History Main / NoOneSeesTheBoss

* In ''MassEffect'', the Shadow Broker has never been seen by anyone--not even his closest operatives. [[spoiler:Turns out that the Broker is a yahg, a primitive species that are pretty much good at ''anything'' they care to try. He's later killed by Shepard and Liara, and to cement how good he was at his job, [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt Liara takes his place without anyone knowing there was a change.]] In fact, this is exactly how the yahg took control from the previous Broker.]]

This trope [[OverlyLongGag (which is certainly not speaking to you now)]] is a SuperTrope of TheUnseen, ThePowersThatBe, and TheMasquerade and, in fact, there ''must'' be a combination of all three for the trope to be in effect. Like the first two, the character never makes an appearance with enough weight to establish whether he's real or not, but this is done ''deliberately'' either by his {{Mook}}s or the ManipulativeBastard himself. Sometimes, the ExactWords "no one sees the boss" are used, or some variation thereof like "no one knows what he looks like" or "he may or may not exist". Any information given will usually be ShroudedInMyth like, "I heard he was born after Cthulhu raped Beelzebub and the baby clawed his way out of the womb and ate both parents' souls". Before TheReveal (if there is one), any origin will be MultipleChoicePast.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Grandia 2}}'', [[spoiler:The God of Light, Granas, has been dead for centuries and the church that supposedly worships him is actually devoted to Valmar, ''the God of Darkness''.]]

* In ''{{Grandia 2}}'', [[spoiler:The God of Light, Granas, has been dead for centuries and the church that supposedly worships him is actually devoted to Valmar, ''the God of Darkness''.]]

* In ''The PrinceOfPersia: Warrior Within'', the Empress Of Time fits this trope, since [[spoiler:her real identity is Kaileena, and her own underlings actually attempt to kill her at some points of the story.]]

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[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* In ''{{Equilibrium}}'', the "Father" who runs the entire dystopian society is revealed to have been dead for years, and his son now effectively controls everything.

* Keyser Soze from ''TheUsualSuspects'' is the "HiddenInPlainSight" variant.

* In the fourth ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', (Captain) Jack believes this to be the case when no one has seen the captain or heard him, instead taking orders from the first mate (his purported daughter), and starts a mutiny by getting the crew to realize it. Unfortunately, this backfires when it turns out Blackbeard [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szUEkiRPQwQ is in fact very much present and in command]].

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:Religion]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:Videogames]]

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* In ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', no one but [[TheDragon Hammerhead]] ever gets to meet the Big Man, New York's [[BigBad premier gang lord]]. His organization either take their orders from [[MouthOfSauron Hammerhead]] or more rarely get to talk to the Big Man over speakerphone (overseen by Hammerhead). This is because the Big Man is [[VillainWithGoodPublicity a well-known and respected philanthropist]] who can't risk ''anyone'' being able to connect him to the underworld. Subverted in season two, when the Big Man starts losing faith in Hammerhead's competence and begins meeting with his henchmen in person- causing Hammerhead to turn [[TheStarscream Starscream]] against him.

-->--''{{Revolver}}''

* Sam Gold in ''{{Revolver}}''. He ''does'' exist. Kinda. [[spoiler:But he's all in your head. Sorta. He's in ''everybody's'' heads. FromACertainPointOfView. And he's also {{Satan}}. Maybe. [[MindScrew This movie is weird like that.]]]]

* [[Literature/CatchTwentyTwo Major Major Major Major has left explicit orders that no one is to be let in to his office while he is.]]

* The mysterious boss in Fritz Lang's ''Film/TheTestamentOfDrMabuse'' who gives out his orders from behind a curtain.

* "The Colonel" in ''MetalGearSolid 2''. Specifically, at one point you're directly asked if you've ever met him in person or know any name for him besides "The Colonel". Raiden can't give a good answer, and later it's because we learn that The Colonel is essentially an AI construct who was never a real person.

