History Main / SpotlightStealingSquad

** Other than Wolvie, Charles and Erik aka Professor X and Magneto are pretty big cases of this having a massive amount of screentime across 12 of the 13 movies (even in ''Film/TheWolverine'' which isn’t about them they appear in TheStinger). The reboot timeline, if anything gives Charles and Erik even more focus over other characters with the emotional core of ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', ''Film/DaysOfFuturePast'', ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' and ''Film/XMenDarkPhoenix'' centred on them. While obliviously such treatment is expected when portrayed by Creator/PatrickStewart and Creator/IanMcKellen and Creator/JamesMcAvoy and Creator/MichaelFassbender, it’s still unfair for rest of the characters (particularly in Xavier’s case since the point of Charles in the comics is that as the MentorArchetype he takes a backseat to the team).

* ''Film/MortalKombat2021'' has Cole Young, whose personal life and character arc gets heavy focus while fan favourite characters such as Liu Kang, Sonya, Jax and Kung Lao are sidelined. Cole being a CanonForeigner similar to the aforementioned Alice, who only was put into due to ExecutiveMeddling mandating that there needed to a AudienceSurrogate character didn't help either. To a lesser extent Kano and his antics take up a lot of screen time, but since he provides a lot comic relief in the [[AdaptedOut absence]] of Johnny Cage, the fans were more forgiving.

* Despite getting a lot of screentime in his own film, many felt that the story doesn't revolve around Doctor Strange in ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' as it seems more focused on America Chavez on the run from the Scarlett Witch as Doctor Strange only serving as her protector. Speaking of Scarlett Witch, many also felt that the movie is more of a direct continuation of ''Series/WandaVision'' than a straight-up sequel to ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'', as Wanda's motivation in the movie is all ties back to the events in that show.

** Creator/MargotRobbie's Harley Queen steals practically the entirety of both ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'' and ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}''. The latter was supposed to be a Birds of Prey film but it is actually centered around Harley after she became the BreakoutCharacter of ''Suicide Squad''. Towards the end of it's pandemic-shortened theatrical run, some chains were even advertising the film as ''Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.'' Some detractors went as far as to declare that the Birds became sidekicks in their own movie. In acknowledgement of this Warner Bros. directly changed the title for movie theaters to display it to ''Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey''. Downplayed in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' while Harley does get a good chunk of the movie devoted to her, she notably doesn’t overshadow the other characters like in ''Birds of Prey'' nor does the plot centre around her.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' films one of the most notorious criticisms is that Dark Knight is always outshone by his villains. This was particularly evident in the earlier Creator/TimBurton and Creator/JoelSchumacher films (where they even got top billing most of the time).

** ''Film/BatmanReturns'' is a far worse case of this as despite Keaton’s Batman being the highest payed actor in the film, most of the film is devoted to Creator/DannyDeVito’s Penguin and to a slightly lesser extent Creator/MichellePfeiffer’s Catwoman. In fact Bruce Wayne doesn’t even show up in the film until 20 minutes into the film. Given Burton’s great AuthorAppeal towards “freaks” and “outcasts” it isn’t too surprising he gave more empathise to the outlandishly gothic villains whilst Batman himself is demoted to just the ActionHero of the film with a only few scenes of him as Bruce Wayne with Alfred, Max Shreck and Selina.
** In ''Film/BatmanForever'' Creator/JimCarrey’s Riddler and Creator/TommyLeeJones Two-Face take the vast majority of the film’s runtime while Creator/ValKilmer’s Bruce Wayne beyond the action scenes as Batman spends the rest of the film tied to Chase Meridian and Robin’s plotlines. Although the film does actually take some time to explore Batman’s character and trauma like the 1986 film, something ''Returns'' didn’t do.

** In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' it’s very hard deny Creator/HeathLedger’s late and great performance as the Joker steals the show despite having only roughly 33 minutes screentime. Creator/ChristianBale in respect to his late co-star claimed it was really Heath’s movie. Harvey Dent aka Two-Face played by Creator/AaronEckhart’s FallenHero plotline takes up a good deal of the movie as well.
** Downplayed in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' Bane and Catwoman do have a lot of screentime but the film still focuses mainly on Bruce Wayne swan song as Batman with a large portion of the third act focusing on Bruce escaping a HellholePrison.
** Averted in ''Film/TheBatman'' despite having both Penguin and Catwoman just like ''Returns'' and Riddler as the main antagonist for good measure, the film is still largely set from Bruce’s prospective and as such the rogues gallery take a backseat. Although a lot viewers can agree Creator/ColinFarrell as Penguin pretty much every scene he was in.

