History Main / StuckInTheirShadow

Compare OvershadowedByAwesome: where the character in the spotlight REALLY is better then the character in the shadows.

* John Paul Jones, the bassist (noticing a theme?) of LedZeppelin ([[YourMileageMayVary arguably]]).

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except the ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion series]]'' and the poorly received ''VideoGame/MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him to be just competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except the ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion series]]'' and the [[DisContinuity poorly received]] ''VideoGame/MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him to be just competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

* Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger serves as an example in ''TigerAndBunny'''s ShowWithinAShow, [=HeroTV=]. While they do about the same amount of work as a hero team, it's Barnaby Brooks Jr. that gets all the publicity, interviews, photoshoots, fans and credit (it's even implied once or twice that Kotetsu had to defer arrests to Barnaby as well.) This is taken to its logical conclusion in the thirteenth episode when [[spoiler:Kotetsu pulls a BatmanGambit that allows Barnaby to take down Ouroboros terrorist Jake Martinez]], and the public completely ignores his contribution to the fight. He's naturally a bit annoyed by this.

* Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels penned ''The Communist Manifesto'' together, but Marx is the only one directly associated with it (with Marxism being an alternate name for communism), while Engels is practically unknown.

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except the ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion series]]'' and the [[DisContinuity poorly received]] ''MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him to be just competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except the ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion series]]'' and the [[DisContinuity poorly received]] ''MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him to be just competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Diddy Kong from the original ''DonkeyKongCountry''. He can do everything DonkeyKong can do, with the exception of defeating a specific kind of enemy (Krusha), and is even far superior in some aspects such as running faster, swimming more precisely, and making long jumps better. You could beat the entire game playing as Diddy alone and probably have an easier time of it. However, canonically, he's Donkey Kong's "wannabe sidekick" and didn't get his chance to shine until the sequel Diddy's Kong Quest, where he was in turn overshadowed by his newbie companion...
** Dixie Kong in ''DonkeyKongCountry 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' may be a little slower than her boyfriend, but other than that barely-noticeable detail, she surpasses him in every way. Not only is she a more precise jumper and swimmer, she can do the famous ponytail twirl, wherein she hovers do the ground slowly by using her long ponytail as a propeller. This game is a little fairer because it makes it crucial to play as either one character or the other at specific times, but it may also be worth mentioning that in her own game DonkeyKongCountry 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, she was not surpassed by Kiddy Kong.
* ''{{Banjo-Kazooie}}'' is a little weird about this. Ask anyone who the star is, and most will say it's Banjo, even though the titles of three out of five games also include his partner Kazooie. The second game, ''Banjo Tooie'', opts for a silly title pun instead of recognizing the second lead's name (it's even lampshaded by Kazooie herself at the end of the first game), and ''Banjo Kazooie Grunty's Revenge'' mentions her name although she isn't in it for the first few worlds. Indeed, in the first two games, Kazooie's the one doing the majority of attacking and acrobatics when the two are teamed up, with Banjo mostly just doing the walking around and (in the first game) the Claw Swipe and Roll (the second game replaced the Claw Swipe with another attack by Kazooie and had Kazooie assist with the Roll).
* Being stuck in the shadow of his father [[MagnificentBastard Cao Cao]] has been Cao Pi's story path since his debut in ''DynastyWarriors'' 5; he doesn't get a break even in the [[WarriorsOrochi crossover game]], as the warriors of Wei are still more loyal to Cao Cao (who is outright ''presumed dead'' until near the end of the plot) than to him in the first game, and he has to share an uneasy spotlight with his father in the sequel (though in the final battle Cao Cao does officially hand the baton over).
* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except the ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion series]]'' and the [[DisContinuity poorly received]] ''MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him to be just competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.
* Thanks to ''DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[FinalFantasyIII Xande]] has become this in favor of Cloud of Darkness. This is despite Xande was the BigBad for most of the game, while Cloud of Darkness was a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere that didn't appear to have much involvement until the very end.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* The LooneyTunes and MerrieMelodies RoadRunner cartoons have an incredibly blatant example. It's all about Wile E. Coyote and his ridiculous plans for catching and eating the bird. He probably gets three times as much screen time as the Road Runner in every cartoon.
* In both the book and film versions of ''WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', the story focuses more on the human detective, Eddie Valiant. In the book, he was Eddie's shifty client, and although he was pivotal to the story, the focus was clearly on Eddie and his investigations. In the movie, Roger gets the plot rolling, but after that his job consists mostly of hanging around with Eddie and acting goofy.
** Even in his cartoons in-universe, Roger gets second billing behind Baby Herman, even though (like Wile E.) he gets the lion's share of the laughs.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Frank James, Jesse James's brother, has become relatively obscure in modern culture and exists largely in Jesse's shadow, even though the two were equally infamous in the old west and committed their criminal acts as a pair. It turns out an alliterative name counts for a lot.

