History Main / PlotDrivingVillain

The PlotDrivingVillain is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin just that]]. One of the things that an average viewer has [[SeenItAMillionTimes seen a million times]].

This is a dominant role for an actor, and one the largest roles, if not ''the'' largest role, in a play or movie. The term, which goes back to theater in the 1800s, may refer to this player having the heaviest script.

This can be the BigBad, but is also often TheDragon, since keeping the BigBad mysterious generally makes him scarier. This is especially true in the case of a NonActionBigBad. In the original ''StarWars'' trilogy, Emperor Palpatine may be the BigBad, but Darth Vader is the plot driver. He's seen more. He has more to do. He dominates the films, and as the prequels prove, the story is ''about'' him.

Actors often cast in such parts are known for "playing the heavy", which was where this trope's original name came from.

Compare DragonInChief, which is when TheDragon fills this role specifically because he overshadows the BigBad as a threat. Likely to intersect with TheVillainMakesThePlot, and VillainsActHeroesReact.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has Father whose actions [[spoiler: to absorb God]], not only [[spoiler: founded Amestris, but the main characters along with most of the cast would've never been born if he hadn't done so.]]
** The 2003 version gives us Envy, who actually fights much more often than [[BigBad Dante]]. Not only does he do her bidding, he actually manages to [[spoiler: kill Ed.]]
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has a [[TheManBehindTheMan rather]] [[XanatosRoulette extreme]] example in the form of its longtime BigBad, Sosuke Aizen.
* Zouken Matou in ''FateStayNight''. While Kotomine is the BigBad, he always sends others to do his work and runs out of those quickly in Heavens Feel. [[spoiler:Kotomine isn't even seen as an enemy until the very end, and its possible that no one even remembers that he was since Shirou is the only one who was there and his memory of the events is a little hazy, for good reason.]]
* Hattori in ''NabariNoOu'' appears to drive most of the plot, though he [[spoiler:isn't actually the]] BigBad -- [[spoiler: [[TheManBehindTheMan Fuuma]] is]].
* ''{{Naruto}}'' had Orochimaru, Pain, and finally, Tobi.
** Tobi is the most prominent example. Literally speaking, absolutely ''nothing'' would have been the same had he not gotten involved. Naruto probably would have had a much happier life if Tobi hadn't gotten involved in it.
*** [[spoiler:The extent has become clear with the revelation of Chapter 599. If Obito had never actually "died", then not only would Kakashi never get his Sharingan eye, the Yondaime Hokage and his wife would be alive, Naruto would've have had a much happier childhood, the Akatsuki would've most likely never ''existed'', etc. It really begins to show how much of an impact Tobi had on the plot, now that it's been revealed he's ''Obito''.]]
* ''{{Eyeshield 21}}'': [[ManipulativeBastard Reiji Marco]] is this during the Kantou Regionals, with his obsessions and schemes driving most of the plot, and helping to totally upset the way the tournament was supposed to go. During the Youth World Cup, the BigBadDuumvirate of [[EvilGenius Clifford D. Louis]] and [[HeroKiller Mr. Don]] take over as the main threat to the Devil-Bats, with their seeming invincibility driving the story for the remainder of the arc.
* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'':
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' splits this role between EvilPrince [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Gihren Zabi]] (whose actions drive the overall plot) and AcePilot Char Aznable (who drives the plot of numerous individual episodes).
** ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' has DarkMessiah Paptimus Scirocco, who manipulates everyone in order to become ruler of the world ([[HiddenAgendaVillain we think]]). He seizes this role from Bask Om, TheDragon to the series' original BigBad.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' has OmnicidalManiac [[spoiler:Rau Le Creuset]], who manipulates everyone in order to end the world. The entire plot is more or less his fault.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' has Gilbert Durandal; he's not the only contender for the title of BigBad, but he's definitely the one shaping the overall storyline.
