History Main / NoOneSeesTheBoss

* L from ''Manga/DeathNote'' counts in the first volume. For all intents and purposes he fits as a BigGood version, but his character is fully introduced in only the second of twelve volumes (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.

** The World Government runs on this trope. Few have ever seen the Five Elder Stars and interacted with them, and [[spoiler:only they know Imu, their only superior, exists at all.]]

** Babs in the eighth book has the belief that "Children should be seen and not heard", therefore as she is an adult, she should be heard and not seen. Because of this, she communicates with all of her employees of an intercom system, even going as far as to never enter her own office, and instead places a intercom on her desk to speak to whomever enters.

** Babs in the eighth book has the belief that "Children should be seen and not heard", therefore as she an adult, she should be heard and not seen. Because of this, she communicates with all of her employees of an intercom system, even going as far as to never enter her own office, and instead places a intercom on her desk to speak to whomever enters.

** Crocodile, [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Hero of Alabasta]], turns out to be Mr. 0, leader of the Baroque Works organization, fomenting revolt. We, the audience, know this right away, but InUniverse agents of his organization are kept in the dark, only receiving orders through TheDragon, Miss All-Sunday. The fact that Vivi, an infiltrator to Baroque Works, learned this information(which she relays to the Straw Hats and the audience) is why she's marked for death by the organization.

* ''Manga/OnePiece''' has a few examples:

* There's a popular adage: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn't exist." That specific phrasing was popularised by ''[[Film/TheUsualSuspects]]'', but [[https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/03/20/devil/ it's actually]] a [[OlderThanTheyThink much older idea]].

* There's a popular adage: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn't exist." That's actually from ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters'', though the idea may have been kicking around before that specific work.

* The BigBad of the fifth part of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'', [[spoiler: Diavolo]], is this trope embodied, to the point where he uses the name 'the Boss' [[TheParanoiac and is absolutely obsessed with remaining unseen]]. This trope is basically what the character is based around. [[spoiler:This is deconstructed in the non-canon ''Literature/PurpleHazeFeedback'' after he's killed. [[TheHero Giorno]] takes over as boss, and pretends that he was the boss all along. [[ElCidPloy Turns out that if no one knows what you look like, anyone can impersonate you...]]]]

* In ''Literature/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.]]

* In the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse Section 31'' novels, the eponymous organisation is run by a figure called Control, who only appears to the Directors, and even then only as a {{Sinister Silhouette|s}} generically-humanoid hologram with a disguised voice. It's generally believed by the Directors that one of them could eventually succeed to the position, but further research suggests that this has ''never'' happened. [[spoiler: Control is actually a three-hundred-year-old AI data monitoring program that decided "report any suspicious activity to appropriate authorities" wasn't enough of a response.]]

* ''Series/AgentsOfShield'': The mysterious mastermind behind Project Centipede, known only as The Clairvoyant. He seems to live up to the name, staying several steps ahead of the SHIELD agents as if he can read their minds and foresee their actions. The Clairvoyant never meets anyone in person, giving orders to Centipede operatives only by telephone or text message. [[spoiler: In reality, he is a turncoat SHIELD agent with high-level security clearance, which he uses to read SHIELD's files (including the psychological profiles, mission reports, and planning documents of other agents).]]

* ''Series/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 marshals.]]

* ''Series/Loki2021'': The [[TimePolice Time Variance Authority]] is run by "The Time-Keepers", three mysterious beings who oversee the proper flow of time. While they appear in artwork throughout the TVA's offices and orientation videos, the only person allowed to meet with them in person is Judge Ravonna Renslayer. After being captured Loki and Sylvie are finally granted an audience with the mysterious beings. The Time-Keepers turn out to be [[RoboticReveal elaborate animatronics]] acting as a front for [[spoiler: "He Who Remains", a Variant of [[Characters/KangTheConqueror Kang the Conqueror]]]] who's the [[TheManBehindTheCurtain real creator]] of the TVA.