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion]]'' and the poorly received ''MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him as almost as competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

-->''"Shadows are in reality, when the sun is shining, the most conspicuous thing in a landscape, next to the highest lights."''

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he underwent DivergentCharacterEvolution he failed to get a starring role in anything except ''[[LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion]]'' and the poorly received ''MarioIsMissing''. The canon now portrays him as almost as competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy. ''SuperMarioWorld'' has a this example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

* Thanks to ''DissidiaFinalFantasy'', [[FinalFantasyIII Xande]] has become this in favor of Cloud of Darkness. This is despite Xande was the BigBad for most of the game, while Cloud of Darkness was a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere[=/=]DiabolusExVacuus that didn't appear to have much involvement until the very end.

-->--John Ruskin

* ''{{Banjo-Kazooie}}'' is a little weird about this. Ask anyone who the star is, and most will say it's Banjo, even though the titles of three out of five games also include his partner Kazooie. The second game, ''Banjo Tooie'', opts for a silly title pun instead of recognizing the second lead's name (it's even lampshaded by Kazooie herself at the end of the first game), and ''Banjo Kazooie Grunty's Revenge'' mentions her name although she isn't in it for the first few worlds.

* [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]] has incorporated this into his character. Initially a PaletteSwap of Mario, even after he became the TropeNamer for {{Luigification}} he failed to get a starring role in anything except ''[[LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion]]'' and the poorly received ''MarioIsMissing''. The canon portrays him as almost as competent as his brother (albeit [[LovableCoward significantly more cowardly]]), but perpetually ignored for his contributions--even [[BigBad Bowser]] can't remember his name, referring to him as "Green 'Stache" and fixating on Mario as his greatest enemy.
** ''SuperMarioWorld'' has a great example: if you win the game as Luigi (in 2 player), the first three words of text are "Thank you Mario" while Luigi is still on the screen.

** Though he did like being able to walk around cities [[CursedWithAwesome without being recognized]] while the rest of the band couldn't leave their hotel room without being mobbed by fans, since most people didn't know what he looked like.

** Though he did like being able to walk around cities [[BlessedWithSuck without being recognized]] while the rest of the band couldn't leave their hotel room without being mobbed by fans, since most people didn't know what he looked like.

* John Paul Jones, the bassist of LedZeppelin ([[YourMileageMayVary arguably]]).

->''Shadows are in reality, when the sun is shining, the most conspicuous thing in a landscape, next to the highest lights.''
-->John Ruskin

* ''{{Banjo-Kazooie}}'' is a little weird about this. Ask anyone who the star is, and most will say it's Banjo, even though the titles of three out of five games also include his partner Kazooie. The second game, ''Banjo Tooie'', opts for a silly title pun instead of recognizing the second lead's name (it's even lampshaded by Kazooie herself at the end of the first game), and ''Banjo Kazooie Grunty's Revenge'' mentions her name although she isn't in it.

* Frank James, Jesse James's brother, has become relatively obscure in modern culture and exists largely in Jesse's shadow, even though the two were equally infamous in the old west and committed their criminal acts as a pair.