* [[CatchTwentyTwo Major Major Major Major has left explicit orders that no one is to be let in to his office while he is.]]

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has a variant, with a twist: The Dai Li do this with the Earth King, in order to enforce their chief Long Feng's monopoly on his ear and control of his authority. The Gaang eventually had to fight their way into his throne room, and then found out that he didn't even ''know'' of the ForeverWar with the Fire Nation.
* [[InspectorGadget Doctor Claw.]]

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[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:Literature]]

* Another ''Pyramid'' article, "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2177 A Fistful of Tunes You Can Whistle]]" for ''{{GURPS}} {{Discworld}}'', is set in a SpaghettiWestern style town run by the barking mad Varozag family. The head of the family is never seen, but "Don Dominguo orders it!" is the standard justification for their odder demands. The article suggests that an actual encounter with the Don could serve as the climax of a scenario -- live or stuffed.

[[AC:Webcomics]]

* The mysterious boss in Fritz Lang's ''Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse'' who gives out his orders from behind a curtain.

* It's strongly implied in ''NineteenEightyFour'' that Big Brother doesn't actually exist, and is a complete fabrication of the Party.

* The villain of ''VideoGame/{{Stinkoman 20X6}}'' is always shown as a silhouette, but since that game actually doesn't have a final level, this means that we will ''never'' get to see what he really looks like.

->"No one sees Gold, but Gold sees ''everything''."
-->--''{{Revolver}}''

Hello, Troper. I see you've come to learn more about the NoOneSeesTheBoss trope. Don't worry, I can take care of that for you. While [[BlatantLies I'm not the trope you're asking about]], you can deal with me just as you would him. You see, [[SelfDemonstratingArticle no one sees that particular trope]], ''ever''.

This trope [[RunningGag (that is, the trope that is not me)]] is often used in conjunction with MysteriousEmployer, TheDon, The BigBad, The BiggerBad, The GodOfEvil, and villains which are MadeOfEvil, when the bad guy in question is TheUnseen. Supposedly, the guy exists, and [[WeAreEverywhere almost every person you see acts as his eyes and ears]]. At the same time, [[ShadowDictator no one has any idea who he is or what he looks like]], or even if "he" is really a [[ThePowersThatBe "they"]]. There are also the examples where [[TheMasquerade the Boss may want people to think he doesn't exist at all.]]

[[TheChessmaster Almost every ordeal the characters suffer through was caused, known, or controlled by him]]. Often, it's as simple as it sounds: The Boss exists, but is simply reclusive. But sometimes, the person in charge only exists as a [[LegacyCharacter title, rather than a name]] and [[LegacyImmortality is simply replaced by a successor]] if they die, [[YouAreInCommandNow step down]] or [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt are killed by said successor]]. Other times, the Boss spends most of his time as a faceless mook and is HiddenInPlainSight the whole time. And lastly, there's the version where there actually IS no Boss, and it's actually been the DragonInChief, TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness or a {{Cult}} that's been running the show by pretending to follow TheMaster's orders.

This can sometimes be used by the forces of good as well, but it's not very common. Some heroic cases where this may apply are MissionControl, TheChosenOne, TheMessiah, The BigGood or The FakeUltimateHero.

This trope [[OverlyLongGag (which is certainly not speaking to you now)]] is a SuperTrope of TheUnseen, ThePowersThatBe, and TheMasquerade and, in fact, there ''must'' be a combination of all three for the trope to be in effect. Like the first two, the character never makes an appearance with enough weight to establish whether he's real or not, but this is done ''deliberately'' either by his {{Mook}}s or the ManipulativeBastard himself. Sometimes, the ExactWords "no one sees the boss" are used, or some variation thereof like "no one knows what he looks like" or "he may or may not exist". Any information given will usually be ShroudedInMyth like, "I heard he was born after Cthulhu raped Beelzebub and the baby clawed his way out of the womb and ate both parents' souls". Before TheReveal (if there is one), any origin will be MultipleChoicePast.

