitle titled]] ''Zombi'' in Italy).
62* The ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' series featuring Michael Myers. Laurie Strode and Dr. Sam Loomis did serve as heroes for most of the series, but Laurie was absent from the [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers fourth]], [[Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers fifth]], and [[Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers sixth]] films (the "Curse of Thorn" [[AlternateContinuity timeline]]; all of these, incidentally, had Michael Myers' full name in the title), while Loomis was absent from the ''[[Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater H20]]'' timeline (which also includes ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'') and the ''[[Film/Halloween2018 2018]]'' timeline, save for a flashback in ''Film/HalloweenKills''. Notably, Creator/JohnCarpenter originally wanted to avert this and turn ''Halloween'' into a GenreAnthology series, making the third movie, ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'', about a wholly separate story from the first two. Fan and critical backlash to that film caused him to sell the rights to Moustapha Akkad, who brought Michael back with the fourth film, titled ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' to signify that The Shape was returning. After that, there was no looking back.
63* The ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'' films eventually became one of these as they focused more on [[EnsembleDarkhorse Pinhead]], played by Creator/DougBradley for eight films, from [[Film/{{Hellraiser}} the original]] up until ''[[Film/HellraiserHellworld Hellworld]]''. The series did initially have a recurring protagonist in Kirsty Cotton, but she was PutOnABus after [[Film/HellboundHellraiserII the second film]] and only brought back with the sixth film, ''[[Film/HellraiserHellseeker Hellseeker]]'', [[spoiler:as [[FaceHeelTurn a villain]]]]. Bradley eventually left the series when the poor quality and AshcanCopy nature of ''[[Film/HellraiserRevelations Revelations]]'' proved to be too much even for him to take, though the part was simply [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] from there and the series kept going.
64* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' with the titular sharks. While the series did have some recurring characters like the Brody family and Mayor Larry Vaughn, the recurring plot element in each film was a ThreateningShark attacking a seaside resort and eating people, and some of the sequels either imply or explicitly state that their killer sharks are related to the one from the original.
65* The ''Film/{{Leprechaun}}'' series with the titular character, played by Creator/WarwickDavis in every film except the 2014 reboot ''Film/LeprechaunOrigins'', and the continuity ignoring sequel to the original film ''Film/LeprechaunReturns'' from 2018.
66* The ''Film/ManiacCop'' trilogy featuring Matt Cordell, a deranged former cop who now kills innocents instead of protecting them.
67* Angela in the original ''Film/NightOfTheDemons1988'' was just another demon-possessed person. In the [[Film/NightOfTheDemons2 second]] and [[Film/NightOfTheDemons3 third]] films, she is the leader of the demonic debauchery.
68* The ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' series featuring Freddy Krueger. While the series did have recurring heroes in Nancy Thompson in the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 first]] and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet3DreamWarriors third films]] and Alice Johnson in the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet4TheDreamMaster fourth]] and [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet5TheDreamChild fifth]], Freddy is the common denominator throughout the series; like with ''Child's Play'' and ''Friday the 13th'' above, they are often called "Freddy movies". Furthermore, unlike some horror franchises, it features the same actor recurring as the villain throughout. Excluding the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 2010 remake]] (which cast Creator/JackieEarleHaley), Creator/RobertEnglund reprised his killer role as Freddy Krueger in all eight original-series films.
69* The ''Film/{{Phantasm}}'' series featuring the Tall Man. Though the heroes return as well... sort of.
70* The ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' films all feature at least one member of an alien species that serves as the villain. The ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' movies also feature them.
71* The sequels to the original ''Film/PromNight1980'' tried to become one with [[Film/HelloMaryLouPromNightII Mary-Lou Maloney]]. She was dropped from [[Film/PromNightIVDeliverUsFromEvil the fourth movie]].
72* The ''Film/PsychoCop'' duology with Joe Vickers, a Satan worshipper who kills anyone whom he deems to be guilty.
73* ''Literature/TheRing'' has its famous StringyHairedGhostGirl, known as Sadako Yamamura in the original book and the Japanese films and Samara Morgan in the American films.
74* The ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise is centered around the PoeticSerialKiller Jigsaw, who puts people into {{Death Trap}}s and gives them a chance to escape before death claims them. He serves as the main plot driver for the first three movies, then [[LegacyCharacter his apprentices and a copycat take his place]].