** ''MobileSuitGundamAGE'' has [[TheBrute Decil Galette]] take this role in Generation 1, [[TheDragon Zeheart Galette]] seize it in Generation 2, and [[BigBad Lord Ezelcant]] take centre stage in Generation 3, after having been portrayed as little more than a shadowy manipulator for the first two seasons. Though Decil takes the cake for [[spoiler: causing Flit to go down a downward spiral to become the DarkMessiah. And all ''he'' had to do was play around with a friend that Flit took to liking until she [[KillTheCutie broke]] as if it was one of his toys]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* Inverted in ''SinCity'' in which the heroic roles drive the plot. In Hartigan and Marv's stories, the main characters respond to crimes that happen off-screen to people they have little connection to. Because they decide to act, this leads them to make more decisions and the plot follows them. Dwight is an even greater example. He starts off reacting to Jackie Boy being the plot driver but he takes over the plot when he decides to chase Jackie Boy into Old Town and from there, his actions led to trouble from different directions. The main villain of that particular story doesn't have a part in the plot until the mid-way point.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* The Joker in Tim Burton's ''Film/{{Batman}}'', and in 2008's ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', as well.
** Bane even more so in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. He has almost as much screen time as {{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} combined. All the trailers and about four-fifths of the movie would have you believe he's in charge, but [[spoiler: he's carrying out a plan set out by Talia, who is more definitely the BigBad]].
* Darth Vader in ''Franchise/StarWars'' and especially ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''; the Emperor shares the spotlight in ''Revenge of the Sith'' and ''Return of the Jedi''.
* [[Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari Dr. Caligari]].
* [[Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate Torgo]].
* Barbossa in the first, Davy Jones in the second and third, and Blackbeard in the fourth ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' movies.
* Colonel Miles Quaritch of ''Film/{{Avatar}}''. He does not run [[MegaCorp RDA]], but Jake and the Na'vi must fight Quaritch and his army to save the day.
* ''Film/DieHard'' is something of a subversion. While [[BigBad Hans]] [[MagnificentBastard Gruber]] does set the events of the movie into motion, forcing other characters into action, and otherwise driving the entire plot of the movie, [[AntiHero John McClane]] also sends the plot into other directions by being proactive and antagonizing Gruber. Their battle of wits, both men acting and reacting to the other, sets the general cat-and-mouse tone of the movie, with both taking turns in either role.
* [[ChristopherWalken "Smith"]] in ''NickOfTime'', the PsychoForHire who kidnaps the daughter of [[JohnnyDepp Johnny Depp's]] character to blackmail him into assassinating a governor and threatens him continually, doing [[EvilIsHammy as Walken does]]. The apparent BigBad behind the plot is an unnamed lobbyist who only appears once [[spoiler:before [[KarmaHoudini riding away near the very end of the movie]]]].
* Comicbook/{{Loki}} does such a good job of driving the plot in ''Film/TheAvengers'' that it's easy to miss his brief conversations with "the Other" about the mysterious head honcho who gave him the scepter and a mission. TheStinger reveals [[spoiler: he's actually a pawn in {{Thanos}}'s scheme.]]
* In ''Franchise/TheTexasChainsawMassacre'', Leatherface drives the plot for the series, but he is really TheDragon to his family, and even then it is a BigBadEnsemble. In the remake Sheriff Hoyt ([[spoiler: who is really his adoptive brother Charlie Hewitt, Jr.]]) doubles as this or a BigBadDuumvirate with Leatherface.
* In the sequel to GingerSnaps, there is a werewolf who is constantly stalking Brigitte, but even with the revelation of the true BigBad, the werewolf is still the FinalBoss.
* While Cobra Commander is the BigBad, Zartan is the most prominent antagonist in ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation'' and does more to set Cobra's evil plan in motion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In most variations of RobinHood, the Sheriff of Nottingham is plot driver underneath Prince John's BigBad.
* Sauron is the BigBad of ''LordOfTheRings'', but Saruman (and to an extent the Witch-King and the other Ringwraiths) are much more visible and involved villains, especially in the movies.
** The One Ring itself is more active and visible than Sauron. Sauron doesn't even really appear himself, ever. Gollum is more of an actual presence than the Big Bad!
* In the ''PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' book series, Kronos is the BigBad, but Luke drives the plot, as Kronos has no physical form [[spoiler: until ''Battle of the Labyrinth'', when he [[DemonicPossession possess Luke]]]], and can only plot and scheme.
* Though Lord Voldemort is the BigBad of ''HarryPotter'', he's only the direct plot driver in the last book/movie, ''HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', which is the only time he has a substantial plot-spanning role. The role of the plot driver is therefore often taken by another villain, who may or may not be working for him--notably Lucius Malfoy in ''Chamber of Secrets'' and Dolores Umbridge in ''Order of the Phoenix''.