Now, please write your examples below, my Troper friend. I am sure that the real NoOneSeesTheBoss trope will put them on display so fast that it'll almost seem as though he were on this page the whole time . . .

!!Examples:

[[AC:Anime/Manga]]
* L from ''Manga/DeathNote'' counts, at least for the first book. For all intents and purposes he fits as a BigGood version, but his character is pretty much fully introduced in only the second of twelve books (his name remains a mystery). Kira himself counts as this at first, since no one is sure what the hell is going on in the beginning.

[[AC:Comics]]

[[AC:Film]]
* In ''{{Equilibrium}}'', the "Father" who runs the entire dystopian society is revealed to have been dead for years, and his son now effectively controls everything.
* Sam Gold in ''{{Revolver}}''. He ''does'' exist. Kinda. [[spoiler:But he's all in your head. Sorta. He's in ''everybody's'' heads. FromACertainPointOfView. And he's also {{Satan}}. Maybe. [[MindScrew This movie is weird like that.]]]]
* Keyser Soze from ''TheUsualSuspects'' is the "HiddenInPlainSight" variant.

* In the fourth ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'', (Captain) Jack believes this to be the case when no one has seen the captain or heard him, instead taking orders from the first mate (his purported daughter), and starts a mutiny by getting the crew to realize it. Unfortunately, this backfires when it turns out Blackbeard [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szUEkiRPQwQ is in fact very much present and in command]].

[[AC:Literature]]
* It's strongly implied in ''NineteenEightyFour'' that Big Brother doesn't actually exist, and is a complete fabrication of the Party.
* The Creator in ''TheSwordOfTruth''. While the earlier books almost flat out show that he exists, later books start to imply that he's a figurative entity that has no actual consciousness, but is the essence of all good and righteousness. The same is ''NOT'' true of his [[GodOfEvil opposite]], [[DevilButNoGod the Keeper of the Underworld.]]
* In ''TheManWhoWasThursday'', the BigGood who hired all the policemen to infiltrate the anarchists has never actually been seen, allowing each policeman only one brief conversation in a darkened room. Meanwhile, no one seems to have met the BigBad Sunday at all. [[spoiler: They're the same person.]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

* {{NCIS}}: In one episode, [[spoiler:the errand boy]] is actually the boss, but nobody realises because the real boss was around, but is now [[spoiler:in a coma]].
* Robin Masters from MagnumPI, with Higgins as his front man. The last episode seemed to clear it up, but then...
* In the first half or so season of ''{{Soap}}'', the head of the Mafia was like this. (He later appeared, negating his [[BuffySpeak this-trope-ness.]])
--> "Nobody sees Mr. Lefkowitz. Not even ''Mrs.'' Lefkowitz."
* Number One in ''ThePrisoner''.
* On the Apprentice-spoof ''MyBigFatObnoxiousBoss'', the apparent boss "Mr Todd" would refer the elimination decisions to "the real boss". In the final episode, the real boss is revealed to be [[spoiler:a monkey]].
* ''Series/RemingtonSteele'': Miss Holt named the eponymous agency because she didn't think she'd be hired if people didn't believe there was a man at the helm, sending her on her assignments. This trope starts out being placed perfectly straight, but then a man actually did show up to take on the role and name.
* ''InPlainSight'', the US Marshals transport a man who is the go-between for a mysterious female assassin known as "Lola", who agreed to inform on her after being caught in a sting. It turns out [[spoiler: There is no "Lola", he is the assassin, and he let himself be caught just so he could get at a target in the jail he was being held at, confident his lieutenants would free him from the marshalls.]]

[[AC:Religion]]
* May or may not be true with every deity in every religion ever. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Only put examples here where it applies in story or adage.]]
* There's a popular adage: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn't exist."

