History Main / StuckInTheirShadow

* Played for laughs and comically exaggerated by the Midnight Riders in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''. Riggs Donner, [[EverybodyHatesTheBassist the bass player and keyboardist]], was on the initial lineup of the group for a few years and one official album before getting run over by a truck. He was then replaced by "provisional temporary band member" Jake Thorne, who has remained with the group for twenty-four years, has writing credits on many of their songs, and wrote and performed [[BreakawayPopHit their only number-one hit]]. And he still has to give half his paycheck with Riggs's widow, because he has some big shoes to fill.

* Ever since Daniel Inouye died in 2012, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy became the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country -- except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: [[UsefulNotes/Bernie Sanders Bernie Sanders]].

* Ever since Daniel Inouye died in 2012, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy became the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country -- except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: {{Bernie Sanders}}.

* Ever since Daniel Inouye died in 2012, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy became the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country -- except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: Bernie Sanders.

* The 2010s saw a massive revival of teen heartthrobs and boy bands in the pop music world. Dozens and dozens have aimed for commercial success, but only two have actually become worldwide megastars: Canadian pop-R&B singer Music/JustinBieber and British-Irish boy band quintet Music/OneDirection. The only other acts to have had achieved success, though not to the same extent, during the decade were Australian pop-punk group Music/FiveSecondsOfSummer and Canadian singer-songwriter Music/ShawnMendes. Compare that to the glut of acts who have fallen flat on their face in their attempts to break through, such as JLS, Mindless Behavior, Cody Simpson, Greyson Chance, Jacob Latimore, Union J, District 3, [=Emblem3=], Midnight Red, IM5, Austin Mahone, Conor Maynard, Jake Miller, The Vamps, Rixton, Troye Sivan, and perhaps most embarrassingly, Series/BigTimeRush and Music/TheWanted, [[HollywoodHypeMachine who were being pushed especially hard]]. All of these acts, with the exception of the American ones who couldn't even make it there, had their popularity limited to their home country.

* Rapper Machine Gun Kelly, or MGK, has always been seen as a third-rate Eminem clone who has long been stuck in the shadows of other white rappers, like Music/{{Macklemore}}, Music/MacMiller, and Music/GEazy. He only had one real hit, with “Bad Things”, and that was solely because Music/CamilaCabello sang the chorus. His second hit “Rap Devil” got attention solely for being a diss track against Eminem.

* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' 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).

* The only Osmonds that most people have heard of are Series/DonnyAndMarie.

* NuMetal was often seen as the most commercially profitable genre of metal during its prime, with numerous acts gaining massive commercial success. In reality, this only applied to a handful of bands. Namely Music/{{Korn}}, Music/{{Deftones}}, Music/LimpBizkit, Music/{{Slipknot}}, Music/{{Disturbed}}, Music/{{Godsmack}}, Music/LinkinPark, Music/PapaRoach, and Music/{{Evanescence}} (and Music/SystemOfADown, if you consider them nu metal). Music/{{Sevendust}}, Trapt, Saliva, Music/{{POD}}, and Music/DrowningPool also had success, but not to the same extent. Compare this to the glut of acts who failed to have that same success such as Coal Chamber, 36 Crazyfists, Music/AlienAntFarm, Martyr AD, Guano Apes, Crazy Town, Stereomud, Ultraspank, Spineshank, Systematic, Injected, Skrape, Primer 55, Unloco, Orgy, Presence, Hot Action Cop, Demon Hunter, Nonpoint, Mushroomhead, Shuvel, Twisted Method, Skindred, Static-X, Flaw, Cold, Dry Kill Logic, Kittie, Machine Head, hed (p.e.), Ra, Lifer, Otep...

* There are 27 congressmen in New York[[note]]Techically 26 since the 27th District’s seat is vacant after Chris Collins’ resignation[[/note]]. Can you name any of them besides [[UsefulNotes/AlexandriaOcasioCortez]]? Maybe Elise Stefanik due to her prominent role in the Trump impeachment hearings, but otherwise?

* There are 27 congressmen in New York[[note]]Techically 26 since the 27th District’s seat is vacant after Chris Collins’ resignation[[/note]]. Can you name any of them besides [[UsefulNotes/AlexandriaOcasioCortez AOC]]? Maybe Elise Stefanik due to her prominent role in the Trump impeachment hearings, but otherwise?

* Music/LinkinPark to many people is lead vocalist/{{metal scream}}er Chester Bennington, rapper/multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda, and four other guys. Guitarist Brad Delson may get recognition, if only for the FunnyAfro (despite the fact that he co-founded the band), while turntablist Joe "Mr." Hahn was pretty well-known in their earlier days for his DJ scratches but today is just in the background. As for drummer Rob Bourdon and [[NobodyLovesTheBassist bassist]] Dave "Phoenix" Farrell? Not so much.

* Have you ever been accused of gomorrhy?

* Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger serves as an example in ''Anime/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. 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.