** Creator/MargotRobbie's Harley Queen steals practically the entirety of both ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'' and ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}''. The latter was supposed to be a Birds of Prey film but it is actually centered around Harley after she became the BreakoutCharacter of ''Suicide Squad''. Towards the end of it's pandemic-shortened theatrical run, some chains were even advertising the film as ''Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.'' Some detractors went as far as to declare that the Birds became sidekicks in their own movie.

* ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'' has this problem as evidenced by the marketing and plot, it's more focused on Characters/{{Harley Quinn|TheCharacter}} and her development than the titular team of heroines, whom Harley isn't officially part of in the comics. Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead as [[Characters/BatmanHuntress Huntress]] in particular is regulated to only a few scenes in the third act because of Harley's dominance and Dinah Lance, Renee Montoya and Cassandra Cain (InNameOnly) are given supporting roles. In acknowledgement of this Warner Bros. directly changed the title for movie theaters to display it to ''Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey''.

** Despite getting a lot of screentime in his own film, many felt that the story doesn't revolve around Doctor Strange in ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' as it seems more focused on America Chavez on the run from the Scarlett Witch as Doctor Strange only serving as her protector. Speaking of Scarlett Witch, many also felt that the movie is more of a direct continuation of ''Series/WandaVision'' than a straight-up sequel to ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'', as Wanda's motivation in the movie is all ties back to the events in that show.

## Speaking of Reigns, he (as well as the rest of the Bloodline which includes the Usos), has. been taking way too much TV time on SmackDown as of late, causing pretty much the rest of the SmackDown roster to be overshadowed as a result.

* Subverted as of 2019, Becky Lynch managed to organically gain fan support, beat Charlotte and Ronda Rousay in the main event of [=WrestleMania 35=], became the first wrestler to hold both women's championships simultaneously and is now considered the biggest female star (and possibly ''the'' biggest star, period) in the company. Bayley, meanwhile, was repeatedly ScrewedByTheNetwork but remained a beloved EnsembleDarkhorse and eventually got ADayInTheLimelight, winning and cashing in the women's MITB briefcase on the same night to become [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]] Women's Champion, and she is currently one of the most talked-about acts in the company following [[spoiler:a reunion with Sasha Banks and shock [[FaceHeelTurn Heel turn]]]].

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' is split between The Doctor and Seven, especially as a pair. They approach the same "Learn to be human" angle from different sides, and their interactions together inevitably stole the episode because of it. The entire fourth season was ''The Seven of Nine Show''. In theory, she had just been introduced and needed her character established in a hurry. Others suspect [[FanService something]] [[GagBoobs else]] was behind all her screen time. As Revealed by Jeri Ryan in later interviews, this got her immense hate from the rest of the show's actors, despite it not being her fault the writers fell into a rut with one of the few things in the show who seemed to be working.

** Creator/MargotRobbie's Harley Queen steals practically the entirety of both ''Film/{{Suicide Squad|2016}}'' and ''Film/{{Birds of Prey|2020}}''. The latter was supposed to be a Birds of Prey film but it is actually centered around Harley after she became the BreakoutCharacter of ''Suicide Squad''.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Spike, most obviously in the seventh season, although it started out gradually and became more obvious once Marti Noxon took the helm of the show. He continues in this role when he becomes a regular on ''Series/{{Angel}}'', and in the several canon comics thereafter.

* ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' had a RequiredSpinoffCrossover from the show that set it up, ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Whose attention was enough that two of the episodes were downright ''Mandalorian'' ones focusing only on Din Djarin.

* ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' had a RequiredSpinoffCrossover from the show that set it up, ''Series/TheMandalorian''. Whose attention was enough that one of the episodes was downright a ''Mandalorian'' one focusing only on Din Djarin.

** Boba Fett, to the shock of nobody steals the show the moment he gets his armour back in Chapter: 14 "The Tragedy" showing far more badassery in live action than he ever did in the original trilogy. From then on he effectively acts TheLancer to Mando. Also being accurately played by Temuera Morrison certainly helps matters. Boba's sidekick ColdSniper Fennec Shand steals some limelight herself and is confirmed to be appearing in a spinoff special alongside Fett.

* ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'' has a few examples, since it is littered with ''so many'' recognizable characters.
** WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants. His status as the CreatorsPet has given him the advantage in the long run, especially because the number of episodes where he doesn't appear could be counted on one hand. He is the main protagonist in several episodes, while the average character has around three spotlight episodes at best, and he plays a prominent role in more than half of all the episodes in the entire show.
** Pop from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' became this as time went on. In fact, the most recent seasons seem to show that he has dethroned the quartet as the main character, with Cuddles and Eric Cartman being mostly OutOfFocus and Kirby being DemotedToExtra. Lumpy has become culpable of this as well, but ''Gory Toons'' seem to heed viewers' frustration with the moose's constant appearances and downplay the number of appearances he can make.
** [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Eric Cartman]] is a mellow example. While he doesn't appear as much compared to the likes of Pop or [=SpongeBob=], he usually overshadows the supporting cast, mainly because his villainous roles are common initiators of an episode's plot.

** Pop from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' became this as time went on. In fact, the most recent seasons seem to show that he has dethroned the mascots as the main character, with Cuddles and Eric Cartman being mostly OutOfFocus and Kirby being DemotedToExtra. Lumpy has become cupuble of this as well, but ''Gory Toons'' seem to heed viewers' frustration with the moose's constant appearances and downplay the number of appearances he can make.

* In ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'', [[WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends Pop]] and [[WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan Chef Pee Pee]] became this as time went on. [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants [=SpongeBob=]]] is this as well, though to a ''much'' larger extent. On the bright side, Lumpy doesn't appear so much in ''Gory Toons'', but even he's starting to hog the spotlight as well.

** Pop and Cub to some extent. While not as infamous because of it, they are given plenty of focus in the episodes featuring them. This even hails back to the early seasons, where Cub had appeared in ''five'' starring roles in season 2, three of them without his father.

->[A]s the series goes on and Sasuke tests better with audiences, Sasuke and his shitty family become the driving force behind the bulk of the plot. Everything becomes "Uchiha" this and "Sharingan" that- even though, last I checked, the show is still called ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''.

* [[Characters/SpiderManPeterParker Spider-Man]] frequently steals the spotlight from other heroes in almost every [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Marvel]] Crossover he appears in, despite being considered a "street level hero" at best. Though since Creator/StanLee stated that Spidey is Marvel's equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse his prominence is to be expected. Notably there are very few Marvel TeamUpSeries books that don’t contain the wall-crawler.

* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'': There's a good chance Characters/{{Batman|TheCharacter}} is gonna [[WolverinePublicity/{{Batman}} steal the show away from his super-powered colleagues]] due to his sheer {{popularity|Power}} and being CrazyPrepared. The most famous case of this was the first [=JLA=] arc where most of The League have been captured by the White Martians while Batman was shot down in the Bat-Wing and assumed dead, but Batman then proceeds to take most of the Martians out by himself leading to the leader Protex [[VillainousBreakdown getting infuriated]] and crying out that’s “He’s just one man” at which Superman assures him that his friend [[BadassBoast is one of the most dangerous men alive]].

** Following [[Characters/TheFlashBarryAllen Barry Allen]]’s death in ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', [[Characters/TheFlashWallyWest Wally West]] took up the mantle, and, despite starting out as a bit of a ReplacementScrappy managed to grow to equal and arguably surpass his mentor. As time went on the Flash franchise accumulated many more unique and interesting speedster characters such as Impulse, Max Mercury and Jesse Quick, along with a returning Jay Garrick, plus supporting characters such as Wally’s wife and kids. When Barry was resurrected in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', those characters were all pushed into the background in favour of the entire franchise becoming The Barry Allen Show. Barry has continued to be the main (often sole) focus of the series ever since, and for a time was pushed as not only the definitive Flash, but the ''only'' Flash as all other speedsters were retconned from existence.

*** Snoopy is the biggest example, he started off as the least important character in the original cast. While he was pretty important within a few years he was definitely supporting compared to Charlie Brown and even Linus and Lucy, but at the end of the sixties as he became a merchandising juggernaut he became more important than everyone else, gaining several major characters who were supporting to him. It wasn’t until the late 80s where Charlie Brown started being the main character again, and even then it was always shared with Snoopy.