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=4661 Supporting Cast: The Man]]", a ''Pyramid Magazine'' article for ''{{GURPS}} Voodoo''. "The Man" is a powerful crimeboss who nobody ever sees, but who controls all the gangs in the city. In fact he's a powerful spirit who manifests because people ''[[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve believe]]'' there's a hidden figure controlling crime.
* Another ''Pyramid'' article, "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2177 A Fistful of Tunes You Can Whistle]]" for ''{{GURPS}} {{Discworld}}'', is set in a SpaghettiWestern style town run by the barking mad Varozag family. The head of the family is never seen, but "Don Dominguo orders it!" is the standard justification for their odder demands. The article suggests that an actual encounter with the Don could serve as the climax of a scenario -- live or stuffed.

[[AC:Videogames]]
* In ''{{Grandia 2}}'', [[spoiler:The God of Light, Granas, has been dead for centuries and the church that supposedly worships him is actually devoted to Valmar, ''the God of Darkness''.]]
* In ''MassEffect'', the Shadow Broker has never been seen by anyone--not even his closest operatives. [[spoiler:Turns out that the Broker is a yahg, a primitive species that are pretty much good at ''anything'' they care to try. He's later killed by Shepard and Liara, and to cement how good he was at his job, [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt Liara takes his place without anyone knowing there was a change.]] In fact, this is exactly how the yahg took control from the previous Broker.]]
* In ''The PrinceOfPersia: Warrior Within'', the Empress Of Time fits this trope, since [[spoiler:her real identity is Kaileena, and her own underlings actually attempt to kill her at some points of the story.]]
* "The Colonel" in ''MetalGearSolid 2''. Specifically, at one point you're directly asked if you've ever met him in person or know any name for him besides "The Colonel". Raiden can't give a good answer, and later it's because we learn that The Colonel is essentially an AI construct who was never a real person.
* In the ''FallFromHeaven II'' mod for ''{{Civilization}} IV'', Sabathiel is never seen except by a few high priests. [[spoiler: He actually left and the priests are ruling in his name]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]
* In ''{{Vexxarr}}'', Vexxarr is arrested by some kind of AIs who unquestioningly obey the "Master", who they never disturb in case he might be in deep meditation. When Vexxarr finally talks his way into a private audience, it turns out that the Master is a skeleton sixty years dead, having died when the ship's life support was ruined in a long-ago battle.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* [[Catch22 Major Major Major Major has left explicit orders that no one is to be let in to his office while he is.]]

* The villain of [[HomestarRunner ''Stinkoman 20X6'']] is always shown as a silhouette, but since that game actually doesn't have a final level, this means that we will ''never'' get to see what he really looks like.

* L from ''DeathNote'' counts, at least for the first book. For all intents and purposes he fits as a BigGood version, but his character is pretty much fully introduced in only the second of twelve books (his name remains a mystery). Kira himself counts as this at first, since no one is sure what the hell is going on in the beginning.

* Goth, the big boss of the syndicate in ''EtCetera'', due to highly-secretive and indirect contact being enforced among the higher-ranks (in order to keep the drug operations running). As such, he isn't seen at all until the final book.

* Goth, the big boss of the syndicate in ''EtCetera'', due to highly-secretive and indirect contact being enforced among the higher-ranks (in order to keep the drug operation running). As such, he isn't seen at all until the final book.

* In ''EtCetera'', the big boss of the syndicate, Goth, is this, due to highly-secretive and indirect contacting being enforced among the higher-ranks. As such, he isn't seen at all until the final book.

->--''{{Revolver}}''

* There was a story arc in ''ThePhantom'' newspaper comic where the Phantom busted a gang whose leader spoke to his underlings via radio from a secret location and had never been seen. He turned out to be the mousy-looking accountant type who collected the gang's takings.

* [[InspectorGadget Doctor Claw.]]

* Up until the very end of Season 5, Jacob in ''{{Lost}}'' appears to give some sort of orders but is never seen. When Locke demands in Season 3 that Ben take him to see Jacob, it turns out that Jacob apparently doesn't exist at all... [[OrIsIt or does he?]]