** The Full List is: [[spoiler: Professor Quirrel]] in "Philosopher's Stone", [[spoiler: Tom Riddle]] in "Chamber of Secrets", Sirius Black/[[spoiler: Peter Pettigrew]] in "Prisoner Of Azkaban", [[spoiler: Barty Crouch Jr.]] in "Goblet of Fire", Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy again in "Order of the Phoenix", and [[spoiler: Draco Malfoy]] in "Halfblood Prince".
** However most of these don't actually count as plot drivers since their screen time is limited. Umbridge definitely counts, but the rest are mostly in the background until the final confrontation.
* Creator/PaoloBacigalupi:
** In ''Literature/ShipBreaker'', [[TheHero Nailer]]'s [[ArchnemesisDad father]], [[CombatSadomasochist Richard]] [[KnifeNut Lopez]], a [[DrugsAreBad drug-addicted]], [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] ex-[[GladiatorGames gladiator]] is the plot driver, pursuing Nailer and [[DistressedDamsel Nita]] at every turn, planning to kill the former and sell the latter's organs on the black market.
** In ''Literature/TheDrownedCities'', Colonel Glenn Stern is TheBigBad, but it's his [[TheDragon Dragon]], Lieutenant Sayle who moves the plot.
* Several times in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', the most visible villain of a given book would be distinct from the [[BigBad ultimate mastermind]].
** ''Grave Peril'': The Nightmare [[spoiler: aka Leonid Kravos]]
** ''Dead Beat'': Grevane, who appears first and most often of the three necromancers and is fought most consistently through the novel, though he's probably the least ''dangerous''.
** ''Proven Guilty'': The Scarecrow
** ''White Night'': Vittorio Malvora
** ''Turn Coat'': Shagnasty the Skinwalker
** ''Changers'': Duchess Arianna
** For the series as the whole, the Red Court of Vampires are the most obvious and heavily featured recurring villains, though [[NebulousEvilOrganization the Black Council]] is shaping up as series-wide BigBad. [[spoiler: With the Reds out of the picture, the Fomor look to be stepping into their vacated role]].
* Nom Anor in the NewJediOrder series. He's not the leader or even ''a'' leader of [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Yuuzhan Vong]], being a mid-ranked but influential intelligence agent, but he's by far the most recurring villain in the novels, and by the last quarter or so the series is as much about him as it is about the heroes.
* Hawkfrost in the second ''Literature/WarriorCats'' arc, ''TheNewProphecy''. While his dad Tigerstar is the BigBad, Hawkfrost's schemes to take over the Clans are the main driving point, partially because his dad is dead and only appears as a SpiritAdvisor.
* [[PsychoForHire Anton]] [[ImplacableMan Chigurh]] of ''NoCountryForOldMen'', the most menacing and visible of those searching for the [[MacGuffin drug money]]. In theory, there is a BigBadEnsemble of the major players who hired Chigurh and the various Mexicans (implied to be the "Matacumbe Petroleum Group" and real-life drug lord Pablo Acosta), but they're ultimately rendered irrelevant by Chigurh's inscrutable, single-minded rampage, a point driven home when Chigurh [[spoiler:kills the guy who apparently hired both him and Carson Wells for interfering with his work, then negotiates a new contract with the man at the very top]].
* Krait, the [[PsychoForHire assassin]] in [[DeanKoontz Dean Koontz's]] ''The Good Guy''. He spends most of the book as the sole enemy hunting down Linda [[spoiler:on behalf of a vaguely defined shadow government that is both explained and destroyed near the end of the book]]. Played with, as Tim also helps drive the plot by intervening in the hit, similar to the ''Film/DieHard'' example above.
* If you could really call him a "villain" per say, Pepe el Romano in TheHouseOfBernadaAlba manages to drive the story without even appearing once. His presence in the background causes sister to bitterly turn against sister, and eventually undermine's Bernada's authority over the house, as Adela rebels.
** A more straight-up example may come in the form of Bernada, who is most definitely a villain.
* In ''Literature/TheGoodTheBadAndTheMediochre'', [[TheDragon Mr Antler]] drives the plot for most of the book, up until [[TheBrute Maelstrom]] catches up and eventually overtakes him in this regard. Neither of them is the BigBad - they both at least nominally work for [[DiabolicalMastermind Sapphire]] - and it's actually [[HiddenAgendaVillain the tempomancer]] who is implied to be the most ''dangerous'' villain present, working for some sort of BiggerBad NebulousEvilOrganisation. Antler and Maelstrom are the Heavies because both Sapphire and the tempomancer ''prefer'' to work indirectly from the shadows.