* ''WesternAnimation/MortalKombatLegendsScorpionsRevenge'' naturally gives this treatment to the titular ninja. Whilst Scorpion (along with Sub-Zero) has always been a fan favourite, his actual role [[Franchise/MortalKombat in the games]] has never been domineering and initially was little more than a minor antagonist. In the animated movie Scorpion gets the main focus, instead of the original trio of Liu Kang, Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, whom are given supporting roles. Scorpion even has more screen time than Sub-Zero his long-time nemesis. [[spoiler: Not to mention he’s the one who kills Goro, Quan-Chi and defeats Shang Tsung, stealing the victory away from the Earthrealm heroes.]]

* Alice in the ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries'' -- nobody else, including the characters imported from the game series, can do anything even remotely important or even act like a competent person in comparison to her. She also happens to be [[Creator/MillaJovovich played by]] the [[Creator/PaulWSAnderson director]]’s [[DungeonmastersGirlfriend wife]].

* ''Film/MortalKombat2021'' has Cole Young, whose personal life and character arc gets heavy focus while fan favourite characters such as Liu Kang, Sonya, Jax and Kung Lao are sidelined. Cole being a CanonForeigner similar to the aforementioned Alice, who only was put into due to ExecutiveMeddling mandating that there needed to a AudienceSurrogate character didn’t help either. To a lesser extent Kano and his antics take up a lot of screen time, but since he provides a lot comic relief in the [[AdaptedOut absence]] of Johnny Cage, the fans were more forgiving.

* In ''Series/TheBoys2019'', unlike [[ComicBook/TheBoys the comic]] it’s based on, the Supes, specifically The Seven, get the most screen time and largest focus of all the characters, even more than the actual heroes, The Boys themselves, who are often OvershadowedByAwesome or just play a stealthier role in the story due to lacking superpowers. This is mainly due to AdaptationExpansion allowing for the likes of Starlight, A-Train, Queen Maeve and Stormfront in Season 2 to be more fleshed out and complex characters compared to Creator/GarthEnnis's versions, where, save for Starlight and Maeve, they were [[CardCarryingVillain generically evil]]. Homelander in particular (played by Creator/AntonyStarr) steals ''every'' scene he appears in with [[LoveToHate very few complaints from the viewers.]]

** Baron Zemo completely steals the show in Episode 3 and manages to upstage even Sam and Bucky several times after. Zemo’s AffablyEvil AntiVillain and TokenEvilTeammate status also greatly helps, combined with the fact that he achieves his goal in the end like in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. Not to mention his dancing moment at the club.

** The first is obviously The Child [[spoiler: Grogu]]. Being essentially a infant Yoda, he is such an RidiculouslyCuteCritter that even people who haven’t watched the series know full well who The Child is. There’s several times where the story will cut to the little hijinks The Child gets up to and there’s only a couple of episodes where he isn’t prominent.
** Greef Karga (played by Creator/CarlWeathers of ''Film/{{Predator}}'' fame) and ActionGirl Cara Dune are featured prominently throughout the first and second season and have almost as much limelight as Mando and The Child. Chapter 12 “The Siege” has entire segment where Mando leaves and Karga and Dune more than pick up the slack having entire gun fight and ChaseScene without TheHero to support them.
** Ahsoka Tano in Chapter 13: “The Jedi” brought to life in live action by Creator/RosarioDawson doubtless steals the entire episode, where she has much more screen time and focus than Mando despite having a minor role in the overall story. The episode is pretty much a love letter to the ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' fans who have [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap grown]] to love her character. Even the artwork during the credits mainly focuses on her.
** Boba Fett, to the shock of nobody steals the show the moment he gets his armour back in Chapter: 14 “The Tragedy” showing far more badassery in live action than he ever did in the original trilogy. From then on he effectively acts TheLancer to Mando. Also being accurately played by Temuera Morrison certainly helps matters. Boba’s sidekick ColdSniper Fennec Shand steals some limelight herself and is confirmed to be appearing in a spinoff special alongside Fett.

