History Main / TheManBehindTheMonsters

* While they’re still creepy cyborg [[HumanoidAbomination Humanoid Abominations]], the higher ranks of the Abyssal Fleet in VideoGame/KantaiCollection look more human-like than the lower-ranking units, who are more animalistic [[SeaMonster sea monsters]].

* This trope is used as an explanation for why advanced robots were outlawed between the ''VideoGame/MegaMan Classic'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series in [[http://forums.bobandgeorge.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=16332 The Prototype]]. After [[spoiler:Dr. Wily's death]], King takes control of the remaining robot master armies. The narrator notes that people were more or less okay with being attacked by killer robots because they knew that a human was in control of them, and it was something they could understand. But when a ''robot'' is in control, that scares the populace so much that they outlaw advanced robots like [[spoiler:the deceased]] Mega Man and Roll, at least until X is discovered.

* In the original ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior1997'' You fight a bunch of monsters and demons, but [[BigBad Zilla]] is just a CorruptCorporateExecutive who made some kind of [[DealWithTheDevil pact to summon said creatures from the spirit world.]] The same is mostly true in the [[VideoGame/ShadowWarrior remake]], although in the sequel (where the material and spirit worlds have collided and monsters are as common as wild animals) he mainly uses robots and humans with PoweredArmor.

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* Subverted in ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn''. The local army of monsters is composed of Bukken (tunneling goblins), Hunen (hairy giants) and Norns (arctic dark elves), but appears to be acting on the orders of the human [[AntiVillain King Elias]] and his [[EvilChancellor advisor]], the also-human [[EvilSorcerer Pryrates]]. Except that the army is a loan from [[BigBad the Storm King]], an undead specter who was once a humanoid [[OurElvesAreBetter Sitha]] but is now a borderline-EldritchAbomination [[spoiler: and he always intended to backstab Elias and Pryrates, with his minions being full aware that their "service" to Elias is a temporary indulgence only]]. Of course, the main characters are all aware that the Storm King is the ultimate string-puller for most of the series- the trick is convincing ''everybody else'' that Elias is not, in fact, the BigBad ''du jour''.

** Among other minor examples, the new-series episode "School Reunion" features Tony Head as the leader of a group of bat-like, flying aliens - he says he keeps a human-like body as a "personal preference".

* ''Series/{{Star Trek Deep Space Nine}}'': The Jem'Hadar are the somewhat reptilian genetically engineered soldiers of the Dominion. Their superiors are the much more human-looking Vorta, who also serve as the "public face" for the Dominion. The Vorta themselves report to the Founders, who in their natural state are [[Main/StarfishAliens shapeshifting blobs of orange liquid]], though they do have a regular humanoid form they use for interacting with "solids", and they can impersonate humans exactly if they wish so your mileage may vary on whether this counts as a subversion of not.

* ''Series/{{Star Trek Deep Space Nine}}'': The Jem'Hadar are the somewhat reptilian genetically engineered soldiers of the Dominion. Their superiors are the much more human-looking Vorta, who also serve as the "public face" for the Dominion. The Vorta themselves report to the Founders, who in their natural state are [[Main/StarfishAliens shapeshifting blobs of orange liquid]], though they do have a regular humanoid form they use for interacting with "solids", and they can impersonate humans exactly if they wish so [[Main/YMMV your mileage may vary]] on whether this counts as a subversion of not.

* ''Series/{{Star Trek Deep Space 9}}'': The Jem'Hadar are the somewhat reptilian genetically engineered soldiers of the Dominion. Their superiors are the much more human-looking Vorta, who also serve as the "public face" for the Dominion. The Vorta themselves report to the Founders, who in their natural state are [[Main/StarfishAliens shapeshifting blobs of orange liquid]], though they do have a regular humanoid form they use for interacting with "solids", and they can impersonate humans exactly if they wish so [[Main/YMMV your mileage may vary]] on whether this counts as a subversion of not.

* ''Series/{{Star Trek Deep Space 9}}": The Jem'Hadar are the somewhat reptilian genetically engineered soldiers of the Dominion. Their superiors are the much more human-looking Vorta, who also serve as the "public face" for the Dominion. The Vorta themselves report to the Founders, who in their natural state are [[Main/StarfishAliens shapeshifting blobs of orange liquid]], though they do have a regular humanoid form they use for interacting with "solids", and they can impersonate humans exactly if they wish so [[Main/YMMV your mileage may vary]] on whether this counts as a subversion of not.

* Subverted somewhat with ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}''. The Shadows [[spoiler:and the Vorlons]] are [[Main/StarfishAliens very much not humanoid]], but they have much more normal-looking agents that can move freely amongst the younger races. Mr Morden is the most famous example.

* Subverted somewhat with ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}''. The Shadows and the Vorlons are [[Main/StarfishAliens very much not humanoid]], but they both employ much more normal-looking agents [[spoiler:such as Mr Morden for the Shadows and Mr Sebastian for the Vorlons]] that can move freely amongst the younger races.

* ''Series/{{Star Trek Voyager}}'': Once she joined forces with the Kazan, Seska would qualify (technically she looked Bajoran/Cardassian, but she still looked and thought more human than the Kazan).

* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', the Borg, being a HiveMind collective, didn't have a leader... until some writer decided to create the [[HiveQueen Borg Queen]], who fits this trope. Zigzagged in that it's never quite clear if she's really an individual as such, or some sort of "representative" of the larger HiveMind.

* ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'': Mr. Morden as the face and mouthpiece of the Shadows.

-->-- '''Ivan''', ''[[Anime/DigimonSavers Digimon Datasquad]]''

** It's revealed later on in ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'' that ZAIA Japan's CEO Gai Amatsu[[spoiler:\Kamen Rider Thouser]] had fed information to the Ark about humanity's malice, making him for the creation of metsuboujinrai.net and the Daybreak Town Accident.

* The Coachman from ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'' is actually revealed to have large, ape-like monsters forcing young boys which the Coachman had turned into donkeys into crates headed for either the salt mines or the circus.

* In the original ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior1997'' You fight a bunch of monsters and demons, but [[BigBad Zilla]] is just a CorruptCorporateExecutive who made some kind of [[DealWithTheDevil pact to summon said creatures from the spirit world.]] The same is mostly true in the [[''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior'' remake]], although in the sequel (where the material and spirit worlds have collided and monsters are as common as wild animals) he mainly uses robots and humans with PoweredArmor.

* In the original ''VideoGame/ShadowWarrior1997'' You fight a bunch of monsters and demons, but [[BigBad Zilla]] is just a CorruptCorporateExecutive who made some kind of [[DealWithTheDevil pact to summon said creatures from the spirit world.]]