Just a Face and a Caption: Hidden Villain

Nothing to gain from this image.

Temp-locking until the backlog clears out some more.

Re-opened. The pic is completely non-illustrative and could be for any number of tropes other than this one.

So it should be pulled regardless of replacement?

No, IMO. It's extremely weak and should probably be replaced, but not by nothing.

edited 27th Dec '15 1:28:22 PM by rodneyAnonymous

There was this animated show where we see the villain only from behind sitting in his chair watching a monitor. Anybody know?

Ah, yes. Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget.

Edit: My bad. I keep forgetting that hotlinked images aren't allowed here.

edited 27th Dec '15 3:30:51 PM by Komodin

This dude◊? Couldn't find any good quality images, though.

I claim that's not a ninja because I got my link to work first.

edited 27th Dec '15 3:30:20 PM by AnotherDuck

Claw isn't mentioned on the page and I don't think he counts for the trope.

^ Fair enough. What's the trope applying here?

As I understand it, the villain's identity is completely unknown but his presence is felt, and he has to be revealed at some point. IIRC, Claw remains The Faceless throughout Gadget's run and he's known to be the Big Bad from the get-go.

^ The description mentions The Faceless as one way of hiding the villain.

Yes, but that's not what I was getting at.

Would Oberhauser◊ from Spectre qualify?

So this is like Palpatine in the prequels? pick out the bad guy in this?

This one's a bit texty, but here's the Adversary from Fables.◊ I'd use just panel 2.

My new understanding of the trope is that The Faceless must be "unmasked" at the end. Thus, an image merely showing the villain in his hidden state is informing only half of the trope and might lead to misuse.

edited 28th Dec '15 7:35:08 PM by Karxrida

^^ Here's an attempt at capturing that idea.

^ Haven't seen the movie. Could this be considered a spoiler?

edited 29th Dec '15 4:49:41 AM by eroock

Who he is would be a spoiler. The fact that he's the villain is not.

I believe that particular facial reveal is in the ads, so it's not really a spoiler. With a good caption, that suggestion works for me.

I don't see the problem with the current image. The ominous feel suggests it's a villain, and it's clearly shot in such a way that the creators are clearly obscuring his or her identity. It's a good illustration.

... of The Faceless. The ark of a Hidden Villain is wider as it includes his uncovering. The idea is to find a illustration that doesn't give away the impression both tropes can be used interchangeably.

While it's almost inevitable that a Hidden Villain will be revealed, it's not a part of the trope definition. A Hidden Villain who never gets revealed is still a Hidden Villain.