* Music/MandyMoore began her early singing career in pop music in the [[TheNineties 1999]], with hits like "Candy", "Walk Me Home" and "I Wanna Be With You", joining a bevy of female solo teenage stars such as Music/BritneySpears, Music/ChristinaAguilera and Music/JessicaSimpson that would be popular at around the same 1998-1999 time period. Moore would later mention that she felt she would always "be number four" when being mentioned in lists of pop female stars of that time period after Spears, Aguilera and Simpson, never really standing out in that crowd, which might be another factor in Mandy switching to her more recent folk-pop singer-songwriter direction by the mid-[[TheOughties 2000s]].

* Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr: Was initially labeled the breakout star of Legacy but instead Wrestling/CodyRhodes would go on to become one of the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champions as well as one of the WWE's top heels for a time, and would go on to even greater success in organizations like Ring of Honor and (especially) All Elite Wrestling. [=DiBiase=], on the other hand was relegated to Wrestling/WWESuperstars territory and basically retired in 2013 after chosing to not renew his contract. If Cody's shadow wasn't enough, there was an even bigger shadow hanging over him: [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase his father]].

* The best-known members of the Guerrero family are easily [[Wrestling/EddieGuerrero Eddie]] and [[Wrestling/VickieGuerrero Vickie]]. The only other member most people will be able to name is [[Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr Chavo Jr.]] Unless you're in Mexico, where Gori, Mando, Hector and Chavo Sr are also well known. Chavo Sr was fairly popular in the NWA territorial system, it's just that WWF systematically destroyed that.

* An in-universe example in ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': part of the reason Eustace is such a mean person is because he was always mocked and belittled by his parents and his brother Horst, the latter being his parents' favorite and who they were always derisively comparing him to. Even after Horst died at some point, his abusive mother never let up and her first appearance in the series is pretty much entirely her making fun of him while doting on Courage, to Eustace's chagrin. This isn't a single-episode thing, either: it's a major part of Eustace's characterization and his relationship with Horst comes up several times over the series, including a flashback which shows Horst was just as mean as their parents, calling Eustace "Useless" instead when all he wanted to do was spend time with his brother.

* Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}'s ''Series/{{Victorious}}'' was meant to be a vehicle that would launch the music career of its star Music/VictoriaJustice. It certainly launched a music career alright, just not hers. Instead, supporting actress Music/ArianaGrande started a ''massively'' successful career as a pop sensation, producing numerous hits and platinum albums. Her meteoric rise to fame has completely eclipsed Justice (and the other five cast members), and her whole Nickelodeon roots for that matter. In fact, she's easily the biggest celebrity Nickelodeon has ever produced in its entire existence.
* 2015 saw a trend of completely unknown rappers scoring surprise hits thanks to exposure through Vine. Specifically, they were Fetty Wap ("Trap Queen"), T-Wayne ("Nasty Freestyle"), Silento ("Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)"), and [=iHeartMemphis=]/[=iLoveMemphis=] ("Hit the Quan"). Of the four, however, only Fetty Wap has had any success afterwards, becoming a rap superstar. [[OneHitWonder None of the latter three rappers ever had another hit]]. Of the songs, only "Trap Queen" and "Watch Me" stayed remembered after their popularity died down.

* Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr: Was initially labeled the breakout star of Legacy but instead Wrestling/CodyRhodes would go on to become one of the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champions as well as one of the WWE's top heels for a time, and would go on to even greater success in organizations like Ring of Honor and (especially) All Elite Wrestling. [=DiBiase=], on the other hand was relegated to Wrestling/WWESuperstars territory and basically retired in 2013 after chosing to not renew his contract. If Cody's shadow wasn't enough, there's was an even bigger shadow hanging over him: [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase his father]].
* The first luchador Wrestling/{{CMLL}} gave the Wrestling/{{Mistico}} gimmick to became the undisputed top draw in not only the promotion but the entire nation, with strong arguments that he was the breakout star of the planet. That argument fell apart when his success in Latin America and Asia was followed up by the disastrous Wrestling/SinCara gimmick in WWE, which coincided with CMLL trying again by giving [[TheGimmick the Místico gimmick]] to Dragon Lee, who merely drew decent critical response and financial gain. The Dragon Lee gimmick in turn went to a rookie luchador who took everyone by surprise and became one of CMLL's foremost stars, leaving their first Dragon Lee stuck in two shadows.

* Wrestling/MattHardy is far from unknown, but still not nearly as recognized as his younger brother [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Jeff]]. However, he's been slowly escaping this through his "Broken" Wrestling/{{TNA}} run in 2016.

* Wrestling/MartyJannetty: Following the breakup of the Rockers, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels would go on to become a future WWE Hall of Famer, win multiple championships, and be considered one of the greatest wrestlers ever to lace up the boots, while Janetty would fade into obscurity. Shawn's shadow is/was so vast, the former name for BreakupBreakout was "The Jannety".

* Wrestling/MartyJannetty: Following the breakout of the Rockers, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels would go on to become a future WWE Hall of Famer and win multiple championships while Janetty would fade into obscurity.

* Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr: Was initially labeled the breakout star of Legacy but instead Wrestling/CodyRhodes would go on to become one of the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champions as well as one of the WWE's top heels. [=DiBiase=], on the other hand was relegated to Wrestling/WWESuperstars territory. If that's not enough, there's an even bigger shadow hanging over him: [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase his father]].

** Diddy Kong from the original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1''. He can do everything Franchise/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 ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'', where he was in turn overshadowed by his newbie companion...

* In both the book and film versions of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'', the story focuses less on Roger and more on the human detective, Eddie Valiant. In the book, Roger 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. Never more blatant than when he ''saves Eddie's life'' (if only momentarily) at the Gag Factory, then drops right back down to "goofy" again without so much as a thank-you on Eddie's part - although his wife, Jessica, whom he also saved, at least gives him some of the respect he's desperately been trying to earn.

* John Cornyn of Texas is nominally the second most powerful Republican senator in the U.S., but he's barely a blip on the national radar compared to his home state's ''other'' senator: Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz.
* It's tough to say whether Tammy Baldwin or Ron Johnson is Wisconsin's more powerful Senator, but what is clear is that neither of them comes close to being their state's most influential voice on Capitol Hill, a title held by the U.S. Representative known as Paul Ryan.
* Surprisingly averted with the party leaders in the Senate, Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer. You would expect Kentucky and New York to have relative nobodies serving alongside these extraordinarily powerful men, but instead you have libertarian hero Rand Paul and progressive icon Kirsten Gillibrand, both among the best-known Senators in the nation.

* Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, despite his long career, was largely unknown even in his home state, gaining virtually no national attention compared to his state’s other senator, the nationally-recognized Marco Rubio. This has been averted once he was ousted from the Senate by Rick Scott, as he was the state’s popular incumbent governor. A sitting senator losing re-election in a swing state during an election cycle favoring his party is an insurmountable task, but Nelson’s anonymity compared to Scott allowed the latter to pull off the upset.

* In-universe example in ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': despite being instrumental in many battles throughout the hundred-year-war, most of the public do not know Guts's name, or indeed that of anyone in the Band of the Hawk outside their leader, Griffith. Everyone that meets him, friend or foe, is merely pulled along by his charisma and into the currents of his own mighty dream. This eventually causes Guts to leave the group entirely, as he feels he can never truly discover himself as long as he is within Griffith's shadow. [[spoiler: This has catastrophic consequences as it's the catalyst for the series of events leading to the Eclipse and Griffith's transformation into Femto]].

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': Ask most people to name all the members of Monty Python and you're bound to hear Creator/JohnCleese first, then Creator/EricIdle, Creator/MichaelPalin, and maybe Creator/TerryGilliam, but Creator/GrahamChapman and to a lesser extent Creator/TerryJones are only known primarily by Pythons' fans. There is a bit of historical irony here because John Cleese (who formed one of the writer teams with Graham Chapman) felt that he was doing all the work and Chapman was getting all the attention.

* Music/LinkinPark to many people is lead vocalist/{{metal scream}}er Chester Bennington, rapper/multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda, and four other guys. Guitarist Brad Delson may get recognition, if only for the FunnyAfro (despite the fact that he co-founded the band), while turntablist Joe "Mr." Hahn was a pretty well known in their earlier days for his DJ scratches but today is just in the background. As for drummer Rob Bourdon and [[NobodyLovesTheBassist bassist]] Dave "Phoenix" Farrell? Not so much.

* Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr: Was initially labeled the breakout star of Legacy but instead Wrestling/CodyRhodes would go on to become one of the longest reigning Intercontinental Champions as well as one of the WWE's top heels. [=DiBiase=], on the other hand was relegated to Wrestling/WWESuperstars territory. If that's not enough, there's an even bigger shadow hanging over him: [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase his father]].

* Creator/LaurenFaust gets way more credit from fans of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' and ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' than her husband Creator/CraigMcCracken, and he made the shows, she just worked on them.

* Ever since Daniel Inouye died in 2012, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy became the longest serving member of the U.S. Senate. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country -- except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: Bernie Sanders.
* In TheSixties three men created titles that were the foundation for Franchise/MarvelUniverse and Creator/MarvelComics as we know and love - Creator/StanLee with artists Creator/JackKirby and Creator/SteveDitko. However, while Lee had a much lesser role than many believe, often providing just general plot outline or the idea and writing dialogue on the already finished pages, he also had a much more media presence and popularity among the fans, overshadowing latter two even in the mainstream eyes. This, combined with their increasing mistreatment ended with both of them leaving the company, a move that for many was the beginning of UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks.

* Ever since Daniel Inouye died in 2012, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy became the oldest sitting member of the U.S. Senate. He'd be a sure-fire standout for the second-smallest state in the country -- except for the fact that he's virtually unheard of compared to Vermont's other, nationally-recognized senator: Bernie Sanders.