* [[CainAndAbel Diogenes Pendergast]] in AgentPendergast books ''DanceOfDeath'' and ''Literature/BookOfTheDead''. He is the driving force for both books and even manages to get more screentime than his brother in each of them.
* Visser Three in ''{{Animorphs}}''. He's in essence the field commander of the Yeerks' invasion of Earth and the Animorphs' most frequent and personal foe, though he is answerable to Visser One, who oversees the infiltration [[spoiler:and in fact kicked it off by drawing the Yeerks' attention to humanity in the first place]], and the [[BiggerBad Council of Thirteen]] who rule the Yeerk Empire. Visser One is thus closer to being the overall BigBad [[spoiler:until the Council get impatient and send her off to defend another planet, and she is later killed, with Visser Three [[DragonAscendant becoming the new Visser One]] and starting open war on Earth]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Ben on ''{{Lost}}'', especially in late season 2 (even without knowing his real name...) and all of season 3.
* Diana in ''{{V}}''. Jane Badler even got top billing, thanks to alphabetical order.
** Anna in the new V (and though unlike Diana, she has no direct superior, there are other leaders whose combined might even she wouldn't want brought to bear against her.)
* Sylar from Series/{{Heroes}}, especially in the first season and the second half of Volume 4.
* Gets a lampshade in one episode of ''TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' where Uncle Phil laments "Why must I always be the heavy?" Will, standing nearby, remarks "[[YouAreFat Forget it, that would be too easy.]]"
* ''{{Smallville}}'': [[MagnificentBastard Lionel]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Luthor]] fulfilled the role in Seasons 1-3 (especially 3), Brainiac in Season 5, LexLuthor in Seasons 6 & 7, and [[MajorlyAwesome Major Zod]] in Season 9. Each was also TheBigBad of the season in question. The others are a lot more ambiguous about it, with multiple villains, numerous {{Big Bad Ensemble}}s, and a lack of plot direction.
** One could make a definite case for Earth-2 Lionel Luthor in the latter half of Season 10. {{Darkseid}} and his CoDragons may be the BigBad, but it's Earth-2 Lionel's schemes who drive most of the plots, and (unintentionally) enable Darkseid to eventually cross over.
* Gatehouse of ''Series/TheShadowLine''. He's a DragonInChief rather than a BigBad, but his plans are eventually revealed to be driving almost every aspect of the series's plot, even in the storylines he's apparently uninvolved with.
* [[spoiler: Tony Almeida]] in the seventh season of ''TwentyFour''. Alan Wilson is the true BigBad of the season, but [[spoiler: Tony's]] actions throughout the entire thing serves one giant GambitRoulette to kill Wilson which is what serves as Season 7's entire driving force.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* This type of villain was one of Shakespeare's specialties, three of the most notable being Iago in ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' and the eponymous characters of ''Richard III'' and ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''.
* Hagen in Creator/RichardWagner's ''Götterdämmerung''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Videogames]]
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' has a number of them:
** Kefka in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', starts out as TheDragon, ends up as the OneWingedAngel.
** Sephiroth in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Everything that happens to you throughout the game, EVERYTHING, is because of him or a Jenova-generated clone of him.
*** Though [[MadScientist Hojo]] and CorruptCorporateExecutive Rufus have a few turns being plot drivers themselves.
** Golbez in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', possibly the most competent villain in Final Fantasy history, leads the heroes through an absolutely massive XanatosRoulette involving almost the entire game before [[spoiler:his HeelFaceTurn]]. Oh, and he never loses a fight to the heroes. Come to think of it, no Final Fantasy games after III actually averts this trope.
** A good example in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' of a plot driver who is ''not'' the BigBad is [[DarkMessiah Seymour]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX''. The ''real'' BigBad, Sin, [[spoiler:is actually a creation of long dead summoner Yu Yevon, who is, according to a few people in the game, by now barely intelligent, neither good nor evil]]. Hence, while a dumb brute is ''scary'' ([[NightmareFuel lordy, is Sin scary]]), he's not really compelling villain material. Enter Seymour, with the most lines and screen presence of all the antagonistic cast, engaged in a plan whose effects drive a great deal of the story.
