History Main / EternalVillain

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Humanity hasn't known about the ForeverWar between [[BigBad Salem]] and [[BigGood Ozma]] until Ironwood reveals Salem's existence to the Kingdom of Atlas in Volume 7 and then Ruby reveals her existence to the rest of the world in Volume 8. Ironwood describes her as a force of evil that can be opposed by standing united against division and negativity while Ruby describes her as an evil that humanity has been successfully fighting for centuries. By portraying her as a recurring force of evil that humanity can defeat by uniting as one against her, they convey the impression to the masses that she is a manageable threat who can be overcome in the hopes of avoiding what usually happens when select individuals have learned the [[AwfulTruth unvarnished truth]] in the past -- which is to succumb to the fear that she is an InvincibleVillain, thereby either giving up fighting her or turning on their own allies.

->'''William:''' I ''always'' come back.

* Clockwork from ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' is one to the Cooper Clan and their allies. He's an ancient criminal owl who use the PowerOfHate and cybernetics to live thousands of years just to get his revenge on the Cooper Clan for besting him in thievery. As such, he has spent generations in conflict with and killing members of the Cooper Clan, always returning to haunt the next generation.

* Ganondorf from the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' is essentially one to Link's EternalHero. This ties back into ''Skyward Sword'', where the original Demon King, Demise, cursed the royal family of what would become Hyrule and its chosen hero to be forever haunted by an incarnation of his hatred. This evil took the form of Ganondorf and as part of the curse he has lived to become an ancient, eternally reincarnating embodiment of an even older evil that eternally returns to bring ruin to Hyrule every time he shows up until Link and Zelda defeat him.

* Salem, the BigBad of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', is an immortal witch with an [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] bent and a [[RageAgainstTheHeavens grudge against the gods of the setting]] who intends to destroy the world and all of humanity to spite them. She has existed longer than the current version of humanity, and is the driving force behind many plots and {{Unwitting Pawn}}s that she uses to attempt to destroy people and the world.

* The Lich from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is this trope to many versions of hero in the show, born from the comet that destroyed the dinosaurs which was attacked by the heroic Ice Elemental Evergreen and the force of malice that destroyed the world during the Mushroom War. He eventually fought and was sealed away by one of the PrecursorHeroes Billy before getting free and entering conflict with Finn. He eventually spread across the Multiverse, and becomes a constant defeated enemy of the Finns of the Multiverse.

-->-- '''[[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]]''', ''Creator/MarvelComics''

* ''Anime/Cyborg009'': [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Black Ghost]]’s leader claims them to be this, an evil force that will continually pop back up [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil so long as humanity lusts for war]]. Sure enough, even after the FinalBattle, enough [[TheRemnant remnants]] of Black Ghost survive to reform the organization and continue menacing the world. Although in ''Anime/Cyborg009CallOfJustice'' it’s subverted, as it’s revealed that the 00 Cyborgs were eventually able to track down and eliminate every last remaining cell of the organization.

* Good old William Afton from ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' has started to cross into this through sheer [[ImplacableMan Implacability]] and JokerImmunity. The bastard has trascended life and death and keeps returning from defeat after defeat, to quote the man himself.

--->'''Freddy Krueger''': ''I. Am. Eternal.''

* Good old William from ''Videogame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' has started to cross into this through sheer [[ImplacableMan Implacability]] and JokerImmunity. The bastard has trascended life and death and keeps returning from defeat after defeat, to quote the man himself.
-> '''William''': I ''always'' come back.

-->'''Demise:''' My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again! Those like you... those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time.

