History Main / MookCarryover

* The mooks from ''VideoGame/SpyroYearOfTheDragon'', the Rhynocs, were used by unrelated villains in the first two ''Spyro'' games for the GBA, ''VideoGame/SpyroSeasonOfIce'' and ''VideoGame/Spyro2SeasonOfFlame''.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'', the Begnion Empire is a major antagonist for most of the game. Starting with Part 4, the war with Begnion is put on hold due to... circumstances (namely [[spoiler: a Goddess being released and turning most of the world's population to stone]]), but the new enemy faction, the Disciples of Order, has its {{Mook}}s made up of former Begnion soldiers, thanks to their bosses [[DeadlyDecadentCourt the Senators]] now serving the new villain. As you find out later, [[spoiler: Ashera can revive the Disciples of Order when they die and send them right back at you, and it's implied many of the enemies you've been fighting in Part 4 were already killed in Part 3's war.]]

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** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'': After Sledge dies (off-screen) when his ship crashes, Heckyll/Snide takes over and claims all of Sledge's minions and prisoners as his own.

* ''Star Wars: ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'', when Darth Krayt dies, the entire Sith Empire works for Darth Wyyrlok for a while.

* Officer Braca (later Lieutenant) in ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' was second-in-command to most of the series' big bads, in order. He just kept trading up.

* In the Series/ArrowVerse, Laurel Lance's Earth-2 doppelgäanger Black Siren has been TheDragon for a number of Big Bads -- first Zoom on ''Series/TheFlash2014'' before she was transferred to ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' where she served that same role for Prometheus, Cayden James, and Ricardo Diaz, before her HeelFaceTurn and becoming a semi-ally to Team Arrow.

** The Enforcers; Finn, Ratso, and Chow (and sometimes Hak Foo), who were always brought in by the current season's BigBad. Valmont, Shendu (possessing Valmont), Daolon Wong, Tarakudo, and finally Shendu's son Drago. The latter [[AvertedTrope averts it however]], by firing them not long after.

* The Beer City Bruiser took Dalton Castle's "[[PersonalMook Boys]]" after TagTeam partner Silas Young defeated Castle in Wrestling/RingOfHonor, without them dropping any of the obvious [[AgentPeacock Dalton Castle traits]], much to Young's disgust.[[/folder]]

* Jaws somehow survives being dropped into a shark tank in the middle of the ocean at the end of ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. When the original [[TheDragon Dragon]] is killed in ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'', Jaws is hired as his replacement.

* In the Series/ArrowVerse, Laurel Lance's Earth-2 doppelgäanger Black Siren has been TheDragon for a number of Big Bads -- first Zoom on ''Series/The Flash2014'' before she was transferred to ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' where she served that same role for Prometheus, Cayden James, and Ricardo Diaz, before her HeelFaceTurn and becoming a semi-ally to Team Arrow.

* In the Series/ArrowVerse, Laurel Lance's Earth-2 doppelgängerBlack Siren has been TheDragon for a number of Big Bads -- first Zoom on ''The Flash'' before she was transferred to "Arrow" where she served that same role for Prometheus, Cayden James, and Ricardo Diaz, before her HeelFaceTurn and becoming a semi-ally to Team Arrow.

** Subverted when Ba'al turns up using Anubis' [[SuperSoldier Kull warriors]] in season 8. Everybody thinks he got them in the above manner, [[spoiler:but Anubis actually isn't dead and Ba'al is under his command]].

** It's normal for a Goa'uld to take over a fallen Goa'uld's troops (even if ''he'' killed the former owner of the army. The soldiers see the Goa'uld as gods, and so wouldn't rebel against ''any'' of them.) Apophis shows up with Sokar's "Red Guard" as well as his usual Serpent Guard after he makes the rival who'd captured him pay for [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim not just shooting him]], and Hathor's second appearance has some of Apophis' Serpent Guards along with the Horus Guards you'd expect her to have. (She's known to use {{Brainwashing}}, though.)