* The Boss in ''MetalGearSolid3''.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'', [[UltimateEvil Malefor]] is the BigBad, but he spends the first two games as SealedEvilInACan, so his {{Dragon}}s serve as the main villains of the first two games, Dark Cynder in the first game and Gaul in the second. He only drives the plot in the third game after being freed.
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'': [[TheManBehindTheCurtain Ozwell]] [[EvilCripple E.]] [[EvilOldFolks Spencer]] is the series' BigBad, but never drives the plot, allowing a number of other characters to step into that role.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'': [[MadScientist James]] [[EvilutionaryBiologist Marcus]]. He sets the plot in motion, serves as TheBigBad, and is the FinalBoss to boot.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'': [[TheMole Albert]] [[SunglassesAtNight Wesker]]. He may be taking orders from [[BigBad Spencer]], but as [[MegaCorp Umbrella]]'s man on the spot, it's Wesker who drives the plot, from luring the heroes in, to unleashing the [[FinalBoss Tyrant]] on them in the finale.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'': [[OneWingedAngel William]] [[TragicMonster Birkin]]. There are other villains, like the UBCS and Mr. X present, but Birkin is the most [[RecurringBoss recurring threat]], pursuing you from the earliest chapters of the game until your final escape at the end. Not to mention that the outbreak is his fault in the first place.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'': [[ImplacableMan Nemesis]]. Again, Spencer is TheManBehindTheMan, and the USS and T-103's have their own agendas, but it's Nemesis who provides all the dramatic tension, chasing Jill and Carlos from one end of the city to the other in fullfillment of its mission.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'': [[SissyVillain Alfred]] [[AristocratsAreEvil Ashford]]. [[TheBaroness Alexia Ashford]]'s TheBigBad and FinalBoss, but it's her AxeCrazy [[SiblingsInCrime brother]], [[DiscOneFinalBoss Alfred]], who's responsible for most of the events in story, from Claire and Steve's capture on up. Even his death manages to move the plot along, as it motivates Alexia to seek revenge against the heroes.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles'': [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] [[FormerRegimePersonnel Sergei]] [[UndyingLoyalty Vladimir]]. As Spencer's DragonInChief, Sergei's the one responsible for cleaning up Umbrella's disasters, holding the company together, and attempting to murder both the heroes and VillainProtagonist Wesker.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'': [[TheUndead Albert]] [[AGodAmI Wesker]] again. With Sergei and Spencer gone, Wesker steps up as TheBigBad ''and'' the game's most visible and potent physical threat, using everyone as part of his plan to unleash the apocalypse.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'': With all the previous antagonists now gone, whoever drives the plot differs depending on which campaign you play. For Leon and Helena, it's Derek C. Simmons. For Chris and Piers, it's Ada Wong[[spoiler:'s evil clone]]. For Jake and Sherry, it's the Ustanak. Ada's campaign subverts the trope and doesn't feature one.
* In ''{{FEAR}}'', Alma. Pretty much everything that happens in the game is a direct result of Alma's actions, whether they be conscious or unconscious. What isn't a result of her actions are due to Genevieve Aristide, Harlan Wade, and Paxton Fettel, but none of them have as much ''presence'' in the games.
* ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Ghirahim]]''. So ''very'' much. He's actually very loyal to [[BiggerBad his boss]], but his villainy [[TheVillainMakesThePlot drives the whole plot]].
** The same could be said for [[TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Chancellor Cole]]. Like Ghirahim, everything he does is in the name of resurrecting his master, but he has a much greater presence in the plot compared to Malladus himself.
* The ''TalesSeries'' has quite a few.
** [[spoiler:Emeraude]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' is probably the most notable example. At no point in the game is she positioned as a main antagonist, but flashbacks reveal that she is the root cause of ''everything'' that goes wrong in the story.
** [[spoiler:Duke]] may be the final antagonist in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'', but the actions of [[spoiler:Alexei]] (who ends up being a [[DiscOneFinalBoss Disc Two Final Boss]]) drive the plot. Act 3 is mostly concerned with the fallout of his plans, and [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer partaking in a copious amount of sidequests]].
** Grand Maestro Mohs in ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', he wants war [[BecauseDestinySaysSo because Yulia's Score depicts it]][[spoiler:, in the end, he is just an UnwittingPawn to the real BigBad, Van Grants.]]
