History Main / TheGroup

** The Corporation: Nationwide business-like criminal organization. Foes of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and TheIncredibleHulk, amongst others.

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* The Order from ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' are a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of the Freemasons as they were commonly thought of in Victorian times, being a shadowy group of influential men at the highest reaches of power engaging in mysterious, weird rituals. It's gradually taken over by a powerful and charismatic DarkMessiah who has returned from the dead and is demonstrating his power to such an extent that almost the entire country is utterly terrified of him. However, it's ultimately a complete deconstruction, as the Order is largely presented as a bunch of superstitious and largely ineffectual old men who are utterly caught up in their own mythology [[spoiler: to the extent that they'll let the so-called DarkMessiah, in fact a complete charlatan, seduce them with a theatrical manner and some admittedly pretty clever conjuring tricks. Hey, this is ''Franchise/SherlockHolmes''; as if he wasn't going to be DoingInTheWizard]]. It's also an excuse for them to have orgies, apparently.

* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'', with the titular group of CIA black-ops CapeBusters.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by {{Unskippable}} in their ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'' episode:

%%* ''TheConduit'' has The Trust.

%%* The Ring from ''{{Chuck}}''.

It's also entirely possible to have ''two'' Groups in the world. Often, they will be fighting a war in the shadows, this will be the basis for an {{Arc}} (story or myth), typically with one fighting behind the scenes to protect the world, and the other secretly trying to destroy or corrupt it. The Group may be several decades old (for example, formed around WorldWarII or the UsefulNotes/ColdWar), several hundred years old (for example, dating from around the time of the [[{{Steampunk}} Industrial Revolution]] and the [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution French Revolutions]]), several thousand years old (originating in AncientRome, AncientGreece, or AncientEgypt), as old as human civilization itself (as soon as one cavemen invented fire, two others got together on the other side of the cave and whispered to eachother that they had better keep an eye on this, and thus The Group was born), or [[TimeAbyss older than time itself]] (humans may serve The Group, but some very definitely ''[[EldritchAbomination non-humans]]'' founded, and control, it).

* Compared to The Second City Saints ("honorable" wrestlers who watched each others backs), The Prophecy (destroy Wrestling/RingOfHonor and [[InTheirOwnImage remake it in the image]] of Wrestling/ChristopherDaniels), Special K (do as many drugs and get as many other people hooked on them as possible), The Christopher Street Connection (get the tag team titles on Mace and Buff E, and be really gay while doing it), "The Group" stood out not only for their simplistic name but also their simplistic purpose, [[OnlyInItForTheMoney to take ROH's money]]. Whether or not they were worse than anyone else is a matter of debate, except for The Prophecy, who proved EvilierThanThou and forced The Group to disband after it took two of its members.[[/folder]]

If there's a {{Masquerade}} going on in your world, The Group is, ''de rigueur'', the first ones in and the last ones out to deal with anything related to it. If it gets [[BrokenMasquerade broken]], that's on them. Even if The Group is evil, which they may well be, they may often try to cover up TheMasquerade in an attempt to utilize whatever it is for their own ends, and thus do the world some good by keeping it ignorant and safe. Whether it is [[FunctionalMagic mystical, supernatural, or horrific beings, creatures, phenomena]] or {{MacGuffin}}s, [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum things of alien origin]], [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual superhumans and related paraphernalia]], [[AppliedPhlebotinum examples of advanced technology]], [[TimeTravel time travelers and the difficulties they create]], [[MonsterOfTheWeek various types of monsters, demons]], or whatever other GreenRocks or {{Weirdness Magnet}}s may be around in a world, you can be assured The Group will be there to either [[TheHunter hunt and destroy them]], try to [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate and use them]], or [[TheWatcher simply watch and contain them]]. Oh, and it should go without saying that if anyone is in charge of The Group, yes, it will be an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness.

* In the AnneRice books, it's The Talamasca. "We watch, and we are always there."

%%* ''TheGuild''.

* Parodied by the Agency from the SciFiChannel's series ''Series/TheInvisibleMan''. It's a secret government agency that [[OddlySmallOrganization consists of about five (visible on-screen) people]], and because of this is prone to being transferred around between various departments of the US Government, as well as suffering from budget cuts. About the only thing they have going for them is that the titular invisible man works for them.

* The Group from ''Film/{{Munich}}'' and ''Sword of Gideon'', an all-pervasive criminal organisation whose basic role is that of TheFixer.

%%* The Centre, of ''ThePretender''.

** The Corporation: Nationwide business-like criminal organization. Foes of CaptainAmerica and TheIncredibleHulk, amongst others.

%%* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' also has The Syndicate.

%%* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority''.
%%* ''ComicBook/TheBoys''.

%%* The Division in ''Film/{{Push}}''.

%%** And later, the Trust.

* The Order from ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' are a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of the Freemasons as they were commonly thought of in Victorian times, being a shadowy group of influential men at the highest reaches of power engaging in mysterious, weird rituals. It's gradually taken over by a powerful and charismatic DarkMessiah who has returned from the dead and is demonstrating his power to such an extent that almost the entire country is utterly terrified of him. However, it's ultimately a complete deconstruction, as the Order is largely presented as a bunch of superstitious and largely ineffectual old men who are utterly caught up in their own mythology [[spoiler: to the extent that they'll let the so-called DarkMessiah, in fact a complete charlatan, seduce them with a theatrical manner and some admittedly pretty clever conjuring tricks. Hey, this is ''SherlockHolmes''; as if he wasn't going to be DoingInTheWizard]]. It's also an excuse for them to have orgies, apparently.

* The [[SpaceX Star]] Cabal in ''VideoGame/TheOldRepublic'', a shadowy organization that butts heads with the Imperial Agent throughout their storyline. The Cabal is revealed to have been manipulating events since not long after the Great Hyperspace War (ca. 1200 years before the game) and several characters from other class missions have cameos among their ranks, [[ParanoiaFuel leaving it ambiguous how much they actually did]] in the interest of their long-term goals.

%%* The Exchange from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' video games have the International Contract Agency, which is usually known as just The Agency. Although they're the organization the protagonist works for, they're morally ambiguous enough to count. A competing group is The Franchise. In the movie the group is called The Organization.

* Lampshaded by {{Unskippable}} in their ''VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon'' episode:

It's also entirely possible to have ''two'' Groups in the world. Often, they will be fighting a war in the shadows, this will be the basis for an {{Arc}} (story or myth), typically with one fighting behind the scenes to protect the world, and the other secretly trying to destroy or corrupt it. The Group may be several decades old (for example, formed around WorldWarII or the ColdWar), several hundred years old (for example, dating from around the time of the [[{{Steampunk}} Industrial Revolution]] and the [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution American]] and [[UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution French Revolutions]]), several thousand years old (originating in AncientRome, AncientGreece, or AncientEgypt), as old as human civilization itself (as soon as one cavemen invented fire, two others got together on the other side of the cave and whispered to eachother that they had better keep an eye on this, and thus The Group was born), or [[TimeAbyss older than time itself]] (humans may serve The Group, but some very definitely ''[[EldritchAbomination non-humans]]'' founded, and control, it).