* ''Comicbook/SuperiorSpiderMan'': After Franchise/SpiderMan [[spoiler:(ComicBook/DoctorOctopus in Peter Parker's body)]] kills members of his RoguesGallery, their surviving mooks seek employment and protection from [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn the Green Goblin]].

[[BigBad Big bads]] die. That is a fact of any story... [[TheBadGuyWins most]] [[DownerEnding of]] [[YankTheDogsChain the]] [[InvincibleVillain time.]] That being said, when the BigBad dies too early in the story's narrative, when due to the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil, a KlingonPromotion, or being on the wrong end of EvilerThanThou, it quite expected that a new guy will somehow take his place, usually with his own {{Mooks}} to do his dirty work.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':

* Throughout the course of ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', many of the mobsters' goons turn to SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker (after some "auditions").

** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has Lord Zedd usurp Rita Repulsa as the series villain, but he keeps all of Rita's old henchmen under his employ. He even upgrades the Putties to be [[EliteMooks tougher]], provided nobody hit the [[AttackItsWeakPoint obvious emblem target on their chests.]]

* Across Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-Earth, many of the same creatures that once served [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] transferred their loyalty to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] when he took over as BigBad. In this case, that would be because Sauron was TheDragon to Morgoth, so most of these minions would have been used to taking orders from him anyway. Notably, however, the EliteMooks such as the Balrog, the Dgraons, the smarter Drakes, and possibly the mysterious Vampires that are mentioned exactly twice in the Silmarillion do ''not'' switch sides, something that Gandalf mentions Sauron finds irritating. Sauron makes up for this by breeding colossal armies of individually-weak Orcs, which are both far more pliant and far less like to assert independence.

* Across Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-Earth, many of the same creatures that once served [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] transferred their loyalty to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] when he took over as BigBad. In this case, that would be because Sauron was TheDragon to Morgoth, so most of these minions would have been used to taking orders from him anyway.

* The character Ogre in ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds'' shows up in the sequel in a different chapter of the Alpha Beta fraternity. The brothers he had in the original film are all gone, apparently defeated. Although later, [[spoiler: they ditch Ogre after he's served his purpose as dumb muscle, leaving him to join the all-accepting nerds as ''their'' dumb muscle]].

* In ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'', after [[spoiler: [[EvilOverlord the Lord Ruler]]'s]] death, many of his most powerful minions, notably [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Koloss]] and [[ImplacableMan Inquisitors]], start working for new BigBad [[spoiler: Ruin]]. Justified in this case because the Lord Ruler created these beings and built a psychic "back door" into them so that he could always control them; with him out of the way, the far more powerful [[spoiler: Ruin]] was equally capable of exploiting said "door". His human minions are a much more mixed bag, with some joining the heroes and others various BigBadWannabe kings.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'' you're invoking this trope by taking control of the previous Overlord's tower and minions. [[spoiler: The final level sees him turn up to reclaim them, forcing you to regain their loyalty the old fashioned way.]] In fact there have been a whole chain of Overlords over the years, but they all use the same sort of Minions and even a couple of the same individuals. In the second game they actively recruit a new Overlord as a child and raise him to be their new boss.

!!Examples

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* ''EpicBattleFantasy'' has mooks from the first two games appear in the third game as Akron's mooks.

* In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'', Bowser encounters a few Monty moles who used to work for him. Turns out they've gone over to Fawful's side.
** This is actually a pretty common trope in the Mario series. Oftentimes you'll notice SuperMarioBros mainstay mooks working for {{Big Bad}}s that have deposed Bowser as the game's antagonist. In a variation, they may just be [[UndergroundMonkey different versions]] of these same enemies themed for the new antagonist in question.
* VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword does this retroactively, wherein Ganon's usual Moblins and Bokoblins serve as Ghirahim and [[spoiler:Demise]]'s minions instead. [[spoiler:Given that Ganon the living incarnation of Demise's hatred, this makes sense]].

** Inverted with the Shadowkhan, who are introduced as the EliteMooks of Shendu, but are revealed to have orignally served Tarakudo; Shendu basically stole them.