* Saren in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', Kai Leng in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. The former remains Shepard's most personal enemy even after it's revealed he's the servant of a much bigger threat. Kai Leng, by contrast, is the guy the Illusive Man (an ''[[NonActionBigBad exclusively]]'' mental opponent) sends to get his hands dirty. [[spoiler: As a result, Shepard doesn't bother trying to teach Leng the error of his ways and just shanks him.]]
* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': The Composer sits back and lets the Game Masters, led by Megumi Kitaniji, do all of the work. Kitaniji himself lets his underlings do all of the work, and the Game Masters generally stay in the shadows until close to the end. (Minamimoto is the exception, and Konishi was Game Master of a special week). [[spoiler: The Composer takes a huge hands-on role in Week 2 under the alias of Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryuu, and on the final day, you fight Kitaniji three times in a row when he realizes he needs to take care of things personally. The two acted more hands off than usual because of the Game they were participating in to determine the fate of Shibuya.]] In Another Day, Higashizawa does all of the work for the Black Skullers. [[spoiler: Turns out he was using them the whole time and eventually pulls a Starscream on Uzuki.]]
* Loghain in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. While the Archdemon and the Darkspawn are the premier threats of the game, Loghain is the biggest obstacle to the player when it comes to trying to get Ferelden to band together.
* TheJoker serves as this in ''BatmanArkhamCity''. Although Hugo Strange serves as the real BigBad [[spoiler: with Ra's Al Ghul as a BiggerBad,]] he winds up becoming the cause of most of the actions Batman takes in the game to save everyone in Arkham City, and he is even encountered much more frequently than either of the other villains. Even after [[spoiler: Strange and Ra's are both killed]] the Joker remains at large and ultimately serves as the FinalBoss of the game's story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick The Order of the Stick]], [[EvilSorcerer Xykon]] is the first major villain to be introduced, and though he's not really the only BigBad anymore (a BigBadEnsemble has sprouted up, plus a BiggerBad and a couple of [[BigBadWannabe Big Bad Wannabes]]) he's still the one the heroes are most directly concerned with and WordOfGod is that in the end, the story will come down to [[TheHero Roy]] versus Xykon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/nash/specials/33934-wonder-woman-2011 Linkara]] bemoans the fact he doesn't get to the plot driver very often in a Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses CrossOver review between him, [[RadioDeadAir Nash]] and [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Mystique in the first season of ''{{X-Men Evolution}}.'' She runs the Brotherhood, and Magneto, usually only seen in shadow, runs ''her.'' Eventually, Magneto takes over the role himself, and later Apocalypse.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''
** Season 1 has Zuko and Zhao competing for this position, with Zhao ultimately taking it in time for the SeasonFinale.
** Azula holds this position throughout most of Seasons 2 and 3 until the [[GrandFinale four part finale]], where [[EvilOverlord Fire Lord]] [[BigBad Ozai]] take over.
** Long Feng is this during most of the Ba Sa Sing Arc during season 2, until the after-mentioned Azula shows up.
* Amon in book one of the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''.
* Slade, whenever he shows up in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' - even when serving under [[{{Satan}} Trigon the Terrible]] (see Vader and Palpatine - while not the BigBad, Slade is a menace through the season, while Trigon is a threat only in three episodes.)
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': [[TheDragon Starscream]] is the plot driver for most of the first season, before [[BigBad Megatron]] returns and puts him in his place.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': Megatron, from the first episode, until the last episode of [[WesternAnimation/BeastMachines the sequel series]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', [[MagnificentBastard Xanatos]] and [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Demona]] tend to hand this role back and forth depending on the given episode or story arc (and they're each half of the show's initial BigBadDuumvirate). However, [[EvilSorcerer the Archmage]] takes over during the "Avalon" multiparter, and [[JerkassGods Oberon]] during the "Gathering" multiparter.
* Ben10Omniverse: [[EgomaniacHunter Khyber]]; trailers seemingly etablished him as the BigBad, he was the one chasing Ben for several episodes and seemed to have a motivation for that. [[spoiler:''Predators and Prey'' reveals he was actually TheDragon for [[TheManBehindTheMan Malware]], a villain that has only had ''one episode and a cameo'' at this point, and [[EvilGenius Dr Psychobos]], a guy we had never seen before, but Khyber still is the one acting while they are just waiting for him to do the job.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' The Light are behind almost every plot the heroes are facing, and even if the heroes succeed in their mission, they are most likely playing under the Lights hand.
[[/folder]]

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