75* The ''Film/{{Scream}}'' franchise [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zags]] on this trope. On one hand, the series has a collection of recurring heroic characters like Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, and (starting with [[Film/Scream2022 the fifth film]]) the Carpenter and Meeks-Martin siblings, and the villain Ghostface is a LegacyCharacter, with the films all having different killers taking up the persona. On the other hand, [[VillainsActHeroesReact the plot of each film is entirely driven by the actions of the villain]], and Ghostface's [[IconicOutfit iconic white mask, black robe]], hunting knife, menacing voice (provided by Creator/RogerLJackson in each film, justified in-universe by the killers using [[VoiceChangeling voice-changer devices]] to mask their identity), and M.O. of making {{Harassing Phone Call}}s are constant throughout the series and collectively treated as a character in their own right. In fact, when ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' made a ''Scream''-inspired expansion, all they had to do was license the costume (the rights to which are held by a separate company) rather than the movies themselves and create their own original killer inspired by the films, such is Ghostface identified with the series.
76* ''Film/{{Shocker}}'' featuring Horace Pinker was an attempt to create one, but [[StillbornFranchise low sales ended these plans]].
77* The lesser-known ''Film/SleepawayCamp'' series. Notably, the killer's identity is the subject of [[TheReveal the big twist]] in the first film (and a famously shocking one at that), but in the [[Film/SleepawayCampIIUnhappyCampers second]] and [[Film/SleepawayCampIIITeenageWasteland third]] films, [[spoiler:Angela's face]] is [[LateArrivalSpoiler put right up on the posters]].
78* ''Film/TheStepfather'' films with Jerry Blake.
79* In a way, the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' series, with [[AIIsACrapshoot Skynet]]. The movies do have central protagonists in John Connor and his mother Sarah, but not only is the villain always a Terminator KillerRobot -- even if it's not one that looks like Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger -- but some media only feature said machines.
80* ''Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre'' has Leatherface and, more broadly, the entire Sawyer family, the CannibalClan he serves as TheHeavy for, hunting down and butchering their victims. The series as a whole is known for not really caring about continuity beyond treating [[Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974 the first film]] as canon, but the lone constants throughout the series are Leatherface and the Sawyers.
81* ''Film/{{Tremors}}'': While Burt Gummer is a recurring character in ''most'' of the franchise, he cannot really be said to be the primary one. The Graboids and their different life cycles are the center of attention.
82* Franchise/UniversalHorror as a whole is an entire [[TheVerse universe]] composed of multiple Villain-Based Franchises, with the monsters having been marketed together by Creator/{{Universal}} ever since TheForties. They eventually tried to revive the concept as a ModularFranchise with the Film/DarkUniverse, though ''Film/TheMummy2017'' intended to lead off the franchise, instead [[StillbornFranchise strangled it in its crib]].
83** ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', with a host of books and movies based off the bloodsucking fiend. The most famous examples include the Universal films starting with ''Film/Dracula1931'', and the Film/HammerHorror films starting with ''Film/HorrorOfDracula''. In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', the Count is the titled SociopathicHero protagonist [[spoiler: who ends up victorious, lampshading the whole 'Dracula returns' at the end.]]
84** ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'' is a similar case, with Universal's [[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} 1931 adaptation]] spinning off a series of horror films that may or may not have featured [[MadScientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein]] or his descendants, but ''always'' featured [[FrankensteinsMonster the Monster]] front and center. This trope is best evidenced by the fact that people frequently refer to the monster himself as "Frankenstein", even though [[IAmNotShazam that was the name of his creator]]. (The movie ''Film/IFrankenstein'' had it both ways and had the monster take on Frankenstein as his last name, seeing the man who created him as his 'father'.)
85** ''Film/TheMummy1932'' and its quasi-remake in 1940, ''Film/TheMummysHand'', the latter of which spawned multiple sequels. The titular {{mummy}} was named Imhotep in the original (which the [[Film/TheMummy1999 1999 remake]] also used) and played by Creator/BorisKarloff, and named Kharis in ''Hand'' and its sequels and played by Creator/LonChaneyJr, but the BroadStrokes are similar enough that ''Hand'' is often mistaken for a sequel.
86*** The Kharis series ''did'' have a few recurring characters other than Kharis himself, with the human heroes of ''The Mummy's Hand'' returning in ''The Mummy's Tomb''... only to [[BackForTheDead get killed off]] to make way for a new generation of heroes. There was also Andoheb, TheManBehindTheMan to Kharis, who appears throughout the series, but is much less recognizable, and, well, the movies aren't named after him.
87** ''[[Film/TheInvisibleMan1933 The Invisible Man]]''. Technically a LegacyCharacter, as the title character in ''Film/TheInvisibleManReturns'' was a different person, but the common denominator in both films is a man who turns invisible and uses the freedom offered by his new power to go on a rampage.