** You can make a strong case for Rimmer being this across the entire series despite being a hologram of a dead man and Lister being the actual protagonist (although thanks to Creator/ChrisBarrie's likability there's hardly any complaints about it). In every season Rimmer gets one, two or three episodes focused on him at minimum and he's a central figure in the Season 1, Season 6, Season 8, Season 10 and Season 12 finales. That’s not even getting his GoodCounterpart Ace Rimmer, who's a Spotlight Stealing Squad in his own right. Even in ''Recap/RedDwarfThePromisedLand'' which concerns the Cat race, you’d think the story would be largely focused on Lister (the MessianicArchetype of their race) and Cat (a member of said race). [[spoiler: Except ol' Arnie completely steals the show with his [[LightEmUp Mighty Light]] {{superhero}} persona easily defeating the BigBad Cat Rodon along with his battle cruiser in the climax.]]

** By the late 2010’s, the show has pretty much become "The Creator/KateMcKinnon Show" after her rise to fame for her portrayal of UsefulNotes/HillaryClinton during the 2016 election. She usually gets a round of applause just from arriving on stage mid-sketch, and during the Trump administration frequently cross dressed so she could play a male member of Trump’s cabinet (usually playing CoDragons with Beck Bennett’s Mike Pence even when the actual person she played wasn't anywhere near that) and be able to headline the cold opens[[note]]the trend started when she played Jeff Sessions to mock Trump’s dislike of the show's portrayal of Sean Spicer, but Kate's comments during the 2020-2021 season suggest she frequently crossdresses as a hobby and escapist technique anyway, so best of both worlds for her![[/note]].

* Subverted as of 2019, Becky Lynch managed to organically gain fan support, beat Charlotte and Ronda Rousay in the main event of [=WrestleMania 35=], became the first wrestler to hold both women’s championships simultaneously and is now considered the biggest female star (and possibly ''the'' biggest star, period) in the company. Bayley, meanwhile, was repeatedly ScrewedByTheNetwork but remained a beloved EnsembleDarkhorse and eventually got ADayInTheLimelight, winning and cashing in the women's MITB briefcase on the same night to become [[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]] Women’s Champion, and she is currently one of the most talked-about acts in the company following [[spoiler:a reunion with Sasha Banks and shock [[FaceHeelTurn Heel turn]]]].

* In ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'', [[WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends Pop]] and [[WebVideo/SuperMarioLogan Chef Pee Pee]] became this as time went on. [=SpongeBob=] is this as well, though to a ''much'' larger extent. On the bright side, Lumpy doesn't appear so much in ''Gory Toons'', but even he's starting to hog the spotlight as well.

* In ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'', [[WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends Pop]] and [[WebOriginal/SuperMarioLogan Chef Pee Pee]] became this as time went on. [=SpongeBob=] is this as well, though to a ''much'' larger extent. On the bright side, Lumpy doesn't appear so much in ''Gory Toons'', but even he's starting to hog the spotlight as well.

* In ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'' Pop and Chef Pee Pee became this as time went on. [=SpongeBob=] is as well, though to a ''much'' larger extent. On the bright side, Lumpy doesn't appear so much in ''Gory Toons'', but even he's starting to hog the spotlight as well.

* ''WebAnimation/GoryToons'' has a few examples, since it is littered with ''so many'' recognizable characters.
** WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants. His status as the CreatorsPet has given him the advantage in the long run, especially because the number of episodes where he doesn't appear could be counted on one hand. He is the main protagonist in several episodes, while the average character has around three spotlight episodes at best, and he plays a prominent role in more than half of all the episodes in the entire show.
** Pop from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'' became this as time went on. In fact, the most recent seasons seem to show that he has dethroned the mascots as the main character, with Cuddles and Eric Cartman being mostly OutOfFocus and Kirby being DemotedToExtra. Lumpy has become cupuble of this as well, but ''Gory Toons'' seem to heed viewers' frustration with the moose's constant appearances and downplay the number of appearances he can make.
** [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark Eric Cartman]] is a mellow example. While he doesn't appear as much compared to the likes of Pop or [=SpongeBob=], he usually overshadows the supporting cast, mainly because his villainous roles are common initiators of an episode's plot.

** Superman himself is technically this; he famously debuted in the first issue of ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', but many don't realize his was just one of many stories in an anthology book. He didn't even appear on the covers of the next few issues (though he still had stories in them) until fans complained and he came back to the cover full-time. Eventually, ''Action Comics'' dropped the anthology format altogether and just became a second ''Superman'' book along with his self-titled one, which it remains as to this day [[LongRunners over 1000 issues later]]. The same thing happened with Batman and ''Detective Comics'', as described above.