Many cultures have the idea of an eternally recurring evil. A Timeless {{Archenemy}}. The Eternal Cultural Adversary. A SatanicArchetype. A GodOfEvil. Not an OrcusOnHisThrone, just a villain who keeps coming back for more. Maybe it's one baddie with multiple identities racking up an endless HistoricalRapSheet. Either they're immortal, or there's an element of returning from being [[NotQuiteDead apparently dead]] or seeming way [[OldMaster too old]] to fight to keep the conflict going ad infinitum. The reason both are included is that this trope is as old as mythology, and in its early era the concepts of TheAgeless, [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]], and [[LongLived absurd longevity]] were fairly interchangeable. Sometimes the character exists because AsLongAsThereIsEvil in the world, they will never go away becoming an AncientEvil in the process. Maybe the TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed because EvilEvolves and changes to survive and cause malice throughout time. Perhaps they exist to fulfill some concept of BalanceOfGoodAndEvil in the setting. Whatever the reason, this baddie will not stay down forever and will return in some shape or form to cause trouble for the good guys once again.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'':
** Mumm-Ra has been the evil overlord of Third Earth for generations prior to the arrival of the Thundercats, having been active ever since the place was First Earth.
** This antagonist status becomes even more personal in ''WesternAnimation/Thundercats2011'' where Mumm-Ra was the original master of ancestors of the UpliftedAnimal Races that make up the cast and has been an enemy of the cats (with the exception of the tigers) since Leo, Lion-O ancestor's, overthrew him and returned to plague Leo's descendants personally out of spite.

-->'''Demise:''' My hate... never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end! I will rise again! Those like you... those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time

-->-- ''Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse''

** Ares from ''Film/WonderWoman2017'' defended the Earth from Apokoliptian invaders, only to later turn on his brethren and spend the next millennia hiding amongst humanity. Ares would resurface during the Great War, where he'd meet his demise at Wonder Woman's hands.
** Darkseid in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' led the above-mentioned invasion of Earth thousands of years ago. His likeness would appear in at least two works of art.
** ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' the God of Lies and his weapon - the Dreamstone - have appeared at random points in history to unrelated civilisations with the promise of granting wishes, only to bring about ruin through humanity's selfishness. The Dreamstone was last sighted in 1984, while the God of Lies remains unconfirmed.

Many cultures have the idea of an eternally recurring evil. A Timeless {{Archenemy}}. The Eternal Cultural Adversary. A SatanicArchetype. A GodOfEvil. Not an OrcusOnHisThrone, just a villain who keeps coming back for more. Maybe it's one baddie with multiple identities. Either they're immortal, or there's an element of returning from being [[NotQuiteDead apparently dead]] or seeming way [[OldMaster too old]] to fight to keep the conflict going ad infinitum. The reason both are included is that this trope is as old as mythology, and in its early era the concepts of TheAgeless, [[BackFromTheDead resurrection]], and [[LongLived absurd longevity]] were fairly interchangeable. Sometimes the character exists because AsLongAsThereIsEvil in the world, they will never go away becoming an AncientEvil in the process. Maybe the TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed because EvilEvolves and changes to survive and cause malice throughout time. Perhaps they exist to fulfill some concept of BalanceOfGoodAndEvil in the setting. Whatever the reason, this baddie will not stay down forever and will return in some shape or form to cause trouble for the good guys once again.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', while being consummately "evil" may be debatable, the fifth dimensional imp Mr. Mxyzptlk claims he's been beguiling heroes with his weird games and nonsensical pranks for generations, either either thwarted or leaving on his own to torment the next goody-goody who gets on his nerves.

* All for One from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has been the setting's Symbol of Evil and the BigBad to every user of One For All, from the first wielder of One for All, his younger brother, all the way to Deku himself. Many efforts of wielders of One for All across time have been spent trying to accumulate enough power to take him down for good, and not one has succeeded as of yet and a number of them have died at All for One's hands.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

-->'''Zero:''' You never give up, do you? Even when we break you down to scraps, you always come back.
-->'''Sigma:''' That's right, folks! I'll do it again and again! I will make X and Zero mine! Now come and get me! [[BringIt Give me a good fight! Like you always do!]]

[[folder:WebVideo]]
* Happens in the case of HABIT in ''WebVideo/EveryManHybrid''. In later videos, it's revealed that HABIT hasn't just tormented the boys [[GroundhogDayLoop during their loops]], but has been tormenting them and their reincarnations since ''at least'' the 70's. Given that HABIT is an immortal body-hopper, he's been around long enough to exist in every cycle the boys go through in some shape or form.

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats}}'', Mumm-Ra has been the evil overlord of Third Earth for generations prior to the arrival of the Thundercats, having been active ever since the place was First Earth.

[[/folder]]