88** There were three ''Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' films, all of which had the Gill-man (played by Ricou Browning in the underwater scenes) and no other returning characters.
89* The ''Film/{{Warlock|1989}}'' trilogy featuring the titular character. The origin stories of the character in each film are too inconsistent for it to be the ''same'' Warlock however, making it more a LegacyCharacter.
90* The ''Film/{{Wishmaster}}'' series is centered around an [[JackassGenie evil genie]], although the one in the third and fourth movie seems to be a different Djinn from the one in the first and second.
91[[/folder]]
92
93[[folder:Literature]]
94* The ''Night of the Living Dummy'' series from the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' books.
95* ''Franchise/HannibalLecter'', who became more and more the protagonist as new books came out, though he suffered from BadassDecay. Downplayed, to an extent, as he was never the out and out BigBad of ''any'' of the novels; he was a supporting antagonist in ''Literature/RedDragon'', an EvilMentor in ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', a LivingMacguffin in ''{{Literature/Hannibal}}'', and finally the protagonist in ''Literature/HannibalRising''. There's yet to be a BigBad in the Hannibal series who [[spoiler: survives the end of the novel.]]
96* Sax Rohmer's Literature/FuManchu series -- sure, Fu's nemesis Nayland Smith was in all of them, but who got title billing?
97* Literature/{{Fantomas}}, from the series of French pulp novels written by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre (and later by Allain alone after Souvestre's death) starting in 1911.
98* A lot of the Old Republic era of the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse is linked by the Sith. In recent years, [[HijackedByGanon practically every villain in every era has been a Sith.]]
99* An in-universe example is the fictional Emperor Zhark series mentioned in the Literature/ThursdayNext books.
100* ''Literature/DisneyChills''' main draw is the Disney Villains, as each book stars a different one and more often than not they end up winning.
101* ''Literature/DeGriezelbus'': Onnoval and Beentjes are the only characters to appear in every book. The main protagonists are different groups of children. A few characters like Eddy C. and Liselore do reappear in later books.
102[[/folder]]
103
104[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
105* ''Series/SeigiNoSymbolCondorman'': Condorman may be TheHero and [[ProtagonistTitle title character]], but the Monster Clan get an equal amount of focus to him in most episodes. In fact, both the opening and ending themes are devoted to the Monsters and feature them prominently.
106[[/folder]]
107
108[[folder:Multiple media]]
109* ''Film/{{Scream}}''
110** The franchise became a clear-cut example of this with its [[Series/ScreamTheTVSeries TV adaptation]]. As noted above, the films on their own zig-zag this trope, featuring several recurring characters while Ghostface is a LegacyCharacter. However, the only thing linking the TV series to the films is the presence of a killer named Ghostface who wears a white mask and black cloak, uses a hunting knife as a weapon, and taunts victims through {{Harassing Phone Call}}s before attacking them. It was especially the case with the reboot ''Series/ScreamResurrection'', which not only brought back the original Ghostface mask from the films (the prior two seasons used a different mask due to copyright issues) but also brought back the original voice of Ghostface, Creator/RogerLJackson, while remaining in a wholly separate continuity.
111** Interestingly, ''Scream''[='=]s in-universe counterpart, the ''[[ShowWithinAShow Stab]]'' series, ''is'' an example. The ''Stab'' movies were initially based on the events of the ''Scream'' films (specifically Gale's TrueCrime books about them), but after [[Film/Scream3 the third]], [[FinalGirl Sidney]] sued to stop them from using her story as further inspiration for lurid slasher flicks. And so, starting with ''Stab 4'', the Ghostface identity became the only recurring character.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
115* Wrestling/KaijuBigBattel's BigBad Dr. Cube is also the most recognized figure in the promotion. This is partially because his helmet is the logo. [[spoiler:Though he eventually dies]].
116* The Fuyuki Army promotion was a bit of a mixed bag. The intent was pretty clear, given that it was an Wrestling/{{FMW}} {{spinoff}} and the wrestler it centered around, Kodo Fuyuki, was on his way to a TyrantTakesTheHelm plot in FMW, but fans who better knew Fuyuki for his work in Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling were likely to cheer for him.
117* Wrestling/{{WCW}} tried to do one with the Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldOrder}}Wo, to turn it into its own brand. However, people started to view the nWo as boring {{invincible villain}}s at the time, so giving them their own show where surprise, surprise, the nWo won every match, turned out to be a turn off to many viewers.
118* ''Wrestling/WWERaw'' from 2002 until 2005 with Wrestling/TripleH.
