History Main / NonActionBigBad

** [[spoiler:Imu, the man in command of ''them'', is not allowed to go out and fight either, because him being in charge of the World Government goes against its very tenets that no one man could rule the entire world; him trying anything in person would risk blowing a civilization-shattering secret wide open. Thus, in a subversion Imu only showed an ability to command arrow-like shadows when Sabo intruded in his and the Elder Stars' assasination of King Cobra]].

* Nearly all the main villains of ''Film/Dune2021'' and ''DunePartTwo'' (Baron Vladimir Arkonnen, the Emporer and [[spoiler:the Bene Gesserit]]) don't participate in any of the movies' physical conflicts with the protagonists and let their soldiers or [[TheDragon trusted henchmen]] do the fighting while their villainy consinsts of plotting and manipulating their enemies and allies alike.

** ComicBook/LexLuthor most of the time. He does have a [[PoweredArmor battlesuit]], but he tends to get in fistfights a lot less than he uses his ManipulativeBastard and CorruptCorporateExecutive aspects.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsons'', the classic 90's arcade game, the main villain is Mr. Burns whose decrepitude has long been a running joke in the cartoon. When you face him as the FinalBoss, he fights from inside a MiniMech. Once you destroy the mech, he goes down in a single hit.

** The BigBadDuumvirate of ''Film/TheRaid2Berandal'', are the [[TheEvilPrince spoiled mob prince]] Uco and the ruthless [[AmbitionIsEvil up-and-coming]] fixer Bejo, who [[EvilCripple walks with a cane]]. As in the first movie, most of the villainous ass-kicking is done by underlings: in this case, the CarnivalOfKillers under Tejo's command. There's also the [[CorruptCop corrupt police commissioner]] Reza, a very important character who gets very little screen time and is almost a LivingMacGuffin, and when we do see him, he's a pretty nondescript and unimposing old man.

* {{Downplayed|Trope}} in ''Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation''. Solomon Lane is the only villain in the series that doesn't engage in hand-to-hand combat with Ethan. Nonetheless, he usually makes an effort to be on-site whenever an EvilPlan is being carried out, even if his minions are doing the actual work, just to make sure everything goes according to plan. [[RankScalesWithAsskicking He is also a decent shot and sometimes carries out murders on his own]]. [[spoiler: In the finale, he chases Ethan down [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} Terminator-style]], only to find he was lured into a trap and is captured.]] This fully averted in sequel ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'', where he personally ambushes and captures [[spoiler: [[ActionHero Illsa]]]] and comes seconds away from killing another one of the heroes, before [[spoiler: Ilsa]] manages to free herself and save him, before a engaging Lane in very even fight.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsons'', the classic 90's arcade game, the main villain is Mr. Burns whose decrepitude has long been a running joke in the cartoon. When you face him as the FinalBoss, he fights from inside a {{Mecha}}-suit. Once you destroy the suit, he goes down in a single hit.

However, this villain has zero fighting ability. They might be elderly, disabled, a woman in a setting where ladies aren't usually trained in combat, or they fight well ''for a human'' but they're against a superpowered hero. Or they just think fighting is beneath them; that's what the [[TheDragon hired]] [[QuirkyMinibossSquad help]] is for. In any case, what they lack in physical prowess they make up for in resources, cunning, and/or [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good PR]]. In the event they do encounter the hero one-on-one, they usually try to trick them into not attacking, just run for it, or they have the fight stacked in their favor by empowering themselves and/or weakening the hero.

However, this villain has zero fighting ability. They might be elderly, disabled, a woman in a setting where ladies aren't trained in combat, or they fight well ''for a human'' but they're against a superpowered hero. Or they just think fighting is beneath them; that's what the [[TheDragon hired]] [[QuirkyMinibossSquad help]] is for. In any case, what they lack in physical prowess they make up for in resources, cunning, and/or [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good PR]]. In the event they do encounter the hero one-on-one, they usually try to trick them into not attacking, just run for it, or they have the fight stacked in their favor by empowering themselves and/or weakening the hero.

However, this villain has zero fighting ability. They might be elderly, disabled, a woman in a setting where ladies aren't normally trained in combat, or they fight well ''for a human'' but they're against a superpowered hero. Or they just think fighting is beneath them; that's what the [[TheDragon hired]] [[QuirkyMinibossSquad help]] is for. In any case, what they lack in physical prowess they make up for in resources, cunning, and/or [[VillainWithGoodPublicity good PR]]. In the event they do encounter the hero one-on-one, they usually try to trick them into not attacking, just run for it, or they have the fight stacked in their favor by empowering themselves and/or weakening the hero.

** Babidi in the Buu saga of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is a powerful magic user but is absolutely no match for the planet-splitting main heroes, relying on his minions to do the fighting. He's eventually killed when Buu realizes that being bossed around by someone so much weaker than him who has nothing to offer doesn't make sense, and [[TheDogBitesBack reacts accordingly]]. It didn't help that Babidi was [[BullyingADragon a massive dick to Buu]] either. Hint to aspiring villains, when commanding a minion vastly superior to you in power, treat them with respect.

** Spandam is the leader of the Cipher Pol 9, an elite group of government assassins. He's also physically weaker than a single common fodder soldier. He does have a Cool Sword - The Elephant Sword - but the problem is that he can hardly use it properly. When he unleashes it on Franky, Franky [[spoiler:convinces the Elephant to squish SPANDAM]].

** Another branch of the World Government, [[AristocratsAreEvil the Celestial Dragons]], however play this straight, as these are hardly ever seen fighting, depending almost entirely on [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem their ridiculous level of authority over the Marines and the populace]] and the fear of [[DisproportionateRetribution how they won't hesitate to use such authority]] against anyone who so much as annoys them - sure, they use firearms a sometimes, but it's mostly against weak or helpless targets who couldn't possibly hurt them; the few times they try on someone stronger than an average civilian or grunt marine (i.e. almost any named character), [[NoSell it doesn't have any effect]] and/or invites [[CurbStompBattle a completely one-sided stomping]] if the other party is angry enough and/or doesn't give a damn about ending up on the entire World Government's shit list.

** Season 10 has The Director of Project Freelancer. [[spoiler:While the main characters are hunting him down, he does nothing to stop them except leave a bunch of Tex-bots for them to deal with.]] The page quote comes from season 6, ''Reconstruction''.
** General Doyle is this for Seasons 11 and 12, not even having any fighting experience (he was promoted from brigadier's secretary) and having no control over Locus. [[spoiler:Even when he is revealed to not be a villain at all, this trope still counts to the true BigBad, Control, who only gives orders for Locus and Felix to carry out while Control sits and waits.]]

* Though he is the Big Bad of ''40 Winks'', you do not actually fight against NiteKap[[spoiler:, mostly because he is not really that evil, just grumpy and sleep-deprived because the clock in his bedroom keeps him awake]].

** Eventually Subverted with the heads of the World Government, whom are the ones ordering the marines, including the Fleet Admiral. Several of the members of the [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Five Elder Stars]] have what look to be battle scars, and one even carries a sword, so it was very implied that they're retired fighters even though none of them were been seen fighting [[spoiler:until the final saga, where during Nefertari Cobra's assasination they display the ability to transform into demonic creatures thanks to Mythical Zoans, and as seen in Egghead one of them (Jaygarcia Saturn) can heavily injure and even blow people' heads from a distance and even regenerate from some injuries dealt to him]].