History Main / MakeWayForTheNewVillains

** Spike gets similar treatment in this a quarter into season four where he returns ready to cause trouble for Buffy, only to be tasered and captured by members of the Initiative. He escapes from them in the next episode, but has [[RestrainingBolt a chip planted in his head to make sure he can't harm the heroes again]], which wound up sending him directly into [[BadassDecay a certain other trope.]]

* The ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series has this happen a couple of times. The first was [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Maleficent]] from [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]] being ousted (but not killed) by Organization XIII in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''. Then played with in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth By Sleep]]'' where we find out that she was slightly manipulated by [[BigBad Xehanort]] (of whom the leader of Org. XIII, Xemnas, is his Nobody) who told her about the Princesses of Heart. Then in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'' [[spoiler: the trope happens again with both Xemnas and "Ansem" Seeker of Darkness (the Heartless of the aforementioned Xehanort and ''other'' BigBad of the first game) being DemotedToDragon to Xehanort]]. And even in [[RuleOfThree the first game]], Maleficent herself was manipulated by Xehanort's Heartless. Chances are that in these games it's ether this trope or HijackedByGanon with Xehanort.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' begins its second season with a species called the Kroloteans secretly infiltrating Earth, before they're finished off by an unknown "Competitor" after three episodes. [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] because these new foes are actually allies of [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness the Light]], the previously-established BigBad of the series.

* In the DLC of ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', Mother does this ''unintentionally''- when she uses her powers to enact a {{Gendercide}} of men, she winds up vaporizing Boxxyfan, the Big ad for much of the series, as well, just before he is able to put the final phase of his plan into motion.

* In the first route of Hentai RPG ''[[Creator/AliceSoft Sengoku Rance]]'', shit hits the fan after all the gourds break. TheLegionsOfHell [[TheWorfEffect Worf]] every unconquered house in a dozen or so turns. You then have to capture international territories [[ChokepointGeography at the far end of the map]] before you can have a go at the TrueFinalBoss. At that point, all you can do is [[SaveScumming reload your save]] and hope the RandomNumberGod rolls in your favor.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In the United States at least, social isolation and other countermeasures to the [[ThePlague Covid-19 pandemic]] largely eliminated the 2020 flu season. Most people would have preferred to ''not'' have to deal with the new villain to get this result.

[[/folder]]

** The Daleks were also subject to this in the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, as they end brutally killed by Krotons. Yes, Krotons. Make way for the [[NotSoHarmlessVillain sixties monsters only remembered as a joke]]...

Contrast HijackedByGanon. See also VilerNewVillain.

[[folder:Western Animation]]

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' reveals that [[spoiler:TheIlluminati, the antagonist organization of VideoGame/StreetFighterIII, was involved in the events that led to the final end of Shadoloo]].

* In the buildup to the Great Darkness Saga in the ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' (which Keith Giffen also worked on -- he seems to love this trope), previous {{Big Bad}}s Mordru and the Time Trapper are found beaten and helpless to show how bad [[spoiler:{{ComicBook/Darkseid}}]] is.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', the "evil monkey" getting a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown from Dylan [Brian's son] is a clear case of this. While [[spoiler:the monkey later turns out to be a nice guy]], up until that point he had been a villain, albeit minor. And, in that episode, the point was to show that Dylan was going to be harder to deal with than the monkey.

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'''s expansion pack, ''Opposing Force'', has both the Black Operations and the Race X aliens do this. The Black Operations(despite appearing a few times in the main game) are another clean-up crew sent in to silence everyone(including the ''first'' clean-up crew, the HECU) and destroy Black Mesa, while the Race X are another group of aliens who are invading Earth to harvest its minerals, and they also have a bone to pick with the already-invading Xen aliens.

** Despite supplying the page quote, [[spoiler:Anakin killing Gunray and his minions]] in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' could be seen as an inversion of this. It was a prequel after all, so it was more like Make Way for the Old Villains... but well in the story's timeline he is the newer villain.

** The antagonists of ''Film/Godzilla2014'' are two [=MUTOs=], which are able to bring Godzilla to his knees. When Ghidorah is unleashed in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters'', its roar and power compels numerous Titans to obey it as their Alpha, including another MUTO.

** An enormous Skullcrawler serves as the BigBad of ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', so powerful that it killed both of Kong’s parents and comes very close to killing Kong himself. In ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'', an equally massive Skullcrawler is released in the APEX facility, but it gets overpowered in seconds and sliced in half by [[spoiler:Mechagodzilla]].

* An enormous Skullcrawler serves as the BigBad of ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', described as so powerful that it killed both of Kong’s parents. In ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'', an equally massive Skullcrawler is unleashed in the APEX facility, but it gets overpowered in seconds and sliced in half by [[spoiler:Mechagodzilla]].

* For Wrestling/{{AEW}}'s first year, the Wrestling/InnerCircle was the main villainous stable in built around inaugural AEW Champion Wrestling/ChrisJericho. Since then several more have been formed and surpassed including Wrestling/ThePinnacle after MJF tried to turn Santana, Ortiz and Jake Hager against Chris Jericho and failed.

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' loved to do this. [[ArchnemesisDad Arthur]] announced his presence by killing [[AGodAmI Adam]], and shortly afterward killing [[MindRape Maury.]] Arthur, in turn, was killed off by [[SerialKiller Sylar]], who had previously disposed of [[FourEyesZeroSoul Bob]]. Then [[KnightTemplar Danko]] was killed by [[KnifeNut Edgar]] on behalf of [[ManipulativeBastard Samuel]]. And that's not even counting all the minor villains killed by Sylar.

->'''Nute Gunray''': The war is over! Lord Sidious promised us peace! We only wanted--\\
''[Anakin kills Gunray]''
-->-- ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/RevengeOfTheSith''

* ''Series/TheOutpost'': When Season 2 introduces [[BigBadDuumvirate The Three]], the leaders of the Prime Order, they quickly exert their authority by punishing Ambassador Dred (the BigBad of Season 1) [[YouHaveFailedMe for his failures]] and taking over as the central antagonists.

** As soon as The Three are introduced early in Season 2, they have Dred imprisoned [[YouHaveFailedMe for his failures]] and take over as the central antagonists.
** Come Season 3, and the Three are quickly ousted from power by [[spoiler: Yavalla]] and the United, who steal their kingdom out from under them.

* ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATime'': This was invoked by Ricky Sionis (Black Mask II) in the previous timeline. When he arrived to Gotham, one of the first things he did was murder the Penguin, the last active surviving member of the original Batman's RoguesGallery, to establish his credibility.