119* While the joshi fed GAEA was active, Mayumi Ozaki waged a personal war against it and founded an "Oz Academy" in 1998 to train new wrestlers to help her in this cause. When Chigusa Nagayo opted to discontinue GAEA and retire however, {{passing the torch}} to Meiko Satomura, Mayumi turned the Oz Academy into its own full-fledged promotion to rival Meiko's GAEA successor, Sendai Girls.
120* Kai En Tai, a power stable with the humble origin of menacing Wrestling/MichinokuProWrestling later expanded into the United States via Wrestling/{{ECW}}'s bWo Japan, which lead to one half of the stable's Dream Chasers TagTeam, Wrestling/TAKAMichinoku, founding a "KAIENTAI Dojo" in Puerto Rico during the year 2000. A year after ECW closed, TAKA returned to Japan and started running his own shows with the students from said dojo.
121* The Apache Army, a promotion primarily made up of former Wrestling/{{FMW}} wrestlers that primarily invaded other promotions while FMW was inactive.
122* Los Perros Del Mal, a CardCarryingVillain PowerStable who operated in Wrestling/{{CMLL}} and Wrestling/{{AAA}}, later founded their very own wrestling promotion, named after themselves, Perros Del Mal Producciones. They remain the bad guys even on their own show.[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Video Games]]
125* The ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' series has a different KidHero each game, but [[UpliftedAnimal evil genius monkey]] Specter is always the villain.
126* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' is linked by its main villain Dracula. This even extends to ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'', which are set in the future after Drac being KilledOffForReal. Who is the player character? [[spoiler:His reincarnation!]]
127* ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' is based upon the eponymous [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils demon lord]], who always seems to return to threaten the fate of the world. ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' and ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' bring in the other six Great Evils for some scheming of their own, but Diablo's still the one to take center stage by the end.
128* The ''Franchise/FarCry'' series, starting from the third game, began angling its advertising around each installment's villain, emphasizing their charisma and sociopathy. Their popularity is so great that by ''VideoGame/FarCry6'' an entire DLC is centered around getting to play as the villains of the third to fifth games.
129* The ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' series has a different protagonist for (almost) every game, but the villains are always animatronics and occasionally humans, but the award has to be given to [[AntagonistTitle Freddy Fazbear]] or [[BigBad William Afton]].
130** Freddy Fazbear is of course the titular character, who has the biggest amount of counterparts and appears in every game, no matter if he's [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2 withered]], a [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 hallucination]], or a [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4 dream]].
131** William Afton, on the other hand, kickstarted the entire franchise and has been linked to every single entry in the franchise (with one, non-canon exception). While he took the role of the BigBad in only three games (and he's part of the BigBadDuumvirate in one of them), he's without a doubt one for the entire series, with every single event being linked to him. Not to mention his JokerImmunity, a contrast to Freddy, who's been KilledOffForReal as early as the third game and had different counterparts replace his role.
132* With the exception of [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 the fourth game]] (though they still influence the plot to a degree), ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' centers around the Umbrella Corporation and its successors.
133* The heroes asking the question cycles depending on the series, but they're ''always'' asking the question "Where in |the World/America/Time/Hell/etc.| is Franchise/CarmenSandiego?"
134* [[AIIsACrapshoot SHODAN]] is so synonymous with the ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' series that the second game featured her on the cover despite her mere presence in the game being a massive spoiler [[ItWasHisSled at the time]]. Years later, SHODAN's voice would be one of the very first things revealed for the third game.
135* In one way or another, the main stories of the ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' and ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting'' series seem to revolve around Geese Howard. By the time ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters [[DreamMatchGame 2002]]: [[UpdatedRerelease Unlimited Match]]'' comes around, he's also present in that as a secret boss, out-bossing a considerable cast of {{SNK Boss}}es. Also, in ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNKMillenniumFight2000 Capcom vs. SNK]]'', [[MemeticMutation Geese is Ratio 6]] when fought as a boss, since you fight him twice as Ratio 3, when the highest a character goes in the game, [[Franchise/StreetFighter Akuma (Gouki)]] as a secret character, is Ratio 4.
136* The most iconic characters in the ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' franchise are Heihachi and Kazuya Mishima, who alternate between the roles of BigBad and VillainProtagonist depending on the game. Heihachi is the only character to be playable in every instalment, and appeared as a GuestFighter in ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburII'', while Kazuya represents the series in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
137%%* ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries Command & Conquer: Tiberium]]'' revolves around Kane.