* In one episode of ''Series/MissionImpossible'', the IMF infiltrate a conspiracy of former Nazi leaders intent on establishing a Fourth Reich, allegedly lead by a bedridden official from Hitler's original Third Reich, whose bed is obscured by a curtain and who always gives orders through his [[TheDragon Dragon]]. [[spoiler: When it turns out the leader is just a dummy and a series of tape recordings, Rollin poses as the official (claiming to be recovering from his illness) in order to drive a wedge between the dragon, who knows the man doesn't exist and that Rollin can only be an impostor, and the rest of the conspiracy, who do not, and believe that the dragon is irrationally attacking their beloved leader.]]

* In the ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven II'' mod for ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} IV'', Sabathiel is never seen except by a few high priests. [[spoiler: He actually left and the priests are ruling in his name]]

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Mr House runs New Vegas with a force of Securitron robots and the three tribes brought in to run the casinos, following his edicts from the sealed tower of the Lucky 38 casino. Even when the Courier becomes the first person to enter the Lucky 38 in memory, House communicates with them through a computer console. This leads to some of House's disgruntled underlings to refer to him as "Mr. Not-At-Home." [[spoiler: If the player decides to break in to his chamber and kill him, the Courier discovers a withered husk of a man who has been in suspended animation for 200 years.]]

* "The Colonel" in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. 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 it's because [[spoiler: The Colonel is essentially an AI construct who was never a real person]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/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.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Grandia II}}'', [[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''.]]

* ''Manga/OnePiece'''s Crocodile, [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Hero of Alabasta]], turns out to be Mr. 0, leader of the Baroque Works organization, fomenting revolt. We, the audience, know this right away, but InUniverse agents of his organization are kept in the dark, only receiving orders through TheDragon, Miss All-Sunday. The fact that Vivi, an infiltrator to Baroque Works, learned this information(which she relays to the Straw Hats and the audience) is why she's marked for death by the organization.

* The BigBad of the fifth part of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'', [[spoiler: Diavolo]], is this trope embodied, to the point where he uses the name 'the Boss' [[TheParanoiac and is absolutely obsessed with remaining unseen]]. This trope is basically what the character is based around. [[spoiler:This is deconstructed in the non-canon ''LightNovel/PurpleHazeFeedback'' after he's killed. [[TheHero Giorno]] takes over as boss, and pretends that he was the boss all along. [[ElCidPloy Turns out that if no one knows what you look like, anyone can impersonate you...]]]]

** Count Hassildor of Skingrad in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' is famously reclusive, unusually LongLived, rumoured to be a [[BenevolentMageRuler powerful sorcerer]], and [[HundredPercentAdorationRating well-loved by his subjects]] despite his isolation. His affairs are managed by his stewards, who are quick to remind people that he doesn't take visitors. When the player persists in requesting a meeting, it's revealed that the Count is actually [[spoiler:a vampire, but a good guy and a conscientious ruler nonetheless]].

* The unseen head of SPECTRE in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' and ''Film/{{Thunderball}}'', whose identity is concealed even from his own criminal executives (but not his RightHandCat). The following film ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' had Blofeld's identity revealed to the audience, and he works among hundreds of mooks who see his face without a care.

[[folder:Fan-Fiction]]

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

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* "The Colonel" in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2''. 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 it's because [[spoiler: The Colonel is essentially an AI construct who was never a real person]].

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', the Shadow Broker has never been seen by anyone--not even his closest operatives. [[spoiler:Turns out that the Broker is a LegacyCharacter, the current iteration being 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 ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s [[MultiMookMelee Salmon Run]] mode, [[MysteriousEmployer Mr. Grizz]] is portrayed as just a bear statue with an antenna on it, and the player never gets to see who is ''really'' speaking through said statue.

%%* May or may not be true with every deity in every religion ever. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment Only put examples here where it applies in story or adage.]]

* ''Manga/OnePiece'''s Crocodile, [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Hero of Alabasta]], turns out to be Mr. 0, leader of the Baroque Works organization, fomenting revolt. We, the audience, know this right away, but InUniverse agents of his organization are kept in the dark, only receiving orders through TheDragon, Miss All-Sunday.

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Mr House runs New Vegas with a force of Securitron robots and the three tribes brought in to run the casinos, following his edicts from the sealed tower of the Lucky 38 casino. Even when the Courier becomes the first person to enter the Lucky 38 in memory, House communicates with them through a computer console. [[spoiler: Deciding to break in to his chamber and kill him, the Courier discovers a withered husk of a man who has been in suspended animation for 200 years.]]