138* Every ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' game in the Dark Seeker Saga (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' to ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII III]]'' and every spin-off or side game released in-between) is linked by Master Xehanort, an elderly Keyblade master who just won't stay dead, and his many incarnations. He's even the VillainProtagonist of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Dark Road]]'', and his influence lingers beyond the saga's events in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory Melody of Memory]]''. Whether a new villain will antagonize the next several games or if the series will move on to one-off villains is yet to be seen.
139* The ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series is a special case. None of the heroes ever return, but the BigBad from [[VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings the first one]] reappears in [[VideoGame/EarthBound1994 the next one]], in which a [[TheDragon Dragon]] for him is introduced. [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Mother3 The third one]] then features only TheDragon from the second one, since the original BigBad was killed in the second game.]] A couple of characters ([[WildMassGuessing how many exactly depends on the player]]) from the second game appear, though, and Ness, the hero from it, is referenced a lot.
140* ''VideoGame/TheTaleOfAlltynex'' of course focusing on the malevolent A.I. Alltynex.
141* ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'': While MonsterClown Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane is the SeriesMascot, in-game he is only one of many playable drivers. Narrative-wise, the most important character in ''Twisted Metal'' is Calypso, the nefarious host of the tournament, as some version of him is always present, being the common link between all of the drivers' stories.
142* The main focus of the ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' series is its resident StringyHairedGhostGirl[=/=]WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Alma.
143* In its final years, the arcade division of Creator/{{Irem}} produced several post-apocalyptic action games whose only real link was the villains, a terrorist organisation know as the "Dark Anarchy Society". The games part of this universe are (in order) ''Air Duel'', ''VideoGame/UndercoverCops'', ''VideoGame/FireBarrel'', ''VideoGame/InTheHunt'' and ''Gunforce II''.
144* The ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'' series is an interesting case. The title character starts out as a villain in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' (with Mario aka Jumpman as the hero), reappears as DistressedDude in ''Donkey Kong Jr.'' (with Mario as the villain) and again as a villain in ''Donkey Kong 3'' (with Stanley as the hero). Later he becomes the hero in the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry'' series and [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 several]] [[Videogame/DonkeyKongJungleBeat other]] [[VideoGame/DonkeyKonga games]]. Meanwhile, the protagonist from ''Donkey Kong'', Mario, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros got his own spin-off series named after himself]]. Donkey Kong reappears as a villain in the ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong'' series, but this time his opponent Mario is in every one of the games.
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148* The ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' series centers around its villains, many of them as the result of progressing insanity. Also an example of a VillainProtagonist, not that the characters themselves realize it until it's too late. [[spoiler:Though subverted as it is mainly because of a HatePlague, with the BigBad causing it not being revealed until the end of the seventh chapter.]]
149* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' has Monokuma, the sadistic robot KillerTeddyBear who pushes the cast of each game into killing each other. [[spoiler:[[TwoAliasesOneCharacter By extension]], Junko Enoshima is [[HijackedByGanon often revealed as the main antagonist]] of each entry in the Hope’s Peak Saga, and the main recurring character- every other villain often has some connection to her]]. In ''Anime/Danganronpa3 Side:Future'' and ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'', [[spoiler:even though Junko is dead/[[ShowWithinAShow fictional]] respectively, [[GreaterScopeVillain her influence still lingers on]], with the anime mastermind having been corrupted by a [[TheMole minion]] of her and the V3 mastermind being a LoonyFan of her]].
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153* ''Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos''. Many authors, many situations, one HumanoidAbomination.
154** Its spin-off, ''Franchise/TheFearMythos'', features roughly twenty additional [[EldritchAbomination abominations]] running around causing havoc.
155* [[http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2012/12/slasher-horror-vs-survival-horror.html This post]] from Creator/CTPhipps' blog Blog/TheUnitedFederationOfCharles goes into detail on the subject. He specifically describes it as the difference between [[SlasherMovie Slasher Horror]] and SurvivalHorror; the former is about the villains killing people in creative ways, while the latter focuses on the heroes fighting for survival. While he prefers survival horror, and thinks that the worst slasher horror can run afoul of the EightDeadlyWords as the audience lacks any reason to care about the people dying, he thinks the slasher approach has merit as well, especially when it comes to creating memorable, personal villains.
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158[[folder:Western Animation]]
159* Each season of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has a plot that focuses almost entirely on [[AIIsACrapshoot XANA's]] schemes, attacks and evolution. Which is kind of ironic, considering he is [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen never actually seen or heard in person]].
160* ''WesternAnimation/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' couldn't exist without the eponymous killer tomatoes.
161* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiralZone'', the name of the show itself is the thing that the heroes are trying to fight; a SyntheticPlague[=/=]FogOfDoom created by [[MadScientist Overlord]] to TakeOverTheWorld.
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